I have just returned from the Costa Adeje Gran with my Mum and sister.
We had a fabulous holiday and a fantastic stay at the Costa Adeje Gran.

The Hotel is in a great location and offers fantatic views out to sea and to Mount Tiede.

The rooms are very spacious even with 3 beds in the room but I have to agree with past reviews that the walls are paper thin.

The staff at reception are most helpful however at certain times of the day it can take you a long time to get served.

We were allocated breakfast in La Laja instead of the usual La Finca which was nice as the restaurant was alot smaller and offered a more personal service. We were on a bed and breakfast basis so can't really comment on the food other than breakfast but because of so many restaurants in the area at either Del Duque and Fanabe that we never considered the Half board option.

The Roof top pool is to die for. The views are superb and is a lot less busy than the main pool area and is a much better option if you don't have children.Again there never seems much of a problem getting a bed at either of the pools and the Hotel does remove towels off beds that are not occupied which is very amusing.

Altogether a very enjoyable stay. It offers fantastic value for money but could try a little bit harder for it's 5*.However I would recommend this hotel and I would go back.

I know there are many mixed reviews but the Gran is a good hotel. Ok, it's not comparable to many 5 star hotels but it provides a nice bolthole for those wishing for a sunny break in the nicer part of Tenerife.

Rooms are large and well equipped though I do think it's pushing it to charge for the in room safe. I found the breakast choice was more than adequate and the service was very friendly.

To be honest we spent our time going from the room to the roof pool to dinner etc so we didn't make the most of the facilities but we were more than happy with the Gran as a hotel.

The roof terrace and pool deserves a mention, it's a great area, sun loungers are very comfortable and plentiful but beware, the umbrella's don't protect you from the sun !!!! There looks to be a bar in the corner of this terrace area though but it wasn't open at all whilst we were there, a missed opportunity by the hotel I think! There's a low tolerance of sunbed bagging as well which was nice to see and it's quite enjoyable to watch the towel police removing unused towels from long empty beds.

It's just a short walk from Fanabe and the more beautiful Playa Del Duque which is where we spent most of our evenings. I can recommend "La Nonna" restaurant (and the cliffside restaurant next to it, the name of which escapes me) as well as "Acanta" cocktail bar.

Like I said, whilst it's had mixed reviews, this is basically a good hotel, above average in fact. However, in my experience (and I've stayed in a number of 5 star hotels) it's definately not a 5 star, it is however a bloomin good 4 star so I wouldn't let that put anyone off. Would I say some of the reviews are picky, well no, not really, I think it boils down to the star rating, if that were addressed, I don't think there would be any complaints.

Happy to recommend this hotel to others, more than happy !

We had a week in this hotel and would happily return and recommend it. It is well maintained with helpful staff. The pools are excellent, especially the rooftop one and there were plenty of free sunbeds and parasols when we were there in June. Our room was very comfortable with no sign of the 'creaking beds' referred to in some reviews we read.

The breakfast and dinner buffets were good but not outstanding and rather limited for non meat eaters. The a la carte restaurant however was excellent with exceptional service and was particularly good value for us in that we were not booked half board.

We just got back yesterday having booked this hotel on the recommendation of a few readers here.

Main reason for booking: a 5* hotel at a much cheaper price than others in the area, therefore, my review has to be tainted by the cheaper price. If I was paying higher, my review would definitely be more critical. Also, experienced travellers in Europe know that a 5* in Canaries does not mean a 5*. So, with that in mind, here is my review:

First of all, hotel surroundings: A thoroughly spacious & airy reception and corridor rooms. Check in is slow but very detailed but what impressed was their helpfulness and their apology about delay - good sign!

Rooms were lovely (but I'd already checked this out as it is a personal important requirement of my holiday). What did disappoint but I knew on arrival was a shower over bath with leaky tap. I'm sure I could have reported it but cannot do with hassle on holidays. I would expect a shower cubicle, there is certainly the space for it as bathroom is very big with double sinks and separate toilet. There was always ample hot water, although not constant, a few dips in and out of spray during shampoo with water getting hotter!! but nothing to complain about. We had room 3102 which looked over the side/front of the hotel with both a mountain view and a sea view. Balcony is concrete and very high, but some balconies overlooking pool had railings (down to design of hotel) which would have been nicer but we were given a quieter room (after requesting) so didn't bother changing.

