Our priorities for selecting accommodation were quiet, self catering, sea swimming and a good base for walking and touring. Aparthotel Bahia Grande met all of those criteria and came in within budget. On arrival (much later than anticipated) we received an warm professional welcome. The apartment (not sea view) was larger than anticipated with views from the terrace across a beautiful cactus garden to hills in one direction and sea in the other. Apartment cleaning was thorough. The on site restaurants are excellent with good food and attentive, discrete service. The entertainment (especially the jazz band) just right. We did not use the facilities but gym, olympic pool, tennis, table tennis, crazy golf all looked good.
The Trip Advisor tip to hire a car was useful as was another hint - take a kettle. We took a small travel kettle but there was enough kitchen equipment to make simple meal preparation easy.

We stayed in this hotel for our second week after staying in El Cotillo in the north of the island for the first week. Great idea by the way if you like remote beach holidays to start and a pool holiday to finish as you need a car for the fortnight and the Grand Bahia needs to be booked seperately in the UK as i cant find it with a tour operator.

I would recommend this hotel for anyone who enjoys pool holidays, but also likes to walk on the beach and dip a toe in or two.

On arrival you feel like you have grabbed a bargain 5 star hotel for 3 star money. The room was lovely and clean. marble work tops, shower and a bath, Sky TV, Air-con, sun terrace, plenty of wardrobe space etc. We were lucky an got block 1 ground floor so we had a terrace with sea view and direct access to the lovely lush grass/gardens (with 2 boys very useful).
The downfall to the resort is you need a car or go halfboard no other option. Local village can be accessed on foot low tide only but would take half an hour on foot at high tide. Only 3 - 4 restaurants mostly empty and fish orientated as its a fishing port.
6 km away is Gran Trajal, lots of italian restaurants doing excellent Pizza and Pasta. Mostly full of locals which is testomonial enough for m to there quality.
No souvenir shops in either village that i could find so you will ned to travel further for these.

All told a wonderfull resort best for famillies with younger children, the kids club was excellent (thanks to Nadine and Maria).

The Bahia Grande is part of a resort with two hotels and an apartment complex with a number of shared sporting facilities. It is about 35 minutes drive from the airport. Hiring a car was no more than the cost of a taxi each way, so that’s what we did. The cheapest we found was Top Car Auto Reisen, which has an office at the airport, and was half the cost of hiring at the hotel. The resort is adjacent to a beach with the village of Las Playitas a ten minute walk away. Otherwise there are no other buildings nearby, and it is mainly surrounded by typical Canarian countryside. The fact that it is so self-contained is both its strength and its weakness. You are largely reliant on what the complex offers unless you have a car (although there is a limited bus service) but if what it offers is what you need, its position makes it quiet and restful. So what does it provide? The best feature is the pool complex. The main pool is huge in a kind of clover leaf shape and the same depth (1.2m) throughout, so it's designed for playing and cooling down in, not serious swimming. It has two 'jacuzzis' (bubbles, but the same temperature as the rest of the pool) and two water jets. There is a shallow pool for small children, a little distance away from the main pool, and a water slide, big enough for all ages, with its own separate small pool. The temperature was fine for swimming in mid-November, although it felt a bit chilly getting in (the sea was swimmable too). There were plenty of loungers available round the pool area, and some on the beach. Apart from the beach (fine volcanic sand) the only other activities at the hotel were mini-golf and table tennis. The shared sports facilities seemed impressive. There is a very well-equipped gym (free) and an Olympic-sized swimming pool for lane swimming (2 euros). There is a golf professional offering lessons, plus a driving range and a small course, with a full 18 hole course planned for 2009. There is a volleyball court (not used while we were there) and apparently some tennis courts, which we did not come across. When we went, there was some very limited evening entertainment, such as a film in the bar of the other hotel, and some kind of nightclub from 9pm to 2am on Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays, but we didn't go to any of these. The majority of guests were families with small children, for whom the pool area was ideal, and who were probably not concerned about the nightlife, or lack of it. The other main client group was older couples, for whom the same was probably true. The whole resort is beautifully maintained with lovely gardens between the apartments. We had an extremely spacious studio, with separate sleeping and sitting/eating areas, a bathroom with bath and shower, a balcony and a tiny kitchenette. The sitting areas included two sofa-beds, so the studio could sleep four, although it’s all one big room. The beds were comfortable, though the pillows thin. As an aparthotel, the Bahia Grande is geared up for those who want to self cater, as well as offering half board. However the cooking facilities are pretty basic – just two electric boiling rings with no grill, oven or microwave. Cookware was a saucepan, a frying pan and a coffee-maker (no kettle) and crockery and cutlery was limited to exactly four of everything. Also no kitchen consumables (such as washing up liquid or dishcloth) are provided, just a tea towel. Only the fridge was spacious. We were on half board (breakfast and dinner). The range of food on offer was pretty good at both meals, although it wouldn’t win any Michelin stars. Dinner offered two meat grills and one fish grill, a roast and a couple of other meat and fish dishes. There were basic rice and pasta offerings for children, plus salads and fruit, with a wide range of desserts. It was fine for a week, but might start to feel a bit repetitious after that. Non fish-eating vegetarians would have much less choice, though, as most of the salads contained meat or fish, and even the vegetables accompanying the main course sometimes also contained meat. All drinks at dinner have to be paid for, even the water, which is bottled, as the desalinated tap water has a slightly brackish taste. The choice for lunch was more limited. The poolside bar offered very good pizza plus a limited range of sandwiches and salads from about 5-8 euros. Alternatively, there is a small supermarket which also bakes good french bread on site, although it had almost no fresh salad while we were there, and even no fresh milk for several days. Staff are friendly and helpful. Reception staff speak very good English. German was the most common language spoken by guests and the staff typically seemed to have more German than English, although this was enough to get by. We spent our time lying in the sun reading, with the occasional swim to break up the day. We therefore quiet ambience of the hotel perfect. It is excellent for the clientele it sets out to attract, but would not suit those looking for daytime diversions other than the pool or sport, or for lively nightlife. Although good for young families, teenagers might find there was not enough to do during the day, and especially after dinner. If the food were a little more inspired, it would rate 5 out of 5 in terms of what we were looking for from our week in the sun.

