Most beautiful beach.

The resort is clean, and staff were exceptional. It was one of the most beautiful beaches I've been to. Resort was a little tired, needing some repair, but Hurricane Maria did do a lot of damage to the island. Ground crews worked daily, but often garbage left on beach after the days events. Food was good and tasty, but little variation. A la carte restaurants only okay, but had some excellent dishes, often not having dishes offered on menu. For the money, I would definitely recommend and return.

Awesome Resort

Grounds of hotel was amazing! Lots of bars, great size pools, great night entertainment, and awesome staff! Rooms were good! The only downside to the rooms were the pillows(too flat) so hard to sleep. The a la carts were amazing and buffet for breakfast was great but dinner not so much. All in all great hotel and service!

A REALLY NICE RESORT

We were there Jan 25th to Feb 1st and the weather was just right. The service was great although it's hard to get a hold of the front desk at times. We called once for maintenance when the air conditioner quit and without exaggerating the repairman was at our door no more than 15 minutes from when we made the call. I'm going to have to call it "My Bad" since I was unaware that the AC will stop if the balcony door opens....whoops...lol. The Staff and maid service was excellent and mini fridge res [... read more]tocks were done everyday including water around 4pm by a separate attendee. You could always get something at the buffet if you weren't picky and you'll find it very busy on the weekends. Things got a little quieter from Monday on. The pools were excellent as well but you'll find parents let the kids go nuts around the adult swim up bar and it gets quite annoying having them jumping off the stools beside you, some got a nasty word and look from the barmen, the parents didn't care, they were on holidays and apparently it was up to everyone else to babysit for them. You might not see this review if they can't remove what I write next. A word on travelers that come to this resort; 80% French and yes, they are more arrogant and self centered while on vacation. An example, a Frenchman while in the buffet stood up, slammed the table and demanded his water right away, the place went silent. I'm glad I'm Canadian and brushed it off as a poor upbringing. 10% were Russian, no need to explain if your a traveler and 5% were German, same as above and 5% were English speaking. In other words, the French have found a place to call their own and treat it that way. Now with that little rant out the way I must say the resort itself it worth the effort to get there, it's around 2 hours from the airport depending on the time of day, it would seem longer in the dark. The causeway alone is 48 miles long and you pass through a couple little towns as well. It's a small airport and gets very crowded and you must use the portable stairs to get on and off the plane from the tarmac. Again the service and people who work there are very helpful and polite and will always say "Hola" when you pass. The beach is fantastic with plenty of banyans for all, even 4 lounge chair banyans, you will have no problem getting one no matter the time of day you go. There are two beach bars and the one further down the beach provides Pizza's and they are excellent. All in all I totally recommend this resort but speaking French would be an asset. Another note on pools, there are 3 pools and after the second day we stuck to the kiddie pool, it was much quieter with all the kids up at the swim up bar and even the kiddie pool has a bar; I recommend the Spanish Coffee, the servers and wonderful and it closes at 5pm but no Spanish Coffee after 4pm. The booked restaurants were good but book early, they fill up fast. We were in the 18 block and it's very close to the kiddie pool, the beach and lunch buffet (beach and buffet were right across from our room and the area is quiet). They roasted pork two days of the week and started cooking early in the morning and it was ready for lunch. You gotta try it, tasted great and I went back for seconds on both days. So, if you don't mind the bus ride, the French this is a resort to really consider. We probably won't go back but we really have nothing bad to say about the resort itself; had a great time and came back relaxed.

Beach amazing. Had to run for buffet food.

Beach and natural environment is wonderful, especially when it is calm. They provide kayaks and paddle boats. In regards to food, if you are really into food like me it is not very good. It is mostly lukewarm buffet dishes. The biggest problem is most of the food comes from one dining room where there is not enough room for everyone. It is kind of bedlam in there. There are a couple dishes everyone wants and they just get ravaged in two minutes and you have to wait for them to be replenished. Th [... read more]ere are a couple made to order stands but the lineups for them are huge. In regards to the rooms there was visible mold on our picture frames. They were not that concerned about this. They did let us go look at a different room but it was not better. All this being said, when the prices are around the $800 mark and you don't mind missing really good food for this long in order to have a nice beach, it is a good choice. The hotel is way out on a Cayo Santa Maria which is pretty amazing. There are some cool excursion options too. There is a pool table which doesn't get too busy either.

