Melia Llana Club Lagoon Premium VIP

"My wife and I booked a last minute trip with Premier travel to Melia Llana, Sal, Cape Verde Spa resort, all inclusive 5 star. (Which it is not). When we arrived the EasyJet rep said “welcome to paradise” (Which it is not!! ) Very friendly and helpful reception staff. The garden room we booked was very large and clean and comfortable. The swimming pools that we were allowed to use in our all inclusive package were better than “The Level” exclusive area which was 50Euros per person per day extra. When booking our trip we were not advised that All Inclusive did not actually mean what it says, as there was a VIP level which superseded the all inclusive package. So beware!! The food was atrocious . Who serves hard cold Brussel sprouts for breakfast ? Cooked breakfast was lukewarm. The juices were not freshly squeeze; what you did get was watered down. Lunch was also terrible, almost the same every day, cold hard pizzas, overcooked meat and fish. Everyone we spoke to, said the same. The fish croquets were tasteless, again always just warm. The wine was copious but just passable. Evening meals were not much better. Lots of rice but I have better paella from Iceland or Lidl, which is strange because Sal is surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean. Also the prawns and scampi seemed frozen and re-frozen and sometimes mushy. As you can imagine I didn’t eat them, although I love shell fish. I only enjoyed one meal and that was freshly cooked sardines. So it can be done! If you like overcooked pork and warm, sub standard food you’ll be fine. One redeeming quality was the dining supervisors and waiting staff, who were exemplary. They were everything a good dining room staff should be. They are sadly let down by the quality of food. I felt it only fair to speak to the manager of the Hotel and I said to him directly that the food was atrocious and best 3 star. He was obviously defensive and blamed Covid and that everything had to be imported and chef’s were hard to find . He made no apology, just excuses. However, if you paid an extra 50 euros per day, per person your food was better and you could choose other, on site restaurants and other Melia hotels on the island (as told to us by other holidaymakers). For a 10 day stay this means another £1,000 per couple. We were not advised of this when booking. We complained to EasyJet and to Premier Travel before our trip commenced but nothing was done. So beware, your All Inclusive package is not what it seems. It is also an extremely windy Island, which chills the pools and stops people swimming. The sea was treacherous but the beach was fabulous. Also the entertainment was almost nonexistent. There wasn’t much to do in the evening. TV was a life saver, which we could do at home. So sorry that this is such a bad review, we do not usually complain but we were so disappointed. We are in our seventies and have travelled abroad quite a lot and sadly this has been our worst experience. We will never use a Melia group again or Premier Travel. In the future we will do our own bookings online and research the reviews. We left this to our Travel Agent on this occasion and never again!! Just to finish. I have come home with a gastric bug!!"

"Staff were extremely friendly and always on hand. Always felt like out comfort and happiness was top priority. Facilities were good and food was excellent. Would definitely visit again."

"Overall a good 5 nights stay, but thanks to The Level package, otherwise it would be a disaster. The Level Lounge is the place with the quality drinks and best place to relax, if you don’t meet some arrogant VIP bracelet holders (yellow colour) who are the worst guests, once even tried to steal our sun beds. But The Level team stepped in rapidly. Food is good, plenty of choice. Special thanks to Daniel - a top class barman, bravo! Terrible housekeeping. They dont make up your room, if you dont ask, no water, coffee, mini bar top up, you keep asking. Special thanks to The Level concierge team especially to Elisette and Sidney. They were always ready to help."