Barcelo La Galea Apartments

1 reader found this review helpful

Decided I wanted to spend some time alone, so I booked to go to Lanzarote; at first I was rather nervous being alone.
But I had no need to be... The staff there were so friendly and there were many single people there for the same reason of just spending time away from the hustle and bustle of work.
The resort was lovely; there was a show on nightly which was very entertaining. With so much to do you not going to be bored, I went to a cowboy night at Rancho Texas” great fun”, I then booked a trip on the Yellow submarine. (a must for all ages) and then to end the holiday with a boost I booked a day out on a luxury Catamaran (Catlanza was the name as I recall).
Great people, great food, and fabulous entertainment. A wonderful family vacation. I will be back...

1 reader found this review helpful

Stayed at the Barcelo La Galea for 1 week and it was excellent. Staff are really friendly especially the waiters and the entertainment staff.
They certainly liked to entertain the children and adults with the poolside games.
The food was very good a lot of variety. I really enjoyed myself and would recommend it to anyone and would definitely go back again.
The location is brilliant right near to the shops and pubs.
If anyone is reading this and is considering on going, I wouldn't even hesitate, just go!

1 reader found this review helpful

This is the 2nd time that we have stayed at the La Galea. We went last Sept 06 for one week & enjoyed it so much decided to come back for 2 weeks the end of May/start June this year.
The complex is in a great location a couple of mins from the prom and beach. We had the only 2 room apt in the complex which was fine for 2 adults and 3 kids (4, 2+2). The rooms were clean and apart from the usual dodgy switches etc were fine for the stay. We have always found the food to be pretty good. We certainly never went hungry and could always find something for the (fussy) kids to eat.
I have to mention that we booked our holiday totally independently from any tour operator. By booking the flights and then booking the accommodation on Barcelo's own website (they even have an English call centre now) we got the holiday for approx half what it would have cost if we had brochure/travel agency booked.
Generally a really nice place, in a great location, the staff are not over friendly - but we kind of liked that, as any complaints were swiftly dealt with with no fuss etc. Will return to the La Galea very soon. Best of the 5 different places that we have stayed at in Costa Teguise.

1 reader found this review helpful

I went to Barcelo in August 2006. We were surprised. Went with my Husband (46), Myself (45), Son (16), Daughter (14).
We stayed in a one bedroom apartment. The kids had to share a living room, but it was only for sleeping and half the time the teens were on the balcony because it was too hot to sleep.
Food: We stayed half board, the food was nice and there was a range of foods.
Entertainment: The entertainment was the hotels down fall. If the entertainment was better quality then it would be superb. Most nights we went to pubs and cars, whilst the teens done karaoke.
Facilities: 3 swimming pools play area, games area, downstairs entertainment centre/stage/bar, and poor side bar (lovely drinks whilst in the pool)
Location: Great location. Busy in June-Sept time. Lots of shops, pubs and restaurants.
Lovely Spanish people around resort, good holiday for everybody of all ages.

