Gran Muthu Cayo Santa Maria: The resort was amazing!

This was my 5th trip to Cuba and this was by far the best food I've had in Cuba and the best hotel. The resort areas and the rooms were extremely clean. The pools were huge and clean. The beach are was very big with lots of shade if you like shade and lots of sun if you prefer sun!

Resonance Blu Santa Maria: Low expectations ! High return!

The resort itself was beautiful and the grounds were well maintained. Some fresh paint could have been added to some of the bungalow but remember it is Cuba. The booze is not topshelf so it you want the good stuff, bump your package up to a *****. Our bartenders(pool bar) were the best! Yes it is all inclusive but tipping goes a long way and you will be surprised what you can get if you just ask. The beach! Can't say enough! Beautiful silky soft sands and crystal blue waters. More then enough  [... read more]lawn chairs for relaxing and free water sports (non motorized) The shows were a little hard to handle but come on it's not Vegas and truly I prefer sitting around with new friends and having some drinks And like most of cuba the food is what it is. Don't think you're going to be dinning in the fanciest restraunts. And yes some of the food I would not feed to a dog. But if you take the time and look you will be surprised with some of the items.

Gran Muthu Cayo Santa Maria: Great Resort!!

This is a medium size complex, great layout. The pools are awsome, very clean. The beach is the most beautiful one I've seen in 14 south trips, no kidding! Food is ok at most, you always find something to eat but it's very repetitive. The animation is great, there is always a band playing at night at the lobby. The flight with Air Transat was horrible, the staff was rude, hiding beind the front curtains all flight long (the flight to Cuba, the return flight was ok). The seat leg room is ridicul [... read more]ous, they have gone too far you will be cramped! They pack 189 seats where other companies fits 174 in the same plane size. I would definitely go back again to this resort, but will avoid Air Transat for sure!

Resonance Blu Santa Maria: very good but need some improvements

lots of tourist but n0t enough staff. Need improvements in rooms. In order to get any service you have to tip for everything. repairs to room wait is too long.Had to wait 4 days to get my tv working. Technician arrived at 1030 at night. No internet service for a large hotel no communication for tourist to Canada. Had to but internet card not must have your own computer. Could be a very nice place if these thing are done.

Iberostar Selection Ensenachos: BEAUTIFUL RESORT - ENSENACHOS BEACH A+++

The Resort & grounds are ABSOLUTELY amazing!!! The staff are extremely friendly, more like Family. The Buffet food was extremely good, pleasantly surprised. The Cashier Duvier is very friendly, we consider him our Family, same with Maikel in Guest Servies. A special shout out to the servers in the Buffet/Restaurant- Daniusky, Lis, Livania & Lazaro, Annia & Alfredo. To my favourite housekeeper Belkys, you are all Family to me, I miss you already!!! In the Bar, to Maria & Orlando. You are all welc [... read more]ome to visit us in Canada!!! Check in is 4pm, so be aware of that - we were NOT!!! We had a blast!!! We swam with Dolphins (highly recommend), we did the Catamaran Tour - absolutely worth every Puesos!!! Try to get the Captain of the "Sirius", he was fun, fun, fun (him & his 2 man crew). Everybody had sooo much fun. We Snorkelled, sailed, walked along beaches, had time w/ Dolphins, Lobster lunch, danced & all the Alcohol or water you wanted. Both Tours are money well spent. Check in was a NIGHTMARE though - staff stressed out & not organized or friendly. Our maid Betty, was horrible, left "used" towels on floor & she hung them on the balcony & did not replace. Same with the Face Cloths - we were in a hurry to leave on a day trip & forgot to leave a tip!!! I feel it was done on purpose (I know they were our used towels, because I have a special hair dye that leaves residue on towels.)

Gran Muthu Cayo Santa Maria: Wonderful Time!

My Daughter and I just returned Sunday from the Eurostar. Beach is amazing. If you want some quiet time try the smaller beach near bungalo 7 - has a bar as well. Food was not as bad as I had anticipated. Suggest you go to the a la cartes. All were better than buffet except for Cuban. Pizza good @ the snack bar as well. Breakfast - worth it to wait in line for eggs. Bring ketcup as you will miss it. Rooms were clean and modern. Good shower pressure, however towels were not changed unless I happen [... read more]ed to run into the maid and requested they be changed. Also beach towels could not be changed - seems a shortage with their laundry service. Be prepared to do some walking. Overall cannot say enough about the beach, ocean and staff who were extremely pleasant. Best to deal with your tour rep as the front desk really does not speak English well and appear to not be able to assist you with much. Wish I was still there.

