Sandos Papagayo Hotel

"Second visit to Sandos Papagayo waited quite a few hours for room . Arrived home today the food especially meat was very poor . Yesterdays steak was unedible very poor quality awful . For the size of the hotel only one toilet available outside near snack bar which was disgusted.. Entertainment one night pole dancer with children on front row .. The upstairs bar was the best with lovely staff .."

"We’ve just returned from our first 11-night stay at Sandos Papagayo, and I wanted to write a little review for anyone thinking of going or preparing for their first visit. We’re a family of four with two children (8 & 6), and we had an absolutely fantastic time! ❤️ 🌟 The Staff Every single member of staff was lovely, friendly, and helpful. The animation team were absolutely top-notch! They really took the time to get to know our kids and made such a fuss of them throughout the holiday. They were also so sweet when we left. Huge shout-out to Odanis, Christian, and Zak 👏💙 🤿 Scuba Diving My husband went scuba diving twice with the dive school attached to the hotel and couldn’t speak highly enough of Jorge. An absolute legend and a genuinely lovely guy. Highly recommended! ⭐ 🏨 Rooms The rooms were great and cleaned every day. No complaints at all. 💆‍♀️ Spa A special mention for the spa! I treated myself to an Anti-Stress Massage with the lovely Anna, and it was honestly one of the highlights of the trip. 🌿✨ 👑 Royal Elite (RE) We didn’t go RE and honestly didn’t feel the need to. For us, travelling with children, we didn’t see any major benefits. 🍽️ Food The food was exactly what you’d expect from an all-inclusive resort. There was plenty of choice, it was perfectly good, and everyone in our family found something they enjoyed. The desserts were especially lovely! 🍰😋 🍜 Fusion Restaurant We tried the Asian night at Fusion, but I think we were either unlucky with our timing (8pm) or it was just an off night. We found some of the food quite dry, so in the end we were perfectly happy sticking with the International Restaurant. ⚓ Marina Please don't make the same mistake I did and leave visiting the marina until your last few days! We absolutely loved it and wished we'd spent more time there. It's small but beautiful, with some fabulous restaurants and lovely little shops. When we come back, we'll definitely spend much more time there. ❤️ 🛍️ Playa Blanca Playa Blanca is a great little town with shops galore. As someone who absolutely loves a bit of holiday tat, I was in my element! 😂 That said, I didn't really enjoy the restaurants along the seafront in the evenings. They felt a bit too "strip-like" for me. Personally, I preferred the quieter, more traditional Canarian feel of the marina. But everyone likes different things! 😊 🚌 Getting Around Use the buses whenever you can! They're incredibly easy to use, get you to loads of places, and cost next to nothing. 💸 🌤️ Weather Remember, Lanzarote is an island in the Atlantic. While it doesn't rain much, you will get the occasional cloudy day, that's just part of island life! The good news is it's still warm enough during the day. We used the cloudier days to visit the submarine experience and Texas Ranchero Water Park, both of which I'd highly recommend for families. 🚤💦 🏊 Pools & Activities We travelled during half-term, and the activities for the kids were brilliant. Get involved with your kids at the mini disco and learn the Jerusalema dance. Trust me, it's worth it for the memories alone! 💃🕺 And yes... the pools are absolutely Baltic! 🧊😂 Your kids won't want to get out even when their lips have turned blue, but somehow they warm up quickly enough and dive straight back in! Loads to do! Archery 🎯, rifle shooting 🎯, crazy games 🤪, bingo 🎱, water polo 🤽‍♂️... if it was happening, we were probably there! I genuinely think that's why we had such a laugh and met so many wonderful people. 🎭 Evening Entertainment The evening entertainment was exactly what you'd expect, lots of Whitney Houston songs 🎤, acrobats balancing on chairs 🤸, and a variety of different acts. It was always a fun way to end the day. ❤️ Final Thoughts If you're heading there soon, have the most amazing time! We genuinely had a fantastic holiday and made some wonderful memories. We'll definitely be back ✈️"

"Unfortunately, we have to agree with the bad reviews of this hotel. We stayed here in an elite room in May ‘26 and found the hotel lacking in many areas. Certainly wouldn’t rate it more than a 3 star. The hotel is getting older and we noticed a lack of maintenance in some areas and sometimes the cleanliness left a lot to be desired. PROS: Breakfast was the best meal of the day with lots of choice. (Great egg lady) There was a great animation team with James and Zak being full of cheekiness and laughter. I can understand if you take part in their activities that your holiday would be fun. Premium help-yourself alcohol was freely available in the Elite lounge. Ice and snacks were also available and soft drinks and bottles of wine and beer were in a glass fronted fridge. Beautiful view from the veranda next to the bar on the Reception level. This was the most relaxing part of the holiday. Enjoyable 20-25 minute walk along the seafront to the edge of the centre of Playa Blanca. There is a market 2 days a week and lots of cafes, restaurants and shops next to a marina. We loved this area. CONS: No porters. We felt sorry for people with mobility problems as the rooms are quite spread out. Chipped tiles by pool. Help-yourself drink areas by the pool bar and in the restaurants were often not clean and the wine from the dispensers was often yellow or the beer just froth. No laundry service offered. Pillows in room very poor with the inside cushion exposed. Many staff were unfriendly and disengaged, often without a smile. No welcome greeting at Reception or a thank you at the end of the holiday. They seemed like robots. Management seemed badly organised and totally unprepared for criticism and complaints. Some of the general toilet areas were very poor indeed. 3 times there was no toilet paper (once leaving me in an embarrassing situation) The female toilets at the Fusion restaurant had two sinks without water and a soap dispenser and hand dryer not working. How can this be acceptable in a supposéd 4star hotel? No cushions on sunbeds. They were uncomfortable. Not enough choices especially for dinner and food could sometimes be cold. Although entertainment could have been enjoyable there were many restricted viewing areas. Seemed unfair if you chose to have a later dinner. Our honest opinion is to avoid this hotel until it has had refurbishment and the Management can give you a genuine 4star experience. They say that 95% of clients are happy with the hotel. I beg to differ! Many people were complaining whilst we were there."