Melia Marina Varadero Hotel

muena comida, habitacion limpia [Details]

I do not recommend this hotel a friend picked this hotel for us to go, this was a mistake. [Details]

This was our first experience in Cuba the views the resort had to offer was beautiful. Upon checking in we were blown away with the service we recieved. Staff was friendly and couldn't do enough for you. After a few days of being there we noticed the service slowly degraded. Staff lied to us and caused a huge scene for us and our friends while we were there. When we asked to speak with the manager we were given 3 or 4 people claiming to be the manager and the last time we were told if we decided to not go back to the resort that was our choice and nothing they could do. Some staff went above and beyond for customer service other staff would only speak English to you as long as you tipped them first. As far as the rest of the resort I would give a 6 out of 10 for cleanlessness. Furniture was stained and dirty. There was always so much bugs around the food and the food was the same for breakfast, dinner, and supper. Reviews claims there is more than 1 snack bar including one on the beach as well as numerous restaurants on the resort but everything but 1 restaurant was closed. I feel this resort only wanted people's money and that was it. Additionally there was like no one at the resort. [Details]

If you choose to stay here, make sure you bring water, snacks, ramen, toilet paper and plenty of tips. It was very hard to find edible food that didn't make us sick, and getting into any restaurant other then the buffet required standing in line every morning to make a reservation when there is very few spots available and often just to be served the same food. If you don't eat pork you will have even less options. We were unable to find bottled water for the first few days, and were warned not to drink the tap water. Even if you go into town you still might not be able to find much. The rooms are pretty good, they have ac and housekeeping does a good job. Unfortunately the rest of the staff, apart from maybe one or two, are quite rude and you need to tip a lot in order to get any service. The pool is nice, there is no hot tub however, and the beach is about a 3 min walk away. [Details]

Right from the start the wi-fi didn't work from the airport to the hotel. We'd see 30 people per day trying to get help at the front desk. We almost ran out of toilet paper and when asked it was a hassle to get restocked with a partial roll. We were denied pop several times from the front desk to room service. Our beach towels were also a hassle being as we upgraded to vip rooms. Everyone else could acquire fresh towels poolside ours were to be exchanged by room service. They never were and we got the run around. [Details]

The hotel looks nice at first glance, but there are issues, especially when you pay top price for the Christmas/New Year holidays:
-hard to "catch" hot water if at all;
-no coffee or kids refreshments provided in the rooms;
-only 1 buffet opened=repetitive food and 1 a la cartē a day (they take turns between 3 different cusine themes-not really);
-internet can be down for 24 hrs at a time and even if it works, you have to keep on re-connecting or go to reception to get it fixed;
-no sppons/teaspoons next to the soup/ice cream - you have to go ask for one;
-restaurant at the beach not opened so you have to walk back to the resort for lunch (about a 10 min walk);
-stuff may be snappy at times, not interested in pleasing customers or listen to feedback;
-small stage for entertainment-nothing special organized over Christmas... remains to be seen if New Year's will be different. [Details]

My family, parents and mother-in-law had a fantastic time away at this resort! Two of the three parties didn't upgrade to The Level, and we enjoyed our time equally as much. The food in the buffet was typical Cuban food, but did offer a good rotating variety. Because of the time we went, at the beginning of the pandemic, not all a la carte restaurants were operating (they were on a rotating basis). We found the food at the a la cartes to be alright, but the experiences were a nice change from the buffet. The service all around in all areas was fantastic! The employees were almost all personable and helpful. The hotel is in need of minor repairs, but nothing that stopped our enjoyment of it. The pool and beach areas were relatively clean, and there were plenty of chairs for our group of 7 to sit on. I would recommend this resort! [Details]

All in all, very positive. I was surprised at how good the food was. Weak points for me... I am not a heavy drinker and have pretty limited things I like to drink. My main drink is red wine and I found it difficult to obtain, which surprised me. Another thing I like is Baileys Irish cream or similar product, I was only able to get it once. I also don't drink beer or Soda and asked instead to have sparkling water in my bar fridge. They never supplied it. The maids didn't always leave me clean glasses and cups. [Details]

