Beautiful Cuba, Average Resort

We just returned yesterday from a one week stay at the Melia JDR in beautiful Cayo Coco, Cuba. We stayed between Feb 15-22/2017. This was my sixth time travelling to Cuba, second time to Cayo Coco (Previously stayed at the Melia Cayo Guillermo). Travelled as a couple in our mid-late 20's. I had booked this trip three months in advance when reviews were positive and the hotel was rated #6/12 resorts in Cayo Coco. Fast forward to now it being #10/12. Let's break this into the Positives and Negativ [... read more]es. Positives: Quick bus transfer from the airport - we arrived late at night and the ride took only took about 20 minutes. Modern facility - only a few years old, wicker furniture in the lobbies, marble, nice looking public areas. Quick check in - they rounded us up into a conference room, gave out room cards, bracelets, offered money exchange, received a welcome drink. Great experience. Staff - 90% of the staff are great and smiling. As with anywhere, there are a few of the bunch that probably shouldn't work in hospitality. Beach - BEAUTIFUL! Yes, people do "reserve" all of the more comfortable blue beach loungers early on (despite a sign stating they cannot do this so if you are ballsy enough and notice no one has been there all day just move their stuff, they cannot do anything/staff will not penalize you for doing so). Pools - Two large pools, each with a swim up bar. Drinks - FROZEN pina coladas/daquiris. Hard to come by in Cuba, as they are usually the consistency of cold milk at some resorts. Bar staff were great, but yes we do tip often. Rooms - our room was nice, modern, fresh. Stayed in bungalow 14 on the second floor. Room 14217. We requested this block ahead of time and they were able to accommodate. Send room requests to their Facebook page a few weeks before departure. Price - We paid less than 1000$ per person in February for one week all inclusive. Can't be beat. Excursion - We did the full day Jeep Safari and loved it! Negatives: Towels - Unfortunately, as in other resorts in Cuba, beach towel service is less than ideal. It's just more noticeable at this resort as it is the largest resort in all of Cuba. We got lucky and exchanged our towels three times during the week. There is no set pattern to when they will get fresh towels, and you may go 3+ days without a towel. For the most part bath/room towels were restocked daily. Water Pressure - No good. Some days no water, some days only cold water. Again, the shear size of the resort explains this. Food - Been to Cuba 6 times, the food here was definitely the worst we have experienced. Now, I never went hungry and we always found things to enjoy. However, the buffet could not keep up with the demand, and most of the food in the warming stations was cold. Al La Cartes - Again, we got lucky and didn't have a wait to book our reservations. So for us this was a positive. However, it was common for wait times to be around an hour to book, with most reservations being at 830 or 9pm. The food itself wasn't great, and for the two of us, by the time we sat down, ordered, and ate, it was a 2+ hour experience. Very slow. Service in the french was good, staff in the italian were less than kind. Conclusion: For the price we paid, we really can't complain! We used the day pass to check out the #1 rated Melia Cayo Coco, and actually preferred our resort for a lot of things. Would I go back to Cuba? Heck yes! Would I return to this resort? Probably not. I think 1200 rooms is too big, probably will cap it out around 600 or so. They just can't meet the demand of this many guests, however they are trying to implement some changes which is appreciated. TIPS - Send room requests via the resorts Facebook page a few weeks in advance. Book Al La Cartes right away. Go to your welcome briefing. Exchange money at front desk if line up at bank is long. Expect the WIFI to be crap, there's no fixing it. Try the restaurant by the pool for lunch, the fried chicken is tasty. Bring a BUBBA! Save the environment from those plastic cups. Bring a converter if you plan on plugging anything in. Bring bug spray AND after bite- I got eaten alive even though I used it religiously.

Beautiful Beach!

Cayo Coco beach is simply lovely! The staff at Melia Jardines Del Rey are top shelf! Amazing staff remember you and what your drink of choice is after only meeting once or twice! What is so sweet about the people of Cuba is how they greet each other when they arrive at work! They actually hug and kiss each other! The property is quite large so if you have any mobility issues, you may want to consider looking at a smaller resort. The pools are very nice and there are lots to choose from. The rest [... read more]aurants that serve hot lunch are very good. The chicken wings are fabulous, but you may have to wait to get a table. The buffets are your typical fare. The a la cartes are just ok, nothing of particular notice. Bring bug spray, the mosquitoes are vicious! And don't forget the Benedryl, you won't be as itchy!

