Sol Palmeras: Family of 4 first vacation to Cuba

We went from January 14-21. This review is for those who have never been and have read reviews and are on the fence as well as heard stories from friends and family. Here is my honest review and I hope it is helpful. Why would we book Cuba? For the beach of course! We have travelled in the last couple years to Riviera Nayarit, Cancun, and the Dominican (PP side) and crave a beach and ocean that is clean and clear and boy did we get one. This beach was unreal. Calm waters, teal blue and crysta [... read more]l clear. We had two glorious days of green flag calm days and 1 yellow flag day where we got to enjoy the waves. Clean water without floating trash or tons of weeds. There are free rentals of the pedal boat to enjoy which we took out twice! Never had to worry about saving spots as they were half capacity when we were there so tons of seating available. The bugs do bite and we did bring bug spray but at night they still get you. I have about 11 bites and they are really itchy so bring after bite as well! The rooms were nice. Now this is not a super fancy hotel and the "renovations" of fresh paint are not done by a professional painter as the paint splatter was all over the wall and on the floor but I am not visiting to sit in my room and look at the paint job. Because my kids are 13 and 14 they placed them in a room beside us. My teens loved not sharing a room with us. The wifi was decent (it would kick you off after an amount of time as it is a timed session, easy enough to reconnect) plus we had a land line phone to stay connected with them next door if we couldn't trust our internet connection. The power/lights will work when you put your key card into a slot by the main switch. (trying to save you time as I ran around trying to figure out why the lights were not on lol) We were on the main floor with a pool view (Superior Rooms 1066 and 1065). The pool view was a walk out which I loved as we could sit by the pool and easily run to our room and back without going through the hotel hallways or using stairs or elevators. My husband and I had a room with king size bed and my kids had their own room beside us with 2 twins. My favorite part of these rooms was the dehumidifier. Yes our rooms came each equipped with a dehumidifier. If you have ever vacationed before in tropical humid destination, you know that the mildew smell can wallow in a room. These little units filled up fast but my vitamins stayed dry and no mildew odor! The AC unit was clean and not filled with gross dirt and dust from neglect. The rooms also came with umbrellas! on the rainy day we had we could stay dry when walking around. Plugs for chargers and computers were fine and labelled with voltage so we had no problems plugging and charging our devices. The only issue with the room facing the pool that some people did not like was that some of the shows at night were at the pool. They have a pool/swim style ballet show and music volume at this resort is always turned up to 11. The AC and dehumidifier were loud in the room so the music and entertainment playing until 10:30 at night might upset some people but it did not bother us at all. They are renovating the top floor so after 8am we would hear them working but I am not on vacation to sleep in so this did not bother us at all either. The food. I have a very picky eater in my family and he did not starve. This resort had a great selection for all. Tons of salad options, breads, pasta, pizza, french fries, burgers and more. Our tables came with salt and they would cook with it at the omelet station. I did bring packets of ketchup and salt and pepper for our use but we did not end up using all that I brought. We did have actual eggs on the first two days of our stay but after that all we could get was scrambled eggs or an omelet so I assume they have a powdered mix they substitute when actual eggs are not available. This is Cuba, and when you educate yourself on the country and embargo you can understand the shortages of some items. The amount of waste some people left on their plates was a tad disturbing. My suggestion is to go early when the buffet opens so you can get certain items they may run out of after an hour of service, especially when you have guests that take half the butter on 1 plate for themself. Fries usually ran short as well but I blame that on waste by people taking way to much on their plate. Deserts were tasty and that ice cream was amazing! Tons of fish and when we went there was lots of pork options. Sol Palmeras is Spanish owned hotel chain by Melia. We had hot water in our showers at any time and we always had power. Staff here was amazing and love to chat with guests when they are able. It was amazing to get to know so many amazing staff members at this resort. I did not have any issues booking the al la carte restaurants but I was up in the morning and she would book them all in a row so I have no idea why people had issues on other reviews. We tried the Latino, Italian and Chinese. Enjoyed them all even though some items we had we had already eaten at the buffet but again, this is Cuba. You can walk along this beach to the neighboring resorts. If you are thinking of the bungalow just remember it is a ways to get back n forth to the hotel but beach access is pretty easy from anywhere as there are many paths heading to the beach. I was also told the bungalows did not have dehumidifiers and for me that was a major bonus in the hotel room. There is also golf carts that transport people too from the bungalows. We had a great trip and I would be happy to stay at Sol Palmeras or Melia Internacional if we decide to come back. I hope this review is helpful to those looking to book a trip to Cuba! Thank you to the agent Susan who helpped me book this trip!

