Great Family Resort--Amazing Service

The resort was a perfect place for a family vacation. Great value for the money spent. The resort is small which means the pool, beach and restaurants are never over crowded. Everything is close by as well. The lobby is nice to sit and relax. Great entertainment team, star friends and live bands were fun. They always had fun activities throughout the day to participate in. Food and drinks were good. The staff are what make this resort so wonderful!! They treat you well and are very kind [... read more] and appreciative.

Awesome resort for all!

Grounds well maintained, friendly staff, rooms need some upgrading. Pool active place, beach is awesome!!!! Lots to do and participate in on resort! Food good ! Cuban people love Canadians and the reverse is true! Many clients return every year and enjoy the resort as the staff remember them! Felt very safe walking around the resort! Great for kids! Had a very enjoyable time!

Fantastic Resort

Last year, we had a group of 12 go to Varadero for our vacation. We chose the resort due to cost. This is normally a huge mistake, as was the case last year. This year however, we had to be weary of cost as we decided to take the couples, but also a family vacation. We had 6 couples and kids… all told, 25 people came on this trip. This year, we decided on Cayo Coco at the Iberostar Daiquiri. From the moment we got off the bus, we were confident we had made a fine choice. We could tel [... read more]l instantly we had found a friendly resort. Pleasant front counter staff, nice porters, and lobby bar staff greeted us. Although we were a large group, front counter processing to get us our rooms was efficient and relatively painless. On to the rooms… My spouse had asked to be in the renovated Holguin building. We were delighted to have a room that faced the water, which was an unpaid for delightful upgrade. Due to our large sized group, we had made some specific requests to accommodate the children being close to parental figures… all of which were completed with no pressing or issue from the resort. The rooms are designed nice, with lovely balconies and tastefully decorated.. A pullout couch was available in the room for additional guests (children). The bathrooms appear to be modern. Each renovated room had a walk in tiled shower. The rooms were cleaned daily with towel art greeting us when we arrived back to our rooms. The mini fridge was restocked everyday with pop and beers, along with a large bottle of water to be used for drinking or teeth brushing…. Overall, the rooms were very nice. My only negative comment for the room I had, and I also appreciate that this is an individual preference… the beds were something to be desired. For my taste, there was very little support and not overly comfortable. When you consider that you are going on a vacation, and spending about 8 hours a day plus perhaps a siesta, one hopes the bed to be a comfortable getaway. The resort amenities… This would be considered a relatively small resort. There is a very nice resort entrance with a lobby bar that makes pretty fantastic cappuccinos. Seating is ample, but fills up quickly in the evening, but this may have been more our issue as we often were trying to accommodate 10 to 15 people for our nightly time together. The main pool area is large with 2 main areas and 1 area for the little ones. The largest section of the pool did have a swim up bar. Only comment here would be, if you are looking to have conversation at the swim up bar, it does include a trickle down waterfall, which causes quite a bit of noise that was noticeably distracting. I realize that is a bit trivial, but still was a thing. The poolside chairs are similar to an episode of survivor.. Get there early if you want a coveted spot. The resort has 4 restaurant areas. Of course the main buffet, a Mexican, Italian and finally a Cuban. I will go into detail about the main buffet, but will quickly review 2 of the three a la carte restaurants. The Mexican eatery was a nice distraction after a few days. It is quant, has a small staff, but big on taste. I had the chicken fajita, which I found to be most delicious. I had a potato based starter soup which was nice, but nothing extraordinary. The drink of the night was a margarita which let me tell you went down better than any tequila drink ive ever enjoyed, evidenced by the 8 consumed before dinner ended. Take the opportunity to enjoy this restaurant. The Cuban restaurant was served from La Marina, which is the wooden structure just off the beach. This kitchen is used during the afternoon for an ad hoc lunch buffet which when we were there had fish, chicken and the standard round meat burgers from the post war era. For dinner, I had a Cuban Beef dish served with veg and potato. It was very tasty. Others commented the fish was under cooked, so be weary. The Italian restaurant is an outdoor facility adjacent to the pools. Also used for lunch to feed the masses and those not wanting to venture to far from the pool. I cannot comment too much on this dinner option as a few members of our party told us that this option was a kin to Pasta Murder and to avoid. May have been a bad night, but I will