Paradisus Princesa Del Mar: Disappointed 😔

Honestly, disappointed with this resort having been to Cuba many times, one being in February last year during the pandemic. I thought this was to be one of the better resorts in Varadero. The service and room was ok. Grounds could use some upkeep, beach chairs are old, beach not maintained daily or at all I believe during our stay. Buffet not sanitary or clean in my opinion. We were only offered 2 a la carts and had to fight for the advertised free round of golf. Food was definitely the worst I [... read more] have had in Cuba. Some days no bread, or cheese, no chicken or beef, pizza or fries. Burgers and hotdogs came in the last day. Mainly rice, beans, pork. No vodka, tequila, white wine or champagne. Hard to get a glass of red wine. Having been to Cuba I was not going for the food, I was going for the beach which is beautiful. For a 5 star resort not being welcomed with a cocktail upon arrival was disappointing. Will eventually go back to Cuba, but will give them time to recover from Covid and food/drink shortages.

Vila Gale Cayo Santa Maria: amazing resort

from the time we arrived was a very good vacation to the room with aq ocean view and pool view to the servers and all hotel staff were wonderful.always found food to eat and lots of great people to chat with only complaint was no much shad around the pool ..maybe they can put more umbrellas out

Paradisus Princesa Del Mar: Very peaceful and relaxing resort

My wife and myself recently spend ten great days in Paradisus princess del mare, wether and beach were amazing like usually,staff very friendly and helpfully , if someone complains about food, I suggest go to Antigua (we went there in March, for seven days we had only burgers & hotdogs).Special thanks to costumer service office team Jorge,Yardley&Lily for arranging my wife’s 65 birthday celebration.

Playa Cayo Santa Maria: Love this resort

This is our 4 th time at the Playa Cayo and and love it..people that work there become like family..husband even likes the food and he is fussy. Looking now to book in December..hopefully renting a suite next time

Hotel Playa Paraiso: Great resort in need of updating

Hotel Playa Paraiso is a lovely mid-sized resort a short drive from the Cayo Coco airport. The staff are wonderful, the pool pristine, and the beach one of the best I've visited. The buffet had a large variety of items to choose from to satisfy even the pickiest eater. The a la carte restaurants were just okay, the Cuban being my personal favourite. Shortages of certain foods and drinks were ongoing. For several days, there was no cola and no wine, and the beef dishes on the a la carte menus w [... read more]ere never available. For some strange reason, there also seemed to be a shortage of spoons, making it difficult to eat yogurt or ice cream with a fork. I think these are problems across the entire island, not just at Playa Paraiso, and did not have a negative effect on us. The rooms, however, are tired and in need of updating and repairs. We were in Building 3, a great location close to the pool, the beach, and the buffet. On the second day of our one week vacation, I tried to call the front desk to report the toilet not flushing, only to realize the phone didn't work either. The TV and the plug for shavers in the bathroom had not worked from the beginning. We walked to the desk where we were told Building 3 had no cable TV and they were experiencing trouble with the phones. Someone came to fix the toilet which worked for another day, then stopped flushing again. We were offered another room, but declined because we liked the location and resorted to manually flushing the toilet by filling the plastic liner of the garbage can with water from the tub. The towel exchange booth was closed until the day before we came home so we used the same beach towels all week, hanging them on the balcony to dry every evening. Better lighting on the outdoor walkways would have been helpful when trying to navigate our way back to the room at night. Also, none of the evening activities were posted so we were never sure if there was going to be a show or what time it might be happening. Internet in the room instead of just in the lobby and pool area would have been appreciated. Overall, the friendliness of the staff and the beauty of our surroundings more than made up for our 'first world' issues and I would not hesitate to return to Playa Paraiso.

Playa Pesquero: Amazing resort

This is our second time at this resort and we absolutely love it Sure there are food shortages but that's all over Cuba but you will always find something to eat and boy did we eat!!!! The staff are great specially Marite at the coffee bar always serving you coffee with a smile and the gang at the lobby bar always ready to make you a special drink Norbelis at the breakfast buffet ,Alexis at the Caribeno , Marieta at the Romantico restaurant where we had lobster twice at this superb place also [... read more] Miralis at the Ranchon restaurant on the beach where we had lunch everyday special mention to Carlos on the beach he always found a spot for us to sit and last but not least Diosbeidis our server at the beach always kept our drinks coming We would recommend this resort

