Resonance Blu Santa Maria: Stay away from Starfish

We just returned from a week at Starfish. This was our first trip to Cuba - the resort was a big disappointment. Only half the resort was opened, only a couple of restaurants open. Had to wait about 5 days for a reservation at a restaurant. The service was so-so. Some eye rolling from staff at drink request (which was never even received). Most Staff just did not seem happy. BEACH - the beach was quite nice. Not too crowded and the seaweed was raked every day. Lots of beach chairs. Only downside [... read more] was it was a large beach with only one bar open, so was often a long trek back & forth for drinks. ROOMS - they were ok. Plain. We had to switch rooms as ours did not have curtains, mirror, and faulty a/c. Our second room was better (block 30). I think they are all in need of TLC though. Rusty bath fixtures, dirty grout, leaky... Dim lighting. We left gift bags each morning but only once did we get a fancy animal towel thingy LOL - our friends seemed to have better luck. Also our pillow cases seemed to get turned inside out instead of being changed. Stains on bedspread. Cleaning overall was a hit or miss. FOOD - horrible. We were 'warned' not to expect great food, but ugh... Yuck. The buffet always had a fishy smell. Chicken & steak were grilled fresh for you but always a big lineup. Same with pasta station and the omelette station. Otherwise just slop... . I'm not a seafood lover, and picky for quality meats, so had a hard time finding things to eat. The breakfast was lacking too - thought there would be waffles/pancakes... Nope. Always the same foods, no variety. The public washrooms were terrible. Very smelly, only a handful working, and never any toilet seats. ??? The grounds were pretty. The gardeners were working daily.

Memories Paraiso: Amazing beach!!

We went to this place with so so expectation. First day is a bit disapoointing as we have to change room due to issue with door, food in the first day is not the best (cold food etc) but as the day goes on we learned that its just best to get seafood from the grill and its been great as the day goes on. Because of the excellent beach and great weather that week (except for 1 rainy day) all in all its been a great week with my family in one of the best beach!

Valentin Perla Blanca: Pretty Good Resort for Cuba

Brand new hotel, very clean. I love Cubans and how hard they try to offer you the very best of what they have. Make sure you give them a genuine compliment and watch them light up with joy. GREAT BEACH - we hiked 3 km up the beach every day.

Melia Las Dunas: Beautiful Beach

Was a great place to take our 7 month old son. Service was good, food was ok. Book alacarte early, they fill up fast and choice is limited. Skip the fireside grill, buffet is better. Sand flies are pretty bad, make sure to rinse all sand off yourself to avoid being bitten, take anti-itch cream. Also prepare for a long day of travel there and back. Resort is a nearly 2 hour bus ride from airport, but you get a good and realistic glimpse of Cuban life from the bus ride.

Resonance Blu Santa Maria: just average

the beach was the greatest.the pool and grounds were very nice.the food was below average.rooms were clean.the service was good just took to long to get a drink.poor entertainment no place to go dancing on the grounds.

Memories Paraiso: Love Cuba

My third trip, my brothers first. Disappointed because he didn't see the real Cuba like I did in Hogain. Resort was like a movie set built for tourists. We got sick while there. Disappointed to hear Sunwing new about sickness and still offered trips. The people are wonderful. Food and service good. People great. Would recommend hotel but also excursions to see the real world. (After possibility of sickness cleared up)

Royalton Cayo Santa Maria: Beautiful resort -

grounds - well kept and clean restaurants - attentive wait staff - no need to rush meals staff- always there when needed to accommodate every request small resort is the way to go as well as adults only craft market and Memories Hotel all within walking distance beach is spectacular - sand as soft as silk

Melia Cayo Santa Maria: Nice Resort

Beautiful Beach. (no towels to exchange for 3 days) Great Rooms. Small Buffet is unsatisfactory. Needs more choices and fresh fruit/veggies. (Italian Restaurant was good. 24 Hour restaurant was a blessing.) Although this is a nice resort with lovely grounds, I would not recommend based on the food. Have been to Cuba x9.....Worst food yet.

Valentin Perla Blanca: Paradise on earth

The rooms were amazing, the grounds amazing, the people beyond amazing and the food was delicious many choices and well cooked. No issues at all with this resort. The beach and the beach tiki bar as well as the pools and snack bars, AMAZING, Always something to do and things to eat. Great people, great service with a smile...couldn't ask for anything more.

Playa Cayo Santa Maria: A lovely resort.

Enjoyed my stay. Hotel was nice......we had a lovely ocean view. Friendly staff, nice layout of the grounds with everything very accessible. The food was good, as well as the drinks. Would definitely return!

Gran Muthu Cayo Santa Maria: Wonderful Resort

resort was immaculate. rooms were very clean and spacious. beach was beautiful. staff were always friendly and efficient. food was exceptional (salmon steak was available daily along with so many other choices)......amazing vacation.

