Amazing people and amazing resort

The resort was kept very nice and clean. The people were amazing and helpful and specially, the waiters and waitresses everywhere were amazing and very friendly which makes dining atmosphere very nice.

Amazing resort, amazing people

Excellent conditions, clean and just in time everything. Friendly people that took care of every detail and request Clean rooms and amenities Very tasty meals at buffet and on each of restaurants a la carte Very attentive staff and very friendly Nice beach and nice location

Lovely stay at Playa Cayo

Loved the beach .....not too crowded. Rooms are clean and comfortable. Tennis courts are great and we played daily at 7:30 am to beat the heat! The food was plentiful and for Cuba really quite good. Personally i do not love buffet style as find the food not hot etc. so gladdened to see cooking stations where you can pick something done in front of you. Need to i prove on toasters however as line up for one that worked a pain!

Good for the price

This resort was good for the price we paid to visit ($1k incl taxes per person). However, the food is definitely not great. We did not get sick but the selection was poor and sometimes it was hard to find things to eat....we do not consider ourselves to be picky either. The service was also not great and unlike other places I have been to (i.e. Mexico), it doesn't matter how much you tip, the service never changes. Drinks were ok, not a huge selection. Pools were great and we were always right o [... read more]utside our room as the pools are scattered around the resort. The entertainment was fabulous, the lobby bar was the best. The a la carte restaurants left a lot to be desired, we had hoped for better dining those nights and were mostly disappointed. We ate a lot at the pool snackbar as the food was better there but they were often out of things. Overall, if you are looking for a cheap place to go - it was clean, rooms were good, food did not make us sick, drinks were good and it was good for a last-minute winter getaway. If you have been to 4-stars in Mexico and expecting something similar....you will be thoroughly disappointed. Had we spent more than we did, we would have also been disappointed. The drive from airport is very long....2 hrs but we knew that ahead of time and were ok with it. The beach was spectacular - the best part!

Playa Santa Maria

Loved this resort ,we had a room over looking one of the pools great bar service. And there was a sandwich bar by the bar. Food not bad Cuba , but there where long line ups. Ice cream bars yum and there was a beer garden . I think they even carried nonalcoholic beer. Would go back

Fantastic resort

The resort had a gorgeous beach. We spend most of our time at the beach instead of the pool because we prefer the calmnesscas opposed to activity. The restaurants were delicious. The buffet food in the trays was cold at times but I would always get the staff to grill me some seafood or meat at the grilling stations. Lunch by the beach is the way to go.

Fantastic Resort

Resort stay was amazing! I had the time of my life. Check in was a very smooth process. The resort layout was a little confusing at first, but with a little exploration we managed to discover the location of all restaurants, the spa and other buildings. The staff here are absolutely phenomenal and friendly and fun. A fantastic group of people. The a la carte were great!! However, our favourite was the Italian and least favourite was the Romantica, to note. Buffet was poor... I've been to Cuba s [... read more]everal times and this buffet was the most disappointing and I haven't had a problem with Cuban resorts before. The beaches are unbelievably beautiful and luxurious! The initial beach is on a rocking outcropping covered in sand. It extends about 20ft and then drops 6ft-10ft and it's just white, sandy beaches as far as the eye can see.... Crystal blue waters, no seaweed. Great beaches. We did have high wind alert the week I went so we were only allowed to fully swim and enter the water for 3 of 7 days. We stayed in bungalow 1. King sized beds. Rooms were very clean, well equipped and comfortable. On a side note, really good channels available on tv. The building is next to the main building including theatre, bar and restaurant. Buildings 1-3 are very central and close to main building, increases traffic are but very reasonably quiet. These 3 building have a limited ocean view... Ours in particular was gorgeous, but a friend of our paid for the ocean view in building 6 and it was breathtaking and very audible. The air conditioning worked really well. Complaints would be in regards to some tiny ant armies living on my bathroom counter. They were only there for the first two days and then retreated. Our friends staying down the hall didn't have this issue. The second problem was the dog-sized cockroach residing in our bathroom. It took a solid ten minutes to kill it because it was so intimidating and quick, but I was resourceful using the garbage can as a weapon. My friends had one in their room as well. The cockroaches were actually spotted every once in a while on the paths and the rooms were clean so it was just part of the natural wildlife, but it still grossed me out. Our screen door was completely broken, the tracks were damaged on the balcony door but I didn't bother to file a complaint. Our bar-sticker and maid were amazing people... Ran into them a few times, Elizabeth and Duniel? Super nice, very thorough. All in all, we spent $730.00 on our trip and it was well worth the money. Despite my reservation about the food, it wasn't great but it was terrible. For the value and quality of the trip, I would come back again and again. I recommend it. Enjoy your stay!!

