Melia Las Dunas: Just Ok

Everything about this place was run down. We didn't have hot water in our room for 5 out of 7 days. It was a 2 hour drive from the airport. Hard to find a vegetable to eat! If you like mystery meat and fries then you will be fine. Don't expect fancy drinks, the bartenders don't know how to make anything. The Santa Clara airport won't take an E boarding pass so we had to wait an hour to get the stupid paper boarding pass.

Paradisus Princesa Del Mar: Made me decide never to go to Cuba or use Sunwing again!!!!!!!!!!

Sunwing billed the hotel as a 5 star while trip Advisor gave it a 3.5 star and it was clear to me why. Firstly, our group arrived at the hotel a 1:00 p.m. (9 hours after we all arrived at the Ottawa airport) - only to be advised our rooms would not be available until 4 p.m.. No hospitality room was offered or locked storage of our suitcases from 1 to 4 p.m.. The food was pretty bad, at times there was so much smoke from cooking in the very large and noisy buffet dinning room th [... read more]at I had difficultly staying long enough to eat and the service was slow, carbonated bottled water was not available on any regular basis. The wheel chair lifts didn't work for people or suitcases (one man had to be carried up and down the stairs going from the lobby bar and hotel reception area). While I paid cash for my spa treatments, in addition to refusing to give me a receipt the spa had me sign and date a paper confirming the spa treatments I received and the price of same and my name and room number. While the staff assured me verbally the charges would not appear on my room bill, there was no reason for them not to give me for my cash payment - who needs this stress on vacation? My room safe did not work, the patio door on my ground floor unit did not lock without the jury rigging piece of hardware that had been added to the lock. Maps of the resort were no automatically given out .I think I was the only one in our group that actually got a copy - this was better than having to go to the reception area every time you wanted to find a place on the resort. The bottom sheet of the bed was not fitted so I had to keep straightening the sheets - they were barely big enough to tuck under the mattress! When you exchanged money on the resort - you got no receipt of your transaction unless you were getting local money using your Mastercard. Since I changed Canadian cash for Cuban currency - I just got the Cuban money and no receipt confirming the commission or the exchanged rate used. By 10 am all of the lounge chairs around the pool had towels on them for the entire day and early evening - why were people allowed to save these chairs even if they were not using them for periods of time during the day? Clearly there were not enough lounge chairs for all of the hotel guests.

Melia Cayo Coco: Love this resort

From the moment we arrived this resort was top, great food, clean rooms, beautiful grounds, hope to return real soon We have been to many resorts in Cuba and this was by far the best. The beach was very windy all week, but would be great on calm days. Staff are very friendly and although an older building the rooms are kept very clean.

Paradisus Princesa Del Mar: wonderful Cuba vacation

Was pleased to see local produce well prepared and presented. It was delicious! With the exception of maybe some prime cuts of beef and exotic selection of alcohol missing, the variety of food at Paradisus Princesa Del Mar was on par with Sandals Resorts we have stayed at. The service was consistently good. WIFI was sketchy and weather for several days windy and chilly but resort was comfortable, rooms good size, everything worked, good selection of restaurants and lots of scenic places to e [... read more]xplore outdoors. Great entertainment and music! Currency exchange on site was convenient. Sunwing did a very good job coordinating transfers and arranging outings! The Beach is amazing!

Paradisus Princesa Del Mar: Could have been better.

Grounds were nice. Water in room was never hot and luke warm mostly. More then an hour late to check in. 5:15pm. Several of the front desk staff were not friendly, no smiles, curt, and one was particularly unpleasant and Not helpful at all. I cannot drink alcohol so I stick with water but like to have soda/sparkling water at meals. They had none for the second half of the week. Not enough staff in buffet, bars and coffee bars. The food was over all too salty and boring. They ran out of butte [... read more]r on several occasions. I understand that Cuba has a limited variety of foods but even the rice and beans were not good. Room was well cleaned. Windows throughout resort were not. The main bar coffee machine broke down and they did not open up the other bar where there was one that worked. Food and drink service was under-staffed at times so there were lineups. Could have been more lounge chairs by the pool. Pizza was terrible at the pizza restaurant. Drunken men were on occasion rude and loud, keeping us awake by shouting until after 2am. The gentleman providing the restaurant reservations was great. Restaurant staff were wonderful as well. The cook on breakfast eggs/omelets was great. Pasta cook as well. Sunwing lady- Lisa was awesome. Did not appreciate the money exchange person not giving us the denominations that we requested-ones and threes even though we did not request a large sum.

