Sanctuary White Sands

We had a blast over New Years. With the Premium Class package, our room was ready within half an hour of arriving, and we had an assigned staff member to help us. Rumin, you are amazing! The staff were accommodating, and Ronaldo and Diosmel made the entertainment so much fun. The lounge bartenders were quick, fun to chat with, and made great drinks. The beach is stunning, the resort is beautiful, the rooms are clean, and the pool is great. Food was very good and decent, with a selection that kept us fed, though you should set your expectations for Cuba rather than Michelin Star restaurants. If you like spicy food, bring hot sauce. The water wasn’t very hot for a few days, but otherwise we had a great time. We’re easygoing and not much bothers us. There are beautiful cats all around the buffet’s outdoor area. We saw people bringing treats for them from home, so we’ll do that next time. We’d definitely recommend the resort and come back.

The beach was the best I’ve ever seen, with stunning water colour that looked like a postcard. Our rooms were spotless too, and the pool was gorgeous. The food was excellent: I loved the lasagna at the Italian dinner, and the special premium dinner had lovely presentation and great flavours. The entertainment added a lot to our stay. Brayan, our butler, was especially caring and helpful. One day there wasn’t any beer in the fridge, a small thing we didn’t mind, but he apologized over and over and sorted it out right away. He was always there when we needed help and greeted us with the warmest hugs. All the staff were wonderful. We had a beautiful, relaxing, memorable stay at Sanctuary White Sands and can’t wait to return.

The beach chairs on the tier one side were comfortable, if you could find one in the shade. We weren’t allowed to sit on the other side, which was reserved for higher-tier guests. At the pool, the old chairs were incredibly uncomfortable, though the pool itself was lovely. The bread was amazing, but food choices were more limited than I remember from three years ago. It was chicken and eggs morning, noon, and night. I didn’t realize how much the tier system would affect our trip. We paid to upgrade to a pool view and got a view of the wading pool. I also hadn’t understood that our price excluded à la carte meals and even hot food at the snack bar. Vodka counts as a premium drink in Cuba, so it wasn’t available to a tier one guest. The local people seemed sad, and I don’t think things are easy for them with all the unrest in the country. The tier system puts staff in the position of deciding what they can serve to different guests and what they’re allowed to say. Several times in the dining room, staff walked by without making eye contact, seemingly to avoid telling us there was no wine because that night only the upper tier had it.

Cayo Cruz delivered the beach and price that bring us to Cuba, and the food here was better than at most Cuban resorts we’ve tried. There was plenty of it and lots of choice. The rice was consistently undercooked, the cooked-to-order seafood needed longer on the grill, and some dishes came around too often, but those were minor issues for us. Standard rooms don’t include some premium drinks, so you need to upgrade to a Premium room for those. The resort is clean, modern, and fairly new. It’s not too big and is easy to get around, which would suit older guests with limited mobility. Pools are large, well kept, and have lots of loungers, though guests still save chairs despite signs against it, and the hotel doesn’t really enforce the rule. Most staff worked hard to make guests’ stays enjoyable and were pleasant whether tipped or not, though a small minority were less attentive. My family and I have visited Cuba several times, so we knew what to expect from the staff, resort, food, and especially the beach. We were there for a week and had one of our better experiences in a while.