Hotel Camino del Mar: In need of Renovation

The plumbing for this hotel should be completely replaced.Hot water is not always available in the afternoon. Renovation is needed and we have proof that things get broken,but don't get fixed.The transat representative suggested to all that you should put the toilet paper that you use to wipe yourself in the garbage can instead of the toilet as you might block the toiletThe A la carte restaurants are quite good. The small restaurant near the beach is good and serves the best filet of fish The Bu [... read more]ffet we tried to advoid except for b'fast.The grounds are well kept,the beach is one of the nicest and as always the cuban people are very polite and always happy..

Melia Las Dunas: Great for weddings

The resort did a fabulous wedding for my daughter, well organized, lovely setting , great supper after the beach service. Photographer was excellent too. They did all we asked for. The grounds and beach were lovely. I felt they need more staff especially at the lobby bar. We had to wait for coffee and drinks. The staff were very busy. This was the only Cuban resort we have been to where you couldn't get a cocktail such as a Martini or Manhattan. Our room really needed spruced up. The drapes were [... read more] hanging down, the bathtub drained very slowly and we had a note saying no toilet paper in toilet. It was showing its age. Guest services was poor. we asked for a bottle of water as none had been delivered. Asked for and umbrella twice but none came. We love Cuba and have been to much better resorts.

Melia Marina Varadero: Ok resort

Good food, nice grounds. We stayed here 2 years ago and this place has aged significantly. Many indoor areas need ongoing maintenance. The lobby bar/main restaurant washrooms smell awful......we walked back to our rooms to avoid using these facilities.

Sol Rio de Luna y Mares: Very nice stay

The resort was clean and well maintained. The staff were the most pleasant I had ever met. The first time I felt I tipped because of good service and not just to get good service. Beds were so-so as are all beds in Cuba I've encountered so far. Beach was great. Food was good. Buffet needs to be redesigned so it is not so clogged around the food areas.

Paradisus Punta Cana: Good resort

Restaurants were below par for breakfast and lunch. Buffet style. However omlettes were made to order in the morning. No fresh sandwiches offered for lunch or late afternoon. Hot dogs, hamburgers and french fries at pool area bar under heaters in late afternoon. The restaurants for evening dining were average to slightly above average. Entertainment was very good in main lobby offering local talent. Entertainment near the beach in the evening I felt was more for the staff's enjoyment as I looked [... read more] around and saw families and mature couples gather and look somewhat perplexed. The Spa was excellent. Great service. The layout of the resort was conducive to relaxation, spacious and inviting. The front desk staff as well as the concierge professional and extremely helpful. Location on the beach wonderful with security in sight but not obtrusive. Shopping in the resort was minimal but the boutique was excellent serving typical tourist T-shirts but a few higher end products. The golf course was a great and welcome change from the typical resort style, perfectly manicured, overly expensive and non-challenging round. Loved all the three 9's offered. Staff professional. I've saved the best for last....the Passion restaurant was beyond exceptional. The dining experience here was the hightlight of the trip.

Sol Cayo Coco: Beautiful wedding at Sol Cayo Coco!

Just got back from a lovely vacation/ wedding at Sol Cayo Coco! The wedding coordinator was excellent organizing our special day. That day was perfect! Friendly and helpful staff! Went to amazing Pillar beach about 45 minutes away from our resort. Beautiful beach with white powder sand. The beach at Sol Cayo Coco had the best beach of all the hotels along the strip. Kid friendly resort with a kids club. Nice pools also! The food was really good and lots of choices! Definitely did not go hungry!  [... read more]Hotel lobby was very nice. Lots of bars to choose from. Best bar tender was Orlando! He's amazing! Some areas needed some fresh paint and heard a couple rooms has leaked when it rained but they were moved to another room. Great hotel if your on a budget. It's not a five star but still nice. Guests can visit other hotels in the area. Close enough to walk to. People we stayed with enjoyed the pool bar at a nearby hotel.

Melia Las Dunas: hotel getting run down and in need of repairs!

Rooms are tired and dated. Some public washrooms had no seats and most needed repairs. Seemed to be understaffed and service at restaurant and bars very slow. Quality of drinks were not good. Buffet was poor! al-a-carte was ok not great! No quiet area! Resort was very busy! We were not impressed for a 5 star resort!

