Royalton Hicacos Resort and Spa: Beautiful resort, amazing staff

We went to Royalton, Royal Hicacos last week. It was our eighth time at this resort. We love the staff there. They go out of their way to make your stay more enjoyable!! Unfortunately, the weather was horrible and we didn’t see more than a few hours of sun the whole week. It was very unusual for Cuba. The bugs were horrible and I had many red welts all over my body. I got sick the last day there and had some unpleasant reactions. The staff cannot control the weather or the bugs. They [... read more] had many activities that we could enjoy in the lobby bar and wherever they could fit a game of golf or bingo etc I love the staff. Hats off to the amazing entertainment staff and restaurant staff. Veronica, Arianna, Ari, Dennis, Jean, Jacques, Anita, Stella selling clothes to all the gift shop staff and others. (incorrect spelling of some)They remember us year after year as Mama and Papa Bear. (A long story for another time) Betty in the restaurant was amazing. She even sent special tea to my room when I wasn’t feeling well. The others were all attentive as well. Too many names to mention. All the staff were awesome in every area from the front to the gardeners. We keep going back because we love these people! It’s a beautiful resort with beautiful people. I would not choose to go back at this time of year again though. We have usually gone on March Break and the weather has always been much better and I have never been bothered by bugs like this time. It’s sad because the weather and bugs ruined our holiday. Thankfully we met some awesome people from England and played a lot of card games together. We had fun even without sunshine. Another time of year with sunshine and no bugs, I would definitely recommend this resort to my friends. This year unfortunately, I could not say I had an awesome time like previous years. This was no fault of the hotel or staff, but weather and bugs which cannot be controlled by these wonderful people!!

Paradisus Princesa Del Mar: It's ok, but it definitely is not a 5*

This resort is ok, but it does not qualify as a 5 star resort. It needs some TLC, repainting would do a huge improvement. Food selection is very basic - nothing special. If one goes to this resort hoping to get a wonderful selection and a variety of tropical fruits - one will be very disappointed. The service is friendly but not overly eager to please, except one tips right at the beginning. Starting right at the beginning with front desk, cleaning lady, pool service and restaurants etc.. Then [... read more] you get amazing service - money and chocolate did the trick 😊😊 Unfortunately we had horrible weather - we had only one day of sun. All the other days it was very windy, cloudy, rainy and very cold. But this has nothing to do with the resort - no one can give a guarantee on weather. Next holidays I'll be prepared to always bring some warm cloth.

Sanctuary at Grand Memories Varadero: Awesome Adult Only

The food exceeds expectations - it is a bonus to be served a la carte instead of having to compete with the crowds in the buffet. The staff is so attentive and lovely. The pool area and grounds are so well kept. You can't beat the Varadero beach.

Paradisus Princesa Del Mar: Nice peaceful resort

The room was large, clean, had a safe, bath robes, ironing board, iron and hair blower. Very good amenities . They provided a package of larger containers of soap, lotion, shower gel that lasted the whole week. Fridge contained large bottle of water, soft drinks and beer that was replenished daily. Bed comfortable as were pillows. We were glad to have a warm blanket in the closet as we did catch a cold spell. Our room was on the third floor which gave us a lovely view of the sea. We initial [... read more]ly had a room on the ground floor that was pretty run down and I had requested a room higher up so they changed the room for us without question. The staff were so kind and courteous. Our maid even gave us a little wooden souvenir box. Thank you Yaima. We had very good service in all of the restaurants. There was skyways plenty to eat and a good variety to suit all pallets. One of our waitresses - Yena, gave my husband and I a cute key chain each. We brought a lot of little gift items for maids and a couple of waitresses. Some were sweet treats or toiletries etc. fill your suitcase with as many extras as you can fit in. Resort was very peaceful as there were no nightclubs. Nights were nice and quiet. Beach was lovely and plenty of chairs. Pool area as nice but sadly people hogged the pool bed and chairs for the whole day by leaving their towels and some personal effects even when they weren't using them. This shouldn't be allowed. One negative was that the pools weren't deep enough to really swim. Only good for standing in. Had some entertainment on the grounds, beach and lobby throughout the day. We got to experience the Cuban healthcare system. The medical staff were very kind, competent and professional and the customs service representative called to make sure my husband was Ok and to see if there was anything else they could do for us. Thank you Diletes (sorry if I got your name wrong) for your kindness too. The hotel doctor was very helpful and we had good aftercare. Staff were so kind afterwards with a special thank you to Prado for his kind words. I would highly recommend this hotel if you are looking for a quiet getaway where you can really relax. You can see that all the staff work very hard to ensure we all have a good experience.

