"ok"

It was nice to get away with my wife. I would have rather spent more money and gone somewhere else. No need for me to comment, just read through trip advisor. A lot of the negative ones are spot on. Resort is a 3 Star in a global context. Maybe a 4 for Cuba, not their fault. Economically they are getting the shaft and it shows.

Extremely disappointing!

We were under the impression we were booking a 4.5 stars resort. This resort is a far cry from that. It is barely a 3. Restaurants were continuously running out of items from their menu ( down to butter for your bread and orange juice for breakfast and so on). And what was served was either very bland, over cooked ( charred lobster tails) and most of the time cold. Our rooms were musty smelling ant the patio door did not lock...we were on the ground floor. There was not enough chairs at the poo [... read more]l, people were smoking in the pool and they would run out of dry towels daily. Some staff were quite friendly but many made you feel like you were bothering them. Washrooms in common area would run out of toilet paper regularly and the hand dryers broken...never any paper towels. Cappuccino machine was broken in main lobby, air conditioning in piano bar was also broken and the draft machine at the pool also broke. The only positive I can give is the entertainment at night was decent. My advice is stay away from this resort!!!

Very disappointing

The food, the service and the attitude of the employees is terrible. Many things were broken (shower head, patio door didn’t lock...) Many food items from menus were unavailable. Lots of cross contamination in buffet ie: same spoon for many dishes, no serving utensils for tomatoes and lettuce so people used their hands. Employees seldomly smiled and seemed offended when we complained about the service. Restaurant service was extremely slow ( 45 minutes for a sandwich) . They seemed to be under [... read more] staffed. Rooms and grounds were adequate. Entertainment was very good.

15th Anniversary

Disappointed! We’ve been in Cuba 4times and we always stayed 3 to 4 star resort overall we don’t have any issues we always been a happy campers. But since my husband and I celebrated our 15th anniversary we decided to pick 5 star resort for change so we have high expectation but turned out into a big disappointment. First of all, front desk are not so informative., lack of direction. NO bellboy to assess us, NO elevator access on anywhere. Buffet service was okay. Grill section always long  [... read more]line up always run out of something, lack of serving utensils. But the good news buffet staff are very friendly and helpful. Bar lobby was okay if you’re not a smoker avoid hang out on the lobby area. Pool area was great but daily activities sucks it’s good for senior citizens. Nightly entertainment sucks! Only one night show was good out of 7nights of stay. Beach was BEAUTIFUL but lots of seaweeds that’s acceptable. Notice the sandbar was high plus bush trees grew along the sandbar so block the ocean view. Overall I’ll rated this resort 3.5 out 5 star. Not going back and also not highly recommended.

Wonderful atmosphere!

We had a wonderful time at PPDM! The service was great, the food was high quality, and the resort itself was stunning. Would definitely recommend this hotel and we will definitely be back in the future! Luis David and Alejandro from the Piano bar were excellent servers and made our stay even better. Thanks for a wonderful vacation! Rachel Cvecich and Andrew Hendry

Mediocre resort

Grounds were well taken care of. Rooms were large enough but lacking facecloth, paper, pen, water. Cleanliness was satisfactory. Food was barely satisfactory; many food items not available, even when offered on the menu. Pool area had very limited number of chairs. Outdoor entertainment was very good.

Terrible resort

this was definately not a 5 star resort as advertised, service was terrible, we have been to cuba 7 times I n the last 12 years, and had great service but not at this resort, they only stocked the roomfridge if you put money in the fridge, coffee maker in the room; but they do nt supply coffee, we talked to several people who wont go back , it was advertised with 2 hot tubs, neither worked at all the whole week, they ran out of food every day at the 24 hour restaurant, buffet was the same every [... read more] day, no international drinks as advertised, so many wait staff didn't speak English and when we went to change money, they would only give 5 or 10s, no 1s or 3s, it was like it was on purpose so tips would be bigger. so no never going back to this resort , the best thing was the beach and weather, but we had that in jamaica in January plus great food, great accommodations, great service and only a couple hundred dollars more.

Big disappointment

We were so excited about this trip but when we arrived it was one thing after the next. The rooms smelled real bad, our patio doors did not lock and we were on the ground floor. We had to practically beg for bottled water, they did not give face cloths unless we asked, the restaurant staff were cranky and would roll their eyes if we questioned our food, one waiter gave us shit because we wondered why it took 25 minutes to get our drinks, he said whats the rush...your on holidays! The food was [... read more] aweful to say the least. Our lobster dinner that we had to pay for came to us burned to a crisp, it was black and they said it was because the regular chef was not there! There were no designated areas for smoking so we were surrounded with cigarette and cigars at all times, there was no escaping it. This hotel should be rated 2 or 3 at best.

Amazing vacation!

The hotel - the personnel is good. Food is good (am I am very picky). The rooms would need a bit of love, but its fine, its Cuba! Weather was amazing too. The resort is quiet. If you want to party, its definitely not the place! Beach is clean, pool is nice too but some tiles missing (its cleaned everyday). You need to pay for the wifi and there is only wifi in the hall. Overall, the hotel is very nice and i would go back!

