Iberostar Selection Ensenachos: Beautiful Landscaping

We weren't sure how we'd feel about not having an ocean view, but the absolutely gorgeous grounds to walk through were worth it. There is a lot of walking which is a good thing to counter balance all the food and drink. We enjoyed the a la cartes as well as the buffet. There were never long line ups at the main buffet, the beach buffet or the bars. Food was pretty typical for Cuba and we enjoyed what was offered. The beaches are amazing! We never used the pools, but they were pretty with lot [... read more]s of loungers and very clean. The room was clean and our bed was comfortable. There are a few minor repairs and paint touch ups that could be done, but for once our balcony door lock worked! The resort is 90 minutes from the airport, but it's nice to see the Cuban countryside. There are excursions, but as this was our third trip to Cuba we didn't go on any. The best part of the resort is the staff. They are genuinely friendly and the Nautico guys were really helpful. Go out on a hobie cat. Thanks Rafael for a great time! Another plus is that the other guests were really friendly too. We made new friends from acoss Canada. I'm not sure if it's because we were there Feb.3-10 which is before any of the school breaks, but there were always loungers and sun shelters available. The Iberostar Ensenachos is a lovely resort.

Sol Cayo Santa Maria: Great resort for the price

We enjoyed many aspects of this resort. Other than the lack of water from 12 am to 5 am, we enjoyed the resort. They have excellent service and food at the buffet morning noon and night. The staff in general were very friendly. The beach is exceptionally beautiful. They had great shows at night, especially the aquatic show. The rooms were clean, nothing too fancy but clean. Place is very laid back and you can have an enjoyable time.

Melia Cayo Santa Maria: Good resort for the price

I am submitting this review as a 4th time guest at this resort so I am comparing to my previous visits. The hotel is clean and the staff does what it can to maintain it with the limited equipment available to them. (our screen door did not slide very well so it was hard to open. We reported it to the staff and their solution was to simply remove it) Our maid did a very good job in our room. All the staff made us feel welcome. As a returning guest, I must say that I was disappointed with the qu [... read more]ality and variety of the food. As the resort is getting older, it seems that the variety of food has changed. The replenishing of the dishes on the buffet line was extremely slow, sometimes non-existent. The buffet staff did not seem to care when food was spilt. (We advised them on 2 different occasions about spilled food that was making the floor slippery and nothing was done). We always found something to eat but if one is a picky eater, this may not be the place for you. I would advise anyone booking this resort not to have their expectation set too high. The sun was shining everyday and the drinks (alcoholic and non-alcoholic) were flowing. Our entire party had a wonderful time and we just took everything in stride. I would recommend this resort because the beach is spectacular and the price is reasonable.

Melia Las Dunas: Amazing spot

This is one of the best spots I've been to. Awesome staff the food was not what I excepted. It was great lots o flavor. The resort was really clean. Always seen staff picking up glasses even if they weren't cleaning staff. I will go back there for sure.

Hotel Roc Casa del Mar: Very clean, modern hotel

Entire resort was very clean; staff was friendly and helpful; food was good; wonderful large beach; no sign up or waiting lines for a la carte restaurants, which was great; Hola representative was onsite every day except Sunday, and she was very friendly and helpful; currency exchange was onsite; lots of beach lounges at the 2 pools and on beach; loved the daily lunches served out of the beach snack bar (lunch also served in buffet restaurant and snack bars); did not have to stand in any lines d [... read more]uring our stay. There were just a few negative features: no elevators in buildings - we were on the third floor, had to take luggage up and down and climb stairs constantly to go to our room; information regarding meals, activities, entertainment was posted outside buffet restaurant - it would have been nice to receive either daily info or at least a summary when we arrived; and, finally, resort was almost 2 hours from airport - that was a long ride!

Melia Las Dunas: Great Resort

This was a great property. The check in was efficient and staff are very friendly. Property and grounds are beautiful and well maintained. Room was clean and quiet. We spent most time at the quiet pool which was well maintained. It was great to have lunch at the little restaurant close to the pool. Loved the live band in the gazebo every evening and the the troupe of young dancers. The food was very good and abundant. Of the three properties we have visited in Cuba, this was the best so far!

Valentin Perla Blanca Paraiso: amazing

We found the hotel very nice and the people were very nice we had lots of fun the beach was great the only thing was housekeeping was not great didn't make the beds everyday the bathroom was cleaned once the mini bar was never restocked the room was half ass'd clean only when we were there. The a la carte restaurants were excellent best salmon we had in 5 yrs. Things to improve having bathroom closer to the beach, and for the room better beds (like sleeping on a concrete slab) and the fans in th [... read more]e room (bedroom bathroom) didn't work.

