Iberostar Selection Ensenachos: Best beaches in Cuba

We love this resort! It was our eighth visit, and sadly, while the rooms have been spruced up and look lovely, the food service has suffered a surprising downturn. There was a lack of selection at the buffet, and the food was not always hot. But there were always fresh fruits and veggies, and the a la carte restaurants were fine. We liked the Italian and the the Mediterranean restaurants best, though some folks didn't like the Italian and loved the Japanese. If you have to omit one, skip the Cub [... read more]an. The staff everywhere were friendly and mostly efficient - though they seemed to be spread a bit thinner than in other years. The resort has two wonderful beaches, always room, and some good snorkelling offshore. We were told that the Cayo Santa Maria resorts were having issues with their entertainment agent, with the result that there was no live music in the lobby at night. There was a piano player a couple of nights a week, and there was always a show in the theatre, always very well done. We have no interest in the theatre shows, but had been looking forward to a variety of musicians in the lobby, so this was a major disappointment for us. We won't be back until we hear that the food and entertainment issues have been corrected.

Iberostar Selection Ensenachos: Fourth time at the Ensenachos and every bit as beautiful!

Everything was wonderful. Service, room, food, beach and grounds. Absolutely nothing to complain about. The staff are so friendly and accommodating. Definitely returning to this resort in the future!

Iberostar Selection Ensenachos: wonderful resort

I like this resort because the beach is quiet, peaceful and beautiful - the perfect place to enjoy a good book, pristine waters, enchanting aqua life and gorgeous sand. It is a gem. At other resorts, the staff constantly demand of you, over loud speakers dragged down to the beach, to "have fun" and "dance". Last year, the Ensenachos beach was quiet - this year, not so much: the Star staff and wait staff constantly interrupted me asking if I wanted to dance or have a drink. If I wanted to danc [... read more]e or do water sports or do yoga have a massage, I WOULD BE DOING THAT instead of enjoying my book. Staff - read the room! And please stop addressing me as "lady". Miss or Madam will do. Re music- nice traditional Cuban music was playing on low at the end of the beach. Note to the guests who brought their own music and forced the rest of us to listen - if I wanted to listen to your crappy music I would go to a cheap bar in Hull instead of paying a few thousand to sit on a gorgeous Cuban beach. Which brings me to etiquette (on the part of guests) and rule enforcement by staff: guests- don't bring weapons to the beach - namely spear guns in the water where people are swimming. Staff - enforce the no weapons rule and post signs to leave the wildlife alone! This was very troubling to witness! I will go to this resort next year.

Roc Lagunas del Mar: Beautiful hotel and beach

The hotel was generally well maintained, clean and the staff were, for most, very nice and helpful. The front desk staff were (to the exception of one young lady we dealt with), slightly arrogant, which surprised me very much. The gardeners were all very polite and attentive to the clients, which was much appreciated, as they seem to be overlooked by a lot of people, especially when it comes to getting a little tip, or even a thank you. The dining room staff were in general all good, some ver [... read more]y very good. The resort is huge, but was surprisingly fairly deserted. No need to rush to get a towel on a chair there, which me for me, was awesome. It definitely wasn't a place to go if you expect a lively night life and need to be entertained. But for a relaxing kind of vacation where you like to rest, it was perfect. The pools were always clean and the grounds/ chairs in good condition. The food: I have been to Cuba twice before, many years ago, and I had no issues with the differences , but this time, I was actually looking forward to coming home for a good meal. Breakfast - bananas and oranges were rare, pineapples only if fairly lucky. No ketchup unless again you got lucky, but they had ketchup at the snack bar at lunch.. Lunch - choices were very limited Dinner - a la carte , the first night was actually extremely disappointing. Both the soup, the chicken and the risotto were all so salty that we only took one bite of everything before we couldn't eat more. We were hoping to be lucky with the cheesecake offered on the menu, but there was none available. So we went to the buffet where again, the options were not very appealing. It is the first time I go on a week long trip and I can't say that I "stuffed myself" too many times, as I didn't even over eat once during the week. Overall, except for the food, having the beach and the pools almost to myself on numerous occasions were AWESOME, and just what I needed.

