Gran Melia Palacio de Isora

We stayed at the Gran Melia Palacio De Isora in June 2026 for a week as a family of 3 with a 3 year old child having previously stayed in 2024 and enjoying it so much. We stayed on a half board basis. This does not include drinks.

Check in Check in was once again really unefficient and seems to be an element that lets the hotel down, especially as this is the first impression. It was lengthy and after a 12 hour day travelling, the last thing that you want to do is queue for half an hour with a tired toddler that just wants to either sleep or go in the pool. There were a fair few stressed parents in reception. Check in was impersonal and there seemed to be unecessary paperwork to fill in. We have stayed at other resorts whereby guests are asked to sit on on the sofas, given drinks and keys/information brought over rather than there being a lengthy standing wait. In complete contrast, the concierge team outside that deal with the luggage etc were a really friendly and efficient team throughout the course of our stay, regardless of whom we dealt with.

Room We had a deluxe room that looked out onto the side elevation of the hotel over the Bali beds and pirate pool. The room was quiet and we were not disturbed by other guests above/next door which had been an issue during our last trip. The deluxe rooms are a great layout and we had ample space for all of our things. The bed was so big that all three of us slept together comfortably. My daughter was provided with her own single bed, and in addition to this, there was also a large sofa at the end of the king size bed. The bath was absolutely massive and really luxurious, with a separate shower and separate toilet. The dressing area has ample storage (worth bringing or asking for extra hangers). There was also an ironing board and iron in the wardrobe. All toileteries are provided which saves bringing them, along with a decent hairdryer. We took the minibar items out ofthe fridge and used this for our own drinks and snacks and this was not a problem. Coffee machine and pods provided. Balcony a good space with a small outdoor sofa. Some sort of airer for swimwear would be really advantageous and prevent people having to lay items on the wall and furniture. Even though it was warm in temperature, our items were still damp the morning after.

Half Board Half board worked really well for us and we were happy to put drinks, ice creams and bar food on the room bill to pay at the end upon checkout. The system is really easy - you give your room number and sign for the order. My husband stocked up on soft drinks (Aquarius is lovely) and snacks from the local supermarket which is only a short distance walk from the hotel.

Pools We usedthe infinity (salt water) pool the most. There were ots of other families using this pool and the salt water didn't bother my daughter nor her friends either. It seemed cold upon getting in, but was fine once you were in and was not at all uncomfortable. The fountains, bubble areas and jets are lovely. The sun loungers now have padding on them (was not the case in 2024) and this was a welcome additon as they were so comfy. Towels need to be collected from the pool concierge in the morning. We found that you could also get towels around the other pools but not necessarily receive new towels to take away, nor towel cards and this meant that when at the family and pirate pool, on a couple of occasions my husband having to walk to the main pool concierge on a different level which was less than ideal and could be an easy fix. The family pool seemed really popular, but we just preferred the infinity and pirate pools. The pirate pool and splash park kids area was perfect for our 3 year old. It is worth noting that the floor gets really hot and that water shoes might be a good idea for children so they can enjoy playing. We found bar service around the pirate pool to be fine. The only issue was left over used drinks needing more frequent cleaning up - again, an easy fix.

Pangea Buffet - Breakfast & Evening Meal We used the pangea buffet for both breakfast and our evening meal due the there being no wait time for our 3 year old. This is a massive bonus point and means that once occupied with food, parents can easily go back up numerous times to serve themselves. There is a great range of food at both meals and we had no issues queuing or being seated in our preffered locations. It is worth noting though that if you go down to breakfast post 9am, it is much busier than earlier sittings that we chose on most days.

Entertainment The children's disco was on every evening and was really engaging. We absolutely loved the live dj set out on the ocean terrace and chose to sit here following our evening meal and have drinks each night. Our daughter also really enjoyed this. On one particular ngiht there was the San Juan fire festival event on the ocean terrace and the effort that the hotel put in was over and above. The children all got to make fresh floral head dresses or bouquets, there was complimentary alcoholic drinks and shots, professional fire dancers, a fire pit, potion making, photographer, DJ etc. This was the highlight or our holiday and great memories were made.

Check out We had previously used the smaller curtesy shower room next to the shop which was perfectly adequate, however we pleased to find that we were issued a spare hotel room on this occasion which gave us extra space and air conditioning which was really lovely. Unfortunately whilst all three of us were getting undressed in readiness for the shower (you only get half an hour to be in and out), a member of hotel staff let themselves into the room without knocking which was distressing. We were all completely naked and on show. I mentioned this when giving the room key back to the lady on the front desk. She put her hands over her mouth shocked and mouthed sorry but nothing else was done. In this instance, a round of complimentary drinks would not have gone amiss by way of an apology. We waited on the sofas adjacent reception for the remaineder of our time whilst waiting for the bus to collect us so this could have easily been accommodated.

We had a really lovely stay at the Gran Melia Palacio de Isora and would not hesitate to return.

We had a lovely holiday overall and enjoyed our stay, but unfortunately we wouldn’t return as it wasn’t as family-focused as we had hoped.

The biggest positive was the staff, who were amazing throughout our stay—friendly, attentive, and always willing to help. The food quality was good, with plenty of choice, and booking the restaurants was straightforward and easy. The housekeeping team also did an excellent job, leaving our room spotless every day.

There were, however, a few disappointments. The room was looking a little tired in places and could do with some TLC. We were surprised that there were no flannels or dressing gowns provided, and there weren’t enough umbrellas around the kids’ pool for shade. Drink prices were quite high, and there were no water refill stations available.

The app was slow and tedious to use, which became frustrating at times. For families, the entertainment offering was lacking. The kids’ entertainment was poor, with very little happening in the evenings, and the kids’ party clashed with dinner times, meaning we missed it every night. The evening entertainment for adults was also quite boring.

The beach wasn’t great either, as there were a lot of rocks and seaweed in the water. Another inconvenience was the lack of anywhere to hang wet clothes or swimwear outside to dry, and housekeeping would remove items left on the balcony.

Despite these issues, we still had a lovely time and made some great memories. However, because the resort didn’t feel particularly geared towards families with children, we don’t feel it would be somewhere we’d choose to return to.