Hotel Le Meridien Lav

HOLIDAY RUINED – One of the Most Disappointing Five-Star Hotel Experiences We Have Ever Had I am writing this review only after giving both Le Méridien Lav Split and Marriott every reasonable opportunity to properly address what happened during our stay from 17 to 24 August 2026. We deliberately chose this resort because we wanted a week of peace, privacy, relaxation and exclusivity, away from the crowds and noise of the city. We regularly stay at five-star and luxury hotels and fully understand that occasional problems can happen anywhere. This, however, was not one isolated problem. For us, this holiday was ruined. What makes the experience even more disappointing is the way our complaint was subsequently handled, despite the extensive photographic and documentary evidence we provided. THE “PRIVATE BEACH” – VERY DIFFERENT FROM WHAT WE ACTUALLY EXPERIENCED One of the main reasons we chose this property was the expectation of spending our days in a peaceful and private environment. On an official Marriott webpage, Le Méridien Lav Split was expressly described as a property that: “boasts a private beach lapped by idyllic turquoise waters.” This was not wording from a travel blog or an independent review site. It appeared within Marriott’s own official online presence. What we actually experienced was completely different. The beach was heavily crowded, including by people who were not staying at the hotel, creating an environment that, in our experience, had very little in common with what we reasonably understood from the words “private beach.” The situation reached a level we simply never expected to encounter at a five-star resort. People who were not hotel guests would spread their towels immediately beside our sun loungers and parasol. Dirty shoes, clothing, bags, towels and personal belongings were left on the ground right next to the areas occupied by hotel guests. Some people even used their towels as makeshift picnic blankets, placing food, drinks and containers on them and eating full meals on the beach immediately beside our sun loungers. We had specifically chosen and paid for a five-star resort because we wanted peace, order, privacy and relaxation. So the obvious question is: IS THIS REALLY THE EXPERIENCE ONE SHOULD EXPECT FROM A FIVE-STAR RESORT? IS THIS THE “PRIVATE BEACH” EXPERIENCE SUGGESTED BY MARRIOTT’S OWN COMMUNICATION? To be absolutely clear, our criticism is not directed at the people using the beach. If access is permitted, they obviously have every right to be there. Our criticism concerns the management of the property and, above all, the enormous difference between the experience presented to customers and the experience we actually encountered. Following our complaint, the hotel explained that the beach is not private or exclusively reserved for hotel guests. Even more surprisingly, we were told that Marriott’s reference to a “private beach” may have originated from a Marriott source that was “not fully updated.” From a customer’s perspective, that explanation is extraordinary. If information is published by Marriott on its own official channels, it should not be the customer’s responsibility to discover only after booking, paying and staying at the hotel that the information was supposedly not fully updated. Had the actual situation been clearly disclosed to us beforehand, we would never have chosen this hotel. POOLS “FOR HOTEL GUESTS”… BUT ALSO ACCESSIBLE TO OUTSIDERS The swimming pools were another major disappointment. Marriott’s official page for the property stated: “multiple pools on-site for hotel guests.” Yet after our complaint, the hotel confirmed that local residents who are not staying at the property can also access the pools through paid memberships. During our stay, the pool areas were also very crowded and far removed from the peaceful and exclusive environment we believed we had booked. This is not a minor detail. When someone deliberately chooses a five-star resort away from the city specifically to avoid crowds and enjoy a relaxing holiday, knowing that the pools are also accessible to outside paying members is information that can materially affect the decision to book. It certainly would have affected ours. Had we known, we would have booked elsewhere. SECURITY – THE ISSUE WAS NOT WHAT THEY WERE WEARING, BUT WHETHER THE CONTROLS WERE EFFECTIVE In response to our complaint, the hotel told us that security personnel were present but operated in plain clothes. That completely misses the point. Whether security staff were wearing uniforms or ordinary clothes is irrelevant. The real question is: Were the controls actually effective? We can only report what we personally experienced and documented: overcrowding, outside visitors, towels spread beside hotel guests’ loungers, dirty shoes and clothing left on the ground, and people effectively having picnics beside our sun loungers. If the controls were as effective as the hotel subsequently claimed, it is difficult to understand how these situations were allowed to occur and continue. THE ROOM WAS ALSO FAR BELOW WHAT WE EXPECTED FROM A FIVE-STAR HOTEL Then there was the room. We found old, heavily scratched and malfunctioning bathroom fittings, an empty refrigerator/minibar and maintenance conditions that, in our opinion, were not appropriate for a property of this category. The subsequent response? We could have reported the issues to reception so that they could be addressed. But surely, at a five-star hotel, the more appropriate question is: Who checks the room before it is handed over to the guest? A customer paying for a hotel of this standard should not have to become the quality-control inspector of their own room after check-in. Bathroom fittings, minibar, equipment and the general condition of the room should be checked before the guest arrives. THEN CAME PERHAPS THE MOST DISAPPOINTING PART: THE HANDLING OF OUR COMPLAINT We did not immediately rush online to post an angry review. We did exactly the opposite. We gave the hotel the opportunity to explain itself and resolve the matter. We submitted a detailed and documented formal complaint, providing photographs, screenshots and references to Marriott’s own webpages. We explained point by point what had happened and why our holiday had been seriously compromised. The property’s final response? No refund. No compensation. And a statement that, from their perspective, the correspondence was closed. After everything we had documented, we felt simply dismissed. In our view, this is far removed from the level of customer care one would reasonably expect from a five-star property operating under an international brand such as Marriott. AND WHAT ABOUT MARRIOTT? Because we found the hotel’s response unacceptable, we formally escalated the matter to Marriott Bonvoy Elite Services and Marriott Customer Care. We again provided documentation and specifically asked Marriott to examine an issue concerning its own published information: the discrepancy between what appeared on Marriott’s official channels and what the hotel subsequently told us. We even supplied the relevant screenshots. At the time of writing this review, we have received no substantive response to our latest escalation. After everything we experienced and the time we spent documenting the matter, we find this profoundly disappointing. From an international hospitality group such as Marriott, we expected the opposite: attention, investigation of the documented facts and a meaningful response. Not silence. WE PAID FOR A HOLIDAY – NOT TO SPEND WEEKS FILING COMPLAINTS This is perhaps the most frustrating part of the entire experience. We went on holiday to relax. Not to photograph problems. Not to collect evidence. Not to check what Marriott’s websites said. Not to compare advertising with reality. Not to spend weeks after returning home writing emails and formal complaints. We paid for a five-star holiday. For us, that holiday was ruined. And after returning home, we had to spend even more time and energy simply trying to obtain an adequate response. HAD WE KNOWN THE REAL SITUATION BEFORE BOOKING, WE WOULD HAVE CHOSEN ANOTHER HOTEL Our conclusion is very simple. Had we been clearly told before booking: that the advertised “private beach” was not actually exclusively reserved for hotel guests; that outside visitors could position themselves beside hotel guests, spread towels on the ground, leave shoes and clothing around and eat meals beside the hotel’s sun loungers; that pools presented as being “for hotel guests” were also accessible to local residents through paid memberships; and had we known the level of overcrowding we would actually experience during our stay, WE WOULD NEVER HAVE BOOKED LE MÉRIDIEN LAV SPLIT. We were not asking for special privileges. We were simply expecting the five-star experience we believed we had selected and paid for. We did not receive it. And, even more disappointingly, we did not receive complaint handling that we consider worthy of the Marriott name either. We regularly stay at five-star and luxury properties, and this remains one of the greatest disappointments we have ever experienced at a hotel of this category. We will not return to Le Méridien Lav Split. Based on our personal experience, we cannot recommend this property to anyone specifically looking for peace, privacy, order and exclusivity from a five-star resort. A holiday ruined during the stay, followed by an experience made even worse by the way our documented complaint was handled afterwards.

