Gran Melia Hotels & Resorts

A group of friends stayed here for 4 nights. We had the Red Level service (which I recommend). With the Red Level service you will have an exclusive lounge, happy hour with snacks from 5 to 7 pm every night and continental breakfast in the am until 11 am. You also have access to print out from the business center in the lounge. The other perk with this level is the Red Level pool. No children are allowed and they really cater to you. The have a bar with a great bartender and they cook on the grill Friday Sat and Sun. (I recommend the grilled shrimp) They will move the umbrellas for you and provide you with dry towels without asking. They also have private cabanas too. All you have to do is reserve.
The restaurants are okay. I have written a review for all of them separately except the place Café Soliel we had breakfast everyday which was also free with the Red Level service. The food is fresh, cooked to order and very friendly service.
The rooms are okay. They only thing I would have liked was more outlets to plug in you electronics and an extra trash can.

This keeps getting from bad to worse, we left our room at 10 this morning and returned at 4 15pm not only was our room not cleaned but when the house keeper finally came to clean, our glasses were not replaced with clean ones nor was the liner for the ice bucket replaced.

Room service comes here everyday, but they DON’T CLEAN. The floor is just as dirty after room service when we come back as when we leave in the morning (mind you, this resort has a beach and a lot of trees which means no matter where you go, there will be sand and soil). The also DO NOT change your bed sheets or pillows. They just fold it neatly, put it back in place and that’s it. How do I know? Fell asleep with make up, got some eye shadow on the sheets, come back at night, everything is neatly folded but the bed sheets STILL have eye shadow on it. I also think they don’t change the towels, they give you a new one ONLY if you leave the dirty ones on the floor and they really can’t reuse it again. The face towel we used in the morning was still wet when we came back at night, meaning they didn’t give us a new one. Everything about this place is so unsanitary. They also have a really creepy picture behind the toilet.
NO WIFI. We paid I believe $ 15 a day for wifi, and there was NONE. We could connect for maybe 10 minutes and it would cut off. Called room service almost every day to fix it, they only sent a person once, he «fixed» it, we connected for about 10 minutes, and same thing again. Called again to complain and whoever picked up told us basically too bad, if it doesn’t work, it doesn’t work. Then why did we pay for wifi? This resort is secluded, there’s barely any phone service, and we needed service to make confirmations for our scuba diving trips, etc.
And worse of all? BED BUGS. NO. NO. NO. No thanks. My friend had so many bites on her even after sleeping with leggings and long sleeve on. NO. Nothing is worse the price of being bitten by bed bugs. We work at a dermatologist and see insect bites a lot, it was definitely not mosquitoes, our doctor told us it was bed bugs for sure.

Two weeks after the stay, and nearly $ 300 in false charges later, and STILL no response to my emails, never mind an actual reimbursement.
Other reasons I wouldn’t recommend the place:
*cockroaches in the room: they just kept telling us they would fumigate the place. We had to strongly push so we could change room
*they definitely take advantage of being isolated with high prices but low-​quality products
*overall, they were very unaccommodating and unpleasant to deal with (except for the market place shop staff who were lovely)
*overall cleanliness was not great, even though their reason for nearly every request refused (like eating outside) was due to «health and sanitation»
*out of a 4-​morning stay, we were woken up twice before 8 am because of loud housekeeping or alarms in the room

We met some incredible people here! Service was impeccable. The whole experience was wonderful

We stayed at the Red Level. The bathtub had no hot water, the service was friendly but disorganized. Even though the place looked nice, the resort was poorly managed. The restaurants were also terrible. At the Asian place, my rice was extremely undercooked and the beef gave me diarrhea. Not worth your $ or time.

Well groomed ground and beautiful views. The meals are not to par to the hotel ambiance and are expensive. Any buffet was not properly set, disorganized and tasteless. I will not return.
The shower head is a European style which makes taking a shower a pain and the bathroom gets all wet.

