Melia Cayo Coco: Melia is back

One can see the evidence of destruction that was Irma back in November. The glorious gardens have been decimated but are being replaced and replanted as we speak. Given a little time their former glory will return. Meanwhile the staff are absolutely fabulous. Everyone is smiling, helpful, cheerful and very upbeat and positive. Our accommodation was very clean and was maintained that way without a problem. Lots of hot water and clean towels. The standard of food is excellent - eve [... read more]rything is delicious and beautifully served whether in the main diningroom or the specialty restaurants. We are definitely looking forward to a return visit in 2019!!

Memories Caribe Beach Resort: just ok

public areas were well kept it is a quiet resort, if all you want is to relax good place. If you want more suggest a busier resort. Staff is helpful and pleasant. Plenty of food to choose from with the buffet choices. Alacarte was minimal. Grounds were ok but need a lot of work, this could be due to the hurricane from passed summer.

Melia Jardines del Rey: poorly managed resort, unacceptable for a Melia resort

There were SO many issues with this resort, here are a few examples: Check in was completely disorganized for no reason, handing out maps to some people and bracelets to other people, when everyone needed both. This is not complicated yet they made it so. They gave us a map of the resort that had the wrong info on it (ie the snack bar location is wrong) There was a huge line up to get into the buffet at dinner every night, once we waited 30 minutes to get in, not great when you are traveling [... read more] with a baby. There were often no clean tables inside the buffet, we had to clean the table ourselves, at breakfast and at dinner. There were no clean utensils or plates inside the buffet on many occasions, had to eat with our fingers a few times because waiting for staff to bring clean utensils was useless. Had asked the waiter at the buffet for tea (because you can't just get it yourself) in the morning multiple times without getting it, only to be told the 3rd time the buffet is now closed. Had asked the waiter for OJ in the morning 3 times only to watch them bring it to other tables in the vicinity but not ours. Again, would have gotten it ourselves but this is not an option. Line up to get pasta 45 minutes long and the guy making it taking his sweet time with a smirk on his face. Had asked for a crib in our room for my 2 month old daughter, instead got a pull out couch for her. Aside from being less than safe for a baby, I also could not cover her with the mosquito net I brought and she got eaten by mosquitoes overnight. Poor thing covered in bites. They staffed the bar on the beach with 2 bartenders. No matter how fast they worked they could not keep up with demand. I counted 45 people in line for a drink at one point.... no idea why they only had 2 guys working the beach. All of these issues boil down to poor management, plain and simple. I know Cuba has limited resources but the above issues have nothing to do with this. I have been to Cayo Coco before and this resort was shocking. I would never go back to this resort and would never recommend it.

Iberostar Origin Playa Pilar: Relaxing Vacation

This was our 12th vacation to Cuba, 2 adults and a teen. Nice new hotel, very comfortable beds and pillows, nice ocean view from most of the rooms, well maintained grounds, plenty of chairs at the pool and the beach. Food at the buffet was average, Japanese a la carte better than the others. Suggestion to add ambient music to the a la carte restaurants, as there is no atmosphere to go with the specific of the restaurant. They did a great job with the decks at beach to avoid the rocky areas, howe [... read more]ver there is no beach to walk on at the hotel, but Playa Pilar beach is within 15 minutes walk. Pool was nice and clean. Nice people, good service. Overall, a very relaxing vacation.

Melia Jardines del Rey: Great vacation

This was my second stay at Melia Jardines del Rey. The good: Beach is stunning, lots of lounge chairs at both beach and pool. Hot and cold drinks were great. Food was surprisingly good. Entertainment was amazing. Some staff went out of their way to be helpful. The bad: the restaurant managers have poor customer service and don't appear to be well trained. As a result, too many lineups for food and drinks at most restaurants and bars. Staff seems overwhelmed and not happy, this is sad as I be [... read more]lieve Cubans are generally happy people.

Melia Jardines del Rey: Cayo Coco, Cuba

Nice long beach. Some snorkeling but limited from our experience. Nice pools but not heated - a problem when the weather is not hot. Food was as expected for Cuba. A la cart restaurants were mixed. International Bistro was our favourite. Drinks were basic. Rooms were ok. Pillows were not comfortable. Service was good. Would recommend if at a budget price.

Melia Cayo Coco: Even better second time around!!

