Melia Cayo Santa Maria Hotel

We have just returned from one week March 5-12.Having read the previous reviews prior to departure we were nervous about the choice that we made. We are 3 ladies (ages 39-50), and can only say that we are glad that we went with an open mind. The resort is new, but it is obvious that the management is taking into consideration, recommendations of the guest. There are pads on the wooden chairs near the pool area now. There were no lineups for the buffet or bars..and the resort was near capacity. There was not a problem with beach or pool chairs..although new arrivals were told that if you reserved a chair with a towel and the chair was vacant for 20 minutes it would be removed. The resort received hundereds of new towels when we were there, so no problems also received new chairs. The food was good..no lineups for pasta or omelette station as they have added an additional station. The staff are amazing and very efficient and friendly.The bar service was great..especially the lobby bar..nice frosted beer glasses and did not have time to finish one when another would be waiting for you. The walk from beach to beach bar was not as bad as previously stated in the past reviews..The only negative comment would be poor lighting at night along pathways and air conditioning in room was not great.Overall, Yes I would definitely return and very soon.

March 5 - 12, 2004 Happy to report that we thoroughly enjoyed this Melia resort. We would return. Language was not a problem for us. My husband and I did read reviews but decided to go with an open mind, and I'm glad we did. Mind you, we couldn't help paying attention to some areas mentioned. AIRPORT: Small, but security personnel kept everyone moving as quickly as possible; luggage was already off-loaded and arranged easily for pickup; Melia staff waiting to check us off their list and to present resort package which I wish other resorts would do, rather than at reservation check-in desk. A hotel staff member (English very good) filled us in as to the contents of the package, and then asked us to put on the resort blue wrist bands. Police escort through the towns of Carajuani, Remedios and Caibarien (you would appreciate this if you happen to rent a jeep and have to deal with slow traffic, i.e. horse drawn "taxis", bikes, etc.. Must admit the drive across the causeway is long (48 km) but the greeting at the end was very good. We did not have a problem with the map provided to assist with finding our room. We were asked whether we would like a porter to deliver our luggage or carry them ourselves - we opted to have them delivered into our room. LOBBY: We would not say this was small. The Reception desk takes up one wall; there is a 400 year old tree (we were told) in the middle surrounded by 4 groups each of 2 comfortable chairs, 1 couch with coffee table; a pathway, then another 3 groups against a wall. Painting and some finishing touches are still going on in the lobby and lobby bar. ROOM: Clean, spacious, nicely decorated. Small foyer leading into sitting/bedroom. Day bed/couch, chair and coffee table. King sized bed with mosquito net if needed. Photo in the Sunquest brochure is accurate. Sliding door and screen door out to balcony. Bathroom area with the usual amenities, i.e. closet, drawers, inroom safe, large mirror with washbasin, counter; separate room with shower/tub, toilet and bidet. Room was cleaned to our satisfaction. Towels, glasses, water, beer, pop in fridge every day if and when needed. RESTAURANTS: BUFFET: Service for us was very good. However, after a day or so, we stayed at the same station whenever Henry was there. He was friendly, courteous, willing to help and no language barrier here either. Our table always had a "reserved" sign. Have to admit that some foods were very good, not always hot though; others we could have done without. The only specialty restaurant we can speak for was THE MED - Ambience, service and food excellent. We tip as we would here at home, if service is good. CREOLE - we must have hit this one on a bad night. Definitely not impressed - best course was the ice cream and of course the wine. Others we spoke with had a better experience. The LOBSTER DINNER which was discontinued because of the wind, has been restarted. Definitely try for early reservation for this one. Comments reserved. LOBBY BAR: Place to go before dinner and meet new friends. Gustavio and Livan our friends. I left my running shoes in this bar one night and didn't have much hope in finding them again. Early the next morning, I checked with the day staff but they couldn't find any lost items. Reported this to Alfredo, the Sunquest Rep and the hunt was on. However, it was Gustavio who found the running shoes in a special area for lost items when he came on duty that afternoon. TOWELS: Absolutely no problems with towels at any time. There were always freshly wrapped ones available. It would appear that complaints are taken seriously and corrected. At orientation, we were advised that management would be keeping tighter control on people leaving towels on chairs while they went off to who knows where, and there would be a fee of US$20.00 if towels were confiscated. That put a scare in lots of people. BEACH & ENTERTAINMEN: Beautiful, but windy for this time of the year which is coming to the end of winter in Cuba, the water was cold. The sun was HOT which was perfect. We walked or got driven over to Sol beach, for a drink, the entertainment especially in the Piano bar, or just for a different scene. Dancers and a pork Bar-B-Q around the Melia pool was good. This will be something new. Went for bike rides on the road and through Sol and Melia (not in the lobby of course) just to get familiar with some areas. Good exercise, and stop now and then at one of the bars to keep your strength up. Agree that the walk to the beach, snack/bar, washrooms at both Sol and Melia is long, especially at noon and later when the sun is at it's hottest. In comparision, the walk to the beach at El Senador and Breezes Jibacoa is also far depending on where your room is located, however the beach bars, washrooms are much closer. Most resorts advertise "on the beach" but don't really say how far "on the beach" really is! We counted 68 palapas on the Melia side of the beach with at least 4 new Grosflex chaises under each; the wooden chaises around the pool have mattresses, but it would appear that these are being supplemented by the new Grosflex. OVERALL: Jose and Alfredo, the Sunquest Reps were helpful. We saw improvement every day to the grounds. New pathways leading from the paved ones, are accessable allowing for shorter distances to walk. The new pathways consist of small white stones; other improvements are new soil around garden beds, dead grass is raked and sprinklers are going. Very long process because it's so dry. Rain would actually be a good thing just to get shrubbery, etc. growing. The gardeners are constantly working. Every complaint/report to Public Relations is documented, and improved or corrected. It is obvious that management is trying to live up to the 5* rating - they're not there yet, but maybe in a few months hopefully. Another SolClub is under construction on Cayo Santa Maria, and possibly competition will be rampant. Mike & Jean from Scarborough, ON

