Iberostar Coral Esmeralda: Very Nice Holiday! Coral Level Iberostar

We were here last March. There are visible changes....not the fault of the resort, or the Cubans. The workers are always eager to help with what little they have. There were minor shortages. But not enough to complain about, who eats bacon every day at home anyway, chicken was missing for a few days, but made a comeback for the remainder of the week. We didn't go hungry. The beach is always beautiful....one of the nicest beaches in Cuba. The only downside that I was a little disappointe [... read more]d about was the lack of entertainment on the adult side. There is a piano, only used for very short time for one night. One other night was a short show by a local guitarist....not that good. The family side had the typical boom boom garbage. I go to the caribbean for the culture, and Cuba has some of the most talented musicians. More live music would go a long way in order for me to go back. Other than that, I probably won't be back for the lack of entertainment. Bedrooms are great, the beds are very comfortable. No supplies in the fridge, but the coral level is so small, you are a couple of minutes from your bars.

Melia Buenavista: Beautiful beaches and friendly courteous staff.

The people were doing their best to work with what they had. The food was not good for the most part - Typically there were 3 choices on the menu and choices # 1 and 2 were not available. Breakfast was usually pretty good. We got into the habit of late breakfast and earlier dinner (6:30) as there was never much appealing about lunch. Dessert was always good - always the same (ice cream or cake) or both! The pool bar offered pizza which was pretty good and french fries - hit and miss for availabi [... read more]lity of the fries. Coffee was not good and never hot. Alcoholic beverages were fairly limited - unless you like rum. It is evident that the resort was hit hard by COVID and it will take a while to recover. If you are a foodie this place is not for you but if you like amazing beaches and spectacular sunsets don't hesitate. And do bring clothing, hygiene products, jewelry, hair products for the housekeeping staff and if you have any leftover sealed COVID test kits the medical staff will be extremely grateful! Tip generously - the wait staff work hard - the quality of the food is not their fault.

Gran Muthu Imperial: Terrible resort

This resort was not worth going to. There were more than 6 rooms robbed during the week we stayed, including our own. Head staff do not believe you when reporting. Food was not good and in short supply. There was no butter, no oil or fries during our stay. Excursion we went on was not what was expected. Rooms were dirty. Most Bars closed at 5pm on an 18+ resort. Unprofessional and unpleasant stay!

Paradisus Varadero: Could be better!

Staff was friendly and some amazing people. The food wasn’t great. We were supposed to be in adjoining rooms with my Mom never happened we were in different buildings. We waited until the night before leaving to finally get extra pillows. There were no hand towels or face cloths only bath towels. They constantly running out of coffee pods for the room. We always had to ask for more water for our room. We tipped every day too.

Iberostar Coral Esmeralda: The best place to stay!

This resort is incredibly beautiful The staff are fantastic Our room was luxurious, the nicest hotel room I’ve ever encountered I can’t wait to book my next vacation I won’t stay anywhere else Thank you !

Melia Peninsula Varadero: Ok resort

The hotel was not what was advertised in the vacation package. The place was quite run down and needs a facelift. The food was good and plentiful. The staff were amazing and helpful. The Beach was lovely but definitely could have used more beach loungers as all loungers were being used or saved with a towel.

Playa Cayo Santa Maria: good resort but lots to improve

Lots of rooms and space great facilities but at night there are no entertainments, for people who only stays in the hotel it is annoying, also the people act like they are bothered so much u if u don’t speak Spanish, it changes when u left a tip, obviously lol I have no problem with tipping but please show your hospitality to the guests, food is always the same, certain people are good but they should at least explain to you how the tip works if the workers are sharing

