A taste of the real Tenerife; Emma Pinch retreats to the Canar y Island's nor th west side for a little winter sun.

IT'S cold and dark by six and you can't stop fantasising about the feel of the sun on your skin. Trouble is, when it gets to late October your options are limited. Short haul for guaranteed sun you've got a choice of North Africa or brash Tenerife, awash with England shirts and pubs.

That's what I thought of it anyway. Our destination was Hotel San Roque in Garachico on the North West coast.

Out of Airport Tenerife Sur we drove north for 100km towards the cloud-tipped Mount Tiede and past Porto de la Cruz.

Dark had fallen and our first glimpse of the hotel was of high ochre walls on a street studded with evergreens and twinkling lamps.

Stepping through San Roque's towering doors and into its dim interior we stopped to drink in candle scent and lilies, and most of all the building's deep sense of peace.

Hotel San Roque is a 17th century mansion lovingly restored by owner Dominique Carayon into a 20-room boutique retreat, dotted with contemporary art classics by Le Corbusier and Mies van de Rohe. If any hotel fitted the description "retreat" it was this. It's built around an open air stone-flagged courtyard. In the centre is a tinkling fountain and palms, dotted with deep-cushioned chairs to sink into and read and winding upwards are dark wood balconies, which creaked peacefully as you walked.

Despite vows to pass the week as paragons of healthy living, it was hard not to undo our good work swimming and walking. Every day a mound of freshly made and delicious bread, pastries, cakes and tortillas awaited, with a mountain of healthy fruit salad, while staff took orders for bacon and eggs.

It was tempting not to leave the haven of San Roque at all. We flitted lazily between the swimming pool and solarium, every need fulfilled by smiling, super-accomodating staff.

Garachico town retains all the charm of Spain before the sun-starved Brits invaded. A rocky fishing hamlet and colonial outpost, there are no beaches to speak of, but brightly painted lidos have been created to trap sea-water. At the weekend they fill up with day trippers and natives returned from work in the South. I wasn't brave enough.

There's a leafy town square, a 16th century white-painted church and monastery, a tangle of olde-worlde streets and a handful of authentic tapas bars.

It's definitely worth hiring a car to discover the beaches and scenery further up in the wildly beautiful Isla Baja region. Emerald-clad mountains spike up into the sky and the sea smashes into cliffs dotted with banana plantations. It felt more like Costa Rica than short a hop away from Costa Brava.

Like anywhere with greenery that vibrant, continuous baking sunshine isn't guaranteed. In a week in early March we had a day of rain, but bright sun and 23C was the norm.

In other words, just what the doctor ordered.

. Doubles at San Roque from pounds 120; from pounds 150 for a suite. For further information contact Hotel San Roque on 00 34 922 13 34 35 or go to www.hotelsanroque.com)