Not up to 4+ Cuban Standards

FOOD: food quality was POOR as every day it was a "survival of the fittest" feeling. You cannot sleep in or have a late lunch as the buffets ran out of the basic foods such as bread/buns, melons, mangoes, bacon, fish, cheese. There never seemed to "be enough" for all? (people were not even taking an excessive amount per). No chicken or shrimp ever. Even ran out of napkins, clean plates, cutlery, draft beer (beach bar), tonic, clean beach towels. At the a la carte restaurants not all of th [... read more]e food items listed in the menu were ever available (not due to running out of but never had any to begin with). FACILITY: our room cleaner was superb, the Lobby server and butlers were always attentive to us and ensured that we were satisfied. Lobby M/F washrooms were never cleaned/attended to throughout the day (flooding floor, no toilet paper, only 2/5 stalls were available for use). BEACH: beautiful beach waters!!!!!! "Picture perfect" Complaints were from many resorts on this island, even from people who stayed at Royalton!

Beautiful beach, wonderful ocean

Nice and warm hosting, very diligent staff, ready to comply to your needs, very bad internet connection. Best color of send ever seen, beautiful turquoise see trough ocean water, big variety of food and drinks. I would have liked to be able to bring our family chihuahua member, but I guess we cannot have everything :)

Outstanding resort!!!

I went in with ni expectation, and I was not disappointed. Although I can rough it anywhere, I was delighted in being treated like a queen. The hotel is going through renovations, but your not aware. They keep the materials hidden and passages are always clean. Our room was very humid, nothing the ac couldn't handle. Our butlers Dayan and Marlon went over and beyond to make our stay welcoming and delightful. Yude was a sweetheart, who would always have a smile on her face. Everyday was a differe [... read more]nt personal touch. Tomas chauffeured us around and had no problems going out of his way to bring us and wait for us at the market! Food was difficult, only because of restrictions. Other than that, I was pleased. I had horrible service at the Mexican restaurant, the waiter was new and rude. Other than that I fell in love, over and over again. I would go back tomorrow, but no kids allowed!

Great Resort! But NEEDS some work.

Went to Memories Sanctuary with my wife mid June 2018. it was definitely way better experience than the last time I've been to Cuba. I DIDN'T GET SICK! LOL. I had an amazing time here. The staff is amazing and do anything to please you, within limits obviously.. ;) i couldn't believe we had a Butler. A BIG THANK YOU TO DAYAN (chop chop ;), MARLON and ALEXANDER LAZARO. These guys make this resort Fantastic. I was able to meet a brilliant woman who was I think a head Chef, (LETICIA). We had an in [... read more]stant connection. Hope ur reading what we spoke about ;).. This resort can be even better if they would fix their other buildings as 2 or 3 of them were close for Reno. THE BEACH!!! OMG.. The beach is phenomenal!!!! Sanctuary NEEDS to get an aquatics rental booth. It doesn't make any sense especially on a business level to not have an aquatics rental booth. GET ONE! To the manager of this resort ALEXANDER. THANK YOU for your hospitality. Just listen to your staff and be open to their opinions, without their personalities there would be NO shine. They're special! I WOULD RECOMMEND THIS RESORT. Don't go looking for big parties but you will have a great time relaxing in a spectacular environment. And again.. THE BEACH!! If you didn't know, you can be TOPLESS! ADULTS only. Perfect..

The Best Vacation We ever Had

Very friendly staff, amazing beach, amazing people, clean rooms , good service, This is first time we went to Sanctuary Grand Memories Santa Maria and i we will come back again. 17 times we were in Varadero , and i have to be honest will never go again after we came from Sanctuary beach , We just love all service and everything they did for us, Thank You. This beach you can't compare with any beach around the world one of the best. I have never seen service like this in my life. Edin

Sanctuary

Hotel and customer service was good, food was not that great. We have burgers and fries all day and night.. however everyone has their own taste. The papaya was the only fruit we had.. definitely needed a salad..

Just ok

The hotel is kinda old. Our bed was broken and one side was caved in. The room had a very strong odor everything was damp and smelled bad. On another note staff were very friendly and tried to make your stay a nice one. I got the stomach bug 3 days in. The beach was beautiful. Side note I'm picky and would have went somewhere newer but this was a better price.

Amazing Beach

Rooms were very clean, food was fantastic, staff were amazing, beach was beyond beautiful. Grounds were well looked after. No locals on the beach trying to sell you anything. Fantastic experience, will probably return there in the future.

Amazing for the 2nd time in 2 months!!!!

This is the 2nd trip to this resort in 2 months for us and we had just as much fun as the first time! There were a few minor issues, hard time getting a la cartes for 10 people. As Sanctuary guests it was felt that we should have precedence over the other guests as it was a higher cost to be in the Adult only section, which is what we paid for to be able to have 'first choice'. I realize it was the end of the season but it was disappointing to go to buffets and have less choice even though th [... read more]e resort was busier than when we were there in March. We requested email addresses from some of the staff and we wanted to contact them prior to our next trip to request the same building and butlers. An email was sent to these addresses as we wanted to reach out to ask to be in the same building with the same butlers and there was no response, when this was mentioned to those staff they just shrugged their shoulders, not very good customer service. They should be sure if they're going to give out their emails that they check them. We brought 8 more people with us on our return trip as we spoke so highly of the resort. Overall the trip was good but these are important customer service issues. We would definitely return to this resort.

Amazing beach.

One of the nicest beaches anywhere. Food was okay, front desk staff need customer service training, would not address issues until a manager was made aware of the issues we had. Bar staff at sanctuary and swim up bar were exceptional.

