Everything you need, Great resort!

We really enjoyed our 7 day stay at Dhawa. The grounds were lovely and maintained. The food was abundant & decent (we didn't lose weight on vacation!), the snack bar was lacking...but, it was something if you were hungry. The drinks were not weak and were made well. The beach is gorgeous and well maintained. The pool is a good size and kept clean, my only complaint would be that the music is far too loud at 9am, when you're wanting to chill by the pool...after 11am, would be reasonable. Our room [... read more] was modern (Beds were comfy), clean and kept up daily. The staff is amazing, they work extremely hard and should be tipped well. Getting bottled water was a bit of an issue, one large bottle per room is not enough. However, you can get a glass of water anywhere on the resort or fill up your water bottles.

Dhawa Cayo Santa Maria

Hotel was very nice The pool was great Cold at first to get in Room was very nice Maid service very good Food was average Plenty to eat Our favourite place to eat was lunch at the beach We had “red snapper with heads on” & the chicken breast sandwiches Great guys working there Only recommendation :: Improve food at 24hr snack bar Breakfast was good Lunch not good Couldn’t cut chicken Very windy at beach mostdays Did get in swimming a few times

We love this spot

This was our second time to this resort. We enjoy everything about it. It did not disappoint. Good food, nice beach, pleasant staff, amazing lobby entertainment, lovely pool. Thanks Dhawa. You may see us again next year.

Amazing Resort

I loved this resort, food is great, beach is beautiful and rooms were decent. Ocean front is actually more like Ocean view, a little disappointing but still nice. Not a party resort.. if that is what you’re looking for look elsewhere. It was perfect for what we wanted, relaxation and a nice beach. There were 3 different a la carte restaurants and all were super good. A little understaffed but everyone works super hard to give you what you want. Would recommend.

Good but not great.

Just came back 2 days ago. It’s my about 15th time in Cuba. Beach- great. On a calm not windy day great for snorkeling. Lots of fish. Rooms- no complains at all. Very clean and comfortable. And everything works. :) Food- Cuban food. If you know what I mean. Can’t expect super delicious food from Cuba. But I wish there was a bit more variety of food. Service- terrible. But not because of people who work there, more because of the management I would say. There was a day that they ran ou [... read more]t of plastic cups at the bar on the beach. And they said that they don’t know when they are getting them. May be even the next day. This is the first time I hear of such a thing. In a way it’s good, less plastic is better. Then I’ll know next time for sure to bring a jag. Also they were constantly running out of beach towels, considering the hotel was not very busy. And again they didn’t know when they would expect them. So I would say management must make sure they have enough of everything at all times. Other than that- not bad. The grounds of resort are very well kept. Very green and full of blooming flowers. Great job, gardeners.

Wonderful Place. Wonderful staff.

Only resort I have ever been twice to. Typical Cuba food. 6 out of 10 and somewhat repetitive. I will return again simply for the service and the staff. I have been in 30 countries in the last 5 years and their staff and service is the best. Love asia, especially the Philippines but its only a 3 hour flight to a wonderful experience with incredable people. Theres 3 places in the world I have enjoyed this much. Cuba, Philippines and Newfound Land.

Great Time at Dhawa

Nice newer resort with good pool, beach, rooms, dining, and staff. Well maintained and clean, with a good variety at the buffet. The only complaint would be that the a la carte main course meals took a long time to be served.

It was a nice, peaceful vacation !

From start to end, this time, on my 7th, visit to Cuba, I was amazed by the new, clean and neat look of Dhawa, resort ! The new villas, the gardens and the beach, always clean and ready for the visitors, What affected me, the most, before, was the attitude of the people working at the resort ! This time, most of resort personnel, were more relax, their help and support came from a different understanding of my presence there, which gave me a good feeling. Before I did my booking, I had the  [... read more]chance. through this site, to get the e-mail of the resort director; all my questions were detailed answered and the help with my other two friends accommodation, was granted! Thank you, Jean-Mark, we own you, a lot ! Your open, friendly approach, your confidence, contaminated, the people you work with! . Next time, I am going to visit with my family, for two weeks.

Nice Resort

I've just spent a week at Dhawa Cayo Santa Maria. It is a smaller resort and very quiet. The beach is quite small. The animation by the pool is non existent. You only see the staff around 4pm to give a salsa dancing lesson. The food was just ok as to be expected in Cuba, even if I've had much better at other resorts in Cuba. The buffet is really small and 90% of the time the food was cold. On the plus side, they always had 3 stations to prepare fresh food (meat, fish/shrimp, pasta).  [... read more]The best spot to eat was the 24hr snack bar by the pool. Wood oven pizzas were great, chicken nuggets....and the fries were usually hot. I didn't go to any of the A la Carte restaurants but other people told me they were really good. I ate at the BBQ the Saturday night (only on Saturdays and $12 Pesos) and I really enjoyed it. The staff was extremely nice and friendly. The two singers in the lobby in the evening were awesome. After the show is over, you can hear crickets. I wanted a quiet vacation and that's what I got, so overall, I enjoyed that resort.

