Melia jardines del rey

Just came back Apr 7/17 from 10 days in Cayo Coco- Melia Jardines del Rey. We had a great time the food was good, our room was beautiful with a walk in shower. The service was great and bungalow 25 had a great location close to lobby bar and main buffet. It backed onto the pool that had an amazing fried chicken restaurant. The only exception was our room faced the market/disco, the 1st few nights didn't bother us but next time I would ask for a pool view - it would muffle the sound of the  [... read more]music. jAlways plenty of toilet paper, clean room & close to the airport only 1 beer ride.

Beautiful staff bad management

The grounds are lovely ,rooms are great looking,plumbing not the best, food is good if you can get a plate to put it on and don't expect a hot coffee or tea at the buffet it took 3 days to get a beach towel at customer service where we were constantly sent us they never seemed to be able to get things done,hopefully you do not have a emergency medical or floods because no one will answer the phone. you are given only one number to call for everything there is no information in the room regarding [... read more] anything about the resort what events were going on etc!We arrived late at night thank goodness we have been to other resorts we were given our keys and sent on our way to pathways that were not lit to find our room and building witch were not marked well or lit up we were not very happy no one at the resort or transat reps were very helpful in coming up with options that would resolve our issues ( that was found in a travel agent that overheard our conversation) Beaches incredible

Fabulous vacation!!!

The hotel was amazing and staff were fabulous! Shout out to Yandy in entertainment and Bombino for being so welcoming!! Rooms were clean and if there was something needed staff was ready to accommodate. Will be returning for sure!!

Wow !

What a week ! Superb hotel ! The beach is beautifull! The staff friendly , something to eat for everyone! Love it !!! Our bungalow was well located close to the beach and the pool. We went to Pilar beach , wow is an understatement ! Incredible!!!

Excellent Resort

This is the best resort in cayo coco by far.. We have stayed at every resort in cayo coco and this one blows them all.. no comparison.. This is our second year in a row and it only gets better.. We found the food even better than last year and the beach has no rocks anymore..if anyone is looking to go there you will be very surprised at this new hotel.. A must for any Cuban vacation..

Get it cheap and lower your expectations.

Crowded and very basic with a beautiful beach. Read the reviews to be prepared to make up for short falls and you might like your stay. This is not a luxury resort. If you have anything close to luxury taste you'll be disappointed. There are no plush beds, heavenly pillows or attentive service here. You'll need to adapt bring things and be prepared to be very assertive to enjoy your stay. They often run out of beach towels, they need to be asked repeatedly for the bottled drinking water and fo [... read more]r adequate housekeeping. Keep in mind all inclusive does not include any snacks, typical salads or what I call drinks. Bring lots of sunscreen and bug spray! They do not stock these items and there are no drugstores anywhere close. The pillows were awful rock hard so pack at least one. To be sure you are prepared bring at least a couple of your own beach towels for days they won't have them for you and so you can claim a lounger very early in the morning at the pool or beach. If you show up midmorning you'll be out of luck. They do not have Coke or Pepsi and no kind of diet pop of any kind. When I asked for a margarita they used drink crystals and most people seemed to be drinking things like beer or basics like rum and "cola". No where did I see standard appetizers or even convience snacks like chips or crackers, dips or chocolate bars. Finally if your a smoker this is a paradise. They did not allow smoking inside but people smoked at outside bars, eating area patios, poolside and even while in the pools!

Great resort

Hotel was huge and very clean,lots of walking,but, there were carts to take you anywhere on the property. Food was ok,but,remember it is Cuba,the buffet was good,as you could walk around a choose what you wanted,and the dessert table,well,you will never starve . The staff were very friendly,our favourite was..andy,as I could not pronounce his whole name......handro at the end,lol...our room was always clean had heard reports of no towels,well they well plentiful when we were there the beach  [... read more]was really nice and kept clean had to be there early to get a cabana no bad reports from me would go back again

MIND BLOWING VACATION

This was mine and my husbands first trip anywhere and it was absolutely amazing. This resort is very big so lots of walking but very clean and beautiful. The beach was amazing the food was ok but from what I heard Cuba isn't known for its food. But it was good enough for me and I'm very picky. We arrived about 4 hours before check In so our room wasn't ready but that's not there fault. The room was always cleaned and fridge restocked. My friend even asked for like 10 extra beer and they  [... read more]gave him 14 so it was perfect. Highly recommend this resort. Had a wonderful time for our first trip. We already planned while there to go away again next year. We have officially gotten the travel bug. And I'm so excited.

