Cuba Trip July 2019

This was our 5th trip to Cuba, our first in Cayo Coco Gran Muthu Imperial being a newer resort (opening earlier this year) was modern and well cared for. The resort is larger, so be prepared for a little walking to get to certain areas (the beach in particular). They do have carts that go around for those who don’t wish to make the longer walks. The weather was beautiful and veryyy hot, we only had one rainy day that started late afternoon through to the evening but it helped cool things do [... read more]wn which was nice. Like mentioned above, the beach is a bit of a walk and it is also a bit on the smaller side. We think it will be larger once the construction for the resorts going in next door are finished. There is a also a bit of a dip/drop off of the sand to get into the water, so might be challenging for some to maneuver. The water was blue and beautiful as it always is in Cuba and the sand was clean and well maintained. The food was good and as expected. As most people know, the food in Cuba isn’t what most from North America are accustomed too; but if you’re not a picky eater and go into the trip aware of what to expect you’ll never go hungry. We ate at all three a la cartes offered that week (seafood, international, China wok). We enjoyed all of them. Warning: there is a dress code for the a la cartes, so come prepared! We did see people get turned away... (men: pants, no sandals no tank tops no shorts; women: dressy/casual) I paid for the lobster dinner one night (18 cuc) and it comes with a bottle of wine. You can choose to have it as a main at an a la carte or at the buffet one night. It was well worth the price as the portion was HUGE (3 lobster halves, rice, Cuban salad and beef skewers). I would say enough for two, but my husband doesn’t like seafood so I was completely stuffed on just the lobster alone! The pools were amazing and well maintained. Very beautiful infinity pools with an awesome view of the ocean. They have 2.5 pools (one spills over into another smaller one). There is one pool that is quieter and one that’s more active (has music playing, the swim up bar, activities with the entertainment team etc) We never had any trouble finding chairs or umbrellas/awnings at the pool or on the beach. From time to time they made churros both at the beach and pool. They were delicious! We’re not sure if they did them every day or not, but we also never asked. In our week there we had them three times. The people/workers, as ALWAYS were fantastic. They are always smiling and welcoming. Special shout out to Osmel (one of the gardeners) who never failed to come find us at the pool every day to say hello and talk with us. It’s little things like that that always brighten our trip. Also should mention that tipping goes a long way. The workers (from gardeners, maids, bar staff, entertainers, etc) work really hard to make your trip pleasant. They WANT you to keep coming back and therefore want you to enjoy your experience. We always budget to tip whenever we can and we tip generously. We do find that by tipping you get a lot more special treatment than when you don’t. The rooms were nice and spacious (we got a standard room). The maid always did a great job every day. We only had one issue where our toilet wouldn’t flush, but we notified the front desk and they fixed it immediately with no further issues. The room included a safe at no extra charge and a well stocked fridge. Something else we should note, we did experience mosquitoes throughout our stay (both at night and very early morning). We came prepared with afterbite and OFF but without them it would have been more of an issue. This was the first time in our many trips to Cuba we’ve experienced this, so not sure if it was location? But always come prepared. Overall we thoroughly enjoyed our trip and Cuba never fails to keep us coming back. The Cuban people, culture and beautiful beaches will always make it worth it.

Gran muthu imperial

We enjoyed our stay Gran Muthu Imperial. As expected the entire hotel was clean,fresh and very well maintained since it's only 6 months old. Our room had a spectacular ocean view & we love the pools. The pools were kept very clean & we noticed that the water was not over chlorinated which is highly appreciated. Love the fresh fruits that is always available in abundance. Kudos to the wonderful & energetic bartenders, always service with a smile and they know how to whip up a perfect cocktail ev [... read more]erytime. The food was very delicious, especially from the grill and the freshly made pasta according to your liking. Fantastic! If the opportunity arise, we will definitely return again. Thanks for a wonderful vacation.

Great trip to Grand Muthu Imperial on Jul 03

The hotel is beautiful, the services fantastic and the hotel workers are amazing. From the first moment getting there we were met by many friendly faces. The infinity pool was amazing, the food was delicious with many varieties and the shows were entertaining. If you come to Cuba this hotel is the one. There are beaches on the left and right of the hotel (some rocky parts so bring water shoes).

