Honest Family Review of Seaside Palm Beach, Gran Canaria

If you’re searching for a family-friendly hotel on Gran Canaria that genuinely delivers for both children and adults, Seaside Palm Beach is well worth considering. We visited as a family during the May half-term holidays and were blown away by just how well the hotel balanced luxury with family fun.

Although we travelled during one of the busiest school holiday periods, the hotel never felt crowded. There was always plenty of space around the pools, the atmosphere was calm and relaxed, and we never had to battle for sun beds or queue for facilities. The children’s amenities were exceptional, with great entertainment to keep younger guests happy, while us adults could still enjoy a peaceful and luxurious break.

In this review of Seaside Palm Beach, I’ll share everything we loved about our stay, from the fantastic family facilities and exceptional service to the little touches that made it one of our favourite family holidays on Gran Canaria.

Location of Seaside Palm Beach Gran Canaria

We thought that Seaside Palm Beach was in the most perfect spot on Gran Canaria. Benefitting from a beautiful beach right on its doorstep to plenty of restaurants, bars and shops to enjoy along Meloneras Promenade, we couldn’t have been happier with its location. If I were to compare it to Puerto del Carmen, where Seaside Los Jameos is located, I think Maspalomas had a more upmarket feel with nicer restaurants and bars to enjoy than on Lanzarote.

How Close Is Palm Beach Gran Canaria to Maspalomas Beach?

Seaside Palm Beach is right on Maspalomas Beach and is a 60-second walk from the hotel. This makes the location of the hotel extremely special and it made days on the beach extremely easy and stress free, without having to load up a car or trudge for miles with beach towels and toys.

What’s Nearby the Hotel?

If you’re staying at Seaside Palm Beach, you’re in one of the best locations on the south coast of Gran Canaria. The hotel sits right beside the beach, the famous Maspalomas dunes and nature reserve, and the Meloneras waterfront.

In terms of what’s nearby, I’ve divided it up by what’s walking distance and what you could explore by car or public transport. As we were only staying on Gran Canaria for 5 nights, we didn’t have an opportunity to explore much of the island. This is a real shame because I’m desperate to discover the lush forest in the mountains of the island, as well as the many  villages that look unbelievably beautiful.

Walking distance from Seaside Palm Beach

There is plenty on your doorstep from Seaside Palm Beach. Here’s just a few suggestions, based on walking distance from the hotel.

2-5 minute walk 

Maspalomas Beach

As mentioned above, Maspalomas Beach is a stone’s throw from the hotel. Stretching for almost six kilometres, Maspalomas Beach is one of the island’s most iconic destinations and actually ranks as one of the best beaches in Europe.

Backed by the famous golden sand dunes and lapped by clear Atlantic waters, it’s the perfect place to relax and swim. It’s particularly great for kids as the sand is ideal for sand castle building and the sea is very shallow, so easy to paddle around when the tide is out. There’s also a great area to take kids rock pooling, with plenty of little fish and crabs to catch in buckets.

Faro de Maspalomas

A little further down the beach is Faro de Maspalomas (lighthouse), and this forms a nice walk down from the hotel. The lighthouse is the start of the seafront promenade, and from here you can then enjoy a leisurely stroll across the beach front. I enjoyed early morning runs along the promenade, which was always nicely busy with other runners saying good morning to one another.

5-10 minute walk 

Maspalomas Dunes

A little further along the beach is the Maspalomas Dunes, which took us about 10 minutes to walk to from the hotel. Our favourite time of day to visit the dunes was at sunset, as the kids ran around, flying down the sand banks as we took in the beautiful view. There are marked trails along the dunes, which make them easy to navigate and to explore with kids.

The Maspalomas Sand Dunes are one of Gran Canaria’s most iconic natural landmarks, covering 400 hectares of rolling golden sand along the island’s southern coast. This protected nature reserve feels more like a slice of the Sahara than the Canary Islands, and we were so surprised by the beauty of them.

Meloneras Promenade

Meloneras Promenade is a lovely palm-lined coastal path that passes the hotel. The walkway is 1.5km and perfectly flat, making it easily accessible. Along the path you’ll discover beaches, plenty of cafes and restaurants and nightlife.

