Resonance Blu Varadero: Great holiday

Just got back from Memories Varadero and we had a fantastic time.... Cuba was hit with a hurricane and severe damage was done but the Cuban people have spent every single moment cleaning up all the damage to make tourists feel very comfortable ... everyone there went out of their way to make you feel like you number one.... I have been here twice and I wouldn't hesitate to go back

Sanctuary at Grand Memories Varadero: First time to Cuba, won't be the last!

We had a wonderful stay at the Sanctuary at Grand Memories. The resort was beautiful, plenty of food options (I am vegan and had a fine time eating enough for breakfast lunch and dinner!). Only complaint would be that of room service, we asked many times for our fridge to be re-stocked and they told us over and over it would be filled but never was. Our stay was only 4 days so this was dissappointing, but not enough to dampen the experience. The beach here is 5 stars. Plenty of space, not crow [... read more]ded, lots of chairs for everyone. The beach is slightly separated so Sanctuary visitors have their own private area, but it is close enough to the music, activities, and beach bar for enjoyment. The wait staff and butler were 10/10. Very friendly, making conversation and attentive to our needs. I would recommend the Asian restaurant, Gin Seng, and also want to commend the guitar player at La Orquidea was fantastic. We will definitely be considering this resort in the future visits to Cuba, but maybe not paying the premium for Adults Only as the room service and fridge perks were not what we expected.

Memories Jibacoa: Tropical Paradise

Before booking my vacation to Cuba this year, I went through countless reviews of many hotels, but the one that stood out above and beyond the rest was Memories Jibacoa. Yes, there were a few negative, but valid comments, but what motivated me to book this hotel, were the number of repeat guests - vacationers have gone to MJ as many as 14 times - that says a lot ! So I decided to see for myself what all the hoopla was about and booked a week to MJ. From the moment I arrived I was impressed [... read more] - fast and very efficient check in, and a lovely gentleman took my baggage to my room - #2131, a gardenview, second floor. My room was spotless with a king bed and fluffy pillows, Beer, cola and 2 large bottles of water were in the fridge and also a Nespresso-like cappucino maker. The next morning I found that i was only one building away from the beach and towel exchange. A quick walk up to the main walkway was the reception/lobby area, with a tiered and covered outdoor eating area. The main dining area was to the right and stores and airline reps were in an area to the left of reception. I also must mention that the lobby and beach washrooms were immaculate - and always plenty of toilet paper :-) Since I gained 5 pounds on my trip, I have to say the food was quite good. Although I didn't see any tomatoes or lettuce, I was impressed with the huge bowels of fresh, perfectly ripened avocados. Although I've never been a fan of Cuban desserts, I was very pleasantly surprised by a creamy rice pudding, and a delicious panna cotta. The cakes and cookies were also very tasty, I ate at one of the specialty restaruants - and had a Cuban meal - it wasn't bad but I preferred to eat in the main dining room. There was also an Italian restaurant and another, which I can't recall the name. One of the reasons I chose MJ was the availability of snorkeling the reef which is just offshore. Although a bit cloudy on the day I went, I heard from other travellers that when the wind doesn't churn up the bottom it can be a spectacular, A group of us took the catamaran out and were dropped off at the reef along with Henry from the Dive Shop. He guided us along the reef and contstantly made sure I was ok. He was a great guide! The beach was very nice, however because it was close to the reef, entry into the water could be difficult if you didn't have water shoes - definitely a must if you go here. There was also a lot of seaweed which washed up every day, so I would say the beaches at Varadero were far superior.. There was never a problem getting a chaise on the beach as there were always plenty available, both in the sun and in the shade. Was nice not to have to rush out at the crack of dawn to claim your chair. The Beach Grill was very nice- hamburgers, hotdogs or fish and chips. The menu didn't change at all, but it was delicious - and right on the beach. One evening I took a horse and buggy up the road to a local lobster place - 15 CUC for a huge lobster dinner, sat with the locals and it was charming. There was usually a beach volleyball game everyday, but staff were never pushy about joining. The majority of my time was at the beach, but did go to the pool for a couple of hours one day, just for a change. I also booked a bus tour of Havana and dinner & show at the Tropicana. Our tour guide was very well informed and it was a pleasure to stroll around the old city of Havana with him. In the evening we had dinner at the Tropicana and then watched a fabulous show - very Las Vegas like but better because it was the Spanish version. Just loved it! And finally, I have to mention the incredible Cuban people who work at Memories Jibacoa: They are: Marcos & Roger at the Beach Grill & Bar Janet - my lovely maid who created beautiful towel scultures Marina - the Sun Wing Rep - who always made time for me Noesky - a great guy who made sure I was always topped up with my Pina Colada Ernesto - the lovely gentleman at the reception bar Kiki - whom I only met at the end of my vacation, but will catch you next time Ernesto! and finally, the lovely, kind and beautiful Olema, who sat with me until 4 in the morning with Marisol and the guy who said he was from Russia. Olema made sure our glasses were never empty. She is such a lovely lady and I'll remember her always. There were also many other staff, who went above and beyond every day, making sure that their guests were well cared for. The MJ is wonderful and I would definitely go again, but the STAFF - they really made my vacation complete. THANK YOU TO EVERYONE AT MEMORIES JIBACOA I

