Sol Turquesa Beach: Resort offers real value for budget conscious travellers

Memories Holguin provides real value for budget conscious travellers. The highlight of the resort is its 5 pools, one just for kids. The pools offer pristine water and some have ocean views. The main lobby area is clean and inviting, and there is musical entertainment in the evenings. Rooms are clean and spacious. The grounds are lush with tropical trees and flowers. The oceanfront offers a clean sandy beach and clear warm water. Paddle boats and kayaks are available or guests can go for a ride  [... read more]on the resort Hobie Cats. There is plenty of variety for meals with 4 a la cartes (Romantic, Italian, Cuban, Seafood) and a buffet in the dining hall. We recommend the eggs for breakfast (fried, scrambled, poached or omelette made to order), and chicken, pork or fish on the grill at lunch or supper. Also lots of deli meats and cheeses, fresh fruit, and pastries. The coffee is very good. There is also a 24 hour snack bar. Cappuccino is available in the morning in the lobby and the bartenders make great mojitos. As always the Cuban staff are friendly and helpful. Take a ride in a local taxi. Most drivers use vintage automobiles that are in mint condition. Be aware that the resort is situated on a hill so there are a number of stairs to climb between the beachfront and the resort lobby. Also we recommend bug spray to keep the sand flies away. This was the third time for my wife and I at this resort and we will definitely go back.

Memories Flamenco Beach Resort: Excellent Value

I've been to 3 different resorts in CC across 4 trips so I have a good idea of what to expect while there. Memories Flamenco occasionally exceeded those expectations and never let me down. The staff are totally amazing, even under pressure, which they sometimes are because of how large the resort is. The grounds were very well maintained, considering how recently Irma landed, it was impressive. I had an issue with my room which was promptly corrected, so I'd say the resort is well run. Once  [... read more]you get a feel for the timing of the buffet (which has the best hours of any resort I've stayed in), you will not have to wait too long for the hot-stations, and you may even be completely satisfied by what is on offer in the hot trays. It was never a challenge to put together an appetizing & healthy plate and there was lots of variation from day to day. The 24 hour snack bar had a good menu and they indulged our bizarre requests to combine various items. If you're bringing family, you may not have the luxury of timing and might end up in some longer lines. The beach is definitely the best of the 3 resorts in that stretch, with ample shade and reasonable numbers of beach chairs. The chair cold war was very much alive here, sadly, with lots of people dropping towels before hitting breakfast and then seemingly never returning (at least not while we were there between 11 and 4!). It'd be nice if the resort just collected towels after 2 hours and freed them back up, but we never went a whole day without at least eventually being able to scrabble together enough seats for everyone in our group. Being able to walk to Lenny's is great, the dunes and lagoons on the way are beautiful. The market for this part of the island is also walkable from the resort, and we made ample use of the bowling alley there when the weather wasn't co-operating. Having easy access to the Buenavista Social Club show there is also a nice perk.

Memories Caribe Beach Resort: great value for your money

very clean resort, staff were engaging and very helpful. Beach amazing. Only draw back was pool loungers and beach loungers not enough for guests. I did not go to the pool once. Staff should reinforce their policy for not being able to reserve the loungers

Sanctuary at Grand Memories Santa Maria: Awsome

It's a topical 3 star Cuba resort , the food is very good and had a variety of choices, the rooms are nice but smelt a little moldy but still ok, we had the view of the pool on the first floor and it was nice. The staff is absolutely fantastic and very friendly, loved the idea that there were no kids , the drinks were good and the beer was cold. The shows are the same , they get tired after a while, the beach is one of the best we have been too. We found that some people reacted to the bugs more [... read more] then others, a few people were just chewed up bit never effected us so much. The bus ride is a little to long at an hour and a half but I think it was worth it. All in all I would go back. I would give this trip a solid 3.5 out of 5.

