I found my new favourite Spanish island but one grimy resort lets it down

From the Balearics to the Canaries, Spain boasts a wealth of outstanding holiday destinations. While many Britons will head off to Greece, Turkey, and other Mediterranean hotspots this summer, it's hard to beat Spanish destinations when it comes to culture, cuisine, and wonderfully warm hospitality.

This year, we opted to take our big family holiday on Gran Canaria, and it was the first time I'd been to this island. As a devoted fan of Lanzarote and its dramatic volcanic scenery, and having enjoyed the more tranquil pace of Fuerteventura, I was thrilled at the prospect of taking the children to a new destination.

Gran Canaria is the second most visited of the Canary Islands, behind only Tenerife, making it a firm favourite amongst Brits, though visitor numbers from the UK are dwarfed by Germans and Scandinavians who flock to this sun-drenched spot in their thousands, particularly during winter.

Like any parent planning a trip with children, I carried out extensive research into where to stay, and we ultimately settled on a spot close to Playa del Inglés. Admittedly, a place literally named English Beach was never going to offer an authentically Spanish village experience, but with its long sandy shore, huge choice of restaurants, and vibrant atmosphere, it seemed the ideal family getaway.

Regrettably, despite staying on the fringes of the resort, it proved far from an enjoyable base. I'm no holiday snob — I'd happily spend a weekend in Benidorm and embrace it wholeheartedly — but I really did not enjoy my time in this particular corner of the island. Away from, the area was concrete and grubby, with splatters of vomit and urine baking in the heat. Benidorm feels considerably cleaner by comparison, not to mention its noticeably stricter approach to tackling anti-social behaviour.

The vast sandy beach is somewhat ruined by the sheer volume of shops and restaurants whose terraces obscure the views of the sand dunes. Stroll along here and you won't get a moment's peace. Every establishment had multiple staff attempting to lure in customers, and none of them accept rejection gracefully. Ignore them and you'll face insults; be polite and they'll treat it as an open invitation to continue their sales pitch, reports the Mirror.

The aggressive sales tactics don't stop at the promenade. Lay your towel on the beach and you'll immediately be descended upon by vendors flogging cheap goods. Within roughly 10 minutes, we were approached with offers to sell us a beach blanket, a fake Rolex, counterfeit designer sunglasses, and even a suspicious-looking mojito.

Luckily, Gran Canaria is easy to explore; there's an excellent bus network or you can hire a car and most of the roads are easy to drive. I wouldn't recommend even attempting the mountain roads, we only ventured in-land on a guided tour, meaning our very skilled coach driver took on the hairpin bends with ease. However, driving on the island's main road, the GC-1, was a pretty relaxed experience.

About a 30-minute drive from Playa del Inglés is Puerto de Mogán, which provided a sharp contrast to where we stayed. This area is sometimes called the Venice of the Canaries, as it has beautiful canals that run to the sea. Its whitewashed houses are finished with colourful accents and blooms of flowers, and it has a pretty harbour area where the restaurant staff are less likely to try and grab your elbow as you walk past.

While the beach was busy, it had a nice family-friendly atmosphere, and its cove-like setting meant it was safe for kids to swim. As you paddle out into the calm waters you can see miles of mountain scenery, and despite lots of people being around it felt oddly serene and hushed.

The island's major resorts are all in the south, while most Gran Canaria residents live in the north of the country around the capital of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria. It's worth a day trip, packing in lots of pretty colonial Spanish architecture, small museums, and lots of impressive shopping centres. Recently, Apple TV show Pluribus filmed around the city, with its landscapes standing in for Morocco and South America, and there are certainly areas where you feel you could be in a far-flung location.

Gran Canaria's approach to tourism planning is actually quite logical. By concentrating the tourist hotspots within one area of the island, residents can go about their daily lives largely undisturbed by selfie-seekers and souvenir sellers. Visitors wishing to experience a more genuine side of the island can simply jump on a bus, or take advantage of the island's very reasonably priced car hire to venture further afield.

Whether you fancy relaxing on a sunbed, immersing yourself in Canarian culture, or like us, savouring a mixture of both, Gran Canaria has achieved an impressive balance between catering to British holidaymakers and preserving its distinctive character. It's certainly become a new favourite and I'm already searching for holidays for 2027, though there's one particular resort we'll be steering clear of in future.

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