Playa Cayo Santa Maria: Wonderful trip

Staff were the friendliest people I have ever encountered at a resort. The room was always clean with special touches left for us to enjoy and smile at. The entertainment especially the dancing was the best I've seen at a resort. The food was fair but we were always able to find something which suited us. The beach was amazing but the wind made it difficult to enjoy kicking up a sandstorm so we enjoyed the poolside. Would definitely go back again.

Gran Muthu Cayo Santa Maria: Awesome resort

Great pools, Lots of space, great lobby and bars. We were a huge group and We were always accommodated properly, the staff is excellent and extremely courteous. I would definitely go again, it was a long drive from the airport, but it was Well worth it

Gran Muthu Cayo Santa Maria: Pools are amazing. The beach even better!

We were a group of 17, with ages ranging from 12 to 72. there were an abundance of lounge chairs available, the staff was courteous and very accommodating, the rooms were extremely clean, as well as the facility. This resort is well worth the drive across the causeway

Resonance Blu Santa Maria: Starfish cayo santa maria is amazing

It's very apparent that the hurricanes destroyed a lot of the resort. It obviously takes more than a natural disaster to knock these hardy people down. They all did their best with what they had to work with. My second time here ...my wife's first time. We both love the place. The people are accommodating and friendly and helpful. When the resort is back to capacity I suspect so will everything else but as I mentioned we would go back as is right now. The little things that are obvious are not  [... read more]worth mentioning because they did not affect the operation...the food...or the genuine kindness of the people working there.

Sanctuary at Grand Memories Santa Maria: Older resort

Rooms were nice except when we arrived on the bottom floor of the bungalow we found a scorpion in our room on the floor there was no door sweep on the door we then the next day switched rooms to the second floor in a different bungalow and the rest of the stay was amazing very nice staff and people

Dhawa Cayo Santa Maria: Disappointing Resort

We stayed at Dhawa during Feb 2018 for 7 days. We have traveled other places in Mexico, Jamaica, etc. so our review is somewhat comparable to other 4 - 5 star resorts. In overall, we would give this resort 3.5 stars out of 5, but they have the potential ( spaces and people) to do well. Dhawa is located far from markets and other amenities. They are currently building more resorts and extensions around the resort, but currently (in 2018) it is not up to par with other resorts. First of all  [... read more]food is not 5 stars. It is more like 3 to 4 stars. food choices are boring and the other restaurants in the resort are not that great. We are not food enthusiasts, but we could easily tell that they are bad. A lot of people staying at the resort did not go to the restaurants because they are not that much special from the buffet service. Heard many people complaining. Employees are quite friendly, however, they will always expect tips which we did not really enjoy. There are few employees who are working very hard to make it a great place. (e.g. door holder, entertainment folks, some bartenders at the lobby bar, and beach folks) Front desk people are the least friendly and unwilling to help. We had a partial ocean view room, and it was okay. The build quality was poor, but it had all the necessities. We think the rooms are made out of cinder blocks. One thing we didn't like is how it was not sound proof. we could consistently hear upstairs folks walking and babies crying at the same floor. The main beach is nice with long white sand and a lot of potential for snorkeling. We did snorkeling for 3 days straight and we love it. A lot fish and erotic fish. However, the pools are pretty boring and not for kids. They are building more extensions to the resort, so maybe it is better to travel next year to get your full money worth.

Melia Cayo Santa Maria: Good resort for family

The beach was great. The pools, with gentle slopes, were good for the kids. The food was good by Cuban standard, especially the pizza and burger at the snack bar by the pools. The entertainment was good and there were a lot of activities all week. The negatives? Having to line up 3 mornings to book dinners and the Santa Clara airport was the absolute worst.

Hotel Roc Casa del Mar: Five star except no toilets near the beach.