Resonance Blu Varadero: 3rd visit to Memories & still loved it!!

This was our third visit to this resort and i wasn't sure what to expect as our last visit here was about 4 years ago. After reading some of the most recent reviews i was quite worried and that maybe i had made a mistake booking here. All i have to say is i loved this resort then and i still love it today! We had a wonderful vacation! The place is beautiful! Beach is amazing! People are wonderful! Everyone is so friendly and we have made many friends here over the years. This was our first visit [... read more] here with our 2 little boys and they absolutely loved it as well! Such friendly people always giving our boys hugs, playing with them, making them smile/laugh. For us we are simple people and this place is great with a budget price as well! If you are looking for a decent friendly family vacation i would definitely recommend this place! We love it here and we will certainly be back again, hopefully sooner rather then later :)

Resonance Blu Varadero: Disappointing staff

The hotel and grounds were in reasonable condition. The pool was never circulated. Only skimmed and the deck hosed off. We only found 4 friendly staff in the whole place. No hot water in the am was a real turn off. Most of the food at the buffets were cold. I survived on doughnuts and ice cream for supper and toast for breakfast. Once in awhile you could get hot french fries. The young lady that serviced our room was excellent!

Memories Flamenco Beach Resort: AWESOME RESORT

We actually had to cancel memories flamenco, due to hurricane Irma, BUT we have stayed here before and the resort, people and food was really good. entertainment was non stop at the beach , pools, theatre etc. we really wish we could have went back to this resort, and we hope they get everything cleaned up for us to go back again next year!!! we didnt have ONE complaint about this resort, amazing for families with smaller children! thus why we booked this resort again!!! see you soon memories [... read more] flamenco!!!

Memories Jibacoa: Perfect for couples and first-time visitors to Cuba

This is a great hotel, especially for those visiting Cuba for the first time as it is very close to Havana. It is also great for people looking to relax in a nice and friendly atmosphere. The hotel grounds are amazingly beautiful and very well maintained. The staff was extremely friendly and the service was great. The entertainment program was very impressive with live music, singers and dancers - loved it. The piano bar is also a must see, it also had great air-conditioning. The food choices [... read more] were rich and there were enough healthy options. We would definitely go back and recommend it to our friends.

Royalton Splash Punta Cana: Nice resort

The resort was beautiful, we were in building 9. We arrived on September 15, checking in was quick and efficient considering we were a party of 9. We were directly across from the splash pad which was great. The restaurants were great, but we were quite disappointed with the number of times Selections - the buffet posted a note stating they would be closed, but when it was opened, the service was amazing. We were also disappointed that the Under the Sea restaurant wasn't opened. Our room was med [... read more]iocre...when we arrived our safe wasn't working, our tv wasn't working and once the tv was fixed the remote wasn't working. It took several calls to the front desk to have them replaced/repaired. Our second day there, our fridge died and had to be replaced and we didn't have any hot water in the bathroom. The only complaint about the grounds themselves was the tiles they used outside and in the buildings - beautiful marble, but very slippery. I was also disappointed that the pools only stayed open until 6pm.

