Lopesan Baobab Resort

Overall we had a great 10 days at the Baobab. If I could give it a 4.5 I would, but there’s a few bits just holding it back compared to other 5* resorts we’ve stayed at.

5* worthy:

• stunning African themed buildings and interiors
• excellent varied food in the buffet
• fantastic lazy river pool
• great cocktails (and reasonable prices ~€10-13)
• very friendly staff
• largely good entertainment in the evening, the circus act was great!

Not quite 5* worthy:

• not enough sun loungers (we arrived after our 9am breakfast on our first day to find no spare loungers. From then on it was the dreaded routine of one of us being up at 8 to save some. Really didn’t want to, management left notes to discourage it, but there wasn’t an alternative - so it really was a case of if you can’t beat them, join them. Lots of hotels suffer from this but there’s got to be a better system to avoid me getting up at 7.30 every day on my holiday). We also found the loungers really tightly packed, not much space to spread out.
• collecting payment for drinks when I’ve just started eating! Every day at the buffet restaurant, the waiting staff came for payment 2 mins after bringing the wine, I was usually mid-eating and hadn’t even tasted my wine! Felt rushed and intrusive (although staff were always courteous and friendly) and not like a 5* meal experience. Just come at the end like a normal restaurant?!
• no à la carte restaurants included in half board (don’t think this was clear when booking via our agent). Luckily the buffet was fairly varied, and great quality, but we did miss some à la carte nights to mix it up.
• room was ok but no more. Very dark and had a bit of a damp smell. Only 2 balcony chairs in a room for 4. Would definitely recommend a pool view room vs those looking out to the road!
• Pools were great but had quite a few missing tiles and lots of sand in them from the faux beach parts of the pool areas.

Overall we don’t regret staying, had a great time, was pleasantly surprised by the really nice promenade in Meloneras, and there’s no doubting it’s a stunning bit of hotel design. But there were enough gripes that we probably wouldn’t return.

From the moment we walked out of our taxi and got to our hotel we were greeted warmly by the security which took our luggages and escorted us towards reception, staff in the front desk were always lovely to talk to and provided us details that would elevate our stay such as where breakfasts were and we didnt know there were two so it was good information. The design of the hotel exceeded our expectation it was better in person than on the websites. The pools were amazing and we loved the options of pools. Our chambermaid was lovely and she was always such a lovely person to see every morning - even when I forgot the one time to put towels on the floor she still changed our towels knowing we wanted new ones. One thing that stood out for me especially was the effort the staff put in especially Carlos on front desk as I lost my airpods when we checked out and I remember I left it on the bed and contacted Lopesan as soon as I landed and they gave me updates every day when I asked and when it was located he provided me with everything I needed, a confirmation picture of my item, the payment and tracking number so it was an absolute 10/10 experience even when I wasn't a guest in the hotel anymore - it was above and beyond. Our group did get a bit annoyed the fact there was no option for a late check out as it was fully booked but we were given an option so we were quite upset about that - as well as courtesy rooms were not ready when we needed them. Overall me and my friends had the best time in this hotel and would definitely try the other Lopesan branches in Gran Canaria. Location was good we took taxis to places but it was close to restaurants we wanted to try, there is a beach nearby as well. Room and cleanliness was amazing we had a great view and the room was lovely itself it was our home for the 9 days. Atmosphere in general of the hotel with every staff member it made us feel welcome and the price and value of money was worth it especially it came with the buffet breakfast.

I’ll start by saying this was a 4.5/5 holiday. Not 4…

So many positives.

1. Great location in town. Lovely walk beach side and nice bars and restaurants.
2. The hotel is very attractive. Nice gardens, with pretty bars and restaurants.
3. Pools were great. The lazy river pool was absolutely perfect for our kids and a great temperature!
4. Staff are nice but not in your face.
5. Lots of sunbeds, though good ones go early.
6. Food was good. Freshly cooked meats were delicious and my kids loved the pancakes and churros each morning.
7. Rooms were modern and clean. Cleaners always did a great job.

Where it could improve.

1. Rooms were too dark. The hotels style was quite dark, but we needed a main light in the bedroom area. We struggled to find things.
2. WIFI was poor. It was free which is great, but not a good quality. This should be improved given its importance now.
3. Food quality was very good, but variation was limited. After a week we would have liked a little more variation. Breakfast yogurts, fruit, pastries were OK. Cooked food very good.
4. Poolside umbrellas were sometimes broken or hard to use. They could do with replacing a few.
5. The lazy river pool had a lot of stones in from the planted areas by the side of the pools. Meant you frequently walked on something hard and hurt your foot.
6. Our rooms only had a bedside table on one side which was annoying as I couldn’t put my stuff next to the bed and there were no charging points I could use.
7. Great little football pitch, but netting around the side had so many holes the ball kept going out. It needs to be replaced properly.

The downsides were minor, but just honest feedback, which is if the hotel did act on, would elevate it even higher. As a minimum the lighting and WIFI could be improved.

Saying all this, we would definitely recommend it and return. It was value for money and for a family, a great find!