Paradisus Princesa Del Mar: Beautiful resort

Grounds and staff awesome Best thing was the constant entertainment - we were out and about the resort every night lots of people enjoying the various bars and great music . The resort spends on local entertainment - bands and musicians !!! So more lively then the usual . The food was poor - result of the political situation ??? Nice beach great pools not a boring place

Melia Internacional: Great Location

Very nice facilities and staff. Excellent stretch of beach. Close enough to the commercial area to walk easily and check out some touristy shopping and dining spots. Food at the buffet was reasonably good quality but preparation is lacking I.e. often overcooked or undercooked (potato and fish particularly most of the time). Al la cart dining was not a good experience, both times too salty to eat and the meal didn’t match the menu description very well. Drinks were mostly very good but a couple [... read more] tips - ask for Havana Club or whatever you prefer, otherwise you usually get the lower quality stuff by default. Mojitos made with lemon lime soda instead of real lime a couple of times, should be illegal in this country lol. Still most likely one of the best places to stay in Varadero.

Melia Las Americas: Resort is good but not good entertainment

Buffet is good but dont have much variations. Agent cannot be reached. Room is great cleaned and new. Not enough pool. The other pool at the Level are under renovations but the agent from Hola sun didnt inform us. Unexpected situation.

Melia Marina Varadero: Melia Marina Varadero

The room is very large, clean, beautiful and great view. The beach is good and most of chairs are broken, few of them is very bad should throw away. Many sea weeds on the beach on windy days but no one clean up (probably clean up next day). The food is OK but some very bad such as finger claim was smelly and uneatable. Kidney beans and hot dogs were sour probably from left over from previous day. It is OK to serve the left over foods if they are still good to eat (the chef should taste them firs [... read more]t). The services are good in most areas but the receptionists are not very helpful. WIFI only available in the main lobby and very slow and hard to login. It is not a good place for people want to have a working vacation (using your PC). The swimming pool is not well organize, many chairs are taken for entire day but see no one using then for 4-5 hours, therefore not enough chairs for others. Coffee in buffet restaurant is not very good compare to others in Cuba with same stars.

Sol Rio de Luna y Mares: Very old hotel,not good for ppl with walking problems

Very old hotel,everything us fooling in a parts,ppl cleaning ,but doesn’t look clean,bc of the very vey old environment..we will never go back there,,even fir free....sorry..Staff is amazing,but somehow the Big Management is sleeping about all this (( Rooms are smelling,A/C are old and you are all the time wet,clothes are wet,Don’t like my vacation ,pls go to outher hotels!!

Sol Cayo Coco: 4th visit but likely our last!

We have visited this resort in 2012, 2015 & 2016 but think our January 2020 trip will be our last. We met many guests who were repeat customers. We went back because : the hotel is not huge (about 500 maximum occupancy), the staff are truly fantastic, it offers 2 beaches, there was a great beach restaurant and it was great value. This trip we still found the staff to be super friendly and helpful - some have been there for over 20 years and many remembered us from 2016. The beaches are great ,  [... read more]one windy but one sheltered. However in 2017 hurricane Irma sadly destroyed the beach restaurant (plus about 400 palm trees). While the hotel has done a great job to restore the $50 million of damage but has not replaced the beach restaurant leaving it with only one a la carte. They have put in a lunchtime beach "tiki-hut" grill but all it served were hamburgers and fries and seemed to open randomly. The buffet as in most resorts offered a variety including two cooking stations (eggs/pancakes etc for breakfast and meat/fish/pasta/pizza at lunch and dinner). While there was always something we could find to eat it was pretty much the same every day with little creativity. With only one a-la-carte (which was very good) the buffet needs to be a lot better for 7 lunches and 6 dinners in a row! The bars offer a good variety of drinks and the service was always excellent. Tips are appreciated and gratefully accepted but not looked for. The entertainment staff work had to create fun and the evening shows featured great dancers. Communication about activities and shows was very poor. Just a notice board and single page sheet which seemed the same as 2016! On a few nights the schedule changed without notice so we ended up eating dinner and missing the singer. The rooms are badly in need of upgrades. They (and the hotel overall) are very clean but our shower stall leaked water over the bathroom. lights didn't work and drawers were falling apart. Despite the shortfalls we still enjoyed our week especially at the price. The hotel was surveying guests so hopefully they will make some changes. I doubt we will return but as long as you go for the beach, the drinks, the fun and ok food it is worth considering.

