Lorenzo Testa
What makes the difference in a five star hotel? Service. And unfortunately, this is where this resort completely fails.
We arrived for four nights with six guests, spending a considerable amount of money. We had six high end road bikes with us and asked where we could safely store them. The answer was simply: “Keep them in your room.”
Six bikes. In our room.
Considering we are basically in Benidorm, one of Europe’s major cycling destinations, it is quite unbelievable that a five star resort has no secure bike storage. We ended up paying for a garage space and setting up our own rack and locks.
Things didn’t improve from there. Reception gave us completely wrong directions to our room, nobody offered to help with the luggage, the coffee machine didn’t work, the air conditioning was incredibly noisy and freezing, and the shower light didn’t work.
On our last day we asked maintenance to borrow a simple wrench for five minutes. We were told the maintenance guy was using it and we would have to wait until he had finished. Forty minutes later, still nothing. We had to complain at reception and wait again.
This perfectly sums up the problem. At a genuine five star hotel, service and finding solutions for guests should come first. Here, it simply doesn’t.
The pools are beautiful and the resort looks impressive, but behind the posh image the service is nowhere near five star level. The restaurants were equally disappointing.
For us, this felt like a very expensive tourist trap: great to look at, but everything else is best forgotten.
Bent Høst Husted
Overall, a disappointing stay.
Essential is that we have ordered and paid for The Level, and this stay did not live up to The Level standard.
The air conditioning in our room did not work, and we only received two small bottles of warm water on arrival with no refills during our stay.
The resort was overcrowded with children, including in the spa area, despite having dedicated family facilities, and The Level is often adults only.
The wellness experience was further impacted by saunas being closed 15 minutes before the end of our paid 60-minute spa session.
Several restaurants required additional payment, which was not clearly communicated, and spa discounts were only available on the first day. To make matters worse, a 60% discount offer was advertised during the same week we stayed.
The hotel is fantastic, but better communication, room maintenance, and separation of family and wellness areas are needed.
J. DV
We have been spending our Easter holidays at Meliá Villana Barcelona the Level for several years in a row, and we always come back with great pleasure. The service is consistently very good, and the staff always make us feel welcome.
One of the main reasons we keep returning is the heated swimming pool. It is truly warm, even in April, which makes a big difference and allows us to fully enjoy our stay.
We only take breakfast (not the buffet for other meals), and it is quite good overall. Nothing exceptional, but definitely enjoyable.
This time, we initially stayed in a Grand Suite, and we do feel that these rooms are starting to show their age. The air conditioning was not working properly, and the bathroom, especially the bathtub, felt outdated and not in great condition.
However, after mentioning this to the reception, they handled it very well. We only stayed one night in that room, and for the rest of our stay we were given a beautiful room, number 514. This room was much more modern, nicely decorated, and very close to the pool. It was a huge improvement and made our stay much more enjoyable.
We truly appreciate how the situation was resolved, and we will definitely be back again. Hopefully next time in a room like 514 again! You can count on seeing us every year … see you next year!
Alina Maria Petrovici
Dear Meliá Villaitana Management Team,
I am writing to formally express my disappointment regarding the experience my family and I had during our recent stay at your hotel.
I made my reservation through Booking.com in advance, expecting a smooth and welcoming arrival. Unfortunately, upon reaching the reception, I was informed that the hotel had no record of our booking. What followed was an extremely uncomfortable situation: I remained standing at the reception desk for approximately 40 minutes with my young son, while the receptionist attempted to contact Booking.com.
After finally reaching a Booking.com call center agent, I was asked to wait an additional 15–20 minutes for a confirmation email. Although I received the confirmation promptly, the hotel informed me that the email had been sent to a reservations address that the reception staff could not access. The situation remained unresolved until I requested that a manager be involved. The manager did not come personally, but apparently advised reception by phone that the confirmation had been received at the hotel’s reservations email.
We were finally given our room approximately 45 minutes later. By this point, the experience had already been very stressful and exhausting.
Unfortunately, the difficulties did not end there. The room was prepared with two twin beds, despite our stay including our son. No one asked whether we needed the sofa bed to be prepared for him. Additionally, there were towels only for two guests. I had to call reception to request additional towels, as none were proactively provided.
At check-out, another receptionist acknowledged the issue and apologized on behalf of the hotel. While I appreciated the apology, it came after no real attempt had been made during our stay to recover the service or compensate for the inconvenience and distress caused.
In the spirit of hospitality — where the guest experience is central — I believe the handling of this situation fell significantly below the standards expected from a hotel of Meliá Villaitana’s reputation. The prolonged waiting time, lack of proactive communication, absence of managerial presence during a service failure, and the lack of basic room preparation for the number of guests demonstrate a clear breakdown in guest care.
Traveling with a child should not involve standing at reception for nearly one hour due to internal communication issues between the hotel and a booking platform. Nor should guests need to repeatedly request basic room amenities.
I trust that you will take this feedback seriously, review your reservation procedures and guest recovery protocols, and consider appropriate compensation for the inconvenience and discomfort caused.
I look forward to your response.
Rachael Riding
We have just come back from a weeks stay at this hotel. As it was half term we thought this would be the perfect getaway for our family.
This hotel is NOT suitable for families, this hotel is more for businesses, events and golfers!!
Breakfast is very basic and the same every single day.
1 Mexican snack bar. Not a good choice for children
Ice cream parlour only open Thursday - Sunday 3pm - 9pm
Italian restaurant only open 2 days Friday Saturday.
Not a good choice of food for children
No kettle facilities in the rooms
Half the Pool area was closed for an event on the Sunday.
No restaurants about or shops, 10 mins in a taxi to Benidorm
