Valentin Perla Blanca: Beautiful Winter Escape

First of all, you should be open-minded and accept the fact that you're going to a tropical country with a different culture. I've seen people how they treat the workers in this resort. As per my husband, "Just because I'm not in Canada, I'll stop being Canadian". Kindness and respect goes both ways. (1) Weather. Fantastic! Sunny and bright but not humid. At night, the temperature cools down. (2) Beach. Very beautiful and clean. The water is so clear and blue. White, fine & powdery sand. [... read more] The beach has a long shoreline. We walked to the market while picking up shells. We didn't find any beach chairs as people had been saving their spots with towels despite the sign that the management can remove their stuff. (3) Pools. There are two, Relaxing and Activities Pools. We just went to the relaxing pool as it is very close to our building. The pools are nice and big but there were scum lines and some missing tiles. I've seen people smoking in the pool. It's such a shame how some people disrespect this resort. There's also a swim up bar which is convenient. Hehe. (4) Food/ Restaurants. The food is the same everyday with some variations. We had two days of crabs. Most days we had churros for lunch. But the line up for grills and dessert area are long. The food are not bland at all. But if you're that picky, you can eat at their snack bars. Decent sandwiches. Food is always available and you won't get hungry. Don't forget to bring your own ketchup bottle though. ;) (5) Bars/Drinks. Wide array of choices. If you're staying in the lobby, servers go around to get your empty glasses and bring you new drinks. Iced coffee in the smaller bar is the best!! (6) Room. "Okay" clean. There's stains on the toilet seat, bed sheet and pillow cases. As well as on the couch. Towels were never changed just redecorated each time. But we still left the maids tips, chips and chocolates everyday. They used a translator to say that our rooms are the most organized. :) The bed is comfortable enough. Our fridge was stocked everyday. We were even given two bottles of water everyday, just asked and tipped nicely. (7) Property. Well kept. Beautiful flowers, plants and trees. (8) Entertainment. Shows every night in the theatre. They're okay and will leave you something to do at night at 21:30. There's a trio band (guitar, violin and drums) who are the best and our favourite. They know how to engage the crowd. (9) WiFi. Slow at times but I didn't have a hard time connecting at all. But then again you're on vacation, enjoy the sun and don't let petty things bother you. Time to unplug. (10) Workers. Cuban are friendly and warm. We've made friends along the way. Few of the servers had always been trying to get us at every meal lol. They will remember you if you're nice. We tipped generously too. :) There's one employee though in the wifi office that told us to come back later because she can't create a new account. So we came back and she was acting like we are such an inconvenience to her when she should be doing her job. I guess she was upset because we "disturbed" her and another employee while they were exchanging phones playing mahjong. All in all.. we had such an amazing and unforgettable experience. Can't wait to go back again. :)

Hotel Roc Casa del Mar: Ocean: Casa del Mar

We were satisfied with the room and the location. We were in 0632 room and building and what we really liked was the quietness.... no noise from the celebrations and the loudspeakers from the pool.Would go there again. Check-in and check-out was fast and efficient - no long line up for service. Easy access to the beach. Fantastic sany beach, clean and excellent swimming. Plan to go there again. Food was good, although one got tired of it ... mostly the same every meal..... but that is ok... [... read more]. we went there to relax and swimming and beach... not to get fatter!

Dhawa Cayo Santa Maria: Awesome Resort

We just returned from a one week stay at the Dhawa Cayo Santa Maria.This resort was really nice and everything was in short walking distance as the layout was perfect.The rooms were nice and clean and the grounds were meticulous kept.We loved the beautiful white sandy beach as this was where we spent most of our time.I would highly recommend this resort if you want to go and relax on the beach it is a perfect place to go🏝🏝😎😎

