We planned our winter sun holiday and wanted to go for the first time to
Fuerteventura, the Canary Islands. Our target was to have suitable
flight times and using the whole 16 days we had available in
January/February 2016, so we booked single flights from Dublin to
Fuerteventura, Fuerteventura to London Gatwick and London Heathrow to
Dublin.
We prepared meticulous for the holiday and tried to make sure we were going to have the right hotels. After months of debating we settled for five nights at the Elba Sara Beach & Golf Resort, eight nights at the Elba Palace Golf & Vital Hotel and two nights at the Jumeirah Lowndes Hotel in London. Reviews of the two latter will follow.
The Elba Sara Beach & Golf Resort is located in Caleta de Fuste and is a short distance (ca. 12 km) from the airport. The hotel belongs to the local chain Elba - Hoteles Unicos -, which owns/manages ten hotels, mostly on Fuerteventura, other Canary Islands and some on the main land of Spain.
We chose the hotel, because we liked the design and location at the beach and just a very short stroll from the Atlantico Shopping Center. Tripadvisor reviews were overall positive as well.
We booked a Junior Suite including Half Board and free WIFI.
After our flight with Aer Lingus we took a taxi to the Elba Sara. It took ca. 15 minutes and cost 13 Euro (ca. 14.80 USD).
It was a Mercedes Estate and we had a lady driver.
At the hotel we were warmly welcomed and received as welcome drinks Cava. During check in all features were explained.
The lobby was large with a waterfall and stairs leading down to the restaurant Albatroz, the Wellness Zone Spa and Broadway Bar. Between the bar and restaurant was an exit to the pool with a pool bar, gardens and other activities like beach volley ball, tennis, gym, archery and mini golf.
On the lobby level were shops, flower arrangements and the lobby lounge.
Our junior suite was located on the 6th floor above the lobby with pool and sea views. We had our own fully furnished balcony.
The suite was large with traditional design. We had a kangaroo sized/ large king-size bed, a seating area, a flat screen TV, writing desk, mini fridge (unstocked) and tea/coffee making facilities with complimentary chocolates.
The TV was slightly too small for the distance to the seating area, but watching the national and international TV channels (Fashion One, BBC World, Bloomberg and CNBC, beside local Spanish, German, French, Chinese and other channels) was comfortable from the bed and writing desk.
We liked the flower framed blue and ochre tiles and floor to ceiling windows.
The bath room was very large and divided into two sections. The first contained a wardrobe and double sinks with own branded toiletries, which I liked, but weren't my favorite. The smell was slightly too chemical. This part of our junior suite didn't have a door and felt exposed.
The second part was enclosed in milk glass and housed the toilet, bidet and bathtub/shower combination. The water pressure and temperature were consistent and high/strong.
The safe could be used, but was chargeable at 4 Euro, ca. 4.60 USD a night.
When not being busy or exploring the hotel we enjoyed spending time on the balcony. Sometimes we had a visitor - a curious pigeon, who hoped to get some bread crumbs, but didn't like gummi bears or local rice pudding we also enjoyed.
The maids were very thorough, but sometimes a bit too quick to enter the room. It happened once or twice they knocked and were already letting themselves in before we had time to say anything or open the door.
The staff took their job very seriously and called or asked when we met them in person, if we liked our stay or if they could do something for us.
We arranged a tour of the island with the reception. It was perfectly organized.
The spa offered a small selection of massages, body treatments and facials. Massages and facials started at 25 Euro (ca. 28.50 USD), while body treatments were from 30 Euro or ca. 34.15 USD.
There were day activities for adults and children, for example T-shirt painting or sangria making and stretching.
We liked the pool- and gardenscape. There was the main pool and the kids pool with enough sun loungers available for all guests. The garden is based on the flora of Fuerteventura with cacti and aloe vera amongst many other flowers and plants.
Cats were living on the grounds as well. Some were shy, others enjoyed the company of humans, liked to be petted and occupied loungers.
We didn't use the bar, since there was every evening some kind of entertainment going on, i.e. discos, magicians, 80ies music and much more.
The Albatroz Buffet Restaurant could get very busy, depending on the time. The selection was generally large and good quality.
Breakfast offered everything one could imagine from egg dishes to jelly, rice pudding with cinnamon, pancakes, bacon, cold cuts, cheese, baked beans, bread, fruits, yogurt and much more. I loved the Tortilla Espanola, also called Tortilla de Patata.
Fish was rarely served and if, it was mackerel. One guest wasn't happy about it and missed smoked salmon.
The only critisism on our side would be the concentrated juice. The orange juice tasted more like it was made with Vitamin C soluble tablets than real oranges. The pineapple juice was very sweet.
The smoothies on the other hand were very good.
Coffee and tea was self-service.
In the evenings we had to show our key card holder at the entrance of the restaurant, which indicated on which board basis we were staying. We received a list of beverages and could then choose our own table. Since the restaurant was very large it was never a problem to find a suitable space.
Drinks could be ordered from the waiters, who filled out the list. At the end of the meal we had to bring it back to the reception desk, where the bill was created and had to be signed to the room. On some evenings we didn't have to pay for the drinks, which was a nice and suprising touch.
Dinners were themed, i.e. Mexican, Italian, Canarian or Asian.
The rice, fish and meat dishes were all very good. His favorite were the Canarian potatoes with red Mojo sauce and pizza, mine was the Chinese rice, the sushi and exotic pizza with ham and plantain. It worked astoundingly well.
Our stay passed way too fast. It was soon time to check out and move on to the sister property Elba Palace Golf & Vital.
