Abora Catarina by Lopesan

This hotel is a lovely all inclusive hotel.. plenty of choice of food and drink at all times. Rooms are modern just some little bits that need amending but nothing to grumble about - room 348 overlooking main pool and lovely views of sea etc. Sun beds is not a issue - fewer parasols We stayed for one week and never had a problem getting any. Free shuttle bus regularly to beach can walk but this is a nice touch in the heat. Animation team make it only thing would be that after 10.30 a lot of people go to bed so no further entertainment or music for adults this wasn’t a big concern but there is little do outside of the hotel Went to the jumbo centre - this was different good shows ie sparkles etc. a good laugh just some bars we’re not that welcoming unless you were in a gay couple but we had a lovely time. My only concern is that mentioned in numerous reviews below - we arrived at 11.30pm on our first day therefore didn’t receive AI and we were not allocated anything that day as there was 2 of us we did pay €15 Euro on our last day as didn’t think it was too expensive it was just more the principal and the Thomson rep didn’t seem to interested in changing or speaking to anyone regarding this. This would be a issue however if in a big family / children. The shower/ luggage room you are expected to get changed in also after being told you are not able to extend your room only until 3pm so the maid can clean is a disgrace mixed sex and boiling with people coming in and out to get there luggage so be prepared whilst taking a shower! Other than that lovely hotel and friendly staff :)

We spent 11 nights in this Hotel with the all inclusive package booked through Tui. We have travelled with Tui more times than we can remember over the last 20 years but on this occasion we were very disappointed in the hotel and the Tui T rating with Tui giving it a 4T star rating. We are also very disappointed in Tui with their response to the issues we raised. I have attached the email I sent to Tui back in may of which they have only just responded to and not to our satisfaction but that's between Tui and ourselves to discuss. ' Customer complaint. 1.Poor Restaurant  2.Poor room servicing 3.Limited hotel services 4.Poor hotel Maintenance  5.Rats in hotel 6.General condition of Hotel We have Returned home after staying in the Catalina Abora Hotel in Gran Canaria for an 11 night stay. Tui has always been our first choice when book our holidays for many years as we trust Tui in their judgment when it comes to quality and service and have always said Tui are second to none. Unfortunately we feel this is definitely not the case for this holiday. We chose this holiday like always trusting your judgement of hotel selection and more importantly your Star (T) rating but on this holiday we feel very very let down.  Going by previous Holiday experiences with you , and please feel free to look at past bookings ( Cyprus, Egypy, Dominican Republic, Tunisia, Turkey, Majorca, Menorca, Ibiza  to name a few ) we always stay with a minimum standard of 4 star and know what to expect. We have been loyal customers for the last 18 years. We feel the Abora is no more than a 3 star that has completed a tick box exercise to scrape a 4 star Rating.  Yes it has 24 hour food and drink, but this is limited to dried out Cheese and ham sandwiches and some cake slices in the reception area after the canteen shuts and some self service drinks dispensers which have often run out. ( pictures taken) We would class the main and only restaurant as more of a canteen than a restaurant as this is the dinning experience received. There are 4 self service drinks stations throughout the canteen but often making a simple cup of tea ( only available at breakfast)  required visiting 2 or even 3 stations to get the required makings and towards the end of a sitting more often than not ,not maintained or replenished so customers had to go searching for as chosen drink.  The food choice was adequate but the selection of condiments and sauces was limited. Several times we chose to visit the canteen towards the end of the serving due to excursions and other activities to find an army of kitchen staff waiting at the serveries for the final second of service to clear up and then all food had been removed within just a couple of minutes almost like a race to get cleaned up and out the door. Several times we where asked to move tables as these where set up ready for the next sitting. The furniture in the Canteen was poor being several different designs and colours and those chairs with soft seats where badly worn and almost thread bare. ( several pictures taken ) The serveries had large signs above sections to identify what food types are in each area which was great except these had LED lighting which some worked and some didn’t. ( pictures taken)  Alarmingly after an evening out and making a soft drink in the communal area we where greeted by a lively yet scared Rat running up and down the stairs leading to our room. This stair way goes from the down stairs hotel kitchen area up to all accomadation levels. This was witnessed by two other Guests. I reported this immediately to the night porter and then again to hotel reception the following morning. With a typical Rats nest hosting 5 rats or more and typically several nests are normally found in close proximity, how many Rats live in and around the kitchen area where guests meals are prepared and served??  