1. Read the brochure.
2. Read this.
3. Read Trip Advisor.
It might sound like stating the obvious but read the brochure. I've trawled through Trip Advisor (TA) and noticed that in many of the negative reviews, it appears that some people just turn up at the hotel, on an island 4000 km away.
I mean, the brochure clearly states where the beach is, clearly says what all-inclusive means in terms of alcohol supplied, clearly states.....
Yet, some people mark the hotel down because of these failings.
This is MY take on this particular hotel. Unlike TA, I can use up my word count to dismiss the negative comments on TA, without running out of space to say how good the hotel(s) is/are. I have visited these hotels a few times now with my family.
This resort is actually a pair of hotels joined in the middle. One half (at the time of writing), the Maspalomas, caters to the half-board crowd. We have stayed in this half; the other half, the Tabaiba, caters to the all-inclusive (AI) guests. We have also stayed in this half.
Some of the facilities are shared.
The Rooms: The rooms are traditional hotel chain rooms: twin beds, hard but comfortable. En suite bathroom/toilet, safe, fridge, TV, occasional table, balcony table and chairs. You rent the safe and fridge if you wish. Cleaned every day, unless you put out the Do Not Disturb sign. As we, in general, don't live in a room when we're on holiday, it is fine.
As we were AI, we found no need for a fridge. The safe we did use. Even though we were AI, you might need cash when going out and it is safer to leave it locked away until you really need it rather than tempting fate and leaving it by the pools. Yes, you do have to rent these devices.
The TV is a bit hit and miss. Most channels are not English. Just like most channels aren't German or Italian or Dutch or Spanish. The English channel is Sky News.
The Food: What can I say? Meals are provided indoors and outdoors. The range and quality of food was excellent. A large hotel like this is serviced by a buffet but the food is continually refreshed. Plenty of meats and fish are available. Show cooking is available everyday if you want something really hot. Fruits and vegetables are great too. The hotel provides themed nights, for example, Mexican, Chinese, Canarian. Breakfast is also buffet and if you want a full English, I'm afraid you have to assemble it yourself. Continental breakfast is also available. Again, breakfasts are not aimed at the Germans. I've read of people saying the food at the hotel is rubbish when they've eaten out every night. I've read of people saying they are fussy eaters and the food is not up to scratch. I'm sure you could have pizza every night if you wanted. Coffee is instant from a machine. Cold drinks are available like in a pub - concentrate and soda. Beer and wine is available on tap. I can't comment on the range of beers as I only drank Estrella when I was there. Spirits are plentiful but as the brochure says, you can expect a cream liqueur rather than a "Baileys".
The snack bars, where you can get food outside, offer fast food. The mainstay is hot dogs, ham and cheese toasties, fruit and salad, ice cream (in pots) and cold drinks. They do offer other foods and they vary day-to-day. There is an outdoor restaurant that is open to all but everyone has to pay - yes, even the AI guests.
The beach: This is actually not sand
but more like very small stones. It can get very hot, so flip-flops or
some other foot covering is a good idea. As well as being hot, it does
get stuck in between toes and can be a bit uncomfortable, especially if you stand on
some on the hard ground. The pools can be walked into as well as climbed into. The pools have attendants throughout the day and are cleaned
at least weekly of the detritus from the trees and other plants that
surround the pools. There is plenty of space and shade around the pools
and plenty of sunbeds. They are not all hogged by Germans. The Brits
are just as bad - the picture below was taken at about 0730 whilst everyone was at breakfast. I doubt they are Germans! If you do crawl out of your scratcher at mid-day, well then, I suppose us early risers have a bed or two.
The staff: The staff are very friendly, always ready with a Bon Dia or Hola. The staff wear name tags so if you want to be on first name terms with them, you can. In some areas they work like dogs and I have heard them verbally abused for not serving quickly enough. A word of advice - a Gracias and a Por Favor work wonders.
Environs: The hotel is somewhat isolated but only if you don't have a spare €3. Yes, taxis are very cheap over here and you can be at one of the shopping areas in a few minutes for some spare change. There are a couple of local stores nearby, as well as a Chinese takeaway. If you can't spare this minimalist fare, the beach is a 1.5 km walk. A nice walk down by the flood channel/river bed. On your travels you might even see some wild-life skittering in the undergrowth.
As is often the case with a holiday package, the tour operators do have all sorts of excursions for you to try out.
Moaners: NOT the staff. NOT the Germans. No. The only people I have heard complain there were the English. They could complain for England, so to speak! I have heard complaints about nearly anything: the TV, the tea, the coffee, the dress code, the sand, the pools, the foreigners, the shops, the walk to the beach, the kind of alcohol, the non-AI guests, the snack bars, the food, lights out, the beds, the air-con, the staff, the WiFi....Gold medals winners, easily.
If you do venture into TA territory, treat all that you read as an opinion, nothing more. Just like this Blog.
Some people need to leave those shoulder chips at home when the go on holiday.
Don't let them put you off - this island is well worth a visit. We will most certainly go back.
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