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.
Location
Value
Food
Beach
Rooms
Service
Helpful?
Report
Private -
Verified Purchaser
Sol Cayo Santa Maria: Sorry to say disappointed..
We went back to Sol as many years ago we had the greatest experience of Cuba here in this resort - we loved everything , the people, the grounds, the vegetation, the food.
Now, we must say with heavy hart that many things have changed.
And it is not only Irma that affected Sol..
I think it is the way the resort is governed. People are working very hard but it is an obvious lack of personnel. The part of the resort that is open to tourists has the most affected vegetation following the hurrica[... read more]ne last September which make no sense from a client perspective. Spanish is a must as there are not many English speakers.
Location
Value
Food
Beach
Rooms
Service
Helpful?
Report
Private -
Verified Purchaser
Sol Cayo Santa Maria: AVOID THIS RESORT
We were at this resort on March 21 2018 . I travelled with my 72 year old mother, a friend and her 76 year old Aunt . This resort was by far the worst I have ever been to and we travel 3 or more times per year . We book vacations that are $ to $$$$ and we are fully aware we get what we pay for .
Our expectations for this vacation were not high. We wanted sun , sand , a clean resort with edible food .
The first rooms they gave us had broken A/C and ants , so they moved us to rooms 2 which had [... read more]a broken non working toilet and no A/C and ants ,
then to rooms 3 . It was ok but it was not clean and 1 of the rooms had a broken toilet seat which they removed so there was no toilet seat . The curtains ( or blanket ) was nailed to the wall . The patio doors could not be opened . There was cockroaches.
The dining room was filthy, with flies on all of the food . My pasta on the first night was given to me with a dead fly on the top , the chef picked it off and handed me the plate . The silverware had to be checked for dried on food and the glasses for lipstick marks. The service was very poor .
The beach was red flagged so we stayed at the pool . On the first day at the first pool a mother took feces out of a small childs swim suit (No diaper ) and it fell on the walk way . The child stepped in it , the mother washed his feet off in the pool and the feces remained on the walk way for 3 days . So off to Pool 2 we went . That afternoon a guest vomited on the bridge over the pool and into the pool . So there was no swimming for us as we did not see anyone clean the pool while we were there and it had cigarette butts, napkins and plastic cups in it every day . The washroom by the pool had a sink off the wall and the toilets did not flush yet there was no sign .
On day 4 we went to see our travel rep - Thank goodness she was AMAZING !!! She has us and the hotel service manager walk her to the ares we were concerned about . After 4 days the feces and vomit were still there. The manager tried to say someone cleaned the pool and the surrounding areas but it was obvious it wasnt being done .
The rep told us that this resort has a very low booking rate so the open it up to the cubans , it is also due to be closed and renovated .
I am unsure how this resort has any positive reviews . I expect they are generate or solicited by the resort in exchange for remuneration.
I feel this is information that the travel agent should have been aware of .
The excuse for most of the issues was the recent hurricane , but all the damage had been repaired . The issues were all due to neglect .
We were moved to the resort next door which was attached to the SOL and it was 100% better .
Please dont waste your time or money by going to this resort .
PS. Flabia at reception did help us as much as she possibly could and was very helpful and understanding .
Location
Value
Food
Beach
Rooms
Service
Helpful?
Report
Private -
Verified Purchaser
Memories Cayo Largo: Resort not as stated
People and staff more than pleasant, helpful and friendly. would defiantly return because of them and the most beautiful beach, Resort was rated as four star...should be two star, very poor selection of food, no brewed coffee, no real juice, rooms run down, one day no water at all, beach equipment not even on resort site as shown on website pictures.
Location
Value
Food
Beach
Rooms
Service
Helpful?
Report
Tammy71 -
Verified Purchaser
Melia Jardines del Rey: Beautiful and Amazing Resort
Let me start by saying I have been to alot of caribbean places and by far this was the best ive had. Beach was amazing. Our room was beautiful with a great view of the ocean with cruise ships passing bye. We never went hungry. There was always something to eat. Is it the best food ive ever had No! But I gained 5lbs so i wasnt hungry. They did an amazing job fixing the resort up after the hurricane ⤠Night entertainment was great. I would highly recommend this resort. We will be returning again[... read more] next March and that is saying something as we never go back to the same resort. ABSOLUTELY LOVED MELIA JARDINE DEL RAY â¤â¤â¤
Location
Value
Food
Beach
Rooms
Service
Helpful?
