Hotel Vigia: Pretty nice, but not great.

The beach is beautiful, but overall the resort needs some maintenance/repair. I think why we were disappointed was because we went to visit the Sol Cayo Coco for part of a day and it's so much nicer and I recall the price was about the same as the Cayo Guillermo. I wish we had of booked there instead.

Melia Peninsula Varadero: Wonderful Week!

Highlights included: EXCELLENT food, great staff, lovely set-up, beach bar breakfasts, great drinks, great coffee, very unique and plentiful entertainment, close to Varadero, lots of bottled water, great pool, beautiful beach (who cares about a shelf in the sand???), lobster, scotch selection (!), catamaran trips from the beach for 10 CUCs! Remember: Cuba is NOT North America/Europe - things are different! Rooms are basic but very clean, food and drinks are different, and the country is quite po [... read more]or. The resort is older but still in great shape, bring your own towels and bug spray and realistic expectations and you will have a wonderful trip!

Melia Las Americas: Great golfing, food and beach

Nice resort! Positives are the beach, food and golf. Negatives are ...the pools are not heated, water is cool and refreshing but you can't stay in long, 2 beds rather than one king or queen, the older, quiet and somewhat snobby guests (too many of them for my liking), the lack of fresh juices i. e. orange and tomato, same for the drinks, no fresh bananas to make drinks, no Crystal beer on resort only Buchanero which is a strong beer so we had to buy Crystal at the Plaza and lastly...the service. [... read more] I was expecting friendly top notch service but that was not the case. Some of the hotel workers like Roberto and Julio (entertainment) and Manuela (breakfast buffet) went out of their way but in general service was below par even with tips. Seems like tipping did not matter much at all.

Melia Jardines del Rey: Large resort

Too big for us, trouble walking around, waited sometimes very long for golf cart to pick us up, food not hot, not good at all, al la carte restaurant us ok, bistro was the best. Front desk not helpful at all, we certainly fended for ourselves all week, not willing to help when we needed a ride or help to the beach. We tipped the cart drivers a lot and they were the best they could be. Third night in tipped the housekeeper 5 Passos then got water and coffee left for us, but until we tipped. Groun [... read more]ds were cleaned just way to big and too much walking, for someone with mobility problems.

Melia Las Americas: excellent resort, great people, great food

Melia Los Americas was amazing, clean, great staff, beautifully kept grounds, would recommend this resort to my friends. Varadero golf course was also very beautiful and we'll maintained as well along with great scenery

Hotel Vigia: Great staff but needs a facelift

This hotel is a bit dated but they seem to be doing renovations and redoing the grounds. The staff are excellent and they really go the extra mile for you. Food is good for Cuba and it's not a very busy busy resort because it's a bit smaller. The beach is beautiful and on a calm day you can walk out for hundreds of feet in warm shallow water.

Paradisus Princesa Del Mar: Wonderful Holiday Princea Princess Del Mar

The resort needs some serious TLC but as we got a great deal it was worth it. I felt bad that some people spent much more and can understand their disappointment with some parts of the resort. Overall a great holiday. I would book again through Trip Central as our agent... Tammy was fantastic every step of the way!

