Buyer beware - especially females!!

We returned from Perla Blanca mid December 2017. Although we enjoyed some sunshine, the stunning views from all angles of the resort, and the really great options for spending time at the beach and outdoor pools, we were overall disappointed with our stay. Some of the staff were exceptional, especially Maria at the public relations desk, and Eriel who lent his staff to play pool with us. They did their best to accommodate dietary needs and, during the daytime, make the experience great. However, [... read more] others were of a predatory nature and as a female this was the first time (in many years of travelling the world) that I was relieved to not be travelling alone for safety reasons. Even with my husband there I still found myself being cautious about how much I drank in their presence. This included some (not all) of the entertainment staff. It was disturbing that the resort allowed these staff, with this clear intention, around unsupervised at night (some working, some dressed in plain clothes) to literally find and escort heavily intoxicated females down to the beach. Specifically they targeted the 24 hour snack bar after the disco. There was no security to assist these girls, nor to assist when the excessively partying guests woke up the entire resort at all hours of the night. The resort also ran out of beer for 2.5 days leading to a whole other level of drunken guests and unsafe conditions. We were also aware of sexual assaults occurring to female guests by staff during the day – what we heard were rumours (not directly from the victims), but even the amount and degree of these rumours is not something that we’ve experienced at any other resort. Women we met travelling in pairs reported unwanted and aggressive/crude advances by the staff, and being filmed by other guests without any security/staff available to request assistance. An example of adding to this overall sexually aggressive culture, the entertainment staff hosted a “rap battle” and when the guests were clearly going too far with racist and derogatory lyrics that would make hardened criminals blush, they allowed it to progress to the point of damaged equipment (mic drop in the pool) and concern for guest safety (challenger in the rap battle). We had originally selected this resort based on reviews talking about the fun drinking and partying conditions, but this felt more like an unsupervised college hazing gone wrong. When going to Cuba there are certain expectations, including poor quality of food. Having been to Cuba several times we were aware of this. The food there was inconsistent. Some of the a la carts were amazing, but generally the food was a struggle. They are unable to accommodate a vegan or vegetarian, and often put meat in things like chickpeas that could’ve made the difference. They did agree to make special meals, but lack the knowledge about variety and food needs as every meal consisted of potatoes and tomatoes so we finally took our chances at the buffet. We’re used to some degree of this and always bring supplementary food as vegan/vegetarians, but the challenges there were beyond necessary (literally meat/cheese in every dish). We appreciated their attempts, but if you do have any dietary requirements this may not be a good fit – however I did lose several pounds for the first time ever on vacation! Also, as per the usual with Cuba, the beds/pillows were extremely uncomfortable. Although we recognize that they are doing their best to recover from the hurricanes, we were unable to close our patio door and use the air conditioning due to the excessive moldy smell. On the plus, the shower was fantastic. The beach was amazing and stretched for quite a distance which allowed for runs/walks along the water. We heard that it had changed a lot since the hurricanes but there was still lots of beach to enjoy. The pools were also fun – offering shallower areas to walk around. We spent most of our time at the pool bar. The staff there were great (except for ignoring a dangerously slippery area on the pool deck which cause several guests to fall until they finally agreed to address the issue days into our stay). Despite the huge potential of this resort we will not return primarily because of the safety issues, and also because of the food.

Decent resort

The grounds were attractive but Irma took its toll and some things were damaged. The food was average and the beach was very disappointing. The service was pretty good at most places other than the snack bar and the guests were fun and lively. There was a mix in the crowd, some very young people and some older couples too. Overall a decent resort but there are better for the price.

Very impressed

We were very impressed with this resort. We have travelled to Cuba once or twice a year for over 20years and the Valentin Perla Blanca is our very favourite. They have addressed all the little irritants of the vast majority of Cuban hotels. You can count on having a bottle of water every day in your room, you have a coffee machine in your room for lazy morning, rolls of toilet paper, clean towels, beach towel in room upon arrival, etc. The food was amazing, not always prepared the way you are  [... read more]used to but very tasty. Things like artichoke, olives, almonds, salmon....specialty coffee and drinks right there at the buffet. My only complaint would be that we should have a choice of pillow...that long flat pillow was quite uncomfortable but the maid found a solution for me. All in all, a very, very good choice!

