Memories Cayo Largo: Not worth more than $750, 20+ trips to Cuba...seasoned advice:

As always, let me start of by saying I am a seasoned Cuba traveler, and with that I have a lot to compare to...over 20, 3 and 4+ star hotels within the last few years. Since November of 2021 (pandemic times), 6 hotels in Cuba. I am comparing Cuba to Cuba. I’ve never been to Mexico or Dominican. I find that sometimes people will go there, then come to Cuba and “be shocked”. Cuba is different, and even more so worse than before the pandemic. If you’ve been to one of these, that’s wha [... read more]t my comparison is based upon: Hotel Parasio (Pestana), Colonial in Cayo Coco, Memories Flamenco, Tryp Cayo Coco, Melia Jardines Del Ray, Occidental Varadero, Roc Arenas, Grand Memories, Melia Varadero, Be Live Collection CSM, Play Cayo Santa Maria, Memories Parasio, Sol Varadero, Playa Costa Verde Holguin and Grand Sirenas CSM. Top faves would be Playa Cayo Santa Maria, Melia Jardines Del Ray, Grand Sirenas and Sol Varadero. These range from 3 to 4.5 stars. Some 30 years old, some 4. Tips about reviews: If at the top of the review you see “1 contribution”, that’s a red flag, perhaps management. Also, be ware that on social media, some admins will delete anything negative, so you won’t see the true story. Rooms: Sunwing pics are 100% not accurate, they are what the prototype for the new rooms are GOING to be like. The resort is 20 years old, so are the rooms. While NO, I don’t go to Cuba for the rooms, it’s not a pleasant vacation when the sheet/blankets smell and you can’t sleep, can’t shower cause the water is only cold, or like us, burned us cause out of no where went super hot! Same as with the super loud AC, can’t sleep. No fan in the room, and super dark. Rusty old lamps that are enough light of a candle, hard to find stuff in the dark. The electric sockets also came out of the wall when you tried to take a plug out. TV didn’t work (fuzzy screen), not a big deal but one night we just wanted to chill in the room. One lady had the sliding door fall on her, one lady claims she was electrocuted in the shower. I don’t care about the layers of paint, or stains in the tub, but safety stuff like that is pretty important. This was the biggest “Con” of the resort. Lack of sleep due to AC noise and smells. Entertainment: I wish they had an on site disco. The shows were great. Some of the staff were great, some bothered us (chasing us down the beach) about leaving “gifts” even though I hadn’t interacted with them all week. Buffet: Note that we went 1st opening week. Management puts out the best of the best so that word gets around how great it is, and more people book. I spoke with them about this, it won’t always be the same food. It was a good variety, good pastas, but again…I don’t want people booking in say Feb, and being disappointed that “They said the food was good!”. The 1st and 2nd day staff were pretty good, on it if we needed water/coffee/wine. We tipped. Then 3rd day on, we noticed service getting worse and worse…maybe because we weren’t dropping $20 per meal (which is what we saw some people were doing, that’s a months salary, no wonder now $5 bills get laughed at, what did some people create?!) they started ignoring us. Meat grill guy was nice the first day, then day 4 told us we need to pay for lobster $20 per piece or give him our clothes lol. Management said everything in the buffet was free. We got the lobster, and it was surprise….raw. Lobby: The 3 gentleman that work there are amazing, such hard workers! They made fabulous drinks, always quick. I wish there was more seating around the lobby bar as it got packed in there fast in the evening. Only about 10 tables with 2 chairs each inside, so when it rains, you can’t even move around. I would suggest adding more tables to the night show area, at the back, kind of extend the lobby area. Beach: Ah, the big question you read on the forums/fb pages: “Is there a beach?!” Sometimes yes, sometimes no. Day 1 the water was up to the rocks, no sand visible. By day 6, 20 ft of sand. It changes according to the moon/winds/tides. If there is no beach, you can take the train (it’s basically a tractor, painted to look like a train, there’s no railing) to Playa Sirena or Paraiso, however…we were told it won’t always be free. Same as with drinks, food and shade spots at Playa Sirena, won’t always be free! Just note, it’s about 20 minutes and goes over very bumpy sand roads. If you have back issues, are senior or what not, it’s not very comfortable. Taxi one way for 2 people was $8USD on credit card, and goes much faster. Pools: Great layout, I like a good pool vibe after the beach in the PM. Not a whole lot of shade, spots get taken. Somewhat clean, although some people mentioned the pool bar pool was a bit smelly. Snack Bar: Amazing service, had a few things on the menu each day (Burgers, fries sometimes, shrimp sandwich, cabbage/cucumber/avocado salad) I appreciate a good old ham and cheese after too much vino blanco during the night haha. Note: I don’t go to Cuba to make friends with staff. I don’t go with rose colored glasses and ignore the bad because of the friendly people. I will still review the “negative”, people have a right to know before they spend their hard earned $ on vacation. I don’t bother reading reviews that state “I’ve been coming here since 1941, it’s the best! I never go any where else”, why? Because they don’t have anything to compare to. How do you know it’s the best when you’ve never been anywhere else?! Lol. Then you get comments like “If you want 5 star go to a 5 star!” Well, I went to Sol Varadero, 30 year old hotel that’s 3 star, and almost everything was much better, service, rooms, etc. I went to Cayo Largo to try it out. I had a great vacation either way! Would I go back? Sure, if the price is under $750 out of Toronto for a week, it’s worth it 😊

