Second time in this hotel and not what I was expecting..........

We had chosen this hotel based on our memories of previous trip. I was disappointed…. Rooms are worn out, food is not as good as before, and service is not the same. Positive point: the beach is much wider, longer and really beautiful and clean, but we had to get up at 6.30 to reserve comfortable (blue) long chairs. Long trip (2 Hrs) from Santa Clara Airport in a bus with no bathroom - thanks to our conscious guide who made the bus stop half way. This was corrected on our way back to the airpo [... read more]rt. When the hotel opened few years ago, it was 5*, now I would say 4 - 4.5*.

Fantastic beach and can't say enough about Food and Beverage Manager Jean Pierre!

First impression of Ocean Casa del Mar's lobby is that it's beautiful, Mike's coffee kept us coming back again and again, my husband was addicted. We travelled April 5 to 12th for my birthday and found the staff was very accommodating, we got the room we wanted and our maid was fantastic, every day we had flowers in our room and a towel in the shape of a heart. Very important to realize, however, that the Cuban resort is providing the best offerings of their country and it will not be the same [... read more] as North American standards. If you stick with french fries and steak you will find it is not as good as in Canada, but if you ate like we did and try the excellent Cuban food (calamari, grouper, shrimp, mahi mahi, salmon and white beans along with soursoup ice cream, something I never tried but truly enjoyed), you will not be disappointed. Jean Pierre set us up at Romantico, an inviting restaurant for my birthday and we were treated to birthday cake and champagne. He dropped by and said, "See, we remembered your birthday!" and the staff gave my husband several winks to let him know everything was ready to go. They even sang to me, nicely done! Drinks at the lobby bar were very good, Cuban music bands were excellent, the kayak and catamaran sports we tried on the beach were fun and the staff was very friendly and had a great sense of humour. Only problem was the first day our safe didn't close but within 24 hours that problem was corrected. And the Catamaran tour and dolphin show offered by Air Transat was a blast, rock lobster dinner was excellent, and you do interact with the dolphins. Be sure to get your picture taken with Nicky the dolphin, it was my only regret of the trip. My husband loved the Cuban music show put on by older legendary Cuban musicians, we noticed members of the staff of Ocean Casa del Mar taking in the show, too, so you know it has to be good. Beautiful beach, fantastic people, great drinks, Cuban food was very good and my husband wanted to take Mike's Coffee Shop home with him permanently. Had a blast and lived to tell the tale. We'll be back!

Disappointed

For a newer resort, it is really showing its age. The resort seems to bandaid everything. The toilet in the room constantly ran. The tiles on the pool were falling off. The snack bar never had the whole menu and there was a flood over the buffet in the middle of dinner.the resort had such potential. It just needed better maintenance. That is the bad. The staff were always helpful and nice. The food that they did have was amazing.

Beautiful resort

Staff were really nice, beach was amazing though hidden coral was treacherous. Lobby bar was 24/7 and night life was amazing! Everything was walking distance with multiple pool bars to choose from. As for food options- breakfast was your best meal of the day. All in all great resort

Beautiful resort

My daughter and I went Ocean Casa Del Mar March 29th until April 5th. We had an amazing time. We were in building 12 and had an ocean view which we didn't request. It was right beside the walkway to the beach. Near the pool and a short walk to the main building. Room was clean everyday. We did not starve but by the end of week we were tired of the same buffet food. Beach was beautiful. The seaweed was left on the beach for environmental reasons. Staff was amazing, they work very hard for such [... read more] little pay. We will definitely be going back next year.

Amazing Time!

My fiancé and I stayed at this resort from March 28-April 4th, 2019. We flew with Air Transat. Our flight was good! Then we got onto the 2 hour bus ride which the host made fun and thank goodness for the Crystal Beer! Once we arrived check in was very fast and the lady was very friendly and accommodating! We stayed in building 2 which was right by the snack bar and the left pool. Our room was very nice and modern, never have I ever seen a rain shower in Cuba! It was beautiful! We stayed on the  [... read more]ground floor. Air conditioning was very strong! Beds weren’t the most comfy but that was ok. Food was actually the best I’ve had in all of Cuba, we ate at the buffet for most breakfasts and dinners and the pool snack bar and beach snack bar for lunch. We loved the grilled chicken and rice they had at the beach. Those ladies work hard behind that grill! Snack bar lunches were good! We mostly had chicken legs, chicken salad, or hamburgers. We had 2 a la carted, Italian was absolutely delicious! Origami (Japanese) was alright! Suppers at the buffet were good if you got the food made infront of you, and depending on the time you went you may have had to wait in a long line. Totally worth the wait though. We stuck to the pastas and rice, so delicious. I also enjoyed how they sat you at meals so you didn’t have to search for tables. Some nights had entertainment in the buffet, the music in Cuba surpasses any music here in Canada, so talented! There was always music playing after supper in the lobby bar! Everyone was dancing and having a good time. The lobby bar was quite the happening place at night time! The one bartender Ernesto we loved! Always took the time to say hello to us and give us a hug! The entertainment was also amazing, those dancers work hard and you could tell! We made it to almost all the shows! Our favourite was the Disney show and the interactive men vs women show. The pool was beautiful and clean, just the right temp. Pool bar had great drinks! Beach was an absolute dream! We had amazing weather, only a few windy days which made for fun waves! Amazing blue waters. We did the hoby cat twice, we loved it!! The Cubans really do love what they do! Grounds are kept beautifully! We did the catamaran excursion on Sunday! Such a fun time! Worth the money! You get to snorkel, go to a beach, and see dolphins with lunch! Overall it was a great trip! Would recommend this resort to my friends and family!!

