Don Paco Castilla Apartments

3 readers found this review helpful

I need of a bit of sun and a bargain get away my Fiancee and I booked a late deal here in October 08. We paid under £500 for the whole package via UK Travelshop for the 2 of, so we had no great expectations. We found the apartments to be basic, but exactly what we expected. We stayed for a week and I think the apts were cleaned 3 times, which I find more than acceptable. All we wanted was a clean & comfortable base which is exactly what we got.
Location wise, again what we expected, close to a beach, a fair walk to Puerto Del Carmen, but there are regular buses just outside the complex and taxis don't exactly break the bank. There are also a few bars and restaurants a short walk away, although not a great selection, for more variety and a more lively atmosphere, just head up the road to Puerto Del Carmen.
We didn't eat at the complex but from what I saw I'd steer clear of anything other than room only, but if you want a clean & comfortable apartment (decent balcony too, which is always nice) and are looking for a bargain you can't go wrong here!!

2 readers found this review helpful

Me and my family stayed at Don Paco in April 2009 for 8 days all inclusive. Wouold I stay again, no. Nothing really sinister to say about it just that I would prefer something with more entertainment at night especially as I have an 8 year old. There is some entertainment at night but nothing major, a disco and bingo. This hotel was mainly full of Spanish people who I found to be quite rude. The staff don't really start a conversation with you and all look miserable. The food is ok. If you are going with picky kids though not a good idea as it is mainly rice, pasta and fish. Chips are served every night and pizza was served twice which was really nice. Good selection of salad. All inclusive what does it mean. Well you get all your food 3 times a day plus a snack bar is open in the bar during the day where you can get burgers, pasta, sausages etc found that to be nice. Ice creams are included but not like fancy lollies and ice creams you get little plastic pots. The drinks only include all your soft drinks and lager and bog standard spirits but if you like anything bascially imported you have to pay extra, 3 euro which isn't bad but all mounts up! We did find a cockroache in our apartment one morning plus one dead one behind the sofa bed. The apartments are very bog standard and the decor is in need of a good update. Walls are very thin, we could hear someones phone vibrating in the room above us!! We did the walk into the centre quite a few times takes about 40 minutes or you can get a taxi for around 4 euros. Taxi to the airport costs around 10 euros without a tip. I do like nice things in life but for the price you pay you must think why is it this cheap, you get exactly what you pay for really. I wouldn't stay again would suggest hotels if you want something more up market and cleaner.

2 readers found this review helpful

I stayed in this resort with my husband and two daughters and had such a pleasant time! I can say that I only saw one cochroach around the resort the whole time, and even though we were there for the heat wave (49 degrees - 53 degrees c) the many pools surely kept us cool, and the beach was a short 5 minutes away. The food (buffet) was very tasteful and my daughters loved it! There is so much for familys, with entertainment everynight and a disco for children. There is also a kids club and crazy golf course (even though the course was a bit shabby. . .!! Overall 100 % !!

2 readers found this review helpful

Starting with the good things - It we saw from other reviews it is very clean and only a short walk to the beach.
However I would advise self catering because the food is terrible and even then you will need to remember that if you are on the top floor carrying up the steps could be an ordeal.
The entertainment was rubbish maybe this was because it was early in the year and they were only practicing!!
The sun beds by the pool though there were plenty, were hard and low so you need to purchase a lilo to be able to use them. The beach ones were great but cost 5 euros per day.
The biggest disappointment is the lack of concern over guests belongings and upset.
There was several burgalaries in the week we were there and Reception staff and management were blaise to this. They took no details themselves but told victims to go into town to the Police Station to report it. This cost 10 euros to go there and back in a taxi and then the Police would come and look at the room and write another report. We were told off a local shop owner that there had been several thefts at this hotel previously.
It would therefore have been more considerate for the hotel to at least put a sign up stating there have been severaal thefts please be aware and lock up belogings, but they were not interested.

