Valentin Perla Blanca: Beatiful beaches, very friendly staff

We stayed at Perla Blanca for 12 days and enjoyed food every day. The service was excellent and young people serving were very friendly. We particularly enjoyed the bar on the beach with Yousiel Rodriguez and Jose Alexandro. Yousiel speaks English well and is very intelligent and informed. His compañero, whom we called ¨gato negro¨ has a great sense of humour. We enjoyed spending time at the bar as much as we enjoyed the beautiful beach associated with the hotel.

Dhawa Cayo Santa Maria: Overall good resort

I would rate Dhawa a 4/5 star. Pools were beautiful and clean, beach was even better with beautiful white sand and turquoise water perfect for snorkeling. Room was clean and comfortable, with the maids always leaving it spotless with cute towel art. Food was just ok, the pasta bar at the buffet was really good and the pizzas at the 24hr snack bar. They had lots of seafood, we really liked the shrimp. Sometimes we waited awhile for our meal but I do understand the resort was full capac [... read more]ity, I do think they could use more staff. The staff are friendly and hard working. However, I have docked Dhawa a star because I recieved a massage at the hut down by the water on the resort and left feeling violated. I was uncomfortable the entire time and more stressed coming out then before I went in.

Valentin Perla Blanca: Good, bad and the ugly

This was not my first time in Cuba or in Cayo Santa Maria, so I knew what to expect. In comparison to other places I have stayed, this hotel is showing wear and tear and the rooms are looking run down. However, the beach and the staff are exceptional. My biggest concern was the buffet cleanliness, safe food preparation and handling and lack of variety. On day 8 of a 14 day honeymoon I acquired E. coli. I would not return back to this resort, however will return to Cuba as the people and b [... read more]eaches are fantastic.

Gran Muthu Cayo Santa Maria: Paradise

The hotel is really nice with access to an absolutely stunning beach. The room was clean and comfortable. The staff were friendly. There were some inconsistencies with food/drink and no available beach towels during our stay - we had to reuse the same towels. The gorgeous ocean made up for all of it.

Iberostar Selection Ensenachos: amazing resort but cleaning rooms must be improved

The resort is clean and nice. The service is excellent. My suggestion is for room or housekeeping , we saw the room maid emptying out the garbage plastic from our washroom/comfort room and without her washing her hands she proceeded on touching the clean bed sheets that she puts on our bed.

Grand Memories Santa Maria: beautiful beach, low accomodations

It used to be better last summer. Moisture in rooms smells bad, dated furniture and television set; for sure it wouldn't make it for 3 stars, let alone the 5 that they are claiming. We booked 2 rooms in the same place, we got there 2 rooms in different buildings, 5 blocs distance from kids. We moved twice, because the second room was with no functioning air conditioning. Food was not very good. No sliced bread, if for salads, you have one day, the other day forget about it. Variety of drinks dec [... read more]reased considerably (no ingredients for some of their basic ones) the beach though, is one of the most beautiful I have ever seen, white sand, turquoise water, food access and drinks on the beach. People should respect more this beauty of nature, because I’ve spent time cleaning the cigarettes buts and plastic cups on the beach.

Melia Cayo Santa Maria: Melia Cayo Santa Maria

The renovations that they did after the hurricane are beautiful and the resort is kept very clean. We were a little disappointed this year with the food selections and the number of things that they ran out of. None of the restaurants had shrimp and lobster was available at a price of 18 CUC ($26 Cdn) which I thought was too expensive. Service was not as good as it has been, as the staff say that they are always understaffed. There was only one person working the pool bar and trying to serve [... read more] all of the people sitting around 2 pools. One evening, I asked for white wine and they didn't have any. Then I asked for gin and tonic but there was no tonic. Then I asked for vodka soda and there was no soda. The resort seemed a bit mismanaged and the staff are stressed having to tell guests that they do not have something - especially people that are repeat customers that they have known a long time. We will most likely go back due to the friends that we have met there but I would be a little hesitant to recommend the resort to others based on this year.

Iberostar Selection Ensenachos: Great resort, relaxing vacation!