Sanctuary at Grand Memories Santa Maria: Enjoyable for the most part

The ride to the hotel was lovely. Like a mini tour guide as we traveled through 3 small communities. We arrived at the hotel Grand Memories (12:30) and was transported by cart to Sanctuary (2 minutes) away. We were given a mamosa and wristband on arrival by our "Butler" (they have one for each floor of the buildings). He did not speak very much English. We were told to have lunch and that our room should be ready by then. The lunch buffet was ok - not many labels as to what some of the it [... read more]ems were. Cold cuts, cheeses & breads were great. After lunch (1:30) we were told the room would be ready in 1/2 hour - 1 hr. Ok, we would wait. Then we were told (by our butler) that the guests had a late check-out of 2:00. I was not happy. I kept checking with the fellow at the desk to see if they had checked out yet (this was after 2:00 now) and he said, "Oh, any minute now". One other butler saw that we were frustrated and he went to check on the room. Our butler then said "Oh, check in is 4:00". I said, why did you lie to us thinking our room would be ready soon? He just walked away. Terribly rude! Anyway, I guess our original room was cleaned at some point but they finally gave us another room (different building & butler) at 4:00. The toilet seat was not attached to the bowl, no bolts or screws. The sliding door to the closet came of the track. There was no hot water and very low pressure.The butler on that floor (lovely lady) showed us the trick to use the sliding doors and she noted the toilet seat problem. That was solved with a new seat on the 3rd day. On the positive side, the safe and the air conditioner worked. The bed and the pillows were very comfortable. The buildings need some TLC which I don't think is a priority for them. The staff was very friendly on all levels (except that one butler). The beach is spectacular. We went to the Grand Memories section because there were not as many palapas at our end. Getting up early to put your towels on the chairs is a must. The toilets at the beach are disgusting. Never any toilet paper so bring your own. They ran out of beer one day and mohitoes most afternoons. The entertainment was great, especially the Cuban bands. The grounds were kept very well. Lovely flowers and shrubs. So other than that first day, it was a great trip.

Valentin Perla Blanca: Amazing Blue Water

Danielle did a wonderful job of getting me onto the flight & trip with parents. Provided me a much better deal than my parents got. Followed up with a call to see how our trip was, really caring & thoughtful agent If it's not to late...book at another hotel!! It's too far to travel from Alberta, lots of delays, long lay over in Cayo Coco, 2.5 hr bus ride. No bathroom on bus, beer on bus is cheat 2 for $5.00 (pay in Canadian) Driver made stops for his own personal needs.Over 10 hrs in travel, [... read more] arrived after 9:00 p.m. Rooms smelt like mold.No towel or glass for me in room. Bed has plastic sheets on them.Bare minimum done by house keeping, didn't appreciate gifts or daily tip. Food DISGUSTING!! How many ways can you serve a Hot Dogs? Whole, sliced, cubes, chunks and what ever is left over goes into the rice & pasta for lunch Only the Italian La Cart restaurant was good, International, Seafood NOT OPEN. Spanish restaurant the meat was tough like an old shoes, terrible, friends all walked out before desert.Eat at the Snack Bars by the pools they are usually out of french fries, fish fingers and beet by mid day. 1/2 menu items not available; swordfish, squid, soups, etc. You have to be at the beach by 6:00 a.m. in order to get a chair 90% are broken to some degree, yet there are 500+ new chairs in a shelter behind our building. Took photo & asked why are they not on beach? Management does NOT care about any guest concerns or complaints.Wanted to try wind surfing told to come back at 10:00 the following day, showed up at 10:00 told to come back at 10:30 the instructor then took off with divers, waited over 3.5 hrs for lesson. Desk staff SUCK, they claim not to speak English and couldn't even give details on the simplest question.Grounds keepers, bathroom cleaning ladies are AMAZING hard working, kind people, these are the people that deserve tips and especially gifts. 2 guys down by the activity pool who cut coconuts in the afternoon really appreciated work pants & shirts. 1 has 17 yr old son about 6'3" 200 pds that would really appreciate clothes & especially old shoes, larger sizes. Please consider giving your stuff to them. Beach is lovely, water is beautiful. Million sand fly bites. Entertainment is good especially 3 pc band in lobby. Beach party was a hoot. Make sure to take your own cups for drinks, After Bite is vital.