The Bahia Grande Hotel is a very good hotel. The apartments are extremely spacious. We stayed in what they say is a 2 Bedroom apartment, but it is really a 1 bedroom with extra beds in the sitting room. The bathroom has both a shower and a bath, so that allows two people to get ready at the same time.
However, it is really let down by the Kitchens. You have plenty of cupboard space, but very little equipment. A dual ringed electric stove and a saucepan and frying pan. Enough Cups, Plates, Dishes and cutlery for the occupation of the room. But that's all.
No Kettle
No Toaster
No Microwave.
We travelled with a 9 month old baby, so sterilizing bottles was a nightmare. We bought these new bottles that can be sterilized in a microwave, as we thought that would be easier. The bahia Grande being a 4 star complex, we thought that even if the room didn't have a microwave, we would be able to hire one. No chance, you can't even hire a kettle.

When we first arrived. after waiting 6 hours for our room to be ready, we were given, what is probably the worst apartment in the complex, room 4101 so avoid this. The Shower has no surround, making the bathroom totally unsuitable for children as it was as slippery as ice. The room is right next to the Car Park, so you can expect noise throughout the night. Also, as people walk to/from their cars they can see right into the apartment as the kitchen windows offer no privacy, with just clear glass in them.

Other Info.

The Hotel will provide you with Pool Towels free of charge - they charge a 10 euro deposit to your room, which is cleared when you return the towels. If you want the Towels changed they charge you 1.50 euros per towel.

Room Safes are 2 euros per night.

There is an Olympic size pool for Lane swimming, you have to wear a swimming hat, and they charge 2 euros to swim in this pool.

There is an excellently equipped Gym, - though I didn't use it, although my 17 yr old son did.

The Nightclub is only open on Friday, Saturday and Sunday nights. It's not quite your traditional nightclub, so you will find children of all ages in it, and it is not very lively. Some nights they are dedicated to Salsa dancing etc...

You can arrange Scuba diving and Catamaran sailing in the resort, but their are NO motorised watersports.

There are Golfing Facilities in the resort too.


Top Tips - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Top Tips

Take whatever you consider to be essential in the kitchen with you - Corkscrew, bottle opener etc....

Learn Spanish....... The locals don't speak much english

Hire a Car - - - Las Playitas is very remote. The local Fishing Village is not very Lively, neither is the local town, Gran Taranjal. Calletta du Fuste is about a 25 minute drive, but 40 euros each way by Taxi.
The local buses run on time, but only until 6:15pm then there is a bus at 9:15pm and that's your lot, so if you want to go out in the evening, you are restrticted to Taxi's or a hire car.

Do have the Fish Soup at the Playas Restaurant in the Fishing Village at Las Playitas, it was the best meal that we had.

The food is not a very good standard in the local restaurants in Gran Taranjal. and menus are very limiting.