Gran Muthu Cayo Santa Maria: Fantastic Resort :)

My two friends and I have just returned from Hotel Cayo Santa Maria and I cannot sing their praises enough! The resort was beautiful, meticulously maintained and the staff were very friendly and accomodating! Food and drinks were great!! I would recommmed this resort to friends and/or family members in a heartbeat! Thank you

Valentin Perla Blanca: Very good resort

Very nice place...great atmosphere. Staff is friendly. Food was good. Pools were fun. Entertainment was good. Rooms were nice. Easy to get around the resort. Catamaran excursion was worth the price. Beach was nice.

Iberostar Selection Ensenachos: Ensenachos was great!

The hotel was great. Clean, friendly staff, good food. The only complaint was that it is pretty spread out. With a four and two year old, it was a bit challenging. We would have packed a stroller had we known how spread out it was. Also, the Air Canada representative did not show up for our scheduled meet and greet at the beginning.

Hotel Roc Casa del Mar: Casa Del Mar

We had a very enjoyable vacation at Casa Del Mar. It is a new and very clean resort. The buffet, 24 hour snack bar, And four additional restaurants, offered multiple choices, on a regular basis. Our favourite was Origami, as we enjoy sushi, however the freshly cooked food at the buffet was also quite good and prepared by pleasant and competent cooks. We also enjoyed seafood paella at the beach snack bar. Mikes coffee bar served several kinds of coffee, hot chocolate and teas. We agree with past  [... read more]guests, that Mikes deserves kudos for its menu and pleasant professional service. The gardens are tended daily and will become even more lovely as they mature. The pools were warm and there were always plenty of lounge chairs, both here and at the beach. The beach was our favourite! Beautiful soft sand, cozy little nooks nestled among the volcanic rock offered serene places to stretch out, enjoy the sun, sand, sound of the surf and a good book. One could easily swim out to the coral reef and while wearing water shoes is a must, walking along the reef, tropical fish would swim up to and around you. Beautiful! There was always staff available to help place beach lounges and sweep sand off them. The resort is large and offers a nicely appointed tennis court. There was nightly entertainment. We enjoyed the dancers, but sometimes found the singers a little too loud. We would definitely recommend Casa Del Mar for a relaxing vacation in the sun!

Valentin Perla Blanca: Beautifully awesome resort!

The nicest resort I've been to in Cuba of my four times there. The staff was so kind and helpful and the beaches were mind blowing. A very large resort, so the walking was great. Paths were clean of debris and groomed well to say nothing of the landscaping....breathtaking! The nightly entertainment, food, maid service was wonderful and the disco was a blast.... I hope to go back again one day. Thanks so much for having me...it really was a soothing vacation I needed.

Resonance Blu Santa Maria: Better than expected

Clean resort with many activities to do. Great resort for families as there is so much to do. Breakfast was always delicious with banana crepes or omelettes made fresh to your liking. The buffet was not the best but what I had expected for Cuba. The pizza was also good. The beach was beautiful as the water is turquoise and the white sand beach was soft and clean.

Melia Las Dunas: Resort has gown down

We've been to this resort two years ago and found it quite nice then. For that reason, we decided to go to that same resort this year in February. PROS: - Beach was amazing - relaxing pool was nice (adult section of the resort) - service for drinks at pool and beach - very decent bedroom - bedroom always clean (maid changed towels and sheets when we asked her to) - beautiful gardens CONS: - night entertainment not published anywhere, therefore we didn't know what would happen 100%  [... read more]of the time - not a good variety of food at the buffet (got sick half of the week). The same food is served day after day for the whole week - no toilet seats in most bathrooms of the resort - no water in the whole resort on our last day

Iberostar Selection Ensenachos: Cuba's Best Resort!!

I have been to Cuba at least 12 times went with a friend to this resort my first and will not be my last!!It was amazing the grounds well groomed very clean everywhere.. The staff were very friendly and all new there jobs to make you feel welcome and your stay perfect we stayed at a 2 bedroom villa in the Grand Village section (adults only) .The Playa Ensenachos beach was stunning white powder sand clear water and you could swim and also snorkel very easy which was amazing I seen a star fish tha [... read more]t was big like a dinner plate...we stayed in bungalow 6202 the room consist of kitchen 2 bedrooms, cathedral living and dining room with large soaker tub with free standing tiled shower very clean...full stocked fridge as well Jacuzzi on our outside deck. We had breakfast at our own restaurant in the Villa section was very good and superb service, lunch there as well and dinner sometimes we ate at the beach grill as well which was all amazing the chefs they no how to cook ...The pool at the grand village section was nice as well. I cannot recommend only one staff member because they were ALL awesome... My only negative comment at this resort is I feel that people that still smoke they should have designated areas for them and better wifi connections... I will be returning here ....also need to say thank you to Kim Hartlen who once again has made our travel arrangements go thru without a hitch we have been dealing with Kim for a long time she is very good at her job... It would be nice if the airport was closer maybe someday..

