We stayed one week end January/beginning February 2008. The hotel was barely occupied except for some company events. This is odd because the winter is traditionally the peak season in the Canaries, and certainly the main resorts such as Puerto del Carmen and Playa Blanca were very busy (and best avoided unless you like that sort of thing). We can endorse all the positive comments about the situation and cleanliness of the hotel as mentioned by other guests. However, we had some problems. Most of the time the only restaurant open was the main buffet. The wine waiter employed in here appeared quite unsuited to his job. He had difficulty reading the wine list and the labels on the bottle and after a huge fuss then brought us the wrong wine and the wrong water. After this we ate out in the village. The best restaurants here are Amura, Papardella, and (upstairs in a block at the end) the Tratorrio. One night we had room service in the hotel and were provided with an under-cooked breaded chicken. We kept the remains in a bag in the fridge for evidence in case of illness, but there was no illness so we did no more about this. Having read another review, however, I think this particular piece of culinary incompetence is obviously a trend. Incidentally, the chicken was delivered on a trolley bearing a card which said "One of the Great Hotels of the World". I don't think so. Finally, we had endless irritating problems with the door keys not working.
This all sounds very negative, but of course the hotel is beautiful and is in a lovely position. The flower borders are immaculate and everything is very clean. You could have a very good time here, but watch out for the catering.

We stayed at this hotel for 5 nights in January 08 and had an amazing time! We have fairly high expectations and the hotel delivered on all accounts. If you seek peace & tranquility in a quality environment, look no further!

The hotel was only about a 1/4 occupied - perfect for us as we love peace and quiet but if you are seeking constant entertainment, this wouldn't be the place for you. This is perfect for couples - it really is an adult-only friendly hotel with not much for children, which is why we chose it in the first place.

The hotel is immaculate, beautifully maintained, super rooms and it really is worth paying the extra for a sea view - we enjoyed G&Ts on our balcony every evening, when the sun came out even hotter for an hour and a half - perfect!

We had read previous reviews and yes, restaurants aren't all open each day, but with the hotel under-occupied, that's fair enough.

The hotel is a lovely 10 minute walk on the flat paved promenade down to the Marina - really worth a daily walk. There is a super michelin star restaurant, Amura in the marina which we ate in 3 times - much cheaper than the UK and amazing food.

The hotel's A La Carte, La Caletta restaurant is beautifully decorated but the food didn't quite deliver for us, when compared with Amura in the Marina.

We received amazing service throughout our stay - the staff really couldn't do enough to help so we are suprised that people have had negative experiences. A very nice touch was 'Guest Day' with free Cava in the early evening - certainly not limited to one glass each either!

The hotel's pools are beautiful and the one nearest the hotel is aclimatised - we often had the pool to ourselves - wow!

We then travelled inland and stayed in a small rural hotel in Uga, which was also lovely.

There are so many things to do in Lanzarote and there is a lot of culture to be found & some very unspoilt, untouristy areas if you seek them out.

Would we return? Definitely! This is our favourite Canaries experience so far - we're going back next year for sure! We nearly booked the Princess Yaiza in Playa Blanca but were put off by reviews saying the place was extremely populated with children - we visited and were very glad we hadn't booked there. Although it is beautifully decorated, it is extremely child-friendly and compared to the Hesperia, quite packed in - sunbeds like sardines around the pool!

So, if you enjoy peace and quiet, with lovely views, we highly recommend the Hesperia!

Travelling with a 3 year old, we chose this hotel over Princess Yaiza (Playa Blanca) due to the spa. On that front we were not disappoiinted. The spa staff are very attentative, and provide a level of service we'd expect in a 5 Star location. However, aspects of the hotel let themselves down somewhat.
- As many have said before the breakfast is great, no question or qualms there. However the evening meal selection is poor. As restaurants only open at 7:30pm (not at all child friendly timing as we had to put the little one to bed) we had no option but to have room service. One night room service delivered the wrong meal (easy mistake). Totally unforgiveable is undercooking a breaded chicken breast destined for a child. Sirloin was rare one night, well done the other.
- Rooms are well proportioned. Our Family Room consisted of two rooms put together (the child thereby getting his own bed and not tempted to jump into ours!).
- Service in general bordered on 'jobs worth'. Just one example - We missed the pool bar by 5 mins. Nobody was prepared to get the child an icecream - we would have to order through room service for a 2.5 Euro icecream, and spend 5 Euros on it's delivery!!! You'd never see that happen in Dubai...
- Evening entertainment starts at 10:30pm!!! Apparently people only start eating at 10pm....Our fault for having a kid....
- Eating out wasn't a better experience either. I get the sense that locals expect to encounter naive foreigners with big wallets. Went down to the Harbour - Food over-priced and slow in delivery. I would particularly avoid the Tapas place "Taberna Del Peurto" (No 17, next to Lanas). Having waited 5 mins we got a bread roll and water - literally that's all!!! Then waited 10 more minutes and had to eventually ask for our butter!! We gave up and left leaving 5 Euros, only to have the manager chasing us demanding more money with menaces.

We had more fun having evening picnics. Go to the Harbour supermarket and buy supplies to enjoy on your balcony.

This is clearly a destination for those without kids. a nicely positioned sand play area with slides etc.. was welcomed. We knew the beach was non-existent (although the small beach alcoves were sufficient for our needs). Our boy loves climbing, and we had immense fun rock climbing the sealine cliffs.

Good hotel that compares to other 5 star hotels I have stayed in. Rooms clean and pleasantly decorated. Breakfast good choice.

The only complaints were the lack of staff - there seemed to be a lack of staff in all sections reception, bar and at breakfast. It wasn't a big issue as we weren't in a hurry to get any where.

The other moan was the gym - only went once for about 15 mins as the air conditioning wasn't switched on so it was hideously hot and it didn't open until 10am and would have preferred to go before breakfast.

Loved the Beach Club.

Would go back as enjoyed the relaxed atmosphere of Puerto Calero.