Beautiful Resort

The resort is very new and it was gorgeous. It wasn't super busy so we were able to choose where we wanted to sit at the pool, beach, dinner, etc. The beach was the most beautiful beach I've ever been to. The food was mediocre but travelling to Cuba that was an expectation. There was quite a language barrier which was difficult at times but the staff was clearly trying to accommodate as best they could. The only downfall was the "disco" which is a little bit off the resort and costs money to get [... read more] into and is not unlimited drinks. It was $10 and you got 3 drinks with that. Every resort I've ever been to the disco has been right on the resort and included in the "all inclusive" part, so I would not recommend going to that. Other then that, overall, it was a great experience.

Good start

Beautiful resort, but still needs alot of work on the details. The rooms were clean, but included a total of 3 small drawers for clothing. Our room also did not have a shower, only a shower handle on the tub, with no curtain. Available wifi at this resort should be considered a false statement, i was not able to connect at all during our stay. The food was below averaged for Cuba. The beach has about 8 feet of beautiful sand between a rock face, and the ocean. On a plus, the pools were very n [... read more]ice, and there were always ample places to sit.

Nice resort but absoutely not a 5-star as advertised.

The hotel building is nice and new , the pool is beautiful , but the beach is too far from the building and the beach is too small and there is no walkway to the beach. The room was nice, but the floors were not properly cleaned.There was no hot water for 2 days and water was pooling in the water (water was sloping towards the room instead of towards the drain). The food was also limited in choices and was not kept warm, even when we showed up early for each meal. Just be aware that this is [... read more] a long ride from the airport, so just be prepared and will be a LOT longer during rush hour traffic.

Amazing holidays

Hotel is very nice, modern, very clean. Grounds are nice and clean, gardners working very hard to maintain developing vegetation. In a few years landscaping will be in full bloom since this hotel is very new. Service is very good, people try very hard to please. Rooms specious and very clean, very modern. Our housekeeper outstanding. Beach is beautiful, enjoyed the fact that the water is not too deep, simply beautiful. Enjoyed swimming as well as walking on the beach. Swimming po [... read more]ols super, enjoyed drinks at the swim up bar. Food was good and selection good for Cuba.

Amazing Resort...Friendlly staff!!

This resort was clean, inviting and filled with fantastic friendly staff. Anything we asked for we were given. We would definitely recommend this resort and would visit again. The resort is new so it will take sometime for them to receive feedback and fix a few things here and there but overall we were more then pleased.

Beautiful resort!

The food/dining experience was terrible. Very disappointed in the a la carte restaurants. The pool area was beautiful. The beach was very narrow. The staff was friendly. The drive to the resort was long.

Very friendly staff

The resort was beautiful, entertainment was excellent, but the food was inadequate. I would have at least expected the food at the a la carte restaurants to be superior to the buffet, but the meals were served cold and of poor quality. Most of all, the staff were extremely accommodating and friendly.

Clean, New and an amazing beach

Ocean Casa del Mar is a very new hotel so everyting was nice a clean, the sevice was outstanding, and the beaches were breath taking. The clear aqua blue waters are fantastic if you enjoy snorkeling, kayaking or are just a nature lover.

Very clean, modern hotel

Entire resort was very clean; staff was friendly and helpful; food was good; wonderful large beach; no sign up or waiting lines for a la carte restaurants, which was great; Hola representative was onsite every day except Sunday, and she was very friendly and helpful; currency exchange was onsite; lots of beach lounges at the 2 pools and on beach; loved the daily lunches served out of the beach snack bar (lunch also served in buffet restaurant and snack bars); did not have to stand in any lines d [... read more]uring our stay. There were just a few negative features: no elevators in buildings - we were on the third floor, had to take luggage up and down and climb stairs constantly to go to our room; information regarding meals, activities, entertainment was posted outside buffet restaurant - it would have been nice to receive either daily info or at least a summary when we arrived; and, finally, resort was almost 2 hours from airport - that was a long ride!

Beautiful resort

The Oceans experience was very positive. The checkin was quick and easy the rooms were lovely. Absolutely loved the rainfall showers. The food was very good at all locations a favourite was the cappuccino The pools were spotless and staff friendly My only suggestion would be to have better stairs to the beach ( which is beautiful) but I can see how it would be inaccessible to many due to having to climb down to the water My only complaint is towels I understand there are times when the [... read more]y may run out but it was the attitude of the towel staff at the right end of the resort they were always rude and many people felt they closed even when they had dry towels Would I go back. Yes

Amazing resort

Rooms are spacious and clean we had room facing swimming pool, it was very quiet more activity at the family pool. The grounds are still being developed will be nice in a year or two when matured. The food was plentiful and nice, we went to a la carte most nights they were excellent, sunbeds lots never a problem at pool or beach. The staff are very hard working and happy, gardners greeted us every morning with a flower nice way to start you day.

Not quite ready for an amazing vacation

We arrived at the Ocean Casa del Mar on Friday afternoon, the lobby was beautiful, the rooms were beautiful and the pools looked very nice but very cold. Food is survival food not awful but not great. We had a few issues with things working but they were resolved fairly quick.The resort is overly quiet to the point I felt uncomfortable it lacks personal service such as pool side drink service, activity team and just over all staff presence. There was no music what so ever playing anywhere I th [... read more]ought maybe we were at the quiet pool so we moved to the pool where the childrens area was and it was the same. There was a schedule of activities that we were unable to find and participate in, we wanted to do the aqua fit ... no where to be found, wanted to play bingo no one was runing this activity gave up and went to the beach and could not find that either. The tide was really high which meant the water was right up to the rock barrier and all the chair were pilled high on the rocks not appealing at all since we did come for the beach. We had 2 teenage(14-15) girls with us that had never been to Cuba before and they felt like they were in a senior citizen retreat. We did have ocean view but there is an odd space between the rooms and the beach/rock/vegitation line that made it feel unfinished I almost felt like I had been dropped of on an uninhabited Island. I wasn't satisfied that any of this would change for the better while we were there so requested to move resorts so that the girls could have some things to do for fun.

