Barcelo Lanzarote Active Resort

Nina Woods

We recently stayed at Barceló Active and, despite having some concerns after reading a number of negative reviews beforehand, we ended up having a really enjoyable all-inclusive holiday. We stayed on the Royal side of the resort. We didn't opt for the Royal upgrade as we felt the additional cost was very high, but we were perfectly happy with our experience without it. The highlights for us were the varied and entertaining evening entertainment programme and the Olivina restaurant, which we much preferred to the larger main restaurant on the Active side of the road. It was noticeably quieter and felt more relaxed. The food was mostly very good throughout our stay. There were a few items that didn't quite live up to expectations – particularly the churros and pancakes – so I tended to avoid those. The coffee was terrible! However, the salad bar was excellent and the pizza was genuinely the best I've ever had at an all-inclusive hotel. Our room was cleaned daily and housekeeping did a great job. The only issue was that the air conditioning wasn't particularly powerful, which made getting ready in the evenings a little uncomfortable. The hotel itself presents very well on arrival, with an impressive lobby area, although some of the corridors leading to the rooms are looking a little tired. Similarly, all of the public toilets around the resort could benefit from refurbishment. The pool bar offered a good selection of drinks and snacks throughout the day. One thing that did detract slightly from the pool area was the amount of litter and used cups left behind by guests. Combined with the breeze, this sometimes made the area look untidy as there didn't seem to be enough clearing up taking place. The location won't be for everyone. The surrounding area feels quite isolated and the nearby beach is rocky, so we didn't find ourselves venturing out much during the holiday. It's also worth noting that there is a power station immediately outside the hotel. We didn't find it disruptive, but it does affect the outlook and may not be what some guests expect from a beach holiday destination. One minor frustration was that some families allowed their children to leave significant mess behind in the restaurants, particularly at busy meal times. This is obviously not the hotel's fault, and staff worked hard to keep on top of it, but it did occasionally detract from the dining experience. Overall, though, we had a lovely stay. While there are certainly areas that could be improved, the positives outweighed the negatives for us and we returned home feeling relaxed and glad we chose the hotel.

Neil

Overall, a great experience. The hotel is about 3 kilometers south of the town and there's a lovely coastal path to walk or jogg along. It's a great location with seaviews and the ambience is relaxed and calming. The rooms, gym, dining room and food met our expectations. I've no hesitation in recommending this hotel. We needed some help during our stay and it's best to speak directly with the guest experience team. They were superb. The only reason this is a 4-star review is because the toilet facilities adjacent to the restaurant, specifically para los hombres, need to be renovated.

Laura

We recently stayed here for our annual family girls' trip. There were some wonderful aspects to our stay, but unfortunately, a few major cleanliness and comfort issues dragged down our experience. The Good:Our room was fantastic—clean, spacious, and well-equipped with great extras like water in the fridge, shower gel, and dental kits. We also loved the nice outlook over the terrace. The service was excellent; the staff were incredibly welcoming and friendly throughout our stay. The wellness centre was another massive highlight, and we absolutely loved our massages! For food, we were half board, and both breakfast and dinner offered nice, fresh options with plenty of choice. The location is also perfect. It is within walking distance of local shops and beautiful coastal paths, with bus and taxi stands right outside (only €5 to get into Costa Teguise in a Taxi). Really loved how digital the hotel was, nice to be able to access information from your phone, including walk/run routes, opening times and activities. A few challenges with the app but such a good modernisation to the hotel. The Disappointments:We were disappointed with the amenity availability, as we couldn't book into the Italian restaurant due to closure days, and Champs wasn't serving food. The Main Issues (Smoking & Pool Hygiene):We were very disappointed by the amount of smoking permitted across the site. People were smoking on their terraces, which blew directly into our apartment, as well as around the outdoor eating areas and the pool. It was really not ideal. Furthermore, the pool areas were a major letdown. We tried all of the pools, and the surrounding areas were filthy. There was rubbish in the water, mould and mildew floating around, and the floors were dirty and sticky. Constructive Feedback:Management really needs to address pool maintenance and smoking policies. The pools and surrounding deck areas absolutely must be cleaned properly each night, and there should be designated smoking zones away from guest rooms and dining areas to meet the standard of the rest of the hotel.

Rosalie

We had a wonderful stay at Barceló. The room was comfortable and spacious. But the best thing was the amazing food and friendly and helpfull staff at the restaurant. We really enjoyed the buffet, there was plenty of choices and always fresh fruits and vegetables available. When we mentioned our lactose intollerance to the staff we were assisted very well and even got specialy made desserts suitable for our allergies. A big thank you Eva who helped us very well with this!

Anna Beszterda

Very nice place, would definitely come back again, the only issue was that the A/C in our room wasn't working but luckily we came here in February so wasn't too bad. Also, when booking this hotel, it said there is a heated pool which was a big factor in our decision making but when we arrived it turned out that there is the normal hotel and the royal part and the heated pools are for royal hotel guests only which was not written anywhere in the hotel's description so a bit of disinformation there. The information provided at the hotel was also very minimal, we had to figure everything out on our own, eg. where are the restaurants, which ones are included and which ones do we need to pay extra for, where do we get the pool towels from or what time is the checkout cut-off as that was not provided anywhere either so it could all be better if such basic information was easily available and provided in advance rather than having to figure everything out on our own or be asking the reception about everything. Overall, very nice, clean hotel, food wasn't too bad either. Some of the people working at the hotel were really great too