Pleasantly surprised

This is a Cuban run hotel, so we weren't sure what to expect. We were pleasantly surprised by the quality and service. Clean, good service, good food, overall nice place. Beach is hard to beat. The Cayo in general is a bit isolated, so it depends on what you're looking for. If you want a nice hotel with a good price/quality ratio, chances are you'll be pleased. Super gym. Love the ice cream bar...

Decent Resort if you can get a good price

Went to Cayo Santa Maria in the summer of 2013. This was approximately my tenth time to Cuba...first time to Cayo Santa Maria. The bus ride to and from was long...approximately 1 1/2 hours...Scenery was beautiful at some points. At the hotel, the rooms were nice, Beds were comfortable. Swimming pools were OK... Beach was nice, white sand and clean turquiose waters...not too many Jellyfish in the ocean....although others at the hotel spotted jelly fish and complained about sand fleas. Food wa [... read more]s good...for Cuban standards... Enterntainment staff was present and kept guests entertained. Nightly entertainment was pretty decent....however, too many bugs at night. There were many cats in the area...just hanging around ...on the grass, on the pathways...they did no harm and just minded there own business.... Service at check in was extremely slow...One of the slowest that I have been seen...compared to hotels in Varadero and Cayo coco...They seemed to be a bit disorganized...but overall accomodating. I wouldnt pay full rate for this hotel...but if you can get it for $800 to $900, taxed included from Montreal, it is worth the price.

Pleasent surprise

The staff went over and above with their service. All staff were friendly, helpful and always seemed happy. The grounds of this hotel were beautiful, well maintained and the hotel has a modern arcatectual design to it. The rooms were spacious, mine had a king bed in the center of the room, a large bathroom with a large shower. Plenty of amenities in the room, coffee maker, fridge stocked daily with pop water and beer, English T.V. And a nice balcony overlo There are four large pools throughout,  [... read more]with plenty of loungers and always clean. My favorite pool was the first main pool, centrally located with many sun beds available. Although not very deep or suitable for actual swimming there is a swim up bar. The beach is very nice, wide, with soft sand. You can walk or jog for several km in both directions. The ocean is a beautiful turquoise colour and suitable for swimming. The staff working on the beach always have your lounger ready, place it anywhere you want it on the beach and clean it off for you.

Great resort

Beautiful resort, well maintained, rooms are cleaned everyday. Beach was awesome, not enough palapas though unless you prefer to bake under the sun then there's no problem for you and there's no privacy since everybody is under this big palapas. Hotel staff were great except for the restaurant espiecially the main buffet, they seem inexperienced and doesnt really know how to take care of their guests. Food wasnt great but we expect that! The resort was quite a distance from the airport so depart [... read more]ure was a nightmare, we have to leave the resort so early in the morning.

Met All of our expectations again

Again this year we were pleased with all of the facilities, the care taken to make up our room each day, the cleanliness of the grounds and especially the pools. We were never disappointed with the variety and quality of the food in the dining room and were able to reconnect with a server we met 2 years ago that went far beyond our expectations to serve us. We will certainly consider returning next spring.

Great family vacation

Third time to Playa and we will be back. Not much you can do about the food, after all it is Cuba! Beaches are more beautiful than you can imagine, service and people are great. Special thanks to Abel, he always takes the time to make our trip special.