Hi James

While you're waiting for replies you'll find reviews HERE

Pippy

Hi James, we have been to the Tymanfaya Palace a few times, and we love it! What aspects of the hotel did you want to know about? If you post questions I will answer them for you if I can. Regards, Linda.

Hello Linda,
Thanks for your quick response. We know Playa Blanca quite well having visited it several times in the past few years when staying elsewhere on the island.
We are a recently retired couple looking for a relaxing, quiet holiday with no expectations of high quality entertainment but we do appreciate good 4* accomodation and good quality food and service.
We went to this Hotel about 9 years ago and it was great having only recently been opened. (Bumped up from Lanz Princess)
We have read some subsequent reviews about poor state of accommodation and questionable food and service.
Also, is it essential to book and pay for a sea view room?
Any help you can offer would be appreciated.

Regards,
James Furze

Hi James..
We went to this hotel in June this year..
We are 4 forty year olds..
The hotel, people say could do with a lick of paint, we found if really ok..they shut the jucuzzi down while we were there and re did it..maybe they are re doing parts of the hotel..we had a fussy eater with us but she had no complaints at alll! There is alot of pork, we got told they have to do this for the germans. but we honesly could,nt fault the food.
We were in a pool view room, really if you get facing the back of the hotel were the pools were then really no need to pay for an upgrade..were only on first floor..but that was fine..we did email the hotel and just asked if poss if we could have a pool view, and we got 2 rooms next to each other..If anything maybe the rooms could do with a smarten up..I do have room photos if you want to see any..as you must know it is a walk into Playa Blanca..we were surprised at how windy (cold wind) it was..people there said weather had been unpredictable this year..
Feel free to ask me anything else..
Hope this helps..
Tracey..

Hi James, you will certainly get good service, and the food, in my opinion is excellent. We have also stayed at the Lanzarote Princess, and the Rubicon Palace, and we much prefer the Tymanfaya Palace. Yes, some of the rooms are looking a little "worn", but we paid for a Palace Suite at the Rubicon and that WAS tatty. Personally, we have never paid for a sea view at the Tymanfaya, last time we emailed, and only once we were put right on the ground floor with no view at all, a quick visit to reception and we were moved up a floor, with pool and sea views (it was a corner room) and a complimentary bottle of Cava.
The entertainment is average IMO, but then we prefer to take a stroll of an evening, stopping off at a bar or two along the way, and we've met some lovely people doing this.
Reception usually ask if you have stayed there before, and if you have you get a little gift left in your room, last time we got some nice soaps with flowers inside them, a nice momento lol.
The first time we went was the year after it opened, and I don't think it's changed that much to be honest, especially as far as food and service go, and the Tymanfaya Palace is still my favourite hotel in Lanzarote. Oh, and I think it's completley non smoking now. Hope this helps, enjoy your holiday....Linda.

Hi,
Can anyone help me. I noticed a lot of the reviews are dated about this hotel on this and a few other review sites. Those that are up to date seem to be pretty negative . I am travelling to the Tmianfaya Palace in a few weeks time with my husband and children 3,9 & 12. I am just a bit worried whether it's going to be a let down. We have got it for a good price, but have still paid quite a lot for the hol (booked independantly) due to the fact that we need 2 rooms to accomodate us all, so I wouldn't want to go if it's going to be rubbish. I am concerned about food quality (we are booked on AI) and also the standard of the rooms. We have also paid extra for a sea view. I know the economy rooms on the ground floor are newer than the sea view rooms but they have no view in the evening so my hubby wanted to see the sea. I wouldn't have been bothered,just want good food. We have been loads to Lanzarote and visited this hotel years ago (but didn't stay there) we liked the look then, but this was when it was still getting FAB reports. Just wondered how downhill it has gone (if it has).I did want to go to the Princesa Yaiza but that was a ridiculous price for us all for 7 nights (something like £3,000 + just for a room) and I know we would be in the annexe which i didn't like coz my friend has stayed there and said she didn't like the annexe. Would really appreciate some honest opinions.

