Awesome Vacation! Will definitely return!

This resort is very well maintained. Very clean with easy access to everything. Anywhere you want to go is within 2-3 min walk. The staff are very courteous and helpful. The entertainment staff was always cheerful and involved everyone in their activities. Chino/Pedro is funny and makes everyone feel welcome and his enthusiasm is contagious. Lea makes you feel great about winning the lazy game....lol or laugh when you're not so coordinated while taking the dance lessons. She also loves to help  [... read more]you learn some Spanish words and phrases. The restaurant staff are also very pleasant (Arisleidy and Yamilet?) do everything they can to make your meal an amazing experience. The snack bar had wonderful food (burgers and pork cutlets) and the staff were hard working and always happy to see you. The beach was beautiful and the water was amazing. We also found a little bay to go snorkeling at. No need to go on a snorkeling excursion. Marcos and Jesus from the beach bar always had a smile on their faces and kept the drinks flowing. The Lagoon view rooms were clean and sanitized. We had an issue with the A/C which was rectified within the hour. The sunset views from our balcony were stunning! We could admire the sea life daily....watched and fed the fish and we could see little jelly fish (in the lagoon). The grounds keepers greeted you with a smile and kept the gardens looking beautiful. We also really appreciated the fact that there was no need to buy internet minutes. We had access everywhere, including the beach. Just see the Reception and they would provide internet access for free. Overall this resort has it all! It was a peaceful and relaxing vacation. This is not the place to go if you are looking for a party or nightlife but the tranquility is what we wanted for our vacation. Can't wait to go back!!!

Melia Cayo coco

Stunning resort, landscaping, beach. Food was delicious. Fifteen minutes from the airport. Staff were awesome. And really good Covid protocols. Was really sunny, hot, hot. Rooms are very well done, modern. Maid service is so good. A dream vacation was the best. Can’t wait to go back. It’s so awesome.

Nice small resort - April 2022

The resort is small, older and has nice foliage, and is well maintained. The staff is friendly, polite, and provided good service. Food was OK for Cuba. Rooms are kept clean, and the air conditioner worked well, but the room decor is a bit dated. Beach is beautiful and kept clean with a sufficient # of loungers available. Some nice touches, being greeted by the resort manager upon arrival, entertainment with a sax player playing around the pool area one day. Usual evening entertainme [... read more]nt for Cuba, lots of dancing. General all the guests seemed happy. Some experiences, the weather was a bit on the windy side for days sand blowing and choppy waves, no rain. Experienced two short power outages (30-45mins) around dinner time. A couple of times, going to the buffet later for breakfast (30 mins before close) staff wouldn't provide any service as they were too busy cleaning up. A minor issue was a shortage of Pina Coladas and draft beer at times, substituted with can beers. In early April, spots around the Lagoon rooms were starting to fill in with plant/algae growth in a few spots had a bit of an odor. April is getting into the early summer weather in Cuba, which is very hot (30+ degrees) On the whole, This being our first time back in Cuba in a couple of years I'm a bit torn on the cost and value of going to this resort (at a premium) compared to other Melia-operated resorts in other parts of Cuba.

Melia in Cayo Coco

If you want a quite resort withoutlarge crowds then this is the place. Our stay was 18 to 25 March 22. Weather was excellent, beach is among the best anywhere south. Even with limited personel on site (due to covid) service was excellent and food was equaly good. Like most places they ahve had a challenging few years also coupled with supply chain issues, be patient and be happy your getting to travel!!! As this is Cuba please bring the worker anything you can think of cove has hampered supply a [... read more]nd the war has made this worst. I heard they have a very hard time getting milk, if you can manage it bring bags of powdered milk & baby formula along with just about anything else one uses daily. Bring CDN & US cash as tips, don't bother with their Pesos..

Beautiful Resort !!

We were amazed at how beautiful & tranquil Melia Cayo Coco is !! As are most people we were apprehensive with "post pandemic" travel but the staff automatically put our worries to rest. Everything was clean and sanitized quite often. The rooms were beautiful and quite comfortable. The staff were amazing !! The only suggestion that I would make to Melia would be to have available a "beach mat" that rolls out to the water so that people with disabilities can actually go home from their v [... read more]acation and say that "they actually put their foot or hand in the ocean"

Beautiful resort

We visited in March 2022; Its a beautiful resort; Pool: nice lots of seats; and if you need one they will get one for you Beach: is amazing and large with a Bar and a lunch buffet very good Staff: are amazing will do anything to make you happy Clean:washrooms cleaned as soon as you leave the stalls; lobby very clean Rooms: need some updating however all you do is sleep and shower what more do you need; showers great lots of hot water no issue with pressure; Food; I've been to Cuba 16 t [... read more]imes and this resort had the best I've had lots of choices and the A'La Cartes where very good; Bars; all you need to ask and they will have it but Cranberry juice; All in All I will be going back;

Sweetest, mist attentive staff ever!!!

