Overall impression of the hotel and service: 3.5/5. The ocean and nature truly make up for many of the downsides. The blanket provided for covering was dirty and had a strong smell, similar to a toilet odor. When I asked for it to be replaced, they brought another one that was even worse, with visible vomit stains. The towels were replaced only once, when I entered the room while the cleaning staff was there and personally asked the cleaner to change them. That was the only time the room was fully cleaned, and it had actually been cleaned before I arrived. All other times, only the bed linen was changed, and even that had stains. Overall, the room is spacious and generally fine, but cleanliness is a serious issue. The nature and the outside views are absolutely beautiful. The ocean is stunning. However, on the last morning we saw a shark very close to the shore. When we informed the staff who work as lifeguards, they pretended not to understand what we were saying and responded with words like “barracuda” or “dolphin.” It is possible they did not understand that “shark” in English means tiburón. After that incident, we did not swim anymore. The dining area was generally fine. The food was nothing exceptional, but it was okay for me. I came mainly to see the ocean and nature. There was one chef grilling meat, and when I asked him to add sauce (which was standing right next to the grill), he replied in an annoyed tone that the meat comes without sauce. I pointed out the sauce, and he simply hid it. That was unpleasant.

Hotel is dated but always clean rooms and property. Pools and beach are fantastic. The best part of the the resort is the staff. All are fantastic, caring, and so willing to be helpful, and do it with a smile.

Melia las dunas is a beautiful 19 year old resort its lushness in the plantation of trees tropical plants are so manicured, lobby is huge marble, bright,areas with lots of seating, all grounds are spotless and clean, walk way to beach well kept and easy access, rooms are dated to the newer hotels but clean and fresh, my only issue was lack of hot water to shower with, for 1 week they said issue was being looked at, but the issue is definitely not a quick fix,

This hotel was absolutely amazing the lobby was so beautiful and the staff were also very nice! The food was good many options! The pool and beach were amazing. The rooms were definitely not the best i’ve seen but all you do is sleep on your room anyway so it worked for me! Had a great experience here and I would definitely recommend!

My husband I just returned form Melia Las Dunas for the 9th time on May 5th. We love the resort and the people in it. The hotel may be getting a little older now and has a few small issues, but it could never out way the amazing time you will have here. Our hearts are with the hard working, people pleasing staff that are there. Special shout outs to Kirenia and her amazing hubby Oramyee, Yusleidy, Andry, Yohanan, Diego and Tony. Special thoughts are with Guillermo who was not able to work while we were there this time. Until next time (Numero diez). Gracias a todos

Love Las Dunas! Have been there many times-recent visit a week ago. The white sandy beach is beautiful, there are plenty of lounges all with shade and the bar is just steps away. Both the adult and child pools are gorgeous and have bars with refreshments for all. In my opinion the huge front lobby is the best ever-plenty of seating for everyone, an excellent bar, entertainment throughout the day and evening at different locations. There are several restaurants to choose from as well as a pizza location. The best part of your visit will be the staff who excel in making sure your stay at Melia Las Dunas is top notch.

We did not get to go to this resort as sunwing cancelled our entire trip. We booked through trip central and when asked for help to get compensated for the 8hr delay. Trip Central replied “oh dear Iam sorry, Nothing we can do” contacted Sunwing and they said “I had to go through trip central”. Didn’t get anywhere, will not booked through Trip Centeal again!!

It's a very large resort, on one of the most beautiful beaches in the World. The Staff is friendly, they go beyond the call of duty to accommodate you. The Food was good. The grounds are beautiful The rooms are large and clean, I would highly recommend Judy (Massage Therapist in the Melia Spa. The Omelet Chef Sally, makes an amazing omelet Our Servers Murielle and Jovani, are amazing attentive servers. It was a pleasure to meet the new General Manager Fernando, for speaking with guests to see how they can best serve us! The a la carte restaurants, were good, including lots of fish, seafood, Lobster. Lots of chairs at beach and many covered huts.

This must have been the 20th time that I have been to Cuba, the third time that I’ve been to Cayo Santa Maria, so I knew what to expect. The hotel was a bit disappointing as it was rundown. The patio door was not locking, the rubber Underneath the front door was broken, allowing bugs to come in. Not that we saw many in the room. We did see quite a few ants in our room. This could be resulting from the fact that our housekeeper was putting flowers on our beds almost every morning. A nice gesture, but I’m sure that’s where the ants were coming from. Considering the supply shortage in Cuba, I did not know what to expect. Cannot blame the hotel for this, but it was a chance we took. The food was subpar compared to the hotel that I had been to previously. Subpar to any Cuban resort that I’ve been to. The beach and the ocean was amazing as usual, one of the nicest that I’ve been to in the Caribbean, the staff at the bar, at the restaurants, we’re generally pleasant and friendly, our maid was amazing, one of the best that I have ever had. I had friends who have stayed at this resort in the past, and they have all claimed there was not much entertainment at night. But the week I was there, there was sufficient entertainment, shows at night, musicians, playing, dance, parties, one thing that was surprising to me was that they were not many Canadians staying at this hotel. We ran into a family from Quebec, and two different groups from Toronto. Besides that, all the other guests appeared to be either from Europe, or different South American countries. At every resort that I’ve been to, I’ve always run into Canadians from various parts of the country, but this time around it appeared to be rare. Hearing someone speak English was a novelty. Lol. The resort itself is very big, so be ready to walk a lot. There are staff that will drive you around to your room, but sometimes the wait could be long making it worthwhile to walk. After a couple of days, I had blisters on my toes from walking too much, probably because I was walking with wet sandals. I did not try the pool because I am not a pool person, but it appeared to be clean. Albeit very chlorinated. This is a fair resort if you can get a good deal if you are OK with a resort that is somewhat rundown. My next time around, I will probably be going to the Meliá cayoSanta Maria , which is formerly the Playa Cayo Santa Maria. it’s the adjoining hotel right next-door. But is much smaller, and catered more to Canadians, from what I recall., although times have changed from my last time there which was pre-pandemic.

This hotel is very large. Clean and well maintained. It is getting a bit dated but we'll taken care of. The staff is what truly makes this resort so enjoyable they are top notch! Always friendly and willing to help out! The pool is great but sometimes not the cleanest probably due to all the guests that just throw there garbage everywhere. Beach is beautiful and very clean.. but lacking loungers or a lot of them need to be replaced due to damage. The food is good! At least the times I was there! There are shortages from week to week! It is Cuba I am enjoying a vacation not a culinary experience! Some of it is repetitive, but they are pretty creative with what supplies they have! For the price IPaid for a weeks vacation in Cuba..I have no complaints..I would go back in a heartbeat! ??

It was my third time at the Melia las Dunas. The weather was wonderful and the staff amazing! Viktor, at the animation team is a nice guy and he always remember our name. The staff at the pool bar and the restaurant on the adult side are wonderful. The hotel itself is not like it was before. No chair anymore at the adult side beach no bar and not too much chairs on the other side. The chairs are old and uncomfortable. On a positive point our room was cleaned every day. As you know, Cuba is short of almost everything so if you are going in Cuba in general, don’t think that you will have the best food. They are doing what they can with the less they have. You will always find something to eat. But if you want to meet amazing people and lay down on the most beautiful beaches, that’s the place to go.

Drive from Airport is 1:30 min, gives you a chance to see the villages on the way. Beach is amazing, food was nothing too exciting, we only had eggs 2 days out of 7. No shortage of toilet paper, except the lobby’s bathroom. Hot water was not available most days. Not enough beach chairs and shades during march break people used to reserve them as early as 4 am. Take snacks in case they run out of food. Staff are very kind and friendly. Place was nice and clean.

