Great resort

Liked food staff beach pool Felt very safe. Walked on beach & sidewalks outside hotel. All nice & clean. Could have used a extra mattress on cot!!! Only upset with Sunwing not being there for us a few times☹️

Great Beach

The resort was nice. We found it a bit crowded for us. The food at the buffet was decent. The coffee bar was the best!! The room was disappointing and dated and definitely needed some TLC. The staff at the resort were incredible. Beach was beautiful. We enjoyed different excursions and spending time in Varadero. If you’re planning a visit be sure to spend some time off the resort. It’s safe and pretty incredible. Next time we visit Cuba we’ll try a different resort. One that’s a bit sm [... read more]aller and one with an ocean view.

Beautiful resort but needs some attention to customer service

We have been to Cuba many times but this is the first time that we’ve had to wait in lines so much: lines lines lines. I surprised my wife with this trip for her 50th birthday and Don’t get me wrong, this is a beautiful resort with two of the most beautiful pools to enjoy and many good things but just be prepared to wait in line....Only one server at the pool bar our first day meant we had to wait in line all day for drinks. Only one buffet for a couple thousand people will mean that you w [... read more]ait in line to get in for breakfast, lunch and supper. And then once you get in you might wait as long as we did for half an hour at the food station just to get a fried omelette. (It’s evident there was a second Buffet next-door that used to be used and now it’s just sitting empty - the least they could do is open up that dining room that’s literally right next-door, to serve their customers more expediently) I am a very patient laid back person but I even found myself getting very frustrated. Everything else as far as we were concerned was up to Cuban standards and again the pools were amazing and sun chairs were always available. Usually I have to get up early to get a chair but that is not the case here and I give them credit for that. The beach is the only place that fills up quickly. Only other thing I’d strongly suggest is that they provide a regular service shuttle with clear marked stopping stations to get on and off because there’s a lot of walking! The night we arrived was later and we had to drag our suitcases for what seemed like a kilometre or two because we didn’t know where we were going and had no one to take us until finally we found a gentlemen who offered to help. They need a regular shuttle for this large resort rather than just hoping to catch the odd cart that happens to come by. With only one snack bar by the second pool towards the beach you’ll be walking a long way to enjoy that during the day, especially if you’re staying in the upper pool area. They should definitely open a snack bar at the upper pool as well. And again if you want to enjoy the barbeque restaurant down by the beach you’ve got a long way to go to get there. It’s worth it just be prepared to do a lot of walking. Especially if your a parent with young kids or elderly this could be a serious concern. Having said all this we would still definitely go back again but be more prepared to waste hours on...on all the walking and waiting....in Lines lines lines! They have got to address this and then it would be worth another star as far as I’m concerned because everything else is great including some great band and musical entertainment they bring in outside of the shows.

So much fun

Grounds/exterior facilities: Overall this is where the resort shines, in my opinion. The grounds staff are always working to keep up a great looking resort. Though not without some deficiencies, some that leave a person wondering. If you are bringing gifts of essentials for staff, do not overlook this crew! Beach: AMAZING. Get there early to claim a good space. Rooms: There were several deficiencies found, but none of them deal-breakers and overall, the room was better than expecte [... read more]d, given some of the reviews we had seen prior to going. You are not getting four-star rooms. Don't expect it and you will be fine. Minor issues encountered: Balcony door incredibly difficult to open and close. Cabinet doors coming off the hinges, no hot water at bathroom sink (valve faulty and needs replacement), a few lights burnt out, drawer missing a pull, TV remote did not work, one of two telephones did not function. Some of the reviews you will see where people are entirely disappointed with the examples noted are due to ignorance and what I would call "self-entitled middle class/upper-middle class" nonsense! Sad. That said, some of the deficiencies could be remedied with a pack of assorted screws, a screwdriver, some wood filler, creative thought and a bit of gumption. None of these things mattered to us so much; I have stayed in dozens of modern Canadian hotels over the years and rarely do I not find a few silly deficiencies. Dining/food: Not the greatest for quality and taste, but in our stay, there was a bounty of choices. Restaurants were good. The exception (in our one experience with it) was the Italian one. You should not be hungry with all of the choices. In the end, my favourite spot was the 24 hr snack bar. Bars/drink: The coffee bar is fantastic. Sure wish they had two of these bars as the line ups can be long at times. Many other bars though out the resort-- you can't go thirsty! Sometimes the limited supply of items will reduce the options for drinks, but there is always something else to have. Staff/service: Very good. Room for improvement with some processes, but staff were kind and did their best to provide. Only in one case did we feel a few staff were unmotivated or indifferent. Minor. Overall, the staff make this place run well. Management needs to step up for improvements to processes and methodology to make the work of staff easier, which in turn will improve the customer experience; this would make a substantial impact in time. Communications can be difficult. Some staff are very fluent in a few languages, but very few, most are Spanish first and only know key words of English, French, etc. Give them a break and don't try to speak in long sentences. They are all smart people. There are near no good multi-lingual signs for essential things so best to be as informed as you can before you go and talk to your tour representative (Sunwing) while you are there. I would go back again, for sure. Further comments about negative reviews: I don't doubt that people have had legitimate poor experiences, but can't help but think that in the vast majority of those we read before going and overheard while we were there were born out of a modern North American mindset of entitlement and a pile of ignorance. Many people do not understand the culture, the lack of supply-chain and the have-nots of Cuba. They seem to go to the country and this resort and think that for $140-180/a day (Canadian) they are to not experience any "inconveniences" as far as their catered to perspective allows. Before we left I suspected this, but I also spent many hours researching Cuba and know full well the tendency of the entitlement age that we live in, from all walks of life and demographics (usually middle-class and up). I overheard whining a few times when we were there. Some people have a crappy perspective that prevents them from seeing the big picture and having a good time. That can be seen in some of the negative reviews.

