Hotel Riu Buenavista
Hotel Riu Buenavista is a four-star, 24-hour all-inclusive hotel on the hillside at Playa Paraíso, on the quieter south-west coast of Tenerife in the Canary Islands. It is a large family resort under RIU's Fun4All banner, with six pools and a children's water area, a kids' club, all-day and evening entertainment and a weekly party night, all folded into one price with a wristband.
On this page
Is it worth it?
Who Buenavista suits, what's in the price and the facts to skim first.
Hotel Riu Buenavista is a large, value-led family hotel built around its pools and its entertainment: six pools including a children's area with slides, a kids' club, daytime and evening shows and a weekly party night, with meals, snacks and drinks covered through the day and overnight on the 24-hour all-inclusive board. Families rate it highly for the pools, the cleanliness and what you get for the money, especially set against the pricier hotels nearby.
Two things shape who it suits. There is no supervised childcare for children under four here, so babies and young toddlers stay with you unless you pay for a babysitter, and the dining is all buffet, including the three themed restaurants, so it isn't the place for proper à la carte dinners. The site is on a hillside rather than flat ground, the walk between the rooms, the pools and the sea isn't level, and the local beaches are small volcanic coves a few hundred metres away rather than sand at the door, so the heated pools are the day-to-day water for little ones. You'll get the most from it if you want a big pool offer, flexible all-inclusive food and lively evenings at a fair price, and least if you need staffed care for a baby, a quiet resort every night or a sandy beach on the doorstep.
Best for
You want six pools and a children's water area, all-day all-inclusive food and lively entertainment and strong value against the pricier hotels nearby.
Maybe not for
You need staffed childcare for a baby or toddler under four, you want proper à la carte dinners, a quiet resort every evening or sand at your door.
Best ages
Four and up get the most from the kids' club and pools. Babies and under-fours are welcome, but there's no supervised childcare for them beyond paid babysitting.
What stands out
Six pools with a fenced children's area, the cleanliness guests single out and overnight snacks and drinks at the 24-hour lobby bar.
What to check
Whether your dates need staffed under-four childcare, and that a hillside site and pebbly local coves suit how you'll get around.
Where is it?
On the hillside at Playa Paraíso, Adeje, on Tenerife's south-west coast, about 17 miles (27 km) from Tenerife South airport.
Quick facts for families
What the resort is like
Where Buenavista sits, how it's laid out and the one thing to plan around.
Buenavista is a single nine-storey tower of 542 rooms, set in about 11,000m² of gardens on the hillside at Playa Paraíso. There are nine lifts and, since a full refurbishment in 2020, no garden villas: virtually every room is in the one main building. It opened in 2004 and RIU has run it since 2008. The 2020 work built the pool area and children's area you see now, added the Asian and Italian themed restaurants, a poolside grill, a new lobby bar, the gym and RiuFit space and a beach volleyball court. The same refurbishment removed the tennis and paddle court, the billiards room and the beauty and massage salon, so there is no spa or wellness treatment here now.
It sits firmly in RIU's Fun4All family bracket: 24-hour all-inclusive food and drink, a full daytime and evening entertainment programme, a children's water area and kids' club and a weekly RIU Party themed night that recent guests report falls on a Friday. How lively that feels is a mixed picture. It is a big resort with distance between the party areas and many of the rooms, and plenty of guests describe finding quiet corners, while the party nights and some evening entertainment are called loud by others. A family that asks about room position relative to the pool and entertainment areas is likely to get a calmer stay; a light-sleeping toddler napping near the main pool deck, or on a party evening, is the one most likely to notice.
The one thing to plan around is the ground. This is a hillside site, not flat. RIU's own information marks the surroundings as hilly rather than level, and the walk between the hotel, the pools and the sea runs up and down slopes. The paths and streets are paved, but pushing a pram or a wheelchair here is real work in places, more so than at a flat resort.
