Will not choose it again

The service was good. The staff was great. The hotel was clean,but very humid. The smell of dampness in the room and all the clothes wet. Also met a few cockroaches in the room and the main buffet. The hotel was not full so there were always sunbeds available and no long lines for drinks or food. Also was quiet and boring for us but maybe relaxing for others.The menu in the restaurant was variable but repeating, nothing extraordinary but from the choice available you could always find smth to ea [... read more]t. Fresh pasta station was good.The beach is kind of incaved that gives some privacy but also smaller area and not the greatest view. Overall we made it a good time but will not choose it again.

Cushions

Beautiful hotel in Havana. No complaints. The following review is for the Iberostar Laguna Azul in Varadero. Hotel needs maintenance work. Many services were out such as elevators, hot water and aTV. Lobby and terrace didn't have cushions and was therefore uncomfortable. Food is not great even by Cuban standards. Was understaffed at times. Staff was trying to keep up and was mostly friendly but I often overheard them asking clients to "be patient".

Iberostar Laguna Azul STAY AWAY

Just returned from Iberostar Laguna Azul. Worst all inclusive hotel I have ever stayed at. Reserved through Air Transat. Issues encountered by us and most guests we talked to: No hot water for 2 1/2 days no TV for 2 days Almost all elevators were non functional. Our room was on 5th floor Our Air conditioner in room made noise like a buldozer Red and white wine tasted watered down Coffee was so weak we had to order Cafe Americano at lobby bar but line up in morning took 15 -20 minutes. Orde [... read more]red double cups to avoid add. waits Buffet food low quality The place is understaffed and the staff was mostly rude and unconcerned with tourists At sit down resto (Japanese) had to ask to be served wine 5 times to be told to be patient. Finally got some wine half way through the main course Ordered MahiMahi at Italian theme resto but was served Tilapia. This is a garbage fish. Menu is a lie.Waited 20 minutes for alternative meal Bro in law ordered shrimp meal to receive tiny shrimps on rice bed that were not peeled. Had to order alt meal Jacuzzi on ground floor had 6 inches of cold water Jacuzzi on 5th floor was full of cold water No facecloths or tissues in room Showerhead holder broken. Had to hold wand with hand Met guests that had pictures of cockroaches in room and a picture of 3 foot snake outside of same room.Must have been on ground floor

Nice for the Price

We just returned February 14. For the price this resort was good and what we expected. The food however was below expectation. The buffet did not change at all while we there. The selections while numerous lacked flavour. I have travelled to Cuba 7 times and the food was the worst I have had. With that said the service, cleanliness, location were excellent. If you can handle the food being bland for the great price I would say go for it.

Melia Havana and Melia Peninsula in Varadero

This was our second visit to the Melia Havana and our first to the Melia Peninsula. We found the staff of both to be very gracious and hospitable. They assisted us in finding restaurants and shows and provided excellent service in all aspects of our vacation. Sue Snider has always given us the best travel advice and we have been very happy with all the hotels and resorts and travel arrangements she has made for us. Thank you Sue. J. Ed Crewson

Disappointing

At one time this was likely a magnificent hotel! Great location, however it is definitely in need of attention. Rooms were okay, but none of the doors or windows would open and close properly (room entry door or bathroom) When we arrived, despite confirming the previous day, the hotel reception was not expecting us? The breakfast buffet was good, very nice setting on the top floor patio. The reception staff seemed very indifferent (sometimes bordering on rude) when responding to re [... read more]quests. BUT, the biggest problem: NO RUNNING WATER!! There was barely a trickle out of either the sink or the shower during our entire stay.

Two hotels with Iberostar: Havana & Varadero

We stayed three nights at the Iberostar Parque Centrale. First off, there are two. New and old. We were dropped at the old building and were informed that we needed to check in at the new building which was a block away. Bellman trolleyed our bags over for us. The hotel is in good shape with great accommodations. The included breakfast was good with made to order eggs if required and plenty of fruit. I did notice in both Havana and Varadero no yogurt? We loved the roof top swimming pool and outd [... read more]oor restaurant. Staff walk by regularly while we were at the pool to see if we wanted anything. All staff were very friendly and helpful with a good grasp of English (except the maid but she knew a few basic words like towel, soap, etc.) I would recommend you bring your own Kleenex (they ran out while we were there) as well as shampoo and conditioner. The hotel shampoo is like a detergent! Also, bring ear plugs as Havana is very noisy - they love their horns and beep continually until the wee hours of the morning. We spent 4 nights at Iberostar Laguna Azul in Varadero. A beautiful facility, the grounds are lovely but the hotel is tired. Lots of dings, dents and cracks. Drawer pulls in my room were falling off, the grout in the tub/shower was grey. Water pressure in the shower was meh. Two hallway lights were burnt out and not replaced in the 4 days we were there. And my telephone didn't work. Having said that the lobby area and outside patio are beautiful. At night they have a pianist playing. Staff once again very helpful and can speak English quite well. The beach, of course, is the highlight, lovely sand and warm water. It was busy as we went during March break but you can always find a lounge chair and a bit of shade. The poolside was also gorgeous. On the downside the buffet was incredibly noisy and cavernous and you could only eat a la carte two times in during a four day stay. You had to line up early to reserve a spot at one of the four a la carte dining rooms and even then you might not get the restaurant you wanted. We had lunch near the beach at a small restaurant serving buffet style and it was quite nice. Food over all was better than I expected.

Both Melia Resorts were Awful

First Melia Cohiba resort is taking advantage of the customers by charging for everything they possible can as well as offering very little in return. We even had to pay for coffee and water in our room at $4.00 per item. The bus offered to the city did not work the entire stay Melia Marina hotel had nothing but issues with out stay. Not only was the food not good it was always cold even in the a la carte restaurants. The bed sere twin beds in a 5 star hotel. The rooms were not cleaned  [... read more]properly nor in good repair. There was no managment available to rectify any of these issues. The nightly music was poorly put together and located in areas that were not comfortable for the guest. Ie watching a band by the pool were we only had sun loungers to sit on. In the end I would not return to Cuba. We paid over $3200 for a week and had to spend at least another $800 in incidental expenses on our trip

Very nice hotel

Very nice hotel. Excellent location. One of the best rooms we have ever had (7th floor Colonial building). Beautiful lobby. Included breakfast was plentiful and good. Snacks in the lobby restraint were ok as was the lower level restraint. The service through the hotel was excellent.

Resort was ok. exactly what I expected

We were not inform about the taxes that you have to pay on the airport. This created a little chaos when we were coming back as we had already exchanged all our money back to Canadian dollars. The communications are really bad and I think hotels take advantage of that by charging insane amount of money for internet. In Habana we did not had all inclusive and the hotel was extremely expensive. We didn't even want to buy water as they charge 3 times as much as Canada. Overall was ok.