Amazing resort

Beautiful place, spacious, rooms are big. unfortunately some rooms are lucking some necessities and that is bringing it down. Beach is amazing, service is very good, no wifi most of the time. food is ok, drinks very good, customer service very helpful, especially Jany Armentero Valdima. an entertainment is second to none, overall I would give 4.5 stars and we would definitely return.

Overall mediocre

Cons: Our room had lots of ants and the shower head was broken (which they didn't offer to fix), a la cartes were hard to book (they booked fast), resort was understaffed for all of the people, there were lots of bad odors, quite a few mosquitoes Pros: Beautiful beaches, friendly workers, large pools,

3.5 - 4 Star Resort - Great Time

A few minor issues with the resort, like some pathways being uneven and having poor lighting, a smell in some of the areas, mediocre food, but overall the resort was great. Friendly staff, great drinks, beautiful beach and pool area. A very relaxing and fun resort. I would recommend this resort for the price

Very bed resort .

this resort is to big and the personal work hard but is impossible to take care over 2500 people. very , very ,very long lines up every ware and the food is cold all the time. the workers are doing good job but the concept is; to please 1200 rooms you have to do magic and is not happening.

Above Expectations

This was a pleasant surprise for me and my wife. Nice room. Beach was fantastic,and on calm days we walked on the beach and on the sand bars for hours/kilometers through very clear water. Windy days were much different. Food was good but patience was needed for service and/or supply. Beer, wine and spirits were good.

Beautiful resort

well taken care of resort our room was great very clean the staff was superb, the lobby bar was always way to busy and the bartenders there didnt seem to care who was in line if someone flashed some $$ which was quite annoying. the restaurant staff was great gardeners were super friendly and event staff was awesome. beach was beautiful not rocky at all like we had read about. we snokled off the beach as well as went out on the small boats with guides to snorkel they were amazing and very informa [... read more]tive. my only constructive critism would be that i wish the cooks would stick to what they know and not try to do so much americanized food. we did the jeep on excursion and it as well as again the guides was sooo worth every penny.

Don't waste your time or money!

This was our fourth and LAST time to Cuba! We have never experienced anything like this. Traveled the week of Jan.8. Checkin is unorganized, no al a cartes available even though we just checked in. Rooms had small beds with no toilet seats or hot water and the water barely trinkled out. Food- wait lines were horrible(1-1 1/2 long), no plates, empty food trays, food under cooked(raw dough) and no tables available to sit The beach is amazing but it was to cold and windy while we were there [... read more] to enjoy it Very disappointing for a two year old resort!

Great family resort, lots of walking

The Melia Jardines del Ray in Cayo Coco was a beautiful resort. The week we were there, I was informed that there were 2000 guests, adults and children. Because of the number of guests being served there were some lineups at the Buffett , also long line ups to book the alacartes and the resorts keep a strict restriction on the number of times you can go to ala cartes....Brian and I went to the seafood, Aquas, the food was amazing, lobster was included, we even went back for seconds...even thou [... read more]gh it is an alacartes most of the service was like buffet, but very good....we went to the Cuban restaurant the next night, food excellent Brian had the soup for an entree and I had the fish....a lightly breaded fish, delicious. Our meals were very good and service excellent. We also went to the French Bistro, they had lobster bisquet with Hennessy s cognac, but the Potatoes cream was a delicious soup of creamed potato. We both had the Beef tenderloin with grilled vegetables, it was delicious. Desserts at the alacartes were delicious but there were times there was a long wait because of the volumne of guests. The beach at this resort is beautiful and very wide....lots of room for guests, there is a beach bar and a terrific buffet restaurant that turns into the seafood restaurant in the evening. After the first day Brian and I discovered a 24 hour snack bar, that became our go to Place for breakfast. Service a little slow, but everyone is trying very hard to please. Just down from the snack bar is a nice little Ice Ceam bar.....always busy, but the wait is not long. They had coconut ice cream, very good. The wifi at the resort is not the best, slow and intermittent there is no wifi in the rooms. Even though our rooms were between the lobby and the pool snack bar....we still had no connection....the pool snack bar opens I think 12:30 and the burgers, pizza and fried chicken is very good. Depending on the time you get there they are not set up to serve huge crowds. The evening we arrived we were assigned a room in building 8, I knew from looking at a map of the resort that this would not be good for my husband, who has health problems, the staff did some re-arranging and we ended up in building 26, room 26205, if mobilty is an issue then buildings 26 and 25 are excellent choices. Except for the beach restaurant , and access to the beach everything else is with in reasonable walking distance.....the weather was not the Cuba weather we are used too, but it was still a nice relaxing holiday., I feel this resort is excellent for families with children, however not so great if your mobility challenged. If you have a problem with bites, sorry I should have asked what bit me, I'm thinking No-see-ums bites are worse than mosquitoes, immediately and get infected easily, do not hesitate to see Dr. Louis very nice guy, really cares.....

