Playa Luxury Cayo Guillermo: Stop Overrating This Hotel – Worst Beach Experience Ever

We booked this place because most reviews were five stars, and it turned out to be one of the biggest disappointments ever. The worst part — the beach situation is a complete joke. There are not enough beach chairs for guests. This is CUBA — people come here for the ocean and the beach, yet every single day we had to fight for a chair. Guests were “reserving” them early in the morning with towels or even sticks, then leaving for hours. By the time we came around 10 or 11 am, every single chai [... read more]r was already taken. Why do we have to wake up early during vacation just to get a chair? It’s ridiculous! We couldn’t even sit on towels because of sand fleas that bite like crazy, so relaxing on the sand wasn’t an option either. We literally had to stay in the ocean for hours, waiting for someone to finally leave. This is absolutely unacceptable. Never, ever had this experience anywhere else. The staff, in general, struggle with communication — most of them don’t speak English, which makes even simple requests difficult. However, I want to mention a few amazing people who truly made an effort: our butlers Jesus and Asciel, and the lady bartender in the lobby who made great cocktails. Everyone else looked unmotivated. And if that wasn’t enough, the buffet was closed during our entire stay. So we were stuck with a few la carte restaurants, and the food was awful. No vegetables, almost no fruits, everything tasteless and repetitive. Service? A complete disaster. We had to wait forever just to get a menu, drinks, and dishes. It felt like nobody cared at all. At least with a buffet, we could’ve served ourselves and avoided this chaos. Overall, this hotel is a huge disappointment — overpriced, poorly managed, and absolutely not worth the high ratings it keeps getting. When we mentioned the situation with the beach chairs, the staff simply said they “didn’t expect so many people.” Really? Is that the answer I’m supposed to accept after paying so much more than for a usual hotel in Cuba? If you value your vacation time, go somewhere else. This place completely ruined what was supposed to be a relaxing beach holiday.

Melia Cayo Coco: A True Paradise

This was my third vacation here and I love it more and more every time I travel here. The resort is super Clean and laid out beautifully. Good variety of food at the buffet and 3 a la cartes to dine at as well. Everyone is very friendly and helpful and make you feel at home! The beach is to die for!!! Rooms are very spacious and well equipped with very comfortable beds and pillows. Stocked mini fridge with water, pop and beer daily. I will be returning again for my 4th visit in February!

Brisas Guardalavaca: Home away from home

Love this resort. Agreed it is not a 5* but it is homey with most personable staff there is. Rooms are clean and well cared for. Whenever I have had an housekeeping issue it was corrected in a timely manner. If you are a foody Cuba may not be for you. Having said that the food is good and well prepared. The bread is the best. If you are celebrating a special life moment the staff does everything they can to make magic happen. The birds sing, the sun shines, the water welcomes and your saf [... read more]ety is at the top of the list.

Royalton Hicacos Resort and Spa: Nice resort on a great beach

A quick summary : We booked the Diamond club superior room. Resort is very nice, Room was fantastic, beach is amazing and the food is Cuban quality. I will also say that bug spray is a must if you want to spend time outside in the evenings the mosquitoes were an issue for us.

Barcelo Solymar: Worst hotel ever!!!!

I don't know where to begin, worst hotel ever ,first we had the 4th floor room washroom was disgusting the shower had a bathtub with rust,they changed our room to a bungalow we had creepy centipede's crawled into our room even in our bed and ant nest , dirty towel stinky beach towels only 2 bath towels per room bring your own toilet paper the lobby bathrooms have np paper and no toilet seats, ack of food and terrible food, drinks hilarious no fancy drinks all watered down pita Canada w [... read more]as the only drink that was close to normal, staff was very friendly except the cigar bar tender very rude ,if I asked for a fancy drink he laughed at me!!! Good luck booking this place is garentee you will hate it here!!! Don't waist your money

Sanctuary at Grand Memories Varadero: Nice escape

The sanctuary is a nice quite spot .the rooms are very poor for an upgraded area. The food was good . The staff are good and vibe is chill. The beach and beach walks are beautiful. The sanctuary was a great price for November . But goes 800 more in high season and isn't worth that .

