Nice Resort

The Resort was a Nice Resort in comparison to other resorts I have stayed at as far as star ratings. The A La Cartes that we went to were as follows: Cuban - would not recommend Seafood - would not recommend Italian - would recommend The beach was nice but the sand is a little course. Lots of sharp shells. The pool area was nice, no problems finding chairs. Rooms were clean and the fridge was always stocked daily. Grounds were well maintained and kept clean. Pu [... read more]blic washroom - some didn't have toilet tissue especially in the evenings. Variety of drinks and Mamossa's in the lobby every morning. Food - Food was good and has improved in Cuba over the years. Always found something, never a problem.

Good value-Good times

Really enjoyed this resort. Rooms were modern and clean Beach was amazing Pools very nice Service was good Nice extras-Churros, Frites, Chicken Wings, Specialty drink stations Buffet was average, Grill stations worth the wait

Beautiful Beaches

My husband and I visited the last week of February. Weather was perfect. Beautiful beach, plenty of palapas for shade. Water is lovely. There is a lack of beach towels so bring your own just in case. Employees were for the most part friendly and helpful. Rooms were spacious and kept clean by housekeeping. Bottled water and 2 cans of beer in mini fridge replenished all but one day during our stay. What I didn't like about the room was the walk in shower. There's no door so water  [... read more]floods into room. Terrible design. Shower floor doesn't slope toward the drain. Buffet - hit and miss. Not much variety. Made to order breakfast omelettes were always good. Coffee in the buffet was not good - need to go to lobby or snack bar for a proper cup (so good). A la cartes were alright. The Cuban restaurant was my favorite, Seafood was okay, service was slow even though there weren't many guests, French had excellent service, however the meal wasn't great (the chicken was overdone). A fair bit of broken glass around the property, seemed like guests would walk around with their plate of food or a beverage from the bar and leave it wherever on the grounds. I saw the same pile of plates outside our bungalow for days. Previous reviews mentioning the lack of lighting on paths and algae in the pool were correct. Paths are uneven so if you have mobility issues it could be challenging. We didn't see all the shows, but the ones that we did see weren't very exciting. WiFi only available in lobby or snack bars. We still had fun, and can see the potential for this to be a four star+ but for the price paid I wouldn't recommend.

Gorgeous beach

Overall nice resort! Clean rooms, good food (nothing spectacular), entertainment and activities. As it fairly new (~2 years) I agree with other reviewers who commented on the size of the trees/gardens, ect. Although this is not something to deter you from the resort, the foliage is not lush as it is still newly planted. I would advise if you are bothered/annoyed with small details then this resort is not for you! For example, the maids missed cleaning our room one day, poor drink service in [... read more] the buffet, buffet food was often mis-labelled or not labelled at all, coffee tasted awful, and mini fridge was empty upon arrival. I recomment bringing your own drink cup, as the disposable cups are very small. We spent our entire vacation on the beach, it has beautiful white sand and clear water. There are many many many available cabana huts along the beach. The 2 pools are also nice and well kept, went swimming a couple of times - less competition for pool chairs compared to beach chairs. We enjoyed the bowling alley! only 5 pesos per game

Great Resort

We opted for this resort as we wanted a short flight from TO due to health reasons. We enjoyed our stay and customer service people Enrique, Aziel, Arlietty and Ricardo were all awesome, all though we had no complains to make, we like meeting the staff. The Lobby bar people were all great especially Alicia who has the best smile and is always super friendly. Aramis and his son on the beach were awesome, but people took out their frustration on them, as people go at dawn to prebook spots with t [... read more]heir towels, so by 8 am, every shaded spot is taken, and almost nobody on the beach on those spots for hours. The resort should have rules in regards to this.. one hour max or unattended towels will be removed, to make it fair for everyone; same for the pool area. Lots of selfish people..you cannot be in two spots at the same time. Other resorts we have been to have this rule in place, and it works..There are plenty of chairs, but unless you want to be crispy burnt, they are of no use. Room was large and comfortable and our maid Youdelkis was amazing and we always had a spotless room, towels etc. Beach towels..folks stop complaining..check out the resort info..it sits on a protected area and all laundry is done 3hrs away at a facility to protect the environment, so don't rely on this, take a beach towel just in case, we always do, not that big a deal. Food was good, as Cuban fare goes, but we enjoyed the Seafood Rest, the French Rest and the Italian was also fair. The buffet has something for everyone and there is no shortage of a variety of food groups, cheeses, fruit, desserts and they have a 24hour snack bar, ice cream parlour is open till 11pm. Drinks as per my husband, since I do not drink alcohol, were overall good..the local beer is good, and premium drinks are available, but you have to pay extra. Grounds are nice and the gardiners are constantly working in the heat to maintain them, so don't forget to show some praise and offer a peso or even a pop from your room, it is well appreciated. Overall smile, enjoy Cuban hospitality, remember at all times that Cuba is their home therefore respect it and don't forget to tip as they well deserve it and need it. Overall an awesome holiday and we hope to do it again soon.

