Valentin Perla Blanca: Cant beat the price

Compared to Dominican or Mexico (Mayan side) its a bit lower on quality but it make up for it on price. As this was my first trip to Cayo Santa Maria and reading some lower reviews, I was surprised by the better than expected food. The hotel ran out of some food over the week I was there but there was enough of everything else. They weren't cheap on the drinks and the service was good.

Playa Luxury Cayo Las Brujas: Fantastic Two-Week Holiday at the Angsana Cayo Santa Maria!

My husband and I just came back from a two-week holiday in Cayo Santa Maria, at the Angsana hotel, as recommended by Jennifer Collard, from Trip Central (St. Laurent). The Angsana resort is brand new, since October 2018. It's a small resort (240 rooms) and very quiet, which was great for us. We were lucky to have an ocean-front room overseeing one of the pools. WOW!!!! One of the nicest rooms we've had in all the trips we took. It was in the main block of the hotel, which was very convenient [... read more], being central to everything. We did hear that the cabanas were quite nice as well and that the rooms were a very nice size. The resort is very clean and the gardens are absolutely beautiful! As always in Cuba, all staff are friendly and nice, whether at the buffet, restaurants, bar, beach - even the gardener! The hotel has only two "à la carte" restaurants, Asian and Seafood, both wonderful. The menus were so varied that we went back three times each and had completely different meals!!! The buffet was good and we changed it up by going to the grill, by the beach, which was very good, or the snack bar, near the pool, which was also quite nice (for lunch). The beach is nice - a bit smaller than we're used to but still quite nice to walk (we just did it more often). The water is beautiful but to our surprise, quite rocky in the bottom. We could have used water shoes but that didn't prevent us from enjoying the ocean every day. We even got to see lots of fish, right there in front of our spot - great for snorkling!!! The beach staff was great - always ready to set you up in the morning and to offer to bring you drinks at your chair. We're mostly beach people but we did spend a bit of time at the pool(s) at the end of the day. Gorgeous pools (infinity type). WOW!!! No pool bar but the staff brings your drinks right there for you. It's perfect! There are no shows at that resort but small entertainment in the lounge bar. Quite nice, actually. Perfect for a nice after dinner drink - or two. (We're not big on shows, anyway.) There was an aquatic show one night which was fantastic!!! We were blessed with 14 days of beautiful weather and loved, loved, loved our time away at Angsana. Just a few suggestions for the hotel, if they want to maintain their high rating (giving them the benefit of the doubt that they are still new and still adjusting): - more staff to maintain a good level of service (sometimes it was a bit slow but hey, we weren't in any hurry...) - It wasn't super busy when we went but I could see this being a problem in peak season - the towel service was not very good - again, not a big deal but after a couple of days, it's time to freshen them up - just a word to the front desk and all was good - the Sunwing rep was never there - not a big deal but if there would have been an issue.... Highly recommended!!

Melia Las Dunas: Very beautiful resort

The staff was so pleasant very helpful. The beach was amazing. The colour of the water amazing The staff at the pool bar were the best. The pool was kept up very well. The rooms were clean and nice. A lot of hot water. Thank god!! The food was ok. The grill was very good. We ate there for lunch. The omelette and crepes were awesome. I ate that every morning. A thank you goes out to all the hard working people there. One thing I would like say. Please tip the staff Don’t be cheap!!!

Hotel Roc Casa del Mar: Fantastic beach and can't say enough about Food and Beverage Manager Jean Pierre!

First impression of Ocean Casa del Mar's lobby is that it's beautiful, Mike's coffee kept us coming back again and again, my husband was addicted. We travelled April 5 to 12th for my birthday and found the staff was very accommodating, we got the room we wanted and our maid was fantastic, every day we had flowers in our room and a towel in the shape of a heart. Very important to realize, however, that the Cuban resort is providing the best offerings of their country and it will not be the same [... read more] as North American standards. If you stick with french fries and steak you will find it is not as good as in Canada, but if you ate like we did and try the excellent Cuban food (calamari, grouper, shrimp, mahi mahi, salmon and white beans along with soursoup ice cream, something I never tried but truly enjoyed), you will not be disappointed. Jean Pierre set us up at Romantico, an inviting restaurant for my birthday and we were treated to birthday cake and champagne. He dropped by and said, "See, we remembered your birthday!" and the staff gave my husband several winks to let him know everything was ready to go. They even sang to me, nicely done! Drinks at the lobby bar were very good, Cuban music bands were excellent, the kayak and catamaran sports we tried on the beach were fun and the staff was very friendly and had a great sense of humour. Only problem was the first day our safe didn't close but within 24 hours that problem was corrected. And the Catamaran tour and dolphin show offered by Air Transat was a blast, rock lobster dinner was excellent, and you do interact with the dolphins. Be sure to get your picture taken with Nicky the dolphin, it was my only regret of the trip. My husband loved the Cuban music show put on by older legendary Cuban musicians, we noticed members of the staff of Ocean Casa del Mar taking in the show, too, so you know it has to be good. Beautiful beach, fantastic people, great drinks, Cuban food was very good and my husband wanted to take Mike's Coffee Shop home with him permanently. Had a blast and lived to tell the tale. We'll be back!

