Nature - great. Service, hotel could be better, much better

Overall impression of the hotel and service: 3.5/5. The ocean and nature truly make up for many of the downsides. The blanket provided for covering was dirty and had a strong smell, similar to a toilet odor. When I asked for it to be replaced, they brought another one that was even worse, with visible vomit stains. The towels were replaced only once, when I entered the room while the cleaning staff was there and personally asked the cleaner to change them. That was the only time the room  [... read more]was fully cleaned, and it had actually been cleaned before I arrived. All other times, only the bed linen was changed, and even that had stains. Overall, the room is spacious and generally fine, but cleanliness is a serious issue. The nature and the outside views are absolutely beautiful. The ocean is stunning. However, on the last morning we saw a shark very close to the shore. When we informed the staff who work as lifeguards, they pretended not to understand what we were saying and responded with words like “barracuda” or “dolphin.” It is possible they did not understand that “shark” in English means tiburón. After that incident, we did not swim anymore. The dining area was generally fine. The food was nothing exceptional, but it was okay for me. I came mainly to see the ocean and nature. There was one chef grilling meat, and when I asked him to add sauce (which was standing right next to the grill), he replied in an annoyed tone that the meat comes without sauce. I pointed out the sauce, and he simply hid it. That was unpleasant.

Fantastic staff

Hotel is dated but always clean rooms and property. Pools and beach are fantastic. The best part of the the resort is the staff. All are fantastic, caring, and so willing to be helpful, and do it with a smile.

Beautiful resort

Melia las dunas is a beautiful 19 year old resort its lushness in the plantation of trees tropical plants are so manicured, lobby is huge marble, bright,areas with lots of seating, all grounds are spotless and clean, walk way to beach well kept and easy access, rooms are dated to the newer hotels but clean and fresh, my only issue was lack of hot water to shower with, for 1 week they said issue was being looked at, but the issue is definitely not a quick fix,

Wonderful resort!

This hotel was absolutely amazing the lobby was so beautiful and the staff were also very nice! The food was good many options! The pool and beach were amazing. The rooms were definitely not the best i’ve seen but all you do is sleep on your room anyway so it worked for me! Had a great experience here and I would definitely recommend!

Another wonderful trip

My husband I just returned form Melia Las Dunas for the 9th time on May 5th. We love the resort and the people in it. The hotel may be getting a little older now and has a few small issues, but it could never out way the amazing time you will have here. Our hearts are with the hard working, people pleasing staff that are there. Special shout outs to Kirenia and her amazing hubby Oramyee, Yusleidy, Andry, Yohanan, Diego and Tony. Special thoughts are with Guillermo who was not able to work whi [... read more]le we were there this time. Until next time (Numero diez). Gracias a todos

A favourite of mine

Love Las Dunas! Have been there many times-recent visit a week ago. The white sandy beach is beautiful, there are plenty of lounges all with shade and the bar is just steps away. Both the adult and child pools are gorgeous and have bars with refreshments for all. In my opinion the huge front lobby is the best ever-plenty of seating for everyone, an excellent bar, entertainment throughout the day and evening at different locations. There are several restaurants to choose from as well as a  [... read more]pizza location. The best part of your visit will be the staff who excel in making sure your stay at Melia Las Dunas is top notch.

The worst

We did not get to go to this resort as sunwing cancelled our entire trip. We booked through trip central and when asked for help to get compensated for the 8hr delay. Trip Central replied “oh dear Iam sorry, Nothing we can do” contacted Sunwing and they said “I had to go through trip central”. Didn’t get anywhere, will not booked through Trip Centeal again!!

