IFA Continental Hotel

4 readers found this review helpful

Just returned from IFA continental playa del ingles Hotel staff
friendly hotel clean and tidy. Pool areas are lovely. Stayed all inclusive plenty of choice overall food wise although english sausages
for breakfast would be appreciated as its always frankfurter sausages.
Hotel lacks air condition in the bedrooms.Apart from this a very
enyoyable stay at this hotel.

13 readers found this review helpful

Me and my partner have just arrived back from ifa continental in playa del ingles gran canaria, We had an absolutly amazing time. We flew with thompson who were very helpful as was the thompson rep at the hotel. Around november time there are hardly any children so this is the best time to go if your feeling a relaxing holiday. The Food was very good could not fault it at all. All week it stayed 35 degrees for us with it only dropping down to 25 at night. Entertainment was hilerious, Did a very good job at including the everybody. Alot of germans there not that many english but hey who cares the germans were soo friendly. Would seriously reccommend this hotel to anyone who is looking for a fun relaxing holiday. Definatly will be going again next year (:

9 readers found this review helpful

if you read reviews with people moaning because of this hotel please dont read too much into it! This hotel is fantastic. So what if germans are there, its a holiday for all, they are nice. Its the same everywhere else even ENGLAND! food was nice and basic but thats how i like it, the pools are fantastic, the staff are very lovley and friendly, and the holiday makers are friendly too, me and my husband went here in july for our honeymoon and he took part in the footie activity and made friends with some germans and they were very nice. they do take over a bit but hey so do english at other resorts. i am planning to go back there every year as i loved it so much. you have the great sea which btw does not smell! the sun was lovely and hot. if your looking for a relaxing holiday go here!