We booked a room here very last minute, as we were ready to escape the city early. The front desk staff were completely unhelpful, if not downright rude. We were charged an additional $ 50/​night for a third guest and $ 16 for daily parking – both of these were unhappy surprises and not communicated when we booked the room. Not quite sure what we gained for the extra $ 50, except a beach towel… We had a broken sink, which we were told someone would come fix but never did. The room was nice and the grounds were what we expected from a large resort. The kicker (last straw) was when I ordered a pot of coffee in the morning and the tab was $ 38. Absolutely absurd. You may get a good deal, but they will surely nickel and dime you.

What a waste of money:-(…Overpriced…and not worth it, pool was not even open to the public during our whole stay because they were «cleaning» it. Can’t swim on the beach, too many rocks… room was okay, but that was the Oceanview red level suite, which costs a fortune so it better be okay. Grounds are beautiful, but that’s about it.
Don’t waste your money, stay at a cheap hotel and spend your money on eating out, souvenirs, and drinks somewhere else. Will not go back!

Upon our arrival what a beautiful resort I mean the place looks so manicured to a tee… they have a gorgeous African Gray in the lobby (margarena) …from there on in nightmare the main pool closed still the golf carts are ready for the cemetery you call the front desk they answer if they want too called various times no answer (lmao)
I am actually paying for this crap… the room awful throw pillows were old dirty and smelly threw them outside to the patio… went to get extra pillows they told me they would bring them right over a maintenence guy brings them over really!!! Breakfast was good that and the Parrot were the only things there for me …

We came to the resort for a relaxing birthday trip. I was not looking for a place to go party, have a lot of attractions or events and I preferred no children. We are from DC and just wanted a place to sleep, lounge, chill and experience puerto ricos beauty and we found it. This is not a resort for spring breakers, young single people or parties. Its a nice, quiet, romantic resort for couples and adults who are looking for peace and quiet.
From the moment we stepped off the plane I feel in love with PR. A gentleman was traveling with the same bag as we were and we thought he has taken ours by mistake. A security officer ran outside and looked all over to make sure theyre was no mistake. Our bad, we found it!
The bus to take us to the hotel was nice. It was a short, easy ride. She was easily identifiable once we exited baggage claim. Once on the property I knew I would have a great time. Ill bullet point these as to not make this long. BTW, theres no cash allowed on the property except to tip. Everything has to be charged to the room or paid at the front desk with cash. Whatever you order will be taken from your deposit so don’t be surprised if on checkout your deposit is less then your expect. Pay your balance daily is our suggestion.
Pros:
No line we arrived at 3PM on a Saturday.
Easy check in with a wonderful associate.
Clean
Room service seems to be the cheapest option of food and everything was amazing, except the 3.00 delivery fee with added 17% tip.
Windows in your room open completely.
Everyone we’ve encountered from check in to housekeeping to the men riding you around the property, always welcoming, smiling and gracious.
Room was clean and nice.
The main pool was closed due to renovations but they allowed us to use the adult only red level pool instead (wonderful)
Cons:
Only allowed cash is for tips. Everything else is charged to the room or credit card.
The only store on the property is expensive ($ 7.00 water).
Main pool was closed which meant the wet bar and grill was closed as well.
It can get pretty expensive to eat.
The random stray dogs.
Large security deposit.
All rooms don’t have balcony’s.
Overall were here for a 9 days and it’s only day 3 and im very satisfied. The room could use a bit of an upgrade in the bathroom and couch, but over all i am pleased. If this were an all inclusive resort, I would have zero complaints.