The pool side snacks bar was adequate if limited but served a purpose, but alas one of the cold drinks dispensers ( the only one of that specific drinks choice) was out of service for the duration of our stay with a hotel notice informing us it was out of order. ( pictures taken)  The Rooms, ( we where in room 122 ) are looking very tired, we have decorative decals falling off the walls, the bathroom door looks like its rotting away at the bottom, the shower tray is chipped, we had a draw missing leaving us just one draw between two of us, ( this was resolved by hotel when notified), shower hose found split and squirting everywhere( also repaired once reported ) and a water supply that Fluctuates between boiling hot and freezing cold, and this is anytime of the day not just periods of high demand. This has been looked at by hotel maintenance but not resolved ( guests at the other end of hotel do not experience this). All the above should have been checked and rectified prior to customer arrival and not waiting for a customer complaint. There was a very basic in-room hot drinks facility. We where very surprised to see that the cups in the room where nothing more than disposable paper cups and not ceramic ones as in the canteen. ( pictures taken) There was also no onsite ironing facility. When asked for an iron and ironing board to iron our clothes when removed from our suitcases we where told by the Tui Hotel Representative that there is no such facility at this hotel and to try the laundry near the local shopping centre who have a 2-3 day turnaround time but at a reasonable rate. So we had to wear our un-ironed crumpled clothes for our first few evening out.  Finding our room on arrival was a challenge as 50% of the rooms down our corridor are missing room numbers either in full or partial. We use the large stains in the corridor carpet to identify our room when returning. ( pictures taken) Room  cleanliness by service staff is only satisfactory at best,  many times have we found plates and cups which where left in a obvious location, stacked up and ready for removal during room servicing,to still be there after the room was made up and surfaces not cleaned properly with grime in the corners of the shower tray. ( pictures taken ) During the day we made full use of the pool and surrounding facilities included in the ‘all inclusive ‘ holiday package ( our normal standard with our holidays ).  First things noticed are the ratio of serviceable umbrellas to sun loungers, approximately 140 loungers around the main pool with only 18 umbrellas on day one of our holiday but alas 5 of these where broken. I raised this with the hotel and was told that they where aware of the issues regarding the umbrellas. Secondly about a dozen loungers where also broken or in poor condition. No improvement was made during our stay, in fact at one point we where down to just 16 umbrellas. As an able person I assisted several times with the more elderly to erect their umbrellas and tie up in position due to parts missing or broken.( pictures taken). There was also a constant Ant problem around  the pool. This was mentioned to the pool staff but no action seemed to be taken during our stay. We also noticed a distinctive difference in quality and strength of the cocktails included in the all inclusive package between day and the evenings. The daytime cocktails where virtually a glass of crushed ice and a hint of pre mixed cocktail to give the illusion of a full glass. I mentioned this to the bar staff and got a shrug rather than an explanation . The cocktail and alcoholic drinks choice however was quite reasonably.  The communal areas where very clean and tidy except the area of the indoor bar area which had a truckers cafe feel to it.  There is a lovely area outside the hotel front door with soft seats which is great for relaxing after an evening out but were told to move inside at 11pm. This was a shame as said it was nice just to relax with a drink before bed. I’m sure there were many more issues that should have been addressed by the Hotel and its management and which shouldn’t be experienced by the guest let alone wait for a guest to complain about an issue before its investigated and resolved.  The hotel had a cheap feel and appeared to be run and maintained on a very low budget maximizing profit margin at the cost to quality and customer satisfaction.  On a positive note we went on two excursions on this holiday and booked both through your hotel representative following the welcome meeting. Both excursions were fantastic and we must say the lunch on our Gran Canaria Highlights tour was fantastic.  This is the first time in our holiday history we have felt the need to make a formal complaint. We have been very disappointed in this holiday, and to be Frank didn’t enjoy our holiday like we always do and now are questioning if this is a one off occurrence and an error in your rating of this hotel by Tui or if Tui have lowered their standards overall. If the later we will have to consider moving to another tour operator for our future bookings. ( hoping for 7 days in October, 7 days next January and 11 nights next September ) We have taken quite a few pictures for future reference regarding all the above issues if you require for investigation into the legitimacy of this Hotel Tui Rating' Now would we go back to this hotel? yes we would but at 3T prices and not 4. The Riu is just a 2 minute walk away and nearer the beach and is only a few pounds more and more than likely where we would stay next.