My wife and I stayed at the Melia Cayo Santa Maria from February 20 - March 5 2004.TRANSPORTATION: Skyservice Airlines. Food: I suggest that you bring your own food and drink. The cold cardboard boxed meal is tiny and poor. All non-alcoholic beverages, including water, are $1.00, and all alcoholic beverages are $5.00. Tap water is free. The southbound aircraft (Airbus 320) seats were too crammed and did not recline. The northbound aircraft (Airbus 320) was better.BEACH: Beach is beautiful but always windy. Most of the time too windy to stay at the beach.ACCOMMODATION: The rooms are very nice and spacious and kept relatively clean, although once during our two week stay the room was not made up, and we did not received any bottled water. After complaining several times, the room was made up at 10:00 pm but no bottled water. (Housekeeping is in charge of the bottled water and once they are gone you're SOL).The bathroom smelled with sewer gas. We complained the second day we were there. We complained again a couple of days later. They sent an air-conditioning maintenance man who sprayed some deodorizing scent and told us to get a plumber. The plumber could not fix it. A week after we arrived we insisted on moving to a different room. In this room the toilet did not flush properly. After I had instructed the plumber to exchange toilet-tank parts between our abandoned room and the new room it flushed OK. This room was much better, although the last day of our stay we detected sewer gas in this room as well. Other guests at the hotel told us they had the same problem but they had not complained about it. This is a general design/construction problem.The bathroom fan, which is always on and cannot be turned off, is very noisy. It is there to compensate for the sealed bathroom window and to remove the sewer gasses.The hot water is not hot, it is lukewarm and there isn't enough pressure to take a proper shower.SERVICES: We did not get clean towels in the room every day. Beach towels were not always available. Apparently, the laundry facility is in Cienfuegos, 3 to 4 hours away from the hotel.FOOD: At the main dining room some of the dishes were OK, but most of the food was tasteless and poor quality.Fruit selection was always the same poor quality and consisted of the following: Unripe and sour watermelon, sour pineapple, overripe bananas, tasteless green cantaloupe, hit and miss papaya, guava (we did not try), and canned fruits.There were long waits at the grill and pasta bar, even though the hotel was not at full capacity.We did not try the 'specialty' restaurants, but most people we talked to did not like the food there and came to the dining room following their 'specialty' meal.Some people got sick from the food, including my wife who vomited three times (on three different days) during our stay.ENTERTAINMENT/ACTIVITIES: Very amateurish. The entertainment at the Sol next door was better.This is not a 5 star hotel by ANY standard.BOTTOM LINE: Would we return to this resort? NO.

All in all you get what you pay for. I got a good rate, but if I had paid brochure rate I would be very upset. The rooms are very nice as is the pool area. Still a few growing pains but go with the right attitude and you will have no problems. Brochure states a 5 star but that maybe a few years down the road. Food is very basic but that is Cuba again. Great beach with clear water and can get a little windy at times. Biggest problem, not enough lounge chairs around the pool. Told the hotel management because it is a easy problem to correct I think it went in one ear and out the other. This is a beach holiday and very quiet. Hotel staff are friendly.

We were at this resort from the 22nd of Feb to 29th. Beautiful resort, grounds need time to mature. Definitely not a 5 star. Brochure should read "will eventually become a 5 star once staff is properly trained". Staff very friendly, but, most don't seem to have alot of experience with what vacationers want/need when they go to a 5 star resort. Cubans don't rush. We are used to and expect things to happen when we ask for or need something. That doesn't happen at this resort. One exception, nice young lady in the bar/rest. near pool. She was always moving fast to serve you and was extremely friendly as well. You should not have to wait hours for beach towels, because the truck hasn't arrived yet. They don't seem to clean up regularly, quite often at the pool area or beach area garbage bins overflowing. Food, not much variety, never hot, basically needs a lot of work. Most of the reviews I have read are accurate. Beach chair and pool chair situation very bad. You should not have to get up at 6am on a holiday to stake out a chair. People leave belongings on chairs and don't use the chairs for half a day or more and then some people never get a chair. Beach chairs definitely need pads. We didn't bring bar soap and other than a tiny bar when we first arrived and it was not replenished. Sun, sand, beach, no complaints. Entertainment not great, piano bar at the Sol much nicer and more open than at the Melia. Would we go back there? Probably not. Would we recommend it to others? Probably not. Several years ago we went to a new Melia at Cayo Largo and although it too had some things to work out, I would go back there. We will definitely never go to a new resort again, no matter how good a deal. The little things do mean alot when you are escaping from snow and a busy job.

