"The hotel has convenient parking, both on the main street and behind the hotel, and it is free. Check-in, however, was quite slow and could be made much more efficient.
We stayed in room 1811 on the 18th floor, right at the end of the corridor. The room was spacious, with a large comfortable bed, good-quality bedding, wooden flooring and plenty of storage space. There was a wardrobe, minibar and tea and coffee-making facilities. The bathroom was well laid out, with both a shower and separate bathtub, and Rituals toiletries.
The room had good views across the city, particularly towards the conference centre and the surrounding suburbs, although it is away from the city centre. Being opposite the casino and conference centre makes the location particularly convenient for events. The chaise longue with a reading light was a nice addition, as was the small notepad and pencil.
The main weakness of the room was lighting. It was quite dark, with most of the lighting concentrated around the headboard, and the reading light was also rather dim. More central lighting would make a significant difference. The carpets in the corridor were also looking rather dusty.
Despite being on the 18th floor, there was noticeable traffic noise from the road and roundabout below. There is also a very tall building directly opposite, which affects some of the views. Better sound insulation would improve the experience.
Gym & Pool
The gym is reasonable, with both cardio equipment and weights, although the machine section was closed with barriers at 8am on Saturday, which was disappointing. The pool is very small and is really more suitable for a dip than swimming laps. There was also some background noise around the pool area.
Breakfast
Breakfast was extremely busy. On arrival, we waited for someone to greet us and take us to a table, but after waiting for some time we eventually gave up and found a table ourselves.
The breakfast area is spread across three sections, with seating around the buffet area and around the lobby bar. There is also outdoor seating, which is pleasant but unfortunately exposed to traffic noise. The heating and cooling units also created some background noise.
The fruit was good, but several other items were disappointing. The pastries were poor, the meat was cut unusually thickly, and the bread selection was overly focused on whole-wheat varieties. The coffee, despite being made from fresh beans in a machine, was below average.
Spa was only open to those who had treatment.
Overall, Meliá Valencia offers a spacious room, good views, convenient free parking and a useful location for the conference centre, but the slow check-in, poor room lighting, traffic noise and disappointing breakfast prevent it from feeling like a truly polished five-star experience."
