Gran Canaria Princess Hotel

As I am only 15 and 14 when i went to the hotel. I loved it. There are a few things that disappointed me. The food was brill if you are good at mixing and matching as there was not much of a set meal. So we ate out every night. I suppose it was more catering for the Germans.
The lack of plugs was a bit difficult as I had to use the bathroom shaver plug to charge my mobile phone. But the rooms are very large and tastefully decorated. But other than that everything was great.
The pool area is amazing. I enjoyed swimming in it. The entertainment was good from what I saw of it as we went out the hotel most nights. The area in which the hotel is situated is lovely. The locals are very friendly. The beach is beautiful although we did not go on it as it was a bit to windy. I recommend the 'las pyramids' restaurant for an excellent daytime meal.
The staff are very friendly in the hotel and the pool boys are very friendly as I made friends with them and 1 is very good looking. lol
I will definitely be going back to the hotel and the area as I absolutely loved it. I recommend it to anyone and do not be put of by the negative reports. Also try the camel riding. Very funny and it will bring you closer to the people in your hotel. Oh and watch out for the drunk German who would talk to anyone.
Trust me he don't leave ya alone. That’s what all inclusive does to them. If anyone is going to the hotel who is reading this then you will not be disappointed and enjoy yourselves. Gran Canaria is beautiful!!

This is supposed to be a ` 4* "Platinum Hotel" but we would rate it a good 3*.
The hotel was an oasis in a rather awful, brash and tacky resort, resembling the now demolished "Bullring" in Birmingham but with less planning and character. Hotel itself was really clean and the rooms pristine- if rather austere. It wasn’t that warm when we were there and the marble floors were cold on the feet. The maids are great and supplied extra blankets for us.
The restaurant is rather BHS cafeteria style but the food is good. Lots of salad, veggies and fresh fruit. Waiters work like dogs and are friendly if you make the effort (I mean saying please and thank you) etc.
The reception staff are helpful, even giving us another room as our original allocation was noisy. Try and get a high floor facing the sea.
Would not go back to Playa del Ingles as we didn’t feel safe. Big problem with drugs (as advised by locals). Gates locked to apartment blocks around resort and security ever present in and around hotel.
Good for party animals but not families or older couples. Do get the local bus down to Puerto de Mogan as it's like a little Venice with nice eating places/cafes and a clean beach.

Hotel was Thomson platinum 4 star. Did not seem like four star. Dining room was in basement with no windows Had to queue like school dinners to be fed. Was not impressed at all.
Room ok and bed comfortable enough but everything a bit dated. We paid over one thousand pounds for one week for two and was very disappointed. The area was pretty boring too not much to do unless you want to sit in a bar and drink.

It appears (unless I’ve missed any) that I write the first review of this hotel from a permanent wheelchair users perspective.
Firstly, accessibility of the hotel and all of its facilities couldn’t be much better, in-fact I found the resort of Playa Del Ingles on the whole extremely wheelchair friendly, ok not perfect but they’ve really tried, the resort itself is pretty flat, the numerous commercial centres (Kasbah, Yumbo, Tropical, English and Irish) have several layers with steps to each but almost always is also a ramp/s somewhere. There was nowhere I couldn’t get, I was amazed and pleasantly surprised.
A friend and I stayed in one of four adapted for disabled twin rooms, the ample space sufficed, the beds were of similar height to my wheelchair making simple transferrals and as for the bathroom, level access shower and large washbowl with mirror, so easy to use. Room was cleaned and tidied daily, with treats left on beds, like chocolate bars and wine vouchers.
The restaurant food was just out of this world, such a choice to cater for all tastes, the only drawback was there was so much variety, your plate/appetite/stomach is only so big, you have to leave some things in order to get others, personally I like to try a little of everything but there’s still too much. As for the waiters, they couldn’t run after you more than your own sweet mother. To be honest, I didn’t really want half-board to begin (but left booking too late) and be limited to the hotel for meals but knowing what I know now, we’d have been hard pushed to find better.
From other reviews you’ll be aware of the elevator problem, well in my opinion it’s not the hotel or lifts that are the problem, it’s arrogant, lazy people, the stairs run right next to them, do certain individuals understand that I’d give anything to be able to use the stairs but can’t. I feel the lifts should be used for more needed purposes such as baggage on arrival and departure, the less able and elderly, and ok the top few floors are quite far up. Some people should just stop and think for a moment about the latter before waiting fifteen minutes for an easy ride and then have the audacity to moan and complain about it.
We went over Christmas week, had a fantastic time and can’t knock the hotel in any way what so ever. Helicopter island tour, boat trip to watch dolphins, all accessible to me, Christmas dinner was divine with so many complimentary extras. Forget the compulsive moaners, it’s terrific.