Second time visiting the hotel within a year and, after a not so favorable vacation in Cayo Santa Maria, have fallen back in love with Cuba, in no small part to the Melia resort in Cayo Coco! We were amazed at how dedicated and industrious the Cuban people must have been to get the hotel back up in working order and re-opened after the hurricane, in such a short amount of time! We were shown pictures by the staff of the devastation and it is a really a testament to the wonderful people of Cu [... read more]ba. Almost everything we loved from our first visit was back and in working order but, the staff 'bent over backwards' to ensure our stay was perfect and we almost didn't notice the few discrepancies. The 'jewel of Melia's crown' is their staff and was always greeted with a smile after each request and was left wanting for nothing. Everyone from the management staff to the serving staff and gardeners was always pleasant and welcoming and asked if they could help in any way, and the main reason we play to re-visit this hotel again in the very near future!

Hotel Vigia: Great resort for the price!

We just spent 14 days at this resort over Christmas and New Years. I can't say enough about the staff of this resort. They were so friendly and helpful. The food was great with lots of choices. The beach is beautiful! This resort is not as lush as it used to be due to the hurricane damage, but it is still beautiful. We loved the small size of the resort and the quiet atmosphere. We really recommend this resort for a traveller on a budget. Big bang for your buck!

Memories Flamenco Beach Resort: Beautiful beach and fantastic staff

The beach is beautiful! The staff is amazing. The resort is still recovering from the hurricane. There was an awful smell of sewerage around the resort during our stay and the public washrooms were dirty. The resort is a nice but definitely not five-star hotel. The al carte restaurants are nice but the buffet was very repetitively. The entertainment team was excellent.

Iberostar Origin Daiquiri: Ok resort

The beach and pool was not bad but the room and beds were even not ok service was good I didn't like most of the food only salad bar and chees were good frout was awe full no test at all. But nice people activities didn't worth for the price.

Hotel Mojito: Good resort, EXCELLENT location

Resort was damaged by hurricane. Trees were depleted, but, hotel and staff doing their best. Too many kite surfers take away from this once PRESTNE beach. Have been to this resort 5 x's and 2 x's at the Imelia

Melia Jardines del Rey: Just ok....

I travelled with my family of 4 (2 kids, ages 4 and 7 years old) December 29 - January 5, and knew what to expect when going to Cuba. We don't go for the food, so the expectation wasn't very high. The resort was exactly the way it was presented in the pictures (which was refreshing), however there were several things that needed improvement - and I'm guessing it was only because its a busy time of year, and staff just couldn't keep up. 1. no clean pool towels until day 3 - thankfully I  [... read more]brought the kids towels from home 2. washrooms were almost always less than desirable - cleaning staff didn't use cleaning products, just paper towels to clean them (which I witnessed on several occasions) 3. often times there was no toilet paper in the stalls - but available upon request 4. kids feet/toes were getting little cuts on them when swimming in any/all of the pools (almost every kid at the pool had band-aids on their feet/toes (so strange) 5. There were no activities during the day for the kids at all - the kids club was always empty and nothing to do, other than a slide and a swing set that my daughter cut her finger on So to be fair, we didn't eat at any of the a la carte restaurants (and the people that I spoke to that did, said the food was fantastic), because we heard the wait was much too long for my young children, so I'm only able to review the food at the places that offered buffet style and the 24 hour snack bar. 1. the food was almost cold or overcooked and mushy, or undercooked and pink and not edible 2. there was almost always no condiments, including ketchup, syrup, and butter 3. the line ups for any thing cooked to order, were at least 15 minutes - omelets and crepes 4. bread in the morning was almost always hard (stale) So overall, I probably would recommend the resort for families, because it has potential and it was very nice. The transfer to the airport was quick and easy, and the beach was stunning. Despite all the small inconveniences, we still had an enjoyable time, however I would never travel during the holidays again. I'll wait a week and go when the resort is less busy and the staff can keep up.