Terrible food, very run down, dirty, unsanitary, poor customer service. 2 bath towels for 4 people and we were made to reuse them all week. Shower didn't work, no soap or toilet in any public washroom including the one closest to our buffet. Never any beach or pool loungers available or shade areas left unless you wake up at 5:30am to reserve. Resort is massive and no trolleys. No maps around the resort to help guide you. We had eggs for 2 days then they ran out. No red meat except for a little veal stew 3 times. No fries, burgers, chicken fingers for kids. Most days we waited in 40min line up for pasta station. Buffet didn't have enough seating so we often had to sit separated from our family of 4! This place should not be considered an all inclusive at all. Most mornings all they had was old, stale bread and left over food from dinner the night before. Beach was amazing but besides that-Worst vacation of our lives! I will never go back!!

Older hotel but clean and the grounds are beautiful ! Beach is stunning ! Lobby had great drinks and coffee , very big and lots of different seatings. Food was good never went hungry , rice pudding was delicious. Pasta , beef, pork, fish everything was fresh and plentiful.

The hotel is definitely showing it s age but overall it is still a beautiful resort. The grounds are beautifully keep. The staff is amazing. Shout out to Debis, Lissetty and Alexander in the buffet. They go out of their way to make you feel so special. The lobby bar has amazing Bartenders such as Yoisnel Martin, Lilianis Rodriguez and Saile Orea Cabrera. Always smiling and so happy. O’Neill at the pool bar always happy and so friendly. The rooms have some issues such as water pressure but are always kept very clean. Our maid Alina was always smiling very happy and went out of her way to say hello. There were some food shortages but always something to eat. You are never hungry. Overall this is a beautiful resort with amazing beaches and beautiful people.

We arrived on the 8 Feb 2024 at Melia Las Dunas Resort in Cayo Santa Marie and started the check in process. When asked for a room with a king-size bed we were told that it would be a 350 dollar upgrade. We accepted the room we were assigned which was room 4812. When we arrived at 4812 and opened the door we were greeted with the instant smell/odor of mold/musty. We went to open the patio doors and they were not locked so we tried to lock them to see if it works and we were unable to lock them and we were located on the ground floor. I went to use the phone and call the front desk to inform them of this issue and the phone did not work, so we had no way of reaching the front desk. After a few minutes in the room I realized the mold smell was coming from the Air Conditioning and shut it off which helped the smell dissipate a little. After returning from a walk around the resort we attempted to have a shower at which time we realized that we had no hot water pressure in the shower area. The only way to get the shower to engage was to turn on full cold water. But yet the bathroom sink worked great. At this point we walked up to the front desk and talked to customer service. I was asked if I had turn the shower taps all the way to the left for hot water. I explained that I had and yes I was familiar with the operation of a shower. I was basically brushed off by customer service. Later that day I wrote a complaint on the Sun Wing and Trip Central sites. The next day I received a paper directing me to go to customer service. Upon my return to customer service I was greeted by a staff member that was not to happy that I written my complaints on the web sites. I was offered another room and compensation of a bottle of Rum after signing paperwork listing the issues with room 4812. We promptly took room 3022 even though it was away from the group of twelve that we were traveling with. We packed and moved to room 3022. The next day we got up and went to the beach/pool with the group we were traveling with. Upon returning to our room later in the day to get ready to go on a Sunset Dinner cruise we discover that the Bathroom had flooded and there was shit and water all over the place ( I have Pictures). When I contacted the front desk they said that they were aware of the issue and that there would be another room available for us after 4 pm. I tried to explain to them that we were going on the cruise and wanted to get cleaned up before we went and they basically said to bad but that is the best that we can do and we could get the keys for our new room when we returned later that night. Upon returning to room 3022 I had to walk through the water and other stuff still on the floor in the bathroom to get our shaving kits and other toiletries because they had not bother to clean any of the mess up. After carefully looking over room 3022 to make sure we had not forgotten anything we moved to room 3015. Later that night I was violently ill. This put me in my room for basically 36 hours. I had received an email from Trip Central that directed me to talk to the Sun Wing Rep. On Tuesday the 13 Feb I received this email because the Wifi did work most of the time. On the 14 Feb I approached the Sun Wing Rep as directed and was greet with her asking why I was tell her these things when I was leaving the next day. I looked at her and could not believe what she had said. She reluctantly started to write down what I was saying to her. I also mentioned that I had not received the bottle of rum I was promised for compensation yet. We say her talking to a Resort Manager after I finished telling her the problem. I was informed that the bottle of rum was placed in room 3022 the afternoon that the bathroom had flooded. Both my wife and I never saw a bottle of rum while looking around the room to ensure we had not forgotten any of our belongings before moving to room 3015. Needless to say every time I mentioned this to customer service or the Sun Wing Rep I was brushed off and never did receive the bottle of rum I was promised. The other issues with this Resort include running out of food like Eggs, Bacon, Bread and Coffee. The Wifi was never worked properly. Some staff seemed unfriendly when approached with concerns. The Woman’s washroom by the Adult pool had no running water on one occasion, which meant that they could not flush the toilets. I was also served a raw piece of chicken directly off the grill by one of the cooks from the kitchen staff (Picture available).

The hotel still has the best beach in Cuba. The weather was great. The staff do a valiant job working under a terrible government which is causing the economy to one day collapse. the shortages are no doubt caused by distribution problems in the system. Had real eggs 14 out of the 21 days we were there. The rooms have great beds and are clean and spacious. the water pressure is on the lowish side and the hot water is luke warm which was okay for me. The beach can't be beat and the pools are huge. The food is not for everyone. I eat eggs and fruit in the morning so I got by. The grill is great for chicken and pork for lunch and the pizza is okay. The suppers are interesting. I always found something to eat every night. I like fish so I had fish everynight for 21 days. Had salmon 1 day , tuna 3 days and sea bass and another local fish the rest of the time. Great grill man there at buffet. a la carts are spotty. All in all you won't starve. I'm not a big drinker so the lack of mix for certain drinks didn't bother me. Would I go back . Good question? But I had a great time as did my wife. One thing did bother me and that's when Melia customer service shakes you down for later checkout time. 15$ per hour. Leaves a bad taste in your mouth.

The beach is excellent, however be aware that the same food is served every day, 3 stars would be a maximum. Rooms and common grounds are not well maintained. It was still worth the half price I paid in early January, and Air Transat is good. .

All the staff are awesome and very friendly. They’re amazing as returned guest they always remember you . The grounds and very kept as gardeners working everyday. The Food is plentiful and you can always find something to eat. It’s not amazing but you’ll never go hungry. There was fish,chicken, pork,veal and beef every night with mashed potatoes and plenty of fruits and vegetables. Can’t wait to return in November ??????

