Melia Caribe Beach Resort - All Inclusive

Customer Ratings & Reviews

TripAdvisor Traveler Rating

9863 reviews

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  Everything I think you should know!

  Ok to start off this review is coming from 6 people ages 35-65 (no kids) who went to this resort 9/13-9/17 with a dog. The review is going to be all over the place but everything you need to know in our opinion. The Room: (4023 and 4022) There are no elevators but only two floors. There were little bugs in the room on the bathroom counter. The bed was comfy. It was cleaned every day. We received a bunch of clean towels daily and they refilled our mini bar daily. Our parents had put to not enter their room and received a note under the door the mini bar was filled which she did not like. My safe and my sisters safe were two totally different safes. Ours was supposed to work with a key card from the resort which was odd. You were supposed to put the key in then the code and then it opens but it did not work. We had four people try to open it. So we just used my sisters rooms safe which was your basic safe pick the four digit code and press #. They said because we were in a certain section of the resort that we could only get two queen beds which we believe were double beds. Our parents were the next building (4012) and they got a king bed which was odd. Also, my parents room never got cold but my room and my sisters rooms ACs both worked great. The Pool: The hours of the pool were very confusing. We asked upon check in and were told it was 8am-6pm. Then we were told by someone else it was 9am to 7pm. Then we were told it opens when the pool bar opens which is 10am. So I cant actually comment on when the pool opened but we were in it around 9am every morning and waited for the swim up bar to open at 10am. They will not serve alcohol a minute earlier than 10am. Trust me, we tried daily. The lobby bar also will not serve alcohol until after 10am. The only place you can get alcohol is the buffet which opens at 7am but its only mimosas or bloody marys. The pool looked really clean from a distance crystal clear water but when you are actually in the pool you can see how dirty it was. We didn’t expect much its covered with trees and everything so its impossible to stay crystal clean daily. But they were cleaning the pool constantly. There was also a beautiful clean pool at the splash place for kids. It was a safe area and shallow pools for kids with a bunch of slides and things for smaller kids. We just took a dip in that pool after we ate at the grille. Restaurants: The buffet is 7am to 11 then 12:30-3 then 6-10. You do not need a reservation but you do need to wear appropriate clothing. No bathing suits, no tanks for men, etc. The buffet for breakfast and lunch was similar everyday. Some days it had bacon some days it didn’t. Dinner was different daily. They had an Asian night, an American night, things like that which brought a variety of options. It is a basic buffet but I do think there is something for everyone. The only place to eat breakfast is the buffet Merkado. Lunch you have a few more options. You can go to the snack restaurant or the grille which is located in the splash pool for kids. The grille had your basic nachos, chicken wings, hamburgers, hot dogs, fish and chips that type of stuff. The “snack bar” changed daily for lunch. We also got chicken wings there and burgers. They also had a pasta station, rice & beans, fried pork, Etc. Now this is important. For dinner at the restaurants you need a reservation. We were told upon check in you can make reservations from 8am to 4pm at the table in the lobby with the red cloth. But we found out the first day you can make a reservation as late as you want for the same day as long as there is still space. We wound up making a 7 oclock reservation at 6:30 one night. But it has to be done the same day for that night. Also, some restaurants are only open certain days. So be sure you check out the restaurant whenever its open. You can make a reservation with up to 6 people with only one room number. The Mexican restaurant was not good we were really looking forward thinking it’s the best one and there was not a lot of options especially if you’re picky like me they only had salmon for a fish option no one liked their food there and our reservation was at 8 we didn’t finish until after 10. They did have a make your own margarita station we used but it was passion fruit or something no one liked. The Italian restaurant and the steakhouse were both delicious. We all got something different so we could try a few options and nothing disappointed us. The apps were great, the entrees were great and the service was great. All the restaurants had AC which was great. The Grounds: The place is HUGE. You will be walking a lot but they have golf carts that take you around everywhere. You just have to wait for them to come around or call for one which could take a bit. We found it faster to just walk. The resort is beautiful. It does have plenty of peacocks and different birds, ducks, lizards all over the place. Some Tips: Bring bug spray I was eaten alive!! I am still scratching. Don’t trust the weather apps. It said rain everyday all day and it only rained once for maybe 10 minutes. The Beach: You cant really swim in the beach there is way to much seaweed. It was very brownish orange so we just stayed in the pool the entire time. No biggie to us but if you want a clear water white sand beach this was not the place for you. The Staff: DO NOT TRUST THE REVIEWS. People are snobs. Everyone is super helpful and accommodating. They all seemed super happy to be there and always smiling. Some of them even walked around singing. Anywhere you go there will be staff walking around if you ever need help with anything. Some of the employees only speak Spanish but they know enough of English to help out. If not, there are so many translation apps now a days just plug in what you need and they are more than willing to help out. Our Experience: So we had a dog with us which made things a lot more challenging. The dog wasn’t allowed anywhere inside (which is understandable and predicted) so they set up a table for us outside the Italian restaurant and let us eat off that menu they even put the table cloth on and offered us the wine. It was the same experience it would have been if we went to the Italian restaurant except we had to sit outside but we were so grateful. Entertainment: The pool had your basic entertainment. Water aerobics and things like that. At night the entertainment was in the lobby. They had live music, events, an international night, Michael Jackson tribute night, karaoke, a splash paint party etc. I believe these events were 7-10 and then there was a DJ 10-12 but the lobby bar (olives) is open until 1am. They also have a casino that opens at 7pm every night. They had black jack and roulette tables, slots, electronic roulette and a beautiful bar in there. The minimum the nights we went was only $5 for roulette. Maximum was $20. We took an uber down town for $10 it was about a 10 minutes ride. It was worth it just to see the area and grab a drink or something to eat. They also have coco bongo and a hookah bar in the area. We went to fun republic twice. We went during the day which was because they said you get a free shuttle there (its right outside the resort you can walk easily) but they said grab the shuttle 9am to 3pm so we went at 10am (there’s shuttles every hour) we showed up and nothing was opened. We asked the security guard he said it only opened at 6pm. So we went around 10:30 and everything was closed again lol. There was the bar upstairs fun republic where you get free beer champagne or wine when you go but there was no one in there (maybe ten people) but at least there was air conditioning to cool us off a bit. So I would suggest going between 6pm-10pm if you want anything to be opened. The cool thing was there was still shuttles around 11:30pm when we headed home. But again, it’s a very short walk. Take the shuttle once and you’ll see.

