Princesa Yaiza Suite Hotel Resort — Hotel in Yaiza

Since our first trip to the Princesa Yaiza, we've loved it and returned each time we've revisited Lanzarote since. Personally, I had always favoured it above the hotel we stay in when we visit Tenerife, the Roca Nivaria, UNTIL this visit.||We only had 7 days to spend at the hotel this time, so instead of doing lots of sightseeing we decided to spend our time relaxing in and around the hotel. On arrival, we were warmly welcomed by the staff and given the keys to our rooms. I was delighted to find that the room for my husband and I was decorated with fabric bunting and balloons, as I'd requested for his birthday, and a beautiful cake left in the fridge with a kind note from the concierge staff. The cake was delicious - thank you to everyone involved in helping me plan this for him!||Sadly, our first full day at the hotel following that evening was where we started to see issues. Here are a few areas that require improvement:||- All breakfast restaurants should be open at the same time. We were forced to eat at the Buffet Piazzeta because the other restaurants weren't open yet, and the Buffet La Hacienda had a large queue outside every morning.|- The Buffet Piazzeta is too hot and dark, leaving you feeling claustrophobic and sweaty while you eat. Other areas of the hotel were also very hot, leaving us wondering whether the air conditioning was actually on/off.|- There were too many guests crowding the pool areas and several of them were "reserving" beds before breakfast with no consequences. Before 9am, this should not be allowed.|- The downstairs Bar Salon was full of children in the evening and the entertainment was always tailored to suit them, leaving those of us without children feeling unwelcome.|- The bars are understaffed. During our first visit to the Lobby Bar Mararia, we waited 30 minutes for our drinks and even had to visit the bar for them to take our order. After 30 minutes, my husband asked when our drinks would be ready and was told that they weren't even being made yet. We were then advised to leave by another hotel guest who told us it isn't worth the wait, so we cancelled our order and left dissatisfied.|- The food in the buffets was average. The morning offerings were varied and mostly enjoyable, however some items, e.g. pancakes and waffles, were left out too long and had gone hard. The evening offerings weren't as good or varied as previous visits and were also sat out for too long.|- We requested quiet rooms but were given rooms directly next to upstairs bar, so whenever we wanted to sit on the balcony before dinner in peace, we were forced to go inside instead because we could hear children shouting and very loud music from 7:30pm onwards.||This might seem like a lot of criticism, however we did enjoy our visit to the hotel and we all had a relaxing time despite the issues. The majority of the staff will go above and beyond to ensure that anything you need is taken care of, even going so far as to run over to make sure you don't have to lift the pool umbrellas yourself! There is also the best ice cream at the hotel – they serve Carte D’or (get the mint choc!) and the room service food is fabulous, far better than the food in the buffets. |Lanzarote is like a second home for us, so is the Princesa Yaiza, and we will definitely return in a few years, however some areas definitely need to be reviewed. Perhaps less money should be spent on extras for the rooms, such as flip-flops and beach bags we didn’t need, and more money spent on the areas I mentioned. |We look forward to coming back again soon and we hope that when we do, the issues we found will have been resolved! Once again, thank you to the staff for the fantastic service provided to us. We...

The tips (thank me later):

☕️At breakfast you will be offered a disgusting cafe con leche. Refuse that and go for a barista made coffee (order a latte macchiato, capucchino...) you will get an excellent coffee.

🏊‍♀️For a more empty pool, ask to be shown where the gym is. There you will find a nearly empty pool, huge as the other two. Also: on very windy days it was far less windy there, right by the wall of the gym. with sun all day. So a perfect secret. As I said thank me later :)

💇‍♀️ ladies DO NOT use the conditioner the hotel provided... it's an equivalent of pouring wax on your hair, I couldn't wash it off and upon drying my hair it looked all waxy and far from fresh. Bring your own.

The good:

The hotel property is beautiful and original although at the second glance you see that a lot of things around the property are "tired"; also the hotel might seem a little empty during the low season as there are thousands of sofas around it where nobody is sitting. The pools and the lounge areas are excellent and perfect for relaxing all day. The beachfront is absolutely beautiful and is a short walk down the stairs. I swam in the ocean all I wanted and got back to the hotel.