Valentin Perla Blanca: Horrific Waste of Money

Travel agent really, really over sold the hotel and how wonderful it was!! Will NEVER use S.S. again, she never returned calls or emails, she did not honor significant price drop or previous vouchers. Really over paid. Terrible Customer Service. If it's not to late...book at another hotel!!It's too far to travel from Alberta, lots of delays, long lay over in Cayo Coco, 2.5 hr bus ride. No bathroom on bus, 1 stop for men to pee in front of bus, ladies at the rear. Glad we had our own T.P. Dr [... read more]iver stopped to pick up family members & drop them off. Over 10 hrs in travel, arrived after 9:00 p.m. Did not get 3rd floor room as requested until 2nd day but it would have required packing up & moving 2 buildings over. Ground floor rooms really smelt musty, black mold in bathroom, 3 paid guests in room only given 2 glasses, 2 beach towels, towels nor bedding changed in 7 days had to wash out in shower if you wanted clean towel. Curtains had huge rips in it. Bed has plastic sheets on them.Bare minimum done by house keeping, didn't appreciate gifts or daily tip. Food DISGUSTING!! Hot dogs severed 4 different ways in 7 of 12 dishes, NO EGGS several days, by 8:30 there is nothing to eat, all bowls, dishes are empty! 4 La Cart restaurants NOT OPEN. Boiled chicken with bones & skin in Spanish dish, fed to cats! Dried hotdog buns with NO butter, 1/2 menu items not available; swordfish, squid, soups, etc. 1 broken beach chair for every 50 guests yet there are 500+ new chairs in a shelter behind our building. Took photo & asked why are they not on beach? Management does NOT care about any guest concerns or complaints. Desk staff SUCK, they claim not to speak English and couldn't even give details on something as simple as where the bus comes for the market. Grounds keepers, bathroom cleaning ladies are AMAZING hard working, kind people, these are the people that deserve tips and especially gifts. 2 guys down by the activity pool who cut coconuts in the afternoon really appreciated work pants & shirts. 1 has 17 yr old son about 6'3" 200 pds that would really appreciate clothes & especially old shoes, larger sizes. Please consider giving your stuff to them. Beach is lovely, water is beautiful. Million sand fly bites. Entertainment is good especially 3 pc band in lobby. Beach party was a hoot. Make sure to take your own cups for drinks, After Bite is vital. Unfortunate will never return to Santa Maria or this hotel and definitively will never use S.S. for our agent again!

Valentin Perla Blanca: Excellent Quiet Getaway

Building 25, ocean view was perfect, room was extra clean, no mold anywhere, not even any mildew on the curtains like we have seen in other resorts. Close to the 24hr snack bar where the morning coffee was amazing. Beach was great and long, no problem finding a spot. Pool was clean, and seats where plentiful. A la cartes where good. Buffet a little busy, lines where big, food was fine except a little cold. Grounds were exceptional, beautiful flowering trees and shrubs everywhere, the most we hav [... read more]e ever seen at a resort. No need to book privilege club, a la carte breakfast and lunch served at snack bars for everyone if you don´t like buffet. Free bottle of rum is only a $6 value, robes where nice but not necessary. Privilege check-in was the only advantage, 30 people in line ahead of us until we were taken to the Privilege lounge where we were given our key immediately. All in all, great resort, we would go back.

Playa Luxury Cayo Las Brujas: Perfect

New, clean, great staff. Really quiet with shade areas around pool and beach. Food choices great. Entertainment in evening very enjoyable and good variety including pool ballet show. Cabin room clean with very comfortable mattress.

Valentin Perla Blanca: Excellent séjour!

Très belle semaine au Valentin! Nourriture très bonne pour Cuba, il faut se présenter tôt par compte au buffet pour avoir suffisamment de choix, L’equipe d’animation pas toujours au rendez-vous pour faire les activités suggérées... sinon très satisfaite de tout en général!!!

Hotel Roc Casa del Mar: beautiful beach, beautiful people, it stops there!

First day in and three rooms later! First room obvious busted and vandalized lock on the patio door on the ground floor with broken glass all over the ground outside on the patio, second room no air conditioning. Manager was an absolute creep and did not want to move us. We went to Sun wing rep who was fantastic and helped us get a new room. Line up of people waiting to talk to the manager with similar complaints, hoards of unhappy people. Food was horrific. Room cleaners and maintenance and all [... read more] staff in general were lovely. Beach was beautiful... Beware and be prepared to lose your first day arguing with the manager.

