Elba Castillo San Jorge Review

This is an advert for December 2022. Any shares / edits beyond this date have not been asked or paid for. This review is based on our personal holiday which we paid for in October 2022. As always, check with venues direct for the most up-to-date information. 

We stayed at Elba Castillo San Jorge in Caleta de Fuste (Fuetaventura) with a 16, 13 and 11 year old in October Half Term 2022. My main reasons for booking this holiday were: 

• Weather (usually 25-28C per day) 
• I managed to get a good price   
• 15 minutes from the airport 
• Small resort where I could allow the kids some freedom
• Convenient all inclusive hotel with a room which sleeps up to 6 
• Good reviews  

A Bargain All Inclusive Holiday 

I tend to book holidays quite far in advance and spend a bit of time searching online for the best deals. If I am looking to book a holiday, I check to see if I can find a jet2 flight discount code , look for free child places (although these don't always work out any cheaper) and check prices from Scotland too (especially October Half Term and Summer as Scottish schools have different term times to us). 

I have booked with Jet2 a few times and have always had good experiences (including a stay at Pirates Village in Santa Ponsa). On this occasion, I found a week's all inclusive holiday for £2700 for 5 of us in the school holidays flying from Edinburgh which met all of my criteria. I thought this was a bargain! 

Elba Castillo San Jorge is only a 3* hotel and I do prefer to book 4* hotels when I can, however this hotel had excellent reviews which were better than the reviews for 4* hotels in the same price bracket so we decided to just go for it. I'm pleased we did as we had a lovely week away. 

Caleta de Fuste is a very short 10-15 minute transfer from the airport. I think this is the shortest transfer time I've ever had! 

Our 2 Bed Sea View Apartment  

One big selling point of this hotel for larger families like ours, is that they offer all inclusive apartments that can sleep up too 6 guests (up to 4 adults and 2 children or 5 adults in their 2 bedroom apartments). It is rare to find all inclusive accommodation suitable for a family of 5.

Our room was configuerd for 5 people and included two bedrooms (with twin beds pushed together) and a single bed in the living room area. The apartment was large and spacious with plenty of space for 5 of us. If my kids were younger, it would have been an ideal layout for us. 

However, as teens, I do think they deserve some privacy and knew they'd bicker if they didn't have their own space so after a few nights, I booked the teens their own studio a few doors along from ours direct with the hotel. It was £50 per night and worth every penny! 

Our two bedroom seaview apartment was cleaned daily by housekeeping and featured three TVs with English Channels including BBC and ITV. The kitchen was small and we only really used the fridge but it was useful to keep drinks cool. There were plenty of plug sockets and the bathroom had a hot and powerful shower.

The kids appreciated the free WiFi too which I have read to have some issue but for us, it worked just fine. 

One of the best features was our huge wrap around balcony which offered beautiful seaviews. Perfect for catching the sunrise.  

You can see my video tour of this room over on Instagram here. 

One reason I think this hotel is only graded as a 3* is because there is no air conditioning which I know is a deal breaker for many. You can hire fans from reception. In October and with daytime temperatures of 28C, I didn't feel at any point like I needed air conditioning.

We closed our curtains during the day and kept the doors open a little while we slept at night which let through a lovely sea breeze. I may depend on the position of your apartment but we didn't feel stiffled at all. 

All Inclusive Food & Drinks 

Booking an All Inclusive Hotel wouldn't be my number one choice as I love exploring where I am staying and eating out a lot (which to be honest, we still do even when we are staying all inclusive). But for me, when travelling with tweens and teens who will eat you out of house and home, all inclusive can be worth every penny and on this occasion, it definitely was. 

I think it's worth paying for all inclusive for the convenience here. 

First of all, the drinks options are fantastic. They aren't shy with the measures either. You can ask for a bottle of wine with lunch and they will bring it with no questions asked. You can order sangria by the jug and they don't have silly limits like only being able to order one drink at a time. 

When I'm with the kids, I'm not a huge drinker on holiday but I like not having to carry any cash around with me and just being able to pop to the bar when I want a beer / pina colada by the pool. 

There is a snack bar by the main pool which the kids loved. Here you can order beach bar type snacks (fries / toasties / burgers / nachos / hot dogs....) as part of your all inclusive package and help yourselves to ice creams and ice lollies from the freezer. 

There is a hot drinks machine and a self-serve pop dispenser (including fanta lemon) by the pool and a slushie machine behind the bar which is also included.

As you can imagine, a big hit with the kids. There are also jugs of chilled juice and water and various pastries / fruit on the counter for you to help yourselves to. Like I say, the kids loved this and it was brilliant for Steve and I as we didn't have to keep putting our hands in our pocket. 

The wine is lovely too, especially the white wine which I enjoyed with lunch. I didn't take any photos of the food as lets face it, when you're at an all you can eat buffet it's not very photogenic as you tend to have a bit of everything. 

There was a different theme night each evening as well as standard options including pizza, pasta, salads, freshly cooked meats/fish. Our meals were all hot (we usually picked meat from the grill which was cooked to order) and tasty. I have no complaints at all. The only thing is, I do get bored of all inclusive and buffet style dining and here was no different. 

