Meliá Varadero *****

Hubert & Wilma Aebischer, CH, 2008-05-09
Con mucho gusto pensamos a nuestros maravillosos vacaciones en su hotel en diciembre/enero 08. Fuimos muy satisfechos. En particular la animación nos gustamos mucho. Trabábamos muchos amistades y nos divertiamos mucho. Especialmente pensamos a Adolfo, Samuel y Yaniris. Sin embargo a Ernest, Dante, Joel, Alexei, Jasari, Irena y otros.
Para nosotros seriá un placer de reencontrar algunos de los animadores, quando regresaremos a su hotel al final de este año. Gracias para todos esfuerzos que haceis para que turistas como nosotros nos sentamos bien.
Wilma y Hubert Aebischer, Suiza, 06.05.2008

Patricia Castillo, CL, 2007-08-17
Hola , desde Chile, les escribo para compartir mi alegría de haber visitado 2 veces Cuba , especificamente Varadero y permanecer en el Melía Varadero. Fuí atendida muy bién , encontré gente alegre y trabajadora y muy simpática.
Estoy enamorada de Cuba y su gente...gente buena y encantadora...espero volver al Melía. Gracias por todo lo que me entregaron. Gracias desde Chile.

Anónimo, CA, 2007-06-20  
First of all, you have to realize /understand that Cuba is not to the same standard as let's say North America nor Europe. They still have a lot to learn about tourism. All in all though this was a great Hotel and I'm being very fair. The only criticism I would have is that the you are very likely to be ignored if you don't know any spanish and /or you don't tip. The staff did not speak enough english, you were actually much better off if you knew spanish. On the other hand if you were a good tipper, you got even better service. One peso will get you a long way though. We tipped on peso per meal, per day and they kept us on a pedestool throughout the whole trip. The bartenders and other staff, got to recognize and remember us.

The beach/hotel - What can I say: A breathtaking setting! The water is gorgeous although the sand is not white at all and it's not as clean as we thought. Some idiots smoke,drink and eat on the beach and then they leave their garbage around which ruins the whole setting. The color of the sand is actually cream to light taupe, but it is as fine as flour.

Our room was a standard double room. It was always clean however we never received any 'gifts' or fancy sheet/blanket work like I've read from other reviews.....
Our room had everything we needed and more - a hairdryer that worked better than my own, an iron and ironing board, 3 kinds of mirrors in the bathroom, a tub and shower had amazing water pressure. We also had a small basin to wash your feet.
We had sattelite TV which was pretty good. We would have wanted a better view of the ocean but you don't need it because the closer you are, the more you can hear the waves from your room and that can be distracting when you're trying to get some sleep. I found it relaxing, but my husband didn't.
Also the whole hotel is decorated with Cuban motifs and plays cuban music around the clock wich really makes you feel like you're in....Cuba! and not some commercialized/americanized resort.

The shows/nightly entertainment are o.k - just enough to not keep you bored. I don't recommend the Karaoke/Disco Tenerife - it's kinda dull. The Santiago bar was not happening at all when we were there, not sure what was going on there. The piano bar is o.k, Guantanamera cafe serves the lamest fast food although when you're hungry, anything goes.
Would highly recommend the buffet dining room - La Habana. We ate their everyday for breakfast,lunch and dinner.
We did not eat at the Steak House A la Carte because there was no room but the Trinidad A La carte is o.k - had a funny smell though and it let people in who weren't dressed appropriately which I didn't find fair. HIGHLY recommend Fuertaventura A La Carte.
We didn't try the Chinese food because that's the last thing we wanted to eat while in Cuba!
Other criticisms - I couldn't get a bloody mary for the whole time we were there because they didn't import Tomato Juice which is kinda ridiculous. I'm still craving one!
Also, did not like the fact that some bartenders/servers are really rude - they give off this vibe that you're being too much of a nuisance if you ask for something - It's as if they deliberatly want to make you uncomfortable and leave.
The hotel in itself is beautiful - stunning! and the resort is just as well.
The pools were kinda dirty - had bugs and other crap, also there is no jacuzzi /whirlpool or hot tub, I don't know why I thought there would have been one but for a five star, there should be one. I guess that's why our brochure gave it 4+.
Would not recommend the beach grill as it has awful food and no variety. Also, there are cats circling the tables waiting for food and birds will fly in and go from table to table picking up crumbs - kinda made me uneasy. The Rincon Paella serves great Paella but again, the waiter is an ass.

