My friend and I planned each day of our trip to Gran Canaria, and was quite excited to come to this distillery. We checked the website and saw that we didn't have to book an appointment but just walk in from 9:00-14:00 from Monday to Friday. We didn't see any other signs that warranted extra attention. We just read from a few tourists that this is something to do if you want to see a rum distillery.
We took the bus and allocated a day's of time to this area, only to find that they were closed - unannounced! We walked to the main gate upstairs and saw that it was chained without any signs at all. So we then spent an extra 15 minutes to walk around to the cargo/factory entrance to see what's going on. There, we saw a hand written sign simply saying they were closed for a few days and will reopen later in the week (we went on a Monday). There was no letter of apology/inconvenience, no advanced notification on their website to warn of this, or no explanation given why.
We could understand if there was a family emergency or something that warranted a closing and could be sympathetic of this if given a reason. But it didn't seem it was closed, because as soon as we walked away, we saw that the gates opened to a guy to get in, so the factory was still open for workers. I feel that a big part of this distillery and also the same goes for this island is that it's biggest industry is to cater to tourists: so as tourists we come from far away to visit, they should be a bit more understanding of our need to plan and not to waste our time.
I would not care to make a trip out here when I visit Gran Canaria again, because who knows if this will happen again. Go at your own risk of wasting your time: better yet, there are so many more things to do on this/surrounding island that can easily take half or more of your day. read more