Sol Cayo Santa Maria Hotel

This January (2005) will be my third time that I go to Sol Cayo Santa Maria. The food is good, the place is great and the atmosphere is fantastic. I have been to other places and I cannot wait to go back to the Sol Cayo Santa Maria each time. Do not expect to be served quickly because it is not in their values to be rushed and to rush. You are on Holidays, just relax... No you cannot expect bacon and you know what, it's fine. The most important thing is the Human Resources. The staff is very very friendly and nice and they try very hard. So, yes it is a 4-Star. Please enjoy your Holidays in another country as it should be : a change of scenery and a change in your way of life !!!

Just got back from Sol Cayo Santa Maria and can't wait to go back again. we arrived at the resort late due to a flight delay, they had kept the buffet restaurant open for us. Our keys were handed out on the transfer bus so we knew where our rooms were but had to find them in semi-darkness by ourselves. Our bags came to the room at 2:30am, should have just gone to the bar like some of the others. The rooms were clean and spacious, took me a couple of days to figure out I could plug in my flat iron for my hair in the bedroom over the dressing table, but watch it because they have 220 volts and my iron melted because I left it plugged in too long. So use a low setting and watch the heat. There is a dryer in the bathroom but it's not very good. The big window in the bathroom's a hoot but you can pull down the shade for privacy, we had lots of shrubbery outside our window but others were clear for all to see (not that anyone was showing anything!). The staff were fantastic, everyone from the restaurant staff to the activity and entertainment people were friendly and helpful and all the guests I spoke said it was one of the best places they had been. Many of the people from the 5 star next door seemed to prefer to hang out at our place. There was always something going on from yoga to water gym, Spanish lessons, water volleyball, cocktail contests. You could be really active or just laze by the pool and watch all the activity. The food was very good in my opinion, I am a non-meating person and there was always fish and shrimp and lots of good veggies and salads. the pasta bar was very popular and one day they had roast turkey. The steak dish in the Italian restaurant got good reports and people enjoyed the hamburgers, hot dogs and pizza at the Cuban restaurant and the beach bars. We got into the habit of having a sundowner in the lobby to catch the last rays of the sun. Also try the Spanish Coffee from the patio bar outside the piano bar, it's pretty good inside the piano bar too. It was quite windy and the beach was not always the best place to be because of the wind, no-one was using the water craft because the sea was too choppy. But people were in the sea but not out very far. There were Canadians (English & French), Italians, Spanish and a couple of German, English and Portuguese there. The staff had no trouble communicating with everyone. There were lots of families with young children but they didn't interfere if you were there for a more adult holiday and the kids didn't seem to mind when we parked our loungers in the middle of the shallow pool. can't wait to go back next year, everyone said they would like to spend 2 or 3 weeks next time. We rented a moped one day and rode out along the causeway (59km) and into the nearby towns. Not too much there but you can see typical Cuban lives. Another couple rented a car, they got 100km free mileage then I think it was about 35 pesos per kilometre, well 100k only gets you to the end of the causeway and back. We only paid 25 pesos for the whole day for the bike. The resort is clean, safe, friendly and fun. So go and say "Ola" from me.

I've been to Sol Cayo Santa Maria 2 times, and love it! [It is actually better than the sister, 4/5 star, Melia Sta. Maria next door]I consider myself fussy, I like good food ,lovely surroundings and pretty clean and well decorated roon's.... and most important beautiful beach ! Well this you will get there ! The workers are so friendly the resort are just beautiful, the gardens are well taken care and lovely ,the piano bar is amazing ...great baby grand piano, white, lovely ladies playing classical music. The only reason one would not like is, in my opinion: yes they don't have Kraft dinner or rap music. This place is elegant and very peacefully the rooms are beautiful and the washroom has a large glass window from ceiling to tub , bring a candle for romantic bath's! when I was there last time, it was full moon the whole room was illuminated, totally secluded and private ! I do not understand some of these people reeviw..... they did not recognize paradise! If you can rent a car about $50 us, and go to Sta. Clara see the Che Guevara Museum and the train were the Batista militia was ambushed by Che .this place is were all ended an all began... I love it ! and I'm sure you will.

I was at Sol Cayo on August of 2003, with a party of 5. May I say, i have been to Cuba about 4 times and this by far exceeded my expectations. The staff was wonderful, the food amazing, from the meats, seafood, salads to dessert. The beach by far was out of this world. Please go and see for yourself. Since then i have recommended to many friends to to and so far no complaines.

We stayed at this beautiful resort for 1 week(March28th-April 4th). As soon as we got off the bus the whole entire staff welcomed us with food, drinks and music. Our room was extremely beautiful with a great view.This is a place where you go to relax from the moment you step off the bus. The staff was so nice and helpful. If you had any problems they were there in a jiffy.The food was incredible, only downfall is that we expected to see much more seafood considering the location. The landscape was beautifully done.If you have the chance to do an expedition, we recommend the forest adventure. It was great fun, but remember to wear old running shoes so you can enjoy the full experience.

This hotel is not 4 star. It is beautifully landscaped and nicely spread out.The rooms a large and very quiet with large balconeys.Lots of hot water and good T V. {english spanish and French} The beach is long and beautiful But the sand is so deep it is hard to walk on. The waves were very high and only had 2 days with little wind and calm water for a normal swim.The palapas on the beach are reserved early in the morning and so if you get to the beach after 9:30 A M ther is not a shady spot. Alot ot chairs have towels on them and no people on them for hours. Suggest you take a beach umrella to stick in the sand and hope it doesnt blow away!!! The food was very disappointing. No bacon in 2 weeks...no hot soup no hot vegatables We never had baked or mashed potatoes mostly fish and chicken and TOUGH beef....table cloths in buffet were not always clean or changed. Italian restaurant is excellent. Piano bar wonderful for drinks after dinner. We love the Cubans they are friendly and happy to serve and to please. We have been to 7 different resorts in Cuba but would not recommend Sol Cayo Santa Maria for young partyers and some seniors might find long walks to beach and pools and espcially walking on the beach very tiring.

