We have just returned home from a blissful week spent at the Arona Gran Hotel in Los Cristianos. On arrival, we were treated with a warm welcome and given everything that we would need for our stay. Our room overlooked the pools and the sea and the view was spectacular. The room was spacious and immaculate and up to date. There was a hallway leading from the bedroom into the bathroom which shut out any noise (although I have to say there was none) There was a large flat screen modern tv in the room showing the bbc and itv if you wanted, plus a fully stocked mini bar. We did not have anything out of this as it was very expensive (£3 for a small coke). Towels are provided each day for around the pool and there are plenty of loungers so no need to reserve! The gym and sauna facilities are great and the daytime entertainment was a plenty. They even offer spanish lessons every day for an hour which we took them up on and they find brilliant if you want to learn. The food is varied and very well cooked, there was that much variety that we didnt know what to do with! piping hot and very fresh to suit all tastes and needs. Champagne breakfast is a must and they provide this 2-3 times per week. There is evening entertainment, but this wasnt all to our taste, but suited the over 55's. ABBA night was brilliant though! Our Rep from Thomsons, Mark, was brilliant and we booked tickets for Siam Park, which is a MUST through him. £28 each is a fantastic price for the ticket and this entitles you to bypass the queue at the front of the park, just walk on in. Wear flip flops if you do go though as the floor get burning hot. I cannot fault this holiday at all and we would go again. We are 40 and 42 and while were there, celebrated our 23rd wedding anniversary, the hotel sent a bottle of champagne to the room as a surprise, how lovely?

We spent a week at the Arona Gran in June 2009 on a half board basis.

We arrived at the hotel and were greeted by a very friendly bell-boy who took our cases and directed us to the reception desk so we could check-in. Upon arriving at the hotel we had known we had made a good choice staying there as the lobby area was very impressive. The check-in process was very simple. We were in our room and reunited with our cases within 10 minutes of arriving at the hotel. Our room was very nice and had a fantastic view overlooking the pool area and harbour. The rooms are very clean and modern, and come complete with Samsung TV's (with a good selection of English-speaking TV channels.) The balconies in the hotel are very nice and are of a good size, and come complete with sun loungers. The only negative point regarding the room that we could find was the price of items in the mini-bar. They expected you to pay €2.20 for a small bottle of water or over €6 for ice cubes. The hotel had notices in the lifts saying that you are not allowed to bring food or drink in from outside the hotel. Unsurprisingly the majority of people ignored those notices and chose to buy whatever they needed from either Netto (opposite the hotel) or Iceland (next door to the hotel.) Both supermarkerts had an impressive selection of goods and the prices were very reasonable.

We had no trouble getting a sun lounger with palapa at the pool area. We did notice that people would reserve a lounger as soon as it turned 8am. They would queue up inside the hotel waiting for the doors leading to the pool area to be opened. There really was no need to do this as there were plenty to go around and we had no trouble getting loungers after 10am.

The beach by the hotel was very disappointing. It was very rocky with very little sand, so we didn't spend any time there. You can access the beach via a gate at the back of the hotel.

The food served in the restaurant was generally good. We did experience a very poor selection on our first night. Fortunately that was only a one-off and for the rest of the week the food was good. The restaurant staff seemed to be a little unorganised at times. Some evenings you would be shown to a table and on other occasions you would have the choice of where you sat. The staff in the restaurant are efficient and polite, but they aren't overly friendly. This is possibly because they have so much work to do that they don't really have time to engage in "small talk." As others have already said, the tables in the restaurant are situated very close to each other. If the hotel was at full capacity I think this could be a problem.

We prefer to go out of an evening so we never spent any time at any of the bars in the hotel or watched the evening entertainment.

Prior to booking the hotel we were aware that it attracted older clientele. The majority of guests staying in the hotel must have been aged 70+. This wasn't really a problem for us as we went out of an evening and didn't spend much time at the hotel during the day, but it could be a problem for people who have children or who spend most of their time in the hotel as it does have more of a subdued atmosphere.

The biggest disappointment of the hotel for us was its location. It is situated right at the end of Los Cristianos and there isn't much going on around the hotel. There are a few bars over the road from the hotel, but they were all very quiet and geared towards the older generation. The centre of Los Cristianos is around a 10-15 minute walk from the hotel. If you have walking difficulties and like to spend time away from the hotel the Arona Gran might not be the best choice for you.

We had a very enjoyable week and found the Arona Gran to be a very nice hotel that is spotlessly clean and provides excellent value for money. The hotel is let down by its location and its beach.

Once again, excellent service; cleanliness; food choice and quality. Pools and grounds are beautiful. For a relaxing holiday cannot be beaten.

It was Fab From the Checking in to Paying the Bill at the end of the Holiday it was great .& even though they say not to save Chairs at the pool side ,we all had a great laugh at all the older folk (stampede) at 8am when the pool opened ,Saving their Poolside Chairs ,& Yet the have plenty of poolside chairs .Food .Rooms,all great & Very very clean & The girls who clean the room are all very very nice & Polite ,In fact all the staff are great .We went last november & it was just as great ,& we hope to go again later this year . we never had one single complaint .it was fab from start to finish .The only complaint we have is that 1 week was not long enough .If you really need to chill out ,Its the place to go .in Fact we would give it 100%. thanks to all the Staff ,for making our Second time around Holiday just as good ,Its worth the price you pay ,& It was lovely & Quiet ,also quiet at the poolside ,Plenty of rest & Plenty of walking ,its like you have your own beach 2 Seconds away .Out the back of the Hotel & Your their .Its super Super. So a big Big thanks to all the wonderful staff .See you again later in the year .Scottiefin.xxx