the hotel was situated just a short walk away from the town.the hotel was clean and had a very friendly atmosphere. our apartment was of a good size especially with a 10 yr old and a 6month old. it was cleaned daily apart from friday. the kitchen equipment for self catering was very basic so i would take mugs and wine glasses next time. the rooms were very hot at night even though there was a fan it got very warm so take extra cooling things. the pool wsa very clean however sometimes they forgot to clean away bags, cups etc from the sunbathing areas. this didn't cause any problems though as everything else was just great.the daily daytime entertainment for the kids was fab our son joined in everything, something he has never done. he had a ball. water polo being one of the favourites, the entertainment staff were lovely very friendly and very hard working. the evening entertainment was ok but to be honest we had more pleasure walking along the prom at 9.30 at night especially when it was still very hot with a light breeze. BLISS.then coming back to the apartment for a chilled glass of frexinet!!! x10. all in all this is an ideal place for families without being noisy and i can't wait to book for next year missing it so much already!!!ps the spongy sunbeds are located by the drinks machine at the far end of the pool down some steps in the generator cellar. also there is no sunbed hogging which is a relief so happy holidays...

First of all, the hotel is really a lot of villa/apartments in a big square around a very well kept and pretty area with a bar, entertainment, pools and lots of plants. It's really not set out like your normal hotel.

You get assigned a room number (2 floors, so the top ones have balconies). You then have your own front door and all the usual stuff.

Inside is pretty basic, bed, good sized wardrobes, tables, chairs, sofa, TV (Spanish, English and German channels), kitchen sink, oven and hob. The bathroom is fine, sink, shower, toilet and bath. All very clean and working fine.

We were on the second level so we had a balcony. This was a very nice touch as it was so nice to sit out at night and listen to the entertainment (not on every night and didn't ever go past midnight, so very considerate). I understand the ground floor apartments have a door that leads out to the main pool area etc, so no balcony.

The whole area is well vegetated, with large trees etc so the balconies have good privacy.
We were on the other side to the entertainment stage, so if you were nearer, you may find it quite noisy, I don't know, but you might. I think all hotels suffer from that and they may all suffer from noise from each other depending on what part of the hotel you were on, but we were very lucky, I have to say.

The hotel staff (not a lot of them, which was nice, it kept the place very quiet) are helpful and polite. The whole place is very clean and kept in good order.

We were self catering so only had food from the pool bar twice. It's very cheap and for the price, it's pretty good. For example, we had a tuna sandwich (very nice) with fries, a cheese and ham sandwich (also very nice) with fries, and an extra portion of fries (we didn't know the sandwiches came with them too!!) for 6 euros. That's pretty good in my books.

The kids seemed very well entertained as there were no "hooligans" running around which suggested they were all occupied :)

All rooms also have safety deposit boxes. These cost 12 Euros for the key plus a 10 Euro deposit. Pretty fair considering they peace of mind they give you.

The downside of the apartment is this: NO AIR CONDITIONING. I have to say they would really benifit from it. They provide a fan which does a good job, but it still gets very hot during the day and at night (I suggest leaving the curtains closed during the day). We were unkucky though as we had Sirocco for 2 days while we were there. That's a wind from the Sahara desert that blows very hot winds and sand (and some insects) directly off of the desert and into your room!!! It only lasted a few days though.

Lastly, the area really is very nice. Opposite the hotel there was a lot of empty land (not messy or disused, just empty) so for all I know they could start building on it, but maybe not, so I wouldn't worry too much. The major downside is the supermarkets. If you're self catering like we were, and don't hire a car, like us, you're limited to the supermarkets around you. They are pretty poor sadly. They sell the basics, however we didn't find any that had a good supply of fruit or veg (fair enough as they can't grow it in Lazarote) and it's not overly cheap either.

Also, if you can, and you go with a tour company, do the Grand Island Tour, we had great fun and saw all the island in the comfort of an air conditioned bus. Great day out.

As for the location. Brilliant, I have to say. It took us about 6 minutes to walk to the beach front, which is great. It was about a 10 minute walk to the main shopping area too, all along pleasant, well lit roads. It's also about 5 minutes walk to the nearest "supermarket".

All in all, we would go back, but maybe not to the apartments, purely becuase of the heat issues. We don't like to get TOO hot, and so I feel we'd be better with air con, but many of the people we spoke to in the hotel found it comfortable so you may too.


You'll enjoy it if you want some peace and quite and don't mind the issues mentioned above.

Hope that helps

We have just come back after a fantastic holiday. On the whole the hotel (Aparthotel) is of a good standard and gives good value for money.

