Los Zocos Resort Hotel, Costa Teguise, Lanzarote (Hotels in Lanzarote in general)

Member Name: Gayna1979

Product:	Hotels in Lanzarote in general
Date:	13/03/06 (3114 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: All Inclusive, Cheap, Friendly, centrally located.

Disadvantages: Pool bar could have been better, Drinks only served until 11 pm.

As you may know by now, I really enjoy my holidays abroad, especially to nice sunny places, with lots to see and do. We usually take two holidays a year, one in the summer and one in the winter. Because you are a bit restricted to warm places in Europe in our winter we have stuck to going to the Canaries as the weather is nice all year round. So in September 2004 we started to look around for out up coming break.

We stumbled on an allocated on arrival holiday going in late November to Lanzarote, on the First Choice website. It was described as 3 star All Inclusive. Having a look through the brochure we knew that it would be going to one of a handful of hotels, all looking nice, so we decided to book there and then after Jay had rang his boss to make sure he could get the time off from work. At £742 altogether for two weeks, not including insurance, this offer was too good to pass on. Yes that’s right, this holiday cost us £371 each, for two weeks, All Inclusive, flights and transfers. Bargain!

On arrival at Arrecife airport, we quickly found a First Choice rep, who told is that we would be staying at the Los Zocos hotel in Costa Teguise, and she said that it was a great complex, so we were not worried at all. We also soon discovered that the couple who we had been having good chat with on the plane were also staying at the Los Zocos.

Costa Teguise is situated on the east coast of Lanzarote, and is quite central so all attractions are not too far away. As far as resorts go it is not very busy, so you don’t get the hustle and bustle, but there is enough to do to keep you occupied.

The Los Zocos Resort
==============

After a short transfer we arrived at the Los Zocos, and checked in fairly quickly, even though a lot of people off our flight were checking in at the same time. The hotel is All Inclusive and Self Catering, so all All Inclusive guests are taken into a room to have their photo taken for the All Inclusive card. This card is your ticket to food and drink, so make sure that you carry it with you at all times. We were then given our room key and told which way to go.

The rooms are in three different buildings, two of which are arc shaped around the pools, and the other in L shaped. We were in block two. Each block has three floors, but no lifts. Most hotels are not very built up as they feel that it spoils the landscape. Not having a lift is not a problem, as the maximum you have to walk up in two flights of stairs, but it was a bit hard to lug to rather heavy suitcases up and down, good job we only had to do it once. There are rooms on the ground floor, which would be suitable for disabled people.

Every room in the hotel is a self catering room, even if you are All Inclusive. I found this to be very useful. Our room, in block two, was massive. There was a full kitchen, which included an oven not just a hob, fridge, toaster, kettle, crockery, cutlery, and lots of other cooking utensils. Being AI you wouldn’t necessarily need all of these, but it’s great having a fridge so that you can have a cool drink in the middle of the night. There was also a lounge area, bathroom, and a massive bedroom, containing twin beds, two bedside tables, dressing table and wardrobe. We also had a huge balcony, with access from both the lounge area and bedroom. We had westerly views, so we could watch the sun set over the mountains. The room was very clean and the maids came daily.

There are two restaurants in the hotel and a snack/pool bar. There is the El Mirador, which is inside the hotel complex and the Boulevard which is also open to the general public. Both breakfast and dinner are served in the El Mirador and Lunch and Dinner are served in the Boulevard. If you want to eat Dinner in the Boulevard then you have to book your table at reception as space for eating is limited, I would recommend the Boulevard for dinner as the food seemed to be fresher than in the main hotel restaurant and it is more suitable to adults only.

The food in the hotel was delicious, with lots of variety on offer, including lots of Chinese dishes, thanks to the Chinese chef. I wasn’t very keen on Chinese food before, but he won me round. Don’t worry though if you don’t like Chinese food, there is a lot more to choose from. Breakfast and lunch were also very nice, so you will not go hungry. The snack/pool bar however left a lot to be desired, with buffet style snacks including burgers, hot dogs and chips, being cooked in the morning and left out all day. If you are lucky you can get something quite fresh if you are there when they bring it out. I would definitely recommend going for lunch in the Boulevard which was served between 12.30 and 2.30 pm. The only disappointment with the food was that packed lunches were not available. We like to go out and about and explore places, and when you have already paid for All Inclusive you do feel a bit cheated, but we were sneaky and took some stuff back to our room at breakfast, and I made us some sandwiches to take out with us.

The entertainment in the hotel is great for kids, but not so good for adults. There is a mini disco, and a show in the Aguamarina bar, bingo and a quiz in the pool bar. We spent most nights in the Boulevard, the staff are a lot better and much better drinks, including a waiter service. There is a big screen with sky TV, and every Tuesday we had a duet playing the piano and singing, they were really good, but virtually the same show on the second week. We did on one occasion go to the pool bar for the bingo and the quiz, I even won at bingo, but the quiz was rubbish.

There is also an Animation Team (entertainment team) who run a kids club, and this is fantastic for kids during the day and at night, providing you children with lots to do. As we don’t have any kids yet, I cannot really comment on this, but they all looked as if they were having lots of fun. There is even swimming lessons available, so your kids will be able to use the pools.

