Elba Lanzarote Royal Village Resort

"After visiting this hotel a few times this occasion was not through best. The rooms are becoming very tired, wardrobe doors don't work and are difficult to open ans close. The air conditioning is next to useless. Fortunately it wasn't as hot there as normally is in May or it would have been unbearable. Yes I asked 3 times for it to be looked at and nothing. I doubt anything can be done as it's antiquated hence no one came. The art of people putting towels on sunbeds in the adult area is allowed as no one bothers and nothing done hence lots are unable to get a bed in that small area. This is the area I go for as I prefer no children. The other pools have lots of room and lots of beds but not what I personally want. Most of the staff are lovely but there are a handful that are rude and condescending, reception is where most, not all, are like this. The very worse of my stay was the one and only lift to reception was out of action fir 3 days, Friday to Monday morning. This from a big hotel chain in not acceptable. When complaints were made the response was "it's the weekend". Expecting people with mobility issues, people in wheelchairs and people with pushchairs to either climb 2 flights of stairs or walk out the back gate around the roads to get to reception is appalling. People trying to carry heavy cases up the stairs when leaving is also not acceptable. Having rooms cleaned late in the day when you have spent the day with by the pool or out for the day is very inconvenient. Having to sit outside or go somewhere while this is done when you want a shower is not ideal. Rooms used to be done in the mornings. I think maybe thus is now down to less staff than there used to be. I have spent many holidays here and enjoying them up until this one. The staff in Jameos are the saving grace for this holiday, they are lovely, work hard. Will I return again, possibly not. What was my happy place is no longer unfortunately."

