Very Disappointing

This resort was rated top 5 in all of Cuba and I have no idea why. I don't usually write reviews whether good or bad but this one deserves a write up. The rooms were dirty and the bathtubs were moldy. They only changed your towels once during the whole week whether you put them in the tub or not, they would just hang them back up and they always stayed damp because of the humidity. They only swept the floors I think once during our whole stay and I know this because the handyman came to fix  [... read more]our safe and left some debris and it stayed there for 3 days. They didn't replenish the fridge everyday which I thought was standard. The food at the buffet for lunch and supper was horrible and always cold. I'm usually the first to say if you go hungry it's your own fault but honestly I had no idea what to eat and nothing seemed to agree with me. The omelets at the buffet in the morning was really good because it was made fresh and stayed hot. The A la Carte Restaurants were really good, I have no complaints there. We didn't have hot water until the 3rd night we were there which was very inconvenient. Half of the washrooms on the grounds didn't have toilet seats and they often ran out of toilet paper. The bartenders at the pool bar were sweet and very friendly but I can't say the same for the ones in the lobby, they rarely smiled and sometimes we seemed invisible and we tipped almost every single time we ordered a drink and they rarely seemed appreciative. The beach was beautiful but very small so on certain days the water was almost at the wall so you had no sand to walk on. I hate it when people write reviews and complain about everything, I know there are a lot of people that you just cannot please but I'd like to save someone else from making the same mistake we did, I would not recommend staying at this hotel. There are a lot of other hotels in Santa Maria that seemed quite nice and in speaking with other tourists they were satisfied so I can't say don't go to Santa Maria as that would not be fair.

Resort has gown down

We've been to this resort two years ago and found it quite nice then. For that reason, we decided to go to that same resort this year in February. PROS: - Beach was amazing - relaxing pool was nice (adult section of the resort) - service for drinks at pool and beach - very decent bedroom - bedroom always clean (maid changed towels and sheets when we asked her to) - beautiful gardens CONS: - night entertainment not published anywhere, therefore we didn't know what would happen 100%  [... read more]of the time - not a good variety of food at the buffet (got sick half of the week). The same food is served day after day for the whole week - no toilet seats in most bathrooms of the resort - no water in the whole resort on our last day

Great vacation with friends

Its a nice resort. We were 2 families with kids and got family site of the resort ( the resort is kind of divided in 2 ...one for family with kids and one quiet site with no kids:)Lots of babies, moms with strollers,etc:) Great place to spend your vacation. Carlos , the entertainment guy is very nice and friendly and very professional. The dancers, especially the girls are awesome...you can learn to dance salsa in 1 week, lots of dance classes :)

Big resort, great staff

Clean resort and helpful staff. This property had 2 sections,one for family and one adults only. I found the place much to big for my liking. You notice how many people at dinner time. I knew it was a large property when booking. food was fine, room was comfortable. Beach is lovely but too crowded for my liking, this is an ideal property for families and large groups. I enjoy the Melia properties, but will not be returning to this one.

Second time to melia las dunas

My husband and I were married at the melia las dunas in 2016- we returned for our official honeymoon January 2017- some changes within the last year - but all around great vacation. The guest service management is in zero hurry to help you - we had no air conditioning or hot water for the majority of our week- but we couldn't let that ruin our stay. We let it go and went on with our vacation- no more Antipasta at the itialia restaurant- we were in and out in 27 minutes! - not the same experie [... read more]nce as last year- buffet and the 24 hour snack bar are the best! Staff are super friendly and welcoming - not pushy. The beach is still as beautiful as ever! The activity pool always has great music playing near the swim up bar- never went over to the adult pool- too quiet fo is but if that's what you're looking for it's perfect Thanks again for a great vacation !

Very Nice

It was larger than I had imagined....the grounds were lovely especially Central Park...the rooms were nice(and we just had a classic room).... the resort was divided (for lack of a better word) into a couple's side and a family side each having a large pool area ....the resort was very kid friendly.....anyone with mobility problems shuttles were available or were there to deliver you to your destination if you got lost.....food was typically Cuban (which we don't mind)....we ate at the 24 hour r [... read more]estaurant quite a bit......beach was good but would be hard to access for some.... we enjoyed our stay at Melia Las Dunas and have no complaints

Amazing Resort!

This hotel has lovely grounds, beautiful beach and great entertainment. Our stay was pleasant and although the sink overflowed and the toilet did not flush these discrepancies were corrected. Our bedsheets etc were changed without delay. Overall the stay was pleasant with the beach and the cappucinos being the highlight.

