Melia Las Dunas: The decline of Melia Las Dunas

I had visited Melia Las Dunas a few years ago with my oldest daughter(Kendra) and everything was above average to excellent. This is the reason I decided to return with my youngest daughter(Kenya) 9 years old. 1- Upon arrival our room had no hot water....After a long day a hot shower was required.....Therefore we changed rooms and discovered that we still had no hot water with very low water pressure. After a day or two the water became lukewarm and never attained the status of being HOT....!! [... read more]! 2- Food was always overcooked and cool to cold.. There was no ketchup or mustard. Many days there was no butter. Bread....buns...etc ... were of poor quality 3- Pool area was finished with concrete, when uni-pavi should have been employed...My 9 year old daughter Kenya cut her foot on all the aging and loose bits of concrete. Also anyone walking around the pool to enter the water had difficulty walking on all the loose bits of concrete in their bare feet..!!! Pool water was very cold. Pool water heater which would provide a minimum water temperature might be a consideration and with today's technology could be provided in a cost effective manner. I had a pool water heater installed with my pool at my home... The Safety bars in the pool and also in the bathrooms in the rooms were loose and dangerous to use. 4- No WiFi...and I fully understand the reasons why...but my wife and daughter advised me that they would not return because of their addiction to the internet.. Personally I can live for a week without the internet. 5- No room service.. 6- Shampoo and soap containers were empty after 4-5th day and never refilled. 7- Clients should be advised that Any USD Visa card will not be accepted. On the Positive Side... 1- The shows at the theatre were very good a few years ago and are absolutely great today. My daughter and wife were enthralled every night... 2- The Cuban people who provided the service were great a few years ago are still fantastic... Bruce Flynn 450.699.2268

Melia Las Dunas: Good, but not great

We enjoyed our time at Las Dunas - the stand out at the resort was definitely the staff - definitely the best I've ever encountered at a resort!!! Food was good - we enjoyed the Oriental and the Mediterranean . The beach is fantastic. The adult pool was lovely - serene and very relaxing Room was large and well appointed. Our maid was lovely and kept it spotless. Lobby and beer garden were filled with families with loud misbehaved kids on the weekend - that was probably our biggest co [... read more]mplaint. They basically took over - this would be our biggest deterrent from ever going back to Las Dunas...we have been to many other "family" resorts and have never had to leave a lobby due to noise. It was unbearable.

Valentin Perla Blanca: Decent resort

The grounds were attractive but Irma took its toll and some things were damaged. The food was average and the beach was very disappointing. The service was pretty good at most places other than the snack bar and the guests were fun and lively. There was a mix in the crowd, some very young people and some older couples too. Overall a decent resort but there are better for the price.

Melia Cayo Santa Maria: A very nice resort ,small so easy to get around

Needs a little TLC ,grounds could be nicer. Staff very friendly, housekeeper made beautiful towel art. Food was good most days, always found something to eat. All the staff remembered you and would give you a kiss when you came in to the bar or restaurant.They even remembered what you drank.

Dhawa Cayo Santa Maria: Dhawa Cayo Santa Mario

This is a very nice clean resort. The staff are very friendly and are there if you need any help with anything . Will definitely recommend this resort. Also the guitarist and the shelo were fantastic. Cannot wait to go back.

Resonance Blu Santa Maria: Starfish Hotel C.S.M Post Irma

It is difficult indeed to comprehend , the staggering amount of bodily toil and travaille , that must have depleted and utterly consumed the energies of those who endeavored and labored mightily to return this tropical abode , to a mirror image of its former luxury. These once pristine grounds , reminiscent of the finest botanical gardens , fell to absolute ruin in the winds of the devastating storm named Irma. The tenacity and resourcefulness of the botanists and concierge who lovingly restored [... read more] this property, shows a pride not oft seen in this day and age. All sanitary amenities are functioning throughout and those minor details , which should be overlooked by those with most critical eyes , are of no importance. Petty issues will garner no further consideration or comment from this reviewer. The bungalows are being refreshed throughout and all is returning to a familiar semblance of normalcy .The Staff are as courteous and kind , as is possible , in light of the conditions they perpetually endure. In my humble opinion , gratuities should be an integral part of the philosophy of the traveler to this land and one should remain at home, if considering travel with anything less than a humble or gracious demeanor . I endeavor not to post an inaccurate review , filled with the ravings and rantings of one possessed with disdain for anything less than absolute perfection, this would be most unwelcome and of absolutely no assistance to anyone seeking relevant , soul soothing information for their journey here.. Those traveling in the near distant future, should rest assured that this place remains a jewel for the eye to behold with its exotic foliage , turquoise waters and powder soft sands. These are truly the only things that one really needs concern themselves with. The food is standard , so as not to offend the taste buds of the sensitive. Bland could be another word used, but is far less than a flattering or a suitable descriptor. The facilities are more than adequate for the partaking of refreshment and rest. It will most assuredly be a memorable vacation for you, my fellow traveler. My Journey here was from December 1 2017 to December 15 2017 , it will not soon be forgotten , nor will the kindness and assistance of those into whose care we placed ourselves, ever be defiled with vile bemoaning or bitter and false testimony. The Herculean task , satisfying the the thirsts of our unquenchable desires, falling upon these hard working people, forever deserving of all of our abundant compliment, admiration and tribute.

