Melia Las Dunas: average

Beach and pool area amazing! Friendly staff. Lacking in other items expected in 4-5 star resort like clean towels daily, Kleenex, clean crisp bedding and cleanliness of rooms. Would have liked less smoking!!!

Iberostar Selection Ensenachos: Fabulous Beach

We loved the beach and the snorkeling and the gardens were lovely. The lobby and general facade were very attractive but the rooms and amenities(mattress, linens, towels) are old and tired. The buffets were adequate but only rarely did they serve the local beans and rice dish, congris and their excellent black beans. The staff are friendly and really do their best but there is a lack of leadership/management that could inspire better service. Although billed as 5 star it is a 3, maybe 4 so disap [... read more]pointing for the price we paid.

Gran Muthu Cayo Santa Maria: Met my Expectations

Fabulous beach! You'd be hard pressed to find a beach better than this. Gorgeous ocean view from room...but room in general was just okay. Nice flat screen tv with usb ports for charging devices. Food was mediocre...but edible. Nobody straved and nobody got sick. Overall good value for the cost of the trip.

Iberostar Selection Ensenachos: A lot of money for what you get

Overall the resort was nice. Needs a lot of maintenance, dark walking around at night because half the light bulbs are out. The beach was nice, people are friendly and the beer is cold. Be prepared to walk... one beach to the other is 1.5 hour round trip. Have to take a golf cart shuttle basically anywhere you want to go. Stay away from the buffet whenever possible but the a la carte's were excellent. Not very much (if any) entertainment at the pool or beach. Long drive from the airport, about 1 [... read more].5 hrs. Found it to be expensive for Cuba, better off going to Jamaica or somewhere else in my opinion. Got to go to town with one of the workers from the resort, was an excellent experience to learn about the Cuban culture and highly recommended if possible, very safe country. We were there for a wedding which the reception was outside at the pool, they did a very nice job and it looked great. Service was great. Front desk check in was brutal, took over an hour to check in, they had two people working for two buses full of people. All in all we had a great time but I think it was because we were with a group of 40 awesome people.

Gran Muthu Cayo Santa Maria: Great resort

Beautiful grounds, very friendly service. The food was ok but hey its Cuba that's to be expected. bring ketchup and peanut butter. amazing pools looking over the ocean. shows were good. I would recommend this resort.

Iberostar Selection Ensenachos: Gorgeous beaches

There isn't much to say about the resort except the staff were amazing and the beaches were gorgeous. Other than that the food was not great and the hotel was very spread out. Lots of junk and garbage in the bushes and the rooms needs a lot of maintenance. If you ever have an issue do not expect to get hold of a manager as they are not available. I would go back to Cuba but I would not go back to this resort. And never travel via sunwing.

Iberostar Selection Ensenachos: Not what I expected

From the moment we arrived at the hotel we were not impressed. The check in was slow. The hotel was in need of repairs (the ceiling in our bathroom fell down). The only good part was the staff. Our maid was excellent. The bartenders were friendly. The omelettes were tasty. The pools and beachs were amazing.

Melia Las Dunas: nice and clean

The grounds were well maintained. The public areas were clean. Good selection of food. The rooms were poor. Ours had a bad smell. The pool and the surrounding area was very clean. There were lots of cots to lie on. The beach was inviting.

