BlueBay Lanzarote

1st all inclusive family holiday for us and we had a wonderful relaxing stay. The breakfast lunch and dinner food were excellent. Great for kids and adults and rotating options each day. Snacks during the day also good, especially for kids. Staff in the hotel very friendly and efficient the entire stay. Entertainment at the pool during the day and in the theatre area at night.
Our room was clean and tidy. The sofa bed could do with replacing (roomB107) as very worn however, it being a trundle bed rather than double sofa bed was great for kids ages 9 & 11 as they enjoyed having separate beds in terms of space. Rooms are a good size and the ground floor patio area is big. My only criticism would be that it could do with 4 chairs as opposed to 2 so that everyone can relax there together. There are some areas of the swimming pool that could do with repair (peeling on the floor) but it didn't affect everyone's enjoyment of the pool. Sun loungers being reserved and not being used all day was an issue. It would be good if this was monitored more often and towels removed by staff for fairness but I understand this is common at all inclusive resorts. More parasols given the high heat would be a bonus. On our last day, we were allowed to keep our wrist bands until our taxi arrived 4:30 which was a bonus. We could have lunch and drinks and kids got a last dip in the pool. Reception arranged our taxi etc and were very helpful. Great that we could store luggage upon and arrival and on check out. Shops and a couple of bars 5 mins around the corner if you need some supplies or fancy a change of scenery. Playa Bastian beach 5 mins walk away was lovely and Costa tequise centre around 15 mins walk away. We walked in a couple of times and a taxi back was just under 4 euros and there's lots going around at all times. The constant breeze was great by the pool. We would return to this hotel happily for a family holiday.

I have just returned from a very up and down 7 day break through Jet 2, at Blue Bay in Costa Teguise with my husband and 11 year old daughter.

Leading up to this holiday, which was booked quite spontaneously due to annual leave issues, I was nervous about the negative Trip Advisor reviews. In my opinion most of these opinions are correct!

It’s really important to understand that there is no compromise - you are paying for and getting a 3 star hotel. In fact, I would say some areas of the hotel are a 2 star. If you come expecting this - then you shouldn’t be too dissapointed. Having stayed in a number of 3 star hotels I like to think I have good basis for comparison. No part of this complex offers luxury of any kind, and will probably just become a base for you during the stay.

First … the positives:

I was actually pleasantly surprised with our big room. Yes … it could do with a lick of paint and the furniture / paint work is dated and old. However, it was clean and for us spacious. I was bewildered to discover that water is not provided - you have to buy it yourself. Definitely worth baring in mind if you arrive on a late flight and no where is open! Refills are only available in the restaurant or pool bar .. tap water only.

Housekeeping for us was very good! And a couple of times I left them a cute note in Spanish (courtesy of Chat GPT) and a tip, requesting things like new sheets / sand swept etc) and this was done.

The all inclusive food was sadly the worst I have ever had on holiday. Over half the food on offer is carb heavy / beige bread / pasta / pizza / nuggets /… your basic Iceland frozen stuff. All food kept under hot lamps for hours.

For the more adventurous you can try the other stews / curries / paella’s etc etc on offer but the quality is poor. 2 examples that spring to mind include some kind of sausage stew - which had a thick layer of oil at the top 🤢 And some pork skewers … the pork was like chewing cardboard!

The dessert section was god awful, little square cakes / tinned fruit / yoghurt. If you have any food intolerances you’re pretty much screwed. I have a dairy intolerance and other than fruit and jelly there was nothing else.

The salad / cold meat section IMO was unsanitary. No refrigeration for food sat for potentially 3-4 hours, and completely open to the elements. Food is often reused later and mixed into some pasta / salad concoction.

Drink wise - wine / sangria is machine provided and is just gross. High sugar and just blurgh 😣 Cocktails are the same. You can buy a nice mojito at €7 a time.

Needless to say we did eat out at least 3 or 4 times during our stay.

The staff were also very mixed, the vast majority visibly work their socks off, work long hours, and are polite. My only real issues were with the reception staff on occasion. Most were polite but a couple were rude and obnoxious. When I went to ask about the provision of water for example - I was ignored for almost ten minutes whilst the reception staff continued to converse about an app on a phone 🤦🏻‍♀️

Entertainment was pretty average - loud … Baby Shark kinda vibe. If you have a young family this will be great fun for you! The magic show we watched was actually quite good .. and I’m still scratching my head with how a few of the tricks were done.

Finally … the other main issue here for us was other guests.

Many people, like yourself perhaps, have saved long and hard and worked extra shifts for months to afford a holiday where you can spend just a few days relaxing in another climate! A good proportion of guests however seem intent on getting as p*ssed as possible and treating it like a lad’s holiday. Little humans run around screaming until well after midnight .. including really tiny ones that my heart just went out to. Our first night we were kept awake until 2am because a dad was trying to teach his kids how to somersault into the pool.

All sunbeds are reserved by 7am despite the no reservation rule. I removed some towels from a set of 3 that had been left for several hours well into the afternoon … only to be yelled at by another family related to the ‘owners’ next door.

Another time a group of teenagers were having a soft drink fight at the pool bar… leaving a disaster zone for the staff to clean up. I have so many examples .. 😢

To conclude - we will definitely NOT be holidaying here again. Your mindset will dictate the quality of your stay …. Treat the hotel as your base, and get out and about the enjoy the many amazing sights of Lanzarote, and you’ll be OK. My top tips are to rent a car and visit the Visitor’s Centre at Los Volanes natural park, visit the Rancho Texas Lanzarote park - half zoo / half water park, have lunch at El Golfo and see the green lagoon, and visit James del Aqua …. Fascinating place!