Grand Memories Varadero: It was dissapointing

The only thing I liked about this resort was how well the grounds were kept very dissatisfied regarding rooms flooded a few times because of air conditioner furniture was pretty bad we paid for upgrade but did not get it fridge was supposed to get filled everyday I only got water and a few pops the beer was only put I fridge a couple of times rest of week they didn't put the workers weren't that friendly with the exception of my maid Madie I will not return here

Sanctuary at Grand Memories Varadero: Great Resort! Issues with Tipping

We had a really great time! Beach is great! Pools are lovely! Rooms are ok. I find the staff a little unfriendly if they are not tipped as often as they deem necessary. I also find them to be a little racist from my perspective. Other than that the hotel itself is really nice to stay. Food us awful as is everywhere in Cuba.

Sanctuary at Grand Memories Varadero: Great Getaway!

Overall the resort is well kept and the staff are great. You will have a great time, if your looking to relax under the sun by the pool or ocean. Bring yourself a Bubba Mug and save yourself the multiple trips to the bar; as they only have smaller plastic cups. Also, make sure to bring plenty of sunscreen! :)

Grand Memories Punta Cana: Punta cana OK good

the hotel is good, only sometimes the room is cooler due to air conditioning.i think my room (24303) air conditioning always controls the same temperature, hope you to check it and improve it. the other things in the room is excellent. thank you for your nice service.

Sanctuary at Grand Memories Santa Maria: Siblings bonding vacay

The beach is the same anywhere in Cuba. I only gave 4 star because the resort is so big that the beach area is not enough to accommodate the number of guests. We did not stay by the pool because we did not like the set up of the bar wherein the wet side is at the back of the bar. The service was top notch! From our butler Jose who made sure that our needs are met including extending a couple of hours before we check out. Our servers, Rabelo, from Memories buffet (don’t know if I got the  [... read more]name right) who brought his own hot sauce from home because the resort does not have any and sharing with us avocados from his garden. We were so touched by his effort. Raul from the Italian restaurant and Inubis from Santuary buffet who made sure that our table is well taken cared off all the time. Mr Armando the gardener (Mr. coco man), who supplied our daily coconuts and last but not the least Thomas, the driver, till we left he made sure that our luggages are on the right bus. These people are the highlight of our trip. They never expect anything from us, for a fact some of them does not want to get the tips we give them but the friendship we build in a week just casually talking to them about life or sometimes nonsense topics is very big to them. We will surely miss them. The food for me is the best among the resorts I’ve been in Cuba. My brother booked this resort because they serve seafood every day. Kudos to the cooks/chefs. Here is the downside why I don’t recommend this resort, the rooms smelled liked moulds, safe is broken, no umbrellas in 2 out of 3 rooms we booked. The rooms are not properly cleaned. The bed and pillows are good but it seems like something is biting you while you sleep. When I came home, all the clothes I hanged in my room smells like moulds. Even their towels smell like moulds. The bed linens are dirty. The entertainment at the lobby is not that great. You can’t enjoy the night because ithe Lobby is too small. There’s just no room to accommodate people. I have been to Valentin Perla Blanca and it is night and day with Sanctuary. If not for the great service of the people that worked there, I would have not enjoyed our stay. PS. Make sure to pack Off lotion and after bite. This is my 3rd time in Cuba and 2nd in Cayo Sta. Maria and I should say that this resort is swapped with mosquitoes and flies.

Sanctuary at Grand Memories Santa Maria: Sanctuary For Adults...Not So Much

Our bad but this resort I thought was adults only...low and behold it is a large resort with 3 sections. One of which they have labeled adults only. They loosely draw lines but we heard more than one child during our week. They should really not tout this as such but it was a lesson learned for us. Besides that we had a few other issues but we are the type to simply look at the positive.... the beach is absolutely fantastic!!! That's what we go for. Luckily the snack hut there had equally go [... read more]od food and the beach bar poured us all we ever needed. The staff at these locations were also a positive. We had a great vacation on the beach but will look at other options and scrutinize the adults only...

Sanctuary at Grand Memories Varadero: No wonder Ive been 5x!

From start to finish; staff, room & food, everything was amazing! The grounds are lush & gorgeous, the beach is beautiful & the pool ALWAYS clean & well maintained. Karl the food & bev mngr is beyond attentive & Hilda made sure every whim was satisfied with our room & stay. Highly recommended!!

Sol Turquesa Beach: Nightmare!