GREAT BEACH ....FUN ENTERTAINMENT

This was our second visit to Melia Jardines Del Ray. Beach is fantastic, animation team was great, and we loved the bands and the night that the dancers interacted with guests. Shows were the same old thing... There needs to be a HUGE improvement of the food and cleanliness of the public areas. The food at many times was cold , and overcooked or undercooked. Ran out of a lot of items quickly and not replenished, so do not show up too late. They definitely need more toasters, and more gr [... read more]illing station ( you could see the frustration of the guests) Service was hit and miss , some staff very hardworking, and I think the management needs to be replaced as I believe that the staff is not trained properly , or they are just lazy!!! BRING BEACH TOWELS - You may never see one, or spend 1/2 hours each day waiting , and still they may not show up BRING BUBBA - Thermal refillable cup BRING MISQUITO REPELLANT - Use a lot and often , even before bed as misquitoes get into your room I do not think we will return or even recommend this resort Location is Fantastic - 15 minutes from airport

Beautiful Beach

This resort was not one of my favourites. Compared to other Cuban resorts, the entertainment team was not as involved, there were too many line ups for food, it was hard to get into the a la carte restaurants and my friend had bed bugs in her room. The beach was beautiful which was the highlight of the resort. I will not return to this resort.

Large Beutiful Resort--Amazing Beach

Jardines Del Rey is a large property consisting of 26 apartment style buildings; three floors in each. (stairs only) Our room was large and kept VERY clean. The maids were most friendly and very much appreciated the gifts or tips we left each day.You will do a lot of walking to get around, but the grounds and staff are both very nice. There are large golf cart type vehicles to help you get around if needed. The pools are spotlessly clean and vary in depth, to suit all types of folks. The beac [... read more]h is VERY NICE, it is wide, sand is beautiful, there are lots of palapas for shade and lots of beach lounges. Servers come along regularly to see if you need drinks. Sunsets on the beach were amazing. Airport transfer to the resort was perfect--15 minutes or so. You are then taken to a room for a brief meeting and instructions. Your passport will be taken away and copied, but they return soon without issue. If your room is ready, you will be given keys right there and you are good to go. If not (like us), you must check in later with the desk staff to find out when. This seemed to be quite a chaotic process, as many folks are checking, others are trying to change rooms and others just trying to get info. The staff seemed overrun at times. Most staff can understand your questions and provide an understandable answer. This resort is very popular for French Canadians, so English is somewhat of a third language here, although staff always tries to be as helpful as possible. There were no English maps of the property, only French and Spanish. In addition, there are a LOT of smokers here. The lobby area, although open, is often smoke infested, especially in the evening. We are sensitive to smoke, so often had to move about to avoid the clouds coming around. There is one large Buffet area--split into 2 sections. There are always line-ups at the grill stations. We found the food to be fine, although we are not at all fussy eaters. Dishes were varied, there was always something good to have. Many of the dishes were served lukewarm, seldom hot. There was one microwave if you needed to heat things up. Coffee is NOT available for lunch or dinner in the buffet. (breakfast only) We found this disappointing. We went to four different restaurants in the evening. Bana (Oriental) was our favorite. There are a number of animals wandering around, horses, dogs, and a lonely donkey. The donkey is saddled once in a while, and taken to the beach by a guy, who lets you take pictures or get on the animal (for a tip) We felt bad for donkey, as when "not in use" he is left out in the blazing sun with little to eat or drink. Lobby entertainment was varied and good. The evening shows were OK, but nothing to write home to mother about. We did not do any excursions, just enjoyed the amazing surrounding, weather, beach and pools. Melia does allow you to visit and spend time and have meals at their other resorts along the coast. This can be arranged at the desk, and you can go on the hop on-off bus (5 cucs) to get there. We did enjoy some time and lunch at another resort 1/2 hour away. LARGE RESORT BEAUTIFUL BEACH SUPERB POOLS

Loved the getaway

We really enjoyed the resort, the beach, the pool and our room. Room for improvement is with the food - we didn't find any of the food hot - everything was luke warm. The only other issue is the seafood restaurant - the service was not good except the guy cooking the lobster - he was way over worked compared to everyone else there - we waited in line for an hour to get our lobster which he cooked perfectly. They should have had both sides cooking lobster and people bringing them out regularly [... read more] to the cook - this would certainly speed things up.

