Lanzarote: hotel recommendations

[SolarPoweredHuman]

I am a lone parent, want to take my children to Lanzarote next summer so starting some research. I went there a few times years ago pre-kids and know DS would love it especially, with the Timanfaya national park etc. Both children are autistic so can't cope with kids' clubs but our nanny has said she could come with us which would be a godsend as I have ME and will need another adult to help! Also so I can take them into the sea to swim etc as that will have to be one at a time (they will be 6 and 7). And because I need to rest and maybe even be able to go off and swim or read a book myself sometimes. 🤣

Soooo... we wouldn't want a hotel with "entertainment" (like peace and quiet!!) or need a kids' club (I mean if there is one we could try and they might manage an hour or two but not essential, would prob rather do our own thing as the whole point is family time). Don't want all inclusive. We don't like hanging around by a pool, so want a hotel right by a beach that is safe for children and not too windy/ big waves and currents.

I've driven all around there before and the island is small so am happy to hire a car and not too bothered whereabouts we stay as long as there are nice restaurants walking distance from the hotel (decent tapas not British food and pizzas - last time I went there a decade ago there was more and more of that so not sure how it is now 😔). Would want to do trips out every 2-3 days because I'd need time to rest in between due to the ME, so need good food and beach available close to the hotel.

We'd need either an apartment type of room that had 3 bedrooms or a family room with two plus another bedroom separately for our nanny. But not self-catering: I don't want to bave to do any housework/ cooking/ tidying etc for once, my first break from that for 7 years. Would plan to go for 10-14 nights and budget maybe £6k including rooms and flights and breakfast (would pay a bit more more for half board but only if hotel is flexible on whether this is lunch/ dinner and is not a buffet but actual restaurants). Or just room only but with restaurants onsite if we want lunch in hotel or dinner there, or room service, and lots of decent restaurants locally in walking distance (food and beaches are the most important stuff, plus a nice hotel with decent service and comfortable bedrooms). I do not like early mornings so I do not want any stupidity about needing to "reserve" sunloungers etc etc.

One problem I've found with "family rooms" in some countries is they seem to expect the adult to sleep on a sofabed! I can't do this as it would cause me a lot of pain. Need two separate beds for kids (bunkbeds or just normal singles) and an actual normal bed for me. And obviously a separate one for our nanny!

Sorry, reading this back it all sounds super fussy (I am autistic too) and maybe I should just speak to a travel agent. 🤣🤣 But thought it may be worth picking the Mumsnet brain first for some recommendations of decent hotels for me to take a look at. And also whether my budget is realistic or I need to save up some more...

Also not averse to taking them out of school to go earlier, e.g. summer half term plus extend with an extra week off. Better temperatures there then actually and less busy (always good for a troup of autistics!) and cheaper. So that may make my unreasonable demands slightly more reasonable. But would rather try to cobble together a little more money than compromise on what we want because after an absolutely hellish few years I want this break to be heaven.

If anybody managed to read that very long-winded explanation and has any ideas, I'd be very grateful. Trust personal recommendations so much more than descriptions on hotel websites etc.

Book a villa with a private pool, try Lanzarote One.

Tui Blu Flamigo beach we really enjoyed - but I don't know what different sizes of accommodation they do as we had a bedroom and ds slept on a sofa bed and I don't know what meal plans they do. It's a quiet area, right on the beach with a couple of littles shops and a great restaurant also right on the beach. It's a pretty beach as well and a thousand times nicer than nearby Playa Blanca IMO (although there is a lovely promenade that goes for miles in both directions that you can use to walk to PB if you want).
There is car parking and a big road behind the hotel so easy to get out and about with a hire car. It's not hugely posh though and in October school hols when we went, room only was very cheap. It was not really warm enough then for swimming though IMO so I'd definitely go earlier than that (although temps were still nice).
https://www.tui.co.uk/destinations/europe/spain/lanzarote/playa-blanca/apartments/tui-blue-flamingo-beach.html?utm_medium=paidsearch&gclid=Cj0KCQjwho-lBhC_ARIsAMpgMof2hxHq1XTa9foSiAdgeD9XBQuqlnkqmNWWrAMZLdYLm1OPxpyZX_waAu18EALw_wcB&gclsrc=aw.ds

Thanks @Roselilly36 , really grateful someone has replied!

