Great staff

Feb 06 -12 Went with Sunwing and flight was good with no complications. Airport and customs in Cuba where very quick and we where loaded onto buses very quickly. Ride was approximately an hour and a half to the resort. Beer was sold on the bus and Canadian money was accepted. Check in was quick and there was golf cart to take us to our room. Our room in the 57 block was very spacious clean with a king size bed. Mini fridge with beer, pop and water was restocked daily. Wife asked for them to leav [... read more]e diet pop instead and that was not a problem. The stores had limited supply of diet pop. Everything in our room worked. Hair dryer, Ironing board and coffee maker all functioned. The maids did a great job of straightening the room ever day and when the towels or sheets where left on the floor they where changed just like everywhere else in Cuba. We upgraded to a an ocean view and I am very glad we did we could see the pool and the ocean. The best views are always on the higher floors but you will have to do stairs. We ate at 3 ala carts and found the Italian the best. The only thing we found wrong with the food was it was inconsistent between the 2 buffets. The one on your left as you enter seemed to have better food on some nights. Service was always great and the staff always made time to make you feel welcome. I will also say that in all my trips to Cuba this staff was probably the most professional while keeping it very friendly and for this alone I would go back. The beaches are amazing and there where lots of loungers for everyone. Emerald water and white powder sand everywhere. The three pools are great for both kids and adults with ledges and seats in the pool as well as shallow splash pools for younger children. A sports complex right there with towel exchanges. The excursions from this resort are very well priced and in line with all the other resorts we have been to. The Jeep tour was a very good day out with lots to see and do and a chance to see the real country. The deep sea fishing is also something you may want to take advantage of while here. If you take a second to be open and friendly with the Cuban people you may find out why so many people are in love with this country. We read in the reviews about people being sick. Other than a little upset stomach the second day my wife and myself where both fine. This was due to travel and drinking a little to much and not food quality. We did eat smaller amounts, sampling all of the food before piling it on our plates. When we found what we preferred we would take larger amounts. We did see a lot of people fill plates with food only to leave it on there tables. There are a few things we do every time we travel to Cuba. Pack a couple of cheep Pillows in a space bag. Makes sleep better and gives somewhere to put your dirty clothes when you are on the way back. Leave the pillows for the maids for tips. A package of travel tissues. Take with you on excursions and in air ports Any flavoring you really like. Hot sauce, coffee whitener, ketchup Diarrhea and gas medication. Pack a pair of underwear, sandals, shorts, bathing suit and light shirts in your carry on. Loose your luggage for a couple of days and you will be very glad you did

Avoid spring break

I have traveled to Cuba many times, this resort was decent. Great entertainment for families, amazing beaches, friendly staff and well laid out resort. Just avoid going on spring break I you want some R&R. Typical Cuban food- bland. Overall would go again

It's ok. In need of some work

Beach is unreal. Pools are awesome. As for the rooms they are in bad shape and need work. They night entertainment is excellent. I wouldn't recommend the diamond club we talk to people that had it and there was no difference. As a over all I feel it's a 3 star resort. I will not be returning.

Great family trip!

This was my 5th time at this resort. We were there from January 31st to February 7th, 2016. Check in was smooth - we were given an envelope at the airport prior to boarding the bus with our room number so all we had to do was attend at the desk and we were given our keys. We were in building 32 - very central and close to everything. We were a party of 6 - myself and my husband, my in-laws and my two granddaughters (aged 5 and 3). The weather was awesome. As everyone who has travelled to this re [... read more]sort knows, the beach is the best part! White powder sand and the clearest water you have ever seen. The resort was kept very clean. The majority of the staff at the resort was great. The only complaint we had this trip was the food. As I mentioned, we have been there 4 previous times - we all don't expect much with Cuban food - that is not why we travel to Cuba. We go because of the friendly people, the culture and the beautiful beaches. The food was very repetitive this trip. Normally there are a lot of choices. Not this time. The main course it seemed every dinner was pasta. In the past, there have always been carving stations - turkey, ham, roast pig. The only night that there was anything "different" to eat was Saturday evening, when they offered lobster etc. Like I said, we do not go to Cuba for the food, we were just a little dissappointed as in the past there was far more variety. As well, I thought i would mention that the week that we booked, Sunwing had a special for children to travel free (well not free but a very discounted rate). I would have thought that as there were so many children at the resort, they would have ensured that there was "kid-friendly" food at the buffet. We did not go to any ala-carte restaurants this time as we were travelling with two little ones. There was no pizza at the resort - the pizza ovens in the buffet were not utilitized. The french fries were hard to come by - when there are so many children at the resort, you would have thought those two items would have been staples. Kids don't want to eat fish or grilled steak(beef). All in all, we had a wonderful vacation. Based on some of the very bad reviews the resort had been getting in the months preceding our vacation, we were a little concerned, but there were no concerns.

