Melia Las Dunas: Melia Las Dunas

We were very pleased with this resort. We found the food to be good always something to chose from that you would like. The room was very clean and we were very happy to see how clean the resort kept the buffet area and outdoor restaurants.

Melia Jardines del Rey: A beautiful large resort

We arrived Melia Jardines late in the evening, cause Sunwing flight was delayed 2 hrs to fix the door switch of the plane. Check-in was like a breeze, and organized, that was a good start. The 24 hrs snack bar was still open and we had a good late dinner, even ice cream and caramel cake were served for dessert. :) with a nice music from the speakers. The foods at the hotel were pretty good and plenty, and we don't have any stomach problem. For me, I was satisfied and happy with the foods. The c [... read more]ook stations were good. We had stir- fried spawns one or two occasions, it was yummy. The beach was a disappointment dues to coral and rock, no sand or too small beach/ no beach . We had to walk far 100m to the left to the Pestana hotel beach in order to swim. At the border of two resorts Pestana and Melia Jardines, there are some beach chairs cost $2 / each for Melia customers. So for me, it is not right. The Melia should provide beach chairs for free to their guests, at least, to compensate their lacking of beach. We never tried the pools. They have a foam party every Friday or so around 4 PM, and it was fun, a lot of youngsters and dances...and it was fun to watch too. The employees are nice, friendly and helpful. They are well-trained in customer services, and we tipped a lot as we were happy to have their services. The mosquito was a killer. Despite of bringing insect repellent, we still had got bitten, my brother never had been bitten at other resorts, but got a lot at Melia. I think it is from the lagoons, I don't know what they were called, the shallow water around the resort that near to the beach...The resort has fumigate in the early evening, but still not prevent the hungry mosquitoes... The resort itself is beautiful and large, the good thing is they have the shuttles running around the resort so often. So the people with mobility issues will find it convenient. We stayed at building 12, it is good to walk to the beach and the lobby or restaurant, it took around 3,4 minutes. The entertainment were very good, a lot of music bands in the evening plus the main shows that start at 9:30 PM. They have a lot of talented dancers, the Michael Jackson show was excellent. However, we found that night shows a bit boring as they just have dance repeatedly night after night, they can alter with magic or funny magic...or singing. I know Cuban artist is very good. The white night show was good too. It was actually a fashion show and disco night. It was fun. we loved it as we could not find a disco at the resort, until the last couple days we found a little town which from the theater you can walk behind it to pass the gym and medical office to get to a little town that consist of a disco, a Japanese restaurant $, a spa $, souvenir shops...etc...the disco $5 CUC for entrance.. I found Melia Jardines has a lot of activities, they are so lively and full of energy. They have dance lesson, Spanish lesson...etc...the entertainment team at the pool is active. The room was good and clean. It is great to sit at the lobby,which is huge, a lot of chairs and tables and beds....and get some breezes...We enjoyed sitting there after lunch to chat and drink. We went to Pilar beach. It is so beautiful...we saw fish and jellyfish... We absolutely will return to Melia Jardines del Rey, and we recommend it to our friend and family.

Melia Marina Varadero: Beautiful resort

The resort was beautiful. The apartments are a bit far from the beach but had its own little pool and bar which was nice. We had ants in room but a beautiful marina view. Food was bland as to be expected. We felt bad for the people of Cuba and wish we brought more gifts like medicine, toiletries, baby items.

Melia Las Dunas: Great Family Vacation

We went at the end of November/beginning of December 2015. We had a good time. Weather was great and beach was nice too. Good variety of food. The a la carte restaurants (Asian, Mexican, Italian) were pretty good too. Staff was generally very good and helpful. In the buffet dining room, we had excellent service from Jorge. We made sure to sit in his area whenever he was on duty. We stayed on the resort the entire time. That was enough excitement with two young children. The kiddie pool was pref [... read more]ect for our son to play in with adult supervision. Some drawbacks: mosquitoes from the evening until the morning. Air conditioning didn't work our last evening there. We were also able to have family photos taken with a photographer set up by the resort. We enjoyed our vacation.

Sol Palmeras: Up to reputation

Sol Palmeras lives up to its 4 star reputation. The staff is very accommodating and friendly, the bungalow I was assigned to was clean, very comfortable and allowed for an escape to a completely quiet zone when necessary. Great value for the money invested!

