The Melia Marina was a great surprise.

I really enjoyed this hotel. The food was really good, I enjoyed the little boardwalk by the marina with the shops, try the Anana Pina Colada by the ward it's a great setting and a nice refreshing drink. There is tons of staff they are great with people and kids! There's always chairs at the pool! The only down size there's a 5 min strole to the beach and yiu can't see it from the hotel but the staff gets you chairs, sits you down and the restaurant on the beach quickly makes you forget that wal [... read more]k. The beach is ok not amazing but it's Varadero no Cayo Coco. I will go back to the same hotel!

Melia Marina Varadero

A nice, newer hotel located right at the end of the peninsula. Beautiful views of the Marina and only a short walk from the beach. Beach is very nice and is supported by a Beach Bar and a very nice Beach Restaurant, you must try the Cuban Broth. A La Carte Restaurants are Fantastic, BUT the Buffet at Supper was poor, Food was cold and Service was slow, lack of Plates and Coffee Cups did not help. Rooms are Very Nice and Spacious, Biggest gripe was that Our towels were not replaced all week. Try  [... read more]to avoid the basement rooms, although it is nice to have a walk out you have no view as you are below the pool level. Pool is very nice and always lots of Loungers available, lack of shade is an issue if you get too much sun. Swim Up Bar / Pool Bar you get good service all Day. Lobby Bar be prepared to wait for your drinks, doesn't matter whether you go up to the Bar or order from a Waitress, service is slow. Entertainment Staff give it their all on a smaller budget than the larger resorts. Although a little remote, a good 30 minutes from town, you can ride the Open Top Double Decker Bus all day for 5 CUC. A trip to Havana is a must and in my opinion a Private Taxi is the way to go, even for a Couple it works out cheaper than the Bus Tour, if you have 4 people it is a quarter of the price. We had a driver and a tour guide who spoke very good English, Pick up at 9 in the morning, Private Tour of Havana and drop off at 5 for 130 CUC, Fantastic deal and a great day away from the resort. By Cuban standards a very Good trip but that is reflected in the price. During our time there we did not see many Children and it is definitely an Older Crowd. If you want to Party go elsewhere.

As expected

The place was far from full when we were there (Feb 23-Mar01) so some of my thoughts may have been different if it was full. The buffet was not bad, better than I expected, about the same as a 4 start in D.R. or the Mayan. There was enough seating (barely) for the number of people staying at the time. The A La Carte's were not good, after our first, when I left half a plate of beef grizzle, we, upon recommendation of other guests skipped the last 2 and stuck with the buffet. The beach restaurant [... read more], open 24 hours according to the brochure was open 2pm-6pm (perhaps because of low occupancy??) The lobby bar was the busiest, but could handle it. There was entertainment 1 night, unless you count someone playing the piano on about 4 other nights. They fog for mosquitos, I got bit, but insects seem to love me. The beach, which is quite nice has the usual southern sand fleas, they did a number on me, but again insects love me and I am allergic to bites, most people likely wouldn't notice. The money the tourists use is tied to the U.S. dollar. Paper currency is 1,3,5,10,20 and I don't know where it goes from there. Coins are similar of Canada, but no tooney. 2 things on the money, the commission to exchange Canadian to Cuban was about 6% (on top of the exchange) at the "bank" in the hotel. A real bank was about 20Kms away, where it was 3%. Given I only used about 150 CAD in cash it was no big deal, but others may see it more critically. The really dumb thing was is was like pulling hens teeth to get one's in paper or coin or any kind. They never had any small stuff, which we need to tip with. I got around this by making small purchases at the convenience store onsite which forced them to give me change. Heck of a thing, one would think they would make tipping size cash readily available. We did the Havana tour on a bus, 12 hours in total. This hotel is end the very end on the peninsula, so 1st picked up on the hotel run and last dropped off. We paid 100 CAD each..........not bad compared to other places, included an entirely forgettable lunch. Beer on the bus 2 pesos (2 U.S.) Water and pop 1. Many people at the resort had success ( no bad stories at all) taking cabs for the day to Havana. 150 pesos for the day, no included lunch, but you eat where you wanted. These trips took 8-9 hours..... no hotel dropoffs and not necessary to wrangle 40 people per stop. If I had to do it again, I would do it this way. The cabbie acted as tour guide. The next question is would I recommend it to a friend. The real answer is depends on the cost. We paid 2500 for the 2 of us, I would not pay more than that, but withing that range , yes

