Elba Lanzarote Royal Village Resort

Here now, definitely not a four star. Pools lovely, weather and rooms lovely. However no tables ready and clean for dinner in the restaurants, they literally make them up as you request a table, 45 min queues for drinks in the evening one bar man on in the evening, never seen that at any all inclusive hotel. Late check in at 3pm. No rush in any of the staff. Abit disappointed when it is classed as four star.

For context we are family of 3 travelling with an eight year old boy. We stayed half board at the start of July. We had a ‘prestige’ package. We have stayed at several 4* Spanish resorts over the years

Rooms Our junior suite was spacious. The air conditioning was fab! Much-needed during / after a hot day. There was a fridge, dressing gowns and slippers. The fridge was restocked with drinks each day. The Nespresso coffee machine is not something I’d be bothered about but we used it everyday and coffee pods were replenished daily. A kettle was provided with teabags. The room had a good sized terrace. Whilst there were some ‘extra’ toiletries such as a flannel, shaving kit and toothbrushes we actually felt we would rather have had conditioner and body lotion rather than these. Personal preference. The room was cleaned most days and when we requested more towels they were promptly delivered.

Food and drinks The offering was similar to other places we’ve stayed at. Good variety of food. The additional restaurants were sought after following a few days of a buffet! These were of a good standard. There was a fairly long wait for drinks in the main hotel bar. Crisps, sweets and water were available throughout the day.

Service This was good. Staff worked very hard and generally had the never ending task of cleaning up the restaurant. It’s impossible to keep a restaurant spotless when you have a constant stream of customers dining at different times. Staff were polite.

Animacian team and entertainment We all agreed this was the highlight of the hotel. The team was excellent. Friendly, funny and energetic. Some were cheeky professionally trained dancers. Our son loved Pablo! There was a good variety of entertainment with a weekly evening outside. Day sessions for an eight year old included football, basketball, water polo and darts.

Pool area Plenty of places to relax on a sunbed. The pools were a great temperature. The slides were fine but one wasn’t working. The pool bar generally had a short queue and lunch / daily snacks were served here.

We’re half way through our stay and I was concerned about the service and quality of hotel based on the current reviews, but I’ve been pleasantly surprised. The reception staff have been attentive; the service from the pool bar during the day has been reasonably quick and it’s been well staffed. The buffet is average but the food is varied and well cooked, regularly restocked. A dairy allergy has been attentively and well catered for. Sunbeds around the pool have been steadily available and the kids club staff and activity staff are brilliant. The only slow service we experienced was the evening of the England match as the bar was really really busy. The room had been well maintained although we have had to ask for our water once. The shop is well stocked with snacks, sun cream and clothes but pricey as you would expect. A note to everyone though, it’s hot and reapply sunscreen more than you think you should… all in all it’s been a decent experience for the price so far.