The One Gallery Resort

The beach and resort grounds were lovely, and most staff were friendly. Food was decent, and the buffet waiters Magdiel, Joan, Carla, and Leticia were attentive and went out of their way to make meals feel special. Other waiters were lovely too. The catamaran trip with dolphins was wonderful, and the spa at the neighbouring hotel had amazing massages. It was a noisy place, with loud music playing almost constantly and audible nearly everywhere. Two nights had “white parties,” with booming music that went on until around midnight. On the beach, you could get chairs far enough away to avoid a headache. We asked for a room as far as possible from the main building because we’d read about the noise, but the front desk man assured me it was a “beautiful room” and put us directly in the main building’s noise, on the night of a white party. We were very upset and asked to move. Staff said there was only one other room, then gave the same answer next day. We pushed to keep our ocean view and accepted two beds instead of a king, and thankfully got moved. It made the first 24 hours of our vacation needlessly stressful. The front desk staff were rude and curt, and didn’t seem welcoming or caring about our simple preferences. At arrival, we got no information at all, no Wi-Fi details, resort info, or brochure. It was frustrating to have to keep asking questions while finding our way around. We tipped the maids well, but barely got anything in return: no towel animals or art, and towels were hardly restocked. We never met them because we were at the beach during cleaning hours. We visited in November 2025. The resort was nice, but not relaxing, and we wouldn’t return for that reason. For travelers, ask for internet login information when you arrive. They may print a ticket with the login, sometimes with an expiry date, so you might need to ask again. Buffet hours are 0700-1000, 1300-1500, and 1900-2200, so dinner starts at 7pm. There’s no drink service on the beach, but sandwich service and a beach bar are available. The pizza shack at the far end of the beach was decent. We didn’t try the food at the 24-hour bar to the right of the pools.

The beach was one of the best we’ve seen anywhere, with calm, clear, warm blue water and kilometers of fine white sand. I found some lovely shells in places. The pool was exceptionally clean, the beach free of seaweed, and the grounds immaculate, full of crotons and palm trees. We got a complimentary ocean view room with a balcony because there weren’t many guests during our stay at The One Gallery Hotel, October 25-November 1, 2025. Breakfast brought delicious ham, cheese, and mushroom omelettes, plus a wide fruit selection with excellent papaya. Our favorite lunch was the smokehouse barbecue, pork, chicken, and seafood, which we had to book each morning. Dinners were varied and tasty too. The Italian dinner was our favorite, with fairly good white wine and an excellent pork dish. Halloween theme night had an outdoor meal and live music in the courtyard. Nayibe at reception made sure we were well looked after, and Hansel at the 24-hour snack bar was wonderfully welcoming when we arrived. Noel at the sports bar made the best drinks in the resort and always tried to help us watch the Blue Jays in the World Series. Francisco was great serving drinks there too. Joel and Yaniris kept finding ways to make us unique drinks at the pool bar, and Kelvis on the animation team had a great attitude and tried to involve everyone. My husband and I had a fantastic time, beyond expectations, and will definitely return.

The beach was beautiful, and the sunshine and sky were gorgeous. People were kind and friendly, and the entertainment was great, with daytime activities and enjoyable shows every night. We stayed seven nights at The One Gallery Resort over Christmas and New Year, my first trip to Cuba. The room and bathroom were poorly cleaned. When we asked for cleaning, the bed was made but the small rug beside it was never moved or cleaned. We were in Building 5, but never saw the butler, Romoi. In the bathroom, housekeeping emptied the bin and replaced toilet paper, but didn’t clean the mirror, sink, or floor. Towels weren’t changed regularly, and we got fresh ones only on the last day, after a full week. We waited three days for requested body wash, even after two visits to customer service, two talks with reception, and finally asking a butler from another building to text someone for us. The elevators also regularly didn’t work. Flies in the restaurant were another major problem. They were everywhere, including on the food, making meals very unpleasant. You can see them clearly in my buffet photos. Some days there wasn’t enough hot water. As others had warned us, don’t expect much from the food or drinks. I don’t think this is a good time to travel to Cuba, with economic sanctions affecting cleanliness and maintenance. Garbage collection and pest control seemed inadequate, and mosquitoes were everywhere. Bring strong insect repellent, since the local spray didn’t help much. Some mosquitoes can carry serious diseases. A friend recommended the resort, but I wouldn’t recommend it to family or friends unless major improvements are made, especially to cleanliness and fly control.

The staff made One Gallery a great hotel. Kelvis, Carlo, and Ariel from the Animation team were outstanding, and the gardeners, cleaners, and wait staff were all kind and helpful. We just got back and can’t say enough good things about our stay.