Let me say that I’ve been to this hotel many times, and things have gotten better. The beach stunning, the cleanliness above average, the service is freaking amazing, rooms are great, beds are comfortable, food is good I didn’t starve, far from it, so basically I had an amazing time once again, nothing’s prefect, would I go back, dame right in a heart beat, enjoy

December 20th to January 3rd, 2024 I’ve been to this hotel 21 times since 2018 obviously the hotel went down during the closure in 2020 and 2021 and is having difficulty getting back to the 4 star status. The hotel needs major renovations and the grounds have been neglected, there are not enough workers to keep up the work. There is a lack of fuel therefore a lack of employees, they work very long shifts and do the best they can. There is too much lack in everything. The public areas are clean but the lobby washrooms are terrible usually no toilet paper and most the the toilets don’t flush properly. Night drinks in the lobby are served in flimsy plastic glasses, the staff are told to say there are no glasses but they have glasses during the day! The rooms are descent but need work, no hot water for showers (this has been an ongoing problem) I was told that the hot water is turned on for a couple of hours in the morning and at supper time. During my 2 week stay I had hot water, not boiling hot twice. My showers were luke cold or cold. The telephones in the room do no work. The meals in the buffet, in the trays are cold, even when the trays are replenished the food is cold. To have a hot meal in the buffet we have to stand in a long lineup. The entertainment music is very, very loud, even with ear plugs the music was loud. So it’s boom, boom. boom from the center lobby, boom, boom boom from the kids theatre and boom. boom, boom from the Music Festival publicity for December 30 & 31and the Disco was opened at the Plaza Estralla so the hotel closed their hotel disco. The entertainment team was trying to get everyone to go the the Disco & Music Festval $$, I was told that there would not be any entertainment at the hotel. I spoke the Acting manager, he said he would speak to a higher up. Thursday, Dec 28th there was no entertainment and no music, the dancers and some entertainment went to the disco. Friday, 29th the show was a bit earlier then they went to the disco. Saturday, 30th no entertainment, no show. Sunday, New Year’s Eve management decided at 3pm to have a New Year’s Eve party. They had a show and the music was full blast all night. 2023 there were 3 Music Festivals (that I know of) which attracts more local cubans who are rude disrespectful, yell, take over the place. I was told there will be more music festivals. Christmas and New Year’s Eve, the locals take plates full of food to put in their bags to take home, they are triple thick in front of the buffet counters, I could not even see what was in the trays and the cooked meat lineup to the end of the food counters, they were leaning against them with their hair hanging over the food. New Year’s Eve supper I had 5 small bananas! I later went for a sandwich at the 24hr snack bar. The higher management has decided to go towards the music festivals and the regaeton music/ dancing. This type of music is for the younger generation even the animation team is geared to this music. The hotel had 2,000 guests for New Years, they cannot handle that many guests. We had to wait in long lines to get into the buffet most nights and was worse Christmas and New Years. All power went off one night in all the hotel at supper time, they do not have a backup generator or do not have fuel to operate it. Everyone gathers to the lobby, there were only 2 bartenders to serve everyone, later there was a 3rd one added. The 3 bartenders were working with the flashlights on their phone so see. There was a small emergency in a corner and another one in the office. The power went out at supper time in November also. I arrived at midnight, the next night ‘greeters’ came to ask for a review. One night my handicapped friend went to get a cart to take him to his room, there were no available carts, he had to walk with one leg and a cane in the rain to go to his room. I cannot go to a hotel that caters to the local uneducated cubans and to the younger generation with full blast music any more . Sadly, I had to say goodbye to my many friends that I have made over time. Sunwing, the plane as delayed at least one hour departure from Montreal. There were 4 plane arrivals at the Villa Santa Clara airport. Needless to write customs was packed. Return flight also delayed, this time there were 6 planes departing, the lineup to check in was horrendous. My plane was supposed to be 4th to leave, they put it last.

Lots of variety at the buffet but it’s like a 40 minute wait for an omelet if your hotel even has eggs (heard lots of them didn’t). Lots of food shortages, couldn’t get a pina colada my entire week there to save my life :( Mostly just lemonade or coke to mix with hard alcohol or you’re drinking beer/wine the whole time. Tipping $5 USD is the only way to keep servers serving you or else you have to go stand at the bar. All the employees said hi to my husband but wouldn’t even look me in the eye or say good morning to me, didn’t matter if I was the one tipping or not. Lobby is pretty and that’s good because it’s the only place that we could connect to wifi.

Very nice gardens, fumigation for mosquitoes and black flies. Food ok. Dirty room 3111, disgusting floors and tub. Yellow, stained towels and bed shits. No refills of anything in the fridge. Staff don't pay attention to you if you don't tip, at the beach bar staff is grumpy and unhappy. Beach not cleaned of weeds. Apparently management has no money for this job. 3 days we had sharks in the water beside shore. Staff saying this is normal for November December. This sharks don't eat people. Really, you want to try? To get beach chairs and shade you have to wake up at 6am everyday. On Thursday to Sunday Cubans arrived, it was nightmare: long lines for food, no food left after them, they fill their bags with food, very demanding and rude, noisy, they took over the resort and it was crazy. Evening Entertainment only on Saturday and Sunday, the rest of the days was some music, demonstration of clothing which they sale afterwards. You have to tip separately for: cleaning, toilet paper, towels, to refill your fridge, to eat at the restaurant, to have coffee, to go with catamaran, basically for everything. This is my second time at this resort. Never coming again. I do not recommend this resort.

This hotel is amazing, it was my third time here as I knew what to expect and was going with my daughter and sisters for there first time.. they loved it ! The hotel is very clean, the staff is very friendly and helpful! I found the food to be amazing there was something for even the pickiest of eaters! The beach and pool are both amazing and the staff is always trying to keep you busy! The only thing better is if all the a la cartes would have been open, but the buffet was excellent! Of course it was slow season so that was to be expected! At least we always had a place to lounge pool side or beach! That's a bonus!! I will be back

Beautiful grounds with lots of trees and bushes. Gardeners do a great job! Excellent beach. The food is simple but good tasting and nothing to complain about. Restaurants are very good with regular food elevated to new level, much enjoyed.

It’s a long drive from the airport to the hotel, (approx 2 hrs by the time you drop off others at various hotels) but the resort grounds are absolutely beautiful and nicely manicured. The lobby bar is excellent and a large gathering spot where there is always entertainment, including violinists, sax players, singers etc. the food is not bad for Cuba and essentially plentiful when we were there the week of Apr21. Some minor shortages like milk a day or two. Not all restaurants were open. The ala Cartes were ok but nothing special. The beach and pools are awesome. Virtually no sargassum. It’s a place where you go for the beach and pool with little close by activities. Hotels have Catamarans, paddle boats ands kayaks but that’s all. Overall, we would go back for the beach and relaxation.

It was our third time at this hotel and our best. The hotel rooms were freshly painte, new air connditinners (sitent), and the grounds were well kept and overall the hotel very clean (and rooms serviced every day). The food (buffet, outdoor grill, cafe, restaurants) were excellent; there was ample fresh vegetables (letice, tomatoes, cucombers, squash, aubergine...) and grilled fish of all types, chicken, pork, beef and seafood, and great deserts.... we lacked of nothing. The beach and pools are spotless and the key assets of the resorts. I would return again.

We had a wonderful 2 week vacation on this beautiful resort. Our room was clean and comfortable. The grounds are beautiful & well maintained. The food was good. The beach is beautiful. The staff including Allyea, Lily, Yosneil, & Amaria in the lobby bar, Barbra in the bbq, Frank & Nuriely in the Buffet, Yari our housekeeper, and gardeners Hector & Mickey were amazing.

I stayed 10 days alone & struggled with hot water and water pressure the whole trip. (My last 2 days, I did not have any running water, couldnt even flush the toilets. I brought this up to them and I only had water near the end of my trip. I even paid extra for the room (3 hours) due to my late flight, I wanted extra rest and wasn't feeling well and STILL had no water in my room. Waste of money & plus the extra money I paid for extra time in my room!!!) I requested with my travel agent a top floor and the front desk refused to grant me the top floor. Every day for 3 days, I came in the morning to the front desk to ask for the top floor. Finally after the 3rd day they gave in but only to a top floor room which was far away from the necessities. They lacked necessities like toilet paper, working appliances in the room, towels, etc. Beach wasn't very clean, a lot of seaweed. There was a lot of food options but when buffet was open, it was always cold. I never had any staff greet me when I was seated for any drink or if I needed anything. They would only honour those in groups of 2+. Staff wasn't very pleasant regardless of being polite and tipped. Also, a very outdated resort. I was told if I didn't leave anything for the cleaning lady, I was going to be left a letter to warn me that I needed to tip her. Overall, DO NOT recommend!!!

