Hotel Concorde

Constructed in the 1960s and designed by local renowned architect Salvador Fabregas, the Concorde Hotel Gran Canaria is showing its age. The grimy exterior is an imposing sprawl of concrete pleats, while the building itself takes up the entire block. Inside, despite dated decor and cold marble surfaces, the lobby is pleasantly clean and offers respite from the busy city street. The most characterful part of the hotel is the light and airy restaurant, modeled after colonial-era galleries with charming archways and a gorgeous panoramic view over Playa de Las Canteras, the ocean, and surrounding hills. On a clear day, the highest peak on neighboring Tenerife can also be seen. Much of the rest of the property feels like an abandoned municipal building -- save the pleasant rooftop pool and sun deck, which has beautiful sea views and adds significant value to this basic city hotel. Today, the hotel accommodates primarily couples of all ages, although families and quite a few business guests visit as well. 

Concorde Hotel occupies the entire block of a gritty city street, a one-minute walk around the corner to picture-perfect Playa de las Canteras. This is an excellent location for both beach trips and city exploring, and local Canarian hangouts such as Santa Catalina Park is just a three-minute walk away. It’s a 10-minute walk to El Muelle, the city’s largest shopping mall, and the harbor is just a one-minute walk farther. Calle Triana, a pedestrian-only street with clothing shops and cafes, can be reached via a single bus connection from the Parque Santa Catalina stop, a 22-minute journey. The city’s charming old town is farther south and can also be reached via the same route, a 25-minute journey. Gran Canaria's airport is also a 25-minute drive away, and there’s a taxi stand just outside the hotel for those who need it.

All rooms have double configurations, and are decorated with simple wood furniture, colored throws, softly hued artwork, and country-style patterned curtains. The look is old school and dated, though everything is clean and well kept. All have desks, flat-screen TVs, AC, free safes, and free Wi-Fi -- the latter two features aren't always a given on Gran Canaria. Rooms have satellite channels, albeit limited English-language options. The minibar is basic and includes a pack of potato chips, Spanish beer, and some juice, soft drinks, and bottled water. The floor-to-ceiling windows face the street and have an outdoor extension of sorts, but it’s unfortunately not enough to count as a balcony. Double glazing cuts out a decent amount of street noise, but some travelers may still be disturbed. As of 2017, the hotel was in the process of renovating all bathrooms. For now, some of them are old, but clean, while others are more updated. Many are clad in faux marble surfaces, while the more modern bathrooms have neutral gray and white tiling. The maximum capacity of all rooms is three people -- a cot can be provided on request, but this won't suit larger families. 

For a mid-range city hotel, this property has a handful of decent facilities that make it good value for the money. There’s a sunny, pleasant rooftop pool -- not common among Las Palmas hotels -- with lovely sea views, a sunbathing deck, and palapa beach umbrellas to set the mood. The colonial-style restaurant is the hotel’s best asset, with an airy atmosphere and gorgeous panoramic views over the beach and ocean. It’s the perfect setting for the free buffet breakfast, which has plenty of cold and hot options, including eggs and omelets cooked to order, plus bacon, sausage, beans, churros, and pancakes. The hotel offers half- and full-board meal plans, and the restaurant has a two-week rotating menu of international and local dishes.

A cozy bar can be found next to the restaurant, but may not be reliably staffed. The hotel also has several different meeting rooms to accommodate its business guests, as well as computer, printer, and photocopier. There’s a TV lounge for relaxing, but outside of the guest rooms, free public Wi-Fi is only available in the reception area. We experienced a very slow connection on our visit -- even by Gran Canaria standards. Parking is not free, and is generally tricky to find in this busy city, although there is a parking garage just a few minutes away.