My friend and I travelled with our kids to this hotel and had no idea what to expect as we had never done an all-inclusive holiday before. We all had a great time. The apartments were large and very clean with nice balconies looking over the pool.

We did have a slight problem with hot water on one occasion but as soon as I reported it to reception they sent someone up within 5 mins to fix it. The kids loved the fact that there was satellite TV which for 3euros a day was reasonable and it had a good range of channels(not just german or spanish speaking ones which we've found in other hotels).

Our kids are quite young (6,8 and 9) and we found the hotel ideal as they could go off on their own but were always within reach and it felt very safe. They enjoyed the playground, the pool tables and discovered the games room later in the week.

After the first day we discovered the need to be up at 8.30 to get a sunbed when they're unlocked but it was always quite a laugh waiting- unless you got stuck talking to a whinger, complaining about everything!

We found the food fine with enough choice to satisfy us and more importantly, the kids. There was always something they could find to eat and the big advantage of all-inclusive is that if they didn't like their first choice they could swap for something else.

The pool and poolbar were great and you could get involved with activities like waterpolo, quizzes etc. if you wanted to. Ellie was excellent.

The evening entertainment was not really our scene at all but the stuff for kids was good although mostly seemed to clash with when we were trying to eat our evening meal. We did get drawn into the bingo though!

Drinks were a bit rough but what do you expect when they're all-inclusive? As our rooms were near the bar we were quite pleased that it finished reasonably early as we were worried about the kids getting disturbed by noise late at night. It was fine and the bar staff were fine about serving drinks in plastic cups to take back to your balcony if you wanted to continue the night!

Overall, we really enjoyed the holiday, met a lot of nice, friendly people and would consider going back. So forget the whingers, accept the hotel for what it is and enjoy!

After reading some of the reviews about the ficus we were dreading the holiday. We had a great time the entertainment team were excellent, the room was immaculate. The food was a little boring after a few days. Overall we had a great time and would recommend thi hotel to others.

Quite simply dreadful

The accommodation was bad - when we walked into our rooms for the first time my wife hit her head on the electricity meter which was literally hanging off the wall by the door. The patio doors would not close properly so we had to jam them shut with a table - we'd heard reports of break-ins and we were obviously worried.

Our fridge did not work but the staff showed total disinterest. The TV was also faulty but they refused to change it - after we'd put in some money...

The food - ah yes the food - in a word - dreadful - always the same and pretty uneatable. Like many others we ate in one of the local bars - don't pay for full board - you'll be wasting you money.

The hotel is built on waste ground and has a long dark road leading up to it. There have been a number of reported muggings so DO NOT walk alone after dark.

The local shops sell electronics - cameras, binoculars etc - that you can buy cheaper in the UK - whatever you do don't pay by card or they'll empty your account.

Lanzarote itself has little to offer. The shops are poor, the beach is pebbles, very little sand and quite steep so unsafe for small kids. Take a coach trip around the National Park - we enjoyed that - and it got us away from the Ficus for a full day !!!

Incidentally if you're on full board don't be lulled by the thought of all that 'free drink' - it's local hooch and half the time the bar was closed - staff shortage supposedly - very convenient...

The hotel staff were surly at best - they would do well to remember that without holidaymakers they'd need to move to the mainland to find work - they never smiled and were totally unhelpful.

I could go on - in our experience this is where the great unwashed holiday and by holiday I mean get legless, fight and throw up everywhere - if that's what you want in a holiday then you'll enjoy yourselves - we'll not go back.

Just returned from the Ficus last night! We had a fantastic time and were very sad to come home.
The hotel is very clean, the apartments are basic but spotless and fairly roomy (much more space than in a hotel room anyway).

The staff are friendly and helpful and most of the barmaids have time for a chat if they're not busy - they'll even join in the last few songs/dances of the evening.

The entertainment reps did a pretty good job - Mahayla (aka Mahoney) and Simon (ohhh Sy....) did several activities around the pool during the day, and then a kids disco, bingo and other stuff (more tea vicar...) in the evening. My only complaint was that the evening entertainment was a bit stop-and-start on most nights. The kids disco was quite early and only lasted about 20 minutes, at a time when most families were still having their evening meal. After the disco we usually waited quite some time before the bingo etc, and then another long wait before the main event of the evening. In my opinion an extra rep on the team would be able to keep things going better. We had chosen All-Inclusive partly because we expected non-stop action through the day and night. We had a Backstreet Boys tribute band one night and some Argentinian dancers and a Parrot Show another night, but most nights the main event was done by the reps. We had expected a professional show/act every evening, as this has been the case in other Sunset accomodation we have been in. I had a chat with the Sunset resort rep about this and she said that it's not Sunset's fault, it's the management at the Ficus who won't pay wages for an extra entertainment rep or pay for good professional evening shows.

