Iberostar Papagayo Apartamentos

6 readers found this review helpful

Straight away we were greated with a very traditional ham sandwhich and a large bottle of water, but no
complaints we appreciated it after a long long journey. On our first night our allocated room was nice. Nice if it was just the two adults but because there were four of us (Two teenagers) it was to open and no one had any priivacy. So we asked to be moved and the staff were outstanding immediatly accomodated our needs we were moved to a beautiful apartment where there was a kitchen etc and close to a nice peaceful pool rather than the slightly louder animation pool. Overall rooms were outstanding cleaned everday and immaculate condition.
Our meals were beautiful. Firstly breakfast particularly appealed to the teens who liked it better than dinner from fruit to pancakes or a fry whatever you wanted was there and usually the perfect start to the day. But as always can be slightly busy at times but never short of a table. One of our party members was extremely fussy and for dinner every night settled for pizza and chips. but if your willing to try then there is a wide variety including octopus! nice overall meals were lovely (we werent all inclusive but drinks were slightly pricey and even charged you for a glass of water.)
Guests, the hotel is beautiful with mainly spanish and german guests but our family wasnt too long in making friends who spoke the same language as us and the teenagers were pleased to be away from parents daily and have company their own age.
pleanty of shops a 20 minute walk away and lots of bars too even a burger king(if you arnt away for the full spanish experiance)Also one of the days we took a trip to the nearby island of Gran canaries and it was beautiful noticably much cooler than lanzarote and we enjoyed the breeze. one of the teenagers was extremely burnt and even became ill though she remained unbotherd it was quiet a fright for us. So i recommend SAFETY IN THE SUN. no matter what at one stage in our stay it was 48 degrees but even the locals ammited that was extremely warm for even them.
Also beach is a short distance away and is walkable but the hotel provide a bus for free!
Overall beautiful plenty to do and outstanding (: !

22 readers found this review helpful

We have just returned from a 2 week stay at the Iberostar Papagayo in Playa Blanca and I am struggling to think of any bad points.
The hotel was always immaculately clean. We went all inclusive, and with a 3 year-old daughter (and 2 hungry adults) this was definately the right option. The food and drink was of a really high standard and the restaurant staff were fantastic - very polite and friendly. I cannot fault the ambience of the hotel with it being a pleasant and friendly atmosphere with some life but not that busy overcrowded feeling that you sometimes get.
The kids entertainment was first class and the general sports & ents staff were very talented and professional compared to any other hotel that I have been to in a European resort.
The setting is great i.e. on the top of a cliff-edge overlooking a bay and the layout is such that no room is far away from the main hub of the restaurants, bars and pools. Mind you, you need to be brave to go for a swim as the pools are about the same temperature as the North Sea in winter! We did, however, still manage a dip most days although our little girl was put off at times...
The location is great if you want to get away from it all, although is still 15 mins from the Marina and 20 mins walk from the main town centre. If you like nice beaches then the Papagayo beaches are some of the nicest anywhere although they do lack facilities and are tricky to navigate your way to from the roads!
The negatives are not very significant: stern reception staff who could sometimes have been more helpful, sometimes under-staffed at the bars and reception areas with 1 person dealing with a queue of 7 or 8 people, a little remote from the town if a change of scene was required from time to time...
Overall excellent and I would recommend this hotel to anybody wanting a luxury relaxing break in the sun in a fascinating island.

5 readers found this review helpful

hi
we stayed at the hotel for 1 week in april this year the aparments were very good with a room service every day and a full bathroom with shower cubicle and plenty of hot water, the staff were the best we've ever had all of them were great a pleasure to deal with, the hotel was a little way out but a taxi from playa was under 3 euros, and the walk to the marina was very easy, and there was plenty of good eating places about, just a big shame it's not on the service bus route, big downside to the holiday was i was ripped off in a camera shop the one just high up from the spar shop called michro tech,
i was talked into looking at a cam recorder thinking it was a cam corder and me like a complete fool paid for it befor i found out that i needed yet more gear before i could use it. they would not cancel my payment, so i paid yet more for a cam corder only to find that argos in the uk was selling the same one £200 cheaper beware and keep out of this shop