Just returned from Cayo Santa Maria and stayed at the Melia Cayo Santa Maria resort. Overall, an okay resort with definite maturing potential--ultimately, we were somewhat disappointed and expected more from this "5 star" resort. We know that 5 star service in Cuba cannot be equated with 5 star service in the rest of the World (we've traveled abroad as well), however, it currently does not meet Cuba 5 star status. The Melia opened in December 2003 and is therefore still quite new. The tell all sign of a nice vacation spot is the answer to the question "Would you go back"?. Our answer is "Yes, maybe in a few years when the resort has had an opportunity to work through some of its 'growing pains'."My husband and I, we're in our early 30s, went to the Melia for a week (Feb 10, 2003 to Feb 17, 2003). We booked with Sunquest and flew Skyservice. This is our third time to Cuba - we visited the Paradisus Rio de Oro - 5 star - in Holguin (Guardalavaca actually) in March 2003 and the Arenas Blancas - 3 star - in Varadero in February 2000. We have only visited one other Caribbean location, Cancun in January 2003 and stayed at the Fiesta Americana - 6+ star. Here is our review:We booked with Sunquest through the flight centre and flew Skyservice. The flight left at 4:30 in the afternoon and arrived in 3 hours and 15 minutes. On return, we left at 9:30 in the evening and arrived in 3 hours and 10 minutes. Skyservice was great, well organized and well run. Service was fantastic and the flights actually left on time if not a few minutes earlier, if you can believe it! Don't forget to bring headphones if you want to watch a movie, otherwise you're forking out $5.00. The movies weren't that great, "School of Rock" on the way down and some Loonie Toonies cartoon type of movie (great if you're over the age of 12 wanting to watch a cartoon movie at 10:00pm at night, ugh!) on the way back so you may want to bring some reading material, listen to the music or have a snooze. Non-alcoholic drinks were $1.00 and alcoholic were $5.00 bucks a pop. They did serve a small meal, sandwich, cheese and crackers and a little salad which competes with some of the airline hot meals you would receive on a long charter flight! Seating and space was okay, if you're tall you may want to ask for the seat by the wing (12th row I think) for some extra room. Flight attendants were excellent, well trained and very service oriented. The actual flight was good as well, some turbulence, but hey, what can you do when you're flying with a multi-ton piece of machinery up 35,000 feet in gust of winds going hundreds if not thousands of miles an hour! FLIGHT CENTRE AND SUNQUEST: We had booked an Ocean view room, (we paid an extra $150 per person more for it) and requested a king size bed on the main floor. We got a Palm Tree view room with two doubles pushed together on the 2nd floor. We're okay with the beds and the floor level, I know it's only a request, but given that we actually paid extra for an ocean view and didn't get it, nor could get, actually kind of sucked. We booked with the Flight Centre in November and was told at that time, that given the resort was a 5 star, you really couldn't wait for last minute deals because 5 star resorts are not available at the last minute, they are scooped up really quickly, don't you know. Well, most of the people we met booked last minute and paid $350 each less than we did. Okay, okay, I know what you're thinking, our stupidity, but thought I?' give a heads up to those other naive types out there. We also pre-booked, and paid to pre-book our seats on the flight, only to find out at the Skyservice wicket that in fact it had not been booked, again, just a heads up to those out there, to confirm and re-confirm with your travel agent. With respect to Sunquest, the only comment is that it is not currently a 5 star and should therefore not be marketed as such. I believe also, that there are some amenities listed that were also not available, ie. coffee maker in room. Don't quote me though, it's not like I went to the brochures today to double check! ARRIVAL IN CUBA: When you arrive at the Santa Clara airport, there is a wait to go through immigration, not long though and it's a relatively easy process. They may check through your bags on arrival. My husband had his carry on bag checked and they questioned some mints he had in a small Roots container, but all was fine! There is a one and half hour drive to the resort, mainly through countryside and some small cities, Cama Juani, Remedios and Caibaren and a 40+ km drive on a 10 year to produce, man made causeway to the resort. Given it was night, there wasn't much to see. RESORT LOBBY CHECK IN - When we arrived we were greeted by dancers, a welcome drink and directed to a cold buffet which was a very nice welcoming touch! However, there was a really funny fishy stench in the room and seemed to last for the duration of the week. We received our hotel info and did the check in at the airport on arrival, this was great - no long line ups and the luggage was to be delivered to your room upon arrival at the resort. A great concept save the fact that it took three hours for the luggage to make it to the room. We got to the hotel at 10:30pm and got our luggage at 1:30am. There was four staff delivering the luggage, one carrying and three supervising! BEACH - White sand, turquoise blue water and continues for as long as the eye can see! Was really beautiful, a bit windy on some days and the sand to the west of the beach if you like to walk, is not compact, therefore a bit strenuous and not the greatest for walking. There is a nude beach down that way if that's your thing, if so, cha, cha, cha! If you walk toward the east side of the beach the sand is much more compact and easier to walk in. The water was cold, but certainly refreshing given the 30 degree plus weather we were getting! There are palapas available but the resort was overbooked so you do need to get up early and reserve them with your beach towel. There are also only two hammocks available at the Melia on the beach and are at a premium. Again, you have to get up pretty early to pre-towel book. Travel Tip - Just getting beach towels could at times be difficult, the week we were there, the resort overbooked and as a result, some items, like beach towels, were in short supply. I had read something similar on a prior review so we brought a couple of beach towels with us which were very helpful. Another Travel Tip - There is a beach bar, it is about 100m from the beach so if you may want to bring a plastic cup or thermos to keep with you while you are sunning! POOL - Can't really comment actually, we would sit at the beach. Although, the pool was beautiful and there was a pool bar. I heard from some of the guests, that the pool was very cold though and that the chairs/chaise lounges were uncomfortable with no cushions. Surprisingly, we were told, the resort next door (supposedly a 4 star) had comfortable cushion filled chairs! FOOD - Out of 10, a 4 -- the food was okay in the buffet. There was a short supply of fresh fruit and the resort recycled food from one meal to the next. This was not expected, since it is suppose to be a 5 star resort. For breakfast, the omelette bar is fantastic but you do have to wait in line for about 20 to 25 minutes. It is well worth it since it's probably the best thing you?ll eat while you?re there! Freshly squeezed orange juice in Cuba is always fantastic and no exception