Nice Resort but needs attention

Hotel nice. Standards are not great but it's a cheaper vacation package in Cuba so to be expected really. Most staff friendly. We had adjoining rooms with our 2 teen daughters but found it very noisy (near disco). We reported to West Jet Rep and he and hotel staff moved us to a quieter area same day and were great. Food OK but very basic. Rooms were nice / basic but needed repairs / upgrades.

Great resort!

We just returned from our 3rd trip to Oceon El Patriarca Varadero in the privileged area. We travelled the week of January 13-20, 2018. Great trip! The hotel is very nice and the privileged accommodations are well worth the extra money. Brand new mattresses made it for a very comfortable sleep. Privileged dining room is so accommodating, very friendly staff and good food. There is always something good to eat at this resort. I couldn’t write a review without mentioning the band that usual [... read more]ly plays in the piano bar. They are so much fun and entertaining!! Dance and sing along. Love it!! Thanks to all at Oceon El Patriarca Varadero !

Solid Resort

The resort was well maintained and had a nice layout to it. The weather and pools were colder than usual which made it less common for people to be in them having a good time. However, it was still a very fun trip and the food and drinks were still very good compared to other resorts we have been to.

Good Resort

The resort was overall pretty good. The weather was a bit cooler than expected and it reflected in the water temperature. Wasn't as busy at the pool bar or at the resort in general as I would have liked. Overall, we enjoyed the drinks, food and service provided and I'm sure if it wasn't January the weather would have been much warmer.

Worthwhile experience

We had a very relaxing time at this wonderful resort. Best beach clean and neat rooms kind and friendly staff good service and amusing music performances However, the lunch and dinner selection was not great

