Sol Palmeras: Love the Resort

We have been to this resort many times we absolutely love it, for us it is home away from home. The staff is amazing, friendly and very helpful. There is plenty of entertainment all day and evening. Rooms are clean and comfortable.

Paradisus Los Cayos: Good resort

Beach: nice beach but a little rocky and little shells in places that are hard on your feet. Water is crystal clear when it is calm, even in windy days we were still able to enjoy the water. Pools: main pool was nice with entertainment throughout the day. Small pools outside the buildings were cold but nicely lit in the night. Service: at the beach bar and beach restaurant was amazing! Service at the buffet and pool bar was poor. People did not seem interested in serving us and overall servic [... read more]e was slow. Some people were very friendly and happy to help while others were disinterested. Food: buffet food for breakfast had lots of options. Fresh to made omelette, eggs and pancakes were fantastic. They also had delicious fresh donuts. Lunch: buffet food was the same as dinner. We ate at the beach bar where the food was fresh and fantastic as well as excellent service. Dinner: buffet had many options as well as freshly made rice, fish, meats and pasta. Overall quality was lacking but everything was edible. Do not go to the a la Carte restaurants as they were terrible. Service was very slow and food at some places was not edible. Fuego was the only edible one. Room: very nice and clean, comfortable beds, shower just smelled a little musty. Location: 120km from the airport a 140 minute drive. Island was beautiful although our beach wasn’t very long but private. Value: we went during break so it was more expensive but would consider going again if prices were cheaper. Overall: resort was nice but it only seems to be 40% full and the service was still lacking... would hate to see if they actually filled it. Would recommend if you are looking for a nicer place to stay in Cuba.

Paradisus Los Cayos: Okay resort

Overall: decent stay. Takes 2 hours to get to the resort from the airport. Flying out of Santa Clara is brutal. The airport is tiny. The beach was lovely, although a little shelly/rocky until you get into the water. Lots of fish so on good weather days you can see them swimming. The beach food and drink bar have the very best service! Amazing people and we ate lunch their every single day. The only place on the resort that you get quick service. There are free catamaran rides which are a l [... read more]ot of fun. Saw some wild dolphins. Some wifi was included which is nice. For a 7 day trip we received 7 hrs on day 1, 6 hrs on day 2, 5 hrs on day 3 etc. The rooms look lovely, beds were comfortable and the lighting is great. A/C was not working the entire trip (other people we spoke to had the same problem), the toilet seat was very stained, and the shower smelled musty. The pools outside the rooms look pretty but they are very cold as they are not heated and don’t receive much sun. The a la carte restaurants were terrible. Fuego was the only decent one. Bana and Vente were terrible service and inedible food in some instances. The buffet was edible with various options for freshly made food such as fried rice, fish and meats. Breakfast options were good too, fresh made pancakes, omelettes, eggs etc. The pool food bar was okay.. the food was good but the service was extremely slow. Also had an instance of drinking from a wine glass and noticing the rim was chipped in two places and almost cut my lip. One huge red flag is that this resort seems to be at 30-40% capacity. It is HUGE, huge buildings and many of them but very empty and still very slow service. They also offered a Valentines special to locals so the day before we arrived over 1000 local Cubans checked in. They were very noisy, rude and it was quite uncomfortable. This resort attracts the “affluent” local crowd, something to be cautious of. The staff were hit and miss. A handful were very happy to help and serve but there were many who were rude or did not seem excited to help. Have never experienced this before at an all inclusive. The entertainment team was okay. They seemed happy but there was no clear schedule for the day provided to us so it was hard to know when things where happening and where. Evening entertainment was good, but not much happens after that. The nightlife is not great. Overall definitely did not feel like a 5 star all inclusive experience. The beach, beach bar food and drinks were great though. We spent every day at the beach.

Melia Las Americas: Amazing vacation!

Our stay wa amazing. I loved this resort, the service we received was so great. We had beautiful rooms in the bungalows but asked to be closer to the main hotel for mobility reasons and were accommodated right away. We never had a bad meal and loved the 2 a la carte restaurants we went to, our favorite was the grill. Pools are amazing, the one near the bungalow was closed for renovations and only opened up or last day there but the were never any issues with crowding at the other 2 poo [... read more]ls, likely due to the fabulous long, deep, beautiful sandy beach at this resort with tons of chairs and shade. Golf course was beautiful, greens can be a little rough but totally worth it when you're teeing off with the ocean right there. Already planning to go back to this hotel. Note to sunwing, they misplaced my luggage but as I told the sunwing rep. Stuff happens and it's all about how it's handled and they are great about it.

Melia Las Americas: Amazing resort

The hotel is wonderful. The food is increatable good. The staff was superb. The beach and pool are out standing. We are planning to go back next year. The golf course was very good with some good challenge.

