Secrets Lanzarote Resort and Spa

I always write reviews as objectively as possible so here goes..

Positives

Beautiful hotel, stunning location, nice spacious rooms, we found the hotel clean and well maintained. The pool area and gardens well looked after. We are actually still here after booking 7 nights bed and breakfast deciding not to upgrade to the preferred package but paying a little extra for a sea view room.

So far so good. In terms of the preffered room package the differences are access to the lower pool which is much prettier, quieter and has a swim up bar, an hour spa visit package, but the bedrooms are identical to none preffered rooms (we are next next door to 4 of them so know this to be true) I believe you get your mini bar restocked with soft drinks, beer and a nicer breakfast room to eat in (the food being the same)

Breakfast is plentiful, I really can't fault the huge amount and variety on offer and the restaurant is clean, breakfast service quick and efficient .

Where I find this hotel truly at odds is the day/pool service...whilst the staff (mainly) are efficient and presumably are only doing as told there are so many rules, so much so that it has become a bit of a game now between my husband and I to see who we can get 'told off' more...namely and bizarrely around ordering cava.

We're not huge drinkers and don't drink in the day, we totally understand, appreciate and agree with no glass bottles/glasses by the pool area but did decide 2 nights ago we'd really enjoy a bottle of cava on our sea view terrace to relax and enjoy our surroundings. We went to the pool bar to order to be told extremely rudely and aggressively that it was not possible to order a bottle of wine and glasses and take it to our room. This was the pool bar so assuming this was to do with the no glass/ plastic cups by the pool rule and down to miscommunication I asked where else in the hotel, out of the many restaurants/bars we could sit and enjoy a bottle of wine, to be told (and I genuinely cannot express how rude this lady was) that we could order in the restaurant behind the pool bar but under no circumstances could we take the bottle or glasses to the room, I was somewhat amused by this (I'm 45 years old, not 12) I pushed further by explaining that preffered guests have beer in bottles in their room, fridges restocked daily so I didn't understand the no glass rule to be then told that we could indeed order but only via room service to get said bottle of wine (and glasses) but this had to be done via room service (extra 10euro service charge)
It became apparent then that the problem was not about ordering the wine but about wanting to charge us more. Undeterred I tried to then order a bottle via the hotel ap for room service to be advised there was an hour wait...came out of my room and instead walked to reception to order room service..bottle arrived swiftly with no issues with extra charge.

All rooms have fridges so we've decided if we fancy another bottle on an another evening we'll buy it from the port and leave it in our fridge. Silly of them really, we'd be more than happy to pay 15euros for a bottle of cava...just not 25 euros each time just because they won't allow us to walk to our room with one from the bar, if they want to do themselves out of revenue that's up to them..the next few days then became a personal challenge to myself and husband re who could get the most 'told off' for daring to ask for simple things.

Today we decided to book a Balinese bed, these are comfy cabanas overlooking the sea, lovely stuff. The price is 35euro Inc a bottle of cava...ideal and reasonably priced but again problems with flipping cava (who knew a holiday could be so governed by fizzy wine) the waiter arrived at 11.15am with said (glass) bottle of cava and fruit plate which was a nice edition but as it was just passed 11am we told the waiter it was too early to drink for us and politely asked if he could take it away and come back in the afternoon.....to be told again NO 'this is the time you have to have it, it was ordered for now' it most certainly wasnt ordered by me so who'd decided this on our behalf is a mystery. At this point I'm now getting frustrated at the fact that we are being made to feel like naughty children in what's meant to be a 5 star hotel with 5 star service, we find it really odd that we as guests are being dictated too, when we can or can't enjoy a drink and its making us feel that we don't want to order drinks or dine in the hotel, which is a huge shame. We have been made to feel that us asking for anything is dependant on what the 'rules' are or what mood the waiter is in, it may sound trivial but it's not the service you'd expect from a 5star resort and really let's the whole place down. Guests we've chatted to have all had their own similar gripes and complaints re service around the pool areas, a feeling that the hotel is understaffed (reception and guest services being the exception) It's trivial bits in the grand scheme of things but when you work hard all year and pay to come away to what's labelled as an exclusive resort you expect much better. I'm really pleased we didn't upgrade and really pleased we decided against the all inclusive option..we like to enjoy our meals and drinks when we wish too, not at times demanded by aggressive and rude hotel staff.

I had a fantastic stay at Secrets Lanzarote and really couldn’t fault the experience.

The food was excellent, with a great variety of options throughout my stay, and the resort itself has fantastic facilities. The pool, gym and room were all great, and everything was well maintained. Everyone I met was incredibly friendly and welcoming, which made travelling alone such an enjoyable experience.

A special mention has to go to Charlene from the entertainment team. I joined several activities that she ran, including cocktail making and ping pong, and she genuinely went above and beyond to make sure everyone was having a great time. She is incredibly fun, friendly and energetic, and made me feel very welcome from the start. I ended up spending quite a lot of time with Charlene during my stay and we became good friends, which really shows what a lovely and approachable person she is.

Charlene is a fantastic asset to the resort and deserves plenty of recognition for the effort she puts into making guests feel included, entertained and welcome. She definitely helped make my stay extra special.

Overall, I had a brilliant time at Secrets Lanzarote and I’m already looking forward to visiting again soon. Highly recommended!