Second stay at this beautiful resort.

Great hotel with friendly and helpful staff! Adequate assortment of food even for vegetarians! The rooms are large and comfortable. The only complaint is the low water pressure in shower. The beach is wonderful! I would recommend this hotel

Melia Las Dunas hotel Cayo Santa Maria Cuba

Hotel is very nice and well positioned.Great bar, pool, beach access and restaurant facility .Lots of staff does not speak English well, little trouble with communication .Also level of friendliness drops significantly since changes with Cuban currency so people don't tip them as usual .But since hotels is nice and the beach I will definitively come back again.

Dissaponted

This was my 14th stay at the Melia Las Dunas Resort. I regret to say that I was extremely disappointed this visit. The each was the highlight as usual, however, the hotel has become very run down. My girlfriend had to change her rooms 2 times. The first water was coming in through the light fixture on the ceiling from heavy rain then the second room the AC as not functioning. The housekeeping was excellent in our rooms but there was graffiti on the front of our building from local guests that [... read more] were staying on the resort which brings me to the point of a broader complaint. There were only a handful of Canadian guests and another handful of international guests leaving the rest to other Cubans travelling from other parts of the country. Don't get me wrong, I love the Cuban culture and people I have met over the years and is the reason for my return multiple times. The majority of the guests were rude and quite disrespectful to the resort leaving their garbage everywhere on the beach and around the pool. Let's talk about the pool next. I was disgusted for the first time with the pool. After the rainfall, I visited the pool and noticed debris floating at the bottom thinking it was twigs from the trees but everywhere in the pool was loose black grout. This was there the entire stay! I can't imagine the bacteria festering in that once beautiful pool. I understand low season forces the hotel to close one side, leaving only the family side open but children in the pool with diapers also in unacceptable. The staff was as usual very kind and polite and have always maintained a professional repour. I am sad to say that will be my last visit to this resort but not my last to Cuba,

Amazing resort

Everything was great, the rooms, the beach. The staff is very nice and friendly. The beach is amazing indeed. It wasn't crowded as they are still operating under capacity since Covid and there was lots of space. Everyone is friendly and helpful. Yes, they like tips (who doesn't). But, they don't need tips to be friendly and appreciative.

Good if only looking for drink, pool and relax under sun

Service (towel and activities etc) and food (buffet and a la carte) are very limited after pandemic, rooms are not maintained with slow sink and shower water half time not hot. Air conditioner is good. recommend only for people who look for some downtime with drinks

Beautiful beach and hotel grounds

The hotel has large grounds which are well maintained with a well landscaped garden - it really is a beautiful.pmaxe to walk through and be in. As with other Santa Maria resorts, the beach is gorgeous. The rooms seem to have been well designed and decorated, but the one I was in at least could have used a fresh oat of paint, but that felt like a minor opportunity for improvement. Overall, the hotel was lovely to stay in!

Another great vacation!

The 9th time to Melia Dunas and will be back again. The staff are so friendly and attentive, the grounds are well kept, food is good and plentiful and the beach is beautiful. Couldn't ask for anything more!

Beautiful beach

Good value. Food was typical for Cuba. Can’t understand why no onions or garlic in the food. Very odd since they grow it in abundance in Cuba. Hubby got sick and doctor was amazing. Very helpful. No charge. Curious to know what made hubby sick - food at buffet?

Hotel review

The hotel was great, staff very helpful and friendly. The only thing that was lacking was the food, It was all the same everyday. The beaches were clean and the gardens were beautiful. the staff went out of their way to make sure we had everything we needed.

Beautiful resort

The huge lobby and grounds are picturesque with plants and colourful bushes. The staff go out of their way to be helpful. The beach is gorgeous but can be very windy. The pool was green due to a lack of available chlorine. Deck chairs were sometimes hard to find. There was plenty of food and lots of choice with fresh fruit. The resort was only half open because of Covid so the tranquility pool was unavailable. The one downside was the time it took to get to the resort from the airport. It will b [... read more]e quicker once the new causeway is built.

Great resort!

Territory: very big, spacious and beautiful, well maintained Lobby: huge and beautiful, you can spend your whole day in there :) Beach: very good, but it required a bit more shade shelters, not enough currently, sometimes we were unable to find a place in a shade Pool: very good but also needs a bit more shade shelters Restaurants: excellent, lots of room and tables Food: pretty good, I was totally happy with the selection and quality Entertainment: very good

Great Family Vacation

Beautiful resort, good food, comfortable rooms with an amazing beach. The staff, in true Cuban fashion are warm, friendly and hospitable to a "T". The resort is still not operating at 100% as they are only opening as much as they can to keep the cleaning standards maxed out. 3 a-la carte options plus a 24 snack venue, plus the buffet and bbq area are open. Food is plentiful and fresh, but you may not get all of the options you wish simply due to heightened import restrictions. Bottom line,  [... read more]this is a resort I would recommend you look at. Great people, relaxing atmosphere, a break from the daily routine to be very sure.