Sanctuary at Grand Memories Santa Maria: Great People but Many Management Failures !

The people are great, the pool bartenders awesome. There are significant issues though, and they all come down to a failure for management oversight. The Sanctuary buffet is covered in flies, and the occasional cockroach. The buffet at the main Sanctuaries area is indoors and is 3 times the size, with much better food. I recommend taking the 5 minute walk over there for the major meals. The late-night pizza station has ingredients uncovered, and the pizza guy is often in the back at late nig [... read more]ht, and you kind of have to call for him. In the meantime the flies have settled into the food for the night, and a cockroach once sat on the cutting board. I was saw a fly swimming in the pizza sauce ! TripAdvisor censored the pictures I posted of it all. I guess they found them too extreme. The cocktails are all haphazard at best and served in plastic dixie cups for the most part. The Spanish coffee was served in tiny wine glasses. You will absolutely not get a decent cocktail or margarita anywhere in the resort. Margarita: there's no blenders and no triple sec, it's tequila (when they have it, rum when they don't) served without salt, in a dixie cup, with juice from a machine. If you take advantage of the "sign-in" program over at the Resonance you can get free drinks there and they are made properly in their sports bar. The Resonance Sports bar had the best blender margaritas I've ever had in Cuba ! There's golf carts that leave from the main Grand Memories lobby after the nightly show. You have to sign in at the their lobby, and then the drinks are free. They bill Grand Memories monthly, simple based on headcount for the month. There are bedbugs and sandflies, so be prepared for it. I had to demand a new room after I discovered blood dripping in my bathtub, fixtures falling off the walls, and garbage on the ground outside my balcony. It was like they were testing to see how bad a room they could give someone to see what happens. It was disgusting. The upgraded room was better, but they are all way past their best before dates. The Cuban solution though is always to keep slapping on more paint and ignore the root of it. The public bathrooms are terrible, the pool bathroom is soaked in urine every day. The men's at the Theatre was the most disgusting thing I had ever seen in my world travels. After I posted picture of it on TripAdvisor they condemned it and nailed the door shut....easier than just renovating it (i.e. management fails). Management needs a dedicated daily resource on all bathrooms, and they need to be hosed down 3 times a day. That is correct - they need to hosed top to bottom and with disinfectant. Walking in a floor of urine is the daily pool bathroom experience. So, management problems are over the place but the people are always nice and smiling, so I give them credit for that. Would I go back ?...only if there was a major deal to be found, because the negatives sadly outweigh the positives.

Paradisus Princesa Del Mar: Amazing resort!

It was our first trip to Cuba, and it was a success! I had heard people complain about the food in Cuba, but we found it to be very good. There was plenty of variety: seafood, all kinds of meat, fruits, vegetables, and desserts. Our room was cleaned thoroughly every day, and the beach was amazing! The staff were friendly and professional. It wasn’t too touristy, and sometimes it felt like we had the beach all to ourselves. The location was beautiful, with plenty of space for walks both around th [... read more]e resort and on the beach. We hope to return in the future.

Blau Arenal Habana Beach: I've had better!

Some of the staff are amazing! Some were slow lazy and argent, The buildings and grounds where good, the food was poor, everything was bland, the same meals everyday, the high lights where the eggs in the morning! Coffee was weak, cream nonexistent, the beer was flat served in little soft plastic cups, infect all drinks where served in such a manor, the wine was ok, they ran out of everything, even rum! Many tourist with local hooker at the hotel! Go for a walk to the near by town if you w [... read more]anna be bombarded by prostitution and poverty! The lagoon near the resort also kept a steady amont of sand Flys and mosquitoes! I will not return to this hotel or to this area of Cuba unless I'm volunteer with some kind of humanitarian aid!