Report
Private -
Verified Purchaser
Melia Marina Varadero: 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.
Location
Value
Food
Beach
Rooms
Service
Helpful?
Report
Private -
Verified Purchaser
Melia Jardines del Rey: Melia Jardines del rey
Great Resort. Large but it did seem too crowded. At times the restaurants and bars ran out of certain items from time to time , but that is how it is in Cuba.We would go back again. we might look for an adults only resort.
Location
Value
Food
Beach
Rooms
Service
Helpful?
Report
Danielle K -
Verified Purchaser
Sol Palmeras: Great vacation! We will be back again!
We visited the Sol Palmeras from March 20-27, 2018, and could not have asked for a better experience. The layout of the resort makes everything easily accessible. The staff are friendly and welcoming 24-7. The newly renovated rooms are updated and modern. The Buffett has a variety of tasty choices for everyone, and was different everyday. And the beach grill at lunch made the Cuban experience even better. This resort is well managed, and everyone finds the time to make your experience unique and[... read more] special in a good way. We will be coming back again.
A big big thank you and call out to some of the great staff members that went above and beyond. Gustavo, at the reception desk was always friendly and more than helpful when we needed anything.
Geyki and Alain in the buffet restaurant, as well as Tania and Humberto, always made our dining experience wonderful, and were great to talk to during mealtime. They were professional, fun, and always friendly.
Francie was one of our waitresses outside on the patio at the lobby bar quite frequently, and she always had great service, and was smiling all the time.
Jorge, at the beach bar, was always inviting, helpful, and so friendly.
The extra entertainment in the evening in the lobby, or at the pool bar was high quality, and very enjoyable as well. We loved listening to the music every evening, especially the trumpet player, and the female violin trio!
Overall, the staff made this experience a great time. The hotel is well kept up, and we would highly recommend it to anyone who asked! Well done Sol Palmeras!
Location
Value
Food
Beach
Rooms
Service
Helpful?
Report
Dshulepov -
Verified Purchaser
Melia Marina Varadero: 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.
Location
Value
Food
Beach
Rooms
Service
Helpful?
Report
Desca1 -
Verified Purchaser
Melia Cayo Coco: Melia Cayo Coco
This hotel is awesome! We have been at this resort now 5 times and we love it. The service, rooms, pool, beach, a la cartes are great. The staff are very friendly. I look forward to my next visit at this resort. This is the best adult resort in Cayo Coco!
Location
Value
Food
Beach
Rooms
Service
Helpful?
Report
Private -
Verified Purchaser
Tryp Cayo Coco: Overall a good resort
Hotel was very clean and most of the staff were incredibly friendly. The a la carte dinners were fairly enjoyable however 90% of the buffet food was terrible. The grounds were in good shape considering how soon we visited after the hurricane. The pools were clean and the beach was beautiful. We always had something to do and they had amazing entertainment. Overall a good experience.
Location
Value
Food
Beach
Rooms
Service
Helpful?
Report
Suzystretch1 -
Verified Purchaser
Paradisus Rio De Oro: Romantic & Relaxing Week
We enjoyed a relaxing and romantic week from 19Mar2018 to 26Mar2018 at the Rio de Oro resort...and loved it! The food was better than expected. Especially considering it was the low season for produce. All the a la carte restaurants were fantastic. Our favourite spot was the beach side restaurant for lunch because of the live music group at 1:30pm. We visited the spa several times for massages and of course the small spa beach felt very private. The grounds are incredibly clean and burstin[... read more]g with flowers. The main beach is long and wide and never felt crowded. In fact we never worried about finding a lounger or chair at any point on the resort. Our room was very clean and everything worked. Our towels and beverages were always well stocked. The best part is the staff! Everyone we met made us feel special. We will be returning!
Location
Value
Food
Beach
Rooms
Service
Helpful?