Amazing beach!

This is a large resort with many options. There are 2 large pools, various places to eat. Quite a variety for Cuba, there's always something to choose from. The rooms are nice with a walk in shower. If you like a lively place, there's always something to do either dancing on the beach, pool activity, or nighttime entertainment and music. The a la carte restaurants are amazing. The beach was the best part for us... tons of polopas, bar, and waiter on the beach. There's a really nice sandbar out i [... read more]n the water that is exposed at low tide. All in all a great time.

Overall good- have some tips for a better stay

First and foremost, the beautiful, white sand beach this resort is located on will compensate for whatever problems you might encounter during your trip. Lucky enough for my friend and I, we had great weather all week long and since we only came to relax and get some sun, this resort did just the trick. If you are however looking to party with friends, the nightlife is rather dull ( a couple great shows here and there, but there were only a minimum of things to do at night). I recommend this re [... read more]sort if you are looking to relax on the beach. The unlimited drinks were very good and the buffet was also good (perfect mix: the fish and the yellow rice!!!). Expect long waits for food. They had several activities during the day (yoga, latin dance class...) and on less windy days they had kayaking and pedal boating (both free, but make sure to reserve early in the day to not miss out). They also had catamaran. The staff was very friendly. The resort itself is nice: nice rooms, nice location on the beach, great pool. In our case, our trip had somehow gotten cancelled and so they did not have a room ready for us at our arrival. They first set us up in a non cleaned room which was a little bothering. However, we later got fixed up into a clean room. We were thankful they had space for us considering the mix up... but make sure your room is ok before settling in, we only noticed before going to bed that there was sand in the bed! Another problem I'd like to point out is the water! We had trouble getting it sent to our room at several occasions (you need to request extra water bottles for your room at the customer service in the lobby: if it does not come, ask again.) . Restaurant wise, ( on a standard plan, you have access to 3 à la carte restaurants and you need to reserve at the beginning of your stay... make sure of this because you might not get the time or the restaurant of your preference if you do not do it first thing in the morning), the BEST food was Oriental, the french was very good and we also enjoyed the seafood BUFFET (which counts as an à la carte restaurant.). No complaints about the restaurant food, all very satisfying. We did not have towels for our first day because they did not have any left by the time we had arrived at the towel drop off: make sure you do this first thing, like the restaurant reservations. All in all, we had a nice, sunny, relaxing stay. The beach was very nice and made the whole trip worth it-- i recommend walking to the right until you reach a more private beach (around a 20 min walk). Food was good, service was sometimes slow but to be expected considering the amount of guests, à la carte restaurants were very good (esp the ones we went to), good variety of unlimited drinks to choose from. Main problems: arrival--room issues, getting water bottles sent to room. Nightlife is so so, but not what we were looking for so we didn't mind. Seems like a good place for familys, couples, groups of friends... Although there were some ups and downs, we enjoyed our stay very much, mostly because of the beach and the weather. Overall good.

Great Vacation!