here, but, Demand exceeded Supply and you may be waiting for the juicer to squeeze your fresh OJ! If you like your morning coffee, you won't here, and if you drink it, don't say you weren?t warned! It is strong enough to wake the dead or keep you awake for your whole vacation! The worst thing about the buffet was the lack of service! The buffet restaurant was understaffed and tables were not cleared right away-- if you went in an hour after the restaurant opened, you'd have a hard time finding a clean table with cutlery and napkins! This was gross. We ate lunch at the beach bar one day which was good. One comment, there was food laid out buffet style -- salads, cheeses etc. -- but were not covered. Not too worry, the food did not go to waste as it was a flies feast Ugh! We only visited an a la carte restaurant once -- The Grill - and were disappointed so did not try any of the others. In fairness though, others we spoke to went to the Grill and enjoyed it very much! We were the last sitting of the evening, which may have had something to do with our poor experience! We also heard that the Mediterranean restaurant was quite good as well.Travel Tip - If you are interested in booking any of the a la cartes, book RIGHT AWAY, they fill up quickly. In our case, the first available restaurant was only available four days after our arrival! The restaurants are booked at the club house and you may wait between 30 minutes to 1 hour. SERVICE - Like any establishment - some service is great, other service is not. Overall, there is room for improvement. Staff did try to communicate but many had not yet grasped the English language. Some definitely worked harder than others! Once the Melia chain provides some customer service training, we?re sure service will improve. Cubans in general are a very friendly people however it seemed at this resort that customer service standards and benchmarks had not yet been communicated or established. It is difficult to comment here because cultural differences certainly play a role. ROOMS - Out of 10 a definite 10! The rooms were fantastic! Exactly as shown in the brochure. They were almost like a suite, nicely decorated in blues, yellows and turquoise with very nice furniture. Sun, moon and stars are the theme at this resort/rooms and although this sounds a bit passe, it actually works in these two story 8 room bungalows! The air conditioning works great and there is a fridge replenished daily with colas, cervesas (of course!) and water! There were many television channels to choose from! I thought it was surprising that we could watch Pay Per View/Satellite (Curb Your Enthusiasm and CNN) in Cuba! With respect to cleaning of the rooms, there was always something missing, toilet paper, shampoo, glasses, too few towels, etc. but we lived with it! Not a show stopper, just not 5 star service. The maids would make decorations with the towels on your bed -- swans, hearts -- and this was a nice touch! LANDSCAPING AND DESIGN - Given that it is a new resort, landscaping is new and gardens are young. It will however be quite beautiful once it matures. They are well manicured daily by the staff with a plethora of palm trees and flowers. The design and walkways we thought were a bit poorly planned - the walkways were designed as a perimeter around the bungalows with minimal walkways to the pool. The neighbouring resort was lush and beautiful and we suspect the Melia will mirror their grounds shortly. EXCURSIONS - We took a day trip to Trinidad Cuba on the south side of the island. It was a 3-hour drive with nice scenery and some stops along the way. This is a slow to medium paced tour and the drive is long. Still, a nice tour. We rented mopeds from the resort for two days, this was FANTASTIC! Driving along the causeway is beautiful and visiting the neighbouring towns on our own was great! We went to Remedios, Yaguajuay, Caibarien and Zulueta (the birthplace of soccer)! If you get a chance, DO IT, it?s so much FUN! Travel Tip - Again, rent the mopeds early, they are in short supply! And check the oil gauge. My moped was out of oil, I informed the agent and we had to wait over an hour for oil. It was worth it, wouldn't want to get stranded not knowing where I am! ENTERTAINMENT - We didn't attend any of the shows however heard that the entertainment at our resort was amateur and that the resort at the neighbouring 4 star was much better! We met others there and spent our time at the lobby bar (which was small) or at the jazz bar (better ambience than at the Melia)/disco at the neighbouring resort!OVERALL - As we initially stated, this is an okay resort with maturing potential -- ultimately, we were somewhat disappointed and expected more from this "5 star" resort. Although we would not recommend this resort at this point in time, we think it will reach five star status in a few years! Good Luck to you if you go and remember to most enjoy those things that draw you there in the first place -- the sun, the beach and the heat! Although, we would not currently recommend the resort we are so thankful that we had another opportunity to vacation in Cuba, truly, a great place!

Just got back on Feb 24th and our experiences left us with a very bitter taste. The trip started out great arriving at the airport and getting on a bus in a very organized fashion. The ride to the resort was about 2 hours and the staff at the resort smartly registered us on the bus. This was a great idea. By the time, we got to the resort it was 11 pm and we were starving. The food that greeted us was cold cuts (all pork; which me and my family do not eat) and pickled foods. We then went to the 24 hour snack bar and ordered burgers which took 1.5 hours to come. how hard can it be to throw 3 burgers on the grill??? Anyways, the rooms were beautiful and the maid we had all week was absolutely amazing. We had a few problems during our stay with the window and our safe but they were easily taken care of within 20 minutes of our complaint. The beach was gorgeous and the pool was great but much too cold. The hot tub barely had any water in it, let alone hot water. There were very few loungers both on the pool and the beach which was not fun as you would pretty much have to get up at 7am on your vacation to get a seat for the day. What ended up happening is people would get chairs and put their belongings on them and never show up all day. That was not right, but the staff didn't seem to care. My advice to you is go to the neighbouring resort. There were always chairs available and it was a much more laid back atmosphere, not as intense as melia. We brought our infant daughter with us. Figuring there was a mini-club and it was a family resort, they would have an area to sterilize bottles but they didn't. We ended up having to bring our own kettle with a converter (it's 220 voltage). Very inconvenient. The biggest disappointment for us however was the food. We knew cuba was not known for the food but man, it was disgusting. Everything was pork or pickled or canned. There was only 2 types of fresh fruit available. Guava (which was good) but the papaya was a hit and miss. The rest was canned. Coconut was not even available! I've been to other resorts and for the money that we paid, we should have been fed well with good food. I don't drink but I like my food. Having said that, I would never choose to go to cuba again. Wonderful scenery, great people but the resorts do not live upto the standards of a 2-star becuase of the food.

