Hotel Faro Jandia Fuerteventura

The hotel was very near to the beach, a road separated it from the hotel but it was sufficiently near. There was a lighthouse on the beach which looked delightful in the sunset. There were several small supermarkets and shops next to the hotel. A good varity of cafe type places to eat lunch and purchase ice cream with a clear view of the beach. Be careful of the shop/market owners, they will try to rip you off.

The staff at the hotel were extremely frindly, we recieved two free glasses of wine one evening at dinner and two free drinks at the bar on another ocasion. The soft drinks were priced above what you would pay in England, so many families including ourselves purchased drinks from the supermarkets for during the day for by the pool and beach. The alcoholic drinks were evenly priced compared to England. Check in was quick, we arrived at 9 and where greeted with welcome drinks and where directed to dinner, whilst the check in staff took care of our luggage. The majority of staff spoke at least a small amount of English.

We opted for half board. Breakfast ran from 8-11am. For dinner there was an early sitting (6. 30 -8) and (8-10). Breakfast was very international, if you enjoy a british style breakfast you will not find it here. There was fruit and yogurt but the fruit was bruised some mornings and there was not a large selection of yogurts or cereals. The mornings we did attend breakfast we normally only had coffee and the children orange juice and some toast.
Dinner was a better affair, for starter there was a choice of two soups and a selection of bread. The main course was very enjoyable, there was several dishes and you did not bore of the food. My children experienced many dishes they have not previously tried, rabbit/ostrich/squid/. There was also many varieties of fish dishes - salmon, trout, swordfish, but to name a few. For dessert there was the normal international dishes. we mainly ate ice cream, for my son who has a sweet tooth he definitely craved a bit of chocolate cake or cheesecake. If you like to dine in a variety of settings this is not the hotel for you. From the brochure I was led to believe there was 2/3 restaurants and a bar. There is one restaurant in which you can eat inside at your allocated table or request a table outside (which must be done 24hrs before.) The outside tables then turn into the snack bar at lucnh and is only open until 4pm, which is an issue when you have children, room service is only avaliable when the snack bar is open so if you require food between 4pm-6pm you have to find food outside the hotel. There is an A la carte menu where you have to make your choice 24hrs before and it is only served in the restaurant where the buffet food is. I really felt the hotel lacked an extra restaurant and a pool side bar. To get a drink by the pool you either had to wait until the pool waiter appeared or go into the bar yourself after getting fully dressed.

There was a spa at the hotel, but it was slightly shabby looking. There was no shop/mini market within the hotel, however there was many shops within a short distance. The hotel is advertised as having three pools, there is one main out-door pool and one indoor pool in the spa which is oddly shaped. There is then a mini children's pool, which is great for small children, however they hardly use it, they normally use the main pool. If you are the type of person who likes to do lengths you may find it difficult here. There was mini- golf which was great fun for the children. There is also a cupboard near the tennis courts which contains several novels/books. The evening entertainment was ok, we have visited 4 and 5 star hotels with a higher standard of eveing entertainment. In additon normally after the entertainment had finished most people went to bed so from 11pm, maybe 12 the hotel bar was dead.

The rooms where great, they where modern and clean. The towels where changed daily and you could request to have your sheets changed daily if you wished by placing the appropriate card on the bed to inform housekeeping. The maids where extremely friendly always acknowledging the guests and very adjustable as to when it was most appopriate for you to have the rooms cleaned. The rooms contained bath robes/shoes. There was a vanity mirror and hairdryer within the room. We had paid for a side view and upon arrival were upgraded to a sea view. It was most enjoyable to sit on the balcony of an evening with a drink.

This hotel is definetely a four star hotel, many holiday comapnies recommend it as a 5 star but I would not agree. We had an enjoyable stay but some areas need improvement.
If you travel to Fuerteventura, ensure that your hotel is near shops and restaurants. Even though our hotel was in the resort center, noise was no issue. We met people who stayed in the Fuerteventura princess hotel and found it to be in the middle of no-where. Most people choose this hotel for location.
Fuerteventura is great for families, we felt very safe there and would visit the island again.
If you come to Fuerteventura in the summer months be sure to wear 50+ sunscreen.