Playa Cayo Santa Maria: Great Family Resort!

Great vacation! This was a return trip. Pros- beach water access has improved, very attentive staff, pools, food was good, suites are amazing for families! Cons- hard beds that really need to be addressed, towels not available daily, 1.5 hour drive from airport. So safe and friendly, highly recommend! We attended a VIP dinner for return guests, it was so well done, with an amazing chicken and lobster dinner. Sunwing did a great job ensuring all our needs were met, along with the resort- l [... read more]oved the fact that we could pre-book our excursions while on the plane.

Valentin Perla Blanca Paraiso: retreat

WE enjoyed our time there. The food at the buffet was better than at the restaurants. It makes me appreciate the skill of Canadian restaurants in presenting hot meals.The beach was wonderful, clean and peaceful.

Resonance Blu Santa Maria: Great vacation

We just returned from a week vacation at Starfish. This is our third time at this resort. The hotel is clean with beautiful gardens. The room service was excellent. Our maid Yanet in block 10 was amazing. We loved talking with Tony at the sugar cane booth and having coconuts everyday. Everyday there something special going on at the lobby. Nice live music and great service. Food was ok and overall we had a great vacation. We also enjoyed eating at the restaurant by the pool and received great se [... read more]rvice from our waiter Evan. Overall we had a great week and enjoyed ourselves specially the foam party at the pool and the beach party. The animation team was great and we enjoyed meeting Shelly who was so warm and friendly. We will definitely return to this resort. The beach is absolutely beautiful and there was always chair and huts.

Playa Cayo Santa Maria: Amazing Resort

Just got back from Hotel Playa on Thursday evening. Holiday with 3 other couples and 3 children. Beautiful resort with well maintained grounds and very clean. We stayed in building 15 close to the beach. Nice big room with partial view of the ocean. We opted for the Montecristo room and well worth the extra money for this upgrade. The buffet was excellent all the time. Lots of variety and very tasty. El Pescador a la carte restaurant was excellent. The Asian one was not as good. The It [... read more]alian one was excellent with lots of choices. We all wanted to go on a catamaran tour and chose to do a private one which our wonderful transat rep Raul arranged for us. Best decision we made for our group of 9. Amazing lobster and chicken dishes prepared by one of the crew. The beach was beautiful with soft white sand and when the the tide was out, you could walk a long way out in shallow water. All in all this is a great place to have a wonderful and relaxing vacation. Great place for the price. Would go back in a heartbeat.

Playa Cayo Santa Maria: Fantastic Resort

The resort was very clean and well kept. The staff were friendly and helpful. This was our first trip to Cuba we have stayed at Sandals in Bahamas and The Verandah in Antigua previously and based on conversations with others who have travelled to cuba I had low expectations, however was pleasantly suprised. The food was good...the beach fantastic...but rough most days...entertainment was pretty good each night. There was a bit of snorkeling off beach mostly needle nose fish. The catamarn to [... read more]ur and dolphin interaction ws great. I would reommend this resort to anyone who wants to hang out on the beach or pool e everyday as there isnt much to do or see in Santa Maria. We wouldn't go back only because we always go somewhere different.

Valentin Perla Blanca: Loved the beach!!!

We had a great time this last week. The service was slow at times at the lobby bar but other venues great. The place was clean and the beach was beautiful!!! The food was good. Found something on the buffet always and the A large carts were decent. The shows were great excepecially the Michael Jackson night!!! Our rooms were stocked and cleaned daily!! Would deffinatly stay there again

