Great spot to vacation for sure!!!

From the time we landed to the day we had to leave this beautiful location we were given the best hospitality. On the bus, which was easy to locate, to the hotel, from the airport, we were offered drinks for the ride. When we arrived at the hotel we had butlers to take our luggage to our rooms. There was offerings of drinks and homemade pizza to great us. The hospitality was always so friendly, kind and so supportive for our stay. The wait staff at our daily buffet meals for breakfast, lun [... read more]ch and dinner, to our mini bar supplies every night (beer and water included) to the amazing entertainment staff that kept us going all day long with activities. The entertainment group did yoga, workouts, games, dance lessons, to nightly entertainment nights at the theatre for the guests to enjoy. Wow they never disappointed us either. Food was available all day long at the buffet with a wide variety to choose from. Even with food intolerances I was able to eat with no issues daily and the food was delicious. There were A la Cart dinners offered to us daily from our butlers. These dinners were not buffet and more of a dressier night out setting for dinning. This is optional and at no added expense but needed to be booked in the mornings through our butler. Every day we received room service with beautiful bed art for us to enjoy. The cleaning staff always left the room clean. Bring the butlers, cleaning staff and mini bar staff items they can use, such as hygiene items/children items/clothing etc, to support themselves and their families; they will treat you very well to show their appreciation. For the wait staff, bar staff, beach chair support workers, entertainment staff bring small dollar bills in US or Canadian for tipping. They earn it for sure with all they do for us visitors. Beach chair staff will help find you good lounge chairs in the mornings and sweep them clean for you, for an enjoyable day at the beach front. The pool also has lots of lounge chairs as well as a swim up bar. I would highly recommend this hotel for the experience of visiting Cuba. Definitely a great stay from beginning to end. Yes the food was amazing daily!!!

Beautiful resort

This is my second time to this resort and it is spectacular!!!!! The grounds are beautiful well maintained, the beach is absolutely beautiful!!!! Water is turquoise clear with very little seaweed, lots of little fish and white sand you can walk for miles !!!! It could use a coat of paint here and there but after Covid it will get there in time, but still amazing!!!! Most amazing staff, friendly and very kind . Butler service was spectacular and the entertainment crew keeps you on your toes !!!!! [... read more] Lots of laughs !!!!! Food , well let just say I have been to Cuba many times and I was blown away with the food !!!! Always something to eat and it was delicious!!!!! Sanctuary Grande Memories Santa Maria is a ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 🏝️

Nice place

Very pretty grounds, great staff nice beach til half was washed away. The music and games at the pool were very loud every afternoon same as at beach many different radios trying to drown out the other one, they need a quiet pool

Great stay

Our stay was better than we were expecting. Reviews can be very mixed and it's hard to see past a bad one - but we really didn't have any negative experiences. The beach is absolutely incredible and 100% the reason to go. The food is quite bland but we still always had options (I am vegetarian and still always had something). We did bring our own condiments and brought them to each meal which was really helpful, as I don't think there are any there. We were able to eat at an a-la-carte almost ev [... read more]ery night, which was nice. For drinks, they really old have rum for hard liquor but lots of beer and wine (no diet sodas). The bugs on the beach were REALLY bad at morning and night, so definitely bring a good buy spray and after-bite. I got so many bites no matter how much I tried to prepare. The only negative I could find would be that the "Sanctuary" section of the beach is very small, and people get up at 5am to save chairs. It's frustrating to get up at 7 and have no chairs available, and no one actually sitting in any of them until 10am. If the resort stopped allowing this it would be a big improvement. The pizza on the beach is incredible - definitely recommend. They accept USD and CAD for tips but if you give them CAD coins they are constantly asking other tourists to change it into bills, so it seems to be much easier for them if you get USD $1s for tipping. We also really struggled to find sunglasses anywhere on the resorts or shops, so definitely bring extras! The butlers and staff were very friendly and accommodating. The entertainment and music at the pool is very repetitive, but it didn't really matter to us. The rooms are okay, nothing special but also no complaints. The hotel is pretty far (1.5-2 hours) from the airport so you lose a day in travel. As long as you know to expect less in Cuba than in other caribbean countries, I would give it a solid 4 stars.

