Awesome resort

This resort was more then we expected. Great ambiance, courteous friendly staff. Very very very clean resort. The entertsinment was fantastic. The food could have been a bit better but overall the place was amazing.

Nice resort, great to explore.

Enjoyed, weather was nice, beach was sandy-water shoes a must for swimming. Pools nice. Cobble stone walkways nice-but could pose a tripping hazard. Fairly clean. Food OK-not enough staff at buffet to keep up with demand. I felt bad for the staff. a'la cartes good. disappointed disco not free every night as is so most resorts. Shower did not drain well-therefore water overflowed. 3 calls made for repair-not sure if anyone ever came-but it never improved. 1 day without water due to water main bre [... read more]ak-minimal communication to patrons. Changing their currency to accommodate upcoming US visitors-but its mostly Canadians that have visited Cuba for years, its a shame we are not given the same curtseys. Had fun all in all.

Awesome

Loved it so beautiful and a wonderful pool and people. There is lots of night life and things to do . Lived just relaxing by the pool and having a drink or two. The excursions were awesome as well and a lot of fun

It's and ok resort

It's way to far to walk to everything for older people. the beach is too far away as is everything really.. for a newer resort it's amenities were very poor ... went 1 full day with out the use of a toilet and had to carry water from the pool with out help of staff to be able to flush the toilet... there were zero face cloths and very little toilet paper .... literately had to beg for toilet paper and face cloths. Food was ok at times... although it was very slow and poor service... it got to th [... read more]e point that we just served ourselves, it was quicker.

Amazing Resort

Had a wonderful vacation! Room was nice, clean. We stayed in bungalow 25,close to lobby, restaurants, pool and bars. The staff were amazing, so kind and polite .The pools area beautiful, lots of room. The main lobby, lots of places to sit and relax. We will be back!

Nice Resort, Good Food

We just returned from a week at Melia Jardines del Rey (April 2016). The Good - The infrastructure is exceptional by Cuban standards. New buildings, tennis courts, volleyball courts, huge reception area, pools are beautiful, shaded huts on the beach as far as the eye can see. - Food was really good. Lots of selection at the buffets. Fresh cooked meat, fish, pizza or anything you like. 2 out of 3 a la cartes were great. Didn't like Bistro, but Don Perroni and Aqua were great. - Coffee at lobby b [... read more]ar or any snack restaurant (espresso, cappuccino, etc.) - Very clean - Ice cream shop (although it closes really early so make sure you are there before 4:30pm) Not so Good - Golf cart type work vehicles on the walking paths constantly force you to seek cover beside path. This becomes very irritating after a while - Excessive smoking in lobby area a major problem for non-smokers (no where to go) - Wifi (2 CUC per hour) is extremely unreliable - New resort so newly planted trees are still very small. Not lush grounds compared to other resorts. - Water is beautiful albeit quite rocky. You need to walk down to find a sandy area you can swim. Overall, a very good resort. Would definitely recommend.

The resort has lots of potential

Melia Jardines del Ray has the potential to be a beautiful resort once it matures. The staff where the best of the best!! Drinks where very good and the food was good. Feugo a la cart was amazing, they provided a birthday cake and sang happy birthday for my sisters 50th birthday!! It was so nice. I would go back again if it was a decent price

Wonderful

Bring fly repellent and water shoes. The beach is lovely but coral out in the water. The staff are friendly and hard working. There are lots of places for shade on the beach but around the main pool not as much.

Nice Big Resort

Nice modern resort , food was pretty good for Cuba , rooms were spacious, beach was good in places. drinks were good,especially the specialty coffee ones. Very nice lobby and lobby bar. Would return to this resort.

Absolutely Beautiful Resort!

What a wonderful resort! Would definitely stay again. Even though it was a very large resort it did no feel that way. There was always lots of room and huts available on the amazing beach. Must see!!!

Beautiful resort amazing beach

The resort was great, I would definitely go back. My sister and I went for a relaxing vacation and got just that. The beach was great if you go left or right about 100m it gets a lot less rocky. You can see tons of interesting fish right on the beach so bring you snorkel. The food was much better than expected skip the a La cart's and stick to the buffet at the beach or in the lobby. There was always lots of selection as well as grills for fresh fish and meat. We went later so we had to wait f [... read more]or tables to be cleared but if you wait the staff are more then happy to clean one off for you. The pools were clean and nice but we spent most our time at the beach. Same with the rooms they are a standard hotel room, they were always clean. We didn't have any problem. I would definitely recommend this resort big group or small.

Huge resort good for money paid

This is a huge resort Extremely understaffed but the staff is wonderful and courteous Arrival smooth check in good Room satisfactory full bathroom flat screen sitting area oceanview but two twin beds lol. The beach extremely rocky and full of coral, the water sports exceptional, the only good part of this beach by a stinky lagoon. Dining was very good at the alacartes Oriental exceptional the French and Cuban were good but the buffet lacked good food condiments spices and quickly ran out of ever [... read more]ything. Drinks were great wine ok beer only Cristol very light .. very short on staff for a resort of this magnitude the lines were painful and the staff was excellent As we were leaving we saw two huge busloads of Cubans coming in .. don't know where everyone was going to be accommodated .. Went for relaxation and beach :)

