HD Lobos Natura

"On arrival at 10.30pm we were told the room we had booked wasn’t available and was given a room which was cheaper on booking.com. We paid a lot more for emblem premier suite as the rooms are twice the size to the swim up rooms. We were travelling as a family and 2 of my daughters were sharing one room (was meant to be a premier emblem balcony suite) and myself, partner and son was sharing another emblem premier suite. We explained to the receptionist Laura that this wasn’t suitable as our daughter sleep walked and wasn’t safe. After expressing our concerns and frustration at the check in desk for over 45 minutes, she promised it would be sorted the following day and the manager Carla would come to our room. When we arrived to the premier emblem suite that was still available, which we also had to find on our own with all our luggage in the dark because none of the reception staff offered to show us, we were welcomed with a plate of anti pasti food covered in ants, that my daughter had taken a bite out of before any of us realised! We took a video and showed the staff at reception it and all they could say was ‘oh ants’ it wasn’t taken away for days! Something else we had to chase up constantly at reception. We heard nothing the following day regarding the manager coming to the room regarding our room change so yet again we had to go to reception to chase up to be told the manager isn’t available and to come back the next day to follow it up. This was an ongoing theme at the hotel, every time we were told they would get back to us, they NEVER did. We must’ve spent half of our holiday constantly chasing up requests and wasted so much time doing this, it was appalling. We finally got the room we paid for 2 days later but this was because of the constant chasing we had to do, because I feel if we hadn’t of done, we would’ve never got what we paid for. Nothing was offered to us as a gesture of good will for the inconvenience until we pushed for it, and then the best thing they could do was pay for an excursion but when we came back to them with the excursion, they said they could only pay for one buggy for the sand dunes which was 150 euros. This in our opinion did not match the inconvenience we had endured and false promises we had been made for a 2,030 euro premier emblem balcony suite we had paid, and it wasn’t even 10% they was willing to offer! We were then told to speak to the Sub Director Alberto who would deal with it much better and we would definitely get more from him. Again, lies. We went out of our way on our last morning to wake up early and to see him and speak to him on and off all day to be told he would do his best to get us what we deserved and he would get back to us in a few hours. Guess what, a few hours passed and we heard nothing. So yet again we had to go to reception and chase it up! He then told us there’s nothing he could do as booking.com were still holding the money and hadn’t released it to them yet. It was clearly all lies. We then made a complaint and got them to stamp the form to say they had acknowledged it so we could take it further once we got home. We were there for a week and we spent half our time complaining for an error they had made with not having a room available that we had booked and paid for. It was very very poor and the lack of compassion from any of them wasn’t professional at all. We met many families who also shared their complaints with us and said they had endured poor customer service from them too. Besides that, the staff on the ground floor, cleaning and in hospitality worked their backsides off and were lovely. The food was fine until the evening. The evening food was poor, we have done all inclusive before and this is the worst we’ve been to. The breakfast was the best by far. All in all the hotel is lovely but very disorganised, we were told by Laura at the beginning that she had booked us into the emblem restaurant for the following day and was then told by the restaurant on arrival that our names weren’t down. It was one thing after another and to be honest it all stemmed from the reception staff. There was a lady on reception who we’d asked for a late check out for our last day who clearly had an issue with us because her face said it all. She messed up and made it so that day when we’d put the request in that we couldn’t get back into our rooms! So yet again we had to come back to reception and say she had done it for the wrong day but surely she should’ve known that by seeing how long our stay was by the room number! Nothing ran smoothly whilst staying here, we’d paid a lot of money to go emblem and we left feeling like we’d not been treated like VIPs at all. My advice is don’t bother go Emblem, I read a review that said ‘if you can, go emblem’ there’s not much difference at all apart from the price. Since getting home we have been told by booking.com that the hotel and them cant reach an agreement with our complaint even though Alberto said he would assist with them when they make contact with the hotel, again ALL LIES."

