- Gran Canaria Holidays
- Maspalomas
- Koala Garden Suites
At the hotel guests will enjoy a familiar holiday of relax and leisure in Maspalomas, the destination of the warm sun and golden sand beaches. The complex is located next to shopping malls, an amusement park, the local market and recreational areas; the airport is less than 28 kilometers away. In addition, southern Gran Canaria offers spectacular landscapes such as the stunning Maspalomas dunes or the kilometer-long Playa del Inglés. With the Maspalomas golf course surrounded by slender Canarian palm trees as a backdrop, the resort offers comfort and service in a cozy and familiar atmosphere. The rooms are comfortable and spacious, and some dispose of a terrace or balcony. The resort has pool area for adults and for children, also, sport lovers can joy the billiard and table tennis.
Family holiday – 2 weeks All Inclusive
We stayed here as a family of three for two weeks All Inclusive — two adults and our 7-year-old. This was our second visit, having first stayed here around 8 years ago. Overall, not a huge amount has changed, although the hotel is currently refurbishing some of the rooms.
We arrived around 10:30pm and were checked in very quickly. There were sandwiches and fruit available at reception for late arrivals, although we didn't take any so can't comment on the quality. The reception staff were extremely helpful throughout our stay and were always happy to assist with anything, including arranging taxis.
Our apartment
We had a lower-level apartment in Zone 2, directly across from the entertainment stage. The apartment consisted of a living room with a sofa bed, couch, TV, fridge and kettle with tea and coffee facilities. The bedroom had two single beds pushed together, although the mattresses were extremely hard, along with Air con, a TV, safe and large wardrobe.
The bathroom had a walk-in shower as well as a bath with a shower over it. There was a decent hairdryer and soap, shampoo and body wash were provided. The air conditioning was also good.
Outside, we had a patio with sun loungers, a table and chairs.
We did have an issue with ants in the room, which appeared to be coming from underneath the wardrobe.
Cleaning
On arrival, we were given the option of having the room cleaned daily or every second day. We chose every second day, although the cleaners actually came every day anyway.
Unfortunately, the standard of cleaning wasn't great. Fresh towels were provided daily, but surfaces weren't really wiped down, and the floors weren't brushed or mopped. Our beds were also never changed during the entire two weeks.
Pools
There are three pool areas. Zone 2 is where the main entertainment takes place, so this is the livelier area. Zone 3 is a little quieter and was our preferred area.
Food & drinks
For the most part, we really enjoyed the food and never struggled to find something we liked. The omelettes at breakfast were lovely, and I particularly enjoyed the chicken curry at dinner. There was fresh salad and bread available daily, as well as pizza.
The snack bar served fresh pizza, burgers and hot dogs, with small tubs of ice cream, nachos and pastries also available. Desserts were a bit hit and miss.
Drinks included Strongbow, Amstel, a variety of cocktails and spirits, fizzy drinks, fresh juice and water.
Entertainment
The entertainment team were absolutely fabulous and are a real credit to the hotel! 🫶 There were lots of activities for both children and adults throughout the day, followed by the mini disco and shows in the evening. Our 7-year-old loved it.
Sunbeds
This was probably the biggest frustration of the holiday.
For the first few days, we could easily get a sunbed at around 10am at either pool. However, after about three days, the usual sunbed wars started! If the hotel is busy, you could be lucky to get a bed after 6am, so be prepared to set that alarm early.
What was particularly frustrating was seeing people reserving sunbeds right at the poolside, even when they had apartments just a stone's throw away with their own private sunbeds.
There are also a couple of cats around the complex. We didn't notice any unpleasant smells or faeces around the hotel, so they weren't an issue for us.
Location & things to do
There isn't a huge amount immediately surrounding the hotel. Holiday World is around a 5-minute walk away and has arcades, a small fairground and a food court.
We hired a car for a few days, which was really easy to arrange through a screen at hotel reception. We would also highly recommend Poema del Mar Aquarium for a day out — it was fantastic.
Why I'm deducting a star ⭐
There were a few things that stopped this being a 5-star review for us:
• Cleanliness: The rooms really needed a good deep clean, particularly the floors and surfaces. There was also food and cigarette butts around the poolside and on the grass near some of the apartments. The grass and outdoor areas could definitely have been better maintained.
• Smoking: Unfortunately, some smokers were very inconsiderate of those around them, including smoking on sun loungers around children. Koala, please consider introducing designated smoking areas away from the pools and bar.
• Wasps: There were a lot of wasps around the pool areas, particularly around the children's pool in Zone 3 and the pool showers. Unfortunately, I was actually stung twice while simply lying on a sun lounger.
Overall
Despite the issues above, we had a really enjoyable two-week holiday and would happily return. The entertainment team were fantastic, the food was generally very good, the staff were friendly and helpful, and there was plenty to keep both adults and children entertained.
With improvements to the room cleaning, outdoor cleanliness, smoking arrangements and wasp issue, this could easily have been a 5-star stay for us.
Great experience at koala, all staff are lovely! The entertainment team don’t stop and constantly including all children, have adult games in throughout the day aswell, the entertainment at night isn’t the best but my wee girl loved the disco and karaoke was a great laugh, I love the fact everyone sits together because we got to meet everyone. The hotel didn’t feel divided it felt asif everyone knew eachother. We had 2 cockroaches in our room the full stay but it’s a hot country and our door was open at the balcony, food is quite repetitive I feel like more could be on for the children at dinner time but there was always something like pizza, chips and the salad bar. There’s bars and shops in playa del ingles, light house & Yumbo centre which I would walk to for a walk ( 30 mins ). Overall we had a great stay and met some lovely people, room got cleaned everyday and had sun loungers in our room so we could sit out when our wee girl napped. I would say maybe at night time to cover the pools as my wee girl jamp in the pool at night time at the disco she’s only 2 lucky I never keep my eye off her but I had to go in after her.
