Secrets Lanzarote Resort & Spa

I actually blame the travel agent (DOUGLAS TRAVEL, CORK, IRELAND) more than the resort for sending us to the worst hotel I have ever stayed in my whole life. FOR YOUR OWN HEALTH AND WELLBEING DO NOT BOOK THIS HOTEL. IF YOU HAVE BOOKED, CANCEL IMMEDIATELY BECAUSE YOU WILL BE DEVASTATED!! Hotel Room; Arrived at hotel and checked in. When we got to the hotel room we saw that the toilet, bath, shower and balcony were filthy. While the room did have the sea view that we had paid extra for, it was merely a side sea view which was also very disappointing. We rang the reception and highlighted our issues about the condition of the room. Reception Staff said they would send someone up to the room. Nobody turned up so we went down to reception to speak to the staff again! We were allocated another room - same poor quality. We accepted the room due to frustration with the room change and tiredness after our long trip. However the condition of the room was a constant cause of upset throughout the whole holiday. (SEE PHOTOS) Hotel Facilities - We booked and paid for the All Inclusive option as we believed there would be numerous dining options to chose from during our stay. Lanz Beach Cocktail Bar was CLOSED! (SEE PHOTOS ATTACHED) Restaurant La Caleta was CLOSED! We asked about booking La Caleta restaurant for Friday evening and we were very surprised to hear that it was closed but we were told to try again the next week. We tried to book the restaurant again but we were told that it was closed and would not be open before our departure. Construction Works; We heard loud cutting noises and drilling from our room. This continued throughout the day. As we walked through the hotel we saw construction work taking place. We were not informed that there would be any construction work taking place in the hotel during our stay. (SEE PHOTOS) The hotel management will try to defend itself against this mail but do not be fooled..the photos speak for themselves!

I find this a very difficult review to write as my overall experience of the hotel and it's facilities were very poor yet the staff were lovely, helpful and friendly (except one who was probably just having an off day). The good points are the staff and the cleanliness of our room. Sadly the rest just didn't live up to the description of the holiday we thought we were getting. Arrival was great, easy check in, champagne, room was ready but we were shown where we could change into pool gear and our luggage was securely stored. Out room was ready a 3pm. We were told where everything is and given a map of the hotel. Our room was ok, bit dated but nothing wrong, it was very clean and was cleaned to a high standard every day. I had expected our sheets to have been changed at least once in the week but this didn't happen. Our view though left a lot to be desired. I thought I had booked a room with a balcony and sea view. We were on ground floor, next to a road, we had a tiny patio area and a view of a not very pleasant scrap of ground, we could just see the sea! The overal impression of everything is grubby, the chairs in the piano lounge/bar are badly stained as are the chairs in the restaurant. The floor of the top pool is cracked, with big patches of black concrete showing through. We went to the pool by Drago bar once but the water had a film over it and there was a scummy foam around the edge at one end, this was at 10 in the morning so there really was no excuse, you couldn't blame that on people going in with sun cream on as hardly anyone was in there. The sun beds are a nightmare, some were broken, dirty and stained. There is a rule in the guest book saying that sun beds must not be reserved and towels will be removed if left for more than 2 hours. Towels were put on sun beds from 7am, the owners did not appear until midday, the towels were never removed so if you wandered around like an idiot looking for a sunbed with some shade. We ended up joining the annoying people and putting our towels on sun beds, what else can you do? There were no staff around the pools anyway. Most of the pool showers didn't work. The food was ok, well cooked and nicely presented, there was a problem with flies around the salad bar and I know some people complained and a member of staff was appointed to the area waving them away. I didn't think it was really 5 star but the choice was good. The buffet restaurant was the only one open despite the being 3 other restaurants which, according to the hotel website, should have been open until 30 September (we were there from 21st Sept). Likewise the beach bar was also closed and again should have been open until 30 September. It did say this depended on occupancy but the hotel looked very busy and sunbeds were all taken every day. The worse thing was the decision of the hotel to commence refurbishment before closing at the end of the season. We were on the 5th floor (although this was at road level on one side), the floor below is seem to empty by Tuesday morning and the workmen moved in, for the rest of our week we had the lovely sound of drilling, banging hammering, whilst the rooms were being gutted, bathrooms taken out. Outside of the rooms, were bags of concrete, rubble, the removed bathrooms, there was dust and noise all day long. There would be no way we would have been able to go for a rest in our room between 8am and 5pm. It was horrendous. Even the lift and the doors to the pool area were blocked up. All in all this could not be described as a 5 star holiday, 3 star maybe but even that doesn't forgive the building site developing around us during our week. I would give the staff 4 stars in my review if I could but I spent a lot of money of this, it was supposed to be a treat and a rest after a very busy year. It was neither.

We spent a very relaxed week here and thoroughly enjoyed the food and the facilities. The staff are great, and the hotel is well-appointed, with multiple pools and bars and easy access to the marina, with its shops and restaurants. If you haven’t been to Lanzarote it might come as a surprise that it is a volcanic island with very little in the way of greenery or golden sands. There is a small beach close to the hotel but it would be better to think of it as a launch-pad for snorkelling in the clear water (when you will see abundant fish) rather than as a spot for sun-bathing; the hotel poolside areas are far better for the latter. It’s not a great place if you like noisy night-life or want to bring the children or grandchildren, but if you want somewhere warm and sunny to relax by the pool with a mojito and enjoy a good range of food, it would be hard to better this hotel.