Marylanza Suites & Spa

Marylanza Suites & Spa is bound by the Golf Las Americas course, municipal buildings, and multi-lane roads that, unlike the streets in the tourist center, are friendlier to drivers than pedestrians. Passersby might assume the two-story corner building with ivy hanging over its sunken entrance to be an office complex, were it not for the giant pale blue Tui buses hulking nearby. Once inside, the Tui rep area, Avis car rental, and spacious lobby bar all signal that, despite Marylanza's understated facade, the hotel is straight from the Playa de las Americas resort playbook. In the rear of the cavernous, double-height lobby, a central elevator is flanked by fountains, staircases, and columns covered in pearly white river-pebble tiles. Large aloe-themed paintings by Tenerife artist J.L. Perez Navarro hang above wicker and blue-cushioned couches and chairs, and two dozen canvasses painted various shades of cobalt blue are grouped together above reception, where, at the time of our visit, a single front-desk person was handling an onslaught of guest needs, like changing pool towels. Tui U.K. and Tui Nordic bring in the bulk of the guests (the most loyal British guests come four or five times a year), and there are also travelers from Holland, Germany, Iceland, and Spain, all drawn to Marylanza's ample resort features and slowed-down pace.

Set far back from the pedestrian- and resort-dense core, Marylanza Suites & Spa is located in a bit of a dead zone between Playa de las Americas and Los Cristianos. The immediate area is more driver-friendly than it is walker-friendly, with municipal neighbors including a courthouse, hospital, and public park. Here, young local families use the play equipment and shallow wading pool during the day, but the vibe turns slightly seedy at night, with people camping out along the farthest-away border. A four-minute walk away is the Parque Santiago 6 shopping center, where guests can find chain shopping like Pepe Jeans, Desigual, H&M, Carhartt, and Adidas, as well as a supermarket and an Astro-turfed playground. Guests can leave the hotel and walk either south or west and reach a beach in 14 minutes. Los Cristianos is an 18-minute walk southeast from the hotel, and Tenerife South Airport is a 15-minute drive away.

Marylanza's rooms are spread throughout the two-story buildings that form a rectangular around the central pools. Nearly all of the 217 rooms are one-bedroom suites, though 50 units have two bedrooms. Whether one or two bedrooms, all rooms have air-conditioning, private outdoor space with tables and chairs, and kitchenettes with mini-fridges, microwaves, stovetops, and wide breakfast bars. All living rooms feature flat-screen TVs and two sofas that can be used as beds, and all bathrooms come with shower/tub combos and bidets. The majority of the rooms face outward, so the standard view is of the road, though rooms with views of the pool and golf course are available for higher rates. Large Superior Suites come with sunbeds on their terraces. There are 10 Superior Suites total, two with pool views, four with golf views, and four looking over the road. In-room Wi-Fi costs an additional fee.

Two large pools dominate Marylanza's courtyard, with a heated children's pool off to one side. One of the main pools, the so-called "green pool," named after the color of its mosaic tiles, is also heated. There are free scheduled activities -- water aerobics, pool basketball, darts, ping-pong -- most days, and the nearby squash court and pool table both incur fees. Between the two pools is an open-air bar and grill, which serves a late breakfast and lunch and occasionally hosts a live singer. Here, all-inclusive guests can take advantage of an all-day snack buffet and self-serve drinks and slushes if they need an alternative from Tagoror, the hotel's main buffet restaurant serving all three meals. Breakfasts at Tagoror involve eggs, crepes, and omelets prepared at show-cooking stations, plus caviar, smoked salmon, and cava and the customary spread of bacon, beans, mushrooms, Brussels sprouts, sliced meats and cheeses, pate, yogurts, fruit, cakes, pastries, and breads. Dinners follow a 15-night program, so that only guests staying more than two weeks encounter repetition. A themed Mexican, Spanish, Canarian, Asian, or Italian dinner occurs every three nights. On theme nights, Tagoror breaks out a chocolate fountain to helm its dessert table.All-inclusive guests (about 65 percent of the clientele) get one free visit to Kentia, a reservations-required, dinner-only restaurant with a sampling menu that changes weekly. Marylanza is set to open a 12-person hibachi-style restaurant, across from Kentia in the main building, in 2017. Taste Bar, off of the lobby, focuses on local goods, like Tenerife wine and tapas. Not all premium drinks are within the all-inclusive plan, but house brands are.A mini disco kicks off the nightly entertainment in Marylanza's nightclub, located behind the reception area. Following acts might include bingo, magic shows, Bee Gees and Abba tributes, and Spanish dancing, though the hotel scales back its entertainment considerably during the winter. But even at the height of summer, entertainment is not a big focus of the hotel, and live performances are generally short. In the summer, Marylanza opens a kids' club to supplement the year-round outdoor playground.Free (yet reportedly weak) Wi-Fi is available in the lobby and pool area. Although most guests are all-inclusive, the hotel also offers half-board, self-catering, and bed-and-breakfast plans.

Marylanza's namesake feature -- its spa -- costs extra to enter, but it is exceptional. (It is open to the public, so the entrance fee helps keep the area up to standard.) It has a full water circuit, whose centerpiece is a warm hydromassage pool with a cold plunge in the center and underwater loungers in one corner. Circling the main spa pool are a hot tub, hot/cold foot bath, Roman bath, steam bath, sensation showers, and a cold-water bucket. A separate room houses the floatarium, a high-salt-content pool with warm water, mood lighting, and pool noodles (which aren't really necessary, but they make for nice neck supports). Like the spa, the fitness center is easily the best in the area. It has a Pilates center, yoga studio, and underwater cycling room, as well as aerobics, Zumba, and regular (non-hydro) spinning. Spa treatments include facials, mani/pedis, massages, Ayurveda, body wraps, waxing, and hairstyling. Hotel guests can purchase daily or weekly passes for the spa, gym, or both.