Tryp Cayo Coco: Great Resort

Great location, friendly staff, food selection was excellent considering what Cuba is undergoing. Rooms were cleaned and serviced everyday. Beach was phenomenal- early in season so crowds were at a minimum. Would go back in a heart beat!

Memories Caribe Beach Resort: Too many issues

The positives: 1) Weather, 2) Beach and 3) Staff; The negatives: 1)Bugs - flies and mosquitos; 2) Moldy rooms; 3) Useless A/C (hence moldy rooms); 4)Food is very repetitive, and covered in flies; 5) Drinks/Koolaid (as expected); In regards to rooms, some people seem to have ok rooms, but the basic older rooms were awful. It was like sleeping in a cave with feeling of moisture everywhere. The resort looks very pretty and on the outside looks ok, but we likely won't return. I think  [... read more]many of the bugs and dampness issues are result of building the hotel on marshy swamp land. Recommendation if you do go, upgrade your room, it's more important than upgrading to the "Diamond Club".

Iberostar Origin Playa Alameda: Unforgettable experience

The resort is located in a beautiful area. The rooms are large and kept clean. The staff are extremely friendly and helpful. The room service was good but didn’t speak English. Would recommend this resort.

Paradisus Rio De Oro: Very nice

This was our first time to this resort, we typically go to another resort near by. We met Amelia and she went above and beyond to give us an exceptional experience. Rooms and food very good, the chef in the buffet at the meat/fish station was very good - LOVED the hamburgers he made. The downfall to the resort would be the beach - it is a little small and has limited area that people enter the water at. Majority of the days was rough and therefore we did not have that beautiful clear blue wat [... read more]er that we typically have at the other resort. It is very nice if you would like a quiet resort to go to.

Iberostar Origin Laguna Azul: Resort needs some TLC & Repair

Hotel staff where wonderful, friendly & helpful! The Resort itself needs some improvements. Bar pool was emptied on day 3 which was not a big deal for us however it was in need of repair due to tiles missing. The pool will be at least a month down for repair. While the main pool was under repair the secondary pool was then the main pool. It has missing tiles and most ladders where also in need of repair. You just have to be careful where to walk and to watch where you get out of the pool to mak [... read more]e sure the ladder is safe. There was a shortage of white wine in most places on the resort. I believe there was a shortage of things to Cuba as food was limited. Ala Carte's were better than the buffet. We changed rooms after the first night due to safe not working, no remote, toilet not working properly, and phone not working and no towels. Our second room was suitable. The maid staff did a wonderful job of cleaning our room and always helpful and friendly. For a beach towel you will need to use your credit card for $10 USA & when you return the beach towel you will be re-imbursed the money. (This is a first for me) The beach area in the water has rocks which can hurt or cut you if the waves take you. You had to be very careful. I am not sure if the hotel was short staffed as there are very few servers, however the staff that did come around where again friendly and helpful. This is not a hotel that I would recommend, but we did have a good time regardless.

Starfish Cuatro Palmas: Very nice resort

I would recommend you book a room in the hotel away from the avenue. I was put onto a room across the avenue right beside the discos that were open until 3am. When we asked to change rooms the draft directed me to speak with sunwing as it was not their responsibility. I found the staff not very helpful, when I arrived we asked if we could get a sandwich as the buffet was closed. The staff informed us they had nothing like that available in the hotel, i found out three days later from a guest wh [... read more]o was off to get a hamburger that the hotel has a 24 hour snack bar. There were no signs in the hotel letting guest know about all of the ammentitues in the hotel. (Ie) 24 hour snack bar, al-a-carte resturants, gym etc. Be careful about what you read on this hotel on trip adviser, they have an aggressive manager asking guest to fill out a review on the hotel, he would then rewrite your comments to what he would most likely for people see. I had no problem withbthe food in the buffet, mostly chicken, fish, pork and some beef, with a nice spaghetti bar. It is my second time at this hotel and I like it for it's location, centre of the peninsula and walking around varadero, good beach also. However I find varadero is very north Americanized. its appearance and getting more like any city in canada. Lots of shops and discos.

Valentin El Patriarca Varadero: Loved it

What a great resort! The staff and the beach were both amazing.! Even the food was great! We were not expecting much in the way of food since we knew Cuba was suffering from shortages. However, that wasn’t the case at all. This resort allows unlimited à la carts… And they were awesome.! We will be back forsure. We have been to Cuba probably 15 times and this resort might be our favourite.

