Meloneras Holidays

Set on Gran Canaria’s sun-soaked southern coast, Meloneras is a peaceful, purpose-built resort that has class written all over it. Modern shopping malls are filled with high-end boutiques and designer labels, plus an assortment of stylish restaurants and bars. The hotels, meanwhile, fall in line with the town’s upmarket feel. Most of them are sprawling village-like set-ups, with the beachfront right on their doorstep, typical of the Canary Islands.

Meloneras is brushed with half a kilometre of Gran Canaria’s trademark golden sand. Length-wise, the beach starts at a stone lighthouse at the resort’s northern end, and unravels as far as the famous Sahara-style sands of Maspalomas. The wide promenade that runs alongside the waterfront is a stop-start route, thanks to the portfolio of seafood restaurants and souvenir shops along the way.

In less than an hour you can swap sunbathing for sightseeing in the island’s capital, Las Palmas. The town’s split into districts, the oldest of which is the UNESCO-accredited Vegueta neighbourhood. Here, there’s the Casa Museo de Colon – thought to be the former home of Christopher Columbus, and now a museum dedicated to the explorer. And close by is Santa Ana Cathedral, which took four centuries to complete. On the retail front, the Santa Catalina area is crammed with smart boutiques.