A face lift may have brought it into the 21^st century, but the younger, more contemporary styling hasn’t tarnished Hotel Botánico’s old-school appeal. There’s an eye-catching 380 piece sculpture in reception encrusted with Swarovski sparkles, plush apple red carpets offset rich creamy marble and waiters in white lapels weave between tables donned in napkin art. Diverging from the traditional fly and flop masses in the south, it’s replaced with a power of nature approach and emphasis on exploring the local surroundings. Coming here takes on a more adult ambience with a focus on grade A well-being, of which the award-winning spa is a dab hand at. Surrounded by Asiatic gardens, 20 treatment rooms and an outdoor Thai pagoda are home to volcanic stone massages for those just fancying a quick dose of rejuvenation, while the wellness junkies book onto one of the programmes from Ayuveda to detox and anti-stress. 

Although wandering the palm-planked pathways, lakes and bridges of the gardens is enough to transport you outside of the hotel’s walls, the views from the balconies (especially of Mount Teide) do lure some out of their botanical daydreams. The former-capital and UNESCO site of La Laguna showcases traditional wooden buildings and streets lined with lively tapas bars, as well as being the gateway to Mount Teide’s cable car for a day’s hiking. The tiny town of Garachico, with its cobbled streets and pools formed courtesy of the island’s volcanic activities, are also worthy of a 30 minute car ride away from Puerto de la Cruz’s shops and a volcanic sand beach.