Best vacation ever!!!

This was my 5th trip to Cuba, first time in Santa Maria and at Melia resort, and I must say, was my best vacation to date!! I loved the hotel, so much to do, the food was really good, the entertainment, the staff. I will definitely be back. The beach was amazing, everything was perfect!! ☺

Great vacation :)

The Meila Las Dunas is a beautiful hotel with well kept grounds and lots of options for meals. The beach was gorgeous - although very windy while we were there. The beach chairs also fill up very quickly in the morning and although the resort says you are not allowed to save chairs - this isn't monitored. It was much easier to find chairs in the adult only section of the resort. Our room was very clean when we first arrived, but as the week went on we found that house keeping wasn't doing as [... read more] good of a job. Even after we left little presents for them. We had a balcony which was nice to just sit and enjoy a drink before heading down for dinner or reading. We were glad to find that we didn't need an adaptor at this resort to charge our phones. WIFI is not great in the lobby and certain sites are blocked once you are connecting on their servers. I was not able to make a call out of the country with my cell phone, I was able to send a couple texts but that is about it. One negative, the toilets... the plumbing isn't the best so you are not supposed to flush the toilet paper - gross yes but worse if the toilet gets clogged over it. We went to the disco that isn't on the resort but in the market next to it and the washrooms didn't provided toilet paper and a few times the water wasn't running so you couldn't flush the toilet or wash your hands. We brought our on toilet paper and hand sanitizer. The restaurants have better food than I was expecting for all the negative reviews you read about the food. The pizza and sandwiches from the snack bars are great, fries are always good and they had these crispy shrimps at the beer garden which became a daily snack. We went to 4 a la cart restaurants: The Seafood Restaurant was surprisingly delisious, the only place you didn't have to pay for lobster. The Romantico was amazing, the beef tenderloin was cooked to perfection. The Italian was a little disappointing, bland pasta to sum it up. The Oriental was also really good. The staff everywhere you went was amazing, very friendly and accommodating - language was sometimes a bit of an issues but to be expected. The entertainment was different here than where I've been before, they didn't have a nightly show in the theatre but always provided some kind of entertainment in the evening, they had a rock band playing one night which I thought was pretty cool of them, a magic show, a typical dance show and then a theatrical show that they performed in different locations of the lobby. Another negative was that we could not find pharmacy type items to buy, they do not sell Tylenol, Advil, Pepto, Bandaids, Aloe or Sunscreen - be sure to stock up on these items. This is definitely a 4.5 star in Cuban standards and I would stay there again.

Wonderful Resort

I definitely would visit this resort again. Our room was clean and the fridge stocked daily. I was satisfied with the food and drink options as well as having a small market on the resort. We did have a day without hot water which was fixed by the evening. I must say the Sunwing reps on the resort were very friendly and helpful. Loved our stay!

Beautiful Resort!

Loved this resort. The staff were very friendly and accommodating. The resort was beautifully laid out with palm trees and lights lighting them up at night. At first it seems huge but it is quite easy to find your way around with all of the maps to help you. The beach is beautiful and not crowded with turquoise water and white sand. You can walk forever on it. One day I walked 21000 steps around the resort and on the beach. There is a cute little market on the resort so you don't even hav [... read more]e to leave the resort. The buffet was good as well. You can get fresh cooked fish/seafood and beef/pork and chicken every lunch and dinner. We were there March break and I did not find the line ups bad at all they went quick. The pool area is large but you have to get up by 8 am to get a chair under an umbrella. There were plenty of beach towels and no line ups at the bar. Our maids were very friendly and did a great job with our room. My only complaint was the lack of water in the rooms. Two teenagers and an adult need more than one bottle of water as all three of us drink a lot of water. Yes, you could get it at the bar if you had a water bottle but you had to time it right to get there and save your bottle of water for the next morning as they did not deliver water until the next evening and they skipped us two days. If you are not there to answer the door you don't get water. This stressed me out a bit as you cannot drink the water or brush your teeth without water. When I went to guest services they took down my room number but nothing happened. The only other thing was the lack of toilet paper in the bathrooms. They give you two small rolls in the room and my son had a bad cold so we went through it and that is a bit stressful not having toilet paper. The lobby bathrooms were always out by evening. Just two complaints. Otherwise it is a beautiful resort and the Pizzeria with fresh made pizza and the ice cream parlour almost made up for lack of water. :)

Good resort

The beach was narrower than expected and it was difficult to find chairs, but chairs at the pool were always available. Rooms were large and the hot water plentiful. Line ups were long at the buffet. Overall, we thoroughly enjoyed ourselves.

Good resort

The grounds were clean, the dining was good there was something for everyone. The rooms were dated, the beds lumpy. The staff were friendly, the beach was perfect, beautiful, clear water, very enjoyable. Could of used more information from the tour group.

Fabulous Beach

The beach was awesome; the grounds very nice with nightly entertainment. Well lite at night. Rooms and the cleanliness not so great. If you are looking for beach and the room is less important - then this is the place for you.

