Just returned from 2 weeks at the Melia Costa del Sol (March 2013).
We stayed half board in a "Junior Suite".
Pros: Hotel & facilities were clean; most staff very helpful. Location good.
Junior suite was large, carpeted & had free safe & wifi. Balcony was massive with excellent sea views. Asked for high floor with afternoon/evening sun and got what we asked for.
Cons: Unfortunately this list is extensive!
The hotel is not suitable for handicapped guests - the main (and ONLY) entrance is below street level - arrival/departure by anything larger than a mini bus will entail dragging suitcases up/down a fairly steep slope - their are steps, but a mobility scooter has to negotiate the roadway. Inside the hotel a mobility scooter would have to stay in reception - the lifts are barely large enough for four adults.
The Junior suite was large and generally isolated from any noise in the corridor by several doors. Decent furniture and reasonable flat screen TV with BBC1 & 2 & several English speaking news channels. Large twin beds (very firm) with insufficient room to access the far one. (bed end too close to the wall). Large bathroom with shower over the bath - lighting poor over the bath and access not very easy or safe!
I would have expected a better bathroom with separate shower in a 4 star Junior suite!
I would also expect to see coffee/tea making facilities in a 4 star.
Food - Breakfast is fine with eggs cooked to order & all the usual stuff. Would have helped if the coffee machines had instructions - save a lot of waste.
Evening meal - forget it, go B & B. No idea what they were serving as there were only a few notices and these were less than helpful - "Soup of the day" must be some standard flavour that I don't know about! A lot of the food was warm/cold - I complained and got no feedback.
We booked this hotel based on previous reviews and were disappointed. I agree with another reviewer that "it's a hotel with no soul!"

This is quite a large hotel facing the sea with an outdoor pool in front. Beneath is an underground car park. The room size is good and there’s a small balcony with table & chairs to enjoy the sea breeze. The bathroom is simple with not much bench space but quite adequate. The big wardrobe can be useful and the wi-fi is free. A bank of computer terminals with internet access is located in an area for guests use.

The location of the hotel is excellent, situated at one end of the marine parade with the beach just across the street. Along this parade are bars, restaurants, cafes, chemists. groceries and all sorts of retail outlets.

The breakfast area is in a very large hall. The buffet on offer is quite substantial and spread out so it’s not congested even when many guests are present. Service was quite efficient.

If we pass this way again would definitely stay here.

We booked this hotel via BA.com together with our flights form Gatwick. The hotel is good and lives up to its 4 star classification. Great Breakfast, varied and fresh, lots of options in bread, eggs, fish, cold cuts, cheese, muesli and an array of juices, coffee's &tea's. Topped with bubbly and you have one of the best hotel breakfasts I ever had.
The location is perfect on the beach near nice lounges and the stairs & lift to the city.
Rooms are neat and have a great balcony with sea views.
We rented a car and got a parking space in the garage for 11 euro a night.
We opted for the free Wifi which was fast enough for you-tube, facebook & mails.
Staff is friendly and helpful. I couldn't ask for more value for money

We have just returned from Melia, we stayed there for 20days. The hotel itself was very nice, quite minimalist with clean uncluttered lines, but the room was a good size with everything clean, fresh and modern. We asked for room with sun in afternoon & evening and were given just that. The staff all very helpful and friendly. The food was good, plenty of choice for both breakfast and evening meal. We found that sometimes the hot buffet did not keep its heat as much as we would have like it, but we used the microwave provided to 'zap' it for 30 seconds or so and were able to enjoy the meal much better. not sure what the problem was that it didnt keep hot, possibly the serving dishes/trays sat on top of the hot plates, but the heat was not getting through to the food otherwise it was well presented and beautifully cooked with great choices. Would-be visitors should note that this is not a holiday-family-orientated hotel. Most of the visitors were either there for conferences or business meetings or over night stop-overs for tour companies. the bar at night, although it had music via keyboard and singer, most evenings there were at most 20 people and majority of evenings a maximum of 6-10!
So, in summing up our experience, modern hotel for good for cleanliness, friendliness, room sizes and food but...... as a holiday hotel (families or couples) a hotel with no soul!!