Gran Canaria Holiday Reviews

A more traditional port and resort that still maintains some local influence. Not for the 18 to 30,s maybe but a very nice place to stay.

the area of maspalomas is quite a way out from the centre of town which is known as melonaras theres no bars or restaurants as such in maspalomas only in holiday world which a fairground and a bowling centre and faro2 shopping centre but alot of the shops are closed due to lack of business but there are a few restaurants but more cafe type good for breakfast or lunch. Melonaras you will see as you come into resort all very big posh hotels who pay to get dropped off first from the airport very nice and all very expensive lovely shops and some nice restaurants and another shopping centre but the euro is very expensive at the moment we were paying roughly £70 a evening for meals and drinks for 4 of us which adds up over the week so we had burger king one eve. Hire a car as the island is great to drive around roads are very good we had a car for 2 days went to peurto rico one day which is lovely my girls were delighted to see a mcdonalds and more british than where we were that took about 20-25minutes drive the next day we went to peurto moran again very pretty some lovely cafes and fishing boats just a little further around the coast we then decided to hire the car another day and went to alantico shopping centre about 35 minutes drive the other way its a carrefour on the top floor and a nice shopping centre on the bottom bit of a strange layout but great as they have january sales and we spent most of our time shopping in mango and zara . i wanted to buy a leather bag in meloneras and all the shops had them and wanted 35euros but i got it in peurto rico in the end for 19euros exactly the same so i think melonaras/maspalomas is more expensive for shopping eating out and drinks playa del ingles has two great centres yumbo and kasbah the latter being where the louder bars are and they stay open to 2/3am sand dunes and beach in maspalmos are lovely watch out though there is a nudist bit which we found out good laugh tho

Whilst I love gran canaria and my husband and I have been here 7 times the resort has become very commercialised. There are PR staff outside every bar and restaurant trying to get you in. You cannot stop and look in the window of a bar or restaurant without being hassled and I hate that. I used to love going to the Kasbar centre for a wander but found it impossible to do this time. We therefore ended up staying local and going to the chapperal centre down the road. Here is the cheapest bar we have found called Tony Casa. Very small plain but very cheap and massive measures of spirits.

The resort had plently to do and lots of bars and places to eat,nice beaches.if you want to go out for a meal papas jos is very nice but pricey there was three of us went for a two course meal it costed £96 euros which we though was dear.

Peurto Rico was established in the 70's, so don't go there looking for old Gran Canaria, you won't find it-it's completely modern. Built in a steep sided valley, with a lot of the apartment complexes several hundred feet above the town-a taxi is essential, allow for taxi journeys in your spending money (about 3.25-3.75 Euros each way when we were there). There are two shopping centres, one in the town itself, the other the Europa centre higher up on the Northern side. The Europa is fairly tatty, although we had some good meals there, especially at Lord Byron's and Flick's. The Hyperdino supermarket has pretty much all you need if you're self-catering. The shopping centre in the town is bigger, with loads of restaurants, bars and shops, from the usual tourist tat to expensive high-end places. Lots of touts and people trying to entice you in, some OK, some quite offensive (I was sworn at a few times for taking an interest then walking away). Some can handle them, some can't, so be aware. ANFI timeshare touts around too, I successfully avoided all of them, another good use for an MP3 player. Some very nice restaurants, especially enjoyed the Indian at Happy Valley, the Chinese buffets are incredibly good value, as much as you can eat for less than 6 Euros-one local told us she would never eat at them, we had no complaints. Our favourite was Caballito de Mar at the harbour-expensive, but very nice indeed, the best seafood platter my wife has ever had! Prices when we were there not much different to those at home, my wife did do very well at one of the many perfume shops! We hired a car and drove around the mountains, really glad we did that and wish we'd had more time-3 days not really long enough. Loved the Guayadeque valley (Tagoror cave restaurant very nice!), Pico de las Nieves and the Roque Nublo-incredible views, pine forests, lakes, really nice communal picnic areas. Loved the boat trip to Peurto de Mogan-highly recommended. Went to Aqualand by bus (no problem)-not terribly impressed-surfaces rough on your feet, a bit tatty, and a couple of the rides genuinely hurt! Loved the Tornado, though. Apparently the beach at Amadores is superb, we never got there however! We loved Gran Canaria and will definitely go again, probably to a different resort next time, although Peurto Rico was fine.

Puerto Rico is a lovely with beaches, shops, pubs and great restaurants found in the centre of the resort, along the beaches and the port area/Marina. The cost of food and gifts are not as cheap as they used to be, owing the poor exchange rate. If you are stuck on top of the hill there is always the Europa Centre with plenty do, a wide range of shops, restaurants, bars and the children's play area.

Went all inclusive so we didn't eat out and we aren't the sort to go and party on holiday, but the beach was extremly close to our hotel and the nearest large town is only twenty minutes away on the bus, which runs every twenty minutes (number thirty). A very good location with lovely views.

Puerto Rico is a most popular resort and while we were there enjoyed the best weather on the island. Small shops, selling a vast range of "everything-you-could-possibly-want-on-holiday", and restaurants, with food from every corner of the world, abound in the "centre". Local markets provide even more opportunity for you to part with your holiday cash.

Having been to Puerto Rico several times we knew what to expect. The resort is split on two levels with very steep hills to access the upper part. We enjoy the walk but elderly or disabled would have to use taxis which are plentiful and cost around 3 euro per trip. Bars and restaurants are plentiful in two main centres one at the bottom of the resort and a smaller one at the top. There are two beautiful beaches the best being amadores beach where there are also bars shops and restaurants.

Resort was OK, lovely beaches, good restaurants but not much to do. Will try another resort next time.

The island is good to get winter sunshine which is why we go. The island itself has not much to see really Mogan is nice and the boat trips to see whales are fine but if you want sight seeing it is not the place to go. The Amfi beach sales people are still about, they are very annoying and they even include the sales pitch at the reps welcome meeting,(which I do not agree with at all).

A pleasant enough resort but showing its age a little. The beach is very good but we prefer the pleasant walk to Amadores, particularly, on Sundays for lunch at "The London Pride" beach bar

The town of Maspalomas is lively and there are some lovely restaurants. We found a really good Italian and spent most of our holiday eating there as the prices were reasonable! The town has a good range of shops from boutiques to toy shops for the little ones. We found that the prices of spirits were really good and ended up packing a couple of bottles (in the beach towels we hadn't used) to bring home. Good for Xmas!

There's also lots to see and do. The sand dunes are fab and really amazing to see. There’s also places like Holiday World (a big fairground) and other attractions but we just stuck to relaxing in the hotel/apartment complex.

We visited the resort over Christmas and were surprised at how quiet the bars and restaurants were.......until we visited our first bar and ordered 2 drinks (bacardi and coke and a glass of house wine) and were charged 12 Euros!!!!!! No wonder the place was desserted, we were glad we were All Inclusive at the hotel!

Very limited, and very expensive as they have a captive audience. The beach is lovely. Very quiet so would be some peoples idea of heaven