AluaVillage Fuerteventura

Just back from 7 days at Alua Village with my partner and children, and honestly loved the place. Let’s start with the path to the beach. Marketed as “a short walk to the beach.” Reader, it is not short, it is not a walk, and by day three I was referring to it exclusively as ‘The Ascent’. I watched a man in flip-flops attempt it with a cocktail in each hand like some kind of tequila-based sherpa. He did not make it. None of us made it, not really. Parts of me are still down there. Now, the food. I need to be honest with you: I went into this holiday expecting beige, sad, cruise-ship buffet fare, and instead the kitchen absolutely bodied it every single night. Themed evenings that actually delivered on the theme. Hash browns so good I developed a genuine emotional attachment and may have grieved a little on the flight home. I went back for seconds so consistently that by day four the chef and I were on nodding terms, possibly the beginning of a beautiful friendship. Special shout out to the gentleman poolside in the American flag thong, a man so committed to the bit he looked like Stretch Armstrong’s stretchier, more patriotic cousin. He appeared every single day, glistening, unbothered, a national monument in his own right. Speaking of the actual entertainment team — they ran every activity almost entirely in French, with the manic energy of people who’ve been personally promised eternal life if enough guests do the chicken dance. My girlfriend, zero French, threw herself into it anyway, arriving to every move about a second and a half late, like buffering human WiFi. Some sun beds were claimed by towel at what I can only assume was 3am by a shadow network of guests who then did not reappear until sunset, if at all. I have never seen these people. Room cleaned to an unsettling degree of perfection every day, staff so relentlessly cheerful I started to suspect one of them was actually solar-powered. Would we go back? Immediately, if only to see if Stretch Armstrong is still out there, holding the line. Would my knees survive a second Ascent? Overall a great stay for couples and families alike — we’d happily return.

We booked a 7-night all-inclusive holiday with TUI for myself, my husband and our 16-year-old daughter, and overall we had a really lovely stay. The hotel is beautiful, clean and well maintained. Our room was cleaned every day and all the staff we met were very friendly, helpful and polite. We upgraded to My Favourite Club as soon as we arrived after reading so many positive reviews about it, and I can honestly say it was absolutely worth it. The upgrade not only gave us a large and spacious room with a lovely sea view and a large terrace, but also included higher-quality drinks, which was a really nice added benefit. The only downside was that we were on the ground floor and there was occasionally a sewage smell outside in the corridor. The hotel facilities are very good. There are two large outdoor pools, a smaller children's pool with a slide, an indoor pool, sauna, steam room and gym, so there is plenty to keep you occupied. The food was another positive. There was plenty of choice at every meal and we always found something we enjoyed. We certainly never went hungry! The only issue we had around the pool was the lack of available sunbeds. Unfortunately, some guests would put towels down very early in the morning and then disappear for most of the day, making it difficult for other guests to find a sunbed. This is something we feel the hotel could manage better. For us, the biggest disappointment was the entertainment. A lot of it was in French and we found some of it quite boring. The entertainment team was generally a bit of a let-down, especially for English-speaking guests. There was one lovely girl (I'm sorry, I don't remember her name) who was fluent in English and was really friendly, engaging and welcoming towards the English-speaking guests. She was a credit to the team. Another thing we weren't particularly comfortable with was the hotel's approach to topless sunbathing and extremely revealing swimwear around the pool. We saw a woman sunbathing topless and a man wearing a very revealing thong-style swimsuit, with a visible outline at the front that appeared to be an erection. We appreciate that everyone has different views and that this may be acceptable in some holiday destinations, but personally we didn't feel this was appropriate around a family pool where children are present. I mentioned our concerns to reception and was told that this was allowed. This was disappointing to us, although obviously this is a matter of personal opinion. On the positive side, all of the reception staff we dealt with spoke English, which made everything very easy for us. The cleaners were also fantastic. Even when there was a language barrier, they always found a way to communicate with us and were friendly and helpful every day. A particular thank you to the two gentlemen at reception who helped us when we arrived and checked us in, especially the tall gentleman with glasses. Unfortunately, I don't know either of their names, but both were exceptionally helpful, friendly and welcoming from the moment we arrived. They made a great first impression and really stood out to us. Thank you both for all your help! Despite these few negatives, we genuinely loved the hotel and had a fantastic holiday. The sandy beach is at the bottom of the hotel. It is quite a walk, but definitely worth it. On the way, you can feed the Moroccan squirrels, which are absolutely adorable! We would also definitely recommend visiting the zoo, going go-karting and taking a trip to the famous Popcorn Beach. There is plenty to see and do outside the hotel as well. Overall, we would definitely recommend this hotel. Despite a few things that could be improved, particularly the entertainment and sunbed situation, we had a wonderful holiday and would happily return.

