Melia Peninsula Varadero Hotel — Hotel in Cárdenas

Traveled over Christmas with husband and 4 kids (14, 13, 8, & 6) Given wrong room - supposed to be family suite. Had them bring us cots so we'd each have our own bed. Room was in need of repairs but the AC worked well. Room smelt moldy. Frequently ran out of hot water but we only didn't have electricity once for about an hour. Maids did a wonderful job each day getting rid of the sand and tidying up. Hardly ever had new towels or full toilet paper rolls. Beach towel exchange didn't have clean towels 3 out of the 6 days. And then "lost" one of our returned towels and made us pay $20 CAD for it. The beach itself was wonderful, lots of chairs and shade. There was quite a few "panhandlers" on the beach but security made sure they stayed by the water. Just got a little annoying hearing them trying to call out to you constantly. There was also quite a few jellyfish. Man-o-wars, people got stung both at the resort and during snorkeling on an excursion. Bring antihistamines. Beach volleyball everyday at 11 - was great for the older kids but they wouldn't let the younger ones play. Water sports were only available one of the days we were there. Pool was ok, not nearly enough seating for everyone. Kids pool was also ok, but in need of major improvements and upgrades. The water slide doesn't actually spew water so kids had to go a few times before it was wet enough to slide. The grounds were pretty well kept but more effort could be put in in picking up empty cups and garbage. Lots of the landscaping staff were more worried about offering coconuts, making things out of leaves and asking for currency exchange or food. The nightly entertainment didn't follow the schedule and only 2 shows were at the actual theater. The other 4 were at the lobby. This was horrible- hard to see, not enough seats. The team itself tried hard but whoever thought lobby shows or changing the schedule three times during the day is a good idea needs to reevaluate. There were very few excursions to choose from and prices were quite steep. All excursions can only be paid with a credit card and are charged in USD. Took the double decker bus into Varadero for the day - again wouldn't accept CAD or pesos only USD or credit card. $40 for 6 of us - hop on hop off. The market was great. If you haggle a bit they will accept CAD or pesos. Don't waste your time converting anything into pesos as no where else will accept them. And you'll be hard pressed to find anywhere that accepts CAD as well. Took a taxi to the dolphins- well priced and we had fun watching the show and interacting with the dolphins after. Although it was very rushed. We also did the day Jeep safari. It was fun and you get to see a lot of the country side. But like everything else, every stop was just more of asking for tips for things that we had already paid for to be included. Bring snacks as there is no stops to get any and the lunch left much to be desired. The food - they do the best with what they have but (and we've been to Cuba numerous times) it really lacked vareity. And most just tasted bad. The snack bar usually only had ham and cheese sandwiches. Only had plantain chips 1 day (although plantains grow in abundance). Bring snacks from home. The store had lots of sweet snacks and drinks, as well as alcohol and souvenirs. Again USD or credit card only. The Japanese a la carte was fun and tasty but I did worry about cross contamination from the same spatula used on raw meat and put into the cooked rice. The Italian a la carte was the same pasta you get at the buffet. Don't waste your time or one of your bookings on it. Overall we had fun and made the best of the trip knowing the situation in Cuba. We will return - for the people. But we will not return to this hotel or...

