Iberostar Origin Laguna Azul: Gorgeous beach!

This was our first trip to Cuba. The beach was gorgeous, the ocean was warm, calm and lovely. The resort grounds were well kept, the pools were clean and large. The food was only ok. We knew it would not be fantastic, but were disappointed that there was not more seafood, and fresh fruit and vegetables. The rooms were large, beds were ok. The cleanliness left a bit to be desired, but not for lack of staff trying. The elevators in the resort were not reliable, so if you have mobility issues, [... read more] it would be hard to get around.The staff were lovely and did their best to help when you need something.

Sol Palmeras: Beautiful

I found the hotel to be clean with 2 beautiful pools along with a large Beach area. Plenty of chairs for sunbathing at pool along with beach area. Lots of choices at the buffet. Staff very helpful. Entertainment very good

Hotel Los Cactus: Lovely resort

I enjoy this hotel mainly that we can golf. The grounds are kept well and clean. The food was good. The bathrooms not so clean. I enjoy going to this resort as the staff are friendly kind and very efficient. The resort Never had wine most days. We had to buy it in the gift shop. They should have a notice explaining the reason for only having a few bottles a day instead of us asking all the time. We have been to Los Cactus 5 times. We paid more to upgrade our room to a suite.

Playa Vista Azul: Not a 5 star!

The resort was clean, but not as new as our agent told us. At times service was quite slow. Food was subpar, but I hear that is just Cuba. But overall we had a good week in the sun!! Staff was very friendly along with all the people we met on our adventures.

Royalton Hicacos Resort and Spa: Relaxing ambiance!

Hotel had some construction going on (replacing roof near the pool and resurfacing the man-made moat system). This however, we understand, does need to be done some time! Buildings are old and in need of a facelift for the most part. Our Room (1402 and 1403) was comfortable and kept clean. It does require a Dehumidifier however, in order to keep the room dry (sheets would even feel damp otherwise) and to hold the mosquitoes at bay. (We emptied this tank 2 or 3 times a day, otherwise it was in t [... read more]he 'off' mode and not doing what it is intended to do). The 'Diamond Club Office' is small and very old. It just doesn't support the 'upscale experience' that the Royalton sells this option on. The staff at this resort are amazing though, as are the Butlers (at the Diamond Club). The Resort ran out of Orange Juice in the Buffet on Day 2 of our 10-day stay and it never did appear again. (Other food and drink items were 'out of stock' too however, replenished within a day or 2). The 'premium liqueur' the Diamond Club offers is also limited to their stock. (No Crown Royal, No Cointreau, No Gran Marnier, etc. The "Baileys" is their own brand, as is much of the other liqueurs). The food was acceptable although, the meat at the buffet was always overcooked and dry. I visited the Grill for fish often where the fillets were fried on site, and I could ask them to 'flip it over' when I felt it was ready. The Italian restaurant was a major disappointment. We also didn't particularly enjoy the entertainment. The day time staff tries but it's the same, day after day. This was our 2nd visit here (last was 12 years ago, prior to Royalton)... however, based on some of these comments, I'm not sure we would recommend this resort. Having said that, most of the Resorts in Cuba are affected by challenges and embargoes out of their control and not faced by other Caribbean Islands... and as the saying goes, "it's Cuba".

