Valentin Perla Blanca: Good time, fun resort!

We aren't going to complain like some of those on trip adviser but Valentin Perla Blanc has it's quirks. If you get it for under $1000 your getting what you pay for and should be thankful, pay more and you may be disappointed. It's an Adults only, party resort, 4 star all the way! Believe me you won't go hungry, but the a La Cartes weren't good, thier chefs need a lesson for Gordon Ramsy. It is large resort and very busy, so be ready. Room was good, fridge was always stocked, but the towel manag [... read more]ement sucked. Valentin needs to find a different towel supplier and change their process, "take a lesson from Sandals" if you want that fifth star. Everything else was good, we had a great time watching the nightly entertainment and partying with our friends. Go with an open mind and be opportunistic. Cheers to everyone in 25 block and those at the Party Pool & snack bar, good times! Mar 6-13th

Melia Cayo Santa Maria: Never Go Here

Worst trip of 7 to Cuba. 223 poolside cots for 358 rooms (fights poolside over "saving" them all day while going into town). Be up at 7 if you want one. Support staff kind as usual; mngmt useless help.

Gran Muthu Cayo Santa Maria: Amazing resort

Excellent, new resort, big,clean and updated rooms, nice people, amazing beach and pools, nice choice of food and fruits/vegetables, above average night shows. Amazingly no mosquitoes, hence no fumigation like for the resort next door.

Melia Las Dunas: AVERAGE RESORT

I normally don't like giving a review as I have never had a problem, but this time I think I am going to. The hotel was big, food was a hit and miss depending on the day, they always ran out of items on the menu, seafood restaurant didn't have any seafood. Buffet was good always found something to eat the staff (Cabana) was very friendly and always had a table for us. Rooms were out dated, but that didn't bother us, what bothered us were the ants in the room. The towels that used and left on the [... read more] floor in the bathroom were picked up and hung up again (not happy) maid told us they don't change them every day. They ran out beach towels all the time. The service in the lobby bar was horrible, always had to wait a long time. Loved Santa Maria, the beach was amazing, the best beach I have ever seen next to the beaches in Mayan Riviera.

Gran Muthu Cayo Santa Maria: Beautiful resort

Most beautiful beach I ever seen. Excellent vacation. Good music and drinks. The only thing to fix was the service at the buffet. Was slow to get a clean table. Food was ok Cubans are very beautiful people !!

Valentin Perla Blanca: Mixed emotions

8 Mar 2015: a few weeks after Phase II opened and a few months after Phase I opened. Good buildings, great beach, too windy that week. Growing pains, e.g. towel and linen shortage. Food hit and miss. Not enough lounge chairs on beach or pool.

Valentin Perla Blanca: Great resort

We stayed march 6-13 it's a beautiful resort . The landscaping will only get better !!!! No complaints !!!! Clean rooms , food to eat ,cold drinks , amazing beach ..... They need a bit of work on their resort food ordering (running out of cheese, fries, ) but that will come with time !!!!

Melia Cayo Santa Maria: Great Value for $

Hotel is well kept, beautiful grounds and exceptionally wide beach area with plenty of room for all. Service and staff was excellent most all times with minor excepions, food was good and homey. Entertainment was varied for all ages. Challenge with hot/warm water for most of the stay, but not worth complaining about as everything was so good and they tried to fix it.

Valentin Perla Blanca: Terrible Experience with False Pretense

The employees and the rooms were the only thing this resort had going for it.We paid a Privilage Price with no Priv. Perks!! You had to get up at 5:00 to get a lounge chair either by the pool and by the beach. The buffet was terrible, no fresh fruit, salad bar was minimal, no juice for any mixed drinks, a la cartes were awful too. Due to poor management the resort ran out of any kind of cheese, no pizza no french fries for snack bar, no hashbrowns, no chicken fingers at one point!

Melia Las Dunas: cayo santa Maria beach

March 9th-16th....the beach was worth every penny....weather was amazing....rooms were awful musty and showers were really bad never drained and towels smelt awful....the food was good never went hungry. ...but it was the same everyday.....service was great all amenities were great....would recommend it!

Gran Muthu Cayo Santa Maria: Amazing Vacation

My friends and I had a marvellous week, great beach, great rooms hot showers and good food. A bit of a tip, since the resort is still having towel issues, bring a few with you and once/if you get your beach towel, hang it up every night and hold on to it for the week as you may not get another one to replace it any time soon. As for the poolside massage, I highly recommend it. I was also amazed by the prices at the market and the hotel shop, very reasonable indeed. All in all, I have no complain [... read more]ts and would return. The hotel is set up all along the beach which basically means you may have to walk about 10 minutes to go from one end to the other, there are 2 small beaches and one large one where there is allot of shade but get there by 7 to reseve some if that is your preference.

Melia Cayo Santa Maria: Lovely Resort

We stayed here for a week had a great time. Check in was a breeze requested 2 nd floor and we got it.. The room are clean nicely decorted. The beach is amazing the weather was a bit windy , but it didn't bother us at all. The food was good never had a problem there was always something to eat , we had 3 la cartes all good... The staff were all very friendly always a smile on there faces....Lots of live bands and music which we really enjoyed. Over all we really enjoyed this resort we recom [... read more]mend it to anyone...The pools were very clean well kept . The drinks were really good ...I don't understand why people wrote bad reviews we have been to Cuba dozens of times not once were we disappointed...........