Melia Cayo Santa MariaMy wife and I just returned from a week at the Melia Cayo Santa Maria (5 Star) along with another couple and aside from a few minor shortfalls, which I will attempt to address, we all had a fantastic time. HINT: Try to get a Friday flight, so you don't have to use an additional vacation day, as a result of getting home very in the morning during the mid-week flight.I'm at a bit of a loss to explain some of the negative reviews I've read. My sense is that most of these people haven't done much travel abroad and they expect the type of 5 star service you get in a first-world country. First of all, you can't go anywhere in Canada for an all-inclusive week for anywhere near the price range ($1,000.00 to $1,300.00), so take the complaints with a grain of salt.Here are some key points to remember. Stick by them and you'll have a more enjoyable time. Honest!The Melia (5 star) is less expensive than the neighbouring Sol (4 star) resort. Why? The grounds are new and the landscaping has not grown in and there is some minor, ongoing work. The perk - Melia guests get to use the facilities at Sol and get drinks (not food) for free. Sol guests don't get this benefit at the Melia. The walk takes 5 to 10 minutes. The rooms at the Melia are really nice and spacious. HINT - The air conditioning won't work if the sliding door is open.Reasons to visit the SOL:The grounds are very nice. Take some time to enjoy them;The jazz bar at Sol has more ambiance than the Melia jazz bar and showcases a beautiful white baby-grand right in the centre of it;The cafe au lait and espresso they serve at the bar outside of the main Lobby of the Sol is amazing! It's worth the walk - especially after breakfast. The coffee at the Melia is ... well ... mud;The Sol has tennis courts and a gym, in case you want to get some exercise; andThe Sol is much quieter during the day, for those of you who prefer quiet. There also seems to be more available seating by the pool.Booking Outings and a La Carte Restaurants:This can get a little confusing and the organization needs to be improved. Bear in mind the resort has only been open for a few months.Outings:Outings are booked with the Sunquest rep. in the main lobby, opposite the gift store. He is at the Melia in the AM and at the Sol in the PM. We booked two outings: The trip to Santa Clara and the Catamaran outing ($39.00 and $57.00 respectively). Both were full day tours and both were good value for the money. We opted to go to Santa Clara when we found out the weather was going to be a little chilly. The shopping was lame, but the outing gave me a sense of a typical Cuban town and Cuban people (who, by the way are really nice). The cigar factory was interesting, as was the Che Memorial.***BIG HINT: If you want to go on an excursion, I would suggest booking at your earliest convenience - they often fill up quickly*** Food at the Melia - General PointsI found the food to be pretty good. In fact, the food at one a la carte was amazing, but I'll get to that later. When ordering at the a la carte restaurants we found that asking for "NO SALT", improved the taste dramatically. When eating lunch at the buffet (breakfast, lunch or dinner), the beach bar, cafeteria or the Italian take out (good pizza, but slow service) - get there early and avoid having to wait in lines. They obviously can't have enough food to feed every guest at every restaurant for every meal. Use a little common sense.Booking a la carte restaurantsYou book all of the a la carte restaurants at the Towel Dispensary near the pool - don't ask me why. The poor guy who does these bookings is also stuck doing the message, bike, and towel bookings (give him a break).BIG HINT: Get these bookings done early on your first morning to ensure you get what you want. That way, you get all the standing around out of the way and you can relax for the rest of your vacation.HINT: They only let you book 2 restaurants at a time (why ... who knows). We travelled with friends and got around this by booking two locations each for a party of four. Make sure to bring your HOTEL passport with you.Of all the restaurants we ate at, the Mediterranean was by far the best. We discovered that you could order a surf & turf that was not on the menu - I highly recommend this. The rock lobster was great (but ask for it without the melted cheese - too rich). The fillet was amazing (oddly enough - you couldn't get this at the steak restaurant). We thought the cello and clarinets playing classical music was a very nice touch. Book this one first!The Creole/Cuban (by day, the restaurant that is closest to the beach), and the Italian & Steak (by day the cafeteria type restaurant that is also open late into the evening for late night snacks) were both about the same, although the Creole/Cuban had more ambiance.Moonlit DinnerYou book this at the Public Relations desk in the main lobby (confused yet?). We booked this the same day we booked our outings with the Sunquest rep (both in the lobby). They serve rock lobster, or pork. The restaurant is located on the pool deck and if it's windy, you may want to consider wearing long sleeves.The BeachFantastic! The sand in front of the Hotel is a little deep and walking is tough. HINT ... walk in other people's footsteps). HINT... If you want to sip on a nice tall drink while enjoying the scenery, I suggest bringing a giant plastic container with you (I saw a guy with the huge Tim Hortons Mug - wish I had brought one), as it's a long trek back to the beach bar.For those of you who like to walk beaches, turn right at the end of the board-walk and just keep going and going and going. Past the two trees (about 10-15 minutes - there are only two trees within view, so you can't miss them) the beach becomes very firm (perfect for walking), and the water becomes much more shallow. They should have built the hotel at this location!Some other tips:We split the cost of a late check-out with the couple we were travelling with. Check-out is officially at 12:00 noon, but they usually let you stay until 2:00 pm, depending on room availability. The late check out ($35.00) will get you extended to 4:00 pm. We felt it was worth it as we didn't have to share the courtesy rooms or sit in a crowded lobby for an extra two hours. If you opt for this, don't forget to get your door pass card extended at the time you book the late check-out, or you'll have to trek back to the main desk (they automatically shut you out at either 12:00 or 2:00).Some areas that could be improvedI've already told you about the poor guy in the towel hut. If you don't want to wait for a towel, bring your own and come back when there is no line. There ... problem fixed.The concrete paths are poorly laid out, but this is minor. The two areas of real concern are the tiny shards of broken glass in and around many of the paths (wear your flip-flops ... they should have a plastic cup or tin can only restriction), and the extremely poor lighting on the paths in the evening. Many seniors were obviously having difficulty navigating (bring a pen-flashlight if you don't see too well at night).I have no difficulty tipping for good service. I have a big problem tipping to get service at an all inclusive! Generally this is not prevalent throughout the resort - except at the Lobby Bar. Many of the bartenders will not serve you unless you tip, either that or you'll wait longer than those who tip. If you tip for the first round, you'll likely be ok for two or three more. Overall, the service is really very good. Reward those who provide good service - they earn it.No credit cards are accepted in the gift shop. Get your cash at the front desk before you wander in and attempt to buy something. It will save you a few curses!The practice of reserving chairs and palapas was a little frustrating. The only way this will stop is if people just start occupying locations that nobody is using, (but have placed towels on). The Sunquest rep advised that "reserving" is not permissible, but it seemed that people (including myself) had to get up to get a space. They should post a few signs to that effect.Overall:Enjoy yourself. You're on vacation - relax. Expect the odd "p/o" situation that is bound to occur and you won't be so upset when it does. This place will continue to improve, BUT don't wait too long before you decide to go. We heard that 5 or 6 more hotels are scheduled to be built in the next couple of years.At the moment there are only the Sol and Melia. Get there while the getting is good!

