Meloneras; Thursday, 06 February, 2025

I’d stayed overnight at the airport as it was such an early flight. Given it was early February I had debated just putting the shorts on when I got up and taking the cold head on, but in the end I didn’t and was glad as the temperatures were below freezing and the walk from the hotel through the car park and across the access road to the airport was pretty chilly with a jacket and trousers.

I had a smooth journey through the airport, onto the plane and across to Gran Canaria with the flight landing a good 20 minutes ahead of schedule. The Canary Islands, not being officially in the EU, still allow UK visitors to use the eGates, and with only hand luggage I was through and at the transfer desk just 7 minutes after getting off the plane. I was leaving the airport on the shuttle at the same time the plane should have been taxiing to the gate.

The transfer took quite some time as I was the last to be dropped off and it was a half-sized coach so we spent nearly an hour wandering around Playa del Inglés dropping off at various hotels there before it was just me left on the bus for a 15 minute drive round to Meloneras and my hotel.

I checked in and was told that my room should be ready in about 30 minutes if I just wanted to wait, so I grabbed a complimentary water and sat in the lobby bar and waited, and waited, and waited. Eventually after over an hour a receptionist apologised to say there was a problem with the room and it would be an undetermined amount of time before it would be free, or they could move me to the same room time on the ground floor now – I opted for the ground floor as I just wanted to get into the room and get freshened up, and out of the now quite warm trousers.

Changed into shorts I headed out of the hotel and down onto the sea front to have a look around the area before heading up onto the promenade walk that leads from Meloneras the 2Km into neighbouring Maspalomas and the lighthouse and the southern end of the island.

After looking around Maspalomas for a bit, and stopping for a very nice ice-cream from a beachside bar, I headed back towards the bus station and caught the bus back round to Meloneras and over to the hotel.

I had a bit of time left in the late afternoon before the pool closed for the evening so I was able to have a very pleasant swim in the large heated pool (warmed by geothermal energy – tapping into the Volcanic past of the island), and a pool side drink in the snack bar before heading back to my room to shower and get dressed for dinner.

I was half board on this trip so had the hotel buffet dinner available each evening which was one of the better ones I’ve experienced with a reasonable selection. After dinner I had another little wander around the beach area, and stopped off to get some water for the following day, before heading back to my room for an early night given I’d had such an early morning.