The perfect Resort

My husband and I went for our 15 year anniversary, wasn't sure what to expect, we had never been to Cuba before, we loved it! The resort was beautiful, staff were great and food was good, there was lots of different things to choose from . The pools were the best pools we have ever seen at resorts. They were huge and clean . We will definitely be going back.

Some inconveniences

One major problem occured in the bungalow no 11 where my room 11209 was located. Indeed, a messy sewage situation occured just the day I arrived - October 31st. No communication from the front desk or the hotel happened to explain the source of that foul odor in my room and others' rooms in the same building. I do not like to complain, especially in an environment of poverty. I have lived in Africa and it has taught me to be very very tolerant of the consequences of poverty. It is on [... read more]ly on the next to last day of my stay that the chamber maid finally turned the fan on... something I did not know even existed in my room. That morning, the odor was extremely strong due to the fact that I had shut my patio door to avoid hearing the bulldozer working throughout the night just in front of our bungalow no 11 (on the beach). By 7am, I was out of my room every morning due to that foul smell that I feared to be toxic to me. The fan helped considerably to clear out that foul odor. I was so pleased by this gesture that I reported the situation to the customer service desk in order to offer a particular tip for that initiative. But, as I also proposed to the customer service desk upon my departure, the chamber maid should have made sure that the room 11209 was aired and ventilated right from day 1 of this sewage situation, which was not done. In my view, this situation was altogether very badly handled by the hotel. Also, the toilet in my room 11209 was not cleaned during the first 3 days of my stay. The shower contained enough mildew traces to discourage the usage of the bath and shower. The floors were also enough covered with mildew that I did not walk bare foot in that room. Cuba being still under embargo, shortages of cleaning products, tools, paint, maintenance were very evident. This resort seems to be a 5-star complex. I believe that it is more a 3.5 star complex. The back door of my room did not lock. Even then, after a couple of days on the resort, I felt safe enough not to worry about that situation. Regarding the food and its quality, it was definitely not a 5-star type of buffet. Just the same, it was evident that all efforts were made by the staff to be polite and as helpful as they can be in the circumstances. The fact that you could see what you ate was very reassuring - example: fish that I could chose and have grilled in front of my eyes. One evening I left hotel paper and anti-mosquito products on the table while I went to serve myself at the buffet. Upon my return, everything had disappeared. This event was reported to customer service and the dining room manager. All in all, I still enjoyed my stay since I was able to be out and about 18 hours a day, spending time in my room only to sleep the 6-7 hours per night that I require.

Stayed a week at Melia and was most impressed!

Upon arrival to the hotel, the registration was in a large room where your passports were gathered by the hotel management to confirm hotel registrations and begin check in. This was unusual but other than feeling like we were sitting in a classroom seemed fairly efficient. There was also an opportunity for us to exchange our currency during this time to make the wait a little more bearable. The hotel was quite accommodating. We needed their services a few times and they were prompt and kind.  [... read more] All the staff was polite, happy and most welcoming. The grounds were kept well. Some attention needs to be given to the beach and main lobby bathrooms. They are highly used and at times were out of toiletries. Our maids even wrote handwritten notes to thank us for their gifts..... This is my 5 time in Cuba and I was most impressed with the food at this resort. There was a good selection and we all enjoyed the a la cartes too. They had little extras for all the guests including a variety of creatures for the guests to enjoy, water excercise classes, even a deep fried dessert station. The live music at night was delightful. Great effort from the entertainment team but this is an area that could be improved upon. Our only other suggestion is softer beds.

Fabulous Resort with Everything!!

This Hotel was Superb!,, Rooms were spotless and cleaned everyday, showers were great with lots of hot water , fresh towels everyday. TV service in room was great with our news and movies if you wished, Bar Fridge was full everyday and fresh water bottle daily, Maids could not do enough for you. Air conditioning was great,,,,,Balconies were big and a safe in your room..Big Kingsize bed with extra lounge and desk and chairs and coffee maker, iron, weight scale, blow dryer...$150 room anywhere  [... read more]for sure! The buffet had anything you could possibly want , fresh breads, pizza daily, omellets made daily, crepes, many great cheeses, smoothies , many desserts, so much to choose from. We went to one of our free restaurants that were included and it was the French one and had a fabulous steak dinner . Beach huts were plentiful, the beach luncheon buffet was always full of great food. 24 hour snack bar was also great and handy, The POOLs were so clean, a deep one for swimming and many up to waist so you can go to the Pool bars. Many covered huts by pool with a big mattress type lounge great for reading.. Ice cream huts, coconut huts. Main Bar in lobby had any drink you could want( very impressive) Everyone in this resort was friendly and could not do enough for you,,,they even had small electric vehicles taking you from your room to buffets and anywhere you want on the resort. Front desk exchanged your canadian money anytime . Entertainment nightly was fun and always something going on in the lobby! Snorkelling was not the best but beach was fine, we did not see many fish, but the hurricane had just gone through so thats likely why....Vendors on site for your souvenir buying and not expensive.... Also the ride from airport was not long and it was air conditioned again with friendly people welcoming us to their resort

