Gran Castillo Tagoro Family & Fun Playa Blanca

We took the triplets on their very first family holiday during May half term. We chose the hotel mainly for our 10yr old son as it had video games, water slides, and fun for him. There is a playground for kids too and multiple pools of various depths so it had something for everyone. We went half board rather than all inclusive and paid for the drinks and snacks. It came to far less than we would have paid all inclusive so it’s worth doing if you’re not a big drinker. The staff are all really helpful and friendly and got anything we needed for the babies including three cots all the same for them in our room. The rooms are spacious and very clean. The housekeeping staff are so kind and help out with tidying round as well. In the restaurant they were so helpful bringing chairs, bottles of water and allowing the babies to make a mess. I was asked more than once to relax and not clean up after the kids but that’s just who I am so I still did what I could. Unfortunately there were a couple of things we struggled with. The pool suitable for babies is tiny. About a metre across by two metres long. The other pools go a lot deeper and when you have more than one baby to try and keep hold off it’s not really practical. Also the children’s club is where the soft play is located but babies are not allowed in. A young family was there when we were and they were asked by staff to leave with their 10month old. In the middle of the day there’s nowhere for babies to go out of the sun and given there were no other kids there it seemed unfair to ask them to leave. The baby area was either unavailable or had been abandoned as it was closed the entire time we are there. The little playground was secure but there was only a couple of bouncer toys and a wooden house. Maybe adding a slide or some little toys would be better. It just seemed empty. However it was undercover so did offer shade. The inside area was completely empty though and that could have been utilised a lot more as we were surrounded by babies and toddlers The lifts are not suitable for a large double pushchair and definitely not for a triple buggy or pram. I had to lift it sideways by myself sometimes due to it fitting in the lift but not allowing anyone else in the lift to help. My buggy is damaged because of this as three one year olds and a 20kg buggy is a lot for one person to lift. We will return I imagine when the slides are finished and the triplets are a bit older.

We've just had the best weeks holiday at the hotel with our 2 kids. We'd stayed years before as a couple and liked the hotel so decided to revisit now we have kids and it was great - the place is excellent value. The thing that makes the hotel so good is the relaxed vibe of the place. You constantly feel at ease, the staff and other guests all seemed chilled and happy and it makes for a great experience. I've stayed in super fancy places only to run into rules about what can be done where, grumpy staff telling you no etc, this place just maintains a relaxed and friendly atmosphere really well. The food is decent and plentiful, the beers, wines and kids drinks are also good. Our Merlin room was spacious, comfortable and cleaned daily by Martha who did a great job and provided fresh towels and made our beds placing kids toys and pyjamas neat and ready for our return (nice touch). If the hotel could think about how to connect guests with papagayo beach it'd be a massive plus. The beach isn't far but you have to lug everything over pretty rough terrain. Even simply offering the rental of shades, a trailor or some solution to help families get down to enjoy the beach? Oh and kids kept asking to go to kids club, so the staff are doing a great job there as well.

The hotel staff are all friendly and hard working. Room was very comfortable. Great place as a base to explore as bus stop just a couple of minutes away. This trip was our first abroad for about 15yrs and we were not disappointed. It was my birthday during the week and the hotel provided complimentary chocolates and bottle of fizz. A really nice touch. The hotel is described as a family favorite on the Jet2 site and that is certainly the case. Lots of very loud children about, with very few manors when it comes to the evening meals. However there is adult only seating areas. It had nightly entertainment for the children which gave the parents a bit of a break The food is very well presented with plenty of choice and tasty the only criticism would be alot was luke warm which did them a disservice. The whole place it kept very clean with housekeeping working throughout the day. Lovely choice of pools two of which are adult only. Cold when you get in but it was February. Easy to walk to local shops and bars with the marina about 15mins away and Playa Blanca 30-40. We found Lanzarote a lovely island and a week wasn't enough time to explore so we have already booked to return to the same hotel in May for two weeks

Just amazing. Bubbles on arrival, the hotel is very spread out and has lots of different areas and pool. Amazing for kids with kids club and evening shows etc. food was great and the staff were very friendly. There is an OK beach opposite, the marina and better beaches around 15-30 mins walk away. Best holiday I’ve ever had:)

