Memories Paraiso: Disappointing first trip with my daughters.

I've been to Cuba (Cayo Coco) in 2015 and had a wonderful stay at that time. This was my daughters first trip to Cuba and we were hoping to make wonderful memories. We were staying at the Memories Paraiso Resort. We had a few cloudy days with strong winds which made swimming unsafe. We still managed to explore and have fun at the beach. There was one day where the kayaks and catamarans were avaible for sailing. I was disappointed with the rooms. Our first room smelled like cigarette and t [... read more]he toilet wasn't functionning. We lost our afternoon at the resort waiting for another room. The staff was friendly but the wait was long. The buffet could not accommodate everyone and the food was mostly the same most days. Frequently, there was no water to flush or shower. The telephone lines weren't working and we were asked to go to the lobby desk for assistance. My daughter got very sick on food and without running water this was a horrible experience. It was difficult to find an extra roll of toilet paper and plastic bags. The maid gave us the ones that were in the Lobby bathrooms. The rooms and equipment need TLC (many broken lounge chairs, unrepaired signs, broken boards on the boardwark to the beach). We had mold on our bathroom walls where the towels a hung to dry. Only hot dogs and hamburger were available at the pool grill on most days. We did manage to make the best of what we had and make some memories but I will definitely not be returning to this resort.

Melia Cayo Santa Maria: Past the best before date.

Spent 2 weeks there. Public area washrooms were pretty bad. Water supply was sporadic, when there was any it was usually cold. We had hot showers on the last day, so maybe things have improved. Beach was good, pool was excellent but not enough loungers until you figure out the system. The pool guys have a stack behind the washrooms, available on request. Pool towels were in the room, but only managed to exchange them once & that took some wheedling. Restaurant menus were frequently a list of wha [... read more]t MIGHT be available. Bar service was good. House keeping was fine

Valentin Perla Blanca Paraiso: great resort

I spent the last two weeks of February at the Valentin. The hotel is an excellent place to visit. The check in and guest services were efficient and pleasant. The grounds and buildings are large and we'll maintained. The food services are plentiful and great. The pool have one for a more party atmosphere and one with a more relaxing atmosphere. The room was clean and modern. The beach and ocean were stunning. The people were kind and excellent at their jobs. The night atmosphere was fun and enjo [... read more]yable. I have been to Cuba near 40 times and stayed at many resorts. I would definitely recommend this resort as a quality place and recommend others to choose this destination to spend their vacation.

Iberostar Selection Ensenachos: Lovely Spot!

Just back from Iberostar Ensenachos. Lovely resort grounds - lush ! Two beautiful beaches! Very relaxed atmosphere - good service - no line ups ! More variety of food needed . Maid service excellent - Yvonne - best maid ever who kept our room so clean on daily basis and always Came thru with our requests . Large room with some issues that got resolved with in first 24 hours of our arrival - did not get upper room as requested on reservation ie - safe off the wall ; balcony door broken ;  [... read more]no hot water first day ; keys had to be replaced x3 before they worked . After that things went smoothly with room . Fridge stocked every day with plenty of water ; beer and pop.

Gran Muthu Cayo Santa Maria: Truly Amazing Resort!!!

When we arrived at the resort we were greeted by the friendly staff. Our check in went smoothly. We were escorted to our rooms with the luggage delivered at the same time. The room I stayed in was very spacious and welcoming. I was very impressed with the cleanliness and grateful for the cool water in the fridge. The bed was very comfortable. I loved how close the beach was to my room--I stayed in Bungalow 15 and would recommend this bungalow if you want to be closer to the beach. The grounds of [... read more] the resort were well maintained and clean. I found the staff to be very friendly and helpful. I really enjoyed the restaurants as well as the buffet. The food was very delicious. I will be going back as soon as it can be arranged!!

