Very impressed with the resort

We were the lucky winners of the Trivia contest; Thank you Trip Central. As result of prior visits to Cuba, we are reluctant to go back however this resort surpassed previous experiences by far. The staff was always pleasant and eager to please. Meals were as good as DR however we stuck to fish and chicken. Entertainment in the daytime was lacking, probably due to miscommunication with the guests and low season. Evening shows seemed good however we found that we were exhausted by the time  [... read more]shows started so did not stay long. Would suggest the resort should label foods and provide drink menus. Ala-cartes we pleasant and presentation very professional.

Poor resort

After returning from.this hotel on November 2 o would not recommended this resort ...its extremely big...drinks at the pool bar very poor....snack bar food very poor but if you are hungry you will eat anything....beach is nice but quite stoney when you walk in....I would reccomend water shoes....been to much nicer beaches in Cuba....the ala cart restaurants are ok...nothing special

Will never go back

The hotel was decent but the front desk staff were extremely rude and not helpful at all. They ran out of food on our second day and the resort was half deserted. The main pool was shut down and we had to use a small pool that was green by day three cause it was not maintained. Will never go back to this resort

Second visit

This was our second year staying at this resort. (there same time last year). Family of 5 (3 adults, 2 toddlers) The initial rooms we received were awful, although adjoining they were ground floor musty with mold around the air conditioner and on the sheets and pillows. Not safe for small children (or anyone for that matter). Last year our rooms were newly renovated with no issues. After a couple of nights, and for a fee, they upgraded us to a suite. Yes there are mosquitoes and bug [... read more]s and cockroaches, but listen... its the tropics in rainy season - so just be easy going and bring bug spray. Other issue was the water temperature and pressure constantly fluctuated in the suite making it difficult to bathe two toddlers. The resort was not busy at all compared to last year. In fact almost empty at times - that did not diminish the service or special touches like churros delivered on the beach, animals for kids to visit with, or special touches in the dining room. It is very likely that we will be returning next year. If you have small children, it is the perfect resort, a kids club, kids entertainment and a large shallow pool perfect for little ones.

Sensational Vacation!

Melia Jardines Del Ray in Cayo Coca, Cuba is a large, beautiful resort! The grounds are well taken care of with beautiful flowers and greenery. The rooms are clean and include coffee makers, hair dryers, and well stocked refrigerators (beer, water and pop). The staff are friendly and helpful. All washrooms at the resort have toilet paper, soap and napkins. The swimming pools are refreshing and the beach is fabulous! There is a bowling Alley, spa, night club and market. This resort had everything [... read more] I needed. The food is pretty much what is expected in Cuba but had a great variety so there was a lot to choose from to suit your needs. I had a relaxing time and met a lot of friendly people from all over the world enjoying their stay as well. I would definitely go back!

Could have been better

Food is generally (breakfast, luch & dinner) decent/tolerable compared to other Cuban resort. Love the beach... not a lot of seaweeds or sea grass (haven't seen jelly fish... which is good); it's very calm and is pretty shallow from a good stretch; there's a good amount of water activities... but haven't noticed beach activities (like zumba by the beach). Unfortunately, there's no free recreation in the resort... i.e., indoor table tennis, billiard, etc.; although we went during MOSQUITO SEASON  [... read more](we didn't know it was that bad), which is ur pretty much want to stay inside the room inorder not to get bitten to death by mosquitos. Service and room is good. I dont' know why there is a phone without a dial tone and directory. If you need a service... you have to go to service desk (everywhere there is a mosquito, including inside the room it's just less). And for some reason the insect repellant spray, bracelet doesn't work). I heard from other tourist mosquitos there don't care; you can even get bitten from on top of your clothing. I didn't see they defog for mosquitos; although previous resort did twice a day and there's barely any mosquito/s.

Completely dissapointef

The hotel has Nice modern design.but definitely benefit from a professional fumigation.mosquitos could eat you alive!!we saw cockcroaches on the food trays at the buffet,ants in the room.you could spend 10 or more minutes waiting for a waiter to bring water or coffee to your table.the beach and swimming pools are beautiful and well taken care off. Would not go back or recommend this hotel.

Very good resort

It was a very nice hotel, the workers are all very friendly, the rooms are clean, there was many varieties of food, the drinks were very good. The beach was very clean. Many of them don’t speak English, which is fine but if you don’t know at least a couple of words in Spanish it won’t be very easy.

What a great experience

The staff were amazing, friendly and went above and beyond to ensure our vacation was memorable. This was my first time in Cuba and made some amazing memories. The food was decent (I didn’t starve) and the impetus were my go to every morning!! Also something about their butter hit everyone’s taste bud and was definitely a must have at every meal. We went in off season (july3rd) and there was not many vacationers but I loved that there were plenty of locals that absolutely enjoyed every  [... read more]minute of being there. We went into moron city and were treated as family. Definitely a place to remember it was beautiful, hot and memories were made that will last a life time!

The customer service is not what I expected

The hotel was nice and clean, the service at the restaurants and the reception was good. However, the service at the customer service office was very disappointing. We had to call 6 times in two days to have the bottled water replaced at our room. The food was very blend.

