Elba Lanzarote Royal Village Resort

Hotel and staff lovely. Rooms lovely and clean. My only complaint is the queues at the pool bar and family bar are ridiculous- 25 minute wait in the evening

This hotel had the potential to been amazing and yet unfortunately it falls short on just about every measure. I really wanted to love it but I just didn't. It really is such a shame.

Reception Reception was good. Staff were friendly and helpful. Check in was a smooth process and staff were happy to call taxis and provide local information. They were also very prompt in resolving the issues we had, one being faulty air conditioning leaking water which was fixed within an hour and the other a power cut which I fully appreciate was not the hotels fault but they kept us well informed. Rooms Rooms are very spacious, the beds are comfortable which is not always the case for a hotel and the terrace areas are large and equipped with chairs and sun loungers. However our particular room was in need of an update. There was black mould in between the tiles on the shower. The shower was over the bath which had a large rim. It was very tricky to get in and out of especially for my child who required assistance and even for myself when the bath was wet and slippery from use. Mirror also damaged in bathroom. Water pressure in the shower was poor and temperature was constantly fluctuating. There was next to no storage for clothes. A small hanging area was all and a couple of shelves. It certainly was not enough for more than 2 people. We had issues with our air conditioning, when we arrived it was heavily leaking water which was repaired but after 2 or 3 days it stopped working again and was never fully repaired. It made the room extremely hot and uncomfortable at night and left us with many sleepless nights. It was cleaned to a basic standard. Bed linen was not changed in the 10 days we were there. Floors were still dirty even after being cleaned. We did notice that some rooms were being refurbished while we were there so perhaps they are already addressing this issue.

Pools Sunbeds were usually available at all points of the day which was good. However if you wanted shade they were harder to come by. The sunbeds themselves were so uncomfortable. They were obviously old and dipped in the middle. The pool area was never cleaned well. We saw the same coke splat on the floor for 7 days straight. More concerning for me was the lack of safety. There was one lifeguard on the slide who just kept sending people down and there would often be people crashing into each other. There was no lifeguard at all in the other pools. We witnessed 3 seperate incidents where children got injured.

Restaurants and Bars The food was awful. Unless you got there as soon as it opened it was hardly ever replenished. There was a serious lack of choice not even really any fresh salad items. We had raw chicken on 3 occasions before we just stopped even getting it. There was always food all over the floor. Tables were not cleared. We were made to feel like a nuisance because we wanted a table so our family could sit together. Plates were always dirty. Pool snack bar was a waste of time. Hardly anything there, flies everywhere and dirty plates attracting birds. Pool bar was ok, queues sometimes but not too bad. Bar in the evening had queues but no more than 10 minutes.

Overall we were extremely disappointed. Definitely not a 4 star and not worth what we paid.