Gloria Palace Amadores Thalasso and Hotel

We initially booked a presidential suite at the sister hotel "The Royal," but after the first night, a Saturday, noticing the lack of atmosphere, jacuzzi no instructions for use and dials coming off, safe had to be dismantled before it would work (via engineer) food was lacking in choices, lift to ground zero from reception did not work, getting a taxi to go anywhere apart from the beach, even though the staff were great, the room didn't cut it for us, after all this, we decided we needed to be back at "THE PALACE," Thankfully management at Gloria Palace Amadores noticed our plight and were swiftly transferred back to "The Palace," unfortunately we couldn't get a pool room as they were all booked but we did get a newly refurbished room, which was great.

Food is always available. There are choices. Themed nights can be a tad confusing. If you are saying the food is cold, it's probably because you took too long to sit down and eat because of the choices of accompanying food. It's a busy hotel, pick your time to eat according to the least busiest time.

When we arrived, it was hot but there was a calima, so we were aware, but it got hotter, I think 42.6°c was the recorded max temp warning by Aemet, yes I believe there could be some big fans or some kind of air conditioning in reception at least, not just for clients but for the staff too, there wasn't any movement of air. The room, however, had a big tropical fan on the ceiling ( I want one) as well as air conditioning when the patio doors are closed.

In conclusion, because, like a fool, I paid the total price up front via the website, if I had paid at the hotel, I would have been refunded the difference between the Royal and Palace, never mind, lesson learned, I lost over €1000 transferring as a result, but I didn't really care. I was back at the Palace.

What would have made our holiday end on a happier note would have been a late check-out, but being summer, no rooms were available, so trying to avoid the hot air was uncomfortable and unbearable.

For those thinking the Royal is better, think again, the Palace us in an optimal location, staff are great, I have never had any problems with grumpy staff. I would gladly continue to class this hotel as my second home. It is my benchmark.

Special thanks to Zuzanna and staff for all they COULD do, ¡Espero verte pronto!

We arrived and was immediately greeted with heat. I understand it is hot in August in GC but no air con it seems anywhere in the hotel. Check in process is long - i can see why they appease you with a drink and a biscuit.
All inclusive bands are applied but appear to be for no reason when you are constantly asked for your room card. "For stock count" apparently. Food average at best. Luke warm at best. On night 4 of our trip my husband and 2 other people were served raw chicken. Totally unacceptable and downright dangerous. This was raised to management who apologised and made the head chef aware. Bar a handful of staff most are miserable. They do not greet you as you enter the restaurant and barley say two words when ordering drinks. Rooms are probably one of the best bits. Decorated nicely and modern and cleaned well. We stayed in block 3 which was fabulous. Room spacious especially when travelling with two children. Pools dirty - tiles chipped and filthy. Not one person goes around cleaning during the day. Snack bar adequate - food was warmer than main restaurant but again average at best. Not enough staff to take orders. Location of the hotel is good. Puerto rico and Amadores both within walking distance or short taxi rides away. It seems from talking to people that this hotel has really gone downhill in recent months. What a shame. We wont be returning unfortunately and will stick to Iberostar who know how to treat guests correctly.

I have just come back from a week’s stay with my husband and adult daughter.

The hotel is in a beautiful location, high up on the cliffs overlooking the sea.

We were greeted very warmly by a very charming member of staff. He checked us in quickly, allocated our rooms, offered us from the reception bar some Prosecco and directed us to our rooms.

We had requested block 3 and two rooms fairly near together. Our rooms were spacious, beautiful with a huge bathroom. The walk-in shower was big enough to just have 8 people standing in it. Double sinks, and a separate toilet within the bathroom with a see through door (I had to laugh at that as if a door is there for privacy, at least make it frosted glass)! Comfortable twin beds (requested) but pushed together and a gorgeous balcony with two layouts, table and two chairs, very private and views looking out to see. Was fabulous.

We were all inclusive. As somebody who does not each meat and chicken, I was thankful that each meal there was fresh fish cooked nicely. If you wanted it cooked for longer, you only had to ask. There was a great selection of vegetarian dishes, meats, pizzas, pastas, salads, fruits, dessert selection, ice cream. Plenty of choice for all appetites. There was a fabulous breakfast selection of cooked meats, freshly cooked omelettes, pancakes, waffles, fried and boiled eggs, yoghurts, breads, cheeses, fresh fruits and the large assortment of bakery products. You could eat as healthily as you wanted or not. I was somewhere in between. There was even a separate section for gluten/lactose free clients, not huge choice but at least it was there.

The entertainment was a little mixed. One electronic board and one written daily chart listing times and entertainment - unfortunately they did not reflect the same information. My husband, being a keen table tennis player turned up one morning to play at the allotted entertainment slot specified on the board but nobody showed up and instead rifle shooting took place elsewhere listed on the other board! No big deal, it’s a holiday, time to chill but was a bit perplexing.

The 2 members of the entertainment team I met were Luna and Pablo. They were very engaging. Aqua fitness was always popular and light foam weights used for a large proportion of the session with Pablo which was excellent. I’m a zumba fan, and noticing zero zumba/dance sessions I mentioned to Luna who arranged a session for the next day to please me and any other guests who turned up. I’m sure more people would have taken part if they had known it was happening. Anyway, thank you Luna. Much appreciated.

We saw 3 shows in the evening, an excellent singer, Walter, which we really enjoyed, a fabulous boy band group (think called Evolution but could be mistaken). They did a large variety of Motown and Soul music and had lots of personality and great voices. There was also a Whitney Houston singer who was also extremely entertaining and had a good voice too. There was also karaoke usually after the shows. The seating areas were huge and usually very full with people watching shows while having a drink. It was very hot there. I’m not sure why air conditioning was missing. I get that there were a couple of open doors but too many people were fanning themselves so perhaps this could be addressed somehow?

There are two sunbathing floors with an infinity pool on each floor. There were always loads of empty seats, there was no need to rush to get seats although there are always guests who like a specific area for their reasons, but generally we would stroll out around 10:30 and always be able to get sunbeds and umbrellas. There are bars on both of these areas with a snack bar on the top deck where you could have snacks when you wanted, some were all-inclusive, or you just pay for what you wanted. There were pool tables, giant outdoor chess on floor, ping pong tables and shuffleboard to name some of the popular activities dotted around. There is a children’s area on one of the decks with slides etc. there is a kids club which I can’t comment on as didn’t use it but there was always a mini disco in the evening which was popular with the youngest guests.

Housekeeping was great, we had a lovely lady Adama, who looked after us so nicely, and greeted us with warmth. Thank you Adama.

Staff generally were very good around all areas of the hotel. It makes a nice atmosphere to be greeted with a smile and a desire to help when they can.

Location was ok. Overlooking the sea high up was wonderful. There were walkways to take you either to Amadores or Puerto Rico, about a 15 minute walk either way depending on your level of fitness. However, disappointingly, the walkways were quite deserted, especially later at nights. For peak summer this was surprising. To get to the main part of Puerto Rico, it is a five minute drive away by taxi. Lots of shops (shopping malls) restaurants and bars. Was thriving there.

All in all, a great holiday, you make what you want out of your time there. You can be as active or chilled as you want. I would recommend this hotel. It’s gorgeous and the views over the sea are fantastic.