Melia Las Antillas: Very friendly and patient staff!

Staff :quick at answering our requests more water bottles and towels and fixing water leak near door..Room is spacious enough. Beds/mattresses comfy..Quiet, good for sleeping in..Bathroom clean. Eating areas very close and convenient. Food :ok, a bit monotonous, but not inedible. For me, best items on the menu were some tropical fruts guavas and papayas. The only other fruits were watermelon (pink and not very sweet) and pineapple (sour and a bit tough). Fresh fruit juices and flavored yog [... read more]hurt drinks were my second favorite foods. My roommate preferred the deserts (multiple choices of cakes!) Weather was great, but we were very very lucky.

Melia Jardines del Rey: I got sick there but I can go back

I love Cuba and first time I got really sick in Cuba was at this resort. I guess I ate something didn't go well with me. I was vomiting all day and had diary for nine days there and I haven't recovered yet in Canada. I found Cockroaches in the draw next to my bed on my 5th day there. I took pictures and showed to customer service. They send over people to spray the room and the bed but I couldn't stay there. Next day, they gave me better room. I would not go there during high season. Ther [... read more]e must have been over 1800 people. It was too crowded. You couldn't find seats at the lobby, buffet etc.... You can imagine the rest and I don't have to write what others are writing. Pros: Great location, close to airport. Buildings are new well kept. Excellent costumer service. " front desk, manager Carlos solves the issues. Great main bar(huge), open 24 hours. A lot of restaurants, my favor was "oriental" and "Mediterranean". They have great service and great food. Room service is impeccable. Water and beers in your room 95%. ------------------- Cons: Two crowded Buffet has the same food every day, no changes. Lines are too long to get an omelet, fish, pasta or meat. Some employees don't clean tables well at the buffet. The wines are not good at all at the bars and buffet...cheap wine. -------------------------- Don't pay extra for room "elegance". I never got anything ------ This is not a bad resort. I got sick but I will go there again.

Paradisus Princesa Del Mar: Disgusting Resort

We booked an Air Canada vacation package with you for Cuba , Varadero from January 13, 2020 to Jan. 20, 2020 at Paradisus Princesa Del Mar. When we reached the hotel and checked in, the room was so un welcoming that there was insufficient light, TV was not working, washroom was not equipped with soap and water in tap was at very low pressure. We called the customer service several times as they kept on hanging on us. We went for dinner and to our surprise there was not much food left in the  [... read more]serving trays, no one refilled them. What ever Food was left the Quality was very poor and cold. That night we had to sleep hungry. Next morning we went and met our Air Canada Rep Ahmed and explained him the whole situation. He understood our concerns and immediately arranged to find us alternate hotel at Melia Internacional at an extra price of CAD $382 and transfer of CAD$ 20 a total of $402.00 Just before leaving Princesa Del Mar, the service manager and supervisor came to our room to enquire about our concerns and upon checking they found we were right. They were so upset that they when they called customer service, they were hung up on them. They checked the TV was not working and also when they checked the washroom, there was no soap and water pressure was low. Now our question is when you advertise this facility as 5 star, you don't expect this type of service. One day of our trip was wasted in moving. We need the extra expense to be refunded and compensate the inconvenience and loss of one day of vacation. Air Canada Rep. Ahmed told us that he was sending a complete report of our experience to Air Canada customer service. We would appreciate an early response on our experience with Air Canada vacation and do the needful.

Melia Las Dunas: Great beaches and staff!

We were there Dec 24-31 a family of 4. The best parts were the beaches, beautiful white sand, ocean warm and turquiose i miss it already, the staff were super and always smiling and provided great service. Our room maid in block 16 was great and very sweet. The rooms are a little worn down but were clean. The alacart restaurants were great and food was delicious, but buffet was ok, mornings we sometimes had issues with selection but dinner we always found something good. Too much pork in almost  [... read more]everything. The hotel in general was little worn down but ok for Cuba standard, other hotels we stayed at were cleaner and better buffet selection in general. It was crowded and toward end of our vacation it got really crowded. The evening shows were good just dancing i would recommend adding a little variety to them. We never got sick or stomach issues but we were careful. The cappuccinos were delicious. The weather was good we had 2 out 7 days with a little rain that passed in an hour or so. The weather was warm ~25c not too hot. Overall it was very nice and relaxing and we enjoyed ourselves. This was our 5th time to Cuba, ww found the excursions were overpriced but now wish we had gone on at least one, we stayed on the resorr the whole week.

