Vila Gale Cayo Santa Maria: un des paradis sur terre!

OUI ,UN DES PARADIS SUR TERRE UNE TRÈS BELLE GRANDE PLAGE BELLE VUE D'ENSEMBLE TRÈS BELLE CHAMBRE PROPRE,LES PISCINES TRÈS BIEN RESTAURANT 24 HEURES OÙ OM PEUT MANGER HAMBURGER PIZZA ECT ENTRE LES REPAS,ET LE RESTAURANT BUFFET TRÈS BON ET MANQUE DE RIEN MENU VARIER ,QUE CE SOT LE BAR LES RESTOS PERSONNELS TRÈS GENTIL ET ATTENTIONNÉ.JE RECOMMANDE FORTEMENT CET HOTEL QUE CE SOIT POUR PERSONNE ÂGÉE OU FAMILLE,JEUNE COUPLE ECT

Grand Sirenis Cartagena: "A Wonderful Escapade Away From Snow & Stress"

The Grand Sirenis Hotel has a welcoming and well designed structural appearance. The grounds are well maintained and the colourful cascading bouganvilleas and other flowering trees/plants adorn the grounds and the interior building beautifully. The public areas are constantly kept clean as the maintenace staff work on these areas regularly and the lighting is adequate. This is evident also in the dining areas and the rooms. ****************************************************************** [... read more]**** Firstly, Sarah and I thank you for preparing our tickets to this South American country, Cartagena, Colombia, which we gather is a new Air Canada (AC) route. The AC staff handled accessibility passengers (Sarah and me) flying in/out very caringly in Toronto. Cartagena is a picturesque city with exciting events as you also mentioned. The beautiful coastline of beaches showcasing colourful umbrellas and cabanas, was a sight to behold as we drove to/from the hotel. We took a cab and strolled to the Walled City and Getsemani among other places, wherein the streets were adorned with their arts and culture merchandise. We got some brilliant and colourful scenes e.g. Palenqueras and wall murals. We tried to make the best of our vacation. Sarah and I have travelled to many countries over the years with minimal concerns. However, there were some issues that were not addressed to us seniors on this trip. Eden, we will endeavour to mention what our mini adventures were: "Check-Mig" form must be submitted between 72 hours and one hour before departure. We spent undue time completing this form as the site was unreliable. We constantly got "kicked out" with a "402" error and had to resubmit many times as the data we input reverted to incorrect information. Stressful and frustrating! When we arrived at the Grand Sirenis Hotel,we got our keys and first entered a "moldy-smelling" room not easily accessible on the ground floor. We discovered a queen size bed for 2 but needed 2 twin beds. However, we took action and approached the Front Reception Desk personnel (FRDP), who moved us to the third floor. Again another "smelly" room with a queen size bed. We were not pleased and returned to FRDP. On this occasion, we were given a third room which was fortunately located on the ground floor, easily accessible with a mini fridge and safe with twin beds. This was to be our home away from home for 7 days. Guess what! Due to the visits and time duration ensuring we were well equipped, it was late and we were tired. Before going to bed, we deserved a shower to discover we had only two hand towels and a bathmat, which we used until the next morning. What other surprises await us! The following days were spent on the beach walking and enjoying the sunny weather and/or meeting visitors/guests imbibing blue margaritas, mojitos, coffee and agua in the two/three bars. This too was somewhat disappointing as often the drinks were "watered down" or there was a lack of ingredients: Rum! ginger ale, beer, etc. The bartenders/servers were not knowledgeable enough to make the drink concoctions, so we freely advised them what was needed. We had the pleasure of an A La Carte evening dinner and our expectations were not met as at the 8:30 p.m. seating, the meals requested were no longer available in Entradas, the Main Course and Dessert. Also, the drinks!!! This was devastating! On this special occasion, we were celebrating a meeting for the first time. As luck would have it, we left the hotel early for downtown, skipped lunch and returned for an appetizer before our Grand Dinner at 8:30 p.m. Thank goodness, there were guests who were liberally sharing information re free shuttle bus service availability. We had read on-line and through TripAdvisor that there was this service. We enquired but were not told about this service and went twice to/from the hotel and paid different fees for this service, where none of the drivers was English speaking. Our Air Canada representative, Christian met us at the airport. He was very curt/abrupt with little public relations expertise. This was the first and last we saw of him. It is true, he told us to contact him if we had questions or needed assistance, but nothing more. I think at least he could have given us a 15-minute welcome presentation when he dropped us off and mentioned how to travel into town, what was available and to whom at the hotel we can direct our questions to obtain favorable answers. We know this info may be available on-line, but some seniors are not tech-savvy. We finally found an information screen on our walking path through the corridors. The screen was usually off when we first approached it. When lit, the advertisement moved fast to take a photo and to know what activities were available for the day. The info shown was only in Spanish. The daily itinerary for the hotel activities could be easily displayed on our tv sets upon opening. Also, it would be appreciated if they had other information on the tv: checkout information, layout of the hotel areas, how to access tv in your language of choice, special events to attend, etc... The meals (breakfast/lunch/dinner) were satisfactory but replenishing the empty trays. Was this due to lack of staff? or out of stock? The food crew appeared short staffed on certain days as it took some time to get a cup of COLOMBIAN java to start. One of their biggest exports after emeralds - Coffee! The cleaning staff was better equipped and were always welcoming. We recommend a Hospitality Desk for a communicative, pleasant, knowledgeable part-time staff/college volunteer student for a minimum of 2 hours in the morning and 1 hour following lunch, simply to handle key questions as the FRDP is busy with incoming/outgoing tourists. Eden, in totality, it was a good holiday with a rating of 6/7 of 10. We encouraged them to learn English and helped them with a few key words to remember. This email is to mainly highlight where some weaknesses exist and how to better manage for an efficient and smooth running of a big hotel to be one of the best in the world.

