Hotel Roc Casa del Mar: Satisfied with a couple disappointments

The hotel service, and the room, was very good. The SUNWING REP WAS VERY ARROGANT AND NOT HELPFUL AT ALL,!! he told us outright if we didn't tip we wouldn't get any service, and he didn't give us a chance to tip him, he wouldn't any questions for us.For that reason I would hesitate to book with sun-wing again, The bell boys on the other hand were very helpful they got us a private excursion, and helped with anything we needed. "they deserved more than a tip". I would recommend the hotel for t [... read more]he staff but take a different tour company. The beach was OK, but no snorkeling and not very appealing.

Grand Memories Santa Maria: Sadly worn resort

This resort is well past the point of needing some tlc. the pool is sub standard and does not have a swim up bar. The paint in general looks like the painters were blindfolded, the walkways are in bad shape and mostly unlit. The rooms are antiquated and the beds are thin, hard and full of springs that ruin any chance of a good nights sleep. In our building there were no lights working in the hallways. No coffee maker and all the drawers were inoperative. Every room that we saw including ours h [... read more]ad a ceiling fan that had hanging blades that resembled a flower and never did work. In general it was the worst hotel we have ever stayed at. The only redeeming quality was the staff.

Playa Cayo Santa Maria: Fantastic Stay

I enjoyed my stay at playa cayo santa Maria! Everything was perfect! Only thing that would have made it any better was sun all 7 days! The room was clean, the food was great, beach and pool was perfect! I'd highly recommend it!

Gran Muthu Cayo Santa Maria: Amazing resort! We spent a Wonderful week.

The resort is very well laid out. The beach is fantastic and we were always able to get beach lounges. The pool is large and never overcrowded. The servers are all very friendly and willing to help.

Sanctuary at Grand Memories Santa Maria: Solid Value, Excellent Staff, Unbeatable Beach

Just back from 19 days at the Sanctuary. Had a wonderful time. This was our second visit to this resort, 7th visit to Cuba. As always, the staff make all the difference. They are nothing short of fantastic. Friendly, courteous, helpful, warm people. Food was very good and we noticed the use of more spices this year as compared to last year. Quantities of food were very good as well. Bar drinks were very good as well. The lobby bar did run out of my favourite rum, but made up for t [... read more]hat shortfall by ensuring my glass was never empty. We had a couple of days of cooler weather, a little too cool in the morning to be either on the beach or by the pool. The Entertainment staff did a terrific job of breaking out the board games, cards etc, turning a not-so-great day into one filled with laughter. We noticed a distinct reduction in the number of electric shuttle carts available this year. Several were seen in various states of being scavenged for parts to keep the rest of the fleet in operation. The state of the resort is a "plus and minus" story... The hand rail around the main lobby patio is just about to fall completely off and is badly in need of replacement. Meanwhile, the much-sought-after additional shade on the beach is on its way with 9 new palapas being built - these will cover at least 4 chaise lounges each, representing nearly a doubling of available sun shade. We witnessed the frames being erected and thatching of the roofs was just about to get underway when we left. The beach is as spectacular as ever, definitely a rare gem, making any shortcoming of the resort fade into a distant memory as soon as one's toes touch the sand. All in all, the Sanctuary is on our "we will visit again" list; in fact, it's at the top of the list of places to stay in Cuba. Travel arrangements made by Janet Merrill at tripcentral were excellent - Janet is a true professional, courteous, efficient and a pleasure to deal with. Janet merits 5 stars for her handling of our booking (wish there were a place on this form where we could rate our agent & tripcentral experience).

Resonance Blu Santa Maria: Dont go here

This is no where near 4 stars. Had no soda, juice or beer for days. No toilet paper. Using unwashed used plastic cups to serve people because they ran out of cups. Also terrible service compared to the rest of cuba. Our AC didn't work for a few days too.

Playa Luxury Cayo Las Brujas: Fabulous resort

Everything was fantastic: the service was courteous and considerate, the entrance grandiose, the décor was tropical and magnificent, the bars were plentiful and nice, the rooms were clean and pleasant, the entertainment was fabulous, the beach was amazing, even the weather cooperated....but..... the food...we Canadians like our food...and this just didn't cut it.... we had fries two days and we thought we were in heaven....this department could certainly work on improvement....I give it a 4 b [... read more]ecause of the culinary deficiency.

Vila Gale Cayo Santa Maria: Nice resort poor management

The brand new resort was opened in Dec. 2019. Pros: -Room and common areas are great. -Beach is fantastic. -People are friendly. Cons: -Understaffed operation ; They kept us stood for three hours for checking in as well as a la cart restaurants. -We got bed bugs as a result of poor cleaning. -Food quality was poor as variety are so limited. -Entertainment programs are so boring and repetitive. All in all the package is not the greatest and do not recommend this resort.

