Where do we start???????

We are not ones to complain. In fact we've never written a negative review on any of our vacations though I know some deserved it. In this case we feel we have to. We chose Cuba fully aware of the pitfalls. Limited food and shortages in supply. So when we arrived and found no toilette paper in our room or in the public bathrooms anywhere on the resort we accepted that. When we ordered our first drink, a rum and coke we were told there is no mix, no coke, no sprite, gingerale, no soda of any kin [... read more]d. We accepted that. No eggs! No problem! No coffee!! No problem!! Wine only in a la carte restaurants, no problem. No beer!!!!!! Ok that was a problem but it was only for a short period of time, so just a little problem. We weren't there for the food, even the drink. We were there for the beautiful beach, warm weather, and hopefully a clean comfortable room. The beach was beautiful. The weather was warm though windy at times but no complaints. Our room was dated but clean.................until the flood! Well before the flood there was the backed up plumbing from the shower and toilet. That led to a flood in our room, raw sewage throughout. Luckily we had everything off the floor, and thanks to a staff member who leant me their rubber boots we evacuated without any issues or damage to our belongings. The room we were put in smelled heavily of mold and mildew. Intolerable!!! My wife slept with the bedsheet wrapped around her face. I hardly slept at all. Thank goodness it was our last night. We couldn't wait to get home. We know we were not the only ones experiencing this. There were several units in our building flooded from a leaking pipe from the second floor. As hard as it was for us, I also felt bad for the staff. I could see many were upset, and apologized to us several times. It's not their fault. Who owns these places? I'm pretty sure these have a Canadian ownership connection with the Cuban government. It's a disgrace!!! We will not be returning to Cuba any time soon and will not recommend this destination to any of our friends

Memories Caribe Jan 31- Feb 7

This was our second visit to this resort. Our first time was 7 years ago. Obviously because of Covid and supply issues the hotel has become dated and some maintenance issues but they are really struggling to keep up. Hot water issues in the rooms seemed to be a problem in some buildings although in our building #20, we always had hot water. The room was clean, towels were changed daily, the king bed was great, bottled water was ample and more if required. Toilet paper seemed rationed to 1 roll p [... read more]er day but you could get another if requested. If your going to Cuba, do your homework and take with you what you need. The buffet always had something to eat. Meats,cheeses,salads,fruit,chicken,pork,rice,amazing potatoes and deserts that all do taste the same but seems to fix the sweet craving. The pizza at the beach is great, either cheese or ham and cheese. Bites bar and grill has great panini sandwiches and deep fried fries, some kind of a hamburger and hot dogs. Bring your own condiments. Rene at the beach bar is wonderful. Lots of vodka,rum,and beer. We didn’t experience any shortage of drinks. Coffee is the best. Cappuccino and Spanish. The Lobby bar is fantastic for service and courtesy. We tipped with cdn $5’s. They love US dollars as well, so you can tip $1’s. Coin is basically worthless to them. Tip and they will remember you and show you how much they appreciate it. We didn’t do Diamond Club but they had a few perks like top shelf liquors and a breakfast room. We didn’t do any a la carte but people that we socialized with recommended them. We didn’t experience any sand fleas or any issues with flies at the buffet although we noticed a few people were bit on the legs. In my opinion, don’t walk on the grass, stay on the walkways. We made friends that we will communicate with and will plan trips with in the future. To us, this is what our vacation is about. Making friends, a beautiful beach, friendly people and an affordable vacation. We also did an off resort visit to Lennies restaurant, 20 mins away, 70.00$ cdn for 2 seafood dinners and a 2 drinks. 30$ return for the classic cab fare and the cabbie waits for you to take you back. We highly recommend it. It includes a bbq Lobster tail, fish, rice and amazing shrimp. We would recommend Cuba to some of our friends but If your a foodie and are expecting Caribbean top shelf, this isn’t for you. This vacation cost under 1800.00 for 2 out of Halifax. We consider we got what we paid for and Yes, we will return to this resort later this year.

Pleasant place to enjoy,,,

The resort was quite a pleasant low key resort and the employees worked very hard to ensure we were taken care of in spite of a few issues... the plumbing issues were a bit of a challenge where a couple of days the water was turned off, not very warm for showers, not much pressure & the toilets were not functioning due to people putting paper in them in spite of the provided garbage receptacles. The rooms were quite comfortable although with the Air Conditioning a tad chilly, however an elect [... read more]rician promptly looked after that for us when requested. The restaurants & a la carte dinner were enjoyable & they provided ample local products such as pineapple, watermelon, eggplant & pumpkin prepared in various ways. Given what is available there was more than sufficient variety of food provided at the buffet & hot table options & lots of fresh bread & dinner rolls of various types. The Staff were all very attentive & pleasant at the bars & beach front restaurants. The BEACH is absolutely stunning !!!! With several sand bars & lovely white sand, one could walk & play & enjoy all day!!!