This resort was amazing. It was surrounded by nothin but friendly resort staff. Not to mention a very clean resort ! Funtastic resort ….Beaches were out of this world beautiful and water was goregeous. we went on a Catamaran tour with a lobster dinner was great! met some really kool people from Nova Scotia.

The Good: Food was quite good for Cuba, they had a variety of food and the A La Cartes were great as well and were fairly easy to book. The 24h grill had burgers, hot dogs and fries and was very good/convenient. The Beach was amazing and there were many Palapas for shade. The rooms were large and kept very clean. The grounds and the staff as usual were amazing. Beach towels were available and if you went at the right time, it was easy to replace dirty ones for new ones. Minor annoyances: Due to shortages, they would run out of Milk, Bread at the Grill, Plastic cups (bring your own and you are fine), Ice and some of their iced drinks.

This is a lengthy review, but we returned to MLD in February of this year after a couple of years of absence, and we have been impressed. We've got a room in villa 24 which was under renovation couple of years ago. Everything was clean and in working condition. The bathroom was about half renovated, with some items being new and others just kept up. We would warmly suggest to have the bathtubs replaced with walking showers if possible with a future renovation. This would add more value to the rooms and more comfort to the travelers. Our room maid Carlos genuinely cared for us to love our room and went beyond his duty to make it happen. The grounds were as well kept as always, with splendid vegetation and even a bit of passing wildlife to enjoy. It was nice to see the pop-up coconut stations were the gardeners would entice us with fresh cut coconut water every day. We are not necessarily restaurant people and between the buffet and grill, we've found all we wanted every day, and some more. We've heard from friends returning from recent trips to the Caribbean that they've missed either fruit, food, deserts, or even cutlery and cups. We have not experienced any of the above. There was plenty of seafood, meats, cheese, fruit, sweets and ice cream to choose from, no shortage indeed. A nice touch to see sushi offered a few times as well. Many thanks to our preferred breakfast egg station ladies (sorry for not asking their names) and our dinning room helpers, especially Suyen, for their attention and care that we are satisfied and the food is cooked to perfection. Another very nice surprise was to see that the wi-fi is included in the price and available in rooms, restaurants, bars, and the traditional lobby. Best way to spend an evening keeping in touch with dear ones at a glass of wine or cup of coffee. Amazing service at the lobby bar, nicely stocked, and bartenders open to creative ideas (coffee made "special"... haha). There was entertainment every night and we've enjoyed especially the Esencia music playing couple. Lucky enough, we've got to listen to them twice during our 10 days stay. The fashion shows were also fun to watch early in the evening. We were not travelling with kids, but could not stop to appreciate how much time and care it was invested in the little ones at the resort, even though the kids club was under renovation. The ladies were busy from morning to late evening, with unwavering energy and creativity to make the kids happy. And last but not least, the beach was as amazing as ever. We had good weather, a bit windy in the afternoon, but not enough to keep us and others away from the sand and water. Free fun watching the pelicans patrolling and the seagulls making friends with people. Cayo Santa Maria offers long beaches and we clocked over 20K steps every day, a good way to stay in shape while lazing for so many days. We were definitely spoiled and enjoyed every bit of it. Many thanks to all that worked to make our trip an enjoyable experience, and looking forward to going back as soon as possible.

Love the layout of the resort, and of course, the beach is amazing. We returned here with friends based an awesome experience in 2018. Although the rooms were clean, they are in great need of renovations. Only half the guest room phones are working (ours wasn't). Stocked guest room fridges is no longer, despite being advertised; only response was "sorry". Was informed upon arrival that half the resort was closed, and then found out that the wonderful little shopping piazza was closed too; very disappointing. The bar offered limited domestic beverages only; a few international items added 2-3 days before our departure. The food is what we expected; nothing great. I applaud the effort, but think they would be better off to featuring their own specialty items only; eg. ketchup garnish on a caprese salad does not work. The staff are very friendly and accommodating; they made the trip! The doctor's on site, especially Nurse Carlos and Dr. Miguel were amazing!! They were extremely attentive; cannot thank them enough. Thanks to all the hard working staff trying to make the best out of a difficult recovery.

We found the resort very well maintained, clean rooms, well manicured grounds but the best was how friendly the staff was. We found the buffets abundantly stocked, lots of fresh fruits and salads. If I had anything to criticize it would be a lack of bathrooms at the beach. It was a super holiday and I would definitely go back.

The resort and the employees were awesome. Limited English but everyone was very helpful with any issues we had. The staff are very eager to please. The beach is one of the nicest beaches I have ever seen. White sand and turquoise water. The beach was always clean. Limited chairs available. Food was good. I enjoyed the rice & beans, squash and the chicken and pork very much. I will definitely return to Cuba!

Beautiful resort lovely people from the landscape staff , bar staff buffet and a la Carte restaurants and everyone in between . The food was good for what is made available to them. Some people will find a reason to complain. We come to enjoy friendly people nice weather and the beautiful beach We will be returning Feb

Beautiful beach area. Pool was nice with lots of lounge chairs at both pool and beach. Service was excellent. Food was very good. Rooms clean , beds comfortable. We had a wonderful time at this resort and look forward to returning. Would recommend resort

The resort was great Good food amazing staff The resort was at half capacity which actually worked well for people to space themselves. Always felt safe There were very few people who wore masks . We definitely would go back again

Well kept resort, Grounds and Gardens amazing, Staff very friendly, One negative review, Early morning departure Electric Transportation broken down, No plan to help clients, especially the elderly who had to lug luggage from 2nd floor and pull luggage (some from a great distance) to lobby.

The grounds are beautiful and the staff are extremely pleasant and helpful! Rooms are outdated but they keep them clean. Big resort so some walking is required. The food is as expected. Not the highlight of the trip but they do try. They have freshly grilled meat at the buffet and fresh hamburgers at the snack bars. I found the ocean so/so. There was a lot of seaweed and the waves were rough and extremely salty. Never seen chunks of salt so big in an ocean before. My son had to see the resort doctors and they were fantastic.

Great hotel with friendly and helpful staff! Adequate assortment of food even for vegetarians! The rooms are large and comfortable. The only complaint is the low water pressure in shower. The beach is wonderful! I would recommend this hotel

Hotel is very nice and well positioned.Great bar, pool, beach access and restaurant facility .Lots of staff does not speak English well, little trouble with communication .Also level of friendliness drops significantly since changes with Cuban currency so people don't tip them as usual .But since hotels is nice and the beach I will definitively come back again.

