WITHOUT A DOUBT THE WORST EXPERIENCE IN 12 VISITS TO CUBA

THE HOTEL LOOKED FINE, IT SHOULD ITS NEW. STAFF AT FRONT DESK AND AT THE BARS THE ONLY THING GOOD. MY PHONE WAS STOLEN WITHIN 2 HRS OF BEING THERE FROM AROUND THE POOL. RITE OUT OF MY BAG, WITH SECURITY CAMERAS POINTED RITE WHERE MY BAG WAS. BUT THE MANAGES FELT IT NESSARY TO LIE AND TELL ME THERE WERE NO CAMERAS AT THE POOL. WHY???? THATS WHAT ID LIKE TO KNOW. SPENT THE NEXT 3 DAYS MEETING WITH STAFF MGMT AND SECURITY TO RETRIEVE MY PHONE. TOTAL INCOMPETENCE. ITHEY SUGGESTED THEIR SECURITY DEAL [... read more] WITH IT INSTEAD OF POLICE. WHY???? DAM GOOD QUESTION. THEN TO BE TOLD THAT THE CAMERA POINTING RITE AT MY BAG PICKED UP NOTHING AFTER 3 DAYS OF BS. NOT INPRESSED. AS FAR AS THE RESTAURANTS. 1/2 WERE CLOSED EVERY NIGHT. THEY HAD A BUFFET WITH THE EXACT SAME FOOD IN SAME SPOTS EVERY LUNCH AND DINNER. NOT A SHRIMP HOT OR COLD TO BE FOUND. IVE STAYED AT 2 1/2 STARS THAT HAVE SHRIMP EVERY DAY JUST LIKE EVERY OTHER HOTEL IN MY 12 PREVIOUS STAYS. THEN WAS EMERG EVACUATED OUT THURSDAT THE 7TH WITH 2 HRS NOTICE AT 2AM TO PACK AND GET TO THE BUS. OTHERE THERE WERE GIVEN THE OPTION TO RIDE OUT THE STORM, WHY NOT GIVEN A CHOICE? WHO KNOWS. THE PLACE WAS A BAD JOKE FROM START TO FINISH.

Nice resort! but needs improvements for a 5 star hotel.

Nice new resort, clean and large facility. updated washrooms were nice. we had the ocean view, but i wouldn't pay extra again for a very far view of ocean. there are quite a few details that could be improved, and we found was lacking compared to even lower star rating hotels. great beach! specially on the west side of resort (oeste) we heard the east side is very rocky. AC is very weak, they have a ceiling fan, but does not help at all. Pillows are uncomfortable. Food was ok. nice variety [... read more], but flavour was lacking. Service at buffet was slow, had to ask for cutlery most of times. Lots of locals on the week we went. all good, except they are not very polite while lining up for buffet and left plastic cups around the pool. straws and cups made it to the pool. can be frustrating. beach towels were not available for two days, so we used same towels, but luckily we brought our own towels. definitely not a 5 star hotel. i would rate as 4 because of the nice building.

Stay away from this resort if possible

This resort is rated as a 5 star resort but that rating is inaccurate. We have been to Cuba 16 times and at best this is 3.5 stars. Staff is rude, facilities are worn and beach is far from hotel. They split our group up between buildings on other ends of the resort. The reception would not answer the phone and when you complained about something, it never got resolved. For example, one room was on the first floor and the sliding door to the room would not lock. There was no security to be seen a [... read more]t the resort. It took 2 days and 4 complaints to have someone look at it. Another room had their in room safe locked so they could not use it - took 5 complaints and 3 days before that was addressed.

Great resort

This was our first trip to Cuba and definitely not our last. From check in to check out the staff were all very nice. We had a few staff who could not speak english at all, and would look at us and smile or point to another staff member who spoke english. My first night there, the shower head fell missing my head(it was a very big heavy shower head). Luckily, there was also a hand held shower head, because they did not come to fix it until the day before I left. We loved the swim up bar.  [... read more]It was great having the snack bar, that you could get something to eat any time of the night. I must say the food was not as bad as some of the reviews. Like every place in the world,you are going to encounter something(food) that you don't like, but you will never go hungry, you will definitely find something you like. You don't have to make reservations for any of the A La carte restaurants(which is great),but be prepared to stand in a line up, unless you go between 6 and 7. The grounds are clean,but sometimes the public washrooms had no toilet paper. We were totally entertained at the club,but it was about a five minute walk off the grounds, at the market place. You can get a drive there on the cart, but be prepared that sometimes the driver does not always comeback to pick you up. Sometimes there is also a cover charge at the club. Make sure you take the double decker bus to the other marketplace. The one thing the hotel needs to improve on is the towels in the room. They were all discoloured. Thank you to Yunie who did a great job on my room everyday and working hard getting me towels that were usable. The beach was great, but somedays you have to go early to get a spot in the shade.(there is a bar on the beach) The nighty entertainment was fantastic, especially the "Michael Jackson" tribute.

