Valentin Perla Blanca: loved the Valentin

EVen though this resort just recently opened it's running incredibly smooth - the service was the best we've ever had in our travels throughout the Caribbean, the food was very good ,the bar drinks were excellent, lots of hot water. The gardens are all new but blooming and maintained beautifully and most of all the beaches we're gorgeous. there have been concerns about rocks please don't let this stop you just because it's Cuba.The rocks add a beautiful visual element of an untamed coast line. T [... read more]ravel to and from, and check in and check out were incredibly smooth. Very relaxing and peaceful place and we enjoyed an incredible trip. Our one recommendation to the hotel: please label the food on your buffet.

Iberostar Selection Ensenachos: Good family resort for younger children!

I had the pleasure to visit this resort from Nov 3 - Nov 10, 2014 with my 2 young children, Sofia(7) and Elias(4.) We got to the resort, they did not have live banking, we had to take a cab to the closest town, 10 minute cab rab to the bank. I needed $300 CUC for tip money. They will only trade at the hotel cash for cash. Once I got back, my vacation started. The food was good, buffet had all you need. The a la carte were nothing special. The overall service is good, they are always trying to pl [... read more]ease you. The kids water park was great, we spent at least 1 hour each day playing in the water park. Good for ages 3 to 10. The beaches are beautiful, the nicest one is a little far to walk though. The weather is always nice. The kid shows and night adult shows are good, kept the kids entertained. My daughter loved the fact that you could see a lot of fish in the ocean. The ocean is clear, white sand everywhere, no rocks. For the price we paid, $2550 for all 3, it was just perfect. I do recommend this vacation if you are with children and you are good with buffet food. A.L.

Playa Cayo Santa Maria: excellent vacation spot

Hotel is a nice size, pristine beautiful pools, great service at all restaurants and bars. Rooms were kept immaculate by maids and bar fridge well stocked. Staff very friendly, helpful and happy. Romantic a la carte and italian were best choices for dinner. Beach is rustic and beautiful, sandy bottom ocean great swimming. Excellent value.

Valentin Perla Blanca: Great time!

We visited the week of Nov 7th not knowing what to expect with a brand new resort. We were pleasantly surprised! Excellent variety of foods and very tasty. No need to bring extra condiments (HP, Franks) as they are on a table at the buffet. Rooms are great. Customer Service was excellent. Activities staff lots of fun. Don't forget mosquito repellent.

Playa Cayo Santa Maria: AMAZING RESORT

I really enjoyed my stay at this resort. The grounds/beach/pools were so clean. The restaurants and bars were clean as well. The staff were very helpful and friendly. The beach was the most beautiful sight. The water was so clear and so beautiful. If you are looking for a 'party hotel' there is no dance clubs at this resort. There is a cigar lounge with music and drinks, more of a lounging area. Clubs are off the resort. They do have nightly entertainment, which is very entertaining. Many people [... read more] complain about the food in cuba, but I really liked it. You have to understand that alot of cooking is their food as well. There is a variety of dishes to choose from. The seafood here is amazing. One tip, if you can, ask for a balcony view, or a second floor room. Next trip will be 2 weeks at this resort!!:)

Melia Las Dunas: just fair, we only stayed two nites and moved

the grounds were beautiful, the rooms need work, and food was fair, entertainment awesome! the hotel for rooms and food need some TLC. The beach had a lot of seaweed which is natural but they didn't attempt to clean.

Memories Paraiso: Bad experience

Beaches and pools are lovely. Rooms were nice size but require deep cleaning. Food was terrible. We arrived on the latest flight and were greeted with a nice cocktail but the only food available was dry left over food in an unairconditioned room.Three of our friends got sick. We found pebbles in our food. We got two good meals: one lobster dinner at the Italiano and an awesome Saturday buffet dinner when the hotel was conducting a survey. When my roommate was sick the wouldn't provide room servi [... read more]ce and directed me to the Grill which was closed. They dont have a pharmacy at the hotel so you have to take a taxi out of the resort. It was only 5kms away but imagine if you were alone and couldn't get out of bed. And no hair ties anywhere to be found.