Iberostar Origin Laguna Azul: Nice Resort

The Laguna Azul resort was clean and well maintained. The family room that we booked consisted of two large rooms with an adjoining door. Having teenagers this worked perfectly as it allowed our teenagers to sleep in their own slightly oversized twin beds while the parents had a kingsize bed in the other room. Initially upon first view the beds looked hard and uncomfortable but they turned out to be quite comfortable for a good nights sleep. The bathrooms however, are beginning to show signs  [... read more]of disrepair. Our shower head did not have a bracket to hold it to the wall and therefore needed to be held by hand to use it. The water was always warm though and we were glad for that! Something was broken with our toilet since the water continued to run 24/7 -- it took us a couple of days to ignore this sound at night but eventually we did not notice it. The air conditioning in our rooms worked very well. It was quiet and could be adjusted as needed within the room. The buffet was plentiful and there was a huge variety of foods to choose from. Our teenagers enjoyed being able to pick their preferred foods (pizza, grilled meats, and pancakes for breakfast). The adults enjoyed that there were many healthy options including fish, pork, chicken, as well as many vegetable and fruit options. The dessert buffet was also very plentiful and we enjoyed that more than we should have! On New Years Eve the hotel hosted an especially wonderful buffet which had many extra delicacies such as lobster, specialty cheeses, sushi, and cured meats. We also enjoy eating at the three a la carte restaurants. Our favourite was the Japanese restaurant as it was very fun and entertaining. We wished that there were more activities to do at the resort. Games, activities for teenagers etc. would have been nice. There was one dart board, one shuffle board area, and one bocce area for the whole resort. Three of the days during our stay were too cold for the beach or pool for any extended length, so it would have been nice if the resort could have had other things to do during these days. The main inside lounge in the central building could have been a lovely place to sit during cold weather/ evenings but it was very smokey as this is where the smokers hung out. We were surprised at the liberties that smokers were aloud to take around the resort. Sometimes this just made things unpleasant as it restricted where you could be if you wanted to avoid second hand smoke. All in all I would recommend this resort. Our family enjoyed it very much. If you go over the holidays when the weather can be unpredictable (cold and rainy) you may want to bring some cards and games etc. as it can be hard to find things to do otherwise.

Muthu Playa Varadero: Great Stay

Playa De Oro was a great place to stay, friendly staff and very accommodating, and the food wasn't all that bad. AC was leaking in first room so they moved us to a new room as soon as possible. Bar staff made sure all patrons were served with a smile.

Melia Peninsula Varadero: Disappointed

Visited Melia Peninsula Varadero with our friends for a week. We have all been to Cuba before and had a lovely time, hence the reason to return for a getaway week and a winter break. The hotel lobby, main areas, grounds were all well kept. We had the vip upgrade which meant closer to the beach, robes and slippers in room, beach towels in room, a bottle of rum and 20% discount at the spa. The rooms were quite basic and served it's purpose - a good night's rest and somewhere to shower and ch [... read more]ange; most of the time spent on the beach which was lovely. The staff at the resort were friendly and helpful and tried to help us out whenever they can eg fresh towels daily, bottle of water, bathroom tissue. Our biggest grief was at the main restaurant - the food is what we expected (been to Cuba before) but the issue is that it was not being replenished. At breakfast, lunch, dinner the trays at the buffet would be empty, picked over and not be replenished. Families would be taking 2 and 3 plates of food per person, filled to the max, no sense of order at the queues, people cutting in, cutting you off and going around on the other side of the buffet. Utter chaos. By the time we get around to the buffet there is no food left and its quite a long time before its replenished. So very frustrating we would go to the pool bar and have an sandwich and fries or pizza. On NYE they pulled out all the stops and served steak and lobster, but there was still the issue of people cutting in and having multiple servings at once. We complained one night and was offered to go to the a la carte beach restaurant which we refused as we were there before and the food was awful - Cold soup and overdone fish and meat. The other a la carte restaurants - Italian and Japanese were fully booked while we were there and never got to try them. We were there to have a good time at the beach and have some downtime which we did, but we were all terribly disappointed at the main restaurant.