  Sep 21, 2026
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  Best bar staff @ the level

  Willy Sander and luciana Santana at the restaurant Riveriva bar in the level section are so welcoming, accommodating and made our experience the best! Nothing was too much for them, drinks were always amazing and served with a smile! They were a pleasure to be around! Customer service always 100%

  Sep 20, 2026
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  Just average

  This resort is old. Rooms need to be updated. Staff was very nice and helpful- watch out for Paul in the lobby who acts like a concierge, but is actually a salesman for the Circle, a travel club. The Buffett does not put the correct signs on food items, so as a traveler, I had no idea what the items were. We were not “Level” so we had no idea where we were allowed to be - very confusing. I felt it somewhat of a boring resort It’s not the worst place, but if you can spend a tad bit more. I would truly look elsewhere

  Sep 20, 2026
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  Food wasn’t great but service was

  The staff is wonderful and a lot of their accommodations were so helpful! Some of the best service I have ever received but the food wasn’t very good. Actually it was quite bad.

  Sep 20, 2026
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  My Experience

  Just returned home after a one-week vacation, and I wanted to share my experience. Please note that this review is based solely on my personal experience. The resort itself is beautifully landscaped and well maintained. Since we travelled during low season, the resort was not busy at all, which was really nice. The beach is beautiful. There was sargassum in the water, but I don’t feel that should impact my rating of the hotel because this is something that is outside of the resort’s control. As for the food, the buffet was good, in my opinion. During our stay, I also ate at Touro, the Japanese restaurant, and the Italian restaurant. Unfortunately, I did not enjoy the New York steak at Touro. It was extremely tough and difficult to chew, so I ended up going to the buffet afterward to have dinner. The Italian restaurant was okay, but unfortunately, our server was not friendly at all, which really affected the experience. The Japanese restaurant was also okay. The lobster, however, had a very strong taste compared to other lobster I’ve had. My friends ordered the beef and really enjoyed it. Unfortunately, I also experienced something very upsetting at the Japanese restaurant. I accidentally left my prescription glasses on the table. When I realized I didn’t have them and returned to ask about them, no one had seen them. I was very disappointed to discover that they were gone. It’s unfortunate when you lose something and, instead of having it turned in, it appears that someone took something that did not belong to them. I honestly don’t even know what someone would do with prescription glasses that aren’t theirs. We also did the Saona excursion during our stay. Personally, I would not do it again. It was very different from what I remember experiencing when I was in Punta Cana 11 years ago. Based on my personal experience, I did not feel that the excursion was worth it this time. ⚠️ **The worst experience I had during this vacation was actually after getting my hair braided at the beach, and I really want to alert other travellers about this.** If you decide to get braids at the beach, please be very careful about going into the pool or ocean afterward. The braiders apply a wax/product to the hair, and after we went into the pool with our braids, three of us experienced extremely foggy vision. For me, this resulted in the worst last day I have ever experienced at a resort. The following day, my eyes were extremely irritated and watery. I could barely keep them open because they burned so badly. I could not tolerate sunlight or even wind without significant burning and discomfort, and my vision was very foggy. I was later advised that the eye irritation could potentially be related to the hair product/wax going in your eyes when swimming in water. **My advice to travellers is that if you get braids, consider washing your hair thoroughly before going into the pool or ocean to remove as much of the product as possible.** Please be aware of this, because none of us expected this to happen and it really affected our vacation. We also encountered some very rude workers during our stay, although there were also employees who were kind and friendly. My biggest recommendation to the hotel would be to focus on customer service and employee training. As travellers, it’s important to us to feel welcomed and to interact with staff who are friendly, approachable, and willing to help. A smile and a positive attitude can make such a big difference in a guest’s experience. I would also recommend educating staff about lost and found procedures and the importance of turning in items that guests accidentally leave behind. We work hard for the things we purchase, and guests should be able to feel confident that if they accidentally leave something behind, it will be returned rather than taken. Overall, we enjoyed some aspects of our stay, especially the beautiful resort grounds, beach, and the quietness of low season. However, the service experiences, the loss of my prescription glasses, and especially the eye irritation after getting the beach braids were very disappointing experiences that I feel are important to share so other travellers can be aware and make informed choices.

  Sep 19, 2026