14 readers found this review helpful

I stay in hotels such as this one twice a year & so am basing my review against similar hotels of 3/4 star. I stayed here for 8 days, departing 21st July 2010. The hotel would rate as very average for me.
Firstly - The hotel is NOT beachfront as stated in several brochures, it is actually a good 5 min walk from the beach & there is no view from the hotel. It's next to a very busy motorway & if you pick the wrong spot by the pool you will be greeted by car horns and whizzing traffic noise all day long. Secondly - the hotel was 80% german whilst we were there which may cause problems for some people. There was almost 2 fights in the pool during the week between spanish/german and english/german men, whilst playing water polo.
ACCOMODATION - The room was a good size and we had a Queen Size Bed - this was excellent as I have never stayed in a spanish hotel before with a REAL double bed, I am used to twin beds so this was excellent. The bathroom was a very good size also. No air con but we slept with the balcony door open each night and we slept really well. We did have a balcony overlooking the pool, but couldnt actually see the pool due to all the greenery! There are actually only 2 rows of rooms overlooking pool and only around 10 of these have an unobstructed view of it. All the rest of the rooms are on the front of the hotel, overlooking the road. There was an electronic safe in the room, we paid around 20 euros for a week. The hotel had interet access - I think this was 50 cents for 10mins. I did use this one day and it was very very slow. There's also a shop and hairdresser on site.
POOL - The best thing about the hotel is the pool area -- There are 3 massive saltwater pools with jacuzzis dotted around the place, and a slide for the kids. The pool had a lifeguard and it was always a pleasant temperature and clean enough. One word of warning - like many hotels the pool area was very very very slippy and 3 people fell down the stairs whilst we were there. The sunbeds were nice enough, could be adjusted to sit up/laydown etc & came with free cushions. There was usually enough sunbeds and the hotel took a dim view of reserving these -- there were signs everywhere stating that any beds reserved before 9.30am would have the towels removed however we only witnessed them doing this once in the week we were there. The pool had plenty of shade in the form of greenery & also free parasols, but you could get a position in the sun if you wanted. The smaller pool tended to get the sun earlier, around 9am but lose it about 1pm & was in the shade for the rest of the day, whilst the larger pool had the sun from 11am til around 7pm.
ACTIVITIES AND ENTERTAINMENT - There was lots of daytime activites in the hotel - petanca, water polo, darts, volleybal, football, cocktail games, rifle shooting etc - winners were presented with certificates every evening. Everyone was incited to join the games which began at set times each day & the entertainment team came round shouting everytime a game began, as well as playing a (very annoying) jingle to alert everyone! I am sure you will know this jingle off by heart by the end! Night -time entertainment was quite poor however this is something you would expect in a hotel chain & this didnt surprise me. The hotel bar was still full every night anyway with people making the most of the all inclusive - then everyone headed out at around 11pm.
ALL INCLUSIVE - The All Inclusive was OK, Fine for me and my partner as we are not heavy drinkers. There was self service bars around the pool, in reception and in the dining room which allowed you to pour your own coke/sprite/fanta/water/wine/beer. This was a good idea & prevented the long waits that you will normally find in all inclusive hotels. There was (ineveitably) queues now and then but they went down quick enough. All Inclusive spirits were served from the bar - these were local vodka, rum, whisky and 2 cocktails (sex on the beach and coco loco). I found this disappointing as there was no local peach schnapps/malibu/blue bols etc like you normally get. All inclusive food was basically Full Board Buffets served in the dining hall - Breakfast (7am til 10.30am), Lunch (1pm til 3.30pm) and Dinner (2 sittings, 6-7.30pm or 7.30-9pm) - and sandwiches/fruit laid out in the pool bar for you to help yourself too. No chips/burgers etc though and no ice creams. When you first arrive you are told which sitting you are supposed to attend for dinner - we were 6-7.30pm which was too early for us so we went down at around 7.20 each night which was fine & noone ever actually checked. One thing to be aware of on the All Inclusive -- The guidebook we were given when we arrived stated that upon checkout we would have to give our All Inclusive wristbands back. Now, check out was 12 noon and we didnt leave the hotel until 10.00pm. This indicated to us that we would not be All Inlcusive from 12 noon until 10.00pm. It didnt matter to us in the end as we bought a late check out room (which was 24 euros to check out at 6pm or 30euros anytime after 6pm) and so didn't check out until 10.00pm - Reception promptly cut off our wristbands as soon as we checked out.
FOOD - The food was OK and what you would expect from a 3 star hotel. It was on the undercooked side - again normal - and a bit repetitive. Breakfast was either pastries, full english or fruit. Lunch was salad, pizza, pasta, chips & usually chicken, pork, fish or burgers and Dinner was the same. The hotel also state long trousers and shirt for Dinner which my boyfriend did on the 1st night, but everyone else was in tshirt and shorts and so he just wore this for the rest of the week & was never challenged.
STAFF - We found the staff to be rude and unwelcoming. When we arrived we were given our wristbands and shoo-ed away, They gave us no welcome, no information about anything, didn't even direct us to our room. Each time my partner asked reception a question, he was met with sarcasm and rudeness- We also had a run in with a waiter in the food hall one night where he whisked my partners plate away (full of food and clearly unfinished), before I could say a word. I then went off to the toilet & My boyfriend returned from getting drinks to find his plate had gone - the waiter then lied to him saying that he'd asked me & I told him he'd finished. My boyfriend said he knew this wasn't true but let it go - he went off to get more food & the waiter came over to me shouting very agressively at me that I'd said it was finished! I of course told him where to get off, and he proceeded to give me very agressive looks for the rest of the meal.
AREA - The hotel was not far from bars/restaurants etc. Most of us went down to Flashback bar every night - This was a small friendly bar just on the next road up from the hotel. Theres a bus station literally 2 mins from the hotel, and a taxi rank as well. All of the bars/shops/restaurants are located in shopping centres in Playa Drel Ingles which we found quite odd. The main centres are Annexo 2, the Kasbah and the Yumbo Centre. Annexo 2 is on the beachfront with bars etc, however around 50% of the bars here are german. We went to Yumbo Centre one evening to see the show in Sparkles - this is a renown show bar with drag queens etc. This was excellent and a must see - but you must be prepared for its campness. There is apparently also a fun park in the resort, which we didnt visit. The rep gave us Green Banana Guides and Cards in the welcome meeting. The guide is useful as it gives ideas of where to go - and the card gives money off meals/drinks etc when shown. On the whole we found Playa Del Ingles to be quite scruffy and the beach smelled quite bad - we even saw 3 homeless men living under one of the shopping precincts on the beach.
LOCAL PEOPLE ETC - As someone who visits Tenerife very very often and feels that the people there are very warm and friendly, I was taken aback by Gran Canaria as I found the people to be very rude and unfriendly. Each time I entered a shop I was followed around by agressive shopkeepers clearly trying to make sure i didnt steal anything. There was never a please or thank you in any of the shops & it was not pleasant. There
are also lots and lots of PR's in the resort, trying to get you into their bars and shops. Now this isnt something I normally find an issue - I did this job myself in Spain when I was younger - however here they were very very agressive and rude and just would not take no for an answer - even at 9am they were trying to get us in for drinks.
Overall we did enjoy our holdiay because I go away to relax and sunbathe and my partner enjoys activities - so we were both accomodated for - However we would not return.