Memories Cayo Largo: Good resort!

The hotel has nice grounds, good rooms and decent food. My room didn't have hot water, but my friend's room was fine, so I guess it depends where you stay. I liked the entertainment in the evening, although a nice addition would be a schedule of the shows for each day of the week and schedule of the activities by the pool. The beach is very good, and I liked that in windy weather I could escape to the Playa Sirena.

Grand Memories Cayo Largo: Memories Cayo Largo

We stayed for 2 weeks at Memories Cayo Largo 11 - 25 Nov 2022. It has had many upgrades, new walkways, signage, tables & chairs, pool liner, wi fi through out the resort. The biggest bonus was the food. It was top notch! I had prime rib twice and every night the selection was awesome. The beach comes and goes, that's a fact. The first week was calm with lots of beach. The second week was windy so the beach was gone. I'm sure it's back by now. I was disappointed that they are turning the mini dis [... read more]co into a Steak House, so now you're forced to sit at the 24hr bar that has very limited seating and is right beside the loud theatre. There are many more upgrades that can be done and David the Manager said it is a work in progress. Our next trip is 24 Feb 2023, so we'll see what improvements have been made then.

Villa Lindamar: Quaint little hotel

We had an amazing time. Great location Beautiful You have to shuttle to the main beach as the beach is rocky. Food good for Cuba. Entertainment exceptional! Thank you so much for an amazing vacation

Starfish Cayo Largo: Now called the Starfish resort - by Sunwing

This was my first trip to Cuba. I didn't even know that the island of Cayo Largo existed until I discovered this resort through a "last Minute" website. I wanted to escape work, computers, cell phones and the city for a while and just sit on a beach. This is exactly what Starfish offered. The entire island has been closed down for almost 3 years following a Hurricane and then of course Covid-19. It is obvious that the owners have invested a lot of money on the property. Most of the resort is sti [... read more]ll closed as they continue to repair, repaint, renovate and refresh the property. I had a very nice room, (a little small, but I didn't got there to stay in my room). There was a problem with hot water for the first few days as they were still struggling with their reopening plan, but it was fixed and there was always lots of hot water after that. I had been warned that Cuba is not know for their food, but I was pleasantly surprised at the selection at the buffets and the food was tasty. I had no complaints. The beaches on the island are beautiful, however, there are some areas where the beach has been washed away, (but not the Starfish Beach). All of the staff were friendly and helpful, (even the construction workers. All in all, it was an excellent trip and I was very happy. HOWEVER, there were a few things that could be better. 1) The wi-fi service is terrible! I had to go to the front desk every day to get my log-in credentials reset. You had to re-sign into the network several times each day, sometimes, every hour. Very frustrating. 2) The main dining room acoustics are terrible. It was very noisy at meal times and was difficult to have a quiet conversation due to the noise. They need to install acoustic baffles or fabric to absorb the noise. 3) It would be nice if they put signs up over the food selections so that you knew what you were eating.