Roc Lagunas del Mar: Could of been better / would not go back

The flight (Air Canada) went well. The check-in was a bit long but we did not mind it as we knew from previous experience that check-ins are usually slow. The grounds are very nice and clean. The room was nice and clean as well. The pools were a little foggy and some areas had algae buildup. Now for the food..........very bland, very little selection and pasta was either undercooked or overcooked. The sauces (tomato or Alfredo) seemed watered down as there was very little taste, plus....the line [... read more]ups were very long (25-30 minute wait for pasta). On a positive note, the breads were very good. The desert choices were very minimal (basically birthday cake type pastries with different coloured icing.......every night). They had ice cream which was good. The breakfasts were ok with the usual eggs and beans plus breads and hot dog sausages..... We had lunches at the snack bar. The fries were ok and the pizza's were good. My wife had chicken with pieces of feathers still attached to the outer skin. She said it was good but we found it odd............ Overall, not enough positives to say that we would be back. We got a great price for the trip so that's why we decided to try the Warwick.

Playa Cayo Santa Maria: Wonderful return visit with the family!

After visiting the Hotel Playa Cayo Santa Maria 2 years ago with with my younger daughter, we returned with the entire family this year and were not disappointed. As returning guests, we were treated wonderfully. Our rooms were in a great location and the customer service department ensured we had a la carte reservations (since we were unable to have them our first visit, we were happy to receive 5 this visit;)) The special party celebrating returning guests was a delightful surprise as well. [... read more] The guest rooms were clean, safe and welcoming - and the shower pressure, clean towels and amenities were excellent in comparison to other resorts we have visited. The visible presence of the management and their attention to detail was highly noticeable - overall the quality of service was excellent across all areas of the resort. While the 'cliff' aspect of the beach presents some mobility challenges - it is still a great beach. One of my favourite aspects of this resort is the layout of the resort and the magnificent pools. There is lots of room and the gardeners take great care of the property. While no one goes to Cuba for the food - we were very satisfied with the food, enjoyed a number of flavourful dishes, and were not disappointed nor ever left hungry. All in all - I would say this is the best value for price of any resort I have ever stayed in. I would gladly go back.

Melia Cayo Santa Maria: Beautiful Resort

The resort was beautiful. The staff was very friendly. There is no water pressure in the rooms and there is a problem with no water at times. The rooms are also very big and decorated very nice. They are dated but very nice. The pool was very clean and maintained well. The pool bar had the best bartender!

Valentin Perla Blanca Paraiso: Met my expections !!

This hotel was quite beautiful with it's fine architectural lines and views to the ocean. White against the green of the property and blues of the water. Easy to navigate the property. Choices of boardwalks or forested walkthroughs to the beach. Gorgeous long soft sand beach with helpful and attentive beach staff. Room was comfortable, stocked fridge, big bathroom and shower. Decor was fine. Pool areas were wonderful( my only concern was the lack of availability of changing your beach to [... read more]wel). Landscaping was beautifully done. Buffet well managed for both crowd control and food refills. Staff were all pleasant and pleasing. There was always something for everyone. Entertainment was OK.

