The One Gallery Hotel: The best in Cuba

This resort was absolutely stunning,the grounds were beautiful from the gardens to the displays of art all over the resort the rooms ,lobby area restaurants, pool everywhere was emaculate . There were so many little areas to sit and enjoy the surroundings and have a cocktail or a delicious cappuccino . The food was good but the staff were what made this resort outstanding, so warm and helpful .we have been to Cuba many times and we love the Cuban people and the staff and this resort are very spe [... read more]cial. Oh and it goes without saying the beach and the ocean was total paradise

Royalton Cayo Santa Maria: Not so good

I am saddened to say that the trip I just took to the Royalton was without a doubt the worst in 32 years of traveling south, including Cuba. Despite what we all know about Cuba (so-so food, lack of certain things), we used to return to Cuba because it's a country we love, with people and history for which we have a real admiration. Our last trip was in 2021 during Covid to Paradisius de Oro (RS). It was memorable despite the ever-strengthening embargo, and despite the shortage of foodstuffs (ev [... read more]en pepper). At the Royalton, things were also missing, such as eggs. But that's not what had a lot of influence on the negative opinion of me and my partner. First of all, it's the obsolescence of the place, including the rooms, and the feeling that the hotel owners don't really care. For example, I took photos of places where a simple brushstroke would have hidden mold and I saw this urinal separator wall which is held in place by 2 pieces of plastic screwed together with 4 screws because it came off the wall (and we are talking here about the toilets in the main lobby, those close to the restaurants). But above all, it was the presence of cockroaches (large and small) in and outside the rooms that I could not accept. In 32 years of traveling to the Caribbean, this is the first time I have seen this. The fact that food was only in restaurants (no buffet) didn't help either. It's difficult to have to sit down each day to order the same food, wait for it to arrive, and realize that it's a small variation of what we were served the day before and that we didn't like that much. With a buffet, it's easier to snack a little without agonizing over the whole thing. The existence of butlers is also in total contradiction with the crisis which is raging from my point of view. We did not feel the need to approach them other than to ask for what we are owed. Certain rooms did not have wifi for instance. As for the staff, Alexis is a superb butler. The manager of the Royalton, Alexandro, does his best and is constantly making his rounds talking to customers. For the rest of the staff, it depends. We have found that younger people do rather rough work while older people are totally dedicated to their work. I sincerely hope that things change in Cuba for the better!

Sanctuary at Grand Memories Santa Maria: Wonderful 10 Days

Beach is beautiful, pool is beautiful, buffets were clean with plenty of food. Although, a lot more selection at Memories which is just a short walk or cart ride...recommend Memories buffet for dinner over Sanctuary. Awesome hot lunch sandwiches at pool and beach grills. Pizza grill location at both Memories and Sanctuary...very good pizza!!! Bugs were very bad this year (Nov2023) so bring your bug spray. Staff were wonderful and helpful. It was handy to have Butlers avail for questions, but [... read more] would be just as easy to go to the lobby. No airline reps at Sanctuary, anything you need from them, you have to go down to the Memories lobby....minor inconvenience. Overall, wonderful 10 days. Sanctuary is very peaceful being 18+. 1.5 - 2 hr ride from airport to hotel is scenic, but long compared to other Cuba locations.

Sanctuary at Grand Memories Santa Maria: Exceeded Oue Expectations!!

Travelled to Sanctuary with family in late November. resort is small and intimate with excellent staff service. Beach was spectacular- shallow clear warm water. Room was dated but very clean and hot water plentiful. Food selection was limited but good - fresh fish, beef, pork and chicken always available at lunch & dinner grilling stations. BBQ at beach grill was excellent! Standard cocktails were always available like sangria, pina coladas and Ron collins. Only downside was lack of live music [... read more] and evening entertainment at Sanctuary. Overall great value for under $1000 per person. Eight of us had wonderful time. Muchas gracias Sanctuary!!!

Dhawa Cayo Santa Maria: 2nd time and great place to vacation

Rooms are big and spacious. Air conditioning and ceiling fan work great. Refrigerator stocked with only a bottlr of water everyday. Beautiful grounds kept clean. Small resort where everything is within walking distance we were in block 5 which id right off the lobby. Loud music at night so if thats not your thing ask yo be put in block 7,8 or 9 which are closer to the beach. Beach is beautiful. Not long but really nice. Food was repetitive but aleays found something to eat. One of the biggest d [... read more]ownfalls is the mosquitoes..really bad compared to varadero.

