Decision

Back to Lanzarote Hotels

None of the hotels is perfect, they all have pluses and minuses, so we have to decide which one best suits or needs.

We are looking for an Autumn break – not our main holiday of the year – two weeks in the sun, where we can go swimming and snorkelling every day, enjoy a walk along a prom, with nice cafes and bars.

Timeslot

While the weather on our holiday this year was good, it was not as warm as on previous years, more cloudy days.
So we decided to use a slightly earlier time slot to compare prices in 2025 – 18th September to 2nd October 2025

Airline

In the past we have used “consolidators” – Travel Republic and Love Holidays – they are cheaper, but we prefer the security of a full package from one company – Jet2.  We also looked at Tui, but discovered that they use EasyJet, so there is a higher risk of cancellation!  Jet2 times are usually more convenient, and their seats are comfortable!

These prices are for two people, flights from / to Edinburgh, half board.

Prices

Each hotel has a range of rooms with different facilities.  We picked sea-view rooms where possible, (Dreams, Yaiza and Iberostar)  and pool side rooms for Lanzarote Princess and White Suites.

Princess Yaiza – Junior Suite with sea view – £4,932

Dreams – Preferred Club double room with sea view – £4,898

Barcelo – Royal level (18+ only) side sea view deluxe room – £4554

Iberostar – Star Prestige double room with sea view – £4,042

White Suites – pool view suite – £3,786

Princess Lanzarote – Superior double room with pool view – £2,866

Las Costas – is closing from April to end of July next year for a refurbishment.  Jet2 does not have a price for 2025.
(we paid £3345 in Octocer 2024)

At £2,866, Lanzarote Princess is the cheapest

Other factors

We ruled out Las Costas and Iberostar on the basis of location.

The service in Dreams was poor when we last visited and remains so according to on-line reviews

Barlcelo gets very mixed reviews – difficult to find sunbeds in huge outdoor areas, wind blows through sun bed areas (so umbrellas have to be lowered) ,  no direct access to prom . . .

Princess Yaiza was nice, but rather formal and expensive.

Although White Suites seemed to be appealing as it is adults-only, the atmosphere in Lanzarote Princess seemed more relaxed.

We are gravitating towards Lanzarote Princess 

Reviews

We signed up for the Lanzarote Princess Facebook page to read reviews.

Here are a few:

Keith Spurrier
4 November at 20:31
Review from week spent 27.10 – 03.11
CHECK IN: Was fast and easy, nothing more to say.
ROOM: decent sized room, we had 3 beds and was still quite spacious. Clean and neat and cleaners changed all towels etc daily. Good sized balcony although didn’t have much scenery where we were positioned (over looking dining room roof)
Bathroom had bath/ shower facility. Generally In good condition, the bath and shower guard was a little stained probably my only gripe, and shower head wasn’t the best but all in all was happy with it.
HOTEL: really nice hotel, lots of facilities and very well positioned for easy navigation.
Good sized pool, yes was cold but people who just dip their toes in are never going to get in, once your in you get used to it and it’s fine
Sun beds were all good, no issues with people reserving and taking them all up. I was in a party of 8 and still managed to get one each time even when coming down at 10am. A few times we just repositioned some free beds and it was all good.
One improvement I would say is maybe playing some background music around the pool area just to add a bit more atmosphere, but other than that the pool area was lovely.
FOOD: the main buffet restaurant was very good as buffet restaurants go. They had a varied selection to cater for all needs in my opinion. Yes certain things ran out, but was always refilled pretty quickly. They have a cook whilst you wait counter, so that you could have fresh meats cooked in front of you, a bit of a wait but was worth it.
The Breakfast is probably the best selection I have seen in any hotel, can’t think of a single thing they didn’t offer. Was great for us all as we have very fussy kids.
We always got a table even with a family of 8 of us, even at peak times!!! And never once did we have to wait.
They offer 2 seperate restaurant experiences too (teppanyaki and Italian) the teppanyaki especially was superb.
They had 1 snack bar around the pool area, and generally was quite a wait. This is my only suggestion of improvement that there perhaps be more/faster access to snacks for lunch rather than having to go to the buffet restaurant.
DRINKS: fantastic alcohol selection, from the cocktails to wine and spirits. Was very impressed and quite a few branded names too. None alcohol cocktails went down well with the kids too.
Ordering at the bar did take a while sometimes but never to the extent you lose your patience.
STAFF: Most were very friendly and ALWAYS helpful. In the buffet restaurant they worked tirelessly to clear plates, help you with a table, getting you drinks etc. Sometimes you didn’t always get a smile behind the bar, but that’s fine as they are working so fast to attend to people’s orders and they were never rude.
AREA: The beach is basically a stones throw away. We spent a full day at the beach and paid for some beds @4 euros each (umbrellas were extra) and we absolutely loved it.
The sea was lovely and nice sandy beach.
Lots of pubs and restaurant’s along the beach front which are worth a visit as is a walk up to the Mariner. There is also lots of choice for shopping just outside the hotel so I think it’s positioned in a great spot.
All in all we had a great week and we all really enjoyed it.