Despite size of hotel based on different levels, lifts were never a problem.

One joy of this hotel was pool area. Unless you kept your towels from the night before, towel service does not open until 10am. Therefore, those who tried to be sneaky and put down their towels and disappear promptly had their towels removed by pool attendants escorted by security. It was a joy to watch. Therefore, there was no rush to get up at crack of dawn to secure a sun bed. Although by 11.30, most beds around pool had been secured, however, there is a large patio area where beds were still plentiful. I was disappointed though that for category of hotel that there was no pool service which I would expect.

The day time entertainment was very poor. There were lots of families with children and whilst entertainers went around announcing mini-club, most children didn't want to go which kind of seals my opinion of entertainment.

The night time entertainment, for under 60's, was also attrocious. The shows were really very poor held in the show area. I would recommend the two shows on Friday & Saturday night held in the main bar in reception-very enjoyable acrobatic show & jazz dance show. There is a delightful piano player for the over 60's but I really enjoyed listening to him. As another reviewer mentioned, as the entertainment is so poor, children are running around the hotel but apart from playing snooker and a small very expensive games room, there wasn't anything for them to do.

The price of drinks equals other 5* hotels around the Duque area, however, their surroundings were much nicer, aka on the sea front with beautiful couches (try Gran Tacarande bar on sea front) so I would have expected drink to be a little cheaper but not a big gripe. Also, the other hotels cocktails were real, we got Pina Colada's in Gran Hotel and they were ready made and watery.

Location: It is on a hill (sometimes we called it cardiac hill late at night) and as I was warned, you do get sick and tired of these hills after a while. Duque area is more upmarket and I luved the area but not the hotel's location. I would pick the Iberostar Anthelia Park or somewhere nearer sea. It's only a 7min walk to sea which is nothing going down but it's all uphill coming back up. The promenade walk around the sea towards Fanabe is glorious.

My penultimate review is on the food which I have kept to 2nd last. The food really is attrocious for quality. Don't get me wrong, you will find something to eat, it's not that it is inedible, however, for €14.50 per person, you can have a beautiful meal looking out at the seafront for the same price and order what you want in the Fanabe area. I won't bother going into detail about food as it has been done here before. However, I found breakfast poor in that food was either burnt or undercooked and whilst you could eat it, it was blaringly obvious that it was yesterdays or even the day befores Eggs were burnt, orange juice was watered down.

My review about pool bar is only on sandwiches and pizza as we didn't have anything else. The sandwiches were mayonaise mush, couldn't decipher between either the chicken or tuna sandwich and the pizza was dry. It was very tedious to have to go up to bar everytime you wanted something.

Dinner was worse. Whilst starter choice looked excellent, food was tastless and stale unless you went for salads. Seafood choice was lovely but no even a finger bowl. Actual dinner was horrible:choice on the grill was dreadful, e.g. one night either veal that was so tough you could barely chew it, a chicken leg or a roast that was so overcooked, it was bone dry, powdered potato, reheated chips or hard canarian potatoes. Admittedly there was a different fish choice each night but to be honest, unless you read the sign, you didn't know what fish it was as it all tasted the same. Desert was always mini pasteries with plastic cream, ice cream or a different flambe fruit so no choice. We gave up after night 6 and went out so in fact the food cost us double when food is quite reasonable over there.
My opinion: don't bother booking it, go in and pay the 14.50 per person to try it, you'll be glad.

You should always end on a high note so I have left my review of the staff til last. I have never come across such friendly and helpful staff as in this hotel. The attentiveness at either breakfast or dinner was superb, they were the real 5* of the hotel. The reception staff couldn't do enough to help you and the waiters at night time were extremely friendly and so mannerly.

Overall, because of price, I enjoyed the holiday. I personally wouldn't return to the hotel because of its location and food but rooms, public areas and staff were lovely.