Sol Turquesa Beach: Good Family and friends. Mediocre resort.

Overall impression was a nice resort. Front desk staff was a little rude during check in. Not all that impressed with not having hot water for most of the week. Entertainment was fantastic. Support stuff made up for short falls. Bartenders were amazing, animation team, cleaning staff and buffet staff and ground keepers were great. Pools and beach were fantastic. The views were excellent. Lots and lots of steps so if you have mobility issues not the best resort. Had a great trip but wou [... read more]ld probably look at a different resort.

Sol Turquesa Beach: Beautiful

Very comfortable and friendly. Wonderful theater and shows. Good programs for children. Staff work very hard to do more than required. Very clean rooms and staff always cleaning up in the more public areas. Most staff never seemed to expect a tip but were gracious when they got it.

Grand Memories Varadero: Super busy resort

Extra bed for my 10 year old was very uncomfortable, food was ok, there was no water in resort for an entire day, overall ok resort, I will not recommended this my friends . This is really a three star resort.

Sanctuary at Grand Memories Santa Maria: Would not go back

This resort was nice but some flaws would make us not return, unfortunately. The adults only side of the Grand Memories - the Santuary was quiet and certainly very relaxing. The pool and beach areas were definitely the best part of this resort. Absolutely gorgeous. The pool was not busy and you could always find a shade or sun spot. The poolside bar was great. Santa Maria itself is remote in that there is not a lot in the immediate area (town to go to for example) but you go here to get away and [... read more] enjoy less hustle and bustle. Varadero 2 hours away; Havana 4 hours. The staff overall were friendly but the general understanding of English was poor for many of the staff even in the concierge service. As a result the communication for instructions, directions was hard. The Sun Wing-Nexus staff however were very helpful and communicated well. The butler service in this side of the resort was convenient to have but again communication not great. The food was average, bland at best but many a la carte restaurants gave some variety. The rooms and grounds were neat and tidy. I would give a 3 star rating in Canadian standards. The main reason we would not recommend this hotel is that they have a history of water issues. Although not sure the real reason, whether it's pipes breaking or other problems, the resort will shut the water off during the day. We had 2 days when they did this and they will not tell you when or for how long. We talked to other people staying the week before us and they had 4 of 7 days without water for most of the day. Apparently there have been times when guests had to go to the pool with their garbage buckets to get water in order to flush the toilets. This also related to unclean poolside bathrooms (with reports of toilets overflowing) and more serious questions of how restaurant staff were washing their hands and kitchen areas to cook and prepare our food! It's unfortunate but we would not return to this part of Cuba. We are of the understanding that the water issue involves most of the resorts in this area. Other than that it would be good value for what you pay as the beach and pool were beautiful.

Grand Memories Varadero: Awesome Trip

Just returned from Grand Memories, Varadero, week of March 6 2017. Been to Cuba many times so I know what to expect. This resort was very nice but it was way too big for my liking. You almost need shuttle service to get around and yes sometimes we'd hail down the help to shuttle us around. Our unit was at least a 20 minute walk to the beach so if you like the beach I would recommend upgrading to a unit that is much closer. We were in block 15 and the rooms were very nice for Cuba standard.  [... read more] Clean, hot water, nothing was broken....we were quite comfortable. The shows were good, food was what I expected but I don't travel to Cuba for the food so I wont be one of those who complains. The only pitfall for me was the beach and location. I've been to Cuba many times and I usually stay at the top end of the strip closer to downtown as I like to go off the resort at night. Grand Memories is at least 20 minutes to downtown which would have been fine except the beach was much smaller than I was use to compared to the top end. It had no depth so everyone was crowded together and due to the size of the resort there were a lot of people. Not kidding when they say reserve your chairs early. Usually I would stay at the Barceló Solymar and Grand Memories would be a slight upgrade due to size, # of pools. I only chose this resort as a friend insisted on the swim up pool bar which they had in every pool. If distance and size of beach are not important then yes I would recommend this resort.

Sol Turquesa Beach: would not go back..

first of all they would not honour our request of room. Second of all had no water for two days. Than had nothing but cold water for three days.The food in the main restaurant . was cold every day. The special restuants was our best eating... The grill on the beach was very good. The drinks were also good. The pools were good but cold. or the most part the ppl were friendly. If u cant walk don't GO. The after supper entertainment was awesome.

Memories Caribe Beach Resort: Good resort

People were great! I always found something to eat so food was good. Grounds were clean. Could have had more water in rooms and it would have been nice to have a stocked fridge. Resort does need some fixing up but other than that I had a great time!

