Not a 4 star!

This hotel needs some refurbishing. The entrance doors to the rooms need fixing we had to slam our door in order for it to shut properly the wood framework in the bathroom needs a lot of repairs. However, the hotel was clean and the staff were very friendly and helpful. This is not a hotel for someone who has a physical disability as they had only one golf cart for transportation for the entire Hotel and most times it wasn't working. Also, lots of stairs to climb so ground floor is highly recomm [... read more]ended for anyone with a physical disability. When we arrived to the hotel we had to walk from the main lobby with the help of the Bellman carrying our luggage from the family section to the sanctuary in the dark. which was a Fair distance for someone with knee problems to walk. There was no welcoming drink offered. However, we did receive room service for food as the restaurant was already closed. Room service was good. For any couple that is traveling to this hotel, request a king bed because their double beds are actually twin size beds. We requested for a room change to king size bed and they were accommodating because that's what we had originally asked for when we made our booking. The landscape was well kept Beach was beautiful and the food wasn't bad but repetitive. Unless you went to the a la carte. This was my eighth time traveling to Cuba and I must say that this was my worst experience. The room was not inviting at all no flowers in a vase, no swans made out of towels and only one towel for each guest which was not changed unless requested. Lack of daily activities at the poolside, nightly entertainment wasn't the greatest. However, we made the best of it as it was our wedding anniversary. We would not recommend this hotel nor will we be back

Lovely, would definitely return

Sanctuary was just what we were looking for: clean spacious room, friendly service, beautiful landscaping, a very well kept pool with just the right amount of activities for those interested. My room had a view of the ocean, no buildings in the way. Beach was clean and perfect. All staff were top notch!

Great stay, BUT...

I would love to write a glowing review about Sanctuary at Grand Memories, but one problem stands in my way. Before I address that problem, I wish to say that I am a friend of Cuba, and I do not like to complain. I am in solidarity with the Cuban people. Unlike unhappy tourists, I did not find cockroaches, stained sheets, or faulty AC. My room was beautiful, clean, spacious, and comfortable. The AC was modern. A bottle of Rum was provided as a gift. All of this, at a price that could not even [... read more] purchase airfare anywhere else. I ate at the Ave del Paraiso restuarant daily. The chef, Eduard, was creative and often made something out of nothing.. Every evening, at least one course would have made any top restaurant proud. TIP# 1: Do not tip in Canadian coins. They are not legal currency in Cuba. Since a Canadian $5 bill is a large tip, buy US $ and leave a 1-2$ tip. It will be greatly appreciated. Please do this, so that Good Samaritans like me, don't have to undo your damage by buying up coins with bills. The staff at Sanctuary were most helpful. I would include Rosana and Lia, but especially Jenny. She is a problem solver. When I explained my predicament, she came up with a plan, where the beach, the pool, the restaurant, a bar, and the small Sanctuary lobby were all a short walk. I had everything I needed, but not everyting I wanted. So, what was the problem? The property had advertised shuttle transport for mobility challenged guests like myself. I counted on this. I cannot walk the distance to the main resort at Grand Memories. I only passed through the main resort on the first and last days. I questioned several staff to make sure I had the story right. It would seem that the two shuttle carts have been needing new batteries for 2-3 months. No solution is in sight. I know how many repairs compete for the government dollar, but you cannot afford to lose valuable customers. TIP # 2: If you wish to conplain, go to Dubai and pay for the priviledge. If you have any empathy for the Cuban people, share their hardships. BUT... to the management I would say, tourism has already fallen by 30% this year. Do not alienate your best supporters.

Very nice resort

Really like the air conditioning in my room Food was very good and the service at the restaurant was excellent The pool was very clean Improvement: is my fan in my room was not working Need new lamps! And the chairs at the bar are really not comfortable Staffs are very nice ??

Good resort

Would recommend ! The staff were friendly and the food was decent, there was a flood in our building but our floor wasn’t affected, took them a few days to resolve it. Would recommend the Asian a la carte.

