Royalton Cayo Santa Maria: Beautiful Beach

Very quiet, relaxing resort. Meals weren't very good but Cuba isn't really a place you go for the food. The beaches were outstanding. Our butler Mario was great and while I wouldn't call the resort a 5 star. It's a great value for the cost.

Melia Las Dunas: Very Disappointed

The food was not very good at all. We had some sort of problems every day and the people working in the resort had very bad attitudes. Very disappointed with the whole trip! It seemed that there were a lot of people staying in the resort who were having a lot of differenet problems!

Melia Las Dunas: Very Bad Service_I don't advise anybody to stay in

Many obstacles with room equipments, furniture. Not working lights; and electrical installation, delayed service, missing towels. Service stuff not ready to help, ignoring quests complains. They simply don't care about complains.

Melia Las Dunas: nice resort

great atmosphere. fabulous beaches. nice weather. wait service was very good. lots of bars . rooms were very clean. close to beaches and pools.lots of music. market close to resort for souvenirs. would return to resort.

Gran Muthu Cayo Santa Maria: Loved the area, not the resort.

We had a rough start to our vacation once getting on site but by the end of the vacation our expectations had dropped and we made the best of it. We had been to Cuba a few times and were prepared for weather, insects and food issues but we were not expecting FLYMAGEDDON each day. We saw a small boy dragged into the jungle by a squadron of mosquitoes. The mosquitoes were so bad we could not eat at the outdoor A la cartes which by the way are the snack bar and BBQ lunch areas with cleaner table c [... read more]loths. The Cuban and "International" a la cartes, (indoor), were by far better than the other two which were a huge disappointment. Dress code was not enforced so just go in your shorts and sandals. We showed up 10 minutes in advance of our reservation and were told to go somewhere else for 10 minutes. There were only a few occupied tables in the restaurant. We returned 10 minutes later and ate our meal in a mostly deserted room. The food, (buffet, snack bar), here was dreadful even by Cuban standards...I hope you like ham and cheese everything. I walked over to the Memories resort and checked out their fare and it was much superior to the Eurostars. We would go back to Santa Maria but would stay at the Memories or the Melia. I used to scoff at those bringing ketchup, steak sauce, or peanut butter with them. This time I was dreaming of ways to approach these folks with my hand out. It was sad that at every meal we had to ask for salt and pepper. It is made worse by having to wait 10 minutes for it. We arrived very late, 1:00 AM and only the snack bar was open. We went down and all they had was hamburger, hotdog, and ham and cheese sandwich. All served with fries. No ketchup, no mustard, no salt, no pepper. One bite of the meal and a couple of fries was enough to know there was no pay-off in finishing it. The plus side is the pizza oven in the snack bar makes a great pizza and calzone. The only problem is the oven is rarely in operation. From 1-4 every day. You can only get a calzone when you dine in the "Italian" a la carte. Resort Hack 1: Go to the lunch buffet and load up a plate with toppings. Take the plate over to the snack bar and give the chef a couple pesos and ask him to make you a pizza with your toppings. Sausage, cheese, salami, olives, pineapple, onions, tomato, bacon etc. All you get in the snack bar is ham and cheese. Resort Hack 2: At the BBQ restaurant there is a secondary grill outside where they do fresh fish. Get one of these. Resort Hack 3: Go to the main bbq grill and talk to the chef and tell him you want the special. A ten peso tip will get you a heaping plate of lobster every time you see him. ***note your a la carte restaurants will sadly be out of lobster for some unforeseen reason. Resort Hack 4: Bring Bubba drink mugs. They know how to mix drinks in these and they will keep your drink cold and you do not have to line up every 5 minutes for a refill. Resort Hack 5: We paid about $850.00 some were there for $650. If you are going to go here bring your favourite sauce. A camping spice container, (salt, pepper, garlic, paprika etc.) Bug spray, (with DEET or at least DDT). We did not go to too many shows at night due to the mosquitoes. What we did see was passable for a resort. The pools are good and usable but there were many broken lounge chairs. The beach is incredible. That is all I can say. If the Eurostars was the last resort in Cuba I would go back and just for the beach. If you like snorkeling bring your own gear down and head to the end of the beach where the rocks are. Millions and Millions of fish in schools. Absolutely amazing! Went deep sea fishing, caught a barracuda and a tarpon...awesome! Swam with the dolphins...time of our lives! We tipped everywhere and tipped well but it seemed to have little effect on service until we almost ready to pack for home. Tips seemed almost to be expected. We read that bungalows 14-15-16 were right in the heart of things but were really in the boonies. Close to the kiddie pool but away from the adult pool and buffet restaurant. You definitely have to be on the third floor. Ocean view is worth the upgrade. Hanging out at the kiddie pool was best for us, close to the room and the bar was never busy. It is close to the lunch bbq buffet too. We relied on the online reviews for our choice of resorts and found most of the reviews were positive. We did have a good time but we would not go back to this resort.

