Sanctuary at Grand Memories Santa Maria: Great value for money

The value for money of this resort is the shining star. We enjoyed our week away, relaxing on the beautiful beach and moving to the pool most afternoons. We visited from January 3-10 and while a small storm brought four windy days, it was still warm and enjoyable. Beach: The beach is stunning, powdery sand with luscious teal water and a long sand bar. We would reserve our chairs about 7 am with no issue but I would recommend doing so for shade and comfort. The bugs seemed to affect everyone di [... read more]fferently but it was very manageable by 1) using bug spray, 2) leaving the beach by 4-5 pm, 3) treating with after-bite or after-sun to soothe the itch, and 4) taking an anti-histamine to reduce swelling and itching if needed. Pool: clean, lots of chairs, solid amounts of variable shade. Swim up bar. Room: our room was clean, no issues with water pressure, air conditioning, or balcony, plus a great view from the 3rd floor of building 60. While I had no doubt in the cleanliness of the sheets and towels, they weren’t “bright white” clean. It was frequent to see stains despite fresh sheets and there was marks on the walls. It’s definitely no Mexico 4 star but it’s Cuba and I’m sure these are some of the best accommodations. Location: I wouldn’t visit Santa Maria again due to it’s distance from “real Cuba”. Employees live 45 minutes away on the main land and there’s no town closer. There is a mall next to the resort good for gifts, trinkets, and off-the-resort restaurants. Excursions: we attended the Rum, Sugar, & Cigar tour and do not recommend. It was expensive for essentially a visit to an old sugar factory facility and a demonstration on rolling cigars. This is not a drinking tour. Snorkelling: Due to the windy weather, we weren’t able to go, but apparently the snorkelling just 1 km away is fantastic. The boat hut on the beach offered to take us for 10 CUC a person for 45-60 minutes of snorkelling time but on a less windy day they said it would be better. I would recommend that if you have the gear. Food: For breakfast, the buffet was great with a lot of options and good service. For lunch, we tried the buffet but didn’t love it, so we mainly enjoyed the grills at the beach or pool. Option of chicken, fish, burgers, or hot dogs usually. All great options. Our week wasn’t super busy, so sometimes only one of two would be open, though they are only a one minute walk apart. For dinner, we tried the Grand Memories buffet. Typical buffet food, nothing more. There was a pasta, fried rice, and meat cooked to order stations. Didn’t try these as we went to the a la cartes the rest of our evenings. The a la carte in Sanctuary changes menu every night. Food was ok. It’s Cuba. Biggest issue was warmth of food, a lot of our meals would have been so much better if they were delivered hotter than lukewarm. Snack bar in Sanctuary is open 24/7 though you have to ask if you want anything more than pizza. Drinks: the pool and beach bars were great, the lobby bar frequently over poured. There was a drink menu but expect that one ingredient they won’t have that day. Try again the next day. Transfer: was about 1.5-2 hours depending on stop points (ours had to stop to use washroom), beer on board 2 for $5, enjoyable scenery and guide. Other details: on the west side of the lobby is a small building which emits a sewage stench. Avoid using the lobby bathroom in the northwest corner and you can avoid this stench almost entirely. Some dogs and cats can be found wandering the facility as is typical for these islands. All seemed friendly though. The adult only aspect was sometimes not enforced. I once saw a butler refuse a small child and parent entrance to the pool area because they inquired, but frequently saw children and parents taking a walkthrough the resort or beach area without consequence. Better signage would help with this. In summary, this was a very nice getaway. It’s not 5 stars but it is clean and comfortable. The price was unbeatable. The beach alone was worth the plane trip.

