I know I probably say this every time but OHMYGOSHTHATWASTHEBESTHOLIDAYEVER. You know when everything just clicks and the hotel is great and the flights are do-able and the food is nice? That. Well that was our holiday in a nutshell, so if you’re in a rush you possibly don’t need to read any more. But if you’re searching for holiday inspiration, read on …

The Hotel

We stayed at Lanzarote Gardens in Costa Teguise, which is part of the H10 hotel group. I’d never heard of H10 before and at first I was dubious – it just doesn’t sound like a very enchanting hotel chain does it? I mean, it’s no ‘Hotel Du Vin’ or ‘Four Seasons’ is it?

More fool me.

It turned out to be the nicest, most kid-friendly hotel we’ve ever stayed in.

The whole complex was only three storeys high, and we were on the ground floor, so no having to lug a buggy up and down the stairs. Winner. As you can probably see from the photos, the décor wasn’t beautiful or particularly insta-worthy, but it was ultra-modern and spotless. We had a big balcony which overlooked the pool but was far enough away to feel private. The balcony was so lovely and sunny that most of our daytimes were spent out there, and we didn’t feel the need to go and sunbathe by the pool (not that the kids would have let us sunbathe, but, y’know).

There was one restaurant within the hotel which was a buffet set up, and all the kids’ food was served from a pretend boat. The hotel had thought of everything you could possibly need if you have little ones … even disposable bibs … and the best thing about it being a buffet was that there was always guaranteed to be something to please the fussiest of kids/most teethingest of babies.

Lyra and Rich spent ages in the swimming pools. There were three: an excellent-but-tiny baby pool, a kids’ pool complete with slides and a pirate ship, and an adults’ pool (which we ended up calling ‘the warm pool’). This would be my one criticism … if you’re gonna have kids’ pools, surely these should be the warm ones?!

The kids’ activities were brill, especially for Lyra’s age (3-4 years). On one of the days we were there, the pool bar was transformed into a craft lover’s dream, all glitter and pipe cleaners and PVA glue, and we had to decorate Easter eggs and then create baskets to pop them into. And the entertainment staff were fantastic: essentially a bunch of twenty somethings who ran the kids’ clubs during the day, and danced and sung their hearts out in the shows at night. OH the energy those guys must have. It looked like so much fun that I almost wished that I was 20 years old and looking for a summer job again. There was a different themed show every night (Lyra was utterly entranced by the Disney show), as well as a baby disco and a kids’ disco.

The Area {Costa Teguise}

We were only away for four days, so other than venturing to the beach, a five minute walk away, we didn’t do much exploring. So apologies if you were hoping for a review of all of the tourist attractions that Lanzarote has to offer …

But what I will say is that the beach is fab and once again, family-friendly. Lanzarote is a volcanic island, but the beach at Costa Teguise is made up of lovely imported golden sand from the Sahara (Rich didn’t believe me when I told him that the sand had been imported. Cheers for that!).

Costa Teguise itself isn’t huge, just nicely big enough to explore in a couple of hours, and I’ve never been to a holiday resort so safe and clean. Think low storey, pristine white-painted buildings and palm-tree lined streets.

On our last night we had our one and only non-hotel meal. (#Rocknroll). We went to a restaurant called El Maestro where the tapas and steaks were delicious. However, whilst meandering the streets afterward, we came across an even more child-friendly restaurant in Iguana Cocktail Bar which overlooks a playground so you can sip your mojito whilst the kids knacker themselves out after dinner.

The Highlights

I will leave you with our highlights.

My highlight? Definitely the hotel staff. As well as the aforementioned entertainment team, you could tell that everyone who works there – from the restaurant staff to the person on the front desk to the cleaners – genuinely cares about kids. Lyra received numerous high fives and Jenson’s toes were tickled daily.

Rich’s highlight? The poolside ambience. There was nearly always something fun or interesting going on poolside: be it yoga, a kids’ competition, or a chilled Ibiza-vibe DJ set.

Lyra’s highlight? The little Lindt chocolate bunnies that the cleaners left us one day.

Jenson concurred with Lyra.

Have you stayed in a H10 Hotel before? Anywhere you’d recommend?

Do you have any must-see/must-do tips for Lanzarote?