Rather Disappointing

There was quite a lot to say about this resort at first, but by the end of our stay we were happier. Our previous experience was in Cayo Santa Maria, so perhaps Varadero is just a bit too long around in terms of employees in tourism. But the main thing was how uneven the service was. People were sometimes very nice and friendly, and often (especially in the dining room) very brusque and rude. It seemed to have to do with management and training. Where is the approach that the customer comes firs [... read more]t? Is it about the tips? If you don't tip, they'll be rude? All of the dining staff require some upgrading...you need to learn how to make people feel warmly welcomed and at home, comfortable and able to relate to you. We had this from some of the front desk staff, but not the lady who was on the desk when we arrived late and tired on Dec. 25. Was she not a regular staff person as the others were all off for Christmas? She was rude, cold and not welcoming at all. Barely helpful when we had to change our children's room (they are 23 and 21, boy and girl and could not share a king bed; we had pre-arranged 2 beds but that is not what was assigned). So, the service was a problem (also at the beach bar-not polite, not smiling, not kind). The bartenders in all the bars were quite nice, and the woman who cleaned our room was very friendly, especially after we tipped her the first day and she would chat with me daily. The beach staff (boats, etc.) were very friendly and warm. This resort, however, is not a 4.5 star! The hotel is claiming 5 star! In what world? There was, for example, no poolside or beachside chair service. Most 5 star hotels provide wait staff to bring you drinks, no? Anyway, that's fine, we can walk to the bar but here are a few other problems: the food-typical for Cuba we think, very bland, fruit never ripe (why?) and very repetitive. On this resort, there were not enough restaurants open at decent hours. What is with the beachside bar being open only for lunch? Why do you have to walk all the way to the pool to find a snack mid-afternoon? And if you arrive late off a flight, why can you only find food in the poolside snack bar and it is a VERY limited menu? There are 3 a la cartes, and that's fine, and they don't take reservations, and that is fine, and the gourmet one is very good, we should have gone back there a second time. However, if you are not going to take reservations, then it should not be that you arrive at 7 and can't be seated until 8, should it? The room was not clean when we checked in. We pointed out problems and some were corrected, others were not. New Year's Eve was wonderfully well done, a huge feast, with barbecued animals cooked all day long. Lots of fun with the show and the dancing at night, and a really good job! A wonderful cultural experience. The beach is Varadero and of course, is wonderful, but this has nothing to do with the resort. There is a charge to see the giant cactus for which the resort is named. How silly. The resort could pay to support the preservation of the ancient old thing, out of the many tourist dollars they are making over the past 5 years. 2 dollars/person to see the cactus, when we could see it from our room, is ridiculous. There is only one pool, and only one family member swam in it, in the mornings for exercise. The beach is the thing at this resort. The swim up bar is weird on this resort, with the dry area being very unattractive. The dining hall is extremely uncomfortable, being indoors and when you try to take your breakfast to outside tables they chase you back inside. the lighting in the hall is very uncomfortable and the hall does not feel like it is on a resort but more like a Camp dining hall! The restaurants on the resort are connected to the dining hall (so that they can all share the kitchen we presume) rather than being located in different interesting spots, or under the palm trees, etc. Why is the beachside cafe not an a la carte in the evenings and why does it not provide breakfast in the mornings? We think this is likely a staffing management issue. The activities are run-of the mill and some are fun and the staff try hard. The yoga was ridiculous, to even call it yoga is silly. perhaps the real yoga instructor couldn't make it the day I tried it. One family member got a massage and said it was excellent. Services were, as stated above, uneven! The resort seemed a bit tired and we were surprised to learn it was only 6 years old. Really? it seemed so much older. And staff seemed jaded and tired too (except perhaps chefs and bartenders). The house band that played on Wednesday and Saturday in the piano lounge, was terrific and lots of fun. We enjoyed them both times and again on Sunday when they performed for NYE. Well done! But there was not enough live music on the resort! On a previous trip to Cuba we had live music every night on the plaza near the restaurant, with a different band each night, dancing lessons, all between 7 and 9 p.m. we were disappointed by the lack of such musical experiences on this resort. We have been to Cuba once before. The highlight of this trip however, was our trip to Havana, which we organized ourselves through somebody on the beach staff. We had a car and driver company both ways and stayed overnight at an Air B and B in Havana. The resorts organize only day trips and we wanted to stay overnight. Our stay in Havana was terrific, we had a lot of fun and really enjoyed the city.

5 star services

Oh, the beach, pool, music, dance, people...love Patriarca! My advice for purchasing souvenirs is in Varadero, not in the resort or the airport. Take advantage of the $5 pesos per day for unlimited trips to Varadero. Outside the resort you will encounter a washroom lady at the front for a fee to use the washroom. I realized later to get quarter coins for washroom use, or it will be too expensive to pee ( I paid a dollar at first). A quarter is a lot already for the locals to appreciate. Back [... read more] in the resort, unlimited drinks, wine, coffee, anywhere. Don't bother to bring a thermos as wherever you are there's a bar (lobby bar, piano bar, music bar, snack bar, pool bar, beach bar). One night my husband stayed at the lobby bar until it was closed at midnight. He came back complimenting the bartender on professional serving to the last minute, not showing any tiredness. The servers appreciated so much any tips received. One of them said "Sir, you are so kind!" when we tipped him specifically besides leaving an amount on the table. I wish to go back tell everyone that what makes me feel impressed is their services! BTW, we lost an article of luggage and the front desk knew how concerned we were, so when the phone rang st 11:50 pm the second night, we were so excited to learn that the luggage was located and delivered to the resort! We were there for the New Years Eve celebration. They offered their best foods besides decorating the buffet restaurant making us literally so touched as we saw how little the local Cuban had. Thank you, my friends in Cuba! Wish you all a better year 2018.

Lovely resort

Enjoyed the grounds, flowers, trees and shrubs and proximity to the beach. The resort was clean, staff friendly and helpful and food was pretty good for the most part in the buffet. The a la cart restaurants were less tasty-the only fault. Excursions were excellent, learned lots as tour guides were very informative.

