Not so grotty

Lanzagrotty. No one ever says Lanzarote do they? No, we put on a silly accent and call the Canary Island by its unfortunate moniker, immediately summing the world of the Easyjet getaway; lobster tans, loadsalager, egg n’ chips all the way and the English flag flying high in whatever beknighted outpost it has reached.

The Canary Islands have long been cold-shouldered by the more discerning, affluent crowd. Rightly or wrongly, they sit somewhere in the imagination with Benidorm, Magaluf and other such sunny short haul destinations that for many conjure up holiday hell.

I have been to the island once before, as a post-GCSE 16 year old, celebrating with seven other girlfriends. We must have been a terrifying prospect and I remember little else than bars, boys and beer, thus doing little to dispel my more recent perceptions of what the island had to offer.

But faced with an overwhelming desire to get away from the January gloom, and moving towards late pregnancy, the Canary Islands seemed the obvious (and only) choice. Other winter sun options in Africa, Asia or the Caribbean meant a long haul flight - an unattractive option with a growing bump and two young children.

And then someone told me that Lanzarote was, well, not so grotty anymore. There has been a lot of change in the past ten years they said. There are even some good five star family hotels on the island. You’re kidding me? This had to be seen to be believed.

Which is how we ended up at the Princesa Yaiza, a five-star resort hotel in Playa Blanca, on the southern tip of the island. Playa Blanca was little more than a fishing village a decade or so ago and has seen ten of sustained, thoughtful development - ie no ugly high rise whatsoever. The resort is now considered more upmarket than Puerto del Carmen where the partygoers are and Costa Teguise, further north on the island.

Our first impressions of the Princesa Yaiza were that it was luxey and large. From the impressive marble reception to the spacious restaurants and bar areas, this is no boutique hotel. There are 385 rooms, but out of peak season, we felt we pretty much had the place to ourselves. I can‘t imagine it ever feels crowded. The hotel has been cleverly designed in a giant U shape, the two main accommodation blocks extend in wings from the reception areas at the back, embracing a beautiful outdoor area which contains two vast palm-fringed pools. Many rooms have balconies overlooking the pools and views of the sea close by.

Built in 2002, the Yaiza still feels spanking new. Co-owned by a Spaniard and an Italian, it is described as aping the ‘colonial Canaries’ style. My husband more memorably said it looks like a faux Moorish citadel - a minaret crowns one roof top and there are domes and palms a plenty - but it works. We quickly realised that the hotel is the stand out property on the coastal strip here - there are uglier blocks abutting the sea nearby and the graceful Yaiza always felt like an oasis. A swan amongst the ugly ducklings.

We stayed in a suite with a sea view, a three-roomed affair with the children sleeping on sofas that were turned into beds every evening by the excellent household staff. The arrangement worked surprisingly well and makes for a more affordable room option for a family. We had a beautiful balcony overlooking the pools and the sea beyond which caught the full evening sun and became my husband’s favourite haunt for ‘beer o’clock’.

There are a wealth of rooms on offer, from the straightforward double to royal and presidential suites with vast sun terraces and all sorts of add ons. For the truly plush family, the Kiko suite comes with a bedroom decorated with childhood motifs, a Playstation, DVDs and two hours free babysitting a day.

Kiko, if you are wondering, is a duck. The emblem of Kikoland - the children’s club at the hotel, his image appears everywhere. Indeed Kiko himself (or possibly a person dressed in a large Disneyesque duck costume) makes an appearance every morning at the buffet breakfast exhorting all the children to ‘High five Kiko’. What serves as a daily advertisment for Kikoland, merely managed to traumatise our daughter who was terrified, leading us on a merry dance every morning as we tried to hide her from this oversized, friendly duck.

The children’s club is located adjacent to the hotel and provides entertainment, play and childcare for all ages. For the 0-3 age group, parents much hang around but for the older children, parents can drop off their charges and retire to the peaceful pool. I can’t pretend this sort of thing is my cup of tea, but for what it was, Kikoland was very impressive, with zoned areas for ages, fantastic play equipment, a great pool of its own and a purpose-built theatre. Our children snubbed it completely but they loved the soft play room in the hotel itself and our holiday routine soon involved them disappearing for an hour or so of post breakfast play whilst we relished our morning coffee in peace.

Quite frankly we did nothing at Princesa Yaiza. There’s plenty on offer and Lanzarote itself is a fascinating volcanic island, but for us it was about relaxing in the sun. Which was very easy to do at the resort. What could be a large, impersonal hotel is the opposite. The staff were unfailingly friendly, polite and warm and it was a very easy place to lie back and take it easy. Our mornings revolved around the children’s pools at the hotel - a Jacuzzi tub which the children adored and a shallow pool and then every afternoon we left the hotel surrounds to walk the few steps down onto Playa Dorada - a really pleasant white sand beach that never felt too crowded and had a café which served the most fantastic ice cream. We consider ourselves quite an adventurous, outdoorsy family but doing absolutely nothing for a week was the most fabulous tonic and the hotel made it so easy to take it easy.

There is a vast range of food on offer at Princesa Yaiza. Our children never got over the voluminous buffet breakfasts and there is a similarly choice-rich buffet every evening. There’s also a Japanese, Mexican and Italian restaurant, plus a fine dining venue overlooking the beach and a great poolside lunch venue. We tended to eat out every night. This isn’t Tuscany and you don’t go to Lanzarote expecting fabulous restaurants but to the east of Yaiza, along an wide promenade lies the Marina Rubicon, a newish development of restaurants and shops built around an attractive working harbour that is clearly aimed at a more affluent crowd which has a wide range of good eating options. The Marina has followed in the footsteps of the Puerto Calero marina, a development built near to the tourist trap of Puerto del Carmen that now boasts designer boutiques and enormous gin palaces.

We quickly worked out that the Princesa Yaiza sits on the border between the old and new Playa Blanca. To the east, Marina Rubicion with its style-conscious developments - Ibiza’s famous Café del Mar even has an outpost here - reveals grand intentions to raise the area’s game. To the west of the hotel lies the old town of Playa Blanca, which has more of what you’d expect Lanzarote to offer with bars advertising Premier League matches and even a Burger King. That said, we ate delicious local fish and chips in ‘Playa Blanca’s only British chippie’ run by some ex pats and enjoyed ourselves thoroughly.

It would be a lie to say that Lanzarote has entirely thrown off its unfavourable image. Outside the walls of our hotel there was of evidence of what my mother would call ‘unsavoury elements’: poorly designed, faceless buildings, downmarket shops and bars alive with tourist tat and some fellow tourists you might not wish to share the beach with But Princesa Yaiza shows that times are a changing and there are some bright sparks bringing some real quality to Lanzarote’s tourist scene. Chic it may not yet be but grotty? Certainly not.

The facts

Classic Collection Holidays (www.classic-collection.co.uk, 0800 294 9315) offers 7 nights at the Princesa Yaiza, Playa Blanca, Lanzarote from £1,016 per person based on 2 adults sharing a superior twin/double room on a bed & breakfast basis. Price includes return flights from London Gatwick (other departure airports available) to Arrecife with easyJet departing 20 March 2011.

Classic Collection Holidays (www.classic-collection.co.uk, 0800 294 9315) offers 7 nights at the Princesa Yaiza, Playa Blanca, Lanzarote from £4058 total based on 2 adults and a child sharing a junior suite on a bed & breakfast basis. Price includes return flights from London Gatwick (other departure airports available) to Arrecife with Monarch departing 16 April 2011.

Not so grotty

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