Iberostar Selection Ensenachos: Best beaches in Cuba!

This was our second time at this resort. The resort itself is very large, lots of walking. The resort is starting to show some wear an tear. The food was not as good as as when we went last March, repetitive. The restaurants were much better than the buffet. The beach staff and front desk staff were amazing, thank you Jaima and Beatriz! The beaches are amazing!!! One of the reasons we went back!!

Melia Las Dunas: Average

The hotel was unbelievably long and exhausting to navigate. They actually had buggies driven by hotel staff to take guests from one place to another. The snack bars closed at 5 every day which left you with no choice but to go to the buffet for dinner ; which meant a walk of more than 10 minutes depending on where your bungalow was. The food was average. The specialty restaurants were better. The beach amazing but again a long walk in the heat to get to. The pools although great - very busy alwa [... read more]ys ; at all times of the day and constant noise due to people getting a little too happy (drinking) or the constant entertainment.

Resonance Blu Santa Maria: More than expected!

The resort was perfect! Room was more than enough! Pool was perfect, beach and ocean was exceptional! Food kept you alive! I would return just with different company! Thank you Starfish! I do recommend using the safe for valuables.

Valentin Perla Blanca: Valentine Perla Blanca

It was a wonderful place and please trust me....Travel agents are invaluable. Never trust Trip Adviser....Trust a professional. Trip Central and Lawrence in Burlington Ontario! Valentine Perla Blanca had some of the worst reviews on line but Lawrence explained why and help me decide on this wonderful romantic paradise on earth.....Thanks.

Memories Paraiso: good!!!

(Memories Paraiso Azul Beach Resort 2 week vacation) trip overall was good the beach was the most beautiful beach i have ever seen the staff was amazing rooms were clean and they kept the grounds well maintained, the buffet food was ok but lucky for us the staff loved us so much we ate a la cart everyday and the food at the a la carts were very good and by far the best we have had in Cuba and we have been to several different resorts in Cuba so they get 5* they were lacking in entertainment no m [... read more]usic on the beach or activities. They said it because it was there slow time they don't do some stuff and half of the resort they close down for six months so on that aspect i think they need to rethink doing that because a lot of people were complaining because when you book a resort you look at all the amenities to see what they have for food, kids, entertainment they didn't have so people are not going to come back when they advertise all these things and when you go your bored and nothing to do because they decide not to do it because its there slow time. we had a great time regardless but only giving it a 4* overall it would have been a 5* if they had those things.

Playa Cayo Santa Maria: Fair

Hotel could be more clean ,the only food I could eat there was just the fresh made meat ( chicken) no fresh salad, no fresh fruits, mango was awsome,the Animation Staff are the best!! Also the night shows are very good , dancers are very professional and great!!

Valentin Perla Blanca: very nice relaxing resort

The resort was gorgeous very clean and well maintained. The food was good but i found it could use a lil more flavour. The beach was amazing and the pools were nice and clean. It was very relaxing at this resort. The entertainment was diff everynight which was good but a club would def be a benefit on this resort. The staff was very friendly and helpful the only problem i had was not many of them spoke english so it was hard at times. They all are very hard workers and always make you smile. The [... read more]re was not alot of outings close by so we didnt really do much but stay on the resort. Overall we had a awsome time and would most def go back again

Melia Buenavista: Amazing Time !

Melia Buenavista is hands down the best resort I have been to. I believe that is meets the expectations of a 5 star resort. The grounds are beautiful, the food was surprisingly good for the bad rap that Cuba gets. I loved the lobster they had at the Italian restaurant. The beaches were breath taking literally unbelievable literally white sand and blue waters. I saw a star fish chilling in the water, fish just swimming around.We did upgraded our room to the second floor which I believe was well w [... read more]orth it. The view alone was breathtaking, along with the comfort of not being on the ggroud level where there tends to be more insects and stuff. The room itself was beautiful. I loved the ourdoor shower, everything was clean and modern. The beds were okay, it didnt beat my pillow top mattress at home but that is understandable. Ohh but the best part is the staff . They were absolutley the best. Our butlers Dymond and Joel were the best! Joel arranged our wake up call for our super early flight , he made sure we had breakfast at 3:30 am. Dymond made sure we had reservations even when we forgot. Honerable mentions include Miguel the barista, our maid lesley.. everyone at this hotel was hardworking and incredibly sweet. I loved every minute of it and would go back in a heart beat. I told everyone I know.

