Hotel Roc Casa del Mar: We ended up staying at the Valentin Perla Blanca and it wasn't as good as last year

All of the public washrooms on the resort including the a la carte restaurants were disgusting and they only had 1 buffet opened and there were always line ups. The food was a hit and miss and they were running out of some food items. No security to be found when drunken ignorant Quebecers wanted to fight the tourist and harass young girls. Did not feel safe at this resort at night in the main lobby. They had a non smoking section but it was taken over by the smokers. The management/staff n [... read more]eed to enforce it as the non smokers have their rights too. We stayed at this resort last year and it was sooooo much better. Apparently they changed management so that explains why this resort is going downhill. We've met other people that went to this resort last year and said the same thing that they were disappointed this year and definitely we all will not be returning back to the Valentin Perla Blanca. We've stayed at various hotels in Cayo Santa Maria, and this was the worse that we've had at a resort. We will definitely be going back to Negril Jamaica or the Mayan Riveria or the Dominican and pay the extra money to go there as it is so worth it.

Grand Aston Cayo Las Brujas: Recent Trip to Playa Vista Mar

The Good: Resort was clean, large, plenty of things to do; the lobby entertainment in the evening was great - guitar player and saxophone, plus the band that performed outside were good. Pools were nice, although the adult pool should be the one with the swim up bar. Lots of shade if you preferred the beach. The food was so-so, but after all you're in Cuba so you can't expect to have the best. You would never go hungry... always found something to eat. A La Cartes were good. The Bad:  [... read more]VIP washroom was terrible ....never any TP or hand soap; beach wasn't the best due to seawood, also lots of seashells in the sand so you had to watch where you walked; lots of mosquitoes/sand fleas - which resulted in an infection when I got back home; also staff delivered complimentary bottle of rum at 11 pm in our hotel room, knocked once and then used his card to walk in, while we were in bed (not cool in my books); drive from the airport 90 min.

Melia Las Dunas: Great Family Vacation !

Travel dates: April 18-23, 2019 Ages of Travelers: 82,52,21,18,16 Family vacation was great ! The beach is one of the most beautiful powdery white sand beaches we have been too, pools are large and clean. Resort is large so we were able to get on average 6 km of walking in each day walking to and from our room to the beach, restaurants and lobby. Food was good by Cuba standards and we enjoyed the Oriental and Pizza A la Carte the most. Our room was large with a larger than normal balcony, ba [... read more]throom is dated but functional. Grounds are beautiful. We enjoyed the lobby music at night, the shows and beach party. Staff at the resort are lovely. The only negatives about this resort is the distance from the airport ( 2 hours, but we slept !) and my mother fell in one of the lobby pools as she did not see it..be careful with the pools and steps around the resort ! Overall we all loved the vacation !

Melia Cayo Santa Maria: Great resort

We had a wonderful two week vacation at the Melia Cayo Santa Maria.Perfect room location and size,short distance to beach, buffet and pools.All of the staff( can’t name them all) work very hard to meet everyone’s needs.They all have lovely smiles while working so hard and deserve a lot of credit for giving us a great vacation.The Tex Mex and Japanese restaurants were good, and the buffet was sufficient. The beach grill and 24 hour snack were our favourite spots to eat .Our room was large and [... read more] kept very clean.Room was ready when we arrived and we were checked in very efficiently and taken to our room and given an explanation of the resort by two great guys.Beach was amazing and we were well taken care of by the beach attendants.All the bars..beach,lobby and pool had great service but their seems to be a major inconsistency when making drinks, hard to get the same drink throughout the resort.We highly recommended this resort and will definitely return.

Valentin Perla Blanca: Beautiful Resort!

It was Beautiful! Clean and well kept. I've been to Cuba twice before and stayed in 2 different resorts in Varadero. This Resort was the best resort we stayed at! The food in the buffet was a hit and miss. The warmers don't keep the food warm and gets cold fast. We purchased the "privilege" package and we thought it was well worth the a la cartes! The food was much better! The room was very clean, comfortable and the air conditioner worked perfectly! A few problems came up but were take [... read more]n care of quickly. We found that the lady who registered us at check in at the privilege lounge did not inform us of all that package included. The last day I found out that 1 hour internet service per day was included. I paid for the service as I wasn't aware. We loved the resort but found the mosquitoes are very bad at this resort despite that they fogged it. There were always chairs available when we would go to the pool or beach but found that despite the fact there was a sign posted not to "reserve" chairs, guests were doing it anyway.

Gran Muthu Cayo Santa Maria: Not impressed

Beach was great . Towels were hard to get. Food was the worst I've found and this was my 4th trip to Cuba. Night for Italian restaurant had no Italian food. Blackflies left me with large welt, even though they sprayed. Manager was not much help. Our room was kept clean and tidy and the staff were great.