Amazing Beach!

This was our first time to The Melia Las Dunas. It is an hour and a half from the airport but the transfer went smoothly and learned some facts along the way. Our check in went smoothly and after travelling for a day and a half we were tired and hungry. We had a hard time finding somewhere to get something to eat at 4:30p.m. The buffets don't open until 7pm which I find late. We did find the beer garden where we could get a burger. I asked for a map of the resort with the restaurants and times t [... read more]hings are open but they don't have any. It is a large resort and that would've been nice to have to help find your way to things and find out what activities are being held each day and where. The rooms are very spacious. People in recent reviews had complained of no water and toilets not working. We had no issues with our toilet and had water everyday. It was never hot,hot but did the trick. They don't have face clothes so I suggest bringing your own if you use one. Our room was cleaned daily and the fridge was replenished daily as well. The beach is amazing!! White, flour like sand and beautiful turquoise water. It was quite windy by the water for 4 of our 7 days. The green flag was only up for 3 days we were there but we were still able to get in the ocean and it didn't stop us from relaxing by the ocean. Chairs were easy to get and you can easily get drinks. Unfortunately there isn't a bathroom close to the beach so you must trek a ways. Lots of the public washrooms are out of use. The last two days the ladies had to use the men's with the men by the theater. Food was pretty good for Cuban standards. Always had fresh grilled stations and plenty of food. The nightly entertainment was pretty much the same thing each night but it was good. We loved the live music and bands each night!! I would bring your own ketchup if you're picky with your ketchup as it is quite different from ours. A thermal travel mug is also good to keep your drinks cold and from having to refill as often. Wifi is 2 CUC for an hour but it tends to be down a lot. Very hit and miss. There's a bus that comes every hour that will take you to the shopping centre. It is 2 CUC return. Something different to do for part of a day. All in all it was a good trip! Missing the sunshine already....

Super disappointed

To begin when we first showed up we where notified that the hotel was over booked Go to eat at the buffet half the plates weren't even clean and half the food wouldn't get restocked you would have to hunt someone down to get things restocked Didn't have a toilet seat for 3 days in my ended up asked 4 times before something alway happened. There was no doctor or medical staff there when my brother slipped on the floor of the washroom with 3inch of water on the ground and the walls looking l [... read more]ike a waterfall and 4 toilets on the first night in the lobby burst. Terrible customer service. Got woken up at 3am by there employees doing renovations on one of the hotel room. I wouldn't suggest this place to anything it was terrible

Beautiful Beaches, Great Staff

First comment is to remember that we are talking about Cuba. The Hotel itself is very pretty, but fairly large. Good for people who don't mind walking. The staff and especially Guest Services are wonderful to deal with. The food is OK by Cuban Standards, better if you have the time to wait for your food to be prepared in front of you rather than the items that are in the warming trays. Expect issues with water pressure and temperature if your unit is located away from the center of the resort. [... read more] Most days the water was only warm where we were. The pools are very nice and lots of activities by the family pool to keep the little ones happy. For the price and if you remember that no one goes to Cuba for the food, it is a good Hotel. We met many people/families who were returning customers. One thing to consider, it is at least 1 hr 45 min to the airport and most excursions mean that you are travelling a minimum of 2 hours each way.

Great Time

After reading other reviews on this resort I was pleasantly surprised. Our room was very clean and comfortable. There were lots of chairs at the beach and pool. Entertainment was also very pleasing. Always found lots of fresh food at all the various locations on the resort. Staff were pleasant and helpful. We returned from this resort Jan. 19/17

Beautiful Resort

The resort was beautiful and the grounds were kept clean and maintained. The staff is amazing, happy and very willing to please. I have never seen a beach as gorgeous as this. The sand was so soft and the water amazing in colour. The only downfall I would say to our trip in general was the food was not really that great. I am not sure that this downfall is confined to this resort though. I have heard that about Cuba travel in general. All in all I had a great time, and if Cuba is your des [... read more]tination I would recommend this resort.

Very Nice resort!

Very clean resort, gorgeous architecture, beautiful lush landscaping. Huge pool, great food selection, friendly staff. Crystal clear breathtaking beach with white sand. The only downfall was the cold showers!

