Dhawa Cayo Santa Maria: Good Resort for Cuba

Good resort for Cuba. Stayed Dec 26 - Jan 2. It is a quieter resort not one to go to for parties. The resort itself was clean, rooms were clean and the staff did their best to accommodate our large group. The food overall exceeded my expectations for what I normally expect when I go to Cuba. Breakfast was the best with lots of options. The beach was nice and the water was very clear. There were lots of beach chairs and space, we didn't have to fight for chairs even during the busiest day [... read more]s. The resort was very laid back and it was great that my cousins of all ages could go dance in the disco. We were able to all stay out late at night without the kids under 18 having to go to bed early. The lobby bar is the best, the bartenders make some amazing drinks. Try the cold coffee with coconut liquor. Cons: some food safety practices were questionable to me ie. using the same utensil to grab different types of raw meat and then cook them. The Cubans on the resort were treated with extreme priority over tourists. In some cases, I was completely ignored for extended periods until all the Cubans were served. The activities also need to be improved even though the workers were great and engaging (Yo-Yo is the best he was a lot of fun) it was the exact same thing almost everyday. The shows were also extremely lacking I left half way through the majority of them.

Iberostar Selection Ensenachos: Nice resort, bug tons of bugs in rooms

Nice resort, friendly staff. Tons of small bugs that bite all around the resort, including in the rooms and in the beds. We left with our entire body covered with bites, to the point it was painful and could not sleep. We brought this up to the management a few times and they told us that they would change out bedding/mattresses and spray the room for bugs. This never happened and the bugs just got worse as the week went on. This turned which should have been a fun vacation into a terrible o [... read more]ne.

Hotel Roc Casa del Mar: Great family vacation!

Initial impressions-arriving:local transport company did a great job getting our group of 12 to the hotel. The ride was under 2 hours but it was interesting to see the Cuban towns and the guide gave historical information as we drove through. The lobby of the resort was beautiful and airy with a direct view right through to the ocean. We were greeted with drinks and friendly staff. Check-in went as quickly and efficiently as possible. A bellboy drove our luggage and group right to our bungalow ( [... read more]#11). When it was discovered we needed 2 beds and not one king in one of the rooms, the staff quickly brought another bed into the room. The resort-rooms are clean, modern, fridge stocked with water, soda, beer daily. The a/c, water pressure in shower, toilet all functioned normally. There is only one 110V outlet in the bathroom. There is a safe and TV with a fee English channels to manage. Our porch door had trouble locking. Bungalow 11 was right next to the more quiet pool which was perfect for us. It was about a 5 minute walk to the beach and less to the main lobby/buffet. Beach was beautiful. Not sure if it is a result of the hurricane, but there was enough hard pieces of coral in the water that we had to be careful and a lot of sharp shells in the sand. Ok if you are slowly walking but had to be super careful when we were active on the beach. Swim shoes would have helped. Never had trouble finding beach chairs. There was always a staff employee there to help us out to pull out chairs and clean them off. The catamaran ride was fantastic but it was too windy for the kayaks and pedalo. There are 3 access sites with a bar and shower at each one. We brought our own nerf football , frisbee, and volleyball if you are looking to do something on the beach. There is a volleyball net with organized game daily. We spent more time at the quiet pool but the pool with activity staff was fun if that is what you are in the mood for. There are a few lounging beds available at both. Massage for 30 Cuc x 30 minutes was also available. Food-was maybe preparing for the worst but I really liked the food. There was something for everyone. Some things were more to my taste than others but definitely nothing I would complain about when there was so much selection. Seafood/fish, pasta, pizza, grilled meats sections as well at lunch and supper. Omelette, pancake or waffle at breakfast. The wait staff were fantastic-Leidy; Liudmila, Daily, and Yonky (sp?) were our servers for the week. So attentive, knew what drinks we liked to have with meals-super friendly. Nightly shows were okay. We didn’t watch every night. The NYE celebration was fantastic. Buffet was over the top with a live band playing all night. The coffee bar was great-so much choice with a few snacks. Open 24 hr. Bars were great too but not our main focus. Only major complaint was the amount of “sand flea” or “gnat” bites we got!! Home x 2 days and almost getting worse reaction now. Should have tried bug spray but didn’t even know I was getting bitten until it was too late. On the way home we paid for VIP room which was worth it as we were a large group. Bar, snacks, sandwiches, a/c, wifi card, comfortable chairs for the 3 hr wait at Santa Clara airport was all included. Thanks to Melissa for all our help booking the trip! If I knew that bug spray would help avoid the bites in the future I would definitely recommend!

