This resort was by far the worst travel experience for our family of 4 over the last 25 years. This was not what we expected for a week of relaxation and starting the new year strong! My son and I got stomach flu on the 2nd day, and I got elevated blood pressure due to absence of healthy food options. Considering health issues and lack of hotel food and accommodation quality, we decided to leave to resort on January 1 at 7:15 am resulting in rescheduling return flights with Sunwing representative on December 31, 2025. We have had 3 prior visits to Cuba in the past with a pleasant experience and having a reasonable expectation for travelling to Cuba. Knowing that Cuba offered lower standard for food and accommodations while providing great hospitality, safe environment and trustworthy staff. This resort failed almost at every level as a 4.5 stars resort. I would rate this resort as a strong 2 stars! The dissatisfaction was a general sentiment among many of the guests staying at the resort at the same time. It was almost a chaos! Many repeat customers were shocked and displeased with the current resort conditions – stating it was not like this before. We were told by the resort staff that the resort was in middle of transition from one resort management company to another starting January first; and the current company had dropped the ball so to speak! They had stopped spending money to buy food and keep the right staff level. We witnessed people to get special treatment from resort staff by getting scrambled eggs in a covered plate or beef while these items were not offered to others at large. Food Quality The food variety was limited and unacceptable for a 4 star plus resort. Basically, the food options were hot dogs cooked in 3-4 ways (fried, boiled, and cut in tomato sauce), rice and bread. There was no vegetarian option – only green peas, shredded carrot, and cucumbers or tomatoes on some lucky days (never both at the same time). The resort did not offer a health-conscious option. There was no consideration for food allergy. Given that my son had a severe peanut allergy and my daughter was vegetarian, we were faced with a high risk of life-threatening allergic reaction for my son and no food options for my daughter. It was an effort to find something to your liking to eat. And we were not alone! You could watch people taking a couple of full circles around the food stations and leave with empty plates or a couple of items. You were basically forced to eat something so not to starve! In the buffet there were 3 hot food cooking stations in the evenings (pasta station, taco station and grill station) – all with the same 3 or 4 ingredients (-green peas, sausage, ham, cucumber). -To get food from these cooking stations we had to stand in the line for 50 mins to an hour (we timed it). Pasta and taco stations offered pasta and taco with the same ingredients of peas, cold cut hum and cucumbers, while the grill section offered chicken only. After standing in line for an hour, we would realise that it was not worth it because the food was blunt and unsafe to eat due to ignoring food handling safety procedures. Salad bar was canned sardines, one type of cold cut, shredded carrot, and green peas. There was no greens salad bar, tomato, cucumber, cheese. The New Years eve food selection did include 2 types of cheese; however, it was sprinkled with peanut and peanut butter on the same plate. Not an option for someone with peanut allergy. The soups were salty with fatty pork stock. The dessert included Jello in yellow and orange colour, and melted ice-cream pool. The only juice option was a mango juice, no other options. There were no fresh or dry fruits at all except for New Years Eve dinner at the buffet that offered grapes and apples. We realised that people were simply taking the fruits to their room so that they can have some fruits the following days. The breakfast did not include simple things like eggs, yogurt, fruits, etc. Eggs and yogurt were offered in the premium section only. Since when items such as eggs and yogurt are considered premium items? Food Handling and Service The concept of safe food handling was foreign to the resort staff. The service was extremely slow with long lines. It would take 40 to over 60 minutes to get food. There were no food labels. Important for people with allergy or certain food preferences. The first night, the lady, working at the fajita station, would add ingredients with her bare hand while touching everything else with the same hand through the cooking process. The second night, the guy, working at the fajita station, would use the same fork to add raw chicken pieces to the grill and later to add diced cucumber to the already cooked fajita and chicken. A serious risk of getting salmonella. The chicken breast pieces were not fully cooked. You could spot uncooked pink parts. This issue was shared by many others. Again, a great risk of getting salmonella. There was no serving spoon in the jello bar. Meaning, individuals had to use their own spoon to get jello from bowls. The other food stations shared a single tong among 4/5 types of salad or food. It’s not an exaggeration to say that the buffet was filthy (the floor and the food cooking stations). We saw cockroaches crawling on the food cooking station. Wait staff in the buffet were unfriendly, slow and nowhere to be found. There was no one to seat you or fill your glass with water or ask what kind of drink you want. If we would find a waiter and ask for water, it would take 30 mins to get it after numerous reminders. Room Initially, we were given 2 rooms both with king beds for us and our children. Later, they switched us to 2 rooms with double beds as they could not resolve the issues with the initial rooms. They were cockroaches and bed bugs in the rooms. The door latch was missing from inside. The balcony door lock was not working. The safe door was not closing. There was no working TV or working room phones. The room door was not easily opening with the card. We would get stock outside our room with frustration. The air conditioning controller was broken – not able to adjust the room temperature. There were coffee mugs in the room but no coffee machine. There were only two towels in the room, so we had to use the same towel for face and shower. Towels were not changed daily. There was no extra toilet paper, whatever was on the roll. The room fridge only offered one bottle of water. There was no internet in the rooms. Main lobby The water dispenser had no water only filled with ice for hours. The staff didn’t make the effort to refill with water. You could always spot dirty glasses, cups, and plates on the tables. There was no timely cleanup. Public Washrooms The washrooms were filled with unpleasant smell either due to aging facility or not timely cleaning. The washrooms did not have operational or refilled soap dispensers. Door locks were broken. WIFI / Phone System Weak and unreliable WIFI. WIFI only worked at certain areas – could not stay in touch with family members in the resort. The phone in the rooms didn’t work - no dial tone. Could not call the reception for a service request. Since most of the things were not operational in our room, we had to physically walk to reception to ask for it to be fixed. The resort didn’t have landline to make a collect call. Had to use own personal phone. Beech and Pool The beach and pool areas were not attained at all. We never saw a resort staff to clean or put chemicals in the pools. The beach and pool chairs were broken, dirty and misplaced, dirty paper cups all over, garbage and seaweed covered shoreline.