Melia Las Dunas: Great Resort

Overall, my husband and I were extremely happy with the resort. It is quite large with many different buildings so if a lot of walking is not for you, then you will need to utilize the free shuttle service they have within the grounds. Our room was a bit dated and the water pressure in the shower a bit lacking, but it was functional and clean. Our housekeeper was super friendly and took very good care of us. The adult pool with the swim up bar was amazing. Treat yourself to the daily massag [... read more]e by the pool. They are free of charge but you will want to tip afterwards. The family/activity pool is a good distance away from the adult pool so you almost feel like you are at an adult only resort. The beach is breathtaking! The sand is white and the water is the most amazing colour of blue I have ever seen. You can walk for miles in either direction. Again, it is a bit of a walk to the beach, and no shuttle service available but we didn't mind that. The one thing that would have been nice would be bathroom facilities closer to the beach area. The food was great. Everyday I asked my husband how anyone could complain about the food. Each morning I started my day with a freshly made omelet with my choice of add-ins plus fresh fruit from the buffet, and a delicious cappuccino from the lobby bar. How does it get any better then that? Sometimes there was a line up for the omelets but that is to be expected. Lunch was usually fresh grilled meat from the bbq down by the beach and dinner was meat or pasta from the buffet with salad. We did try two A La Cart restaurants. We were not impressed with the Cuban one. Much of the food was the same as what we could get at the buffet. The Italian one was really good. We both had the Calzones and enjoyed them. If burgers and fries are more your thing then the beer garden is great. There was one day during our one week stay that the resort ran out of a lot of things including burgers, fries and hot dogs. But, their shipment came in the next day and everything was back up and running. The resort is on a small island off of a larger island. Sometimes shipments are going to be delayed. This should be expected and is not worth losing your mind over and certainly not the fault of the wait staff. The staff is great. We tipped occasionally, not every time we were served, and always received service with a smile. If you tip well, you will receive exceptional service. For example, a good tip at the beginning of the week to one of the waiters in the buffet guaranteed us an available table in his area each night for dinner. We left a small tip and small gift for our house keeper each day and she took very good care of us all week. I also tipped the omelet cook occasionally as she really worked hard every morning and was always super friendly to every one. We will definitely return to Melia Las Dunas!

Playa Luxury Cayo Las Brujas: Awesome resort!

We very much enjoyed our stay at the Angsana resort in Cayo Santa Maria. The facility was in great shape and the food was surprisingly good. We particularly enjoyed the snack bar food and drinks. The staff treated us really well and were very helpful and hospitable. The bed was extremely comfortable as well. If you are going there to party you might want to be friends with you. It’s a quiet older crowd. We would highly recommend this resort.

Dhawa Cayo Santa Maria: Great time

The resort is lovely and nicely laid out. Beach is fabulous and staff are friendly and go out of their way to help. Food in buffet is great especially the pasta bar and the friendly chef! The age group was fabulous and was nice to have such an affordable single supplement.

Dhawa Cayo Santa Maria: Fabulous resort

The hotel and grounds are so clean beautiful gardens everywhere quick walk to beach pool and restraurant people charming polite and can't do enough for you would have liked a coffee maker in room but would rebook here anytime

Melia Cayo Santa Maria: MeliaCayo Santa Maria

the hotel was awesome very clean. People were very helpful. The grounds were beautiful well looked after. The size of the resort was perfect for us it was very easy for us to get around. The food was very good lots to choose from. The beach was beautiful lots of activities as well as the pool. Our room was always clean .As for the entertainment the theatre not so much , we enjoy going to the lobby every evening, entertainment was awesome. We would definitely go back to this resort.

