It’s the anniversary of my first visit to this hotel which was a game changer for me so I thought I would post my review of my fourth stay today. I was a solo traveller staying in Star Prestige and I upgrade to a priority location roomi n the Star Prestige Tower on the top floor. I came to this hotel the first time because of its proximity to a beach (3 minutes to the beautiful and quiet Playa Flamingo.) I return every year because of the staff. I speak Spanish and come to practice. I always feel like I am coming home. A huge thank you to everyone on Reception - Fernando, Marek, Moises and Leo (the names I know) and especially to Steffi who patiently answered all my questions (before and during my stay) and came out to talk to me when I asked for her. I really appreciated that. My room was as clean, spacious and luxurious as always. The view out to sea is outstanding. On a clear day you can see the hotels on the beach in the Parque Natural on Fuerteventura. There was a heatwave during my stay and the temperature didn’t go below 25C for the majority of my stay even at night. The Spanish government have set a law in place that aircon in hotels can only operate between a specific range of temperatures so you aren’t going to have air con below 18C. Its important to note that before you come, to manage your expectations. Whilst you could change it in your room it is centrally controlled and I noticed each night between 4 – 6 am the room would be too hot even though the air con was showing as on and you could hear air coming into the room. Then around 7 am it suddenly started producing lovely cool air again without me touching the control panel. I had to use a personal fan at times in order to get back to sleep as I am going through the menopause. This part of the early morning was trying but I appreciate that those heatwaves aren’t the norm and its normally fine in October. You couldn’t open the door to the balcony as the air outside was too hot. The air con was sufficient to keep the room cool during the day if you kept the blackout blinds across. If you open the door to the balcony the aircon pauses so that is another thing to remember. I loved the addition of an exercise mat in the room. A great idea Iberostar. The room was beautifully quiet, another reason I return to this hotel and this part of it. I heard neighbours on one side just once and even though it was close to the lift didn’t hear the ping often and it didn’t disturb me. A big thank you to Jenny who looked after me so well, kept it spotlessly clean and gave me loads more coat hangers! A big thank you as always to Jan and his team at the Star Prestige Pool Bar. To Jan, Chari, Ainoa, Raul and Brahim. Thank you for making my stay so special and personal. Los extraño a todos. ❤️ Hasta la proxima! We miss you Charaf! The Star Prestige pool area was wonderful as usual. I love the peace and quiet and the amazing views out to sea and across to Fuerteventura. Because the air temperature was so hot for once the pool was perfect and I stayed in a long time. The temperature of the jacuzzi was too hot and I couldn’t go in. I mentioned it in passing to a maintenance guy and I noticed he turned the temperature down after that. I hope he has turned it back up again now! There was less of a problem than usual getting a sun bed. This year I didn’t go down earlier than I wanted to once and was able to find the spot I wanted. There is a notice in the Star Prestige lift now about not reserving sunbeds but I don’t see the rule enforced. I do think either you enforce the notice or don’t put it up. They have finally mended the gates that separate the Star Prestige area from the rest of the hotel and from the promenade outside. I was told that the reason for the delay is that it is quite difficult to get replacement parts to the Canaries. Massive thanks in both restaurants and the main bar to Irene, Jessica, Muñoz, Pablo and all the other lovely waitresses, waiters and chefs whose names I don’t know. They made me feel welcome and special. I was pleased to see toasting machines were working again. As is often mentioned the choice of food is spectacular especially little dishes of starters and I completely adore the selections of cheeses, salamis and olives. I love the freshly squeezed orange juice and the breads all made on the premises. There is always a demonstration of what the evening’s meal choices look like if you wished to assemble them that way but I think this sadly goes unnoticed. In previous years the entertainment on offer has been a little strange but as last year it is getting better and better. The acts that come in from outside were excellent including acrobats and an excellent magic show. Big thanks to the entertainments team. I don’t know them all but to Juan who introduced me to Pilates, to Triana who remembered me from previous years (wondering what I did that I stood out!) and who was very knowledgeable, friendly and showed me how to make soap and was happy to talk to me at any time and last but not least to Sergio, what a guy. (Soy Alegria) He is so good at his job, he can talk to anyone, he loves what he does and can conduct a bingo session in multiple languages. Mamma mia! Professionale! The entertainments team did an outstanding job on the nights