Nice Resort but...

Overall look of the resort was beautiful as well as the beach. Food was decent but nothing too bad or too good, fresh made pasta get the high points. Entertainment was good overall but music by the pool and pool bar was barely on which would aid in the enjoyment of the areas so you may want to bring your own. The waterfall pool only had water running through it ONCE! To me that feature was the selling mark and only experienced it once. Our room was nice but service was laughable, dirty floor alw [... read more]ays, sheets not replaced even when asked and one day no clean white towels given and the restock of toilet paper was limited that it had me gather some from the public bathroom just incase as we were 3 people to the room. Also seen a cockroach by the door and heard about one in the bathroom so not sure if that was 2 or same one. What made the trip awkward from the start was as we slept apparently the fridge was restocked. Also the receptionist was not easy to approach upon arrival or for any other inquiries. The true highlights of the visit were visiting outside the resort twice and interacting with other tourists throughout the resort. What somewhat made this tolerable was great service at the MAIN BUFFET and all bars and the temperature was great with the hot sun and not too excruciating, other places with hotter heat would of made this all the more difficult. I guess you get what you paid for but I’ve paid similar to this for Dominican trips and had not as much disgust. I like walking barefoot in my room after the day out and don’t expect to see my feet all dirty going to bed... it is a friendly and beautiful place and I appreciate what they can do but I think the attention to the rooms could be better.

Can't Get Enough...Going Back...

I just love this place... I was there in December and i returned with my son's family, and two grandchildren. My 1 1/2 yr old granddaughter was very sick and Raquel Soria Diaz....who is the reason i keep going back, was so quick to get me to the doctor it was amazing.. Such a caring doctor available and reassured me that my granddaughter would be fine. They even gave me pedialite to nourish her for the next few days. I was ever so grateful. Her parents were not on the trip with us. The son wh [... read more]o did come with us claims he had the best time of his life.. And that is saying alot for Kevin as he as done so much and has a much fulfilled life. Yadian the bellhop / cart guy, Darlay the big shy guy in the lobby bar, Letty my bff... best coffee in cuba.... Ryan the bartender,,, Yamaisis..lol i finally remember her name... makes the best weddings in cuba... i am again forgetting the name of the little bar for Diamond Club where they sell the good bourbons... Lisbetty????? sorry WHAT THE $%^&*????Had so much fun but difficult to relax with grandchildren ..so we decided to go back and are returning on Feb 9th for another week.....People i am returning for... Raquel my cuban sister, Regla Guillermo, Lorenzo and at the beach bar.... let's not forget the guys at the gate this time... thanx for smiling that cuban style smile... I'm coming back with candy ... Daryl,... and All the people at the sanctuary......they are the kindest people... always trying to make things perfect. And the maids are nice. Hard working and honest as you can find... I have no problems leaving anything in the room and in the last 11 times i've been have had no problems that haven't been fixed in a timely matter. whatsoever,....... Honestly i have to say we have been talking about visiting Jamaica but have yet to go. We just think we would miss the comfort of what we now consider to be our cuban family. We love the Grand Memories and thanx to Raquel Soria Diaz we always have the best time. so i give Grand Memories a 5/5.

