Bahía Príncipe Costa Adeje
Bahía Príncipe Costa Adeje is a large four-star all-inclusive at Playa Paraíso, a quiet clifftop spot in the Costa Adeje area on the south-west coast of Tenerife. It's the family hotel of the two Bahía Príncipe properties here, closed through 2026 for a full refurbishment and reopening around December 2026 under a new name, Bahía Príncipe Explore Costa Adeje. Families come for its cliff-top pool with sea views, a wide, well-liked buffet, a kids' club from age three and staff that guests return for year after year.
On this page
Is it worth it?
The quick read before the detail: who it suits, what the all-inclusive covers and where the gaps are for the very youngest.
Bahía Príncipe Costa Adeje is a well-run, mid-market all-inclusive, priced closer to nearby hotels such as Meliá Jardines del Teide and Iberostar Anthelia than the luxury end of Costa Adeje, and it works best for families with children of about three and up. Guests return for the staff, who take the highest scores across the booking sites, for a wide, well-liked buffet and for a big pool complex and gardens in a quiet clifftop setting away from the resort strip. For a baby or toddler under three the picture is more mixed. The hotel is built into a cliff over five floors, so getting around with a pushchair means steps and small lifts, which families flag more than anything else. The children's pool is reported to be unheated, and the nearest beach is a rocky cove with a stony sea entry rather than the calm sandy paddling most young toddlers need. There's no organised care for under-threes beyond paid babysitting.
One thing shapes everything on this page. The hotel closed in January 2026 for a full refurbishment and is projected to reopen around December 2026 as Bahía Príncipe Explore Costa Adeje. So the detail below describes the hotel as it ran before it closed, and some of it will change when it reopens. Treat this as a guide to help you decide, and confirm the current setup, and that the hotel has actually reopened, with your operator before you book.
Best for
You have children of about three and up, you want a well-run all-inclusive with strong food and a big pool complex, and a quieter setting away from the resort strip suits you.
Maybe not for
You’re travelling with a baby or toddler and need step-free ground for a pushchair, a heated children’s pool or a calm sandy beach you can walk to.
Best ages
Three and up for the kids’ club. Under-threes are welcome but less catered for, with paid babysitting the only organised care.
What stands out
Staff that guests come back for year after year, a wide, well-liked buffet and a cliff-top infinity pool with sea views.
What to check
That the hotel has reopened after its 2026 refurbishment, and, for an off-season stay, whether the children’s pool is open and heated.
Where is it?
Playa Paraíso, a quiet clifftop spot in Costa Adeje on the south-west coast of Tenerife, about 20 to 35 minutes from Tenerife South airport.
Quick facts for families
What the resort is like
Where it sits at Playa Paraíso, how the cliff-built site is laid out and what getting around means with young children.
The hotel sits at Playa Paraíso, a quiet enclave in the wider Costa Adeje municipality on the south-west coast of Tenerife, set apart from the busy Costa Adeje and Las Américas strip a few miles down the coast. It's a large resort, though published room counts vary widely, from about 486 to 642, likely depending on whether an adjacent building is counted in, and the hotel's own site doesn't currently give a figure to settle it. Whatever the true total, it's spread over five floors and built into a cliff face, open since 2001. From up here you get the sea views and the calmer, family-and-returnee feel that guests come back for, though it also means the rooms, pools and restaurants sit across different levels of the cliff.
That layout is the thing families with a pushchair notice most. Getting between levels means steps or one of the small lifts, which guests describe as a tight squeeze for two adults with two pushchairs. Ramps and lifts are there, but they're awkwardly placed, so the site takes active route-planning with a buggy rather than being an easy flat walk. It's navigable, but not comfortable, which is worth weighing if a pushchair is your main way around. If that matters, ask for a lower-floor room close to the main pool when you book, to cut down on lift and stair use, and ask reception for the easiest route on arrival.
Because it sits apart from the strip, most of what's beyond the hotel is a taxi or shuttle away rather than on the doorstep. For the island itself, its beaches, driving and when to go, see our Tenerife guide.
Renovation and rebrand
The hotel closed on around 13 January 2026 for a full refurbishment and is projected to reopen on around 1 December 2026. These dates come from several sources and could still move, so treat the reopening as projected rather than fixed, and check operator availability as the practical sign that it's back open and taking bookings.