Melia Marina Varadero: Melia Marina Varadero

A nice, newer hotel located right at the end of the peninsula. Beautiful views of the Marina and only a short walk from the beach. Beach is very nice and is supported by a Beach Bar and a very nice Beach Restaurant, you must try the Cuban Broth. A La Carte Restaurants are Fantastic, BUT the Buffet at Supper was poor, Food was cold and Service was slow, lack of Plates and Coffee Cups did not help. Rooms are Very Nice and Spacious, Biggest gripe was that Our towels were not replaced all week. Try  [... read more]to avoid the basement rooms, although it is nice to have a walk out you have no view as you are below the pool level. Pool is very nice and always lots of Loungers available, lack of shade is an issue if you get too much sun. Swim Up Bar / Pool Bar you get good service all Day. Lobby Bar be prepared to wait for your drinks, doesn't matter whether you go up to the Bar or order from a Waitress, service is slow. Entertainment Staff give it their all on a smaller budget than the larger resorts. Although a little remote, a good 30 minutes from town, you can ride the Open Top Double Decker Bus all day for 5 CUC. A trip to Havana is a must and in my opinion a Private Taxi is the way to go, even for a Couple it works out cheaper than the Bus Tour, if you have 4 people it is a quarter of the price. We had a driver and a tour guide who spoke very good English, Pick up at 9 in the morning, Private Tour of Havana and drop off at 5 for 130 CUC, Fantastic deal and a great day away from the resort. By Cuban standards a very Good trip but that is reflected in the price. During our time there we did not see many Children and it is definitely an Older Crowd. If you want to Party go elsewhere.

Hotel Camino del Mar: Melia Where?

Trip changes ta the last minute by the wonderful people at Transat. No problem with that considering the Melia CG were having air conditioning issues (AKA AC not working so well). Melia Garden Del Rey was a suitable replacement thyough Transat offered few options.

Melia Las Dunas: Relaxing and beautiful holiday

This was our first all inclusive and first trip to Cuba. These are my notes - tripcentral was helpful and responsive before we left - Hola sun was a small travel agent in Cuba so we got a lot of personal attention - hotel was showing some age but was still beautiful with great food options (we missed the buffet but could still get great omelets at the poolside snack bar) - room was very comfortable and we would watch ctv news on tv each day

Melia Jardines del Rey: Nice Resort

Large Resort, Very New and Clean. Staff very Friendly! Beach is Beautiful but does have some rocky sections. Lots of Aquatic Life Crabs, Starfish, Sea Snails etc. Bring Water shoes! Lots of Shade available at the beach. Most Staff spoke good English. The resort had a kids show and adult show every night, as well as various musical acts in the afternoons. The resort is not close to any town. Closest town Maron is 45 minutes away, So most excursions are full day trips. Dolphinarium is 20 Minutes b [... read more]y Bus. Overall had a great time and no one got sick!

Melia Varadero: Memories Varadero

Beautiful resort, a bit of everything for everyone. Wonderful and friendly people, good food. My only problem was that the beds need to be replaced at this resort (mattress was very old, felt like I was sleeping on springs with no paddings)

Melia Caribe Beach Resort: very nice resort

Nice beach, food is good especially at the French restaurant and the Capri restaurant. The resort is very clean and beautiful. the menu on the buffet could be varied more often. Our room was properly maintained.

Melia Varadero: I would recommend it to anyone

The location, close to the town of Varadero was great and the hotel sat right on the ocean and had a gorgeous pool. The rooms were lovely as was the staff. We stayed on the concierge level which was worth the extra cost especially if you are a golfer as 6 rounds were included and all services (spa, tours) were offered at substantially better rates. There was a private restaurant/bar. We loved our stay at the hotel.

Sol Varadero Beach: It was fine!

We stayed on the Sirenas side from Feb 17-24. The weather was great (about 22-25 all week) the beach was wonderful and only required a 3-4 minute walk across the grounds from the main building. Clean, and plenty of beach chairs and space to lounge all day. The hotel was pretty old, but clean and there was no evidence of any sort of pests/bugs - that's all that's important, right? We always had warm water in the shower and a fresh bottle of water left in the room. The food was what I expected for [... read more] a 3.5 star in Cuba - it was fine. The Coral side has a bbq grill out at dinner, when we figured that out we stuck to that side for dinners. We tried two of the a la carte restaurants (mexican and cuban) and would recommend just sticking to the buffet. Also, on the Sirena side there is a snack bar near the beach that grills meat etc for lunch, my partner really enjoyed his lunches there. There are areas of the grounds that seem to be shut down/run down, that didn't impact our trip at all, just a sign that the facility is old. With respect to "which side is better", I suppose the lobby/inside of Coral looked better and their poolside area was a bit nicer, but really, you have access to both sides so who cares. I was glad we had the Sirena side because it was a closer walk to the beach. I would recommend this hotel to someone with realistic expectations. If you're just going to relax on the beach and don't need anything fancy, this place will do just fine.

