Wonderful resort!

Visit Jan 29 to Feb 5, 2025. We return every year as the resort is well kept & scenic. Huge fabulous beach sprinkled with natural trees. Great friendly service. They serve plenty of good food and drinks, and have a 24-hour restaurant with numerous things on the menu, plus a restaurant on the beach. For those who can’t do steps, there are ramps to the beach and on the ground floor and lobby, as well as a handicap washroom. The Mares building also has large walk-in showers with a seat built in, an [... read more]d long shower cords. Remember to take a carriage ride or the bus to the Guardalavaca market, just minutes away. We have visited 11 times, and will continue to come and bring our friends!

Amazing resort as always.

Over the years as I have been going to this resort what can I say. It keeps getting better all the time. I have met so many friends and to this day I still talk regularly to some of them, and it's been over ten years since we met. The staff is wonderful some have been there for 30 plus years. I met one elderly lady that has travelled to that resort 100 times. Now that says something about this resort. All as you have to go is one time and you will fall in love with Luna Mares. You have to go of  [... read more]the resort and talk to the locals and see how hard their lives are. Take plenty of small items like toothpaste, bandages, deodorant, toothbrushes candy for the children, medicine, they need it all and you will see their happiness. Only thing now, I have to wait till Oct to visit my second home.

Amazing Resort!

It was a great family vacation from June 25-July 2 2024. The Hotel Sol Rio de Luna y Mares is probably the best resort we visited in Cuba. Very well maintained, clean, perfect layout. Everything is close: lobby bar, pool, restaurants, beach. Beach is amazing (Playa Esmeralda), lots of natural shade, very good place for snorkeling. Food was good (lots of variety), entertainment was good (could be a little longer at night, finishes at 10pm), service was very good, staff was very friendly and we [... read more]lcoming, they go extra mile to make you feel appreciated. We will definitely come back and probably make this resort our Cuban vacation destination in the future.

Love Sol Rio de Luna Y Mares

This was our second trip to SRLM and we were concerned about the negative reviews regarding the food in Cuba. There was no concern there. The Cuban soup was delicious. The omelets were very good. The buffet was good, a little repetitive but very good food. We never went hungry, believe me. We had eggs every day and bacon almost every day. Besides, I don't eat bacon and eggs everyday at home. lol. I would advise you bring condiments like ketchup and mustard, no big deal for me. The staff were won [... read more]derful, always smiling. It was wonderful to see Dora again. Most staff speak good English, The maids were always smiling and friendly. I looked forward to hearing "HOLA" every morning. The pool was clean and the swim-up bar was great. The beach is amazing, just like I remembered it. You can snorkel right off the beach, plenty of fish too. I can't wait to go back. My only disappointment was that the Luna side was closed for renovations but that really didn't but a damper on our vacation. If you are considering booking SRLM, go for it. You won't be disappointed. Thank You to the management of SRLM for keeping this resort as wonderful as I remembered. Thank You to Carol Mack from Tripcentral, who made our booking very easy.

Great resort

The beach here is absolutely beautiful and there is great snorkeling. The staff here are very friendly. It is a small resort but it is great to have everything close. The resort is clean beds are comfy. The entertainment was great. Loved the coffee bar

Good Resort

We had a wonderful trip as always. Great beach , The staff is amazing. There's not a large variety of food but always enough to fill your needs. We go there mainly for the beach and people so there's everything we need. This was our 15th trip.

Sol Rio de Luna

As we have just returned from 21 days at Sol Luna I feel I can give a fair and honest assessment for this resort. This is our seventh trip to this resort and our 14th to Cuba.First of all the staff and grounds are one of the best in Cuba. There are some serious issues in Cuba surrounding shortages The poor staff do what they can to satisify but even their frustration shows at times. Examples are no bread for days, no eggs for days ,no bacon for days, limited watered down juice. no mixed drinks e [... read more]xcept rum punch. At the A La Carte restaurants it seems to be the same old products just renamed.Example soup in all pretty much the same but renamed in each.Water issues for a few days resulted in some frustration. 1 day no water for 8 hours 1 day no water for 4 hours 1 day no hot water... We feel that we are fair and try to understand the problems Cuba is having however as we are paying good money for the trip we don,t expect to have these ongoing problems.Conditions were much worse this year than 2023. I have no issues with Trip Central and certainly will be using Jenn Black in the future.Unless things improve in Cuba i would not recommend any resort in this country.

Big Warning!!!!!!

