Hotel Cesar Lanzarote

From start to finish Hotel Cesar was exceptional. The class of the decor and quality of the interiors was a sensory delight. Then there was the peaceful ambience, the level of care from the staff, then of course the exquisite food produce. Worth every penny. So sad to leave.

Like being a test guest at an Instagram-ready hospitality college. Although we initially passed on their New Year’s dinner offer for a 350-euro-per-person tasting menu, that did not stop them from pressuring us a second and third time. At the moment when you must rely on a hotel for dinner (like a public holiday), they halt room service and squeeze you for more cash. The room I reserved and had confirmed was supposed to be the bright and spacious, 40-square-meter South East corner room with ocean view terrace, multiple windows and a private bathroom with free-standing tub. This room is unique in the hotel and offered at the second-highest price point, so I was astonished to get a room two doors down with no windows, no tub and which measured just over 25-square-meters. Usually, when your choice of room isn’t available, you get an upgrade—not downgraded two categories below the room you’ve booked. Our room was over-crowded with furniture and too many (dying) plants, and was significantly smaller and much darker than the one we were led to believe we were getting. Besides the main entry door, which cannot be left open at night and have no screens for those who wish to forgo air-conditioning, the only window in this room was onto the bathroom (where one is treated with a view of their spouse, partner, friend or family member having a bowel movement). I felt claustrophobic and cheated that I had booked in this poorly-ventilated room at a top tier price. Too much frivolous and non-functional design elements—like an odd, mouldy toilet roll dispenser, which falls over or gets wet when you shower. The entire bathroom floods since there is no barrier or shower curtain. Dental, sewing or shaving kits? Nope. Reading lights? Nada. Choice of pillows? Sorry (ours felt totally synthetic). TV or personal sound system? Fuhgeddaboudit. Many amenities one hopes for at a finer hotel are absent. Even some they promised, like a tea-making kit that never fully materialised. Dirty cups and glasses and soiled linens were not always replenished after cleaning. The terrace you share with neighbouring guests is clumsily organised, lacking privacy, and cluttered with even more (dying) plants. It’s the one area of the hotel which really isn’t very nice to look at, and clearly needs a redo beyond the current garden center potted palm labyrinth they seem to be aiming for. Dinner service felt like awkward, forced fun with way-too-bright track lighting, wonky ceramics and a table that wobbled. Half of the four dishes we ordered tasted bland despite the clouds of language around the chef’s reputation and local ingredients. The lack of a vegetarian main course (and veg options, in general) is puzzling. The friendly and polite staff cannot be faulted because the hotel is so obviously understaffed. We waited outside the front gates a couple times while our calls to reception went unanswered. During checkout, the woman who helped with our bill was visibly ill, and probably s

We stayed for 4 nights at The Cesar Hotel. From the moment we arrived everything was perfect. The hotel is exquisite and the staff were so kind and attentive. The decor is an interior designers dream. The furnishings are so tasteful and extremely high end. The Eight and Bob products were luxurious. The sea views from our balcony were fabulous. We could also watch the spectacular sunrises and sunsets. The traditional food was cleverly styled for modern tastes and delicious. The regional wine selection was very good and the staff were very helpful in guiding our choices. All the staff were exceptional, but special praise must go to Dora and Mate.

This is a beautiful place to stay. It was our first time in Lanzarote; we hired a car as we'd intended to explore the island, but the hotel was so lovely we only ventured out on one day of our six-day trip. There are only 20 rooms, and we felt like we were staying in a large house with few people (in a good way!). There's much that is wonderful, and a few minor things that could be improved. The hotel and pool and grounds are beautiful, designer-led, thought-through and easy to use. There was some trouble with sun-shades while we were there - the wind was too strong for the sun-shades and was breaking them. This is obviously an issue that needs resolving, as despite the wind the sun was strong. The staff moved a sun umbrella for us, and were as helpful as possible and we were grateful for this. The pool is lovely, a real pleasure. It was cool and refreshing. Several days there were no pool towels available by the pool (the shelves were empty), and it would have been nice to be able to get a dry towel occasionally. The restaurant staff were attentive for drinks/lunch orders while you were relaxing by the pool. Our room was terrific - particularly the bathroom, a fantastic shower and lovely products - but the terrace was a real disappointment. It was very public and exposed, there was a sunbed but no table/chairs to sit and have a drink, and we spent no time there. The room was also warmer than was ideal despite the ceiling fan. If we return - which we hope to do - we would go for a room without a terrace and with air conditioning (some of the rooms have this). The bed was possibly the most comfortable I've ever encountered (I wish I'd asked for the brand of the mattress). Considering all this good, and the thought that has clearly gone into making the rooms so comfortable, the pillows were something of a mystery. They were incredibly soft and very lumpy and really out of keeping with everything else. Housekeeping was ok, but they forgot to leave coffee pods (which were brought when we asked, thanks for that), and then removed the two extra we'd been given the next day (which seemed oddly mean, given how generous the staff were); they forgot to leave pool towels; they moved some of our things for no reason at all. It would have been nice, in a beautiful place like this, to have had some kind of turn-down service, but there was none. But these are small points, and the room was lovely and a pleasure to occupy. Breakfast was wonderful - a great buffet, plus the option of cooked extras (mainly eggs). The omelettes were superb. There was an issue with flies on the buffet which needs resolving. It was a bit odd that you could order eggs benedict or a 'bikini' (ham and cheese toasted sandwich) but would be charged extra for these, though everything else was included. We didn't really understand the logic of this. But breakfast was a pleasure each morning. We had dinner in the restaurant each night. The staff were a delight, and although the menu wa

We came for dinner here as we had heard so much about the hotel and were looking forward to seeing what it had to offer. Our booking was for 7:30pm and we informed the lady at the front desk that one of our friends was running a little late so should be joining us by 7:45pm or so. The staff seemed quite stressed and reminded us twice that, "they were fully booked" and we needed to tell our friend to ideally hurry up. My friend and I had a glass of Prosecco outside on the terrace first and some olives (you get 8 olives for 3.50). We wanted to have a look at the pool but were told this was not allowed due to privacy of guests. I like that they respect that, but seems a little strange not to be able to walk a little closer to the pool when no one was sat around it. We were the only table all evening on the terrace and inside there were some tables, but it seemed that they were ran off their feet and needed more staff perhaps. On two occasions we had to go inside to ask for things. The first time we wanted a little oil and salt and nobody came to check on how our meal was, so we went in ourselves to ask for this. Much later, they eventually offered us the dessert menu. Nobody returned to take our order, then when a waiter returned, he reminded us that he wasn't responsible for taking the food orders but he would try to pass it on. The dessert came later and the coffees even later after that despite ordering at the same time and asking for them to come at the same time. The food was beautifully presented, but the portions were incredibly small and the value for money is pretty poor. We shared a starter between the three of us (some Canarian cheese), and I had the tuna tartar. It was a very expensive meal and in all honesty, I have eaten in so many places on the island with better quality and service. It is a beautiful place and there were some lovely things about it. The German lady at the beginning showed us the private dining area and the lobby, which was lovely. I think in all honesty, in order to keep the business going, the prices / value for money needs to be looked at. Thank you.

Gorgeous property, an excellent chef at property providing delicious options, very good service without exception, and comfortable rooms with almost everything one expects at a 5 star hotel. We loved our stay and look forward to returning!