Sanctuary at Grand Memories Santa Maria: AMAZING STAFF, BEAUTIFUL BEACHES

The Sanctuary at the Grand Memories is a great resort. Rooms are clean. Beach is amazing. Food is decent, you have the option of going to the Grand Memories to that buffet. Sandwiches at lunch from the beach and pool grill are good. Entertainment team does a great job performing daily and nightly. All the resort staff are amazing, very friendly and speak English well. They go out of their way to make sure you have everything you need.

Playa Luxury Cayo Las Brujas: Quiet and Relaxing Resort

We stayed at the Angsana Cayo Santa Maria from March 31st, 2023 to April 7th, 2023. Pros - Small compact resort that provided a quiet and relaxing environment. Beach was perfect, lots of palapas and shaded areas as well with not too much of the "towel game" Refreshments were ample and generous from the respective bars. Rooms were kept clean although there was a shortage of bathroom linens. There did not seem to be any COVID protocols in place but signage was evident throughout the resort.  [... read more] 24 hour pool bar/kitchen was greatly appreciated. Staff was phenomenal, easily approachable and were attentive to questions or concerns of guests. The Gourmet a la carte restaurant was the best spot to eat Cons - Pool area needs more umbrellas for shade. A large section of the pool area was not used as there was no shade from the sun. For 4 of our days there, the resort experienced domestic water shortages (no running water) for periods of up to 4 hours each day and at different times of the day. Could watch the water being trucked in bulk delivery. We thought it may have been all the resorts but after speaking to other people from other resorts on the bus ride back to the airport, they did not have this problem. It was only after the fourth day they advised guests of the ongoing issue. WIFI worked well in the main building but was non-existent in the Cabanas where we stayed. We understood there was supply chain issues and certain things were hard to come by and we know from previous experience of the food quality at Cuba resorts compared to others, however, there was no attempt to use the items on hand and change the presentation or preparation to give an experience of different food options. We did not enjoy the "International" a la carte restaurant and actually canceled our second reservation we had arranged. Overall - it is Cuba, we knew what we were getting into and understand a lot of things are out of the control of the resort. We enjoyed the fact this was a small adults only resort that was quiet and allowed to unwind and relax. Ultimately we were there for that purpose, get some vitamin D and some libations while sitting on the beach which we accomplished. Maybe once the supply chain issues get resolved or improve we may consider a return visit.

Sanctuary at Grand Memories Santa Maria: Beautiful Beach. Resort too small for the amount of people that they have in that section

Staff amazing ! But this can be said about every Resort in Cuba. been to Cuba at least 12 times (different resort each time), so we have some experience on this. The Sanctuary section of the resort is too small for the amount of people they expect to use it. 1 small main building with not a lot of seating. They have roughly 10 pool side cabana's for people to use . If you are not up by 6am to "save" one you are not getting one. The beach is gorgeous. Again, the same issue with the beach. People  [... read more]start going down around 5am to save chairs under the cabana's. by 730am they are all gone. If you don't mind walking you can find a cabana further down the beach on one of the other 2 memories properties you have access with Sanctuary pass. You will NEVER go hungry or thirsty. They may have some shortages, but they always make due. Never an issues for us. We enjoyed walking everywhere. They do have carts that can take you, but used that time as some exercise. The little market is just a short 10 minutes down the main path. Japanese restaurant is a definite visit when your there. We will not be back just for the fact we both enjoy smaller resorts and the issue with finding a cabana was too much of an ordeal.

Memories Paraiso: Amazing staff!

The hotel was clean and friendly. It is in need of some update. There were very few pool chairs available as many are broken and need replacing. The food was exactly what you expect in Cuba. The amazing staff made the vacation. Everyone was so friendly and endearing.

Sanctuary at Grand Memories Santa Maria: Not as advertised

So apparently to the Memories people 24 hr roomservice,and fully stocked fridge means something different. Had to beg for water in room,asked butler 3 times 1 day,finally got a bottle from bar,asked about beer,was told on its way when they knew they hadn't had cans for over a week....butler are trained to say yes no matter what,personally you get more out of a Walmart greeter at home.Yes it's Cuba,yes there's shortages,but when you can 10 km away on a catamaran trip and they have skids of b [... read more]eer,that's not shortage, that's the resort being cheap All that aside ocean there is beautiful,pools and staff were good as they dealt with what they had. The towels you threw on floor were recorded for more use,left glasses on balcony 1st day,still there last day

