HOTEL MELINA REVIEW

Note: Not to be confused with Hotel Melia

BACKGROUND

My husband and I stayed at Hotel Melina for one night (Saturday). We live in Spain on the coast about 30 minutes from Benidorm and prefer Spanish style hotels in the Poniente area. We usually stay at Benilux Park but that was not available for this visit so we chose what we thought would be something similar.

LOCATION

The Melina is on the Poniente side of the old town about 5 minutes walk from each.

OUR ROOM (333)

The bedroom was on the third floor at the end of the corridor. The room was very large – more like a suite than a bedroom. Looking at the fire regulation floor plan on the door it looked like ours was much bigger than most of the other rooms.

We had a large balcony overlooking the street. The room was simply furnished including a desk and sofa. When I was unpacking the few things I had taken for our overnight stay I could not find a wardrobe/closet. It took me several minutes to realise that you needed to slide the large (and heavy) mirror to reveal the walk in closet.

The shower in the bathroom was more of a wet room than an enclosed shower. There were basic toiletries like soap, shower gel and shampoo.

AROUND THE HOTEL

Bob has mobility problems and uses a walker. The entry to the hotel has several steps but there is a sort of lift (more like a stair lift than a normal lift). It took a while to work out how to use this.

There is a pool on the ground floor with fairly limited space around it for the number of people who were there at this very busy time. There is also a sun terrace on the roof with a large Jacuzzi which is limited to residents aged 18+.

FOOD/RESTAURANT

Meals were buffet style which is the case in most hotels. The selection was more to Spanish tastes which suited us. There was a good selection of hot food and salads with microwaves available if the food was not hot enough.

ENTERTAINMENT

As we were only there for one night and we spent that at Tropical Bar to see Blues Brothers (a great night by the way) we did not experience any of the hotel’s entertainment but, from the notice board, it seemed there was something on most nights but again more to Spanish tastes.

OVERALL OPINION

We quite liked the hotel. It is suitable for people that want a more Spanish experience but it is quite a way from the popular bars in the new town and Rincon areas. Because the traffic was heavy, a taxi from the hotel to Tropical Bar cost €14. Coming back when the traffic was lighter it cost €10.

Overall I prefer the Benilux Park as I think it has more character. I found the Melina a little bit bland.

Kathleen Gear - Beautifully hotel,up a we incline, great location, heated pool,10 mins from beach,you will love it