Gran Muthu Cayo Santa Maria: Zerostars, Cayo Santa Maria

We have been to this hotel a total of 3 times and have watched and felt first hand, how the quality of service is starting to deteriorate over a few months, only. It is nice to see well kept grounds, however it is no longer nice to see dirty dishes (glasses, cups, cutlery, etc. ) your food is being served in. It is nice to know that mother nature will always ensure that the beach this hotel is built on, is always as beautiful as on the first day, however it is disgusting to see (not even to ment [... read more]ion to taste) the same food being served for lunch and dinner, over and over again - being warmed up just in time for dinner, again..... The quality of the food was disgusting and was an offence to all guests some of which came all the way from Europe to have a "great vacation" which includes being able to enjoy great and tasteful food. Instead, we received day in, day out pickled, cured, canned and staled food - with a very limited amount and choice of fresh fruits and vegetables......We ended up eating bread for a lot of lunches and dinners (which was not fresh on many days either....). In the past, this hotel was, at least, able to offer 1 dish for lunch and dinner that was edible and, in most of the cases, also tasteful (e.g. roasted turkey, roasted pig, roasted ham, variety of veggies, etc....). Now, even the ten different quickly boiled and undercooked pasta types, soaked in vegetable oil and sprinkled with Oregano are not edible......How far can a hotel management go with savings, please ? If this is the course this hotel wants to take, please, be honest and rate it a maximum of a 3 star hotel, because it does not deserve the fourth star, under any circumstances. Please, keep in mind that enjoying the food is part of your overall experience - not everyone goes on a BALLERMANN vacation where the alcohol intake washes out any negative memories, including the bad hotel food. In addition, the cleanliness of the hotel rooms is dire........the floors are not being properly cleaned, not to mention that the rooms are never being vacuumed, the towels are old, stained and with holes........Question is.......are the linens and towels being washed with detergents, at all ? Are any disinfectants being used in cleaning the bath rooms, floors, etc......? This hotel is on a down course and we will never, consider going there, again.......we like to enjoy our vacation, without being in a situation, to make multiple rounds in the lunch room, to sit and enjoy a staled bun due to the lack of better food choice, in the end, or having to think about using or not using the hotel towels, dishes.....Absolutely cheap.

Playa Cayo Santa Maria: Between good and very good.......

Overall, a very nice hotel. From the grounds to the beautiful stretch of beach and to 99% of the friendly and helpful staff. From the grounds keepers to the wait staff. All trying to keep you smiling and enjoying your trip. Food is typical Cuban for an all inclusive, but better than some on Santa Maria, and there's always something to satisfy one's palate. Pools are well situated. From the pool bar, to the snack bar and the kids get to have a pool of their own as well. They have a Spa and a well [... read more] equipped Gym. Beach towels are exchanged as you need them. A cigar bar that is loaded with all the top brands, for those who indulge. A theater, with nightly live entertainment from nine to about eleven and everything from Karaoke, to a Michael Jackson impersonator. The lobby bar is always busy. From coffee and models, to Mojitos and live bands. Excursions of all kinds are offered. From a Dolphin show, to a flight to Havana. From Santa Clara airport, you'll be transported to the hotel by an air conditioned bus and while it does take about an hour an a half, you'll be out off the main coast of Cuba by 47 kilometers and the peace that awaits you. Rooms are well equipped with a small fridge that's stocked every day with beer, soft drinks and water. If you're the type that needs to stay in touch back home, I'd suggest you bring your phone with an international plan for the length of time you'll be there. The computers are dial up, very slow and almost useless. Wi fi is available in the lobby bar, so maybe a tablet or Laptop with do the trick. The only negative in my two weeks there, was the front desk. A lack of understanding with speaking a language other than Spanish and for a so-called five star hotel. Just not acceptable. While that doesn't include everyone, it does become frustrating. I hope some of that helps. Great beach and if the price is right, I say go and enjoy. For the most part, I did and I wouldn't think twice about going back.

Valentin Perla Blanca: Valentin Perla Blanca

Very clean, amazing pool, nice staff and great beach. Loved the music every evening in the lobby with the shows. The service was great even though it is a new resort, but they do their best to help you with a great smile. By the end of the week they were treating me like a family. I came back five days ago and I already miss the staff. They were amazingly friendly. Thank you for making my trip so memorable.

Melia Las Dunas: Good place to rest !

My husband and I stayed 5 days at the resort. A little break fro the routine was well needed and greatly appreciated, especially at that price ($488 p.p. all inclusive!). Cannot go wrong at that price! Food was good (for Cuba), the resort big, the room clean and beach was very nice but not that wide. My favourite things, the sun, the ocean and the musicians! Down side, a bit far from the airport.