Brisas Del Caribe: A week in paradise

Brisas del Caribe was more than we were hoping for! Last minute booking and not so great reviews for Cuba. Beautiful beach. Rooms a little outdated but the food was great and drinks plentiful! I say go for it! Will be returning

Roc Arenas Doradas: Awesome resort

The staff are super friendly. The resort is small so easy to get around. The beach is beautiful and the ocean superb. This is a must go to for those looking for value. It is good for singles, couples and families.

Melia Jardines del Rey: Amazing resort will definitely be back.

Everything was great about it. Little issues with 1 room of 2 but fixed very quickly. The people, the grounds and everything was so clean. I've been to Cuba in all different areas and also to Cayo Coco and will definitely return to this resort.

Brisas Guardalavaca: Great holiday, but not the same hotel it was 10 years ago

We came to Brisas Guardalavaca to celebrate our 10th wedding anniversary. We got married there with 76 of our friends and family. We expected shortages, but not the cold-lukewarm showers and musty filtered bar water with no ability to purchase bottled water anywhere. The people were warm and friendly, but the hotel has not aged well. Most days there were no eggs after 8:30am and they are not making cappuccino from beans any longer; just using a machine with what looked like instant coffee. We do [... read more]n't go to Cuba for the food, and we never went hungry, but we couldn't get Mojitos, Pina Coladas, Dacquaris etc. Only the a la cartes ever had shrimp. The 24 hour snack bar wasn't. The only food in the tiendas was saltine crackers. The market near the resort had canned food for Cubans but no water, beer or snack food. The bar in the Villas section closed at 4:30pm and we couldn't get that clarified for almost a week. Several days there was no water at all in the room while they worked on the plumbing. On the plus side, we were able to go to four a la carte restaurants over two weeks and also had a romantic dinner on the beach to celebrate our 10th anniversary and those meals were great. We moved rooms after 4 days and the new room had a bit of an ocean view, although the 7:30am daily cement mixer outside our balcony was a bit of a distraction. The staff presented us with a beautiful tray of juice, fruit, cider and breakfast on our anniversary morning and decorated our room with towel art and flower petals. I enjoyed the trip, and I know Cuba is struggling, but I think we will choose another destination next year, perhaps going back to Cayo Largo if Sunwing starts flying out of Toronto again.

Melia Las Americas: Amazing resort for golfers and beach lovers!

As with anything in Cuba, lower your expectations and you'll never be disappointed. Golf: most tee boxes weren't in great shape, but you'll find a place to tee it up. Fairways are hard and your ball will roll forever. Greens are overgrown so putting will take some getting used to. Overall, it was amazing to golf in January at a fair price and the guys at the course are great. Tip the guys well and leave the bags at the course, so convenient to walk over in sandals and a beer. Hotel (we sta [... read more]yed in the main building but may try the LEVEL next time, looked nice): Rooms are clean and in decent shape considering the age of the building. Everything works, never ran out of hot water. Restaurants: There weren't any shortages of food and drinks- decent selection. Beach/pool: Absolutely amazing beach, never had to reserve chairs! The pool looked great, but we never spent any time there so can't comment on it. Staff: most provided great service with a smile- those are the ones that we tipped well.

Vila Gale Cayo Santa Maria: Great Family Resort!

From the minute we arrived at the resort to the very end of our stay, everything was absolutely on point. The staff are friendly, the rooms were clean, the beach was a few steps away and the food was great. If you're up for the hour and a half commute from the Santa Clara airport, it is well worth it! We have found our new annual vacation spot!

Club Amigo Ancon: A solid 3 Star.

