Amazing vacation at the Royalton!

The Royalton Hicacos is a beautiful hotel situated just outside of Varadero. The hotel staff are amazing, catering to our every need. We were treated like royalty by all the staff who worked very hard to make sure our two weeks were relaxing and memorable. The grounds, beach, and water are absolutely beautiful (where we spent most of our time)! Butlers are always present ensuring your vacation is awesome! Buffet is very good with many options for freshly cooked food (i.e. a variety of fish, meat [... read more], pasta, pizza, crepes, omelettes, pancakes, etc.) A la Cartes are a yummy, enjoyable evening out. The entertainment staff are always working to add to the guests experiences. This resort caters to older teens and adults so if this fits your, I would highly recommend this spot. One of the best in Varadero! The Royalton Hicacos is a beautiful hotel situated just outside of Varadero. The hotel staff are amazing, catering to our every need. We were treated like royalty by all the staff who worked very hard to make sure our two weeks were relaxing and memorable. The grounds, beach, and water are absolutely beautiful (where we spent most of our time)! Butlers are always present ensuring your vacation is awesome! Buffet is very good with many options for freshly cooked food (i.e. a variety of fish, meat, pasta, pizza, crepes, omelettes, pancakes, etc.) A la Cartes are a yummy, enjoyable evening out. The entertainment staff are always working to add to the guests experiences. This resort caters to older teens and adults so if this fits your, I would highly recommend this spot. One of the best in Varadero!

Great Vacation!

Hotel was gorgeous, room was so so - moldy smell and toilet sewer. Room was spacious and clean. Bar was busy but always got drinks, but the drinks were not consistent. Food was cuba ok but lots of variety, highly recommend to step off property and eat at a private restaurant. Butler service was great, he brought us mangoes from his market and arranged private tours for us. Reasonable pricing too! The ground was well kept and beach was stunning with clear warm waters.

Great Resort / Great Beach

Had an excellent time at the Royalton. Their beach is the best on the strip by far. The resort is nicely laid out and everything was very accessible. My only one complaint would be the lack of mint for mojitio's. For much of our trip the resort didn't have any. Other than that, everything was great

Really nice relaxing resort - just what we wanted

First of all, I will mention that this is now my 72nd all-inclusive resort vacation including 10 trips to Cuba, so I have a pretty good idea of what to expect. I have stayed in 3 - 5 star hotels. FIRST IMPRESSION: I went on the trip with my girlfriend June 13-20th. As usual, I researched reviews extensively before booking. The resort has great reviews which for the most part are quite accurate. This resort gives a fabulous first impression – the lobby and the main entrance are gorgeous. As ot [... read more]hers have mentioned, these areas have been recently refurbished and it definitely shows well. The check-in was done in a very relaxing way – with a glass of sparkling wine and a cool refreshing towel, which is a nice touch. THE STAFF were extremely friendly from check in, to the restaurants and bars, to the maid, right up to the check out. Cuban people are wonderful charming people who genuinely go out of their way to make things great for the guests. THE BEACH is one of the best Caribbean beaches that we have seen, especially in front of the Royalton Hicacos. We walked quite far in both directions and this part of the beach is definitely superior to anywhere we walked to. Varadero is an easy beach to walk on with fine firm sand. The water was incredible, ranging from wavy to quite calm, depending on the day, but was usually clear. THE POOLS/GROUNDS: The gardens and common areas are very well maintained. The resort had a high occupancy rate, but never really felt crowded because everyone is spread out. As some other reviewers have mentioned, the main pool needs some serious work to bring it up to what it once was – there are many tiles that are missing off the pool, unfortunately ruining the overall impression. There is not nearly enough available shade around the pool area, making it a challenge to get out of the sun. There was a waiter who would regularly walk around and ask the guests if they wanted a drink which was very nice. THE ROOM: We had a room that appeared to be partially renovated. It was “OK”, but was missing a few curious details – most shortcomings were rectified by talking to the butler. The puzzling thing that stood out immediately was that there was literally nowhere (except the night tables) to put away any clothes - no dresser, no shelves! The king size bed was a little too firm for our liking, but everyone has their own preferences. The room had a nice flat screen TV, along with a nice bathroom area. The water pressure and temperature were the best that I have had in the Caribbean. THE FOOD: The food was generally very good with extensive choices. We managed to sample all four of the a la cartes and they ranged from good to excellent. Our favourite was the Caribbean restaurant – we loved the ambiance and the food was tasty. We also loved the lobster in the seafood restaurant. The choices in the main buffet at breakfast, lunch and dinner were quite varied – the only issue was the temperature in the restaurant – even though it was supposedly air conditioned (we think that it was), it was far too warm to enjoy a meal properly. ENTERTAINMENT: The entertainment/shows were the usual type that most all-inclusive resorts have. There was some live music and singing which was excellent. We especially enjoyed the Cuban show on Friday night. IMPROVEMENTS/SUGGESTIONS: In our opinion, this is a great resort that is in the process of transition. The exterior of the buildings seem to be complete and they look great. It is however tired in some areas, but they appear to be taking care of that. It has so much potential and hopefully with the updates and improvements being made, it will be spectacular as it probably once was. We would go back to this resort again, once the renovations are completed. Please feel free to send me a message if you need any more information.

