Santa Catalina, a Royal Hideaway Hotel — Hotel in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria

Ive been putting off this review because it is so hard to put into words how much I love this hotel. my love letter: The Santa Catalina is a Basilica of hospitality, one with naves full of levels of service long forgotten in other establishments in a day of mega-corporate-resorts. One can taste a sense of accomplishment checking-in and discovering their suite. I truely enjoyed every second in this hotel and you can be sure I will be back. The room: we got upgraded to a Jr. Premium Suite right over the main entrance which included one of the 4 biggest patios. We felt like royals sitting there having a drink at night (even took in a free concert). If I could find a way to sneak that bed out I certainly would of stolen it. The marble floors felt so nice on the heel, and the stone texture walls in the on suite bathroom were a tangible delight (not to mention great light play for photography). We enjoyed the french doors and the black-out curtains gave us the option to take in the cool night air in privacy. The tub, linins, and robes provided made a nice hot bath very inviting and lux. Every detail was perfect and id move in permanently if I could. The pools and wellness Center: we of course visted each and every pool of water in this hotel. Our favorite being the wellness center. We enjoyed all the water therepy stations (hot tubs, heated pool, water jets, steam/sauna rooms ((3)), and hot & cold transitional areas (free access with suite + appointment). The rooftop pool/ hangout area is something of another beast. Its the perfect place to have a few drinks, listen to music and hang out with friends OR work out (bikes and treadmills). Bring sunscreen the sun is mighty intense and the beeze can fool you (I turned into a lobster). The main pool has awesome service from the poolside restaurant and bar. Cabanas, In-water pool chairs, and a beautiful view of the hotel. You really cant go wrong with any of them. The bar tenders take pride in their work which touched me as an ex-hospitality professional. The service: At every turn there was a smiling genuinely friendly employee. We were checked in early without question when we came to drop bags only. We were invited to relax after checkout due to later travel. At breakfast every morning the day was started out right by friendly attentive service. The floor/service manager was in full control with a serious deminor that seems to exude confidence and professionalism in his employees. As a person who has been in that capacity in the past I found it very respectable. The house keepers were sweet and never intruded and were kind everytime we bumped into them at turndown. I honestly never could keep enough tip money it felt. I felt like every employee I encountered deserved a tip and praise. Service is the backbone of this establishment. Never change. The grounds: What can I say that isnt abundantly apparent in the pictures that have already grasped you. This building and its gardens perfectly embody the culture of this island. Classic, luxurious, romantic and something of a fairytale even. A dance between modern luxuries and classic elegance. Perfection in style and class. The grounds keepers are truely masters in their relm and you can feel their passion. Every touch of the building is art. In conclusion we absolutely will be returning, hopefully annually. I want this to be my home away from home and I hope if you made it this far you will give this place your patronage. This establishment truely deserves the praise it receives and short of our soap being out often (I think supply issues) our stay was the closest thing to perfect ive experienced yet. YOU the guest will be treated like a VIP through every step of your stay. So enjoy and book that room, we all deserve this even if it only comes for a week a year. Thank you to all the professionals that made such an impression on my visit to your lovely island and thank you so much for showing me 5* hospitality is still alive and thriving in the halls of Thee Great Santa Catalina a truely Royal Hideaway....

Beware if you are British!! We were taken to our suite and we were extremely disappointed.  It was dark and dingy and we were completely underwhelmed.  For the price we were paying to stay in a suite at this hotel, we expected much more. This was not a suite, it was a room with a couple of chairs and a table. We then noticed the venetian blinds were dirty and thick with dust and in the shower there was body hair from the previous guests! Also mouldy seals and mildew present. Mini bar was terrible, no gin to go with the tonic and no vodka to go with the coke?.  All it contained was mixers and a couple of beers. If you wanted any spirits you had to call room service and this was chargeable! The rooftop area is really nice with beautiful views of the city and they also do really nice cocktails.  Please don't expect to get a bed next to the pool as other guests reserve these before going for breakfast and the hotel allows this.  It's pointless paying extra for your room to get this access. Even worse in the main pool area the same towels on empty beds are also present.  However, due to the location of the pool only certain beds are in the sun for most of the day. On our first day there were no available beds at either of the rooftop and main pool areas, we actually found ourselves having to sit on a granite step in order to get some sun.