Hotel Roc Casa del Mar: Horrible Experiance

• Arrived after a very long ride from the Airport • Went to the front desk to check in and after waiting was then directed to the “Privilege” Customer service office ( they really should mention this on the trip on the bus and have the door marked) • Waited in line again to talk to our customer service( Butler) and get signed in. • Taken to our room – discovered only 1 bed ( King ) - We booked triple occupancy ( 3 adults) • Called Front Desk to ask for a new room and advised [... read more] them need a room to accommodate 3 adults. There idea of accommodating 3 adults is two oversized singles pushed together to make a King and a small cot. • Told to go to another room - Dragged all our bags down to the new room ( we moved them ourselves) • The new room was identical to the 1st one • After a long wait our travel companion came back to say that she just went ahead and booked a 2nd room as they told her they do not have rooms with queen’s or 1 King and a single other than adding a cot they couldn’t help us. • We were moved to Building 9 – • We had issues using stairs and they told us that they didn’t have any ground units available ( we would have been ok with 2nd floor as well) • After complaining we were moved to a lower level room • Our companion had to pay an extra $533 US to the hotel for the extended stay and she was assured it was for the remainder of our stay. • We went to get food as it was very, very late in the day and the buffet was closed so we went to the 24 hour snack bar and out of the 10 items they had on the menu. They were out of 7 of them. We had to settle for French fries for our first meal. • We were asked to meet the next morning in the lobby at 9am by our Hola Sun representative to go over some details of the resort etc. • We then had to come back to meet our “Butler” to take us on a grounds tour but he wasn’t available and Juan took us. He is awesome. Very nice man and willing to help where ever he could. Unfortunately he wasn’t our butler we have Yasser. • Yasser wasn’t the most attentive. I asked for my free message to be booked for Wednesday at 10am. He said Yes. I confirmed with him, got Yes. I went for my message at 10am and I wasn’t registered. The SPA ( which is not on the resort) told me that I had to get a white piece of paper from the front desk and bring it with me. This was NOT told to me by Yasser. So I rebooked it this time and got my white piece of paper. • One person in our group didn’t use her massage so I attempted to use it. I spoke to Yasser on Monday and asked him to see if I could get in Monday ( last day) and use the free one left over. He said he would go and check availability and let me know right away. I sat in the lobby for 35 minutes waiting for him to come back. He never showed up. I gave up and never did get it. • So now we are now (forgive me all the days are a blur) to either Thursday/Friday when our Hola rep comes to us in the lobby and says that she needs to talk to our friend that the $533 US she paid wasn’t until Tuesday and she would have to be out of her room the next day. • Well we weren’t pleased. After a heated exchange. Ocean’s refunded Jennies $533 US but then she was forced to go to the bigger market off the resort to get CUC’s I believe it was around $518 plus what she had in her purse and had to pay the Hola Sun to stay in the room. • Well the next day our friend was getting ready for a bath ( luckily she wasn’t naked yet) and in walks this man and women. The Manager didn’t update the computer and they booked out the room my friend just paid through the nose for, to another couple • They all went back to the lobby again to get it sorted out. Other Issues: • Food was absolutely disgusting. Cold, long lineup’s, tasteless or not even cooked (raw) • Most times the menu’s they offered were not available ( they didn’t have it in stock) • Salt and Pepper shakers always plugged and if you took the lids off they were all rusted inside. • Their themed restaurants were lovely and atmosphere was good but food wasn’t the greatest and the amount of food you got wouldn’t feed a small child. • Website boasts a Omelette bar where you could get it done the way you want it. Someone should tell them how to cook Omelette’s. I was looking forward to it as I had read the reviews. I got mine and it was raw and not even cooked in the middle. • For a Caribbean resort their selection of seafood was dismal and it was never cooked ( raw and cold) • Very little change from day to day in their Buffet. Same ole same ole every day. • Always long lineup to get to any of their fresh cooked foods( Pasta, fish etc) They need to increase their number of stations to accommodate everyone quicker. • We were captured ( and I felt that way) the first day but one particular waiter he had the area to the very right of the door coming in ( I don’t remember his name) Unfortunately the area was right beside their service area where they help there very large garbage bins and we were always inundated by flies. • When we told him, the next day, that we didn’t’ want to sit in the section anymore he said to us” Well there are no flies today because it’s morning” and then proceeded to get mad at us because we didn’t want to sit in his section any more. • The beach. – The sand was beautiful and the water was great ( if the waves weren’t too high) but there were certain areas of the beach you couldn’t sit on when the tide was high or the winds were high as they were washed away. You could not walk from one end of the beach to the other safely. They also have not cleaned up or repaired a lot of their shade umbrella’s and they are lying in ruins. • The entertainment was severely lacking. The music was always way to loud. The dancers left a bit to be desired but it did have some highlights here and there. • There is not much to do at this resort. They tried with Bingo and darts competition but their planned activities need to be worked on. • Poorly lit walkways at night – really hard to see when it’s dark out • Music playing way to loud all the time from the main bar area ( our building was the closest) and we had to have our TV to max to hear it • They really need to put shower curtains in their bathrooms. They have hand held shower things. Even if you stand with it pointing to the back wall, it runs across the tub onto the floor. I ended up mopping up 2 inches of water from the bathroom floor and it ran into the hall of our room and out the door into the hallway. So for them to say they have showers, it is an outright lie. Unless you want a huge mess you have to sit down to use this thing. Especially difficult if you have knee or back issues like I do. There were some good things about this resort • The grounds are very nice and clean and well-groomed but the proximity of everything is quite far. If you have mobility issues you definitely do not want to come to this place. Beach is a good 5 min walk from the closest building ( good luck if you are not a privileged guest) it is even further if you are in one of the further away buildings. • Rooms are respectable and very clean • Very few bugs – they spray daily • Cleaning staff was very good but we did have to ask our fridge to be stocked up daily with water or we didn’t get any. • The service staff was always excellent, drinks were always delicious and served with a smile. • Our Maid was amazing Jorge. HUGE THANK YOU TO YETSY AROCHA ACOSTA. She made my whole week bearable. She went out of her way to get what I wanted even if they didn’t’ have it, she would go find it and get it for me. She always had a huge smile on her face and was so kind with her time and her enthusiasm and love of her job really shone through. She is an amazing young lady and we are planning to stay in touch by email. I have travelled all over Canada and some in the US and I have never had this many issues ever. We spent the first 4-5 days of our vacation worrying if we were safe or not, or what the next issue would be. We were very upset and frankly very angry. We feel that Hola Sun and the Hotel took advantage of our issue and did absolutely nothing to help us unless we paid extra for it. I will never ever go back to this resort and plan on telling as many people as I can about the issues were encountered.