Best resort on the quay.

Resort was spotless and well maintained. Staff were very friendly and courteous. Management was top notch. Good selection of excursions at reasonable prices. Transat representative was very helpful. Food was very good. Beach was amazing.

Great hotel

We stayed at Dhawa for two weeks, it is the best hotel we have been to in Cuba, relative new, and super clean, it has the best beautiful landscaping, food is good, especially the lunch with sea bass and other fresh sea food, evening show is great too, especially the pool show is unique, the beach is the best, there is even a small reef near the shore for snorkeling to see a lot of fish. They give you free Wi-Fi, which is rare in Cuba. People are friendly as all cubians. The only small bad thing  [... read more]is the beach towel service is not good, we only got changed twice of towel in the two weeks.

Best so far!

We love Cuba specially Cayo Santa Maria for the beaches. We went to many hotels so far and love to try new ones to compare. This was our first time to Dhawa. We loved it! Great food as far as Cuba standards go. Great service, staff very friendly, beautiful beach with plenty of chairs and palapas to choose from and waiter on beach to take your drinks order. Smaller hotel where you are basically only one minute away from everything. Will certainly recommend it and also return sooner than la [... read more]ter.

Very relaxing place

Hotel was very clean, but Cuba is Cuba. Not much doing at resort. Went Dec 14-21/18. Noticed day before we left place started to get better food, entertainment etc. Not sure why they only splurge for Christmas week, it should be like that all the time. Had cloudy weather so no entertainment anywhere. Went to hotel across the road for fun n excitement. But better place. Sorry Dhawa just didn’t cut it for us. .

Dhawa

Great size of resort (everything close by) Beautiful beach Clean resort and rooms Good service Poor selection of food in buffet Poor selection of drinks (no juice for mixed drinks just flavored slush or pop)

A place to rest

My experience at Dhawa Cayo Santa Maria was good. The resort is beautiful. The gardens are beautiful. The beach was smaller than other places but pleasant. They also include little sailboat rides which was fun. Most staff were very pleasant and helpful except the front lobby staff who were not helpful for my internet problems and a water condensation problem I had in my room. I want to give a thanks to Yoni who finally helped me and moved my room. My bathroom upon arrival was not nicely cleaned. [... read more] My ocean view room though was very nice. Make sure to visit the marina at the "market" where they have a bigger calmer beach. The music in the lobby nightly and the nightly shows were of great quality. The food was good. Desserts and breads were especially great. I went on the Remedios-Santa Clara excursion and I loved that a lot. Our tour guide Adriana was most excellent. I would recommend to try and get on her tour bus. All is all my stay was at the Dhawa was pleasant and I would go there again.

Very nice resort

The hotel room was very nice. The rooms were very modern. The balcony was very nice. We would definitely go back to this resort. The resort grounds were just beautiful with all the gardens. Gardens were meticulously kept and the resort was always exceptionally clean. The staff was very courteous and attentive.

Great Vacation at Dhawa!

The hotel grounds were very clean and well maintained. The pool area as well. The beach was one of the cleanest most beautiful beaches I have seen. The staff, very welcoming and they truly know how to take care of all your needs. Overall, I had a great time at Dhawa and highly recommend to everyone to try it at least once!

Average

Bel hotel sans plus, la nourriture est tout simplement sans gout. Les employés de l'hotel sont la pour le pourboire. Il n'y a pratiquement aucune animation à part le spectacle. Je le recommande pas forcément

Super friendly staff and amazing beach

It was my first experience in Cuba and I'm happy it started with this resort. The hotel room was nice and clean. On the first night the smell from the vent was not good, but they gave us even better room in the other building immediately. Maids did their job very well, we left them some tips and always had some cute animals folded from the towels on our bed. The food was ok. We are not the pickiest eaters, so we didn't complain. They really don't have sea food, just fish, such is pretty good. Th [... read more]ough the snacks at the pool bar are amazing. The bartender Leo at the pool makes incredibly good mixes. And our special thanks to the waiter Vladimir who was always very attentive and polite. The best part was the beach, of course, with good bar, super friendly staff, a lot of activities. Thank you all, guys, for making our vacation unforgettable. And thank you, Gabriel, the animator guy, for the amazing atmosphere and all the fun we had!

Not as expected

For a new resort it was already in need of repairs. No towels or linens first day. Every extra is very expensive. Not close to any shopping or amenities. Great beach & pool area. Bring your own EVERYTHING.