My husband and I have just returned from 2 weeks at Sol Rio de Luna y Mares. We have been to many resorts in Cuba and this one was the nicest of all. The staff are so pleasant, always smiling and saying thank you. Even the grounds keepers and maintenance people smile and greet you when you pass. We stayed on the Luna side which I cconsider quieter because the activities are on the Mares side but those who stayed at Mares told us they loved it. We had a beautiful view of the ocean from our room. We spent a lot of time on our balcony - the view was that beautiful. The beach is the best we have seen in Cuba with white sand and never a problem getting chairs or a shady spot. Although people put their towels on chairs at the beach at 7 AM, probably out of habit, it's really not necessary at this resort. I am 56 and my husband is 66. We saw no sickness at this resort during our 2 weeks there (Jan.26-Feb.9). The service is exceptional. It was our 1st time here and we will definitely return. Our favorite a-la-cartes were the French & Italian. If you're celebrating an anniversary or birthday, tell them when you book your a-la-carte reservation & book the Italian restaurant for a nice surprise.

My son and I stayed at this resort from January 19-26th through Nolitours. The hotel staff were wonderful and worked at solving all problems until there was a satisfactory solution. Our problem wasn't even a hotel problem but they made phone call after phone call until I was satisfied.
This resort is huge! There are several buildings and a couple of big pools for guests to enjoy. I was a little disappointed to find several flights of stairs to get to the beach but there was a ramp you could use if you didn't mind some walking. The beach itself was wonderful---lots of lovely white sand that kept on going right out as far as you could walk into the ocean. They also had lots of various activities to keep you busy in and out of the water. My son tried the windsurfing but found it tricky. You need several lessons before you can master staying up for any length of time. Unfortunately I found the alcohol not to my liking. This is the first vacation where I really couldn't drink the liquor. The free bottle of rum we got in the room we gave away. The beer was okay but I drank mainly bottled water and soda pop. My son learned to ask for the more expensive liquor after a few days and had them open new bottles as the staff would pour the local liquor into those bottles once they were emptied.
The food was alright. We did get sick every time we ate at an a la carte restaurant. You didn't go hungry as there was a great variety of foods to pick from and we were fine if we stayed away from all dairy and meat. I had eaten the chicken for two days but on the third I was sick for 12 hours and couldn't look at it again.
I didn't go to eat and drink myself silly so ....the rest of the time we had was amazing. I thought the shows at night were much more professional that the shows I have seen in the Dominican Republic, Mexico, Margarita Island and Jamaica. We talked to a great many people around the resort and in the neighbouring village. The craftspeople that came to the resort everyday and the ones at the market did wonderful work. We brought home some beautiful wood pieces along with other souvenirs. My son thought the cigars were really very good unlike the usual ones we have in Canada!
Our big excursion was to swim with the dolphins. I had hesitated as in the Dominican it was basically hold their dorsal fin and have them pull you a short way through the water but here it was so wonderful. We were actually in a pool with two dolphins swimming around us. They even gave each of us a kiss on the cheek! If you turned to face them be careful because their tongue comes shooting out!! My son also paid 10 bucks to have them use their nose to push against his feet to propel him upright through the pool. It was quite a sight to see them take a 6'7" man and push him from being flat on the surface of the water to fully upright with his feet skimming the surface.
We did have a wonderful time and met many wonderful people both local and vacationers. Riding in some of those vintage cars was an experience never to be forgotten!
Thanks Cuba and Sol Rio de Luna y Mares for an amazing vacation!

Stayed At the SRLM Jan 26-Feb 2. Was a great holiday.The beach was outrageous and we have been to many others in the caribbean(ie. St.Lucia, Aruba,Haultulco and Costa Rica). I will not write too long of a review because i think there are plenty already. However, I will give a quick run down on the SRLM and a short comparision to the Blau Costa Verde, where we stayed last February.

I feel that my husband I are normal people who have stayed in a wide range of accomodations over the last 15 years. We have a realistic view of what to expect. I have read reviews on Trip Advisor over the years, but never taken the time to do one before. Because I have read many of the good and the "bad" reviews for SLM, I find it this time neccesary for what we feel is a realistic review for this great vacation.

Room : like others say, it is a 20? year old hotel and they have kept it all in beautifull condition. Sure, there are some places that need some paint etc., but they are working at it as fast as things go in Cuba, lol. Our bathroom had new white tiles everywhere and the whole room had fresh paint, also a new railing on balcony. it could use a newer fridge, but otherwise was very clean and comfortable. We had 12' ceilings and a view of the ocean from the bed!! Maids always left some great towel art, and the bathrom came with a very decent toiletries kit. Bed (king) was not great, very hard...but at least no backache from it! Loved the robes and slippers..unexpected in Cuba, and no bugs, other than the odd one that flew in when patio doors where open.