Casa Del Mar

We had a very enjoyable vacation at Casa Del Mar. It is a new and very clean resort. The buffet, 24 hour snack bar, And four additional restaurants, offered multiple choices, on a regular basis. Our favourite was Origami, as we enjoy sushi, however the freshly cooked food at the buffet was also quite good and prepared by pleasant and competent cooks. We also enjoyed seafood paella at the beach snack bar. Mikes coffee bar served several kinds of coffee, hot chocolate and teas. We agree with past  [... read more]guests, that Mikes deserves kudos for its menu and pleasant professional service. The gardens are tended daily and will become even more lovely as they mature. The pools were warm and there were always plenty of lounge chairs, both here and at the beach. The beach was our favourite! Beautiful soft sand, cozy little nooks nestled among the volcanic rock offered serene places to stretch out, enjoy the sun, sand, sound of the surf and a good book. One could easily swim out to the coral reef and while wearing water shoes is a must, walking along the reef, tropical fish would swim up to and around you. Beautiful! There was always staff available to help place beach lounges and sweep sand off them. The resort is large and offers a nicely appointed tennis court. There was nightly entertainment. We enjoyed the dancers, but sometimes found the singers a little too loud. We would definitely recommend Casa Del Mar for a relaxing vacation in the sun!

Ocean Casa Del Mar - February 2017

Just over one and a half hours by bus from Santa Clara airport, partly through small (very poor) villages and partly along a 48-km causeway through an ecologically protected area along Cuba's north coast. Hotel is a year old and the hotel complex is beautiful and very expansive, reception area is grand looking, with fresh flowers, lounging chairs and canopied lounging beds, ceiling fans, and interesting lighting...and a fantastic view of the ocean in the distance behind the sand dunes. Rooms [... read more] in three-storey buildings are large and airy, and have good soundproofing. Ceiling fans and air conditioning in the room worked well, though there was a nice breeze if we left the patio door open. Everything is new and pristine, and there was lots of hot water. Maids always left towel art and other special touches. Mini-bar and coffee supplies replenished every day. We had a room on the second floor of Building 11, very convenient, between one pool complex and the main reception building, which also houses the buffet and two of the restaurants. "Ocean view" is a misnomer, as you had to stand at a certain angle near the patio door or be on the balcony...to see water behind the dunes in the distance. Two very large pool areas with lots of seating - one at each side of complex. Nice lounging area in back of main building, with lots of tables and chairs in front of small entertainment stage for house and other bands. Very pleasant. Mike's Coffee and Tea room is worth checking out. Good coffee and cappuccino, and some baked items to accompany it. We were very pleased with the resort...until we saw the beach. Apparently they had a storm five days before we got there and it wiped out half the beach (along with half the palapas).... 😞 We met some people the second day there, who had been there nearly two weeks. They confirmed that the beach HAD been beautiful.... It was also very windy the first couple of days so the water was quite rough, though not so bad that we couldn't swim. 😉 That said, the beach does have very soft white sand (interspersed with rocky areas), and there are lots of palapas (though many needed to be replanted...). The color of the water was pretty amazing, ranging from different shades of turquoise to dark dark blue... and the water was warm. There was staff on the beach to set up/clean sand off loungers and fetch drinks if you were feeling lazy. There is a strip of maybe 300-400 feet between the hotel complex and the dune/beach area that is still in development. It was apparently a shallow lake/ swamp that has been drained and some planting has been done but it will be years before it's filled in. Three sidewalks/boardwalks traverse that area and the dunes to access the beach. The food was better than we had in Varadero and Jibacoba --- same basic foods, but good sauces and effort to make different things (risotto, sushi, flambéd bananas, etc.).... and the à la carte restaurants we frequented had live music (fantastic violin player in one, sax and keyboard in another). They had other different food options at this hotel, as well: a "manned" pancake and waffle station at breakfast in addition to the two omelet stations; allso, they could make you a variety of liquadas (breakfast shakes), with fresh papaya, guava, mango, banana, pineapple, etc. One of the beach snack bars made Spanish paella, along with the standard burgers, etc. The paella was good - we had that a few times 🙂 There were five a la carte restaurants - no reservations needed. We liked the Italian and Asian (live music-the musicians were really talented) so never went to the Mediterranean, Blue Moon (referred to as "romantic"), which served seafood crepes, which I heard were really good, or the seafood restaurant.... 🙂 The hotel had quite good entertainment -- a very good house band that played in the open patio area every other evening, and other bands the other days, and a good animation team that put on some amazing dance routines (varied -- Latin night, Broadway review, break dancing and Michael Jackson night) -- they were all very good. The staff are super friendly and helpful. We spoke some Spanish, which was useful, but most of the staff managed quite well in English and were eager to improve their command of the language, and several expressed an interest in learning some French, to better communicate with French-speaking guests. Hard to get smaller denominations for tips (the exchange office often has only 5-peso and larger bills), but we soon found out that the staff are more than willing to make change. Tips in Canadian coin are a real problem for them as they can't exchange the coin for pesos.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Loved are stay

everything from the food to the staff the rooms where amazing ..................pools, weather ocean was great..housekeeping kept the room. she clean...no garbage laying around..24hr snack bar was good.........