Better than we expected!

It was our first time in Cayo Santa Maria. It's a 90 minute drive from the airport. The surroundings were lush, the staff were helpful and charming. The food was great (we love Latin food) and the drinks were fantastic. Will definitely go back.

Great resort!!

Staff,beach,pool was amazing. Rooms need a little update but they were still very nice!! The food was good at this resort considering it is cuba. The bus ride is a little long but is fully worth it once you get there!!

Amazing staff and great beach

Hotel is very dated, clean but needs some tender loving care and plenty of fresh paint and renovations Grounds are well kept, such as gardens, pool is great and very large, beach is beautiful, especially on calm days Staff is the great

Love the vibe!!!!!

We had an amazing week at Santuary. The staff were all wonderful and we met so many wonderful people. We would love to mention Pablo from the pool bar, Lily from the lobby bar, Danyel from Nativa bar and our butler Javier from block 59.

Beautiful Beach

Our 10-day stay at Sanctuary had a few hiccups initially but overall the beauty of the beach and the fine weather far outweighed any issues we encountered. The staff went above and beyond to make our stay comfortable. We especially enjoyed guitarist, Esther, in the Sanctuary lounge. An amazing talent. Always impressed by the world class musicians that played every night. Special shout out to Sucel, Jai, Richard and Miladie. This was our 5th time to Cuba and clearly COVID-19 and a hurricane have  [... read more]impacted supplies. No vodka, pina coladas or top-shelf liquor brands most Canadian bars stock. We saw chicken only once. Tilapia only fish option. Some beef but mostly pork at the a la cart dinners. Carry your own tissue pkgs as paper products are limited and bathroom tissues run out. Enjoy!

This resort was ok

It was ok but a bit run down in my view. The beach was incredibly beautiful. The staff was very friendly and worked with what they had. The food was so and so but you could always find something to eat. The drinks were never the same from one day to the next and every bartender had a different recipe...but that was ok I suppose. For the rooms, they were clean but dated. What was strange to me was that there was just one fitted sheet on the bed. No flat sheet over it and no blankets or bed cove [... read more]r... There was a blanket in the closet... I still can't figure that one out.

Amazing Resort

Well it was my first time at this resort and I must say it’s gorgeous, the grounds were beautiful and well kept , pools were awesome and well maintained. Beach is wow !!!!! We stayed at the Sanctuary side (adults only) and the bungalows were older but clean , ya it could use a new paint job and tighten a few loose screws but overall very comfortable and clean !!!!! Maid and butler service were spectacular over and above what I’ve seen before in Cuba !!!! Very friendly and extremely grateful  [... read more]💕. The food , well let’s just say I normally have issues with food when I go to Cuba but not this time , the food was delicious, maybe one meal was meh but for me to eat this was by far spectacular!!!!! Staff was very friendly and attentive!!!!! Only negative comment is the alacarte restaurant building needs an overhaul on the bathrooms (no toilet seats). I can’t wait to go back and I hope to see Rudy and Glendy as they were amazing people!!!!!!