We were utterly disgusted and disappointed with our vacation. Aside from cockroach in the food and the poop floating in the pool, our resort got shut down without notice or options. We were moved to an even worser resort like little prisoners, even as diamond club members after hours of waiting we were given a room that reaked like urine and an AC that didnt function, not to mention not enough beds. Again waited hours to get relocated (me insisting) to be moved to a room with no water. The custo [... read more]mer service was horrible. Sunwing reps were no where in sight and when asked questions we were told they dont know. This was our first and last trip to Cuba. Never again will I book with Sunwing, they robbed us of our happy time. Very disappointed.

Sol Turquesa Beach: Beautiful Resort

The grounds and rooms were clean. Maintenance staff came right away for any issues. Staff and customer services was great. Wasn't a busy time at the resort (Sept) , Food was typical to Cuba not bad by any means. They did near the end of the week run out of a few small things (resort was closing for renovations and to change to adults only) . Beach was nice but wasn't cleaned the last few days due to the resort closing. Rooms are typical Cuban resort style a little outdated but good. There was li [... read more]ttle to no entertainment or activities for kids due to the closing all staff were let go or reassigned. Still made the best of our vacation and had a great time and met lots of good local and foreign people.

Memories Caribe Beach Resort: So so

The hotel was acceptable at best, but not great by any means. The food was NOT good by any means. Our room had a number of problems including outlets and lights that didnt work, ants, and an unusable mini fridge ( smelled like an outhouse) The staff was pleasant enuf but nobody put in a big effort. Dont even get me started on the mosquitoes!! Would rate as a possible 3 star but no more

Grand Memories Santa Maria: excellent resort for family

Good hotel on grate location and good service. People are very friendly and shows happiness when are you satisfied. Staying in this resorts was good out of season. I will recommend this for people that can take vacation at this time as price is very good.

Grand Memories Santa Maria: Beautiful Country, Terrible Resort

We had a lovely time in Cuba although I would not recommend Grand Memories to others. The location was amazing and the staff were friendly; however, the accommodations and amenities are in a severe state of dilapidation. We did not voice our concerns while there (though we came very close) as we were spending the majority of our time off the resort. In our room: the toilet seat was broken and not secured, the fan didn't work, there were odd stains all over the ceiling, the light on the balco [... read more]ny was broken and hanging by loose electrical wires, there was only one bath towel for three people (even though I kept asking for more), there were always ants in the water glasses and we were itchy and waking up with bites or rashes every day we slept in the beds until I finally asked them to change the sheets -- the problem was resolved after that. On the resort: the buildings were tired looking, the floors and furniture appeared dirty, the dishes and glassware were always greasy even though they were "clean" and we saw many cockroaches in the restaurants. At one point during breakfast a glass was dropped and smashed on the floor and no one cleaned it up or sectioned the area off -- we were there for another 30-minutes and it was still all over the floor when we left. Lastly, on the morning of our departure the buffet failed to open even 30-minutes early so guests could eat before travelling close to 2-hours to the airport. As adults we dealt with it but most (including ourselves) were travelling with small children who were obviously very hungry until food service began on our flight to Toronto over 4 hours later. I do wish they would rate this resort as a 3-star at best as it's very misleading as a 4-star. Many guests did complain and some were moved to alternate resorts as a result. I've travelled to Cuba a few times and have stayed in 3-star resorts that were in better condition and offered better service than this one. I would return to Cuba as it really is a special place but never to this resort again.

Grand Memories Santa Maria: Ok Resort!

I can honestly say this wasn’t our best vacation. The Diamond Club package is so not worth it. Do not waste your money!!! We waited 3 hours before being able to go to our room. This already rubbed me the wrong way because we had our 16 month old and a 9 year old with us. There was some sort of mix up and our room las given to someone else. We were then placed in a room that did not have a phone. Again mom with two kids and no phone in the room. I went to the concierge to ask for a phone to be  [... read more]placed in the room. I was told that the building where they put the Diamond Club guests has a faulty phone line and that not all rooms have a working phone. I ended up complaining because we had also bought the superior package with ocean view, and we were put right beside the pool where there was music on all day. Getting my little guy to nap was a nightmare. They moved us to another building farther away and they told us the phones worked. Yes there was a phone in the room but not working. I gave up! The next 3 days water was an issue. I spoke to 5 different people requesting and extra bottle of water in the room and I was told don’t worry it will get done. It never did. I needed the extra bottle for the formulas for the baby. Finally I had to pay a worker to help me get water and from then on every day we had extra water in the room. It was very frustrating. I have been to Cuba 7 times before this. I have never ever had an issue with food because we aren’t picky eaters. But this time around... they had the extract same thing every single day for lunch and dinner. We got tired of it real quick. By the third day this became an issue. The only time when we really enjoyed the food was in the a la cart restaurants. The hotel was pretty badly damaged because of the hurricane and you could see it. The iron in the rooms is all rusted, windows are cracked or broken, pieces missing from the walls, the shutters in the buildings has mold on them. Yes they are slowly trying to fix it but it still looked really bad. The only good thing about this resort was the beach. The beach is just beautiful. Otherwise I honestly do not recommend this hotel. I was way too frustrated trying to get the basics for the kids and I like to relaxed on vacation not be frustrated and feel like no one is listening.