Melia Marina Varadero: Good but not great

Firstly, I will say that the hotel was OK for the price we paid. That said, there were many basics lacking, and I don’t know if they were a result of Cuba embargoes or the hotel management. For example, the buffet never had enough dishes, cutlery, fruit or even water to serve the guests. The staff seem to be in a mad scramble to find clean cups to bring guests. Water was very hard to come by, and if you wanted to be served a drink at the buffet - good luck! There were also never enough clean t [... read more]owels - either at the pool or even in room service. The staff were friendly enough, but was clear they did not have the tools needed to do their job. Food was decent (for Cuba), but lacking in variety. (Buffet has the same offerings every day for lunch AND dinner). I would recommend only if you are looking for an affordable getaway with great beach... but not if looking for an exceptional experience.

Melia Varadero: Good.

Hotel staff friendly, beautiful beach, fun entertainers. Dwayne Wade would give this a 9/10 but i would give it a 9.3 at least. On an additional note, bring ketchup packs and hot sauce with you and your own sunblock unless you are trying to pay $20 for a bottle of it.

Melia Las Antillas: Very friendly people

Room nice pool great weather great service great food not so hot great location had no issues beach was beautiful bar very well stocked they were running out of food daily had to hit buffet early to get any half decent food service very good was able to pay 8 bucks to keep room for extra time which was nice it was my first time to Cuba will I go back absolutely not

Paradisus Rio De Oro: Everything is great at Paradisus Rio De Oro!

Highlights include: - Great beach with lots of shaded places to sit. Lots of fish to see while snorkeling. There is always staff at the beech which is very nice. It also nice to have the wash room close to the beech and beverage bar handy. - The pool is nice too with swim up bar. Water was warm and lots of daily entertainment at the pool: volleyball, dancing, etc. - Musicians were amazing! I really liked the musician that played various numbers on clarinet, flute, and piccolo. I also  [... read more]liked the solo singers, and all the bands. One band played music almost all day on Cuba day on the beach. What a treat! A highlight too was the opera singers on the first night. - Everyone is friendly there and always want to please you. - Love the morning coffee in the lounge. The Buffet is very good with lots of choices, and all our restaurant meals were also very good. - Nothing at all negative to say.

Melia Marina Varadero: Horrified Experience

I don’t even know where to begin with this review. No towels, no cups, raw chicken served to us, service was horrible, staff were so rude, the beach wasn’t maintained, hotel managers avoided you like the plague, wifi only in the lobby which you need to pay for. Honestly everything that could have went wrong went wrong. Please do not go here. I’ve never been so dissatisfied with a vacation. By day two all 5 of us wanted to come home.

Melia Jardines del Rey: Very great experience

The hotel rooms were extremely clean and the air conditioning was perfect for sleeping at night. Food selection was very big and good for the standards. Pool area and all the grounds were great places to be

Paradisus Princesa Del Mar: Beautiful grounds & beach

The resort grounds are lovely and so is the beach. However, service ranged from the very good, such as that of our hotel maid, to the very bad. For example, we complained 3 times to get water to our room, reassured each time, but getting water only after the third complaint. Food was hit and miss. For example I ordered a beef loin steak at the Bsmboo restaurant that was tougher than shoe leather. I couldn't cut it with a knife and was impossible to chew. The same applies to the buffet. Generall [... read more]y poor food the first week of our stay and significantly better food the second week. Wine shortages at specialty restaurants. Imagine, red wine available at the Japanese restaurant, with excellent service and food, but not at the Italian one, with mediocre service and unappetizing food to boot. The air conditioning in our room was so bad that clothes in our closet were damp to the touch. We essentially got cold air but no moisture removal. In general, we found many staff motivated, friendly and accommodating, while others were just putting in time.

Melia Jardines del Rey: Good value for your money

Main lobby needs some TLC, water fountains not working, not enough light. Grounds are beautiful but ground keepers need to be more aware of garbage left around. They walk by cups or cans and don’t pick up. I did a lot of picking up. It’s a beautiful place but can be better. The place is definitely under staffed but most of them do go out of their way to help you.

Melia Jardines del Rey: Nice area, but.....................!