Memories Caribe Beach Resort: Memories Caribe in Cayo Cocowas out

Fast check in Roberto, the resident pet flamingo was entertaining around the pool. Really enjoyed the paino bar, great Spanish coffee and great entertainment Most days we didn't have toilet paper in the public bathrooms, at least one would be out, very inconvinient to say the least. We had a late departure, and we were able to stay a few hours more in our room, such a great service to have, be ready to pay 10 CUC, but worth every penny. Fantastic beach!

Sol Turquesa Beach: Disappointed

First off....the staff are friendly and helpful. No complaints there. I was overall disappointed though. I went on this vacation with people who had mobility issues. Not a great choice as you will be climbing lots of stairs or walking up elevated roads. The entire resort is built on a hill. My friend had to take the shuttle anywhere he needed to go but it was difficult to get one. They don't have benches along the road where he could rest while waiting for the shuttle. This proved to be very dif [... read more]ficult for him. We had one day where there was NO running water in the room and 4 days without any hot water. Lots of very cold showers all week. My first room had a strong sewage smell in the room every time I ran water. So gross. The second room had no outdoor lights on the building or walkway..I had to walk back alone in the dark. This freaked me out as I had to walk beside a wooded area to get to my building. The food in the buffet is cold unless you are willing to wait in long lines for fresh stuff off the grill. The Cuban Restaurant on the beach is best for breakfast and lunch. Not as many people go there. The snack bar at the beach has great pizza. Difficult to get money changed at their bank. Ran out of money, long lines and sometimes bank closed when it should be open. This is a pain as you need your passport to change currency. I finally just gave up. The pools are beautiful. The beach is nice. Lots of shade if you are seeking it.

Memories Flamenco Beach Resort: Awesome time, will return for sure

Our family had a great time at this resort. The beach was beautiful just like the pictures. The kids enjoyed the paddleboats everyday. The food and drinks were great, there was a good variety of food at the buffet. The kids enjoyed playing soccer everyday with the entertainment staff. The rooms were clean and well taken care of. The resort was a short drive from the airport which was nice. We will be returning in the future.

Memories Flamenco Beach Resort: Amazing time

Our Family had an amazing time at this resort, great food, drinks and people. There was a variety of food at the buffet. The staff were friendly and helpful. Rooms were clean and well taken care of. Lots of activities for the kids. The entertainment staff was a lot of fun. The beach is beautiful. It is a nice short drive from the airport.

Memories Paraiso: Awesome!

The resort was perfect for us- 4 girls travelling to get away for a break. The beach was amazing. The pool was clean and the food and service was awesome. There were your typical Cuba mishaps- like times of day when water pressure was low or at one point no water, but this is Cuba and travellers need to keep that in mind. We didn't let anything ruin the trip! The buffet repeated but there was ALWAYS something to eat, the room service was early and excellent filling our fridge with whatever we re [... read more]quested and maid service was just as good. I think our favorite would have to be the staff! All of them provided excellent and most importantly genuine service. They didn't give extras for the tippers and didn't expect anything from anyone. It was a great place for no pressure and great memories!

Memories Caribe Beach Resort: Great time!

Had a great week! Food was good, rooms were clean, entertainment enjoyable, staff very friendly and accommodating! Only downside, we had two 3 quarter size beds that were not even close to comfortable! But would definitely go back! March 4 - 11/17

Memories Caribe Beach Resort: Fantastic Beach Holiday

The staff were all so friendly and accommodating. We were treated like royalty. This resort has a must see Beach! The food was great. You will fall in love with " Roberto" the resident poolside flamingo. He will keep you entertained as he dances to the Cuban music. I would definitely stay here again.

Sanctuary at Grand Memories Santa Maria: Very nice.

It was calm and friendly, like we wanted. The staff/workers try very hard to keep visitors happy. Grounds were beautiful, lots of flowers and shrubs. Different music by the pool daily. The food is ok which is normal for Cuba. The two other connecting Resorts were noisier with children and more people. This was perfect for us. The Beach was fantastic. Aqua blue water and blue skies. The sand was white and deep - awesome.