Fantastic customer service!

The resort is beautiful and the service in the lounge, the piano bar and mikes coffee show was amazing. We had a fantastic week. The weather was outstanding. Kudos to all rhe people who got the resort up and running again after the hurricane.

A 2 1/2 to 3* resort

Most disappointing were the rooms: poor lighting, poor a/c, coffee maker but no coffee or tea, refrigerator but with only 2/3 cans of drinks, poor toiletries such as no ear buds, shower cap, etc., toiletries won’t be replaced without asking, tv does not work, broken remote, towels have to be on the floor for them to be replaced, no pad or pen, etc.

Good Value

I took my grandsons (16 & 13) on their first trip south. We selected this resort for the beach and close proximity to Varedaro. Overall we were very satisfied with the value we received. Great beach, good rooms, good food, &great entertainment, Were pleasantly surprised to find out that their was no restrictions on the al la cart restaurants; you could go any evening.

Great

Newer hotel. Great hospitality. Excellent surroundings.. great pool, bars and entertainment. Would suggest: workmanship in rooms not that great, bathrooms fitted with latest fittings but installed very poorly and least or no maintenance in the fixtures. Bath tubs, sink taps, standing showers everything needs attention but no proper check up and repair right away. English is a major obstacle despite maximum presence of Canadians in the resort. Non Spanish have to struggle for right communica [... read more]tion as the staff speaks Spanish all the time. Food they tried their best but not that every North American would love.

Great Resort

Great resort. Excellent customer service, clean spacious room. Great for people with limited mobility, short walk to pool and beach area, or you can call for electric cart. Very good food for Cuba You are not limited in number of alacarte s The beach is beautiful, lots of new loungers.

Lovely resort

We really enjoyed our trip. The rooms were an okay size and the bed was decent enough. Water pressure was lacking but we managed through the week. We had a problem with the air conditioning and they moved us to a new room on the second day. We had a couple of other minor hiccups but Guest Services was prompt to address. We tried all three a la carte restaurants and the no reservation required is a nice feature.. However, as Cuba is not known for its cuisine, we actually found the buffet a  [... read more]better option. We could peruse first and select a little of each item we liked without having to waste. The buffet area felt very cafeteria like though so there was no ambiance. A little music even might help. The quartet that played one night in the lobby bar and two nights in the piano bar while we were there, were EXCELLENT! A wide genre of music, excellent musicians and engaging entertainers. Our favourite part of the hotel stay! They were still recovering a tad from IRMA so there were a lot of pathways that were still unlit... Thank goodness for phone flashlights. The beach and the pool are well located and we enjoyed the spiralling layout of the resort as opposed to a large hotel, however if you are mobility challenged, it may be a problem. The staff for the most part were friendly, courteous and accommodating. If we went again, we would bring some disposable latex gloves for the cleaning staff. It was not nice to see them wringing makeshift mops (old towels draped across a squeegee) with their bare hands....I brought a small jar of dried chilies and hot sauce to add to our food and it certainly helped. The resort is located near the tip off the peninsula so if you want to go into Varadero proper it is a 20 CUC cab ride each way or you can take the (slow, crowded) hop on hop off bus for 5 CUC per day. Overall a great, safe, Cuba getaway!

Great resort

Dinning was exceptional for Cuba. All the specialty restaurants were above average for Cuba. Special thanks to Yamilka and all the girls at Mike's Cafe for the great service and great coffee. Always served with a smile and grat attitudes. Also Johan on the beach who set up our beach chairs in the morning. Staff was very friendly and courteous from the restaurants to buffet and front desk. I would recommend this hotel to anyone going to Cuba.

