Celebrating Two Big Birthdays in Gran Canaria
- Ben Jones
- Dec 28, 2025
- 5 min read
✈️ Trip at a Glance
Route: Manchester ↔ Las Palmas, Gran Canaria Pre-Flight Hotel: Holiday Inn Manchester Airport ⭐⭐⭐ — £54 (Book here) Hotel: Hotel Cordial Mogan Playa, Puerto de Mogán — Half Board Total Cost: £862.21
Some trips are just about ticking boxes — a new city, a new stamp in the passport, something to tick off the list. And then there are the trips that actually mean something.
This was very much the latter.
A week in Gran Canaria with Mum and Dad to celebrate not one, but two milestone birthdays — my 30th and Mum's 60th. Two big ones in the same week, and we figured if you're going to do it, you might as well do it properly. Sunshine, Spanish food, a few cold drinks and spending some quality family time together. That's the brief. And Puerto de Mogán delivered on every single count.
At £862.21 all in — flights, half board accommodation, and a night at the Holiday Inn before departure — it's a little on the expensive side, but it's not outrageous for the time of year and just before Christmas. If you're chasing value without compromising on the experience, the Canary Islands should absolutely be on your radar.
✈️ The Night Before: Holiday Inn Manchester Airport
Early flight? Sort yourself out the night before and save yourself the 4am alarm. I stayed at the Holiday Inn Manchester Airport for £54, which was exactly what it needed to be — comfortable, clean, easy. Roll out of bed, walk to the airport, and you're through departures before most people have had their first coffee.
There's nothing glamorous about an airport hotel stay, but there's also nothing worse than starting a holiday already running on three hours' sleep and pure adrenaline. Worth every penny.
🏨 Where We Stayed
Hotel Cordial Mogan Playa, Puerto de Mogán
Puerto de Mogán is one of those places that genuinely earns its "Little Venice of the Canaries" nickname without feeling like it's trying too hard. The harbour is gorgeous, the streets are lined with flowers, and the whole place moves at a pace that makes you decompress almost instantly.
The Hotel Cordial Mogan Playa sits right at the heart of it. The hotel is sprawling in the best way — white buildings draped in bougainvillea, winding paths between pools, and a beachfront location that you genuinely never take for granted. Half board meant breakfast and dinner were taken care of, which removed all the guesswork from the day and left you free to just be on holiday.
The restaurant for dinner was one of the highlights of the whole trip. More on that below — because some evenings in that dining room were genuinely unforgettable.
🎉 The Disco Ball Guys
Right. I need to talk about the entertainment.
One evening during dinner, the hotel laid on performers in the restaurant — and these weren't your standard holiday resort entertainers doing cover songs on a keyboard.
Two performers dressed head to toe in mirrored mosaic suits, each topped with an enormous glittering disco ball for a head, descended on the dining room and proceeded to absolutely own the place.
I got a photo with them and I'm not going to pretend I wasn't fully living for it. The suits, the white gloves, the poses — the whole thing was completely ridiculous and completely brilliant. Mum and Dad thought it was hilarious. The other diners did too. It's one of those unexpected moments that becomes the story you're still telling weeks later.
If you stay at Hotel Cordial Mogan Playa and the disco ball lads appear — drop whatever you're eating, get up, and get your photo taken. You won't regret it.
🌊 Puerto de Mogán — The Town Itself
Mogán is one of the most charming spots I've been to in the Canary Islands - and I haven't been to many. It's small enough to walk everywhere, photogenic enough that you're constantly reaching for your phone, and relaxed enough that the hours just disappear without you noticing.
The harbour area is especially beautiful — fishing boats bobbing in the water, little restaurants and bars lining the marina, and the kind of golden evening light that makes everything look like a postcard. There's a weekly market on a Friday morning that's worth a wander if you're there at the right time.
Most of our time was split between the hotel and the town, which is honestly the correct way to approach a holiday like this. You're not here to rush. You're here to sit, eat, drink, and actually enjoy the company you're with.
🍽️ Food & Drink
Half board covered breakfast and dinner at the hotel, and both were solid. Breakfast was a wide European buffet spread — ideal when you've got a varied group and everyone wants something slightly different, whether that's an english breakfast, croissants, fruit, cereal etc. There are two spots for Breakfast, and this all depends on which suite you have as part of your stay at the hotel. If you're in the standard rooms then you dine at the main hotel restaurant, if you have any of the rooms on the right side of the complex, then you are allowed to dine at the smaller, more intimate restarant. In the evenings, it's a smart casual dress atire and here you have a buffet style but serving everything you could imagine from Sushi, Seafood, Meats, Fish and the most incredible desserts you'll ever eat. The best thing? it's all freshly made during the day by the chefs.
🎂My 30th Birthday
Thirty is a funny one. You spend the lead-up to it either dreading it or fully embracing it, and I was firmly in the embracing camp. Being in Gran Canaria, in the sunshine, with family, eating well and genuinely switching off — if that's what thirty looks like, I'll take it. Unfortunately, I left before Mums official birthday date, but Dad requested that we had some Champagne at the dinner table in the evening - even though they did get the days mixed up but they rectified the error and definitely made up for it.
💭 Final Thoughts & Rating
Gran Canaria — and Puerto de Mogán in particular — is an absolute gem of a destination. It's not trying to be Ibiza, it's not pretending to be somewhere it's not. It's warm, beautiful, easy to navigate and genuinely good value. The Hotel Cordial Mogan Playa is a lovely base — half board, great location, excellent entertainment — and the town itself is the perfect backdrop for a few days of proper rest.
Would I go back? Without question.
Rating: 4/5 ⭐⭐⭐⭐
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