Amazing Resort

The grounds, the landscape, the architecture exceeded my expectations, it is a very beautiful resort. Well, this is my second time to the Caribbean, so I do not have much to compara against; however, I don't see why this place would not meet anybody's standards. The food was good, if one know what to choose. I chose to stick with fresh fruits and vegetables, some of the vegetables are unbelievably fresh and wholly organic. That was a treat for me, to eat some truly organic squash, asparagus,  [... read more]hearts of palm, oranges, papayas, bananas etc. The drinks are a little washed down, the ice creams are ok, but the local salad dressings are amazing (all home made with fresh herbs). The only concern I have is the public washrooms. The resort has to up its maintenance of the washrooms since in many occasions they lacked soap, soap dispensers and toilet paper. They also didn't keep up with the cleanliness of the washrooms. In the evenings some of the public washrooms' baskets were overflowing with used toilet paper. They definitely could and should do a better job there. It is a public safety issue!! The other issue I found, is that one day they did not have running water and I was afraid that could have caused widespread infectious diseases. I understood that that was not the first time that the resort was out of water, it had happened once before during the previous week. On the service side, people are warm, friendly and genuine. They made an impression in my 12 year old. Atmosphere and entertainment are great too. I wish the resort would have an ocean view, that was a big miss. At night, I felt I walking around a country club, not a beach resort because the resort is surrounded by foliage, it is a provincial park after all. Other than that, great experience and I recommend the resort to anyone.

Great Resort!

This is my 3rd time staying at Melia Las Dunas. First time was with friends, second time I took my family including 2 young grandchildren aged 7 and 1. This time I went solo. It is a great spot. The resort is very big so be prepared to do some walking. My room was lovely and clean, and was kept so my entire week there. There were some problems with the water, but apparently the entire island was having issues and it was not a big deal for me. Check in and check out was fast and extremely  [... read more]easy. I ate the buffet 90% of the time; you will not starve!! There is always a great selection at every meal and I never ate the same thing twice at supper. The wait staff is very accommodating and always helped me find a small table as I was alone. The pool areas are always busy, but clean and well maintained. The grounds are beautiful and the groundskeepers take huge pride in their work. The beach is awesome, with absolutely the most beautiful water you will ever see or swim in! The evening entertainment is always fun and the main lobby is one of my favourite spots; I went there in the daytime to do some reading and have a drink, and the evenings were great for pre-dinner entertainment. All in all, I really love this resort and am already planning another trip with my family for next winter.

Very disappointed

It started from the word go! when we arrived after a lengthy 2 hour bus ride, the front desk advised us that our rooms would not be ready till 3-4 o’clock so when arriving at 1100 am and having to wait around in the lobby with your luggage until your room is ready is not a good start to a "5star resort" with no compensation or any kind of "We are so sorry" instead wait!, we finally get to our room(ocean view)...300 feet of forest outside your window and stand on your toes to get a glimpse of t [... read more]he ocean. So not to fuss over it we figured let’s try and make the best of the rest of our trip, we decided lets freshen up. you can’t flush toilet paper down, you have to put your dirty toilet paper in the garbage can since it doesn't flush, the bathroom facility is very dated and the fixtures are rusted, we found out during our stay that they don't like to replace our towels instead they like to hang them either in the garden on main floor or over the handrail to dry off. One night we had some drink on the balcony for a night cap to find out in the morning we had spilt some baileys on our desk, to find a swarm of ants eating the sugar, and actually you would see ants all over the room every day. One day we had no water so we went without showers and cleaning and another day we had no hydro. When we arrived back home we noticed that both my wife and I our bodies are covered in bug bites On a happy note we went to Isabel and Fernando Romantico restaurant for dinner and the beef tenderloin was to die for. A La Carte dinners all start at 7pm and the breakfast and lunch hours are odd, only one place to be able to eat all day, most places ran out of fries, no bread or toast in the mornings because they ran out Pizza place was very nice, pizzas were excellent, the pasta place as well was great excellent service there thank you Nilla Buffet, one of our relatives from our party went to get shrimp out of the shrimp display to find cockroaches... Beach front, when we got to the beach we had always heard that Cuban beaches are the cat’s meow but this beach was far from being the cat’s meow, the beach frontage was about 30' once you walk down the board walk and climb down a short embankment, sea weeds the entire length of the beach, at the last 5 start resort we went to (Royalton in DR) you would never see this, they would get up early and rake it all up. One morning we decided to go for a walk on the beach and since the tide was up so high there was no beach left for a long section. Adult pool was great nice and quiet good service Grounds area, very bad shape, no up keep, gardening to a very minimal They have a shuttle service that runs thru the entire resort since it is a very large resort, you would think that when they drive by and they are empty that they would ask if you require a ride somewhere instead they zip right by, just no courtesy And then the shuttle begging, every time they bring you something whether be food or drink and stand and give you a look, like I need my tip…like really do I really need to tip you after every single drink? Now on the last day of the trip...remember we lost almost a whole on day1 sitting around, so now on the last day we had to be checked out of our room by 5am so I called a shuttle service to come get us and all our luggage...guess what they never came, we had to drag our luggage from the opposite side of the resort then when we got to the lobby in a sweat from walking that far, I decided to remove my shirt since I was sweating in it and I did not want to be wet for my trip back home, a security guard comes out of nowhere and tells me to put my shirt back on, I looked around to an empty lobby and shook my head, like really I was happy to get home to 30cm of snow...