Here's my honest review of our stay (December 27th - January 3rd) . We booked our trip to Grand Memories Holguin last minute (one week prior) and elected to go with the Premium rooms. Since we were traveling with our 2 teens we booked two separate rooms. Our rooms 3434 & 3435 were in building G and were ocean/pool view. They were modern and clean and no signs of any pests during our stay. Maids were great and replaced our towels and bed sheets daily and restocked our mini fridges with coke, sprite, beer and water as needed. Our first 2 days the food was poor even for Cuba standards with very limited food selection and no vegetables or fruit at all at any of the restaurants. We even ventured to the nearby market to try and buy some but they too had nothing. From day 3 and onwards the food got a lot better and suddenly had tomatoes and cucumbers and even fries but no other greens. Their bread is made fresh daily and is really good. Buffet has good pizza but limited to cheese, tomatoes and ham only. They also have pasta with tomato and/or alfredo sauce although they lack parmasean to give it more genuine flavor. Their grilled wraps are quite good and have choice of chicken, pork or Tuna and have similar taste to a melt sandwich except I found these to be tastier than ones back home due to their freshly made/baked bread wraps. They do also have a wide variety of other meal stations but they do lack any greens -lettuce, spinach, broccoli, etc.. Their desserts were pretty good too - my personal favorite was their guava ice-cream. Since we had 2 Premium rooms, we had 2 butlers ( Orlando & Luiz) who were each helpful in getting us reservations to the 4 allacarte restaurants as well as dinner reservations at the Premium restaurant. Therefore we ate dinner at 5 different restaurants over our 7 days. Japanese was the best in terms of entertainment followed by Creole, Agea, Premium and Italian based on our likings of the food. Each allacarte had 3-4 course meals so we left full every time Drinks They DO NOT have any Vodka and unless your Premium, no coke either.. But they do have a decent selection of rum and whiskey and tequila. Pina-colodas were hit and miss based on availability of ingredients but they always had espresso martinis which were tasty. Mojitos were also hit and miss based on (mint) availability. The 3 pools all looked clean although we opted for the beach instead which was cleaned every morning of weeds/ rubbish. That said, there is some garbage which floats in from the ocean with waves. The water right in front of the hotel was clear but often stirred up by the waves however 5mins down from there the water was insanely clear mostly due to the reef which broke down the waves. Snorkeling was amazing and we saw every type of fish possible- just like visiting an aquarium, and found numerous shells and conch's. They also had pedal boats and kayaks which could be reserved for free. We also booked an excursion which incluuded sailing via catamaran, Snorkeling and visiting an island with a jeep tour of the wildlife including zebras, antelope, wild horses and iguanas. The beach was amazing and the Snorkeling was AMAZING. Had I'd been asked to rate my experience on our first 2 days, I would have been a lot more critical and advised people not to come. While they are still lacking green vegetables and most fruits, I would rank my stay as 3 out of 5 and would therefore return to Cuba but maybe try a different hotel closer to the bigger cities as I believe the issue with their lack of supplies has to do with this resorts isolation coupled with Cuba's fuel and other shortages.

Keep in mind that this hotel is 2h bus drive from the airport in the very secluded part of Cuba, there is one hotel close to it but it is shut down, so if privacy is critical for you this is the place for you. However, having a small buffet for 300+ tourists with lineups to go into the buffet is not acceptable, multiple roaches (5+ roaches) roaming around the Japanese restaurant made us leave this a-lacarte booking before the cooking begun. Great weather and lack of mosquitos somehow made up for these deficiencies, although after 15 visits to Cuba things are getting worse each time, which is unfortunate.

Polite staff, good food including every day seafood. Loud music by swimming pool is only between 3-5 pm. If you don't like it , the long beach provide excellent escape with the bar in sufficient distance from swimming pool "noise".

Grand Memories is a beautiful new hotel (less than 5 years old). It is beautifully maintained and the rooms are very comfortable, clean and modern. The beach, pools and hotel are exceptional. The food is good for Cuba/ they have added pizza ovens and several more hot stations. Our butler Orlando was polite, professional and on top of his guests needs/requests. The only negative is that there is no evening entertainment. There use to be a disco at route 66 now the resort directs you off the resort to a disco at the market across the road which guests declined as no one wanted to leave the resort. (discos should be on the resort). They close the game room and games bar at 10pm!!! We had to finish up our game as they were closing the doors - a games bar! The hotel would also benefit from some type of music (local talent) in the lobby while people are having drinks. if the entertainment was stepped up this would be the number one place in Holguin!

This resort was fun to stay at. It offered pool bar, VIP bar, and they restocked my fridge with beer and water everyday. The staff were amazing and I loved how many crabs and cats roamed the area. The rooms were nice and clean. However, it unfortunately doesn’t fall in my top favourite resort. The lobby is on the second floor, so you have to use the stairs or lift every time. Upon arrival, it took 4 entire hours to get a card to be able to enter our rooms. I slept on the couch in the VIP lobby room to wait after being awake for 39 hours of work and travel. Not sure why it took so long, and 5 of the staff were scrambling trying to figure out what to do. It was chaos. Majority of that day was wasted. Anyway, I’d also like to point out that the beach was a bit disappointing. Across the water at island Cayo Saetia, the water is crystal clear, absolutely breathtaking. At this resort it was constantly windy with big waves the entire trip. Someone actually passed away from drowning the week I was here. The water was murky, full of seaweed and rocky with chunks of shell hitting your feet. I brought goggles and found a handful of sea urchins so bring water shoes. I did find awesome shells and explored the tide pool rocks though. The food was actually great, wasn’t a fan of the buffet though. It smelt bad and had swarms of flies gathering on the food. The buffet outside by the Sanctuary is where I ate instead every day. They offered a variety of food. Pancakes, fried chicken, hot dogs, provolone, cheese, French toast, cappuccinos, fresh fried eggs to your liking, freshly blended mango smoothies, and more. Moving on, I’m not sure why but there were dead crabs everywhere. Possibly the resort workers kill them? Or people staying at the resort? I saw a crab huddle up in a corner at the bottom floor of my building, he was cute and minding his own business not bothering anyone. Then the next morning on my way outside I saw him crushed to death. It made me sad, so anytime I found a crab I shooed it away so it wouldn’t be killed. There was also no Michael Jackson in the theatre lol. The special dinners were also unbelievably delicious. Okay my review is done. Overall nice place, it was an amazing experience, and I’m glad I went, but it is not my all time favourite.

Went during off-season where the place was overrun by locals, which is fine…but they hoarded the food/alcohol and always cut the line when we were waiting for food. Also, we were CONSTANTLY harassed for our large denomination Canadian bills by the staff, it got really annoying after the second day. Rooms were clean, food was average. Beach was just ok as there was an abundance of seaweed washing up on the shore. Definately won’t try that resort again.

Hotel was great, beach is amazing, food is good, however no fresh produce (tomatos, peppers, lettuce...) And no water sport activities: no sail catamarans and no snorkeling masks. Plenty of pools + hotel activities.

Grateful for time with family. However the rooms did have cockroaches and the food was bland and limited protein options. The bartender jr was great and we meet our own friends from Toronto that enhanced the stay . Staff is moody n rude

Cuba is always rewarding trip for me...starting with affordability,safety is very important too ! This resort is modern , clean, convenient . Spacious rooms with nice views . Food in Cuba was never an issue for me and this time was very good too. Unfortunately I am not planning to come back because very shockingly I didn't like the beach!