Just got back from a very nice holiday at La Galea. 2 females 38, 40 and my son aged 6):
ROOM: reasonably clean- we did have an ant problem when we arrived but I reported it to reception and they got rid of all the ants immediately - we just had a lot of bodies after that!!! Very large room even with 3 beds in. The safety rail on my son's bed was a nice touch as he still tends to fall out of bed at night and we usually have to put a lot of pillows on the floor just in case. Kitchenette was behind louvre doors and was adequate and clean- we were half board so didn't need it. Hotel provides soap and shower gel/shampoo/body wash. Our room overlooked the pools and was on the ground floor. It was nice and quiet at night, in fact the whole complex was quiet at night making it easy for my son to get off to sleep.
STAFF: not over friendly but sorted out the couple of problems we had immediately. First problem ants 2nd problem the toilet broke. They were nice to my son - he speaks a little Spanish and they were very impressed and kept giving him the sweets from the reception counter. One thing we were impressed with we arrived very late after evening meal had finished because of our flight time and the staff provided a cold supper (salad) with free water which was very nice as quite often you just lose out on a meal if you have a late flight.
ACTIVITIES: a couple of things to do twice a day - frisbee, darts shooting etc the organiser seemed very friendly although we didn't actually take part in anything. Evening seems fairly similar to other hotels we didn't go to anything -it started rather late (10.00) for my 6 year old.
LOCATION: very good - just a short stroll to the beach (about 2 mins walk) - which is very nice and very clean for a Spanish beach. Plenty of tacky gift shops around supermarkets and places to eat.
FACILITIES: Small play area for children- the big slide is a bit too steep though although there is a soft landing into sand. Two pools - both chilly but one is just about bearable (although I am a wimp)plus one pool for children quite deep up to my son's thighs not suitable for toddlers but ok for children aged 4 and up I'd say VERY cold though. Enough sun beds although a few people put towels on them early morning.
FOOD: OK- not terribly well labelled but no worse than other hotels in the Canaries we have stayed in. We usually go 4 stars and this wasn't much different. Staff were ok but not over friendly. Not much veggie choice - especially since I can't eat tomato. The roasted veg on the show cooking section were nice though. If your child likes burgers fish fingers etc not a lot for them my son prefers adult type food so really liked the buffet selection. Desserts are the usual things - 3 flavours of ice cream (with nice sprinkles) 1 hot dessert (apple/ banana) crème caramel cake rice pudding etc. Adequate but nothing special. The breakfast selection was fine
TRIPS OUT: we usually book with local operators because they are usually a lot cheaper than the rep prices but this time they were the same price. We went to Tittie Trollop’s music hall - my son absolutely loved it. A bit amateurish but an enjoyable night out once you got used to the miming. Both drag artists (Bunny and Nellie) and Betty worked very hard to make it a good night. Only thing was it doesn't seem to be Tittie Trollops anymore - no sign of Tittie herself!!! They did my son and me vegetarian food - veg pie and chips which was very nice. My friend had the standard chicken and chips- generous portion. We did the day trip to Fuerteventura on the Blue Delfin. A very nice day out. Food was fine 2 veggie meals so actually got a choice for once - omelette or pasta - only thing was the pasta had fish on it so if you are veggie ask for it without the fish. Chicken again for my friend not so generous this time. We were a both disappointed we didn't get typical Canarian food rather than English tourist food. One problem was that the coach dropped us at they quayside at the start of the trip and we were not told where we should go or even if we had arrived luckily there were some Spanish people on the coach so we followed them! The other trip we did was with a local operator - 'last minute tours' we did the north tour - again this was really interesting although we could have done with a little bit longer at each place. The meal was a bit disappointing - meat and veg soup with no veggie alternative the usual veggie omelette for me chicken yet again for my friend or there was a fish option. The powdered stuff in the pot on the table is cornmeal! All the tour guides use multiple languages on the coach whether you book with tour operator or locally.
REP: first choice rep was nice and helpful (Michelle). One problem with First choice flights is the lack of legroom less space than Thomson and Thomas Cook.
WEATHER: A bit of a disappointment. It rained every day except one when we had hot sun all day. Although it brightened up by lunch time and was sunny except one day when we caught the tail end of a hurricane and it poured on and off all day. We did better than Tenerife though where the airport was flooded!! We still went on the beach though!! We could swim in the sea every day it was warm even though rainy. Not much sign of the wild winds we had expected from Lanzarote just a pleasant breeze - even hurricane day.

Since a very enjoyable holiday some years ago at El Castillo in Fuerte we have stayed almost exclusively with the Barcelo chain, but no more. They have downgraded their apartment complexes to "Comfort", for which read dilapidated. The latest example is La Galea.
It is a large apartment complex situated on the beach at Costa Teguise. Centrally located in the complex are two and a half smallish pools which are by no means big enough to accommodate all the guests. The sun loungers are in short supply with a substantial number of them broken.
The room (half board) was clean but very poorly equipped. There was no shelf in the bathroom so all toiletries had to go on the edge of the basin. The beds were hard and frustratingly covered with an ill fitting under sheet which constantly came adrift in the night. The weather was, as expected, very hot and windy so the lack of air conditioning or even a fan was disappointing.
The exterior paintwork was peeling and the planters around the complex housed only weeds. I could continue but I feel the point is made. It's not worth spending the flight money to stay at such a sub-standard place.