Grand Memories Santa Maria: Ok trip

We arrived New Year's Eve just before midnight. Check-in was decent. Dropped our bags and headed to the theatre for the countdown festivities. It was a great start. The villa we were staying in seemed abandoned with only a few rooms to rent. The first and second level were not lit up and it seemed a bit sketchy and dark in the stairwell. We asked to be changed to a different villa to feel safer with our kids. The second room seemed very run down with AC not working. The Manager Ricardo was quick [... read more] to upgrade to a suite, which we were pleased. We had a villa between pool and beach and it was very convenient. Food was boring and lacking flavor. I survived on omelets and hash browns and bananas. Staff is quite friendly. Biggest problem was lack of beach chairs at beach and pool. It seemed it was deliberate so as to upgrade to diamond club for beach chairs. Great weather hotel needs much TLC.

Memories Paraiso: Overall great experience

Clean pool well kept, lacking balls to play with and chairs at times, clean beach, lacking lawn chairs at times, room cleaned daily. Everything you could possibly want for a cheap sunny vaction. Bar service ran on Cuban time at times. Friendly staff. 24 hr pizza :) wooohooooo

Sanctuary at Grand Memories Santa Maria: GREAT RESORT

THE HOTEL IS NICE POOL ARE GREAT AND THE BEACH IS THE BEST BUT THE FOOD NEEDS IMPROVEMENT STAFF IS VERY FRIENDLY ENTERTAINMENT WAS AWESOME.DON'T THINK I WOULD GO BACK BUT I DO LIKE CUBA WAS JUST WHAT I NEEDED I WEEK IN THE SUN.

Grand Memories Varadero: 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.

Memories Caribe Beach Resort: Great Resort!

The staff are incredibly friendly and the beach is beautiful. The resort did an amazing job for new years eve, they have a very nice buffet dinner, a water show and a made a dance floor on the pool deck. Met some amazing people and would for sure go back

Memories Caribe Beach Resort: Memories Caribe Cayo Coco

My recent stay at Caribe was not a very pleasant one. Dirty stained sheets and bed cover on more than one occasion Patio Doors would not open and close properly Spiders in bed Toad in room Keys not working properly Broken shelf in refrigerator No bar soap provided, had to ask Shampoo and body wash not topped up Towel shortage Loud air conditioner Food mediocre with terrible cross contamination (not enough serving spoons and not monitored) Always alway always had to ask for a spoon,  [... read more]drove me nuts. Really not 4 star quality Although I was compensated with 2 extra hours on the last day for the toad in my room, it did not make up for the unpleasant experience.

Memories Caribe Beach Resort: Amazing place best people

I had and amazing new years experience at memories caribe. They make you feel like family. The food at the cuban restaurant is to die for the best lobster and largest lobster I have ever seen and only 15 cuc. The buffet amazing food u can get fresh made omelets or pancakes for breakfast lunch is always tasty with fresh soups and chicken then dinner fresh pasta and stir fry. Everyone from customer service to front desk to the entertainment staff are amazing you feel like family and if you need an [... read more]ything they try as hard as they can to get it.

Memories Caribe Beach Resort: Beautiful resort

The hotel itself was clean but outdated. The wifi was very annoying. The maids did not fully clean our room which wasn’t nice to come into either. But the staff was AMAZING!!! Couldn’t ask for better people

Sanctuary at Grand Memories Varadero: GREAT RESORT!

My wife and I stayed following Boxing Day for 1 week. This Adult only resort is attached to a family resort that was very busy. The Sanctuary was not as busy and was very quiet and relaxing. Big pool and area with an outside bar, restaurant and inside luxury bar. All these were very good and not crowded. The adult only resort restaurant is a sit down and not buffet style for all three meals each day. The inside bar is open 24 hrs and has live music each evening. Our room was clean, a goo [... read more]d size Jr suite with a tub and separate shower. A small patio to sit on is also a plus. Our room was quiet and we were looked after by excellent housekeeping and a butler! Keep in mind that all guests at the Adult Only resort may also use the main buffet and all restaurants and pools of the family resort as well. One plus of the Sanctuary is the 30% discount at any of the extras such as massage and pedicure. Finally, Sanctuary guests have their own (quicker) check-in counter that avoids the long line ups at the family resort check-in.

