Hotel Orquidea - Bahia Feliz, Gran Canaria - Review
We decided to take the family - that's mum and dad, 10 year-old William and 6 year-old
Jessica, for a break in sun. After having a bit of a look round, we came to the
conclusion that the Canary Islands would suit us down to the ground. A flight time
of 4 hours, and a year-round warm temperature seemed ideal - so that's where we
started looking. The holiday we plumped for in the end was the
Hotel Orquidea, in Bahia Feliz
on the island of Gran Canaria.. The Orquidea is a four star hotel, and is available
through Thomson Holidays. We decided to book a package holiday as we didn't want
the hassle of sorting out flights, transfers, and accommodation. We just wanted to
get the holiday, and not have to worry about anything else. Further more, it was
decided to book an "all inclusive" holiday, so when the children started puttering
about being hungry , wanting an ice cream, needing a coke - you know what it's like
- we could just say "no problems, go and help yourself".
The Hotel Oquidea
We'd never been on a package holiday with the nippers, let alone an all inclusive,
so didn't know what to expect. It turned out that everything was a good (or better)
than we could have hoped for. We paid extra with Thomson for an upgraded room
- this gave the children their own beds, without the need to make up beds from
the bed-settee thingy; we also wanted a bit more room. The hotel bedroom was much
bigger than we expected; much more like an apartment, rather than a hotel room -
we even had our own bedroom.
Dining
Food is available from 7:30am - 10am for breakfast, 12noon - 3pm for lunch, and 6 - 9:30pm for dinner.
Drinks, snacks and ice-cream are also served all day (well, it's self service, so the kids
and you can just help yourselves). All the meals are served in a cafeteria style dinning room,
and all meals are served as a buffet. The food served is very nice, and more than met our expectations.
Although, obviously, it depends on your expectations as to whether you'll like what's on offer;
if Lobster Thermidore is what you are expecting, you may want to stay somewhere else.
Think tuna steaks, lamb cutlets, pork chops, roast cod, pasta, rice, vegetables,
salad, cold meats - that type of thing.
Swimming
There are three pools within the hotel grounds. A paddling pool with small water
slides, a larger pool where all manor of inflatables are allowed, and another pool
which won't allow you to dump your inflatable in. The kids loved the pools; although
if you want to get some swimming in, you'll need to try swimming before about 10am,
or after 5pm - as anytime during the day, the pools are heaving with youngsters.
The grounds of the hotel go directly onto the beach, so you can always amble down
for a swim in the sea.
Entertainment - Thomson style
Thomson provide a full range of entertainment on their holidays. I've written more
about Thomson Entertainment,
as I think it probably deserves its own entry!
Conclusion the Hotel Orquidea definitely lived up to our expectations,
it's a very family oriented hotel. If you've got children to take away,
this is could be the place for you. If, however, you haven't got children
in your holiday party, you may want to give the Hotel Orquidea a miss.
Have a look at the Hotel Orquidea from Thomson, and decide if this is the place for you.
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