What can we say about this place ? well, a lot actually. Three couples have been touring Cuba for several years now and this outing was our 4th trip to this absolutely fabulous island. However, our findings at this particular hotel / resort left us thinking that the engineer who designed this place needed a really hard swift kick in the ***! I have broken down our findings into several categories; - the resort itself, layout, amenities, size, etc - the staff - the service ( overall ) - the restaurants - service and food quality - the beaches - the bars - service and types of drinks available at each - activities, shows, nite life - other nationalities, guests - arrival and departure 1) The resort itself is actaully quite large. However, the buildings are quite small. The lobby itself is the smallest that I have ever seen in a 5 star outfit. There is only seating capacity for approx 35 to 40. This is a nightmare when you are leaving, or getting ready to depart on a day trip by planned bus tour. The amenities that were promised as per the advertising in the tour guide at out travel agent's office left a lot to be desired also. The beauty salon, the gym, extra hot tubs, larger pools, better bars, larger store, tennis, etc and credit card facilities were all next door at a " sister chain " hotel / resort. This meant a short 10 min walk, but none the less, it was not at our hotel as advertised. Next door is only a 4 star, yet ours was listed as a 5, presumably, because we were allowed to use their facilities, including bar, ( but not food ) but they were not allowed to use our amenities. Most people that travelled with kids took advantage of the separate kids' play area / pool area. This was also considerate to the other guests who lounged around the pool in relative peace & quiet. The bungalows. as they called them, were excellant. I will give them that. The rooms were very spacious, and resembled small suites. Very roomy, comfortable, and clean. A few ants and mosquitos didn't bother me, but did my wife. A quick talk to the maid remedied that situation very quickly. The grounds are a jewell in the making. There was not a day went by where the many male staff were not pruning, preening, cutting or raking up something. The palms are small only because they are new. On a scale of 1 - 10 I give this area a 10 for sure. However, the walkways are in the wrong spots. On many an occassion we found ourselves having to walk all the way around a grassy or brush area beacause someone did not install a sidewalk that to us seemed very obvious that one should have been there. Bad design work. After 4 days, we started to notice taht there were shortages of chairs, chaise lounges etc. We were wondering what was going on and started to ask some questions at the front desk. We were told that for the next month or so, when a plane of new arrivals shows up on a Sunday, expect this to happen because for whatever reason, they were over booked. I ask anyone who travels and knows about this type of thing, - How the hell do you overbook a resort that has only set amount of rooms ? They were offering all kinds of free all inclusive mini excursions for 2 nights just to get you out of your room. Nice gesture, but it really didn't work, as some people who unfortunetley did not have a place to stay, were bused else where. Some next door, and others to God only knows. To the "clowns" at Sunquest, I say "This is not 5 star service" 2) the staff for the most part were excellant. Always very courteous and tried to overcome the language barrier ( if there was one ). Most of the staff that were there during our stay ( first two weeks of Feb / 04 ) spoke fairly passable English, with some French as well. Our maid, bartenders and waitering staff that we saw on an almost daily basis were very friendly and actually got to know us by name. They actually went out of their way to try and save us a table for lunch if they knew what time we were coming. No problems that way. We did have a couple of problems with several staff. We ran into an arrogant young fellow at the towel exchange who refused to turn around and face you when he talked to you. His English was good, but his attitude sucked. No towels for three days. We went on a one day excursion, when we got back it was closed. Half an hour after the new towels arrived the next morning, they were all out again. The next day we were told that they were coming in at 5:30 pm. The exchange hut closed at 6:00pm. I was told to hurry up if I wanted a clean towel. I rushed to our bungalow, grabbed our towels and got back to the exchange hut only to find that the same arrogant individual had decided to close up early at 5:45 pm. These incidents were isolated, but they tend to stick in your mind, if you know what I mean. It is important to note here that the towels are laundered off site, some 200 hundred kms. away. Again, where is that engineer? This was a real dumb decision on somebody's behalf. On another occassion, someone in our party left a baseball cap on the back of their chair. When we went back the next morning, we were told that the waitress found it, gave it to the manager, who locked it up in the kitchen for the night, and yet it was nowhere to be found by lunchtime the next day. For ten days we tried to get this hat back without success. I can't believe that some poor Cuban really needed that hat so badly that they had to steal it. The worst part is, that it had to be a manger who had keys to the kitchen. Go figure. When we left on the 17th, the public relations lady apologised profusely for this theft and gave my buddy a brand new "Cristal " beer hat. A nice gesture on behalf of the hotel, but it does not excuse the theft by one of their managerial staff. 3) The service overall was a 6.5 out of 10. The poor service from some of the other departments really brought my overall opinion down. The tour guides, boat captains, beach nautical staff, were very very good. It was the nasty buggers that ruined it for me. 4) The restaurants were OK for the most part. The main buffet restaurant was nice, but completely enclosed. They did their best to split the restaurant in half as to smoking, and non-smoking. There were quite a few altercations at the front door about who was getting in before who, because of this action alone. It was soon rectified by making the whole restaurant non-smoking. I don't have to tell you how pissed off the smoking crowd got at this decision. The food was very good. Definetely 5 star. With a few very small isolated instances, the food was very good here. I don't like Cuban coffee, so it did not bother me about the coffee coming out of a vending type machine. I stuck with black tea. Their milk was also very good. Not as cold as home but very passable for cereal or to drink with meals. Wine was available at all meals at all restaurants. This is also very 5 star. The number of staff to run this buffet was definetly low in number as many people were forced to wait while empty tables were bused and re-set. The staff that were working at these times were literally being run off their feet. This situation did not change for the duration of our stay. I felt sorry for these folks.The alacarte restaurants were OK. The food quality was good for the most part. On several occassions, we had to send the food back to be cooked a little bit longer. The food choices were very good also. The service here was slow. I think it is fair to say this about all of them. I also think that this has something to do with the way that they actually run that particular given restaurant. This will probably improve as time goes on. The best alacarte was the Mediteranean Restaurant. Live classical music by a three piece orchestra provided something out of the ordinary. A little culture perhaps. We all enjoyed it as did most of the dinner guests. There was always applause after finished a piece played. We had the honour of celebrating several birthdays while on our trip. The service at the individual restaurant that we were in that evening was very good. Again. I will give them that. But it took forever to get a refill of your wine glass, or to get another beer, or for your food to come out. I felt sorry for anyone having a dinner reservation after 7:30 pm. I had heard horror stories about certain restaurants running out of certain foods, or that there was no more food period at that restaurant. That did not happen to us. Lucky I guess. The restaurants were quite clean. The service at the Da Vinci restaurants, on either side of the pool bar was very poor and very slow. A lite lunch on average took an hour and a half to complete. This is not 5 star service. 