Worst trip EVER!

This resort was by far the worst travel experience for our family of 4 over the last 25 years. This was not what we expected for a week of relaxation and starting the new year strong! My son and I got stomach flu on the 2nd day, and I got elevated blood pressure due to absence of healthy food options. Considering health issues and lack of hotel food and accommodation quality, we decided to leave to resort on January 1 at 7:15 am resulting in rescheduling return flights with Sunwing representa [... read more]tive on December 31, 2025. We have had 3 prior visits to Cuba in the past with a pleasant experience and having a reasonable expectation for travelling to Cuba. Knowing that Cuba offered lower standard for food and accommodations while providing great hospitality, safe environment and trustworthy staff. This resort failed almost at every level as a 4.5 stars resort. I would rate this resort as a strong 2 stars! The dissatisfaction was a general sentiment among many of the guests staying at the resort at the same time. It was almost a chaos! Many repeat customers were shocked and displeased with the current resort conditions – stating it was not like this before. We were told by the resort staff that the resort was in middle of transition from one resort management company to another starting January first; and the current company had dropped the ball so to speak! They had stopped spending money to buy food and keep the right staff level. We witnessed people to get special treatment from resort staff by getting scrambled eggs in a covered plate or beef while these items were not offered to others at large. Food Quality The food variety was limited and unacceptable for a 4 star plus resort. Basically, the food options were hot dogs cooked in 3-4 ways (fried, boiled, and cut in tomato sauce), rice and bread. There was no vegetarian option – only green peas, shredded carrot, and cucumbers or tomatoes on some lucky days (never both at the same time). The resort did not offer a health-conscious option. There was no consideration for food allergy. Given that my son had a severe peanut allergy and my daughter was vegetarian, we were faced with a high risk of life-threatening allergic reaction for my son and no food options for my daughter. It was an effort to find something to your liking to eat. And we were not alone! You could watch people taking a couple of full circles around the food stations and leave with empty plates or a couple of items. You were basically forced to eat something so not to starve! In the buffet there were 3 hot food cooking stations in the evenings (pasta station, taco station and grill station) – all with the same 3 or 4 ingredients (-green peas, sausage, ham, cucumber). -To get food from these cooking stations we had to stand in the line for 50 mins to an hour (we timed it). Pasta and taco stations offered pasta and taco with the same ingredients of peas, cold cut hum and cucumbers, while the grill section offered chicken only. After standing in line for an hour, we would realise that it was not worth it because the food was blunt and unsafe to eat due to ignoring food handling safety procedures. Salad bar was canned sardines, one type of cold cut, shredded carrot, and green peas. There was no greens salad bar, tomato, cucumber, cheese. The New Years eve food selection did include 2 types of cheese; however, it was sprinkled with peanut and peanut butter on the same plate. Not an option for someone with peanut allergy. The soups were salty with fatty pork stock. The dessert included Jello in yellow and orange colour, and melted ice-cream pool. The only juice option was a mango juice, no other options. There were no fresh or dry fruits at all except for New Years Eve dinner at the buffet that offered grapes and apples. We realised that people were simply taking the fruits to their room so that they can have some fruits the following days. The breakfast did not include simple things like eggs, yogurt, fruits, etc. Eggs and yogurt were offered in the premium section only. Since when items such as eggs and yogurt are considered premium items? Food Handling and Service The concept of safe food handling was foreign to the resort staff. The service was extremely slow with long lines. It would take 40 to over 60 minutes to get food. There were no food labels. Important for people with allergy or certain food preferences. The first night, the lady, working at the fajita station, would add ingredients with her bare hand while touching everything else with the same hand through the cooking process. The second night, the guy, working at the fajita station, would use the same fork to add raw chicken pieces to the grill and later to add diced cucumber to the already cooked fajita and chicken. A serious risk of getting salmonella. The chicken breast pieces were not fully cooked. You could spot uncooked pink parts. This issue was shared by many others. Again, a great risk of getting salmonella. There was no serving spoon in the jello bar. Meaning, individuals had to use their own spoon to get jello from bowls. The other food stations shared a single tong among 4/5 types of salad or food. It’s not an exaggeration to say that the buffet was filthy (the floor and the food cooking stations). We saw cockroaches crawling on the food cooking station. Wait staff in the buffet were unfriendly, slow and nowhere to be found. There was no one to seat you or fill your glass with water or ask what kind of drink you want. If we would find a waiter and ask for water, it would take 30 mins to get it after numerous reminders. Room Initially, we were given 2 rooms both with king beds for us and our children. Later, they switched us to 2 rooms with double beds as they could not resolve the issues with the initial rooms. They were cockroaches and bed bugs in the rooms. The door latch was missing from inside. The balcony door lock was not working. The safe door was not closing. There was no working TV or working room phones. The room door was not easily opening with the card. We would get stock outside our room with frustration. The air conditioning controller was broken – not able to adjust the room temperature. There were coffee mugs in the room but no coffee machine. There were only two towels in the room, so we had to use the same towel for face and shower. Towels were not changed daily. There was no extra toilet paper, whatever was on the roll. The room fridge only offered one bottle of water. There was no internet in the rooms. Main lobby The water dispenser had no water only filled with ice for hours. The staff didn’t make the effort to refill with water. You could always spot dirty glasses, cups, and plates on the tables. There was no timely cleanup. Public Washrooms The washrooms were filled with unpleasant smell either due to aging facility or not timely cleaning. The washrooms did not have operational or refilled soap dispensers. Door locks were broken. WIFI / Phone System Weak and unreliable WIFI. WIFI only worked at certain areas – could not stay in touch with family members in the resort. The phone in the rooms didn’t work - no dial tone. Could not call the reception for a service request. Since most of the things were not operational in our room, we had to physically walk to reception to ask for it to be fixed. The resort didn’t have landline to make a collect call. Had to use own personal phone. Beech and Pool The beach and pool areas were not attained at all. We never saw a resort staff to clean or put chemicals in the pools. The beach and pool chairs were broken, dirty and misplaced, dirty paper cups all over, garbage and seaweed covered shoreline.

