Iberostar Selection Lanzarote Park

Really nice all inclusive stay here in August on the "normal" side of the hotel - not Star Prestige I cannot comment on that. Weather was perfect, and whilst the overall proposition here is strong, it does have some weaknesses - which I'll call out:

1. in case any of them matter particularly to you and
2. so hopefully they read this and take on the feedback.

The positives

Hugely positive and engaging staff. Consistently throughout the whole hotel. They all care and take pride in what they do. It shines through.

Arrival process - Reception handle this really nicely, have a seat and a drink whilst they walk you through things. They call you quite a lot through your stay, to check in that you are happy.

The food and drink. Exceeded expectations in terms of quality and variety. No issues and we looked forward to every meal with anticipation.

Cleanliness. Spotlessly clean consistently.

Maintenance. Things break and thats life but there were multiple signs that when they realised this, they reacted quickly and efficiently.

Minibar in room. Great selection in room, replenished daily. (You also have a kettle, and a nespresso which is awesome - catering for everyone.)

Refillable water machines throughout the complex. Good idea, well executed.

The negatives

The actual rooms themselves do not feel anywhere near the hotels stated 5 star rating. Whilst clean and completely functional, all the furniture in our room was very tired and battle worn. It felt like a Spanish interpretation of a Travelodge built 20 years prior. It did not feel luxurious at all. We had a ground floor Family Room, facing the Childrens Pool in the 20xx series.

Bar Salon Jameos, or Bar Vomit, as we called it. For some reason it CONSTANTLY smelled of room temperature infant sick. Luckily this doesn't affect anywhere else in the complex but we couldn't bare to stay in it for long due to this which is a shame as its where most the evening enterainment is.

Management of Poolside Furniture. Really mixed priorities with this. On a number of occasions the manager would slink around as the towel police, they appear to have an unannounced "non reserving of sunbeds policy" which equates to "if you aren't on a sunlounger at the given moment we check we'll immediately steal your towels back if they are ours" Some might approve of this, but I felt it created arguments and scenes, when actually just having enough capacity in the first place would be better. People should be allowed to leave the lounger alone for more than 30 seconds without fear of losing it and if you need to police it, it has to be over a sensible period of time, not just in a moment like that.

More worryingly, whilst willing to go all Stasi on the towels, they had absolutely no interest in managing the parasols, some of which were quite knackered. One day one fell on a poor guest that was rushed to the Doctor and then was seen walking around later with a bandage on their head. Obviously not ideal, and its Lanzarote, its windy at times - but the hotels reaction? Remove the parasols? Inspect them and remove the clearly damaged ones? Keep an eye on wind conditions? Attend to ones left up unaccompanied? A message to guests? Nope, they just let them fall over all week, which felt like an unacceptable approach to me.

Limitations of Air Con. If the main buffet restuarant has a/c its not very effective, it was uncomfortable at times. The gym was an absolute furnace and absolutely unusable which was disappointing as I wanted to use it daily but couldn't bare it. As its in the same building as the Spa, I wouldn't have much hope of relaxing inside an oven so I didn't try it. Its worth noting that the A/C in the rooms wasn't very powerful but if left on a constant setting (we went with 20) and door openings were kept to a minimum it was sufficient, but not fridge-tastic.

Conclusion

Despite quite a few detailed moans there I would stress they are relatively minor niggles that might not rate as issues for most people. My overall experience was net positive, and we all came away with full stomachs, healthy tans and big smiles. We appreciate all the work that goes into running the hotel and I'd hope if that sense that they truely do care is correct, that it can continue to improve.

This was a lovely stay at a very clean, well maintained hotel with all the trade marks of an Iberostar - top service, a warm welcome and a keen emphasis on the environment with edible straws and a re-use book and inflatable area.

For us, this was a great base to explore Lanzarote with it's nearby beaches, shops and volcanic sights rather than to enjoy the actual hotel itself and I will explain why....

The amount we paid - £4k for three of us, a lot even by August's standards - didn't quite reflect our experience. When we stayed at the Anthelia in Tenerife it was incredible - warm pools, staff bringing snacks and drinks to your loungers etc. If you are sat on table and chairs then yes you get amazing service. But for a 5 star hotel we didn't expect sun lounger wars and a real lack of parasols which aren't always safe even if you do get one. At one point, the wind carried my parasol away over the fence and nobody noticed! There only seemed to be life guards at the kids' pool and this area was too babyish for our 9 year old. I hear that in SP people have an amazing time, but for people in the 'normal' area it didn't feel luxurious. As to the restuarant, it always smelt faintly of bleach and it was absolutely hectic despite the efforts of the staff. Sometimes the food was cold.

The hotel itself tries so hard but these are serious points that need to be addressed. On the positive side, the minibar is very well equipped, chocolates are provided in the evening, there are numerous water fountains etc. The chat on the app is actually proper good. The gym had a massive fan on the go for coolness. The staff try so hard!

But for us to return, the main area is far too busy. The number of guests using the main area is far too many even for peak season expectations. It felt like a zoo. Some ideas: family rooms, which we paid a premium for, need 1 or 2 sun loungers. Some 'passes' for the SP area or maybe lowering the age for teens to use SP would make the guests more evenly spread out. Better parasols! Tables for groups of sun loungers! Not allowing guests to leave glasses around the pool late at night. The whole offering feels too small and too many people.

However all being said, I feel confident that these items could be addressed by a re-think. The weather was perfect, the cocktails were amazing and the location was awesome. We had a very comfortable stay!