Hotel Playa Coco: nice small resort with great potential

The resort is under renovation so areas of grounds are dug up and a few areas with litter that patrons should be responsible for like drink cups,straws etc. Our room was a good size for three and the bathroom was big and clean. Towels both beach and room were scarce but we were supplied. Some patrons seemed to have trouble with water and electricity but we did not. Food was good with lots of good veg and fruit,(especially bananas, pineapple and dates and figs) good chicken and fish. drinks were  [... read more]good especially the cappuccino and the Pina Coladas are the best ever! Mike and George at the small pool and lobby bars are wonderful guys always happy and friendly. All staff were friendly from gardeners to managers. The small pool was lovely and always hardly used, there was no shade there though so could be hot. The beach was a very short walk and is awesome.Lounge chairs plentiful at beach and pools Evening shows, saw two and not bad, the watershow was an amazing synchronized ballet. Piano bar in lobby was excellent with Poppa playing the piano with singers one night, the lobby had musical entertainment for an hour each night which the lobby cat seemed to enjoy from his perch on the back of a chair each night. We took a taxi (arranged from the tourist desk ) for a 30peso 15 min ride to Lenny's Bar and grill. A fabulous beach bar on the ocean and in the middle of nowhere, the guys singing and playing music were good and the seafood special lunch was fantastic.. the biggest lobster tail ever, shrimp and fish with rice and salad all for 15 pesos. we went at lunch time but it is open till evening. Don't bother with the double decker bus... we thought it would give us a tour of the island and scenery but no, it goes along narrow roads through the bushes to a small market that was under renovation so only about 10 stalls of the usual tourist trinkets and then we had to wait 1 1/2hrs for the bus to come back, may be better when renos finished. We had a great time and I think the resort has great potential when renos are finished and the water and electrical issues are resolved.. didn't spoil our holiday though! would recommend realizing that it is a pretty good deal for the prices we pay and the sea, sun and sand cannot be beat!

Hotel Vigia: Good Resort

This quaint resort was much better than I expected. We usually book 4 stars and up when traveling to Cuba and I was a bit worried but I was pleasantly surprised. The resort and beach are beautiful. The rooms are simple but comfortable and clean. The staff at this resort is what makes it a great place. The food was the best I've had in Cuba. We ate at the buffet most of the week. Tried the a la carte and we did not like it. The only complaint I have is that we paid extra to get a second floor roo [... read more]m with king bed and the first night we where in a ground floor room with 2 double beds. They told us we could change next morning but after 3 trips to front desk they informed us that the guest that are in the room we where supposed to have, requested a late check out and would only be leaving at 10:30pm so we could only change rooms the next day. I think management could have handled the situation better... We paid extra for that room and they allowed other guests to stay way past checkout time I imagine for an extra charge... So the hotel wins getting paid extra, the other guest wins only checking out at 10:30pm and we lose... Not impressed!!! Frustrating not being able to unpack until 3 days into your vacation... But aside from that, the rest of our vacation was great!

Hotel Playa Paraiso: Nice resort

The resort itself was very nice. The grounds need to be manicured more. The public washrooms could use a lot more light and a much bigger supply of toilet paper. The dining rooms were spacious and the variety of food was great. I have no complaints about the food at all. I thought it was delicious. Our room was beautiful, spacious and clean. The pool was beautiful and the walks along the ocean were amazing. Great time by all.

Memories Flamenco Beach Resort: Amazing staff, beach, pools and entertainment.

The staff did everything possible to make the stay as enjoyable as possible. The food was great, the pools were well maintained and busy. The beach was wonderful. The rooms were big enough and kept very clean. Had a wonderful time.

Hotel Playa Paraiso: Incredible Vacation

The hotel was separated by trees from the beach, which enabled us to find shade at the beach each day. Beach and water were wonderful. You could snorkel from the beach to see fish in short weeds. Lots of waterfront toys, enjoyed the hobby cat and kayaks. Close to the airport, which is small and easily navigated.

