A quality place in Cuba

Having been in Cayo Santa Maria at least half a dozen times I would rate Iberostar Ensenachos toward the upper end without the top end pricing. Gardens (the whole place is a garden ) are terrific , food very good and rooms spacious and comfortable. Our second time here and my previous objection that the main dining room is all indoors has been improved with a few outdoor tables now available. The beaches are very nice and because this is such a large resort in area (not in overall number of room [... read more]s) it never feels crowded. The Spa section means adults only with a quiet pool area . It is nearer the main buildings and the gym and spa and so is preferred if you are going without kids. Otherwise it can be a hike to your room although the electric carts are always about giving rides. We usually hire a driver to tour the towns on the mainland and a 2 peso ride on the open top double decker tourist bus gives you an idea of the Cayo and other hotels.

Great Holiday

We just came back from a great week at the Ensenachos resort. Our room was huge,and very clean and tidy. The beaches were some of the best we have ever been to and the staff were very friendly. Flights and transfers were smooth and early.

Beautiful Resort

The beaches were gorgeous, resort beautiful and staff excellent!! Dayker & Gustovoe are a must to see bartenders in the lobby bar excellent service. Will definitely go back!! Resort has a great cigar store and lounge must visit those areas.

Amazing resort

Just return : 2 January 2015 Spend the New Years in Iberostar ...good choice. Check in: It was great, they had a room with tables & chairs, along with champagne for adults & juice for kids. They gave us a quick welcome greeting, scanned our passports & gave us our packages. Park Suite, 2nd floor, huge rooms. Minibar is restocked everyday and the HDTV was great. Lots of cartoons and HBO movies. The food was good, always plentiful selections and great service. Beaches are gorgeous, ..10.. 15 m [... read more]in waking, some sea life to see around, barracuda, starfish, clownfish, squirrelfish, stingray. The entertainment was great and the staff were always friendly . High recommended Flamingo show. Grounds: Very lush, lots of trees, bushes, plants, amazing flowers, cactus. Many birds, hummingbirds, butterflies. Nice pathways & walkways throughout resort.

Not the 5 star we expected when it came to food.

The grounds were kept up very nice and the pool area was really nice as well. The service was good overall. Our room was very nice, large, clean and quiet. We are beach people so we were very happy with the beautiful beaches, how long they were and how quiet and non crowded when we went for a walk during the morning. It didn't seem as busy as we are used to in most places so it was easy to find a quiet place up the beach away from the crowds. As we were quite a distance from the bar, we were imp [... read more]ressed that the waiter came down to serve us on some of the days. This is our third time to Cuba and stayed in 3.5 to 4 star resorts before and found the food better, so with this being ranked a 5, our expectations were higher and certainly let down. The food is mostly kept under heating lamps instead of chafing dishes in the main buffet that didn't help much at all, so most buffet food was barely above room temperature. If you wanted something hot, you had to wait in line to have fresh meat or pasta cooked. I am okay with waiting in line, but 20 minutes for hot pasta and then another 20 minutes for hot meat left the other one cold by the time I got them both. 30-40 minutes standing in line for hot food does not define a buffet. Two people cooking at both the meat and pasta stations during the peak hours would speed things up. We went to the Italian and Japanese restaurants. Both disappointing. Italian creamy tomato basil soup tasted like no name canned soup with a drizzle of cream and sprinkle of dried basil. I had the chicken and the sauce was just plain and milky and the chicken so dried out I couldn't chew it. How do you go wrong with chicken? Japanese had potential but STOP PLAYING WITH THE FOOD! They put the meat strips on to cook and should have served it within minutes of putting it on the grill. Instead they wrote words with the meat. Then finally they placed it on the plate and then wrote "Cuba" on my plate with the sauce. By the time the last people were served and the meat hit my fork, the meat had been cooking for 30-40 minutes. The beef was like leather and I couldn't chew it. The pork barely chewable and they were out of chicken so I couldn't order the dish I wanted. Shrimp was like rubber. All this meat should only have been cooked a few minutes and then served as quickly as possible. Then our chef left at least half the food on the grill and went away and did not return. After 20 minutes, we asked the waitress if she could ask the chef to come back and give us a little more rice and vegetables as they were not quite as overcooked. He offered my husband more and then left, not offering anyone else at the table of 16 more food. Why would you not ask anyone for seconds? Website says internet available but it was down the entire week. Internet is not a necessity but we do like to touch base with our family once or twice while away. We read there was a shuttle running between beaches. We ended up walking it each time and never did see a shuttle. It is a long walk between areas and the shuttle should be running regularly. The beach bathrooms are very run down. Often no toilet seat, no toilet paper, no paper towel and no soap to wash and dry your hands. A five star hotel should at the very least make their bathrooms a priority. We dreaded going to eat and going to the bathroom. Hopefully some of the great service we experienced in other areas of the resort can be put into serving hotter, fresh food and maintaining the beach bathrooms better. We still made the best of our vacation and enjoyed the amazing beaches and quietness of the area but will try somewhere else next time.