Sol Turquesa Beach: Enjoyable week in Holguin

Great vacation, nice resort. We are a family of 3, our daughter is 3.5 years old. We stayed in room 672, which wasn't too far from the pools, and the buffet/lobby. We had a superior room, which was nicely updated and had new mattresses, which were comfortable. The rooms do not have beer in the fridge, which I've never seen at an all inclusive. I've been to a half dozen all inclusive resorts in 3 countries and they always had beers in the room daily. At this resort they want you to buy bottle [... read more]s and cans of beer, only draft beer is included. We would fill a 1.5L Bubba and bring to our room, or buy a six pack at the store for $7 CUC. There is a well trodden dirt path that takes you to the buffet from the main concrete path. This path could use to be done in concrete also, because it's used daily by guests and staff. Pushing a stroller up this path was very difficult, down wasn't as bad. The food was good, although they almost never had buns for the hamburgers. They had a great variety for breakfast, lunch had less options, and supper was decent. They always had ketchup, but you may have to ask for it. The snack bar was very basic, pizza, if they have it, burgers probably without buns, and hot dogs also without buns, and they always had good ice cream. They have another restaurant near the snack bar, but it's not included, which I found odd. We had no problem with the pools (except for some missing tile), the stairs, or the beach. We found all to be nice, and adequate. The horses out front that take people on rides could have a bit more shade and water provided for them, it seems inhumane to see them hauling people around and nothing to drink. The horse, that took us for a ride, was sweating like crazy and had trouble with the hills so I hopped off to give him a break. The shows were well done, our daughter loved Toopy and Binoo, more of them would be greatly appreciated. We would recommend this resort to others, who understand the intricacies and limitations of Cuba. The staff are fantastic, always friendly and helpful. Thank you very much!

Resonance Blu Varadero: Very good resort for Cuba

Food was better than other Cuban all inclusives - Japanese restaurant is fantastic They have great entertainment, however it is extremely load and goes every night until 130 am. If you enjoy this then its a great resort for you. You cannot avoid the noise it if you have a pool view room, or any room facing into the resort. We had younger kids with us, and were in the room by 10 each night and the sound of boom boom rattled through the room until 130 each night. The resort is well mainta [... read more]ined, and for the first time in Cuba ever everything in our room worked. One negative is that they considered all vodka drinks to be "Diamond Club only". For the extra cost of the Diamond club I don't think it was worth the cost

Sol Turquesa Beach: Great Place to kick back.

Over all I believe this hotel is a great place. We met many fellow travelers and made some new friends. Being our 4th time we also reunited with many staff members who were as glad to see us as we were to see them. The resort is in good repair and the service is great. Looking forward to visit number 5 in the future.

Memories Paraiso: 6th Time as good as the first!

My time at Memories Cayo Santa Maria is ALWAYS fantastic. This is our 6th trip and I just don’t see is not going there year adter year! The people are amazing, the facality is always improving! The price of the vacation can’t be beat!

Sanctuary at Grand Memories Santa Maria: Awesome

The entertainment was great food best we have had in Cuba. Hotel clean freshly painted. Butler was good at getting things done bungalow 58 Lester! The managers are friendly everyone willing to help. We will be back!!!

Memories Flamenco Beach Resort: Best in Cayo Coco

Very clean and safe resort, staff are AMAZING! beach is perfect. You would be hard pressed to find a better resort in this price range. As an added bonus it's a 10 minute drive from the airport. 3rd time at memories flamenco. Will definitely book again!

Memories Caribe Beach Resort: Good for price

The staff at this resort is absolutely amazing; great service in all areas. The resort respected our requests when booking. No hot water for 3 days, but it was fixed afterwards. Towel service is absolutely horrible: no new towels for our entire trip, even after asking. Pool area is very limited in terms of chairs; we had to pay a gentleman to get our chairs from the beach (this is definitely a hacking system to make tips). Beach was ok but not great, very narrow, algae was not picked up until ea [... read more]rly afternoon. Chairs on beach were also staked so that we had to tip the gentleman to get a chair. Food was very good, but the same all week. Room was clean. Asian restaurant was absolutely horrible in terms of food. There was construction of a new "food" area during our stay, so construction noises all week long which really ruined the purpose of the trip.

Sanctuary at Grand Memories Varadero: Nice resort

Well run resort. The resort is under Canadian management, it seems that the Canadian management has a mission of improving the Cuban standard. Karl with solid international experience is brought in oversea to run the Sanctuary restaurant. He is dedicated and seems to have a impact on the staff.

Resonance Blu Varadero: Fun girls trip

If you can get a good price for this property and go with an open mind you will have fun. The staff is very friendly and hard working and the beach and pools are fantastic . The downside to this hotel is the food (first time i lost weight on a vacation) and the cleanliness of the women's washrooms were absolutely horrendous. Fun girls trip however would not take my family.

Grand Memories Varadero: You get what you pay for

We stayed a week here January 2019. You get what you pay for. We had a good deal on the all inclusive. The lobby staff is not very helpful. The food is average and buffet is the same every day. Italian restaurant was slow service and food cold. The Cuban restaurant had lobster which was good. The Chinese restaurant is adult only. No kids allowed. The rooms are problematic. Our first room had no phone working and ac not working. At our second room after changing, the toilet leaked and the shower  [... read more]bar was broken. Maids were nice but yell in the morning. No ‘do not disturb’ sign so they walked in as they knocked. Also no straws at bars. The drinks were ok. The restaurants were dirty around the windows. Food was cold in general ( there is a microwave to heat up). Overall, you just get what you pay for. We would not go back to this resort.

