We stayed half board. The breakfast was fine but evening meal a bit hit and miss - my daughter struggled some nights to find something she liked (except for chips). They do "show cooking" but they cooked everything in a garlic oil so no matter what you had it tasted of garlic. Apart from that the food was typical 4* standard. The hotel was kept clean and our room made up every day although our towels were only changed once. The hotel is less than 10 mins walk to the Yumbo Centre (avoid this place if you are easily offended by gay people). Other centres spread out around the resort all within 15 - 30 mins. This is not a beach hotel - it's at least 30 minutes to the beach. There's a spar 2 mins away very useful for cold drinks at one third the price of the pool bar. Didn't have much to do with the hotel staff other than when we booked in which was easy enough. Stayed at the hotel for 2 nights to watch the entertainment. African Footprints was excellent and well worth staying in for. We mis-read the entertainment for the 2nd time and ended up playing Bingo - one game took one hour - torture!! Overall we had a good time - we only wanted a chill week which we got, with excellent weather considering Easter was so early this year.

This hotel is split into 2 buildings...the main hotel and an annex that is made up of self catering apartments.We stayed in the apartments.We had requested a room on an upper floor...so predictably on arrival we were allocated one on the first floor!!..we asked to move and this proved no problem..we moved to the fourth floor.I have to say the room was pretty small, much smaller than other apartments we have stayed in in the Canaries.There was a 2 ring cooker and some kitchen units built into a corner of the main room, a fridge with small freezer that desperately needed defrosting but no oven.We dont go away to cook a lot but we have never had an apartment without an oven before.The room was kept very clean...we did have a problem getting clean towels on a couple of occasions though. The room in general was a bit tired looking and could have done with a lick of paint but it was adequate.Cant understand why there is a big walk in store room which wastes so much space in an apartment that is tight on space in the first place.We cant comment on the hotel food as we were self catering..but we did speak to people who were all inclusive and they were very complimentary about the food.
The apartments have their own pool..which is smaller than the hotel one..but which is a much better sun bathing spot...its very open and you get the sun (in October) till 7 pm if you want it.The main hotel pool is very much more shaded.The reception provides pool towels for a small returnable deposit..though some days we were told there were no clean ones(though hotel residents seemed to get them no problem!!)There is a bar doing food and drink by the apartment pool...reasonably priced..usual offerings during the day..burgers,toasties,spag bol,steak sandwiches etc.
There is a SPAR 100 yds from the hotel with plenty more other supermarkets a couple of hundred yards in opposite direction.
A special mention about the kids club which our 7 yr old thoroughly enjoyed..up to 3 times a day on some days!!
The evening entertainment was pretty decent...with the Arabian dancers worthy of special mention.
Its about a 20-25 min walk to beach though there is a free bus service to both Playa del Ingles and Maspalomas beaches. There are a number of commercial centres within easy walks...Yumbo about 10-15 mins..Gran Chaperal centre is out of hotel turn left and about 300 yards down the road across the junction. Loads of family bars and eateries down there from cheap English breakfast places (4 euros!) to a lovely Indian, couple chinese and a nice italian on the main road called Rimini.Its only about 3 euros in a taxi to either the Kasbah centre in PDI or the Faro 2 centre in Maspalomas...both have an array of restaurants and bars.El Rancho opposite the Kasbah was a very nice steak house.
Our weather was fab..after a couple of overcast afternoons when we arrived we then had about 8 or 9 days that were cloudless and scorching.We spent one of the hottest days at the water park..a 5 euro taxi ride away...good value day out with some great slides.No rain whilst we were there.Went on a First Choice "big night out" excursion whcih for 10 euros each was decent value..barbecue and entertainment type thing.
Overall a lovely holiday...accomodation decent without being fantastic.

I stayed here with a friend for a week.

Good location, good sized apartment with a balcony.

However I wasn't too impressed with some of the staff members. The lady who checked us in had little English and could not explain why we could not rent a safe that night. If reception was open then why not? Fine, no big deal. However, on Tuesday night we got a call from reception saying we were making too much noise. Well, we were inside, no music and not even the television was on. I went down to the hotel reception where the clerk told me he had received a complaint from security that we were talking and he could hear us. Well, we said we were on the seventh floor and instead of apologizing he said he did not see us but was simply responding to a request from security. Well, how about that??? I was totally upset that night.

On the last day we had to check out at 12 but we were told we could book a room to have a shower and a change of clothes. My friend did but when he went up to the designated room there was somebody still there and he had to wait 15 mins to get changed. Surely there must be a more efficient system to deal with this. Again, not much of an apology.

