Sanctuary at Grand Memories Santa Maria: Solid Value, Excellent Staff, Unbeatable Beach

Just back from 19 days at the Sanctuary. Had a wonderful time. This was our second visit to this resort, 7th visit to Cuba. As always, the staff make all the difference. They are nothing short of fantastic. Friendly, courteous, helpful, warm people. Food was very good and we noticed the use of more spices this year as compared to last year. Quantities of food were very good as well. Bar drinks were very good as well. The lobby bar did run out of my favourite rum, but made up for t [... read more]hat shortfall by ensuring my glass was never empty. We had a couple of days of cooler weather, a little too cool in the morning to be either on the beach or by the pool. The Entertainment staff did a terrific job of breaking out the board games, cards etc, turning a not-so-great day into one filled with laughter. We noticed a distinct reduction in the number of electric shuttle carts available this year. Several were seen in various states of being scavenged for parts to keep the rest of the fleet in operation. The state of the resort is a "plus and minus" story... The hand rail around the main lobby patio is just about to fall completely off and is badly in need of replacement. Meanwhile, the much-sought-after additional shade on the beach is on its way with 9 new palapas being built - these will cover at least 4 chaise lounges each, representing nearly a doubling of available sun shade. We witnessed the frames being erected and thatching of the roofs was just about to get underway when we left. The beach is as spectacular as ever, definitely a rare gem, making any shortcoming of the resort fade into a distant memory as soon as one's toes touch the sand. All in all, the Sanctuary is on our "we will visit again" list; in fact, it's at the top of the list of places to stay in Cuba. Travel arrangements made by Janet Merrill at tripcentral were excellent - Janet is a true professional, courteous, efficient and a pleasure to deal with. Janet merits 5 stars for her handling of our booking (wish there were a place on this form where we could rate our agent & tripcentral experience).

Melia Peninsula Varadero: nice resort

Small resort situated on a beautiful sandy beach, Melia Peninsula is a good place to spend a week long vacation. The beach has plenty of chairs and protection from the sun, we did not have to reserve a place in the morning. There is one pool for adults, but the music can be loud during activities. Nice installations for small kids with their own pool and center. We found the food ok but repetitive. But with the situation in Cuba, we were expecting this. Friendly staff and our Air Transat peopl [... read more]e very helpful. Overall we got what we were looking for: clean room, superb beach and sun!

Memories Flamenco Beach Resort: Really great family vacation

This was my own 20th trip to Cuba and 6th with my 2 daughters (aged 15&16) This hotel, beach and staff are amazing. The food selection was one of the most consistent and well stocked in all my visits. The dinning room staff (especially Merly's & Daimaris, Dairom and Annie) are fabulous and extremely helpful. The rooms and grounds were always clean and well maintained. The beach was clean and white fabulous sand everywhere We will return to this resort and I recommend it to anyone with  [... read more]a family

Iberostar Selection Varadero: Great trip!

The resort was beautiful, amazing service, perfect beach. The food was decent for Cuba, lots of options. Everything was clean and well maintained. The entertainment staff worked hard to get everyone involved. The only complaint we had were the mosquitoes - never had so many bug bites in my life! Would highly recommend bringing bug spray and after bite. Would definitely go back to this resort!

Melia Las Americas: Beautiful but a bit dated

Absolutely beautiful grounds, well kept. Beach was beautiful and seaweed free. Golf course is kept well as well. Outdated rooms and lobby furniture. Good food esp at the a la carte. The international was our favourite. Service was amazing.

Grand Muthu Cayo Guillermo: Amazing Resort

Absolutely amazing resort! Extremely clean, friendly staff and great food. The main buffet is a little small for the resort but there were two smaller buffets to go to or you could wait until after the “big rush” to eat. Five pools including a kids pool and a swim up bar pool. There is also a beautiful beach with cabanas and loungers. There’s a kids club and games for young and old at the pool. Great excursions. I would highly recommend the MGM Grand Muthu in Cayo Coco Cuba!

Melia Marina Varadero: Excellent Hotel

The hotel exceeded our expectation. The hotel was in excellent condition, its staff was very pleasant, foot was first class, including service. The beach was good, and so was the swimming pool. We highly recommend this resort.

