Have you ever closed your eyes because you couldn’t believe such a place was real? That’s the Royal River Luxury Hotel effect. Among artificial jungle rivers, bohem african decor villas and scrumptious high standing food, embark on this Royal River adventure with us!
We spent two weeks in Tenerife, one based in the south as digitals nomads and one other all around the island to visit every piece of land we could. During our Tenerife itinerary, we knew we wanted to stop at a hotel that is out of the ordinary…
We were looking for that particular place where we could refill our batteries, enjoy a night of luxury and make lifelong memories. Royal River Tenerife immediately established itself as the most extraordinary resort on the island. It truly is one of the most romantic things to do in Tenerife.
In this Royal River Tenerife review, you’ll find out what’s so special about that place. You’ll learn more about the story of the Royal River, its concept, the different amenities and swimming pool areas, villas, restaurants and things to do in Tenerife nearby.
Royal River Luxury Hotel Tenerife : the Story behind the Palace!
Where is the Royal River Luxury Hotel?
The Royal River Luxury Hotel & Spa is located in Costa Adeje, sheltered between the Mount Teide and the Atlantic Ocean. It’s located alongside the Costa Adeje Golf Course in a very peaceful and intimate setting. You’ll be surrounded by nature and have a splendid view of the volcano.
Furthermore, the Royal River Luxury Hotel is very accessible. It is located 23 kilometers away from the Tenerife South Airport and 86 kilometers away from the Tenerife North Airport. Anyways, the island isn’t too big so you won’t have any trouble getting there and navigating.
It opened its doors to the public in december 2020, when the COVID-19 was still striking. It is not ideal for a hotel opening, as for any other tourism infrastructures. But Tenerife Spain has handled the pandemic pretty well and hasn’t closed its frontiers to international travelers too many times.
What is the Royal River Tenerife?
This phenomenal 5 star hotel Tenerife is composed of 50 luxurious villas. It includes 29 river villas, 17 private pool villas and 4 bigger villas on stilts sharing a large private swimming pool with turquoise blue water.
It can welcome all kinds of adult travelers. The river and private pool villas are ideal for couples. The bigger villas would totally suit a group of friends who wish to treat themselves with a luxury stay. In addition to the 5 outdoor swimming pools, the resort also has 4 restaurants, 3 bars, a fitness room and a spa.
The Royal River Tenerife being quite recent, all the infrastructures are at the cutting edge of technology and modernity. Everything from floor to ceiling has been created to welcome travelers from all around the world in the best possible way.
With all its amenities, it’s almost like walking around a very classy, intimate and stunning theme park. The staff, available 24/7, is very welcoming and multilingual ; the receptionists speak spanish, english, french, german and russian!
To complete the description of the hotel, you must know they are also modern in their ways of thinking. They make sustainability a priority. The Royal River Luxury Hotel is entirely supplied with green energy from renewable sources like the sun, wind and biomass.
They use biodegradable cleaning products, salt to produce chlorine in swimming pools and no single use plastic items. Last but not least, they purchase local products and have a charging point for electric vehicles.
One Bedroom River Villa : everything you need to know for a perfect stay
The most known kind of villa of the Royal River Luxury Hotel is the One Bedroom River Villa. Its original concept attracts international tourists. We’ll get more into the unique connecting waterway later in this article, as we have many things to say about the villas themselves.
✔️ Quick tip : this hotel is gaining more attention every day (for good reasons) so you should book your One Bedroom River Villa at least two weeks in advance.
Each villa seems to have modern and elegant furniture, with tinted colors oscillating between brown, black and beige. The living room has a huge sofa area, flat-screen television, mini-bar and a large bay window opening onto the sumptuous terrace and pool area. The suite continues with an extra-large bed and bohemian decor with African influences.
Then, you can head to the incredibly big bathroom area. There is a luxurious freestanding bathtub with vegetation, two sinks, one shower, toilets, and a wardrobe area. You will be able to find everything you need to pamper you and make you feel at home : slippers, bathrobes, hairdryer, shower gel…
You can also stay in a Two Bedroom River Villa if you need more room, or a One Bedroom Lagoon Villa if you wish to have a bigger and more exclusive pool.
Royal River Tenerife Amenities
Royal River Luxury Hotel : the river concept
And now, the moment you have all been waiting for : what is this river architecture concept? What makes the Royal River so unique is its waterway connecting the pool of which river villas, in a tropical setting. If we had to take a guess, we would say that this artificial river goes on for at least 100 meters. It invites guests to stroll and relax in a wonderful corridor where nature and river come together as one.
Royal River Luxury Hotel : central pool
The Royal River Luxury Hotel has 5 outdoor pools, making it one of the hotels with the most swimming pools. All pools are heated all year long and stay at around 27 degrees. The first one we can talk about is the central pool. You can actually enjoy your welcome glass of champagne on the terrace of the reception, with a view of this magnificent pool, cocoon armchairs and its palm trees all around.
Royal River Luxury Hotel Rooftop Pool
The rooftop of this Tenerife resort is like nowhere else. There’s a african bohem style decorated bar, lots of deckchairs and comfy things to sit in, all around the highlight of the show : the infinity pool! That’s an ideal sunset spot. You can also go there for a swim with a view on the golf, the sea and Mount Teide.