Dhawa Cayo Santa Maria: Very clean resort

Was met by a great staff. They went above and beyond with their service.Great entertainment in the lounge before the show. Really enjoyed the guitar and cello player. Had a great time!...........................................

Playa Cayo Santa Maria: Great resort

This was our second visit to the resort. All the facilities were excellent. Rooms were cleaned daily by experienced staff who always wanted to make sure guests were comfortable. The staff at the hotel is very friendly and happy to serve the guests with their different needs. The grounds were constantly maintained. Food has a lot of variety but needs some innovative ideas so that it does not look like the same food is being served everyday. With some suggestions from guests who come from various [... read more] ethnic background would provide a different direction to presentation and taste of various dishes. The only complaint we had is the infestations of sand fleas on the beach. Many of the guests being unaware of this menace went back home with flea bites which can be very itchy. We understand this is a beach resort and the beach is an important part of the holiday, however some sort of upfront advise or suggestions of precautionary measures while visiting the beach could have provided a more pleasant stay.

Valentin Perla Blanca: Very impressed

We were very impressed with this resort. We have travelled to Cuba once or twice a year for over 20years and the Valentin Perla Blanca is our very favourite. They have addressed all the little irritants of the vast majority of Cuban hotels. You can count on having a bottle of water every day in your room, you have a coffee machine in your room for lazy morning, rolls of toilet paper, clean towels, beach towel in room upon arrival, etc. The food was amazing, not always prepared the way you are  [... read more]used to but very tasty. Things like artichoke, olives, almonds, salmon....specialty coffee and drinks right there at the buffet. My only complaint would be that we should have a choice of pillow...that long flat pillow was quite uncomfortable but the maid found a solution for me. All in all, a very, very good choice!

Royalton Cayo Santa Maria: Definitely not a 5 star property

THE GOOD: The staff are great. Very friendly and attentive. Great service. The Chef went out of his way to make special food platters for us with the limited resources available to him. The entertainers were extremely talented and of high quality. The suite we stayed a in was spacious and airy with a good view of the ocean. The 300, 400 and 500 blocks all have a great ocean view. And the beach itself was gorgeous as is typical of Cuba. White sand and beautiful turquoise water THE BAD: The foo [... read more]d choices were limited especially in terms of fresh fruit and vegetables. Apples,fresh lemons and lettuce were not available as was the case with papayas and bananas. This was probably due to the aftermath of the hurricane. We did get more fresh fruit during the end of our stay (last 3 days) but they were unripe and generally without flavor. The cocktails like mojitos and daiqueries were nothing short of awful. THE UGLY: There was some sort of bug that was absolutely nasty. People called them sand flies but they were like tiny mosquitoes that had a terrible bite that lasted days after the vacation was done. There was a constant shortage of ketchup which was strange as the buffet at the sister resort (which we had access to) had a plentiful supply. The front desk had no clue what was going on with respect to the dining options that were open or closed on the day. Overall not as smooth running as one would expect from a five star property. Would be perhaps a 2.5 or at the most a 3 star by Canadian standards

Sanctuary at Grand Memories Santa Maria: Vacation from hell with bed bugs and sand flies !

We have been to Cuba at least 10 times including 4 times to Santa Maria area. It was the 1st and last time to Sanctuary bungalow 61. We read the reviews prior to booking and knew the food was repetative and poor quality, we weren't expecting the best.It's Cuba after all but we expected with a 4 to 4/12 star rating it would be better and couldn't believe it was actually that bad. Lunch and dinner in the buffet was exactly the same every day for 7 days.Breakfast was similar but there was fresh egg [... read more]s and cereal. Ala carte reservations had to be done through our so called butler who harassed us every morning to make arrangements which they never booked the for proper time or said restaurant was full but they would see what they could do only looking for a tip. That's not the worst, it's the sand fleas and the bed bugs. Not only us but other guests got eaten alive even though we used plenty of bug spray which did not stop the bites. We got so many bites ( over 1000 all over my body) I had to visit my doctor when I got home. My doctor said the bites were not Mosquitos but bed bugs or sand fleas . I have read the managers response to other complaints about the bugs and he said they spray the area twice a day which is bull , as I saw the spray truck once in a week spray only part of the resort. This hotel should never be rated as a 4 star but if you want to ruin a week of your vacation because the price is right,then go,but I STRONGLY recommend you stay away from the Sanctuary . The only good part was the waiters and waitresses and most of the staff were very friendly. This is our LAST trip to the Sanctuary in Cuba!

