Memories Cayo Largo: Such a pleasant vacation

Basic, but nice resort, stunning beaches. The beach at the resort does not have enough umbrellas though. Friendly nice people and amazing staff, especially Yordan -the snack bar chef, Marcus from the animators, Ivo - the beach bar, Ivan and Dunya from the snack bar. No complaints from the food at all.

Memories Trinidad Del Mar: Typical Cuban hotel

Typical Cuban hotel 1. Weather, 10 from 10. There were no rains. All the days were sunny, easy breeze, 23-30C. All the days were the same. 2. Food. Pretty typical, enough for me: fish, beef, pork, chicken, real fruits and vegetables. Not much of those famous Cuban mixes of yesterday’s leftovers. Not many “bottle necks” creating the lines to most desirable food. 3. Room. Usual Cuban desperate fighting for support out-off-dated equipment without investments. Water is running: you cannot  [... read more]say there is no water at all. TV shows something. AC works good for me. No insects: this says about cleanness. My bed was good. All the staff open your electronic lock freely whenever they want. WiFi works. All my fifteen or so, problems were solved by staff easily. 4. Public. There are many Cubans there, majority. They are not that hungry or greedy as ten years ago. But they are so loud. Talking like from 50 meters distance. Plus evenings entertainment happens at artillery level of noise. Flimsy plywood doors work as passive diaphragms. Your head works as a resonator! That is how they like it. Request a room as far as possible from that place of local music. 5. The pool is very shallow. It marked 80cm, but it is not. Snack bar effectively try not to deliver snacks. Locals load their huge mugs with beer. 6. Beach. Sand, not much weeds, a bit murky quiet water. There is enough shadow! It is fine for relaxation. The thing it is a populated public beach, not separated. Local beggars start the song “where-are-you-from” all the time. 7. You can buy water, rum, cigarettes and cigars. The end of the list. 8. There is coral reef at 700 meters from the shore. But in 3 kilometres to the North West it approaches to100 meters. Good place for advanced swimming.

Sanctuary at Grand Memories Holguin: Santuary at Grand Memories, Antilla, Holguin

This is the cleanest resort I have ever been to in Vuba, very well maintained. The people are the most genuine people you will ever meet, they smile & greet you even though behind that smile is a very hard life. The food was very good at Santuary a big notch up from the Grand Memories buffet. If you are in the adults only section you can use all the facilities, the Japanese Ala carte was amazing, we repeated that one, Italian & Caribbean were good as well. You must do the Bay Adventure tour, a [... read more]mazing!

Memories Caribe Beach Resort: Great resort!

We stayed April 19-April 26 when we first got off the bus it was a very warm welcoming from playing music/dancing was greeted with a drink, the hotel general manager introduced himself and welcomed us. check in was smooth and our luggage was brought up to us by a bell boy. We got exactly what we were suppose to for our superior room. The rooms are older but who cares we don't come for the looks of the hotel room. The beach was absolutely stunning and the water was crystal clear and calm during o [... read more]ur week. All staff were friendly and always had a smile on their face. Entertainment staff were phenomenal and definitely made our week fun for us. The grounds are well kept by the gardeners, and they work very hard. Despite the shortages of certain things and all the house flies (they were terrible when there was food near by). Pools were very clean and nice to cool off in. This was our first time to cayo coco and it definitely won't be our last. We enjoyed the week of relaxation, sunshine and good times. See you next time.

Grand Memories Santa Maria: Breathtakingly Beautiful

My family and I had a fabulous time at Santa Clara-Grand Memories resort. The staff were outstanding. Alessandro from the Diamond Club was very attentive. Lisandra, our house keeper, was especially kind and helpful. Although, this was our first time in Cuba and we were for warned by many people that the food would be okay. We unfortunately, still had issues with finding adequate meals. But all told this is an amazing resort and we will return.

