Sancutary White Sands - Cayo Cruz
We stayed at the resort from Dec 23-30, 2025. The hotel itself looks just beautiful, from the long infinity pools and boardwalk to the beach area, where it led to powder-like white sands leading to stunning turquoise waters. I wished the boardwalk was extended a little further so someone with an accessibility issue could get down to the water easier as the sand was so soft.
Because the hotel has only been open for 8 months, there are some learning curves to work through, but the management staff are committed to making it right. For example, the hotel is out of the way, and is hard to get staff, and we experienced a day, where the bus that brings the staff in from an hour away, broke down and couldn't get the staff in. So they made the necessary arrangements to troubleshoot and did their best. This committment is appreciated.
We stayed in the accessible room. The bed was extremely comfortable, pillows were soft, but on our first day, the linens and towels were dirty (not used, but had dirt streaks through them as they were not quality checked after being laundered). We informed the management, and they had the linens changed and towels brought in immediately to make it right. Additionally, the accessible room has an open bathroom, while the accessibililty is amazing, the shower could have had a shower curtain as well as towel racks/hooks. Without the shower curtain, water splashed area, so when we informed them, we were given extra towels to help dry the floor. We could have moved to another room, however, the accessibility was more important and we made due, which we were fine with.
Everyone says you don't go to Cuba for the food, but you go for the beaches and ocean. While we could always get something we could eat, the options were limited. Pork and seafood are staples, but having food allergies to them, I was still able to find something enjoyable.
We had premium service, and I expected the butler service to be more available and attentive, and frankly be available, but the butler service was minimal, and non-existant, until having to hunt them down. But when we did, we got what we asked for. I believe the training on butler service needs to be worked on for the premium guests. As well, the premium guests were not treated much better or different. Not sure I got the value out of it, or the special treatment, with the exception of the one night of premium dinner in one of the restaurants.
What I did not understand was it is an all inclusive resort, but the restaurants limited the items we could have, for example only 1 appetizer, 1 entree and 1 dessert. But at times, I wanted 2 appetizers, and was not allowed 2, so I ordered an entree, and did not eat it (due to food allergies) and then went into the buffet to eat.
The Italian restaurant offered the best meal, in my opinion. The hours of the breakfast close at 10, and they were hard fast that no one was allowed in at or after 10am. But lunch started at 1pm. There was a snack bar that could order food 24 hours, but the service was very slow. Management had to work there a couple of days due to lack of staff.
We were there over Christmas, and they had a lovely Christmas Eve celebration, and Christmas Day festivities, with small gifts for everyone. Santa even made a visit. This made us feel quick special.
So....overall, while there were some issues, the management always did their best to make it right, which again we appreciated. The resort itself is beautiful and accessible. The cappucino's in the lobby bar were exceptional. Jose Rey worked very hard at the lobby bar from morning till night and was outstanding!
I want to thank the management staff for always being available and listened to our requests (which were not unusal or many). They took the time to get to know their guests, which was lovely, and always made a point of saying hello and checking in.
