Sol Rio de Luna y Mares: Amazing resort

Very good view, clean beach, vast area, a lot of bars, tennis area, theater, swimming-pools, a lot of rooms in renovations statue, some archaeological and old status. A lot of points of: services; as many restaurants; Italian, International, Cuban, and main restaurant. The service in both restaurants and rooms were excellent. The people were very friendly in spite of the embargo. We will recommend this place to revisit; I will go again and again for third time.

Melia Marina Varadero: Ok

We had to wait hours for our room, and pool snack bar always ran out of food. My room door didn’t lock probably and I had them come fix it and it still didn’t lock probably the maid left my room unlock the whole day. On a positive note they were clean and the chicken was a amazing other the front desk staff everyone else were very nice!

Paradisus Princesa Del Mar: Poor experience.

This is not a review of their Royal Service (they had a designated area for guest who paid more) My girlfriend and I visited Princesa Del Mar (the resort) in January 2020. I'll start with the pros of the resort, because it will be shorter to get through. The beach and ocean was beautiful, I wish it was less windy when I was there, but still great. If you only intend on staying on the beach with some "ok-ish drinks" then you'll enjoy this place. That's about it. On to the cons. P [... read more]OOR SERVICE When you arrive at the resort the staff doesn't take any effort to tell you how things work in the resort, they just usher you in. On our first day we left our beach towels by the pool, we were unaware of the resort's policy that all guest have to keep their towels, and get new towels at a designated towel exchange spot. When we went to get towels on our second day, the towel lady told us to talk to customer service as she wouldn't be able to give us new towels. We explained to customer service that we left our towels by the pool, and she agreed that they could provide us with new towels, but if we "lost" these ones and they were not in the room when we went to check out we would be charged $15 for each one (their regular replacement price was $25). I thought, ok that's fair, now that we understand how it works at this resort we can do it their way, no problem. The customer service representative said someone would drop off the towels in our room later in the day. When we didn't receive them, we asked one of the maids, she didn't speak english so she got her manager of our part of the resort, building #5. We explained to the manager that we spoke to customer service and they agreed to provide us new towels. We ended up calling customer service, passing the phone back an forth and in the end this manager told us (paraphrased), "it doesn't matter, I am the manager of this building (#5), and if you want new towels, its $15 each." Restaurant reservations. You cant eat at any of the dinner restaurants (except the buffet) without making a reservation. But again, when you enter the resort they don't explain this to you. We found out on our first night when the restaurants would not take us. So on the second day, we went to make reservations and they said "every things booked for tonight, you can only book restaurants for tomorrow onward. So we paid to have access to all the restaurants, but were barred from eating at all of them except the buffet. But you can imagine if someone planned a short stay at the resort, say for 4 days, that's already 50% of their stay where they can't access all the services of the resort, which they already paid for. I should note that the restaurant servers were actually good. I went to buy internet time. Originally I had asked to buy 3 hours, and then 15 seconds later I changed my mind and said, "actually can I buy 2 hours." the service lady gave me a stare and said "... I already typed 3." It just felt like she was being lazy. If it was a system thing maybe I could understand, but then she really should have conveyed that better like, "I'm sorry, I've already typed in 3 hours." In summary the summary was poor. (Except restaurant staff) THE ROOM The room was also not impressive. The pillows smelled like bad body odor, we wrapped our pillows in the bathrobes to cover the smell. Luckily we also brought fabreeze. They never changed the towels, my GF got a bit of lipstick on one of the towels on the second day, and we realized by the fourth day we still had the same towel with the same lip stick mark. The maid would just fold them and put them back on the rack, and we even left a tip every day. Calling for room service was extremely slow, the first time we ordered breakfast it took 1.5 hours (omelette and fruit). The second time we ordered in the evening took a little over 2 hours, the third time we ordered we waited over 2.5 hours got tired and called in to cancel the room service. We did tip first 2 times room service came, even though it was slow. Minor cons: - The food at the resort was bland or too salty, but I was warned beforehand that's how Cuban food is. - The pool is small (should be going to the beach its not too windy) - They give you a map with the services, locations and hours of operation, but the operating hours have not been updated, and we often went to places which the map indicated was operating, only to find the hours were changed and they no longer provided services at that time. (usually the lunch restaurants - You don't need reservations for these but there was limited seating. The one by the beach had a live band, it was nice.) - The currency exchange shop was always "out for lunch" when I needed to exchange currency - The drinks are watered down and not that great. They often only had "something similar", I asked for a mojito, and they said "we dont have limes, but we can make you something similar." The drinks were unfortunately only passable.