Upon arrival at Hotel there was no representative to welcome or guide a bus load of travellers to reception desk at about noon.
We were given a basic room but paid for a Studio room. Enquired many times for room. Took till 1930 for a studio room. Which had a visibly broken shower.
There are many tripping hazards inside and out of this hotel. Witnessed staff walk by hazards rather than simply picking it up, later that day tiles were mashed due to patrons walking on them. Most of the food in the buffet is cold and some times under cooked. We traveled to a excellent restaurant in Santa Marta (Mojito) for a enjoyable meal.
Witnessed a bartender (@ hotel) filling a water bottle with tap water then serving it to guests. Pool not heated and very cold. No umbrellas for shade in pool area. Waited 45 minutes to get a drink from main bar by server. Drinks are watered down and weak flavours. No continuity with drink quality at any bar. Not all bars or restaurant's are open.
Corrupt baggage handlers exchanging money in back of baggage room stating they have better exchange rate than hotel.
Cockroaches running across buffet tables. Staff interaction was not pleasant on the most part. We got run around from reception staff stating they could not assist us.
We were advised by other unhappy guests at reception to fill out a evaluation form. Which we did and presented to guest services. Guest services told me there was no photo copier in entire building. I asked her to use her phone to take photo of my paper She declined!
We met up with Travel Representative. She was floored and sent a photo to her supervisor.
The next day we got upgraded to the Level. And offered a different Hotel which was 3 star.
We decided to stay at Melia Marina.
Staff on the Level tried hard to please customers, but normally you pay extra for that. The Level menus are very limited and repetitive. The Level meals and beverages are the best in entire hotel. After a few days it is rather boring and repetitive. Not everything on menu was available. If you peruse other review sites, some of the posts are from staff at this hotel.
We wanted to try a different Melia hotel rather than one we went to twice before. Upon closing Michael and his staff on the Level did a great job trying to please customers. [Details]

Beautiful location, nice clean resort. However, service is not good in the Buffet restaurant, Bars are OK. Lobby is nice. Evening time mosquitos in the Lobby. Food is not very good, [Details]

This is our third time in Cuba and first timers for the Marina. Amazing !!!! People was great, they were looking for please you all the time. We been in 5th floor sea view room and it was terrific, very clean and confy. We visited the Al Capone's restaurant in Varadero, great place. Take the double deck bus to move around [Details]

Generally good value for money. This is not a 4.5 star right now but it could be if they stop the deterioration and improve the overall service. I would say more of a 3.5 star. [Details]

Our family stayed here last week and had a terrific holiday at the Melia Marina. We had the Level upgrade which made things exponentially better by including access to the 7th floor restaurant (open 24 hours a day) and offered some great views overlooking the marina. The a la carte restaurants were fine - the family enjoyed the Mediterranean restaurant most of all of them. The buffet was also serviceable, although as many reviewers have stated on here, it does get busy. We really only visited the buffet if the meal at the a la carte didn't meet expectations.

The beaches are among the best in the world. It's a short walk over a footbridge to get there, or you can take a ride from a helpful staff member in one of the carts. The service and staff were extremely friendly and helpful. Our friends serving us at the Level restaurant made our stay extremely enjoyable -- they were friendly and hospitable to me and my family.

In Cuba there is a much more relaxed atmosphere when it comes to being served your meals. We recognized this and realized that it wasn't a problem if the meal takes a bit of time before it comes to our table. It's a vacation, after all. That said, on our last day there, the wonderful staff at the Level took note that we had our carry-on bags with us upstairs and made it a point to get us our menus early and served us with an understanding that we had to catch a shuttle to the airport. They were truly what made this holiday a wonderful experience. [Details]

our 10th time in Cuba, but because of this hotel experience, last time.
Chack in person very unfriendly, rude, room very poor condition. We changed room for a little bether, but it is far away from 4,5 * hotel
Room service just basick.
Buffet and bars stuff absolutely not interested to serve you, even with tip or no tip. No straw for drinking
Messy restaurant, stuff just playing to work
Food low Cuban class, always something missing. No fruit, no cheese, no orange juice. Poor selection for 4,5 *
Location bad fahr from everything. taxi, 20 CUC, one direction
So nice water on beach, but no return in hotel, even to Cuba [Details]