Melia Las Dunas: Would not return to Melia Las Dunas

Critisms: Too many rude guests, cups and straws everywhere on the beach, overworked staff, poor selection of alcohols, bad wine, occasionally food smelled off, bedding never changed, no quiet zones near water, maintenance issues. Suggestions: Increase price, hire more staff, quiet beach without music. This resort has the potential to be one of the best in Cuba with an infusion of a lot of money. The beach is wonderful, staff tries their best but with limited resources. For example, railings woul [... read more]d be freshly painted but unstable, towels changed but were sour due to incomplete drying, no consistency between services. 80% of our party had G.I. issues. Travelled with 30 others. We upgraded to Premium, and didn't have room issues like many others in our party.Suggestion: Increase price, hire more staff, make the beach a quiet zone without music, don't allow guests to play their own music without headphones This resort has the potential to be one of the best in Cuba with an infusion of a lot of money.

Paradisus Princesa Del Mar: Ups & Downs but Good Overall!

While some of the restaurants absolutely excelled (such as the French - themed Marseilles), the majority were pleasantly mediochre. A notable exception was the "Italian". The food was consistently cold - from soup to lasagna - and generally tasteless. What's more, the service was surprisingly bad. The rooms were spacious, well - appointed, and clean. However, be careful what you leave out lest the chamber maid mistake it for a "present". While the staff are, for the most part, very pleasant and  [... read more]helpful, the constant reminders to "be generous" become downright tedious. The nightly programmes have some wonderful elements to them but after the second time seeing the house dancers, I was bored to tears. Overall, the facilities do show their age but I would definitely not call them run-down or unacceptable. The exception is the large conference room. The beach is fantastic. The best pizza was presented by a very earnest fellow from "Raphael"s. I wanted to give him a separate plug because his pizza absolutely was the best I have had,.

Melia Las Dunas: Great Resort for a Wedding

Overall most of the facilities were excellent with the exception of the rooms. The rooms were dated and in desperate need of a complete overhaul. Our air conditioner ran from the time we arrived until when we left and despite 3 calls to the front desk nothing was done. Also the rooms were not very clean and the curtains came off the track every time we tried to open or close them. These by far were the worst rooms of any of our 8 trips to Cuba. The resort overall seemed to be short staffed. It i [... read more]s a very large complex and was very busy. There were times when we had to wait a long time for service. The grounds were beautiful. Most likely the nicest we have been to.The swimming pools and beach were also great. There were plenty of small dining areas and the food overall would be 4 to 4.5 stars. We went to this resort for a destination wedding. The resort did a great job on the wedding and reception. We had our own private dining room and a special meal for the wedding. The meal was excellent. I would not recommend this resort to my friends because of the poor state of the rooms. If you remove the rooms from the equation I would rate it as a 4.5 star resort.

Sol Rio de Luna y Mares: Nice Resort..

The Resort was Clean, Well Groomed. The Cuban People are Very Freindly with Smiles every day. The Buffet Food was Good but the same Dishes Every day.. Ours Rooms are Cleaned Daily But Late in the day.. Beds mattress "NEED" to Be RE-PLACED :(.. Beach had Shade trees with 2 beach bars & lunches at each end of beach.. 2 Pools - big pool near front Reception with swim up bar and Entertainment daily.. Other Quiet pool with walk up & out bar & lunch tables...Ice cream bar is yummy too ( beside quiet p [... read more]ool ).. Horse & buggy rides are right out front, with old car cabs.. Reception area has Bar , Bank near by, Store for Souvenirs & T-shirts ect.. Every Day there was Different Venders ... We Will Go Back :)

Melia Buenavista: Fabulous resort 5 star plus

The moment we arrived, the initial bus ride to the resort, we were treated like a King and Queen! The check in was cordiual and a great tour of the grounds by Armando was delightful,the junior suite so spacious the balcony view of the sunsets was breathtaking. Outdoor shower was simply amazing, the foods at both dinner restaurants was delicious. The Pool Bar was very entertaining, the bartenders Lester & Osmani were very attentive to all of our needs, a big thank you to you both. Next to the poo [... read more]l bar was an amazing outdoor grill with the best thin crust pizzas, burgers and wings., The nightly entertainment was Cuban culture at its best, a great way to end a day. All 3 beaches were quiet and private, great relaxing moments. The Champagne Sunsets were very romantic with the sax player. We would like to thank Belkis, Armando, Lester, Osmani, Navy, and our maid Lily for making our stay a dream.

Melia Peninsula Varadero: A good all inclusive family resort in Varadero.

The staff at the resort are very friendly and polite and they work very hard to make your stay a pleasant one. The grounds and public areas are always clean and they offer a variety of buffet and dining experiences. The stage performances and bands are enjoyable and provide are a wide range of family and adult entertainment.

Melia Cayo Coco: Terrific time!

Had a wonderful time at the Melia Cayo Coco! The staff are excellent and very helpful. No request is too small for them. The food is terrific at the buffet and at the 3 restaurants . What really impressed me was how clean the resort and beach was. Have been there 3 times and hope to go back there again.

