"We stayed at SENTIDO Aequora Lanzarote Suites in October, expecting a fantastic family holiday at a hotel that advertises itself as particularly suitable for families with young children. Unfortunately, the reality was very different from the promotional photographs and descriptions we had relied upon when booking.
I rarely feel compelled to write such a lengthy negative review, but there were so many disappointing aspects of our stay that I feel it’s important to share our experience, particularly to warn other families considering booking this hotel.
We were allocated a first-floor room in a three-level accommodation block. There are no lifts, meaning every time we left or returned to our room, we had to carry our son’s stroller up and down narrow stairs while also managing a young child. This was incredibly inconvenient and not always easy to navigate.
If you’re travelling with a baby or toddler who requires a pram, I would strongly recommend requesting a ground-floor room before arriving.
Our room was located close to reception, the arcade and a communal seating area. In the evenings, films were projected onto our accommodation building, accompanied by extremely loud sound. This was followed by music that continued late into the night, making settling our young son to sleep extremely difficult.
The soundproofing was also appalling. We could hear conversations from neighbouring rooms almost word for word, along with noise from corridors and outside. I have genuinely never stayed in a hotel where you could hear so much of what was happening in the rooms next door.
To be fair, our bedroom was huge and clean. However, the enormous bed was actually two single mattresses pushed together, which gradually separated during the night, leaving an uncomfortable gap down the middle. Combined with the noise, this did little to help us get a decent night’s sleep.
One of the main reasons we chose this hotel over others was because it advertised heated swimming pools. Travelling in October with a young child, this was an important factor in our decision.
Unfortunately, the pools were absolutely freezing. In our experience, they did not feel heated whatsoever.
The water was so cold that our son’s lips turned blue, forcing us to limit his time in the pool. On overcast days, the pools were practically unusable for us. Even when the sun was shining, the water was only slightly more bearable.
If the hotel maintains that the heating system was operating, I would seriously question whether it was functioning correctly, because the water certainly did not reflect what we expected from advertised heated pools.
We raised this with reception, but staff appeared unaware of just how cold the pools were and showed little interest in our concerns.
Since returning home, I’ve read other reviews raising exactly the same issue, with management responding that they would investigate. Yet we experienced the same problem. It makes you wonder what action is actually being taken.
The pools themselves were also considerably smaller than they appeared in promotional photographs. Sun loungers were packed in like sardines, positioned so close together that there was practically no personal space. Some were right up against the pool edges, meaning you could be splashed while lying on them.
There were no movable parasols around the areas we used, presumably because there was barely room for them. Instead, there were limited permanent shaded areas, meaning you were either completely in the shade or completely exposed to the sun.
If you’re considering this hotel for a winter-sun holiday because it advertises heated pools, I would seriously think again.
With the swimming pools being so cold, we relied heavily on the children’s Bubbles splash area to keep our son entertained.
Unfortunately, this facility was another huge disappointment compared with the promotional photographs.
The flooring was in an appalling condition. It was bubbling, peeling and lifting away, with water visibly trapped beneath the surface. The uneven flooring was causing children to trip. The slides were chipped, worn and tired-looking, although at least they were functional.
Despite the condition, we continued using the splash area because the main pools were too cold and there were so few other suitable activities for our son.
Then, just THREE DAYS into our holiday, the entire splash area was suddenly cordoned off with red tape and building work began.
Absolutely no prior warning!
There was drilling, dust, noise and the sight of a building site where the children’s splash park should have been.
We went to reception to ask when it would reopen, assuming the work might only take a few days. We were stunned to be told it would not be completed until DECEMBER!
That meant another advertised children’s facility was unavailable for the remainder of our holiday.
I felt particularly sorry for guests whose rooms overlooked this area, as they were left facing the noise, dust and disruption from the building works.
What frustrates me most is the complete lack of advance warning. Had we known such significant work was planned during our stay, we would NOT have booked this hotel.
If you’re travelling before the stated December completion date, please check directly with the hotel whether the splash park has reopened. If work is still ongoing, I would strongly reconsider booking, particularly with young children. At the very least, request a room away from the affected area.
The advertised arcade was another disappointment.
It was a tiny room containing a limited number of amusements, with very little suitable for toddlers.
The smaller air hockey table was broken throughout our stay. The whack-a-frog machine would take your money and light up, but no frogs appeared to be whacked. The basketball machine had coins jammed in it and couldn’t be used.
There was practically nothing else suitable for our young son.
The room itself was messy and poorly maintained, with discarded wrappers, broken plastic toys and a badly damaged wall.
We reported the broken machines to reception. To their credit, they refunded the money we had lost and told us the machines would be repaired.
However, they were NEVER repaired during our stay. The only noticeable action was sellotape being placed over some coin slots.
Yet another advertised facility we couldn’t properly use.
I am not someone who simply drops my young child off at a kids’ club and goes off to enjoy myself. I wanted to go in with my son, see what was available and assess the facilities.
After our first visit, we never returned.
I was genuinely shocked by the condition of the toys and equipment. Toys were filthy, heavily worn, broken or incomplete, with items seemingly thrown into boxes. Some of the equipment was in a dreadful state, as shown in my photographs.
The facilities were extremely basic. One room contained the worn toys, while another was largely filled with tables and chairs for arts and crafts.
What concerned me even more was the supervision during our visit.
Children were fighting with each other, while others were visibly upset, yet no adult appeared to notice or intervene. At the time, I could only see one adult responsible for children across the indoor and outdoor areas.
The children’s representative also appeared to rely heavily on their mobile phone for games, music and entertainment.
I appreciate that staffing levels may vary, but what we witnessed certainly didn’t inspire confidence.
We decided not to return.
I would strongly advise parents to inspect the kids’ club themselves before considering leaving their children there.
