Melia Costa del Sol

Location is ok. Atmosphere without a personality. Rooms clean. Value for money - questionable Staff needs training to welcome guests

Our family staid at this hotel for five nights from July 21st, which is when we had to fly to Spain to attend matters relating to my aunts passing who lived in the region. Whilst it was predominantly a sad occasion we were hoping to have some fun as a family too, which my aunt who loved Spain would have wanted.

Upon arrival at the hotel we did not have a good experience with the check in process. Expect lengthy queues to check in and out, which appeared to be the norm throughout the time we were there at the reception desk. Despite receiving confirmation in writing prior to arrival my room would have separate twin beds they were made as a double bed when we got into the room, which delayed us further from being able to get in to the room until after 16:30, which was a pain as we had landed at Malaga airport at 08:30am, and was hoping to get in to the room by the designated 3pm.

I perceive the reception team to be a tad hit and miss with the level of service they provide. Some team members were responsive and helpful, and others not so good. The receptionist who we complained to about the room not having been made up into a twin bed room did not cone across as being very helpful. We there reiterated we needed the beds changed to the correct setting. She finally called the housekeeping team to instruct them to re-do the bed situation. However, she did not take in to consideration I could understand what she was saying in Spanish. I there took offence to her saying down the phone 'they're English' which we perceived to imply that was why we were complaining because of our nationality. The operative did not handle the situation well from a customer service perspective. That said, the manager called us later to apologise, which we appreciated.

A few other gripes:

1: Not enough sun beds around the entire three pool areas, including the roof top pools. They could easily put in more beds and umbrellas around the main pool area from a logistical perspective. We struggled to get a bed throughout the stay. We had to pay for beds on the beach instead. However, I prefer the pool area, as did some other members of our party. 2. You have to pay €20 to go into the spa pool area on the lower ground floor. 3. The gym could do with a few more apparatus. 4. You can wait a long while for the lifts. Hence we did our best to use the stairs. 5. There is no pool drinks service, which I think is disappointing for a 4 star hotel in Spain in this day and age. You have to go up to the bars to get your drinks. There is no waiter service around the main large pool area. You have to get up off the sun lounger and walk into the main hotel bar to get a drink, which is a pain when wearing a swimsuit as we had to cover up every time we wanted to purchase a drink. 6. The fridges in the rooms are very small.

Would I stay here again - Yes, and here's why:

1: The hotel is in a great location overlooking the clean and safe beach on the main Torremolinos promenade. It's a delightful 15/20 minute walk along to the marina and bars and restaurants of Benalmádena. Just turn right as you come out of the hotel. It's a delightful walk along the sea front which is wheelchair friendly. There are also plenty of lovely restaurants, bars, and shops located along the cobbled streets behind the hotel. Where I bought some very reasonably priced leather bags for gifts. There is a taxi rank located all of 50 yards from the hotel if you turn left as you come out of the hotel. 2. The hotel is a short 15 minute taxi ride from the airport, and you get no noise from the flights either. 3. I highly recommend the hotels 'The Beach' bar for lunch, which is located in front of the hotel on the beach. The staff are friendly, attentive, and fun. The menu has a good variety of fresh well presented foods at a reasonable price point. The music has an Ibiza chill out vibe too which adds to the relaxed holiday vibe. 4. The two rooftop pool bars are ideal for drinks to start the evening off, and have beautiful views as the sun goes down. You can sunbath on these terraces too.
5. The hotel luggage porters are friendly and very helpful. 6. The housekeeping team are highly effective. The toilets located throughout the hotel were maintained to a consistent high standard throughout our stay day and night. The housekeeping operatives are also friendly and quick to respond if you ask them a question. I would like to thank them for keeping our 6 rooms so clean and tidy throughout the stay. Especially so the three rooms where we had teenagers staying in them! 7. The evening entertainment is located in the main large bar area and usually starts after 9pm. The weekly schedule is varied and advertised on the notice board that is located by the main bar. We watched a few shows and thoroughly enjoyed them, especially the flamenco show. 8. We booked the hotel on a bed and breakfast basis. The breakfast session was usually very busy after 8:30am, though we never had any issues securing a table quickly. The service finishes at 11am, which is ideal for the late risers. I went down on my own for breakfast around 9am a couple of mornings, and each time the waiting team were always quick to serve me decent fresh coffee, and they made me feel very welcome. The variety of food and drink items on offer at the breakfast buffet was exceptional. You can get freshly made omelettes, a full hot English, cereals, pastries, yoghurts, toast, and plenty of fresh fruit. The maitre de seats you upon arrival. The waiting team are very smartly dressed, professional in their approach, helpful, and friendly. As a result I always enjoyed going to breakfast.

A couple of tips:

1. When you come out of the hotel turn left. About 70 yards from the hotel is a kiosk that sells soft drinks, snacks, and ice creams, which we made good use of because they sold the items at a good price point and was open until the early hours. The staff were friendly too.
2. There are some small supermarkets located within shops that are a 200 yard + walk from the hotel. Again turn left when you come out of the hotel.
3. The hotel is wheelchair friendly.
4. We hired a car at the airport and parked it for a reasonable daily cost in the hotels underground car park, which you need to organise with the reception team.
5. We booked our stay at the hotel with British Airways, and found it to offer a good price point for the facilities and location it offered.
6. Allow plenty of time to check in at Malaga airport on the return. BA use Veuling Airways for some of their flights. Their service from the Veuling staff is poor going by our experience on this trip. We had to queue for 2 hours in very warm temperatures to check in, and only just caught our flight. It was a dreadful experience which from reading other reviews on the service at Malaga airport seems to be more the norm than the exception. So leave plenty of time for queuing to check in.

Taking all things in to consideration I would stay in this hotel again. It offers value and is in a great location.

Regular visitors to this hotel. We always enjoy the adult only level lounge and rooftop space. So great to just walk in for a refreshment and snack.

We were sad to see all of the experienced level hosts ( Eva, Patricia and Jasmin) are no longer there. They always recognised us and made our trip even better. Such a shame.

We were pleased to see Irene is still there and just as friendly and helpful.

The buffet restaurant has plenty of options.