Hotel Roc Casa del Mar: New resort, old food

The resort was beautiful - new build (about a year old) but the food was standard and on level with 3 star resorts. I would definitely go here again but any trip longer than 4 nights would become tiresome. The 2 hour drive from the airport to the hotel is something to consider when you look at checkin/checkout times.

Valentin Perla Blanca: Solid 4.5!

Beautiful new resort with lots of variety! We were in the building close to the relaxation pool which was perfect. The beach was beautiful, excellent snorkeling by the rocky section just west of the hotel beach. Food is decent for Cuba, try the Spanish restaurant. I would recommend this hotel to anyone who wants relaxation and sunshine.

Roc Lagunas del Mar: The bad hotel

No activity on the beach A little activity on the pool area The food no change and very limited The room is clean and good decoration The pool, the room, the beach and lobby are too distancy I give 3 star

Valentin Perla Blanca Paraiso: Fun in the Sun!

We were surprised at the size, expected it to be a bigger resort but that at the end of the day was not an issue. The rooms were very nice, clean and we appreciated our ocean view. The beach was rather small meaning the distance from our chair to the water was a few feet apart in most areas but the water was amazing! We were there for 7 days and were unable to change our pool towels until the second last day because the exchange room was never open. The onsite shop was very small [... read more], only 2 people could go in at a time. We have been to Cuba before and had a great experience at the buffets and restaurants, this time not so much 😐

Hotel Roc Casa del Mar: Disappointed

Beach area was very narrow and many rocks. There was a sign on the way to the beach that indicated the Mother Nature is rebuilding the beach. This is the major reason why I selected Cayo santa Maria. Buffet was average, al a carte below average. Accomadations (rooms) were clean and nice. Cubans were very nice! Made the best of it but not returning to this resort.

Melia Cayo Santa Maria: Good Resort, Travel not so good.

Clean, nice grounds, friendly staff, good beach. Food is Cuban standard except Japanese a la carte which was excellent and the French which was horrid. Daniel the breakfast chef could always be counted on to make an excellent breakfast omelette. Juan Carlos at the lobby bar was as good as two waiters. Good burgers and pizza at the pool restaurant. Danielle our Air Transat rep was always personable and helpful. Some servers and some meals were excellent while others were not, so 3 stars. Be care [... read more]ful when you book as it is not very apparent when the flight has stops. Return flight stopped in Havana where we spent more than an hour on the ground with inadequate cooling. We boarded the plane at 12:10 and were not even given as much as a drink of water until after 4:00. The bus ride to and from the airport is more than two hours twenty minutes with stops at other hotels, not one hour forty minutes. Hotel recommended, airline not.

Roc Lagunas del Mar: decent resort for the price we paid.

First, a bit about me to qualify my comments: I am a former building contractor and hunting outfitter. My wife and I have happily holidayed or lived in everything from tents in the bush to 5 star all inclusive resorts and everything in between across North and Central America and the Caribbean. We love good food and good service but lean toward unpretentious offerings. I think we have realistic expectations and have experience doing lots of dirty thankless jobs ourselves. We have twice before b [... read more]een to Cuba, and understand somewhat the challenges they deal with on a daily basis. The resort In summary: A decent Cuban resort in a quiet spot that has a lot more potential than it delivers; at a good price if you can get a special. It seems built to poor standards considering it is only a few years old, I would say it has some management issues, may be somewhat understaffed in the maintenance department, has some great staff mixed with many that don't show enough hustle that are dragging the good ones down. Kitchen staff need to be better trained, try harder, or maybe the kitchens need to be better staffed.. possibly all of the above. The good parts: The resort is a low profile build that is designed to fit into the ecology (and does so pretty well) with various buildings and amenities interspersed with lots of natural space. The rooms and beds were good, our ocean view was great, the employees were all friendly, the beach was amazingly long with some great swimming areas although there has been some sand loss due to storms resulting in some rocky area along the beach that we found interesting but some may not. There are 3 different beach bars that all seemed to serve barbecue snacks of some sort. We had no problems with traveler's digestive issues, air conditioning, water etc all worked, the buffet food was ok/good, great service right at the bars, a decent variety of international drinks., grounds and pool areas mostly well maintained, lots of lounge recliners around the pool and along the beach. The not so good: If you didn't go directly to the bartender the service was typically poor to non-existent. I observed no evidence of server service on the beach. The bank window at the resort (not controlled by the resort) was closed 1/2 the time including the first 2 days. Pretty tough to tip when you don't have small currency. The A La Carte food was very disappointing with a couple shining exceptions. One menu item at the Crazy Lobster said risotto, asparagus and shrimp but came with a bit of watery mashed potato, green beans, and sauteed mussels (or maybe it was clams). The "jerk" chicken at the Caribeno was a piece of dried up chicken breast that tasted like..a piece of dried up chicken breast! The storms that depleted some of the sand also caused many of the palapas to fall down. These have not been removed or repaired, perhaps because there is now no way to get equipment to some areas of the beach and not enough sand left to support the posts.There are a lot of broken recliners thrown up on the rocks or piled in the mangroves which looks terrible on an otherwise mostly clean beachfront composed or natural area. Some things about the resort seem a lot older than it is reported to be. There seemed to be design and maintenance issues that should not occur in a place only a few years old. For example: more than normal public area washroom shut-downs, accessories in toilet areas not working or falling off the walls, a few electrical issues outside, bathrooms stalls designed and painted to 1980/s Mexican standards only with modern low water use flush toilets, floors and counters that were marked and stained from not being properly sealed. Staff were using floor squeegees wrapped with old towels to clean the floors (no mops or mop buckets), one of our rooms had door lock issues, there was no room food service, dirty glasses and plates placed outside the door were in some cases still there 3 days later.