The mini-disco was another huge letdown.
It generally didn’t start until around 8:30pm, sometimes even later. I appreciate that this may suit some European families, but as a British family travelling with a young child, we found it far too late.
Several other families we spoke to felt exactly the same, commenting that their children were becoming overtired, upset and emotional by the time the entertainment began.
When it finally started, it was incredibly underwhelming.
Children gathered around the kids’ club play area, which was already dark at that time of night. There were a few small disco-style lights, and the representative appeared to rely on their mobile phone for the music.
The entertainment team seemed more interested in performing their rehearsed dance routines than actually interacting with the children. Engagement was limited, and certain children appeared to receive considerably more attention than others.
We’ve experienced mini-discos at other family hotels, and this was easily one of the poorest.
For a hotel that promotes its family entertainment, it felt like an afterthought.
The general evening entertainment was equally disappointing and started far too late for families with young children.
We also felt there was a very noticeable emphasis on catering towards French-speaking guests.
Of course, this is an international hotel and guests from all countries should feel welcome. However, entertainment should be inclusive and enjoyable for everyone.
As a British family, we often felt the entertainment simply wasn’t aimed at us.
Since returning home, I’ve noticed other reviews raising similar concerns. Management responses frequently mention passing feedback to the relevant departments, yet based on our experience, very little appears to have changed.
It leaves me questioning whether guest feedback results in any meaningful improvements.
We have never stayed at a hotel with so few places to sit, relax, socialise or enjoy food and drinks outside the main buffet restaurants.
For a hotel of this size, accommodating so many guests, we were genuinely shocked by the lack of pool bars, snack bars and inviting outdoor seating areas.
If you were relaxing by the pool and wanted a drink, you had to leave the pool area and walk to the theatre area, where drinks were available. There was no convenient poolside bar or nearby refreshment point, which we found particularly frustrating when travelling with a young child.
The hotel grounds themselves were also extremely disappointing. There seemed to be little more than swimming pools, rows of tightly packed sun loungers, walkways and white accommodation buildings. There was very little character, atmosphere or anything that made the resort feel particularly welcoming or enjoyable to spend time in.
We missed having pleasant outdoor spaces where we could sit together as a family, enjoy a drink, have a snack or simply relax away from the pool areas. These are the sorts of facilities and experiences we have come to expect when staying at a family holiday resort.
Instead, the whole complex felt rather basic and lacking in personality. For such a large hotel, the limited choice of places to eat, drink and socialise outside the main restaurants was surprising.
It really did feel as though the hotel had concentrated on fitting in as many rooms, pools and sun loungers as possible, without giving enough consideration to the overall guest experience.
A holiday resort should offer more than somewhere to sleep, eat at set mealtimes and sit beside a pool. Unfortunately, this hotel offered very little in the way of atmosphere or enjoyable communal spaces.
We were disappointed to discover that dining options were separated depending on whether you were travelling with children.
This was not made clear to us when booking and wasn’t what we expected from a hotel marketed as family-friendly rather than adults-only.
The food itself was fine, generally warm enough, but fairly basic and nothing particularly memorable. Breakfast became repetitive as the holiday progressed.
One positive was being able to sit outside while eating, which was lovely.
The buffet restaurant staff were generally pleasant and hardworking, and we appreciated their efforts.
However, one particular situation during breakfast left us extremely uncomfortable.
Each morning, another family allowed their toddler to use a potty directly on the floor beside their dining table in the shared restaurant.
The tables were positioned close together, meaning surrounding guests were eating their breakfast while a child was using the toilet immediately beside them. The child also had absolutely no privacy.
I completely understand the challenges of toilet training young children, but a communal restaurant is not an appropriate place for this.
We overheard several other tables expressing their discomfort, yet no member of staff appeared to intervene.
I would have expected a senior member of staff to address the situation sensitively and discreetly, perhaps by directing the family to the nearest toilets or helping them find a more appropriate private space.
This wasn’t about criticising the child or the family. It was about maintaining reasonable standards of hygiene, privacy and consideration for other guests.
Witnessing this repeatedly made breakfast an uncomfortable experience.
What makes this holiday so disappointing is that it wasn’t one isolated issue.
It was problem after problem, particularly with facilities specifically advertised for children.
The heated swimming pools were freezing. The splash park was in poor condition before being closed without warning for extensive building work. The arcade was full of broken machines. The kids’ club had filthy toys and supervision that concerned us. The children’s entertainment was basic and poorly timed.
Add to that the excessive noise, poor soundproofing, inconvenient room access with a pram, overcrowded pool areas and lack of atmosphere, and the whole experience fell considerably short of our expectations.
We spent far too much of our holiday trying to find ways to keep our young son entertained when the facilities we had specifically chosen this hotel for were either unavailable, unsuitable or disappointing.
To be fair, our room was spacious and clean, the buffet staff generally worked hard, and the food was acceptable. However, these positives were nowhere near enough to compensate for everything else.
My biggest frustration is the difference between what this hotel advertises and what we actually experienced.
We booked expecting a relaxing, enjoyable family holiday with heated swimming pools and plenty of facilities for our young son. Instead, we found ourselves repeatedly disappointed, raising concerns at reception and having to make the best of facilities that fell well below our expectations.
I have included photographs showing the condition of the children’s facilities so that prospective guests can judge for themselves.
I would strongly encourage anyone considering this hotel, particularly families with babies or toddlers, to look beyond the promotional photographs and read recent reviews carefully.
Would we return? Absolutely not.
Would I recommend it to other families with young children? Unfortunately, no.
For us, SENTIDO Aequora Lanzarote Suites was a hugely disappointing holiday experience, and certainly not somewhere we would choose to spend our money again."