A great resort

Food was good, the beach and water was amazing, the people were nice and cater to everything we needed.. exciting entertainment every night.. more than enough pools with swim up bars. definitely would recommend this resort to friends and family

Super beautiful & clean resort

perfect place for relaxation, we enjoyed a white sandy narrow beach, ocean water was nice blue, clear and had gentle waves, a lot of space for all, endless enjoyment, soft music for relaxation. Great activities such as dancing and volleyball, drinks are available all time service come to us direct , we had spend the whole day on the beach and enjoyed a good meal at the beach snack bar, or had a hotdog sandwich or hamburger Public washrooms very clean , Our room was supper clean with new AC u [... read more]nit and modern furniture facing the swimming pool which was supper nice big and clean , activities and games arround the swimmg pool are great , morning breakfast was perfect , lunch and dinner are good but chiken and beaf little over cooked, could have been much better, front desk service is great and quick, specially check in was excellent, rooms were ready at 11 am, upon arrival we were offered some drinks while receiving our room keys, and information about the resort. Employee were very friendly and helpful all in all it was a great nice vacation and will never be forgotten

Super beautiful clean resort

perfect place for relaxation, enjoy a white sandy narrow beach, blue clear water with gentle waves, a lot of space for all, endless enjoyment,soft music for relaxation, and great activities, dancing, volleyball, drinks , if you like to spend the whole day on the beach and enjoy a good meal at the beach snack bar, if you love BBQ you will can havea hotdog sandwich, or hamburger, clean public washrooms, our room was supper clean with new AC units and moder furniture, swimming pool is supper nice  [... read more]big and clean , activity arround pool and games are great ,food good but little over cooked and could be better, front desk service is great and quick, specially check in was excellent, rooms were ready at 11 am, upon arrival they gathered us in a closed room with Ac , they offered us drinks while we got our room keys, and provided us with some information about the resort, all in all it was agreat vacation and we had nice time, we visited the pilar beach which suppose to be tne best in Caya coco but frankly I felt the resort beach was way more beautiful and fancy than the Pilar beach , you will never regret a visit to this amazing place

Great Winter GetAway

Very nice resort, rooms were clean, food was good. Ice cream shop was awesome. Beautiful beaches and pools were nice as well. Staff was very freindly and helpful when needed, overall it was a good trip.

Winter Getaway

This was our first trip to Cuba and didn't know what really to expect. Hotel rooms were modern,clean and comfortable, no issues. Staff were extremely friendly, beach was great lots of shells to find. Gardeners were constantly working on the grounds. Lots of variety of food at restaurants, food could've been hotter at the buffets at times. Overall a nice resort and will return in the future.

Beautiful beach!

This was a beautiful, clean and well maintained resort with close to 1100 rooms! The beach was incredible and so was the service! The food was edible - buffets aren't the greatest but we didn't go hungry. A la cartes had great food.The back end of the resort smelled like sewage for the first few days until they had a truck come in and pump it out.. after that no issues! Great nightly entertainment and overall we had a great time!

LOVED THIS RESORT - We will be back for sure!!

