Riu Gran Canaria

and the answer is YES!

I have just returned from a 9 night stay with my wife and my 14 year old son. We have not been away for a few years and we tend to venture to Turkey or Greece, so this was our first time to Gran Canaria.

We travelled from London Southend Airport which was nice and quick, it took us no longer than 15/20 minutes from the time we checked in our luggage and through to the terminal. The one concern we had was the Exit & Entry system at Gran Canaria airport as you hear stories of long queues however, it was completed in the space of a couple of minutes and we proceeded through the E-gates. Returning was also fine and due to having a child over 12, we can go through the main E-gates which is quicker.

I was slightly apprehensive given it was our first time here but also, our last two times abroad, we stayed at the TUI Blue Tropical which I understand is TUIs flagship hotel in Europe and I thought that would be challenging to trump but the hotel was fantastic. Another plus point was the the transfer from the Airport to the Hotel was circ. 20 minutes.

As most of the reviews state, for an All Inclusive hotel, it is fantastic and caters for everything you would expect. The hotel is clean, modern and spacious. we stayed in room 46 was a perfect location as it was located on the ground floor based near the pools and main restaurants. The room was furnished as to be expected and Air con was perfect.

A lot of activities taking place throughout the day.

The food is very nice albeit it would be good if they would put on different themes eg. Chinese, Indian or Spanish etc but nonetheless, all very nice. We only eat in the two buffet restaurants but did eat at the steakhouse which was lovely and we had a window view which looked out to the sea which was stunning.

Like a lot of high end all inclusive hotels, they now put on "White" or "Neon" parties once a week. I felt like the White party was little bit too cheesy for me (but that's my personal view) and it does go on until 12pm at night, so if you are looking for an early night, you might struggle to get to sleep. You cant take anything away from the entertainment team, they work their socks off night and day and are a credit to the hotel as well is all the staff, we found all them very welcoming, polite and helpful. Its the little things for me, there was an occasion where someone was smoking near our sun loungers and as non-smoker, i wasn't thrilled about it but they were quickly directed by one of the security guards to a smoking area.

Something that most people worry about is the Sun Bed wars, to be honest, if you want a front row seat to the main pool then yes, you may have to get up a little bit earlier. However, you will always still find sun beds available.

After reflecting on the hotel, the one stand out point for me was the location. Not only was it close to the airport, the hotel is set on the beach and there are some fabulous modern beach bars/restaurants if you come out and turn left. We never eat out but always ventured to the Ice Cream shop whilst also having a look around in the super markets and shopping centres. Later on in the holiday, we turned right and again was met by a few restaurants and in the last few days, took a stroll in the day time to have a quick drink whilst looking out to the sea.

Don't get me wrong, nowadays, the price to travel abroad especially in the summer holidays, from our local Airport with good flight times is eye-watering but 100% this hotel was well worth every penny and will be returning at some point.

Excellent place for families with 100% helpful staff (that was the best part indeed). Facilities were very nice and food was also great.

....its not my final review

.but I've been here 3 days and made a point to search out 'Walio' who someone mentioned was not friendly in a review last month.....his name is actually Walid.....and he is a proper Gent...so just want Damien and Oscar to know he is a top guy