Melia Marina Varadero: As expected

The place was far from full when we were there (Feb 23-Mar01) so some of my thoughts may have been different if it was full. The buffet was not bad, better than I expected, about the same as a 4 start in D.R. or the Mayan. There was enough seating (barely) for the number of people staying at the time. The A La Carte's were not good, after our first, when I left half a plate of beef grizzle, we, upon recommendation of other guests skipped the last 2 and stuck with the buffet. The beach restaurant [... read more], open 24 hours according to the brochure was open 2pm-6pm (perhaps because of low occupancy??) The lobby bar was the busiest, but could handle it. There was entertainment 1 night, unless you count someone playing the piano on about 4 other nights. They fog for mosquitos, I got bit, but insects seem to love me. The beach, which is quite nice has the usual southern sand fleas, they did a number on me, but again insects love me and I am allergic to bites, most people likely wouldn't notice. The money the tourists use is tied to the U.S. dollar. Paper currency is 1,3,5,10,20 and I don't know where it goes from there. Coins are similar of Canada, but no tooney. 2 things on the money, the commission to exchange Canadian to Cuban was about 6% (on top of the exchange) at the "bank" in the hotel. A real bank was about 20Kms away, where it was 3%. Given I only used about 150 CAD in cash it was no big deal, but others may see it more critically. The really dumb thing was is was like pulling hens teeth to get one's in paper or coin or any kind. They never had any small stuff, which we need to tip with. I got around this by making small purchases at the convenience store onsite which forced them to give me change. Heck of a thing, one would think they would make tipping size cash readily available. We did the Havana tour on a bus, 12 hours in total. This hotel is end the very end on the peninsula, so 1st picked up on the hotel run and last dropped off. We paid 100 CAD each..........not bad compared to other places, included an entirely forgettable lunch. Beer on the bus 2 pesos (2 U.S.) Water and pop 1. Many people at the resort had success ( no bad stories at all) taking cabs for the day to Havana. 150 pesos for the day, no included lunch, but you eat where you wanted. These trips took 8-9 hours..... no hotel dropoffs and not necessary to wrangle 40 people per stop. If I had to do it again, I would do it this way. The cabbie acted as tour guide. The next question is would I recommend it to a friend. The real answer is depends on the cost. We paid 2500 for the 2 of us, I would not pay more than that, but withing that range , yes

Melia Jardines del Rey: Don't believe the bad reviews

We were there from Feb 16th to Mar 1st. We loved the resort, the shows were great,rooms were big and nice. The buffet food was good by Cuban standards. As for the a la cartes, we liked the Italian, the Bistro and the Aqua. At the Fuego, we all chose the lamb and it was so tough we could not eat it and it was cold. The rest of the meal was very good and the service in these 3 restaurants was excellent. The one we did not have a good experience at was the Asian, to start they offered sushi but, to [... read more]ld us they did not serve it, the soup was cold and tasteless, main entres 2 out what we ordered were not available white wine was warm and we all ordered the same thing for dessert and we all got something totally different without even an apology when we told them. Service was terrible. The beach was a big disappointment, even though we had read the reviews and brought water shoes, I did not expect it to be as bad as it was. Yes you could go to either side a few hundred yards, but my sister has a back problem and found it hard to walk in the sand to get to the nice water. Pools were beautiful, but I go for the sand and the ocean and this was a disappointment Sand Fleas were terrible as were the mosquitos. We brought Watkins with 30% deet and it worked if you remembered to put it on, it even helped with the itching. I had a reaction to a mosquito bite and had to go to the doctor which I have to say was much easier than seeing one in Canada. I find the exchange to CUC is ridiculous, they say it is worth more than even US money and the Euro, which is totally absurd as you can only use it in CUBA!! If they fixed the beach, which they say they will, and if they start spraying for mosquitos also start raking the sand on the beach for the sand fleas. I would go back, but for me this was a real downer. I should say that my hubby did not get one bite from anything, and he didn't use Watkins. The rest of us were driven crazy lol. I would recommend this resort but with a warning for the above My rating for the pools is a 5 but for the beach it will be a 3

