Sandos Papagayo Hotel

I have recently returned home from my holiday at Sandos Papagayo so I thought I would leave an honest review. I arrived mid afternoon on a Wednesday at the start of October. The first thing I noticed on the way to the hotel was how big and impressive the reception looks from outside including the domed roof. When walking into the spacious, clean reception area I saw Rami, Odians and Carlos in reception so rather than joining the queue of a couple of people I went to say hello to them and let them know that I was there. The check in was nice and simple, had over my passport and the hotel voucher from the travel company. A few moments later after the receptionist had confirmed that the room was ready which was a bonus as it was almost 1500 so it was not guaranteed that my room would be available then. My suitcases where loaded onto one of the trolleys and off I went to my room. As I was told that it was Oktoberfest that afternoon the suitcases were left in the room and I went to get involved in the activities for Oktoberfest. As someone who does not drink that much there was not much pressure placed on me to get involved in the drinking games so I just watched these activities. As I had a room in the B block I was reminded how beautiful the views where, on most mornings I was enjoying a coffee from the coffee machine watching the people have an early morning splash in the sea / walk on the beach and watch ferries go between Lanzarote and Fuerteventura. For those people who do not like coffee there is the option of having decafe or tea to enjoy at the start of the day On most of the days I was actively involved in the activities provided by the animation team and I was amazed at how hard they worked and how they went above and beyond in making everyone feel welcomed. Even though I did not know any of the other holiday makers at the start of the holiday I felt that it was easy to make friends with them as most of the people I saw was friendly. I liked that when doing the archery or shooting there was two people doing it at the same time as it meant that the activity could be done within an hour. During the day some of my Spanish friends arrived and I had great fun in their company I was pleasantly pleased at the choice of food that was available, both at lunch time and also in the evenings, it is possible to eat beige food if I wanted and also there was an amazing choice of salads if I wanted to be healthy. Every lunch time and evening time there is the option of having roast meat, such as beef, turkey, pork, chicken. I had booked the Fusion restaurant twice, once for the Mexican and once for the Asian and this provided a nice change to the normal restaurant. As there is only a few people that can enter every 15 minutes there was never any queues when getting the food there. As I was too busy waking up slowly, I was not willing to get out of the room too early and I did not have any issue getting a sun bed around pool 2 and also noticed that

Second visit to this lovely hotel. Booked again for March 2025. Rooms are dated but very big and a few English channels on TV. Beds are super comfy with gorgeous quilts. The views are magnificent. Food is hot, varied and plentiful. Lovely clean restaurant and super service. Throughout the hotel the staff are friendly and helpful. Reception will order you a taxi if you need one. 5 euros to Playa Blanca Town. 10 mins drive away. A. Few small shops and bar to watch football 10 minutes walk. The pools are clean. Entertainment fabulous. A very chilled atmosphere.

Our third visit, since our first in December 2022 and again in September 2023, so we have now experienced the hotel over 3 different months. It was certainly hotter in July, but fortunately there was a cooling wind most of the time, which made it bearable. There are wide ranging opinions of Royal Elite, but from our point of view, it certainly is worth the extra £25 or so per person per night. We have found the staff to be extremely friendly and helpful and were surprised about recent negative comments concerning Reception. We have always enjoyed a great relationship with the staff on Reception, and in July the service we received from Ylenia and her colleagues was first class. Another really nice member of staff is John(Jhon is his Colombian name!) who manages the pool bar. He is a great asset to the hotel and is very popular with all his guests. It’s always difficult to mention other star members of staff, but Erica,Ana and their colleagues in the Royal Elite restaurant give wonderful service. We have spoken to Carlos, the Manager, several times, and he has always been very approachable and helpful. So, we are looking forward to our next visit, hopefully in December.