Drinks in the pool bar are self service in the day, but you have to ask for them at night, this where you really need your All Inclusive card. You’re only allowed one drink per person per visit to the bar, and your cards are scanned to control this. Drinks are also self service in the restaurant areas. Being All Inclusive you can drink all that you want, but be warned, the bar shuts at 11 pm.

The pools, well what can I say. There are two pools and they were both freezing, heated my arse!!! We got in on day one, and had to get out because our feet had gone numb. We did venture in again, but only lasted for five seconds. They were very clean though. We did sunbathe quite a lot around pool two, as it was a lot quieter than pool one. It was November/December so we couldn’t really complain too much.

If you do go to this hotel on a Self Catering basis, then there is a Netto Store just outside the hotel where you will be able to stock up on all of your food and drink.

Other stuff to do in Lanzarote
===================

Even though we go to All Inclusive hotels, we don’t like to be tied to the hotel for a whole fortnight, if you’re going to stay in one place you may as well stay at home. So here’s a list of stuff to do while you are in Lanzarote, and Costa Teguise.

Costa Teguise beach is only a five minute walk away from the hotel, and is glorious, with plenty of room and clear water.

Costa Teguise itself is only a short stroll away, with plenty of shops, bars and restaurants. We often had a walk into town, to have a look round and to have a change of scenery.

If you want a night out, after the hotel bars have closed, but you don’t want to go to far away, go to Cactus Jacks, which is just behind the Los Zocos. We went in at midnight and happy hour was just starting, where you can get 4 pints for 5 euros. Then they have Karaoke until about 3 in the morning. I even won a bottle of so called Champagne after singing in the Karaoke.

If you like to venture out of the hotel, Lanzarote is a great place to go to, with loads of things to see, and Costa Teguise is a good base. We hired a car for a weekend, and explored the whole island.

First of all we went to Timanfaya National Park (Fire Mountain) to see the volcanoes. Timanfaya National Park is situated in the south of Lanzarote, and you can either go by yourself if you hire a car, or there are many organised excursions. The park was created between 1730 and 1736 when more than 100 volcanoes, covering more than 50 square kilometres, erupted and devastated this part of the island. It will cost you 8euros per person to enter the park, but you get a lot for your money. For your money, you get a coach tour around all of the craters, and you get to see how hot it is just a few meters under your feet when cold water is poured down a hole and seconds later it comes back up as steam, because the temperature a few meters below the ground can reach between 400°C and 600°C. Be prepared as this will make you jump. There is also a restaurant, the El Diablo, which serves food cooked using geothermal heat (A cast-iron grill placed over a large hole in the ground). Also if you wish, you can take a camel ride around the park.

After visiting Timanfaya National Park, we took at detour to El Golfo, this is a semi-circular Volcanic Crater filled with Sea water that has filtered through the black sand that separates the lagoon from the sea. The Lagoon is green in colour caused but the algae living in the water, against the black sand beach and strange looking rock formations make it is quite a spectacular site.

Our next stop was to the north of the Island. Here we visited Jameos Del Agua, which is part of the Atlantida volcanic cave system formed by the eruptions of the Corona volcano about three to four thousand years ago. Here there is a natural Concert Hall with wonderful acoustics, subterranean lagoon containing tiny blind albino crabs, a restaurant and a museum. The cost to get into Jameos Del Agua was 8Euros each.

Then on to Cueva del les Verdes, the Green Caves, just up the road, these are also part of the same cave system as Jameos Del Agua. This cave system is over 6 km long with an additional 1.6 km under the sea and is the longest Volcanic Tunnel in the World, although only about 2 km are open to the public. The cave measures more than 15 meters wide and 15 m high, the lowest part of the cave is used occasionally as a concert hall. You care given a guided tour around these caves, and you will be in a large group. The information the tour guide gave us was very interesting, and he repeated everything in Spanish, English and French. The cost of the Cueva del les Verdes was also 8 Euros each.

We then visited Mirador del Rio, a viewing point at the north of the island, where you can see magnificent views of the island of La Gracios. There is a restaurant here and a tourist centre. The cost to get into the tourist centre was 4Euros, including a free drink in the restaurant.

We also visited some of the other resorts on the island. Playa Blanca, in the very south, which has the most beautiful beaches and fantastic views of Fuerteventura. Puerto Del Carmen, this resort is more lively that Costa Teguise, and a lot bigger, and Arrecife, the capital of Lanzarote. There is a good selection of shops here, and a nice front, but the back streets are a bit run down. We reached both Puerto Del Carmen and Arrecife by public transport which you can get on just out side the hotel.

Conclusion
=======

We had a fantastic time at the Los Zocos resort, the only downside being the weather. We did have some rain, but you can’t do anything about that, and it was November, much better than being at home.

I would definitely recommend this hotel to everyone, it is suitable for singles, couples, and families. The hotel is great for people just wanting to relax, and a great base for people who want to explore.

Thanks for reading. Gayna x

Summary: A Great Holiday for people of all ages.