Poor maintenance, poor service with some exception

For a 5 star hotel this is terrible. Main restaurant under renovation, along with some buildings, construction is visible in many places throughout the resort. Most water features throughout the resort lack water or the water is shallow and very much polluted, looks terrible. The only water feature that looks OK and runs at times is the water fountain in the main lobby. No warm water for 2.5 days in the room, same problem I see was reported in the past. Room upkeep below par, noticed the area u [... read more]nder coffee table was never swiped which makes me wonder if the floor in the room was cleaned up at all. Towels picked up when the cleanup is done but no towels are left in place, of not all of them, just after another 2-4 hours you get all the towels. No TV signal (or absolute garbage quality .. think transmission of landing on the moon) for 4.5 days in at least one building, although signal was great in main lobby no desire to run a temporary cable and fix the issue quickly. Attitude of staff in restaurant varies from totally ignoring you to hugs and kisses exchanged the moment one shows up in the restaurant, provided previous tips were generously given. Two exceptions, Frank Ernesto and Yurisan, both working in the restaurant, absolutely outstanding attitude and great service. Beach features lots of garbage, especially empty cans and cigarette buts. There is no cleanup of the beach done, none. Lifeguards that are also in charge of renting water kayaks spend all day in beach lounges browsing furiously on the cellphones, barely turning their head around when one inquires about getting the kayaks, or the bicycle boats out for a ride, don't even think about helping you with that. They are however quite fast when a deal with Cuban cigars is to be made. Animation stuff aggressively goes after younger women especially when single. I saw some of these women putting up with an animation guy for long period of times on the beach when it was obvious all they want is some time to relax, read a book, etc. Cuban store has very high prices for cigars, about double from what the Varadero airport stores offers. AC in the room was running but during the day had mostly no impact on the temperature, maybe on the humidity. At least was not noisy. Food was just about the same every single day, the beef meat made on the grill for example takes good jaws to chew and a fair amount of strength when holding the knife and fork to cut it. The only good features in this hotel are the warm water in the ocean and the sunny days. I stayed at 4 star hotels in Cuba and they were much better in all aspects. I do not recommend this resort and I will not return to this resort.

Could be better

Good food but very little variety. Limited choice of fruits and juices. People smoke in buffer restaurant near the beach. Main buffer restaurant was closed for the renovation. Did not know that until already paid for the trip. Some waitresses have very low knowledge of English. On good side: our maid was excellent - truly good and professional job.

Very Good. Definitely would come again.Thanks all!

1. Beach is perfect !!! 2. Our room was very good, clean, a/c worked well, showers worked... 3. Buffet is good. Good variety of food.We did not use other restaurants. 4. Entertainment was very good: On the beach and evening ones. 5. Staff was very friendly and very helpful. Thank you all!

EXCELLENT!!!

My husband myself and two daughters, ages 7 and 5 stayed here for a week from May 22 to the 29th. The weather was undountbly amazing during this week. We were not sure what to expect as some said it would be extremely hot and some said differently. But we loved every minute of it. The pool did keep us refreshingly cool to say the least. That amazing pool side that had great activities that ran every day and had us all amused and laughing through it being a funny show or games or just the chance  [... read more]to learn how to do the salsa pool side. Peke and Gorki made sure you were involved everyday and making sure you were having a fantastic time. Especially when it came to the night time as well. The shows and live entertainment rocked the house!! Which followed by the most amazing bartending, From Colon at the front house Owen at the pool side and Yuceil, they had talent and customer service that truly went over and beyond!! They made you feel like a part of there family and had known you for ever and would do whatever they could to make you feel happy!! For the food service..well I am not sure if our family could even say enough! The food was amazingly delicious!! From the fresh fruit to all the fresh veggies and the outstanding grilling!! I cant say I have tried grilled turkey like that ever before. YUMMY And again from the most outstanding customer service from Roberto, Yinny, Carlos the most talented Jadinen who grilled my husband the best tuna, salmon with always a smile and an honest interest of how our day was!! I also cant say enough about Roberto who made my omelette every morning!! LOVE is all I have to say. THANK YOU ALL!! Suly is yet another great lady who spent some crucial time making our girls have just an fantastic time at this resort. They could not wait for disco every night !! We would hands down recommend this resort to you!! The rooms my not be up to full standards and my need some upgrades. The rest of the resort and the people are truly the BEST part of your trip. I wish or we could say more...but we as a family LOVED every minute of it and will go back!! I must not forget to mention, that my daughter turned 7 while down there and the staff and resort truly went over and beyond to make her feel very special. From a surprise plate in our room to signing to her twice and a surprise cake!! It truly was a very special day. Thank you all from our family to you all!!!

