Fairly nice resort

The rooms in the resort could have been a bit cleaner. The electrical fixtures attached to the bed were in bad shape and didn't work. The resort was small, 300 or so guests but it had nice meals, restaurants, etc and the staff were courteous. The pool area and beach was excellent.

Melia Cayo Santa Maria

Maids done excellent job in rooms. General maintenance in public areas ( wash rooms) was poor,needs better program.Food could have been served hot. For most part,We had a good vacation, would probably consider returning. Pool was excellent, water was clean and clear. Beach was really beautiful, clean and clear water.

Run down

This is the first time I have written a bad review. No water for part of two days. Water had to run 20-25 min before hot water came and then only as a trickle. Ants in the room. Towel bar falling off. No clean beach towels for three days. Cold food at the buffet. Resort signs faded and not readable. Many things in desperate need of repair. Staff, although friendly, remained unmoved by our concerns.

Run down

This is the first time I have written a bad review. No water for part of two days. Water had to run 20-25 min before hot water came and then only as a trickle. Ants in the room. Towel bar falling off. No clean beach towels for three days. Cold food at the buffet. Resort signs faded and not readable. Many things in desperate need of repair. Staff, although friendly, remained unmoved by our concerns.

Old, tired resort

3/10 Needed more upgrades. We had no hot water at all week. Public washrooms didn't flush right or else they over ran or kept on runnning. Our beach towels only got changed once. Always said 'No towels left'. Food was so/so. Not a lot of salads. The a la carte's were not that great. Service was very slow at the French Restaurant. 3/10. The entertainment was 10/10. Very good!!! The pools were good 10/10...The ocean swimming & beach were 10/10. The excursions outside the resort were good. 10/10 [... read more]. We had a good time ourselves because it takes a lot to pull us down. Also great weather all week. Friendly staff everywhere.

Enjoyable Trip!...... Resort needs major upgrades though

The bus ride from Santa Clara takes about 1 hr and 45 mins. Upon arrival, check in was quick and service was great. The lobby area has been newly renovated and is very nice. Pool area is wonderful with lots of loungers covered with shade or open areas if you like the sun. One pool has the swim up bar that has a shallow section that you can wade in or a deeper section that takes you to the bar. The 2nd pool has a shallow and deep section as well and seems to be the area for water aerobics an [... read more]d child play for the most part. The 24 hr snack bar is located at one of the pool by the pool bar. They have great food and service drinks too. Staff are very friendly. Luzy treated us very well. The other side of the pool is close to the lobby bar. The beach is amazing! There was no need to reserve a lounger in the morning. Never had an issue finding a shaded and non-shaded area. Waves were a little strong while we were there. Service from staff was fantastic. Did not have to worry about being too far from the bar as the staff walked around taking orders if you don't like to walk back and forth. The sand in front of this resort is a bit soft. Just a minute to the right the sand is harder and makes the walk pass all the other resorts easy and enjoyable. There is a snack section at the beach bar that serves small sandwiches. If you prefer something more, a short walk up the boardwalk will take you to the larger snack bar where you can sit in the shade and order lunch from menu or get food from the barbeque just outside. The squid is very good! The Italian and Japanese a la cartes were very good. However, it took two mornings and about 1/2+ each time to make the reservations. I would recommend having two staff members helping with the reservations. Perhaps one making bookings for two restaurants; the other making the reservations for the other two. No one wants to spend part of their morning standing inside in a line up waiting to book and then have to go back because they weren't successful at getting the two bookings they are permitted for a 7 day stay. The buffet is good. We always find something to eat. Daniel cooks a mean omelet and he knows just how you like it after a day or two. (He is over in the right corner of the buffet). Anavitis goes out of her way to make you feel at home in the buffet during dinner. She serves on the right side of the resort too. We originally sat to the left side of the buffet and did not receive the same service. It can get very busy in there, but Anavitis and the girls to the right have it under control. The public washrooms are decrepit and needs major upgrades. They are missing locks, toilet seats and has low-pressure water. The rooms need major upgrades and repairs. They smell musky and feel damp. The bathroom is something to be desired! It needs new bath tub facilities and to be upgraded too. The handle on the tub wall isn't safe enough to hold when getting out or in the shower. The bedding, patio curtains and towels were stained. There are no face cloths. We had an issue with ants in our bathroom but I sprayed bug spray. That took care of the issue. We had two different rooms and had the same issues. Water was an issue most days. The first day there was no hot water throughout the whole resort. We had water issues off and on through the week. When we weren't having issues, we heard other guests complaining. A couple days in we did not have enough hot water pressure to run the shower. There was no hot water for a second time which the resort had posted signs explaining there was an issue. And one day we did not have enough hot or cold water to take a shower. There was not enough in the bathroom sink to run over a toothbrush. Managed to get enough from the tub faucet. Overall, we met some great people and had wonderful service. YoElvis gave us great service at the lobby bar. Everyone was very friendly and helpful. The beach is wonderful. However, we will be trying other resorts in the future. We are going to a different Melia in April and hope the beach is as amazing; the service is as good; the rooms are more upgrades and there are no water issues.

