Royalton Cayo Santa Maria: Cuban Gem!

If you are focused on perfection and updated decor, abundance of food choice and unwilling to appropriately tip the hard working staff then The Royalton Cayó Santa María is not the resort for you. If you admire the beautiful tropical grounds on this smaller property, the cleanliness of the resort, the friendliness and accommodating staff then continue reading. My husband and I who are in our early 60’s from Kitchener, Ontario just returned home from our second stay at The Royalton. Both visits [... read more] were in Feb for 2 weeks and we absolutely love this resort! Situated on one of the most stunning Caribbean beaches, the sand is so white and soft and the water so clear and warm. There’s miles of beach to walk. We were always able to find a palapa. The resort has two beautiful, clean pools that are appropriately water filled as this is an adults only resort. The staff are amazing! At The Royalton you’re assigned two alternate butlers. Their job is to make your stay memorable. They are your “go to” people. On our first trip we were assigned Michel and Omar. On this latest trip we had Lester and Diana. All excellent and thorough. Both stays we had a junior suite which were comfortable, clean, had a good sized bathroom with shower and soaker tub. Each night we slept very well on the comfortable mattress. The rooms are dated but that didn’t bother us. More important was that we had a working toilet, hot water, safe, fan and a/c. Wifi was available in the hotel rooms but the service could be intermittent at times. Stronger wifi could be found in the lobby, lounges, and restaurants. Our maid Alina was the best! Aside from always providing a clean room, her towel creations and daily notes were inspiring. The culinary staff continued to offer tasty and nutritious meals despite the food shortages and supply issues currently affecting all of Cuba. Each dinner a new entrée was available. I would suggest taking small gifts for the Cuban staff, for which they are very grateful. Items we Canadians take for granted aren’t available to them for purchase especially medicines, shoes, clothes, hygiene products. There is a reason why The Royalton has so many return guests. This truly is a Cuban gem property!

Memories Paraiso: A great expiriance

This time we had our vacation in Memories Paraiso. The place is well-organized with flowers and a lot of vegetation around it. The people were very friendly. The food was well prepared with a big variety. I liked the pears and the cookies!

Grand Aston Cayo Las Brujas: Really beautiful resort.

The resort is absolutely beautiful and we will most definitely be back! As usual, not knowing a resort can cause frustration, especially after traveling and not having food for awhile, so the first bit being there was not fun, but that was on us. Cuba has never been known for their food, but they are struggling more than ever now, but you will not starve. There will be at least one or two things you will enjoy - they truly make the best with what they have. The beach was amazing, pools were beau [... read more]tiful, although should be cleaned more regularly as there was always debris on the bottom. Food felt like a challenge. So for toir reference the buffet is open 7-10 for breakfast, then closed until 1230-3 for lunch, then closed again until 630-10 for dinner, there is a 24hr snack bar right below, and another snack bar is the adult only section who also serves breakfast after 10 but is only oppen until 4pm. There is another option called spices, this is for Fiesta rooms, although we were adult only and ate there not knowing this, but was refused service the second time, so was a bit confusing. Also, another disappointment, was how much I enjoyed the spa area but towards the end of our stay was kicked out for not having bought a service inside, which qas a surprised to us as for 2 weeks we were always there and using the pool which looked to be open to anyone, so the confusion just added some stress and frustration, I confirmed with the lobby and asked if this was the rules and he basically said it depends on the person working, as there had been multiple other spa workers who had never said anything to us or asked us to leave. Only 1 lady did. The rooms are very nice, but can see why some people review it as being unsanitary.. it just looks used, and no sheets or towels are changed unless you ask, which is not a big deal but being there for 2 weeks we really needed new towels and found it hard to contact the lobby, as the phones didn't seem to work and had no instructions on how to dial the lobby. But overall we really enjoyed this resort and will definitely be back.. the workers are amazing and the entertainment is one of the best! Overall a very veautiful resort. Would definitely recommend especially for the prices!

Grand Memories Santa Maria: I met the best people and the resort was amazing ♥️

Definitely had the best needed solo vacation. I met the most incredible group of people that we shared a week of fun in the sun and it was just such fun! I was in the diamond club which isn’t needed as the food shortage and time I went, was slower. Be kind tip everyone and remember they are not in control of the shortages. Lots to eat and drink! Great beach music and best of all. It’s all included… remember that. Have fun meet new people. Definitely try the fresh made ? donuts! Worth the fe [... read more]w min line. Best vacation

Vila Gale Cayo Santa Maria: Return trip!

