6 Best Gran Canaria Hotels with Water Slides

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Gran Canaria Hotels

Which Slides Suit Which Ages

Slides at Gran Canaria’s family hotels run from toddler chutes to flumes that land in deep water. The size decides who gets a week out of them, so match the slide to your youngest and your oldest swimmer.

• Toddlers and Non-Swimmers Look for a splash zone shallow enough to stand in. Abora Catarina by Lopesan Hotels runs a baby splash park with water guns and a water dome. HD Parque Cristóbal Gran Canaria adds a tipping bucket and water cannons to its splash park.
• Primary-School Swimmers This is the age the hotel slides are built for. The children’s water park at Maspalomas Princess has flumes plus smaller animal-themed slides, and some of them need a child to stand 120 cm tall. Several hotels set height or weight limits without publishing the figure, so ask at the pool on day one.
• Teenagers Children’s slides won’t hold a fifteen-year-old for long. Plan a day at Aqualand Maspalomas for the tall slides, or stay in Taurito, where the hotel water park has them.

Where the Full-Size Water Parks Are

Two parks on the south coast have slides tall enough for adults. One belongs to a hotel complex and the other is a day park.

• The Taurito Hotel Water Park Gran Canaria’s seawater water park sits in the Taurito valley, 10 km along the coast from Puerto Rico. Three sister hotels share it, Hotel LIVVO Lago Taurito & Aquapark, Hotel LIVVO Valle Taurito & Aquapark and Hotel LIVVO Costa Taurito & Aquapark, and entry comes with a stay at any of them. Its slides include the Kamikaze and the Space Bowl, which sends riders down a tube into a funnel.
• Aqualand Maspalomas The island’s day park is on the Palmitos Park road, inland from Maspalomas. It has slides and flumes for all ages, and entry is by ticket whichever hotel you stay in.
• Getting to Either Park Taurito is the far end of the south coast, past Puerto Rico. Stay there if the water park is the point of the trip, and visit Aqualand by taxi from anywhere else.

Heated Pools in Winter

Winter is high season on Gran Canaria, and an unheated pool in January makes for a short swim. Ask which pools are heated, because at some hotels it is only the children’s pools.

• Water Park Pools The children’s water park at Maspalomas Princess, shared with the sister hotel next door, heats both its pools through the winter months, to about 25°C. That covers the slide pool and the splash pool beside it.
• Children’s Pools HD Parque Cristóbal Gran Canaria heats both of its children’s pools in winter. Mirador Maspalomas by Dunas heats its children’s pool and its two main pools.
• Main Pools Abora Interclub Atlantic by Lopesan Hotels heats many of its pools in winter. Find out which on the first morning, before the children choose a favourite.

How Four Sleep in a Family Room

Several of the big all-inclusive hotels sleep four in one room with a sofa bed. Check the layout before you assume the children get a door to close.

• One Room With a Sofa Bed The family rooms at Abora Interclub Atlantic by Lopesan Hotels, Abora Catarina by Lopesan Hotels, Maspalomas Princess and Mirador Maspalomas by Dunas put two beds and a sofa bed in one space of 30 to 37 square metres. Parents and children share the room and the bedtime.
• A Separate Bedroom Servatur Puerto Azul splits its family suite into a bedroom and a living room, about 35 square metres in all. The sofa bed is in the living room.
• Beds Built for Children Four twin beds fill the bedroom at HD Parque Cristóbal Gran Canaria. The living room adds a double sofa bed.

All-Inclusive or Pay as You Go

Room rates on the south coast cover very different things. Compare the board before you compare the price.

• All-Inclusive Hotels Abora Interclub Atlantic by Lopesan Hotels, Abora Catarina by Lopesan Hotels, Maspalomas Princess and Mirador Maspalomas by Dunas sell all-inclusive stays. Meals and drinks are in the rate.
• Upgrades on Top Maspalomas Princess sells an All Inclusive Plus upgrade at reception. Abora Interclub Atlantic by Lopesan Hotels has a premium all-inclusive tier, and Abora Catarina by Lopesan Hotels a plus tier.
• Lighter Board Bases Servatur Puerto Azul sells bed and breakfast, half board and all-inclusive. HD Parque Cristóbal Gran Canaria runs from self-catering to all-inclusive, and its bungalows have kitchens.

Kids’ Clubs by Age

Check the age band before you count on the kids’ club. A three-year-old or an eleven-year-old is left out at some hotels.

• Ages Four to Twelve Abora Interclub Atlantic by Lopesan Hotels, Abora Catarina by Lopesan Hotels and Mirador Maspalomas by Dunas take children from four to twelve. So does the miniclub at Maspalomas Princess.
• A Younger Cut-Off HD Parque Cristóbal Gran Canaria stops at ten. Check your child’s age against the club before you count on it.
• Under-Fours None of these clubs takes a child under four. Toddlers stay with a parent, which makes the splash zone the thing to compare.

FAQs

1. Is Aqualand Maspalomas included with a hotel stay?

Only as part of a package. Mirador Maspalomas by Dunas is sold by some tour operators with Aqualand entry bundled in, and the hotel’s ordinary room rate does not cover it. The same goes for other south coast hotels that advertise the park in their name. Read what the booking lists under inclusions, because the hotel name alone tells you nothing about tickets.

2. Which part of Gran Canaria is best for families?

Maspalomas and Playa del Inglés suit most families with young children. The big family hotels sit close together there, and the island’s day water park is close by. San Agustín is quieter, with hotels set on the hill over the beach. Meloneras, beside Maspalomas, has a seafront promenade lined with shops and restaurants.

3. Do Gran Canaria family hotels have adults-only pools?

Abora Interclub Atlantic by Lopesan Hotels has one, a 60-square-metre pool reserved for guests over 18. Servatur Puerto Azul keeps its infinity pool for adults, and Maspalomas Princess has an adults-only zone with a counter-current pool. Abora Catarina by Lopesan Hotels sets aside a sun terrace for over-18s, which is also its nudist terrace. All four are family hotels first, so expect children everywhere else.

4. What is the difference between a splash park and a water park?

Depth and height. A splash park is a shallow play area of jets, sprinklers, tipping buckets and small slides, built for children who can’t swim yet. A water park has full-size slides, deeper landing pools and rides adults can join. Ask which kind a hotel has, read the pool description and look at the photos before you promise anyone a flume.

5. How many pools do Gran Canaria family hotels have?

From three to more than five. Mirador Maspalomas by Dunas has three, HD Parque Cristóbal Gran Canaria four outdoor pools and Servatur Puerto Azul five. Maspalomas Princess has five in its main pool area alone, before the two water park pools. Abora Catarina by Lopesan Hotels names four, from a 396-square-metre main pool down to a 43-square-metre one for the smallest children. Check how many are children’s pools before you compare totals.

6. What is there for teenagers at Gran Canaria family hotels?

A junior club at one resort and a seasonal club at another. The complex that Maspalomas Princess shares with its sister hotel runs a junior club for ages 13 to 17 alongside the miniclub. Mirador Maspalomas by Dunas adds a club for ages 12 to 14 in summer and at Easter.

7. How long is the transfer from Gran Canaria Airport to the south coast?

Allow 20 to 40 minutes by road to San Agustín, Playa del Inglés and Maspalomas, the nearest of the south coast resorts to the airport. Puerto Rico and Taurito are further along the coast, and tour operators quote more than an hour to Taurito by transfer coach. Book a private transfer if you land late with small children.