Cockroaches big and small are completely unacceptable even for CUBA

I would strongly suggest this hotel NOT be recommended to anyone looking to travel to Cayo Coco. When traveling to Cuba ( this was my 5th time down in Cuba) your expectations/standards are set much lower than traveling to any other sunny destinations and you somewhat know what’s waiting for you, having said that cockroaches big and small are completely unacceptable. Especially when they are seen daily crawling around the eating areas ( main buffet, beach front buffet, 24hr snack bar and lob [... read more]by seating area). When I tell you there were several crawling on the walls, floors, overhead exhaust at the grills and on the granite counter tops were the food was sitting I am not exaggerating in the slightest. What horrified us the most was while eating dinner one evening, one crawled up my nephew’s back!! I am disgusted to say the least; our kids were traumatized and we had a very difficult time getting them back in there to eat. The food itself wasn’t very good ( thank God for bread and butter) and that too just added to the challenge. The little things that could easily be over looked ( lowered expectations) but the cockroaches just ruined it all; a few mentions of “the little things” - Thankfully we brought our own beach towels as not once during our stay were there beach towels available for us - One toaster in the main buffet – 1 - Slow Slow Slow service and crappy attitudes from the wait staff – most meals we had to get our own cutlery and drinks from their service tables - Big resort with no shuttle service anywhere - there were 4 wild dogs fighting each other daily and running freely throughout like rabid animals - food was terrible - pools were not cleaned daily -sewage stank it’s unfortunate cause what good there is at this resort can never override the bad. Don't take my word for it and go down to this self proclaimed 4.5 star resort, spend some decent money and experience it for yourself...cockroaches may not bother you, it may be your thing

Just ok

Beach was wonderful. Staff we all very attentive. Always entertainment happening through the resort. Food was acceptable but most buffet warmers 90% not working. So food was often cold. Line ups for everything. Had a few issues like a broken sliding door etc. But all issues were surprisingly fixed quickly. Walkways are in need I repair. Would not recommend this location for those traveling with handicaps. Quality of booze is low. I would not return to this location but wouldn't speak negatively  [... read more]of resort to anyone who has already booked. My sister and I had a very nice holiday but have travelled and experience better quality resorts rated at 4.5.

Not terrible but not great either

The hotel itself is very nice and open concept. There's lots of entertainment but it's all very similar...some variety would be nice. The nightly dancers are fantastic. The hotel was fully booked so there was a line for everything...sometimes 20 minutes to get a drink. There was seldom toilet paper in the ladies room and we went for 2 days with none in our room. The hotel was fully booked so despite trying to make reservations at the restaurant on the first night we were not able to get in to an [... read more]y of them for the whole week. The food is typical Cuban food but was NEVER hot. I saw 2 cockroaches crawling around the buffet and an actual live snail on a piece of lettuce. The pools were meticulously clean and the grounds were well kept. There were a ton of bugs due to the location near the marsh and we wound up very bitten and itchy. Overall not terrible but also not great.

Great resort to get away

Very large comfortable resort with lots of activities to keep you busy. Best for familes. Food was plentiful and fine, always available anytime. Rooms were clean and modern, beach was long and beautiful. Had a great time

Great Resort

This was a beautiful resort, with an amazing beach area!! It's a fairly new resort, and the rooms are very nice. The a la carte restaurants served good food, especially the Aquas seafood restaurant - all you can eat grilled lobster tails!!! Service at the buffets and bars was a little slow, but we were on vacation & not in a great hurry. Definitely good value for your vacation dollars!!!

Nice Resort!

Great staff! It's a very big resort with 2000 people so it's busy! Lots of walking. Beach is beautiful with lots of shells and some sharp coral. Great sand bar to walk out too. On one side of the beach you could walk very far. Met great people from across Canada and England! Lobby was great at night to meet people and chat. There was usually some form of entertainment in the lobby that we enjoyed before the nightly show. Food locations are spread out through the resort. Review the resort map onl [... read more]ine before you go to try to get some of the layout of where everything is. Sometimes food was good, other times just ok. You just can't be too picky. We did not starve that's for sure. People complained about line ups for food and drinks but we did not find it too bad. We all got bit by what I assume were mosquitoes( referred to as no-see ums). There were line ups for beach towels for those arriving on a busy day and we heard people had to wait a few days for a beach towel. We did not have that problem. Lots of reserving of lounge chairs at pool and beach and sometimes there were a lack of chairs. We would ask a staff member nicely and they always found us chairs. Room was nice and staff very accommodating when we asked to move to a room close to beach and pool. Resort was clean. Usually there was a shortage of toilet paper and soap in the public ladies rooms. There is a small market very close, a disco, bowling alley and spa. The resort was ok enough but I probably would not go back as we have never gone back to the same resort twice. This was our 7th stay in Cuba.