Gran Muthu Cayo Santa Maria: Worst resort

This was my 3rd time in Cuba in different areas of the island and the Golden tulip in cayo Santa Maria has to be my worst experience yet. The service, food and overall environment was not at all what I expected. The staff especially were rude. They ignored us or pretend not to be able to understand English. Upon arrival we were checking in but the hotel receptionist couldn't hear us because of the very loud music in the lobby. We later went to find something to eat at the 24 restaurant. Th [... read more]e staff were rude and didn't want to serve us. They gave us cold fries with nothing to put on them. As we were heading back to our room we came across 2 staff members being intimate at the side of the bar. We had no towels or toilet paper . The balcony did not lock and the hallways to the rest of our groups room had no hydro leaving them to walk back to their rooms in the dark. We complained the next morning to the hotel manager and she was more concerned about her staff making out during working hours. I travel atleast 2 times a year and this by far was the worst hotel I've stayed at. I would not recommend it to anyone.

Grand Aston Cayo Las Brujas: Nice Resort

Grounds and public area are good. As an asian vegetarian you don't have choice of food, You have to survive with fruits, juice, pasta and bread. Lucky if you are eggetarian. Cleanliness OK. Please bring "OFF" with you as there are lots of mosquito. Service in the pool area is So... So.... Towels are limited and you want find person to replace the used towels in this area. Even in the room service you have to ask for one. People are friendly, Server were good, overall it is OK. ***Suggestion*** [... read more]* Please keep few more options for Vegans ...... Rest can be improved over the time.

Grand Aston Cayo Las Brujas: AMAZING RESORT

AS WE'ARE VEGETARIAN, WE HAVEN'T HAD MUCH CHOICE OF FOOD. PLUS THEY HAVE LIMITATIONS IN FOOD PRODUCT LIKE BREAD, VEGETABLE CURRIES, TOMETOES, GREEN VEGETABLES ETS DUE TO IMPORT RISTRICTIONS. ROOM SERVICE IS OK NOT LIKE OTHER PLACES. THEY DON'T CLEAN SINK AND SHOWER EVERYDAY AND THEY DIDN'T CHANGE BEDSHEETS AT ALL NOT EVEN AT THE MIDDLE OF THE WEEK.

Resonance Blu Santa Maria: Beautiful Beach

My family and I stayed at the starfish santa Maria I’m Cuba, the beach was STUNNING, it was amazing, the hotel was run downed, they had a very poor food selection, and run out of food most days! The pool was ok, it did have a pool bar which was nice, the entertainment wasn’t good, the night shows were a disaster, overall I was very disappointed and would not Recommend this resort. I’ve stayed in other parts of Cuba but this is by far the worst resort I’ve been to. The only thing that is [... read more] saving this place is the beach.

Melia Buenavista: Wonderful resort

Great location, amazing beaches, great snorkelling (even for beginners), very helpful and friendly staff, very clean, beautiful and spacious suites. It is a smaller resort and offers a very relaxing atmosphere which was perfect for what I was looking for. You have access to the facilities and restaurants at the sister hotels for additional activities and restaurants.

Melia Las Dunas: Great resort!

This was our 3rd time to Melia Las Dunas. First the positive: the beach is the best! It is kept very clean and the water is so warm! Our maid for the week was a sweet young lady who kept our room spotless. Compliments to ALL the staff, from front desk to restaurant/buffet/bar to gardeners, cleaners and also the bus driver to and from airport. The Air Transat reps/guides were great! We spent most of our time on the beach. We really enjoyed the lobby bar entertainment in early evening. Res [... read more]ort has a very positive atmosphere. The negative: There didn’t seem to be the selection of foods in the buffet as in previous years - but we always found enough to eat. The International beer garden ran out of beer of any kind. The walkway to the beach on the adult side was in rough shape. At night the walkways were not well lit.

Grand Aston Cayo Las Brujas: Great Holiday!

The hotel grounds are beautiful. The staff was very helpful at all times. We stayed in building #1. The shower was slow draining close to overflowing it was reported to the front desk but nothing was done. All floors were dirty in the hall and doors needed cleaning. Shower floor needed scrubbing from lack of cleaning. Bread shortage seemed to be a problem & shortage of food at restaurants.

Gran Muthu Cayo Santa Maria: Great experience!

We had a great week at the Golden Tulip. The beaches were breath taking and the staff were very friendly. Every day our room was cleaned the room service staff created a new towel animal which was a nice touch! We went to all three à la carte restaurants but preferred the buffets. They always had fish available to be freshly grilled for dinner and lunch. We never had to wait in line for the buffets and there was always a table available. There was always something to do. Great equipment  [... read more]for water sports. The gym was also very nice and air conditioned. The market was quite close and only about a 10-15 minute walk away. I would recommend this hotel and will come back!

