Great place to stay

We stayed at Hotel Cayo Santa Maria Feb 14-21 and had a fantastic stay. The beach is one of the best we have experienced and we have been travelling in the Caribbean for 30 years. We stayed in building 15 and it was great, there was a small path directly to the beach and nautical building. The food was good for Cuba and you could always find something to eat. The only downside was that there were no fresh beach towels so we used the same one for a full week. The Cuban people are so very fri [... read more]endly and genuine and they make you feel very comfortable on your stay in their country.

Great trip!

We had a great time on this trip, hotel staff were great, rooms were very nice, clean and well kept. The beach is absolutely stunning! There is no club on the resort but there are lots of trips to the city where you can party! I would definitely love to go back!

Great Vacation!

Husband and I stayed at Hotel Cayo Santa Maria Feb 8 - 15 2017. The beach was fantastic, it was like icing sugar sand, the water so blue and clear. You do have to go out a distance to get into deep water so would be great for children. If you can take an air mattress or something to float on, we did not take one and none there to purchase. Buffet food was good, great variety, hot food I don't know why people complain. Entertainment was okay, magician show was quite entertaining. Entertainment  [... read more]was on same level as Mexico etc. Staff is awesome, no matter where you go. Staff is so helpful all the time. Tips are greatly appreciated but really what they need and can use: shampoo, cream rinse, mosquito spray, bar soap, tooth paste, tooth brushes, towels and gently used clothing (men, women and children clothes, any size!). This is our 4th time to Cuba so we packed 26 pounds of the above for them. Men's ball caps and t-shirts are very much appreciated by the garden staff, they are left out of the "tipping" part. If you go and have children and leave them with the staff at the "kids daycare" please, please give tips or treats of clothes etc to the staff. We found many couples left children there for hours and the staff only received "thanks", They do work so hard and do entertain the children so amazingly there. Please say hi to Hailey for me she is the best!! There is no snorkeling at this hotel, you would have to go on an excursion to snorkel. Excursions quite pricy, speed boat and snorkel 9 am - 1 pm Canadian $77.00, we weren't interested in speed boat so did not go. Talked to others that went to a different location for Cuba party/foam party on beach, which they advised not worth it. Small market 10 mins away from hotel, cab $5 peso one way bus $2 pesos each person one way. We took cab, not much at market but a few different restaurants, we did not try these. Italian Restaurant at hotel awesome! Cuba restaurant not good at all, did not try the International Restaurant. Ice cream hut great (so my husbands says) I don't like ice cream. MUST TAKE bug spray, no problem at beach or pool during day but watch out! at night the pesky bugs come out - not sure what they are. Not mosquitos but when they bite you don't feel it right away but next day people were covered in bites and itched like crazy. We stayed in Bungalow #14 on the 2nd floor, the best location!!. Awesome access to beach and pool, short distance to buffet, restaurants and hotel lobby bar. My 2nd choice would be bungalow #12. Bungalows 1 -7 distance away, as well as bungalows 15-18. Room was very large, beds hard but I like that, pillows suck! Shower hot, no issue with room Met a couple from Poland, really nice people but they left the morning after we arrived and did not get to exchange email addresses - perhaps we will meet again another day and another place. Overall great hotel, great beach and great staff. Would recommend this hotel. Only draw back travelling from Saskatchewan you must stop in Dominican Republic on flight there, off the plane about 2 hour wait and back on the plane. Home flight was direct. Lil

Hotel Cayo Santa Maria Cuba

Thought we would take an early trip this year and we went to The Hotel Cayo Santa Maria. Had great weather during our trip. We left Halifax on Jan 19th for one week. The resort was very nice and staff were exceptional. The resort was very clean. One recommendation, Do not take the bus to the shopping areas. We were on a double decker bus for over 2 hours. We must have passed our resort at least 3 times. The price is 2 pesos each way which was a good price, The Sunwing Rep at the resort told us [... read more] that after we finally got back to the resort. Also, you may have looked at the videos showing the most exquisite pool. Its at least 3 tiers and is beautiful except it gives the impression that its only steps to the beach. We decided to walk threw a path and it took us to a very rocky beach area. We cut threw this area which takes us right to the beach which is absolutely beautiful. You can't go wrong with Cayo Santa Maria. Most of the resorts on the Island have spectacular beaches. I would go back to the Hotel Cayo. Very nice

Amazing!

Clean grounds, amazing staff, especially the entertainment staff!! Food was okay! I would definitely come back. The most beautiful beach one ever seen! It's been only a couple days since I've been back and miss it already!

GREAT TIME OF MY LIFE 2017!!!

As my first time in Cuba with 2 of my girlfriends, this was the best experience to a beautiful island of Cayo Santa Maria, Cuba. The hotel "Cayo Santa Maria" was very open concept and very clean. We were 3 in a room and we all got a very good size bed...double size, which fit 3 across in our room. The staff are all very kind and always there to help when needed. The restaurant were will equipped with different type of food from your typical food to ethnic Cuban food. The waiter/waitresses are al [... read more]l very hospitable. The only complain is that their Nigh Club was shut down because it was or is under renovation. But beside that, no sickness, no issue of any kind. Truly bless.

Fantastic Resort :)

My two friends and I have just returned from Hotel Cayo Santa Maria and I cannot sing their praises enough! The resort was beautiful, meticulously maintained and the staff were very friendly and accomodating! Food and drinks were great!! I would recommmed this resort to friends and/or family members in a heartbeat! Thank you

Decent for $800 all in that we spent

This hotel has great potential but a lot of major tweaking is required. The beach towel service or lack there of is horrible. We were there a week and didn't receive our beach towels until two days before we left. We told the front desk, concierge and our transat rep and no one did anything about it we should have received other complimentary services to make up for this. The rooms were ok we had to ask for them to give us new bath towels each day. The food was ok.... We both got sick the last d [... read more]ay of the trip. The beach front is small but the beach is the best thing the hotel has going for it. Staff is friendly the gym is big but had no towel service. The snack bar was ok ..... All in alll for 800 total tax in we thought was worth it but would have been super disappointed if we spent a cent more.

