THB Royal Hotel
Playa Blanca, Lanzarote

Mrs S Sharvin, Ballynahinch

This is our 5th Christmas staying in the THB Royal. We have met a few friends who also return after 11 and 9 years.

I have two children 9 and 5 and I like how safe we feel at this hotel. The cleanliness of the rooms is excellent. The cleaners leave the rooms clean and tidy. We have got to know some staff over the years and it's nice to see them each year. All staff at this hotel work extremely hard, they never stop. They are always polite and helpful.

This year we were aware that it was 80% French. I have seen some reviews were some people we complaining about this, but we found it came with a lot of bonus's. The pool bar's are no open which they never were. There is a lot of entertainment although it is generally aimed towards the French we did join in. The rooms have all been refurbished.

There was one thing that did annoy me which I did speak to the manager about which was the kids club is obviously mostly French. My daughter went one day and hated it which totally put her off as all the children and the animation team spoke French and she didn't have a clue what they were saying. Marta who has been there in previous years was then told by the manager that if English speaking kids were wanting to go to kids club she could go with them. For my 9 year old and our friends 12 year old we found that there wasn't much entertainment for them either but after speaking to the manager and Marta this was quickly resolved.

This year Christmas dinner was not as good as in previous years due to the volume of people. We went to 9pm sitting and it was clear a lot of the food was finished. On New Years Eve they just had two sittings 7pm and 9am. After the 7pm sitting the restaurant doors we locked and everything was replenished which was fantastic as the presentation of the food was fab. As we came through the doors we were taken to our table by the French animation team which was a nice touch. As an all inclusive customer I couldn't complain about the food at all. It is fresh, hot (there is a microwave to heat it more if needed) and wide variety.

Oscar the manager is very open to feedback and is on the premises on a daily basis.

Mr N Booth, Romiley

My wife and I chose to stay at the THB Royal purely because of the value it represented for a stay of 2 weeks on a self catering basis. We have stayed in Playa Blanca on many occasions over the past 30 years, watching the resort develop. This was our first stay that was not "front line" but the position of the hotel was not a problem, just meant we had to walk 15 mins to the promenade.
The hotel facilities are a bit "tired" but, for the price, we can not complain too much. The cleaning of the room that we finally settled on was hit and miss and not of a very good standard. We were obliged to buy cleaning cloths and detergents to ensure a reasonable standard. We tried to support the facilities on offer and paid 26 Euros one evening for dinner, that was the only occasion. Very poor value. The staff at reception we found to be extremely polite and obliging but, one can only do so much whingeing. Would we stay there again? "depends on the cost." The hotel was probably only running at 25% capacity at the time of our visit (early December). Don't think we would care to be there at a busy period though.

Mr N Booth, Romiley

The bungalows at Atlantic Gardens are quite basic and although they have recently received a partial makeover there is still room for improvement especially in the bathrooms. The bungalows are cleaned every other day and the towels are changed on each occasion. Bedding is changed every four or five days but this can vary slightly. The pool areas are adequate with plenty of loungers available and a rule that no towel reservations should be made (not strictly enforced whilst we were there!!). We found the food to be excellent with a wide selection available at each sitting. We have never been able to understand why such high charges are made for the use of a safe which is already in the room and as a consequence we do not use the facility. We believe that many others feel the same (certainly those we spoke to) - surely it would be better for the hotel to charge a nominal fee i.e. one euro per night, and have a higher uptake!! There is quite a large fridge in each bungalow and tea and coffee making facilities. The Atlantic Gardens only has a small communal lounge area and when the entertainment is on (which is every night) there is nowhere to go to sit with fellow guests and chat. We personally would prefer no entertainment and a more comfortable lounge area. Judging by the number of attendees each evening we can only assume that lots of others felt the same. Overall we were more than happy with our time at AG and will certainly return.
AG is all inclusive and adults only and the average age was around 55 although there were one or two youngish couples staying there.

Mrs S Chapman, Ashton-under-lyne

Rooms spotlessly clean, in fact lovely and clean everywhere. Staff really nice and friendly. Food always something you could find to eat and replenished very quickly.
Only reason haven't rated it a 5 is because the sunbeds all need replacing and could do with a little TLC in rooms and communal areas.

Mrs E Rigby, Macclesfield

The hotel was adequate but quite basic, nothing to really complain about but nothing special either. It was 'ok'.

Miss N Saward, Crawley

I didn't book this hotel but was changed at the last minute. The hotel was clean and the food was good. It seems to be a very Spanish orientated hotel with all the entertainment aimed at and in Spanish. If you want a leisurely holiday I would recommend but if you want a family entertainment holiday then book elsewhere.

Mrs A O'sullivan, Gillingham

Very nice stay. Furniture is a bit dated now and tired. The facilities around the hotel are very nice and the gardens well kept. Some plants need watering though. Everything works. About a 15 minute walk to beach. Cleaned regularly and linen changed twice a week. Towels a bit on the thin side. Breakfast very good. A lot of Spanish stay here. Mainly elderly. Bit of a rush at breakfast and some are very rude. Staff are excellent and helpful. Been a few times and they always recognise us. There is a safe and fridge.

Miss J Potter, Barrow-upon-humber

Pleasant enough and adequate for our needs at the price. Could do with a little tlc.