2nd Time

My second time coming to Melia Peninsula Varadero was another amazing experience. From the amazing staff at Reception (Melissa and Jany) and many others making everything perfect for our arrival, ensuring all our rooms were close together. Going above and beyond making my 40th Birthday extra special with Champaign and Chocolate in the room, a dinner reservation for my birthday. All the reception staff were great with assisting in anything we needed. A special shout out to Melissa in customer se [... read more]rvice who found us some crutches to use after one of the girls hurt her foot. We also had the best housekeeper Yenis who always went above and beyond making sure we had everything we needed in our room. We didn't have to ask for extra water she always made sure we had lots. Most mornings were spent on the beautiful beach where lifeguard Luis would help get enough beach chairs ready for our group,drinks served by the bar staff on the beach. Nothing was any trouble for them. Everyday there was beach volleyball, water aerobics, and interaction with the entertainment staff. The entertainment staff go the extra mile to spend time with you ensuring you are having a great time (Christian,Jean, Chocolate Nutella, Karmen, Elio, Jenny and many others) you are an amazing team that works so well together to keep the guests happy. In the afternoon the entertainment moves to the main pool providing music and entertainment. They went above and beyond to make my birthday extra special with cake at the night beach party. The pool staff/lifeguards Leisser, Eduard, Yariolkis were all great and joined in our fun. Special shout out to all the pool bar/24 hour snack bar staff that always made sure our drink cups were full. Daniel, Yoyo, Sergio, Isamary, Lianet you guys are the BEST we can't thank you enough for taking great care of us. Luis Miguel at the 24 hour snack bar looked after us at night making sure we always had drinks and food. Thank you for putting up for us. Everyone always worries about the food in Cuba, we had no complaints we all found something to eat every day. The a la carte were all great! Special thanks to Bruce Willis for always having a big enough table ready for our large group and to the food manager Victor for the special gesture he did for our group. We all had a great time at this resort and I will not hesitate to go back again and again. It's 100% the staff that make this resort what it is!

Very nice just a few things that needed changing

We arrived at 5 o’clock first couple got a room by 7 all luggage was put in that room ( there was 8 in our group) then my daughter and I got a room at approximately 8 ish and the last 4 didn’t get there room until 12 o’clock had to move everything at that time because no one working to help the rooms were very big and clean the pool area was always clean having a lunch hut at the pool was very nice nice short walk to the ocean

Not the most lively resort for younger crowds

The resort was perfectly nice. They have shows in the evenings and activities during the days. The resort is family friendly - one of the two pools was for kids. The non-kid pool was quite warm, it wasn’t as refreshing as I’d hoped on a hot day, but we’re not in Cuba for the pools. The hotel is not ideal for younger crowds who want a more lively experience. Food was decent by Cuba’s standards but not the top/best. Beach water was beautiful but I wish they’d clean up the rocks and shell [... read more]s on the shore by the water - it hurt to walk on and I even saw a piece of glass in the sand. Overall good experience! But I’d opt for another resort for personal preferences.

Not a 5* hotel

We just came back, the hotel itself is ok but very dated - definitely need an update. Toilets in a main lobby are broken and didnt look like they will be repaired any time soon. staff ok - some better some worse but very, very slow.. Lots of them look like they cannot be bothered.. no issues with food but due to shortages there is lack of vegetables and fruit (but obviously thats not a hotel fault) Avoid this hotel if you dislike Russians as this hotel was full of them!! they are rude, arro [... read more]gant, they behave like they own the place! I was shocked to see so many of them! The only good thing is their sense of clothing because thats very, very laughable

Good Resort

Given the fact it is Cuba it is a bit lacking on stuff. No butter but lots of bread. Also the resort had done its best to accomidate us but with the embargo its hard for them we get that. The staff were great except on e bad encounter which Victor the food and beverage manager rectified promptly. Good vacation otherwise now we are looking forward in our booking with Trip Central to Mexico last day of Aug. Plan on a trip to Cuba next year. Till next time. Chanse and Stephanie

Melia peninsula

Onsite rep for Hola sun rep was nothing but rude and had poor attitude towards any sort of complaint. Hotel customer service Roy is just as horrible! Roy likes to yell when you challenge anything he says and will call hotel security to weasel his way out of confrontation.

