Castillo De Elba

castilla de elba good winter sun holiday january 2008 just returned from a weeks stay @ the castilla de elba , found the hotel to be basic but very clean. on a half board basis with my wife and 2 kids found food not very good, but thankfuly nearby a good freindly irish bar called kavanaghs.staff really nice and food excellent. good value for money .always very helpful .nice walk bout 15 mins along coast to calletta.would revisit again and weather for that time fantastic paul falkirk scotland

Just come back, this place was awful, no bathroom light for 3 days after reporting it 3 times, in the middle of nowhere! building sites everywhere. To angry for words, place made me sick.

Hello. myself and partner arrived at the hotel without any expectations as we had booked it with allocation on arrival. We were happy with the room which overlooked the pool, with a large balcony. Everything was clean, comfortable beds etc but agree with other reviewers about the rubbish buffet food and lack of choice at the pool bar. Thank god we were self catering and didn't have to suffer that every day. Thank god for "Tommy Nutters Steak House" (5 minutes down the road) which was home from home and friendly atmosphere!! We found the staff helpful but the shop inside the hotel had temperamental opening hours but handy for getting odds and ends (newspapers at 11. a.m.). No muggings or break ins whilst we were staying there, but wandering around at night was intimidating due to no street lighting and also paths with broken tiles etc which could be tripped on, specially when the missus had had a few! Fuerteventura, the parts we visited, seemed very nice, friendly people, although some areas a bit unfinished. Oh, and the weather was gorgeous all week! Steve & Wendy.

I got a very cheap half board deal online for myself and 6 year old granddaughter. After I booked it I saw the really worrying reviews, especially about thefts from rooms, but it was too late to cancel. Im glad I didnt as everything was fine, no thefts or other problems for ourselves or anyone else. The food is not great but its passable, we managed fine. The rooms were basic but clean, and the pool was cold (of course!) but lovely. The weather was hot, so we spent a lot of time in the pool and enjoyed every minute of it. There is not much entertainment at the hotel, just three nights a week, and not much going on around the hotel, but there is a free coach that goes from the hotel into caleta de fuste eery hour during the day and up to 9pm at night, which goes around the shopping centres and other parts of caleta, and you can get on and off at any of the stops as many time as you want to, for free. The taxi fare is only 3 euros, and the airport is close and is only 8 euros in a taxi. There is also a lovely coastal path which starts near the hotel and goes into caleta, it takes half an hour or so to walk, and there are loads of chipmunks running about on the rocks near the path, they are really cute. All in all, a good value-for-money hotel and holiday.

We came back from this hell hole on 14th July 2007 and we couldn't wait to leave. We were there for a week but it was the longest week of our lives. On the second night there our friends room (number 201s) was broken into. The safe which is located in the wardrobe was physically smashed from the wall and taken by the thieves. All their clothes were strewn around the room. Luckily they had not used the safe so it was empty ha ha ha to you stupid thieves. They took all his cigarettes and little else as there was nothing of value to sell. The security guard came and looked around and said it was the people who live in the flats behind. The hotel staff said it had never happened before. We were all in shock and so worried and from then on carried all our valuables with us. (How relaxing is that?) Talk about holiday from hell. The manager never appeared, the police made out they couldn't speak English. We never saw a holiday Rep and there was no board in reception saying when the rep was due to call. We now know they never call because they know every time a new intake of people arrive from England, some of them will be robbed. On the Wednesday night 12 more rooms were robbed. One had two teenage girls asleep in their beds whilst it was being robbed. They had £400.00 of stuff taken. Read the reviews of this hotel for the past few years and you will see that it is always being broken into. I have written to the tour operator, the holiday provider and also ABTA. I want this hotel to be banned from English holiday makers as they will have an awful time because of what will happen to them and also there is nothing to do, it is in the middle of a building site and has been for years so it won't get built overnight and be a nice place. The hotel food is boring and basic and always cold. We went into the restuarant at 6.30pm one evening and the food was cold. The open at 6.30pm!!!! I can't say much more because I am so angry with this hotel that they ruined our holiday and cost us quite a lot of money. It is not a four star or even three star in my opinion. PLEASE do not go to this hotel.