My Honest Review

Here's my honest review of our stay (December 27th - January 3rd) . We booked our trip to Grand Memories Holguin last minute (one week prior) and elected to go with the Premium rooms. Since we were traveling with our 2 teens we booked two separate rooms. Our rooms 3434 & 3435 were in building G and were ocean/pool view. They were modern and clean and no signs of any pests during our stay. Maids were great and replaced our towels and bed sheets daily and restocked our mini fridges with coke, s [... read more]prite, beer and water as needed. Our first 2 days the food was poor even for Cuba standards with very limited food selection and no vegetables or fruit at all at any of the restaurants. We even ventured to the nearby market to try and buy some but they too had nothing. From day 3 and onwards the food got a lot better and suddenly had tomatoes and cucumbers and even fries but no other greens. Their bread is made fresh daily and is really good. Buffet has good pizza but limited to cheese, tomatoes and ham only. They also have pasta with tomato and/or alfredo sauce although they lack parmasean to give it more genuine flavor. Their grilled wraps are quite good and have choice of chicken, pork or Tuna and have similar taste to a melt sandwich except I found these to be tastier than ones back home due to their freshly made/baked bread wraps. They do also have a wide variety of other meal stations but they do lack any greens -lettuce, spinach, broccoli, etc.. Their desserts were pretty good too - my personal favorite was their guava ice-cream. Since we had 2 Premium rooms, we had 2 butlers ( Orlando & Luiz) who were each helpful in getting us reservations to the 4 allacarte restaurants as well as dinner reservations at the Premium restaurant. Therefore we ate dinner at 5 different restaurants over our 7 days. Japanese was the best in terms of entertainment followed by Creole, Agea, Premium and Italian based on our likings of the food. Each allacarte had 3-4 course meals so we left full every time Drinks They DO NOT have any Vodka and unless your Premium, no coke either.. But they do have a decent selection of rum and whiskey and tequila. Pina-colodas were hit and miss based on availability of ingredients but they always had espresso martinis which were tasty. Mojitos were also hit and miss based on (mint) availability. The 3 pools all looked clean although we opted for the beach instead which was cleaned every morning of weeds/ rubbish. That said, there is some garbage which floats in from the ocean with waves. The water right in front of the hotel was clear but often stirred up by the waves however 5mins down from there the water was insanely clear mostly due to the reef which broke down the waves. Snorkeling was amazing and we saw every type of fish possible- just like visiting an aquarium, and found numerous shells and conch's. They also had pedal boats and kayaks which could be reserved for free. We also booked an excursion which incluuded sailing via catamaran, Snorkeling and visiting an island with a jeep tour of the wildlife including zebras, antelope, wild horses and iguanas. The beach was amazing and the Snorkeling was AMAZING. Had I'd been asked to rate my experience on our first 2 days, I would have been a lot more critical and advised people not to come. While they are still lacking green vegetables and most fruits, I would rank my stay as 3 out of 5 and would therefore return to Cuba but maybe try a different hotel closer to the bigger cities as I believe the issue with their lack of supplies has to do with this resorts isolation coupled with Cuba's fuel and other shortages.