Decent resort

Don't expect too much for your room. Food has a lot of room for improvement. If you fly from Vancouver with Sunwing you lose one day(red eyes fly both ways). People are nice but... If I will go again to Cuba, Varadero is not on my list.

Not a very good resort

Beaches are amazing people in the villages just try and rip you off resort staff are very rude and the food is terrible every where in Cuba We had several items stolen from are room we told the management they just told us it was are fault we probably forgot to close are doors or we never locked it properly

No more Cuba

Hotel outside well groomed and maintained Rooms OLD and with many flaws, old furniture and all in all obsolete Food very repetitive with many items no where to be seen (sometimes bread is rare or in very poor state, no other fruits then dozens of type of melon, no lettuce at all) they ran out of many items (Orange juice, butter, diet colas, catsup) the a la carte restaurant, although suffering from the same flaws were tasty and well presented) Beach are nice but 3 of the seven days were cold [... read more] and windy (But that's not the hotel's doing) But then again the fair days at the beach were not the Hotel's doing either and the Beach is a public one.

Family friendly resort

The grounds were beautiful and well maintained. The rooms could use a little make over, but little time was spent in them, so this was not our biggest concern. The resort had amazing entertainment and enough enough selection of restaurants, bars and pools to keep the whole family happy!

Beautiful resort!

Loved the grounds, pools and workers, from waiters to maids, ground keepers! Loved sitting on my little balcony, so peaceful and relaxing! Just what I came to Grand memories to do!! The beach was clean and the service there was amazing, sitting under the thatched umbrellas was unique and wonderful! I would gladly go back there again!

A destination to redefine yourself!

Nice resort, if you really try you could find something to criticize. Obviously a lot of tourism in the area. Being practical I would suggest a more diverse routine, be it music, food, activity, sports. A little repetitive I found. I would recommend it to a friend but I con scribe a more travels mindset than a tourist. Ultimately I believe in the experience rather than just the destination. There is more to see and feel outside of your typical resort. Especially Cuba. The pancakes pizza and brea [... read more]d were fantastic! I was stomach sick on the first day I believe from the beef. Only short lived. The employees were very helpful and pleasant. Also the artwork was that of sought after precision, I bought home some wood figures that I love! I wish I bought more! Incredible artist. All in all the vibe was what was very special that I will never forget, something not to explain rather to feel!

We had a good time!

Second time at Grand Memories. The hotel was good. The grounds are well kept, which helps set a great atmosphere, it gives that laid back and relaxed feeling. Note: grounds staff deserve a special mention on the great job! The Staff; the room cleaners did a great job too! The kitchen staff were prompt to serve and very courteous. Try the specialty restaurants. Areas that needed focus.... toilet paper in the common use bathrooms, TP was not readily available (travel hint:BYOTP). The main ba [... read more]r: good atmosphere but seemed the bar staff was only motivated by $$$. I did tip as much as possible but it never seemed enough with them. (Travel hint: bring extra $$$ if you like faster service or once in my case.... service at all). The beach; fantastic, get there early to get a good spot. Note: The beach server was really good at helping everyone with setting up the beds. He deserves special mention too! The entertainment staff were energetic and enthusiastic! I loved how they created the feeling of inclusion. Really improved how how I felt through the fun interaction with them. The pools; there were enough pools to cater to different needs: a quiet pool, a party pool and a kids pool.

Very disappointing.

Upon arrival we waited in line for way to long to be served (waiting at front desk for room). We had asked to be close to the beach, and they were about to put us at complete opposite end of resort. My wife made a stink and they wanted to charge an extra 11 bucks per person per night because they said it was an upgrade(superior). Finally they caved in at on extra cost and gave us what we asked for. (by the way I visited standard rooms and superior rooms, they are exactly the same, inch per inch [... read more]) I won't talk about food or beach it is what it is. There are 100 apartments in each block, we were in block 21 and for 3 days we had no hot water. They sent me to a courtesy room to shower which was on other end of resort after waiting 3 hrs to free the room. New years eve party was a mess, no real organized location, count down was messed up due to ongoing CUBAN Dance in Theater. By 1am the festivities were all over this resort, but not one main location. Grand Memories was a huge let down. Very old building, needs lots of care. needs new management. Service was a 2......1 being very poor and 10 being excellent. A la cartes were a joke. No training as how to serve people, waited very long times for refills in drinks. DO NOT GO TO ITALIAN RESTAURANT. I will never go to that resort again ever.

