Santa Rosa, Costa Teguise

===Review of Hotel Santa Rosa, Costa Teguise===

===The country - and the weather!!===
Firstly, to set the scene i'll give a short introduction to the country, and of course, more importantly, the weather!.....Lanzarote is one of the hugely popular canary islands, and one of my favourite holiday destinations. Although part of Spain, Lanzarote sits close to the North of Africa and because of this, benefits from the heat of the ...
...Hotel===
Onto the hotel....the Santa Rosa hotel is relatively new, having only been open around 3-4 years and its extremely well kept. I first stayed at the hotel in 2006 and visited again in 2007 and i'm pleased to say the standards of cleanliness and hygiene were maintained throughout. The hotel has 2 sections to it, one public section where anyone can book and stay and use the facilities, and a second section, exclusively for the use of ... more

Review of Hotel Santa Rosa, Costa Teguise

The country - and the weather!!

Firstly, to set the scene i'll give a short introduction to the country, and of course, more importantly, the weather!.....Lanzarote is one of the hugely popular canary islands, and one of my favourite holiday destinations. Although part of Spain, Lanzarote sits close to the North of Africa and because of this, benefits from the heat of the mainland. Having said that, since its a fairly small island, theres quite often a fair breeze flowing through the country, but dont let that put you off, its a welcome breeze in the summer heat and means that the island has very few annoying insects which is a definite plus! All this together means Lanzarote enjoys a favourable climate all year round, with summer temperatures not too hot, and mild winters. In terms of figures, the average summer temperatures are around 25 degrees with pretty much zero rainfall. Winter temperatures tend to be in the high teens, pushing towards 20 with a little rain. There is of course, as with anywhere, the chance of a random heatwave, in fact the first time I stayed, i'd just missed 2 weeks of 37-40 degree heat. This had been accompanied with blowing sand which meant it was very difficult and inadvisable to go out!! This is caused by air directly from the sahara desert which is obviously very hot, but sometimes also brings sand with it...i'm told that this weather phenomenon lasts only a few days and is fairly infrequent - but still a risk to be aware of. One other thing to remember which I would have found useful before my first time there.....the airport is on the edge of the island which means 2 things. Firstly, it tends to be a bit breezier than a normal landing, and secondly you dont see the runway until you're a few feet from the ground...dont panic you're not going to land in the sea despite how close it looks!! :-)

The Hotel

Onto the hotel....the Santa Rosa hotel is relatively new, having only been open around 3-4 years and its extremely well kept. I first stayed at the hotel in 2006 and visited again in 2007 and i'm pleased to say the standards of cleanliness and hygiene were maintained throughout. The hotel has 2 sections to it, one public section where anyone can book and stay and use the facilities, and a second section, exclusively for the use of members of a property share scheme (Holiday property bond). Theres 2 pools, the larger one for all the hotel to use, and the smaller one for only the HPB guests.

The hotel is made up of small 'apartments' rather than rooms (i.e. theres more than just a bathroom and a bedroom as with some holiday hotels). The apartments themselves are very well furnished and kept. The bedrooms feature large wardrobe spaces, a dressing table/desk, and 2 bedside tables with drawers. A safe is available for your valuables too. The bathrooms within the hotel rooms are quite spacious and tiled throughout. They are all cleaned daily to a very high standard. In the main part of the apartment theres a kitchen with cooker/oven, grill, fridge, etc, and all the utensils and pots and pans you could need. Theres also a table and chairs provided to eat meals on if you're staying in. Also in the main part, theres a spacious seating area with a sofa and 2 single chairs, along with coffee table, side tables, and a sideboard with a TV on with British channels (although the signal is not great it randomly loses reception every so often - but hey we dont come on holiday to watch TV anyway :-) )

After the seating area, sliding Patio doors then lead you onto a balcony if youre above ground level, or a terrace area if you're on the ground floor. These are again fairly spacious and come with sun loungers, and a table and chairs. My partner and I enjoyed some lovely evenings sipping wine on the balcony as the sun set - absolutely perfect!

Hotel Location

This hotel is in a great location, only a 5-10 minute walk to a couple of nice beaches so if you like the sea rather than the pool you dont have to go too far from the hotel...and trust me, in the summer sunshine you dont want to be walking too far! Around the hotel theres lots of local bars and restaurants, 'Oscars' was our favourite, right across the road from the hotel, a lovely little Italian, we must have been there 5 or 6 times in the 2 separate weeks we've spent there. Theres cuisine to suit all tastes, all within a walk of under 10 minutes. Also next to the hotel is a row of shops and bars/cafes which are very handy for the holiday gifts for your family, or for a quick lunch. The main bar on the row - Steptoes - also serves a nice traditional english breakfast for those who are missing home. Also in this row, theres a Netto supermarket (yes Netto - seems to be the most popular chain over there weirdly) which sells pretty much everything you need for your stay, fresh fruit and veg, drinks, snacks, and so on. They sell 5 litre bottles of water fairly cheaply which is useful as the water from the taps is not for drinking.

About a 15 minute walk away (5 minute bus/taxi ride) is the main centre of the town, Costa Teguise, which has lots more bars, restaurants, and shops to choose from. Theres also a chemist, and a doctors surgery with English speaking doctors (who incidentally were very friendly and extremely professional as we unfortunately found out - dont forget travel insurance - lifesaver!!)

Hotel Facilities

I'd rate the hotel facilities as 'good', but no more than that. Theres a mini golf area, tennis courts, pool tables, and obviously the pool which are all good to entertain yourself during the day. Theres also some evening entertainment, although this isnt massively popular and so theres a bit of lack of an atmosphere. The hotel food (if you're being catered for) doesnt get great reviews - I've heard stories about it being cold and overcooked - particularly the breakfasts, although I cant comment as i've only ever stayed self catering. The hotel reception staff (or your travel rep if you go on a package holiday) are able to help you arrange any of a number of popular daytrips, the main ones are a trip to a nearby historical market (but you have to get up early on a Sunday!) or a trip around the volcanic mountains of the island.

Overall

Overall I really like this hotel, and I like its location. I'm the sort of person who goes on holiday to relax rather than to explore and this is the ideal place to do that. You can spend a day by the pool, or the beach, or just relax on your own private balcony. The staff are friendly and speak excellent english and theres plenty of places to eat and drink, relatively inexpensively too. Will definately be returning, and would definately recommend to others too!

Thanks for reading

Update

Someone reqested some information on pricing after I posted my original review so here it is:

Between now (Sept 08) and December its £28 per night for a single room and £46 per night for a double. Around Christmas/New Year that goes up to £39 and £57 respectively.

More information can be found at: http://www.lanzarote-tour.com/lanzarote/apartments/apartamentos_santa_rosa/ santa_rosa.php 

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