We loved the island, the hotel and the location, so we would consider stay here at this resort again in our future, but we would also want to try other hotels/resorts on the island of Fuerteventura.
We prepared meticulous for the holiday and tried to make sure we were going to have the right hotels. After months of debating we settled for five nights at the Elba Sara Beach & Golf Resort, eight nights at the Elba Palace Golf & Vital Hotel and two nights at the Jumeirah Lowndes Hotel in London. Reviews of the two latter will follow.
The Elba Sara Beach & Golf Resort is located in Caleta de Fuste and is a short distance (ca. 12 km) from the airport. The hotel belongs to the local chain Elba - Hoteles Unicos -, which owns/manages ten hotels, mostly on Fuerteventura, other Canary Islands and some on the main land of Spain.
We chose the hotel, because we liked the design and location at the beach and just a very short stroll from the Atlantico Shopping Center. Tripadvisor reviews were overall positive as well.
We booked a Junior Suite including Half Board and free WIFI.
After our flight with Aer Lingus we took a taxi to the Elba Sara. It took ca. 15 minutes and cost 13 Euro (ca. 14.80 USD).
It was a Mercedes Estate and we had a lady driver.
At the hotel we were warmly welcomed and received as welcome drinks Cava. During check in all features were explained.
The lobby was large with a waterfall and stairs leading down to the restaurant Albatroz, the Wellness Zone Spa and Broadway Bar. Between the bar and restaurant was an exit to the pool with a pool bar, gardens and other activities like beach volley ball, tennis, gym, archery and mini golf.
On the lobby level were shops, flower arrangements and the lobby lounge.
Our junior suite was located on the 6th floor above the lobby with pool and sea views. We had our own fully furnished balcony.
The suite was large with traditional design. We had a kangaroo sized/ large king-size bed, a seating area, a flat screen TV, writing desk, mini fridge (unstocked) and tea/coffee making facilities with complimentary chocolates.
The TV was slightly too small for the distance to the seating area, but watching the national and international TV channels (Fashion One, BBC World, Bloomberg and CNBC, beside local Spanish, German, French, Chinese and other channels) was comfortable from the bed and writing desk.
We liked the flower framed blue and ochre tiles and floor to ceiling windows.
The bath room was very large and divided into two sections. The first contained a wardrobe and double sinks with own branded toiletries, which I liked, but weren't my favorite. The smell was slightly too chemical. This part of our junior suite didn't have a door and felt exposed.
The second part was enclosed in milk glass and housed the toilet, bidet and bathtub/shower combination. The water pressure and temperature were consistent and high/strong.
The safe could be used, but was chargeable at 4 Euro, ca. 4.60 USD a night.
When not being busy or exploring the hotel we enjoyed spending time on the balcony. Sometimes we had a visitor - a curious pigeon, who hoped to get some bread crumbs, but didn't like gummi bears or local rice pudding we also enjoyed.
The maids were very thorough, but sometimes a bit too quick to enter the room. It happened once or twice they knocked and were already letting themselves in before we had time to say anything or open the door.
The staff took their job very seriously and called or asked when we met them in person, if we liked our stay or if they could do something for us.
We arranged a tour of the island with the reception. It was perfectly organized.
The spa offered a small selection of massages, body treatments and facials. Massages and facials started at 25 Euro (ca. 28.50 USD), while body treatments were from 30 Euro or ca. 34.15 USD.
There were day activities for adults and children, for example T-shirt painting or sangria making and stretching.
We liked the pool- and gardenscape. There was the main pool and the kids pool with enough sun loungers available for all guests. The garden is based on the flora of Fuerteventura with cacti and aloe vera amongst many other flowers and plants.
Cats were living on the grounds as well. Some were shy, others enjoyed the company of humans, liked to be petted and occupied loungers.
We didn't use the bar, since there was every evening some kind of entertainment going on, i.e. discos, magicians, 80ies music and much more.
The Albatroz Buffet Restaurant could get very busy, depending on the time. The selection was generally large and good quality.
Breakfast offered everything one could imagine from egg dishes to jelly, rice pudding with cinnamon, pancakes, bacon, cold cuts, cheese, baked beans, bread, fruits, yogurt and much more. I loved the Tortilla Espanola, also called Tortilla de Patata.
Fish was rarely served and if, it was mackerel. One guest wasn't happy about it and missed smoked salmon.
The only critisism on our side would be the concentrated juice. The orange juice tasted more like it was made with Vitamin C soluble tablets than real oranges. The pineapple juice was very sweet.
The smoothies on the other hand were very good.
Coffee and tea was self-service.
In the evenings we had to show our key card holder at the entrance of the restaurant, which indicated on which board basis we were staying. We received a list of beverages and could then choose our own table. Since the restaurant was very large it was never a problem to find a suitable space.
Drinks could be ordered from the waiters, who filled out the list. At the end of the meal we had to bring it back to the reception desk, where the bill was created and had to be signed to the room. On some evenings we didn't have to pay for the drinks, which was a nice and suprising touch.
Dinners were themed, i.e. Mexican, Italian, Canarian or Asian.
The rice, fish and meat dishes were all very good. His favorite were the Canarian potatoes with red Mojo sauce and pizza, mine was the Chinese rice, the sushi and exotic pizza with ham and plantain. It worked astoundingly well.
Our stay passed way too fast. It was soon time to check out and move on to the sister property Elba Palace Golf & Vital.
We loved the island, the hotel and the location, so we would consider stay here at this resort again in our future, but we would also want to try other hotels/resorts on the island of Fuerteventura.
©2016
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