The Memories Trinidad resort is a bit older and is holding up pretty well for it's age compared to some older Cuban resorts. The public areas are nice, the beach is great but no better than many others in the Cayos. When I went, the price was awesome and there was no single supplement. In terms of value, Memories can't be beat if you want a week of sun. The rooms badly needed refurbishing but the beds were comfortable (for Cuba) and the patio door worked and locked properly. My safe was usel [... read more]ess as the door was missing but others said theirs was good. My room was full of mosquitos and small black midges that seemed to be coming from the bathroom vent. I killed a few dozen, wore deet and kept the bathroom door shut. I had a problem with the key card late one night that refused to work. After an hour of walking back and forth to reception, they jimmied the lock and gave me a new room. It's typical Cuban to inconvenience the client rather than fix the problem. The next morning my maid called for maintenance to put in a new battery and reprogram the lock. In the end, I didn't move but others had the same problem and moved. The problem with Cuba is that your new room could easily have worse problems than your old one, so it's best not to move if it can be avoided. The buffet had lots of food but it's the same monotonous thing every meal. There was no pasta station, fresh fish, minimal fresh vegs., hamburgers or fries that I saw. The fish was frozen tilapia which I ate most lunches as I found the chicken or pork was either over or under cooked. Sometimes, there were line-ups to get in and the resort was nowhere near full. There were birds in the indoor buffet so if that bothers you, beware. That is common in many Caribbean resorts but very rare in the better ones. Most nights I went to the a la carte upstairs and it was similar food, just quieter and served to you. The a la carte is free but you need to book it and they did offer free lobster 2 nights. once it was undercooked and I could only eat some of it and once it was badly overcooked. Typically, service is OK as they have lots of servers but they spend more time walking around directionless and service can sometimes be very slow. The beach was nice but beware of sand fleas if you are sensitive to their bites. I loaded up my legs with deet and still got eaten. Amazing how many others get nothing. The beach bar was open but not the beach restaurant. I would have given an extra star if it was open. After all, stars are based on services offered and there is no excuse not to have it open at least some of the time. There is also a BBQ area near the beach, also unused. Beach BBQs may be inconvenient for staffing but they are a huge plus for customer happiness. There always seemed to be plenty of loungers at the beach and pool but the pool was not used much. There was typical entertainment for only one night and that's when a busload of Chinese tourists came for one night. I'm not big on entertainment and I was happy that the DJ didn't blast music all day and night. I'm there to relax and unwind and too much loud music at many resorts is a real turn-off. The bars were mostly all open. They use cheaper rum but the cigar lounge at the reception area has better rum if you can handle the smoke. It has to be consumed in that room. I did a day trip to Trinidad and it's well worth the US$5. return bus fair. You will get pestered to buy anything they can sell you but just be polite and keep moving. I downloaded the Google map of the area before I left and it really helps to find you way back to the bus stop. You don't need data for that to work as it locates by GPS which is not as accurate but very close. In dozens of trips to Cuba & Caribbean resorts I have never been sick. On day 6, I got explosive diarrhea from something I ate at the resort. No, it was not drinking too much or too much sun and I heard that someone else had the same problem. It ruins one whole day of your vacation and is caused by someone in one of the restaurants not being careful enough. More training is needed behind the scenes. Overall, I've been to many Cuban resorts that are much better and a few that are worse. I give realistic ratings based on when I was there and that can change quickly in Cuba. The staff, with only a few exceptions, were very happy to serve you and only 2 asked for tips. I would say that Memories Trinidad had some of the nicest staff I have encountered in Cuba. I have always been frustrated that Cuban resorts could really bring the satisfaction above DR and Mexico but the system seems to be unable to make those simple changes. For a cheap week in the sun, Memories is worth it. If you are picky, I'd suggest going elsewhere. Cuba is always more enjoyable if you go with low expectations.

Vila Gale Cayo Paredon: Amazing Resort!! We will be back!!!

Our experience at Vila Gale was excellent the food was great, and very clean, with wonderful gardens, and an amazing beach, for those who like to sun and for those who want to swim and see the fish, there is an area where you can do that too. Rooms are spacious and very well clean with amazing staff. the drinks we great didn't have any shortages we travel with a family of 7 ages 18 to 8 and everyone loves it. I would like it for them to have a proper area for entertainment as the ones used dur [... read more]ing our stay were not big enough for everyone and their for entertainment was a little weak compared to other resorts we have stayed at however we will be back again the staff was great smack bar always had fries hot dog and grilled ham and cheese for the kid's, restaurants were amazing. The coconut stand on the beach was awesome always clean and nice people with great tasting coconut and the beautiful beach can't get any better than that!! We will be back!!!!