Iberostar Selection Ensenachos: Beautiful setting and gorgeous beaches

This was our 2nd visit to the resort and we chose it because of the beautiful setting and the gorgeous beaches. The property has beautiful, mature trees, shrubs and flowers and lots of birds, butterflies and geckos. There are lots of activities (e.g tennis, beach volleyball, water activities) and beautiful pools. The tennis facility is the best in the area with a fantastic pro (Renaud). There are number of beaches that can be accessed on the resort however the Ensenachos beach was our favourit [... read more]e. The water was shallow, warm, and crystal clear for snorkeling and watching/feeding the fish. The beach was generally quiet (a few times there was loud music) and it typically had enough chairs. The main building is beautiful and has a lovely area to lounge, use the internet ($), listen to music, drink at the bar, etc. There is entertainment each night. The buffet (main restaurant) offers a lot of selection of meat, fish, vegetables, bread, salads, cured meats, cheese + french fries, hot dogs, burgers, pasta, and pizza. The food is good quality but not exceptional (when compared to Canadian standards). But we don't go to Cuba for exceptional food, we go for exceptional ambience and beaches. There are also a la carte restaurants for dinner however we preferred the selection of the buffet. The staff is fantastic. They are friendly, attentive and clearly take pride in their work. In advance of arriving, we needed the help of the hotel customer service staff and they provided us exceptional service. The resort is very large with 3 sections: luxury, adults-only and family section. The family section is the only section that has wheelchair accessible rooms. Each section is organized in clusters of buildings with approximately 20 rooms per building. The room we stayed in had a large accessible washroom with wheel in shower (be aware the toilet is much higher than you'd find in Canada) and a large living/bedroom with a beautiful patio. It definitely could use a facelift with new linens plus more bath and hand towels would be helpful. The resort provides a beach towel exchange program for your stay. As an active, manual, wheelchair user, I love this resort as there are lots of places to wheel and feel like you are getting a workout. The paths are generally even with hills in some sections. For less active wheelchair users and other individuals with mobility disabilities, you may find the resort too big and feel it requires too much effort to get around. When we were there, the elevator in the main building was out of order. The building was still accessible but required traveling a greater distance to an alternate entrance. There are carts to transport people from to place but a wheelchair user would have to transfer out of their wheelchair to board the cart.

Valentin Perla Blanca: Bel hôtel, mer magnifique

L'hôtel est bien quoique la propreté (chambres, restos et buffet) et l'entretien (peinture) en général pourraient être améliorés. J'ai été surprise de la nourriture. Les restos à la carte et snack bar Ranchon et celui de la piscine calme sont bien. J'ai apprécié me faire servir comme au resto. Le café est aussi très bon. Il est possible d'avoir tous les cafés de spécialité au lobby et dans les restos à la carte. Quant au buffet, il y a trop de monde, Il y a des files d'att [... read more]ente et les plats ne sont pas remplis de façon systématique. Je comprends aussi mal pourquoi les gens remplissent leurs assiettes et amènent le régime de bananes pour tout jeter après et laisser les autres vacanciers avec peu de choix. Le personnel est courtois et à l'écoute des besoins. Le bémol concerne l'animation. Beaucoup d'activités n'ont pas eu lieu. L'équipe devrait être aussi présente en soirée pour pouvoir animer et faire danser les gens lors des spectacles dans le lobby. La musique cubaine aurait été appréciée tout le temps et pas juste au lobby. Pourquoi ne pas les faire venir sur la plage, au buffet. Les terrains de tennis sont très bien entretenus et le pro Victor est dévoué. Même chose pour les catamarans. Beaucoup de sorties.

Melia Las Dunas: Had a Great Time !!

Wife and I had an great time at your resort ! The hotel and the grounds were well maintained . The staff from the lobby right down to the grounds keepers were very friendly and helpful . The 4 restaurants we went to were very good and of course the beach was beautiful. The only issue we had was that we had to ask for fresh towels for our shower and our room was not swept. Other than that we had a great time , thank you !

Melia Las Dunas: Loved every minute!