Returned to Paradise

We traveled back to this fantastic resort once again from May 30th to June 6th. Our welcome was warm and kind, "I remember those two faces", by the lovely lady that runs intakes and orientation. We were given the same room from the previous year, 2212. Great room and great Butler, Marcel We also had Mr Alex from Diamond Club taking care of all of our needs. The food was fantastic as it always is! My god if you leave this resort hungry you must have an eating issue. The buffet, and A la Carte's a [... read more]re great, (only exception is the beach restaurant) Ordered the mixed fajitas and well they came out on a hot iron pan without oil,seasoning, vegetables. or actually shrimp It was a burnt tortilla shell with chicken and meat on it with nothing else. No sour cream, cheese, lettuce or salsa. I had the soup to start and they brought it out with a spoon the size of a serving bowl shovel. The waitress didnt even ask if we wanted a drink until and asked her. This place is the only problem they really need to work on.The view was great! Service sucked. I ate here most days for lunch and they do 5 star on lunch just not DINNER. The room was fine until we came back from the beach on the Tuesday. It was hot and the maid had the door wide open and let all the air conditioning into the outside It was 4:30 in the afternoon and she has my cool room wide open....... Then when we walked in she accused us of taking two head towels......... REALLY! REALLY! . That did in her tip for the week. SO FOR HOUSEHOLD care bad bad bad bad! I have to admit I saw a RAT! I came back for dinner and my feet hurt so I ran a little water to soak my feet in. I was sitting facing the outside window and I huge rat ran right across the exterior window onto the deck and then it was gone. Make no mistake IT WAS A RAT! Jet boating was a 10! Diamond Club area on the beach a 10 ! Staff at the beach a 10! most restaurant a 10!!!!!

Not quite a 5 star but excellent for Cuba

Hi Folks a quick note regarding this resort...When we got to the resort the front staff was quick in giving us our room and since we couldn't get the room we wanted told us tomorrow would be ok to change if needed but to our amazement the room was superb so great there and we were close to everything Room #3103.We had two butlers to help us out but did not need them through the week ( not newbies) .The food and the service at the main dining lounge was awesome (excellent waiters and waitresses)  [... read more]no complaints there the other restaurants were ok but rather go to the main lounge in case you didn't like the food on the menu or surprise with what you get..things somewhat are not quite like home cooking.The drinks were hit and miss some were fantastic while others not so good.The beach all I can say is WOW.Pools were good and so was the entertainment group.(friendly bunch).Night entertainment was good to very good.Most of the staff at this resort were very friendly .I can't remember all the names but there tons of good people.The Cubans have a great love for music and dancing and it certainly shows.I give this resort a 4 star as a few things were not up to par ( top shelf drinks, beef almost non existing or very poor and a few more things that weren't up to par) Don't get me wrong I am not complaining about the 5 star things as they are just some facts to see this as a better place I would certainly go back here without hesitation.

Beautiful resort and beach

Staff were friendly and helpful. Room was nice and clean. Beach was beautiful...just amazing and breath taking. Resort was well kept and clean. Food was good...a bit repetitive at lunch time. The restaurants were all good.

