Hotel Playa Paraiso: Great Winter Vacation

We traveled as a family of 6 (parents in mid-30s, kids 2 and 5, grandparents in their 60s) between December 18th and 25th. We loved how new the resort feels. It was built only a couple years ago and it feels modern. We opted for a suite with separate living room and bedroom. The bathroom was very large and split into two rooms by a door. One section had double sinks, toilet and large square nicely tiled shower with a large rain showerhead. The other section had a jetted tub and a doorway to a  [... read more]small walk-in closet, which also contained the safe. It was an extra $300 for the week, but well worth it. We slept in the bedroom, 5 year old on cot in living room, 2 year old in crib in the bathroom. Martina at TripCentral requested the cot and crib for us, and it was exactly as requested when we arrived. We were very satisfied with the daily cleaning service. The pool was great, with one side having a 0 depth entry, which was great for the kids. The other section of the pool had a swim-up bar, which we and our 5 year old loved. The water in the pool was a little chilly on the first day, but warmed up as the weather warmed up over our stay. The beach right in front of the resort is wonderful. The sand is very fine and there are some sandbars to swim out to. The kids loved it. There is also a small patch of coral right in front of the resort that snorklers enjoyed. We managed to find a shady spot every day. The loungers were new and very comfortable. If you walk to the left, the beach gets rocky fairly quickly. This is the beach in front of the Memories Flamenco, and that beach is horrible. Walking to the right the beach slowly changes to more coral rock washing up on the beach. You can still walk along the beach without problems for miles. There is a bar right on the beach, and a small beach grill, which served tasty fresh fried fish, rice and vegetables, burgers, etc. On occasion they made fresh fish snacks with veggies and a slice of lemon served in a plastic cup with a fork. They carried them down the beach and handed out to anyone who wanted some. They were delicious! The food was good. The main buffet served a variety of food. Everyday I found something great to enjoy. My wife opted for the fresh-made stations, which did have lineups that took 5 to 10 minutes or longer depending on when you showed up and how busy it was. The stations made fresh eggs / omelettes, pancakes / crepes for breakfast. Pastas, fish, kabobs for dinner. We went to the Italian and Portuguese restaurants. The food at the Italian was poor. The Portuguese was great. I really enjoyed the octopus salad, cod and deserts. The main lobby is large, open and a great place to have a drink or coffee. We usually went there for cappuccinos after breakfast (the coffee served in the main buffet is poor). The one disappointment was the kids club. There is a building with a kids club sign on it, and there is a small playground and kids pool that the kids enjoyed, but it stopped there. We never saw anyone there to run organized activities with the kids. We were hoping for some crafts, toys to play with and other activities for kids - never saw any of that. We were lucky in that we had the grandparents there to help entertain the kids and the beach/pool kept them busy, but we were hoping to see more from the Kids Club. There was a mini-disco for the kids every night at 8:30-9pm, which the kids loved. They got to go up on the main theatre stage and were led through actions for a few songs by a member of the entertainment team. Same songs every night, which was not great for the parents, but the kids loved it because they got to learn the moves night after night. Our 5 year old daughter was a pro by the end of the week. Overall we had a wonderful stay. We loved it, the kids loved it, the grandparents loved it. We were really lucky with the weather (1st day was 25C and windy, but the rest of the days got progressively nicer and hotter - about 30C over the second half of our stay). We were sad to leave on our last day. We brought some small toys I picked up cheaply at Walmart and hand-me-down clothes that our kids no longer used and passed some out to hotel workers (don't forget the gardners) - they loved them and were very appreciative - especially of the clothing for kids.

Memories Flamenco Beach Resort: A place to share with people you love!

The community of staff at the resort were very friendly and made us feel welcome and cared for while we stayed at Memories Flamenco Resort. The entertainment with creative, funny, moving and well rehearsed and performed. The tour in to the city of Moron was well organized and an educated experience. I highly recommend the vacation to this resort!

Hotel Vigia: Excellent resort

Very comfortable resort. Great access to beach. The animators were excellent, with great performances. Great service. The resort is building new restaurants and renovating sections of rooms. The renovations look great.

