Playa Cayo Santa Maria: beautiful resort

This was our eleventh time in Cuba and it is our favorite resort. Fantastic beach, beautiful grounds and many pools, clean and spacious rooms and as everywhere in Cuba, very friendly people, who do anything to make your stay as pleasant as possible. Food plentiful and pretty good if you're not very fussy. We're returning to this resort for sure and recommend it to our friends.

Memories Azul Beach Resort: Average Resort

This was my 2nd visit to Memories Azul (I was there in 2014) and came back to this resort this year as my group of travellers liked the Diamond Club Service. The Diamond Club Service this year was inadequate and I would not go back to this resort again. Initially, my roommate and I were put in a building far from my other travellers. We were moved and it took 5 days to get our complimentary shampoos, etc. and got our complimentary bottle of rum late the night before we left for home, despite goi [... read more]ng to the Diamond Club room on 5 separate occasions to complain. The premium liquor that was included last year with Diamond Club was only available this year if you wanted to pay for it. Very dissappointing. We had the worst maid service I have ever had at a resort and I have been travelling every spring since 2005. We were 2 days with cold water and just a trickle to shower in. We had to lift the top off the toilet seat in order to flush it properly. The worst part of the trip were the hundreds and hundreds of flies in the dining room, on the windows and on the chairs.

Iberostar Selection Ensenachos: Great holiday!

We stayed in the Grand Villa Suite section of the hotel. This area is secluded from the other areas of the hotel and is restricted to 14+. The rooms are large and spacious with a private patio and jacuzzi. We received fresh towels every day and evening maid service. The beach was a 5 minute walk from our room and it was amazing. The meals at both the Suites restaurant and the other 3 a la carte restaurants were very good. The service was wonderful.

Resonance Blu Santa Maria: Great trip!!

I enjoyed my stay at the starfish. It was clean and very nice. The food was good and the employees went above and behond. All in all a great place! the beach is amazing and the pools were nice. The bubble machine made the pool party fun. Nat

Valentin Perla Blanca: Good resort

I really enjoyed my time at this resort. I did not have any expectations so that way there is no dissappointment. Beach, sun and beer is always good in Cuba!!! Of course people from a certain province in Canada kept whining the whole time I was there. Nothing that the staff did could please them. Pool on the Westjet side was pretty disgusting, so to the other pool we went! No big deal. To sum it up I would go back in a heartbeat!

Gran Muthu Cayo Santa Maria: great week in the sun

Overall we had a very good week, the staff were helpful, friendly, the accommodations were clean and well appointed. The facilities were very good, excellent pools, bars, beaches. We had two problems with our room but these were fixed after several requests. The one disappointment was the food in the restaurants, the buffets were well appointed, but the two "special" restaurants fell far bellow expectations in quality.

Playa Cayo Santa Maria: Enjoyable resort

The hotel and dining areas were newer with modern features and quality. All areas were clean and neat. Service from staff was friendly and attentive. Limited beef and seafood dishes. However, food was well prepared and tasty, especially chicken and pork, and there were many alternative different types of flavors and dishes available. Beach was beautiful, and many pools available to suit your level of activity.

Iberostar Selection Ensenachos: Worth every penny!

We were there Apr 9 - 16 and enjoyed every moment. Beaches were beautiful, staff were really nice, food was ok (bring ketchup), the rooms were clean and comfortable and the location was beautiful. Definitely will return.

Valentin Perla Blanca: WORST RUN RESORT EVER

Hi, My husband and I booked a trip to Cuba - Valintin Perla Blanca, March 22nd to March 29th. This was the worst trip my husband and I have ever had down south. We went away was for a stress free break from the snow. This trip far from stress free. This was the worst run resort with nothing but one frustration after another. Here are some of the complaints below: -Our room had 2 small beds and after 6 or 7 attempts to speak to someone in charge, they told us they wouldn't change us even thoug [... read more]h they had a king available. -One shower towel each for 7 days. -One beach towel each for 7 days. -Our bed sheets not even changed once in 7 days. -Room was never cleaned, only the beds being made. -Room fridge never stacked. -An hour and a half wait to book a la cartes. -An hour wait for food service. -Resort ran out of beer 2 different days. -Continually running out of food at snack bars and a la cartes. -Having to set an alarm to get up at 5:30 am to reserve a beach chair due to limited chairs, not to mention the limited shaded areas. -Waiting almost an hour for a drink at the mail lobby bar, with staff basically ignoring you. -Understood that Cuban food is not very good, but this food was terrible. Fruit was never fresh, with canned fruit as a substitute etc. I would not recommend this place to anyone. To be honest I would like to have my 7 days back; this was no vacation. Lynne and Chris Mooring

Playa Cayo Santa Maria: Can't complain about anything.

