Barcelo Margaritas Royal Level

"I’ve stayed with Barceló several times, recently reached Unique status, and overall it continues to be a strong experience. My pre-arrival requests—king bed, high floor—were honoured, and the welcome gift was appreciated. The rooms were spotless, and while there are minor signs of wear and tear, they’re not noticeable unless you’re actively looking for them. The food offering has improved since previous visits, with better variety and clearer themes. Service overall remains a real strength of the hotel, and there are some team members who consistently stand out. The main issue this time was staff reallocation. Carolina, who has always made me feel genuinely welcome, was moved out of Royal Level, and experienced staff have been replaced by either standard-level team members or brand-new starters who are only a few weeks in. This had a noticeable impact on consistency. It would make more sense to develop and train new starters within the standard offering before moving them into the premium Royal Level experience. Royal Level also felt less seamless than before. The gate, which was previously open, is now kept locked, and my room key often didn’t work to unlock it. This meant regularly entering through the main hotel and walking across, which is inconvenient, particularly when arriving with external transfers. The app also feels like a step backwards. I appreciate this is likely a central Barceló decision rather than something controlled by the hotel itself, but it’s less intuitive and made simple things like bookings more cumbersome. The biggest issue, however, was the air conditioning. It stopped working during my stay, there was no proactive communication to guests, and when I asked for a simple solution such as an electric fan, I was told they don’t provide them and that the issue was being worked on. In a destination like the Canary Islands, this is a fundamental part of the room experience, and both the issue and how it was handled had a significant impact on comfort. In-room facilities also feel slightly behind expectations, particularly the lack of smart TV or streaming options. A Fuego moving to a set menu was also a step down compared to its previous format. It would also be helpful if buffet themes were shared in advance, as this would allow guests to plan which evenings they’d most like to dine there. Finally, a big thank you to Luisa, Jennifer, Monica and Marta, who consistently deliver excellent service and have made each of my stays as enjoyable as the last. Despite a few inconsistencies, this is still a hotel I enjoy returning to. With a few refinements, it could easily return to being a standout option."

"The driver dropped us right at the door but we initially walked into the wrong reception. We greeted with a smile and courteously directed to the correct reception. Once in the Royal Level reception we were asked to take a seat by Pedro who checked us in with a glass of chilled Cava. Pedro was excellent, extremely welcoming - he explained to us the layout of the grounds, the shuttle bus times and local bus times and stops. Our room was immaculate, spacious and well furnished. We went to the restaurant for dinner and Andres welcomed us in. He made sure we were made to feel special, recommending cocktails and as my wife is vegetarian went above and beyond ensuring she was catered for. What a fantastic start to our holiday. The bar has been set very high for the next week."