First and last trip

Really bad hotel . We hated it and I spend the first night crying . The room was so dirty and the bed sheet as well . Bugs everywhere . The food was reaally bad and un eatble . Un friendly staff and so rode . Save your money for a good five stars hotel

Good family hotel

Good hotel...plenty of good fresh food. We travelled with 2 kids and we had an amazing time. Beach is clean and drinks are served throughout the day. Room is clean but old. They dont change towels daily though, otherwise the service is nice. The maid would make a nice decoration on the bed with the towels or linens. If you are planning to go to Havana, better take a local taxi and visit the places you want to. Afterwards just get a taxi from there back to the hotel. Its pointless to book with th [... read more]e hotel because its costly and they drive you everywhere in Havana rather than let you get down and walk to places. The hotel taxis will insist to bring you a restaurant so they get commission.

Very good resort

Beautiful Grounds, amazing beach, good food, large rooms, ours needed a renovation, but was still nice. Spent very little time in the room. This is a quiet, not too big resort,with the nicest people working there, super friendly crew.

Disappointed

THIS resort was recommended by someone who had been there. The name Iberostar brings with it an anticipation of a good experience but it was not the case. The room was not satisfactory for a 4 1/2 star resort. I have stayed many times at resorts. There was a lampshade missing. The toilet didn't flush properly. The front desk was notified of this but nothing was done about the lampshade or the toilet. It was a ground floor room but there was no barrier to the outside. Mr. cockroach also visited u [... read more]s the next morning. When entering the room there was a distinctive odor. Fortunately , when we met with the Transat rep. the next morning she offered an upgrade to another Iberostar because our resort was overbooked. She did not offer this because we were dissatisfied because she was not aware of the dissatisfaction. We viewed the offer and visited the other resort before we said yes. The other resort was far superior to the one we were in. We felt relaxed and enjoyed the rest of the holiday. We were transferred to the Iberostar Veradero.

FANTASTIC RESORT

This is our second time at this resort and third time to Cuba, we made the mistake of trying somewhere else and were so disappointed. We came back to Iberostar Playa Alameda and so glad we did, the staff, the beach, the resort is fantastic, food is better than anywhere else I've eaten in Cuba, rooms are spacious and clean, but what keeps you coming back is the people/staff. Definitely going to be back again!

Fair hotel gone down hill from 2 years ago.

Will not go back there again. Hardly any hot water. Had to ask 3 times for a safe. People at front counter was pretty rude. No toilet paper or paper towels in bar washroom. Food is awful. Need to change up food. Not the same food every day.

Staff amazing but the resort old!

Smallest resort! Perfect for none walking people! Staff great. Food ok. Room needs some work. We had to move because it's smell so bad. The resort is far from the airport and Varadero. The beach is a beautiful but windy.

Needs a few upgrades

the hotel staff were all great. nice dispositions, smiles, sincere that you spent your money visiting Cuba. Could not ask for nicer, friendlier people. The grounds were well-kept, manicured etc. The buffet closest to the beach however seemed to have an inordinate amount of flies circulating over the salad bar. The resort rooms need to be upgraded. The bathroom is dated. I mean who actually uses a tub these days? The mattress on my bed was springy, not conducive to a pleasant night's sleep. The p [... read more]illows are about 30% the size of a pillow you would have on your bed and there was only one on my bed. I tried to use the pillows off the couch, but they smelled bad. Eating in the a la carte restaurants was pretty good but the buffet restaurant was hit & miss. Have your eggs prepared at the grill. I know it could be a wait there but if you choose the scrambled eggs which are already set to self serve from a tray, you will end up having a cold breakfast. I went to the buffet when they had just opened their doors. Rather than wait for the grille, I scooped up some scrambled eggs, bacon & sausages and sat down to enjoy a nice breakfast. All COLD! What's up with that? And their yogurt is like soup. They don't heat anything or keep any food hot. I have to say I really enjoyed the pasta served at the grill...made to your specs. Delicious! And the service in the buffet restaurant....exceptional. The beaches are phenomenal, beautiful turquoise colored water, very clear and you can find shells on the beach. The only drawback to either the pool or beach bars is they serve their beer in mini glasses. And, by the way, the towels in the room were terrible. We ended up using the beach towels we got instead. I wouldn't use those room towels in my house.