Valentin Perla Blanca: Beautiful resort

I will not be returning to this resort. Found the staff very rude unless they were being given a tip. Food was okay, could have been cooked better. Roof was leaking. Great access to the beach. Beach was amazing. Male workers were pulling female guests into corners to kiss them. No toilet paper in the washrooms. Very bad overall.

Grand Aston Cayo Las Brujas: Fabulous vacation!

Travelled as a family with 8 year olds and loved every minute! Great layout - everything in family section was close and convenient. We loved the pool! Awesome snorkeling in the bay. Improving the buffet would help, but we always found food. We would absolutely recommend this resort and would love to return soon!

Paradisus Los Cayos: Great resort

The hotel was very nice - it was just opened in December I believe so everything was very new and clean and modern. We stayed on the adults only side which was very nice. Only downside was because it was so new there seemed to be some miss communication/lack of understading between staff of what was going on at times - for example the front desk at adults only always sent us over to the front desk on the family side as they did not know how to answer our questions - and on the morning we were le [... read more]aving we had an early flight and the buffet was not open at 7am and were unable to find anything to eat as the 24 hour buffet was not open? And staff were saying it was open. But staff remained very friendly at all times, just a few kinks that need to be resolved for a new resort I believe. Room was very nice and the beach was beautiful!

Valentin Perla Blanca: Valentin Perla Blanca, Cayo Santa Maria Review

We recently stayed at this resort from April 2-April 11/19. From arrival to airport to resort , travel by bus took approximately 2hours, however cold beers on bus for 2.50 each. Upon arrival, there was a line up to check in. The line up ran pretty smooth, most rooms were not ready as we arrived at around noon time. Rooms were ready around 330pm. Rooms were clean, however struggled on a daily basis to get water restocked in our fridge, to the point of calling front desk and requesting that we [... read more] have a bottle of water daily. This did help after about the third day. Buffet- due to the size of resort, only one buffet open, plus two snack bars during Breakfast and Lunch, food comes out and is at times gone as quickly as the staff can prepare at times. Omelette bar was always great for breakfast, usually a line up, but it’s vacation! Lunch and supper time- usually kind find something to eat and the pasta bar was always delicious. However, I have never in my life seen people fight over or run to food in my life , such as I did here. Most days it was a sight to see, you would think people have never ate. As well as rudeness to staff and other guests. A la Cartes- we went to each one, I can not stress how great the food at each one was, staff were prompt, food was hot, they work hard to exceed expectations and no fighting over food! Lobby bars were hit and miss depending on day, however staff were amazing at these bars and work very hard to ensure guests requests are met. Due to the remote area they would run out of things, beer( Cristal) was one of them, however they were pretty quick to replenish with a different type of beer. Pools- water in the activity pool was cloudy, tiles missing and very hard to get a pool lounger as people would apply towels very early in the am ( as early as 530am)to secure their chair for the day. Always something fun going on at the activity pool. Bathroom facilities close to activity pool very dirty, liquid feces all over female bathroom including counter, toilet, floor and door. The activity pool is loud. The quiet pool is exactly that, quiet, however pool lounger issue is the same, pool appeared cleaner than activity pool, swim up bar not as crowded. Bathroom facilities cleaner. Beach- the beach is absolutely beautiful/ large beach with multiple beach bars. There is also a beach BBQ around 1300. Loungers on the beach closes to the Rancheon and block 24 very difficult to obtain unless it’s 3-4pm as people secure these as well. Nightly entertainment was great! Lobby always had some type of entertainment taking place, there were a group of three who played on a regular basis and were absolutely amazing. Lobby staff work very hard to keep things organized and clean unfortunately due to the size of resort/ amount of people the lobby becomes packed very quickly in the evening. Bathroom facilities through out resort were hit and miss some were clean, some were disgusting. It really depend on what part of the resort you were at, toilet paper was scarce( we carried toilet paper everywhere’s we went) it’s Cuba-toilet paper can be an issue wherever you go in this country. Due to the state of some bathrooms would recommend taking hand sanitizer. Overall, the beach was beautiful, sun was warm and drinks were cold. We immersed ourselves in the Cuban culture on and off resort as we love to explore Cuba, however we will not return to this resort. A lot of noted issues were more impart due guests vs staff. Resort is packed during high season and ? Not enough staff to keep running smooth. It is a very large resort, anyone who has difficulty getting around may find this resort difficult to maneuver. The people of Cuba are always amazing, if you get a chance do the Santa Clara/Remidos excursion. It was great. Las Estrella market is great too. You can take the double decker bus to the market for 2$ pesos.