After reading so many good reviews beforehand about this resort, and having stayed at other Melia resorts in the past in Cuba, we were needless to say, excited about going to reputedly “the largest resort in the Caribbean”. Our trouble started as soon as we tried to check in. We waited almost 5 hours before a room was ready for us. Admittedly, the room was quite nice and clean. However, the last guest had seen fit to lock the safe and we, of course, didn’t have the combination. A locksm [... read more]ith finally got it opened for us. So it was off to get something to eat. What a zoo!! People pushing and shoving, trying to get something they wanted. And the noise! Unbelievable!! And there sure wasn’t much variety to choose from. Anyway, the food, or lack thereof, was a constant all week. We had 4 a la carte meals, and only one was any good. And there were items on the menu that they just didn’t have. The International was the best meal we had all week. And it was hot. No matter what we seemed to pick at the buffet, it was always cold. Drinks! Another issue. I don’t drink alcohol, but my choice for most of the weekdays was water, tonic water, or a form of lemonade that I swear was watered down Kool Aid. There were two days when they had a diet type Cola available but that was that. Anyway, “back at the room” the toilet didn’t flush properly. When I removed the tank cover I noticed that hardly any water was going into the tank. So every time after that when the toilet was flushed I had to fill the tank with the flexible phone shower next to the toilet. But there was a bigger problem. The trap or S-bend in the toilet had practically no water in it, and gas from the septic tank was seeping up from the toilet. So I would always make sure this had adequate water in it. The problem was that the maid would come in when we were away, and she would flush the toilet during the cleaning process. So we almost always came back to a room smelling like a sewer. And there were many areas throughout the resort where we smelled this gas. Even when we were on the beach, if the breeze was right. This takes me to the beach. One section is really smooth sand, the other is a lot of broken shells and what appeared to be coral. Anyway, good luck getting a seat at the nice section. And if you walk up to the other section, you pay 2 pesos each, (approx. $3.00 each) for a chair. Some guy up there on this section owns these chairs, so you have to pay. We decided after a few days to spend our time around the pools instead. And they are beautiful and very, very clean. And tons of chairs. One morning we decided to have breakfast at one of the snack bars, rather than the buffet. Someone we met told us you could get a good but simple breakfast there. So off we went. Well, it was simple alright!! All they had was eggs. Nothing else, just eggs, and they offered us an omelet. Nothing in it, just eggs! And no coffee either, just watermelon juice. My wife asked for ketchup. No ketchup, but they did have mustard. Anyway, I could go on and on, but I won’t. This was not anything like what we had read prior to going there. There is obviously a lot, and I emphasize a lot, of shortages right now in Cuba. I read an article that said their supply of oil has been cut from 90,000 barrels a drag to 40,000 barrels a day. Embargo’s from the US and consequently Venezuela. And this explains why the sea doos and other motorized craft weren’t running. People who had paid for these were given their money back. But, you know what? With all the shortages and power outages the Cuban people are experiencing, they remain friendly and kind beyond reproach. And it this quality that will take me back to Cuba again. Just not to this resort.

Melia Marina Varadero: Room for improvement

As this was our first trip to Cuba, the service at the resort needed work and the proximity and accessibility to the Beach was disappointing. The condo was wonderful and the service improved as the week progressed; however, they had a significant amount of trainees and often times language barriers.

Melia Peninsula Varadero: Still Good 2nd Time

2nd time at Melia Pennisula Resort (first visit 2017) and the hotel still was as good as the first time. There were some noticeable improvements to the grounds. Beach was beautiful - always able to find a lounge chair. Pool was good. Pool bar food wasn't as good as the first time however. Service overall was really good - people were very friendly. The evening entertainment was ok. A la carte restaurants were good - enjoyed the Japanese one the most. Buffets were good.

Melia Peninsula Varadero: Wonderful resort

Really enjoyed this resort. It was smaller than others we have been to but there was always plenty of space and seating in public areas.Room was nice, best shower I've seen in Cuba so far. Love the entertainment at the lobby in the evenings. Went to the spa twice for a massage which was wonderful. The food was typical Cuba, this hotel was no better but no worse than others we're stayed at. Service was very good. I would recommend this hotel.

Paradisus Princesa Del Mar: Letdown bigtime

Was very disappointed,no wine,no vodka,room very tire,refrigerator did not work,towels and room musty,no coffee in room for days,tv beyond old,key in door had to be changed twice,only a 3 star,staff was fair if you could get their attention,check in took about an hour,would not recommend.

Melia Internacional: Great resort!

Excellent grounds, well taken care off and laid out. We are beach people, and we were happy with the quality of the beach and water access, also plenty of beach chairs and great personalized umbrella service. The restaurants offer a good variation of menus - considering that generally Cuba is not known for it's food quality - we were pleased with the offering. The food area is not well laid out, as with a full resort (900+ rooms) there are a lot of people, and it's getting really busy and hard t [... read more]o access at times - but you learn and act accordingly. The so called Cuban theme restaurant close to the beach has grills going every day at lunch with all expected meats. Excellent bar scene, with individual shows every evening and good service. The rooms perfect, nice walk in showers, good access with plenty of working elevators and daily turn down and towel service. General amenities excellent. Overall we felt it was an great vacation.

Paradisus Princesa Del Mar: Very nice resort

Very well looked after, very clean, except for the beach was covered in seaweed. The people were very friendly and accommodating for the most part except at check in, took 2 hours for them to check us in. They weren't organized at first. The shows were good, restaurants were excellent. Got a private tour to Havana which was awesome. Had a very nice time. They were short on food though. The only other problem was no hot water for the first 5 days.