Nice resort

The rooms and grounds were nice but the spa, disco, and theater were still under construction because of the hurricane. They are working very hard on fixing it up and should be all done soon. Staff was great

Lovely resort

Hotel was beautiful, rooms were clean and well kept. The grounds were beautiful and well maintained. The staff were polite and friendly and went out of their way to do little extras which we appreciated. The beach is fabulous with lots of activities to keep you as involved as you want to be. Meals in the dining room were very good with lots of choices, loved the delicious fresh bread. We ate at the Chinese and the Italian restaurants as well, delicious meals. Three generation family trip wit [... read more]h something for everyone. We had a wonderful time!!!!

"NOT bad, NOT great, but has the potential to be something more!"

My girlfriend and I visited the resort from Toronto the week of June 26th - July 3rd. Before I begin my review please keep in mind of the following before you go to Cuba. 1. Cuba is still a communist country. LOWER YOUR EXPECTATIONS. The government controls everything and sometimes the resorts do run out of simple things we take for granted such as food, condiments, and toiletries. If you're from the United States, Canada, U.K. Australia, Germany etc. DO NOT go there having the same expect [... read more]ations you have in your home country. - YOU DON'T GO TO CUBA FOR THE FOOD! At least I hope that's not why you go. Sun, heat, crystal clear blue waters, perfect beaches and amazing culture and history is why I'd go to Cuba. Be warned and be prepared. I'm sure you've heard many times before the food in Cuba is not the greatest; the short answer to this is once again, don't expect to get what you're accustomed to at home. (I'll elaborate more on this further on in the review). - R.E.S.P.E.C.T. You get what you put in, and you get back what you give out. DO NOT expect to get premium service, or even decent service if you are rude or disrespectful to the people that are serving you. Believe it or not common sense isn't that common anymore and people seem to forget that something as simple as saying "please" or "Thank you" goes a long way. Also, don't be upset if someone you're trying to communicate with does not speak English, you're in THEIR COUNTRY. RECEPTION / CHECK-IN: 9/10 Not much to say here other than our check in was flawless and surprisingly quick. Reception was friendly, attentive and explained the layout of the hotel without any issues. From what we saw many of the reception people spoke English which was a plus for us since we knew a limited amount of Spanish. ROOMS: 8/10 The rooms are exactly as shown in the photos; modern and clean. We were on a 2nd level room. One thing that could have been better was the comfort of the beds, which were very hard and uncomfortable in certain areas (Seemed like some springs were loose). Not a major deal for us, but definitely something we noticed pretty quickly. The water pressure in the shower was not bad, kind of low at times but again not a big deal, higher water pressure would be better. The water flow was consistent just enough to get a proper shower. One problem with the shower was no hot water, or at least not consistently. One thing to note, the sliding door going out the balcony seemed a little flimsy and the locking mechanism seemed damaged. Just something to be aware of if you're in a similar room. GROUNDS: 10/10 Not much to say here other than the grounds were very well maintained and they get a 10/10. The landscaping staff work very hard and do a great job, they don't get enough credit for the work that they do. These staff members were also some of the friendliest on the resort. If you pass by them don't ignore them, just say hello! FOOD: 4.5/10 As I said earlier you don't go to Cuba for the food. With that being said, there are certain SIMPLE THINGS the resort can do to improve the food quality, if they want to. This was definitely a MAJOR issue for a lot of guests and the complaints could be heard loud and clear in the buffet and a la cartes. It was almost as if people were dreading the walk to the buffet to eat, wondering what type of "friend" they were going to catch that would put them down for the rest of their vacation. It was visible on almost everyones faces. (Buffet) BREAKFAST. Trust me when I tell you breakfast will probably be the best meal at the buffet. If you are not a breakfast person I recommend you become one for the duration of your trip. If you are a breakfast person GET THERE EARLY. Don't get to the buffet between 11am -11:59am and then complain when you get to the buffet that there's no food left, or the food that remains is cold. Keep in mind that lunch is right around the corner at about 1:30pm. The staff needs time to prep and transition the food out for lunch. The earlier you go the more choices you will have. Its great that they have a fresh omelette section, the best thing you can do for yourself is stick to the sections where the food is made FRESH right before your eyes. One thing