Amazing Resort for value

It's a very large resort, on one of the most beautiful beaches in the World. The Staff is friendly, they go beyond the call of duty to accommodate you. The Food was good. The grounds are beautiful The rooms are large and clean, I would highly recommend Judy (Massage Therapist in the Melia Spa. The Omelet Chef Sally, makes an amazing omelet Our Servers Murielle and Jovani, are amazing attentive servers. It was a pleasure to meet the new General Manager Fernando, for speaking with guests t [... read more]o see how they can best serve us! The a la carte restaurants, were good, including lots of fish, seafood, Lobster. Lots of chairs at beach and many covered huts.

Fair resort, if you can get a deal

This must have been the 20th time that I have been to Cuba, the third time that I’ve been to Cayo Santa Maria, so I knew what to expect. The hotel was a bit disappointing as it was rundown. The patio door was not locking, the rubber Underneath the front door was broken, allowing bugs to come in. Not that we saw many in the room. We did see quite a few ants in our room. This could be resulting from the fact that our housekeeper was putting flowers on our beds almost every morning. A nice gestur [... read more]e, but I’m sure that’s where the ants were coming from. Considering the supply shortage in Cuba, I did not know what to expect. Cannot blame the hotel for this, but it was a chance we took. The food was subpar compared to the hotel that I had been to previously. Subpar to any Cuban resort that I’ve been to. The beach and the ocean was amazing as usual, one of the nicest that I’ve been to in the Caribbean, the staff at the bar, at the restaurants, we’re generally pleasant and friendly, our maid was amazing, one of the best that I have ever had. I had friends who have stayed at this resort in the past, and they have all claimed there was not much entertainment at night. But the week I was there, there was sufficient entertainment, shows at night, musicians, playing, dance, parties, one thing that was surprising to me was that they were not many Canadians staying at this hotel. We ran into a family from Quebec, and two different groups from Toronto. Besides that, all the other guests appeared to be either from Europe, or different South American countries. At every resort that I’ve been to, I’ve always run into Canadians from various parts of the country, but this time around it appeared to be rare. Hearing someone speak English was a novelty. Lol. The resort itself is very big, so be ready to walk a lot. There are staff that will drive you around to your room, but sometimes the wait could be long making it worthwhile to walk. After a couple of days, I had blisters on my toes from walking too much, probably because I was walking with wet sandals. I did not try the pool because I am not a pool person, but it appeared to be clean. Albeit very chlorinated. This is a fair resort if you can get a good deal if you are OK with a resort that is somewhat rundown. My next time around, I will probably be going to the Meliá cayoSanta Maria , which is formerly the Playa Cayo Santa Maria. it’s the adjoining hotel right next-door. But is much smaller, and catered more to Canadians, from what I recall., although times have changed from my last time there which was pre-pandemic.

Love it! Repeat guests

This hotel is very large. Clean and well maintained. It is getting a bit dated but we'll taken care of. The staff is what truly makes this resort so enjoyable they are top notch! Always friendly and willing to help out! The pool is great but sometimes not the cleanest probably due to all the guests that just throw there garbage everywhere. Beach is beautiful and very clean.. but lacking loungers or a lot of them need to be replaced due to damage. The food is good! At least the times I was t [... read more]here! There are shortages from week to week! It is Cuba I am enjoying a vacation not a culinary experience! Some of it is repetitive, but they are pretty creative with what supplies they have! For the price IPaid for a weeks vacation in Cuba..I have no complaints..I would go back in a heartbeat! ??

This resort needs a lot of love

It was my third time at the Melia las Dunas. The weather was wonderful and the staff amazing! Viktor, at the animation team is a nice guy and he always remember our name. The staff at the pool bar and the restaurant on the adult side are wonderful. The hotel itself is not like it was before. No chair anymore at the adult side beach no bar and not too much chairs on the other side. The chairs are old and uncomfortable. On a positive point our room was cleaned every day. As you know, Cuba is  [... read more]short of almost everything so if you are going in Cuba in general, don’t think that you will have the best food. They are doing what they can with the less they have. You will always find something to eat. But if you want to meet amazing people and lay down on the most beautiful beaches, that’s the place to go.

