Excellent hotel!

Very nice and child friendly hotel with a high quality of service, clean and spacious rooms, lovely and professional staff, a good variety of food, lots of activities, heavenly landscape and a pristine beach.

Very great experience

This was our first family trip to the Caribbean and it was better than expected. So many helpful reviews and some misleading comments left us wondering what to expect. As first time to Cuba we had much to experience. We chose Melia CSM for it’s smaller size and beautiful beaches. And the beach was glorious- white sand and clear blue water - this was the highlight of the destination. The resort was very nice. Beautiful gardens, majestic palm trees swaying in the background of every view [... read more]. The pool was bustling with activity morning and afternoon with staff keeping everyone entertained and satisfied. The entertainment was very good. Thoroughly enjoyed the many presentations from live music to theatric synchronized swimming, magic shows, fashion shoes, dancing and acrobatics. The food was much better than forewarned. Nothing bland or short of flavour. Many choices kept our family with a few picky eaters never without options. The rooms were slightly dated but very clean and well kept by the maid service. Really had no concerns as we weren’t expecting luxury. A safe and comfortable room to handle our needs between beach pool dinner and nightlife. The staff - the people of Cuba who welcomed us eager to serve and make our experience memorable were top notch! Despite our first time - with much research and review and discussion with other guests, we really did enjoy this resort and experience in Cuba. We may have caught the travel bug as a result of this trip. Thanks Melia CSM for great memories!

Needs renovation

Room decor was tired, fridge was grungy, only soft drinks supplied were cola & orange, the gardeners appreciated them. Hot water always available, shower worked although the spray was erratic. Toilet flushed but frequently did not clear. Room was equipped with a kettle & tea bags. Upon request we got a coffee maker & coffee. Bars ran out of Sprite early on, soda water was usually available on a hit & miss basis. Buffet had a reasonable variety, pretty much what we expected although we did not  [... read more]expect a seemingly never ending supply of smoked salmon. That was a definite plus for us. Snack bar was as it has been on our previous visits, basic fare, nicely cooked & cheerfully presented. Beach grill ditto. Specialty restaurants were another story. The Japanese was OK, although fake something was substituted for shrimp. The other two, no fish, no shrimp, no humus, tempura vegetables were not! Simply cold, naked vegetables. The Millefeuille Potatoes turned out to be cold mashed squash. Simply put, the dishes bore little or no resemblance to the descriptions on the menus.

Beautiful beach & grounds

Excellent: Beach and pools were clean. Lots of palapas available (3 rows). (Hotel 50% occupied). Great: Entertainment - Cuban musicians and dancers. Most staff were friendly. Rooms - Rooms were big as were the beds and good air conditioning. Food - Highly recommend Tex Mex restaurant where a bit of spice was experienced. Great fresh fruit as well. Fair: Rooms - need some TLC/paint would go a long way. Electrical outlets didn't always work (one came out of the wall) and our  [... read more]phone didn't work, even after requesting a fix, it remained out of order. Broken drawers/or closet door but easily worked around that. Food - very little in way of condiments so if you want mustard/ketchup/hot sauce highly recommend bringing your own. Often did not have menu items but did substitute with others where available. (e.g. beef burger substituted with chicken burger). Overall it was great value for what we paid (trip was May 6/19). Not my first time to Cuba but my first time to this area. The beach rivals Varadero. I was somewhat surprised at the limited amount of English understood by many staff but we were certainly able to get by without issue. There was always a lovely breeze at the beach which kept the bugs at bay. Last day was still and mosquitoes were out in droves - make sure to bring repellant!

Very Nice Resort!

Older resort, but well maintained. Our room was close to the pool, so we were central to everything...maybe a 2 minute walk to the beach, restaurants, or lobby. Will definitely go back to this resort. Rooms: Very clean, and didn't see a single bug in 14 days! Food: The beach grill was really good...the pool bar was also really good, but lots of birds around/on tables. The buffet was adequate, but nothing to complain about. Pool: very nice and great service Beach: Amazing!! Lot [... read more]s of lounge chairs...didn't have to get up at the crack of dawn to get one. The gentlemen looking after the chairs were pleasant and helpful. Also, there were fresh towels everyday...never ran out. Spa: Great service...really enjoyed the massage. Entertainment: can't comment...only attended one show. Excursions: can't comment...didn't do any excursions Money: We exchanged our money at the hotel. Next time i will take more cash with me, as there was and additional fee to use credit card at the resort, i.e. spa. Also, on another trip, we had to visit the doctor and it was cash only. Luckily, my friends are always more prepared than me:)