Hotel Roc Casa del Mar: Overall very nice!

The hotel is a newer property and is very large and spread out with beauiful pools and a really nice beach. Service in the buffett and at the bars was good. Customer Service office may as well close as they are usless, couldn't care less about any issues with the room, they just smile and say yes, we will fix, and nothing ever happens! Food is poor even for Cuba, wasn't expecting much, but it was even less than expected, the hotel needs to focus on improving the food selection and quality. I [... read more] would not return, will try the Warwick as many said it was very well managed.

Hotel Roc Casa del Mar: Definitely should not be considered more than a 3 star

Beautiful resort, but the food was not up to par for a 4+ place. I have stayed at 3 star places where the food was better. Showers are absolutely ridiculous. Water everywhere. Rooms are no good for more than 2 people, we just booked triple occupancy and the 3rd person ended up paying over a thousand dollars more. I have been to Cuba 15 or more times and this was the worst time ever, and it cost me almost $400 dollars more than the other times that I went.

Valentin Perla Blanca: Beautiful resort!

A lovely resort just like the pictures. Clean up dated rooms. Friendly helpful staff if you have lots of tip $. The entertainment was very poor quality. Not fantastic dancers. 24 hr snack bars and spanish restuarant were my favourites. I found the buffet to be not so great. Cateramen excursion was awsome! Excellant right off the beach. It was my first time in cuba I enjoyed my experience and would recommend this resort to others.

Playa Cayo Santa Maria: Over-rated Resort in it's star ranking

I am not sure why this resort gets amazing reviews. There are many good things about it but it is definitely not a 4.5 star. I would rank it a 3.0-3.5 Cuban standard star. The room was nice, no issues, the beach was amazing and that was the reason I agreed to Cuba again after 8 yrs. The food was AWFUL!!!!! There was nothing good to say about the food at all. The hot food was cold and the cold food was never kept cool. It's no wonder people get food poisoning. Cuba has the potential to b [... read more]e amazing. They need to work on their food handling skills and kitchen cleanliness. There were cockroaches walking across the buffet stations. The last 4 days of our 7 day trip we ate white rice and white bread. The staff are lovely. I travel quite often and believe myself to be quite a laid back traveler. I overlook many things but you cannot enjoy a vacation when you are constantly wondering what is safe to eat so you don't get sick. I do not think I will be returning to Cuba until they are able to import more choice for food and give their staff proper food handling and cooking skills.