This was my 14th stay at the Melia Las Dunas Resort. I regret to say that I was extremely disappointed this visit. The each was the highlight as usual, however, the hotel has become very run down. My girlfriend had to change her rooms 2 times. The first water was coming in through the light fixture on the ceiling from heavy rain then the second room the AC as not functioning. The housekeeping was excellent in our rooms but there was graffiti on the front of our building from local guests that were staying on the resort which brings me to the point of a broader complaint. There were only a handful of Canadian guests and another handful of international guests leaving the rest to other Cubans travelling from other parts of the country. Don't get me wrong, I love the Cuban culture and people I have met over the years and is the reason for my return multiple times. The majority of the guests were rude and quite disrespectful to the resort leaving their garbage everywhere on the beach and around the pool. Let's talk about the pool next. I was disgusted for the first time with the pool. After the rainfall, I visited the pool and noticed debris floating at the bottom thinking it was twigs from the trees but everywhere in the pool was loose black grout. This was there the entire stay! I can't imagine the bacteria festering in that once beautiful pool. I understand low season forces the hotel to close one side, leaving only the family side open but children in the pool with diapers also in unacceptable. The staff was as usual very kind and polite and have always maintained a professional repour. I am sad to say that will be my last visit to this resort but not my last to Cuba,

Everything was great, the rooms, the beach. The staff is very nice and friendly. The beach is amazing indeed. It wasn't crowded as they are still operating under capacity since Covid and there was lots of space. Everyone is friendly and helpful. Yes, they like tips (who doesn't). But, they don't need tips to be friendly and appreciative.

Service (towel and activities etc) and food (buffet and a la carte) are very limited after pandemic, rooms are not maintained with slow sink and shower water half time not hot. Air conditioner is good. recommend only for people who look for some downtime with drinks

The hotel has large grounds which are well maintained with a well landscaped garden - it really is a beautiful.pmaxe to walk through and be in. As with other Santa Maria resorts, the beach is gorgeous. The rooms seem to have been well designed and decorated, but the one I was in at least could have used a fresh oat of paint, but that felt like a minor opportunity for improvement. Overall, the hotel was lovely to stay in!

The 9th time to Melia Dunas and will be back again. The staff are so friendly and attentive, the grounds are well kept, food is good and plentiful and the beach is beautiful. Couldn't ask for anything more!

Good value. Food was typical for Cuba. Can’t understand why no onions or garlic in the food. Very odd since they grow it in abundance in Cuba. Hubby got sick and doctor was amazing. Very helpful. No charge. Curious to know what made hubby sick - food at buffet?

The hotel was great, staff very helpful and friendly. The only thing that was lacking was the food, It was all the same everyday. The beaches were clean and the gardens were beautiful. the staff went out of their way to make sure we had everything we needed.

The huge lobby and grounds are picturesque with plants and colourful bushes. The staff go out of their way to be helpful. The beach is gorgeous but can be very windy. The pool was green due to a lack of available chlorine. Deck chairs were sometimes hard to find. There was plenty of food and lots of choice with fresh fruit. The resort was only half open because of Covid so the tranquility pool was unavailable. The one downside was the time it took to get to the resort from the airport. It will be quicker once the new causeway is built.

Territory: very big, spacious and beautiful, well maintained Lobby: huge and beautiful, you can spend your whole day in there :) Beach: very good, but it required a bit more shade shelters, not enough currently, sometimes we were unable to find a place in a shade Pool: very good but also needs a bit more shade shelters Restaurants: excellent, lots of room and tables Food: pretty good, I was totally happy with the selection and quality Entertainment: very good

Beautiful resort, good food, comfortable rooms with an amazing beach. The staff, in true Cuban fashion are warm, friendly and hospitable to a "T". The resort is still not operating at 100% as they are only opening as much as they can to keep the cleaning standards maxed out. 3 a-la carte options plus a 24 snack venue, plus the buffet and bbq area are open. Food is plentiful and fresh, but you may not get all of the options you wish simply due to heightened import restrictions. Bottom line, this is a resort I would recommend you look at. Great people, relaxing atmosphere, a break from the daily routine to be very sure.

LOVED This resort. There is lots to do, shows are on almost every night. There are multiple bars and snack bars to choose from. At lunch you have a lot of options from an open salad bar to fresh Pizza, burgers, Poutine, fries and more. They have Heinz Ketchup also. The grounds are kept very clean and tidy. Fresh coconuts from gardener or grounds keeper to cure that Hangover, they are easy to come by. The staff and people are VERY Nice and polite! You won't get lost even when obliterated as staff drive carts around the resort shuttling people to and from hotels, the lobby and dinner, If you to drunk to walk they will also pick you up and drive you back to your room. There are a lot of options for food at Breakfast and Dinner at the buffet. A lot more food options then I would have even thought. Waiters are also on par and quick to take care of you. The white sand beach is excellent. Few to No rocks to cut your feet on and pretty easy to walk on. If you ask any of the staff at the beach they can get you a beach chair. They have 2 beach bars. (Really 3 but the adult side of the resort was closed because of low attendance from COVID) BUT things are starting to really get back to life here. Lots of people to party with. The night life is not boring either with shows in the evening including a Beach party, Pool party after a water show and acrobatics in the lobby and more. You will not get bored at this resort that's for sure. Water in the pool is kept clean (it's also a massive pool) You can walk along the beach and past the closed resorts and hang with people from the nearby resort as well. If you want to meet new people, just get a buzz going at the Beach bar you will be sure to meet Many people there. Everyone we met was super friendly, It was a FANTASTIC 2 weeks we were there. Wish I could have stayed for longer. I would highly recommend it. Would come again in the near future.

Stayed Mar 29th to Apr 8th.This was our 5th time visiting this hotel. 1st time since 2019 due to Covid. Only one half of the resort was open. Adult side is closed until they can bring it up to par. That would have been nice to know prior. As long as you are not expecting an expensive Canadian 5 star meal, the food was good. Staff at this hotel go up and beyond to make you feel comfortable. As far as tipping goes you can still give them peso's but it makes them happier to have loonies, toonies or five's. Whatever you want to give they appreciate. All vendors are now not selling at the two markets. They are only available on the streets. Everything else needs to paid by credit card. Excursions were good value and fun.Beach here is second to none. Lots of room at the beach and pool, no need to reserve chairs. We will be back again.

It must be more or less 20 times that I go to this resort over the course of the last 15 years. Needless to say that I enjoy it! I go for a couple of reasons: the warmth of the Cuban people, the incomparable beaches (no sargassum, crystal clear waters) the Rhum, the cigars for hubby and the unbeatable prices! Food: as we always say, Cuba is Cuba. The embargo always strikes hard and now add the pandemic to top it. But you will never go hungry. Always remember that what ever you have on your plate is because on Cuban can not have it. Everything is kept for tourism, so please show them great respect. Talking of pandemic, the staff is submitted to strict rules but the same rules are not reinforced for the guests. (Feb.2022). You can spend a full week without a mask ( restaurant, buffet) and nobody will tell you do wear it. Rooms: always freshly painted. Curtains, bedspread, mattresses are new. Bathroom are a bit worned out. I can’t wait to my next stay! And as far as the reservation goes with Trip Central, thank you to Karol Chareza, 2 bookings in 2 months! Communication was easy even from abroad! Great job Karol!

