Perfect Resort

Loved everything. rooms, food, entertainment, beach, pool, drinks, grounds etc. I would highly recommend this resort to anyone! the staff all were great. modern, well looked after property with lots to see and do.

Fantasic Resort

We have been traveling down south since 2011 with our 2 kids. This by far has been our favorite resort ever!! The beach was flawless, we had adjoining rooms they were perfect. Modern with beautiful bathrooms. Ocean view with pool on opposite side, walking distance to everything. Food was great. Entertainment the best we have ever seen!! Loved everything about the resort. Highly recommend!

Beautiful Resort!

Everything was great. The rooms were modern and clean with lots of hot water, food was good, service was good, public washrooms always clean with lots of toilet paper. The bus ride is about 1 hour 40 minutes from the airport, but there is a washroom on the bus and it really didn't seem that long either way. I mean it is possible to find fault with things if you want to, but I don't go on vacation to look for things to complaint about. I would go back in a minute!

Ocean Casa Del Mar Cuba - BEAUTIFUL RESORT - GO !

As a first timer to this resort, I put myself into the shoes of others who may be considering going. Firstly, the beaches are absolutely gorgeous. The water is crystal clear, on the days we were there some days were calm and some days were windy and wavy; both were GREAT !!! The last time I went to Cuba in Varadero many years ago I could not even eat the chicken and turkey, but at Ocean Casa Del Mar I absolutely loved the food … AMAZING ! My personal opinion – I actually enjoyed the buffet o [... read more]ver the various restaurants they had available. I don't eat fish, so I was worried I would be limited. I REALLY enjoyed the fried chicken, the beef on rice was excellent, make your own pasta, chicken and pork grill, the soups were excellent, there was a sweet and sour pork chop that was BEAUTIFUL ! Not everything was as I would like it, but every night I had at least 6 choices. Anyway, 10 yrs ago I could barely eat the chicken and turkey at a Varadero resort ... here I thought the food was great ! The hotel sprays for bugs 2 times per day; once in the morning around 8:00 and in the evening - possibly between 7:00 and 8:00. It is a thick fog that smells like oil. If you see the truck coming, hide in one of the buildings, lobby, or your room as it is a thick fog that can’t be good for you and it smells. The only bugs you will find on the resort are on the beach at dusk or at night. If you go to the beach at night, better you bring that small flashlight I was telling you about. IT IS DARK !!!! The staff across the board are all amazingly hard working, pleasant at all times, polite, and NEVER bug you to purchase things. Even the gardeners or cleaning staff outside will say OLA to you as you walk by. The ENTIRE hotel is clean, dusted, fresh, bright …. No complaints ! One thing to be noted; some rooms have showers, and some don’t. The ones that do are spacious enough to fit 8 people inside, however the pressure coming out of the shower head can be low. The rooms that do not have a shower have a bath with a “wand” that comes out like a shower head. The pressure is very strong “BUT” there are no shower curtains so it’s a bit of an art on how you “shower” with the wand without getting water all over the bathroom. Personally I had the one with the wand, could have changed, but to be honest I enjoyed my room’s view and location so I decided to stay put, and to be honest it was fine. There were a few other people at the hotel who decided the same. It wasn’t a big deal for me. You might want to bring a few items just in case : Cough medicine (anti-biotics), band-aids, face cloth (there are none), peanut butter if you want a simple breakfast, or your favorite food additive like Ketchup or Hot sauce. By the way .......... Thinking of bringing some Clamato ? Canadian Tire offers a CLAMATO POWDER. I don’t know anyone who has tried it yet, but it might be worthwhile to bring. It will save on space and weight in your luggage, and you can have Cesars by the pool all week and be the envy of everyone. You Maybe you should bring one bottle and re-use it. http://www.canadiantire.ca/en/pdp/original-wild-west-caesar-pleaser-1750583p.html 1. Even if you do not drink alcohol, or if you don’t drink that much, buy a BUBBA. It will keep your drink cold for up to 2 hours, keeps the sand out, & keeps you from walking to the bar frequently. Besides – you are saving the environment. At night time bring your Bubba and fill it up at the bar with water before going back to the room for extra water (you are allotted 1 bottle per day in the room for drinking, brushing teeth, etc). 