1st time here, 9th visit to Cuba

This hotel was great, lots of walking and ample areas to work on the tan lines. Food was good, rooms nice, great staff. This is the one that we would return to for sure. Stay in the Park area for best value.

Great Hotel

We vacationed at Iberostar Ensenachos Nov 18 - 27th. Loved the hotel and staff. Take small flashlights for night time as often timer on walkway lights is delayed. We had to call twice to have our building outside lights turned on in pitch black. Food was lovely for Cuba, at the bufet and specialty restauraunts. Some people would be disapointed that there is NO view of the ocean from ANY of the rooms and there is a lot of walking. However, that did not bother me. The two beaches were lovely. Ther [... read more]e was a problem with the family section pool, so those guests were allowed to use the pools in the spa section. We were in the spa area, and to accomodate us, the management allowed us to spend a day at the Village section. Overall, we had a lovely time.

Our experience, no sugar coating.

This is a review of my personal experience while staying at the Iberostar Ensenachos for the second time. This is not a review to encourage or discourage anybody from selecting this resort as your travel destination; yet simply providing details on our experience alone. We stayed from Nov 21st - 28th and traveled out of Halifax via Toronto with WestJet (I now love them). We paid $1073 per person, taxes included. Previously, we paid $1550 per person in February 2013. We traveled with one other  [... read more]couple, and had 2 rooms initially in the park suites. We had requested upstairs rooms in building 41 or 42 with king size beds via email in Spanish (thank you google translations); we received 2 downstairs rooms in building 41. Building 41 & 42 in the park section is ideal, and likely the most requested buildings as there is a wooden walkway with a short walk to the end of Megano beach right outside your building. Barefoot walking to the beach rocks; no hot pavement or long walks to get to Megano beach. Building 41 in the park section was certainly showing its wear. The ceiling fan in our room was missing, the facet in the bathtub was missing, the ironing board wouldn't stand and the iron wouldn't work. Those things were quite minor and likely due to the overwhelming request for that building. The pool was also close by, but shut down on day 2 of our vacation for tile replacement; which was obviously overdue as one portion of the pool has been blocked off for safety reasons. The work had to be done, so we were cool with that. Notices were posted reminding parents that children were not suppose to go to the Spa pool due to this temporary shut down as they had a water park that was also fully operational. However, parents didn't care and took their kids to the Spa pool any ways, and nobody enforced it. Along with that, it appeared to be a 'free for all' for lounging parents to allow their feral children to do whatever they pleased; some people just shouldn't have kids - just sayin' ... having impromptu conversations with 8 year olds while swimming in the pool was fine, but sometimes a bit uncomfortable. In the summer, management did change at this resort; including the chefs. There are a few changes that have trickled down due to that. Last time when we arrived we were taken into a room where all our keys were ready and handed out in quick fashion, now it is much different. Upon check in people line up at reception in multiple lines to receive keys, and then have to get into another line to have passports scanned, but the lines are all mixed in and it made it confusing and a bit of a hassle - again, minor but could be easily fixed. Customs into the country was a breeze, and mainly based on if you had traveled to Africa or have been in contact with anybody who had traveled to Africa, all regarding the Ebola outbreak. Don't bother with holding up the bus at the airport for money exchange; it's the same rate at the resort. We were the first in line to change money at the airport and darn near missed our bus; they were NOT going to wait for the others, no joke, the ship was ready to sail. Bus to resort did not have bathroom on board, but in the past it had. They do a quick halfway for any desperate people (likely due to the beer they feed you). I'm sure by now you have read that it is 1.5 hrs on the bus to the resort, but it's very interesting and lots to look at - we quite enjoy it, even though it was our 4th time visiting this area. Now for the food, this is the interesting part. Previously we loved the food, and enjoyed it - that has changed. Nothing is hot whatsoever - and you MUST rely on the grilling stations (Pasta, pizzas, grilled seafood, grilled pork, beef, omelets, etc). I don't understand why they can't keep their food hot, it was hot before ?!?!? The lines were not bad, but it isn't the busy season as of yet. You will eat well, but you have to use the grill stations to do so OR order room service. The lunches at the Megano beach and pool bars are great, and made to order. The beef is bubble gum beef and is nearly impossible to chew, there is a reason Cubans don't eat beef. If you are picky, ask your grill guy to cook your meat longer as sometimes things were a little underdone, but nothing that could harm a person. Bacon in the morning is undercooked and I had the omelet guy cook it on his grill a little extra. We did NOT over drink etc, but 3 