Elba Lanzarote Royal Village Resort — Hotel in Yaiza

This was our 2nd time staying at the Elba Premiere suites, and like our first visit most things were great but a couple of things let it down.|First the good points. It is actually quite a small resort even though it covers a large footprint. This is because all the accommodation is ground floor villas that are nicely spaced apart. The villas are well maintained and cleaned daily. The beds are huge and comfortable, and linen is changed daily. One small gripe for me was that there is only one pillow each with no spare ones in the room, however a quick call to reception and they will bring you more. We tried to order some more via the hotel app but after 30 hours nothing, so phoned reception and they arrived in 5 minutes.|The pool for the premium suites (adults only) occupies a relatively small area and so it can be difficult to find a sunbed if you don’t get there before mid morning. However, it is nicely maintained, clean and usually very quiet. The pool bar attached is also nice and not usually too busy. Occasionally the entertainment crew come down and do some sort of activity, making mojitos and barbecuing, or playing some music by the pool.|The main pool in the family part of the hotel is obviously more lively but better if you’re a “people watcher”, and the entertainment crew have activities for young and old throughout the day.|On to food. The premiere suites has its own separate dining area upstairs from the main restaurant for breakfast and dinner, while lunch can be taken either in the main restaurant where there is a good choice of different types of food, or you can eat at the pool bars which have a smaller but more bespoke choice of food that is cooked to order. We found the food quality to be average to good most days, the typical quality you’d expect for mass catered food.|Now on to the not so good points.|There are also 2 on site a la carte restaurants one Italian themed the other French. We tried the Italian on our first visit and it was good, but you could tell they still used a lot of the same food that was available in the main restaurant next door.|This trip we tried the French restaurant Le Brasserie, after seeing photos online we were expecting good things, however it turned out to be the biggest disappointment of our holiday, the starters were basically the same salads from the main restaurant just mixed with what looked like the left over cheeses, boiled eggs and potatoes left over from lunch or breakfast. For main course we ordered the “selection of grilled meat”, and we asked for it to be cooked medium. When it arrived I could tell immediately it was going be a disappointment, it was basically sausage, chicken breast, beef steak and pork all chopped up. After tasting it we found it all to be very salty, over cooked and as dry as a desert, in fact I didn’t know you could dry meat out so much without it becoming jerky.|Having spoken to other guests who had eaten there they also had the same comments. Service was also slow, and if this had been a restaurant we had to pay for and not part of the all inclusive I would have refused to pay.|When we have stayed at other resorts with al a carte restaurants they have always cooked bespoke meals for the type of themed restaurant that they are, here it seems they just try to dress up the same stuff that is in the main buffet restaurant and cook the meat poorly. |In short, avoid Le Brasserie unless you want to be utterly disappointed.|Ok, rant over.|Back to the things we did like, the staff are friendly and helpful, especially Adriana at the Los Jameos pool bar, and Dany serving behind the chill out bar, he greeted us every evening with a smile and a wave as we passed by to get dinner, then served us later when we went in for drinks.|There are tennis courts, basketball/football courts available, a gym, a spa, and also a room with arcade games, table tennis and pool tables available to keep guests entertained.|On the entertainment side, there is entertainment every night in the main bar are for families, or for the adults only in Premier suites there is also lower key live music by various solo acts in the chill out bar area.|Should you wish to walk into town and along the sea front, it is about a 2 mile round trip if you only go to the small beach, however should you want a longer walk you can keep going and pass the larger beach and continue to the far end of the bay where there is a marina full of bats, restaurants and a shopping centre. This walk is around a 5 mile round trip.|To sum up, we like the hotel, staff and facilities, it’s just the a la carte restaurants that are a big...

Disappointing Stay – Definitely Not a 4-Star Experience

We booked this hotel for a 4-day girls' holiday, expecting a relaxing break in a four-star environment, but what we experienced was more in line with a three-star (at best). For the price we paid – over £700 per person for four nights on a "premium all-inclusive" basis – it just didn't deliver.

Check-in Issues:

Our holiday got off to a frustrating start. Upon arrival, our room wasn’t ready. We were told it would be available by 3pm, then asked to wait an additional 40 minutes, and after that were informed the manager still needed to check the cleanliness of the rooms – with no time frame given. After complaining, we were eventually given a room that wasn’t even the one originally assigned to us.

Room:

We had booked a premium room with a garden terrace for three adults. What we got was a room set up for two, with no third bed made. We had to request the sofa bed to be made up ourselves. While the room itself was clean, we continuously had to ask for a third glass, mug, and set of towels throughout the stay – despite repeatedly informing both housekeeping and reception.

Restaurant (Yaiza):

Our first and only visit to the Yaiza buffet was extremely disappointing. The restaurant was dirty, with flies all over the food, which looked like it had been sitting out far too long and had clearly been picked over.