Inside, the hotel is well set up for wheelchair users: 12 adapted rooms of 30m² on the fourth floor with roll-in showers and grab rails, lift doors 78cm wide and a pool lift on request. One guest travelling with a wheelchair-using husband rated it the most barrier-free hotel they had stayed in. The gap is outside, where there is no step-free, paved route down to the beach or into the sea, so a family relying on wheels for beach access shouldn't expect to reach the water without help. Cleanliness is the thing guests praise most consistently, with rooms described as spotless and maid service as prompt, and the staff come in for steady praise for being friendly and helpful.
Every restaurant and bar
The board, all four restaurants, the poolside grill, the three bars and what the food is like.
Buenavista runs on one board only, RIU's 24-hour all-inclusive. All your meals, snacks and domestic-brand drinks, soft and alcoholic, are included at each venue during its own opening hours, and you wear a wristband as your ID. The 24-hour part is the lobby bar, which keeps snacks and drinks going overnight rather than every restaurant staying open round the clock, which is useful when a toddler's mealtimes don't follow the buffet.
The restaurant you'll use most is Yaiza, the main international buffet: breakfast, lunch and dinner with live cooking stations and a themed buffet twice a week, no booking needed. Roughly breakfast 08:00 to 10:30, lunch 13:00 to 15:00 and dinner 18:30 to 21:30, opening and closing half an hour earlier in winter.
Three further restaurants take a reservation and run dinner in two sittings, 19:00 to 20:30 or 21:00 to 22:30. Mandalay is the Asian one, with sushi, wok dishes and rice, which guests describe as leaning Chinese. Dolce Vita is the Italian, with fresh pasta and pizza. Atlántico is the Spanish, sea-view and poolside: it serves a tapas-and-paella lunch buffet from 12:00 to 15:30 and switches to a grill in the evening.
Pepe's Food is the poolside grill and the drop-in option, no booking: continental breakfast 10:30 to 12:00, grill 12:00 to 16:00 and a snack 16:00 to 18:30. It is the daytime food you can wander up to without planning around a sitting.
For drinks there are three more bars. The lobby bar is the 24-hour one. The lounge bar opens on its terrace from 18:00 to 23:00. La Gomera, named after the island you can see from the resort, is the poolside bar, 11:00 to 18:00.
There is no true à la carte dining here, which is worth knowing before you book. Every venue, including the three themed restaurants, runs a buffet, and guests repeatedly say the themed ones feel like smaller extensions of the main buffet rather than proper sit-down restaurants, with the main buffet often the better bet. The upside for families is that the food is pitched to please children, so young or fussy eaters are well catered for. Dinner asks only for appropriate attire, with no strict dress code. If anyone in your family needs vegan, coeliac or allergy catering, contact the hotel directly before you book.
Rooms, every type
Every room category with its official size, then which suit a family with a baby or toddler.
There are six room categories, from standard doubles up to a two-bedroom family room with its own living room. Most of the 542 rooms are doubles; the family rooms are a subset, not the whole hotel. The table below is the full line-up with the official sizes; the guidance after it is which suit a family.
| Room | Size | Sleeps | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Double Standard | 25m² | 2 | Balcony or terrace and a shower; 46 of these are on the ground floor. |
| Double Room sea view | 25m² | 2 | Sea view, balcony or terrace and a shower. |
| Double Room Accessible | 30m² | 2 | Adapted, with a roll-in shower and grab rails. 12 rooms, all on the fourth floor. |
| Family Room | 40m² | Up to ~4 | One bedroom with a sitting area and a sofa bed. |
| Family Room, 2 bedrooms | 52m² | Up to ~6 | Two bedrooms and one shower bathroom. |
| Family Room, 2 bedrooms with living room | 67m² | Up to ~6 | Two bedrooms, a separate living room and two shower bathrooms. |
The sizes are the official figures. The sleeps column is a guide rather than an official maximum, so confirm the numbers when you book. For a family the choice is really about how much separation you want at bedtime. The one-bedroom Family Room at 40m² gives you a bedroom plus a sofa bed in a sitting area. The two-bedroom rooms at 52m² put the children in their own room, and the largest, the 67m² version, adds a separate living room and a second bathroom, which is the most private option for putting a baby or toddler down while the evening carries on. Among the doubles, the 46 ground-floor Double Standard rooms are worth knowing about if you would rather avoid lifts with a pram.
