Iberostar Selection Esmeralda: Great food, but missing some key items for a 5-star resort

The beach is nice, the lovely pool and entertainment are good, and the food is very good. I liked their baked goods and cakes. Good selection of meet and fish. Very tasty. The negative side is that they could not provide blanket for us, and safe was broken and they could not fix it. Not a huge issue but for 5 star resort you should expect to get blanket if you cold during the night. I am not picky guest and I do appreciate and understand issues in Cuba, but Iberostar should pay attention for iss [... read more]ues like this. Don't advertise as 5 star hotel if you are not able to provide 5 star amenities.

Memories Jibacoa: Fantastic Resort! Staff second to none!

This hotel is somewhat outdated, but it is extremely clean and very well maintained. Considering it’s Cuba, the food was very good, and the staff were absolutely excellent—perhaps the best I’ve experienced at any resort. You can tell they are proud to work there; they are enthusiastic, genuine, and consistently welcoming every day. The staff truly make this hotel what it is. Another great feature is the location. The resort is about an hour from Havana, making it perfect for a worthwhile day  [... read more]trip, and the surrounding areas are absolutely stunning. The beach was also very beautiful and easy to walk, adding to the overall relaxing atmosphere. This is a very peaceful resort, and I would highly recommend it. Thank you to Trip Central for the help in finding this resort.

Sanctuary at Grand Memories Holguin: Questionnable

Après avoir visité Cuba à plusieurs endroits et pour plus de 20 fois, c'est la première fois que j'ai été autant déçu. Je comprend très bien que présentement il sont en manque de plein de choses. Mais le fonctionnement et l'organisation de l'hôtel ne devrait pas être si mal géré. La plage pleine de déchets ** du jamais vu** ici je ne parle pas d'algues je parle bien de déchets (soulier, tube de pate à dents, bouteille d'huile, assiette et oui même des chaise en bois). Le manque de stations au bu [... read more]ffet, **terrible**, des attentes de plus de une heure pour avoir ce qui restait, disons pas much, à la viande, aux pâtes et aux pizzas. Les plates du buffet toujours froids même si tu arrivais en premier, plaques chauffantes non fonctionnels. Sur un côté positif, les travailleurs étaient super gentils, les piscines et l'aménagement étaient super propres, la température superbe et les activités (catamaran et Jeep) super bien à faire. Est-ce que je vais retourner à Cuba? Oui. Est-ce que je vais retourner à Holguin? je dis pas oui je dis pas non. Est-ce que je vais retourner au Sanctuary Grand Memories Holguin? Non.

Paradisus Princesa Del Mar: Average Resort

Beach: It was never cleaned, piles and piles of debri from ocean on the beach 24 hr Snack Bar : Only had hot dogs and nothing else. Restaurants: Half the restaurants were closed for renovations Quality of food: Poor, most of the time only meat was Pork Food Preparation : No touch of North American cooking Staff : Most of the staff was polite except few who wanted money to serve international dr [... read more]inks Rooms: Smell of moisture but house keeping was ok Pool : Clean but was cold Towels: No towels at the pool or the beach had to bring own towel from room Beach Bar: There was bar around 200 meters from beach but no server. Had to go get the drinks Location: Good Enterntainment: OK

Tryp Cayo Coco: Resort Declining

I have been to this resort at least 5 or 6 times .This most recent visit was truly a disappointment. Many of the regular staff are now gone leaving many newer , younger staff members who in my opinion have missed the boat with providing great customer service and maybe going out of their way to smile .They stopped serving French fries at the 24 hour bar .No new growth in the choices of meals at the buffet and the entertainment is less then desirable. The rooms require some serious renovations an [... read more]d just basic maintenance. It seems to me they are open just to be open....unlike other visits to this resort.

