Great resort

Stayed at Hotel Dhawa for 1 week and I miss it so much. Staff and employees are very friendly, rooms are beautiful, beach water was so clear and pool water was so clean. I loved how there was always something to do, there’s always an event every night. Restaurants are very beautiful with very good food, waiters are professional. 10/10 would definitely go back there

Nice Accommodations & Beach BUT....

My husband, children and I have been going to Cuba for past 20 years love the people, beaches and never had any issues with our stays throughout the country. Dhawa is a modern, well kept hotel with beautiful grounds and one of the best beaches I have been to in Cuba. The week of June 8-15 not sure what happened with the food as there was none. I always love the food in Cuba regardless of what you hear there is something for everyone and I was always an advocate for Cuban food against to the h [... read more]aters on selection and taste. The problem at this hotel was the lack of food. No meat grill station all week, only fish. Half the hot plates of buffet was filled and the only food they had for lunch and dinner every night was rice, green beans, pork, stew with sausage, potatoes, squash, maybe a chicken stew and pre-made pasta. Some salad, cheese and ham in cut in 10 different ways. I never eat pasta in Cuba as there is always a variety food to choose from, last week that is the only thing I ate from the made to order pasta bar. No Grill and carving station causes a problem for my husband's diet he ate a plate of pork for entire week at each meal that is it. There was no Cristal beer and they ran out of dark rum several times - for a higher class hotel the food and drinks was very disappointing. We had a beautiful Ocean View room, beds comfortable, loved the water fall shower and most employees were helpful and pleasant. Beach is to die for, pool area was nice but we lived at the beach. Over the weekend there were a lot of Cuban people vacationing which i am very happy they can now come and have a holiday as well. Problem is even though not a lot of people in resort you lined up for a long time for anything because the Cuban vacationers took half of what little food there was and filled multiple grocery bags full of food. We explored and went to see several other hotels in area and in Santa Maria. Those hotels seemed to have all the regular food items and some even had the Cristal beer. I know this is low season but what was served was below even the standards of a lower season as far as quantity of food that was available. This disappointed me very much and honestly if this had been my first time to Cuba I probably would of had a bad impression believed the stereo type of their food and not gone back to the country. Luckily I know better and will be going back again later this year but not to this hotel. I am glad I experienced it as place itself was nice but felt this week the management may have cut a few too many corners on being the lower season. Many other tourists from Canada vocally voiced their opinion on site to Management and was not happy at all. We focused on the positives and just enjoyed what we had. I would also suggest to change up the pre-show entertainment in the lobby the same 2 singers singing the same songs night after night gets a little boring. Cuba is my family's second home but this trip was a little disappointing. Even though it is low season, prices are cheaper we should still get most of what is advertised and what we pay for. Hubby and I had a great much needed relaxing week - but needed to voice my thoughts in hopes that Management can understand why people were disappointed and frustrated this past week. Beautiful place do not let its reputation go down into the dumps that would be a real shame and I really hope last week was an exception and this is not how it is all the time. Sandra & Alan

Great Resort!

The hotel was great! This was my first time at this resort but my third time in Cuba. This was by far the best hotel. I would absolutly recommend this resort to anyone traveling to Cuba. The location was also ideal.

The rooms have screens!

I loved the fact these rooms had screens! As we do not use A/C, we were so excited that the rooms had working screens that even locked. We slept with the wonderful tropical breeze coming in and woke up to the chirping of birds. The beach was wonderful - except that the music blared all day. Would have been great if the loud music was left to the pool area. Food was good although we were highly discouraged from eating outdoors (doors leading out to the patio were locked). Staff at Reception no [... read more]t the friendliest, although there were a few caring individuals, which made up for the rest.

Awful.

This was the absolute worst vacation I have ever been on. I have travelled to Cuba many times but after this week I will never ever go back. The hotel should never have been rated a 5*, it was disgusting, there was hardly any food selection - I lived off bread and butter for 7 days. No one could speak English. We asked for 3 days to change our room as they had us in a sketchy area and we weren’t comfortable, we were locked out of our room for 5 hours because they were “too busy” to send so [... read more]meone to help us. One of the servers asked us back to his place. At 10pm one night, a worker walked right into our room, no knocking or anything just walked right in to “fumigate”. The resort ran out of cups almost everyday, so if you didn’t have your own cup you were out of luck. We went to the snack bar for lunch one day, put our order in and sat down, a few minutes later about 5/6 other tables were seated. They got not only their 1st round of food, they got seconds as well as dessert before the waiter came over to ask us what we ordered (an hour and a half later) - I might add that all the other tables were Spanish people. Seems that if you didn’t speak Spanish at this resort, you didn’t exist. The service was absolutely terrible. I am furious that I not only wasted $1050, but also 5 hard earned vacation days to go on this nightmare trip. I even inquired about leaving 4 days early only to find out that it would cost $500. I will never recommend Sunwing or Cayo Santa Maria to anyone. Not even my worst enemy. We complained to the Sunwing rep at the hotel and all he did was get our room changed - which we had been trying to do since we arrived. I am very upset at how this situation was handled. It is not fair at all. I am only 27 years old, I work very hard for my money and to literally throw away $1050 is incredibly depressing. If I could give less than 1* I would.

