Rath checks in – Bahia del Duque

Colorful days. Mild, starry nights. Fiery gazpacho and extroverted flamenco evenings – these positive attributes quickly come to mind when I think of the Canary Islands. On Tenerife, the largest and probably also the most popular island in the Canary Islands, I discovered a place that transports exactly this joyful feeling.

The Bahia del Duque is a dream. At least this piece of land, including today’s hotel complex, was once the dream of a group of entrepreneurs who wanted to set standards in luxury hotel business in the 1990s. They succeeded on the 100,000 square meter site in the south of the island.

I’m surprised to find, instead of one of the local hotel complexes, I find a property that looks more like a local village than a resort. Architect Andres Pineiro designed the resort with 19 self-contained houses offering luxurious, if somewhat dated, accommodation.