Swimmers Paradise

Just returned from a sunny, hot week at the Melia Cayo Santa Maria and found it a very well run resort and really have very view complaints. I had asked for and received an ocean view room on the 2nd floor near the beach which was clean, spacious and bright. I go mainly to enjoy the beach and swimming and was not disappointed, the water was truly amazing especially the last 3 days when the ocean was so calm. It's great as there are no motor sports allowed. I also discovered a great place to go s [... read more]norkeling right off the shore in the naturalist beach section. There were hundreds of colorful fish in shallow waters. I enjoy Cuba as I always feel safe and know the local people work hard to maintain a decent lifestyle for their families. The grounds on the resort are lovely and there was a chorus of bird songs in the morning on the way to the dining hall. The pools are clean and well maintained. I found there was some walking to do to get around which I did not mind but would possibly be hard for someone with mobility issues. The food was adequate, lots of fresh bread and pastry like treats... I enjoyed the restaurant down by the beach with a grill and found the food was well prepared and the service excellent. Sunwing flights and pick up times were right on. It was a lovely week.

Wonderful trip

The hotel is a nice small property that was only minutes away from everything. The resort was always clean. Service was great. The beach had a numerous amount of shade. The pools had a decent amount of seating but at peak times it might be a little challenging getting a spot. Our only complaint was the small selection in the buffet compared with other resorts we have gone to. Having said this the snack bar was one of the best we have had. We did not go without food all week and we were not hungr [... read more]y. We would definitely return to this property.

Cuba 3*

Had a great vacation, for the money its good value. But you are getting what you pay for. The beach is the highlight and the entertainment is good, but everything else is sub par. The rooms were all outdated and had multiple issues. The food was hit and miss as stuff like cheese was available some days and not available others. The A la carts are very hit and miss and usually worse than the buffet. Drinks are good but multiple times the keg ran out and cans of Mayabe were poured into small plast [... read more]ic cups. If your taking the morning airtransat flight home it says the bus arrives at 6:10am, ours showed up at 7:10 which was disappointing. In a addition the buffet doesnt open until 730. In addition the club in the middle of the two resorts is not included and they will pressure you to buy drinks or they will "call the police". Overall its alittle too bad the small things that other resorts due to make your vacation memorable are not done here. It is a very nice area but would recommend a newer resort.

Great resort

We had a wonderful two week vacation at the Melia Cayo Santa Maria.Perfect room location and size,short distance to beach, buffet and pools.All of the staff( can’t name them all) work very hard to meet everyone’s needs.They all have lovely smiles while working so hard and deserve a lot of credit for giving us a great vacation.The Tex Mex and Japanese restaurants were good, and the buffet was sufficient. The beach grill and 24 hour snack were our favourite spots to eat .Our room was large and [... read more] kept very clean.Room was ready when we arrived and we were checked in very efficiently and taken to our room and given an explanation of the resort by two great guys.Beach was amazing and we were well taken care of by the beach attendants.All the bars..beach,lobby and pool had great service but their seems to be a major inconsistency when making drinks, hard to get the same drink throughout the resort.We highly recommended this resort and will definitely return.

Best Place Ever!

Just returned home April 13 after spending 7 nights at Melia Cayo Santa Maria. It was WONDERFUL! Beautiful beaches, pool area, restaurants and cafes. My room was perfect. The service including housekeeping was beyond my expectations. I can't remember my housekeeper's name but I was in room 2421. A big thank you and recognition to Louie and Alfredo (poolside staff), Osbiel and Yosvany at the pool and beach bars, Yoseet and Juan Carlos in the cigar lounge. Thank you for the BEST experience eve [... read more]r. I love Cuba and I'll be returning to Melia next year!

Great Resort, with awesome Beach

Great resort getting a little dated, mattresses are very firm and a little lumpy. Signage to get to your room , beach and so on are there just don't really help giving directions, you could wander in circles for awhile. Food was good for Cuba . French fries were a hit although these were available only a couple days and then no more, where as the White wine, you would get a glass and 10 minutes later they were out, but 10 more minutes later they might have more wine for 30 minutes then run out  [... read more]again. Rooms were cleaned daily , fridges stocked daily, all the hired help were friendly and pleasant, for the money a very good choice, a great week.