Declining Quality

Keep in mind that this hotel is 2h bus drive from the airport in the very secluded part of Cuba, there is one hotel close to it but it is shut down, so if privacy is critical for you this is the place for you. However, having a small buffet for 300+ tourists with lineups to go into the buffet is not acceptable, multiple roaches (5+ roaches) roaming around the Japanese restaurant made us leave this a-lacarte booking before the cooking begun. Great weather and lack of mosquitos somehow made up  [... read more]for these deficiencies, although after 15 visits to Cuba things are getting worse each time, which is unfortunate.

I will come again

Polite staff, good food including every day seafood. Loud music by swimming pool is only between 3-5 pm. If you don't like it , the long beach provide excellent escape with the bar in sufficient distance from swimming pool "noise".

Grand Memories Holguin

Grand Memories is a beautiful new hotel (less than 5 years old). It is beautifully maintained and the rooms are very comfortable, clean and modern. The beach, pools and hotel are exceptional. The food is good for Cuba/ they have added pizza ovens and several more hot stations. Our butler Orlando was polite, professional and on top of his guests needs/requests. The only negative is that there is no evening entertainment. There use to be a disco at route 66 now the resort directs you off the r [... read more]esort to a disco at the market across the road which guests declined as no one wanted to leave the resort. (discos should be on the resort). They close the game room and games bar at 10pm!!! We had to finish up our game as they were closing the doors - a games bar! The hotel would also benefit from some type of music (local talent) in the lobby while people are having drinks. if the entertainment was stepped up this would be the number one place in Holguin!

Had a great time

This resort was fun to stay at. It offered pool bar, VIP bar, and they restocked my fridge with beer and water everyday. The staff were amazing and I loved how many crabs and cats roamed the area. The rooms were nice and clean. However, it unfortunately doesn’t fall in my top favourite resort. The lobby is on the second floor, so you have to use the stairs or lift every time. Upon arrival, it took 4 entire hours to get a card to be able to enter our rooms. I slept on the couch in the VIP lobby r [... read more]oom to wait after being awake for 39 hours of work and travel. Not sure why it took so long, and 5 of the staff were scrambling trying to figure out what to do. It was chaos. Majority of that day was wasted. Anyway, I’d also like to point out that the beach was a bit disappointing. Across the water at island Cayo Saetia, the water is crystal clear, absolutely breathtaking. At this resort it was constantly windy with big waves the entire trip. Someone actually passed away from drowning the week I was here. The water was murky, full of seaweed and rocky with chunks of shell hitting your feet. I brought goggles and found a handful of sea urchins so bring water shoes. I did find awesome shells and explored the tide pool rocks though. The food was actually great, wasn’t a fan of the buffet though. It smelt bad and had swarms of flies gathering on the food. The buffet outside by the Sanctuary is where I ate instead every day. They offered a variety of food. Pancakes, fried chicken, hot dogs, provolone, cheese, French toast, cappuccinos, fresh fried eggs to your liking, freshly blended mango smoothies, and more. Moving on, I’m not sure why but there were dead crabs everywhere. Possibly the resort workers kill them? Or people staying at the resort? I saw a crab huddle up in a corner at the bottom floor of my building, he was cute and minding his own business not bothering anyone. Then the next morning on my way outside I saw him crushed to death. It made me sad, so anytime I found a crab I shooed it away so it wouldn’t be killed. There was also no Michael Jackson in the theatre lol. The special dinners were also unbelievably delicious. Okay my review is done. Overall nice place, it was an amazing experience, and I’m glad I went, but it is not my all time favourite.