It reopens under a new name. Bahía Príncipe has retired its old "Sunlight" label and split its hotels into two tiers: Explore for families and Escape for adults. So the hotel that was Bahía Príncipe Sunlight Costa Adeje becomes Bahía Príncipe Explore Costa Adeje, and you'll find it under the old name at some tour operators during the changeover. One point stops a lot of confusion: this is the family hotel. The separate adults-only hotel next door, once Sunlight or Luxury Tenerife and now Bahía Príncipe Escape Tenerife, takes guests aged 16 and over and is a different property, so make sure you're booking "Costa Adeje" rather than "Tenerife".
The refurbishment matters because, before it, rooms were the resort's weak point: a good number of guests described them as dated and tired, and that condition is what the refurbishment was meant to address. Everything on this page describes the pre-closure hotel, so the rooms, restaurants, board basis and facilities may all change when it reopens. We've flagged where that's most likely to affect a booking.
Every restaurant and bar
The buffet and the two à la carte restaurants, how the app booking works and what the all-inclusive covers.
Food is one of the resort's strongest points in guest reviews. The all-inclusive covers the main buffet, both à la carte restaurants and the poolside snack bar, with no per-restaurant supplement. The table is the eating line-up; the notes after it are what it means for a family.
| Restaurant | Food and meals | Booking | Included |
|---|---|---|---|
| El Mirador | The main buffet, breakfast, lunch and dinner, with a wide choice, hot dishes and international options | Walk in | Yes |
| Portofino | Italian à la carte dinner | Reservation | Yes |
| Casa Bonita | Spanish dishes and grill, à la carte dinner | Reservation | Yes |
| El Puertito | Poolside snack bar for daytime eating, useful outside the main meal hours | Walk in | Yes |
El Mirador is the main buffet and the everyday hub for a family, open for breakfast, lunch and dinner with a wide choice, hot dishes and international options, and it takes no booking, so you walk in whenever a toddler's appetite arrives. Guests consistently praise the breadth, with vegetarian, gluten-free and diabetic options called out, and note the drinks aren't watered down and tipping isn't expected. Kids' menus are listed as available across the on-site restaurants. Set mealtimes weren't published before the refurbishment; all-inclusive hotels typically run breakfast from about 7.30am to 10.30am, lunch from 12.30pm to 2.30pm and dinner from 7pm to 10pm, so confirm the current times when you book.
For dinner out of the buffet there are two à la carte restaurants, both included in the all-inclusive rate. Portofino is the Italian, and Casa Bonita does Spanish dishes and grill. Both draw good mentions in reviews. Down at the pool, El Puertito is a snack bar for daytime eating, which is handy when a young child needs to eat outside the main meal hours.
The standard all-inclusive rate covers drinks at the resort's bars as well as with meals in the restaurants. If you want more than that, an All-Inclusive Plus tier adds branded spirits, a stocked minibar, Wi-Fi and preferred rooms. Beyond the main basis, the hotel also sold Half Board, Breakfast and Room Only rates. Board basis is one of the things most likely to change under the Explore brand, so check what's on offer when you book.
How the restaurant booking works
The buffet and the pool snack bar are walk-in. The two à la carte restaurants need a reservation, made through the hotel's app, and the timing matters: book them as soon as you arrive. Slots fill within a day or two and the restaurants can be booked out for the week, so guests who wait miss out. This app system was in place before the refurbishment and may change when the hotel reopens as Explore.
Rooms and suites
The two room types that matter for a family, then the pool complex and the rocky beach below.
For a family the choice comes down to two room types. The table lays them out; the point to hold onto is that a standard room isn't a full family room.
| Room type | What you get |
|---|---|
| Standard room | A double or twin that sleeps two adults plus one child on a foldaway or sofa bed. Not a full family room for two adults and two children without upgrading. Each has a balcony or terrace. |
| Junior Suite (about 45 m²) | A separate living area with a sofa bed for one or two children, so the roomiest on-site option for a family. Some have a hydromassage tub. Sources put the number at somewhere between 27 and 66, a small share of the hotel, so book early. |
A standard room, double or twin, sleeps two adults plus one child on a foldaway or sofa bed, so for two adults with two children the Junior Suite is the room to look at. At about 45 m² it has a separate living area with a sofa bed for one or two children, which gives you a door to close on a napping baby, and some have a hydromassage tub. Sources put the number of them at somewhere between 27 and 66, a small share of the hotel's total rooms, so book early. Whether connecting rooms are offered isn't confirmed, so ask your operator if you need two rooms side by side. Every room has a balcony or terrace, but rail heights and door locks aren't documented, so if you're travelling with a toddler who climbs, ask the hotel about balcony safety when you book.
