Dhawa Cayo Santa Maria: Amazing time!

The hotel was very clean, the workers were nothing short of amazing! Particularly Osmel and Ernesto (entertainment staff). The food was fantastic. I have absolutely zero complaints. I have been to Cuba many times and this was one of my favourite stays!

Royalton Cayo Santa Maria: Great Resort

We stayed at Royalton, Cayo Santa Maria, first week of December 2021. From the get go, this place worked hard to make sure our stay was perfect. This is a smaller adults only resort. Check-in was quick and hassle free. Welcome, give us your passport, here's some champagne. No paperwork. 10 minutes later we were being led to our room. The person doing this is called a butler. They will look after your needs and issues throughout your stay. Staying in the background, but there when needed. Every  [... read more]morning you are greeted by your butler, outside near your room. How was your night, any issues, have a great day. All employees at this resort were extremely polite and helpful. The resort was just open for 2 weeks when we arrived. It was very clean and very well looked after. Everyone from the gardener, cleaners, wait staff, and management, all wore masks properly, without exception. Beach, long, walkable, powder white sand. Note that as the winter season starts there is an abundance of seaweed washed up daily for the first couple of weeks in December. It is cleaned up daily. Turquoise waters and shallow sandbar. You can walk out quite a ways and still only be 3-4 feet deep. Resort has 2 pools, an upper quiet pool and lower busier pool, but remember no kids. Pools were not heated so were a bit cool. However given some time and warm weather, they should not be an issue. Bars at both pools, beach and lobby, all well served. Some inconsistencies in recipes, but totally palatable. Maid service was excellent. They cleaned up very well, making sure we had lots of everything we needed. Rooms cleaned early in the day, fridge filled, and of course a great display of characters and flowers on the bed, curtains, tub and sink area. We had swans, scorpions, teddy bears, frogs to name a few. They paid attention to the details. We had 2 issues with our room that were corrected immediately. There was a squeal in the air condition fan and we had no face cloths the first night. A quick mention to our Butler and all was looked after immediately. A quick shout out to our butlers Mario and Lester. The manager, who introduced himself our first night Alejandro, was constantly seen around the resort making sure all was running well. He introduced himself individually to all new arrivals at either dinner or breakfast. He put in very long days There at 7am when we went for breakfast and still there when we finished our last drink at 11pm. The next person who influenced our stay very much was head chef Jesus. He was also there the same long hours. He took personal interest in all meals being cooked and served. I am a fussy traveler when it comes to food. When we go to all inclusive resorts, one of the saving graces for me is the buffet. I do not do well with all prepared meals. With Covid, there was no buffet. Meal selection, while it would do most any normal person well, did not always agree with what I was able to eat. Jesus came out and we discussed what I could handle and he had the chefs prepare me a special meal. He was present at all my other meals and made sure I was looked after. In a busy place like this at mealtime the last thing they needed was to go out of their way for an individual, but they did. Give them full marks for everything they did. We would definitely do this resort again.

Iberostar Selection Ensenachos: Very good resort.

Everything was excellent. Although it has a huge theater but I think due to Covid night entertainments were poor and were just in the loopy. Shaded areas on the beach are limited. If the hotel were fully occupied, it would be hard to find a shaded spot but because I went on a low season there was no problem.

Playa Cayo Santa Maria: The best one! 😍

Entertainment is great, best food in Cayo. Everything is very very good. Good service and very nice employees. I recommanded this hotel to all people. The beach is perfect, good location and a lot of chairs

Playa Cayo Santa Maria: Awesome Resort

Very clean grounds. Great beach with soft white sand. Excellent service which was safe and friendly. Covid protocols were followed and enforced. Wifi was free and very fast and reliable. Food was amazing. A la carte service and food was excellent. 5 star 🌟 resort. We'll be returning.

