Gran Canaria Princess Hotel

The Gran Canaria Princess is on the whole a comfortable, pleasant hotel with an attractive pool area. I would recommend it to those who just fancy a quiet week in the sun with some basic entertainment in the evening. Food is varied and plentiful and staff were extremely conscientious and went out of their way to assist. Slight confusion over why German gets can stay on an all inclusive basis but not us Brits but hey ho.
However, I cannot stress enough what a dump Playa Del Ingles is as a resort. For those who have never been before you will be disappointed to discover that the resort is extremely built up, looks incredibly shabby and hasn't changed in 20 years. The bars (housed in their shopping centres) are filthy and largely cater for the pie and chips brigade and whilst Gran Canaria boasts of the attractive sand dunes at Maspalomas they neglect to tell you that Southend beach is more pleasing on the eye than Ingles (and that's saying something).
I like a laugh but the entertainment in Ingles is so dull! Same old rubbish over and over and the resort is in danger of pricing itself out the market. Two drinks for 9.25 Euros? Appalling! It is actually cheaper back home.
If you must go to Gran Canaria try Puerto Rico, yes it is built on the side of a hill but far more attractive and taxi's are very cheap. Alternatively try Amadores or Meloneras. Personally I have no desire to travel back. We all look forward to our well earned holidays. Please don't waste your money here if you have an ounce of taste. You will find so much better elsewhere.

1 reader found this review helpful

I cant believe how fantastic this hotel is and met our needs a 100%. i've been on a lot of holidays and this hotel was right at the top. where do i start?
*rooms- lovely, clean, tidy,comfortable bed, enough storage for clothes. en suite was lovely, marble, and towels etc were changed everyday. so were the bed sheets etc.
* food- was magnificent- at night plenty of choice including different types of hot meat and fish, basic pizzas, chips, pastas, all sorts of salads, soup, cold meat. also puddings were fabulous especially the profiter rolls. morning- hot breakfast with the all day breakfast trimmings, gorgeous bread, ham, chese, fruit, yoghurts, all different types of pastries. also food in the pool restaraunt was lovely, basic- burgers, chips, pizzas, salads, toasties. lovely.
*drinks- and ice creams were expensive i thought in the pool bar and in the hotel itself but was like this everywhere we went so not just in the hotel. half a glass of coke was 3 euros, which is expensive. thats the only criticism. oh and also news papers were nearly 2 euros each- thats around £1.60 for a newspaper....oh well!! all is to be fergotten!
*pool- was absolutely gorgeous, there was plenty of choice, childrens pool (which i loved as this was the warmest), the main pool which was gorgeous and so clean, and the pool which was not so deep where the stones are based, soo nice here too.
*sun beds- absolutely no problem at all in getting good sunloungers everyday, we woke up around 9:30, went to get breakfast at 10 and straight to pool at 10:30 and there were plenty left everywhere. pool is open until 8 at night which is nice if you want a swim at night time
*activities- we didnt join in with the kids activities or water polo etc, but we were more than happy to play table tennis everyday, tennis, pool and mini golf which is fun. felt like there was plenty to do an didnt get bored at all. and also internet in the main part of hotel which is 1 euro for 10 minutes. this was good if you need to check e-mails etc.
*hotel- the hotel itself was gorgeous and clean, marble everywhere. was very impressed with the different places you could sit down and have a drink or chill out. there was a place in the pool bar, decking by the pool, the restauraunt by the pool, the main bar which is lovely, the salon princess which is indoor where they host the entertainment if weather isnt too good outside, the main restaurant downstairs and many more. there was also a cinema type atmosphere area in the main bar with a large plasma screen if you want to watch a little tv which we did as andy murray was playing tennis at the time
*location- is perfect as if you turn right out of the hotel and walk up the street 5 minutes there are lovely restaurants, pubs, and shops, also mini golf and arcades. plenty to do. where as if you turned left out of the hotel and walked towards the town kasbah which is literally 5 minute walk also. we didnt enjoy here as p.r's were everywhere at night trying to drag you into the clubs and bars but we were not looking towards going out as it was just me and my boyfriend. also the beach is about 10 minute walk, but i wouldnt recommend it, its not that good. and also look out for people on the street that jump on you and start talking as they will want money off you, two ladies grabbed our hands and put bracelets on our wrists and demmanded money off us.
*things to do outside of hotel- it rained a little on one afternoon during our stay so we took a taxi to a large shopping mall which was aorund 15 minutes away 20euros there and 20 euros back, but better that waiting for a bus that goes every hour and taking ages to get there. we also went to aqualand which was fantastic. costs 24 euros to get in and food/drinks are expensive so take a lot of money with you. plenty of slides and swimming pools etc everywhere!
* flight- was good, and was around 4 hours each way which wasnt that bad if you take a book etc or sleep at night which is what we did.
we would 100% go back to this hotel again, and would highly recommend it to anyone. of all ages, we are 21 and 24 and thought it was perfect. we are looking to book our next holiday soon and are going to try another princess hotel as there are many around the world. i think we might go for the one in the dominican republic as it looks like paradise- honest! around £850 all inclusive which i dont think is that bad considering we spent nearly all our money on drinks and snacks while in gran canaria princess...
Fantastic holiday all round.
Hawys and al from North wales