Hotel was lovely, clean Food was good Room was really nice Spa suite 2025, close to everything Beaches were beautiful! For 2 pesos you can take the tour bus to the Estella market or 10 pesos in a Cuban taxi. We had pizza at the little restaurant there for 4 pesos or so..it was very good. Very relaxing and quiet in Spa area +18. Would definitely go back!

Playa Cayo Santa Maria: Beautiful Resort

From the moment we arrived the staff were friendly and attentive to our party. The came to know us by the end of the week and was very friendly toward us. The resort was always clean and the rooms were cleaned everyday and the fridges stocked everyday as well.

Gran Muthu Cayo Santa Maria: Most beautiful beach.

The resort is clean, and staff were exceptional. It was one of the most beautiful beaches I've been to. Resort was a little tired, needing some repair, but Hurricane Maria did do a lot of damage to the island. Ground crews worked daily, but often garbage left on beach after the days events. Food was good and tasty, but little variation. A la carte restaurants only okay, but had some excellent dishes, often not having dishes offered on menu. For the money, I would definitely recommend and return.

Melia Cayo Santa Maria: Lovely resort

/Excellent value for your money. The grounds are beautiful, almost as beautiful as the beach. Friendly staff, clean room. In particular, Juan Carlos at the lobby bar was so hard working. Would definitely stay again.

Hotel Roc Casa del Mar: A great stay

Check in went smooth and fast. Asked for a certain room ,ended up with a upgrade to Ocean view room.The room clean and everything workers ,always had lots of hot water. The grounds well kept and clean. The 3pools always pristine and lots of loungers .The bar had plenty of cold beer with a variety of mixed drinks,service was fast and the bartenders very pleasant. The food at the main restaurant was OK with lots of variety,service was super always with a smile.The alacarts were very good did all 4 [... read more].The beach and water made the trip itself best beach in Cuba long walks great clean beach.Neaded a drink there was 3 beach bars for Ocean resort.Night life after supper bar supper service with good entertainment every night. Small disco later for the party animal. The night shows were some of the best very professional.On the negative side the on site bank not well set up long lineups for money exchange.never enough one dollars for tipping and often the teller very unpleasant and rude! Lack of fresh towels was a problem always running out or not even open. No first aid station in the hotel for any medical aid considering that the hotel has 800 rooms !! Had to take a taxi to get medical help? Overal great trip for the 10days stayed .

Roc Lagunas del Mar: Perfect for relaxing

I've stayed at 4 other resorts in Cayo Santa Maria, Labranda is quite comparable except it was unusually quiet. I've never seen such a large resort so empty. I'm not complaining, we go on vacation to relax, enjoy the weather and the beach... we had a perfect week, we pretty much had the resort to ourselves! We had no problem finding a spot poolside or at the beach. Getting towels was a tad frustrating!! Never seemed to be anyone around and no sign posting when service would be available. Norm [... read more]ally beach towels are provided in our rooms upon arrival... I'm not one to complain so the usual things we've come to expect from Cuba Resorts I let slide... ie: burnt light bulbs, missing electric plug covers, faucets that drip, toilets that run, missing tiles, even worse MISSING TOILET PAPER, doors not shutting properly, patio doors that don't lock (Do any patio doors EVER work properly in Cuba?) Pros: Lots of toilet paper in all the washrooms - guess low numbers of guests are good in some ways. Housekeeping was great!! Room was clean and no holes in any sheets or towels :) Fresh flowers are always a nice touch. :) Techs were quick to repair door and safe issue. Service with a smile... gotta like that!! No food poisoning from any eating establishments! Always a bonus. Cons: Only 1 bottle of water, 1 can each beer and cola stocked in the fridge. More water should be provided to guest. Drinks should be stocked in two's. Room not ready on arrival... I don't understand this!! It was an empty resort that we booked well in advance and yet we had to wait over 3 hours to get in our room. No beach towels provided in our room. Key service people didn't speak English.(Omelette maker and general store keepers were AWESOME though!! ) Key service people were missing.. Towel guy, Gym guy, Transat Rep. Overall vacation was great! We'd go to Labranda again, fingers crossed that some service issues would be remedied and all facilities would be open. Beach bars, seafood restaurants, and pizza at the snack bar need to be open!! The beach bar with the rope swing seats would be such a cool place to hangout... shame it was closed. Obvious safety hazards need repairs... boardwalks, railings. Also, a book exchange place would be nice. A simple book case in the lobby... take a book leave a book!! Cheers!

