JOIA Bavaro by Iberostar: First timers at Iberostar

My girlfriend and I went on a long over due vacation at the Iberostar Grand Bavaro. I had big expectations for our hotel ,and I can honestly say that they were all met. We love the beach and when your rolling with Iberostar Grand the beach is ALWAYS clean (no see weed or debris). The servers and bartenders were always nice a came around the beach pretty frequently, make sure you find Manuel he was always singing and in a good mood.As foodies we are picky eaters and expect great service and they  [... read more]had it! The a-la-cart restaurant are all very very good. Drinks were always strong and in generous quantity. I know for some people they might find it expensive,I honestly believe it was worth every penny.

Iberostar Selection Bavaro Suites: Great vacation!!

We had a great stay. The staff was extremely friendly and accommodating. We requested a room change to have more space and they easily accommodated our request. The beach was awesome. Food was good. We really enjoyed the option for frequent a la carte dining

Iberostar Waves Costa Dorada: 100% wheelchair accessible!!

This hotel is 100 percent wheelchair accessible and the staff are very helpful and go out of their way to ensure your stay is stress free and enjoyable! I travel with my friend who is a quadriplegic and uses an electric wheelchair and we had absolutely no issues with this resort. The resort is all on level ground and there is also a board walk that allows a wheelchair to go up to the ocean! The food is to die for and the entertainment is very good! We are definitely going to return to this resor [... read more]t and strongly recommend this resort to anyone who is looking for a wheelchair friendly resort!

Grand Memories Cayo Largo: Had a nice time

We booked an upstairs bungalow facing the ocean. If you stay on the main level, the ocean view is not ocean view because there is a berm blocking the view of the water. The room was very simple but clean and did not have a musty smell, much to my relief. The washrooms could use updating, but also clean. The grounds are clean. The beach is a narrow strip a 10 minute walk from the resort. There is no beach right at the resort. For free, you can catch a shuttle and boat to Sirena and Paradise  [... read more]Beaches which were beautiful. For 2 CUC each, you can get beach chairs and an umbrella plus beer service for 2 CUC each. The starfish and the color of the sand and water were beautiful. The pool is a simple round shape and could use some repair, but good for cooling off. The food, as others have mentioned, is not great, although we were able to find a few things that were a bit better by the end of the week. There was no water for short periods and on our last day there was none for our shower. I was grateful that we had water for most of the week! Most of the staff were friendly and helpful but seemed tired. If you want a cheaper vacation in the sun with access to a beautiful beach that is not built up and busy, and aren't expecting too much, this may be the resort you're looking for. We met many people who have returned more than once for this reason. The resort is shutting down for 6 months for renovations, so may mean some good improvements in the future.

Iberostar Origin Laguna Azul: Resort was excellent

The resort was excellent. This is probably one of the better places I have personally stayed at in Cuba, during my six trips. The bathrooms were nice and clean, the room was very spacious and we upgraded to an ocean view, which was more like a pool view but it was really nice anyway. The food was also as good as food in Cuba can be. The restaurants were disappointing. After one reservation we wanted to cancel the other reservations but went a second time as well which turned out slightly be [... read more]tter but other than being served was probably same or lesser quality food than the buffet. Surprisingly there were some sauces to flavour the food. I had brought my own hot sauce but didn't end up having to use it. Overall nice resort, good food for Cuba and would definitely recommend it. Thanks to Michelle who helped me book it and helped me to choose this one over Iberostar Varadero. Payam

Iberostar Waves Costa Dorada: Fantastic Spa

I loved the Paradise Island excursion. It was a beautiful beach and the staff were great. I had the best massage ever and would highly recommend it. The view of the beach at the resort was beautiful. The rooms could use some updating.

