Gran Castillo Tagoro Family & Fun Playa Blanca

“Spotless hotel, wonderful staff, so very nearly perfect! ”

We stayed for four nights with our 20 month and 4 year old in a Merlin room.  Tldr; lovely family resort with wonderful staff, great facilities and spotlessly clean. Bit far to walk to a sandy beach and mealtimes are a bit late for small people. Looks like there is lots of entertainment but limi... more

We stayed for four nights with our 20 month and 4 year old in a Merlin room.  Tldr; lovely family resort with wonderful staff, great facilities and spotlessly clean. Bit far to walk to a sandy beach and mealtimes are a bit late for small people. Looks like there is lots of entertainment but limited information about anything. PROs: wonderful helpful staff, super clean and well kept, Merlin rooms great for the kids, little shopping precinct/supermarket next door, gate access to pebbly beach and lovely coastal wak.  CONs: Sandy beach not walkable, limited kids activities if not using the kids clubs, mealtimes a bit late for very little ones (lunch 1pm, dinner 6.30pm).  The hotel itself is lovely. It's huge and very sprawling across the mountainside - on the first night we got lost for over half an hour trying to find our way back to our room! Once we knew where we were going however the few minutes walk from Castleland to the main area was absolutely fine. One thing that struck us was how spotlessly clean the place was, and so well kept. On our first morning we saw a couple of people walking around with clipboards and photographing a very slightly damaged drain cover. By that afternoon there was a smarty shiny new one in its place.  The Merlin rooms are totally worth it if you have small people. After a long day our two ran straight in and started playing, the toy box is a lovely touch. The rooms are really spacious, plenty of room for all the stuff you need to cart around with little ones! The family corner is perfectly set out, with a couple of fab kids pools and slides, little playground and snack bar with self service for kids on the all inclusive. The staff can really make a place, and here they are fantastic. So friendly, welcoming and helpful from the moment you arrive at reception, to the fantastic buggy drivers who whizzed us to the room with our luggage, the kids loved the ride! We were welcomed with a glass of cava and a drink for the children whilst we were waiting to check in which was unexpected but so welcome after a long journey. Every staff member from cleaners to gardeners to maintenance people said hello with a big smile, no matter what they were doing which added to the welcoming atmosphere.  The location is nice in that it overlooks the sea and has a gate straight out onto the coastal path. This goes straight down to a rocky beach, which does have some sandy space when the tide is out, although it's the darker sand from the volcanic rock rather than white sand. We really enjoyed little trips down here however. There is a path out the side of the hotel which leads up to a pretty little precinct with a few souvenir type shops, bars and restaurants, as well as a decent little supermarket. We hadn't realized there was one right next door so this was a great surprise and super handy. We had been warned that the sandy beaches were a bit too far to walk, and had planned to get the number 30 bus, however in the end we took a taxi which reception organised and arrived in minutes along to Playa Dorada. With the kids on our laps it was a few quid and by far the easiest. I was a bit apprehensive about this but the roads are very calm and all look very new, it was a short drive along slower roads. To come back we walked the 10 minutes or so from playa dorada to Rubicon Marina where there is a busy taxi rank, and picked up a cab there back to the hotel.  We ate in the main buffet restaurant for all our meals. There was a good choice of food for every meal, and the children were well catered for. It was a bit hit and miss with some amazing dishes, some really not that nice, but overall it was fresh and tasty. The only grumble we had around food was the mealtimes. Lunch wasn't served until 1pm and dinner at 6.30pm. Our little one struggled a bit as he is an early riser so is well and truly ready for a nap by 12.30. Knowing this may actually have been a reason for us to pick somewhere else so it's worth being aware of if you have very little ones.  The one thing we really didn't make the most of was the entertainment. We were told at check in that our children could do the baby club and kids club, and were given a form for booking in. We didn't want to drop them off and leave them - the holiday was to spend time together! - but it appeared that all the children's entertainment was wrapped up as part of the kids club so other than the pools there was nothing for them to do. There is a calendar of entertainment on the hotel app (they give you a QR code) which has a lot on it but no information about what it is or where to go. If we were staying longer I would have asked about it, it's just something to be aware of at check in. If you're planning to use the kids clubs to drop off then it was very clear to us these were brilliant with lots going on. One final thing, if you book with Jet2 don't bother with their customer service for questions before you go - just contact the hotel directly, they are far more helpful!