Wonderful Resort!

We were recommended this resort by two other friends. It did not disappoint!! Was very modern, clean and well represented The staff were lovely and we loved the food. It was low season so not very busy but we loved that Beach was awesome The only thing I would recommend for this hotel to stop doing is the loud announcing over the microphone at the pool in the afternoon music is fine but the non stop yelling over the mic is annoying We often left and went back to the quieter beach. The [... read more]re is no quiet pool Would be nice to see an air conditioned coffee shop as in the Ocean resort in Varadero missed that We’d go back though for sure

Good option

For the price I'll say it was an awesome experience. Got a nice room on the top floor with ocean view. AC worked properly during my stay. The housekeeper was amazing. The beach is great too, don't know if it was low season but it was never crowded and I could always find chair on the shade. The big issue I'll say is when they ran out of plastic cups. Not very environmentally friendly. I'll recommend you to take you're own mug or cup to be refilled. The pool wasn't bed tho I preferred the beach b [... read more]etter. I booked two of the A la carte restaurants (sea food and Italian) and I gotta say it was very disappointing. The buffet wasn't awesome, and I preferred the dinner time. More options of salads and meat. About the drinks I'll say there's a big difference between the ones you get at the bar close to the lobby and the ones at the pool bar or at the beach. 100% preferred the lobby one! Delicious drinks and very nice bartenders. Overall I had a good experience, Cuba is a wonderful place and to be first time there I enjoyed it a lot!

Great resort

Great resort. Amazing staff. Food at the a la carte restaurants was very good. The buffet was hit and miss, but the staff was amazing. Absolutely amazing clown for the kids show at night! FYI, if anyone is going down, she says that good face paint is hard to come by, cheep stuff is easy to get but not good stuff. Great entertainment staff for the adults at night and in the pools during the day. The beaches are amazing! I will be going back, just bringing more food from home for my 5 year old.

Never Again

First the pros: the resort was lovely. Well laid out and easy to maneuver around. It sits on a lovely private beach. The resort was clean and well maintained. The cons: the food, and the selection at the buffet, were the worst of all trips I have taken to Cuba. It was lacking in a lot of areas. It was hit and miss with the wait staff. Some days okay, other days left a poor impression. There was bread on only the first day. Pasta and pizza did not exist and 90% of the buffet was cold food tha [... read more]t should have been hot. The staff, particularly in the bar area, left me wondering most times if I was invisible. Not a busy time at the resort but wait times were ridiculous. It was a lovely resort but due to the poor food quality and the poor staff, I would not recommend this resort.

Challenging Resort

This was my fifth trip to Cuba, I know what to expect when travelling there. The resort was absolutely beautiful, the grounds were beautiful, the beach was amazing, room was as expected. Unfortunately the food was the absolute worst in all of my trips south. I would not recommend this resort unless you want to eat vegetarian for the week. No pasta, no pizza, no bread, rarely any fish. Eating really was a challenge.

Nice beach, bad service

A little disappointed with this resort. We had higher expectations due to it being a newer resort however the resort and buildings were not very well maintained. The people that would clean the rooms also always seemed to forget to leave us hand towels while taking the used ones. There was one day when it did not seem that they cleaned the room at all. Also, options for food were limited and food was not very fresh. The service was not good at all. There were a handful of employees that were nic [... read more]e and helpful, the rest did not seem to care much and were very slow at helping people out so lines were always long when looking to talk to reception or going to book reservations at a la carte restaurants etc. Also, if you wanted to get a chair and some shade at the beach or pool, you would need to be up around 4 or 5 in the morning to reserve chairs with your towel. However, the beach itself was beautiful with clear blue water and some pretty decent spots to snorkel, except if you are looking to do excursions, there are not many options due to the location of the resort. I would probably not stay at this resort again if in Cuba again knowing that there are better options out there for this price.

Great Location and Accommodations

Clean, adequate food, and fun staff! The resort was well maintained and had a number of facilities to keep the guests entertained. I would recommend this resort to my friends and family. The beach was the crown jewel of the resort and had great wildlife to explore.