Great resort

This was a great resort. Our room was located in the Sanctuary side building 34. Very close to the adult pool and the adult beach. Our butler was Dani(Danielle).She was awesome.Would send her a whatsapp message and she would reply promptly.In the room was a card to fill out when you wanted your room cleaned with 3 different time frames. The ladies were good and would also made animals from either a blanket or towels on your bed. We ate at the buffet 2 times a day on the memories side. You do not [... read more] go to Cuba for the food. Was very bland,repetitive and sometimes lukewarm. This did not deter us from having a great holiday. The bed mattress were a bit soft which was fine with me but my husband not so much. Again didn't hamper our holiday. We had a beach butler named Carlos and he would go above and beyond. He was awesome. Overall the staff were friendly and would go back

Great resort

Stayed at the Grand memories sanctuary April 6-13,2025. The resort is excellent. Staff extremely friendly. Food was pretty good for Cuba. No shortage. Other than bread for a few days but no big deal. Had an omelette every morning for breakfast. Entertainment in main lobby every evening was second to none. Very talented musicians. You can have quite beach or pool. Or you can have entertainment at either one. Plenty of spots to get food and drinks. Beach is nice and relatively flat at this resort. [... read more] Pools and swim up bars are nice. Lots going on if you want to be busy or just want to hang out. Choice is yours. I have zero complaints. Took my 25 year old son with me. We had a great time. Snorkeling right off the beach, if it’s not too windy. Went on a catamaran day tour. $85 USD each. Pick up at 9 and back by 5:30 pm. The snorkeling part was just ok but the rest of the tour was amazing. Nice cruise on the ocean. Amazing sea food and other food lunch on an island with an incredible white sand beach and 3 hr stop over there. Well worth the money. All and all I would rate the hotel and the vacation a 9/10. Went with low expectations and was pleasantly impressed. Would definitely return to this resort with Sunwing.

Sanctuary Grand Memories

I didn’t have the best vacation because of the new Manager Sabrina who caused issues with the group I was travelling with. She was insensitive to special needs and ruined our trip. Also the chair wars for adults was absolutely ridiculous. I paid for premier service and did not receive what I paid for. Rooms were good, clean and the Cuban staff was amazing.

Excellent experience

14 day stay at Sanctuary. Check in was ok but arrived late so not much intro the resort. 1st room was ok but as we were there for 14 days we looked at upgrading to a room with a king bed. Best thing we ever did as our room was amazing overlooking the pool. If you have just the right amount of beer you don’t hear the party animals outside. No power outages, no food shortages and always cold beer hot water and toilet paper. We were not really interested in the butler service and never contacte [... read more]d them and did not really see the benefit of the premium stay so cannot comment on that. The pool bar staff Roxana Fiallo , Judi, Jude were always very friendly and helpful so will miss them. The only annoying part was listening to people whining about things that are not to their expectations picking the most affordable getaway and those that stuff their plate and then leave half of it behind. Skipped the bus back to the airport and took a 1952 Ford convertible with Alex, amazing! Would definitely go back to this resort.

Nice Resort

We stayed in the Adults Only Sanctuary part located behind Grand Memories. Our room was perfect, the bed comfortable and our mini fridge was stocked every day. The buffet food was good and the a la carte restaurants were great! One need of improvement is having enough golf carts to take people back and forth between the 2 main buildings. There were many older couples and some others with mobility issues. It was a great week!

Beautiful beach…. Food shortages

We arrived at 10pm and the restaurants were closed. The 24 hour snack bar had burgers with no buns, chicken salad sandwiches with no bread and the only other option was pasta with tomato sauce. This was not a great first impression considering we upgraded to premium. The room was not very clean and was old and needed updates. They only changed our bath towels twice while we were there ( shortages) . We could not change our beach towel all week so had to use them the entire week. There was brea [... read more]d only three of the 7 days in the sanctuary restaurant only. None of the ala carts or buffet ever had bread. There was mashed potatoes three of the days and they were watery. The other days there were no potatoes . Pina coladas were not available at most bars. Premium drinks were not available at all bars. There was very little chicken , no beef, …. The food was not good. Deserts were limited to one flavour of ice cream usually and some flan. The was only one flavour of soda available each day at the buffet . They would rotate between Fanta and cola. Do not leave your beach towels unattended while walking in the beach or swimming…. Many people complained about their towels being taken. The grounds were well maintained for the most part. The only unsightly thing we saw was what appeared to be 6” of septic backup in the area behind the pool bar at the loud pool. This bar was closed for two days until they pumped the septic tank and cleaned up the mess. We had French fries most days at sanctuary area but there was none to be seen anywhere else on the resort. I have been to Cuba 14 or 15 times, three times since Covid. My expectations are always low but the shortages appear to be getting worse . We will likely not return any time soon.

