Las Gaviotas Bungalows

4 readers found this review helpful

Have never had an all inclusive holiday like it!
I have never before had to take a 5 minute walk to reach the hotel restaurant from my accommodation! Not that that was enough the condition of the footpaths leading between the two was extremely dangerous, especially in the dark.
The “Complex” and I use the word loosely, was not in any way private but merely a series of small blocks of apartments located around a pool. These blocks were in a “public” area surrounded by “public” footpaths and roads. So “public” in fact that security guards were needed at night to protect the properties and also, to my utter horror, bars on the windows! It was like being in a prison cell. The apartment smelt of stale sweat like the soft furnishings hadn’t been cleaned in years, when the apartments was cleaned beds were often not remade fully or towels left.
At the rear of the apartment was a “public” car park, the local residents had a habit of picking up and dropping off friends and family at all times of night, often shouting greetings and farewells and all times of night with a good old blast on the car horn.
In the bathroom was a hair dryer, what I can only describe as “hot wired” into an electrical socket, not dangerous enough as it was, and this was placed immediately next to the basin! Fortunately I did not have any children with me but if I had I would have left the apartment the moment I saw this! I cannot believe such a safety risk was allowed!
Also in the bathroom was a cover on an access point for the foul water drains, this was loose and when the apartment was cleaned it was often dislodged and left off, this released a damp rotting smell into the bathroom.
When I booked the holiday the information stated that the all inclusive bar was open until 11pm, the reality was that it closed at 10.30pm and if you wanted a drink after 10pm you ran the risk of upsetting the waitresses who where far too busy cleaning the bar/restaurant area, so they could leave, to serve drinks to the customers!
The service was generally sloppy and hap-dash, on one occasion my wife was literally shouted at by one waitress for entering the restaurant 5 minutes before the time lunch was due to start. Food was regularly placed out 20-30 mins prior to the time meals were due to start and we were sick and fed up of eating cold food. On the subject of food, it was abysmal, never in my experience have I come across a worse offering at an all inclusive facility. The selection was limited and the quality was poor.
The pool bar that was located next to the pool in our block or apartments was not part of the all inclusive package; if I wanted anything from there I had to purchase it! Again I couldn’t believe what I was seeing and I have never come across this before! I pay for an all inclusive package only to find I have to take a 5 min walk to get a drink! Unbelievable! The pool bar that did let you get an all inclusive drink was surrounded by apartments being used for self catering holidays! Surely this had not been done to maximise on the number of people thinking “I’m not walking all that way for a drink I’ll just buy one from here” would it? Yes, actually I think it was!
The walls of the apartments were paper thin, the couple next to us would fight on a nightly basis, screaming and shouting at each other, when I reported this to the reception of the resort I was basically told there was nothing they could do and I could not be moved as all the apartments were being used. In fact, I know the apartments were over booked because some guests had been relocated to the Hotel across the road as the apartments they had booked weren’t available. I think this is a measure of the total incompetence of the Gaviotas Resort! So basically I complained and was told there was nothing they could do! At this point I decided I was wasting my breath and any further complaint would just fall on deaf ears, they had my money they weren’t bothered about any problems I had.
I have never been to such an disorganised, disgraceful, unsafe, bad mannered staffed resort in all my life. I would never return to this resort!

5 readers found this review helpful

These bungalows were great. We went to Lanzarote to have a wee cheap winter chill out holiday, as we normally go to Ibiza in the summer time - it was exactly what we were looking for, the bungalows were clean, had everything you could possibly need.
Staff were great. We even had a row of bungalows with a private pool to ourselves for the first three days of our holiday. The room was unbelievable value for money. The resort itself is really quiet, but has a wee shopping centre with lots of restaurants and is only 3 euro in a taxi to Puerto Del Carmen.
It is also really close to the airport, so if you are booking your holiday through a budget airline with accommodation booked separately like we did , then the transfer is no hassle, just jump in a taxi and the airport, and 5 minutes later you are there.