Grand Aston Cayo Las Brujas: 3** resort

Never again even for free Out of 3 resorts(Grand Aston,Sirenis and Selectum) it has the worst beach area :algae smell, grassy sea bottom no washrooms near the beach, must go to the room or lobby For one week the resort was swarmed with the locals guests, who wasted food like I never seen anywhere and this in Cuba,country which experience food shortages the Transat rep.inform us about With all respect to Cuban people it was painful to watch .Lines for half an hour just to get fried eggs, foo [... read more]d was tasteless .Ifyou want to lose weight it's right place to go. All Service staff ( room, buffet ) was helpful trying to do whatever they could Grounds need to be cleaned (cigarette butts,plastic cups,bottles,cans etc.) Theater floor , needs good cleaning Michael Jackson Show was amazing though. But overall time and money wasted

Starfish Cayo Guillermo: Beautiful location

My wife and I recently stayed at this property (April 21-25) as a last minute couples get away. We chose this specific property as it is secluded and fell comfortably within our means. It is an absolutely stunning property, and we thoroughly enjoyed the charm of the older property. The staff for the most part were outstanding in their face to face customer interaction, given the language barrier and lack of resources. Unfortunately we suspect we were robbed by a member of staff on the last da [... read more]y of our stay. We still have not been able to locate the envelope containing our money, which we had secured in our luggage. We immediately notified on duty staff, who advised us that we had two options. 1 we could fill out a request to have maintenance conduct a key read of our door the following morning. In which case they would notify us via email with the results, when completed. 2 We could cancel our flight and contact the local police to come and investigate. We opted for the 1st choice, and are yet to hear from the property management. As a former member of a hotel security team. I was particularly concerned that a thorough investigation into the incident could not be commenced immediately once reported. Adequate security and security measures seem to be lacking at this resort. If you are booking here please be aware that prices at this resort are higher than other parts of Cuba. More importantly since covid measures have been lifted, there is no need to convert your currency into Cuban pesos. Canadian is accepted, and American preferred. If you do have Cuban currency it will not go far, so use CAN/US. Do not waste your time going to the market. The beach is by far better. Despite the heavy effect of rationing, the resort did a wonderful job with food and dining. Drinks were in good supply, however there is limited selection. Again something beyond the resorts ability to influence. We thoroughly loved the architecture and set up of the resort. During your stay you will never be more than a few hundred meters of stunning ocean.

Iberostar Origin Laguna Azul: Hotel needs alot of work

This is far from being even a 4 star. This hotel is very run down, walls dirty with paint chips, lobby washroom not clean. Actually saw a cleaner mop the floors in the lobby washroom and use the same mop to clean the counter top. Our room did not have a shower, it was a hot tub with a hand held shower head that only pointed towards the wall. Our room was not cleaned for 2 days, the room is very dated and sheets did not smell fresh. There are cockroaches in the restaurants, birds eating the food  [... read more]in the restaurants, plates are left for long periods. The grounds and beach are beautiful BUT the pool with the swim up bar is very dirty with black mold everywhere, lots of TILES missing in the bottom of the pool which can be very dangerous for cuts. The maintenance of the pool is done pretty late in the morning which is odd as people are in the pool at the same time. The snack bar that is open 24 hours limits the food you can get depending on the time (ie: can't get fries from noon to 3pm). A La Carte were good, best one was Japanese. Even the service was not the best, some of the staff seem to have attitude...and we're not the demanding type at all. A handful of staff were the absolute best. We expected some changes due to Covid like lack of certain foods or alcohol, but providing service and hotel upkeep was not one of them. I will not be returning to this resort.

Paradisus Rio De Oro: we loved this resort

beautiful resort, clean, wonderful staff xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Memories Cayo Largo: Such a pleasant vacation

Basic, but nice resort, stunning beaches. The beach at the resort does not have enough umbrellas though. Friendly nice people and amazing staff, especially Yordan -the snack bar chef, Marcus from the animators, Ivo - the beach bar, Ivan and Dunya from the snack bar. No complaints from the food at all.