Memories Paraiso: Great Value for the expense

This is my second visit to Memories Paraiso/Azul and 4th visit to the beaches of Santa Maria. I have never been disapointed with any of my visits. The latest one, November 11 through to the 18th at Memories Paraiso met all of my expectations; great staff who are friendly as always, plenty of food, great amenities and so on and so on. The room, #3166, was clean and had a great veiw of the ocean. Go and enjoy you will always want to go back for at least a second if not third, fourth, etc. helping  [... read more]of this wonderfull resort.

Memories Paraiso: Good value for your money

Average 4* Cuban hotel. Good white sand beach, very friendly staff. Variety of food could be better (I always wondering why u didn't get RIPE fruits and vegetables on Cuba?). I like to snorkel - not at this place, no reefs at all.

Melia Las Dunas: Really fun trip!

Overall we had an amazing trip!!!! We travelled with 2 kids, 6 months and 6 years. We stayed in villa 26 so it was close to the pool and beach. The resort is huge and it seems like if you are travelling with kids they put you close to the pool. We only stayed on the family side pool and it was always very clean and never too busy. The rooms are okay. We stayed on the first floor and we think that had to do with finding a cockroach in our room every night. Putting a towel at the bottom of the doo [... read more]r helped while we were sleeping. When we first got there the big sheet was clearly not cleane as there was gross women hair all over it, we just tossed it aside and used the lighter sheets which as typically cleaned after every stay. The beaches were unbelievable and the staff were all amazing. Never had a problem with ac. We never had hot water for showers but was always warm so not uncomfortable. No complaints there. The only complaint I have is the food was awful! It was to be expected as we we're warned and dd our research that you don't go to Cuba to eat. By the last day if I had to eat one more meal I would've rather starved. Luckily we brought lots of snacks from home, and ketchup, hot sauce they do have them there but their own brand which is different from home. Overall the resort is beautiful the landscaping is outstanding. We were a little worried about the 2 hour drive from the airport but we all enjoyed seeing Cuba and the buses were very comfortable. It was a great trip had by all. I would not go back to Cuba as there are many other places I would like to see and we'll I do love to eat good food.

Melia Las Dunas: Amazing Resort

We travelled to the Melia Las Dunas 08-15NOV 2014. We were awe struck at first site. It's beautiful. The lobby is very pristine and the staff are all very welcoming. The check in was quick and easy, and we had a resort shuttle waiting to take us to our room. The room was inviting. Very clean, and well kept! Our bar was stocked with water, pop and beer. The buffet had lots to offer. Food was good and staff very friendly. The a l cartes were the same! Lovely restaurants and people. Food was never  [... read more]a dissappointment. The grounds were always well kept. We saw the gardeners working hard each and every day. The pool is huge. Pool bar staff friendly. Lots of activities Around pool with music playing! Pool was always clean, and plenty of pool chairs to choose from. The sports centre had a big variety of things for the kids. Basketball, fooseball, batminton, bochi, archery, tennis, soccer, and huge chess game. The beaches are beautiful. We had a fantastic week at the Melia Las Dunas and would highly recommend!

Iberostar Selection Ensenachos: Amazing time.

I have nothing bad to say about this resort, amazing staff, beautiful resort, food was great. I will be returning next year. One of the best holidays I have had. I had mixed thoughts about Cuba from what people have said about the food. But we had no problems.

Memories Paraiso: Great Resort

The Hotel is fantastic, I had a great oceanview room, my mini fridge was replenished twice a day with beers, colas and a bottle of water. Very clean and I enjoyed every minute of my stay there. The cubans are the best people treat you like family. The grounds were impecable. I have been to this resort three times and it gets better and better!!!! My only complaint is that my two favorite barmen have been seperated. Ariel and Jimmy used to be together at the beach bar, they had a great dynamic to [... read more]gether and people loved that.. They should really consider putting them to work together again.

