GF Victoria

I stayed here for 10 days with my family, including our two young children, and unfortunately I would not recommend this hotel. It is extremely overpriced and, in our opinion, does not meet the standards of a five-star hotel.

We decided to pay extra for the luxury this hotel promised, but regretted the decision almost as soon as we arrived. This was our fifth trip to Tenerife in recent years, and this was by far the most disappointing hotel we've stayed in.

One of our first concerns was security. Anyone can walk in and out of the hotel, and there are no interior locks on the bedroom doors, meaning our toddler could easily open the door and wander out.

As we visited in November, the entertainment appeared to have been significantly reduced. There were no outdoor evening shows, and the entertainment in the main bar usually finished by around 8:30pm. It would make much more sense for the live music to begin after dinner rather than during it. The indoor shows were underwhelming, and there was very little space for the children's mini disco. The children's play area was also disappointing, with several ride-on cars broken and unusable, and parts of the mini golf course in need of repair. These seem like relatively inexpensive issues that should be addressed.

The pool areas themselves are attractive, but the layout is very inconvenient. The main swimming pool is on the second floor, while the children's splash park and slides are on the fifth floor, making it difficult for families to use both areas. There is also very little space to relax around the children's pool, which is directly overlooked by a busy road. The second-floor pool area frequently flooded, and throughout the day we never saw anyone clean or clear the standing water.

The rooms are spacious but are in desperate need of modernisation. During our stay, the wardrobe door suddenly detached and fell onto my husband's forehead and shoulder, leaving him with a painful lump and headache for several days. He still has a scar on his shoulder from this. Considering how heavy the door was, it could easily have caused a serious injury to, or even killed, one of our young children. The hotel's response was simply an apology from Guest Relations, followed later by the offer of a complimentary drink at the bar. We did not feel this was an appropriate response to such a serious safety incident.

Just a few days later, the bathroom in the room above flooded into ours, soaking our toiletries, makeup, hair straighteners and other belongings with dirty yellow water. We then had to pack up and move rooms at 10:45pm while caring for a six-month-old baby and a two-year-old, which was incredibly stressful.

The restaurant was clean, and there was a reasonable variety of food at breakfast and dinner. However, once again, it was obvious that the November offering had been scaled back considerably, despite guests paying the same premium prices as during the peak summer season.

The location is convenient, directly opposite the shopping centre and only a 5-10 minute walk from the beach, restaurants and bars. There is also underground parking available if you hire a car.

There were a few thoughtful touches, such as chocolates and bottled water left in the room each evening, along with complimentary tote bags and flip-flops (although all the flip-flops were far too large). However, these extras do not compensate for the hotel's shortcomings or justify its five-star rating. The Christmas decorations were also extremely disappointing and almost non-existent. Other nearby hotels looked far more festive, and the entertainment at Gran Tacande was clearly superior, as it could be heard most evenings from across the road.

Some members of staff were excellent, particularly Cristian in the reception bar, who was always friendly and welcoming. Unfortunately, our experience with some staff in the -1 bar was much less positive, with Samuel in particular coming across as quite rude.

Overall, this was a very disappointing family holiday. This was also the most expensive hotel we have ever stayed in while visiting Tenerife, making the experience even more frustrating. For the price charged, we expected a genuine five-star experience, but the hotel fell well short in several important areas. Sadly, we would not return or recommend it to others.

This was our 6th visit to this amazing hotel. We wouldn’t want to stay anywhere else for our annual 2 week holiday, due to these observations.

1. Location - Safer feel, great restaurants at hotel and nearby, shopping centres opposite, El Duque beach on the doorstep, 20 min transfer from airport.

2. Hotel - Impeccably clean, spacious, great sized rooms, lots of swimming pool options, with zero sun bed wars. Bars on every floor with sunbed service and an extensive menu for drinks and food all day, which are very reasonably priced. Amaina restaurant was ***** delicious food, knowledgeable staff, amazing value for money..

Treats delivered to our room daily by maids and the turn-down service in the evening, which included water and chocolates is such a treat. Breakfast amazing!!

3. Staff - All of them are so friendly, professional and helpful. The GF corporation must look after their staff really well, as we see many of the same people year after year. A special shout out to Nico on reception. He’s always there to shake our hands and chat with us. He is the stand out member of staff from this visit and previous ones.

Can’t wait to come back!!!