"HOLIDAY RUINED – NOT A FIVE-STAR EXPERIENCE, AND NOW A FALSE PUBLIC STATEMENT FROM THE HOTEL
We stayed at Le Méridien Lav Split from 17 to 24 August 2026 – seven nights. We deliberately chose this resort because we wanted peace, privacy and relaxation away from the city. We regularly stay at five-star and luxury hotels and know perfectly well that occasional problems can happen anywhere.
Unfortunately, our holiday was ruined.
One of the main reasons we chose this property was Marriott’s own presentation. An official Marriott webpage stated that Le Méridien Lav Split “boasts a private beach.”
What we experienced was completely different.
The beach was heavily crowded, including by people who were not staying at the hotel. Towels were spread immediately beside our sun loungers and parasol, with shoes, clothing, bags and personal belongings left on the ground next to us. Some people even used towels as picnic blankets, placing food, drinks and containers on them and eating immediately beside hotel guests.
Our criticism is not directed at those people. If access was permitted, they had every right to be there. Our criticism concerns the hotel’s management of the situation and the enormous difference between the experience presented to customers and the reality we experienced.
After our complaint, the hotel confirmed that the beach was not exclusively reserved for hotel guests and suggested that Marriott’s reference to a “private beach” might have originated from a Marriott source that was “not fully updated.”
Why should a customer discover this only after booking, paying and arriving at the hotel?
The pools presented a similar contradiction. Marriott’s official page states “multiple pools on-site for hotel guests,” yet the hotel subsequently confirmed that local residents who are not staying at the property may also access the pools through paid memberships.
The pool areas were also crowded and very far from the peaceful and relaxing resort environment we believed we had booked.
The hotel subsequently told us that security personnel monitored these areas in plain clothes. The issue was never whether security staff wore uniforms. The issue was whether those controls were effective, considering what we personally witnessed and documented.
The room was another disappointment: worn and heavily scratched bathroom fittings, malfunctioning taps and an empty refrigerator/minibar.
At a five-star hotel, these basic matters should be checked before a room is handed over to a guest. A paying customer should not have to become the quality-control inspector of their own room after check-in.
We did not immediately rush to TripAdvisor to publish a negative review.
We first submitted a detailed formal complaint supported by photographs, screenshots and documentation, giving Le Méridien every opportunity to address what had happened.
After extensive correspondence, the hotel refused reimbursement or compensation and ultimately informed us that it considered the correspondence closed. We subsequently escalated the matter to Marriott.
We went on holiday to relax — not to photograph problems, collect evidence, compare published information with reality and spend weeks after returning home dealing with complaints.
Had the actual situation regarding the beach and pools been clearly disclosed before booking, we would never have chosen Le Méridien Lav Split.
IMPORTANT UPDATE – FALSE STATEMENT IN THE HOTEL’S PUBLIC RESPONSE
After my original review was published, LovrenkaR1970, identified on TripAdvisor as “Other at Le Méridien Lav, Split,” published a response claiming:
“the two nights you chose to cancel were not charged despite our policy, which was our gesture of compensation that you were happy with.”
I must respond to this directly and unequivocally:
THIS STATEMENT IS FALSE. I NEVER CANCELLED TWO NIGHTS.
Our stay was booked and paid in advance through Stayforlong for the entire week, from 17 to 24 August 2026 – SEVEN NIGHTS.
For absolute clarity, we slept at Le Méridien Lav on the nights of 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22 and 23 August and departed on 24 August. Seven nights.
Furthermore, I have the receipt/invoice issued by Le Méridien Lav itself documenting our week-long stay.
Therefore:
I did not cancel two nights.
I did not receive two nights as compensation.
I never accepted such compensation.
I never told the hotel that I was “happy” with it.
These are not matters of “personal opinion”. They are objectively verifiable facts.
For complete transparency, I am attaching to this review a screenshot of the public response posted by LovrenkaR1970, together with our Stayforlong booking confirmation showing the full seven-night stay and photographic documentation of what we experienced.
Readers can therefore see the documents and draw their own conclusions.
Since this claim was made publicly, I now ask LovrenkaR1970 directly:
Which two nights did I supposedly cancel? Where is my cancellation request? What amount was supposedly waived or refunded? Where is the corresponding accounting documentation? And where is the evidence that I ever said I was “happy” with this alleged compensation?
If Le Méridien maintains this statement, PRODUCE THE EVIDENCE. Otherwise, correct this false public statement.
After the dismissive and discourteous manner in which our documented complaint was handled, I find it even more unacceptable that an official public response from the hotel now contains a false account of events that never occurred.
Being discourteous is one thing. Publishing false information about what a guest supposedly did and accepted is another.
Based entirely on our personal experience, travellers looking for a genuine five-star experience, tranquillity, privacy and relaxation should think very carefully before choosing this hotel.
For us, this was not the five-star experience we paid for. We did not find the peace, privacy and relaxation for which we had specifically chosen the resort, and we found the handling of our complaint dismissive and discourteous. The subsequent publication of a false statement concerning an alleged cancellation and compensation has made our opinion of the hotel’s customer service even worse.
We will never return to Le Méridien Lav Split and, based on our experience, cannot recommend this property to travellers seeking the standards, tranquillity and service they reasonably associate with a five-star resort.
I stand fully by this review and by the documentation attached to it.
Francesco Rado"