2 readers found this review helpful

as mentioned in my review august 2007 we returned to the gran canaria princess for a two week stay having enjoyed it so much last year. once again the hotel excelled itself with its cleanliness , helpfull staff , excellent choice of food plus many more to mention. the only negative point once again was the queuing up in the morning for the sun beds , however i was well prepared this year and brought my trainers for the 30 yard dash.
the entertainments team or animacion as they are called were absolutley brilliant , especially chris who made all the events fun and enjoyable for both adults and kids.
although the exchange rate has decreased since our last visit prices in the shops and taxis were much the same if not cheaper than last year.
i thorouglly recommend this hotel to anyone and as mentioned in my last review it is quietlly situated from the hustle and bustle but within walking distance of the various shopping centres and for less abled , taxis are plentiful and cheap.

My boyfriend and I have just returned from a 2 week stay at this hotel and we had a great time. Please don't be put off by any negative reviews that you have read.

Location: The hotel was situated approx 10 mins from the beach and about 5 mins away from the shops and bars (Kasbah). There are 2 supermarkets within a couple of minutes walk which sell all the essentials (which is good if you go half board as drinks are a lot cheaper at the supermarket!). The beach was very busy and you do have to pay for your loungers. For this reason, we didn't go down to the beach a lot, however, if you walk a bit further along (to the Maspalomas end of the beach), the beach is a lot quieter and you are right next to the dunes which is lovely. There are lots of shops and restaurants down at the beachfront too. There is a nice promenade along the beach as well which always had lots of people walking/running in the mornings.

There are 2 main shopping centres (Kasbah and Yumbo) both within 5- 10 minute walk. The Yumbo centre is a bit nicer for shops (lots of duty free perfume shops and the usual 'holiday souvenirs'). The nearby resort of Meloneras has nice shops too (a short taxi ride away) and less of the tat! The Kasbah gets very lively at night with everyone competing for you to go into their bars which is all good fun! Drinks aren't that cheap but you do get good deals and some bars give you free entry to the clubs etc. We had a couple of good nights out here.

The Yumbo centre also has some nice bars and restaurants and we ate out there a few times as it is a more relaxed atmosphere than the Kasbah. It does turn very 'pink' later on in the evenings though (!) which was entertaining. There are also some nice street sellers here (guy painting t shirts, caricatures, jewellery etc).

The hotel is situated on a road but we didn't notice this at all. There is no excess noise, particularly at night.

It's really easy to get around here - there is a bus stop outside the hotel but we caught taxis which were fairly cheap.

Trips: We went to the water park (good but does get busy later in the day). We also went on a camel trek which was good fun - lasts about 4 hours and you get a half hour camel ride, then go to the resort of Meloneras and then we went to a camel sanctuary to see a baby camel and the oldest camel on the island. Good fun!
We went swimming with sea-lions as well which was fabulous! We did this as a combined trip with the waterpark. You get to spend about 45 minutes with 3 sea lions and the trainer was very knowledgeable and good fun. You swim with them and practise some tricks with them. Amazing experience and opportunity to buy photos afterwards.
We also went on the trip to Anfi. This is a timeshare trip but the resort is lovely and you don't have to look round the timeshare if you don't want to. You can just go to spend a day at the beach (Anfi pay for your taxi both ways and Thomson give you 42 euros for going!). We wanted to look round the timeshare which took a few hours and then spent the rest of the day on the beach there (lots of nice restaurants here).