Hotel Roc Casa del Mar: Disappointing Resort

Resort was recommended by agent at trip central. Our room was at the very far end of the resort and although the resort was nowhere close to being full, they were unable to move us closer in. You could hardly see the beach from our "beachfront room" through the trees and at least 600 feet from the ocean. Sliding door would not lock and although it was reported it was not fixed. Sheers on window and cushions on chairs in room were badly stained. Pillows on bed were absolutely flat. Fridge was not [... read more] re-stocked unless you were in your room when they came. Air conditioning broke. Landscaping poor although they do seem to be working on it. Music every night was incredibly loud and there was nowhere to go to get away from it and enjoy your evening. Beach was terrible - relatively no sand and large rocks from the water's edge to at least 100 feet out. Poolside washrooms smelled badly of urine. Bank in lobby was regularly closed and when open was never able to exchange larger bills ($5's) for $1's. No shop in resort. 5x8 foot room with cigars and liquor and scantilly stocked. Buffet food and snack bar were absolutely terrible. Supposedly 5 a la carte restaurants but only 3 ever open and not all at once. Food in these restaurants was also very bad. Soda for bar drinks was flat and slushy drinks arrived at table melted. Many of the staff had very limited English.

Roc Lagunas del Mar: first vacation ...

I thought that the hotel was good and big enough where you can't get lost the people who work there were always working hard to please you and make sure that your visit very enjoyable .. the house keeper did a fantastic job creating new themes on the bedding everyday was a nice surprise .. the grounds gardens Were clean and in most areas that I've been in considering how many washrooms backed up with sewage .as for entertainment I wished there was more during the evening the half hour show [... read more] was awsome ,they sang and danced and it was one of the highlights for me and friends every night . The food was okay very repetitive buffet with lack of spice and flavour but keeping in mind they only have so little to work with they do try to do their best with what they have .Now with all that said I did enjoy my first vacation very relaxed and stress free environment

Melia Las Dunas: great vacation with friends

Its a nice resort. We were 2 families with kids and got family site of the resort ( the resort is kind of divided in 2 ...one for family with kids and one quiet site with no kids:)Lots of babies, moms with strollers,etc:) Great place to spend your vacation. Carlos , the entertainment guy is very nice and friendly and very professional. The dancers, especially the girls are awesome...you can learn to dance salsa in 1 week, lots of dance classes :)

Hotel Roc Casa del Mar: Terrible

Would never return. The worst trip I have ever been on. The beach was very disappointing. There was no access for food 24 hrs a day. that was misleading . Sand in the bed, the sheets had not been cleaned when we arrived. the bar at the beach was not opened first few days because of previous storm. the food was terrible. we could not make reservations for the a la carte restaurants, it was first come , first served basis very long line up to wait. Not really any entertainment or shows. Very borin [... read more]g vacation. It was ridiculous trying to get toilet paper. Always having to tip 3 pesos for toilet paper. Could never find a snack bar that was suppose to be opened. When we mentioned about the sand in the bed, the room attendant meet us at the door crying and upset. She changed the sheets and asked if we wanted the pillow cases changed. OMG. the worst ever.

Roc Lagunas del Mar: Not a 5*

This hotel has the potential to be a 5* but until the do a better job of cleaning the pool and the area around the pool. Also toilets in the lobby and pool toilets, its at best a 4* Having said that, I the a la cart restaurants I found the staff and food very good. The buffet, was chaotic, very long lines at the grills, and very slow to refill hot dishes. The beach a big disappointment, very rocky, you really need water shoes for this beach. Until things improve I wouldn't go back.

Valentin Perla Blanca Paraiso: Great resort for a great price!

Had a fantastic week at the Valentin. Beach was amazing, pool areas were fantastic and all the grounds were clean and well maintained. Staff was super friendly and helpful. Loved the lobby bar and chocolate tequila!! Would go back for sure.

