Grand Aston Cayo Paredon Beach Resort: Come here. You won't regret it.

This was the best vacation of all the times I visited Cuba. A wonderful hotel, spacious, clean rooms, including everything you need. Wonderful beach and pool. The food is complete, if without any special nitpicks, then everyone can find something to their taste and desire. I plan to go back there again.

Sanctuary White Sands: A Caribbean Gem!

This resort is a Caribbean Gem! A very well appointed hotel with fabulous staff. I must say the Butler service was outstanding. We were lucky to have Carlos and Federico take care of us. They were most attentive and took care of any concerns or needs we had. Our Sunwing Rep, Beatriz Tornet was very helpful. We had a medical emergency with one of the guests in our party. She did an excellent job in closing the communication gap and coordinating too many things to mention here. The pool was sp [... read more]ectacular and well kept. The buffet and a la Carte was wonderful. All the staff work very hard to make sure you want for nothing. I hope to return next year!

Gran Muthu Almirante Beach Resort: Amazing Vacation

They had lobster. The food was good, unlike the usual cuban menu in other resorts. The room is big a clean. The resort is big and very beautiful. The entertainment was very impressive. Overall, it was an unforgettable vacation.

Sol Palmeras: Great week in Cuba

After many years we decide to revisit Cuba. We chose Sol Palmeras because of the many great reviews, and we’re glad we did. The resort is clean, the staff is friendly and the beach is beautiful. The nightly entertainment in the lobby bar and around the pool is great. We never had any issues finding chairs about the pool or on the beach. Unlike some comments I’ve read in reviews from other resorts, we always had fresh towels in our room, and were able to change our beach towels daily. I would not [... read more] hesitate to recommend this hotel to friends or family.

Iberostar Origin Laguna Azul: Don’t Expect Too Much

The staff is nice but the hotel is suffering from the current reality in Cuba. Shortage of food, water, and power. Some elevators are not working. Rooms are old and bed sheets are smelly. Restaurants in the hotel do not have good food. Internet kept disconnected for days; poor signal. Do not go without cash for tips and there are no credit card machines available. The beach is perfect!

Hotel Rancho Luna: Second home

I’m considered a regular. Quite tranquil location. Away from Cienfuegos but close enough to visit the interesting town. The staff never fails to make you feel at home. Service with a smile and cleaning is always punctual

Iberostar Selection Ensenachos: Not great

Food was awful compared to other hotels in this area.one area of the beach was still under construction. Not enough entertainment. Service, here compared with previous years was a lot worse. No phones this time in the rooms. Shower stall still leaks out onto the floor. No wash cloths. Outside walkway was not lit up on one night

Grand Aston Varadero Beach Resort: Exceeded our expectations in every possible way!

