Wonderful resort

The hotel lobby and dining area were top notch. The bar in the lobby served the best coffee with steamed milk. The view of the Marina from the balcony was awesome! Our room was ok but dated. I did not like the flat pillows or the shower without a door. The pool people were excellent very friendly and fun! I enjoyed the evening entertainment as well especially the one that was done at poolside. We had wanted to book our room for the last day for an additional 10 hours as our flight left at  [... read more]3:30 in the morning. They could not accommodate as they were full. We had use of a room to shower and change our clothes before leaving but there was no electricity in the room and it was dark in the bathroom and the room was untidy and dirty towels with no clean ones available. I did not end up showering.

Lousy buffet and service

The resort lacked flowers in the gardens, very green, but tidy. Not impressed with the buffet, everyday the same food. On the weekend is crazy busy and you wait at The bars and buffet. A la cart was okay, nothing that impressed me. The beach was the best, spent most of my time there, activities were fun, evening entertainment was also good. A language problem could have resulted in me not getting that wake up call upon early departure! No coffee was left in my room for 3 days! Met some g [... read more]reat people from all over Europe and Britain! Personally, I will not return to Cuba.

Remarkable Resort

The Melia Varadero is amazing!! The grounds, buildings, rooms, etc. are very well taken care of: clean, tidy, welcoming. The staff is excellent and aims to please. There are many places to sit and have a drink and/or snack throughout the day and night. We stayed on the Level which is worth every extra cent. We love this resort and hope to return in the future.

Very good resort. I would return to it.

This hotel was good, clean rooms excellent service all around. The food was okay you could always find something to eat. The only complaint about the food was that you had to look for hot food or stand in line to get cooked to your taste. I liked the fact that the entertainment switched sides of the resort since no other place to hold events.

1* resort

Where do I begin... Firstly the reason we chose this resort is because of all the reviews we read on Google and trip advisor claiming to be a 4.5* and the Actual Resort Claiming themselves to be a 5*. This resort is far from a 5*, more like a 1* if that. Firstly after I booked this resort I sent the Hotel 2 emails requesting and confirming that I will need a crib for my 9 month old, both email replies from the Hotel said yes they will provide a crib upon arrival. We get to the Hotel, I advise th [... read more]e front desk that we need a crib or play pen in our room for my daughter, they assure me that I will be receiving a crib within the hour. After about 2 hours no crib, I go down to the front desk and the lady advises me there are no cribs and that i'll have to wait until the morning when other guests check out (I did not receive a crib), that was my first disappointment. Now the bedroom itself was completely run down, there were cracks in every piece of furniture wall bath tub, I can go on... Next morning we go to the pool, there is absolutely no shade by the pools. I have a 9 month old so shade is an absolute must. The only shade that was available was for "The Level Up" clients, which I will get to in a moment. Breakfast Lunch and Dinner was the exact same thing for every meal in the buffet, breakfast had eggs but that was the only difference. And honestly I wouldn't have minded if the food was good, but the food was beyond bad. My 9 month old is a great eater and she threw everything I handed her on the floor. Now for "The Level Up" services, so basically if you're willing to pay an additional $100 a day for this premium service you eat premium food and receive premium services. You also get access to the only shade by the pool, the huts which are exclusive to Level Up clients only. When I booked a 5* resort I expect at least a 4-4.5* resort (in Cuba that is). Why should I have to pay an additional $500 on top of what I paid for the trip to get the 5* treatment. Makes absolute so sense. along with all these reasons and many others (like bed bugs in the bed... Yes there were bed bugs in our bed) this is definitely the last trip to Cuba.

Mediocre Resort

The hotel looked great from the outside. Rooms are a little worn. Left our towels on the floor to be changed on the third day. Staff just folded them and put them in the counter damp to continue using. When we asked for clean linen housekeeping did not want to change them. Beds were rock hard. Food in the main restaurant was the same each day. When we tried to book our a la carte they insisted they were booked solid. When we did wrangle reservations the restaurants were 90 percent empty each ti [... read more]me. No bank machines on site. Closest was a 20 peso ride away each way.

