Melia Cayo Santa Maria, Cuba.
Updated 2008
Sol Cayo Santa Maria nude beach.
There are bridges across the dunes between the hotel and the beach. The "real" nude beach starts after the last (west-most) bridge at Sol Cayo Santa Maria, shown in the map link below. The hotel order, west to east, is (1) private villa, (2) Sol CSM (small dark roofs), (3) Melia CSM (big white roofs), (4) Melia Las Dunas (box in box roofs), and much farther (5) Barcelo (construction site, old map).
Google map: http://maps.google.ca/maps?hl=en&ll=22.665435,-79.069408&spn=0.001688,0.003278&t=h&z=19
I was there in November and walked the entire beach, about an hour from Sol to Barcelo. Whenever I encountered a nude person, I did likewise, and when seeing a group of textiles I covered up again. So just pick a spot an appropriate distance from the hotel's beach area and you should have no problem. From Las Dunas you could borrow a bicycle. Those 3 properties are all the same parent company so it shouldn't be a problem going through the grounds to get from the road to the beach. Otherwise, walking the 20 min along the beach has no restrictions. The closest weather station is Caibarien:
http://weather.msn.com/local.aspx?&wealocations=wc%3a5515&q=Caibari%c3%a9n%2c+CUB&setunit=C
Sol Cayo Santa Maria nude beach.
The private villa can be rented by Sol/Melia guests for CUC$240 per night (~CAD$280)
The west side (Sol CSM and Melia CSM), having been there recently (Nov.7-14, Jan.1-8) Most of the rooms are in 2-storey "bungalows". At Melia, ground floor is usually level with the ground; Sol they are up about 6 steps.
> Melia Cayo Santa Maria
All buildings are separated from the beach by dunes, with bridges at various places. On the resort side the bridge is level with ground; on the beach side there is usually a step down, the size depending on the shifting sand. Currently around 10".
Sol full size bathroom window facing walkway!
The nude beach is at the west end of Sol, so if staying at Melia, it's 8-10 minutes at an eager pace along the connecting path, slower on the beach in the sand.
The private villa has its own bridge direct to the nude beach, plus its own swimming pool and hottub, chef and chambermaid. Its ground floor is up a few steps, but the bedroom is upstairs via winding staircase. The advantage here is you can be nude 24/6, at 240/night "room upgrade" for the whole villa. There's a king size bed in the master bedroom. More beds could be added in the study and downstairs living room to split the cost.
Sol Cayo Santa Maria nude beach.
The one negative is the 1.5hr bus ride from airport to resort, although they have new luxury coaches and a tour guide talking to pass the time. My other favourite location, Cayo Largo, has a 4 minute bus ride. Ground floor there is level, 3 storey buildings, steps up and down for bridge.
November 2007 portion of report.
I returned to this resort in November 2007.
It has just become an adults-only property, but the spa on the property is still available for those on the adjacent resorts. The towel exchange booth has now moved into the former kids building, and a pool table and pingpong table have also been installed, along with some loud musicmaking machine. The kiddy pool has not been converted into anything else yet. A volleyball court was being dug during my stay, and subsequent reports indicate it is complete.
The resort next door, Sol Cayo Santa Maria, is now renovated and open for business. The nude beach section starts from the last dunes bridge of the main part of this resort.
It is a total of 6 minutes walk from Melia through the resort, or 8 minute walk along the beach (YMMV).
Since these two resorts are under the same company, there's no problem getting free drinks from either. During my stay, there was a maximum of 29 people enjoying that area, mostly French. Twice during the week bar staff came out to our area to take drink orders. (Hint, bring money for tips, maybe they'll come every day!) Perhaps due to the recent severe weather, that area had quite an elevation difference to the water, so those walking along the water's edge might not notice those tanning above.
There is one additional bridge in the nude section that leads to a secluded cabin run by the resort.
It is a two-storey building with main floor kitchen and living room, an upstairs master bedroom and a study, and has its own small outdoor pool and hottub.
It comes with a chef and chambermaid, and is available to any registered guests at a premium of 350 Convertible Cuban pesos (about C$400) per night. Comes with one king-size bed, and an additional bed or two could be added in the study and/or living room.
With some persuasion, it may sleep 6.