Just returned from a wonderful week at Las Dunas. Mar 17 - 24th. This was our 3rd visit to this hotel and it did not disappoint. As stated in previous reviews, the hotel is running at half capacity - the adult side is closed at this time as well as some of the services like the spa and gym. We stayed in building 26 which was right along the pathway to the beach which was wonderful. This is a big resort with lots of walking so if you are not able to walk very far then this is maybe not the resort for you. There is the bell boy service and if you call they will come and pick you up in the shuttle buggy. Our building was also very close to the pool which was great. Easily accessible to both. Because only one side of the resort is open chairs seem to be at a premium......my husband was up early in the morning to go down to the beach to save chairs under a shade structure. It was noticed that the shade structures down in front of the adult side are all gone now. There were 2 beach bars open which was handy. The board walks have been replaced by stone paver walkways which is a much better option. The beach of course did not disappoint - beautiful as always. This has got to be the best beach I have ever been to. We found the water in the ocean to be warmer than the pool. The waves were a blast to play in. Food - we only ate at the buffets & the sports bar because we are not keen on the a la cartes. The food was plentiful, tasty and the service was always top notch. At this time visitors are supposed to be wearing masks inside the restaurants and especially when they are getting food at the buffet. Of course not everyone is following the rules. We had no complaints about the food at all. Would like to see soup as an option once in a while. Fruit is very limited with mostly papaya & guava being served. The pineapple when served is not ripe. Once in a while there were imported pears. You have to try the smoothie's....they are the best. We generally ate at the main buffet for breakfast and dinner and open air buffet for lunch. Food a bit repetitive at both places but always plentiful and could always fill up. Don't stand back and be polite....because there are lots of visitors that just butt right in. The staff was amazing and provided very good service. It was very nice to see old friends and meet new ones. Always appreciative of gifts or monetary tips. Everyone is working very hard to make your trip the best it could be. While there we did 2 excursions - deep sea fishing & the speed boats - both half day trips booked through our Air Canada rep. The deep sea fishing was a fantastic trip. There were 5 of us on the trip. The cost to book the boat was $399 US for 4 ppl and $30 for the extra person. We very much appreciated the crew we had who worked very hard to make our day successful. Our captain was Roley and Julio was the hand on board. We caught 9 fish total - 6 barracuda, 2 mackerel & a 29lb grouper. The bar was help yourself with beer, soda, water and a variety of hard liquor on board. If you decide beforehand that this is a trip you would like to take the crew would be very much appreciative of sunglasses that are polarized. The boat is owned by Gaviota and you can book the "Atun" boat and our crew. Roley & Julio are very knowledgeable and good at what they do. They will make your day a great experience. The other trip we did also ran out of the same marina by Gaviota. This was the speed boat/snorkeling trip. Your time is split between these 2 activities and both very good. The speed boats are very easy to operate and the guides are great. This trip is an exceptional value at $44 US and we have done it twice. The snorkeling was very good. We saw lot of fish of many varieties. If you look real close you can even see urchins in the reef. Snorkel, mask and fins are supplied. A hint.....wear the fins even if to protect your feet. I decided to go without and while treading water in the waves I scraped a couple of toes on the fire coral and it was very painful for a couple of days. The water is very clear and fish are very plentiful. Overall, another amazing trip to Cuba. So glad to be travelling again. We will return to this resort over and over again I'm sure !!

Everything at the resort was great! Beach is beautiful, grounds are well taken care of, food was delicious and of course the staff are always amazing. Covid tests were easily accessible and fast. Sandra in Administration makes sure that your vacation is perfect along with Manuel, Anaily and Georges from the various restaurants! We have been to Melia Las Dunas seven times and will return again soon!

This resort was amazing. The main thing that makes this resort amazing is the Cuban workers who are so welcoming and helpful in every way. We’ve made so many good friends with the staff here and look forward to our next visit. The beach is beautiful and well maintained. The only complaint I had was that some rooms still have old mattresses which are not very comfortable. My room from a previous visit had a newer mattress that was very comfortable. This time, we had an older mattress and it wasn’t very comfortable. Rooms were kept clean and chambermaid was very efficient and helpful. No problems with ants or any other insects. The food is plentiful and there is lots of choice. The lobby is a great place to relax after meals… loved the rocking chairs! Evening entertainment was great as well. Very talented performers. Really loved the acrobatic show in the lobby. Definitely a 4 star hotel!

I just came back from this heavenly place, and I would be ready to go back there next week 🥰 everything went very well, but you have to prepare a little more than usual. Follow the instructions of the travel agent carefully. Cubans are so friendly and helpful, have always been very well received at this Hotel. It is very well maintained with beautiful rooms. I had dinner twice at the à la carte restaurant, and both were good, the buffet too. If you tip, you will be served like kings 👍The section of the beach in front of Las Dunas was the widest and most beautiful. There were shows and entertainment even though the hotel was not full. Take at least one day out of your week to take an excursion or go to Caïbarien, the nearest village, and your trip will be unforgettable. we had good weather all week, temperature between 25/28 degrees Celsius. Thank you to Las Dunas and my Cuban friends for this wonderful week and see you soon 😎🤗🏝🏖🏝❤️

The beach is the best in Cuba but entertainment is horrible and the first time that we haven't felt welcome in a Cuban resort. Hopefully other resorts will reopen we love the beach but won't return to mld

The resort is beautiful, the workers are even better! Lots of options for food, the beach was perfect and the customer service was great. They accommodated our family very well and will definitely be going back!

Beautiful beach and pool area. Good live bands and dancing before 9:30 pm. Nice room with good air conditioning. Great staff. Nicely landscaped grounds. It was good value for money except for the food. However: Nothing worked very well. No hot water the whole time (until second last day let water run a long time). Bathroom door wouldn't stay closed, toilet only partly flushed--had to pour extra water into it every time, phone never worked at all, lock on door to room failed three times and had to call for repair, low light in lamp for reading, poor to no wifi reception in my room. Food was really, really disappointing. I understand there is a difficulty getting food supplies, but seafood was so salty and overcooked it was inedible, a lot of meat and salty veg/bean mixtures, long line-ups for omelets or stir fries. Steam tables were not always hot enough. Noise in the cafeteria was deafening. Had to admire the creativity of the cooks with eggplant. Could not buy kleenex or any other small items except water. The White NIght group were very good entertainment. Lovely to sit in the lobby in the mornings and sip great cappuccinos. Pinas were fine. Good weather, well mostly. :-) Staff were all outstanding! Would go back if they could perk up the preparation of the food.

We loved this resort! It was our 5th trip to Cayo Santa Maria but our first stay in Las Dunas. Fantastic a la cartes ( especially the Oriental) and Rosy at the spa is a sweetheart. Our only drawback was maid service. We weren't cleaned a couple of times and our water wasn't refilled several times. I don't clean my room at home everyday and I can make my own bed, but toilet paper and water are important! The beach was as amazing as always.

Our first time to Melia Las Dunas was fun despite the very windy and cool weather. Pros: great beach, Hobie Cat sailboats,very friendly and helpful staff, good selection and plenty of food, well kept gardens and shrubs. Cons: resort too large, buffet restaurant extremely busy & very noisy, very windy on beach, 2 hour bus ride to airport, very slow check-in at Santa Clara airport. Special thanks to Raul for excellent waiter service on the beach and to Sandy for his top notch service in the buffet restaurant....both these kind young men are fine ambassadors to Melia Las Dunas..muy bueno! We really enjoyed the great service and awesome beach, but this resort is way too big for our liking. Too many people in noisy buffet lineups, too much walking from beach to our room and back to restaurants, and the lengthy 2 hour bus ride to airport is not a good way to start or end a holiday.

GREAT HOTEL Beautiful beaches, great pools, all staff were friendly and very helpful. No shortage of food or beverages. Nightly entertainment. Rooms were clean and close to everything. Looking forward to my next vacation and we will definately stay at the Las Dunas.

Just got back from a week with my 3 kids... we had a nice time. The resort is pretty well maintained for Cuba. There was lots of food and if you hunt around, there are some pretty good options. Service was good - but I tipped at each buffet, bar and daily for housekeeping so think we got a little extra love for that! :) The beach was beautiful - you could usually get loungers which was nice. Did three of the a la carte restaurants - Latin, International and Mediterranean. All the items on the menu aren't always available but food there was generally very good. Didn't really spend much time at the pools as we are beach people - but they seemed nice when we popped by. Manage your expectations and you will have a good time.