The most perfect hotel and location. Had a beautiful room overlooking the sea. Breakfast fantastic with lots of variety. Set in beautiful Marina with a few lovely restaurants etc. Only thing would have liked a few lifeguards in the pool for my kids. Overall STUNNING! We will be back.

Excellent location. Good breakfast, excellent Croatian hostess Ivana and excellent Filipino staff at breakfast. Good icecream place, good restaurants. Excellent receptionist Ms Ivana who is an outstanding ambassador for the house. However, not all staff perform up to these standards which makes the experience a little choppy.

CONSTANT CRYING BABIES !!! Poolside, restaurants, at breakfast…. There are babies crying everywhere. I’m not sure why this is the case, but unless you adore screaming children, go elsewhere. This is my 3rd trip to Le Méridien Lav, but this trip was miserable with the children & babies. The parents are totally ineffective in quieting their children. I’ve hustled dined at Colemari, and witnessed 2 school-aged brothers fight like an mma match at the booth (adjacent to an elderly woman trying to eat)…parents did nothing. The screaming is intense, unrelenting, and unsettling.

Booked premium sea view room through British Airways holidays. Room was superb. 14th floor overlooking the sea. Room immaculate. I then looked at some of the negative reviews over the last few weeks and they don’t make sense. Someone said the food in the restaurant was mediocre and service poor. Absolute nonsense. Food in all the restaurants night be a bit expensive but really good quality and waiting staff so attentive and friendly Someone said the rooms smelt of mould. No idea where they were staying but ours was modern and spotless Someone said breakfast service faced challenges. No idea what they were as it’s a buffet and very easy to find a table either on the terrace or inside. Very good selection of food from egg station, to meats cheeses, salads, pastries. Staff very happy to get you a coffee if you can serve yourself Someone said they charge €5 for orange juice at breakfast. Total nonsense. There are machines with orange, apple blueberry everywhere as well as three types of iced flavoured water. As you enter the restaurant there is a basket with a couple of bottles of some sort of probiotic orange juice at the€5 which the previous report refers to. Overall ignore the stupid reviews. This is an excellent hotel. Restaurants very good but if you don’t want to pay hotel prices every night take a stroll down the concrete beach path and you will find several cheaper ones.