Defiantly would go back, best holiday we’ve had and I would say it was how friendly the hotel and people where that made it a good experience
Very nice hotel, room was clean and up to standard, food was lovely and plenty to choose from, no issues with sun beds, the entertainment wasn't very good no acts on mainly just the staff doing something like bingo or a quiz and then karaoke, the hotel itself is too far away from anything you had to get a taxi or bus to go to the beach or to any restaurants or bars, the only thing that was in walking distance was Holiday World which have a few places to eat upstairs and a sports bar & bowling alley down stairs but this only opened Wednesday through to Sunday and not until midday. Wouldn't go back because of the location.
Large, clean room with sitting area. Cleaning during week was a little hit and miss in attendance but very busy hotel. The pictures show it in a better light than it is, however, no issues with sun beds. We were near the deeper pool. It was cleaned every day we were there. Food was plentiful, seafood every day. Paella every day. Fresh salads, fruit and variety of food. Wasn’t always the hottest. Didn’t use the snack bar for food, so cannot comment. Staff were helpful and always smiling. The hotel is out of the way. Had a bus to the beach each day. We used taxis to get out and about and explore, reasonably priced. It is a cheap and cheerful hotel, few bits needed updating but if you like food, alcohol and a pool is good. I would not return as is too out of the way for me but was not a horrible holiday
This hotel is average and is definitely not a 4* hotel as per its ratings.
We arrived on a Saturday evening after a 1.5 hour transfer (we were drop 8 of 9!) Which meant we missed the cut off for dinner. The reception staff were lovely and welcoming and check in was quick. Sandwiches were available but the bread was stale. Fruit was also available. Our room was in zone 2 at the quiter side away from the "main" pool which was perfect for us. The room itself was huge and clean. The air con was great and the standalone shower was amazing. The only downside of the room was the very uncomfortable beds and I like a firm mattress. The room also had a complimentary bottle of water. We opted to have our room cleaned daily for fresh towels, and this was missed once. As we were ground floor, we had a terrace with two chairs, a table and there were sun loungers directly outside our room which we used daily. This was on a slope so just had to be careful getting on and off the loungers. We looked onto the outside restaurant area.
As the bar was still open (closes at 11 which we thought was early initially but can see why now) we went over to get a drink and have a seat. This is when we realised there isn't actually a designated seating area like there is in most hotels. There was an amphitheatre where the "entertainment" took place, but who wants to sit in a horseshoe on holiday. There were a few high tables with really uncomfortable stools, but I could see why everyone just goes back and sits in their balconies. For us, this was one of the biggest let downs of the holiday.
There is only one bar and one person serving at all times, and all drinks are served in small, plastic cups. At the pool bar, there is a self service coffee machine, fruit juice machine (very syrupy), and soft drinks machine. There is also milk in cartons and "snacks" such as pastries and nuts available. We mostly stuck to cider. The cocktails are made from a machine and are also very syrupy and don't taste great. The sports bar is indoors and runs off the same bar. It is very stuffy inside and no one ever sat in there.
Food wise, this was the biggest let down and I suppose, the gamble you take going all inclusive. There was always something to eat, but the quality of food is very poor. The amount of flies in the restaurant put us off eating things such as the fresh fruit. I completely understand that flies are prevalent in warm countries, however, I think basic cleaning is missed which adds to this. Breakfast is probably the best option with fresh eggs, pancakes and churros. Lunch choice tended to be better than dinner but we pretty much lived off pizza, which was nice. Fresh fish options were available most days and pork was available a lot. I had chicken a few times, but there was one occasion when this didn't look fully cooked. Breakfast served 8-10, lunch 1-3, and dinner 6.30-9.30. The snack bar is available 12-4 and serves burgers, hot dogs, and pizza. There is a self serve drinks machine for soft drinks and beer pump. The lady that served here (and for evening meals at dinner) was lovely and an asset to the team.
Cleanliness - overall, room cleanliness was good. The pool we were at was cleaned daily too. The communal area cleaning, however, was poor. Not once did we see any of the communal areas being cleaned. The AstroTurf is very dirty and there is lots of debris. There is also cat pee and poo, so be careful. On our arrival, there was a cat poo outside our terrace; we raised this with reception and it was cleaned within an hour. By cleaned, I mean sweeped up. There were several more throughout the week. There were also empty cups and glasses left lying around and whilst I totally agree those staying should be responsible and return these to the boxes provided, I also feel that these should be cleaned away daily if left. Likewise, the sun loungers were never cleaned. The outside restaurant area I seen been fully mopped once, the rest of the days it was "sweeped", only the areas were crumbs were visible. I think this contributes to the fly issues. There are also several cats which get fed by the restaurant and a few times, they were in the indoor part of the restaurant.
Entertainment was poor. During the day, the team only went around the "main" pool to get people involved and this seemed to be darts, ping pong and a volleyball game. In the evening, there is a mini disco for kids and a koala bear visits. After that, it is mainly bingo or karaoke or a quiz I think. There were no shows that I would have expected at a 4* resort. Everyone pretty much goes back to their own balconies because the atmosphere is so poor. Again, I think this relates back to no seating areas.
To summarise, this hotel has potential and the staff were lovely. During the day, it pretty much has everything you need, but the atmosphere in the evening is poor. Food quality and cleanliness in communal areas really let this hotel down. We would not return.