Dhawa Cayo Santa Maria: review from violeta

i was in dhawa in january the complex is nice the room is convenient with all facility it wasn't very crowded we had a lot of plates with food but there were not tropical fruits and juice like in the past was some strawberry juice mostly water and baby banana only one day and more pink guava but i could n t eat were unripened i don t criticize i know they are poor just let you know I didn t have too much money in the credit card I took cash with me because my friend was there in decem and  [... read more]she told me to take cash but i couldn t take any trip because they asked only c card was the same problem to pay the vaccin with cc i had to ask people to pay and give them us money that i received from a barman in excange with canadian !! the exchange office was not open until one day before we go and they don t change foreign currencies between them a biig problem was with the personnel making jokes on the back of clients especially at the reception and in the dinning hall in the dinning they were playing with anti insect spray and also they knew how to throw insects toward clients and pinch them taking pict with client while eating without reason and not asked laughing all the time in the computer room we cannot use the internet because they blocked the pc daily while in the middle of writing a msg - including the person who was there for help and cients behind the door I tried to make a phone call but i couldn t have the connection nor talk and i had to pay 5 us I prefer not to be listed on internet if is the case have a good one Violeta

Dhawa Cayo Santa Maria: Great resort

Quite the friendly staff. We where pampered because of a small group of tourist at the time. Resort had difficulty staying open because lock down and travel restrictions. It was about 2 to 1 staff and client ratio. Nice clean beach with snorkeling a few meter off shore. Food variety was limited due to sanctions but good quality. The a la carte restaurants were the best I have experienced so far in Cuba. Overall it's an excellent resort

Royalton Cayo Santa Maria: Much anticipated...totally worth it!

Arriving in Santa Clara airport, everyone received a Covid PCR test. Very little delay in getting through. At the hotel we received the results within 18hrs. Required to wear the face masks until getting the results. We took a private transfer to the hotel and upon arrival, my wife and I commented that here must be some VIP's coming, as there was all of the hotel staff 100+ waiting to greet us! We were quite literally the first guests in the hotel since they shutdown 9 months ago! The staff w [... read more]ere all amazing and attentive from the GM Alex to the Butlers, who had alternating days of work. In the hotel and throughout Cuba it is mandatory for all to wear the masks. Staff was constantly topping up sanitizing dispensers, restaurant and lobby areas were sanitized after each use. The main washrooms by each the restaurants/pool had full time attendants sanitizing after use. Social distancing markers were placed in areas were lineups may occur. QR codes are on each table with the menu of the day for each restaurant. We really...really enjoyed this hotel and were 100% comfortable and very impressed with how The Royalton/staff are dealing with the guests and handling the constant cleaning and sanitizing through these crazy times!

Vila Gale Cayo Santa Maria: Nightmare hotel

Very bad experience, bad service, lack of food drinks. Dirty room, room service not done everyday, fridge empty, running for towels. 14 feb. hotel full of cubain no class, acting like animals. I do not recommend this hotel. This is the last time I go to cuba.It’s to bad because the ocean is beautiful and the beach also.

Vila Gale Cayo Santa Maria: Great resort

We had read all the bad reviews before we left so we were really worried. It isn’t near as bad as people made it out to be. pros: beautiful updated rooms Gorgeous beach No shortage of booze or food Wonderful workers Friendly atmosphere Very quiet, but that’s what we liked Cons: no toilet paper or very little in all washrooms...we carried our own in our bag Washrooms are far from the beach Limited food or no f [... read more]ood available between 5 and 7....not that big of deal It was a very clean resort. The bus ride was a little long to and from the resort and the airport is horrible!! If it wasn’t for the bus ride and horrible airport we would go again

