Gran Melia Palacio de Isora

"Absolutely stunning hotel within gorgeous grounds and very comfortable rooms. Only 25 mins from the airport. From check-in to check-out the whole experience was a pleasure, there isn't anything that the staff cant help you with and always with a smile. Wonderful service from Franco and the team at the adults only pool. The a la carte restaurants are something else, lots of choice but get booked in early. The whole place was immaculate, the gardens beautiful and the staff on any issues with maintenance very quickly. We were lucky enough to meet Patrick and Rio from the circle team on the 3rd day of our holiday, who gave us so much useful information regarding the hotel, hotel chain and options for further holidays. They both feel like friends! We are now part of the circle team which is a great way to plan holidays with no effort and with a huge choice of beautiful resorts. We cant wait for our next holiday. So pleased we have found this hotel. We will be back!!"

"We stayed at Gran Meliá Palacio de Isora and overall had a very good experience. I think it’s worth saying that a lot of the one star reviews don’t really reflect what we found during our stay. First, the sunbed situation is not an issue if you approach it sensibly. If you’re down early, you’ll get what you want, and even later in the day beds do free up as people come and go. It never felt chaotic or unmanageable. The staff across the hotel were consistently attentive and helpful. We had an issue with noise from the room above us and were moved immediately without any fuss, which set the tone for how problems are handled. Carolina in particular was excellent in helping resolve this. Zaher (lady with the tattoos) who worked daily around the pirate pool and served us drinks all day, was also exceptional, she was friendly, proactive, and made a real effort. Rooms were good, and we ended up mid stay paying for a sea view upgrade which was absolutely worth it. Food overall was strong, with a good variety of restaurants. The Asian restaurant and Duo stood out as very good. The Italian was nice, although dinner service there was noticeably slower than elsewhere. Booking dinner reservations can be a bit of a pain. We actually raised this before arriving, and had to refer back to that complaint to make sure we could get reasonable times. That said, if you speak to guest services and make it clear you’re not happy, they do try to sort it out. The “cold pool” that gets criticised is a saltwater pool, so it’s meant to feel that way. We found it refreshing and actually preferred it in the heat. The main negative was drink pricing. €8 for a beer that’s marketed as large but clearly isn’t feels steep, especially given the overall positioning of the hotel. Overall, while I’m not entirely convinced it justifies the premium price point, we had a genuinely very good stay and would return."

"The Gran Melia Palace de Isora is advertised as a 5-star hotel, but our experience fell far below that standard. The most serious issue was finding glass in my dessert—This occurred in the Agave restaurant. I crunched down on it and nearly broke my tooth. I took the pieces straight to the kitchen, but staff dismissed it as “sugar” without properly checking, despite me showing them the fragments. I had a literal shrug from the chef. They said they would bring a replacement, but after waiting 15 minutes, nothing arrived so we left. I complained at guest services who said they would speak to the staff. The buffet was also disappointing, with food often cold and very repetitive. Service was lacking throughout—once you ordered a drink, there was no follow-up or top-up. Honestly I t he evening getting served for a drink becomes a mission in itself! On the seafood evening in the buffet the crab absolutely stank. My other half had been so excited about this evening but he cracked open a leg and it smelled disgusting. He didn’t eat it. It feels as though things are left out a lot longer than they should be. Watch out for the flies and eating type insects crawling around the salad and the cheese. The citronella candles the hotel lights don’t seem to do much to keep them at bay. One night I was watching a fly crawl all over the cooked chicken at the salad bar. That was when I decided may be best to stick to the hot food. The ice cream bar at Oasis was at first a gem. Until when we were approaching the bar we could see there was no queue for once- and had a lovely clear view of the ice cream vendor eating the ice cream with a spoon, using the same spoon from his mouth back into the ice cream again and again! Disgusting!!! The hotel itself had a disgusting persistent sewage smell all week, which the hotel attempted to mask with strong perfumes, resulting in an unpleasant mix. The smell was throughout the building, restaurants and the family pool. We could smell it in our room too. In the plaza, a waiter spilled a full tray of drinks over us we had a quick sorry but he or his colleagues made no effort to assist or check if we were okay. He did wipe down the table though before walking away. Another guest was laughing his head off at us. It would’ve been funny except we had just come down for the evening and we all had white clothes on and one of the drinks spilt was a strawberry smoothie! We had it on our faces, in our hair. I get that accidents happen, but it was the fact that once again, nobody came to give us a cloth or ask if we were ok or offer to get our clothes cleaned. We had to go to complain again to guest services to have our laundry covered, and even then, the charge was initially added to our bill and had to be removed after further complaints. The all-inclusive offering was unclear and frustrating, with menus requiring constant checking to avoid unexpected charges. After multiple complaints, on our last day we were offered a Bali bed for the day. However, after starting using it, we were phoned by guest services to say it didn’t include food or drink services usually included with a Bali bed —after we had already ordered. So we basically got given a subbed in the shade as compensation! There are not enough beds around the family pool, and it’s segregated into red level and AI. If you go in school holidays you need to be out there for 7 to get a decent position to be able to watch your kids in the water. If you go around the plaza from 10-4 don’t go to the top right corner of the plaza (if your back is to the sea). You will be mugged by the time share circle salespeople who will not let you escape. Luckily my other half was quite forceful and they did leave us alone eventually. Overall, this was not a 5-star experience. I wouldn’t recommend this hotel and would not return."