Holiday Village Sun Tropical Hotel

12 readers found this review helpful

I have just arrived back from Sun Tropical in Playa Blanca on 19th February. When I arrived there, i was optimistic about the facilities etc. I tried to keep an open mind on all aspects until I sampled them for myself.
First things first;
* Apartment - was very spacious, had all kitchen facilities including a fridge, kettle, coffee maker, two ring hob. The bedroom had twin beds with large wardrobe area. Living-room has pull out bed under the sofa which also can be used as a bed. You also have a TV with only a few channels. You can buy more channels from reception.
* Restaurant - Limited menu for every meal. Breakfast has cereal, fried food, yogurt. Lunch is usually chips & whatever was left off breakfast. Dinner often had lamb or pork but is pretty much uneatable.
* Chicken Shack - only serves from 10am to 6pm & only offers a limited menu. Ham & cheese toasties with chips, pizza slice (disgusting), hot dog, Hamburger or cheese burger with chips.
* Spanish Grill - you can only eat here once per week as AI & everyone I spoke to did not like it here but when we went, I had sirloin steak. It was delicious & my partner had tapas & he really enjoyed that too.
* Italian - you can only eat here once per week as AI. It was very basic food, pizza, lasagne, spaghetti bolognese. Pizza's were quite nice but everything else was quite awful.
* Pools - the large pool is freezing cold & doesn't get much better in the summer months either. The pools are supposed to be cleaned daily, however, they are all filthy (plasters, plastic glasses, gravel all over). You often see the staff hosing the ground & washing the muck into the pools.
* Kids club - I was advised that all of these were free. However, children under 3 are chargeable at 6 euro for 90 minutes. Older children are quite well catered for with three groups per day.
* Dome - the evening entertainment was boring. The children got sick of the "ministry of fun" as it was exactly the same every single evening. Bingo for the adults is a complete joke. You pay 2 euro for one card of 15 numbers that you normally get for 20p in the club at home. Visiting entertainment at 10pm is rubbish. Can't say any more about that.
While I was at reception one morning, I over heard a gentleman complaining that his room was leaking in water from the heavy rain. The man on reception said "this is the rainy season & everyone has a leak". The gentleman had to ask again what was going to be done. Another person that we met on holiday, complained that their bedroom was leaking & the woman at reception told her to put a towel down.
Reps weren't much better, I went to make a complaint to TASHA & she was quite ignorant to the fact that I had a few issues. I explained that fresh orange juice as being diluted & she insisted that it wasn't. What ever happened to 'the customer is always right'?
If you want to see the island, I would recommend that you hire a car rater than booking through the reps or travel agents. We went to Timanfaya & it cost 8 euro per adult & 4 euro for children over 4. Same applies to the cave to see the albino crabs. You can go to the market at Teguise free of charge, just make sure you track yourself well of you'll quite easily lose your car. Shops at Puerto Del Carmen aren't as good as the reps make out either.
I would strongly recommend that you visit Oasis Park in Fuerteventura. This was an excellent day out & the coach journey was very bearable as you see a lot of the island. You might as well book this with the reps as the price does not change & you are not allowed to take a hire car on the ferry.
I would also suggest that you do some scuba diving. there is a lot to see out in the sea & it is a fabulous experience. you can boot this through the reps or with the dive college at your welcome meeting but you can save 16 euro if you book direct with the diving college.
http://www.discoverlanzarote.com/divecollege.asp .
Final tips, I would still recommend going AI as food & drink in the hotel is very expensive. I would also suggest you take a lot of spending money if you are going sight seeing or wanting to do water sports etc...
The flight was with Thomson & I must say that our flight home could not have got much worse. We were delayed for four hours & in the airport for 6 hours & the reps would not submit any vouches for food or drink for our children. We were eventually told that our flight was going. We boarded & were told that we were going to make good time back to Newcastle. After about three hours into the flight we started to descend & the pilot then decided to tell us that we were not going to Newcastle but Cardiff. He said that his flight hours were almost up & that he had to land. We were advised that once in flight, it would have taken 20 minutes more to get us to Newcastle. He also added that he was lucky to be home as he was going on holiday with his children that morning. We were then told that there were several coaches outside waiting for us to transport us up to Newcastle on an eight hour trek. While waiting outside, we noticed one of the air hostess' from our flight leaving with her car keys in her hand. What a coincidence... OUR FLIGHT SHOULD NEVER HAVE LEFT ARRICIFE AIRPORT...