Our trip started Feb. 22/04 - March 7th/04 for two weeks. What I liked was getting on the bus and having your envelope handed to you with your keys to your room. We were given a room which the safety deposit box was broken and the shower spray was allover the tub. We informed them in the morning and public relations gave us a new room which was beautiful and wonderful view we had. We had no problems with the workers they were very polite and helpful. The only draw back was the french canadians that were there, I don't have any problems with some of them, but the others are absoutley ignorant. They like to take over. The first week were hardly any english speaking people, but we were on holiday and we kept to ourselves the first week. The second week we had 29 friends came since there was a wedding which was very good friends of us, so it was sure nice to see english speaking people. The rooms were beautiful, the food at the beach bar was wonderful, the buffet was fine and the Italian resturant was great except the food has to be a little more hot . Activites were great. We had no problems with the loungers on beach and pool. The only downfall was it took two hrs. to get there, and next time I go back I will make sure we have a Friday or Saturday trip and hopefully in the morning. For the people that work there they did fine except for: We met a few workers and they looked after us with drinks and spoke to us, and then all of a sudden they were not there any longer and were put somewhere else, because they were talking to us. They were still getting the work done and thats what makes a resort when we come to it with a friendly face and smile, and we say oh lets go back to that resort because the people are happy and give us a good time. We feel don't move them around they are the ones that are making our stay happier. They did a beautiful job on our friends wedding, so anyone out there going to get married and looking for a place to have your wedding I fully give these people a 5 Star to do the weddings, they did a terffic job. The flowers were beautiful also. So please contact Sol Cayo Santa Maria for weddings. Thanks again and I hope to see this place again.

I stayed at this resort in Sept 2003and agree with all the posting -- this resort is excellent!! there is only one problem I had with it that was not noted in any of my research. This would be the amount of flies in the beach grill and buffet restaurant. I don't mean to sound prissy -- I have travel to cuba on several occasions staying in even 2-star - 3star resorts and also other caribbean countries and have never notice this problem before. Prehaps it was the time of the year but is was something that was quite obivious -- and this was not only in the buffet areas. We actually found two dead flies at our table in the al-a-carte restuarant -- the first was on the plate when we sat down ( which was promptly removed), the 2nd was as we were eating one fell on the table. Also, I got bitten to death by sandflies while sitting at the pool ( go figure) that made my first two days completely miserable ( they are 10 time worst than mosquito bits) Beside these problems I would have to say that I would consider going back - the sand,beach, accomdation, food ( which was excellent) was great. And word of advice -- it you like premium liquor don't miss the piano bar, they served wicked drinks

We have been many times to Cuba and our stay at the Sol Santa Maria was the worst. The so-called specialty restaurants, La Fontanella and Los Cocos were disappointing. One had to make reservations for food that wasn't even cooked properly. Pork medallions were brought with blood oozing from them. The main restaurant and snack bars were fine - good variety of food, bhut still you had to watch out for chefs who half-cooked omelettes, etc. There was always a line-up in the evenings before you could get in the place.The beach is okay, lots of white sand, but 6 feet or so out in the ocean and you're over your head - not good for young children at all, and it was always very windy. The chambermaids need (more) training. They make the beds which look pretty, but as for general cleaning up and taking away empty bottles, etc., forget it. Same with replacing Kleenex and soap. What is most annoying, however, is the fact that people from Sol Melia next door are able to come over and take full advantage of Santa Maria's facilities, whereas people at SM are not allowed to Melia. This means that when making bookings for trips, etc., one has to wait for these "blue bands" to take care of their business while we at the SM are held up constantly This also includes getting internet service and medical attention. None of these things are available at their resort. Unless you're prepared to tip regularly, forget the Patio Bar, where unless you're holding out money, they don't seem to want to serve you. Would we go back - ha! and we definitely wouldn't recommend it to anyone else. It's more a 3-Star, and probably Sol Melia too, since they don't have the facilities. The best thing about Sol Santa Maria was the nighttime entertainment, at least for the live show, where the performers are very talented. Generally, the staff were warm and friendly, as are Cubans in general (especially nice at the Santa Clara Airport), but overall, it was a disappointing trip.

Like most guests, we took advantage of a great deal to stay at this property. Let's face it, a holiday is what you make it, and I didn't see anyone who didn't have a good time. Before we arrived we were worried that the newness of the resort would be a problem. (Poor food / service / facilities, etc.) This was not the case at all. We only went next door to the Sol hotel once, and that was only to go to the disco, which was not really impressive. If you're interested in a wild disco holiday, then this out of the way complex is not the 1st choice. We did find the hotel facilities to be new & lovely, especially the pools & rooms. The food was good, selection was of a good variety. We found the buffet restaurant to be the best choice, rather than the specialty restaurants. Service was fine. The people working there were wonderful, gracious, no attitude at all. We took lots of toys/clothes/toiletries and 50 one dollar US bills for 1 week of tipping. This was not like other resorts where you have tip at the bar to get a drink. If you go, please take used clothes, shoes & toys for children. You will be appreciated. The 1.5 hours bus ride to & from the airport was not bad at all. The kids club was great, brand new & the lady looking after our kids was wonderful.