Heaven on Earth

This resort is the civilized part of the 3-part Memories Resirts. It’s adukts only and you get a butler to boot! Rooms are modern and contemporary and the best of the last 10 resorts I’ve been to in Cuba.

Fantastic Trip

Thank-you to Yanis, Loyda, Lester & Carlos for making this trip a memorable one. Beautiful beaches, lots of food and drinks. Clean. Loved the variety of food and the a-la-carte dinning was great! Great service. Exactly what we were looking for.

Nice Resort on an Amazing Beach

Loved the beautiful white sand beach at this resort. Many kind staff who work very hard. We did not have a good check in experience, but have read other reviews who had the opposite experience. Many days it was hard to get change at our resort, so we would have to go to the bigger resort beside us. We could always find something good to eat. Very hard to find shade on the beach at our resort, but we could walk farther down the beach and sometimes find shade at the other Memories resort.

Hit and Miss

Beach is extremely soft, no drink service, one beach drink/food bar, don't eat the beef. Pool was quiet, not a lot of sun cover, but extremely clean. Staff are amazing appreciate them. Food was repetitive.

Stunning Beauty

Our stay at Sanctuary was a wonderful experience. The grounds are beautifully kept clean at all times. The staff were very friendly and attentive. The staff assigned to you at your Bungalow are always accessible and available for your needs from day start to finish. The views are gorgeous with the ocean as clear as the pool. The beach is kept spotless. The grounds décor is rustic and not north Americanized modern like many other resorts I have visited. This I appreciated more. I really  [... read more]enjoyed their utilizing of their own resources it added a rustic natural charm and appreciation of the culture there for myself as a visitor. Our stay was for a girls get away. I would highly recommend for couples looking to unwind or for adults looking for time to relax and have fun kid free. The staff cater to your needs and are happy to do so.

Just what we needed!

Great hotel, grounds, staff and beaches are prestine. Very large resort but they make you feel at home. The food is what you would expect in Cuba. The only down side is the distance from the airport.

SUCH A GREAT PLACE......WE'RE GOING BACK!!!

We were at Sanctuary at Grand Memories Santa Maria March 6-8, 2018. It was an amazing trip!!! The rooms were great, the food was great, the service was great!!!! The beach was amazing!! The pool was great!!! It was the best resort I've been to!!! We had issues with the rooms when we first got there and within an hour or so it was all fixed!!! IMPECABLE SERVICE!! Thanks to Paula at Sanctuary for taking care of this for us. We were in building 61, closest to the beach and the bar and  [... read more]close to the Sanctuary lobby/restaurant!! There were a few minor things, salt and peppers shakers usually empty, always ran out of ketchup, water at the restaurants not usually cold, no peanut butter, But these things do not make or break the trip by any means. Just want people to know so that they can pack this stuff if they really want it. Never any issue to get a lounger on the beach or at the pool. Drinks were always very good!!! No lack of RUM!! hahahahaa Our butlers were Yoel and José and they were ABSOLUTELY WONDERFUL!!!! Could never do enough for us. We like it so much.....we're booked to go again May 1-8, 2018!! Thanks for a great vacation!!!

Disappointed

The grounds of the resort are very attractive and maintained well. Workers are continually cleaning. Public bathrooms are a disaster. Either not available or they are stinky and not cleaned well. Many little ants crawling on everything in our room. I advised the maid and she did her best but they always reappeared. The airport upon our arrival was a disaster. 5 flights arrived at the same time and the personnel did nothing to stop the flow of people trying to get through security. We spent an ho [... read more]ur and half trying to get through and when we did, we had to try and find our luggage along with 3,000 other people. This airport is too small to accommodate the number of tourists arriving and departing, as we had the same problem leaving. This resort does not have enough shade umbrellas on the beach to accommodate the number of guests staying here. I had to be up at 4.30 am everyday to secure shade. I am totally exhausted from having to do this for 2 weeks. As well, the bank will only change their pesos to coins of 10.00 and no more.I found the bank personnel rude and not accommodating. I will never return here or recommend this resort to my family or friends. The bright side was the people. Most of the staff were terrific.

Resort

Great clean resort with friendly staff. however language barrier made it hard to communicate at times. Amazing assortments of food, no one will go hungry at this location. Adults only resort cleaned daily and sprayed for mosquiteos nightly. Go carts that seat 8 with friendly and funny drivers to take you around the three resorts and to the market if required. Ocean clean with white soft sand, chairs and umbrellas. There is a bar and grill just a few steps from the beach, great food and drink [... read more]s cant get any closer. Note the beach does have lifeguards that patrol just in case the swells get to big in the Ocean. Pools are large in the Adults only resort, many chairs and cabanas for shade as well as a massage location, this area also has a grilling station. Pool bar and bartenders are great and friendly and go out of their way to please. The bar at check in is opened 24/7 so if you need to eat there is food at all times. All in all the vacation and location was great, we would recommend this location if you want a quite relaxing vacation. Oh yes, there is nightly entertainment as well.

3 in 1 Resort

Sanctuary itself was a reasonable size of over 300 rooms. The butler service, generally 2 people at a time, was excellent. They booked your restaurants, answered questions, gave directions. Restaurants were quite plentiful as you had the choice of 3 resorts, all witting walking distance. The food was the same as other Cuban resorts rated at B or B+.....however, we didn't go because of the food The Cubans are fantastic and always willing to serve, be it at the beach, bars or activities  [... read more]Sanctuary as an adult resort is overall excellent. Rooms clean, pools, beaches, bars and restaurants all within 300 metres of rooms