Tryp Cayo Coco: Not ready yet after hurricane

Overall the stay was ok however I do not believe that this resort is quite ready to open after the hurricane. There is a lack of public washrooms, the beach washrooms are not operational at all, and there are no washrooms available at the the pool at all. The only public washrooms were outside of the buffet, or in the lobby bar but they were only 1/2 operational as stalls were close and daily and there was a foul smell coming from all of them. The food was adequate, but nothing to write ho [... read more]me about. After all it is buffet everyday. They did have 3 fresh cooking stations open at each sitting breakfast had 2 egg / omelet and 1 French toast / pancake station and they did have bacon every morning Lunch and supper had -1 meat station (pork chops, chicken, steak and liver) The chicken and pork were very good -1 fish station with 5 varieties daily 1- pasta station And the also had a pizza station most lunches and suppers The rooms were older but they were ok for Cuba. They had a tv with about 6 English channels including stars, and Disney for kids. They had double pillows and extra blankets already in the room where it normally takes a few days to get these. The downside was there was some plumbing problems on a couple days with backup. The staff were excellent in all areas including customer service, reception,the bars and restaurants. The pools were all open and in good running condition however there were no lifeguards at the pool or beach My suggestion is if you want to stay here is wait till next year. They are working daily in the resort but it’s still not ready As far as Cayo Coco goes the island was hit hard by the hurricane, there are many resorts that are not in operation and there appears to be no effort to fix them. Also the weather was bad for 3 days while we were there and the town was about $100 to go to and an hour each way so not much to do when it’s cliydt and rainy

Memories Caribe Beach Resort: LOVELY RESORT

This was our first visit to Memories Caribe. We have also been to two other resorts in Cayo Coco. We arrived January 1st at the resort about 5.00 pm. Our check-in was very efficient. The staff were happy and polite. We did not get the Lake-view superior room I had booked, instead they upgraded us to a Junior suite which was also Lake-view # 3901. It's not one of the renovated rooms but it was completely acceptable with a nice size patio. The bathroom had an indoor shower and an outdoor shower.  [... read more]There was also a door on the bathroom which I know many people have been inquiring about. I was completely amazed at how much work these people have completed in such a short period of time after such a devastating hurricane.The gardeners are working as hard as ever to make the grounds beautiful. There has been a lot of devastation to the trees and vegetation. The food was pretty good. Lots of variety. Great pasta bar and stir fry bar. Lots of fresh vegetables and fruit. There were a few different salad dressings and hot sauce too. The pool bar was very good with a great selection of snacks 24 hours a day. Fries, Pizza, Hamburgers, Ham and cheese. The pool itself is very well kept and looks great. We tried the Asian restaurant. It was very nice. We ordered Lobster in the morning at the wine tasting store and they brought it to the restaurant. It was excellent. 20 CUC per lobster. The piano bar in the Lobby is nice and they have good drinks. There was a very nice ambiance there with the pianist playing. There was also a Saxophone player and he was excellent. It was a busy place as the weather was not great the week we were there. The nightly entertainment was outstanding. The dancers work so hard rehearsing and put 100% effort into their shows. There was a Michael Jackson show which was fantastic. With the weather being bad, some of the shows were moved to the lobby. The dancers improvised so well and still performed amazingly. If you want to go to the disco, a bus picks you up at the resort and takes you to Memories Flamingo and returns at 1.00 am and 2.00 am. Drinks at the disco were 3.25 each.There are many day trips available if you want to do something different. Visiting the city of Moron is a nice day trip. Apart from the weather, which no one can control we had a great time and met many nice people. I would visit Memories Caribe again as everyone was so friendly and helpful. For the people who post negative comments about the resort: please remember the devastation this country has suffered and the rebuilding they are doing. If you want to eat the same food as you eat at home then don't go to a foreign country. Be open minded and embrace their culture and traditions. Thank you Memories Caribe and all of your staff for making our stay so enjoyable.

Melia Jardines del Rey: Nice place a few service issues

The resort was clean and fairly new and in good repair after the hurricane in October but the bar service was often slow. At the Trattoria al a carte we waited two hours for our order and were told "Dont atart a war" when we asked what the hold up was.

Memories Caribe Beach Resort: A trip we regret taking

This resort has nothing in place in the event of bad weather, which we had four/four days of last week. There was really nothing to do, nowhere to go, and everything is a walk to get around the resort. Not cool in 30km/h cold winds under grey skies. The lobby is open concept so there’s almost nowhere to go if the weather is bad except your room, but then you have no access to food or bar. The food was literally the same every single day and it was pretty bad - even for Cuba. And we have pr [... read more]etty low expectations that still this resort managed to fail to meet. Beans, olives, beets, potatoes, gerkins, cucumbers, same cut of pork, chicken and beef every day. Nothing in mini-fridge. Cups they give drinks in are so small that you can’t even bring drinks back to your room unless you remember to bring your own thermos or bubba cup. Not that you could drink a lot there... everything they served was so sweet with heaping tablespoons of sugar added to everything. Phone in room wasn’t hooked up; no batteries in remote. We honestly just wanted to go home!