Memories Cayo Largo: There are people who love or hate Cuba

This is our 10th time to Cuba. We've been to Cayo Coco and Varadero but first time in Cayo Largo. If you love nature, please go. You will not regret it. Take the catamaran sunset tour, turtle sanctuary, and go open minded. In Cuba, there is hardly processed food so don't expect cereals for breakfast, or Nutella or catchup etc. The food is simple but very tasty. You will not lose weight. I could never get my calculations straight that you can go for $1,000 to Cuba for a week, more than half is a  [... read more]airplain ticket and taxes, and there is so little left for Cubans to feed us all week, clean after us and all that with the smile. We've traveled the world but Cuba is the most convenience and the most relaxing place to go (if you live in Canada). To rent a cottage in Canada would cost me more, never mind traffic problems to get to any cottage country place. So stressful. Cuba is my go to place to get my vitamin D, relax, and physically and mentally recover for busy Toronto life. We loved Cayo Largo. There is even beach for nudists (if you practice). Room was very clean with bottle of 1.5 L water every day, two rolls of toilet paper, shampoo, shower gell, soap, ground area clean, swimming pool with salt water (loved it), food was amazing (they have every day roast pork, chicken, fish, burgers, sweet potatos, carrots, beets salad, eggs, guava, mango, watermelon with seeds (yes with seeds, all natural)... Please don't ask for strawberries, cranberry juice, blueberries etc. And take the bumpy ride to Paradise and Sirena beach. At Sirena they serve free food and drinks like wine and beer. Yes, sometimes people who live on an island would run out of things, so please don't be mad if one day they don't have red wine but they offer you champaign or rose instead. Who cares? Do you really drink that much at home every day anyways? Do you get mad at your friends if they don't have your favourite drink when you visit them? No. BYOB if you cannot live for a week without it. Love you all! Great to see you are considering Cuba. :)

Grand Memories Holguin: 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)

Resonance Blu Varadero: Disappointing trip

After being there six times I find this hotel has completely fallen apart. The service is not what it used to be in the hotel itself is not what it used to be picking in choosing what days they would have bread available and just “pour people skills by a lot of the staff expecting tips and window tips were given no service was given you get tips from service not before service is given. This hotel was very good to us in the past but this time around we found it very disappointing. I only hope  [... read more]that they take this information and bring them selves back to the resort that I used to know them to be, a lot of lights out on a lot of bathrooms in the main resort with no toilet seats on them. Very very poor first impression for anyone old or new going to this hotel.

Grand Memories Varadero: Mediocre resort

The hotel room was very outdated and needed repairs. There was a severe musty smell and the door lock was not working and our third floor flooded the second day we were there. Not very impressed it was stressful the first two days, after complaining with customer service we were upgraded to the diamond service. We struggled to have clean towels every day and we had to use the same beach towel for three straight days which was not acceptable. When attended the pool towel station we were told no [... read more] clean towels keep the one you have. We were upgraded to diamond service on the second day, we were able to order mojito drinks and we were allowed to eat at the gourmet restaurant which was decent. Overall we made the best out of our vacation but will not go there again. I do not recommend this hotel.

Sanctuary at Grand Memories Varadero: Very pretty resort but it needs some refreshing ....

