A wonderful vacation!

The property is beautiful and a pleasure to walk through. The food, while somewhat repetitious, is quite good. The beach is one of the best we’ve been to. Every night there is some form of entertainment and it caps the day off nicely.

Amazing Resort

The grounds are beautiful and very well kept, lobby area is a great size and lots of room, dinning room beautiful and to eat outside is breathtaking. Large pool with lots is chairs and most of all the BEST beach in the world!!!!

Staff are amazing!

The Melia Penisula Has a outstanding setting with lush beautiful palm trees and an absolutely gorgeous beach with amazingly clear water! The weather was fantastic also. The pool was great and the entertainment at the hotel was top notch! Every night we had a band in the lobby and a dance show after that. The staff were beyond helpful And polite. Carlos the bellboy, Yarcial at breakfast, the Japanese restaurant chef and everyone at the lobby bar were phenomenal. The food was alright and the roo [... read more]ms were okay. Overall, we had a great time!

Wonderful Vacation

My daughter and I had a great time at this resort. The weather was great, beach is beautiful and the staff was friendly. The food got a bit boring after a few days but there is lots of options. I definitely recommend the Japanese restaurant.. best meal of the week. We met some wonderful friends and will definitely return to Cuba again.

Great resort at an amazing location

Hotel was nice, rooms were nice clean, bathroom was very nice with double shower. The air conditioner in the room had a weird smell after about 4 days. The grounds were clean and well kept. Staff was friendly and welcoming. The buffet was good, specially after a couple days when you know what you like. Certain items could be stocked up faster during the buffet times. Getting a outside table for 6 every meal was sometimes a challenge but we always found something. 24 hour snack bar was always nic [... read more]e for fries. Walk to the beach was right outside our room, and the pool/bar was right on the other side...Perfect

OK resort, but Not a 4 star

Excellent pool and beach. Nice layout, clean site and friendly staff. Our room smelled like sewage anytime we turned on the air conditioning. A la cart dinners were great, buffet was much the same thing everyday. The BBQ was terrible. Beds are very hard the mattress felt like sleeping on a plastic crib mattress and pillows are flat. We had lots of fun, but not likely to go back.

Wonderful experience

really worth it. we be chilling at the beach drinking piña coladas one minute and the next minute we be at the pool bar drinking mojitos. really fun resort with excellent employees and outstanding service. trip to havana was a lifetime experience you should definitely do that.

Great vacation

This hotel was very nice. The rooms were simple but clean. Nice showers. Very beautiful beach no need for water shoes. Only one adult pool but was decent size. Food was ok but was expected to be just ok. A la carte restaurants were pretty good though. Stuff to do for all ages. We’re in our 20s and experienced the catamaran which was a lot of fun. Definitely recommend. We also checked out the Saturno cave which was about a 30 minute drive from this resort. There was also a Cuban bar/disco at  [... read more]the Marino which was only about a 5 minute drive away from the resort. Overall great vacation!

Not what we thought!

the grounds and style of building look great. But inside needs lots of work. Beds are extremely hard with uncomfortable pillows. Our room as well as other people we met had cockroaches in their rooms. Some had ants and some had tiny little red bugs in their bedding! Not acceptable. Most websites say 4.5 star some even say 5 * no way! Their is NO service in "customer service". We had to ask for 3 days for clean bath towels, have our room cleaned and bottled water - this was to be done da [... read more]ily. When I called customer service, i was told in 5 minutes - that took 3 days! Don't lie - just tell the truth is my motto. Damien at the towel stand is awesome - he was extremely helpful for us to get the beach towels. The pool is amazing as well as the staff at the pool snack bar! The vacationers were not so nice - they stoled your towels in the morning when you put them on your chairs - not good - we are all there to enjoy so why steal - get your own towels - we did we paid for the elegance club - don't waste your monies on it

AMAZING RESORT!!

From the first day the service we recieved was exceptional, even though we didnt know much Spanish, all of the employees were soooo amazing and friendly, the services are also top of the line. The buffet food can be improved a little but i understand its a buffet. The restaurants were amazing in the resort which you can book

Not the four star hotel we were expecting.

The grounds were beautiful while the rooms were sadly neglected and badly in need of repair. Two of our three rooms had leaks. One bathroom door was very difficult to open/close. Our first room had a strong smell of mould! Some of the staff were very helpful while others were not. The buffet food was good while the Cuban and Italian restaurants were very poor. The Japanese restaurant was a treat as both the food and the service was wonderful and we all enjoyed our warm welcome by the staff. Unli [... read more]ke our reception in the Italian restaurants! This was a three family celebration and as the person who organized it I was very sorry that the hotel did not live up to my expectations. After paying $1600 for one person I felt very disappointed in the resort and recommendation of our travel agent.