Just got back from a 7 day vacation here with our friends and family and had a really great time! Having never been to Cuba, our expectations were very low, especially as far as food was concerned. The options for food, while the same every day, were still enough. The omelette station at breakfast as well as the availability of some meats and cheeses throughout the day exceeded our expectations, particularly after hearing from guests at other resorts that meats weren’t ever an option. While they ran out of burgers and ham at the snack bar often, the buffet remained reliable every day. The espresso machine was a treat in the lobby, until it broke down, but up until that point the cappuccinos were to die for! I would recommend sticking to the buffet and avoiding a la cartes for the most part, however the hibachi restaurant offered spectacular service from our chef Felix as well as a really flavourful fried rice stir fry. While speaking on staff, we cannot say enough positive things about nearly every single person working at Melia Peninsula! From groundskeepers, buffet servers and chefs, entertainment staff, bartenders, housekeepers, and everyone in between, we were blown away by everyone’s kindness, hospitality, and overall level of service! The only issues we had were with one particular staff member at the snack bar later at night (I didn’t catch his name, but his attitude towards us was abysmal). Other than him, THANK YOU all for making our vacation as great as it was! Our room was basic but always clean and well stocked. We were pleased that our showers were always hot, which is something we were told prior to not expect while visiting Cuba. Canadians: BRING A CONVERTER! The outlets will destroy electronics, but that’s our own fault for not researching further into. The location of Melia Peninsula is great! The beaches are gorgeous and well maintained, and the marina is a cool spot to check out that’s within walking distance. Due to it being closer to the end of the peninsula itself, you could find shuttles and the double decker rides to be a bit of a journey. The weather during our trip was not ideal, to say the least, which is obviously out of anyone’s control. We would’ve loved to have seen some entertainment during the day as well as have music playing in the lobby and at the snack bar during the cold and windy days. It appears the entertainment team is limited to one speaker in the entire resort that is moved around throughout the day. For those who prefer a quiet resort, this could be seen as a pro, but for us it was a con unfortunately. A main takeaway from our trip was: DO NOT transfer your CAD or USD into Cuban pesos! We listened to the timeshare guy’s (Igor?) advice and did end up converting some of our money in the lobby exchange, which turned out to be borderline entirely useless as well as expensive in the long run. The Varadero vendors, taxis, and resort staff all want CAD and USD primarily (as long as your bills are in good condition because any tears or marks will lead to them not wanting to accept the bills at all). Despite poor weather, repetitive food options, being mislead on currency exchange, and a sometimes silent environment, we all enjoyed our stay at Melia Peninsula! For those looking for an easy-going vacation and introduction to Cuba, this resort did...

DO NOT GO !!!! This was the absolute worst hotel I have ever stayed in in my life. I saved a small fortune over the year to take my family on a beautiful vacation at a five star resort. I probably don’t have enough characters to type all of my complaints, but first things first… Nobody speaks English… Nobody. If you think you’re going to get help in English from any of these staff, even for the most simple of tasks, as where is the washroom, you’re not. Second of all limitations to water. I am on a hot holiday with my wife and children, and I was limited to water, There was two water bottles in my room, and I was expected to refill them at the front every time they were empty. So I had 1 L of water between four people in the Cuban heat. Third biggest issue, there is no Wi-Fi. The staff will continue to tell you that it is working. Just give it five minutes and try and sign in again blah blah blah blah. The truth is the Wi-Fi does not work. Also the attitude that you get when you’re going up with your third day no Wi-Fi absolutely no contact with what’s going on back at home and these people are roll their eyes at you and talk to you like you are such a nuisance. And just to roll through most of the other problem without writing a novel here there is no towels to take out to the beach. The pool is dirty with freezing cold water. The toilet paper is limited and if you ask for more after your runs out, you’re never gonna find any Constantly running out of beer and wine. There is one lineup for protein for an entire resort, so have fun waiting 35 minutes for a piece of chicken… Meanwhile staff but to the front of the line. one coffee maker for an entire resort and the lady that’s making coffees will have a 15 person lineup, Meanwhile, sitting on FaceTime and talking to people on her phone … This place is a joke and I have no idea how it is still in business. I went to get an omelet on the very last day. There is four people in my family. We wanted six eggs and the chef told me no after a little spat about how many eggs my family was allowed to eat, he filled our omelets with eggshells … We paid a small fortune and received one star service. This isn’t even everything. These are just the main issues. Key cards stop working daily, ants in our room… It just goes on and on. There is absolutely no nightlife at all you just sit there and stare at the wall especially since your phone doesn’t work. I wish I could...