Hotel Playa Paraiso: Amazing Resort

I enjoyed staying at Pestana Cayo Coco resort its new resort service is good stuff friendly I will visit again for sure very good very good very good very good very good very good very good very good very good very good very good very good

Muthu Colonial Hotel: NEVER AGAIN

beach was okay, food was amazing!!! STAFF WAS HORRID!!!! I travel every year to Cuba and I have NEVER had such bad service!!! We were given keys to the wrong room and entered a room with people in it!!! They ran out of beach towels three days!! Ran out of beer on New Years Day, and fries at the snack bar!!! the Churros were made only once!! If you speak spanish you get far better service which delays the service of others!!

Muthu Colonial Hotel: Nice Family Vacation

Read some negative reviews about this place I went but ended up being pleasantly surprised. Traveled from Dec. 28 to Jan. 4 with 2 adults and 2 kids. Pools were great, beach was great, I found the staff to be friendly and the hotel grounds were nice. The buffet food itself was pretty bad, but the omelettes at breakfast, pasta bar at lunch and a la carte restaurants were all good. The biggest complaint I have would be the rude people who I encountered all over the resort.

Hotel Mojito: Great Resort

I enjoyed this resort a lot, the people were very friendly and would set out to make conversation with you. The pools were very nice and the food was great! I enjoyed the wide variety in activities that were available each day.

Hotel Playa Paraiso: Disappointing

Apart from its beautiful beach, Pestana left us disappointed. It did not live up to its high ratings. It was very understaffed and that meant problems with hotel cleaniness, towel availability and the food.

Memories Flamenco Beach Resort: Could of been better

The rooms where nice but that's all I have to say positive . The beach was so full of rocks and coral I had to walk half an hour to another resorts beach to swim . the pool was always dirty and full of leaves and dirt and never seen anyone cleanig it once . the food at the buffet seemed to sit there all day from breakfast on to dinner . Upon all that I always seemed to been bugged by staff for buying things like cell phones sunglasses and anything else with any vale

Memories Flamenco Beach Resort: Could not have asked for anything more

My wife and I travelled to this resort from December 26 to January 2 and can confidently say this was the best Caribbean travel experience we have had. From the staff to the facilities to the food and the drinks, everything met or exceeded our expectations. As a regular Trip Advisor, I will provide an in depth review of the resort. You may agree or not – I really just want to provide as much information as possible to make your experience at Memories Flamenco as amazing as ours. We flew Sunwin [... read more]g and paid for the Elite Plus upgrade. Being able to check in first in Toronto, the ample extra leg room and our bags coming out first in Cuba was worth the $160. We didn’t board first coming back from Cuba, which was a bit annoying, but the upgrade was worth it, if just for the seating alone. Upon arrival in Cuba, you receive your bracelet from the resort staff once you are through security. I’m glad we got out of the airport basically first because, within a few minutes, the line is long to receive a bracelet and you really just want to get to the hotel. It was about 30 minutes before we were on the bus and headed out. The resort is only 20 minutes away which is absolutely perfect. Don’t forget to pick up a couple of beers, only $5 Canadian for two. You don’t need pesos, change your money at the hotel. Just don’t use Canadian change, it’s very hard to them to change it. We got to the resort about 11 am and our room wasn’t ready which was expected. No big deal. We had packed our bathing suits and sandals in our carry on so we changed in a friend’s room and hit the pool. I checked at around 3 pm and the room was ready and our bags were delivered promptly. Excellent service and a positive start to the vacation. From there it was eight days of heaven. We aren’t really beach people so we spent our time at the pools. We tried the shallow pool with the pool bar a couple of times and that wasn’t our speed so we spent the rest of the week at the top, deeper pool. The service was excellent and our servers were a lot of fun. The animation team also wandered around and never hesitated to pull up a chair to chat. If you like music, dancing and partying – try the shallow pool. For relaxation, try the deep pool. The food was actually quite good and the New Year’s feast was amazing. We only ate at the buffet but there was enough selection to keep us full. The snack bar did run out of different things a few times but hey, you’re on vacation, relax. The Cuban people work endless hours to provide you with the ultimate vacation experience. I enjoyed the hot dogs and burgers – I didn’t try the pizza. A food highlight was the grill at the pool. Line up around noon for the opening at 12:30 pm and enjoy the pork, chicken, fish, sausages, salsa and salad. Really worth the wait. Having travelled a few times I have to say the entertainment at Memories Flamenco was the best entertainment ever. We usually grabbed a table at the side of the stage after supper where we met new friends, enjoyed some drinks and then watched the show. They were all first rate with Michael Jackson as the best. Do not miss the entertainment, you will regret it. After the show, if you like to party and stay up late, the lobby bar is where the action is. The drinks flow freely and you’ll have a chance to meet tons of new people and hang out with the staff as well. To put it simply, it’s just a really great time. We only went on one excursion as we don’t like to be off resort for more than about four hours. We selected the speedboat and snorkeling and loved it. You leave the resort at 10:15 or 12:15, drive to the boats and after a quick safety lesson it’s time to go. The boat is fun to drive and the snorkeling is amazing. You travel through a lagoon, not in the ocean, and there are so many fish. It’s tricky swimming up river as the current is very strong but there is a rope you can use to pull yourself along. Coming back you can just float and enjoy the fish. The lagoon is only about 10 feet deep. Don’t forget bread and bananas for the fish. We were definitely sad to leave. This is a resort I would definitely return to. The final perfect touch was management saying goodbye to each person as they boarded the bus and then waving as the bus pulled away. These people really care. Just a couple of comments where there is room for improvement: Create a separate coffee bar. The lobby bar made excellent Spanish coffee but it takes a while and slows down drink service. A station that serves only coffee, would speed things up. Keep an eye on food supplies at the snack bar and maybe open the pizza station earlier if food is running low. Many days the only thing available were hot dogs on hamburger buns. I do realize it’s Cuba but perhaps there is a solution. Post the menu for the evening outside the ala carte restaurants. This will give people an opportunity to decide if they want to eat there.

