A SLICE OF PARADISE AT YOUR FINGERTIPS
A review of THE LEVEL SEA VIEW VILLA at MELIA SALINAS
After an 8 days stay at Melia Salinas I am pretty sure that a slice of Paradise was hidden here on the island of Lanzarote.
Tucked away in a quiet part of Costa Teguise, the beachfront hotel is an upscale adults-recommended location known for its beautiful gardens and iconic architectural style. It is your unique chance to immerse yourself in the artistic and cultural heritage of Lanzarote at this grand hotel with a unique lagoon pool designed by César Manrique himself, his works of art adorning the public spaces around the hotel, creating an elegant atmosphere. The stunning white sand beach of Los Charcos is on the doorstep for you to dip your toes in the Atlantic Ocean or choose to chill around the palm fringed pools.
Fully renovated in 2018, the 272 rooms of the Gran Meliá Salinas are divided into 214 doubles, 18 junior suites, 28 master suites, 9 garden villas, and 1 presidential garden villa. All decorated in a stylish, modern design combining marble and the most elegant furniture and an endless range of details and facilities to ensure you are perfectly comfortable and provided with all you will need.
The resort’s reputation continues to improve, thanks to renovations which have converted adjoining double rooms into 28 master suites. The junior suites stand out for the double balconies with comfortable furniture and the addition of a mini-bar and small living room. The master suites are a testament to modernity, comfort, and luxury; modern for the appointment of technological equipment, including two plasma screen televisions and a sound-system; comfortable for offering guests a pleasant and relaxing living area that includes a dressing room, a general living room, and a kitchen; and luxurious for parquet flooring, a Jacuzzi tub in the bathroom and a hot tub with hydro-massage jets on one of the two balconies. There is nothing more exquisite than relaxing in the hot tub under the warmth of the sun. The minimalist touch in the décor is evident in all corners of these breath-taking room.
The jump in quality from the suites to the private villas is tremendous. If the master suite takes your breath away, then the villas could cure a serious bout of hiccups. Designed by architect Álvaro Sans, these chalets, apart from being majestically constructed with enviable furnishings, also offer 24-hour personalized service.
My choice this time was Villa Magdalena located at the end of the LEVEL complex, with a perfect balance of seclusion, distance to hotel’s bars and restaurants and an unrivalled opening to the beach and the Ocean having an exotic botanical garden as a buffer zone. A perfect choice for those seeking privacy combined with the best service of a top-class hotel.
Most of the time the guests look at these villas as perfect luxurious accommodation options for their holidays. Fortunately chatting with Virginie Corthals, Guest Experience Manager at Melia Salinas I found more about the entire philosophy of this concept.
Open the wooden door at the entrance and you will enter a world of luxury and pampering. Funny enough the door is quite narrow (especially after couple of days of the excellent all-inclusive at Melia Salinas) but according the Balinese philosophy and feng shui, the front door is considered the mouth of chi (the universal energy). It is through the front door that the villa receives its feng shui nourishment of energy. The quality of this energy determines the quality of energy in your home: a narrow door will keep the energy inside blocking the access of negative vibes.
From the entrance door an angled path over the water takes you to the main patio. A curving path to the front door is much better according to the principles of Feng Shui. It slows down fast-moving energy, creating a sense of calm as it enters your home. And at the entrance another feng shui element: an impressive water feature helping to reactivate stagnant chi, to restore balance to the area and produces beneficial yang energy. The water is flowing toward the front door of the loft symbolizing wealth and prosperity.
And if all this feng shui philosophy is too complicated for you just try to sleep one night with the front door open and enjoy the relaxing sound of the waterfall at your doorstep.
The exquisite dining area, hosted in an elegant wooden gazebo, is the perfect place for an early cup of coffee or a night cup having the sound of breaking waves on the next-door beach as a unique background. Or if you really want to feel like in Paradise you can order the Villa’s version of “breakfast in bed”. The twist is a full breakfast served at your convenience and following the highest standards that you can imagine in this private retreat. And guess what: the annoying news on television or from the news papers are replaced with the breath-taking sunrise of the fighting the waves of the Ocean. What else can you wish for a perfect start of the day?