Melia Las Dunas: Good not Great

I think my review title says it all. The resort was huge. To get anywhere you need to be prepared to walk for 5 or ten minutes. We were on the adult side and thought it was fine. A couple nights we heard drunk people in the hall way but that didn't bother us. The pool was huge but freezing. The whole week we were there the pool barely ever had anyone swimming in it. The grounds were very well kept. Very neat and tidy and clean. Our room was ok. Nothing spectacular but fine for us. Our maid was a [... read more]wesome. She brought new towels every day. Made little creatures on our bed. The beds were springy and hard but again, not a huge deal for us. Also, there was no where to plug in an ipad or a tablet to charge it except for on the hairdryer. We asked about getting some kind of adaptor but they didn't have any. The buffet was ok. Lots to choose from but very repetitive. The servers were hit and miss. Most of them were very nice and pleasant and some were a little bit crusty. The one thing that really turned me off was that they don't wipe the tables clean with a wash cloth. They sweep the crumbs off with a brush and dust pan then put new cutlery on the table. Make sure to check the cutlery before you use it. I found that often mine still had food of them. The Mexican and Italian a la cartes were horrible. Very small portions. Had to eat at the buffet afterwards. Our waitress at the Italian restaurant admitted to us that she had the flu but couldn't afford not to work. We thought well isn't that great, it's ok for her to spread her flu to the guests? The lobby bar was near impossible to get a drink. Unless you gave good tips every time you are going to be waiting a while for a drink. Especially between 5-7 in the evening when everyone goes up there before supper. The beach was beautiful and the ocean was beautiful. There was a little market at the resort during the week. Right by the spa and the gym. The vendors were pricey but willing to barter. The nightly entertainment was great. Always had these dancer men come and got the guests involved. Then they moved to the stage and put on a show afterwards. The internet was hit and miss. Very expensive to use the telephones. The exchange rate on the Canadian dollar to a peso was very expensive as well. All in all we had a nice time. Would we go back? Yes. But, with so many other resorts to choose from why go to the same place twice?

Iberostar Selection Ensenachos: Mediocre

The actual grounds of the resort were beautiful and well maintained. The beaches are beautiful like all the beaches in Cuba. I was surprised by how little English the resort staff were able to understand and speak. The food was basically flavourless and there was no variety from day to day. With the weather and environmental conditions I was surprised that the resort was serving canned pineapple rather than fresh. Additionally, the jacuzzi was filled with cold water rather than hot My 7 day stay [... read more] was not terrible but it was not one of the better resorts I have stayed in.

Memories Paraiso: amazing resort

This was our second trip to Cuba and our 2nd stay at a Memories resort. We were not disappointed. The rooms were clean and the staff were over the top friendly. The grounds were beautiful and lots of entertainment. We definitely will be coming back!

Melia Las Dunas: February 13-20 2015 - Melia Las Dunas review

The hotel is amazing. The grounds were beautifully kept, our room was lovely and very clean. The The pools were very nice, and the beach was amazing. The best was the staff. The waiters/bartenders/beach staff were so friendly and helpful and a lot of fun. There were a lot of choices of places to eat and so much to do. We took an excursion called Cuban Flavour and it was the best time ever. We learned to make Cuban cigars, Cuban beverages and how to dance the Salsa. The meal that night was excell [... read more]ent. The SPA is incredible and worth the money for a massage. There was always great entertainment, music dancing going on making it a very fun place to stay. There was only a couple of minor areas of improvement. The front desk staff was not very informative and did not seem to speak much English. The food was a bit below average from a Canadian standard. We had a small issue with figuring out how to get hot water, but once we figured it out, it was not too bad. All in all, it is a beautiful place and you are treated very well by the employees.

Gran Muthu Cayo Santa Maria: Eurostar needs help

This fairly new resort has all the makings of a really good destination, the infrastructure is there and its just waiting for properly trained staff and responsive management. The food was substandard to even Cuban standards with a dismal attempt at the ala cart restaurants. The rooms were clean with daily maid service but the Cayo does not have the infrastructure in place to deal with laundry demands of the large hotels presently and results in sporadic towel and bedsheets replacement. We had o [... read more]ne replacement of towels for the week. The property is gorgeous and will evolve as the hibiscus and tropicals fill in. The use of shinny ceramic tiles in the beach restaurant is very dangerous as many people including the staff slipped about, I did not witness any major injury but can only imagine! The transfer from the airport is quite long, expect on using the better part of a day for travel :( I hope Eurostar will continue to improve!

Memories Paraiso: Great Beach

Very nice beach with good swimming along entire length. The pools & common areas are beautiful, but the accommodations are dated. We found the specialty restaurants were not special at all, the food was not good.