We absolutely adored Melia Cayo Coco! Lovely pool! Nice restaurants! Good morning yoga/stretch! And very nice, clean rooms! The beach was great! The service was awesome! Quiet, peaceful relaxation at an adult's only resort was exactly what we were looking for. We also net a lot of really fun, friendly other tourists!

Melia deserves its good reputation

We've been to 11 different resorts in 4 different areas of Cuba, and found this resort to be right at the top of our list for many reasons. You will not be disappointed by a visit to it, understanding that it is Cuba you are going to. Given the difficulties we have all experienced over the last almost 2 years (plus hurricane Ida), we were very happily surprised by the excellent condition of virtually all of the resort. The grounds are neat and well maintained, the rooms all were clean with s [... read more]trong, hot showers, and the beds comfortable. The lagoon rooms have nice sunrise/sunset views, and in the shallow water you can see some fish (look near the mangrove roots for 4 - 6 inch barracuda floating motionless), Whistling Ducks (endangered on the mainland where they are hunted), and some entertaining small jellyfish that mainly lie upside down on the bottom of the lagoon looking like algae. Except for a couple of visits to newly built resorts we haven't been to a better maintained resort in Cuba - a bit dated but in good repair. We were a bit concerned that we'd find food to be an issue given the supply difficulties that Cuba is experiencing, but I have to say that this was the best food experience that we've had in Cuba. One of us was vegetarian and had no difficulty finding a satisfying meal at any mealtime - the specialty restaurants (all 3 were quite good) each produced a special meal without hesitation when asked. The buffets were all well staffed because no one is allowed to serve themselves with only a couple of minor exceptions (yogurt in glasses for example). All staff wore masks all the time everywhere, and all visitors wore masks when approaching the staff at the buffets, bars, stores, reception desk etc. The resort manager meets every arrival and explains what they are doing for our safety, and asks that everyone respect the efforts being made by caring about others' well-being. He sets the tone at the resort - we found all of the staff welcoming and very responsive to any sort of request (that they could meet). The same was true (somewhat surprisingly) at the airport where the staff seemed less officious than in previous years and worked hard to keep things moving. There is an initial lineup on the way in while they inspect the online form that Cuba wants filled out before arrival. Masks are worn in the airport and on the bus, but are generally not worn on the resort except in close proximity to others indoors. COVID testing for return flight: It is well organised here. Your airline rep (Sunwing, Air Canada etc) will tell you what day to go for the test – the doctor waits between 8 and 11 am every morning in front of his office by the lobby. He fills out an official form, you sign, get nasal swab and are done in 5 minutes. You will pay $30US at reception by credit card at checkout time (or before if you want). The results will be delivered to reception the night before you leave probably around 8pm. This resort has had no cases among staff or guests to date. We know the Tryp had cases this week most likely due to the lax approach certain guests there took. The resort layout works well with everything a short walk away. There was a gentleman there in a wheelchair who told me that access was decent everywhere - a little rough in places but not restricting. The room was large enough, with one rocking chair, one dressing table stool and 2 plastic chairs on the balcony. The air conditioning worked well with a remote. We unplugged the fridge every night since the compressor can be loud. The water is very hot (after a minute or so, so be careful), and the pressure in all four rooms we had was strong throughout our stay. Closet includes 2 umbrellas and many wooden hangers. Currency: Cuban pesos are only good for tipping. 