On room condition, be led by the refurbishment. Before it, rooms were the most criticised part of the hotel, described as dated and tired, with mould reported on some bathroom ceilings, isolated reports of leaks and, in one ground-floor review, insects. That's the reason the hotel closed for a full refit, and the room types, sizes and layouts above may all change under the Explore brand, so treat them as the pre-refurbishment picture and confirm the current rooms with your operator.
Pools and water features
The pools and gardens are one of the resort's high points in reviews. The centrepiece is a cliff-top infinity pool that looks out to the neighbouring island of La Gomera, and there's a main pool with a shallow end reached by steps, an outdoor Jacuzzi and a children's pool described as a splash-in-the-shallows area. Sunbeds and parasols are included, and one guest noted beds were consistently free rather than reserved with towels.
Two things are worth knowing with young children. The main pool is reported to be heated from November to April, but the children's pool is reported unheated, both from guest accounts rather than the official site, so for a very young child in winter pack a rash vest or take a wetsuit. There's also a question over when the children's pool opens: one source describes it as running in summer only before the refurbishment, which isn't confirmed elsewhere. If you're booking October to April, confirm the children's pool is open and heated with the hotel before you travel rather than assuming it. The children's pool's depth, and whether it's fenced or has poolside lifeguard cover, aren't documented, so don't assume any of it, keep young children within arm’s reach and note that Spanish resorts aren’t required to have poolside lifeguards. Daytime pool sports such as water polo and aqua aerobics run in the main pool, which can clash with quieter toddler swimming. There are no water slides or a dedicated splash pad in the pre-refurbishment layout. The new Explore brand's own page describes "separate children's swimming pools" in the plural, which may mean more than one children's pool once the hotel reopens, but there's nothing more specific to go on yet, so check what's actually in place when you book.
The beach
The nearest beach is Playa Paraíso, also called Las Galgas, an 8 to 15 minute walk downhill from the hotel. It's a rocky cove bay: the sea entry is over stones, so water shoes are essential, and while the water is generally calm there's no lifeguard and local guides note occasional rip currents. It isn't the calm, sandy paddling beach that most families with a young toddler want. The walk down is described as downhill and may involve a cliff path with steps, and whether it's straightforward with a pushchair isn't clear, which fits the wider comments about getting around the site. A little further along the cliff-base promenade, Playa de Ajabo is about a mile away.
For a sandy, sheltered, lifeguarded family beach you travel: Playa de las Américas and Fañabé, around 12 km away, are the practical choice and where families with babies and toddlers tend to head for a calm sandy sea entry. You reach them by taxi, or Playa de las Américas by the free hotel shuttle, covered under getting around below.
Babies and toddlers
The kids’ club and where the age line falls, what there is for under-threes, the baby kit and sun and safety.
The kids' club is for children aged three to twelve, running roughly 10am to 3pm, with an evening mini disco on top. Before the refurbishment it was called Bahia Scouts; it's being renamed the IKATEN Kids Club, with a Guanche theme drawn from Tenerife's indigenous culture and pre-opening descriptions of play, creativity and nature activities. The confirmed ages and hours are from the pre-refurbishment programme, so check the new club's minimum age and times once the hotel reopens.
Under-threes aren't in the structured club. For a baby or toddler the only organised care is a paid babysitting service, which needs booking in advance. There's a single, uncorroborated mention that a younger child might join the club if a parent stays with them, but the confirmed position is a floor of age three, so treat any exception as unconfirmed and check with the hotel rather than relying on it. Beyond the mini disco there's no dedicated entertainment programme for the very youngest.
On baby kit, what's confirmed for this hotel is limited. Travel cots are available on request, and high chairs are listed as available. Other equipment that some Bahía Príncipe hotels advertise, such as sterilisers, bottle-warming stations, baby food on the buffet and a baby bath or changing mat, isn't confirmed for this property, so don't count on any of it: if your baby needs a particular item, ask the hotel to confirm it before you book.