Playa Cayo Santa Maria: Wonderful stay

The resort was full but we never had to wait it lines. The staff was very well equipped to out you first even though they had other to look after. The food was great and the ice cream parlour a real treat. Great beaches and weather.

Memories Paraiso: Gorgeous Resort!

The resort is like a little village with amazing pools and the ocean is spectacular! If you have kids bring lots of snacks, as the food is not very appealing! Minus the food, you will enjoy Memories!!

Valentin Perla Blanca: Was good

It was worth of money spent. Nice beach, nice weather, amazing food. The resort is new, clean and quiet. A week in Cayo Coco in December is a great break from Canadian winter. Christmas dinner was unbelievably rich.

Resonance Blu Santa Maria: Lively resort!

Starfish is a very nice resort which, with some small improvements, would deserve its 4 star rating. The public areas and grounds are attractive and clean, with the exception of the beach washrooms. Rooms are spacious and clean but mine was lacking soap bars and a coffee machine. (No coffee is provided for the machines; you have to buy it for $8 pesos.)Staff are hard working and helpful though limited in their English. Music is everywhere. The volume could be cranked down a little; wished I had  [... read more]ear plugs. Enjoyed the lobby bands. Talented dancers at the nightly shows, but the pool/beach game awards presented before the shows were a bore and would be better done elsewhere, on site or perhaps at the buffet. Food plentiful and varied but bland & it was tricky to locate salt and pepper. Some people brought their own spices, a good idea. The wine was atrocious; I'm not that fussy but I draw the line at drinking something that tastes like turpentine. (Exception: the Italian restaurant, highly recommended.) A final suggestion: more practical information at the orientation, and a written guide in rooms with such info as the location of specialty restaurants.

Valentin Perla Blanca: Valentin Perla Blanca- Cuba

The Resort was not up to par by a long shot. Having opened in Nov. 2014, we were hoping they would have it together! Far from it! They were under staffed and it did not appear like there was any supervision. The first few days we were at the pool, it was great. It was downhill from there. The pool was so green with algae by the time we left (7days) you could not see the bottom of the pool. At the Italian Restuarant one evening at 6PM they were out of pasta! The last day we were there they did no [... read more]t have cheese to make cheese omelettes. They never gave us any clean towels during our stay. Leftover food that had been left around the pool in the evening was still there the following morning! The staff was friendly and helpful. We would suggest not booking more clients until they get it together.

Royalton Cayo Santa Maria: Loved it!

Great easy, quiet vacation resort. If you want to relax (not party-party), this is the place for you. No long lines, always a table at restaurant, always a chair at the beach/ pool...Only 3 restaurants, but you can always go next door for something different (try the Italian). That said, the 3 restaurants at the Royalton were great! We're going back next year...just book early, it sells out quickly!

Melia Cayo Santa Maria: Old & rundown resort, expected more for a Melia

The grounds where well kept and beautiful. I was in bldg 8 and found my room was really run down, most of the grout was missing in the ceramic floor tiles and ants were always in the bathroom. The maid was good and washed the floors daily. The public washrooms in the lobby & pool area were not well kept, could smell the urine and toilets always leaking down the side of floor, 1 toilet even had the lid missing, after going there twice I started going back to my room with the ants, at least it was [... read more] clean. The stretch of beach though nice, the water was deep after a few steps, would not take small children there, the water was rarely calm when I was there. Also disappointed with the food, the fish in all the restaurants was mainly basa, expected better.

Playa Cayo Santa Maria: Excellent Family Resort - ranked as a favourite!

We have travelled to Cuba many, many times in places ranging from 5 star adult-only (Royalton Varadero- formerly Sandals - and Melia Buenavista) to family-orientated resorts (Pestana, Brisas Santa Lucia, Breezes Jibacoa etc) for a family vacation this ranked in our top two places. We were worried about it being crowded as it was fully booked for March break (we travelled 9th - 17th March 2015) but the design of the place is such that there are different pools, different sitting areas, different  [... read more]bars and places to get snacks, different restaurants, that we never found it that busy. It is quite contemporary, with beautiful landscaping pools and lighting. A big, comfortable open air lobby with musicians playing subtly in the background in the mornings was so inviting for coffee. Food at the buffet was very good for Cuba and we only went to one of the many a la carte (Asian) and the sushi etc was surprisingly good! Lots and lots of loungers by all the pools and when you go to the ocean, the guys there hurry up to bring you a longer, brush any sand off it and lay out your towel. The sand isn't like sugar - it's like talcum powder, it's so soft and white and while the beach isn't deep as they are in Varadero, it still is beautiful, with crystalline blue water. The buildings are low rise and the rooms were great. Pretty spacious and contemporary with modern, lovely bathrooms. As seems to be the case in most Cuban resorts, service can be hit & miss, but overall was acceptable. The best was the bartender at the pool in front of building one. The usual entertainment that you find in most Cuban reports. We loved it. The teenagers loved it and we're planning two weeks next March break!