2 weeks at Memories Paraiso Azul, Cayo Santa Maria

Next step getting money changed over to CUC's at the money exchange on the left of the reception desk, got 200 CUC's for 300 Canadian and 40 in 1$ coins for tips. This is one of the peeves I have is that was the last time in 2 weeks was I able to get 1$ change anywhere so the solution was we had to ask the waiters that served us for change and then they would basically recycle the small change. This is a huge resort and walked around once then basically stayed in our area on the Paraiso. We were [... read more] in bungalow 35, everything was right there 2 min walk to restaurants, lobby, theater, pool and beach and 5 minutes to little shopping center. There are staff with golf carts to drive you anywhere you want to go if walking is not your thing. Food: Its not home but you can find anything to eat here, we only ate at the main buffet and the grill by the beach Mondays and Thursday they have a barbecue and a roast of pork that is excellent starts at 1 pm. In the main buffet you can have one of the chefs cook up a omelete in the mornings and lunch and supper you can grill up choice of steak, pork chops, chicken breasts or a choice of fresh fish. Bring your own salt and pepper and steak spice and it will be like home! Staff: One word AWESOME! I could single out a few but wouldn't be fair to everyone else, the buffet and bars waiters and waitresses are all very efficient and more so if your a tipper and we are, so service was almost embarrassing our drink wouldn't have a chance to hit half way before being asked if we needed another. Our maid was fantastic always clean sheets,towels and very interesting towel art (always left 2CUCs a day tip) Bungalow 35 rooms 3577 and 3579 I forgot my Iphone charger and cord in the room (management please give it to the maid) as a gift. I had a problem with my key card and it was the lock failing, 10pm went to front desk and said they would send a technician, 10 minutes later tech shows up and says common problem fixed it in 5 minutes and was good to go. Beach: INCREDIBLY AWESOME!!! So far the best beach I ever seen, the water so crystal clear and blue and the sand snow white and the texture of flour. There is 3 entrances to the beach all have bars and beach grills even waiter service on the beach. You can sit enjoy or walk out in the warm ocean nice shallow for 100 feet and have small Hobbie Cats to take you out for a sail. Tip: Show up at 6:30 am for best seats on the soft blue chairs and shade. Pools: There are a lot of pools we only went one day were clean and always activities going on if thats your thing. ( I can have pools here at home but don't have that beach at home.) Excursions: We booked 3 excursions available in the main lobby, reasonably priced, we did the speed boat tour, Cigar Rum Sugar tour, and the Jeep Safari, all were interesting and fun. Internet: There is Wi-FI available only in the lobby area, you purchase a card with a username and password for 2 CUCs good for 1 hour, if you need the internet more than checking emails or updating status on Facebook I would suggest getting a Roaming package with your provider I have Rogers and for 10$ a day I could have unlimited phone and data, connection to CubaTel Cell tower was nearby so had reception everywhere even on the beach. Overall: It was a great 2 weeks, we had only one rainy day out of the whole trip and one real cold night. Spent most days on the beach and lobby bars at night different live bands every night, always something going on. There is a theater with different live shows every night (ashamed we never made one of them) but our choice. It's a huge resort and only walked some of the grounds mostly stayed on the Paraiso side our bungalow 35 was close to everything so not much walking needed. There is staff on golf carts available to take you anywhere if walking isn't your thing. Check out was also painless (we purchased a VIP through sunwing in the lobby for 25 CUCs that includes getting your boarding pass and seats at the hotel the day before leaving and a short VIP line at the airport plus a private lounge free food and drink and a smoking section). Called for bag pickup arrived in 5 minutes got to reception handed in keycards gave us a small piece of paper to board the bus and done. Forgot to mention the landscaping is well maintained and worked on every day. Price is excellent we had single occupancy all in for 2400$ can and spent 700$ can includes all tip money and 3 excursions outside the resort a gifts for family for 2 weeks, same trip for option 2 was Costa Rica for 6000$can, we made a good choice. Would definitely return here next trip, thanks too all the staff that keeps this huge resort running smoothly.

Disappointing!

The sheets on the bed were torn! Not just little seams uncome! Major rips! Scorpion surprised me on a midnight trip to the bathroom. In the morning housekeeping squashed it, but the maid's sweep with her wet cloth failed to removed the innards stuck to the floor. About the next question, would I recommend it? Not at this point!!! There are a lot of good things going for this spot but the things I have mentioned are not major and I feel could be easily rectified. But until such time, no, I would  [... read more]not recommend it.