Iberostar Waves Costa Dorada: Wonderful Resort

The Iberostar Costa Dorada had one of the best layouts we have ever seen at a resort. Everything was so close. The beach is practically beside the pool. Check in was very easy, although you cannot check into your room until 3:00 pm however, the resort gives you a beach towel and a changing room to continue on with your day. The rooms were very clean and spacious. The buffet always had something to offer everyone. The Japanese restaurant was superb. The grounds are immaculate and  [... read more]the resort workers were very friendly. We did tip (in American dollars) and although not necessary it was very welcomed. One worker didn't even want to take my tip but I insisted. It was only a $1. The only drawback was the extreme wind on the beach which meant the red flag was up and we were not allowed to swim in the ocean the majority of the time we were there. Not sure if the high winds is the norm or just the time of year we were there. Also, during the Easter weekend the pool was extremely packed. It appears Dominicans traditionally visit the resorts for the Easter Weekend. It was a very busy weekend , it seemed like the resort was over capacity. Beach was nice, but not as nice as Cuban beaches. There were two areas, one side with huts and the other side there were trees that provided shade which added to the beach experience. Lounge chairs were easy to find both at the beach and pool. If you wanted a to sit in a specific area, there were always chairs available. Never been to a resort that had so many lounge chairs.

Iberostar Origin Daiquiri: Not a good experience

The service was poor. The beach wasn't what we were expecting. The food was below average. There were a lot of cockroaches everywhere. We always lower our expectations when traveling to Cuba. We have been south around 20 times and also to this area. However this was probably the worst resort we have been too. We aren't ones to complain about things. However we would never return. Having stayed at 3 other Iberostars in the past (Rose Hall Jamaica, Iberostar Dominicana, and Iberostar Grand P [... read more]unta Cana) we expected more and will likely not be staying at an Iberostar property again.

Iberostar Origin Laguna Azul: Hit and miss

Pros: beautiful beach with lots of room (sand) and plenty of shade. Even if you arrived around 10 a.m Food: flavorful and quite the variety Beautiful country Ability to truly relax Feel very safew travelling off resort. Cons Resort quite large and maybe not enough staff Bathroom a bit inconvenient if you spend your time at beach. Closest one by pool and it was out of service our entire week as were other washrooms on resort. Bathrooms other than in your room often lacked toilet pa [... read more]per, soap or paper towel so make sure you bring plenty of packs of tissue and hand sanitizer. Our room had issues, first toilet didn't flush and then once it was fixed, it would constantly rUn once fixed. It took 2 more days for that to get fixed. Safe was closed when we arrived but they were quick to send someone up to open. Downfall was you had to be in room when they opened safe even though we hadn't put anything in it. Bar fridge didn't work, took 4 days before it was fixed. Overall lots of small things needing repairs for example locks on bathroom stalls Need to remember supplies are limited and countries standards are a bit lower than ours.

Iberostar Origin Laguna Azul: Beautiful resort

The Iberostar is absolutely beautiful. The lobby is big extending to an outside deck overlooking the pool area. The grounds are well kept, 4 nice pools and delicious drinks and coffee. The sand is a bit coarse which I didn't enjoy much but still a nice beach with lots and lots of umbrellas. The food is good but repetitive. I would go back to this resort.

Iberostar Origin Laguna Azul: Amazing resort

This resort was beautiful. The layout of this resort is great. The staff very friendly. And very helpful. A lot of stuff going on at this resort. Beach was beautiful. Nightly shows every night. The only down point was that the food in buffet didn't change much at night time. You would think they would have salad every night. Which they only had it one night. Sometimes the food wasn't that hot. Which it should be. A la carte were really good.

Iberostar Selection Ensenachos: Fair resort but would not go back...sorry....

Hi Judy....To be honest with you we were not impressed with this resort. I wish we knew that smoking was allowed everywhere on the premises. Not happy about the 1 and a half hour bus ride from airport to the resort.(We were not informed about this) Two full days of travelling took away from our vacation.Check in time is not until 4 PM. The washrooms were continually flooding and the faucets were coming right off of the units in the sinks. The resort is run down and not very sanitary. The foo [... read more]d was so so....not great not terrible. Entertainment was a disaster in the evening. I know these people try but they need professional people in there to help get the resort back on its feet again. At this point we would never go back to Cuba again. Also our room was at least half a km from the front lobby and no one informed us that a trolley would take our bags to the villa, so here we are 70 and 71 years of age and dragging our bags all the way to our villa and then to discover a long flight of stairs up to our suite.very upset...