Iberostar Origin Playa Alameda: Fun resort

Nice for a Cuban resort. Pros: The rooms had been recently renovated and were quite stylish. Beach was very nice, always lots of chairs Staff was very friendly and courteous Kids had fun at the kids club, staff made a real effort Morning omelets and fresh cooked meat were good Cons: The beds were rather hard Specialty restaurants seemed to pre-cook all food earlier in the day and Internet, while available, was difficult to use and unreliable

Melia Marina Varadero: Good resort but a bit far

My experience at Melia Marina was good! Travelled many times and been to lost of Melia resort all around the world and knew a little bit what to expect. Wasn't happy with my room on my first day and after speaking with the lady at the front desk she gave me a new room. Overall it's a good hotel!

Sol Palmeras: Well established very clean hotel in great location providing very good services.

This is the 4th time I have stayed at the Sol Palmeras because it is a very good hotel. I travel alone and the cost of the package is more expensive that for a couple. It cost me $3600. I do, however have, a complaint. The room they gave me when I checked in was a disaster. It smelled very musty when I first opened the door. Neither the fridge nor the safe worked. The next morning I asked for another room. They told me to come back at 2:30 p.m.. I did and they assigned me a very nice room  [... read more]with a king bed and a view of the pool. All the appliances worked.

Resonance Blu Varadero: Underwhelmed!

Having been to Cuba 2 other times our expectations were tempered. This was our least favorite experience. The gardening, dance shows and beach were good but that's where the good ends...the rest of the place was regrettable. Dirty pools! Terrible beds! Patio doors broken! Very few tongs at the buffets make for plenty of cross contamination. Many food items sitting in the danger temp. zone. My wife now has strep throat! Not the Memories we were looking for. This will be our last time getting s [... read more]cammed by Cuban destinations.

Resonance Blu Varadero: Really good resort

Grounds and restaurants maintained really well. Rooms could use a bit of an update but still good. Great service and very friendly. No one asks for tips and they work hard for them. Great place to bring a family.

Iberostar Origin Bella Vista Varadero: lovely resort

fantastic, clean and comfortable rooms. amazing, friendly and efficient staff. very attentive barmen and impressive range of international drinks. stunning beaches and pools. complete gym and new tennis courts. okay meals.

Hotel Bella Costa: Beautiful beach!

Hotel overview- common areas are nice, pool is fun but needs repair, rooms clean but need updating, lobby nice, restaurants good, renovations in progress, plumbing issues: leaking ceilings, water in hallways, foundation cracking, paint chipping, structure needs a complete overhaul Staff works hard to please guests, lobby bar for best coffee, beach restaurant for atmosphere and lobster, Japanese a la carte for tempura, champagne delivered for anniversary, varied pool activities, beach activit [... read more]ies available.

Melia Marina Varadero: Very good resort

We enjoyed this comfortable, clean, friendly resort. We didn’t enjoy all of the a la carte restaurants, food was often overlooked but we were pleased with everything else. The bar staff was very friendly and remembered who you were and what you liked. The rooms were clean and comfortable.

