Seaside Palm Beach

Overall, we had a really enjoyable stay at Seaside Palm Beach and I would definitely recommend the hotel at the right price. There is a lot to like here, although there were also a number of things that I don’t think quite live up to what you would expect from a five-star hotel.

The good

Firstly, the pool area is amazing and probably one of the highlights of the hotel for me. The facilities in general are very good, the location is excellent and the food overall is good.

Another thing I really liked was that the hotel never felt overcrowded. There always seemed to be enough space around the pool and elsewhere. If anything, it can sometimes feel a little too quiet and perhaps lacks atmosphere at certain times, but personally I’d rather have that than a hotel that feels packed.

Most of the staff were good and there were a couple of occasions where the service really impressed me.

The reception actually called our room just to ask if there was anything we needed. We asked for some extra bedding and I thought this was a really nice touch.

We had also mentioned an issue with the air conditioning and, one morning at breakfast, a member of staff approached us to ask whether everything was now okay with the room. I was genuinely impressed by this because they had actually found us at breakfast and followed up personally without us having to chase anyone or explain everything again. That is exactly the sort of attentive service you expect from a five-star hotel.

The BBQ/buffet evenings are also excellent. There is a really good choice, you can help yourself and the quality of the food is very good.

Air conditioning

My biggest issue was probably the air conditioning. For a five-star hotel, I simply don’t think it is good enough.

We were advised to keep the curtains closed, keep the bathroom door closed and leave the room card in during the day so that the air conditioning could continue running. Even doing all of that, the room was only just passably cool.

When we first entered the room and found it completely dark with all the curtains closed, I wondered why. It became obvious that this was necessary to try to keep the heat out.

I also spoke to other guests who felt their rooms were too warm, so this didn’t appear to be unique to us. In a climate like Gran Canaria, I think the hotel really needs to look at its air-conditioning system.

At five-star level, guests shouldn’t have to keep their room in darkness all day just to try to keep it cool.

Service can be inconsistent

Another recurring issue for me was consistency of service.

Some members of staff were fantastic, friendly and attentive, while others could perhaps smile a little more and be more attentive.

One small example happened at breakfast. A member of staff asked if I would like a coffee, so I asked for a flat white. I then asked if she could also bring me a glass of water, as the water machine was right next to the coffee machine. I was simply told no and that I should go and get the water myself.

Obviously getting my own water isn’t a problem. It just seemed strange that if you’re offering to bring a guest a coffee and the water is right beside the coffee machine, you wouldn’t bring the water as well. It left me feeling slightly awkward and is a good example of the inconsistency I experienced.

This was particularly noticeable because, on other occasions, members of staff had gone above and beyond and provided excellent service.

Pool rules and sunbeds

The pool itself is fantastic and there actually seems to be enough sunbeds for everyone, which is a big positive.

However, there are a couple of things around the pool that I think need looking at.

Firstly, the sunbed reservation rules don’t appear to be enforced consistently.

Although the pool doesn’t open until 10am, guests can apparently choose their preferred beds from around 8am and have towels placed on them. The hotel’s rules state that if someone hasn’t arrived by 12pm the towels can be removed, but I saw examples where this simply didn’t happen.

One day I arrived at the pool at 10am and the bed next to me had already been reserved. The person didn’t arrive until just after 3pm, used the bed for around an hour and then left.

For approximately five hours somebody else could have been enjoying that particular bed. If the hotel has a policy against reserving beds for hours without using them, I think it needs to be properly and consistently enforced.

My other major frustration was discovering that inflatables, lilos and balls aren’t allowed in the pool.

Personally, I think this is a really disappointing rule, particularly for families with children. I completely understand that hotels need sensible pool rules, but not allowing children to use a lilo, inflatable or ball seems unnecessarily restrictive to me.

More importantly, I don’t think this restriction was made clear enough before our holiday.

I had spent around €60 on inflatables and balls before travelling, only to arrive at the hotel and discover we couldn’t use any of them.

Even if the hotel wants to keep this rule, it really needs to be made very clear on the website and during the booking process so families know before they arrive and don’t waste money buying things they won’t be allowed to use.

Evening food

There is quite a difference between the two styles of evening meal.