Royalton Hicacos Resort and Spa: Nice resort with some cautionary on currency

Overall it was a nice resort. I'll outline the good and the negative sides: Intro to all guests with a glass of sangria The jr. Suite, very nice size, no need for diamond club...but i needed a additional plug attachment for my flat iron which maid gave me for the week Grounds very well kept, very nice staff, all workers were friendly and helpful, Raul at the buffet was awesome amazing work ethic, Beach was beautiful but 2 days were overcast and rough water waves. But 3 1/2 days were  [... read more]amazing sunny 29 degree beach weather. Buffet very good for Cuba Had crepes, papaya, guava lots of salad and good seafood. Pasta i did not like. No lemons, no oatmeal or fibre cereals, or fibre breads, and no heinz ketchup. The Peso and currency issue They try to sell you peso on the bus to hotel, which is not a deal All i can say is buy peso small amount at a time at resort ... use it for tips at buffet, restaurants, maid and beach staff ...most important deal in your own currency Canadian. Every place like the market hotel restauants all have varied rates on peso ...no consistency with the .peso ..as the peso is worth nothing outside of cuba, so only use it for tipping. Also butler service ...was not good ,(did not bother tipping him as he basically did nothing over and above his job ...only thing he did was book us in 2 alacarts...and gave my partner wrong advise that the restaurant outside resort would accept creditcard....and they did not So had to pay in combo of US cdn and peso ..(was not prepared) .because if you give 100 canadian they will change you back in peso ...so bring multiple denominations of 5' 10 and 20 in canadian ...or go to establishments that accept credit cards or pay in your own currency ..canadian only (no need for US) Also at airport coming back they dont accept peso just creditcard or cdn or US currency Overall i would rate the whole experience 3 1/2 out of 5 stars.

Playa Luxury Cayo Las Brujas: Place to relax

We came back just 2 days ago from paradise! Ok, step by step. 1. Room - we had garden view room on a second floor. So it was quite, clean and roomy. A bottle of a fresh water always is in a fridge. An air conditioner is almost mute so you can fall asleep without problems. 2. Beautiful beach with a white sand and no big waves. A lot of parasols. 3. Food in restaurants was good enough, pork, chicken, eggs, rice, pasta, fish fruits etc. but not mach varieties. Hamburger in a beach caf [... read more]é with a glass of beer after swimming in pristine water – what else do you need ! 4 Staff was always ready to help and serve you. In restaurants, bar, lobby service was excellent. Especially I would like to thanks Neydis and Niurka from Customer Service for their help. 5. Free and fast Wi-Fi is a great advantage in this hotel. When we arrived at airport my wife lost her tablet, we realized it only 2 hours later in the hotel. Next day (we arrived at 10 pm) I talk with Sunwing representative in the hotel and he promised to find out if it was found. We did not have any news about the tablet for 2 days. On third day we were told that tablet was found and we can pick it up on our way back home at airport. Wow ! it was great relief. Thank you again for making our vacation so good !

Melia Cayo Coco: Frequent Traveler

Great resort, clean, very comfortable, lovely staff, spacious rooms, comfortable beds, no complaints in this area. lovely quiet beach, plenty of chairs. Plenty of food, however, in the buffet area, if food is to be kept hot for serving, it is not.. vegetables are cold, . resort need to pay attention to making sure the food in the self serving holders are kept up to a much warmer temperature. squash or mashed potatoes are not good cold. ( just an example). If you have I-phone, connectio [... read more]n is not easy for wifi .. sometimes you receive CTV news on TV in the evening or morning. . I had only for 2 days. however CNN is available, but as a Canadian, I prefer CTV news. Entertainment should be geared to the age group at the resort. as a senior, not interested in hard rock. this is Cuba, prefer to enjoy the Latino music.

Memories Flamenco Beach Resort: It was a good place to stay

The grounds were fairly well kept the rooms were clean the pool was nice the beach was amazing .The entertainment was great.If you get the chance go to Lenny's for their lobster shrimp it was fantastic.The downside not very much hot water.Ran out of eggs at the buffet for 2 mornings ,ran out of mix alot ,ran out of ice a few times but overall for the price was worth it made alot of great memories .

Brisas Guardalavaca: Very Good Resort

We been in this Hotel around 16 Times .This Year was Better than Last Year, I mean the Food was Better The service was always the same, we know all the People working at this hotel for Long, Thanks to the management. Archie & Emily

Barcelo Solymar: Stay Away. Bad experience at Barcelo Solymar

Vacation Date Nov. 25th to Dec. 2/23. Changed rooms 3 times in the main bldg. Had 1 beach towel (received 3rd day) and 1 bath towel slightly larger than a hand towel for the whole week. Laundry problem. Had 1 sheet on the bed that did not fit properly and had to take the sheet off the 2nd bed for a top sheet that I used for the entire week. I killed 3 large cockroaches I found in the bathroom area. There was no hot water for a shower the last 2 days. Toiletries are scarce so please bring ever [... read more]ything with you including extra kleenex and toilet paper. Food is basic but everyone knows this. The beach is beautiful and location is good for going into town. Issued formal complaint to the hotel, Sunwing rep. and TripCentral.