Good vacation

I have been to Cuba 6 times now and have to say that this hotel was one of the nicest. The room was modern and the beds and pillows comfortable. The beach as always was breathtaking. I will say that this hotels beach was the longest I've seen. If looking at the water, to the right was the busy section with music and entertainment. To the left, it was quiet. Also, the farther to the left you went the more coral there was. I like a sandy bottom and the small patches of coral did not bother me  [... read more]at all. I go for the beach at it was not a disappointment. The lobby had a quiet upstairs and a lower area where there was nightly live music before the show. The lobby patio was beautiful. The food was just fine! You will not starve. The service was hit and miss. Mike's coffee was fabulous for my speciality coffees and Yuel was very kind. I would like to note that although some of the staff seemed inattentive, I felt that some of the guest were down right rude and bossy. Also, if people want to go to a beautiful resort than do your best to keep it clean. So sad to see empty cups all over. You may be on vacation but it doesn't mean you have to be lazy! Overall, I would gladly go back to this resort.

Not so great

The lobby was pretty and plenty of seating. Actually, the entire resort had plenty of seating and very clean. The grounds were not very tropical, lack of flowers. The walk to the beach felt like I was in the desert rather then on a tropical island. The beach was beautiful and plenty of shade. There was free water sports but the catamaran rides were on first come first serve bases which meant you were just hanging around in the full sun waiting for your turn. Other resorts I have been to yo [... read more]u sign up for a time. The pathway to our building was very narrow so you had to walk single file could not walk beside someone. The buffet was terrible and I am not referring to the quality of the food but the quantity. We were told on our bus ride in that mangos were in season but yet it was almost impossible to get mango at the buffet. The mango tray was always empty so when it did come out people would take huge amounts that left nothing for the others. I felt like platters were always empty but plenty of rice. The service was terrible you had to track someone down to get you a drink while at the buffet dining (and I was tipping). When you did order a drink it would arrive when you pretty much had finished your meal. As far as the rooms they were very nice and spacious, the air conditioning was great no issues there, the showers were large and great water pressure again no issues there. My only complaint about the rooms is cleaning service was not so great. The bed was made, towels changed but beside that nothing else. The two glasses in the bathroom that you use to rinse your mouth when you brush your teeth were not changed once (again I left a trip every day). Sorry one more complaint, at the a la carte's you are offered dessert but yet you can't get a cup of coffee with it?

Ok

Room was not what we thought, CHECK IN TO A DIRTY ROOM had to have room cleaned again. water stains ,water leaking through wall, shower water running into bathroom floor, drains clogged, hotel not kept up at all. A lot of unfinished areas throughout resort! Needs some TLC Second day lost power early in morning for 3 hrs and then noon time lost power again around 11am Oh yeah and bottle if rum that was promissed, did not receive it until last day , and to top it off it was a 300ML. Bottle Ve [... read more]ry disappointed! House keepers done their best Beach was amazing though

Good experience!

Beautiful beach and pools, great staff and service, good food especially at the restaurants, good entertainment. My family had a pleasant experience. I would recommend this place to others. Would try privilege next time.