Having been to Cuba and especially to this resort numerous times since 2008 I thought I knew what to expect. I was wrong! We are not just talking about some shortages but major shortage and big change in other areas too. From atmosphere to safety. While I was there, 2 couples left early due to safety issues. As always, the beach was beautiful and the pool is too. Rooms clean but no art, no love just a bare cell with 20 year old beds. I do not need bacon and eggs for breakfast, I am to [... read more]tally OK with toast, jam and coffee and fruit. But if there is no decent bread (flour shortage, no yeast) no butter, no jam, no yoghurt only fruit is watermelon and papaya, then it becomes an issue. Of course no eggs and bacon. No juice. Orange juice is Tang, the lemon juice and strawberry juice that is offered is not juice but the syrup mixture used for magaritas and strawberry magaritas. Lunch and Dinners: Next to the buffet there is only one restaurant at beach and the snackbar that doubles as Cuban restaurant sometimes and sometimes its the International restaurant. I was there for 7 day. Chicken and chicken. Fish is only Tilapi, why - there is an ocean out there. Same with the fruit, there are fruit vendors along road, but hotel only has water melon. Hamburge or hotdogs are served without condiments and bread or bun. Basically just a slice of burger with cheese and a slice of tomato. Hotdog had a big cracker that came with it. No potatoes, but mashed egg plant, mashed plantain, mashed banana, mashed pumpkin. A lot of mashed Salad bar: its defrosted vegtables and fresh cabbage but no dressing - no vinegar, no mayo etc. Hence its just dry piles of canned or previously frozen vegs. The brusselspouts were sitting there lonely the whole week. Cold brusselsprouts. Dessert station: Orange jello and mush again. Meaning there was rice pudding and choclate pudding. No pastries or lil cakes. They had something called donuts - however it was the same dense white flour dough, hard and dense, glazed with choclate or sugar. of course watermelon Atmosphere: Changed a lot too. Staff is tired and worn looking and acting. Front desk ignores customers and generally has no clue when asked a question - this is the young male staff. The older ladies were good. There were lots of American-Cubans this resulted in loud boombox music from different areas of pool. Rude and ill mannered. Lots of prostitution - young girls and old men. There were security incidences that were just scarry and people left. No police was called nor properly addressed. Water and electrical outages. Here and there for a couple of hours But also longer. Water was out one day for 12 hours during the day. Imagine the smell of the public restrooms. You werre unable to clean yourself, brush teeth or anything. I ended up getting myself a gallon of water and used it to clean myself. All in all. It was not worth the money at all. I am shocked at how much it has changed.

Beautiful Resort

This was our eighth time visiting this resort, we were there from April 3 - 17th. Our room was nice and remodelled with a beautiful shower and the air conditioning worked very well. Food was good with only a few days without bread and eggs, we had fresh fruit every day. Every Friday is Cuban day, they roasted a pig and served it later in the afternoon. The beach is long and beautiful. There are lots of activities throughout the day and entertainment in the evenings, you will not get bored. As [... read more] always, the resort staff are amazing and the cleaning staff and gardeners keep the resort clean and beautiful, they all made our stay wonderful. We have no regrets and look forward to our next vacation to this resort.

Returning guests

4th time back, can’t wait till the Reno is done, but it did not effect the amazing atmosphere of Sol Rio, the beautiful surroundings, beach and the staff are what makes this place special and keeps us coming back.. now, to be brutally honest as I’ve seen a lot of mixed reviews.. IF YOU ARE a picky eater, perhaps Cuba is not for you, but if not there’s tons of amazing food to choose from every day! Rice, pasta, chicken, pork, fish, salads and fresh fruits!! Alcohol- lots of rum, wine, mimosas, be [... read more]er, however - we did not have vodka or tequila for most of our stay. It did pop up a couple nights though. Overall if you want to have a nice relaxing vacation, this is the spot, amazing service, never crowded and a beach that is an absolute gem.

Best Beach for Value!

This resort is a bit of "best kept secret". The beach is beyond expectation. The snorkeling is first class (if you know where to go...). The service is amazing and the whole staff is so attentive and work so hard to show us all a wonderful vacation. The grounds are (to me) the best in all of this area's resorts. Even though some renos are taking place on the Luna side, every effort was made to be as unintrusive as possible. I can't wait to see the results in a (hopefully) return visit! Speaking  [... read more]of, a special dinner was included for return visitors. We thought that was really nice. The dinner was amazing. Hope to stay longer next time....

Wonderful resort. We’ll certainly be back.

Employees were warm, welcoming and very helpful as usual. Lots of food, and the variety was good, including shrimp, calamari, lobster, and also great pizza in the 24-hour restaurant. Enjoyed the sun and acres of clean white sand all week on the huge beach with a lovely sprinkling of natural trees. You can’t beat the spectacular views from the front or the rear of this resort! Take some bug spray this year though as unusually wet weather last fall brought out a few tiny but itchy mosquitoes.