Every time we went to eat – whether at Yaiza or elsewhere – tables were never properly set and were dirty from previous sittings. We often had to ask staff to bring cutlery and napkins over. Staff also didn’t come to take drink orders unless asked, which is not what you'd expect from a premium all-inclusive service. Limited food options too.

At one point, we sat down at a set table and were told by a staff member to move, as the section was "closed off for the next sitting." However, we never saw that section used once during our entire stay. It remained fully set, but seemed to exist purely for show, while guests were shuffled around unnecessarily.

We also encountered chipped mugs and dirty glasses on multiple occasions – another example of the poor attention to detail.

Bars & Drinks:

The bar service was inconsistent and poorly managed. Drinks were often served in cracked plastic cups – not ideal, especially at a "premium" resort. On one occasion they ran out of lemonade, and on another, vodka.

The majority of cocktails were not included in the "premium all-inclusive" package, which felt misleading. It turns out there are multiple versions of "all-inclusive" at this hotel – a detail that was never made clear when we booked.

Most of the staff were, unfortunately, not friendly. We encountered eye-rolling and general attitude at the bars several times. The upstairs bar closed promptly at 11:30pm, and instead of politely informing guests, the music was abruptly cut and the lights turned off while people were still sitting with drinks. Staff would then switch lights back on while clearing tables – regardless of whether you were still enjoying your evening or not.

Other Issues:

We spotted cockroaches on site, which was very off-putting and suggested the hotel was not being properly maintained. For a supposed 4-star resort, that’s simply not acceptable.

Final Thoughts:

While the room itself was clean and the weather in Lanzarote was lovely, this hotel fell short in far too many areas – especially for the price we paid. Poor customer service, lack of attention to detail, sub-par food and drink experiences, and general disorganisation made this feel more like a budget three-star, not a premium four-star resort.

It’s unfortunate, as the hotel has potential, but based on our experience, we won’t be returning and wouldn’t recommend it to anyone expecting a true...

We booked this hotel for a 4-day girls' holiday, expecting a relaxing break in a four-star environment, but what we experienced was more in line with a three-star (at best). For the price we paid – over £700 per person for four nights on a "premium all-inclusive" basis – it just didn't deliver.|||--- ||Check-in Issues: ||Our holiday got off to a frustrating start. Upon arrival, our room wasn’t ready. We were told it would be available by 3pm, then asked to wait an additional 40 minutes, and after that were informed the manager still needed to check the cleanliness of the rooms – with no time frame given. After complaining, we were eventually given a room that wasn’t even the one originally assigned to us.|||--- ||Room: ||We had booked a premium room with a garden terrace for three adults. What we got was a room set up for two, with no third bed made. We had to request the sofa bed to be made up ourselves. While the room itself was clean, we continuously had to ask for a third glass, mug, and set of towels throughout the stay – despite repeatedly informing both housekeeping and reception.|||--- ||Restaurant (Yaiza): ||Our first and only visit to the Yaiza buffet was extremely disappointing. The restaurant was dirty, with flies all over the food, which looked like it had been sitting out far too long and had clearly been picked over. ||Every time we went to eat – whether at Yaiza or elsewhere – tables were never properly set and were dirty from previous sittings. We often had to ask staff to bring cutlery and napkins over. Staff also didn’t come to take drink orders unless asked, which is not what you'd expect from a premium all-inclusive service. Limited food options too. ||At one point, we sat down at a set table and were told by a staff member to move, as the section was "closed off for the next sitting." However, we never saw that section used once during our entire stay. It remained fully set, but seemed to exist purely for show, while guests were shuffled around unnecessarily. ||We also encountered chipped mugs and dirty glasses on multiple occasions – another example of the poor attention to detail.|||--- ||Bars & Drinks: ||The bar service was inconsistent and poorly managed. Drinks were often served in cracked plastic cups – not ideal, especially at a "premium" resort. On one occasion they ran out of lemonade, and on another, vodka. ||The majority of cocktails were not included in the "premium all-inclusive" package, which felt misleading. It turns out there are multiple versions of "all-inclusive" at this hotel – a detail that was never made clear when we booked. ||Most of the staff were, unfortunately, not friendly. We encountered eye-rolling and general attitude at the bars several times. The upstairs bar closed promptly at 11:30pm, and instead of politely informing guests, the music was abruptly cut and the lights turned off while people were still sitting with drinks. Staff would then switch lights back on while clearing tables – regardless of whether you were still enjoying your evening or not.|||--- ||Other Issues: ||We spotted cockroaches on site, which was very off-putting and suggested the hotel was not being properly maintained. For a supposed 4-star resort, that’s simply not acceptable.|||--- ||Final Thoughts: ||While the room itself was clean and the weather in Lanzarote was lovely, this hotel fell short in far too many areas – especially for the price we paid. Poor customer service, lack of attention to detail, sub-par food and drink experiences, and general disorganisation made this feel more like a budget three-star, not a premium four-star resort. ||It’s unfortunate, as the hotel has potential, but based on our experience, we won’t be returning and wouldn’t recommend it to anyone expecting a true...