Vila Gale Cayo Santa Maria: Lovely Resort but some problems

The gardens were beautifully kept. The pools were pristine. Bar service, buffet service and room cleaning were excellent. The beach was beautiful and clean and there were lots of available loungers Unfortunately there were a lot of jellyfish. We were not impressed with the lack of food choice but we understand this is Cuba. Pizza bar never opened. The hotel lacked maintenance particularly the general public washrooms. Many were closed and locked In our suite the safe did not work [... read more]. Balcony door didn’t lock. The elevator and room doors all needed a good cleaning. Bus from the airport is 90 minutes In spite of these problems our party of 5 children and 6 adults had a memorable vacation.

Grand Sirenis Riviera Maya: Great time!

We stayed here for a week in December. The food options were amazing, all the employees were friendly and helpful. Lots of restaurants to choose from, the buffet had an overwhelming amount of options, the beach tacos were perfect and the late night sports bar was a hit for us a lot of time after the entertainment! The resort was beautiful, easy to walk around but shuttles were offered frequently! So much wild life, we saw monkeys 5/7 days we were there! Beach was small, you couldn’t walk along i [... read more]t and rocky water but there were lots of sandy areas up higher for the chairs.

Grand Sirenis Punta Cana Resort: Good hotel!

Nice hotel, stuff as well. Only small thing which I mark as “bad” is that when we asked for additional pillow, bed skirt etc it took more than 5 hrs and 4-5 reception reminding to do. Overall nice hotel.

Grand Sirenis Riviera Maya: Amerzina Resort

This hotel is the best we have been through the years.The grounds and public areas are amazing,The rooms are all junior suites so no upgrades needed.the dining areas are first class.The pools and kidde pools are the best .The lazy river is super relaxing to float down.All nine restaurants of different foods are superb The 5 buffets are the best one can even imagine!!

Grand Sirenis Punta Cana Resort: Amazing Resort

Staying at the Grand Sirenis Punta Cana was a wonderful experience. The resort was beautiful, the beaches were the best we have ever been to, the grounds were immaculate, our room was comfortable, clean and always cared well for.