Club Amigo Atlantico Guardalavaca: Beautiful Resort

The hotel was very good. Staff were very helpful. Our room was quite large. There was a small patio with a couple of chairs and a table. We sat outside and either read or watched the beautiful ocean view. It was very quiet . The grounds and beaches were immaculate. There were 2 large swimming pools, 2 children's pools and a swim up bar. There were 3 a la Carte restaurants, a 24 hour snack bar, as well as a buffet restaurant. There was a mini golf course, pool table and a ping pong tabl [... read more]e. There was a well equipped gym. They had kayaks and small sailboats which were included in the cost of our all inclusive stay. There were tours to take, some cheaper than others. We went to Holquin City, an hour bus ride for $15 Canadian. There was entertainment every night. They had precision aquatics, black light, bands and karaoke. We enjoyed it all. The market was a 10 minute walk away. The locals were very friendly. Most spoke some English, many spoke excellent English. At the market they accepted Canadian and American dollars, or you could pay in Cuban pesos. Club Amigo resort caters to families. We met a lot of people who have been going there for 15+ years. There was a children's play area. At no time did we feel threatened on or off of the resort. There was plenty of food at the resort. Sometimes they ran out of butter or some other minor things. Overall the food was not bad. There was lots of variety, pork, beef, lamb, fish, and lots of vegetables. The service was very good. If you like ketchup I would suggest bring it with you from Canada. Mustard was hit and miss. We were there for 2 weeks and plan to go again. Next time we will be going for at least a month, possibly 2. You must remember Cuba is a very poor third world country. Poverty abounds. We took a lot of items, bought at Dollar stores to give to people (finger nail polish, pencils, toys, feminine products, small tools, and other useful things such as tooth brushes and toothpaste), All of these things were gratefully accepted. Gum was a hot commodity as well. All in all we were very pleased and as stated above we will be going there again for a much longer time.

Memories Flamenco Beach Resort: Beach is amazing! Overall a good vacation.

This was our first time to Cuba and to an all inclusive. We talked to friends and read many reviews before leaving for our trip. We were told that 5 star in Cuba is more like 3 star other places. With this in mind here are our thoughts on this resort and location. Beach: Amazing! Water is so clear and the sand is so fine and easy to walk on. The sand never seemed to get too hot even at the hottest time of day. We walked bare foot all the time. There are lots of lounges chairs and shade huts. [... read more] We never had an issue getting chairs and we usually headed down to beach around 11 am. The beach is also very clean. Very little in the way of any garbage. There are garbage cans on the beach and most people are good at using them. There is also 2 beach bars and a grill station if you didn’t want to leave the beach to get a bite to eat. Pool: Lots of loungers and again shade huts. We did have more trouble finding available loungers though as people put their towels on them to save them early in the morning. Pool was clean and well kept. We liked the patterned concrete around the pool as it was non slip and safe for kids. The Grounds: Lovely gardens throughout the property. Palm trees and flowering shrubs. All were well cared for by the friendly gardeners. Food: We found the buffet was ok. There was always lots to eat and a variety of foods. Lots of meat options from fish, pork, chicken and some beef. Not a lot of variety in vegetables. I have read others say they can run out of things but the times we ate there was always enough of what we wanted. The a la carte restaurants were just ok. The Mediterranean one had the best atmosphere. Staff: All the staff we interacted with were friendly and helpful. Room: When we arrived it was around 11 pm. They took us and our luggage to our building by golf cart which was very nice as it was dark. However, the room was terrible. There was an awful smell and there were a lot of things missing from the room. The next morning we went to the front desk and asked for a new room. By 5pm that day we had a new room which was 10 times better. We now had a pool view and all the things that were missing from the first room. We were quite happy with our new room and the location was much better. Close to the pool and main building. Things to know: They don’t supply Kleenex or wash clothes in the rooms so bring your own. Also toilet paper seemed to be in short supply as we were only given half a roll a day. The public bathrooms in the lobby are not great. Women’s were missing toilet seats, doors that don’t lock or close properly and my husband said the men’s always smelled. Overall for the price we found this resort to be quite nice. We would likely go back there again if we return to Cuba now that we know what to expect.

Gran Muthu Imperial: Bad experience

My charger got stolen. Many people lost their cell phones also. Although security knew about it. Failed to take action.. no beaches available. Nnñnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnn

Playa Luxury Cayo Las Brujas: Amazing resort and incredible staff

We loved our stay at Angsana it was simply incredible… the private beach breathless. Food was also good compared to current reality there. We were upgraded since there was issue with room. Management was very understanding would go again 100%

Gran Muthu Imperial: We were robbed, stay away

We were robbed. Money from our safe was taken plus an electric razor. Then we find out this happened to several other people on the resort. A bunch of us were robbed. STAY AWAY. We spent the last two days of our vacation dealing with client services and the Cuban police. The food at the buffet was always cold. The 24 hour bar had no French fries, yet the sister resort next door had French fries.

