Gran Melia Palacio Isora, Guia De Isora

It's very clear the owners of the hotel wanted to convey an experience judging from the massive chandelier in the lobby right down to the Bose speakers dotted across the lawns. It's pure luxury! When you walk in you're greeted by this fragrant smell which reminded me of incense but without the smoky tones. They also have music piped to the public areas and its usually ambient, did hear an Aphex Twin album when I was there!

The building is beautiful inside and out. Pictures don't do it justice you have to see it. I loved the huge slabs of cream and amber marble which were illuminated from behind in the lobby. I stayed in a ground floor garden suite which in my opinion was the best as the balcony overlooked banana trees and bird of paradise plants. I could also see the sea beyond. The plants also gave some privacy against people passing by. All the gardens were very well kept. I did not see the point of the red level service as general guests had access to all the same areas and facilities, apart from a small pool which was quite average compared to the others. There were three large pools and a children's pool, all had a jet area and the main had a huge jacuzzi.

It was quiet during my stay and I sort of had one pool to myself for most of the week so first two weeks of September's a good time to go, still very hot. The room was fine, option to have it cleaned every day if you wanted, just had to hang a card on your door. Bathroom was gorgeous, huge double bath, separate shower and toilet, complete with a stock of toiletries, sewing and grooming kits.

I stayed on a B&B basis and the breakfast was great, served until 11am, everything you could want and also fresh pancakes and crepes cooked in front of you and they were good! You could eat either indoors in the mirrored restaurant as I called it or outside over the pond! It was a decked area under a canopy overlooking a pond with carp and other exotic fish swimming around. We ate out in the town every night. Not much choice but we did find a lovely little bar which had a small menu in the old part of the town. It called Parma de Llano, it near a Santander branch. It was all fish but really fresh and huge portions. We had a main and a pint of Dorada each and never paid more than 30euro for the both of us, if going try the tuna! They also had these delicious green and red sauces which were a bit like green curry paste without the chillies.

A couple of little supermarkets nearby with really cheap wine which sells in this country for at least 60% more! Dinner in the hotel would have cost 60 euro without drinks, I may try it next time but I like a relaxed evening without having to get dressed up and they did insist on formal dress for the evening meal. In all, it was an experience and well worth another visit!

There is no doubt - this hotel is pretty stunning with some of the best hotel rooms I have ever been fortunate enough to stay in. I can only dream what the non standard rooms were like. Difficult to assess what the service is like as I was visiting on a conference for 2 nights and no doubt the staff were pulling out all the stops.

The massive forecourt which is at the heart of the hotel is stunning by say, a little by too glitzy at night with all the fountains and lights - very Las Vegas. My favourite area was the outside terrace with resident DJ playing some very laid back tunes - the views of the pool are stunning.

Major gripe with this hotel is its location - it is situated a few miles from Los Gigantes in what can only be described as a fairly grotty working town just off the main road - fine for a few days recuperation in the sun but wholly inconvenient if you want to walk out and enjoy the sights.

Great hotel but I would rather choose the Bahia Del Duque if I was paying that sort of money.

Just returned from a one week stay, we opted for red level which was excellent service. Beautiful landscaped gardens and magnificent pools and stunning views of the ocean.

Then you come to eat absolutely rubbish. Food was very poor alongside the service. Eating in the Asian restaurant one evening and requested the food to be cooked at the table. We had the food cooked for us and ready to eat as they served us the starter and just left our freshly cooked main course standing there. When we had eaten the starter they never came to clear plates away and we then had a cold main. When we complained they did not want to know. The Ocean restaurant the service was very poor with the lack of training of the service staff. The food was poorly prepared and lacked finesse. They have a lot to learn with regards to international cuisine and need to train their staff more as I am sure a lot was lost in translation. By the way we are still waiting for our two glasses of white wine which we ordered on the second day for lunch the waitress did obviously not understand and instead of sending a person over who understood English, they just totally ignored us the rest of the lunch. It was a disaster for us because of the food issues and a shame for the red level personnel who are of a lot higher calibre. Maybe they should look at a restaurant in the red level because you cannot have one level of service and total rubbish food.