Great resort

I was overall very happy with this resort. It was clean, the staff was amazing, and the grounds and beaches were beautiful. The food was good (especially the egg bar at breakfast and the lobster on lobster night). The only problems I experienced were with towels and the shower in my room: I was put in a handicapped room so the shower had no ledge, and the floor wasn't properly sloped to drain the water. I had to be very careful with where I pointed the shower head and one day I flooded my bathr [... read more]oom floor/part of my room a bit with water. Not a huge deal, I just called the front desk to deliver towels to sop it up, but unfortunately I had to wait over 4 hours for towels and had to request them multiple times. Another towel issue was beach towels: the clubhouse where you can exchange your beach towel for a fresh one opens at 9 every day, but every time I went there at 9, the staff had no fresh towels yet. I didn't want to compromise my beach time so I went down to the beach with my old towel anyway. When I went back in the afternoon they had already run out of fresh towels. This happened on multiple days.

Great people and beautiful beach

This resort could be better, it's not operating at its potential. Our room had a musty smell (which I know is common) , but this was very overpowering- maybe some air conditioner maintenance? There was mold on the wall in the bathroom. The fountains and water features had very little water, there were many burned out light bulbs, the food was never hot and neither was the water in the shower, but the people who work there are sooo friendly and helpful and the beach is spectacular ( and the pool  [... read more]is well kept too)

Great service

This resort had good food, staff, and beach. I had to use my friends suit to shower because there was no hot water in my suit. . This resort is good for litthe kids and older crowds. I overpaid for this resorts actual worth

Just Ok

This hotel was run down and in need of a good paint job and some updating. The hotel lobby ripped you off on exchange and gave you rates based on the American dollar (example: for $100 Canadian you would receive 72 pesos). Snack bars changed locations daily which got confusing. The main buffet was the same every day which was boring and bland. You need to bring condiments with you as there are none available with the exception of mustard. All of the staff were super friendly and helpful. Great b [... read more]each; didn't spend any time at the pool but I heard they were not heated and that the ocean was warmer. If you have a little extra cash might be worth going elsewhere. It wasn't horrible but it wasn't the best either but that is to be expected for Cuba.

Fantastic Resort

First time to Cuba - very positive experience! Would definitely go back to the island and to this resort as well. All staff were so happy to share their culture as well as so helpful for anything we needed/asked about. Resort is very easy to get around in as all amenities are conveniently located. Buffet and a la cartes were tasty and the variety was great. Try this one out!

A terrible holiday

I was ill most of the week and blame the food. It was more than disgusting. There was no real juice. Sugar water is not appealing or healthy. The platters were not always refilled and the same tired food appeared for several meals. The yogurt was so runny I couldn't eat it. One might a server dropped a lobster. Two cats were eating it. a half hour later it was picked up. My room was not properly cleaned. Towels were not replaced. One might I had only 1 sheet on my bed This was a horrible trip. I [... read more] was still sick for a few days after I returned.at the very least I deserve an apology Annabelle Goodman

Within Expectations

Our first time in Cuba. Not a bad experience. Staff are friendly. Beach is lovely. Food was not amazing, and we didn't expect it to be. We were lucky to get an ocean-view room. The room itself was clean, although the shower smelled a little musty on day 1. The mini fridge is not filled daily, which was surprising.

A nice resort

Hotel room was updated , modern and clean. The specialty restaurants were very very good as opposed to the buffet where the food was more "basic" ie. not a lot of meat and the vegetables didn't really have much flavour (picked too soon ??). And this was expected by my wife and I. Pool , beach were beautiful but the washooms in the pool and beach area were not so nice - urinals overflowing, toilets all wet around them and no toilet seats , toilet paper down to the floor and wet- pretty disgusting [... read more]. The staff were all excellent - friendly and helpful. The entertainment at night was the best we've seen at any resort. Would go back to Cuba but we would try another resort/location. The weather may have tained our review because it wasn't the best -cool and very windy but the weather is the weather -can't do much about it.