we went to don paco at the end of february the hotel was nice and clean and well presented. the hotel staff was very helpful and always on hand to help you out the food was of an average standard but good for the money we paid there is no way you could go self catering and get three meals a day for the price we paid plus your drinks. the bear you got was the same you got down town and of good quality only thing is in the day it is In plastic glasses. the beach is very nice and a five minute work over all very good holiday
we would definitely go again

My wife and I have just got back and before we went I looked at reviews of this place and was quite worried about the cockroach stories I had seen in other reviews.
We had an appartment on the left (looking at the bar), ground floor, 2nd from the end by the main bar pool (room 502).
Not a cockroach in sight all week and we had a great time.
Meals are buffet style and the selection of different foods meets most peoples eating preferences. There is a good selection of meats for dinner, plus alternatives, and if you don't want english for brekkie there is continental, cerial and fruit on offer.
We had 2 problems on the first night. 1st was we couldn't get the key to open the door but I Hola'ed a passing maintainence man and he got us in and there was no problem after that. 2nd the patio door latch broke and could not be locked so I called reception at 8pm and he was there to fix it by 10pm and it took him less than 5 minutes.
The only pain in the arse about the appartment was you have to put your key fob in a box on the wall by the door to turn on the electric which is not too good when you are trying to lock the door when you are ps'd and can't see what you are doing. There could be some kind of 1 minute delay when taking the key out of the box so you can see what you are doing.
We had a couple of cold days and nights there so needed to hire the aircon for heating at 18 euros per week which isn't bad and the tv if you want to hire it only has 3 english channels 1 of which is movies4men, but who goes to a spain to watch UK tv? (we got to watch CSI though (how sad are we? lol).
It's not good for selfcatering with a family because there is only a double hob and no cooker but for a couple you could manage I guess.
All the staff are very friendly and helpful.
We will definately be going again.

5 readers found this review helpful

THE COMPLEX I stayed at the Don Paco in Jan 2009 for 2 weeks with my partner which is designed for all inclusive clients. The Don Paco is not far from the Airport and we were quoted £20 for transfers so instead of hanging around outside waiting for the coach to fill up and then driving around for 2 hours taking people to different hotels and apartments, we got a taxi right outside the arrival hall and we were there in under 10 minutes and paid 8 euros. The room where we stayed was 106 on the first floor which was near the back of the complex looking toward the mountains; it had a nice living room a bedroom with 2 single beds a safe which you have to pay for and a bathroom with a shower. There was a balcony where we could get some sun in the afternoon. The room was very clean when we arrived and was cleaned every other day except Sundays and supplied with fresh towels. Extra pillows and blankets can be arranged at no extra charge. There is a kettle and a couple of cooking hobs (which you can switch on to heat up the room if you go in the colder months) there is air conditioning but you have to pay for it also a fridge and the usual assortment of crockery and cutlery, any thing else like irons can be hired. You can hire a T.V. for around £19 a week if it's raining but it's not worth it, we were told there were only 2-3 English speaking channels the rest being German & Spanish. There are a lot of steps going up to the apartments if you’re not on the ground floor and getting into the restaurants and bars the steps are almost vertical, there are concrete ramps spread around but only to get in and out of the complex. I did not see one cockroach, ant or any other type of creepy crawly in our room or the entire complex the whole time we stayed and heard no noise at night at all, the only time it was annoying was sometimes in the mornings people in the room above us were clomping around on the tiled floor which sounded like high heeled shoes, who knows? We stayed self catering but 99% of the people we met said the food ranged from edible to downright disgusting. The all inclusive drinks are not brand names and are nothing like in the UK, so it might be a case of adding lots of mixers to the spirits and as for the larger it's like drinking fizzy flavoured water. The reception staff seemed pleasant enough but we didn't have much to do with them and their English is good. The complex is huge and it takes a couple of days to find your bearings but it's only about a 5 minute stroll to the beach where you will also find the bus stop, taxi rank, bank, shops and bars. There are 3 fresh water swimming pools and one of them is heated. Most people congregate around the main pool where the bar is. There are plenty of sun beds to go round each pool. There is a supermarket at the complex with prices comparing with the supermarkets outside. If you buy booze and food to take back to the apartments you will find that in most cases the Spar supermarkets are cheaper than the local Netto ones. Puerto Del Carmen Most of the people that stay here are all inclusive and never tend to go out of the complex but if you do I recommend G&T'S and the Python bars if you want cheap drinks and food. G&T'S have the best draught larger and cider you can buy locally with George & Trish being great hosts and at the Pythons bar you can get a pint of larger for 1.50 euros and cheap branded spirits. Don Pacos is situated in CC Los Picillos which is a 30-40 minute walk to the centre of Puerto Del Carmen or 3-4 euros by metered taxi ( make sure you know where want to go as some drivers don’t speak much English, asking for the central or casino will take you to the center of the main drag) there is also a regular bus service (Lanzarote Bus) that runs to and from Arrecife to Puerto Del Carmen which passes the local bus stop roughly every 20 minutes up until 23.20. Have a stroll towards the airport along the promenade and see the planes coming in to land as the landing strip is right next to the beach it seems that you can almost reach out and touch them. The walk there will take you 20-30 minutes and you can stop off on the way there or on the way back and have an ice cold beer at a lovely place called De Jays Beach Bar. The organised tours that are offered to see places such as the Timanfaya National Park and The Cave of Los Verdes seemed quite expensive but if you shop around you can get the tours cheaper especially now as there seems to be more competition, most people hire cars as the island is not very big you could probably see everything in a day and the roads are well marked with signs and in good condition. With the credit crunch now in full swing the euro is worth almost as much as the pound so don’t expect electrical goods, clothes, shoes etc to be any cheaper in Lanzarote, also eating out is much the same as the UK although when we left there was a sign that the hundreds of restaurants and bars are feeling it too, many offering special offers, you just have to look around because it starts getting expensive if your not all inclusive. Booze and fags are cheap and there are specialist places that you can buy them from which are even cheaper than the supermarkets. Would we go back.....Yes Happy Hols…………..