Sanctuary at Grand Memories Santa Maria: Sunshine in Cuba

We stayed in Sanctuary adult part of Memory Resort in Santa Maria; you couldn’t ask for better weather, ocean and cool silky sand ..oops the sand fleas were eating us alive and no amount of alcohol taken externally or ingested could help! the resort was fumigating grounds in the evening so we had no mosquitoes or flies.. everyone always talks about food how scarce it is or tasteless it is but I found it palatable and surprised at the choices of fish mussels chicken pork little steaks on daily  [... read more]bases.. there were some fruit and vegetables but very limited.. staff at the resort super nice and trying to be accommodating but with limited resources the place is totally rundown with shabby rooms, uncomfortable beds,doors that don’t lock properly, bathrooms that are grungy! Loved the spirit of entertainers but hardly any shows and of course constant misinformation Lt hand doesn’t know what the rt is doing …

Iberostar Selection Ensenachos: Good Resort in need of Care!

2.5 STARS at best. ----- Ensenachos' beach is fantastic, that's for sure! Megano is nice. - Staff is the usual we get in Cuban resorts, they're helpfull and very friendly specially if you tip them for everything, nothing new here. The hotel itself is old and shows it in the "details", a great set up though in need of repairs and general maintenance. - Food, you must not be a "pick or gourmet eater" but you probably know that already.

Melia Cayo Santa Maria: Totally disappointed!

My 3rd time to the Melia Cayo Santa Maria. 8th time to Cuba, so we always go with low to medium expectations. But this time things were below low standard. Many resorts in the area were the same. The food was the worst I’ve ever seen. IE: no eggs until day 6. No nutritional food at all and selection was dismal. Simply unexceptional. Only 1 out of 5 restaurants opened so we only received 1 a la carte which was not very good at all. Beach grill never opened which is an awesome place to have lunc [... read more]h. Spraying for mosquitoes while people were actually walking to the lobby at 8am and 4pm. Was always done early mornings and evenings. So many small things that simply indicated management (Melia) does not care about there visitors. It has nothing to do with most staff. I spoke with the Melia district manager and all he could say was he was sorry. We brought friends for the first time and they were shocked and would never consider Cuba again. I’ve been to this resort on 2 other occasions in November and never seen things this bad! This experience made us decide never to return to Cuba again, as we’ll be spending our hard earned dollars somewhere else. So disappointed as we will miss the people and the lovely beaches.

Grand Memories Santa Maria: Great holiday

Beaches and ocean water incredible. Staff very friendly and attentive especially our diamond club concierge Agustin who solved any minor problems and shared information about the history and economy of Cuba. Music by the pool was very loud as well as at the evening theatre. The two hour bus ride was long and the late night flight was very tiring. Would definitely return.

Sanctuary at Grand Memories Santa Maria: Nice resort but needs a clean-up

I cannot say more about the staff. Wonderful, friendly, helpful. I was at this resort in March, 2023 and returned this November 2023 as I enjoyed it so much. Disappointed this time. My husband and I changed rooms 3 times during our stay. First room our door was busted with an actual hole in the door/lock. The second no A/C after power came back after 2 hours. 3rd room was perfect. Garbage left around the buildings, not picked up by landscapers.

Playa Luxury Cayo Las Brujas: Amazing staff, gorgeous resort

All the amenities you need in Cuba. Bartenders and servers were unbelievably phenomenal couldn't ask for better. Scenery is amazing and very well taken care of. Slower paced and not a huge party/ heavy drinker site.

Resonance Blu Santa Maria: Awesome stay

Enjoyed every moment. Good food, good drinks. Overall amazing Made friends. Clean rooms good service. Wish it was for 2 weeks ***************************************************************************