Grand Memories Varadero: Fun Trip

The staff are what make the place fun. Exception is to Roberto in lobby who has zero people skills. It was “impossible” for him to help me get internet. Food had great variety but buffet was always cold. Not enough power in Cuba I believe. Activities were excellent and fun. Hated the smoking people did in the common areas. So backward and offensive. Room was not the best. At least we had hot water. Bed after switching rooms 3 times was still bad (broken). Fridge had to be changed, AC didn’ [... read more]t work, coffee maker had no coffee and cream/sugar. It was cleaned satisfactory everyday. Building is in rough shape. We really overlooked this part. The whole resort is just too big - too many people for staff to cater to. Too many lineups, waiting to get service at meal times and anywhere pretty much. Some staff go out of their way and aim to please. Tipping seemed like an obligation. Some even asked for tips. Overall we had a wonderful time. Met lots of great people and weather was great. Lots to do. As for value, I’m a little disappointed that some people seemed to get either a much better deal or better service. Their seems to be unfairness. Won’t be back mostly cause we want to explore another area. Create a different vacation.

Memories Flamenco Beach Resort: Disappointing

We were in Bungalow 9118. The room had a very pungent odour that never went away, I developed migraine headaches because of it. Red Roof has nicer rooms than what we were in. The bed coverings were shabby, the pillows were flat and worn. The room temperature was a lot colder than we could stand and we couldn't seem to adjust it. We only had hot water 2 days out of the week. It was reported to our Hola Sun Agent twice and Customer Service 3 times plus a worker in the building. Overall the room wa [... read more]s definitely not 41/2 stars as publicized. We arrived at the resort late morning. We were up early for a 6:30 flight.t Checkin was was professional however being first timers it would have been nice to be directed to a location to go to and rest. We couldn't access our room until 4:00pm. The food was satisfactory but highly exposed to the public. My husband took sick on Tuesday night and was in bed for the duration. He went to the Doctor when we returned home and was told he either has the Norwalk virus or food poisoning. All staff was extremely efficient and personable. This trip was a gift from our son in law.

Resonance Blu Varadero: somewhat disappointed

The ground floor rooms are not very desirable, run down, half renovated, insects, mattresses bad condition (can feel the springs digging into body), shower water just lukewarm, television very bad reception, wiped up some water on floor and cloth was black.|(makes you wonder how often they actually clean them. No facecloths. Hallways are rundown, need repairs. I asked for a different room, ended up on 3rd floor that was in much better condition.(not the mattress, or tv) though. The cleani [... read more]ng lady was very friendly and made the most unique arrangements out of towels etc on my bed. And did a pretty good job of cleaning. The food was not good. Except for breads (buns, rolls, doughnuts, pastries). They have to figure out that they have a huge grill to cook lots of chicken, pork, beef, eggs, but only use a very small portion of grill and cook maybe 8 pieces at a time, while there is a lineup of 20 people waiting all the time. And hygiene is terrible, the one is using same tongs for turning cooked chicken and raw chicken. Tables are cleaned in buffet room with one cloth cleaning placemats, table , chairs, (and to clean who knows how many table with same cloth. The service in buffet was slow, and would often go up and asked for something. You got ignored a lot unless you showed them you were tipping. They were constanting running out of plates also. Staff in lobby were always helpful...also most staff were friendly at the bars, restaurants, grounds,rooms, etc., willing to help if they could. The grounds look like someone cares, the layout of resort is good, pools good, entertainment at pools decent and upbeat. The shows in the evening were very good. The beach has beautiful white sand, also good exercise classes, dances classes at both pool and beach. They just have to renovate the buildings, clean better, change mattresses,(I heard from others that were pretty upset about condition of bldgs., rooms, hygiene in buffet, etc etc). They have to get that buffet organized better, taught hygiene in buffets, public washrooms etc. Change the menu in buffet once in a while, and at busy times use the whole grill for cooking meat, so guests don't have to stand in line for half hour. I could not figure that one out. And why a resort that has that many people coming and going everyday.....??? For me the most important is upkeep and cleanliness of rooms, a good mattress, and great food.

Sol Turquesa Beach: Awesome Resort

I like the most is the swimming pool and friendly staffs. This is my 2nd trip to Holguin to Playa Holguin. The beach is not so bad. The catamaran service is amazing and the bar, food are awesome in the beach. Also, Playa Memories half way to Guardalavaca town.