Sun is the everyday thing to manage. Tenerife's UV is high all year and extreme from April to September, and the hotel's elevated clifftop position, with a sea breeze, can make it feel less intense than it is. Parasols and loungers are included and the gardens give some natural shade, but whether the children's pool area has structured shade isn't confirmed, so bring your own cover for a baby and get to the pool early for the shadier spots.
Things to do
Entertainment centres on the Bahía Príncipe Village square, a short walk from the hotel and shared with the adults-only property next door, with live shows, karaoke, a children's mini disco and a nightclub. It's a family-and-returnee resort rather than a party one, with a loyal base of guests who've come back for twenty years and more, so evenings are lively without being raucous. Reviews from the final weeks before the January 2026 closure noted quieter entertainment and fewer staff, but that reflects a hotel winding down for its refit rather than the normal standard or what to expect when it reopens.
Around the grounds, booking-site listings mention a games room, a playground and outdoor play equipment, alongside the pool sports covered above. There's no dedicated activity programme for under-threes, so for a baby or toddler the day is built around the pools, the gardens and family time rather than an organised club.
Off resortThe area and days out
Playa Paraíso is a quiet spot, so days out mean travelling, and the sandy family beaches at Los Cristianos, Playa de las Américas and Fañabé, around 12 km down the coast, are the most useful trip: calm, sheltered, lifeguarded sand for a proper paddle, reached by taxi or the free shuttle. Beyond the beaches, southern Tenerife has the island's big family days out within reach by car or excursion, from water parks and whale-watching boat trips to Mount Teide, Spain's highest mountain, and the harbour town of Los Cristianos. We cover those in depth, with drive times and what suits young children, in our Tenerife guide.
Loves and gripes
What families consistently rate and what they flag, then the journey in and when to go.
Before it closed, the hotel rated solidly across the booking sites: around 4.0 out of 5 on TripAdvisor from roughly 8,000-plus reviews, which put it #93 of 378 hotels in the Adeje area, about 8.5 out of 10 on Booking.com and 8.3 on Expedia. Those scores are from aggregators and reflect the pre-refurbishment hotel, so treat them as a rough steer rather than the last word, and look at recent reviews once it reopens. The patterns below are what came up again and again.
What families love
- The staff, the highest-rated part of the hotel at 9.2 out of 10 on Booking.com, and the reason many guests return.
- The buffet, praised for variety and quality, with vegetarian, gluten-free and diabetic options.
- The pool complex and gardens, and the cliff-top infinity pool with sea views.
- Cleanliness throughout the resort, rated 8.8 out of 10 on Booking.com.
- The all-inclusive value, with drinks that aren’t watered down and no expected tipping.
Common gripes
- The cliff-built site, with steps and small lifts that make it hard work with a pushchair.
- Dated, tired rooms before the refurbishment, the reason for the 2026 refit.
- The remote position, away from the resort strip and its beaches and restaurants.
- The à la carte booking, which fills for the week within a day or two.
- The children’s pool reported as unheated, and scattered reports of room noise and insulation.
Getting there and when to go
Tenerife South airport, also called Reina Sofía, is about 20 to 35 minutes from the hotel, roughly 13 to 19 miles (21 to 30 km); a private transfer or taxi is nearer 20 to 25 minutes, a shared coach with other stops up to 35. The hotel publishes no official transfer time and none is laid on automatically, so book a transfer or taxi ahead, and a private one is easiest with young children and luggage. UK tour operators including TUI, Jet2holidays, easyJet holidays, Thomas Cook, First Choice and loveholidays sell the hotel as a package, which carries ATOL protection and may bundle transfers; it was sold as Sunlight Costa Adeje before the refit and will be sold as Explore Costa Adeje after, so confirm with the operator that the hotel has reopened before you book.
Because Playa Paraíso sits apart from the strip, getting to the sandy beaches and the restaurants beyond the hotel means either a short taxi ride, around €12 to €15 each way and roughly €25 for the round trip (last checked June 2026), or the free hotel shuttle to Playa de las Américas. Reviewers found the shuttle infrequent and awkward with small children, and its timetable changes with the season, so check the current schedule at reception on arrival rather than counting on it as your beach plan.
