Only ten make the cut. Lanzarote is black lava, white houses and César Manrique's gardens, and the base decides the trip: a resort beach in Puerto del Carmen or Playa Blanca, the windsurfing beach of Costa Teguise or the vineyards and old towns inland. Ten hotels, from a town-beach three-star in Arrecife at about €100 a night to an all-inclusive in Manrique's gardens at over €400, each here for a different reason.
Lanzarote, SpainBetter Fit
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Editor’s note
This edit starts with the choice of base, because on Lanzarote it shapes every day: seven of the ten are by the sea, in Puerto del Carmen, Puerto Calero, Playa Blanca, Costa Teguise and Arrecife, and three are small houses inland, among the vines of La Geria, in Teguise and in Haría. Beside Manrique's gardens at Paradisus Salinas, it sets a family resort, a spa, two adults-only hideaways and, as the smart-money pick, a town-beach hotel in Arrecife from about €100 a night.
The Better Trip Editorial Team · Travel industry experts
What changed
Not a rankingTen hotels, one at a time.
César Manrique's gardens, murals and lagoon pool inside Fernando Higueras's 1970s building, run as an adults-only all-inclusive.
Why go. The atrium under the octagon: water falling in steps beneath hanging gardens, lit from skylights.
The catch. All-inclusive is the only board: the main buffet repeats itself over a week, and the three à la carte restaurants need booking for dinner. Read it →
€€€€From about €425 a night
Lanzarote's first beach hotel, fully renovated as a five-star in 2020, with Playa Grande's sand a minute from the door.
Why go. Playa Grande's golden sand a minute from the door, and a small sandy cove below the gardens.
The catch. Outside July and August, minimum stays apply: from January to June most rooms sell only for four nights or more, and in May and June the entry Double Superior Sea View for seven, so a short break there means a summer date or a suite. Read it →
€€€From about €295 a night
Twenty adults-only rooms in a former Manrique family house beside La Geria, with volcano and sea views, a revived vineyard and One MICHELIN Key.
Why go. A pool among palms and cacti, looking over the hillside to the coast.
The catch. No beach and nothing to walk to: Puerto Calero is a 7-minute drive and Playa Grande 12, so a hire car is part of the stay. Read it →
€€€From about €340 a night
A suite resort on calm Playa Dorada with a 10,000 m² children's park, six pools and a seawater thalasso for the parents.
Why go. Capitan Park, a 10,000 m² open-air children's park with its own pools, theatre, sports courts and clubs from babies to 13.
The catch. 385 rooms on 55,000 m²: loungers by the main pools are claimed early with towels. Read it →
€€From about €230 a night
A 720-room resort, opened in 2023 around a vast, winding infinity pool that looks out across the strait to Fuerteventura.
Why go. A vast, winding infinity pool with the ocean and Fuerteventura beyond it.
The catch. 720 rooms on a 100,000 m² site, the largest hotel on the island: a big complex to get around. Read it →
€€From about €185 a night
An adults-only resort above the sea at Puerto Calero, centred on an indoor hydrotherapy hall and four heated pools.
Why go. A 14 m dynamic pool, Jacuzzis, a sauna, a steam bath and an ice fountain in an arcaded spa hall.
The catch. The spa circuit and every treatment cost extra on every board: the circuit is €30 an hour, €70 a day or €95 a stay. Read it →
€€From about €200 a night
Eighty-one adults-only suites behind stone walls and palms above Puerto del Carmen, every one at least 50 m² with a terrace or balcony.
Why go. Suites of at least 50 m² with a sitting area and a king-size bed.
The catch. The hotel sits about 40 metres above the seafront: Playa Chica is ten minutes down on foot, and the walk back is uphill. Read it →
€€€From about €260 a night
A rescued 19th-century manor in Haría with eight antique-filled rooms, a library and breakfast cooked to order.
Why go. A library of 19th-century volumes, with its globes and atlas table.
The catch. No pool and no beach for now: the nearest swim is Arrieta, a 10-minute drive, and an expansion adding a pool and rooms was under way in 2026. Read it →
€€€From about €275 a night
Nine rooms in a manor house of around 1690 in Teguise, the old capital, with a dining room MICHELIN recommends.
Why go. Breakfast at the table in a Canarian courtyard with wooden balconies.
The catch. No pool and no beach: Famara is a 14-minute drive, Costa Teguise 21. Read it →
€€From about €195 a night
A renovated 1969 hotel across the promenade from Arrecife's town beach, with a rooftop pool and sea-view doubles, for little money.
Why go. A sheltered rooftop pool and sun deck, with a sail-shaded terrace bar up on the roof.
The catch. The bars keep short hours, so evenings are spent in town rather than at the hotel. Read it →
€From about €100 a night
Questions people ask
None of the ten is "the best". Each is the best for a different reason, and that reason is the tag on its card. Answer three questions in Better Fit and it will pick the one for you.
Hotel Fariones. Lanzarote's first beach hotel, fully renovated as a five-star in 2020, with Playa Grande's sand a minute from the door.