Hotel Roc Casa del Mar: Disappointed

For a newer resort, it is really showing its age. The resort seems to bandaid everything. The toilet in the room constantly ran. The tiles on the pool were falling off. The snack bar never had the whole menu and there was a flood over the buffet in the middle of dinner.the resort had such potential. It just needed better maintenance. That is the bad. The staff were always helpful and nice. The food that they did have was amazing.

Grand Aston Cayo Las Brujas: Beautiful resort!!

Beautiful location, the resort is nice and clean and well maintained. It’s close to the beach and has an adults only section. Friendly staff!! Not much variety at the buffet but no lack of food. Great a la cartes but ran out of some items. This hotel has been sold 3 times over the last 3 months so I think there was a lot of disorganized chaos. But overall we had a lovely, relaxing vacation!! Hopefully the new owners can get the hotel up to a 4 star resort

Roc Lagunas del Mar: Nice place to relax

If you are looking to party this isn't the resort. Very friendly staff. Room was okay; just the public bathrooms available for all smelled very strong in urine, not clean and missing toilet paper. Food was okay as well ; however I'm not fussy. For the souper a la carte it was dissapointing; we only got 2 out of the 4 because even if we went to reserve when we arrived they were all booked and there was missing many choices on the menu. Overall a nice place, beach, pools very clean and good s [... read more]ervice.

Sanctuary at Grand Memories Santa Maria: Beautiful resort

The hotel appeared old and in need of minor repairs like painting,bolts missing from railings etc... The grounds were okay same as hotel,ground keepers need to be on top of things. The pool and the beach are beautiful and the staff (our butler,waiters/waitresses,bartenders and entertainment staff) were amazingly helpful and efficient.

Playa Luxury Cayo Las Brujas: Overall, very good resort.

The resort itself is very pretty and very well laid-out. The main restaurants, bars, pools, lobby and guest service are all in the central area around the pools. The beach is a bit rocky on the hotel side, but another beautiful beach is a few mins away in the other direction. For entertainment, don't expect a lot of daily activities or big theatre type shows. The main hang-out in the evening (well, pretty much all day really) is the Lobby Lounge. Drinks and coffees were fabulous, and entert [... read more]ainment consisted of local Cuban bands and singers nightly, who were all very good. We felt sorry for the Jazz Bar. It's all closed off from the main lounge and it doesn't attract people. We feel it would work better if it were just opened up and combined with the Lobby Bar. The flow would be better and that section of seating would be away from the hustle bustle of the main area, but still accessible. Staff at the bars and restaurants are friendly, helpful and good-natured. There are a few we really bonded with, and they consistently went over and above. Food was not too bad in the buffet, but repetitive. Biggest suggestion for buffet food,especially, is to obtain more buffet warmers and use them to their full potential. Most "hot" items ranged from lukewarm to cold. The warming lamps above are not sufficient. The snack bar had great sandwiches and finger foods. The beach restaurant/grill was pretty good. In the evening, it became the seafood specialty restaurant. Both meals we had at that restaurant were very good. Our biggest caveat was the cleanliness of "our" room as we can't speak for others. We found that the floor only received a quick central sweep daily. This was apparent because we noted the same things on the floor both in the main room and in the bathroom every day. Similarly, the shower floor wasn't cleaned regularly. Hair that wasn't ours was always there until we just started leaving our towels on the shower floor so that it had to be wiped with just the motion of removing the towels. We stopped leaving treats for our cleaning lady and gave them to one of servers at the lounge bar who was much more deserving and very appreciative. Another observation/suggestion: the bathroom towels are supposed to be white, however, because they aren't bleached, the towels have become grey. There are stains on them and they don't smell refreshed. If bleach is not available, perhaps a different colour of towels should be considered? Maybe actual gray or dark blue, dark green, etc. These were a big turn-off as they didn't feel clean at all. Overall, we still rate this resort as very good. We may or may not return to this specific one someday, but we did enjoy our week.

