Gloria Palace Amadores Thalasso and Hotel

Had a great holiday at Gloria Palace. The hotel is spotless, rooms are clean, modern and the air conditioning worked great.

Food - excellent choice every day for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Themed nights at dinner made every day different and every day we had lots of choices (even fussy kids). Pasta station, fresh pizzas, meat station which had steak, pork, fish every day, BBQ’s on the terrace for 2 or 3 nights out of the 11 we were there with steak, chicken thighs, chorizo cooked to order with amazing pepper sauce. Sausages at breakfast the only let down (no proper English sausages 🤣) but omlettes cooked fresh, smoothies made fresh, pancakes, churros, fruit, cereal, yoghurt and pastries. Snack bar was good with hotdogs, pizzas etc. Small ice creams were all included. Anyone who says they struggle for food must be super fussy.

Drinks - Amstel on tap, cruzcampo bottles and racket bottles. Only thing which I would say was a negative is the cocktails were poor, all very sweet and tasted similar. Pins coladas were nice though. Gutted they didn’t have mojitos included in all inclusive - my holiday drink of choice along with beer. The staff can get very busy at the pool bar and entertainment area, but all work so hard and serve you with a smile. Coffees were great at the pool bar before too.

Location - perfect for us. Overlooking the ocean, and a 5 minute walk to Amadores beach and 10 minutes to Puerto Rico beach. 20 minute walk to the commercial centre via the lift down to the promenade. 10 minute walk uphill to Europa but taxis were very cheap. Didn’t pay more than 6 euros to get around anywhere. You can order them at reception too.

Pools - we only used the pool where the entertainment and splash park was which was livelier than the pool where the snack bar is. We did get up early to get the beds by the pool and kids splash area which we used all day. Was disappointed to see beds reserved by the pool not being used for long periods but there’s not much you can do about that. Loads of sunbeds free all day though if you don’t have kids or aren’t bothered about being pool side / next to the splash park. Towels provided daily from reception for pools.

Entertainment - typical all inclusive, we enjoyed most of the shows which were put on. Pablo was excellent by the pool.

Overall - fantastic hotel, great for couple and families and I’d recommend it to anyone.

Positives:

• The hotel itself is beautiful, with stunning views from both the rooms and the pool area.
• Every member of staff was excellent, from reception to housekeeping. Everyone was friendly, welcoming and worked incredibly hard throughout our stay.
• The location is ideal. It’s only around a €5 taxi ride to Mogán Mall and the commercial centre, making it easy to head out for shopping, restaurants or drinks.

Negatives:

• Unfortunately, the food was the biggest disappointment. I’m a big foodie, and I genuinely struggled to find anything I would recommend. On one evening, the chicken skewers were raw when I cut into them, which was unacceptable. On another night, the chicken breast was so overcooked and greasy that it was like chewing rubber.
• The variety and quality of the food also need significant improvement. By the third day, we chose to eat out rather than dine at the hotel. I would encourage the hotel management to visit other hotels on the island, or even spend some time at the restaurants in the nearby commercial centre, to see how a few simple improvements could make a huge difference to the dining experience.
• One issue that left a sour taste was the late checkout process. We were travelling with our one-year-old and had an evening flight home, so I requested a late checkout from the day we arrived. I was told to come back at 7am on the morning of departure, which I did, only to be told it wasn’t available. It was only after I complained that a late checkout until 2pm was offered, for an additional €20. While I appreciate eventually receiving it, the process was frustrating and could have been handled much better, particularly for families with young children.
• We stayed on a half-board basis, and personally I felt that was too much. I wouldn’t recommend paying for all-inclusive, especially as some drinks and smoothies around the pool still incur an extra charge.

Overall: This is a beautiful hotel in a fantastic location with genuinely outstanding staff who deserve a lot of credit. Sadly, the food lets the hotel down significantly and is well below the standard I expected. If the hotel invested in improving the quality and variety of its food, it would be an easy place to recommend. Hopefully this is something they address, because everything else about our stay was very enjoyable.