Review of Villa Vista Reina in Playa Blanca, Lanzarote

At the end of March we took a trip to Lanzarote to get some winter sun. I’d been the year before and loved getting away from grey England to some much-needed Vitamin C. This year, my boyfriend, toddler, and I, stayed in the fab Villa Vista Reina in Playa Blanca – not far from all the fun of Flamingo Beach. Here’s my review…

Reggie, Ben and I arrived at Villa Vista Reina, in the Vista Lobos area, desperate to not be on any kind of transport any longer. It’d been a long day!

Maria, the villa rep was there, ready and waiting to greet us with a smile and the keys to relaxation. She helped us with our bags as we ascended up the stairs to the front door at Villa Vista Reina.

Oh it was good to be inside!

And Champagne? For us? Go on then.

The villa already looked great – Maria took us on a house tour around everything we needed and wanted for our 5 days away.

Sleeping at Villa Vista Reina

Villa Vista Reina is a 6-bed villa. The best two rooms were upstairs (bag those ones quick!) but we wanted to be downstairs as I already had my eye on the bunk bed room for my son. At two years old, and almost a metre tall already, I always worry where and how he’s going to sleep when we go away.

He’s still in a large cot at home, but he’s well past a travel cot.

I’d studied the photos of the villa online, and thought if I could turn the bunk bed round, he could sleep in there – with a barrier to stop him falling out. It worked perfectly. And he loved having all the space. He affectionately named it ‘New Bed’.

There were two single beds in this room, as well as the bunk bed, but we chose a double room on the same level as him. The one at the back with the other bunk bed, as it was the biggest bed.

There was still another double downstairs, with an en suite, and a single room downstairs too.

So, two double en suites upstairs, one large double with a bunk bed downstairs, one double en suite downstairs, one bunk and two singles in a room, and then a single too. Lots of space!

Eating at Villa Vista Reina

The first night we were there, Maria told us about Baily Bar over the road. It was just a 5-minute walk and seeing as we were well past our usual dinner time, it seemed the easiest option. I had chicken and chips (classic) and the lads had Spag Bol. Mine was fine, neither of those two could eat theirs though, saying it was grim.

Not what we wanted for our first night!

We walked back to the villa and had an early night after our travel day.

Next morning and I’d packed some instant porridges for Reggie, and together with the milk we’d been given in the fridge, he was fine. But what about us?

We walked into town, to SuperDino supermarket, to pick up some essentials for the house, and to make the most of the BBQ at the villa.

But, just outside SuperDino – stopping us in our tracks – was a churro restaurant serving breakfast too – no joke these were some of the biggest and best churros I’ve ever had. Look at them!

Reggie loved the decadence of his breakfast number two.

At SuperDino we got a few bits for breakfasts and lunches in the villa as knew we were on a budget for the week, and so had agreed we’d eat at the villa rather than eat out for every meal.

I love a foreign supermarket so we made the most of the plump fruits, bakery, and meat counter too. We picked up enough stuff for an epic BBQ.

We picked up a few tapas bits to eat back at the villa too. We found eating out in Lanzarote pretty expensive, so it was good to have these options.

Getting around Playa Blanca

Getting a taxi was a faff, one that continued for the holiday every time we needed one!

In the end we managed to get one from the bus station over the road from the supermarket, as he was dropping off some passengers.

If we’d have bought the pushchair we could’ve walked the 30 minutes or so back, but we had bottles of water / milk, and a 2 year old who just wanted to be carried the whole time. We could also have got the bus, but that was in 25 minutes.

Location of Villa Vista Reina

Flamingo Beach

Flamingo Beach is less than a 20-minute walk from Villa Vista Reina, if you use the secret back entrance you’ll get a key to. It’s a really beautiful cove with a cocktail bar just before you get to it. There’s also two little supermarkets down there, and a few restaurants too.

We went to Thea’s for ice cream and coffees one day, and then Restaurante La Bahía for tacos and a Club Sandwich on our last and best day.

The water was pretty chilly down here at the end of March, but I still went it and enjoyed it, and Reggie had a little dip – although kept jumping into my arms with the chill (which of course I loved).

Playa Blanca

You could walk into Playa Blanca from here – it’s about 30 minutes depending on which way you go.

You could go along the road – the quickest way – or walk down to Flamingo Beach and then go along the coast, or go out that secret back door and then walk down the pedestrianised area and go in the back of Super Dino. This way, there’s a great toddler playground you can enjoy too.

Baily Bar

The swimming pool at The Baily Bar over the road is brilliant. There’s a super shallow pool, a fairly shallow pool with a ledge, and then a really deep pool too. Reggie loved being able to stand up in the pool.

It’s free to go, although there’s also a Happy Hour to make the most of too. It’s convenient to the villa but I really wouldn’t recommend eating here. We went again after the Spag Bol debacle, and Reggie had fishfingers (which were grey!) and Ben had a steak which was disgustingly fatty. He even complained this time but no response.

Stick to the pool and the drinks!

More things to do in Playa Blanca

Before we went I had a list of things I wanted to do in Playa Blanca again, but with the lovely villa, the lure of the pool, and having a dramatic two year old, we just decided to hang out around the villa, the beach and the pools most of the time.

The 5 days flew by.

If you do want more things to do in Playa Blanca, check out my list here.

Review of Villa Vista Reina in Playa Blanca

Villa Vista Reina is a lovely, spacious and simply decorated villa – perfect for groups and families to enjoy Playa Blanca in Lanzarote. It’s very open plan, with a pool table in the centre. There were also some books and games available, although we had no time for either.

There was a TV with Netflix and YouTube in the lounge, and two of the rooms had TVs too. Obviously with the three of us in a large villa we had plenty of space – making a great venue for playing Hide n Seek, just in case that’s what you’re after in your holiday accommodation.

Hmmm, what else can I tell you?

• There’s a drive way for one, maybe two cars.
• The pool gets cleaned every few days.
• There were 6 sun beds to try, two fridges, a dishwasher and some well thought out manuals as guides to the accommodation, the area, and the island.
• The villa is only 30 minutes from Arrecife Airport.

Oh, I know! There’s a great roof terrace up top, although, careful of the sun up there. Definitely burned my face as I was dozing in the sun up there one nap time. It has great views of the volcanoes.

The pool provided us with hours of entertainment. From going and ‘waking it up’ in the morning and taking the cover off, to swimming at least an hour or two a day with Reggie, and one without, and then ‘putting it to sleep’ at night.

I was worried about pool safety but we made it clear to Reggie not to go near it without us, and at this age, one of us was with him at all times anyway. I think having the pool really helped his water confidence, and he loved splashing around in it.

I’d have no reservations in recommending Villa Vista Reina for your next Lanzarote holiday. Let me know if you have any questions!

• For UK bookings with payments in sterling: https://playablancavilla.co.uk/
• For guests from Ireland with payments in Euro: https://playablancavilla.ie/
• Spanish language website: https://villasvacacionalesplayablanca.es/
• German language website: https://ferienvillenplayablanca.de/