It feels like we have been scammed and ripped off “estafas a clientes” Context: We are a family of five and we were looking for a hotel that offered luxury all-inclusive and a two sleeping area suite (but as one room). Gran Meliá Palacio de Isora seemed to offer this on their website, because I entered the details into the filter on their website (I.e. 5 people, 1 room) and were offered the “Red Level For Families Two-Bedroom Master Suite Ocean View Room”. “Red Level” is the highest package offered at the hotel, being also called “All Inclusive Luxury”, which is (according to the staff in the hotel) a higher service than the “All Inclusive” or “Half Board” offering. Suite vs connecting rooms: My understanding from their website was that the room offered was a single living area with two bedrooms I.e. a “suite” (which by definition should be a single numbered room), as advertised. It was not until we arrived that we became aware that this was two ordinary hotel rooms with connecting doors between them. We would not have booked into this if we had known this beforehand because our children are aged 4, 2 and 1 and did not want them in a separate hotel room (particularly where they could accidentally lock us out of their room via the one-way connecting doors). Service: Check in was supposed to be 3pm. We emailed in advance asking whether it would be possible to check in early because we would arrive at 1pm. The staff noted that it may not be possible but would try to accommodate if possible. In actuality our room was not ready by 3pm. At 3.30pm I asked when it would be ready, and complained that it was now later than advertised check in time. We were then told that our room was ready, but when we got inside it was clear that the room had not been cleaned. Cleanliness: Although the room was cleaned the next day (and each day after that) the floors remained dirty enough that our feet (and my crawling one year old daughter’s hands and knees) were filthy by the end of each day. The level of grime is made more apparent by the once cream grout appearing black in the majority of the room. My impression is that there is not good food hygiene (which is discussed under “food and drink” below). Rooms: The hotel room (which looks beautiful on the website pictures) was in reality shabby, tired and contained many aspects that were broken and not working properly. For example, the mood / relax lighting in our room were missing components so that the lighting was actually very harsh. The beds are uncomfortable, and on cheap divan bases. These bases are on wheels on a wooden floor, so that you cannot sit up in bed to read without the bed slipping away from the wall (because the headboard is not attached to the divan base). The jacuzzi bath spewed out grime and dirt when switched on. The kitchen cabinets are old, do not close properly, missing paint and do not give the appearance of a luxury five star hotel. Facilities: The facilities (pool, foyer and restaurants) are aesthetically nice. However the food and drink served at them is poor. The pools we used were nice (we were not able to try the adults-only pool, or spa). And the staff friendly. The “Red Level for Families Area” is great - it has good facilities for play for younger children, and includes additional snacks (doughnuts, cookies, ice cream and sweets). Food and drink: The food generally is bland or worse (including most of the a la carte options). On multiple occasions the chips for the children tasted like washing up liquid, I had a salad that included mouldy strawberries within a salad (unmissable furry mould), and vegetables accompanying a pork dish that tasted like fish - which to me implies poor kitchen hygiene. There does not appear to be any extra offering at meals times for the “Luxury” addition to the standard “All Inclusive” (Other that the Red Level Family Are, discussed above under “facilities”). Cocktails are only offered at the bars, with a wide range of cocktails offered within the All Inclusive Luxury option. But (even where those bars are connected to the restaurant) cocktails cannot be ordered during lunch - even though you can go to the bar and order cocktails and carry it back to the table, which seems a baffling distinction (and, again, not “luxury”). The cocktails themselves overall are disgusting. No fresh ingredients are used, and most taste like watered down pre-packaged juice with alcohol in. The wine within the All Inclusive Luxury is also disgusting. There is only one white, one red, and a white or rosé cava included - which is, again, different from other luxury all inclusives we have stayed in (even others within the island of Tenerife). Value for money: However, the cost (being €1,000 per day in off-peak for the highest level of service) feels too much for the poor, dirty rooms and food and drink. The year before we paid less to go to the Hard Rock Hotel in the north of the island (which does not advertise itself as luxury), and everything offered there was FAR superior in every aspect (including the children’s facilities and pools). When I complained to the guest manager services manager, Rosana, the only response received was that “other guests have not complained” and “suites mean different things to different hotels”. I disagree, certainly with the latter statement - a hotel suite should be multiple rooms within a single accommodation, not (as we had) two room numbers - 4121 (for us) and 4122 (for the children) with an auto-locking connecting door. Summary: I do not think Gran Meliá Palacio de Isora is worth the money it charges. I think the website falsely advertises with the use of the word “suites”, which it does not clarify within the website materials. The food and beverages are poor. The facilities outside of the rooms are good, but because of the rooms and food and drink are so poor I do not think it is worthy of five stars as a hotel. Gran Meliá Palacio de Isora is mediocre at best, and the overall feeling is that I have been scammed with no offering of luxury.…
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.