The catch at Hotel Boutique Palacio Ico
Five things stand between the photographs of the courtyard and the stay. None of them is hidden, and none of them undoes nine rooms in a manor house of around 1690 with a MICHELIN-recommended dining room, but each one decides something: which room to book, which nights to eat in, and whether you need a car.
On our shortlists
- Best design hotels in LanzaroteA manor of around 1690 with tea-pine ceilings, art books and vinyl
- Best value hotels in LanzaroteA 17th-century manor with a MICHELIN-recommended table, from €195
- Best quiet hotels in LanzaroteNine rooms around a courtyard on a lane closed to cars
- Best hotels for food and drink in LanzaroteMICHELIN-recommended tasting menus in a manor of around 1690
There is no pool and no beach, and the sea is a drive away
Palacio Ico is in Teguise, the old capital in the middle of the island, and it has no pool and no spa of its own; the Balinese massages it offers are given at a spa elsewhere in the town. The nearest sand is Famara, 14 minutes away by car off-peak, with the beach at Costa Teguise 21 minutes and the Papagayo beaches about 50. Buses 7 and 10 run from Arrecife to the Ayuntamiento de Teguise stop, but they do not join the hotel to the beaches. Without a car, a stay here is the town and its streets, which is lovely for two days and short of the island.
What to do. Hire a car for the stay. If you want swimming every day, book a few nights on the coast as well and treat Palacio Ico as the inland half of the trip.
The cheapest room has no window, and one more room is lit only from above
Room 02 is the entry price, and it is large, at about 45 m² split between a bedroom and a sitting area with yoga mats, but it has no window except a small pane in its own door. Room 07, further up the ladder, is an interior room lit by skylights, quiet and bright at midday but with no outlook. The trade is real silence, but a reader who wants to wake to daylight and a view should not book the cheapest room on price alone.
What to do. Book a room by name. Room 08 has two windows, over the village and over the courtyard, for €44 a night more than Room 02 on a June date; Suite 06 in the tower has two balconies.
The dining room is closed on Saturday and Sunday
The restaurant is the reason many guests come, and it keeps short hours: dinner from Monday to Friday, 6.30pm to 9.30pm, and lunch only on Monday and Friday, 1pm to 3.30pm. On Saturday and Sunday it is closed. Dinner is for guests aged 10 and over, tables take groups of up to six, and the two tasting menus cost €98 and €120 a head with tax, with wine pairings on top. A weekend stay therefore means eating in the town, and a stay that misses the weekdays misses the table that earned the house its MICHELIN listing and its Repsol Sol.
What to do. Plan the stay around at least one weekday dinner and book the table when you book the room. On Saturday night, Ikarus, a minute's walk away, serves dinner; on Sunday it serves lunch.
A small house with a reception that closes at 8pm, on a lane closed to cars
Nine rooms means a small team and short hours at the desk. Reception is staffed until 8pm, a later arrival has to be announced, and the hotel asks for flight details and an arrival time in advance; check-in is from 2pm and check-out by noon. Calle El Rayo is a pedestrian lane in the historic centre, so the car cannot stop at the door. The hotel offers free parking, and on Sunday morning the market fills the streets around the house from 9am to 2pm.
What to do. Send your flight and arrival time when you book, and ask the hotel where to park before you set out. Avoid arriving on a Sunday morning, or arrive after 2pm, when the stalls have gone.
Christmas, New Year and August cost far more, with a minimum stay
The house asks for two nights at a time in June and three from October to April. Its lowest nightly price for two moves widely through the year: about €190 to €255 in May, June and November, and still close to €200 in October and April, but up to about €640 a night over Christmas and New Year, €600 in January and €430 in August. February, March and Easter fall in between, at about €220 to €355. Those figures include the Canary Islands' IGIC tax, and Teguise adds no tourist tax on top.
What to do. For the best value, come in May, June, October or November, midweek, when the dining room is open and the minimum stay is easiest to meet.
Who should skip it
Anyone who wants a pool, a beach on foot or a hotel to spend the afternoon in. Families with young children, since dinner in the dining room is for over-10s and there is no pool or children's club. Travellers without a car who want to see the island, light sleepers who need daylight from the cheapest room, and anyone whose stay falls only on a weekend and who comes for the restaurant.
Who should book it anyway
Couples who want the island's history rather than its resorts: nine rooms in a manor house of around 1690 in Teguise, coffered tea-pine ceilings, a courtyard with wooden balconies, breakfast cooked to order at the table, and a MICHELIN-recommended dining room with a Repsol Sol two steps from the bed. A June night for two starts at about €195. Book Suite 06 or Room 08, drive to the beaches, eat in on weeknights and in the town at the weekend, and everything above is the price of sleeping in a quiet, well-fed house in the old capital.
The catch elsewhere in Lanzarote
- Paradisus Salinas LanzaroteCosta Teguise
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
- Hotel FarionesPuerto del Carmen
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.
- Hotel César LanzaroteLa Geria
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
- Princesa Yaiza Suite Hotel ResortPlaya Blanca
385 rooms on 55,000 m²: loungers by the main pools are claimed early with towels
- Barceló Playa BlancaPlaya Blanca
720 rooms on a 100,000 m² site, the largest hotel on the island: a big complex to get around
- Secrets Lanzarote Resort & SpaPuerto Calero
The spa circuit and every treatment cost extra on every board: the circuit is €30 an hour, €70 a day or €95 a stay
- La Isla y el Mar Hotel BoutiquePuerto del Carmen
The hotel sits about 40 metres above the seafront: Playa Chica is ten minutes down on foot, and the walk back is uphill
- La Casa de los NaranjosHaría
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
- Hotel LancelotArrecife
The bars keep short hours, so evenings are spent in town rather than at the hotel
Car hire in Lanzarote
Teguise's old town is for walking and buses 7 and 10 come from Arrecife, but Famara beach is 14 minutes by car and Costa Teguise's 21; parking is free, though the hotel's lane is pedestrian, so ask where to leave the car.
Read the car hire guideOpens Expedia’s car search at that airport for your trip dates, or for a week starting a fortnight from today. You book and pay with Expedia.
Questions people ask
Good questions about Hotel Boutique Palacio Ico
What are the downsides of Hotel Boutique Palacio Ico?
Five things stand between the photographs of the courtyard and the stay. None of them is hidden, and none of them undoes nine rooms in a manor house of around 1690 with a MICHELIN-recommended dining room, but each one decides something: which room to book, which nights to eat in, and whether you need a car. There is no pool and no beach, and the sea is a drive away The cheapest room has no window, and one more room is lit only from above The dining room is closed on Saturday and Sunday A small house with a reception that closes at 8pm, on a lane closed to cars Christmas, New Year and August cost far more, with a minimum stay
Who should not book Hotel Boutique Palacio Ico?
Anyone who wants a pool, a beach on foot or a hotel to spend the afternoon in. Families with young children, since dinner in the dining room is for over-10s and there is no pool or children's club. Travellers without a car who want to see the island, light sleepers who need daylight from the cheapest room, and anyone whose stay falls only on a weekend and who comes for the restaurant.
Our verdict
History, a serious dinner and nine rooms of whitewash and old wood, for couples happy to drive to the beach. Check availability for Suite 06 or Room 08.
Last checked: October 2026