Valentin Perla Blanca: Amazing resort!

Just got back from a weeks stay and we loved it! The hotel was nice, very clean and the beach was spectacular! The drinks were cold and the bartenders were polite. Our favourite were the two at the beach bar. Very nice! The food wasn't too bad, you get used to it after a couple days haha. Andy helped us to our room the first night and treated us very well all week. Brought us souvenirs and even invited us to his home next time we come. We will miss him! We would definitely return to this resort

Melia Buenavista: Best resort in Cuba!

Everything about Melia Buenavista is exceptional. It's a smaller luxury resort that has everything covered. No extra charges at all unless you buy extra spa treatments or a few other packages but they are very clear. The food is above par for Cuba and room service is amazing. The staff is absolutely what makes this place. They go above and beyond at all times. Our butler was Ramone, and he was the nicest, most helpful person you could imagine. He took care of everything and answered any and all  [... read more]questions we had. When we arrived Ramone was our butler, when we left he was my brother. Amazing experience from beginning to end. I only wish we could have stayed longer.

Valentin Perla Blanca Paraiso: Beautiful Resort, Friendly Staff

The resort grounds were beautiful, the beach was a little rocky in places but goes on forever. The staff were great for the most part and we made friends with many of them. The food was average, what you would expect from a Cuban resort, but the drinks were very good. The privilege package was a little bit of a disappointment, there are really no "private" beach areas for you and the privilege bar is cold and no one goes in there. The lobster dinner that was included was amazing though and the m [... read more]assage was relaxing (though would have been nicer in the outside massage area and not in a hotel room). It's unfortunate there is no longer a disco as there isn't much else to do in the evenings there after the entertainment is done.

Valentin Perla Blanca: Amazing all a round !

We totally enjoyed our vacation at this resort. The service was excellent are room was great just what I ordered,food was great as well are Lobster dinner was to die for, the gardens are still maturing and I'm sure once they take the gardens will be beautiful garden, also had some challenges getting a spot on the BEACH : ( and when the tided comes in it's was gone :( but the pool area was always a good time with a lovely snack bar close by and waiters were ready to take your order for that ne [... read more]xt mojito : ) Truly was a great time and we will be going back Carol & Terry

Valentin Perla Blanca Paraiso: Best vacation spot to go and relax without kids.

First and foremost resort was beautiful relaxing lots of fun people were nice. There were lots of pools to go in ocean was clear blue white sand amazing. For sure there's lots of walking but nice there are golf cars to get around but sure is nice to walk. Food was great buffet is always safe restaurants French Italian Spanish was the best. Would I go back definitely will go back five stars for us.

Playa Cayo Santa Maria: Beautiful Beach, Wonderful People!

I am just back from a week at Playa Cayo Santa Maria and really enjoyed my time there. The beach is gorgeous though for those with any mobility disability it would be a little challenging to navigate to the water due to a rocky ledge though with some assistance can be done. The staff at the resort were friendly and language was rarely a barrier to service. The buffet was best at breakfast but you could always find something you would enjoy any time. The a la carte restaurants were ok but the [... read more] real gem was the new Cuban restaurant La Bodegueta (sp?). For a small fee (5 pesos) you were treated to a delicious Cuban meal with excellent wine and the best rum selection on the resort. Serguei and Roinel were welcoming and enthusiastic and it really became our chosen spot to begin and end each evening. Typical of Cuba the rooms were basic and you could nitpick the little things that need repair or refresh but all that fades away with all the enjoyment you get from finding your favourite spot at the beach, a few rum drinks or more and your preferred pool to end the afternoon in. I was there as a single traveller meeting friends but with a few days on my own and I always felt safe and comfortable.

Iberostar Selection Ensenachos: Beautiful Resort!

We stayed at Iberostar Ensenachos for a week in May 2017. Beautiful hotel and facilities. Staff were AMAZING! Great food. Only suggestions would be to have a bit more variety throughout the week (e.g. themed meals) but the food was wonderful. The beaches are AMAZING - most beautiful I've ever seen. We loved being able to snorkel right off the beach. We took the double decker bus to the nearby artisan market - lots of variety and fun trip.

