Gran Muthu Cayo Santa Maria: Great resort

We enjoy our stay at this resort very much. It was clean, the people are amazing and very accommodating. It is well kept the beaches are beautiful white sand. Excursions were organized very nicely. Would love to go there again

Grand Aston Cayo Las Brujas: Beautiful New Resort

Beautiful resort that's less than a year old. Formerly known as Hotel Sercotel Experience but changed to Playa Vista Mar. There are a few kinks they need to work out with regards to food, but that being said, we never went hungry. There was a lot of redundancy from meal to meal and even station to station (multiple trays of the exact same food being placed, wouldn't be bad if it was for the high demand items ie. pasta). During peak times you could wait 20-30 minutes for an omelette or "make your [... read more] own" pasta. The pools were gorgeous but our favourite one for our kids (3 year old and 10 month old) was closed for 10 days out of our 14 day stay (January 8-22). It was sloped which allowed our baby to crawl in and sit at his own comfort. The beach is sprawling and gorgeous, it was about a 7 minute walk from our room in bungalow 6. The rooms are all beautiful and updated since it is a new resort, which was one of my main wants when booking so I was very happy. Rooms were clean and the lobby reception was helpful if anything was missed (ex. toilet paper wasn't replenished once or twice). All of the workers were very kind, especially to my children, which made me feel very welcome and happy. One suggestion I have is with regards to the buffet times. With so many people bringing their young families, having the dinner buffet start at 7pm feels very late. We watched some of the shows in the theatre and the entertainment was superb! They have a kids show at 8:30 as well and my daughter always enjoyed it. We visited the kids club a few times and the staff were very kind and attentive. You could tell they enjoyed their job. Kids club recommendations would be to clean up/replace the sand at the pay equipment as it is very rocky and has broken shells. Luckily, I had read previous reviews about the beach being filled with shells (which in my opinion was an exaggeration, it was not that bad) so we all had water shoes which made a difference. Overall, for the price point I would highly recommend this resort.

Iberostar Selection Ensenachos: Two weeks in Paradise

This was our 7th visit to Iberostar Ensenachos. Previously wehad brought our family members but this time was just the two of us.Reception upon arrival was quick and easy and even Nestor the assistant manager helped us with our luggage. Nestor coud be seen every day watching over the staff and resort. We stayed in the Spa section, room 2910, which had been recently renovated. We had excellent accomodations with a new mattress and linen since our last visit in 2017. House keeping do a good job,  [... read more]there was plenty of hot water and the air conditioning unit was quiet, the bar fridge was restocked as necessary. The main lobby looks very regal with tall ceilings and marble floors. Fresh flower arraingments were all over.. Mixture of live entertainment nightly including children activities. The beach is well known as one of the best in Cuba. Sailboat rides were available on most days. You just walk down to the beach and request the ride. Simple and free (but a tip now and then shows your appreciation) . The beach bar restaraunt staff were attentive under the supervision of "Jeidi" and her staff. In the main buffet, Yuri and his wide Daily were attentive to our every needs as were Yerandy and Lainny. Food was varied each day with plenty of sea food and lobster two days in a row. The Seafood restaraunt has been renovated since the huricane and looks great. Swimming pools were all cleaned daily, gardeners will chop down coconuts for your pleasure if you ask them too. There was never a shortage of lounge chairs or towels at the pools and the life guards on the beach were willing to find us lounges under the palapas. Transportation to this resort was by Sunwing and this time went off without a single problem. Our travel arrangements were made through TripCentral.ca. and we have been using them for years. .

Royalton Cayo Santa Maria: Great and Awful at same time

The grounds are gorgeous. The staff super friendly. The amenities are amazing... clean, gorgeous beach, nice pools, ample sun beds and chaise longues for tanning, great cleaning staff. Definitely a 5-star resort from these perspectives. However the food is really bad, and the service (while friendly) is simply awful. Things we take for granted in customer service aren't applied here. To order food then be told 10 minutes later that they don't have it, then to re-order then wait another 1 [... read more]0 minutes to be told they don't have that is truly deplorable. Zero excuses why the staff can't tell you BEFORE you order what they have and don't have...especially with only 3 or 4 things on the menu. Come on people....get with it. "Hamburgers" with no buns, and "fajitas" with no tortillas are other examples why you don't go to Cuba for the food. To top it off our luggage was ransacked at the airport, my clothes all thrown back with no regard to neatness or order, and my girlfriend had her jewelry and curling iron stolen from the buffoons who work at the airport. Not the resort's fault but still a bad reflection on the whole Cuba experience. As i said....some great things and some awful things in our experience. Not sure if we'll ever go back to Cuba. Mixed feelings.