Wow… Never coming back to Cuba

Cockroaches, seriously overrun with flies and mosquitoes! Resort in serious need of paint, thorough room cleaning and repair updates! Even the cushions of chairs are deteriorated! Lack of toilet paper, bacon, pop, no eggs, worst burger ever at the Diamond snack bar… might as well be beef jerky… breakfast was the low point but lunches and dinners were adequate! A la carte were all ok! Staff was great and friendly! Complained of no hot water the first day and it was corrected! Never coming back to [... read more] Cuba again and this was our 6th trip here!

Old Tired Resort

In general the room was very clean. Bath room faucet was extremely loose and in need of repair. Hand held shower needed to be replaced as water sprayed everywhere but from out of the head. Toilet ran constantly. We had cold water in the shower for days until we had to complain. In the dining hall and A-la-cartes, the waiter staff seemed slow and uninterested. Non of the public washrooms ever had toilet paper, so we always had to carry your own. I would suggest bring some with you from [... read more] home. Food shortages are very apparent. Out of 10 days we had eggs in the morning twice. Condiments were basically non-existent (jams, jellies, ketchup, mustard). Limited supply of fresh fruit. All A-la-carte restaurants were very good and the only place where wine was served. Only an orange flavoured pop was available, no cola for Rum and Coke drinks. The beach itself was beautiful as always, garbage collected daily. Beach service was great. Canadian dollars are now accepted for tipping. Staff will often ask to exchange loonies and toonies for paper Canadian money, as the banks in Cuba do not take coins. I would suggest you take a roll of loonies/toonies and paper money, you can always exchange paper bills for coins to continue tipping. *U.S.dollar is still king. I would not recommend going to this resort without purchacing the Diamond upgrade. This was are 5th time attending this same resort. Very noticeable increase in Russian guests. All guests were polite and there were no problems. When we first arrived there were house flies everywhere, I am talking flies of biblical proportion. Eating at this time was not pleasant, even on the beach. Peole would take their lunch to eat it, out into the water trying to escape the flies. We had crop dusting planes buzz over the resort for 3 to 4 days. Men with hand held fumigators spraying snack bars and tractors driving all over the resort spraying. This finally brought the plague of flies under control. We were told that the resorts had stopped incinerating their garbage. Not sure if this is due to the fuel shortage. I have no way of confirming if this was the cause but I was told that the locals need to line up for up to two days to get 1/2 tank of gas. Over all the resort was very tired and in need of repair. I was told that the management has been changed 3 times over the past year.

Will not be going back

This is my second and last time to Memories Caribe, we where there April 2023 and returned Jan 2024. -First let me say I have been to Cuba 18times in the past 23 years and it was always a favorite but sadly no longer. Food: The shortage's really show and normally I can find something to eat but this time it was really slim pickings not to mention the FLY infestation and again not my first time to Cuba but this time the Fly population was horrendous, when you have to take your lunch out into t [... read more]he ocean to get away from the flies!!! The buffet every piece of food and numerous flies on it and then day 3 they started flying crop dusters over top of us spreading pesticides that dropped on us either sitting by the pool or on the beach not to mention the fogging that had to happen. Part of the problem was garbage's where not being emptied and people where leaving their half drank drinks everywhere and no mix for drinks but water downed lemonade and tang!!! Gross! Our room was not swept once the entire week and yes we tipped! No hand towels, had a Keurig in room was supposed to have coffee and cups etc.. never got any of that. When we where there in April of 2023 we knew it was getting bad just never expected it to get that bad! We will not be returning to Cuba and that is very sad :-(

Last minute vacation

Arrived at this resort January 13th and was supposed to stay for 1week. On our arrival noticed many flies in the lobby. Arrived to our room and was pleasantly surprised; large clean room, modern shower, turned out to be a very comfortable bed. Resort is clean, well kept grounds, beautiful beach and nice pool. 24 hour snack bar served fries and ham and cheese sandwiches; not much more. The abundance of flies was unreal: they were everywhere: dining room, beach, pool area, buffet, lobby. Afte [... read more]r day 2, we asked to move resort which was done by our rep quickly. We went to Melia Jardines del Rey where there was not much of an improvement. We are frequent flyers and have vacationed north and Central America, visited many islands in the Caribbean. We had been to Cuba 3 times before this, and were aware of the issues with food and drinks and no see-ums, but this infestation of flies everywhere was just too much. Not being able to have a drink or a bite to eat without covering your plate, cup, wine glass with a napkin was over the top.

Good resort for 2 stars

So many problems with the rooms... First room had problem with a electricity, can kill you... Second room has waterfall, but not so big. And it's superior deluxe rooms! So many problems with the rooms... First room had problem with a electricity, can kill you... Second room has waterfall, but not so big. And it's superior deluxe rooms!

All I can say it’s Cuba

We did not get the room we paid for. Food is the same everyday, never had butter, not one soda on resort, no toilet paper in bathrooms on resort except in our room. You only go to this resort for the beach, not for the food or drinks.

Beautiful beach!