"This place is amazing for couples, friends and families. We’re currently here now and both agree it’s the best hotel we’ve ever stayed in! I say hotel but it’s more like a luxurious mini village! It’s a low rise complex, extremely modern and stylish and the minute you walk into reception, you’re greeted by this wonderful aroma which is consistent in all the main areas. Lush! The reception area is gorgeous, with plants and water fountains and there’s complimentary water on arrival. We were lucky to be staying in the top Emblem accommodation so we had our own check in and were offered wine and beer on arrival. Our black wristbands opens the bedroom door and safe! The swim up room we had was absolutely out of this world! It was more like a mini apartment! We had complimentary towels, a bag with his and hers flip flops, another toiletries bag which included sun creams, after sun, toothbrush and toothpaste, a shaving kit and other bits. There was a his and hers basin and double shower, including 2 bathrobes and slippers. Shortly after checking in, there was a knock on the door and we were handed a plate of cheese, crackers and fruit plus a bottle of red and white wine! The fridge was fully stocked with wine, beers, Coke and water. There was a Nespresso machine, DeLonghi kettle and a stereo sound system in the room in addition to a huge, wall mounted tv. The swim up area on our balcony was just lush and very luxurious, with a double outdoor bed outside and sunbeds on the island. Staff were amazing, happy and friendly with lots of energy! Cleaners were lovely and so were the restaurant staff and chefs. Food was absolutely delicious and even though we could use the Emblem restaurant, we were equally happy with the main restaurant. You have to book a time for breakfast and evening meal at the Emblem, which we weren’t keen on doing on holiday. There’s also an Italian restaurant on site which we haven’t tried yet. The drinks are all premium but you have to pay for some of them if you’re not on the Emblem package. Cocktails are the best we’ve ever had abroad and are AMAZING!!! You WILL get tipsy here!! - no watered down stuff!! The swimming pools are lovely with plenty going on and the DJ in the white party tonight is brilliant!!! Highly recommended! Just book quickly as this place is swelling up fast for next year, and I can really see why! Thanks to all management and staff for a brilliant and memorable holiday!"

"• When we booked our holiday I am sure that there were four restaurants. Two were ‘al la carte’. That is not our experience. There are two buffets and an Italian for general use once a week. • The ‘Emblem’ restaurant is VIP for ‘Emblem’ guests. Basically…. Adults who want to escape the families (mostly) and who paid a bit more. Like a VIP pass. Fair play…. I understand that. But, this resort is predominantly families. We are everywhere!!! (well, we were in August). • La Caldera Traditional Trattoria (The Italian) is only open three days a week (Thurs-Sat) and you can book it once per week. We booked in our second week as it was fully booked when we got around to it in our first week - we left it too late. So, we went on a Saturday. 8pm. It was half empty. To be fair, it was the last week before English kids went back to school, so the resort was emptying (good time to go!!!). However, feedback we had from the first week from friends (thanks James and Amy) was that there was 15-20 tables empty then. My point? Well, just make it Walk in only, because I have the feeling they get a lot of no shows. • Anyway, the service was really good! The food was really nice. Particularly enjoyed my squid spaghetti carbonara. Pizza looked nice, but it is not Neopolitan … much deeper crust and lots of cheese. Deserts are a mix of the menu and the buffet. • The Italian appeared to have no toilet. You have to walk to the lobby. • Note, you’ve got to pay for your drinks here: yes, even if you are all inclusive (“ALL IN”). And as I said to the rep for Jet2, “we have a very different view of what all inclusive means”. Her response (she is lovely btw, and was terribly patient with me), that “the hotel includes this as a courtesy”. I said I didn’t understand. We made no progress with my understanding. This is one of the apparent two al la carte restaurants we can access. Buffet starter pointed in the opposite direction. Then the