Iberostar Selection Ensenachos: Great family resort!

Simply put... Large rooms, including walk in closet, defined entry way (handy for beach toys, sand shoes etc), glass shower with consistent hot water and good pressure Beautifully kept grounds, but paths are dark so bring a flashlight for the evenings Lots of birds, geckos, crabs and fish to feed in the ocean Lots of walking - main buffet is near lobby, which BTW only has one bar for a significant area Pool grill is very slow and often runs out of food Lots of fish/ seafood overall Buffet [... read more] has lots of food, but is the same everyday. No theme nights. Lines for pasta, fresh meat and omelets are very long Air conditioning in restaurants is hit or miss The beaches are unreal. Take the time to go to ensenachos beach, it is stunning - there is a bar there also but the grill only has burgers and they are not very good Staff are terrific There are no vendors at this resort so if you want a souvenir take the double decker bus to La Estrella in Santa Maria ($2 pp) or a private taxi. Pools are great. Kids loved the splash pad. Staff serve drinks around the pool. Beach grill is ok.

Melia Cayo Santa Maria: We'll be back!

This was our third time at Melia Cayo Santa Maria and it has improved so much since the first time we visited. Cleanliness, food, staff, entertainment has all gotten better. Check-in was super fast. Room was ready before check-in which was helpful. They had run out of bracelets but we never ended up going back to get one. I rather not have a bracelet anyway. I don't' particularly like the tan it leaves. We were there for 7 days in April and 6 out of the 7 days the weather was beautiful. I  [... read more]have to say the most improved is the food. I've never eaten at the restaurants but the buffet had so much more this time. The crepe station was fabulous and a great addition. The food seemed fresh and flavorful and there was so much more fruit this time. The mangoes were so good. The ranchon is my favorite. I always had their Cuban plate with a glass of vino. Those servers work so hard and I appreciated how friendly they were with us. The BBQ meat was delicious too. They also could accommodate my friend who is a vegetarian so that was great. The snack bar was also very good. I noticed an addition of hot dogs which was good. Rooms were great as always. So much room and the bathroom is big enough for 2-3 girls getting ready for a night. The beds were comfortable. Fridge and room was always stocked and cleaned. Always good water pressure and hot water. Rooms are one of the highlights of the hotel. So much space to feel at home for the week. The beach has always been the nicest I've ever seen. So clean, so blue and so warm. The beach is a good size. Always someone to help you find and clean a beach chair. Always somone to take your drink order. Compact enough where you don't feel overwhelmed by people on the beach but enough so that you feel like you're in all the action. The pools were nice too. I like that this hotel is not packed with people and there is a varied age group. I like the mid sized resorts and that is what Melia is. The grounds are beautiful. The renovations are really nice and the lobby has such a good vibe and especially at night when you can enjoy a coffee or drink. Or on a rainy day when there are dance lessons happening. There is always something going on there. I love that there is a store on the hotel grounds as well as between Melia Cayo Santa Maria and Melia Las Dunas. Easy to get a taxi and to book excursions. I think that also the reason I keep coming back and I have friends who have returned many times is because of the entertainment and its staff. It's unlike I have ever seen. I have been to many resorts in many different countries as well as Cuba and I have never seen an entertainment team work so hard. They truly are amazing ande always have something going on for us. They are up so early preparing for the day. Carrying out all sorts of activities which are so fun. I now know how to dance salsa! They don't push you to participate but they are so inviting which makes you really want to get up and dance. They always have a smile. Always so friendly. They work all the way into the night and have these amazing shows. Then some of them accompany you to the disco where the fun goes into the wee hours of the night and then they are back at it bright and early. I don't know how they do it!! I have so much respect for them. They make your trip so entertaining and fun that I can't say enough positive things about all of them. Especially Rey and Ernesto! Each time I've been there they both have been so great and it makes you feel so welcomed that you want to return to see your Cuban friends. Thank you to both of them and the entire entertainment team for such a fun week! Our favorite part of the week was the Carnival on Tuesday night. That was SO much fun!! We love Cuba and will keep on coming back. We've been to so many parts of Cuba and love every single part of the county. It hasn't lost its authenticity or its beauty. Until next time Cuba and Melia Cayo Santa Maria. We will miss you but can't wait until we return again. All of it's improvements are appreciated and well worth the price. See you soon!