The hotel is new (11 months old at the time of our visit in November 2024), stylish, and in great condition. Our expectations were exceeded in almost every aspect of the trip, especially when considering the price of the trip compared to other destinations. The hotel is luxurious while simultaneously taking great pride in Cuban culture and hospitality; we thought this was a perfect combination. I'm not sure if it is typical or not, but the hotel was not busy at all during our visit - it was g [... read more]lorious to not have to worry about crowds! There were nice little extras appearing out of nowhere throughout our stay - e.g. one day there would be a pop-up fruit smoothie stand, the next day you might come across a silver ice bucket filled with 3 different types of sparkling wine surrounded by champagne flutes, another time there would be a man with a charcoal grill making pulled pork sandwiches, once there was a giant tub of ice by the pool with many different beers inside, another time there was a man with a giant mechanical contraption making rum drinks from fresh sugar cane, there was a live band playing at breakfast, etc. It seemed like there was always something special going on and they are really putting in a lot of genuine effort. Rooms: The rooms are spacious, clean, and nicely decorated. Everything looked exactly like the photos on the Grand Aston website. The beds are comfortable. The A/C is modern, quiet, and very effective. It has an energy saving feature where the A/C shuts off when the patio doors are open, so be sure to perfectly close the doors (this requirement is not obvious). The curtains are good and block out light effectively. There is a mini fridge in the room. There were no insects of any type. About 90% of the time, there was endless super-hot water in the giant shower. There is a TV with 50 spanish channels and 6 english channels, but we did not use it. There is an electronic password safe in the room for your passports and cash. The plugs in the hotel are 220 volts but there are also USB charging ports built in next to the beds. We were on the ocean-view side of the hotel, which is good because it faces north so the room doesn't bake in the sun. You do hear the pool and nightly entertainment if you are on this side of the hotel, but it all ends by 10:30PM. We had plenty of towels, toilet paper, etc. and there were no power outages. Wifi was adequate and covered the hotel and pool area, but be aware that lots of websites seem to block Cuba (not the fault of this hotel). E.g. we could email / whatsapp / google without problems, but we couldn't do online banking, or make online purchases. You have to sign in to the wifi again whenever you change location in the hotel (e.g. if you go from your room to the pool). Food: There was an overwhelming abundance of good quality Cuban-themed food, no issues with shortages during our stay. There is a buffet and also 5 restaurants. The restaurants have beautiful decor and atmosphere (way nicer than most restaurants we go to in Canada). The restaurant food was slightly more fancy than the buffet, but at the same time, it was not substantially different from the buffet - for that reason, we usually preferred to eat at the buffet out of convenience. We ate 42 meals at the buffet, which sounds as though it would be repetitive, but we really enjoyed it and looked forward to each meal. They have a very professional baking staff who make tons of beautiful breads and pastries every day. There was top-quality butter and cheese. Lots of local healthy vegetables (squash, beans, yucca, plantain), fish/mussels, pork, and chicken. The secret to buffet success is to embrace the Cuban-ness of the cuisine, always try new things, and combine items. E.g. mashed plantain on its own is boring, but mashed plantain with picadillo on top is tasty. Or maybe you grab some prosciutto and fancy cheese from the buffet and have the egg lady cook them into an omelet for you. At first glance, the food may look similar every day, but on closer inspection it is not, and you can change things up to keep it interesting. They had anything we could want, but we did sometimes have to look for things (e.g. they have USA-style ketchup but it's at the salad area, croissants were at the coffee bar rather than with the rest of the pastries, hot sauce was at the snack bar, etc.). The people who we overheard speaking negatively about the food may have had unreasonable expectations. It's not logical to go to Cuba expecting to have the best Japanese food of your life - that's what a trip to Japan is for. The pasta won't be just like the dish you always get at your favorite chain restaurant in Canada. Don't expect "just like home" but with a beach. You're in Cuba, so relax and take the opportunity to embrace the good Cuban things and you will be content. They keep the restaurant very clean, we never saw any insects or pests aside from a few random houseflies - nothing to be concerned about. We were 100% healthy the whole time, all of the food agreed with us. Drinks: They seem to have a lot of options and are willing to make whatever concoction you request. There is no posted cocktail menu so you have to do a bit of guessing or asking "what did you just make for that lady", etc. If you are particular about your wines or specific brands of alcohol, you will have to let that go while you are here. The sports bar was less busy than the main lobby bar, but still had the same inventory of ingredients, so it was sometimes quicker to get drinks from there. Beach: During our stay, there were not a lot of people at the beach - it was fantastic! At any point of the day, you could just walk up and have your choice of location and get as many chairs as you wanted. On the absolute busiest day, I counted 12 people swimming in the ocean - usually it was only 4 or 5 people. The sand is beautiful and the beach was clean. The beach here is separated from the main Varadero beach by a canal; there were zero vendors, beach dogs, or random people passing by - it was entirely hotel guests and staff. It was very safe, we often left our belongings unattended while we went in the ocean. Ocean: The ocean was warm and clean. During our 14 day trip, there were big waves about 3 days (i.e. no swimming), medium waves for 9 days, and total calmness for 2 days. It's best to enter the ocean on the west half of the beach to avoid some rocks that are under the water on the east end - this was not a problem and we quickly figured out where to go; the swimmable area is large. The water is about 4-8 feet deep for quite a long distance out into the sea. Pool: It was giant, clean, and people would sit by it but hardly anyone went in. Lots of room to swim for exercise if that's your thing. During our stay the pool was a bit on the cool side, but the weather was stormy for a few weeks prior to our arrival so that might be the reason. No problem getting a chair - at most maybe 1/2 the lounge chairs were occupied. None of that 'reserve a chair with your towel at 6am' nonsense here. People were regularly coming around offering you drinks at the pool and the beach. People: The staff at the hotel were all so genuinely kind and friendly. It was very sincere and felt different than the service in Canada. Everyone speaks some basic English, but be prepared to practice some basic Spanish yourself as well - load the Google Translate app onto your phone and download the spanish translation file so you have it handy without relying on wifi. We saw 2 or 3 tourists whose favourite vacation pastime was being rude to the staff. Life is difficult for the people of Cuba, so please be compassionate. Bring a stack of US $1 bills for tips (maybe budget $8 per day, depending on how much service you require). Nobody at the resort ever made us feel even the slightest bit obligated to tip, we just did it out of appreciation. We tried to spread it around rather than exclusively focusing on the bartenders, since they seemed to be getting the bulk of the tips. We never needed to use Cuban currency, Canadian currency, or our credit cards. Entertainment: Honestly, we aren't typically interested in this sort of thing and we planned to skip it. But to our surprise, the hotel had some really talented and professional people! There was often live music in the lobby bar or restaurant, and the musicians were very good. If I had any constructive feedback on this, it would be that they like everything loud in Cuba - if there's an amplifier involved, it's pretty much a guarantee that the volume will be too high. We solved this problem by enjoying it from a distance. The Michael Jackson impersonator had shockingly good dance moves! Overall: This hotel completely exceeded our expectations. There was a pleasant surprise everywhere we looked. The hotel goes out of its way to make your trip a good one. Important: If you are going, please consider buying a cheap extra suitcase at Goodwill and bringing down some items for the Cuban people. Avoid trinkets or junk, and bring necessities of daily life like medications, adult or kids clothes, food, hygiene supplies, etc. Life is very, very difficult outside the resort and anything you can offer will help and be greatly appreciated. It will cost you $35 for the extra bag, but it's worth it. Also, don't wait until the last day to give away your gifts. We made this mistake and some of the people we wanted to see weren't scheduled to work that day.

