Review of Hotel Orquidea - what we thought of the Hotel Orquidea in Gran Canaria, from Thomson Holidays

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 view from our room at the Hotel Orquidea

The Hotel Orquidea

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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tags: hotel | orquidea | review | family | package holiday | packing | package | holiday | all inclusive | thomson

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