Melia Cayo Santa Maria: Beautiful resort

The pool and beach at this resort were amazing and the staff are super friendly. It's nice that they're upgrading and keeping things from looking outdated. For Cuba the food was actually pretty good. I'd recommend this to anyone wanting to go to Cuba.

Melia Marina Varadero: Better than anticipated

I traveled with my husband, 9 month old daughter and group of friends to this resort and based on reviews we had read about the resort and visiting Cuba in general we went with the lowest of expectations. Need I say that I was pleasantly surprised. Upon arriving first thing I noticed were that the grounds were beautiful. Being next to the marina provided for a great view. The rooms were clean and very spacious but for a new hotel the finishings looked quite dated. The food was not nearly as bad [... read more] as we had heard, provided that there was very little variety and got quite redundant after a short while, we never went hungry. One thing we did notice meal after meal was that the food was never hot, luke warm at best and often cold, excluding the made to order pasta, fish, omlettes, and pancakes. The service, however, was top notch, provided they were left with a bit of a tip. The entertainment at the resort was virtually non existent...compared with the shows we have seen at other resorts their nightly shows weren't good enough to capture anyone's attention for longer than 10 minutes and of the 5 nights we were there they only actually had something for one night. Activities by beach/pool also did not follow a schedule so make sure to bring something to pass through time. They do advertise a baby/kids club but maybe considering the time of the year we travelled it would be wrong of me to expect much of anything from this department. There is a small park however that can be used at any time. The beach was beautuful and only a short walk (

Melia Marina Varadero: Amazing resort with excellent Staff!

I have been to Cuba before and I have to say this is one of the nicest resorts for a resort that has many amenities. Being on the marina makes for a beautiful view as well it feels like you are in another place other than a hotel. The grounds are in excellent condition with more than enough chairs around the pool and the beach area. The walk from the hotel to the beach area would be the same distance as staying at a larger resort and walking from you're room to the resort. It maybe took 5 minute [... read more]s at most and the beach area is very large with a bar and a excellent restaurant. The food at this resort was excellent with tons of variety all with excellent taste. The nightlife is great as there is a 24 hour lobby bar with live music every night and the shows outside are very well done. We stayed here over New years and even though it was very busy on New years eve at the resort, the staff did an excellent job on keeping up with service at all restaurants and bars. This is now one of my favorite resorts and I would highly recommend this resort to someone. Lastly the rooms are very clean and very modern which makes it feel more at home. I would recommend the Marina view as the view is beautiful but be aware that it is noisy till around 10:30 as the shows are on the Marina side and end at 10:30pm. I hope this helps anyone going to this resort as this resort is a 5/5 in my opinion

Melia Peninsula Varadero: Just ok.

we paid for a family jr suite and it took a few days to get enough beds and pillows (yup. Zero pillows). The pools were dead-nobody around. Non existent kids club-no staff there. No activities. Mostly French guests which is fine but signs are in french and staff speak mostly french. Buffet was not good although a la carted were ok. Thank goodness for lots of Cristal beer. Beach was amazing, warm water and lots of sun beds.

Melia Cayo Santa Maria: Great resort

Nice small resort with friendly staff. Beautiful beach. Room outdated, plumbingneeds update. Entertainment could be more diverse. Pool very nice and the service is excellent. We recommend it to friends

Paradisus Princesa Del Mar: Good food and nice beach, but not a 5 stars hotel!!!

The resort is very clean and food is excellent. Service is ok, but animation is poor. Shows were good also. Rooms are very poor and old. Beds are NOT confortable. .bars were good with a good sélection of drinks and wine. ............................................

Paradisus Varadero: Not a real 5 star

Let me start by saying that we have travelled to many places and rely somewhat on the star rating to decide on our resort. We always stay in a 4 star or higher! By Cuban standards this resort may be a 5 star, but in relation to other countries and resorts it is more like a 3 star. We stayed in the new Family Concierge section. On the plus side, the rooms were clean and new looking, however things were still falling apart (door knobs, handles, paint chips). We did have one person go out of [... read more] her way to assist us with dining reservations and did everything she could to get us into what we wanted! She was the only one in the whole resort that seemed to care about her job and the guests! The housekeeping staff was friendly, but they did not really do much of anything. Our room was never cleaned until the late afternoon, and by cleaned I mean the bed was made! Nothing was ever replenished! I had to call the desk twice for toilet paper, which should have been restocked. They also did not change our bath towels or face cloths all week! By then end of the week we only had two towel (dirty ones). We called the desk multiple times to ask for towels and were told they had none. We could not even exchange our pool towels, as they had none of those either! How can a hotel operate without the basic items that travellers require? (especially a 5 star resort!) The food was not very good at all and we were prepared for that as we had heard this about Cuban Resorts. I will say that the Japanese and Italian a la carte restaurants were good. I would stick with these types and stay away from the buffets! For the most part, the pool was lovely and our kids enjoyed it very much. The best part of our holiday was the time spent off of the resort! We did a day trip to Havana and a Catamaran Cruise with Dolphin Interaction! These were money well spent! As for tipping, we tried this theory, but tipping did not make the service any better! We really felt that they just did not care! The worst part was that the resort did not even seem that busy! We always had spots by the pool. I would hate to see how they operate at full capacity! We had internet included with our stay, but you needed a card to get access and they ran out during our stay. Even with a card it was very difficult to get access! Overall, we made the best of it, but it was nothing to write home about! We travelled at Christmas time and therefore paid more for our room than the regular price. We severely overpaid for this trip given the service we received!