The staff is absolutely amazing! Always so happy to serve you. Every morning, we enjoyed the delicious Spanish coffees at the piano bar, or the pizza / fries at the beach for lunch. The resort is ok. Needs abit of an update but very clean grounds. The staff work hard at keeping it nice and clean. The beach is beautiful! The food at the buffet was ok, we had something to eat everyday even though it was repetitive, it's Cuba so to be expected. We liked the pasta bar or rice or meat option cooke [... read more]d directly in front of you at the grill. We would definitely go back. The staff did an amazing job organizing our wedding on the beach. They went out of their way to ensure everything went smoothly. Thank you all so much!

Could have been better

Our room was building 2300 and did not have cable, air conditioning or hot water. We were on the 1st floor and also had cockroaches. The pillows and top blanket smelled old and musky and the top blanket had holes in it. We complained at the lobby on arrival. They assured us that someone would be to our room to fix the issues. On day 3 after making daily complaints at the lobby we went to the customer complaint office and they had us moved to another building and that room was better, brighter an [... read more]d cleaner and had all the amenities. I also had a severe reaction to multiple bites from sand fleas after spending the day on the beach and had to access the medical services, onsite MD which was expensive. I recommend assessing the beach for pests and bring some cortisone cream and insect repellant. I needed to use the lobby phone to call my health insurance provider but the lobby told me a could not use their phone because it could not do outgoing calls even though I would be using a 1-800 number. There were no liquors so the drink selection was boring. They served the same food breakfast, lunch and supper the entire week. The staff did the best they could. I do wish the lobby had told us on day one to go to customer complaints and I wish I had been warned about the beach because it ended up ruining my vacation.

Returning guest

Returned because we enjoyed last years vacation. Beach is beautiful. Bar staff in the Diamond Club area are excellent. I found the food acceptable. There are shortages of some products but that is expected with the political situation in our world. We did have issues with the hot water in our room. Not pleasant when you are there for 2 weeks. Most times it was barely tepid. Also there were a lot of flies everywhere but after speaking with others, it seems it was much worse earlier in the year. W [... read more]ould still go again.

OK Resort

The Resort was beautiful, the beach was beautiful, unfortunately the sand fleas were quite bad. The food was ok but the shortage of food in Cuba was apparent. All the other Hotels were also in the same boat. No eggs, orange juice, pop or beer on tap a lot of the time. There was a mix up with our room in the first couple of days, But they moved us without hesitation and followed up to ensure we were satisfied. For the most part overall was a good place to go at a reasonable price.

Nice resort for the price

The hotel is updated but clean. The food was very good which I was very surprised. I would give 4/5 for the food. The beach is amazing for sure 5/5. No wine but not important for me as they had lots of other choices (beer, pina colada, strawberry daiquiris, vodka, rhum and more).

Great Resort

The resort is older but we had no problems. We always had hot water, the food was good and the drinks were very good. The beach is amazing. The bugs were a little annoying but they are like that everywhere in Cuba right now.

Too many issues

The positives: 1) Weather, 2) Beach and 3) Staff; The negatives: 1)Bugs - flies and mosquitos; 2) Moldy rooms; 3) Useless A/C (hence moldy rooms); 4)Food is very repetitive, and covered in flies; 5) Drinks/Koolaid (as expected); In regards to rooms, some people seem to have ok rooms, but the basic older rooms were awful. It was like sleeping in a cave with feeling of moisture everywhere. The resort looks very pretty and on the outside looks ok, but we likely won't return. I think  [... read more]many of the bugs and dampness issues are result of building the hotel on marshy swamp land. Recommendation if you do go, upgrade your room, it's more important than upgrading to the "Diamond Club".

Beautiful Beach

The resort was beautiful for the exception of no hot water, no water pressure and minimal air conditioning. Staff was friendly. Pool and grounds are clean. Food was 7 out of 10. Beach 10 out 10. Would I return? Yes indeed for the beach⛱️.

Excellent Resort

First time to Cuba, overall it was better then I had ever expected. Food was very good, lots to choice from. Rooms where large and always cleaned. Staff was extremely friendly. I did notice that there was no hand soap for the washrooms. (would advise travelers to bring their own) Lots of mosquitos (I brought Skin so Soft bug spray by Avon, which really helped) (would also advise travelers to bring bug spray). Beautiful Beach

Okay Resort

The grounds immaculate. I couldn't eat, the food was covered in flies. That was so disgusting. Beach and pool areas were great. The staff was pleasant. There's was an odor in my building lobby. The rooms need to be updated. Some of the fixtures were falling out of the walls. Sanitation was non existing. *October 2023*

Amazing Resort

This resort is a little gem. It’s a small/medium resort. People with mobility issues this is great for. The beach is stunning one of the best we have seen. The food is good this is Cuba so don’t expect Mexico or Jamaica standards. They do their best with what they have. You will never go hungry. The pizza on the beach is amazing. There was a lot of shortages this year but didn’t ruin our vacation. Bring bug spray and Benadryl. Lots of bugs this year across the island. The people were amazi [... read more]ng there. Just love the Cuban people they are the kindest and always smiling. We definitely will be returning to this resort in the near future.