Royal River & Spa, Luxury Hotel
The Royal River has an awesome spa area, right after the central pool. The spa is an indoor heated swimming pool with water jets. It also has a hammam, sauna and a fitness room with great equipment. I believe there’s even a skin treatment room with ice and a massage room.
It’s not because you’re on holiday that you can’t enjoy a good gym session! At the Royal River Spa, you can recharge your physical and mental batteries at any time after having trudged in all the natural pools of the island.
Royal River Hotel : 4 Restaurants and 3 bars
The Royal River experience does not stop at the infinity pools and the breathtaking decoration. It’s now time for your taste buds to salivate… The hotel has four first-class restaurants and three bars. The only question is, which one to choose?
Kokoro Asian Restaurant
Delight all your senses with an Asian 6-course menu, each equally exquisite. The Royal River describes it as a “fusion of asian cultures” and a “connection between heart and soul”. We can totally get why ; the chef of the restaurant handles the different flavors of each local ingredient wonderfully and makes us time travel to Bangkok, Bali and Shanghai all at the same time. To be honest, we’re still daydreaming about the dinner we had there!
The Top Brasserie Terrace
At the Top Brasserie Terrace, the chef and his team do not only buy local products ; they also cook typical canarian meals with it. You know the traditional spanish tapas… But have you ever tried a real onion roasted risotto with parmesan gratin, or a spicy grilled canarian chicken with topinambur? All that with a view on an infinity pool, mountain golf and ocean? I bet not.
Flamingo Bistro
The Flamingo Bistró is a french 5-course restaurant. It mixes the most french plates with luxury ingredients that you will struggle to find elsewhere. For instance, you can find caviar, foie, wine shallot sauce, crepe or even crème brûlée on the menu.
Pineapple Buffet Restaurant
The Pineapple Buffet restaurant perfectly completes the inhouse restaurants of the Royal River Luxury Hotel with good mediterranean inspired food. It is also the place where the cosmopolitan unreal breakfast takes place.
Royal River Luxury Hotel Breakfast
The Royal River Tenerife is the absolute best place to rediscover the pleasure of breakfast buffet. Why? Because it has it ALL. Are you more into british breakfast with eggs, bacon, sausage, delicatessen and pancakes or french breakfast with all kinds of pastries, like pain au chocolat, croissant and more? If you would rather eat fruits, sweets, cakes, donuts, muffins, cheese or even vegetables, they’ve got you covered as well.
You can also drink whatever you’d like : coffee, hot chocolate, tea, milk, juice or even… Champagne! This list isn’t even exhaustive. To make it simpler, pretty much everything you could think of, they have it.
Things to Do Near the Royal River Luxury Hotel
Even if the Royal River Luxury Hotel is an infinite playground for travelers and photographers, you might want to do some activities outside of the hotel if you stay a few days. Good for you ; there are many things to do in south Tenerife and the area of Adeje.
Golf Costa Adeje
If you’re visiting Tenerife, you might be a golf player. If not, you must at least have noticed the huge number of golf courses on the island! The Royal River is located right next to an amazing golf course called Golf Costa Adeje. It is extremely well-maintained and you’ll get to play with insane views on Mount Teide and the ocean. Pretty nice, right?
Ritz Carlton Abama
If you are an architecture lover, you need to make a stop at the other big resort of Costa Adeje : the Ritz-Carlton Tenerife. The buildings are a blazing red and look like an oasis in the Moroccan desert. A real delight for the eyes!
Los Gigantes
Los Gigantes are a twenty minute ride from the Royal River, and a wonderful spot for nature seekers. These are large impressive black cliffs overlooking the sea. There is a wonderful sea life. In fact, it’s the best place to see whales and dolphins in Tenerife. Then, to have a swim in an atypical spot, you can head to the piscina natural Los Gigantes. It’s a pretty protected area where the waves don’t enter in the pool too much as they built a wall.
In the area of Los Gigantes, there’s another natural pool inside a cave called Cueva del Tancón. This truly is a hidden gem, the water is as blue as the waves are powerful. So if you want to swim there, go at low tide and be careful!
Mount Teide
During your trip to Tenerife, you can’t miss out on the biggest volcano and the island and all of Spain : Mount Teide. It’s like visiting Indonesia and not going to the iconic T-Rex cliff beach of Nusa Penida…
You can basically access Mount Teide from anywhere on the island as it’s at the center. It also means that once you’re at the top, you have an insane view on the whole island, from south to north, and even on the nearby island of La Gomera! Pretty unreal, right?
Playa de Las Américas
Below the Royal River, there are two areas called Playa de Las Americas and Los Cristianos. That’s where all the big tourist resorts and beaches are. There’s also the well known Siam Park, many restaurants, bars and a great nightlife. For instance, you can head to the Papagayo Beach Club to have some fun!
To conclude, the Royal River Tenerife is the most idyllic hotel for a relaxing stay. You’ll be able to reset your mind and body by being surrounded by nature and being treated like a queen or king! Looking for more travel ideas? Here are the first destinations to travel to Post Covid 19.