Iberostar Origin Playa Alameda: Staff here are the Stars

This was my second trip to Cuba and this experience was better than my last. The beach was great, rocky to the right, beautiful sand to the left. Rooms were dated, but clean. Food was as expected, fairly repetitive, however Christmas day dinner was fantastic and they truly out did themselves for New Year eve dinner! The staff here truly made you feel like their family! The beach and the people here make it worth the time here. Typical to Cuba, beach towels were limited, however we tippe [... read more]d well to our room cleaner and she was sure to provide extras. We brought extra toilet paper to have for the public bathrooms (airport and on the resort) Often they ran out. But again the room was stocked daily. The beds in the room were older, and as a person with back issues, was sore by the end of the week. If you are looking for a cheaper get away and set your expectations accordingly, I would recommend this hotel.

Grand Aston Varadero Beach Resort: Great resort!

Great resort. We stayed over Christmas 2025. It was a pleasant stay. The staff are lovely. The food was good by Cuban standards. Pretty much same almost every day but it was decent. Bring hot sauce with you if you like a little stronger flavour. The room service was excellent. We never had to call to ask for anything. Our ocean view room was very clean and huge. The beach was ok. The water is pretty rough around there. It was windy when we were there so it was even rougher. The lounge chair w [... read more]ere a little gross. They should be replaced.

Valentin Perla Blanca: Cuba is not for us

The hotel has a fantastic beach, at least it had that. Pool bar was really shallow, up to your knees. They serve warm drinks. No vodka anywhere, no champagne and no orange juice. The food was okay but not much variety at all. 24hr snack bar serves hot dog sandwiches. Resort is run down, moved rooms due to electrical issues. Woke up with a note saying be packed up and out by 9:30 with no reason whatsoever. When moving rooms they didn't have another one ready. Then moved us into a dirty room. Didn [... read more]'t have cleaners for 4 hours. Drinking water is apparently hard yo get. Overall not happy at all with Cuba or this resort. Most likely will never go back

Starfish Cuatro Palmas: Vacation as expected

We have been to this hotel on many occasions. In 2025 we went three times. Hotel staff are very good and recognize us. Hotel is not extremely big but the location is why we go there. The beach is simply beautiful. Everything is close by. We will certainly return again and again

Starfish Guardalavaca: Terrible hotel

We were at starfish guardalavaca , the front desk was rude and not helpful. Food was ok but they try to charge you for missing towel (20 usd ) we exchanged the hand towel to a shower towel and they said the small towel was missing. Didn’t have enough time to check inventory before the airport bus leaves. Said the plate and cups (20usd )was missing from us taking it to the room. Avoid please.

Iberostar Selection Varadero: Beyond Expectations

We recently spent a wonderful week at Iberostar Selection Veradero, from December 13th to 20th, 2025. This was our second visit, and we were impressed by the many improvements made since our last stay. Yady, the customer service representative was exceptionally helpful and welcoming, treating us like family. As returning guests, we were delighted with an ocean-view room and a complimentary bottle of wine. The food and entertainment were top-notch. Overall, we’re very pleased with our stay and wo [... read more]uld recommend to see it for yourself.

Grand Aston Varadero Beach Resort: Great resort— could use some changes.

Public washrooms are often missing toilet paper (so take your own). Food was reasonable given its Cuba. They have some strict rules around beach towels so need to safe guard those. You are charged if both are not returned and it seems their staff tends to remove the towels often if left unattended by the pool. Other than that, rooms seemed clean and views were great.