Valentin Perla Blanca: Beautiful ocean resort ... ohhh that ocean!

Vanentin Perla Blanca's staff provided very attentive service to its guests throughout the entire resort. Its landscaping is nicely maintained daily by very hardworking locals from nearby villages, toiling away in the hot sun. They do a lot with what they have available to them on the island. Small tropical plants you may have in your home that are, say, six inches tall are three to four feet tall at the resort. Wow! The rooms are nice - generally, a 3- to 4-star North American standard f [... read more]eaturing large walk-in showers, vessel sinks, A/C, balconies off each room, a room safe, and flat-screen TV. The maid will create beautiful "swan towels" on your bed, and surprise you everyday with a more elaborate creation. (Leave a daily tip rather than tipping at the end of your stay for maximum creativity!) The flip side is that water pressure can vary from room-to-room and bungalow-to-bungalow, and there is absence of clock radios, and bathroom ventilation fans, yet there is a phone and weigh scale in your bathroom. Huh?! That's different. Towels and toiletries aren't always restocked consistently. Tips for future guests: . the best places to eat on the resort are: Oh la la (French a la carte restaurant), the Spanish restaurant next door to Oh la la (also a la carte), BBQ at the ocean bar hut (~noon to 3ish), and the restaurant at the quiet pool for warm, deliciously toasted sandwiches . vary your breakfasts yourself at the buffet, otherwise you could tire of a large but pretty much unchanging food selection throughout your stay . nightly live entertainment in the 24-hour bar (main resort building) is only surpassed by the energetic and colourful live theatre shows running every night in the theatre building . best libations? Try the Mojitos from the guy at the ocean hut - he makes the best; Miami Vices and Superman drinks from anywhere on the resort; and, specialty coffees (a fire show) anywhere they are served throughout the resort. Also ask for their house drink (a Valentin Perla Blanca) at the 24 hour bar - it's beautiful and very refreshing :) . best buffet food? amazing Cuban coffee, freshly made omelettes, sunnyside up eggs, pulled pork, fried ham with pineapple slices, freshly made pizza masterpieces, crepes with fruit and yogurt, freshly made smoothies, and single serving cherry jam jars. Be sure to look for Lacey as one of your service specialists. . the exchange rate for Canadian $ to Cuban Pesos is something like 35% in their favour. Foreign exchange booths are located at the airport and at the resort, itself, in between the check-in desk and the 24-hour bar! . there's an excellent variety of activities and excursions to check out that are based at the resort. . guests smoke everywhere - cigarettes, cigars, you name it. . best pool events: surprise buffet lunch poolside, aquafit at noon (esp. if lead by Manuel), and an ad hoc foam party with live DJ and tunes . pool staff are available very limited times of the day to exchange your used beach towel: 9:30 to 10 or 10:30 a.m. . if you're an animal lover, bring lots of sealed cat treats in your checked baggage for the cats who live at the resort. Better still, if you are a veterinarian or know of a vet who will volunteer professional services to spay/neuter the cats, prearrange this with the Resort's owner to help out our four-legged friends. . be sure to carry lots of extra TP in your bag, since it is sometimes absent in select resort washrooms . staff are friendly, attentive and polite; surprisingly, many speak very little English. This means sometimes it ain't easy to get a straight answer to your questions . we met many visitors who were repeat guests for three years running or more at the Valentin Perla Blanca resort. When they keep coming back, it's the best review and validation anyone can give a resort. Sooooo, give it a try for a relaxing (or energetic - you choose!) and wonderfully warm Caribbean get away that's very reasonably priced. Cheers. (Did you hear the clanging of glasses?) Here's to the inventor of the Miami Vice :)

Roc Lagunas del Mar: Beautiful resort

The resort was beautiful this was our first trip ever however the 24hr snack bar ran out of buns for the hamburgers and hot dogs and also at one point they had run out of toilet paper. I was told that when you travel to Cuba you don't go there for the food and I didn't starve however it was different. Overall again for our first trip away we had a great time and the staff was amazing.

