Just returned from the 2 weeks at the Melia which I thought was distinctly average.

I had read the reviews before we left so was expecting the bad food (which was better than I thought it would be and we didn't get bad tums, just avoid the luke warm meat and head for the 'cooked while you wait 'stuff), and lower than normal standard of accommodation.

I still ended up a bit disappointed though.

Bad points for me were;
Pool area is a bit of a mess
The al a carte restaurants are dreadful
Service is poor (with the odd exception)
Lots of things in the rooms need fixing (doors, shower etc)
The entertainment team were too loud for my liking
The reef is in a poor state and pretty much dead

On the plus side;
Cuba is really very interesting
We upgraded our room to one on the lagoon which helped as it was much nicer
We did the speed boat trip which was really good fun and then spent 3 days in Havana (definitely worth the trip but 3 days was too much).
The drinks are good!

Overall I would say go elsewhere for a beach holiday but visit Cuba for the experience if you're interested in what communism does to a country.

Although this really is at most a 3 star to us, it is 5 star compared to how most Cubans live and what they have, so although disapppointed I felt pretty humbled by the whole experience.

We have just returned from an excellent week's holiday to Melia Cayo Coco in Cuba. Bit disappointed when we arrived as the hotel was rated 5 star but the room we were given I would say was only a 3 star so we paid to be upgraded to a lagoon room which was much nicer but still not 5 star.

Hotel staff were excellent and very helpful and the all inclusive element of the holiday was fantastic, very good choice of drinks and food and numerous places to eat. Please note try not to eat out just after dusk as we went out at 7pm one night and we were plagued by mosquitoes whilst eating our food.

Also I must comment on the excellent value for money excursions and the pick of them was the Jeep-on excursion which was brilliant. Our least favourite was The Cave which had been recommended by our Thomas Cook rep but it turned out to be Flamenco dancers dancing on what seemed like 4 paste tables pushed together inside a old bat cave.

The only disappointing aspects of our holiday was the Snorkelling which I think had been effected by the recent hurricane, the dreaded 9 hour flight and initial reaction to our room before we upgraded.

We spent 2 fantastic weeks at the Melia Cayo Coco, considering that they had a devastating hurricane just weeks before, they did an exellent job with some of the amenities, being under repair, the food was a bit of a problem if you are a faddy eater but we managed quite well.
The entertainment staff were excellent , so very friendly Yarmina was a darling couldn't do enough for you , peppi he was a scream the guys at the beach bar were brilliant and toqui (tocky pronounced ) he was a real character the cuban version of Del Boy is the only way to describe the lad. but most of all is the Cuban people they are so friendly and polite and you feel safe to wander about without worrying if you are safe to be on your own NOT A PROBLEM AT ALL the grading of the hotel is classed as a 4 star, well in Cuban terms it is ,don't go if you want every thing to be perfect , you have to realise that they have not the money going into the country like say jamaicia this is run by Castro and they are on rations so there will be a difference to the ideas of 4 star their 4 star is equivalent to our 3 star, but you will never meet such fantastic people and we have booked to go back September 2009 and we carn't wait.

Stayed at the Melia for 2 weeks from 10th Oct. We booked a Lagoon room which was amazing... really peaceful and kept you fit as it was a good walk out (we were the furthest out). Needs a bit of a face lift, but hey they had more important things to do after the hurricanes.

Would like to point out that everyone keeps mentioning the Mossies, but the doctor informed us that they are a small fly (our equivalent is a midge). Would advise taking anti histamines for one week before you go you still get bitten but they dont itch .

As for the resort, yes they did spray the resort at around 7pm ish, but rather that than getting eaten alive by the midges. We were advised by the staff to not come out of our room before 8am on a morning or 8pm at night as they only come out at dawn and dusk (this really helped).

The food was ok, nothing spectacular but as mentioned the staff are making the best of what they have after the hurricanes. Will be amazing once the buffet is re-furbished.

We went for the diving and the Staff at Blue water diving are amazing (absolute nutters). Tony, Ivan, Marin and Frankland will make your diving fun. Diving was a bit of a wash out as the hurricanes had damaged a lot of the coral as the island is not sheltered and the marine life is just starting to come back. But the staff made up for this. (Would go back just for the crack).

Overall this is an excellent place to stay, after what the island and the cubans have been through the little niggly things dont seem important any more.

hope this helps