Memories Caribe Beach Resort: Great Experience

The hotel was amazing right from check in to the very clean rooms to the impeccable grounds. The staff were very pleasant and polite. Everything at the resort was very well organized, with always something to do, the entertainment staff always kept the party going.

Memories Flamenco Beach Resort: Grand Bahia Principe -Jamaica

We were supposed to go to Cuba but unfortunately due to the hurricane we had to rebook for our 1 yr wedding anniversary. We were very pleased with the choice of the Grand Bahia Principe in Jamaica! Our agent at Tripcentral made all the necessary changes and made the change seamless...thank you!

Sanctuary at Grand Memories Varadero: Pre/Post Irma

Arrived in Varadero on Sept. 4th. Negotiated a cab for $35 US. After a short wait at the main entrance of Grand Memories, shuttled to check in at Sanctuary. Check in was very quick, with champagne and fruit skewers. Found out we were upgraded to a suite adjacent to the beach. We did have Diamond Club reservations. room was very spacious, with two bathrooms, and a tub/shower separate from a stand alone shower. We had a dispenser stocked with light/dark rum, vodka, and whisky, and a small bar frid [... read more]ge with beer and soda, restocked daily. Our room was second floor, facing the beach, although we could not see the ocean from our room, it was visible from the third floor. Apparently, we had a butler assigned to our room, although no one came when we called the front desk, requesting ice. We also found out that wifi cards are free, one a day, for Diamond Club.This we found out from another couple, and we were not reimbursed for the days we didn't know about it. Food was pretty average, and nothing to rave about. Unfortunately, they were out of pizza, everyday at the snack bar. Then, we were told by way of a general posted meeting with management, that Irma was imminent. Told to stay in our rooms for 48 hours. Just as Irma hit, we lost hydro, and water. Luckily, management, by way of housekeeping gave us a candle, and bottled water. Unfortunately, they did not give out matches with the candle. They also taped the balcony door glass, in case it broke. Since our room was perpendicular to the winds, we did not sustain any structural damage to our room. The resort, however was heavily damaged. Although water was restored to our room, we never did get any hydro. No air conditioning, no cold drinks, no hot shower. We were given ham and cheese sandwiches, and melted ice cream for two days, before they got the buffet sorted out. For some reason the generator for the Sanctuary section of the resort did not work. We were not given a reason why. Whether it was damaged, or previously incapacitated, we were never told. Our Sunwing rep. was basically MIA after the storm, except for a note under our day saying we would fly out after 2 days. In those two days, we managed to find out Memories, just down the road, had hydro, and cold drinks. Apparently, all the UK tourists had been transferred there by their very active travel reps. Would have been a fabulous 10 day vacation, but for Irma, and I think the Resort should have been better prepared. At least our housekeeper stocked us up with soda, rum, and candles. Btw, the resort stopped serving any alcohol immediately after Irma, because the military takes over. This is what we were told by other guests, and the Management did warn us that there would be no service of alcohol for that 48 hours. When we left Sanctuary, on Sept. 12, it was more of a ghost town.

Memories Flamenco Beach Resort: Great Beach

The resort was well kept, food as usual in Cuba was they only step back. Some of our group was ill upon returning home as well we have read that other travelers during the same time frame where ill as well so food may have been the issue. Out flight back was to be in the morning on Wednesday September 6th just as Hurricane was on its way. Our flight was delayed by Sunwing from 10am to 10pm as the planes where being utilized to transport other vacationers from the path of the Hurricane which was [... read more] great however Sunwing never informed any of the Cuba travelers about this until we all checked out and where waiting for the bus. We then waited an hour to get our rooms back until only noon. Luckily the resort staff (manager) stepped up and allowed us to hold our rooms until 4pm as Sunwing would not cover the additional cost for the rooms. With the temperature at 32 C feeling like 42 C it was nice to have somewhere to get cool and shower before we headed to the airport. Overall the resort is well kept and clean, air conditioning in the rooms was great, as mentioned earlier the only set back would be the food.