Resonance Blu Santa Maria: Average

This hotel needs improvements. I was disappointed with all public and room bathroom. Showers was always flooding the floor and had to use towels to keep it from running in the bedroom area. No clean towels was provided the entire week I stayed. Food was acceptable, service was ok, beach was the best feature of this hotel.

Sol Cayo Santa Maria: Not recommend this hotel!

Positive: Fantastic beach, beautiful grounds, delicious capucinos at Lobby bar. Negative: Food and food services at all locations were terrible. Tea cups were chipped, glasses were stained.Tea and coffee were not served at lunch and dinner. Room: curtains were falling apart, sink was cracked !shower curtains and blind were old, dirty. Some staff were extremely friendly and competent. Others were not so happy to be there.The place needs to be renovated and the food service staff needs training in [... read more] food safety handling( one cook sneezed,then wiped his nose with his hand and using the same hand he touched the meat to serve guests)

Valentin Perla Blanca: amiable resort

Valentin Perl Blanca wasn't just another get away but a place to remember from the wonderful memories we brought back. So here it goes, Cayo Santa Maria has probably the greatest beach i have gone with my family. The resort had this path walk though a jungle to the beach. You can image slowly walking towards the bluest colour water and bring your feet into the soft white sand.The water was so clear that made you want to swim for hours.The resort containing the jungle showed the visitors the natu [... read more]ral nature of Cuba and different touch from other resorts.Then comes the Delicious food. Tho sometimes simple but there was their hand made pizzas. I had to have one very day and not to mention having lobster. There were a mountain of lobsters that my parents has three each, haha. The room was terrible, no just joking, the rooms were modern and very clean. Usually resorts like to give my family old and far away rooms but Valentin service give my family a room close to the beach,snack restaurant, and pool. It was fantastic not having an issue. The resort was very pretty , it is beginning but for sure to a good start. But the main part of the trip were the people that work. They were cheerful and always kind to you. My father made friends with the gardeners, waiters, and life grads.Each had a story that moved you. They wouldn't ask for anything but we would give them small things to show our gratitude.we can see the difficult lives they live but always had a smile. They welcomed us with harm hearts and that's what made the trip amiable. Thank you for reading and i hope we win to eat tacos( my favorite) and make new friends and new memories.

Royalton Cayo Santa Maria: Amazing resort

Everything about this resort was fantastic. All staff was very friendly. Our butlers, Ariel and Alexis were so nice and very helpful. I wish I could have brought them home with me. Food was delicious. A nice quiet resort to have a relaxing holiday at. More snacks during the day and a bit more softer beds would be a nice upgrade to this already beautiful resort. We will definitely be back.

Melia Las Dunas: Two Fantastic Weeks at Melia Las Dunas

Located on a pristine island, ideal for total relaxation. Beautiful natural surroundings, with a variety of plants and flowers from tropical to desert like. The dunes and the flora remind you of an earlier time. For example, the white wooden pathways leading to the beach were very East Coast and quite romantic. The food, service and accommodation was all very good. The staff was excellent, especially the groundskeeper (Frank) who took great pride in his work. As well, our housekeeper (Yanexy) wa [... read more]s very attentive to our every need. The beech staff and the Lifeguards were all very nice and service oriented. The kilometers long beach and clear blue water were a highlight of our trip. We highly recommend this hotel to anyone wanting to go to Cuba.