Nice vacation

Considering that hurricane Irma passed through only a few months ago, the resort was in wonderful condition. Some repairs and renovations are still on going but it did not affect our trip whatsoever. The Cuban people are very resilient and maintained their friendly hospitality throughout. I would recommend this resort as it lives up to it's billing.

Beautiful resort

Very clean resort. Staff very friendly and very helpful. Good service. So many food choices even for picky eaters like me. I found the food very good. Calixata always had a smile for us when we dined at the buffet and made us feel at home. He even brought my husband a coffee from another area one evening when we stopped in at the buffet. Even though they are still busy with cleanup from the hurricane the staff was like one big happy family. I would recommend this resort to anyone going to C [... read more]ayo Santa Maria.

Great quality vacation

Hotel was gorgeous. Great rooms. Great pools and bars (we especially loved the swim up bar, and the great morning coffees from the lobby bar). Amazing exercise, dancing, and entertainment. The service and staff were awesome. Food was sub par, but definitely would go again for a great deal.

Amazing resort

The hotel was modernized. Very nice well kept. Very clean. Would go back again. Beach was amazing. Food was ok services was good. There were a lot of the worker that spoke English. The rooms were very clean.

First and Last time - Absolutely Horrible!

The Hotel is wonderful, built with great thought and the design is awesome. There is no sandy beach to walk on but the water is beautiful! It takes a lot of work to ruin such a nice resort, thanks to the wonderful management! Went for 3 nights and 3 days, reached there at 830 pm to find out that we didnt get a king size bed as we had confirmed and booked. 2 single beds put together sure solves the problem but its not the same. Disappointing! SInce we we were starving we decided to go chec [... read more]k out the dinner buffet which was another huge disappointment. there was barely any food left and nothing was being refilled. The buffet lacks decent food during breakfast, lunch and dinner. Long lineups for meats and fish and meat was not cooked well at all. We have travelled alot in Cuba and in the Carribean, stayed in all kinds of resorts with various star ratings (3.5 star and up) and i have to say this was the worst resort for food! The Italian A la Carte restaurant, Dolce la Vita was absolutely horrible, there was no such thing as Italian food. It was a disgrace to call this place Dolce la Vita. The only place that had decent food was Oh LA LA, the French restaurant. Thank god we had a dinner reservation there. The hotel was half closed so all facilities were not open either. There was a huge influx of vacationers from Spain so most of the servers in the buffet restaurant were too busy serving and ensuring their Spanish comrades were well looked after while ignoring the rest of the crowd. I feel bad for writing such a horrible review but this place warrants it and more than that deserves it. I ended up getting a very bad case of food poisoning the next day. I have never had food poisoning in my dozen vacations down south. I suffered for the rest of the trip. When we were checking out, we heard from fellow vacationers that half the people they talked to suffered the same fate. The beach sports rental guys are awesome, very helpful. Were really looking forward to having a good time here, based on hotel rating we were positive. Sad to say it was a disaster. We were there to celebrate my girlfriend's birthday, huge regret! Fellow down south all inclusive vacationers, please find another place to stay, for your sake!

Nice hotel grounds

Nice grounds, spacious rooms, clean, beach is ok, other hotels in Santa maria have better beaches. Food was VERY disappointing, even for Cuban standards, buffet the same every day, and food just COLD at all times. Long line ups for grilled food.

Bad food, nice premises, fair beach

Traveled at the beginning of August Weather was amazing The resort was very nice and well maintained; rooms were modern and clean Cleaning of the rooms sucked; we slept on the same sheets for a week; towels were dirty; on a few occasions they missed to provide shampoo and soap; the shower was never properly cleaned Room service sucked; if you forget to tip them you only get one beer in your fridge instead of two and only one pop although there are two of you in the room The buffet was [... read more] poor; huge line-ups to get food (not of the best taste and quality); the variety wasn't there either. Fruits were amazing though. They were in mango season and those were to die for. So was the papaya. The beach was far; quite a walk from anywhere in the resort; most of it was very narrow, with a lot of stones and little to no shade. Only a portion of the beach where all the activities were happening was nice, plenty of palapas but you had to be early in order to get one. Getting to the resort was a long 2 hour bus trip. Had one gone to Cayo Coco instead he could've been changed and on the beach in less than an hour. Personnel wasn't very nice, and tips weren't appreciated, they were a given. One thing was great - the reef, you could snorkel there and the amount of fish was unbelievable. Gorgeous. Overall, we had a good vacation but would not come back and definitely would not recommend this resort to our friends.