3 on 5 at best

Went during off-season where the place was overrun by locals, which is fine…but they hoarded the food/alcohol and always cut the line when we were waiting for food. Also, we were CONSTANTLY harassed for our large denomination Canadian bills by the staff, it got really annoying after the second day. Rooms were clean, food was average. Beach was just ok as there was an abundance of seaweed washing up on the shore. Definately won’t try that resort again.

Good Vacation

Hotel was great, beach is amazing, food is good, however no fresh produce (tomatos, peppers, lettuce...) And no water sport activities: no sail catamarans and no snorkeling masks. Plenty of pools + hotel activities.

Grateful

Grateful for time with family. However the rooms did have cockroaches and the food was bland and limited protein options. The bartender jr was great and we meet our own friends from Toronto that enhanced the stay . Staff is moody n rude

Good Memories .

Cuba is always rewarding trip for me...starting with affordability,safety is very important too ! This resort is modern , clean, convenient . Spacious rooms with nice views . Food in Cuba was never an issue for me and this time was very good too. Unfortunately I am not planning to come back because very shockingly I didn't like the beach!

2nd visit and even better than remembered!!!

This was our second visit to Grand Memories Holguin. We did not stay on the Sanctuary side only because it was off season and we didn't expect that there would be many children at the resort. We were right but you may want to consider Sanctuary Grand Memories if you need adults only. One of the advantages of Sanctuary is that you have access to the entire resort. This hotel is relatively new and in great condition, as you would expect. That gardens are maturing nicely, and the facilities  [... read more]are very modern. The design is very contemporary and while it's a large resort it is very easy to find your way around. The rooms are equipped with modern furniture, great beds, beautiful walk-in showers and large balconies. We had no issues with hot water and our A/C worked well. This was our 10th trip to Cuba and the second time to the island this year. The food selection at Grand Memories was very good. Cuba always seems to have a primary protein on any given week and this trip we experienced plenty of delicious salmon. Having said that, we enjoyed pasta, chicken, pork, rice, lots of fresh fruits and vegetables, plenty of bread, pastries and deserts along with burgers, sandwiches and fries at the snack bar. We had plenty of selection at the various bars including white and red wine. We had the upgrade to Premium Class which was MORE THAN WORTH IT. We had a-la carte breakfast and lunch at the premium class restaurant (which was nicely air conditioned) and an a-la-carte dinner every night, including a return guest dinner and a premium club dinner. The service was really good at each of our sittings. We also had access to the premium class bar, which was just off of the main lobby and it was nicely enclosed with air conditioning for those hot afternoons. The bar offered a great coffee assortment in the morning with pastries and a great drink selection throughout the days and nights. You need to meet Jose at this bar. He was amazing. Also included in Premium Class was two butlers. We had a daytime butler from 7am to 3pm and a night butler from 3pm to 11pm. Yosbel and Raciel were amazing and took such good care of us!! They were constantly checking with us to make sure all of our needs were met and they did a great job communicating with us and booking all of our dinner reservations. A big thank you to both of these men. Great job! The pools at Grand Memories are plentiful and beautiful. They are clean and very well kept. There are plenty of shade structures although they are in need of replacing the loungers. Many of them were quite beat up and in need of repair. The beach is amazing and the landscape in this area is very beautiful with rolling hills and mountains. The sand is beautiful, although arguably not as soft as Cayo Coco or Cayo Santa Maria. I would encourage you to take water shoes since the entry to the ocean is a bit rocky with scattered seashells but nothing to deter you from enjoying the beautiful beach and ocean. The water depth does drop off much quicker than we have experienced in the Cayos but it is more than safe for children and those who like to wade. There's plenty of beach to get your daily walk on and the beach is very deep with plenty of room for all of the guests to enjoy. The beach bars are well positioned with seating areas attached to the bars. Say hello to the best bartender, Ilianet, when you swing by the beach bar. You may also find her at one of the swimming pool swim up bars. She's the best! The beach has plenty of trees on it with a ton of shade to enjoy if you're looking to get out of the sun. The loungers were plentiful and in good condition. We have zero complaints from our trip to Grand Memories and look forward to returning for the third time, maybe even this November.