Hotel Roc Casa del Mar: Decent resort

My fiancé and I were here last summer and loved it. We brought our family last week and noticed a lot had gone downhill - service was poor, grounds not kept up properly, our room keys wouldn't work on a daily basis, snack bar selection and service was atrocious. Two of the snack bar waitresses were downright rude and the buffet wait staff did not offer drinks nearly enough- my four year old would be done eating his meal and still not have a cup of water offered to him. A la carte restaurant by  [... read more]the beach only offered to privelige customers - not happy about that. We had reserved a table for 13 at another a la carte and they gave our table away and ended up seating us at different tables. Overall beach and pools were great but service so terrible we will not be returning

Hotel Roc Casa del Mar: Only Fair!

The resort was only average...it was too big with not enough staff. The rooms were clean and maid staff were good, however they often ran out of clean towels so you could go days without any fresh linen. Customer service was very poor. We asked to be in a room in the same block as our friends and both our travel agent and transit rep requested it...out transat rep even wrote us a note indicating that it was all arranged, however when we checked in they did now acknowledge knowing anything about  [... read more]it and put us at the opposite end of the resort. There are no reservations for the a la carte restaurants so you can wait upwards of an hour or be told there was simply no room. You may be served quickly and efficiently or wait hours for a meal. The buffet was terrible, not enough staff with very long wait times for food. We were upgraded to the privilege section which meant we could have breakfast and lunch in a separate restaurant...the food was good there and the service excellent even though there were only 2 staff working...Rachel and Desriel. They were awesome! They had a wonderful coffee bar and the beach was beautiful. Many people were taking towels and chairs on the beach that others had reserved in the mornings so don't count on that working. Most days you could not get a new beach towel as they ran out of laundered ones. The resort would be great if there were enough staff and supplies for them. I would not go back nor would I recommend this resort to others.

Hotel Roc Casa del Mar: 3 star at best

DONOT pay for privilege at this resort it is not worth the upgrade! This resort was a big disappointment. We had 6 rooms with everyone that we travelled with! To start we all had to get our key cards reactivated every single day for every single room and no security check to see if we were actually from that room. Our room was missing ceiling tiles and we could see the lovely pipes and wires. We were on the main level, there was no lock on the sliding door and when we requested it be fixed the f [... read more]ront desk lady responded in Spanish. The food was disgusting and every person out of 13 people were sick atleast one day. I had wire in one of my meals! The Air Canada rep Levan was useless and did not want to help at all. The pool we found metal springs, the grates at the bottom of the pool were missing and most chairs were broken. We saw animacion driving around in there little golf cart but never saw them do anything. We travelled to this resort specifically because my brother was there last year and they could not believe how quickly this resort went downhill! On a positive note the beach was beautiful To sum it up if you like easy entrance to your room and food poisoning stay here!

Resonance Blu Santa Maria: Very Dated

Although the beach is georgous this resort is dated. Only half of the resort is operational so you would think that the side that was open would be in better shape. Most of the public washrooms had at least 2 stalls out of order. More then once the public washrooms had no running water at all. Buffet was very repetitive and sometimes made you wonder if food was being recycled. Security at this resort was non exsistant. This made traveling with teenagers very stressful. The lighting at  [... read more]night on the pathways was very scares and made it difficult to navigate in the dark. More Signage is needed for sure as you can become lost quite easily. Overall if you are going for a cheap getaway and the beach is what you are looking for the this is the place.

Melia Las Dunas: that was last year

considering that we we where there 3 years in the row this time the food end the sea 5 star..... all the rest was a resort of 2 stars with out joking. sample.... the water in the room was cold for a couple days ,no toilet paper in the washrooms. water was dripping from the ceiling in the rooms...most of the plumbing was not working properly... the resort that was good... today is terrible.and I want to stop here

Sanctuary at Grand Memories Santa Maria: Great Improvements!

