Ocean House Costa del Sol Affiliated by Melia

I would like to share my review from two perspectives: as someone who has travelled extensively and stayed in many 4 and 5 star hotels, including all inclusive and full board properties, and as someone who has worked in hospitality and comes from three generations of experience owning restaurants and hotels.

I stayed at this hotel for seven days, and unfortunately, I found several aspects of the experience disappointing.

The food is acceptable for a short stay of one or two days, but after seven days it becomes extremely repetitive. Although there is a reasonable amount of food, the same dishes are served almost every day with very little rotation. The quality is also inconsistent, with some food being overcooked or undercooked. For example, the pasta was on one occasion so overcooked that it had almost become a paste.

Food hygiene, handling, and labelling also need improvement. There were occasions when food was left scattered around the buffet stations or was not removed promptly. On one occasion, there was only one pancake left, and the chef placed it in an empty section that had previously been used for ham and cheese sandwiches. At the pizza station, pizzas containing bacon were mixed with vegetarian pizzas to the point that even the chef could not clearly identify which pizza was vegetarian.

There was also a serious concern regarding cross contamination. I personally saw a chef prepare an omelette containing bacon and ham and then use the same pan to prepare a plain omelette. Pans and utensils should be changed or properly cleaned between preparations, particularly for vegetarian, vegan, halal, kosher, and allergy related dietary requirements.

Food labelling also needs to be much clearer. Allergen information was not consistently provided, and on some occasions the description did not accurately reflect the food being served. This can be particularly problematic for guests with allergies, vegetarians, vegans, or religious dietary requirements.

Communication with the kitchen staff was also difficult, as the chefs appeared to speak only Spanish and no other language. In an international hotel, guests should be able to communicate with the chefs about ingredients, allergens, and dietary requirements.

Another issue was drinking water. Although water was available at breakfast, there was no comparable complimentary water during lunch and dinner, despite these meals being included in the full board package. On one occasion, I was charged €2.50 for a cup of water, not a bottle. As someone with a hospitality background, I found this particularly difficult to understand.

I was also surprised that wine was offered as a complimentary option during breakfast while basic drinking water was not provided free of charge during lunch and dinner. This creates a rather unusual contrast in terms of what is considered included.

Finally, I found many of the additional drinks and services considerably overpriced, especially considering that I had already paid a significant amount for what I considered a relatively average and basic hotel experience.

I am sharing this feedback respectfully and constructively because I believe these issues can be improved. The hotel would benefit greatly from better food rotation, stronger hygiene and food handling practices, clearer labelling, proper separation of meat and vegetarian or vegan food, better communication with international guests, and more reasonable additional charges.

Unfortunately, based on my seven day stay and my experience in hospitality, I would not currently recommend this hotel, particularly for longer stays or for guests expecting a higher quality full board experience.

Just back after 5 nights stay. Was recommended Ocean House by friends. It was an excellent experience start to finish. Check in was late as our flight was a late one. I enquired about an upgrade but there were none available that night but we could have changed and upgraded for the remaining 4 nights if we decided to. Our room was on ground floor as we had requested a lower floor. It was spotless and aircon was good. We decided the following day that there was no need to upgrade as we are not staying in the room people. We were a couple and our teenage son so our room was split in two and instead of a sofa bed they put in a comfortable camp bed and you could close a partition door so he had his privacy. The bathroom is small but sufficient. We went B&B. The breakfast was amazing and never an issue with tables as people don’t linger on. We found we didn’t need to eat much during day after such a vast breakfast and went out and about at night. The pool area is fabulous. Again spotless and love the fact you can’t come down in the morning and put your towels down and disappear. They will be taken back up. I think this is very fair. We never had an issue finding a sun bed. The pool bar offers excellent entertainment and a great atmosphere. Very attentive and hard working staff. Location of hotel is second to none. You feel you are isolated and away from everything in the hotel but 5 minutes later you can be in the thick of everything if you fancy. Just walk out the gate! Our final day our flight wasn’t unless 9pm. Check out was 12pm. We put out bags in the luggage room and had full use of the hotel for the day. We booked an hour in a courtesy room which meant we could shower and change before our flight. This is a fabulous touch and prolonged our holiday another day without any hassle. Staff on reception are excellent. All in all I would throughly recommend this hotel. We will be 100% coming back and I will be recommending to family and friends. Well done Ocean House.