Chill Vacation

We stayed at this hotel for a week at the end of March 2019. The hotel and the grounds are beautiful. The rooms are a good size and the king beds were very comfortable. The food was so-so although we always found something to eat at the buffet. The restaurant closest to the beach was our least favourite (food not very good and staff were not the most attentive), the other restaurants were ok but by far we found the Japanese the to be best food and staff. The beach was great and although busy  [... read more]at times we always found a spot to sunbathe. It was windy for a few days and that brought the jelly fish up on the beach so you did have to watch sometimes where you placed your foot when you were close to the water. The biggest let down we found for the hotel was the lobby bar which was understaffed and the staff at times were either inattentive or just did not want to serve you. Never stayed at an all inclusive that you had to stand in a long line up to wait to be served and then when you were served invaribly you were not given what you asked for (example would be asking for a rum & coke with dark rum and been given a rum & coke (with white rum) and a dark rum chaser or asking for 4 beers and getting 4 fantas. The waiters/waitresses would clear the tables but rarely asked if you wanted another drink. Overall it was a decent hotel and we enjoyed our vacation they just need to work on somethings to bring the hotel up to par with some of the other hotels in Varadero

Not a 4 star

The resort is an older one. Some parts of the resort were dangerous with nails sticking out of posts. There was a rickety rotten bridge that we had to cross twice a day to get back and forth from our room. I twisted my ankle twice while I was there. The hotel kept running out of essential items. No bowls or spoons at the Breakfast Buffet. No tonic at the bar. There is only one coffee machine for the whole of the resort so if you wanted coffee at lunch or dinner you had to line up at the bar. [... read more] The bathrooms in the lobby kept running out of toilet paper and there was only 1 soap dispenser for about 10 cubicles. On the upside the landscaping was well kept and lobby is very comfortable.

Not The Best

The Melia Peninsula Varadero seemed to be worn out. The buffet served did not have very many options to choose from especially in the morning. I was expecting wonderful fruit choices, but only had mango and guava. We didn't see a banana the whole week there. They ran out of French fries, hamburgers and hot dogs at the 24/7 snack bar, and could only offer pizza. The bed I slept in was not comfortable at all Holes in lampshades, bathroom door handle broken. The room did not smell fresh. I w [... read more]ould go back to Cuba, but would chose another resort to stay at.

Not the 4 Star it once was

As a seasoned traveller and former travel agent, I went to Cuba with lowered expectations about the accommodations and food. The resort location and grounds are great and of course Varadero Beach is spectacular. The set up of the room and the condition of it was disappointing. For example: they supplied a coffee maker in the room but no coffee, and they did not sell the coffee for it on the resort. They left instant decaf packets that you could use if you boiled the kettle, but the plug in was w [... read more]ay across the room from the table all was sitting on. The drying rack on the balcony was not attached to the wall and came down the 1st day, and the handle to the sliding door into the bathroom broke on the 3rd day. We were in a junior suite and it seemed as though the hotel wanted to portray that they offered everything, but these amenities were clearly just “for show”. Beds were very uncomfortable. Not sure if this is common to other properties in Varadero, but I fear that if they don’t address the repairs and upgrades of the resorts on the island, they may lose market share to the Dominican Republic and other tropical destinations. On the food, we were cutting them lots of slack as we thought the shortages of food and lack of fruit was due to the hurricane last year, but after talking with many other travellers (some from 3 star resorts) they did not share this experience at all. It was puzzling. I would only recommend to someone, if at a discounted rate and disclosing the likely condition of the rooms.

Our review

Good day, I am writing to you with feed back on our recent stay from March 9th-16th. We would like to start with the acknowledgement of the hard work your staff do to keeps the grounds as well as room clean. The pride of maintaining the resort is apparent. I especially enjoyed the ground keepers picking a flower & giving it with a warm smile & a "Have a nice day". Please acknowledge to them how appreciated this is. It is these little things that make your place special. We also enjoyed [... read more] your nightly entertainment. Your dancers are lovely to watch. May I suggest that at the end of the show, the host suggest that a box is located at the exit for any donation and/or pictures can be taken with a dancer of choice for a minimum fee. This would be a more gentle way than being greeted at the exit by a hat & asked for donation -(this left a bitter taste for me). Please acknowledge the tall young man with a pony tail. He was delightful to watch working the crowd. Always had a smile & was always poised and polite. He is a big asset to your resort. I did not interact directly with him but enjoyed seeing his enthusiasm for his work. We ate at 3 restaurants during our stay. We were pleased with the Mexican & Italian but the staff of the Bistro leaves much to desire. We thought they showed bad attitude, showing up at the table only for the necessary, with no regard for our requests. After asking several staff several times for bread we finally got it after they saw I was not eating my diner (about 10 minutes). It was not especially busy & one particular table seemed to be getting all the attention. Please remind them we are all customers. Also could you kindly have the staff who takes reservation to advise customers to be on time for their reservation & that they should leave when done since other people have made reservation after them. On both the Mexican & Italian nights we were told to wait outside until table freed up. From outside we could see people were done, just talking & laughing. We had 8:00pm reservation & on the one night waited 1/2 hr.......so why bother making reservation? As for the Currency Exchange person, it would be courteous to count the money being given instead of just sliding it under the glass. Also a quick explanation of the exchange & fee would be appreciated. They are used to the transaction, not so for us. I was surprise when I got back 13 cuban $ for $20.00 CDN. But the most annoying was the total disregard from the reception staff as well as the staff at the reception bar location. Many times during our 7 day stay did I wait 5 minutes or more as internal staff talked to each other about personal stuff. Waiters talking with reception staff, or two reception staff talking together, bar tenders talking with each other No acknowledgment that you are standing there waiting. And when they do decide to talk with you no apologies for making you wait. I am sure this is not what management is paying their staff for. Then again maybe this is the cuban way & is not an issue. We have been to Cuba before & stayed at other resorts. As much as you have many good qualities, at this time we would not return or recommend your resort to our friends. All your staff needs to be on the same page, that we are there to have a stress free few days. For me this means a welcoming reception & accomodating staff. In this case a few bad apples have spoilt the barrel. We also had issues with the Air Transat staff but this I will address with them. Thank you for your consideration, Peter & Georgette