Iberostar Origin Laguna Azul: Unbiased and Honest Review

I just wanted to share our honest review of this property, so that future guests can make an informed decision about staying here. This was our 9th total all-inclusive, first in Cuba. My wife and I, along with another couple stayed at this resort from February 5-12th. Check-in was smooth and efficient. No welcome drink as promised with our package, but we're easy going, no big deal. Rooms: We stayed in Building 20, which is the Relax Upgrade block. Our room was clean and sufficient, but ce [... read more]rtainly needed some repairs. Shower curtain was disgusting, towels were dirty, an overall paint job is required. I don't spend a lot of time in the room, so all of this wasn't a huge deal to me. Our travel companions had a completely different experience. Their room was filthy, with hand prints on the walls and mold everywhere. To the resorts credit, after complaint they were moved to a better room the next day. Food: I'm not picky, but the food here isn't very good. One of the biggest issues is that nothing is labelled. This honestly doesn't make any sense. How are you supposed to know what you're eating? I understand Cuba has it's limitations, but they constantly ran out of supplies and the coffee at the buffet looked grey. We survived on pizza for the most part. Fries would have been nice but they were in short supply. Drinks: Depends where you got them. The lobby drinks were marginally better than the rest of the resort. Where this resort shines is with there lobby staff. The girls that came around to take drink orders were FANTASTIC. Super attentive and very friendly. The gentleman who serves unique drinks in the middle of the lobby is another gem. Always smiling and happy. The guys in the lobby bar were hit and miss. The thing I couldn't understand was why some drinks were available at the beach, or pool but not at the lobby. Typically you find the best drinks at the lobby, but they didn't have the supplies to make a Mojito. Aren't these a traditional Cuban drink? We also went to the Japanese and Gourmet ala cartes. Japanese was decent, but no chicken. Probably a supply issue. The Gourmet also had a bunch of stuff taken off the menu due to supply issues. We actually really enjoyed the flavour of our meals here, although the meat was rather tough to chew. Other Notable Things: - You keep the same beach towel all week. This is ridiculous and disgusting - Felix at the pool bar is an awesome guy. Ask him for a coochie-coochie - Orlando the gardener is one of the nicest people I've ever met - The beach is great - You get one 1.5L of bottled water per day. If you only drink half and leave it in the fridge, you won't get another, so bring it with you. Summary: Unfortunately, I won't be back to this resort. It's average at best and requires a complete shut-down to take care of the miscellaneous maintenance issues. I might recommend this resort to those who have never gone to an all-inclusive before as a first one.

Paradisus Princesa Del Mar: First visit to Cuba

Very nice resort when new , much repair needed, only 2 jacuzzi’s in the entire resort working, shower broke on day 3 never repaired. Lacking some food items like butter, orange juice, limes at times but likely the same everywhere. Staff very nice and friendly, rooms are clean, limited supplies like towels, frig supplies in room never refilled. Would not come back to this resort without trying others first.

Starfish Jibacoa: The best

This resort is one of my favorite it only rates as a 3 star but the fact that most of the resort is made up of separate small bungalows it gives you the feeling you have the place to yourself the staff are excellent rooms are cleaned daily and are spotless and everything works as it should this is a smaller resort and fairly quiet but the entertainment every night is top Notch food is average good selection for every meal

Valentin El Patriarca Varadero: Pretty Good Overall

Nice resort, rooms were comfy except for the shower that leaked onto the bathroom floor had to use the tub instead. TV was adequate and clear pictures Lots of areas to walk around and well taken care of gardens. Food was much better than expected for cuba and they did a fantastic job on the valentines day spread. The beach was a bit dissapointing not a lot of sand area to spread out, everyone cramed in side by side on a hot day. Dissapointed there was no beach side buffet just a sitdown wait [... read more] to be served restaurant by the beach, not a beach friendly resort. Pool area was fairly big and they bring sunshades if you need one, 24hr snack bar which really isnt 24hrs more like 12 hour so if your a late arriver no place to catch a meal. We didnt see much music or activity around the pool untill late afternoon each day so bring your own entertainment. 30 minute bus ride into downtown varadero very safe and fun double decker bus only 5 cuc for the whole day, hop on hop off. Best prices at the market for souvenirs and liquor at the americas mall.

Sol Palmeras: Never Disappointed

Had an amazing time once again. This was my eighth time at Sol Palmeras. The grounds are immaculate, the staff always friendly, the beaches are one of the best in the world. We didn’t do any excursions but enjoyed the warmth of the sun and relaxed. The food never disappoints us, we did mostly ala Carts. Would definitely be going back next year. Y

Paradisus Princesa Del Mar: Just ok

Staff very friendly tried their best. Not that clean we asked for water never got it. Man in our hotel waited 3 days for them to fix his shower.Linen and towels not clean. Long line ups for food. We understand CubaHas difficulty getting things that is not a problem for us.

Melia Peninsula Varadero: Nice resort

Average hotel. Rooms average, clean. Restaurants very good. The buffet was good but meals were repetitious. Beach and pool were beautiful and clean. The drinks at the outside bars were not very good, but hotel drinks were very tastey. Was good place to stay for the value

Playa Vista Azul: The resort wasn’t the greatest!!

I was NOT to pleased with the food at all. I got very sick and throw up 4 of 7 days at the resort. I don’t know if it was the food or drinks. I am Not a heavy alcohol drinker, by any means. But when whenever I would have a tropical drink, I would get sick to my stomach. It didn’t matter what the drink was. Personally, I didn’t have a problem with our maid, she was very helpful to any of our needs, but my sister in law never had clean towels or had the sheets changed. The resort would  [... read more]always run out of clean glasses and plates. Very poor food selection. We didn’t have any hot water when we arrived at the resort,. Yes the problem was rectified, but two days before leaving we had the same problem. The resort never had any clean pool towels. We used the same towel for almost 6 straight days. Besides all we went through, the only best thing about the resort, was the beautiful beach and weather...thank God for that. I would NOT ever return to this resort nor recommend it to friends and family. I love Cuba and would return to it, but not to stay at Ocean Vista Azul.