Grand Sirenis Punta Cana Resort: Not so grand!

The hotel was ok the rooms were crowded and there were ants. The beach was not clean at all the see weed was in mountains definitely not maintained and the hotel did not even try. The beach was terrible if you are looking for a resort with a pool and beach this is not it. The pool area was large but since the beach was not enjoyable everybody was at the pool area which made it crowed and the water dirty. The slide area for kids was not well maintained and most of the slides caused bruising or [... read more] scrapes when trying to go down the kids only used the area twice out of 7 days.

Grand Sirenis Mayan Beach: Great Resort Grand Sirenis Cancun

This hotel is amazing and we love out stay there. The staff are great, food was good and ambience is superb. We loved staying there, The room services was excellent. Can't complain at all. We had a super vaccation. Thanks to Trip central Wendy and team and the hotel staff.

Grand Sirenis Mayan Beach: A little disappointing

Family of 6. 3 rooms booked. Buffet for breakfast lunch and dinner were good. Wish the dinner buffet would switch up themes as there’s only one buffet for dinner. When we arrived we went to Book restaurants and they had nothing available. Which was super disappointment because we were there celebrating a birthday. Which they knew and did nothing for or about. We did end up booking the Asian, Mexican and carnal. Two of us got sick from the habacchi restaurant and Mexican restaurant early in the w [... read more]eek.We frequent Mexico sometimes twice a year and never have sickness so this was a red flag for me so we just stuck to what we know and cancelled the other restaurant we had booked at the end of the week. The menus for the restaurants were not great either. AC stopped working In one of the rooms. It took 3 days to finally move rooms. Resort is big but leads you to a whole lot of nothing. Beach was disappointing I know that’s not in their control but the pictures online were still very deceiving and they weren’t really doing much to clean up UNLESS you are a member of course and their side of the beach is spotless…Rooms were ok. Ants everywhere. No hot water in our last day as we all had to take freezing showers to be ready for the airport. I believe there was still none when we left. Pool service was very few and far between every single day. Tip or no tip. Pools were ok. Nothing crazy. All of them quite far apart. We didn’t visit one pool they had at all. The resort is big but then the pool areas for sitting around the pools are very small? If that makes sense. We had to be up at 730 To get a spot you really want. The monkeys were adorable if you get to see them so that was a highlight. Very far from the airport which we knew as we’ve stayed at the Bahia principe akumal but for some reason this travel felt so long. It was going to take 2.5 hours back to the airport and getting up at 5am for that transportation or of course pay $50 for private 6am transport and it take 1.5 so we paid it obviously. They do have a room tax of $17 USD when you check in. I also paid the departure tax before arriving in Mexico which I have to say I’ve NEVER done. No one asked me about it … so that was $140 for all 6 of us probably down the drain. All in all won’t be back but we never double dip resorts anyways but definitely the more disappointing one.

Grand Sirenis Riviera Maya: 10 Days Of Heaven

This was our 10th time at the resort. Fully renovated. There are some quirks to smooth out. The food was great but the buffet had the same spread throughout the entire 10 days. The beach was quiet but the seaweed was not managed so it was very smelly and very little swim area.

Grand Sirenis Riviera Maya: Family vacation

Large hotel, rooms are nice but everything is digital, we had lots of issues with our rooms, wifi not working, phone not working etc needed to be reset in both rooms. Bathroom flooded. It was difficult to book the a la cart restaurants if you had 2 rooms you couldn’t use the app, needed to book with concierge and all good choices were fully booked. Room service took 2 hours to arrive. Grounds were nice and well kept. The beach is not the best, quite small not a great place to walk the beach, lo [... read more]ts of sargassum. I’ve stayed at places with much nicer beaches. Pools were nice and lazy river was nice.

Vila Gale Cayo Santa Maria: Birthday in Cuba

Beautiful spot. Very clean resort, with friendly staff. Awesome beach, calm warm water we spent most of our time enjoying the beach ! We booked the resort to celebrate a birthday, the hotel went out of their way to make us feel special, they prepared a table at the restaurant with vip treatment many thanks to the staff for taking care of us, this was our first visit to Grand Sirenis we had the most amazing time!