Beautiful resort. Excellent food. The best service I ever experienced at a Cuban resort. It was worth every penny. Service is incomparable to any resort in Cuba. Beach is gorgeous and clean and would definitely recommend to everyone.

Resonance Blu Santa Maria: Amazing

Public areas excellent, rooms could be nicer, more clean or renovated. more entertainment would be good, the pool area is great and beach is very nice and should be cleaned regularly. Overall I was happy at that resort.

Memories Paraiso: Disappointed

This was not our first trip to Cuba. We are not high-maintenance people. So when we decided to spend two weeks in Cuba instead of our usual 1 week, we decided to spring for a higher-starred resort, and Memories Paraiso Azul was our choice. We were not just disappointed, but shocked at how our experience here differed from what we read in the reviews. The Room The bed was comfortable and our cleaner was dependable. There were several little maintenance related things that were just big enough to [... read more] be annoying. The lighting by the bathroom sink and mirror was so low that you really could not use it to apply makeup or shave. The bedside light on the right and side of the bed did not work at all for our entire stay, and the light out on the terrace had been removed before we got there, and had never been replaced. For 7 days of our 14 day stay , the toilet ran water, or was unhooked back in the tank and would not flush, or would not work at all. Two full days of no water at all ( a problem that we were told was a) resort wide b) caused by the entire Cayo Santa Maria string of hotels being without water c) being repaired within the hour (it wasn't). Coming back from the beach two days in a row with no hope of even a shower besides a simple rinse beside the pool When we booked here, we were also excited about the prospect of having a stocked fridge in our room. My husband does not drink alcohol or caffeinated pop, so when the beverage service people ran out of everything but tuKola and Beer it was pretty disappointing. The store in the lobby was happy to sell him Gaseosa (sprite) and Naranjo (orange) though. We were also not the only inhabitants of the room. We killed or chased into the unknown several large cockroaches, the last one speeding out from under our packed suitcase on departure day. Not the end of the world, but it gave me the heebie-jeebies. First time I left a vacation room and was relieved to leave it. Ever. The Food The A la Carte restaurants were good, fast and had something for everyone's taste, at least at our table. The food presentation and decor was beautiful, and the wait staff was friendly and professional. I think if I wanted to nit-pick, I could say that without exception, every single a la carte menu had at least one item that was not available out of pretty limited choices to begin with- but overall the a la cartes were very good. We ate at the Chinese, International, Mediterranean, Mexican (twice), and Italian (the one at the hotel) The buffet is enormous. There are stations that will cook your food to order if you stand in line. Do that. Anything else and you are faced with complete inconsistency. Something that you found yesterday to be good will taste completely different the next day, even if it looks the same and is in the same spot. The temperatures of the food were all over the place, with most of the hot food being tepid at best, and the cold cuts and cheese sweating and drying in the tropical temperatures, instead of being chilled in some way. We had 4- count 'em FOUR different occasions when the orange juice poured into our glasses tasted like some kind of cleaning solution. We had conversations with other guests that experienced the same things in the buffet, so our experience was not at all out of the ordinary. We are not travelers that expect the very finest food when travelling in Cuba or have extraordinary expectations, but when we compare Memories food to our regular 3-star resort, I can just say that it is prettier to walk around and around to find something to eat. The Beach Cayo Santa Maria is beautiful. We had no trouble finding beach chairs on any of our beach visits. Just breathtaking blue water for and fine white sand. The Pools The pool we went to (Paraiso side) was beautiful, clean, and the highlight of our trip. The pool bar staff is amazing. They put up with a LOT, and manage to put a smile on their faces, and sing and dance a little here and there. The Activities Staff were there daily, and the lady that works with Activities has an amazing amount of energy that can keep any guest dancing in their chair, in the pool, or on the pool deck. This area can not possibly have an accurate description without mentioning the hot dog lady. She served hot dogs (very good ones) from the grill. She smiled, sang, danced and cooked in the heat with never a complaint. Activities staff member Carlos is also a gem to talk to. Just when the state of the room was getting pretty depressing, Carlos told us about some of the surrounding towns and suggested areas to visit. His local knowledge and down to earth demeanor was the deciding factor when the couple with us walked up to the lobby and booked the excursion to see Santa Clara. They had a great trip, and enjoyed the excursion with Eddie the Gaviotta tour guide. The Grounds and Resort Common Areas Most of the grounds were beautiful. You could see groundskeepers working all day long, trimming and clipping. The pathways to the buffet were for the most part nicely kept, although someone vomited on a bench about day 3 of our stay, and it stayed there for 4 days. We walked by the vomit a couple of times a day, and remarked every time that it was still there. This was not a small amount of vomit either it streaked up the back of the bench, and down along the seat and was wet when we first saw it- the Cuban sun drying it a little each day until (I suppose) it finally flaked off and blew away by day 4. Gross. There also seems to be an issue with the sewage in this part of Cuba. In many of the public bathrooms, there is a sign indicating that you should place toilet paper in the garbage can beside the toilet. For me, this combined with many hotel guests digestive response to the Cuban food- I did not even want to use the public bathrooms. The main lobby is beautiful, and the best coffee in the resort is at the main lobby bar. Nice Cuban coffee with wonderful frothy milk and a sugar cane stir-stick. It is worth the walk to go get your coffee there every single time. The Entertainment The theatre had entertainment every night. We loved the Michael Jackson themed night- it was a crowd favorite, and rightly so. Get there early for a seat. We bought tickets to the $20 "Carnival" party that takes place at Plaza La Estrella (Wednesday night for us). It has some great entertainment, but the people that would enjoy this the most are the club crowd. Stage show, DJ, dance music, foam gun to spray the dance floor, and an all-over jump around good time. Made me wish I was 20 again. Overall Memories Cayo Santa Maria Paraiso Azul had many positives. Not having running water to shower with, the toilet problems, the cockroaches, the mediocre buffet I might have been able to continue on and just be happy, but the response to all of these things was less than stellar. There was no management response at all. The front desk stopped answering their phone and if you called to see if you were going to at least get water before you flew home, the phone would just ring and ring. No complimentary bottle of rum or ticket to the coming weeks Carnival to try and offset all the negatives. No kind words, sympathies or apologies just nothing. I would give this resort a 3 star, probably equal to our regular 3 star vacation in Cuba, where we are normally happy with cheap and cheerful fun in the sun. I am removing a star though, and giving Memories Cayo Santa Maria Paraiso Azul only two stars. It might have been equal to, or even a little better than the three star resorts we have visited, but when you consider the extra cost, and lack of management response to customer complaints, they lose a star. I won't be back. Stayed April 2015

