Hotel Barcelo Las Margaritas

Barceló Margaritas. My boyfriend and I stayed here half board (so breakfast and dinner were included but not lunch) for a week. It was a major emotional roller coaster of ups, downs and mediocrity I must admit.

The first day we arrived, we threw our belongings down so as to explore and placed a do not disturb sign on the door.
When we returned we found that 40 euros had gone (20 from each of our wallets). This was infuriating, since even with travel insurance, the hotel and the Thomas Cook reps were extremely unhelpful and unremorseful.

The good: The weather is great in March, there are two outdoor pools, there are plenty of sun loungers, reception staff are well mannered and the décor of the hotel is lovely

The bad: there is little to do after 6:00 p.m. as the pool is closed and the shows are not for everyone, the catering staff are (for lack of a better word) annoying, the rooms have no ceiling light so it can get very dim at night, no English television apart from two news channels, there is no security, so anyone can enter into the hotel (our money was stolen on the first day), no entertainment, uncomfortable beds, cockroaches in the rooms, toilet is smelly and seems unhygienic because of this, the room is blandly decorated, the room service is poor, as the service takes so long you might as well leave the room and fetch whatever it is yourself, the staff do not really speak English, so asking for things is usually unsuccessful, everything is very expensive two euros for a tiny bottle of coca-cola, the food is of very poor quality - warm (never hot) bland and very repetitive, the bath/shower was appalling - the tub had ground in dirt and the shower head was coming off of the wall, an iron we paid 22 euros for blew the fuse in the room and we had to sit in darkness for 30 minutes before a technician came to fix it. They didn't replace the iron or refund our money! The towels that were being replaced were dirty and old looking, also the bathroom facilities were the bare minimum.

In brief, I would not go here again and if you want entertainment/clubs/fun, avoid this. Definitely not worth the four star rating.

I stayed in this hotel whilst working in Gran Canaria filming hotels for a holiday website. Before departure I was pleased to find out I had been booked into a four star hotel. I spent my first two weeks in Gran Canaria staying in Amadores, very nice and very quiet.

However on arriving at the Barcelo, I was disappointed by the size of the room. It was clean but by no means spacious or luxurious, the rubber sheet on the bed being particularly unpleasant. We stayed half board and as such were entitled to breakfast (thin pasteurised liquid egg from a box and the smallest cups known to man from which to drink the very diluted fruit juice) and dinner (mass produced flavourless rubbish). We then retired to our small balcony overlooking the pool and were subjected to the entertainment. We thought it was funny on the first night but by night ten we were eating out and having trouble sleeping.

If your idea of a four star hotel is bland food, the same CD and annoying host singing 'Oggy, oggy, oggy, oi, oi, oi' every night until 11 p.m. then the Barcelo Margaritas is for you. Personally I wouldn't stay there if you paid me and for the record, I was being paid to stay there.

Disgruntled, but hey, it is Gran Canaria - people, be more adventurous, it will be worth it.

OK, here goes, I'll try and be as balanced as I can. My first impression of the hotel was that it looked OK and a million miles away from 'The Ritz' but that's not to say the place is a dump. The reception area is quite nice with nice furniture and a big wooden desk. There were three adequately sized lifts (although I didn't use the lifts as our room was on the second floor!).

I booked a 'junior suite' and I felt a bit cheated when I saw the room - the only difference between a junior suite and a normal room is about two extra feet in length and that's it! There are TVs in the rooms that show Sky News and other foreign channels. To be fair though, the room was cleaned and beds made every day which was good.

The restaurant offered a large selection of food, so all tastes are catered for. The food was ok (certainly nothing to write home about). The staff seemed friendly enough, although we didn't really have much to do with them.

The hotel itself is conveniently located with shopping centres pretty close by and the beach is about one kilometre away.

On the whole, this wasn't a bad hotel (I've stayed in much worse!) but I think the Gran Canaria Princess (just down the road) is miles better and not as expensive as this one. Would I go back to this hotel? Probably not.

We travelled to Gran Canaria on a winter sun holiday so if the weather wasn't good we would have lots to do at the complex. The Barcelo Las Margaritas is a very nice resort, staff are very friendly and it is everything you would expect from a four star.

Food is lovely. We went self catering and paid locally for the buffet each night. It was my birthday during my stay and the staff sent me a bottle of champagne and a hamper of fruit and a letter wishing me a happy birthday which was a lovely gesture.

The only thing I didn't like is that there were cats in and around the complex grounds.

First time for everything so they say! Well this was a first for me to Gran Canaria and also to this hotel. First impression as the coach pulled up outside to drop us off was wow. This was like the Ritz. Stunning from the outside and stunning from the inside.
Booked in at reception and were given the key (electronic card) to my room. Didn't know what to expect now.

Once the door was open, there it was! Wow. Very impressive I must say. Nice balcony over looking the sun roof terrace, lovely air conditioning and a lovely TV in the room! Just right to watch the world cup as that had just started whilst there.

All the staff were very friendly and also very, very helpful. The restaurant was the business! Loads of different meals every night and so much to choose from. Also, the breakfasts, there was everything from a lovely English fry up, to cereal, cakes, bread etc. (Didn't need lunch after a good breakfast!)

Also a small shop on site for buying your English newspapers daily! Round the pool you had a bar serving nice, cold, soft and alcoholic drinks, coffee and snacks. Entertainment throughout the day and evening. Morning was filled with sports either in or out the pool.
Afternoon started with the children's disco, followed by bingo on some nights and also raffles, then the entertainment began. Singers, dancers, circus acts, tribute bands, Spanish dancers. There was something going on every night. This usually finished around 11 p.m., then onto the hotel night club for a dance. (This was very quiet whilst I was there in June).

This hotel is a must and is very good for families with children. There is so much to do for the young ones and also the adults. I will be back next year. Good luck and I know you will enjoy it.

Before going on our holiday, we ourselves read the reviews on this hotel and thought it would be a good idea to leave feedback from our stay there too. We stayed there from the fifth to the twelfth of November 2005.

It is a lovely hotel with lots to do day or evening. The food was good with plenty of choice. Maid service was very good, every day. Rooms were brilliant with comfy beds and nice bathrooms. There are lifts on every floor and more then one lift per floor too

It is a way from the beach, but they do give you a FREE bus pass. It's location we thought was brilliant, not too near everything but not too far either. It costs about three or four euros to either the beach or all the night life (Yumbo Center is a good visit if you like bars, restaurants and loads of shops).

If you are going with children to this hotel, they will not get bored as having kids ourselves, we thought that there is plenty for them to do i.e. kids' club/children's play area/crazy golf/football pitch/tennis courts/two pools.

The evening entertainment was also very good with good shows on every night. Staff were very helpful and friendly. Bar staff can be a bit slow to serve you but they get there.
There is a massage parlour and a hairdressers in the hotel which me and my husband both visited and is a well worth visiting if you fancy a bit of pampering on your holiday. Good value for money. Careful on the roof of the hotel as this is a nudist bit. All in all we thought we had good value for money. Brilliant hotel and we will taking our children there next year.

I went to Las Margaritas last year with my three children. All I can say is that it was absolutely fantastic! The rooms were simple but very clean, the food was superb, with a huge variety. All of the staff were extremely friendly and very helpful. I definately had the best holiday ever and was very sad to leave...but am now very excited because I will be there again in 2 weeks time!!!