Melia Isla Canela

We have been to this Hotel several times over the last 8 years and was pleased to see that in particular the rooms have been partially renovated (although not all of it good!). Last time we stayed in 2022 the rooms and bathrooms were getting very tired and scruffy. This year we stayed All Inclusive in a Family Room with a limited sea view and the room was very nice and spacious and updated. However, as several people have already commented the lack of shelving is appalling and I cannot understand where the Management think you can store your clothes that are not being hung up? The majority of our clothes had to be just piled up on top of each other on the bottom of the wardrobes, this is not acceptable in a 4* hotel. I would specifically ask the Management the question of 'where do you think clients can unpack and store their clothes that do not hang up'??? It would be a quick and cheap fix to put back in shelves and drawers for clients to put their clothes on/in and urgently needs doing. The Bathroom was much nicer than our last stay with a new basin area, but the bath and tiling had not been replaced or updated in any way and the grouting was missing in some areas and also black and discoloured! The bath towels are nice and big and also the complimentary shower gel etc nice. The Pool Bar has been moved and looks very nice and as previously experienced, the freshly prepared food is very tasty, but unfortunately the AI choices have been reduced and it doesn't seem logical what is and isn't included under AI. However on nearly every occasion of using this bar for either ordering food or drinks it is very obvious that it is understaffed and despite the best efforts of the staff, sometimes there are unacceptably long waits to be served and Management should employ more staff to work in this area both during the day and the evening. Again this is a comment that has been made all summer by other Reviewers, but obviously nothing has been done to improve the situation. What is disappointing is that the Bar in the Reception area has been removed and now, especially in the evening if you want to sit in this area you either have to get a drink from the Pool Bar and go up and down the steep steps or walk all the way down to the Entertainment Area Bar to get a drink - this is a backwards step for your clients. The House Rose wine was very drinkable and there was lots of delicious fish on offer every evening in the main Restaurant. However the red meat was mostly very tough and chewy and not nice at all! Also the soup at this hotel, over all the years we have been coming here, is the worse soup at any hotel I have ever tasted. In the past it had the consistency of wallpaper paste and was totally tasteless and obviously not homemade and made out of dry powder. This year at least the soup was not so thick and paste like, but unfortunately it was still totally tasteless and unpleasant and after trying it a couple of times I just gave up and stopped

Just back from this lovely Hotel, stayed as a couple for 2 weeks and had a lovely time.The Staff in particular are wonderful, from Reception at initial book in, the Waiting staff in the dining room ( especially Rita) she was exceptional. Irene with her yoga class, making sure we were OK and not overextending ourselves. The Entertainment Staff were always so enthusiastic. Always a great selection of food at dining times. Lovely view from our room.The Beach is breath taking with super soft sand, The only negative during our stay was being ordered off the sun beds on our first morning. We inadvertently used beds reserved for full board guests, there are no signs to say not to be used, Had a Staff member order us off the beds, standing over us saying "MUST have Bracelet" constantly I asked where to get one, reply was MUST have Bracelet, maybe 10 times, seemed it was the only English he knew. I Went to Reception and they explained the Full Board Guests haveexclusive use of those beds. It was embarrassing to be ordered off the beds instead of a quiet word. I suggest some signs be erected stop the embarrassing situation. In spite of the beds saga we enjoyed our 2 weeks and will definitely be back.

We use Meliá quite a lot . The level room is a must as you get so much more. The premium level room was really nice , huge comfortable bed , walk in shower , coffee machine and pods , robes and slippers . Blue tooth speaker and large tv with a few English channels . The level breakfast was served in the Italian restaurant and was really nice with a huge selection , there is a menu that you can order a few egg dishes , the soft boiled eggs was hit and miss . The level lounge open from 11.00 to 23.00 there are snacks available all day as well as tea coffee, soft drinks , beer and wine/Cava. At 17.00 a selection of tapas is put out and is quite extensive. Also there is an open bar for 2 hours, Gin, Vodka etc. We like the beach and this beach will not disappoint , it was huge with lovely soft sand . Meliá do provide sun beds and umbrellas which are 10 euro for 2 beds and umbrella., very reasonable , there are a couple of chirrigitos on the beech which are both worth a visit for lunch . We were on a BB basis and so out every night . The fish restaurants which are a 15 min walk at punta del moral are superb there are approx 4-5 but we only tried 2 la Cala once and el pescao 3 times all do fresh fish on the bbq , worth asking the price as some of the fresh fish are so much per 100grams , other nights we ate in Ayamonte . You can get the bus In,and to get a taxi back 16 euro . We found a nice wine bar Vinos which did basic tapas and lovely wine reasonable . Next door is a tapas bar also very nice and reasonable . Worth noting most places don’t open till 8 . 8.30