Melia Buenavista: Absolutely Perfect

If you are looking for a low key, restful vacation then this is the place to go.This hotel was absolutely perfect. The resort area is quiet, but the hotel made sure that there were enough activities to keep you occupied. The suites were very nice, especially the balinese shower. The staff was terrific especially our butlers (Joel and Dyami) who took care of things before we even thought about them. The food was good, and a there was great effort to change up the menus every night. What stood out [... read more] the most though, was the beach. It is spectacular. Clear beautiful water, clean sand, lots of space. I will definitely be making another trip to this resort.

Valentin Perla Blanca: Great Staff

Valentin Pera Blanca is a great new hotel we stayed at from Aug 7-14th. Hotel was very clean, staff very friendly and helpful. pools clean and refreshing even in the heat. Beach not the best we have been to in Cayo Santa Maria, very narrow and sand hard to walk in.

Playa Cayo Santa Maria: First and last visit to Cuba

Ok hotel, but not for long. They do not know how to maintain the facilities. The food can ruin the vacation. Line-ups to anything that is eatable. Often shortages of popular items. It is not lack of food, but the way it is cooked. They need a real chef to run the kitchen and set menus.

Gran Muthu Cayo Santa Maria: Poor service at Eurostars/Hotel Santa Maria

Poor customer service at the front desk, for a 2 yr old resort rooms need upkeep, Wi-Fi not working but yet fastest sign on ever! Tell you they don't have change band aids?? Mosquito nets needed in rm

Resonance Blu Santa Maria: The best beach!

This was a good hotel. I have had better food in Cuba, but there was enough selection, so we did not have problems with it. The services were not the best, but once again, it did not bother us, they just did not get tips. The beach has been the best in Cuba. My only complaint is that someone was playing with a drone in the beach (he was staying at the hotel) the guy lost control of it and the drone almost hit my face, the beach was full of people and I was paying attention because I was not comf [... read more]ortable with the toy. When I went to complaint the woman at complaint's desk told me that the hotel could not ban or prohibit such toys. For that reason alone I would not go back to that hotel or recommend it. I have been in Cuba 12 times and I have never seen anybody play with remote control toys let alone a drone. My family and I go on vacations to Cuba because of the relaxing time and to disconnect, I do not understand why they can not ban such toys in the beach or at least look into it.

Memories Paraiso: Haven't found a better resort.

Best time I've had in Cuba. The staff are amazing especially the twin waiters, George and Jorge from the dinner lineup. Food was amazing....beaches were phenomenal and breathe taking. The island is fairly new and is a great couples getaway. Ideal for families as well. Amazing nightly entertainment. It's better than Varadero in my eyes.

Melia Las Dunas: First time in Cayo Santa Maria

I've been to Varadero a few times but first time in Cayo Santa Maria. While it does take longer to get there the drive didn't seem as long as I anticipated. The room was good, and I was pleasantly surprised that it had a balcony as it stated on our booking that it didn't. Couple of downsides with the room was that the bed was very hard and some of the sheets/towels had stains on them. Food was pretty good, I'm not a picky eater so it's hard for me to really judge how good it was. My partner is  [... read more]a chef and he was worried about how the food would be but he was able to eat just fine while there. The only thing he didn't like was the seafood lunch buffet outdoors as it lacked flavour, and the calamari at the sports bar as it was chewy and salty. Make sure you bring long pants for the a la carte restaurants, we weren't able to go to Romantico as my partner didn't have any. Perhaps they could keep a couple of long pants on hand just in case? Drinks-no complaints. Entertainment- the best night was the beach party. Beach- of course it was great I've always felt that Cuba has the most beautiful beaches. Very glad at the amount of lounge chairs and shade available, where I've been before you'd have to get up very early to save a seat. None of that here you can saunter on at any time and still get chair Staff were great, friendly as always in Cuba no complaints. Buses were a bit delayed but as one of the staff mentioned "there's your time, then there's cuban time"-how do you even argue with that?? ;)

Valentin Perla Blanca: Amazing Resort

The grounds are very nice, rooms are just as good, loved the balcony facing the ocean, very peaceful! The lobby is beautiful, was a beautiful week of sunshine, the locals are very friendly, the service was also great!! I would vacation there again!!