Muthu Playa Varadero: Nice resort

Needs some renovations but great layout and easy to find your way around. Friendly staff but some language barriers. 2 a la carte restaurants wear ok. Very nice beach and pool is huge. Definitely bring insect repellent

Iberostar Origin Playa Alameda: Feb 6

Too many things to list, first AC was cool but didn't draw out the humidity at all, had to iron my clothes. Bathrooms at the beach I wouldn't send a homeless person into, urinals full and spilling over all the time. Wooden walkway to the beach just unsafe to use. No evening lighting, broken or missing bulbs. Food cooked at the beach BBQ was always burned, always!!¡!!!!!!!

Royalton Hicacos Resort and Spa: Great Resort in Cuba

We had a great stay in February of 2020. The hotel is well put together, the staff are lovely, and the food is great for Cuba. The beach is also perfect. There is a lot of room in shady spots, and on the one day it was a bit busier, the staff put out more umbrellas for guests. The beach restaurant had a good selection of food for lunch, and the staff were always great. The rooms were clean and well furnished, though water pressure lacked a bit in our shower. Overall the food was great, and the u [... read more]nlimited à la carte was a nice change of pace. We didn't even do a dinner buffet our whole trip! We particularly enjoyed the Caribbean restaurant and had great service there both times we went.

Melia Marina Varadero: Disappointing resort

Hello, just sending an email about the horrible experience we had at our stay at the Melia Marina Varadero. We arrived on Feb 7 late at night due to the flight being delayed. When we woke up the next morning to go for breakfast it was terrible there were a bunch of servers standing around not one individual approached us to ask if we wanted a drink or anything so we left and went out to get our own drink outside. So we attempted the lunch hour and dinner hour in the buffet area the same thing [... read more] no approach by anyone for a drink I think its completely wrong that we pay for an all inclusive resort and get this kind of customer service. Very disappointed with every night with the same kind of experience. The rooms weren't cleaned properly we had no clean towels no water replenished in the room had to go down to the customer service area and ask for clean towels and water in the room. We had issues with the room card went to customer service things weren't handled properly we got sent back to the room and had to wait for someone to come and fix the door for us we waited about 25 minutes for someone to come and open the door. My boyfriend had gone downstairs to complain to the front and asked to speak to a manager because we were both fed up at this point with how things were handled and they literally did nothing for us we even told them we would pack up our stuff and go to a different hotel as how they handle situations. Alot of other people were complaining and the way they spoke and handled situations were disgusting. My boyfriend was offered from them a bottle of rum to the room the next day we had nothing. The room Stuart wasn't on top of the room cleanliness. Over all the WORSE experience definitely not a 5 star hotel. On the night before we were leaving we figured we would enjoy and make the best of what was left, we had gone for dinner no service once again, we had gone to the piano bar for drinks the line up was so long and the wait was long. We sat outside to have drinks and watch the entertainment not a single sever approached us I had to go get my own drinks in which i had to waste half the time just standing at the bar waiting to be served almost half and hour waited for drinks, they screwed up on all the drinks had people in behind the bar that had no clue what they were doing and didn't speak a word of English. The entertainment guy had come outside and sat with a couple ladies and had full service while we were sitting there and not getting any drinks. I want a reimbursement for this terrible experience and I will never go back to this resort ever again and wont recommend it to anyone to go. Very terrible service and not the rating that they say it is. If someone can please email me back with a compromise or something. I hadn't been to cuba since 2009 and this was the worse to the point I don't think I would go back there ever again. Also want to add we went to the buffet where they had made the chicken in front of you and when we took it to the table it was red blood coming out that was so discussing to see it turned us away from it and we wouldn’t touch any meat. As well as they gave us a complementary room to use after we had checked out of the hotel on Feb 14 the room was so dirty piss all over the toilet there were used towels all over the floor I had to go back to the front desk and ask them for fresh towels for the room and not to mention we only had a half an hour to use the room and we had to wait for them to bring us towels as time was wasting. I don’t think I’d ever go back to this resort after all this terrible experience. They may want to reconsider there star rating as well.

