Beautiful resort

Very clean, friendly and helpful staff, beach was clean and beautiful. Lots of food choices. The gym needed alot of new equipment, only one treadmill work but belt was ripped as well. Also needs sports equipment like tennis rackets and basketballs. But over all wonderful place.

Very good Resort

Playa Cayo Santa Maria is nice resort. Clean room, good food, beech beside, staff friendly. Ocean was not calm all time, but weather was great, even you could swim in rough ocean (if you can swim). If you don not swim you can enjoy swim pool with verity of cocktails and rom.

Had a great experience at this resort!!

We had a great time during our stay at this resort, the breakfast could do with a little variety but there was plenty to choose from and was pleasant. The lunch at the snack bar and the grill was great, made to perfection and they try their best to take good care of you. *** warning be there early or you may run short of soup or other choices as they run out pretty fast. The rooms were neat and taken care of by room service every day. They did a good job of keeping the bed clean and tidying u [... read more]p. For some reason the week we went had shortage of shrimps but no big deal as we had crabs,calamari and lobster at the international restaurant. The beach was great and plenty of seats to sit during the day as it stretched about a good 100 m in length to choose from. The night entertainment could do with more variety but they do a pretty good job with other user interactions events prior to the main event. The pools I believe had 5 to choose from and it was nice and clean, the bar had plenty of options to choose from, I did lose my watch and was able to locate them in the lost/found section of the hotel. The internet services or wifi is definitely better/faster than our previous trips and they provide7 hours of free surfing for the entire week for every adult living there, the wifi service was great throughout the hotel but was missing at the beach. *** the only blip I was say is the commute from the airport to our resort was a good 1 hour and 40 minutes Overall I had a good time with family and would definitely recommend this resort to anyone.

Very nice resort

The resort itself was spotless. The staff worked hard to keep the resort looking good and the were all very friendly. The room was really nice and the staff who cleaned the room did an excellent job. I would go again.

Beach Heaven!

This hotel while a little dated is in good shape. The staff are incredible. I was with a group of 13 and we had an awesome week November 2-9, 2019. The beach is stunning. Food was good. We did an excursion from the hotel with Air Transat and it was well synchronized.

Fun week at the Playa!

Grounds were very well kept,room was great and mini fridge was restocked daily with pop,beer and water.Beach was not as big as I am used to but ot works.Some staff not as receptive as others until you engage them then they would open up.Tons of bars and places to grab a bite.The buffet was like all Cuban buffets but I usually get meat grilled in front of me which was very good.I did not do any of the a la cartes.Cigar Lounge,Mojitos Bar and Cappuccino Bar are excellent places to stop at.Animatio [... read more]n was good I will be back to Playa for sure.Gracias!

Good resort

Our Montecristo room was spacious and well kept. The king size bed was very comfortable and linens were fresh. Grounds well maintained. The beach was amazing. Although we had a couple days when the ocean was rough we enjoyed every minute we spent on the beach. We were served drinks on the beach as we did not have to go to the bar every time we wanted a drink. The staff was amazingly nice and polite and always available to assist. Unfortunately we were not impressed with the food. The menu was t [... read more]he same every day. The hot food is supposed to be served hot but most of the time it was warm. Long lineups for grilled meat and fish and from my observation the grills were not hot enough to cook the food fast. Food lacks the taste and flavour. Overall there are a lot of opportunities to improve the food.

A great family resort

My family and I stayed at playa Cayo Santa Maria from November 8-15. This was my second time in Cayo Santa Maria and we were not disappointed. The hotel was great, the beach is beautiful but the most beautiful thing about this trip was all of the staff. They are such hard working, caring individuals who go above and beyond. They were so wonderful to us and our two little ones. A huge thank you to Mario, he was amazing. We will definitely be back! Thank you to everyone at playa Cayo Santa Maria!

Amazing Resort!