Valentin Perla Blanca: Very good first week

We stayed at this resort the first week it opened. When we arrived there were only 49 guests and then for the next 5 days it got up to 99 guests. The management still had a full complement of staff and I think this time was used for practice for the upcoming weeks. We had great service but again there were not that many of us. There are a lot of good reviews up so I will mention the items that really stood out for us or that others have missed. Sorry for the way it reads at time. We always thoug [... read more]ht of something else to add it. We stayed in Building 58 with a pool view. Our room was very modern and nice. Beautiful balcony. Very nice bathroom with a huge shower that always had plenty of hot water. A frosted window from the bedroom into the shower gave the bathroom a lot of extra light. They had face cloths that most resorts do not have. Floor mats on each side of the bed so you have somewhere warm to stand when you get up. A mini fridge filled every day with two beers and two pops. Electronic safe. The AC was great. The bed was hard. The room was cleaned very well every day. This block was very close to everything. Pool – They had three pools which were attach to each other by walkways and waterfalls; very different from the free form pools most of the other resorts have. Very comfortable web type of loungers. Water was very cold the first day but warmed up when the sun came out. The pool beds are very comfortable. There are chairs in the sun and also there are chairs in nice shaded areas for those who don’t want sun. “Laidee” is usually around now and then to get your drink orders. Restaurants - Pool area open 24 hours a day. Hit and miss with this area. We had very good service and poor service. The first time we went to this area was the day we arrived and I think we were the first guests our server served. There seems to be a combination of new servers and experience servers from other resorts. Be careful of the hamburgers, they like cooking them rare and not well done as they should be. We had a problem one day that when we refused the first ones they gave us since they were very rare. When my wife refused the second one they gave to her because it was still red, the manager told us not to worry because it was chicken. We never ordered the hamburger again. Beach restaurant - Only four of five items you could order but they had a small but nice salad/buffet area. We always had good service. French/Spanish Restaurants - These are the only a la carte restaurants open and they were a work in progress. We ate in the French twice and the food was OK. Nothing special about this restaurant. My biggest complaint was one night every item they had on the menu had seafood in it. We met one couple who went to the buffet instead of the French restaurant since they could not eat anything there because of allergies to seafood. In the Spanish restaurant it was a set menu. The entree was lobster which was very large and very good. They also had a very good 3 piece band playing and singing in the front of the restaurant. Very good service. Buffet - Very basic, good food. They had all of the usual stations for breakfast and dinner. There is enough variety that you could get something different to eat every day. Very fast service but there were just very small crowds. Most times the service was very good. Lysee (sorry if I misspelled your name) was very attentive and very friendly. Bar This was also very hit and miss. Some of the bartenders knew what they were doing and others had no idea. One person didn’t know how to make one of their special drinks so they had to look at the menu and just put the ingredients into a glass. Mojito’s were made the correct way by some but others put a piece of mint in the glass as a decoration. We had the same drink served to us many different ways. The use of the Cuban liquor equivalent is used a lot of the time but they do have known brand names also. Look for Pedroso at the bar and main lobby. He will brighten your day. He works hard, almost never stops and has the biggest smile I have ever seen. Entertainment. They usually had some great entertainment in the Lobby/bar area from around 7 – 9:15. This was always very good. At 7 there was a lovely lady who played the piano, then afterwards there were bands that played great Latin music. The show they have every night at the theater will hopefully get better. We only stayed for a couple of them. Beach - Here is the sore point for a lot of people. We heard that a storm took out a lot of the sand at the main entrance we had to use (we have heard that since they have had complaints they opened up the other entrance). It was tricky to get to the beach but once you got there and it was low tide it was very nice. I have seen better a few miles down the road but still very nice. Very clear water. The loungers here I found very uncomfortable and too short. There is a lot of seaweed on the beach. They should give the staff who work on the beach a rake to clean it up a bit or even let the life-guards who were taking naps while working take a turn. It could be cleaned up in no time. The beach is a treasure, but needs more care and attention. Resort - Bring your bug spray. There are a lot of these tiny black bugs that attack you and leave nasty little itchy bites. If you are walking around the resort and hear a rumbling sound run to the nearest closed in room. The fog machine will be coming. This machine makes a huge smoke screen that goes everywhere. It even filled the open air bar and lobby and once we got caught in it. We hated to think of what is in that smoke. Usually they drive around 7:30 p.m. and in the morning as well. You would think they would use these smokers when there are no guests around. This is a new resort and will have its growing pains. It is starting up nicely with good quality construction that we didn’t see in some of the other resorts and people who run this operation want this resort to succeed. We talked to Mr. Pons (head of the lobby and rooms and asst. manager) a few time and they have a plan to make this resort work. They also asked questions of what we thought of a few items which shows they want to make it better. We had a very good week here. They have a very good beginning and with a little work they should get the 5 star which they are trying to achieve.

Memories Paraiso: great resort

stayed at memories paraiso in oct this resort was better then we thought it would be.. the beach is amazing and rooms very clean the ground are so pretty the food was good didn't go hungry the staff were great ... cant wait to go back in april and nov of next year

Gran Muthu Cayo Santa Maria: Eurostars

It was amazing!! Beautiful beach and water. I could not get over how big the place was. There were a lot of places to relax, eat and drink. The food was not the best, but we were told that before we left so we knew what we were in for. The rooms were nice and the staff was great. Everyone so nice and try very hard to speak English.