Sanctuary at Grand Memories Santa Maria: Great staff, awesome beach

Grounds are beautiful, pool is great, beach is incredible and entertainment staff is very good. Food is average, breakfast and lunch buffet offer enough choice, but buffet area could use more cleanliness. Butlers are welcoming and helpful, rooms could be updated

Melia Cayo Santa Maria: Relaxing Time

While this was a smaller Melia resort, it was right beside the busier one so we could easily walk over anytime. The à la carte dinners were excellent and the buffet is typical. There are just 2 downsides being many « no-see-ems » which are tiny mosquitoes that you just cannot see and they leave welts and the long bus ride. To get there took us just 90 minutes but the return ride took a long 2.5 hours.

Roc Lagunas del Mar: Horrible. Do not book this hotel

We booked through tripcentral.ca which had the resort flagged as a 4 star. I can definitely say I would give it a 2 star at best. Here are the high level negatives: Mould in the room. Had to pay for an upgrade to change rooms despite the 800 room resort only having max 100 people there. They told us they didn’t have a room with a king size bed. Despite the hotel being empty. To put it in perspective there was mould on the bed spread, on the walls and inside the pictures hanging on the w [... read more]all. The upgrade cost over $200 just so I didn’t have an asthma attack. No security present. We were verbally attacked and threatened by another guest and their family and staff stood around and watched. When we went to get help we were directed to please speak to the customer service rep. Where there was a line up. Lack of food. Not just lack of variety but food availability was an issue. 24 hour restaurant only served hot dogs or ham and cheese sandwiches. vegetarians and vegans beware there is a lack of fresh fruit and vegetables at all meals. Hot dogs served three different ways at meals. Labeled as sausages, pork or hot dogs. They just cut them differently and use different sauces. Vegetarians prepare yourself to eat cold spaghetti, bread, and frozen or canned peas, mushrooms and corn for a week. Hazards all over. Rotting boardwalks. Children’s play areas with nails sticking up from fence posts. Pool railings that fall apart when you put your weight onto them. Nails sticking up on pool stairs where railings once stood. Personal belongings stolen poolside. Staff response was ya sorry It’s the locals. No free WiFi despite it being listed as a free amenity. $1.25 CUC per hour if you were lucky enough to be able to purchase it. A lot of local Cuban guests. Not an issue unless you mind people walking around with loud portable karaoke machines serenading their families poolside and in the restaurants . Drowning out the music the resort is playing. Or pushing you out of the way at the buffet. No tour operators on site. Our air transat rep was there once and told us to call the emergency number if we needed anything. When we tried to get assistance with our room issue he changed the subject and was rude. It was almost like he knew the place was horrible so he didn’t even try to help. A la cart restaurants are available but no menus to see at booking desk. I have allergies and they refused to provide menus. They said we would have to go to the restaurants when they were open and ask to read them. Or book and hope for the best. They also couldn’t tell us what restaurants were open what nights. Towels in the room and at the pool are stained, ripped and or dirty. One towel we were left in our room smelled of urine. At 7 pm a truck goes around the resort spraying a diesel smelling smoke cloud. Apparently it’s for mosquito control. It triggered an asthma attack and it made me sick to my stomach. They spray the entire property half hour after the buffet opens for dinner so you can’t avoid it unless you hide in your room. Staff cat calls at women. Pool employees walk around and stare at female guests inappropriately. One staff member kept looking between my legs every time he walked by. It got to the point I kept covering myself or crossed my legs if he was around. Please keep in mind I was just lying down on a pool lounger with my legs close together when this would happen. You will never have to reserve any pool chairs because nobody goes to this resort. It has been abandoned by the tour operators. So you will only ever see maybe ten other people at the pool. Trust me when I say do not book this place. There is no service. You will never be served anything except for beverages in the buffet. Every other drink you get you will go to a bar and fetch yourself. The customer service is horrendous. Nobody speaks English. The hotel caters to local Cuban guests more than everyone else.