Grand Sirenis Mayan Beach: Amazing resort

Loved this resort.4th time visiting.The renovations were awesome.The food was all delicious.The staff go above and beyond with everything.We had the best time,and will definitely be returning next year.

Grand Sirenis Riviera Maya: Nice hotel, but watch your wallet

It's a nice hotel, but when we got off the plane and passed through security, we were directed to a person who tried to offer us a "deal." We later learned it was a scam for a timeshare. When we arrived at the hotel, they informed us about the scam—yet ironically, they then sent us to their own timeshare presentation. Also, we messaged the shuttle bus the day before our departure as instructed, but the person in charge was off that day. You’d think they would have reached out first thing in t [... read more]he morning, knowing we were trying to coordinate a ride to the airport—but they didn’t. As a result, we missed the shuttle, and the coordinator could only suggest we take a cab or risk missing our flight. It ended up costing us $100 USD for a cab to the airport.

Sirenis Tropical Varadero: Amazing

The hotel was nice clean and comfortable. The food was OK.. but the ice cream wad amazing. All the staff were very nice I have to say thank you so much to Yvonne the sunwing rep... she made everything so much nicer. The beach was out of this world beautiful

Grand Sirenis Mayan Beach: Fantastic resort!

First off the people that work here are so friendly, helpful and appreciative of a small tip. Not saying this because it makes up for other shortcomings as everything is truly is top notch at this resort. We have been to over 20 all inclusive resorts over the years and this has to be one of the best experiences we have had. The food on the buffet is tasty and plentiful and there is enough selection you would be fine all week without the specialty restaurants, but they are also very good, in part [... read more]icular the Carnal had amazing food and the entertainment was a bonus. The restaurants and bars all appear to have been recently updated and are unique and beautiful. The bars are well staffed and you hardly wait for a drink at any of them. They also all seem to be happy to make specialty drinks upon request and do it well. The public bathrooms are all updated and kept very clean which is a bonus. Lazy river is also a nice touch. Beach is sandy until you get to the water and then there is coral so water shoes might be recommended for kids but overall it is very scenic and relaxing. Rooms were spacious and comfortable as well. The resort is spread out but we like to get some steps in so that was not an issue for us, you can also get a ride on the golf carts pretty much anywhere which is an option. Overall truly a 5 star experience, wish it was closer to the airport but definitely worth it and will likely head back here before trying another resort as you cannot beat it as far as bang for your buck!

Grand Sirenis Punta Cana Resort: Great Resort

This resort was excellent. I would highly recommend it. The staff was friendly and the grounds were clean and well maintained. The food was top notch, lots of variety. There was lots of entertainment. My only complaint is the plumbing system needs to be fixed. We were instructed by our travel rep on our first day not to flush our toilet paper. We were told to wrap and put in the garbage can and then flush for fear of a backup problem due to the plumbing system not being adequate That should n [... read more]ever be a problem if a hotel is rated 5 stars.

Vila Gale Cayo Santa Maria: Beautiful resort

Our first visit, sure won't be our last. This resort is what luxury should be but well within reach of anyone's budget. The grounds are spotless, the pools lively and fun and the beach is absolutely amazing. Calm water clear as glass. We ate and drank under the loving care of the happy and helpful staff. It was our best vacation to Cuba to date.

Sirenis Tropical Varadero: Beautiful Resort

We had a wonderful week at Sirenis. We stayed in a junior suite in the main building. Our room was clean and spacious for the three of us. The staff, were all amazing. From the front desk, bell boys, housekeeping, bar and wait staff! They all made sure we had a great time. The food was really good! We ate at the Italian a la carte twice, and was great both times. You have to be at the lobby for 9am to book your a la cartes. The weather was nice, however lots of wind kept us out of the ocean most [... read more] days, but the pools did the trick on those days. I will definitely be back!!