Grand Memories Punta Cana: Had a great family vacation!

This a great family resort. The waterpark is wonderful for the kids! The gr ounds are beautiful with an abundance of palm trees,very tropical ! Many pools both for adults and kids. Food was good at both the a la carte restaurants and the buffet . There is a snack bar called " Bites" which offered freshly cooked cheese burgers ,hotdogs and fries which were excellent! A constructive observation is that the bars all close at 11PM even the Lobby Bar which our party found too nearly! Our recommendat [... read more]ion is that Grand Memories Punta Cana keep the Lobby Bar open until 1AM. I also heard this complaint from several other guests! The staff were friendly and very helpful and the service was great! I recommend the this resort as a great family resort!

Memories Jibacoa: Memories Jibacoa

Resort was ok. It was well kept and nicer than other resorts I’ve stayed at in Cuba. If I had a choice I would go to other Caribbean islands instead. The food was not great but that is to be expected in Cuba. The staff were friendly and always willing to help.

Sol Turquesa Beach: Friendly staff, great resort

Been in March 2019 and December 2019, both times were great. Beautiful beach, very friendly staff, clean pools, good drinks, clean grounds and room, and nice varieties of food. Diamond club is totally worth it, Jorge is an awesome bartender. Will return!

Memories Caribe Beach Resort: Lovely Time!

We enjoyed our stay at Memories Caribe. The first room we were given was leaking and smelled very bad and so after asking 4 times, we were finally moved to an upgraded room. The upgraded rooms have doors on the toilet area but not on the shower area (we brought a shower curtain along as it was a friend and myself). The drinks are not the greatest. We got a few bug bites but some people had quite a few bites and said it's the worse they have seen in bites in 8 years. The food was good but nothing [... read more] special. The beach was nice as well. I would say diamond club was worth it as we received an extra ala carte meal and upgraded alcohol, which I'm not sure we actually received all the time and a special area on the beach. I did not find the staff overly friendly. The resort is small and everything is in walking distance but I would try somewhere else next time.

Sol Turquesa Beach: Amazing Resort

We stayed at Memories Resort in Holguin. Its a very clean and beautiful place. The staff were friendly,kind, and helpful. Our room was Clean and very up to date. We met some nice people there,and done some excursions. The food at the buffet was ok at the most part, i would have thought there would have been more fish varieties and more fruit choices. We ate at the Italian Restaurant one night , we found the food there awful. The beach was clean, beautiful with lots of entertainment. We were t [... read more]old with the VIP package we would have a butler bring us drinks and such, there was not one there. We had to retrieve our own beverages. But over all the place is great, I would defiantly go back.

Memories Flamenco Beach Resort: Best Resort in Cuba

Spent Christmas vacation at Memories Flamenco with the family and can’t wait till we go back. The staff at this resort make this place. As well as the most beautiful beach. The food is very good ,especially at the a la carte restaurants.

Sanctuary at Grand Memories Santa Maria: Not bad

There are many positives to Sanctuary at Grand Memories. Adults only, beautiful beach, friendly service, beautiful grounds. Clean rooms, live music, great drinks! Some room for improvement. Public washrooms were dirty or out of soap and paper. Towel exchange not enough available. Supper buffet at Grand, very loud and the food was average. For the price I’d consider going back for the positives.

Memories Caribe Beach Resort: It's OK for what we pay

everything would be fine, but the The fact that we got numerous bites suggests that you are not struggling like other hotels with this. A la carte restaurants are not attractive and do not offer anything special. The staff is very friendly and always ready to help. The area looks great. Clean and well maintained. Everything else was good. Thanks!

Memories Flamenco Beach Resort: Amazing

The resort was amazing. It was a great choice allowing us to sit back, relax and enjoy the entertainment they had each evening. The resort was also clean and had a great variety of food. All staff was warm and welcoming. Would definitely plan another trip here in the future. Was happy with the service and experience.

Grand Memories Varadero: 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.