A trip to remember!!

This was my first international trip. My husband and I were very pleased with the Melia Marina resort! The staff was friendly, the food was excellent and our room was very clean, spacious and had an awesome view! The pools and swim up bar were great too! And the beach was my favorite place to be! We are hoping to return someday soon!

Great holiday

My sister and I had a Great time at the Melia Marina Resort. The hotel lobby is very impressive . It only took minutes to check in and out. Our room was very comfortable. One issue was open and closing the balcony door. It was very heavy we did have to call for maintanence twice for our door which didn't lock behind us and once for the safe as it wouldn't open. They were very quick to respond. The activity crew were great. We had lots of fun with all of them. We met some very wonderful people th [... read more]ere and felt we were treated very special.. We will definitely be back. We felt very comfortable and safe. Patricia lyon

Great resort

Hotel was clean food was good and personnel was good. The beach is at the end of Varadero so depending on the days water was agitated. Over all it was great considering the hurricane they survived. By the way their currency is higher than ours 1 Canadian dollar to 71 Cucs

Beautiful beach!

Beautiful weather, good food for a resort and great stretch of beach. Close enough to Havana for a day trip and right next store to a Shopping Centre but you really don't have to leave the resort...the resort has everything you need.

Not a 5 star, even for Cuban standards

The good; We were room 1138, one floor off ground. This was nice since we were one floor above from the pool level and one floor level below the main lobby/buffet. The views from the lobby was great. You can see the marina well. Pool was big, the beach with the onsite restaurant included in the package as well as the beach bar. The beach was a safe 5 minute walk but the awesome golf cart driver would pick up and drop people from the lobby to the pool to the beach. The rooms all have  [... read more]modern dehumidifiers, AC, ceiling fans, flat screen TVs, and balconies that you can sit out on. The mini fridge had the contents of beer and pop replaced every day and well as a 2L of water each day (be sure to take the bottle off the table or they won’t replace it). The Lobby made the best iced drinks like Frappuccino’s and daiquiris. Paid $20 cuc pp for snorkeling of the small catamaran. That was a good value. When snorkeling for 30 mins and sailed for an hour. The Medicore: Food was okay at times. Not much selection and we had a few foods that were uncooked (omelettes, mussels and prawns at the “hot” skillet table). The al la cartes were a mixed bag. The Asian place was the best, finished my plate clean. Latin was okay. Italian was awful. No pasta option and the prawns were uncooked. Wifi was affordable. $1 cup for an hour. Slightly spotty. The spa was $115 for 50 mins of a couples massage. You got access to their sauna and whirlpool and rooftop infinity pool prior which was lovely. The bad was the actual massage. They didn’t know what they were doing and seemed confused. The bad: the service staff at the buffet in the lobby. They would be rude and not care if we had cutlery or napkins. We had to go get that plus drinks for ourselves many times. The room was at first okay when we first checked in. But we noticed weird crusty white spots on the bed sheets, the pillows, the couch, and dried liquid spots on the tables. We went to the lobby and asked for help, they said they’d send someone right away. We went back to the room to wait to show them when they arrive but they never came after 15 minutes. Went back out, was told the same thing again, went to the 24hr snack shack for an hour, went back to the room, and still no change. We waited and then called the lobby. No answer. So we went to the lobby with a pillowcase to show the stain. After they ignored us for 15 mins, they offered to give us a room just for the night. This was after they said they have no rooms. This room was fine. But the next morning when we went back to our original room, they still hadn’t done the room. This was at noon the next day.