We went as a group of 4, from Feb 4-11. It was the 8th time for 2 of us and the 3rd for the other couple. A shout out to the beach workers who had quite a bit of seaweed cleanup to do, after 3 days of wind. They work so hard to keep the beach clean for us to enjoy. The staff here all work so hard. We had great food all week. The only items that weren't available for breakfast were eggs, bacon and sliced lunch meats. But there were many other options, lots to choose from. The a la cartes we [... read more]re really good! Cuban and Mediterranean were our favorites. The Ranchon grill was open all week, so we enjoyed grilled chicken, pork, and burgers. The 24 hr snack bar offered sandwiches, pizza, hotdogs,burgers,fried banana chips and fries. I highly recommend trying some Ropa Vieja, (Old Clothes) if you have the chance. It's a shredded, braised beef dish..so delicious. All the staff were amazing, friendly as usual and so hard working. The grounds are kept so clean, workers all around. The cold water pressure in the room went very low a few times, but within 30 minutes, it always came back up. A small inconvenience to say the least. There are a lot of shortages in Cuba, so anything that you can bring the workers is so appreciated. Overall, another great trip...can't wait for the next one!

The One Gallery Hotel: Perfect!

The One Gallery Hotel was perfect for our family vacation! Great facility. Spacious, new, friendly staff. Plenty of food and AMAZING beach. We saw so many beautiful fish in the water and sea shells on the beach. You can book a paddle boat or a catamaran trip right on the beach. The BBQ chicken next to the snack bar was our kids' favorite. We went there based on our friends recommendation and now it is our turn to highly recommend!

Resonance Blu Santa Maria: Not bad for $685 per person

There was good and bad. Beach is wonderful, probably nicest one i ever been to. Its easy to get into water. Plenty of beach chairs. Sand is beautiful, but full of sand mites and they will bite you so bring bug repellent. Beach bar isn't far at all. Daily entertainment team tried really hard and had some good activities. Bar service, and service in general was very quick. Lots of bars around so almost never had to wait to be served. Drink quality was good. Swimming pool is enormous, and you can  [... read more]easily find a spot to be on your own. Its pretty shallow, but lots of chairs for everyone around. Our room was great, no issues at all, everything worked, warm water, toilet, etc. Really liked adult only concept. Staff is super friendly and servers come up to you regularly. There is a shopping plaza near by that you can easily walk to. Snack and drinks are available 24 hours so even if you are hungry at 3 am you will be able to grab some food. Food is one of the worst i ever had in Cuba. Everything is cold, undercooked. Very limited choice compared to other places i been to. No beef at all. Eggs are powder eggs. Occasionally had seafood which was good. Also they advertise that they had four a la carte restaurants, that is a lie. There is only one a la carte restaurant. That restaurant was very nice and they do change the menu on daily basis. Night entertainment was the worst one by far compared to other places i visited in Cuba. For 3 straight nights they basically just put music on and had guests dancing with some guys. Basically they were using guests to entertain other guests. Instead of putting shows on, there was almost like glorified disco. Scheduled entertainment was not followed. Also they have huge theater but do not use it, instead they pile everyone in lobby and its hard to see. Our towels in our rooms were never changed, despite being dirty, just folded and put back in place. Also our bed linens were never changed for clean ones. Resort retail store regularly ran out of smokes and cigars.

Grand Memories Santa Maria: SANCTUARY!!

Food was so bad, we got sick while there. Even though we had done the DUKORAL treatment beforehand, we still got very sick. Mornings only ate fresh eggs made on the grill. French toast was OK DON'T EAT THE OMLETTES, THEY ARE MIXED WITH SOMETHING THAT WILL MAKE YOU SICK. Also, be careful at the lunch grills by the pool and beach. Some made us sick. It is best to go to the buffet for lunch because you can choose what to eat. Suppers we had in the SELECTION restaurant were good, and [... read more] if they weren't they replaced them with something. We stayed with the freshly grilled meat and fish as we knew it was real. WHITE RICE is always a safe bet. I stuck mostly with ice cream and fresh fruit for desserts. We were lucky as our room was great. Our butlers RUDY and JAVIER were wonderful! They met our every need and were always honest with us. We went to the GRAND MEMORIES a couple of times, (mainly for the PIZZERIA, which again is something fresh), but stayed mostly at the SANCTUARY because the pool, rooms, buffet, main hall and beach are all so close. One big complaint we have is in each buffet, they have these carts that carry all the dishes and utensils and as they roll them on the floor, they make SO MUCH NOISE, YOU CAN'T EVEN HEAR YOURSELF BREATH!! It is impossible to just sit and take in the view with so much NOISE IN THE BACKGROUND!! This is easily fixed by changing the wheels to those DAM CARTS!! All in All, I think we are done with Cuba, unless something changes drastically with the food. We have always loved Cuba and we are sad that it has come to this.

Playa Luxury Cayo Las Brujas: excellent resort

I loved this resort, the food was amazing, the room was big and the bed was comfy. Nice quiet resort. The staff were attentive and friendly. I had no issues whatsoever. This was my 7th time in Cube,and this resort was by far the best one. I plan on going back in April.

