Great Value!

We just came back from this resort. We have stayed in block A on the Sanctuary side, February 11-18. We did not have Primium. AC worked fine in our room. We don't like it too cold, so we only had AC on when we were out of the room. I went swimming in the ocean at least 3 times a day, and we spent most of our time on the beach, not by the pools. The beach is beautiful and clean. There is a team with a tractor raking the beach and removing the weeds and garbage at least 2x a day. There was plenty  [... read more]of food and drinks every day. No problems with anything for us. The room, the hotel, and public bathrooms are very clean, and you can see the stuff working and maintaining all of this all the time. Tipping is important. We had mostly CAN 20, 50 bills. They will gladly exchange CAN coins they have for your bills, and then you tip with the coins:). I think we've spent ~$300 CAN on tips + we brought some gifts. All was excellent, especially for the price we have paid.

Great Resort!!

My husband and I just got back from a weeks stay at Sanctuary, we were not sure what to expect, but we were pleasantly surprised. We arrived at the resort at around 10.00pm, check-in was a breeze, staff immediately grabbed a luggage cart for us and whisked us to our beautiful room. The food was good, always found something we liked, the al la Cartes, especially the International and Japanese were impressive, really enjoyed!! The drinks, were very good, we loved the Mojito snack shack/bar, and th [... read more]e Social bar, they were our favourites. The grounds were beautiful, and the layout of the resort is really nice and compact, so everywhere is a short walk. The staff here deserve mention, as they are the best. They do their best to make the guests have a great vacation experience.

Mixed feelings

I know it is not all the fault of the hotel but front desk information is almost non-existent. We called down to front desk for someone to unlock our safe as I had forgotten the code I put in. It took three calls then I was somehow blocked for further calls. I received a call saying someone would be there at 2 after already waiting for two hours in my room, the guy finally showed up at 3. That was our first day. The main buffet not being open for lunch was a first. I found the staff moral to be  [... read more]very low, not all staff, but the front desk staff need to be reminded that customer is why they have a job. I love Cuba, its people and I have been going to Cuba every year since 2005. I’ll continue to go because I love it. Not sure about Sanctuary though. The hotel and grounds are impeccable and beautiful. The fact that the Sanctuary perks were downsized this year from last year was frustrating and not explained well on the Sunwing website. So much confusion for a few bucks more for premium that was part of the sanctuary package when I was there last year. Not to mention flight delays both ways.

Nice Resort

We stayed on the Sanctuary side, premium package Pros: Great food - I've never said that about Cuba; Rooms are big; Lots of pools to choose from; You can take long walks on the beach, it's very quiet and secluded; Grounds are well maintained; Easy to get reservations at a la cart restaurants; the a la carte restaurant - le gourmet? is a hidden gem for a quiet breakfast or lunch. The staff at that restaurant are extra lovely. Cons: The ocean is rough, lots of seaweed and very rocky. Ta [... read more]ke water shoes; I had butler service, but did not find them to be useful. They didn't show up until after a few days of my being there. Even after I met them, they were of no help. I never did receive that water and drinks that I had requested for my room. However, my friends' butler was amazing, so I'm not dissing the butler service (just the ones I had assigned to my room). Some of the rooms had a strong musty smell, mine was not musty at all; it's a 2 hour bus ride from the airport. All that being said, the price was right. I would go again but forgo the premium package.

Great staff!

The hotel had great friendly service! I was very impressed with Ramon and Williams the butlers assigned to premium class visitors.. They were very attentive and made the trip significantly better.. I cant thank the staff enough for providing such great value for budget.

Best bang for your dollar

We arrived home last week from a week stay at Sanctuary at grand memories Holguin, this was our 9th trip to to Cuba and probably our most enjoyable. The Hotel although very large and required a lot of walking, was excellent. The grounds were beautiful and well cared for The rooms were cleaner than any we have stayed in and the staff were super friendly and accommodating. The beach was as good as you will find and being farther east,the weather was great. We purchase the premium package which gav [... read more]e us an extra al la cart as well as our own dining area.We also had access to two butlers Carlos and Eddy who were very helpful in booking our dinners and looking after our needs. Although the bus ride is a bit long approximately 1hr 45 minutes it is worth it as you get to see some of the real Cuba. I would recommend that if you travel to Cuba, leave your loonies and toonies at home and go to the bank and get some American 1s an̈d 5s for Tips as there banks will not take coins or ripped bills. If you don't mind doing a little walking and you want a first class Hotel, I would certainly recommend the Sanctuary

Very nice resort

Très bel hôtel, propre, lit confortable, toujours un excellent service à Cuba. Veuillez vous attendre à faire 1h45 de bus pour se rendre à l’hôtel, c’est le seul bémol, je dirais que c’est le beau resort où je suis allée à Cuba.

Incredible Resort!!

One of the best girls trips I've ever taken ! It was myself and 2 other girls. This is an incredible resort!!! Our room was very clean & well maintained, a/c worked well. The bathroom was nice, modern and had good water pressure in the shower. The staff were all super friendly, kind and attentive. At the buffet, Yani was always sooo attentive and helpful - and always smiling and making us feel welcomed. The snack bar always had something to tie us over. We had Sanctuary access so we were a [... read more]ble to get room service & we ordered a Spanish coffee every morning to the room! DEFINITELY recommend the Spanish coffee!!!! The pool bar was great! Ariana at the pool bar was sooo nice, she remembered us and remembered our drinks of choice! The entertainment staff were INCREDIBLE. The entertainment at Sanctuary was different than other resorts I've been to.... They don't have the typical performances like magic night or whatever, which I was used too.... They perform in a more party-style which we found to be a refreshing change ( & preferred to the typical shows we expected.)... as the entertainment staff have a great energy, made us feel included & can actually dance!!! My friends and I were super impressed!! Yankiel is an amazing dancer and hosts the parties with such charismatic and infectious energy. The music here is also amazing, shout out to the dj !!! The beach party was one of our faves!! Overall, it's clean, well maintained, friendly staff & theres great entertainment!! Would definitely recommend this resort !!

