Dhawa Cayo Santa Maria: nice resort

the grounds are very well maintained ....... pool area is great ........ hotel and rooms we're clean...... tons of room on the beach. food was good but I was disappointed by the lacked of fresh fruits especially from a tropical area..... could be the results of the hurricane they went through!!!! (maybe)

Valentin Perla Blanca: Relaxing but too big...

This resort is way too busy and big. The buffet was understaffed and line ups were crazy. We ate at the restaurants and snack bar because of this. Room towels were only changed twice in the entire 7 days and the beach towel exchange desk was only open at 10am and didn't stay open for long. There are only about a dozen beach chairs for non "preferred guests" and the changes of you getting one was next to NIL unless you were "preferred". They had lots of chairs available for preferred guests  [... read more]that were sitting empty while we sat on the sand. The resort next to it had tons of chairs and sun huts and a much wider beach. If we go back to this location, we will be trying that resort.

Melia Las Dunas: Melia Las Dunas

The resort was very large but very pretty. The beaches were wonderful with white powdery sand. Found the staff to be super friendly and very helpful especially a younger guy and an older guy at the lobby bar...failed to get their names though. Also at the adult pool the little barmaid Yarentsy was trying to find my drink of choice but it was not available. Our chambermaid , Yaritsy was great and made sure our needs were met every day. We had a couple favourite people in the Buffet M [... read more]anual being one and again missed the other couple of names. Entertainment at night was very nice. Food was pretty good. Wifi was available at lobby but could get on most times I tried.

Hotel Roc Casa del Mar: Just returned! Loved it!

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

Dhawa Cayo Santa Maria: Very Nice Resort

The grounds were very nice. The rooms were nice and clean. The staff was very friendly and nice. The Beach was amazing. The entertainment was great. The food was good but it is still Cuba food. The pool was also very nice. All in all I really enjoyed my stay at the Dhawa Cayo Santa Maria. There is always little things that can go wrong but nothing to complain about.

Resonance Blu Santa Maria: excellent holidays!

This was our third time at Starfish. Great beach, clean water, friendly staff- they do their best to please their guests. Food was good, but too salty. We solved this problem by having our meat made on hot plate without salt. People on no salt diet will have problem there. This time -April even the weather was good- no rain.We will be back.

Valentin Perla Blanca: Most amazing beach!

Pros: breath taking beach, great food, a la cartes were great, some staff were amazing, always clean towels, cheap wifi, decent entertainment Cons: too many people in and out of our room (3 housekeeping, very rude mini bar refill guy) room key issues, had items stolen from our room (cell phone, selfie stick, money, sunscreen, beach bag) reported it, no one seemed to concerned. Seems we weren’t the only ones that week to have things go missing :( Often large lines to order drinks, lack of  [... read more]chairs at the beach and at the pool I would not recommend this hotel if you are traveling alone.

Dhawa Cayo Santa Maria: Nice resort

The beach was amazing,We found the lobby very nice but service was very slow,Employees very friendly,Food was typical cuban food we never went hungry,Rooms were very clean and modern beds were comfortable, The rooms had rain showers which were very nice,We had an issue getting a bottle of water for our room it was the end of our second day before we recieved it and that was after i went to desk twice and my husband went twice the third tim my husband went he lost his cool and water was in our ro [... read more]om within the hour other than that good vacation

Playa Cayo Santa Maria: Nice Resort

The hotel itself was very nice. Cons The towels were not always replaced and the bathroom floor did not seem to be cleaned all week. The buffet food was the same every night and it could be very repetitious. The a la cartes were a laugh especially the Asian. The liquor was definitely not top notch. Pros There were many pools so you could always get a seat and not have to get up early to mark one. Due to the length of time it took you to get to the resort, we would defin [... read more]itely not go back. Also we paid extra to have an upgrade to monte cristo room, rum and most importantly a car to drive us to the resort and a car to take us back to the airport. The air transat rep there said they had no intention on a car to take us to the resort and back.