"When we arrived to the hotel at around 9:15pm we were very hungry, so on checking in to the Royal Level we asked if there was somewhere to get some food. We were told it was all in hand being prepared and would be brought to our room! We were pleasantly surprised but felt we should let him know immediately that we don’t eat meat incase the food would be unsuitable. He assured us he would sort it. We were also offered a glass of cava which was lovely. We went to the room and 30 minutes later food was delivered. A ham sandwich, biscuits and apples. We told him we wouldn’t be able to eat it so asked him to take it back so someone else could. Not the best start to a holiday. Unfortunately nothing else was sent up for us and now by this time the restaurant had closed. I went to get into bed and noticed several stains on the bedding. It smelt clean, but was a bit off putting. One of the pillow cases was put on inside out. When I went to put it the right way around I noticed how poor the pillows were and that there were no pillow protectors on them. This is unusual for any hotel, let alone a 4 star one. There was one water each in the room which wasn’t really enough to get us through until breakfast and nowhere to get another from with everywhere being closed. This wasn’t always replenished in the room each day, it was hit and miss. Sometimes they didn’t restock the coffee either so you never knew what to expect. We thought the room was lovely with a large pivoting TV so it could be used in bed or on the sofa. We weren’t keen on the bed being two separate beds pushed together. This might be favourable for some however. Our balcony was spacious with a bistro set and sun loungers, however it wasn’t very relaxing to be overlooking the children’s pool which was very noisy when relaxing in the afternoon! Tip: Request a room on the opposite side! At breakfast I hoped to have my usual poached eggs on toast with an iced coffee. Neither were available, only hot coffee and fried eggs. Not the end of the world, but also found this to be unusual. We found out part of the way through our stay that you can order poached eggs but there is no menu in the restaurant to explain this. We also spoke to other guests who had no idea this was an option. I was very pleased to see that oat milk was available. When I picked up the first plate to get my food, I noticed food on the back of the plate, so picked up the next, which also had food residue on the back, this continued throughout the holiday, even the water glasses had orange pieces still stuck to them so maybe a dishwasher problem? At lunch it was a sit down three course meal as opposed to buffet. More formal than the dinner in all fairness. Unfortunately vegetarian options were just pasta or pizza. So the food was very limited for us and we had paid a lot extra to be All Inclusive. The tortellini was served lukewarm, a complaint that seems to be repeatedly mentioned throughout reviews. On some days we asked if something could be added to the pizza/pasta to make it a bit different from the day before. On one occasion they added some mushrooms, but refused on others. We tried the Breeze Bar one day explaining we wanted some veggie food that was different to the Royal Level restaurant, only to then be recommended pork bagels, shrimp and such by the same individual, which didn’t leave me much confidence. I began explaining in Spanish as I felt it could have been my own fault, however this didn’t resolve the issue. At dinner I found there was no main course for veggies other than tomato sauce with spaghetti. After having the pasta for lunch, I didn’t want it so we left and went to the main hotel next door. The options here were only pasta or pizza again. There was a cold pasta dish on the salad bar, so I asked staff if it was veggie, he got the chef who assured me it was. When eating i noticed a fishy taste. I asked another member of staff who told me it did have meat in it. I ended up with salad and a bread roll, which was my dinner more often than I’d have liked. We spoke to guest relations, Tatiana, who was very friendly and told us to talk to her if we had any more issues, but every mealtime was the same issue and how could we keep going to get help or advice at every meal when we were being told incorrect information about ingredients? I’d like to be able to read the signs with ease so I can help myself without feeling like a nuisance. There is no labelling on any items to indicate if they are veggie/vegan, only allergens. However be cautious as nor are these accurate, as we discovered from the pasta with the fish in as this should have been listed as an allergen. The lack of entertainment was also a disappointment. No music by any pools or such, you can just hear some noise from neighbouring hotels. Generally no atmosphere at all and felt quite flat. There was the odd thing on in what people call ‘the corridor’ in the main hotel around 9pm. But we had booked an adults only hotel to have a relaxing break away and found going over there with children running around wouldn’t quite have been the experience we wanted. No bar in the Royal level, other than the one in the outdoor restaurant which isn’t connected to the hotel. The variety of alcoholic drinks is very good with branded spirits, and generous measures. I think a nice addition would be a coffee machine in the lobby. You can order drinks to a sun lounger once they open at 11am, but it’s nice to be able to get a coffee before then without going to the restaurant at breakfast time. The poor cleanliness of the toilets was also noted throughout our stay, in both the Royal Level and main hotel. No hand soap at times, over flowing bins and tissues on the floors. They need bigger bins or to be emptied more frequently. We even noticed empty beer and cocktail glasses around the main hotel areas at 10am which would have been there since the night before. Surely staff must have passed these and thought to move them if I kept noticing them? At times there were no sun loungers available. This was usually around lunchtime if we had been to the beach or shopping in the morning. The lifeguard did try his best to help, but it did sometimes mean waiting around in the restaurant until people left. I think the bus service provided to Playa Del Ingles and Maspalomas Beach is great for getting around. The Yumbo Centre is only a 5-10 minute walk away, but also only a 4€ taxi if needed. Reception is always happy to call a taxi for you which generally arrives within minutes. Since returning from the hotel I have read back through the Tripadvisor reviews, seen the feedback, and I can see that much of it has not been taken on board by the hotel. Such as multiple people have reported the broken tiles around the pool, they are sharp underfoot and have not been repaired. And also the poor options for vegetarians being an ongoing thing. You might be able to overlook the other issues if you eat meat as the food was the biggest downfall for us. I really don’t like to leave negative feedback and have tried to include as many positive aspects, but as you can see from our experience i feel it is justified. Due to the unwillingness to improve based on feedback repeatedly given by guests, we will unfortunately not be recommending or revisiting the hotel."