MULTILINGUAL FAMILY
IN LONDON

In September 2025, we did our first trip to Tenerife.

I had never really been drawn to all-inclusive resort holidays, but so many of our friends with young children spoke highly of them that we decided it was finally time to give one a try. My husband loves swimming, our daughter is happiest in the water, and I figured that as long as they had a pool, we could not go too far wrong.

After looking at various options, we settled on Bahia Principe Fantasia Tenerife. Two families we knew had stayed there, and both recommended it, so rather than spending weeks comparing dozens of resorts, we happily took their advice.

One of the resort’s standout features is its iconic castle. If you’re travelling with young children—especially girls—it’s likely to leave a lasting impression from the moment you arrive.

We flew to Tenerife during the first week of September, just before the school holidays had fully ended. Our daughter was joining her school nursery, with the new term starting in the second week of September, so it felt like the perfect opportunity for one last family holiday before term began.

We had hoped travelling just outside the peak summer season would mean fewer crowds, and it turned out to be a great time to visit. The resort was lively enough to have a proper holiday atmosphere, but it never felt overcrowded. The weather could hardly have been better. It was warm without being unbearably hot, while the sun was still strong enough to leave us with a lovely holiday tan.

Rooms

The resort offers several room categories, from standard Superior Rooms and Junior Suites to larger Family Master Suites. We booked a Family Master Suite, which was spacious and worked well for the three of us.

A few days before arrival, we were invited to use the Bahia Principe app, which allows guests to complete online check-in and reserve à la carte restaurants and evening shows in advance.

The app also lets you submit room preferences, although the final room allocation still depends on availability. We had hoped for a room overlooking the castle or pools, but unfortunately ours faced the car park instead. We asked whether it would be possible to move, but the hotel was fully booked. Although they couldn’t change our room, they kindly offered us complimentary tickets to one of the evening shows, which we though was a thoughtful gesture. (One evening show was already included with our stay, and we never actually used the extra tickets—I’ll come back to that later.)

(The room layout was identical to ours, but our view was of the car park rather than the castle.)

The view aside, we were very happy with the room itself. It was surprisingly spacious, and one of the reasons we chose the Family Master Suite was its semi-separated sleeping area. Rather than having all the beds in one open space, the partition gave us a little extra privacy. We always prefer some separation when travelling as a family, as my husband’s snoring has an unfortunate habit of waking our daughter if we all sleep in the same room!

Some guests recommend requesting rooms closer to certain pools of your preference, for instance the children’s pool if you’re travelling with young children, or the adults-only infinity pool. Ours was not particularly convenient to get to the children’s pool, but being slightly away from the busier pool areas—and overlooking the car park(!)—meant it was wonderfully quiet, especially in the evenings. We never found the extra walk to be a problem.

Food

Food seems to be one of the aspects of this resort that divides opinions. Before our trip, we came across reviews ranging from excellent to disappointing. In the end, we were quite pleased.

No, it wasn’t fine dining or what I would expect from a luxury five-star hotel, but the quality was perfectly good for an all-inclusive resort. The variety was impressive. During our five-night stay, we never felt the buffet became too repetitive. There was a good selection of cuisines, including Spanish, Italian, Asian and Mexican dishes.

Depending on the length of your stay, your package includes a certain number of meals at the resort’s à la carte restaurants. Ours included one reservation, and we chose the Asian restaurant, Nemuru. We all enjoyed it, although the buffet remained our go-to for most meals.

The snack bars rest by the pool also turned out to be a pleasant surprise. Our unexpected favourite was the chicken burger at Dreams Factory, and I am fairly sure we had one or two almost every day. The salad bar was another highlight, especially for our daughter, who discovered a new favourite combination of cucumber, tuna and sweetcorn.

Swimming Pools

Bahia Principe Fantasia Tenerife has seven swimming pools, so there was always somewhere different to spend the day.

We assumed the splash park would be our daughter’s favourite. As it turned out, our three-year-old was not particularly keen on the water jets, especially when older children were running around. Instead, she much preferred swimming in the larger pools with her dad. We ended up alternating between our two favourite pools, depending on how busy they were and where the sunshine was. As the sun moved throughout the day, some pools felt noticeably warmer than others.

The resort also organises plenty of pool activities, including aqua gym, water volleyball, foam parties, and family games. There’s no need to book—just turn up at the advertised time and join in.

One of the most popular activities was the floating foam mat challenge, known as the “Magic Carpet.”

One question I often see online is whether you can bring your own inflatables. From what we saw, children’s swim aids and smaller inflatables were widely used. Large novelty floats, however, appeared to be restricted in the busier pools.

Our daughter was able to use the car-shaped inflatable, although she soon declared it was “for babies”(!) and lost interest.

We stayed for 5 days without leaving the resort, and for us, that felt about right. By the third day, spending most of the day by the pool was beginning to feel a little repetitive and exhausting, especially for me, as someone who isn’t much of a swimmer.

Kids’ programme

The resort offers a wide range of supervised activities for children, giving them the chance to make new friends while parents enjoy a little time to themselves. Activities include crafts, cooking workshops, games, sports, mini discos and other themed sessions throughout the day.

At the time of our visit, younger children could also take part in some activities if accompanied by a parent. (I’d recommend checking the latest age policy before your trip, as it has changed over time.)

Unfortunately, we didn’t make much use of the programme. Our daughter wasn’t yet comfortable staying on her own with people she didn’t know. She has always been a little shy in groups and is much more confident once she gets to know other children—or when one of us is with her.