As mentioned, the BBQ/buffet evenings are really good, with excellent choice and very good food.

On alternate evenings, however, dinner is à la carte and served at the table. The food itself was okay, but I found the choice very limited, with perhaps three or four starters and only two or three main options.

We actually started swapping our evening meal for lunch on those days and then going elsewhere for dinner.

I also found the dessert selection quite sparse, regardless of whether it was a buffet or à la carte evening.

That’s not to say the desserts were bad — they weren’t — I simply expected considerably more choice from a five-star hotel.

The room and our room request

One personal disappointment was that our room didn’t have a bath.

I appreciate that other room categories at the hotel may have baths, but I’ve stayed in plenty of three- and four-star hotels that provide one, so I was surprised not to have one at a five-star property.

I was also disappointed with the handling of our room request before arriving.

Around six months before our holiday, I emailed the hotel requesting a particular type/location of room. I completely appreciate that requests can never be guaranteed, but I didn’t receive a reply at all, which I thought was poor.

About two weeks before travelling, I emailed again. To be fair to the hotel, they did then take the request into consideration and accommodated aspects of it, although the view wasn’t quite what I had hoped for.

Interestingly, I later spoke to another guest who had stayed here five or six times and told me they request the same room every time and normally receive it without paying anything extra.

Obviously repeat guests may be treated differently and there may be circumstances I’m unaware of, but again it left me feeling that there could be more consistency in how requests are handled.

Attention to detail

This is admittedly being quite picky, but I think it’s worth mentioning because this is a five-star hotel.

I noticed some painting and decorating taking place during our stay, which made me look a little more closely at the finish in our own room.

I noticed that some of the cutting-in and edges around the paintwork weren’t particularly neat. It’s certainly not something that would ruin a holiday and I wouldn’t describe the hotel as poorly maintained overall, but it’s one of those small details you notice when you’re paying for a five-star property.

If refurbishment and decorating work is being carried out, I think the hotel needs to ensure that the people doing it are working to a suitably high standard and that somebody is checking the finished work afterwards.

At this level, attention to detail matters.

Overall

Despite everything I’ve mentioned above, I want to emphasise that Seaside Palm Beach is a really nice hotel and we enjoyed our stay.

The location is excellent, the pool area is fantastic, the hotel doesn’t feel overcrowded, the facilities are very good, the food overall is good and there are members of staff who provide exactly the level of personal service you’d expect from a five-star hotel.

For me, the main thing preventing the hotel from being exceptional is consistency.

You can experience fantastic, attentive service one moment and then something surprisingly inflexible the next. The BBQ/buffet dinner can be excellent, followed by an à la carte evening with very limited choice. There are rules around sunbeds, but they don’t always appear to be enforced. And there are smaller details, such as the decorating finish, which perhaps need better quality control.

The air conditioning is the biggest issue for me and is something I genuinely think the hotel needs to address.

Some of my other criticisms may sound picky, and individually many of them are relatively small. However, when you’re staying at a five-star hotel, it’s often the small details and consistency that separate a good hotel from an exceptional one.

Would I stay again? Yes, at the right price I definitely would.

There is far more good than bad here. With improvements to the air conditioning, greater consistency in service and enforcement of policies, clearer information about the pool rules and a little more attention to detail, I think Seaside Palm Beach could be an excellent five-star experience rather than simply a very good one.

A little piece of paradise on earth. The Seaside Palm Beach is a delightful place in the Meloneras side of Maspalomas. 5 star hotel and (having stayed there) is worth every one of the stars.

We’ve just returned from our second trip to this wonderful hotel and once again could not fault it. The staff are super hard working and the service you receive is unlike anything we have experienced at other hotels. The hotel is peaceful and calm, the pools are lovely and never feel very busy. The food is fantastic in the all inclusive with a mix of menu nights and bbq - lunches are impressive on the menu too. All the staff in the hotel from the restaurant, bar, pool service, reception, maintenance and cleaning teams are just fantastic and work so hard! Special mention to Leo, Juan, Yaiza and Octavio in the Africa Bar, such lovely, super hard working and positive people who made sure our family had the best time and we received the best service. Thank you again, we hope to return again in the future.