20 pesos is about $1 Cdn. $1US is the handiest bill (coins are useless of course). If you are going to use Cdn bills, try to bring new ones down - the Cuban banks reject bills with even the slightest blemishes - since they will have to take them to the bank to convert into useful money. All tours and all purchases in shops are purchased in US$ using credit (VISA, Mastercard on a Cdn bank - not Capital One, Citi, AmEx etc) or maybe debit if you have a US dollar account. Because our cards need a PIN there is no need to lug around passports anymore. The Gaviota Commercial Center (10 minutes walk from the resort) has a number of small retail stores that accept cash. Cigars: The shop at the resort has a reasonable selection, the shop at the Pullman has many more (to go there walk down the beach and ask the security folks to go to their shop. They will radio for permission and direct you to it. Prices are all the same. Once a week a man comes to the lobby and sells cigars that he rolls for significantly less (they looked fine to me but I'm no expert). The large store in the Colonial is now closed along with the resort. The shop in the airport was closed when we left in the middle of the day, so don't count on it. Birds: If you are interested in birds, get in touch with Paulino Delgado. He's great. There are a pair of Black Hawks that cruise the beach each morning, Cuban green and West Indian woodpeckers that visit, 10 different types of warblers nearby, Anis, Bullfinches, stripe-headed tanagers, 2 types of oriole, kingbirds etc. all easily found within a half kilometer. The sports bar has 2 small pool tables that are in good repair with decent cues, and 4 TVs that show various sports (and one music video channel). It has outside tables for smokers overlooking the lagoon. Speaking of which, we were never bothered by smoke as we have been at some resorts, and yet smokers are well accommodated for at all of the venues. Rooms are all non-smoking, but balconies are covered and have ash trays. The sports center was also relatively well equipped. They have one table tennis set with decent paddles, a reasonable tennis court, a fusball table, an air hockey table, and even an archery range with both left and right-handed bows and decent arrows. Pedro enjoys teaching boxing and knows what he is doing. He also is available for tennis or any of the other sports if you need a partner. He's a great person. We tried to scuba dive, but the Gaviota Dive boat failed on us so we missed out. And they didn't bother calling so we wasted half a morning. There are 2 other scuba places on the island, but we found out too late to switch. One is just down the beach in front of the Pullman resort (it also teaches kiteboarding - 3 hour lesson to start, or just rent the board). They pick divers up off the beach in a smallish boat and do 2 dives in the morning - deep then shallow. You can also go out with the shallow dive just to snorkel - reasonable price for one hour on the reef. We’ll try that next time. The other scuba place is on Cayo Guillermo which will send a bus for you. We'll probably try them next time. We tried snorkeling from the beach with little success because it was a bit too windy all week so the water wasn't clear enough and the reef is a long way out. There was a volleyball game on the beach most afternoons, and Jesus and Joel at the bar kept everyone happy. The bar has 5 or 6 tables under a roof, and there were lots of palapas on the beach. My guess was that the resort was about half full so there was no crowding anywhere and no waiting for drinks etc. Even if it had been full, though, I think that they have the capacity to serve everyone without much waiting. The last night we took music and drinks and watched the sunset from the ruins of the old Sol resort on the point at the west end of the beach. You get there either on the beach or on the road from the lobby. It gives you a nice view up the beach towards the Tryp resort (don't stay at it, it has changed for the worse). We had one problem that didn't really get resolved. On the third night a group of locals moved into 3 of the rooms in our building with one of them between 2 of ours. From about 2am until 3:30am when I finally got up and went to reception a few of them were shouting and banging on their doors and one of ours. Once I complained, reception called them and they quieted down. They left the building until 4:30am when they came back and woke us up again with loud talk. Customer Services called them the next day and so they were quiet for one night, but the next night at 3am we went through it again. Melia offered to change our rooms, but I decided not to - a mistake as it turned out, although I was pissed off that they weren't moved instead. So, if you encounter noisy neighbors jump on it right away with reception and make sure it is actually fixed. We ended up having to re-organize our rooms since our daughter was very uncomfortable (to say the least) having a couple of drunken 20 to 30 year old men banging on her door and shouting in Spanish in the middle of the night, not to mention losing the better part of 2 nights sleep. This was the only negative we encountered there, and I think it is not something that is normal there. But it was infuriating.

