Royalton Cayo Santa Maria — Hotel in Caibarién

I spent a week at the Royalton cayo santa maria ( Adult only resort). It was my first experience in a resort and I must say it was great. I booked my vacation with sunwing. The flight was about 3hours. I left Montreal at 4:30 pm we arrived at the airport of Santa Clara around 8:30 and a bus was waiting for us. It was about 2 hours drive to get to the island of cayo santa maria. We arrived around 11 pm. the front desk gave me my key card and I was escorted to my room by my butler (concierge). Everyone has a butler assigned to them. They book restaurants for you, they can do a lot.

Prior to my arrival i asked via sunwing for a room located on the 2nd floor ( always best to avoid insects) This is exactly what I got. The room was clean, it smelled good. The only thing was that the AC was super loud. Initially they forgot to close the trap in the ceiling for the AC but the next day someone came to fix it. It was still loud but less than the first night. Minus the sound, it was working well. My room was always cool. I was quite happy. Ana was assigned to my room for the cleaning, she was amazing. I left her gifts to thank her. All the personal was very kind and helpful.

As for the food, the royalton has two À la carte restaurants + a snack bar open 24/7. I’m vegetarian so they managed to accommodate me. The chef prepared meal that was not on the menu. I must admit I did eat a lot of pasta for a week loll but it was ok.

With the royalton you have access to 3 other complex free of charge: the grand memories, the sanctuary and memories paraiso. So if you prefer buffet you can walk to another complex to eat. You have access to the pools and beach as well ( all the amenities actually) We also have access to a small plaza (pueblo la Estrella) . There is a bank there or at the lobby of the grand memories. The Royalton has two beautiful pool. Very clean. The access to the private beach was not even 5 min walk from my room. I spend most of my week at the beach. The sand was clean the water was clear. The landscape was beautiful !!!

The royalton is a small resort. So it was quite relaxing. Not too crowded. Also, it was quite safe I did travel solo and not one time I felt in danger.

I booked an excursion. I visited two colonial cities : Sancti Spiritus and Trinidad. It was an amazing experience. It was about a 12 hours round trip. The guide was great she was speaking both french and english. I learned a lot about the culture and the history of cuba. It was also a reality check to see how people are living.

I would recommend: putting a lot of Sunscreen even when it’s cloudy and do not forget insect repellent cream !!! Before leaving the country, the nurse I saw recommended me the brand Watkins great outdoor with deet at 30% and I must say it worked quite well . It is important to protect yourself, because of the Zika virus. So before leaving my room i would apply to specific region the cream and the end of my stay I was ok. Always put the sunscreen first, wait 30 min and then apply the insect repellent cream .

July and august are the hottest month in Cuba. The humidity was high. Also those month are during the hurricane season. Dorian past close by but did not touch Cuba while I was there. Everyday it was raining a little bit but never too long, usually it was top 45 min of rain per day. Because I was there during the low season it was quiet, not too many people I was really happy about that. The check out was at 2 pm and we left the resort at 4pm. At the airport, I highly recommend that you buy the VIP lounge to wait for your flight, because we arrive 3 hours prior and at the lounge you have access to free snack and drinks, AC , TV and priority for boarding. ( it’s 30 pesos so around 40$ CAD)

The hotel gives you 1 hour free for the Wi-Fi. Personally I did not use it because with my carrier (Telus) I used my unlimited data and phone calls for only 10$/day. I did not use it everyday so i was really able to disconnect from social media etc.

Overall it was a great vacation. I recommend...

This Hotel & vacation was nothing short of AMAZING!!! for only 1 week (feb 24th - March 3, 2022) wished we had gone longer ~ but there is always a next time lol (hopefully not far off in the future)

We CANNOT say enough about our stay here - we have been traveling to Cuba for 20yrs now and have had some wonderful stays and made new friends along the way - but this time around was made EXTRA special by our butler.... Diego!!! whom throughout our stay always went the extra mile and did so with warm kind and genuine way, and add to that his exceptional skill sets as a butler. Simply amazing :)

Let us start with telling you some some features and 'plus' points to our trip....

POOL AREA: Yomaidy - is the main pool attendant & pool side assistant extraordinaire. helpful and always smiling. Annie - is the main pool bartender. makes GREAT mojitos!!! (the best we have ever had for sure)

CAFE & LOUNGE (24hr): Louis Alberto/Yardira/Javier - exceptional!!! special note lol.... the jamiacan coffee is delish and highly recommend :)

FOOD & SERVICE: now remember we have been traveling here for only 20yrs - so it always important to keep things in perspective (they grow what they can when they can (based on weather) and import what they can - we are not back home :) Picking your stay and hotel is the same anywhere - usually reflective of the hotel rating.

Staff.... we never once had an issue. everyone was always well appointed and on top of service. Loved them all :) Here at the Royalton Cayo Santa Maria they have 2 ala cartes (one dinner only and the other breakfast/lunch and dinner) with the Pool restaurant (24hr) featuring food all day :) with ala carte evenings.

Pool Restaurant - almost anything you want (based on availability of course) keeping in mind an upscale pool side restaurant and bar :) Breakfast for eggs (anyway you wish), bacon, potatoes, and so much more. Pool Side Grill - (extension of Pool Restaurant) AMAZING. you will not starve here. Fresh everyday!!!! calamari, fish of the day, roast pork, chicken, brown rice and beans. Service always good.