Hotel Roc Casa del Mar: Disappointed

We were a group of 14 women aging from 20-78 and we were going for a birthday. We were suggested by our travel agent Ocean Del Mar in Santa Clara Cuba. What a disappointment, not only was the resort disorganized and dirty, there was no night life, it was a family resort and it was 2 hours away from airport. I would think that with the experience of our travel agent we would of gotten a resort suited for the occasion that had better ratings, oh and a better price. This resort was rated as a 4 sta [... read more]r, I would give it a 2 star. I was disappointed in our travel agents pick and price. It’s a good thing the weather was great and the Ocean was beautiful because other then that I would of went home the next day.

Hotel Roc Casa del Mar: Looks are deceiving

Check in was very disorganized, waited in line for 2 hours to get to the front desk, room was not available until after 4pm, then had to wait in another line to get the room key. Unable to exchange beach towels all week. Buffet not big enough for resort size, food not good unless you waited in another long line for cooked fresh food. The beach, pool and drinks were great. Overall, not worth the price.

Hotel Roc Casa del Mar: not an amazing resort. Do not waste your money!!

room ok food not bad a la cartes not good run out of white wine bread milk basic foods paid for the privilege section -with ocean view. They were going to put us in regular section with a view of a building.Had to fight for what we had already paid for. Privilege section on beach with waiter service was a sham. Got waited on 1x all week. supposed to have special toiletries in bathroom. 1 tiny cake of soap for 2 people for a week did not cut it. Supposed to be a privilege lounge with  [... read more]special amenities and dining and bar. Closed up. Specialties drinks were not freely given until you spoke up and showed them the bracelet some staff courteous. most not. we saw our butler 2x all week and that was because we had to track him down with complaints. gave up after that. most of privilege extras did not exist. would like a refund thank you very much. Also, the beach towel exchange was only open 1 day for about 30 minutes. We had to go to the lobby and ask the butler for clean beach towels. Absolutely no excuse for this terrible service especially when you spend $1,080.00 extra for the Privilege Package!! Also, there should be no question about approving this review.

Valentin Perla Blanca: Valentin Perla Blanca

The hotel grounds and accommodation where outstanding. Privilege status is worth buying as it provides amenities such as private breakfast and lunch area, beach chairs with attendants at your ready, drinks on the beach etc...

Dhawa Cayo Santa Maria: Fair resort

Poor replacement of food at the buffet restaurant, beach is not that great as resorts nearby, workers at resort are very friendly and always ready to help (doesn't mean that they are able to solve the problem). They should improve with some little things like one more knife to cut the bread(believe me, there was only one for everybody), napkins, cutlery, bar location on the beach, or a second one.

Grand Aston Cayo Las Brujas: Beautiful Beach

The property is very nice, clean and we'll maintained. The ocean is clean ,calm and clear, you can walk the beach for miles. We could have used more quiet time as there was always something going on at a very loud tone. The food is not so good, but the staff does make an effort to help you enjoy your stay

Grand Memories Santa Maria: 2nd time was even Better , Grand memories Cayo santa Maria

This was our 2nd time retuning to this property we had such a great time last time , we decided to bring down all our family . We love the beach and the people . Especially the entertainment team .Alexander from the entertainment team is very deserving of this recognition as he made us feel very special as I know it's his job, but he is very genuine and I feel like he is family. His English gets better every year as we help him on line when we get home too. The way he treats his guests are ama [... read more]zing and very attentive . My heart is so full with the memories we have made and plan to return again in May . But one thing that needs a bit of attention is the rooms , we were missing toilet paper for days and had to get some from the lobby and there were no face cloths and we never got clean towels all week in the room . We had to chase our Maid man and he didn't speak any English either. I know these are smaller things but these things matter . Thanks again to Carlo and Ray at the Bar in sanctuary and to Alexander , Osmany ,Lainey and Lizz. Also to our favourite golf cart driver Aleski we love you guys and keep up the great work ! Love Barb , Chris , Austin, and Ashley Blue

Grand Memories Santa Maria: Great time beautiful beach

I had a great time in Cuba and grand memories it it was very beautiful with beautiful beach. The hotel was nice but could have had better service by the maids. The food was quite good I would totally recommend this resort to anyone