Bandama Apartments Reviews

The apartments are beautifully decorated and set in pretty gardens.

The pool is a stones throw away from your front door and my boys spent most of their time there. The pool is quite deep and does not have our usual English shallow end (the shallow end was up to my neck). Antonio was very accomodating and did her best to make sure everyone was happy. The absence of a bar on the site was not a problem as the bars/shops/restaurants are very close by. The area is very relaxed and walking the length of the beach and exploring the shop is a must. Puerto del Carmen is 20 mins walk away but a taxi only cost us at the most 2.5 euros each way against 0.9 per person one way on the bus!

Well worth a visit and hopefully I will return.

We chose these appartments deliberately because we did not want bars, kids clubs or someone else's choice of music blaring out. We were not, therefore, at all disappointed when we arrived to find reception was no more than a small room with a couple of shelves of books to borrow (nice touch!).

Having read this site we were expecting basic apartments, yes they are basic but clean and each have a private terrace for evening drinks watching the sunset; if you are thinking of doing any kind of cooking bring a tin-opener - the one in the apartment was out of the ark and anyone under the age of about 40 probably wouldn't know how to use it! Yes the pool was cold at first but fine once you were in and swimming and as it's so quiet you often feel like its a private pool.

What we were NOT prepared for was the owner/manager taking over the entire complex one weekend for a family party! they took the only bit of shade around the pool, the children all commandered the pool and we felt like intruders rather than paying guests! No warning was given and we were very much excluded so it did spoil the tranquility and privacy we felt we had the rest of the time there.

The beaches are very nice though more for walking than sun-bathing, clean and very wide so great for playing football and volleyball. Pocillos is a small area with a Spar just a 2 minute walk away down a few steps, a few reasonable restaurants and a couple of nice bars. Watch out for the Chinese - they are the worst at trying to get you to go into thier restaurants and we ended up having to be quite rude to one poor girl who just wouldn't take no for an answer.

Bandama is great for the more mature of us who want peace and quiet but certainly not suitable for kids or teenages who would go stir crazy after one day. The TV is OK but you have to pay for it, there is absolutely no other entertainment at the apartments. If you want a restful (apart from the family party) tranquil place to stay that is close to some small restaurants 10 minutes away and a bigger centre (Del Carmen) just a 30 minute walk away then this is ideal. One other couple we met there have been staying at these apartments every year for 10 years!

Take a taxi to and from the airport - it will cost around 8 Euros and is much better than waiting for the bus transport which often waits for another flight to land before whisking you to your hotel. We had an interminable wait at Arricife to check in coming home due to a baggage handlers strike but guess that couldn't be helped though 1.5 hours to check in was a real pain in the ****. The airport duty free isn't up to much so make sure you get your duty free in Puorto Del Carmen - the liquor and tobacco shops there are cheaper than Pocillos but make sure you compare prices as we found a 3 Euro difference on a bottle of brandy between 2 of them!

All in all the Bandama is great for a one week get away from it all chilling and relaxing holiday or as a base to explore the rest of the Island. It IS basic, it IS VERY quiet, there is nothing AT ALL to do and we enjoyed it very much.

Stayed in a two bedroom apartment that was clean and spacious for the 4 of us. The kitchen was new and well equipped although we never really used it. It is a small and quiet complex with nearly all apartments surrounding the pool. Nice little patio area outside each apartment. Very quiet during the day, always sunbeds available but no poolside bar or snacks. Spar is only a 2 minute walk away and stocks everything.

Try the Mucky Duck on the main road for good food especially the breakfasts.

We went into Puerto del Carmen every night for a wider selection of restaurants, bars and shops. It was about a 30 min walk or the taxi was about 3-4 euros.

The old town is definetely worth a visit. It has a nice harbour area to walk round with lots of good restaurants. There is a big shopping centre here with some lovely clothes shops. Also went to Rancho Texas which we enjoyed - go to the eagle show! and the water park at Costa Teguise which worked out quite expensive but the kids loved it.

Change money at the cigarette/alcohol shops you get a better rate than at the banks.

me and my partner got a cheap last minute thing which was allocation on arrival and this was where we ended up. Brilliant location. nice and quiet. near to bars, shops, supermarket, and beach, all just 1 min walk. ideal for couples wanting a relaxing break.

However. dont go with the Thomson excursion to fuertaventure cos it only goes once a week and costs 55 euros each, where as if you walk down to the harbour you can catch the ferry twice daily and it only costs 30 euros each

We have just returned from the Bandama apartments on a short break for 3 nights.
The airport transfer is very quick (about 10 mins)although you can catch a taxi for a cheaper price than the coach to get there quicker if you prefer.
The apartments were very clean, comfortable and very well equipt.
The pool area was clean and quiet but the pool terrace is directly facing a small (although quiet)road (not very scenic).

For a simple base (and if you only want to get your head down and go out and explore) these apartments are perfect, but there is absolutely nothing here, no bar/lounge or anything and the pool area is very basic.
The aparthotel costa mar (directly across the road)allows you to use their facilities at no charge, and we wished we had stayed there instead as although basic they had a bar/lounge and better pool/terrace area.

Playa De Los Pocillos is a very small and quiet resort with a small 'shopping centre' a couple of minutes walk away where there is a couple of shops including a large spar a few bars and clubs and cafes.
Although the food was nicer in a cafe called the jungla bar which is across the main road to the right nr the jameos hotel.
The beach was a nice big stretch and only a few minutes walk.

Puerto Del Carmen (playa Grande) is the place to go for a huge selection of restuarants bars and shops and the range is great.

It's quite a walk (about 30mins)to the main part of Puerto Del Carmen although bars etc are along the way and it's a pleasant walk down (although beware of the touts, there are loads that try and talk you into going to their bars.)
A cab will only cost about 3 euro's(£2) so is very affordable if you don't want to walk.
The food in general was very good and cheap in Puerto Del Carmen.

We hired a car from a place called cabera medina(lots of shops everywhere!) which was the cheapest we found and we managed to knock them down a bit.

We drove the whole south of the island and found the nicest resort was Playa Blanca, the harbour was charming with a small selection of bars, shops and restuarants and the irish pub does excellent food. The beach was nicer (lighter sand). If we were to go back we would definately stay in this resort.
We also drove to El Golfo to see the 'green lagoon' which was a complete waste of time as it was more like a green puddle up a cliff walk and if i had paid for an excursion to this i would have felt cheated.

Overall we had a good holiday, but we had to go out and find it! The Bandama is ok for a basic base and offers very clean and maintained accomadation and seemed to attract older people in general (as did the resort).
However, there are many better resorts and apartments to stay in that are much better located.

Also, make sure you get your duty free and souveniers in the resorts as the airport is overpriced and dosen't have many shops.

Prices:
200 Cigarettes approx 17 euro's (£11.50)
English Breakfast 3-5 euro (£2-3)