Every room has a shower, hairdryer, phone, WiFi, air conditioning or a ceiling fan, a small fridge and an in-room safe that is free to use, which some Spanish all-inclusives charge for. Cots are free on request in any room, and high chairs are free on request too, subject to availability. Babysitting is available on request for a charge.
Pools and water features
There are six pools spread across the resort, which is the feature guests single out most after the cleanliness. The sea-view infinity pool is 298m². Two general swimming pools are 337m² and 299m², and one of those two is set aside for adults during family hours. A smaller 153m² pool is used for aqua gym and similar activities. For children there is a 135m² children's pool with slides, fenced and with swings and a slide on the deck outside the water, which makes it easier to keep an eye on a toddler exploring nearby, and a 12m² baby pool.
Several of the pools, including the children's and baby pools, are said to be heated through the winter, with the sea-view infinity pool the one that isn't. That heating detail comes from RIU's 2022 fact sheet and hasn't been reconfirmed on the current live site, so confirm it when you book if a winter trip depends on warm pools. No pool depths are published, so picture shallow water rather than anything deep. Sun terraces, loungers, parasols and pool towels are all included; as at most big resorts, loungers get claimed with towels early on busy mornings.
Getting to the pool deck is step-free, but getting into the water isn't: entry is by a four-step ladder with a handrail, or a pool lift on request.
The beach
The hotel is billed as beachfront, but in practice the sea is a short walk away rather than at the door, and the local beaches are small. Playa Paraíso's own beach is about 200m away, a run of small pebble-and-sand coves with rocky headlands. Playa de las Galgas, about 500m away, is a natural black-sand-and-pebble cove roughly 90m long, with larger stones near the shoreline at low tide, so water shoes help; there are no bars, sunbeds or toilets there.
None of the immediate beaches carry a Blue Flag, and there is no long sandy stretch on the doorstep. The nearest proper sandy, lifeguarded beach is the man-made Playa del Duque at Costa Adeje, about 6 miles (10 km) away, where sunloungers and parasols cost extra. For day-to-day water with little ones, the resort's own heated pools are the more practical option than the coves, with a taxi or the bus needed to reach proper sand.
Babies and toddlers
The kids' club and the age it starts, the baby kit that's here, then everything to do and the days out beyond the gate.
The kids' club here is RiuLand, split into two age groups, 4 to 7 and 8 to 12, free and running every day. Its activities mix physical and outdoor games with arts and crafts around RIU's mascot, Calú the turtle. Check the daily hours and whether it's drop-off at reception when you arrive.
The key thing to weigh with a baby or young toddler is that RiuLand starts at four, and there is no baby club or supervised childcare for under-fours at this hotel. The only route to childcare for a younger child, or outside club hours, is babysitting, which is on request for a charge. If staffed care for a baby is a priority, that is the point to check against other hotels in the area, covered in how it compares below.
The practical baby kit is here. Cots and high chairs are free on request, and the kitchens will heat baby food and provide hot water. There is a children's playground on site at no charge, and the fenced children's pool with slides and the small baby pool give little ones their own water. Two things to note. The gym is for ages 16 and over, so you can't take a toddler in while you exercise, and there is no spa, massage or beauty service at the hotel since it was removed in 2020, so don't count on wellness time here.
On resortThings to do
Most of what's on is included. There is a gym (ages 16 and up, sports shoes required) and RiuFit group fitness classes in their own area, a multipurpose sports pitch for football and volleyball and a beach volleyball court added in 2020. A daytime entertainment programme for adults runs seven days a week, with live music and shows every evening, and the weekly RIU Party is the big themed night, usually on a Friday according to recent guests. RiuLand and the children's playground cover the younger ones.
A few things cost extra or sit off-site. RiuArt, a creative and art workshop, runs six days a week for a charge. Golf is about 5 miles (8 km) away through an outside provider, and scuba diving is nearby, also external and paid. Since the 2020 refurbishment there is no tennis or paddle court and no spa, so if either matters, look elsewhere in the area. RIU also notes it has no connection with any parasailing or watersports sellers marketed nearby.
