I had the BEST time at Lanzarote Retreats‘ Eco Village last weekend. My sister and I stayed for a long weekend, and we spent our time living simply and quietly in our cabin, walking along the beach, and lazing around the pool. I cannot explain how relaxed I was… but I’ll sure try!
Whenever I go on holiday or on a break, I like to do so while also sticking to my values. Finca de Arrieta, the Eco Village created by Lanzarote Retreats, truly enabled me to do this alongside switching off and relaxing for four days.
Powered by their solar and wind farm, we found our cabin to be a perfect blend of relaxed paradise and eco hub. We saved the cold water running before our hot steamy showers and used it in the bathroom or to water the plants; our rubbish was split between four bins; and our food waste, fed to the animals.
Our Stay at Finca de Arrieta
Lanzarote Retreats is a family-run business, with eco values at their heart. Over the last 30 years, the team has developed 16 eco homes and 18 villas and apartments on the island of Lanzarote, taking the best of both worlds: high-end amenities, eco-friendly principles, and a love for the natural beauty of the island.
We stayed at their largest complex, the Eco Village called Finca de Arrieta, a 10-minute walk from the village of Arrieta, or just a 5-minute walk to beach. On the complex, you’ll find 15 places to stay, all of them with their own unique name and offering – everything from yurts through to a luxury villa!
We stayed in one of the more spacious properties, the Eco Cabin, which hosts one double bedroom, one twin bedroom, as well as a kitchen and living room with bar area, an outdoor dining table, and two hammocks and two sun loungers. For the two of us, it was more than enough space, and it meant we could share time together, or relax individually when we wanted to.
Amenities at Finca de Arrieta
Alongside our accommodation, we really enjoyed relaxing by the communal salt-water pool, on one of the many cushioned loungers, or out of the sun in the little shack. And just a few steps away was the village’s Office, as well as Honesty Shop.
The Office
As the Eco Village is both small and exclusive to staying guests only, having the on-sight office was a really nice way to meet the staff and get to know the area a little more. Both Karen and Renata helped us during our stay; booking in food deliveries (there’s a daily dinner menu you can order from) and massages for us during our weekend stay.
The Honesty Shop
I also loved the Honesty Shop on site – a little 24/7 shop that’s stocked full of store-cupboard essentials, milk, cheese, ice creams, bathroom products, local eggs, and a water cooler to refill bottles of drinking water (and therefore eliminating unneeded plastic waste!)
We helped ourselves to items over the course of our visit, jotting down what we had taken on a little clipboard hanging on the wall, and later paid for all our items at the office. It made our stay a lot more comfortable!
The Animals
While they may not really be an “amenity” as such, the animals at Finca de Arrieta made for some really cute neighbours, as well as food waste heroes! Molly the Donkey and her partner ate up all our stale bread, the ducks waddled around, and the chickens at “Cluckingham Palace” pecked away at the rest of our food waste!
We also enjoyed regular visits from Zak, the female cat who popped up in our window on our first night, and regularly popped by after that. She was so friendly, sprawling out in the sunshine when we were in the hammocks, and lapping up a bowl of water when we were having our dinners.
The Hybrid Car
We also were given the option of driving one of the retreat’s fleet of hybrid cars during our stay. It’s great to see such a useful amenity available, and one that reduces on emissions too!
For our short stay, we didn’t need to make use of the car, instead walking into the village of Arrieta to buy groceries, to the beachside restaurants for dinner, or to the Honesty Shop for anything else. However, it was a great eco option to getting around the island, and we were also picked up and returned to the airport in the car.
Overall…
My sister and I had a truly wonderful, relaxed trip to Lanzarote, and if we were to return, we’d be sure to stay with Lanzarote Retreats again. They had everything perfectly balanced; eco living that’s not invasive, luxurious experiences that didn’t cost the earth… Overall, it made for a beautiful stay.
Disclaimer: I was gifted my stay at Lanzarote Retreats in order to write this review. All views and opinions expressed remain my own.