Great choice

This was our first time to Cuba, as well as our first time to an all iclusive resort. We were lucky to have a one bedroom apartment. It was very quiet and spacious. Although it was not what you could call a Cuban experience, it was very comfortable and a good home base. It was nice to have a small kitchen. Although it had the bare basics in the way of utensils, dishes etc, it didn't look as if it was really used. There was a pot that I used to boil water and It was nice to be able to make a cup  [... read more]of tea. We had an all inclusive package, which was good, as there was not a lot of choice in groceries to make meals with. You would almost have to have a car to shop in a nearby town. The combination washer and dryer was great.There were a few little glitches, e.g. the safe not opening etc. Any time we called the front desk, someone was there within minutes to fix it, and they followed up with a phone all to make sure all was well ! Being from Vancouver we had our windows open the first couple of nights, until we realized that we were letting in a lot of mosquitoes, a warning might be in order, as it wasn't particularly obvious when you were outside at night. The food was good, plentiful and varied. My only complaint was they had nice ahi tuna, but overcooked it and couldn't be convinced to sear it and take it off the grill in a timely fashion. We only went to the entertainment one night, but it wasn't inspiring enough to return. We went on a number of day trips and spent a night in Havana and it was good to have a comfortable place to return to. I found the constant expectation re tipping uncomfortable and was thinking it might be nice to have the option of a tipping package where you could put in a lump sum with the knowledge that it would go to the staff. You are told their wages are low, and it was obvious from our trips that people didn't have a lot to manage on.Not sure how that would work though as there are hundreds of staff and you only come into contact with a very small percentage.

Amazing Resort!

Just returned from the Melia Marina. We spent 5 days at this resort. The hotel is incredibly beautiful and the staff was great. The A La Carte and the quality of the buffet was wonderful. There was enough selection for everyone even picky eaters. The rooms were a good size and clean. We would definitely go back to this hotel if we visit again!

A Nice Surprise

A lovely hotel that surpassed the indifferent Trip Advisor reviews of all-inclusives in Varadero. A very attentive and accommodating front desk staff; a well-appointed and comfortable room with prompt maid service; well maintained grounds, a large pool and easy access to a long sandy beach a ten minute walk or 2 minute golf cart ride from the pool yet still on hotel grounds. Clientele tends to be beyond college-age rowdy. Food seems designed for North American tastes (ie add your own condiments) [... read more] with a wide range of choices and of decent quality; tends, however, to get repetitive after three days. Bars abound everywhere but non-liquid mid-day snacks are hard to come by except at a limited menu snack bar at the pool.

Great resort!

Grounds and Marina area were beautiful! Hotel clean, lobby bar and spa great also! Pool area and gym well setup. All bars have top selections. The al'Cart resturants were very nice. The buffet was excellent for Cuba!

Ok resort

Good food, nice grounds. We stayed here 2 years ago and this place has aged significantly. Many indoor areas need ongoing maintenance. The lobby bar/main restaurant washrooms smell awful......we walked back to our rooms to avoid using these facilities.

A solid package

Bre from Trip Central efficiently helped me to decide on and book this resort in a 10 minute discussion. Great job! Sun wing check in and flying experience both in Toronto and Varadero was great. At Melia, just a little confusion on giving me a classic room instead of marina room which I paid for. After clarification, front desk helped me to get the top floor (the best) after lunch. The room was spacious, clean, great bathtub with huge window facing the bed and balcony. The restaurant reservatio [... read more]n lady was always pleasant and helpful. We asked at around 4:00 pm for table due to cancellation and got 2 extra night at a la ca restaurants. The evening entertainment was good and we actually enjoyed all 7 nights performance! Juan was a great entertainment host and a great ping pong partner with my husband. Unfortunately not a lot of guests are interested in the day time programs therefore lots of scheduled activities like dance lesson, h2o gym, stretching etc did not take place. Nice lobby lounge, nice drinks, nice marina, decent food in Cuban standard. My husband and I had a great relaxing experience.

NICE NICE WEEK

We stayed at the Melia Marina from Jan 24-31. Check in and out was simple and fast. English is well spoken and understood. Good initial information was provided at check-in. Stayed in room 1528 with Marina View. Room was clean and everything worked as it should. Zovaida our maid was VERY NICE. She kept the place just right and added the towel art for a bonus. She was VERY appreciative of some gifts and CUC's we provided. Pools are very clean, lots of lounges and seating. Servers bring drinks and [... read more] sometime even skewers of fresh fruit....nice touch. The beach is a short walk (or golf cart ride) away. it is quite narrow in the Melia "area". Lots of lounges...no problem to get one. The first day the beach was loaded with seaweed..not nice...but after that it was fairly well cleaned. You can walk for a LONG way in either direction on the beach....we really enjoyed watching the Pelicans dive for fish. We went to two a la cartes....Bana (oriental) and Don Pepperoni (Italian)....both were very good...great service and good atmosphere. The Buffet restaurant can be quite busy at times, but there are lots of tables and servers to look after you. The food was good, lots of variety. The cook stations were busy. Particularly enjoyed a large pork roast, crepes in the morning and the salad offerings. There are good hamburgers and fries if you need them. The Marina location is very nice. Lots of activity happening. Entertainment in the evening was quite good. There was a variety of acts during the week...some excellent..some just OK Overall we had a great week at Melia Marina, it was good value for the money. We spent one day on a tour to Havana with a private tour operator called Cuban Connections....HIGHLY RECOMMEND.