Sandals was better than Royalton

What used to be Sandals Royal Hicacos, now Royalton Hicacos has lost its heart and soul. Since the transfer of ownership, things have been taken away. Little things like a bottle of wine and rum in your room upon arrival and a tissue box in the bathroom. We had to ask for an iron in our room that used to be already there. It's turned into a North American corporation that has no heart and soul. It's all about the money now. They added a nonsense 'Diamond Club' element to the resort whereby a qua [... read more]rter of the beach is allocated to those whose choose to upgrade to the Diamond Club. This is unnecessary b/c it's empty, with the exception of maybe three couples. Also, on the beach, they've created these 'eye-sore' umbrella posts for security with a large sign that says 'Security'. They can actually obstruct your view on the beach, depending on where you sit. The 'Beach Grill/Hut' has been renovated for the better, with the exception of the 'registered' (?) interior designer selecting improper water facets for the new relocated bathrooms. The other cost cutting mechanism that the new Canadian company implemented (subsidiary of Sunwing, also owns Memories) is that the resort has not had Maple Syrup for a year. Maple syrup is plentiful in Canada and here is a Canadian company who is either too cheap to supply it to their resort in Cuba or can't be bothered.

Amazing resort

The beach hut got improvement with new washrooms. The lobby bar: I didn't like the new glass dividers; preferred more open and breeze look from before (under Sandals). The butlers service was a bit intruding, preferred concierge service from before.

Beautiful resort!

This resort is beautiful! The beach is the nicest I've seen and the grounds are so well kept. Everyone who works there is very polite and friendly. The lobby bar has been renovated and now looks so fresh and modern. Our favourite waiter Hermes always greets us warmly with a big smile and provides outstanding service. We have been there twice and will definitely be back. I would like to see some improvements to the pool though as there are many tiles on the bottom that are broken and missing. For [... read more]tunately, we spend most of our time on the beach.

Great Staff, Beach, Pool, etc. etc. etc....

Second time, so expectations were in line with what we received. Definitely one of the best hotels in Varadero, but might suggest other locations if you are under 50!. Royalton has updated the disco and "Diamond Club" services after taking over from Sandals. No complaints. :)

Wonderful Resort

Everything about this resort was remarkable. Food delicious, staff kindness over the top. Polite workers, sun fantastic and flights just grand. We were met at the entrance with champagne and pleasant staff. Warm facecloths given to us along with the expertise of the staff there to explain the lay of the land and the extras of the resort. Proceeded to the bar where we were again greeted with polite staff offered food and drink. Each of the reservation restaurants were over the top. The 24 hr Bist [... read more]ro was the BEST. Staff very friendly and food once again great. Love the shows each evening! I would certainly go back there once again.

5 star service but only 4 star resort

The trip with Sunwing was excellent, the flights left and arrived on time, on board service was great and so was their service on the ground in Cuba. The hotel grounds are beautiful, rooms are comfortable and well stocked although in need of a facelift which I'm told is in the works. Food is plentiful and there are many restaurants to choose from, but the food gets only a 7 out of 10 rating it's mostly bland and overcooked without salads or proper condiments, The only meal that is ok is breakfas [... read more]t where there are lots of good choices including fresh fruits and pastries. The restaurants are not properly air conditioned which makes the dining experience quite uncomfortable on hot days and then there are flies in all the restaurants. The pool and the beach are wonderful although you have to come down as early as 7 AM in order to get a shaded spot. The staff is excellent and very attentive and the free drinks are good too and available all over the resort, The poolside entertainment is great and so are the nightly shows. The WI FI offered by the resort on their website for $5 per hour did not work at all during our week long stay and the phone calls that we had to place in order to keep in touch with our business, cost us a small fortune at $2.50 a minute, so I would not recommend this resort to anyone who needs to communicate regularly with the outside world. We were told by the management that unfortunately this was not an isolated incident but a frequent problem in Cuba. We booked a couple of trips through Nexus, the first was the Catamaran Dolphin trip which in our opinion was overpriced at $140 per person, the second trip we booked to Havana was excellent. We also booked a day at the spa which was excellent. All in all a relaxing vacation and I must mention again that the service was impeccable and the staff super friendly. The resort is lovely but because of the issues I mentioned I would not rate it as a 5 star resort. They need to improve the food and correct the A/C situation in their dining rooms pronto..