Days out from Seaside Palm Beach

Puerto de Mogán

During our 6 days on Gran Canaria, we opted for one day out to nearby Puerto de Mogán. This beautiful seaside fishing town is known as ‘Little Venice’ of Gran Canaria, due to its charming canals and bridges that weave in and out of the town and the marina. The town is bursting with whitewashed buildings with colourful windows and doors, and the most beautiful vibrant flowers intertwining around the town’s walls.

We visited for the morning/lunchtime and wished we’d brought our beach clothes as Puerto de Mogán also has a lovely little beach, which our children were desperate to enjoy. Fortunately, we managed to tempt them away to enjoy ice creams on the marina, before a delicious seafood lunch on the waterfront.

As we didn’t have a hire car, we booked a taxi through the hotel, which was €30 each way between the 6 of us (4 adults and 2 kids). I would definitely recommend this trip out -I was so surprised at Puerto de Mogán, which felt far more Mediterranean than I expected. I think this would also be a lovely place to come for a dinner at sunset, with beautiful views of the evening sky over the bobbing yachts in the marina.

Getting to Palm Beach Gran Canaria from the Airport

Getting to Palm Beach from Gran Canaria airport is really easy. We organised a private transfer from the airport to the hotel and it was seamless, with the driver being incredibly helpful and informative. They also had child seats ready and waiting, which was such a relief and meant we didn’t have to worry about our five year olds travelling to the hotel.

If you don’t want to pay for a private transfer, there a number of others ways you can get to the hotel from the airport.

Private transfer

As mentioned above, you can book a private transfer through the hotel if you’re looking to start your holiday on Gran Canaria with ease and a bit of luxury. This is private Mercedes transfer, which costs €57 each way.

Airport taxi

If a private transfer is too pricey, you can just pick up an official airport taxi on arrival in Gran Canaria. A standard taxi will cost roughly €30-35 and takes around 30 minutes to get to the hotel.

Bus (the cheapest option)

The cheapest option to get to Seaside Palm Beach from the airport is to jump on a bus. Take the Global Bus – Line 66 or Line 90 directly from the airport to Maspalomas Lighthouse station. The journey costs just €3-6 per person and takes around 40-45 minutes. From the Lighthouse station, it’s just a 5-minute walk to the hotel along the flat promenade.

Rooms at Palm Beach Gran Canaria

There is a variety of bedrooms available at Palm Beach Gran Canaria, all of which offer a luxurious stay. The rooms available at Seaside Palm Beach are:

• Double twin room
• Superior rooms (which we stayed in)
• Deluxe rooms
• Corner deluxe rooms
• Suites: junior suite, suite, master suite

Room Features and Amenities

During our stay, we enjoyed a superior room that gave us plenty of space as a family of three. The superior room came with a double bed and a single bed for our daughter, as well as a spacious balcony, large entrance/hallway with wardrobe space and a lovely appointed bathroom with huge walk in shower (we decided on the shower but you can pick a bath if you prefer).

I absolutely adored the retro ’70s theme of the bedroom and how there was no hesitation in really embracing the bold colour and design. Obviously, my 5-year old absolutely loved the bright purple of the room, crazy carpet and mirrored cabinets.

There are a few colour ways for the bedrooms in the hotel, although I don’t think you can specifically request a colour. The colours are:

• Beige and Brown
• Turquoise and Yellow
• Violet and Green
• Coral and Blue

On arrival at our room, we were met by the cutest welcome package for Olive, with Seaside Collection’s little seahorse in inflatable form, along with a seahorse t-shirt and information on the kids’ club.

Views from the Rooms

We chose a sea view room, which provided us with beautiful views of the rolling Maspalomas sand dunes and crashing waves. The balcony was a great place to sit at night, once Olive was asleep, to read my book or enjoy a glass of wine with a couple of games of cards.

Overall, I was really happy with our superior room at Seaside Palm Beach and felt that it gave us plenty of space as a family room, even with the additional single bed. I do think, however, that not everyone will love the decor – it is definitely distinct but, personally, I loved it. Most hotel rooms tend to look the same (white walls and a tiled floor) and I love that Palm Beach has dared to be original and embrace such a bold interior.

Facilities at Seaside Palm Beach Gran Canaria

I think what makes Seaside Palm Beach worthy of its 5* status is the facilities on offer. We were absolutely blown away by the facilities, which felt particularly luxurious – even in the kids’ area.