The Melia Jardines Del Rey was a beautiful vacation resort that exceeded our expectation. This being our first all-inclusive resort vacation our hopes were pretty high and we were not disappointed. We especially enjoyed the pools, beach and the great staff. The room was great too, but we didn't spend much time there. The variety of entertainment was acceptional. The food was good, but not great; but we always enjoyed our meals.

Better than expected. Can't wait to go back!

The beach is absolutely breathtaking—also very clean. We would go back to Cayo Coco for that reason alone. The service at Melia Jardines del Rey was terrific and everyone was very friendly.The food was as expected. People told us, "You don't go to Cuba for the food." True enough. But silver lining, we didn't gorge or gain weight. A vacation win in my opinion. LOL! My son had some digestive issues during our stay so we were grateful for the doctor on site who fixed him right up. For the pri [... read more]ce, this resort is excellent and we are already planning to go back again next year.

Could be better

Resort was clean, rooms were average, beach is amazing, food was good and everyone in family was able to find something to eat at all times. Best place for lunch was the snack bar by the leisure pool but was always busy and only open a couple hours a day. Went to the 24 hour snack bar one day for lunch and were given menus but no one ever came back to take out order, even when we asked to have our order taken. Buffet was good, pools were clean, hard to find chairs as all the entitled people like [... read more] to put towels on them then leave for the day. We made 4 requests prior to departure and received none of them despite there being very few people there when we arrived. One was to have rooms with double beds, got two king size to sleep the six of us. Another was to have a pool view, were given rooms at back of resort. Request three was that our rooms be beside one another, rooms were down the hall from each other and on opposing sides. Also requested a cot in one room and didn't receive one until late the first night after waiting in customer service for a while. The custome service room was a revolving door of people coming in about various issues but the staff were always friendly and as helpful as they could be. When we went to book for the a la cartes someone had used our room number to book already but was only for two people despite us being a group of six. Toilet paper ran out on day five and was not replaced by housekeeping. When we asked for more we were given a partial roll that only lasted a few hours and again housekeeping didn't replace until asked. All in all we had a wonderful time but I would not return to this resort.

Horrible resort

From the time we arrived till we left there were many many issues. Filthy buffet area. Cockroach in the pasta, filthy wipe rags used around food prep areas. Pool not cleaned once, green slime half way up the wall of the pool, garbage everywhere in pool. Black mould in shower, toilet leaked and flooded bathroom for 2 1/2 days. Dirty bedspread and blanket. Third coffee maker finally worked. No CUC's in $1.00 form! So much more!!! Don't go here!

...

I will start with mentioning the positive aspects of my stay at this resort. The staff was extremely friendly and I believe they may have been short staffed the week we stayed there (or need to hire more people for the size of the resort), but they did their best to keep up with all the guests. The beach was beautiful and there was more than enough chairs to accommodate guests. The layout of the pools are great, and there is plenty of room for the guests at the resort. The negati [... read more]ves that happened during our stay at this resort. We arrived late on Saturday evening, and the power went out due to a storm in the area (not at all the resorts problem, they did have a generator that powered the main lobby) But once we got off the bus we were herded like cattle into a room where everyone from the large group that arrived had to check in all at once, with our names being screamed across the room. We then could not go to our rooms because the power was still out in all the buildings (again, not the resorts problem), late in the evening the lights came back on, so my husband and I were driven to our room with our luggage. As we proceeded up to our room we noticed the lights were not working on the entire third floor of the building. The man that drove us left us in the room and went to get help. he came back and was able to get the lights on- so he left. Not even 2 minutes later the lights went out (only on our floor) again. My husband then had to run to the front lobby (we were one of the furthest buildings from there) to get someone to turn them on again. The staff managed to get them on again, only for them to go out again not to long after. My husband then ran to the front again- this continued and happened several times. By approximately 6:30AM, the resort finally agreed to re locate us to another building. We were then brought to a room with 2 single beds. We had asked to be re located the next day to a room with a king size bed, but after several attempts with the staff, we ended up giving up and just stayed in the room we were given. Another aspect that we were not happy with was the buffet. We did not attempt to go to the a la carte restaurants, because they were booked solid for most of the week and we didn't want to wait in a long line to be told they were all booked. The buffet was too small to accommodate the size of the resort, it was like run of the bulls moving around in the area where you get food. The food was also always cold, whether it was never properly heated or their warming trays didn't work. The stands they have in the buffet area where you could make your own pasta or get meat cooked in front of you was located in a bad area where it blocked off parts of the buffet and with the massive lines made it difficult to get at certain foods. I also found that the food was almost never labelled properly; I do not have any allergies, but people do, and the labels should be a priority when setting out food. The resort also ran out of beach towels on a daily basis. We luckily brought our own, so it was not an issue for us, but people were constantly complaining about it. My final thoughts on our experience overall was that the resort is not equipped to manage all of the people it is made to hold. They need more staff, and need to take better steps to make sure there are enough supplies for all the guests.