Iberostar Origin Laguna Azul: Will be Back

Dates travelled: April 22-29 Family type: Family of 4 with kiddos aged 17 and 14 Rooms: Building 16, Rooms 320 and 308 Visitation History: 4thtime to Cuba, first time at this resort Overall rating: we all gave it a solid 9/10 After reading some of the reviews, we were honesty a bit hesitant about coming here. So glad we did. Honest review based on our personal experience. Rooms: Building 16 was awesome. Same floor as lobby and very close to buffet, pools, main lobby bar, etc. R [... read more]ooms were gorgeous and bright (our furniture was painted white). Everything worked, including the shower head. Hot water with good pressure. We had a king and the girls had two singles. Beds were very comfortable. Was there signs of wear and tear? Some plates outside rooms? Sure. But so minor that doesn’t warrant mention. I did hear from other guests, however, some challenges but this was not ours. Food: As everyone has said, and knows, you don’t go to Cuba for amazing resort food. That said, there were some great dishes on the buffet and a fairly wide selection. If you like added salt, which I do, I would suggest bringing some. We didn’t bring any added food with us. My girls did struggle near the end finding things they wanted to eat but they are also kind of picky. Usually always a bit of a line-up for the ‘made-to-order’ foods (pasta, omelets, etc.). There is no toaster so if you like toast in morning, just bring it to the omelet station and they’ll grill for you. The snackbar/24 hr bar also puts on lunch buffet and is only location that makes fries, starting at 1pm. Line up early if you want some or don’t want to wait in line for 30-45 minutes for a plate of fries. We ate here almost everyday. The ice cream shack was never open; we just hopped over the buffet and grabbed some there. A la Carte: We messed up on one of our reservations and missed it, so only ate at Cuban and Japanese. Both were good and a nice break. The breaded fish at Cuban are just like chicken fingers, but really good. No ketchup but they have a yummy mayo sauce you can ask for. The rose wine at Cuban was fantastic but same ‘wine’ at Japanese tasted like it was watered down 50%, as did the white and red. Order beer instead. Drinks: Everything we like (wine, beer, pina colada’s, etc.) we were able to access. The lobby bar does an amazing blended ice coffee (virgin or with shot or dark rum) and an amazing blended mango tequila (ask for the mango tequila with the orange cap, imported from Spain. So good and runs out quickly.) The lobby bar can get quite busy in the morning and evening so expect to wait a bit. The bartenders are excellent at serving folks in order they arrive, regardless of money waiving attempts. Entertainment: Just fantastic. Loved the musicians playing in lobby before nightly shows, and all the shows. They also have a wonderful little trio who perform down at the little bar a couple of nights a week by the pool to the left. They are awesome, pay them a visit. The staff doing day entertainment (pool activities, beach dancing, etc.) are amazing. The level of energy they bring despite long days and doing this every day is inspiring. Excursions: We did the jeep safari via West Jet. Was awesome, although you drive SUVs vs jeeps. Would recommend. If you do this, bring candy, crayons, goodies for kids. You drive along a portion of road where kids come along the side for goodies but you don’t actually get to stop, per se. We’ve done Havana twice before and loved it each time. We did the hop/on bus before too, so didn’t do it this time. The questionables: There were a couple of not-so-great things. First, one of our towels was taken off our chair from the main pool while we were all in the pool. All our towels were on one chair with one drying on the back. This was not a mistake but a purposeful take, which really sucked. It did not turn up in lost and found not at the towel hut. The second was returning to our room one night to find 3 full cups of tea on our table; we can only thing (hope) that it was room ordered and delivered to wrong room. Nothing else was out of order. Third, we had a full bag of sunscreen (about 5 bottles) ‘go missing’. While we like to think the maids took by accident thinking it was part of the gifts/tips we left, the bag was not in a location that would suggest it was for taking. Fortunately, we had enough (just) to last us till our last day. While we intended to leave all our left over stuff, it was quite violating that it was taken without permission. That said, overall we loved it, would recommend and would return. Future travelers, enjoy your stay, have empathy and compassion and don’t sweat the small stuff.

Playa Pesquero: Great Resort

This is our 3rd time back to Playa Pesquero. The hotel staff are outstanding and will go out of their way to help you with whatever you need. The beaches are some of the best in the world, that beautiful blue water and the white sand! The food was not bad, there was always something to eat, you would not go hungry for sure - fresh fish, mussels, pasta, chicken, pizza, etc. The entertainment was really good, and the animation team is always out there to get you to join in on the fun, from the  [... read more]beach to the pool, never a dull moment. I highly recommend this resort and can't wait to go back again.

Iberostar Origin Bella Vista Varadero: Great resort!