Club Amigo Atlantico Guardalavaca: Club Amigo - Home Away from Home

Our last visit to Club Amigo was in March 2020 as we found ourselves in the middle of chaos when the worldwide response to the pandemic included restricting travel. We watched the resort close down around us and we were on the last planes out of Cuba. Club Amigo is working hard to reopen. There are noticeable improvements - such as brand new lounge chairs Currently the renovated hotel rooms are partially open and the Villas are all open. The Barracks and Bungalows are still under renovation. Lo [... read more]ts of cleaning staff and bathrooms are cleaned often. Two of the 4 pools are open. The Coffee Bar, Benny's, the 24 hour Bar, the Snack Bar, and the main Buffet are all open. Staff were happy to welcome us back and many remembered us from previous visits. The Pirate Bar is open and there was fun to be had there. There is a small private beach between the Pirate Bar and the Brisas. There is now a grill (great lunch) and a rum bar there which is open from 1100-1600. Food and imported alcohol (such as VODKA) shortages are evident. However, there was lots of beer and wine and rum - but gin was hit and miss! As always in Cuba shortages show the resourcefulness of the Cuban people. We did not starve and we had amazing service. Staff were very grateful for any gifts and especially for hygiene products (soap. toilet paper, toothpaste, and small hand sanitizers).

Iberostar Origin Daiquiri: Not worth the money

Issues from the start. We were given two options, to switch rooms or move to the 5 star resort. The rooms we were offered were no better and some had 2 beds instead of a queen or king. We didn’t move to the 5 star because we met a couple groups of people who told us they didn’t have food and they also had cockroaches. This was by far one of the worst experiences either one of us has had. The paint was peeling, the vents were rusted, the fan in washroom didn’t work at all, the outlet in t [... read more]he washroom was hanging out of the wall, the washroom door didn’t close, the light in the washroom had no cover so you could see right through to ceiling between floors, the food was so limited and if you didn’t get there once buffet opened you weren’t getting anything. There were days they didn’t even have different foods, it was just massive bowls of rice placed all over. Also got bad food poisoning from the meat we think. There was pork chicken and beef depending on day. There was cockroaches in the buffet area ( I almost died so gross). There was another patron at the buffet who screamed yelled “cockroach” and killed it. They had run out of tequila and vodka for a few days. Honestly I wish we hadn’t gone at all and had waited. The experience and vacation was not one I’d ever want again. The best part of the trip was the plane ride there and back.

Iberostar Origin Daiquiri: I would not recommend this resort

Although this resort was pretty clean as l have seen worst, the food was terrible there were not condiments no pepper, butter for toast or peanut butter or jam, no syrup for French toast some days no milk for coffee. The only alcohol was at times white or red wine, rum and beer. Mixes for the rum was scarce. The toilets did not work. I had to complain for 3 days in a row to get my toilet in my room fixed. Some rooms didn’t have hot water. Toilet paper was scarce so make sure you bring your ow [... read more]n. We made the best of a bad situation and did have fun as we met lots of nice people. The employees were very nice and friendly but very short staffed and those working were run off their feet and still managed a smile. Unfortunately there are so many wrong things l could not possibly recommend it

Grand Aston Cayo Paredon Beach Resort: New resort still growing

Let me start with the people, amazing, friendly, helpful and always greeted us with a smile. We upgraded once we arrived to the Club Privilege, and were moved to a junior suite in building 8. The room was great but the service was even better (thanks Rosie, Carlos and Laura). As part of the upgrade we received unlimited access to the ala-carte restaurants, Brazilian (skip it), asiatic ( just ok), Italian ( not bad) and Tex-Mex ( best of the bunch). We also had access to a club only restaurant, [... read more] that had a menu but would make whatever you wanted if they had the ingredients. The buffet was challenging but typical for Cuba (“we don’t go to Cuba for the food”). We are not much for partying, so we spent much of our two weeks sitting by the club pool reading, we were often the only ones at that pool. Rosie and Carlos would bring us drinks and lunch by the pool. We were there for the last two weeks of February and the weather was great, there was, however, a persistent wind that made to weather feel a couple of degrees colder especially when you got out of the pool. The beach is nice and when the tide is out you can walk in the surf for kilometres. This is a new resort that was not yet operating at full capacity, pros: able to stay away from others easily, cons: not all features of the resort were open. There is also a number of additional resorts being built in the same area, meaning, in a few years this should be a happening area and will probably end up out of our price range. We suffered some food shortages, cheese for a couple of days, butter for a day, certain fruits like pineapple seemed to be in short supply, but the creative staff did what they could with what was available. Bottom line: great resort but you have to understand that resorts in Cuba are always challenged to your favourite food and drink available all the time, but the staff will do everything they can to make sure you have a great vacation.

