"We have just returned from a week at TUI BLUE Suite Princess and, having had some time to reflect on our stay, I wanted to write a fair and balanced review of our experience.
The 5-star rating – a disappointing start
When we booked, the hotel was advertised by TUI as 5T. It was only after receiving our confirmation and reading the small print that we noticed the hotel was actually described as a 4-star property.
I found this very misleading and, given the price we paid and our expectations of a 5-star resort, it immediately made me question whether we had made the right choice.
Before booking, I had watched a lot of YouTube videos of the hotel and read numerous reviews, so I did have a reasonably good idea of what to expect. The sea views, peaceful location and the particular Junior Suite we had booked were what ultimately sold the hotel to us.
I contacted the hotel before travelling and requested room 1001 after it had been recommended by previous guests. Thankfully, we were allocated this room and the view genuinely lived up to expectations. The location was peaceful, the terrace was lovely and being able to look out over the sea was definitely one of the highlights of our stay.
The room
The bed itself was comfortable, but unfortunately we didn’t have a particularly good night’s sleep throughout the week.
The biggest issue was the air conditioning. The system is extremely dated and there was no effective way of adjusting the temperature to our preference. I had already seen previous reviews mentioning this before travelling, so I was particularly concerned about it.
I actually contacted TUI before our holiday because of my concerns. I was told that TUI had not received direct feedback regarding the air conditioning and they also acknowledged that the way the hotel was presented as 5T could be misleading.
We considered changing hotels before travelling but were told that the only option would be to cancel our existing booking, with the cancellation charge being the full cost of the holiday. 🙄
We therefore decided to take the gamble and go ahead with the holiday.
Unfortunately, the air conditioning issue was just as problematic as I had feared. Considering the climate and the standard at which the hotel is marketed, I don’t think this is something guests should have to put up with.
The room itself is also very dated and would benefit from refurbishment. Our curtains had visible signs of mould, the shower was adequate but nothing special, and the bathroom door was broken during our stay. We also encountered cockroaches in our room on a couple of occasions, which was obviously unpleasant.
Arrival and reception
On arrival, the reception staff were friendly and explained where our room was located. We were also told that a cold buffet was available for arriving guests, which was a thoughtful touch after travelling.
The buffet consisted of meats, cheeses, bread and similar cold options and was perfectly adequate.
However, having stayed in a number of premium 5-star resorts, I was disappointed that we weren’t shown to our room or offered any assistance with our luggage.
Even more disappointing was the temperature in reception. It was extremely hot, with little to no cool air, which wasn’t a particularly welcoming first impression in the Canarian heat.
Food and drinks
The main dining area was one of the biggest disappointments for us.
The décor is very bright and, personally, reminded me more of a school cafeteria from the 2000s than a premium 5-star resort. There is also no air conditioning in the dining area, which made meals uncomfortable at times.
There is nowhere to sit outside for dinner either, although breakfast does offer the option of sitting outside if you choose the later breakfast service, and outdoor seating is available at lunchtime.
The food itself was okay, but the choice was quite poor and certainly not what we would expect from a hotel marketed as 5-star.
The lack of variety ultimately influenced our holiday quite significantly. We chose to eat out on four of our seven evenings, rather than dine in the hotel.
On more than one occasion, meat from the live cooking station was still raw when I cut into it, which obviously isn’t something you expect when staying at a hotel of this supposed standard.
The drinks were also disappointing. The cocktails are pre-mixed and, in our opinion, very sweet and watered down. The wine was okay, with the rosé being our preference.
My husband was pleased to discover that San Miguel was available on draft, and thankfully that didn’t disappoint!
We did have one unfortunate experience with a waiter at lunchtime who was rude when we asked for another drink. My husband raised this with the supervisor, who apologised, and I want to stress that all of the other staff we encountered were pleasant, friendly and attentive. This was an isolated incident rather than a reflection of the wider team.
As alternatives to the hotel dining, we would definitely recommend La Perla in Puerto de Mogán, where we had a lovely meal and a much more enjoyable evening. We also visited Café del Mar in Meloneras, which was a fun experience and made for a great evening out.
