A good resort!!!

The resort grounds were very clean. Our room itself was very clean and was situated close to the pool and close to the beach. The water pressure in the renovated shower was a plus!!! Our mini fridge however was not stocked daily...good thing the servers at the buffet Melissa and Annabelle were always so kind and always had a bottle of water ready for us to take when they seve breakfast. The staff who cleaned our room Yanelis is amazing! My kids love seeing her towel origamis in our bed. There ar [... read more]e a lot of very hardworking and kind people in this resort that I felt right at home. The food in the buffet was a bit repetitive but theres plenty to choose from. I traveled with a teenager a school age and an infant and there's always something for them to eat. In terms of ala cart....the Mexican restaurant called Tocorro was good but service is very slow but we were happy to have chicken fingers for the kids. The cuban restaurant was also ok ....I paid extra for the lobsters and my family really enjoyed it. In terms of the beach...it was amazing!! The water during this March break was a tad cold during the day but get much warmer around 2pm....the seaweeds were removed every morning. It's a public beach but we were never bothered. It's a good idea to bring your own travel mugs so you can get drinks before getting comfy under the palapas....btw there were plenty of palapas no pro getting a spot though I take morning walks at the beach so I do reserve the ones closest to the beach girls my fam We didn't drink much but my teenager never had a shortage of pina coladas...I was disappointed though that they didn't have fresh coconut juice to offer but perhaps its not in season. Overall it was a great and pleasant trip...a good break from subzero temps here in Ontario... we will first sure go back.

Absolutely loved this resort!

Beautiful grounds and an even more beautiful beach. Food was good, staff were wonderful. The Japanese a-la-carte restaurant was entertainment in itself. Rooms were spacious and clean. Would definitely return!

Beautiful, beautiful,beautiful

This is our second time at Melia Peninsula Varadero and it never disappoints, its beautifully laid out. Landscaping is outstanding. Beach was amazing. There was a wide variety of foods to satisfy everyone’s taste. My husband and I would go again.

Beautiful, well appointed resort!

Grounds were well cared for and a gardener was always present working to keep them that way. No trash was ever in evidence, staff were so kind and helpful, making sure everything you requested was right there. No request was too great. Housekeeping always kept our room in a wonderful, clean state. Pool areas were clean and well kept. All staff were friendly.

Awesome Resort

We had a wonerful time..the resort is one of my favorites...the food was great we didn't love everything but enough to keep us filled and happy...the resort is clean.. entertainment was great we enjoyed Alberto very much ...our fridge was stocked daily with water pop ans beer..Liane took care of our room it was always clean and fresh loved her little figures made of towels and blanket I really have no negative comments..I would go back again one day

NOT HAPPY GUEST

THE GROUNDS WERE VERY NICE WOULD HAVE HELP IF THEY WOULD HAVE SIGN WHERE THINGS WERE GOING TO THE POOL AREA THE BEACH AREA EVEN THE ROOMS SOME OF THE SIGNS DIDN'T HAVE NUMBER OF THE ROOMS AND THEY ARE ALL THE SAME.. THE RESORT RESTAURANTS WERE GREAT BUT THE DAILY breakfast and lunch or even dinner buffet wasn't very good same food and didn't like the idea that the fish was out and not cover along with the meat they did have cold plates to keep them cold but not cover (with Birds flying over eve [... read more]rything in the food area all the time) didn't see Vegetable out at all. the only meals that were great was when we went to the on site restaurants . the front desk staff were not nice when we got there the rooms were not ready which is ok but we were up since 2 am as we have 3 hrs drive from the airport to be there 3 hrs a head of time we got at the resort around 11:30 am but when we got there they wanted to keep our passport to keep our room which didn't make since we said no we will hold them they said to come back at 4 pm which we did when we got to out rooms in which there were 3 rooms for 7 of us they were not the room that were on there web site when booking nothing was our room didn't have lamps shades, the beds were terrible one of the bed we asked to change as my sister hips were sore after sleeping one night on it ( which they did after telling them ) the housekeeping was ok we were left with no towel the 2nd day I called the front desk 4 time over 5 hrs and we didn't get the towels until 7 pm had to use our beach towels for a shower that night for dinner really not much entertainment was there we were in our rooms at 9:30 or 10 pm each night and the only entertainment that we seen was dancing a 2 songs that they sang they did have music going in front of the food and bar service we did go off the resort and took a bus to town and that was nice when ready to leave we had to be out of rooms at noon and we didn't get our bus back to the airport until 5 pm it was late but checking out we asked if we could keep the beach towels so we could swim and the answer was leave your passport for the towel the towels were worth about $4.00 each didn't make since we check out and waited for the bus for 5 hrs this was my first trip to Cuba and for a 5 start resort it wasn't worth the cost of $1190.00 I was very upset and very disappointed and having the front desk and the housekeeping service the way they were was a disappointment.. I left something for the housekeeping everyday that I took with me and still was treated this way we did tip all the waiters and waitress even after we were treated the way we were not all the staff was bad the bar staff and servers were good very sad having my first trip to Cuba leaving a bad taste Betty P