Valentin Perla Blanca: Valentin-Cayo Santa Maria

Was there week of Jan 29th..had issues with hotel and room but was resolved next day...beach and pools are definitely 5 star .. two pools.. One activity, and one relaxing.. a la carte's and buffet are both hit and miss....its Cuba!!!

Roc Lagunas del Mar: Nice Hotel.... but dont use the in room safe to lock up your valuables

We went on our honeymoon and loved the resort... We had some issues on 3 different occasions with entering our safe.... Had to have a technician come and reset the digital password each time.... On the last night of our honeymoon we discovered that our safe had been pillaged and all of our Canadian money had been stolen... We were just on our way out the door for what was to be our romantic Honeymoon dinner ( that we had been saving until our last day) We were just to upset to enjoy it..  [... read more] Reported the theft to our rep first thing in the morning at the airport while checking in to go home... Her response was we should have told her sooner.. We have contacted the hotel via Email, and had no response... Same goes with Hola tours... This has been such a disappointment, considering how generous we were with the maids and gardeners. We presented them with some beautiful gifts every single day.. This experience has ruined our stay with Warwick. be careful and beware of the in room safes!

Iberostar Selection Ensenachos: Cuban Perfection

First I have to comment on our Agent Kim Hartlen...amazing to say the least. Trip Central is very lucky to have an agent so dedicated to her profession. January 26 - February 2, 2017 via Sunwing. Was my first time flying with Sunwing sine early 2000 and have to say I was impressed. All flights on time and Elite Plus filled the bill. Would have been nice to receive a meal at no charge but the addition of Lynn Crawford's meal a huge plus. Iberostar Ensenachos is my go to place and has been f [... read more]or year. This trip was number 10 and I've already booked for April 2017 we love it that much. I've stayed in all three sections since 2006. Stayed at the Grand Village section and it's the place for us due to the quiet atmosphere we are looking for. The staff are simply amazing and they can't do enough for you. The Villas are huge. The food at the gourmet is amazing and the quaintness of the restaurant is simply amazing. No issues at all with the food. All hot and made to order. You have your very own section of the beach with bar service to your chair. Same for the pool area with the swim up bar. The gardens are beautiful as is the wildlife from birds to Iguanas(only on this cayo) they will actually come to you to be fed fruit. While you are at dinner in the evening a maid comes and removes your wet beach towels and clean dry ones are waiting. Very nice touch. Any issues are dealt with promptly. The other sections are just as great as they have their own personality from family section the adults only...everyone can have what they are looking for. Even the buffet food is great. If anyone is considering booking, you are in for a treat.

Hotel Roc Casa del Mar: Amazing resort, great people, beautiful views!!

I would like to start off saying the resort was absolutely beautiful. The beach, the accommodations, staff and even the food was on par. From simple people to high end spenders, people would love it. The pools were clean and bars were open late. The excursions were limited but great for what the island had to offer. Dolphins to cave lagoons, driving on the motorcycle to get to point a and point b. I would recommend ocean casa del mar to anyone.

Iberostar Selection Ensenachos: Very nice resort

We stayed in the spa section which was nice and quiet (adult only). The rooms are spacious and very clean with a separate tub and shower. The grounds are well maintained with lots of beautiful flowering plants. The Ensenachos beach is the better of the two beaches, and you can snorkle along the side by the rocks. The food is fairly good, with only one day where the buffet food was not up to par (not sure what happened that day) but there is lots to choose from, including delicious desserts an [... read more]d many types of cheese. We didn't swim in the pools as it was a bit cool and the ocean was much warmer.

Roc Lagunas del Mar: Good experiance

I have very little to complain mostly we had a great time and service. I would like to see a change room , washrooms and snack bar (for lunch) close to the beach , signs can be improved to fined where you want to go . Buffet service can be faster specially at pick times with adding some extra stuff . There is a shortage of tea spoons and ashtrays , since you can smoke almost everywhere except in your room. One other thing Resort is 90 minutes away from airport some people may like this but [... read more] I didn't even on the way back to airport we went through 2 towns it was an eye opener for me to see the level of poverty so please tip them generously clothing, hats, t-shorts , pesos etc. don't let the uniform fool you they are poor .

Roc Lagunas del Mar: Nice Place -Poorly managed and cheaply Run

The resort is beautiful and fair enough for a 3-star. And overall for the price it was a good value. Service was lacking and not well managed there was a lot of people working on the resort but the staff were disorganized and seemed that supervision was lacking. We had to request for basic things like beach towels. Too many families with children and not a dedicated pool or area to them. The resort is large enough to facilitate this and provide better service for families with children an [... read more]d those with none. If the place is organized and managed better would be more pleasant. Only one buffet was open at breakfast for the entire resort with limited stations for simple omelets - who wants to line up on their vacation for breakfast- I had never experienced this before. One person was making pancakes with two tiny pans for the 100s of ppl!