Hotel Mojito: All we wanted, expected, and more!

The staff was absolutely amazing! Excellent service, good food, good entertainment, well kept grounds and installations. Weather was awesome in early November. Beach was the nicest we've seen ever! We would return to the Mojito any day!

Starfish Cayo Guillermo: Made the best of it but won't be back

Traveled from Dec 28th through Jan 4 with a group total of 10. Grounds-keeping a noticeable tell-tale upon arrival - they should keep a goat on site. First day arrival saw rooms ready around 5pm and later than expected. As a group of 10 (8 arriving - 2 in earlier) an offer of "here's a temp room to store luggage and change into your beach wear/enjoy amenities while you wait for your rooms" would have been nice - I might say expected - but I recall no such offer. Intermittent water supply issues, [... read more] reportedly not a resort matter, meant a few days without running water (no shower/no flush - you decide what's more important) and a stretch of 4 days with no access to a simple beach towel until "once" prior to departure gave new meaning to the importance of evaporation. Our travel mates had to have a non-working AC unit replaced (after several days of "maintenance will get tuit today promises" - and a good thing really it finally was as both spent a day and a half inside thanking that the water Gods chose that time to be bountiful - a flush was possible during their period of recovery) and we had to do our own "repairs" to get a few showers working. Resort did fog for biting bugs on numerous occasions but bring repellent if you decide to go along with Benadryl and various other proven Western concoctions of anti-inflammatory / anti-itch medications - although the Doctor that personally gave me a shot in the rear to slow the oozing was very very pleasant! In terms of room quality, I might rank it one notch above sleeping in a lounger on the beach however personally; it offered protection and reprieve from those nasty little buggers you can't see. 2 twin beds we pushed together- one with a broken leg - made movement between my wife & I certainly more entertaining than usual - I think that might have been our collective trip highlight. I can say however; that the cleaning staff did do a good daily job. On the food front - no real complaints on selection, taste or quality - it was actually better than what I was prepared for although waiting for clean plates then lining up to fill them meant any additional calories one might expect to pack on while away on vacation were effectively burnt off during the anxiety of being "almost there". As a close to my review - we traveled with several couples who make Cuba a regular (and on more than one occasion annually) experience who report a hit and miss on the Cuban experience and summed up our adventure by saying "that's Cuba". We know many that have had great experiences. For us, a good groups of friends made the week. I'm only saddened by the fact that I will never again get the chance to say "ola" or "amigo" to the several very friendly resort staff I became acquainted with during my stay. Cuba - I might be back. Gran Caribe Club Cayo Guillermo - we've shared our only one life's precious moments together.