Hotel Camino del Mar: nice resort!

I just stayed at this hotel last week (January 12th-19th) and it was very nice! If you’re looking for a quiet and relaxing place this is the resort! The food was good, no issues with anything. Lots to eat and always lots of fresh meat on the grill. The room could use some updating but was very clean. Our ceiling leaked twice, but maintenance came very quickly to fix it. Our safe was also not working in the room, and they came early morning to fix it. Overall clean room just a little out dated. [... read more] The beach was very nice! Long white sand beach, but it was very windy. There were lots of wind surfers in the ocean, and it was a red flag every day. We still swam in the ocean but did not go out very far. The pool area was very nice and clean. The washrooms all have very short doors and the toilets in the public washrooms didn’t flush properly. Overall i enjoyed the resort, and i would visit again for a relaxing holiday!

Hotel Camino del Mar: Excellent Staff

We had a great time. The staff there were amazing. Very friendly. They made you feel at home. The pier is beautiful. The grounds were very well kept. We are at all 3 Al la Carte and I have to say they were among the best meals I’ve ever eaten. Would definitely go back to this resort.

Melia Jardines del Rey: Hi

Lovely hotel.....great amazing beach just steps away,well worth the money we spent 🙂 tripcentral is my new go to in regards to my future travel plans.... everything went smoothly! From navigating the website to finalized booking...tnx so much 🙂

Sol Rio de Luna y Mares: Repeat Guest

This is my second time and my girlfriends first, I absolutely love this place. The beach is one of the most beautiful in the world. So much character in the buildings and architecture, always clean, the people and staff are amazing and the food is pretty damn good for Cuba! If you go make sure to take a trip into Guadarlavaca and Holguín city there is so much more to Cuba than the resorts! I will be back time and time again,

Paradisus Rio De Oro: still nice

Second time at this resort and 7th time to Cuba. Still the best resort in Cuba although not as good as last time . Resort is still clean but starting to show its age a little. Staff are all wonderful and everyone is on their game and very friendly. Food is still good but once again not as good as it was. Cuba is struggling and it shows. But if you go to Cuba , it is still the nicest resort.

Sol Palmeras: Good resort

The grounds were very nice. Great pool and beach. I would say the one biggest drawback was that the buffet restaurant was only open at specific times for breakfast, lunch and dinner. I travelled with my family which included a 14-month old child and the fact that dinner began at 6:30 meant that she was "trying" to eat dinner at that time which was very close to her bedtime (at 7:00). It should have been open with at least some food available at 5:00 p.m. so that children can have their light [... read more] suppers early and go to bed.

Melia Marina Varadero: Melia Marina Varadero is a Terrible Resort!!! Don't waste your money!!!