Valentin Perla Blanca: Short and sweet Cuba Trip

I went solo to this large resort and it was worth it. The beach is stunning and I was there everyday. Pool was nice too. Food was also good with plenty of selection at the restaurants and buffet. Privilege package was worth it, run bottle, lobster dinner and checking in early/checking out late was great!

Playa Cayo Santa Maria: Amazing beach

The grounds were well kept, rooms were clean, the entertainment was very basic and only 30 minutes shows. The ocean was amazing, beautiful white sands. Very little to do for kids (quite boring for kids and adults) especially if it rains or weather is bad. Food is ok but we all got sick during the trip. Omelets, spaguetti and pizza every meal. Several sand flies bites, so bring alot of mosquito repellent. Not much to do on the resort, everyone just stays in lobby or beach. Excursions are very ex [... read more]pensive and not worth the money.

Resonance Blu Santa Maria: Pleasantly surprised!

The Starfish is a resort we had visited before when it was called Barcelo. I remembered the lobby and the second part of the hotel, the second lobby and the beautiful beach. This time, what surprised me so pleasantly is that the food was quite good and that some changes had been made to offer more healthy choices to the visitor. The pool grill is also very enticing with the cooks grilling large quantities of fish and chicken so that people don't have to wait so long. I stayed away from ice cre [... read more]am again, because I don't think anyone but a member of the staff should be allowed to touch it... The room was cleaned every day, all the plants were in bloom and it only rained on the 14th day of our stay. All in all, it was a wonderful 2 weeks in the sun, sand and sea and I would recommend it to snow birds of all ages.

Roc Lagunas del Mar: Terrible food

If you look in details dosnt look like new at all,or is abused by rude,cheap,all inclusive addicts. Boring,unappetizing over or undercooked food. Desserts where a joke. Cleanning stuff should get more training and they need to use more soap or bleach to wash their towels and linnens,because it was gross to use them .

Dhawa Cayo Santa Maria: Great resort with an alright beach

The hotel itself was amazing, the food was some of the best I've had in Cuba. Room was super clean, we loved the shower! Such amazing service from all the workers! The beach is a huge downfall though. We would love to go back to see all the workers again, and we loved the pool. But the beach & water are a huge disappointment. I would be hesitant to go back because if the beach. It's to bad, because the resort is absolutely beautiful. They've really thought of everything from being served on the  [... read more]beach, to exchanging your towels everyday as many times as you want. The a la cartes were very delicious. It was nice that we could go every night to an a la carte. The buffet was typical for Cuba. We loved the snack bar, pizza was great. This resort wouldn't be for people who love to spend their time on the beach. We're huge beach people and we spent the week at the pool. It's quite windy on the beach because it's in a cove. Hope this helps with your future clients :) ! Thanks for the great customer service o'Neil !

Roc Lagunas del Mar: Absolutely Wonderful!

This hotel had very well looked after grounds with groundskeepers working everyday. The public areas were clean and the staff were extremely friendly, courteous and went beyond what was expected in their treatment of myself and friend. The rooms had all amenities that we needed and the view was outstanding. There was a variety of food selection and plenty of it, from the buffet to the five restaurants to eat in. It would depend on how fussy a person is when it comes to food. The only crit [... read more]icism is that they have to learn how to cut and cook beef. Lobster is always overcooked and a bit rubbery with no clarified butter served with it. The nightly entertainment at the theater was great!!! The performers are in great shape and to see an Aquatic performance was a first for me. The DJ selection of music was right on. He could have left out the dubbing of a fog horn and some kind of laugh track - this took away from the music. Having a 24 hour snack bar was a bonus. I would not recommend this resort to someone with a disability such as wheelchair - wanting to go into the ocean. Access would not be easy. Overall - this is a great place. A Holiday is what one makes it!!!!!