Disappointing Stay

I found that the resort was very dated and we had issues with our rooms from the moment we arrived. The key cards frequently stopped working which forced us to re-program them, the shower leaked an awful amount with each shower and resulted in the entire bathroom floor to be covered in water, the air conditioning unit frequently stopped working, and the phones did not work which was a huge safety hazard. On multiple days we were not given towels for our bathroom. The maid also did not clean the  [... read more]room once while we were there and simply made our beds and that was it. The fridge was also not stocked for 3 days. Besides the issues with the rooms, the resort itself was very lacking. There was very little entertainment which is a huge difference from other Cuban resorts I have previously stayed at. The 6 days we were there, there was only 1 night where there was entertainment on the main stage. The only options throughout our stay were to go to the beach, the lobby, or the pool. Nothing inherently wrong with this, but it would have been nice to have some variety. The buffet restaurant was also very limited. There was a lack of vegtebale options, and every day offered the same food. The staff was also rude quite often and treated us like a burden.

Deceiving

When we showed up to the resort the photos did not match in real life! Our key card didn't work twice in our 5 day stay, air didn't work, shower leaked, beds are as hard as rocks! no lamp shades, no screen door.. the food at the buffet was gross! Only good thing out of this trip was being with family the weather and leaving the resort and going into town for the day! Very dated resort ..so disappointed in this resort and the amount of money we spent! Do not recommend

Melia Mgmt needs to evaluate!

Arriving to the resort the grounds are beautiful. Well kept and clean. The beach is beautiful. Food is ok... its doable. I suggest to have real orange and pineapple juice. Also more selection on fruit. Very limited. The front reception has terrible customer service :(. No smiles or warm greetings nor are they helpful. We went through Air transit, Denise the rep was too glued on her cell phone and even look up at me when I said hello. Marguerite answered all my questions with a smile. Also my cou [... read more]sin felt as though Denise just couldnt be bothered to help us. The bartenders need to be consistant with how they MAKE the drinks.The same drink was made several different ways... how is that enjoyable. The staff at the pool are excellent and have smiles & conversation with you. Maids cleaned the rooms well. Bell boys are very friendly and helpful. La carte restaurants are good, food is hot. Japanese restaurant is excellent, great employees in that section. Customer service at front desk needs to be desperately retrained for proper customer service. A smile and listening ear will take them far. They are the first/last reps for the hotel and are giving a bad first/last impression. You have the wrong employees working for the reception area. Store staff not friendly. Hopefully the Melia upper management can change certain staff and retrain different areas. Hotel rates themselves a 5, I would say a 3 only because of my positive feedback. I did notice a few Melias hotels on my day trip to Varadero unsure if I will ever go to another Melia again because of my experience.

Beautiful grounds

the grounds are kept great. rooms need work. the beach was kept clean .they need more bars at the lobby. it was a short walk to the marina 15 mins. we were there feb.23 to Mar.2 2019. weather was great over 30 and sunny every day. food at the buffet was not good but you got to remember your in cuba. if you go to this resort go with an open mind and have fun.

Good resort

The resort was ok the beach amazing the rooms good and big The beds and pillow very comfortable. The food was ok cuban standers. Sometimes they were just missing somethings. They only had hamburger buns the first day I was there .they only had fries in the snack bar ,two days there is no sliced bread for breakfast in the morning ,and only my last day I saw yogurts. The food was very plain, and the food was not labelled so sometimes you don’t know what it was. The service it was grea [... read more]t. It’s a beautiful resort But it needs some work.

Great getaway

The grounds at the hotel were very well kept and maintained. Very clean inside and out. We really enjoyed our al la cartel meals. The Japanese was entertaining and the French was very tasty. The main buffet got a little boring, but we always found something. The beach and pool area was well maintained and never crowded. Our room was getting dated and our building outside lights at night were never repaired. It was very dark at night and I mentioned this problem as a safety concern 3 times. Not [... read more] a big deal as we always bring a flashlight. I would go back to this resort, but only for the right price.

