Elba Lanzarote Royal Village Resort

Location was great! Short walk to the main street and small beach, and less than 30 min from airport. Nice atmosphere. Room was clean and we loved the fact rooms are not vertically structured. The "bungalow" format was great for us. Facilities well maintained: garden, spa, pools, etc. Value was good as we paid far in advance. Obviously, nothing is perfect. I would defenitely go back there but only if the management reviews the organization of the restaurant in terms of serving drinks. We finished most of our meals without a drink (not even water!!). The staff didn't serve us, actually they simply ignored us because they were more concerned about cleaning tables. I urge the management to consider self-service for drinks (at least water and soft drinks). The best thing for us was the use of the spa indoor pool as the weather was not warm enough for the outside pool. It saved our holiday 😊

This is a lovely hotel, amazing for families, especially those with younger children. We travelled as a family of 4, age 9 and 5, all inclusive. Room is of a good size, bed in main bedroom is very spacious and very comfy. Kids slept on a sofa bed which was a bit cramped and then didn’t allow us any living space but there is an outdoor terrace. Found it difficult for storage, although the bedroom wardrobe is large I found it hard to store the kids clothes so had to keep sliding the suitcases underneath the sofa bed. If there was some draws in here instead of a dressing table it would be better. Great kids pool and plenty of sun loungers. Weather wasn’t great during our visit but the sun loungers around the kids pool are popular and get room up first. Loads of activites for the kids. My 5yo loved the kids club which had a small soft play area and games area. Access I think was 11am to 1pm and then 3pm to 5pm. You could either stay with your child or sign them in and leave them which I thought was great. They put a vest on your child if you leave them so they know they can’t leave. They had a foam party for the kids here on a Saturday which they loved. They also have a mascot ‘Pepe’ which all the kids love dancing to the song and buying the Pepe teddy from reception. The kids play with them in an evening. Entertainment on an evening is kids club 8am then a show 9pm. Always finished by 10pm but you can sit in the bar after if you wish. I thought it was quite early which is why I think the hotel caters better to younger families. My only gripe with the hotel was with the restaurant. During breakfast and lunch unless you arrive first it is very difficult to get a table that is cleaned and set. There are lots available but either with other people leftovers or the plates have been removed and the table has not been reset with cutlery and napkins. We often had to stand beside a table and request someone to come and provide us with cutlery and napkins. They often then did not clean the tables in-between different people sitting down which really bothered me. In previous hotels plates are cleared, tables wiped down and new cutely etc provided ready for us to be seated. This was not a problem on an evening as you were greeted on arrival and taken to your table. Drinks are table service on a lunch and evening. This is also not an issue on an evening but is very slow during lunch, often drinks arriving part way through our meal. I think a self service to drinks would be much better as many guests were going to the waiters area and helping themselves, as bottles of water had a cap on people were tying to open them without a bottle opener! Breakfast you can help yourself to tea/coffee/juice and water. They also had fresh smoothies. Breakfast food was lovely with a good selection and fresh fruit, however, they ran out of everything and took ages to replenish, no bowl for cereal, then no milk, then no spoons, then no glasses for juice, wait for more pancakes for the kids to come out, ran out of Nutella, melon ran out. It was just a content wait all the time. Breakfast took us 45mins to 1hour which to be honest takes us less than half an hour usually. Selection of food during lunch and evening was standard, nothing special, didn’t find the food quality great to be honest. Always had pizza (which was very nice) pasta (sometime stuck together and dried up) selection of pasta sauces, paella, meats, cheese, salad etc but then a very small selection of other food. Only 4 trays usually with potato’s and some sort of vegetables. Then kids always had hotdogs plain rice and veg. They cooked fresh meat and fish on the go but I found it very chewy. They had a chocolate fountain one evening but we chose to go into the restaurant late due to the ques to get in, there was no fruit or sweets or even skewers left and they didn’t replenish even though we went in at 8.30 and the restaurant was open until 9.30. It’s a much better experience if you go to the restaurant early. Overall we had a great time but the restaurant let it down for me, slow service, dirty tables, poor choice and quality and slow at replenishing. For this I would not return again but if your not fussed on the food you will have a great time!

Bungalow style rooms and beds comfy, small football pitch, daily pass to the water park nearby (which was included in our package) and a busy entertainment programme kept my 7 year-old happy. Overall the hotel was adequate however the pools were freezing even the small heated one (which was very busy) was still cold. Massive queue for drinks at the bar all the time and it was difficult to find a clean table in the dinner hall - it was obvious there wasn’t even staff. Food was ok. I’d rate a 3 star rather than a 4 star hotel. Location ok, about a 10/15 minute walk down a main road to the sea front.

First time I’ve ever left a negative review on a hotel but just had to so that other families do not waste their hard earned money. There are so many better hotels than this!!! I genuinely wish I had took the negative reviews more seriously. The food was POOR, without a doubt the worst all inclusive buffet food I’ve ever had. Myself and my son (aged 3) had sickness and diarrhoea for 48 hours and believe this was due to the food at the all inclusive. The outdoor snack bar was the worst - all birds flying over the food and pecking at it. Never even risked eating from there. The only positive thing I have to say about the hotel is the kids pool and the grounds/terrace that each room has it is lovely and spacious. With feeling poorly it was great to have the sunbeds on the terrace and not have to worry about venturing out to the pool. The town was more of a walk from the hotel than we expected. Nice walk down but walking back up the hill to the hotel was sometimes a struggle - this is definitely worth noting incase you have any struggles physically.

Have visited this hotel, many times before, and it never disappoints. The big bonus is SPACE, no fighting for room around the pools, no being squashed in the restaurant, not feeling confined, no noise from adjacent rooms. The staff are also great, especially Chus, looking after the adults section pool bar / restaurant. An outstanding member of the hotel. Useful having a hotel shop, can buy snacks, extra water, [each room is given a free bottle every day though], fresh milk, and the usual souveniers, sun tan lotion etc. Spa is great, gym is small, but rarely too busy, Pity no hairdressers there, can be annoying. Evening entertainment is mixed, much better when they bring in outside entertainers. Food is also mixed, but always something you fancy, probably a few too many Asian / Arab type nights. Restauant staff work hard and clear away well, replace food items quickly. But they do tend to start "shutting down" early, though they say open till 9.30, they do tend to start clearing items well before 9.00. Will be booking again, for the usualChristmas / New Year break very soon. Always treated like very special clients, when we're there, and love the atmosphere.

Beautiful site and individual accommodation with outside furniture was much appreciated. Due to staff shortages there were often queues at bars and the dining room not ready for new people to sit and eat. Food choices at all meals was very good. Daytime activities for children excellent. Evening entertainment - some very good e.g. quiz, magician, but others only ok e.g. Route 44.