We have been to this resort twice previously when it was Memories Azul. This year we stayed at the Sanctuary (adults only) and really enjoyed it. The renovations are nice (refreshed furniture, paint etc...). We are beach people so that is the star attraction for this resort. We have walked the Beach from Memories all the way to the Melia Buenavista and Memories has the BEST BEACH! The grounds are lovely and well kept (as always). The service is amazing! The Butler service is a nice additi [... read more]on as is the Sanctuary lounge/buffet area (previously known as Route 66).

Hotel Roc Casa del Mar: Great beach, resort not so much

Bartenders and drinks were good, awesome cappuccino and coffee. Resort fairly new and modern, but not very clean. Trash rarely picked up off the ground by staff. Straws and cups floating around the pools regularly. Food not so great, buffet loud, dirty and not very tasty(even by cuban standards). Not very many activities day or night - lots on the activity board but not much of it actually happened. Would not go back. (First time I have felt that way about a resort)

Valentin Perla Blanca: Great But No Wow Factor

While we did have a great time while at the Valentin Perla Blanca, for some reason that we really can't pinpoint, we would not go back. We were Silver Privilege Guests that I think was worth the little bit extra you pay and stayed on the activities pool side, which we were very happy with. We thought our room was great, the resort layout was great, the pool was great, the staff was great in all respects (friendly, service and accommodating) including English speaking upon initial interaction ( [... read more]here's a shout out to David in the Lobby Bar who was amazing!) , the 1 show that we saw was surprisingly the best out of all resorts we have stayed at previously in various destinations (great dancers in sync), even the food was the best we've had in Cuba (no complaints at all - a la cartes were great) and we've been to other areas of Cuba. But we did find the beach to be less than desirable, though the ocean was beautiful to look at and enjoy while in it, the beach itself was just unkempt and too narrow with not enough palapa options with broken lounge chairs just thrown about. You have to walk a bit to get to a nice area and we are just used to walking driectly on the beach and having it be pristine. The excuses we got for lack of wireless internet were a joke despite it being part of our paid package that we would get 1 hour wifi each day but didn't get our connection cards until the 4th day there. We just needed a couple of moments to connect, then move on. When we were tired of wasting our time waiting in long lines each day only to be told "no internet today" and not given the wifi cards, we finally complained to the Privilege Lounge Manager who physically got us our cards, but we never were able to connect, though guests who already had cards did get connected later each day. They should not offer wifi in a package deal! And although the resort is only 3 years old, it was very much in need of repair in various areas and we didn't see a lot of working staff dealing with these ongoing issues to keep it looking like a 4+ star resort. All said in done, you make your holiday what it is, and don't let minor inconveniences put a damper on things. We had a great time. Weather was perfect. We had fun. And that's really all we could ask for!

Melia Las Dunas: Such a great vacation!

Melia Las Dunas is a terrific all-inclusive resort in Cayo Santa Maria, Cuba. The resort is impeccably clean and the staff is friendly and helpful. They offer so much to do for all ages. Our family ranged in age from 22 to 53 and every one of us had a great time! The beach was beautiful, but the shade seats were very hard to procure. Lots of loungers with towels on them for hours without people on them. Not really fair. We wished "holding" was not a thing.

Valentin Perla Blanca: Great

What I mostly appreciate about this resort is the professionalism of most of the employees. I would especially like to thank Susy, the bartender; Niobel and Ayleen, the servers; Yosnel, the room bartender; Victor Manuel, another great bartender, and not to forget Ariel and Duel, the amazing bartenders team from the pool...You guys, are all going above and beyond for your guests...

Valentin Perla Blanca: Great Vacation

Bev Johnston was very knowledgeable and helpful. We would definitely recommend booking with her and Trip Central. Location was perfect, resort was very nice. Hard to beat Cuba for value. We would recommend this resort to anyone looking for a reasonably priced vacation. Not perfect but overall a wonderful experience.