Royalton Cayo Santa Maria: Great beaches

The hotel itself was amazing. Great beaches , the staff went out of their way to make you feel comfortable. Extremely friendly. But the food was not very good. I didn't like that there were not any buffets, it was off a menu but always the same food.

Melia Cayo Santa Maria: Great resort!

The food was what you'd expect for Cuba...I stuck with fruit, cheese and bread and of course delicious omelets, fries and amazing coffees! Oh ya...crispy bacon at the pool/snack bar! The beach is just a small walk away from the pools, down a boardwalk onto a beach that is very big, and has what must be hundreds of chairs and huts!! Even around the pools, we never had to worry about not having a chair! The pool staff were always delivering chairs where needed. The bar staff filled us up ever [... read more]y 10-15 minutes if we wanted lol!! There's the usual pool activities, the staff were all awesome. I also loved that there was a kids pool that was actually off in a quieter area, which would be great for our youngest child (if we were to do a family trip!) Our favourite a la carte was the Mediterranean, every bit of it was delicious. And the Tex mex was good too! We heard from other people that tried the other a la cartes and they did not enjoy them. The grounds are well taken care of, and the gardeners and maintenance staff were very polite. The pool was clean, and every morning the workers would vacuum it and clean the decks. Rooms are clearly well used, with dated decor, but they're clean and very spacious! For me, it is important that the bathrooms are sparkling clean, and ours was, every single day! We stayed on the 300 building, and loved that it was an easy walk to the pool. While at the pool we could use the lobby washroom, or walk a few extra steps to our own room. We would definitely go back to this resort...but I would bring more snacks along. Food is not why we go to Cuba, and I think most people understand that. I should mention that this hotel is advertised as being approx 90mins from the Santa Clara airport...but the transfer takes quite a bit longer than the 90minutes, with loading people, and then stopping for pee breaks, and then also stopping at 5 other hotels to drop people off. We flew from Toronto at 6:15am and got to the resort around 3pm...it made for a long day. Check in was nice and smooth, and our room was ready...so we were able to relax right away.

Memories Paraiso: A good resort more of a 3 star

This resort is more of a 3 star resort. The room was comfortable and nothing too fancy. It was clean and spacious. The resort is beautifully maintained lots of flowers and shrubs. The pool was very clean. The did have some issues with the pubic toilets. Most times they ran out of toilet paper. Suggestion bring a roll of toilet paper from the room and put it in your beach bag. This way you will always be prepared. As for the food it was ok. The buffett was my least favorite place to eat as th [... read more]e food was always the same, but the service was excellent. It needs more variety. Too bad they don't do cuban food. As for the a la carte we tried the Mediterranean and the Mexican restaurant. These two were great. The food was excellent and the service fantastic. The best place to have lunch was the Grill. They had a good variety of food choices and the service was superb. If you go to the grill ask for Anyisel she was a fantastic server. The best part of this trip was the beach. It is one of the most beautiful beach I have seen in Cuba. As for my overall experience I enjoyed my stay at the Memories Paraiso. Would return but would probably try the Memories Sanctuary instead.

Melia Cayo Santa Maria: Paradise on a budget

Stay at Melia Cayo Santa Maria 15 January to 22 January . First of all may I say that We thoroughly enjoyed our stay. This is the most well laid out resort with every lodging within easy walking distance to the restaurants , lobby and pools. From the moment we arrived we were treated like we were the only guests at the resort. Check in was flawless despite our late arrival from the airport. The bell hop was very friendly and knowledgeable. When I tried to take one of my suitcases upstairs, the b [... read more]ell hop said no, sir, you are on vacation, it's my pleasure to bring your bags. Our room was clean and spacious. The mattress was a little firm but good for Cuba. Restaurants were decent, buffet offered something for everyone. Out of all the resorts we have been to this buffet offered the most choices. Daniel at the Omelette bar is a great guy and an asset to the resort. The bartenders and pool staff treated us like family. Even the lifeguards were quick to respond when I lost my footing in the ocean. After visiting this resort I find it difficult to book elsewhere as it will be hard to beat this resort.