We were there for 12 days and honestly it was amazing!! First of all I would like to thank the amazing staff at this resort.....in particular BOMBINO & LIVI ( entertainment team) who made our stay so much fun. I have been fortunate enough to travel to many countries and I can honestly say this was the best beach I have ever been to!! There are enough beach cabanas for a fully booked hotel during March break!! Never a hassle to find a good spot at the pools either. I loved that there ar [... read more]e two sets of pools - if you want to chill there is a quiet set of pools and if you feel like dancing and having fun there is a whole other set of pools. Rooms are clean and comfortable and great water pressure in the showers even though we were in building 25 on the third floor!! My family and I were going there thinking food would be tasteless BUT we were pleasantly surprised it was great just like any 5 star resort in Dominican Republic. The A La Carte restaurants were amazing so book them when you arrive as it is well worth it. Evening entertainment is 5 star - the show, singers, kids entertainment.....everything really. We had the chance to visit the Melia Cayo Guillermo and Memories BUT even though those are both 5 star resorts the Melia Jardines Del Rey is much better. We cannot wait to go back to Melia Jardines Del Rey and will not even look at another resort. Thank you to all the staff there and to Wendy from Trip Central for recommending this resort. Tanya

Amazing resort!

This resort is very well planned out, from multiple restaurants, variety of foods, impecable grounds, double swimming pools, amazing staff and very clean rooms and the amazing beachfront. All perfect for a complete and relaxing stay.