Another stay in this hotel. Stayed for one week. Did the elite package. Room was ok had a few a problems with the shower,safe and bathroom door handle went to reception all problems sorted very quickly. Bed was really comfortable, cleaning of bedrooms was ok did the basics. Food was good always found something to eat. Did book the Mexican and Asian very good enjoyed both worth a go and it’s something different to try instead of the restaurant.We ate in the snack bar for lunch enjoyed it the cook was amazing always on the go making sure pizzas chips burgers etc were cooked and ready for you 10 out 10 the this gentleman. Pool areas could have done with a mop.staff pleasant. Animation team are very good always something going on if you wanted to join in. Entertainment was good really enjoyed the one saxophone player. Well worth a stay. We will be returning to this hotel again had another great holiday..

Initial impressions were that the hotel was massive it has a military style operation to clean the place top to bottom and generally they do this flawlessly. Watching them mop the foyer shows how much this hotel spends on cleaning. My overall rating was positive, I don’t feel it’s star rating is rated high enough however there is the following issues. The snack bar that’s open from 11pm onwards that toastie machine is awfully slow. The entertainment is questionable at times. We had a guy on that absolutely loved himself a saxophone player that managed to clear half the room. The other galf the room just spent time shouting and speaking to each other because that was more entertaining than him. If your in charge of the entertainment PLEASE watch the audience reaction too see if it engages people. The restaurant Mexico / Chinese. Was poor extremely horrible selection of food. I was asked if I wanted to try some Chinese cooking wine that generally is used in the cooking process and not for drinking and smelt like vinegar. I turned this down. The app did not work properly because the room number was so long like H 10 101 or something. The luggage room was too small and over flowing. The pool stats hadn’t been checked for more than 3-4 months prior to my arrival and when brought up with management I was reinsured that the chlorine was at the correct levels and that the pool team would complete the sign as per their policy daily to notify guests that the pool is safe. Chlorine on my visit was not smelt at all during the visit which is unusual for a pool. After using the pool I became quite unwell and got a chest infection on holiday which wasted a full day and then my partner got the same. This is what prompted me to ask and check. NEVER GET IN A POOL THAT YOU CANNOT SMELL CHLORINE IN. The English version of the pool sign does not make any sense in English. Some parts are okay but “it is healthy to use sun cream” would be an example of a translation error for “ it is advisable to use sun cream to protect your health” there were much worse examples. The pool lifeguards have unfortunately been tasked with emptying bins tidying up and putting away sun beds. This means your child has no lifeguard protection whilst at the hotel pool. In most countries the role is taken seriously and the lifeguard cannot deviate from being only a lifeguard until they are given a break every so often to retain vigilance. The pool was really cold most days 18/22 which is just too chilly. A supplementary heater could be provided in one of the pools to at least cheer guests up when it’s cold. The staff are very funny and cheerful. The managers however look very stressed. The toilets are extremely stuffy and hot inside I’m the toilet cubicles outside the main canteen had “questionable” staining to its walls a sign and the floor which remained for the full stay and was not cleaned. Someone must have enjoyed the toilets on more than one occasion. The food v

Wow! What an incredible holiday. We stayed at Sandos for 1 week and the amount of fun we’ve had as a family was truly memorable. The hotel is beautiful. On arrival the receptionists helped us navigate to our room with a map and also booked us into the two restaurants, Mexican and Asian, so we didn’t miss out due to high demand. The hotel itself is extremely clean the room is very spacious with espresso machine which was nice and with beautiful sea views. House keeping was also very neat and tidy fresh towels and supplies with body wash and shampoo and conditioner. The buffet was incredible, so much to choose from every night and children tried almost everything it was all delicious. The staff are all very friendly saying hello. The beach is amazing for snorkelling so many fish to see. It was also my husband’s birthday and we celebrated with champagne, cakes and a sing song with the animation team it was a memory we will cherish. The best part about our stay was the outstanding, highly professional animation team. Games and competitions throughout the day for adults and children including the evening performances and certificates, so much fun. Ramy an incredible entertainer with so much charisma. Paula has the biggest heart and is so funny. Rauls loves a joke and he is truly a great friend. Ozi has a big place in our hearts, as a family we can’t thank you enough for the love and entertainment you have given us over the week, a gentleman and a legend! We are so grateful for all of you making our holiday so special. If we could give more then 5 stars we would. We are already booking for next summer. Thank you to everyone at Sandi’s papagayo. Love Hollie, Colin, Poppy and Matilda X