Memories Caribe Beach Resort: Decent Resort, Beautiful Beach

Beach was amazing, but hotel room had ants and other bugs. The resort staff were always very slow to respond. Wifi only available in lobby. The buffet food was good, but don't expect anything fancy from their other restaurants.

Sanctuary at Grand Memories Varadero: Small but great

It's a small VIP section on the much bigger Grand Memories ground. We have our own cozy elegant restaurant, snack bar,Lounge Bar, Reception and swimming pool. We can also use all facilities and restaurants in Grand Memories but we ended up staying at the Sanctuary throughout the 7 days because everything is very good and within 2 minutes walk from our room. It's our 7th time to Cuba, 6th to Varadero and we are very impressed overall with the Sanctuary but especially so with the following: ( [... read more]1) Sanctuary's restaurant serves yummy lobster almost at lunch almost everyday and 4 times during our stay at dinner. The staff lead by manager Karl . The manager Karl is very professional and hardworking, setting a great example for his staff and together they provide efficient and friendly service. We always found ourselves very well taken care of. (2) Sanctuary has the best night entertainment we've ever had at a Cuban resort. We have the option of watching a nightly show at the Grand Memories theater or having our own entertainment in our Lounge Bar. We did go to the Cuban Show the first night which was good, but in terms of comfort of the environment, quality of the show and interaction with performers, the nightly Lounge Bar entertainment is several levels higher. We had opera singers, a hot rock and roll band, sax and piano duo, pool side Retro parties and Karaok. Never danced so much and so crazily at a Caribbean holiday. (3) Mosquitoes usually like me but at this resort I didn't get one bite. And this is first ever. (4) There are 2 bottles of rum, one vodka and one scotch at our disposal in our room. (5) Our butlers, especially the lady (sorry I didn't get her name) have been most helpful. They are always around and would be asking if we need anything. Our requests had all been fulfilled. It's a nice feeling to be taken care of. Of course, the resort is clean, service is great, our room is big and the shower looks pretty new. The maids are pleasant and friendly. Every guest seems to be having a great time. The hotel manager Sabine is always there to make sure everything is what it should be. With management like Sabine and Karl, it's not surprising that Sanctuary is run so well. I was skeptical about how true those 4+ star reviews were before the trip but now I know why people made those comments. Have already told friends that it's a must-try.

Resonance Blu Varadero: Beautiful Beach!

We stayed at Memories Resort from July 28th to August, 6th. The grounds are beautifully kept. The is a large resort so someone with mobility issues might have a problem. We were located at building 25 which was located close to the quiet pool and main buffet. The rooms were kept clean but very dated. There were issues with the refrigerator not working, the piping in the bathtub was completely rusted as well as the mold smell. The main buffet had a variety of food. You would never go hungry. The [... read more] beach bar-b-q was amazing. Entertainment at the party pool was fun too. The pools did have a lot of floating cups and people smoking inside the pool. The quiet pool looked green by the end of our stay, as for shade there was always plenty. The staff are great and always greeting you with a friendly smile. I did forget to mention the bathrooms located at the main lobby were horrible, never had toilet paper and was invested with cockroaches. Overall our trip was amazing, the weather was sunny and hot with just a few rain showers that lasted for a few minutes. Would I go back to this resort, I definitely would but with an upgraded room! I did forget to mention the nightly entertainment was amazing with the disco! And don't forget to bring a reusable cup with you, they ran out of cups every night!