This was our second visit to Grand Memories Holguin. We did not stay on the Sanctuary side only because it was off season and we didn't expect that there would be many children at the resort. We were right but you may want to consider Sanctuary Grand Memories if you need adults only. One of the advantages of Sanctuary is that you have access to the entire resort. This hotel is relatively new and in great condition, as you would expect. That gardens are maturing nicely, and the facilities are very modern. The design is very contemporary and while it's a large resort it is very easy to find your way around. The rooms are equipped with modern furniture, great beds, beautiful walk-in showers and large balconies. We had no issues with hot water and our A/C worked well. This was our 10th trip to Cuba and the second time to the island this year. The food selection at Grand Memories was very good. Cuba always seems to have a primary protein on any given week and this trip we experienced plenty of delicious salmon. Having said that, we enjoyed pasta, chicken, pork, rice, lots of fresh fruits and vegetables, plenty of bread, pastries and deserts along with burgers, sandwiches and fries at the snack bar. We had plenty of selection at the various bars including white and red wine. We had the upgrade to Premium Class which was MORE THAN WORTH IT. We had a-la carte breakfast and lunch at the premium class restaurant (which was nicely air conditioned) and an a-la-carte dinner every night, including a return guest dinner and a premium club dinner. The service was really good at each of our sittings. We also had access to the premium class bar, which was just off of the main lobby and it was nicely enclosed with air conditioning for those hot afternoons. The bar offered a great coffee assortment in the morning with pastries and a great drink selection throughout the days and nights. You need to meet Jose at this bar. He was amazing. Also included in Premium Class was two butlers. We had a daytime butler from 7am to 3pm and a night butler from 3pm to 11pm. Yosbel and Raciel were amazing and took such good care of us!! They were constantly checking with us to make sure all of our needs were met and they did a great job communicating with us and booking all of our dinner reservations. A big thank you to both of these men. Great job! The pools at Grand Memories are plentiful and beautiful. They are clean and very well kept. There are plenty of shade structures although they are in need of replacing the loungers. Many of them were quite beat up and in need of repair. The beach is amazing and the landscape in this area is very beautiful with rolling hills and mountains. The sand is beautiful, although arguably not as soft as Cayo Coco or Cayo Santa Maria. I would encourage you to take water shoes since the entry to the ocean is a bit rocky with scattered seashells but nothing to deter you from enjoying the beautiful beach and ocean. The water depth does drop off much quicker than we have experienced in the Cayos but it is more than safe for children and those who like to wade. There's plenty of beach to get your daily walk on and the beach is very deep with plenty of room for all of the guests to enjoy. The beach bars are well positioned with seating areas attached to the bars. Say hello to the best bartender, Ilianet, when you swing by the beach bar. You may also find her at one of the swimming pool swim up bars. She's the best! The beach has plenty of trees on it with a ton of shade to enjoy if you're looking to get out of the sun. The loungers were plentiful and in good condition. We have zero complaints from our trip to Grand Memories and look forward to returning for the third time, maybe even this November.

2025 May 10-24. WestJet flight. Tightness at its worst. Transfer to the hotel took almost 2 hours. Weather was sunny, but strong East wind blew almost all the time. 22/30C growed to 24/32C. It is a new big hotel and many things are done in the best contemporary way. Five floors, but elevators. Galleries and widely open stairwells. Shadows and draft winds make it cooler. But my favorites were doors and windows with excellent soundproofing. They withstand the hellish noise of usual "entertainment". There are three huge pools between building's wings. And one of them is always quiet. Bedding is good. Rooms are clean. Unfortunately, the AC system is horrible. I changed rooms because of that. It poisoned my visit. Water, electricity, TV and the internet were just normal, like everywhere in the world. No usual Cuban exotic, except AC of course. Staff is managed properly. They work as they have to. But a good thank-you will never hurt. Food was good enough. And restaurant-buffet is very roomy with a lot of tables. I am mostly interested in the beach. It is a good sandy beach with enough shadows from trees and umbrellas. Water was clean and warm. 400 meters away from the beach you can reach a pretty rich coral reef. Most corrals are dead like everywhere, but there are many new ones. The surrounding area is a bush with small secondary roads and wild sandy beaches. It is worth it to go there, but fight for your AC.

This is our third time in Cuba. This resort is beautiful, fairly new, well kept and clean. Everything in our room worked as it should. The servers, housekeeping staff and management always had a smile and ready to help. The beach very nice. We did not stay at the Sanctuary but did upgrade to premium. Our butler, Julio was always available and arranged all of our al la carte dinners. Some issues - Premium upgrade (other than butler service) was questionable. We did not see any premium only beach area or in the restaurants. The over 19 area was not well controlled with a number of youngsters and teens present. No maps available and not too sure which restaurants were open/closed. When we arrived we did not have a separate registration - again premium was to include this. On our last day, leaving the resort at 6:30, we went to the 24 hour snack restaurant to have a quick meal there they only had hot dogs and hamburgers but no buns, no pizza, nothing else. We were aware of some food shortages but the rest of the resort had availabilities, so this is a management issue. During our stay, after the weekend, the resort had no cola, Sprite, pop, no wine - very limited drinks menu. By Tuesday, they were restocked but not all liquors, so beware. Variety of food was limited. Pasta, chicken, cheeses, breads but were mostly the same every day. Would have loved to see more fish/seafood and variety! At the end of the trip we were bussed to the airport. When we got out of the bus we had to get our luggage out of the baggage area. My husband in his 70's should not have been the one to get the bags out of the bus for us and many others.

From the first day to the last toilet lick, bad smell and ... Reception every single day take a note and fix zero. Employees lying, nexus tours lying. Simple example! How long will take to drive to Santiago de Cuba if I take your tour ... Answer ! 90 min maximum. After you pay and tour day only in the bus you will have a correct information by the fact and twice longer Anyway never again

December 18 to December 28, 2024. We booked oceanview room with Premium package. Yosbel, was our guardian angel during our stay. Nothing was missed, filled fridge, he booked all of our a la cartes. If I had any concerns or questions, I'd address it to him and he did his absolute best to help us . Fridge was filled, the room was clean, comfortable beds, big size hair dryer, nice shower. Great entertainment team, kind,fun, friendly and talented group of young people. Amauris, Paulo, Adriana, Naomis and Sergio. They played with my son, thought him all the signature dances :) This is a 2 year old resort, I do know that certain things aren't available to maintain certain areas of the resort, but fresh coat of the paint in certain common areas would be nice and to fix cupboards in the buffet for staff lol. Also, I see all these Managers walking around, cameras on top of everything. Just please make certain things run smoother and more efficient. The food was good, our favorite Japanese restaurant. Tuna was great! The beach is great, yes it's windy, but we can't play with God and mother nature. Amazing pools as well! Can't forget my buffet ladies, Sandra ( the singer) and Yulieska. Always welcoming us with smiles on their faces and kisses. We love them Mi cubano hermanas forever!❤️ Our maid Rubi, super nice lady. 24 h bar, Lily making my 7 am cappuccino, extra strong. This was our 2nd visit to this resort and won't be last. I just wish that it was closer to the airport. There are few things that can be corrected. Less wait time at the lobby bar, more efficient way that buffet staff works and serves, few times I was without water or ate with a knife lol, when I was almost done, staff member approach me. I went to their little station didn't find any forks. (Sometimes they are understaffed because of fuel shortage and the employees that are already there have to cover another shift , because others werent able to come to work) I personally don't mind, but many people due to dietary issues or cultural or religion don't eat certain food. Cannot mix or use same grill and utensils /grilling tools for chicken and pork, or fish and beef. FOOD HANDLING EDUCATION is necessary. Other than that, we were fine with everything we ate. I am well aware of shortages and how things are run in Cuba. 17 times and different parts of Cuba. Tbh i find that the food and menus are all the same everywhere with few small adjustments. I did tip, I did give gifts. I brought a whole suitcase of gifts, non perishable food items but even without tipping, any place,buffet, or bar i went to , I received a good service with a smile on their faces. We did Dolphins excursion,even though Cici and Dana didn't want to play with us, we got to touch them. We were told it's a Love season for them and they behave different. Catamaran was so nice. Loved it. Over all , our vacation was amazing, relaxing and fun. Cheers! God bless all of our cuban friends!!