Great Resort with Great Staff

The property is brand new, so everything was clean and in good working order. The staff were amazing, and would go out of their way to greet us, Special shout outs need to go to Yoandrys and Maceo at the Pool Bar, Shary and Lyncee at the Lobby Bar, Yanet , Yanesi , and Abdel in the restaurants...just to name a few...really, all the staff are kind and helpful. The resort was at less than capacity when we were there, so some of the restaurants were not open. The downfall to that was less variety [... read more], but we could still find something to eat nonetheless. The only negative is the beach on this resort, which was pretty much all coral; however, it isn't a far walk to the beach at the sister resort next door (which we were allowed to use) and the beach there is quite nice. Overall, a great resort in Cuba.

Great, relaxing vacation

My family and I enjoyed our time here. The staff were all friendly and there to help. The infinity pool was amazing, looking onto the ocean. The rooms were nice and clean. Highly recommend if you’re looking for a nice resort to relax.

Excellent Resort

Great Staff. Special thanks to staff Mahelis, Janet, Yaneisy,Adianelis, Lisandra, Chef Jailen, and Roxana, Very polite and pleasing behaviour. Manager Antonio was great. He has kept service standards high. Clean resort, excellent entertainment in the lobby every night. Great food at the speciality restaurant. Just one recommendation. "Serve hot food hot and on a hot plate" Front desk staff could have a better smile on face. I suggest to have ceiling fans in the lobby which could also bring smil [... read more]e to the staff. Should have ceiling fans at the lunch restaurant as well. Housekeeping staff and cleaning staff did their job well. Bartenders and serving staff Lincey always gave special attention. Overall excellent experience. Manager Antonio has trained staff well and he is an asset to the resort.

Gran Muthu Imperial

We had n excellent time at the Gran Muthu Imperial (Adults Only). We traveled June 19 to 26 2019. We flew Air Transat and plane arrived early at Cuba and Toronto. My complaint about Air Transat is the plane was extremely small going down and we paid for Options plus and it meant nothing at the Airport in Cuba. We were 3 rd in line at check in and people we knew that did not have priority check in had about 50 people in line in front of them and made it through before us. When we arrived in T [... read more]oronto our baggage was one of the last ones off. As for the Hotel it was extremely clean. It opened In January of this year. When we were there there was only 135 guests at this time. Since it had low occupancy almost everyone received an ocean view room. We were in room 7004. The room was modern and clean. The bathroom is a nice size but the shower does leak so be careful exiting after your shower. The staff really makes this resort. They are very friendly and helpful. Yoan and Roger in the sports bar made or vacation even better. They always had a smile and made sure your drink was full. The staff in the buffet were great too. There wasn't one staff member I could say that wasn't pleasant. My one complaint about the restaurants was I was not allowed in the specialty restaurants because I didn't travel with a pair of pants. There was nothing on the website stating this but they did offer me a pair to use and I declined. Hotels really need to get over this. I wore a nice pair of golf shorts and collared shit but if I had track pants on I could get served. It is 40 degrees there. The food at the buffet was good and always found more than enough to eat. They had made to order stations as well as a pizza station. There was never any line ups due to the low season. The beach is need of some help. There is coral all along the beach. You had to walk about 2 football fields to find a nice area to enter the water. From what I understand they are going to bring in a machine to remove the coral. We still enjoyed the beach everyday. They bar staff do come around on the beach to serve you but few and far between due to the distance they have to walk. The hotel should set up a small bar on the middle of the beach to help everyone. I would absolutely recommend this resort. We only paid $780 for a week. We normally don't travel to the same resort twice but I would here. I have been to Cuba 10 times and know what to expect. This resort says it is a 5 star and it isn't but it is a good 4 star for Cuba. They shouldn't charge for top shelf drinks and just don't have the extras to make it a 5 star. All in all very nice resort, good food and excellent staff. I will be back in the future if the price is right.

Beaytiful new resort

had a great stay. everything top notch from modern room, to fantastic pools and beach. food very good...plenty os options. lot of bar choices. the best thing was the amazing staff. always eager to help and very friendly. spoke excellent English. would go back without a doubt