Swimming Pools

Seaside Palm Beach boasts five different pools, each catering for different types of guests. There is a huge freshwater pool that’s heated all year round, a saltwater wellness pool heated to 30 degrees (adults only), and a small brine pool heated to 30-33 degrees with a jacuzzi area (again, adults only). Alongside this, there’s two kids’ pools – one of which is a small, shallow baby pool.

Despite it being May half-term, we were SO surprised at how quiet the hotel was and there was plenty of space in the kids’ area. The pool size was perfect for our 5-year olds, and they particularly loved the slide and water jets.

Spa and Wellness Facilities

One of the biggest flex’s of Seaside Palm Beach is its adult-only spa and wellness area. I hadn’t really looked into this much before arriving at the hotel, and I was really blown away by everything on offer.

Spa at Seaside Palm Beach 

Seaside Palm Beach has been given the accolade as one of the top spa hotels in Maspalomas and is exclusively for guests of the hotel. As well as indulgent treatments, the spa also offers free facilities to guests. These include: stone/steam bath, bio sauna, salt cave and Finnish sauna, all of which are located in a tranquil space with sun loungers to relax in, in between rooms.

I loved escaping to the spa area towards the end of the day, while my daughter napped on a sun lounger with her Dad. It was the perfect antidote to all the playing in the pool and I loved how tranquil it felt, despite being a short walk from the kids’ pool.

The spa itself is equally luxurious and I treated myself to a shoulder, neck and back massage on the final day. You can see a full list of treatments at Seaside Palm Beach Spa ahead of your visit and I felt truly spoilt for choice in what treatment to pick.

There’s also a huge range of beauty treatments to choose from, if you’re looking for a bit of extra pampering when you’re away.

Entertainment and Activities

There are also a number of free classes for guests to enjoy throughout the week, including yoga, Tai Chi and Qi Gong, and aqua gym.

• Tai Chi and Qi Gong: Monday to Friday at 11.30
• Aquagym: Monday to Friday at 12.45
• Yoga: Monday to Friday at 15.00

The only thing I noted was that the classes were in German but I’m sure if I had joined them, they’d more than cater for me in English (although I can manage a small amount of GCSE German!)

Golf

If you enjoy golf, then Seaside Palm Beach makes for the perfect location. There are three golf courses within easy distance of the hotel, including Maspalomas 18-hole golf course, which is surrounded by the protected Maspalmoas Dunes.

Outdoor gym

I absolutely loved the outdoor gym at Seaside Palm Beach, which felt like a little tropical haven early in the mornings. I was impressed by all the equipment on offer, both for cardio and weight training. If you really want to go to town, you can also book a personal trainer during your stay, to maximise your workouts.

As a side note, the hotel is also perfectly located for runners – I enjoyed some easy 5ks along the beach front every morning. It was a lovely way to start the day, with plenty of other runners out and about, giving a cheery morning wave.

Pin for later: Honest Family Review of Seaside Palm Beach, Gran Canaria

Dining at Palm Beach Gran Canaria

Next on my list of my review of Seaside Palm Beach, Gran Canaria is the dining options. Having been totally blown away by the all-inclusive at Seaside Los Jameos, I was a little apprehensive about how Seaside Palm Beach would compare. As we were also only doing half-board, I was interested to see how that would work and how much we’d end up eating outside of the hotel.

Breakfast Buffet Review

I really rated the breakfast buffet at Seaside Palm Beach and thought it had a great variety of food on offer, for both adults and kids. You can be as healthy or indulgent as you like over breakfast, with fresh fruit, pastries, omelettes, freshly made eggs, cooked meats, pancakes, waffles and so much more. In fact, the choice was overwhelming most mornings and I often ended up having the same thing as it was so hard to focus on all the options available – tiny violin, I know.

Restaurants and Bars

Main restaurant 

The main restaurant at Seaside Palm Beach offers an à la carte menu for 4 nights of the week, and a BBQ night for 3 nights a week, with different global cuisines available. We were surprised by the à la carte, which was definitely far more ‘fine dining’ than we expected. For this reason, we did prefer the BBQ night, where there was more selection and we could freely indulge more in different cuisines.

I did really like the setting of the restaurant, however, which spans the terrace of the hotel. Most nights also had live music or musicians, which added a lovely touch. On the à la carte nights, it definitely gave a more restaurant feel, and made sure we took our time with dinner.

