Secrets Lanzarote Resort & Spa is the second Secrets property we’ve visited in the Canary Islands. Secrets Bahia Real Resort & Spa, located in Fuerteventura, was the first all-inclusive we enjoyed (review) in the Canary islands. Both of these Canary Islands Secrets properties are adult-only and designed for couples to have a relaxing time.
Award Booking Secrets Lanzarote Resort & Spa
I used 71K Hyatt points to book a basic double room (see image below) at this resort.
How to use your suite upgrade award at Secrets Lanzarote Resort & Spa
Despite the published Hyatt restrictions for using CAT 1-7 certificates & Suite Upgrade Awards at all-inclusive properties, it can still be done by calling the Globalist Concierge (review). It is important to note that you must not call the Hyatt Globalist line for this purpose, where your request will simply be denied quoting the rules.
Hyatt Concierge was able to successfully apply my suite upgrade award to a Junior Suite Ocean View Preferred Club (see screenshot from the Hyatt app below).
Drive from Lanzarote airport to Secrets Lanzarote Resort & Spa
We rented a car from Hertz and drove around 9 miles to reach the resort. There was plenty of free parking at the front, but we noticed that there was no one at the entrance to welcome you or to help with the luggage. However, the check-in was very quick and the front desk staff explained all the benefits of Preferred Club (exclusive lounge, swimming pool and some restaurants).
Secrets Lanzarote Resort & Spa Lobby
The lobby is very big, stretching from the entrance all the way to the pools and restaurants (see images below).
Wi-Fi Speed
Wi-Fi speeds are fantastic at this property and I had no trouble uploading 4k images.
Preferred Club Junior Suite Ocean View Room
The suite is on the smaller side (37 m²) with a separate seating area and a bedroom with a small patio (see images below).
Despite the fact that two double mattresses are joined together to make it appear like a super large mattress (see image below), they are very comfortable with two good sized pillows.
Room Air Conditioning
We noticed that the room A/C was not decreasing to less than 19.5 degrees centigrade, even though both the thermostat can be lowered to a lower temperature. We were comfortable during our stay after a whole day of running the A/C, but wanted to mention it here for travelers who prefer lower temperatures when sleeping under the comforters. Placing a call to the maintenance personnel and cleaning out the vent filter did not help fix the issue. This seems to be a new trend with several 5-star hotels in recent years.
Preferred Club Lounge
While the lounge has no cappuccino machine, it has plenty of soft drinks, fruit, desserts and seating space (see images below). The food and drinks are promptly refilled by the staff at regular intervals.
Fitness Center & Spa
You must walk out of the property onto a spiral staircase to enter the Spa & Gym section, one level below (see the image).
Fitness Center
You are greeted by a power plate at the entrance and there are plenty of towels along with a water fountain near the toilet area. There is plenty of TechnoGym equipment (treadmills, ellipticals, bikes, free weights, benches, pull up/down machines etc.,). The only thing I did not see was a Smith machine or any type of free weight plates. I enjoyed working out every day here in the afternoon and avoided the mornings due to congestion.
Spa (paid access only)
Preferred Club members get one day’s entry free, but we did not book for the spa access since it had no sauna. Spa contained a few hydrotherapy pools and a hot tub, along with several massage options.
Preferred Club Dining
Once you log into the Secrets smartphone app, it is easy to find which restaurants are open that day and which are exclusive to Preferred Club member dining. While we were visiting, there was no need to make reservations for any dinners, which was different compared to the Fuerteventura Secrets location. Dress code was similar between the two and they discouraged sleeveless shirts and slippers.
Coco Café
Coco Cafe was right next to our Preferred Club Suite which we visited quite often for desserts and drinks between 11AM to 6PM. They also served ham & cheese sandwiches that were toasted as needed.
Piano Bar
Piano bar served good drinks and there was live entertainment on some nights while we were staying at the resort.
