Firstly I do know how to spell Gran Canaria but Dooyoo have spelt it wrong so apologies on their behalf.

I always have this dreaded feeling before arriving to my hotel/apartment as to what will it look like?? Will it be like terror towers? Will it be better than I expected?

My fear for this place was at the ultimate high and the reason why was because of the ratings it had received. It was near a motorway and noise was unbearable. Also it being a One/Two Star resort it made it even scarier. I have stayed in the Barbados and I have enjoyed it many times, so this was going to be an experience.

We booked two Bungalows, which both contained two rooms each, now I don't know why they call them bungalows as they have stairs leading into a bedroom and bathroom, but they should of been called mini villas.

We arrived at Parquemar, the first relief was that it was only about 5-10mins walk away from the Yumbo Centre and taxis were regularly going pass on the road. There was a Spar, which was great news for us as we could get supplies for the bungalows without travelling far.

We walked into the reception area and there was a miserable looking man with glasses looking at us. We said Hello (Hola) and well he wasn't too interested in conversation. It took him ages and then turned round and apologised to us. He said he has the booking here but it has been double booked. Also that he could provide three rooms (for four us) for the night until our bungalows were ready for us to move into. At this point I knew it that I should have just stayed at Barbados as I have never experienced such stupidity. We were promised that the following day we would be given our bungalows right next door to one another. We had to dissolve our anger and just get on with the night. The three rooms were dark looking, had limited hot water; also the bed was in the same room as the kitchen and didn't have any door to divide the room. The balcony view was good but that's about it really.

The following day, luckily, we were told that are bungalows were ready when we went downstairs to reception, this time round the receptionist was a skin head, who was subtly friendlier. We grabbed all f our stuff and made our way to the bungalows. The bungalow was not exactly as what the photos had shown but were near enough the same.

We had our own little garden with a table and chairs, all the hedges were trimmed and we were facing the swimming pool too. So I guess it all worked out well.

In the upstairs room was a decent sized bedroom with two single beds and with a balcony. The bed linen was vile, they were clean but had been washed so many times they had started to bobble and fade, the mattresses had lost their springiness and the pillows were not that great.
The cupboards were basic with a few hangers and shelves to store your items in. The safe lock was only available on request even though I can remember it in the itinerary that they were available to all.
The curtains had a patch work design, which were yellow and green all around the bungalow.
The bathroom was quite nice for a two star, with a decent shower, toilet and basin. New towels were given to us on an everyday basis except Sunday, when all the cleaners were off.
Be warned about the water... the hot water doesn't last very long, so if you like hot showers you will only be in there for 5-8mins before it goes cold.

Downstairs bedroom had a small little window, with two single beds, a smaller cupboard than upstairs and was a lot darker too as there was no proper sunlight coming in and the lights must of only been 40W. The bathroom for that bedroom is right next door to the kitchen, which was a little weird, but convenient. The bathroom was bigger downstairs.

The kitchen had two hobs, a relatively decent amount of pans and cutlery but also provided us with a microwave, kettle, coffee maker and a fridge freezer. There was a breakfast bar, but was useless as the seats were not high enough but was great to put all our dishes, pans, etc. on.
In the same room there was a double couch, which wasn't very comfortable to sit on but good place to chill out with a coffee table.

The lighting around the bungalow was not great so made it hard for us to get ready in the evenings but overall the price we paid for the place was very good (£30 per day for two people, in one bungalow).

By the way Gran Canaria does have a little problem with Cockroaches. To avoid them coming into your bungalow, then follow this easy tip. Add water to a bit of tea tree oil and mop or throw water near all entrances (windows, doors, etc.). Cockroaches and ants do not like the distinctive smell and will not go near the areas you have treated.

I would probably come back here again as it was convenient and decent for the price we paid but given a choice and the money, would definitely go back to Barbados.