My favorite resort

This was my second time in this resort, two years in a row. The same feeling of being welcome and valued guest. The resort is well managed, staff are friendly and attentive, the beach is one of the best I have seen. There were food shortages however they were well compensated with other items. No eggs, plenty of shrimps and sea food. There is generally a good feel there. No drunk guests, parties enjoyed by all. Lots of returning guests, which means something. I will keep returning

Excellent vacation

This week just came back from 7 days in this resort. Everything was just excellent! From the very beginning: very skillful bus driver, then great experience and followup help of check-in and welcoming, very high quality service and fantastically pleasant stay! It is one of Cuban pearls definitely! The people are very friendly and personnel does just amazing job! Many thanks to all of the staff! Fantastic management! Not mentioning here some food shortages so many times mentioned in other com [... read more]ments; the situation in and around Cuba as well as the position of Cuba is well known and respected. In given circumstances Cubans and this resort do everything possible and even more than that. On the last UN general assembly only two countries voted against and one abstained on resolution condemning the illegal economic and trade embargo against Cuba imposed by the US in 1960. A total of 187 States voted for the resolution put forward each year against the embargo. UN General Assembly calls for US to end Cuba embargo. The food and drinks are of absolutely highest quality given the initial resources and the circumstances. So, it is great, healthy and very tasty, refreshing and energizing, well made with love and care. (Those whining about food etc. should go to Turks and Caicos all-inclusives or Florida ones and see what they will get there and for what price, let’s be honest :) ) Great and many thanks to all the people of this place and resort!

Well managed resort

In the past, we had stayed at the Hotel Paradisus, but due to hurricanes that hotel’s beach is almost nonexistent, it is full of coral; but since we love Playa Esmeralda we decided to try out Sol Luna Mares since the latter had been renovated. We were pleasantly surprised. The grounds were beautiful, the beach was stunning as expected. We had reserved a room with ocean-view and to our great surprise, our room had cathedral ceilings! Service was impeccable, entertainment was amusing, although  [... read more]it does become very noisy if you want to sit in your balcony We are coffee drinkers and were very pleased to see a coffee counter in the lobby which was open 24 hours a day. I had cappuccino’s to my heart’s content. I have to mention how clean all the public bathrooms were. At the beach, the lady whose name I believe was Ymilce, cleaned the bathroom after each person who entered. Amazing! The only thing we were disappointed with was the food. Yes, yes, this is Cuba and the situation is really bad, but I think if they just offered a little more vegetables instead of canned mushrooms, canned beets and canned carrots, it would be an amazing improvement. The only fresh vegetables they had were cucumbers, oh also pumpkin. If you like, french fries, hamburger, hot dogs, sweet potatoes, pizza, pasta, pancakes, cakes, doughnuts, then you will be happy with the selection. They also had a very good selection of fresh fish, chicken, porc, and even steak and delicious pineapple and papaya. I hope that in future, the hotel will be able to add fresh vegetables, real eggs for omelettes instead of powdered eggs, cold cuts and maybe a better variety of cheese. If they make these changes, this hotel will easily become a 5 star hotel. In the meantime, we definitely intend to return to this hotel, since it is beautiful and well managed. Not to mention, the amazing employees which make this place even more special. In the meantime, gracias to the management, a job well done.

Beautiful Resort

Very spacious and clean. Pool looks clean and neat. Beach area looks nice and tidy. Snack bar opens 24/7 with tasty burgers and hotdogs. Lots of drinks. Wi-Fi available throughout the resort. Cleaning ladies are always on time

Amazing resort

Great location, Luna part closed due to renovation. Mares is completely renovated. Very helpful representatives at the front desk. Excellent service in restaurants bars etc. Clean updated rooms and facilities, everything in our rooms was functioning properly.. Playa Esmeralda is something that can not be described by words, you have to experience it. We'll be back.

A good bang for your buck!

The hotel is well maintained but tired. Check-in was simple enough but our room was not prepared based on our request. After an entire day of travel and transfer delays; we were a dismayed to walk in to a room that was crammed with three double beds. The safe didn’t work and the washroom basin did not drain. We were tired and decided to speak to the hotel in the morning, after we got some rest. When I explained, the wheels went into motion immediately. Safe battery changed, sink plunged one be [... read more]d removed and the other two joined to form a king. We did experience food, water and electricity shortages but we knew the country was struggling with this. I would say that there could be some kind of notice posted advising guests of the issue but otherwise it was a good experience. Lovely beach with interesting on-site snorkelling. Wish tourists would not leave their plastic cups on the beach…we need to help preserve the pristine beaches we visit. Kudos to the staff who work hard and go out of their way to please. We thank you.

Love this place!

I've been here before and will go again... The renovated Mare part of hotel (Luna part is under renovation) looks very nice. Everyday cleaning inside and out makes it look bright! Weather (middle June 2023) was wonderful! Three restaurants serve your needs all day! You always find something special for yourself. Entertaining was surprisingly very good comparing to previous years. I enjoyed the concert with beautiful and very talented girl who made a perfect show with Whitney Huston songs. A [... read more]nd people who serve you… O, they are amazing! Hope to see and listen her again!

Amazing resort !!!

I rate this resort as the best in the area. What are you looking for your vacation while traveling from, for example, Canada to Cuba? Firsts and most of all it is the beach and the resort by that beach. This resort is fantastic and playa Esmeralda is one of the most beautiful places in Cuba for sure. Everything went well and everything was just fine! The personnel was very friendly and helpful; the features, public areas, dinning, bars and coffee services, room and services were excellen [... read more]t. The beach and all the surroundings are just pearl of fantastic, tranquil vacation place. This place went through some renovation, still going through some additional improvements and it is on the ramp up, no doubts. I strongly recommend this resort for a vacation.