Hotel Roc Casa del Mar: Ocean Casa Del Mar Review

Ocean Casa Del Mar in Cayo Santa Maria February 28th to March 6th was where we spent our vacation. The hotel was very very good and so is the room in the service we were impressed with the quality of service that we received from both dining staff and bus boys and all those that have anything to do with us we're more than Pleasant and helpful the beaches were beautiful. We would recommend this location to our friends for future getaway.

Iberostar Selection Ensenachos: What a place!!!

Exxcellent beach, staff and acommodation (spacious and clean) Decent food and entertainment. We've been to Cuba many times but this resort offers the best value for our hard earned money. We'll go back!

Valentin Perla Blanca: Nice Resort

The resort has beautiful grounds and gardens. Hotel room was very good. Concern with lack of hot water for the showers. Food was good. Lack of beer during the day was a concern. The staff were great! The Cuban people are so gracious and kind.

Melia Las Dunas: Fabulous!

We loved this resort! It was our 5th trip to Cayo Santa Maria but our first stay in Las Dunas. Fantastic a la cartes ( especially the Oriental) and Rosy at the spa is a sweetheart. Our only drawback was maid service. We weren't cleaned a couple of times and our water wasn't refilled several times. I don't clean my room at home everyday and I can make my own bed, but toilet paper and water are important! The beach was as amazing as always.

Playa Cayo Santa Maria: Great Cuban Resort

We went to Playa Cayo Santa Maria from February 28 to March 6, 2020. Here are the great things we have to say: Viktor - the best pool entertainer, funny and just an amazing person. He made us feel like family. Reuben- pool bartender is great, super nice and understand/speaks English very well. Jose-pool bartender when Ruben wasn't there is also really great. Dailyn- Mojito bar at night she was super nice. Strawberry mojitos are amazing but this bar is not open in the day. Only ope [... read more]n at 6pm by the lobby Karel and Rey- buffet waiters were really nice Hot water and pressure in the room is awsome-building 11 and we had friends at Building 8 and 15 and they had same comments The beach/water is super nice, clear and no seaweed. The pools are also great... depends on what you like.. the pool bar is loud with music but fun and entertaining. The relaxation pool is nice to swim and sit in the water. Hot dogs at snack bar and beach is great Here are the things we didnt like as much: No Ketchup No Coke..(so no rhum and coke) Montecristo upgrade is not worth it. We got a pink bracelet (instead of green like the rest of our friends) we got 1 additional A la Carte and a 26oz bottle of Rhum. So the extra $70 per couple is not worth it. Private bus transfer is not accurate... we had a big bus full.. private transfer means we get dropped off first and then other resorts. We did not get any of the other things it included like the private check-in, ect because we got in too late. Snack bar- First night we had hash brown then none for the next 5 days. No fries or any kind of potatoes. Bed- older bed with spring. They only gives you 2 flat pillows. We ask for 2 more but they only give 1 extra per room. So bring a pillow from home! Pool chairs- some need to be upgraded. And you do have to wake up ealry if you want to reserve a chair.