We went to the Melia Marina Varadero with the highest of hopes from January 6-16, 2020. My husband and I are not overly picky people. We know it is Cuba and our expectations were in check from the get go. I had previously gone to Cuba with my girlfriends three years prior and fell in love with Cuba, the people and even really enjoyed the food at our resort. My friends and I only paid $975 tax included for that lovely 7 day trip. The resort was called the Ocean Del Mar and was located in Cayo  [... read more]Santa Maria. It was roughly 1 year old. My husband and I certainly expected more when we opted for a 10 day stay at the Melia Marina Varadero and upgraded to a special floor called "The LEVEL". It was an extra $250 per person but we wanted an extra special stay and were looking forward to being well taken care of. This trip cost us $4800 :( I will start with the pros of this resort to be fair: 1. The LEVEL usually made really good flavourful soup at supper 2. On the second day we had delicious Pina Coladas 3. One night I had a good shrimp pasta with lobster tail (I paid $16.00 for the lobster tail. The pasta was included) 4. The rooms were clean and kept up by housekeeping daily 5. The LEVEL had a nice scenic atmosphere 6. At the LEVEL, if you went up to the bar, you could get a drink without waiting long I honestly can't think of anything else nice to say, so let me get to the cons: 1. It took 15-20 minutes to get a drink at the bars 2. We tried twice to go to the buffet and the line-up was so long, we left 3. Almost all of the pool and beach chairs were broken to some degree 4. The beach chairs were VERY scarce. No small tables to put a drink on. 5. The beach while scenic was INFESTED with sand fleas. We went 2 times only because we were bitten so many times we looked like we had a disease. I lost count on my husbands legs after 50 bites (which bled by the way). Keep in mind, we only went 2 TIMES!!! Imagine if we had gone every day! And we sprayed bug spray! A LOT of bug spray! 6. Back at the one and ONLY pool for over (we estimated 800 rooms) it was a drunken, obnoxious free for all most of the time. Never enough chairs and almost always a long line to wait for a drink at the pool. You couldn't even get away from people because again, no other pools at this resort. 7. I went to the restaurant by the pool to use the washroom. HUGE mistake! The washrooms were filthy, there were no locks on the door and when I went to sit on the toilet it began to rock back and forth. Before I knew it, it almost tipped over and that is when I realized it was not bolted to the ground!! 8. Not once was there any paper towels in the bathroom, wherever we went. 9. We decided to have lunch at the beach restaurant and this was bloody unbelievable. We waited about 40 minutes to get a seat, which I have never run into before at a resort but that's not even the kicker. After waiting for the 40 minutes, there was yet ANOTHER line-up to get something from the BBQ. I decided to have some rice only, as I did not want to wait in the line but my husband being a big meat eater decided to wait. I went and got my rice and sat down. He waited in this line up at the BBQ for over an hour before it almost being his turn. I then saw him turn around empty handed and angrily said, the chef had left the BBQ unattended, that the resort customers had taken over barbequing and that there was no food left!!!! Can you friggin imagine!!! And please remember, this was not a 2 or 3 star resort, it is supposed to be a 4.5 stars! And we paid $4800 for this crap!!! 10. The Cuban people at this resort seemed overworked and sad. Not at all like the happy people I had encountered in Cayo Santa Maria. It didn't seem to matter how much you tipped either, they just seemed exhausted. 11. On the way to the resort in the WestJet bus, we were not offered a drink of any kind. I have never experienced this and I have been away to several resorts in Mexico, Jamaica, Dominican, and that Cuba trip I was talking about with my girlfriends (again, only $975 tax in). 12. We spoke with several VERY unhappy guests. In fact, the first day we were there, we overheard 2 different couples saying that they had been "upgraded" for the night to The LEVEL because their experiences were so awful and they complained. The problem for us was that we were already "upgraded" to the LEVEL so we had no one to complain to about all of the nasty issues. Another couple who had been to the resort about 6 years earlier, said the difference in service and overall experience was night and day. They were so angry they left early. All the guests seemed angry and complaints were heard EVERYWHERE. 13. The LEVEL had a nice scenic atmosphere (which is a good thing because we spent most of our trip trapped up there because everywhere else was so awful!!!!) 14. The LEVEL while scenic and the ONLY peaceful place at the resort had very slow service. I'm talking 15-20 minutes if you sat down at a table and waited to be served a drink. Again, if you went up to the bar, you would be served right away. 15. The LEVEL, NEVER had a day in the 9 days we were there, where everything was available on the already limited menu. The waiter would tell us at least 2-3 things that were not available every night! 16. We only ventured to one a la carte restaurant outside of The LEVEL restaurant and for good reason. We decided to try the Japanese restaurant one evening. We were told by the waiter that we could only choose one appetizer one main dish and one dessert each. I have never heard of limiting food like this. So cheap!!!!. Anyways, we ordered and all I can say is it wouldn't feed a 4 year old. The portions were so tiny, which in this case was a good thing because it was GROSS! We of course, tried to finish enough on our plates not to seem rude and then headed upstairs, to THE LEVEL to actually eat. After that night, we only ate at The LEVEL. Again....trapped upstairs. We will NEVER return to Varadero. It is a completely over saturated part of Cuba and has little charm left. I bet if whoever gave this resort a 4.5 stars returned, it would only pass as a 3 star at best. This trip has left us with such a bad taste in our mouths, that I don't think we will be travelling anywhere for a while which makes me truly sad. We unfortunately, took the advice of our TripCentral travel agent who said she has never received a complaint about this resort. If that is a fact, then the people who went there were so pissed they didn't want to write a review, are totally unaware of their surroundings or live under a rock.