AWESOME RESORT

LOVED This resort. There is lots to do, shows are on almost every night. There are multiple bars and snack bars to choose from. At lunch you have a lot of options from an open salad bar to fresh Pizza, burgers, Poutine, fries and more. They have Heinz Ketchup also. The grounds are kept very clean and tidy. Fresh coconuts from gardener or grounds keeper to cure that Hangover, they are easy to come by. The staff and people are VERY Nice and polite! You won't get lost even when obliterated as staff [... read more] drive carts around the resort shuttling people to and from hotels, the lobby and dinner, If you to drunk to walk they will also pick you up and drive you back to your room. There are a lot of options for food at Breakfast and Dinner at the buffet. A lot more food options then I would have even thought. Waiters are also on par and quick to take care of you. The white sand beach is excellent. Few to No rocks to cut your feet on and pretty easy to walk on. If you ask any of the staff at the beach they can get you a beach chair. They have 2 beach bars. (Really 3 but the adult side of the resort was closed because of low attendance from COVID) BUT things are starting to really get back to life here. Lots of people to party with. The night life is not boring either with shows in the evening including a Beach party, Pool party after a water show and acrobatics in the lobby and more. You will not get bored at this resort that's for sure. Water in the pool is kept clean (it's also a massive pool) You can walk along the beach and past the closed resorts and hang with people from the nearby resort as well. If you want to meet new people, just get a buzz going at the Beach bar you will be sure to meet Many people there. Everyone we met was super friendly, It was a FANTASTIC 2 weeks we were there. Wish I could have stayed for longer. I would highly recommend it. Would come again in the near future.

Still an amazing resort

Stayed Mar 29th to Apr 8th.This was our 5th time visiting this hotel. 1st time since 2019 due to Covid. Only one half of the resort was open. Adult side is closed until they can bring it up to par. That would have been nice to know prior. As long as you are not expecting an expensive Canadian 5 star meal, the food was good. Staff at this hotel go up and beyond to make you feel comfortable. As far as tipping goes you can still give them peso's but it makes them happier to have loonies, toonies or [... read more] five's. Whatever you want to give they appreciate. All vendors are now not selling at the two markets. They are only available on the streets. Everything else needs to paid by credit card. Excursions were good value and fun.Beach here is second to none. Lots of room at the beach and pool, no need to reserve chairs. We will be back again.

20 times later…

It must be more or less 20 times that I go to this resort over the course of the last 15 years. Needless to say that I enjoy it! I go for a couple of reasons: the warmth of the Cuban people, the incomparable beaches (no sargassum, crystal clear waters) the Rhum, the cigars for hubby and the unbeatable prices! Food: as we always say, Cuba is Cuba. The embargo always strikes hard and now add the pandemic to top it. But you will never go hungry. Always remember that what ever you have on your p [... read more]late is because on Cuban can not have it. Everything is kept for tourism, so please show them great respect. Talking of pandemic, the staff is submitted to strict rules but the same rules are not reinforced for the guests. (Feb.2022). You can spend a full week without a mask ( restaurant, buffet) and nobody will tell you do wear it. Rooms: always freshly painted. Curtains, bedspread, mattresses are new. Bathroom are a bit worned out. I can’t wait to my next stay! And as far as the reservation goes with Trip Central, thank you to Karol Chareza, 2 bookings in 2 months! Communication was easy even from abroad! Great job Karol!

Fantastic Holiday !!

