Sol Melia Cayo Coco 06/09/2003
Reviewers Rating: Fair
I went to Sol Melia for 2 weeks last September with my partner. I'd never been on an all-inclusive holiday before so was very excited at the prospect of staying in a 5-star hotel!

The first thing we noticed on landing in Cuba was the rain! We kept our fingers crossed that it was just a shower and that the sun would come out as we are both sun worshipers to say the least.

The airport was quite far from Cayo Coco itself and was a long boring drive with nothing much to see on the way. I believe they now use Cayo Coco Airport for international flights so it won't be as bad in future.

On stepping off the coach at the hotel we were handed a cocktail and a band played Cuban music while we checked in which I thought was a nice touch and cheered everyone up.

We didn't have a lagoon room (which i'm pleased about now because everyone we met who had was bitten by mosquitoes that seem to congregate around the lagoon). The room was spacious and clean and had a safe. Whilst staying at the Melia we never had any complaints about the room, the sheets were changed regularly and the maids brought fresh towels daily.

Unfortunately the first 4 days of our holiday wasn't great as it rained the whole time! The staff were extremely helpful and friendly as were the entertainment staff, if a little too helpful. There's always something going on around the pool area by day and cabaret (if you like that kind of thing) by night.

The hotel next door has the only nightclub which is terrible! The music is bad as they don't have the opportunity of getting their hands on anything up-to-date but the D.J is quite happy play your own CD's at your request.

The weather cheered up in the second week and we had some good sunshine. The beach is lovely and the sea is clear.

Strangely enough i'd read some reviews on Melia before we went and they all praised the food at the hotel. My parents went to the hotel next door only weeks before us and they too thought the food was excellent. Unfortunately (maybe it was just our luck again) but we didn't share the opinion. We found the food limiting and admit I had pasta about 5 nights in a row because nothing else looked very good. I was a bit worried as the food was left out from about 5o'clock to 10o'clock and wasn't covered over which put me off. There are 2 restaurants within the hotel, an Italian (which was ok) and a French one on the lagoon (which we didn't like due to the quality of food and being attacked by mosquitoes while you ate).

Due to the weather being bad in the first week we did a lot of the day trips, including Havana which was good fun, although if you don't like small planes don't go! The internal flight to Havana was a bit scarey to say the least.

We did enjoy our holiday but found it quite restrictive at night. You can't leave the compound so you're limited to the neighbouring hotels. They could do with a bit more going on at night other than cabaret! We met many that agreed.

I would go back to Cuba but not Cayo Coco as I really felt you don't get any culture at all. You could be on holiday anywhere as the only locals allowed into Cayo Coco work there. The people are lovely and we tipped them as much as possible as they earn such a poor wage. My partner has been on many all-inclusive holidays all over the world and says he wouldn't recommend Cayo Coco or the Melia as a holiday destination.

Obviously you can only make you're own mind up. I think it's very important as to what time of year you go. We went out of season and were looking forward to coming home in the end

Jenni

click here to leave a new hotel review!

guide books

The Rough Guide to Cuba 4 (Rough Guide Travel Guides) by Fiona McAuslan (Paperback) - Usually ships in 24 hours

Cuba (EYEWITNESS TRAVEL GUIDE) by DK Publishing (Paperback) - Usually ships in 24 hours