out of 4 of us did experience stomach issues for 3 days while there; I was shocked and surprised as we have traveled many times and NEVER have had any issues and I have guts of steel. I wouldn't avoid this place based on this, but heads up for Imodium if you are concerned. Honestly, the best food I had during the week was at the Asian ala carte and the room service. Room service is a bit of a hassle for the staff to lug the food on the tray, but worth it - the only decent fries and chicken breast I had all week. Seafood restaurant we had high hopes for, but that also was garbage. MAKE SURE YOU BOOK THE ASIAN ALA CARTE. Heck, book it 2-3 times if that's what you want. What amazed me was a few of the staff had remembered me from 2 years ago, and I'm not a 'stand out person' ... they literally came right up to me and said, " Hey, I remember you, how have you been " ... amazing. Yunior (Junior) at the buffet is FAB, so fab he should be running the entire buffet. One day we asked for strong coffee, so he went for a walk to the lobby bar and came back with STRONG COFFEE lol. The staff remembers what you want each day, what you drink etc. etc. It does appear that the staff are competitive on getting people to sit at their section; likely the tips. We tipped 1-2 CUC for each meal, and sometimes 3 when service was fantastic (it always was). These workers are out of this world, very different from any other resort that we have visited before. These folks are some of the best that this area has to offer. The beaches are the best that you are going to find in the Caribbean. Ensenachos is the island before Cayo Santa Maria, which is more protected, so even on windy / off days; the water is very calm and very safe to swim in, even for small children. We don't have children as we come with a ' non breeding contract ' (ha ha), but it's perfect for families with small kiddies, VERY SAFE. You NEVER see a red flag on the beach, yet up the road in Cayo Santa Maria it is common. If you have children, this is ideal, but please don't be irresponsible parents and allow your kids to annoy other guests. Also, please keep your children dressed, unclothed children on the beach wasn't what I wanted to see, and quite frankly it's likely dangerous due to the intense U.V. penetrating where the 'sun doesn't shine'. The 'Kids Club' was alive and active - the workers appeared to be ideal people who really worked well with children; parents, tip these people, they don't get tips but have to travel 4 hours everyday on a bus with others who are bragging about how much they made in tips. They are looking after your little pride n' joys, show them some appreciation. Okay, so one night after supper our door wouldn't open, so I suspected that our keys had been disabled. We walked back to the lobby, got new keys and they still didn't work. We then walked back again and tried round 2. After that hassle, without working keys, we used our friends phone to request a bellboy come and open our door. They did come right away and still couldn't open our door. Something went wonky with the mechanism in the door and they had to break in via the back door. The next morning I went to guest services (dial 5 on your phone, or go to the downstairs lobby), and baby they were on it like white on rice. I hadn't been able to leave my room after the ordeal and when I did, I had to put duct tape over the latch so I could get back in. Anywho, guest services told me that they would fix the door immediately (which they did), move us to the spa section (adults only), give us a bottle of rum, and give us 30 minute massages for free. Score. I didn't even complain, get nasty, nothing, RESPECT goes a long way with these people, and trust me a lot of folks staying at this resort seemed to have left their manners at home. The French Canadians would mob a golf cart as you were trying to get on it, make nasty demands to staff, and then talk about us thinking we didn't understand what they were saying (we sure did, and would speak to them in French as we exited the areas Ha !). Drink guys come around at 5:40 ish daily to fill your fridge, you can pretty much get whatever extras you want, but you have to be there to get extras. Leaving tips in the fridge result in nothing extra. If you want to start a 'collection of drinks' just hide them in a spot late afternoon and let them restock. Beer included Crystal, Bucanero, and a new beer called 'maybe' (which was quite nice). Never saw a can of orange pop the whole trip, which was odd because we usually do. Diet cola was hit or miss, but just ask a bartender for an entire bottle when you see it. If you ask for milk for in your room (morning coffee) get it at the lobby bar, they will gladly give you an entire carton that will do you the week. The cigars at the resort are about 3 times more expensive than at the airport on your way out, and they claim it's because they have a humidor. The cigars at the market appeared to be high priced too, same with the beer. Beer was $3.00 CUC at the market bar, and $2.00 CUC at the market store. Off the island I paid $5.50 CUC for 2 beer, a pint of rum and 2 colas. They will soak you at the market if provided the prime opportunity. The market is HOT, HOT, HOT, so go when they open, 9 am. The bus is $1 CUC return, but is a lot of waiting; a taxi is $5 CUC each way. There are 2 markets, but Peublo Estrella is the largest. If you do any off island excursions, the prices are much better in towns.

