Gran Melia Palacio de Isora

The Gran Melia Palace de Isora is advertised as a 5-star hotel, but our experience fell far below that standard. The most serious issue was finding glass in my dessert—This occurred in the Agave restaurant. I crunched down on it and nearly broke my tooth. I took the pieces straight to the kitchen, but staff dismissed it as “sugar” without properly checking, despite me showing them the fragments. I had a literal shrug from the chef. They said they would bring a replacement, but after waiting 15 minutes, nothing arrived so we left. I complained at guest services who said they would speak to the staff. The buffet was also disappointing, with food often cold and very repetitive. Service was lacking throughout—once you ordered a drink, there was no follow-up or top-up. Honestly I t he evening getting served for a drink becomes a mission in itself! On the seafood evening in the buffet the crab absolutely stank. My other half had been so excited about this evening but he cracked open a leg and it smelled disgusting. He didn’t eat it. It feels as though things are left out a lot longer than they should be. Watch out for the flies and eating type insects crawling around the salad and the cheese. The citronella candles the hotel lights don’t seem to do much to keep them at bay. One night I was watching a fly crawl all over the cooked chicken at the salad bar. That was when I decided may be best to stick to the hot food. The ice cream bar at Oasis was at first a gem. Until when we were approaching the bar we could see there was no queue for once- and had a lovely clear view of the ice cream vendor eating the ice cream with a spoon, using the same spoon from his mouth back into the ice cream again and again! Disgusting!!! The hotel itself had a disgusting persistent sewage smell all week, which the hotel attempted to mask with strong perfumes, resulting in an unpleasant mix. The smell was throughout the building, restaurants and the family pool. We could smell it in our room too. In the plaza, a waiter spilled a full tray of drinks over us we had a quick sorry but he or his colleagues made no effort to assist or check if we were okay. He did wipe down the table though before walking away. Another guest was laughing his head off at us. It would’ve been funny except we had just come down for the evening and we all had white clothes on and one of the drinks spilt was a strawberry smoothie! We had it on our faces, in our hair. I get that accidents happen, but it was the fact that once again, nobody came to give us a cloth or ask if we were ok or offer to get our clothes cleaned. We had to go to complain again to guest services to have our laundry covered, and even then, the charge was initially added to our bill and had to be removed after further complaints. The all-inclusive offering was unclear and frustrating, with menus requiring constant checking to avoid unexpected charges. After multiple complaints, on our last day we were offered a Bali bed for the day. However, after starting using it, we were phoned by guest services to say it didn’t include food or drink services usually included with a Bali bed —after we had already ordered. So we basically got given a subbed in the shade as compensation! There are not enough beds around the family pool, and it’s segregated into red level and AI. If you go in school holidays you need to be out there for 7 to get a decent position to be able to watch your kids in the water. If you go around the plaza from 10-4 don’t go to the top right corner of the plaza (if your back is to the sea). You will be mugged by the time share circle salespeople who will not let you escape. Luckily my other half was quite forceful and they did leave us alone eventually. Overall, this was not a 5-star experience. I wouldn’t recommend this hotel and would not return.

Do not go to this hotel if you are a couple it is 80% full with families with kids aged 3 months to 5 years all screaming and running around ruining breakfast lunch and dinner. Unable to book any al a carte restaurants Stay away

⭐ ⭐ ⭐☆☆ Disappointing systems and access – not a true 5★ experience We’ve just returned from a 9-night stay and unfortunately, while there are some real positives, the overall experience did not live up to what was sold. The positives first: The hotel itself is beautiful, very clean, and the staff on the ground are genuinely excellent. Food quality is also very strong — a special mention to Beatriz G and Moises at the Mexican restaurant who were outstanding. However, the issues around systems, access, and transparency significantly impacted our stay. The biggest problem is that the all-inclusive offering is oversold. Despite multiple restaurants being advertised, we were only able to access one à la carte restaurant during our entire stay. We were told that “Red Level” guests book everything in advance — and in reality, this leaves little to no availability for standard guests. We couldn’t get in steak restraunt once in 9 days. We chose the hotel because of choice. In practice, this means you are not getting what is advertised. Other issues we experienced: * 30–35 minute waits for drinks at dinner * Restaurant availability unclear and inconsistent * The app does not work properly for bookings * Long queues at guest services just to try and reserve anything * No response to 8 separate emails regarding a paid upgrade and trying to resolve booking. The systems here are simply not at a 5★ level, even though many of the staff are. There are also some practical frustrations: * Sunbeds are “reserved” early and often left unused * Very little for teenagers to do (no pool tables, table tennis, cinema, etc.) * Most activities are across the road at the sports centre and again limited unless you pay extra or are red level. * If you have a 15-year-old, they are charged as an adult but cannot access key facilities like the spa or even some pools The “Melia Circle” is also misleading — it’s not part of the hotel experience but a timeshare-style upsell, and we were approached multiple times a day about it. Location-wise, the hotel is quite isolated, although there is a lovely coastal walk which is a highlight in the mornings. ⸻ Overall This is a physically beautiful hotel with great staff, but the experience is let down by: * Poor booking systems * Lack of availability for core facilities * Misalignment between what is sold and what is actually accessible At this price point (£7k), that gap is hard to overlook. My rating reflects not the staff — who are doing their best — but the lack of response, poor systems, and overall experience not matching a 5★ standard. ⸻

The hotel is great for families as they are completely catered for and take priority. This hotel is NOT great for Adults travelling with no children. If you just have the normal All Inclusive package none of the restaurants included have an Adults area ( don’t get me wrong I like children but just not screaming and running around when I’m trying to have a relaxing meal). We did bring this to the attention of the customer service manager who told us unless we upgraded to Red Level (approx £1500 more) all they could offer was for us to sit at the Adults only pool (which we were already doing) and garden. If there was space (every time we visited the buffet restaurant there wasn’t) we could sit on the terrace as it may be a bit quieter. We also tried to book into the Al a Carte restaurants, you have to go to customer service everyday as the app doesn’t work, to be told two of the restaurants were closed for most of the week. The hotel itself is very nice and the rooms are lovely, however the service for Adults travelling without children is very poor and would definitely not recommend this hotel and I will not be returning

Pros: located just outside beautiful beaches. The venue is to die for. Friendly staff - special mention to the staff organising mini club activities. Carmen, at the reception desk, was very helpful as well. Thankfully the kids' swimming pool had warm water, the salt water pool is marvellous. Cons: Tired and old rooms. Our room's bathroom tiles were unstable and irregular. Food is bland and unappetising. Tried booking into speciality restaurants but just not possible to - 1) booking via app doesnt work 2) Guest services only open from 1030-1200. By 1030 there is a long queue and availibility is literally nil. But i heard from other guests, the food even in the speciality restaurants esp Nami, Oasis, L'ollo were nothing special. Pangea, the buffet restaurant, needs a mix up with their menus. I would suggest not to opt for ( halfboard or fullboard) meals but to visit nearby local restaurants. 5 mins walk from the resort there's great restaurants serving local food. Cheap compared to UK standards. ( pint of beer for €1.80 ). If you take the local 473 bus ( luxurious AC) bus it'll take you to Costa Adeje. Big town with variety of restaurants. Takes about 30 mins for €4. Only issue is bus arrives only every 20-30 mins. Local people are very friendly and helpful as well. 6 bottles of 1.5 L water will cost you €4.5, whereas in the hotel a bottle will cost about €6. So in a nutshell, avoid the food in the resort. Otherwise it's alright.