Cuban content creator Nanda shared on Instagram a video lasting nearly three minutes, describing her experience at the Meliá Las Américas hotel in Varadero as "poor" and "terrible."
According to their account, the hotel had been recommended by multiple people and influencers as "the best in Varadero," but upon staying there, they discovered a different reality. The post has garnered over 140,000 views, 11,195 likes, and 369 comments.
The author paid 520 dollars for two nights in a room in The Level area, the second most expensive category of the resort. The price included transportation to Varadero.
"I am very disappointed with that hotel because many people recommended it to me; they sold the hotel to me as the best in Varadero," she stated in the video.
Among the issues he found was the air conditioning in the room, which had maintenance problems. "It wasn't cooling the room."
The exclusive bar in the Level area was closed, which forced them to go down to the standard area, despite having paid for an exclusive service.
The à la carte restaurant had terrible service, with waits of up to two hours to receive the food.
"The restaurant had broken air conditioners. We experienced terrible heat, and during lunchtime, it took them two hours to serve our food. At the buffet table, there was only chicken and a fish that nobody wanted to eat," she pointed out.
On the last day, they said they couldn't have lunch and decided to go to the lobby to complain. They also did not receive minibar service in the room, and to make matters worse, the small refrigerator was dirty.
During their stay, she and her companions suffered from fever and vomiting, but there was no one to attend to them at the resort's health clinic. The hotel's medical service closed at five in the afternoon.
"It was three horrible days. We were desperate to leave there," he summarized.
The comments on the video sparked a broad debate
One of the most supported comments described the establishment as "one of the worst hotels, not to say the worst. Aesthetically it is really nice, but in terms of quality, service, and offerings, it's a solid zero."
Other followers, on the other hand, supported the complaint and highlighted the gap between the reviews of some influencers and reality.
"Thank you for leaving honest reviews. I have been to hotels and had experiences very similar to yours; that is, I have seen bad ones, and then I see influencers online praising them."
This case adds to a sustained trend of Cubans who share negative experiences in hotels in Varadero on social media.
In April 2026, another Cuban rated the Grand Aston Varadero Beach Resort 3/10 due to limited food and poor service.
In May, a tourist described a stay at the Meliá Varadero as "bittersweet," citing a poor buffet. In September 2025, a Cuban TikToker criticized the Roc Arenas Doradas after paying 450 dollars.
The Meliá Las Américas holds a rating of 4.5 out of five on TripAdvisor with over 10,700 reviews, and ranks as the number two among 28 all-inclusive hotels in Varadero. However, complaints about food quality, slow service, and maintenance issues are frequent both on that platform and on social media.
The Level is an exclusive service with a premium category offered by some resorts in the Meliá Hotels International chain. It is intended to function as a "hotel within a hotel," providing personalized customer service; however, the reality in this case was different.
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