Grupotel Orquidea

Orchidea is simply put amazing. It’s clean. It’s lovely. It’s almost perfect. The facility itself is well taken care of and it always smells fresh. The rooms look really good and they clean them really good. It has great pool areas and just areas where you can lay in the sun and enjoy. The food is fantastic. Not too salt which I think is very important when it comes to overall health. The Sultan restaurant… I’m just gonna say… Make sure to visit that one. You won’t be disappointed. The staff is wonderful and always helpful in ways I have not seen often. As someone that works with hotels worldwide in a consulting way and entertainment for the past two decades I have to say that I absolutely LOVE this place. This is a hotel; and the TUI BLUE concept in general that I would LOVE to work with. While I love this place I am not so happy with some parts of the overall entertainment. While it’s not bad in my opinion; there are certain points that I strongly feel that can and should be updated. I have made my points clear to the staff so I will hope that when I come back (August 2024) these changes have been made so this fantastic hotel to bring it to the next level. I have to single out 1(!) person in particular and that is one of the TUI guides: Eloise. While it’s her job to be customer friendly; she does it with such a cadence, verisimilitude, nobility, passion & excitement that I have not seen before in my two decades in this business. You never feel that you are too much and she is very engaging. She is very friendly, makes you feel heard but most of all: She keeps it real. And that is something that I respect very much. ❤️ TUI Blue is absolutely BLESSED to have her representing their brand and they are in every way shape or form better for it. Alright… That’s it for now. Book your vacation here 🙏🏽

We booked this hotel knowing there would be a range of activities and things to do in the hotel. We knew it was a TUI Blue/ Family Life, however having been to a family life resort as a couple before, this was completely different. No fault of the hotel or reps but the place was overran with feral kids with parents who didn't care! The TUI reps had to regularly try and calm kids down, keep them off the stage/ furniture. You'd find 6/7 year olds just randomly screaming/ running/ trashing the place without adults around. Absolute carnage! No fault of the hotel or TUI but just to give you an idea of what to expect if you don't have kids with you. It was exhausting! Big shout out to the TUI reps though, they are all so geninuenly warm and approachable. They don't force anything upon you like some animation teams do. Sean as the team leader does an amazing job. Ely, Antonia & Jessica get special shout outs as well for being fabulous. Now, the hotel itself is your typical 4 star with lovely grounds and the split level room was fantastic. Probably one of the best rooms we've ever stayed in. Spacious balcony, British TV channels and a small but adequate bathroom with step in shower. There is a kettle in the room but I had to find my own tea bags and milk daily as not provided/ topped up. Just took from the stations in the bar. Also, only 1 bottle of water provided on arrival. Beds are comfortable with different types of pillows to choose from. Safe and air-conditioning are free and easy to use. Fridge in room. Hairdryer in bathroom. The only thing frustrating was poor WiFi. There wasn't any in the room, only found it worked round reception, the bar and in the restaurant. Bit annoying when the TUI BLUE app is pushed upon you to use for everything and all the games/ entertainment on an evening is digital yet it either doesn't work or is painfully slow/ drops out. Dread to think what it's like during peak season. Defo needs to be upgraded. Food is a bit hit and miss. Plenty of choice but some of it is cheap quality. Lots of self service drinks stations which is great, cocktail menu is OK. Lots of pre mixed drinks though. The local honey rum is very nice. Adults only area in restaurant. Would be nice if there was also an adults only bar or other areas as well to get away from screaming kids. Beach is non existent. There is a little man made beach with sand but you have to pay for sunbeds and it's a public area with a bar that isn't associated with the hotel. Getting in and out of the sea even with sea shoes is impossible. Not ideal for kids. Two grown men got stuck! Lots of large rocks and pebbles off a ledge, takes an effort and someone fit and able to get out fighting strong waves. Ideal for windsurfing though. Reception staff were friendly with swift check in. Cleaners will occasionally say hello. The bar staff and restaurant staff aren't the friendliest though and seem like they don't want to be there. Actually pretty rude and this let's

Came for a short break (3 nights) and this place was worth every penny. Staff from reception to the chefs were friendly, attentive and overall great in every way. The food was as good as any five star we’ve stayed in previously, the cocktails I have to say were probably the best we’ve had at an all inclusive. Tasty and all every time garnished. Good touches. Weather, at this time of writing, is absolutely boiling hot, very little wind this side of Maspolomas, but the beach is pebbly so don’t expect sand. Generally catered for families with children there is a lack of adult activities but look and there are some and the TUI staff are all super friendly and welcoming. If you want to quieter rooms go 7th floor up. Don’t stay near the performance area as it’s quite busy and loud at night. We stayed in room 716 and it was perfect. The image is from our balcony. Lifts are also quick and reliable.