Good family resort for younger children!

I had the pleasure to visit this resort from Nov 3 - Nov 10, 2014 with my 2 young children, Sofia(7) and Elias(4.) We got to the resort, they did not have live banking, we had to take a cab to the closest town, 10 minute cab rab to the bank. I needed $300 CUC for tip money. They will only trade at the hotel cash for cash. Once I got back, my vacation started. The food was good, buffet had all you need. The a la carte were nothing special. The overall service is good, they are always trying to pl [... read more]ease you. The kids water park was great, we spent at least 1 hour each day playing in the water park. Good for ages 3 to 10. The beaches are beautiful, the nicest one is a little far to walk though. The weather is always nice. The kid shows and night adult shows are good, kept the kids entertained. My daughter loved the fact that you could see a lot of fish in the ocean. The ocean is clear, white sand everywhere, no rocks. For the price we paid, $2550 for all 3, it was just perfect. I do recommend this vacation if you are with children and you are good with buffet food. A.L.

Amazing time.

I have nothing bad to say about this resort, amazing staff, beautiful resort, food was great. I will be returning next year. One of the best holidays I have had. I had mixed thoughts about Cuba from what people have said about the food. But we had no problems.

Still very nice but needs upkeep

I like it mainly for the location between two gorgeous beaches. The resort is quite nice too and the grounds and gardens are well kept. However, since I have gone there several years I now notice degraded upkeep in for example path lighting (half of them broken), mold on tiles in the room, when I switched on the patio outdoor light one night, the whole place went dark! Instead of tripping the breaker in the room, it tripped the building's breaker. I must say that it only took about 5 min for the [... read more] repair man to show up after I called the front desk.

