Strikingly different in form from any other resort on Tenerife, Royal Hideaway Corales spans the clifftop like a futurist rocky growth, 324 metres in length, and looking towards the Atlantic Ocean on one side and the rocky mountains on the other.
MKV Design has recently completed the interior design of a brand new resort in Tenerife, Royal Hideaway Corales, which combines the adults-only Corales Beach Hotel with its 121 junior suites, and the Corales Suites – a collection of one, two and three-bedroom apartments, which are for sale and rented out by the hotel when the owners are away. The vision was to create a destination that guests and residents would return to year-after-year and the designers have responded with a wide range of on-site experiences, some adults-only, others family oriented, including nine restaurants and bars and a large spa.
Strikingly different in form from any other resort on Tenerife, Royal Hideaway Corales spans the clifftop like a futurist rocky growth, 324 metres in length, and looking towards the Atlantic Ocean on one side and the rocky mountains on the other. The hotel and the Suites are housed in two separate buildings connected by a dramatic walkway at level four. MKV took its cue from the architecture of this astonishing building designed by Leonardo Omar, a local architect acclaimed for his purist, avant-garde and usually very white buildings. The arid and volcanic landscape of Tenerife and the colour of the local coral also played important roles, resulting in a largely monochromatic palette throughout the suites and apartments with accents of turquoise and aqua marine hinting at the neighbouring sea.
The interior design schemes for the hotel guestrooms and the Corales Suites help to create a synergy between the two buildings. At heart, the schemes are quite similar, drawing on the white, geometric building form, the white and black of local corales (coral) and the volcanic terrain of Tenerife. The furnishings and fittings in both are simple and comfortable. The apartments, however, are slightly more residential and playful in style; the hotel guestrooms are slightly more refined.
All the suites and apartments are spacious, ranging in size from 55 square metres to 200 sq metres in a three-bedroom apartment, and some have extensive terraces with private pools. In all cases, their layout flows towards the full-height windows and glazed doors giving onto a terrace that looks towards the Atlantic Ocean. Inside, the open-plan space is organised to provide approximately equal areas to the bathroom, bedroom and lounge. A king size bed and blackout curtains in the bedroom creates a comfortable retreat, with the geometric patterning of the building echoed in the back-lit bed head and the curved, perforated, metal screen that partially obscures the bathroom. Each features a rainforest shower, double vanity and a freestanding bathtub from where bathers can enjoy expansive views of the sea. A generous sofa and stylish light wood desks sit by the window, beyond which a terrace with loungers and, in some cases, a jacuzzi gives guests a private oasis where they can soak up the sun.
Departing from the purist design narrative of the suites, these spaces are confidently independent in their decors. Notable amongst them is a restaurant and bar “suite” on the main pool level that encompasses an Asian dining room (San Ho), which flows into a seafood restaurant (Nao Atlantic), and a huge shared pool bar terrace.
San Ho is a modern take on Asian restaurants with a curvaceous finely slatted timber wall, exquisite marble mosaics in the washrooms, contemporary bronze sculptures and a garden with an elegant timber-framed dining terrace illuminated by large floor lanterns. By contrast, the buffet counter, carved out of granite, is imposingly solid. A sawn bar counter extends along its length where guests can sit to watch their meal being prepared.
Nao Atlantic brings a complete change in tempo with its jaunty nautical touches to complement the seafood menu. Unique hand painted tiles depicting the food of the ocean are located above the show kitchen. Elsewhere bright blue and white tiles together with canopies of rope play further with the theme. The buffet counter is custom-designed; finished in hundreds of tiny pebbles, at a distance it resembles a giant stone.
The pool terrace looks towards the Atlantic Ocean and begins with a semi-open bar area under the multi-perforated roof that is a signature of the architecture. Integrated lighting describes the geometric forms and serves to ramp up the vibe. Seating collections are carefully considered, from the more formal tables and chairs near the bar to curved banquettes and tables within timber cocoons and onto loungers, sofas and sunken seating around the pools.
A 1,000 sqm spa and wellness centre has been created beneath the hotel. Accessible via either a lift or a dramatic outdoor glass and steel staircase, the spa journey begins as guests descend before an imposing wall of timber and stone, which seems to push skyward and draw them into another world.
The staircase leads to one of two spa courtyards and, from there, into the spa reception. The narrative of volcanic stone, rich North African timbers and glass continues throughout the spa, juxtaposing strong materiality with the comfort which timber is known to bring to the human psyche. A glazed wall flows through the spa, its geometric patterning echoing the perforated feature walls in the guestrooms. Just like ancient mountains and, indeed, the architectural form of the building, there are moments where the ceiling is punctured and light bursts through and, in keeping with the exterior architecture, forms are organic and solid. The experience is of descending into a cave; treatment rooms are pebble-clad and unadorned, and the showers have white Bisazza mosaic on the walls with rock stone to the outer curved wall like craggy underwater formations.
The end of the journey is the pool, emerging from the spa “cave” into the second spa courtyard. This is a chic and contemporary space providing degrees of shade and light presided over by the multi-contoured forms of the building. A hard work-out in the gym brings the compensation of views over the entrance courtyard with its palm trees and other tropical plants.
Maria Vafiadis, Managing Director of MKV Design says, “Royal Hideaway Corales is a truly unique project in so many ways, not least in its architecture and scale. So our interiors have drawn on the buildings’ architecture to achieve a purist design in the suites and spa, balanced by a diverse range of wining and dining destinations, each with their own aesthetic.”
Vicky is the co-founder of TravelDailyNews Media Network where she is the Editor-in Chief. She is also responsible for the daily operation and the financial policy. She holds a Bachelor's degree in Tourism Business Administration from the Technical University of Athens and a Master in Business Administration (MBA) from the University of Wales.
She has many years of both academic and industrial experience within the travel industry. She has written/edited numerous articles in various tourism magazines.