6 readers found this review helpful

just returned from a weeks hol in sun tropical .had a great time service great.food is good first choice reps were fab .they are all so friendly and give you the warmest welcome.the place was spotlessly clean .would recommend to anyone with children to try it.lovely pools.playa blanca lovely .

19 readers found this review helpful

Great place. How anyone can say bad about the Sun Tropical or Playa Blanca must just love to have a moan. This holiday was our best yet. The apartments are very modern and the service from the staff is great. Me and my partner went for 2 weeks we dont have kids but found this complex very charming. There is a big white Dome which is full of entertainment in the eveing.The complex is very pretty with lovely gardens and great swimming pools.

21 readers found this review helpful

Great Holiday! This resort and accomadation is great for young or old, couples and families. Playa Blanca is really up market. The Sun Tropical is very nice. There is a big choice of swimming pools either full of kids or Adult ones you can relax in. The location is spot on. Cross the road at the back entrance and within 5 mins walk you are where the shops, family bars and restaurants are. The beach is there too. This was some where me and my Partner would return too. We dont have kids but found this was a nice place for couples too.

14 readers found this review helpful

The first impression of the village was clean and tidy. Staff were pleasant. When we got to our apartment, we found that our fridge had been turned off and a towel mopping up defrosting ice!! Thought that might have been done before we arrived!!
The entertainment dome was not really my idea of fun, but i suppose its good for kids! Drinks, food etc not the cheapest. Food on and off site not great! Nice stroll into town through a back gate using a pass card available with 10 Euro refundable deposit.
Pay to view tv was a joke! bbc1,(couldnt see the picture), bbc2, ch 4, ch 5, sky movie premiere and sky sports were all that were available!
The resort of Playa Blanca itself was lovely, exept for the very untrusting shop staff who made you feel very uncomfortable. (Always 2 steps behind you)
Overall I think I would stay at sun tropical again, but only with children in tow! Would definately visit Lanzarote again though!!

23 readers found this review helpful

Just arrived home from a fantastic holiday and felt that some of the reviews on here to be unfair.
I would agree this is not a 4 star resort as First choice describes, but a very good 3 star we found the room to be very clean and in good condition, the air con worked just fine, The swimming pools were clean and well kept and my children loved the water it can be a little cool first thing in the morning but soon warms up as the sun gets up.
The Food is some of the Best I have ever had on holiday plenty of choice and loads of it the restaurant is very well run and very clean and tidy.
We had no trouble in getting drinks and snacks in any of the bars and made full use of the all inclusive and I would recommend it for a family.
The entertainment team are some of the best I have ever seen on Holiday they work all day to keep the Children happy and most of the night.
Bad points , some of the beds are now a little tired some don’t work , pool can be cold in the morning , poor free ice cream far to small and not the best .

9 readers found this review helpful

We have just got home from a weeks holiday at the sun tropical. If you are expecting this holiday village to be the same as the other holiday villages you will be very disappointed.
The hotel is nice a bit run down, but o.k. The food is edible, not great but its edible. The pools are o.k, all of them are very deep and we saw 2 children almost drown due to the depth of them and the fact there are no life guards at all.The sun beds are all broken and there are only a couple of parasols around each of the pool. You need to get up very early to get a sunbed and parasol, try 6.30am !!!
There are only 2 bars to get drinks from if you are AI, and you will have to queue for ages.
The bar staff are very grumpy and rude, they obviously don't like children as the lady at the pool bar would tell them to go away or ignore them completely.
Don't expect to get chicken at the chicken shack if you are AI, its one of the many things that isn't included in AI, along with TV, coffee after 10pm, crisps from certain bars, I could go on but the list is so long its boring!
Before we arrived the air con broke down due to hot weather nad it was still not working in our room when we left. We had to sleep on the lounge floor to keep cool. I don't like camping!!
The kids clubs and in2action team are fabulous, its a shame the rest of the hotel and staff let them down.
This is not a 4 star hotel and it is certainly not all inclusive as you know it. There are so many problems at this hotel I would advise you to go somewhere else if you can.