Melia Las Dunas: Very Disappointing

This resort was rated top 5 in all of Cuba and I have no idea why. I don't usually write reviews whether good or bad but this one deserves a write up. The rooms were dirty and the bathtubs were moldy. They only changed your towels once during the whole week whether you put them in the tub or not, they would just hang them back up and they always stayed damp because of the humidity. They only swept the floors I think once during our whole stay and I know this because the handyman came to fix  [... read more]our safe and left some debris and it stayed there for 3 days. They didn't replenish the fridge everyday which I thought was standard. The food at the buffet for lunch and supper was horrible and always cold. I'm usually the first to say if you go hungry it's your own fault but honestly I had no idea what to eat and nothing seemed to agree with me. The omelets at the buffet in the morning was really good because it was made fresh and stayed hot. The A la Carte Restaurants were really good, I have no complaints there. We didn't have hot water until the 3rd night we were there which was very inconvenient. Half of the washrooms on the grounds didn't have toilet seats and they often ran out of toilet paper. The bartenders at the pool bar were sweet and very friendly but I can't say the same for the ones in the lobby, they rarely smiled and sometimes we seemed invisible and we tipped almost every single time we ordered a drink and they rarely seemed appreciative. The beach was beautiful but very small so on certain days the water was almost at the wall so you had no sand to walk on. I hate it when people write reviews and complain about everything, I know there are a lot of people that you just cannot please but I'd like to save someone else from making the same mistake we did, I would not recommend staying at this hotel. There are a lot of other hotels in Santa Maria that seemed quite nice and in speaking with other tourists they were satisfied so I can't say don't go to Santa Maria as that would not be fair.

Dhawa Cayo Santa Maria: Awesome time!

My boyfriend and I went away and took a leap as there were no reviews other than 1 spanish. We are so happy we took a leap of faith! New resort, very clean, modern, looks like ikea type resort! Food was actually quite good! I didnt go hungry. They even had Heinz Ketchup and Mustard available along with other sauces. I can be picky. People are so friendly, great service. Beach was nice but not a very wide sandy part. They have a chef on the beach, the chicken skewer and chicken sandwich was reall [... read more]y good. Theres also a tikki style bar on the beach. They have free sail boat and paddle boat of the beach too! The pool was good, equipped with a swim up bar, very friendly staff. We liked Jenny at the pool bar. You can get food 24 hours at the snack bar, drinks too. Leondro became our bestie! Nothing major to complain about. Minor complaints would be that our room key didnt work a couple times as well as safe. I would recommened bringing some sort of insect repellent. We didnt notice untill we got back to Canada but we are covered in bites (I think sand fleas) I didnt notice bugs though! All in all I must say it was a lovely get away and great value for it being so new and good food compared to a lot of others in Cuba! Hope this helped, Cheers

Hotel Roc Casa del Mar: Beautiful resort

The Oceans experience was very positive. The checkin was quick and easy the rooms were lovely. Absolutely loved the rainfall showers. The food was very good at all locations a favourite was the cappuccino The pools were spotless and staff friendly My only suggestion would be to have better stairs to the beach ( which is beautiful) but I can see how it would be inaccessible to many due to having to climb down to the water My only complaint is towels I understand there are times when the [... read more]y may run out but it was the attitude of the towel staff at the right end of the resort they were always rude and many people felt they closed even when they had dry towels Would I go back. Yes

Valentin Perla Blanca: Very nice resort

This hotel was very nice in general. Some of the washrooms had no toilet seats and often no toilet paper. Our room was clean and very well kept. The staff at this hotel are absolutely wonderful. Everyone I dealt with and spoke to was friendly, smiling and helpful as best as they could considering the language barrier. Getting a clean beach towel was rather frustrating. If someone showed up at the towel shack by the pool, they were there for a very brief time. I ended up getting fresh towel [... read more]s by chasing around the cleaning lady. The nightly shows in the theater was fabulous. The buffet was very repetitive - I got tired of eating there early on in the week. I would have liked to see more variety and perhaps different themes on certain nights. The house wine was not great but the specialty coffees were outstanding!!!! I asked for extra pillows on the first day because each bed only has one body pillow. Never got them so sleeping was challenging most nights. I spent most of my trip making sure the cats on the resort were fed and had clean drinking water. Would have loved to take them home with me. I so wish resorts would be proactive and have the cats spayed/neutered. They could keep them on as resort pets and avoid procreation that gets out of control. Being the animal lover that I am, I found it hard not knowing when their last meal was or whether they had fresh water or not. This is a huge factor in my selecting a resort. My boss had been at this resort the week before - I asked him whether he saw cats or not and he said he had seen 1 cat. I figured I could handle that. Then I get there and there are at least six that I saw :(:( It upsets me very much. Smoking was also an issue. It seemed everyone was smoking. For a non-smoker, I was always trying to find a spot on the outside of the seating area with the wind to my back. The resort should have more non-smoking sections. Especially in the eating areas.