let you be the judge of this. Buffet This is the main source of your sustenance for the time you’ll be here so a look at the three meals will be more warranted. Breakfast… if you like eggs and either French toast or pancakes, you will be in heaven. There is very limited choice. The side items such as pastries and such are limited or not very tasty. The bread is good, but who can really mess bread up. Fresh fruit is available such as bananas and pineapple, or other fruit to which I was not familiar. Lunch Again, a routine of pasta station and hamburgers.. bread, fried options… There were a few days chicken was available along with beef, freshly made on the grill. Dinner A lot like lunch, a few additional items. My delight is a very nice gentleman who was there every evening making alcohol soaked bananas. These were flamed to caramelize the whipped cream and flambé the fruit. This was a daily sin for me. To gain favor, this artist of the tree fruit does enjoy a nice glass of red wine brought to him. Food Synopsis. I have been to Cuba three times. This is the second best food Ive had while on vacation. That’s to say, it was good, not great. I don’t believe anyone goes to Cuba with thoughts of culinary greatness. I am happy to say, no one in our group had any health related issues as it pertained to the food, so to me this is a win. Drinks While I am not a large drinker, I was able to breach the tipsy threshold a few times on this trip. The bartenders are not shy about their skill of the free pour. Being drunk is an easy achievement here if one desires. There is a large selection of liquors, Buckanaro on tap, powdered Peña Colada, and a couple other frozen slushy type bases to accompany the plethora of Rum to be had at this resort. A strong recommendation would be Amaretto and the Red Slushy. Taste exactly like the red freezies we all had as children, with a delightful after glow. The Beach. What can you say…. It’s beautiful. Given how big the resort is, they have minimal cabanas. Bring your own source of shade if this is an issue for you or be up early and stake your claim to one of the coveted spaced. There are plenty of fish to enjoy right off this beach, just bring some bread down, your snorkel gear and you’ll be in fish mania. Excursions This will be some first and second hand accounts in this section. In our introduction session, we were outlined the few options we had for leaving the resort to enjoy the island of Cayo Coco. Mine and two other families chose a relatively new option, which for a price that sounded reasonable, turned out to be not. We went on something called the Ultimate Adventure. This included a swim with the dolphins, a catamaran ride out to an island close to Pillar Beach, Snorkeling, lunch and of course return. The dolphin swim was a best value of the overall day. That being said, I have a moral objection to this practice, but the other members of my crew and other two families engaged and quite enjoyed. From there we went to the marina to be greeted by a diesel smelling boat that was not was expected. The captain and first mate that did not speak English transported us. We got to our snorkeling destination and due to poor water conditions only allowed us less than 15 min in the water. On top of that, in their first attempt to land us in a good spot to snorkel, dropped the anchor and did not secure the rope to the boat. This lead to about 20 min of moving about to find the rope/anchor to reattach. The challenge here was that due to not moving too much, the diesel fuel cause more than half of us to not feel well prior to going into the water, which made our attempt at snorkeling that much more challenging. Finally lunch simply didn’t meet any level of expectation. Overall.. this excursion was a very VERY expensive bust. Another group of 5 guys chartered a boat for a day of fishing and came back regaling us of a fantastic time and they highly recommended. Some of the parents of the young teens took the open air public bus ($5 CUC per trip) to the new climbing attraction at Cayo Coco. Although it was quite a distance from the resort, it was a fun time and very cost effective for the time spent. This was also recommended for the younger kids. The final excursion was one that in retrospect, I am upset I didn’t participate. This was the Jeep/Powerboat/Alligator Farm/Lunch trip. There were 8 from our group that went on this and came back absolutely raving about it. The main takeaway I got was that the jeeps could be driven “Like they were stolen”. It was a high energy, thrill based adventure that was quite enjoyed. If im ever on this island again.. this will be number one on my to do list. Recommendations Overall it was a fantastic week for Cuba standards. If you go here with the expectations of a first world resort, it will fall short. If you are thinking a cost effective resort, with free flowing drinks, salt of the earth people who truly do enjoy being around nice people. I was able to have a relatively quiet, low key experience in a nice, well kept environment with edible food and fantastic company. If you want a place that if calm, not a party atmosphere, child welcoming resort, you cant go wrong with the Iberostar Daquiri.