Horrible experience

everything is horrible from the minute you enter the so said resort till you leave it . it was a nightmare for all of us glad that we were able to leave that place and move to another resort everything is bad from food to room service to reception towels not washed had blood stains on them bed sheets had blood and stains

Terrible Hotel- Golden Tulip

Room was ok so were staff but don't expect the same as a regular hotel elsewhere. Food was gross & I mean gross.....took coloured rice & found a 1" piece of pig skin with hair on it....other white rice had small black pieces--looked like something prisoners would get. All food not clean & very very basic....hardly any bread & 2 barbecue areas had extremely long line-ups for 1)fish 2)dry beef & pork or chicken, no sauces etc., few salads & most with no dressings , deserts were rubbery, dining  [... read more]room only opened at 6:30 & huge lineups running to barbecue area as nothing else somewhat palatable. Also hotel was too far away from airport ...could not really visit any towns without taking a whole destination from 7:30 am to 7:30 pm. Market close to hotel was a joke....& cost us $9.00 CUC for a 10 min. ride & all items were what we would find at a carnival! Will never advise anyone to go to this hotel & this really turned us off on Cuba!

Worst resort ever

This resort is horrible I can’t believe what happened with us since we arrived we were big group we arrived around 3 pm we did check in in almost 3 hours we had problem with the receptionist there as I reserved two rooms she told me after long waiting u will. E in building 1 and ur kids building 16 2- when we entered the room it was discusting the towels smells bad and full of stains the bad sheets has blood stains as well no water in the fridge 3 when we went to the restaurant big line u [... read more]p dead flies on the food no service 4- the animation team is very poor At the end I don’t recommend it at all by the way thanks air transit for moving us to better one

Not impressed

Not impressed with overall experience the resort was nice room ok beach and pools were great however customer service sucked. The buffet was small not a lot of selection also air transat was awful. Would return to Cuba but not here

Great resort

We enjoy our stay at this resort very much. It was clean, the people are amazing and very accommodating. It is well kept the beaches are beautiful white sand. Excursions were organized very nicely. Would love to go there again

Friendly staff

Beautiful beach. Clean room and pool areas. Staff all very friendly and helpful. Not enough people at front desk during check in. Long line up for eggs at breakfast. Should prepare fried eggs and scrambled eggs in advance for the food line. Most of the time there is not even hard boiled eggs. Lack of variety and care of cooking is the major problem of the food provided. We had the same food served 3 times a day 7 days a week by the end of the week we are rather glad be out of that food. Remember [... read more] dinning is a pleasure not a chorus. There is nothing wrong with the materials, as a matter of fact the chicken and pork and fish (fresh one) tastes better in Cuba, it just need a little more incentive as to make better food.

Nice resort

We enjoyed this resort for the exception of the bugs in all of the restaurants and buffet area. The beach was great and the rooms were kept clean and functional.The grounds were very nice and clean and the staff were very helpful once they understood our needs.

Baware

Hi, I will first start with how nice the resort looked like. We were very happy to be in such a nice resort. The staff was awesome friendly and helpful. The cleaning staff in our rooms did an awesome job with the cleaning.as far as the negative side of this resort was the cockroach’s, they were all over the eating areas. If this resort would have been in Canada the health unit would’ve shut them down. Reaches were seen in plain daylight, what a pitty. Simple cleaning on a daily basis would h [... read more]ave prevented such an infestation.