Good resort

Overall resort is good, ours block had a fire alarm that kept going off every two hours all ninght and day, did not get fixed even after numerous complaints. Bedrooms are in need of repairs specially the bathrooms, beds are extremely hard and uncomfortable. Food was good and service also ,if you tip alot.

Grand Memories says it all.

When you go to Cuba you have to always keep in mind that you may not get what you think you pay for if your use to going to a 5 star resort in the Bahamas or Mexico. I Have been to both, also Domenicain Republic, and although i loved every one of the Hotels i chose, we always come back to Grand Memories. We actually came the first time it was called RIU. And the staff was so fantastic we came back and have done so 6 times so far if not seven. We love it so much we do Grand Memories Varadero, t [... read more]hen somewhere else, then we come back then go somewhere else. we soometimes come twice before going elsewhere. That's how much we love coming to Grand Memories. Let me start with the Big boss of bars Raquel Soria Diaz.When it was the Riu she was just a bartender at the beach bar with other friends we made. WE COME BACK BECAUSE OF THE TREATMENT WE RECIEVED AND CAN NEVER THINK OF GRAND MEMEORIES AS NONE OTHER THAN OUR HOME IN CUBA. I WILL NAME STAFF THAT HAVE GONE OUT OF THEIR WAY FOR US,,,,, i will start with the baggage cart drivers. AMAZING ATTITUDES AND FRIENDLY TIP OR NO TIP THEY GO OUT OF THEIR WAY... starting with Alex.."Yadiyan Gonzales" professional, polite, out of this world kindness in him. Darll never got his candy but still went out of his way with kindness to help me. He will get amazing people... humble good to the bone hard working and i just love them. I forget his real name but the big guy... i call him Mike Tyson cause he saved my boyfriend from a drunken stupid decision cause he knew that wasn't my mike. so mike tyson he is to me. wonderful amazing man. a few more but the new young guy Bryan,... wow what a beautiful and heartwarming gentleman. came running out when mu bus was about to leave to give me a hug and his coordinates... oh my god i could go on and on. The chef in the sanctuary... the host in the sanctuary reastaurant. the beach bar staff Guilermo garcia... Lorenazo... And their manager who was also waiting when it was the Riu Regla beautiful peop;e whom i love and spoil when i comel. they so deserve it. oh my im sure im forgetting to name some... Jasmine the beautiful one who plans the weddings, i love you... the coffe girl with the five year old .... just go and you will see. ps will be back sooner than later. xx

Amazing resort

Rooms were clean, food was the best I've had in Cuba, the staff took a bit to get warmed up to new people but once they did they were fantastic , sandra in the buffet was fantastic and Darlay in the main lobby bar made the best drinks

Grand memories Varadero

Hotel grounds , lobby area , staff and beach are 5 star. I recommend doing the upgrade to diamond club as quality of the rooms, liquor, beach chairs, service etc is worth the money. Al a cart restaurants are good but they need one or two more as you are only allowed three if you have the upgrade, and only allowed one booking. Staff are great but should be more aware of the rude people that Butt in at the bars, coffee stations, as well as at the cook stations ! These butt in are totally obvi [... read more]ous and very rude! There should be signs Letting these people know that there is a line up. If something is being cooked ie at the Fish station, the cooks should not allow these rude people to take Everything on the grill , after I just waited 10 min for my one piece of fish !!! Overall the resort was clean , well kept, entertaining, staff were awesome. Exchange place was painfully slow.. get there before the line up otherwise you will waste your entire day in the line up.!!

Great Vacation as always in Cuba

The grounds were clean. The rooms were clean but dated as all resorts in Cuba. Food was alright, average for Cuba resorts. Highlights was the pool, very clean! Great pool bar and loud and quiet pools!

Good resort!

The resort was nice, very clean, only downside was the lack of choices for food. Customer service was amazing, changed rooms when we asked for it. Staff was amazing super fun. Pools were clean and crowd was mix of ages.