Paradisus Los Cayos: Fantastic Resort

This was our first time at an all inclusive resort and the Paradisus Los Cayos exceeded all of our expectations. The hotel was very big and the grounds beautiful. The beaches have white sand and clear water. Our room was a nice and modern. The absolute best part of this resort are the people. Everyone who works here went out of their way to make our stay great and everyone was so friendly. We made so many memories with some of the staff and appreciate everything they did for us. Hope to make it  [... read more]back again someday soon!

Dhawa Cayo Santa Maria: Very Nice Resort

We really enjoyed our 10 day stay. we were a little disappointed in the buffet. examples: We didn't see any watermelon after the first three days, no bananas all vacation, ran out of white wine after 3 or four days. We enjoyed the entertainment in the lobby in the evenings and for the most part the nightly theatre shows. Were a little disappointed that the water show was cancelled during our stay. The crew that was in charge of the daily activities at the beach and around the pool were gr [... read more]eat.

Roc Lagunas del Mar: Confusing

I always go to Cuba with the understanding you get what you pay for so I am never to critical of the food or service but in this case there were some things I have never experienced before, first the resort was almost empty ,it didn't really bother me but I could not get any answers as to the lack of people,little odd not having anyone at the pools or beach. Second the staff spoke very little English which was okay at first but as the days went by it became very annoying,I have never experienced [... read more] this before.Probably the thing that bothered me the most was the lack of professionalism when trying to resolve a problem,the agent for Transat was AWOL for the whole time I was there,the facilities were often closed ,ie.gym,restaurants ,towel exchange dude and when I questioned reception it was usually a shrug with no answers. The plus was the weather and the beach were great but it was definitely lacking in professional standards

Valentin Perla Blanca: Good Vacation

The hotel was average. We have no complaints about our room and the housekeeping was wonderful! The resort itself is lovely; not tired, as we have experienced in other Cuban resorts. It is a very expansive resort. This may be a disadvantage for the experience of patrons. The dining experience unfortunately was sub par for a Cuban resort. We enjoyed the 24 hour snack bar, in terms of both food and service. Although, I must say that one day they ran out of eggs. Disappointing as their breakfast di [... read more]shes all included eggs. The buffet was disappointing basically all round. The service was very hit and miss. What was troubling was some servers almost competing for some patrons and entirely ignoring others. The food was cold and bland. We do not typically require a great deal of flavors, but there was either no salt or too much salt on the food. And the shakers on the table were empty. The buffet area had a microwave where food could be heated, but I would hardly expect to have to heat up food that has just come out of the kitchen. The a la carte restaurants were good, both in terms of food and service. The beach was PHENOMINAL!!! There were many mosquitoes and bugs. All members of our party suffered bights that did unfortunately impact our vacation, despite the use of bug spray. Others experienced this as well. I would recommend that perhaps travellers be advised so they are better prepared (and do not have to spend $20 US to buy additional bug repellant that has absolutely no effect). Just a note with regard to our recommending this hotel: yes, but clearly advising of some of the negative experiences outlined in the review.

Melia Las Dunas: Great beaches, nice resort

We’ve been going to this hotel for the past four years because of the beach, resort and great staff! This year we were disappointed! The food just was not the same, hardly any entertainment and very low in staff. Good supply was low, the variety we were used to just wasn’t there, services in general have gone down! Beaches, sea and weather still great though!

Hotel Roc Casa del Mar: Amazing beach

Rooms were clean but could have used some paint, beach amazing. Food at buffet was exactly the same every day for each meal. A la cartes were ok and snack bar was not bad. One thing is they serve drinks in these tiny plastic glasses (4oz max) bring a reusable cup. Music at bar before show was amazing.

Sanctuary at Grand Memories Santa Maria: Beautiful beach!

We enjoyed Sanctuary very much. It had a smaller quieter atmosphere. You could walk out in the crystal clear water and feed the fish, snorkel or swim. The food was okay but we Didn’t starve- there was always something to eat. The service was excellent! We would definitely come back!