Irish hotel makes waves in Lanzarote
Lanzarote is an old favourite that has built up its tourism industry sensitively. Niamh Walsh talks to one Dubliner who runs a popular boutique hotel there
In general, tourist developments in Lanzarote are not of the kind you can find in the Spanish Costas. Despite being a perennial mass tourism favourite, the Canaries has kept its coastline largely unspoilt, and Lanzarote does not permit the towering hotels that have ruined the coasts of mainland Spain.
This is largely due to the influence of the island’s most famous son, César Manrique, the Fifties artist and architect who was so shocked by developments and at the grey cinder block towers of the Costas that he advocated that low-rise structures be built to accommodate Lanzarote’s burgeoning tourist trade. Now most tourism developments are white-washed bungalow-style hotels and villa resorts that don’t tower to the skies.
As well as being sensitively developed, the island offers lots to see and do. The Timanfaya National Park is definitely worth a visit, with its expansive dark landscape focused on the Islote de Hilario volcano. There’s even a restaurant designed by the prolific César Manrique at the summit.
There’s also the watersports mecca of Famara in the north west of the island, which is famous for its ideal conditions and plentiful schools of windsurfing, kiteboarding and, of course, surfing. And for those who prefer gentler forms of holiday activity, a walk around the island’s old capital of Teguise is a must. Its palaces, convents and grand squares stand witness to the passing of the centuries.
However, when Geraldine McFadden, from Portmarnock in Dublin, came to Puerto del Carmen in Lanzarote with her husband Robbie 10 years ago, it wasn’t to do any sightseeing. It was strictly a work-related visit: ‘I was pregnant with my second daughter and someone said to me, “Would you come down [to Lanzarote] and look at this complex they are thinking of selling,’” says Geraldine, who worked in investment property in Ireland during the boom years.
‘So, at seven months pregnant I had a look around I said, “Yes, this is something I could do for my maternity leave.” So I flew home, spoke to my husband and flew back down and signed the deal. We then moved down with a six-week-old baby, a two-andhalf-year-old and the kitchen sink – and we haven’t looked back. That was only meant to be for my maternity leave,’ she adds.
And while moving to the yearround sun of Lanzarote might sound like a dream, it’s a life Geraldine has built up through sheer hard work — she now runs two hotels, Aqua Suites and the Costa Salas, as well as bringing up her daughters Lara and Georgia: ‘When the crash happened, the complex I was selling asked me to manage one section of it that we weren’t going to sell. So I was the manager there for eight years and then we took on the bar. Our sister hotel to here is called the Costa Sal and they were looking for someone to take on the bar and restaurant so we took that on, and over there we employ about 40 people in the bar and restaurant.’
Having an eye for detail, and having spent many years of business travel observing how hotels work – and often don’t – meant that Geraldine had some very firm ideas about what hotels should offer, if she were ever given the opportunity to run one.
‘Full-length mirrors,’ she says. ‘I am gobsmacked in some hotels where there are no full-length mirrors.’
So when she became general manager of the Aqua Suites in Puerto del Carmen, full-length mirrors it was — plus a million other little touches that have made the hotel one of the more popular ones on the island.
‘We got a designer in. I wanted it to be crisp and bright. There was so much that I wanted for here. Even simple things like [not] having to put your toiletries on the floor, so I had presses put in all the bathrooms,’ she says. ‘When you arrive, you get a glass of cava. There is fresh, free water out in the rooms every day, a good hairdryer, a power shower. It’s these things that people appreciate.’
The Aqua Suites is quite near the main strip of Puerto del Carmen, which is a real hive of busy bars and restaurants. And, in keeping with the island’s high quality of development, the hotel’s clean lines and blue trim fit right in with the whitewashed walls and cobalt shutters of Puerto del Carmen.
The 67-room complex certainly stands out from the traditional aparthotels that are predominant in the Canary Islands.
‘There are a few boutique hotels, but nowhere where you can go where the service and food is as good as here. What I basically do is a deliver what people want. People want good quality. And if you decide one day that you want lunch instead of dinner, then we are flexible. The whole ethos here with the staff is there is no “no”. Within reason, we find a way to accommodate people’s needs.’
In the 10 years since emigrating, Geraldine and her family have adapted completely to the Canarian lifestyle. ‘My children
are nine and 12. They go to a trilingual school. The lifestyle is just incredible, they surf, they swim, it’s all outdoors.’
The Canary Islands have always been a popular summer and winter destination for Irish tourists. Recent years have seen them become even more so, with over 30 flights a week into the small airport in Lanzarote.
And Geradline has noticed that people are spending more: ‘I don’t think Irish tourists ever stopped coming here. But there is definitely an increase in spend. There was those few years when people were very careful with their money, but there is definitely more being spent now. And it’s safe here. There is always something going on in the world, but it is generally safe here.
‘During the recession people may have come away for one holiday, but now they are taking more breaks. Summer and Halloween, or Easter and a late holiday. And it’s a 10-day holiday. In winter we have a lot of older people coming for three weeks.’
But she warns that life in Lanzarote isn’t for everyone: ‘A lot of people come out and think, “I’m going to open a bar and life will be great”. It’s not that simple. You have to know the laws, tax system, employment law. People really have to think it out. ’
And, it’s that attention to detail that has made Aqua Suites a hit.
‘There is that personal touch. I always go around and talk to people and get feedback. ’
And in spite of all her success, Geraldine shows no sign of wanting to slow down and enjoy the sunshine.
‘I always have plans,’ she says. ‘I have so much more I want to do here.’