Pre Easter Break in Alicante
25 March 2008
A well situated hotel right on the front, indeed projects out from the front, between the beach and the marina. Very convenient for transport, being next to the Tram terminus and on the major bus and Touri "on-off" bus routes. It is right at the heart of things for a tourist stay in Alicante. Having some Spanish is a distinct advantage as the reception staff do not have good English and in general it is not non-Spanish tourist friendly - you have to dig hard to get any useful advice; the hotel has a distinct business hotel feel to it. Nevertheless the staff were friendly and efficient. We stayed the week before Easter 2008 and there were road works being carried out on the Marina side which was noisy at times, however reception advised we have a beach side room which was quiet. Our room was on the fifth, top floor, the "Level" as it is called and was excellent except for the fact that despite the weather being warm and the room temperature being some 23-24 deg C they would not turn on the air conditioning, although the public areas of the hotel were air conditioned - this made sleeping uncomfortable, which for a 4 star hotel was poor customer service. The out-door pool area, situated on the beach side of the building, is quite small and only gets the sun in the morning, although there is a second sun bathing area with a jacuzzi pool on the Marina side which does get afternoon sun. The breakfast was excellent, as with all Melia group establishments, and the restaurant was reasonably priced and the food and menu excellent. Overall the Melia is an excellent hotel for a break in Alicante, the negatives are more irritating than anything and the Melia would have received a 5 rating but for that.
Trevor Jones, Liverpool
Mature Couple (36+)