This was our 4th time at the Gran Canaria Princess and I would recommend it for a great holiday.
There are a few minor criticisms most noted by other reviewers notably:
Lifts : 3 x 6 person lifts for a hotel this size are inadequate.
Restaurant Queues : On this occasion never had to wait more than a few mins, but on previous visits was a problem at times with 10-15 min waits not uncommon.
Room Fridge : for a 4 star this should not be chargeable.
Pool : Reserving of loungers should be actively discouraged and it appears to be the German that are the worst offenders.
However overall the hotel is good value and very clean and most staff very friendly. The rooms are well equipped and tastefully decorated.
Had a room on the 5th floor overlooking the Mini Golf course with a view of the sea.

Arrival, first impression of hotel, lovely. Reception area very large and shone like a new pin. Receptionist, very friendly and helpful.
Had no help with luggage, 3 lifts, 7 storey, we were on the 4th floor.
Bedroom - quite large, 2 single beds, dressing table with large mirror, television only channel which we understood was the BBC world news. Fridge which was locked, you had to pay for the use of this. Large wardrobe, with safe inside. Plenty of coat hangers. 2 blankets, 1 extra pillow. We did have to use the blankets. One small round table with two chairs, the room was decorated quite nicely, the bed covers, curtains and the covers on the chairs all co-ordinated. There was also a telephone.
Bathroom - Shower in bath - power shower, toilet and bidet. Towels white and fluffy, changed daily. Soap, shampoo, shower/bath gel and shoe shine all provided.
Balcony- Ours overlooked the car park which wasn’t a problem, if you looked to the right you could see the swimming pool, opposite were other hotels, and to the left the road.
The lifts were a bit of a night mare at certain times of the day, especially meal times. But this wasnt really a problem. If it was we used the stairs - it's amazing I didn’t realise how fit I was until I needed the loo really quick one morning after breakfast and ran up five flights of stairs!
Dining Room - Very large about 60 different kinds of food, something to suit every ones taste - very well presented, piping hot, any drinks with your evening meal you have to pay for, even water, which we did find annoying. It would have been nice if we could have had a free bottle of water with our dinner in the evening. Sometimes we did have to queue for the dining room, but that didn’t present a problem.
Piano Salon - They served drinks of all kinds, and in the evening they had a pianist.
Salon Princess Bar - Evening entertainment, ok, would have been nice if the singers could sing in tune, waiter service, excellent.
Large Restaurant - Outside more like a cafe, waiter service good. This restaurant was mainly for snacks.
Mini golf - looked ok, we didn’t participate.
Tennis court - looked very clean.
Bus stop - just outside the hotel, buses run every 30 minutes.
Many shopping areas within walking distance, 5-10 mins only.
Beach - 10 mins walk, lovely and clean, sand dunes, you could have been in Saudi Arabia. We walked along the beach to the sand dunes - there was a sign on the beach which tells you Nudist beach 1000cm - yes we did see some nude bathers!
Restaurants and Bars - Plenty of them and they all try to drag you into their restaurants and bars. The only small take away we went to was on the beach front which sold hot dogs, they were lovely.
We went on one trip - Puerto Mogan which was a Friday Market. This was a half day out, pick up at 8.40am. arrive back 2.30pm, very large market, in a very pretty port. We done a bit of bartering and bought a few xmas presents.
The weather was lovely, 22-25 degrees, most days very windy.
Time share people are a bit of a nuisance and also people selling scratch cards.
We were out numbered by Germans I would say by about 80 per cent.
We did ask our rep. why the Germans were AI and English were HB, they said that they didn’t think the food at lunch time was good enough to be AI. So Thomson only did HB.
We would definitely go back to this hotel again. Not in the summer though.
The whole area of Play del Ingles reminded me of Blackpool in the sun without the noise.