"Overall Rating: 4/5 – Great Family Holiday with a Few Minor Tweaks Needed Travelers: Family of three (2 adults, 2-year-old) Dates: Sunday 10th to Sunday 17th May Overall, we really enjoyed our holiday and the hotel. It’s a lovely property, and the staff are fantastic, especially with children. Would we come again? If we got a cheap deal, probably, but we don’t tend to visit the same place twice. Flight, Arrival & EES Machines We flew with easyJet, who were fabulous. We had a slight 20-minute delay, but all good otherwise. We landed at 12:00 PM and were at the hotel eating lunch by 2:00 PM! A quick tip for the airport: The queues for the EES machines weren’t bad, but they could move faster. There were loads of machines ready to go with black screens that people ignored because they thought they were off—if you walk up to them, they turn on! Because we were traveling with a toddler, we went through the family line. This actually took longer than the standard queue, mostly because people weren’t following the border control scanner instructions (looking away from the camera, shaking their heads, etc.). Just follow the prompts and you’ll be fine! Our bags were waiting for us once we got through, but we had to run up and down the baggage hall to find our pram. There is a specific pram area for all flights, but no one tells you about it. (From memory, it’s near the top where you exit border control, located between two of the belts). Transfer & Check-In Our coach transfer took about 30 minutes once we set off. We were the last people on the bus, though we did wait an extra 20 minutes for a family who never showed up. When we arrived at the hotel, a taxi pulled up with a family from our flight who had only traveled with hand luggage. They told us the airport taxi queue was horrendous, so we were very glad we stuck with our free transfer! Conversely, we spoke to a couple who flew with Jet2 around the same time, and their transfer took 2 hours—so we got lucky. Check-in was a bit slow, but only because they give you so much useful information (a map, à la carte reservations, etc.), which I didn’t mind at all. Luckily, our room was ready, so they tagged our bags, told us to grab lunch, and promised the bags would beat us to the room (which they did!). The Room & Service The room was lovely and clean. We were in room 251, which is a fabulous spot just behind the kids' club. I had emailed ahead to request a cot, a quiet but central location, and a terrace with as many walls as possible to contain a toddler. The hotel delivered perfectly! The terrace had three walls, so we just had to move one sunbed to completely block it off for our daughter. We had also mentioned it was our honeymoon, and within an hour of checking in, the hotel delivered complimentary robes, sparkling wine, and chocolates to our door! Nothing seemed like too much trouble for the friendly staff. The Hotel App: I loved the hotel app! I used it to order extra pillows and report ants on our terrace. We had quite a few ants making a track down one side of the terrace. We get them at home, so it wasn't a massive deal, but we wanted to keep them out of the room. The staff sprayed outside while we were out and left us a full can of bug spray. A few days later, we found about six ants in the bed after the linen was changed. I reported it to reception, and they immediately changed the bedding and treated the room again. We didn't see them inside after that. Food & Drink • Lunch & Dinner: Lunch could feel a bit hectic, and service for drinks was hit-and-miss (some nights we were served instantly; other nights we had to flag staff down multiple times). Dinner had a much better atmosphere with loads of choices. I loved the dedicated kids' area with plastic plates and cutlery. The food is classic all-inclusive (pizza, chips, burgers, various meats, and themed feature nights). While I found a lot of it quite bland, we all ate well and never struggled to find something we liked. • Pool Bar: We avoided the pool bar entirely because on the first day, I noticed birds constantly flying in and out, landing and pooping on the food. However, the main restaurant hours are great, so we never felt the need to eat at the pool bar anyway. • Bars & Drinks: Bar queues were great—usually only 3 to 5 people deep, and service was quick. The only time it got busy (10+ people) was right after the mini disco. The drinks selection is good (Cruzcampo on tap and decent spirits), though the cocktails could be improved. We visited the Italian on the Friday and it was lovely!!!! Pools & Entertainment • The Pools: The splash park is lovely, if a tad small. The pools themselves are great, but the heating wasn’t quite enough for our toddler. While it felt okay to us, she was shivering after 30 minutes, so we couldn’t utilize them as much as we hoped. • Water Slides: There are two great slides, but the lifeguard situation needs work. Neither my husband nor I were given any instructions when going down with our daughter, resulting in us either crashing into someone or having someone crash into us. Parents: definitely tell your kids to wait an extra 10 seconds, and wait about 30 seconds yourself before going down! • Mini Disco: Our 2-year-old absolutely loved this! She was obsessed with Pepe the Caterpillar and we bought her the €10 plush on the first night. She ran to meet him every evening. Just be warned: the meet-and-greet is a bit of a free-for-all. The staff say "one by one," but then just let the kids rush forward. If your child is younger or gentler, be prepared to help them through the crowd! Excursions & Around the Island • Marina Rubicón: We took a €6 taxi here on Wednesday for the market. The marina is gorgeous, and the market features lovely, quality goods rather than cheap tat. We walked back to the hotel along the seafront past Playa Blanca and Flamingo Beach (beautiful!). It would take about 45 minutes direct, but it took us 2 hours with a toddler and popping into shops. • Rancho Texas: We went on Thursday using the shuttle bus (€5 each online). It picks up right across the road from the hotel and takes about 35 minutes. Highly recommend! It has a great small zoo with educational shows, plus a waterpark where the heated pools are actually heated! • Wildlife: There are a few resident cats on the hotel grounds. They are well-behaved and keep to themselves, though I did spot them on the lobby sofas a few times. We also saw a few cockroaches, but that’s just standard for the island's climate and not a reflection on the hotel's cleanliness. Departure & Final Thoughts On our penultimate day, our water went off. We reported it on the app, and it was fixed by the afternoon. However, there was air in the pipes, and the water initially ran black, so we had to flush the shower for a while. I would strongly advise against drinking any tap water here. Our departure was a bit frustrating. We had a ridiculously early coach pick-up at 7:40 AM for a 12:15 PM flight. When we went to leave with our heavy bags, the hotel's only lift was broken, and everyone had to haul luggage up a massive flight of stairs with no staff help in sight—not the best end to the stay. Furthermore, the easyJet transfer got us to the airport by 8:40 AM, but the check-in desks didn’t even open until 10:15 AM, meaning we stood in line for an hour and a half for no reason. Once open, security and the outbound EES gates were a breeze. The airport has a great selection of shops and food. Weather First day was pure sun and it was hot hot! Rest of week we had cloudy mornings so used these to walk to shops and beach and by time little one needed a nap and we had lunch around 1/2 sun has burnt of most of clouds so we used the sun loungers while she napped and then went to pool when she woke up. Never needed a jacket but it was windy! Summary of areas for the hotel to improve: 1. Heat the swimming pools more for toddlers. 2. Implement a safer dispatch system/clocks on the water slides. 3. Speed up drink service at dinner. 4. Better pest control for the ants. 5. Cover the food at the pool snack bar to keep birds away. 6. Organize a structured queue system for the Pepe meet-and-greet. All this has been fed back to the hotel and it’s not major stuff and can be delalt with quickly it’s just fustrating"

"Very enjoyable, service was excellent upstairs but not so much downstairs we expected adults only as jet2 advertised but there were loads of screaming little chaps everywhere, house keeping lady was excellent only a couple of staff were rude but on the main very good, free shuttle into town we got taxi back 4 euros, very relaxing away from the main family part but be quick at the adults only pool as beds can go very quickly, on the whole very happy, nice little bungalow with plenty of space with own patio with sun beds and table and chairs"