Just returned from a wonderful week at Las Dunas. Mar 17 - 24th. This was our 3rd visit to this hotel and it did not disappoint. As stated in previous reviews, the hotel is running at half capacity - the adult side is closed at this time as well as some of the services like the spa and gym. We stayed in building 26 which was right along the pathway to the beach which was wonderful. This is a big resort with lots of walking so if you are not able to walk very far then this is maybe not the resort [... read more] for you. There is the bell boy service and if you call they will come and pick you up in the shuttle buggy. Our building was also very close to the pool which was great. Easily accessible to both. Because only one side of the resort is open chairs seem to be at a premium......my husband was up early in the morning to go down to the beach to save chairs under a shade structure. It was noticed that the shade structures down in front of the adult side are all gone now. There were 2 beach bars open which was handy. The board walks have been replaced by stone paver walkways which is a much better option. The beach of course did not disappoint - beautiful as always. This has got to be the best beach I have ever been to. We found the water in the ocean to be warmer than the pool. The waves were a blast to play in. Food - we only ate at the buffets & the sports bar because we are not keen on the a la cartes. The food was plentiful, tasty and the service was always top notch. At this time visitors are supposed to be wearing masks inside the restaurants and especially when they are getting food at the buffet. Of course not everyone is following the rules. We had no complaints about the food at all. Would like to see soup as an option once in a while. Fruit is very limited with mostly papaya & guava being served. The pineapple when served is not ripe. Once in a while there were imported pears. You have to try the smoothie's....they are the best. We generally ate at the main buffet for breakfast and dinner and open air buffet for lunch. Food a bit repetitive at both places but always plentiful and could always fill up. Don't stand back and be polite....because there are lots of visitors that just butt right in. The staff was amazing and provided very good service. It was very nice to see old friends and meet new ones. Always appreciative of gifts or monetary tips. Everyone is working very hard to make your trip the best it could be. While there we did 2 excursions - deep sea fishing & the speed boats - both half day trips booked through our Air Canada rep. The deep sea fishing was a fantastic trip. There were 5 of us on the trip. The cost to book the boat was $399 US for 4 ppl and $30 for the extra person. We very much appreciated the crew we had who worked very hard to make our day successful. Our captain was Roley and Julio was the hand on board. We caught 9 fish total - 6 barracuda, 2 mackerel & a 29lb grouper. The bar was help yourself with beer, soda, water and a variety of hard liquor on board. If you decide beforehand that this is a trip you would like to take the crew would be very much appreciative of sunglasses that are polarized. The boat is owned by Gaviota and you can book the "Atun" boat and our crew. Roley & Julio are very knowledgeable and good at what they do. They will make your day a great experience. The other trip we did also ran out of the same marina by Gaviota. This was the speed boat/snorkeling trip. Your time is split between these 2 activities and both very good. The speed boats are very easy to operate and the guides are great. This trip is an exceptional value at $44 US and we have done it twice. The snorkeling was very good. We saw lot of fish of many varieties. If you look real close you can even see urchins in the reef. Snorkel, mask and fins are supplied. A hint.....wear the fins even if to protect your feet. I decided to go without and while treading water in the waves I scraped a couple of toes on the fire coral and it was very painful for a couple of days. The water is very clear and fish are very plentiful. Overall, another amazing trip to Cuba. So glad to be travelling again. We will return to this resort over and over again I'm sure !!

Another Amazing Vacation

Everything at the resort was great! Beach is beautiful, grounds are well taken care of, food was delicious and of course the staff are always amazing. Covid tests were easily accessible and fast. Sandra in Administration makes sure that your vacation is perfect along with Manuel, Anaily and Georges from the various restaurants! We have been to Melia Las Dunas seven times and will return again soon!

Fantastic Resort

This resort was amazing. The main thing that makes this resort amazing is the Cuban workers who are so welcoming and helpful in every way. We’ve made so many good friends with the staff here and look forward to our next visit. The beach is beautiful and well maintained. The only complaint I had was that some rooms still have old mattresses which are not very comfortable. My room from a previous visit had a newer mattress that was very comfortable. This time, we had an older mattress and [... read more] it wasn’t very comfortable. Rooms were kept clean and chambermaid was very efficient and helpful. No problems with ants or any other insects. The food is plentiful and there is lots of choice. The lobby is a great place to relax after meals… loved the rocking chairs! Evening entertainment was great as well. Very talented performers. Really loved the acrobatic show in the lobby. Definitely a 4 star hotel!

Magnifique ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

I just came back from this heavenly place, and I would be ready to go back there next week 🥰 everything went very well, but you have to prepare a little more than usual. Follow the instructions of the travel agent carefully. Cubans are so friendly and helpful, have always been very well received at this Hotel. It is very well maintained with beautiful rooms. I had dinner twice at the à la carte restaurant, and both were good, the buffet too. If you tip, you will be served like kings 👠[... read more]The section of the beach in front of Las Dunas was the widest and most beautiful. There were shows and entertainment even though the hotel was not full. Take at least one day out of your week to take an excursion or go to Caïbarien, the nearest village, and your trip will be unforgettable. we had good weather all week, temperature between 25/28 degrees Celsius. Thank you to Las Dunas and my Cuban friends for this wonderful week and see you soon 😎🤗🏝🏖🏝❤️

Amazing beach

The beach is the best in Cuba but entertainment is horrible and the first time that we haven't felt welcome in a Cuban resort. Hopefully other resorts will reopen we love the beach but won't return to mld