Wonderful Time in Cuba

The Staff at this resort are amazing, from the Managers Yosbel and Jorge as well as all the cleaning, wait, bar and maintenance are all fantastic people. We had such a good time with them all. The resort is a good distance from the airport but the ride was interesting and fun. Luis (the chef) made sure that the food here was always better that we expected, with good selections and tastes. The hotel itself has a good layout to it even though it is quite large, the grounds are impeccable as well a [... read more]s the rooms which are also spacious and clean with good views. The beach has beautiful white sand and the water is calm and shallow (perfect for wading in with a cool Mojito). All in all we had a wonderful time at this resort and would not hesitate recommending it or returning to it.

Great resort, new, modern, luxurious

Beautiful rooms, excellent service, well kept grounds, premium beach, kind compassionate stuff, well served food with decent variety, definitely one of our best vacation spots. The only downside is the 1h44m ride from the airport, but it’s absolutely worth it as it does have the 5-star vacation feeling.

Top notch resort

Grounds were well maintained. Rooms were very nice. The only complaint with the room was the lack of bottle water being left in the bar fridge. We were told it was due to lack of plastics to make the bottles. Other than the first two bottles on our first day, we refilled our bottles at the bar, and once received two more bottles from the staff we met in a hallway. A suggestion would be to have a self serve refill station for guests. Staff in all sectors of the resort were fantastic. Bathrooms to [... read more]o far from beach. The restaurant/bar closest to beach was permanently closed and bathrooms were locked. This was not convenient.

Fantastic Vacation

My daughter and I recently visited Grand Memories Sanctuary. When we booked our trip we were upgraded and it was amazing. The hotel was very clean, all staff were so kind and always made us smile. We never had any problems with finding something good to eat. We actually loved the Italian the best. The cheese pizza was delicious. Our lobster lunch was a great finish to an amazing holiday.

Visual communication

The hotel does not use visual communication. It is very difficult to find the spaces and their contents because there are no markings of where things are and in which direction. It is especially difficult to find elevators and toilets, which should be marked with visible signs and a light above. The same is true outside the hotel, swimming pools, beaches, restaurants, bars

All that glitters is not gold

The hotel is new, extremally well laid out, beautiful beach and pools with a great staff. Downside is repetitive meals and lack of mixes to make even basic drinks. We were in a 5th floor suite and the elevators were not working the entire time we were there (2 weeks)