2. Don’t pack water shoes (some did). The sand is soft - you don’t need them unless you don’t like flip-flops, sandals, etc.. 3. If you don’t like the way you look in your bikini, are a little overweight, out of shape, etc., don’t worry about it. Many people of different sizes were wearing all types of suits including bikinis and thongs. It’s 2018 – love your body ! Worst case, bring whatever you are comfortable in …. But pack the bikini as well. You may change your mind. 4. In case of power failure while walking back to your room, bring a small inexpensive LED flashlight. It can’t hurt. 5. I would suggest buying a plastic case for your phone. Obviously it will keep it dry in the rain or from the ocean (Catamaran), but it also will prevent sand blowing on it on a windy day. 6. I brought a mask & snorkel (no fins). There are not many fish in front of the hotel, but down by the rocks at the small market there are plenty of fish to see. I saw a fish that was approx. 4 ft. long in 5 ft. of water. It could have been a grouper, but I didn’t think they went in shallow water. 7. Go to the Dollar store and buy clips to clip your towel to your chair or when hanging over your railing so the wind does not blow them away. 8. Buy a Canadian flag (dollar store) and hang it from your balcony ! I wish I would have thought of this – someone did it in building #1 and it was BEAUTIFUL ! 9. When entering Cuba and going through Customs, go in the 3rd line or so. Once you get through the door you will have to go through a scan. There are no ropes so it is a free-for-all. They “encourage” you to follow an orderly line to the left, but everyone keeps coming through the door, the line is quickly lost, and people just go straight for the machines. 10. People complain about the 1 ½ bus ride. I treated it like an excursion – a way to see how the people actually live. I highly suggest you do the same so that when you get to your spacious, air-conditioned, clean room that you can appreciate how much you truly have in life so that you don’t complain about stupidity like how you can’t get fresh pool towels daily, or how you are down to your last roll of toilette paper, etc.. We are lucky ! BTW – I didn’t have a shower in my room (10 days). I did fine with the wand ! 11. Gifts : a. Seeing as how some things are expensive I found an EXCELLENT deal at Costco for Kirkland brand Tylenol. I gave away a bunch of large bottles. b. Don’t forget the people that sweep the floors. c. Gardeners – Gloves, toiletries, etc. d. If you are taking a taxi down the road, bring gloves, drinks from your fridge, Advil, toiletries, hats, T-Shirts, .. WHATEVER and stop and give it to the workers on the side of the road. e. Dollar store glasses f. Ball Caps. g. Jewelry, watches you don’t wear, ties for hotel staff, pantyhose or tights. h. Know any sales or distribution people ? Ask if they can give you their products for free or at a discounted price. 12. CIGAR SMOKERS : I would bring a couple of plastic cigar tubes so that when you bring a couple of cigars to the beach they don’t break, get sand in them, etc. They can be purchased at most cigar stores (Provigo). I would also suggest buying a cheap cutter and make sure you pack it in your luggage so it is not picked up on your carry-on and thought to be a weapon. Cheap lighters that are not so great can be purchased at the hotel shop where you can buy cigars. 13. As far as food goes, I’m not a fish eater, so I was worried about the quality. NO PROBLEMO ! I actually enjoyed the buffet better than the restaurants. Very impressed in how far Cuba has come in 10 years. I brought Frank’s hot sauce, peanut butter, and Ketchup and never used them. I’d say that maybe you might want the ketchup for fries, peanut butter if you want a simple breakfast or lunch, but I was pleased with what they had. 14. PAY ATTENTION TO THE ENTERTAINMENT SCHEDULE ! You DO NOT want to miss Michael Jackson !

Beautiful resort!