16 readers found this review helpful

Husband and myself returned home 27th April after having a great time at the Iberostar Papagayo. Hotel is lovely all areas clean and tidy. Well worth paying for a sea view.
Thomas Cook rep in resort not very helpfull, expected a 45 minute transfer to hotel it actually took 1hr 50 mins, meaning we arrived at the hotel at 11.50 pm, (hotel did provide food and drinks in the restaurant for late arrivers, but forgot to leave us any water in the room). We asked the rep to book sit together on the plane as this is a sevice they now offer, they told us we were too late as you have to book the day you arrive, mentioned the time the transfer had taken and asked if it would take the same time back to the airport and she advised us to pay for a taxi, the taxi took 30 mins but cost 45 Euros (which we booked as we couldn't stand being on the coach for nearly 2 hrs).
The hotel staff were all friendly and helpfull.
Food was good with plenty of choice, if you dont want a full lunch try a pre packed cheese and ham sandwich served in the bar from 3 o'clock you can even pop them in the brevelle if you want a toastie (we packed a couple in our hand luggage to have at the airport on our journey home).
Rooms are a good size cleaned daily with fresh towels. There is a fridge in the room and if your all inclusive they leave a large bottle of water each day. Pool towels are available with a deposit of 10 Euros per towel. 10 Euro deposit for the tv remote control. 12 Euro for the safe plus 5 Euro Deposit. 25 Euro for a late check out.
Pool area is great, water a little chilly but was welcomed as the temperature reached 35 degrees. Not sure if the review would have been the same if it was peak season as the hotel was quite with no queues or rushing to get a sunbed (probably packed in summer).
Entertainment was poor, so we sat on the terrace watching the sea sipping Brandy (bliss).
Location is great turn right at the sea front and its a 15 minute walk to the marina, shops and a few restaurants , the market is here Wednesday and Saturday (it did not come on the Saturday while we were there and no one knows why). Walk 15 minutes further and your in Playa Blanca, plenty of shops, restaurants and bars. A pleasant walk we even had a paddle in the sea.
If you want sand and sea turn left at the sea front and follow signs for Papagayo beach you can climb the rocks or go the road way passed the hotels, this is the easier route but still a rough terrain when you get to the top and start heading down to the beautiful beach, well worth the trek. Takes approximately 15 minutes.
We had a great holiday, met a really nice group of people and made some good friends (a laugh every minute), so good infact that for the first time ever we are planning a return trip in October.

3 readers found this review helpful

just returned from this hotel april 2008. excellent accomodation. staff very friendly,very
efficient. cleanliness superb. food/drink excellent. entertainment poor. pool cold.
sunbathing area good, little windy sometimes. fantastic views. great walks to marina,
playa blanca and papagayo beach. not many british people staying at the hotel. didn't
have a sea view which we requested , when our rep asked for another room on our
behalf were told we had to pay 13 euros each day for our seven day stay if we wanted
to move to a room with a sea view, obvoiusly didn't. would go back to playa blanca
again but not to this hotel. would recommend the night out to 'titti trollops' in puerta
del carmen. also if you like chinese food 'the great world' in playa blanca.

2 readers found this review helpful

We enjoyed our stay the hotel was very good, with a lovely walk to the marina which we did every day.
We didn't think the entertainment was very good as it was in the theatre which is situated outside which when we were there was very cold at night.
There only seemed to be one bar open inside the hotel in the evening & the queue for drinks was always very long with usually only one bar person working flat out also the entertainment in this bar was very limited with only a piano player a couple of nights.
But apart from that we enjoyed our stay & would most probably go again

5 readers found this review helpful

The holiday in Lanzarote was fabulous, the hotel was lovely and the staff were very energetic, friendly and professional. If you are looking for a hotel on the beach then do avoid this one as it is quite a trek to the nearest sandy beach, if you like the exercise it's a lovely walk over the clifftops are in the opposite direction the coastal path is very nice.
I want to write a complaint about the tour operator I booked with though, I booked online at www.sunmaster.co.uk, or so I thought I did! PLEASE BEWARE... When you think you are reserving a place on a holiday for the prices quoted on the website this is not the case. They take all your credit card details online and you think you are entering into an agreement, but they call you the following day to confirm details and when you don't have the prices to hand that you are quoted online... They neglect to mention that the price you agreed to online has gone up, they just quote the figure and ask for your permission to take funds from your card as soon as you agree, not realising the price is different, they have your voice recording so their backs are covered, dirty way to do business, my holiday went up from £690 to £815, that is quite some increase. *** BEWARE OF THIS TOUR OPERATOR ***