Louise Elizabeth Wilson
3 November at 10:49
·
✈️ Just a quick review of the hotel for those worrying with some recent reviews and negative feedback.
⭐️ Family of 6 staying here since 27th oct and still here now.
🍱 Food is fantastic – it’s all inclusive buffet style hotel with always fresh cooked meats on grill , mixture of foods available and always of good quality. This is the best all inclusive food we have had, yes you may have to Queue and yes sometimes when restocking the food you may have to wait for it, but it’s served in such a nice way it’s not like a canteen, it’s not huge vats of food – it’s smaller better prepared food.
🏨 Hotel is wonderful clean and friendly staff, not in your face friendly but polite and well mannered. Yes you do have to Queue at the bars and wait for drinks but drinks are much better quality than other hotels we have stayed in before ( we go away three times a year) .
🏊‍♀️ Pools are great, outside one as expected it’s cold and inside one is brilliant absolute godsend and the sunbeds in the sun trap there are fabulous also.
💅🏻 Massage spa is brilliant and been twice since been here, the woman is brilliant. And the gym is great too and visited a few times.
☕️ Coffee shop is a nice perk also with nice coffee menu and some cakes, bit of a wait but quality is great so no gripes at all.
💃 Entertainment has been wonderful each night even the singers which I don’t normally sit and watch. This has been a real breath of fresh air and been great to entertain the family .
🥇 Must admit this hotel has been perfect, it’s beautiful clean and staff are great, food is best we have had for all inclusive, we have no complaints what so ever. I feel it would be nit picking to find faults. I don’t think everyone is suited to all inclusive and we took some family members that has never done it before so we were worried- but they absolutely loved it !
💚Don’t worry if you’re coming to this hotel, it really is wonderful!

Sinead Lemasney
29 September
·
Honest opinion of my stay In Lanzarote princess. Arrived last Saturday for 7 days, room is basic but comfortable, bath style shower not ideal with climbing over a bath for a shower but you make do. Room was twin beds and a sofa bed, two of us stayed. Our room was looking over at the cactus bar and very near the pool, small terrace with table and chairs that we never used as only got sunshine at lunch. Our room was cleaned every day . Pool is cold but you adjust to within minutes and it’s quite refreshing , anyone with mobility issues they had a flat ramp to get in and out of the pool. Plenty of sunbeds to chose from and if you had blocked a sun bed with your towel etc and went off then they were removed and a notice put on telling you where to go . Someone regularly in the morning walked around checking this. Food is good as, I’m a fussy eater and always found something and food was hot. Staff were extremely friendly and polite. Bar upstairs no matter how busy it was staff did their best to serve you fast n smile. Italian and Japanese restaurants were brilliant.
Location of hotel is ideal as close to everything. We never bothered with heated pool, was too hot for that .

Jenn Will

Rising contributor
·
14 September
·
The breakfast in this hotel is the best selection of all inclusive food I’ve experienced. I’m here for another week and I’m going to miss the breakfasts (im not even a breakfast person🤣). This post is not to invalidate other people’s feelings but to give reassurance, as I don’t share the opinion that the food is rubbish and cold. When the food comes out it is steaming (as you can see in some of my pics) and obviously as it stays longer the heat reduces. I have never experienced a tray come out and the food be cold on it, during any of my stays. I mostly wait for fresh food to come and then get a plate.. Again, everyone’s experiences are valid but please do not be put off this hotel. If you are coming with a negative mind set due to reading things and worrying then you will be looking out for bad things. I’ve got another week here so will be posting some other things 🥰 happy to answer anyone’s questions. X