I was very pleased with Ocean Casa del mar; the resort was modern, clean and beautiful. The staff went out of their way to make sure everything was good for you especially in the restaurants. Speaking of the restaurants; they were all very nice and the food was great too! The coffee shop had a wide selection of yummy coffees (hot, cold and with alcohol), there was a number of pastries available there also. The beach was incredible, great bar/snack bar at the beach as well. Pools were lovely and  [... read more]clean! The room was well equipped with an iron and board, mini bar, safe (free), coffee maker, hair dryer and flat screen tv with good cable. Beach towels were waiting in the room also. You can buy an internet card for one Cuban peso which will last you one hour.

NICE RESORT

800 room resort that is divided into 2 section so it felt like 2 smaller resort, beach is great, working on the grounds to repair damaged after the latest hurricane, rooms nice and spacious, clean, staff are great and friendly, food a the buffet is ok but too repetitive.

Expected so much more

This is my honest review of Ocean Casa del mar in Cayo Santa María First the good: amazing beach and lots of lounge chairs and palapas available. Now with not so good- I requested a room with 2 beds and only got 1 king size on the lower level . Asked to switch and finally gave up after 3 days of asking managers at reception. Room keys constantly not working and patio door broken popped by a wooden stick ( main level room so no balcony)terrible view from room have pics to prove. When complaine [... read more]d the managed response was”SO”Ford the worst I’ve ever tasted in Cuba. This was my 9 th time to Cuba so I san definitely compare properly . Lack of clean beach towels so only got clean ones 2/7 days Terrible I will never go back to this resort nor will recommend it to anyone I know. I travel multiple times a year as well as my family and friends and will not go back to this resort. Being 3 years old it’s far from being finished and . Concrete walkways are very deficient and unfinished all over the resort. Send some of your reps there as well as from Sunwing and have them evaluate it for themselves. I would like my money back also. Waste of time and 2000$ for me .I will be complaining to Sunwing as well

Not public ready

I was overall disappointed with this hotel. They were not ready to be open to the public after the hurricane. I did take time to give the manager my constructive criticism and hope that he will consider the suggestions I gave him to better run this hotel. I love the Cuban people so I am hoping that things will improve in it will inspire people to return

Ocean Casa Del Mar, Cayo Santa Maria

They sprayed chemicals in the early morning & supper time. A communcication breakdown a bit with front desk staff. Room was close to the most beautiful beach I have ever seen! ... amazing weather! No rain!

March Break Trip to Cube as GREAT!

Beach and water was amazing. Rooms were clean and all staff were friendly and helpful. We felt very safe! The food was not the greatest - a lot of selection on the buffet - pizza/pasta/bread/sweets, but not much in the way of fresh fruit or veggies.

Just returned! Loved it!

We stayed at this amazing resort from April 10 to 17. Just loved it and had the best week! Beach, location, food, rooms and staff were all great! We will be returning in November! Can't wait! Cuba is our favorite vacation destination!

Amazing hotel and trip

We had a remarkable trip and stay at Ocean Casa del Mar in Cuba. The rooms, service, activities and restaurants were great. Many choices of activities are available for everyone to choose something that interests them. The mightily shows are a must to see. As this was my first trip to a resort in Cuba food and variety were of a concern to me. I can truly say we had a wide variety of food to choose from and all my pre-concerns were answered. Ate extremely well, like I was at home. The  [... read more]Staff made all the difference, they were helpful, went out of their way to ensure my vacation was a huge success. Everywhere we went we received an open welcome by the employees. 2nd to none. I will definitely go back because of the service provided by the employees, atmosphere and the great beaches!

Beautiful week in sun surf & sand.