they were performing shows. I couldn’t believe how they could do all the activities they did during the day and then expend so much energy and emotion for the evening shows. I saw two shows they did, one was The Greatest Show which I have seen before and the other was a show where they changed what they were doing and wearing every 30 seconds, amazing. I will never forget their rendition of Dirty Dancing and I literally cried laughing. Thank you! And the negatives. The hotel is relentlessly pursuing going paperless which is a frustration to the guests. They no longer permit holiday companies to publish details of return flight information in the usual place which is unsettling and guests have to go to reception for this. I find the lack of any information on paper a real irritation. Not everyone wants to carry a mobile phone with them all the time or have to consult an app to decide what wine to order. The flies in the restaurants have pretty much gone. Thank you Iberostar. The plates and bowls are still not as clean as they used to be but this is getting better. I had to put one or two aside during my stay. I think there were complaints that the food isn’t properly labelled so this has been rectified by (you guessed it) paperless labels which can be individually programmed. Unfortunately because this means black letters on a grey background it is quite hard to read what is on the label and I gave up. As has been previously mentioned there is quite a lot of recycling of food going on now. I saw an Apple tart recycled into different sweets on the two days following it first being presented whole. The salads and vegetables are quite heavily recycled too. I know Iberostar is all about recycle and reuse but I am not sure about this! The chairs on all balconies are still rocking chairs which I still find a strange choice. They aren’t comfortable to relax in and can only be made so by taking a pillow from the bed. The gates that separate Star Prestige bedrooms from the rest of the hotel are still broken. They always have been. I guess they aren’t so important as you can’t really go anywhere without your card or band in that area of the hotel. I was pleased to see that everything is now back as it was pre-COVID with the exception of alcoholic drinks in the Star Prestige Lounge in the evening. I was told that the management don’t think guests want to have a drink in the lounge at night but think they are quite wrong about this. Other guests have said the same. Not everyone wants to go outside to watch the entertainment every night, especially if it was a cool night during the winter and this is the place I would go to after dinner. The lounge was well used during my stay and it was so very hot all the windows were open. And there is still no a la carte in the Star Prestige Restaurant in the evening and I did raise this once again with the management but he said there is no expectation for this to return. I am an unpaid carer taking a break from care and I want someone to look after me on my break which is why I particularly like a la carte. I wish they would put it back. The Barcelo chain provide a la carte and we all know a new one is about to open up the road! I ordered agua con gas every night but was always brought Iberostar’s own version which didn’t have gas in it. I did notice that the toilet roll paper and the tissues in the vanity unit in the bathroom were thinner than last year (not what you expect if you have booked luxury) and also the towel service and turn down service in the evening have been merged into one. If you are in the room you are handed fresh towels and chocolates and if you aren’t they come in and do a turn down service (but you don’t get more towels). Having said that the maids are all absolutely lovely and any time you ask them for anything they will always get it for you. As always the kids are the ones that have the best time at this hotel. There is always something for them to do or learn and the water carpet is a favourite. As I have said in other reviews I don’t think this hotel is value for money unless you are a family with small children and the focus is on the kids having a good time or unless you are looking for an adults only luxury experience. The main pool area is cramped, there aren’t enough parasols, the loungers are too close together, the main dining room can be unbearable in terms of noise, heat and constant overcrowding and there is continuous noise by the main pool outside until midnight. However, always going Star Prestige I love this place, as I come on my own and I feel safe, I completely relax, I can pretty much do what I want when I want: If you want to walk on the beach in the early morning in your bathrobe you can do that, if you want a table by the window with a view of the sea they will make sure they lay one up for you, if you want chicken at dinner and they aren’t serving it they’ll prepare it for you. If you want more towels or more tissues or even a second carafe they will bring them for you. You can't ask for better than that. Whilst I agree this is not a five star hotel I certainly get the five star treatment! Thank you! Los extraño a todos. See you in 2024 Iberostar Selection Lanzarote Park. ❤️ …
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.