For breakfast there would be lots of fruit, yoghurts, hash browns, bacons, sausages, eggs lots of ways, pancakes, omlettes, pastries.....loads of choice. 

Steve and I would usually take a coffee out to the outdoor terrace after breakfast (while the kids went back to the room to get ready for the pool) next to the aviary which was lovely and relaxing. 

The coffee was fine too. 

Daytime Entertainment 

There are two pools to choose from here, one 'noisy pool' which overlooks the sea and has music playing / activities and is by the pool bar and a 'quiet pool' in a hotel courtyard. Both pools were FREEZING when you first get in but after a few minutes, you totally get used to it. 

In October Half Term there weren't any battles for sunbeds - we could always find some and both pools have a paddling pool area for little ones and life guards. 

My kids preferred the busier pool as they had music and direct access to drinks and snacks. I preferred the quieter pool where I could read my book in peace and it was only a 30 second walk to the bar so hardly a hardship. 

The entertainment staff works really hard here and there is always a good range of activities during the day including Spanish classes, archery, darts, water polo, cocktail making, ping pong tournaments etc.... All available at no additional cost and nice and relaxed. 

There is also a few shops and an English pub in the complex (additional charge) as well as a games room and several pool tables / air hockey tables dotted about which we enjoyed (bring 1euro coins for these if you have them). 

We didn't make use of it but for younger kids there is a kids club which families with younger children seemed to make use of and enjoy. It's just beside the quiet pool. 

Evening Entertainment 

The evening entertainment was very typical of this kind of hotel and mostly cheesy singers and dance shows. We mostly sat outside on the tables by the pool and had drinks / played cards. We did enjoy the karaoke (a good laugh), family games night (an even bigger laugh) and quiz night though. 

There is a mini disco from 8pm each night with the hotel mascot which looked cute. Main entertainment tends to run from 9pm-10:30pm. Again, they are fab with the drinks in the evening and you can order a bottle of wine / jug of sangria for your table as part of your all inclusive at no additional cost. They make the sangria up fresh too - it's not the pre-made kind. They are generous with the spirit measures too. 

Caleta de Fuste Resort 

Caleta de Fuste is a purpose built holiday resort. Don't come here if you're looking for an authentic Spanish experience -you won't get that here (I recommend Calela de Palafrugal for that). Usually, I shy away from these kinds of holidays but on this occasion, I just wanted somewhere I could relax with everything we needed on the doorstep. 

The resort is basically a long walk along a beach with a town and a few shopping centres. It's very easy to get your bearings and walk around. There are a lot of places where you can get a full English and a pint all day but there are also plenty of gems. Here are my recommendations for things to do: 

Fado Rocks Steakhouse always has a queue out the door. We had such a good experience here with excellent steaks and our desserts being flambéd at the table. It was such a treat and ideal as a 'last night' special meal out. 

Fado Rocks Steakhouse 

 

Fado Rocks Steakhouse

If you have your back to the hotel and walk along the prom to your right for around 10 minutes, there is a lovely harbour area with jet ski hire, pedal boats, glass bottom boat trips, paddle boarding etc...... There is a short cut through town but we preferred the more scenic route along the coast. 

Electric scooters are a popular way to travel along the sea front and you can hire them from the hotel. 

If you have your back to the hotel and face the sea, turn left and walk for 5 minutes and you should see some little chipmunks playing on the rocks which should delight the kids. There is a gorgeous natural swimming pool too although care should be taken as the climb down is very rocky. Make sure you visit when the tide is out. 

Although the sea is directly in front of the hotel, it's fairly rocky but there are two sandy beaches within easy reach. The first one is just past the harbour (less than a 10 minute walk if you cut through town) and the second is a little further away. You can catch a free shuttle bus here from the hotel. 

I loved our beach day. We hired loungers, walked along the beach and swam in the sea. 

We booked a meal at Bollywood Spices for one evening, it's a bit of a hike halfway up a hill but the views and food are worth it. We enjoyed a brilliant meal here with excellent service and panoramic views over the island. It was super easy to book a table online while we were there too. 

Bollywood Spices

Bollywood Spices 

Walk up to Bollywood Spices

There is a market every Tuesday and Saturday and there are some bargains to be had. We picked up some jewellery and a few souveniers. 

Caleta de Fuste Market 

My final recommendation is Bar OliverFly which is just around the corner from the hotel. We saved here for our last night but it's one of those places I wish I'd gone sooner. They serve fantastic cocktails with nibbles and tapas from their rooftop terrace. It is THE place to go for sunset drinks. 

Other things to do include mini golf, shopping, cinema, bowling, sand buggy tours, catamaran trips, day trips to Lanzarote and Fueteventura Zoo. 

Would I go again? This is something we thought about for a while and I kept to-ing and frowing but ultimately I think I would, especially if we were looking for some autumn sunshine.

For us, it was such an easy and convenient holiday at a really good price and we enjoyed some lovely meals out and had everything we needed for a relaxing family holiday. I really liked the room we had with the beautiful sea views and the fact that the all inclusive was so generous. 

One last tip, the hotel has an active Facebook group here. If you do book, it's worth joining to keep up to date with what's going on at the hotel and see lots of photos. It's also the best place to ask any questions.