Good resort for the price

I am submitting this review as a 4th time guest at this resort so I am comparing to my previous visits. The hotel is clean and the staff does what it can to maintain it with the limited equipment available to them. (our screen door did not slide very well so it was hard to open. We reported it to the staff and their solution was to simply remove it) Our maid did a very good job in our room. All the staff made us feel welcome. As a returning guest, I must say that I was disappointed with the qu [... read more]ality and variety of the food. As the resort is getting older, it seems that the variety of food has changed. The replenishing of the dishes on the buffet line was extremely slow, sometimes non-existent. The buffet staff did not seem to care when food was spilt. (We advised them on 2 different occasions about spilled food that was making the floor slippery and nothing was done). We always found something to eat but if one is a picky eater, this may not be the place for you. I would advise anyone booking this resort not to have their expectation set too high. The sun was shining everyday and the drinks (alcoholic and non-alcoholic) were flowing. Our entire party had a wonderful time and we just took everything in stride. I would recommend this resort because the beach is spectacular and the price is reasonable.

Good Resort, Travel not so good.

Clean, nice grounds, friendly staff, good beach. Food is Cuban standard except Japanese a la carte which was excellent and the French which was horrid. Daniel the breakfast chef could always be counted on to make an excellent breakfast omelette. Juan Carlos at the lobby bar was as good as two waiters. Good burgers and pizza at the pool restaurant. Danielle our Air Transat rep was always personable and helpful. Some servers and some meals were excellent while others were not, so 3 stars. Be care [... read more]ful when you book as it is not very apparent when the flight has stops. Return flight stopped in Havana where we spent more than an hour on the ground with inadequate cooling. We boarded the plane at 12:10 and were not even given as much as a drink of water until after 4:00. The bus ride to and from the airport is more than two hours twenty minutes with stops at other hotels, not one hour forty minutes. Hotel recommended, airline not.

The best for Cuba

I am 6th time in Cuba .This is the best for me.Beach is big ,clean ,the people Wonderfull. It is one of the smaller resort that what I liked . The public bathroom was always clean. There was not enough water pressure in room at times,but it was nothing for me to worry. Rooms always very clean and the bar in room always fill in . Even I am vegeterian it was always enough food verieties and choices . And it is very safe that it was important for me. If I am going to Cuba again this is the pl [... read more]ace to go. I hope that it will be as good as now. Only thing I would like chooses of fresh made juice.

Pleasant stay!

A quick review to stay thank you for such a pleasant stay. I travelled solo over the Christmas holiday so it was nice to be at such a small and intimate style resort. Aside from a few hiccups, I'd rate my entire experience a 7.5/10. Thank you for everything!

Fantastic resort

The hotel and beaches were beautiful, food was good with a good selection, the place as very clean and organized with many excursions and activities daily, we were very pleased with our experience there and how the staff treated us.

Beautiful resort

The pool and beach at this resort were amazing and the staff are super friendly. It's nice that they're upgrading and keeping things from looking outdated. For Cuba the food was actually pretty good. I'd recommend this to anyone wanting to go to Cuba.

Great resort

Nice small resort with friendly staff. Beautiful beach. Room outdated, plumbingneeds update. Entertainment could be more diverse. Pool very nice and the service is excellent. We recommend it to friends

Pretty good; amazing staff

The room was somewhat below the standard I am used to at Melia hotels - some old grimy lamps, sheets and pillows with stains on them, etc. But overall the resort was lovely - tropical lush grounds very well kept up by the tireless gardeners. Beautiful white sandy beach. And above all, what really made my stay enjoyable and memorable were the countless staff members - from the lifeguards on the beach to the servers in the restaurants, the gardeners, the front desk staff, and the tour g [... read more]uide on the bus to the airport - who made me smile every day, who taught me about their country, and who made me want to come back very very soon!!

Love this resort and the staff make it wonderful, been here three times

no complaints with anything, grounds beautiful, food and staff really good, would stay longer than one week, staff like family, very hard working, rooms spacious, would recommend this resort to everyone

Melia Cayo Santa Maria

The first room given to us wasn't acceptable because of plenty of small ants and the smell of mildew. The second room was perfect. The food and entertainment were also very good. Staff very pleasant and fun to be around. Grounds very clean and taken care of. Lovely beach as well.

Excellent resourt

Secluded location, staff polite and not overreaching. Always have spare longue on the beach or swimming pool, no need to rush in the morning to "claim". Very pleasant room and very clean. Amazing beach! I stayed with my mom for a week in November 2016. As usual for Cuba, the food variety is the only area for improvement. What was different in this resort, the staff acted as a real team helping each other with service - truly customer oriented resort.

Very good smaller resort with amazing beach

Travelled with our two kids aged 3 and 4. It was our second time and it still did not disappoint. Very family friendly, great staff (who basically live off and greatly appreciate tips as they earn about $20 a month). Appreciate all the updating they have done since last year. Not enough hot water pressure in the late afternoon, this may have been due to our room being on the first floor or some seasonal issue. Otherwise amazing beach, kids programs, very attentive staff and loads of Cu [... read more]ban charm. Also took advantage of the kids club.

Good resort

Grounds are beautiful ,the staff were very friendly and helpful.The food wasn't top notch but this wasn't a 5 star resort though. The internet was a big challenge to log onto and log out , as result losing your minutes you just purchased.The resort had a lot of renovations going on.I would say in a year this place will be a much different resort.Over all we did enjoy our trip.

A nice place to relax.

The staff do an excellent job of making the resort comfortable and paying attention to the guests. From the gardeners through the cooks and the wait staff, we were always cared for and greeted with smiles. While the weather wasn't ideal the beach was still beautiful and great for a stroll. The room was well kept and the food was better than average. Gracias por unas grandes vacaciones.