Santa Catalina, a Royal Hideaway Hotel

habu

Short version: We absolutely love this hotel! The wonderfully personal service, beautiful pools, fantastic restaurant, and truly amazing staff make every stay an exceptional experience. Long version: This is already our fourth visit — and for very good reason. Everyone here is incredibly warm, welcoming, and attentive. A special mention goes to Laura at the ground-floor bar — she is simply outstanding — but the same kindness and professionalism extend to the spa team, the lovely pool staff (both upstairs and downstairs), room service (sorry for the broken glass!), the breakfast team, reception, and the staff at “1890,” the excellent on-site restaurant. You instantly feel at ease with everyone. Truly — the staff deserve 6 out of 5 stars! The hotel itself has real character. It carries a slightly old-world charm — cozy, classic, and elegant. What stands out in particular is the immaculate cleanliness. Spotless in every sense. The beds are made twice daily, and in the evening, after siesta, you return to a freshly prepared bed with a little treat waiting for you. Everything is tasteful and refined. It’s worth noting that the average guest age tends to be a bit older. So this is not a loud, party-style atmosphere like you might find at a W Hotel — instead, it’s calm, relaxed, and sophisticated. At the same time, the service team is mostly young, which creates a wonderfully balanced and pleasant vibe. We highly recommend booking breakfast included. The buffet is extensive and excellent, and the terrace is simply beautiful — a perfect way to start the day. The lobby bar has its own unique charm: live music, flawless service, great drinks, a lovely small menu, and spacious, comfortable seating make it a wonderful highlight of the hotel. The lobby bar truly feels like the heart of the place. In addition to “1890,” which is a superb restaurant with cozy terraces and outstanding dishes, there is also a Michelin-starred restaurant on site. Unfortunately, it doesn’t offer an à la carte option — which we personally prefer — so we can’t comment further on that. The beds are very comfortable, the shower and bathtub are excellent, and the rooms are generously sized. I recommend booking a room facing the front — the view over the entrance area toward the harbor is lovely. Honestly, I can’t think of a single negative point. Everything was outstanding. As I said — we love this hotel!

Biljana Lojanica

Santa Catalina Hotel is undeniably a historic architectural landmark, but as a hotel experience it fell well below expectations. On arrival, the service felt cold and somewhat pretentious rather than welcoming. A key reason for choosing the hotel was the prominently advertised rooftop pool and views, only to discover after check-in that access is restricted to suite guests. The spa is similarly limited unless you pay €15 per person for 90 minutes, which felt too rushed to unwind and relax. These restrictions are not clearly communicated at booking and leave a sense of being misled. Several of the lounge and communal areas were also frequently reserved for corporate events and seminars, which further diminished the sense of a relaxed hotel environment. As a guest, it often felt as though you were secondary to business groups and functions moving through the space, even in more personal hotel moments such as walking through pool access corridors in a robe. In-room entertainment is very dated, with a non–smart TV offering only basic local and satellite channels. Room service carries a €5 delivery surcharge, while on-site dining is largely limited to high-end fine dining with little casual alternative. It is also worth noting that Las Palmas sits under a noticeably less favourable microclimate than the south and west of Gran Canaria. During our stay, conditions were consistently cloudy, windy, and cool, which further limited the enjoyment of the hotel’s already restricted amenities. For those seeking reliable sun and beach weather, the southern or western parts of the island are a better choice. The atmosphere and clientele also skew noticeably toward an older demographic.

guy domett

The breakfast at this hotel is amazing with a fantastic variety of quality foods. We also enjoyed the outdoor pool, and the service at the pool was very good. There were plenty of seats and cabanas. We found that the rooftop area was a bit of a waste of time with limited shelter from the hot sun (the cabanas have slots in the roof). There is limited dinning options near the hotel if you want western foods. We also found initially that our room didn't look like what we saw online but the hotel kindly moved us.

Sebastian St

We felt very comfortable in the hotel. The rooms were very clean, styles and modern. The beds were extremely good to sleep in. We especially liked the spacious bathroom and the great shower with different options. The service and staff was extremely helpful and friendly. The venue is very romantic and stylefully arranged. The breakfast buffet was extraordinary, very fresh and very good quality with a huge choice of different dishes. We are very happy to come back at any time.

Scott Stephens

A grand historic hotel. Rooms are nice and we were there on two occasions. We had a rooms with a balcony and that gets you exclusive access to the roof top bar and pool until 5 PM. One room had a coffee maker and the second in the same category didn’t not. No room service menu in the room, no obvious place to get an early morning coffee. The first time, I left a note asking for more coffee and got all decaf pods 🤦 In the second room the soap was out in the shower Reception is busier than an airline terminal and a bit chaotic. Breakfast was excellent, lobby bar was great but overwhelmed at times. Roof top bar was great, but no food in the evening. Location isn’t too walkable to other things you want to do, but taxis are plentiful and not expensive. I’d stay there again, but hope to see them focus on the little things that really make it a 5 star experience