On when to go, Tenerife is a year-round winter-sun island. October to April is the classic winter-sun window for UK families, with days around 22 to 27°C and little rain, though the UV stays significant and, off-season, the children's-pool question above applies. May to September is hotter, into the high twenties, with extreme UV and the busiest, priciest weeks. Whenever you go, the reopening is the thing to pin down first, since the hotel is closed for its refurbishment through 2026.
Weather
The figures below are for the south of Tenerife, where the resort sits. Tenerife is a big island with a real climate split: the north is cooler and cloudier, the south, where Costa Adeje is, drier and sunnier, so these south-coast numbers are the ones that apply here. The sea stays on the cool side for much of the year, which is why the heated pool matters in winter. The wet-days column below is the best guide to how little rain gets in the way of a stay, with most months seeing next to none.
| Month | Daytime high | Overnight low | Rain | Wet days | Sea temp |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 22° | 15° | 18 mm | 2 | 20° |
| February | 22.5° | 15° | 19 mm | 2 | 20° |
| March | 23° | 15.5° | 8 mm | 1 | 20° |
| April | 23.5° | 16° | 9 mm | 1 | 20° |
| May | 24.5° | 17.5° | 1 mm | 0 | 21° |
| June | 26° | 19° | 0 mm | 0 | 22° |
| July | 28° | 20.5° | 0 mm | 0 | 22° |
| August | 29° | 21.5° | 2 mm | 0 | 23° |
| September | 28° | 21° | 7 mm | 1 | 24° |
| October | 27.5° | 20° | 12 mm | 2 | 24° |
| November | 25° | 18.5° | 14 mm | 2 | 23° |
| December | 23.5° | 16.5° | 29 mm | 3 | 22° |
Typical monthly averages from weather-station records. Sea temperature is the open-water figure, so a sheltered bay can feel a degree or two warmer. The hotel is closed through 2026 and projected to reopen around December 2026, after which it is expected to run year-round as it did before.
Questions
The things families ask most, the official pages worth a look and when this guide was last updated.
Is the hotel open, and what’s it called now?
It’s closed for a full refurbishment through 2026 and is projected to reopen around December 2026 under a new name, Bahía Príncipe Explore Costa Adeje. Dates can slip, so check availability with a tour operator to confirm it has actually reopened before you book.
Is it manageable with a pushchair?
Not easily, and it’s the complaint families raise most. The hotel is built up a cliff face, so everyday trips between your room, the pools and the restaurants involve steps or a lift barely big enough for two adults and two pushchairs. It’s doable with planning, but if a pram is your main way around, weigh it against a flatter resort.
Is it a good winter-sun choice with a toddler?
On weather, yes: the island is dependable winter sun. The catch is resort-specific: the children’s pool is reported unheated and may run in summer only, so in the cooler months there may be nowhere warm for your youngest to splash. Confirm its status with the hotel before an off-season booking.
Can we get to a sandy beach easily?
No. The nearest coves are rocky with a stony sea entry, fine for a paddle in water shoes but not toddler sand. For a sandy, lifeguarded beach you’ll taxi or take the shuttle to Playa de las Américas, about 12 km away, so build in a short trip for proper beach days.
Do we need to book the à la carte restaurants?
Yes, and early. They’re included in the rate but reservation-only through the hotel app, and the best slots are gone within a day or two. Sort your bookings the moment you check in, or you may not get a table all week.
What childcare is there for a baby or toddler under three?
The organised club starts at three, so a baby or toddler under that isn’t catered for beyond paid babysitting, which you arrange and pay for on top. One unverified review mentions a younger child sitting in with a parent, but nothing confirms it, so don’t build your trip around it.
How long is the transfer from the airport?
Around 20 to 35 minutes from Tenerife South, depending on whether it’s a direct taxi or a coach doing several hotel stops. Nothing is laid on as standard, so arrange a transfer when you book. A private car is the least painful with a tired toddler and a boot full of bags.
Will the rooms and all-inclusive be the same when it reopens?
The board basis, room types and app-based restaurant booking described here reflect the hotel before its 2026 refurbishment and may change under the Explore brand. Confirm the current setup with your operator when you book.
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Useful links
- Bahía Príncipe Costa Adeje: the hotel's own site for rooms, board and the children's club as it reopens.
- GOV.UK Spain travel advice: entry rules and safety updates before you travel.
- Tenerife with little ones: our guide to the island, its beaches, days out and when to go.
Last updated 12 July 2026.
