Hotel Gran Sol

Just fabulous. Our second visit to this beautiful hotel. Spotlessly clean, a very friendly staff team who all went the extra mile to make you feel valued – right from the cleaning staff to the duty managers. We went to have a look see at four or five of the other 4* hotels in the resort and none compared to our lovely Gran Sol. It is a very quiet hotel – if you’re looking for day time and night time entertainment look at the Levante or Levante Park nearby. The Gran Sol is for ultimate relaxation. The location can’t be bettered, and even though the resort is very touristy you can walk either to Punta d’Amer or to the Costa del Pinos and see behind the main run of shops and bars. The food is very good – comprehensive breakfast offering and excellent dinner options. My only criticism is the vegetarian offering – there were only a couple of veggie mains in the week and the salads often contain hidden pieces of meat. Maria said I only need ask if I wanted a dish not on the buffet but I don’t like to make a fuss. The situation could easily be improved by marking the dishes and salads that are meat free. In summary a chilled hotel with fantastic staff who all go the extra mile. Special thanks to Maria and Miguel and their team in the restaurant, the lady breakfast chef who makes the best poached eggs ever and the super friendly male chef, the lovely guy in the bar whose name I can’t remember who introduced me to white ladies, Sean and Liz on reception, and the cheery domestic who gave me a lovely wave each morning as I drank my coffee on our patio. One thing I would mention – not all rooms have balconies. Check the room description carefully – if it does not mention a balcony it doesn’t have one!

As with most other reviews this smallish hotel is very pleasant. The rooms are clean and luckily we had a room with seaview whereas other guests were complaining about their rooms. The staff are very friendly but the majority didn't speak enough English to interact a little with. Food was OK. I say OK because the majority of choices were nice but nothing actually 'wow'. Drinks are reasonably priced. The sunbed reserving is a bit of a pain but even if you turn up late there is usually a sunbed or two available somewhere. The pool is very shallow all over and whereas it is fine for cooling off (very cold) it puts you off swimming a few lengths because you can always step and your legs touch the bottom sometimes. The biggest disappointment for me was the beach. It is not the hotels fault but the man made beaches have very compact sand and rocks and concrete everywhere. Also the beaches are full of seaweed which is not very appealing. We didn't go in the sea and in my opinion not suitable for young children either. It is a shame because all the seaweed spoils the outlook. Overall a nice hotel, OK food, friendly enough staff. For me one visit is enough though.