Taurito Princess Hotel

We have stayed at the hotel around 9 times in total but this was the first since the refurbishment. All the upgrades are excellent and the addition of more lifts and air con to the old ones is a great move. The food and restaurant are lovely with a wide range of food for everyone. If I were to make any changes to the hotel I would put sports on the big screen outside during the day so people can sit and watch in that area as they did with the Spain victory in the World Cup. I watched the F1 while there but it was only on a small screen in the bar inside. The big screen outside would be a great sports bar area. I do think the animation team could also do with some investment for more staff. In the good old days there was activities every half an hour and there was always something to do. Now with limited staff from around 15 to 3 or 4 I got bored during the day quite easily. If you like laying in the sun for 8 hours it’s ideal but trying to keep 3 kids occupied is hard work. On an evening there is entertainment outside. Some of the new shows are great but I think some of the old shows like flamenco have run their course. On certain days the salon princess also opens for karaoke and other entertainment. There is a large bar in there which used to be open however for some reason no bar staff are assigned to that bar meaning anything other than soft drinks or beer have to be obtained in the main bar on the next floor. I think the salon princess entertainment struggles for this reason. Everything is in this hotel you require and with a couple of minor adjustments it would be even better. We will definitely be staying again in the future.

Title: Very Disappointing Stay — Would Not Return

I stayed at this hotel recently and the experience was poor. We arrived late and went to bed, then woke to find the air conditioning had leaked. Reception said someone would be sent; on returning from breakfast we found the door to our room wide open and repair staff already working. We were then told we needed to change rooms. As a single mother traveling with two children, having to repack and move was extremely inconvenient, and we were informed a replacement room would not be ready for another seven hours.

Later that day I discovered €330 missing from my purse. I reported this to the TUI representative, who was sympathetic and assisted with moving our belongings; she advised she would contact guest relations. The hotel’s response was to suggest I file a police report. While I understand the need for formal procedure, I was disappointed by the hotel management’s handling of the matter. When I raised the issue with the acting manager he was rude and unsympathetic and suggested that cash should have been left in the safe — however, we had not had the opportunity to access or arrange use of the safe before housekeeping entered the room.

Other aspects of the hotel were also below expectations: the buffet frequently ran out of self-serve glasses and orange juice, the “gold” upgrade did not provide value for money, and the entertainment was underwhelming.

Overall, the combination of the maintenance issues, the inadequate response to the theft, and the general service shortcomings made this stay unacceptable. I would not choose to return.

The only downside to this hotel is the evenings. The entertainment is okay but there seems to be an obvious difference in budget for Princess Taurito, compared to Princess Maspalomas.

During the day, the staff were all generally nice, however during the evenings, some of the bar staff are very rude and so is the entertainment host.

My first point is the differences in silver, and gold wrist bands. I understand that there needs to be some differences here, however when the hotel is extremely busy and all sun loungers are taken, the staff do not bring over any sunbeds from the gold wrist banded area, even though these are never ever full. Another issue is how differently staff treat those with different wrist bands. Prime example is when all inclusive was about to close, I went to try and get a drink but I was told I was no longer allowed unless I had to pay, however a friend of mine with a gold wrist banded was served by the same person, minutes later with no issues. We’ve all noticed this many times throughout our stay.

We’ve also had some more hostile experiences with some evening bar staff (those in waistcoats) shouting at gold wrist band wearers to show their bands, and even using them to show those who don’t have gold wrist bands. One big downfall is that not everyone realises there are two different band options, and there is no way to upgrade once you reach the hotel which seems really silly. Princess Maspalomas allows you to upgrade at any time.

My next issue is the entertainment host. We chose this Princess hotel as we’ve had amazing experiences at Princess Maspalomas & Tabaiba, where the staff were incredibly friendly to all guests, day or night. Here, at Princess Taurito, day staff are generally nice but my main issue is with the evening entertainment host. I’m not sure on the lady’s name but she has not been treating children, and others with kindness or respect. I do believe this person is a kind lady, however her approach to people is awful. The first evening we had here, we saw many children were extremely bored and so they were running around while the entertainment area was empty, before any set up. She kept shouting at them, and then being rude to the parents about this. When parents asked where children could play, she pointed over to the extremely inadequate grass area toward the back of the hotel. I don’t feel this is an appropriate space for children to play in, especially as parents cannot easily keep an eye on the children. The mini disco is also terrible. We tried this for a few nights with our children who are between 6-8 and it was terrible - there seems to be nothing for children above the ages of 5, to do and for a hotel that says it is child friendly, this is terrible. This hotel would be best kept as adult only.

The lady also shouted at many adult guests, mainly for smoking/vaping. I understand that there are designated smoking areas, but not everyone knows this. I had seen many people vaping around the sofas in the evening for 7 of my 11 nights, and not once did she come and ask them to stop or move. But the one time she did, she stormed over, pointing and raising her voice - this is so aggressive and uncalled for. I know that she may have these battles all the time, but she had never spoken to my group about this and so we were all shocked when she was so aggressive. When we politely questioned why we were being shouted at about this after so long, she told us it was a new rule. Honestly, this lady alone has made us decide that we would not come back to this hotel, nor would we recommend it.

The good points are that the location is very nice. You are nestled in a mountain cove and a small beach. The food is good for all inclusive, on a weekly rotation with some nights better than others. It would be great to see better variety however, overall we didn’t mind it. I think 7 nights in more than enough time to spend at this hotel.

The hotel overall is very modern and clean, the rooms are a little grubby and outdated but I think that’s because the finishes are a bit rough. The ‘children’s’ pool area has a tiny water slide and I’d say it’s only relevant for very small children. The main pool area is lovely but you’re not allowed to play and small soft ball games, but they’re happy to let you throw hard sinking toys which does not make sense. There are also never enough sun loungers on a busy day that a few times we’ve had to go to the beech.

I think some things to improve on would be that guests are not treated differently in terms of politeness by staff because of the wrist bands they have chosen. Generally, staff are okay but we’ve definitely had a few experiences where staff have treated people very differently. Also, those of our party on the gold wristbands have said the upgrade really isn’t work it.

Entertainment needs a lot of improvement. Out of the 11 nights we were here, live music dominated the evenings. Although it’s nice to have, we heard many comments that it just wasn’t great. I’m not sure on budget for entertainment here, but maspalaomas & tabaiba has karaoke as main entertainment, DJ, shows, acrobatics, singers, jazz music, saxophone players and more. This was brilliant and kind of what we thought Princess Taurito would have. We know that karaoke is down in the mini disco room, but nobody goes because it’s downstairs. People want to be outside.

Drinks could do with improvement. Cocktail machines would be brilliant and much quicker for staff, and this would also stop the ridiculous drinks queues.

We also had a couple of small quests that we made more than 6 months in advance. One being that we would like the two rooms for our party situated next door to one another. This was not fulfilled. I know that the staff can only take on a request, however I feel we gave more than enough notice to make this happen.

Overall, we did have a lovely stay but again, we would not return in a hurry.