which didn't seem to make sense to me... the olives which were an option for the omelette were not sliced and STILL HAD THE PITT IN IT. They were just tossed into the eggs and mixed together. We only realized this when we bit into the omelette and almost broke our teeth because of this. THIS MADE NO SENSE WHATSOEVER. DON'T PUT OLIVES AS AN OPTION IN YOUR OMELETTES IF THE PITT IS STILL IN THEM. Another pet peeve with the breakfast. scrambled eggs floating in water in a metal tray. Just don't do it to yourself. Pankcakes are good, juices are good and seem fresh, stick to the fresh made eggs made in front of you. If you have any fruits, stick to the fruits with a thicker skin. Its just safer that way. (Lunch/Dinner) DECENT. once again, go earlier, stick to anything fresh made in front of you. STAY AWAY from any cold meat. It might not be wise to keep 2 large legs of what appears to be real, salted beef, or pork legs right above the veggies. Maybe these were sculptures, maybe there were real. Either way it was not a welcomed sight. (A La Carte) We tried the Brazilian, the Asian, and the Italian. The best of the 3 was the Asian. The food was similar to what we would find back home after a late night out on the town. (Anyone that goes out late at night knows this type of food is great when you're having a good time and intoxicated). Not so much once your're sober... nevertheless it was the better of the 3 we tried. One thing we noticed is there was pasta in the Asian a la carte. They clearly didn't do their research or just didn't care... Unfortunately the portions were ridiculously small. Brazilian. I've had REAL Brazilian food before and I get there may be certain variations depending what region of the world you're in or country, but this was definitely NOT Brazilian. It was something else entirely. Italian. DECENT enough to barely pass as Italian. The Lasagna was not bad, except it was swimming in tomato sauce. The prosciutto I ordered looked like semi frozen uncooked slivers of beef which I had to send back. The bread was the same regular bread we got for breakfast at the buffet. Maybe garlic bread instead would have been a better option for Italian. (Snack Bar) Where do I begin with this? The snack bar really is a toss of the coin. The time day you go also matters. Realistically, if you're going to the snack bar its probably because you missed both the buffet and a la cartes. The snack bar is open almost 24/7 but closes around 5am for a few hours. The food is regular bar food. Fries, hot dogs, burgers, pizza. The quality of food you get seems to depend on the times. between 11:30pm - 3:30am its risky. The food is either cold, or sloppily prepared. Generally speaking the food was decent enough at the snack bar. POOL: 5/10 The pool is clean and well maintained, but for some reason the pool is extremely hot, almost like a hot tub... it was like SOUP WATER... It was WAY cooler in the ocean, definitely something to keep in mind if you're switching between 1 or the other. Also, the pool is shallow in every spot. Unfortunately there is no deep end or even 1 end that is deeper than the rest of the pool. This was not a major issue for us since most of our time was spent on the beach, but it is something to be aware of. There was almost no activities in the pool until closer to the end of the week (Thursday - Saturday). Again, not an issue for us, but definitely something we noticed, if it was not for these simple activities the pool would be completely dead. The pool activities are a great way to engage the guests of all ages to mingle, have some fun and let loose. It was refreshing and seemed like it was something that was needed the whole week, but for some reason only came out for a few days at the end of the week. Keep in mind both the pool bar and beach bar close at 6pm. They need to extend these hours. BEACH: FLAWLESS. 10/10 The beach was great. The beach was clean, no seaweed or sticks or anything to interrupt a leisurely walk, or run. Surprisingly not many vendors or people were on the beach trying to sell you stuff which was great, barely anyone harassing you. Beach chairs at times were difficult to come by. Seems that people grab them early and hold on to them which makes sense. Getting to the beach earlier helps, think 11am-12pm as a decent time earlier in the week. 9am-11am later in the week. The beach and the resort seemed to get busier from Wednesday going forward. ENTERTAINMENT: 4/10 The best entertainment on this resort was the shows that happened around 9:30pm at the theatre. The dancers did an amazing job and got everyone involved. Starting from dancing in the lobby, to getting people to get up out of their chairs and follow them around the resort gathering more as they went along and brining them to the show. Definitely a good time and a highlight of the entertainment here. The beach entertainment was good. Staff had big speakers on the beach with a variety of music, getting people in the ocean to participate in dancing and water activities. The only issue was it wasn't long enough. WAY too short and repetative. At