This is a beautiful hotel in the most perfect location. Right on the beach (across a boardwalk) with the most stunning coastline. Fine white sand and sunbeds and parasols at your disposal for 5 euros a day each. The little chiringuito en route, along the boardwalk, was lovely for some impromptu fresh fish and vino to escape the heat of the day. The little marina in Isla Canela is really sweet. Somewhere to walk to if lounging around gets too much. A few tapas places and a couple of shops. There's not much there, but all you need. The little mini market was perfect for a few supplies. We bought a couple of bottles of wine for our room and stored them in the fridge in our room. I would also recommend the little boat trip tour around to Isla Cristina. 12 euros per person for an hour. Wine and prawns on board and very friendly informative crew. As for the hotel, we upgraded to The Level on arrival. This wasn't particularly cheap ( 115 euros per night), but when we weighed up the extras we got (and the beautiful room with sea views), we decided it would be worth it. And it was. My only negative was the confusing literature we were given in relation to what the level included. We arrived on the Sunday, and it took a good couple of days, and talking to people, to work it all out. Because we were tired on arrival, we thought that once we upgraded, the Casa Nostra restaurant was also included. We only realised having eaten there twice that there is a supplement of 15 euros per person per visit. The food was lovely, however, and the fact that we could also use this quieter venue for breakfast made it all ok. The staff are all generally friendly. The bar staff in the main plaza lack humility and the ability to recognise who needs serving next. Shame as a beautiful setting, and again, once we realised that the Level actually provided us with free wine until 11pm, we didn't actually need to buy drinks there anyway. See above for confusing literature. Once familiar with what was what, the Level provided us with drinks all day from 11 to 11 (wine, beer and soft drinks) as well as little sweet treats. Between 5 and 7pm, some little tapas were provided along with a little spirits bar (local brands). We also had access to some nicer sunbed cushions in an area closer to the pool. This is an adult only pool and so much more peaceful than the main pool area. Entertainment was ok. We enjoyed the Fiesta night. A big thanks to all who looked after us. Overall, this hotel has pretty much got it all right. Sort out the literature and the bar at the Plaza, and I think I can honestly say it's pretty near perfect.

Stayed here for 2 weeks on bed and breakfast with evening meal.The breakfasts were amazing so much choice all freshly cooked with a good sele ction of fresh fruit gluten and wheat free option for all meals.The bread is a great selection both for breakfast and evening meal. We loved the choice of the evening meals all buffer style freshly cooked a great selection of fish cooked while you wait lovely tasty meat dishes salads are lovely as well. We loved our room it was a superior one we were told when we booked in that we didn’t have a good view would we like to change we said no, the view was amazing we watched the boats coming in from their fishing trips. Hotel is really clean and the choice of seating was amazing you could have a different seat any night. No sun bed saving there was loads spare all round the pools, pool not heated that put me off but didn’t bother us gave us a chance to look round the area. The entertainment was really good some was put on by the staff for which was very entertaining the magition one night was very good. I agree with what people have said about not much space for clothes if you were to stay 2 weeks then there wouldn’t be enough space all my clothes were on bottom of wardrobe which was a bit of a clat, hopefully next year they might well put some chests of drawers in . Having to pay 2 euro 80 for bottle water a t meals times We would most definitely come back here it was in all the years of staying in a hotel the best I have been in from the food space and all you wonderful staff many thanks for your kindness