Breakfast is far from 5* hotel standard with just maybe a little less variation than I would like, but great on basics. They have an egg station where poached eggs are sadly not made fresh but are rather reheated. Omelettes are the only fresh eggs cooked upon order. Veggies felt often overcooked, very stale Meats and cheeses excellent and so are pastries. Cava of two types for breakfast adds a cheery on top if you are into that kind of stuff:)

The mediocre:

Some staff were helpful (Ionut and Carina at the reception especially) but higher up level manager Lena does not really call for more words than: helpless. We had an incident of room service entering our room when do not disturb sign was on our door which resulted in damaged items. Lena took two days to "look into it" and all she could do after 2 days is a "sorry" repeated about 50 times. We literally had to tell her than a 5* hotel goes a step beyond which the hotel delivered eventually but you know... the impression was ruined.

The room has an excellent bed and a balcony with a private feel. It has two lounge chairs perfect to relax before breakfast with a cup of coffee. Oh wait. No coffee. Cause they do not restock your coffee or water after you finished the first "welcome" batch. I found it to be quite scandalous - have you not earned enough off of us charging close to 300 eur a night?!

They want 1.60 per capsule for the espresso machine. Well you know what? I will get my coffee elsewhere. Sound insulation is non existent in the hotel. You are better off at a newer 4* hotel than this place trust me. Impossible to sleep after 8 am due to the furniture being moved upstairs by (i suspect) the room service. And oh the air is very stale and we had to change rooms because of mold (!!!) On the ceiling in our bedroom.... we also spotted cockroaches around the tunnel leading to the other pool and gym area. Just sad and disgusting.

All in all room renovation needed; call pest control asap to kill the bugs; staff needs to be coached on the actual 5* service but great location and relatively good breakfast, good large gym and...

Early impressions, 3 days in... a nice Hotel, probably on of the best.. Review of Princesa Yaiza Hotel Resort

We are a couple in our 60s, well travelled mainly Carribean and Canaries. The Princess Yaiza is a Lovely hotel, our first visit to it after many 20+ years of strolling past, it is for my wifes special birthday and we have been to many Hotels, mainly H10 on Lanzarote over past 25 years. Our room is amazing, one of the nicest, however the balcony is directly above the children's pools and play area. It is bit too noisy throughout the day and early evening for us olds!. So the balcony is a bit loud with no great views except the children's area, so we are not missing anything. Asked on arrival if any upgrades available but was told it was full which is fair enough, it was busy. The room is one of the best I have stayed in, its position let's it down for us senior citizens! But let's see how it goes... Interestingly I could not get my hire car parked anywhere near the hotel so I left it 100 metres away on the road. I was susequently told on arrival I could have joined the queue of Taxis and had the car parked for me, but found this out too late. Booked via British Airways and went for an upgraded room, but as soon as we were met on the steps a sticker was applied to our cases and put into our room without even knowing our names. Don't know how they did it, amazing! The staff on reception and customer experience/service are wonderful, very friendly and keen to please a lovely greeting on entry along with a glass of bubbly. The hotel is beautifully clean, well laid out and once you get your bearings all is wel, it is a huge place, great pools and services. I shall work on this review as we go, I have been using the App booking various restaurants and a Therapy. Not all are showing as confirmed however we shall see, I have had a chat with Customers experiences and they have been helpful in confirming what I have or have not booked. As I mentioned we are here, 3 days in, first impressions are good.We have eaten in Don Giovanis, a superb restaurant. Los Lobos tonight and The Kempai tapanyaki tomorrow night We will just have to get used to the noise on the balcony, we usually book and stay at adults only like Timafaya Palace or Barcelo Teguise Beach so I guess it's a minor problem that we will have to get used to, I might even bring my grandchildren here they are very well catered for!. The car parking was a busy period and they are preparing for The Three Wise Men for the children on the 6th. Which is my wife's birthday as well, she has a therapy booked and another a la carte. Restaurants are lovely, food has been good thus far, have booked a couple of evenings of a la carte so I am sure all will be well, the therapy is much anticipated. Would have like to give 5 stars but a couple of minor things just held me back But it is a great place for families. Positive early impressions. Will update this review ...