Gran Muthu Cayo Santa Maria: Great Vacation

A very clean resort and beautiful beach. We had a lot of fun. The beach bar staff and the buffet staff was fantastic. Our room could use a few updates but we had great weather so we weren't in our room. An extra A la cart would be good.

Memories Paraiso: First stay has much better "memories" than second

My friend & I went to this resort last year during the first 2 weeks of April and we loved it. We returned this year during the last 2 weeks of April expecting that same great "ambiance" feeling however lots & lots has changed. My favorite last year was that at night in front of the "theater" there were different live bands playing music after the "nightly shows", we got to see only one (after shows) and they played for maybe 15 mins. Here are a few things that were not there this year, an "ice  [... read more]cream" truck on the beach to give u treats, guitar players on the beach to serenade you, mojito bar near pool (not opened once in our 2 weeks), no music on the beach in the afternoon to name a few. We did many "à la carte" restaurants and most were real good. The beach is just amazing (can't change that...lol). The staff on the Paraiso lobby bar are quite nice. I cannot "not" recommend this hotel as what is important to me may not be important to you and we DID enjoy our much needed holiday. We traveled via Sunwing once again and all went well. We reserved through Tanya at tripcentral.ca this year also. Buen Viaje !!

Resonance Blu Santa Maria: Beautiful beach

This resort is beautiful, problem was they were in the process of closing for renovation and we found as the resort got empty the service really slacked. We have been to Cuba 12 times and the food at the resort was one of the worst, but I don't go for the food, the amazing beach and fabulous pool made up for it . I would for sure return to this resort once the renovations are done.

Melia Las Dunas: Amazing beach

Resort is large.Entertainent was excellent.Presentations at the al la carte restaurants were excellent.Meals met my expectations and enjoyed all my meals.In conclusion a beautiful resort on a wonderful pristine Island.

Gran Muthu Cayo Santa Maria: Just okay

Beach and pools were amazing - some of the best that I've seen in Cuba! Everything else was just okay - nothing was bad, but at same time not great. Room was large, beds were comfortable, and AC worked really well. Water pressure was really bad and drain in shower didn't - after contacting guest relations three times, it was finally fixed. I know everyone says, it's Cuba, so you know the food isn't good. This was my 9th trip, and I can honestly say it was the worst food that I've had in Cuba.  [... read more]There is little variety, and even if you stand in line for made to order food, it still was not great. The a-la-carts served the same bad food as the buffet. Customer relations - this is were the resort needs to improve the most. For example, - when you know there are two bus loads of people arriving, have more than two people working the front desk - if you have no internet cards available, then post a sign on the telephone office door advising this (don't make people wait in line) - post hours when telephone office will be open -there is a fleet of golf carts parked at the front entrance to hotel, but never used because no staff available -no clean towels available during our week -even after tipping the maid on a daily basis, the hotel room received a very light cleaning (basically just beds made) - floor not swept, sheets not changed, towels not replaced, etc) For the price we paid, vacation was okay. Would I go back to the resort, probably no. I think this is my last vacation to Cuba for a while. Time to try a new destination.

Memories Paraiso: mixed

Rooms were clean. No tap water day we arrived.service was sometimes late but good. Food was not great. People and service were nice. Absolutely beautiful beach. Enjoyed walking everyday despite weather. Not kept as clean as could be. Hit beginning of rainy season so got more rain than expected but that's out of anyone's control.

Iberostar Selection Ensenachos: Loved this resort!

