TUI BLUE Orquídea

We visited the hotel with our 6 year old son and went for him mainly. We booked two weeks and at the price we paid were expecting nothing. We got there around 9.30pm and there was fresh food laid on at 10pm. The rooms were spotless and were cleaned throughly everyday. The food was fresh , hot and varied over the two week period the only down side being the one only per week visit to the la carte Resturant, however there are better restaurants across from the road the hotel but your paying which we didn’t mind. The hotel staff were very polite and made you feel welcome and nothing was any trouble for them especially the chap behind the bar in the tv lounge area. Reception team led by Alex were excellent The entertainment team meant everything to our son and has he was entertained so we relaxed more. Kids club did various activities and Charlie attended the morning sessions then after midday did everything from water polo, football , team games , dance and giant frustration. He quickly felt at ease with Kelly -Ann and Klara and they made sure he was ok. The evening entertainment was excellent from download to main act to club mix. Special shout out to Tom who really should be in panto, played the main role well and his dance was excellent he was very professional even at a sad time for him personally. In summary we came with no expectations and a ball learned to dance like a grandad and most of all had a fab time. Once again Kelly Ann, Tom and team you made Charlie laugh smile and sad when we left

Lovely pools and nice small beach. Perfect for wind surfing as it was quite windy but nice and warm. Food was ok but can get very busy at the main restaurant. The best part is the night entertainment team where our kids really enjoyed it. Kelly and Klara are the stars of the entertainment team. They are very energetic and friendly which made every night alive and fun! We will certainly miss them and wish to see their performance soon! Overall a fun and relaxing holiday! Well done TUI! From The Zhao’s family

Ok, so this is a very honest review from a frequent traveler. Before reading, please note that I’m not usually one to complain (especially when im on holiday) I simply go on holiday to create some amazing memories and make the most of what’s on offer. Not to find faults. A lot of people on trip advisor like to moan at the smallest things so please read this review with an open mind and I suppose depending on what you want from a holiday you then can then decide if this hotels for you. I honestly have very mixed feelings about this one. Let me break it up into sections; Pros; TUI staff.. Full of energy and work so hard to try and make your holiday a fantastic one! Great with kids if all ages! Food quality.. Although there was only one buffet restaurant (for all meals) the food quality was great. Always very tasty and hot. Carvary station went down a treat especially the salt fish day! Kids buffet is a good idea so they can reach the counter and help them selves to food. Healthy eating cards are great although we didn’t find out about these until our last day! These should be given at check in! Nice to have the mascots (Bamse and Captain T) visit the restaurant during breakfast. The a-la-carte restaurant is absolutely amazing and you get one free visit there per week of your stay. You are served Tapas starters which allows you to try everything. They cook it all fresh and then explain clearly what it all is as they bring it out. They even asked us if we would like anymore of any particular dishes! Fried cheese was amazing and much more of that was gratefully welcomed to the table! Then you choose your main course from the menu. I had the steak and it was cooked to perfection! They then bring out some differing deserts for you to try. Our daughter is an extremely fussy eater but they went out their way to cater for her needs. Service at this restaurant was top!! Views from room.. Breathtaking! Some of the best views in any hotel I’ve been to. We could probably see most of Gran Canaria from our balcony! Plus it was huge (enough for around ten su beds!) We had a senior suite on the 11th floor; highly recommend paying extra for the upgrade! Kids club.. Although our daughter only went once the facilities looked great and they seemed to put on all sorts of events, activities and parties for the kids! Not only in the daytime but in the evening too! Pool scene.. There are 3 great sized pools which are all around 3 feet apart at the orquidea and although sun beds are always available this area does get very busy and loud. If you want loud games and music during the daytime then these are the pools for you. Nice splash park with a few slides in the kids pool were a nice touch and nice shaded part of the pool for the babies. However, we much preferred the quieter pool which is is a short 5 minute stroll along the sea front. All pools have a good vibe but it just depends what your looking for. Location.. Before arriving we read reviews stating that location was bad (mainly as it’s in the middle of no where). We didn’t find this to be the case at all. There is a lovely little square opposite the hotel with bars, shops and restaurants. Other attractions are a very short taxi ride away and taxis there are very cheap. You could also take a walk to some of them if you fancied it. Plus the hotel is a 20 minute drive to from airport! Now for the cons; All inclusive????!!!!! Let me make this clear... this hotel is NOT all inclusive!! Never have I been to an all inclusive resort where they don’t even provide bottled water!! I was also shocked to realise they don’t provide basic snacks such as ice lolly’s and crisps! There was also no chance if getting any sort of snack after 9pm so if you missed dinner you would have to go to the shop! There was also a lovely pool bar at the hotel that provides the exact same food and drink than the buffet resultant does but you have to pay for it?! It’s so strange how it isn’t included. The coffee bars were also a main part of the hotel but an extra change if you wanted a drink or snack. There was no mini bar in the rooms- Like our fridge was empty apart from one bottle of water on arrival but then this is NOT replenished at any point during your stay!! We had to buy our own bottled water for our room. General condition of building.. I found it strange how pool area, baby room, restaurants and reception area were in immaculate condition and very clean at all times. The corridors and our room however were falling to pieces! Water dripping from above you in corridors, cracks in walls everywhere, doors falling off and very dirty windows in our room! and to top this off our shower was broken! Reception staff.. Most of them were very friendly and helpful apart from the one gentleman who checked us in (unfortunately I didn’t get him name). He was extremely rude when I asked if our room was ready. He gave me a sarcastic comment saying it will take them a while to clean it as it’s a large suite then slammed our room card down on the desk and said “You can go there and look if you want but they are still cleaning!”. Then the next day we kept being told we had the best suite even after I explained nicely it was noisy at night time (as our first room was one the second floor above entertainment area). It was as though the receptionist wasn’t listening. Which brings me to my last con about this trip.. The noise from ALL rooms.. We read that this was a problem before we arrived but honestly didn’t think it would be as bad as people were making out but my goodness I’ve never heard anything like it in my life. The entertainment went on until 11pm most nights and it was that bad that I filmed my daughter sleeping and it sounded like I had edited the music in afterwards! Don’t want to sound like a party pooper but this resort was aimed at young families and we had a 5 months old with us! Perhaps investing in some double glazing would help? All in all we did all have an amazing holiday. Could it have been even more amazing? Yes probably, but as I mentioned before we made the most of what was on offer and focused on the pros. I can’t fault TUI for the service we received but there is definitely a lot of room for improvement at this hotel.