Melia Las Dunas: Awesome Vacation

Well, first of all... it's Cuba - can't expect Canadian standards in a country without the means to create that sort of environment. That being said, our resort was beautiful, our room was acceptable, the food was decent, and the staff were excellent. We heard a lot of bad things about a resort a little ways down the beach having really bad food and no running water, but we never experienced any problems during our stay. We were placed in villa 51 (close to the beach and leisure pool, far away  [... read more]from everything else) so we had to do a little bit of trekking to get everywhere but luckily we didn't mind walking off the carbs and alcohol we were consuming. Great time - great staff - FANTASTIC BEACH. We would return in a heart beat just to experience the beaches again. Sadly it rained the last 2 days of our stay which cancelled an excursion, but Transat was awesome to deal with.

Sol Cayo Santa Maria: Beautiful beach, medium resort.

Grounds, rooms, public area needs TLC. From replacing and adding lights to cleaning beautiful tiles around pools. Food is OK. Resort staff is amazing! Missing a lot Cuban music! Missing also Creole and la Picua restaurants.

Gran Muthu Cayo Santa Maria: Very bad food for Cuba - No night life, boring.

The beach is very nice, but that's about it. For Cuba and comparing to other resorts, the food is below average and overall this shouldn't be a 4-5 stars resort. Very slow service, be patient. i.e. Took us 2 hours to check in. Lots of clients, few staff. And that's everywhere. A la carte restaurants were all disgusting, buffet is better, but as other mentioned you must get there fast because they run out of eatable "safe" food very quick. Oh and the buffet doesn't respect their hours, they op [... read more]en when they feel like it. The wifi never works, but you can get lucky and access it for 5 minutes (keep in mind that you have to pay). No nightlife, no music. Very boring. Lots of rooms problems such as no toilet seats, no towels, can't lock patio doors...

Valentin Perla Blanca: good looking resort

Very Nice looking resort but the room was not very clean. The grass was very long around our room.Dirty dishes stayed 5 days by our door. The foot was good. But there is no Animation, to much relaxing. .nothing to do. The beach was so so. No service for towel, we had to keep the same towel for the all week. I would say that it is a very Nice looking resort but nothing more..

Melia Cayo Santa Maria: Poor Value for Money - Food Very Disappointing

Highlights were beach and pool bar. Food was very disappointing (ie. buffets and al a cartes). Rooms were ok. Service was generally quite good. Sports activities were a joke as there was never anything available and server in sports hut slept more than he worked. Never any fresh beach towels available for exchange. Not a good resort for families. Not enough amenities for kids and teenagers. Resort not good value for the amount paid.

Iberostar Selection Ensenachos: Very nice resort !

beautiful beaches, very nice pool for kids, friendly stuff, room clean and little fridge filled with drinks every day ( cola, Fanta, Sprite, beer and water) great resort for families with small kids..

Gran Muthu Cayo Santa Maria: Excellent Escape from Winter

This hotel met all of our needs. It was clean, the room was spacious and everything worked. Our mini bar was stocked each afternoon, the room was cleaned each day and we had no need for any special attention. Our main purpose was to do some diving and relax, we had opportunity to do both. The beach was nice and the ocean provided us with lots of chance to play, there is not much life to see under the water near the hotel but there ware a few unique shells. The diving takes place off site, the b [... read more]us picked us up in the lobby within a reasonable time frame and the workers were diligent in their duties while being friendly and efficient. On our last day of diving we had "personalized" service with only three divers and a guide who helped us to see some excellent specimens. The food was plentiful, the barbecued pork and chicken tasted as good as they smelled. The ice cream was always available and very tasty. We ate breakfast early each morning and did not get to enjoy the freshly fried doughnuts until our last morning...they are well worth a short wait in line. Cuban food is simple, some is not to my liking but there was always something to fill me up. This resort is very family friendly. I found the piano bar to be very noisy in the evening as was the formal entertainment. The room was quiet and we rarely heard any noise from other clients while in the room. There are a few sand fleas and mosquitos on the beach, their bites can be really uncomfortable so pay attention especially in shaded areas.

Melia Las Dunas: Great resort, decent service

Needs a renovation, service was not very helpful, no clean towels all week, poor plumbing in rooms, can't flush toilet paper??!! Rooms weren't cleaned very well. Beach was awesome though, food was decent for Cuba, pools were nice

Memories Paraiso: Nice Resort

The hotel was nice, rooms were nice, clean and spacious, phones did not work so could not call for shuttles or room service if wanted. Weather was great and beach was beautiful. Grounds were kept up and pools were nice and clean. Staff were really nice and friendly. Toilets in public areas left a bit to be desired as there were no seats on some of them. Food was ok, not the best but was ok. Entertainment was not that great. Also sport bar and grill right by our room was closed during our stay so [... read more] had a 20 minute walk to get something to eat. Im sure it would have been more enjoyable if everything was open and everything working. I would probably try this hotel again once more just to see if things had improved because it was a nice spot.