The hotel was one of the largest hotels in Varadero. It was convenient and everything was almost as expected. The stuff were very friendly. The room was clean and regularly cleaned. Drinks were abundant everywhere (in the lobby, pool, restaurant). Didn’t take towels as we already knew they are available there. Food was good and acceptable and you could find something to eat. (salad, fish, chicken, bacon, beef, pork, milk, scrambled and boiled eggs, ice cream, cakes, and other desserts) You co [... read more]uld also book for Italian or Japanese dinner but we couldn’t manage to reserve for those restaurants due to being busy with during the booking times. The recursion programs were nicely organized. We were only able to register for one of the program (dolphins and fish seeing deep in the water, although the equipment was not very convenient). There were about 7-8 recursion programs (including Trip to Havana, Jeep safari, …) Our 6-year old son was busy with playing in the beach or pool and at the end of the day was tired enough not to ask for more activities. Although we had balls and game apps that he could enjoy.

Blau Varadero: amazing services

I did really Enjoy my stay at the Resort . the water was amazing and clear . the rooms was clean but i advice you to bring some sheets with you or towels because i felt it was not clean and i felt that my body was itching from the bed cover . apart from that it was fine . Regarding the entertainment i saw better but it was good . there is no place for disco it was at the snacks bar . The food !! for breakfast i kept eating eggs for 7 days .lunch and dinner was not bad because there was  [... read more]variety, but the sweets the only thing i could eat was ice cream because the insects was flying around the cakes and sweets. the over all experiments was 7%. I also may comeback and hope this review will be helpfully and i will enjoy my stay 100% next time . Thank you

Memories Trinidad Del Mar: Typical Cuban hotel

Typical Cuban hotel 1. Weather, 10 from 10. There were no rains. All the days were sunny, easy breeze, 23-30C. All the days were the same. 2. Food. Pretty typical, enough for me: fish, beef, pork, chicken, real fruits and vegetables. Not much of those famous Cuban mixes of yesterday’s leftovers. Not many “bottle necks” creating the lines to most desirable food. 3. Room. Usual Cuban desperate fighting for support out-off-dated equipment without investments. Water is running: you cannot  [... read more]say there is no water at all. TV shows something. AC works good for me. No insects: this says about cleanness. My bed was good. All the staff open your electronic lock freely whenever they want. WiFi works. All my fifteen or so, problems were solved by staff easily. 4. Public. There are many Cubans there, majority. They are not that hungry or greedy as ten years ago. But they are so loud. Talking like from 50 meters distance. Plus evenings entertainment happens at artillery level of noise. Flimsy plywood doors work as passive diaphragms. Your head works as a resonator! That is how they like it. Request a room as far as possible from that place of local music. 5. The pool is very shallow. It marked 80cm, but it is not. Snack bar effectively try not to deliver snacks. Locals load their huge mugs with beer. 6. Beach. Sand, not much weeds, a bit murky quiet water. There is enough shadow! It is fine for relaxation. The thing it is a populated public beach, not separated. Local beggars start the song “where-are-you-from” all the time. 7. You can buy water, rum, cigarettes and cigars. The end of the list. 8. There is coral reef at 700 meters from the shore. But in 3 kilometres to the North West it approaches to100 meters. Good place for advanced swimming.

Royalton Hicacos Resort and Spa: Great resort

Our room was not very nice but they are renovating rooms so ask for a new renovated room if you book. The beach was very beautiful and the sand was soft. Food overall was good, and some of the restaurant were excellent. The staff are friendly and helpful and always have a smile Ask for Diamond club if you want to have reservation at restaurant or book a suite with a butler

Paradisus Princesa Del Mar: worst resort i ever visit

this was the worst resort i ever visited. The food was really bad, it was always recycled from the morning, afternoon and evening in the buffett. The only thing we could eat was eggs and pasta. No salad dressing was avaliable for the salad bar, so we had to have a salad dry, not very good. The room was not very clean, the maid only dumped the bathroom garage bin, did not clean the bathroon vanity or even sweep up in the room but the worst of this room was the showers, NO HOT WATER, getting a c [... read more]old shower was not very nice, how are you supposed to get a shower after being at the beach or pool all day and go to get cleaned up but no hot water and a cold shower is very hard to do because you can't stand the cold water. The king size bed was not very comfortable, very lumpy, the springs was almost coming though the mattress which result in my lower back and hip pain, the pillows were very flat, uncomfortable to sleep on, lying flat on the bed, neck pain as a result. I will not recommend this resort to anyone. it only had one small shop on the resort but it did not get any snacks like chips, bar or drinks if you were hungry during the day and believe me i needed snacks, i did not eat very much for the seven days we were there, this caused me to spend two days in the rooms feeling unwell. So as a result, this will be my last trip to Cuba for some time, bad experience with this resort.

