Family Travel: Gran Canaria, Gloria Palace Royal

We’re at that point in the year where we all want and need a bit of sunshine. Fed up of the cold and wintery days, dreams of a summer holiday are probably the only thing getting us all through at the moment, I know it is for me and we’re not even going away this year! So I thought I’d share our last trip abroad with you as we loved it so much and know that when we do come to go away, we’ll be heading back here without a doubt! 

We had been to Gran Canaria before back in 2012 and loved it so much, we wanted to return with Millie. Knowing how clean the resort of Amadores was, how beautiful the beach was and how friendly the locals were, it was the perfect location for us. We decided to stay at the Hotel Gloria Palace Royal (Amadores), a huge 4 building hotel built into the rocks of Amadores, across the bay from Puerto Rico. It’s a 4* hotel and perfect for Families and Couples. 

The Rooms

We stayed in a family room which could sleep up to 4 people with room for a cot too. The room had a double bed (2 singles pushed together which made the bed huge!) and then a pull out bed which was separated with a divider in the room which was handy. It had the usual tea and coffee making facilities but no fridge in the room. The balcony was also a really good size and had the most gorgeous view of the beach - it was beautiful to wake up to each morning! 

The bathroom had a hairdryer, bath and walk in-shower and the usual appliances with enough room for us all to get ready. There were also enough towels for us all too which is something that we have often noticed can be a problem. 

The room was huge and was really ideal for us as a family, we didn’t feel cramped or on top of each other at all! We had also requested that we were in a quiet section of the hotel and we were. There are 4 parts of the hotel and the main section is next to the pool and also the evening entertainment, ours was 2 blocks away from this and so it was lovely and quiet of an evening - I’d definitely request this if you’re thinking of staying. 

There are lifts pretty much to all floors but steep steps if you decide not to take them - we found it easy getting around with a pushchair but just remember the location of the hotel is quite high so you’re going to have to walk down some steps at some point! 

The Hotel Facilities 

So, to start off, what does the Hotel have to offer? Well, if you’re like me and only care about the pool, you have the most gorgeous Infinity pool that looks over on to the beach of Amadores here at Gloria Palace, its a large pool with a seated area in it too which has water jets - the perfect place to bathe and catch some rays too! There is also another Roof-top pool which is raised so better for those who want to do some lengths or don’t really mind about getting in. It’s a lot quieter up by that pool too. There are tonnes of sun-loungers by both pools which is always a good thing, we never struggled to get a lounger and they have a ‘no towel’ policy so it means you don’t have to get up at the crack of dawn to reserve a bed as your towels will be moved by the lifeguards. And if you fancy a bit of nude-bathing, there is an area for this as well!! 

There is a Children's pool with a little summer house and some toys, it’s fenced off from the main pool too so you can go there with the little ones and they don’t have direct access to the main pool, Millie loved hopping in and out of this as she didn't have to worry about going under and she spent hours playing in the wendy house! There is a Kids Club just by the side of the pool which has a soft play, ball pit and area that you can sit out of the sun for a bit and do some colouring or play games and watch TV. The children's club is open to all children but those under 4 must be supervised by an adult. 

The hotel offers Bed and Breakfast - All inclusive boards and so there is a pool bar you can head to during the day for snacks and bar meals such as burgers, pizzas and chips but if you want a little something extra, the main restaurant offers a great selection of food too! We stayed Half Board but you could choose if you had Breakfast and Lunch or Breakfast and Dinner which we thought was a really great way to make use of your plan. It meant that if we still wanted to eat out one night, we hadn’t waisted any money and still got the 2 meals we had already paid for! We never had any problems with any of the food and the bar menu was great! There is also an A la Carte restaurant you can book into for 1 night of your stay however we didn’t do this as Millie wouldn’t sit still for long enough, but great if you’re going with older children or as a couple and wanted a change from the usual menus. 

Gloria Palace Royal also has an in-house spa - it’s separate to the main hotel and is just below everything, you have access to the whirl pools and sauna and then you can book for any additional treatments too. It was a nice break for half an hour to get out of the sun and just relax every day! 

The Location 

The hotel is built into the rocks of Amadores bay which is about 50minutes from the Airport. It’s a very hilly location so I would recommend taking a taxi if you plan on going far as it can wear you out if you’re walking up and down a lot. The beach in Amadores is one of the cleanest and most gorgeous beaches I have ever seen and Millie loved it too! The beach has pedalows that you can rent for an hour and has a great selection of beachside cafes, restaurants and shops to grab some snacks from. 

The hotel itself is easy to get to and is a 5-7 minute walk to the beach however, it is up a hill and so you may want to get a taxi from the hotel which is about €3 but remember to book it from the reception or else you’ll still need to treck down the steep hill to meet the taxi driver. 

If you like to have a wander (we only ever went out at night because it was too hot in the day!) you can walk along the cliffs using the footpath to Puerto Rico harbour where there are more shops, cafes and restaurants and it takes you up into the main shopping area of Puerto rico too where you can find tonnes of bars, shops and restaurants plus, there is a childrens playground and it’s where you can find Angry Birds land too! 

The hotel staff were also really friendly, from the waiters that made Millie laugh at dinner and the receptionist greeting us, we had no faults of this hotel at all. The cleaning staff checked your room daily and changed the sheets once during our stay - they made the bed daily and also just did a little tidy around too. 

The drinks were reasonably priced and the ice-creams were too (we bought enough of them!) with the evening entertainment being great for kids and then something on afterwards for the adults. There were themed nights in the restaurants and quizzes/bingo of an evening if you wanted to join in! But there was also a lot to explore around the hotel with some great restaurants next to the beach and some cheap bars in the centre! 

I cannot recommend this hotel enough and I really can’t wait to go back next year taking Mylo along with us!