Seems to be the forgotten stepchild of the Meliá resorts. The restaurants left a lot to be desired, and seemed to be hit or miss. On any given night in the off-​season, they really only open one restaurant for dinner. Breakfast is mediocre and extremely expensive. The best option for dining seems to be room service. The resort was empty (Mid-​October), so there is a lot of privacy and a lot of space at the pool/​restaurants. The pool is average, but definitely in need of some repairs. Overall, for the price, we enjoyed ourselves, but be prepared to rent a car ($ 16/​night to park at resort) and venture down to Luquillo for dinner if you’re looking for better meals at better prices.
No complaints on the room except that it seems they have more double beds than king size. We have talked to many couples here who ended up with two full-​size beds in their rooms, and the resort is relatively empty. We fortunately got a king size bed but at the expense of no balcony. On the other hand, our room has a full kitchen, which has been very helpful in storing breakfast foods we bought at the grocery store up the street, which allows us to save on the breakfast buffet every morning (~$ 70 after tax and tip for 2… and this is a set-​priced buffet that is the only breakfast option besides room service). We regularly returned from our room around 3pm and it hadn’t yet been cleaned (despite hanging the «please clean my room» sign on the door 4 – 5 hours earlier). Housekeeping did a great job, but we had to be patient getting someone to our room.
Resort also charges $ 100 per night for incidentals (up to $ 500 per stay) which is reimbursed at the end. We thought we would get a lot of this reimbursed, but in the first few days just between parking, dinner, and a few drinks (one of us is pregnant and the other brought his own beer-​frowned upon but have seen many people doing it), we’ve already spent $ 550 toward our room. Drinks are about $ 10 each and virgin options are all only $ 1 less, but the bartenders do tend to have a very heavy pouring hand.
You cannot swim at the beach more than 10 feet out due to grasses, and it is not great for sitting out as it’s mostly corral and pebbly with chairs scattered in samdy spots.
Overall, this resort offers the basics-​sun, a pool, and a bed. We have so far not been surprised or disappointed as we booked this trip prepared to eat off resort and didn’t set very high standards.
On a side note, we stayed at the Meliá Caribe in the DR last year, and it puts this resort to shame as far as service and experience. An all-​inclusive option at the San Juan Meliá would benefit it greatly as most complaints we’ve heard are from people saying they booked this as an inexpensive option but ended up spending a small fortune on drinks and dinner if not prepared to leave the resort.
I gave it three stars because 2 ½ wasn’t an option, but 2 seemed a little too low since we really weren’t disappointed. Again, that is because we read the reviews and were prepared to use the resort only for the pool and bed.
Pertaining to Meliá in general, beware that unless you book directly through the company, you cannot earn points. We booked at this resort in order to earn points and did not find out until we got here that we were unable to do so, despite having provided our rewards number. We booked through JetBlue and Meliá staff said they cannot reward us because we did not book directly through the company. I’m not sure why as points are based on a dollar system and, even if we paid less by booking our stay as a package, we should still get points for the dollars we did spend here. This was probably our largest disappointment as it was unexpected and we primarily booked at this resort in order to earn points on our rewards card.

I never write reviews, but I am compelled to share this one! I’ll do my best to brief.
Beautiful resort, landscaping, pools, cabanas but attentiveness and customer service were absolutely horrible and everything costs extra (though you’ve already paid to be there as a guest.) Parking is an extra fee (what hotel does that and I’ve stayed all over the world), late check out is an extra fee (though no one else is checking in), pool towels are an extra fee if you don’t bring them back by 6 (huh??) .
Rooms are basic, with old furniture, though at request they are cleaned daily. However, the rooms include NOTHING. No refrigerator, no microwave, coffee maker but they never leave cups, phone works intermittently and they were doing construction EVERYDAY starting at 7AM. It’s vacation, who wants to wake up to loud talking and furniture moving and hammering at 7AM. And again though the rooms included nothing, upon check in, a large hold is placed on your credit card for incidentals. What incidentals??? You provide nothing!
You have to get a pass to leave, a pass to come back,(it’s like a plantation) and if you request something, it takes an hour to bring it, or they never bring it at all. Lastly, you can’t use cash anywhere in the resort. Geesh.
Again, beautiful resort, but until they learn to pay more attention the needs of their guest and update the amenities, I will never go back!

I stayed at the Gran Melia for a conference and had a pretty good experience. The staff was friendly and helpful. The concierge was especially helpful when I was planning a last minute dinner for 50 people. She got me in touch with a local restaurant that was actually willing to open just for us.
The spa at Gran Melia was fantastic. I had the best massage – and I was pregnant at the time so the masseuse was able to accommodate me perfectly.
The facilities were also great for the conference. There were a handful of restaurants on site that didn’t have the best reviews. But I did try the place that served breakfast (and that was good) and Pasion (which was absolutely fantastic).
We lucked out with a VIP room that overlooked the beach. We had a hot tub on our patio which we didn’t use because it was really private. But the room itself was very well appointed.
The only two downsides to Gran Melia was the location and the beach. It was so far out from everything; I felt a little isolated from the culture and traditions of Puerto Rico. It also was incredibly difficult to get essentials. The gift shop was extremely expensive. There was plenty of sand and palm trees everywhere but not really a beach to relax by the water.