2 readers found this review helpful

We have just returned from a week's stay at the Iberostar Papagayo. (Jan 31st return)
We thought we had paid extra for a sea view room only to be told that our suppier hadn't booked it so we were given a internal view room. We called the complaints line and they promised to send a rep but we didn't hear any more.
The room we were given was on the ground floor and opened onto the pool, which was lovely until they drained the pool on the Sunday and began to retile it. This was very noisy. If you are going there in the next few days check that the pool is open.
The room:
Large and very clean. Excellent bathroom. Sheets had seen better days and definately hadn't been washed in Daz. The guests that were lucky enough to have the sea view had views over the sea, to die for, but alas we didn't. Sky news the only English television channel as others were all German or Spanish. Beds very hard.
The Food:
Excellent food the whole week. Very good selection, cooked fresh and lots of choice. I'm a veggie and I was very impressed with the choice. My husband eats meat and he really enjoyed the meals too. Restaurant service excellent. You help yourself to wines, beers and minerals when on all-inclusive.
Bars and entertainment:
Good selection of local drinks available on the all-inclusive. You have to pay extra for some branded names. Bar had balcony for smokers. Three nights there was a professional show. The best night was the James Brown tribute show. The other nights the resident team put on shows and other entertainment in the underground show bar, which has a proper stage.
Staff:
First class. They just couldn't do enough to please us. The bar staff were very friendly and chatted to guests. We especally liked Nelson in the lounge bar.
Location:
A ten minute walk from Rubicon Marina, which is well worth a strole to. On Saturdays and Wednesdays they have a small market there. You can also wander around the marina and dream of owning one of the massive boats. The hotel runs a free bus several times a day into Playa Blanca. There are good shops there if you need some retail therapy. The hotel is at the top of high cliffs. It is just a two minute walk down to the nearest beach. It is volcanic rock but ideal for investigating rock pools. We had the beach to ourselves several afternoons, the weather was beautiful and the sea deep blue.
Conclusions:
Probably too isolated for young people, but perfect for over 50s like us who enjoy walking along the cliff top paths and enjoy a quieter holiday setting. Everywhere is incredibly clean and well cared for. Gardens all around the hotel full of cactus.
If the pool hadn't been emptied and we had got the sea view room we had booked I would have given this hotel 10/10

2 readers found this review helpful

This was a lovely hotel, clean & modern - lots of black & chrome about ! My room had the most amazing view overlooking the sea toward Fuerteventura. First morning I set my alarm to see the sun rising over the mountains into a clear blue sky - felt so calm & contented.
Weather was mixed as is expected in January, some cloud most days but plenty of sunshine too. Food was fine - buffet style. Staff friendly & helpful. Arrived on a Sunday when taxi fares are higher - cost 42 euros from aiport but only 30 on way back !
Only there 4 days but would have loved to have stayed longer. My 4th visit to Playa Blanca & really love the area. My second visit as a lone traveller. Booked very last minute as just felt the need for some sunshine & solitude. Felt perfectly safe & happy throughout. Hotel organised a bike ride on the morning I had to leave & I was sorry to have missed it - had been Nordic walking the day before which was great.
Quiet location - approx 10/15 minute walk to fabulous marina with restaurants & bars & maybe another 20 minutes to resort centre. All on a lovely walkway which ran alonside the sea, so was a pleasure rather than a trudge. Courtesy bus laid on a few times a day if you didn't fancy the walk.
Hope to return soon. Enjoy your stay .....I'm so jealous !

5 readers found this review helpful

Just the hubby and I on this holiday to celebrate my 40th birthday. Booked at the very last minute (Thursday afternoon as we flew early on Sunday morning!!)
This is a four star hotel; we were NOT disappointed it is beautiful and clean, modern and innovative in design. The room we had wasn’t a sea view as such but we could just about see the coastline from our balcony. Rooms were spacious modern and well thought out. Loads of storage and space to move around.
A nice touch was the 1 1/2 litre bottle of water left in your room everyday by the maid for the all inclusive guests. Fridges were free - a rarity!

The pool is immaculate and sunbeds are aplenty. Fabulous viewpoints around the hotel.
Situated right on the sea front although the beach to the front of the hotel is natural and not as nice to use.
However, there are at least three smaller sandy beaches within a short walking distance along the well paved coastal path that takes you into the marina Rubicon to the shops or into Playa Blanca itself.
A nice location if you just want to be away from the hustle and bustle and chill. If you are into the nightlife and noise you may struggle, there are not many bars and clubs immediately on the doorstep; but you can walk 10 mins or so or get taxis to find several. It feels safe to be out in the dark in the evening walking along the coastal path; they are well lit and well used at night.
A nice coastal path, well paved. Or for the more ambitious there are also more natural walks and trekking type paths that led to three other beaches. At least one of these beaches is a naturist beach.

A stunning landscape - you could be forgiven for thinking that you are on the moon at times though.
Food at the Hotel was fabulous - we had no complaints at all, and even ate seafood/shellfish etc without any problems. (NOTE - I have a very delicate tummy too.) There was lots of choice all buffet style hot and cold menu's to cater for all nationalities.
Staff very friendly and helpful, always happy and smiling. They are genuinely interested in the guests - they seek you out and sit and speak with you, this way you get to know all the local info.
Animation - an 'in house' team most of the time, not bad, a little weak in places but not everyone is going to be suited all the time.
Getting about is easy - taxis are cheap a few euro's get to Playa Blanca.
All in all an excellent holiday for what we paid.