The thing is these would be self-catering so I'd still be having to clear up etc etc... I really want a hotel I think so for once I don't have to do anything AT ALL.

Have a look at Dreams Playa Dorada. The family rooms are 2 singles and a double. It is in an excellent location very close to a sheltered (man made) beach. Walk to the left to the marina for a lot of good restaurants or right for Playa Blanca. Have a look at the Preferred Club rooms which have extra benefits including mini bar and exec lounge which has complimentary snacks (great for children!). As well as the buffet there are several restaurants on site.

Thank you, will check this out. I used to go to the Canaries later in the autumn and weather gets a bit dodgy that's true. I think though for summer half term in early June plus an extra week it should be good.

This looks really good but just did a search and this is what it came up with! I know costs have gone up but 🤯🤯🤯

Have a look at the Costa Sal in Matagorda. You can book meals in the restaurant, definately breakfast anyways im sure. Its a lovely flat area close to the beach. the 2 beds are quite large and they have lots of studios too. We loved it, great wee area, quiet but within shouting distance of all the usual stuff Lanza offers.

That was for next summer half term plus one week in term time tagged on. Am I being totally unrealistic thinking we could get a holiday in a decently luxurious hotel and flights for two adults and two kids, including flights for £6k-maybe £8k? (Paying food separately on top and rental car?). It's a while since we've been away due to our situation so maybe I am very out of touch. 😔

Costa Sal is a good shout, also Seaside Los Jameos seems to be a popular choice.

Gran castillo in playa blanca ticks almost all your boxes. We stayed there and it was fantastic. It's a hotel but the rooms are huge and really good, it's by the beach , different meal option (we did have all inclusive and it is very very good),

@Roselilly36 Seaside Los Jameos is amazing, I went there with my 4 year old just after Easter & it delivered way over my expectations. BUT it’s an all-inclusive, kid’s club, lots of pools (amazing pools and gardens) type of place so doesn’t sound like what OP is looking for. Might be worth checking out to see what non all-inclusive packages there are though. You can just do breakfast / eat a la carte, but there’s no choice of restaurants on site.

But it was a reasonable price - part of stay was in term time which helped. There are restaurants /shops easy walk away on the beach or on main road behind hotel which we went to a few times to escape the compound. Didn’t find anything stunning but didn’t look very hard. I was all about the ease of the all-inclusive & used the kid’s club to have some time to myself and read a book, but it wasn’t a fantastic kid’s club by any means. DC just went there for a couple of hours after breakfast.

The only thing I would have liked was room service! But I’d go back for sure. And struggle on without room service.

That is for a suite. They do family rooms which should be cheaper.

Have a look at Hyde park lane villas. We’ve got one booked with a private pool, however it’s part of a hotel chain so we’ve gone half board so still get breakfast and evening meal, with the added luxury of having peace and quiet in your own villa, and the option to use hotel facilities if you like

We liked Los zocos resort in costs Teguise. Has apartments with all inclusive option.

We have stayed at Los Zocos too, a few years back, we liked it. It was good value. Not far from the beach, bus stop or the shops. Lots of sports, entertainment, my boys loved the football. But you weren’t hassled into taking part if you didn’t want too. We won bingo twice when we were there, decent cash prizes. Breakfast and lunch were in the on site restaurant and dinner was in a huge tent like restaurant around the corner, were you could choose from Chinese, Carvery, Italian, buffet. So lots of choice. Forgot about this one as we stayed at Costa Teguise 3 times and then chose Puerto del Carmen, we prefer this resort and as our boys were getting older, preferred a villa with private pool and eat most meals out. Lanzarote offers good value food options.