Great stay

I stayed at Melia with a friend over March break. It was my second trip to Cuba and I really enjoyed my stay. The resort is new and very clean. The resort is quite large and I personally prefer a mid size resort. However, we had a room by the main pool and found that we were very well located (close to the beach and pool, not too far from the lounge). The beach is gorgeous and I recommend going snorkeling with the entertainment staff during one of their 3 weekly outings. Yes, the beach is rocky [... read more] upon entrance but this really shouldn't be an issue. A 3 minute walk to the left and there are absolutely no rocks. Take the time to walk up the beach to your right. It's quiet and rock free. We spent our afternoon by the pool and really enjoyed the pool bar staff. All are friendly and attentive. The entertainment staff is wonderful and friendly. If you prefer not to listen to the activities, you can stay by the second quieter pool. During our stay, we heard many people complain about the towels. Please remember the man at the towel bar is not responsible for the fact that they are out of towels. Some people were far too rude to the employee qho worked there. I'd suggest to bring your own towel and air it out on the balcony. I had my own and I was able to change my resort towel twice. I had no issues and couldn't believe how many people complained about this. You're on vacation, so just relax and enjoy yourself! The food at the resort is satisfactory. Yes, by the end of the week I was tired of the buffet but I never went hungry. Eat a big breakfast, the best meal of the day, and try out both pool restaurants to mix things up at lunch. The fried chicken in particular is amazing. Considering the food in Cuba is known to be pretty bland, I was happy with what was offered at Melia. My only complaint is that there really isn't much going on in the evening. After the shows, which are great, we just went to bed. It wasn't a big problem, we just ended up enjoying more rum in the afternoon at the pool rather than the evening. However, if you're looking for nightlife, you're better off in Veradero. Overall I enjoyed this resort and would recommend it to anyone interested in going to Cayo coco.

Great Resort...but...

Grounds are sparse in vegetation hotel was big and well laid out for getting around. Food was never tiring and variety was good, proximity to airport and support staff excellent. Beach towels was a big issue never enough. Front desk could have better training in receiving guests

Great week

We had a great week. The food was good. The a la cartes were good too. The beach was rocky, but if you walk to the right it is much better. Thankfully we brought our own beach towels as they were out a lot. The workers were very friendly. Overall, it was a great week with lots of memories made.

Big resort.

Nice family resort, but not the nicest I've been to. Be prepared to get exercise walking as it is a large resort. My husband and I didn't mind as we know walking is great for our health. The grounds are pretty, more so on the side first completed as it has developed more. Public areas are nice with plenty of seats. The entertainment was just ok. We were very disappointed they cancelled the Michael Jackson show they used to have each week. The buffet was so so, selection could be better. 2 of the [... read more] 3 a la carte dinners were very delicious! Enjoyed the Oriental and Bistro a la carte, but food and service was lacking at the International a la carte. Upon arrival at our room on the resort we discovered it was not ready. The room hadn't been cleaned since the previous guests left. We were moved to another bungalow. We're we not as keen on the fact that we were to walk to our room after check in and wait for our luggage to be brought to us. There was a bit of a wait for the luggage. During our stay our mini bar was stocked only once and only because we called customer service to report this wasn't being looked after. The beach is rather rocky and you really need to were water socks. Most of the staff were very friendly, very nice people! Really made our stay a pretty positive one.

Good resort

The bad thing was no towals to many mosquitos in the room, hard pillows, too much walking to go anywhere in the resort, no too much selection on food, service was ok, night shows was ok too, no too much selection in alcohol just beer available

Mixed Opinions.

Upon arrival we were promised several upgrades as we purchased the elegance suite. Mini bar was not stocked, did not receive beach towels until the 3rd day, one full day with no toilet paper, only 2/4 promised a la carte dinners (which were pri-picked and had to eat at the same restaurant twice which i didnt even like the first time, and when asked if they could accomodate us to switch for allergy reasons, we were denied even though all the restaurants were always only 1/3-1/2 full which leads m [... read more]e to think they were seriously understaffed). cuban beaches are for the most part nice but this location had sandfleas or nats which i had no idea about as well as roots in some parts of the beach which stuck up, and unfortunately this beach front was very rocky with mostly dead coral). The first time in cuba, the people were amazing. They are just radiating with positivity and friendly, however this time some staff were just rude and ignored you, with the exception of a few staff which were amazing and stood out among the others. The gardiners and entertainment staff are amazing, as well as most of the bar staff/customer service/hospitality staff. The resort however was newer and the food was considerably good for cuban quality food. Its a shame that the negatives affected my overall opinion, because generally speaking i had a great time aside from the above mentioned. Im just not sure id return to this resort. if i did, it would be because of the great staff i encountered despite all the negatives. these staff should be commended because i was blown away by how well they can socialize, entertain, be friendly, as well as their generosity. on a final note, pools were great, beaches average, and room cleaners were fantastic and friendly

Very large beautiful resort.

This resort was good. The food was okay but they kept running out of such things of towels, butter, food and money (change). We could not get change from anywhere on the resort, not at the front desk, bars or even the bank. We visited the Melia Cayo Guillermo and got change no problem. They need more staff to accommodate visitors. Pools, rooms, entertainment and beach are amazing. Would we go back? Maybe.

Average

The resort very large careful if you have a disability, resort only a years old will take a few years for the grounds to mature however the peaple very pleasant always ready to help you, the pools are great and area kept clean, beach towels, toilet paper, a gold camodity, food always warm not hot that was a problem, and not a great choice of fresh fruit other than that enjoyed the place especially the fresh fish assortment.