Where to Stay in Gran Canaria

If you are studying in Madrid then it could not be easier to organize a weekend getaway and escape from the hustle and bustle of the city into the peace and quiet of the Canary Islands. Well if you are in Madrid on your Erasmus then you are in luck, the flights from Madrid to Las Palmas are around the 75 euros return, which is a very affordable price for this kind of holiday. Obviously the prices are dependant upon the season, but if you want to make the most out of a getaway to Gran Canaria then you must go when it’s the Carnival to fully immerse yourself in the Spanish culture of El Carnaval.

What better than a hotel that makes you feel like you are in paradise? To me, the definition of paradise is swimming pools surrounded by palm trees and this is exactly what you get in the Hotel Tabaiba Princess in Maspalomas.

From the airport of Las Palmas you can reach Maspalomas in 30 minutes with a taxi which will cost you around 40 Euros. Or you can take a coach that will take slightly longer but will cost you only 5 Euros. Another option is to rent a car with prices starting at 30 Euros per day and this will enable you to travel around the island and really make the most out of the holiday.

You will enter the hotel from a very elegant, large hall where you will be straight away greeted by the reception. The check in does take a while but this means that the check out will be a lot quicker.

The standard rooms are slightly retro with a slight Caribbean feel to them with very large windows and a terrace with a table and chairs. The Prestige rooms however are more luxurious, with a modern décor and a very large terrace overlooking the swimming pools. Inside every room you will find a television, hair dryer; but unfortunately the Wi-Fi is not complimentary.

Whether you are an all inclusive of a half-board you will have access to the Tabaiba Restaurant, which is the main restaurant. The breakfast is incredible, and they offer everything you could ever want such as fried, scrambled or boiled eggs, bacon, fresh fruits, yoghurt, cereal, pancakes; they also have a gluten free part. The drinks are all right, I only tried the tea because the coffee was made out of a machine which I generally do not like, but they also served numerous fresh juices.

As for dinner, they offer an extensive buffet with a wide range of foods such as sushi, carpaccio, pasta, pizza, fish fillet, a large salad bar and grilled vegetables. Not to mention their dessert table which had a white chocolate fondue and numerous pastries. However we were shocked that if you were half-board you were not allowed access to the drinks, therefore you had to pay for a glass of water!

If you are all inclusive then you also have access to the outside restaurant “La Hacienda” at lunch-time (open from 13H-15H) and you can choose Spanish and International cuisine from the menu.

This hotel has three bars for all-inclusive and an extra two bars which you have to pay. They offer any kinds of drinks, snacks and coffees from 10 a. m. to 18 p. m. The Beach Pit snack bar however is open during lunch and offers sandwiches, hamburgers, hot dogs and ice cream whilst the Bar La Alpispa is open from 10 a. m. to 23 p. m. in the summer and is perfect for late night cocktails.

One of the things I liked the most about this hotel is the wide range of activities it offers. Not only they have daily activities such as aerobics, ping-pong, volleyball, pilates, flamenco shows, acrobatics and live music; but also mini-golf and the possibility to play tennis and golf. On Sunday night at 10 p. m. we watched the flamenco, which was very exciting considering I had never actually seen it before!

The Hotel always has special offers so head over to the website and take a look at what it has to offer: Website

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