Lovely resort

Our family went to Cuba February 2 to February 9 2024. Ages 55 to 63. Everyone in our party said they would go back. The resort is immaculate. The Cuban people were very accommodating. The bus ride to the resort from the airport is 2 hours. I always enjoy a long ride as you see the country side. The special coffee's were delicious. The beach and pools had plenty of seating both areas were really nice. The only thing I personally had trouble with was the walkways to the beach. My first day there, [... read more] I tripped and fell off the walkway. I thought I sprained my ankle but it unfortunately turned out to be a fracture. I was able to get a tensor and Ramon our butler brought in a wheelchair from his home for me to use. We were all much more contentious of trip hazards after my incident. We never went hungry. I cannot honestly rate the food as I was in my room for 4 days. If they do not have it, they cannot serve it. The other family members thought the food was fine.

Beautiful resort

From reception to departure, we were well looked after. Everyone was friendly and helpful. You felt safe there. The beach was clean and safe. The pool and grounds were clean and safe. Lots of activities to participate in. Very welcoming environment. The food was beautifully prepared, no shortage. Lots of variety. A beautiful location for a relaxing holiday!

Total disappointment

Stayed here from Jan.25th to Feb.1st. Good size room and the maid did a good job cleaning it, except for the AC that was extremely cold (unable to adjust temperature). Pool and grounds looked very clean. Stuff are very friendly..reason why we keep going back to Cuba. Food and drinks are not our primary reason to go to Cuba, but after around 20 visits, this was BY far the worst. No bread the first 3 days, no eggs all week, no wine all week, except for the specialty restaurants,(not Italian). Ver [... read more]y small buffet for the amount of guests, extremely poor selection of fruit, salads and main course meals. Sanctuary buffet only had very few limited items, you would have to grab the rest from from other buffet. Employes seemed overworked and tired, and most of the time only one waiter working at Sanctuary bar. I was recommended by Tripalcenter to read the warnings about Cuba shortages, but this was way to much. Sanctuary Grand Memories Holguin please don't rate yourselves 5 star.

Beautiful resort

I must say the resort was absolutely beautiful very modernized and well maintained! They gardens very much lush , but I was a little disappointed with the beach lots of seaweed. They did have workers raking everyday though. I’m just not a seaweed person, otherwise it was amazing. My disappointment for this resort was I paid for adults only which provided butler service, you had to contact your butler if you wanted to speak to them . I have been to the same chain Sanctuary in Cayo Santa Maria whe [... read more]re your butler was on your floor everyday and booked your à la cart for you and answered any questions you may have had . Their service was much more professional and personal!!!! Food was okay a la carts were very good ! Entertainment well let just say there wasn’t much of any , you had to go to the family side to engage which was just a bunch of dancing, the other resort had games and a lot of interaction! Would I go to this resort again ? Maybe but I’d would definitely go back to Santa Maria in a heartbeat!!!! Not worth the money I spent for an adult’s only .

An honest review read all

This resort was beautifully maintained maids at the public bathrooms all day constantly tiding. Guys up on ladders cleaning air vents and always puttering around painting things. The food was very well done, as to be expected in Cuba style. The room was beautiful and clean AC worked ALMOST the whole time. Bed was really comfy and the shower was amazing. Staff did their best, but you can definitely tell they are tired, I've always loved Cuban resorts for their happy, bubbly, welcoming st [... read more]aff but that just wasn't there this trip. Understandably so I know they are going through some crappy stuff. We stayed in the Sanctuary which is adults only... and here is where my disappointments came in. There is a very small options buffet for breakfast and lunch on the Sanctuary side if you want to avoid the kids. However if you want a hot breakfast unfortunately the buffet is not kids free, nor are the al a cartes or beach. Every night between 8-9 in the lobby (also where the sanctuary bar is found) they do kids entertainment... My spouse and I are early birds so this was really disappointing to us having our final drinks of the evening listening to baby shark and kids screaming sucked. The beach party on Thursday would have been amazing but again... over ran with kids even after 9 when their entertainment was complete. We ended up at the Sanctuary pool for a majority of the trip because the beach was filled with kids no spots set aside for adults only. I love swimming in the ocean and snorkeling so this was really disappointing. My recommendations to this resort would be to take advantage of the beautiful fun club you have on the other end of the resort and do all kids stuff there. Considering half your resort is the Sanctuary guests I think it's safe to say most people don't want to be seeing kids during the evening relaxing. There should also have the beach separated as well it's a huge beach so their is no reason why the kids can't stay down at their end and leave the sanctuary side as 100% adults only including beach. If it weren't for the issues with paying for adults only and not really getting to experience that, I would say this is easily a 4/5 star resort unfortunately the kids took that way down for me.