Dhawa Cayo Santa Maria: Nice beach, bad service

A little disappointed with this resort. We had higher expectations due to it being a newer resort however the resort and buildings were not very well maintained. The people that would clean the rooms also always seemed to forget to leave us hand towels while taking the used ones. There was one day when it did not seem that they cleaned the room at all. Also, options for food were limited and food was not very fresh. The service was not good at all. There were a handful of employees that were nic [... read more]e and helpful, the rest did not seem to care much and were very slow at helping people out so lines were always long when looking to talk to reception or going to book reservations at a la carte restaurants etc. Also, if you wanted to get a chair and some shade at the beach or pool, you would need to be up around 4 or 5 in the morning to reserve chairs with your towel. However, the beach itself was beautiful with clear blue water and some pretty decent spots to snorkel, except if you are looking to do excursions, there are not many options due to the location of the resort. I would probably not stay at this resort again if in Cuba again knowing that there are better options out there for this price.

Royalton Cayo Santa Maria: Fastastic Holidat!

The Royalton in Santa Maria is beautiful and luxurious. The top infinity pool and cabana beds is very relaxing, The service at the bottom pool and the beach will spoil you. We had a beautiful junior suite which is larger than the standard room, very large bathroom, closet and private balcony. it was very close to the upper restaurants and main lobby. Thee are three restaurants, not counting the beach grill (which is excellent), Sunset, Senses and Eggcelence. that are all ala cart, even the [... read more] breakfast is ala cart. Our two butlers took very, very good care of us The beach is spectacular, no seaweed, no smell....and there are lots of chairs on the beach and pool in the sun and shade. We will be back next year

Melia Las Dunas: Potential for five stars

In mid-April we spent a week at Melia las Dundas. Our seventh trip to Cuba. I must say that the resort has the potential to be a five-star hotel. The grounds are beautiful, very well-kept, green, with lots of shade. The beach is breathtaking, white, powdery sand and turquoise, warm, clean, shallow water. Lots of shade and chairs. The lobby is huge and nice, impressive at night, when everything lights. Its sounds like a wonderland, but it ends here... It's easy to say that it was a high-class ho [... read more]tel in the past, but not anymore. Lack of clean towels for the beach and rooms, insufficient plates, cutlery and glasses in the buffet restaurant and basic cleanliness in the dining room significantly reduces the hotel quality. I would like the management of the resort to find a way to fix it. With not much of changes in running the place and basic room/furniture renovation the hotel may be luxiourios again. Food is good. We are not going to Cuba for food, especially for hambugers and fries. We love fresh see food, organic, free from chemicals, tasty chicken and seasonal fruits. You'll find everything there, even the fries and poutine. The A la Carte restaurants (have eaten in three) are excellent. Fantastic, friendly Cubans made our stay very pleasant.

Iberostar Selection Ensenachos: Great Hotel, but starting to show its Age

We have been multiple times to this specific resort, and noticed that from last year (2018) to 2019, there was a remarkable different feel. While food isn't a high point in Cuba, you could tell the overall food quality dropped from just a year ago with less variety to choose from, and less offerings of premium products (lobster was only offered once during our 2 week stay). The rooms were starting to feel their age, some being damp and moldy smelling; definitely request a second floor room if  [... read more]you can. Having said that, we continue to go to Iberostar Ensenachos for the beautiful beaches and wonderful service, not for the food or accommodations. You still have a choice of two beaches, Megano and Ensenachos. We feel that Ensenachos beach is the more calm and beautiful of the two (less rocks and shells you walk on as you enter the water and also less of a riptide), but the trade off is that Ensenachos is further away to get to. The resort used to rake up the seaweed in the morning, but I guess beach maitenance has declined. Its these little differences from the previous year that leads us to observe that the quality has declined. But in the whole scheme of things, we go for the wonderful weather, white powder beaches, calm and shallow turquoise waters and wonderful service. People will always be picky, just depends on what you personally are there for and what your holidays priorities are. All in all, family had a fabulous time!

Playa Luxury Cayo Las Brujas: Super chill resort!!!!

We just returned after a lovely, relaxing vacation. We travelled with two other couples and we were all of the same opinion. Everything was clean & well maintained.. The staff were very sweet , extremely friendly and caring. We really loved the natural beach areas and being able to snorkel right off the shore was a special surprise. The pizza at the snack bar was excellent and the live music was an amazing way to end our super chill days !!!

Paradisus Los Cayos: Under construction to provide 5 star service

The hotel is planned to be a five star resort and is also priced as a 5 star resort however it is not fully there as yet. Be it customer service, amenities, entertainment or dining. A lot more needs to go into it to reach the 5 star rating.