14 readers found this review helpful

Stayed in the IFA Continental Hotel, Playa del Ingles for a week, staff at the hotel seemed friendly and polite, outside pool area was lovely with a tropical theme, although a downside would be that there were not always enough sunbeds (although I guess that can happen from time to time in hotels) and the Germans sometimes would invade and take over the pool area with their competitive volleyball games... apart from that, no complaints about the hotel - didn't have many dealings with the TC reps, although they seemed informative and helpful during our welcome meeting.
The problem was the shambolic resort of Playa del Ingles, summing up in one word, its a dive. Myself and boyfriend are in our mid / early twenties, and when asking the travel agents advice, was advised the travel here - we wanted somewhere with some nice resturants and some lively bars / pubs, and was told this was the ideal resort for us. What a load of !@x?!&$ (excuse my french). On our first evening, we tried to find a nice resturant, taking a trip to the Kasbah centre - which may I add is a mass concerete jungle with flashing brash lights, dingey looking bars, kebab shops, you get the picture. Wouldn't exactly class Burger King in my list of nice resturants! So, hoping for some better luck down the beach front, we were left disappointed - a mass of restaurants with plastic canopies, tables, chairs, all you can eat buffets, not a tapas bar in sight! As for the Yumbo centre, avoid at all costs.... when taking a visit to this delightful place, I spotted a chinese restaurant with a huge, industrial sized bin directly outside which obviously reeked, not a great selling point. The bars were pretty lively which I didn't mind at all, as I do like a good drink, but sweaty 18 year old boys topless shouting obsenites was a bit of a let down, I must say.
In a more positive light, the next resort on, Maspalomas (just a 5 minute taxi journey away) had a good handful of lovely restaurants suituated on the prominade, bit pricey than what you would pay in Playa, but well worth it for an escape from the tackiness! Beach at Playa was nice, and not too overcrowded for the time of year we travelled (Mid June). Was left feeling very disappointed from this resort.

7 readers found this review helpful

Great week in the sun. Weather much better than we expected. Hot Hot Hot!
Arrived at hotel at 5am, our flight was delayed! Man at reception was very pleasant. We had emailed the hotel direct to request a quiet room with a sea view. We got exactly that. Couldn't have been better. Food was good. Great salad bar and desserts and gateaux selection were fab. Evening menu has a lot of pork but apart from that we weren't disappointed. The pool area was the best I've ever seen! Beautiful setting, lovely layout. Only downside was the noise of the road but this was minimal. Yes, the rooms were a bit on the shabby side decor wise but everything was spotless and the maid service was very good.
Evening entertainment was AWFUL! Parrots, snakes, bad cabaret acts..
The Thomas Cook rep was there everyday and extremely helpful. We took a trip to the Mogan Market with the return journey by boat. Didn't see any dolphins though and the market holders are very pushy.
Walked to the Kasbah area every night for the entertainment. The Irish Tavern had great karaoke and the PR guy was a laugh. Worth a visit!
Will definately go back to this hotel. Don't let other reviews put you off. Yes there are a lot of Germans and Spanish tourists but they are very civil and cause no bother.

4 readers found this review helpful

We had not a bad holiday, Hotel a bit run down rooms none aircon no frige, We add to hire fan at the cost off 25 euros from the front desk and a frige 60 euros for 14 days whot a rip off, Food not to bad could have been better, Full off germans the most arrogant people in the ( WOULD ) i mean it to.

2 readers found this review helpful

A must stay at Hotel!! This is the best hotel i have ever stayed at & the only one i have returned too. I go on holiday twice a year to different places & have done since i was little. I have a weak immune system so if a hotel is slightly unclean i'm ill & this is the only place bar one that i have been to & not been ill. The food is fantastic & i love the fact they have a different countries food every night plus the normal everyday food. There was even food that my picky eater sister liked!! The staff are really nice the drinks are cheap. The rooms are really cool to say there isnt air conditioning but you wouldnt need it. The bathroom & bedrooms are big spacious well equipt & pretty. The pools are great with a water slide for children. The entertainment is fantastic & you wouldn't need to go outside the hotel if you didnt want to. Its 5 mins from the beech , 2 mins from the bus station & 5 - 10 mins form various shops & restaurants excluding the shops that are in the hotel including the hairdressers!!. Ive been coming here for the last 10 years & i still think the same every year i go!!

1 reader found this review helpful

just got back from our hols last night could not wait to let you all know this is a fab hotel. the food is GREAT, there is loads to choose from never boreing, and the staff are fantastic, very polite and very quick to clear your table ,the hotel is just outside the noise zone at night, (but do expect to be woken by traffic about 0600 every morning if you are at the front of the hotel or rear you are either over looking the motor way or the very buisy front street,(delivery men) it is not easy to get a sunbed so you got to be early ,not enough to go around(we never used the pool the beach at maspalomas is fab),
the rooms are very large and very clean and modern, (but no aircon shame)we went for one week ( be aware this is a German hotel)we did not bother them and they where very polite,if you go by thompson dont expect a rep to be on hand you have to call a call center in the uk who are not to good, or wait untill 12.15 and walk back to the hotel, big 0 for thompson,but the pools are clean , very quiet hotel the entertainment at night (not good at all we went out every night) realy for couples and and older people , dont know about kids we went as a couple. but overal great location and a good holiday all round enjoy ,we are going back in september for another week ps not with thompson

2 readers found this review helpful

me and my best mate went to this hotel for a week weve just got back this hotel was fantastic the reception staff were so funny and friendly!any problems they would sort it.the food was intresting theres alot to choose from.we didnt realise it was a german hotel we didnt get told this but what does it matter.the entertainment was fantastic really fun the cocktails were lovely to!!ive never been to a hotel that has such a great swimming pool ive been to the carribian and figi and it was better than any of theres!!all in all id 100% go back to this hotel be warned though spanish belly creeps up on u very quickly be sure to take immodium!!!have fun travellers.