Hotel Hacienda de Abajo-Adults Only-Lujo

English and Spanish are spoken by the hotel team, so you can deal with the practicalities of a dive trip without resorting to hand signals. Hotel Hacienda de Abajo is an adults-only address for guests aged 16 and over, with individually decorated rooms set inside a historic hacienda in Tazacorte.

The mood is more old house than purpose-built beach resort: gardens, terraces, a chapel or shrine, and rooms with their own character rather than a row of identical boxes. You also get free access to the spa, which is useful when your shoulders have had enough of carrying kit and your legs have had enough of fins.

This is a good fit if your ideal evening involves a proper meal, a swim in warm water, a sauna and a quiet room rather than a timetable of organised entertainment. The adults-only rule keeps the brief clear.

You are in the historic centre of Tazacorte, on La Palma, rather than directly on the shoreline. Puerto de Tazacorte Beach is about 1.2 miles away on foot, or around 1.4 miles by car. That is close enough for a beach visit, but not the sort of distance where you wander down in full dive gear and expect to be back before lunch.

The immediate area is useful for an evening on foot. Cafetería Churrería Adrinere and Pizzeria La Locanda are about 550 yards away, while Venezia is around 1,150 yards from the hotel. Bar Gorgonia is roughly 550 yards away, with Bar Baganete about 0.4 miles away and Bar San Borondon around 0.8 miles away.

For a day away from the coast, Parque Conrado Hernández is about 2.3 miles away on foot, and Caldera de Taburiente National Park is around 7 miles by car. La Palma Airport is 17 miles away; the drive takes roughly half an hour to 45 minutes, depending on the route and traffic. Santa Cruz de La Palma is also around 45 minutes by car, with ferry connections to other islands.

The room choice is really a question of how much space you want around two people, not how many divers you can squeeze into a family category: children are not accepted, and cots or extra beds are not available. The Junior Suite gives you more room to spread out, while the Suite is the one to choose when you want the night to feel properly unhurried. For a couple who simply want a comfortable base, the Premium Double Room keeps things more straightforward, with a king-size bed.

Every room has air conditioning, free WiFi, a flat-screen multimedia television, a telephone compatible with MP3 players and iPhones, and a private bathroom with a bathrobe and complimentary toiletries. A daily refill of mineral water and soft drinks is included with the minibar. Juice, beer and snacks are also available in the room at an extra charge, which may save a tired trip outside when the post-dive hunger arrives late.

Bathrooms include a bath or shower, and selected categories have a bath as part of the room specification. Daily housekeeping keeps the practical side ticking over. There is also room service, a desk, a wardrobe and an alarm clock, so the room works for both proper downtime and the early start that somebody always insists is necessary.

The main dining room, El Sitio, serves breakfast, lunch and dinner on a terrace with views towards the Atlantic. Its cooking is Canarian, with international influences folded in rather than presented as a museum piece of local dishes. That gives you a more substantial option than a snack bar when you return hungry and would rather sit down properly.

La Salita is the more relaxed terrace, beneath Balinese umbrellas, and serves breakfast, lunch and dinner with a tapas-led menu. Breakfast is a buffet, and breakfast in the room is also available if your morning starts before conversation becomes desirable. There is a snack bar, a coffee house and a bar on site, although no separate bar list is given.

For dinner, El Sitio Viewpoint occupies the tower of the old hacienda and serves an evening meal indoors. The wine list runs to more than 50 international references, with particular attention to wines from the Canary Islands and La Palma. The hotel also puts you within a short walk of several bars and restaurants in Tazacorte, so you can change the scenery without arranging transport.

The heated outdoor pool sits among an exotic botanical garden and stays open around the clock. Add sun loungers, umbrellas, outdoor furniture and terraces, and you have a straightforward place to spend the afternoon without needing to invent an activity. A swim at an unusual hour is available too, which is handy when your day follows the tide rather than the clock.

The spa is the main reason to leave the pool. It includes a jacuzzi, sauna, steam room and relaxation area, with massages, facials and body wraps among the treatments. There are also wellness packages, an open-air bath, a hot tub and a massage chair. After several days in salt water, the sauna and hydromassage pool may make a stronger case than another excursion.

When you do want to move, the hotel offers outdoor exercise areas, yoga and meditation, with private yoga classes and personal training available to arrange. Cycling, hiking and cultural excursions are also available, alongside organised outings involving boats, islands, waterfalls, markets and snorkelling. Walking tours, bike tours and live music or themed dinner evenings add further options, while the gardens and temporary art galleries cover the gentler end of the scale.

La Palma Airport is about 17 miles away by road. An airport shuttle and a general shuttle service are available to arrange with the hotel, and car hire is also available. Free private parking is located nearby, with no reservation required, which makes a hire car a practical option for reaching the beaches, national park and other parts of the island.

Check-in runs from 15:00 to midnight, and check-out from 06:00 to 12:00. You need photo identification and a credit card at check-in. The front desk is open 24 hours, with concierge service, a tour desk, private and express check-in or check-out, luggage storage and lockers available for the useful bits around travel days.

WiFi is free throughout the hotel. The property is non-smoking, accessible to wheelchair users and equipped with a lift. Visa, Mastercard and cash are accepted. Pets are not allowed, and the adults-only policy means that guests under 16 cannot stay; there are no cots or extra beds for younger travellers.

The hotel’s environmental work focuses on practical housekeeping rather than grand declarations: recycling, eliminating bio-waste and reducing its carbon footprint. That is the sort of approach that matters in a place where the landscape, the Atlantic and the island’s resources are part of the reason for coming.

The measures sit quietly in the background while you use the gardens, pool and spa. No certification is attached to the property, but the stated programme is clear about the areas it is working on.