New Great Resort

Rooms: 10/10, ac, king beds, everything new. We had one problem where the water pressure was low for 10 min (I made management aware and they fixed it instantly) Food: 8/10 everywhere in Cuba the food is the same. Unless you are going to a 1600$ resort you’re just going to get the same food with a nicer looking garnish. The most important thing is no one got sick in the whole resort. Drinks were always cold and fresh. You get 3 a la carte reservations that are made in the lobby. I think [... read more] they have 3 restaurants that are on rotation but you still get your 3 choices (slightly better food than the buffet) Resort: the resort was not full, there were around 60-80 people. This is an adult resort and most people were happy having all the amenities to themselves. At night everyone gets together for the shows and during the day the Animation team will gather everyone for activities. It did not feel empty at all. You have included paddle boats and catamaran (1hr). The resort has a sports bar that has billiards and foosball. Wifi is 1$ per hour and is available anywhere in the resort not just the lobby. Off Resort: We did the Playa Pillar day trip. It included food ,transportation (10 min off resort) and beach chair rental. If you add up everything you save 1 pesos and can pay with credit card at the hotel. You have to try the lobster either at the Pillar restaurant or on the resort (18 pesos) Near Resort: There is a mini village 1 min from the resort where they sell souvenirs (better than the resort) , bowling , money exchange and stores for rum and cigars. (They have these stores on the resort as well, however they are small) All the Cuban people were super nice as always and they made the trip better.

Amazing vacation!!!

Was there between June 21st and June 28th 2019 - stayed in building 9, second floor (our room was 9211). Before going in vacation we were concerned because of couple bad reviews - let me tell you that the EVERYTHING was ABOVE our expectations, we've had a wonderful week and we'll go back for sure!!! This was our best Cuban experience until now, food, beverages, entertainment, overall service and hotel were amazing! Bring water shoes so you can have fun at the resort's beach, it is natural an [... read more]d gorgeous (a little rocky and not too big, but amazing). If you prefer a sandy beach, go to Playa Pilar - ask somebody from hotel's entrance to call a taxi for you, it is the same price as for the bus (5 CUC per person) and the taxi driver will drop & pick you up from Playa Pilar at the requested time. Another option would be to go next door's hotel beach which I've heard is nice too. Food was amazing, plenty of options (main restaurant for the breakfast and dinner and "Ranchon Playa" near the beach for the lunch), we've had even 2 cooking lessons on the beach with Sangria & paella...We've also had roasted pig on Friday (pulled pork sandwiches were delicious..). From reception where Osmany and Lily took care of us right away-changing our room so we can be in the same building with our friends; many thanks to Yosleidy (our maid) who took care of our room every single day and did a fantastic job; Idael and Jean from the beach bar (Idael speaks english perfectly, btw...); Yasma from entertainment who involved us in the beach & pool activities (wonderful person) to all the staff from the restaurants (sorry, can't remember all the names, everybody was great). I should also mention the guys from the snack bar, they were sooo friendly and professional!!! Arrived at 1AM and we ate there and had couple drinks, those guys are there 24/7.. The food & beverages manager was checking everything whole day long to make sure all the guests are happy and the staff is ok - great job! The chefs were amazing, everybody did everything possible to make sure THE CUSTOMERS are happy and safe. Thank you Gran Muthu Imperial for this wonderful vacation, we'll see you again for sure!!!

Amazing Resort and Staff!! Super Great Service

Firstly the resort is huge, super clean and friendly staff, they were always able to assist my needs, will definitely recommend this place and even thought to come back here in a year or two LOL. What could be improved is the foods, amount and selections are great but taste could be better.

White sands

In an economy on the fringe this resort has it all ! Fairly new and has all the modern every day items we are accustomed to. Maid service was very good, clean sheets towels etc. In order of importance.... There was NO seaweed like in Mexico, Dominican etc. White beach with clear waters going in 200-300 yards to 4-5 feet deep... Because of this the water temperature is in the 90s. It's a natural beach some stones on the sea floor. Takes a few tries to find the sand entry;or take your bea [... read more]ch shoes. There were plenty of palapas on the beach. Water quality; Possibly reverse osmosis, they claim you can brush your teeth with it. No one got sick from ice cubes and water or drinks like pop came from bottles. Soup in the Ala-carte was delicious. Food ...buffet is very limited at lunch.. No variety either ;this includes breakfast.At night improves! Ala-carte (which you get 2 of automatically) is very good! In contrast the 24hr snack bar with a menu by the pool served up a traditional burger that was far superior to our local Mc Burgers. CUC as a currency is considered the only means of tipping buying tickets etc... Available before you go at "KANTOR" in the Hamilton Starsky's for example. There is NO LONGER an exit fee... It's in the package.

The perfect couples resort!