This was our second time at Meliá las Dunas. Hotel is great. Beach is one of the nicest I’ve been to in the World. Pools are large, clean and fun to be around. Rooms fantastic. Food was above average for our standards. Some times they were out of certain items on the menu but that’s what happens in Cuba. Lastly. The staff were out of this World. Andry and Aliea at the swim up bar were fantastic. Even our kids had a great time with them. Maids, Gardeners, servers all treated us very well and we would highly recommend this resort

We travelled with 3 families; 6 adults and 7 kids, and had the best time. This was our second time at this resort. We were able to get our rooms beside each other which was fantastic for the kids. The grounds were so clean, staff so nice, beautiful beach and pool. We have nothing but good things to say about this resort. We hope we can go back again someday, until next time!

Lack of soft drinks in rooms and rooms need to be checked before guest arrival. Sink drain plugged solid, tv remote didn’t work and hairdryer didn’t work. Only thing fixed was drain. Service in the buffet was excellent and food was good. Was our fifth time at this resort and they had very little live music compared to past.

This resort is very large - a bit too large for our taste but it is nice but needs some TLC. We were told the Cuban gov't has now partneured with the Melia chain of Cuban resorts. This is probably why the hot water is on timers - no hot water before 5:00 pm every day for the 2 weeks we were there - and we weren't the only ones complaining. The buffet food was mediocre. We have stayed at 13 resorts in Cuba ( including 2 Melia's in Varadero) and this is the first time we had trouble finding something to eat at the buffet. Numerous food items were not available every day. Ex: Some days, there were french fries and pizza and bread, the next none. You never knew what would be missing. I guess this is living under communist rule. I would not stay again at a resort operated by the Cuban gov't. I must say though that this resort has the very best entertainment every night from 6 pm on. The beach is gorgeous but one day 10-12 sharks swam by between the sandbar and the beach where we were swimming. It was pretty scary! The lifeguards were yelling in Spanish to get out of the water. They should learn the word 'shark' in english. It took awhile to figure out what they were yelling!

We were very pleased with the resort. The food was better than expected with several places to choose from. The a la carte restaurants especially the internacional and oriental were great, the staff was friendly and the beach was as perfect as you could imagine. The rooms were comfortable and clean. Would recommend to anyone

We have been to Cuba 11 times. As usual the weather and the people were very welcoming. The rooms are clean and bright. One thing we did notice was that a lot of choices of food were in short supply and not as many choices in the buffet. We do realize that there is a new director general but didn't know that the head chef has also changed. The food was so so but we never went hungry. will we go again, of course we have many friends who work there and that's one of the reasons we return every year.

The resort has a good layout with easy access in walking distance to everything. Golf carts available for transportation as well. Grounds and public areas nicely kept. Vegetation is amazing and very well maintained. Some cleaning practices in the public areas need improvement as cleaning ladies have to squeeze the mops by hand, which is unaesthetic and unhygienic. Rooms are good size and furniture still holds up even thou it starts to show its age and wear and tear. Very good bed mattresses, a lack of blankets that was resolved upon request. Key cards not always working even after replacement. One key was always working, the second not. Buffet selection was very good, with fresh food and vegetables every day, a large selection of meats to make on order. The Beer Garden was the favorite for lunch, the buffet for breakfast and dinner. Tried the Pizzeria and while the food was good, some menu items were not available and we ended up at the buffet thereafter. Wi-fi was extended throughout the entire resort, with signal sometimes stronger on the beach than in the lobby. This was a very nice surprise. People awesome as ever, very good service, very attentive and personable. From serves, to bar tenders, entertainment crew, room keepers, reception and public services, it was always a pleasure dealing and interacting with them. Overall a very good resort, highly recommendable.

All very nice! Some things could be improved though. More variety in the salad bar at the buffet. Web site implied power was 110v but was actually 220v. Hard on medical devices like CPAP machines. Staff were very helpful at all times!!! Buffet hot food displays cooled pretty quickly if you didn't get there when they were first put out. The secret is to ask the grill cooks to heat up stuff. Generally met our expectations and we would / will go back

We just returned from 1 week vacation with 2 other couples at Melia Las Dunas. The a la carte restaurants(Oriental, Mediterranean, International) were excellent. The cafeteria was great for breakfast and lunch with great food and no line ups. Our room was very comfortable in the adult section. The gardens were beautiful and the beach was very nice and easily accessible. We attended great shows almost every evening. The staff is very friendly.. We are booked to return in March.

Las Dunas was a pleasant surprise. We have travelled to Cuba many times (10+) and have been progressing getting disappointed with Cuba and the service provided. Melia Las Dunas changes that the food was good BBQ everyday at lunch was amazing.. the room was well taken care of and the staff was awesome and very attentive. We would go back again

The staff here were knowledgeable and were quick to clean up any mess. Grounds very clean. Very nice beach. Main buffet needs to have a variety to the menu. I have seen better nightly entertainment shows at other resorts.

The resort is older but it’s clean, the staff are very hard workers and very friendly. The beach was nice and again the staff were super helpful. The separate restaurants were great with good food, the buffet had quite a variety of food to choose from and I would recommend this resort.

The resort was always clean, busy gardeners and room staff. It's quite a large resort so lots of walking. Hotel staff were always polite and friendly. Food and bar selections were somewhat limited but ok considering its Cuba. The beach was awesome.

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.

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 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.

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.

Had the best week at this resort! Food was good. Always something to eat in the buffet selections. Pasta bar, stir fry bar, grill station. Lots of fresh fruits and veggies. pool was refreshing, beautiful beach! Well kept rooms, awesome entertainment!

Room had bad smell, cover up for mattress was extremely dirty,in the bathroom no hot water or little bit warm, water pressure in the shower very low. In the buffet plates and cups dirty and tables dirty too. Had to look through pile of plates to find clean plate.

I was in this resort about 10 years ago, and I was very happy, but this time I was very disappointed. The worst part was the poor hygiene in the restaurants and the bedroom. The staff are wonderful, the beautiful gardens the beach and pool the paradisiacal.

Overall, the resort was good as it was big and well maintained. Our room was always nice and clean thanks to Betty! However, the resort was busy and doesn't seem to be well-staffed during the holiday season. As the price was obviously a premium, you would expect to have a very enjoyable experience. Every single meal we had to wait at least 20 minutes in line to get our food either at the buffet or beach house. Had to wait an hour to get our towel on the first day (Dec 27). Exchanging the towels also was hard as sometimes you didn't have any left. Getting drinks at the bar also required waiting about 10-15 minutes. Worse experience was New Year's Eve. Found out last minute that we had to book a reservation for the Buffet restaurant. Got a 9PM reservation and got there 20 min before so pretty much at the start of the line. People started coming and started to butt-in. The scene was like in a black friday sale where people tried to push each other and with me having two young kids 7 and 9 years old was a very traumatic experience. The buffet restaurant only opened one door which also delayed the process. They also never checked the reservation and was just letting people in because of the chaos. As soon as we got in, you still had to wait in line to get your food from the grill. Definitely, not worth paying a premium for the service we got.

I travel twice a year from montreal. We just came back yesterday from this hotel. Worst trip ever and worst travel company. 12h to get there and 12h to come back. This trip should take 5h if you include the flight and the bus to the hotel.

I’ll keep this review relatively short. The room was very large, enough to fit a king size bed, a double bed, and a crib comfortably. The cleaning staff is amazing, but the room is dated and had lots of ants each day in the bathroom. Gardening staff was always ready to cut open a coconut to either drink or eat, and made 2 grasshoppers out of palm leaves to my sons’ delight! Nightly entertainment was great, especially the kid’s show at 8:30pm where all the kids in the audience get to dance on stage. Pool is very large and the beach is incredibly beautiful. The ice cream parlour was open every day and the restaurants were very good. The buffet was lacking in options, and the lineups were long (Dec 2019) All in all, a great trip!

