Dont usually go to Lanzarote end of June as normally go January but thought would give it a go, last time we came we thought PDC was starting to look run down and unfortunately this trend is continuing, quite a few bars and shops are closing down and being replaced by the latest fad ie foot fish spa´s!! a bit bizarre but everywhere you go there they are. Look PDC naturally is great but it´s the cheap people and the cheap everything that is ruining the place, we went down to Playa Blanca and what a contrast there, it´s different class, better looked after, more going on, a better feel-ambience, if I say uomarket it sounds snobbish which im certainly not but PDC has become too tacky, tawdry and i dont know it´s lacking something it really is and it needs to up it´s game drastically for me. That said I must congratulate the friendly welcome and excellent service found in the restaurants and bars, particularly in the old town, Im sick to death of over charging Irish bars but there are 2 exceptions Paddy´s Bar and Craic and Ceol which serves the best pint of Guinness anywhere and doesn´t rip you off, some lovely restaurants such as Puerto Viejo, Bodega and El Ancla. La Longa tapas has gone down hill as has the chino at Matagorda. Lanzarote taxi drivers are getting worse, more miserable and over charging, longest route they can etc. 2 years ago 12 Euros from airport to old town, Jan11 15 Euros, last week 19 Euros, absoloute joke. Overall still got a soft spot for PDC, there are many good aspects of it but also plenty of things that need to improve alot, I think Playa Blanca with the marina rubicon etc is in a different league and is now the place to go. PDC needs a complete revamp and overhaul. Cheap cheap cheap dragging everything down to the lowest of the low is not always the best way to go, value for money yes but rock bottom crap attracts crap and that´s how it is these days in PDC

There's significant investment going into PDC at the moment with a number of larger shops opening, redevelopment, more green spaces created and finally the finishing of the pavements. It won't happen over night but give pdc a year or so and hopefully the difference will be seen.

Can I just say for anyone visiting Puerto del Carmen an absolute must for live free entertainment is to walk down to the old town harbour where the fishing boats are there is a decked walkway, get down there and see the ducks!!!! really I have not gone quackers!!! geddit!! but the quacks are hilarious, so funny they put on a show every day and evening...letś put it like this there were loads of English and Spanish holidaymakers watching them every day and laughing, they are as human as ducks can be I guess. Maybe the tourist board should sign them up!!!

Good post.

Once you start a price war and fight to be the cheapest then there really is no way back - judging by many of the posts on this and other lanza board all people are interested in is the cheapest beer, cheapest breakfast etc and then find that the whole place has gone cheep cheep....!

You reap what you sow. Playa blanca has its cheap brit bars as well but has a balance, and even it has suffered in the down turn losing a lot of high end shops.

Same thing with PRs out on the street during the day - as soon as one place starts it, the others follow suit.

What's really disappointing in PDC is the fact that many restaurants in the Old Town even have pushy PRs now.

I must call down to Playa Blanca soon for a look around

We are heading back in Sept,

Looking forward to chilling out, I'll have a good look around see if we can notice any difference,

There are a lot of people who want to find the cheapest as foodie says, but I think this is more of a quest of intent to avoid the rip off places than anything else

How come the taxi was 19€ ? have the prices gone up ? in all the years going we've never paid more than 12€ to Centro from the airport

Happy Holidays
Danny

But what is a rip off?! I will happily pay 3 or 4E for a decent well kept beer in a frozen glass in a pleasant location.

Or is it the 2E breakfast customer who finds he is getting charged 10E for the coffee....?!

I agree, foodie, although I have to say paying €3.40 for a 400 cc glass which they then only 2/3 fill annoys me so I do complain.

We're getting close to that old maxim now of people who "know the price of everything and the value of nothing".

The same applies to prices charged by "live entertainment" bars. Which is better value?

(A) €3 for a beer in the bar that has a full cabaret show & table service, or

(B) €2 for a beer in the bar that has a singer & backing tracks in the corner beside the fag machine.

I know what I'd prefer, but if bar (B) is able to stay open & make money, then there must be enough people who prefer the €2 beer.

It'll be interesting to see which one survives/thrives as the Recession drags on in Ireland/UK.

When you mention "PR" are these the people that hustle you as you wander along the path to try and get you into their bar?

Be aware that this is very off putting...I can decide where I want to go and at the first sign of this I say NO Thanks...When they persist they are a pest and should be banned...This is not what I want on holiday and I boycott the area/resort.

This one of the reasons not been back.

I can be very critical of PDC but also very complimentary, it's one of those places that does really well in certain parts and could do alot better in others. I know you shouldn't generalise but why on earth do cafe bars employ fat vile tattooed football shirt wearing pot bellied englishman to stand outside trying to drag you in their bar, can't they see all these people do is turn you off a place, are we all so incapable of making our own minds up, it's all right people saying just be polite and say no but you get sick to death of being unable to walk along in peace and quiet without the hassle and aggro, the local council should ban ouright all PR's or whatever you call them. Going back to the price issue ok you are always going to have intense price competition amongst the businesses and that is good for the consumer to a point but my point is even when im on a budget i choose which bar to drink in on how appealing it is in general and the warmth of the staff once you get in there, to continually dumb PDC down and down to giving it away virtually leads to closed up premises, empty units and a feel of a place of decline. Playa Blanca costs a little more but you get a lot more, the place looks to be in a different league without being pretentious in any way. I recommend the restaurants in PDC to offer the warmest welcome you will find anywhere on holiday and most of them are Spanish, we eat in the old town mainly spanish places for the friendliness and welcome you get, the atmosphere and the great food, the price comes into it but not the be all and end all, for 35 to 40 Euros a couple a night we were having a nice meal with bottle of wine, back in the UK that would be at least 70 quid and not as nice. PDC has got so much going for it and so much to improve on but my suggestion is it stops dumbing down to the masses and focuses on quality that can still be value for money

Yes, they are the ironically named "public representatives" of bars/restaurants.



I agree. But this would require the bars and restaurants to work together and present their case to the local council. And unfortunately, many of these can not see or do not care about the long-term effects of pestering tourists on the street in broad daylight.

We can only hope that such PR-ing fades away like the time-share touts of yesteryear.

PDCs heyday was the very late 1980's.

PB has a few years yet to get there.

It's the same with any tourist resort, they all look tired after a few years and money has not been spent on PDC for many years apart from the new 'prom'.

Blackpool is the biggest tourist resort in the UK and it's a s***hole because no money has been spent on it since George Formby was at the Winter gardens in 1941.

Blackpool is currently having many millions spent on it