Grand Memories - Holguin Cuba: April 2-9

Grand Memories \ Holguin. Date: Sunday April 2 – Sunday April 9 Departure Time: Sunwing original 6:15am. Later received confirmation flight departure to 7:55am. Actual Departure Time: another delay 8:45am (unknown reason) No problem with flight. Customs \ Immigration at Holguin – Cuba : No Problem. Boarded Bus: A very long bus ride to hotel, note to those who may be of interest 2hours. Since departure flight was delayed, the arrival was late at the hotel we missed the lunch and buffe [... read more]t was closed. Suggestion go to Snack Bar. There were 2 busses of tourist now going to the Snack Bar for food \ drinks. Imagine the nightmare with only 2 persons behind the bar. Everybody is thirsty and hungry screaming for service. This part could have been handled a little better, knowing the flight was delayed passengers would be hungry \ thirsty. I left my luggage at the front of hotel and returned after my Snack Bar Lunch. Check in was slow but moving along. The room excellent in size and décor, no problem on second floor facing Pool. Room had a small fridge, empty, no water, no drinks. Seems no longer stocked with water \ beer \ pop. Had to wait until next day to get Bottle of water, no problem. Was able to get water from bars. Dinner at Buffet no problem finding table space, very clean, excellent. Had salad, soup, chicken, desert, beer all good, excellent. Excellent service, plenty of staff to offer help at table and behind kitchen counter. Breakfast Interesting Note: one of the grills has a young lady who sings during her cooking….I waited in line just to hear the show and wake up to the busy morning, excellent. Buffet table has a lot of items to choose, no problem with salads plenty of items to select with green leaves. Desert Table: Plenty of fruit, sweets…excellent with ice cream. To families with small children: very disappointing to see had parents do not manage the kids and leave them alone to go to the desert table alone. Kids are kids fully blame the parents, kids touch the plates and items with there hands and this has to stop. Ice cream was wasted and dropped because the child could not reach the spoon and tub and hold the plate. Do you do this at home, waste a lot of food, shame on you, you may be on holiday but have respect for others who are there on vacation also and hotel expenses. My suggestion for families with children under 10 years charge double the rate. Next day I began my hotel grounds walk. Note: This is a very large hotel, for those of interest walking may be of interest. Counted 7 pools, 3 in the middle partitioned and 2 on each side. Plenty of chairs, huts no problem, has 2 life guards excellent service, pool bar located in middle pool able to get service no both sides in pool and out. Beach groomed everyday by a team of 20 workers every morning…excellent. Plenty of chairs on the beach. Sand is course with shells but clean. If this is a problem, put on foot gear. One section of the hotel is reserved for Sanctuary clients. The buildings are labelled A, B, C on the map etc. Note: there is no label on the outside of the building property to inform you where you are. This is very very confusing. The next problem that makes this worse is the buildings are joined together and some are 5, 4, 3 floors, you have no clear idea where you are. Took me 2 days to get the layout of the land, relation to middle pool, lobby, my building and surrounding services. The Hotel is excellent, brand new opened last year, the rooms are excellent. Room: AC worked no problem, water pressure no problem, toilet no problem, very large king size bed…excellent. The staff will do everything to help you, make your stay 110% satisfied…excellent. This is a hotel in its infant stage, 75% of the staff is young students and I don’t believe they have the experience to manage this hotel when it goes full production. Experience takes time and with young new staff it will be a learning curve. The management team has a lot of work in front to make this happen. Time wise this is off – season, come late fall winter December the hotel will need all the staff to be up and ready to run. Did not do any tours excursions but Sunwing has reps on -site to help. The Lobby bar was slow with 2 reps behind and 20 customers waiting for drinks, but plenty of floor walkers to take your order, excellent. Weather was excellent, sunny plus 30 everyday. After lunch the pool water was warm. On vacation do not stress, easy going, yes there are some areas that need to be improved. Return Flight: now this is a stressful with Sunwing. Departure Time: original 1:05pm, received delay message to 3:00pm, boarded at 4pm, plane took off at almost 5pm Arrived Toronto at 9pm. Overall: a an excellent hotel to consider for your vacation.

Grand Memories Holguin

This resort opened about 18 months ago. It is truly first class accommodation. There are 7 pools and the rooms are European modern, spacious, fully air conditioned, bright with balconies. The food is Cuban, but there is ample. The people, as usual are pleasant and helpful. This being a new resort with local staff, their English language is wanting with some, but they are working on it and are trying hard to improve. The resort is located on Ramon Peninsula an undeveloped area as yet, but a new  [... read more]resort is opening beside in September and 2 ships were witnessed delivering materiel for a third new resort. It is a two hour bus ride from the airport. A hidden gem for sure. Thanks Ash you were very helpful in this 3 year wait and delivery. No evidence or mention of Covid. Murray Peer.

Amazing Resort

This hotel was very clean. The staff was amazing. I would definitely return this hotel on the future. The rooms were well stocked and up to date. There was lots to see on the bus ride to the resort. Give this resort 5 stars

All I can say is NO

I don't complain about resorts in Cuba because after all it is Cuba don't get me wrong, there are great places to stay and we have been very happy at other locations in Cuba. However when you have to pay $5.00 CA for a bottle of pop, (in our case diet pop) to be brought in because they tell you "there is no pop on all the island" and we don'tdring alcohol, its a bit much. All the staff at the resort were great and grounds are nicely kept. It was too windy 5 out of the 7 days to really take adva [... read more]ntage of the ocean. The hydro went in and out at least once each day and the 2 hour non-stop bus ride was just too much.

A TRIP TO HELL!!!!!!!!!

This is clearly a Sunwing hotel. As they partially own it, all others not booking through them are not welcome. Sunwing (diamond and gold club) immediate check. All others line up for over two and a half hours checking in. Sunwing (diamond and gold club members) allowed to book priority Alacarte restaurants all others line up for over an hour to get what's left. TI was not able to book the Japanees restaurant at all during my 14 days and the Italian only once. No mixed drinks. At the bar there  [... read more]was only one bartender who is instructed to serve (diamond and gold club first) and all others only if when there is a break in their orders. International drinks are Johnny walker red, Vat 69 and Jaminson for regular customers (red band). They ran out of cola again for people with the red band but lots for the customers wearing the diamond club band. )Desserts were chocolate ice cream and red shreaded beets. :NO PASTRIES". They ran out of eggs and bread for days. They had bedbugs on the fourth floor in section "E", room 2436 and sandbugs in the sand on the beach which when bitten leave welts the size of a dime for seven days. Both required shots at the hotel clinic. No liquor, cigar or coffee sales at the hotel. Closest place is Antilla a $60.00 dollar taxie ride. Hola Sun did not supply me with a ride to the airport for my air transat flight but for the good graces of the kind sunwing rep was able to hitch a ride on their bus. otherwise it would have cost me a $200.00 CDN taxie fare. The return flight home was ane hour late due to an equipment failure at the Holguin airport. No their fault and they handled the situation well with courtisy and professionalism.

