Last month we made our first ever visit to Lanzarote, staying at the four star Hotel Coronas Playa in Costa Teguise. First impressions of the hotel were pretty good, lovely looking pools, good check in, the sun was shining and we were happy to have a bit of warmth after a chilly start to January.
Our room it has to be said, was pretty disappointing. Although huge, with a sitting area as well as a bedroom, it was quite dark with hardly any natural light. The bathroom door was damaged by water and after taking a shower I saw why. The whole place flooded with water and I had to use several towels to mop up the mess which had spilled over into the bedroom. Whilst on the subject of the bathroom, I really didn’t like the nasty industrial looking soap dispenser on the wall which reminded me of being in hospital.
Not a good start!
However, in true blitz spirit, we laughed, dressed for dinner and prepared to be disappointed. How wrong we were! The dining room was a delight. Lovely atmosphere, great service, a fab choice of dishes including fresh grilled octopus (yum). In the space of an hour, the hotel has redeemed itself! Dinner all week continued to be the highlight of the day with lots of local fish dishes to choose from and plenty of salads
Breakfast the next morning was best described as ‘not my cup of tea’. The water wasn’t hot enough to make neither tea nor coffee and the orange juice was sweet and nasty. Once was enough, we never went back. Instead, breakfast every day afterwards was taken at the lovely Pasteleria Damien, two minutes walk from the hotel, which did pain au chocolat to die for!
The local area is great for walking. There’s a coastal path leading from the hotel which takes you to the little harbour where you can grab a coffee and a spot of retail therapy if you wish. My favourite shop was Crazy Loop which sells the kind if hippy chic stuff that I can’t resist! I bought some fantastic harem pants which I’ll wear on my summer hols in Mallorca.
We lunched in various places, but the Hollywood Bar next door to the hotel was the best. Great salads and a nice little terrace.
Weather wise, we were unlucky. Just two nice days, with the remainder being cool, breezy and rainy. Not to worry, we gadded about and I had plenty of reading material. I had the February Red mag with me which had a whole section on health and wellbeing, so I set my mind to thinking about ways to improve my health and came up with a strategy for the next couple of months.
Overall, it was a relaxing, restorative break, but I’m in no hurry to go back to Lanzarote.