This was my first time to Cuba and I while I would return to Cuba I will not be returning to this resort. The rooms are 'tired' and in need of some repairs, just too many small deficiencies for me. Everyone seems to say ' Well thats Cuba ' and accept everything but it seems that if you are paying a certain amount of money, certain things should be there or working. Maybe its just me :) You asked about Covid adaptations, none were obvious to me. The main buffet was as usual pre Covid. T [... read more]he utensils were messy and noone was there that we could see cleaning or replacing them, and it was only at the grilling station that things were put on our plate (as usual) Everything is just in short supply it seems (and I can't say if its worse than pre Covid or just the norm) I couldn't find any disinfectant dispensers on the walls that were stocked if I wanted to put some disinfectant on my hands. The ones I saw were empty. Having said that, I had brought my own and we didn't get sick. While at a previous resort in Punta Cana, they had a staff member opening doors and cleaning handles, and asking us to put hand disinfectant on (which they put on our hands while entering) I had expected this but didn't see it so I don't know if its a staffing issue or whether Covid just isn't there and so they don't worry about it. The first day I showered ( and each day after ) I flooded the room and out into the hallway. Same thing with our friends in the room next door. When we mentioned it to someone, they said " they all do that " Unfortunately this is the wrong answer. Its a safety issue. We had 2 towels and one tiny bath mat which we had to use to put on the floor to walk so we didn't slip and fall. While we were sitting in the Sanctuary reception area one day an older couple came in and were quite upset because their room was flooded and they were trying to get things fixed. They were afraid of falling and there were no other rooms available to move to that day. Its the shower doors, they are glass and warped and the rubber seal doesn't seal so that water just runs out the door. This is common apparently when speaking with others. Also, until the afternoon, there was no hot water. While we were there I had heard of hot water issues in a few buildings. Maybe they heat the water by solar heat, I don't know but its frustrating. It would have been nice to have a 3rd towel or smaller hand towel to put my hair in after the shower also. We took facecloths because I knew they might not be available but I didn't think I needed to bring towels. The food was what I expected, not alot of variety and bland but I knew that going in. The soups are quite good, the fruit was plentiful and tons of the staples of rice and beans. You won't go hungry. The red and white wine served at the Sanctuary a la carte is good and from Spain. Great Sangria too! We ate most lunches at the buffet near the beach and one day had a hot dog at the BBQ on the beach path. The drinks are plentiful but not consistent. It would be helpful to have a drink menu but I understand that supply is low and what they have one day they may not have the next day. But if you like going to resorts for the drinks, you might be disappointed. We had reservations for each of the a la cartes, but after going to the French restaurant and the Oriental restaurant and being served neither French or Oriental food (its the same food, chicken and pork everywhere ) we asked for our reservations to be cancelled at the others and to be moved back to the Sanctuary restaurant which was really the best restaurant anyhow. The staff is wonderful. They try very hard and do their best. Overall everyone is very pleasant and happy. The entertainment crew was alot of fun and do their very best. They are very appreciative of anything you give them whether its a money tip or items you bring for them. They need things like shoes, clothing and medical supplies. We tipped bartenders, servers, maids, entertainment crew, etc in US dollar bills and Canadian 5.00 bills. Dont forget your golf cart drivers, gardeners, guys at the grills The beach was beautiful, the water clear and mostly calm as you would expect. We could always find loungers for our party of 6 and Alex was on duty bringing drinks or moving loungers around to accomodate. He was fantastic. The pool is a different story. Its a small pool in the Sanctuary compared to the other 2 pools. So there isn't alot of room for loungers or chairs and people claim them by 4 am and you never get a place to put your things even if you want to go in the pool. We spent very little time enjoying the pool because of this. So if you're a pool person, good luck finding a place unless you want to be one of those people going out and saving a lounger at the crack of crazy in the morning. All in all we had a fun time because, after all, a vacation is what you make it. Just consider the small things about a resort before you book so that you aren't disappointed.

Sanctuary at Grand Memories Varadero: Great resort

As this was our very first trip to Cuba we had a wonderful time at this resort. The people were very friendly and the property is beautiful. Our concierge Jenny was so helpful. As there are supply chain issue to all of Cuba I believe they were able to do a great job with food. There was no great variety but they really took the time to make it look good and there was plenty of it.

Memories Caribe Beach Resort: Flys

Sorry I was very dissatisfied with your place , the place had so many flys, it was bad enough but the constant spraying from the air plane above and the flys on the food turned me off and seeing the people spraying the tables was enough, the drinks what they did have were bad and half time no cups . I must say staff were great but for one guy calling me sweetly pie who was also rude to my sister . The maids did a very good job on our rooms which were tired and old a rustie fridge and gave us  [... read more]water when they could . The staff at main bar and coffee bar did their best with supply’s they had which wasn’t much . Sorry I will not be returning .

Grand Memories Varadero: Worst ever.. I want my money back

This was the most unsanitary place on earth.. we tried to get flights outta there but Sunwing wouldn’t… I will be fighting for my money back.. there were so many things wrong and unsanitary! No running water for 12 hours in the whole resort including the rooms.. people were just pooing until the toilets were over flowing.. no place to wash your hands or the STAFF HANDS.. The septic over flowed from one of the buildings and the poo was everywhere on the lawns and the pool had to be closed for [... read more] 2 days.. THIS PLACE SHOULD BE CONDEMNED!! My husband and I are very sick after coming home and I’m going to see my dr about mold testing.. the place was covered in mold.. all of the rooms..I can’t believe Sunwing would not help us when it was such an unhealthy environment!! I’m getting my money back if I have to get a lawyer..

Memories Paraiso: Woman beware

I’ll start with the good things about this resort, beach was amazing. Food was great! Our male housekeeper was awesome. After about two days we and other people noticed woman were being followed to their rooms at night by a “man in the bushes” a 21 year old male was robbed and beat up by a “man in the bush” it was to the point I wouldn’t walk alone at night without my husband. Another thing was beer was hard to get which wasn’t a huge deal I just found something else to drink. We m [... read more]ade the best out of it but never I have felt unsafe in Cuba so this was scary and disappointing. I won’t return.