Disappointment, Not a 4 Star Hotel

Stayed at Main Resort, not Royal Service Area. Room was clean, but very "tired". Bead spread looked like it has probably been there since the resort was built. Used hockey tape to plug holes at top of sliding door. That seemed to keep the mosquitos out of the room. No water delivered to room on two occasions. Calls to the front desk did not help. Left two bath towels in tub for exchange, one was finally replaced two days later after another call to the front desk. Always long line-ups fo [... read more]r sub-standard (even by Cuba standards) food in main dining area. The folks at the Snack Bar did the best they could with the limited supplies available to them (ran out of beer twice). For some reason, there were never Single Pesos available at the money exchange. The grounds were very well groomed, and the beach itself was excellent. However, if you weren't at the beach reserving a chair by 7:00 AM, you wouldn't necessarily get a good spot or a lounger that wasn't more of a hammock than a lounger. General attitude of staff was one of indifference. Did not feel overly welcome at any of the bars or serving areas. Have been to various other resorts in Cuba over the last 12 years, and this was by far my worst experience. For the money, it definitely was not worth it.

What a great time!

The hotel was great and the staff was very accommodating. We loved the area that was offered through the Royal Service and appreciated the ability to shuttle around the property. The beach and the pool were awesome!

Still Favourite...needs improvement

The grounds the hotel and the beach are wonderful. The staff is over the top excellent in most cases. A special shout out to Aida in customer service as well as Rueben. Dayleen at the Carribean lunch bar and her whole team excellent. The main buffet was extremely disorganized and inconsistent service. Some of the restaurant are not what they used to be either. Yes in part due to some embargo issues from the US as one key staff person told us. However they can still improve what they can contro [... read more]l... Too many things to mention and I believe that the new management will fix and bring quality experience all across the resort again. We will return.

Not recommended

The grounds are very well kept and attractive. The beach offers a long stretch for walking. That's the good part. The staff spoke poor English. Generally the room were not serviced until 3 or 4 o'clock in the afternoon - the staff seem very slow. Food - while there is lots of choice the hot food was often cold - ie. a pan of french fries might be brought out and put on a hot plate but they were cold. Hygiene was poor ie. tongs would be handled by many people. The swimming pools are shallo [... read more]w - possibly a safety feature. There were hardly any comfortable chairs to sit in in shady areas. The loungers were not comfortable.. . .

Good Reaort

Beach was amazing and clean. Kept clean and well maintained facilities and pool. Friendly and polite staff. Pool could of been a little warmer. Staff was friendly and accommodating to requests. Could of improved on the entertainment. On morning of departure there was no food available prior to us leaving even though it was promised!! However, all in all a pretty good resort!

We will come back!

Good value for the money. Nice room,beautiful beach and food...... we survived. Japanese restaurant was fun and our favorite. We just love Cuba. The beach had plenty of room and loungers so you didn't need to get there too early to get a spot. The 24 hr sports bar was handy for food and drinks.

Excellent service from staff!

Very clean excellent butler named Odalyis. She took care of us by getting us al a carte reservations Don't remember every having to line up for a drink We arrived on the first night and two single beds had been put together and the lever for the air conditioning was broken and we were away from the Royal Service area. We were accomodated, immediately the next day with a room right across from the Royal Service lobby and pools, with an oceanview room and could pick up the free wifi from the  [... read more]outside balcony! Only one negative happened, I got sick during the week and I believe that it was at the main buffet, because the smoked salmon was not kept cold enough

A GREAT GETAWAY!

There were many parts of the hotel that were outstanding - the staff, drinks on the beach, great room with a view of the ocean, piano bar, room service meals, the Sakura restaurant and the racquet coffee bar. A few hiccups at the resort were the Rock House restaurant - one of the worst meals we ever experienced at a resort. Our other disappointment was not having any hot water for 4 days in our room. We would come back to the resort for sure, with hopes they can fix the hot water!

Excellent resort!

The grounds are beautiful and very clean. The hotel staff are friendly and always willing to lend a hand and help out. The room was spacious, clean and the air conditioning worked very well. The piano bar was a big hit with our group of four! We sang along to tunes from the 60’s, 70’s, 80’s, 90’s and 2000’s two nights during the week. The beach is absolutely breathtaking and the water is clear blue and safe. The beach bar is fantastic and the drinks are always flowing. We canno [... read more]t wait to return to the Paradisus Princesa! Thank you Tripcentral!

Beyond amazing resort and staff

We have been guests at Princess Del Mar on 5 occasions (three times at the main resort and twice at the Royal Service) and have found the resort to be a fantastic, beautiful and a well maintained place to vacation. The food is above par for Cuba and even a few other country's we've been to, as there is an abundance of selection with many options to have the food cooked to your preference. The beach area is large with lots of lounge chairs and umbrellas. We have found the staff to be professio [... read more]nal and helpful (especially on the Royal Service portion of the resort). Clean up from the recent storm was amazing and they seem to be always continuing to improve various aspects of the resort. Nightly entertainment is always fun, varied and well planned. Overall we would definitely give this resort a five star rating. The only suggestions we would have are that they would add a few more umbrellas for the pool area and that they designate a smoking area which is away from the common areas such as the bar, food, beach and pool. That way non smokers and people with breathing issues could enjoy these areas without having to move. We don't wish to impede on their rights, but I believe we also have some too.

A pleasant place

The resort is all-inclusive, and is a good option for those wanting a worry-free vacation. You can choose to lay by the pool or on the beach. At the beach, you can enjoy some pleasurable free water sports. The food is mediocre; however, the specialty restaurants are really very good. You can take the local double-deck bus into the small town of Varadero, and enjoy the limited shopping and quaint cafes. For a truly Cuban experience though you should plan on spending an extra week in Havana.