Hotel Vigia: Relaxing beach vacation

This resort had everything I was looking for in a beach vacation, the beach was one of the best I've been to in Cuba and much better than Punta Cana, Mexico and Jamaica. The rooms were large and kept very clean, they are bright but simple they remind me of cottages. The buffet was very good we always found something we liked and the service at the bar and restaurant were very good no complaints. My only issues was the air condioner was a little noisy and there were water issues in our end of the [... read more] resort sometimes not much hot water but we managed to take a shower every night but sometimes we had to rush. The pool was clean and well maintained but there wasn't enough chairs you would have to reserve them by 6am if you wanted shade. I would definitely recommend this resort for the price we paid and I would go again.

Hotel Playa Paraiso: Needs work

It's hard to review a hotel that excelled in some areas and failed miserably in others. To start off we needed a room change because we had requested a king size bed. Also the shower didn't have a proper connection in our room. We came to find out that a lot of the rooms had this problem. The room change took two days. The line ups for the buffet restaurant were horrendous! If you wanted to eat off of either grill station or the pasta station you had to be prepared for line up of up to 20 minute [... read more]s! If you were happy to eat already prepared food on the buffet you were okay. The food, once you got it, was excellent! I will say that this is the best food we've had in Cuba ever. The alacarte restuarants were very good as well, the best yet. The service in the buffet restaurant was horrible. You had to get your own drinks and it was hard to find a table set. All these issues at the buffet could have been solved with an extra grill station and more staff! The drinks at this resort were HORRIBLE!! If you like fancy drinks, pina colada, Miami Vice, margarita, etc, you will be very disappointed! The pina colada was made with a powder mix and was horrible. It also seemed that whenever the bartenders didn't know what a drink consisted of they just added grenadine. There were a lot of pink drinks floating around. A Miami Vice at the lobby bar was grenadine added to a pina colada. However the mojitos were fantastic! Also the service at the two lobby bars was terribly slow. This too could have been handled better with more staff. The cappuccinos were FANTASTIC! When it came to the issue of our room...The room was very nice and bright. However the house keeping was sadly lacking. The maid did not remove dirty drink glasses (we would bring drinks back to our room at night). After about 4 days we had to bring them down ourselves. We were there for 10 days and after about 6 days we realized that our floor wasn't being washed as evidence by spilled drops of coffee, drinks not being wiped. On about the 7th day my husband took a hand towel and cleaned every surface in our room himself. I was appalled by the filth of the towel. It was black! Clearly the dressers and tables were not being wiped on a regular basis. All of the issues I have mentioned could easily be resolved with hiring more staff and proper training. I've seen these issues mentioned before but obviously nothing is being done to rectify them. All of the issues did not ruin our holiday, however without them our stay would have been excellent. At this time I would not recommend this hotel.

Hotel Playa Paraiso: Great Resort!

I have nothing negative to say about this resort. It is a small resort so all amenities are within a short walking distance to everything. Beach was great! Staff friendly and helpful. Rooms were clean and food selection was very plentiful. The evening entertainment was also very good, great performers!

Memories Flamenco Beach Resort: Relaxing vacation

Hotel was clean, beds a little hard, linen a little old. Bring facecloths. Hotel needs a policy of letting guests know that you cannot reserve spots on lawn chairs for hours at a time. Found it a challenge to get into a la carte restaurants.

Memories Caribe Beach Resort: Great family resort

The beach at memories Caribe is one of the most beautiful I've been to. You could walk for miles when the tide was out. A few annoyances like the bank not having small change, their credit card machine being broken for most of our visit and it being impossible to rent a scooter, despite them being on offer. However, none of that took away from the experience as a whole - decent food, amazing staff and entertainment, beautiful grounds and that beach!

Memories Flamenco Beach Resort: Good Cuban Resort

this resort is good for Cuban standards. the food was good, the rooms were clean and comfortable, the beach was lovely and the staff were hard working. It was a little busy and hectic in the buffet, and the beach was noisy with unnecessary music. I did not appreciate the group of "spring breakers" that came in partway through the week. They were trying to accommodate this group but this is clearly sold as a family resort, ie. many babies and older people. This should not be happening. DO NOT go  [... read more]on march break if you want a more peaceful situation.