Resort was amazing. Absolutely stunning beach, great rooms and amazing entertainment. Staff were friendly and engaging! Pools were really nice, and the grounds are well kept. No issues what so ever, would love to go back some day.

Sanctuary at Grand Memories Santa Maria: Disgusting

Cockroaches in room. Mould on drapes and furniture. Stained bedding, walls, furniture. Water damage everywhere. Stay away! These rooms are a health hazard.We refused to stay in our room so they moved us to the Royalton next door. Vacation saved! Lucky for us but I'm sure others are not. Read reviews carefully. You have been warned.

Melia Cayo Santa Maria: Great Experience!

We enjoyed our stay at Melia Cayo Santa Maria . All the staff were very friendly, helpful and attentive to your needs. Our check in and checkout were fast and efficient. All the public areas were kept clean and nice; the grounds, flowers , trees, etc..The pools were big and nice and kept clean. We didn't take much part in the pool activities but found the fashion show and some other competition they had in the pool thoroughly entertaining and fun. The facilities at the beach were adequate and th [... read more]e staff made sure you would get clean deck chairs and beach umbrellas. Loved the beautiful sandy beach and the turquoise water! We enjoyed all the evening and nightly entertainment which added something unique to our holiday experience. The drinks at the lobby were the best and they had a good selection of them available. Our room was adequate and comfortable and kept clean every day. Plenty of sitting and storage space and the bed was big and comfortable. The food was average and we had a mixed experience at both the buffet and a la carte restaurants. But, we didn't expect anything great as we had travelled to Cuba before and found that food is pretty much the same everywhere. We preferred The food at the Beach Grill and we had some good lunches there. The food was also good some of the nights at the buffet restaurant. Overall, we had a very good experience at this resort and would recommend it to friends and consider coming back again. Auzi & Bill

Melia Cayo Santa Maria: Excellent resort

My husband and myself loved this resort, the rooms were great very spacious and clean, the outdoor grounds were well kept. This is my 5th time to Santa Maria never at this resort before, but i would definately go back to Melia. Its quaint and very welcoming!

Iberostar Selection Ensenachos: Nice Resort

This resort has a lovely beach, a well kept hotel and grounds. But maintenance is an issue. Light bulbs are not replaced when burnt out along the walkways. Lock on our washroom door didn't work. Shower door had a gap, so water sprayed out onto the floor. Bathroom towels were dingy grey with spots on them. There were no fresh beach towels all week. We waited 2 days for Tonic water to arrive for our Gin & Tonic drinks. The food was basic cafeteria style, not what you'd expect out of a large ho [... read more]tel. Sorry to say but, this hotel has gone downhill. I've been there 4 times over the years and this year was the worst yet. I don't expect to go back to this place sometime soon. Nor do I want to visit any other Hotel in Cuba as I heard other hotels are even worse.

Grand Memories Santa Maria: Wonderful!

The beach was perfect! Well kept with ample lounge chairs and shady umbrellas. All of the staff were always kind courteous and friendly. The buffet had plenty of variety whether it was breakfast, lunch and dinner. We had a wonderful stay and would be more than happy to return!

Iberostar Selection Ensenachos: Agree! This used to be an amazing resort

Love this hotel, it's architecture, and beautiful design which seams to complement the green gardens and blends in with the serenity of this heavenly area. Over the years my husband and I have seen most of the Caribbean islands and so far have decided to settle for our holidays at Ibero Star Cayo Ensenachos mainly because of the gentle beach , beautiful surroundings and very friendly staff. On Feb. 22,2019 was our tenth visit to this place. Unfortunately we found the place rather disappointi [... read more]ng in comparison to our previous visits and our last on March 2018. Te quality of food in the dinning room dropped at least 40%, same dishes were served for lunch and dinner, soups were cold and watery on many occasions and there was hardly any variety in the meat department.. There were never fresh pool towels for exchange in the morning, mid day or in the evening. The walkways to the bungalows were dark since numerous bulbs were broken and not replaced,or the light stands were driven over by the carts. In order to get a palapa for shade on the beach you had to personally be there by at least 0630 to reserve it. The maintenance and the management definitely does no give enough attention at this beautiful hotel.