We have just arrived back from the Costa Mar, Lanzarote and we had a very good holiday. The apartment was large and basically kept very clean. The maid came every day to clean and make beds etc. The apartment could definitely do with refurbishment especially the bathroom as the bath had a small hole in it and the tiles had seen 'better days'. However the breakfast buffet in the restaurant was good and there was plenty of choice. The hotel is in the middle of matagorda and puerto del carmen and is right opposite the beach. This is the second time we have been to this area of Lanzarote and we love it.

gill and dave, scotland
8th JAN 2008

My husband and i have just returned from the costa mar and we were pleasantly surprised the rooms were large and kept very clean, although it could do with an uplift, the maids were in every day. The hotel staff are very pleasant and can't help enough, anything you want they will do their best to get for you. I was dreading the cockroaches but i never saw one, it was a quiet resort but you could easily walk into puerto del carmen or go the other way into matagorda, overall we had a great time and would definately go back.

Went to lanzarote for new year and had great time, rooms at the costa mar were a good size but could do with a refurbishment we had a nice size roof terrace that overlooked the sea and pool, it was easy to get around by either walking or taxi these were great value and frequent, we only paid 3 euro's from resort centre to hotel on new years eve at 3am......weather was great but got a bit colder during evening so needed a jumper...plenty to do and would definately return sometime in the future lot's of places to eat but avoid lani's it is dreadful and overpriced for the rubbish they serve.
There were far too many irish bars especially in in the port area and they seemed to cater just for their own on new years eve but we still had great time and would reccommend resort and hotel.

London

My husband, mother and 2 children have just returned from a 10 day break at the Costa Mar and apart from pretty poor weather, we couldn't really knock the accomodation. The Costa Mar is just over the road from the long beach of Matagroda and although the sunbeds/parasols are a slight rip off like in every country, there is plenty of sand to dump your towel on! A SPAR supermarket is situated just opposite the Costa Mar and is open from 7am - 10pm, so handy if you arrive at the complex during the evening so you can stock up on milk etc. They also do great 'hot' fresh bread rolls that must be tried! The maids come in daily and give you clean towels which is a first for anywhere I have stayed before and work their backsides off keeping the grounds of the complex spotless. The rooms are fairly basic, but when you are on holiday, you only really need your room to shower and sleep in, so in my eyes basic is all you really need. As long as it is clean, that to me is what matters. We only used the restaurant once and that was on our first night because we arrived about 6pm and the kids were starving. A bit of a rip off if you are paying each night - 12 Euros per adult and 6 Euros per child.Although it is a buffet, the restaurant area is very small, therefore you feel like you are eating in a goldfish bowl with everyone looking at each other. There are many many restaurants in the main town itself which are very reasonable and far cheaper if you haver children in tow as the kids meals are approximately 3 Euros each. The main town is probably about a 15-20 minute walk away or you could get a bus from the bottom of the road where the Costa Mar is situated which costa 1 Euro with a journey time of a couple of minutes. We stayed in a 2 bedroom apartment which was very spacious, so we weren't tripping over each other!. The pool area was okay at the time of year we went as the complex wasn't full, but to me it would be far too small during peak season. The baby pool is tiny and can fit about 3 children in comfortably, so in August it would be dreadful I think. The laundry service at the Costa Mar is good - 2 large washing machines and a tumble dryer which cost us 7 Euros to use both. A bit pricey, but handy to clean those sand ridden towels. The check out time was 12pm which was later than most places. This was good for us cos our flight wasn't til 5.30pm, so we didn't have to walk around with all our cases looking homeless for too long! The weather wasn't all that, but then we couldn't have expected blistering hot sunshine for the time of year we went. We did manage to get a bit of colour on the last couple of days. The temperature was around 70C and was quite windy, but you could still wear shorts etc. The bar area where the kids disco and evening entertainment is done was also very small and not a place I would like to be during peak season. There is about 15 tables with chairs which are right on top of each other, so in peak season it would be a nightmare, plus the stage area can only fit about 5 children comfortably, so not a place I would like to be in July/August. I think I've waffled enough now! The accomodation was very comfortable in a quieter area of Puerto Del Carmen and I can't praise the staff enough for the friendliness and cheeriness which counteracted the bad weather we had!