Food: We both thought food at the hotel was really nice. We went half board and so you do have to pay for your drinks at evening meal, but this is fairly standard. Breakfast was really nice - continental, full English, fresh fruit, freshly cooked eggs and pancakes and cereals. Could not fault the breakfast. There were places to have lunch at the hotel but this is quite expensive and so we only did this a few times (it's cheaper to go to the supermarket or eat nearer the beach). Drinks by the pool again were pricey (almost 3 euros for a coke) so again would recommend bringing your own drinks. Evening meal usually had lots of choice - salads, pasta, fresh fish most days, desserts etc. There were 2 theme nights whilst we were there (mexican and italian) which were really good. Choice would be very limited if you were a vegetarian though. As some people have mentioned, there were queues at times in the restaurant (which I think was down to the fact that they didn't have 'sittings' which most larger hotels do). So if you go at peak times, you will queue. But to be fair we never waited longer than 5-10 mins in the queue as the staff work hard to clear tables and seat you. The queues always looked worse than they were.

Pool: The pool area was really nice and we always managed to get loungers where we wanted them. The pool does not open until 8am so there isn't the usual early morning runs to get beds (some hotels we have stayed at we had to get up at 6am to get them!). People do reserve beds after 8am but I don't think this can be avoided. On the days when we got up later, there are plenty of beds available so this was not a problem.
The animation staff were not the best we have seen and were fairly low key. But there were a few activities that we saw (water aerobics, archery, water polo, kids club etc)

Hotel: Overall the hotel was very nice. We had a nice room with views over the mini golf course and you could see across to the town centres. Didn't have a problem with wardrobe space and our bathroom was very nice. The rooms were spacious and brightly decorated. You did have to pay for fridge and safe but we didn't use the fridge. The air con is quite weak but we left a clubcard in the slot all day and so the room was cool when we returned (and so we didn't need the fridge!). The maids did a really good job and the rooms were always spotless. You do get pool towels and you get one free change. If you require more changes, you do have to pay just over a euro.

There is a shop on site which sells newspapers (reasonably priced at 2 euros) and magazines and some chocolate.

The Thomson reps were great - very friendly and always seemed to be there at good hours. They also had a book swap system which was really useful and a drop box for people to leave lilos, toys etc that they didn't want to take home which the new children/adults could make use of which we thought was a lovely idea.

The evening entertainment was fairly good and you could always get seats (usual cabaret acts - some were better than others).

The lifts did always seem to be busy but we were only on the 3rd floor and so we never used them. The stairs are good exercise!!

The only downside for us was a lack of a gym. However, there were tennis courts available.

Overall we thought this was a really good value for money holiday. Have a lovely time!

1 reader found this review helpful

My wife, 2 year old daughter and I stayed at this hotel. Although the hotel was clean, there is no way it is a 4 star hotel on an international level. More like a 2 star.
The breakfast and evening dinner was of average quality. My daughter even got food poisoning on the fourth day of our holiday.
We had to pay €2 for an iron (4 star hotels usually have an iron available for free).
The beach towels costs €1.30 each if you wanted to change them
Late check out cost around £30
Transfer time of 30-40 mins was actually an hour.
All the rooms had single beds. Not a single double bed in sight
Half board or All inclusive, the drinks were NOT included. We spoke to many others who were dissappointed with this service.
We had to get to the pool side for 07:30 just to rush to get a sunbed by the pool.
The evening entertainment was rubbish, bar the last night where an acrobat show called the Black Brothers was amazing. For this I gave the rating of 1 point.
The use of the Fridge was €28 for the week
Everything also required a deposit
If you do stay here, take around €100 just to pay for additional items.
I do not recommend staying here or going on holiday with Thomson.
Thomson and this hotel charged for everything that was possible.
I would not book with Thomson ever again. In fact I would not go on their holiday even if it was free.
I know that others have given this hotel a very good rating, and most may think that some people just aren't satisfied. But that is not the case. Many people are just happy with an average holiday. However, I believe in getting what one pays for. And I did not get the holiday I was expecting. I am entitled to my opinion. And this is it.
Have a nice holiday.