Sol Turquesa Beach: Very Disappointed

This was my 5th time at this resort and I was very disappointed the hotel is going downhill...There was a shortage of flour so we had little to none of bread the food in the buffet was the same every night except for one night there was only 2 days out of the week that there was hot water to shower..There were problems with lighting around the resort that was very concerning because there are alot of stairs there and there were alot of elderly people there. There were problems with the carts the [... read more]y had 4 running during the day but then only one at night because the others had to be charged The staff were great but I won't go back just not worth it

Memories Caribe Beach Resort: WOW OMG

WOW! Let’s start with the arrival and check-in. It started with 3 rooms in the 1st 3 hrs. First room twin beds for a married couple, really, second one, blood splatter on the bath room wall, third one clean and liveable but little to no water pressure and no HOT water. At this point and at mid-night, we decided to deal with the issues in the morning. New day new challenges. Website list 7 restaurants on the property, only 3 were available, 2 of them à la carte and the 3rd was the buff [... read more]et. The ice cream stand, churros stand, no beach grill, and pizza, etc. were closed for repair, the season, we were not given a clear answer to why these were no open. The website also lists La Casa Del Vino, Tapas restaurant which guest services new nothing about. There was a La Casa Del Vino but it was for buying wine if you wished to have something different than the house wine with your meals. Let’s talk food. Simply put, the food was awful. I understand that things are cooked differently and have different flavours but this was just bad. As an example, there was a pasta section in the buffet restaurant. This is a safe bet, noodles, boil in hot water, a little sauce, and serve. The pasta was not edible and it was not the sauce. Pasta had a sour smell and taste. Enter 2nd full day. After numerous conversations the day before with the Sun Wing’s on-site rep, Betty, offered to relocate us to Memories Flamenco, this would better suit our expectations. Betty made several phone calls to make them aware of the difficulties we had experienced in the 1st 2 days of our holiday. Even going to the extent of speaking to the manager on duty Memories Flamenco to insure the remainder of our holiday, 12 days, would be smooth. Our 1st room was twin beds. Do to availability we did not switch rooms until the next day. The 2nd room was located in the middle of the resort, convenient to everything. We had issues with house keeping from the time we checked in. Issues ranged from towels, cleanliness, maintenance issue, etc., and a key customer service issue for me, the timeliness of theses being addressed. We consistently had to follow-up 2 or 3 times for the issues to be resolved. We did not go on holidays to be act as their facilities manager. There were 3 à la carte restaurants which you were allowed to book in advance, 3 in one week, one week at a time. Since we were there for 2 weeks we were allowed 3 bookings, 3 each week. We were not allowed to book all 6 at one time, only 3 at a time, one week at a time. Of course, these filled up and were only able to book the initial 3. This left the Beach Bar, hamburgers, fries, poutine, and cold sandwiches and the Buffet. The fruit was not fully ripe but it did have variety with the variety repeating itself after the 4th day. Oh, we did have lobster tails for Christmas Eve Dinner. It was so salty and over cooked we could not finish it. Needless to say we choose beef for New Year’s Eve. If we had not be smart and taken spices from home to mix up the meals, this would have been more of an issue. This was an all-inclusive resort. The staff expected to get a tip for everything, pouring a beer, seating us at a table, cleaning the room, replacing beach towels, etc. We found most of the staff would ignore people after a couple of days when they realized thoes people who were no tipping for every action. Quiet the presumptions in my opinion. We held our tips to the end. We tipped who we felt had provided good service. On one of the pamphlets handed to us as we arrived there was this statement “Tipping is not required to receive good service”. After our experience our suggestion to this statement is, Tipping is not required to receive good service, but it is required to receive service. We choose Cuba and the Cayo Coco region for the diving. Cuba has one of the best marine conservations in the world. The first day we were able to dive was Saturday after arriving on Tuesday. We lost 2 days of diving dealing with issues that we should not have had to deal with in the 1st place. The Cayo Coco dive centre was fantastic. Knowledgeable, friendly, and understood our advanced diving level. This was the one bright spot of our trip. Even though they were the bright spot the diving was not without it issues. There were some days the winds were too gusty to take the boat out. The dive centre would call the Sunwing rep on-site or the resort and request that we be notified there would be no diving on that day. We NEVER received and notification. In summary, the Memories Caribe and Memories Flamenco cost us 2 days of diving and 1 day dealing with administration issues (maintenance, housekeeping). The administration issues in general were always present and created an atmosphere of uneasiness and stressful environment. We took this holiday to not deal with this. Memories Flamenco never gave us the confidence that issues would be resolved or in and timely manner. One issues pilled on top of another creating a stressful holiday. I honestly could not recommend either one of these resorts. The website info incorrect/misleading, unorganized operations of resort staff, and lack of any attention to detail are some of the key factors in not recommending them. This was such a non-relaxing holiday with time wasted by the resort staff that they should refund us for the 3 days lost for dealing with their incomitances. Fill Free to contact me for addition details on any aspect of resort.