Capri Bungalows Hotel

Rating:

Review Date:Mar 10, 2011

You get what you pay for!

We’re both in our early sixties. We stayed at the Capri apartments (occupying Room A54) from 26/02/11 to 05/03/11. We arrived at around 9.20 p.m. on the Saturday evening to be met (‘greeted’ would be too generous a description) by an elderly gentleman who we assumed was the caretaker. He did little more than check us in and give us vague directions to our accommodation, his grasp of English being only slight. He wasn’t particularly welcoming, but neither was he particularly unfriendly. In fairness to him I think I myself might have felt a little grumpy about having to stay at my post on a Saturday night in order to sign in a couple of tourists who hadn’t even bothered to learn enough of their host country’s language to string together more than three or four words. To be honest, our first impressions weren’t sparkling. The site had obviously been constructed in another era of tourism, in the late 1960s or very early 1970s, and it didn’t appear to have been upgraded in any major respect since then. However the grounds were well maintained and the pool area was bright and cheerful. There was an onsite bar, a restaurant and a well-stocked mini supermarket, all of which were pleasant enough. As regards our accommodation, despite the décor relating to another age and the small (by today’s standards) bathroom and bedroom, the kitchenette was fully equipped with cooker, fridge, utensils and dining table and the bathroom had a shower/tub and towels that were changed every other day when the room maid came in. The bedroom had twin beds with bedside units, a dressing table with drawers and plenty of wardrobe space. There was also a small safe, which was accessible on payment of a fee. The lounge had chairs, a coffee table, a sofa and a television (satellite channels were ‘pay as you view’) – and it opened to a south-facing veranda with a plastic table and chairs. There was also a substantial external clothes drying area adjoining the kitchenette. There’s no denying that our apartment could have done with some renovation and a lick of paint here and there and that general maintenance could have been better (the creaking cupboard hinges and the tap head in the bathroom that repeated fell off in use must surely have been reported by previous occupants, if not noticed by the cleaning staff). The room cleaning could have been a little more fastidiously carried out too. Walking barefoot on the floor left our soles dirty and the table tops and other surfaces were a little sticky here and there (presumably where the sun-creamed arms of previous tenants had been leaning). All this having been said though, we were paying nothing like top dollar to stay in this place because this was to be by no means our main holiday for the year. We had come in search of some ‘cheap and cheerful’ sunshine (which we found in abundance) and, for our purposes on this trip, we found the Capri complex to be just about adequate. It was quiet at night whilst we were there, the staff were friendly enough and the receptionist helpful. For all the frills it lacks, the Capri never pretends to be anything more than a ‘1 Key’-rated establishment. In short, you get what you pay for. If you want it, there’s a free bus laid on to take you down to the beach and the Faro centre (with its huge variety of shops, restaurants and bars) – but it’s a delightful walk of no more than a couple of miles anyway. It’s no further to stroll up the hill (or along the beach, if you’re not shy of nudists) into the much more boisterous La Playa des Ingles. The compact but very attractive botanical gardens of Maspalomas (entry free) are only 15 or 20 minutes away from the Capri on foot and the café/bar with terrific views over the surrounding terrain is only a short climb up the hill from there. I’ve read many reviews of the Capri bungalows/apartments on various websites. Most of the negative reviews seem to me to have been posted by people who really shouldn’t have selected Maspalomas (indeed, in some cases, the island of Gran Canaria) as a holiday destination in the first place. Some have complained that there’s ‘nothing to do’. Not true. Amongst all the other attractions, there are sand dunes, the aforementioned botanical gardens, a wonderful protected area of natural diversity and beauty and – an inexpensive bus trip away – the most beautiful port of La Playa de Mogan. In addition there’s a large Wednesday market, an amazing Sunday market at the Faro 2 centre (something like a cross between a car boot and a bric-a-brac) and of course you could, should you wish, choose from a wide choice of excursions to other parts of the island. If however your preference is for bars, discos and lots of nightlife, then you’d probably be better off staying in La Playa des Ingles, rather than Maspalomas. On some review sites there’s been talk of ‘cockroaches’ invading the place. All I can say is that we certainly didn’t see any! I suspect that few of the reviewers who have referred to this have ever seen a cockroach in their lives and I’m certain that most of them wouldn’t know the difference between a cockroach and one of the harmless beetles that are indigenous to these northern African latitudes. If, despite the few negatives, you’re planning to stay at the Capri, here are a couple of tips: To avoid having to hire them, it might be a good idea to take with you a travel kettle, iron and hairdryer (plus adapters, of course). If you’re of limited mobility (and thankfully we’re not) you might find the stairs that lead to the bedroom and bathroom a little steep and their bottom end, where the stairs wind round, slightly hazardous owing to the absence of a rail at this point. A bungalow, rather than an apartment, might be more suitable for you. We enjoyed our first visit to Maspalomas and we found the Capri complex to be more or less what we’d thought it would be before we set off from home. It certainly isn’t luxurious – but it isn’t the pits that some reviewers would have you believe. If you’re looking for a bit of sunshine, you’re prepared to cater for yourselves and you don’t want to pay megabucks for your holiday, there’s nothing so badly wrong with the Capri complex – so long as you understand you’re on a budget holiday.