New, clean hotel with gorgeous beaches and lots of pools. But very large and spread out so be prepared for lots of walking. Food ok on buffet, but bland in the al la cartels. The entertainment was very good. Nice rooms with great shower. Worst thing was there were no toilet facilities near or on the beach area so you had to walk all the way back to the hotel which was far. Not ideal for women or if you got tummy issues. Big annoyance. The pool areas were fun and the staff were friendly. It' [... read more]s a nice resort but we wouldn't go again due to size and distance from the airport.

Valentin Perla Blanca: Good Value

Overall, had a good holiday, a large part due to the fabulous weather. Always a warm dry breeze, little humidity. The beach and ocean excellent. The grounds of this resort are very well kept and look great in spite of the devastation from the hurricane. The one evening show we attended was excellent. The staff are, with few exceptions, very good at their jobs. Most went above and beyond to please. The food was much better than what I expected - no complaints there. The buffet could have [... read more] used extra staff to help with the items being freshly cooked, a long wait for this. Things that we and many other guests found troublesome were lack of cleanliness and toilet paper, soap, working hand dryers/paper towel in all public washrooms. Almost always, none to be found. There was very, very loud music for approximately 3 hours coming from the area of the main pool every afternoon. This area was crowded with mostly the younger set and it was no doubt great for them. Only mentioning this to make anyone not wanting this atmosphere to be aware. It is unavoidable in all of the main resort area and not conducive to an afternoon siesta! Our room was spacious and the bed and pillows comfortable. The air conditioner worked great. The room was acceptably clean, but the floors of the building, in general, were not. The balcony was large and had a good view, but the lock on the balcony door was broken. There were many small items everywhere that could use the attention of handymen to keep everything in better repair and I was concerned to see new buildings going up when resources might be better spent on bringing everything 100% up to par in the existing.

Valentin Perla Blanca: Valentin Perla Blanca: DO NOT RECOMMEND

This review is in addition to a detailed letter I have written to both the hotel management as well as Tripcentral. Holistically, the whole experience was very disappointing. We spent the majority of our time waiting and lost many days we could have enjoyed the beach (the only thing that was good) in line whether it was at reception waiting for our room, reserving restaurants, waiting for clean towels which totalled at least 3 days of waiting. We paid extra for 'silver status' and none of the up [... read more]grades were even included when we arrived at the resort. We were very disappointed by the unsanitary nature of presentation whether it was in the buffet where there were no utensils and people were using their hands to pick up food or the tables were being cleaned outside with the same mop they were using for the floors. The walls were stained by oil and dead flies and windows and doors were cracked making it dangerous for the patrons. We found rusty nails along the periphery of the resort and three of us almost fell twice due to holes in plastic drains and unacceptable surroundings. These are only a few issues to name a few. We found cockroaches in the room and the resort itself was not maintained per the standard of a "4.5 rated hotel." When we shared our concerns with both the management and Air Transat personnel, management told us they would comp a lobster dinner with the stipulation that we HAD to sign a document saying we would not bring up any additional complaints and to stay quiet. We refused to sign this document stating that in order for any business or company to improve, feedback is essential to the improvement of any business. With all of this, we then decided to move to another hotel for the remainder of our stay (2 days) in Cuba and switched to a real 5 star hotel Iberostar where customer service was evident in everything that they did. This would be our first trip together as a group with 2 guests visiting Cuba 6 times and they were very disappointed as were we. If we could do it again, we would NOT stay at this resort and would suggest that the star rating be lowered to 2.5 for all of the above reasons.

Dhawa Cayo Santa Maria: Beautiful Resort / Relaxing Stay

My husband and I just returned from a 7 day vacation at Dhawa. We have been to Cuba many times but this was our first time in Cayo Santa Maria. The resort is very nice, new modern rooms, comfortable beds, great shower and lots of choices for food and drink. The pre-show entertainment was ok, but we prefer more traditional Cuban music and that only seemed to be played at the buffet for a very short time. It would have been nice if they had played in the Lobby as well as there was lots of time bet [... read more]ween 6-9:30 (when the shows start) to accommodate. Our only real complaint is the wind. The beach is beautiful but we were unable to stay for too long as it was just too windy to be enjoyable. We are not really pool people so are not likely to return for that reason only. Otherwise everything was great and as usual the Cuban hospitality is top notch!