Report
Private -
Verified Purchaser
Paradisus Varadero: The Paradisus Varadero regular junior room is NOT 5 ***** hotel
The Paradisus Varadero regular junior room is NOT 5 ***** hotel / accommodation,( maybe was 25 years ego) totally misleading advertising is only 3+***, the ROYAL section from same hotel might be okay, but the normal section was terrible. There was very poor service or a lack of staff, some older waiter / man in main lobby with big attitude, not friendly…., dinner reservations booking was a nightmare, unless you complained to the manager you were unable to get any decent reservations, no water [... read more]in the ponds around buildings, garbage all over the place not picked up. Some restaurants were closed while guests wanted reservations. Over roll the food was ok, but somes I get it dirty serving plate and have to change. Entertainment area was a disaster. Couldn't get fresh towels as they were either closed with no staff or they didn't have any towels,( show me 5 star hotel which have no beach towels for exchange). I could go on and on. Do yourself a favor and read all the reviews from those that didn't stay at the ROYAL area, if you can afford but this upgrade cost over $60/70 a day per person. It was terrible, accept location of the beach, good weather and air condition in working condition. I DID NOT GET IT WAS I PAY FOR IT 5*****. They won’t you purchase vacation in this place, but if you not happy, they will sell you upgrade to 5 STAR accommodation, totally scam.
Stay in this place in March 2018 for four days.
Location
Value
Food
Beach
Rooms
Service
Helpful?
Report
Private -
Verified Purchaser
Paradisus Rio De Oro: Great stay at a lovely resort. thank you to the staff how were always hospitable
Stayed at this resort (Mar 21-28, 2018) great resort. it started i think in 1998... but they keep it well maintained and updating is in progress..
When you go to Cuba you have to adjust your expectations... this resort was great and well worth the $$.
Great service with all employees being very friendly and helpful. Before leaving Canada we were concerned with food options as we do not eat meat... no worries, great selection of fish, veg and fruits... with no after affects! Plenty of drinkin[... read more]g water in the rooms, and we used tap water to brush teeth etc... all good. plenty of hot water and no temperature changes... bathroom updated, looks great
Snorkelling was great off the beach, they supply flippers. 4 specialty restaurants and were fine, but we would have also been happy just using the main buffet area as the selection was fine... Entertainment was good, they obviously focus on this piece. Plenty of pool activities each day...
We used the medical services as my wife had a reaction to the sun screen. the person was very helpful and the cost was very reasonable... (thank you to the Dr)
We would definitely go back to the resort. thanks to the resort for a great time
Location
Value
Food
Beach
Rooms
Service
Helpful?
Report
Cmac -
Verified Purchaser
Sol Cayo Santa Maria: Terrible Resort
This resort is by far the worst resort I have ever stayed at. I've stayed at many 3 and 3 1/2 star resorts as well as 5 stars and have never experienced anything like this.
The rooms are awful..In total we moved 4 times for various reasons: ants, no working air conditioners, broken toilet seat, no toilet seat, cockroaches, giant spiders, broken safe, patio door wouldn't lock, the rooms were so dirty and mouldy.. the list goes on. I had to share a bed with my 74yr old aunt. The public washrooms[... read more] never had toilet paper or soap and most of the time wouldn't flush. I booked this trip based on the reviews on the trip advisor and the trip central website and I have to say I'm sure they are being edited or put on by the resort.
This is the most unsanitary place I've ever stayed... we witnessed someone vomiting on the bridge over the pool and into the pool, a man helping his grandson pee into the grate at the side of the pool..another person urinating into the bushes behind us, a child pooped his pants it fell out of his shorts and onto the walkway, he slipped in it and his mother washed his feet off in the pool. The pool was full of cigarette buts, plastic cups and straws leaves and other debris..nothing was cleaned up until after we met with our Air Transat representative a few days later. I know this is a 3 1/2 star resort and my expectations were not high but we actually felt unsafe.
We Spent the first 4 days of our short 7 day trip moving rooms and making trips to the front desk to report the problems. We weren't able to go in the ocean because it was red flagged and couldn't go in the pool at all. After we had a conversation with the Air Transat representative she got the guest service manager and we took them on a walk around the resort to show them the problems. I know the rep was surprised at the conditions and had us moved to the sister property next door as soon as she could which wasn't until the following day.