Amazing beach

Drive from Airport is 1:30 min, gives you a chance to see the villages on the way. Beach is amazing, food was nothing too exciting, we only had eggs 2 days out of 7. No shortage of toilet paper, except the lobby’s bathroom. Hot water was not available most days. Not enough beach chairs and shades during march break people used to reserve them as early as 4 am. Take snacks in case they run out of food. Staff are very kind and friendly. Place was nice and clean.

Terrible resort

Terrible food, very run down, dirty, unsanitary, poor customer service. 2 bath towels for 4 people and we were made to reuse them all week. Shower didn't work, no soap or toilet in any public washroom including the one closest to our buffet. Never any beach or pool loungers available or shade areas left unless you wake up at 5:30am to reserve. Resort is massive and no trolleys. No maps around the resort to help guide you. We had eggs for 2 days then they ran out. No red meat except for a little  [... read more]veal stew 3 times. No fries, burgers, chicken fingers for kids. Most days we waited in 40min line up for pasta station. Buffet didn't have enough seating so we often had to sit separated from our family of 4! This place should not be considered an all inclusive at all. Most mornings all they had was old, stale bread and left over food from dinner the night before. Beach was amazing but besides that-Worst vacation of our lives! I will never go back!!

Great

Older hotel but clean and the grounds are beautiful ! Beach is stunning ! Lobby had great drinks and coffee , very big and lots of different seatings. Food was good never went hungry , rice pudding was delicious. Pasta , beef, pork, fish everything was fresh and plentiful.

Beautiful place

The hotel is definitely showing it s age but overall it is still a beautiful resort. The grounds are beautifully keep. The staff is amazing. Shout out to Debis, Lissetty and Alexander in the buffet. They go out of their way to make you feel so special. The lobby bar has amazing Bartenders such as Yoisnel Martin, Lilianis Rodriguez and Saile Orea Cabrera. Always smiling and so happy. O’Neill at the pool bar always happy and so friendly. The rooms have some issues such as water pressure but are al [... read more]ways kept very clean. Our maid Alina was always smiling very happy and went out of her way to say hello. There were some food shortages but always something to eat. You are never hungry. Overall this is a beautiful resort with amazing beaches and beautiful people.