Royalton Cayo Santa Maria: FIRST RATE TREATMENT

Having never been to Cuba before it was suggested we stay at the Royalton for best food and treatment. We were not disappointed. Upon arrival we were met with open arms and ushered into the lounge, no standing in line in a lobby waiting to check in. Handed a glass of champagne and introduced to our butler Lester. He was fantastic, our other butler was Diana, she went above and beyond to accommodate us. We aren't fussy people but we broke a bottle in our room and within 2 minutes of us calling  [... read more]her, she showed up with a new bottle of wine (Cold) and the cleaning crew was minutes behind her. Not 5 minutes and they were out of there, floor was dry and you would never know it had happened. Our chamber maids were Alina and Yuliet, and I was so thrilled to see what towel art they had for us each day or what they had done to the sheers, made our room special every day, well one day they were off and we could certainly notice they weren't the ones to take care of the room. Those two are a great team. We did spoil them with gifts. The rooms were larger than we are used to, wider, very clean, no complaints at all. Lots of closet and drawer space. The bartenders in the main lobby bar were fabulous, shout of especially to Yahki and Umberto, we spoiled them too. High end liquor like i've never had at other 5 star resorts before. Very impressive. We waited for NOTHING. While they have less than 125 rooms the resort still had 3 restaurants and plenty of food choices. Dinner was on the table in less than 5 to 10 minutes. My favourite server was Estudante who works in Eggcellence. Love the way they pour wine, The Sunset grill was a great choice for lunch, right by the pool. The best spaghetti i've had in years and the Royalton burger was to die for, so big we could barely finish it, If you like seafood, it's abundant, lobster, shrimp, octopus, you name it, everything is presented beautifully. The Food and Beverage Manager Luis Rijo was amazing. We saw him everytime we went to eat, no matter what restaurant we went into, he was there, (I think he was following us), lol, this man did not stand around and watch his staff, he was right in there, serving wine, water, removing plates, seating guests etc. He treated his staff with lots of respect and I just loved him. Such an nice man. All the staff right down to the gardeners were so nice, friendly, got lots of hug. The entertainment staff at the lower pool, and i didnt' get all their names, Javier, awesome foot massages, the girls at the bar they are all so much fun. I can't say when I've had such a great time. The nightly entertainment was first class. I know you want to know about the food, while we aren't a fan of spicy food we found it just to our liking. If you want more, just ask. It's cuba, they don't get what you can get at home, you are on vacation, go with it and relax. Not a fan of the coffee in the rooms, more like an espresso so we didn't use it past the first day. Ordered room service a couple times and it was FAST, like 15 minutes maybe. The beach was gorgeous, wide white sand, a tad windy the week were there so we didn't spend much time on it, but we did walk down to other resorts and found them far below Royalton standards. Beat up some. The memories that you can eat at it you choose, was quite run down, too big and full of kids, so we stayed close to home. The shopping bazaar next door was quite convenient and we found the vendors very nice and not pushy at all. Took the bus tour into Santa Clara, all day trip, highly recommended. Learned so much about the Cuban culture and people, history. Visited a cigar factory, an old sugar cane factory, beautiful old church and two towns with markets. Had a great buffet lunch as well. Would I go back, you bet. We met some really nice people. if you are looking for a real swinging, drinking, partying time, you won't want to stay here. It's more relaxed, laid back, but still you can get up to some shinanegans at pool in the afternoon.

Memories Paraiso: Great resort for a great ptice

Great beach with good overall value. Entertainment and services were good. Could use more activities for teen. Happy we went. Will recommend to friends and family. The drive from airport to resort was long.

Memories Paraiso: Great value

Very friendly resort. Good daily activities. Food and service was great. Did not feel pressure to tip. Bathrooms was often out of service could use some touch ups here and there to bring back to 5 stars. Beautiful sand beaches and very nice lobby. I paid for the upgrade suite and was the same as my kids rooms!

Valentin Perla Blanca: Not impressed

The hotel looked very clean; except for all public bathrooms. They were unbelievably dirty. Bedoing was never changed all week, we did get new towels ever day, but half the time they were full of holes. Food...let's not go there. The staff where wonderful, always pleasant and smiling. The trail to the beach was interesting. The beach itself they never clean it and there are lounge chairs everywhere. It looks like a hurricane hit and they have never cleaned it up...very disappointing. Think [... read more] this resort is only a 3 star.