I never been to a resort where most of the guest were Cuban locals and I believe this contributed to the problems. I was told by the rep that they are planning to close this resort and do a major Reno and reopen as a 5 star property. This is why only half of the resort rooms are open and they haven't put any money or effort into restoring it after the hurricane. They put out offers to Cuban families at very low rates to fill the rooms available.
Trip Central and Air Transat should not be recommending this resort at all.
Location
Value
Food
Beach
Rooms
Service
Helpful?
Report
Sandyo -
Verified Purchaser
Melia Jardines del Rey: Great Resort
Melia Jardines Del Rey was a great resort.
Customer service was top notch.
Lots of restaurants to choose from and the beach, nothing beats the Cuban beaches
Definitely a return resort. The rooms are clean and housekeeping does a great job. There is still some repairs to do after the hurricane but nothing that interferes with your vacation.
Location
Value
Food
Beach
Rooms
Service
Helpful?
Report
Hunter -
Verified Purchaser
Melia Jardines del Rey: Great
Had a great time,clean rooms ,staff was great beach is top notch.the food at the snack bar was cold most of the time."..........................................".........................................
Location
Value
Food
Beach
Rooms
Service
Helpful?
Report
Roberta -
Verified Purchaser
Melia Peninsula Varadero: Cold shower and not so good food
The hotel was ok . The rooms are ok but dated , changed rooms after 3 days of cold showers . Food was not very god but always found something to eat though and the breads are always good. Renovating the theater so shows were in the lobby ( worst shows I ever been to at a resort ). Beach is beautiful , nothing fancy about the pool.
I would only rate this resort as a 3 star .
I have been to many resorts in Cuba that I would go back to but definitely not this one .
Location
Value
Food
Beach
Rooms
Service
Helpful?
Report
Private -
Verified Purchaser
Sol Cayo Coco: A Great Place To Vacation!
Couple in our 60's wanting a relaxing beach holiday. Got it! Resort is small and easy to navigate, everything central, well laid out. Check in was quick.
ROOM: Gardenview, clean, everything worked, bed was comfortable, fabulous view of the ocean from our room because there were no longer any trees to block the view due to hurricane. Take a facecloth, hair conditioner and body lotion if needed. They provided shower gel, shampoo and bar soap. Paid 2 CUC per night for the safe. Key card was inse[... read more]rted to turn on lights and air when you were in the room, also for the safe.
FOOD: Both a la cartes were very good (Italian and International). Buffet had enough choices and cook station options. There were snack bars at the pool and beach. Good food there too. You will not go hungry.Midnight snacks are at the lobby bar.
ENTERTAINMENT: Every night mostly in the lobby until the theater is rebuilt. Dancers have all been classically trained, singers excellent.
BEACH: Two of them! Lots of chairs on the bigger beach and we always found somewhere to sit no matter when we went down. The smaller beach to the left had chairs taken early. Excellent beach for entry to the water and for endless walking. When it is really windy it can get rough. We had 4 or 7 days red flagged!
SIGHTSEEING: For 5 CUC per person we took the hop on hop off double decker bus that stopped at every resort as well as the craft market and ended at Playa Pilar, which the Air Canada rep said was the most beautiful beach. NOT! But it is worth going and seeing everything. We also got off at Sol Cayo Guillermo, walked around the beach and resort. On the bus we found out we could have gotten a lunch ticket to eat at Guillermo and could have stayed at that beach for the day which was also beautiful.
STAFF: Wonderful, always smiling and extra helpful if we ran into a problem.
Would I come back? Yes!
Location
Value
Food
Beach
Rooms
Service
Helpful?
Report
Private -
Verified Purchaser
Melia Las Dunas: Fantastic resort
We stayed at this hotel on March 20 to 27, 2018. The hotel was very clean, rooms and bathrooms very beautiful, food was excellent, beach is perfect for long walking with white sand, water enough warm and very nice color. Excellent services. They are very well organized and efficient. Yanelis, the waitress, was the best one, always smiling and calm. I’ll come back and I recommend this hotel to everyone who is looking for vacation.