1 reader found this review helpful

super hotel, had really great rooms overlooking entertainment area and champagne on arrival as it was an anniversary. Everyone very friendly and helpful, food and entertainment good, lots going on for the kids. Long live happpy hour! Thompson reps very helpful. The only negative are the lifts. 4 people comfy, 6 very friendly! they are a joke for such a large hotel.

overall hotel was nice and friendly . but would not go back had to go out must night 4 meals nothing 4 kids at all. and setting the alarm @ 7.30 every morning just 2 get a sun bed was a joke. the smaller of the 3 pools did not seem that great to us . would not return at all.

Recently returned from two week stay in Gran Canaria Princess. We were a bit apprehensive after reading reviews - our advice - take no notice. Absolutely brilliant holiday. Couldn't fault the hotel, spotlessly clean everywhere, food brilliant, staff helpful and friendly, reps brilliant and, unlike some other hotels, they seem to be around quite a lot. We emailed hotel with request for room on high floor and said we were there to celebrate our Silver Wedding Anniversary. Not only was room on high floor but there was champagne on ice awaiting our arrival - excellent considering it was 11.00pm! Check-in was quick and efficient. Safe usual high price (33 euros) but well worth it for peace of mind. Our fridge was open and we did use it for water etc. but were not charged. Mini golf 3 euros each. Plenty going on if you wanted to join in but not pestered if you didn't. Most entertainment at night was good but inevitably there is always going to be something you don't particularly enjoy. Pool and surrounding area is lovely, we never had a problem finding sunbeds, but there were occasions when you could have done with a parasol and, annoyingly, some people put towels on sunbeds with parasols and then never used them all day. That is a slight problem that management need to address. We didn't find the resturaunt heat overpowering at any time - the food was constantly being refreshed and there was always plenty of everything, if there was anything you wanted, you only had to ask and it was sorted. Yumbo centre well worth a visit - it comes alive after 10pm, but there are lots of shops open during the day. Blanket trip (free) well worth putting up with the sales patter as the caves are interesting. We did the other trips on our own as we prefer not being put under pressure to get back to buses. Local buses very cheap - we caught one to Mogan market at about 11 am without any problem and still had over three hours to look around before the stalls closed. Plenty of buses for return to Playa del Ingles and bus stops outside hotel gate to pick up and drop off! Camel ride is much cheaper if you make your own way also - only 12 euros each and 5 euros for photograph if you want one. Again bus stops outside hotel and it is 2.30 euros for two each way. Taxis are very cheap - around 3 euros from beach to hotel. Anfi trips (timeshare) - this takes up a lot of your day but the taxi is free both ways, (would cost around 20 euros each way if you had to pay), lunch is free, and you do get the gifts as promised even when you say no. (i.e - bottle of spirits of your choice, beach towel, bag, t.shirt etc.) A lot of the time looking around is spent outside in the sun and it really is a lovely place. All in all, go and enjoy your holiday.

I had an amazing time when i stayed in the gran canaria princess
the staff were welcoming and easy to get along with, i had no problems at all!
i met so many new people and am still in contact with them all :)
the hotel is clean, nice, and easy to get used to
the pools lovely and the bar in the middle is charming and great for a quick refreshment!
all in all, its a great hotel to stay at, im hoping to go back next year so i highly recommend it!
bon voyage!

Holiday was amazing. The reps lee and vicki were really helpful and always there when you needed anything. The staff at the hotel and the hotel itself could not be faulted.
Alot of very rude germans who jumped queues etc but it was impossible to spoil the holiday. Theres alot of activities for adults and kids and many good trips to go on.
Drinks were reasonable compared to the rest of the resort. Food was good with a large variety, especially the deserts yum!
Would recommend this holiday to people of any age as it suits everyones needs.
Will definately be returning....... watch out lee we will be back haha!!!!
Catherine and ashley xxxxxx