Memories Paraiso: Very nice resort

The grounds are beautifull. The beach is amaizing.food was good. I missed the snack bar and the breakfast buffet at the beach ( next to the pool). Room was good and the maid DID an excelent job . The pool area is beautifull. IT needs working outside showers. A Great vacation.

Sanctuary at Grand Memories Santa Maria: Not bad... could be Great

We stayed at Sanctuary from April 2-9. Overall the stay was pretty good but with a few improvements it could have been great. The staff and the service they offer is probably the best we have received anywhere. Special to mention Orbee and Nayla who took such great care of us at the breakfast and lunch buffet, Carlos and Ray at the pool bar and Claudia and Glendy our butlers on the top floor of in building 60. These people made our trip. For the most part we had breakfast and lunch at the  [... read more]Sanctuary buffet, pretty good selection of food choices but not a lot of flavor. Kitchen staff pretty accommodating, one day my wife was looking for french fries and none was available until she asked and within 10 minutes she was presented with a plate of fresh cooked hot fries.. that’s service For dinner we ate at the la cartes and 2 out of the 4 were pretty good. Would recommend the Mediterranean and the Grand Memories Italian but would stay away from the Mexican and the Sanctuary Italian. The one complaint about all the la carts was that none served coffee/tea after dinner, designed Im sure to get the people out the door Couple of other things that could be done to improve the resort would be a badly need update to the rooms. Our bed, sheets, pillows were ok but a paint job, tub/tile caulking and some furniture replaced would have greatly enhanced the experience and if it was done Im sure the resort could charge more and people would pay for it. The other complain we had was that about 90% of the lounge chairs that are around the pool are being “reserved” the night before and in some cases if people were lucky and get the shade chairs they would keep personal items on them 24 hrs

Playa Cayo Santa Maria: Beautiful, well staffed, and well maintained amenities

The grounds were beautiful, with welcoming staff and the lobby has the best live music - especially the violinist! The amenities are plentiful and well-maintained, and the food is good (no travelers diaherria from Canada!)

Playa Luxury Cayo Las Brujas: Amazing Resort

Everything about resort was awesome from the rooms,beds,linens,cleanliness!!! Even the food was very good .Buffet was changed up everyday and alacarte restaurants were exceptional. Pools were lovely...always shining and clean! Service great drinks yummy and alot of places to snack!!!the beach goes on forever..... Will return B&B

Iberostar Selection Ensenachos: Good Resort

We stayed for two weeks and were fairly pleased with the resort overall. The rooms were nice and spacious and clean, the hotel staff were friendly, the beaches were beautiful and the food was pretty good by Cuba standards. Most of the a la cartes were good. The only one we didn't really care for was the Italian one. The Mediterranean and Asian ones were very good. There were only two things that we found disappointing. Firstly, beach chairs were being reserved by placing towels on the chairs  [... read more] by people very early in the day (like at dawn) and then people would only show up hours later to actually use the chairs which made it extremely difficult to find a chair. There were not enough chairs for all of the guests. Secondly, over a two week period we were only able to get a clean beach towel TWICE as laundry services have been moved off site and the towels need to be trucked out and in every day and were scooped up pretty fast. There were not enough beach towels for the amount of guests. Having said all that, I wouldn't hesitate to go again.

Dhawa Cayo Santa Maria: Great Location and Accommodations

Clean, adequate food, and fun staff! The resort was well maintained and had a number of facilities to keep the guests entertained. I would recommend this resort to my friends and family. The beach was the crown jewel of the resort and had great wildlife to explore.

Dhawa Cayo Santa Maria: Dhawa in Cayo Sant Maria

3rd time to this resort this winter. Was as wonderful as ever. They have the best staff, clean well groomed facility, great place, great people, good food and a great beach. Was told that I am no longer a guest, I am family. Love this place and will continue to return for sure