Paradise Island

We went first 11 nights Aug. This place was all we could afford but good value for what it is. If you get there late don't take up the offer of some food before check in as the wait just gets longer. We were charged for aircon but given a room that had none. I complained that we were opposite the disco with two young kids the next morning we were moved straight away to a quiet room with aircon. There are three pools including a baby pool which was safe for our 2 year old. They have a don't reserve you sun bed policy but it is ignored. It is very mixed nationality I met Spanish, Dutch, Belgium, Irish, German & English. Every country had sent some chavs but it was mostly middle class families. The reps play rather loud music poolside everyday which makes it difficult to chill out. The inclusive drink is drinkable but avoid the Gin it gives you a bad head. The food is good plenty of fresh fish, salad. The is a Canarian food night which was great. There is also chinese food if you want it. A lot of people seemed to just eat the kids food chips & pasta. It does get busy but the Spanish eat later so it seems to work out. One thing they could sort out is spraying for cock roaches now and then. You often sore big ones running into the food hall. A lot of the staff are actually students from Holland on work experience doing Hotelier courses, they do very long hour for not much pay. They will try to sort out most problems if you are polite, if they are busy just come back later. The kids & baby club are safe and free which will give you some rest from your kids. The island has lots of attractions if you are tired of sitting by the pool. I hired a big car for £190 and really enjoyed making trips around the island. Taxis and transfers busses are not cheap so a car from the airport is easy. So to conclude we booked our own flight and room or 11 nights and had a good fun holiday. This was long enough and a £1000 cheaper than a 14 day package. This was a 3 star holiday for family of 4 costing about £200 a day all inclusive, it is always sunny. Bring a lot of sun cream!

Charles Wells, Brighton
Family with Children 11 and Under

I agree with the sentiments expressed by M Sutcliffe of Lancaster and Mrs Wielding of Blackpool. I was travelling alone and don't have a family so didn't use a lot of the facilities on offer but I could appreciate that the hotel would be an excellent value for money stay for those with children. As it was, I had a good week relaxing here in February 2008. Obviously not luxurious but clean, easy on the eye accomodation with decent selection of good food and friendly and helpful staff. I wouldn't go back as I never do, but if I heard that a friend of mine had booked to stay here in the future, I wouldn't advise them to ask for a refund in advance! £310 all inclusive for the week was money well spent.

Mr L Williams, Worcester
Solo Traveller

We stayed at the Paradise Island hotel in Nov 07 for one week. Having visited the Canaries before and experienced All Inc hotels we found this accomodation to be just satisfactory. Having read the previous reviews here i'm not sure if i'm talkin about the same place!. Firstly the food and restuarant service was well below average. Food was often re-used, Very limited choice, food was constantly running out as was cuttlery. The chinese buffet was fairly pittiful with two dishes and rice(these were usually what was for lunch in the main dinning hall, e.g bits of pork for lunch - stir fried pork for dinner!). Wine is cheap, beer is domestic Spanish - enough said. The rooms we found to be fairly comfortable, spacious with kitchenette (and resident ant like bugs crawling over it). Housekeeping was good but not everyday. The staff i found to be very helpful and polite and have no beef with them, most spoke good English, German and fluent Spanish. The evening entertainment was quite funny in places and we did enjoy most of it (mind you we'd been drinking most of the day!) In all if you're considering this hotel you're more than likely on a tight budget (we are Too!), and thats what it is. A cheap holiday in the sun with a bit of semi warm grub and watered down cocktils thrown in. Don't expect miracles with this place, it kinda does exactly what it says on the tin. Its a bit far out from the main drag so either get a hire car (we drove the whole island in two days seeing most of it) or bikes unless you're up for walking what i'd estimate to be about 1.5/2 km to the resort centre and back. Don't bother with all inc, food and drink over there is very cheap and as i said the rooms have a kitchen in them. There is also a small grocery shop attached to the hotel which was considerably well stocked ( i guess they make a killing due to the hotel food next door!!) Think about the excursions too, they sound great but we knew to be expensive when you add it up. If you drive - get a car!. They're relativly in-expensive and you can go where ever you like WHEN YOU WANT!. Addmission to the major natural attractions are about 8 euros each and are well worth visiting, (Timyfaya sp?, El Golfo, Green caves are a must!) All in all its cheap, cheerful and sunny although i don't think you could spend a whole week there just slobbing out by the, what we found to be cramped pool!.

Paul, England
Young Couple (18-35)

I was worried about staying at this hotel because of some of the terrible reviews I had read on review sights, however, I was very pleasantly surprised. We are a family of 4, 2 adults and 2 children aged 9 and 5 years. The check in was faultless and we were issued with a wristband to confirm our All inclusive status. We paid for air conditioning in our apartment which was 4 euros a day (well worth it). The 1 bedroom apartment was probably about 8 years old with it's original furnishings so was a little tatty but very spacious and clean. Fresh towels daily. The food was all buffet style and comprised of a normal buffet and in addition a seperate chinese buffet nightly which was included in the all inclusive price. you just needed to choose your buffet (or a mixture of both). The pool side bar, the reception bar and the mini club bar were all well stocked and well staffed. The pool bar was mainly self service and you just went up, got your own drink and mooched on back to the pool. There was entertainment throughout the day and the entertainment team spoke excellent english. A mini disco at night for the children was fantastic and then the family entertainment was average (what you would expect in a spanish resort). The pool was clean and beautifully kept. There were plenty of sunbeds and a fantastic area for smaller children called the "jardin infantil" a special pool and mini jacuzzi for toddlers, with sunbeds surrounding it and plenty of water toys to play with. The staff could not have been more friendly. There was a free bus to the beach and back about 6 times a day and a small market on a wednesday at the local marina. it was a few hours lazy stroll from the furthest beach back to the hotel (but that included plenty of souvenir shop and cafe stops. To sum up I would say fantastic value for money for families with younger children (under 12). Not much in the surrounding area so this is definately a holiday for those wanting to hang out around the pool with maybe a few walks. Oh forgot to mention! good games room, crazy golf, tennis, volleyball, garden chess and the overall layout of the hotel is beautiful with small tree lined "streets" leading to the apartments. Cheap and cheerful family destination is how I would best describe it. I would go again.

Mrs Weilding, blackpool england
Family with Children 11 and Under

we have been to this hotel twice this year now-in april and just got back from there again(october), the hotel is lovely,friendly place-plenty of entertaiment through the day and night,apartment are spotless and spacious,food is plentiful with choice of buffet canarian sytle food or chinese restauraunt buffet-included in all inclusive,and well free drinks for all between 10am and 11pm on al inclusive. the pool bar is a lovely relaxing place to sit and enjoy the sun,and all staff are very friendly-would recommend to all!

mrs shoker, leicester,england
Young Couple (18-35)

We went as a couple to this aparthotel on 10th March05
on an all inclusive basis. Food was excellent,plenty of red or white wine, beers at all times. The apartment was spotless and was cleaned to a high standard daily. Towels and sheets also changed on a regular basis. Entertainment nightly plus fun and games for kids.
The only drawback is that the hotel is about a mile from the sea, but no problem if you have a hired car.
We would definitely return providing we got the same deal through alpharooms!!

Charles Milligan, Cheltenham, Gloucestershire
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