At the other end of the patio a spacious and comfortable Bali bed is waiting for you with beach towels changed every day and a generous complimentary selection of high-end suncare products. Will be you task to decide between a lazy morning in the sun or a relaxing afternoon nap.
Without doubt the star of the patio is the private 20 m2 saltwater pool. And if you think that a private pool is an unnecessary luxury just try a swim before sunrise or a skinny deep late at night and you will understand why was so difficult for me to push myself to the next-door gorgeous LEVEL pool.
The loft offers a generous indoor space without creating barriers, another feng shui presence. The decorations are classic and elegant with a inspired touch of modern avant-garde details. The large bedroom features a canopy bed, opposite to a complete work area with a desk. At the entrance a split lounge is perfect for relaxing or in-room dining. Guests may choose the type of bedding and a variety of pillows, bathrobes and slippers are provided. Other facilities include a cordless telephone, Bluetooth music tower, tea and coffee making facilities, a selection of fresh fruit and many other extras as a courtesy of the Hotel Management.
The dressing area is an important feature of this elegant loft with plenty of wardrobes and cupboards , with not give a chance for a fight for storage space or coat hangers, A vanity desk with an big mirror complete this space where you will find the well-stocked minibar too with soft drinks, water and beer, all complimentary.
At the end of the loft you will find the bathroom area…yeas you heard right: BATHROOM AREA! A modern rainforest shower with an ingenious ancient Roman style seating/storage solution, a toilet cubicle with a bidet (how continental!!!), a washing area with two sinks and the piece of resistance: a very large sunken tub which eliminates the traditional structure of the hotel bath tub above the floor line and essentially being part of the floor itself, decorated with elegant, once again ancient Roman inspired mosaic.
After being mesmerized by all this space, style and comfort another surprise completed the luxurious profile of this place. Opening the back door of the loft I entered a little patio where shower built in volcanic stone reconnected me with geological history of the island.
THE LEVEL SEA VIEW VILLA is for sure the maximum expression of luxury in a space where tranquillity, comfort and sophistication are ever-present. A incredible botanical garden built on a volcanic landscape separated your private pool and gorgeous gazebo from a little gulf where every day the surfers are fighting the majestic waves and you can’t get a better spot to admire the magical sunrises of Lanzarote.
Form the very first day I saw in the private garden an old windmill and I considered as an odd decoration despite the fact that was watching perfectly the landscape creating great Instagram opportunity. Learning about the history of Melia Salinas and having the privilege to chat one day with Virginie Corthals, Guest Experience Manager of the hotel, I discovered that the old windmill is part of local heritage, an wooded echo of a time when Melia Salinas was just a dream of the famous architect Fernando Higuera. Long time before this majestic hotel was built this was space was occupied by Salinas de El Charco- a wide space used to harvest salt from the Ocean water. Only couple of wooden wind pumps (used to pump water around the saltpans) survived and one of them was in my own garden at Melia Salinas.
Booking one of this Garden Villas at Melia Salinas will give you the chance to enjoy an infinity of sensations you had never imagined and benefit from all the privileges you receive as a The Level guest: private check-in at your arrival, exclusive access throughout the stay to the The Level Lounge, access to The Level private swimming pool, choice of pillows in the room luxurious bathroom amenities (I adore the Rituals products), personal introduction to the resort, personalised minibar contents in the room, Concierge services, 24-hour room service and an bespoken personalised customer service.
It is a perfect option for two but, if you are a bigger party Melia Salinas has the option of the Presidential Villa – a spectacular 1,200 m2 space, the most fascinating place in the Meliá Salinas. Formed by two luxurious detached villas, a private 40 m2 pool with magnificent sea views, lush tropical gardens and a terrace with shower built in volcanic stone.
Magdalena Villa at Melia Salinas is indeed the maximum expression of luxury within the hotel, a place which I can’t wait to return to in November. And scary enough, I love it more than any of my suites on any cruise ships. If if you know me and my passion for cruising … THAT’S SOMETHING!
Leonard Miron 