Sanctuary at Grand Memories Varadero: Sanctuary at Grand Memories

Our family of 7 had a great time at the Grand Memories Sanctuary. It was a little resort in a big resort. It had its own beach, pool bar, bar and buffet. Every room at the Sanctuary has their own butler. They are amazing humans who you can text whenever you need something. Our favourite was Norvy- he was our kid’s butler- but he was always around and answered our questions and helped us out- even though he wasn’t our butler. All butlers work in pairs- they alternate. Our two butlers- Tahlia and  [... read more]Jenny were also very good and helpful. The food was good. Not much to eat if you are a vegetarian though. Everything has meat in it and the restaurant staff tried their best, but two of our kids had a very limited diet for the week. I would recommend that vegetarians pack their own protein and snacks to bring. Pool bar was a great place to order breakfast and lunch. The Sanctuary has its own small secluded beach with bar service. You can also eat a bbq lunch down at the beach bar too. The big resort was a five minute walk away. The main lobby had some good entertainment after supper. It had several nice pools, a swim up bar and OK pool bar food. It was open 24 hrs. The two big buffets in the main hotel were OK- not as good as the Sanctuary. The Sanctuary unfortunately had an entertainment person that played LOUD music all day long by the pool. There were not many people in the pool because of this- it would have been nice to lounge by the pool and just read, swim or have a conversation without the constant BOOM BOOM or his loud voice trying to get people to play games. Really wanted to give him $100 to stop playing for an hour so we could enjoy the pool. So- we never swam in the pool- just in the ocean where it was quiet. As it is a small resort in a big resort- we met a lot of people and got to know many of them. The staff there worked a lot of long days. They were always setting up something for a party or special day. They always had a smile for you even if they were tired. New Years Eve was amazing. The band, the food, the champagne…. Our older kids’ room had newer paint and hot water 24 hours. They also paid for the extra package. This was the only difference between theirs and ours. The younger kids’ room had no hot water and not much toilet paper. Our room had toilet paper and hot water from 4-8pm. The resort did not have blackouts, it had wifi, and there was lots of food. Not a variety of food, but there was lots. If you are over 18- go to the Sanctuary- not the main resort. We would all go back.

Sanctuary at Grand Memories Varadero: Amazing

I highly recommend this hotel: the room, the restaurant, the beach, the pool, the services are outstandingly! Many thanks to waiters, to bartenders and all the service staff. You all made my vacation unforgettable. I'll difinitely be back!