Melia Las Dunas: Nice resort; Overcrowded

I've been to Cuba 3 times before and unfortunately this time was the worst of my trips. I'm usually well prepared for the step down in food quality but the food at this resort was some of the worst I've ever had in Cuba. I think the main reason for this is the resort was at capacity and were quickly running out of popular items such as fries and chicken. Many times we were left to only a few choices on the menu, and the buffet did not have as many staples as we had grown accustomed to on our pre [... read more]vious vacations. We had our wedding which was the highlight of our trip. We were well taken care of by the resort and most likely had a much better time because of this. If you plan on getting married in Cuba then this resort is wonderful. Beautiful scenery and the extra attention masks any potential negatives the resort might have. The hotel staff did their utmost to make our stay special, and they succeeded. A few tips: Do not go for the private dinner as it cost us 650 CUC for 19 guests and not a single one of our guests could stomach the food (shoe leather steaks). Other than that, the entire wedding day went smoothly due to the diligent work of Maria Elena the hotel wedding coordinator. Oh, and the photographer is a MUST, he was amazing and took some wonderful pictures to capture the day. TLDR: Very nice resort, but very busy which resulted in limited food choices. Amazing resort/staff for weddings.

Melia Las Dunas: Will not return

We stayed at Melia Las Dunas Feb.5-Mar.3rd. This is our second trip to Cuba, 4 times to Dominican and Mexico a few times so we have basis to compare. We would rate this resort 3 star at best! Pros: - Beautiful Beach - but narrow - Pools are clean - Lobby is beautiful and offer great entertainment - Drinks were decent - Grounds were nice - Ice Cream Parlour was a favourite place - Buffet was clean and great service-food was decent for Cuba (but a couple of us had major tummy trouble) - No bug bi [... read more]tes Cons: - Rooms were dated and musty and not very clean. - We didn't have hot water for the whole week! It's ok if you're an adult you can deal with it but try bathing two kids in cold water all week! - Mini Bar was never stocked so we had to call guest services everyday to get it stocked. -We didn't have pool towels they ran out everyday. They open at 10am so we finally got 4 on day 3 and could go and enjoy the beach and pool. - Phone and door in room was broken but were fixed by day 2. - They didn't change sheets unless you left a note with the cleaners, otherwise the beds were just made with the same sheets. - Store doesn't open until 10am and closes whenever they feel like it. - Couldn't get a pool chair unless you go out early around 6-7am and put towels on them. - Could never get a trolley they were always too busy with luggage so a ton of walking which is ok at times but not with two sick kids. Most resorts that are 5 star have a passenger trolley. -Resort is very big and it seems the workers are overworked so Customer Service was hit and miss. I brought gift bags for the ladies or worked in the buffet and they were very grateful. Tips: -Bring Tylenol, children's cold medicine because you can't buy at the store. Every resort we have been too has offered medications but this resort doesn't. My daughter got a fever over 104 and they told us to take a cab to the pharmacy. 70 pesos each way plus the cost of medication!! -Bring facecloths and ketchup We will not return to this resort

Melia Jardines del Rey: Large new resort

It's a new resort so the landscaping is still growing into a lush surrounding. The gardeners are hard working friendly people especially Datchel and Ailier. Give them all thumbs up. The staff in the dining was very efficient and attentive kudos to Christi and her Co workers . Food was actually quite good can never go wrong on breakfast. Lots of hot water beach towels seem to be a problem but hey I don't need a fresh one every day same goes for the bathrooms. A washcloth would be nice however. Al [... read more]l in all worth going back too. I experienced no insect problems at all.However it is usually windy a blessing in the summer but not so much in Jan or Feb.