Melia Las Dunas: A great Cuban retreat

Well-established resort with an awesome beach. Friendly staff great food. Wonderful place for family Or adults. Great staff would recommend this placeTo anybody that wants to enjoy an awesome Cuban experience

Valentin Perla Blanca: Beautiful Resort. But not for a solo traveller

I am a solo female traveller, and I spent a week at Valentin Perla Blanca from April 3rd to April 10th 2018. Let me first say that this was my first time to Cuba, and it is wonderful! The people are so lovely and kind, and I felt so safe. I think you will experience this anywhere you go in Cuba! I decided on a last min vacation, and was looking for something that was safe and beautiful. Immediately my travel agent said "Cuba"! So I then started the search of what resort to stay at. I liked th [... read more]e idea of an Adults only resort that was economical. And the Valentin kept popping up time and time again. So I bit the bullet and I booked! Upon arriving at the Valentin, It was definitely a stunning resort. Modern, well appointed. And I could see that exquisite Turquoise sea as soon as I entered the lobby. The staff, as lovely as they were, were on "Cuba" time. Nothing was rushed, nothing was considered urgent. They had only one person at the check in to serve about 20 people standing in line. This wasn't that big of a deal to me, as I was enjoying the magnificent scenery. I will sum up a few things for you. 1. Food - Not great, but I knew this going in. I didn't go to Cuba for the food. But I will say that the 3 a la Cart restaurants I went to (Italian, Seafood & French) were really great. 10 times better than the buffet. The chicken fingers and fries at the Snack bars were good. But my first night I ordered a hamburger, and it was very raw! 2. Rooms - Basic but fairly clean. The balcony door didn't close properly and wouldn’t lock. This was minor as I was on the 3rd floor, so I didn't bother complaining about it. If you are looking for a quiet place to stay, don't get a room by the activities pool or the main lobby. I was near the main lobby, which was good in some ways because I didn't have to walk far to go to the buffet or the lobby bar (Which is the best one!). But in the evenings, when I would often head to my room for an early night, the noise and music from the lobby bar and theatre was so loud, it was like the performers were right in my room! But usually things died down around 11pm at the latest, which was nice. Unfortunately, the "Do not disturb" sign means nothing to the staff. There were 2 occasions where I was suffering from a terrible headache due to the heat, so I wondered up to my room to have a nap in the afternoon. Both times I put the "Do not Disturb" sign in the key card slot on the door. And both times, a staff person removed that card and just walked into my room! Scaring the hell out of me! I realize that my fridge had not been stocked, but I was ok with that which is why I put the sign out. I did not want to be disturbed. So after that, I felt very uncomfortable in my room, knowing that anyone will just walk in! 3. The Beach - What they say is correct. The beach is stunning and the water is unbelievable! During my week there, the weather was absolutely amazing. Hot sun, blue skies and calm turquoise waters every day. It was wonderful. But there was one HUGE issue. There were not nearly enough beach chairs or shelters available. I am a beach person. I love the sand and the water. I could spend all day, everyday at the beach. So the beach is the MOST important thing to me. So when I would head to the beach in the morning at a reasonable time...around 9-10am after breakfast, I would walk up and down. Sometimes for an hour, just looking for a chair and shelter. But every single chair on the beach was "Reserved" by someone who had placed their towel and/or personal items on it. And no one was there! Just row upon row of empty chairs that were "Reserved". This was so infuriating, as there are multiple signs everywhere saying you are not allowed to reserve chairs or shelters. But no one abides by this. And in fact, the staff even encourages it! One day, as I was at my wits end trying to find a chair, I went to an employee who worked on the beach and asked him to please help me find a chair. He straight out refused (The only negative interaction I had with an employee). I pointed out that there were a stack of unused chairs behind him, and he said that those were for "Privileged" guests only. I then asked him why people were allowed to reserve the chairs when the signs say they are not? He answered with "That's just the way it is". He then went on to tell me that if I wanted a chair, I would have to come down at 6am (With a flashlight, as it is still pitch dark), and reserve one myself. Well, I refused to do that. But its not just the lack of chairs that bothered me. If I had to, I could spread out a towel and sit on the sand. But I absolutely HAD to have shelter. I am very fair, and the Cuban sun is unlike anything I had ever experienced. I NEEDED to have shelter. But there was NOTHING available. So I would continue to walk up and down the beach just waiting for someone to leave. During my first 2 days, I got lucky, and I managed to grab a chair under a shelter from someone who was leaving and enjoyed the rest of the day. Unfortunately, for the rest of the week, I wasn't so lucky. And ended up just leaving the beach area, very upset. Also, out of the chairs that were available, most of them were broken. I'm assuming it is from the hurricane. And they haven't been repaired or replaced. 3. The pools - After leaving the beach disappointed, I decided to head to the pool. I first went to the Activities pool. And again, after walking around the entire pool, there wasn't a single chair to be found (Under a shelter). So I made the 10 min + walk to the relaxing pool on the other side of the resort. And again.....no available chairs under shelter anywhere! Keep in mind that this all before 12noon. Utterly disappointed, I headed back to the lobby bar or to my room to have a drink and sit down to read. I couldn't believe that I was at this amazing beach resort and I couldn't sit on the beach or at the pool! I eventually found that going to the beach and/or pool in the evening was the only way that I could find a spot to sit. So this is my bottom line. Very nice resort. Very beautiful. But I will never go back. For 2 reasons. 1. The beach and lack of chairs and shelters. Not being able to sit on the beach, enjoy the beach activities and the bbq during the day, was really upsetting for me. And 2. The resort is just too big. It has well over 1100 rooms, so at any given time, you are looking at a min of 2000 + people there. I was so lost as a solo traveller. And I don't mean that literally. I was just another face in the crowd. I didn't see the same person 2 days in a row. I was often overlooked by staff. I was ignored (Not on purpose I'm sure) when I would sit at the bars. I tried to be friendly and start up conversations with people, but people rarely gave me the time of day. I found that most of the people there were couples, and clearly didn't want to start up a conversation with a "Third Wheel". In my opinion, Valentin Perla Blanca is not the place for a Solo traveller or for a Beach lover....even though their beach is beautiful! You will never get a chance to see it.....unless you get up at 6am!

