Hotel Parque

Hotel Parque is a well-maintained city hotel that’s suited for business guests, but accommodates plenty of leisure guests as well. Constructed in 1943 and designed by local architect Miguel Martin-Fernandez de la Torre, its meticulously symmetrical, pale gray-and-white exterior hails from the early 20th century rationalist movement. While the city buzzes outside of the hotel, inside it’s significantly more relaxed, with soft music playing. Although the furniture and decor have a slightly generic feel -- we’ve seen our share of black baroque chandeliers and matching gray/black/pink color schemes -- the look is sleek and upscale, and public areas are pleasant. With guests in business suits constantly roaming around, this property feels solidly like a business hotel, though we did see the occasional couple on vacation passing through as well.

Hotel Parque is located on a hectic road that branches off from the island’s one main highway, across the road from San Telmo Park and around the corner from the city’s main bus station. This makes it a great location for exploring the rest of the island via cheap and convenient bus routes. The bus station is just a two-minute walk away, while the pedestrian-only shopping hotspot Calle Triana is three minutes away on foot. The city’s charming old town is a further 11-minute walk along the same route. There are direct bus routes to El Muelle shopping center, a 10-minute journey or eight-minute taxi ride. Picture-perfect Playa de las Canteras is a 20-minute bus journey or 10 minutes away by car. Gran Canaria airport is an 18-minute drive, or roughly a 20-minute direct bus route. 

Hotel Parque has 102 rooms, as well as five one-bedroom apartments with a separate entrance for independent access. All units are clean and simple, with a contemporary style and gray color scheme offset by pink and purple accents. All come with modern bedding, AC, flat-screen TVs featuring international channels, mini-fridges, and free Wi-Fi. Some have balconies, and some have sea views. Bathrooms are slightly dated, but are clean and have bidets and shower/tub combos -- save the accessible rooms, which have showers only.

Higher category rooms have extra space and separate reading areas, as well as welcome sweets and free bottled water, and free use of safes. Other rooms are grouped according to occupancy, and accommodate either one, two, or three adults. Rooms with double occupancy can be furnished with a proper double bed as opposed to two single beds (quite rare on the island). Rooms facing the back street are quieter, as well as those facing the inner courtyard. Rooms facing San Telmo Park look down on the busy main road below, and despite double glazing, street noise is still audible. 

Being primarily a business hotel, this property has a decent range of business facilities, including a dedicated conference floor that gets natural light, has various breakout areas, and includes four air-conditioned meeting rooms with a maximum capacity of 150 people. The cozy restaurant is located on the top floor, has views over the bay and San Telmo Park, and serves three meals daily. The free breakfast buffet has a mix of hot and cold options including eggs, bacon, and sausage, while lunch and dinner are served a la carte. Arguably the best feature of the hotel is its stylish cafe on the ground floor, which has a pleasant ambience and delicious sweet and savory foods for a reasonable price. Offerings include a gorgeous chocolate cake. There’s also a small library corner, and a fitness room with a limited selection of weights and cardio machines. The computer room has three computer stations with webcams, and the strong, reliable Wi-Fi is free throughout the hotel. Parking is not free, but there’s a garage just across San Telmo park with reasonable day rates.