thanks,

pink

Hi,
sorry but somehow someone had bumped up a previous posting about this topic but they are years old and not relevant. Here is my up to date posting -

Can anyone help me. I noticed a lot of the reviews are dated about this hotel on this and a few other review sites. Those that are up to date seem to be pretty negative . I am travelling to the Tmianfaya Palace in a few weeks time with my husband and children 3,9 & 12. I am just a bit worried whether it's going to be a let down. We have got it for a good price, but have still paid quite a lot for the hol (booked independantly) due to the fact that we need 2 rooms to accomodate us all, so I wouldn't want to go if it's going to be rubbish. I am concerned about food quality (we are booked on AI) and also the standard of the rooms. We have also paid extra for a sea view. I know the economy rooms on the ground floor are newer than the sea view rooms but they have no view in the evening so my hubby wanted to see the sea. I wouldn't have been bothered,just want good food. We have been loads to Lanzarote and visited this hotel years ago (but didn't stay there) we liked the look then, but this was when it was still getting FAB reports. Just wondered how downhill it has gone (if it has).I did want to go to the Princesa Yaiza but that was a ridiculous price for us all for 7 nights (something like £3,000 + just for a room) and I know we would be in the annexe which i didn't like coz my friend has stayed there and said she didn't like the annexe. Would really appreciate some honest opinions.

thanks,

pink

Hi Pink
We had our third visit to Timanfaya Palace in Jan-Feb this year and reported (on tripadvisor.com)
"This was our third return visit to the Timanfaya Palace (and sixth to Lanzarote) and whilst the public areas are still very good the same could not be said of our seaview bedroom (R374) on the third floor which, although kept very clean, badly needed new furniture. Also, the enamel in the bath was damaged and rust was showing through. The food was acceptable with plenty of choice and the staff very helpful as always. We love the location which is ideal for us but are not sure that we will return. The problem is where else to stay in Playa Blanca which we consider to be the best quiet resort on the island."
We will be interested to read how you get on with your visit as we are thinking about returning there later this year.

Regards
James

James ... it would be helpful to fellow members if you could also take time to support our own reviews section ... please click here.

Many thanks
David

Thanks James for your reply. I will (if we go to Timanfaya still) let you know how we get on when we get back. I have been going to Lanzarote as I said for the last 20 years on and off. We always like Riu hotels wherever we go but don't like their european AI club hotels. We like playa blanca, but also like Costa Teguise and Matagorda. We used to stay a lot at the beatriz playa hotel in Matagorda but when that changed to AI a couple of years ago we thought it had gone downhill and, like you feel about the Timanfaya, we won't be returning. I had thought about booking the occidental teguise playa this time but thought the rooms looked a bit dated there too. I am a bit torn now. We could cancel as my reservation can be cancelled at any time. H10 only take a credit card number to reserve a room. You are only charged on departure and you can cancel up to 24 hours before without any financial penalty. But I really wanted to try the Timanfaya palace.
regards
pink

Hi Pink,
Strange you should mention Occidential Playa Teguise as we stayed there twice (reports on that other site) and it was really good.
On the second visit we found that the resort had gone down hill i.e. ok if you want wall to wall Irish and Scots bars with karoke blaring out into the streets and amusement arcades (which we don't).
The good thing about that hotel is that once you are inside or in the grounds you are totally unaware of the rest of the resort.

Have you tried Fuertaventure? We liked Corralejo and stayed at the BlueBay Palace (was previously called Atlantis Palace) which we thought had the edge over both the Timanfaya and the Occidential
Good luck with whatever you do.
James

Hi James,
well funnily enough if we were not going to Lanzarote we have often been to Fuerteventura ourselves too !! Our beloved hotel there is the Riu Palace tres islas. We love that hotel. We haven't been since it was refurbished last year. Bet it's even better now. Now some may say that hotel was due for a refurb but we had been many times and the location and the staff who always remebered us plus the service always shone through for us. The location is superb, although remote ,with nothing to do at night in terms of wandering out to bars (there aren't any with it being in the middle of nowhere) but that suits us. We like it quiet and relaxing on holiday. We have however stayed elsewhere but always missed the tres islas if we weren't staying there. I loved the fish restaurant by the harbour (used to be called the marquesina). But sadly we are tied to lanzarote flights now so we will have to stick to there this time. Do you think the occidental grand teguise playa would be preferable to the timanfaya palace ?
thanks regards
Pink