1 reader found this review helpful

just got back from a christmas break in lanzarote stayed in don paco. nice spacious apartment, overlooking pool. very clean, staff very friendly. food not too good but as we were self catering not much of a problem (glad we didnt choose the all inclusive option as we heard lots of complaints about this and could not have ate and drank in the resort the whole holiday.) there are plenty of bars and restaurants just outside the complex we used pythons bar most nights which serve great british food at very reasonable prices and there drinks prices are probably the cheapest we found. also spanish and chinese restaurants only 5 mins away. lovely beach and only a 3€ taxi ride takes you to the main town.
overall a good holiday would definately go back

1 reader found this review helpful

Having read the reviews posted about the Don Paco Castilla me and my husband approached the complex with trepidation which was not lessened when we saw the rundown and gloomy reception. However we were pleasantly surprised by the bright and spacious buildings and gardens at the other side. These and the pool areas were clean and well kept. The apartment was clean and nicely decorated, with adequate equipment to make a meal and was cleaned and tidied nearly everyday. The location of the complex is good, quiet and away from any brash nightlife with just a few bars, restaurants and supermarkets. It is however approximately £5 in a taxi to the good restaurants in Puerto Del Carmen's Old Town, which mounts up over the week. The staff that we encountered were consistently friendly and helpful. Having only paid £150 for the accomodation we were quite happy with the Don Paco Castilla, it was basic but clean and was a good base for exploring the island. If like some of the other reviewers on the site I had paid a large amount of money for the all-inclusive option (the all-inclusive drinks were served in plastic glasses and the tea and coffee in styrofoam cups),then i think my opinion might be quite different.

We where looking forward to a well deserved break away, not having to worry about finding places to eat. What a mistake to make. I wouldent say we were fussy eaters but by the end of are stay we refered to the daily servings of food as slop!The smell of garlic hit you as soon as you entered food hall ( resturant). Every thing was flavoured in garlic. The final straw for me was a lunch time serving of rabbit, duck, and fish. The snack bar was open in between dinning times and beleave me this was no better. Cold beefburgers which could be used and frisby,s. I felt sorry for people staying their with young children as the food would not appeal to their appetite Thomas Cook have got a cheek sending people to stay here.