Meliá Marina Varadero

We had the most unfortunate time in there so called 5* level at this hotel, the food was bland & terrible No choice of menu cold rubbery food. Management were rude and didn’t care about the bad service we received from there staff. No entertainment beach was very untidy swimming pool dirty. Ever been on a holiday we’re so many holiday maker complained about the hotel. I would never recommend any stay there. Meliá are the most unprofessional services company that I have ever meet.

My friends had time share at this resort so we went there last week. The service was terrible, there was no food, we had to beg for water. The staff was super unfriendly, rooms were not cleaned properly. Towels were smelly. The drinks at the bar were not made properly, the pina colada was terrible. Definitely would not come back. Overall the hotel was extremely run down.

Beautiful beach and weather. Food - bland! Same day after day! Simply gross! Dirty dirty dirty old and dated hotel! Take your own towels/toilet paper. And ewww, the roaches! Not a clean place! Gross!!

We spent 7 days where the beach was our objective.all i have to say is that was perfect. Nice staff,good service,we felt very safe as they implemented many healthy messures. Rooms totally clean, Public toilets, restaurant,nothing to be worried about. The hotel was beautiful surrounded by shopping área and boats. We hope to return to visit our friend Yunior, the best one

3 adults, 1 child stayed at condominium AI 2 weeks, booked through Sunwing. Overall we had a good vacation with realistic expectations. Arrived in the night, checked in was fast, upgraded from 1 bdr to 2 bdr to our surprise. Location is perfect. Hotel is beautiful, but worn down. Once built there is lack of maintenance, not sure why, this is something for the owner to figure out. Apartment is big, beautiful, gorgeous views from all windows. Very quiet. But not very clean. Light switches covered with gunk, heavy dust behind beds, broken furniture, greyish towels, broken washer (they offered free laundry though). I brought disinfecting wipes and cleaned myself. The most inconvenience was with card-keys, they just didn’t work (all 4), and had to be re-programmed every day. They said it was due to proximity of the cell phone, but cards still didn’t work properly even after we turned off all cell phones. Imagine you come from the beach (which is far) with a child who needs to go to washroom, and you can’t get into the room. Other things worked fine: elevators, hot water, drains, toilets, fridge, TV, microwave, kettle, didn’t try stove. Beach is good, but not clean, lots of plastic cups, cigarette butts, broken chairs, only washroom in the beach grill, lack of cups at the bar (bring your own). Buffet was good. Basic food. We are from Eastern Europe and know good food. Enjoined dairy. Spanish jamon is to die for. Disappointed with bakery. Ice cream tastes real. Great work of managers, satisfied my requests. We tried all a la carte restaurants, but they don’t serve theme cuisine. For example oriental restaurant didn’t serve any asian food, but was edible. Lack of fruit varieties, but guava was good. Just be smart with your food choices, make sure meat, fish and poultry is thoroughly cooked. We had no problems. Vaccinated with Dukoral. Don’t expect the level of DR or Mexico buffets, but you won’t be hungry. Don’t miss paella at the beach grill. Basic drinks were ok, but cocktails were kind of artificial. Staff was great, friendly, tried their best. Can’t comment on entertainment since we went to sleep early, and as said it was very quiet in condo. On the day of departure we booked a courtesy room. The room wasn’t cleaned after previous guests, we were waiting for towels for 20min after multiple requests. Keep in mind you are given 30min to use the room (we had 1 hour since there were 4 for us). Cigars were cheapest at the airport duty free, but alcohol was cheaper in town. Here are some general advices: Medical travel insurance. It might be included in your visa credit card. I phoned my TD VISA, and they provided me a letter that I have insurance in case Cuban authorities will request it. Prescription/ non prescription meds, creams, band aids. Sun screen. Mosquito repellent. Body lotion, hair conditioner- not provided at the resort, they only give soap, shampoo, and body wash. Female hygiene products. Dental and shaving kits. I had hand sanitizer, disinfecting wipes for surfaces, laundry detergent, dish soap, laundry line. Beverage containers. Money: in Cuba they use CUC- cuban convertible peso. Its value is the same as USD. Not all the places accept credit cards, and if they do there is a charge, I believe 3% from transaction. For 100 CAD cash you can get 69 CUC at the resort exchange, and 70-73 outside. For USD exchange there is a charge 10% I guess. For tipping they gladly take any currency accept foreign coins, which are not accepted at the banks. You can't buy CUC in Canada, only in Cuba, and when you leave Cuba you can't take CUC with you. I would recommend to have enough canadian dollars in cash, and exchange small amounts if needed. You can also have one dollar USD for tipping since there are no canadian small bills. You must present your passport during money exchange. Our vacation provider was Sunwing. They offered excursions during the flight. I bought one day trip to Havana, and paid for it with credit card on the plane. It was cheaper than at the resort. I presented my receipt to sunwing representative at the resort, and chose the day of the excursion to Havana. Make sure you attend a meeting with your representative at the resort, they will explain everything, and most important a pick up time from the resort to the airport when you go back home. Internet is very slow and inconsistent. You can buy login-password to resort wifi at the resort. 1 hour costs 1 CUC. Make sure you turn off your wifi on the phone after you finish using internet otherwise the remaining time will be gone. I was only able to check my emails and weather forecast, it was too slow for anything else. We went to Varadero city centre by bus. There is nothing to see or do in Varadero. Ticket is 5 CUC, keep it for your return trip. Read about oral vaccine Dukoral, and if you decide you need it, must be taken in advance.  Drink bottled water, even use it for brushing teeth. Food was fine, make sure meat, fish and poultry is cooked thoroughly. We had no problems. On the plane you will be given customs declaration and immigration card. Make sure you don't make any mistakes on the immigration card. Officer will stamp it on arrival, and you must keep it safe since you must present it to the officer on departure from Cuba.