Princesa Yaiza Suite Hotel Resort. A suite resort on calm Playa Dorada with a 10,000 m² children's park, six pools and a seawater thalasso for the parents.
Hotel Lancelot. A renovated 1969 hotel across the promenade from Arrecife's town beach, with a rooftop pool and sea-view doubles, for little money.
Lanzarote is a volcanic island shaped by one artist, César Manrique, who persuaded it to build low and paint it white; his gardens, viewpoints and lava caves are now its sights. Where you stay decides the trip. Puerto del Carmen and Puerto Calero sit on the sheltered south-east coast, Playa Blanca at the southern tip and Costa Teguise north of the capital, Arrecife, a working town with a beach of its own. Inland lie the vineyards of La Geria, the old capital, Teguise, and the valley of palms at Haría. Seven of these ten are by the sea, three inland.
Independently, through extensive research, trusted sources and first-hand visits. Hotels cannot pay to be included, and every one of the ten has to exist for a different reason.
Lanzarote is a volcanic island shaped by one artist, César Manrique, who persuaded it to build low and paint it white; his gardens, viewpoints and lava caves are now its sights. Where you stay decides the trip. Puerto del Carmen and Puerto Calero sit on the sheltered south-east coast, Playa Blanca at the southern tip and Costa Teguise north of the capital, Arrecife, a working town with a beach of its own. Inland lie the vineyards of La Geria, the old capital, Teguise, and the valley of palms at Haría. Seven of these ten are by the sea, three inland.
Puerto del Carmen is a seafront avenue of restaurants above golden beaches. Hotel Fariones, the island's first beach hotel, opened in 1966 and fully renovated as a five-star by 2020, stands on the point at the western end of Playa Grande, and La Isla y el Mar, 81 adults-only suites, steps down the hill above. To the west, Puerto Calero is a marina with Secrets Lanzarote, adults only, at its edge. Playa Blanca faces Fuerteventura, 25 to 35 minutes away by ferry. Princesa Yaiza opens onto Playa Dorada, with Capitan Park, a children's park for ages 0 to 16; Barceló Playa Blanca, opened in December 2023, has a long infinity pool facing the strait; and the Papagayo beaches are a short drive east, €3 at the gate, by card. At Costa Teguise, Paradisus Salinas Lanzarote keeps Manrique's atrium gardens and lagoon pool, now adults only and all-inclusive. In Arrecife, Hotel Lancelot faces Playa del Reducto, 16 minutes' walk from the Charco de San Ginés. Inland, Hotel César Lanzarote has 20 rooms at La Asomada, between La Geria's vines and the sea; Hotel Boutique Palacio Ico has nine in a manor of around 1690 in Teguise; and La Casa de los Naranjos has eight in Haría, 8 minutes' walk from Manrique's last home.
César Manrique-Lanzarote Airport is 5 km from Arrecife, and the island is small. With the roads clear, Hotel Lancelot is 7 minutes from the Terminal 1 arrivals kerb, Fariones, La Isla y el Mar and César Lanzarote 13, Paradisus and Secrets 18, Palacio Ico 21, the Playa Blanca pair 31 and La Casa de los Naranjos 36. IntercityBus's island buses stop outside both terminals and take a bank card or cash: line 161 reaches the Apart. Caletón Blanco stop in Puerto del Carmen in 18 minutes and Playa Blanca in 47, the faster 162-D, eight times a day, Playa Blanca in 20, and lines 22 and 23 go to Arrecife. A metered taxi by day comes to about €20 to Puerto del Carmen, €25 to Costa Teguise and €45 to Playa Blanca. Beyond the resorts a hire car is close to essential: the LZ-2 runs from Arrecife past the airport to Playa Blanca, the LZ-1 north towards Haría and the LZ-67 across Timanfaya, where Montañas del Fuego, €30 with the coach on the Ruta de los Volcanes, is sold only online for a set time. César Lanzarote, Palacio Ico and La Casa de los Naranjos need a car.
Read the rate before comparing prices. Paradisus Salinas is all-inclusive only; Secrets and Barceló start with breakfast and sell half board and all-inclusive; Princesa Yaiza, Fariones and La Isla y el Mar include breakfast, with half board above it; César Lanzarote and La Casa de los Naranjos include it on every rate, with a two-night minimum; at Palacio Ico and Hotel Lancelot it depends on the rate. IGIC, the Canary Islands' 7% sales tax, is in the price, and no council on the island charges a tourist tax.
The honest part: Puerto del Carmen has the beaches and the evenings, Playa Blanca the calm sea and the Papagayo coves, and the inland houses the island's character at the cost of a drive to the sand. Costa Teguise's Playa de las Cucharas is a windsurfing beach, and at Timanfaya the Centros Turísticos advise a cap and sun protection from June to September and warm clothes from October to April, when it is windy. At the airport, AEMET's normals give January afternoons 20.7°C (69°F) and August's 29.1°C (84°F), 111 mm of rain a year on about 19 days and nearly 3,000 hours of sun. Calima, Saharan dust that hazes the sky, comes in episodes, most often in February.
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