Some people with younger children felt that most of the entertainment was aimed at teenagers and adults - my kids are aged 14 and 11 and they had a brilliant time, but I noticed a lot of younger children just hanging around looking left out. I have no complaints with Mahoney or Simon themselves, they worked hard and were great with everyone, I just think they could do with an extra pair of hands on deck with a very demanding crowd of paying guests at the hotel.

The food was OK most days. There were one or two occasions where there wasn't really much that I fancied, but there was always plenty of salad, bread and fruit to fill up with until the next meal. Breakfast is exactly the same every day, so don't expect any variations there. Lunch and Dinner had a variety of stuff to choose from, with a few 'themed' nights, including Canarian and Mexican. Serve yourself with tea, coffee, squash etc, and make your own toast in the morning and late evening.

When I booked the holiday I had requested a middle-floor apartment with a pool view - which, I'm pleased to say, was exactly what I got! The apartment kitchen is advertised in the brochure as having no utensils, however there was crockery, cutlery and pans in our apartment. There is also an electric kettle but you have to pay to hire the lead, so take your own lead with an adaptor plug if you're the sort who needs a hot drink between 11pm-8am. You might also want to take some hangers for the wardrobe, as there are not many there, apart from what the previous occupant may have left behind. There is a small washing line on the balcony, just enough to dry swimwear, but not really big enough for a whole family's towels. You might want to take some pegs to stop your stuff blowing off the line. There is a pay-TV in the apartment,

We have just returned having spent 2 wonderful weeks at these apartments. The cleanliness was definately top draw stuff and the food was also good but the varity could have been broader. We found the walk back to the apartments a drag sometimes but on the whole the walk was enjoyable. All the hotel staff were excellent as were Mahoney and our simon (who has now departed for Magaluf yesterday 08/07/2004).

Before we departed for the ficus we checked the web and where greeted with a holiday from hell site. As soon as we arrived the report from the web site was very accurate. The worst thing we encountered was the food chose and quality we have traveled around the world and this is our worst experience. Also we saw a dead rat around the pool plus many insects. Whilst on holiday we filled in a compliant form along with many other quests since returning home we have had no response from anybody. I guess customer satisfaction means nothing to sunset.

the hotel staff was really friendly and helpful on the last day we was not leaving until 7.o clock at night and we have a 9 month old baby we ask the reception staff if we could keep the room on because of the baby and feeding her and they let us keep it on with no extra charge which i thought was very good of them.the food we found very poor not much of a choice.the entertainment was ok but we could not in enjoy that much with a baby.they always played games around the pool every day.the reps for sunset we did not find very helpful at all when first asking if we could keep the room on for our little girl the answer was no stright away this is why we ask the hotel staff next and they said yes stright away.the beds was only changed once in all the week was was their and the towels in the room was only changed once.
around the pool area was very clean they cleaned the pool out morning and night.

We stayed at the Ficus appartments, and after reading other messages was dreading going, but it couldn't have been further from the truth. the cleanliness was immaculate,the food plentifull, and various. The waiting staff were very polite and courteous.

We have just arrived back from our holiday in Lanzarote. After booking our holiday and then looking at the previous holiday truths website we were expecting the worst from the hotel. BUT we were nicely suprised!

The hotel was spotless, with English speaking receptionists and terrific bar staff. The entertainments team mat and muhuny were fantastic with something for everyone.

There was always something for you to eat and for a 3 star hotel the standards were very high. No sooner had you finished your meal that your plate was cleared away for you. We had no problem getting a seat in the restaurant the whole 2 weeks we were there.

Towards the end of the second week there were slight ques for the bar etc. but nothing compared to this country!

The hotel staff couldn't have been more helpful. 9 out of 10 things that we asked for or wanted improving we were given immediately.

The pool was cleaned every other day and the pool side area was cleaned every night. Although for the end of April, start of May we wern't brave enough to get in the pool very often!

The maid service was brilliant, and of a much higher standard than we expected from a 3 star hotel.

In the brochure it says 450m from the beach, but we would say it was slightly more than that. On the way to the beach don't venture into any of the electrical stores unless you know exactly what you want and make sure to barter them down!

If you go to a 3 star hotel expecting 5 star facilities then you will be dissapointed, but we will definately be visiting the Ficus Apartments again next year and found it excellent value for money.