Dress code: A word of warning – there is a dress code (mostly for men) in the evening. We didn’t realise this and on the first night, our husbands were sent away to change into trousers after rocking up wearing shorts for dinner.  In the evening, dress code is smart/casual with no shorts or flip flops.

Il Giardino di Palm Beach

Il Giardino is an Italian restaurant situated within Seaside Palm Beach, which is available for guests and general members of the public. We were so excited to try this restaurant and it didn’t disappoint. The setting of the restaurant is lovely, situated under palm trees, with glowing candles and the food was absolutely delicious. The staff were also incredibly friendly, especially to Olive, who also enjoyed a dreamy meal of spaghetti bolognaise and gelato for dessert.

I really recommend that you pre-book this restaurant ahead of your stay as it does get booked out.

La Bodega

The other restaurant on site at Seaside Palm Beach is La Bodega, which is a Spanish tapas restaurant. Unfortunately, we didn’t have enough time to try out this restaurant but it looked delicious and is well worth booking ahead if you’re staying for a week or so. I think it’s nice to take a break from the all-inclusive when you can, to enjoy different cuisine and a different setting.

Bar Africano

Bar Africano is the dreamy poolside bar, situated next to the main freshwater pool. As well as being open for delicious snacks, cakes and drinks all day, you can also grab a nice informal lunch here. We really enjoyed doing this, setting ourselves up in the shade at a table by the bar at lunch for some games of UNO and a relaxed lunch.

The cocktails are also brilliant, and I definitely indulged in plenty of fresh piña coladas and ice cold beers.

Bar Salon

Finally, Bar Salon is an ultra retro, 1970s dream and we loved coming here after dinner. The kids enjoyed milk cocktails at the bar, and there was a family hour where you could put on your own music for families to enjoy. The only disappointing thing is that there wasn’t a kids’ disco – like as Seaside Los Jameos – but Olive and Henry didn’t seem to mind this.

Food Options at Seaside Palm Beach for Families

During our visit, we found that the main restaurant and the poolside bar were the best places to get food for our children. I must say, however, I was a little (only a little) disappointed at the kids’ buffet area in the evenings, which didn’t have the most choice but definitely more than enough for small bellies. In this respect, I think Seaside Los Jameos does do a better job at catering for families, as the selection for kids felt a lot bigger.

Having said that, Palm Beach was so much quieter than Los Jameos, without any lengthy waits to get a table or get to food, which in my opinion, outweighs the smaller selection of food. The restaurant also felt like a restaurant, not like a canteen – which some all-inclusives can feel like – and it made meal time feel more like an ‘event’. Combined with the dress code at the restaurants, it felt like we really made the most of the evenings.

The poolside bar was also great for lunches, and if we were in the hotel, we’d just order a toastie or sandwich to the sun lounger for us or Olive and Henry. The one thing Olive and Henry had zero complaints about was the desserts on offer and they loved helping themselves to ice cream – with lots of different toppings and sauces – every evening.

Is Palm Beach Gran Canaria Good for Families?

Seaside Palm Beach is excellent for families, with plenty of child dedicated areas and services. What I liked about Seaside Palm Beach is that although it was totally geared up for families, it didn’t feel like a hotel completely focused on kids and retained a sense of luxury and calm throughout. I think this is actually quite rare in a hotel – usually you either get a hotel lacking in enough provision for families, or the other extreme, a hotel lacking in any relaxing adult spaces.

Kids’ Facilities and Activities

Kids’ pool

As mentioned above, there are two kids’ pools on site, one of which is a small, shallow baby pool. Both pools are heated, so there’s no need worrying about kids getting too chilly over cooler months. The larger pool boasts a slide, jacuzzi jets and polo nets, which were perfect for games in the pool. Both Olive and Henry loved both pools and we did take them a few times to the large saltwater pool too.

There’s also plenty of sun lounger space right by the kids’ area, so you don’t have to keep trudging backwards and forwards from the pool, which was ideal.

Kids’ playground

Seaside Palm Beach has a really excellent kids’ playground, located by the kids’ pools and kids’ club. Our children loved playing here, and it was a great place to come towards the end of the day towards dinner time, to burn off any final energy.