Dhawa in Cayo Sant Maria

3rd time to this resort this winter. Was as wonderful as ever. They have the best staff, clean well groomed facility, great place, great people, good food and a great beach. Was told that I am no longer a guest, I am family. Love this place and will continue to return for sure

Great holiday

great hotel rooms very clean lots of hot water staff excellent would differently go back fishing was great by the bridge buffet had great selection of food entrainment in lobby was excellent bar tenders where top notch

Loved the resort!!!

Our vacation started off a liftle rocky as the resort was at full capacity and the wait for everything was very long but after the second day the occupancy lowered and everything was great. We upgraded to a one bedroom suite which had an ocean view. The rooms and resort were kept very clean. The beach was raked daily and the ocean was great for swimming and snorkeling. The food was good for Cuba. The Transat rep at the resort was very helpful and informative. The staff of Dhawa were hit and mis [... read more]s. There were some amazing ones that definitely took care of us and some others that didn’t seem to care as much about their jobs. Overall a good resort for the money it cost. Would return for the right price!

Great Resort

My husband and I had the pleasure of staying at the Dhawa kn Cayo Santa Maria from March 13th to the 21st. The rooms are beautiful and clean. There has been quite an improvement with the entertainment staff. Entertainment in the lobby bar was excellent, but once shows begin at 930, everything comes to a standstill. It would be nice to have music, even piped in, for people who don't feel like going to the shows every evening. Grounds are beautiful and pool very clean. Cuban restaurant excellent.  [... read more]Everyone who ate there raved about it. Snack bar left something to be desired. The food was good, but very limited, even though supposedly open 24 hours. Didn't try the a la cartes, however, gourmet was excellent according to anyone who ate there. Sunwing rep was excellent and always present. Beach is small but beautiful. People as always very welcoming. Definitely going back next year and will be booking with Tripcentral.

Very nice resort

The resort was clean, nice with very nice staff. Beautiful beach..the only down side was the lack of choices for supper..we had the exactly same food for 7 days in a row..yes same..Entertainment was very good. All in all ill be back if i get the right price. Nice resort.

1st time visit

very nice resort. Food not as good as other resorts we have visited, but not the worst. Only bad thing I found was that there were steps down to different levels and nothing to warn you except one small light in the middle at night. We had a water leak in the bathroom ceiling but staff were on the scene as soon as we called and we were moved to another room equally as nice the very next morning.

Great!

Thought it was lovely! The not too small not too big resort had everything needed for a relaxing week in the sun! Exceptionally friendly staff added to the experience. Food was rather decent considering I’m a picky eater.

Enjoyable week at the Dhawa!

We stayed at the Dhawa from March 8-15. This is our first visit to this resort and our second visit to Cuba, having vacationed at Cayo Coco last year. Overall we had a very good week at Dhawa and would recommend this resort to friends. Here's the breakdown as we saw it: Beach - nice and wide with powdery sand, and runs approximately 3/4 of a km to the next resort. We went down each morning around 7:30 to "reserve" a lounge chair and were happy to tip the attendants for providing this servic [... read more]e. There are quite a few shaded areas available, but if the resort is full you may not get a shaded area. When walking the beach you need to be a little bit careful of the small pieces of coral. I stepped on enough of them to recommend bringing water shoes even though I never suffered any cuts to my feet. The wind normally kicks up in the afternoon, creating small waves and somewhat murky conditions. Room - we were in block 5 and had a nice comfortable king size bed. The air conditioning system worked perfectly, and the shower room was large and had the most awesome rainfall showerhead with lots of hot water. We had a spectacular view of the ocean as we had upgraded to the Premium Oceanfront...definitely worth the extra! Food - for Cuba standards, the food was quite good. We didn't bother with the a la cartes (tried to book the Italian but it was full for days). The buffet has quite a large variety although it tends to repeat. The omelet grill was very good, as was the stir fry grill. We even enjoyed salmon on one occasion! We were spoiled with the service of Carlos who can usually be found to the right upon entering the large buffet area. Entertainment - we found the entertainment in the bar lobby to be very good, but the evening entertainment was a disappointment...way too loud and no where near the quality that we enjoyed last year. Bars - No complaints about the any of the bars. Contrary to other experiences we've had especially in the DR, the bartenders didn't seem to be hungry for tips here...service was good regardless of tipping. The drive to this resort is quite long...1-1/4 - 1-1/2 hours, but hey you get to enjoy nice cold Crystal beer along the way (2 for $5 Canadian). But warned that our bus only made one pit stop along the way, and the girls bathroom was behind a large rock and the guys bathroom was on the side of the causeway...lol Thank you, Dhawa, for providing an excellent vacation experience!