Best week in Cuba I've ever had

Friendly staff. Awesome food. Resort is in good enough shape. Lots of amenities and entertainment. Beach is very close and not crowded. Great excursions - I recommend the Mountain Adventure and Campina Taina. The food - again - is awesome... surprisingly good compared to other resorts in Cuba. Holguin is a great destination I can't recommend enough!

Great time at the Blau Playa Costa Verde

We travelled to the Blau Playa Costa Verde over March Break week. This was our third trip to Cuba and it was definitely the best resort we have stayed at. We decided to treat ourselves and upgraded to the "plus" section which was probably a good idea. We did our research before we went and knew where we wanted to be located. We asked at the front desk, as soon as we arrived, and they were able to get us close to where we wanted to be. We were in block 28 on the third floor. We could see across t [... read more]he whole resort. The beach was more rocky than Varadero but the plus was the fact you could snorkel off the beach. Some of the coral is dead but there is a patch of live coral further out from the beach. The fish don't seem to care if the coral is alive or dead. They are always around. We took our own snorkelling gear so we were not restricted in how much time we could be out in the water. There is a hiking trail along a dead coral headland. We hiked this trail out to the headland and ended up on quite a wild beach. There were shells everywhere and breakers crashing on what looked like a sandbar off the beach. We also walked down the beach several times and found other trails on other resorts that we explored. All the staff were wonderful. They never missed an opportunity to greet us and help us with whatever questions we asked. The food was better than we have had previously in Cuba. Some of that had to do with the fact we had 4 a la carte dinners with our "plus" upgrade and an Easter dinner. Everyone of the dinners was great. The buffet was big enough and had a large variety of food so it didn't seem like you were eating the same food every day. We didn't spend much time around the pools because we preferred the beach. However, they were well maintained. We did two trips away from the resort. The first was one called "Cuban Life". We travelled into the mountains and visited a farm, a fishing village, an archeological site, a museum and the Guardalavaca market. Our second trip was called "Island Paradise". We went by bus to a marina, boarded a catamaran, travelled for about an hour and a half to a snorkelling site. We saw many of the same fish as we saw at the resort and some new ones. We moored at a beautiful beach and had lunch in a restaurant overlooking the beach and then went on a jeep safari where we saw all sorts of animals from Africa, India and China that roam the island freely. We returned back to port by boat and bused home. It was a long day but a wonderful experience. The evening entertainment was okay. We have seen much better shows at other resorts and more variety. Every evening the animators would collect up the young children in the resort and get them up on the stage doing a show. It was fun to see them. Many people at the resort used this time to get together to share drinks and to compare notes about day trips, meet new people and generally have a good time. It was nice to see so many people brought their own thermal cups for drinks. It helped to cut down on the number of throw away cups. If I had any suggestion for the Blau chain, I would like to see them include a thermal cup for every guest in the package cost. A place to write your name on the cup and/or a way to decorate each cup upon arrival would help them increase their commitment to the environment. If you go to Cuba, we highly recommend taking school supplies and basic toiletries such as soap, shampoos, toothpaste, toothbrushes and so on. Basic medications are also needed and clothing are in high demand. We took packages of things on day trips and gave them to people standing by the side of the road or in villages. Cubans are very grateful for anything that you give them.

Okay...great weather

The weather was great for our week in Holguin. This resort has some great a la carte restaurants and the VIP Bar was excellent. Service is great in all including the buffet......great variety too. The rooms are not what would call Plus quality. The were rundown ....tiles on ceiling falling down...leaking shower and plaster on walls falling off. Reception needs to exercise more professional customer service skills. We had an issue with missing items from our room. Our two year old granddaughter h [... read more]ad some shoes stolen from our room. We reported this to reception and were made to feel it was our fault for and no followup was done by them. Our daughter had to retreive the shoes by herself from the housekeeping staff. At no time were we offered any compensation for our inconvience. We had had a great vacation until this incident which ooccured on the last two days of our stay.