Beautiful beach you can walk forever

This was a large resort, so be prepared to do some walking. The staff was very helpful and welcoming. The beach was definitely the biggest asset. There was nightly musical entertainment that was very good. In particular, I liked the men's quartet. There was also however, a market place adjacent to the resort, and music played there very loudly until 230 am, and then started again at 7 am. This wasn't my idea of a peaceful vacation. The resort is well laid out, but lighting at night is an  [... read more]issue. There are very few of the walkways that are sufficiently lit at night. The coffee was often cold and weak which is a disappointment for Cuba. The food is improving. On the whole, we had a great holiday. Think it is more suited for the younger set however, because the noise at night was nasty.

Very nice resort

This resort really exceeded my expectations. It's pretty new and very clean. The entertainment throughout the resort was fantastic. There was something for everyone. The food was good for Cuba. Always plenty to eat and better than I've had at other resorts in Cuba. Pools were amazing. Staff were so nice and always smiling. I would definitely return to this resort.

Very good resort

nothing wrong to say about this resort....nice beach,clean room,staff are very friendly,no line up at the buffet and always found something good to eat...amazing place we loved it.....................

A vacation is what you makeit!

Well the resort is very large lots of options for food and entertainment fun evening life. The beach was amazing could walk forever white sand lots of fish and shells a beachcombers delight. Service was a little lacking big resort seemed like they were to busy to get friendly. Had a hard time getting beach towels bring your own. It is remote so if you like exploring its not the place. The power went out a few times a bit freaky I brought a candle flashlight and battery operated mini lights so we [... read more] were good. There is no shopping on the resort to speak of didn't spend any coin really. Here is my biggest complaint the pools were gross green algae all along the sides of all the pools YUCK! Thank God the beach was wonderful!

Great beaches!!

Everything was ok except the lineups to get eggs in the morning or fish at lunchtime. These were the 2 most nutritious meals but the hardest to get. The beach was wonderful and lots of lounge chairs... The rooms were very clean which is most important

Melia Jardines review

Very large resort , line ups for food where sometimes very long . The Al-a-carts where very good . Great beach Be prepared for the mosquitoes at night . They come out in droves . The resort only sprayed the site once .Most of them ended up in the first and second floors of the units . Management did not respond to our requests for our room to be sprayed .Had to sleep most nights with a sheet over your head .would wake up in morning with bits all over your body . Housekeepers are the best on [... read more] the island , they go out of there way to help . entertainment was very good and very professional . Cuba food is Cuba food the beach had broken glass on it , you need to wear water shoes

Holiday from Hell

Hotel was poor I guess our expectations were to high food was tasteless and nothing restaurant washrooms were filthy seemed like they haven't been cleaned in weeks telephone in our room didn't work asked for 2016 more pillows never received I got them from the maid finally our friends room didn't have a toilet seat staff friendly wife had to go to medical clinic got dignitary very disappointing

Our stay at the melia jardin del rey

This is not a 4 star hotel! The first room we were given was coated in mosquitoes and dead mosquito guts. The room and area stank of sewage and even parts of the beach reeked of septic system. The shower didn't work properly and we constantly had to beg for towels. Beach towels were a rare commodity so once you got one you had to hang onto it as there were no clean ones to exchange it. It was understaffed and in horrible condition for a two year old building. I am covered in mosquito bites! Have [... read more] never experienced that many insects in a resort. I will never go back again and will dissuade others from choosing this destination.

The good and the not so good

This resort is pretty large so lots of walking. There are shuttles but they don't run on a regular schedule. The lobby is awesome and the entertainment (woodwind quintet, vocal groups and good bands) is really good if you know where to find it. Over one area of the bar is a television screen which tells you what's happening. We didn't find this until day 3! Check in ran smoothly but no map of the grounds was included with our keys. Signage is lacking so it was easy to get lost. The food w [... read more]as average for Cuba. The specialty restaurants were mediocre; for example the gnocchi at the Italian restaurant was shell pasta. I should have known better. Absolutely beautiful beach (take all your stuff, it's a hike) with a restaurant and bar. The restaurant is open for breakfast too. Lots of chairs and shade areas. Coral as you walk out in the water so be careful but a great sandbar about 50' out which was lovely. Room set up is odd. Either a king bed and walk in shower and a sofa or twin beds, pull out couch and a bathtub. I'm short, I had to climb in. My parents wanted twin beds and the walk in shower. No dice. Weird. Mosquitoes. OMG What can I say? We were eaten alive despite the property being fogged often. Ladies, don't bother bringing perfume, just use bug spray. We put a towel against our door to keep them out. Bring OFF as the Cuban bug spray is expensive and ineffective. The staff was very nice all over the resort. I was disappointed in the coffee. It was hit and miss depending on where you were but I've always found Cuban coffee really good. This wasn't. You get what you pay for and this was an inexpensive getaway. We were at the Pullman, Cayo Coco in November and had a much better experience.