We could find no fault with this hotel, the food was excellent, we had to queue for the dining-room twice but this was only because the waiters always made sure that everyone sat at a fresh table and the wait lasted no longer than 4/5 minutes.
The rooms were excellent and very clean, the bed linen was changed twice in the week and the decor was fresh and obviously recently renovated.
The hotel is ideally situated for shops, beach and local buses stop right outside the hotel to allow you to venture further a field. We would definitely recommend this hotel and would return in the future.

My wife and I celebrated our 30th wedding anniversary at this hotel as part of a week long stay.
We found the hotel to be very clean and all the staff were friendly and helpful. The food was very good, in particular we enjoyed the Friday evening meal which was a Spanish theme with three guitarists playing and singing wonderful relaxing Spanish music.
The pool was fantastic; with bridges joining a bar on an island in the middle, there's also a waterfall at the other end of the pool area. There's ample sunbeds to go around but it still doesn't discourage some people from creeping out at the crack of dawn to place a towel over the more selective spots around the pool.
The cabaret changes nightly with the best bit saved until last. Unfortunately some of the intermediate acts require a few singing lessons to be plausible, but were still entertaining. There's a kiddies thing at around 8.30 pm where a staff member dresses up and sings with the kids, gestures and all that to a backing tape. Now the kids didn't seem to tire of the same old songs and routine every single night, but I think most of the adults were cringing by Thursday heh heh. The seating was brilliant in the cocktail bar with settees and arm chairs. The waiters were very friendly and helpful as well......no sooner than my glass was empty one of them would appear out of nowhere to refill it.
The lifts were a bit cramped and sometimes very busy for long periods of time. You wouldn’t want to be trapped in one of these lifts with someone who was on the vindaloo the night before.
Our room was on the pool side of the hotel and enjoyed the morning sun. It was pleasantly arranged with nice furniture and piccies on the wall. Beware of the fridge which has a lock on it!!!! I was trying to prise it open for ten minutes with no success. I asked at reception and was told I would have to rent it at a cost of 18 Euros!!!!!!!! Now this is not what one would expect from a 4 star hotel me thinks. I paid the rental and was further surprised to find that there was no mini bar.......just a bottle opener. Another minor nit pick was the hair drier in the bathroom wasn't working..........I didn't bother to find out if I had to pay some sort of rental on this as well.
Having said this my wife and I thoroughly enjoyed our stay and would definitely go back to this friendly and laid back hotel.

We thoroughly enjoyed our 2 weeks at the Gran Canaria Princess.
The standard of cleanliness throughout the hotel and grounds was excellent.
Dining was a pleasant experience, the food enjoyable, wine was not extortionate, the staff worked as one happy team.
We were apprehensive having read reviews as regards the lifts and waiting in line for a table at mealtimes. However, we did not fine either to be a problem, a little patience and common sense is all that is required.
An added bonus for us was the bus stop just feet from the gate.
We will certainly visit again.

When we stayed at this hotel it was excellent service overall but the only problem was at breakfast and dinner because we were Indian we were seated at the back of the restaurant throughout the whole week.
The pool was nice and the hotel was beautiful. I really enjoyed the hotel they were all friendly and the people there where so nice. Everything was close by, the night life is wicked out there.
I’d definitely go back there.