Sol Varadero Beach: Sol sirenas coral

The hotel was great. The problems we had were....... half of the snack bar staff were incredibly lazy, I took pictures of them sitting down on their phones and chatting away. They ran out of fries the first day and chicken the second.......and didn't have any for the remainder of our stay. They stop serving alcohol at 2am unless you tip them, and then they will serve you for as long as you want. The rest of the staff were great. I felt bad for the lady at reception when we checked in. She was  [... read more]alone and the line had about 20 people in it. The beach was stunning and we met some great people.

Hotel Vigia: A great beach, but resort is falling apart

We went just before Christmas, so I guess we should have expected the wind. After all, the wind is what makes this a kiteboarders' paradise. The water is shallow going out pretty far. The resort is not that good. Half of it is deserted and falling to bits. Our room was good though. The food was bad, even by Cuban standards. One had to rummage through the grey and brown bits to find something worth eating. Mostly survived on omelette. We had one day when there was no beer anywhere in the resort. [... read more] Now that is pretty scary. Just treat it as a camping/survival holiday and you will enjoy it.

Melia Las Antillas: Fabulous resort

We just got back from this resort and what an incredible time. The staff were friendly and helpful. The food was ok and plentiful. The rooms were great and water and beer were stalked in the fridge daily. We stayed in the bungalow section 62. It is Cuba so the beach was wonderful.

Melia Jardines del Rey: Needs improvement!

Grounds was good but needs more maintenance as the path night lights are half out or broken, beach was excellent as were the pools but toilets need more cleaning and toilet paper was constantly running out. The water pressure for the showers for the whole complex was barely running for 2 days and only got fixed on the third day then the sewer backed up and had feces coming out of the opened manhole beside the main walkway. Extremely understaff over New year, food was bland and constantly runnin [... read more]g out, hot dogs and sausages that were previously cooked were used as main dishes food trays were not refilled and they had 2 big buffet restaurant together and only opened the main one till it was packed solid and out of food then would open the other side, very poorly organized. the chefs would not utilize the grills to their full use and cook for each person which made line up to 45 minutes, constantly running out of food for every single meal, running out of eggs after 1/2 hour wait then sent to the next kitchen to wait another 1/2 hour, when having any meals the wait for the coffee or drinks took 10 to fifteen minutes. At new year they ran out of filet mignon and substituted with meatloaf and very small meat that was undercooked and hard also had to wait 1.5 hour for the lobster, very poorly organized. The resort did not have enough towels for everyone which we had to keep for 2 to 3 days. certain employee had to work extra hard for a lot of lazy employee who would not move and just looked around.

Melia Jardines del Rey: Some Good Some Bad

The pool areas were lovely as were the rooms themselves an the beach but service and food were not good. There was poor food quality and taste and ridiculous waits to book a la carte dinners even when the restaurants were half empty. Still waited over 1/2 hour with reservations. A la Carte food was good though. Long waits to get drinks and we were never able to get a beach towel even though we went back to the booth with our tickets every day. Drinks were yummy though. There were small b [... read more]lood spots on the towels in our room. The was our first experience with an all inclusive and we had a great time but the poor service and food did put a damper on it.

Paradisus Varadero: Older side not worth cost of trip, new area modern and lovely

New Family concierge area at resort is lovely and modern, beaches were amazing, most staff were friendly and helpful. First night we were checked in to the older section which is not updated but for the bathroom, however our shower flooded the room, seems water flow was a challenge with the the slope of the floor. Food was good, entertainment was quite impressive.