Great resort

Very clean, friendly staff, great food. Beach seems to be in a sheltered cove, so it's calmer than you might expect. Pools sparkling and hardly used. A la cartes very good. Rooms very modern in the newer part.

Nice Resort

The beach area is small and the ocean floor has many rocks. This area is good for snorkeling. The adult pool (when it is not full of children is very quiet and relaxing) We stayed on the quiet side of the resort which is the Plus Side. The A lacart Restaurants were very good. The staff were wonderul and the rooms were very clean.

Nice place

very friendly staff and the grounds are well maintained. Ocean great but better washroom facilities would be highly recommended. Would definitely recommend the room upgrade if you are going to this resort.

We enjoyed our stay

Our family enjoyed our stay. Something for everyone. Beach and chair availability were good. Snorkeling & diving right off the shore. Resort was clean and well maintained, staff were warm and friendly

The resort provides everything that they advertise

The grounds, rooms and public areas are clean and well maintained. I usually find the music for the shows way too loud but we asked for a room away from the bandstand and it worked out. The five minute walk was worth it

Great Value - Very Few Disappointments

Blau Costa Verde was very clean and everything we requested was immediately provided. The beach is beautiful and you can snorkel close to the resort (don't forget to bring your own gear - and, water shoes). We enjoyed going for sailing trips almost every day (make sure you book early so you get a spot and do it soon after you arrive because the weather can create a road-block to getting out on the water). Definitely book on the 'plus side' if you want a quieter experience - and check out the VIP [... read more] lounge which is part of that package and includes a much classier bar than the main-stream one.

Had a great time

The hotel rooms need an upgrade. Water leaked from the ceiling on the way to the washrooms by the reception area. Bar service in the lobby is good and timely. Food was good, delicious fish, great service if you tip.

One of my best vacations ever!

The hotel was clean and always trying to get better. Friendly staff and always helpful, They don't try to nickel and dime you to death. For example I lost my key card 3 times and they gladly replaced it, with no charge! To all who complain about the food, I am a professional chef with 30 years in the business and although the beef was a little tough it was all very tasty, fresh and a good variety. The only exception was the 24 hour snack bar, but let's face it at 3 in the morning choices are goi [... read more]ng to be limited and might not be the best but your probably not making positive choices at that time anyway, lol. The ala carte restaurant food was wonderful. Delightful and delicious! The cuban people are what make the vacation exceptional go for a stroll off the resort and take some stuff to give away, we took work gloves, candy, school supplies, lipstick, mascara, geometry sets, sun glasses and some other bits of Canadian stuff. I have never seen more gratitude and wonderful responses from a people in my life. We were invited to a Party at a Cuban locals home where the neighborhood used probably most of their rations to throw a party and Dinner for us it was heartwarming to see such a genuine and honest caring people. The beach was clean and white sand the consistency of flour, The water was warm and beautiful turquoise blue. No one on the beach trying to sell you stuff. at the public or private beach. The only downfall was the public toilets, because the island has no plastic factory toilet seats are rare (not at the resort they had nice washrooms) just in public toilets. Take your own toilet paper as there is about a 100 percent chance of no paper in the bathrooms. A special shout out to the front desk staff who had to deal with two canceled flights and had to find room for a huge amount of unexpected guests. They were professional and quick. Yurizan from the swim up bar amazing job! G man( Gary) awesome job! Mikael from the cigar shack, great job! The entertainment at night was professional and entertaining, they had real bands and shows by real entertainers, Most resorts I've been to have cheesy entertainment not so at the Blau Coste verde. A few of my friends had some issues with mosquitoes but they were selective as I didn't get one bite my entire stay go figure, so as a precaution bring some bug spray (good advice on any holiday)

Attractive resort

We enjoyed the variety of restaurants. The food was good, buffet usually included lots of variety, attractively presented. We particularly liked bar near the pool, and the restaurant near the beach. The pool area is very appealing with lots of loungers and shady spots. The landscaping generally is very appealing. The beach is nice, though usually rather crowded. We loved being able to snorkel off the beach. Staff are friendly and helpful, though lineups (to book restaurants etc) can be long and  [... read more]slow, and information re. opening times was inaccurate or contradictory at times. Beware of rooms around the atrium area; they can be very noisy in the evenings. Rooms are large, pleasant and very clean, and our request for a mattress topper (to help with a hip problem; the beds are very firm!) was very promptly anwered with a super comfy foam pad on the bed.

