Lanzarote is unique in the range of hotel accommodation on offer. In fact there isn’t such as thing as Lanzarote Hotels. Most holiday resorts tend to focus on one particular type of accommodation, but Lanzarote has everything, and even each of the resorts offers a wide range of accommodation from cheap and cheerful to super luxury.
What you won’t find in Lanzarote is the typical high rise hotels that you’ll see on the Costa del Sol, for example. The building code here maintains that buildings must be low rise. There’s only one exception and that’s the Arrecife Gran Hotel.
Let’s look at each type:
Basic complex accommodation
The is the least expensive way into Lanzarote hotels and this is where Lanzarote’s tourism started – good value for money, fairly basic “complexes,” offering studios and apartments and almost always surrounding a large communal swimming pool and sun bathing area.
They aren’t luxurious – many don’t have air conditioning, the furniture is fairly simple and many have snack bars. Most of the complexes are self catering. A few have contracts with tour operators.
You’ll find these type of complexes in each of the three resorts, and they are the bedrock of Lanzarote tourism, offering inexpensive stays in the sun to generations of families. In recent years, many of the originals, built in the 1980’s, have undergone refurbishments.
These types of Lanzarote hotels are usually rate using the “key” system, so they rarely have an official star rating.
3 Star Lanzarote Hotels
These are the next step up from the complexes, but generally follow a similar layout to complexes. Getting to 3 star is more about the services on offer, rather than the standard of rooms. For example, they will usually have a reception area, a proper restaurant and bar, and in many cases a room service offering.
Again, you’ll find 3 star hotels in each of the resorts. These are often aimed at families, so they will have animation teams and kid’s clubs, and many will offer evening entertainment for the guests. Most of the major tour operators have contracts with the 3 star hotels on the island, and generally, they are booked as part of a package holiday.
The 3 star hotels tend to offer accommodation with at least bed and breakfast, and many offer half and full board, with some offering all inclusive.
4 Star Lanzarote Hotels
The span within the 4 star category is quite large, ranging from perfectly good 4 star hotels, to some super luxury places that you would expect to be 5 star, and the prices reflect it! The reason for that is the star rating system is about services and amenities, rather than standards. So for example, if a hotel chooses not to offer 24 hour room service, they won’t get a five star rating. There are hotels here that fall into this category – in many ways they are 5 star standard, but officially rated 4 star.
In the 4 star sector, we start to see some specialisation – for example, some of the hotels have moved to adults only, while others have focused on the sports market, offering 25 and 50 metres swimming pools and other sports facilities.
The 4 star hotels tend to have larger rooms, and many also have suites, and they generally have majestic reception and lobby areas, spas and a plethora of bars and restaurants.
5 Star Lanzarote Hotels
For such a small island we have a plethora of Lanzarote hotels in the highest official category.
In Costa Teguise, we have the Melia Salinas, which has spectacular indoor gardens designed by Cesar Manrique, and some super luxury bungalows.
Arrecife has the island’s only high rise building, the Gran Hotel and Spa, and travelling along the coast, Puerto del Carmen will soon have the recently refurbished Fariones hotel as a five star.
Puerto Calero has the Hesperia, La Isla y El Mar, Lava Beach and Playa Blanca has the Volcan and Princesa Yaiza.
The differences when you get to decent 4 star and 5 star level are small, and in some cases the 5 star hotels offer lower rates than some of the better 4 star properties, so when you’re looking at this sector, we’d advise looking at the style, layout and amenities on offer, rather than just going for the highest rating you can afford.
Summary
The bottom line is that unlike many destinations, Lanzarote can genuinely offer something to suit everyone.
We’d love to recommend the right Lanzarote hotel for your next trip, so get in touch, tell us a bit about yourself and we’ll recommend exactly the right place for you: Lanzarote Travel Enquiry.
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