Roc Lagunas del Mar: So much potential!

This resort has so much potential.....we had a great time despite the Warwick's short comings. The resort is set up nice and is fairly new. The room was conveniently located and comfortable. The communication of the amenities is poor. There is anarchy out front when a cab arrives, the most aggressive people get it. The pool men's washroom had an overflowing urinal and an inch of water on the floor.....quite disgusting when your barefoot or in sandals. The lobby bathrooms had a very bad sten [... read more]ch as well. A group of twelve of us went to the a la carte restaurant, the Crazy Lobster, and the service was nonexistent....they never took our drink orders...someone at our table finally went and got a red and white wine off of the side table. Some of the staff were amazing and we had a great time despite these issues.

Royalton Cayo Santa Maria: Beautiful beach - quiet retreat

The resort was lovely and the beach was amazing. Lots of space and no trouble finding a spot by the pool or on the beach. Food wasn't very good but I found items that were okay. Snack bar service was quite poor but other alacarte resataurants were good.

Valentin Perla Blanca: Average Resort overal

The room and the grounds were very nice. Friendly staff. The food selection and quality would be at the bottom favorite of all the resorts (8) we visited in Cuba. We could not change our beach towels as that section was always closed. The bus to the market that is supposed to be at every half hour after 09:30 never showed up. We waited for 1:30 hours for it and we gave up. The bars were very good. Store at the resort is a big joke. One shelf against a wall in the lobby. We don't  [... read more]plan on going back to that resort.

Hotel Roc Casa del Mar: Amazing resort

Rooms are spacious and clean we had room facing swimming pool, it was very quiet more activity at the family pool. The grounds are still being developed will be nice in a year or two when matured. The food was plentiful and nice, we went to a la carte most nights they were excellent, sunbeds lots never a problem at pool or beach. The staff are very hard working and happy, gardners greeted us every morning with a flower nice way to start you day.

Hotel Roc Casa del Mar: Not quite ready for an amazing vacation

We arrived at the Ocean Casa del Mar on Friday afternoon, the lobby was beautiful, the rooms were beautiful and the pools looked very nice but very cold. Food is survival food not awful but not great. We had a few issues with things working but they were resolved fairly quick.The resort is overly quiet to the point I felt uncomfortable it lacks personal service such as pool side drink service, activity team and just over all staff presence. There was no music what so ever playing anywhere I th [... read more]ought maybe we were at the quiet pool so we moved to the pool where the childrens area was and it was the same. There was a schedule of activities that we were unable to find and participate in, we wanted to do the aqua fit ... no where to be found, wanted to play bingo no one was runing this activity gave up and went to the beach and could not find that either. The tide was really high which meant the water was right up to the rock barrier and all the chair were pilled high on the rocks not appealing at all since we did come for the beach. We had 2 teenage(14-15) girls with us that had never been to Cuba before and they felt like they were in a senior citizen retreat. We did have ocean view but there is an odd space between the rooms and the beach/rock/vegitation line that made it feel unfinished I almost felt like I had been dropped of on an uninhabited Island. I wasn't satisfied that any of this would change for the better while we were there so requested to move resorts so that the girls could have some things to do for fun.

Valentin Perla Blanca: Amazing Resort! Staff was amazing people incredibly Awesome!

No complaints would go again and again! Very friendly the service was great! Good food and great service. The best beach ever! 3 pools! Great entertainment every night. Cuban people are totally awesome!

Gran Muthu Cayo Santa Maria: GREAT TIME OF MY LIFE 2017!!!

As my first time in Cuba with 2 of my girlfriends, this was the best experience to a beautiful island of Cayo Santa Maria, Cuba. The hotel "Cayo Santa Maria" was very open concept and very clean. We were 3 in a room and we all got a very good size bed...double size, which fit 3 across in our room. The staff are all very kind and always there to help when needed. The restaurant were will equipped with different type of food from your typical food to ethnic Cuban food. The waiter/waitresses are al [... read more]l very hospitable. The only complain is that their Nigh Club was shut down because it was or is under renovation. But beside that, no sickness, no issue of any kind. Truly bless.