I have given 5/5 ad the pros hugely outweigh the cons for this hotel - if you are looking for a family break, especially with young children, I would highly recommend. Pros - Top of the list has to be the entertainment, and in particular the entertainment team. Miranda, Sean, Heather, Thiago, Martina and the rest of the team are absolutely brilliant at their jobs. They have a great way with the children and lead every activity (and there are loads, both in the day and the evening) with enthusiasm, a smile and a palpable passion for their jobs. I can't speak highly enough of them all. - The evening entertainment is particularly good for children, so ith multiple 'shows' staggered through the evening, with the later ones aimed at the older children. - On top of the activities, the facilties for children are also great. Playgrounds, splash parks, a soft play room, a baby lounge, arts/crafts - there is loads to do. - I know some have said the opposite, but I was impressed by the food in the restaurant. If you are willing to wait for the live cooking, especially, the food is cooked to order, fresh and hot. - Availability of food and drinks through the day is also good - snack bar, lots of self-serve drink stations. - The location is great, as long as you are not bothered about the lack of a beach. Very short transfer from the airport, lovely 1km walk along the coast to the next bay, quiet and unspoiled compared to more touristy towns on the island. Cons There are a few, and they are all quick fixes, so I would advise the management of the hotel to get them sorted so that they don't detract from the excellent work of their staff. - WiFi - doesn't work in most places around the hotel. Get a tech team in and invest in a proper network solution! - Showers - need upgrading. - Beds/bedding and towels - as above. - Spa/lane swimming pool - these are unnecessarily expensive for already-paying guests. Reduce the price (of the spa particularly) or remove from the selling points of the hotel and treat separately. All in all, we had an amazing time. I would love to return and hope that when we do, the quick wins will have been acted upon, but that the brilliant staff will remain!

This is a nice young family hotel, but by no means is it a TUI blue in comparison to others with this title. Firstly, we came as 2 older couples knowing that this was a family hotel, however it is described as having “quieter adult only areas”. The only adult only area was a small section of seating in the dining room. There were no dedicated areas around the pool or a certain floor for adult only rooms in the hotel. The rooms are average and dated, the towels are thin and uncomfortable and haven’t been updated presumably since changing to a tui blue. We reported that our shower didn’t work properly and would flood the bathroom so we’d have to use all of the towels to stop that but nothing was done. The beds are uncomfortable and the furniture in the room is damaged and dated. The rooms aren’t cleaned upon request, the beds are just re made. I know this because I dropped pencil sharpening on the floor by mistake and despite my efforts getting them up, they weren’t cleaned up afterwards. The WiFi and tv in the room don’t work. The rooms aren’t sound proofed and you’re often woken up by people in the night or children running up and down and screaming the next morning. Were not normally a couple who struggle to eat at all inclusive restaurants as we aren’t fussy, but the food was very hit and miss and we found ourselves eating out a couple of times during the stay as the food wasn’t great. Even the children’s section couldn’t help out. Breakfast is very basic and the best choices come at lunch, but the food is often not replenished quick enough and unless you get it fresh coming out, the food was cold every day. El sultan the restaurant attached, is stunning. The food was incredible, but you can only eat there once every week you’re there. Which I find ridiculous given that you have to pay to eat there anyway, it’s not included in your stay! Playa Feliz the attached hotel was much better for the snack bar as the food was kept covered and heated. The pool area was quieter and the pool cleaner, in the main orquidea pool, there were black bits floating all round the pool. We assumed it was algae from the grout around the sides, as the pools were cleaned by a robot machine on the evening but it only cleaned the bottoms, therefore we spent most of our time at playa Feliz as it was much cleaner. The hotel is looking out for the planet at being more resourceful but this also means you only get one bottle of water at the start of the holiday and you have to fill that up in the hotel, which is fine, however the drinks machines are too small to fit a large bottle of water in and this then becomes difficult. The man made beach is small and you have to pay for beds despite it being on the complex which is a shame. Good transport links for the bus and close to the airport. Overall this is a lovely hotel for young families with tonnes of things and activities for children and babies, but other than that there aren’t a lot of overwhelming positives. I