Beautiful Resort

This is a really great resort. The lobby is expansive and leads to well maintained rooms. The rooms are large and well equipped. The pools are well maintained and have many chairs. One negative is there is a slight lack of shady areas around the pools. The beach is beautiful and had many shady areas. The. A la cart restaurants were quite good. The buffet breakfast and lunches were acceptable and didn’t leave you hungry. All and all I’ve been to Cuba over 12 times and this is one of the best res [... read more]orts. One other negative aspect was the lack of entertainment during the week we were there I definitely would go back to the Sanctuary Grand Memories in Holguin

No Food

The resort was beautiful including the pools and beach however......there is no food at this resort. No eggs, no fresh fruit (canned fruit only), no fresh vegetables, no salad, no pop, no hamburgers, no french fries, no Gin and no ground beef for any other "hot dish". My husband and I definitely lost weight staying at this resort. Also there were days there were no buns for the hot dogs if you dared to even try the hot dogs. The cold meats offered were very limited and a very strange colour [... read more] of gray. The pasta station has very limited offerings (mainly cut-up bacon, weiners or ham) and the cook uses the same pan to cook in throughout the evening. Sunwing offers "nothing" on the plane - not even a pretzel or a cookie. Our return flight was sold out of almost the entire OnBoard Menu and so after exiting our resort at 7:15 a:m (no resort restaurants open so people could eat before leaving), then a 2 hour bus ride to the airport, getting through airport and security, flight time and landing in Toronto only to find a 2 hour process with deboarding, transfers, customs and luggage wait, it was 5:00 p:m by the time we were on the road and could actually take the time to stop and eat. Holguin airport offers limited food as well.

Désappointement

J’ai passé une semaine de 11 à 18 novembre. Tout ce que je peux dire - c’est le pires vacances que j’ai passé. J’étais prête de manque de nourriture mais je ne peux pas comprendre manque du savon. Le chambres sont sales, car sont lavés seulement avec de l’eau. Tote fois je dois reconnaître la gentillesse du personnel. Mon gros MERCI à M.Dantes, receptionist , qui a essayé de m’accommoder, de trouver une solution. Pour l’instant fini avec Cuba pour moi.

Mixed impressions and feelings

Sanctuary is just a part inside of the "Grand Memories" So, it is not 18+ only. It looks like the management does not know the meaning of the word “sanctuary”. Definitely it is not a sanctuary of any kind. With the overall friendly and hard working personnel it has to be pointed that the hotel is seriously understaffed. It is lacking the style and the class for the claimed stars of rating. It is definitely new and clean, but the space and attendance is not properly managed: sport b [... read more]ar was turned into some cloaca with the darkness and strobe lights, with the modern dance music beating so that you cannot stand it until drunk up to semiconscious. As a result it had those semiconscious patrons around. Unfortunately billiard tables were there and no access and use were possible. The only one table tennis was in the game room, which was not conditioned. The lobby bar and the hall in the evening/night were turned into some disco with the music so loud that you cannot hear a conversation not only in the lobby, but also in the sanctuary bar behind the glass walls and doors. There is no theater for evening entertainment. There is some sort of conference room though. Some of those semiconscious patrons half dressed were wandering around and in the sanctuary bar dressed as if it is a beach or pool party and at the same moment harassing some other people who were not in such inadequate state. No security was managing anything anything anywhere. All this left an impression of some kind of a cheap bordello, rather than a sanctuary. Not to negate hardworking of the hotel personnel, it has to be pointed that some upper level style appropriate for the word “sanctuary” and 4+ stars must be instated. Hope that this is just the beginning of the use of this new facility and the management will find the way forward to correspond to the name and rating claimed. Otherwise, I would rather pay a double price for some other, better sanctuary than to visit this "sanctuary" again. P.S. Economical challenges of Cuba and resulting shortages are obvious and not mentioned here

Awesome Staff and Beach

Lots of friendly staff the grounds were well cared for the rooms were clean and staff responded to any issues we had quickly Our bar staff were amazing and the drinks were always good We were mainly at the beach , pool and sanctuary bar at the lobby Food was good at the alacarts They didn’t have eggs all the time but we didn’t starve and they always did their best The beach and swimming was one of the top places I’ve been to

Great resort but some disappointments..