Playa Luxury Cayo Las Brujas: R&R at this adults-only resort

This is not a resort for the party crowd, but if you are looking for a relaxing adults-only resort in Cuba this is a great place. We would definitely return. Sorry for the length of this review, but we are currently in self-isolation due to COVID-19 after getting back from our trip! The resort faces onto a beautiful view of the ocean, with the water only a few steps away. There are rocks and coral here and apparently is a great place for snorkeling. There are two very nice sand beaches that a [... read more]re just a couple of minutes walk from the lobby area, one at either side of the hotel. The larger beach is perhaps 400-600 meters long and is shared with the Dhawa resort. There is another, smaller beach on the other side for Angsana guests only. This one has a bar and cabanas but no washrooms, but again it is only a couple of minutes walk to the nearest washroom. There are frequently pelicans fishing on the water in front of the resort and at the beach. There are two unheated pools in front of the resort. They are not huge, but are larger than they appear in photos. Some people have written that they found the water somewhat cool, but I found it to be just nice and refreshing after laying in the sun. Unfortunately the weather was disappointing for the first half of our week - cool, windy and overcast - so when the sun finally came out we spent most of our days lounging by the pool. I had read that there is never a problem getting a lounge chair at the pool or the beach and we also found that to be the case during our visit. Maybe this was in part because the resort was far from full occupancy, which I understand has always been the case since it opened (I think about 18 months ago). In any event, I loved this about the resort...even though there are still a few selfish people who insist on "reserving" their favorite spots for the entire day. Most of the guests at the resort were over 50 (like us) although there were also a fair number in their 40s, 30s and 20s. Happily, there were very few drunk and obnoxious people at the resort during our stay, perhaps because of the older average age and the low-key nature of the resort. Of course, there will always be one or two. The evening entertainment mostly consisted of a single musician in the lobby bar, either singing or playing an instrument. Except for the pianist, who played classical, they mostly played pop/rock music that the guests would be familiar with. They were all very talented and we enjoyed them all, but they chose to be accompanied by canned music (except the pianist). I would have preferred just the instrument personally. One night there was a small band that played (I assume) Cuban music. We enjoyed very much and would have liked more of this. The live music always finished by 10 PM. There is no disco on the resort, but I understand people can go over to the Dhawa for that kind of thing if they want. They were also promoting some kind of off-resort dance party one night during our stay. Not for us, thanks. The lobby bar is open-air, so people can sit inside or outside. There is also a "jazz bar" next to the lobby bar, in a separate enclosed room. Unfortunately, we never saw any live music of any kind in this bar--just music videos playing on a live screen. As a result we never did more than stick our noses in. It would be nice if they could utilize this space for more live music. It would certainly have much better acoustics than the lobby bar and they could also play a bit later since it is an enclosed room. The soprano sax player, Onix, was great but would have been much more enjoyable in the jazz bar. There is not a big animation team at the resort trying to cajole guests into taking part in all of their activities. Not a problem for me! Similarly, there wasn't loud music blaring all day long at the pools. Sometimes just for a couple of hours late afternoon, which was perfectly fine. There was a "water ballet" in the pool one afternoon which was interesting enough. The resort does need to do a better job of letting guests know what is going on. There is a bulletin board near the lobby that they should be using more: weather forecasts, what the evenings entertainment will be, and so on would be helpful. Similarly, each room should really have a small binder or booklet to let guests know things like how to work the air conditioning system, what the buffet hours are, etc. We eventually figured that all out, but it still would be nice. The resort is fantastic visually, with attractive and clean buildings and common areas, natural beauty, and amazing landscaping and plants. Our room was very nice with a large walk-in shower with a rainfall shower head, a king-size bed, mini-fridge that was restocked daily, patio, safe, and a TV with signals from all over the world (including CTV from Canada). Our room was a second-floor garden-view room at the end of the main building at the back (overlooking landscaped grounds and the mangrove forest behind). It was totally quiet, although we had friends at the other end of the building who were kept awake one night by a loud group in the next room. At most resorts we would avoid a room overlooking the pool/main area because of night-time noise concerns, but I don't think that would be much of an issue here after. We generally had enough hot water in our room, although a couple of times it was only warm. One day their hot water system was broken, but it was fixed by that evening. Everything in our room worked as expected. One day a sliding closet door came off its roller and it was fixed promptly after we notified guest services. There is a Cadeca currency exchange right in the lobby open every day which was very convenient. Last time we were at a Cuban resort (a number of years ago) exchanging money on the resort was a problem, especially to get 1-CUC coins for tipping. Not here. There is also a convenience store that sells cigars, rum, souvenirs, snacks, etc. We found the staff to be very nice, but we have always had that experience at the resorts (although we are not regular resort goers). The staff are certainly very busy at peak times so sometimes it takes a bit of time to get a drink. I don't envy them having to deal with unreasonable requests and expectations of entitled guests. My sense at resorts is that the staff is extremely unwilling to call out bad or unreasonable behaviour of guests (not that we saw a lot of bad behaviour at this resort), for fear of insulting them or getting a poor review. They should get over that. If the staff is bothered by bad behaviour, most likely many of the other guests are too. The resort is a fairly long way from the airport (about 1:30 on the bus). We arrived at night, so we couldn't see anything and the trip seemed a bit long because of being tired from the flight. The trip back to the airport was good though, driving over the long causeway, but also through towns and countryside. Our tour-guide on the return trip spoke quite a bit about Cuba and Cuban culture, which was really very interesting. I have read a few reviews complaining about the food at the resort. We actually found the food to be very good with more than enough variety. Okay, it may not be 4+ star by Canadian standards, but we enjoyed it very much. We actually never booked one of the a-la-carte restaurants, as we were happy with the buffet, but our friends who went to the Asian said it was excellent. As others have noted, they did run out of potatoes a couple of times (seems like an odd thing to run out of to me). So eat rice or fried banana chips (these were very tasty, by the way). If you can't find things here to eat that you like, you should honestly stay home. One thing is that I found most of the fruit juices at the breakfast buffet to be watery tasting. I have celiac disease so there were a number of things that were not safe for me to eat, but I was always able to find something and I never had any kind of a gluten reaction. For the same reason I can't eat baked goods. The desserts all looked nice, but my wife didn't really find them to be that good. Fortunately, there was always fruit and good ice cream. One thing we found odd was that they never make dessert spoons available until you ask a server for one. Not quite sure why they don't set the tables with a spoon, or at least have them in a caddy by the ice cream. Overall, we found that the Angsana, Cayo Santa Maria, was perfect for the kind of vacation that we were looking for--quiet and relaxing. I read a number of reviews before booking, with most of them being positive, but some others completely negative. I guess everyone has a different experience and different expectations. I think sometimes people pay $1,200 pp for a Cuban resort and expect the same kind of food and service that they would get at a $2,500 pp resort. Temper your expectations a bit and you will be very happy here.

