Kumara Serenoa by Lopesan Hotels

"Positives: There's a major positive to this hotel which is the main thing I care about- the rooms are very clean and well maintained. No dirty surfaces, no bugs despite being on the ground floor, and the aircon worked great. The bathrooms are very modern but spacious and nicely decorated. The bed was comfortable to me, however my husband found it a bit too firm. The sofa is also very comfortable. Nice towels, pool towels are available in your room. There are an abundance of sunbeds so plenty for everyone, and the pool area was welcoming. Housekeeping did a very thorough job every day. The restaurant has an okay range of food, although we definitely weren't blown away. There were decent snacks like hot dogs, burgers and desserts. There's a clear menu for drinks and many are included for All Inclusive. There was entertainment in the evening. A relaxed vibe to the hotel. The gym was very decent. Negatives: One thing we noticed from the offset, is that lots of things that are normally included with All Inclusive, are how hidden behind 'All Inclusive Plus'- which is 14 extra euro per day. For example, branded drinks are all inclusive-plus only, the drinks menu is half the size if you don't have this package, and despite the bar being advertised as open til 12, your regular AI stops at 11. Evening entertainment was a singer every single night-no variety shows, dancers or quizzes like we're used to. The singer on Monday night was genuinely absolutely shocking, and my husband and I were speechless. Everything is also an upcharge- there's no kettle, it costs extra. There's a coffee machine but no coffee pods in your room. €3 for them to wash a pair of socks. The safe costs costs extra, those 'Bali Beds' that are advertised all over the hotel listing are €10-60 per day! Beach towels are extra,smoothies and lots of the alcohol options are extra. The food, as above, was not great. We found something to eat every day, but the options weren't to our taste, and some days I just ate soup or pasta. A lot of the meat I ate was grissly or had bones. There is a lot of congestion as the dining area and food options are very small. And the cutlery and plates were almost always dirty. Salt shakers were empty and staff looked absolutely rushed off of their feet. We also noticed some of the bar staff were not friendly. The male bar staff, and the older red haired lady were lovely and smiley, but the rest came across as very rude at points. Additionally, I understand why glass cannot be taken around the pool, however you have to use plastic cups even if you want to take drinks to your room. This included tea and coffee, which is unpleasant from a plastic cup. The drinks sizes were very small as well, meaning we'd need 3-4 refills with dinner every meal. A big gripe which Google and TripAdvisor didn't highlight at all, is this place is in the middle of nowhere. A 17 minute walk (which passes through a homeless encampment in a barren sandy area) to the nearest bus stop. 1h 45m public transport to Mogan. €10 taxi just to the mall down the road. Unless you're a larger group who can share the cost of a taxi, it is not realistic to go anywhere. We only made it out to Palmitos Park and Aqualand which had buses only 1x per hour. Also, a very big warning: Something everyone should be aware of- when checking into the hotel, the tablet asks if your details may be shared with advertising partners. I clicked no. However, from my first night, I've been absolutely flooded with spam/phishing emails, in Spanish. I did not give my email out anywhere else while here. So the hotel will sell your personal data to scammers. Overall, I wouldn't recommend this hotel. While it looks very 'Instagram-worthy', it doesn't really have the heart and charm of a nice hotel. The staff looked overworked and stressed. Lots of little things were off, like our porch light outside flickering/not working, insufficient bathroom lighting, some areas looking a little cheaply decorated around the pool (badly applied fake grass) etc. Lots of empty plastic cups left around attracting ants and tables not cleared at dinner. The free bus to/from the beach doesn't state where it'll pick you up from the beach, meaning we ended up having to pay for a bus home-a map would've helped. I have stayed at much nicer hotels in Maspalomas."

"Perfect hotel! I went with my 10 year old daughter and we both loved it. The accommodation was lovely, very clean and our outside area was perfect to sit in the evenings with views over the pool. Poolside is great, plenty of sunbeds, drinks available from 11am with very little queuing. Brilliant for kids, we spent most of our time here but also an adults only pool if you want a quiet swim. Staff are so friendly and helpful. The food is great and loads to choose from. Different options each night."

"We had a fantastic first family holiday abroad at the Kumara Hotel in Gran Canaria, and we would definitely come back! The food was fantastic, with a huge amount of choice and plenty of variety. There was always something for everyone. The staff were also incredibly helpful and friendly. As we landed late, we were especially impressed to find a packed lunch waiting for us at reception. The bar had a great selection of drinks, and the pool was awesome — warm, clean and perfect for relaxing. There were also plenty of sunbeds, so finding a spot by the pool was never a problem. The daytime entertainment was really good, particularly the guitarist and violinist, who were both excellent and really added to the atmosphere. Our room was very comfortable and provided everything we needed for a relaxing stay. Overall, we had a brilliant family holiday and couldn’t have asked for a better first experience abroad. We would happily return to the Kumara Hotel and would definitely recommend it to other families."