Melia Isla Canela

Very disappointing stay at the Meliá Isla Canela. Reception staff at check in were rude and did not provide any information about hotel facilities. The room (ground floor/river side) was ok but the corridor leading to it was dark & with stained carpet. There was an intermittent smell of smoke in the room, perhaps coming through wall vents from surrounding balconies. Most of the staff were unfriendly and completely indifferent to english speaking guests. It very much felt like a two-tier experience where customer service was reserved for Spanish guests only. In all my years holidaying abroad, I have never experienced this before. The least one should expect on holidays is a friendly greeting or welcoming smile when interacting with guests. This did not happen during our 7 day stay at this hotel. We stayed on an all-inclusive basis and it was disappointing a not worth the money. Breakfast was the best meal of the day. The lunch and dinner offering in the Mosaico Restaurant was very hit & miss. Heavy bias on fish dishes to suit Spanish guests. Poor quality cuts of meat for all the other non-fish dishes. Pizza with odd toppings like stilton cheese. No ice-cream or cream served with desserts, just yoghurt which was odd. Bar staff were poorly trained and not overly friendly. If you asked for a cocktail you would see them consulting a manual for the instructions to make it. Quality of drinks served depended very much on which staff member made it. The entertainment offering for guests was poor. Aqua bike in the pool seemed to be as good as it got. The resort of Isla Canela itself had absolutely nothing of note or interest that we could determine. Impossible to get a seat on the local bus to Ayamonte which runs every two hours. Wanted to go for a break from the monotony of the hotel, though I suspect that Ayamonte itself would also have been a disappointment with little to no Andalusian charm. I would have thought that a courtesy bus to run Isla Canela hotel guests to Ayamonte would be a benefit to the local economy. Ironically, the guest experience team (clones with beards & chinos) spent lots of time with clipboards, presumably working on customer service plans while doing nothing to engage with the english speaking guests in front of their noses. Similarly a team from Melia head office arrived at the end of the week to assess how their 'product' could be improved. It would be more in their line to 'mystery shop' the hotel and experience the stellar customer service for themselves. We did note that the dinner offering on that evening was the best of week! I would never return to Isla Canela and would be slow to book a Melia hotel again after this experience. If you have not yet booked this hotel, don't.

We originally stayed at this hotel in 2022 - room with balcony - and 2023 - upgraded to room with large balcony and beautiful sea view ( we didn’t ask for this). This year we were given a small room with a balcony that we could barely stand on, more of a window ledge, see pic! When we complained we were told this was a standard room and that both of our previous stays must have been upgrades. It put a dampener on the holiday as we do like to sit out on the balcony. Also, no drawers in room to put clothes in. Apart from this, beds really comfortable, tea and coffee making facilities in the room, food tasty but never hot enough, however they have now provided microwaves. The resort is beautiful with stunning beaches. We will return but not to this hotel.

Stayed here in 2023. In 2024 we stayed in Barcelo Isla Canela. I didn't do a review in 2023 but having stayed in Barcelo in 2024 I can tell you this is the better of the two hotels by far. Service is they key, both hotels sit in good locations, both have good facilities etc, but the service in Melia Vs Barcelo there is a clear difference in favour of Melia. There really was nothing to fault in Melia in 2023. Wonderful when I return to Isla Canela I know where to return to, see you in 2025.

We really enjoyed our 10 day holiday in this wonderful Location. Beautiful Beach. Hotel luxurious. Entertainment staff especially Elena and Yaros were great. Dance classes and Wine tasting very enjoyable. I know it is not the Hotel’s fault but Bus Service to Ayamonte was only every two hours and then not enough seats so we ended up having to get Taxis . Only fault with the room was no drawers to put our clothes in however they did supply us with extra hangers on request. Many thanks to all the Staff.

Lovely hotel with many good points. Right on the beach and superb bar and lounge. Lovely quiet adult pool as well as a family pool. Flamenco show was brilliant. Room very adequate. Transfer time was good. Very good value for money. Staff all very helpful and professional. Negatives - food a bit hit and miss. Sometimes cold. Big selection but not 4 star. Room lacks drawers so nowhere to put clothes other than hanging. Didn't understand the Level thing and no explanation on arrival. Building works were ongoing. Not all facilities open??? The resort was very quite. Some bars and shops not open. Nothing much to do at night. Also mosquitoes do bite so take protection. 5th May for a week.

Just returned from a 6 night stay and our first visit to this area of Spain. The hotel is spotlessly clean with a lovely pool area and easy access to the wonderful beach . We were half board so ventured out to the nearby marina for drinks at the 2-3 bars. Food quality was very good and all the staff were very pleasant. Well done to everyone at Melia Atlantico, our visit was very enjoyable and we shall return again in the future.

Had a nice relaxing week. No real cause for complaint. The staff are all very polite and helpful. The hotel is extremely clean. The room have not changed very much in the 12 years since i last visited but many parts of the hotel have changed considerably. There is an excellent gym with very modern well maintained machines and free weights. The dining room is now very modern and the range of food is very good but seemed a little repetitive on an evening however we are close to the closing down period so i guess there may be an overstock of some frozen items? Breakfast was excellent and had a very wide range of food for all nationalities. Overall the food was very good and it's clear to see the effort that goes into the catering. I have enjoyed our week and would certainly return to this hotel. The following few paragraphs are purely for the information of other travellers and are by no means any fault of the hotel. The bus service to Ayamonte is very unreliable and at busy times many people are turned away as the bus is full. Taxi to Ayamonte can be arranged by the hotel but taxi back not as easy as you would think. The 'Pelon' ferry that runs between Isla Canela and Isla Cristina is a nice change of scenery, it runs on the hour and is 6Euro return. Sadly this one is aimed at the municipal controllers of Isla Canela, 'Clean up all the dog s**t' it's an absolute disgrace to have such a lovely resort ruined by something so nasty!! Anyway back to the hotel, well done, thankyou for a lovely stay and hope to see you again on the future