We did join a slime-making workshop together, as well as the mini disco party for younger children in front of the castle. After that, we decided not to encourage her to join any more sessions. We didn’t want to pressure her and preferred to let her enjoy the holiday in her own way.

We would have loved for her to enjoy the activities independently, especially after hearing how much our family friends’ daughter enjoyed them, but every child is different. At three years old, she still wanted to spend most of her holiday with Mum and Dad—and, before we know it, there will probably come a day when she’d rather be off making friends than hanging around with us!

Shows & Entertainments

Again, depending on the length of your stay, a certain number of evening shows are included. We stayed for four nights, which included one complimentary show. As mentioned earlier, as a goodwill gesture after we were unable to change rooms, the hotel also gave us tickets to a second show.

With a three-year-old, we chose Toy Circus, assuming it would be the most child-friendly option after reading reviews online.

The production itself was excellent. The performers were incredibly talented, and it felt more like a professional theatre show than typical hotel entertainment.

However, it wasn’t quite what we had expected for a preschooler. Some of the acrobatic performances felt rather dramatic and intense. We noticed one family leaving shortly after the show began.

We stayed a little longer, but eventually decided to leave as well. One aerial performance that appeared to involve the performer dangling by her hair felt, at least in our opinion, a little too intense for our three-year-old. I am generally not particularly strict about what my daughter watches, whether it’s films or performances, but seeing something like that live felt rather different.

Looking back, our expectation may simply have been a little different. We had focused on the word Toy, but at the end of the day, it was still a circus show, and the performances reflected that.

I suspect the show is better suited to slightly older children than preschoolers, although every child is different.

I also noticed that the resort introduced a new production, Toy Circus 2, in late 2025. It’s possible that the current version is slightly different from the one we watched.

After that experience, we decided not to use our complimentary tickets for the second show. We had read that Toy Circus was generally considered the best choice for younger children, so we felt the other productions were unlikely to be a better fir for our daughter.

Wind, Bugs & Other Practicalities

Tenerife is well known for its year-round sunshine, but also for its windy conditions and, occasionally, cockcroaches.

The wind was certainly noticeable during our stay in early September. As we were travelling just after the peak summer season, the breeze occasionally made it feel cool, particularly in the evenings. During the day, however, it was actually quite welcome, and it never stopped us from swimming or spending time by the pool.

Another thing I came across repeatedly while researching Tenerife was the mention of cockroaches, particularly in hotel reviews. Fortunately, we didn’t encounter a single one during our stay at Bahia Principe Fantasia Tenerife.

Exploring Tenerife

We barely left the resort during our stay.

As this was our first all-inclusive holiday, we wanted to make the most of everything the resort had to offer rather than spending our days out sightseeing. At the same time, Bahia Principe Fantasia Tenerife is located in the south of the island, while many of Tenerife’s best-known attractions are further north or on the opposite side of the island. Although nowhere is particularly far by car, visiting places such as Loro Parque, Teide National Park, or Santa Cruz de Tenerife would have taken up a good portion of the day.

The island’s other major attraction, Siam Park, is much closer—only around 20 minutes away by car—and would have been an easy trip if we’d wanted one.

In the end, we decided not to rush around trying to see everything. We had a feeling Tenerife was somewhere we’d happily return to, so we were content to save the rest of the island for another visit.

Tips

1. Join the Facebook group before you travel

The resort has a very active Facebook group called Fantasia Bahia Principe Tenerife Chat, and it’s full of useful advice from previous and current guests.

It’s also worth checking if you’ve forgotten to pack something before buying a replacement. Many families give away items they no longer need before flying home, such as children’s swim aids, inflatables, swim nappies and beach toys.

2. Sunbeds fill up quickly

Many guests reserve their sunbeds early in the morning. If you have a particularly pool or spot in mind, it’s worth heading out early.

3. Bring swim shoes

Before travelling, I had read several reviews saying the poolside tiles were slippery. Personally, I didn’t find them excessively so, but I was also being extremely careful because of those reviews. I did see a few children slip during our stay, so I’d still recommend bringing swim shoes or swim socks, especially for younger children.

4. Take advantage of the resort photographers

Professional photographers wander around the pools and gardens throughout the day, and there’s no charge for having your photos taken. You only pay if you decide to buy the photographs afterwards. If you’d like something a little more special, you can also book a dedicated photo session.

We booked an evening session when the pools were quieter and took family photos around the castle and gardens. It turned out to be one of our favourite souvenirs from the trip.

That said, you’ll still be able to take lovely photos yourself, as the castle provides a beautiful backdrop almost everywhere in the resort. However, if you don’t want to carry your phone around the pools all day, or simply want to be in the photos together as a family, using the resort photographers is a great option.

5. You can display a message on the castle

For birthdays, anniversaries and other special occasions, the resort offers personalised messages projected onto the castle in the evening. We didn’t try it ourselves, but saw several families doing it during our stay. From what I’ve read, it costs around €30-40 for a five-minute display.

Final thoughts

Overall, we had a fantastic stay at Bahia Principe Fantasia Tenerife and would happily recommend it to families with young children. The resort is well designed for families, with plenty of pools, activities and entertainment to keep children busy throughout the day, while still offering enough opportunities for parents to relax.

Like any holiday, it wasn’t perfect. There were a few small things we would have done differently, and some aspects may not suit every family. However, these were far outweighed by the positives.

I hope our experience and tips help you make the most of your own holiday—and that your family creates just as many wonderful memories as ours did!