This is the 2nd time I am spending a week vacation there and nothing to complain about as long as you have done your research before going (location, transportation, type of accommodation). This is a great solution for travelers on a budget who do not want to use their accommodation as the whole focus of their holidays but as a base to explore the island and enjoy all it has to offer! Location: Conveniently located about 15min from the airport so the taxi fare will cost you no more than Eur 8. The apartments are located in a new development area called Nuevo Horizonte on the East coast about mid-distance from the best beaches on the islands situated North (Corralejo) and South (Jandia). The closest town (Caleta de Fuste) is less than 10km away and is a 10min taxi drive (Eur 4). The area: Nuevo Horizonte is a small place, not much to find apart from convenient stores and a pub. The closest town Caleta De Fuste offers more restaurants and pubs and a bigger supermarket. This is a town for tourists, so do not expect great quality food. For great restaurants serving fish, ask the receptionists or best the taxi drivers. They will take you to places a little bit outside where the fish are fresh and cooked the local way. Sorry I couldn't tell you the names of the restaurants but ask the taxi drivers. The only thing though is that some places might close down during the low season. Otherwise if you spend the day around the island, best is to have dinner there. Accommodation: These are self-catered apartments so you have one bedroom, a living-room and kitchenette (usual mod cons) and a balcony or terrace. This is a basic 3* property, clean and well maintained and if you are not happy with anything (like we were upon check-in, the door leading to the balcony wasn't closing properly so I asked to changed room and we were given a better room without problem), the staff will try and help. There is a swimming-pool and a pool table as well as a tennis table. This is a not a resort or a hotel club or a big complex so do not expect entertainment or noise going on all night long. This is a cheap honest place to crash in for for a good night sleep after a long day exploring the island. Transportation: If you do not have a car, taxis are widely available or do like the locals do, take the bus! The bus stop is outside the hotel (5min walk) and will take you to the nearest big town (Puerto Del Rosario) in less than 30min which will cost you Eur 1.25. From there take any buses that go either North or South were you will love the beaches! The drive to there is quite impressive. One tip, instead of bying bus tickets cash, buy a bus card (check the website) and this will allow you 20% reduction on all your journeys. As a rather unspoilt island (compared to the other islands in the Canary), the buses are not running so often (every 30min for some, others only 3 times a day), so you better check the timetables and plan your journey accordingly. That's what we did and this way we didn't waste much time waiting for a bus or money on a taxi. This island is the less developped of all the other ones of the Canary so this means that you will not find a super standard in terms of transports or accommodation even but this is why this island is so appealing. You will find great unspoilt beaches and friendly and helpful locals. If you are looking for all day entertainment and party, you are better off going to Gran Canaria or Tenerife. One last thing, the climate. This is not the Tropics so the ocean is not that warm and not every hotel will heat their pools so don't go there expecting to be in the Carribean - although the turquoise of the water might make you think it's like being in the Carribean ;-). It is windy also so great for windsurf but can feel a bit chilly so don't forget your little jumper! But it is warm and sunny all day! I had a very nice holiday each time I went there and will go back there again before it gets too crampy with hotels and other resort complexes!