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“Lovely hotel”

Just coming to the end of our week long stay, we booked a Merlin Room. Do I think they're worth it? Yes for the kids' reactions to seeing their room. But then no for adults, because of how the rooms are set up, it means the main bedroom is quite dark, even in the day, and access to the balcony is... more

Just coming to the end of our week long stay, we booked a Merlin Room. Do I think they're worth it? Yes for the kids' reactions to seeing their room. But then no for adults, because of how the rooms are set up, it means the main bedroom is quite dark, even in the day, and access to the balcony is via the kids room. The kids room is big enough to add a sofa in front of the balcony doors, which would give a nice seating area rather than going on your bed. The balcony just has metal chairs which aren't comfy for relaxing on. The Merlin rooms are also situated a good walk from the main restaurant where you can only get breakfast and dinner from. The hotel is spotlessly clean, lots of pools so hasn't felt over crowded and all the staff we've met are lovely. Food is great, they have different themed nights. The only way you'd find it get too similar is if you put all the different foods on your plate, rather than just having a proper meal. Would I stay again? No, it's too big a hotel for us, and also too far out from Playa Blanca and a proper beach. We stayed at Sol Hotel Lanzarote last year in Matagorda, and preferred the smaller set up.

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“Amazing staff”

One of our many visits to this hotel over past 10 years. The staff are amazing, with a special mention to Grit on reception, who welcomed us with such a wonderful smile, she goes above and beyond for all guests. The atmosphere at the hotel is fantastic.

“A great holiday but not a 5 star.”

Honest review: Is it a 5 star, no. Have we had a great holiday, yes! Rooms - spacious, clean, well kept. Cons - not enough plug points, no replenishment of tea/coffee. Food - fresh, lots of healthy options Cons - Very samey, most food themes you can’t tell the difference because it’s very s... more

Honest review: Is it a 5 star, no. Have we had a great holiday, yes! Rooms - spacious, clean, well kept. Cons - not enough plug points, no replenishment of tea/coffee. Food - fresh, lots of healthy options Cons - Very samey, most food themes you can’t tell the difference because it’s very similar. The variety is vast but it’s mostly the same day in, day out. Pools - refreshing, clean, no code brown over Easter, lots of space Cons - Only allowed floats between 12-2pm. I saw a child being told to take their rubber ring out despite being the only person in the pool. Would be nice if common sense was used. Entertainment - inconsistent. It’s good when they hire someone but when they do it themselves, it’s disorganised. I would say a lack of leadership is the reason but sometimes it was so bad that it was funny! Why is it not a 5 star… I believe this is the reason…. Leadership: Reception are disorganised but very helpful. Not overly friendly at times but get the job done. They only had one type of plaster when a child hurt their knee but it was the small ones. They don’t have all the necessary for 1st aid. When we arrived, we were not advised where ANYTHING is, no information, nothing. I found out we had one access to the spa and to the 5d cinema after reading it online. We had no idea where anything was and we had to figure it out. Getting to the spa with the kids was a pain as two reps told us different directions before a family told us the right way. Communication is not good at all. The pool bar staff are not friendly whatsoever but the sports bar staff are amazing. Everything is inconsistent. Overall, I wouldn’t come back as my kids are getting older but if you are a family with a young child, you will have the best time. You’ll just need to use common sense with things as info isn’t readily available unless you ask. When people say not to expect luxury of a 5*, I completely agree… however, it often fell short of a 4 star because of the points above. I would say the facilities are great but I have been to better 4 stars in regards to organisation.

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“Good sized rooms, fun pools but could be better all inclusive”

We stayed for a week here all inclusive. We had a really big 2 bed room apartment. The staff were all generally friendly and helpful. The food was OK but a bit repetitive over the week. The all inclusive is not 'all' inclusive. There are quite a confusing list of inclusions and exclusions on... more

We stayed for a week here all inclusive. We had a really big 2 bed room apartment. The staff were all generally friendly and helpful. The food was OK but a bit repetitive over the week. The all inclusive is not 'all' inclusive. There are quite a confusing list of inclusions and exclusions on the drinks list. The pools were cold, whilst we were there in March, we accepted that they would not all be heated but the heated pool was only about 3 degrees warmer than the unheated ones. The hot tubs were only at 30 degrees which is cold. The hotel was very clean and it was really good to have underground parking at the hotel. We found booking direct with the hotel got us a better room and better price than going via jet2.

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