Iberostar Selection Ensenachos: Amazing beach, good resort, a lot of families with kids

We were traveling to Iberostar Ensenachos on January 12 - 22, 2019. The resort is greatly maintained, beautiful territory. Very decent food with lots of selection, good seafood options. Service is amazing everywhere with an exception of the lobby bar. The beach and the ocean were to die for, even on the chillier days. Ocean is so calm that you can swim, no waves at all. Pool is very cold. The drawback for us was the fact that almost every family there was with a few small kids, so very [... read more] noisy. it is perfect if you travel with kids, but we prefer more restful and calm atmosphere

Iberostar Selection Ensenachos: Worth a visit

After 15 trips to Cuba, we’ve stayed in many different resorts. This resort is a solid 4 1/2 star as advertised. Food was quite good and grounds are beautiful. We stayed in the adults only Spa section. This small area is the only part that’s adults only. On the beach and in the restaurants, kids almost outnumber adults. The property is VERY large. I’d guess it was 1/2 km walk from our room to the closest beach. If you have kids you’d struggle without a stroller. It’s a long walk for l [... read more]ittle legs from the rooms for meals. Other than it being too big for our liking, this resort ticks all the boxes.

Melia Cayo Santa Maria: Excellent Resort

This was my first trip out of Canada. My Brother and Sister in Law bought the trip for me as a gift. The Resort was beautiful. Pools were clean, All the bars were well stocked and service was excellent. Rooms were clean. This is an easy resort to get around due to it's size and layout.. Would definitely go back.

Sanctuary at Grand Memories Santa Maria: Nice Time

We recently returned from a week at the Sanctuary. Let me preface this by saying this is our sixth time in Cuba so we pretty much know what to expect as far as amenities etc. That being said we were quite disappointed by this resort. FOOD is pretty bad...the "buffet" in the adults only section was suspect at best. We would walk down it and the only thing I would eat was cheese and salami plus whatever they were grilling. The problem is the food is so poor everyone was getting something fres [... read more]h grilled and that made for a long long line. There were so many things that were unpleasing to the eye and UFO's -(Unidentifiable Food Objects). Breakfasts were OK if you got fresh made omelettes or eggs. (again the lines) but weird things for breakfast-i.e. dill pickles?? The alacart restaurants were just ok. The Italian one was the best of the bunch. There is a 24 hour pizzeria in the main resort. This is a misnomer because every other day there isn't pizza. They switch to sandwiches. Also, 3 days in a row we went there for pizza there wasn't any. (apparently no flour on the island). ROOMS were better than some and worse than others. They were fine and we had no issues with the room other than the normal thing in Cuba where almost every day something was missing that maid neglected to replenish. BEACH is pretty good however this may be the first resort we have been to where they don't clean it up daily after the tide brings in the seaweed. There was rain and wind the one night and for a few days the beach was very very dirty. Another complaint-there are literally 20 papalos (not correct spelling but those umbrella things) on the adult side. Ummm 20x2=80 people. My math says there are way more people in this hotel than 80 and nearly everyone needs some form of shade in the hot Cuban climate. Yes, as others have said there are sand fleas...my wife was eaten alive....me not so much. BUTLER SERVICE- Ok so no one needs butler service but please don't highlight the fact there is butler service when there is NOT. The "butler service" consists ONLY of the "butler" making your reservation in the alacarts. That's it. Plus this is a terrible service anyway...you have to go find this "butler" everyday in order to make a reservation in the restaurant. You can't make a reservation for more than one day and it has to be made the morning of the day you wish to eat....when you find him he writes down your request....at around 5 PM you will receive a note on your door of the time you eat that night. (if there are spots available otherwise off to the crappy buffet you go). This is an asinine system and could easily be improved by eliminating this "butler" and making the reservation at the computer desk like every other resort. BATHROOMS -invariably one or more of the washrooms was out of order on a daily basis in the public areas. The ladies were particularly bad....backed up toilets with the ladies having to wade through "liquids" on the floors and terrible odors. YUCK! ENTERTAINMENT-while we did not go to the main nightly entertainment we very much enjoyed the nightly singers/dancers at the Sanctuary bar...excellent. STAFF- most of the staff was pleasant and helpful. The Manager at the Sanctuary is off the charts excellent in the customer service area (if you have a problem ask him he will indeed fix it). TRAVEL TIME TO RESORT- this is a deal breaker for me going forward 2 hours on a bus after you travel all day. No thanks. It was advertised as 90 minutes which is bad enough but 2 hours. UGG. Overall....we normally hate hate hate when our vacation is over and have to go back to the cold. Not this time. My wife actually said "can you imagine if we would have booked 14 days here....what would we have ate". Yeah that sums it up.