What a gem!

First, the staff. They are amazing friendly people all around. The beach is amazing and probably the best in Cayo Coco. Service is amazing, rooms are comfortable albeit a little dated but really, who cares when you are in paradise. A la cartes were good. Buffet was ok but honestly, I’m not picky. All in all, great trip during pandemic. Bravo!

Nice stay at a small friendly all-inclusive resort

Grounds and public areas were well maintained and clean. Covid protocols were strictly adhered to by staff.I did come across a couple of items on the grounds that needed attention. While walking to the beach on the eastern most boardwalk over the dunes, I noticed a loose plank, which was a potential hazard to visitors. This was promptly fixed by maintenance after I pointed it out. There were also some exposed rebars extending from a wall entrance to the pool area (next to the boardwalk previousl [... read more]y mentioned), which looked dangerous if someone were to slip and fall against one. I did not point this out, but it should be obvious to hotel management and maintenance who pass it daily. We stayed in a ground floor classic room which was cleaned daily and felt comfortable. There were some minor issues which were an annoyance. Water on bathroom floor and plumbing disruption (no water during one day but back on by evening so not a big issue), old batteries which failed in the safe and door (needed to have maintenance replace). A sliding door that did not slide in the built in closet. I needed to lift and move it each time. The beach was nice and not too busy. It was blowing close to 40km/h wind gusts the week we stayed, but this can happen in Cayo Coco and Cayo Guillermo, which are off the mainland and more exposed. However, it was mostly sunny with highs of 28c which felt comfortable and the wind helped keep any mosquitos away. This is an excellent area for kite surfing. The a la carte restaurants were very good for Cuba, especially the Mediterranean restaurant. My only complaint was entrance to that a la carte requires a stair climb (no elevator) which is problematic for people with walking disabilities (clientele skews older here so a potential issue for some). The buffet restaurant had a good selection of food and I very much appreciated that the staff served the food rather than having everyone use the same utensils to fill their plates (big Kudos to Melia Cayo Coco for this!!!). I felt service (coffee and drinks and sometimes place settings) was a little slow at times in the buffet. The staff numbers may have been lower than normal in the buffet for a hotel close to capacity. More supervision could have helped. The bars were good (especially the lobby bar). Excellent service and friendly staff. No issues getting served anytime of the day. The reception desk staff were also excellent. I went there frequently to change money (CAD to Cuban Pesos) for tips and they changed it without issue. They also dealt promptly with any issues such as the safe and door lock batteries. The medical staff on site were also excellent. We had our COVID pre return flight PCR test on the Thursday morning and received the results Friday evening before flying back on Saturday. The doctor personally handed out the test results at reception. He was on site all the time. I found the garden staff to be very friendly. It was a genuine friendliness. They went about their work happily with smiles on their faces every day to keep the gardens looking great. Kudos to them. The entertainment staff were also great. We enjoyed the shows, live music in the lobby, live cuban music at the beach restaurant daily. We think Cuba is one of the best places for entertainment in the caribbean. Their entertainers are all well trained (from a young age I think). We saw some excellent dancers and enjoyed some amazing singers while staying at this hotel!!! All in all, despite some of the minor issues, we had a very good stay at Melia Cayo Coco. We liked the small intimate feel of the hotel and the friendliness of the staff. If you enjoy beach walking (which I do) there were KMs of walking either side of the resort along the beach. Walking to the right takes you past the Pullman and the areas for kite surfing onto a virgin beach with virtually no-one and long stretches of flats out to the sea. Walking to the left takes you to the rocks at the end of the beach..walking from there to the left takes you to a lagoon and you can walk for KMs past a number of hotels (Iberostar Mojito etc) to the end. If you choose that walk, prepare for some tired legs from walking in the sand. Thoroughly enjoyable though. If you like to fly fish ( the salt water variety) Melia Cayo Coco is a good place to stay. There are a number of flats nearby that you can try for the elusive but famed bonefish that salt water fly fishers dream of. I did bring my rod but opted not to go this time. However, I noticed three fly fishers staying at the hotel. They seemed to go every day during our stay and looked quite happy. A great week to escape from the wall to wall news about Covid and enjoy life for a bit.

Happy to have been there!

From start to finish it was a great stay. We got the same room as last time which we had asked for. The staff were great, very professioal, friendly and Covid safe. The Canadian government should take lessons from Cuba. Our intentions are to return in April 2022 so long as our government hasn't brought on a lockdown preventing us from doing so. The only drawback is I have come home to a driveway full of snow.

Excellent Hotel and Resort

We stayed for 2 weeks, on our 14th visit to the Melia. As always the service from the staff was outstanding. Despite COVID precautions, the buffet and restaurants offered the usual excellent service and meals. We will be back in 2022

A lovely resort

The Melia Cayo Coco, Cuba is one of the older resorts in the area and it is starting to show its age. However, everything was clean and well taken care of. The staff were exceptional in their care and kindness to all of the guests. The food was very good at the buffet and it was exceptionally good at the 'a la carte' restaurants. A lovely beach and plenty of sun chairs and awnings. The animation team were energetic and worked very hard at getting everyone involved. There was a snaffoo o [... read more]n the final 'check-out' day. Many of us were not notified that the flight had been delayed 4 hours. Sunwing, the front desk at check-out or the Sunwing information board nor the Sunwing representatives at the hotel and airport did not give us the information which lead to a lot of confusion and missed time on the beach.