People are amazing

We stayed for 7 days my friend son have allergies, from the front desk to customer service to chef and kitchen helpers satisfied her needs. We are greatful to all their help. The servers Daniella, Cardinal, Ric, Jennysy, Stephanie are very helpful to us. Chef Santiago done beyond the needs of the kid who have allergy with the help of kitchen supervisor Janet. Our room attendant Katie is funny and very helpful 10 thumbs up to all the staff of the Melia Peninsula Varadero till next time

Overall good resort

The resort was a little dated, a few areas need to be updated ie rooms, pool area is small and the theatre is not 4 star. The biggest disappointment were the drinks. All were served in small juice glasses even cocktails like pina coladas. Wine was served in a tiny champagne glass and both white and red wine were not available at dinner. Even the Italian restaurant had no red wine. The drinks were watery with very little alcohol. We had a difficult time finding even one that was good. The  [... read more]beach bar and pool bar did a better job. The food was surprisingly good. Great bbq chicken at the beach restaurant. The staff was for the most part friendly and accommodating. Beach was beautiful

Keep looking

I was really disappointed in my trip here. The outside of the resort is nice. The rooms are not. Originally they would have been but they haven’t been well maintained. The grout was dirty, the taps corroded, the bathroom counters were never cleaned. I found the bed to be very uncomfortable as well. I switched rooms the first day as my first room was really bad. The second room was better but not by much. The safe didn’t work and even though I told them it was a battery issue (a light said so [... read more]), I had to spend 2 mornings in my room waiting for people who never came. The pool was lovely but people put towels on their chairs and then go to the beach for most of the day. They don’t serve drinks, you go to the bar to get them, if that matters to you. The chairs are old as well, so weren’t super comfy. You can’t see the beach until you’re on it. It is beautiful and I always got a chair (which were older than the pool chairs) but I saw a lot of people who got there and there were no chairs left. And then there was the food. They obviously tried to make nice food but it was the same food every day and at every restaurant. I know they have trouble getting supplies but there are different ways to make chicken. Also, I got food poisoning while there and spent a day and a half in my room. They don’t have their food on ice or on heat. So it’s just sitting at room temperature. The staff was friendly but I didn’t find that they were overly personable. The resort was missing that special feeling when the staff get to know you. Like I said, they were friendly and helpful to me, but just didn’t connect. I definitely wouldn’t come back to this resort. I love cuba and this holiday dampened that a bit. Also, I’m not a traveller who expects perfection. I’ve backpacked and stayed in hostels, which were sometimes nicer than my room here. Just to give you some perspective on my review.

Overall good resort

The resort was a little dated, a few areas need to be updated ie rooms, pool area is small and the theatre is not 4 star. The biggest disappointment were the drinks. All were served in small juice glasses even cocktails like pina coladas. Wine was served in a tiny champagne glass and both white and red wine were not available at dinner. Even the Italian restaurant had no red wine. The drinks were watery with very little alcohol. We had a difficult time finding even one that was good. The  [... read more]beach bar and pool bar did a better job. The food was surprisingly good. Great bbq chicken at the beach restaurant. The staff was for the most part friendly and accommodating.

Worst experience of my life

The single worst experience of my life. Where to begin????? Staff were lukewarm at best, with the exception of the lovely lady making omelettes for us for breakfast each morning. Roma we’re not cleaned during our stay, toilet paper was worth its weight in gold and scarce, air conditioning unit leakiest all night into our room and on the last day we learned that our room door did not need a key to enter.

Do not go here!

Constantly running out of food- food quality poor (and I have been to Cuba before, but nothing like this). We were told to convert our money to Cuban Pesos to find out they do not accept them anywhere (or do so with reservation). We did not get the room we asked for, the beds were uncomfortable, furniture was broken, smelled of mold. We had our towels replaced once. We never got even a bath mat. A couple of days we received no new water. The pool was under construction every day- r [... read more]emoving a structure or fixing something broken, hard to tell.

Not the best experience

Arrived on Saturday march 11th. First room we had the lock didn’t work. They moved us into a different room after the lock couldn’t be fixed. 2nd room the card didn’t work properly. Had to get it fixed almost everyday. No food selection but I can’t blame the hotel for this as the entire island is struggling. Cleanliness in the food hall was an issue. The seemed to use the same dirty cloth to wipe down all the tables.