Memories Cayo Largo: Exellent Vacation

This was my first time at Memories Cayo Largo but for sure not the last one. The resort is Beautiful and the service was very good. Special thanks for excellent service from Diamond Club employee for Melissa and Yagmara, any question and request was done write away. Carlos from the restaurant was like a brother to me, very friendly and the service from him was excellent. I relay recommended this resort. The room was clean and the food was very good. We have twice Lobster and a lot of see food. [... read more] We have very good time from Nov17 to Nov24. Thank you all of you for everything. Slawek and Danuta.

Starfish Jibacoa: Relaxed resort

Overall this resort offers a quiet and basic vacation spot. Rooms are well maintained. Beds are clean. As you enter the lobby you can look straight out to the beach and ocean. There is seating throughout the lobby area which could use some updating. The Cafe offers basic drinks and coffee with donuts and cake in the morning. The rooms are spread out and some are located a bit far from the resorts lobby, buffet and pools. If you book a Tropical Room you will get either a bungalow or a standard  [... read more]room in a row if 4 rooms. These rooms are located mainly in the back of the property, with one set of four close to everything. The beach is graded and clean. Plenty of seats to lay in the sun. They offer boat rides, snorkeling from the dive center on the beach. There is a wooden hut down the beach about 5 minutes walking from the lounge past the pools where you can get a message done on the beach. The pool area has 2 fairly large pools which are clean and do need some maintainace but overall they are good for swimming. The bar area by the pools serves local basic drinks, sometimes coffee. The eating area is open between buffet times. The offer sandwiches only. Plain white bread cheese and ham or what seems like boiled tasteless chicken. The buffet is located off the main parking lot in a separate building from the lobby. Food is good. There is limited variance in the menu however. There are no other food services between buffet times except as mentioned previously. They do have a small food truck that opens at 10 pm by the lobby Cafe it serves the same dull tasteless cold meat " grilled sandwiches" that are definitely not grilled to brown the bread melt the cheese or warm the meat. Bring snacks with you from home. The coffee can be a delightful experience unless you get a glob or two or three of powdered milk that didn't mix. I believe they only have powdered milk. You get one napkin to use while eating at the buffet. You also get a soup spoon upon request if you eat soup. The entertainment was lacking. In 7 days there was only one night of a show of dancers. There were families elderly, and young adults on the resort. A nice mix. A lot of local Cubans also go to this resort. Bring mosquitoe spray! They can not exchange Canadian $ so bring US $. They do offer paid outings such as catamaran, jeep drives, trip to Havana. There are horses on the resort that you can go on as well. The grounds are clean, the walkways are mostly even. It is lite well at night. It was a pretty relaxed a resort. So if your looking for a more laid back sun seeking place this works. Staff were all pleasant, smiling, and helpful. They work very hard and long hours. They depend on tips to support their families.

Selectum Family Resort Varadero: Great experience

The selectum family resort was great! The staff was wonderful and very welcoming. The food was good and the bartenders were great, the drinks were delicious! The day time entertainment group were absolutely amazing!!! Highly recommend 👌

Iberostar Selection Ensenachos: Fun family time

We had fun family time at Iberostar. The rooms were spacious, the grounds were beautiful. We actually liked all the walking. The beach was beautiful. The small water park was a nice added touch of fun for my toddler and us as well. I usually don't have a problem with the food, but i think because Cuba was having a food shortage the hotel did the best with what they had. I heard from people from other hotels and it seemed like ours was still better. Also, November brought lots of little bugs, bri [... read more]ng bug spray!!!