Awesome Vacation

We had a great stay here. All of the staff were so friendly and helpful. Grounds were very well kept. Booked the Japanese a la carte and we highly recommend this. The food was so good. The beach was absolutely beautiful and the pools were also nice. Lots of activities on the beach. Nighttime entertainment was great as well.

First Time to Cayo Santa Maria and the Melia

Stayed at this resort from March 29/19 to April 5/19. We went for the beach, which was outstanding, many kilometers of walking, lots of palapas and chairs, no need to rush out in the morning to save chairs. No rocks in the beach, all sand for swimming, but some waves on some days. Stayed in room 1915 which was in very good shape, everything worked and had a very private garden patio. Lots of hot water at all times of the day and good water pressure. The staff kept it very clean for the entire we [... read more]ek. The room was close to everything, just a few minute walk to the front lobby and the restaurants and pool. Grounds were beautiful, well kept and nice to walk through. Food was OK, favorite place to eat was the BBQ at the beach restaurant and the pool grill. Tried two a la carte restaurants, the Bistro, which was good and the Tex Mex, which I think would have been good, but they were out of some things. Ride out to the resort was 1 hr 45 minutes, with the bus stopping at four resorts. Very interesting however, passing through the small towns and countryside for the first time. So PRO's: Beach for sure, BBQ at the beach restaurant, the Cuban musicians and the rock band on Thursday night (very good), watching the Pelicans on the beach, and of course the people who work at the resort, all very nice people and the resorts greatest asset. CON's, don't really have much to mention, the buffet was a bit disappointing for us but we always found something to eat, the airport at Santa Clara was very busy so listing this as a con also. Overall we enjoyed our trip.

Awesome

Can’t say anything bad about this resort for the money we paid!!! I would go back again next year!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Sad how things change

Been here before. Enjoyed it immensely. This time not so much. I think the hurricane took a large toll on this resort. Every thing is tired and worn. Out of straws, coffee liquor bacon, jam, potatoes, tomatoes, French fries, king bed sheets and probably more that I'm not aware of. All the food that was available had enough salt to kill a person. Beef was rock hard in Buffett and the three a'la cartes. Sad really.

The beach was breathtaking

We loved our trip to Melia Cayo Santa Maria, Cuba. We expected beautiful beaches and weather and we got that and more. From flight to arrival to hotel, our stay and departure, all went very well. Would go back in a heartbeat. No mosquitoes, there was always something good to eat, the staff are amazing and the grounds are so beautiful. This is a wonderful hotel to stay at.

Beautifully landscaped resort

The grounds are beautiful and well maintained. The beach is pretty good. Our room was spacious and clean. However, the air conditioning didn't work very well and we woke up to a flood in our room the first morning of our stay. The pipes behind the bidet burst. It's a good thing that our luggage and other belongings had not been left on the floor. Nobody was in a hurry to come shut the water off as it ran into the adjoining room, the room below us and down the stairs. When we asked for another ro [... read more]om, we were told that there wasn't one and that it would be taken care of. It eventually was later that day. Both the food and service at the buffet and two of the a la carte restaurants ( Internacional and TexMex) were TERRIBLE: no variety and poor quality. The Ranchon and snack bar by the pool were much better.

Quiet and relaxing

This resort was very small quaint easy to get around not a lot of walking to go anywhere The food was good, rooms were clean and decent.It close to the beach the ocean was nice The people were great.But the only downfall for this resort was the two-hour bus ride from the airport other than that I would go back in a heartbeat!

Resort is a big dissapointment...

ONLY really good thing is a room, above expectations! Grounds are also fine. Food is also good, especially the existence of the 24HRS Snack Bar with a rich many. Central Bar near entrance is the only one well stuffed with quality international drinks, including REAL Scotch & Vodka ETC. Contrary to that, AQUA (swim up) Bar is pathetic, and with lousy bartenders.All other servers were OK. Distance between the POOL & Beach is waaaay to looong for my taste. Beach itself is rather dull - without one  [... read more]Palm. WORST thing of all - DISCO club is outside and that NOISE spoils the best bar till midnight !!! :-( Speaking of the Music - NO LIVE Cuban Acoustic Band to be seen !!!

Good family vacation

Overall we had a great time. Beautiful beaches and the service around the entire resort was great. Very friendly and helpful staff. Lots of activities for the young and old! Amenities need some updating. Towels and linens could be replaced which would definitely make a difference.