Not great

Grounds were not kept up, pool area and water dirty, food ok room service was poor water bottles not replaced always had to call for bath towels went there in March 2016 was great however tried again this October but resort is only 50% open which which caused all the difficulty not enough staff to keep vacationers happy.

Would Definitely Go Back!

I found the resort to be exactly what I expected...clean, accommodating and very friendly staff. They totally went out of their way to make sure that our stay was as enjoyable as it possibly could be. I would definitely go back!

Great resort

Our room was in bungalow 25. It seemed to be very updated and house keeping did a great job everyday. We were right behind the "quiet pool" with a snack bar that was open for lunch. We were also only steps away from the lobby, which was very convenient as we were travelling with children. Our building was also across from the gym and 24 hr doctor, (who was fantastic!), and unfortunately we did have to see in the middle of the night. Our only complaint with this building is that it is very close  [... read more]to the disco that had very loud, outdoor parties till after 2am on Thursday and Saturday while we were there. Guest services was very apologetic about the noise, but because the disco is not actually part of the resort, there was not much more they could do. Others in our group had originally been put in bungalow 14, which was near the beach, beach bar and restaurant. They said it was very dirty upon arrival and their view was a mud field, which gave off a pretty unpleasant smell. They immediately moved to our bungalow. The a la carte restaurants we booked (oriental, Italian, cuban) were not that great, but we had no problem going to the buffet as they had good selection and was actually really good food...and not just to Cuban resort standards! Of all Cuban resorts I've been to, this was by far the best I've had. Very pleasantly surprised. The grounds and pools, from what we saw, we're very well maintained. We did have rain a few of the nights, so the lobby did get a bit slippery with flip flops. However the workers were always doing a great job to clean it up quickly. All the workers we encountered were always pleasant. We got to know our usual restaurant servers and they would even save our table in the buffet. Tips were never expected, but always very appreciated. Cayo Coco has great beaches and nice scenery. We did spend a few hours in the town of Moron (about an hour away) for a bit of shopping and some lunch. I don't know if I would bother to do that again as you wouldn't spend more than a few hours there which I couldn't been at the beach instead. As for the beach though, bring water shoes. There are a few feet of rocks as you walk in the water, but if you have shoes, you'll be able to enjoy the beach no problem. Overall we really loved the resort and have very few complaints.

This really was an amazing resort!!

We had an amazing stay at Melia Jardins del rey resort. Food was delicious and there was a variety to choose from each day. The workers at the resort were friendly and always willing to help in any way to make your stay a wonderful experience. Rooms as well as the resort in every aspect was very clean. Entertainment was great! My husband and I have nothing negative to say about this resort, we loved every minute of our stay.

Needs alot of improvement!

Mosquitos are the pest here!!!! never received in the minibar what supposed to be in,even told the customer service that. front lobby people and bar people are great though! entertainment LITERALLY is disaster!tevery day dancing and ballet kind of stuff never interacted with the people .overall we will never go here again your best bet to go is CAYO GUILLERMO. Beach is white sand BUT when you wanna go in to water full of stones. There is no disco her except u pay a fee of 15 to 25 cuc to e [... read more]nter and on top of it for drinks which i think is insane.

Very good resort.

Had fun, food was in a way typical Cuban all inclusive buffie, we did not bother with the alacart so can not comment on them. Only two bad things about our room. The maid did not replenish the mini fringe items, so on leaving all that there was in it was one can of beer. There was a coffe maker, coffee and sugar but no coffee whitener. The resort is also very big / spread out. So walking unless you are fit can be a problem. This was fixed by having golf cart type transport you can call to [... read more] get from your room to the lobby and back. The various buildings are 3 floors with no elevators. So for some that may be a challenge.