This resort was awesome! Perfect resort for relaxing and if your looking to have fun! Entertainment through out the whole day by the beach/pool and nightly entertainment was awesome. The food at the restaurant’s and snack bars are great, didn’t love the buffet but can’t complain. The beach is beautiful just be careful I got a few bug bites while at the beach! Overall I had a great trip!

Playa Cayo Santa Maria - very nice resort

Nice resort, small and everything is so close to each other. We stayed in block 12 with a partial ocean view. Room quite large. Resort's vegetation and greenery amazing. Staff was very polite. Al la cartes specially Romantico were excellent. We had lobster almost every day. Since we were VIP we went to repeat customer dinner of lobster and steak with seafood platter appetizer, and had 5 al la cartes. Did not like the Italian restaurant. Food tasted like to came out of a can but rest of meals [... read more] were excellent. Buffet was a bit repetitious and bland. Restaurant by beach was a buffet and pretty good. Pool restaurant was your ordinary food. Staff were excellent. Our only main concern was that the restaurants near the beach and pool allowed men to walk in with no shirt on, some women didn't wear a cover up and some people came in barefooted. These are restaurants and although we approached the proper authorities about this they seemed to not really care. I don't want to eat lunch watching some man dripping with sweat on the buffet food or next to me. Gross. We actually stopped going to these places for lunch because of this. The weather was beautiful, rained at night and only one day during our 11 day stay there were rain bursts of about 10 minutes long x 3 which was fine as it cooled us off and then the afternoon was hot and humid. Our room was good but several times was not cleaned up by the time we returned in the afternoon. I would return again as the pools (3) were amazing and beach was not as nice as it was years ago and the water was very wavy but we did enjoy some nice walks along the beach. there were sea shells also which years before were hard to come by.

Great Holiday!

Very friendly staff, great food selection, the a la cartes were very good. Stunning beach, white sand with beautiful clear blue water. It was a wonderful vacation, will definitely stay 10 days next time!

4th Time at Resort

This was our 4th time at the Hotel Playa CSM. Quality and variety of food and has gone down. Having said that the employees were always trying to please. No lettuce at the salad bar and fruit and vegetables was very limited. When we brought this to the staff's attention there was lettuce at the buffet then next day. They ran out of red and white wine on our last night there and being a wine drinker, I was glad this happened at the end of our trip and not at the beginning. This review is bas [... read more]ed on our previous experiences at the resort and it seemed to be lacking this time around for us, but when speaking to guests that were there for the first time they were very pleased with the resort.

Amazing Beach

This is my third time returning to this hotel. Somethings have improved while others continue to suffer. However, given the fact that this was the low season and that the US sanctions on oil is affecting transportation cost which in turn limits deliveries of supplies and food to the resorts, and mainly the fact that this is Cuba, some luxuries can be foregone; fortunately the internet was free and amazing. The 10 km Beach is breathtaking and can be walked from end to end. All the other resorts c [... read more]an be seen from the beach and although we had a great time at Playa Cayo, the real beauty lies in sand and water of Cayo Santa Maria and I think next time we will definitely give another resort a try; why not.