The experience with this hotel is not pleasant. I will not come back for sure [Details]

Very poor managed hotel. We were moved 3 times before our advanced request was honored. All 3 rooms that we occupied were lacking housekeeping & cleanliness. Dirty floors, walls ,lamp shades etc. Once settled on the third day we had to beg for coffee and water to be replenished each day. When replaced towels were odd smelling and stained. Buffet was too small for size of resort long waits to eat or to get a drink. If you didn't reserve your lounge chair at the pool with your towel by 7 am they were all taken. A survey was given to us the second week. We filled it out honestly and voiced our concerns with the customer service manager. Later we noticed he folded up our survey and disgarded it not putting it with other surveys. Sad ! My wife and I have travelled to Cuba on several occasions and this is the worst by far. We are very disappointed with this facility and would not return . Just a heads up if you are planning to stay here! [Details]

The experience in Melia Marina Hotel was extremely bad. Toilet was broken, keep leaking water and making loud noise, the sinks in washroom were jammed and takes forever to drain, one of the room light have some issue, keep flashing even it is turned off.
First day of room cleaning service, they took all of the face and shower towels, no new bottle of water. It took us 4 hours, called 2 times, walk down to front desk and customer service office 3 times to finally get the towels.
We left 2 CUC as tips before we went out, is that not enough so we don't deserve towels and bottle of water?
Another day, we back to room found the sign hang on door handle was changed from "clean the room" to be "do not disturb". When we enter the room, we found a new bottle of water, and room was not cleaned, tips was gone. HAHAHAHA interesting.
Food, we were not expected anything at the beginning. Don't bother book reservation to hotel restaurant, because it will be the same fook less option with a bit better environment.
This is not a beach resort, just have a swimming pool that shows on photos. The location is the worst, you have to be the first one and last one to wait the bus or take off the bus if you want to go out.
Just keep doing that and you will get more recommendation and more customers! [Details]

We arrived at the hotel around 2pm. Our check in time was scheduled for 3pm when that time came we were told our room wouldn't be ready until 4pm. When that time came we were told again the room wouldn't be ready for another half hour due to the laundry not being completed. It took another three hours to get our room which was on the ground floor that had sliding glass doors that did not lock because the locks were broken. We complained about that situation to customer service they offered an upgraded room at no extra charge. Got the room which was the exact same as the previous room just on the fourth floor. So I don't know what upgrade means to them. The rooms I must say are really nice and spacious with 2 full bathrooms, kitchen and laundry in suite. My first day there was wasted sitting around waiting. But after that day things improved but not to a level that I would recommend this hotel to anyone. There are better places to stay in Varadero which better service. [Details]

We had good experiences [Details]

Service needs to be inproved, Even I ask all the guests put the tips on the lingt table, Some server toke the money but no cleaning the room and no tower change ! [Details]

Hotel overall was good, food was good. Bad experience with the restaurant reservation arrive 10 minutes late and they cancelled eventhough there was none in the restaurant. Second reservation there was no AC working. Stay with the buffet arrive early or else a line up. [Details]

Hotel room in the apartments were nice,staff were great.We are not foodies but food selection and quality were not anywhere near 4 star quality maybe a low 3 star.Lack of options ,always running out of items for breakfast buffet and lunch at the pool restaurant . Staff were always removing items well before closing,so if you showed up late even less options.We have stayed at 20 different resorts and this one is by far at the bottom of our list.Melia needs to really step up there quality before we ever return, we have never left a resort for food before but went to town for 3 dinners. If you have an early excursion before 7am no options for food. Lacks any atmosphere during the day and evening, very little entertainment . [Details]