Hotel Roc Casa del Mar: very clean , open and spacious

Hotel is run well.Grounds can improve with more care.Public areas are clean and tidy.Rooms are good and the dining areas are very well maintained and it is a joy to meet the friendly staff swerving the food. Frying pans for making eggs are a disaster and must be changed to steal vessels. soiled dishes with left over food should be taken away to a place out of the area behind close doors removing the waste food into bags.This should not be with in sight of people eating food or anywhere in th [... read more]e dining area

Iberostar Selection Ensenachos: Beautiful resort limited service

This is a great place, beautiful beaches, nice to very nice rooms rather secluded by vegetation even after the hurricane. They did a great effort to rebuilt everything on time and they nearly made it. Recommended for families, but there are two sections for adults only. This place has lots of potential, but is limited by its staff or rather by the limitations on their staff. Misinformation, good will sometimes, staff training not optimal (this is supposed to be a top hotel). We were staying in t [... read more]he most expensive part of the hotel and we enjoyed it very much apart for the contradictions and misunderstandings of the staff. However: it is very enjoyable.

Iberostar Selection Ensenachos: Best resort and beach

This resort is clean and comfortable. The staff are professional and always try to be friendly without being pushy. The food is fine. The two beaches are perfect if you like white fine sand. You are safe on this resort. There were many young families with children, but a children area and an adult area so everyone can be happy and not worry about the other.

Memories Paraiso: Beautiful grounds and beach

Despite tge damage caused by the tornado this is a beautiful resort. I could find no real fault with the facilities outside though the room I was given was not what I had booked or paid for. The front desk and management are rude abd highly offensive to visitors. Thankfully this attitude does not carry over to the rest of the staff in the hotel who are wonderful. Do not waste your miney on the Duamond Club since they provide no service to Paraiso.

Dhawa Cayo Santa Maria: All VIP experience without VIP.

Our recent visit to Dhawa resort exceeded all our expectations. The resort was immaculately clean, food excellent, service very friendly, welcoming and always available, entertainment great full of fantastic musicians and dancers, beach beautiful and clean. In future, we might not even look for any other place. I would recommend the resort in a heartbeat. Thank you Dhawa for a wonderful vacation.

Hotel Roc Casa del Mar: Amazing beach and pool area

If you are looking for a resort with a fantastic beach and pool area this is the one. Food was better than anticipated. Lots of variety. Rooms need an update. Staff friendly. No complaints. Never seen water so clear and blue.

Iberostar Selection Ensenachos: Very good service

Beach, food and service was very good. Pool needed more cleaning. Had lots of fun doing the activities. If you like sea food, you will love the buffet. Christmas celebrations was excellent. My whole family had fun. We went 2 times in this resort and we would definitely go again.

Grand Memories Santa Maria: Great resort

Very clean resort, spacious rooms, staff is awesome, they make sure that you have a good time, very good service. The beach is amazing, the staff on the beach are incredible. The food was fine. I would go back anytime!!

Gran Muthu Cayo Santa Maria: 3.5-4*

The grounds were nice, rooms need updating. Food was good. Staff was very friendly. Bugs were bad. Bring bug juice. Pool needs repairs. The 90 min bus ride is a bit too much with kids. To each there own.

Sanctuary at Grand Memories Santa Maria: Amazing butler's

Sanctuary section makes vacation more intimate without sacrificing the amenities of a large resort . Rooms were spacious and beds comfortable. Maids did an excellent job and always left towel sculptures. Food was good for Cubian enjoyed the Itian restaurant and International restaurants Beach was powder soft white sands and due to a breeze there were always waves the 12 days we were there. Most of the time were carts available to take you where you wanted to go including the market. Ne [... read more]gative mosquitoes and no see ems

Hotel Roc Casa del Mar: Great resort

The most enjoyable part of the resort was the hotel staff -friendly, kind, easy to communicate with pleasant to be around. The resort itself is impressive with a beautiful lobby, clean pool, and gorgeous beach! The food was quite good at the buffet although after a week a little more variety would have been appreciated in the cold salad selection. The Christmas dinner was fantastic with fresh crab, shrimp and all the lobster you could eat- Absolutely amazing. Again, the wait staff and rest o [... read more]f the staff were very kind!

Melia Las Dunas: Family resort

Room was infested with bugs however hotel staff were accommodating and moved us to another room! Rooms would benefit from caulking around walls and tubs to prevent bugs. Sink drains needed to be unclogged due to poor drainage from hair in drains. Beach is well kept and beautiful. Staff are very attentive and friendly. Buffet was far better than the dining options! Good variety in buffet; food was aweful ...not very tasty but had lots of variety. Pool was beautiful and well maintained. Gardeners  [... read more]did a lovely job with flowers and cut us fresh coconuts! There was daily entertainment. Good resort for a family with young children

Sol Cayo Santa Maria: A nice Christmas getaway

The hotel was just fine recovering from a hurricane a few months ago. The big problem for everyone was the bugs I believe sandflies. We were all suffering from bites and itching afterward even though purchasing bug spray it was extremely uncomfortable but not sure how u would control that. We had to change rooms upon arrival but once that was done all was well. Beautiful beach great weather service was good!