Sol Varadero Beach: Good place falling apart

Beach, location is good. The buildings are in the state of dilapidation. A piece of concrete fell from the balcony ceiling missing me by 10 sec. Shower hardly worked. Food was diverse enough, though often too salty. Service people were very good.

Sol Palmeras: A very satisfying experience at Sol Palmeras

The hotel is very clean and the staff is very friendly and accommodating. The food was very good and the variety is excellent. The beach is amazing as well the pool. The resort is very clean and I would recommend to my friends and family.

Melia Marina Varadero: Not impressed

This hotel was a bit tired and the rooms were in need of updates. The stairs down to the pool were very dark and the chandelier needed to be replaced. This resort is not in the beach. The chairs in the main lounge were so heavy you needed two people to move them.

Hotel Vigia: Good value for price paid amazing beach!!!

This resort could be a jewel but Sol Melia needs to spend some money to bring it back to its glory. They are out on the beach daily raking the sea debris. The hotel was not at capacity and lots of available loungers at beach and pool On the calm days, you can walk forever it seems because of the sand bars. The food in general is fine. As I've always said, you don't go to Cuba if you are a foodie. You don't go hungry but you don't rave about it either. I ate buffet every day. Breakfast starts at [... read more] 7:30, lunch at 1 and dinner at 7:30. A few people I met thought the buffet should open earlier. Besides the buffet there are 3 stations, in the morning there is the omelette/egg station, and a pancake/french toast station. Lunch and dinner they are grilled meat, pasta and grilled fish. I did the pasta station daily, the sauces don't have much taste but sometimes they had garlic, tomato, peppers and ham to add to your sauce mixture and most days padano was available to sprinkle on top. I also did the grilled fish daily for calamari. They also had 2-3 types of fish and shrimp. Again, they had salt, spices and oil did add on top. If you were later for meals, the paella was gone. There was the usual fare of food on the buffet, a few things for salads, cheese, cold cuts and breads. Typically there was: corn, peas, carrots, sweet potatoes, fries, rice, chicken pieces in sauce, beef in sauce, lamb in sauce and some type of fish. They also carved beef most days. Breakfast had great fresh fruit but sadly that was not available for lunch or dinner. There was an assortment of sweet rolls at breakfast and yogurt. Lunch/dinner had an assortment of desserts and ice cream. If you wanted, you could grab a snack at the snack bar, close to the stage. They are open when the buffet is close, prior to lunch and between lunch and dinner. They have mini pizza, burgers, hot dogs and ham/cheese sandwiches. The new Ranchon looks like it is several months away from opening. It is on the west side of the resort and beach front. The old beach bar is still on the west side next to the beach, and the lunch time grill was open most days, offering burgers, fish, chicken and pork if you were early enough. The lobby bar is open in the evenings and the regular bar by the stage is 24 hours. If you are on the beach on the west side of the resort you have to walk to a bar, there is nothing close. We got to the resort at noon but our rooms weren't available until 3. Front desk staff are very good to work with for check in/out, currency exchange and other questions. Beach towels are at the hut by the pool/stage. My room was fine ocean view. We had an incident next door a tourist got very violent at 2.00 in the morning was screaming in Russian and pounding on other guests room windows and doors. He ended up kicking down his own down and destroying the room including the patio door glass. This glass was still all over the grass and patio 2 days later which was a great concern as we travelled with a 4 year old child. The room was cleaned daily Towels were folded if not placed on the floor in the shower stall. You pay for your safety deposit box. I had an issue with a fridge which was fixed in a few hours. The chamber maid was a very kind soul named Juani she did her best to welcome us back to the room with towel art and flowers ect. There were roach type bug I saw in my room in the evening so I placed by bath mat at the gap in the hotel door at night. We had a few things stolen from our balcony a t-shirt, bathing suit and socks. This was most likely tourists. I did not stay around the pool day time so I can't comment on the animation team, although they did nothing on the beach. I stayed for the show a few nights. I was disappointed, the evening shows were not up to the same level they were 3 years ago. One night the show was a quiz type night and another had the house band play at the disco with the dancers getting guests to dance with them. The disco was not always open. I met some great people from Argentina, Edmonton, Hamilton, Italy, Montreal, Saskatoon, Toronto and the UK. I'm not complaining, for the price I paid it was an OK vacation. The hotel can't control the weather nor the infestation of mosquitoes in all of Cayo Coco. This was my 11th time in Cuba. I would rate this resort a 3 by Cuba standards.

Melia Peninsula Varadero: Different resort

It looks like a plantation The rooms are pretty nice. The service is good as long as you tip. The food is pretty good but always the same no variety. They have a nice pool with lots of activities & chairs. The beach is nice. Unfortunately we had terrible weather so that was a downer & the power kept going out.Also a lot of us got bug bites (very itchy) but I'm sure if you have good weather it would be a beautiful vacation.

Melia Cayo Santa Maria: Needs improvements

Pretty old resort. The beach is beautiful. The pools are well maintained. However,It is not a 4.5*. I would rate it 3*. The people though are nice and friendly and they work hard to keep all guests happy.

Melia Marina Varadero: The level of this resort should not be a 5 Star

The staff were great and very helpful for the most part and the exception was the front desk personnel - very standoffish and not too helpful at times. The food was good and what one would expect. However, our room was not too clean and we had to be moved because of infestation of Bugs!!! Not commenting on the kind they were.

Paradisus Rio De Oro: amazing resort

First they are saying a 5 star but i would rate it a 4, just because it needs a little TLC all around, beside that the food was excellent we are a la carte people but stayed at the buffet all week so many choices and was good. The rooms always clean, the service was excellent from maid, bartender, ground people always with a smile on theire face. Entertainement was excellent starting with the before shows to the main one.

Memories Cayo Largo: Fantastic improvement over last year!

This was the second year at Sol Cayo Largo and it was a huge improvement over the last year. The food was excellent (they added taste to it :). Last year it was the stereotypical Cuban version of food - bland, no taste, overcooked. This year, the food got taste, it was fresh and replenished continuously. Here is a warning for people with allergies to shellfish - there is cross-contamination, mainly because people are using the utensils from one tray to the other... not the resort's fault, but I  [... read more]thought I would mention it. The service was exceptional (most of the staff speaks at least 3 languages) and very fast in serving us. The biggest improvement - the nightly shows - in comparison to last year, the new entertainment crew is extremely good. If you are a diver, be punctual: if the pick-up time is 8:10, be there at 8:09 - the bus to pick you up will be on time but it will leave without you in maximum 5 minutes. The guys at the Dive shop are amazing. Here is a tip: take some breakfast pastries with you on the boat and share them with the crew. They all have a sweet tooth :) The beach is amazing - white sand, free of any sharp shells and you can walk for kilometres. Fair warning - the "far-far-away" section of the beach is "au naturel", so if you are shy, walk the other way :)

Sol Rio de Luna y Mares: Good resort with tremendous staff!

We’ve been to Cuba (all over) thirteen times and this was our first at Sol Rio de Luna y Mares, but won’t be our last. It was a great two week stay! When we first arrived late in the evening, there was water on the floor of our room that was leaking from the overhead air conditioning unit, but maintenance staff were very quick to address the issue and when it was determined that it was something could not be taken care of right away, we were quickly moved to another room on the main floor a [... read more]nd then to our ocean view room the following day. The resort is divided into two sections (Luna and Mares) and we were in the Mares area, which is the busier (as it is near the main lobby and buffet restaurant) and lively area. It is however not so lively that noise ever disturbed us in the late evening when we wanted to get to sleep in our room. We had the extreme pleasure of being in a fourth floor ocean view room. The room itself was nothing fancy, a little “tired”, but was spotlessly clean! The housekeeping staff were wonderfully attentive and aside from cleaning, replaced a bottle of water daily! Some rooms in our area were undergoing renovations during our stay and I understand that many in the Luna section have been as well. We hope that the hotel owners and management continue to make this a priority. We very much enjoyed the food in all restaurants there. The variety of well-prepared fresh food in the buffet was a pleasant surprise. Our favourite section was fish grilling station (we visited it every lunch and dinner while there!) had five varieties of fish and calamari which the friendly staff selected, seasoned and grilled according to your wishes. Breakfast featured prepared hot and cold food, along with both fresh omelette and Spanish tortilla stations, along with a wide array of foods, such as cereals, pancakes, French toast, sausages, cheeses, cold cuts, fresh fruits, juices and yogurt. Lunch and dinner were comparably good. We enjoyed all of the à la carte restaurants (French, Mediterranean, Italian and Mexican), with the French being our favourite. We heard a couple of people complaining about the food, but when we asked them for specifics, it became very obvious to us that they were the types that have to always complain about something. We have veryy high standards as far as food goes and had no complaints whatsoever about what was served at Sol Rio de Luna y Mares. During our thirteen stays in Cuba at a variety of service-level resorts, we think that the food variety, presentation and service overall at Sol Rio were the best. We were at a five star resort in Mexico last year and it did not have the wide selection that Sol Rio provided. I must also say that the organized fashion in which the à la cartes are booked (one person dedicated exclusively to bookings) is also the best we’ve experienced. The grounds were very well maintained by a hard working crew and very beautiful. The beach is truly something to behold. Very long, wide and natural, with beautiful white sand. Perfect for walking, swimming and snorkelling, as well as paddle boating, kayaking, wind surfing, volleyball etc., which are all available. It wasn’t crowded and there were plenty of palapas and lounge chairs, as was the case with the main pool. The staff will take you out on a Hobie-type catamaran too, which gives you a great view looking back at the coastline and resort. Although there are live shows each evening, we only took in the aqua ballet, which was tremendous, as well as the fashion show. We preferred the more quiet area of the Luna section during the evening, where there is always a guitarist, pianist, flautist, singer or some other form of very tranquil entertainer performing. Every Friday afternoon, “Cuban Day” is celebrated at the Mares section, with a roast whole pig, drink mixing lessons, coffee roasting, dancing and a few other activities. Even on rainy days, the animation staff did a great job in keeping the guests entertained with plenty of things to watch or participate in. Although we didn’t take part in any day excursions, there are several available, ranging from bus and catamaran tours to hiking to nearby attractions. We rented a motor scooters a couple of times to tour the countryside and the surrounding roads are in quite good condition for that kind of activity. Every staff member we encountered during our stay was extremely and genuinely polite, friendly and helpful! Truly outstanding!!! Various travel and tour company brochures we have seen rate Sol Rio de Luna y Mares as 3.5 to 4 stars, but in my opinion the staff definitely move it upward a notch! We recommend that you bring a reusable thermal plastic cup or mug for getting drinks at the beach and pool bars. Otherwise, you are served drinks in small disposable plastic cups there. From an environmental standpoint, I invite you to think about the amount of plastic waste that produces. We are talking about a relatively small (compared with some) resort of approximately 464 rooms. At full capacity, if everyone there (at two persons per room) used just six plastic cups each daily (and they probably use more), it would amount to 5568 cups per day, or 2032320 (yes, two million, thirty two thousand, three hundred and twenty) cups per year. Pretty alarming, when you consider that they are derived from petroleum and end up in a landfill site or burned after only just one use!!! We went to Sol Rio de Luna y Mares with realistic expectations, open minds and had two wonderful weeks. We hope to return in the not-too-distant future! Did I mention that the staff were great?!! I can’t say it enough!

Melia Tropical: Amazing resort!

We had an amazing time at Melia Tropical. The best part of the trip was the people working there. The entertainment staff were fun, energetic and you could tell that they loved there job. There wasn't that much going on at the resort but there was enough. Also, the bartenders at avenue bar and the lobby bar made the best drinks. They really took their time. Overall, it was an amazing trip and I think this is the first time where I feel so sad depressed about being back home. I'm ready to book my [... read more] next trip now!

Paradisus Princesa Del Mar: Excellent resort!

Resort is well located in the good place in the peninsular. Lots of chars on the beach. Food in wonderful. But its Spa and gym room is not available. There is a power out when we were there. And one of the resort building room is on fire, the tourists in the rooms had to be evacuated in the early morning.

Melia Cayo Coco: Great Resort for Quite Relaxation

Very Clean Overall. Quiet and Relaxing atmosphere. Comfortable and Spacious Rooms. Older but clean..could use some renovating especially in Bathtub Fixtures. Beach very nice and clean. Buffet Restaurant offers lots of choice and food was quite good overall. Service/servers were excellent. Nightly entertainment was good but could use more variety. The staff (front desk,buffet restaurant, bar, groundskeepers) made us feel very welcome.

Melia Varadero: Lovely resort

Resort always bustling with activities like dance lessons and shows at night. Staff were very warm. Many Canadians around to talk to making it feel like home. Would have liked a quiet group activity like euchre tournament.

Melia Peninsula Varadero: Excellent service, Beautiful Resort, Great food

No complaints other than the Side trip to Havana was disappointing . After we boarded the bus the tour guide told us that they no longer do the "cemetery tour" and that the museums we not open because the staff has Monday's off. ??? That was the sole reason we went there, so we got a 4 hr bus ride with lunch and a walk through town.