menu! Mix of free for ALL IN customers and paid options (plus a bit more for the Emblem lot). Alcoholic drinks are not free. Soft drinks are, but not all. Me no comprende! The white wine we had, Yaiza Blanco Seco, was quite pleasant. My bar bill for the Italian was €64. • Buffets /Canteens - There are two. The really big one, also called a casual restaurant (El Puertito) and a brunch and snack buffet (El Faro). So, the ‘normal’ all- inclusive restaurants are buffets. Don’t get me wrong… the food is nice. But, it’s a canteen. A very nice canteen. Lots for the kids. Always loads of cold meats and cheeses. Apparently (Rep told me) El Faro is the other al la carte restaurant. This is false… al la carte means ‘according to the menu’. There was no menu or table service. • Breakfast - quite a lot of choice but stuff runs out. Timing is everything here. If you sort your toast and end up waiting for eggs, the rest is cold. Got back with scrambled eggs today because the egg station had six people in the queue wanting the chap to make omelettes. I had an omelette one day made for me….as many eggs as you like! Excellent. You can have a full English (see timing comments). They even make a black pudding. • Coffee machine is slow. Really slow. Barely fills the cup. Prepare yourself for impatience. Two expressos and a long coffee to fill a cup. Did I mention it was slow. It doesn’t matter how long you try to stare into its percolating soul. It does not care. You may get stuck behind someone getting three coffees, in one cup…. Like me! • Facilities • The gym area is pretty basic. One incline bench, no press and life fitness machines (good brand). It’s better than a home gym set up, but it’s more fitness orientated. Bell’s go to 26kg. Has aircon that works some days. Big patio doors if it doesn’t. • The main pool. If you are old enough you might recall the rush to get your towels on a sunbed before the Germans? A cliche, I know. Wow…. Remember that heroic Carling Black Label advert? Anyway, you have the queue on a morning from around 09:30. Opens at 10. Today it got a bit agro, and there was a safety briefing of sorts on the tannoy. Various queues around the pool area. Some ladies in my queue had an argument about whether it was open or not. It was. A ‘I Told you so’ look like paint stripper was issued. Laughed out loud… I got two sunbeds. • I found three pool tables. Two were definitely out of order, they had signs. They were fixed by day three, and since then it’s been a problem getting change. They take €1 coins. But the resort doesn’t have change, or doesn’t want to give you it. An air hockey table arrived three days before we left. Never switched on. Didn’t have change for it anyway! • Taxis- into town are about €5 to Ale - Hop. Good jumping off point for lots of restaurants and near the port. If you have more than 4 people then use two taxis. Don’t order a five of six seater. In our experience they never arrived! • Beer: if you like Amstel, which I do… you can drink this till you get heartburn: which I did. Twice. There is also Cruz Campo Raddler (shandy. I didn’t try this). There is other stuff on draft, but you pay for that. • Drinks generally: seem ok. Some things are outside of all inclusive. High end spirits, wines, champagne and slushies. Yes: f@@king slushies. They are €3 if you have an all-inclusive bracelet? Bar keep checked mine then charged me. After this I poured myself a free beer. Weird. Did I mention the coffee was canny? Yes, but an ice coffee, which you can adapt from the provisions at the self-service canteen/bar is also good, but not free at the bar. Coffee from behind the bar is better (confirmed by me and bar staff) but I have to pay for that. Luckily I won a drinks voucher playing darts! The Emblem customers get it free! • Daytime Entertainment: yesterday we had a ‘Matt’ that people ran along into the pool. Lasted for hours and at one point the life-guard, who the kids call PEP (he resembles the football manager), blew his whistle. He wasn’t happy with the safety. Kids loved it!!! Yet today 20 odd people are on metal bikes in the pool for an exercise class to the sound track of ABBA inspired electro-pop whilst people swim around. It looked as weird as it sounded. I haven’t had my first beer yet. It’s nearly lunch, and I have ‘gimme gimme’ rattling round in my head. Still the breeze is pleasant, but my wind