5) the beaches are the main reason we come to Cuba in the first place. Being on an island such as this means that they are mostly untouched and are very pristine. The water was warm, the waves were minimal, the swimming was great. On a sour note, there were never enough chaise lounges at the beach, mostly due to the overbooking. Another thing that I was very dissappointed in was the number of parappas ( thatched beach umbrellas ) that were made available. There was on average, about 80 feet of distance between the row of parappas and the waters edge. So why only one row ? This situation also created some very loud shoting matches at the beach somewhere around 9:00 to 9:30 am when people who were finished breakfast were coming down to the beach and finding that there was nothing available for them. Again, this is not 5 star. At our resort last year, which had only been open for thwe same time period of approx 2.5 months when we got there, there were hundreds of brand new chaise lounges still wrapped in plastic beside the ones that we were using. So why were they in such short supply this year ? Where's that damn engineer again. The same situation happened around the pool every day. Not enough wooden chaise lounges here either. During our second week, some of the guests, most college and university students were taking to lying on their towels around the pool just to be close by the water. This created a huge traffic problem in negotiating the respective tables, chairs, chaise lounges all over the place. There really was no excuse for this situation to be happening. Garbage cans were everywhere to be used. The hotel staff emptied them every day. However, there were the usual lazy buggers on the beach that insisted on leaving empty plastic cups and glasses alll over the place. In the water, on the shore, under the parrappas, etc. Makes you wonder what they live like at home ? This situation was rampant at both resorts. One beach just naturally becomes the next beach etc. etc. At the far left end of the beach, a sign was posted indicating that this was a " nature beach " Most people who used it realized that other people would be walking past them to get to where the good snorkelling was, but it didn't seem to bother them. The brochure shows a reef in front of our beach. Good luck ! We had to walk a good km in order to get even close to any rock or coral formations that even remotely resembled a reef. Once there, the snorkelling was very good, but the walk in that soft sand damn near killed you. To go snorkelling for about an hour, it took you 3 hrs return trip. Not exactly easy vacationing. Not for everyone anyways. But none the less, it was advertised differently. 6) The bars and the service delivered from them varied from bar to bar. While reading other reviews about how great the lobby bar was, I wouldn't give it anymore than a 2 out of 10. Extremely small. only 20 stools and 11 tables with chairs. No couches or large comfortable chairs here. Two bartenders who were always over worked seemed to be the norm regardless of how many people were waiting to be served. The inside piano bar wasn't much better. Seating for thirty people at the most. Smoking and non-smoking in this same little room compared to a huge and beautiful piano bar next door that seated about 100 people at the other resort. All musicians who played were excellant and mostly from memory. Very little sheet music available. What there is stays at school where you learned. The beach bar for our resort was quite far away from the beach. Service was good when you got it. The line ups were horrible. The long walk down to the next resort at their beach bar there gave you another place to get a drink, but still, very afr away. Showers to rinse off were also very far back from the beach. You might as well wait until you get back to your room as shower where they had them. Almost useless where they are presently located. Other 5 star resorts have better than this, so why not here ? Where's that damn engineer ? The pool bar is always too small no matter where you go and always seems to be the hub of any resort. This is where we met most of the people that we got friendly with over the course of our two week stay. Says a lot about our habits doesn't it.? The service was absolutely fantastic !! Martha and Ramone are the greatest. Fluent English and French. Super, professinal bartenders to say the least. As you were walking up to the bar, or swimming, your drink was almost always on the counter before you got there. The types of drinks available were varied from bar to bar. The lobby bar having the most diversified. The brochure only advertises that local and international domestic drinks will be available. However, for a price, you can have what ever is available. Some prices as cheap as $5.00 US to $15.00 US depending on what you wanted. This was a nice touch, but most people stuck to the free stuff that was included in the all inclusive offer. Beer was always cold. For you who drink Labbatt's Blue, you may recognize the new flavour of the local "Cristal" beer brewed in Holguin. They are using a new brewing facility set up by Labbatt personel two years ago. This beer is the same recipe as Blue, except that it uses Cuban fresh water. 7) the couple of times that we did watch a show here at this resort was really very good. I personnally did not like some of the audience participation type of shows, but different strokes for different folks. The shows next door seemed to be of a better calibre. I am sure that this will improve with time. There are many different types of day trips available. Keep in mind that you have 1.5 hrs of drive time before you even get back to the main land, and then that same 1.5 hrs back. The trip to Santa Clara and Remedios was good. Shopping was poor at best. Not like the Holguin or Gaurdalvaca areas at all. Very few vendors here. Don't expect much. The hotel next door always had a few vendors every day. Some of their wares and handicrafts were worth waiting for. There were always daytime activities going at the pool. Games, learn Spanish, spanish dancing lessons, other pool games in the late afternoon. Your choice. Join in or not. They try hard to get as many people involved as they can. Each new plane load brings a different crowd. Some days, the pool activities are a hit, other days they are a bomb. 8) as much as this is going to sound racist, it is only observations that you can't help but see. The bulk of the people coming into this resort are French Canadian, or are Italian from the greater Toronto area. When these respective groups congregate, all hell seems to break loose and anyone in their path will undoubtedly regret it. For what ever reason, the French seem to think that they own the beach. Of course this only infuriates everyone else. There were several very loud shouting matches both at the beach and at the pool regarding who has the right to sit where, and to use what equipment. These people felt that they should be able to "Horn in" on your parappa, or your pool umbrella, simply because there is room for them to add a chair in "your space". They also decided to hog the hot tub for most of the day. The hot tub gets filled fresh daily and emptied every night at 6:00 pm. Guess who was in it for most of the day.? Most of the Italians that we met were really quite nice, but like all things in life, you get good and bad, Some of the " older couples " were quite ignorant at the beach. They didn't mingle too well either. We just avoided them and enjoyed ourselves. 