9 readers found this review helpful

In january me and my partner stayed at this resort in playa blanca, i would say it is a really nice place, and very clean! however i would not go back. The only reason being is because it is excellent for families and children but for a young couple i would not reccommend. Also pleaseeeeeeeee dont go on this holiday, if your looking at going all-inclusive, we went one nite to the italian restaurant and discovered that they were running back and forth to the spanish restaurant to get the food, so they werent actually cooking the food themselves, i ordered some carbonara pasta and it was like trying to eat a rubber balloon, im not the moaning type i found it quite funny although my meal wasnt cheap so that was the down side. All the other customers on that particular night noticed aswell that the food was not being cooked in our actual restaurant and found it hilarious. Overall me and my partner enjoyed our stay here and just ate out each night. This is a nice place to stay if your taking your family, as it is really big and has plenty of pools and facilities for you, although i would deffinately reccommend not to go all inclusive.

10 readers found this review helpful

We have just returned from 10 days at the sun tropical, we had a fantastic holiday , the accomodation is excellent, the staff friendly and the reps,kids club reps and evening entertainers well what can I say " Jo Slow, Melanie, Lewis ,Adam and Rikki, WE LOVE YOU !!! they are fantastic, we didnt want to come home and our girls loved it. We went all inclusive the buffet restaurant was gr8 but the chicken shack you could only have a toastie, burger, slice of pizza or a hot dog and you could only get this between 10am and 6pm which was a bit bad, the pool bar only gave out small pots of icecream in a yoghurt type pot for all inclusive there was no choice of icecreams or lollies and the snacks served there were only crisps, the woman who worked behind this bar was miserable and tutted and huffed when you went up to ask for anything, she also always told the children to go away if they went up on their own to get drinks/snacks. One downside to the holiday was that the pools were all 1.5m deep which for small children who cant swim is too deep, and they are freezing cold which puts you off from going into them. Playa blanca itself is a beautiful resort very quiet and picturesque, and we cant w8 to go back again next year !!!

21 readers found this review helpful

Like all other families I have to admit I had read some of the articles on here and on tripadvisor and to be honest I was very sceptical but thought what the hey ill give it a try anyway.
When we arrived I was plesantly suprised at the greeting we all got, the guys in blue and yellow shirts (in2action) were there to give us a warm welcome all singing and dancing the cho-co-lat-e if you have been to the sun trop you will know what i mean.
My children were very impressed when bob the builder even turned up to say hello.
Check in was quick and easy with no problems at all.
When we got to our room, yeah they were pretty basic but nothing you couldnt live with they had all the basics and they were clean probably could of done with a lick of paint but I mean if you want top class then you book a 4star resort somewhere.
In saying that there were a few problems with the room nothing major but a couple of lights were out and the lock on the window didnt shut properly but we reported it to the first choice reps which i must add were fantastic and it was dealt with straight away.
We ventured down the next morning for breakfast which we thought was great, there were lots of choice fruit, cereal, fry ups, fruit juice, milk etc etc from reading some of the reviews i think the people who said there wasnt any choice were staying at a different hotel, either that or they expected caviar or something.
Some days though in the buffett restaurant the food wasnt gordan ramsey but definitely still edible but again if you want that type of food you go and stay at a 4 or 5 star resort.
Yeah ill agree that the hotel does run on skeleton staff and could do with more but that would prob be my only qwarm with the hotel.
My little ones absolutely loved the kids clubs especially the chocolate party and sweety bingo, they loved amanda who always had facepaint on and always took time out to say hello even when on her lunch in the restaurant.
The entertainment in the evening was really good a shame about the accoustics in the dome though the guys always tried really hard and put on great shows. Jo slow was absolutely nuts and the kids again thought she was great.
All in all we had a fantastic time and are looking forward to next year already.
sorry to drag this on but......
It did make me laugh in the previous posting on here about the reps leaving the office. I mean on the occasions i did go down to see the reps there were a queue of people ready to complain all moaning in the queue about this that and the other. If these people hadnt been moaning about the slightest little thing im sure the reps would of gone out and been able to do something about some of the issues brought up and also the doctors makes you thankful really for the NHS. I really do think some people go on holiday to moan i mean at the end of the day where does it get you you may as well just relax and get on with it and make the best of it.
Bottom line if your a snob and dont really like to have a laugh then go elsewhere, if your up for a crack, looking to make sure your kids have a fantastic time then sun tropical has it all.