Grand Memories Holguin: Great Resort

Generally clean and well kept. The staff were very friendly and helpful. The food was exactly as you would normally expect in Cuba aside from a slightly reduced variety due to supply shortages. There are ample choices when you're looking for a spot by one of the many pools, or on the beach.

Melia Peninsula Varadero: Not recommended!

Beach was nice, pool was nice. Food was terrible, mostly cold and the same every meal. Not as we remember Cuba People and staff are wonderful. Choose another location. Best to try another country until things improve in a Cuba. This is definitely not a four plus star resort.

Playa Luxury Cayo Las Brujas: 3rd Time Visit

We enjoy this hotel for the quietness and zen feeling.The rooms are really nice.Customer service is excellent.No shortages of any kind.There was low key entertainment, which is fine with me. There was a great returnee event that we went to.We will probably return.

Memories Jibacoa: A place to relax!

Helpful and friendly staff. Rooms are clean and spacious. Grounds are well manicured. Perfect weather. Lots of activities to choose from: snorkeling, swimming, volleyball, chess, walking tours, hiking trails and much more...

Club Amigo Atlantico Guardalavaca: Amazing beach

We recently spent a wonderful 2 weeks at Hotel Amigo in Guardalavaca, Cuba. The hotel's friendly staff, beautiful beach, and lush surroundings made for a relaxing and enjoyable vacation. The rooms were clean and comfortable, with stunning ocean views. The hotel's location on Guardalavaca's stunning beach was perfect for swimming, snorkeling, and simply soaking up the sun. Overall, I highly recommend Hotel Amigo for its excellent value, beautiful setting, and warm hospitality.

Starfish Varadero: Amazing stay

First time at Starfish…. Food was plentiful, beach was well maintained. Service could be better . Animation was top notch I’d go back again!! …………………………………………………………………………………..,,,,,,,,,,,….,,,,,,..,.,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

Grand Aston Varadero Beach Resort: Nice resort

The resort was great ,only issue was only 2 hangers per suite needs to add at least 6 to 8 hangers for 2 people . Nice pool and great staff all around the resort. Servers in all restaurants were helpful and friendly

Vila Gale Cayo Santa Maria: Highly recommend!!!!

This is the second time this year staying at this stunning resort. Both times have been amazing. The food is delicious, the rooms are clean and updated, the beach and pool are stunning but most of all, the people and service are outstanding. From the wait staff, to the bartenders, to the cleaning service, everything was beyond our expectations. We will definitely be back!

