Livvo Veril Playa

We ordered a room with sea view but got a room towards a road. It was actually possible to see a little bit of the ocean from the balcony (that had sun for about 2 hours each day). We where told that the room was just refurbished, and that was probably true a few years back 😏 It's about 20 minutes walk to the centre of Playa Del Inglés. The staff was friendly and the food was ok.

Not one to write reviews but hear me out, (note - don’t make my mistake of not reading reviews prior) First time solo travelling, young woman, not a night lifer, big explorer. Needed the peaceful experience yet within distance to hikes/activities - hotel definitely had this, no faults at all. Also, the reception and bar staff couldn’t have been more helpful and welcoming with my questions and queries. Always happy and giving help and advice without prompt or hesitation! (One point however I’ll get to, however I’d assume this was management and no fault of their own so I’ll expand, nothing against the staff themselves) As for the negatives: - Room took me back to 1960’s beach films, renovated when? Walls and tiles were pealing, no air conditioning (thoughts a dusty fan and a window that WOULDN'T close all week would do the heat justice is beyond me). Tea and coffee facilities advertised but greeted with a clunky coffee filtration contraption and nothing more, absolute eyesore, went straight in the cupboard. Was convinced the microwave was gonna set off the smoke alarm one night as it smelt of burning (no, I didn’t burn my porridge). Beds were like sleeping on slabs, so opted for the sofa bed the first night as it was mildly more comfortable, however the moisty musk smell it emitted was enough to have me re-shower and settle for the slab, pardon me, I mean “bed” all week. - Speaking of dust, the cleanliness is non existent. Upon arrival (after being advised the room would be ready for me in 1 hour), 5 hours went by (went on a hike to kill time, couldn’t wait in the 60’s themed lounge, my great grans nursing home has more style) so left with plenty of time to work their magic, and was greeted with a room I genuinely thought was a prank. Dust on skirting boards, toilet not brushed or cleaned, dirty washing in the cupboards (from previous guests) and open bottle of curdled milk in the fridge. Then took my shoes off and felt like I was walking on sand - floor hasn’t even been vacuumed. Thought it’d be a one off, but as the days went by, same thing every day - bins changed, bed made, onto the next room. As someone who suffers from OCD on a contamination and recurrent order level, I’d be lying if I didn’t say I spent a chunk of my morning cleaning to a suitable standard, out of habit yes but more so as I couldn’t fathom the idea of prompting room service to clean to an actual acceptable standard multiple times, to be let down when they’re clearly not cleaners. Fully aware and accepting nothing will be quite head happy for me, but I never thought I’d be investing in cleaning products and on my knees scrubbing dirty skirting boards and mould from shower walls at 5am on a holiday! - Catering for dietary needs is poor - over the week I was there, the food options were wide for the standard person. Plenty of salads/meat/veg/dishes rotating each day, with the odd few standards of chips/nuggets/pasta for kids. Breakfast served basically the same standard cold/warm selection, alternating fruit each day. Where my issue lies is unfortunately I’m coeliac, as well as lactose intolerant. Granted yes, I'm fully aware this is hard to cater for as standard, but the options for food had NO clear labelling of allergens, just what the food was. Asking the chef, he’d have no idea. Asked for alternatives on the first day eg, soya milk, anything gluten free, and was charged for it by bar staff… so my meals consisted of a solid fruit and Americano for breakfast, salad bar for dinner. Could’ve gone to Spar for less than paying half board. Thankfully, other than breakfast, dinner and attempted sleep, I spent every waking minute outside of the hotel and its premises, and as a solo, I was not going to waste my time and efforts asking for more than the hotel was evidentally willing to give in its set standards. Take the staff out (minus the cleaners, definitely don’t have a cleaning bone in their body, and the chef who has no awareness of allergy awareness) and put them in a more modern, well managed hotel, then absolutely fully recommend. But the hotel as a whole itself, and the evident poor management of standards, facilities and food allergy awareness, is unacceptable. Food allergy laws must be different in that specific part of the island, I mean, the hotel is a time warp back to the 1960’s so it’d make sense. Definitely would go to this part of Gran Canaria again, but definitely not this hotel in its current state.