Beautiful but Boring resort

The hotel resort has a big lobby, beautiful beach and huge pools and most specially friendly and attentive staff however, we find it boring because it is lacking in entertainment and fun : Daily scheduled activities not followed. No pingpong table, no pool table, no pool basketball, no waterpolo net, does not lend the volleyball to guests any other time except 4 to 5 pm. Game at the pools is only at 4 pm for approx 15 min. Evening entertainment is very short. Worst of all are tons of mosquito [... read more]s and bugs/mites. Melia Jardines del Rey is a beautiful resort but it is not for us who wants action, fun and enjoyment.

Quality going down!

Second time at this resort, and I must say a lot has changed since last year. There were a lot of food shortages this year. Staff overall seemed unhappy therefore made me wonder if management had something to do with that. Entertainment still 10/10, the animation crew at both the beach/pool/night time events were always enthusiastic and ensured we all had a good time.

Good resort

Had a great week at Melia Jardines Del Ray! The staff were amazing and the beach was breathtaking. The hotel maintenance staff were constantly fixing minor issues around the hotel and cleaning the grounds. The mosquitos are terrible at night but we brought cig spray with us. The hotel sprayed around the main lobby three times during our stay which drastically decreased the mosquitos at night time. Was a good vacation, we would go back!

Beautiful Resort with Amazing Beach

This resort was beautiful. The layout was perfect, everything was close. The pools were unique in their layout, and the swim up bar service was above grade; all the services were great. Our room was very clean as well. No complaints at all, hospitality wise or other. We went mid May 2019, which meant that the resort was only running at half mass, but was still great. The entertainment was good, but the resort was fairly quiet given the time of year we went. We did a night at the cave nightclu [... read more]b, and went next door to the disco (which was conveniently located if your into going dancing, 2 min walk). Food wise, there was always plenty to eat. Freshly made chicken, pork, beef for every dinner; along with pasta, salads, potatoes and rice, etc. Always broccoli and squash, beans, ham, cheese, etc. Lots of desserts too! The ice cream bar was an added bonus. Breakfast was always the best meal in our opinion though, the french toast and omelettes were delicious. And the beach... saving the best for last.... was AMAZING! The water was shallow for a long way in, warm, crystal clear; barely any waves. We never had to save a beach hut or stress to get one. 10th time in Cuba, and one of the best beaches yet! Strong 4 star rating.

Good value

The resort is very good value. The grounds are well kept and the buffet is good. The pools are quite large and good and the entertainment is very good. The biggest drawback for us was that when we went in early May, the mosquitoes were very bothersome.

Great trip!

Great place, great people, food was decent but the same all week. Avoid the juice at the restaurant. Beach and pools were gorgeous and the room was beautiful and well kept. All of the staff were amazing!

Nice beaches

The beach was amazing and the rooms were cleaned to a very high standard every day The food was not good and we weren't even sure what we were eating most of the time. They ran out of alcohol at some of the bars numerous times through the week. The entertainers worked really hard and it was well presented but it was all the same every night no variation at all. Pools had green algae in a couple of days.

Beautiful Resort!

Melia Jardines del Rey is a large well kept resort. The rooms are beautiful and well maintained by the housekeeping staff. Each day you were provided with a fresh bottle of water, soft drinks and beers. Our room was located in bunglow 18 located close to the beach. The beach is spectacular, you can walk on white powdered sand which stretches along the Caribbean sea for quite a distance. There is plenty of beach chairs and coverage from the sun. The temperatures ranged from 31 to 36 degrees  [... read more]celsius everyday. A very good beach bar with fast efficient service. There is a buffet luncheon available at the beach restaurant. Upon arrival at the resort we were taken to a room located off the main lobby where we were greeted with a welcome cocktail, we were given our bracelets for our all inclusive vacation, told what was open in the resort for food, our passports were taken and scanned and brought back within 5 minutes. They arranged for our money to be exchanged. Very fast and efficient service. Then we were taken with our luggage to our rooms by staff members driving a golf cart. The only three negative comments about this resort is the customer service needs to improve in the snack bar located in section 17 of the resort. in the al carte restaurant Don Perrone (italian) section need more wait staff waited quite along time for service and food. Waited for 45 minutes for french fries and hot dogs while everyone was served and left. We never received our proper orders. The food in the buffet area needs to be hotter, most times cold by the time you seat yourself to eat your meal. There was definitely a good variety of food being served. Booking spa services through the Sunwing rep ensure you have the right package before leaving their area. I have been coming to Cuba since 1986 and know what to expect with regards to food, resort and service. I come for the culture, people, safety and the great weather! The Spanish government has recently come into this resort and provided new management. I have stayed at several Melia resorts in the past and love the quality they provided! Overall my daughter and I had a great vacation! We are already planning our trip for next year!

Beautiful Resort

This was my first visit to this resort. It was beautiful the grounds, rooms and overall appearance was great The beach was absolutely beautiful, the staff on the beach where very helpful . The food was great enjoyed my omelet every morning, but at times it could of been warmer, but was good!! The staff where great but honestly the level of customer service needs to be greatly improved!! The entertainment was amazing was always a variety of things going on!! I enjoyed my stay there but not sure I [... read more] will return again unfortunately!!

Very pleased

The beach was absolutely beautiful! We were looking forward to enjoying the beach and can say we were truly blown away...we spent many hours relaxing thereThe hotel staff were professional and always friendly and helpful. The pools were laid out extremely well, the only critique would be that they could be a bit cleaner. Entertainment staff were energetic and friendly. There was always food to eat and as this was our second trip to Cuba we found the food better than our previous trip to Vera [... read more]dero several years ago.