Flamingo Beach Resort, Lanzarote

We've just returned from our second stay at the Flamingo Beach Resort in Playa Blanca, Lanzarote. We had such a lovely stay first time round that we returned for a second visit, and after contacting the manager to request a room in the same area as on our previous trip we were allocated the same bungalow! We just had a basic room, although there is an option to upgrade to a Select room. The only real difference we could see was that the Select rooms have a nicer television, with a DVD player, and bathrobes and slippers. We visited this time for a week with a 3 year old and a 1 year old. The bus transfer from the airport is about half an hour, and we didn't have to stop at any other hotels in either direction to pick people up.

The bungalows are located slightly apart from the main entertainment areas in the resort which I think makes them quieter, they are also single storey so you have no-one above or below you. From what I could see, all of the accommodation is reached by steps although once out of your room you can reach everywhere else via ramps.

The rooms at the Flamingo Beach Resort were large and kept extremely clean, it was even tidied for us most days and fresh flowers put out. The sofa bed in the living room has a pull out bed underneath, so can be made up into two separate single beds. We had a cot for the baby. One thing that I wasn't totally comfortable with was that the children were sleeping between us and the main door, so we actually put the coffee table in front of the door at night and kept the door to the bedroom open. At one end of the main room is a small kitchen, then a separate bathroom and main bedroom at the back with shuttered window looking out over one of the small children's pools. There was plenty of storage space. Our television had BBC1 and BBC2 as well as a children's channel, and you can pay extra for more channels, wi-fi access and air conditioning.

The kitchen contained a large fridge freezer, toaster, kettle, coffee maker and microwave as well as two hot plates. I think that most visitors will be all inclusive like we were, and the kitchen wasn't particularly well equipped if you were cooking a meal every night. Some of the furnishings were a little dated, but that didn't bother us. On the terrace was a table and four chairs and a drying rack which was very handy. The view from the terrace was lovely, we could see right across the sea to nearby Fuerteventura.

The hotel itself has a variety of pools of different depths and sizes, and an activity pool with a couple of small slides. There seemed to be plenty of sunloungers although we still saw people reserving them early on despite signs warning that towels would be removed! There is a deeper, rectangular pool for swimming lengths although there were lessons and activities taking place for much of the day which limited it a bit.

The Kid's Club activities from age 3 and above seemed varied, although parents are not allowed to stay and we didn't think that our son would be up for being left. There is also a creche for babies (at extra cost) which we didn't use, but every evening from 5-6pm it was opened up for a play and stay session which both our children really enjoyed. It was perfect timing too, at the end of a long day to keep them going until dinner time.

We were all inclusive, so all our meals, snacks and drinks were included. The restaurant was a buffet, with a large selection of hot and cold food. We eat mainly vegetarian so our selection was a little limited, but there seemed to be varied meat and fish options. There was also child friendly food, with chips, pizza and burgers every day, along with salad, soup, different types of bread, plenty of fruit and cakes and icecream. To be honest the food did get a little samey after a while, but I would imagine that is the same with any all inclusive resort. You can easily take a pushchair into the restaurant and there were plenty of Ikea Antilop highchairs, although they don't have trays which can make it a bit difficult for babies to feed themselves. Luckily the waiters were very efficient and kept it all very clean and tidy.

The only thing that we had to buy was milk for the little ones. Milk was provided at breakfast but it was long life milk. It was easy enough to buy some, although perhaps they would have provided it if we had asked.

The resort also has three restaurants, and a meal in each was included which was booked at reception. We gave El Duque Tapas (carvery dining) and Tex Mex a miss as they didn't have any suitable vegetarian options, but we enjoyed the Italian restaurant La Bambola very much.

We found that the evening entertainment wasn't really geared up to children as young as ours, and also it was far too late in the evening for them. Because it was just the two of us we also didn't get to see what was happening later on, but it seemed to be mainly bingo. This entertainment (along the Kid's Club above) was organised by First Choice. On our previous visit we stayed in January when a different tour company was running the entertainment, and although it was all in Swedish we felt that it was much better for young children, with a clown, magic tricks, nursery rhymes, songs and so on.

The resort is in a great location. It is minutes walk from the beach and there is a wide paved path leading out along the coast to a lighthouse in one direction and into the harbour, the town of Playa Blanca and beyond in the other. The harbour is about ten minutes walk away, and there is a regular ferry service to Fuerteventura. My son was fascinated by the car ferry, he would stand for ages watching it load and unload. Flamingo Beach is lovely. It is man made with lots of lovely yellow sand and concrete blocks have been placed to enclose it and make it safe for swimming. There are sunlougers to hire and a small cafe, as well as some shops and restaurants on the front. The beach at Playa Blanca itself is not nearly as nice, and the next pleasant beach is quite a walk down the coast. Having walked along the coast in both directions for quite a way, I think that the Flamingo Beach Resort really does have the best location if you are coming for a beach holiday. Some of the resorts further out of the town are a long walk from a beach.

On our previous visit we hired a car locally for a couple of days so that we could explore some of the rest of Lanzarote. There are some interesting things to see - the National Park has a bus tour around the volcanos and there are some caves to visit. Of course there are plenty of bus and boat trips available to book locally.

Obviously we wouldn't have returned to the Flamingo Beach Resort if we hadn't enjoyed our first stay here. When booking our holiday this year we struggled to find anywhere else that was so reasonably priced, and we found it much less stressful with small children returning somewhere we had been before. We booked through First Choice. If you've booked, it's worth sending the manager (Angel) an e-mail beforehand if you have any special requirements, we found him very friendly and helpful to deal with. You should be able to find his e-mail address through Tripadvisor, where he is very active at responding to reviews.