Grounds; They have beautifull gardens and keep the pools and buildings in imaculate condition. We really enjoyed the layout, you could hang out in the busier Mares side when you felt like being social or chill in the Luna end as needed :) The pools where both great, always a chair free somewhere. However, we are beach people, and this is the reason we came here, instaed of back at the BCV. A few stores to buy almost anything you forget or need like snacks and drinks. Both of us loved the massages at the spa and the spa overall was fantastic.

Beach:The beach is incredible in all ways. Great palapas that are well spaced apart, GORGEOUS sand, AQUA ocean, and EXCELLENT snorkeling. We walked the beach a few times a day, swam a ton, and snorkeled at will. We arrived at various times during the days and had no problem finding a palapa close to the bar, and room every time.

Food; Was overall decent with plenty to choose from. The French and Romantica where great, The calamari at La Nina on the beach were amazing, the turkey at the colon the best my fussy husband has ever had! We had no trouble finding something to eat. Some things where not so good...beef, pork, and cauliflower especially, but knew that going to Cuba anyway. Breakfast was always a hit...get eggs made however you like, omlettes great and plenty of good fruit and breads to choose from. Had lunch on the beach most days...burgers and fries decent and seafood excellent.

Excursions: We do not usually go on the group tours, but instead like to explore the non touristy areas at our own pace. This time we did go on the Island Paradise trip as a group tour. It cost $80 each for the whole day. This included an hour long bus ride to harbour, a 1 1/2hr catamaran ride- which was open bar and very relaxing with nice scenery, then fabulous snorkeling at a reef, followed by a few hours on Cayo Seatia. If you look at pictures of this place you will see the resturaunt...it is a beautifull spot with great buffet and bar (included). Then we went on an hour long 4 by 4 in a russian truck...very fun and saw many animals, such as deer and zebra. had time after for a swim and then back to catamaran for sail home. A really great day. We also hired a taxi to take us to a few off the beaten path places. We found a great driver, Jaun, he took us to through Banes to Playa Morales. It was a very rustic and beautifull beach, we had a great walk and beach combing event. Then went on a little tour through the bush to a couple of natural pools inland. They where fntastic...swam in the large one, it was heaven on earth. On the way back to hotel we stoppped at a sugar cane juice stand and Jaun's house near Guardalavaca. Felt honoured to meet his family and see his home. Learned a lot about life in Cuba and meet a great taxi driver for future visits.

So, that sums up the main points our holiday, but I feel i need to add a comment to help others make a decision about where to stay when in Holguin, Cuba. We stayed at the Blau in February 2011. We really liked the Blau for the price, the beach was very good and snorkeling also very good. the food there was also decent and the room clean and spacious. a few hidden gems to explore nearby and grounds where kept very well. We saw the Sol Rio Luna Y Mares while snorkeling and swimming with the dolphins from the boat last year. We have never gone to the same place more than once because we like the adventure of a new destination each trip. However, this year we needed another inexpensive holiday, so thought of how much we loved this area last year and we really liked the look of the beach and oppertunity for even better snorkeling than at the BCV. We deciided to give it a try and are thrilled that we did! The beach did not disapoint and the SRLM was a few steps above the Blau...which like I said was very good. We had a great vacation and even though we will not return for a while, did decide that we would consider coming back to this hotel again if we could not afford a more exotic destination in the future.

This hotel is such a gem. The staff are always smiling and i cannot tell you how much me and my family enjoyed this break. Such a relaxing place! The one thing i would comment on is that i would have liked more variety in the restaurants which were available. We've been to Cancun and the range of cuisine in the restaurants there was so varied, but you have to remember Cuba has different regulations for imports and is not as established as some other islands which have all inclusive hotels within them. Our favourite one was the french cuisine themed restaurant, was lovely and the Maitre D was such an asset to the hotel.

We checked in and had a room on the ground floor with a view of the gardens which was lovely, but we wanted a balcony and a view. So we paid an upgrade fee which was so worth it! See pictures, i loved the room. We changed from 2 doubles to a suite with 2 connecting rooms. It was so worth it to make the trip special!

The beach speaks for itself! Beautifully kept with white sands and crystal clear waters make this hotel paradise. I'd like to see the pools a bit bigger, but they both had bars which served food and drinks all day!

This hotel made such an impact on my family that we all wanted to return! Usually only one of us wanted to return but this is one of the best vacations we've had and they must have impressed us as all of us were very much in agreement that this place is great!