least a transition from that to another activity would be great. It almost felt like they got everyone involved just enough then everything halted immediately mid way through. The disco, just god awful... horrible! Walked into the diso one night and the "DJ" was playing Shania Twain from what looked like an ipod.. just disappointing. Great if you are a fan of Shania Twain, I personally love her and think shes a great artist. BUT, she is definitely NOT what I want to hear at the disco late at night in a Caribbean country. Play some Salsa, meringue, Bachata, reggaeton, reggae, Soca, Hip-Hop, R&B. Music is UNIVERSAL, and there is absolutely NO excuse for this. We left the disco can came back some hours later and Shania Twain was still playing, the exact same song "I feel Like A Woman". ugh... on top of that every night the disco was completely EMPTY, just DEAD. That definitely might have been why. Its a shame since the disco it self was a nice looking cozy spot. SERVICE: 4/10 Where do I begin... when you go to the buffet the attitudes there are UNWELCOMING and borderline RUDE. After taking our seats nobody would tend to us to see if we wanted anything to drink or see how we were. We almost felt like we were a plague to them and not wanted there. We almost daily had to ask for water at the buffet and when we got water it smelled and tasted like tap water and not the bottled water we were getting all week. Every time we were at the table forks and knives were missing. And the workers seemed careless to do their job. It was like a big game of show and tell where employees almost seemed like they were competing with each other to see who could look the best or most attractive without doing any work. The a la carte service was decent but slow. Nobody seemed to have a sense of urgency. Waiting an hour for an appetizer anywhere is just unacceptable. Communication is key. If there is a delay or issue beyond your control VOCALIZE THAT to your guests. Something as simple as this goes a long way. The maids that clean the room seem to only do their job once you pay them. Every day we left little gifts (high end beauty products, supplies and accessories) and money for our maids and it seemed like the service got worse daily. You have to Constantly ask for a bottle of water. Just annoying. All the bars on this resort had bartenders that were very stingy with the drinks and how they poured what they poured you. If I am paying like everyone else, and specifically ask for HAVANA CLUB RUM either dark or white. GIVE ME HAVANA CLUB. THIS IS INCLUDED. THIS IS WHAT I ASKED FOR. POUR IT. We're not idiots. I can see you weaseling your way to grab the cheap sorry excuse for a rum at the back of the bar only to still pour that in to my cup. Ok... first couple times maybe that was a mistake. I can deal with that. But everyone at every bar was doing this. It got to point where I had to cover the cup and tell them again I wanted Havana Club rum. Only to have them look at me with a dumbfounded look on their face. For those that may be unaware, the no name version or less desirable rum seems to have no effect and almost makes you feel sick when drinking. Stick to the better stuff. The service at the snack bar was by far the worst. There was 1 gentleman by the name of Henry who was the best and definitely deserves a promotion. His level of service was outstanding! However, there was a bartender who took over for a few nights that was very rude and borderline confrontational. He was a Pitbull (the artist) look alike. After getting 1 Drink from him he would rub his fingers together demanding in English "where's my tip" extremely rude and unacceptable. It wasn't just us, this was something he did to other group of individuals at the bars. Eventually everybody just walked away shaking their head as he continued to aggressively slide drinks towards people. We treated every employee with respect and dignity while we were there (we tipped quite a bit) and to receive that type of treatment left a bad taste in our mouths. Tipping or no tipping, it's just wrong. OVERALL: 5/10 The resort overall was DECENT enough. If you're looking for a simple quick inexpensive get away from the hustle and bustle of everyday life, this will do. The resort looks great, is well kept and has its own style that makes it a little unique from the other resorts in Varadero. Unfortunately, if you're a young professional/young adult looking for some fun and excitement (Drinking, meeting interesting and fun people, possibly partying or at the bare minimum something to do every night), this resort is NOT for you. The resort is more for seniors or middle aged couples looking to relax and do nothing but read a book under an umbrella, have 1 drink, go to dinner at 6pm, then go to bed at 9pm. Are there families? Most definitely, but there were not a lot of families with young children. These things are not issues, but just things to keep in mind depending on the vibe you want and style of vacation you want. This was not for us. We would come back here with a group of like minded people only.