Memories Cayo Largo: Some good, some bad. Under $700, per week, go for it!

As always, let me start of by saying I am a seasoned Cuba traveler, and with that I have a lot to compare to...over 20, 3 and 4+ star hotels within the last few years. Since November of 2021 (pandemic times), 6 hotels in Cuba. I am comparing Cuba to Cuba. I’ve never been to Mexico or Dominican. If you’ve been to one of these, that’s what my comparison is based upon: Hotel Parasio (Pestana), Colonial in Cayo Coco, Memories Flamenco, Tryp Cayo Coco, Melia Jardines Del Ray, Occidental Var [... read more]adero, Roc Arenas, Grand Memories, Melia Varadero, Be Live Collection CSM, Play Cayo Santa Maria, Memories Parasio, Sol Varadero, Playa Costa Verde Holguin and Grand Sirenas CSM. Top faves would be Playa Cayo Santa Maria, Melia Jardines Del Ray, Grand Sirenas and Sol Varadero. These range from 3 to 4.5 stars. Some 30 years old, some 4. Tips about reviews: If at the top of the review you see “1 contribution”, that’s a red flag, perhaps management. Also, anyone posting a negative comment on the facebook groups will get banned, so people don’t want to say anything at all. Rooms: Sunwing pics are not accurate, they are what the prototype for the new rooms are GOING to be like. The resort is 20 years old. While NO, I don’t go to Cuba for the rooms, it’s not a pleasant vacation when the sheet/blankets smel, can’t shower cause the water is only cold, or like us, burned us cause out of no where went super hot! Super loud AC, can’t sleep. No fan in the room, and super dark. Rusty old lamps that are enough light of a candle, hard to find stuff in the dark. The electric sockets also came out of the wall when you tried to take a plug out. TV didn’t work (fuzzy screen), not a big deal but one night we just wanted to chill in the room. One lady had the sliding door fall on her, one lady claims she was electrocuted in the shower. I don’t care about the layers of paint, or stains in the tub, but safety stuff like that is pretty important. This was the biggest “Con” of the resort. Lack of sleep due to AC noise and smells. Entertainment: I wish they had an on site disco. The shows were great. Some of the staff were great, some bothered us (chasing us down the beach) about leaving “gifts” even though I hadn’t interacted with them all week. Buffet: Note that we went 1st opening week. Management puts out the best of the best so that word gets around how great it is, and more people book. I spoke with them about this, it won’t always be the same food. It was a good variety, good pastas, but again…I don’t want people booking in say Feb, and being disappointed that “They said the food was good!”. The 1st and 2nd day staff were pretty good, on it if we needed water/coffee/wine. We tipped. Then 3rd day on, we noticed service getting worse and worse…maybe because we weren’t dropping $20 per meal (which is what we saw some people were doing, that’s a months salary, no wonder now $5 bills get laughed at, what did some people create?!) they started ignoring us. Meat grill guy was nice the first day, then day 4 told us we need to pay for lobster $20 per piece or give him our clothes lol. Management said everything in the buffet was free. We got the lobster, and it was surprise….raw. Lobby: The 3 gentleman that work there are amazing, such hard workers! They made fabulous drinks, always quick. I wish there was more seating around the lobby bar as it got packed in there fast in the evening. Only about 10 tables with 2 chairs each inside, so when it rains, you can’t even move around. I would suggest adding more tables to the night show area, at the back, kind of extend the lobby area. Beach: Ah, the big question you read on the forums/fb pages: “Is there a beach?!” Sometimes yes, sometimes no. Day 1 the water was up to the rocks, no sand visible. By day 6, 20 ft of sand. It changes according to the moon/winds/tides. If there is no beach, you can take the train (it’s basically a tractor, painted to look like a train, there’s no railing) to Playa Sirena or Paraiso, however…we were told it won’t always be free. Same as with drinks, food and shade spots at Playa Sirena, won’t always be free! Just note, it’s about 20 minutes and goes over very bumpy sand roads. If you have back issues, are senior or what not, it’s not very comfortable. Taxi one way for 2 people was $8USD on credit card, and goes much faster. Pools: Great layout, I like a good pool vibe after the beach in the PM. Not a whole lot of shade, spots get taken. Somewhat clean, although some people mentioned the pool bar pool was a bit smelly. Snack Bar: Amazing service, had a few things on the menu each day. Note: I don’t go to Cuba to make friends with staff. I don’t go with rose colored glasses and ignore the bad because of the friendly people. I will still review the “negative”, people have a right to know before they spend their hard earned $ on vacation. I don’t bother reading reviews that state “I’ve been coming here since 1941, it’s the best! I never go any where else”, why? Because they don’t have anything to compare to. How do you know it’s the best when you’ve never been anywhere else?! Lol. Then you get comments like “If you want 5 star go to a 5 star!” Well, I went to Sol Varadero, 30 year old hotel that’s 3 star, (went in Feb 2022) and almost everything was much better, service, rooms, etc. I went to Cayo Largo to try it out. Overall, I had a great vacation either way! Would I go back? Sure, if the price is under $700 out of Toronto for a week, it’s worth it 😊