9) arrival at this airport was definetely a different experience. Be prepared to stand in line outside the airport until you can get fitted inside the air conditioned building. Not bad at night, but very hoy during the day. Long line ups, and only one x-ray machine. Although you were scanned back in Toronto or wherever, you will be forcibly scanned again. This all takes time. No beer or pop on the bus, You must be smart enough to spot the big umbrella bar outside the airport before you get on the bus if you want something to drink before arriving at the hotel. If you don't get to the umbrella bar before a time span of about a half an hour, then will close up and you lose out anyway. The ride through these towns on these roads, with horse and buggys, bicycles etc. in your way, means that a police escort is needed, or the ride to the hotel would take 2.5 hrs or longer. This si quite an experience at night. let me tell you. Checking in basically takes place at the airport before you get on the bus. All information that you really need is conveyed to you verbally by your Sunquest / Alba Tours representative. In our case it was Jose. He is good at his job, but a little bit unnerving at some instances. He was always polite to the guests on the bus, but you could see that he was losing his patience with some of the spanish / cubam speaking staff at various times throughout our stay. His wife , O'Daisey, is in charge of Customer relations at the resort. She is a real gem. Her English is excellant and she really went out of her way to ensure that we were looked after with one major problem that we had. Arrival at the hotel was good, with the usual dancers, drinks, etc. Our luggage was taken directly to our room while we were eating. I have never had this happen before, and I must say that this was a nice touch. However, I did hear some horror stories of luggage falling off the golf cart limo and getting damaged, one set went even going into the pool. Some of the drivers must think that there is a prize for driving the fastest at night without headlights. El Loco !!! The food was fair upon arrival. Departure is a joke !!! They tell you that you have until 2:00pm to leave your room and officially check out. However, they don't tell you that at 12:00 noon, your room key will no longer work on your room door. This turns into a nasty screaming match at the front desk. We were lucky, our maid was downstairs and used her master key ( card ) to let us in. When you get down stairs, you are told to put your luggage over there, and that a porter will put it out by the circle when the buses come for you. Great. However, the circle is huge, the bus does not stop in the same spot, you are responsible for putting your luggage onto the cargo hold of the bus, and it is completely unorganized. The hotel staff don't give a damn how you leave, or on what bus you get on, or if your luggage is on the same bus as you. This was absolutely the most disgusting part of our trip. I have never seen such crap from other guests towards each other. Do people think that the plane is going to leave without you ? Does it make a difference who gets on what bus ? The hotel staff could easily rectify this situation by giving you a numbered ticket that would self organize what bus you get on to. This was really insane. Sunquest and Melia have already heard about this from me. The airport is of course very small. The facility inside suits it's purpose and nothing more. The trip was made worthwhile, but the resort itself and the clowns who designed it, need to re-examine the way they do things. This will never be a 5 star resort in my opinion. It just isn't there. It is too small for the amount of people that it is capable of holding. It is not for lack of space or land either, just very poor planning at the design and operational levels. I rate this resort a solid 3.5. I hope that they didn't break their arm while patting themselves on the back at pre-maturely rating this a 5 star resort so soon. Other resorts that we have visited had some problems, but were very spacious and better laid out design wise and more than made up for any inadequacies that they might have had at the time. I doubt very much whether our group of six will ever visit this resort again. Cuba, yes - Melia Cayo Santa Maria - NO !

Wow, where do we start?? My boyfriend and I just returned from this resort and we were both extremely disappointed. After a tiring hour & 1/2 bus trip to the resort from the airport we were greeted by Cuban dancers and handed drinks which we thought was nice. We were then hustled into the grand buffet restaurant where they told us to relax for 30 minutes while our luggage was delivered to our rooms. The stench in the restaurant was horrible (rotten fish) That smell did not go away the entire week and took away my appetite everytime I went in there. Anyways 30 minutes turned into TWO hours!! We were not impressed! We finally got access to our rooms (which was a 2 storey building located on a construction site) and were disgusted because of the sewage stench that filled it!! This smell also lasted the entire week and the ony way to lessen it a little was keeping the toilet seat down and the bathroom door closed at all times (it seemed to come from the vent in the washroom)The room was NOT five star decor. It was poorly decorated and our king size bed turned out to be two twin beds pushed together. This was rather annoying , not only for us, but for the ANTS that shared the room with us. Yes Ants and a lot of them. The rest of the week was one disappointment after another. NO entertainment, horrible food! After waiting minimun 20 minutes in ANY of the restaurants , we were told it was 24hour food, yet most times we went to eat, everything would be closed. For breakfast , they offered everything BUT breakfast food! rice, chicken, pork, salad . They didnt have bacon until the last three days, but they had scrambled eggs. Which was more like scrambled soup. It was sick! so you would have to wait 20 minutes in a line up to have them re cook them. *there was one person with two pans serving the whole restaurant!! here is where you could get omeleltes or fried eggs. Also every day there were no glasses for juice. Most days we used the soup bowls. Most times you had to sort through the plates to find clean ones. Everyone was doing it. After waiting for twenty minutes to be served in one of the sit down restaurants we were told they ran out or hamburgers! So we had fries and then were told they had no ketchup! (yet there was mustard at every table ??????) You were lucky to find a chair at the pool. We complained to the manager of Public Relations (who didnt even look at us while we told her our problem. In fact when we finished telling her our complaint, she reached across the table and plucked some flowers out of a arrangement that was there and proceeded to walk away with them. It was like she didnt even HEAR us!!) after we asked her what she would do about the lack of chairs at the pool, she told us she would call the gardeners to bring some up from the beach. RIDICULOUS!!! the trip was a joke. Most times they were doing construction and places were closed. The weather was beautiful and so was the beach, but it was by far the most frusterating vacation we have ever been on!!! Also there were none or hardly any activities! and the ones that were organized were at the end of our trip! Its like all of a sudden they said...hmm we better do some games.....! there was no pool volleyball (could be because the water in the pool was really cold! the first couple of days no one swam!) I did one of the step areobics classes which was a joke! the girl could barely speak english and did the same repetitve excerises to music much too fast! We had no toilet paper or kleenes in our room so we told the front desk) it took them two days to get some to us. (we were forced to take some from one of the maids carts the next day) Every day there were things that went wrong. Bottom line is -Do not go to this resort. We were not the only ones that were complaining...everyone we spoke to was extremely disappointed!