Sanctuary at Grand Memories Santa Maria: Great vacation

I been in Cuba 7 times. Always had a great time. First time in this hotel first time without my kids just my boyfriend and I. Beach is perfect! The resort is well taken care of! Our room was amazing! The maid the butler did an excellent job! All the staff actually been amazing. We had no issues. Food was fine we love breakfast and usually skipped lunch. Definitely enjoyed the fruits! So delicious! From our part no complaints. We had a fun relaxing week. Definitely recommend it!

Memories Paraiso: It’s Cuba!

Other then having ants mold and other things I won’t mention on our mattress (which was flipped to hide the fact even more)… there was the whole having to book you “a la cartes” on a daily basis and not in advance. Now I’m assuming they did this because they used the same locations, which I figured out when I went for the italien restaurent and had a bad allergic reaction (seafood allergie) only to realize they had serve seafood the night before at the same location. Needless to say th [... read more]at was the last time we did a la carte. There were other issues but the others are to be expected when going to Cuba so it is what it is. Now, I have to say, the buffet in general was probably the best I’ve had in Cuba (we’ve been 8 times). They are going thru a terrible recession, so while not we’ll off to start with, they’re really hard of now. Be generous! I have to also say they had some management in from Mexico which seemed to have helped as well. Best beaches around. Last note: listen when the life guards whistle and tell you not to go to far out. A few people got caught because of a bad undertow one day, the life guards did what they could do but after close to 45 minute struggle and have brought all 3 people to shore. One person didn’t make it. You’re in Cuba… don’t be an idiot.

Memories Flamenco Beach Resort: NOT so amazing resort

The service and the hotel room are sub par 100!! Never stayed at a hotel in this state. See videos I included. Broken fridge, shower head handle not right and falling over. Dirty walls and ratty furniture. Terrible service. If they are not dispensing alcohol it's as if they do not understand what you are saying. Even after you too them and no matter how much the service does not improve. Chicken and fish do NOT expect anything else! Buffet restaurant had no air conditioning and food was  [... read more]full of flies. The diamond club buffet had air conditioning but the buffet was made up of four dishes and salad and charcuterie. Paid more for diamond club which included a stocked fridge daily.. ha!! Waiter service on beach. Hilarious!! No glasses available so they do not bring you anything. Want to drink bring your own glass, carafe, water bottle they will fill it. You will not find any to buy so sol if you do not bring them. Sad sad stay.

Memories Cayo Largo: Beautiful resort

The hotel was beautiful. The grounds are very well kept. Our butler, Ernesto was amazing. He is definitely an asset to this hotel. He even phoned our room when he knew we were a little under the weather. He also arranged all of our a-la-carts and anything else we needed! Luis Miguel in the dining room made the best omlettes and always with a smile!

Sanctuary at Grand Memories Santa Maria: Fantastic service from all employees

Although this hotel is older, the amazing staff, from our butlers to the entertainment staff, made our stay so much fun! Cubans are such warm and friendly people with great smiles all the time. They are hard working and try to make your stay the best it can be. There was plenty of good food and a large variety. Of course, some days they ran out of some supplies, like milk, beer and vodka, but the next day it was back. Always fun at the pool! And the beach AMAZING, with bars and food huts a [... read more]vailable. Beautiful weather every day. The golf carts are great shuttles back and forth between hotels and the market. My first time in Cuba and I would definitely go back. No obvious effects of COVID at this hotel.

Grand Memories Varadero: The scoop on the Grand memories

Well the trip overall would be a 3 star group we’re good minus the sewage issue and backpacking ng up around the main pool bar not into the the pool. The better pool for us was the one by the disco or bungalow 10. The food shortage was so so buffet was weak but there were 2 days was ok. Pro tip breakfast skip the buffet goto snack bar for omelets or bacon and egg had all days except 1. Last day the water was shut off for repairs but was back up that night. Room were hot and miss we lucked out [... read more] with pretty good room needed some tlc which most do but some were awful. Seemed like a lot on bottom floor were musty and more isssues Lobby bar only had 2 staff so took awhile for drinks. I wouldn’t upgrade to support room again or do the diamond club no difference and the same service and they gave you top shelf alcohol suvh as absolute vodka and Jamisons. Again ground were great no bugs at all. Service was so so but to be expected with a bigger resort. Shows sound was too loud and tried hard but I seen much better.