Melia Las Dunas has Flopped

The review below is word for word what I submitted to Trip Advisor. It is interesting to note on TA that the general manager's reply is a stock reply that ha been copied as a response to many unfavourable reviews. As for the place and its problems having been resolved, far from it, and still ongoing as of our departure on Jan 12. I guess only a significant health situation as happened a few months back at Memories will open their eyes. " Arrived on Dec 29 with great expectations for our fourt [... read more]h visit to Melia Las Dunas and to celebrate our 49th wedding anniversary. Sunwing flight was uneventful, although a little late departing because of deicing and traffic. Arrivals area in Santa Clara was total chaos with what appeared to be a flight full of Cubans coming from USA to spend New Year with families in Cuba. Bags were scattered everywhere and finding our own was much more of a challenge than usual. Exiting the terminal was complicated because of the large number of people and a new system of customs where if you have nothing to declare, you supposedly can go directly through the "green lane" (explained on the Customs Declaration form); except that there is no indication where this green lane might be, and everybody congregates around the one exit door. The good part, there were not too many people leaving for our hotel so we were on our way without too much delay. Check in at the resort was quick and we were soon on our way to our room. Room was on second floor, close to the "quiet pool" as we had requested, and was clean and ready for our arrival. And then things went downhill! Because of ongoing renovations to the much larger International Buffet, the only area for buffet meals was the Buffet Criollo, a dark, dingy, and smelly place with very limited food preparation areas and even fewer ready food areas. Salad bar was void of oils and dressings although the bottles were there, but empty. The International Buffet, we were told, time and again, was going to open for New Year's dinner, as if that should make the current situation better. We were not informed about needing reservations for either the first or the second sitting, and found out only by chance when speaking to other guests. Even the "a la carte" reservations desk, where the reservations had to be made, did not let us know of this very important piece of information when I made reservations for the rest of our stay. Nevertheless, it did open as scheduled and the New Years Eve dinner was fantastic - one out 14 is disappointing and unacceptable. Food all other meals was average, not unexpected in Cuba, but the standards of cleanliness were appalling. Plates come from the kitchen still wet from the dishwashers (?) and still dirty with food from previous meals. There is no one overseeing that plates and cutlery are clean for reuse. After much complaining, there were meagre attempts to dry off some plates but that only lasted for one or two meal sittings and only in few areas. Prepared food at buffet stations is cold, even when people first enter the restaurant. On one particular occasion, I asked if there was more of a particular item, and an employee went into the kitchen to bring a full tray of food, but alas it was all cold, right out of the kitchen. Huge lineups prevailed at every station where meat or fish was being grilled, because the staff wait for individual orders before they prepare any food. Empty food trays abound because staff are dreadfully slow at refilling them. The new decor of the main buffet is very light and airy, with whites and greys, newly painted tables and chairs, grey and white place mats, but again cleanliness is not a priority; servers use a scrap of cloth to wipe off mats and tables, when they do. Serving staff try their hardest but they are overwhelmed by the number of guests and their requests. There are clearly not enough staff for the number of guests. Every day there were shortages, ice in particular baffles me. White wine and sparkling wine are served warm because of lack of ice, or just lack of thought to maybe put them on ice, BEFORE the restaurant opens. Sparkling mineral water was available some days, but not others. Food in the a la carte restaurants is similarly mediocre, although the atmosphere, level of cleanliness, and quality of service is far superior, most likely because the ratio of servers to clients is much higher than in the buffet restaurants. Public washrooms throughout the resort are in desperate need of attention, some with facilities out of service, lack of toilet seats, others never with hand soap, non operative hand dryers and no back up paper towel service. The ladies washroom behind the Beer Garden was entirely out of service for most of our stay, as was the Ladies Lobby washroom the last two days - men and women shared the men's room - interesting!! One nice touch, however was the use of incense burners and flower blossoms ringing the wash basins. Too bad the plumbing doesn't work. After so much negativity, the brighter side: the beach is fantastic, there were plenty of loungers on the beach and in the shade under "palapas", same for the pools, although people who place towels on chairs and disappear for the rest of the day spoil it for others. Bar service near the beach and at pools is friendly and quick. Lobby bar service is likewise friendly and efficient, except when the servers are overwhelmed at busy evening times and especially after shows in the adjacent theatre. Special people: in buffet restaurant are Amarily and Luis Rolando, in Lobby bar Yirka and Elizabeth, at beach bar Elaine and Andry, and Marleny, our room attendant in Bungalow 68, who always had a smile and sunny disposition, Javier at the beach was tireless to make sure everyone had loungers and that they were clean of sand - he never stopped all day looking after guests' needs. We invited friends to come join us for the second week of our stay and regretted that decision; I am sure they regretted listening to us. Melia las Dunas used to be a really nice place. Now it has become a place that I cannot recommend to anybody and will never visit again. Too bad; what could/should have been a special Anniversary vacation became something we just want to forget."