Off resortThe area and days out
Playa Paraíso is a small, quiet resort pocket on Tenerife's south-west coast, between Costa Adeje about 6 miles (10 km) away and Playa de las Américas about 9 miles (15 km) away. It doesn't have a big promenade or a wide choice of independent restaurants and shops. Day-to-day essentials are close, though: a chemist about 300m, a shopping centre about 500m, a bank about 1km and a bus stop about 300m, with the nearest hospital, a private one, about 9 miles (15 km) away.
For the fuller range you'll want transport. A public bus runs roughly every half hour from near the hotel toward the Costa Adeje, Los Cristianos and Las Américas corridor. Guests also describe a free hotel shuttle to Costa Adeje and Las Américas that you book the evening before at reception. Times change, so confirm them when you check in. Taxis are available too.
Siam Park, the big water park, is about 7 miles (11 km) away, an 11 to 13 minute drive, and not walkable despite what some listings claim. The hotel is a pickup point on Siam Park's own bus, but that runs Thursday and Sunday only and is bundled into a paid park ticket rather than being a free daily shuttle. Costa Adeje is the area's main hub for shopping, dining and the promenade, and Loro Parque and Teide National Park are the standard Tenerife day trips from here, each a drive or an organised excursion.
Loves and gripes
What guests rate and what frustrated them, the scores across the review sites, how it stacks up nearby, the journey in and the weather by month.
What families love, and the gripes
What families love
- The cleanliness, spotless rooms and prompt maid service.
- Friendly, helpful staff.
- The pools, for their scale and quality.
- The value for money against pricier hotels nearby.
- Overnight snacks and drinks at the 24-hour lobby bar, handy for odd toddler mealtimes.
- Comfortable rooms: air conditioning and a ceiling fan, free large water bottles, a well-stocked fridge.
- Barrier-free access inside for wheelchair users.
- The RIU Party and entertainment, for guests who want it.
Common gripes
- No true à la carte dining; the themed restaurants are buffet extensions of the main one.
- Isolated without a car, with a longer airport transfer.
- Evening entertainment outside the party night can be hit-and-miss or end early, with little for children.
- Noise on party nights and from the livelier areas.
- Loungers claimed early with towels in busy periods.
- The hillside terrain, hard work with a pram or wheelchair.
- No spa, beauty or tennis since 2020.
- Buffet food sometimes lukewarm, with limited variety at times.
- Parking is a paid daily extra.
Guests rate it consistently well. TripAdvisor scores it 4.0 out of 5, from in the region of 7,000 or more reviews, and Google reviews, gathered by a third-party tracker rather than pulled from Google directly, land close by at 4.4 out of 5 from around 9,000 reviews. Booking.com sits higher again on its own ten-point scale, at 8.7 out of 10 with the site's "Guests' Choice" badge and a ranking of 27th of 63 hotels in Adeje; guests mark staff highest of the sub-scores at 9.3, cleanliness and comfort both at 9.2, facilities at 9.0, location at 8.7 and value for money at 8.5, with WiFi the lowest at 8.1. Cleanliness and staff are the strongest theme across every platform, which matches the guest quotes elsewhere in this guide.
Against nearby hotelsHow it compares
The nearby hotels in this part of Tenerife split mainly on childcare for the very youngest. The Hard Rock Hotel Tenerife, in the same Playa Paraíso area, has Club Lullaby, a paid crèche from six months with qualified staff; it is louder and more entertainment-led throughout. Buenavista is the better-value, calmer-by-default choice if you can work around one loud night a week, but it has no staffed care under four. The five-star Roca Nivaria Gran Hotel, also in the area, goes further still with a complimentary staffed Baby Club for ages 10 months to three years, running daily from 10:00 to 13:00 and 15:00 to 18:00 and booked a day ahead; it is pricier, with beach access by lift. Buenavista is the much better-value four-star in the same small resort area, on similar hillside ground, but again without any staffed under-four care.
Further afield at Golf del Sur, Bahia Principe Explore Fantasia is purpose-built for families with a bigger water park and sits far closer to the airport, about 6 miles (9 km) against Buenavista's 17 miles (27 km). It also has no childcare below age three, so on babies the two are similarly limited; Buenavista is closer to the Costa Adeje strip and better value.