On the whole for the price we paid (this is not a cheap hotel by any means) it wasn't great. These little things may sound trivial but they all add up to cause a major dissatisfaction on my part.

I am confused about my feelings on this hotel. On the one hand it is very clean and its a nice place for a holiday and on the other hand its noisy at night as the entertainment is by the pool, it doesnt stop till 11pm. The entertainment is rather cheesy!

The rooms are a little small although I was told the suites are excellent. The bathrooms are big with a full size bath and a good shower and towels are changed everyday.

The food is a bit hit and miss and you may have to use the microwave rather alot as if you are not quick the food goes cold and the hot plates are never hot.

I thought the reception staff where unhelpful at times and when we checked in at 3am we had a rather surly man chuck a form and pen at us to sign in.

Some of the bar staff could be quite rude, but not to the germans/italian/spanish guests, they were all treated like royalty and I had to wait long periods of time to get served when the bar was busy I felt ignored on several occasions.

The TV for Brits was awful..and yes I know, we dont go on holiday to watch telly but the Germans/Italians/Spanish are well catered for whilst we had Eurosport, Spanish classic TCM (film channel showing b/w movies in English) Sky News and CNN. I asked if we could get a different channel as I was really tired from a trip out and just wanted to chill out one night, but I was told no.. somehow I dont think we are valued as much as others!

Anyway...I wouldn't choose the hotel again just because its not my cup of tea...talking of tea..you dont get tea/coffee making facilities in the rooms here...take a travel kettle and some cups if you are like me and like a cuppa late on in the evening.

Just got back from the Barcelo, stayed in the hotel side.

Rooms were very small and pokey in the living areas, clean enough with a tiny fridge that you could fit about 2 bottles of water into. Bathroom was a nice size, but really didnt like having three single beds in a row with no seperate main bedroom - very clostraphobic. Not much more to say about the rooms - we were HB and didnt need anything in the way of cooking etc =- good job!

Resort was clean and the pool areas were nice - even if one of the pools is far too shaded - sun is at a premium on this one. The pool at the apartment side is more open and nice - not too busy at this time of year either.

The place had a lot of Germans, and without wanting to sound racist it's apparent that their culture does not demand as many manners as our own. Prepare to be stared at, barged into etc - especially at mealtimes.

Food was ok - bit repetative, but so much selection you will find something to satisfy you every meal time in the resteraunt.

My main gripe is the kids entertainment. Nothing short of atrocious. I saw two kids reps waling around the resort. And yes, thats all they seemed to do. We have a toddler and the most important thing for us was that she had a brilliant holiday. She did, but that was down to some of the kids we met there and our own plans for entertaining her.

She was soo excited about the kids disco. She need not have been. The reps didn't take part other than on 2 occasions. The stage (if you can call it that) is about 5 metres max away from the pool. Not the safest of environments by a long shot, especially as there is no screening and the closest point to the stage is the deepest part of the pool. You would think the reps/'entertainers' would acknowlege the dangers of this rather than make the kids run round the outside of the pool hunting for ping pong balls - they didnt, and over the week I was there 2 kids fell in - of a non swimming age. Yes you might say parents should keep an eye out, but it was mahem around that pool with the kids due to the reps and it is not on.

The kids disco didnt start until 8.30 - by which time most children are knackered, and I just can't understand it. Half the kids were falling asleep on chairs or getting naughty because they had had to wait around for so long entertaiing themselves (and each other) since dinner. When the disco did begin it had to be conducted in and around the stage whilst the entertainment team were positioning whacking great speakers and mobile lighting systems for the main act that would come on later - causeing more hazards and shoe horning the children into any area they could for a dance. The disco was then concluded as quickly as possible with minimum effort by a blond dressed a bit like a clown and with a booming voice that scared my daughter to death. I felt really sorry for the children, and although they did enjoy it they are not in a position to appreciate how much better it could be.

The main point though has to be the entertainment being so close to the swimming pool - I cannot stress this enough. Imagine a stage with chairs to the left of it and a couple of rows in front. They look to the immediate right - there are no chairs there because there is no space for them between the stage and the deepend of the swimming pool. If there is no space for a few chairs between the pool and the stage then this is not where you should be holding a childrens disco comprising mainly of tired 2 and 3 year olds. I watch my daughter like a hawk, but some parents don't, and even though I do I am no olympic standard sprinter should she decide to make a beeline for the deepend or walk backwards whilst i dare to look in another direction for two seconds.

Hotel staff were varied - bar staff friendly enough and all seemed efficient, but dont expect any effort from the reception staff. The main FT rep tried hard, but is full of flannel.

I won't be going back, and have booked a second holiday at the Village on the Costa Del Sol because I feel so guilty that my daughter didn't have the best holiday possible.

