Aug 28, 2001 02:28 PM
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Situated just off the West African coast, Gran Canaria – one of the group of four main Canary Islands - is one of my most favourite places for a holiday.
A Spanish dominion, the Island has a distinct Spanish flavour of course, yet retains an appeal to lovers of a more diverse nature.
The biggest and most cosmopolitan resort on the Island, PLAYA DEL INGLES, is by far the best place to stay. I have now been four times and find that I can relax there by day and indulge myself a little by night.
The beach stretches for miles - from the resort centre out to the famous sand dunes of Maspalomas and beyond. All of the hotels and apartments that I have stayed in have been more than adequate. Lets face it with so much stuff going on outside your hotel, you don’t need where you stay to be very special - just somewhere clean and comfortable to sleep and wake up in.
There are, of course some excellent hotels and aparthotels in and around the resort , including areas like Maspalomas, Sonnenland and San Agustin too. They attract the German, Dutch, Scandinavian and American visitors, the British - in the main - settle for comfort rather than luxury.
As far as eating is concerned, there are plenty of Restaurants to choose from, serving anything from traditional British fayre like Steak, Chicken, Fish to more semi - exotic menus. Restaurants like La Rosa Amerilla (near the English Bar area at the Gran Chapperal), Italian eaterie Rimini II and Chici's - a tiny Dutch Restaurant that you could walk past and not even know it is there (near the big Buffet Restaurant Las Camellias). Meals cost around 25000 pesetas -$15 - a head and I mean meals! Fillet steak in a port and stilton sauce, Veal stuffed with bacon, All kinds of Fish dishes. Everything you could want.
For a more ‘upmarket’ selection you could try the vast array of restaurants at the Cita Centre. Mainly a German ‘haunt’, Cita houses restaurants from virtually every nation under the Sun. Last visit, I returned to the ‘Savoy’ - a Swiss restaurant serving a fantastic Lobster cream soup, followed by a equally appetising Fillet steak in Roquefort sauce. There are plenty of places which you could class as tourist eateries, but a little look around the corner and you can stumble across something special.
For a livelier atmosphere in which to eat, you could try ‘Sunset Boulevard’ – a Planet Hollywood clone, but gets lively after about 11pm and you can use their Disco too. Usual fare – Massive Burgers, Ribs, Steaks etc or a coupole of hunmdred yards away there is ‘Harley’s’ – another copy, this time of the Hard Rock Café chain. Eat you meal surrounded by rock memorabilia then get a drink at the bar and enjoy the nightly live music gig.
Just like the wide selection of Bars. There plenty of Irish Bars in the ‘Guila Roja’ area, Mulligans and Flanagans are traditionally the liveliest and are used as pre-club drinking places, by the more youthful of visitors. Up at the Gran Chapparel area – the English centre – you can find fun bars like ‘Wemblys’ and ‘Sporty Towers’, both screening live Sports each night and host Quiz nights as well as live Shows. Don’t miss the ‘Blues Brothers’ if they are on they are great!.
Beer Kellers abound too and attract the Germanic tribes, plus there are an assortment of bars with a more intimate atmosphere in Shopping/Entertainment centres like Cita, Yumbo (the latter, very much for Gay night life, if you've a taste and to steer clear of if you've not!)
Shopping is Tax Free, but I'd suggest you shopped at the bigger stores for your electrical goods rather that the smaller 'we give you good price' type places. Because you'll only find the same thing cheaper at places like Fund Grube in the Cita Centre anyway - and you know it will be genuine. That goes for a lot of stuff – as in most resorts there are always places that wil try and rip you off. Use common sense and remember – ‘Buyer Beware!’
Something for everyone then. Great Beaches, plenty of Bars, Restaurants for all tastes, but still a place you can feel safe, comfortable and relaxed in. Playa del Ingles, Gran Canaria