Generally, I do not review resorts. I have been to Cuba over a dozen times throughout the years. We travelled to this resort the week leading up to Christmas. We got a good rate and I can honestly say it was one of the best value trips I have ever had. The grounds were well kept and all the staff incredibly friendly. They constantly were cleaning the hotel. Additionally, lobby bar staff continually asked customers for orders while sitting in the lobby area. This was greatly appreciated. The food was good by Cuban standards and they had the odd shortages of items from time to time but nothing significant. All in all, it was a fantastic experience. Some of the cons were the two hour bus trip to the resort.(if they are expanding in the Antilla Rodan peninsula, they might want to consider building a new airport nearby). The resort should improve their communication strategy. Hand out a map upon check in so people know where to go. Set up a board in the lobby to indicate events going on throughout the week. The Sunwing nexus posting in the lobby did not indicate departure times for various flights going out. This small detail would be an easy fix.

Generally clean and well kept. The staff were very friendly and helpful. The food was exactly as you would normally expect in Cuba aside from a slightly reduced variety due to supply shortages. There are ample choices when you're looking for a spot by one of the many pools, or on the beach.

Employees- they are very nice Rooms- The one that we have is good, especially the view Buffet- Food is okay, just remember they have food shortages so you will find that they have the same food almost everyday. Washrooms on the resort- it's clean but has a little bit of smell. Pools- they have very nice pools, just needs a little bit of cleaning. Over all we enjoyed our stay.

very good resort we like it so much the hotel the property the food the staff the pools the sea the smiling people the weather everything was excellent we want to go another time there and we want to take our friends and family too

A lovely new, quite large resort, in fact 2 resorts in one. Many pools, dining rooms, generous beach and interesting new shops & entertainment facility within 200 yds. It is in excellent condition, kept so by a marvelous staff. The 2 hour ride from the airport was in daylight and provides a wonderful view of both town and countryside.

I have to say that I was very hesitant to go to Cuba for our family vacation this year. We had heard many things about the food shortages and hotel conditions. We were flabbergasted by the fantastic resort! Beautifully spread out...your choice of 3 pools, plenty of bars, food / snack bars and great music entertainers! The room was in immaculate condition. The room service was excellent, our room maid was so particular to ensuring our room was clean with a lovely flower and towel animal surprise on the bed or counter daily! We were on the ground floor right near the pool, so I was afraid it would be noisy. Not at all! The loudspeaker only goes on at 10am with soft meditation music. The loud party time is from 3-6pm and by 8pm, it is a ghost town. No rocking disco to keep you awake all night. The entertainment was fun and clean. Good dancing lessons. Beach was immaculately cleaned every morning. Great yoga on the beach. Massage was good and the Spa was so serene! Gym was very modern and new equipment. Thank you Beth for suggesting this place. We were very pleased!

I have to say that I was very hesitant to go to Cuba for our family vacation this year. We had heard many things about the food shortages and hotel conditions. We were flabbergasted by the fantastic resort! Beautifully spread out...your choice of 3 pools, plenty of bars, food / snack bars and great music entertainers! The room was in immaculate condition. The room service was excellent, our room maid was so particular to ensuring our room was clean with a lovely flower and towel animal surprise on the bed or counter daily! We were on the ground floor right near the pool, so I was afraid it would be noisy. Not at all! The loudspeaker only goes on at 10am with soft meditation music. The loud party time is from 3-6pm and by 8pm, it is a ghost town. No rocking disco to keep you awake all night. The entertainment was fun and clean. Good dancing lessons. Beach was immaculately cleaned every morning. Great yoga on the beach. Massage was good and the Spa was so serene! Gym was very modern and new equipment. Thank you Beth for suggesting this place. We were very pleased!

SUMMARY – we were there Apr. 10 - 21, 2024 and are unlikely to return. When considering this review, we are mustard people, not Grey Poupon. Cuba offers exceptional value for the price. We have been to 5 Cuban resorts in the past 2 years. 3 of the 5 we would go back to. SANCTUARY – did not live up to expectation and some of the advertised claims were not provided or available. Principally, we were told to go early Sunday morning to book a la carte reservations for the next week which we did. All times around 7:00 p.m. were already gone. Our butler never approached us to book reservations as others seemed to get. CHECK-IN – very easy and our room was ready. RESORT – very well taken care of. I saw staff cleaning railings three times. ROOM – quite roomy and a nice layout. Air conditioning would stop / start erratically. STAFF – unlike previous resorts, we really did not connect with staff, but the service was very good. BEACH – important to us, this beach was disappointing for us considering the coral starts about 50 feet from the shore. Bring lake shoes if you go. All other aspects were fine. This beach ranks last out of the 5 we’ve been to. By example, Grand Aston Cayo Paredon Cayo Coco where most of the beach is powdery sand which extends way out into the ocean including sandbars. You can walk for miles along the beach. POOLS – all fine other than the lounge chairs are horrendous. FOOD – for the most part, typical Cuban spread. We were pleased with the a la carte restaurants. Buffet had eggs 2/3 breakfasts, bacon rarely, bottled water rarely, wine always. Shortages are a Cuba issue, not the resort. WI-FI – excellent! Login details were good for the duration of our stay. TIPPING – we live by the belief that Cuban people need some help and that if you take care of people, they take care of you. We bring lots of stuff to hand out and tip as well. Do not bring coins. Buy coins from the staff, tip with the coins, and then buy the coins at the end of the stay. MISC. – mosquitoes were a non-issue. FACEBOOK GROUP – it was apparent that there are some people who are passionate about this resort, and Cuba. At one point, it was over-the-top when one FB member criticized another’s FB post. The FB post wrote that the resort did not deliver as promised, twice, for a 6-year-old birthday cake. The FB member told them they should go to the Dominican Republic. Please consider that one person’s experience / expectation may not be the same as yours. Never discourage people from going to Cuba! Think about the amount of your all-inclusive cost, and tips, that one person going to Cuba puts into the Cuban economy. I struggle with Cuba, and Sunwing nonsense, but still want to go with our next trip scheduled for the Fall.