Grand memories Holguin

Lovely week in Holguin. The bus drive to the resort is approximately 2 hours. When we arrived at the resort around midnight they had a buffet waiting for us at the snack bar. The resort and the staff are all new (3 months) the staff were all pleasant and happy to help. Tips and gifts to staff were much appreciated. The was always something to eat despite supply issues in Cuba. I would say value for the money. It’s Cuba 🇨🇺 enjoy the culture and the beautiful atmosphere.

Bad food resort

Many times we have found not fresh food. No fish. No shrimps. Billiards are not working as sticks broken. No tenis master. Internet is bad. Location is bad as everytime windy. But hotel is new. Clean. Service people is very good.

Beautiful, new, clean resort!

This resort was beautiful! It was very well maintained in all areas from the pools, gardens, restaurants, bars, lobby, bathrooms and the beach areas. I've never stayed somewhere so clean. The workers were so friendly and respectful. They always said hello in greeting and passing. I highly recommend this resort. Only complaint was the language barrier. Not many workers could speak any language other than Spanish.

Seven brand new beautiful pools in a relaxing resort

This is a brand new resort, located 2 hours from the Holguin airport not close to any other resorts in the area. The check-in process was very slow and inefficient. The staff are friendly and try hard to accommodate and entertain. It is very clean property with modern rooms. The food was good for Cuba. The internet was very slow and hard to connect. It was a fantastic location for relaxing, unwinding and recharging. great value. Kudos to Sunwing for keeping the guest in the resort until t [... read more]he return flight was confirmed. My flights was delayed for couple of hours, I appreciated that I waited in the resort rather than the airport.

Nice vacation

Jan. 23 to Dec. 6 – group of 6 seniors This hotel had a change-over at the time of our visit (from Hotel Tesoro del Atlantico to Grand Memories), hence the need to fine-tune some services. BEACH: Beautiful, sandy, warm ocean. Ideal for long strolls. More-than-enough comfortable lounging chairs, palapas and trees for shade. POOLS: Clean and huge, with many shaded areas and comfortable chairs. HOTEL: Modern, new, well-appointed. Wide hallways and walkways – nicely lit. In fact, it is THE [... read more] BEST LIT-UP RESORT WE HAVE EVER HAD IN CUBA. No worrying about tripping due to unexpected stairs or darkness. Public areas and rooms are spacious, clean, and everything is in good working order. Love the screen door to the balcony. RESTAURANTS: Plenty of food in cafeteria. Main fare was pork (sometimes roasted piglets = yummy) and cabbage, which could get somewhat monotonous. Choice of cooked vegetables was limited, but certainly enough fresh vegetables. Cakes, breads & ice cream were delicious. CLOTH napkins at every dinner - WOW. Italian & Caribbean Restaurants were good. Thank you all for your friendly and efficient service. BARS: Except for the lobby bar not being up to par, service was good. However, mixed drink choices were limited, but there was plenty of wine and beer. Spanish coffee and cappuccino were mostly good. LANDSCAPING: Nicely landscaped. Being a new resort, once the many trees and shrubs mature, it will be a most beautiful resort. Gardeners are doing a fine job in looking after the gardens. PLEASANT SURPRISE: NO INSECTS = no bites in two weeks – unbelievable and wonderful! Cannot understand the reason, since we never saw anyone spraying? IMPROVEMENTS NEEDED: Rooms were not ready at check-in time. Waited an extra 1 ½ hours. No decent or no shows in the evening. Lobby bar was way too noisy until late evening, due to some rowdy guests who brought their own music, making it annoying and difficult to sleep for those who had their rooms close-by. Internet connection was not good during the day, but ok early morning or late evening/night. OBSERVATION: This hotel has many positive things going for it, but there are some small issues that need to be addressed. It certainly has the potential to become a fantastic resort. Overall, we had a fun and relaxing vacation. Would we return? Perhaps not immediately, but maybe in the near future, once their little problems have been ironed out. P.S. Congratulations to SUNWING for your punctuality!