is not. Parp! Amstel fuelled flatulence! It’s day 4. • Night-time entertainment: Dreamland Family & Joy Entertainment bar. This is where events and kids entertainment takes place. We saw a good cabaret act one night and played bingo another night. There is also entertainment outside. The best night is the White Party. Friday night. Outside disco till 10:30pm. Great fun. There is also a big show called Aboriginal, or something very similar. It’s Ozzie themed and is quite good. • Staff: they are lovely from cleaning to bar to reception. English is generally good, but the pool announcements are unintelligible. I swear, according to the announcer there is a ‘cash and carry in the pool’ and a ‘butt plug in the field hole’. PEP just blew his whistle at somebody. We loved the entertainment staff, particularly Sergio with his games including darts, jenga and the cocktail making. • Towels- free towels by the pool, kind of. You need to deposit €20, to get a card from reception that you exchange for towels. You can then change them when dirty. I guess it saves you bringing towels, but if you lose a towel then it’s €20. Thankfully for me when I returned ours he didn’t count! • ALL IN BAR - The free bar is turned off at 23:00. Unless you want to pay for it. This is annoying. Some Liverpudlians near me have the cheat code…. they just got a load of wine in bottles. Superb! Big shout out to Danny! • Beer taps. There is self-service in both buffet restaurants, and in the entertainment room. • All inclusive cocktails - some rough ones! It’s the all-inclusive spirits! My top 3 are the Brandy Alexander, the Canarian Colada and the Tom Collins. No. 4 would be the Blue Macaw! I completed the list on the last two days, after the beer made me too bloated!!! So, trust this review! If you want an all-inclusive pornstar martini…. Forget about it darling! They are also very nice. • Rooms. We had a Premier Suite. Basically a lounge with beds and a bedroom. They have a TV in each room and it has Netflix. So, if you have Netflix you can log into your account. This was great for us and the kids. There are two sets of patio doors and a large balcony. There is a fridge, decent size. Get a few beers and some water from the supermarket, which is very close. • Double bed? Nope. Two singles. Made up as two singles joined together. The pillows are great though! My back really hurt from the bed. • Football on TV - nope, but loads of sports bars in town and one very close by, called…. The Sports Bar Corralejo. Two minutes walk from reception, turn right. Guinness on tap. Very nice. Nice looking Chinese takeaway next door and you can eat that in the bar! • Checking out, - it’s 12 noon or pay for an extension. I got an extension of two hours on our last day. Cost us €30. After this our privileges were cut off and no access to facilities (didn’t test this as we went shopping in town). Really annoying since the Saturday we got here it was 10pm. When I checked out my ‘ALL IN’ band was cut off. Sent the wife and kids away, who kept theirs for the three hours before we left. Really stingy! • Adult pool. I’ve got thee kids. Looked nice! But all I can do is look on with jealousy and admiration. It has a swim up bar! A SWIM UP BAR! It’s right at the top away from other child/noisy areas, by the nice looking rooms with the walk in lazy river! The Emblem Suites! That’s where it’s at! • Laundry - when you find it (top floor above the kids activity area) it has two washing machines and a dryer. Washing machine is €4-5 (coin operated) and dryer is €5. Washer takes 30-40 minutes. You need to provide your own detergent. There is a supermarket nearby. That is where you will need to get change. Already mentioned, but the resort is funny about giving out change or doesn’t have any. Same problem for pool machines. I’d only wash darks. It ruined two light shirts with brown marks, maybe rust. Btw, the ATM in the resort charges €4.99 to get out cash!!!! Same charge everywhere. • Beach - there is a nice beach off the main drag in town. Plenty of cafe / bars and around maybe 100 beds with umbrella’s for roughly €10. Not too many ‘lucky lucky’ men. There is wind surf hire and a surf school. Spent a few pleasant hours in the ‘Sand Beach’ cafe supping Estrella. Beach was clean. There is a board walk to get along the front of the beach from one side. The sea is cloudy in shore."