Hi. We had a great time. The resort was excellent. Really big and a lot of walking but we got use to it after a couple of days. Probably a good thing considering all the food we ate. The food was really good compared to where I stayed in Varadero. I was very pleased. No complaints from my husband either which was initially a concern for him about going to Cuba. The workers at the resort were amazing. Always on the ball, excellent service. They really work hard and very thankful for any tips. I c [... read more]annot believe the difference from my trip to Varadero in 2010. The a la cartes were nice, food was good, loved the Asian one. We went to book our a la cartes right away and most of the reservations left were only for late in the evening like 9 pm which we thought at first was way too late and worked out earlier times on different days but in hindsight we realized that the late reservations would have been better as we didn't have to leave the beach as early to get ready for supper and could have just got a snack around 5 if we wanted. The a la carte at the adult spa section was really good too. Nice that you could just go during the afternoon and not need a reservation. Spaghetti was awesome. The beaches were beautiful. Really good snorkelling at both beaches especially if you have bread for the fish. Beach chairs were all in good shape. They could use some more palapas but people just made shade with two chairs as there were lots. The grill by the beach bar was good. Lots of choices. Fish, pizza, salad, fruit, hot dogs, etc. The beach bars at both beaches were really good. Megano's beach bar was bigger and we went to a really fun beach party one night where they set up big screens and disco lights and music in the volleyball crt. We got to know the bartender as there was only one working. He worked really hard that night! We met a few Other couples while we were there. The shows were good on nights that were Cuban related. I was really impressed that the theatre was indoors and air conditioned. One more thing. I could not believe how family oriented the resort was. I always said that I'd never take our kids south with us but I think this resort changed my mind. The only thing I think would make it better is if there was a section of one of the beaches was for adults only. Being away without your kids, I found I didn't want to be near kids on the beach. But everyone wants to be in the shade under palapas. We could have gone to the other end of the beach but would have been without shade. Sun was really hot and we had excellent weather all week. 37+degrees and no clouds just sun all week.

Playa Cayo Santa Maria: Great Vaccation

Went in with lowered expectations and was pleasantly surprised. Food was ok. Room was good other than a flood due to clogged drain. Resort was well kept. Beach is beautiful. People were all friendly enough. Staff could have done a better job at bars and restaurants.

Resonance Blu Santa Maria: Could have been better

This was my Third time to Cuba and I have always enjoyed myself. But I was disappointed in this vacation. I have traveled all over the world some high end locations and some where you are in the middle of nowhere and no bugs is the best you get for rooms. But lack of water, general indifference of the staff, among other things was not what I expected when I booked a four star resort. Had we known that the resort was closing the week after we left we definitely would have chosen somewhere else, I [... read more] feel it added to the general feeling we received "your here, now your stuck, this is what you get, better make the best of it". This is the first non-favorable rating I have ever given a location, i'm general prepared for things not to be perfect and do enough research to know what I'm getting into, but I will say I was disappointed and would not be returning to this hotel or area...though the beach is BEAUTIFUL!

Gran Muthu Cayo Santa Maria: Amazing Beach!

Great hotel, easy to get arround and beautiful grounds. Rooms are good size and up to date. This place has the nicest beach i have seen. Staff are fantastic and do everything to make your stay enjoyable.

Gran Muthu Cayo Santa Maria: Cuba

Very disappointed no help when checking in had to walk a very long distant lugging our luggage then had a power failure no fashlight could not see a thing,lights odd for five hours awful,Bathroom ceiling leak all week,wet floor as well ,only bath towels given each morning.Shall not go back

Memories Paraiso: too many bugs around and pool not clean

its ok for kids , but not 4.5 * .... i would rate this resort 3 star. too much walking and limited food seletion. beach for sure is nice but pool area within resort not clean and kids theater in night is full of bugs

Playa Cayo Santa Maria: Cuba

Not a bad hotel as far as construction , rooms are clean and workable . The biggest complaint is the food its terrible , mostly canned veggies and fruit . The chicken and meat is always over cooked ,the rest is a guess at best . The drinks were all no name well type , with extremely few name brand bottles if any is some of the bars . Most staff were friendly . Grounds could use some work . Pools were nice and the beach is long with soft white sand soft . The hotel is a bit to remote , with an ho [... read more]ur and a half bus ride . Once there not many places to go , local market has nothing to show for it self .

Gran Muthu Cayo Santa Maria: Great Resort!

This resort was beautiful and clean! Everything was so modern compared to resorts nearby. The beach was absolutely stunning...like nothing I've ever seen. The staff were so friendly, they barely let me lift a finger (they even bring your beach chairs where you want them and sweep the sand off). Food was decent (bring ketchup) and the customer service from the lobby staff could improve. Otherwise, I would go back anytime!!

Sol Cayo Santa Maria: Overall ok, Great value

Beautiful beach, clean room. 1st few days resort was packed with Cuban government guests and food was disappointing, plus staff didn't seem too happy. When they left 2 days in, food and staff morale improved dramatically. Overall great value, and snorkeling was good on the rock shoals accessible right off the beach once you walked past nudist section. Great value.