Valentin El Patriarca Varadero: Rather Disappointing

There was quite a lot to say about this resort at first, but by the end of our stay we were happier. Our previous experience was in Cayo Santa Maria, so perhaps Varadero is just a bit too long around in terms of employees in tourism. But the main thing was how uneven the service was. People were sometimes very nice and friendly, and often (especially in the dining room) very brusque and rude. It seemed to have to do with management and training. Where is the approach that the customer comes firs [... read more]t? Is it about the tips? If you don't tip, they'll be rude? All of the dining staff require some upgrading...you need to learn how to make people feel warmly welcomed and at home, comfortable and able to relate to you. We had this from some of the front desk staff, but not the lady who was on the desk when we arrived late and tired on Dec. 25. Was she not a regular staff person as the others were all off for Christmas? She was rude, cold and not welcoming at all. Barely helpful when we had to change our children's room (they are 23 and 21, boy and girl and could not share a king bed; we had pre-arranged 2 beds but that is not what was assigned). So, the service was a problem (also at the beach bar-not polite, not smiling, not kind). The bartenders in all the bars were quite nice, and the woman who cleaned our room was very friendly, especially after we tipped her the first day and she would chat with me daily. The beach staff (boats, etc.) were very friendly and warm. This resort, however, is not a 4.5 star! The hotel is claiming 5 star! In what world? There was, for example, no poolside or beachside chair service. Most 5 star hotels provide wait staff to bring you drinks, no? Anyway, that's fine, we can walk to the bar but here are a few other problems: the food-typical for Cuba we think, very bland, fruit never ripe (why?) and very repetitive. On this resort, there were not enough restaurants open at decent hours. What is with the beachside bar being open only for lunch? Why do you have to walk all the way to the pool to find a snack mid-afternoon? And if you arrive late off a flight, why can you only find food in the poolside snack bar and it is a VERY limited menu? There are 3 a la cartes, and that's fine, and they don't take reservations, and that is fine, and the gourmet one is very good, we should have gone back there a second time. However, if you are not going to take reservations, then it should not be that you arrive at 7 and can't be seated until 8, should it? The room was not clean when we checked in. We pointed out problems and some were corrected, others were not. New Year's Eve was wonderfully well done, a huge feast, with barbecued animals cooked all day long. Lots of fun with the show and the dancing at night, and a really good job! A wonderful cultural experience. The beach is Varadero and of course, is wonderful, but this has nothing to do with the resort. There is a charge to see the giant cactus for which the resort is named. How silly. The resort could pay to support the preservation of the ancient old thing, out of the many tourist dollars they are making over the past 5 years. 2 dollars/person to see the cactus, when we could see it from our room, is ridiculous. There is only one pool, and only one family member swam in it, in the mornings for exercise. The beach is the thing at this resort. The swim up bar is weird on this resort, with the dry area being very unattractive. The dining hall is extremely uncomfortable, being indoors and when you try to take your breakfast to outside tables they chase you back inside. the lighting in the hall is very uncomfortable and the hall does not feel like it is on a resort but more like a Camp dining hall! The restaurants on the resort are connected to the dining hall (so that they can all share the kitchen we presume) rather than being located in different interesting spots, or under the palm trees, etc. Why is the beachside cafe not an a la carte in the evenings and why does it not provide breakfast in the mornings? We think this is likely a staffing management issue. The activities are run-of the mill and some are fun and the staff try hard. The yoga was ridiculous, to even call it yoga is silly. perhaps the real yoga instructor couldn't make it the day I tried it. One family member got a massage and said it was excellent. Services were, as stated above, uneven! The resort seemed a bit tired and we were surprised to learn it was only 6 years old. Really? it seemed so much older. And staff seemed jaded and tired too (except perhaps chefs and bartenders). The house band that played on Wednesday and Saturday in the piano lounge, was terrific and lots of fun. We enjoyed them both times and again on Sunday when they performed for NYE. Well done! But there was not enough live music on the resort! On a previous trip to Cuba we had live music every night on the plaza near the restaurant, with a different band each night, dancing lessons, all between 7 and 9 p.m. we were disappointed by the lack of such musical experiences on this resort. We have been to Cuba once before. The highlight of this trip however, was our trip to Havana, which we organized ourselves through somebody on the beach staff. We had a car and driver company both ways and stayed overnight at an Air B and B in Havana. The resorts organize only day trips and we wanted to stay overnight. Our stay in Havana was terrific, we had a lot of fun and really enjoyed the city.

