Meliá Varadero

 
An all-inclusive five-star club that feels like a grand old hotel. Meliá Varadero has 490 rooms in a five-storey pyramid surrounding an open-centred column with hanging gardens lit by a large skylight. The best rooms — The Level — are on the fifth floor, where there’s special VIP services too.

I was treated to an almost unbelievable suite during my visit. It had the best view you could imagine from a bathtub, overlooking Meliá Varadero’s long white sand beach. While the bathtub had jacuzzi jets, if I’d had time I could have also enjoyed another jacuzzi on the huge balcony with views of the Caribbean sea in not one but two directions. My balcony would be an ideal place for a cocktail party, or just lounging in the sun in privacy. The multi-roomed suite had a living and dining room, large bedroom, two bathrooms, a walk-in closet and three entrances to the deck.

Spectacular!

Meliá Varadero has several restaurants to choose from, so guests staying for a week (or more) have plenty of selection. I chose seafood for my dinner at Fuerteventura Restaurant — it was delicious. Guests also have a buffet restaurant, a steak house, a Japanese restauarnt, another specializing in Creole and seafood, another in paella and Mexican cuisine, as well as snack bars near the pool and beach, and several places for cocktails. The Level guests also have a private lounge which serves a large continental breakfast as well as snacks and drinks in the day and evening. Room service is available for The Level guests at no extra charge.

Meliá Varadero has a beautiful pool, with swim-up bar of course, right next to the main building, which you pass on the way to the beach. The snorkelling right in front of the hotel must be great: there’s easy access from the white beach, and the area next to the small cliff on which the hotel sits is perfect for sea life.

Other facilities include tennis courts, a fitness centre, beach volleyball, video games room, kids club, wedding and conference facilities.