"We stayed here as a family of 8 (6 adults and 2 children) for a week over February half-term. We are frequent visitors to Tenerife and the GF Victoria is one of our favourite hotels, but we thought we’d try the Gran. We were very pleased with our stay and are returning in August.
The rooms are beautiful, so comfortable and have everything you need.
The food is fabulous and we enjoyed every meal. Yes, you get the fussy people who complain that there isn’t enough for children or it’s cold by the time you return to your table but we never had that problem. Possibly because our children are not part of the “chicken nugget brigade” and actually eat real food - they loved the salmon, sea bass, fresh salad, pasta and pizza. My food was actually too hot but naturally, if you spend ages walking around it will become cold so people just need to be sensible and you won’t have an issue.
Considering how beautiful the rooms are after the refurbishment, it’s a little disappointing to arrive in reception to the ceiling being covered in duct tape! Yes, I am astonished by the positive reviews about the beautiful entrance when you can clearly see it looks unsightly. This is a minor synthetic issue but for a 5* hotel that has undergone major refurbishment, it really does need addressing.
We thoroughly enjoyed our stay but one of the reasons we booked here instead of the Victoria was because we’d read a review about music playing around the pool all day. Despite this being a negative review, it really appealed to us. We enjoy the atmosphere around the pool and this was something slightly missing in the Victoria. Sadly, it was more diar in the Gran! The only music around the pool was when the water aerobics took place. It was quite sad really as when you looked around the pool area, everyone was signing and enjoying themselves during this time but when it stopped and the music was turned off, deathly silence resumed. It was clear that people around the family pool would welcome the music but it wasn’t to be- I really hope they review this before we return in August.
There were no pool activities for children which was again, was slightly disappointing. We assumed from previous reviews that there would be inflatables in the pool, similar to the photo advertisement and that of every hotel we’ve stayed in during February half-term, unfortunately, this wasn’t to be. Again, I anticipate this will be different in August.
The new area which houses the slides and splash park is fabulous but there is no surprise every sun lounger is available all day. It really hasn’t been thought out well as there’s no actual pool in this area. Once the kids have used the slides they are bored and there’s no where for them to swim or play.
We did find it a little strange every night when we walked into the restaurant and asked for a table of 8 to be greeted with,“8, are you joking?” Surely this is an unreasonable request?
The Jungle bar was strange and not somewhere we would return. It felt like they were trying to compete with the Hard Rock’s 16th cocktail bar and the Victoria’s rooftop bar but very badly. The cocktails downstairs were better and the views were not too great. Personally, I think the space could be used for better things.
The drinks and cocktails in the main bar were fantastic but the service could be somewhat sporadic.
The entertainment was really great but totally lost on the audience. The female signer who performed some fabulous hits from the 90’s was amazing but it was lost with the 70’s clientele. We really enjoyed ourselves but when the combined age of the audience is 80, I can imagine it’s a tough crowd! Again, I anticipate this will improve in August.
Overall, we enjoyed our stay and are looking forward to returning. The only thing I hope they improve is the atmosphere during the day. A little music around the pool would be great.
Many thanks to all the fabulous staff who made our stay."