Loved It

Really enjoyed our stay at this resort. The facilities were very nice, clean, and well maintained. The resort is very spread out but with all the beautiful mature grounds it made it feel more secluded and private. We were located in Bldg 40 which gave us a short walk to either beach and the pool but the lobby and buffet were a long way away. The staff was very welcoming and accomodating and although the food was not the greatest it seemed to be improving as the week went on as the resort was gea [... read more]ring up for their high season. Room was very spacious, loved the walk in closet and the huge bathroom.

Great family resort!!

Went solo with my two kids, aged 13 (boy) and 6 year old girl...a kind of last minute chance to relax...the beach is the prettiest I've ever laid eyes on. The pools we clean and well maintained. The kids pool had the perfect sized slides and play structures for kids under 10....I actually got a giggle from going down one or two of them!! The service was amazing!! The entertainment staff was the best, the endlessly played games or danced, plus they always knew your names in the evening at the sho [... read more]w, my kids really loved this!! The ladies who do the kids activities were simply amazing, their love of kids shows...the Friday night fantasy show was cute and well performed...plus have me a 3 hour break as they rehearsed and went for lunch!!! The hotel itself was very well kept and maintained. The rooms were well equipped and clean, all our needs were met!! The only downside would have to be the food, lots of choice, and presented nicely, but sadly most of it fell below expectations....I think the trick was to stick with the "local" fare, they seemed to shine in that aspect. Breakfast was always good...best donuts ever!! Lunch was good too, lots of choice. Dinner had lots of choice, grilling stations were tasty. Desserts were yummy!! I can't speak of the a la cartes, I only did one, the Japanese and it was tasty and a nice show!! We stuck to the Buffett to give my kids the choices! I'd go back in a heart beat for the staff....and of course the beach!!!!

Out standing place we will back again

We have have been to a lot of places and country's.But to are surprise we so happy and I very impressed with the resort. People were very friendly, the room was great! We had a great time,we will be back agian

Favourite resort

A true 5 star resort! Excellent service from staff. Beautiful lobby, well decorated. There is even a separate bar lounge with a piano player. Also a cigar lounge next to cigar store. Restaurants discreetly tucked away. Fabulous seafood restaurant located near beach. Amazing beaches, clear turquoise water, fine white sand, can walk long distances. Tropical fish near rock formation at Ensenachos beach. Rooms are in 2 storey buildings, entrance to room in a courtyard. Vestibule in room, walk in clo [... read more]set, very large bathroom in marble with separate shower and bath. Bedroom immaculate, tastefully decorated, white duvets available, in closet. Large private terrace. The landscaping is remarkable. Gorgeous swimming pools! A wonderful retreat.

The best in Cuba so far.

Everything OK except the front desk service. The food and the beach were the best. The entertainment and the lobby environment were amazing. The resort contains a large area and as such it is not convenient walking to every amenity. Improving the car service is a must.

Great Resort

Great resort. We have been there four times now. Beaches are the best I've seen in Cuba. Food not as good as in the past, but still quite good. Service great. Staff are so friendly. A bit run down now, but still quite nice.

Beautiful place

We visited Santa Maria Cuba from Sept 1-8th 2014. The resort is beautiful and the beaches amazing. The food was typically what we expected in Cuba. There is always something you can find to eat that you will like. The rooms were spacious and clean however the bed was so uncomfortable that my husband and I woke up numerous times through most nights in pain. The springs were digging into us. My husband went to the chiropractor when he came home. On a few of the nights we even took pain killers. It [... read more] sounds like we are exaggerating but we are not. We have been to various places in Cuba over the years (13 times visiting Cuba) and this was one of the most beautiful resorts we have stayed in. We are reluctant to go back to this resort only because of the bed. The staff were great too! I can't recommend this hotel because a comfortable bed is an important part of a relaxing holiday. So sorry.