Hotel Playa Coco: Nice 🌴 beach

Our experience at playa coco was quiet chaotic We had to change room 3 times during our stay.1room had no air conditioning and the patio door did'nt open and the must we had frogs. room 2 ,door did'nt close and toilet problems that go to the bathtub and when we call to complain about ,the maintenance take time to come! finely the last room was good. The hotel was touched by the last hurricane and they rebuilt without putting quality. The food was ok and the beach was amazing

Melia Costa Rey: Good Resort

My second visit to the Pullman, upgraded from Gardenview to Partial Ocean View, restaurants were prebooked, very nice. There was no internet access, very surprising, were told it was because we had IPhone. I paid about $65.00 just in roaming charges trying to connect. Beach was beautiful, but there was a lot of seaweed, it was finally picked up. Pool, beautiful and clean. Lots of lounge chairs and towels. In general the resort was clean, however, the bathrooms around the Grill area and pool  [... read more]were not very clean and often no toilet paper (disappointing) Rooms were beautiful and very well maintained-loved the shower! The food was good, restaurants and buffet. There was often a 15 minute wait at the various grills, service was very slow, frustrating. The main lobby and bar areas were clean, good seating, good service, excellent variety. The resort is very child friendly, and there were lots of children. If you are in the mood for quiet, relaxing or romantic resort you may not find it here. Overall, it was a good time.

Memories Caribe Beach Resort: Good resort - Stayed Dec 30 to Jan 6 2018

The resort itself was decent, some damage from the hurricane which the staff cleaned up and fixed fairly well. All staff was very nice and helpful. Not much variety at the buffet but the food was decent. Not the place to go if you're looking for a nightlife. One of the bars is basically hidden, no signs or anything...we didn't find it til day 4 of our vacation. The entertainment at night was good. The beach is beautiful but not for someone looking to snorkel offshore. Our room was  [... read more]kept clean, maids were good. The shower didn't work that great in our room and beer fridge was not filled so a bit of a bummer. We were able to exchange money at the front desk which was very useful for when the bank was closed. The snack bar is open 24/7 which is very handy. Takes about 30-60 mins from airport to resort depending if you're picking up other people at other resorts. Not really any villages nearby just resorts so if you're looking to visit a village/city then visiting Moron is your best bet. We didn't have good weather when we went, maybe 3 days of sun and the rest of the time it was cold, cloudy, rainy and very windy but I'm told it's just that time of year and bad luck. Overall decent resort! P.s. The churros and hot chocolate are the best !

Iberostar Origin Playa Pilar: Iberostar Playa Pilar: Excellent Service

We stayed at the Iberostar Playa Pilar on Dec 29, 2017-Jan 5, 2018. Here is a summary of the good points and those which could use improvement. The Good: • Service was excellent all over the resort. From the check in to the chamber maid to bartenders to bellhops. The staff here are friendly and good at their jobs. • As soon as we got off the bus, welcomed us with a cold slushy drink. We asked for a cot (and actually got one without asking a bunch of times). • Reservations for the  [... read more]a la cartes were painless to obtain. • Resort is close to Playa Pilar which is a beautiful beach. Lots of ways to get there (bus, walk on the road, walk along the coast). • They did a great job of the New Year’s party: gave guests party bag with horns, hats, etc. and lovely entertainment. • Entertainment in the evening was good. Staff brought drinks to you while you watched. • Japanese a la carte was excellent – delicious food and a fun time. • When the sea is calm, you can snorkel off the resort. The Less Good: • It is Cuba, so food isn’t good. We found the things we could get by with but aside from the Japanese, we didn’t really enjoy the food. We were glad to have brought snacks (Pringles, etc) • The weather wasn’t good (cold and windy) so there isn’t anything really to do if the beach and pool are not happening for you. It’s a function of location. Perhaps the entertainment staff could put on special games or something when weather isn’t cooperating. • The beach at the resort isn’t good as the boardwalk blocks your entire view of the sea. • There is a tonne of trash on shore (still recovering from Irma). • There store is nearly nonexistent so hopefully you don’t forget anything. • Mosquitos or sand fleas are terrible. You don’t feel them biting you and the next day you discover they have feasted on your flesh. • The airport is terrible in Cayo Coco. Line ups to get food are unmanageable (try to eat before you go and take snacks from the resort if possible). Not enough seats in the airport for all passengers.