BlueBay Lanzarote

"We recently stayed here for a 10 night family holiday (3 generations). I had requested 2 rooms either inter-connected or the rooms to be beside each other as my mam has mobility issues. We were first assigned 2 rooms, apparently interconnected, on the third floor (hotel has no lifts) but when the receptionists saw my mam’s walker they did a bit of jigging around and gave us 2 rooms on the ground floor but these were not beside each other like we asked and neither room had walk-in shower. She finds getting into baths very difficult. The rooms themselves were very run down with shabby furniture which had seen better days. All the Kallax type furniture was old and chipped. The whole place was tired and could do with a good refurb. There was litter blowing around the complex which was never cleared but increased by the day. We noticed a dirty nappy in the corner of the carpark outside the front door on our first day which was still in situ upon our departure 10days later. If you wanted coffee at lunch in the dining room you either had to make your own (in your room) or bring it in from the poolside bar as the coffee machines were only on durning breakfast in the dining room. The food was boring and rehashed to within an inch of its life. My daughter and I ventured into the pool, how we did not become ill I don’t know as the water was dirty and the water in the waterfall looked black at the top. The sun loungers, if you managed to get any (they would all be booked with towels on them from very early morning with nobody using them till lunchtime) were broken and in need of repair. I would not recommend this hotel to anyone until it got a huge upgrade. The only positive I can say is that I found most of the staff very helpful and friendly"

"Arrival at Blue Bay checked in by tad unfriendly concierge who failed to mention to myself or daughter along with 2 little ones, 3 cases and a buggy that there was a ramp leading from main building to concourse leading to the dubious Block E, consequently dragged all down set of steps & then up 2 sets of stairs to our accommodation. Room was clean but old and definitely in need of some refurbishing. Bed comfortable but bedding unchanged during our stay, towels changed once. Dead and dying cockroaches daily on stairwells and once in room, fully understand that they are common in this climate but having holidayed for many years in Lanzarote can honestly say have never seen so many. All inclusive food was excellent and provided great choice. Staff in dining room and bars always friendly and helpful. My grandchildren loved the mini disco at 8.30 every night and the 2 ladies that ran it were excellent. Pool area was very grim. Lots of rubbish, clothing and towels left around by other holiday makers. Both pools were not the cleanest, in the main pool I saw hair, bits of tissue, food and the content of someone’s nasal cavities!! The kids pool was partly taped off on our arrival as I believe a child had cut their foot, tape remained until removed by other children, unclear if repaired !! Coating on both pools peeling away leaving some very sharp areas. Sunbeds - mostly broken and a few new ones, great lack of parasols, I did ask if they had any as we had a little one to keep shaded but told a curt “no”. Have never been a member of the towel on sunbed brigade but at this resort it’s a necessity if you want a sunbed, hated doing it. As a family we did have a wonderful holiday. Blue Bay is a budget friendly family hotel, although the price we paid for our school holidays holiday we felt it fell well short of our expectations and the photos on Jet2’s website is not a true reflection of the reality that awaits you at the Blue Bay. If it was to be fully and completely refurbished I’m sure it would be an excellent hotel but I suppose then the prices would increase."

"We’ve just returned from a week at BlueBay Lanzarote, travelling as a family with two children aged 3 and 13. Unfortunately, this was probably the worst hotel we have ever stayed in. That said, we still had a great holiday because we made the best of it and enjoyed exploring the island. The hotel is extremely dated and tired and, in our opinion, desperately needs a major refurbishment. Our room was clean when we arrived, but the housekeeping during our stay was disappointing. I believe our towels were only changed once, I don’t think the bedsheets were changed at all, and no cleaner came into our room on the Sunday or Monday. As a result, I had to ask for a dustpan and brush myself, wipe down the surfaces with antibacterial spray and use a bin bag I had brought from home because our bin was full. I have never experienced having to do this on holiday before, so I’m not sure whether this was an isolated issue or normal for the hotel. The beds were okay, although the sofa bed converted into two single beds, one of which was more like a very creaky camping bed. The pools are very cold, although once you’re in, you get used to it. They are also very tired, with the flooring peeling in both the main pool and the baby pool. The baby pool was particularly concerning, as the peeling floor had become extremely sharp (photo attached). At one point, the area was cordoned off with danger tape, but this disappeared a few days later and I couldn’t see that any repairs had been carried out. The staff, however, were friendly, helpful and welcoming. You can see that they are trying their best to keep the place clean and tidy, despite the condition of the hotel. Sunbed wars begin every morning, and I’m fairly sure some people leave their belongings on the sunbeds overnight. Many of the sunbeds are also extremely old, broken and very uncomfortable. The food was okay. There was plenty of choice and a good variety, although nothing was particularly amazing. We did eat out twice during our stay as we wanted to mix things up a little. We did see cockroaches around the resort, although thankfully never in our room. We got chatting to another family who showed us several cockroaches outside their ground-floor room in Block E, so there did appear to be an issue in that area. There are no lifts anywhere, which was frustrating with a pushchair. There are plenty of shops nearby where you can buy water, snacks and souvenirs, although after a week I was absolutely sick of seeing Pringles! The children’s entertainment was good for younger children. The kids’ disco at 8:30pm was a hit with our three-year-old, although there only seemed to be one or two girls running it and there was no proper animation team. There is also a small, dated playground on-site, which our daughter loved, and a kids’ club, although we didn’t use this so I can’t comment on it. There were activities during the day, including water polo and the magic carpet in the pool, which our 13-year-old enjoyed. Again, the staff are clearly trying their best. The weather was lovely and sunny while we were there, although the mornings were often overcast and the wind can be very deceptive. We saw so many people badly burnt, so definitely don’t underestimate the sun or the wind. Costa Teguise beach was incredibly windy during our stay, with big waves, and the watersports weren’t operating because of the high winds. We would definitely recommend taking a trip to Puerto del Carmen instead — it was much less windy when we went, the watersports were running and the water was crystal clear. Overall, this hotel has so much potential, but it honestly needs to be shut and completely refurbished. Another family we made friends with during our stay felt exactly the same way. Despite all of this, we still had a lovely holiday because we made the best of the situation and enjoyed getting out and exploring. The staff are friendly and genuinely seem to be trying, but the hotel itself is in desperate need of investment and a massive refurbishment. ⭐️⭐️☆☆☆ Overall rating: 2/5"