Vila Gale Cayo Santa Maria: Great weather….poor hotel

Context: We are easy going, had basic expectations based on previous trips to Cuba. We love the simplicity, comfortable pace, Cuban people, beaches, and in comparably lower price. Picked the Grand Sirenis for its relative newness. There was however an appreciable hardship at this hotel (Feb 17-24). Some general and specific observations of our week. Hotel seemed only about 1/3 occupied: Food/Drink *Very little food at the extra hours snack bar (“ham sandwich”, “cheese sandwich”, “h [... read more]am and cheese sandwich” 3 of (5? 6?) menu items along with hotdogs. No easy pizza, burgers or snacks, ever. Frequently no fries. *Regular buffet *extremely* humble, with lots of repetition along two simple service areas. No cooked fish dishes, in plentiful supply in the past—except for large sardines, and regular razor clams. Routine items: pumpkin, stewed half tomatoes, cheese, ham, ham and more ham, black beans, rice, chicken (the latter I ate daily, it was good, but still…). Good dinner rolls and bread, finely shredded lettuce, and on one day, a decent creamy cucumber salad, which combined well to improve the lettuce. *not easily grossed out, but one meal featured chunks of ham with skin on the back—and pig hair still evident. *had the last 4 eggs one morning at 7:45. Otherwise eggs/omelettes are necessary survival (NB seldom potato variants at any meal…hash browns twice, once French fries, and stampedes that could not be satisfied). * limited but adequate fruit. We tried smoothie bar once, seemed acceptable to many others. Self serve hard ice cream popular and delicious. *domestic red wine fine—but poured in 2 or 3 oz servings; replenished if asked. Coffee, Fanta and frozen lemonade (at the bars) all good, as was iced coffee. At different times there was no vodka, no wine at the lobby bar. *hotel room decent, decor and bed, but as noted elsewhere not clean. Cleaning staff in the hall daily but no clean bath towels or mats for simple exchange (after using ours for few days). Tipping had no bearing. *Mid-week, three staff knocked on the door to check our towels, one with a clipboard. We thought this meant changing them, but it was to quickly inspect if we were hoarding them; then they left! We used the pool/beach towel provided for showering. We also just made own beds (one day I noticed the label showing on my pillow case—on inside-out—reversed it and saw lipstick on the other side then put it back on the wrong way! *Rooms had mini fridges, not minibars: no provisions except 1 bottle water daily. General *apparently a complimentary bottle of rum could be obtained from Guest Services, have to ask; we’d already purchased allowable duty-free as gifts. *buffet not open for supper until 7 pm, too late for many, especially youngsters *entertainment varied/limited. Agree with all: MJ show excellent with seemingly professional dancers. Should have brought tips for their all-out performance of 1+ hour. Another night’s “beach party” out front was noisy and went on until well past 12:30 a.m. *very beautiful beach, plentiful chairs/umbrellas, safe area, clean, calm water, lots of small shells. *wait staff were mostly pleasant and working hard. Atmosphere and weather goes a long way…Latin tunes and people still very much enjoying their escape from Canadian winter. We had brought necessities and children’s school supplies which were deeply appreciated. I have an affinity for Cuba and chalked up a lot of the above to the post-Covid realities and a country with unique political/economic woes…. Having said that, guests at the nearby Angsana gave positive insights on their food, restaurant options, spa, smaller size and wonderful facilities…so, if you’re still with me, look there or elsewhere. ——-> TripCentral and Sunwing: honestly endorse your products as vacation-worthy; Grand Sirenis should be sidelined until things improve….

Grand Memories Holguin: Beautiful, new, clean resort!

This resort was beautiful! It was very well maintained in all areas from the pools, gardens, restaurants, bars, lobby, bathrooms and the beach areas. I've never stayed somewhere so clean. The workers were so friendly and respectful. They always said hello in greeting and passing. I highly recommend this resort. Only complaint was the language barrier. Not many workers could speak any language other than Spanish.

Paradisus Princesa Del Mar: Great Trip South

The hotel was nice. Grounds, pool, facilities, restaurants and food were all good. The beach was great! Many of the people working the resort were also great! This is what keeps us coming back. The reason the beach was great was the soft white sand, wide beach that goes on for miles, safe, no vendors, very shallow water that gets deep very slowly, no undertow, nice breeze to keep us cool, lots of available shade and chairs, no need to save seats at 6am, beach bar, quiet and peaceful on the Royal [... read more] Service Beach, no kids. The negatives about the beach are no food available , no washrooms, resort staff allow people that have not paid for Royal Service to use the Royal Service beach facilities, occupying chairs and using the bar. There were even people not from the resort using the beach facilities. When this was brought to the attention of the resort nothing was done. The Royal Service pool was lovely but almost no shade. The main pool was also very nice but again very little shade. By 6am all the shade spots were saved with towels. The rooms we had were large, separate living area from bedroom, comfortable bed, racing and a large balcony with two chairs and table (other rooms had loungers as well). The negative about the room were, AC didn’t work, room was dirty, coffee machine didn’t work, room was in the furthest corner of the resort on a hill, but had a great view. Royal Service gave us daily a la carte Restaurant reservations, the buffet and a la carte were all good. The cigar bar was a big disappointment. Opened only at 7:00pm, cigars were crazy expensive, the cigar bar also serviced the large courtyard where people sat for evening entertainment, this made the cigar bar busy, hard to get service, very noisy, limited seating,