Would not recommend

I have been to Cuba at least 10 times to different hotels and this is the worst one that I have ever stayed at. First off as a large group we requested to be in same buildings and in the party side of the resort to which we were placed in the other side away From the amenities. Most of the rooms had issues, no hot water, no air conditioner, tubs and sinks would not drain and toilets not flushing and patio doors not locking (especially on main floors). My mom even had a hotel worker and a guest [... read more] come in her room at around ten at night, while she was sleeping and said it was this other guys room, like really? The food was not good at all and what was eatable was always cold. They always ran out of bread at breakfast and the choices were limited. We ate at the romantica and had the beef, which was okay for Cuban standards, the seafood, which was okay and the service was great, but again the lobster was pretty dry. We also ate at the Italian and I have nothing good to say about it and the waitress was rude. The conditions of the buffet was dirty and the tables were covered with flies at all times. We were lucky if we got utensils. I did not attend any shows, but the lobby bar entertainment was usually nice. The resort grounds are nice and the beach was great, but that's Cuba for you. I would not recommend this hotel to anyone and will not return. I have been to far nicer places for the same price. Again I have travelled t Cuba many times and have never liked everything at each hotel, but I expect that, this however was not good at all

Large Clean Resort

The Resort Layout resembles Playa Pesquero in Holguin, the grounds are maintained by many Friendly Gardeners. The Lobby area and front of property and all the walkways were great, all with ample locations for great pics. We were in contact with resort prior to our arrival to arrange A La carte Dining and request our Room requirements (5 adults/4 children/3 rooms) Sandra Alemán Alvarez was our contact name, Very .. Very nice to have so much assistance prior to arrival .... Sandra went above an [... read more]d beyond with all our needs ... unfortunately we never connected when we were there but this review will spread and hopefully help others. The things I was disappointed with was (1) air conditioning in the room was poor, even with windy cooler days it never did the job, was set as cool as possible from start to finish. (2) The buffet restaurant was big, busy, lineups and loud, this was the main area you realized you were staying at a Big Resort. (3) Pool area fills fast and travelling with children in a group you will have problems getting chairs together or chairs at all, first time we have had a chair stolen with our bag tied to it .... found bag later thrown aside! The good outweighs the couple things I mentioned .. on a beauty day that beach was perfect ...... Enjoy !!!

Resort has changed!

All staff was great! As for the hotel not so good! We were travelling with 30 other people and recommended this resort as we have been here 3 times before and had an excellent time.First we booked back in August and requested to be on a certain side of the resort that was accommodating for everyone with us, easy access to everything as some are a little older, When we arrived we were put on the far side at the very back of the resort when we asked they said that they were over booked and having [... read more] to send people to other resorts. That was not the issue , they were having problems with everything.More then half our rooms had no working televisions,no air conditioning, no hot water or towels,and the phones didn't work.They only had 2 trolies running, where last year there was 6. The plates in the buffet were always wet and dirty, and service very slow. All the tolets in the pool area and lobby were missing the seats,and out of service for days. The quality of the food was very poor either over cooked or under cooked.Then we find out that a couple that was there last year was given a silver wrist band for returning, upgraded room, extra towels , bottle of rum in there room, and extra dinners. Yet this was are 4th year there and we were given nothing! Our customer service rep was very good at trying to help us through out the week. Will we go back? I don't think so. I think over all the problem steamed from cut backs to the resort and not the staff.

Melia Las Dunas Cayo Santa Maria

Grounds were very neat and tidy,food in buffet was mediocre , the al la carte were very bad with the exception of the Romantico. The buffet lineups were very long no matter what time you got there, the dishes were dirty and wet, the tables were not wiped after the previous people, just complete chaos.The rooms were very outdated and smelly. Sorry about the negative feedback, but this was the worst resort we have been to , and we are extensive travellers !

A great week!

Our family had a great time at Melia Las Dunas! Staff were all very friendly! Resort was beautiful with lots to do! Rooms looked exactly as they are pictured online. Restaurants requiring reservations were very accomidating for our group of 22. Thanks for a great week :)

Melia Las Dunas

I found ALL the staff very pleasant and helpful; the maids, the drivers,the wait staff, the bar tenders, everyone! The grounds were well kept and that is coming from a former landscaper! Of course the beach was absolutely beautiful! The rooms and restaurants were very clean.