BlueBay Lanzarote

"Just got back after a week at BlueBay. This is the first time I have ever returned to a hotel having stayed here 11 years ago. We really like the location of the hotel and in particular like its proximity to plays bastion beach. We had a nice holiday and found the accommodation was absolutely fine. We were allocated a room in AB block above the restaurant and it was clean; had great space and no complaints over the decor or sofa bed which looked quite new. We in particular liked the use of a fridge and kitchen area which you don’t always get in AI hotels. The only negative with the room was the 8am wake up call when they turned the music on in the dining room as this was clearly heard however it did not hugely impact us so we lived with it. The hotel staff are all wonderfully jolly and helpful . The chap on reception, maids, bar staff and those in the dining room all work so hard and are a real positive to the hotel. The food was typical AI and we ate out a few times to add variety. The pizza and ice cream were top notch so we had plenty of that. The snack bar food being so readily available was also great. We went during the 6 weeks holiday so it was packed with families and children. In recent years we had only been to adult only hotels and I think it’s something we would stick to in the future. There were some lovely families but also a few that need to learn some manners and common decency. We did not chose to sit around the pool but could see from our balcony people reserving sun beds from around 7am however there were still some available 9 am onwards. The on tap beer was not to my partners taste and neither was the wine or sangria however the AI options do appear ok. All in all I can see why people say the pool needs some maintenance but in general it was a cheap and cheerful break away and as a base it was great just not our cup of tea anymore"

"Well. Where to start. On arrival we were met by a lady on the reception desk. She was very abrupt and rude. Now this in itself wasn't a massive issue.... we all have bad days. We went to have lunch in the restaurant and you've never seen such a poor choice. We proceeded to try a bit of this and that because you never know. Lunches aren't always the best spread in hotels. This is very much what you'd call a diet of beige food. Went up a couple of times trying various things and even the kids weren't impressed. The quality was in the gutter. This did not improve throughout other meals or over the week. To be blunt it was disgusting. We ended up eating out all the time. Moving on to the room. Got in there and first impressions were okay. You go in, have a little glance about and dont see too much. Sadly after spending a little time in there. The reality was much worse. The balcony. Went out to the balcony. Food was left on the floor here from previous residents of the room. Once again remaining positive. Maybe they were really busy and missed this today. I'm sure it will be cleaned tomorrow. NOPE. This mess remained here throughout our whole stay. This is likely still there now. Shower. Shower head was cracked length ways down the middle and leaking. Shower seals were all on the floor (not a massive issue after 15 years in plumbing and heating) Later on the first night after getting out the shower my partner noticed ants crawling on the bath mat and clothes on the floor. We then saw there saw some sort of ants nest coming in from the corner of the shower tray. These uninvited guests were also not dealt with. Various other parts of the building fabric were in a poor state of repair too. Architrave on the entrance door was peeling away and hanging on by the tips of a couple of nails. Smashed and cracked tiles can be observed across the property too along with the usual wear and tear thats been ignored chunks missing from wall coatings, broken bits of wall ect. The air con works but is very poor and noisy. Shocking when the room we pay good money for has worse air conditioning than I do in my own home! While we mention the air con. Black mould all around the vents in the room. As you can imagine this is very appealing being constantly blown over into the room. We had one evening where we had a leak from a cupboard! Absolutely no sign of where the water was coming from but sure enough it was leaking all over. At this point we picked up the phone in the room to call down..... guess what? Phone doesn't work either. Partner went to reception to tell them about the issue. We were told a maintenance man was coming. After an hour's wait and the kids getting over tired due to the time , I went to reception to find out what was happening. I was then told that maintenance had gone home and given some towels. The cleaners.... Oh my. These cleaners must be the most useless we have ever encountered. So, the balcony mess I mentioned earlier. Still there when we left, despite this being mentioned to the cleaner. Towels changes were non existent. 1 change we had in a week. Under the bed was filthy. Dust and dirt and random earrings found. Its not like the beds are big or heavy to move. You sit on them and they slide across the room. The level of cleanliness was apparent across the site. On our room stairwell there was a clump of , who knows what, this appeared on day two and remained until we left. Once again. Probably still there now. Still on our stairwell. They had dropped a pillowcase around day 3 or 4 which also still remained when we left. Squashed roaches in the common area that took mpre than a day to remove. I will include a few photos here but the bottom line is if you can afford better then please do so. Going for a cheaper option was a mistake we will not make twice. In our wildest dreams we didn't expect the place to be this poor."

"We have had a wonderful stay at Blue Bay Lanzarote and wouldn't hesitate to stay again. We stayed for 2 weeks and in this time made full use of the hotel including kids club, entertainment at pool in the day and theatre in the evening. The staff across the hotel are excellent and hard working. This is noticed from the entertainment team who are wonderful with all families, the gardens maintenance and cleaning staff work tirelessly from morning and through the day and the restaurant/ bar staff I can appreciate just how much preparation and hard work they put into making our stay so relaxed. And we really have felt so relaxed during this stay. We have felt safe and really had a good break from it all. The 'negatives' (which all holidays incur) would perhaps include: door lock broken on arrival but immediately fixed. Pool may be cold at first- but just jump in and get used to it that's the best way to overcome it and along with the lovely Costa teguise breeze is refreshing when the heat of the sun gets too hot! The pool side toilet does need a mop in there as it can be dangerous when wet. The hotel could do with some sprucing up but that was no bother and was not unexpected. This hotel is not the closest to the sea/ centres but we enjoyed the walks. The 'positives' and absolutely brilliant bits we have loved on this holiday: the staff, the sun beds always available, the view from our A block room was beautiful (we could see the sea), the relaxed running of the day (took us a while to get used to things perhaps opening an hour later than we typically are used to), the food was great (my husband only really enjoys 'kids food' but the pizzas were so delicious at lunch and the pancakes at breakfast are particularly tasty. I loved the freshly grilled chicken/ pork/ fish and paella/ rice options daily. The ice cream is good and the drinks are actually not bad. I think I drank a gallon of coke zero a day. The evening entertainment is good and the kids entertainment and club is particularly brilliant (even got our shy child hooked!) The walk to Bastian Beach is only short distance and a lovely quiet beach however the bigger beaches are equally as nice to visit. The water park is great for a few days entertainment and free sun beds is a bonus. We had some lovely nights out in Costa teguise walking down to the trampolines and visiting both the funky neon mini golf and the jungle river mini golf (that exceeded expectations with all the free fun games at the end!) We had one beautiful meal at a local bar called Los Amigos on the way to Bastian Beach and would completely recommend checking it out. The staff there are so friendly and the tapas and steak dishes we had beautiful! Also mention to Pizza Loca outside the hotel and the Nutella pizza there being delicious! We loved our holiday, hotel and Lanzarote and would certainly visit again one day! Only one thing left to say...Up, up, down down! Xxx"