I have really mixed feelings about the Sol La Palma. Stayed for 10 nights in Jan/Feb,and there is no doubt that there are many strong points. Fantastic seaside location,picturesque views, great sunsets,spacious rooms,lots of facilities,bags of atmosphere. But there's something missing. The staff seem to lack passion. there doesn't seem to be much pride in the hotel. Jobs are done efficiently enough,but no-one goes the extra mile to make your stay memorable. I think it's something to do with the fabric of the place. It's 25 years old now,and time and the Atlantic have taken their toll. To put it bluntly,the place is in need of a top to bottom refurb. Bathrooms need replacing. Rooms are a little shabby. The restaurant has seen better days. The bar is functional. Food is very 1990's. The whole place,though clearly deserving of four stars when it opened ,is now only 3 star standard. It would be difficult to say anything was really poor,but it could ,and should ,be so much better. I suspect that the German tour companies who are,by far,the big clients here are prepared to pay a certain price,but no more. and thereby is Sol Melia's problem. This place could be a stunning hotel,at least 4*,but only if they spent an arm and a leg on it. And then they'd lose a lot of their regular guests,as the prices would have to reflect it. Overall it offers good value for money,and,for anyone who is prepared to overlook a bit of wear round the edges,it's a good place to go for a seaside hotel holiday in a stunning island.

I booked this hotel because I knew it would be full of Spaniards and Germans. I speak a little German and am learning Spanish. I also wanted to see the sun setting over the sea. My wife and I had spent a previous holiday with Thomsons on the east coast and had visited all the interesting sites, so we were quite prepared for a relaxing fortnight. I had booked a flight with Thomsons and superior room in the hotel with Sol Hotels.
Our room and bathroom were both large, but the L-shaped balcony was immense, about 50 square metres, with magnificent views of the sea, the beach, the small town of Puerto Naos and the steep surrounding hills. The balcony also had a pair of loungers and a parasol, and it was like having your own penthouse. We spent a great deal of time on our balcony. It had 15 large plant holders, but there wasn't a geraniium in sight, unlike the balconies above and below us.
The quality and variety of the food were both good, the house red wine was very drinkable, and the Spanish gin and tonic - always with plenty of ice - was very acceptable.
The staff were all very friendly and helpful and I was able to speak to them in fairly basic Spanish. It was "no problema". Both pools were quite pleasant for swimming, and the water in one of them was warm. Wonderful ! There was a very mediocre trio of an instrumentalist and two singer who performed four times a week, but we also had Spain's own "Elvis", who looked, sang and moved very well, and a "Boogie Disco" with two coloured American singers who were great. All the entertainment finished at 11.30 p.m. Puerto Naos has its own little charm and we walked around it each day. An added attraction was watching the paragliders coming down and landing on the adjacent beach. We also joined the locals for Saturday evening mass in the town at 8.30 p.m. Altogether it ws a most enjoyable holiday with some magnificent sunsets. Good.

This is a very large hotel, and during our stay there were only two other English people in the hotel. On the positive side, the rooms are comfortable, with good beds and pillows. We were given a quiet room which I'd requested and we had a good view of the beach, town and sea. There are two major pool areas with plenty of loungers, and a few other areas in the gardens for sun bathing.
The hotel has adopted an all inclusive policy, and consequently there was no a la carte restaurant available. We booked on a bed and breakfast option, which we did through Expedia and got a very good deal. Two nights we ate in the hotel and didn't find the buffet very exciting.There are plenty of restaurants in the town, but all served a similar menu.
The only entertainment on offer was a keyboard player, although there was a very large "theatre" space with stage, but no shows.The bar opening times were very hit and miss.
We were comfortable in the hotel, but doubt that we would return

A big hotel, more or less the standard tourist establishment. Hotel staff is very helpfull (breakfast normally startsat 07.00 pm, but on the day we had to leave early a 06.00 breakfast was no problem at all). The towel service for use at the pool was OK, food was good (although not too warm), room was OK. Parking- space a bit limited. Drinks not expensive.