Puerto Del Carmen, Cinco Plazas Apartments Review

Overall Rating

The resort!

The apartment!

*** PHOTO'S AVAILABLE ON MY WEBSITE ***

http://www.whitehaven.ukf.net/cinco_plazas/
i. Booking
Unfortunately, following high expectations, our stay at Cinco Plazas wasn't enjoyable. We booked our holiday 14 months in advance, having experienced an enjoyable stay in Costa Teguise three years previous. On booking we were assured that Cinco Plazas was a wonderful place to stay, was quiet and ideal for families. We opted for a two bedroom apartment.

i. The journey
On beginning our journey we should have realised that our holiday was to become a nightmare. Early into our journey to Manchester Airport, a rabbit ran straight towards the headlights of our car - the rabbit had no chance... this upset the children.

i. No in-flight food
Then when the Britannia flight was underway, we were informed by the cabin crew that our in-flight meal hadn't been booked - yet it was stated on our tickets that it had. After a little gentle persuasion we obtained the meals that we were entitled to.

i. Alarm bells
The transfer to Cinco Plazas took around 15 minutes. On arrival at Cinco Plazas we were allocated our accommodation. Alarm bells should have begun to ring as soon as the key for A13 (unlucky for some) was handed over. Cinco Plazas comprises of three Plazas: Plaza Amarillo, Plaza del Sol and Plaza Montana - we were staying in Plaza Amarillo.

i. Apartment faults
On entering the apartment we found many lights didn't work, some bulbs were even missing from their housings. A couple of electric sockets were broken - a hazard for children. Mould was present around the bath/shower. The toilet seat was broken. Wicker seating was damaged. Window pane (sharp) edges were exposed. Tiles around the bathroom sink were cracked and some were missing. The floor was stained from previous guests at the apartment.

i. The pool
The pool area was dangerous for children, depths were marked but a fancy surround at the pools edge created an overhang which made it almost impossible to exit the pool in an emergency. Tiling around the pool also left a lot to desire. Some were cracked and many had grout missing. Because of the cracked tiles, my children sustained cuts to their feet - it was felt necessary to ban them from the pool area because of this.

i. Rowdy revellers
When night-time arrived, our problems continued with noisy neighbours. To the right (A12) were a noisy English family - generally following a night of heavy drinking. At around 3am, they would arrive home shouting and diving into the pool to everyone's annoyance. A quick trip to the Thomson Rep. quietened them down a little. To the left (A14) a Spanish family lived in private accommodation. Every night at around 11pm the washing machine began, then at 12pm-1am they would have a bout of arguments. On top of all this, music could be heard from the local entertainment. When the music subsided, rowdy revellers could be heard on the road to the rear of our apartment. At around 5am every morning refuse was collected... the beep-beep of a refuse wagon can be VERY annoying!

i. Sunbed vultures
In the mornings, if you wished to sunbathe, you had to compete with the sunbed vultures that swarmed to ensure that they obtained 5-6 beds... even when they only used two.

i. Cleaning
Linen was changed once a week and cleaning was carried out 5 times a week. Cleaning consisted of bin emptying and a quick mop of the floor with some disinfectant. Scrubbing would have got the floor clean as we discovered after our youngest son had a bout of sickness! Simply giving the floor a quick mop wasn't sufficient. When the floor dried you could still feel dirt under foot.

i. The hill
According to 'Thomson Summer Sun', which we booked our holiday through, Cinco Plazas was set on a "small incline, approximately 450 metres away from the beach". Because a small incline was quoted and that the complex was close to the beach, our minds were swayed. I suffer from a medical condition so a steep hill would not be ideal. On arriving, I was stunned to find that the "small incline" had grew to a steep 1-in-4 hill. The hill had to be negotiated two-three times daily. It was also noted that the beach was not 450 metres away. It was more like 1,000 metres.

i. Gold award
On checking out of Cinco Plazas it was noted that a gold award had been given to the complex - we were very surprised... until we looked closer to find that it was awarded in 1994. The combined Plazas may have been outstanding then, but have obviously been neglected since.

i. Flat battery
On arriving back at Manchester we proceeded to the BCP Carminder car park... only to discover that our car battery was completely dead - a final reminder that this had been our holiday from hell.

i. Puerto del Carmen
Having written about Cinco Plazas, I must finish with a comment about the resort of Puerto del Carmen - it is a lovely place that would be enjoyed by all. If you can obtain decent accommodation, combined with an amazing resort - you would have the makings of a brilliant holiday.

Members' Comments onSean01's Review

• 2912nash on 2nd Jul 2006

  THEY ARE VERY WRONG. APARTMENTS ARE AMAZING. MANY OF THEIR COMPLAINTS ARE NOTHING TO DO WITH CINCO PLAZAS. THEY DON'T KNOW WHAT THERE TALKING ABOUT. APARTMENT13...ONLY MYTH AND SILLY SUPERSTITION. FAULTS...THERE ARE NONE WHAT SO EVER. MY ROOM WAS IMMACULATE AND VERY WELL KEPT. MAID SERVICE 5 TIMES A WEEK. POOLS...FANTASTIC. ALL VERY LARGE, VERY WELL KEPT AND CLEAN. LOVELY. NOT DANGEROUS IF YOU DON'T RUN AROUND. ROWDY...NOT AT ALL. CINCO PLAZAS IS IN A SUPERB LOCATION AND THE ONLY NOISES ARE FROM CRYING BABIES OR HAPPY KIDS. IT IS A HOLIDAY,,,,PEOPLE ARE SUPPOSED TO BE HAPPY. IF YOU DON'T LIKE A LITTLE NOISE, THEN GO STAY SOMEWHERE ELSE. HOW SILLY. SUNBEDS....PLENTY AVAILABLE AND EASY SOLUTION IF THERE'S NONE AVAILABLE....GO GET ONE FROM ANOTHER POOL (THERE ARE 3), OR ASK RECEPTION AND THEY WILL SORT YOU OUT IMMEDITELY. OR GET UP EARLIER. CLEANING....10/10. MAID SERVCE 5 DAYS A WEEK. THEY EVEN CLEAN YOUR FLOOR, MAKE YOUR BEDS AND WASH YOUR DIRTY PLATES UP, NOW TO ME THAT IS NOT POOR IS IT! THE HILL....HARDLY A HILL. A SLIGHT SLOPE. IT IS LANZAROTE YOUR STAYING IN. THE LAND OF VOLCANOES. IF YOU DIDN'T LIKE IT THEN YOU DIDN'T LOOK THE AREA UP AT ALL. IT IS FINE. TAKE A STEADY STROLL BACK UP ONLY A COUPLE TIMES A DAY. GOLD AWARD...1994. WELL TO ME AND EVERYONE I KNOW, IT IS STILL EXCEPTIONAL AT THESE APARTMENTS. I DON'T SEE HOW YOU CAN COMPLAIN SO MUCH. FLAT BATTERY...CAN ANYONE TELL ME WHY YOU SHOULD RATE CINCO PLAZAS 0/10 BECAUSE YOUR CAR BATTERY WAS FLAT BACK IN UK??? BAFFLES ME. WHATS THAT ABOUT? RUNNING RABBIT OVER...POOR BUNNY BUT AGAIN NOTHING TO DO WITH CINCO PLAZAS. IF YOU WANT TO KNOW MORE, THEN LOOK ON THOMPSON WEBSITE WHERE PICTURES VIDEOS ETC ARE AVILABLE. ALSO THE REPS ARE AWESOME.