Reviews of Portonovo Apartments, Puerto Rico, Gran Canaria

The Porto Novo apartments in...

Overall Rating:

2/10

Board Basis:

Self Catering

Date of Holiday:

May 2008

Tour Operator:

Booked Independently

Submitted By:

Mrs J Woodman

Comments:

The Porto Novo apartments in Puerto Rico. Look very nice in brochures and on the net.

When we stayed there the best point about them is the position facing the marina.



The apartments are old fashioned and are cockroach ridden and the reception is so old fashioned, dowdy and unwelcoming especially when returning in the evening.

i went to the portonovo...

Overall Rating:

8/10

Board Basis:

Self Catering

Date of Holiday:

Jun 2008

Tour Operator:

Thomson

Submitted By:

Miss G Kirton

Comments:

i went to the portonovo apartments with 2 of my frends, were all 19 and it really was the best place to go! we loved every day of it, even though our maid hated us, and if we were in the room she ddnt clean it.

its in a very good location, the beach is about a 5 minute walk away, as is spar. and the main centre is about a ten minute walk, depending on how drunk u are, and taxis to the main centre are just under 3euros!

at the hotel theres a coctail bar and the staff their are very frendly! we went there almost every night before we hit the main centre! were going back to Gran caneria in September and we've already booked to stay at this hotel again!

The only thing that isnt that good about this hotel is the lack of entertainment. Their isnt anything for children to do but sit it the many bars for adults.

had a great time in puerto rico...

Overall Rating:

9/10

Board Basis:

Self Catering

Date of Holiday:

May 2008

Tour Operator:

Thomson

Submitted By:

Miss A Mcgurn

Comments:

had a great time in puerto rico and portonovo apartments :)



dont have any complaints about apartments !



great location, 2 minutes to beach and 5 to nightlife !



apartments kept very clean, rooms were cleaned everyday and pool and sunbathing area was cleaned everyday ! rooms were good size and cleaned with maids daily !



hotel has an indian restaurant and bar etc in the apartments and all very pleasant !



check in was quick and helpfull, and very glad i chose these aparments and travel with thomson



overall had a great holiday, and would definately go back to these aparments !

I've stayed at these apartments...

Overall Rating:

9/10

Board Basis:

Self Catering

Date of Holiday:

Mar 2007

Tour Operator:

Portland Direct

Submitted By:

Miss D Simmonds

Comments:

I've stayed at these apartments now 7 times, after furiously begging at my parents to stay here. We stayed in the new Marina Suites opposite the harbour once, they were very nice but I still like Portonovo better. Its an amazing location to stay in, 5 minute walk to the beach, and there's a pizzeria, Indian, and cafe bar under the rooms, with 3 restaurants, a breakfast bar and a supermarket below.



Puerto Rico is amazing for any age, the first time I went I was 11, and still now at 17 I get my mum to take us back every March. The weathers always really nice, and I can imagine it gets a lot hotter in summer months!



The town is slightly difficult to find on your first visit but an easy 10 minute walk once you are familiar with it. They have superb restaurants and clubs and bars. I highly recommend La bolero (restaurant as you enter the town with live dancing) and Harleys bar on the top floor, which serve 2 for 1 drinks all year round.



There are also great boat trips and a water park and a really nice public pool nearby. The rooms are very clean and very well kept, the first time I caME was before all the refurbishment, and now they're even better!



A definite place to stay, you will not regret it!

First impression when I walked...

Overall Rating:

8/10

Board Basis:

Self Catering

Date of Holiday:

Sep 2007

Tour Operator:

Thomson

Submitted By:

Mrs C Alker

Comments:

First impression when I walked in at reception is 'what have I booked!'. Reception area in desperate need of an upgrade, however room was of a good size with kitchenette nice also. I stayed in 2 bedroom apartment with my family (3 adults & 2 young children) and it did us very nicely. Balcony was of a good size but I think we must have had the largest one there as everyone else's was half the size!



Pool was great, really good size but no shallow end or seperate children's pool so found swimming with my baby difficult as I could hardly stand up! Really nice around pool area with bar, pizza place and Indian restaurant on site. Didn't think much of Indian but it did come highly recommended and was pretty full but was not a patch on our local Indian (Pavillion) in Bolton!



Supermarket on site was very pricey but Spar round corner okay. Maria Salinas restaurant very overpriced. English place next to Wig Wam bar okay, breakfasts are lovely, worth paying 6Euros for! Highly recommend La Cabana in town centre, the steaks are to die for! It is facing a place where people queue up for food (Don something??), we ate there once, never again - was not impressed. Great English bar on road facing beach above all the shops, you have to go upstairs to get to it but I can't remember the name of it! They had quiz on every night where you can win cash and prizes - really good night!



Overall had a great holiday, would go back to Puerto Rico but not Portonovo apartments, although were very nice is right on a noisy main road and facing a bottle bank where people re-cycled all hours of the night!

Having been to the island 16...

Overall Rating:

9/10

Board Basis:

Self Catering

Date of Holiday:

Oct 2006

Tour Operator:

Thomson

Submitted By:

Miss J Gabbott

Comments:

Having been to the island 16 times, this was my first time staying at these apartments and has been the best accommodation I have stayed in.