Gran Muthu Cayo Santa Maria: Very nice resort

Beautiful beach, nice staff , very very nice beach but food :( but's that Cuba !!!!!! Room was very big and beautiful :) Bring a extra beach towel !!!! The wine was very good also !!! The drive from the airport and resort was entertaining!!!!

Melia Las Dunas: wonderful and relaxing

Large resort that accommodates families and adults alone on opposite sides of the resort. Stunning beach. Food above average for Cuba. Service good. Difficulty getting towels and linen changed but think that is a problem throughout cayo Santa maria, not just at melia las dunas.

Iberostar Selection Ensenachos: Beautiful resort too bad the food was bad!

We paid a lot of money to go away to a good resort. Spent the week looking for something to good to eat! Found a few good items now and then but mostly bad trip adviser said the seafood restaurant was the best! We ate the surf and turf then around 12 am we stated going to the bathroom we were sick for a day and one half I mean more sick than I have ever been! Told the management after they compensateed is by letting is check out two hours later. ( big deal ) we missed the best party of the week  [... read more]on the the beach was very disappointing . The Japanese restaurant was good best food on the resort !

Iberostar Selection Ensenachos: Dream Vacation!

We stayed in the Spa section. Amazing beaches, pools & people! The food was OK - we always found something to eat. Wish the pools were open later. We went as a couple but plan to return with the kids!

Memories Azul Beach Resort: Awesome Family Vacation

My five children and I recently traveled from Halifax to Cayo Santa Maria Cuba for a one week stay at Memories Paraiso Azul Beach Resort. Our stay was fantastic! The people that work there are so friendly especially our forever friend Roulin whom my kids grew to love! There was always something to do for everyone including dance lessons, volleyball in the pool and on the beach and many competitions. The beach was AMAZING crystal clear water and white powdery sand, there was workers on the beach  [... read more]that would get a chair for you and clean the sand off which was a great plus. The food was ok, we never went hungry. There was a seafood buffet one night which was great for anyone who likes lobster. We absolutely loved this resort and can't wait to return! I would also like to say thank you to our wonderful travel agent Tanya Smith from Trip Central in Bedford N.S who worked day and night trying to find the perfect vacation for me and my family. Tara

Memories Paraiso: nice place

comfortable beds,clean,beach clean ....on the forth day no electricity and the no water for three days,no clean sheets and towels for three days and no flushing toilets,worst vacation ever,I do not recommend

Gran Muthu Cayo Santa Maria: amazing destination, amazing resort!

the hotel is amazing. it presented itself really well and it's much newer than others with a very modern feel to it. the staff go up and beyond to make sure their tourists have a great trip. satisfied

Resonance Blu Santa Maria: Beautiful beach

The hotel is not bad at all, some needed upgrades to rooms might make it a 5 star, the food was very good especially the fresh grills, the cooks were wonderful, lobby was very helpful, the beach was beautiful, shows were also very good, bartenders need to learn to make mixed drinks, the hospitality at pool bar and main lobby needs to improve, the gardens were beautiful and overall it was a beautiful place to visit. The family had a great time!