Our first time in Cuba and we couldn't of asked for a better vacation! We stayed a week and had our wedding at the Gran Muthu Imperial, we couldn't have chosen a better place! They treated us like royalty making our wedding and honeymoon very special and romantic. The employees were so sweet they would do anything to make you happy. The pools were super clean and never crowded. The rooms were spotless and bathrooms we're all consistently super clean. The beach was gorgeous you didn't even need w [... read more]ater shoes, a little bit of seaweed but there's lots of clear space to swim. The walk from building 9 to the beach and buffet was a little long, but well worth it. The a la cartes were amazingly delicious I wish we could've made reservations there every night they were seriously amazing. The buffet didn't have much selection but if you found something you liked it was delicious. The buffet for lunch was okay but not for dinner because we couldn't sit there for dinner or the mosquitos would've ate us alive... We ended up eating at the snack bar a lot of the time, it was more consistent and convenient for us. We definetely didn't go hungry, we really enjoyed the snack bar. They had entertainment every night in the lobby but we ended up going to the sports bar after dinner to play pool or foosball which was lots of fun and the bartenders were good to us. I wouldnt recommend to go to Cuba in May or June because it was unbearably hot and the sun burnt us pretty good regardless of the SPF and how many times we reapplied, hats were a must! We did an excursion to a farm in Moron, went on a horseback ride, went into the city, checked out the market and it was really interesting we loved it. Cuba is a beautiful place and the people are really respectful and appreciative of us tourists. We will definitely be visiting Cuba again!

Relaxing Place

Great new resort with excellent staff and facilities. Some problems working out the kinks and the food but I’m sure it’ll be fixed soon. Great place for a very quiet holiday with not much else to do but enjoy the pool, beach and sun.

Amazing Resort!!!

First time to Cuba! Gran Muthu Imperial is a hidden gem! Just opened in January 2019. Staff are fantastic! There was always something good to eat! A la carte restaurants were extremely good! Rooms were very clean as was the rest of the resort. I have absolutely no complaints! You should go here!

Has Potential

This was my 1st time to this resort - Gran Mathu Imperial - we stayed here May 10-17th. I would not consider this a 5 star maybe a 3.5 with potential to a 5 star. I'll start with the not so great - FOOD yes we all know Cuba doesn't have the greatest menu- not that there wasn't any flavor this has gotten better. (been to Cuba 13 times) its the options - If you are a vegetarian you are very limited. If you enjoy variety of fruits - you have Guava or Papaya. Buffet was not opened for lunch -  [... read more]you have the beach area or snack bar. Will you starve? NO - they have French fries,pasta and pizza , pizza, pasta only avail at dinner in the main buffet. I like seafood and it was very scares there. The a la carte we tried Chinese - I was ok with it my bf was not. - they tried. The rooms were kept very clean and our maid Rose ( I don't remember the spelling of her name) she cleaned room 6009, she is a lovely soul. The waiter, waitresses and bartender all did a superb job, very attentive - remembered our drinks and how we liked them. Greeted us for breakfast and lunch , acknowledged us and seated us right away. A couple of people that have stuck in my mind - Maceo pool bar bartender makes the BEST mojitos!!! Jennifer pool bar - always smiling and asking how our day is - sweet girl! Entertainment staff, always friendly and getting us involved in fun activities. Ladyann and Leo, Karl a few names I remember but they are all lovely. Great live bands in the Lobby area as well as comfy seating. Sports bar super fun - you can play a game of pool and or fuze-ball and the 2 guys that bartend there are super cool and make the BEST apple martinis!- or make u a bitters if your tummy isn't the greatest.. thank you! The grounds are kept clean and the gardeners work very hard! If you have anything to give away , please don't forget about them! The infinity pool is just beautiful - you can lounge while looking at the most beautiful ocean! The ocean - it needs some work- very rocky close to the bar and washroom- if you keep walking to the left you will have no rocks and an enjoy the ocean. - we took a 5 mins bus ride to Pilar Beach - YOU must go there! $10 gets you a cabana and 3 drinks. A suggestion I would like to make and as I see it its a suggestion from a lot of guests - Lobby bar, sports bar should be opened till at least midnight - and the Disco should be free for the guests that stay there. Like I said when this resort becomes more avail to other airlines - more volume this resort has potential. Would I return to this resort - maybe in a few years. I travel quite a bit and I must say beaches in Cuba does not compare to Dominican, Mexico or Jamaica best calm beaches. Of course the Cubans wear their heart on their sleeves the sweetest, nicest people I guess this is why I keep returning to Cuba and hey I lost 6lbs ha ha .. Thanks for the memories! Tanya

Second trip for the heaven.....