The rooms were very clean on arrival and stayed that way throughout the 2 weeks. Towels and bedding were changed every other day. Kitchen area has everything you would require i.e. large fridge freezer, microwave, kettle, toaster, coffee maker, 2 ring hobs etc. Rooms have TV at no extra cost, some other apartments do actually charge you to watch TV.



The swimming pool was fantastic, very nice size, only down side was the sun beds, very uncomfortable and very hard to obtain (get up early to get one). If you don’t get one the beach is a 5 minute walk away where there are very comfortable sun beds 2.50 euros each for the day.



Within the complex is the best Indian Restaurant I gave eaten in - Taj Palace - excellent friendly staff. Their bar is your pool side bar, very polite staff also. There are a few other restaurants on site none of which I ate in as I have my favourite restaurants in the shopping centre. You also have a supermarket, hairdressers and 2 cocktail bars (Wig Wam is a must).



Nothing to do with the apartments but I would recommend eating in my 2 favourite restaurants in the lower shopping centre - Las Vegas and San Miguels. If your looking for a good night out then you must go to Harley’ Bar, located on the top floor, great music, fantastic staff and a brilliant atmosphere.



All in all a fantastic holiday and I WILL be returning next year.

Porto Novo is a great location...

Overall Rating:

9/10

Board Basis:

Room Only

Date of Holiday:

Sep 2006

Tour Operator:

Thomson

Submitted By:

Mr R Lawrence

Comments:

Porto Novo is a great location esp. for the elderly who have difficulty with all the stairs of other "mountain located" places in Puerto Rico. The building though low rise has elevators which also makes it very accessible for wheelchair access. You can walk across the road to the beach, grocery store is downstairs and the best restaurant in the town, "Don Quixote" is downstairs (make reservations otherwise you'll not get at table). It's closed on Sunday and Monday nights.



From Port Novo you can walk everywhere, taxis are not necessary. "San Miguel" is the other great restaurant in the main shopping centre, they always are cheap with excellent service. Just look for the restaurant with the only line up and no one bugging you to come in - they don't have to. We met quite a few tourists who ate there every night of their vacation and that's probably not a bad idea!



Pool is really lovely, sun beds are limited as in other locations and rooms are clean and spacious. Indian restaurant is good too but avoid the overpriced "Maria Salinas" on main floor with terrible food.



Just one note - watch the cleanliness of the water at the beach at Puerto Rico. If there's a lot of "flotsam and jetsam" around the steps, use the pool instead that day since we don't feel that sewage is being properly treated on the island. After a storm or stormy day, not the best idea to go for an ocean swim!

This was a first family holiday...

Overall Rating:

7/10

Board Basis:

Self Catering

Date of Holiday:

Jul 2006

Tour Operator:

Portland Direct

Submitted By:

Ms J Allan

Comments:

This was a first family holiday abroad, hence decision to do the package holiday. Porto-Novo apartment itself was good, well equipped and clean, although there was no aircon, but fans could be hired from reception.



Not having been abroad before, I didn't know what to expect. We arrived late (1.30 am). No sign of anybody at reception. After about a 10 minute wait, member of staff eventually arrives and handed us our keys, pointing us to the lift. No welcome pack was offered, found out later we had to ask for it at reception.



During the week, we needed to make enquiries at reception. Two members of staff working, one who was obviously inexperienced and not a lot of English but always there, the other had good English but was unwelcoming, grudging and never seemed to be at the desk. We continually asked about a late departure extension (as advised when we booked), and were told 3 times this would not be a problem. However, when this was mentioned to rep on our second last day, she told us this would not be available and we shouldn't have been told this.



Unhappy with lack of information either from rep or reception staff and any information we did get was incorrect.



Biggest bugbear was that when one of the staff was on duty, he never seemed to be there and there was no bell or anything to get his attention, from wherever he was (suspect he was in restaurant or bar nearby). There was no information in room re what to do in event of fire etc, (as stated in holiday info folder at reception) neither did we get information on how to get hot water, and spent first two days showering with cold water. Eventually worked out that a switch in a small fuse box behind door operated the hot water



Overall a great resort, great holiday and good accommodation. Only complaints are reception staff and not enough info from rep (or info received too late).

As frequent visitors to Puerto...

Overall Rating:

9/10

Board Basis:

Self Catering

Date of Holiday:

Dec 2004

Tour Operator:

Thomson

Submitted By:

Miss E Lowe

Comments:

As frequent visitors to Puerto Rico we were impressed by the high standards offered by this establishment. The room was clean and well equipped (there's nothing worse than the feeling that the last inhabitants have just left!!), the staff were extremely friendly and helpful, and the atmosphere lent itself beautifully to a relaxing escape abroad!



This review is a little late as we had nothing to compare it to, but having just spent Christmas 2005 in the same resort, but at a different hotel - I can now definitely recommend the Portonovo as the place to stay over the festive period, as well as any other time of year!!



(For anyone considering a stay at the Portonovo, I can also suggest a trip to Garbo's for a memorable evening of quality food and entertainment.)