Sol Lanzarote, Matagorda (Hotels in Lanzarote in general)

Member Name: sue.51

Product:	Hotels in Lanzarote in general
Date:	31/12/01 (3547 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Heated swimming pool, Good communcal facilities, Excellent staff

Disadvantages: No air conditioning in rooms

Part of the Sol Hotel Chain, this hotel is best pictured with plane in the background and you would just about get its number, it is close to the beach and across the way from the airport.

Transfer time is 10 minutes from the airport, and it is situated at the furthest end of Puerto del Carmen. The hotel is a right little suntrap, just on the beach and approximately 250meters from the Commercial centre of Matagorda and approximately 750meters from the commercial centre at Playa de Los Pocillos.

If you are looking for decadent luxurious surroundings then this is not the place for you, if you are looking for an affordable break with basic clean self catering apartments, balconies many without a view, outstanding communal facilities, friendly staff, easy access to Puerto del Carmen, good car-parking, tennis courts, games room, three swimming pools, including that rare commodity, the heated one for the winter, entertainment every night and a selection of buffet and al a carte restaurants to chose from, then this hotel could be for you.

THE ROOM
One bedroom apartment with twin beds in bedroom, plenty of wardrobe space, bsafety deposit box (chargeable) - table, balcony, shower-room with toilet and sink, plenty of towels and toiletries supplied, convertible sofa in the loung for third bed.

Telephone -owing to having encountered a number of problems from a theft (not at the hotel), and having a homesick child with me, we made quite regular use of the telephone, and was charged less then £8 for the privelege, which for a hotel, making a number of international calls I found quite reasonable.

Catering facilities were basic - 2 electric rings, sink area and very effective fridge - saucepans, crockery and cutlery supplied. There was no kettle or toaster, although I found out when I got home that you can apparently rent these as well. TV's can also be rented for an additional charge.

Maid service was 5 days/week
(not Wednesdays or Saturdays), and linen was changed twice weekly. The room was clean, if basic, my only real gripe being that there was no air conditioning and lighting could have been better.

EATING
For a small supplement back in the UK (c£9.60 per person per day - ½ price for children 12 and under), you can book half board in this hotel with Thomsons, or else you can pay as you go in the hotel.

BUFFET BREAKFAST (served 8am to 10am)
A sumptious feast if ever I saw one - 850ptas for adults, 425 ptas for children (c£3.27 & £1.64) you could east as much as you like from:

* Bacon
* Scrambled, Boiled, Fried Eggs & Omelettes
* Sausages
* Frankfurters
* Ham and various other cold meats
* Chips
* Baked Beans
* Tomatoes
* Pancakes & Syrup
* Cereals
* Cakes
* Croissants and other pastries
* Various Fruit Juices
* Bread Rolls with a selection of jams
* DIY Toast
* Coffee, tea, Chocolate
of and don't forget the salad - (although I still haven't worked out why they were serving salad for breakfast)

Bit better value than most hotel breakfasts in the UK don't you think?

If you were hungry during the day, there was a pool bar serving snacks such as hotdogs, toasted sandwiches, chicken etc - although if you pitched breakfast correctly, food didn't really enter into the vocabulary.

A LA CARTE
Didn't try this, but traditional international fayre with maincourses starting around £3 per person - open from 10am to 11pm daily

BUFFET EVENING (served 6.00pm to 9.30pm)
This provided a different theme every evening, including:
* Canarian
* Mexican
* International
* Chinese

and in addition, provided a variety of pastas, salad, cold meats, omelletes, chips, a joint of meat, and various kiddies things for the fussier kids (and adults)
Cost 1800 Ptas for adults - 900 for children (£6.92 & £3.46 respecti
vely), tabel service drinks were extra.

In addition to the superb food, the hotel had three swimming pools, one (very deep - shallow end 1.62mts - deep 2.62mts) which was heated during winter, and 2 other pools, both shallower and specially adapted for the disabled - but I am afraid rather cold.

There was 24 hour reception services, all staff spoke English, a large car parking area, full on daily entertainment from a team of multi-lingual entertainers, 3 bars which between opened until 1am, table tennis, pool, a kiddies games area which included air hockey, a supermarket selling a wide selection of food, cheap alcohol and cigarettes, daily english papers and a selection of books (open 8am to 7pm daily) - but if you are a late arrival water can be purchased from the bar - or take some with you.

Safety deposit Boxes can be rented for 1400ptas/week (1000ptas refundable deposit), and TV's can apparently also be rented.

The write up on this hotel in the Gazateer wasn't brilliant - but because of the price (£460 for a week for 3 people) and the fact that we knew it had a heated swimming pool, we decided to give it a go, and believe me we weren't disappointed. For the really fit and energetic amongst us, I guess it is 3/4 hours walking distance from Puerto del Carmen, but when you can get a taxi for a mere 500ptas (less then £2), then really is hardly seems worth it. Taxi fare from the airport - c1,400 ptas.

WHO GOES THERE?
Well you can book on-line and travel independently (not necessarily the cheapest way) - Thomsons are there this winter (01/02) as are JUST, Direct Holidays, Airtours and JMC.

If you are looking for a cheap break, then I really can recommend this hotel, why not give it a try.

The hotel does also double up as a conference centre, although we didn't see much sign of business people, although it was just before Christmas and may be different at other times of the year.



HOTEL WEB-SITE
http://www.solmelia.com/cgi-bin/solmelia/dirdi namic/hotelhtml?13517

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