Based on our first impression we returned to this beautiful hotel to celebrate my birthday and our wedding anniversary. This time we chose HolaSun and flew with a smaller Air Transat 737 without any issues. (the difference between the two firms that Transat offering 3 hours cancellation insurance and short ride from the airport to the resort then HolaSun has only 3 days cancellation and their bus took 7 stops in Cayo Coco and Cayo Guillermo until finally we arrived an hour and the half later) [... read more] Toronto Airport had a broken luggage loader belt that slowed down the processing time but finally we reached the plane. Thanks for the pilot we got a smooth ride but our seats were more uncomfortable than on the bigger flight. When we finally arrived, we were warmly welcomed and the check in process was even faster than first time. Smooth and professional. Surprisingly we got the upgrade into the suite in the same building. The bellboy drove us there and bring the luggage's into our gorgeous new room. The resort operated on really low occupancy but we didn't feel too much for lock of service but the variety of food and the buffet was closed for lunches. We also missed several stuff members but cannot complain about any services. The sun was much stronger than in March and unfortunately, we got burned the first day on the beach but that was our fault. Mostly we used the 24hr snack bar for eat and drink. Only two guys served many people at the nights but they worked extremely hard to provide the same service as we received last time. Our much bigger suite was cleaned every day and we still received beautiful creatures on the bed and front of the jacuzzi... Customer service team surprised us with candles and flowers for both of our celebrations...That was really nice from them!!! Internet is 1 CUC an hour and the whole resort covered almost everywhere. Pilar beach is still beautiful but this time we went there with taxi for the same price. It is about 5 km's and we told to the driver what time we would like him to return and we paid him the 10 CUC only when arrived back to the resort. We asked for late checkout and left our room at 5pm then picked up at 7pm. Everything was perfect on the trip but unfortunately on the airport mosquitoes attacked everyone. We never had this experience and seen these many mosquitoes in our life. That was a nightmare and our plane was an hour late.....Just a note as the Cuban officers took lighters from everyone by the security check so prepare for it especially if you have an expensive one:-)

Great resort with exceptional staff!

As soon as we pulled up in the bus we thought this resort was absolutely beautiful. The staff have exceptional customer service. The food at first seemed amazing. The snack bar has very good food as well as the buffet. We didn't really like the beach bars food as it seemed like yesterdays left-overs. We tried two a la carts and they were decent. It was a nice change from the buffet as we noticed the buffet lacked variety. It was the same food with only a bit of change. I seemed to stick  [... read more]with eggs and toast in the mornings and pasta or pizza at night. They did have some spices and different dips . They also had ketchup at the beginning of our visit and then seemed to disappear at the end. I stuck with mostly plain things anyways as when I would try anything different my stomach would get upset. The customer service is a 5 plus The blonde young lady at the lobby bar (have forgotten her name )was 5 plus and wonderful service always smiling The snack bars bartender and server Jose Ramon was 5 plus The entertainment was always amazing and a 5 plus. The resort was beautiful and the pools absolutely stunning 5 plus The maid we had Yanelis was great 5 star The beach to the left was beautiful , you just have to walk a bit farther so theres no seaweed would say 4 plus The food I would say a 4 star for Cuba ( first time , but with speaking with others they said more like a 3 ) we overall say this is a 4 plus resort and if they stepped up the food variety would be a 5 for us!

Absolutely amazing resort

Ron and I would like to thank you Gina for your recommendation of the Gran Muthu Imperial. From the facilities to the staff, amazing. Everyone was so friendly and helpful. The food was excellent. Me, who is so picky when it comes to food, there was no lack of selection and was fresh and plenty. I had the opportunity to speak with the Chef directly and expressed to him how impressed I was. The chambermaid,Marie, was amazing. Our room was cleaned by 10:00 am each day. The facilities were  [... read more]clean, no garbage anywhere. The events staff were awesome and the nightly shows, you couldn't miss. We would highly recommend this resort to anyone and everyone. Thank you again for all you did.

Beautiful Resort

The view from the Gran Muthu Imperial was the most beautiful view we have experience. You can see the whole resort grounds pools etc along with the biggest view of the ocean we have ever seen, You can see this view from just about everywhere you go. They have Infinity pools which also had amazing views of the ocean. The resort is very new it had only been open for a month, so it wasn't full and that was nice with no line ups for food, drink and checking in. Its an Adult only resort which was lo [... read more]vely as everyone was very relaxed and friendly. It was clean and very modern the nicest one we have ever stayed at in Cuba. Water pressure was amazing along with plenty of hot water.The staff were all very attentive and friendly. The food is good, something for everyone's taste. it was very windy there as its on a small Island but not cold by any means. The beach is not in front of the resort but to the side not a far walk at all. They have a bar there with waiters bring you drinks and a couple of guys setting up you lounge chairs for you.