It was OK

My boyfriend and I went to Cayo Santa Maria for our first time. We have been to Varadero in the past but before COVID/before the shortage. The beach and ocean was absolutely stunning and probably the most beautiful I have seen so far. The staff were so so friendly and probably why we didn't mind the trip as they are so kind, and so happy and appreciative of every little thing, even if you just chat with them.The resort was dated, however it was still fine. The rooms were OK, of course if you loo [... read more]ked closely you can see things rusting, etc, but we chose to ignore that as we hardly stayed in the room (except to sleep). We stayed at the adults section of Grand Memories, however if you are looking for entertainment at the Sanctuary, there are next to none. We would walk 5-10 minutes or take a cart to the Grand Memories to attend the nightly shows at 9:30pm, which were just ok as well. Some nights they had good shows, other nights it seemed like they just made things up on the go. Most of the time, we would just drink in the bars and talk with other couples we met. The entertainment during the day was OK, they had games at the pool with the entertainment team. We were told this resort is the "liveliest" of all Cayo Santa Maria resorts, but for us it wasn't enough. That's on us, now we know it's more of a quiet/relaxing place. As for food, the food was OK. I am already aware that Cuba food in comparison to other places isn't the best, but we made the best of it. The Sanctuary only has a buffet for meals. We learned that when you book dinners it is at the Grand Memories, which can be super confusing to navigate so we ask for a cart to take us to said restaurant. The shortage is really apparent here in their food and drinks, which of course is not the workers' fault whatsoever. Our butler would schedule us for certain restaurants but the food is all essentially the same thing with maybe a slight change to a menu. Sometimes they run out of things on random days. A turn off for us was when they could not provide daily water bottles in our room fridge. Supposedly, the fridge is supposed to be stocked but there was no room service for ordering things, and only one giant water bottle per day. Some days, when we asked for water, they said they had none left and could only provide water in little cups. This is an issue as we can't drink Cuban tap water and because of alcohol consumption, you would think we would need more water bottles in the room. There were also times they ran out of beer at around 1am-ish. Again, we are aware of the shortage and how COVID affected their tourist industry. The excursion was so much fun and very beautiful. While snorkeling we did actually see coral reefs., and fish, and even a stingray! I recommend their catamaran cruise (99 USD), which includes the catamaran, snorkeling, a dolphin show and interaction, lobster lunch (delicious!) and relaxing on a beach before returning to the resort. We spoke with other tourists who had been to Sanctuary prior to COVID and they said it was amazing and nothing like it was when we were there. I hope to return when it goes back to its former glory as we didn't mind it, but would not return with their current shortage. Would I recommend this to my friend group? No, because I know what they like and this wouldn't be for them. But it might work for individuals who don't mind little entertainment.

Very tired resort...

the staff was amazing..but thats where it ends...rooms are very tired..we had no water in our room for the first 2 days, no beers or soft drinks for the whole week in our room bar fridge.. there was no coke offered for 70% of the time we were at this resort.. they ran out of vodka for most of the time we were there, ran out of tonic water, no orange juice at bar or for breakfast, no cereal was offered at breakfast , toliet paper was used as napkins for most of the week, last 2 days we had real  [... read more]napkins.. our first room was terrible, we were moved on the 3rd day, better room, but again very tired..we notice the last day we were there they started painting, and sprucing up the grounds..

Don’t understand the great reviews

I am not picky, and I understand cuba is different than the rest of the Caribbean, I have been many times understanding the food and hotel quality is usually lacking. However the stunning reviews really made me think I had found a hidden gem… I did NOT! Cuba is really struggling right now economically. The food was unsanitary. Raw meat and fish sat for hours next to the hot grills with no refrigeration at all. 2/3 of the hotels on the resort shut down right before we went with zero compensati [... read more]on. The buffet they set up was tiny and my kids play better a La carte service than the food we received. The hotel room was run down, cracked bathtub, terrible grout jobs etc. again, that’s expected in cuba - but don’t call it a 5* resort. Drinks were ok. I’ve had worse in cuba for sure. Beach was stunning and the reason to keep going back over and over. None of the workers seemed like they wanted to be there. They acted very inconvenienced by every question unless they saw cash in your hand. “Butler service” needs to be clarified. I pictured lying on the beach being offered a drink or towel. This was not the case at all. The butler was a person who sat in your hotel room building and offered to book a La carte dinners. The mini bar and stocked fridge didn’t exist. It was a bottle of water once a day. I blame Sunwing for not clarifying that when they list their inclusions. They know what is a shortage in cuba right now.