Melia Las Dunas: Beautiful Grounds, clean rooms

Hotel is beautiful more than I expected from what I heard about Cuba. The grounds are gorgeous and well maintained.The pure white sandy beach and turquoise water are spectacular. The food is better than I expected as was the service by the hotel staff. Food preperation and presentation on the other hand is severely lacking for what is supposed to be a 5 star resort The chefs cooked the fish, chicken ,meats or eggs for you as your turn came up in the long waiting line at the meat [... read more]s buffet counter. Each order placed by each hotel patron took an average of 4 to 10 minutes, depending what you ordered . So if you were the 10 th person in line you waited for a minumum of 40 minutes for your chicken , beef or omelet. IF you were number 20 ,30 or 50 th in line or more you do the math on how long you can expect to wait for your meal. In most cases your meats , fish or omlete was under cooked or raw in some cases as the chefs( usually one in most cases ) struggled and rushed the cooking process in order to try to keep up with the flood of people for breakfast lunch or dinner .Most of the meats need to be cooked and prepared in the kitchen then brought out to the buffet tables NOT cooked individually for each client. This hotel needs some serious lessons and training on how to prepare meals for larger crowds and how to properly cook and prepare fish and meats etc. Some people I met and spoke to had been I'll 2 or 3 days they believe from eating under cooked or raw food at the resort .If the resort can get their act together preparing and serving some of their food it would become a top notch resort. As it stands now you have to be very very patient and wary on how your food is prepared. Other than some of the food issues it is a top notch resort.

Melia Jardines del Rey: Great resort, amazing people!

Just got back from a week vacation and it was perfect! The staff was friendly, welcoming and extremely helpful! Ocean and pools were beautiful. The food was good and I really enjoyed the a la cart restaurants, the French bistro was my favorite! Resort was great for families especially.

Melia Marina Varadero: At best a 3 1/2 star hotel

I was expecting a much better experience with what we were told. A guest we spoke to while we were there said that 2 years ago when it opened it was amazing, great service, great food etc...however it's not like that at all. The resort looks really nice but it's starting to wear as things are not being maintained. Staff is not always happy but that I can deal with. What I can't deal with is the worry of no towels for my room or for the beach. It taking days to get extra pillows. These are things [... read more] you don't want to deal with on a vacation. I also found that the hotel commen areas were not cleaned or maintained. Our entry area to the pool had a garbage that leaked and it was gross and smelly and it took 3 days before it got cleaned up.

Melia Las Dunas: Melia las Dunas - a nice place

The place is nice and beautiful. Almost 2 hours by bus from Santa Clara. Santa Maria island has maybe the most beautiful beach from Cuba and not only. The food at Melia las Dunas was OK, better at a la carte restaurants, but everywhere the desserts were in need for improvement. The grounds are beautiful, the people working there are great, very helpful. The food need to be improved and lots of maintenance needs an attention. I will definitely recommend.

Melia Las Dunas: Lizards Galore! And no water!!!

We just returned from our Christmas vacation from Melia, this was our second visit the first one was in 2014 it was awesome that's why we decided to return little did we know the resort has changed totally! Too many cut backs to the point that they shut off water randomly afternoon until evening and when you get back to your room you can't shower! You phone them they transfer you to 10 different extensions! And when the water does come it's cold!!! What a disaster holiday! We travel a lot in Cub [... read more]a 3 times a year but never have we experienced this before! I did read the reviews on "no water" but thought no way I have been here before and it was fine! I wish I had listened to those that warned us! Reviews are written for good reason so others do not suffer what we went through. The beach has always been windy! And the food was repeat everyday it became monotonous! Of course to go to the bathroom was a nightmare since you couldn't flush or wash your hands! (Also the toilet doors had no locks or seats! )The maids were filling buckets from the pool to dump in the toilets as there were flies all over it! No sanitation! And there were lizards everywhere on my bath towel!!! We had two rooms and the lizards were everywhere omg! If you want a good holiday DO NOT COME HERE! And we paid big bucks to come here for Christmas you think they would realize that! And of course since there was no water there was no coffee or tea or water to drink in the bar!! They wouldn't use the bottled water to pour you the water!!! It's insane! At breakfast they did not have simple things like sliced bread or black tea!!! They only keep chamomile and green tea! We are never coming back to this place and I do not recommend this place to anyone! Also Sunwing sucks! Upon checkin they made an issue on the names so we pay them extra to correct it when the names were fine! Until the supervisor saw that and then we were given identical boarding pass! So only 3 seats instead of 4! Who does that? Very unprofessional and the leg space is crazy! One can hardly move unless of course you purchase elite seats! No more sunwing for us too!

Melia Jardines del Rey: Great Resort..

The resort is really beautiful inside and it was really clean. The rooms were also very clean. The staff was very nice and very helpful when needed. I was really disappointed when it came to the food. I know its Cuba but I was hoping the food was going to be better.

Melia Jardines del Rey: Jardine del Ray, Melia

The only thing negative, was there were a lot of kids, which made it noisier than otherwise. Everything else was great. We did the catamaran trip. Would recommend it highly. People are very pleasant, as always. Room was clean. Resort was well kept.