Meliá Atlántico Isla Canela Mini-hotel

Beautiful Hotel. Outstanding Cleaning staff. Location is great with a nice little walk to the harbour. Rooms was very nice. But i did ask more than once for help with the safe. It had locked open and no one would come to help so for the week not able to use it. I have to admit this is the 1st time i have stayed all-incl yet had to go daily to the bar for a small bottle off water to make a drink in the room. Not great with cutting down on plastic. Should have bottle water IN the rooms daily. No i do not think value for money to be honest. The food was a disgrace and no wonder you need a microwave in the dinning room so people can warm the so called cooked food up. Also i found it strange that you had to pay for sunbeds on the beach (i had thought that was be in the price) But anyhow they seem to please themself what they charge 8 euro for some why others 12. And on day of leaving i went to buy a dinner for my daughter on which i was told it would cost 28 euros each. Lol No thanks. Food was defo not upto standared and lets the place down. Pools nice. Would i return ? sadly not. Well not unless it was inproved a great deal.

The hotel is spacious and generally well-maintained, with noticeable recent renovations. However, it lacks proper air conditioning, relying on an outdated water-based cooling system rather than a refrigerant system. As a result, our room remained at 25°C most nights, which was particularly challenging when traveling with children. Even though this was raised with the hotel management unfortunately I was told they only have a water based system so it is not actual air conditioning which means it doesn't perform the same. Subsequently, I have raised this issue with TUI, requesting that the website be updated to reflect this accurately so future guests are well-informed as this was probably the most frustrating part of the whole holiday.

The hotel offers an upgrade called the level which is supposed to be an upgraded experience although we were unable to test this and the hotel unfortunately refused us to upgrade, we asked Juan on reception.

Connectivity

Another concern was the WiFi, which had serious connectivity issues. Reception staff claimed the problem was external and could not provide a resolution timeline—a frustrating experience, especially when traveling with children. During the stay they managed to get it working albeit this was still intermittent.

Restaurant & Dining Experience
While the hotel has a decent dining setup, seating arrangements were problematic.
As a large family group, we requested to sit together, and while staff initially agreed, they frequently closed off the area or split us up. Despite assurances from the head waiter that this would be resolved, the issue persisted beyond one evening.

Every day on our stay the restaurant was busy at lunch and this was mainly due to the areas being closed off which meant queuing for a table and as could be seen many guests were frustrated due to the closed areas. I would strongly suggest the management review this as it is creating a poor experience for the guests and additionally creating extra work for the staff having to clear tables quickly.

The hotel have a no reservation policy on the sunbeds whilst I agree with the policy their should be adequate signage around the pool areas and also take into consideration a period for lunch etc.

Food Quality
Breakfast was excellent, offering a wide selection of fresh pastries and other options. Lunch and dinner provided a good mix of meats, fish, and salads, with a notable emphasis on seafood. Attention needs to be made on the clumsy guests who drop things like shrimp into mayonnaise, this can be a hazard for some with allergies. I would suggest moving them away from the sauces to avoid contamination of other foods.

Final Thoughts
The hotel has potential to be a good vacation spot for all, but there are areas that need improvement before it fully meets its claimed 4-star rating.

Updating the air conditioning system should be a priority as 23c is not suitable for all and enhancing guest service—particularly for international visitors—would significantly elevate the experience.
Entertainment should also cater for international guests as many of the shows are spoken in Spanish.