Best Vacation!

This was our second visit to this resort. Five years ago we got married there when it was a Sandals. We liked it just as much, if not more! They have made a lot of changes and renovations and are still in the process of doing more. The staff are so friendly, grounds kept clean. The hotel it located on the best part of the beach. I can't wait to visit this resort again.

Still a 5 star even if a bit of age shows

super buffet and good restaurants excellent beach well kept grounds a 5 star all round. This Resort has seen better days but with age comes experience , staff are very attentive and fix problems very quickly. We had excellent service from all expecially : Mati our super buttler , Eribe the waiter at the beach restaurant, Osnay the waiter at the buffet, The new Manager Pauline was also very courteous and took the time to be present all around the premises. We recomment this resort to anyone who a [... read more]ppreciates good service.

Paradise Resort!

I enjoyed my stay and would recommend this resort to all! The service was spectacular, the food I can't complain about, my room was nice (although the other couple that came with us had a bad experience with their room), the beach is like no other and the pool areas are filled with entertainement, games, laughter, and great service. The Michael Jackson show (nightly entertainment) was great and the excursion to Havana was informative while the dolphins was an experience of a lifetime!

Wonderful vacation

Beautiful resort, landscaping outstanding, excellent staff, good entertainment, reasonable food, terrific beach, loved the butler service, -felt welcome and pampered by everyone we met. Can't wait to go back.

My Second Home

The resort is beautiful. I have been going for 4 Yeats now. And each year it gets better. I would def recommend many people to go. Beautiful. We made friends with the workers and keep in touch. Great!

Very nice resort with great staff

We were warmly greeted by the staff at the Royalton Hicacos Varadero upon our arrival. The transfer from the airport was relatively quick, taking only half an hour or so. Mariela, at reception, was wonderful and explained everything to us. She’s a great ambassador for the Royalton Hicacos. We were assigned our butler and her name was Betty. She was wonderful. She gave us a comprehensive tour of the resort and showed us which room we’d be staying in. At 2:30 that afternoon Betty came to get  [... read more]us to take us to our room, which was ready early. We were given a room in the Presidential Suites and it was lovely. It was a great central location within the resort and, without a doubt, the most comfortable bed we’ve experienced in all our visits to Cuba! Our maid, Dayanira, always did a great job cleaning the room, making the bed and leaving us a lovely hand written note on a wonderful towel arrangement. A lovely treat to find each day. We had a one-hour massage at the spa, and they did a good job. The charge goes on your tab, so you pay at check-out time. I would recommend waiting for the spa staff to walk around with the discounted offer for everyone, regardless of the room you’re in. Betty was the best butler you could hope for – she looked after all our requests promptly and made us feel so comfortable. She even made reservations for us at the Carribean ala carte restaurant. We ate mostly at the buffet, which always had an assortment of good food to suit any palate. We also ate at the Caribbean restaurant one night – the servers were excellent and the food was good. We would recommend it to anyone. We did have breakfast a couple of times down at the beachfront restaurant – both times my serving of eggs and bacon were burnt and I couldn’t eat them. I would have sent them back, but our servers seemed to disappear and didn’t come back to check how the meal was. I sat for half an hour waiting to send it back, then gave up. This was our only negative eating experience. The only other negative experience we had was when we were checking out. We had been given a price for our massages of 102 CUC, but ended up paying 130 CUC instead. When we tried to work with the reception person, Renal, he was very rude and accused us of deceiving the Spa staff to get a discount. Betty was called in to settle the matter. Bad form on Renal’s part – an unfortunate experience to have when all the other staff had been so wonderful. Most of the staff you’ll experience are helpful and wonderful. They work very hard to make your stay a good experience. Please don’t forget to tip them and thank them – they’ve earned it!

Stunning resort

A beautiful spot -- friendly staff, stunning beach and lovely little touches to make things extra-special. Food isn't mind-blowing but you can always find something pretty decent... Fruit, crepes and ice cream ( a little ice cream shop was opened while we were there) can go a long way... And drinks!!!