The catch at Hotel Cordial Mogán Playa
Five things stand between the garden photographs and the week. None of them is hidden, and none outweighs what the hotel does for families, but each one changes how you plan it: dinner, the walk to the sea, the room, the age of your children and the distance from everything else.
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Dinner is a buffet in two fixed sittings, with a dress code
Cordial Mogán Playa has 487 rooms, and dinner is the buffet in Tamarona, served in two fixed sittings: 18:15 and 20:15 in winter, 18:30 and 20:30 in summer, each lasting an hour and a half. You choose a sitting and keep the same table for the stay, and the hot stations queue as each sitting opens. The dress code applies at the buffet too: closed shoes, long trousers or a long skirt, and no sleeveless shirts. The alternative inside the grounds, Los Guayres, serves tasting menus from €130 a head, opens Tuesday to Saturday only and closes from 7 to 13 December 2026.
What to do. Ask for the early sitting at check-in if your children are young, and go down a quarter of an hour after it opens, when the first rush has passed. Pack long trousers. If you want your evenings free, bed and breakfast leaves you the port, nine minutes from the garden gate, instead of half board.
The sea is through the gardens and out of a gate, not at the door
The hotel stands on the valley floor behind Puerto de Mogán, not on the sand. The way to the sea is a gate at the bottom of the gardens: from reception it is about 400 m of garden paths, roughly five minutes, and from the gate Playa de Mogán is four minutes on foot and the marina nine. The beach is a small town beach, 209 m long and 55 m deep, with calm water and a Red Cross post, and it fills up. The sunbeds, parasols and towels that come with the room are at the hotel's two pools; on the sand, sunbeds and umbrellas are for hire.
What to do. Go down through the garden gate for the beach and the port. With children, a Family Room in Estrelitzia or Guaydil, on the way to the family pool, shortens the walk; the Junior Suites in Jazmín sit beside the gate itself.
The rooms are dated, the beds are twins, and the safe costs extra
The hotel opened in December 2004 and publishes no renovation since. The rooms are clean and roomy, but their decor and furniture show their age. Every Double, Pool View, Superior and Honeymoon Room, and every Junior Suite, has two 100 cm beds rather than a double; the Family Room adds a 135 cm bed in its second room, and the Senior Suite has twin beds in both bedrooms. The safe and the telephone carry an extra charge, the minibar is an optional paid service, and room service, from 07:30 to 21:45, is charged too.
What to do. If you want the two beds together, ask when you book and again at check-in, and ask the price of the safe on arrival. If the room is where you will spend your afternoons, the Superior Room's private 15 m² terrace with sunbeds is the upgrade that changes the stay, for €43 a night more than a Double Room in June.
The club starts at four, and the spa is for adults only
La Alpispa, the mini club, takes children from 4 to 12. The hotel publishes no hours for it, and no baby club, babysitting or evening childcare. Under-fours stay with you, with the children's pool, heated in winter, and the playground beside the family pool as their part of the resort. Nothing is published for teenagers beyond the animation team's day and evening programme, with bowling and trampolines in its timetable, and an arcade and a tennis court that charge extra. The Inagua spa admits over-18s only, opens from 10:00 to 18:00 and charges guests €25 for a circuit of up to two hours.
What to do. With a child under four, plan the days around the family pool and its children's pool, and take turns at the spa. On a stay of five nights or more, the Superior Room includes one spa circuit per adult.
It is a long way west, and no room is sold with a sea view
Puerto de Mogán is at the western end of Gran Canaria's south coast. By car, off-peak, the airport is 43 minutes away, the Maspalomas dunes 26, Vegueta in Las Palmas 59 and the Cruz de Los Llanos car park for the Roque Nublo trail 81; the line 91 bus to the airport takes about an hour. The hotel sits on the valley floor behind the village, and none of its seven room categories is sold with a sea view: the views on offer are the gardens, the courtyards and the pools, with the Pool View rooms on the upper floors.