Memories Flamenco Beach Resort: Not terrible but below expextations

The staff were wonderful. Pool area is nice, beach rocky. Room basic but ok, but no hot water in shower and toilet was not working properly. Food quality and variety were lacking. Drinks were sub-par.

Starfish Cayo Guillermo: It was ok!

The hotel staff were fine. The rooms were good! We had no beach towels for four days! No running water thru out the whole stay! I wended up sick for 3 days and was in bed! The day trips were the best part of the trip

Iberostar Origin Daiquiri: Excellent Resort, Good Food and Great Beach

So, this is Cuba and if you haven't visited Cuba before then you need to understand that you are visiting a country that has been under a US embargo for > 60 years. They don't have a lot of anything. There are quite a few rough edges around the resort if you compare it to a country like DR or MEX. However, Cuba has a vibe about it that is infectious. I *love* Cuba, not because they run out of towels every day by 2pm or because they occasionally run out of lemon juice for the mojitos but because [... read more] the is an energy and strength in the Cuban people that is inspiring. This hotel has one of the nicer beaches from the water line out. Its pretty narrow on the dry side, but on the water side its wonderful. The white sand is clean and warm and just about perfect. Its also 10 minutes from Playa Pilar (look it up if you aren't familiar). Food is good and wholesome. Rice, beans, pork and chicken for the most part with some nice Fish and sometimes Shrimp. The food isn't fancy, but it is filling, flavourful and there is lots of it. This hotel has the best "Show" of any of the dozens of resorts I've visited. I am not a big "show" guy and I often skip but those shows I did watch were impressive. My wife and daughter agreed that they were the best. The music in the lobby was great, awesome atmosphere all round. We've been to a few different places in Cuba and the Iberostar's were my favourite. I like Iberstar Varadero because you can head into town easily, but if you would like a beach filled vacation there is no doubt that this resort is an excellent choice.

Memories Flamenco Beach Resort: Disappointed

I paid full price for this resort for me and my three year old including Diamond Club. The first night we had dirty sheets. The sliding door didn't lock and the mini bar was not stocked. I was looking for water ... The 24 hour concierge service did not exist. The food was very greasy and we had undercooked meat served to us three times - chicken and pork. The entertainment for children was inappropriate sometimes with sexual innuendos. These are just a few examples. Although the Manager did try  [... read more]to make up for the issues it was always superseded by another issue. We had wonderful weather and met a nice family so luckily still enjoyed our time on holiday. However I would never return to Memories Flamenco and was happy to get on the bus to leave.

Hotel Playa Coco: Better than expected!

I stayed at Playa Coco from December 13-20th with my 3 children, ages 21, 16 and 12. Overall our stay was very enjoyable, the resort was clean, the food was ok, usually able to find something for everyone. The beach was very nice and staff were generally polite and willing to help with anything we requested. The entertainment on a daily basis was lacking but thankfully we met some great people and were able to keep ourselves entertained throughout the week. For the cost of our trip, it was a gre [... read more]at vacation!

Starfish Cayo Guillermo: Good Value

The hotel is good but there is room for improvement. The food was excellent for a 3 stars hotel. The pool with a toboggan is excellent for children. The people is gentle and always trying to serve well. Nice happy hour with live music.

Hotel Camino del Mar: very nice resort!

We stayed in this resort for the week of Chtistmas. We liked everything about this resort. Very clean and organised. Very good entertainment specially for kids. Food was good and fresh with lots of variety.

Memories Flamenco Beach Resort: Good resort with some concerns

Stayed from the 18th to the 25th of December 2014. Was pretty much as expected, pool, food, booze and people all great. Beach was OK while the water was perfect. The rooms and public areas are not cleaned properly, housekeepers just move the dirt around although flowers were always fresh. Many safety concerns from railings to stairs to shower heads barely attached. Glad we did not have young kids.