Villa Marina: I loved it.

I loved it depends on what you want. It is extremely quiet compared to other resorts in Cuba.It has around 25 rooms which are more like a cottage.No beach. Extremely limited buffet but the food was great.No snack bar no entertainment.It is not like any other resort in Cuba. Being so small you get to know everyone by name. Staff there are outstanding. It you want a peaceful relaxing holiday this place is for you.It is right in the little town. Boat will take you an outstanding beach.Restaurant an [... read more]d nighttime bar are right there and very good food and very low prices. Also street party on Wednesday and Saturday night.I would go back in a heartbeat.

Starfish Cayo Largo: Great beaches but sad resort

I could not really tell who rand this resort..key fob said Ibeorstar the sign said Grand Caribe and some things had Sol on them. Who ever has the management of this one needs help. We were there for two weeks and had no white wine for most of it. No beer a lot of the time.This is the first time we have been asked to pay for the safety deposit box. The draws in or closet were eaten by ants so that only the top drawer worked.The celling in the bathroom was collapsing. I do not go to Cuba with grea [... read more]t expectations on food;but the buffet was the same everyday for all three meals. We ate at the beach ; and PLEASE buy a second toaster; waiting 15 min for a piece of warm bread is not right.

Villa Natura: Awesome Vacation and Resort

We had a great awesome time at Villa Iguana! Hola Sun and Trip Central made it worry free! We met great people from staff to vacationers! Made great friends. Food was great..no complaints..very clean rooms..resort very well lit and safe!..We would definitely go back to great beaches, people, and sites.

Grand Memories Cayo Largo: Amazing resort

Beautiful resort. I wasn't aware the beach had been washed away with Hurricane Maria . We had to bus to Playa Sirena beach which took almost an hour. Other than that I enjoyed it very much. Also we used the outside restaurant for breakfast and supper for part of the week. Too many flies to eat outside. Thankful we ended up inside by midfle of week.

Villa Natura: Nice resort at a great price!

Villa Iguana upgraded our room to a bungalow (no extra charge). A pleasant surprise. Resort is somewhat spread out, so required a fair amount of walking to reach some of the facilities. Food is typical Cuban - mediocre at best. Lettuce salads don't exist, fruit pretty scant, coffee ho-hum. Pizza, burgers and fries at the bar were good. Cold beer, free-pour drinks. Beach at resort is pretty much non-existent, but the Eden Resort next door allowed us to use theirs-a beautiful small stretch o [... read more]f beach. Free shuttle service to the marina allowed us to travel by boat to the incredible beaches of Sirena and Paradis. There are two lovely salt water pools at the Iguana. The staff are so friendly and always helpful. All in all, a great holiday with perfect weather. We had the pleasure of booking with Jennifer M.at Tripcentral. She covered all bases flawlessly and offered great advice. A real pro and highly recommended. Thanks to Tripcentral and Jennifer. Would gladly use Tripcentral and Jennifer for any future travel plan.