VERY CLEAN NICE RESORT

We stayed at Ocean Casa Delma from July 14- July 21. Flying with Cubana air was very good experience. They are on time. The pilots are skillful we had smooth landings. Good services on flight, and they provided foods with sandwiches, salads, and little desserts with drinks. We found the foods and drink were good enough, better than other airlines. The planes are not new, but have extra legging. The bus ride to resort back and forth were good, with the pleasant tourguides gave us some int [... read more]eresting information and fun. We stayed at building 18, it was excellent location, close to 24 hr snack bar, swimming pool, and a little walk to lobby and buffet restaurant, also to the beach. We ate most of the times at the buffet. The foods were not really good on the first day, then getting better with very tasty caramel flan cake, mango fruits, guavas and salad, tomatoes...etc then on the last couple of days, it turned back to the not very good foods, just like they changed the chief cook or something. Foods were refilled fast, and have a lot. They said Cuba is the third world country, but I found they have enough meats like pork, chicken, beef, seafoods, veggie, garlic, onion...etc to make lots of good tasty meals, it is just the matter of skills of the cooks. They can make beef balls for pasta or good soups from a chewy beef, or ground pork can be made springrolls or other Asian dishes and soups...etc, just search the recipes on youtube or internet. The breakfast is always nice with lots of selections. Lunch and dinner are almost the same. They have a seafoods night with crabs, shrimps,and squids...that was nice. The shrimps were a good treat. We tried the Italian a la carte, as it was recommended. The service was so slow, we were there from 6 PM( walk-in, doesn't need appointment), then left at 8:30PM with the half empy stomach ! we just ordered the main dishes, the small portion of shrimps rice is unbelievable! too little, and the beef sirloin was chewy, chewy !! So we didn't bother to try other restaurants. Shout out to Victor, Danny and a nice girl, sorry I forgot her name at the buffet. They gave us very nice services. The room are very clean, the water pressure is excellent, the maid did good job. The entertainment were good, specially the Michael Jackson show, excellent. The Broadway show was also nice, with the two singers and very talented dancers. There was a disco and bowling at the market. You can walk there for 10 mins. or walk a few minutes to the right from the beach, where they are doing construction... The gardens need time to mature. The lobby is beautiful. The front desk provided good services, and good manner. My brother also mention the tennis handsome guy, who spent time to play with him every morning. The beach is beautiful, you can see fishes without snorkeling. a bit coral...again like other Cayo Santa Maria hotels, the beach is very narrow where there is not much sand. This hotel is a good choice, that 's why it is always crowded. We had good time. Thank you Ocean Casa Delma ! We would like to recommend it to family and friends.

Good times were had by all

This hotel met and surpassed our expectations. The rooms we had were clean well stocked with water and beer. The staff was friendly interactive and always had a smile for you. The beach was absolutely amazing. The water was beautiful and very refreshing everyday. The beach bar was also located perfectly to have your favourite beverage on the beach. The food was good but repetitive as the selections did not really change from lunch to dinner nor day to day. The onsite restaurants were good and  [... read more]provided a decent meal.

Great Resort with some minor kinks

Overall it was an excellent second stay at the resort. There was always something to eat, the employees were fabulous, coffee was great, pools were clean, drinks were plentiful, beach was terrific, rooms were clean and had what we needed, etc. This was our second stay at the resort (First - April 2016). We did expect the resort to be fully operational and have its kinks worked out by now. Although that was not the case there was nothing that was really a deal breaker. (1) They do need a [... read more]dditional waste bins at the beach as people are slobs and lazy so there are cups, straws and cigarette butts all over the beach area. (2) Better lighting is needed along the pathways at night. (3) If you are staying in the east wing of the hotel with a stroller and want to get to the reception floor of the main building it is a long walk around the entire building or you have to carry it up the stairs which becomes quite a chore. They are in the process of installing an elevator which will take care of this. (4) Showers in the room do not drain and water pools inside and also the rainfall shower sprays up at the ceiling as well as down.....defective head. All minor things but all items that should be addressed. Likely will not return. Not because of the hotel but the location is just too isolated and we like to get off of the resorts as well.

Ocean Casa del Mar

Not impressed. Had to complain many times in order to get what we paid for. First day gave us rooms that were in totally different bungalows with my mom who was helping to look after our baby even though we requested to be in same building. They had available, but didn't want to bother. Next day problem fixed after many visits to customer service office. Broken window, balcony sliding door not locking and main electrical breaker trips when you close sliding door. Problems fixed partially on the  [... read more]3rd day after many visits to office and tips given. Did not give us bottled water when we asked for after one of our family members got sick (gave us the run around). Pools are nice. Beach is very nice except a lot of rocks, too far from rooms, it's narrow. Food is OK, but keeps repeating and many leftovers keep getting served over and over. Hotel over all looks very nice, but design not practical. Very tiny store for souvenirs. No toilets on beach and no snack bar on beach. Staff, there are some very nice people, but there are also many who don't care, ignore you and their English is terrible. Entertainment is not that good, lasts 45 min and most of the time one lady sings opera style. A couple of years ago we had a really good experience at the formerly Eurostars hotel (now Golden Tulip).

Very nice resort!

We just came back from a week vacation at Ocean Casa. It is a very modern new looking resort. We had a little mishap with the bathroom plumbing the minute we arrived but were quickly moved to another even better room. The resort is small enough that you don't have worry about walking a lot but if you do need a drive there is always someone to help you out. Food...it is cuba after all so have an open mind. We personally always found something tasty to eat and since it was a mango season...they we [... read more]re to die for😉. The pool area is nice and clean with a swim up bar and a wonderful bartender. Beach is on the narrow side but super clean and you will always find a shaded place. Do try the Mike's cafe...Louise especially great and helpful making our cappuccinos grand and iced cappuccinos for both our girls. Cleaning staff (Yani) did a great job. We never had to worry about anything being stolen from our room or even from the beach as some other people wrote in reviews. We find Cubans very friendly and always helpful which made our stay at his hotel memorable. For sure we will go back next year 😁

In progress

Sanitation needs improvement. Male washrooms smell like urine. The mop water buckets have no ringers.Cleaners using rags as mop heads.Cleaners ringing out the rags with bare hands and not washing their hands afterwards. Rooms don't contain sharps container.Forced to dispose razors, needles and other sharps into garbage cans. Hotel understaffed during low season. Implement these recommendations and the hotel will be rated a four star.