Beautiful resort

I just come back from my trip and I had such a great time with my Mom. From the moment we got to the resort we had warm welcome from the staff at the hotel. Everything went smoothly and fast. Our room was beautiful with the amazing view. All staff is so friendly and helpful. Our butler Ramon was the best. He was always there for us when we needed him. Buffet was very good with the variety of food which I enjoyed. Beach was perfect with lots of greenery and beautiful water.

Amazing Hotel

Everything about the hotel is excellent—service, amenities, and accommodations are top-notch. However, the ocean right by the hotel leaves much to be desired. The waters are unusually rocky and heavily cluttered with seaweed, which can make swimming or lounging by the beach less enjoyable. This particular stretch of the ocean is not as pristine as one might hope, which somewhat diminishes the overall experience.

Nice resort

I’ve been to Cuba many times and this has been the worst customer service I’ve ever had. Beach was rocky and full of seawood. Rooms were great Food was okay Bus driver drives crazy and doesn’t help you with your luggage No eggs, coffee or pop Staff just stands around and doesn’t work and talks

Just What I Needed

My 3rd time to Cuba, 1st time to Holguin. Resort lived up to my expectations. Great staff, Great Housekeeping, Great Cuban Resort Food, Great Beach!!! The size of the resort was perfect. All amenities were within a 5 minute walk. Flew in from Vancouver to meet up with 8 other girls (family & friends) from my home town in Ontario. We did everything together…we became the talk of the resort…in a good way. People always wonder the story that lays behind the people. It’s good to just say hi and ask. [... read more] Made some friends.

Great Resort

Memories sanctuary is a lovely clean resort, rooms are spacious the beach is nice a bit of seaweed and rock but other than that it is okay Food selection was okay as well I didn't starve. A lot of walking from room to lobby no coffee in the room but great ice coffee at the lobby. Enjoyed the air conditioned bar lobby nightly.

Sanctuary

Ground crew worked hard on maintaining. Rooms were nice and clean. Cleaning staff were amazing. Staff were very polite. Drinks were limited. Food was limited but good. Beach was clean. Pools were kept clean. Bar staff were good.

Cuban Resort

This resort is fairly big....separated adult and family....1.30 minutes drive away from the airport....but could be 2 hours depending on the traffic. Food wise....shortages are recognizable but always something to eat overall..... alcohol was fine.... canned beer all week. entertainment was fine.....3 pools..... middle pool being most active.... Beach was fine.....not as good as Santa Maria but overall good.

Amazing Resort !

Kim and I arrive at the Sanctuary at Grand Memories on April 8th . We spent a week at this resort also last year in May for a week ! My husband and I love this resort . We love the staff they are so accommodating ! Our butler Was very sweet and kind ! All the staff go out of their way to help you ! I would definitely recommend this hotel ! Rooms are beautiful we had the ocean view and it was lovely ! Rooms are very clean and comfortable ! We plan on returning to the Sancaturay a [... read more]gain next year ! We did not go hungry at this resort !

Amazing Resort !

Kim and I arrive at the Sanctuary at Grand Memories on April 8th . We spent a week at this resort also last year in May for a week ! For my husband and I we love this resort . We love the staff they are so accommodating ! Our butler Was very sweet and kind ! All the staff go out of their way to help you ! Rooms are beautiful we had the ocean view and it was lovely ! Rooms are very clean and comfortable ! We plan on returning to the Sancaturay again next year ! We did not go hun [... read more]gry at this resort !

Amazing resort

the service was excellent was a wonderful resort and would go back treated very good price was great could not ask for anything more overall great people were wonderful rooms very nice and big and clean

Great resort

The hotel is a larger resort. The staff throughout the resort were friendly and always happy and helpful. We did have some shortages of bread and eggs, due to lack of fuel for deliveries, but the staff made the best of it and there was enough choices and we were full every day. There were no cigars available so bring your own. The beach was beautiful and warm. I’d definitely go back.

A Beautiful Slice of Paradise

The hotel is absolutely stunning and we learned it's relatively new, built only 3 years ago. Currently it's the only hotel in the area with a beautiful white sand beach. You can walk in either direction, quite rocky if you walk left but it was definitely a shell hunter's dream with conch shells filling the sandy areas. If you walk right, you can walk far through the bay area and you pretty much have the beach line to yourself. The grounds of the hotel are well kept and the landscaping is bea [... read more]utiful and clean. The staff was very friendly and go above and beyond to take care of you and ensure you have a positive experience. We celebrated our anniversary and after dinner we retured to our room decorated with rose petals and a bottle of wine with 2 glasses to enjoy on our own. Although Cuba has been experiencing their struggles, we had a fantastic stay. There were a few power outages, the air conditioning and hot water was in and out but it was tolerable and nothing compared to what the locals have to endure. In regards to the food shortages, they really make due with what they have available. For the first part of our stay we had powdered eggs for breakfast, and eggs were available when their food shipment arrived. Each night at the al a cart restaurants they voiced a menu of what was available that evening and every meal was delicious and presented meticulously. You were never guaranteed the same meal twice, but the food was always good, we even got lobster offered on our last night. I would definitely go back.