Grand Memories Santa Maria: Best Value

The beach is the best bring Deet for sand fleas aw. Tired, worn but clean resort. 1st room had a rain storm coming from the ceiling, it was exchanged immediately. Facing the beach, the 2nd tired and worn room was 2 single beds. The main ceiling light/fan had been removed so it was quite dark with just the bedside table light. The shower head was sprayed from broken washers. Yet there was a nice strong hot water spray with clean white towels. The 3rd room was with a king-size bed and was perfe [... read more]ct!! 3 English-speaking TV channels White pilly bed sheets were clean and the bed was comfortable. The staff spoke English very fluently and was attentive and helpful. Breakfast confirmed that we have not come in their growing season. The eggs are powdered. I was happy with the sliced white toast, white cheese, and hot black coffee. Nice to have cabbage and cucumbers to round it off. Lots of cold buttermilk. Grilled meats every meal with fresh bread and ice cream for dessert. No milk, just margarine but, there is fresh pineapple, oranges, and cooked squash. Best to upgrade to Sanctuary for food only. Costs $12 US per week per person. The best rooms are garden facing 53 bldg. Please bring US$ one for tipping. Along with medicine cabinet items, toothpaste, pads, toys, and shoes for staff and the people you see on the Jeep excursion. This excursion offers the best real Cuban food. Sad that there were no authentic Cuban bands or Spanish classes and dancing to learn. If it was my design I would change the nightly shows out to movie nights with popcorn. I would use unused restaurant space for dance lessons from the entertainment team during the afternoon and evenings. I would use a conference room for Spanish lessons.

Vila Gale Cayo Santa Maria: Nice resort

The hotel was clean and modern. Also the roo.was very spacious. The staff were amazing especially buffet waitresses Yaylen and Gillian. The two pools and the beaches were lovley. I would say the one thing they could improve on were the grounds bathrooms. Half of them are locked and the ones that are open do not have doors that lock and no toilet paper. I had to carry toilet paper around with me. The third day i was there the elevators stopped working. They only fixed one in the lobby. Unfortuna [... read more]tly my room was at the other end of the building on 3rd floor. This was difficult for me as i have a bad hip.

Melia Cayo Santa Maria: Paradise

The hotel is the perfect size. We came For a girls trip and we’re not disappointed!!! The staff were amazing, pool was clean, lots of beach and pool chairs, never went hungry. Not a ton of variety in terms of food but it’s such a small resort likely can’t afford to throw anything away. Rooms were clean and spacious.

Grand Memories Santa Maria: Amazing experience

From beginning to end I had the best experience at this resort. The staff were incredible and needs were met always. Even the food was delicious. There was a group of 8 of us girls and we were not disappointed. I will definitely be returning next year. Beach bar by the way has some of the best food

Valentin Perla Blanca: Superbes vacances !!

Plage superbe le long de la réserve faunique. Parfait pour les amoureux. L'hôtel et le service étaient impeccable. Le nourriture n'était pas trop mal compte tenu des problèmes actuel d'approvisionnement.

Melia Buenavista: Service 5, Food 1

We just got back from a week at the Melia Buenavista. The staff were amazing! Anderson Coll, Navy, and the entire entertainment team really made our stay special. The yoga and dance classes were outstanding! Our butlers, Rey and Elina were excellent. The three beaches are truly spectacular. Unfortunately, our food was quite poor. My husband and I both had stomach issues and were each bedridden for a day. There were many bugs and I had to apply bug spray as often as I applied sunscreen. I came [... read more] home with many itchy swollen bug bites. Also, the resort is older and our room had several issues that required fixing. Our butlers were great at getting this done but it meant we didn't have access to our room at times.

Royalton Cayo Santa Maria: The Apathy Resort

Loved the beach, ocean, food, resort, servers, drinks, and maids. It was a wonderful experience except for the cockroaches in our rooms! There were 15 cockroaches in our first room and we were worried they’d get in our luggage, so we asked for another room. We thought we’d get at least another room like the one we had, sans bugs, but we were given a room with burnt out lights, missing lamps, broken safe, fuzzy tv, and more cockroaches! It was a room for the workers. This was a serious slap  [... read more]in the face and accentuated the apathy. You’d think they would give us a new room that was perfect in order to show their concern for us having to shake all our belongings out to make sure there aren’t any bugs in them. Pack all our stuff. Move all our stuff. When we should have been enjoying the resort. The apathy and nonchalance was gross! Why didn’t we ask for a third room? Because we wanted to enjoy the beach and we’re sick of wasting time!

Memories Paraiso: The Perfect Getaway

This hotel was just right for our vacation. We stayed at the Grand Memories --the grounds were clean and well kept. The rooms were serviced daily as well as bottled waters to keep you hydrated while at the beach or at the pool. The staff were just amazing,warm and always accommodating with your various request. They treated everyone like royalty. I would highly recommend as after a 7 night stay we felt like we were family.