It is worth it to go there, but fight for your AC.

2025 May 10-24. WestJet flight. Tightness at its worst. Transfer to the hotel took almost 2 hours. Weather was sunny, but strong East wind blew almost all the time. 22/30C growed to 24/32C. It is a new big hotel and many things are done in the best contemporary way. Five floors, but elevators. Galleries and widely open stairwells. Shadows and draft winds make it cooler. But my favorites were doors and windows with excellent soundproofing. They withstand the hellish noise of usual "entertain [... read more]ment". There are three huge pools between building's wings. And one of them is always quiet. Bedding is good. Rooms are clean. Unfortunately, the AC system is horrible. I changed rooms because of that. It poisoned my visit. Water, electricity, TV and the internet were just normal, like everywhere in the world. No usual Cuban exotic, except AC of course. Staff is managed properly. They work as they have to. But a good thank-you will never hurt. Food was good enough. And restaurant-buffet is very roomy with a lot of tables. I am mostly interested in the beach. It is a good sandy beach with enough shadows from trees and umbrellas. Water was clean and warm. 400 meters away from the beach you can reach a pretty rich coral reef. Most corrals are dead like everywhere, but there are many new ones. The surrounding area is a bush with small secondary roads and wild sandy beaches. It is worth it to go there, but fight for your AC.

Beautiful Resort

This is our third time in Cuba. This resort is beautiful, fairly new, well kept and clean. Everything in our room worked as it should. The servers, housekeeping staff and management always had a smile and ready to help. The beach very nice. We did not stay at the Sanctuary but did upgrade to premium. Our butler, Julio was always available and arranged all of our al la carte dinners. Some issues - Premium upgrade (other than butler service) was questionable. We did not see any premium [... read more] only beach area or in the restaurants. The over 19 area was not well controlled with a number of youngsters and teens present. No maps available and not too sure which restaurants were open/closed. When we arrived we did not have a separate registration - again premium was to include this. On our last day, leaving the resort at 6:30, we went to the 24 hour snack restaurant to have a quick meal there they only had hot dogs and hamburgers but no buns, no pizza, nothing else. We were aware of some food shortages but the rest of the resort had availabilities, so this is a management issue. During our stay, after the weekend, the resort had no cola, Sprite, pop, no wine - very limited drinks menu. By Tuesday, they were restocked but not all liquors, so beware. Variety of food was limited. Pasta, chicken, cheeses, breads but were mostly the same every day. Would have loved to see more fish/seafood and variety! At the end of the trip we were bussed to the airport. When we got out of the bus we had to get our luggage out of the baggage area. My husband in his 70's should not have been the one to get the bags out of the bus for us and many others.

Worst experience ever !!!

From the first day to the last toilet lick, bad smell and ... Reception every single day take a note and fix zero. Employees lying, nexus tours lying. Simple example! How long will take to drive to Santiago de Cuba if I take your tour ... Answer ! 90 min maximum. After you pay and tour day only in the bus you will have a correct information by the fact and twice longer Anyway never again

Fun Christmas vacation!