Melia Internacional: Gorgeous, modern, well appointed resort!

I've travelled to several resorts across Cuba the last decade, often returning multiple times to one that raised the bar and offered a superior experices to past resorts. Melia Internacional was by far the best experience to-date! Spacious, clean, modern, with professional staff, great food, and plenty of space for all to dine, relax by the pool or beach, and enjoy some lounge time in one of the multiple lounges the hotel offers. The facility had multiple elevators making getting around v [... read more]ery easy for anyone with mobility restrictions, and all the restaurants were within the building, no walking long distances for any ammenities. The staff were courteous, friendly without being imposing, and helpful. Meals were great. The quality of the food was the best I've had yet (in Cuba). During and after my stay I commented that I didn't have a single thing to complain about...only postive remarks about a wonderful stay. Sadly that's rare when visiting Cuba, as different cultures have different expectations and something often isn't as expected, whether it's cleanliness of public washrooms, or supplying toiletries in the hotel rooms, sometimes its a small thing that can dampen an otherwise great epxerience. I'm happy to say that there was none of that on this past trip, unlike the other families I overheard complaining about their resorts at the airport...thank goodness we didn't stay where they did! All the positive things were wonderful and I offer this as some opportunities for further improvement: Promptness of check-in (30 minute wait was unnecessary, and sadly the longest I've experienced of any hotels in Cuba, yet this was a beautiful stay so that 30 minute wait was quickly forgotten); Limiting a la carte restaurants to a few times per week (unfortunate policy that IMHO take this resort from a solid 5 star (Cuban) to a 4.5 alone); Limited group exercise (acquafit, yoga, etc.). Didn't see much of that, which was fine but it's also a nice way to start your day in an active way. Again, wonderful vacation at a wonderful resort. Much appreicated and I look forward to returing in the near future.

Memories Cayo Largo: Great stay at The Sol

They are deep into reno-ing the resort. The beach was gone but we found some beach chairs in the dunes so we could sun and see and hear the ocean. Our room was tired but clean. It was very relaxing! The staff was fabulous. We will return ... again.

Melia Buenavista: quiet paradise

THIS PLACE IS BEAUTIFUL WITH 2 VERY CLEAN POOLS AND 3 SCENIC BEACHES. STAFF ARE FANTASTIC AND VERY FRIENDLY. THE ROOMS ARE HUGE AND HAVE A WALK IN CLOSET AND OUTDOOR SHOWER, AND JACUZZI TUB. FOOD WAS OK. OUTDOOR PIZZA OVEN WAS GREAT. LIKED THE WAY SUPPER IS ONLY A LA CARTE. NOT A LOT TO DO EXCEPT RELAX AND ENJOY. WOULD DEFINITELY GO BACK!

Memories Cayo Largo: Great resort - very relaxing!

we went to Sol Cayo Largo for a week January 12 2020 and were pleasantly surprised! we feel this resort should deserve a higher star rating. grounds were clean, food was excellent with lots of choices, entertainment was varied and well done, ocean was beautiful and the staff was friendly, helpful and courteous.

Paradisus Princesa Del Mar: Paradises del mar Varadero Jan. 12 to 19th

This hotel is rated a 5 star. The weather and beach are 5 stars the rest not so much. The grounds are well kept with lots of digging on the property. The public areas are clean and well kept. Our room, on the ground floor was dated. Air conditioning was working on our second day. Toilet worked and water was warm. No clock, Kleenex. Maid service was good. Dining was satisfactory. This hotel requires more glassware, cutlery etc. We did five ala cartes. The Sakura and Miramar were our favourites. T [... read more]he staff did their jobs some were more helpful than others. We used the beach more. Plenty of seating that you don’t have to save unlike the pool area. The only pool was small for the number of guests. The beach is a 5 the pool a 3. When arriving the entrance didn’t stand out.