Let me start by saying that I am NOT a fussy holiday maker, I understand you get what you pay for and never expect 5* luxuary and don't really even want it but this hotel really was so very dissapointing. To start with, our room was riddled with ants, so the breakfast cerel and jam, biscuits and milk etc we bought for breakfast was ruined within 5 mins for us bringing it back from the supermarket....the bathroom was really quite fowl, the bath and shower were just so manky with hairs in the bath and cracked tiles and yellow stains, enough said! The supposed "Fresh" towels which were in the bathroom looked like they had been used to clean the bathroom floor they were covered with brown and yellow stains, we asked for them to be changed as soon as we arrived, they were, but these were exactly the same, we therefore had to use our beach towel for the whole week to sunbathe with and shower with, disgusting!! There is NOTHING around the hotel so you have to get a taxi into the town everyday or evening so we were getting taxi's up to 4 times a day, we had to eat out of the hotel even for lunch as there is (im not exaggerating) 4 things on the lunch menu by the pool and each one is so unedible. You may think i sound so fussy but please trust me Im not at all!! The pool is cold don't even think about swimming in it. There is NO entertainment at the hotel so that's your evenings screwed and as for the little town nearby, well, nobody quite warned us that we would be staying in Chav City Central for a week, we were in Spain and we could not find ONE spanish restaurant, except it's burger bars, fish and chips and chinense, and they all show the football or coronation street whilst you eat......a bit like being in brighton, NOT MY IDEA OF A HOLIDAY at all, I was actually so glad to be coming home! We were in bed by 9pm every night as there was nothing to do at all unless you want to be surroned by chavvy football wearing people from up North (sorry)! The locals are frightfully rude and unhelpful, the food sucks, the weather is crap and so windy that when the sun goes in it feels like blimin Novemeber in England, there is constant builiding work going on around the hotel, in every angle you look in fact....we paid next to nothing for this holiday so we REALLY should have known better but that is, exactly what we got....nothing! Don't do it, it really was very upsetting, I did actally even have a little cry when we were there, don't waste your money!!

Just spent a week of glorious winter sun. Hotel clean and tidy, friendly staff. Towels changed regularly. Room mopped out and bins emptied. We were self catering which was our choice. Free bus very handy but we preferred a leisurely walk into Caleta along the sea front promenade. Bag of nuts/sunflower seeds at the ready to feed the cheeky chipmunks enroute. Less then 15 mins from the airport by taxi (8 euros). Was very impressed with the airport very clean and modern, checking in/out was a dream very efficient. Our pilot must have been on a promise going home, we were called to the gate 1 hour before scheduled take off time, loaded very quickly and would have been away at least 35 mins early, had it not been for the predictable 1 passenger taking his time to board. Yes building work is taking place in and around Caleta but its an up and coming area and it didnt spoil our holiday. Local Irish bar had friendly staff and good food and Caleta offered good alternatives. Would not hesitate in returning some day.

We have just returned from a week in the winter sun and it was really enjoyable. The hotel is everything you need for a good basic hotel - let's face it, it's not supposed to be 5*. If there was a problem with anything, it was fixed by the friendly staff straight away. The food was your typical buffet style but there was sufficient choice. The rooms were cleaned every day. Yes it is a walk to the town, but it is a really nice walk along the coastal path. People have also omitted to mention that if you don't want to walk, there is a free bus every hour to take you there and back! We did a couple of trips while we were there - the island tour is ok but you are on a bus most of the day. Oasis Park is well worth a visit, especially for children. Make sure you do the camel safari!!There are plenty of places to eat in the town and it is well catered for those that want english food and those that want to be more adventurous. For a really nice meal, if a little more expensive, try the restaurant in the tower at the harbour - really nice! All in all, we had a really good week and if you don't want Blackpool in the sun, then Caleta de Fuste is a nice quiet place although with plenty of shops, cafes etc.

The hotel is the middle of a building site, and the rooms were not very clean. The food was luke warm and disgusting. The left over breakfast was quite often in the evenings soup. We were on the 3rd floor and there were ants crawling up out of the tiles!!! At one time in the restaurant there were ants on the salad bar! We also had a cockroach and a lizard in our room. The swimming pool was nice but be aware of the steps and it is freezing cold. The brochure says about all the sports activities etc but be aware none of it is free. We were told that Fuerterventura never closes but there was no entertainment on at all.