Sol Cayo Santa Maria: Amazing resort

Sol Cayo Santa Maria the hotel is amazing, i like the second floor rooms. The room services are great, our maid was really nice and cleaning the rooms on time everday. The resort is beautiful and clean. All the workers in the resort are extermely nice. The entertainer of the resort was amazing and the dancer performers were arranging wonderful shows every night. Overall, it was a great experience.

Sanctuary at Grand Memories Santa Maria: Great Resort

This adult-only hotel was clean and spacious and the landscape was lovely. The food was good and plentiful. The staff was wonderful! They were so friendly and helpful and went out of their way to ensure that guests were having a great time. It is about a 2 hour bus ride from the hotel. However, the tour company makes it as enjoyable as they can. The bus was comfortable and the guide provided us with information about the area so it didn't seem so long. Suggestion: Bring deep woods bu [... read more]g spray, afterbite and/or calamine lotion. The one morning I forgot to put it on, I was bitten by the sand fleas and/or mosquitos.

Valentin Perla Blanca: Buyer beware - especially females!!

We returned from Perla Blanca mid December 2017. Although we enjoyed some sunshine, the stunning views from all angles of the resort, and the really great options for spending time at the beach and outdoor pools, we were overall disappointed with our stay. Some of the staff were exceptional, especially Maria at the public relations desk, and Eriel who lent his staff to play pool with us. They did their best to accommodate dietary needs and, during the daytime, make the experience great. However, [... read more] others were of a predatory nature and as a female this was the first time (in many years of travelling the world) that I was relieved to not be travelling alone for safety reasons. Even with my husband there I still found myself being cautious about how much I drank in their presence. This included some (not all) of the entertainment staff. It was disturbing that the resort allowed these staff, with this clear intention, around unsupervised at night (some working, some dressed in plain clothes) to literally find and escort heavily intoxicated females down to the beach. Specifically they targeted the 24 hour snack bar after the disco. There was no security to assist these girls, nor to assist when the excessively partying guests woke up the entire resort at all hours of the night. The resort also ran out of beer for 2.5 days leading to a whole other level of drunken guests and unsafe conditions. We were also aware of sexual assaults occurring to female guests by staff during the day – what we heard were rumours (not directly from the victims), but even the amount and degree of these rumours is not something that we’ve experienced at any other resort. Women we met travelling in pairs reported unwanted and aggressive/crude advances by the staff, and being filmed by other guests without any security/staff available to request assistance. An example of adding to this overall sexually aggressive culture, the entertainment staff hosted a “rap battle” and when the guests were clearly going too far with racist and derogatory lyrics that would make hardened criminals blush, they allowed it to progress to the point of damaged equipment (mic drop in the pool) and concern for guest safety (challenger in the rap battle). We had originally selected this resort based on reviews talking about the fun drinking and partying conditions, but this felt more like an unsupervised college hazing gone wrong. When going to Cuba there are certain expectations, including poor quality of food. Having been to Cuba several times we were aware of this. The food there was inconsistent. Some of the a la carts were amazing, but generally the food was a struggle. They are unable to accommodate a vegan or vegetarian, and often put meat in things like chickpeas that could’ve made the difference. They did agree to make special meals, but lack the knowledge about variety and food needs as every meal consisted of potatoes and tomatoes so we finally took our chances at the buffet. We’re used to some degree of this and always bring supplementary food as vegan/vegetarians, but the challenges there were beyond necessary (literally meat/cheese in every dish). We appreciated their attempts, but if you do have any dietary requirements this may not be a good fit – however I did lose several pounds for the first time ever on vacation! Also, as per the usual with Cuba, the beds/pillows were extremely uncomfortable. Although we recognize that they are doing their best to recover from the hurricanes, we were unable to close our patio door and use the air conditioning due to the excessive moldy smell. On the plus, the shower was fantastic. The beach was amazing and stretched for quite a distance which allowed for runs/walks along the water. We heard that it had changed a lot since the hurricanes but there was still lots of beach to enjoy. The pools were also fun – offering shallower areas to walk around. We spent most of our time at the pool bar. The staff there were great (except for ignoring a dangerously slippery area on the pool deck which cause several guests to fall until they finally agreed to address the issue days into our stay). Despite the huge potential of this resort we will not return primarily because of the safety issues, and also because of the food.

Melia Cayo Santa Maria: Melia cayo santa Maria

beautiful love to return here again and again, people are amazing, love it can't wait to return😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxcxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx