TUI BLUE Suite Princess Adults Only

We stayed at the very beginning of October and the air conditioning in the entire hotel had been switched off apart from in the rooms. This meant that the piano bar and restaurant were absolutely boiling hot, particularly in the evening. We complained many times, as did others, but the hotel said it was their policy. Avoid in October as Gran Canaria is still in the late 20s at this time of year.

The food is mediocre, breakfast is good, there is very little choice at lunch unless you want curled up sandwiches. Dinner is better but the meat dishes are tough. The chips are good though if you want to spend the whole holiday eating them. The all inclusive drinks are syrupy and the white wine is revolting, I didn’t try the red.

The pool is good and there are enough sunbeds.

Just simply a relaxed atmosphere, with good food, plenty of sunbeds, excellent hard working and helpful friendly staff. Enjoyed our weeks holiday there. 😊

A lovely hotel with excellent staff — but our room experience left us feeling let down

We have just returned from a 10-day stay at Suite Princess in Gran Canaria. Overall, we enjoyed our holiday and there is a great deal to recommend about the hotel, particularly the staff, food and entertainment. Unfortunately, our experience with the room we had booked has left us with rather mixed feelings.

We had booked a Deluxe Junior Suite on levels 6–8, close to a lift, which was particularly important to us because of mobility requirements. On arrival, however, the hotel was fully booked on those floors and we were offered various alternatives on level 3.

For the first two days we didn’t unpack while trying to resolve the situation. Eventually, we accepted a Junior Suite close to a lift so that we could unpack and actually start enjoying our holiday. It was a suitable compromise in the circumstances, and we appreciated the efforts of the reception staff, who provided excellent customer service.

The disappointing part came on our final day.

We were given an exit room so that we could shower and change before travelling home — and there it was: the room layout we had originally booked. Freestanding television, desk, offset bedroom and the Deluxe Junior Suite layout we had expected.

After spending 10 days in a Junior Suite because the accommodation we booked was unavailable, seeing the correct room on our last day rather rubbed salt into the wound. We left feeling that we had paid for a room category we simply hadn’t received.

That issue aside, there was plenty we genuinely liked.

The food was good, with plenty of choice, although the descriptions on the buffet didn’t always match what was actually being served. More seriously, sandwiches labelled as vegan during the night contained ham and cheese. That clearly needs addressing, as food labelling shouldn’t be something guests have to second-guess.

The staff throughout the hotel were excellent. Particular thanks go to Ainhoa in dining, Caroline in dining/bar, Alex on reception and Millie in dining. All helped make our stay more enjoyable and deserve recognition.

Our room was generally cleaned well, although the rug was stained, dirty and didn’t appear to be vacuumed properly.

The television provision could also do with updating. There was no casting facility, no practical USB connection available to us, very limited UK channels and the signal regularly dropped out.

At the bars, branded spirits are available, but you need to specifically ask for them — for example, ask for Smirnoff rather than vodka, otherwise the local brand tends to be served automatically.

The hotel did some things particularly well for guests with disabilities. Our Blue Badge was recognised and, on request, sunbeds were allocated for the duration of our stay, which was very helpful.

There are, however, some accessibility issues around the pool. Many of the parasols are fixed into the ground, the sunbeds are positioned very close together to fit everyone in and this makes it difficult to move beds into the shade or create additional space where needed. We also felt that some of the lifeguards were positioned quite a distance from the pool itself, albeit understandably under shade.

There is a sloping route down towards the beach which looks accessible on a mobility scooter. Going down is certainly possible. Getting back up is another matter entirely. The gradient is simply too steep for some scooters, so anyone with limited mobility should bear this in mind before setting off.

The entertainment was one of the highlights of our stay. We particularly enjoyed The Three Tenors, Boney M and Michael Jackson tribute acts, along with the blonde lady playing guitar in the piano bar. There was some genuinely excellent evening entertainment.

One thing worth knowing before visiting is that beautiful Puerto de Mogán can actually be seen from the hotel and looks tantalisingly close. Unfortunately, because of a landslide several years ago affecting the direct route, getting there currently involves either two buses or a taxi costing more than €50 for the round trip. It is nevertheless well worth visiting — a stunning little harbour often described locally as “Little Venice.”

So, rather a mixed review.

Excellent staff, good food, very enjoyable entertainment and some thoughtful disability assistance. There is much about Suite Princess that we liked and several members of staff were exceptional.

But if a guest has booked and paid for a particular room category — especially where the location and layout matter because of mobility — they should either receive it or be given an appropriate adjustment/refund when the hotel cannot provide it.

We enjoyed our holiday. We just shouldn’t have had to discover on the day we were leaving what the room we’d actually paid for looked like.