Home away from home

Ocean casa del mar is an awesome resort to relax in paradise. The fresh fish, the omelet, and fried rice stations are worth the short wait. The staff are second to none especially my best friend Jorge the gardener. He is like my brother. Also my favourites are Valentin, Junier, Leo

Terrible food, poor service overall

Not one to normally post a review and I sat on this for bit, but I feel that after my experience during the week of Feb 21st to Feb 28th at Ocean Casa Del Mar it would be irresponsible of me not to. First let me qualify that I have been to Cayo Santa Maria five times already having stayed at Melia Las Dunas 3x, Melia Cayo Santa Maria x1 and Memories x1, so I know what the baseline is for a resort on this coast in Cuba. Let me begin; The buffet was terrible. Same unappetizing food every da [... read more]y. Often would do a circle around the buffet and come back to the table with an empty plate and a sinking feeling. Staff at the sitting area outside the buffet were experts at avoiding eye contact and acting like it was someone else’s job to clear a table, provide cutlery, drinking water or wine. The Romantico and Seafood one (can't recall name right now) are adjoining restaurants. Did they build these over the septic system? The smell was so offensive that we turned around and left as the seafood restaurant is an open air venue and the smell was wafting into the dining area, I honestly don't know how other people were able to eat in there. Meals at the Italian and Asian venues were 'okay', but honestly all the meals were strongly salted but compared to the slop in the buffet was preferred, so I am being generous when I say okay. Running out of food, often. Bad enough but maybe you should tell people before you present them with choices that don’t exist. Drinks at the beach bar. Funny how they can seemingly pour so much alcohol in a drink yet I can taste and feel nothing. How can the same pool bathroom be out of toilet paper every single day? Two public washrooms in key areas (near lobby) and one at one of the restaurants by the pool were out of commission for a better part of our visit with sewage back up issues. Beach towels. Only able to change them once. The kiosk was never open? no explanation. Day one. No French fries. Day two. Out of chicken for the rest of the trip. Day three. No more beer for our mini bar for the rest of the trip. Beach BBQ. Fatty uneatable pork chops at one end, and the other served the same seafood paella every day! that was over the top salty. I talked with many people that week whose experience was the same (and some worse) than ours. The beautiful beach and weather saved our vacation. This resort is a no go for me in the future.

Awesome resort!

We were pleasantly surprised by the resort. Beautiful beach and extremely clean. Staff was great. It was very busy on the Saturday and there seemed to be families that were there for a nights vacation just on that day. If there is nothing you can find to eat that would be your issue. Something to satisfy all. Our only “complaints” would be not being able to get the coffee maker that was to be in our room. We asked everyday there but were told it was impossible. Secondly, the ocean view is  [... read more]not really ocean view. And finally and the reason we will not be returning to Santa Maria is the profoundly long transfer from the airport to the resort. 2 hours is too long for us. We will go back to Santa Maria when we can fly directly.

Everything was lovely except the main dish foods. They were Luke warm. There were two delightful exceptions which we discovered late in the week. These were omelettes which were made in a frying pan at the time, and to which you could include your own ingredients. The other was spaghetti whicH was also made at the time with ingredients of the guest choice.

The hotel, rooms, grounds, pools, beach and room service were all lovely. Junie, our maid service was sweet and accommodating. We were booked for two weeks but came home after one week. This was due to my husbands contracting diarrhea. He was confined to our room for 3days. We both LOVE MUSIC but there was a unrelenting LOUD thumping of music at the pool that one couldn’t get away from. ( we are both in our 70’s 🤨) At the beach, which we managed to get to on our last two days, had mu [... read more]sic but it was not constant and not as loud. We also spent part of one day going by taxi into the International Clinic to see the physician/ Pharmacist.

