The catch at Hotel Veintiuno
Four things stand between the rooftop photographs and the stay. None of them is hidden, and none of them undoes a restored house two minutes from the cathedral at this price, but each one decides something: which room to book, where to eat and how to arrive.
On our shortlists
- Best adults-only hotels in Gran Canaria16 and over, 17 rooms by the cathedral and a plunge pool facing it
- Best design hotels in Gran CanariaAn 18th-century house restored with its stone, beams and old tiles
- Best value hotels in Gran CanariaOur lowest starting price, about 50 metres from the cathedral
- Best central hotels in Gran CanariaVegueta on foot: the Casa de Colón two minutes from the door
- Best quiet hotels in Gran Canaria17 rooms for over-16s on a pedestrian street, courtyard rooms silent
The pool on the roof is a small, unheated plunge pool, and the nearest sand is a taxi ride away
The roof is the reason to book, but it is not a place for a pool day. The pool is small and unheated, made for a dip and for cooling off rather than for swimming, with loungers in sun and shade and an honesty bar beside it. It is for residents aged 16 and over, open from 9am to 11pm all year, with limited capacity and no waiter or kitchen upstairs. There is no other pool and no spa. The city's main beach, Las Canteras, is 8.5 km away by road: about 12 minutes by taxi off-peak, or city bus line 1 from the Teatro stop to Tomás Miller, on the beach.
What to do. Use the roof for a dip and a glass at the end of the day, and plan the beach as an outing: a morning at Las Canteras, or a few nights in the south at the end of the trip. Pool towels are at reception.
Three of the six double categories face inwards, and some street rooms are at street level
The split that decides a stay here is inside or outside. The Comfort Economy Interior, the Classic Interior and the Deluxe Interior open onto the courtyard or a light well: silent, but with no outlook onto the street, and the Comfort Economy Interior is on the ground floor. The Classic Exterior, the Deluxe Exterior and the Premium look onto Calle Espíritu Santo through a balcony or a window, and some exterior rooms are on the ground floor, at street level under the hotel's awning, on a pedestrian street. Only the Premium is sold on a view of the cathedral, and from the first floor that view is at an angle, over the two-storey houses opposite; the full south side of the cathedral belongs to the roof.
What to do. Book the Premium for the view. If you sleep lightly, a Deluxe Interior is larger than the Deluxe Exterior and cheaper. On the street side, ask for the first floor and have it confirmed before you arrive.
There is no restaurant and no room service: the house serves breakfast and nothing else
Breakfast is served from 8am to 10.30am, made to order from a short menu, and whether it is in your price depends on the rate you book. After that there is no restaurant, no room service and no kitchen; the roof has an honesty bar for wine, beer, spirits and water, where you help yourself and note down what you take. Reception is staffed from 9am to midnight. Every other meal is in the streets around the hotel, which is the point of staying in Vegueta, but several of the best tables there keep short weeks: Sorondongo opens from Wednesday to Saturday, Rêver from Tuesday to Saturday, and Casa Montesdeoca closes on Monday and Tuesday.
What to do. Read the rate for breakfast before you pay, and book Sorondongo before you travel. On a Sunday or Monday night, Triciclo, four minutes away, serves every day. If your flight lands late, tell the hotel your arrival time, because reception closes at midnight.
There is no car park, and the street outside is closed to traffic
Calle Espíritu Santo is a pedestrian street. A car or a taxi may come to the door to unload, and then it has to go: the hotel has no parking of its own, and the nearest public car park, at the Mercado de Vegueta, is five minutes away on foot, with Juzgados de Vegueta and Primero de Mayo a little further. Each car park sets its own rates, and they change. That matters if you planned to use the hotel as a base for the island: by car, off-peak, the dunes at Maspalomas are 44 minutes away, the Cruz de Los Llanos car park for the Roque Nublo trail 47 and Puerto de Mogán about an hour.
What to do. Arrive by taxi, about 20 minutes from the airport off-peak, or on Global line 60 to Teatro Pérez Galdós, eight minutes' walk away; the bus back leaves from Parque Santa Isabel (sur), seven minutes away. Hire a car only for the days out, and ask the hotel before you arrive which car park suits a longer stay.
Who should skip it
Anyone who wants a pool to swim in, a beach day from the door or a hotel to spend the afternoon in. Children under 16, groups and pets, none of which the hotel takes, assistance dogs apart. Drivers who want the car outside, and anyone who wants dinner or room service without leaving the building.
Who should book it anyway
Anyone who wants the old town of Las Palmas on foot and a quiet house to come back to: 17 rooms in an 18th-century house, the cathedral two minutes from the door, breakfast made to order and a roof where the whole south side of the cathedral of Santa Ana, both towers and the dome, stands about 50 metres away across the rooftops. A June night for two starts at about €85. Book the Premium, eat out in Vegueta every night and treat the beach as an outing, and everything above is the price of sleeping in the quarter where Las Palmas began.
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
- Hotel Cordial Mogán PlayaPuerto de Mogán
Dinner is a buffet in two fixed sittings, and the hot stations queue as each one opens
- 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.
- 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.
Questions people ask
Good questions about Hotel Veintiuno
What are the downsides of Hotel Veintiuno?
Four things stand between the rooftop photographs and the stay. None of them is hidden, and none of them undoes a restored house two minutes from the cathedral at this price, but each one decides something: which room to book, where to eat and how to arrive. The pool on the roof is a small, unheated plunge pool, and the nearest sand is a taxi ride away Three of the six double categories face inwards, and some street rooms are at street level There is no restaurant and no room service: the house serves breakfast and nothing else There is no car park, and the street outside is closed to traffic
Who should not book Hotel Veintiuno?
Anyone who wants a pool to swim in, a beach day from the door or a hotel to spend the afternoon in. Children under 16, groups and pets, none of which the hotel takes, assistance dogs apart. Drivers who want the car outside, and anyone who wants dinner or room service without leaving the building.
Our verdict
A restored old house two minutes from the cathedral, at a price that leaves room for dinner out every night. Check availability for the Premium.
Last checked: October 2026