Gloria Palace Royal Hotel and Spa

Worst hotel I have stayed in. The most disappointing hotel I've stayed in.Having read reviews here I had great expectations from this hotel,especially having stay in Gloria Palace Amadores in Feb. Right from the beginning I disliked my room.I asked to be moved ,which I was however second room no better than the first.The room was so dated.The furniture is old and worn and the bathroom dreadful.The paint on the walls very scratched.The room view is fabulous and the lady cleaning room was wonderful,just the room so it dated.I hated it Food was inedible.This hotel has a head chef with no imagination. Breakfast was ok with fresh fruit ,cereal and egg fine.Other than that queue to get coffee,make toast etc.Food at lunch and dinner the worst food I have ever seen. So much kept warm under heated lights and tasteless. Desert plates often empty. If you're planning on staying more than afew nights same thing over and over.Alot of chips,pizza,rabbit,fish and goat stews.Waiting staff were so nice especially a lady called Shelia.However not nearly enough staff on and often tables uncleared etc.It very much school canteen or office canteen look. Outdoor area ok but outdoor restaurant at main pool looks horrible and top pool restaurant wont serve all inclusive clients.Also the all inclusive menu has very few all inclusive items .Most of them have to be paid for.Again lack of staff at bar at level 6 meant long waiting times for a drink. I attempted to contact management twice while staying in hotel and twice since I have returned and have received no reply to any. I obviously dont recommend this hotel but would like to say all waiting staff and lady who cleaned by room wonderful.Reception staff not great.Day after I checked in I mentioned to reception that I hadn't received the welcome bottle of cava and fruit.It wasnt big deal but states on official site that all all inclusive guests receive. She replied it at the discretion of the manager.Had I not paid in advance with no refund clause I would have left but I had no choice but remain.In my opinion this is an extremely expensive hotel for what it gives it's guests.

Great food and staff were friendly and polite for the most part. Short distance to the beach, 8 minute walk. Short taxi/bus ride to other locations. View was good. Hotel was very clean. Rooms are dated, especially the bathroom so could really do with some investment. Entertainment was abysmal and really wasn’t prepared for the bingo sessions that echoed throughout the hotel! Aqua aerobics in the middle of the day when most are in the pool due to the heat was not great timing as you had to get out. There is a second pool which is smaller and would have been better to hold the sessions in there or alternatively, maybe the sessions could have been held in the morning prior to breakfast. There are some really good elements to this hotel, just need to get rid of the tackiness.

We had such a lovely stay at Gloria Palace Royal Hotel & Spa and would definitely recommend it. We really loved the position of the hotel, set up on the cliffside overlooking the sea. The views were absolutely beautiful and were probably one of our favourite things about the hotel.

We had interconnecting rooms, which were a really good size and much more spacious than we expected. The balconies were also a great size, and sitting out enjoying the view was lovely. The pool area was really nice too and we spent plenty of time relaxing there.

The evening entertainment was excellent while we were there. The singers were very good and we really enjoyed the atmosphere in the evenings. The only thing I would say is that there could have been a little more variety, as most of the entertainment was singers. It would be nice to have a mixture of different types of shows and acts as well.

The restaurant was generally very good and the views from the restaurant were spectacular. There were just a few little things that could be improved. The coffee machines seemed to need more regular maintenance, particularly making sure the milk was topped up. The pancakes were also extremely popular and disappeared very quickly, but unfortunately it often took quite a while for more to be made.

I think it would also help to have someone keeping an eye on the pancake station when they are replenished. On a few occasions, people would take a large number of pancakes as soon as they were put out, leaving everyone else waiting again. It would be much fairer if someone could monitor this and make sure people aren’t taking more than their share or queue-jumping.

The main thing we found difficult was the allergy information. I have a nut allergy and, at times, it was quite tricky to work out exactly what foods contained nuts. The symbols weren’t always easy to understand and there wasn’t always a clear key explaining what they meant. We were told to ask about the ingredients in everything each day, which I completely understand, but when the restaurant was very busy and some staff didn’t speak much English, it could be difficult and there is always the worry that something could get lost in translation.

I think having clear allergen information printed next to each dish would make a huge difference and would make things much easier and less stressful for guests with allergies.

Those points aside, we really couldn’t fault our holiday. The hotel is in a fantastic location and there is a very good, regular bus service close by, which made it really easy to get out and explore different parts of Gran Canaria. We loved being able to visit places such as Puerto de Mogán and Puerto Rico without needing to hire a car.

Overall, we absolutely loved our stay. The beautiful setting, incredible views, spacious rooms and balconies, lovely pool and great evening entertainment made it a really memorable holiday. We would definitely come back and would happily recommend Gloria Palace Royal to others looking for a relaxing holiday in Gran Canaria.