Melia Las Dunas: Great beach and pool, wonderful people

Beautiful beach and pool area. Good live bands and dancing before 9:30 pm. Nice room with good air conditioning. Great staff. Nicely landscaped grounds. It was good value for money except for the food. However: Nothing worked very well. No hot water the whole time (until second last day let water run a long time). Bathroom door wouldn't stay closed, toilet only partly flushed--had to pour extra water into it every time, phone never worked at all, lock on door to room failed three times [... read more] and had to call for repair, low light in lamp for reading, poor to no wifi reception in my room. Food was really, really disappointing. I understand there is a difficulty getting food supplies, but seafood was so salty and overcooked it was inedible, a lot of meat and salty veg/bean mixtures, long line-ups for omelets or stir fries. Steam tables were not always hot enough. Noise in the cafeteria was deafening. Had to admire the creativity of the cooks with eggplant. Could not buy kleenex or any other small items except water. The White NIght group were very good entertainment. Lovely to sit in the lobby in the mornings and sip great cappuccinos. Pinas were fine. Good weather, well mostly. :-) Staff were all outstanding! Would go back if they could perk up the preparation of the food.

Playa Luxury Cayo Las Brujas: Angsana beautiful!

We’ve returned from Angsana Cayo Santa Maria on the 13 March 2020 after a wonderful week at this resort. Staff very courteous and helpful especially our representative Yailit at customer service. Minor issues with food item shortages and ( possibly due to shipment delays ) and we did have communication issues from room to reception with phone not being answered and getting room service was a miss in the evenings, not really serious for us but in an emergency that could be an issue. T [... read more]he beaches are beautiful and quiet and picturesque with lots of great snorkeling just a few yards out from the beach. Beach shoes a must! There are bumpy rocks hard to see at times under the sand and impossible to see when the waves stir up the water. Our room ( in Cabana #3 ) was beautiful and spacious and clean with a beautiful balcony and view of the ocean and an air conditioner that was awesome! The buffet restaurant was 4 star in what it serves but limited in choices but service excellent with Iliana and her teammates who were very friendly and attentive The “ A La Carte” restaurants were disappointing in food preparation, quality, and really missed the mark in trying to emulate intercontinental cuisine but the waiters were all excellent and courteous. Do visit the beach barbecue and Daniesky who probably is the hamburger king of the Cuba if not the Caribbean Our stay was overall excellent but for some minor inconviences that would definitely not deter us from returning! Thank you Angsana y a la proxima vez!