December 18 to December 28, 2024. We booked oceanview room with Premium package. Yosbel, was our guardian angel during our stay. Nothing was missed, filled fridge, he booked all of our a la cartes. If I had any concerns or questions, I'd address it to him and he did his absolute best to help us . Fridge was filled, the room was clean, comfortable beds, big size hair dryer, nice shower. Great entertainment team, kind,fun, friendly and talented group of young people. Amauris, Paulo, Adriana, Nao [... read more]mis and Sergio. They played with my son, thought him all the signature dances :) This is a 2 year old resort, I do know that certain things aren't available to maintain certain areas of the resort, but fresh coat of the paint in certain common areas would be nice and to fix cupboards in the buffet for staff lol. Also, I see all these Managers walking around, cameras on top of everything. Just please make certain things run smoother and more efficient. The food was good, our favorite Japanese restaurant. Tuna was great! The beach is great, yes it's windy, but we can't play with God and mother nature. Amazing pools as well! Can't forget my buffet ladies, Sandra ( the singer) and Yulieska. Always welcoming us with smiles on their faces and kisses. We love them Mi cubano hermanas forever!❤️ Our maid Rubi, super nice lady. 24 h bar, Lily making my 7 am cappuccino, extra strong. This was our 2nd visit to this resort and won't be last. I just wish that it was closer to the airport. There are few things that can be corrected. Less wait time at the lobby bar, more efficient way that buffet staff works and serves, few times I was without water or ate with a knife lol, when I was almost done, staff member approach me. I went to their little station didn't find any forks. (Sometimes they are understaffed because of fuel shortage and the employees that are already there have to cover another shift , because others werent able to come to work) I personally don't mind, but many people due to dietary issues or cultural or religion don't eat certain food. Cannot mix or use same grill and utensils /grilling tools for chicken and pork, or fish and beef. FOOD HANDLING EDUCATION is necessary. Other than that, we were fine with everything we ate. I am well aware of shortages and how things are run in Cuba. 17 times and different parts of Cuba. Tbh i find that the food and menus are all the same everywhere with few small adjustments. I did tip, I did give gifts. I brought a whole suitcase of gifts, non perishable food items but even without tipping, any place,buffet, or bar i went to , I received a good service with a smile on their faces. We did Dolphins excursion,even though Cici and Dana didn't want to play with us, we got to touch them. We were told it's a Love season for them and they behave different. Catamaran was so nice. Loved it. Over all , our vacation was amazing, relaxing and fun. Cheers! God bless all of our cuban friends!!

Grand Memories Resort

Generally, I do not review resorts. I have been to Cuba over a dozen times throughout the years. We travelled to this resort the week leading up to Christmas. We got a good rate and I can honestly say it was one of the best value trips I have ever had. The grounds were well kept and all the staff incredibly friendly. They constantly were cleaning the hotel. Additionally, lobby bar staff continually asked customers for orders while sitting in the lobby area. This was greatly appreciated. T [... read more]he food was good by Cuban standards and they had the odd shortages of items from time to time but nothing significant. All in all, it was a fantastic experience. Some of the cons were the two hour bus trip to the resort.(if they are expanding in the Antilla Rodan peninsula, they might want to consider building a new airport nearby). The resort should improve their communication strategy. Hand out a map upon check in so people know where to go. Set up a board in the lobby to indicate events going on throughout the week. The Sunwing nexus posting in the lobby did not indicate departure times for various flights going out. This small detail would be an easy fix.

Great Resort

Generally clean and well kept. The staff were very friendly and helpful. The food was exactly as you would normally expect in Cuba aside from a slightly reduced variety due to supply shortages. There are ample choices when you're looking for a spot by one of the many pools, or on the beach.

It's an okay Resort.

Employees- they are very nice Rooms- The one that we have is good, especially the view Buffet- Food is okay, just remember they have food shortages so you will find that they have the same food almost everyday. Washrooms on the resort- it's clean but has a little bit of smell. Pools- they have very nice pools, just needs a little bit of cleaning. Over all we enjoyed our stay.

Amazing resort

very good resort we like it so much the hotel the property the food the staff the pools the sea the smiling people the weather everything was excellent we want to go another time there and we want to take our friends and family too

Superior experience

A lovely new, quite large resort, in fact 2 resorts in one. Many pools, dining rooms, generous beach and interesting new shops & entertainment facility within 200 yds. It is in excellent condition, kept so by a marvelous staff. The 2 hour ride from the airport was in daylight and provides a wonderful view of both town and countryside.