This resort expands over a large area....lots of walking.We basically spent most of our time on the west side of resort.Building#5 .Our maid was awesome.We reguested a 2nd floor.Thank you Bismak. We left a note in fridge for 2 bottles of water & a peso & received our water. We put our beach towels down on lounger each am before 7:10 & made it back to our room before the insecticide spray truck came around the resort The food was average for Cuba.Alot of the time it was warm. The preshow  [... read more]entertainment...violin& guitar player were fantastic @ the bar. Unfortuntantly the insecticide truck sprayed again between7:15 &7:45 pm just when going to buffet or a la carte. we took floats to use @ beach....lots of fun

Very good choice

My husband and I and our friends enjoyed our 7 day stay at Casa Del Mar in Santa Maria Cuba. A few hiccups with the safe but nothing that would change my outlook on resort. The beach was fantastic and the bartenders were amazing. The shows were mediocre as it is not a large resort. The food was ok, I am limited due to allergies and didn’t go hungry but the buffet got repetitive as the week went on. Our waiters waitresses were outstanding and the daily towel art left by the maids was great. I t [... read more]horoughly enjoyed my vacation and would go back to this resort again.

Great vacation!

We enjoyed our stay at the Ocean Casa del Mar, the staff is amazing...Honorable mention goes out to Vania, our bartender at the pool and Magdial at the buffet...both made our trip that much more special. The front desk staff top notch as was our Sunwing rep. The food could have been a little better but the overall experience more than made up for it. Canadians leave your loonies and toonies home, yes they will take them, but there is absolutely no where in Cuba to exchange them. No where. You [... read more] may as well tip rocks. Canadian bills are fine. Change some money into some single convertible pesos to tip. Cuban beaches are 2nd to none absolutely beautiful! Thanks trip central

So so

Beach so, so,... long line up for beach grill. Pool good except for broken pieces and not cleaned promptly. Food.... its Cuba. If you could stand the line ups for pizza or pasta they are delicious. Dont eat the chicken. Got sick over if. Service very good and friendly staff, always eager to help. Room are nice size and newer looking but we did have some issuez.... clogged shower drain, leaking AC, patio door very hard to open, bed comfortable.

GREAT TIME

Pros Staff were AMAZING: So kind and generious always asking if we needed anything,always smiling and so sweet. Great entertainment! Rooms were great, BIG washrooms! Beach was perfect! Always a tun of food! Fun activities! Boating was free and so fun! Felt very safe the whole time Cons: Wifi is spoty and no snap chat available.. Key card to room got demagnitized and was locked out twice..But all in all the whole thing was AMAZING

Great Time

This was a nice resort. We went to this resort to relax and basque in the sun. The weather cooperated with us by giving us 7 days of sun. One morning there was a very light mist in the air but it cleared up by lunch time. Temperatures were fine and there was a constant breeze to prevent us from getting hot. The food was alright. It kind of gets tiresome after 7 days having the same food. We had asked for a Oceanview room and that we got. It was a great view of the ocean from room 431 second floo [... read more]r. I would have been very disappointed if I had been on the ground floor. All you would have seen was the bushes. One of the downers of the room was that the patio doors couldn't be locked. I had read about a review very similar to this on tripadvisor before went to the resort and used a similar tactic to secure the door.We had used the ironing board as our patio door lock. The lock looked like it had been pryed off by a past visitor. The staff was very polite and helpful. The beach was awesome.

Not great!

It was alot bigger then expected. So alot of walking. Not much food options (basically ham and cheese everyday). Cleaning of room was not everyday. We used the same bath towels everyday for 7days. Received no beach towel in our room had to use our friends.

Weekend away

Beautiful resort. Great weekend away would definitely return. One major disappointment was customer service. Understandably this is Cuba a Spanish speaking country however not all your tourist speak Spanish. There should be more English/Spanish speaking reps around. Front desk especially should have people that can answer common questions people have. Check in. This process needs to be streamlined. The hotel should know how many people are coming in via tours ie Sunwing. After a long fligh [... read more]t/bus ride the last thing you need is a long line. Have a separate room available with details/room keys - along with an English speaking rep. this would unclog the congestion in the lobby and make your new visitors feel comfortable. A la carte restaurants - I love the idea of not limiting guests the number of restaurants during stay but again with the long waits at 5:30. There needs to be a better system than having people cut there day to wait in line for reservations.