What we didn't realise about the new year in Gran Canaria is that almost all restaurants are shut on new years eve.  We never gave it a second thought that we would have a problem getting a meal on this night given that we had booked into a five star hotel with 5 restaurants. It wasn't until we asked to book the tapas restaurant in the hotel that they informed us that all of the restaurants in the hotel were pre booked for the new year Gala.  We asked the receptionist what we should do for something to eat on this night.  She advised that the hotel restaurants would be closed by 3pm and that room service would not be available given the amount of guests at the gala.  Incredibly her suggestion was to buy some food from the Hyperdino (local cheap supermarket) along the road!  We were shocked and made a complaint to the hotel.  We did not expect to have this problem at a 5 star hotel, especially one with so many restaurants.  The response to our complaint was that they could offer us a table for two at the gala for 380 euros each and this did not include drink!! AND we had to wear a tuxedo and ballgown!! This was not the kind of attire we had with us!We rejected the offer and made a further complaint that was then taken up by the PR & Guest Experience Director Manuel Martinez-Fresno Hernandez where my partner had a meeting with him and at this meeting Mr Hernandez threatened to call the Police, he questioned my partners nationality, advised my partner that he is in Spain now and the UK has left the EU. If that was not bad enough he then suggested to my partner that he was too impecunious to afford a gala ticket! He was perfectly polite and proper in that meeting but stood up to his intimidation. As a result in order to save face Mr Hernandez pretended to phone the Police but when my partner requested to listen it was apparent there was no dial tone and in fact Mr Hernadez explained that it did NOT have an outside line! It was apparent to him that the Director had then felt obliged to phone the police in order not to look ridiculous.

We were left in a situation where my partner was facing arrest for simply making a complaint about service, with no independent interpreter nor witness, all at the instigation of the hotels’ Director of PR and Guest Experience (a misnomer if ever there was one)! It really does defy belief. We have stayed at many 5 star hotels (although Mr Hernandez questioned that also) and have never been treated with such disrespect.

As it turned out my partner and I were left with NO suitable dining facilities and therefore no dinner, subjected to extremely loud music till 3pm on New Years Eve which stopped us from sleeping and had to pay for...

The Hotel is set in beautiful grounds and is architecturally sublime , colonial in design, its corridors are saturated in history , it's grounds peppered with beautiful water features. The rooms were good ,not perfect . We had a couple of issues with our Junior premium suite 127, we had a faulty bath mixer . We also found a couple of cockroaches running about .We understand this can happen in even the most sterile environments and given the location of the hotel in a park it is understandble. Whilst this did temporarily give a 3 stars feel to the place , the staff were very responsive in these situations. The mixer was fixed straight away, and the cockroaches removed straight away Our 5 stars experience was restored ,and then they went even further and offered my wife and I a cocktail each as a goodwill gesture on their top floor roof bar. We were to receive 2 vouchers to the room .We did not ask for these but we a appreciated the gesture .

However, this is the point when our stay here became soured. We never received these vouchers so when came back at 11 pm on our last night and requested them again . And they were delivered to our room .

We went to the bar ordered 2 cocktails from the young lady working there in what appeared to be the capacity of supervisor/ manager.

We had two mojito's and she came over and told us that the vouchers were only for wine, beers cava and soft drink . Despite the fact it's clearly printed Santa Catalina cocktails and the receptionist said cocktails to us. .( See pic) She then tried to insist we pay for them and that Santa Catalina cocktails are a different type . Yet there is no mention of this "Santa Catalina cocktail" on their menu (https://alisrooftopbar.dtouch.es/) This was all happening in front of other guests.(Embarrassing for all parties) I then had to insist on what we were offered by reception and even showed her the video of the cockroaches In the room . She then went and checked with reception. Came back and tried to push a further 2 cocktails on us to charge to our room which we obviously refused as we had not ordered them and then we told we may as well have them for free as they are already made them .

It was our perception that she may have just trying to be too clever in getting extra revenue in the short term without appreciating the guests experience or looking at the bigger picture in terms of revenue for the bar . We regret paying 1st class money to be treated otherwise.

An experienced front of house person would honour the drinks and hope the guests would enjoy it so much they would continue drinking . They would NOT get into a fractious debate with the guest , in front of other guests ,and to the point where we have to share photos of the cockroaches in our room before they decides to check with reception. No one wins in this situation. It's not good Business .

We saw her the next day . There was no apology.

Retraining may be appropriate for this individual.

I also feel if a room is not ready at the check in time and you still choose to charge the full rate then you should at least offer the guests complimentary drinks rather than suggest they wait upstairs in the roof bar and charge there coffee to their room whilst they wait for their over due room. ( 2:45pm)

I understand that sometimes things over run but you should realise that first impressions count and could determine if guests spend their money onsite or off site. We choose the latter on this occasion. This is business advice!

Whilst the grounds and building are fantastic there are much better managed 4 star hotels in Las palmas then this 5 star hotel . The customer service and management was hit and miss . The breakfast was well run though.

It is because of our experience at the beginning ( check in ) and our last night ( Sat night at the roof bar) that we I can rate this 3 stars for...