Ala Cartes: Eggslence: Breakfast was always wonderful :) eggs anyways you wish, bacon, fresh fruit...... plus a buffet inside with an abundance of choices :) Dinner - always exceptional - from service, options, preparedness to presentation. Senses: (dinners ONLY) same here. never disappointed.

Chief Chef: Jesus Thank you for your Attention to DETAIL:) you run a tight ship - and it shows

COMMUNITY MANAGER/REP: Andy - He makes it his business to know you and make sure you are having a good time :) Thank you Andy - for making sure we were always having a good time!

SUNWING REP: Odaisey - Very knowledgeable on all excursions and outings etc. doesn't miss a beat (great team)

CATAMARAN TRIP: (PRIVATE) BOAT name: ALTAIR - no sail/sleek modern catamaran GUIDES: Freddie and Chino (and training rep: Katie) you will not be disappointed. GREAT guys and tour guides in & out of the water. just happened to ask Odaisey about options (not up for the party catamaran) WORTH EVERY PENNY!!!! for a few extra dollars more:) full day trip that included snorkeling, beach visit (feeding iguanas lizards that come running out for a feeding) big FRESH lobster meal (and we mean fresh) just ask the crew :) swimming in the ocean off the boat, lunch and plenty of drinks.

GENERAL MANAGER: Alejandro (Alexander) - a very attentive and kind GM (and man) made sure to acknowledge guests throughout the days. Runs a tight and organized resort. Thank you! :) we will return for certain.

SPECIAL MENTION again.... OUR Butler: Diego (see top mention) EXCEPTIONAL, AMAZING, KIND and humble in every way - started every morning with a smile (and hug) and was never far if you needed him. never ceased to help out or suggest extra special moments/ideas (bath with rose pedals and +++)

THANK YOU Diego for making our trip :):):) our new and wonderful friend we will cherish forever :)

"THANK YOU" Royalton Team for such a GREAT visit :)

Michelle (Moran) Craig and Bob...

After making a complaint to Voyage Prive and being completely brushed off, I wanted to share the problems we had with The Royalton Cayo Santa Maria Hotel in Cuba including the terrible food, accommodation, theft and a coerced review on our last day.

Poor food and accommodation

Throughout our stay, the food at the hotel was incredibly poor. The Royalton Cayo Santa Maria Hotel website boasts "luxury dining" and "a culinary adventure you will never forget" from "world-class restaurants" with "the freshest local ingredients". In all honesty, it is one we would rather forget.

The majority of the food appeared to be tinned or frozen, without a fresh vegetable in sight and some of it was inedible. A few specific examples are:

The fresh fried fish which were highly processed fish fingers A fresh tuna salad which consisted of tinned tuna, tinned sweetcorn and jarred olives only Profiteroles "made by the chef" which were still frozen inside so I can only assume was a purchased frozen dessert Pasta arrabbiata which tasted like overcooked pasta with a baked bean tomato sauce

The mixers from the cocktails were made from powdered ingredients - for example the margarita was powdered lime mixed with water and alcohol and the pina colada was rum with artificial pineapple slushy.

The accommodation itself was incredibly tired with a torn and faded sofa, vinyl lifting from the furniture and a continuous smell of drains in the bathroom.

Theft from hotel safe

When we arrived in Santa Maria, we visited the bank near to the hotel to withdraw some money as we had begun to run low on dollars and wanted to make sure we had enough money for when we returned to Havana for our final day.

This money was counted in the bank and by us before being put in the hotel safe in an envelope and not being touched. It’s an all inclusive hotel so what reason did we have to dip into these extra funds!

As we left, we left a tip for the hotel room staff and for our "butler" from the money I had in my purse still leaving the money from the safe untouched. This went straight into my bag still in the envelope for our coach journey back to Havana and the bag never left my side. When we arrived back at the hotel in Havana, I took the money out of the envelope to put in my purse ready for the next day and noticed that the sleeve around it was loose. I then counted the money and discovered there was some missing.

Not wanting to accuse anyone of theft, my husband and I tried to think whether there was any reason we would’ve touched this cash over the next couple of days. By the time we flew home we had realised there is no other way the money could’ve disappeared without being taken out of the safe so submitted a complaint to Voyage Prive.

Voyage Prive couldn’t give less of a sh*t when we raised this with them. As we’d tried to give the staff at the hotel the benefit of the doubt we hadn’t gone to the police so apparently there’s nothing that can be done. We didn’t even get a response from the hotel so did they even raise anything we mentioned with them?

Coerced into leaving a review

Finally at the end of our stay, my husband was accosted by Omar (one of the butlers) who asked for a review of the hotel on TripAdvisor. As we were sitting waiting for the coach back to Havana, he sat next to and watched over my husband's shoulder while he completed it. My husband ticked 3 stars which Omar said, "no that's not right" and reached across to tick 5 stars. My husband was too shocked to say anything, finished the review and then deleted it when we returned to Havana.

We felt completely coerced into writing a review in the first place as he wouldn't take no for an answer. Then he wouldn't let us leave a genuine review of our experience. And this was before we discovered that it appears that money had been taken from our room!

Overall, this hotel was not up to the standards I was expecting of a Voyage Prive holiday bearing in mind they market themselves as a "luxury/premium...