Hotel Roc Casa del Mar: Ocean Casa Del Mar - February 2017

Just over one and a half hours by bus from Santa Clara airport, partly through small (very poor) villages and partly along a 48-km causeway through an ecologically protected area along Cuba's north coast. Hotel is a year old and the hotel complex is beautiful and very expansive, reception area is grand looking, with fresh flowers, lounging chairs and canopied lounging beds, ceiling fans, and interesting lighting...and a fantastic view of the ocean in the distance behind the sand dunes. Rooms [... read more] in three-storey buildings are large and airy, and have good soundproofing. Ceiling fans and air conditioning in the room worked well, though there was a nice breeze if we left the patio door open. Everything is new and pristine, and there was lots of hot water. Maids always left towel art and other special touches. Mini-bar and coffee supplies replenished every day. We had a room on the second floor of Building 11, very convenient, between one pool complex and the main reception building, which also houses the buffet and two of the restaurants. "Ocean view" is a misnomer, as you had to stand at a certain angle near the patio door or be on the balcony...to see water behind the dunes in the distance. Two very large pool areas with lots of seating - one at each side of complex. Nice lounging area in back of main building, with lots of tables and chairs in front of small entertainment stage for house and other bands. Very pleasant. Mike's Coffee and Tea room is worth checking out. Good coffee and cappuccino, and some baked items to accompany it. We were very pleased with the resort...until we saw the beach. Apparently they had a storm five days before we got there and it wiped out half the beach (along with half the palapas).... 😞 We met some people the second day there, who had been there nearly two weeks. They confirmed that the beach HAD been beautiful.... It was also very windy the first couple of days so the water was quite rough, though not so bad that we couldn't swim. 😉 That said, the beach does have very soft white sand (interspersed with rocky areas), and there are lots of palapas (though many needed to be replanted...). The color of the water was pretty amazing, ranging from different shades of turquoise to dark dark blue... and the water was warm. There was staff on the beach to set up/clean sand off loungers and fetch drinks if you were feeling lazy. There is a strip of maybe 300-400 feet between the hotel complex and the dune/beach area that is still in development. It was apparently a shallow lake/ swamp that has been drained and some planting has been done but it will be years before it's filled in. Three sidewalks/boardwalks traverse that area and the dunes to access the beach. The food was better than we had in Varadero and Jibacoba --- same basic foods, but good sauces and effort to make different things (risotto, sushi, flambéd bananas, etc.).... and the à la carte restaurants we frequented had live music (fantastic violin player in one, sax and keyboard in another). They had other different food options at this hotel, as well: a "manned" pancake and waffle station at breakfast in addition to the two omelet stations; allso, they could make you a variety of liquadas (breakfast shakes), with fresh papaya, guava, mango, banana, pineapple, etc. One of the beach snack bars made Spanish paella, along with the standard burgers, etc. The paella was good - we had that a few times 🙂 There were five a la carte restaurants - no reservations needed. We liked the Italian and Asian (live music-the musicians were really talented) so never went to the Mediterranean, Blue Moon (referred to as "romantic"), which served seafood crepes, which I heard were really good, or the seafood restaurant.... 🙂 The hotel had quite good entertainment -- a very good house band that played in the open patio area every other evening, and other bands the other days, and a good animation team that put on some amazing dance routines (varied -- Latin night, Broadway review, break dancing and Michael Jackson night) -- they were all very good. The staff are super friendly and helpful. We spoke some Spanish, which was useful, but most of the staff managed quite well in English and were eager to improve their command of the language, and several expressed an interest in learning some French, to better communicate with French-speaking guests. Hard to get smaller denominations for tips (the exchange office often has only 5-peso and larger bills), but we soon found out that the staff are more than willing to make change. Tips in Canadian coin are a real problem for them as they can't exchange the coin for pesos.

Iberostar Selection Ensenachos: Our 6th visit to this resort

As usual, we arrived at the resort and were greeted with a welcome fruit punch drink. The check in was quick and our room ready. We arrived in the evening and had supper at the buffet. Our favorite waiter "Yuri" remembered us from last year and we talked as we ate. The arrival and welcome at this resort was great. Then for two weeks we enjoyed the hotel, sun, food and entertainment. This resort really does have the best beach in Cuba! One day it rained but we found other things to occupy our [... read more] time. Historic Trinidad Cuba is only a three hour car ride from the resort. The resort is very clean, the staff are fantastic and the food was good. Thanks to Yolie at the Seafood restaraunt and to Yan at the Gourmet restaraunt. Each time we visit, it feels like we are welcomed by family members! Go to this resort if you want peace and quiet and a fantastic beach. The head life guard / Red Cross person "Chino" will make sure that you are safe in the water and on the beach. We are already planning our return trip in November. (We book through Tripcentral.ca) maguirejp from Calgary, Alberta, Canada.