This was an awesome resort. My family and I will return here

My family and I stayed at the Melia Jardines Del Ray in Caya Coco, Cuba from the 8th to the 19th of March 2017. It was our first time vacationing in Cuba and from some of the reviews we read online I must admit we were at first, apprehensive. I was wrong. There have been about 50 years of economic sanctions on this tiny island which have burden the ordinary people tremendously but at the same time, have made Cubans very resilient, resourceful and proud in every aspect of their lives. This ove [... read more]rall positive, happy attitude is woven into the very fabric of their culture. It is something I admire and respect greatly. There are 2 Cuban currencies. The Convertible Cuban Peso (CUC, which tourists use) and the Cuban Peso (which only Cubans can use). When a waiter/waitress earns say for example 1 CUC the government will receive a percentage on this CUC when it’s exchanged into Cuban Peso’s. I’ve broken down my comments, thoughts and observations into 7 main categories:- 1) Staff 2) Food 3) Lobby/Checking in and out 4) Entertainment 5) Rooms 6) Grounds/facilities 7) Suggestions for improvement and things to bring 1) Staff I can’t give enough praise to the staff members at this resort. If you take the time to speak to them and get to know them, even on a superficial level, you will find out that they work for approximately12 hours daily at a stretch. They deal with a variety of different and sometimes difficult people with different expectations, languages and cultures. For all intent and purposes the staff work for nothing and rely solely on tips. I suggest asking anyone of these fine people how much they get paid. You will be shocked at just how meagre their salaries are. To top it all they do not insist on tips and will serve you exactly the same way whether you tip them or not. The standard of service of all the staff was very good in my opinion however there were staff members who definitely stood out from the rest for their work ethic, approachability, friendliness, people skills and always being there when things got busy. The staff are mentioned in no particular order and these people made our stay very memorable. THEY are the reason we will be returning to this resort. They are:- - Bombino (from entertainment) - Livi (from entertainment) - Chino (beach entertainment) - Yeni (main buffet) - Pollo (main buffet) - Nisbel (main buffet) - Yendry (from entertainment) - Oreni (Aqua Restaurant head waiter. This was my favourite restaurant) - Lisandra (Aqua Restaurant) - Ernesto (resort shuttle driver, ride that nice bicycle hard mi amigo) - Dagne (Lobby waitress) - Ersy (Lobby waitress) - Claudio (gardener at the beach area) - Reisei (gardener at the beach area) - Humberto (buffet manager) - Yadira (lobby waitress) - Raul (Spanish coffee maker. Man those coffees were good in the evening) - Geidy (lobby waitress) - Brandy (main lobby barman) If you go to this resort I urge you to take the extra time to speak to the staff, find out where they come from and show some interest in their lives. They are really wanting to serve you well if given the chance to do so. The above mentioned people made our stay in this resort so, so, so much better and more fulfilling. Thank you. 2) Food Before we attended this resort I read some bad stories about the food. We attended during the Canadian March break and there were approximately 1600 – 1800 (possibly more) on the resort at the time. We found the food was well prepared and varied enough to suit most fussy palates. Yes there was ketch up and mustard. We chose the Aqua, French, Italian and Japanese restaurants. The Aqua was my favourite because I like seafood. The French restaurant was also very good. Book your restaurants when you get there! I found the burgers that were BBQ’ed on the beach were delicious as well. If you are wanting to eat off the resort make enquiries about a 5 star restaurant on the beach approximately 2 kms from the resort. It’s call Lenny’s Bar and Grill. I never went there myself but I heard good reviews from people who did go there. 3) Lobby / Check in and out This resort has probably got the nicest lobby in Cayo Coco. It’s spacious and clean with plenty sitting areas. In the evenings there are at least 4 bars within the lobby area and about 10 to 15 waitresses taking drink orders. The lobby is very festive especially in the evenings. The cappuccino’s and Spanish coffee’s (in the evening) are really good. 4) Entertainment I’ve been to a few all-inclusive resorts and by far, the entertainment I saw here has been the best and most organised. There are various shows that are performed in the lobby and on the entertainment stage. Earlier in the evening the kids get a show as well which they seem to enjoy. All the dance routines and performers have worked really hard to put on some amazing shows. The acrobatic dance routine really stands out. All loud music and entertainment ends at 11:00PM and only the disco will continue after 11PM until about 2AM. There is a solo artist/singer, his name was JAIME He has an amazing voice. WOW is all I can say! We would wait every night just to hear him sing. It was nice to listen to old classic “Western style songs” which I grew up with and also a nice change from the constant drum of Latin inspired music which we heard all day. Please don’t get me wrong, I love Latin/Cuban music it was just nice to have a little bit of a change in the evenings. Jaime if you ever consider going on tour in Canada, please let me know! We went to Pilar Beach which is a 5 CUC round trip. This beach was absolutely amazing and well worth the trip. On our way back we stopped at the 5 Star Melia Caya Coco Guillermo Resort for lunch. The food was very, very good. Make these arrangements with the reception at Melia Jardines Del Rey prior to going there. 5) Rooms Please bear in mind that I don’t attach much importance to a room at an all-inclusive resort. As long as it’s quiet, clean, with a functioning toilet and shower I’m happy. I don’t spend much time in the bedroom while on vacation and so added decorations does not add value to my stay. The rooms were clean and comfortable. If you consider that there is an embargo on Cuba then these rooms are great! The beds were firm/hard and the pillows where kind of flat. Luckily I had bought 2 of my own pillows from home so I was set. The air conditioner, shower and toilet all worked fine. When we arrived toilet needed fixing. We called and within the hour the problem was rectified. The safe is free and easy to use. If you can, prior to arriving, ask for the 2nd or 3rd floor rooms. There are fewer mosquitos or black flies at that level. The fridge was always stocked with beer, soft drinks and water. There is a TV with Spanish, French and American channels. On a side note, I don’t know why anybody would want to stay inside to watch TV though. That is just my personal opinion. 6) Beach, Grounds and Facilities This is a big resort. There are 2 main pool areas. If you are looking/facing the beach the large pool area on your right is the “busy/party” pool. There is a swim up bar and these awesome cabana’s. The cabana’s can be used on a first come first get basis. The large pool on your left is the quieter pool area with cabanas as well. Unless you want the cabanas there are more than enough pool deck chairs and shady areas for everybody. When you arrive you will get tokens for your towels. We never had a problem getting towels and actually bought our own towels based on other reports we had read. We hardly used them. The pool was a clean as it could be considering the amount of people at the resort. There was small amounts of algae in some spots but it never bothered me. In fact the pool water was not heavily chlorinated which I preferred more. The ocean and beach are beautiful. There is a beach bar which gets really busy. There are lots of beach cabanas for shade and chairs for everybody! If you are facing the ocean, a short 20 minute walk to your right brings you to a nice rock out crop. This is a nice snorkeling spot on calm days. The hotel provides fins and masks on Tuesday, Wednesday and Saturdays. They will take you out to this snorkeling spot for free. Whole families would go and it’s not far to walk to (bring your water shoes for the rocks!) I’ve been told there are catamaran excursions which take you out to even better reefs. The ice cream place is an awesome idea and the ice cream was good. 7) Suggestions for improvement and things to bring. To management:- - Fix the public toilets that are clogged! Especially in the lobby and at the pools. - I like privacy when I’m going #2. Why are your toilet stall doors so low? - Spray for mosquitoes and black flies more regularly when most of your clients are asleep. The entertainment stage in the evening was bad for mosquitoes/black flies. Having said that completely I understand that we are in a tropical climate and mosquitos are going to be hard to control. - Please provide your hard working staff with a microphone and loud speakers for announcing activities where ever they may be. I found the check in idea was a very clever and efficient however the poor staff could not call out names loud enough for us all to hear. Microphones and loud speakers are must for these activities. - Why are the main buffet doors from the main lobby closed? - I’m not sure why there is a cover charge for the afterhours disco. - Is it not possible to have complimentary internet service based on the length of stay? - It is possible to have a method of exchanging larger denominations of CUC for tipping? - Name your food dishes accurately in the buffet please. I found this frustrating. - To Hola Sun. I found Eddy, your representative at this resort, to be extremely unhelpful, lazy and rude. If you would like to know more, please contact me (this was my only bad service experience at this resort) Things to consider and things you may want to bring:- - Water shoes - Rope to hang wet bathing suits. - Mask and fins. There is scuba diving at this resort - Hammock. There are trees at the beach ideal for hammocks. I will be bringing one next time. - Large beach chair clips. - Lots of sun screen - Bubba mugs (fewer trips to the bar which can get very busy) - Your own bed pillows. - Ear plugs if you have a room near the lobby and want to go to sleep early. We were in building 25 which is located between the disco and the lobby and I had no issues with the noise levels. Management is very strict with entertainment shut down times. - If you are going to tip staff consider tipping the less obvious staff members, like the gardeners (this is entirely a personal preference and only my personal thoughts) In conclusion, my family and I will be going back to this resort next year. The beach, pools and service were awesome. There are some aspects of this resort (like the staff, food and location) which make this resort a 5 star in my opinion and other aspects which make it a 4 star. The pros of this resort far outweigh the cons.