Good times!

Good food, friendly staff and tasty drinks...very relaxing. Beach was a bit rocky and littered with debris. Room was clean and tidy. Plus side of this resort was well worth it. Enjoyed the VIP bar and a la cartels.

Beautiful Solo getaway

I went on this trip Solo, and had a great time and met great people. Beautiful people (as always in Cuba). Cuba, regardless of the region, is always a delight to visit. If you are looking for tranquil time and/or good laughs with fresh faces, this country is the place to be. This was the first time at this resort and I would revisit. As I was Solo, the security on this resort surpassed my expectations. Taking walks in the evenings were very pleasurable and relaxing.

Great staff, great layout

we really enjoyed our week long stay at Blau Costa Verde, the layout was such that most amenities were close by. we loved the piano bar, the little impromptu entertainment sessions, the staff who were walking around looking how to help us, the staff could not do enough for us and grounds were such that it was a pleasure to just walk around and look at the scenery. i would rate the service a 5 star operation. will go back for sure next year.

Amazing time!!

We really enjoyed our time at this resort...we upgraded to the newer plus side for a reasonable fee. Totatlly worth it! The food, drinks, pools and room were all great. Cuba standards are always assumed to be lower than else where but we found this resort to be very mondern and the staff to be very easy to work with. We went as a family of 4 and found that our upgraded room more than met our needs. We stayed during the third week of December and the weather was fantastic!

Great staff fun atmosphere!

The resort needed upgrading and redecorating for sure, but the staff was amazing. although the decor was tired looking, it was clean. There was lots to do and the beach and pools were awesome. Food was bland as is usually the case in Cuba.

Returning customer -- Love this place

People who work at this resort are amazing!! Always full of returning customers which speaks volumes. Beach is great! Disco is a ton of fun! Less than an hour from airport. I will definetely come back again

First vacation of my life couldn't have been any

Really loved this resort, the people and staff where super friendly. The food was great and so was the accommodation's. Already planning to come back next year. Would recommend Blau Costa Verda to everyone. Thanks for an awesome vacation.

A Wonderful Week At Blau Costa Verde

We were a group of 6 friends who stayed at Blau Costa Verde during the last week of October on a Hola Sun vacation. The Cubana flight was very basic (no movies), but a small meal was served in flight and a couple of the male attendants were having a wonderful time with the passengers and their dancing in the aisle was the best in-flight entertainment we've had in a while! There was a significant wait to check in upon arrival at Blau Costa Verde, mostly due to a couple of groups of difficult tra [... read more]vellers who questioned every little thing the desk clerks did. The hotel itself is one of the nicer ones we've stayed in in Cuba – note that it is worth every cent to upgrade to the Plus section. Our block of rooms (buildings 16 & 17) was very close to the Plus section pool with pool bar as well as the beach and a cute little ranchon restaurant. The Plus rooms were superior by Cuban standards, notably, a glass shower with plenty of water pressure and hot water, air conditioners that worked well and a comfortable bed. Housekeeping, as we've always found in Cuba, was outstanding. The hotel staff were outstanding from Adam in the VIP bar who juggled bottles of rum for us to lovely Sonnelly who went out of her way to help us every time we asked. It seemed that the staff all had a high level of training in English so communication was easy. The buffet food was so-so being served in an outdoor restaurant temporarily until the indoor buffet renovations are completed, however the a la carte meals were much better and well worth booking (as Plus patrons we got 4 a la cartes each). The only room for improvement would be repairing/replacing the public washroom locks throughout the complex, adding staff to keep the washrooms clean during busy times, repairing all of the balcony locks (none of ours worked properly), and adding screening or netting to the buffet stations to keep the flies and birds off the food. We would definitely return to this hotel to stay in the Plus section again.