This hotel should be renamed the MONOPOLY, because it really is a dice-throw what sort of accomodation you will get ! My wife and I stayed for 14 days over Christmas and New Year 2007/8, and we booked through Travel Republic. We specifically booked a double room with balcony, but on arrival we had been allocated a pokey 10 foot by 8 foot room with a window with a view of a brick wall 10 feet away, and YES, the wallpaper was peeling, and the whole room needed a make-over. The bathroom was so small you could stand in the middle and easily touch all 4 walls, and the shower was dangerous, because an unshielded flourescent lamp was no more than 9 inches from the shower head (see pictures) - this would be totally illegal in the UK, and it is lethal !

I complained to the manager of the hotel, and was told that they could do nothing about the room, because there were no better alternative rooms available, and if a better room became available through a cancellation, they would let us have it (this didn't happen, of course). During the course of our stay we met others who had complained and had been told exactly the same thing. This hotel should really be more honest when accepting bookings for rooms with balconies, when they obviously don't have them.

The hotel itself was quite good for a 3*, although I'm quite glad that I was on a B & B only basis, because the cooked breakfasts were quite cold, and the waiters seemed to be more intent on lurking around and talking to each other, than actually clearing any tables.

The hotel is located in a great position in the centre of the resort, in a pedestrian area opposite a square with a large church (with a clock that chimes the hours and half hours 24/7). On "feast days" they have open-air events like concerts and childrens' shows in this square, so rooms at the front of the hotel will get noise from these. The Plaza Charco is only a five minute stroll away, where you can sit and have a drink and watch the world go by.

I didn't let the room spoil my holiday, but I would not stay at the Monopol again, because I feel that they conned me. I would also NOT recommend this hotel for people with younger children.

Hotel plus points - kept very clean, mainly friendly staff, good central position in town. Hotel minus points - some rooms obviously not as "per brochure", cold food, not for light sleepers.

I have a friend who would never go anywhere else than the Monopol,whilst myself would never go there again.!. I now use it as a toilet stop being convenient to the town in general!. No air con' is a big minus especially in the summer months when the noise from the discos is overpowering.and windows must remain shut. When I was there years ago, waiter service was the norm with live classical music whilst you dined...no longer of course I understand?.. Family run yes, but that means little these days except it has to become more cost effective and frugal in some respects to survive!

Not the best hotel in Puerto,but any self-respecting regular visitor to the town really should make at least one stop here,purely for the ambience of the place.I find it hard to be critical of the Monopol but that is the nature of writing a balanced review.I will list a few things,but don't let it put you off going here.
Depending on what time of year you wish to go,the front of the hotel has balconies overlooking the church and are south facing.It's is probably worth booking one of these rooms in advance for the cooler months as the sea facing rooms get no sun at all and suffer from quite a cold feeling keen breeze blowing in off the sea.The northerly trade winds are very common.The majority of sea view rooms do not have balconies.My room was overlooking the church,and these rooms do not have air-conditioning.I don't know if the sea-facing rooms do or not.The downside to my room was the noise during the night,especially fri+sat from the local disco kids.I wasn't over impressed by the local council jetwashing the main thoroughfare at 2.30am either.There is no way you can sleep with the door open which could make it very hot during the warmer months.There is a fan on the ceiling,but whether that would make much difference is open to discussion.
Food.A reasonable selection except for the main course at night which I found quite poor.What food there was though was fantastically cooked.Very much a case of quality than quantity.
Staff.Very friendly and professional,and had a good command of foreign languages.It was also nice to see the boss was prepared to get his hands dirty and take pride in his job.
Overall,well worthy of it's 3*rating,a very well run small family business that to me had more plus points than negatives,but I could understand some travellers possibly not enjoying their stay, room and time depending.Apart from the odd blip,I quite enjoyed it.

We've stayed in this resort several times, always in the larger hotels and having admired this one in the passing we thought we'd give it a go this time. It was NOT a disappointment! If you are seeking an authentic & charming small Canarian hotel you'd do well to check this one out. It is family owned, has a terrific atmosphere and first class staff. We really did feel that our custom was valued & would now not stay anywhere else in this resort.