Grand Memories Cayo Largo: OK resort

The hotel room was fine, clean and the beds were comfortable. We were grateful the air conditioning and water worked fine, however our neighbours had no water one day and had to shower in the adjacent building. We had only one night when the toilets did not flush and the water ran out. The grounds were a bit boring, I am used to seeing lots of flowers and flowering shrubs after being to Cayo Santa Maria...the beach was non-existent in front of the hotel we needed to walk 10 minutes to the only [... read more] one with sand and large waves, We could not swim but spent time nevertheless by the ocean walking. I highly recommend taking the bus to the marina and then taking the free boat ride to Playa Serena--that beach was awesome. The food was worse than in other locations in Cuba.I will definitely not go back.

Grand Memories Cayo Largo: Our 13th lucky vacation

We stayed from April 8 to 22 2017. We had a great time. The staff is extremely friendly and helpful. The rooms are comfortable. The food does not have a great variety but that could be because of the late timing of the visit. You can always find something good to eat. We had turkey, pork and lamb. The food is not always hot. This resort will be closing for 7 months so that it can be refurbished and modernized. It should be open again in December.

Iberostar Origin Laguna Azul: Amazing resort!!

For Cuba...food was great, entertainment was fabulous and the accommodations were comfortable and clean. Only complaint was service in lobby bar. Very slow and not engaging with customer. Otherwise, a great vacation and I will return

Iberostar Origin Playa Alameda: Decent resort for Cuba

This resort is overall just okay. It was my first time travelling to Cuba so I wasn't expecting the best as far as food went. But as far as grounds and room go it's just okay as well.. Im not super picky but my room was an upgraded room so they said.. Did have new upgrades but they didn't work so well...dim led lights in bathroom couldn't even shave properly.. the shower had a massive fancy shower head that only trickled out water when u tilted it on a strong enough angle.. water leaking out o [... read more]f a wall in the living area, couple things from the buffet gave me the runs. This resort is smaller and the pool is small too with no swim up bar. Regardless to say we are a young couple 25 and 28 and even though everyone there was older 45-70 unless it was a teenager with their family we still were going to make the best of it and we're having a decent time until we had our meeting with he tour rep and heard people complaining heavily about the rooms and everything and they demanded to switch hotels so we said we wouldn't mind doing the same thing if possible, which is what we did, switched to Iberostar Laguna Azul went from a 3* to a 5* in my opinion with everything food, resort, entertainment, crowds of people. Personally I would never come here again but for older people who like a quiet resort with no entertainment this may be an option for them.

Iberostar Selection Ensenachos: Fabulous Resort!!!

Grounds, dining areas, rooms, public areas all met our expectations. The kids had a great time at the Kids Club and loved the Kids Waterpark area. Both beaches were amazing and above our expectation. The Ensenachos Beach was breath taking (like a picture on a postcard). We would highly recommend anyone thinking of going to Cuba to stay at this resort.

Iberostar Waves Paraiso Beach: Beautiful grounds, friendly staff, relaxed atmosphere