Memories Flamenco Beach Resort: Not a 4+ Star Resort - We give it a 3

Travelled from Feb 17th to 24th, 2017 with my husband. Have been to many AI’s and other locations all over the world. Setting up this review from a “things you might be interested in knowing” point of view, rather saying how gorgeous the beach is and how wonderful the people are (it is and they are): Tips: - The bed pillows have a funky smell – might want to bring your own pillow case and a fabric softener sheet to tuck inside (and they only supply you with two flat ones per king size [... read more] bed) - There is no vinegar so if you want some for your French fries, bring some - There is no fresh citrus – apparently it was all killed by a blight a few years ago (so no orange juice). If you want lemon for your fish, better bring one of those “squirt” lemons - We had faceclothes in our room all but one day - We had a sheet and another heavier white sheet on top the first night. The next day the top sheet went missing and we never had anything other than the 1 sheet on our bed (thankfully there is a blanket in the closet) - Bring earplugs! Furniture/chairs scraping in other rooms and people yelling in the hallway echoes off the cement walls - Our toilet ran the entire week, but other than that, we had water (hot in the am, cooler in the evening before dinner) for showers – the tub is very high to get in and out of – don’t hang on to the towel rack, it’s not secure! - We had beach towels in our room at check in, but we never able to exchange them for the week we were there – they didn’t have any and the towel exchange was closed the whole time - The only outlet that is 110v is the blowdryer, bring a converter. We blew the breaker everytime we plugged ours in, but the panel is in your room so you can reset it yourself - Our room did have a fridge, a frustrating safe, an iron, ironing board, 2 umbrellas, ashtray, but no coffee maker - There is never any toilet paper, hand soap or towels in the public washrooms although we had all these in our room (no Kleenex anywhere) so carry some tissues with you - When you enter the main buffet door, head to the top left corner tables. You will be waited on by “The Ramons” – Jose Ramon and Ramon – best service in the whole resort. They will take excellent care of you (and appreciate your tips, which they share 6 ways – they work hard). - Salt and pepper – it was everywhere - The milk is very thick and different – maybe like drinking Carnation milk – didn’t bother putting it in our tea, had to drink it black. - Only saw one small jar of “no name” peanut butter the whole week, and it was placed on the edge of the bread table – maybe not the best place for people with allergies - Water is safe to drink in all the restaurants and bars, ice too, but we didn’t drink it out of the tap in our room – you are left with a large bottle of water daily and we used it to drink and brush our teeth - No slushy drinks anywhere – saw the slush machines but they just had lemonade – missed the vacation slushy drinks! And, no garnishes etc on the drinks, boo-hoo! - Check out the “martini” pop up bar off the lobby in the evening with Yoel. He makes great chocolate martinis and if you are brave, ask him to make you rocket fuel – yep, just what you’re thinking! But again, poor planning – he’d have 10 or 12 people lined up all wanting drinks, and he’d only have 6 or 8 glasses and he’d have to leave to go and find more glasses, so the lineups were much longer than they had to be – why couldn’t another staffer be a runner to get more glasses? - Bank at the resort was open every morning we walked through – although when you try to prove with a calculator what the posted exchange rate (running around 1.47 to 1 Cdn $) was, there always seemed to be an extra $3 CUC added on, and no receipts, and typically no $1 coins, you were lucky to get $3 CUC bills…meaning each tip was equal to approx. $4.40 Cdn! We were able to exchange a few of the $3 CUC bills at the front desk for $1 CUC coins, but they never had very many and would only do it if the bank was closed - Workers are being tipped with Loonies and Toonies, which they can’t cash in. Beware – they are all asking you to change the Cdn coins for the same amount of CUC ie they want to give you $5 in Cdn coins for you to give them $5 CUC…some were doing this, thinking they were doing the staff a favour…not doing yourself any favours! - Not once in the whole week were we able to get chairs at the pool, we like the beach anyway but a chance to sit by the pool one day would have been nice. - Check out the Churro maker in the afternoon by the upper pool – yummy. - We had to pay to get chairs on the beach in the shade – if possible stay away from the blue and white striped chairs and get a solid blue chair – they are in much better shape. Once we started paying, it didn’t matter what time we showed up on the beach, the chair guys had shaded chairs reserved that they let us use. They would ask in late afternoon if you would be back tomorrow and if you wanted a chair – if so you pay them then and again in the am. I don’t think you will be able to get a palapa without playing this game. In fact, we saw them building more palapas, of course, it is a money maker for them! - There was never any ice in the beach bars. This was part of a theme – running out of items that they shouldn’t run out of. There was no white wine at the snack bar several days at lunch – and instead of someone going to get some from another bar, they just told you no. There was no cheese left the first night at the pizza station in the buffet (and it was only 6:30 pm). Instead of them getting the pizza maker some cheese, they told me to go to the buffet and bring back some cheese. I asked if he wanted me to bring back a bunch and he said no, only for me. So I brought back some, which he proceeded to break up with his bare hands, and he used the last of the chopped up ham he had on my pizza. Next lady behind me, he sent her to the buffet to get her cheese, and when she returned, he said he was out of ham. Someone on staff should have been making sure the ingredients were ready for the chefs. Same thing happened in the morning at the omelet stations. The cook would run out of chopped onions and instead of a kitchen staff person chopping onions and other ingredients to keep him supplied and the line moving, he would leave to go to the kitchen to chop ingredients. By the last few days they had run out of ketchup and mustard, at least in the snack bar – not sure if it was everywhere or just one of those things they couldn’t think ahead or figure out they could solve the problem by borrowing from another restaurant - Never mind trying the beef, either in the buffet or in the specialty restaurants – you can’t cut it and you can’t chew it - Food in the buffet is cold – try to take from the bottom of the tray, it seems a little warmer. - Ice cream is the best dessert. At the beginning of the week there were tubs of ice cream, and everyone used the same spoon to scoop some out. Part way through the week, don’t know if they ran out of tubs or if it was a health concern, but they started stocking 1 L tubs of ice cream and had a note that said to please take the whole container. This was waaaay too much ice cream for one person, even for 2 people, so imagine the waste. We noticed the same with the jam – where it was in a bowl it was now individual jars of jam. - Could never get near the smoothie girl, line ups too long. Although I did hear her asking people if they had brought her anything on several occasions – she asked one guest why he didn’t bring her a T-shirt that morning and he said he didn’t have anymore. She also had a small pile of obvious gifts near her, saw some kids toys, colouring books, markers etc. - If