Hotel Roc Casa del Mar: Amazing hotel and trip

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

Iberostar Selection Ensenachos: Great Vacation

We have travelled to Cuba many times and several areas. This is the first time we can say the food was excellent. The staff are fantastic. Rooms are very spacious and always clean. The grounds are beautiful even with still recovering from the hurricane last year. We would definitely consider returning to this resort.

Hotel Roc Casa del Mar: beautiful week in sun surf & sand.

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

Melia Las Dunas: toss up

half decent resort over all but was in premium room but air coditioner could have worked better always was on high even at night which I should,nt have had too do it never worked right the phone was good to call out but it would,nt ring in the room if you wasn,t watching it too see the light flashing you would,nt know someone was trying to get you and I called them 4 or 5 times in few days before they told me they haven,t had a phone to trade it in they should have said before that,the vodka w [... read more]asn,t good like in cayo coco and my sister only got certain drink at one bar out of 3 some times 2 bars,i stayed 10 minutes down the rd 3 years ago at a memories by the market which was a better resort but got a bad rap which I thought was better and that one was ordinary room and ocean view this premium and garden view or another 12 room building,no pool or ocean

Valentin Perla Blanca: Great Hotel but terrible organisation

This hotel is so beautiful this was our second time. The people are amazing however they have made some cuts resulting in a bad experience. Instead of 2 buffets like last year they only had one open and it caused guests to fight for food. They ran out of beer for 2 days, to me thats just wrong. The food at the buffet was not good and having to almost fight was sad. This resort is huge meaning a lot a walking but we like that. We will be coming back not for the hotel but the beyond amazing  [... read more]staff

Gran Muthu Cayo Santa Maria: Beautiful location but problems....