Would I go back to this hotel, probably yes but next time I'd like to go to the Cayo's where I hear the beach has baby powder-like white sand and the water is just as stunning.

I'll be adding pictures shortly.

Anónimo, CA, 2005-04-19
I've just returned from a fabulous week at the Melia Varadero. I was VERY worried after reading some of the reviews but I have to say they were totally off base! The staff were friendly (contrary to other reviews I read) and the service was top notch. I certainly didn't see or experience a lack of service at either the beach bar or the pool bar.... in fact the bartenders got to know us so well, they were pouring our drinks when they caught sight of us. No problems booking the à la carte restaurants however you do need to book as soon as you arrive. The rooms are clean and very well maintained. The property itself is also clean. The beach does have a strip of coral however if you walk down towards the golf course, it is absolutely fabulous! I would highly recommend this property for a great vacation. I know people tend to complain about the food in Cuba but I have to say the Italian restaurant was very good and the Trinidad restaurant during the day serves a great steak! Even the buffet was very tolerable - most nights they offered a fresh pasta bar which was very good! All in all a great time had by all!!

Anónimo, CA, 2005-04-03
My wife and I spent the week of March 20-27 at this Melia hotel and found it be much more than we had been expecting given some negative reviews.
We have have travelled to the Caribbean numerous times from 3 star to 5 star hotels. The majority of the hotels we have stayed in reflect the old adage, " you get what you pay for". The Melia Varadero was no exception.

Most reports rate this hotel ratings place this at a 4.5 star while the hotel gives itself a 5 star rating. We felt we had paid for and received services, food, scenery and entertainment that would equate to a 4.5 rated hotel/resort.

Food: Having read that you should book immediately for the specialty retaurants, we did so and thoroughly enjoyed the meals and service. Sure the buffet was repetitive and there were some things we didn't care for but I have found found the same thing wherever I may choose to dine, including in our home country. If I had one negative comment here which was not true of the specialty restaurants, was that in the buffet at times, some items were not kept as hot as we would have liked.

Beach and Pools: What can we say. The beach was fantastic and for us, I can relate them best to the wonderful beach at Cancun without the undertow or consistent waves. If you like rougher water, I would suggest Cancun. Both are great though for appearance and cleanliness.
The pools were excellent except as someone mentioned the lack of a swim up bar. This was the one hotel in all our trips that we didn't have to play the "save the beach or pool chair game". No having to get up at 5:30 am to throw your towel on the chair and leave it "saved for 6 hours while you went to town (pet peeve).

Language: We found that the staff spoke fairly good English. It can never hurt to try and learn some key words and phrases in Spanish, after all, it is you who is travelling to their country. We found it amusing that we would try to order food and drinks in Spanish, and they would smile and answer us in English. We always carry a small pocket book to help us with Spanish words, phrases, and pronounciations.

Tipping: Another refreshing part of our trip was the excellent Sunquest rep we worked with. She spoke fluent English, having studied in Canada. Her tipping advise seemed to work well for us. As previously mentioned by someone, the tip is after the service and not to facilitate good service. The fact you tip ( but it is all inclusive?)will make your stay more enjoyable if you are the type of person who is always worrying if you should tip or not tip. The Sunquest rep put it to us this way. If you you very receive good service a tip is not out of line. A peso (convertable) or 2 would be well received at a specialty restaurant a 5 peso tip would be considered almost extravagant for 2 people. At the pool bar every couple of days if we had been there regularly (hic), it doesn't hurt to give the guys a couple of pesos. You can also tip if you felt it was deserved, with a Canadian $5.00 bill, 25% less valued than a convertable peso. Any way I think you get the drift. Hey it worked for us and we had a great time. If you happen to get to the Melia, say hi to Andres and Fernando from Rick (Ricardo) and Donna (Dohna).