Pool, sunbeds and towels
One of the biggest positives is that sunbeds cannot be reserved before 10am. This means there isn’t the usual early-morning mad dash for sunbeds, which we really appreciated.
Unfortunately, the poolside area itself is where the hotel really lets itself down.
The pool is lovely and was a welcome relief from the hot Canarian sunshine, but the surrounding area looked tired and poorly maintained. Some of the sunbeds were old and mouldy, several of the umbrellas had clearly seen better days, and the tiles appeared as though they hadn’t been thoroughly cleaned for some time.
We also noticed clumps of hair around the pool area and a strong smell coming from the drain area.
During our week, I didn’t see anyone carrying out any obvious cleaning or maintenance of the poolside area, which was surprising given the standard the hotel is marketed at.
Another thing that really surprised me was the pool towel policy. Guests are only permitted to change their pool towels twice during their stay, after which a €2 charge per towel is applied.
This is something I have never encountered at a 5-star resort before. In my experience, particularly at a hotel in a hot climate where you are using pool towels every day, I would expect to be able to have them changed regularly — ideally daily — without having to pay an additional charge.
Again, individually this might seem like a small issue, but when you add it to the other areas where the hotel falls short, it contributes to the feeling that the service and facilities simply don’t match the 5-star expectation.
The Pool Bar, on the other hand, is a real positive. It is much better maintained and its position overlooking the beach makes it a lovely place to sit with a drink before lunch. It is probably one of my favourite areas of the hotel.
Entertainment and evening atmosphere
The entertainment was reasonable on the evenings we stayed in the hotel. There was something to watch and it provided some evening entertainment, although it was very much the traditional, slightly cheesy 80s/90s-style hotel entertainment rather than anything particularly sophisticated.
The bigger problem was the evening bar itself, which was unbearably hot. Again, the lack of effective air conditioning made sitting inside for any length of time uncomfortable, which meant we often preferred to go elsewhere in the evenings.
Given the hotel’s location and the number of lovely places to visit nearby, we actually enjoyed getting out and experiencing some of the local restaurants and bars.
Overall condition
Unfortunately, the general impression we got was that the hotel is dated and lacking in care and attention to detail.
There are certainly areas of the hotel that are attractive, and the location and views are fantastic, but throughout our stay we repeatedly noticed things that made us question the advertised 5-star status.
For us, it isn’t necessarily about the hotel being modern or luxurious. We don’t expect everything to be brand new. But when a hotel is being marketed as 5-star, we do expect a higher level of maintenance, cleanliness and attention to detail.
Would we return?
At the moment, no — but I wouldn’t say never.
The hotel has some genuinely lovely qualities: the peaceful setting, spectacular sea views, comfortable bed, lovely pool, excellent pool bar and the fact that sunbeds cannot be reserved before 10am are all positives.
However, for us to consider returning, we would need to see significant improvements to:
* The air conditioning
* General maintenance and refurbishment
* The cleanliness and condition of the poolside area
* Sunbeds and umbrellas
* The condition of the rooms
* Dining area comfort
* Food quality and variety
* Pool towel policy
* Overall attention to detail
The biggest issue for me is the discrepancy between what we were led to believe we were booking and what we actually experienced.
Had this hotel been clearly marketed to us as a 4-star property, I think I would have arrived with very different expectations and perhaps judged some of these issues differently.
But when you book a hotel advertised by TUI as 5T, particularly when paying a premium price, you naturally expect a certain standard.
I will therefore be contacting TUI directly to raise my concerns and, in particular, to ask why this hotel continues to be marketed as 5T when our experience — and many of the reviews I read before travelling — suggest that there are significant areas that fall short of what most people would reasonably associate with a 5-star resort.
In summary: a beautiful, peaceful location with fantastic views and some lovely staff, but unfortunately the hotel’s facilities, maintenance, dining and overall standard did not meet the expectations created by its 5-star TUI marketing."