Travel in COVID Times

This was a 3rd 1 week trip to this resort in the past year and I was impressed by how deligent the staff were to adapting to COVID restrictions. Staff always wore thier masks and politely asked guests to wear them in covered areas (ie buffet, restaurants and Front Desk) The required COVID test was admistered within the required 72hours by medical staff. The beaches are lovely and the resort is very clean. As an older resort they are keeping up the required maintenance and had no issues with t [... read more]he room (hot water and cold air conditioning). The daily replemishing of the fridge was welcomed. As a frequent guest to Cuba it never fails to amaze me as to the friendleness of the people and the geniune appreciation of the gifts you bring down (toiletries, school supplies, kid's toys, etc). The food choices were good and of course the drinks were great I am looking forward to my next trip

Best of Cuba

After traveling to Cuba for 25 years and staying in roughly 15 different hotels I still rate this the best. The staff make it what it is. But everything about the hotel is top notch. The food is outstanding. The cleanliness is impeccable. The grounds are spotless. Management goes out of there way to greet guests. It is and will remain to be my go to resort in Cuba. Being 15-20 from the airport is also a huge plus.

Beautiful resort

The resort is designed for friendship. Everything is in close proximity the beach is wonderful the pool is very nice plenty places to lounge on. The staff are very nice The food is good but not wow. They were not at the full capacity when we were there so some of the restaurants were not open yet. Overall we enjoyed our stay tremendously. I wish they have better entertainment programs though it became repetitive after a while.

Golden Two Week Stay

From the airport to the arrival at the hotel we felt taken care of by the Cubans. We filled out our health declaration and it was processed in a reasonable length of time, our temperatures taken and then we were transported to our hotel. Options to purchase beer on the bus were welcomed for the short ride to Melia Cayo Coco. There we were greeted with colourfully dressed dancers and delightful cocktails. We immediately went to a cooler waiting area where each person received a rapid covid [... read more] test. When cleared we were free to go to our rooms via golf cart. The cleaning standard was exceptional. Rooms were fresh and well appointed. In fact each day the room attendants did a thorough cleaning with those cute towel and bed cover displays of swans and other artistic arrangements of blankets or towels. Delivery of 2 beers, a cola and 2 liters of bottled water happened every day like clockwork. Cuba being tropical we had an exciting thunderstorm with spectacular lightening and the predictable power outage. The power was not out very long and at least half of the electrical sockets came back on along with the air conditioning within a couple of hours. The morning lobby coffee service was always perfect. Every staff wore masks, even the outdoor staff in the gardens and on the beaches. We missed the smiles but still felt the sincerity and politeness from the servers. The beach was very clean and guests followed the rules of not leaving plastic cups or smoking materials on the beach around the chairs and sunbeds. A tractor raked the sand and seaweed at the shore but for me signs of a living beach don't need to be raked away. For some reason they scheduled the tractor when the beach was open with guests in the water. Not sure why they chose to place an entire Bon Jovi album and 6 versions of an Ed Sheerin song at the beach everyday but they did until the 11:30 dance class when they switched back to Cuban and international Latin artists. Same with the evening lobby music, they need to shake that up with Latin songs. Food was good for Cuba with the fresh fruit, juices and yogurt, attractive desserts and ice cream to small portion appetizer bowls and fresh cooked fish, seafood and meats with compliments of vegetables, pastas, bread and cheese. Everything was served to us at the buffet which was the best safety measure and ensured less food waste. The only thing you could pick up were the small appetizer bowls and plated bread and the odd individual sides at the main entrée section of the buffet. I hope they keep this system in place all the time. Walks through the gardens was always a treat as they are so well kept. The mosquitos are very bad in this area of Cuba and for some reason they kept flying into my face which I had to dab with repellent every morning and evening to avoid bites. They had a biplane fly over the resort every couple of days to keep the population down and some gardeners with back packs of insecticide and a blower walking around the pool and lobby every night at sunset. All told, a very good resort and you can see why there are so many return visitors.

Incredible Experience

From the moment you step off the bus, the staff of Melia Cayo Coco are your family. A cool drink, with or without rum, is handed to you, and a hearty welcome is extended. Despite physical distancing, and mandatory masks, the excitement and smiles of the staff are intoxicating. Food is served with a smile, wait staff always chats for a moment, engaged in your daily activities. The cleaning staff is extremely diligent with ensuring the rooms and lobbies are spotless, and the grounds staff create a [... read more] tropical paradise with flowers and colors abound. The beach is amazing, we did not spend more than 30 minutes all week under cloud cover, and the water is beautifully sparkly and warm. All in all, the Melia is well deserving of their reputation as a top resort. We will absolutely be back.

Beautiful grounds and resort

Great gardens and entertainment. Food was delicious. Staff was friendly. Will be be back soon.. Enjoyed the beach and activities like tennis and ping pong at the resort. Staff was attentive and the rooms were well taken care of and clean.

Very good

extremely clean, friendly staff, Nice and comfortable room, beautiful landscape and very clean beach. We were not too happy with food. Service is very Doctor was very friendly and concerned. Main dinning had a better food for breakfast and than beach one. That all I have to say