Beautiful hotel , great workers , good beach , but a bit too windy there, I guess it’s season . Food was good, always something to find. At the bar was no vodka and often run out of rum, but had beer, vine and good brand name whisky

Nice lobby, rooms, and pools. Overall, unreached potential though. The buffet is a series of 3 to 5 smaller buffets. Lack of choice in the pre-cooked items, long lines at the stations. No vodka all week

The shortages in this hotel were unbelievable.No toilet paper,no butter,no eggs etc.Terrible mix for drinks,all artificial . Beach not very attractive for Cuba,seen alot better.I am not a picky eater but this was the worse for choices to pick. Wifi IFFI

The shortages in this hotel were unbelievable.No toilet paper,no butter,no eggs etc.Terrible mix for drinks,all artificial . Beach not very attractive for Cuba,seen alot better.I am not a picky eater but this was the worse for choices to pick. Wifi IFFI

What a great hotel. It was an excellent experience from the very beginning. The instructions given by trip Central made things so much easier to prepare, and to take this trip. The rooms are so clean. Everything works and every day the rooms are made up perfect. The entire hotel is so clean And the pool areas are well kept it was a great experience. I hope that they will be able to get a little more variety in their food, but the service was excellent.

Clean beautiful hotel. Staff very friendly. Excellent service the room was excellent. Lots of hot water ? Need better evening entertainment Will go back pools are beautiful. Kitchen staff excellent-

The grounds and hotel are new and in a great shape. The hotel and rooms were really clean and up to a standard. Normally, I don't write reviews, but I'm compelled to write this one. Having been to Cuba more than a dozen times, I was surprised by the shortage of food. We all don't go to Cuba for their gourmet meals, but beautiful beaches, facilities and people. This time, the shortage of food in this hotel was beyond tolerance. I went with my friend and two 5 yr olds. There was no milk, eggs, real juice, fruit...just stuff made of powder. The only fruit all week was unripened pineapple. The rice and pasta were stale and I struggled to get the meals for kids. There were no condiments like vinegar, oil, olives, ketchup, hot sauce, etc. that one would find at a buffet. All that was available was salt and sugar, all week. We had eggs for breakfast only one day and when fries arrived, mid-week, one afternoon at the 24 hr. snack bar, people swarmed like bees to get them. Line ups for food/meals at any time at the buffet were huge, with chefs/cooks using only one cooking surface making food for one person at a time (manager told them so). The wait was at least 20 min per person. It was bad. I wasn't expecting the world, this is Cuba after all; but this was beyond tolerance. The only dinner that was good was at the Japanese a la carte restaurant. Beach bar bartenders, Julian and Mirena were amazing and made do with little drinks that were available. Once we arrived, we discovered the 'Sanctuary Section' of the hotel for adults. Ridiculous! They were able to eat at the 'common buffet' and those who purchased regular packages were not allowed to 'their section' (couldn't even get that package with two little ones). For the rooms; get ready to get a 1L of water for 4 people and that's it. Nothing else gets filled in the mini fridge...unless you track down the water/juice boy and pay him at least $5USD/day to give you 2 little juice boxes. It was bad...and I didn't expect much. Who would, knowing how poor the Cubans are. Perhaps, the reason is that the resort is called Grand Memories Holguin, leading one to believe that's it's in Holguin the city. It's not, it's 120km away from the Holguin airport and very isolated, with rare supply/deliveries to the hotel. The name is because of the reference to the province of Holguin. I give this hotel 2* because of the nice grounds/clean rooms, that's all. As far as the beach goes, you can swim in about 3 meters into the water, hoping not to scrape, brake or injure your feet on large shells/stones/sea grass that are countless. If you dare to go to Cuba post covid, make sure you go to a resort hub like Guardavalaca, or a big city full of resorts where they get easier and regular supply of food. Do not go far from the very populated/resort area like I did ( I didn't do my research) long long bus ride at $4-6 CDN for 1L of gas....no supply, you'll be hungry and come back home at least 5 lbs lighter. This is so sad to write about a country I used to visit so often and enjoyed every time before. I think I'm done with Cuba for the next long while. I forgot to add that most waiters/bartenders at the lobby bar and pools won't even notice you unless you have money on you or you're waiving USDs before you order; not after.

Holguin was experiencing some shortages when we first got there but things did get better. Bring your own toilet paper. Staff is wonderful. Beach is beautiful. However our stay was effected negatively by a drunken man who the admin. staff failed to stop from getting on our return bus. As far as they were concerned he had checked out and they no longer needed to be involved. Putting everyone at risk.

This resort was beautiful. The grounds and gardens were nicely kept. Our room was spacious and very clean. Towels were changed every other day. The bed was very comfortable. Overall layout of the resort was good. Staff was very friendly. Pools were kept very clean. If it wasn't for the food shortages, I would rate this resort a 4 star.

The resort is beautiful, clean, staff is nice, polite, they do as much as they could, to make you comfortable. Everything starts with the first impression, and that was not a good one. After wandering through the isolated security zone, we finally arrived to the third Gate # provided to everyone travelling to Holguín, on flight WG 6342. Then we were taken, by bus, to what people called a ghost terminal around 7-10 min drive, from the gate at Pearson. There we waited and waited, Finally were allowed to board. The whole process took more than an hour and a half. The crew apologized for the delay, although we made it on time to Holguín. The Sunwing's reps are bolted to their desks at the lobby, that's good for the Company, more income for optional sales, but not for the guest, because they are detached from the day-to-day reality at the resort. Only once, I saw them, at the buffet restaurant during the launch time. Believe me. The rep that doesn't walk, every area of his resort, can not fight for his clients. During my stay, I contacted the Sunwing reps, about the time of the returning transfer to the airport, After the first week, they consistently confirmed, to everyone asking, that the time was 15:50, then on the 27/12, suddenly they said 18:30, when we tried, to find answers, the 3 reps disappeared. There were people out of their rooms since 12:00, off course, you were able to use the resorts, services. For me, it was not a big deal, but people travelling with kids, had a hard time, during that long waiting period. And for the grand finale, we left Holguín, one hr + behind schedule, made it to Pearson, around 30 min earlier, but then, waited the Marshall, for a significant time, and after that expended 2hrs at the luggage department. Even if everything else, was nice and beautiful, during the trip, this part of the operation dropped the ball, and another Sunwing's, lost game. Maybe, because they operated so poorly, were transferred to the court, outside of Pearson, close to the Cargo terminal. Hope they, are working on improving their performance. But in the future I will avoid them

I visited on December 20, 2023. Only 1 buffet was open, there were only about 3-4 bars open, and no BBQ/Grill. The only food options at the snack bar were cheese sandwich, hot dog, and tune sandwich. Would like more food variety if the buffet is unavailable.