Half of the resort is open

The grounds & resort & people are beautiful. They are just starting to run things back up again after covid, half the resort was open. There is a food shortage & it really shows on the resort, same food everyday.

Great Value

Went last Week Of Oct 2022, Paid $645 for an all inclusive, rooms were clean, but a bit outdated, but was ok,,fridge was restocked if you wanted with bottled water,,but no beer in fridge..food was ok,,your not going to get alot of food options,,but for sure the basics were there..lunch, supper,,pasta, meats,,pork,beef and chicken daily cooked in front of you,,every 2nd day shrimp was cooked,,,,in my many years of travel,,3 days out of the trip, they did not offer eggs,,guessing shortage,,so they [... read more] made pancakes instead,,which was good,,,cooks do a great job here and work very hard...went to a couple of la carts,,international and the grill, was really surprised they had a full lobster,,,beach , i heard from the time of season,,was a fair amount of seaweed,,but staff did there best to get rid of it...nice long walks on beach if you wanted...overall for what i paid,,great value,,would recommend...only downfall, is the 1 hour and 45 minute drive to the hotel...

We feel deceived and let down by Sunwing

Website description not accurate, no privileges other than lobby bar at other 2 near by Memories resorts as they are closed, including all extra dining. There is no 24hr snack bar and you have to beg for late night snacks (stale ham sandwiches). Only given 1 bottle of water a day/room. Majority of the food was not fresh, very limited choices. Only alcohol that was available at all bars was rum, real vodka hard to find. All beer taps ran dry, bottled beer was harsh, no cola or club soda for mix,  [... read more]just orange pop/lime pop. Most staff great but look exhausted and are too pushy on last day looking for tips. Beach was phenomenal. Best part of the trip by far. Will not return as we had multiple issues with Sunwing that remain unresolved and feel deceived, and paid extra $100 for 2x Elite Plus seating return and were bumped to regular with no refund or explanation.

Don’t go to this resort

We booked our vacation based on the reviews here and I went to this resort with an open mind since it’s after the pandemic. Here is what you really need to know. -the beach is wonderful! Has always been and will always be. There is no comparison at this price point - the food is bland and repetitive. The white rice at lunch will be the brown rice at dinner. I understand that they have to use the left overs but honestly you need to bring the following with you. -ketchup -peanut butter [... read more] -jam -pitas or bread cause theirs is so hard even toasted -nuts or chips cause there are barely any snacks We ate the same food for an entire week. I was extremely excited to see calamari on the menu the first day but by day 4… I can’t see any more calamari! For the food is basic, you won’t be hungry but you won’t be satisfied either. The accommodations- the rooms are in need of repair and they are extremely outdated. Clean but outdated The service- poor! I was used to the happy people of Cuba and enjoyed my interactions in the past, but it feel like they don’t care any longer and are just hunting for tips The resort- outdated and in need of repair. I would have thought with so much time on our hands during Covid that they would have taken this time to repair and upgrade their hotels. Other notes: The music sucks and is very disturbing and not you expect from an adult only resort. Typically they are classier and have soft music playing. Not music like you’re in the late night club. The wifi situation is poor, always having to ask for more wifi and constantly having to sign into use your rations. The door keys constantly stop working and when you’re going to the third floor and have to clean all the way back to reception to get your key fixed again! Very annoying. My overall opinion, is that if you are prepared, it’s a cost effective vacation but you should really only count on the beach…and nothing else We all came home sick!

HONEST REVIEW

Room had blood and stains on furniture, everyone had food poisoning, slushies have mould in them, clothes and food stolen by maids, and I got a rusty fishing hook stuck in my foot from inside the pool

Good resort

Resort need update,but overall it’s okay.The staff was very polite and friendly.The food was very good.The beach it’s really nice with white sand,pools are nice and clean.We had great time.Stayed eleven days at the resort.