Melia Villaitana

Our holiday was ruined by a combination of filthy, poorly maintained rooms, serious food concerns, illness, and extremely poor customer service. We stayed in TWO rooms, both of which had significant problems, and I was then served visibly raw chicken in the restaurant before becoming severely ill. The hotel's response when I reported the suspected food poisoning was especially disappointing, with approximately 34 hours passing before I received meaningful contact.

We chose Meliá Villaitana on account of its reputation and 4-star rating. It was supposed to be our first major holiday in several years and our first trip abroad with our daughter. We were also travelling to attend a friend's wedding.

Unfortunately, the problems started immediately.

Our first room was extremely dirty. The floor turned our socks and feet black, there was mould in the bathroom, bugs in the room, stains on the bed, marks and damage throughout, and loose bathroom fixtures. We complained and were eventually offered another room.

The move itself was stressful. We were given around 35 minutes to pack and move while trying to look after our sleeping two-year-old daughter.

The second room was hardly an improvement. It had a cracked bath, mould, ants appearing in the room, a large dead insect on arrival, stained furniture, marks throughout the room and another loose bath handrail. Across both rooms, we raised almost 50 issues.

Then came the most serious issue.

I was served visibly raw/undercooked chicken at the hotel restaurant. I photographed it. Within 36–48 hours, I developed severe gastrointestinal symptoms including violent vomiting, fever, shaking, nausea and stomach pain. I could not eat for more than 36 hours and was effectively bedridden for several days. I subsequently sought medical advice twice and required medication.

I reported the suspected food poisoning to the hotel on Sunday morning, as soon as I was physically capable of doing so. Despite the seriousness of what I reported, I received no meaningful contact from customer services for approximately 34 hours.

The wider customer service was also extremely frustrating. Promised calls and follow-ups repeatedly didn't happen. On one occasion I waited around 45 minutes to see customer services, followed by another lengthy wait while the issue was supposedly discussed with management.

At checkout, I also had to identify and challenge a room-service charge that we had specifically been told would be waived.

To be fair, some individual staff did eventually try to help and the hotel offered goodwill vouchers. We were also told on our final day that the hotel had attempted to arrange a refund but that this needed to be handled through British Airways Holidays.

We subsequently pursued a detailed complaint through British Airways Holidays and ultimately received £500 compensation.

I appreciate that individual experiences can vary, but based on ours, I would not return to Meliá Villaitana. The combination of room quality, food safety concerns, illness and customer service made this a holiday we will remember for all the wrong reasons.

Checking in

We arrived at the resort at around noon and as check in isn’t till 4 we expected our room not to be ready and it wasn’t. We were told that we had been offered an upgrade into a premier room, and we were grateful. We were given our bands (we were all inclusive) and told to relax around the pool get some lunch etc. At around 2:30 I received a phone call from reception to let us know our room was ready. When we arrived at reception to activate our keys we were told we had been upgraded to a suite. We were Shocked, but thanked the staff and expressed our gratitude. We were taken to our room along with our cases in a golf buggy.

Room

We arrived at our room and we couldn’t believe how big it was. We had a lounge/dining room, which included a full dining table and chairs. A sofa and chair along with a large tv and a sideboard. In the sideboard there was a fridge which was full of drinks chocolates and snack. These are not free and you do have to pay for what you use. The bedroom had a super king bed a large wardrobe with a safe, dressing gowns and slippers. We had 2 side tables and another large tv.

The bathroom was very spacious with a tub, overhead shower, vanity unity with sink, toilet and bidet. There was also everything you need from shampoo conditioner, shower gel, body cream and hand wash and these were all Rituals products. We were very happy with the room.

Food

There is one main restaurant which is for breakfast lunch and dinner, although this was very nice I found the hot food to be lacking for choice. There is an array of salads, cold meats breads and desserts, along with a children’s corner. We always managed to find something to eat, but like I said the hot section wasn’t particularly to our taste.

The resort has 3 al la carte restaurants and you get a voucher to eat free in one of them, after that you do get a huge discount and it costs £16.50 for 3 courses. We dined at the Peruvian/japanese fusion restaurant and it was really good. We also dined at the Italian restaurant and this was our favourite.

There is a snack bar, and the food was delicious here, you can choose from burgers, salads, tacos and quesadillas. This was great if you didn’t want to dine in the restaurant at lunchtime.

There is also an ice cream shop which opens at 3pm till 11pm. This also part of the all inclusive, their gelato was delicious, they also served fresh milkshakes, and slushies.

Pools and activities

There are 3 main pools on the complex along with a baby pool and a kids kingdom were there is a splash zone and slides. The pools we used were in the main area where there is a bar for all your drinks and crisps and nuts at the bar. There is an abundance of sunbeds and we never struggled to get a bed.

Overall this hotel is a very good hotel if you are looking for relaxation. There is nothing around the hotel, and you will need to take a taxi or bus to go to other places.

Taxi to Benidorm central is around 17 euros each way and a taxi to ALTEA is around 25/30 euros each way. I would definitely recommend a trip to ALTEA it is a stunning place with lots of lovely boutiques and restaurants.

I would definitely recommend this hotel for that quiet secluded vibe, if your looking for lots to do outside the hotel then this isn’t the place for you.