Kids’ holiday club

The hotel offers a kids’ club that’s called ‘Pepe’s Club’ (after the seahorse). This club is open to children aged 4-12 year olds – if your child is younger and you’d like them to attend, they must be accompanied with a carer. Unfortunately, our children have always refused a kids’ club but we did watch (on with envy), as plenty of parents dropped off their children in the mornings and afternoons. The children seemed to really enjoy it, and were free to come and go as they please throughout the day.

We popped in a few times just to pick up some colouring and craft, and we were made to feel welcome even though our kids’ weren’t directly attending.

Family Rooms and Space

As mentioned above, we were so happy with our spacious, superior family room and felt like we had so much space as a family of three. We’ve definitely stayed in hotels where everything felt like a squash, and we avoided spending any time in the rooms as a result. At Seaside Palm Beach, however, the room felt big enough that we could go back up in the afternoons for a nap, or sit on the balcony while Olive watched a film.

Is Palm Beach Gran Canaria Good for Adults?

Although Seaside Palm Beach caters exceptionally well for families, it also offers an equally impressive experience for adults travelling without children. During our stay, it actually felt as though there were more couples and child-free guests than families with younger children. This is quite different from Seaside Los Jameos, which tends to attract a predominantly family-focused crowd.

I think this comes down to how thoughtfully the hotel has been designed for both audiences. Seaside Palm Beach provides dedicated adult-only areas that don’t feel like an afterthought. Instead, these spaces are genuinely peaceful, relaxing and luxurious, allowing adults to unwind in complete tranquillity, making it the perfect hotel for couples and friends.

From serene pool areas to the adults-only spa, the hotel strikes an excellent balance between creating a welcoming family atmosphere while still offering a refined escape for those travelling without children.

Relaxed Atmosphere

As mentioned above in my review of Seaside Palm Beach, one of the most striking things about the hotel is just how incredibly quiet and tranquil it is. This struck me the minute we arrived and headed out to the pools, where the sounds of rustling palm trees and birds tweeting filled the gentle breeze. No sounds of screaming kids or crowds of people – just a lovely feeling of calm and relaxation.

I must admit, I was not expecting this at all and the hotel provided a far quieter and almost restorative stay, despite having children in-tow.

Pool and Spa Experience

As mentioned earlier up in my review of Seaside Palm Beach, there are a brilliant selection of adult only pools at the hotel. What Palm Beach also offers, however, is a dreamy outdoor relaxation area with a selection of experience rooms.

These include salt caves, saunas, a cold plunge pool and relaxing decking area with sun loungers to soak up the tranquility. This was ideal for busy parents too, who could escape in the day for a bit of “me” time.

What We Loved About Palm Beach, Gran Canaria

To conclude my review of Seaside Palm Beach, I wanted to focus on what I loved most about the hotel. There’s no getting around the fact that as a 5* hotel, it does come with a higher price tag that other hotels on Gran Canaria but I think the hotel really sets itself apart with the features/services I’ve summarised below.

Best Features of the Hotel

• Retro design
• Location on the beautiful Maspalomas Beach
• Ability to seamlessly cater for both families and adults – all of it feeling luxurious and well considered
• Spa and adult-only area
• Incredibly welcoming staff

Standout Moments from Our Stay

Without a doubt, the best part of our stay at Seaside Palm Beach was the easy access to the incredible beach and dunes. Our kids’ absolutely loved this long stretch of sandy beach, and it was so easy to move between the beach and hotel, without having to drag bags full of belongings down with us.

This beach was such a treat to have so close to our hotel room and we made so many special memories of our children on the beach.

Is Palm Beach Gran Canaria Worth the Price Tag? My Final Verdict:

To conclude my review of Seaside Palm Beach, Gran Canaria, I would say that as a 5* hotel, the price tag of a stay at Palm Beach is more than warranted. This is taking into consideration location, food, rooms, facilities and services. Indeed, it’s prime location on the dunes and beach already make it a hotel worth paying money for but it is far more than its location.

The hotel was a spotless, friendly and quiet oasis, away from life’s hustle and bustle. It felt so peaceful (despite being a kid friendly hotel), and the pools, adult only spa area and kids’ facilities were absolutely perfect.

I could not recommend this hotel enough to anyone looking for a luxury family-friendly hotel on Gran Canaria and we’d definitely go back in a heartbeat.

Pin for later: Review of Seaside Palm Beach for Families