Overall, we have had an excellent 2 weeks at the Gran Castillo. We are a family of 3 with a 12 year old. Conscious that our time here has been enhanced with a family room with sea view which was very large and had a separate walk-in wardrobe which was handy to have. The hotel is sprawling and I’m not sure I’d have liked other small looking rooms with either no view or situated right next to the manic swimming pools. It is definitely not close to being 5 star as described. Positives, staff especially the maid service were all exceptionally friendly and welcoming. We stayed with all inclusive which I believe was value for money. Breakfast, lunch and dinner was varied enough and well laid out and frequently replenished. We spent most time at the 2 main pools which had entertainment but didn’t last long to put off anyone who didn’t want to take part. Evening entertainment was fine, some nights good, some nights not so. The hotel is a good walk to the marina, then further again into Playa Blanca. We enjoyed walking this almost daily as the views are stunning, but may not suit everyone. Some negative points which are a bit frustrating; it’s billed as a family resort but the music at the pool frequently blasted songs with ‘f*cking’ and ‘f*ck’ in the lyrics, absolutely bizarre why they would think this is ok. Also, there are seemingly no non smoking areas in the hotel either at the pool or outside the main evening seating area, so we had to move a few times to avoid. Finally, we have a late flight so paid €35 to check out at 2pm. We were then offered a ‘courtesy’ room at 3pm. This was absolutely disgusting, tiny with one grubby sofa, one tiny frosted window and a toilet. It also smelled badly of damp/mould. We handed the key straight back. Hard to see why they would want anyone to have this room as a lasting impression of the hotel. I think overall if we were to return it would have to be price/room dependent as it can be very good with only some minor frustrations

Positive: A relaxing time at the Gran Tagoro Hotel in Lanzarote. We stayed in June 2024 and enjoyed it, especially the wonderfully large room, positioned higher than this January visit, with a good view of the pool and sea, comfortable beds, large rooms and a beautiful, efficient shower room. Hence we revisited in January 2025. We enjoy Lanzarote and have regularly chosen to visit the whole island over many years. We are an older couple but still like a hotel which caters for all generations and is less formal than some of the other hotels in Playa Blanca. The atmosphere and decor, facilities and layout of the Gran Tagoro on the Papagayo side (east) of Playa Blanca provides a fun enjoyable experience for young and old. However, it has a primarily young family focus and lives up to this - see pic. The main pool area looked real fun! Yet there is a very quiet relaxing adult pool area with a large and small jacuzzi (not working this time), well supervised by the bar staff who were extremely efficient and polite. It was this area (and the large rooms) that brought us back. The variety and quality of the food, given the amount of people catered for, is very good. Staff extremely efficient, tables always cleared and available. We changed our evening meal to lunch each day preferring to eat afternoons. This meal time change had nothing to do with not enjoying the Tagoras' evening food (or wanting to eat at the marina). Dishes varied and were very good indeed*. Do understand the complex works on, and is marketed towards, teenagers, young children and babies, be prepared for very little adult entertainment and some lively noise in the restaurant (we found dodging the children running around a genuinely laughable challenge) and the whole complex may pleasantly surprise you. It was all very clean, dining staff and room service cleaning outstanding. Negative: 1.Reception The reception service could be much better: This was not a queue or efficiency problem but perhaps what could be called a poor customer focus/approach, possibly resulting from a lack of training on issues such as communication, body language/attitude and a general understanding of how this affects the customer, and also the hotel's image. On arrival first impressions count, especially as it is when the bill is settled and guests are often paying out a considerable amount. On both occasions it was lacking. Dreamplace Hotels do need to address this - other reviews have alluded to similar problems. 2.Food Temperature* Some reviews have mentioned the cold food: Yes, it is on the cool side, cold plates too, but microwaves are present in the restaurant. The restaurant layout is generally an extension of the main building, like an awning, and affected by window draughts which does not help. However, more central restaurant seating is available away from draughts. 3.Discern your room carefully, you will experience early morning noise (6.00am ) from pool cleaning equipment, and pool clean