Barcelo la galea is the best hotel I have ever been to! I have stayed in for other hotels in Lanzarote with higher ratings, and by far this has been the best of them all.
We went in the middle of September, last year (2005) and even though it wasn’t as busy as it would be, there was a large number of Brits there.
The hotel staff are lovely. They were really friendly, and they gave us free drinks and peanuts on the last night.
The rooms are a nice standard, but when the maids came to wash the floor with the mops, hair fell off onto our apartment floor.
The TVs in the apartments are nice, and have a few English channels on. the balconies have a lovely view onto the beach, and this is the best holiday my family and myself have been on.
I highly recommended this hotel.

We stayed at Barcelo la galea for 2 weeks at the end of June/beginning of July 2006 and had a fantastic time. The apartments were lovely with 2 swimming pools and also a kids pool. Our apartment itself was nice and clean and tidy, and we had a pool view from the balcony. During the day there was always some activities going on around the pool, Danny was really good at getting everyone involved and having a great time, you even got a free drink if you won a game. The kids rep Antonio also seemed to work hard to keep the young kids entertained.
The apartments were ideally situated very close to the beach and close to loads of restaurants and bars. The Cutty Sark next to the hotel does a great Sunday roast and most of the bars at the bottom of the hotel do cheap drinks. Provence is a really nice restaurant which is only about 5 minutes away, they do great pizza and steak dishes.
If you don't mind walking a bit further then don pepe is a fantastic restaurant at the other end of the resort near the mini golf. The staff are really friendly and the meals are excellent. Also at the other end of the resort was a lovely bar called Columbus where we got a large beer for 1.25 euros. The resort suited us, but if people wanted something lively I would avoid Costa Teguise as most places shut around 12, although this might just have been because it wasn't the height of the season.
We heard some bad reviews about the water park from others at the hotel but we went and thought it was great. There are slides to suit everybody and it was only 5 minutes away in a taxi.
Overall it was a great holiday which I would highly recommend.

We stayed there last year on October, a couple with two little children, and we enjoyed our stay so much.
First of all we found the hotel situation very strategic, in the beautiful and quiet Costa Teguise. There is a nearby short promenade alongside the beach, very animated at nights, with a wide choice of little restaurants and bars. We always had dinner at the hotel because with two little children it was more relaxing than going out for meal. There was a wide variety of food, and the quality was quite good. The only thing I would criticize is the service, the staff is unfriendly (I think because nobody tips the waiters, which I think is wrong, even if one has the all inclusive formula) and they always forget to bring you glasses or the knives, etc., so have to go for them by yourself.
The pool area is also nice, with a little sandy area for children. The animation staff is very friendly and good for children. We stood in an apartment which was well cleaned and well furnished, the only problem we had was the balcony, which we had to keep closed because very dangerous for little children, who may easily climb the wooden rail. So if you have little children take care of asking for a room at the ground floor.
All in all, I think this hotel is good value for money, I would recommend it.

Quite simply - best holiday I have ever had! The hotel location is superb, it has its own access to prom, 2 mins to beach, lots of restaurants and bars within minutes walk in either direction.
Apartments very comfortable, we had a sea view, very clean ( cleaned 5 days out of 7 ), adequately equipped, oven, grill, 2 hobs, toaster, kettle, TV with sky news, CNN, Eurosport etc. Not that you will need to do much cooking - all tastes catered for and reasonably priced in nearby restaurants/ pubs. Friendly staff, all amenities within easy reach. Internet access in reception.
Quiet location despite proximity to bars, I am a light sleeper and no problem at all. Most bars close at 11.00 anyway, so not ideal for clubbers, though if you looked hard enough I'm sure you could find somewhere! Overall, you will not better this Hotel.