Hotels in Gran Canaria seem to be suffering from a naming crisis. Instead of solid, confident names like Claridge's or The Ritz, we get full sentences like the Santa Catalina, a Royal Hideaway Hotel 5*GL or the Hotel Puerto de Mogán THe Senses Collection.
It's like the marketing teams have so much to say that they forget about the power of a brand and try and crowbar the entire brochure, plus the hotels' corporate mission statement, into the name.
The Design Plus Bex Hotel, located in the towering building that was originally Spain's Banco Exterior (BEX) in Las Palmas, has quite a modest name in comparison to some (and no punctuation 2.0 abominations). I'm just going to call it The Bex; jaunty and catchy at the same time and no need to breathe half way through.
Another thing that is modest about the Bex is the price of its daily lunch menu. At under 13 euros you get a drink, two courses and coffee, or drink and one course for under nine euros. What isn't modest, and comes for free, is the rooftop location high above Santa Catalina Square with 360º view of Las Palmas city.
The food, which changes regularly, is excellent quality and well presented and the atmosphere at lunchtime is relaxed and friendly. No need for mismatched Gucci loafers and a pink chihuahua here although you might feel out of place in Havaianas and a vest.
We started with crafty lunchtime cañas because it was a sunny day (yes, you get them quite a lot in the north). Then the watercress soup and gazpacho to start. Both solid if not souper. For mains an excellent cod dish with caramelised potatoes and asparagus, and a decent chicken couscous (which is as good as couscous gets). We skipped the cake dessert (another five euros).
The views and the excellent value make the lunch menu at the Bex an excellent option for anyone visiting Las Palmas for work or play. Phone in advance to check availability or turn up early.
The single most common question we get in the Gran Canaria Info group is...
What is the weather going to be like during my holiday?
The answer is almost always the same: If you are going to south Gran Canaria's resorts, it is very likely to be sunny every day. Yes, even in the winter. Yes, even though your weather app says it is going to be cloudy. Yes, even in January. And in February, etc.
Obviously it does sometimes rain in Gran Canaria, even in the sun-baked south, and there are occassional cloudy days.
To check for these rare rain and clouds there is no point using generic weather apps because they use data that averages out the weather and temperature across Gran Canaria.
This means that the forecast for Puerto Rico and other resorts includes weather and temperatrure predictions for inland and highland areas that are cooler and cloudier.
So, instead of believing your current weather app use the Spanish weather service website called the AEMET. It's website has detailed and very accurate forecasts for individual resorts, town and even beaches.
Here's the forecast for the Mogán area including Puerto Rico.
The mobile website works very well in English although the app is only in Spanish at the moment.
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