Best Adults-Only Stays in Arrecife, Lanzarote
Lanzarote runs on family resort traffic along Puerto del Carmen and Costa Teguise, so adults-only stays in Arrecife amount to a deliberate step sideways into the island's capital. Two properties here carry the tag: Villa VIK, a five-star boutique house in the residential streets of Playa del Cable, and El Charco Suites, an apart-suite a hundred and fifty metres from the seawater lagoon of El Charco de San Gines. One is a garden and terrace retreat near a quiet beach, the other a self-catering base in the middle of a working Canarian city. Both put adults firmly in the majority.
Arrecife is the least touristed place on Lanzarote, which is why an adults-only stay reads differently here. The Charco de San Gines still works as a fishing harbour, the terraces around it fill with islanders after nine, and Calle Leon y Castillo is a shopping street for residents rather than a souvenir run. The Castillo de San Jose above the port holds Manrique's contemporary art museum. Nothing in the capital is staged for holiday crowds, and that carries straight into the hotels.
Where to stay
Hotels in Arrecife
How much does an adults-only label actually change a stay on a volcanic island? On Lanzarote, quite a lot. The capital's two adults-only addresses avoid the pool-club soundtrack of the southern resorts entirely, and both sit in residential streets rather than on a promenade. The trade-off is honest, because no children's facilities also means no entertainment programme, and evenings around Playa del Cable are silent. Travellers who want that silence are exactly who this category is built for.
The Canary Islands sell adults-only accommodation harder than almost anywhere else in Spain, but usually in resort format, and Lanzarote's capital does it at house scale instead. Villa VIK is a five-star adults-only property in a quiet residential area of Playa del Cable, two hundred metres from a three-hundred-metre stretch of fine golden sand with calm water. Rooms are stylish and spacious, with luxury private bathrooms and a balcony or terrace apiece, and there is a garden, a sun terrace, outdoor furniture and an a la carte restaurant with a bar. An airport shuttle and parking are both available.
The second adults-only option in the island's capital sits in the old heart of Arrecife rather than on its edge. El Charco Suites is an apart-suite a hundred and fifty metres from El Charco de San Gines, the seawater lagoon that gives the district its name and its ring of fish terraces. The living room has a flat-screen satellite TV, a DVD player and a sofa bed, the kitchenette a hob, microwave and coffee machine, and the bedroom a king size bed with a shower room off it. Supermarkets, restaurants and banks are within ten minutes on foot.
Adults-only on Lanzarote makes most sense to travellers who intend to use the island rather than a pool, and the capital is the best-placed base for that. From Arrecife, Timanfaya National Park, the La Geria wine road with its Malvasia Volcanica hollows dug into black picon, and the Manrique sites at Guatiza and Haria are each within about forty minutes. El Charco Suites lists windsurfing and a tour desk among its activities, and El Cable Beach is roughly fifteen minutes away by car. Neither address has a children's pool, and neither needs one.
A traveler's perspectiveCouples booking adults-only in the capital tend to split their days between the island and the lagoon: an early drive to Timanfaya or La Geria, then a late afternoon back in the city and dinner on a terrace overlooking the Charco de San Gines. Couples and solo travellers get the most from both properties. Families need to look at the Reducto seafront hotels instead, where family rooms are standard.
Adults OnlyVilla VIK - Hotel Boutique
An adults-only house behind garden walls near Playa del Cable
Why guests love itVilla Vik Hotel Boutique is an adults-only, five-star hotel, so it is not an option for families with children. For couples and solo travelers it offers a quiet part of Playa del Cable, 200 metres from the beach, with stylish, spacious rooms that each have a luxury bathroom and a balcony or terrace. An a la carte restaurant, a bar, a garden and a sun terrace are on site. Rated 8.8 from 108 reviews, I would book it for peace and privacy.
Adults OnlyEl Charco Suites
A self-catering suite steps from the seawater lagoon
Why guests love itEl Charco Suites is an adults-only apart-suite, so it does not accept children and is not an option for a family holiday with kids. Families travelling with adult children could still use it: each suite has a living room with a sofa bed and a kitchenette with a hob, a microwave and a coffee machine. The El Charco de San Ginés lagoon is 150 metres away. Families with younger children should look at other accommodation in Arrecife.
Local tips
- 1Book Villa VIK if you want a garden and a beach two hundred metres away, and El Charco Suites if you would rather cook and walk to the lagoon terraces.
- 2Ask about the airport shuttle at both addresses, Lanzarote Airport is close enough that transfers are quick and taxis fill up on evening arrivals.
- 3Shop at the supermarkets within ten minutes of El Charco Suites on your first evening, the kitchenette has a hob, a microwave and a coffee machine.
- 4Eat around the Charco de San Gines after nine, those terraces run on Canarian hours and serve fish landed at the harbour behind them.
- 5Give one morning to the La Geria wine road, the bodegas open early and the Malvasia Volcanica whites cost less at source than they do in the city.