Playa Cayo Santa Maria: Good resort

We were a group of 6 so we needed 3 rooms. In the first day the A/C wasn't working in one of the rooms and the technicians weren't able to fix it. Since the temperature in the room was around 34 degree Celsius we have to regroup, and 4 of us (all adults) shared a room with A/C working. The next day we did receive new rooms and the actual vacation started. The grounds are clean and maintained well (daily). Public areas are also clean. Staff at the resort are very friendly and always smiling. Room [... read more]s are well maintained and have no issues with the bathrooms or showers. The main buffet restaurant is always kept cold (nice...) and the food is quite diverse so it will be hard not to find something you'd like to eat. Personally I choose to eat food prepared fresh in front of me: pizza, pasta, chicken and fish bbq, omelet....

Valentin Perla Blanca: Excellent value vacation, highly recommend!!

I travelled with my best friend July 13-20, 2015 from Toronto Pearson Airport. Our flight left promptly and we arrived in Cayo Santa Maria in only a few hours. It is a very small airport, so we were able to get through customs and collect our baggage in ~30 min. The bus to the resort was around 75 min, but we had a very good tour guide who gave us a good intro to Cuba and pointed out some interesting things along the way (without being too intense - just the right amount of information!) Beers  [... read more]could also be purchased for a couple USD. Check-in at the resort took less than 15 min and we were given a golf cart ride to our hotel room from a friendly concierge. He gave us a brief tour of the resort which was helpful. The resort was BEAUTIFUL, and only half full since it was the off season. This meant EXCELLENT, attentive service, NO LINES for food or drinks, and total RELAXATION! Most people were travelling in pairs and it was very quiet. The grounds were well kept, gorgeous (this place was finished in October 2014) and we couldn't have asked for better weather. Sunny and hot! The beach was absolutely gorgeous. Beautiful white sand, clear waters, and did I mention we saw dolphins?! Darien took us on a catamaran ride to get closer to a pod of 4 dolphins playing. That was a major highlight of the trip. Other highlights included the Michael Jackson Sunday night entertainment, Salsa competition (which my friend won) and getting freshly grilled food and cold drinks delivered to us on the beach all day, everyday. We also enjoyed hanging out with the Entertainment team and working on our salsa moves. Pure relaxation and fun. This is a perfect beach getaway - however, this is NOT a place to go to see "real" Cuba. You are quite far from the nearest town, Caibarien (around an hour drive). You are on the other side of the country as Havana, although flights are available from a local airport. If you are looking for a beautiful, affordable and relaxing vacation with friendly and prompt service, I absolutely recommend this resort. And go in the off season. We didn't get a drop of rain, and we went in July!! P.S. The A/C is miraculously cool, we slept like babies. A couple things to note: - Wifi is not free. If you choose to use the internet, you need to purchase 1-hour wifi cards and USE IT RIGHT AWAY. The cards say they're good for one hour of total use over 30 days. That is incorrect, you have to use the whole time in one sitting. - They need to improve the lighting on the grounds. There were a couple of sets of stairs where it was difficult to see at night and there were no hand rails. Not comfortable in 3 inch heels or for older travellers. If you suspect this may be an issue, pack a flashlight. ****To the resort readers, please work on this!**** - That being said, we could get anywhere in less than a 5 minutes walk which, compared to other large resorts, is unheard of! Bonus. - I don't know why people complain about the food in Cuba. We had a great experience with the buffet - I found it better than the a la cartes to be honest. Kept to bottled water (although I did have ice in my drinks), and I didn't get sick the entire trip. - Buy your cigars at the nearby marketplace, which you can access by bus for 3 pesos each way. If I remember correctly, it was only 10-15 min down the road. Better selection of cigars and souvenirs than at the hotel. - If you go in July, bring bug spray for dusk. There were some mosquitoes despite them fogging the place. - Do not miss Michael Jackson. - Please tip as often as you can - remember that Cubans working at the hotel make about $20 USD per month (doctors make $30 USD/month). - Save your alcohol purchases to bring home for the duty free shop at the airport. Don't count on the machines to work though because the connection is poor, so save some convertible Cuban pesos for this! Or if you want to buy a snack at the airport, keep some cash handy because plastic was not working for anyone on the afternoon we flew out.

Valentin Perla Blanca: Awesome Vacay!

The resort was clean and well cared for and the staff were friendly and attentive. It was off season while we visited so unsure what it would be like in busy season. The beach was great, food was way better than expected, and the entertainment was very enjoyable. I would definitely recommend!

Resonance Blu Santa Maria: Very nice resort

The resort was very nice. The beach was amazing. Best beach we've ever been to. Need improvement on the mixed drinks but everything else was awesome. People were very friendly and always wanting to please you.