Playa Luxury Cayo Las Brujas: Magical, beautiful hotel

I have been in Cuba before, but this hotel was a lot nicer than others I've been at. Me and my partner chose this hotel because it is adult only. The grounds are clean, the staff is generally very polite and some are absolutely amazing. Our favorite was Iliana, amazing lady with great smile and enormous energy level, her smile was on early in the morning and stayed on till late at night! Everywhere was clean and most importantly there are two beaches, one small and the large one and both are w [... read more]ell kept and attended. The guy with machete that was taking care of the flowers and bushes was our favorite person to watch in action every morning. He was so polite, without understanding what we were saying to him, but he just smiled and worked. There was entertainment every night, and variety of it. The clientele is generally older crowd, mostly 50+, which was fine with us. The food was not always the best, but I'm sure it was the best they had at the time. People that work on the grounds are great, courteous, and accommodating. One complaint I have is our room staff. I don't know why, but our room got done nicely only first day, after that we never got our towels or sheets changed, and they never made some nice things with the towels as they have in the other rooms, not sure why, we were always nice to all the staff and we tipped... maybe we didn't tip enough, but in that case that is really not a good way to go about it. We took catamaran trip to see dolphins and that was amazing experience. They made sure we were well taken care of and they were really great, lots of things to drink and eat and staff on the boat was awesome! Overall it was a vacation in paradise.

Hotel Roc Casa del Mar: Best Beach, Excellent Service

I have been to this resort 7 times and truly enjoy my vacation. The resort is beautiful, beaches are the best and staff are all so friendly, pleasant and engaging. The rooms are fine, always clean, I personally like the meal options at the snack bar, buffet, Ranchon and beach grill. I will return to this resort.

Playa Cayo Santa Maria: Overall it was very good

Most people were friendly and the resort was in OK shape. During the week you could find things that needed fixing/replacing, and the buffet is not 24 hrs. BUT, great pools and beach made it worth it.

Vila Gale Cayo Santa Maria: Beautiful Hotel, Terrible Food

This would be my first trip to Santa Clara but my 10th trip to Cuba. The hotel grounds and room are beautiful, clean and Modern. The food selection here was the worst I have ever experienced in Cuba.

Vila Gale Cayo Santa Maria: As good as it gets, overall five stars

This review is critical for all visitors visiting this hotel. before I visited the hotel. I read the reviews and I was prepared in case there was some food disruptions. At first we had lots of fish, chicken, pork, cold cuts, rice, But near the end of our stay. We noticed they were low on chicken and some cold cuts. So bringing my own Ryebread and brown bread, and a small jar of peanut butter I was safe and never having any problems eating . Note, I’m still trying to figure out how I gained 5 [... read more] pounds and I was on a diet and rrigorously working out. I can’t comprehend how I gained 5 pounds. And I ate like bird

Hotel Roc Casa del Mar: Fabulous Resort

Hotel has been well maintained. Room was clean, spacious, relaxing. Beds were comfortable. Amenities provided ie shampoo, conditioner were very nice. Food was very good. We upgraded to excelsior and had private lounge area for breakfast and dinner. We also used the other restaurants and food and service were excellent. Snack bar was great. Pool area was beautiful, beach beautiful. STAFF were absolutely Amazing. We will be back soon!

Grand Aston Cayo Las Brujas: Beautiful Resort

Grounds are well kept. Pool is amazing, Beach is well kept Lobby area is always hopping with entertainment. Enjoyed the a la carte restaurants. Variety of food choices at the buffet was a little lacking, but always found something to eat. Found the snack bar by the pool was a good option. Our room was exceptional and we had a great view of the ocean.Rooms are kept well cleaned.

Vila Gale Cayo Santa Maria: Decent resort / great beach / great staff

The beach is the best beach you can get. Swallow warm water, lots of fish and starfish. The sand is wide, the resort was low capacity but I was always able to find a spot. Lots of shells since there are a ton of sea creatures to discover. The sea recreation team was sooo good. The staff are amazing and really made all the difference on this trip. Big shout out to Nancy at the lobby bar. She's a gem. The food was fine. I'm not a particularly picky eater. I go for the beach not the buffet  [... read more]and could always find something to eat. Really most days I was able to find some delicious, never got sick, neither did my daughter. She is a picky eater but definitely found things to eat without issue. Churros and cotton candy for the kids which was great. Grilled shrimp, grilled chicken, fried chicken, grilled fish, fried fish. It was fine. Bring snacks, there is NOTHING to eat the airport, one little shop and its nasty AF, employees coughing and super gross hygiene. The room was just ok, no real control over the thermostat and the patio door needed to be slammed to close it, very loud, you can hear the music all night if you are in the main building, didn't bother me but some might not like. For a young couple or group of friends, this resort would be pretty dope. Romantic no, family centered no. I didn't find anywhere in the resort particularly clean was my only issue really. It was dirty per say but things like always crumbs on the buffet tables, surfaces in the rooms not wiped down. I will say the shower drain in my room let out a gawd awful smell at times. I had to literally put towels over top of the drain. Not sure if it was just my room but it was pretty bad. We had a great view and the smell went away so we didn't switch rooms. All in all, great for Cuba. If you're a picky traveler don't go to Cuba, the star grading is very skewed country wide and are more like a North American 3.