Grand Aston Cayo Las Brujas: Great resort

Grounds were well kept . Public washroom were ok.i only used it twice. It's pretty decent resort. Very helpful and friendly stuff. They had great poolside and evening entertainment. We will go again

Vila Gale Cayo Santa Maria: Spectacular

This was my fourth visit to Grand Sirenis. I have been to other resorts. Grand Sirenis is by far the resort I will continue to visit. Pedro from customer care greeting us when we arrived. Making sure our travel went well and that we got settled into our rooms. Pedro always with a smile on his face greeting us whenever he saw us. The rooms were clean. The beach is fabulous. Enjoyed the variety of food Pachy customer service manager always greeting by name making sure everything was going we [... read more]ll. Wishing us to have a wonderful day. Jennifer in the lobby bar always new our order as soon as she saw us. Tall cappuccino. Jesus one of the cooks, what a wonderful man. His character to make you feel so comfortable. Everyone here is more family to me now. Hats off to everyone for doing everything they can to keeping all the variety of visitors happy.

Royalton Cayo Santa Maria: Cuba at its best!

From the moment we stepped off the bus, we were treated royally. Every single staff member was warm and welcoming. Although the rooms could use a bit of a facelift/refresh, they were very clean, and the bed comfortable. People say the food in Cuba isn't good, but the Royalton definitely proves that wrong. This isn't a "party" resort although they do have wonderful entertainment throughout the day. It's a perfect place to go to relax, enjoy the amazing beach, and soak up the sun!

Playa Luxury Cayo Las Brujas: So happy we stayed at Angsana!

beautiful resort! Very clean and beautifully landscaped. the pool was very nice and never had to fight for a chair. Both beaches were amazing and all had a snack bar and bar. pool had bar service come to you which was a nice treat! Also lobby bar outdid themselves with the drinks! Great selection of drinks and nicely presented! Highly recommend!

Sanctuary at Grand Memories Santa Maria: amazing resort

it"s a big hotel with multiple ways to walk, the room is big and acceptable, the employees are helpful with smile, the foods in the restaurants are quantitative but not in majority at our taste;Dishes are missing ingredients to make them better. Sunwing team is very professionnal. the pool and the beach lovely.

Sanctuary at Grand Memories Santa Maria: A bit tired.

Nice facility, staff great. Everything needs a coat of paint but that's ok, this is Cuba. Room was nice. They need to get toilet seats to fit the big, square toilets!. Buffet at Sanctuary was small in comparison to Grand Memories, but staying at Sanctuary we had access to both. No bacon or eggs most days, burgers were non-existent. Not many veggies of the type we are used to. The fish was mainly basa and tilapia. We won't touch either after watching W5. More carts are needed around resorts. At [... read more] check-in times they were not available, a problem if you're handicapped. The female entertainment director at Sanctuary was a rude, pushy person, not a credit to the resort. I will elaborate if the resort contacts me. Both of us were sick. Many others also. Not worth the reasonable price if you can't trust the food! No water at the market. How do the restaurant staff wash their hands and dishes? In a bucket !

Melia Cayo Santa Maria: Beautiful Cuba

The Melia Cayo Santa Maria is a beautiful Resort, the rooms are well kept and very high end for Cuba. There are plenty of activities going on throughout the day and the staff is very welcoming and thoughtful. The Cubans are a very proud and industrial people and we did see plenty of evidence of their hard work. The grounds of the Resort are very clean and the evening entertainment staff put on some awesome shows. Cuba has the best beaches of all the Islands and Cayo Santa Maria is especially  [... read more]beautiful. The sand is incredible and the water is crystal clear. The tennis courts (six) are in excellent condition which was a nice surprise. It all depends on your reasons for making Cuba your vacation destination. We go for the beach and the weather, we do not go for the food or alcohol. The conditions for import are not good in Cuba therefore the food and the alcohol suffer the consequences. However, the beer was ice cold and delicious, the weather was beautiful and the beach was fantastic.

Valentin Perla Blanca: Best bang for your buck!

You can not have high expectations when going to Cuba as there are shortages of some food items,but you will never starve. Valentin Perla Blanca has the best staff,especially the Lobby Bar -Victor,Adislen and Sarah, along with all the others, work as an efficient team. Lobby bar entertainment ,prior to dinner, is top notch. Bbq at the beach is fantastic! Need to get more chairs at the beach,as many broken. Second time there and will go back.

Royalton Cayo Santa Maria: Amazing stay at the Royalton

2nd time at the Royalton and definitely will be returning. Amazing beach, rooms and food. Oven side grill was great for lunch time quesadillas. Butler Omar was awesome and took care of us all week. Highly recommend.

Sanctuary at Grand Memories Santa Maria: Definitely NOT wheelchair accessible

I was told by Carol our travel agent that she had been there before herself that it was all wheelchair accessible. Nothing about this resort was accessible. There were steps to get into every unit of rooms. The main lobby and pool bathroom are definitely not accessible either. I am a below knee amputee and couldn't take my prosthetic along and there were 9 of us that booked because she had told us its definitely wheelchair accessible. The people were great the staff great too!

Playa Luxury Cayo Las Brujas: Amazing resort!

The hotel is very clean, the rooms are large. The staff is just amazing, always there to help you and want you to be happy! Beautiful beach, nice pool, the food wasn’t bad at all. The restaurant à la carte is very good….for Cuba I was impressed!!!! I recommend it and I would go back anytime!!!