Overall the hotel was VERY clean, service was good and was greeted well upon arrival with champagne and accommodated us with WIFI, directions, & attended to requests quickly. Hotel rooms were 5 star to me. Absolutely beautiful & clean. Service was amazing and had plenty of hot water. Fridges were well stocked in room and towels clean including swim towels available in rooms .. . No bugs & AC was great. No toilet paper for 2-3 days in whole resort. Not much entertainment at night and not well or [... read more]ganized. Family resort was mixed with adult resort and noise was carried on until late at night. A lot of adults were annoyed by loud noises. The resorts should’ve been separated. A la carte restaurants were great and the beach had a lot of seaweed, not clear water, very dirty, too many crabs. I travelled alone and they don’t honour one person and don’t serve you right away. Had to ask to be served several times. Snack bar did not have enough options and wasn’t a 24 hr bar. Overall great resort

Excellent Hotel

Just came back from a fabulous week at Sanctuary Grand Memories Holguin. Been traveling to Cuba for 22 years because we love the beautiful people and beaches. This was our first time in Holguin at this resort and we loved it. Sanctuary restaurant was amazing, all the ladies and gentlemen were great. Beach was lovely we lived in the water all day - love the beach bar Carlos was excellent 🍻. Rooms were clean modern spacious and we had a spectacular pool and oceanview. The people who worked t [... read more]here were very pleasant and made you feel at home. Malena is wonderful, the famous Jorge was great so glad to have met him too bad he has moved to another hotel but we wish him much success and happiness. Lacking a little in nightly entertainment but a lot of hotels seem to be these days. Resort is further away harder for talent to come and entertain just for an hour I get it. My husband and I had a fun and relaxing time. He is a bit of a picky eater and he never had any issues with having a great meal every time. Yes maybe repetitive at times and may not have all that you like personally but no one is starving there. In any all inclusive food can get repeated so just enjoy it. I highly recommend this hotel - if adults only it’s worth the upgrade to Sanctuary- Grand Memories side looked like families with kids also had a great time. The drive from airport to hotel a bit long but it is 100% worth it Thank you Sanctuary we will be back again and bringing our friends to enjoy as well 🇨🇺❤️🏖️

Really Great Stay

Sanctuary at Grand Memories Holguin was really great! The hotel grounds are beautiful, the rooms are new and very clean. The set up of the resort is easy to navigate and everything is within easy walking distance. You dont even have to walk in any rain, to get to the lobby and restaurants as there are covered routes to the main building. The food was very good and lots to choose from. You cannot expect it to be like home (or Mexico or DR) but the food was much better than I expected. If there  [... read more]is something that you cannot live without, take it with you (they had no ketchup, mustard, honey or peanut butter while we were there, but we just ate something else. No big deal). They also had a beautiful lobby, a sports bar, games room, and a good entertainment team. We didn't attend any shows so cannot speak to that. The Sanctuary check in/out, Sanctuary Bar at the lobby and beach, were a bonus. They made some great drinks. The beach is beautiful. Lots of chairs at the beach and pool and never had to save or wait for one (May). I prefer the beach at Cayo Coco and Santa Maria. This beach had some coral and rocks in the water, which for snorkellers, is a dream, but I prefer the straight sand. The beach had a nice stretch to walk, but not as long as Santa Maria. There were lots of coral and shells to pick from, as this is the only resort on this beach and hasn't been picked over. The plan we were told, is to build 19 hotels and an airport to service this area. Right now it is almost a 2 hour ride from the airport. But the guides on the bus were insightful and it was like getting a free excursion. I would definitely return.

Amazing resort, staff and pristine beach

Resort spotless, beautiful beaches, gardens, meals, staff( hotel manager makes a big difference and Jorge was always available, good listener and made sure things happened. So aft well trained, polite always and would definitely anything for us.

Remarkable Resort!

This resort was everything we could have wanted to experience a wonderful vacation away. Very clean and well maintained. The staff are always willing to assist with a huge smile. They go above and beyond at all times. There are a number of large pools and a beautiful beach. The food exceeded our expectations. My only suggestion would be more nightly entertainment in the lobby.

Beautiful and Amazing Resort !

This resort exceeded our expections . Rooms were beautiful, clean . Staff were exceptionally very kind and very attentive! Beach was beautiful water was so warm . Food was very good .you will not go hungary there Our maid was very kind and kept our room immaculate ! We stayed in the Sanctuary ,Besutiful view overlooking the pool. The restaurant in the Sanctuary was beautiful . Food was very good and staff were amazing . George is upbeat and more than ready to help with any issues you m [... read more]ay have . I cannot give enough praise to all the staff ! We love this resort and hope to return again

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!