Hotel Roc Casa del Mar: Ocean Casa Del Mar, Santa Maria, Cuba

This is the email I sent to the hotels General Manager on Dec.13 following our stay at the Ocean Casa Del Mar between Dec. 5 and Dec. 12. Good afternoon I just wanted to send you a message following our stay and our return home yesterday. First of all we did note that the food especially in the a la carte restaurant that was open during our stay was much better this year then our stay last year in November. The staff that we met and that waited on us where all 1st class. our rooms 0221/0223/0 [... read more]225 were kept clean and all of the rooms services worked very well. On the down side we were all bitten many times as were most guests at the resort by a over abundant amount of mosquitoes throughout the grounds. The spray that you use is most defiantly not a deterrent to them. Further yesterday morning a makeup mirror that was packed in one of our suitcases was stolen from our locked room 0223 when we went for breakfast between 7:30 and 8:30 prior to our departure from the resort at 9:00am. This is very disheartening after visiting Cuba close to 50 times over the past 25 plus years and never having anything stolen. We left many gifts for your staff as well as generous tips during our stay. It is unfortunate that one devious staff member can ruin it for all the honest hard working staff that you have. Hopefully you can find out who it was as we expect that this is something that they are doing on a regular basis. To date Dec.16 we have not heard back from the General Manager whom we personably met a the resort and who's email we have.

Dhawa Cayo Santa Maria: Wonderful New Resort

We booked last minute with low expectations, yet were pleasantly surprised from the moment we arrived. Being anxious after a long, interesting and scenic ride from the airport, we were impressed right from the start. The lobby is very elegant, bright, cheerful, perfect with the tropical surroundings. The checking in process was pleasant, friendly and very efficient. The two charming young men from concierge were great tour guides while driving, introducing us to the resort attractions ri [... read more]ght to our building and ocean front room. Our room was large, modern, comfortable with a breathtaking ocean view. The beach has been totally redone after the hurricane, apparently much more considerable than it was before the destruction. We found it very smooth, clean, user friendly, perfect for families. The beach bar, grill, sports shop, activities are eager, ready to please. The massive main pool and surroundings are to die for, initially cold when you first get in but ok once your body adjusts to it. The food is pretty good in all 3 a la carte restaurants, main buffet, 24 hour snack bar. Fruits and vegetables were not as plentiful as normal due to the devastation to the local crops, but we had no complaints. The daytime activities by the beach, pool, kids area promise to keep you pretty active should you choose to. The nightly entertainment is second to none, very high quality, professional musicians, dancers, entertainers. Cuba has encouraged the arts and sports, and it definitely shines in this area. Truly a joy to sit around the piano bar area, get blown away by one talented show after the other, then capping it with the nightly big show. There is a disco, but honestly we were too tired to go in there after the main show. The main 24 hour bar, 24 hour snack bar, pool bar, beach bar have awesome staff, bartenders, servers, truly wonderful. The liquor selection is your basic complete resort selection, so don't expect to find12 year old single malt scotch. The grounds are truly fabulous, a never ending array of constantly groomed flower beds... we have no clue how did they all survive the hurricanes. Every tree has a scar, souvenir from the monster storm, but are recovering. Don't listen to people that say it is difficult to get service, coffee... everything is very easy to obtain. The staff are eager to please. The staff from management, front desk right to the cleaning staff are some of the most pleasant, courteous, professional staff you'll find anywhere. My wife and I travel a lot every year and it takes a lot to impress us, and we were truly impressed with Dhawa Cayo Santa Maria. One thing to remember is tropical areas are teaming with greenery, water, life, and with that you shall encounter some pesky insects... a fact of life. Never forget this is a resort in a country that has suffered major damage from this year's hurricanes and is still fixing, improving as they move along. They truly need to be commended on their efforts. They truly deserve our support and I strongly encourage you to book this resort.

Dhawa Cayo Santa Maria: Our Trip to Warwick!