Enjoyable vacation

Overall it was very much enjoyable vacation. The beaches are the best, but the ocean was too shallow and the water sometimes had like a swamp smell. There was nice snorkeling opportunities close to the beach: a lot of fish in corals, starfish and crabs. Good variety of watersports. Free shuttle available across the resort. Buffet style food was low quality however the barbequed food was extremely good: meat, fish, lobsters for dinner, king shrimps... Rooms were well designed, clean and relativel [... read more]y new. All rooms in spa and in family sections had the same interior. Out of three rooms my family used only one had some problems with noisy air conditioner. Two other were very fresh. Spa services were low quality but environment was enjoyable. I would recommend this resort as one of the best in Cuba.

Our Cuban Paradise!

Travel Dates: April 2-9/14 We just recently returned from our 6th stay at Iberostar Ensenachos. This trip was the best to date and each year it seems to get better. Upon arrival we knew the resort was full so we, group of 12, paid the upgrade for the Villa area. After staying in the Villas last April we knew what value we were getting and it was an easy decision to do so. We were in Villa 6501 a two bedroom Villa and it was amazing. Spotlessly clean and very quiet. We shared the Villa with frie [... read more]nds and it was so quiet inside you couldn't hear a thing. There was one bedroom upstairs and one down and both had King beds, fully equipped just like any other room in the resort with the bonus of the large living/dinning room area as well as a mini kitchen with large fridge and microwave. The was a lovely sunken jacuzzi on the huge patio as well. The view was of lovely shrubs and we could see the water from the upstairs bedroom. Only had one issue with the shower nozzle leaking and once reported it was fixed right away. The Villa area is so very quiet and the beach area was never busy, you could always have shade anytime of the day. The pool area was quiet and with the addition of the new Bali style beds a great place for relaxation. Nightly entertainment in the Villa lobby was great with two amazing musicians. You could hear them while you dined at the El Colonial or while sipping a drink in the newly added Lobby bar. As with last year, the butlers and all the staff at the Villas, you were treated very well. Yandry and Marichal were always there to lend a hand and do a great job. I found the transportation better this year with more "new golf carts" added along with the Van during peak times made for less of a wait to get around. You would still have to plan on at least 15 minutes before hand to get anywhere just in case there was a wait. No big deal for us. Misleidi was with us each day for breakfast and lunch. Very pregnant but as always a wonderful person to chat with. She loves her job and it shows. Janet is the Villa entertainment and she loves her job, never pushy but loves to engage with people, she was very fun to chat with. Food was just as great as it was last April. We had an authentic Cuban meal one evening that left us all wanting more, it was so delicious. A big thank you goes out to Elexi and the chef for that experience. I had a lunch time meal at the Megano snack bar one afternoon and the food was hot and very good. I arrived at 12:00 and everything was ready. The chicken was so juicy and the salad ingredients were wonderful. I also got to see Yuri, an amazing waiter and person. It was a lovely lunch there and the view and breeze while eating made me wish I had made the trek over more often. The beach there was super busy. Met up with DG Brenda, she is a very hard working woman always on the move trying to make each guest vacation one to remember. When I met up with her she and Cesar(another gift to Ensenachos) had just opened up the Villa beach snack bar offering light snacks for Villa guests that don't want to leave the beach. You can order yourself there or place an order with the wait staff that roam the beach to be delivered by the staff to your chair. Brenda has add new assistants to help her out as well in other areas of the hotel. There is a new front desk crew to help make things better. Lisbet & Yoanka are still there working as hard as ever to help make peoples vacations as great a possible. It was so nice to be great with a warm bear hug again by the wonderful bellman when I arrived. Alexi, Roberto, Angel as well as all the rest work very hard to get people where they need to be. Yes sometimes there can be a wait, just use that as an opportunity to chat with them, you will be happy you did. Brenda & Iberostar are constantly making improvements to this hotel. They are stalled while waiting on government approval and fund releases to get things moving. The staff at this hotel are some of the very best that I have ever come across. Very hard working and always trying hard to please everyone. Iberostar should be very proud to have staff as great as them. Thank you to Brenda, Lisbet, Yoanka, and all the other staff that make up Iberostar Ensenachos, you are all amazing and we all appreciate everything you do each year to make our vacation one to remember. See you again soon.