A fantastic resort for Cuba

Everything was great. Hotel was at a low capacity which kept a lot of things closed in the hotel which we understand. Staff are new to tourism and most dont speak any english but they make up for it with there smiles and there work ethic. Dont come if you want night life outside of the resort as there is now towns anywhere near the resort. If you want to enjoy the weather and the resort this is a great place to come.

Very good

Very nice hotel, people there were super kind. No orange juice, no cola, but lots of everything else. The beach was a bit sea weedy but warm salt water. Warmer than the hotel cool pools. Had a pigs ear with the best beer. Perfect trip

Beautiful resort

Beautiful resort Entertainment not very good. Pools nice. Food good for cuba, after covid. Missing veg. Beach long . They are working very hard to cleaned. New managment "Memories" Improvements are coming. 👍😀

It has potential...

We have travelled to Cuba more than 15 times and stayed at resorts all over the country. We have booked resorts that are 2.5 stars to 5+ stars. We are not "star" driven but rather we decide on our destinations based on reviews, research and (of course), price factors in as well. Our experience has been that the stars speak to the offered amenities at a resort but have nothing to do with the culture or feel of a hotel. And for our family, the culture/feel is the MOST important. This resort, i [... read more]s rated a 5 star and based on the amenities offered, we would agree. It is less than one year old and is probably one of the most esthetically pleasing resorts we have been to in Cuba. However, the culture was a 2 star at best. Many of the staff tried but there seemed to be a general lack of employee satisfaction/happiness. It wasn't that the staff were rude or unpleasant -- they just didn't seem to enjoy their jobs and sometimes we felt that asking a question or ordering a drink (the lobby bar area) was an imposition (not so much from the bartenders, but for the servers--even though we are decent tippers). Often we would just go to the bar to get a drink and bring it back to our table ourselves (it was easier and quicker). We went at a non busy time--I'd hate to see what it was like over Xmas and New Years! It felt like there was an absence of management and thus small details that would make BIG differences in guest satisfaction were just not there (ie: there was never a posting outlining evening shows nor a list of daily activities posted anywhere for beach and pool activities). As the week progressed, we realized there were shows and water aerobics, beach volleyball etc... but that was only because we happened to see them happening or because we would seek out the entertainment staff to find out details. After a couple of days, there did seem to be an increase in management presence (this may have had something to do with Memories taking over the resort), and some improvement was noted. The buffet staff tried really hard (and there was a strong management presence -- not ominous or oppressive -- but seemingly supportive and helpful). This same manager was always around to support and help in the al la carte restaurants as well (Japanese was fun!) I'm not sure of her name but we do send out kudos to her. She worked very hard and did an excellent job. Perhaps it was because of this, we found the buffet to be one of the best run, best organized, "happiest" places in the resort. The rooms...hmmmm....we think it is the luck of the draw! We stayed in 2401 -- location was great but the air conditioning worked sporadically, the shower flooded every time we used it and the room cleaners changed constantly. Not having one consistent person/person(s) cleaning our room proved difficult -- both for tipping and for requests. Some cleaners were good--our room was well cleaned, bed made (even towel art). Others, we had a hard time telling IF the room had been cleaned at all (only figured it had been because there were new towels). 3/7 days we were given NO toilet paper and no water. We asked for toilet paper and told it was coming later but it never arrived. The water, we didn't even bother --we got it from the bar or bought it at the store. Our balcony was never swept/mopped and used mugs from the coffee maker were left dirty on the bathroom counter for days. Fortunately, our adult daughters were staying a few doors down (2405) and they had different chamber people who seemed to stock them regularly with tp and water -- so we shared. The ac in their room worked perfectly and their shower drained well . So, as stated -- luck of the draw. All in all, the hotel is lovely to look at, the beach is pretty good, the pools and swim up bar staff were great, the beach bar bartenders were good and the entertainment staff were fun. We met some fantastic people and had a wonderful time. But, if asked, would we return to this hotel? We were all in agreement that our answer would be NO. Hopefully Memories can improve on this resort as it very well could be a diamond in the rough. As stated in the Title...It has potential :) Safe travels!