Memories Cayo Largo: Overall Good

Location on the beach was good, but the Sol Pelicano further down the beach has the best beach in that area (less wavy and windy). Staff are generally helpful and the food was good for Cuba (from what I hear). Rooms are quite dated but hotel grounds are very well maintained compared to the Sol Pelicano. Would recommend this hotel if you're going to Cayo Largo.

The Reserve at Paradisus Punta Cana: had a great time

Facilities were outstanding - We had a suite. Huge pool, Restaurants open and airy. Food was great - Lots of variety. Antony at Vento restaurant made our evening. Staff was friendly. Shout out to Raymond and Naomi the social conveners. Best beach front in the area.

Melia Las Dunas: Great resort

Had a wonderful time. Huge resort. Love to walk everywhere everyday! Food was good. Great activities ! Catamaran trip was amazing. We were there for a wedding. Beautiful experience. Weather was perfect.

Sol Cayo Santa Maria: Sol Cayo Santa Maria

Hotel needs a bit of TLC...a little run down. The staff was very good. Food was quite good... but not a huge selection. Very little variation from night to night in the buffet. Both a la carte dining was quite good. Beach was great...beautiful water... my main reason to go to Cuba.

Memories Cayo Largo: Great place to relax and do Nothing

If you are looking for a place to relax and sit by the beach or by the pool and only to do this, then this is the place for you. Beach is beautiful, pool area was nice. There was only one day we couldn’t find a place on the beach to sit in the shade, not problems any other time. There is not much else to do other then relax. There is only 1 excursion that they offer that gives you something to do. The others are to go to another beautiful beach, and relax. Like I said, if you just want to lie  [... read more]around, this is perfect! We were there from Jan 28 to Feb 5, 2016. Weather was amazing the whole week! ROOMS: These are average. Do not expect high end. If you are one to spend time in your room or need a good bed, this is not for you. Bed is a typical worn out sprint mattress. But if you’re just using it for sleeping, it does the trick. Room is very out dated looking, but that is just the decor. Rooms were clean from everyday use, but could use a serious scrub down and a fresh paint job. Bathroom is nothing you write home about. Again needs a good scrub down. You have key cards to enter your room and another key to open your safe. There is a small bar fridge (not stocked). Hair dryer worked great. TV worked and was clear. You have 2 English channels (Discovery and CNN) Our ceiling fan works, would wobbled like crazy and looked like it was going to fall off. AC was a bit confusing. Not sure if it is like this in every room though. When we got there, the AC was turned off. We looked all over the room for a switch to turn it on, but nothing seemed to work. We noticed on the wall that there was a little plastic holder that looks like it would hold a remote, we figured that was for the AC. We were going to go to the front desk to ask if this was missing. As we were leaving, right by the door there is a covered panel box. We opened it up and noticed one of the breakers was turned off, we switched the breaker and the AC turned on. We left for supper and when we came back, it was a bit less muggy but not very cool. We left it for the night thinking that maybe this is what the AC was like. After 2 days, the AC finally started to work. Our room was cold. Sometimes we would have to turn the AC off because it was so cold. So if you don’t think your AC is working, it probably isn’t. FOOD: This was average also. We never went hungry, we always found something to eat, but it is very repetitive. Buffet open 7:30-10:30am(breakfast), 1:00-3:00pm (lunch), 7:00 – 10:00pm (dinner)- For dinner they have 4 stations. 1) Grilling station. They have pieces of meat (chicken, steak, pork, sausage, etc) out and you tell the cook which meat you want and the grill it on a grilling plate. 2) Pasta Station. You tell the cook what type of pasta you want (2 or 3 precooked types) and you pick the ingredients that you want in your pasta (Onion, garlic, pesto, olives, ham, sausage, capers, etc) and pick what sauce you want (tomatoe, meat or alfredo) This mix it all together and cook over a hot plate and serve it to you. 3) Fish station. Same idea of the grilling station, just different types of fish. 4) Main Buffet station. While we were here it was either fish or a roast (beef or pork) that is cut and served to you. In the main Buffett for the sides is where I had the most trouble with. Didn’t recognize most of the dishes and are not brave enough to try. There was very little fresh vegetables but there was some fresh fruit. There was a bread table, lunch meat table, cheese table and dessert table. There ice cream was really good! The buffet was closed for lunch for the week that we were there, so we ate from the pool snack bar. For breakfast, they had an omelette/egg station where you pick your ingredients and they make you a fresh omelette. They also had a fresh crepe station. They had some left over food from the night before, and some more traditional breakfast items (hard boiled eggs, ham and pineapple, Bacon (or what they call bacon)in the main buffet station. They had a cereal section with milk and fruit. The bread section