Position -
The position of the hotel is good, about 5-10 minutes walk downhill to the lovely Playa Dorada beach. Also about 5-10 minutes walk to the main shopping area, either along the top road or down to the beach prom, which is a really pleasant stroll. There are NO seaview rooms, due to the position of the hotel.

Our room (ground floor) overlooked the road a few yards away, however there was very little noise especially as, being an apartment it was the living area facing the road and not the bedroom. I did speak to another couple whose room was on the other side opposite the massive Princess Yaiza hotel and they were bothered by noise from the Yaiza's air con unit.

There is no building work in the vicinity as such but (again depending on the position of your room) across the road and to the left from the front of the hotel appears to be a cement works and there is a small amount of noise at times.

The Blanca Rock is very much dwarfed by the other newer and bigger hotels around it such as the Princess Yaiza, and the Dorada, you could walk by and miss it totally! Having said that if you would rather have small(ish)and friendly and are not planning to spend a lot of time in a hotel then dont overlook the Blanca Rock!!

Rooms -
All accommodation is in apartments (around 200) these are spaced in 2 storey blocks in a square around the public areas. ours was on the ground floor and we experienced no noise from those around us but having said that our immediate neighbours didnt have any children so they probably came off worse from our noisey 4 year old!!

The room was cleaned 6 days a week, towels at least ever other day. Cleaning was of a reasonable standard but I have experienced more thorough. The rooms are in good condition but showing their age a bit. There is an oven and 3 electric rings in each apartment - no microwave or kettle but you just boil up on the hob. cooking implements, etc provided inc orange squeezer and bottle opener. We never used the cooking facilities as we were on half board or ate out. One family said their oven didnt work but I'm sure reception would have sorted it out.

The biggest benefit to us (apart from the obvious exta space) was having a fridge and ice box!! freeze a bottle of mineral water, preferably with a sports cap, in the freezer overnight, and you have lovely chilled water for the rest of the day!!

Plenty of room under the beds and sofa for suitcases.
large wardrobe and twin beds pushed together and somewhat uncomfortable with a 4 year old sharing with you!
No air con but a portable fan unit. We opened the bedroom windows wide at night and it wasnt too hot and no mozzies either!

Television in the lounge with local channels just CNN and Cartoon network in English but that was all we needed.

Bathroom very clean but again showing its age a little.
Patio off the living area with table and chairs and clothes drier ( clothes dry really quickly!) nice and private where we were.

Restaurant -
Food was generally good, well cooked with plenty of variety.
Breakfast everything you could think of really from cereals museli and dried fruit to cold meats and cheese to bacon and eggs and fresh fruit.
Fruit juices from a machine at breakfast and waiter service for drinks at dinner - now this is where our first COMPLAINT is!! -
The waiter service for your drinks was really hit and miss, some days they didnt come to our table until we'd finished our main course! After a couple of evenings we found we'd sit there starting to seethe whilst everyone around us was served - if you did get their attention it was still ages before they got to you! I'm sure it very much depended on what time you went in - usually it seemed to fill up on opening at 6.30 and go quiter around 8.30 when the kids disco started.

Finding a clean table could also be a problem I got the impression that the staff were struggling to cope with the turnover on many occasions, maybe we always hit their busy time but it was very frustrating sometimes, there was always a lack of cutlery and we would usually have to ask for it. On our last evening there a manager was running about the restaurant looking somewhat in a flap! I think maybe there had been other complaints, I did complain to him about the regular lack of cutlery but yet again nobody came to take our drinks order until we had fineshed our deserts and then we were asked 3 times! - too late mate!!
We did wonder if maybe they had sent all their good restaurant staff to their newer show piece hotels!!

No complaints about the food itself though, which was always good with plenty of choice maybe helped by the fact that there seemed to be an equal split of British, German and Spanish staying there.

Pool area - Always clean with a life guard in attendance. main COMPLAINT here was lack of available sunbeds - I say "available" coz I think there would be no problem if there wasnt the usual age old problem of towels on them all by dawn!! People were seen going out in their pjs to lay out their towels! On one occasion I couldnt find an available sun lounger so I could watch my son in the pool so I just had to sit in one of the bar chairs - I was disgusted to find that two people did not come to claim "their" beds untill 1.30pm even though they had towels on them from at least 10am!!! Why are people so selfish?? We did complain to the reception staff on principle but they said they did not have the staff to do anything about it. We did however, make the point that we were not spending our money in the hotel because we could not be doing with the battle for sunbeds every morning so we would go on the beach or elsewhere and spend our money there instead! My husband even threatened to chuck all the towells in the pool on our last day and to be honest I wish I had let him!

That said the pool area is pleasant and the pools are nice for the kids. There is a poolside bar serving drinks and snacks but service for a pizza at lunchtime was very slow.