Mediocre at best

Our room was tired Our mini bar was stocked twice which meant we had no water for 2 days Very rarely could you go to the washroom and find toilet paper, hand soap or paper towels The resort grounds were pleasant but not exceptional The buffet was poor at best same thing everyday. Very little variety No limes for drinks Bar tenders were pleasant but few bars so always a long wait for a drink The shows were okay but needs work First time at a melia and won’t likely go back

MELIA PENINSULA VARADERO

I WOULD LOVE TO GO BACK AGAIN HAD ALOT OF FUN AND ALSO RELAED ALOT WHICH WAS GREAT. WE ARE ALREADY TALKING ABOUT COMMING BACK NEXT YEAR AROUND THE SAME TIME . THE SAFF WAS GREAT VERY NICE FRIENDLY ALWAYS WILLING TO HELP OR ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS THAT WE HAD. HAVE TOLD CO WORKERS ABOUT THE RESORT AND THEY ARE THINKING ABOUT GOING THERE AS WELL.

Would not recommend

Very run down and under a lot of renovations, some people had no hydro no hot water for days , made the best of our stay but would not return , worst resort I have ever stayed at in Cuba , could go on and on but just don’t go there !

We had a great time!

Teresa suggested this resort and I must say that our trip was great. The flight, the bus ride to the resort, the check-in..all went really well. We were quickly checked in by a very pleasant lady and within less than a 1/2 hour we were on the beach. The resort itself is beautiful; very lush with lots of vegetation. The gardeners were hard at work early in the morning raking, planting and keeping the area very tidy. Our room was very comfortable with an updated bathroom and shower. Furniture was  [... read more]a bit dated but we didn't mind.The cleaning ladies did a great job every day keeping the rooms clean and tidy. There were multiple entertainment venues every night. First in the lobby from around 8:30 and then at the theatre starting at 9:30. We would suggest for this to start at 9. The food selection was good but we found the meat (any kind) to be very tough..don't know why. Would have liked more green salad but all in all the food was OK. The service in the dining area was excellent! The animation team was very good; they got people involved and dancing. We would have enjoyed a daily Zumba class..maybe next year. There was an unfortunate incidence on the beach where a gentleman died. In our opinion, the response was not fast enough or adequate. It was obvious that there wasn't a defibrilator on the premises because it took quite a while by the time someone showed up with it. There should be a defibrilator at every resort. In conclusion, we had a great time and we look forward to returning next year.

Wonderful beach

The hotel felt a little old and rough around the edges, however it did not hinder us from having a great time. The staff was great, the pool was always clean, the beach was stunning. It was a wonderful relaxing week.

Great vacation

We had a great stay at the melia peninsula resort in varadero. Granted the hotel is in the process of renovations but our accomadations were great, the food at the buffet and the A la carte restaurants was really good. The best thing about the resort was the friendly staff.

Nice family orientated resort

The room was good, however, the cord on the bedside lamp was frayed to the wires so we had to wiggle it to work. The beds were excellent! The lighting in the staircase hallway didn't work and wasn't repaired even though we asked for it to be fixed. The paper towel dispensers in the public washrooms were usually empty and/or broken. The washroom in the Kids Club area had no lock on the door. The buffet was good but got to be a little monotonous with basically the same options every meal every [... read more] day. However, there was a lot to choose from and it was good food. (The meats were like leather so I avoided them after a few tries.) The Mexican and Italian Restaurants were difficult to find since there was no name on the building they were in.

Problems

We just returned from melia peninsula yesterday. We arrived late at night of course our plane was delayed so our only options was the snack bar, the staff are very friendly we were the first ones to order so we are waiting for our food and more people arrive and order we are sitting there waiting for our food and everyone received their food before us 5 tables to be exact. I went up to see what the problem was and found out they left it in the oven and burnt it and forgot about us. not impressed [... read more]. That was only the beginning we finally got to our room it was very clean but faced a construction sight and also the bed was so hard you couldnt sleep on it. So we moved to another room and the bed the same thing, they brought in another mattress but it didnt help so I took the cushions from the love seat and put them on the bed. We had to wait a couple of days for another room but only had 2 days left, I didnt feel like packing up my belongings again so I put up for the discomfort. I think I spent most of my time at customer service, they too were very friendly. We also had to shut off the air conditioner because of the sewage smell coming from it, but every time the maid came in she would turn it on the smell was unbearable. My husband caught some kind of virus as well as many other guests. A lot of people coughing. On a good note the ladies at the pool bar were so friendly and fantastic and the ladies at the buffet as well. I really recommend going to the Italian restaurant it was pretty good. If you go to the lobby bar it gets pretty busy when you order your drink order double it takes a while to get another.