there is bacon, and it seems to be undercooked, ask the chef making your eggs to throw it on the grill to cook it some more (and then it will be hot) - The staff are frequently dropping trays of glasses, and just walk away from the mess, leaving broken glass all over the buffet floor. We witnessed this on several occassions - please do not let your children (or you) go into the buffet in bare feet. - There is a small souvenir market you can walk to – walk out the main entrance, past the guard shack, turn left and walk down the street. You will come to a roundabout and see the sign for the plaza. It is about a 10 minute walk - The disco at the resort is closed and it looks like a long time before it opens again - Keep your eyes open for the gardener with the tarantula – that is cool. He’ll put it on you if you are brave (yes, I was – can’t say the same thing for my husband!) - You can email the resort to request a room, which we did, and received the standard response that they would see what they could do. The email address is jefe.ventas@memoriesflamenco.co.cu I had requested buildings 1, 2 or 3, and we ended up in 5. Really, even if you end up in 9 or 10 it isn’t that far unless you have trouble walking. If you end up in 5, take a short cut by walking through building 6. - If you have a stroller you will want a ground floor room – there are no elevators, all are 3 story buildings - There is horseback riding on the beach, we saw the horses there, but didn’t go riding. - There are jellyfish along the shore and in the water, so be careful. We saw them but didn’t get stung as others did - Fortunately we didn’t need any medical assistance but guests were pleased with the medical staff (cuts, ear infections etc) - You can sign up for spa services in the lobby in the am – when there is anyone at the spa booking desk that is – we only saw her there one morning. The spa is located across from building 10. I am not a spa person, but I would suggest you might want to do a tour before booking any services….just sayin’ - There are no washrooms anywhere near the beach. It is a long trek to find one. It was actually easier for us to camp out on the beach by the end of the papalas, and take a path back to our room in #5 than to try to find a public washroom (and there wouldn’t be any toilet paper there anyway!) It would be a long walk back to 9 or 10 from the beach just to use the washroom. - Don’t be like us and forget about Reading Week – big mistake – we thought we were smart avoiding March Break, but we were overrun with students making it impossible to get in the pool for the foam party (and why they don’t have one in the kids pool first so the little ones can have fun is beyond me – the poor little ones got run over by the students) and it was impossible to get near the bar to order drinks when they were in large groups. But we must thank the students who were playing Huckle Buckle on the beach – thanks for some great laughs! - Apparently you are supposed to get 2 a la carte reservation slips in your envelope when you check in, and if you don’t like the dates/times you can line up in the lobby in the am to try to change it. This sounds like a good idea – however our flight did not receive any pre-set reservations, so the whole plane load of us appeared in the lobby the first full day we were there, arguing with the lady that none of us had received the pre-reservations. Again, it took a lot of time to sort out, and the lady kept leaving the table and going off somewhere – not sure where she kept disappearing to, but it seems like they could have either had someone help her out or be better organized. Come on, they do this every week. - Bus ride to the resort from the airport is short and sweet. The driver/guide will sell you 2 cold beers for $5 Cdn. Make sure you know it is 2 for 5 – we witnessed people holding out a $20 and if they didn’t seem to know any better, would only get 4 beers, while those who did know got 8. - There is a currency exchange on the outside of the airport, when you get your luggage (they won’t let you go out until you have your luggage) turn to your right and the walk up window is there. The rate wasn’t posted, and we changed $40 Cdn just so we’d have some money to tip with and we received about $26 CUC. I asked for a receipt, and none was given. I ended up with all $5 bills, and change for the last dollar. I asked for $1 coins, and was told they didn’t have any – how convenient is that? So, I used a few $1 US bills for tips until I could break them down. - We arrived just before 1 PM and our room was ready. We just took our luggage ourselves and walked to our building. Make sure you try both your keys as soon as you get them, some people had problems that their cards were not working. Oh, and if it seems like you have no power or no AC, you need to put one of your keys in the slot beside the door to make it come on. - Entertainment could be improved – from the point of view that it doesn’t go on long enough. There was a sax player one night that played a few tunes in the buffet (Oh Canada was one of them, which was rather strange – one by one we all stood up and sang and then cheered when he was done…kinda like being at a hockey game) but it would have been great if he had played longer. Also saw him in the lobby one night – again just starting to enjoy it and he left. There are roaming musicians around the lobby but will only play if you tip them. There was also a band one night playing some oldies and they had quite a few people up singing and dancing in front of the stage – it was just getting going and then they stopped. Nothing else to do so people starting walking back to their rooms. There is nowhere to dance. - BUG BITES – OMG! Ok, these mosquitos are in stealth mode people! We live in a rural area and are cottagers so we know bugs. Fortunately we didn’t get bitten until the last day. I started scratching like crazy on the plane ride home – by the time I got some Afterbite on them, I counted 72 bites – where had they come from? My husband didn’t have any – until 4 days after we came home and they started coming out. We’ve been home over a week and we’re both still scratching. Strangest thing we’ve ever seen. Our clothes never went to our bedroom upon arriving home (straight downstairs into the laundry), suitcases included, yet we’re still breaking out in bites. And they are itchy and look like mosquito bites, not bedbugs or anything, Yikes! So, even if you don’t see or hear them, they are there and use your bug spray! I couldn’t imagine a little one being too happy to be bitten like we were. - Noticed garbage around the resort – obviously from the guests, but it wasn’t picked up by the staff for days. We remarked each time we walked by a glass half full of a blue drink, with a pink straw in it, that sat along the pathway from the buffet for 4 days before it was gone. We had dirty plates piled up outside our building for days. There was even a day when a full garbage can had been knocked over the day before and it was still strewn around the next night when we went to dinner. How many staff walked by that in 24 hrs? In addition, there was garbage on the ground, and broken plastic pieces from lights etc that have obviously been there a long, long time. Just pick it up. - Walking through the hallway one day, we saw a worker with a tool box say something to one of the maids with a cleaning cart. She went into one of the rooms (not the one she was cleaning), and came right back out and gave the repair man a bottle of sunscreen. He quickly put it in his pocket and off he went. So, if you are going to leave things out in your room, you might want to be careful. We rate this resort as a 3 star at best, would be much better when the hotel is not completely full.