Iberostar Selection Ensenachos: Thoroughly enjoyed myself, but do not like the Cuban Universal Currency price gouging on tours etc

Of note, i am ex military and have travelled the world and stayed in many places of various repute in my 32 years, retiring as a senior officer. This review is in mind of those experiences. Be prepared for up to a 90 minutes bus ride to and from your hotel! Bring European conversion plugs for 220 to 110 volt. None to be had in Cuba! The hotel was a 5 star by Cuban Standards which I found very nice. It would be about a 3 to 4 anywhere else and I got the overall sense that it was on th [... read more]e cusp of a downward spiral in quality. My main complaint that lowers the rating is the poor maintenance of the facilities overall....major holes in boardwalks to beaches and on stairs that were never fixed and were in fact dangerous, potholes at the main entrance, broken furniture, etc and no sign of any repair men during my stay. Noted previous repairs were done haphazardly and noticeably half baked efforts. I enjoyed the food immensely and it was 5 star by Cuban Standards. A lot of broken coffee and other machines were noted. The staff were excellent. Definitely 5 star by any standard. The beaches were fantastic as were the pools, bars and service. Activities at the hotel were not well advertised, consequently we missed opprtunities for scuba lessons for example. The room was a Spa suite which was excellently laid out, very clean and well appointed. The only drawback was towels not changed daily and a broken drawer. The beds were okay, but not excellent or up to 5 star standards. We did the Catamaran/Dolphin tour and the Santa Clara tours....I enjoyed and recommend both. Though I'm told that the snorkeling was a bit of a yawn by those with more experience. The Dolphins were great. As I like seeing how the real people live and a bit of their history, the Santa Clara city and history/factory tour is a must for those of the same ilk. The Cuban Universal Peso is a major drawback. The current rate in Canadian puts it at the scam level. Consequently, tours that would cost you approximately 120 USD a couple in Mexico will cost you closer to 220 USD in Cuba. For instance we went on two tours costing about 220 in CUC, which equalled nearly 480 CAD on our credit card......I'm at a loss as to how that figures given the rate was supposed to be around 1.46 CAD, which is also ridiculous. I guess they are trying to be higher than the Euro. Regardless of the drawbacks, I enjoyed the trip. I will go back again, but maybe to a newer hotel and definitely no less than a 5 Star. Esenachos definitely needs better maintenance, however it is good, its clean and in relatively good order for the bang for the buck at present. In a couple years I expect it's quality will erode. Look for a newer 5 star if a few minor issues will bother you

Hotel Roc Casa del Mar: It ok

This was my second time in this resort I found some change the ground are beautiful they really try is a new management I found the buffet some day was ok some days was Barely anything the a la Cart restaurants they gone worse. I brought my family there Because I was soddisfà from the year before we were 9 wen we arrive they give us the WF after on the second week they started changing people wen they arrived for that service witch is advised as a free Feature now it’s only for people that b [... read more]ook of the privilege room witch you don’t get much there ether so they change $1 per hour so that disappoints me very much

Vila Gale Cayo Santa Maria: Amazing resort

Great vacation I like about stay at resort No1 beautiful beach clean 2. Resort location amazing 3.people working in care for you amazing workers very helpful 4. Cleaning ness all over the resort 5.clean and brand new pools 6.good tennis court and basketball court thanks

Valentin Perla Blanca: Good resort

Service was not good , no soap and no toilet paper in washrooms. Telephone not working in room , would not be able to call in emergency. Room nice and clean. Took four days to get a working coffee machine. In the morning coffee cold most of the time. Excellent beach and pool. Food average. For non alcoholic guest not soft drink available most of the time.

Resonance Blu Santa Maria: Worst resort

This was my 5th time to Cayo Santa Maria and by far this was the worst resort. It is an old resort and there are so many issues related with maintenance and service. The staff and entertainment team are very nice and friendly but they have very limited resources and the place requires a total facelift.

Playa Cayo Santa Maria: Very nice resort

Everything was very fine except the food. No variety of choice or themes. Service was fine, cleanliness as well. Nightly shows fun. The beach was gorgeous even though we couldn't swim in it for the first couple of days due to the wind

Iberostar Selection Ensenachos: Unbelievable resort!

White sands and crystal blue beaches as far as the eye can see.....the resort staff were all fantastic, very friendly and always helpful. The grounds are kept in immaculate condition, as are the beaches. We had no issues with hot water, ac, power or bugs although in some spots there are a few (mostly bushes). There are snack bar/restaurants at the beach and poolside that serve great lunches, as well as cigar bar, cigar shop, cappuccino/latte/coffee maker, fully stocked bar. I came in with hi [... read more]gh expectations and can honestly say they were met and somewhat surpassed. I would recommend 2 weeks here as there is a lot to experience at both beaches during both low and high tide, as well as paddle boats, snorkeling, catamarans, kayaking, volleyball etc. There are no locals on the beach nor any other guests from other resorts. Just peace and tranquility.....you will not be disappointed. Can't wait to be back soon!