Sanctuary White Sands: Brand New Resort

The Resort was brand new just opened in march 2024. The buildings and grounds were perfectly manicured. The food was great. so many choices if you say food is lacking your way to fussy. We had a few issues with the front desk and the maid service. I have ulcerative colitis and a half a roll of toilet paper just does'nt cut it. i let the front desk know this at least the first four days in a row. nothing changed. Also we went on an excursion and asked for a wake up call which we did not recieve.  [... read more]one small bottle of shampoo (individual) every 3 or four days. when i asked for soap they said they didnt have any they had body gell. We recieved none of that either. my wife took two small soaps off of maids cart so front desk mislead us. bottled water still seemed to be in short supply as some days we got it and other days we did not. Beer seemed to be in better supply as we always got two beer in our fridge every day. thank goddness we brought our own soap shampoo and toilet paper. the first four days of our 11 day stay the ocean was way to rough to go in. My phone would not work thank you so much Beatrice sun wing rep for letting us use your phone to check on our little ones. we sat in the same section at each meal until a busboy picking up dishes knocked over a full glass of wine on my wife. all napkins were gone and she had nothing to wipe up with. He didnt come back so she could clean up. She was fuming. We brought it up to one of the managers. Nothing seemed to get done. great resort with a few issues. When we landed in cuba we changed most of our american money for cuban paseos. didnt find a single bussiness that took cuban paseos. They do not want Cuban money and all prices are in US dollars and if you try to pay in Canadian beware you will pay whatever exchange rate they feel fit to charge. Do yourself a favor just bring american money . .

Iberostar Coral Esmeralda: Nice resort

Me and my husband went to this resort from Nov 29 to Dec 6 and overall we liked our stay.Our suite on the level side was amazing very large with ocean view block 7.Our cleaning lady was amazing always have our room clean and well decorated.All the employees that we have contact to were very friendly and helpful.The entertainment team was amazing especially Brian always making us feel welcome. The beach is very nice beautiful colour.The lobby bar and piscina bar very nice and friendly,but the bea [... read more]ch was very poor and the staff it wasn’t friendly not even a smile.The downside was the food no variety very poor at least the wine/drinks were good.One week was enough ! The hotel have to improve on their meals/food otherwise is going to lose customers because you one but next time won’t go back,just beach,rooms and friendly staff is not enough everything was to balance.

Sirenis Tropical Varadero: Will not go back!

Sirenis is a very rundown and broken resort. Please don’t recommend this place… When we got to the room we noticed the bedding was not clean. One of our friends toilet was broken and water ran through the room, from the flusher. They asked for another room and were told no as they were full.. this was not true. Very few people here. After the mechanic came 3x’s to fix it I fixed it with a towel so they could use it. Our tv was not working so the mechanic came the cord was ripped off the back [... read more]. He may have fixed it but he took the batteries so we will never know.. We had 2 cockroaches ? in our room… There was an entire bank of lights leading to our room out, never got fixed. This was a safety issue.. A large window was broken (not boarded up) with shards of glass for anyone to get cut on.. We will never go back to this resort…

Sanctuary White Sands: Lots of Potential- missed the Mark

At first glance the Sanctuary White Sands in Cayo Coco appears to be a beautiful, new resort. The people are lovely but this resort falls short in a few areas. Keeping in mind this is Cuba and expectations are definitely lower knowing the difficulties they face. Food in the buffet is the same on a daily basis, so we booked the la car restaurants 5 out of the 6 nights- the food is definitely better at the a la carts! Housekeeping is basically non existent; they make your bed and that's about it [... read more]. Towels are not available to be replenished so if you are expecting clean towels you need to ask and might get them every 3 days if lucky. We threw our dirty towels, after 2 days of use, on the floor and when we returned we found the same dirty, damp towels folded and left on the floor. When we requested new towels we were sent towels that stunk and we could not use. We finally got someone to give us extra pool towels to use. The pool appears large and nice but after a few days you will notice the same items that were at the bottom of the pool are still there and it appears they have no pool vacuum to address this issue. This leads to our biggest complaint about this resort.....SMOKING. If you are a non smoker do not go to this resort. They allow guests to smoke everywhere, even though they say there is a designated smoking area off to the side of the lobby bar the entire lobby smokes and they do nothing to enforce the smoking section. The tables and chairs, not even a year old have burn marks because of this; such a shame. One night we were surrounded by smokers and I asked the manager to enforce the no smoking, he did and 5 minutes later someone else lit up but nothing was said- completely hopeless. They allow smoking in the pool and guest butt their cigarettes on the pool deck which ultimately make there way into the pool! Yes, cigarettes butts in the pool. Even at the pool swim up bar you cant' sit there unless you want to be surrounded by smokers! Absolutely disgusting. Same at the beach, lots of cigarettes in the sand. The resort was at 50% capacity during our stay but they do not have enough beach chairs even for that. I got up at 7am one morning and went to the beach, all the chairs taken! The staff on the beach said people get up at 5am to save chairs- we gave up. Only way to get a chair at the beach is to go after lunch when people are packing up. I must say that if management actually cared about taking care of this resort it would be a beautiful place but after only 9 months of being open it already shows wear and the toll of smoking everywhere on the property. They need to invest in a pool vacuum and more chairs for the beach.