Iberostar Origin Playa Alameda: Mediocre vacation

This hotel was less than I expected. I felt that the room was ok but not great. There was often no hot water at all and on one day there was NO RUNNING WATER. It was almost impossible to get our mini bar properly stocked. Our phone never worked-even after numerous complaints to the front desk. The grounds were well maintained but the facilities were not the best. The food at the main restaurant (buffet) left much to be desired (in fact, I lost 8 pounds while on this vacation and spent money  [... read more]on pringles chips from the very limited convenience store). The specialty restaurants were not good at all. My partner and I spent money of our own in Varadero searching for good food. The people in the dining areas were not welcoming (except for the man on the omelette station- HE was amazing). Everyone else was stand-offish. One server pulled me aside to try to sell me a "tour of Havana". I was not pleased by this. The people in the offices where the specialty restaurants were booked were downright rude. The beach was impeccable however but lacked appropriate bathroom facilities as they were constantly under repair. The showers at the beach entrance were out of order throughout the vacation. The representative from Transat changed twice. The person we booked out tour of Havana with was less than convincing in his appearance and his demeanour. The outing to Havana was mediocre and the guide spent most of the tour disappearing into bars and restaurants and left us to our own devices. The bus arrived 45 minutes late to the hotel in the morning and got us home much later than was expected. The tour included lunch and after being picked up at 8:30 am our lunch only happened at 2:30 pm. We were all starving by then. Some tour members were very upset and voiced their complaints. We decided not to because it was probably the best lunch of our trip. My partner and I returned home with bug bites all over our bodies. We are afraid they are from bed bugs as we never encountered any bugs anywhere. The theatre shows were atrocious. There was one dance show that had "international dance" and was absolutely terrible. One dancer had a clothing issue and her breasts showed throughout a section of the dance. The regular entertainment staff were ok and those shows on the beach or at the bar area were so much better than anything at the theatre. The problem with the bars was that there seemed to be a lack of servers. I regularly ordered something and never got it. It was frustrating to the point that we ended up going to the counter ourselves which seemed to annoy the barmaids but we had no choice if we wanted to get a drink. All this and we were tipping ALL the TIME because I had been told that the Cuban people relied on their tips. Well, I usually tip based on the service I encounter. If I had followed my usual ways not ONE server would have gotten a tip. They were all well under par. To say I was disappointed is an understatement. I will not be returning to Cuba because of this. It does not compare at all with our Transat trip to Mexico last year or with the numerous cruises we have done. Jennifer I. Montreal

Muthu Playa Varadero: Good value for the price

Pool area and beach are very nice. The rooms and facilities are in need of some updating, but are kept in a very clean state. The staff work very hard on this. The grounds are still recovering from the hurricanes, but are fairly maintained. Food was what you expect to get while in Cuba, but good considering. We enjoyed our stay there and would have no problem going back there again!

Iberostar Origin Laguna Azul: 5 star facility with some 3 star services.

Room was excellent, we arrived to some minor issues that were addressed immediately. Maids were friendly. Food was great but service not so much. Long lines at buffet. General manager needs people skills.

Melia Marina Varadero: Nice Hotel Not Great Resort

Rooms were nice, relatively clean. Food was the worst that we have had in Cuba. We have been to Cuba many times before and have never had this bad food at a supposed 5 Star resort. There was no variety and very few choices to eat. The Ala cartes were Ok but not great. If you like entertainment at night you will be lacking as they have no stage so they have a show at floor level so only a few can see well. There is no problem hearing the show as it is so loud that you can hardly hear yourself thi [... read more]nk. They ran out of liquor a few times for the drinks, once there was no mint for a Mohito, once they ran out of white wine. Also at dinner they ran out of milk for the coffee, no orange juice only mango and papaya juices for dinner. The service was very slow at the buffet restaurant, we were usually half done our meal by the time they came to offer drinks. Very little in the way of activities unless you want to learn Spanish or dance. When we were looking at the pictures when deciding to book, they had pics of bowling and pool tables, you should know that they ARE NOT part of the resort and you have to pay for use. The food was better at the pool restaurant then the buffet as they served sandwiches, pizza, hot dogs and burgers although they ran out of some items and didn't always have ketchup. If your looking for a hotel to stay at it is passable but as a resort I would not go back.