This place was truly awful. When we first were driving up I got a bad feeling in the pit of my stomach; I already knew that this place was going to be a disaster. The drive up from the airport took forever (about 45 minutes) The worst part was the long winding road that you have to drive through just to get to the resort. Then, after a rough flight and long drive, we were forced to wait in a 3 hour line just to check in to our room. The room is lovely and the only reason they got 2 stars. The rooms are very pretty, clean, cool, and well ventilated. The refrigerator in the room didn’t work so we called the front desk and they swiftly told us that none of the refrigerators work. Throughout the phone conversation they then changed their story to «it’s really a wine refrigerator so it’s not supposed to be cold»… Huh?! Then we figured we would at least grab some ice from the ice machine and melt that down into water. After going to 4 different ice machines we realized that all of them are out of order. We were starving so we headed to the Italian restaurant they have on the grounds. I would give the food ³⁄₅ but it was insanely expensive. $ 70+ for 2 people to just eat a simple pasta dinner. We decided to go back to the room for coffee but alas, the coffee maker had mold in it. We woke up early to head to the gym to find that 2 of the treadmills weren’t working so I had to wait for my girlfriend to get off of the only working one before I could even get my workout in. Everything in this place is far away from everything else so you have to call and request a golf cart but they never come. We went to grab some breakfast but we didn’t have our perks card (a card that enables a 20% discount) so we had to trek all the way back to our room to grab it only to get back to a long buffet line. To make matters worse, the breakfast isn’t free it’s $ 22 for a mediocre spread. Over breakfast we decided to search for another hotel in San Juan closer to where the action is and leave this god forsaken place. It truly is in the middle of nowhere so you’re essentially trapped here. I thought that the saving grace would be the beach but it’s not really a beach at all– it’s brackish water, rocks, and sea grass.
Bottom line: I wouldn’t stay here again if they paid me.

Do not buy a timeshare here! I’m so sick of this place, when you call the timeshare to use your points for a room, they are always booked! But when you call the hotel direct, all of a sudden they have rooms available when you’re willing to pay! I have only used one week in the last five years that I have owned, all other times we have paid. It’s absolute nonsense. This place knows nothing about customer service! They need to go to other hotels like in Mexico and learn how to cater to customers!
In the timeshare part we have our own pool, there is no bartender there but yet they have a bar, but they do have a tyrant security guard that walks around like he’s a fed to tell you what you can’t do! You feel like everyone you make is being watched.
Here’s a list of things I had to make notes of while staying there for ten days…
Can’t get a drink at the wet bar or any bar without a stupid paper card. They won’t charge it to your room without it.
There is no bartender service at the club melia side, yet they have a security guard that watches every move you make, and tells you what you can’t do (like bring a bottle of liquor to the pool) but if you want a drink you have to walk about ten minutes, to the main pool at the main hotel, and don’t forgot the card! It’s a long walk back.
They offer a «free» breakfast at the pool 9am. It’s a bunch of crap, no coffee, and nothing is hot.
No pool towels till 10am! So if you wanted to have a dip in the pool at 8am good luck drying yourself. I later seen that they actually outsource their entire pool staff, was it that hard to manage your own?
Can’t dry clothes on the balcony, yet they provide no place to do so. Got yelled at by the bored security guard that treats you like you’re in prison.
Called three times in one day for housekeeping. They finally came, and didn’t bring any clean towels. I finally realized this when I was getting out the shower! Had to call yet again!
Buffet breakfast $ 47 for two, didn’t ask for that special paper card for that. Mediocre breakfast, not worth $ 47! Want to save money? Go up the road to coco sweets, breakfast for two under $ 10!
Laundry room– one washer is broken
Elevator in building five stopped working, had to walk up to the laundry room on the fourth floor.
Ice machines don’t work!
Came back late after a long day in the west coast, wanted to take a nice shower, they left us with ONE TOWEL! Two people in the room, how did they think one towel would be enough? Even if I was the only one staying here, would they expect me to use the same towel to shower in the morning?