From the airportGetting there and when to go
You fly into Tenerife South (Reina Sofía), about 17 miles (27 km) away and roughly 30 to 40 minutes by road, a longer transfer than many south-coast resorts. There is no minimum stay. Once you are there, the half-hourly public bus and taxis connect you to Costa Adeje and Las Américas, with guests also describing a free hotel shuttle you book the evening before at reception, and the hotel has an underground car park for a daily charge, worth reserving, with some free street parking outside. The hotel is open all year.
A few practicalities help with a baby or toddler. Check-in is from 15:00 and check-out by noon, so an early-landing family may have a wait before the room is ready. Reception is staffed 24 hours, with Spanish, English, German, French and Italian spoken, which helps if you need to flag an allergy or a childcare request at any hour. A doctor's visit can be arranged at the hotel for a charge if a child falls ill, separate from the nearest private hospital about 9 miles (15 km) away. The hotel is non-smoking throughout. Sockets are the EU two-pin type at 220V, so bring a UK adaptor for a steriliser or bottle warmer. The euro is the currency, with exchange and the main cards accepted, and a laundry service is available for a charge, useful on a longer stay with a baby. Pets aren't allowed.
When to goWeather
Playa Paraíso sits in Tenerife's dry, warm south-west, so the figures below are the destination's south-coast averages. May and June and late September into October are warm without the peak-summer heat, which suits a baby or toddler. July and August are hottest, with warm humid nights that are harder on little ones. February half-term brings mild sun around 21°C but the coolest sea of the year at about 19°C, though several of the resort's pools are said to be heated through winter, per RIU's 2022 fact sheet and not reconfirmed on the current live site, so check it if a winter trip depends on warm pools. UV is strong all year, so high-factor cream, hats, UV swimwear and shade matter every month, and babies under six months are best kept out of direct sun. A calima, an occasional hot dusty wind off the Sahara most likely between January and April, can affect the air a couple of times a year, worth knowing if a child has asthma.
| 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 open all year round.
Questions
The things families ask most, the official pages worth a bookmark and when this guide was last refreshed.
Is there childcare for a baby or toddler under four?
Not supervised, no. RiuLand starts at four, so a younger child stays with you unless you book babysitting, which is on request for a charge. If you specifically want staffed sessions for a baby, the Hard Rock Hotel Tenerife and Roca Nivaria nearby offer them, so weigh those against Buenavista's lower price.
Are there proper à la carte restaurants?
No, there's no à la carte dining at all. Even the three restaurants you reserve run a buffet, so book them for a change of scene rather than a different style of meal.
How hard is it with a pram?
The site is on a hill, and the walk between the rooms, the pools and the sea runs up and down slopes, so a pram is more effort here than at a flat resort. If lifts with a pram put you off, ask about the 46 ground-floor Double Standard rooms when you book.
Can we walk to Siam Park?
No, despite what some listings say. It is about 7 miles (11 km), an 11 to 13 minute drive. The hotel is a pickup point on Siam Park's own bus, but that runs Thursday and Sunday only and is bundled into a paid park ticket, so plan a taxi or hire car for other days.
Is there a shuttle into Costa Adeje?
Guests describe a free hotel shuttle you book the evening before at reception. Check the times and how to book when you arrive, and note a public bus also runs roughly every half hour from near the hotel.
Are the pools heated in winter?
Several are said to be, including the children's and baby pools, with the sea-view infinity pool the exception. That comes from RIU's 2022 fact sheet rather than the current live site, so confirm it when you book if a winter trip depends on warm pools.
Is there a minimum stay?
There's no minimum stay, so short breaks work as well as full weeks.
Can they heat baby food?
Yes. The kitchens will heat baby food and provide hot water on request, and with free cots and high chairs too you can leave the travel versions at home.
Hotel Riu Buenavista photos
Open the Hotel Riu Buenavista photo gallery →Useful links
- Hotel Riu Buenavista: the hotel's own site for rooms, the all-inclusive terms and current offers.
- GOV.UK Spain travel advice: entry rules and safety updates before you travel.
- Tenerife with little ones: our guide to the island, its beaches and when to go.
Last updated 16 July 2026.