Wonderful Vacation🌞🌴🍹❤

We just returned home from a lovely vacation at the GoldenTulip in Cayo Santa Maria Jan.2-10. The staff is wonderful and always ready to help! Our room was beautiful with 2 ocean views, always clean and with fresh towels each day. The beds were comfortable however the pillows were not... BEACH is spectacular! Soft white sand, turquoise blue waters and lots of palapas for shade! Hot and sunny 27-31°C each day! POOLS were beautiful and clean, infinity pool as well as kids pool! GARDENS  [... read more]and flowers, simply beautiful! FOOD is actually very good! Breakfasts: omelettes, pancakes, ham, bacon, cold cuts, cheeses, yogurts, smoothies, fresh breads and fruits. Lunch: Beach restaurant offers fresh grilled pork, chicken and fish each day. Also pasta, paella, rice , fresh fruit, pastries, ice cream and a SPECTACULAR VIEW OF THE OCEAN!! BEACH BAR: Makes delicious pizzas from 1-3pm and great drinks!! Dinner: We ate at 3 "a la cartes" during our stay... Italian grilled salmon was excellent! Buffet always had a great selection as well! TRIPS: We took the speed boat/snorkeling tour. I did not enjoy the speed boat. The waves were high and the boat was bouncing on the waves a lot but the snorkeling was amazing!! Many beautiful colorful fish and corals to see!!😁 All in all we had a WONDERFUL TRIP!!

Its Cuba

The beach at this resort was to die for. By far the most beautiful and breath taking beach ive ever been too. The food/beverages were near to awful and the resort its self was mediocre. But the beach made it all worth it.

Nice beach, insert problem,food poor

the enviroent of resort is nice, room is clean well, bars are good. but there is insert bite whole body red buttons lot of people not only me. the food quality need to be improved. the beach good quality clean clear water.

Beware!!!

After spending months saving to take my family away on a much anticipated vacation, along with two friends, I was very excited to book, at what appeared to be a great resort to retreat to for a week. On arrival, the view from the lobby to the ocean is quite nice. The lobby is very basic and dated. The chairs were badly stained yellow and the washrooms leave an overall impression of a lack of cleanliness. The pools are beautiful but do need attention as many other reviews have noted. The rooms we [... read more]re clean but just...ok. The grounds are nice and inviting. Now the real issue... As it was along day of travel, we were all very hungry. After checking in and getting settled we headed to the buffet for some food. The first thing we noticed was the odd smell. When you get to the food area it is apparent that there are no standards for cleanliness. The glass over the food is dirty and greasy, also full of fingerprints and looks as though it hasn't been cleaned in a very long time. The food smell and visual was unappealing and did not invoke any desire to eat, even though we were sooo hungry. Noticed a few cockroaches on the food carts and walls. When you see them when the lights are on, you know there's an issue. We know that Cuba is not known for its food but this was just not right. We had to eat however, and chose carefully. Everything was cold and unappetizing but we got through. Took a walk, enjoyed the grounds and went to sleep. The next morning we all woke up looking forward to breakfast, hoping it would be better. Most things were cold, half cooked and generally tasted bad. Spent the day at the beach and enjoyed the day. A few of us felt a bit off, but got through. By 3 o'clock in the afternoon, my son (15) was not feeling well at all. He went to the room to lay down. We checked in on him for the next few hours, of which he got progressively worse. By 8pm he was in tears from the pain and throwing up along with diarrhea. We gave him some medication and got him to sleep. Around 11PM, I started... the same thing. Keeled over in pain, vomiting and diarrhea. I now understood what my son was feeling. The pain was sooo intense it had me in tears. We we terrified. In a foreign country, in intense pain and what to do???... The night was rough. By the morning we were no better. The pain kept coming back in waves and both of us were on the beds curled up and in agonizing pain. My wife went to the front desk to request an ambulance. (very scary). The bell hops drove us in a cart from the room to the ambulance waiting on the grounds. At this point, it is important to note that NO hotel manager or official came to us or showed any concern as their guests. After a 3 hour visit at the local clinic. (injected pain meds and IV for dehydration), we were given 500 peso bill for the services. ($700) canadian. I understand that they must charge but just wanted to warn others what to expect. We did not have cash and they were kind enough to let us come back the next day after we made arrangements to secure the funds. That day was spent entirely in bed. My Wife, oldest Son and our two friends checked in on us throughout the day and tried to make the best of it.... By 2 or 3 in the morning, my son was in agonizing pain again. I, still feeling unwell went to the front desk to request the ambulance again. This time... NO Ambulance!!! Told it was broken down!!!! I was really angry at the whole situation now, but the pressing concern was getting him treatment... They ended up driving us to the clinic in a golf cart. It was what it was... The doctor gave him more pain injection and meds.. Golf cart back to hotel. (You'd think the hotel would have at least got us a taxi by now) By the next day, my son was better, but not quite right for there rest of the week. We demanded to be moved to another hotel and the Hola Sun rep we had did everything she could for us and got us moved to the Playa Caya. She was awesome I must say. However, again I must stress that NO, absolutely NO hotel official or manager came to speak with us, apologize or to express concern for our well being!!! While waiting to be transferred we learned from a Taxi driver and... a few GT employees that the Golden Tulip has a very bad history of food issues. Also on bus back to airport at the end of the trip we talked to others who were sick from there. (and other hotels) (although not requiring Hospital). The new hotel was better but honestly the food area still left something to be desired. For the rest of the week I carefully observed the food handlers everywhere and it is easy to see why so many people get sick there. They obviously have no standards or food safety training in Cuba. Make no mistake, this is the root the the problems associated with why so many people get sick there. Handling raw meats with bare hands, no washing stations and handling cooked food and utensils with same hands. Dirty trays, dishes not washed properly and reusing bowls with raw eggs and meats. Also, things like using the water taps to rinse out smoothie blenders and making new smoothies in it. (contaminated now with non filtered water). Its a roll of the dice if your gonna get sick or not!!! I spent the week, off and on from throwing up and painful gut spasms and constant painful burning diarrhea. We made the best of what was left and managed to get an excursion in by Thursday... I did not feel well and still wasn't eating but made it through. Been home for three days, still sick. Been to the hospital here at home. Running tests to rule out salmonella or food borne parasite as it is still with me. $3000 family vacation down the tubes. Oh, did I mention that NO manager at the hotel expressed any concern? Ya, sorry. I think i did. I am expecting some retribution for this and would like to see Transat Vacations do a better job selecting resorts they back. Not happy, but most importantly, two of us suffered physically on what should have been a good memory filled family vacation...

