Elena Apartments

Have just returned from the Elena apartments and have to say i was pleasantly surprised. I was a bit dubious after reading some reviews but the place itself is great, We stayed on the first floor nearly directly over the bar/pool area and while you could hear the bar noise in the living room there was peace and quiet in the bedrooms. The place seems well maintained and very clean the only problem was the quiet pool bar, Bar snacks are great basic food but if you want more of a night out then you need to get down to the sea front bars. Pool was always clean with plenty of sun loungers available, Rooms were clean and maids did a great job, TV was a waste of time with the Sat needing a re-alignment but who wants TV when on holiday in such a great place. Location is superb as it is just off the sea front but far enough back to be away from the noise.

I was a little apprehensive when we arrived at these apartments, because they don't look much from the outside. However, once inside it's a different story. The complex is very friendly with a happy atmosphere. I was very surprised that an apartment so close to the commercial centre would be this quiet. I certainly would not mind staying there again.

I stayed at the Elena Apartment with my boyfriend for a week in February, we kenw we would be staying in one of three hotels but not which one until we got there. We were hoping not to get the Elena as it was only ranked at a two star but we were pleasantly suprised. We were put in the roons on the other side of the road which we weren't initally happy about but which turned out to be great as it was really quiet and peaceful. The room was massive and clean, the maids came in about three times I think and did a great job, the only down side for the room was that you had to put money in th telly to get it to work, but we weren't in the room that often. You can also hire things like irons, toasters, kettle and toasted sandwich makers from reception for a reasonable amount of money. The location of the aprtments is great! if you stay in the main building then you are one stret away from the main strip of bars restuarants and th beach, if you stay in the back part of the partments then you are two streets away. There are a couple of night clubs by the front section of the hotel so I don't know if there would be any noise from them in the evening if you were staying in the main block but we didn't hear anything at the back. The pool and bar are quite small so we only went in there a couple of times, everyone that was working there seemed nice and pleasat enough, and although we didn't eat any of the food from the bar, it looked nice enough! The beach was really nice and you could walk for ages on it, we also walked the other way and went to the beach further down, whih was about a 30 min walk but it was huge and quieter then the beach by the hotel. We went in to Puerto Calaro and went on the submarine which was great, would recommend that to everyone, there isn't much round that area to do or see apart from the submarine but there are a couple of nice restaurants and bars overlooking the harbour. We went on an organised trip to the submarine but discovered you could get a water taxi between Puerto calaro and Puerto Del Carmen so we got that back instead, was about 5 euros each one way. There are some really nice restaurants in Puerto Del Carmen our favourite was La Ola where we had really nice lobstar on valentines day, it was very good value formoney to. We really enjoyed our holiday to Lanzarote, the beach is nice, the weather was good and the apartments were spot on for our needs. I would recommend this hotel for friends.

we booked this through thomson with flights from jet2 the appartments had had a face lift and were clean and tidy we asked for a quite room and was given aone in the back block which was a bit of a way from reception and pool area but it suited us fine as we were away from the noise resort near enough but again no noise bothering us as we were about three streets back from the front. would go again as i felt the appartments were worth the money plenty of room for four in the two bedded room we had and cleaner came 5 days out of the 7 to change towels kettel but no toaster

We got this apartment on a last minute booking, staying for a week. Never done a last minute before so was a little twitchy when parting with my hard earned.. Elena apartment are on a little back street, about 3 mins walk from a gorgeous beach.The complex we found on the whole to be clean and tidy. On the first night we got there, there was a few unwanted critters in the apartment, but nothing major and never caused us any further problems. The apartment itself was on the first floor overlooking the pool, 2 bedrooms all with beds not put up sofas, separate kitchen with nice size lounge, bathroom and balcony. Maid service was regular with loads of fresh towels, and you knew they had been in, the place was spotless each time, they even folded up the kids pyjamas, nice thought. The swimming pool wasnt as big as i thought, but it didnt matter, there was water in it, it was cleaned everyday without fail, and the kids loved it. (Tip.. spend a few euros on a lilo and blow up tyre, its money well spent to keep the kids happy).There is also a smaller kiddy pool to the side as well. Only thing i didnt like about the pool was the lack of grip bars around the edges, but other than that it was perfect. There is also a bar on site that sells food during the day, beer was 2 euros a pint a not bad either, the food was ok, but we eat out every night, and bought stuff for lunch etc during the day. The bar also does Karaoke and quiz nights etc, but they weren't really that clever, there are plenty of bars nearby. The location during the day was nice and quiet, it got busy in the evening with the nearby bars and clubs giving it large decibels, but, it didnt ruin any of my families sleep. We all stayed up quite late anyway, hardly ever hitting the sack before 1.30 am, my kids are 9 and 11, and some might say we kept them up, i say, we let them go to bed when they wanted to, there were plenty of other kids on the site, all doing the same. I guess u move your body clock around a few hours and fit in with the flow. Bad points: We booked this with Thompson, who are not well respected on the island as we found out. Apparently they are stitching up the owners of places such as ELENA, and making the excursion operators take much less for all their trips they provide. Because we booked last minute, we didnt qualify for airport transfers, if we did, it would have cost 15 quid per person. A local taxi will do it one way for 13 euros from the airport to puerto del carmen. We flew from Exeter airport on an Air Malta flight through XL.com. Had i booked the inflight meal it would have cost 12 quid adults and 6 for the kids (identical meal) 36 quid each way. Air Malta and XL.com provide inflight meals at no extra cost. The steward announced on the tannoy that if anyone had paid for their meals, they should claim it back from the company who sold the flight to them. The Thompson tour rep was a chap called Neil, who's welcome meeting was non existent, even though we were in the bar at the right time, he came in looked around, said nothing and walked out. Next time i saw him, he was either very hot and sweaty,had been up all night, or doing something that i wouldnt put into text on this site, either way, he wasnt what i would say a good image for the company, sorry Neil u just didnt do for me. He also had an appt on site, one night 4 of us were in the bar talking till about 1.30 am, when an empty beer bottle came flying out of now where and smashed on the pool side. We mentioned it to Neil the following day, i didnt realise it was his day off, he still had his rep t shirt on, but he got a bit ratty and said it would have to wait until the following day. Worrying thing was that there was only 2 places the bottle could have come from, the little alleyway down the side of his flat, or from his balcony. Who knows.... but its ok Neil, i cleared up the mess dont u worry about it. Overall we had a great time, and would come back again, maybe book direct with the appt owners, hire a car and see more of the island. We paid 430 quid for the appartment and 450 for the flights, a little to much for the appartment i thought, but it was high season, so no real complaint. Would recommend getting a appt on the first floor, not ground floor. Recommend La Dolce Vita restaurant, Mulligans, Slow boat chinese restaurant ( up past the casino, 7.50 euros all u can eat buffet, 30 dishes, fat boys delight), Ricks bar and the American Indian restaurant. Also the ice cream bar on the beach side of the road. Hope to see Elena next year!

