Meliá Las Dunas — Hotel in Caibarién

Believe the 1-3 star reviews. This is not a 5 star hotel. This hotel does not live up to the Melia standard of its other hotels I have visited. We had a Premium room which was spacious and somewhat clean but it did not come with any of the additional services as advertised. No welcome drink or express checkin, no bar service for 3 of the seven days we were there, no beach towels provided, no turn down service, no coffee supplied in the room, no express pickup on day of checkout. The only advantage was the late checkout but this required me to line up the morning of to request it and then be given door passes that allowed me to enter the room after the 12 pm standard checkout ( why not just program the time upon arrival to save the time and visit to lobby the morning of?).

Pros The beach-the reason to go. It Is beautiful. You can walk it quite far(though I didn’t) . Encounters with schools of fish, pelicans and even storks. The workers- most are hard working and friendly. Yes, they appreciate tips and have become accustomed to receiving them but you will still get served even if you don’t tip regularly.

Cons The food. We had low expectations but this resort has down right poor quality and limited food. Selection was the same each day. Limited choice when it came to cheese ( only blue cheese and sometime cheddar), only one type of deli and other food types. Quality of food was poor-bacon was all fat,grilled meat was tough to chew, chicken was fatty. no fresh vegetables or salad-not an Avocado in Sight ( though they were in Season) . The a la cart restaurants are no different. We went to all of them and basically same food offerings , Just different sauces on them. They offer things like Tiramisu in the Mediterranean restaurant but it tasted nothing like it. Sushi in the Asian one is a joke. The lobster dinner in the international one was like chewing rubber. The shrimp starter and one shrimp dinner I had at two different restaurants serve the smallest shrimp ever- it became comical. Having said all this-we had heard from others at the airport when leaving if you went to an actual restaurant outside the resort ( many in the local market) you could get good food. So not sure I buy the issues around the food problems if In fact you could get a decent meal in a paying restaurant.

The local tourists ( nationals). I love the Cuban people but this hotel ( and many others in the area) are filled with locals come weekends. They come in large families and they take over the resort. They hoard the food-because of this they ran out of food quickly. They waste a lot of food too-leaving behind tonnes of food on their plates or bringing it back to their rooms. This is bothersome but not the real issue. What was the problem is that they cut in line, touch food without taking it( we even saw people taking bites of things and the putting them back on the trays), drop food and don’t pick it up, just plan disrespectful. They would bark out drink orders at the bar even though we would be there before them ( and often time get served before us). They would order 6-8 drinks at a time, making our wait time even longer.

Everyday the beach and pool bars would run out of something-cups, ice, beer, coke. No ice cream at the ice cream shop the whole time we were there. Perhaps setting a limit to the number of food and beverage items might help in resolving this problem. Consideration to all guests- Canadians, Europeans and South Americans included, would help to bring back customers. I heard many will never come back to this resort ( my family included) because of this.

The resort. It is in need of an update. Fans in the lobby area are a must. Boardwalk to beaches need repair. Spraying of pesticides should not happen through the day when people are out and around-especially with children there. We saw this happen several times I the week.

I have written lots in hopes of making you aware of what you are truly getting when visiting here. Spend a little extra and go to a better resort. You will...

We returned from Melia Las Dunas - Cayo Santa Maria last night. Here is my experience: Room, was large but dated and I wish they offered a smart TV. There was a smell in the bathroom, my husband put a mug over the bidet plumbing and it went away. The cleaning lady and someone from the hotel made sure we had large bottles of water delivered daily. The King bed and pillows were very comfortable, my husband has had 2 major back surgeries and it's hard for him to sleep well but he was very comfortable here.

Food: They offered 3 a la carte restaurants with our 7 day stay. The International was the best offering half a lobster, meat or fish tartare and more while listening to a fabulous piano player. The other a la carte restaurants were a nice change but not always open due to low # of guests at the resort . The buffet restaurant had a lot to pick from. Breakfast they had ladies making omelets/eggs and pancakes while you wait. Lunch and Dinner they would have someone carving meat, making pasta dishes, fish and meat made to your liking. I felt the food was a little blan and had too much salt but I couldn't imagine trying to make all guests happy. I like spicy and flavourful food but not everyone is like me. With that said there was a lot to pick from and the opportunity to make your salad as you like or have the salad lady mix the salad with your choice of toppings. There is always a selection of various breads, vegetable dishes and desert choices. I should mention there are also a number of snack bars. These are outdoor restaurants some open 24 hours. They were fantastic, during lunch one would have pizza made while you wait along with paela and meat made. Here you could also order sandwiches, fries and other items that would change from day to day. This was a great option for us to enjoy the landscape and the outdoors and the pool area keeping us outside.

The resort is large, but they had electric carts that drive around periodically to take guests to their destination.