Valentin Perla Blanca: Would not recommend

The resort itself is a beautiful property, impressive foyer, great scale for a large resort. The beach was amazing but it practically disappeared if there was any wind. The hygiene and food were extremely below par even for Cuba! We seen servers setting tables without cleaning them at all and leaving old utensils left behind from the last diners. Having gluten intolerance I had a hard time finding anything I could eat, so the whole week I lived on cheese slices and ice cream. The a la carte rest [... read more]aurants were worse. I had food poisoning after eating chicken in the Italian restaurant and the potatoes in the French restaurant were instant mashed. We went with an open mind after reading other negative reviews, but they were all true unfortunately. There was not much to do on the resort either, especially if the weather wasn't great. We left generous tips in our room every day, but had to fight to get clean towels twice in the week, the room cleaner was literally in the room less than ten minutes every day.

Iberostar Selection Ensenachos: Great Beaches!

Me and my gf spent a week in Feb. The resort was very spread out, so be prepared to walk, however, the two beaches were beautiful and different from one another. The food was just ok but the service and staff were very nice. We stayed in the Park section and had no noise complaints and found the room to be quite nice and well kept.

Resonance Blu Santa Maria: Starfish Cayo Santa Marie

With stunning beaches, pleasant staff, and decent-to-good food options, the Starfish was great to my girlfriend and I. The equipment was accessible, the grounds were well maintained, and the staff were usually smiling. The daily/ nightly entertaining was great, from well trained jazz musicians to great dancers they seemed to be having a good time with the guests. There's two lobbies to accommodate all your needs, and lots of bars to quench your thirst.

Playa Cayo Santa Maria: Not impressed

The layout of the resort was good, the beach was incredible and the staff fantastic. The room was not great. The shower head didn't spray enough water to rinse your hair I had to rinse under faucet. the bathroom always smelled of urine although it looked clean. The pillows on the bed were throw pillows that every guest was to use absolutely filthy they had regular pillows in the closet that we used but the maids kept putting the dirty throw pillows on the bed. The cleaning staff needs a lot of i [... read more]mprovement in building 7.

Valentin Perla Blanca: A work in progress

The hotel itself is split into two zones with Sunwing having exclusive of the portion opened in Feb. We did not use that side so are familiar only with the original Perla Blanca opened in Nov. The physical structures and grounds are exceptionally modern and the staff try to keep them clean and well kept. The guests do the opposite and it is a constant battle for the hotel to keep the grounds and halls clean. The beach is incredible and access to it is easy and direct from both side4s of the reso [... read more]rt. Unfortunately, the furniture on the beach is dominated by self entitled people who lay claim to them by putting their beach towel on it a 7 A.M. and not removing it until dusk. The meals in the main buffet are hit and miss with some choices being very good and others not so. The satellite lunch cafes are much more consistent but Pork and Chicken dishes are consistently good at all venues. The specially restaurants are also inconsistent in quality. The bar operation in the lobby is swarmed every night and service is slow and unreliable. Too many people and too few staff. The bars at the pool, privilege and other areas are much better with the pool bar and grill open 24 hours. The rooms were large, airy, well laid out and had TV with many international channels including 22, CTV Montreal. The bathrooms are a challenge as despite being clean and modern, they are partially frosted glass between the shower and room. Not to everyone's taste. Staff were consistently friendly, helpful, good natured under extreme provocation and perfectly dressed. The staff, from gardener to concierge were universally the hotel's best aspect and saves it from the systemic dysfunction of its senior management. Little things like the hotel currency exchange running out of money for 3 days and leaving people (new arrivals) with no local currency when just a 2 peso 10 minute ride away was a 7 day bank. No one told the new guests nor offered a loan against their bill in order to go over. It is oversights like these that cause the bad reviews and bad management decisions like over selling the privilege package to the point it became worthless. The whole group of islands is currently in a construction frenzy and water, which comes from the mainland, can be interrupted for hours. We only had an hours loss but others have had full days. Overall, we enjoyed our week there and would go again should the hotel get its problems sorted out by next winter. Until then, I would hesitate to recommend it to anyone who can't role with the punch or is inadaptable to irritants.

Resonance Blu Santa Maria: Beautiful beach and pool areas

The site is clean. A little dense on the greenery. Entertainment can use some help. Customer service is lacking in the bar and restaurant areas. Maids are fantastic. Always smiling and saying Ola!! Beach towel service is just not available. Be prepared to use same towels through the week.