Iberostar Origin Laguna Azul: Beautiful Resort

Overall this is a beautiful Resort. We enjoyed our stay and everyone was very friendly. A few recommendation would be to have some sort of food names in the buffet... sometimes I could not figure what I was looking at and just guessed at that it was with regards to meat and fish. Also big issue with getting beach towels exchanged clean one, we ended up going to our Sunwing rep. Jamal who got it resolved for us - Jamel was awesome!! The A La Carte were excellent, loved the Japanese the most!! Rec [... read more]ommend the Relax Suite as it includes the VIP service and rooms were very nice.

Royalton Hicacos Resort and Spa: 1st time to Cuba and this resort was hands down AMAZING!!!!!!

We travel yearly all over and decided to give Cuba a chance. This resort was simply amazing! From the beautiful beach and pool areas, to the spacious rooms, delicious food and the friendliest people around! We did not do Diamond Club and we're unlikely to pay that much extra for it as it didn't seem worth it. Regardless of room category, everyone gets assigned 2 butlers during their stay. If you are fortunate enough to have Anita as your butler then you have been blessed! She is truly one of the [... read more] kindest people I have ever met. Always going above and beyond to find us to make sure everything was ok. The food at this resort was fantastic and the service even better. The buffet had lots of options, you also have the option of grabbing a bite at the 24hr Bistro or lunch at the snack bar by the pool which serves delicious Cuban sandwiches, ham and cheese sandwiches, hamburgers, hotdogs and pulled chicken sandwiches....all accompanied with a huge assortment of fixings! The 4 a la carte restaurants were great, I had the best steak at the seafood restaurant then I've ever had back home! There are no reservations for a la carte's so we found going for dinner by 7 was your best chance at getting a table without having to wait. If you do have to wait, you are given a beeper which works throughout the resort so really not a problem as you can go grab a drink and socialize until your table is ready :) Roberto in the Jazz bar was amazing! So attentive, never ever were we waiting and our drinks were always topped up! Oh and the Sangria's he makes are delicious! He will be our friend for life! Service in the lobby bar (which is 24hrs) was hit and miss at any time of day. It's a great place to get a special coffee but when the sevice is poor it makes it frustrating, especially when it was rarely that busy. This really is the only area that needs improvement with service! Pool service was fantastic! Jani and Ari were always coming by to make sure our drinks were full, and always with a nice greeting and big smiles :) We didn't spend a lot of time lounging at the beach but when we did service was good as well. The people that made our stay fun, enjoyable and wanting to return were Anita (butler), Roberto (Jazz bar), Dayana, Yani, Yare (day and night maids), Alberto, Reglita, Jeni (Buffet restaurant), Jani, Ari (pool bar service) They truly work so hard to make sure you are happy and we definitely rewarded them with tips and gifts! Cubans are very grateful and appreciate anything given to them! The only difference Cuba is to other countries is that when you tip at the bars or restaurants, they don't keep them to themselves, they have to share. So service seems to be equal regardless if you tip or not. But don't be cheap! These people work extremely hard and deserve to be rewarded! This resort was much quieter then I was expecting which was nice as I wasn't really looking forward to a lot of loud partying guests. We are in our mid 40's, most guests were 50+. The benefit of this was that there was always a pool or beach lounger to be found at any time of day and there was very rarely anyone in the pool. Bonus for us! All in all, this resort was fantastic and we will definitely return! We don't have much to compare to in regards to other resorts in Cuba, but we did hear some horror stories from guest's staying at other resorts in regards to running out of wine, vodka, butter etc. This was never ever an issue at The Royalton! If you are looking for a loud partying resort, this is not the resort for you. It is much more laid back (entertainment staff do try to get guests involved but didn't seem to work probably based on the age of guests) However, maybe this was just a one off and could possibly be a younger crowd the next time we go. In my opinion, if you want a great resort, only choose one that is 5* in Cuba as their standards are much different then Mexico or DR. Thanks Royalton for your great hospitality, kindness and never ending hard work! See you next time!

noliDUO Havana Varadero: cushions

Beautiful hotel in Havana. No complaints. The following review is for the Iberostar Laguna Azul in Varadero. Hotel needs maintenance work. Many services were out such as elevators, hot water and aTV. Lobby and terrace didn't have cushions and was therefore uncomfortable. Food is not great even by Cuban standards. Was understaffed at times. Staff was trying to keep up and was mostly friendly but I often overheard them asking clients to "be patient".