Iberostar Origin Playa Alameda: Fabulous Staff!

The hotel is small and easy to get around. The rooms are spacious, and clean. The food was good, much better than last year. Had a nice variety of salads, always had chicken, fish, pasta,veggies. Had butter for about 1 week or so,always had lots of bread,buns,cold meats,and cheeses. Even the bars had a better selection of alcohol,great cocktails,and fabulous cappuccinos. Their entertainment this year was very good. Always something was going on either at the beach in the mornings or exercising  [... read more]in the pool in the mornings, and in the afternoon music,and bingo.Was usually live music in the evening’s up by the lobby bar around 8pm u til about 9:30 pm. Then a show on at the theatre around 9:30pm,or else they had a DJ playing outside at the theatre that went from 9:30-10pm to around midnight. Also every Friday night they had a beach party starting at 10pm until 1am.So lots to do.Like all hotels in Varadero they are getting weary looking,but they are renovating some of the buildings slowly. It’s Cuba! But a great hotel for the money.

Valentin El Patriarca Varadero: ******* WARNING *******

Shame on TripCentral rating this resort as a 4+, this is nowhere near a 4+. More like a 2+. First we've been down south approx. 20 times. 10 times to Varadero, I even got married there. And this is by far the worst experience we've had. I'm going to try and keep this light because I don't want to be too critical. If you are into intermediate fasting and are concerned about going to an all inclusive resort don't worry this resort has you covered. Because for breakfast don't expect eggs, bre [... read more]ad or milk. Yes what you ate the evening before is what is on the menu. Eggs and bread in the morning was a surprise some mornings until they ran out. So if you are into fasting, great for you, breakfast is not even an option. If you are into ice baths and are worried about taking a nice hot shower. Again no worries this resort has you covered. Cold showers are on the menu here. Yes no hot water. If you are watching your weight and are thinking maybe I will indulge too much sweets at an all inclusive resort. Then this is the resort for you. One evening dinner the only thing they had for sweets was apples. Yes apples. Some had chocolate syrup on them. So when you are doing your groceries and are thinking of what to get for dessert tonight and apples is the first thing that comes to mind book at this resort. If you are a heavy beer drinker and think an all inclusive resort just might be too much for your liver. Don't worry this place has got you covered. Yes most days they either didn't have any beer at all or would run out during the day. Nothing like being on a nice hot beach thinking of the nice cold beer you would love to have. Peachy. If you are allergic to chicken. This is the resort for you. Our second week they had no chicken. Pork, mince meat some fish and always pasta was on the menu. We lived on pork, white rice and potatoes for a week. If you like watching the discovery channel about animals and the survival of the fittest. This is the place for you. There are cats at the resort. For three days my wife and I stopped to watch a little kitten play by the main buffet. On the third day after watching the kitten for a minute or so we started walking away just to encounter a pack of wild dogs. I won't go into details it was pretty gruesome. Lets just say the kitten didn't make it and my wife was mortified. If you are more of a beach person. That's good because we didn't use the pool on our second week for reasons I will not write here. "I don't think they would post my review if I did" The pool needs to be sanitized. No joke. If you don't like the shade and just want to fry in the sun. Wow this is the place for you. If you want shade, a 6 am alarm is what you will need. There are not enough chairs and shade at the beach or at the pool. And to the people who reserve chairs in the shade in the morning to only show up at 3 pm...... Shame on you. Selfish. If activities are not for you. Again resort for you. Pool table but no cues or balls. Ping pong table, no pallets or balls. Tennis courts have no rackets or balls. There is a spa but no water in the spa tub. Maybe you can get a message if someone is around. There is a gym that we use every morning. Nothing great but it did the job for us. The floor of the gym got swept once in two weeks. Most of the staff are stone faced. Maybe 20% still have a smile and a little pep in their step but most of them have checked out and are just going through the motions. The most upbeat personnel are the gardeners. And they are doing a great job. Bugs are everywhere. This place needs a lot of work. The list goes on but I think that is enough for the resort. This was a two week vacation and after the third day I wanted to go home. The cherry on top was our ride back to the airport. Getting on the bus thinking we have a 30 minute drive to the airport, just to find out, with no warning, we have a 3 hour drive to Havana airport instead. To make things interesting we got a flat on our bus in the middle of nowhere. Stuck on the side of the road it finally took three other buses to get us to the airport. We are finally home and I'm sad to say, I will never return to this resort and probably not to Cuba for a long time.