Playa del Inglés Céntrico Los Molinos 135

A handy base for exploring Gran Canaria’s south and mountains, with local shops, cafes and restaurants nearby and the beach about a 10-minute drive away. It’s really more like an Airbnb than a hotel, though the clean, modern apartment has a kitchen-diner, a small double bedroom, a pool-facing balcony and air conditioning. No room service, but it felt much like a hotel suite.

The entertainment was the usual sort you’d expect. What stood out was the food, the best I’ve had at a Spanish hotel after many trips to mainland Spain. The updated room had a flatscreen TV with a good range of satellite channels, and the bed was very comfortable.

Small rooms, certainly, and the layout is a little odd: one bedroom is like a balcony, with the living room as the second space when the windows are open. Still, there’s a kids’ pool, a larger pool, and plenty of nice cafes and restaurants around. Playa del Inglés and the local area of San Fernando are both close, and the price is cheap. Without that location and price, I’d have rated it two or three stars.

The private internet was fast and reliable enough for YouTube in the evenings, and I barely used the TV since its channels were all in Spanish. But the bedroom window wouldn’t lock, so someone passing could slide it open and look in while you slept. Even on the seventh floor, I had to spray cockroaches every day. Apartment 726 met my basic needs, though the equipment was mostly basic IKEA style. The AC itself was better quality, but its remote had a visibly swollen battery that was two years past its expiry and only worked now and then. I borrowed the battery from the TV remote, which was in better shape. The place had seen better days: the sofa headrest was very wobbly, the bathroom sink cupboard paint was peeling, and its drawer stuck when opening or closing. The bathroom water heater dripped constantly from a poor installation, and there was a large patch of peeling paint on the ceiling, probably from a similar issue upstairs. I’m glad I booked one of the pricier apartments. I wouldn’t have wanted to see what the cheaper ones were like.