Affordable Vacation

The hotel was modern considering other resorts in Cuba, rooms were clean, bugs were present at times. The food was not good at all, in fact disappointing. The resort was big lots of pool areas and chairs to sit and lounge on. The resort was under staffed, not a lot of service and the staff was not that friendly. The beach area was very nice ocean was beautiful, but lots of jelly fish. Luggage was severely damaged I had to tape it up to make trip home, thanks to Cubana Air, we flew with Holas [... read more]un and their service representative at the hotel was a joke not helpful in any way on both occasions when we went to speak to them they seemed annoyed. If you don't expect much you will get your values worth.

Best week ever!

Beautiful ,welcoming,safe,fun, wonderful, enjoyable staff! Dining, has lots to offer, somewhat repetitive , but fairly good! Well taken care of, maintained! Location close to airport is wonderful. Spacious, large resort! Beach is spectacular! Swim up bar is convenient, and wondeful service!

Disappointing Resort!

This was my first trip to Cuba and did a lot of research on my hotel choice and picked the Melia Jardines because other than it being busy, there were really no negative reviews that I could find. It was a new resort and looked great in pictures. The resort was very nice, rooms were clean however it was a very rocky start to our trip. We arrived at our hotel just before 1:00pm on Tuesday February 22nd and we were aware that check in was not until 4:00pm, however we did not get our room unt [... read more]il almost 7:00pm on the day of arrival. We kept getting told by the front desk staff that it would be ready in half an hour and to come back and we did this for almost 3 hours which did not allow us to do anything else on the day of arrival. After we were given our room, we overheard other guests talking that there was a issue with the water. We found when we got to our room that we had no running water. There was no water in the sink, or the shower and the toilets could not be used. We found that it had been an issue for most of the day and that half of the resort did not have running water. I can appreciate that there is little control over situations like this, but what I found very frustrating and disappointing was that this was not disclosed to us at the time we finally received our room. It turned out that we did not have access to running water in our room until after lunch on Wednesday February 23rd. In addition to no running water, we did not have access to beach towels until Thursday February 24th which was now the 3rd day of our 5 day trip and the al-a-cart restaurants were all booked for over a week from the time of our arrival so they were not available to us either. Finally, we also had power outages throughout the evening of Thursday February 24th. They only lasted a few minutes each time, but there were a number of them in a short period of time. To say I am disappointed is an understatement. I was only in Cuba for 5 days and to have no running water for a day and half, no access to towels and power outages did not make for a very enjoyable vacation. Customer service at the Melia was not very helpful and in fact were a bit rude. They did not offer any compensation for the lack of standard amenities during our stay with them. I will be posting my experience on trip advisor, and it is not very likely that I will return to Cuba. I will not be recommending the Melia Jardines to anyone.

Below average, not a 4*...maybe 3*

Well what was NOT GOOD.... 1) Thursday Feb 16 2017 we arrived and didn't get a beach towel until Saturday. 2) Every bathroom you went to on the resort it was hard to find any toilet paper. 3) Tuesday our building (#2) had NO water and then the whole resort had no water until 3pm on Wednesday so all the bathrooms were unbearable to go into because of the smell. 4) A lot of bugs in the room and there was some mold due to water damage in the bathroom. Now what we liked...... 1) amazing sta [... read more]ff 2) beach was amazing and the beer was always cold down there.

Great Resort

The resort was beautiful. The beach was amazing and views were great. The room was pretty good, although it could've been cleaned a bit more thoroughly. Food was alright but I wish there were more options and more condiments (salad dressings and ketchup). Overall we had an amazing time and I would recommend this resort.

Very Nice resort but needs improvements

Great: Rooms: always clean, stocked fridge every day and cleaning staff was very attentive Staff: under the circumstances all the staff that we interacted with were kind, attentive and accommodating and super friendly. Beach: most beautiful beach in Cuba! Bad: The resort was at full capacity and could not handle it, there were no towels for most guests and no beach towels almost every day we were there, thank god I did bring my own. Food: we all know you don't go to Cuba for food, howeve [... read more]r the food at this resort was subpar even for Cuban standards. It was repetitive, undercooked and ran out very early. The al a carte restaurants were slow, had no ambience for the theme they were trying to advertise, and again understaffed. Facilities: because of the capacity of the hotel, bathrooms at most of the public facilities were either not working, had absolutely no toilet paper, soap or paper towels. One toilet for the entire beach for two days is just unacceptable. The resort lost power (not uncommon in Cuba) but it knocked out the pumping station for some of the buildings and we had no water for two days. Entertainment: it was ok, but for Cuba again it was subpar, their extravagant shows are awesome, but the shows here were boring and lacked enthusiasm from most of the team. The animation team had more entertainment value then the shows did. I would recommend this hotel in low season, not high season (February/March)