Not the greatest

The grounds, bars, pool areas are beautiful and staff are great. The hotel rooms are a little run down and dated. The shower head was split. We were told not to flush the toilet paper as the pipes were too small. The buffet food was mediocre.

Our room was excellent

The hotel, grounds, staff were all exceptional but the dining experience has certainly gone down from our previous visit 3 years ago when it was excellent. If you want return customers I suggest you look at reviewing your meal plan. I was not feeling well and my husband could not take anything up to my room as dishes could not be taken from the snack bar or dining room.. My husband asked if we could see someone medically and was told I could take a double decker bus to a medical clinic, I was co [... read more]nfined to my room with bowel issues and could not leave. I think that the resort should have someone that they can call on.

Amazing Vacation!!!

The Melia Las Dunas was a great hotel with a spectacular beach. The food was consistently good and the service was top notch. My family has vacationed at Club Meds in the past and this hotel in Cuba was comparatively as good if you filter in the cost which would have been one third the price of a Club med. Would definitely go back and book with Susan Snider, Trip Central

Melia Las Dunas was a Beautiful Resort

We can not compare this resort to any other as this was our first ever all-inclusive trip. Upon arriving at the resort, the people at the registration desk , promptly got us registered with no issues. They were very friendly and helpful. The room we booked was exactly as requested. The resort site was very clean and well maintained. The food was very good and tasty, with a large variety. The 4 course a la Carte's were excellent. The ocean colors here were amazing - the gorgeous blues  [... read more]and greens. The beaches were very clean. The sand was very fine and white. All resort staff, anywhere on site, were very friendly, courteous and helpful.

Resort with Potential!

The resort has a lot of potential, but has some areas it really could address. The best assets is by for the staff behind the bars and in restaurants. We were greatly disappointed by the main dining room. The room itself lacked any character, It was very sterile and unbecoming of the rest of the resort. The main dining room often ran out of food items, glasses, bowls and so on. In a resort that boasts high standards and quality, this was a huge miss. Not to mention for an international buff [... read more]et, the selection and diversity was non-existent. The number of restaurants on site was a major advantage for the short-falling we experienced in the main dining room. The resort is very large, if traveling with small children, you may want to re-consider. There are people movers on the resort but they are infrequent and unpredictable.... not to mention the drivers often rushed past people instead of checking to see if guests may wish to hop on. The staff at the main counter was much like most resorts, not the most friendly. The bar tenders and waiters were by for the most hard working people at this resort. I know for our family they are who made this a truly great holiday. The beach was stunning and for us, traveling in Cuba we knew food would probably be of lesser quality then other countries we have traveled, but this beach compared to others in the Caribbean was first class.There were always loungers available, both in sun and covered, there were bars located very close to the beach entrances as well as waiters who would walk the beach seeking drink orders. Just past the beech ajacent tot he beer gardens (24hour sport bar) there was an amazing grill and outdoor restaurant that we frequented most days for lunch. This facility was never busy but by far has the greatest potential for the resort. Amazing staff and cooks! All in all we would probably not return any time soon if at all. But we know many people who have loved this resort and I think if you have only traveled to Cuba... you are probbaly going to LOVE this spot!

Lovely visit

Melia las Dunas was a typical Cuban resort. The food was not fancy but it was good. The room was clean, the staff were friendly, there were plenty of drinks and options for dinners. The à la carte restaurants were a great treat- lovely atmosphere and food. The beach was fantastic, the pools were clean and we enjoyed the activities. It was a great place to take a family vacation.

Good food, Good Resort!

The beach sand was clean and shallow clear water, mostly well cared for grounds (some areas under renos), friendly staff, great entertainment, the 2 hr bus ride is like a tour with info about Cuba. I had a Great time!

Good value

Good value for cost. Gardens and grounds are beautiful. Some buildings need updating. Room showing age but clean. Restaurant had good variety of food. I always have the fresh eggs and omelettes in the morning. Fresh pasta station at night. Worth waiting in line when it's busy. Beer garden for lunch with grilled chicken and pork and fish and shrimp. Beach is beautiful, can be calm or rough depending on the day. Adult pool and swim up bar also very nice.

Amazing spot

This is one of the best spots I've been to. Awesome staff the food was not what I excepted. It was great lots o flavor. The resort was really clean. Always seen staff picking up glasses even if they weren't cleaning staff. I will go back there for sure.

Great Resort

This was a great property. The check in was efficient and staff are very friendly. Property and grounds are beautiful and well maintained. Room was clean and quiet. We spent most time at the quiet pool which was well maintained. It was great to have lunch at the little restaurant close to the pool. Loved the live band in the gazebo every evening and the the troupe of young dancers. The food was very good and abundant. Of the three properties we have visited in Cuba, this was the best so far!