This was our first family-of-four vacation!!! We stayed at the Memories Azul/Pariso in Santa Maria. Yes, from previous post, my readers may know that I love cruising but with four people it is simply not the most economical way of vacationing. Even when looking at resorts that offer “Kids Stay Free” it was tough staying within our budget. We settled on a sell-off to Cuba in March, 2015. This was my first time to Cuba, but I hope they never find out that they are unjustly cheaper than the rest of the Caribbean. The resort has mixed reviews, but we found nothing wrong with this resort in Cuba that I would expect to be right anywhere else. So let’s begin…
I say vacation, but for those of you who have traveled with a young family may know that it is a lot of the same but with a prettier background. By more of the same I mean, kids still wake up at 530am, they still need to eat at 7, 12, and 6ish, they still need their naps, and they still need to be entertained. But…
Waking up at 5:30 guarantees a prime lounger on the beach, getting to the buffet early means you beat some of the line-ups, naps mean chilling on the balcony, and entertaining kids is as easy as dancing on the beach or tossing a ball in the pool.
We were a little worried about the transfer to the resort. First the flight was 3.5 hours to Santa Clara, then we were to board a 2 hour coach ride to the resort. We were the last people to board the bus and the staff miss-counted. There were 2 too many people on the bus. They tried to get the four of us off the bus, but our luggage was already on and we had 2 young kids. We did fuss a little and are very thankful to the couple that did get off to let us stay on. We never met them, but we greatly appreciate their kindness. Anyway, both kids were great on the flight. It didn’t hurt to have a laptop loaded up with The Wiggles movies. Then both kids slept on the bus…the whole way!!!
One of the most spectacular things was to see EmC’s eyes light up when she found out that Mr. Sun, you know Mr. Golden Sun, was real. She saw him from the bus and had this look of “he’s really real?” After she got off the bus she looked at him with absolute amazement. Then it happened…she got swept away by Mr. Sun himself. (EmC was so in disbelief that I could not get her to smile for a picture)
The only other “blunder” that I recall was at check-in. We waited in line, got our room number, and were told to go to the trolley and the Bell Hop has our keycards. The Bell Hop was very friendly and helpful. However, he did not have our keycards. I walked back to the desk where I was told to “wait in line” a second time to get my keys. After that the vacation was excellent.
We stayed in bungalow 52, first floor, which was perfectly located overlooking the “quiet” pool. The resort had 2 other massive pools where the “animation” staff would try to get guests involved in activities, but this pool was quiet and relaxing.
Our days would start at 5:30 ish when one of the kids would wake up. As soon as one was awake the other would be minutes later. I would head to the beach with a towel and a T-shirt to reserve 2 chairs. We needed the closest set as we were dragging an Uppababy Vista on the sand for LeeP to relax on.
Then we would head to the 24h Lobby bar for Cappuccinos until the buffet opened. Caps were great!!! They were deliciously frothed, topped with cinnamon, and came with a sugar cane stir stick. Simply Amazing.
After Breakfast we would head to the beach before the sun got too hot. As many reviewers have already posted the beach is beyond incredible. The sand is white, the sea is pristine, and the surf stays shallow for dozens of yards.
Around 11am we would head back to room for a siesta. Did I say thank goodness for a laptop and The Wiggles. It was the only way to get EmC to lay in bed and fall asleep.
After nap was Lunch and then the pool for the afternoon. The pool was great. It was quiet and there were lots of families. This pool has a "sloped" walk-in so the depth went from inches to about 4ft gradually. There was a perfectly safe depth for both LeeP and EmC. Oh, and if you see one of the gardeners on the grounds ask for a coconut. True bliss is lounging by the pool with a straw in a coconut fresh off the tree.
After the pool was dinner and onto the entertainment. The food was not spectacular, but I would not complain about it either. There was plenty to eat and the A-La-Cart dining really made an effort. At the buffet we stuck mainly to the "made-to-order" dishes as the buffet did look a little "dry" and "neglected".
I would have to say the entertainment was a little disappointing, but no worse than any other resort I’ve been too. There was a kids club that would look after children that were very young, however we would not feel comfortable leaving any child there unless they were able to tell us what was going on.
The staff did make a great effort to advertise and encourage people to come to the shows and the turnout was pretty good. But our children never made it through an entire performance... except the Toopy and Beenoo show.
The Cons of the trip were minor, few, and expected. The resort only provided 1L of bottled water per room per day. This is clearly not enough for a family of 4. We had to tip for extra bottled water which was guarded like a gold mine by the staff. LeeP spent less then a minute on the sand before he started to eat it. We did manage to get a few photos in though. He was also not too fond of the sand beneath his feet and was quite scared of the ocean so he spent his time at the beach lounging in the Uppababy.
After our experience at the Memories Azul/Pariso in Santa Maria, Cuba I would have to say the beach is splendid, the grounds were clean, the room was comfortable, and the food was...well food. I have no reservations in recommending this resort as a great place to take a family.
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