SAN TELMO

The “San Telmo” area, located in the western part of the resort, has a surface area of ​​5,000 square meter, and its construction dates from the late 50’s. There we find three swimming pools and a jacuzzi, which are quite different from their original conception, being the area that has changed the most over time.

This is because the original construction was not part of César Manrique's design, but rather belonged to a previous project to which the Puerto de la Cruz City Council had granted a private concession, known as “Lido de San Telmo”.

Perhaps the best way to notice these differences is by looking at old photos of some very special visitors: The Beatles. Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr and George Harrison spent a few days on holidays on the island in 1963. They had just released their first album, but they were still unknown to the public. Their pictures posing by the pools of "San Telmo" are, perhaps, their last memory of a quiet holiday before achieving fame worldwide. In these pictures we can see that the original pools had a polygonal cut, highlighting the central pool in which we find a small platform shaped like the island of Tenerife.

In 1975 the private concession ended, and the City Council rescued the “San Telmo” facilities, entrusting Manrique to annex them to the rest of the resort. An attempt was then made to give an aesthetic line similar to the one he had already projected in the adjacent area, following as an example the “San Telmo” chapel, next to the resort, from which he borrows elements as its white walls, its wooden palisade, the sentry boxes and the pavement made of pebbles. He also added the bright red signboards, with pop art influences; blue and white striped awnings; wooden pergolas; and other handmade objects such as the bases for the parasols, bins and ashtrays. In addition, a huge stepped solarium was removed, and in its place we now find a self-service restaurant.

However, it was not until the 21st century, during the renovations made by the Cabildo de Tenerife, that the shape of the pools was modified, giving them softer and rounded edges, similar to those of their neighbor-pools in "Los Alisios” and “Lago Martiánez”. One of the few original elements that remains is the small platform in the shape of the island of Tenerife that we find in the central pool. It was also during these works when the jacuzzi was added.

These days, the absence of remarkable monuments in “San Telmo“ is perhaps the greatest indicator that the area was originally designed by a different team than Manrique’s, with a different point of view that didn’t take into account an artistic conception.