Royalton Splash Punta Cana: Great stay

The hotel grounds was well kept, the rooms were clean . I stayed at the Memories Punta Cana and the staff was very friendly and helpful. I am thankful to my agent O'Neil Graham for his dedication and help finding me package.

Memories Flamenco Beach Resort: The beach is the only thing that made it all worth while!

My first thought coming to the hotel was cool there's a pirate ship out front maybe there will be a theme to go along with it, no there wasn't. The colors of the tiles on the floor and the paint on the side of the main lobby building were outdated, there was nothing spectacular about the landscape around the resort. The only place that had the nicest looking flowers was by the main lobby, everywhere else the grass looked dead and the other plants had hardly any flowers made it look dull. The pai [... read more]nt on the buildings is chipping off, the tiles in all the pools were falling off and I even hurt myself on the broken ones. There was an awful odor coming from the swim up bar and in another area of the resort wasn't pleasant at all, literally smelled like poo. I overheard another guest complain about it he was quite upset and I don't blame him he had been smelling it for at least 2 days, and the person he was speaking to she looked dumbfounded and didn't really know what to say. We couldn't check into the room until 4 pm which I have never heard of anywhere, we had got there at 11 am and more than half the people that had come on the same flight as us were able to check in and the rest weren't and we were part of that group.We had come back 2 hours later to see if the room was ready, the lady at the front desk didn't even check and immediately said "No!" the staff weren't very friendly to us at all it was actually really disappointing and frustrating. (I had never heard "No!" so many times before at a resort it was really annoying and after awhile and we eventually gave up and stopped asking) I had traveled with my sister and her daughter down for my niece's birthday and we emphasized that to numerous staff members and none of them made her feel special or welcomed. After us asking if they could check to see if one of our rooms was ready, the lady finally did and sure enough mine was ready all along. We get to my room half the lights in my room weren't working properly, there was an ant infestation in my bathroom, my toilet broke several times and had to get someone to come and fix it, it was really annoying. My bed broke the first day I was there and they didn't end up replacing it until that night at like 10 pm at night, when I was getting ready for bed after a long day of travelling. My sister's room wasn't any better her TV wasn't working, her toilet also broke at least 5 times, her safe locked her out, her card keys would stop working and she kept having to go to the front desk to get it replaced. The scary thing was all she had to do was say which room she was in and they gave her a key, without asking what her name was or any identification. So literally someone else could go and do the same thing and get a key for any room and steal your stuff, that made me feel really uneasy. The only thing that made this trip and the resort worth while was the beach, it was absolutely beautiful! The sand was so white and the water was so clear blue, the tides weren't super high so we were able to enjoy swimming in the ocean. The water wasn't overly salty which was nice too especially for my niece who just turned 8 and is still getting the hang of swimming. The only thing about the beach is that there isn't a lot of shade, the only shade there is by these tiki huts that always have towels on them no matter what time you go at. Found out from another lady at the resort that the staff members go early in the morning to throw towels down, they see you looking for a spot to sit so they go and grab one for you and make it look like their doing you a favor so you end up tipping them to show appreciation. It's such a big scam, all you want to do is relax when you go away and not having to worry about where you're going to sit and we even went in the slow season so we couldn't understand why they were all being used! We made the best of it despite all of our frustrations and needless to say we couldn't wait to go home by the end of it, which is actually kind of sad because you should have the feeling of not wanting to leave.

Sol Turquesa Beach: Resort shows its age was O.K.

The grounds need work dead trees laying around. The mini golf was different never seen anyone use it as it was run down. Around the main buildings the landscaping was maintained and some garden areas could of used some upkeep. The beach area was different as when you looked out at the water you would see batches of blue water and then mostly black patches turned out to be seaweed and lots of it. You would need water shoes to swim and to walk along the beach area due to seaweed and coral rock a [... read more]nd the odd dead fish. Where the Diamond area was on the beach there was a barb wire fence dividing the property line this was to keep out the cattle from roaming around; but the odd cow was seen wondering around in this area eating the vegetation. The layout of the resort required a lot of walking to get from point A to point B and with all of the trees and plant life you could not see the beach area from your room. The room was clean and the maid was friendly did a great job looking after the room throughout the week. The food was fair your typical Cuban food maybe too much salt on the meats and the service was good at all areas. The entertainment throughout the day and night shows were worth watching. I would not go back to this resort only reason we went here was the price and we wanted to see this part of Cuba. It is 1 * hour from the airport the good thing is nice to see the countryside and surrounding areas if you are arriving and departing when there is daylight.

