Gran Muthu Imperial

Gran Muthu Imperial sits on the wild Punta Rasa point of Cayo Guillermo, one of the keys in Cuba's Jardines del Rey archipelago where the water is the kind of piercing turquoise you assume is a filter until you see it in person. The 500-room five-star all-inclusive opened in 2019 and brings a Spanish hotel group's hospitality sensibility to a destination that can be uneven in that department — which is why the staff's warmth gets mentioned in virtually every positive review. This is not a resort where you come to eat your way through dinner service; it's a resort where you come for the diving, the beach nearby, and the feeling of being on a largely undiscovered stretch of Cuban coastline.

The practical experience here is classic Cuban all-inclusive: a rotating buffet and a handful of à la carte restaurants, a swim-up bar that runs smoothly, and evening entertainment that leans into Latin music and dance. The snorkeling off the reef nearby is legitimately excellent — guides report almost guaranteed sea turtle sightings — and the windsurfing and fishing programs are well-run. The proximity to Playa Pilar, which sits at the far western tip of Cayo Guillermo and is consistently listed among the Caribbean's top beaches, is the single biggest draw for sun-seekers. The resort arranges transfers there, though the logistics require a bit of planning.

Gran Muthu Imperial makes the most sense for travelers who want a genuinely off-the-beaten-path Caribbean experience and can roll with the occasional supply hiccup that comes with visiting Cuba. It competes more with other Cuban five-star all-inclusives like the Meliá Cayo Guillermo next door than with mainstream Dominican or Mexican resorts, and on that scale it holds up very well. Couples and divers in particular get strong value here; families considering the trip should read up on Cuba's current supply situation before booking.