H10 Rubicon Palace Hotel

this hotel has everything lovely food great rooms lots of swimming pools and most of all plenty of sun beds no getting up early for them! nice walk into playa blanca definatley go back.service brilliant kind people rooms are massive food plenty of choice.

Disappointed in this hotel as we went on a reccomendation. Poor service from start to finish. Arrived at the hotel & checked in, was told to leave our luggage in reception and the porter would bring for us on transport so we didnt have to. We thought 'great service'. ....... It wasn't.... We waiting an hour & half for it to arrive & only did so because we personally had to go find it!!! It was still in reception unattended where we were told to leave it. We questioned why this was - to be told there was a mess up. No apology. We stayed all inclusive as better for our children, food was ok but very predictable , same most days. Quality of food was just average- not what you expect from a 4*. Doesn't stay warm very long in serving dishes, rice dishes go hard after a couple of hours if you didn't go when first opens. They didn't ever replace these they just go un eaten as nobody wants them like this. Service in main eating area was shocking, not enough staff, not forwardly friendly & doesn't take empty plates away after course, so u have to continue eating with them there on the table. Very off putting. A baby cockroache was found on my husbands drinking glass too!!!!! The pool areas are needing work, the main pools are very dirty, never cleaned inside the pool or around the pool area the whole 12 days we were there which is bad. There are broken tiles around pool areas which is dangerous, glass & dirt every where. The sun parasols were limited & if available dangerous as the safety catch which stops it from blowing out of its base was missing. So on several occasions parasols were blowing away with the very bad winds. Don't believe what the brochure says about been amazing, pictures are not correct also. The spa is an extra cost, so is the indoor pool- which in the brochure states 5 outdoor pools & 1 indoor. Gym etc all extra charge, ice creams too. Previledge guests get everything normal bookings don't. They have separate eating areas , separate everything and great rooms. Rooms in the brochure pictures actually. Normal rooms are quite plain & old looking, what u expect in apartments. Entertainment was good, that's about it. Overall average hotel , not worth the money you pay to go there. Stayed in many 4* hotels which had wow factor, this one clearly not I'd rate it 3*. Exterior you think very grand looking but inside not the same. I wouldn't return to this hotel, and would only recommend it if you like the average sort of hotel.

This was our first stay at this hotel.Had a poor start, arrived at hotel it was cold and windy.We tried to put on air con,was told it did not work so offered us blankets!My partner when to reception and he got a heater after pleading with staff.Was also disappointed to have to pay for safety deposit box and the use of the gym and pool.The food was brill,only the pool area to eat was very cold and drafty at night.The entertainment team where fab they put 100% in to every show they did.Piano bar is a pleasant place to sit,and muisic good but again was cold and drafty to sit.Location of hotel we liked and great views .

All said and done we will go back to this hotel main downside to holiday was the weather,and no travel company can sort that out!

My boyfriend and I have just come back from the Rubicon palace. We are gutted to be home. I dont understand the bad reviews. It is a beautiful hotel, very clean, staff are always maintaining it, but not at detriment to your stay. Lovely, clean room. Only complaint was the room above was noisy at night and people should not wear stilletos on the tile floor! Pools were clean, spa was lovely and relaxing. Views were fantastic. Took a while to get used to where everything was, finding your room and reception etc was a bit of a maze, but soon found our way around. Loads of things to do and see locally, but you can easily have days at the hotel and not need to leave. Buses to other beaches and towns in Playa Blanca only 1.20 euros each. Yes there is no drinks in the room, but buy a bottle of water and when it is empty if you are all inclusive you can top up at meal times. We were never without water, always had a supply in fridge. Loved the local cats, shared my sunbed one day! Food can be samey, but there will always be something you like. Staff are very friendly always greeting you. In the restaurants though one side seemed to friendlier than the other, dont get why, so we tried to eat in the same one. On the same level each night there were a few market stalls so you can pick up some gifts at the hotel. We cant wait to go back next year. You get privacy by the pools, where some hotels we walked past are quite open to passers by nosing at people by the pool. Love it and recommend it!

