Aparthotel Partner Playa del Inglés, Grand Canary

Last month me and my mum set off to Playa del Ingles in Gran Canaria and our destination once we got there was the Partner Playa del Ingles. I was really looking forward to this holiday as I've had a bit of a bad time of late and was looking forward to escaping - I'd been to Playa del Ingles before so knew what to expect, and was dying to get some sunshine.

*****LOCATION*****

The Partner Playa is situated fairly centrally ...
...stayed at on our last trip (the IFA Continental) - our room was directly opposite the Plaza, Metro and Kasbah shopping centres, which meant it was just a quick trip around the corner if we felt like going shopping. It was also only a short walk from the beach, less than five minutes away in fact. (Of course, that's not taking into account the tons of steps you have to walk down to actually be at beach LEVEL!)

Before we went, we had ... more

Last month me and my mum set off to Playa del Ingles in Gran Canaria and our destination once we got there was the Partner Playa del Ingles. I was really looking forward to this holiday as I've had a bit of a bad time of late and was looking forward to escaping - I'd been to Playa del Ingles before so knew what to expect, and was dying to get some sunshine.

*****LOCATION*****

The Partner Playa is situated fairly centrally in Playa del Ingles, as opposed to the hotel we stayed at on our last trip (the IFA Continental) - our room was directly opposite the Plaza, Metro and Kasbah shopping centres, which meant it was just a quick trip around the corner if we felt like going shopping. It was also only a short walk from the beach, less than five minutes away in fact. (Of course, that's not taking into account the tons of steps you have to walk down to actually be at beach LEVEL!)

Before we went, we had read some reviews of the hotel which claimed that the location meant it was difficult to sleep at night because of all the activities around the shopping centres. We arrived there on the Saturday night at half past eleven and I have to admit it was fairly noisy that night, and also on the Friday night before we left. I wouldn't say the noise would have kept me awake, but then it was fairly quiet in the resort given that it was Easter rather than high season. I would imagine the noise would be significantly more in the summer when the resort was busier.

However, you couldn't really fault the location of the hotel otherwise, because it was handy for most places in the resort. The bus station was a mere ten minute walk if you fancied getting away for a bit (we went to Las Palmas for the day, which ironically turned out to be far warmer than Playa del Ingles), there was a Spar attached to the hotel itself (meaning it was easy - and fairly cheap - to stock up on necessities like water . . . and wine!) and the other shopping centres (as well as the more "native" part of town, San Fernando) were all within walking distance too.

*****STAFF*****

I feel the staff issue is one I should mention first as it was one of the first problems we experienced. When we stepped off the airport transfer bus it was us and one other party who were in front of us at reception. The receptionist who served us all that night was pretty unhelpful, and had a bit of an attitude on him. It took him nearly half an hour to deal with the other party and us, and he didn't seem to have a clue what rooms any of us were in - and also didn't seem to know that me and my mum had booked half board, not just breakfast. We managed to sort it out, but didn't feel particularly satisfied by the whole situation.

The other staff members (and other reception staff) were far more friendly and helpful though, it has to be said. Especially the almost overly friendly cleaner who wandered our floor constantly during the day! (Although the fact the cleaning rota changed constantly during our trip, leaving us often returning to an untidy room at half three in the afternoon, was a bit of a pain and we sometimes ending up forgoing the tidying just for an easy life).

*****POOL*****

This hotel was one of the few hotels I'd been to where you didn't have to fight for a sun lounger at the pool. This may have been due to the fairly strong wind putting people off, but once the sun was shining at the pool it, like the balcony, was a bit of a sun trap. (Although on our last day the wind was so strong some of the empty sunloungers actually started trying to make a break for it!) The pool itself was lovely, especialy on the hottest day of our holiday where I was baking beside it and welcomed the coolness of it. My mum didn't even try it though because only a tiny portion of it was shallow then it shelved dramatically. So if you don't like to not be able to touch the bottom of the pool, it's not exactly ideal! If you're a water baby like me though, you'd love it.

****ROOMS****

As we had opted for an apartment rather than a room, we had a separate living room/kitchen as well as a bedroom and bathroom. The apartment couldn't really be faulted, it was really clean and well laid out, and had plenty of places to store your clothes and other items. A door led out to the balcony from both the living room and the bedroom, which was handy. On top of that, the balcony also housed an airing cupboard where you could hang up your wet swimmies and towels - this isn't something I've come across before.

The balcony was nowhere near the size of the one we had at the Sol Lanzarote - which was a disappointment, but hardly a surprise - but it was larger than average size all the same, and contained not only the standard patio table and chairs, but also a sun-lounger type chair, which was ideal for me, as I love to laze on the balcony! Unfortunately the sun only came around to our balcony about four in the afternoon, but once it was shining there, it was a little sun trap!

As we had kitchen facilities, we had a couple of rings to heat things on, and a kettle, as well as cutlery etc. But it was only when we got to the end of the holiday and decided to cook a tin of spag bol for lunch that we realised we had no saucepans! Luckily when my mum went to ask for one, we received one within about ten minutes. Although it still seems weird to provide you with kitchen equipment and forget a particularly vital item if you wish to cook!

****FOOD****

Speaking of food . . . I wasn't impressed with the dinners and breakfasts AT ALL! Generally I'm not a fan of buffet meals anyway, but this hotel's choice of food available was distinctly lacking.

The first day it got off to a good start as they had scambled eggs with herbs sprinkled through them and those lovely fried "things" (I'm not sure what they are - kind of a fried bread concoction fashioned into a weird round shape?) that you usually get for breakfast in these types of hotels. But after that it went distinctly downhill. The food available for dinner was distinctly limited, especially if you weren't a meat-eater. I'm not vegetarian or anything, but I don't eat a huge amount of meat and for dinner here I found myself ending up with a plate full of various animals - duck, chicken, beef, that sort of stuff. Don't get me wrong, it tasted nice enough and had I been on Atkins I may have welcomed it . . . but it's not my first choice of food. As for the breakfasts . . . the choice became more limited and the food more unpalatable each day.

In my opinion, you'd be better going self-catering, or taking breakfasts only and cooking yourself and dining out, because the food is DEFINITELY nothing to write home about . . . although you may want to write to the hotel and complain about it!

*****SHOULD YOU GO?*****

With the exception of the food, I really enjoyed my stay in this hotel, and loved its close proximity to all the facilities. The room was lovely and the pool was great. If you want to go to Gran Canaria, I would definitely recommend it - just don't pay extra for meals in the hotel or that will totally put you off!

You can find out about availability and prices at the following link:

http://www.booking.com/hotel/es/partnerplayainglespalmas.en.html?a id=311076;label=hotel-91571-es-5yJDDDQzHJBizTHtILuLMQS672347484;ws=&gclid=C I2qucr8vpMCFRU7EAodBAylBw 

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