Gran Castillo Tagoro

Absolutely amazing hotel! Clean, modern, with absolutely fantastic staff, our accommodation was fantastic, with loads of room and a great view, food was absolutely fine, complete with English bacon and sausage for breakfast, there was 3 main pools, which often we had one to our selves, or only a few others in it, we didn’t pay for the gold upgrade and if honest, I don’t think it was needed, some lovely bars and shops just outside the front and a 20 odd min walk to rubicon marina, ( we either walked the beautiful coastal walk, or booked taxi’s through the hotel, which often came within minutes!) Would definitely recommend to anyone, family of 3 our daughter being 13, thankyou for a fantastic holiday!

This is not a 5 star hotel. (Ok 3 star would be a better description). The hotel location is not ideal for anything which is outside the walls of the complex. Not a lot to do in this part of Playa Blanca and what is around is a little bit derelict and uninviting. The beach is as far from a beach as could be possible and it was quite dirty and not really accessible to the water without a potential broken ankle navigating very slippery rocks. It is a waterfront location but the similarities of a beachfront end there. Check it out on google maps. The initial walk into the hotel from the coach drop off set alarm bells ringing. The planters outside were full of cigarettes and a couple of broken plants. This is of course not the most important thing on a holiday but it sets the first impressions which weren’t ideal! On arrival we were met at the reception after a short queue. Disappointing as we paid for the gold upgrade which was supposed to have a separate Gold level reception. This is a rip off, it’s a desk at the end of the other check in desks which isn’t staffed and only attended to when the other check in points are empty. It has no relevance at all. We were taken to our room where we were repeatedly informed by the guy showing us the way that it is good to tip if you want to a little better service. Fine but I don’t need to hear it 10 times in 10 minutes. We were asked if we wanted food as we were a late arrival, it was delivered and although meant to be free we were asked for a €10 surcharge delivery from the guy dropping off two warm packets of sandwiches and a warm yoghurt and a warm salad. Not ideal to be honest. The tipping theme is absolutely rife across the hotel. Our room was adequate but far from 5 star, it was well used, marks everywhere on the walls, woodwork was a mess and the AC was broken, after two attempts to get it fixed we gave up. The bed is good but the second bed was a fold down which was awful. So noisey that it kept everyone awake. It was super uncomfortable and I did not have a single nights good sleep the whole trip. Despite putting down not disturb signs on the door we were woken every morning just after 8 by cleaners banging on the door to clean the room or change coffee capsules. Not great. Do not disturb means exactly that! The 1 air con unit that half worked was so noisey it also had to be switched off. I do mean noisey and rattling like an old broken engine. Around the hotel was reasonable but again not 5 Star. We used the Gold level pool which was nice, but attended by one particular individual who was an arrogant, aggressive and rude person. The standard of the beds with the sunshades is deplorable, all are ripped and in desperate need of repair. When trying to use an parasol to shade the holes on the bed the attendant got aggressive and told us we couldn’t as they were for the other beds despite the other beds all being empty.

The price was reasonable if this indeed was a 5 star hotel.

I asked to book a late check out and was told that this could only be gone the day before, I complied and was told on the day before that it wasn’t possible as our room was booked out. The cleaner informed us it wasn’t and neither were the two rooms adjacent which seems like a spiteful act. We were told we could use the guest courtesy room, we booked this 4 days prior to check out and confirmed it was booked, when trying to use it (at the other end of the hotel) I tried to access it twice (told I was doing something wrong and in a fairly rude way) on the third time going to the room this time with a member of staff I wa still unable to get in, they seemed completely unbothered, shrugged shoulders and made no effort to sort it. By this time I had run out of time and was unable to change and shower before travelling.

If you are booking this hotel then please understand it is not a 5 star and TUI needs to review this.

We would not use it again, there are far more and better 5 star in the area for the same price!

The entertainment is also absolutely garbage!

The animation team is very good and they are all very kind and interactive to my two kids. My kids speak English and they were able to communicate with the animators which was very useful. The cocktails are very nice in the real adventure area and there is a wide selection of foods during meal times which is very good. The swimming pools are very nice and the sun loungers are super comfy. I would prefer to have a nice cocktail bar in the Castillo area that plays music and has a beachy vibe. The night life lacks atmosphere, due to the lack of a quality beach bar. The entertainment team work very hard.