Valentin Perla Blanca: Good for price point but….

We got this resort at a discounted price. Currently, selling for 2000$. Value not there for that price. Our air conditioner kept us cool but very noisy and leaked water, a lot of water. We had buckets and towels in the floor. Asked 5 times for someone to address this but never was. People were very friendly and appreciated the tips! No shortages of food or drinks.

Melia Cayo Santa Maria: Another incredible vacation

Every time we go to the Melia Cayo Santa Maria, it's like we are going to our families home. The food was plentiful, a few issues with the power grid, but that is expected. It is actually the first time since we have been there in 13 years. There is no sign of COVID on the island. We were never without water during our 3 stays since November. The entertainment has returned and is very enjoyable We will be returning December 2023 for another 10 day vacation

Vila Gale Cayo Santa Maria: Great resort!

We had an amazing time at the Grand Sirenis Cayo Santa Maria, we were there from March 24-31. We had an ocean view room, stunning view. The weather was fantastic the whole week. The food was good, enough variety and supply, no complaints. The grounds were lush, beautiful, well maintained. Never any problem getting a beach or pool chair, lots available. The beach was gorgeous, lots of room to stroll, the water was crystal clear. We brought sand shoes, not a total necessity, but they were nice t [... read more]o have, especially in the afternoon when the sand was hot. Did some snorkelling on our beach, saw fish, crabs, sting rays, star fish, a lobster, all very close to the shore. The staff were very friendly and appreciative of the tips and gifts that we gave to them. Would recommend this resort.

Sanctuary at Grand Memories Santa Maria: good service and very comfortable

We stayed in the sanctuary. The rooms were always clean and the mini bar always had water, beer and soft drinks. We were very surprised to have our own butler. He was extremely helpful in booking our A la cart and a spa for me. He was always there to answer any issues we had. There was three of us there and had two separate rooms. My mother (90), my brother and myself. My mother had some mobility issues and she was made very comfortable by the staff. The food, well its Cuba and we we [... read more]re always nourished. Definitely try the chicken sandwich at the beach. BEWARE OF THE HOT PEPPERS IN THE CONTAINER BESIDE THE GRILL! There was no wine, which was a bit of a issue for me but they made some great drinks with rum. They made an amazing Spanish Coffee when they had milk. Their Margarita's were wonderful. We went one evening to watch the entertainment but had a lot of difficulty getting a shuttle back from the theatre. So we watched the evening entertainment in the small lobby. It was wonderful. All in all it was a lovely experience.

Melia Buenavista: Outstanding

You can snorkel and see amazing sea life right at the hotel! They have coral reefs right there and they are so so so beautiful! I’ve been to resorts all around central and South America and this one was my favorite! Food was good and service was lovely! Staff are thoughtful kind helpful and friendly. Rooms are spacious and more updated. The only thing I wish I had was a comforter for sleep. But we slept fine with layers of the blankets they provided. Also If you don’t want to eat at your hot [... read more]el they will shuttle you to the sister hotels for dinner! You can visit/spend the day at other hotels eat and drink there all inclusive. Also I didn’t bring flippers to snorkel and the staff brought me some so I could see all the sea life! Beautiful resort! lots of quiet areas and laidback! There’s one pool where there’s volleyball and some dancing! Also I love that staff brought me coconuts to drink! Definitely want to come back!

Iberostar Selection Ensenachos: Beautiful Resort

We sure enjoyed our stay at the Iberostar Ensenachos with our little family. Everybody had a great time. This is a very big resort therefore lots of walking to go everywhere but you can also take a cart to drive you around if needed. The gardeners are working very hard to keep the grounds meticulously clean. They are very friendly. We can't say enough about the staff working everywhere, they all tried their best to make sure everything was perfect for us. The beaches are beautiful with their whi [... read more]te sand and the pools (kids and adults) were kept very clean. The food at the buffet was good and they had a good variety to please everyone. The only complain we have is that the lighting along the path to return to your room at night is not very well lit so bring a flashlight if you think about it. All in all, this is a beautiful resort, we had an awesome vacation and we would definitely return.

Vila Gale Cayo Santa Maria: Great escape

Ground, pools, beach were all excellent. Staff was awesome. The only negative was the lack of certain foods but we were already aware of shortcomings across Cuba before we booked. Overall excellent vacation, would go again