Melia Las Antillas: Absolutely amazing!

Beautiful resort!! Absolutely love the bungalow rooms, very nice clean rooms, amazing staff!! Lots of room around the big pool, tons of shows and activities to keep you busy, short walk to a gorgeous beach. Everything you need all on site, food was alot better then we had expected. Only 1 thing we didnt like and that was the strong sewage smell during some late nights. We may return in the future. I would rate this hotel a 4 star.

Royalton Hicacos Resort and Spa: Beautiful resort....very impressive

we were impressed with the resort..grounds were beautiful...pools, nice but too cold at this time of year....beach well. i love cuban beaches..so no complaints the only disppointment was...with the al acarte restaurants when we arrived we were told that NO reservations were needed...twice we went 8ish..and were told no tables available...ok...they give you a buzzer? to let you know when a table is available...would not give us one..or could not give us one....as it was late??then one of the at [... read more]tendents actually told us that Diamond Club members could make reservations...therefore no tables for us...very disappointing. so buffet it was for us...great variety of food.. overall,,,great!!!

Club Tropical: Management Terrible!

The front desk manager was terrible!! We paid extra to be in the main building and we were told it was full. People that came in hours after us were given rooms in the main building and even the next day. We have been going here for about 5 years. I filed a complaint with the agency in Cuba and will filing a complaint with Air Transat here.

Memories Flamenco Beach Resort: Avoid it

I’m just going to start off by saying, if you read my review, I’m not a fussy traveler. I love Cuba, I try to vacation there once a year. The Cuban people are very nice. The beach at this resort was absolutely stunning. However, my experience wasn’t the most pleasant. I booked this trip because the majority of the reviews were positive, while there were a handful of negative reviews, that’s to be expected. Unfortunately, after my own personal experience at this resort, the negative re [... read more]views are actually correct. It’s a bit concerning, the number of positive reviews there are. We arrived at 12:30 pm. We were meant to get a room by 4:00 pm, but had to wait until 6:30 pm. Got Building 9, first room on the ground floor. Some of the lights weren’t working, there was a moldy scent, the closet door wasn’t attached to anything and required me to actually carry it to the next wall. I went to the front desk and spoke to the manager, and got another room. I got my second room at 8:30 pm, ground floor of Building 6. This was an accessible room. There wasn’t a solid wall separating the beds and the washroom—there was this odd shutter window, you can hear everything happening in the toilet. The fridge, lights and safe weren’t working. The next day I spoke to the Sunwing Rep (Tony) and he had said that we should speak to the Resort Rep. I asked the Sunwing Rep why Sunwing advertised this hotel as 4.5 stars and he had said Sunwing has nothing to do with the resort. The Sunwing Rep walked with me to the Resort Rep and just left without helping. I told the Resort Rep that I came here to enjoy my vacation, and it had been far from enjoyable up until that point. The Resort Rep told me she’d contact me. The next day, I moved to my third and final room—Building 1, second floor ocean view. Surprisingly, this room was great. As much as I wanted to spend some time around the pool, there were no working toilets. Which was a cause for concern because you have people drinking all day around the pool and no functioning toilet. Moreover, there were not enough chairs. Overall, I didn’t realize I should’ve travelled with a handyman on this trip. It was quite an experience, and I definitely don’t see myself returning to this hotel. It requires a much needed facelift.

Resonance Blu Santa Maria: Dont go here

This is no where near 4 stars. Had no soda, juice or beer for days. No toilet paper. Using unwashed used plastic cups to serve people because they ran out of cups. Also terrible service compared to the rest of cuba. Our AC didn't work for a few days too.

Gran Muthu Imperial: Over crowded

The grounds and rooms are new. They need twice as much shade. The tourists are greedy and take all the pilapas. The employees work incredibley hard and still smile. There should be accommodations on the island so they don't have to go to Moron

Playa Pesquero: Playa Pesquero Cuba

I traveled with my wife and stayed there 9 days. We were in the Premium section of the hotel. We loved it there, the staff was amazing, room gorgeous. The personnel very friendly and helpful. The whole atmosphere was amazing. We cannot wait to go back. Food amazing.