Beautiful resort

It was a wonderful vacation! Beautiful grounds, huge suites, friendly staff & plenty of dining options! Lovely weather! Choice of three pools & amazing beachfront. Adult only resort with option to join the Grand Memories activities & dining. Thoroughly enjoyed this property!

Good value

Sanctuary Grand Memories Varadero is a very clean and well maintained facility. Staff very friendly, all services were adequately provided. It was very safe. Pathway lighting could be improved, as it can be difficult to reference your location after sun goes Dow. Signage is very limited and really does help navigate your way around. Overall all I would rate this resort as a sold 8/10 …..would return in the future.

Grand Memories Sanctuary

Cuba is alive and well, the people, food, beautiful beaches. We met so many wonderful people during our stay, everyone is so friendly and welcoming. A pleasure to meet. I had a fantastic week away, would recommend this resort 100%

Decent Resort

Overall the resort was clean, the staff friendly, enjoyed the Sanctuary area. Did find it difficult to connect with butler. Found the resort could do much better about communication regarding events, shows etc. Food was typical of urban resorts.

For Cuba the food was the best I ever had.

For the most part, the resort was fantastic. A little dated but overall had no issues whatsoever. The food was excellent. Safe always amazing. Local Musicians entertain the guest every nite at the bar, and sometimes even at lunch time. The beach 5 *. Never ran out of toilet paper, ketchup a plenty…..for the price paid…can’t asked for better.

Reasonable resort

Resort facilities are OK but it's starting to show its age. Biggest issue is lack of info or mis communication. For example there are no info on restaurants or entertainment (shows) or the info displayed if you are lucky to find a posting is incorrect. Our 3 year old granddaughter was crying as we didn't get the correct info on children show and we were sitting in dark theater for hour waiting while the show was somewhere else. Generally you need to find a performer and ask, as there are no  [... read more]schedules anywhere. Restaurants menus sometimes exist but you can not expect the dishes on them to be available. Reservations are best effort and we ended up at 2 different tables after being assured that we will be able to eat together, also our reservation was lost once and made to hr which did not exist at the restaurant twice meaning the reservation process lacking. Food mostly ok, we understand Cuba chalenges. Generally worst is chaos and misinformation. But the staff was helpful and friendly. Beaches beautiful. Sunshine always welcome.

Fantastic resort!!

Resort as a whole was very nice. Beautiful beach, but a little small. Accommodations were perfect, pools were lovely and the performances were great. Food was pretty good in my opinion, nothing extravagant.

Excellent Experience

The hotel was clean and well maintained. We did not encounter a single person that didn’t stop and smile or say hello. The goal of this resort is for people to be able to unplug and reconnect. It was everything it promised. We made new friends and reconnected ourselves.

Wonderful Staff

The resort was nice. We spent most of our time in the Sanctuary area and that pool was nice with good service. We mostly had breakfast and lunch at the Sanctuary restaurant which had great service. Food was as expected no shortages to speak of. Dinner reservations were made for every night by the concierge the day we arrived and that worked well. We ate at all the À la carte restaurants I found it met my expectations (you don't go to cuba for the food). Rooms were clean and large sometimes the w [... read more]ater was only Luke warm. The beach was the highlight best beach I have spent time on. All nice and Sandy there is a private area for Sanctuary that is nicely sheltered and the staff keep other guests away from the lunch chairs. Over all I would say if you are looking for somewhere with wonderful staff and a beautiful beach you will not be disappointed.