Oceana Seafood Restaurant (lunch & dinner)
Bluewater Grill Steakhouse and Specialty Restaurant (dinner only)
We went to this restaurant twice and ordered the same dishes. This steakhouse was closed two out of 4 nights we stayed, and I recommend planning a meal around its opening times.
Portofino Italian Restaurant (breakfast)
We had breakfast here everyday which is a combination of buffet (for fruits, bread and cereals) plus menu-based ordering (e.g., eggs cooked any style).
- Fruit section was excellent with a large variety.
- Bread section was not very interesting and it was the same variety every day.
- Muesli and cereal section was not very tasty (usually muesli is very good in Europe).
- Scrambled eggs were missing flavor for some reason and we ended up ordering fried eggs.
- Sausages did not taste good when I ordered them one time.
- The service was hit & miss at breakfast time and staff was delaying bringing the hot egg dishes to the table.
- We did not like eating cold eggs, but weren’t allowed to walk to the omelette station to order eggs ourselves and bring them back.
- One day, we noticed mold on the bagel we ordered and the manager and serving staff were astonished inspecting it from multiple angles. Of course, these things happen and we did not make a big deal out of it, but I wanted to mention it since this is a 5-star accommodation and should not be serving molded bagels if they adhere to strict standards. The food service manager reached out and apologized for the moldy bagel.
Portofino Italian Restaurant (dinner)
We went one night here for dinner and ordered lasagna and chicken marsala (see image below) and both had very little taste and we left disappointed.
Barefoot Grill (lunch)
We ordered some chicken wings, chicken tenders and curry chicken one day and we did not enjoy the taste of any of them. We ended up leaving and going to Oceana Seafood Restaurant and never returned to this restaurant during our stay.
Gohan Sushi Bar
We never tried this place during our stay here.
Lanzarote Scenic Attractions
Lanzarote offers a lot of adventures for interested travelers, but we were there to get over the jet lag and relax in an all-inclusive resort. Since we had a rental car, we chose to drive one day to visit two scenic attractions.
Cueva de los Verdes Cave
Tickets must be purchased online for this attraction (link) and you must arrive 15 minutes early to find parking. It was quite congested even on a weekday, but it was an interesting experience despite the scorching sun outside while waiting for the tour. I recommend taking an umbrella, since there are no shaded areas around the parking lot and the cave entrance.
Mirador del Río Scenic View
This is located 6 miles from the first attraction and takes less than 10 minutes to park the car, pay for the tickets and take pictures. It was quite windy up there to stay longer to enjoy the view, but there is a large cafeteria there with large glass windows offering the same views.
Notable positive aspects of Secrets Lanzarote
- Hard working and pleasant staff members.
- Beautiful, clean resort with an oceanfront location.
- Free parking with a lot of space.
- Excellent fitness center.
- Well maintained swimming pools.
- Excellent customer service at lunch & dinner time.
Notable negative aspects of Secrets Lanzarote
- Ordering food to your room costs 10 Euros delivery fee.
- Spa usage costs extra, even for Preferred Club members.
- Customer service could be improved at breakfast (train the staff to bring hot eggs to the table the moment they are made).
- They must open more restaurants with different cuisines, considering the large volume of guests they can accommodate in the resort.
- Bluewater Grill Steakhouse was closed every other night during our stay, which is not acceptable when you have very few restaurants.
- The bread basket is the same every day at every restaurant (one white and one brown version of the same bread).
Conclusion
While the Secrets Lanzarote doesn’t quite feel like a 5-star property, it offers stellar value for staying here with Chase/Hyatt points. If you are a Globalist, you can either use your SUA by calling the Hyatt Concierge or take a chance to get upgraded to a suite at the time of check in. Globalists will get Preferred Club access either way, which is the best way to enjoy these all-inclusive properties. Everyone’s taste in food is different, so it is hard to write reviews on restaurants in all-inclusive resorts. We are willing to return here another time to try a few more dishes at the restaurants.