Just returned from this resort after a short 3 day stay to celebrate my wifes 40th Birthday. Hotel is very nice although fairly quiet at the moment, the staff are very freindly and helpful and speak good English. We booked the Privilege Package and this was worth every penny, the room was great and the staff in the Privege areas are the best and nothing is too much trouble, food was good although menu could be a bit limited for a 2 week stay but you always have the option of the main restaurant if you fancy a change, pool was a bit cold and it was a bit windy but this is the canaries so to be expected. Will definitley return for a week at some point, with Privilege? Hell yes...

Just spent two lovely relaxing weeks at the rubicon palace hotel. bar staff very friendly, food choice was good although not as good as some other H10 hotels we have stayed at in the canaries but i suppose with all food price increases they have to do some cut backs. our room was very clean and comfortable for two of us, but with extra beds that are put in for families it can become a little cramped, but this happens in every hotel.We are going back to the Rubicon with our families for Christmas and so looking forward to it

Everyone knows that first impressions are extremely important. It is a pity therefore that our first impression of the Rubicon Palace in Lanzarote was rather negative. With a little effort this could be a fairly good hotel even if there is no way it could compete with hotels of a similar class outside of the Canary Islands.

To start with we were allocated a room that overlooked a car park, with views of cement mixer building materials and three rubbish skips. We were extremely disappointed as this was a special anniversary trip so we asked for a different room. We were told that the hotel was full and the manager was busy; but when we persisted, a room was finally found. Quite a nice room really if a little old fashioned, but acceptable had this been provided without a dispute. There was no offer of help with our cases and we found out later that there was transport around the hotel which no-one bothered to mention at check in.

The room:

Well, there was no bathroom fan: the safe needed new batteries which took two visits by maintenance (Reception said they were very busy and it would take 2 hours) and I wondered why I bothered anyway as the hotel refused liability. There were no tea/coffee making facilities and everyone does not want to walk to the main hotel for a cup of coffee. The fridge cost 3 euros a day if we wanted to keep our bottled water cool. We wondered who was walking around in boots upstairs at all hours and felt that it may have been the same for people beneath us. Insulation seemed to be at a minimum and noise a maximum.

The maid was excellent apart from knocking on the door at 8.45 one day: a time I do not normally recognise when on holiday.

The dining room:

A large room with tables packed like sardines so that it was not always easy to walk between them. It looked good and the food was varied and not too bad if you chose well. It was a shame that warm food managed to cool and congeal on the warning plates after a few moments and bacon was either incredibly greasy or consisted of small piles of tough solid layers. Hot food at the carvery was quite reasonable. Coffee and tea were a nightmare. There was only one machine and there were always long queues at breakfast. There were thermos flasks on the table but the coffee was usually lukewarm. And what a clever idea to warm the butter under hot lights so that it dripped from the wrapper!

But the biggest problem was the noise. There were no soft furnishings to deaden the noise of a few hundred diners and the waiters seemed to delight in vying with each other to see who could make the most noise. Crockery was thrown into plastic bins, noisily dumped on a trolley with square wheels and rumbled and rattled to the kitchen, to reappear washed and ready to be dumped at the service stations. Cutlery was thrown into bins with a resounding crash from sacks a foot or so above the plastic container. Knives, forks and spoons were sorted by the simple expedient of throwing them as hard as possible into the relevant container. It was hell if you sat close to these stations and with three of them it was impossible not to be affected wherever you sat.

Bread is normally cut with a bread knife but sometimes a serrated cleaver was supplied. This was useless. The staff were friendly and seemed busy but were loathe to actually do anything constructive, sometimes removing plates and cutlery after the first course but never thinking of providing cutlery for the next. And often they did not even do that and dirty plates littered the table until we removed them ourselves.

There were no towels or hand dryer in the men’s toilet outside the restaurant whilst we were there, In spite of reporting it to staff who promised to take care of it nothing happened.

Location:

The hotel was situated quite a way from the main town so unless you took a taxi, a night in the town was not too easy. The grounds were well kept and quite the best feature of the hotel although they turned off the picturesque waterfalls during our second week. We never found out why.

The hotel complex was surrounded by ugly wire fences that served no purpose other than to irritate. Our room was at the far end of the hotel and it would have been nice to park close to it. Only two entrances were ever open: the hotel foyer and a gate at the rear leading to the promenade. All other gates were locked. The one at the end of the grounds near our room was only opened for hotel cars so we had to walk the full length of the hotel every time. We were told the gates and the fence was for our security although as the rear gate was never locked and there was a hole in the front fencing this seemed rather doubtful. In any case we did not notice any security personnel.