What to do. Hire a car for the days you want to see the island; the underground car park is free to guests. For something to look at from the room, book a Pool View room, or a Superior Room, whose terraces are mostly on the top floors of the stepped blocks.
Who should skip it
Couples who want adults-only calm or a double bed, anyone who wants dinner at any hour without a dress code, parents of a baby or toddler who were counting on a club, and anyone who wants the sea from the room or a base for touring the north of the island.
Who should book it anyway
Families with children of 4 to 12 on a winter-sun or half-term week. The Family Room gives them two rooms and two bathrooms for €339 a night with breakfast in June, the family pool and the children's pool are heated in winter with the playground beside them, the mini club and the animation team fill the day, the beach is four minutes beyond the garden gate and the port's restaurants nine. For the night off, Los Guayres holds a MICHELIN star inside the grounds.
The catch elsewhere in Gran Canaria
- Seaside Grand Hotel ResidenciaMaspalomas
No room faces the sea: the villas look onto the gardens or the pool, and the entry Twin Room, about 33 m², sits by the entrance with a garden view.
- Santa Catalina, a Royal Hideaway HotelLas Palmas, Ciudad Jardín
Entry Deluxe rooms are 23 m² with no balcony, and some face the hotel's galleries rather than the garden
- Hotel Faro, a Lopesan Collection HotelMaspalomas
The rooftop pools and the Bali beds are paid extras, so check what your rate includes; the main pool is free to guests.
- Seaside Palm BeachMaspalomas
The entry Twin Room's balcony has a limited or street view; the garden, pool or sea starts with the Superior Room, €287 against €246 on the same June night
- Lopesan Villa del Conde Resort & ThalassoMeloneras
561 rooms in ten buildings: loungers by the main pools go early, often held for hours with towels
- Salobre Hotel Resort & SerenitySalobre, Maspalomas
Inland on a hillside: no beach, no practical bus and little within walking distance, so the coast means the hotel shuttle, a 15-minute drive or taxis
- Bull Reina Isabel & SpaLas Palmas, Las Canteras
The entry Double is not sold with a sea view; the Double Sea View Room costs about €180 against €145 for the plain Double on the same June night, breakfast included.
- Hotel VeintiunoLas Palmas, Vegueta
The rooftop pool is small and unheated, for cooling off rather than swimming
- Parador de Cruz de TejedaCruz de Tejeda
The pool belongs to the spa: €35 a person for a 90-minute circuit, booked ahead, and children from six only in the first two hours.
Car hire in Gran Canaria
Playa de Mogán is four minutes from the garden gate and line 91 reaches the airport in about an hour, but the north and the mountains are far, so hire for the days out; the underground car park is free to guests.
Read the car hire guideOpens Expedia’s car search at that airport for your trip dates, or for a week starting a fortnight from today. You book and pay with Expedia.
Questions people ask
Good questions about Hotel Cordial Mogán Playa
What are the downsides of Hotel Cordial Mogán Playa?
Five things stand between the garden photographs and the week. None of them is hidden, and none outweighs what the hotel does for families, but each one changes how you plan it: dinner, the walk to the sea, the room, the age of your children and the distance from everything else. Dinner is a buffet in two fixed sittings, with a dress code The sea is through the gardens and out of a gate, not at the door The rooms are dated, the beds are twins, and the safe costs extra The club starts at four, and the spa is for adults only It is a long way west, and no room is sold with a sea view
Who should not book Hotel Cordial Mogán Playa?
Couples who want adults-only calm or a double bed, anyone who wants dinner at any hour without a dress code, parents of a baby or toddler who were counting on a club, and anyone who wants the sea from the room or a base for touring the north of the island.
Our verdict
A family week of pools, kids' club and village evenings at a four-star price, with a starred table for the night off. Check availability for a Family Room.
Last checked: October 2026