Average

The hotel itself was huge- the staff were friendly. The room was tidy and we were lucky to be in the second bungalow as other guests in bungalows 16 and further were not receiving towel replacements as they would run out after the first few bungalows. The beach was a disaster - you need water shoes to be able to walk into the water as it was filled with rocks. They also have their sewage system running right behind the beach area so If you decided you wanted to lay a bit further away to avoid he [... read more]avy rock areas you would be bombarded with the constant smell of sewage water.

Melia Rules

The hotel was lovely. The best part of this resort were the meals. The buffet offered delicious food with exceptional service. We were very impressed every day and every night. The only downfall was the location of the beach. We had to walk to the right or to the left of the beach to get a spot that did not have rocks. All the staff were incredibly friendly. Thanks to all who made our vacation memorable. Melia Rules

Excellent

The meals were beyond excellent. Many people who had visited Cuba had told us that the food was mediocre, but this resort offered food beyond our expectations. Our accommodations were good. The beach was beautiful but you had to walk a little to the left or to the right to avoid the rocky part.

Excellent Resort

I went in mid-August 2016 with 2 friends and we had an excellent time. The resort was very clean and the staff were amazing with lots of activity going on. I would go back and highly recommend staying here.

Recent visit to Malia Jardine Del Rey

I found the ground and public areas were pretty basic. The food court didn't have an inviting ambiance Food was so so. We had to stand in line to get fish Mosquito were eating people alive Paid Internet service had very poor connection The rooms were nice and clean The swimming pools were very nice and big Service was good

Great hotel

Melia was a nice resort. Property very clean. Employees provide great services(Tipping recommended). Beach very rocky bring your beach shoe. Not much activities for kids. Minimal pool activities. Food bring your own spice.

Huge Hotel

We stay here from July 31st to Aug 7th. This hotel is huge!! Lots of walking, the rooms are beautiful and clean, people are very friendly with the exception of some of the front desk clerk# let's just say tips go along way with them. Buffet is very raw in scent, food wasn't good there. The food was ok at the snack bars however there are too much bird poops on the table/chairs this made me and a few other guest disgusted! We tried 3 al la carte restaurants the bistro and Aqua were Amazing!!! Howe [... read more]ver the Mediterranean was nasty it has small bugs crawling over the table and the food was horrible. The pools looked beautiful( I didn't go in them) the beach is quite the walk but it's beautiful(just bring water shoes and you' ll be ok). Nightly activities are also really nice just a bit repetitive. Lastly the lobby linens needs to be cleaned they are practically black from all the dirt and that takes away from its beauty.

Resort to be avoided

I had to go to their customer service every day to get what I was entitled to + we had food poisoning as well on top of that. For those in the customer service office, I was a real nightmare. In the end, they apologized me in writing and gave me a bottle of Cuban rum. The resort is inundated with mosquitoes and no one seemed to care much about that. WiFi prepaid cards - sold for 2 CUC per hour, but in reality you can use it 15-20 min only. The exchange office is ripping tourists off. They gi [... read more]ve you 65 CUC for 100 CAD instead of giving you 78 CAD as per official exchange rate. The rooms and resort are new, well maintained and look nice and clean. The restaurant staff is polite, courteous and helpful. The beach and water are excellent. I wouldn't recommend this resort to anyone as a 5-star category, because it just isn't- taking everything into consideration and anything paid more than 700 CAD per person is a waste of money. All Inclusive is just a slogan; in reality, it's too far away from that.

Great

The resort was overall very great. Food, beach, pool, and service was exceptional. However the only complaint would be about the cleanliness of the washrooms, but other then that the resort was great. Would definently recommend it!

Good Resort

Hotel lobby - fabulous, large lots of seating available. Good bar. Hotel Rooms - great. Only negative would be the coffee/tea/beer not replaced everyday Food - needs some improvement, although there are choices, not enough green veggies or even lettuce for salads. Hotel Concierge - very helpful when i contacted them directly to assist with my Mum's wheelchair and hotel room requests. Pool - enjoyed Pool Restaurant - food was very good and made a change from the buffet Restaurant Reservat [... read more]ions - limited to 3 only. Long line ups and times not great. Food a little better. Beach - too many rocks, so hard to walk out into the sea. heard from bartender that a Dutch firm is being brought in to add tons of sand. which will cover the rocks and make the sand/beach itself extremely more wider. Close to the airport which is a bonus.