Iberostar Coral Esmeralda: Iberostar Coral Esmeralda

Having just returned from a wonderful vacation here, I can report that by far, the good far out weighed anything negative. The ride from the airport is long (about one and a half hours+-) and that can be a turn off for some. It went by quickly with a great guide on the bus. The rooms were nice, clean, quiet...the grounds were well maintained, the beach was fabulous - the water warm and beach cleaned daily of any seaweed that may have been washed ashore overnight. The food (after reading lots  [... read more]of negative comments about the food in Cuba) was surprisingly very good. I always laugh about the comments that the food is repetitive. Sure, if you are inclined to eat 3 kinds of fish, 3 kinds of pork, beef, various salads, vegetables, pastas, ice cream and so many pastries EVERY DAY and every meal at home...lol. Well, you might find it "repetitive". But reasonable people, respectful to the food shortages in the country and the sincere desire to satisfy their beloved tourists, will be pleasantly surprised and I guarantee that you will not lose weight! Drinks...well, yes, they had a day or two of no Cola but that was about it. Any kind of liquor you wanted was available. Spanish Coffee...amazing Cappuccino (complete with the Starbucks style foam artistry), cold beer at every bar...no problems whatsoever with quality or quantity. The resort itself is new (two years this month I believe) and I would say it is of the more modern style. We generally prefer traditional resorts and find the newer modern ones cold, I didn't feel that way about this place. Modern but warmer than most. We had a second floor ocean view room that we paid extra for and I am not sure I would do that again. We did have a view of the ocean and a nice sunrise view but it was reasonably far away from the beach and probably not worth it for the most part. I did not see the top floor mega suites in person but, they looked really nice and only two per building..either facing the sunrise/ocean view or, to the inside of the resort. If you need a giant suite..go for it - it looked really nice. The low floor step into the pool rooms were very nice too. I am not sure how much extra. None were available when we booked. You lack perhaps a bit of privacy since most can be seen from the sidewalks but, you can step out of your room into your private area pool which are all connected to the main pools. Very cool and I think most people who had those enjoyed them. I think you can't go wrong with any of the rooms. When you are at the Coral level, you can freely go to and enjoy the many amenities of the attached Esmeralda main family hotel. It has a great lobby...huge pool, and other features not available in the smaller Coral level. We went a couple of times and enjoyed it (much louder and full) but were happy to be on our more peaceful and smaller Coral Level side. It was nice to be able to experience both whenever you wanted. Other 'stuff' to do. Well, there is a small 'village' for shopping within a 10 minute walk but many of the stores were closed and those that were open had the usual tourist trinkets, booze store, small grocery store (with crazy high prices), a nice spa and not much more. It made for a nice short excursion. There is also a very nice and newly built (not yet fully opened) Dolphinarium but no dolphins there yet. You can walk (or ask the hotel to drive you in one of their electric carts) there to see it for free right now. It is not yet open but they will let you walk around and see some huge turtles, rays etc. now. We did not take any outside excursions so I cannot comment on those. There is a deserted beach in that area too (a bit farther from the Dolphin area) for those so inclined too. Best of all for last...the staff are incredible....ALL of them...if I started to name names, I would fill the page...from the wonderful people at the buffet, the grounds keepers, the bar tenders at all of the bars, the life guards and staff on the beach, the front desk staff, management, the spa staff, the chefs and cooks, the amazing entertainers especially Jose Luis who entertained us nightly and often through the day in the lobby with great sing alongs etc. .... I KNOW I missed some and that's why I said 'ALL'....I did not find anyone who wasn't genuinely friendly and fun. Awesome people! Overall...we loved the week and had a great time. We would recommend this resort to others without hesitation if you like the amenities as described. We do like the Iberostar brand and this one does not disappoint (us at least). In all of Cuba, go with an open mind and slightly lower expectations remembering how much you paid. Trip Central and our rep, Tammy Beamish were great and thorough with reminders and email updates. Also, if you enjoy the staff and connect, you will be blessed with meeting and learning from awesome people. If you are the type who goes on vacation to snap fingers at people, demand and look only for the negative and not the overwhelming positive...well, you should probably stay home (from everywhere lol). Enjoy life.

Hotel Playa Paraiso: Good company and millions of mosquitos

In a company of 5 we visited Playa Paraiso Nov 19-Nov 30 , 2023. PROS: Resort people (waiters and bar tenders) were great Rooms were clean, beach towels in the rooms Our room in building 2 had wifi Food was not in a great variety, but was tasty. Especially pork leg at dinner time. Once in 12 days we had lobsters and giant shrimps (shrimps were served 2 days after as well) Drinks were good. Not the cocktails (sometimes ingredients were not available), but hard drinks. Wine was 2 types of wh [... read more]ite and 2 types of red. One of each type was good, the other was not. Weather was great Beaches were great, as always, lots of chairs available all the time Great entertainment in the theater, but not everyday great. Some days was great, some - not so great. CONS: Mosquitos. A million of them. Week before was rainy and water was standing in the greens on the way to the beach. Resort people were spraying something in the evening. It did not help much. Take repellent with you. And something for the bites. Air Transat return flight was delayed 2.5 hours. Because it depended on the flight from Montreal, which arrived late. Other than that flight was good. No bikes, no ping-pong tables. We did not find snorkeling place except catamaran ride, that stops at reefs for 40 min for 25 CAN per person. (It is free without snorkeling stop) Music and entertainment at the pool was awful - bad and very loud music, stupid rico-rico... Cappuccino in the lobby bar was made with powder milk. Lady in the gift shop (don't know her name, but she was going outside every 15 min for a cigarett) was selling bug repellents from under the table. They were not on the shelves with price labels.

Paradisus Rio De Oro: Best Resort

Can't complain about anything. Everything was perfect 🥰. My room had a really bad smell however they switched my room as soon as a room was available. Food was excellent and the service was excellent.