Hello Pink, (or should I say Princess?)
A tough call. it was two years ago that we last went to Occidential Playa Tequise and I see that it is now AI and there are some recent varying comments about it on the other review site.
As I wrote earlier we prefer Playa Blanca as a resort.
Have you thought about the Lanzarote Princess at Playa Blanca? Our daughter and family stayed there last year and really enjoyed it. We first went there 10 or so years ago and on our second visit we were given the chance to upgrade for free to the then nearly new Timanfaya which H10 were promoting.
No sea views from the Princess but it has a very good reputation, is less expensive and the food is said to be good. It's behind the Yaiza so it's easy to walk to either town or the new Marina.
There that's another option!!
Good luck - at least you know you will be getting good weather.
Regards
James

Thanks James for all your help !!
I think my hubby is set on the timanfaya palace, plus I have always wanted to try it and will be miffed if I don't. At least we will know then for ourselves if it's for us. I will post on our return and let you know what we thought about our stay !!!
regards
pink

Hi Pink,
Glad you have got that sorted.
We suggest that you ask for quiet rooms on a high floor which should ensure that you get a seaview.
Some of the standard rooms are on the bottom floor where the balcony is actually half below garden level and when standing up your head is at ground level - you will understand when you stroll the grounds.
The side view rooms may have side sea views but look over the service drive and the de-salinisation plant.
We always try to get a dining room table near the windows as this is away from the heat and noise of the kitchens.
A walk to the lighthouse (out of gate and to the right) and back should take just over an hour plus time spent at a bar halfway along! A little longer to walk the other way to the Marina.

For car hire on the Canaries we use Auto Riesen (on the airport) and they have always been reliable with very competitive prices. 'We find it is cheaper to hire for a week than pay for transfers .

Enjoy and do let everyone know how you get on.
Regards,
James

Thanks for your review James and thanks for your assistance.

Kath x

Hi James,
thanks for that !! When I visited the timanfaya a few years ago (we were staying at the Lanzarote Park Hotel further along, not our usual 4* it was okay, but wouldn't go again) we didn't look if there was a gate in the grounds that leads to the beach/prom. Is there one ? Or do you have to go out the front entrance through reception and down the main path to the prom ? Hope you don't mind us picking you brains, sorry. I love the walks along the prom in the evening. We are looking forward to seeing all the changes that have taken place since we were last there. The Yaiza wasn't there last time , nor the marina. The last few years we have been to the other side of the island. Don't know if you have children or not but if you don't we liked the Iberostar at Puerto calero. We looked round that hotel the week it opened and it had lovely views over the costa calero marina. It's not near a beach so no good for us with our 3 children, but for me and my husband would have been great. My friend has been and said it was lovely. The AI option there is like the Timanfaya staff assure me it will be, more of a premium AI with proper branded drinks, cola etc. Not that we are big drinkers but i like gordons gin if i am having a drink and coca cola or proper pepsi etc. Plus a bottle of wine with a meal is nice rather than a glass of wine on draught (which Riu AI do shame on them) and I hate that because its just rubbish quality. But i am a bit of a fuss pot, and very hard to please lol.
regards
Pink

Hi Pink (& Husband)
There are two gates to the prom from the gardens. You will need your room card to access one of them.
You can have a free fridge if you order a certain number of bottles of water at reception and this is cheaper than hiring the fridge which you can then use for whatever.
We have never been AI as we tend not to be at the hotel for lunch.
We buy a bottle of wine & gin etc locally (Flamingo Beach shops are just a few minutes walk away) to keep in the room for an apertif.
We normally just have water at the dinnertable as we are not great drinkers. The wine is not over expensive.
If it is your birthday the Hotel and staff will help you to celebrate!!

Enjoy.

James

Thanks for all your help James !!
regards
Pink