Melia Las Antillas: Older but Nice Resort depending on room

We arrived late at night and will not fly that schedule again. We were given a "pretty horrible smoking room" and requested a move and given an upgrade. Had we stayed in a standard/no view shabby older room we would not have liked our stay. I would like to be able to book knowing the kind of room as pictures do not tell the story. I asked for ground level and the application was never received. The service and location at this hotel though was excellent and they made accommodations for health si [... read more]tuation.

Tryp Cayo Coco: Relaxing, Friendly, Clean

The grounds had beautiful gardens, pool, ocean. The rooms are outdated but clean. Our room had the view of the large pool, the ocean from the patio and out the front door we had a beautiful garden. The sidewalks are currently being repaired which is a good thing as there are a lot of holes. WE have visited other hotels in Cuba and find the food is good here - except for the beef. We had to call maintenance for a minor issue and they were there within 5 minutes. The entertainment was excellent [... read more] 8 out of 9 nights we were there. Staff are extremely friendly and helpful. If you require a flat surface to get around this is NOT the place for you - not wheelchair accessible.There are also renovations being done on about half the units in the resort. It is a small resort which is what we wanted. Had a great trip.

Paradisus Princesa Del Mar: A few issues

Everything was really clean, including the bathrooms. Although the pool side ones did not have soap??? The main Lobby bar did not have wine (red or white) in stock for the entire week we were there??? The pool/beach bars was the same. The other bars were a hit or miss situation, sometimes they did have wine sometimes they did not. All staff were very friendly. Odd situation in the buffet restaurant. For the first 3 days there was soup, but just a very few bowls. As such after maybe 5 min [... read more]utes none were available. Also no spoons in sight if you were lucky to get a bowl. On request one was presented. On the 4th day the the situation was resolved??? I might recommend this resort but with strong reservations.

Melia Jardines del Rey: Great Value!

Big Resourt, well kept, friendly staff, great beach with white sand and shallow water. Two large pool areas for those who prefer pool, lots of space for everyone. Good place to go with big family and kids, or several couples, as we did. Changing rooms was not an issue. Very spacious, rooms. Second and third floor will have no bugs...heard bugs can get into the first floor. We had no issue. Food was not the greatest, but decent, as expected in Cuba, at times very overcrowded, so staff had a hard [... read more] time keeping control over things, but they would open a second dining hall. Great cheeses, shrimp night, good grilled chicken and fish..fresh fruit, good French fries by the beach - bring your own ketchup thou.:) Go for day trips /lunch to other Malia Resorts - take a voucher-at Reception, go on the double decker red bus.

Melia Marina Varadero: Awesome resort

Well, first off, when we first got there was were given a room that really required attention. The bathroom was dirty as was the pull out couch. It was absolutely disgusting. We immediately went back to the front desk and demanded a new room. The second room was much better. The grounds were amazing. Lots of shopping, great restaurants etc. The buffet left a lot to be desired. It was the same food night after night which got very boring. Thank God for the a la carte restaurants. These provided a [... read more] little variety to our meals at the buffet. We loved the tours, they were well worth the money.