Hi I would like to say good things first Hotel compere to others Hotels in Houlgun it is 3 star I liked my unit suit which was roomy and everything was working well The bad things which the manager of Hotel that can do for better on paths of improvement I would say To improve the foods that it wasn't tasty at all unfortunately there was no green like salads or fouroth just water melon and for first the papaya It was self-service and we have to wait so long to achieve the food I would give 3 from 10 The Japanese restaurant it was trebles no onions no garlic no shireeps no Tisted at all In total food was haribel my stomach got sick 3 internment it was so poor music was jus 2 hrs a night and the didn't open the salons for musicians so disappointed It was no transportation for even far city no shopping I didn't rely like it Hope the do some improvement for those services.

People were amazing, lacking in fruits, vegetables and entertainment. No stores or other small shops. Nothing to do in the resort besides resting! Needs more attraction area like dance and good music. The last day trip was late after 1:30 due to our flight and we missed shopping, stores in the city were closed. The hotel is great but needs entertaining evening not only blasting old music till 9:00 pm. Is good for retired people pm.

Stunning large resort great layout easy to access. Hotel includes restaurants.lounge. Swimming pools, game room, theatre. gym and beach. There is also tennis courts and the basketball courts are almost complete. The beach is beautiful. The a la carte restaurants are very good. The buffet restaurant always had fresh grilled fish chicken or pork. Our family had a great time. I do recommend the excursions. The snorkelling and dolphin trip was a lot of fun!

We thank all the hotel workers for the good services that were provided to us, the speed of service and the quality. This is the second time we visit this beautiful hotel. We especially thank Loudres, who is responsible for all services in the hotel. We wish her and them success and progress for the better. *****

Spectacular beach. The staff are very friendly and accommodating. However as is the same at all these resorts it will be nice to have the servers speak some English; which is an universal language. It is hard to communicate with all staff. There was not much variety at meals. Pretty much the same food was served. Missed fruits like bananas papaya gauva etc. Additionally I am a vegetarian and there were some others who were vegetarians. All dishes were mixed with some kind of meat or fish so it will be nice to have a separate section at the buffet restaurant exclusively with vegetarian food with separate spoons for serving.

it was new ,clean but staff were mostly just out of high school very poorly trained with little initiative,very little engish spoken ,so called butler service was little more than a customer service rep,adult side was very noisy at night and there were still many kids in rooms , beach was a 3 at best very windy in the afternoon, so called sanctuary pool was no sanctuary, ignorant people blast there own personal "ghetto blasters" all afternoon there is no peace,food buffet was small and other one was closed very little choice , this is a sunwing managed property and is run as poorly as their company is we were all stranded at the airport for our return trip, got home a day late never again will I use sunwing!!

The Staff at this resort are amazing, from the Managers Yosbel and Jorge as well as all the cleaning, wait, bar and maintenance are all fantastic people. We had such a good time with them all. The resort is a good distance from the airport but the ride was interesting and fun. Luis (the chef) made sure that the food here was always better that we expected, with good selections and tastes. The hotel itself has a good layout to it even though it is quite large, the grounds are impeccable as well as the rooms which are also spacious and clean with good views. The beach has beautiful white sand and the water is calm and shallow (perfect for wading in with a cool Mojito). All in all we had a wonderful time at this resort and would not hesitate recommending it or returning to it.

Beautiful rooms, excellent service, well kept grounds, premium beach, kind compassionate stuff, well served food with decent variety, definitely one of our best vacation spots. The only downside is the 1h44m ride from the airport, but it’s absolutely worth it as it does have the 5-star vacation feeling.

Grounds were well maintained. Rooms were very nice. The only complaint with the room was the lack of bottle water being left in the bar fridge. We were told it was due to lack of plastics to make the bottles. Other than the first two bottles on our first day, we refilled our bottles at the bar, and once received two more bottles from the staff we met in a hallway. A suggestion would be to have a self serve refill station for guests. Staff in all sectors of the resort were fantastic. Bathrooms too far from beach. The restaurant/bar closest to beach was permanently closed and bathrooms were locked. This was not convenient.

My daughter and I recently visited Grand Memories Sanctuary. When we booked our trip we were upgraded and it was amazing. The hotel was very clean, all staff were so kind and always made us smile. We never had any problems with finding something good to eat. We actually loved the Italian the best. The cheese pizza was delicious. Our lobster lunch was a great finish to an amazing holiday.

The hotel does not use visual communication. It is very difficult to find the spaces and their contents because there are no markings of where things are and in which direction. It is especially difficult to find elevators and toilets, which should be marked with visible signs and a light above. The same is true outside the hotel, swimming pools, beaches, restaurants, bars

The hotel is new, extremally well laid out, beautiful beach and pools with a great staff. Downside is repetitive meals and lack of mixes to make even basic drinks. We were in a 5th floor suite and the elevators were not working the entire time we were there (2 weeks)

Grand Memories \ Holguin. Date: Sunday April 2 – Sunday April 9 Departure Time: Sunwing original 6:15am. Later received confirmation flight departure to 7:55am. Actual Departure Time: another delay 8:45am (unknown reason) No problem with flight. Customs \ Immigration at Holguin – Cuba : No Problem. Boarded Bus: A very long bus ride to hotel, note to those who may be of interest 2hours. Since departure flight was delayed, the arrival was late at the hotel we missed the lunch and buffet was closed. Suggestion go to Snack Bar. There were 2 busses of tourist now going to the Snack Bar for food \ drinks. Imagine the nightmare with only 2 persons behind the bar. Everybody is thirsty and hungry screaming for service. This part could have been handled a little better, knowing the flight was delayed passengers would be hungry \ thirsty. I left my luggage at the front of hotel and returned after my Snack Bar Lunch. Check in was slow but moving along. The room excellent in size and décor, no problem on second floor facing Pool. Room had a small fridge, empty, no water, no drinks. Seems no longer stocked with water \ beer \ pop. Had to wait until next day to get Bottle of water, no problem. Was able to get water from bars. Dinner at Buffet no problem finding table space, very clean, excellent. Had salad, soup, chicken, desert, beer all good, excellent. Excellent service, plenty of staff to offer help at table and behind kitchen counter. Breakfast Interesting Note: one of the grills has a young lady who sings during her cooking….I waited in line just to hear the show and wake up to the busy morning, excellent. Buffet table has a lot of items to choose, no problem with salads plenty of items to select with green leaves. Desert Table: Plenty of fruit, sweets…excellent with ice cream. To families with small children: very disappointing to see had parents do not manage the kids and leave them alone to go to the desert table alone. Kids are kids fully blame the parents, kids touch the plates and items with there hands and this has to stop. Ice cream was wasted and dropped because the child could not reach the spoon and tub and hold the plate. Do you do this at home, waste a lot of food, shame on you, you may be on holiday but have respect for others who are there on vacation also and hotel expenses. My suggestion for families with children under 10 years charge double the rate. Next day I began my hotel grounds walk. Note: This is a very large hotel, for those of interest walking may be of interest. Counted 7 pools, 3 in the middle partitioned and 2 on each side. Plenty of chairs, huts no problem, has 2 life guards excellent service, pool bar located in middle pool able to get service no both sides in pool and out. Beach groomed everyday by a team of 20 workers every morning…excellent. Plenty of chairs on the beach. Sand is course with shells but clean. If this is a problem, put on foot gear. One section of the hotel is reserved for Sanctuary clients. The buildings are labelled A, B, C on the map etc. Note: there is no label on the outside of the building property to inform you where you are. This is very very confusing. The next problem that makes this worse is the buildings are joined together and some are 5, 4, 3 floors, you have no clear idea where you are. Took me 2 days to get the layout of the land, relation to middle pool, lobby, my building and surrounding services. The Hotel is excellent, brand new opened last year, the rooms are excellent. Room: AC worked no problem, water pressure no problem, toilet no problem, very large king size bed…excellent. The staff will do everything to help you, make your stay 110% satisfied…excellent. This is a hotel in its infant stage, 75% of the staff is young students and I don’t believe they have the experience to manage this hotel when it goes full production. Experience takes time and with young new staff it will be a learning curve. The management team has a lot of work in front to make this happen. Time wise this is off – season, come late fall winter December the hotel will need all the staff to be up and ready to run. Did not do any tours excursions but Sunwing has reps on -site to help. The Lobby bar was slow with 2 reps behind and 20 customers waiting for drinks, but plenty of floor walkers to take your order, excellent. Weather was excellent, sunny plus 30 everyday. After lunch the pool water was warm. On vacation do not stress, easy going, yes there are some areas that need to be improved. Return Flight: now this is a stressful with Sunwing. Departure Time: original 1:05pm, received delay message to 3:00pm, boarded at 4pm, plane took off at almost 5pm Arrived Toronto at 9pm. Overall: a an excellent hotel to consider for your vacation.