The worst kept hotel in Cuba

I've been travelling to Cuba for over 20 years and have stayed in every type of resort from 2 to 5 stars. This property is the worst and so badly maintained that it is outright dangerous. Before getting to all the negative, on the plus side; the beach is beautiful, the staff is great and the food is more than adequate. At one time, I couldn't see that this was a great resort; however, due to poor management and absolutely no maintenance.... there are random holes throughout the property which  [... read more]a small child could fall into or even an adult could be seriously injured. Not to mention the dangers of metal spikes and rebar protruding from cement. Both swimming pools had green algae growing throughout the pool. Tripcentral should be ashamed to sell this resort. The tour operators should be held liable for their representation of this property

Not what was expected for the price

Two travelers that have been to Cuba previously with great experiences pre-Covid (once to another Meliã 5 star resort). We were anticipating some changes post-Covid and friends had great experiences in 2022. After speaking to others at the end of the week, it seems like their resorts were generally better and had incredible food... We most certainly overpaid for this vacation and are disappointed. POSITIVES: Beautiful and spacious lobby, bar and outdoor seating; Friendly and helpful maids, s [... read more]ervers (at the buffet) and front desk staff; Delicious donuts in the morning, ice cream, coffees and omelettes Beautiful beach (not very close to all rooms though) NEGATIVES: Very old and uncomfortable mattresses; Only one body pillow per single bed (had to fold it to sleep comfortably); Almost always no toilet paper in all public bathrooms (main building, pool, beach); Poorly lit pathways at night and unclear signage for various buildings (no one able to clearly direct us to the Italian à la carte restaurant after asking 3 different staff members); Missing basics like butter, ketchup, syrup, bananas; Most warm foods were cold and desserts were frequently dry and stale; Terrible food at the Japanese (sushi with no chopsticks, inauthentic Japanese tepanyaki food) & Italian (same overcooked and cold pasta that is served at the buffet...) à la carte restaurants (maximum of two per week and only three options); Unable to get pool towels one day (asked if there would be more later and was told "no"); International outlet converter required for hair tools (phones charged with no issue)

Good staff

I would categorize our stay here as middle of the road, the staff were mostly friendly and the resort is decent shape over all like anywhere in Cuba they do the best they can with what they have. Several shortages were experienced but this is common place right now anywhere in the world overall I would give this resort a solid 3 our of 5. Sanitizer was widely available throughout the resort but in reality if your still concerned about cough 19 then why are you traveling anywhere but a Psychiatri [... read more]st.

Not great!

The best part of the holiday was the warm weather:) we arrived very late @12:30AM . the guy dropped us to the place where the building was, there was no light to see where we were going (We are seniors! )Plus they put us on the 3rd floor! We had problems with the safe , the shower as the doors couldn’t close so water accumulated on the floor outside, the balcony door was impossible to open , etc…. This cost us half a day , breakfast and lunch ,as we had to wait for maintenance!. The front [... read more] desk is not too efficient as they say ok and nothing happened! we had to check back twice later and on the third try they told my husband to got to a room at the side and speak to public relations. He(Pub.Rel.) said no one told him and our name was not on the list of problems!! On the brighter side the guy who fixed the shower door etc was very good as he fixed it all. However not a good way to start a vacation is it? .They never replaced our bath towel mat or the face towel ( which they took away because it was soaked with water ) all the time we were there. We found it was no use to complain! we had to use our bath towels the whole week as they said they had no clean towels!! All else was ok with small issues but after the start we had we expected to have issues.

Ok resort

The hotel was not what was advertised in the vacation package. The place was quite run down and needs a facelift. The food was good and plentiful. The staff were amazing and helpful. The Beach was lovely but definitely could have used more beach loungers as all loungers were being used or saved with a towel.

Do not go to this hole of a hotel

just keep looking. consider dominican republic or perhaps communist china before this hotel. food is crap, service is a dirty word, buildings are in disrepair, and the employees could not give a shit.

Amazing time

We had a great time myself Tracy and jeremy have been there 3 times we enjoy it get staff there am have met many friends. My friend Donna her first time she enjoyed it. It is a very clean resort and well kept likes how the tractor went down and cleaned the sand. Room staff amazing very friendly and willing to help you out. Food was great as well would so go again .