Amazing Beach!

I traveled to Golden Tulip at the end of November and it was definitely not a busy time at the hotel. They said it was at 50% capacity during the time but I honestly think it was more like 20%. Which was ok for me because there were no long lines and it was very quiet. Because it as low season - the entertainment was downplayed quite a bit as well. Night time shows were all the same singers / dancers and routines - just in different costumes while labeling them as different shows and themes [... read more]. The resort itself was alright - nicely laid out, easy access to the beach, and the rooms were ok as well. The pools and pool areas were beautiful but nothing compared to the beach. The best beach spot in Cuba I've seen thus far. Beautiful white sand, no rocks, lots of chairs, shade and calm waters that you could walk out really far and still only be waist deep. Lots of fish to see because the waters were soo clear. The food was hit and miss - some days it was pretty decent and there a few days it was completely off (and as always, a lot of repeat and reused dishes). The last night before I left they had a party down on the beach. About 30 mins after it started there was a full blackout. I mean - picture being down on the beach and suddenly it's PITCH BLACK. It wasn't a full moon out so we literally couldn't even see our own hands in front of us. There were NO EMERGENCY LIGHTS to dimly guide us. But luckily most ppl had their cell phones with them and used the flashlights which was the only saving grace that we were able to see our way back to the lobby where most ppl congregated. At least there were emergency lights there and the staff kept the bar going. Nothing else to do because no one really wanted to go back to their rooms with NO AC, light or tv. All of it didn't bother me too much because I feel overall safe in Cuba but I was surprised there were no emergency lights anywhere except the lobby - to others it was a huge safety / security concern. Overall it was a great trip except for the fact that it was a little too quiet and dead. I imagine during hi-reason it's a much more fun place to be.