Beautiful resort

This is one of the best resorts I have had a chance to visit. The rooms are very comfortable and clean with great decor. I was surprised how modern was the bathroom, with a separate rain shower. A couple of things to improve: the ceiling was peeling in the shower, it should be repaired; the TV is not the best quality and I had troubles with its remote. The beach was stunning, but that is whole Varadero. I think that there are not enough of huts on the beach and they should definitely  [... read more]get more. The pool area is huge, the water is crystal clean and warm, but I preferred to spend time at the beach and swim in the ocean. As for the food - this is Cuba. Much better then the most of places in Cuba, but probably not to the standards of people who expect delicacies or high end cuisine. There was always something for my palates and I never left the table dissatisfied. They have a decent array of choices, plus freshly grilled fish and meat. A couple of times I felt ignored by the staff, I ordered my wine and water, but they never re-appeared. And this is not a high season, I think the hotel was only half-full. Otherwise, I don't have major complaints. This is one of the places I would like to come back.

Great value for the price with minor improvable negatives

Well equipped, really decent all inclusive resort. If you want a low cost relaxing place to stay in Cuba, you can't go wrong with this resort. It has some little minor issues, but the good so far outweighs the flaws, you would seem very petty to complain. Cuba has it's own "standard" and one can't really compare everything to "western" standards. You will wind up liking things, and also being frustrated with other things. The highs : Decent gym, multiple well stocked restaurants with with dif [... read more]ferent themes, beautiful beach, nonstop drinks and food, beautiful pool area, lots of entertainment, souvenir, medical, mini stores - right on the premises. My negatives : Staff is 98% very friendly. My one staff complaint really is the front desk people, really have "attitudes" and could use some customer communication skills updates. The front desk is the first contact and "face" of the resort. You get a poor first impression asking for any help, or air cards, money exchanges etc. I can't understand when the cook behind the egg cooking station (or any wait staff) has better communication skills, far friendlier, and better English comprehension than the front desk staff. A number of guests I spoke with, complained about insect bites that originated from in their rooms. Something that may need to be addressed. If you have never been to Cuba, get ready and be open to a lot of things you are unaccustomed to in NA. Constant aggressive (to the point of rudeness) requests for tips. Little tricks to corner you into tipping for tasks you would expect are not requiring one. Money exchange BS - your ripped off constantly for a currency that has no relative true value to our dollar. Sketchy internet. Make sure if you organize a tour and you be there an hour early waiting for your bus and you need to be aggressively proactive or you may miss your bus. There is no one to say, "this is your bus", and you literally have 60 seconds to get on it before they all rush out of there. Your just sort of expected to know magically when 4 or 5 buses all show up in succession at the front entrance which yours is. Be prepared to hear the tour guides proudly tell you things like there are no homeless people in Cuba, pretty well as your passing, what looks to be many a burned out abandoned looking building with clothes drying on a line in what appears to be apartments with no roof or windows... There is a lot to take in as a first time visitor. most good, some a little a weird. There is a big disconnect at times from what your told and your eyes actually see.