Never lets us down... a return to seeing family

We stayed at this resort from September 29 to October 13. We have stayed at this resort multiple times as it was good to see old friends and meet new ones. From the time of check in from the front desk ladies was quick and fast and we were taken by the shuttle to our room by Duvier who was friendly and talkative . Our room was great and had an ocean view. A very special shout out to Marta who arranged for our ala cartes in advance, and any other requests we had asked. She is truly a  [... read more]miracle worker and deserves to be recognized for going above and beyond. We were in building fifteen and our chambermaids did an excellent job cleaning our room daily. There was a diesel fuel shortage during our stay and some stay had to stay on the resort for three days and then have three days rest at home. This made our vacation feel more like a family as you got to speak with them more and understand the hardships without seeing their families. From the front lobby staff, Yusy, Leo, Yusleidy, Rachel, Sergio and Adrianna did a great job and remembered our drinks ( double espresso, and cappuccino) The buffet as good as there was always something to satisfy your needs. Of course the smoothie lady Gretel was always there to make your requests. Our servers Mario, Yaniery, Ariel and Avelino were always friendly. At the beach bar Lazaro, Paulino and Maidelin always were quick to get our drink requests ( drink, drink) even though the weather was very hot most days. Abelito at the Panini stand always greeted us with a smile. We ate at the ala cartes, Romantico, Asian, Italian, all the food was delicious and the soups even better. We would like to thank Yarely, Yosbel and Laura for their recommendations on selections and fast service. The animation staff of Duniel, Lisdania, Susu, Mayluvi, George and Leo always were entertaining new and old clients and welcoming them into the playa family We did attend the VIP dinner night and had a great time and met some wonderful repeat clients. Our friends Karen and Kevin were celebrating their 38th wedding anniversary and the resort gave them a special table, played their wedding song ( endless love) and also provided them with a cake in the lobby. Yaidelis announced that it was their anniversary in the lobby bar , which was very nice. We did go the La Bodeguita restaurant and we highly recommend going as the food was great and the room nice and quite for a nice dinner. Omar and Sergei were our servers that evening and they were very professional during our meal. My wife had mentioned that she like a dessert called Majarete and low and beyond Sergei had made her wish come true. Talk about customer service, The 24-hour snack bar was a great place to grab something to eat and the staff were always friendly. We also saw Yilian in the cigar bar making reservations for clients. Also we spoke with Maykel in the spa whom we met many years ago. We did eat lunch most of the times at the El Pescador for lunch that had a selection of grilled pork, chicken or fish daily and the soup was always tasty. Thank you Lisbeth, Lazaro for the great service. A special shout out to the lifeguards (Rafa, Adrian, Luis and Yovi) who many watched in action as there was a client from another hotel who had a little to much to drink and was harassing clients from Playa. This client fell several times trying to get into the ocean and could have drowned, The lifeguards helped him to a palapa and gave him water and let him sleep it off. They then walked the client all the way to the melia las dunas where he was staying. We did attend the pool/foam party, which was fun for all, The only problem that we noticed that many parents did not watch their young children in the foam and as a result a young child almost drowned. The lifeguard Rafa noticed the women was in distress and quickly cleared the foam with his hands along with another lifeguard named Adrian, and they were able save the boy. In the future we think the there should be lifeguards on duty during this event. This resort is not large and just the right size for walking to get to locations. It is the staff both old and new that make the difference and make us feel like family and not just a client on vacation. There are so many faces that we do not see that keep the hotel operating behind the scenes along with the gardeners who take pride in their jobs and keep the resort looking lush and beautiful. Also a thank you to Yusef and his security team keeping the resort safe for both clients and staff. We are amazed on how staff remember you and your names even though we only come once a year.

Cuba

The resort over all is nice. The staff is amazing during this difficult time in Cuba. It is rainy season and we had rain- lots. We are still burnt still had fun and havent gone without things. Great relaxing time. Beach is a jump and jellyfish everywhere. So we walked to memories beach its flat. Yes we will return! Food good at al e carts. The one cuban you pay its food is to salty. Buffet morning great!

Its ok

The hotel itself is not too bad, the staff and service was great. Yet, the lack of variety of food was a bit disappointing. The buffet was very poor and basic. Also, I would recommend them to take care of their beach better, as it is beautiful but you can tell that they do not really bother to even out the sand after storm, so the rocks are coming out, and the gaps are there which makes it harder to walk with the kids.

Amazing resort

the play in cayo santa maria xwas great ,,grounds are very well kept ..staff was so freindly and helpful..food was great always found something to eat ,,the beer was cold and rum very good ..i would go go back to this resort again

Need some renos

This resort defintely needs some work. If you dont mind cockroaches crawling while your eating then you will be fine. The beach is gorgeous..the ice cream parlour was a great treat and the coffee bar.The snack bar should offer some breakfast items Especially when you have to leave early to catch the bus to the airport and the buffet is closed. The staff are very friendly especially Mario in the buffet restaurant. Met some really nice ppl which made the trip a whole lot better.