Fantastic Resort!

We just spent our March Break at this resort with a group of 19 people! WE LOVED IT! The grounds were clean and beautiful...give it a few more years and it will be very lush. The entertainment was spectacular. Different theme nights...White Party was our FAV! Livi was awesome and taught us all some moves! The service was great...Waldo & Branley took good care of us! Food was excellent, something for absolutely everyone! Rooms were very spacious, modern, and clean!

I give this resort 2 thumbs up

We enjoyed everything about this resort from the staff, to the food, to the rooms, the entertainment, the grounds etc . The pools were kept nice and the beach was beautiful. I highly recommend this resort . It's only 20 minutes from the airport. Thank you to our rep Cassandra who recommend we go there .

Good resort

This resort is clean, lots of room for sitting and socializing. The rooms are spacious and clean. The only thing is make sure you pack your off spray as we were eaten alive by mosquitoes inside the rooms and outside. The alla carte restaurants are real treats ( we tried the French, Cuban, and the seafood and they were all great). The beach was outstanding with white sand and clean azure water. We always had our breakfast in the main buffet area (beside the lobby). We were told that there's also  [... read more]an another buffet by the beach for breakfast. The last day we went there for a change, but we were disappointed as it was closed without any sign or notification. Overall, it was a nice stay, except, we tried to contact Sunwing to locate our chargers ( for iPad, camera, tablet, and cellphone) we left in our room, but we couldn't get hold of anyone. We were given an email address of the rep in the resort but no answer!