Resort was excellent

resort was excellent , food was good you can always find something . staff was great and very friendly . except for front desk very abrupt and some times not courteous . did not like waiting in line for 1 to 2 hrs. to exchange money.

Superbe séjour!

Ma 2e visite, très beau ressort! Superbe plage, propre, tranquille, excellent service, très bien mangé, très bonne animation ! Wow Michel au restaurant Italien! Tellement rie! Wow! Merci ! Personnellement j'adore!

Good resort!

Nice resort, great open lobby for lounging, nice staff, the food got better near the end of the week. Too bad it's the last resort from the airport which takes 2hrs to get to. Also it's such a big resort that the bungalows are very spread apart from the lobby so the golf carts definitely came in handy for rides to and from the room in the heat!!! The room was very basic. Wish the same finishes and stone used in the atrium would be used in the rooms.

Awesome

I had a great time it was a beautiful place the people there are so friendly and nice the staff at the hotel I also got sick there and they took very good care of me I will definitely come back and visit there again it was awesome

RE: Valentin Perla Blanca

My husband and I stayed at the Valentin from July 22 to 29 2017. The property is very nice, well kept grounds and garden. Our room was also kept clean and the staff are very nice and friendly. However the second day my husband and I got really sick, for me it started out as nausea, then vomiting and then chronic diarrhea. We couldn't keep anything down. We did not drink any tap water we even brushed our teeth with bottled water (which I'm now thinking is not so bottled perhaps) By the end of our [... read more] stay we were either eating toast bread with nothing on it or not eating at all, the very smell of the buffet would be nauseating to us. Our vacation was spent on the toilet or lying in our room or in the shade somewhere if we could muster up the strength to go outside. We came back Sunday morning the 29 yesterday Aug 1 I still didn't feel any better so I went to the doctor he prescribed antibiotics, I have travelers diarrhea which is mostly caused by E Coli, which is found in fecal matter. Enough said FECAL MATTER! My husband is getting better he was hit a lot less then me. I'm not sure if I will be going to Cuba or anywhere else down south, its just too dangerous for me. This def ruined our vacation and made me think differently about the food handling practices that are in place.

Beautiful grounds and beach

This is my third time at this resort and the first time I get sick with gastro problems. Other guests were complaining of the same. The grounds are very well kept and the beach is beautiful. It was nice to be at an adult's only resort, perfect for relaxation.

Wow! what an amazing resort - we will have to return!

We loved the people, the food, the bars, the entertainment, the pools, the beaches, the gardens, the rooms - very clean!!!!!! The service was amazing! it was an absolute pleasure to tip every staff who served us...even the bus drivers. if you truly would like a vacation, this is the place!

Amazing Resort

This resort was fantastic. Everything was very clean and the workers there were the friendliest and most helpful than anywhere else I have ever been. The food was ok. I was always able to find something whether we ate at the buffet, snack bar or restaurants. However, I wasn't there for the food...I was there for the sun and the pool. I would definitely go back!!

Beautiful site and beautiful beach

People are very kind and the site is amazing but the food choices we're not so great since we where on the Low Season. Really nice snorkelling if you walk to the left of the beach where there's corals. We add an amazing week and we're able to find sonething to eat every day but the variety and hiegine we're Not the best.

Clean and beautiful resort.

Before saying anything, one must consider that July is low season for Cuba. I think we must have been around 70 people in the entire resort. So it was very very quiet. They close half of the resort this time of year, which means they also close most of the "à la carte" restaurants. Apart from the buffet, only one other restaurant was open per night. Considering there's only a handful of guest at the resort, there's a very limited selection of dish available at the buffet. And you can tell they  [... read more]only have access to the same fruits/veggies so it can be very repetitive. Same ingredients but different spices. The hotel is relatively new and very clean.the beach is nice, although if you want a nice flat white sand beach, you have to walk a bit as there is a lot of rocks next to the resort. A LOT OF MOSQUITOES!! Seriously, I have at least 25 bites only on one arm. Bug spray doesn't really help. The location is amazing, you are able to see both sunrise and sunset at either end of the beach. Overall, nice trip but I'm sure this resort is a lot more fun and alive at high season.