The best one!

Very good service, AMAZING people The room was very clean and a beautiful view in the sea A lot of choice of food Good animation #1, special entertainer, variety of activity day and night The best hotel in Santa Maria

Great Resort / Amazing beach / met my expectations again!

I have been to Cuba at least 15 times, including Holguin (once at a three start and never again), Cayo Coco (three times mostly 4 stars), Varadero ( a 3 star, mostly 4 stars and a cuple of 5 stars) and Cayo Santa Maria (twice to Playa Cayo Santa Maria) Of all the hotels that I have been to, this one far exceeds any of the others. My first visit to this hotel was in 2013. From what I could remember, the food was delicious, the room very clean and new, and the beach absolutely amazing with wate [... read more]r transparent to the point where you can see your toes clearly when standing in 5 1/2 feet of water. My only two complaints at the time were 1) the air conditioner was too cold and the vents were directed towards the bed which could make it somewhat cold at night especially if the AC is hitting your head all night long. Quick fix was to move the beds around. 2) The patio or balcony door locks didn't work. This was not a big deal as we were on the second floor..and we could jam the two chairs in the room to block the door from sliding open Six years later, my second time to this hotel, in August 2019, I expected it to be run down and not as great as my first time around. I was pleasantly surprised to find out that the room that I stayed in was very well maintained ad this had by far exceeded my expectations. The only areas in which I saw a decline was: 1) nightly entertainment (too repetitive...mostly dancing)...However, there was one night of live entertainment (Band, Guitarist, drummer, Bassist and live singer belting out various tunes, including latin, classic rock/pop type music) 2) The pool...Although there were quite a few pools, many of which were spacious and enjoyable, one pool shut down for a day or so due to algae issues. But then again, who goes to Cuba for a chlorinated pool when you have a crystal clear ocean at your disposal...Besides, if I wanted a pee-filled pool...I would stay home and swim in my own. 3) the food - Compared to the first trip to this hotel, the buffet food variety was sufficient and the food edible but it was mostly repetitive...same thing day after day...night after night. However, the specialty restaurants (Italian, Seafood and Asian) were pretty good. Cuba is not known for the food and although many expect this, if you're a foodie you may be somewhat disappointed. Overall, on both my trips, despite the staff being completely different from what I recall, the service provided was impeccable. This seems like one of the few hotels that know how to service their guests. Every person that I met was polite, and overly concerned with making sure that the guests had a pleasant stay. The busboys, the waiters, the men maids who cleaned our rooms, the gardener, etc...My only complaint about the staff was the entertainment staff...their high pitched voices over the microphone at the beach...Yap Yap Yap...they never stopped talking...but I guess it's their job and the younger folks enjoyed it...so all is good. Again, my complaints from the first trip (i.e. the AC being too cold and directed towards our beds as well as the non functioning patio door locks) still existed but there were work-arounds as mentioned above. We took a Montecristo package (although we didn't have to pay much for this). This package included a complimentary bottle of rum, a cigar, discounts at the shops, as well as 2 hours of free internet per guest per day or 14 hours per week per guest. Well worth the price if you have kids that spend their entire evening surfing the net and watching videos. My understanding though is that regardless of the package you obtain, every guest gets 1 hour of internet usage per day per room...which is still sufficient in my eyes. The internet connection was pretty strong and allowed us to stream videos on Youtube and on occasion netflix as well....somewhat surprising... I would also like to mention that repeat visitors get certain perks which, if I knew about them in advance, I would have certainly taken advantage of. The service representative, Elaine, explained the perks and I believe that this also included being able to reserve restaurants from home before arriving in Cuba, free bottle of rum cigar, special dinner for repeat guests, and more from which I cannot recall. More reason to go back a third time, which I would plan to do over the next year or two.