Awesome vacation in an awesome resort

Nice and friendly staff! Great rooms! Decent food, good supply of drinks, amazing beach and pool.. Overall a wonderful experience! Downside- internet is available only in lobby.. But upside- you are there on vacation, so it's good to leave your devices and have more fun time for each other!

Amazing resort

Great food, great staff, superb resort with 4 international restaurants. The beach area is located outside the resort, 3min walk, but great! Couldn't find a single thing disappointing! Highly recommended, hope to go there again! Only buy all inclusive as it is an expensive hotel!

Great Resort

The hotel was very nice and the people pleasant and extremely helpful in all ares .The weather was not so nice , it rained for three out to seven days and was overcast on the sixth day. This is expected. In the month of Jan ,We made the best of the vacation . Future don't think I would go this close to Flordia too unpredictable , I would defintely recommend the hotel . We had a awesome view of the marina . Food was ok but not the selection like other. 5 stat hotels Well try another part do Cuba  [... read more]Enjoyed the people !

Fabulous Resort

Absolutly beautiful resort!!! The al-la-carte restaurants were the best I've ever been to in Cuba. They ambiance and food were superb. The room was large and comfortable with all necessary amenities. The drinks at the lobby bar were lovely and I loved the Pina coladas and Spanish coffee. The grounds were well maintained and the marina boardwalk was beautiful to walk in the evening. The beach was a 10-15 min walk but the resort had a shuttle that picked you up. If you want classy place with great [... read more] food and drinks and respectful people, go to Melia Marina Varadero

"No good"

First room, patches of black mold, bathroom, entire ceiling covered in black mold. AC didn't work. Getting help from th front desk for new room, gave us no acknowledgment until we stressed the word mold. AC was fixed and after talking with a couple "higher ups" we got a new room. Second room, smelled much better and 10 times cleaner. Still a bit of mold but 99 percent better than the first room. Room service, room was only cleaned 3 times out of the 7 we were there. Only received fresh towels tw [... read more]ice, and never any new bedding. Being on the EP, it was hard to find food besides cheese and crackers. After riding the bust for an hour to get not much better food, the room only had one pot to cook with. Nothing to clean and dry dishes with either.

Good resort

The resort was nice and the people were great. It's more of a relaxing resort.... not much of a party resort which is what I was hoping for. We found the resort a little confusing at first, they give you a map with all the places to go and all the bars but they listed more than what they showed on the map. Couple things that bothered us.... we requested a king size bed and we got 2 twin beds. Our balcony door was missing the handle to get inside. They only give you 2 beers per day in your "minib [... read more]ar". For the most part people just hangout at the lobby all night cause there isn't anywhere else to go at night. The food wasn't as bad as I thought it was gonna be but it still doesn't come close to the amazing quality of Jamaica. Overall great trip, not sure if I would come back... we like to drink and have fun at night and there isn't much of anything going on at night at this resort.

Great quality all around

comfortable beds, clean and fairly quiet rooms. Food was very good - much better than previous Cuba trips. Lots of chairs by the pool and beach, so no mad scramble to reserve your place. Beach is gorgeous.

Pool and beach were good

We were a group of eleven. 3 of our rooms were entered at night when the occupants were in bed. One of the room was my daughter and 6 year old granddaughter which was not a pleasant experience. My granddaughter was awakened as well as her Mother at 11:45 P.M. Front desk reception area was not very helpful. Could not give us a reason how this could happen. One other room had an invasion of bugs. They were able to get another room, however not without threatening to go into the lobby and tell peop [... read more]le check their beds. Two out of 6 rooms booked were without issues.

AMAZING RESORT; GREAT LOCATION!

The hotel had everything that we had hoped for & more! Staff, grounds, food all EXCEEDED expectations! Catamaran tours leave from marina at hotel. Day trips to Havana and Varadero were great! We will be back!!!

Excellent resort for the price

We enjoyed this resort very much. All the staff were GREAT! We found the hotel very clean especially our room. Our maid was amazing! The entertainment was second to none. The bartenders were all fabulous, especially the staff at the swim up bar.