We stayed at Iberostar Paraiso Beach for a week coming a couple of days before the Easter weekend. The resort is huge and the grounds are beautiful - like tropical gardens but with lots of wildlife - some like coatis are native to the area others like pink flamingos or peacocks are brought to be used as part of the decoration :) they seemed quite appropriate though :) We even spotted a couple of toucans :) It's actually several hotels under the same brand name - each one in a different price [... read more] category - I think 5 in total ranging from the budget Del Mar to the exclusive adult only Grand Paraiso. We walked around the neighboring Paraiso Lindo and Paraiso Maya in the evenings (the lobby bar of Maya is a replica of Chichen Itza pyramid with replicas of Chaac Mool and I think Mayan calendar - very impressive). Some reviews complained about the size of the resort in the sense that it requires lots of walking - we were actually glad we could walk off the calories :) Those who prefer transportation to walking can actually use the hotel golf cart service running between lobbies and the beach which is very efficient. The rooms are super clean and in good condition. We asked for an upgrade to superior rooms and were upgraded without spending an extra cent. My understanding is the staff will always upgrade you if the superior rooms are available - just ask. The mattress was good - the pillows were adequate. My only complaint is the loud air-conditioner :) Some reviews complained about okay food. I disagree - the selection of food in the buffet up by the lobby is plentiful and the quality was at par with other resorts we stayed at. We ate at 3 A la carte restaurants - our favorite for food was Mediterranean (fish was very good - crusty outside and juicy inside and the cake we ordered to celebrate a birthday was light and delicious). We like the Japanese restaurant for the atmosphere - nice show - the food was ok. Brazilian was just ok - would skip that one. We liked the lobby bar for the atmosphere - the bartenders are amazing! The selection of drinks was adequate for a resort of this caliber. Ask the bartender for premium tequilas - they will gladly accommodate you. On some days there was live music in the lobby bar - on other days there was a DJ. Some DJ and live bands were actually very good since the dance floor was crowded :) I would prefer more live bands though if my opinion counts :) Some reviews complained about watered down drinks - bartenders actually asked me if I preferred my cocktails stronger - when they mixed me strong ones - these ones didn't seem watered down at all :) The beach is very good - seaweed didn't bother me at all - nor the rocky areas since we found spots to get to the sea between the rocks :) The only complaint is we had big waves all the seven days - I am wondering if it's because of the wind direction this time of the year or because the shore is not protected by the reef in this area. We went to Cozumel to Chankanaab Marine Park to snorkel - Cozumel is opposite Playa Del Carmen - and indeed the water was super calm - no waves. Trip to Cozumel was actually easy to organize by ourselves: the shuttle from the hotel (5$) takes you to Playa Del Carmen - then 10 min walk along Quinta Avenida takes you to the pier from where the ferry (10$ both ways) takes you to Cozumel from where a taxi (15$) takes you to Chankanaab Marine Park :) The hotel also offers a 1.5 hour trip to a local reef but we didn't do it so I cannot compare the local reef with Chankanaab. Overall this is a nice resort and I will definitely travel to another Iberostar resort.

Iberostar Origin Laguna Azul: Laguna azul iberostar Cuba

The hotel lobby was great very clean and well serviced staff , the room were cleaned on time and kept very neat. I would add the beds were rather hard and blankets could be upgraded .Bathrooms around the resort did however lack toilet paper even in the women's washrooms and male washrooms were often closed for unknown reasons making the female washrooms unisex. The food was great just harder to access the buffet when the hotel was fully booked which it was , I'd say more walking room is needed i [... read more]n between the buffet sections. The pool areas were all great and the snack bars were a reliable source of drink and food during the day. There is a real lack of washrooms in between the hotel and the beach , as a male I got by but I think females would find this a problem. The night life at Laguna azul is probably better then most resorts , the entertainment night shows were well put together and worth seeing every night. The a la carts had great service and food. The staff overall at Laguna was very friendly even if you didn't tip them every single time you seen them. I can't say I'd go back mainly only because I don't like going to same place twice for all inclusive however I would recommend it to anyone going to Cuba 🇨🇺

Iberostar Waves Rose Hall Beach: Awesome resort & staff

Being in the hospitality industry for over 26 years I would only give an honest true review unlike many guests out there who like to over exaggerate their imperfect experience. This scares the hell out of me when I've booked a resort and start reading horror stories and actually end up with an amazing place. I have travelled to many places in the Caribbean and I would have to say this hotel was exceptionally clean and well taken care of in every area. We were 9 people for a Bachelorette party [... read more] and everyone was impressed. Usually the washrooms by the beach and pool can be a bit dingy and unkept because of all the sand etc. NOT this hotel!! The service was IMPRESSIVE! I have to say, out of every resort I have been too Iberostar Rose Hall was #1 for fast friendly service! I was blown away, this made our trip so great:) The food was amazing as well and I'm a very picky eater. I hope you read this review and know it's a 100% honest review :) Happy travels and checkout the Iberostar anywhere because they have built an amazing brand with even better staff!