Villa Marina: Relaxing Getaway

We had a great, relaxing week at Villa Marinera. We were looking for an economical, small resort, just to unwind and enjoy the warmer weather, this place provided exactly what we were looking for. The rustic cottage was clean and comfortable, shower had great water temperature and pressure. There is a mini fridge in room (not stocked), no coffee maker. No a la cartes, buffet offerings were decent in selection and taste. No juice available, juice box available at extra cost. No useable beach [... read more], free boat shuttle to an amazing beach -playa sirena- which has bathroom facilities, bar and restaurant (extra cost). We really enjoyed our stay, as for the price we weren't looking for or expecting any extras or 'luxury'. It was a lovely place to relax, unwind and enjoy the weather.

Villa Natura: A bit disappointing

Our stay at Iguana was a bit disappointing. We have been to Cuba many times and although the fòod is never great, we have always managed to eat fairly well. This time the selection was very poor and got worse as time went on. This is the first time we were there when the beach was gone for the whole two weeks but we realized that was a risk when we booked and there were always options to go to other beaches. We were caught up in the whole airport runway closure ordeal and very disappointed by t [... read more]he lack of communication from Hola Sun about their plans to get us home. As usual, the staff is always friendly and do their best to keep us happy and that means a lot.

Starfish Cayo Largo: Beautiful white sandy beach

Beautiful beach, food's okay, rooms are pretty good, staff is friendly. Very short if any wait for bar service. Looks a little rundown due to sparce grass on green areas. Airport is very handy and was in hotel 1/2 hour after disembarking. Designated full nudity beaches. No bicycle rentals but Quad rental is quite reasonable.

Starfish Cayo Largo: Great all inclusive resort - Cayo Largo is a special place

The Hotel Pelicano seems to have recently been taken over by the Melia chain which may be a good thing as it is next door to one of their other hotels (Sol) which is also more expensive. Anyway the staff are wonderful, friendly and helpful to assist with everything. Unfortunately Cuba seems to be suffering from the US embargoes and tourism is down. This means that there aren't as many guests in the Cayo Largo hotels and sometimes there were food deficiencies but the beaches are still won [... read more]derful and with fewer guests lots of space on the sand. We will definitely be back. This was my third time to Cayo Largo and would definitely love to come back. I should also mention that unlike most places in Cuba there are clothing optional beaches here but they are inoffensive and mostly away from the main public areas.

Memories Cayo Largo: Excellent resort, but waiter service needs improvement.

Hotel still excellent despite age. Grounds, rooms, common areas well kept. Don't like new grey colour and white outdoor lamps. Prefer coloured cabins, terracotta lamps. Food servers don't spend enough time continuing to fill water and wine glasses, or getting tables ready, or seating guests in buffet. Often when replenishing soup or juice didn't notice there were no spoons, bowls or glasses. So food but no utensils. No eggs, cheese for several days. Service at special dinners excellent [... read more]. Beach non existent because of high surf and wind. Palapas overturned.

Villa Natura: VERY PEACEFUL RESORT

Clean rooms, friendly service, good value, great coffee and the beach is back. Very close to airport so no wasted shuttle time. Food was okay, limited supply of some items but you will not go hungry. A new pool is available with easy beach access.

Villa Natura: Villa Iguana Review

This was our 2nd visit to this resort. Last year we had a great time, even without a beach. This year was still good, but the food variety and preparation was lacking. I know you don't go to Cuba for the food, but to run out of eggs was not good. Dinners were good if you like pasta. On a scale of 10, I would rate the hotel as a 6. The restaurant staff were definitely a 10, the rooms were clean and our housekeeper was a 10.We would consider returning,as the price is right.

Memories Cayo Largo: Great hotel,but the rooms need attention

Hotel is nice,the gardens, palm trees and beach are beautiful. Food is ok but not bad, the only problem is that there is to many flys on the food and the table, Drinks are not premium, for example, 7 year old Havana club you have to pay. Staff are friendly.

Grand Memories Cayo Largo: Very good trip

Hotel is nice, clean. Friendly staff. Good entertainment. Nice environment. Excellent beaches a little far but there is free bus to go there ( Sirena and Paraiso beaches) Tripcentral agents are very helpful and have prompt response to any request