Elba Lanzarote Royal Village Resort

Ok I’ll start from the beginning. We went with easy jet. We were at the airport at 0400 and arrived at the hotel for 13:00. We were told our room would not be ready until 16:00. No mini bar access despite being included in brochure. Plastic glasses cracked and in poor condition, not 4* quality. Some staff really warm and polite some not. 12 months ago the hotel was amazing standards have completely fallen. Yeah there are staff shortages but you pay good money for good expected service. Rooms are cleaned to a good standard daily. No complaints about the food. We won’t be back you get much better value for your money elsewhere. Reception staff not very helpful or warm. Really sad standards were 4* last year.

Hotel Elba location close to town along a very good, purpose built walkway (with cycle route); pretty cactus’ planted up in freshly made beds - route very accessible for all (not steep and very flat). This Hotel could be amazing, sadly lack of staff having a huge impact here. Food can only be described as ‘you’ll find something’ - of course they’re catering for many preferences so ….. Lack of cleanliness is a huge issue here. If you do actually locate a cup, glass or plate, often these are not well washed - lipstick, lip-salve or stains evident often. Room was not cleaned thoroughly; ‘fruit flies’ a huge problem in my and my friends rooms; kettle broken; basics not provided until asked multiple times (eg soap or bottled water in ‘comfort level’ room). Apparently two levels of ‘all inclusive’. Premium have their own pool and ‘adults only’ restaurants (with gated access) - general all-inclusive is good as drinks are premium brands and during our stay, lunch was much better than dinner. BUT, wrist bands are not checked or policed and of course there are the few that play the system and obtain free food and drinks with no shame … this is sad to see as there are some honest people out there trying to pay for drinks … the new management (which apparently changed a few months ago) are flushing money away here …. Plenty of pool areas and sun loungers and the abundance of children appeared to be having a fabulous time. Entertainment during evening was poor - though the children running around seemed to be having a ball! Sadly those on stays under 7 nights are not permitted speciality dining at either the steak or Italian restaurants without a charge (one visit per 7 days at one of the two areas … ) - even those on all-inclusive package … Tui service from uk airport to hotel was fantastic. Exception being ‘more mature’ tui rep visiting hotel who condemned those writing reviews as ‘keyboard warriors’ - saying ‘those people never actually complain to reps, just write bad reviews; don’t believe what you read ‘ - well, I do write reviews and I do bring to the attention of staff areas of concern (flies in room and no soap not great ..). In defence of ‘more sympathetic tui rep’, Guest Relations were notified; Nadia did try and resolve issues (and provided a spa voucher) but flies continued and kettle remained broken … All things considered, great location, spa lovely, pools and loungers plentiful, food adequate. Very quiet, spacious rooms. Would I return to this hotel? No, not until management have resolved many glitches and certainly wouldn’t pay all inclusive when not managed fairly.

We stayed as a family of four for five nights in November. The best word to describe this hotel would be average. Room - the room was basic and clean, exactly what we expected and was cleaned daily however the bathroom had mould on the walls. Pool - the pools were slightly on the cold side but the children really enjoyed both the children’s pool and other one next to it. The poolside areas are a little worn, sun loungers need to good clear, floors are dirty and surprisingly there is no cleaning throughout the day (cups, rubbish tidied up). Pool bar - good choice of drinks and snacks. Can be a little queue due to only one member of staff working the bar the majority of the time. Food - This is the biggest let down of this hotel. There is a large amount of food but very little variety, not sure more variety would actually help however as the food is hardly edible. Pasta is solid, appears to have been reheated and put under the heat lamps several times. Food is covered in oil, other food is just bland. We were half board for our stay but opted to eat out each evening due to the standard of food. Hygiene concerns as the plates, cutlery and glasses are not very clean. This is also the first hotel I’ve experienced a shortage of cups & glasses and tiny paper cups used as a replacement. We would not return to this hotel.

Lovely and clean throughout. Suites with individual terraces are lovely. Air con great and quiet. Wifi very good. Domestic and reception staff very helpful, and a great shuttle to the beach. More staff needed for bar and meal service as the turn arounds between tables was slow and cutlery/ drinks sometimes lacking. There were far more children of school age there (in term time) than we'd anticipated - would be nice if they could exclude them from some of the pool and bar area to cater for all.

Very poor quality food, frozen vegetables, cold and lots of items not replenished. Very under staffed although all are friendly, when they get time to talk to you. Hotel over rated, has loads of potential to be good if the address the problems.