Amazing Vacation!

The resort was so clean. The service was impeccable, the beach was beautiful, the food was very good. I've been to many, many resorts and this one was a 10 out of 10. Thanks to Robyn Murray for her suggestion and overall help with booking. 😊

Best place in Cuba!!

From start to finish we had an amazing trip! We love this resort. The weather was great the whole week,not a drop of rain. The food was incredible. But what we like most about this resort is its staff! They are so warm and welcoming. It's definitely in need of a few repairs as it's an older place. We hope to go back next year again.

Beautiful place!

Very nice place. Everything was great. The staff are always very helpful and smiling all the time. Very clean and lots of hot water. Needs a few minor updates but on the whole it was fabulous! Everything is very near, pool, lobby, buffet, bar, and drinks too of course.

Amazing

Staff were excellent . Room very clean. Food excellent variety. View was breathtaking. 7 days was not long enough will try 10 days or 14 days next time. Now the evening shows Were and are a must see Excellent job done.

Great Resort

This hotel was ideal for us. I liked that the resort was smaller, so everything was close. We found the food great, tasty even for picky eaters there was always something to chose. The entertainment staff did a great job!

Great

Overall a good resort Great size Great staff Great food Beautiful well maintained grounds Room 3127 needs a fan for the bathroom Both buffet and a la cartel were superb Beautiful beach even though a bit of seaweed

Greatly enjoyable time spent at Iberostar Daiquiri in Cayo Guillermos

The rooms are not the best but the people working at this hotel are wonderful. The grounds are lovely. The lobby set up is really nice and comfortable to hang out in. The food was excellent in particular at the buffet. Again the people serving and cooking are very delightful and welcoming. The evening shows were a bit too Los Vegas for my taste but the talent was exceedingly great. The sound in the theatre was terrible but the dancers and the choreographer were amazing. The one night that they h [... read more]ad a live Cuban band with the dancers was the best in my opinion. This quintet would also perform in the lobby on several evening. They were great musicians. The beach was very beautiful and we enjoyed many good swims while we were there. I'm a wind surfer and there was some good wind but they only had a few pieces old windsurfing gear. I brought my own harness and left them some harness lines. I was able to utilize what they had but I highly recommend bring your own equipment if you want to sail. There is no one who rents wind surfing equipment but ther are a few very good kite surfing schools with good equipment.

Good value for your money.

Compact: everything was easily accessible from your room--dining, pool, beach. I liked that. Not large: was nice to keep meeting same people; Family atmosphere between guests and staff. Food quite good (lobster was served at the buffet! ) and served a variety of items so it was not same menu every meal. Staff very friendly. Pools were great. Cleanliness of room was good. Poor waterpressure and luke warm hot water. Having to pay for use of the safe was a drag. Beach needed to be raked  [... read more]more frequently. Terrible WIFI. Advt said 15 min from airport..not too..more like 50 minutes.

OK spot

We found the staff that we had contact with were very helpful and friendly. Especially in the dining room they were amazing. But the house keeping needed some tips on how to clean. Yes the bed was made and floor was wiped. But when we arrived I noticed that the dust on the night table was there for quite a while and took days before it was cleaned. And not sure that our shower was ever cleaned. That was my biggest issue was the room and how it was cleaned.

Great vacation!

We enjoyed our stay at this resort. The staff were amazing, the food was great and there was never a lack of it. The only down side was the lack of hot water in the room during peak shower times. We would highly recommend this resort!

Had a fantasic time

Very nice hotel. The beach is amazing. Everything was great including the food which was much better than we are used to in Cuba. What really made it special was the staff. Very attentive and extremely friendly.

Good bang for your buck!

Would recommend this resort. Very nice people who work there. Food was good. Excellent service. Pool staff made it enjoyable and fun. Could use better entertainment at night in their theatre....no big deal tho.. We would go back !!

Love Cuba!

Check in was easy and we got an ocean view room as per our request. The room was dated and the door looked like it had been forced open more than once😟. The patio doors opened with difficulty and the lock didn't always work. The resort itself is kept clean and the staff are amazing. It's small and not once did we feel any sense of overcrowding. The beach is spectacular and excellent for walking....it's huge! The kite surfers where occupying a portion of the beach next to us on windy days bu [... read more]t usually kept to their side. Very interesting to watch as well. There are sand flies and I received a number of bites but they weren't a problem. Not one mosquito and saw one creepy crawler in our bathroom once but hey it's the tropics! Our housekeeper Mailon spoiled us!!! Can't thank her enough for all the little extras she did! Loved the towel art! The food wasn't bad for Cuba and I'm fussy! Having a healthcare background, I assess the food hygiene continually. Overall I have to say that the guests are the biggest offenders! Gross!!! Would definitely recommend this resort and would love to return there soon😊

Great Place

This resort was perfect for me. The room was comfortable, clean, modern. Loved the big open lobby where i could drink as many cappuccinos as I wanted as I looked out over the beautiful pool and the gorgeous beach just beyond. The ocean water was the most spectacular colour of green and the sand so fine. The resort complex on a whole was just the right size; no getting lost in the hot sun! The staff were lovely, warm people who made my stay more enjoyable and the food was even good with lot [... read more]s of variety. This package was well priced for the value received. Thank you for the recommendation, Robyn.

Great place to spend a week in peace

This was a great place to spend some quiet time on the beach. The beach and waters are great, enough chairs on the beach and the pool for everyone. The staff is very friendly and helpful. The buffet is somewhat limited, but there are meat, fish and pasta chefs cooking them before you, with great results.

Ok Resort

The area itself is lovely to look at and they have extended the beach depth quite a bit so it is lovely to walk on. We had trouble opening the door to the room. Had to have security bang it open then found out by trial and error the handle had to be turned up to open smoothly. Finally had some warm water after 4 days as it took 10 minutes to get warmer and the pressure was very low. The food was ok. The specialty restaurants served very small potions and the food was slightly better than ok. Tv [... read more] was prettty good . The people are very kind and helpful. The Wifi was very slow and only in the lobby. The wifi cards you had to purchase and there was no instruction o how to use it properly so a number of cards were wasted by not logging out properly. It would have been nice to have a board with all the activities and where there they were located. Bring your own peanut butter and jam as they do t have any. Oh...and they were always running short of beach towels....never got any fir 3 days.

Friendly resort

We stayed at the Iberostar Daiquiri resort at the end of January 2017 and found the staff very pleasant. We have visited Cuba several times and I found the selection of food repetitive however, we always managed to find something to eat. The Mexican restaurant was our favorite. The resort is older but clean. For a great beach and a reasonable price, this is a good choice.