Playa Luxury Cayo Las Brujas: Fabulous resort

Everything was fantastic: the service was courteous and considerate, the entrance grandiose, the décor was tropical and magnificent, the bars were plentiful and nice, the rooms were clean and pleasant, the entertainment was fabulous, the beach was amazing, even the weather cooperated....but..... the food...we Canadians like our food...and this just didn't cut it.... we had fries two days and we thought we were in heaven....this department could certainly work on improvement....I give it a 4 b [... read more]ecause of the culinary deficiency.

Gran Muthu Imperial: Five star? from a distance maybe

Arrived late evening to stupid loud music, frustrating for all checking in and those behind the counter. Buildings all look modern and well decorated, but up close there’s problems. Our modern shower looked great, but not sealed around edges and didn’t drain well, so water leaked out all the time, even into hallway once. Don’t turn water on full blast, only have ‘gentle’ showers. Toilet clogs easily, common in Cuba, doesn’t really flush well, after several calls maintenance came to  [... read more]‘plunge’ it with one of their tall water bottles. Beach view looks beautiful, crystal clear water, great snorkelling near our shore to the right!! MUST WEAR WATER SHOES, rocky and dangerous walking out, take your time and be careful to not twist ankle. Pilar beach is a must to truly experience a Cuban beach. Some staff friendly, some very unwelcoming unless you’re their buddy/tip a lot. Maid was great, they were the friendliness staff, really appreciated dollar store gifts and a few cucs. Fav drinks: Miami Vice, Traffic Light, blue lagoon, vodka and orange, cappuccino, Spanish coffee. Not many used pools but all chairs held by towels and rocks/tables for no reason but competition to get one. HOTEL NEEDS TO IMPLEMENT THEIR OWN NO CHAIR HOLD RULES BY HAVING STAFF REMOVE TOWELS FROM UNUSED CHAIRS. We should all have the chance to chill on pool side chairs and under beach huts (never got to use a hut all week). Got a King bed which had Queen or Double size sheets for first few days, THEN got King sized sheets. Was very hard to get staff to answer desk phones, had to call several times, a lot of things added up to not be 5 star rating worthy. Won’t return and likely done with frustrating ways in Cuba. Nothing around area except a mini stretch of shops down hill between resorts, so feels like being on Big Brother with same faces over and over. Varadero is better for walking around and beach location. 24 hour bar took very very long to bring out ordered food, waiters were not attentive. Buffet good at fresh food stations, but looong waits. Restaurants pretty good, only Seafood-meh, International-yum, Chinese-strange, we’re available as options. Surprised no lobster offered, yet had some at the Pilar beach restaurant-very good. Never went to the small local town Moron, as the Air Transat rep wasn’t arriving for whatever reason to go on Sunday, so bit disappointed by that. Over all still nice to get away, but there shouldn’t be so many blips in the road at an all inclusive 5 star.

Club Amigo Atlantico Guardalavaca: great resort

been ther e10 times or more never better. its great great great and more great and more great yah that's it woo hoo woo hoo woioohooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo [... read more]oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooopiojpoiooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Muthu Playa Varadero: Lovely Resort

The resort lobby and rooms were clean and the staff were very friendly and helpful. The beach was beautiful. Nice pool with a walk in area and shallow end for children. It was cold thought, but being Canadian, we still enjoyed it. The food was good. The buffet was not huge but there was still a good selection. It was about 20 minutes from Veradero by Taxi. Lots of palm trees and nicely kept gardents Overall we enjoyed our stay, and would recommend it to others.

Playa Costa Verde: comfortable resort

Small resort with bungalows. Clean rooms with comfortable beds. Well manicured grounds. Lots of food to choose from buffet. Friendly staff. Nice beach.Would recommend this resort for families or couples. To get to beach have to cross over bridge which is loaded with all kinds of water birds.

Grand Muthu Cayo Guillermo: Worst resort

I’ve been to Cuba 4 times and this is by far the worst resort I’ve been too. Because of this I will never go back to Cuba again. No hot water for 3 days, sometimes there were no plates or utensils in the buffet restaurant. We made a reservation at a al a carte for 13 people and they seated 8 adults at one table and all the kids at another table at the other end of the restaurant while there was a empty table beside us. This hotel was suppose to be a 4 star but once u convert it to Canadian i [... read more]ts only a one star