No great memories at Memories!

It is NOT a new resort as first thought but an old resort newly attained by the Memories brand. In desperate need of overhaul, staff training, and some adjustments in cuisine, even for Cuba.Too far from airport.

Great Beach!

My spouse, twin 9 year olds and myself went to this resort for my 50th birthday. We went all out, upgraded to Diamond Club and had notified the resort of my birthday. The hotel is over 90 minutes from the airport, which is really long after a 6:00am flight. We were met by our special rep for Diamond and taken to a nice lounge for check in. She took us to our room which consisted of 3 twin beds and a wicker love seat. I was speechless.....we were told that is what all the room have unless you are [... read more] a couple then you have a king bed. | was so disappointed, we all slept separate, the air conditioner wasn't working, nor the ceiling fan. The next day we complained to the front desk (they said that is what all families have for rooms. We complained to our Sunwing rep who got us moved to a new room with a king bed and 2 twin beds, working air and fan...after that first night things were much better. The food is great if you like the same thing everyday. Most of the common area washrooms were out of order the whole week. We never found the kids club for the older kids. Diamond club is not worth the money, we have extras but if you don't ask for them you don't get them. and if you want to continue to get them you must tip. I spent 250.00 on tips alone. The exchange rate is equivelant to US$ so Canadain money was worth .60. so we decided not to leave the resort. If there are any smokers we were told on the bus by the sunwing rep that there was a smoking area in the airport so we checked in right away instead of hanging outside. it closed the day before we arrived and moved to the VIP lounge (which costs 25.00 a person to get in. Baiscally, they think we are rich Canadians and it is getting worse. I won't go back to Cuba.

Wonderful beach!

The beach is super - fine white powder sand, and beautiful blue sea. There was some snorkelling at one end of it. There were usually enough umbrellas available for anyone who wanted one to have one. There were 3 pools, two of which usually had games and loud music playing, but the third pool was blissfully quiet. Food: the buffet was OK, but after 14 days I was ready for a change. It did have the most marvellous smoked salmon which was available, sometimes for 3 meals a day, on 10 out of the 14  [... read more]days, which I really enjoyed. The house white wine at the buffet was quite drinkable, the house red was a disappointment. The a la carte restaurants were a big disappointment however. The food wasn't that different from the buffet - the desserts were exactly the same for example - and there was much less choice than in the buffet. The rooms were clean, and the maid was attentive. Our phone did not work (and we did not bother to try to get it fixed). We never could figure out how to work the TV - perhaps it was also broken - but again we preferred not to use it. I am a birder, and for people who like to watch birds, the proximity of this resort to a lagoon filled with birds is a big plus. There is also a nature reserve within a half hour's walk from the resort. I can't say anything about the entertainment in the evenings, as I never tried to see any of it. Would I go there again? Yes probably because of the lovely beach and the closeness to the lagoon and the nature reserve for bird watching.

Jan 22-27 vacation

Rm3935 was spacious but smelled of molds, the fridge didn't work and the coffee maker was defective. Sunday dinner at baconao restaurant was a disaster, we waited for an hour with 30 other guests outside the restaurant only to be informed that they used another door for entry. We were also promised a cake & champagne because it was my wife's birthday but they forgot. We complained to customer service and they promised to send it to our room the following day but we never receive it. Aside from t [... read more]his everything else was ok.

Memories at Santa Maria

Very nice hotel , staff, and beach.Quite a ways from the airport..a 2 hour drive.There is a medical clinic about 10 pesos away by Taxi.This resort is HUGE, ;it is two resorts blended together.Lots of good entertainment at night...shows, live music, theatre, participation.

Just LOVE It There

I love it there so much I have been 3 times in last 6 mths. Staff make you feel like family! Good Food with amazing dining room staff! Entertainment staff is great, always making people feel welcome and lots of fun! Heard some rumours on net about unclean rooms and poolside was dirty. I have yet to find such a state! My room was always cleaned daily and poolside was cleaned nightly by staff! I have been sick from the food or anything else that has been claimed to make people ill.... It's Cuba an [... read more]d they do what they can with the resources they have available at the time! I planning on returning for a 4 th time in April!! It's my home away from home! Irene of Brampton ON Canada

Good vacation

Resort is showing signs of age but most of all lack of adequate maintenance which isn't surprising for Cuba. Beaches are beautiful, staff mostly tries hard to make you feel welcome and food was ok. Rooms were pretty musty which is common in the down south but a little more so at an older hotel like this one. Entertainment was good and kids had a blast so overall it was a positive experience. Having said that next time I would probably look for a different resort to try.