So relaxing

It is quite resort which we really loved about. All the personnel who works there was so accommodating and friendly. The room that we have is great! We can't ask for more. Maybe the only downside of the resort is that the Wifi is too slow, but for us it doesn't matter because we go there to escape from The city and to have fun and enjoy the ocean

Lovely experience!

No complaints! Staff was amazing! Cappuccino was best I've ever had! Extensive buffet with tons of options. Playing in the ocean was so fun, and the excursion to Santa Clara/Remedios was great! Lobby bar was a fun time every evening. Perfect vacation. Booking through trip central was very smooth.

Hotel Cayo Santa Maria

Hotel is well kept, rooms are nice, spacious. Air conditioning is ice cold, food is decent, staff very friendly and pleasant. The beach was beautiful and not busy. Lots Of pool Space and seating in the buffet. Entertainment of some sort every night. Wifi was ok, better at certain times. They have a baby club which the girls working were wonderful! We were pleasantly impressed and will be returning. It's a little gem for Cuba

Not one complaint *****

My family and i just returned from the resort a couple of days ago and we had a fantastic time. Food was great, the atmosphere was unbelievable for our first family vacation. Lots of stuff to do and wish we stayed longer. I would tell anybody about the resort and our experience and would go back in a heart beat.

Overall nice resort

Resort is overall really nice-very pretty,rooms are nice and fairly modern. The big beach grill restaurant, Mediterranean a la carte and the night club are under construction since last summer it seems and that was really disappointing. The service at the a la carte restaurants disappointing.Staff did not seem to know anything about the food that was on the menu and extremely slow service. Need better training Cuban restaurant should have been their best but was not good-my daughter's fish  [... read more]was not cooked.Italian was good and International was OK. Beach was nice-one side was sandy and the other more volcanic rock but overall beautiful. Resort staff very friendly. Stayed at the Playa Cayo Santa Maria before and the service and food was superior. Would recommend once they complete renovations and they need to improve the food quality and service at restaurants. They should have stated that renovations to restaurants and night club were underway.

Very relaxing week by the beach

My family and I spent a week at this hotel from December 6 - 14, 2016. The grounds were amazing, great landscaping and very clean. The hotel staff were very friendly and accommodating. We spent the whole week on the beach. If you're looking for a spectacular beach, Cayo Santa Maria is the place to go! The food was average but there are plenty of options for everyone. Their was no lobster available at the buffet which I was looking forward to as it was lobster season. Entertainment was scarce but [... read more] then again my family and I are not very big on this, it may have also been the time of year we went. The two a la carte restaurants were mediocre at best, you're probably better off sticking with the buffet. The main desk in the hotel lobby exchanges money, as well as a designated banker that does the same around from the main desk. There's a separate office that sells cards to access the internet for 2 pesos for 1 hr of use, and a gift shop that sells cigars, gifts, clothing, sun tan lotion and other toiletries. My main complaint (which is pretty minor) is that our beach towels could not be switched out daily. There's a designated beach towel booth but we only saw staff there two times the whole week. Premium liquor is available and we were very happy with the selection supplied. We took the speedboat excursion, which was purchased at the hotel and had a blast! My family and I had an amazing time at this resort and would recommend it highly to those wishing to visit Cayo Santa Maria!!

Heaven on Earth

everything is perfect, can't ask for more, From the staffs to the activities, in fact we are already planning our next trip back, the facilities are very good and clean, very helpful and friendly, we felt at home, the beach is just amazing, service was right on, i don't think that there is bad about the resort, they are very professional dealing with everything. thank you very much.

Low season stay

The was probably only at 30% capacity when we stayed. The beach was beautiful and there was plenty of room for shade. The staff for the most part were friendly. Good animation team. Food better than I had expected for Cuba although repetitive. Unfortunately the photos of the pools, rooms and grounds on the web gave us high expectations and were not really representative of what we experienced. All the fountains were empty so it felt a little like it was "under renovation" Bring your own pil [... read more]low if you have neck or back problems, trust me.

Aweful dont ever go

Rooms were dirty, couldnt get enough towels, beds so old had to hunt down maid to change the sheets which was only once in a week, had to spray raid inside the room for the bugs, never could get a beach towel hut was always closed, they cant cook starved to dealth, sprayed twice daily with deet for mosquitos with a truck bombing the place with massive clouds of smoke you inhale and no for warning to the guests, too many locals never could get service they dont tip we did and were ignored, i paid [... read more] threw the roof and was treated so rude, do not go to this resort

Good food great beach and staff

The hotel was clean, staff was great, food was good. Overall a great trip. The beach is like walking on butter and the water is crystal clear. Would recommend this hotel without hesitation. Alot of grilled fish and other meats and a great breakfast buffet with lots of options

Superbe plage

Bonne bouffe, surprenant, belle plage, magnifique chambre, difficile d'avoir des serviettes et de l'eau! Belle expérience en général! Beaucoup d'animation sur la plage et c'est bruyant pour ceux qui ont envie de relaxer....

Awesome trip

The hotel, grounds and staff were amazing, definately will be going back. From the beginning booking the trip with Jen at Trip Central, the arrival at the hotel, the service, the amazing Cuban people was all a wonderful experience. We met great people and have new friends for life. Thank you for the great experience.