Good experience

We are a couple in our late 40s, speak somewhat the Spanish language, we've been to Cuba many times, different resorts (just for background). We traveled first time to Golden Tulip, for one week, at the beginning of November. The facts: - Staff being friendly and doing their job is overall what made our trip a good experience. - AC unit in the room equipped with a digital thermostat that works well. Safe in the room but no phone nor is there a box with Kleenex. I had to fiddle with the TV [... read more] cable to ensure the connector makes good contact with the actual cable, so I can see channels clearly. Bed on the firm side in case you don't like this. The couch is rather stained and not looking clean. Water pressure (cold or hot) is good so that is impressive since the water is coming through the pipes from the main island from what we were told. - There is an assigned person that distributes once a day a bottle (2L or so) of water to the rooms, but he seems to not enter the room instead just knocks at the door and if nobody answers he takes off, no bottle. I saw a few times a bottle of water in front of other rooms, but not in front of the door of my room, not sure why. I ran into the guy once and told him to leave me a bottle at the door as well. That worked for one day I believe, other days I was simply in the room when he came around. - lots of chlorine in the swimming pools, I mean LOTS, guy comes one afternoon with a bucket full of chlorine pellets and pretty much empties that bucket in the kids pool, going around, on the steps of it, underwater. The smell was strong even sitting by the side of the pool and 3 days later still signs of that chlorine pellets visible. Too much for my skin so I avoid the pools. - nice beach with lots of shade and beds. The lifeguards were walking around with a brush and offering help to place a bed where you wanted and swipe the sand of it. Towels for the beach were handed out without any particular concern for tracking them, that was good to not increase the stress level, being worried about holding on to your beach towel or else pay 25-50 USD for it. - restaurants: we never tried the a-la-carte restaurant. The food variety is good, I find the variety and creativity with pastries impressive, the resort is a French-Cuban investment I understand. The bread variety is quite poor. At times large plates or bowls for cereal were missing, I had to ask for them. At times the washed plates stacked up next to food seemed to be too hot to touch them. Good service at breakfast time to get a coffee fast without having to chase waiters. We are not too picky about food so in general we do not complain about food services, just for reference. The restaurant close to the beach is very convenient and is great to eat lunch out on the terrace with a full view of the beach and the water. At times there was a barbecue grill working, for meat, sausages or even a pig on the grill event one day, hosted by the gardeners. - gym: there is a person managing the gym when open and handing over towels, few machines and some weights, the machines (treadmill and a stepper and some spin bikes) worked just about all of them and looked alright (I've seen in other resorts some really beat-up equipment). There is a tennis court which is OK to hit the ball but the fence on the side away from the resort has holes and is not that high and balls can get lost behind, in the mangrove/tropical bushes. - entertainment: shows every evening in the large theater but we did not pay much attention to it, I personally thought it was rather dull, lots of dancing themes without much difference. The lobby has a piano with live music in the afternoon-evening, that is nice, relaxing. Some evenings there was a fashion show as well, with local fashion sold in the resort store. In summary, we enjoyed the time in this resort and we had no issues that would have spoiled our vacation otherwise. The weather was nice, the first 3 days a bit windy and waves rather too big to swim in the sea but later the winds died and it was great to soak in the very warm water. The resort was only 50 % full we were told (low season ?) before ramping up towards the end of the year, this could account for getting more attention from staff. We would be open to returning to this resort. Have a great vacation.

Golden Tulip

Was our first trip ever, and I am sure glad we chose Golden Tulip. First off, you don't come to Cuba for the food so I'll get that out of the way. We were told Pringles travel rather well and by day 4 or 5 you'll wish you had packed a few tubes of them. Trust us on this one. What one does come to Cuba for is the white sand beaches and the exemplary service of which there is plenty of. 4 Pools always clean, Swim up bar is always fun then you can spend the next day in the grotto or sleeping the n [... read more]ight before off at the beach. Lobby Bar comes alive every night. Dont forget to pack your semi formal wear for the a la carte restos highly suggest Hielo Fuego. Went on two excursions, Santa Clara is a must for admirers of Che. Also went on the speedboats, definitely will get the heart racing, you've been warned...lol. Dont forget your tipping cash 20-25 CUCs for the week should do it, depends on if you want preferential treatment :)

Small, But Functional Resort.....

We stayed at Melia Cayo Santa Maria for 2 weeks & it was our first time there. The grounds are very well maintained & picturesque. There resort had no tea whatsoever & some of the liquors were in short supply. The food was okay, but on some days we did have good meals. The rooms were always cleaned. The place is dated. The pools have some missing tiles.