The One Gallery Hotel: Very nice resort

This hotel is really nice. I just wish there was an adults only section for some quiet times and our own restaurant. The music is so loud at the lobby at night. The buffet is also crazy loud and the lines or really long. Waiting forever for a fried egg. I like to go on holidays to spend as much time outside as possible. I just felt like waiting in line for the food at the cook stations were way too long. We would spend an hour for each meal if we waited for the cook stations so we chose the buff [... read more]et only instead. The food wasn't too bad though. It is Cuba after all but they did an amazing job with what they had for sure. I would come back to this resort now that I know all about it and to avoid long lines.

Vila Gale Cayo Paredon: lovely resort

Vila Gale offers the Cuban visitor a lovely beach, fantastic pools and many options for eating. As with other places, the staff are wonderfully attentive, helpful and always smiling. There is probably too much similarity among the specialty restaurants. The entertainment staff need a better way of letting people know what activities are happening throughout the day and what the shows are at night. Having the same Tuesday posting of events at the front desk all week does not help. This would [... read more] help guests plan a more active week especially if they knew where to locate equipment needed to play games like Petanque or shuffleboard. I was very surprised that French fries were not to be found at the restaurants around the resort other than occassionally showing up at the buffet area. The wait at the pizza place was also too long. ( an hour to an hour and a half.) I experience very few shortages throughout the week. Those that happened at the bars were quickly corrected when new supplies came in the next day. An afternoon grill at the beach would be a great idea for fish and burgers.

Aston Costa Verde Beach Resort: Amazing Resort

We just arrived home from our vacation at Aston Costa resort and can only give a A+ . This was our third time at this resort and truly cannot wait to return hopefully in March 2025. The staff are amazing and could not ask for more. They have an employee a driver. for resort named Jamie who definitely cares and goes above and beyond his duties to make vacationers have a fantastic experience. We stayed in 19106 and our cleaning service for room was amazing. Beach is beautiful, drinks great , a [... read more]nd food was ok and you never leave hungry. So thank you To all staff at Aston Costa for a fantastic vacation

Valentin Cayo Cruz: Highly recommend!

I went to Valentin cayo cruz with my fiancee and our two friends and we had an absolutely amazing time, the staff were all fantastic and went above and beyond! They even took my friend and I out fishing while the girls had a day at the beach which was beautiful by the way. The pools and pool bar were all great no issues at all. Everyone told me going to Cuba the food would be terrible and it wasn’t bad at all, actually I’ve had worse food out of local restaurants in the Toronto area, some of the [... read more] food was actually really good. We did 3 of the a la carte dinners and they weren’t bad but honestly the buffet is the way to go for the most part. The snack bar had better fries than we get back home in Canada and the ham and cheese sandwiches were unreal. We plan to make it a yearly trip for the 4 of us if not more frequent. The staff made us feel right at home and we have nothing but positive things to say from bartenders to waiters to even maintenance staff I would highly recommend Valentin cayo Cruz for anybody looking for a nice getaway and a relaxing vacation!

Aston Costa Verde Beach Resort: Beautiful hotel with friendly staff

Well maintained garden and clean surroundings including rooms.love the beach and the coconuts, was surprised that there were seafoods like shellfish this time,didn’t had any the first two visits I was there,but not enough veggies and fruits,

Aston Costa Verde Beach Resort: beyond expectations

pre cuba we were worried about some negative reports.fortunately we went to find lot of different food something for everyone as club we went to several a la carte meals and were very pleased.we saw no mosquitos and never used bug spray.the grounds the beach were all great. eveything was kept clean our room had no deficiencies and we slept well,all our staff were anxious to please . but we want to single out your sunwing rep annabel who was extra caring for us . the entertainment was a little  [... read more]spotty partly due to not enough guests to do karaoke or audience participation.my wifes only question..... can we go back next year?

Royalton Hicacos Resort and Spa: Older Adults Resort

The resort itself is really nice and very clean. But the staff is not very friendly, you can’t make a reservation at any restaurant and we were turned away a few times. The bar and a few restaurants don’t have music. They also don’t have a DJ at their club. The entertainment and the resort vibe is really lacking. It’s a resort for older adults in my opinion

Iberostar Coral Ensenachos: Paradise

This resort exceeded our expectations, from the rooms, to the beach and Food! The food was incredible! Yes, that's right, I wrote the word incredible. The staff went above and beyond, every day. The entertainment was great and kept visitors engaged. We will DEFINITELY be back.