Sanctuary at Grand Memories Varadero: So So Sanctuary in November

Sanctuary at Grand Memories Veradero November 2025 Trip Overview My wife and I booked it because we were tired of being sick for much of September and October and needed time together, and the direct flight from Ottawa in early November was inexpensive. Unfortunately, WestJet delays caused us to lose two full days of our vacation and added an extra day of leave from work. Once we finally arrived, the resort was not full, which worked in our favour. The weather was cooler during much of our sta [... read more]y, and two days were too windy and wavy to enter the ocean. The pool water was also cold. Even so, when the ocean was calm enough to enjoy, it was fantastic. The Sanctuary beach area was close, quiet, and had excellent seating. We spent time reading, relaxing, and enjoying drinks even on red flag days, which became some of the more peaceful moments of the trip. Food Food was generally good for Cuba. We did not try the specialty restaurants because in Cuba they tend to feel similar to the sit-down dining already available. Sanctuary meals were convenient and quieter, but the kitchen was extremely slow at breakfast, with simple items like eggs and omelets taking close to an hour. We liked the small buffet-style accompaniments available at each meal. The main Grand Memories buffet had friendlier staff and a more positive atmosphere, although the buffet often ran out of plates and lines for certain stations were long. Birds were allowed inside the main buffet and often perched in the rafters. While the bird song was pleasant in the morning, it raised questions about hygiene and droppings. Food variety at the sit-down meals changed throughout the week and we always found something to enjoy. The soup, however, was consistently watery and lacked substance, with fish soup being the most common. We did not enjoy it. At the buffet, cross-contamination was noticeable because there were not enough utensils for each dish, and many guests moved spoons from one dish to another. Overall score: 3.5 out of 5 Pool We went into the pool every day, even though the water was cold for much of the week. We were not able to stay in as long as usual until the last few days, when the weather warmed up. Despite the cold water, the night we arrived became one of the most memorable parts of the trip. We arrived after midnight and jumped into the Sanctuary pool until four in the morning, simply relieved to finally be there after two days of travel chaos. The Sanctuary pool area was never crowded and always had loungers available. Music around the pool was an odd mix of country music and unrelated genres that did not match the Caribbean setting. The Sanctuary does not have a direct pool bar, but staff came around to take drink orders when we sat near the tables. Our room backed directly onto the pool, which made accessing it extremely convenient. Overall score: 3.5 out of 5 Beach The beach was one of the highlights of our stay. The Sanctuary section was close, quiet, and had comfortable seating that was always available. We never felt crowded. We lost two days to red flag conditions where the waves were too rough to enter the water. Even on those days, we enjoyed sitting on the beach with drinks, reading, and listening to the wind. On calm days, the ocean was excellent. The water was clear, inviting, and easy to enjoy for long stretches. Overall score: 4 out of 5 Facilities The Sanctuary section was very easy to navigate, with flat walkways, clear signage, and short distances between the pool, bar, restaurant, and beach path. Because the resort was not full, the entire area felt quiet and easy to move around. Maintenance issues were visible in both the Sanctuary and the main resort, such as worn areas or older fixtures, but they did not significantly detract from the stay. The Sanctuary bar and outdoor seating areas were pleasant and reliable places to sit, and service there was consistently good. The Sanctuary pool area was quiet and comfortable, though a pool heater would be beneficial during cooler periods. Overall score: 3.5 out of 5 Rooms Our Sanctuary room was clean and reasonably comfortable, but it came with several issues. The layout was unusual, with areas placed at angles that felt unintuitive at first. We paid for the premium level, but it offered no noticeable benefit; guests who did not pay for premium were in identical rooms. The jetted tub and shower area looked appealing, but hot water was rarely available. Most days the water was cold, and on the first day the tub produced brown water with sediment. Even after the concierge addressed this, reliable hot water never appeared throughout our stay. Housekeeping kept the room tidy, but restocking was inconsistent. Our bar soap disappeared on the third day and was never replaced, so we had to walk to the shower and use shower gel to wash our hands. Extra pillows were not available when requested. Despite raising issues with the concierge or making requests to him we never saw items actioned.    The room phone did not work, and we later learned none of the Sanctuary phones were functioning. This meant every request required tracking someone down in person. The towel station on the grounds was never open, so towel exchanges were random. The safe reset itself to the default code mid-week, and we could not determine whether anyone accessed it. The best part of the room was its location. Being beside the Sanctuary pool made it quick and easy to enjoy the outdoor areas. Overall score: 3 out of 5 Service and Staff Service across the resort varied widely. The main Grand Memories buffet staff were consistently the friendliest and most engaged employees we encountered. Their positive attitude improved the experience greatly. In Sanctuary, service depended on location. The Sanctuary restaurant, bar, and outdoor seating areas offered good, reliable service at a solid four out of five. The concierge service, however, was ineffective. Sanctuary alternates concierges daily, which meant no continuity. One concierge was responsive but accomplished nothing, while the other was often absent. With room phones not working, finding a concierge became a frustrating daily challenge. Alittle like playing where’s waldo The Sanctuary front desk was indifferent, and issues such as lack of hot water or missing supplies received little attention. Housekeeping was tidy but inconsistent with restocking. The towel exchange booth was never open. A concerning incident involved another guest whose wife had not left their room for most of their trip due to an illness. He repeatedly asked Sanctuary staff for help arranging medical support, but the response was dismissive. We witnessed this while standing behind him in line. The man was in tears and asking for help and the front desk staff said he’d have to wait until the concierge because they don’t do anything. We eventually went to the main lobby to speak with a manager ourselves, urging him to take the situation seriously. The guest later told my wife she made it home safely, but the resort’s initial lack of urgency and care was troubling. Overall score: 2 out of 5 Entertainment Entertainment was relaxed and easy to engage with. Daily activity boards made it simple to see what was happening. We participated in activities such as drinks served in coconuts, poolside games, and pig roast events. The main Grand Memories area generally offered more engaging versions of the activities. For example, during pig roastings, you could watch the carving process. Sanctuary offered the same food but without the event itself. Music around the Sanctuary pool was often an odd mix of country and unrelated genres that did not fit the setting, but it did not stop us from enjoying the area. Overall score: 3.5 out of 5 Overall Our stay at the Sanctuary section of Grand Memories Varadero had enjoyable moments but also several service and maintenance issues. The quiet atmosphere, friendly buffet and bar staff, and proximity to the beach were highlights. When the ocean was calm, swimming was excellent, and even windy days were relaxing. Food was generally good, although breakfast service at Sanctuary was slow. The biggest drawbacks were the lack of effective service, inconsistent room restocking, lack of hot water, and communication  issues and non-functioning room phones. Despite these issues, we relaxed, enjoyed the ocean when we could, and appreciated the quieter environment. Overall score: 3 out of 5 WestJet Travel Experience Our experience with WestJet before, during, and after this trip was truly terrible and caused us to lose two full days of vacation along with an extra day of leave from work. On departure day, we spent hours on the tarmac and then hours waiting for luggage. The lack of real communication after cancelling the flight created tons of anxiety.  There was no one who seemed to be in charge of finding a solution, no one at the desk and we only out of luck found A random staff member casually told a small group of passengers to return at eight the next morning, but WestJet had no record of this when we called later that night. Their only official rebooking option was a flight two days later. We were staying positive, because westjet’s system issued us a hotel voucher fairly quickly.  However; The first hotel WestJet sent us to was full. It took nearly two hours finally get to a room after they turned us away, and then be moved to a second hotel. Before that, we stood outside in the cold for twenty to thirty minutes waiting for a shuttle along with most of the plane. Flight information never appeared in the WestJet, Sunwing, or Tripcentral apps. Airport screens and staff statements did not match. We decided to just wing it and went to checkin and were issued boarding passes for a flight that was supposed to leave at 11am even though no one prior seemed to know that this was our flight.  After boarding late in the afternoon around 4pm, we sat on the tarmac for hours due to radio and paperwork issues, arriving at the resort after midnight, two days late. The return flight was just as bad. There is no seating in the Varadero airport, so we sat on the floor for hours. WestJet would not check us in early despite our VIP lounge access. Another long tarmac delay pushed a one a.m. arrival into four a.m. Communication was contradictory or nonexistent throughout, and despite the lost days and additional expenses, we received nothing from WestJet. Overall, it was a truly terrible travel experience that added unnecessary stress to both ends of the trip. Also, Westjet provided no compensation.  