Review Melia Marina Varadero

The hotel was mediocre and not as elegant as claimed.Why I am writing like that there is a reason which in my view is very valid. Bricks and mortar are not the only things that constitute the word hotel. People at reception, at bars, in bus service, eatery places, room service places and other numerous places. The hotel room was available at 3: 40 P.M.Hot water in Bathroom not available twice in morning for a shower. First-time towels were changed after a repeated request on the third day. The t [... read more]oilet I bet you is not still working properly. Safety box mall functioned twice. Nobody will tell me that I didn't know how to operate it. People on the large were down to earth very helpful and very polite no doubt about that. Since their monthly wages are very low their expectations are very high from the visitors. That is why every bus to airport or anywhere to other towns would ask you for tips. No one forces you to give but somehow one feels obligated when others are paying. There is one bus that is an exception "Transgatovia" Bus number 2820 did not ask for a dime. Beaches were great clean and attractive. Drinks on the beaches were flowing only for those who were tipping extraordinarily. Not much vegetation around the grounds of the hotel and around. The beaches was not very impressive as far as vegetatation is concerned. I could keep on writing but what would I accomplish.

A great resort

Bear by beach and marina very convenient for boating activitis, good swimming pools. lots of bar in front of beach, swimming pool. great music and singer every day in the lobby. variety fool option, very clean and comfortable. really enjoyed stay

It was wonderful

Not exactly like the picture above .. my stay was very good , enjoyed it .. although I can’t compare it to others much ( I have not traveled a lot ) all and all it was good ! :) would def. return to this resort

Beautiful Place

As much as I loved the staff, there was only one elevator working all week during our stay and the tiles on the floors needs to be changed. Had to take the stairs with my bad knees. Staff was very friendly and courteous. The food in the buffet holders was cold.

Come for the beach, don't stay for the food

Incredible beach / water. The hotel is extremely dated for a 4 year old property. Some staff are great - others, appear disinterested in providing any level of service. Food is not great - but hey it's Cuba.

Great Resort!

We really enjoyed our stay at Melia Marina. The service was excellent and there was plenty of entertainment. The food was also great and the beach was beautiful. We stayed in the studio apartment and found that it was clean, comfortable and really luxurious. The only con to this resort is that the hotel staff don't speak English very well and it can be super hard to communicate, additionally the wifi is horrible and also not free. Other than that, great stay and we would recommend it.

Amazing Resort

This was our first time staying at Melia Marina in Varadero and we were very pleasantly surprised at the cleanliness and food quality of this hotel. Our room was just like the pictures represented and was clean and very spacious with a large bathroom which included separate areas for shower, toilet and tub. We really enjoyed the layout of the resort and although the beach was across the road, it is a very short (less than 10 minute) walk across the walkway bridge. Rides in the golf cart shuttle [... read more]s are always available as well. The food at the buffet was the best we’ve had in Cuba and although most dishes were the same each night, the quality of the food was good. As is usual for Cuba, wifi was only available in the lobby. The beach was amazing and there were lots of spaces available. Overall, we were very happy with the value for money spent.

Overall relaxing, pleasant resort!

Pros: Nice layout of the site and pool area...not too big. Room was large and clean; balcony with a view on the pool area. Music in lobby every night. Buffet good with wide selection of food. Specialty restaurants nice decor, but limited menu. Cons: Many staff not very friendly and limited English. Bureau in room had patches of the finish worn off..gave bad first impression of room, which could have been easily rectified with refinish or cover on top. Fresh towels not always replaced and ha [... read more]d to call housekeeping on more than one occasion. Location more isolated so not much to do in the area outside of resort. Good for just relaxing not visiting.

Melia Marina Varadero - Good all-inclusive hotel in Cuba

It was our first visit to Cuba. Compared to Mexico or some European resorts this hotel is below average. But as far as we understood, for Cuba Melia Marina Varadero is way above. The hotel is old. The quality of the food varied from day to day. Snack bars and a la cart restaurants (you may visit them only 3-4 times during 10 days stay) had a very poor menu. They do not have kids club (as it was claimed in description). But at the same time the hotel beach was good. Animation team tried to do  [... read more]their best. Variety of drinks and cocktails was not bad too.