Beach/pool: The board walk to the beach has a bar, so great to be on the beach and easily order your favourite drink both alcoholic or not. The sand is white and the ocean is blue, it's stunning. The water was shallow for quite a bit as you walk away from the beach. There are huts with lounge chairs. The chairs are getting old but they were functional. It was great to have the option to lie in the sun or retreat to the simple cabana protected by the sun. The catamaran and paddle boats were free to take out. For safety a hotel employee will come out with you. This resort has 2 very large pool areas, one for family and the other for adults only. Each area having a swim ip bar. There are lots of activities at the kids pool and quieter at the adult pool. We enjoyed the life size chess game and the various options of lounge chairs and cabanas. They also had a deep and 3ft pool for adults. Perfect for me since I'm not a fan of deep water. The swim up bar was fun and the pools looked absolutely beautiful. I love the ocean but I did enjoy the pool since they were so nice.

I wasn't aware when we booked that this resort is on a private island. It's almost 1.5 hours from the airport. There is approx. 38mile drive along a causeway to get you to this island, which is pretty cool to see. Nobody lives on the island other than a few resorts nearby hence why you won't see locals. It feels super safe and private although not alot to do unless you take a bus or hire someone to take you to town. Sunwing and Air Transit have reps at the resort to book tours or day outings if you prefer

My husband and I were super happy with our stay and would definitely like to return the next time we need some R&R. We loved the short 3.5 hour flight from yyz and no time change. I've had people warn about hydro outages but this does not apply to the resorts. Cuba has a bad rep. for food and it's absolutely true, but this resort had enough of a selection to keep us happy for 7 days.

I hope this review is helpful, wishing you safe travels...

Was it amazing - absolutely yes. Will we come back again - more likely no. Unforgettable experience, amazing place for a family vacation, great for one time visit for sure. But food quality is very poor.

Benefits: Ocean is absolutely terrific. Beech is like from a dream: beautiful clean white sand, absolutely gorgeous water.

Can get a catamaran tour with snorkeling - amazing experience. So much fish, I can not even count how many different types and colors. Feels like swimming in aquarium with fish everywhere around you, beautiful reefs, cristal clear water - so so good! If we ever come back, that will be for sure for the beech and snorkeling.

You can get a tour to dolphinarium , see a show and pet a dolphin, and for additional cost swim with it, which is absolutely fantastic experience.

Clean bright rooms, good airconditioning, private balcony, comfortable beds. Daily clean up. (But take shampoo, conditioner and shower gel with you. Local is "so-so" quality)

Great people. Smiling and nice. I have no idea how they manage - they work hard in extremely hot conditions but keep smiling. They also try to make everything as beautiful as possible - wonderful tower creations on a bed with flowers, flower cats in the washrooms, flowers made from palm trees, etc. Tips are welcome everywhere.

Lots of various activities in the resort. Including foam parties in the pool, yoga at the beech, aqua fitness in the pool /beech, dancing, etc.

Disadvantages: Food. That's the biggest disadvantage and the reason I think I might not come back. (though, from my travel agent I heard that this resort has the best food in Cuba...) Yes, you will end up finding something edible, but the quality of food is far from great. Take some pills, as after several days, even eating carefully, more likely end up with stomach aches.

Fruits - to get an idea, watermelon is barely pink, with seeds and yellow spots all over it. Pineapple is very good (but hard to eat pineapple for the entire week few times a day). There are few more tropical fruits that I kept trying and I wish I love those, but I do not. (Apples are only on posters, no bananas, no berries)

vegetables. Cucumbers, peper tomatoes - edible. Though sometimes looks as if left from the previous meal. Cabbage is good. There are more roasted vegetables (carrots, sprouts, something tropical, but sometimes it was not fresh at all).

Fish - I love fish. During every meal there was one or two types of fish . Keep an eye on the guy preparing it. Try to order slim pieces . If pièces are big, they are often times row inside.

*Meat - chicken mostly. Outside on a barbecue is better tasting until you notice that flies are touching the meat under the counter...

*Ice cream - there is a place marked on a map as an icecream shop which unfortunately was always closed. Only ice cream we found was during lunch and dinner. Vanilla and chocolate do not stay long, and not always is offered. Mango and raspberry icecream mostly.

bread - we are used to good bread, so this was a disaster. I wish we took jam and Nutella with us, life would be better for sure. Pancakes also are very poor. There is only one type of syrop, apparently from some tropical fruit.

Rice , pasta - good.

Be ready to wait in long Lines to get food, which is exhausting... Feels like you went to the sauna. Poor people who cook, have no idea how they survive. Examples once I end up standing 50 minutes in line to get good pasta. There are trayss with no lines with pasta, but it is cold and taste as if those are leftovers from the previous meal. But the fresh pasta that a man cooks in front of you is good. ( same applies to lines for fish, meat, rice, pancakes, omelets). So yes, you'll end up standing in lines a lot. Try to come to the entrance of the buffet earlier, before it opens, so you can get a table quickly and get in line for the food you like. Especially, evenings. Apart from buffet, there are several restraunts, that serve dinner...