Wonderful Winter Holiday (Colina Mar)

Member Name: Gayna1979

Product:	Colina Mar
Date:	16/12/05 (1551 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Fabulous views over Puerto Rico

Disadvantages: It's a long way down

In late 2003 my partner and I decided that we would get away for a week as a pre Christmas relaxer, so we had a look to see what was available as a late deal.

We booked a week’s break in Gran Canaria on the My Travel website for the beginning of December. We knew which resort we wanted to go to as my boyfriend has been to the island before, so we went for allocated on arrival in Puerto Rico, and opted for Self Catering. We knew that it could only be one of three hotels in the area, so we weren’t at all worried.

We landed at Las Palmas at around 11pm, and were told what our accommodation for the week would be, The Colina Mar apart-hotel.

After a very scary coach trip up very steep hills, we arrived at the Colina Mar, and booked in really quickly and proceeded to our room.

The first thing we always do is have a look around the room and at the view from the balcony, and we were amazed. The view was absolutely stunning. Puerto Rico is a in a sort of bowl shape, with the sides being built up with hotels, and we were right at the top looking down.

The room itself was massive, with a seating area, a fully fitted kitchen, there was even an oven, bathroom, and a twin bedroom. It was cleaned virtually everyday, the maids even did our dishes for us. As we arrived late, there was even a bottle of water in the fridge, so we would be able to have a drink before the shops opened the next day. There was also a kettle and a toaster, which you usually have to hire.

In the bedroom, there was the usual built in wardrobes, and a coded safe, which cost around 2 Euros a day to hire.

The next morning we got up and went to the balcony to look at the view in the daylight and it was even better, you can see for miles, you’re looking out to sea and the resort below. People who saw the photos when we got back said, “how far are you away from the beach?” and I said “about three kilometres, but just look at that view”

As for the beach, this has to be one of the best I have ever seen, extremely clean with plenty of sun beds, we were down there every day, soaking up the rays and swimming in the clear blue Atlantic. It may be far away, but there is a bus stop outside the hotel, and you can catch a bus there for about a Euro that will take you all the way down to the bottom of the hill, and you can get another one back, or a Taxi for around 3 Euros

There isn’t really all that much to do in Puerto Rico, but there are two main centres, the one at the bottom is the biggest, with lots of shops downstairs, and lots of restaurants upstairs. Be warned there are a lot of touts, and PR people, but we just tend to say No Thanks and they are ok with you.

The other centre is the Europa Centre, up the top, which is about 200 meters from the hotel. It’s like a mini version, and has a few shops, a few restaurants and a few bars.

We did mainly go to the bottom centre though where we ate almost every night. Most restaurants have virtually the same menu, so basically you just pick the one you like the look of best. Then we went onto a bar called Sinatra’s. It’s a tiny little place tucked away in a corner, but the people are very friendly and the beer is the cheapest in the area, at 1 Euro a pint, and it doesn’t half get you hammered.

As for the rest of the hotel, it’s quite a large complex, with all of the rooms looking the same way. There are two pools both of a reasonable size, and one baby pool. There were also plenty of sun beds, even though they could have done with being updated. As it was December the pools were quite warm, so we swam in them virtually every day.

There is also a mini market on site, which has a wide range of things available, at a reasonable price, but we tended to go to the Netto store in the Europa Centre which had more to choose from.

The Colina Mar also had Half Board guests, so there is a restaurant on site, which looked quite nice, but we didn’t eat in there so I cannot comment. We were told that the food was nice though.

As for the bar, we didn’t think that much of it. It was a bit over priced, and a bit quite for our liking. Hence the reason we were in Sinatra’s every night.

There is a nice marina in PR, where you can go on boat trips. We went for 8 Euros each up to Puerto Mogan, which is a tiny fishing village just up the coast.

You could also go to Maspalomas, where there are miles and miles of sand dunes. And Playa Del Ingles, which is the more lively resort, where there a lot more bars, and night clubs. Like I say though, we were quite happy staying in PR and in Sinatra’s bar.

One last thing, the weather. It was glorious, sunny every day, with clear skies, and 32 degree temperatures. And this was the middle of December. Pure Bliss. It wasn’t half a shock getting off the plane at Birmingham and it was 3 degrees and snowing.

Over all, we really enjoyed our relaxing pre Christmas break, and have just returned from another week there, where we bumped into lots of people who we met two years ago.

Summary: A great winter break, with great weather and great views