We stayed at this hotel for 2 weeks on a half board basis. The hotel itself was lovely and clean, the bed linen was changed 4 times each week and fresh towels were provided daily.

The staff were all really friendly, and the entertainment team went out of their way to ensure that the kids and adults alike were all kept happy and entertained.

The hotel is only a short walk from the Gran Chaparal and Yumbo centres. Central enough for us, but not in the thick of it.

Taxis are very cheap and readily available.

The nearby western theme park Sioux City was excellent, our lads loved it there.

The beach is a little far but as I said the taxis are really cheap, so not a problem.

Overall this holiday was fantastic and we hope to go back in 2007.

My husband and I stayed at this hotel for 2 weeks in December and had a fantastic time.

If even though we were self catering we did visit the hotel restaurant twice and the food was good...plenty of variety.

The self catering apartments were to a good standard and very clean. The sheets were changed every other day and floors and sanitary facilities daily.

The hotel's facilities were also very good plenty to do in the day time if you were just chilling around the pool. The Entertainment Team tried to involve you in the activities but did not pester you if you did not want to participate. The Reception Staff were also very helpful.

Gran Chapperell is a 5 minute walk away where you can find an excellent bar called Wemblys....well worth a visit and I am sure it will not be your only visit. The Yumbo Centre is only a 5-10 minute walk away where there are plenty of fantastic restaurants and it is great for shopping. Also take a show at Ricky's Caberet Bar........fantastic show.

I would thoroughly recommend this hotel.

PS Don't forget a trip to Aqualand!!!

Hotel was great very very clean, bar staff are brilliant gave us free drinks and food all the time, we would go back there any time.

The weather was unreal we went 30th sept to oct 15 and it was 32+ every single day and you vary rarely seen a cloud, the beach is a 2 euro taxi trip and there is a taxi rank right outside the hotel, kasbah is 10 mins away, yumbo 5 mins and there is a centre a stone throw away full of bars.

We are 21 and 23 and we met some girls from the other apartments and there room was just as good as ours nice and big with balconies over looking the pool, don't get a low floor or you will have a palm tree in your way, we were on 5 and that was fine.

A MUST DO NOT TAKE TOWELS, you don't need them you pay 12 euros, you get a towel at reception you keep it as long as you want and you take it back anytime you want to be replaced for a fresh one, at the end of your holiday you get your 12 euros back, what more could you want lol.

There is not one bad thing I could find about this holiday everyone who complains about it being away from the beach, it is 2 euros taxi or a free bus.

This hotel is great you will have a great holiday if you go there, full of families, not really young people 18-22 but a couple, Spanish, German and English people all there.

The hotel is lovely, but quiet old, hence the furnishings looking very dated in the bedrooms.
The staff were not very friendly, some just didn't know how to smile, and if you are all inclusive you have to give your room number and sign for all your drinks, we didn't agree with this. anyone could have overheard you give your room number and use it to obtain free drinks, after 11pm.
THE POOLS
the main pool with the pool bar is very shaded due to the amount of palm trees, best to go up on the Sun decks or the the pool near the Apartment block have full sun all day.

FOOD
Good choice of food,the only thing that lets this hotel down, it has no children menu, so some parents with small children did struggle.

ENTERTAINMENT
a couple of good acts, but it dosn't start until 10pm and finishes at 11pm then to the disco bar, were they played Gene Pickney, Dean Martin and a little bit of Rock & Roll, not our scene.

ROOMS
our room had 3 camp beds and were very uncomfortable, but the rooms were cleaned every day, they were spotless.

RESORT
you have to be very open minded especially if your taking children, we didn't realise that it's well known for Gay couples to take there hoidays at this resort, although i have no problems with this there were a few gay couples who flaunted the fact they were a couple, which i did take offence at especially around the pool were children were playing.

overall fantastic hotel ideally situated away from main hustle and bustle but still close enough to walk into main resort

We have just come back from the Barcelo hotel, we stayed in the apartments, nice rooms the air con wasn't all that didn't feel like it was even on. The cleaners were spot on every day clean towels and rooms cleaned excellent. The hotel reception staff were very helpful and friendly.

If you have a late flight like we had you can keep a room on for the day it cost 24 euro which we thought was really cheap for the length of time we had it for. I think that this resort/hotel was mainly for German's there was loads there.

Found some very nice restaurants in the Yumbo centre, well now that place is an experience, gay central! if you go to the Yumbo was the drag shows they are very funny. Also we went to the Aqua Park in Maspolpmas this was a great day out and very cheap. Taxi from the hotel to water park was only 6 euro.

All I all we had a very nice time here, but we would not return as we like going to different places