INNSiDE by Meliá Alicante Porta Maris

★★★★★

“WOW this hotel is stunning. The most incredible 360 view of the ocean, beach and hills can be enjoyed from both of the two pools, the lounge area and the restaurant. Our room was sea view also. The hotel is extremely clean and stylishly decorated, attention to detail is on point with beautiful books and trinkets to discover. The pool bar was a favourite with delicious lunch and snack options, on top of the world views and great service. We ate in the restaurant one night, was a lovely experience, gorgeous fish dishes and delicious desserts. Breakfast was decent too as hotel breakfasts go, it was fresh and varied. The location couldn’t be better with the port opposite, the beach just round the corner and the town just over the road. Also, prices at the hotel felt very affordable for a place with such an upmarket feel - we spent more time in the hotel due to (freak) bad weather but felt comfortable with the prices to be able to enjoy what was on offer. Music occasionally whether it’s a chill dj in the lobby or saxophonist around the pool doing jazz covers of current music. 🎵 staff were very attentive and generally very friendly . Would come back in a heartbeat !”

★★★★★

“We had a very pleasant stay! The breakfast buffet is very complete, with options available for people with coeliac disease. The COR restaurant is also a great choice for dinner, offering good food at reasonable prices. For lunch, the snacks served at the pool bar are also very tasty. The staff were absolutely lovely: from the reception team to the housekeeping staff, as well as the servers (especially Brian, Sandra and Flavia) and the pool bartender… Everyone was attentive and genuinely friendly throughout our stay. The fitness room is spacious and well equipped, and the entire hotel is consistently clean and well maintained. The rooms are comfortable, although the bathrooms could be improved in our opinion, particularly due to some old rust/limestone and traces of mould on the roof. Overall, we had a really enjoyable stay! We highly recommend this hotel if you’re looking for a destination that combines relaxation and exploration. It’s ideally located, just a 10 minute walk from the city centre, with several attractions easily accessible on foot.”

★★★★★

“Unfortunately, our stay was very disappointing and certainly not what I would expect from a hotel at this price point.||The biggest issue was the lack of service throughout the hotel. There were no porters when we arrived, and we eventually had to go and find a luggage trolley ourselves in the car park and bring our bags in. More generally, there seemed to be very little attention from staff or sense of customer service.||The pool area is simply not adequate for the size of the hotel and was extremely crowded. The hotel sells Balinese beds as an alternative, at an additional cost of €120 each. We booked and paid €240 for two, but the two beds initially offered to us were not even beside each other. The alternative area we were shown was frankly unacceptable: the beds were stained, there was no proper shade and the surrounding area was unattractive and poorly maintained. We chose not to stay there, ate inside at the bar instead and then returned to our rooms.||What has been particularly disappointing is the hotel’s response afterwards. When I requested a refund of the €240, I was told that staff had confirmed we had “enjoyed the Balinese beds for several hours”. This is simply untrue. Nobody came to speak to us or check whether we were happy with the alternative arrangements, and we did not spend several hours using the beds. I have asked the hotel to explain the basis for this claim and to reconsider the refund.||The hotel has instead offered us a complimentary room upgrade on a future stay. Given our experience, this does not really address the issue.||We paid around €900 for three nights, before the additional €240 for the Balinese beds, and the overall experience simply wasn’t good enough. The hotel feels poorly maintained, overcrowded and, most importantly, lacking in the level of service you would reasonably expect. On our experience, it felt much closer to a three-star hotel than the standard it presents itself as.”

★★★★★

“The hotel is perfectly located, and the restaurant staff are wonderful—especially Patrycja, who made our stay even more enjoyable. The lunch was also excellent. Every dish was delicious, beautifully prepared, and elegantly presented. We often dine at Michelin-starred restaurants, so we have very high expectations, and the culinary experience here was genuinely impressive. Unfortunately, I cannot understand why the quality of the rooms is so poor. They are not even at the level of a three-star hotel. Has anyone actually thought about where guests are supposed to put their toiletries in the bathroom? There isn’t a single shelf—not one! 😱 Why? We are staying in a 46 m² room, yet it feels more like a prison cell than a premium hotel room. It’s honestly very disappointing. That’s all.”