We stayed at the Golden Tulip the first week of April, and let me start by saying this is a very large resort (lots of walking & people), parents should be aware that there are few activities for kids over the age of five years old the food was very bad even for Cuba standards. There was no bacon, no French fries, or hamburgers for the first five days of our trip. If you liked sausage you were in heaven. The room was worn down (things broken, door handle, no phones, gap in sliding door) but we  [... read more]had an ocean view so we didn’t complain. The resort grounds (landscaping, pool, etc.) were beautiful and the beach was amazing but that’s why we go to Cuba, “it’s expected” and to be honest not much different from any other Cuban resort we’ve been to. The biggest disappointment during our trip was on the fifth day just before dinner after a wonderful day on the beach our son dropped my wife’s iPhone 6 on the boardwalk headed back past the Snack Bar, we didn’t realize the phone was missing because we were scrambling to get ready for dinner. We realized after 45 minutes that her phone was gone and we raced back to the snack bar and then to security . The resort staff and security was NOT helpful and did not seem like they gave a crap, and all of our trip pictures were on that phone from the previous five days. One hour before leaving the resort to head home we ran into another family who gave an eyewitness account that the phone had been returned to the snack bar that evening and a waiter held the phone up in front of the people at the bar but didn’t return it to security. This made me furious. I immediately ran to security and demanded answers but our bus was leaving in about 20 minutes Head of security came over to me and we walked to the snack bar to question the staff on duty, but nothing came of it and we had to board the bus. We were very inconvenienced by this and very disturbed that we know a Cuban kept the phone, especially considering the iPhone was in a water proof cell bag with one of our room keys! Another thing I’ll mention is that Cuba is changing very quickly, the resort staff was much younger and most Cubans now carry their own cell phone. I’d recommend taking a cheap digital camera to the beach instead of your phone, keep the phones in the safe and download the pics when you get home. Although the scenery was beautiful and we met some great people whom we had unforgettable memories with, I would not recommend this resort and doubt that we will go back to Cuba anytime soon. Thank god for iCloud.

Iberostar Selection Ensenachos: Beautiful resort

we just returned from a 1 week trip. The hotel is well laid out. Park side is geared for families. We stayed on the spa side. The room was beautiful,we had a king size bed,mini fridge,exceptionally clean bathroom with separate shower and a bathtub as well as a separate washroom.a large balcony with patio furniture. It is a bit of a walk to the beach about 15 mins from our room but we'll worth the exercise The beach is long sandy and shallow very safe for kids. It is well maintained with sun sh [... read more]elters for use The hotel is beautiful, exceptionally clean with excellent service provided by all staff The buffet food was delicious and way above the standard for Cuban fare. With varied choices of fresh fish and meats as well as salads cheeses etc We ate at 3 of the a la cartes. There were a range of food choices to suit everyones tastes and of excellent quality and flavour There was nightly entertainment of musicians in the lobby at 7pm as well as a nightly show at 930 pm Would return in a heartbeat

Valentin Perla Blanca: Very disappointed

I would like to begin by saying that when we arrived at the resort one of the people I was travelling with was ill and just wanted to lay down. I spoke to a staff member who indicated they would check her in after he was finished with the people he was checking. He totally ignored us and proceeded with the next couple in line. It took over an hour before we got to our room. When I arrived to my room the tv was on and the door was opened. The next morning went to the beach to find some bea [... read more]ch chairs and the majority were broken. Spoke with a staff member and they indicated that there were no more and they were too expensive to order. The staff never smiled. The rooms weren't cleaned properly daily and the garbage in the room was never removed for my entire stay. There was sand on the shower floor from previous guests. The mini bar was never ripped up. There was garbage on the grounds. They ran out of food constantly and beer and ice. One of the bar tenders said "No tip, no drink". The room was very noisy. Went to talk to Sunwing representative and he said he would speak to customer service. Maria said she would move us to another room but there wasn't anything convenient as they were located on the third floor and I have bad knees and my friend has a heart problem. Maria gave us "Privileged" Access for breakfast however when we arrived the waitress wasn't willing to serve us and the buffet table had several birds eating the food. I had a fruit plate and there were bugs crawling on it. I had to constantly complain to customer service and really nothing was resolved. There was never any beach towels for exchange as the towel hut was never open. I asked customer service if we could be upgraded to the privilege level and Maria said she could not do that however when I spoke with Louise in customer service he said that it wouldn't be a problem and all I had to do was go to customer service and it would be handled. When we got there Maria said they couldn't do that. I spoke with a couple and they spoke to their Sunwing representative and they were upgraded with no problem. I am very disappointed with the hotel, the staff, who never smiled, and the whole experience. I would like to be compensated for this terrible experience. Disgruntled Guest

Dhawa Cayo Santa Maria: Delightful Dhawa!

Small, quaint resort with incredible beach and huge pool. We love Cuba for its fantastic beaches and Dhawa did not disappoint. The resort sits on an expansive stretch of white sand with clear blue/green water. There are plenty of beach chairs and huts so always a place to sit. The hotel is lovely with spacious, clean rooms, pleasant bars, friendly staff and well maintained gardens. There is a nice selection of restaurants including French, Italian and seafood. We will definitely return!