Grand Aston Cayo Las Brujas: Amazing resort

A solid 4 star experience. The resort is huge,grounds well landscaped food at the buffet was bit repetitive but delicious. The pools well maintained. Public washrooms always clean.Room very modern and spacious.The beach not as powerdy white as some of the other resorts I’ve stayed at in Cayo Santa Maria but still very beautiful. Staff very friendly and helpful.Great value for the price paid

Grand Aston Cayo Las Brujas: Amazing trip and resort!

Very good hotel, food was great, people were very polite and they wanted about everything to be perfect! Services, wi-fi everywhere, clean rooms, just nothing to complain about. Room service girl Adilet was very kind, always smiling, polite, and helpful! Sure we want to go there again!

Melia Buenavista: Amazing hotel

This hotel is a little older but well kept. Very clean, nice plants around the hotel, restaurants are very nice. The rooms are huge and well kept. The staff are very polite and super neat looking. The beaches were great there were three to choose from and all were well kept .

Hotel Roc Casa del Mar: Great resort

Large resort but clean. Food was good, especially the BBQ by the beach. The beaches were amazing. Only thing was it seemed like there was only nightly entertainment, none by the pool or beach (that I saw anyway).

Gran Muthu Cayo Santa Maria: Friendly staff

Beautiful beach. Clean room and pool areas. Staff all very friendly and helpful. Not enough people at front desk during check in. Long line up for eggs at breakfast. Should prepare fried eggs and scrambled eggs in advance for the food line. Most of the time there is not even hard boiled eggs. Lack of variety and care of cooking is the major problem of the food provided. We had the same food served 3 times a day 7 days a week by the end of the week we are rather glad be out of that food. Remember [... read more] dinning is a pleasure not a chorus. There is nothing wrong with the materials, as a matter of fact the chicken and pork and fish (fresh one) tastes better in Cuba, it just need a little more incentive as to make better food.

Valentin Perla Blanca: Lovely Resort with a beautiful beach..... BUT.....

Very disappointed with our room service, no clean sheets for the whole of our 10 day stay, and had to take our towels out to the maid after 4 days to get my own clean ones.... plus several days where we couldn’t get fresh bread other than stale hamburger buns in the buffet. Ordered a pick-up for us and our suitcases the night before we left, as we were leaving at 6:10am and they wanted us to check out at 5:10am, and no one showed..... Terribly poor lighting at night making it extremely dangero [... read more]us for navigating.i

Resonance Blu Santa Maria: good family resort.

Resort can use some updating. However the staff and services were good. For the cost it's a very good deal. Would recommend for family vacation. Was very safe and not rowdy in anyway. It is cuba. Was better than I had expected.

Valentin Perla Blanca: Perfect Vacation!

The resort of beautiful, and staff extremely friendly! We had the most amazing server named Carlito, who always made sure we had a place to sit at the buffet and were well taken care of. The rooms were clean, and mould free, although a bit damp, but that's to be expected. The 24 hour snack bar always had French fries, and other snack foods late at night. The beach was to die for, well taken care of, and the service impeccable. As for the resort grounds and pools, they were always clean - you nev [... read more]er had to worry about stepping on rocks around the pool.