Casa de Hilario

Ambiance sympathique !

Estancia para repetir para quien vaya buscando desconectar en un pueblo precioso...

The marriage of Canarian architecture with funky art is unique and interesting. It is located on the outskirts of Yaiza in a beautiful spot; the view from my room was enjoyable. Check-in experience was a horror, as I arrived at noon to a "ghost" house in an isolated area with nobody answering the bell nor the phone. Without informing me, it turns out that the check-in person is based in its sister hotel La Casona de Yaiza, at the opposite end of the town; this procedure is truly inconvenient and not customer friendly. Nonetheless, the staff are friendly and responsive when called upon for the problems I encountered. But it is the nightly rate charged here than render this place an excellent value.

We spent two weeks at Casa de Hilario in Feb/March. The house is a traditional rural house outside the village of Yaiza in the centre of Lanzarote. Our bedroom was large and comfortable with views to the village and one of the many small volcanic peaks. Breakfasts were buffet style and self service, with tables indoors and outdoors on the large garden terrace. The food was fresh and the service from Lucia was excellent. The house was unstaffed in the afternoons and evenings and there was no bar or coffee facilities, which we missed. The guests all learned to stock up on snacks and drinks in the local supermarket. There is a good, traditional restaurant (Bodega de Santiago) next door for those who don't want to travel too far to eat, though our favourite restaurant was the nearby, sister property Casona de Yaiza which was excellent (we ate there four times). A good base for travelling around the island and will suit those who seek peace and tranquility in a lovely village. Not so good for those seeking a lively nightlife.

Stayed in one of the suites… Quirky furnishings and decor in the room and bathroom…the volcanic rock bathroom was amazing…Outside there was a nice private terrace with table and chairs but only 1 very old and worn sun lounger. Breakfast was delicious and plentiful but the lack of availability of coffee and tea before breakfast service was surprising given that there were no facilities in the room to make any. There’s a lovely communal lounge and outside tables and chairs, there’s a communal fridge with a basket per room for your own personal goods so in the evening it would have been perfect to sit and have supper and a drink but there were no glasses, plates, cutlery to use… they were all locked away in cupboards until breakfast !!!! Hilario is in such a beautiful quiet location, perfect for exploring the island but sadly it’s lacking in simple things and a personal touch that are always available everywhere else we have stayed. We had no contact from the owners after our arrival. Given that we paid 117 euros a night for 7 nights we feel our experience wasn’t what we expected or value for money.

Stayed in room number 7 at the apartment's, not in the hotel, black mould on ceiling and walls in bathroom, dead mosquitoes squashed on walls and room smelt musty, bed uncomfortable. Complained to owner, she said they had be very busy with bookings and had not had time to refresh/redecorate the room, half way through our weeks stay while we were out, someone came in put bleach on the worst areas and painted over the worst bits in the bathroom, did not clean the walls. We paid 100 euros a night for 7 nights, i would compare the room to what we paid 20 euros a night for ten years ago in Greece, very basic and not very clean. We ate in the owners restaurant for 2 nights as a party of 4 and spent over 320 euros on food and wine. I would have at least expected a proper apology, not even a complementary bottle of wine or a small discount on our bill to say sorry when we dined at the restaurant. I will be interested to see if the owner responds to this review, she gave me the impression she could not care less. Bryn Jones Chester