- Room
We had a bungalow right at the left of the hotel area. We were first assigned another one in the middle, but we didn't want it. So, just express your wishes and stay persistent!!! Our bungalow had a very quiet location, was just a few steps from the beach and even provided ocean view. Really great. Brilliant peace and quiet! It took us about 3-4 minutes to the center of the hotel area (reception, etc.), but we liked that too. A few steps are never too much! The rooms were cleaned every day, and we always liked coming back to the bungalow! Our 2 little stuffed animals were always arranged with the towels in a very funny way. Besides, the bungalow was really very large. The bungalow buildings consisted of 2 housing units, so we had 1 bungalow next door. The beds were very saggy, and the rest of the furniture was very used and a little battered too. But it was completely satisfying for the stay and for spending the nights here. We could at least sleep well. The bathroom was good, we were satisfied. Always keep in mind that the hotel had 3 stars! If you really want more luxury and beauty, you should book 4 stars at least! Air conditioning was available, but we never used it. A TV with international stations.
- Gastronomy
The food was on the whole in order. That was also always a matter of taste. Breakfast was in order, we had toast, eggs, jam, sausage and cheese, warm meals, fruit. Drinks of course were also the standard sorts such as coffee, tea, cappuccino, cocoa etc. The coffee was not to be compared however with Germany. My friend thought it was tasty, not me. But I was also not a typical coffee fan. Tea was ok and the chocolate was very delicious. Also yogurt drinks were there, which were delicious. Lunch and dinner in the restaurant were relatively the same. After the 3rd day we only ate lunch at the beach bar. There it tasted really good to us. Nearly each day fresh fish, in addition vegetables and fries. In addition then the view of the great ocean. What more could one want. Dinner was always in the restaurant. That was ok, but not the best. The food was often lukewarm to cold, the meals actually always alike or similar to the day before. The leftovers of the previous day were just used for the next day. The salad and the fruit afterwards were rather my meal, which in addition, was delicious and was enough. Well, fish was also often included. My friend liked a few things more than I did. Chicken often, pork (that was good), noodle courses, always rice variations, fries etc.! Thus it was simply a matter of taste. But much or even luxury shouldn't be expected here. Also here the 3 star country category was fair. Plates and cups were often dirty… one must just look at times a little. But on the whole it was in order, complaints only for the dinner.
1 evening we had reserved ourselves a place in the Cuban restaurant. That was completely delicious and completely comfortable. It was recommendable!
- Service
The service in the restaurant was okay but we didn't really use the restaurant. The waiters wanted to serve you, of course they wanted to bring the coffee, juice etc. to get tips. We NEVER gave tips during the whole time because we preferred to get the drinks ourselves. You really didn't have to walk far. You also often had to get silverware, glasses or what ever yourself, because the table wasn't completely set. That was sometimes a bit annoying but who cares. Apart from that, all Cubans, no matter if at the beach bar or the hotel bar, were really very, very nice. We only started to give some tips at times from the 2nd week on and we weren't treated differently then. All were friendly, cheerful and willing to have a little chat with us. Those who were nice to them got that back accordingly. The bungalow was cleaned every day and that always with great ideas : -).
- Sport & Entertainment
The hotel had 2 pools which were situated directly next to each other. In my opinion, both were very beautiful. There were enough pool chairs. However, we never sunbathed at the pool and we've only been in the pool once or twice. For what if the fantastic beach and the ocean were in front of it. We really can't understand how you could sit at the pool all day long during such a holiday. Weird! At the beach, you could borrow a kayak and a paddleboat for 1 hour for free every day. They also offered catamaran there. We've been on the ocean with it once, only the 2 of us and the local. It was very windy all day long so that we only had the luck to do a tour with it once. It was great : -). So, it wasn't overcrowded! There were activities on the hotel stage every evening. They often did funny things with the tourists there or they danced etc. It was good for people who were interested in this. There was definitely always a lot going on. But we haven't been there often since we don't like that so much. We often went to the hotel bar - to the mojitos. The cocktails were really great there. They were small cups but that didn't matter. You just had to get a drink more often. They didn't economize on alcohol. The mixes were 50/50 and were really always very delicious. Mojito, Cuba libre, bloody Mary... etc. etc.
A billiard table and a table tennis table were available free of charge. There was a volleyball net at the beach but we didn't really see people playing there. It was probably too windy.
- Hotel
Pure Caribbean! The hotel accorded t0 the stars and was alright. The area was very large and had many bungalows. The bungalows were spread out, if in the middle of things or a few foot steps away it was quiet and nearly on the beach. There was always something available for every taste. Ocean and beach were just Caribbean and great. You aren't allowed to forget here that you weren't in Germany but in Cuba! Well as in need of a renovation as described in previous reviews it definitely wasn't. The bungalows were very big and really a lot of space. 2 double beds, 1 television with 1 German channel. That was enough anyway as we weren't there to watch TV after all. The furniture and beds were not the newest, very used. So no luxury. But it was alright for sleeping and relaxing. Those are just the conditions in Cuba! The only thing we didn't like was the restaurant. This was air-conditioned and had a bit of cafeteria style. There was sadly no possibility to eat ousite which we would have liked to do. Inside it was often already too cold for our preferences. Otherwise the bars were quite nice, lobby was ok, beach/pool bar was also good. So according to the 3 stars. Mainly Canadians and French as guests. There was only 1 further German couple there at the time.
- Location
The location was a dream, directly at the beach. You could go on walks to the left and right and enjoy the white beach and the turquoise water. Absolutely Caribbean. Every morning and also from time to time at the beach algae which had accumulated at the beach were removed with a tractor. We found it rather funny because of the beautiful “idyll” in those moments *laugh*. Humor and not seeing certain things so thightly just belonged to it! Palms and plants directly at the beach, really beautiful. Sometimes low tide, sometimes high tide. The water was very shallow. So for swimmers it certainly would't be ideal. You really had to walk out for a very long time to even stand chest-deep in the water. But we found it good like that! Additionally you really had your peace at the beach. Where we always lay there was nobody and also not in the water. The people only went walking but nobody lay next to us. Really peaceful and relaxing. About the comment with the horse dung: There really were often horses underway and sometimes also horse dung on the ground. That didn't really disturb us though. There really wasn't a lot though, rather rare.
A lot of kite surfers were underway there. Otherwise the hotel offered quite a few activities. We took part in the speed boat tour which was really great. Two people in 1 speed boat and than in a group of about 12 boats. That was a fun. You then went to a small bay where you could snorkel a bit and then go back again. The whole thing cost us 41 CUC per person but was worthwhile and we definitely recommend it!!! We didn't do anything else outside of the hotel. Next door there were further hotels where quite a bit more was going on as well. The beach was quite full and also in the hotel much more alarm. In the point we liked it more because we had a lot of peace. The hotel Melia was totally great we just went in there once. It looked really great: Lobby, pool, restaurant.