Resort is too big

Resort is too big.Therefore understaffed.They run out of supplies.People lining up at buffets in hopes of getting something to eat.Its like black friday when the doors open.Staff was great.Beach was great but i would not return to this resort.

Nice beaches

The resort had really nice beaches, fun events and friendly staff. The excursions were also lots of fun and reasonably priced. There were a lot of line ups though and they ran out of essentials like towels, toilet paper and soap regularly. The buffet and a la cart restaurants weren't the greatest.

Awesome Resort, Awesome Holiday

My Fiance and I just got back from the Melia Jardines del Rey 2 days ago, stayed Jan 25 till Feb 1st. Travelled as a couple. We stayed in building 12 on the 3rd floor, honestly, best building! was close to everything. Just let me start by saying don't listen to the bad reviews, if you have been to Cuba before, then you know there is Cuba Time. We have been to Cuba 3 times, and other than the Melia, this resort is by far the best we have been to. This resort is amazing. The Staff are aw [... read more]esome, always trying to make your stay the best. The food was great, if you can relax and wait for them to make it for you fresh, then do so, much better. (you are on vacation, whats the rush?) tip: the 24 hour bar makes an amazing pollo chicken sandwich (chicken and vegetables sandwich...its a must try) We didnt do any A La Cartes as we just wanted to enjoy ourselves this year, but heard great things about them from others. The resort is big, yes, but everything is localized, making it really easy to get to the buffet, lobby, pools, and beach. The beach: The beach is AMAZING!!! its huge, and you can walk down to the cove to see starfish, kongs and fish. The ocean was like glass, so clear. Rooms were clean, always had bottled water, and tipped the beer guys for extra beer. No issues. Tip: bring your own beach towel. We were there when it was fully booked, (even though it didnt seem that busy) and was hard to get a beach towel, but we brought our own and just used those for the week, was no bid deal. Honestly, our only complaint, was some of the people who were there vacationing. They complained and were very rude at times (butting in lines, mad because you were there first for drinks, etc) Relax...Your in Cuba!!!! ps. yes there are mosquitos, we were told about them on our bus, and you are in a hot climate, bring bug spray and dont wear perfumes, you will be fine.

Comfortable and happily stay experience

Services, setup, and all facilities are good, if all restaurants, kitchens can be more organized, it wii be perfect. We have experienced flooding in night time after heavy rain, the sewage drain system may need services.

Pros and Cons

Pros: Beautiful beach, free paddle boats, catamarans, and kayaks (just took tips) and we saw starfish each time we took one out, water was shallow a long way out, rooms were a decent size and very roomy for our family of four, staff was very friendly and fun. Cons: very large resort, understaffed and overbooked, line ups for the buffets, bars and to get beach towels, difficult to get bottled water in room daily and had to reserve a chair early each morning at beach or pool or we would end up s [... read more]pending forever trying to find one that wasn't already claimed

Amazing experience

The environment was so welcoming, I went there with my partner had a blast. The staff were so friendly and helpful. We really annoyed the events every night. the dancing walking around the resort was all wonderful. The beach was beautiful clear water and the chance to paddle boat around the coast was amazing. Last but not least the bars were amazing the bartenders were skilled welcoming and made amazing cocktails. I would come to this reset again thanks for a wonderful experience

Beautiful Resort

The hotel and grounds were very well kept, my room was spacious and clean. Buffet had a good selection of food. Beach was amazing. unfortunately as the hotel has a 1000 rooms and was at capacity staff were unable to keep up with demand. Understaffed and it showed. I would not go back only reason being too many people, we like get to interact with the staff.

Nice Resort

The resort was nice, clean and the staff were friendly. There were lots of fun activities to do. We really enjoyed the catamaran, kayaks and paddle boats. Volleyball is really popular at the resort but unfortunately there was only one beach volleyball net so we often had to wait awhile to play. I would definitely take my own tennis rackets and balls next time as the courts were great but the hours the tennis equipment was available were short and unreliable. The pools were really spacious with  [... read more]varying depths but they were surprisingly cooler than expected. The ocean water is really clear and blue and its a lovely walk along.the beach.The ice cream parlor and 24 hour snack bar were big hits. Often we preferred to order off the snack bar menu over waiting in line in the crowded buffets. We were surprised that we could get our group of 8 into our preferred a la cartes at decent times... the deep fried ice-cream at the oriental one was amazing! We had a great time at this resort.