Sanctuary at Grand Memories Varadero: Just a massive disappointment

The hotel itself was advertised as a 4/5 star resort, however, what we actually experienced was definitely not a 4/5 star experience. To begin, the Sunwing operator that took us to our resort on Aug 31, 2019 went up to my boyfriend after I had gotten off of the bus and asked him "are you not gonna tip?" My boyfriend responded with "I'm sorry, I don't have any CUC, I only have CAD... we just landed and I couldn't exchange my money yet" and he looked at him, rolled his eyes and handed him his lugg [... read more]age. Second, the food is a massive disappointment. Unless you are going to the a la cartes, good luck finding good food at the buffet that is remotely edible. We had to wait in line for almost 20 minutes to get some chicken griddled up by a very nice man however, the wait is just way too long considering we had other plans after dinner. The servers are sometimes nice, and sometimes will fill up your glass with water and others, seem as though they are waiting for you to tip them. Another issue we encountered was that upon entering our room and using the bathroom, it made a very loud screaming sound every single time we flushed it and continued to do so for another 10 minutes or so post-flush. Additionally, in the bathroom of 35208 (our room), there was a bunch of black mold located on the corner of the ceiling. I mentioned this to housekeeping and they literally said "ok". Mind you, I am fluent in Spanish so there is absolutely no way that there could be anything lost in translation over here. Another thing, when we asked for more water to be delivered to our room or to ask for another bottle of water from the bar, we often received looks or if we ordered them for our room, it took more than 2 hours to get it... almost as if they had to travel to get to the bottling company themselves and retrieve it. Don't get me wrong, I love Cuba and I understand that sometimes things take time to be delivered... but what I cannot tolerate, is the lack of professionalism, customer service and friendliness of hotel staff. Especially the lady that works at the check in/check out counter that works at nights in the Sanctuary lobby. She was a total witch with a capital B and every single time I asked to purchase a WIFI card, she seemed as though I had asked her to do the most impossible task ever. On one night, we found a cockroach in our curtains as i was closing them for the night and when we called someone to help, it took them about 20 minutes to get here which was a bit worrisome considering the cockroach had then moved to a different location in the room (Eventually, they caught and killed the cockroach). It is important to note, though, that in Cuba, and other tropical countries, you should expect to see these kinds of insects as they are native to the country... so this wasnt a massive deal. To make matters worse, when we were leaving from our room to catch the bus that brings us to the airport for our return flight to Toronto, we noticed that the entire building (35) was completely unlit in the staircases and hallways... We were residing on the second floor so we had to bring all four of our suitcases down with us in pitch black lighting because it was 6am when we left. We called reception/client services and no one picked up. I called them three times before I noticed it was getting too late and ended up having to bring our suitcases down in the dark otherwise, we would have missed our bus. Anyway, my boyfriend, as he was bringing his suitcases down, fell down the stairs (since it was so dark), and one of his suitcases fell on him, and subsequently broke from landing on the cement staircase. His carry-on's wheels split in half from the impact and were unusable and failed to function as they had been completely damaged from the fall which could have been PREVENTED, had the Sanctuary actually had lighting in the building. The whole lighting issue is not only problematic for people who are trying to go down the stairs with their suitcases, but this is also a potential fall and fire hazard as if there is an emergency, there is absolutely no lighting for guests to see down the stairs during an emergency such as a fire. I spoke to the Sanctuary reception/check in and check out lady that I mentioned above, and she didn't seem to care and said "lo entiendo" which means "I understand"..... understand what? that he fell down the stairs? or that you need to do something about this? The entire communication from the guest services staff and reception was atrocious. Nobody seemed to give a goddamn crap about anything and even with me asking very nicely in Spanish to prevent the risk of miscommunication, things were never done as they were promised. My boyfriend and I tried to be as positive as possible regardless of the crappy circumstances, but I certainly feel as though we need another vacation to help us de-stress from this mess of a "vacation". Also, I have stayed in the Sanctuary before... I stayed in the Cayo Santa Maria one in June of 2018 and it was beautiful. Everything in that resort was great... which is why I chose this resort in Varadero... expecting the same experience, but we ended up just super disappointed. Hopefully nobody has to ever beg for water to be given to them in that resort ever again.

Sanctuary at Grand Memories Varadero: Nice place

I like the hotel very much, it's clean and comfortable. My friends and I had great time there. I miss the blue sky, beautiful ocean, nice food, all kinds of drink... I think I will go there again. See you soon.

Resonance Blu Varadero: Memories Cuba, veradero

I loved the hotel, cubans and all the people I met I definitely want to go back to Cuba and I hope to have the time of my life again like last time! The Cuban’s are soooo beautiful as well and so sweet.

Grand Memories Punta Cana: Superb vacation!

The hotel, staff, facilities, and transportation were amazing. There was a good variety of food too. There was a bit long waiting time for check-in since we arrived on Friday. However, it was manageable. The hotel rooms were clean and well organized. Transportation between 2 hotels (Grand Memories and Royalton) was so cute and accessible every 10-15 min. The programs every night were also amazing and family-friendly. We highly recommend this hotel to all families looking for the best place to  [... read more]stay in Punta Cana.