Our Holiday in Gran Canaria!

** Some of this is from my trip adviser review! Sorry.
I was the biggest pain the arse for the week before we went, on my last day at work, I must have been the worst!!!
Went up the previous night to avoid the weather and the Bestival traffic and stayed in a cheap B&B above a pub in Portsmouth.  The B&B was perfect, great location, clean, tidy, and comfortable, and a bargain at £45 for two people for the night!
Had dinner in Azzuro in Gunwharf; Three Course meal (well two for Ben, three for me), was sooooo incredibly tasty!!! Had a antipasto to share as a starter, both had chicken wrapped in parma ham with roasted vegetables for a main, and I had profiteroles for dessert, best meal I’d had in ages!!! And a bottle of wine in the room after!
Great nights sleep, shower and up for breakie at a tea room across the road, which was a nice start to the day! Taxi arrived on time, and off we went to Gatwick’s south terminal, checking in via my BB all the way!!!

Airport was quick and easy, bought a few bits for the plane, a travel guide, and some lunch, and then off we went! The flight was fine, on time, and no turbulence,  and I wasn’t that bored haha.
Met the Thomas cook rep, and straight on the bus! About an hours transfer, we were the last ones on the bus!

Check-in: Didn’t take long at all, easily done! The directions given by the receptionist made finding the room and lifts etc harder than it was!! (NB It takes less than 5 minutes, and if you read the signs the lifts arent that confusing at all, some people just like to complain!).

Room:Wow! For a 3* it was large. It was clean, and it was comfortable!! And that is all you really need, all you do is sleep in there!!!! It looks exactly like it does in the photos! Has a large bedroom with twin beds pushed together (With crisp and clean linen); a nice bathroom with a bath and shower; a lounge with two sofas; kitchen with hob, fridge, mircowave, kettle thing. People have complained about lack of air con - yes there is only a fan, however, once again it is a 3* resort, if you had aircon it would be a low 4* and the cost would increase massively.
And the best bit, a massive balcony with 2 sun loungers and a table and chairs.
(When we arrived and checked in it was after the dinner service had finished, so we went and had a few drinks, before going to the restaurant which they had opened especially for late arrivals with salads etc available as a light meal before bed!!!!! Not many places I have been to have done this, so it was a welcome bonus!).

Meals: FOR A 3* AI the food was great, it wasn’t repetitive if you were willing to actually try the foods and weren’t expecting pizza/burger/chips everyday (however you COULD have this in the pool snack bar - but if you want that, go to black pool!). There was a great choice of salads, veg, cheese & hams, nice soups, rice, pasta, freshly grilled meats and fish (done in front of you), lots of different meats, nice sauces, different types of potatoes etc. I am incredibly fussy, and I loved it!!  The desserts were the usual - Fruit, yoghurts jellies etc, all very nice.
I loved breakfast, although it wasn’t to everyone’s tastes! There was freshly done fried eggs and STREAKY bacon, as this is found in most Spanish resorts, scrambled and boiled eggs too, salads, cereals, bread/toast/croissants/pastries, jams and things like that! However there was always more random things like carrots, or chicken nuggets there too!
** On our last night they did a Chinese themed meal, was lovely! And the dessert was a chocolate fountain with profiteroles - yummy!!!
People do complain about the food being cold - yes, it is often colder than you would have at home, but it that heat you don’t want hot food! Also, you can see there have thermometers showing the cooked food is kept well above the food safely levels, and well below for the chilled stuff!!

Facilities: Pool bar could have more staff, but the que was never more than 3 minutes long!! There was several pool tables, an air hocky table, you could purchase a TV card for your room. The entertainment wasn’t the best, but it is a 3* and it was, mostly good!
The adults only terrace was amazing! The hot tubs were fab, and the Balinese beds were great, also has great views!
The other pools were equally as nice, never struggled for a sunbed.
**They had the deep adults pool closed for refurb (it had to be done whilst people were there as its an all round resort), this was probably due to people complaining of broken tiles. To compensate us, the management left a bottle of wine in the room, thoughtful and not expected!

Resort: I loved it!! The beaches were pretty! The bars were cheap, and the restaurants, well, there was enough to suit anyones tastes and budget!
Taxis were cheap, safe and plentiful.

**Went to Aqualand - pretty standard, same as everywhere else, but makes a nice day out! Just lazed about in the sunshine in the lazy river, or on a sun lounger. Went on all the slides, some scared me shitless haha, and got a proper funny photo of us on a slide! And there was a sea lion show thing, where you could have your photo taken with them, which was different!!
And Palmitos park - this is well worth a visit, make sure you watch all the shows!! It was set in a beautiful valley, and had amazing views wherever you where! There was so many animals, and all kept in nice enclosures! Got some fantastic pictures of the views, the plants ( there was an orchid house!!) all the birds, and monkeys! I came home wanting a meerkat and a coati!


I had the most amazing week, I went with an open mind and loved every minute! It was a fantastic cheap, relaxing week away and I would definitely return, to both the resort and the hotel!
We met some lovely people - another 2 couples, all Ben’s age, so once again, I was the baby!! We had one night out in the resort centre, was good from what I can remember and what the pics show haha.
Ate out one night, and it was cheap, and tasty, and made a nice change, and a little treat!
The excursions we did were fun, absolutely loved Palmitos park, the videos I have of the dolphin show I will have to upload to you tube, cos it was awesome!!!!
Didn’t wanna come home:’(

Here are a few pics of the holiday - What a fab way to end my summer!!!