Playa Cayo Santa Maria: Not impressed

We just came back from Paya Cayo Santa Maria, and I was ready excited to go there considering my husband went with his sun last year and they described it as a great place. We arrived on February 13th, and at the reception were 2 staff members, both on the phone and we didn't get a welcome or an eye contact for 10 minutes. Didn't feel the love at all. Same approach when we left On the 14th, we woke up in a overcrowded resort. Found later than the locals were offered a special package for Valen [... read more]tine's Day. Nothing against it if the resort could handle it, but the lineups were huge, pools packed, beere garden cleaned up, etc. Entertainment staff looked too aggressive, I actually had to tell one of them to leave us alone. We stayed in Unit 1, and it was so loud that most of the days I felt asleep with a pillow on my ear. The hotel was clean and probably what was the best part.

Playa Cayo Santa Maria: Worst resort I have been to.

This hotel was dirty. Cigarette butts on the pool deck. Garbage around the pool. Very little cleanliness. Food was the worst I’ve had outta the three times I been to Cuba. The a la cartes were ok. Entertainment was low quality. Non Smoking was not In forced in no smoking areas. The rooms were out dated. Smelly. Beaches were great. I would not recommend this resort as my agent did with me.

Valentin Perla Blanca: Great Resort

This was the second time we stayed at this resort, each time was a great experience. The staff is wonderful very caring about making your stay great. They go out of their way to get whatever you need. The food was also good at the buffet and the snack bars. The beaches are fantastic. I would recommend this resort to anyone.

Melia Las Dunas: Ok

Service was good, food was good resort was in decent condition, staff was really nice. The only negative part is we found 2 cockroaches in our room last day of our stay I'll will not recommend this resort for this reason nor go back.

Playa Cayo Santa Maria: Wonderful Resort but...

We really enjoyed our stay. There are a few pools and easy to find a lounge chair at one of them. The beach was also beautiful. This resort, as well as the whole area lost a lot of vegetation in the hurricane so it’s not as lush as it may have been before. Unfortunately the food leaves a lot to be desired. I’d recommend sticking to the fish. I’d also recommend bringing toilet paper/butt wipes everywhere you go. They do not replenish the supply in the bathrooms as the restaurants or by the  [... read more]pool. We had to visit the nearby clinic to get some aspirin which was given to us for free which was nice.

Melia Cayo Santa Maria: Impressed!

Six of us had a great time at this resort. We especially loved the local entertainers. Our rooms were comfortable. The beach was just lovely. The staff became our new friends. We ate and drank well. It was nice to have the marketplace so close.

Melia Cayo Santa Maria: Good for Cuba

Food was good hotel was good travel time was horrible 12 hour travel time. Airport and bus ride is very difficult The hotel staff was good drinks good beach amazing food decent. I won't go back to Santa maria but if this hotel was in varadero or cayo coco I'd go back. The travel time is too much

Hotel Roc Casa del Mar: Love this place!

This was our second time at this hotel and once again we were very pleased! Can't say enough about the great service provided by all staff. We certainly enjoyed the gorgeous beach, we keep going to Cayo Santa Maria ( this was our 10th times) because of the unbelievable beach. Food, drinks and cleanliness all top notch. Don't forget we don't go to Cuba for the food we go to Cuba for the people and the beach. We never been sick because of food in Cuba and never lost a pound either lol.  [... read more] The staff at the lobby bar is the same as in 2016 and most actually recognized us, which was great. Love, love all the staff at the lobby bar and buffet (unfortunately can't remember all the names but I knew all the faces). Thumbs up to Hector and Victor at the buffet and the ladies at the lobby bar. Will certainly be back again.

Sol Cayo Santa Maria: Fabulous

I'd love to describe my stay and pass on pictures but we stayed at Pelicano on Cayo Largo...................................... ............... ............................................... ...............