Ok resort

The hotel overall is okay. The grounds seem like a work in progress. The food is woefully short of seasoning and sometimes salty or lack of salt. Seasonings like onion, escallion, thyme, scotch bonnet pepper, pimento, garlic, ginger in various combinations can make a meal fit for a king. The entertainment is elementary, I suggest you get a few professionals sometimes. English is the world's third largest language so your program manager should ensure the programs are diverse. The staff are exce [... read more]llent,well mannered and classy. The rooms are clean ,neat and well arranged.

Nice but not trained for the job

Horrible greedy staff got. My stuff stolen from my room never again 2weeks of he'll boring nothing to do but go to the beach and sleep everyone was drunk most of the time Cuba I won't go back sadly it was my worse trip

Great Resort

We stayed at Ocean Casa del Mar from June 3-10, 2017. The resort was beautiful and clean. The staff were all wonderful and nice and the beach was amazing! We went during their low season which was great because there were no crowds. The food was good and the service impeccable. My kids loved the kids club and the cool towel characters our housekeeping made for us each day. I would definately recommend this resort.

Good resort!!

The hotel is modern and comfortable. The beach just a little narrow. Excellent customers service!! Employees very friendly and helpful. About the food, no great experience... But the rest was good. I would recommend it.

Fantastic Resort but Never book through Hola Sun....

April 29 - May 6....was the plan.....This resort was beautiful and the staff were fantastic. The food was actually very good by any standards, the best in Cuba . We ate mostly at the a la carte and they were all good (Origami was the best). The beach was very nice and not overly busy. We could always find a pergola for shade. The pools were clean and allot of fun. We went to the east pool and it was great . Shout out to Yunior at the bar. we had fun throwing the ball around and dancing to the mu [... read more]sic. The Animation team was excellent, friendly and kept everyone engaged. NOW FOR THE BAD NEWS...Unfortunately we were delayed in Toronto due to "The" Airline Captain being sick so the airplane was delayed 17 hours. We had absolutely NO explanation from Hola Sun. They sent a third party company to deal with all of us. They just kept telling us we would be compensated for missing our time in Cuba... Now 5 weeks later I received a cheque for $55...a ridiculous insult....even after pushing back saying it cost me more than that per day and we only received 6 of the 7 days we paid for. I guess they never want my business again. We put absolutely no blame on the Resort and would highly recommend it as a vacation destiny...just DO NOT BOOK THROUGH HOLA SUN.

We will be back, AMAZING resort!

We travelled May 16 to May 23, 2017. We were 1 adult and 3 kids aged 9, 15, 16 and all of us had a super vacation! The bus ride to the resort took about 1.5 hours however I thought it went by quickly. Our guide was great and they gave plenty of information about the towns we were driving through, hear some history and it gave the kids a chance to see how other schools and homes were. I looked at it as a free excursion. Check in was easy and fast. The staff were all great! The only staff  [... read more]that I may suggest needed new positions at the resort were the 2 female servers in the snack bar area. Their English was not there, not even a little bit. It made it very hard to order food as it was not a buffet. All the other staff had fairly good English. The activities staff/Entertainment Staff were FANTASTIC with adults and kids! The resort is very large but kept very well. If anyone has mobility issues this resort may not be for you however the bell boys were super and they drive you around on golf carts if you need it. The food was great for Cuba, my 9 year old is a VERY picky eater and even she enjoyed the food she selected. We did bring some snack items just in case. The hotel didn't give facecloths, I am glad we brought our own. The room was clean and very modern. The house keepers were on their game for sure. We did have an issue with the shower head being kinda crappy but once we figured out how to use the handle part we had no further issues. The beach was super! It is a smaller beach especially when the tides are changing (every 6 hours) but it was stunning!! There was always chairs available and shade huts if you wanted them. We did some excursions...... The Catamaran tour was well worth the 89 CUC! It has 2 snorkelling stops, open bar, lunch, snack, dolphin interaction and show, and the crew were great! The jeep safari was fun but it did have moments that dragged on. The teens did the speed boat tour twice as they really enjoyed it or maybe cause they were able to drive the boats alone lol. We will be back, we had a super time!