Great resort for family and adults! 41/2 stars!

Hi, I just returned from the Melia Peninsula and have to say we were very pleased. It was my first time in Cuba but my sister has been three times. The grounds are beautiful with lush greenery everywhere that is very well maintained. The rooms are simple but clean and the maids are exceptionally helpful as is all the staff. The food was very, very good. Much better than I has expected. There is food available 24 hours a day. I was a little disappointed in the fruit selection as it was mo [... read more]stly local fruit although there was always pineapple and grapefruit. The rest of the food made up for the lack of fruit. There was food available everywhere from the adult pool to the kids pool it was always only a few steps away Bar was open 24 hours as was the cappucino bar (my favourite). The a la carte restaurants were very good comparable to restaurants at home (Montreal, Canada). The beach was spectacular! Hope I am not forgetting anything. Oh the kids area was amazing!!!!!. Would definitely highly recommend it.

Pleasent stay

Just returned from my 7day stay at melia peninsula . Very enjoyable vacation. Beach absolutely stunning .never a problem to find bed or shade . Dont have to get up 6 or 7 to reserve. Grounds are in great shape. Lots of greenery well kept by gardeners Food quite tasty. Knowing that Cuba is not the best when it comes to the cuisine. Didnt try any a la carte because dont want to be tied up with any schedule. Stuff very friendly and helpful. Rooms basic but decent and comfortable. Overall ver [... read more]y pleasent vacation

Nice resort

Myself and 3 other girl friends arrived at this hotel at the early hour of 1am March 9th. The bell boy brought us to our building which was building 29. He took our luggage right up to our rooms which were on the 3rd floor, and we tipped him and he was on his way. The rooms were ok, but needed to be updated. Bathroom was good. Huge shower, working toilet and a make up mirror. Bar fridge was filled up every second day. (1 bottle of water every day) 2 beer, 2 pop. The maid was awesome! Very sweet [... read more] girl. We left two paso's for her every day. The first day we left the room and forgot to close the safe, nothing was missing. Do not leave any opened food or anything sugary left unattended, lots of little red ants! We brought a can of raid which came in handy.. The grounds are very clean and well attended to. Beautiful flower bushes and different plants, lots of palm trees.... Food... Not a whole lot of choice in the buffet. Hardly any fruit all week, I love bananas and I didn't see one all week... french fries only one day.. If your a fussy eater I suggest you book at another resort. We did 3 a la cart restaurants. Japanese was awesome, really enjoyed the Mexican and we also ate at the Italian which was just ok... Pool with swim up bar was great. They had daily activities which we didn't partake in... There is also a children's pool that has a day care, water slide. lots of chairs and palapas... Beach was awesome! Loved the ocean! The man working the beach was always ready to help you find a spot. We tipped him a paso every day and gave him treats. There is a huge lobby at this resort where there are many people who go there to get wifi on their phones. You buy a phone card for one paso and its good for one hour. Don't forget to turn off your wifi when your finished using your phone to save the wifi that you haven't used. We also did face time on Facebook Messenger using wifi... We didn't see all the night time shows but they had a few really good bands come to the resort that we really enjoyed... We really enjoyed this resort but the food quality and choices really were bad...

Fair Resort - starting to show its age.

Staff was very friendly and helpful. Good value all considered and the flight to and from Hamilton was a bonus. Food is better than what most people are saying. Lots of familiar food and if you want to eat more of the Cuban food you can do so. Beaches are spectacular but pool and the resort itself is a little dated. Nightly musical entertainment at the lobby was stellar. The ala carte restaurants on site were so-so. There are a few resorts under construction in the area which reportedly w [... read more]ill be ready for 2020.