Andy Dakin
3 November at 10:18
·
After reading mixed reports re a number of elements of the hotel prior to visiting, below are a few of our own having spent the last week at the hotel.
– We had an enjoyable stay, 4 adults, 1 6yr old
– rooms were fine & cleaned well daily
– staff etiquette very mixed. Some very nice, some extremely poor.
– bar service – expect at least a 15 minute queue at the pool bar for drinks or the cactus bar for a burger lunch. You may get a smile when you get to the front of the queue, but more likely not.
– Main pool very cold. Bearable, but very cold. Heated, covered pool a bit of a holiday saver for us with the 6yr old. Also, much less windy to sunbathe near the covered pool. Main pool area concourse appears to be a bit of a wind tunnel.
– room cards. Had to get them changed everyday, and I never kept them near a mobile device as suggested.
– Food. Unfortunately this is the main gripe and what we thought really let the hotel down. That said, the Tappenyaki restaurant was excellent. The Italian less so, and the buffet terrible for multiple reasons. Never enough cutlery, poor service, poorly cleaned plates, cold food which was left out rather than covered or on heated plates. We were all inclusive but ate out 4 evenings (plus a la carte), to avoid the buffet. This significantly increased the cost of the stay, but very much enhanced the overall experience as each restaurant we ate in along the front was great.
– Area. Local beaches and eateries all lovely. The area was very family friendly and felt very safe. The new marina area which has only been open since march is worth a visit.
We would definitely return to the area, but unlikely the hotel unless we saw some different reviews particularly re the food. Shame, as the location is spot on.
Happy to provide balanced and honest answers to any questions.

Michelle Dooley
14 September
·
Have had the best time at the hotel for the week. My kids 17, 13 and 12 really enjoyed all the activities around the pool. I don’t understand the negative reviews, they scared me the few weeks coming up to the holiday. We’ve all really enjoyed the food and couldn’t fault the staff. I agree that peak times are crazy but the main restaurant is a buffet so sometimes you need to be prepared to queue for the popular items (always the chips). We loved the a la carte restaurants too. All in all had the best holiday here, going mad it’s come to an end

Issues

The main issue with the Lanzarote Princess seems to be with the temperature of food on the buffet.

This is raised as a point in  a few reviews (but is not raised in many other reviews!)

Here is one review – with replies . . .

Margie Edwards
6 November at 15:14 ·
Is anyone else here finding the food too cold ?

Mick Cole
I can honestly say that I found no problem with food temperature. Not hot maybe but perfectly fine. We usually ate the mains from the show cooking which were great. Please don’t spoil your anticipation of your holiday by worrying about food. It’ll be fine! It is very busy and can be a problem getting tables ready for you and getting drinks. But you’re on holiday. Chill!

Lorna Hamilton
I’ve been to this hotel twice and never had issue with cold food!
5d
Reply
Fiona Dunlop
It’s nearly 30c outside do you want hot food?

Anthony Templeton
The only time I’ve been was June last year, and being honest it was one of the better buffet restaurants I’ve visited. Never had any issues with temperature, variety or quality.

Jason Hughes

Rising contributor
All the people mentioning the food being cold, have you mentioned it to the staff or just posted on the page?

Gary Alan Potter
It was a bit hit and miss last week,the food hall is poorly laid out

Colin Wheatley

Top contributor
There are microwaves is you want a quick zap 👍 or wait for the food you want to be replenished

Jackie Scuffle

Top contributor
Yes the salad and ice cream is cold.🤣🤣

Chris Smith Smiffy
No it was amazing when we were there

Laura Carr
It must be in October then as we was there and found it Luke warm. To the end of the week the manager was in the restaurant watching and it got better to the end of the week x

The general consensus is that food is fine.

Choose freshly grilled items
or
Choose from full trays – just brought out from kitchen
or
Pop your plate in the microwave!

Privilege Service Upgrade

It is possible to upgrade from a Superior double room with pool view – £2,866,
to a Privilege Service room at £3,200 ( £334 extra per couple)

This offers:

Conclusion

On balance, Lanzarote Princess seems like teh best option

There are various room and price options to pick from

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