Hotel Playa Paraiso: good value for the price

We just returned from this resort March 18, 2015. We paid 2400. dollars and this included Sunwing's cancellation/med. insurance of $80.pp. We had never been to Cuba but have many, many friends who have so we were anxious to check it out. This resort is in Cayo Cocoa, just 20 min. from the airport - a plus! You will see nothing on the bus trip to/from the resort as all employees are taxied/bused, etc into the resort. So bush or trees is the scenery. That was fine for us as we just wanted some sun [... read more] and a rest. We knew not to have high expectations of the food, the accommodations from what others had told us. The food was fine...we didn't loose weight but we didn't gain. It is flavorless but lots of it. The service is second to none. Bring lots of pesos -get some at the airport when you arrive, as they are more difficult to change at the bank on the resort. They change only 5 pesos at a time. The workers depend on those tips and are grateful for them. The lobbycommon area is the gathering place with music at night. There is a theatre for performances that start 9:30 -9:45 pm - a bit late for us. We caught one show the whole week. For night owls it's fine. The cushions in the lobby/common area are very dirty but we have heard, they are looking to replace them in April. Take face clothes. There are none. You may exchange your towel for the pool once a day. Don't loose it as the cost is 20 pesos. We were incredibly disappointed with the beach. We walked it one day but it is very dirty, not with litter, but some kind of charcoal--whether from the tree branches, or what not sure, but my feet were filthy. However, it is packed with people. Try the Tilapia (altho' deep fried-it's fresh). The pool is not heated but refreshing. It does need some tiles replaced and is slippery around so be careful. I think what caught me by surprise is the brown of the grass. We only saw a couple of grounds keepers (as compared to the Riviera Mayan where they are everywhere!). There are no sprinklers and beautiful gardens are nowhere to be seen. Try the fresh coconut (with rum $3.) My husband and others approved. The cuban restaurant was terrible. A chain saw could not have cut our lamb. The Italian was no diff. than eating pasta at the buffet. However, the beef at the Portugese rest. was excellent. We tipped all 3 each night 3 pesos for their efforts. The gym is very small but fills the bill for the week. |Room service makes the bed but I noticed the counters in the bathrooms were never wiped nor the floors scrubbed. I could rate this a 4 star resort but I have nothing Cuban wise to compare it to. We usually stay at a Grand B'hai resort so I'm basing my review on that. However, we pay a ton more for those resorts. We did meet others who have returned to this resort. If you like to indulge in drinks for the week, you will get your money's worth. If you want grand and luxurious, look elsewhere. If you just want clean and a rest, this is fine. Don't stay two weeks, there is not enough to do .

Hotel Playa Paraiso: Awesome beach / snorkelling

Travelled to Pestana, Cayo Coco March 12-19, 2015 with my husband and close friend. This was a smaller resort than we were used too but it was great. Easy to get around, everything was close together and everything was clean. The rooms were clean, we did have a broken shower head but we managed just fine. Always had hot water and lots of water pressure. The beds are small but that is common in Cuba. Food was good, good selections. The pizza at the beach bbq was awesome and we ate it everyday rig [... read more]ht on the beach. My husband and friend really enjoyed the fish that was fried up on the beach. The beach bar staff were a lot of fun, wish they could keep more mint as they weren't able to make mojitos part way through the week but that really was not the end of the world. The beach was exactly what we were looking for - white sand and a bit rocky with coral for great snorkelling. We used the paddle boats and the catamarans. We went out for a bit longer catamaran ride and did some snorkelling at a coral reef just off the resort beach. The workers were all wonderful, always smiling and willing to help. The disco dj's were a lot of fun. The entertainment at night was some of the best we have seen, a good variety and well put together. I was a little surprised to see mosquitoes as i have never seen bugs at other places, i am guessing that they don't spray at this resort and at night at the show i found them to be the worst, that was probably my only really negative comment about Pestana. I would recommend this hotel to friends. We really enjoyed our stay and would go back.