We had an overall wonderful vacation, food was great, drinks were great, weather was fantastic! We had some great waiters and bartenders and some whom didn’t really seem to care much! Our room was breathtaking along with the view! The biggest issue we had to come across was difficultly trying to find out if restaurants were open and were to find food most of the time as everything always seemed closed. Our tv would quit out a lot of the time which we had to fix ourselves due to the language ba [... read more]rrier and the hour and a half wait for someone to try to come fix it.As well as our rooms door continuously broke and we were stuck in the hall way until hell arrived. Communication was a large issue for us aswell, when in came to asking where things were on the resort or where to go to get on a bus for an out of town trip, it was very difficult to know anything for sure, also trying to help them fix there wifi when if blew up in the power outage. We had a very huge issue with trying to meet with our sunwing rep at the resort as he/she was never on time and never where they were suppose to be, causing us to be always hunting them done for information which we never seemed to get enough of. The pool was beautiful and always clean, our only complaint which wasn’t really a complaint was the water level kept becoming lower and lower. The pool bar was not open while we were there due to fixing. As well as the main buffet only opened on our second last day. The mosquitos and sand fleas had a large impact on our trip, making it very difficult to want to go outside at all, i have never had insects so bad on a trip to Cuba before and I do recommend to anyone to bring insect repellent! I also recommend the chicken and ham and cheese sandwiches that are made at the beach front as they are absolutely fantastic! The two hour bus ride to the resort is the big kick in the face, but the view on the way there is amazing, but we always had a problem at the airport trying to get on our bus as we were not put on the list, so I can not stress it enough to make sure your name gets put on that list! I do recommend this resort as it is continuously bulidimg back up after the hurricane and is a beautiful resort for families and couples!

Playa Cayo Santa Maria: Very good resort but location is 1.5 to 2 hours drive by bus from Santa Clara Airport - Treat as a day excursion !

Well Kept-clean grounds- Claen and comfortable rooms- Found a faulty shower handle- I reported it and was fixed immediately. Very good good - and large choice in Buffet meals - varaious snake Bras around 3 or 4 pools -including one on the Beach. The beach front of the resort was battred by the recent hurricanes in the Caribean - but did not affect the lovely sandy shores - My wife and many other guests were bitten by either mosquitos and or some other tiny sand flies - the itching and ras [... read more]hes was most painful and lasted for many days - needing potent presription hydrocotizon cream treatment . This inspite the hotel taking precautions of daily early morning and l evening spraying of insecticides - perhaps this was just seasonal or a result of the hurricane. I needed emergency medical treatment due to vomiting and diarrhoea probably from sea food alergy - the Govt run clinic located very close to the hotel -was very well equiped and run by very well trained and efficient Doctor- nurse and assistant .

Melia Las Dunas: Fun time at familiar resort

Well after the hurricanes went through the area in September the rebuild is amazing!!! This was our 3rd trip Las Dunas and it didn't disappoint. Beach is wonderful, ALL staff are beyond friendly and approachable. The Cuban alacarte was extremely tasty (lobster enchilada) was totally unexpected. The only down fall of the trip was the insect bites, pretty sure its a result of all the distrurbance of the surrounding vegetation and rebuild.But insect repellant was working just seemed to affect the w [... read more]omen more so than the men at the resort. Bus trip is 80min but the beer is cold. We will return again.

Resonance Blu Santa Maria: Star fish

I think the hotel was great .. they had a couple of problems but were resolve it very quickly! Yes there work on there resort since the huracanne but every resort is being work on to fix and make it much a better place. The beach was amazing! The staff were wondeful. The shows were wonderful . The people were fantastic.

Melia Las Dunas: Melia Las Dunas

Went there Dec, 2017. My parents recommended to go. Weather was great. Hotel was good. Staff was very friendly and entertaining. Was a lots of show starting at 6pm and contests. I had a great time. Food was great a lots of everything. Fish, meat, chicken, veggies, fruits, deserts. I even didn't have time to go to restaurant over there, because was a lots of food at buffet. I liked pizzeria at the hotel as well. Beach little bit destroyed by hurricane but water nice, warm and clear. You can see e [... read more]ven fish over there. I had a great time. Nice, polite staff. We were dancing every day, love it. Only some bugs appeared at the end and bit all of us. But warm countries they always have bugs. I had a great time and meet new friends there.

Iberostar Selection Ensenachos: Great resort

I have been to Cuba half a dozen times and this resort is by far the best one. Food was good, where else are you gona get lobster buffet. Beach was amazing, clean and clear water. Only downfall is that there is alot of walking because the resort is so spread out. Kids loved the children's pool with the slides. Bartenders were constantly coming by on the beach for drinks. Great vacation

Melia Buenavista: The oasis of peace and cordiality

The hotel staff had the greatest impact on us feeling taken care off and welcomed. The object heavily affected by hurricane has grown back into the well maintained new gardens renewed roofs, and freshly painted walls. Congratulations for the good work in recovery and keeping the big warm heart open for the gests.