Melia Cayo Coco: Wonderful restful resort

I did a female solo trip for the Christmas holidays. This is a lovely resort. I always felt safe. Clean, great staff, gorgeous beach you can walk for a long stretch. There was no shortage of food. Christmas special meals were lovely and everyone received a flower. Best of all was the peaceful relaxing feel you get while there. Many people I met had come for several years and the staff treat them like family. I would return any time.

Memories Caribe Beach Resort: Memories Caribe

The resort was beautiful The room was nice however I asked for a blanket and never received one, towels were never changed, we only received water in fridge no beer or pop, no water pressure for a shower Buffet food was the same stuff every day

Royalton Hicacos Resort and Spa: Great resort

This had changed our mindset on Cuba. Tge resort was great. People very friendly and helpful to make sure you are having a great vacation. I highly recommend this resort. Diamond club crew were amazing and helpful.

Melia Internacional: Amazing

Room was very clean & spacious ala cartes were amazing,friendly,fast bar service..clean pool & beach areas,beautiful beach!,ice cream parlour & snack bars were great,location was great for walking downtown & lots of options for rides if u didn’t want to walk,private excursion to Havana was wonderful but pricey

Iberostar Selection Esmeralda: Frustrating Trip

I was not at all satisfied with this hotel for the following reasons: 1- very poor customer service 2- lots of equipments are out of order 3- checking in took 5 hours 4- too far distance from the airport. 5- water bottles were unavailable for guests 6- lots of flies and mosquitoes 7- they sprayed DDT, which a very harmful insecticide 8- no one is willing to serve unless tipped.