Melia Cayo Santa Maria: Not the Best Trip

I will start with saying I will never travel with Sunwing again. The trip began with poor check-in service at Pearson, followed by very slow in flight service. Our trip was supposed to be a direct flight but when our electronic tickets were sent, it was discovered there would be a stop in Camaguey before going on to Santa Clara, I wasn't too concerned as I thought it must be on the way but turns out it added over 2-1/2 hrs to our travel time. What happened on our trip to Cuba was the biggest iss [... read more]ue, we were forced to disembark the aircraft and were told we were going to a holding area but was actually forced to go through the Cuban security where stuff from our flight was confiscated. Luckily for us it was just snacks and unopened pop, others lost duty free items purchased in Toronto. Our trip home seemed a little more seamless as we had to return via Camaguey, as we departed from Santa Clara there were open seats in the Emergency Exit isle, I asked if my wife and I could sit there until Camaguey but was told I wasn't allowed as they were an additional cost to sit there, I said that was fine but the same flight attendant then minutes later allowed a woman who was ahead of us whose husband was sitting in the very same row behind us to move and sit with him for that part of the flight. The issue I have is that after Camaguey 2 of those seats were still available and they then moved another passenger from the front extra leg room seats to 1 of them, making it impossible for anyone else to have an opportunity to sit there. The problem here is that on day 2 of our trip, I attempted to book seats in the Exit Rows and was told by the Sunwing Rep there was none available. Food on the return flight was very limited and what was available (pizza) was not edible, and that's coming from Cuba. As for Melia Cayo Santa Maria, the staff in the resort and the Cuban people we met were fantastic, the maid service was great, Janice is so nice. The resort is fairly clean and the grounds are well kept. The pool and beach areas are always well maintained and the fellas bringing the lounge chairs work tirelessly. Public washrooms are well maintained except for the lack of bathroom tissue. The bartenders, servers and all kitchen staff are always fun and happy to serve you. Unfortunately the food was very mediocre and had no variety from day to day. The pasta chef and meat and fish chef Freddy were the most popular, as was the Japanese alacarte which could have been offered more as there were several nights where it wasn't full. The worst part of the trip for us was the bed in our room, and it seemed apparent it was a resort/Cuba wide issue. The mattress we had and then was exchanged for the same, was very poor quality. We could feel the springs digging into our body. It wasn't until after I took apart a day bed cushion made up of 2 four inch pieces of foam and put them on the bed were we able to get a somewhat decent night's sleep. Other than this, the resort was nice. The entertainment was good on certain nights, I just wish they would use the theatre for more of the performances, the lobby just isn't the best place for a Rock Band to play, although they were awesome. The beach was quite beautiful although the weather was not the best, during our 14 day stay we only got in the ocean 4 times, it rained several days, was cold several days and it was windy all but 1 day. Cayo Santa Maria is a great area as long as your not planning on doing anything outside of the resort and we knew that going there. Excursions that don't last 10 or more hours are very limited but worth the trip. All in all the trip was ok, a good bed, a little variance in the meals in the buffet and a hassle free flight could have made it a great trip. We met several people who have returned many times, 1 couple has been 22 times and they said this year was the worst in all aspects but I guess it must be worth going back, just not for us.

Dhawa Cayo Santa Maria: Fabulous resort

This is my 4th time in 2 years at this resort. I love the staff. They are the absolute best. The grounds are lovely. The food is good with good variety. Nightly entertainment. Beautiful beach lots of pools. Very clean. Will be returning.

Resonance Blu Santa Maria: Had a great time!

What a great week we had indeed. The atmosphere was fantastic; sun, heat, pool, drinks, beach, ocean and waves. The staff was friendly and helpful. They remembered what my favourite drink was. The entertainment was fantastic. They were great with the kids as they had a kids' show as well. They went out of their way to make sure our kids had a great time. As to be expected, the food was not the best, but you could find something you would like. Of course, there are the little things that are to b [... read more]e expected in a socialist/communist country; namely the fit and finish. This could be seen throughout the resort. Things were just not put together as you would expect them to be. if you are able to get past these things, you are going to have a great time, as the weather, entertainment and drinks well make up for the other shortcomings.

Playa Luxury Cayo Las Brujas: Great Mature Adult Only Resort

Met my expectations. Food was good, plenty of fresh fish options. Don't expect 'North American' junk...Room was clean & not too beaten up, resort impeccably landscaped. Loved the lay out & space between the beaches. The small beach does need a washroom facility. Appreciated the spraying in the am & pm outside, makes a difference. This is a quiet, serene, mature resort, lets keep it that way! All the staff are lovely, very friendly & they work very hard long hours for very little reward. I did ha [... read more]ve higher expectations for snorkeling, but I had to remind myself that they were hit really hard last year with a few hurricanes so most of the coral was effected. Not as bountiful as I was hoping. I will definitely go back & only recommend to select people who can appreciate the beauty, surroundings & facilities that I do. Doing the research & reading un biased reviews helped me make the perfect decision!

Valentin Perla Blanca: Wonderful Time at Valentin Perla Blanca!

This was the perfect spot for our "5 sisters" reunion. The pool areas and gardens were outstanding. The dining experience was very enjoyable thanks to Julio, Carlxto & Pelly in the buffet dining room and Jorge in the pool restaurant. Also compliments to Yannaisy in the lobby bar and Tomas in the Beach bar. Your kindness and thoughtfulness were much appreciated. You all made our holiday very enjoyable and memorable. One thing I would have liked, was to have our towels changed at least half [... read more]way through our week stay.

Memories Paraiso: Amazing resort

Great resort for family Best beach, many pool for kids.buffet was ok for the price Animation cool for kids. My second time for this resort. Sure I m come back next year. Thanks to agency and staff

Playa Luxury Cayo Las Brujas: amazing hotel

the hotel was excellent but there was no entertainment in the evenings. staff were very pleasant and accommodating. hotel was very clean. there was no lack of beach chairs. overall excellent hotel