Palacio de Aviles Affiliated By Melia

Avilés is a lovely little town well worth visiting. The hotel was very central, right in the middle on the square. The parking area was down under the hotel....once you knew where to go it was no problem...but in the beginning a bit confusing. The lady at the reception desk was very professional but not over friendly. We had a fantastic room overlooking the gardens. it was very clean, bed was great. lovely bathroom. All good! We did not like the bar area...not very comfortabe. We ate elsewhere for dinner.

Quick 2 night visit to Aviles and chose to stay at Palacio de Aviles, due mainly to the central location. Arrived early and was allowed straight to my room, a welcome surprise. My room was of a good size and spotlessly clean. I had a view of the garden, which I enjoyed and it was quiet at night. Great mattress and pillows and I slept really well. There is also a small fridge in the room. Perfect shower.....although the towels appeared quite flat (old), not the fluffy type I would expect. Toiletries (soap/shampoo/shower gel), in large containers, attached to wall in bathroom. There is a small gym that guests have access to on the 2nd floor. I also enjoyed the art and sculpture around the hotel. The gardens to the rear of the hotel are a lovely spot to sit and read, but do check route to get back into the hotel! All doors were locked when I tried, maybe as it was January? (Detour to the back of the garden, via the larger gardens and down a road for a 7 min return to the hotel). The gentleman working at the bar was courteous and friendly. I did find it strange that I could not get more coffee pods from reception (in the evening). Just told 'no, in the morning'. This is something I have never encountered in a 4/5 star hotel before. A shame, as I like an early morning coffee and breakfast at the weekend starts at 8am. Breakfast itself was a delightful feast! I didn't even bother to order from the menu. The continental selection is vast! All in all a lovely hotel that I would return to.

In short: noise from building itself kept me from sleeping. The aircon continued to blow out hot air in spite of being set to cold. The behaviour of staff ranged from unprofessional to rude. There was a constant, loud, low-pitch, pulsating humming-sound coming from the building itself (best guess is vibrations from ventilation systems). It kept me from sleeping. When I told the lady at reception that the aircon was blowing out hot air even on a low setting, she told me this wasn't possible and claimed the hotel doesn't have heating (it was uncomfortably hot and I was sweating). She was rude, which upset me. It turns out she was the only member of staff in the whole hotel during the night-shift (this is what she told me) and that nothing could be done. The way she spoke to me was really unpleasant. Even if there was nothing she could do, she still could have been polite. The communal areas are beautiful and the hotel has the amenities you'd expect from a 5-star hotel. However, my room was shabby, smelled bad and the bathroom had mold. It's what I'd expect from a 3-star hotel. The staff at reception couldn't figure out how to check me in because I'm a foreign national (but I'm fluent in Spanish so I got to listen to them talking as if I wasn't standing right in front of them) and just ignored me while struggling with their checking-in system. No acknowledgement or apology. To sum up: don't expect a 5-star service or experience. The 1-star rating is from being really upset by being spoken down to and from being kept from sleeping.