My boyfriend and I stayed at the Melia Cayo Guillermo from January 1 - 8, 2006. We had a fabulous time.

The important stuff:

* The ride from the airport is bumpy. Haul your butt out there quick for a good seat at the front of the bus. If you get stuck at the back, I just hope you don't get car-sick.

* Check in was problem free. They will bring your bags to your room, but we just brought them ourselves. It's easier than waiting.

* The rooms are absolutly lovely. I have stayed at a number of all-inclusives in Cuba, Dominican, and the Bahamas and the rooms at the Melia were superior to them all. The bathrooms have a really decent sized tub, bidet, and toilet. No problems with the toilet here. The sink, fridge, and closet are located outside of the toilet area. Very nice, clean and spacious.

* The food is surprisingly good. I HATED the food in Cuba the last time I went (about 5 years ago), but this place rocked my socks off. The pizza is really good, so is the pasta bar, and the stir fry is great too. Don't worry if you are a veggie or diabetic - they've got little "corners" for you too. The Italian a la carte was gross, but it's great for lunch. The best part about this place is that you can have an a la carte lunch 7 days of 7 if you want. The buffet is great for lunch too because it's quiet and stocked full, but no one else is there because they're all at the a la cartes. Find Luis the waiter in the buffet dining room (right hand corner towards the buffet) -- he's the best ever.

* Tipping: We tipped $2 convertable pesos at each meal regardless of service (which was always excellent incidentally). The people who serve you work their buns off 6 days per week. Most of them travel 5 hours round trip each day to serve you. The least you can do is spare $6/day when you're on vacation and make their lives a little better.

*Gifts: Our rep told those of us who brought gifts (clothes, shoes, toys, etc) to spread it around. Don't forget about the gardeners, etc. Most people apparently leave it all for the maids, who then make of with giant bags full of the stuff. Spread the love around, that's all I'm saying ;)

* The beach: Gorgeous, amazing, incredible. Most of the time we didn't have a problem finding a lounger. People were reserving them with their towels, which is a bit of a bummer, but sometimes you gotta play the game. Take the short detour and put your towels down before breakfast.

* Coffee: Yum yum yum -- from the front bar. Mmmmmmmmmm

* Weather: Beautiful and hot hot hot 6 days of 7. Bring a warm sweater just in case.

* Bugs: My ankles were a buffet for a nasty bunch of bugs the one night that we went down to the beach. Enjoy the beach during the day -- avoid it at night. Otherwise, no problems with bugs whatsoever.

* VERY IMPORTANT: Do NOT bring American money. Some of the other Canadians in our group brought American funds, but they no longer accept it in Cuba. Bring Canadian and change it to convertable pesos at the airport or at the hotel. No sense in paying the conversion fees twice, right?

In sum, we would go back in a heartbeat. I was so sad to leave. It would be an incredible place to get married as well. Check out our photos for a better idea.

Have fun!!

After a week of travelling around the western part of Cuba, my husband and I (Vienna, Austria)stayed at Melía Cayo Guillermo for one week. Before going there, I had read many of the reviews but they were so diverse, I couldn't really get an idea of what the hotel would be like. Now that I am back, I must say that I fully agree with the last review from Jan. 9th.

Considering being in Cuba, the hotel was very nice but you cannot expect a five star hotel according to international standards. I would have given it a 4 star at the best. The grounds are very beautiful and kept clean. The Pool is very nice also. Beach and sea are great (sandfleas!). The food is ok but not outstanding, we liked the two restaurants though. The cocktails are extremely sweet but this seems to be the case on every Carribean island (at least Jamaica was the same).
All staff members are very friendly, but I do agree that you always get the feeling of being obliged to give tips.
What we liked the least was our room. The furniture is very simple and everything seems to need renovation. There are stains on towels, curtains, bedsheets and the like (they just don't have effective washing powder!). The room doesn't look like a 5 star hotel room at all. However, hair dryer, aircon, lights, toilet flush etc. all worked perfectly well.
To sum up, I woud say that when going to this hotel, you have to consider that you are in Cuba and because of the political and economical situation there you cannot expect to find a luxurious hotel. When bearing this in mind, you can have a wonderful time at Melía Cayo Guillermo.
In case of any questions, don't hesitate to send me an e-mail.

This used to be a 5-star resort in the late nineties,
but the current rating should be 3 to 3.5 stars.
We have stayed at the resort in January 2006, hoping
for some comfort and good service.
In my opinion there are two major problems with Melia Cayo Guillermo. The first problem is related to the aging of the facilities and general deterioration caused by the local weather and lack of proper maintenance. You can expect to see rundown bathrooms, broken tiles, water stains on the ceilings and rotten door frames. Despite the efforts of the cleaning ladies, our room felt dirty and somewhat filthy even right after cleaning.
The second major problem with the resort is corruption of the stuff. Tips seem to be the a major driving force behind actions of the majority of local employees. This makes the vacation a nice experience for a very narrow group of visitors at the expense of the rest. The worst situation is with water sports. According to the catalogue, we were entitled to 1 hour of "free" sailing per day. The reality, w/o tip, was 15 minutes, pooled with another couple. The time was enforced by the local guy, who was talking to a young woman for most of the 15 minutes and did not care much other people in the boat.
At the same time, for a tip of 10-20 pesos, you could get a catamaran for about 2 hours of worry free sailing or snorkeling on the reef. I had a good peek at the tip box at the boat rental place one day. There must have been 200-300 pesos collected in tips that day, not counting direct handouts. The guys working with boats seemed to be the most confident and outspoken personal on the resort. In my opinion they make more money than the manager, assuming that he is not running the operation himself.
The water sports guys also provide another important service at the resort - escort to single and not very attractive women. I have seen 200++ lb females hugging with the guys at night.
On the positive side, you can get 2 forks, 2 knifes and fabric napkins to your dinner. There are waiters, who will bring you a drink to even remote areas of the beach. Unfortunately, the amount of garbage left uncollected grows with the distance from the main pool area.
Overall: nice resort, but in need of major renovation and stuff shake-up.

WARNING

Cuban government has replaced mighty US buck with convertible peso as the second currency in Cuba. It makes more sense now to bring in Canadian Dollars, as the exchange rate is slightly better.
A 25 peso exit tax is charged at the airport. ABMs are still not available and many places try to avoid taking VISA.