Melia Las Dunas Cuba

We arrived on the 8 Feb 2024 at Melia Las Dunas Resort in Cayo Santa Marie and started the check in process. When asked for a room with a king-size bed we were told that it would be a 350 dollar upgrade. We accepted the room we were assigned which was room 4812. When we arrived at 4812 and opened the door we were greeted with the instant smell/odor of mold/musty. We went to open the patio doors and they were not locked so we tried to lock them to see if it works and we were unable to lock the [... read more]m and we were located on the ground floor. I went to use the phone and call the front desk to inform them of this issue and the phone did not work, so we had no way of reaching the front desk. After a few minutes in the room I realized the mold smell was coming from the Air Conditioning and shut it off which helped the smell dissipate a little. After returning from a walk around the resort we attempted to have a shower at which time we realized that we had no hot water pressure in the shower area. The only way to get the shower to engage was to turn on full cold water. But yet the bathroom sink worked great. At this point we walked up to the front desk and talked to customer service. I was asked if I had turn the shower taps all the way to the left for hot water. I explained that I had and yes I was familiar with the operation of a shower. I was basically brushed off by customer service. Later that day I wrote a complaint on the Sun Wing and Trip Central sites. The next day I received a paper directing me to go to customer service. Upon my return to customer service I was greeted by a staff member that was not to happy that I written my complaints on the web sites. I was offered another room and compensation of a bottle of Rum after signing paperwork listing the issues with room 4812. We promptly took room 3022 even though it was away from the group of twelve that we were traveling with. We packed and moved to room 3022. The next day we got up and went to the beach/pool with the group we were traveling with. Upon returning to our room later in the day to get ready to go on a Sunset Dinner cruise we discover that the Bathroom had flooded and there was shit and water all over the place ( I have Pictures). When I contacted the front desk they said that they were aware of the issue and that there would be another room available for us after 4 pm. I tried to explain to them that we were going on the cruise and wanted to get cleaned up before we went and they basically said to bad but that is the best that we can do and we could get the keys for our new room when we returned later that night. Upon returning to room 3022 I had to walk through the water and other stuff still on the floor in the bathroom to get our shaving kits and other toiletries because they had not bother to clean any of the mess up. After carefully looking over room 3022 to make sure we had not forgotten anything we moved to room 3015. Later that night I was violently ill. This put me in my room for basically 36 hours. I had received an email from Trip Central that directed me to talk to the Sun Wing Rep. On Tuesday the 13 Feb I received this email because the Wifi did work most of the time. On the 14 Feb I approached the Sun Wing Rep as directed and was greet with her asking why I was tell her these things when I was leaving the next day. I looked at her and could not believe what she had said. She reluctantly started to write down what I was saying to her. I also mentioned that I had not received the bottle of rum I was promised for compensation yet. We say her talking to a Resort Manager after I finished telling her the problem. I was informed that the bottle of rum was placed in room 3022 the afternoon that the bathroom had flooded. Both my wife and I never saw a bottle of rum while looking around the room to ensure we had not forgotten any of our belongings before moving to room 3015. Needless to say every time I mentioned this to customer service or the Sun Wing Rep I was brushed off and never did receive the bottle of rum I was promised. The other issues with this Resort include running out of food like Eggs, Bacon, Bread and Coffee. The Wifi was never worked properly. Some staff seemed unfriendly when approached with concerns. The Woman’s washroom by the Adult pool had no running water on one occasion, which meant that they could not flush the toilets. I was also served a raw piece of chicken directly off the grill by one of the cooks from the kitchen staff (Picture available).

Returned after 12 years

The hotel still has the best beach in Cuba. The weather was great. The staff do a valiant job working under a terrible government which is causing the economy to one day collapse. the shortages are no doubt caused by distribution problems in the system. Had real eggs 14 out of the 21 days we were there. The rooms have great beds and are clean and spacious. the water pressure is on the lowish side and the hot water is luke warm which was okay for me. The beach can't be beat and the pools are hug [... read more]e. The food is not for everyone. I eat eggs and fruit in the morning so I got by. The grill is great for chicken and pork for lunch and the pizza is okay. The suppers are interesting. I always found something to eat every night. I like fish so I had fish everynight for 21 days. Had salmon 1 day , tuna 3 days and sea bass and another local fish the rest of the time. Great grill man there at buffet. a la carts are spotty. All in all you won't starve. I'm not a big drinker so the lack of mix for certain drinks didn't bother me. Would I go back . Good question? But I had a great time as did my wife. One thing did bother me and that's when Melia customer service shakes you down for later checkout time. 15$ per hour. Leaves a bad taste in your mouth.

Excellent beach, but 2-3 stars otherwise

The beach is excellent, however be aware that the same food is served every day, 3 stars would be a maximum. Rooms and common grounds are not well maintained. It was still worth the half price I paid in early January, and Air Transat is good. .

Absolutely Amazing Resort

All the staff are awesome and very friendly. They’re amazing as returned guest they always remember you . The grounds and very kept as gardeners working everyday. The Food is plentiful and you can always find something to eat. It’s not amazing but you’ll never go hungry. There was fish,chicken, pork,veal and beef every night with mashed potatoes and plenty of fruits and vegetables. Can’t wait to return in November ??????

Good times

Let me say that I’ve been to this hotel many times, and things have gotten better. The beach stunning, the cleanliness above average, the service is freaking amazing, rooms are great, beds are comfortable, food is good I didn’t starve, far from it, so basically I had an amazing time once again, nothing’s prefect, would I go back, dame right in a heart beat, enjoy