A varied review. On one hand there is nothing wrong with the hotel. Great location, food is nice, staff are friendly enough and the hotel is spotless But, there are definitely areas to improve and be wary of The rooms If you are elderly or struggle with mobility, don't even bother. The rooms are situated on a slope. We had the literal bottom room next to the beach. Are fairly fit, and were out of breath walking up each day to reception . A 5 minute walk up hill. It further than it sounds! The rooms internally are fine. We did have an ant problem. Noticed half way through our holiday. Apparently they were sprayed 3 times whilst we were there but this didn't resolve it. We were offered a new room, but by this point there was only 2 days left. So the hotel did try to resolve this Meal times were fine. Decent variety of food. Mostly self service for everything. You'd be hard pushed to find a staff member though. The al a carte, wasn't worth it. Staff who didn't smile once or seemed quite abrupt, quite limited menu No noise problems The beach again was beautiful, but not for the infirm, or any body who struggles with walking or fitness. The entertainment Where do I start Let me preface this by saying I'm sure all the guys and girls are lovely But. It's evident they literally aren't interested in English people. They would visit most tables and quicky pass us by. The French have their literal own shows at dinner time, and on one day had a white party, that literally only a quarter of the hotel knew about. Thus alienating half of the guests. All children's entertainment was in French And then at night, the first language was French, translated into Spanish, and then loosely into English by a person who struggled with the language. Didn't make sense at all Every hotel I've ever stayed at uses English as a universal language, not even being biased. It was highly unusual for a Spanish island. The shows. I'll never understand why hotels don't outsource most entertainment. The African acrobats were great, but then the in-house team did the rest It was like 6 kids has been handed a mic and told to do something entertaining. They couldn't sing, and there were only 2 probable trained dancers. Lots of awkward pauses, for costume changes. And lots of English walking out . Again not a slur against the performers, they were full of energy but just a strange setup. Sunbeds. Plentiful, no real rush to get them Shops. Ensure you get a receipt for anything! Had to argue for 30 minutes when my sunglasses broke after a day. They asked for my receipt and I told them they didn't issue one. Her reply was I do , for every transaction Funnily enough, for the next 30 minutes, she didn't provide one to any shopper purchasing Taxi cost 11 euros to the next major town Transfers were spot on with TUI A nice break away, but some definite upgrades would go a long way in improving for the mixed nationality clientele, although after 100s of reviews saying the same thing, they're not really that bothered about alienating certain nationalities

Lovely hotel with good sized rooms, decent food and friendly quiet atmosphere. This isn't a large bustling resort, and we were pleasantly surprised by just how calm and relaxing the general vibe was. Food was generally pretty good with a varied selection, and decent quality throughout. Dessert choices were quite disappointing, although the Mr Whippy machine kept me and the kids happy! Pools were very nice and were never too busy or noisy. Suggestion to hotel management : maybe hose the pool areas every evening to keep them clean. Staff were very welcoming and friendly. Even bar staff, who have a thankless task were all friendly. Rooms were spacious, well equipped and clean with daily bed-making. The opening hours of the pool bar was far too small (2.45pm til 6pm) and evening entertainment wasn't the best for us personally. On occasion, we were quite put off by flies in the restaurant landing on food! They should invest in insect rappers or something. The My Favorite Club perk is fantastic - stocked minibar in the room, segregated dining area and best of all is the lounge with fresh snacks, fridges packed with soft drinks, beer, wine and a bar full of spirits for you to help yourself to. A short walk (under 10 minutes) to the sandy beach was also nice! Overall a few improvements could push this rating to 5. We stayed for 7 nights and stayed at the hotel throughout except for an afternoon trip to Morro Jable. I think this was just about the right length of stay.

We had a great time, don’t always believe people’s reviews. We were welcomed at check in with food and drinks which was unexpected and welcome after a long journey. There was a slight mix up with the room but the staff resolved this straight away and could not have been more helpful.