Entertainment:

In general pretty poor, although the Mongolian troupe were quite good but the magician depended too much on low lights and the scattering of confetti. However I did enjoy his one man levitation effect. The children’s entertainment was frantic and geared towards seven year olds. The entertainment team put their backs into it but it did not finish till about 10 pm thus rendering the room uninhabitable for those without children. This may have been the reason it was almost impossible to find a seat in the piano bar.

Conclusion:

This all sounds rather petty in the cold light of day but the excessive noise and the many relatively minor irritations ruined the holiday. There is nothing really wrong with the basic hotel that a little attention to detail would not solve. For example all gates could be opened during the day. Dirty crockery could be removed directly to the kitchen and management could be available to talk to customers to find out first hand what they wanted. A computerised form with tick boxes only serves to give lip service to the idea of customer feedback.

So to answer the question “would I return to this hotel?” A resounding “NO”! And I would be very dubious about the H10 chain. Once bitten, twice shy!

But of course we can dine out for a long time on the tale of the Rubicon Palace. Especially with photos and recordings!

Just returned from rubicon palace and have had a fabulous holiday, we were 4 seniors and joined in all the outdoor activities ,the annimation team led by valentin and simone were great allways smiling joking and getting people to join in, our rooms were excellent very clean and spacious the food was very good and plenty of it, we had no trouble finding a table and they were cleared as soon as we had finished each course the waiters were all very friendly and again allways smiling, the swimming pools and ground were immaculate the evening entertainment again mostly done by the annimation team was brilliant, proffesionals could not have been better we give this hotel 110% and will most certainly go back again thankyou to valentin,simone and the team for making us feel young again,Rita,Len,Brenda and Johnx

The hotel is well laid out and kept scrupulously clean but I'd wish I'd known beforehand how much walking there was from some of the rooms. Having mobility problems I found it a problem moving around the Hotel. We have just spent a week with some of the worst weather in years so were forced to spend time indoors and this really shows the Hotel's shortcomings. During the day there is only the main piano bar or the pool bar (very cold), no entertainment other than Bar Billiards or foozeball. We spent 2 days in bed wrapped in blankets watching tv. There are no heating facilities in the room neither are there tea/coffee making facilities and it was a long walk from our room to the main bar. The evening 'entertainment' was truly awful. Food was pretty good but repetitive, I wouldn't like to eat there for 2 weeks. Overall I wouldn't want to put people off because when the sun shines and you want a pool-side holiday this will suit. Just hope the weather stays fine!

can not complain about hotel its self but queue for a drink also for a table to eat and only thing that gets up before 8.30 seems to be the towels on the sunbends.

staff were pleasant enough although not enough to manage and also perhaps we were told because tunisia and red sea egypt destinations were out of the question the hotel was busier than usual as people who book these were offered canary islands..

but this was a pleasant and relaxed location and we had a 11 year old and also a 13 year old with us..

food would have been nice if it was hot and bit groundhog day if it was not eaten today guarantee you will see it tomorrow.

also seating was very poor as we waited for tables to be cleared and also waited for a table on several occasions again not enough staff to cope with people staying seemed like winter staff in high season so again service suffered.

gardens and grounds were nice and also pools were good as well but warning stay away from the sprinklers because they do recycle water and someone previously refered to them as stinklers i am in full agreement..

pleaseant location and out side the entrance no 30 bus takes you all over playa blance for 1.20 euro and the walk along promenade very pleasant..

booked with 1st choice and paid a premium for trips appantly my 13 year old daughter is classed as an adult so pay we paid adult prices for trips.. asked why at 13 can not smoke drink vote and ect but classed as an adult ..explantion= firstchoice policy when we got to a few destinations clearly marked on gate adult age started at 15 so another few pounds squeezed out of us..

any way 1st time here and did enjoy although to many people not enough staff.

trips go to playa blance town book with local operators 1/2 the price of 1st choice and yes you are insured as we got on the same coach as people who booked with them also..

volcano trip good

rancho texas good

plenty to see and do nice place poor service