This resort opened about 18 months ago. It is truly first class accommodation. There are 7 pools and the rooms are European modern, spacious, fully air conditioned, bright with balconies. The food is Cuban, but there is ample. The people, as usual are pleasant and helpful. This being a new resort with local staff, their English language is wanting with some, but they are working on it and are trying hard to improve. The resort is located on Ramon Peninsula an undeveloped area as yet, but a new resort is opening beside in September and 2 ships were witnessed delivering materiel for a third new resort. It is a two hour bus ride from the airport. A hidden gem for sure. Thanks Ash you were very helpful in this 3 year wait and delivery. No evidence or mention of Covid. Murray Peer.

This hotel was very clean. The staff was amazing. I would definitely return this hotel on the future. The rooms were well stocked and up to date. There was lots to see on the bus ride to the resort. Give this resort 5 stars

I don't complain about resorts in Cuba because after all it is Cuba don't get me wrong, there are great places to stay and we have been very happy at other locations in Cuba. However when you have to pay $5.00 CA for a bottle of pop, (in our case diet pop) to be brought in because they tell you "there is no pop on all the island" and we don'tdring alcohol, its a bit much. All the staff at the resort were great and grounds are nicely kept. It was too windy 5 out of the 7 days to really take advantage of the ocean. The hydro went in and out at least once each day and the 2 hour non-stop bus ride was just too much.

This is clearly a Sunwing hotel. As they partially own it, all others not booking through them are not welcome. Sunwing (diamond and gold club) immediate check. All others line up for over two and a half hours checking in. Sunwing (diamond and gold club members) allowed to book priority Alacarte restaurants all others line up for over an hour to get what's left. TI was not able to book the Japanees restaurant at all during my 14 days and the Italian only once. No mixed drinks. At the bar there was only one bartender who is instructed to serve (diamond and gold club first) and all others only if when there is a break in their orders. International drinks are Johnny walker red, Vat 69 and Jaminson for regular customers (red band). They ran out of cola again for people with the red band but lots for the customers wearing the diamond club band. )Desserts were chocolate ice cream and red shreaded beets. :NO PASTRIES". They ran out of eggs and bread for days. They had bedbugs on the fourth floor in section "E", room 2436 and sandbugs in the sand on the beach which when bitten leave welts the size of a dime for seven days. Both required shots at the hotel clinic. No liquor, cigar or coffee sales at the hotel. Closest place is Antilla a $60.00 dollar taxie ride. Hola Sun did not supply me with a ride to the airport for my air transat flight but for the good graces of the kind sunwing rep was able to hitch a ride on their bus. otherwise it would have cost me a $200.00 CDN taxie fare. The return flight home was ane hour late due to an equipment failure at the Holguin airport. No their fault and they handled the situation well with courtisy and professionalism.

Lovely week in Holguin. The bus drive to the resort is approximately 2 hours. When we arrived at the resort around midnight they had a buffet waiting for us at the snack bar. The resort and the staff are all new (3 months) the staff were all pleasant and happy to help. Tips and gifts to staff were much appreciated. The was always something to eat despite supply issues in Cuba. I would say value for the money. It’s Cuba 🇨🇺 enjoy the culture and the beautiful atmosphere.

Many times we have found not fresh food. No fish. No shrimps. Billiards are not working as sticks broken. No tenis master. Internet is bad. Location is bad as everytime windy. But hotel is new. Clean. Service people is very good.

This resort was beautiful! It was very well maintained in all areas from the pools, gardens, restaurants, bars, lobby, bathrooms and the beach areas. I've never stayed somewhere so clean. The workers were so friendly and respectful. They always said hello in greeting and passing. I highly recommend this resort. Only complaint was the language barrier. Not many workers could speak any language other than Spanish.

This is a brand new resort, located 2 hours from the Holguin airport not close to any other resorts in the area. The check-in process was very slow and inefficient. The staff are friendly and try hard to accommodate and entertain. It is very clean property with modern rooms. The food was good for Cuba. The internet was very slow and hard to connect. It was a fantastic location for relaxing, unwinding and recharging. great value. Kudos to Sunwing for keeping the guest in the resort until the return flight was confirmed. My flights was delayed for couple of hours, I appreciated that I waited in the resort rather than the airport.