Memories Paraiso: awesome beach

I have been to this resort 7 times grand azul paridiso it needs lots of repairs. the gardens are nice gardeners friendly. tried Italian but didn't like it most things they didn't have . the buffet is best at breakfast so dont sleep in. diamond lunch was good at Mediterranean. Ruebin Denny Danny boy great bartenders. Lilly Luis Has many wonderful in diamond club. the resort is full of bosses and keeps changing managers i don't agree with this as things aren't getting fixed. I will look for a dif [... read more]ferent hotel but love santa Maria beach. ..

Resonance Blu Varadero: Great Resort, Great Staff, Tourists... Have some dignity

Clean. Great room. Great service. Great beach front. Chambermaids did an above standard job cleaning. I wrote the chambermaids a note every day. Love Cuba. God Bless your family. Have a nice day. Tipped them 2 CCP plus a gift every morning. Translated. They feel appreciated and go the extra mile to make your stay special. God. These people do without. Appears tourists can't even walk 10 feet to put their plastic cups in a garbage. I think some tourist's definition of All Inclusive  [... read more]is leave your manners at home. So I give the tourists I saw a 2.5 star. The resort and staff a 4.0 star. Anyhow... the resort was awesome. The staff was great. The grounds were well kept. The buffet by the beach was great. The Creole restaurant was definitely the best. Don't waste a dinner at the Italian restaurant. GO TO MEMORIES!!!

Grand Memories Varadero: Great Resort and Well Maintained

Grand Memories is a very large and well maintained resort. The pools are clean and chlorinated and the beach is beautiful. The smaller pool with the waterfall is really nice if you just want to relax peacefully. The larger pool is where the activities are done and music is played. The beach has lots of beach activities like kayacking, catamaran, and paddle-boat which are lots of fun and the resort is close to the beach. The rooms are very clean and the bathrooms have modern faucets and the toile [... read more]ts flush fine. This resort has the potential to be an amazing vacation resort, but the main problem is the bland buffet food. Cubans like their food with very little spices or pepper, so you have to bring your own pepper sauce if you like spicy food. The freshly made omelettes are the best part of the breakfast buffet. A fly swatter is a good idea, because there are lots of flies flying around. There are many helpful staff that make sure you're well taken care of, but there are also staff that couldn't give a damn. We tipped the helpful staff. Also, its very hot so make sure to stay hydrated while enjoying drinks by the pool or beach. Going into the town was best part of the vacation. We rented scooters and rode them into Varadero and went to Calle 62 and the Beatles club were both awesome. We also took a taxi to Havana and saw the historical buildings. Overall, it was an enjoyable vacation and well worth the money.

Memories Flamenco Beach Resort: Air conditioning hell

I read numerous reviews before we picked this trip. And the best part is the ocean and the sand. It truly is amazing!! If you go make sure you don't get a room in #9 area. It is too loud with air conditioners. Which I changed rooms 3 times with this one week visit each room air conditioners did not work and they don't change your room right away you have to wait a day. I slept in 28 temp which is almost impossible. Bring your bug spray they do come out at night Nd bite fast. The food is g [... read more]ood. There is no salad or Lactose free foods. But those that say the food is bad is very picky We still made the best of this trip and enjoyed the water as much as possible. Yes. I would go again but I will make sure air conditioners work in the beginning.

Memories Caribe Beach Resort: Lovely Resort

I had an amazing time. Staff very friendly and helpful The ambience was awesome. DO NOT forget to bring bug spray, I went in August and the mosquitos are very vicious that time of year. Weather was wonderful, the beach was superbe.