HOLIDAYS OVERSEAS
We tried them all. There were delicately stuffed aubergines, smoked salmon with avocado dressing, sea bass with lentils and artichokes, slivers of rare beef with peppercorn sauce.
And then on to the dessert trolley, heaving with pretty-as-a-picture rows of little pots of crème brûlée, chocolate mousse, mini pastries, fruit tartlets and bite-sized meringues.
Not a chip or hot lamp in sight. We were happy bunnies.
The hotel is an interesting mix of 70s architecture with modern décor. The 328 rooms are retro, bright and fun.
You can enjoy a pre-dinner cocktail at the indoor Seventies-themed Bar Salon, or all-day snacks or a nightcap at the poolside African Bar. There are two other restaurants on site that serve up even more gastronomic delights.
Speaking of which, breakfast is – in a word – spectacular. I stopped counting at 20 different breads and rolls.
Lavish platters of cured Spanish meats (which I could cheerfully live on), smoked meats and fish, every cheese imaginable, cereal, pots of jams and preserves, bowls of yoghurt, fruit – whole, sliced and diced – pastries, fresh juices and smoothies, omelette, pancake and waffle stations. Sizzling bacon, eggs cooked to order. Magnificent.
It was all we could do to stagger into the spa for a bit of pampering. Alongside the usual massages and beauty therapies, there are unusual treatments like Nepalese singing bowls, ozone therapy, Rasul baths and thalasso pools.
Maspalomas, on the south coast, is a lovely resort right next to the famous sand dunes of the same name.
Our room overlooked the sandy golden beach, and it was a short walk to the lighthouse that marks the start of a palm-treed promenade along the seafront. It’s lined with smart, low-rise hotels, tourist shops and fabulous tapas bars (just in case you didn’t take full
Perfect for year-round sunshine... but particularly good for an escape from our gloom in winter.
Thomas Cook has seven nights on half-board at the four-star Seaside Palm Beach Hotel in Maspalomas, Gran Canaria, from £940pp, including advantage of the breakfast feast).
We spent our first few days eating (obvs), lazing by the pool, working our way through the gin & tonic menu or lolling on the beach contemplating our next meal. But our hire car was getting bored, so we took it for a spin up the mountains to explore the interior.
We drove up winding roads, stopping in white-washed villages for cold drinks and the local specialty, papas arrugadas – delicious wrinkly potatoes with mojo rojo (red chilli garlic sauce).
We also spent a fantastic day aboard the Aphrodite. The lovely wooden Turkish gulet casts off from Puerto Rico, half an hour away, for a fun day sailing along the coast. We dropped anchor off Guigui Beach for a swim, and had our pick of banana boats, jet skis and parasailing.
After all this activity, we were delighted to return to the hotel to discover barbecue night in full swing.
And we’re not talking burnt bangers here. Succulent ribs, haunches of beef, racks of lamb, juicy whole duck, prawns and crayfish, steaks and fish cooked to order over flaming grills. We went for the sunshine. And stayed for the food.
transfers. Fly from Manchester or Gatwick on May 14. For a change of scenery, the hotel has a “cross-dining” programme, which enables guests to enjoy dinner at the neighbouring five-star sister hotel, the Seaside Grand Hotel Residencia.
The island’s locally grown and made aloe vera products are fabulous.