Iberostar Selection Esmeralda: very good vacation with only a few cons

We are a family of 3 and we’ve been to Iberostar Esmeralda Selection from Feb 19-26. The flight was operated by Off We Go, the first time I hear of them, and the experience was excellent, they left on time and arrived early on both flights, they served a full meal and they had decent departure and arrival hours. The hotel is on a newly open for construction island – Cayo Cruz. From what I’ve seen, there are only 3-4 hotels and they are building more. The ride from Cayo Coco airport to th [... read more]e hotel is 1h (80-100km), and you travel on a causeway with beautiful seascapes. The resort is new (opened in 2020) and consists of seven 2-storey buildings plus restaurant, lobby, gym arranged in a circle, buildings 3, 4, 5 being closer to the beach and with partial or full view to the sea. The check in was slow: although there were 4 posts, only one clerk was working, and I noticed during the week that somehow there were always guests at the front desk waiting to be attended. The rooms are very good, ours had 2 full beds, very nice shower cabin with ceiling shower as well as hand-held shower head, very good ventilation in the toilet room, sparse but effective furniture; AC worked fine. However, one of our 2 rooms had an unpleasant and stubborn musty smell, one had to keep the window open, but that was not a problem with the mild temperatures outside. No complaint about cleanliness of the rooms. One complaint about the noise, though. We were in building 4 which also has 2 small a la carte restaurants and a bar and is right next to the pool theatre were all the entertainment blasted their music and their games. Luckily the shows went from 3-4 pm and then again 8:30-10:30 pm. This was not such a big deal, but on several nights, there were loud groups of people at the nearby bar (right under our room) laughing until the wee hours. I believe that, due to proximity to hotel rooms, the bar should have been closed for the night. The food was good, I had read horror reviews and was worried, but it wasn’t the case. The roasts (pork, veal, fish) were excellent, and so was the grill. Also, the stews were delicious, including veal. Good selection of salad ingredients: cabbage (I had it with every meal) tomatoes, cucumber, peppers, occasionally lettuce. Excellent cheeses, I think they were all Spanish. The desserts were varied and very good: meringues, cheesecake, flan, choux a la crème, ice creams, all yummy and very tempting. The food was not abundant, they frequently ran out bacon and one had to stalk until it was replenished, only once were there fries and the lineups were huge, there was no butter nor milk at breakfast and no cold cuts, except for the last day, and one morning there were no eggs. One or two days the fruit were scarce. Anyways, we did not go hungry. What I didn’t like at the buffet was that it was crowded. They didn’t open it at the time announced but rather they kept people waiting 10-15 min at the door, and when they eventually opened, all servers were lined at the door and clapping as guests entered. I disliked that. I confirm what another reviewer said about the plates not being squeaky clean, but on the contrary, with traces of grease. The tables were not cleaned fast enough for the flux of guests coming, and also, if you went late, the service was slower. I do not imply that the servers were slack but rather that more personnel was needed. We booked 2 a la carte restaurants, Asiatico and Cuban, but we went only to Asiatico which was bad: uninteresting food (better at the buffet) and very poor service The lobby bar was very good, but I mainly got cappuccinos and an occasional pina colada and Spanish coffee and the bar tenders were nice and efficient. The beach is amazing, with fine white sand, huge swaths of beach to walk. It faces NE so one can see the sun rise from the sea. It also has sizable tides, towards 11 am it engulfed most of the beach. It was pleasantly breezy the whole week and there were waves. Towards the right, beyond the Valentin resort, the beach turns rocky and it was fun to escalate that area. Towards the left there are kilometres of wild beach, another resort is being built. Unfortunately, there is a lot of litter that accumulates in that area. What I deeply disliked was that people reserved their seats on the beach. On the first days we arrived at the beach between 8-8:30 and we literally caught the last seats. Next to us 4 seats stayed reserved with towels but empty until 11:40. Maybe increasing the number of seats and shades on the beach would sort this problem. Overall, this was a good vacation, very good hotel, very nice beach, good food, great relax.