Resonance Blu Santa Maria: Great for Cuba

I've heard so many negative things about Cuba so I was delighted to have a great experience at the Starfish Resort on Cayo Santa Maria, Cuba. The resort was clean and the staff was accommodating. The cappuccinos were outstanding as were the always available special drinks. The pool was beautiful. The entertainment alternated between cheesy and extremely good. Cheesy was funny in its own way :) The food is very different than what we are accustomed to here but still delicious. I found plenty of d [... read more]ishes to satisfy me. Resort chefs try hard to appeal to the Canadian appetite with omelette stations, crepe stations grilling stations and pizza stations. It is true that there is no ketchup and the food is not spicy like in Mexico, but tasty nevertheless. The beaches were stunningly beautiful. White powdery sand and aquamarine blue everywhere. These were the most beautiful beaches I have ever seen. Small katamaran rides were free on the resort beach and we were also allowed to use kayaks and peddle boats for free. It was so fun. We saw a baracuda further out. We experienced three days of windy, very chilly weather. On those days, there was not much to do as Starfish is fairly remote. We shopped the nearby marketplace for souveniers and rented a car to go the 50 km to the nearest town. We also explored the countryside. It turned out to be a pleasant day. The poverty we witnessed there was a little depressing. We brought dollar store candy and toys to hand out to children and they were very grateful. The sunny days more than made up for the windy days. We returned home as brown as berries. The katamaran excursion was really fun and totally worth the money we paid for it. ($125 CAN). It included snorkeling, lobster lunch, dolphinarium. I rode a dolphin for $20 CU. It was amazing. There were many, many people from Quebec (85%??) and Ontario (10%?). Albertans were rare. There were no Americans yet. Quebecers seemed to enjoy being allowed to smoke in the bar and lobby. WIFI has to be purchased at a cost of $4.50 CU for an hour. You do not have to use it all at one time unless you have a hard time logging out. All wifi has to be done in the lobby. There is no wifi in the rooms. Sattelite tv is available in rooms -- there were good movies on. Rooms were cleaned daily but we were not given fresh towels or bedding during our stay. This didn't bother us but someone who would not like this would,. I"m sure, be given fresh towels upon request. I received an extra pillow when I asked. You can 'feel' the poverty there among the resort staff. We tipped a $1 peso for every meal, maid service, bar service, etc. and found they were extremely appreciative. We were told the average wage there is $18 pesos per month. ($14 CAN per month).

Resonance Blu Santa Maria: Amazing beach but bring your own condiments

The beach and water are just amazing at this resort - you couldn't get a more beautiful beach and no one bugging you to buy hats or have your hair braided etc as it is really only tourists on this beach. Great staff, rooms were always clean and well taken care of. Entertainment staff were very good, and there was only 1 occasion where the nightly entertainment was not good(most people got up and left). If you only catch one show it should be the Michael Jackson tribute - the person playing Micha [... read more]el Jackson was amazing. Food was just "ok" - you won't go hungry though. Unfortunately the a la carte's were very disappointing. Bring your own condiments as ketchup, relish, peanut butter, jam and basically anything that you would be used to at home was non existent.

Resonance Blu Santa Maria: Beautiful beaches

The beaches are simply amazing, the pool is very nice as well. Overall the resort is nice, a little bit older but very fair for the price. The buffets were better than expected but could be better. The drive from the airport is quite long though

Resonance Blu Santa Maria: Good Stay at Starfish

Amazing Beach. Disappointed that there were two distinctly different sides of resort, landing us on the bad side when we arrived. We paid to upgrade to an amazing room with ocean and pool view....well worth it. Bld 9. Food was poor, but atmosphere and entertainment and activities were great.

Memories Azul Beach Resort: Great time at Memorie

Grounds clean , resort is huge with three beautiful pools. Lots of great entertainment. My only complaint is that the oversized golf carts they drive around the resort do not have their own driving path so you are constantly jumping out of the way.

Melia Las Dunas: A Perfect first Time Destination.

Such friendly staff in every department.The food was wonderful and plentiful. The room was well laid out and kept clean, despite being a bit outdated. The grounds were so well kept it made the walking enjoyable. Plenty of activities for everyone.

Melia Buenavista: Beautiful little paradise

nicely kept gardens, clean, beautiful, courteous, extremely helpful staff. So many to thank starting with Dayme plus those keeping our room clean, restaurant staff and gardeners. Small place specifically aimed to please an older crowd. Quiet, not a lot of activities, so if you are looking to rest and enjoy a good book on the beach then this is the place .

Resonance Blu Santa Maria: Great Trip

The resort was great for the value. Entertainment was awesome. Don't miss the Michael Jackson show if you go well worth staying up for. Staff were great very appreciative and helpful. Food was OK better than most.

Resonance Blu Santa Maria: Amazing Staff!!!

The staff exceeding our expectations especially when dealing with the children. The grounds were well maintained at all times. The pools, beach and entertainment were all fantastic. The a la carte restaurants were top quality and the buffet was satisfactory. Again, amazing staff!!!