We traveled to the las dunas from Dec 26-Jan2 . We had been to the resort in March and noticed some changes. The food seemed better. The blue train that was free to take you to and from the markets no longer runs . Service is excellent. Towels were a issue for some people... sometimes they had clean towels sometimes they were out... NOT a big deal. Other than that it was a fantastic vacation with something to do in the lobby everynight. New years buffet feast was unbelievable!! We will be back

beautiful resort... almost 2 hour from santa clara airport by bus ... entertainment team was great ..there is lots of option for people who eat pork or beaf...in international buffet.....beach was awesome and relaxing ..I suggest if u wan to book ...ur trip ...pls book by sunday ...bcos I feel resort service and entertainment start with new energy from beginning of week to first 5 days .....and very important dont forget ur beer mug ......most of time they serve beer in small plastic glass ...and u have to wait for refill.... at lobby bar ..and also beach bar that little distance from ur sitting place .....

I visited Melia Las Dunas December 2019. Grounds: The grounds were nice, and the ocean was beautiful. However, there were about 4 sharks spotted on day 1 of our vacation about 10 feet off the shoreline and we were not permitted to swim. Again, on day 2, there were about 5 more sharks and we were not able to swim. Most of the tourists that had been there for some time said this had not happened before, but it still put a damper on our vacation. We visit Cuba for the beach and swimming. Many of the remaining days very windy, causing large waves and strong current. There was one calm day where we were able to swim with no issue. The pools were nice and the swim up bar was in a good location. We enjoyed going here while unable to swim at the beach. Room: The room was fine. About what is expected in Cuba. Friends who I traveled with, did not have a working blow dryer in their room and had to use ours. Our toilet seat (lid) would not stay up, so we kind of had to hold it up while using the bathroom. Not pleasant, but manageable. The maid, Karenia, was nice and always had a smile on her face. Entertainment: Probably the highlight of the whole resort. The entertainment team did a great shop with the nightly shows. However, the bar was packed and drinks were terrible! They absolutely water down the liquor. Food: Absolutely TERRIBLE. I have previously been to Cuba 5 times. I know the food is generally below average, but this was worse than any other visit. There were little options in the buffet, and even the basics - pasta/pizza were NOT good. I heard that this may be due to food supply issues overall in Cuba right now but I don't know how true that is. Overall: I would give this resort about a 3.5 star max. Unfortunately, the sharks/not being able to swim in the ocean some days, and the food brought down the average for me. With that said, the grounds were nice and entertainment was good.

The resort is very clean , grounds are maintained very well . The staff is lovely! I had my granddaughter with us and they were extremely kind to her. I would like to say Liset Hernandez was especially kind to Graycee. Liset has a beautiful voice and soul . We told her Graycee’s Mom had died and she let her really feel special. She sings at the hotel twice a week . The dancers were wonderful too ! The food was pretty good , there was always something to eat that we enjoyed . This is my second time there and it certainly won’t be my last !

I love this hotel it is huge with an adult and family section. The staff are amazing and there are plenty of activities for all ages. The beach is clean and the water is amazing. Definitely will be returning to this hotel.

The resort is overall fabulous. The staff is second to know. The lobby bar staff although busy, always aim to please! The buffet staff are exceptional! Once they meet you, the greet you every time you walk in the door with a wonderful smile and fabulous service. The food this time was not as expected, but there was still a variety overall. The beach is spectacular. This resort was recommended by a co-worker. We will definitely be back to this resort!

I was at this resort 2 years ago Dec 2017. Was much, much better. Was recomended at that time by my parents. They were before there and liked. This year Nov, 2019 we decided to go all together to celebrate our 3 birthdays. 1. Food was bad. Was a lot'a of spoiled products. Like cheeses, yougurts, some fish, pizza made with bad cheese, even some bread and deserts. Have to be very carefull what to eat. Was no shripm at all this time. Last time I ate only seafood at my last visit. 2. Service: Have to go and ask 3 times to give me extra blanket. Even after my explanation gave wrong one. I asked for light, gave me warm one. We had 3 beds in the room for 3 people and only 2 blakets 3. Room cleaning was good. Girl who cleaned the room made some toys all the time with towels and flowers my kids loved it 4. Beach: good, almost no seaweed. But you have to come at 7-7.30am to get chairs after breakfast no chairs left 5. Show: was ok. 6. People who made coffee and drinks at the bar didn't want to give menue of drinks. Before menue was all the time available on the table and you can choose the drink. 7. I found the persons at the kitchen, bar don't care and were kind of angry at clients I been at that resort before everything was much better even show and animation team. My parents, my kids and I was disapointed at that time. Before it was the best resort. Now its not 5 stars its like 3 stars. Will I recommend it now. Probably not. Before I was recommended to all my friends and left very positive reviews. Now I have to leave bad one😞. I dont like to leve bad reviews, but have too now. Our celebration was kind of spoiled with bad service and food. Want to tell to people who go there please smell and try food before you start to eat it. Some cheese was so bed had fungus on it. We went to manager to show it. They change it. But next day put it back. Probably was thinking that we left and made pizza with it. The smell was like stinky old socks. Now my kids hate pizza just from smell pizza at the resort.

The hotel is well maintained and clean. The outside walkways between buildings are beautifully landscaped with all the fowering bushes and trees. The staff are very friendly and courteous. The food I would give 2/5 rating at the buffet and sad rating of 0/5 for all of the a la carte restaurants. We would not eat the food and would end up going to the buffet afterwards. The only exception was the lobster dinner which was an additonal 22 cucs. But it was well worth it When we arrived in our room upon check-in our toilet would not flush. I requested another room which was no problem for them to arrange. But, our next room was almost as bad. We had to fill the bathroom garbage can with water from the tub and pour it into the bowl so it would flush properly. Anyways we stayed in the room and just lived with the situation. Sort of disappointing. The beach was the best I have seen so far in Cuba. Loved it! Kayaked too. I would not recommend this resort solely on the lack of good food.

Beautiful beach Safe walks on the beach between resorts Lots of activities Large resort area Friendly resort staff Amazing coffee Nice rooms Especially nice large washrooms with bidet Beautiful large entrance with lots of seating areas

I love coming to this area of Cuba. It bothers me when I hear people complaining about the food. They do their best with the resources they have. Honestly, you will never go hungry! Lots of great variety and the people are incredible.

A friend and myself spent a week at this resort, Oct. 31 to Nov. 7 2019. The weather was good, mostly sun and cloud with a breeze which kept you from getting too hot. Resort needs some updating, our bathroom could really have used a remodel. A/C worked great, lots of hot water, fridge always had 2 beer and 1 pop and a large bottle of water which was replaced daily. Staff at this resort were the friendliest and very good at doing their job, from the front desk to the gardeners. Buffet dinners Food was just ok, never went hungry but never said that was awesome. BBQ at lunch at the beer gardens was very good. We never went to an ala carte since we didnt want to be on a schedule. We hung out in the lobby at night, entertainment was good and we enjoyed our evenings. Shuttles were plentiful at night to bring you back to your rooms at night, this was great as this is a large resort. Beach was great, lots of waves which we loved playing in, these waves were never hard enough to knock you off your feet. Have to say a thank you to trip central, i really liked that they sent a few emails to us giving us emergency contact info if things were not good at resort, I appreciated this extra step.

The Hotel shows its age but its still a very nice hotel and staff are amaizing, being the low season the food was repetitive but good. The beach is one of the best..just stunning and so are the grounds. Lots of music at night and lots of little patio to sit outside, I loved it.