I have had many a holiday, but I can honestly say that this was one of the best trips of my life. I was the happiest and most at peace than I have been in a long time; enjoying the sun, beautiful food and the amazing company of 5 amazing women. I absolutely love them all and I was so lucky to spend this time with them. Gran Canaria is part of the Canary Islands and is not one I had visited before. I’ve been to Lanzarote, but I now much prefer Gran Canaria and feel it has a lot more to offer as a holiday destination whatever your tastes.

UnpaidAD – I was a guest of Visit Gran Canaria and Jet2Sunday 25th April 2022

We began the trip by meeting at breakfast in our Stansted Airport hotel. Flying with Jet2holidays from London Stansted to Las Palmas, Gran Canaria, the whole check-in and boarding process was so fast and efficient. I was worried after the earlier airport travel crisis, but there was no sign on that when we travelled. Everything went so smoothly and I read, chatted and slept on the 4-hour Jet2holidays flight to Gran Canaria.Our hotel was a spectacular sight even in the distance, and as we approached we knew it was really something special. The 5-star Lopesan Baobab Resort in Meloneras in literally heaven on earth. The Lopesan Baobab Resort is part of Jet2holidays luxe collection, and it’s very tastefully themed around Africa and it’s nature. Lush green plants and water features made you feel like you were in the African rainforest and natural noises from this environment were played as you walked around. This was so peaceful to hear all the tropical birds, rainfall and insect noises. It really felt like another world, which is what you want from a luxury holiday resort I think. I’ve been craving that escapism ever since I returned home.We got to the hotel just in time to get changed for dinner and meet back downstairs. This first dinner was probably my favourite dining experience of the trip. The weather was incredible. Sitting in the sun, by a gorgeous infinity pool and eating fresh sushi, was a marked contrast to eating breakfast in the rain at Stansted Airport that morning. We travelled to a different resort from ours for dinner. The El Pechel Beach Club in Cordial Santa Agueda in Arguineguín, specialises in their fresh sushi and cocktails and it was absolutely incredible. I have never tasted nicer sushi! I would really recommend you venture outside of your own resort and try some others for dinner, as you’re missing out on a lot if you don’t.

When we returned to the hotel, it was straight to bed as we had a busy day ahead of us the next day.

Monday 25th April 2022

The breakfasts at the hotel were incredible, with lots of sweet treats to cater for my sweet tooth. Pancakes, churros and chocolate sauce were a real favourite of mine. If you can’t eat it every day on holiday, when can you?!Today we had a Guided island tour of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria and Tejeda. We started in Las Palmas and headed to the beautiful old town to admire all of its stunning architecture. We started in the vivid fruit market and then walked the cobbled streets of the old quarter. It was lovely to experience a bit more of a city environment, as you don’t always do this when you go on holidays to places like Gran Canaria. I know that my focus previously was always on lounging around the resort and sunbathing (in the shade with SPF!!), but this trip has really shown me how much experiencing different parts of a destination can enhance your trip.After a deliciously thick hotel chocolate in a cafe in a beautiful Las Palmas square, we headed to another very different environment on the island. Climbing high into the mountains in steep twists, we stopped off at the quaint and beautiful village of Tejeda, before reaching our nearby lunch destination at the 1,813m summit overlooking Roque Nublo.As you climb, the landscape changes from sea and sandy beaches to lush pine forests and striking lakes. Lunch was at beautiful mountain spa hotel Parador. It’s like something out of an Agatha Christie Poirot novel and is very luxurious. Meals here are a fine dining experience and utilise a lot of local ingredients and traditional Spanish and Gran Canarian cooking. My god is it high up though, and the tight twists we had to navigate up the mountain left me feeling quite nauseous. That combined with the altitude was something I haven’t experience before. I definitely needed a breather before lunch.

In the afternoon we stopped off at white-washed Fataga village on the way back down, before returning to the hotel for a rest for a couple of hours before dinner. My hotel room has a beautiful balcony overlooking one of the pool and all its surrounding palm trees, so I enjoyed just sitting and taking in the beautiful surroundings.For dinner, we again headed to another resort to experience more of the island. The 5-star Bohemia Suites in Playa del Ingles was our most decadent meal of the holiday. The 5-course tasting menu was absolutely delicious and my favourites were the lobster dish and the what was basically the most incredible deconstructed banoffee pie.Bananas are a big thing in Gran Canaria, and since the island has its own banana plantations, you’ll find it featured in a lot of dishes. The bananas here are smaller and sweeter than we get in supermarkets in the UK. The Bohemia Suites has such a quirky, playful decor style and is a bit of a mix between a private member’s club and a hotel. Their wine collection is extensive and they are experts at pairing the perfect wine with every course. Their restaurant 360º is definitely a foodie’s paradise and offers spectacular views over the Gran Canaria landscape, including the beautiful sand dunes.I’ll be sharing the rest of our trip later this week in another blog post. For more information of Gran Canaria, the Visit Gran Canaria tourist board* has an excellent resource website to really make sure you enjoy your next holiday.

You can see more of what I’m doing, and what I’m loving, over on my Instagram.