Great resort and time, not variety in food

All in all it was great. It was almost a 2 hour bus ride from the airport to the resort (with all the stops at the other resorts). Our bus did not have any bathrooms on board and did not stop. We had to ask them to pull over on the side of the road for my wife to relieve herself. The bus provide beers on the trip. The country side was really nice and they gave a lot of information about the different towns you go through. Upon arriving at the resort, it is very nice and you can tell it is big [... read more]. The lobby is at the center of the resort with 2 pools on either side (1 is the main one and party pool, where the other is more quiet and has a swim up bar and is close to the snack bar). The resort itself is very beautiful and well maintained. The pools were clean and not over chlorinated. The room that we had was on the main floor and faced the ocean, however there was no view of the ocean due to the sand dunes. The room was a good sized room, with a very comfortable bed, and the shower was great (good pressure, rainfall showerhead). We went to 2 of the A la carte resturants (1 was a privilege restaurant we got let into after making friends with a bartender). The food at these restaurants were the best hands down. Their seafood dishes were the best. As for the buffet, it was alright. Very bland, and did not change very much. During our stay there was only 1 day (our last day) where there were french fries, and no bacon. The bar service was generally very quick even during the busy times. The only time we had slow service (when there was almost no one in there) was in the snack bar. They literally stood at the bar and watched us sitting there waiting for water. We did 1 day trip, the catermeran, and I highly recommend doing this as it was a full day out in the water, snorkeling, lobster lunch, swimming with dolphins and unlimited booze. Fantastic time and would go back here again.

Good resort

Our overall experience was good at this resort. The beaches are beautiful and I liked that it had two pools. Some of the bad things I experienced; shower was cold water, and I didn’t get water in my room the last two nights. We went to 4 a la cartes and they were all good except Italian with both bad service and food.

Fair Resort

this was a relaxing resort,,,not much,in the form of night life or entertainment,,,,the food was ok at the a la carts but the buffet it wasn,t the best the lobby bar was one of the finner places with great service from Yireni And Linet they were both great at their jobs and very friendly , all in all it was an ok place to go and have a queit time,the staff is all good the rooms were well kept the bedroom bar fridge well taken care of a small tip goes a long way!!

Had a great time

Really liked Ocean Casa Del Mar, the destination for our girls family vacation (2 mom neightbours and our two teenage daughters who are good friends). The beach was lovely. The two pools with swim up bars were great The food was fantastic and there were even 7 different restaurants for dinner with different types of cuisine (reservations required). The rooms were nice, clean and well decorated and the housekeeping, restaurant and bar staff were extremely attentive. There was entertainment ever [... read more]y night and an enthusiastic 'activation' staff who tried to get people into beach yoga, aquafit classes and Cuban dance lessons. It was a challenge to muster enthusiasm but the staff were so energetic and encouraging! We got a great deal on an all-inclusive, which was important.

Very nice

Rooms are clean and good service except they didn't change our beach towels in 2 weeks. Food in the buffet not the best and also cold, but waiters are very nice, only 1 toaster for "ALL" in the buffet for breakfast just don't cut it. There's an excellent waitress in the lobby bar "Yireni" very friendly professional and also offered the best service everyone was served and didn't have to wait an hour for a drink.

Large resort

Very large resort. Food selection was very limited. You will be very hungry if your a vegetarian. Pool and beach were great. Resort property could use some sprucing up. Rooms were average. Great AC in rooms but stained sheets. Staff helpful and friendly.

Amazing Resort

Ground was good Room what we expect, but food was good so bad always cold, Missing some change over 14 day visit . They need much better Coffee . We god always cold coffee with ground. Not good at all. Many day no Bacon or change at snake bar some fries , some times chicken, some time no fish. every day some missing. Bad organist. 5 Stars is to much for this bad service. Beach towel change should availability between 10 and 5 pm , but no service at this time or no delivery for towel. If they [... read more] change some like Beer in the room daily in the mini bar, well let the Guest know or bookings for the restaurant's at least 3 day in advance. This is stuff is never been told before we figger this on our own out . This was a really new experience for us.

The resort was fine.

The grounds of the hotel was OK. The public areas was clean. Food was plenty but very bland. Very long walk to the beach,but lots of swimming pools. Biggest concern no medical facilities at this big resort. They told me to hire my own taxi and travel 10 Km to see a doctor. Long wait for a drink or a specialty coffee

Would Not Recommend

2 hour bus ride. The bus did not have a toilet on it. We had our orientation on Tuesday and went to book our À la cartes. We waitied in line for an hour and were told they had nothing until Saturday which was the day we were leaving. Couldn't exchange our towels because there was no one there all day at the towel hut. Public bathrooms were dirty and had no toilet paper. You had to wait in a line to get wifi, go into a room then resign in every time you wanted to get on line. The beach/pool bars [... read more] had imported and gross alcohol. The rooms were okay. The Beach is beautiful. Food was okay. Definitely not a 4.5 star. Maybe a 3.

Wonderful Resort, Beautiful Staff

The resort as a whole is wonderful. As you enter the lobby the view of the ocean takes your breath away. The lobby had plenty of seating in all different forms. Chairs, benches, couches, lounging beds. The front desk staff is very friendly and as helpful as they can be. The main building is very well kept and beautiful. The buffet staff are amazing but the food does repeat itself daily. Not much variety but not surprising for Cuba. The grilling stations are few and they could use a lit [... read more]tle sprucing up or deep cleaning. The rooms are always clean and stocked but need some more upkeep. Baseboard tiles in our room were missing. Toilet seat lid in both of our rooms wouldn’t stay up. Pools were never too busy. Always found chairs. Their were pool tiles missing from the bottom of the pools. Overall, the resort is lovely, the people are amazing and the beach is the best I have ever seen.