Iberostar Origin Daiquiri: Wonderful resort and vacation

This resort was great. It is small in comparison to some and that makes it the perfect size. The pool is clean, plenty of loungers, staff try to get you to interact but don't bug you. The pool bar is not too busy and offers some shade behind a beautiful waterfall. The beach is white soft sand, great for walking especially when the tide is out, snorkelling is good just off shore but there are trips by boat to a nearby island. Water is great for kids to play not too deep. The kite surfers down the [... read more] beach are very entertaining to watch. The main lobby is clean, has a busy bar especially at night. Entertainment is brought in each night in addition to the wonderful shows at night. The entertainment team is great and very talented! If you are use to your meals being prepared specifically for you and to perfection you will enjoy the buffet and al a carte restaurants! The service was above and beyond. The rooms are clean and well maintained, nice patio or balcony. People who work here enjoy it, they seem happy. The vendors on the resort change every four days and have wonderful products. People we talked to seem to keep coming back to this resort, staff recognize them as they arrive, this speaks volumes!!

Memories Flamenco Beach Resort: amazing resort

everything about this resort was amazing the people that worked there where so friendly the resort was very clean, I will definitely be going back the food was probably a 6 out of 10 but even if you are a picky eater you will find something to eat.

Memories Flamenco Beach Resort: Absoutely amazing

Very clean rooms, great service from all staff. Grounds are absolutely beautiful. Pool was amazing as was the beach. Evening entertainment/performers were great to watch. Only problem was getting coin from the bank.

Hotel Mojito: great resort!

Rooms were clean and cool. The dining room was great! Would have liked to see a bit more variation in food. Staff was excellent, except for one waitress in pool side restaurant. entertainment good. I would have liked music and dance floor for us to dance. Weather great. BEACH INCREDIBLE!! snorkeling awesome!

Hotel Playa Paraiso: Nice vacation resort

We found this resort to be very clean and the staff very pleaseant to deal with. Our housekeeper went above an beyond to ensure our room was always clean, and nicely decorated. We always looked forward to returning to our room to see what surprise she had left us. The reception desk staff were very pleaseant and tried there best to ensure we were looked after. We generally found all the Hotel staff, Sunwing tour operators, and tour guides to be the friendliest and caring people and they made our [... read more] vacation a trip to remember. The only issue we had was with the "Banker". We found this person to be rude, and felt he obviously did not enjoy his job. Not only would he be rude in the way he spoke to people, he would put up his "lunch" sign if he did not want to deal with you, and then take it down for the next person in line. He made one person go back to their room to get their passport and then when they returned did not even look at it. One of the most difficult problems we had was trying to acquire Pesos so we could tip the staff for the great service they provided. During our entire visit, the bank never had any available. Unfortunatley this meant some staff did not get a well deserved tip, or we would have to go to each bar and try to get change from the staff. The facility is still very new, but as appears normal in Cuba, maintenance is going to be an issue. With it only being 2 years old, there are signs of lack of maintenance. (broken missing path lights, rust on bath room shelves, broken taps, missing tiles in pool, etc.) The A la carte restaurents were disappointing as I tend to expect the food at these types of restaurents to be better than the buffet. In this case the buffet quality significantly exceeded the A la carte food. (e.g. the alfredo sauce in the italian restaurent tasted like uncooked flour). Overall, we would definitely return to this resort and hope that they continue to work on addressing the issues that are raised with them (yes, we did talk to them about the banker and food) We realize things do go wrong, but it is how they are dealt with that will determine the success of a resort.

Hotel Playa Paraiso: good resort

food was quite good for Cuba the fish hut on the beach excellent Calamari was yum the guy ran out of fish one day and did us the calamari such a sweet heart,also the Poutine good change from the usual ham and cheese sandwich. The rooms are very clean bed linens very very clean which is very important for me. Asked for a extra pillow got one right away, staff very friendly and polite,needs a separate disco away from the main lobby other than that had a great time, my 19 year old son accompanied m [... read more]e on this trip and we have been to Cuba many many times, he said he enjoyed his stay also mission accomplished great change from regular reading week lol.

Starfish Cayo Guillermo: another enjoyable experience

A great value resort. Our fourth time. It is relatively small, therefore intimate. Staff very friendly. You get to know and interact most of your fellow guests (many were also repeat guests) Food is good for a 3 star resort. Grounds are clean and well kept. Site is a haven for kite surfers as the beach is shallow. The resort, as with all of Cayo Coco resorts, is isolated so excursions are limited.