I want to start by saying I was so skeptical about this resort before coming due to all of the horrible reviews, I almost canceled it.
Let me also follow up by saying some people must be so hard to please and difficult to deal with, I feel sorry for the Gran Melia employees for having to put up with some of it.
My fiancé and I could not have been happier with our stay at Gran Melia, don’t let all of the horrible reviews stop you from coming here.
We arrived on a Tuesday (May 19, 2015). I was expecting the worst service per some of the reviews on here but was immediately helped with bags and greeted with sincere kindness and welcoming. Check in took 10 minutes, golf carts are everywhere to take you to your room and we were relaxing in our CLEAN, air conditioned room within 15 minutes of arrival.
Our room did not smell like mold and I checked for bed bugs (again, due to bad reviews) and did not find anything funky. The rooms and grounds of the resort are beautiful! Every employee we encountered was so amazing to us. The food is good (yes a little pricey, but what do you expect from a 4 star resort) don’t lost your towel card or you’ll be charged $ 50. Why are people complaining, it’s an island and easy for people to take towels to the beach and not bring them back, simple solution, return your towel. Room service was fast and when I called housekeeping to deep clean our room (we chose to not have our room made the first 3 days), they were so polite on the phone and did it right away.
A rental car is a must if you want to explore the island since the beach here is beautiful but not really swim-​able.
To top off our week, after checking out, we locked our keys in the trunk of our rental car. I was sure we’d miss our flight but the two gentlemen working the valet area assured me they’d fix this problem. Within only TEN minutes, they grabbed a metal hanger and popped open my door and I was on my way to the airport. They were so eager to help me and I don’t know what we would have done without them.
Thank you Gran Melia for making our trip awesome!

OK so the grounds here are very beautiful! The lobby, the pool and the grounds are wonderful. Our room is big and so is our bathroom!
My daughter and I are here celebrating her graduating from Suffolk university! We are both shocked to report that the front desk staff are VERY rude and condescending. Its hard to shake off when you’re on your vaca and are used to being treated with utmost hospitality. The men here on the grounds however, have been very helpful and kind to us.
There’s no beach at this hotel. It is covered in beach grass. We took a catamaran trip to experience the beach somewhere else.
The restaurants are overpriced and the food is meh. You need a lot of $$ to sustain yourself while here. Kind of a buzz kill.
I spoke to another guest at the pool, and she also reported how very rude the front desk is. Its not just us.
We won’t be returning to this place.

I booked through
was not sure what to expect as the reviews seem like this was going to be a mid-​level accommodation. But, I was very impressed and pleased at how nicely maintained the resort was and how friendly and helpful the staff were. The pools, the beach, the hammocks, EVERYTHING… was great.
No hassels, we did change rooms day ²⁄₆ because we wanted a colder refrigerator… without charge moved into a room with a kitchenette. SWEET… it was a perfect interruption to the Arctic chill. LOVED IT!

First the good, the hotel lobby is off the hook– it is opulent, open air, gorgeous. The pool is big, with a great, swim up bar.
Now the rest of the story.
If you choose to stay here, you will need to have lots of time and lots of money. The way the Gran Melia is set up, everything is far away from everything else. Get ready to walk or wait for a golf cart to go anywhere. Want food? Be prepared to pay top dollar for mediocre to average food. Don’t want to make the haul from your room and want to order room service? Maybe you will get your food. In an hour or two. Maybe you won’t.
Since it takes 20 – 25 mins to get out and away from the resort since it sits at the very tip of a penis shaped peninsula, if you do not have a car, you are kind of boned.
The little gift shop does have an espresso machine and it is easily the best deal at this hotel.
The beach is for sitting only. The water at all places around the hotel is brackish and vegetated. Not the beautiful blue, clear water you think of when you think of Puerto Rico. For that, and for great food, reasonably priced you will need to drive out of the resort, turn left onto Rt 3 and find your way to the Kioskos that sit between the road and the beautiful beach.