Big resort but not enough staff to accomidate

Beach was nice but no water for 2 days can really send a negative vibe through out the resort, slow staff, only interested in tipping clients, poor food quality, Buffett always cold, front desk no help once so ever, I heard more "Sorry" from Cubans than Canadians. Both phones in our room did not work, had to change rooms 3 times because of no water or power, block 16301, and then was promised a new room the next day and then of course, "Sorry" we are over booked. They put my wife and I in a ro [... read more]om with 2 single beds. This trip was my anniversary and an absolute waste of money, I would have rather stayed home in the cold. I have never complained before on a site, but this is my one holiday a get a year and felt I was ripped off.

Amazing resort

beach was beautiful - lots of shade as well. Pools were also amazing. Staff were so friendly & helpful. A la cartes were so good & food at the resort was best I had in Cuba. Resort is very large - if you are going there with your family ask to be in a building further away from the Disco that is right beside he resort as they have foam parties outside that go late into the night and can be loud for the buildings beside it - There is also a bowling alley beside the disco that is 5 cucs per person [... read more]. I went with friends, but would like to go back with my family - would go back here again & again

Great resort but some hiccups along the way

The resort itself is beautiful! Good food and overall good service. We had a few hiccups along the road that made our stay difficult. To start we had no hot water during our stay so we had to take cold showers all week. On top of that a few days were spent with no water at all. The sewage outside our room had irrupted and there was water all over the sidewalk We had a bit of a confrontation with the towel worker, he was very rude and threaten to strangle us if we didnt bring our towels bac [... read more]k. He also made comments saying that he is working and we are on vacation which means we can afford to wait a few days to get towels. We spent the first 3 days without a towel and the rest of the stay with the same towel because he never had fresh ones ... On a good note we had a great relationship with the entertainment staff. A special thank you to Jorgito, Elier and Bombino for their amazing dancing and entertainment! Our trip wouldnt have been the same without them and they are the highlight of our trip. Would not recommend this resort for the above reasons but the staff is great !

Some Issues........

Hotel was clean, room was clean, pools clean, beach clean and beautiful..... Arrived at 11.30am did not get room until 6pm...... Most staff were very friendly, other than the Lobby/Front desk staff............. Long line ups at Lobby bar..... Washrooms....shortage or toilet paper and paper towels and some not working. Shortage of plates at buffet restaurant, had to wait most days for plate....and line ups for food..... 24 hr snack bar awful service food was 40min wait for snacks and drinks [... read more] never arrived. No beach towels available for first 2 days..... Food was good at this resort, compared to other Cuban resorts..... The resort was way too busy and not enough staff at lobby bar and 24hr restaurant to cope with the amount of people here, otherwise the resort is great, most staff are very friendly but over worked.

Very nice an clean

The staff was great. The foid was good. We were there last week and the resort was full. Although the staff was fantastic they coukd not keep up. They could use more staff to help during the busy season. I wouls go back and recommend it.