The Ritz-Carlton, Abama

TLDR - If you stay here, get every detail in writing. Don’t rely on verbal confirmations from staff. My family and I recently stayed at The Ritz-Carlton Tenerife, Abama from January 17–20, 2025. The resort itself is stunning, with beautiful views and generally attentive staff. We truly enjoyed the setting, the amenities, and the overall experience while on the property. However, I was very disappointed with how the hotel handled billing and communication after our stay. Prior to arrival, I confirmed with the hotel (via the Marriott app) that our room included a sofa bed for our young daughter. Upon check-in, I reiterated this with the porter, who acknowledged the request and said housekeeping would take care of it. Instead, when we returned to the room after turndown service, we found a rollaway bed had been placed—without any mention that this would incur an extra charge. Only after the stay did I realize I had been charged nearly €187 for the additional bed over two nights. I would have gladly had my daughter sleep on the sofa if I'd known. I contacted the hotel multiple times to address this, and although they initially offered a partial goodwill gesture, they stopped replying entirely when I requested a fairer resolution. Additionally, at check-in I was told that breakfast was complimentary for my family due to my Titanium status. Despite that, I was later charged for my daughter’s breakfast—even though the staff clearly saw all three of us present at check-in when the benefit was confirmed. I’ve stayed at many Ritz-Carlton properties and have always appreciated the high level of service and professionalism. Unfortunately, this experience left me feeling undervalued as a loyal guest. I would encourage future visitors to be very clear and get any service confirmations in writing to avoid unexpected charges.

We stayed the Ritz for eight nights and had a wonderful time at the resort and taking a few tours on the island. We are a family of three active boys ages 14, 12 and 9 and we all had fun things to do at the resort and on Tenerife. We read the reviews of the resort and even used our AI tool to summarize the two-star and four-stars reviews (we always discount 5-star and 1-star reviews) and were pleasantly surprised how nice things were. The staff were incredibly welcoming from the point we got out of our taxi from the airport to the front desk. The lobby is beautiful and the views down to the pool and ocean were great. Our rooms were close enough to the lobby to be incredibly convenient for food, the pools and even to start down to the beach. The rooms were in excellent shape with plenty of room, light and amenities for a busy family of five. We have two adjoining rooms with large balconies. We needed extra pillows and a few things fixed during our stay the staff were incredibly responsive to our needs. The restaurants on site were very nice with the “casual” ones actually presenting more formal than we thought. We tried El Mirador by the ocean on the first night and loved it and then later the Italian restaurant. Prices were a little higher than we expected, but the quality of the food is very good and service was great so was worth it overall. We did at least half of our meals offsite in neighboring towns and found the food also good and much cheaper for a young family. We had food each day by the pool and found the service prompt and food good. The beach area was a favorite of the boys and we all enjoyed the walk up and down the stairs to burn a few extra calories. The amenities at the beach were what we would expect from a Ritz Carlton and the access to nice, clean bathrooms and good foods and drinks is a huge plus. The workout facilities are quite good as well. The outside terrace was my favorite as you could lift weights or even right a stationary bike and stay cool and enjoy the amazing views. My only request would be to get 2 - 3 Peloton bikes. I’ve stayed at many Marriott and Ritz hotels that have these and think it is expected at least from American travelers like us. Overall, our experience was fantastic. The main pool was awesome even though there are a few areas that have gotten a little worn over time. That didn’t impact our stay or really get that noticed from the poolside. We highly recommend the Ritz and encourage others to explore the neighboring towns 15-20 minutes in either direction for dinners offsite.

As someone who travels often and works in the hotel industry, I’ve stayed in many luxury resorts—but this one really impressed me. From the moment we arrived, the staff went above and beyond. Everyone we encountered was warm, attentive, and genuinely made us feel welcome. We stayed in The Retreat, and it made such a difference. The private pool, exclusive lounge, and peaceful breakfast area gave the whole stay a really elevated, relaxing vibe. Service Highlights Oscar at The Retreat was a standout—his care and attention made our experience feel extra personal. Niara and Georgeta were also fantastic, always friendly and ready to help. A big thank you to Jevgenia for such a smooth check-in, and to Taiki, who arranged a late check-out for us until 5 PM—so appreciated! Rooms & Food Our room was spacious, beautifully designed, and incredibly comfortable. The rain shower was honestly one of the best I’ve had. Dinner at El Mirador was another highlight—don’t miss the salted sea bass. It was easily the best dish of our trip. Final Thoughts If you’re planning a visit to Tenerife and want a luxury experience with exceptional service, I can’t recommend The Ritz-Carlton, Abama enough. The Retreat really takes it to the next level—you’ll leave relaxed, well taken care of, and already planning your return!

We had a great week at Abama as a family of 4. We had a junior suite with an enormous bed & 2 camp beds - the room was huge & the shower was incredible! Lovely view of the sunset over the ocean too from the balcony. We stayed half board - breakfast buffet was great & the food in all the restaurants was delicious. We were told to book all our dinner reservations the minute we arrived, which was quite annoying, as we had no idea what was what but as I said, food was great everywhere. Housekeeping was excellent & all the staff were incredibly friendly - although the service could be very slow around the pool. A couple of things that could have improved our stay: - with such a huge hotel, it’s a shame there’s no space for teens to chill out, socialise & escape their families! The kids club goes up to 12, so our kids couldn’t use that, but a room with movies, beanbags, WiFi etc would be a great addition! Especially for the day of wet weather we had where there was nothing for our teens to do. - a more low-key dining option would be great; the restaurants are lovely, but all pretty fancy. It would be nice to have the option of a more relaxed space or for the buffet room to offer dinner, especially for families. Lunch options are also limited. All in all, it was a lovely week & just what we needed for a blast of sun.

The Abama was recommended to us as a must go place because of the golf, and to be fair, if you are a golfer, the course is really lovely. The greens are tricky and challenging for holiday golfers but all good on the golf front. The hotel is decidedly underwhelming. We have an ocean view and a decent balcony but little things let it down such as the toilet seat being broken and someone has put the TV up and left it at an annoying squinty angle. There are however a good range of TV channels on offer. Housekeeping is very good, no complaints there. Breakfast is also good but tables are small and far too close together so it makes conversation difficult. It is noisy and yes, there do seem to be a lot of children - maybe a quiet area or adults only section would help? There is an adults only pool area, but this isn’t enforced, so in name only. Pool staff are there waiting at 6pm to collect towels and for you to go, which is a shame. We were unfortunate to get a large group with an outdoor event happening during our stay and the noise of the disco meant you couldn’t hear the TV or concentrate to read. It went on until 11pm. Reception was contacted regarding perhaps the music being turned down slightly, but the message was very clear that they were the priority, not us as paying guests. The duty manager was supposed to contact me the next day - that never happened. Would we come here again? No. It is isolated and extremely expensive for what it is.