with the toaster. Pool Side Snack Bar open 11:ooam – 6:00pm. This was food that was made to order. Very limited menu items, but were very good. They had Pizza, Pasta, Hamburgers, Chicken, steak, and pork sandwiches. Pizza was amazing, I like the hamburgers and the husband liked the chicken sandwich. Gets very repetitive when you eat it everyday though. Beach side Buffet – Open 11am – 3pm (then turn into an a la carte 7:00-10:00pm) We only went there once and didn’t like anything we seen so we didn’t stay and went to the pool snack bar and very came back to try again, so I can’t really give a review. International A La Carte – We were told that you get 1 a la carte meal. You can see if they have room when booking to book a second one, but you are only guaranteed 1. We choose this one. It was ok. Nice change from the buffet, but far from fine dining. I had the gnocchi (very good) as a starter. Husband had the seafood cocktail (he didn’t like it. Wasn’t a fan of the mayo sauce the shrimp were in). Doe the main we both had the pork with citrus sauce. Pork was over cooked and didn’t taste any citrus in the sauce. Potato mash tasted like it was from a box. Veggies were just ok. No dessert. SERVICE: If you are one that likes to me waited on, this is not for you. There is no pool side or beach servers. You must go to the bar on your own. There is a small bar at the beach. One bar at the pool, 1 bar the at disco (open 7:00pm to 2am) and a bar that is open 24 hours by the theater. Drinks are served in a SMALL plastic glass. So bring something for your drinks or be prepared to walk back and forth a lot. I wasn’t a fan of any of the drinks. I don’t drink beer, I’m more into fruity drinks, and they did not have any here. Their Pina Coladas were terrible. If you don’t like too much booze, make sure you tell them. They are 3 parts rum to 1 part mix. The servers are very friendly (especially Noel in the snack bar) Just don’t expect to be catered to. HOTEL: The grounds are very well taking care of. The room are far from the ocean, so the “Oceanview rooms” aren’t really that great. Yes you can see the Ocean, but very far away. Front lobby if very nice, 4 seating areas and about 8 high table and chairs to sit at. This is where you wait for transportation of to get WIFI. There is a booth for your tourist providers (Sunwing, Transtat, Air Canada. Etc) this is where you book your tours. To your right is the main buffet. You the left of that is your international A La Carte and Disco. The Disco is very small. Has one bar with a wrap around bar top. 2 pool tables and a small dance floor (maybe 6 x 6) Not much to see. In the middle there is a big booth and that is where you reserve your A La Cartes. (from 4:00-6:00pm) To the left of the lobby you will find some bathrooms and a little shop where you can buy a few souvenirs, alcohol and some toiletries and snacks. Outside of the store, there is a 24 hour bar and little patio (not very big) and beside that is the Theater. In the middle is the pool. There are 2 pools. One has the bar which has a swim up bar and volley ball net. It starts at 1.3m and gets to 0.3m at the bar. In the middle of the 2 pools is the hot tub (which was not working the week we were there) The other side has a little area for the kids and just another open pool for swimming. At the end of the pool there is the Pool side snack bar. To the side of the pool there is the towel shop and some games. There is also a little souvenir shop in the back on your way to the beach. There are 3 walkways to the beach. One on the far right leads you to the nude side of the beach, the middle one leads you to the beach buffet and bar and the far left just to the beach. The is a Tennis court behind the theater as well as a clinic, pharmacy and spa back there also. ENTERTAINMENT: During the day there is no entertainment. At 3:30pm the Entertainment crew comes to the pool, does a 3 mins dance and then leaves. 1 or 2 will stay behind and try and get a volley ball game going or some pool exercises. Don’t count on these people to have fun. Their Showtime starts at 10:00pm. They are ok. Nothing to crazy. OVERALL IMPRESSION: This resort I found had a lot of older vacationers (60+ years) which may be why there isn’t much entertainment or activities to do. We are 33 and 35 so we couldn’t really relate to anyone else. To give you an idea, I was unfortunally on that time of the month and at the store at the resort only had 1 single tampon, yet had a whole section for adult diapers. Also, I would say close to 75% of the people there were Italian. Because of this, the staff and entertainment crew spoke very little English. It made it very hard to participate in anything when you don’t know what they are talking about. It was also very hard to meet friends with the language barrier. OTHER TIPS: If you can, try and have a few CUC when you land for tips (if you like to tip) we didn’t have any until we got the hotel and exchanged and felt bad because we couldn’t tip. Advise to the women, when landing at the airport, if you have to use the washroom, make sure you have some toilet paper as there is none there.

Sol Cayo Coco: cozy resort

This resort had the best food that I have experienced in my 3 times to Cuba. The quality of the staff and fresh food at the stations were excellent. I enjoyed choosing which station I would have my food efficiently prepared at.