Memories Caribe Beach Resort: Great tome.

This was a good place to vacation. Clean well kept grounds, good food and friendly staff. I also like the fact it was adults only. The entertainment was excellent. The only complaint I had was the mustiness of the rooms. I realize this is hard to control when you are so close to the ocean and we were only in our rooms at night.

Memories Caribe Beach Resort: Nice resort

This resort was nice. The staff were all very friendly and helpful. A lot of renovations were taking place while we were there. The beach was nice and the staff on the beach were all amazing!!! They really went above and beyond for our group. We spent the majority of our time at the beach.

Memories Caribe Beach Resort: Nice resort

Service was good, and the people were very nice. I've seen better beaches but was definitely still a good beach. And the food seems to be the same everywhere in Cuba, you can find something you'll like at the buffet.

Grand Memories Santa Maria: Definitely not a 4+star

The resort main reception area is nice when you first get there. The staff very was helpful. We did get what we asked for as far as a suite with ocean view. Very little representation from Sunwing. The agent was there basically to book excursions. Any concerns you might have, had to be addressed to the resort staff. We booked a 10 day stay and out of those ten days we had only 4 full days of water. The other days were intermitent. Cold showers in the morning and had to fill the tub in or [... read more]der to have some water to flush the toilets and sponge bath. The smell sometimes was pretty offensive as the public washrooms were not being serviced. That brings us to the next concerns how did they wash the dishes and everything else that needs water treatment. Also no phone service in the room so no access to front desk in case of emergency. We bought a WiFi card but could not access the internet anywhere. The food was not very appetizing and we almost became vegetarian as we couldn't eat the meat. Maybe SUNWING should reconsider representing this resort.