Jan. 23 to Dec. 6 – group of 6 seniors This hotel had a change-over at the time of our visit (from Hotel Tesoro del Atlantico to Grand Memories), hence the need to fine-tune some services. BEACH: Beautiful, sandy, warm ocean. Ideal for long strolls. More-than-enough comfortable lounging chairs, palapas and trees for shade. POOLS: Clean and huge, with many shaded areas and comfortable chairs. HOTEL: Modern, new, well-appointed. Wide hallways and walkways – nicely lit. In fact, it is THE BEST LIT-UP RESORT WE HAVE EVER HAD IN CUBA. No worrying about tripping due to unexpected stairs or darkness. Public areas and rooms are spacious, clean, and everything is in good working order. Love the screen door to the balcony. RESTAURANTS: Plenty of food in cafeteria. Main fare was pork (sometimes roasted piglets = yummy) and cabbage, which could get somewhat monotonous. Choice of cooked vegetables was limited, but certainly enough fresh vegetables. Cakes, breads & ice cream were delicious. CLOTH napkins at every dinner - WOW. Italian & Caribbean Restaurants were good. Thank you all for your friendly and efficient service. BARS: Except for the lobby bar not being up to par, service was good. However, mixed drink choices were limited, but there was plenty of wine and beer. Spanish coffee and cappuccino were mostly good. LANDSCAPING: Nicely landscaped. Being a new resort, once the many trees and shrubs mature, it will be a most beautiful resort. Gardeners are doing a fine job in looking after the gardens. PLEASANT SURPRISE: NO INSECTS = no bites in two weeks – unbelievable and wonderful! Cannot understand the reason, since we never saw anyone spraying? IMPROVEMENTS NEEDED: Rooms were not ready at check-in time. Waited an extra 1 ½ hours. No decent or no shows in the evening. Lobby bar was way too noisy until late evening, due to some rowdy guests who brought their own music, making it annoying and difficult to sleep for those who had their rooms close-by. Internet connection was not good during the day, but ok early morning or late evening/night. OBSERVATION: This hotel has many positive things going for it, but there are some small issues that need to be addressed. It certainly has the potential to become a fantastic resort. Overall, we had a fun and relaxing vacation. Would we return? Perhaps not immediately, but maybe in the near future, once their little problems have been ironed out. P.S. Congratulations to SUNWING for your punctuality!

Everything was great. Hotel was at a low capacity which kept a lot of things closed in the hotel which we understand. Staff are new to tourism and most dont speak any english but they make up for it with there smiles and there work ethic. Dont come if you want night life outside of the resort as there is now towns anywhere near the resort. If you want to enjoy the weather and the resort this is a great place to come.

Very nice hotel, people there were super kind. No orange juice, no cola, but lots of everything else. The beach was a bit sea weedy but warm salt water. Warmer than the hotel cool pools. Had a pigs ear with the best beer. Perfect trip

Beautiful resort Entertainment not very good. Pools nice. Food good for cuba, after covid. Missing veg. Beach long . They are working very hard to cleaned. New managment "Memories" Improvements are coming. 👍😀

We have travelled to Cuba more than 15 times and stayed at resorts all over the country. We have booked resorts that are 2.5 stars to 5+ stars. We are not "star" driven but rather we decide on our destinations based on reviews, research and (of course), price factors in as well. Our experience has been that the stars speak to the offered amenities at a resort but have nothing to do with the culture or feel of a hotel. And for our family, the culture/feel is the MOST important. This resort, is rated a 5 star and based on the amenities offered, we would agree. It is less than one year old and is probably one of the most esthetically pleasing resorts we have been to in Cuba. However, the culture was a 2 star at best. Many of the staff tried but there seemed to be a general lack of employee satisfaction/happiness. It wasn't that the staff were rude or unpleasant -- they just didn't seem to enjoy their jobs and sometimes we felt that asking a question or ordering a drink (the lobby bar area) was an imposition (not so much from the bartenders, but for the servers--even though we are decent tippers). Often we would just go to the bar to get a drink and bring it back to our table ourselves (it was easier and quicker). We went at a non busy time--I'd hate to see what it was like over Xmas and New Years! It felt like there was an absence of management and thus small details that would make BIG differences in guest satisfaction were just not there (ie: there was never a posting outlining evening shows nor a list of daily activities posted anywhere for beach and pool activities). As the week progressed, we realized there were shows and water aerobics, beach volleyball etc... but that was only because we happened to see them happening or because we would seek out the entertainment staff to find out details. After a couple of days, there did seem to be an increase in management presence (this may have had something to do with Memories taking over the resort), and some improvement was noted. The buffet staff tried really hard (and there was a strong management presence -- not ominous or oppressive -- but seemingly supportive and helpful). This same manager was always around to support and help in the al la carte restaurants as well (Japanese was fun!) I'm not sure of her name but we do send out kudos to her. She worked very hard and did an excellent job. Perhaps it was because of this, we found the buffet to be one of the best run, best organized, "happiest" places in the resort. The rooms...hmmmm....we think it is the luck of the draw! We stayed in 2401 -- location was great but the air conditioning worked sporadically, the shower flooded every time we used it and the room cleaners changed constantly. Not having one consistent person/person(s) cleaning our room proved difficult -- both for tipping and for requests. Some cleaners were good--our room was well cleaned, bed made (even towel art). Others, we had a hard time telling IF the room had been cleaned at all (only figured it had been because there were new towels). 3/7 days we were given NO toilet paper and no water. We asked for toilet paper and told it was coming later but it never arrived. The water, we didn't even bother --we got it from the bar or bought it at the store. Our balcony was never swept/mopped and used mugs from the coffee maker were left dirty on the bathroom counter for days. Fortunately, our adult daughters were staying a few doors down (2405) and they had different chamber people who seemed to stock them regularly with tp and water -- so we shared. The ac in their room worked perfectly and their shower drained well . So, as stated -- luck of the draw. All in all, the hotel is lovely to look at, the beach is pretty good, the pools and swim up bar staff were great, the beach bar bartenders were good and the entertainment staff were fun. We met some fantastic people and had a wonderful time. But, if asked, would we return to this hotel? We were all in agreement that our answer would be NO. Hopefully Memories can improve on this resort as it very well could be a diamond in the rough. As stated in the Title...It has potential :) Safe travels!

Booking this resort I was told airport is 15 minutes away from the resort doesn't have any information on the sunwing website. When we arrived we were told 1 hour and 40 minutes directly to hotel. We have kids if I knew the drive was long I wouldn't have booked. The next problem was the floors for this resort was slippery! We kept falling on the floor. On Monday December 12th at 4pm I slipped on the tiles to the point I got a air line fractured on my right arm. Spoke to resort they didn't do anything except cover medical fee for there doctor at the resort and they didn't resolve the situation. Nor did they follow up. Another problem was this resort was not sanitary I don't eat pork and everything was being mixed, less options in the resort mainly bacon, ham and cheese. Mini fridge didn't have no drinks, only 2 bottles of water and they would have shortage on water, toilet paper, drinks. We basically paid and didn't eat or drink. Day of departure our flight was delayed 1 hour and 50 minutes, bus ride was 1 hour and 50 minutes. Sunwing Representative didn't communicate properly with us on the delay and was rude. Airport did not have any food options other than ham and cheese and we were starving we waited for sunwing flight to serve food but they didn't have nothing but snacks. Terrible trip!

The resort itself is beautiful but the location is to remote. There are no stores or markets to go to. No cigars to be had, missing toilet paper in most restrooms,no sodas, orange juice,no hot dogs/hamburgers at the snack bar. The walkway to beach is great ,beach is clean and well kept Hopefully in the future they improve.

At the time of our visit, the beach was not cleaned, it was full of sand weed. Beach sand is dark brown. Beach bar was closed all the time. BRING YOUR OWN MUG, since this hotel had no plastic cups available or were always running out. It is not 5 star, I would say 3.5. The hotel is brand new, which is good.