Melia Las Americas: Great resort but not perfect

This was a very nice resort: Pros: Beautiful beach, not crowded, lots of shaded chairs, clean sand and good drink service. Food choices were very good for Cuba, not known for being a gastronomic destination! Some very sweet staff in the buffet restaurant which offered a nice selection. Helpful staff in reception, especially Paloma in the level upgrade dept. - she made our week by upgrading our room to the bungalow suite. Also I want to mention the staff at the Beach bar are really great and  [... read more]friendly. My friend who looked after the beautiful falcon is a great guy, always fist pumping me whenever we see each other and smiling. That bird is his baby and he takes great care for that precious bird of prey. Cons: The hotel is 25 years old and showing it. I paid for a premium ocean view room in the main hotel, 4th floor. Opened the door and my wife and I took one whiff and smelled a heavy musty, moldy smell. This room looked like it was frozen in time with mid-eighties decor. The bed was harder then a gurney. Quick trip back to reception as this was not going to cut it for an 8 night stay! Paloma saw our despair ( we were amicable about it and polite about our dismay with the room) she understood and arranged for a change to the bungalow area. One catch, pool area was still under construction but we could make that call. The suite was fabulous, new, fresh, modern, lots of storage, softer bed with double mattresses and a big modern bathroom with walk-in shower and huge rain-head. Sold. That made our trip, and we were happy. The Robleza restaurant staff are quite unhappy, not friendly and hardly crack a smile. We never felt really welcomed and more of an inconvenience. Nothing is perfect but the Melia las americas really needs to invest in completely gutting and renovating the main hotel, especially the rooms. Also, one more item, if you’re looking for dancing, DJ, disco .. good luck! They did have one or two nights themed with some music and DJ but don’t expect much else the rest of the time. Hope golf and beach is your thing, because this hotel offers little then some shows at night that we’re good but repetitive. The dancers were extremely talented and versatile but they need to step up the entertainment variety. Final verdict: We probably will never go back to Cuba for a while if ever, but it is a place to get hot sun, sand and beach at a lower cost then other islands. We typically are not overly critical because we know Cuba has problems and restrictions which prohibits them from being truly what they could be .. they are beautiful people with big hearts and work with the resources they have. I think our evaluation is fair and honest of our experience as paying customers that chose to spend our money and time on a vacation here!

Paradisus Varadero: Amazing Resort

Hotel was amazing. Rooms were large and kept very clean. All the staff were extremely friendly and would go out of their way to help. The beach is one of the most beautiful I have seen. You are never bored at the hotel always something going on

Melia Las Dunas: Nice resort

We had an amazing time. The beach here is fantastic! Clear blue water and white sand. The staff were also amazing for the most part. The only downfalls would be the food and the rooms which are in need of updating. Rooms were very clean though.

Melia Las Americas: Great Time!

We had a great one week at the resort, the weather was amazing all week (a little windy!), and our room was 30 meters from the ocean! The resort itself was very well kept and clean, and the food was better than at some of the previous resorts we've visited. All in all I give it an 8/10!

Hotel Camino del Mar: Exactly what we paid for

We recently returned from a week at the Melia Cayo Guillermo. Although there were some small issues when we arrived we had a great time. We arrived in the morning so our room was not ready right away - not an issue. When we got to our room the door would not open - it was stuck due to swelling of the wood as the air conditioning was not working properly, our safe did not work and while our toilet flushed it was insufficient to flush properly and required multiple flushes. We reported these is [... read more]sues to guest services. The air conditioning was fixed right away and the door and safe were fixed the next day. Apparently the toilet was worked on but it continued to malfunction the rest of the week however, was not an issue. We had no other issues with our room the rest of the week, it was comfortable and clean. One issue we had with the resort was the public washrooms. In the pool bar women's washroom the toilets did not flush at all. All of the women's washrooms were out of paper by the end of the day and were not refilled until much later the next morning. In two of the men's washrooms the urinals were not functioning. Surprisingly, except for 1 day, there was no bread at lunch or dinner, only breakfast. We found the resort itself beautiful, very picturesque. We found the food good but the buffet was repetitive with very little variety day to day or even meal to meal. Like everywhere else in Cuba that we have been too, the staff at the resort are wonderful. If you are unfamiliar with Cuban resorts I would not recommend this resort for your first visit. We have been to Cuba 18 times and are very familiar with the issues most resorts have to deal with. Our expectations were not high as the price was very, very reasonable. All in all it was a pleasant vacation