Beautiful, clean Hotel. Our room was facing the pool area and the beach. The room was beautiful with a big bathroom with bathtub and shower cabin as well, enclosed toilet. The food at the buffet was really good and I was pleasantly surprised to see Blue Cheese, Camembert along with other imported cheeses, smoked salmon, prosciutto and chorizo salami. There was fresh lamb, beef, chicken and fish at the cooking stations on top of the prepared food. They caught wind that I it was my birthday and a whole celebration followed, with a specially set table, champagne and a whole cake specially baked that I shared with the staff. The people were amazing and bending backwards to assist and yes, a CUC goes a long way! So for those who complained that they did not have clean towels, well, next time you may want to tip your maid. They not only depend on the tips, they also feel appreciated. [Details]

Our experience at this resort was wonderful. Our room was excellent, resort staff were friendly and went out of there way to satisfy any request that we had. The a la carts were good, I am a picky eater and I found something in all three that we booked into to eat and it was delicious. The buffets were good with a wide selection of food, there is always something you can find to eat there. The snack bar was also very good food and very friendly. The pool was nice, water too cold for me but husband enjoyed it as well as the beach. The entertainment was excellent also. We will return to this resort and this was the second time there. [Details]

The front staff lied to us on 2 occasions. We asked for 2 queen beds as I felt for the price we paid our children should not be sleeping on a fold out sofa. They told us that there were no 2 queen size beds inthis resort and after speaking with another visitor that they had 2 queen size beds.
Also, when we went to get money from the resort they refused to give us any small change. Only 10, 5 and 3. They failed to mention just around the corner was a bank where we could get this.
Staff were not friendly at all. We tipped often and it did not matter. Not a lot of friendly staff. Bosch who rides the golf cart was exceptional and the only one that went out of his way to say ola. [Details]

Hi really enjoy my stay at your hotel I would recommended [Details]

We had a great experience in this hotel! There are various choices from the buffet-style food. The room was clean and there were no mosquitoes that will bother you when you're asleep. But if you want to watch various night activities in the lobby, you should be prepared for mosquitoes. There are also free Golf cars for transportation between the hotel, apartment, pools, and beach. [Details]

I thoroughly enjoyed myself. From the customer service to the food! The employees were beyond kind and welcoming. They made the experience even better! We stayed in the condos, which is the marina view units. You can enjoy a private pool and bar if you decide to pick those condos. It's basically a bigger version of a bachelor pad- it was fantastic! Our maid was very sweet as well. I really think that ppl jump on a band wagon when it comes to complaining about the food on the resorts. I had no issues with the meals. I really enjoyed breakfast, lunch, and the dinners. Plus on this resort you have numerous areas to dine at. I believe there were 9. Plus more when you walk down the marina, some of those you have to pay for though. The only thing that disturbed me was that nobody ever tipped the entertainment crew. They are out in sun all day teaching everyone how to dance, give Spanish lessons, do beach activities, and etc. My friends and I were the only ones who tipped them. That bothered me. Just want the future guest to look out for that and see how hard they work! I will book this resort everytime I travel to Cuba from here on out! Thanks Melia Marina! [Details]

We stayed at melia for 5 nights
It was a great experience, the hotel is clean for an island/tropical destination but there were the occasional bugs
Housekeeping is OK, nothing special except that they create interesting designs with the duvet
Customer service is also OK, we called 5 times asking for toilet paper and it took them 1 hour to send it over
It rained heavily on our last day and there was a massive leak in the bedroom so we slept in the living room
Room is spacious with lots of natural lighting
Free golf carts to take you across the resort
Beach isn't as close as we thought it was so prepare for a 10 minute walk
Bar on the beach with free drinks if you're all inclusive
Free kayak and non motorized boat that was only available one day of our stay
There are also free dance lessons and aerobics on the beach
Most of the staff does not speak English
The buffet has a lot of options
We had two bathrooms, one of the showers was broken [Details]

We were very disappointed in the service , hotel cleanliness and food avalibility. We do not recommend staying here. [Details]