Animation -
The entertainment team were very good and certainly gave their best - they were mainly dutch 19 year olds but could speak English and German and Spanish and dance and act and entertain the kids!!

Because we spent very little time around the hotel we didnt really have a lot to do with the entertainment team but our son enjoyed a few activities with them at the Daisy club house next to the pool where they also have a playground. kids are also given a voucher on arrival to claim a free drink, lolly or popcorn at the pool bar each day, I think they also get a cap and or tee shirt but we never got around to claiming ours.

Public areas-
The gardens were well maintained, lots of shrubs and cacti making the apartments seem a bit more private.
Reception was 24 hour with generally friendly staff, especially Oscar!

We didnt really use the inside bar which was open in the evenings except to watch the kids games and disco and sometimes the show. A show was put on every night at 9.30 and seemed to alternate between a "professional" show and the animation team doing a show of their own - to be honest they were very good, and I think they worked hard. Again though if you werent in the bar by 8pm you probably wouldnt get a seat as there wasnt a lot of room.

To sum up I think the hotel gave good value for money, tried their best but I honestly think they probably needed a few more staff, particularly in the restaurant, or at the very least invest in some more cutlery!!

They should also do something about the sunbed situation because it just puts peoples backs up and loses them money - I spoke to another couple with a child of 4 who felt the same as us and took the same action - ie headed to the beach which is lovely anyway and quite safe for the kids.

We hired a car for 11 days and so spent very little time around the hotel. There is so much more to see in Lanzarote apart from a hotel pool anyway!!!

I would go back to the apartments because these complaints are reletively minor and easily sorted by the management if they could take the trouble.

The apartments are in an ideal position, clean and spacious and a good base -I just wouldnt bother with half board - there are so many restaurants to try out in Playa Blanca and beyond (and they all have made up tables, a full set of cutlery and glasses!!!!!!)

Sorry this report is a bit long and waffly but I just wrote as it came to me. I dont want this report to put any one off because we had a great time and overall were very pleased with the hotel and Playa Blanca is lovely by far the nicest resort of the main 3! Perfect if you have young children or are not looking for nightlife.

Hotel was clean and of a good standard if everything was in working order,Air conditioning in dining room and reception never worked the full time we were there which was a pain. hotel staff were pleasant but the animation team were fantastic. The food was okay but very limited and not the most appetising

Travelled to this hotel before. Very clean apartment in far corner, not overlooked and quiet.

We were half board so did not use the kitchen much, but found equipment more than sufficient.

We stayed in half board hotels before, but this aparthotel with separate living and bedroom is great, plenty of space to stretch out and relax, with the fridge handy for cold drinks. Plenty of storage space etc, although if 4 were sharing might get a bit crowded. We had upstairs apartment and balcony, much more private then downstairs apartments, which only have open terraces, and we would be concerned about the security aspect of this.

Also found the clothes driers excellent, but if you were downstairs you would be airing your smalls in public!

The gardens were beautiful, and the layout with sun loungers in little sections made it feel very private, rather than a string of loungers stretched round the pool. Never had problems with finding a sunbed and when we visited nobody seemed to 'reseve' sunbeds early.

Food plentiful and very good choice, especially the freshly prepared meat and fish dishes from the grill. There was something for everyone, including a section with chidrens meals. Only reservation was that wine ordering was a bit hiss and miss, not enough waiters? Service however from all staff excellent and friendly.

Entertainment a bit mixed, but as we spent most evenings in town, did not bother us much.

Location excellent, minutes walk to beach and a lovely stroll along seafront to town and bars/restaurants.

Whole resort lovely and Bahia Blanca Rock in ideal location. We hired a car so visited other beaches including Papagayo - well worth while for total isolation.

Planning our next trip as we speak - can't wait.

Stayed here after travel agent changed our booking from costa teguise and we were damn glad they did. the rooms are adequate being both clean and in good repair although we did get a few cockroaches at night. (one call to reception and they were banished forever).

Reception staff speak better english than I do and were amused by our pathetic attempts at speaking spanish. Entire complex being constantly cleaned and the food both breakfast and evening meal were excellent with a huge choice. The entertainment team were fantastic particullarly Steffi and Marco who would not take no for an answer when trying to gee up people for various activities. They also share their activities with the Lanzarote Princess Hotel next door and put on small shows alternate evenings.

Half board so didn't try local restaurants but did go to Rancho Texas and had a great time. If I had to complain about anything it would be the smell when they water the plants. I think it pipes straight out of the crapper and onto the vegetation which stemmed our holday phrase "s'cuse me just nipping off for a Playa Blanca" Would I go back there however? A resounding yes.