this was a last minute job as i found very cheap flights. but we had only five hours to pack for four and drive two hours to exeter for the flight. i phoned tompson and asked if they had anything on the island. they gave me three places to chose from and i looked them up on their website. i chose the elena as it was the only one that offered two bedrooms in the appartment. they were unable to let us stay that night as it was "too late" to get the room ready. this seemed a bit strange as it only takes a phone call. we wouldn't have been there until 10pm. and it was only 1pm at the time. so we were only able to stay for six nights. they still charged us for seven nights even though it's clear on the website that the room is bookable at £50 per night (we're in the prosess of trying to claim this extra £50 back. but they say we can't have it). we managed to book a room for one night from arrecife airport once we had landed. the elena it's self was pleasant on arrival. but we were given a room next to the pool and the bar. it was a bit noisy for our two young girls at night, but they didn't suffer with any sleep loss. the room was very basic. one sofa, two chairs and a coffee table. and four stools at the kitchen counter. the kitchen had a fridge freezer which worked well. and a two hob cooker that was enough. there were single beds in both rooms. we had to leave the back window open for the kids as it was very very hot at night. for £350 a week these rooms should have air con. they want to charge modern prices but won't supply modern facilities. by the way, the hotel only charges 35 euros per night. so tompson is making a mint. they are parting company next year so the prices might come down. the rep, neil. was ok even though he had a black eye. i didn't ask why. there is nothing for the kids to do other than sunbathe, swim or play pool at 2 euros a time. we spent one night chasing cockroaches around the appartment. we found that the best way to kill them was to throw a wet towel on them and stamp all over it. it's a bit messy. but it works. we told the guy at reception the next morning. he shrugged his shoulders and said, "we get them all the time". although, to his credit. he did say he'd get the room sprayed with repellant. and we didn't see any more. well, not inside the room anyway. this was by far, not the worst place we've ever stayed. but with some improvements and attention to detail, could be a very nice little family hotel. if you hire a car like we did, parking is not easy. you might find yourself driving round the block four or five times before you find a place.

My partner and I found these appartments very good value. They were large and clean. The amenities were very good. It was central and handy for bars and restaurants and the beach. The only thig wrong was it was cold when we were there and there is no heating but I would go back in warmer weather. Our thomson rep was very friendly and obliging.

Yet another fantstic holiday had at Elena. We returned here again with another family that we met there in 2004. The apartments are large, clean & tidy. the pool and bar area kept immaculately clean. We find these apartments ideally situated, even though they are centrally located and bars very close by, we never had problems with noise. The children aged between 4 and 15 all had a brilliant time, close friendships were made by all. We always found all staff to be extremely friendly, helpful and polite. A great value for money holiday! We hope to return again very very soon.

(ages 36, 32, 11, 9 and 6) My family and I have recently come back from the Elena apartments and apart from the many friend my family made overall the holiday was awful. With 48 hrs of being there, we had a personal item taken from our room right under our nose and the Thomson rep just didn't care less and was as much use as a chocolate fire guard (the worst rep i've ever met). The staff are not too bad but the cleaner in our apartment needed to be shown how to clean, she was hopeless (a proper brush up and mop round was needed). These apartments were very basic and in some cases a bit of a let down, not the best that we have stayed in. Overall I can honestly say this has been the worst holiday in the 15 years I have being going abroad and do not intend on returning to these apartments again.

My husband and I have just come back from a week's stay at the Elena Apartments in Lanzarote. They were nice and clean, basic but the rooms were quite large and roomy. We had no trouble with cockroaches because we were on the first floor, I heard other people on the ground floor getting cockroaches in their rooms!! The Elena is centrally based so if you want to be able to sleep at night get a room at the back of the complex (which myself and my husband did), if your room is near the pool or reception you will hear the noise of the local clubs and music. Overall a nice clean place to stay. But get a room on the first floor, not the ground floor and don't get a room near reception or the pool, otherwise you won't sleep at night!!