Run down resort

ground ok room ok lobby washrooms messy...water on floor some toilet no seat sometimes you smell sewer no more comment.....................................................................................................

Resort needs some repair!

The resort in a whole was okay. I stayed there about 5 years ago and I did notice that the resort is in need of repair or sprucing up (ie. paint peeling, bathroom updates, modernization). Also, I felt that the food was not as acceptable as the last time I stayed there. For example, they used to make great pizza, no longer available, seafood lunch, no longer available. Also, the disco was complimentary and now you have to pay. All in all, it was acceptable but in future, I will probably stay else [... read more]where.

Memories

My 3 time at this resort beach is the best in world. People are great they remember you from one trip to next. Hotel is getting tired no repairs a true Canadian 3.5 cuba. Not known for great food or spicy food. Take some spice breakfast is the best but always something to eat. Been to cuba 7 times love this resort staff make it worth. Coming back.

Great resort

Evrything was good food need a bit of variety since if you go for 2 weeks you need different the rest is perfect the staff is amazing fishing wow wow wow a bit expensive but in my case was worth every penny

Wonderful Island

We went at a busy time of the year. Too many families with small crying children. Should place families in Azul side and older travelling couples on the Pariso side. Keep buffets separate so families can be in one buffet and couples in the other. Royalton should get their own buffet to relieve the pressure off the Memories' buffets. There were long line ups and staff could not keep up with the food. There was a large amount of food wasted. Huge plate full of food went to garbage while others wen [... read more]t without as trays were empty. Maybe there should be staff dishing up certain foods to avoid wasting so much (people can always go for seconds!!). French fries were a big hit and sometimes people overloaded their plates so no one else could have them there was a long wait before anymore would come out on to the buffet. Most children ate only fries which is fine but make the supply meet the demand. The Grill restaurant on the Azul side was closed because the Azul side was not full but lots of days it could have been opened to relieve the pressure on the rest of the resort. Travellers should also be reminded to bring adapter for 220 as that is what the island uses. We have been to this resort before and noticed the wear and tear in a couple of years. The extras like conditioner and slippers, housecoats are no longer there in the rooms. We had a supper maid for our room and he did his best to make sure we had everything we needed - good job Humberto.

Resort is adequate

hotel is average. people are friendly and food is good. I wouldn't classify this as a 4 star as you do but maybe a 3.5. we had an awesome time. also the pools are fantastic and the beach is beautiful. probably the best we have seen in a while.

Not a 4 star!

The grounds were nice. Buffets were over crowded, unclean, not enough staff to keep up with the demand. Too long of wait for simple items such as omlettes, grilled meats such as chicken, pork or beef. (Which ensured your food was actually hot and cooked to your liking), otherwise food temperatures off. Ran out of most items. People literally hoarded the bananas and took like 10 when it came out. After never seeing bananas again, I realize why. It was like you were "lucky" to be at the buffet ear [... read more]ly enough to get real bread for toast and jam packets, otherwise you were left with a hamburger bun. Waiting in a line for 15 min to toast that bread meant the rest of your food was cold by the time it was toasted and you found a table. There should be a second buffet area on the opposite side of the resort that mirrors the two buffets by the theatre to accommodate a resort of this size. We hoped the al a cartes would be our saving grace and unfortunately they were not. At the Mediterainian ever after reserving a table for our party of 10, we were sat at two tables of 6 & 4. And waited over an hour to receive our appetizer. The server explained "there was only one cook tonight", when she brought the main course the plates were so hot from I assume sitting there prepared under heat lamps that my 5yr old burnt the palm of his hand when he brushed the edge. The Caribean wasn't much better waiting over an hour to be sat for an 8pm reservation. The Italian was more efficient but my appetizer bowl of "tomato soup" which was actually canned tomato sauce for pasta was disappointing. In all there was nothing extraordinary about any of the Al a cartes we went to. I wasn't prepared to fork out 25CUC to experience lobster. The public washrooms around the entire resort were disgusting! I don't need to go into detail as there are enough reviews on trip advisor explaining in great detail which I chose not to believe, assuming that they were just extra picky people. Now being home for 3 days, we are all experiencing more than normal trips to the washroom & my boyfriend is taking immodium. On our bus to the airport a young girl, and 20 something woman both threw up, and did so again on the plane. I can see how easily people are getting sick from there as it is completely unsanitary. I love the beach in Cayo Santa Maria. The resort staff were all very nice and helpful when they could be. They are limited by staff, products, tools etc to perform their jobs. I will probably never visit Cuba again. This experience has left me feeling like I didn't really have a vacation at all. More like I was on Survivor trying to make it through the week. Sunwing should also consider their rating, and changing it to 3 stars.