Melia Las Dunas: Wonderful resort!

This hotel was absolutely amazing the lobby was so beautiful and the staff were also very nice! The food was good many options! The pool and beach were amazing. The rooms were definitely not the best i’ve seen but all you do is sleep on your room anyway so it worked for me! Had a great experience here and I would definitely recommend!

Hotel Rancho Luna: Awful resort!

Hotel rancho Luna is the worse place you can book in Cuba. It’s a resort that serves rice and beans every single day. If you have any problems the front desk customer service scolds you and is very reluctant to help. They “run” out of essential items such as beer, wine, toilet paper, and food. The key card barely works which locks you out of your room. I was locked out for a good two hours while the front desk didn’t help. Not only that, you have locals hovering around the beach trying to sell y [... read more]ou services, even when you tell them no. I find it quite ironic that one night two people complained about no wine to their booking agent and the next morning they had an abundance of wine. Something is not right about that resort and no Canadian should book there. Losing weight and trying to find an earlier flight should tell you how the trip was.

Hotel Rancho Luna: Don’t come here

Ok so this was the worst vacation I spent money on! This place was terrible in pretty much every way! The food situation was so bad we had nothing to eat and lost weight while on vacation! The food was rice, canned meat, goat and fish. No snacks, no mixed drinks, and the same unseasoned food every day for 7 days! I got really sick on day 6 from the food. We had to leave and get food from the restaurants off the resort or we would starve. It’s literally rice, canned meat and beans everyday and n [... read more]ight. No butter for the dry bread, no breakfast foods, no lunch and no fruits and no salads at all. They sliced cucumbers, sour pineapples and underripe watermelon was all that was offered! Now the rooms were so bad! We complained and they put us in the suites which were much better! But only got it on day 5 after we were counting the days to go home because we were hungry and thirsty as there was very little water. They had power outage and water was gone for almost 2 days, couldn’t use anything! No water!! No drinks except wine, beer and coffee when we had water! It’s NOT all inclusive as the dining was only open for about 2 hours at a time only at meal times so no food or snacks in between!! Again we are so hungry and I’m already so thin! The room keys stopped working almost daily and the front desk ladies are rude and dismissive! The tv’s are all grainy and terrible! Only have like 4 Spanish channels and cnn in English. The music from the stage is so loud you can’t relax in your room at all! The place lacks entertainment, food, drinks, water, supplies such a toilet paper and paper towels are scarce in Cuba so you will not have any of those if you don’t bring your own! Cuba is quite impoverished so be ware that its poor and people will try to take your money by offering things for sale or just beg you when you go off the resort. The stores and small and under stocked and the food is not good even when you go to a restaurant! The basic rooms are so run down and the mold is bad, small and gross. Only the suites are livable! The beach was dirty and no one cleans up the beach so people didn’t really swim in it! All in all it was so bad I can’t say enough to keep you away from this resort! Please go to a 4 star place where you will have food and basic necessities and a clean beach to swim.

Memories Caribe Beach Resort: Amazing Resort

This was our second time staying at Caribe and again it met all of our expectations. The problem we had was with Trip Central itself. As we booked thru Trip Central with knowing about the merger between Sunwing and Westjet we did not think that we would have encountered the problems that did. Unable to prebook our seats was an issue and the Trip Central Susan Snider was not at all helpful with us being able to do this. She was notified upfront when speaking to her and emailing her to [... read more] our preference in seating due to some disabilities that I have. She did not follow up with any emails I sent with regards to this as well as the follow up phone calls my husband made to her. Cannot remember what the date was but I was in the online portal for Sunwing and discovered that the seats were finally available to purchase, so I did this on my own. Other than not receiving follow up help from the Susan Snider our vacation was great.

Melia Varadero: Great resort

The grounds of this resort are beautiful and well kept. The view of the ocean from the patio area outside the lounge bar is amazing, It is at a higher elevation. The beach is stunning and you can go out a fair distance without the water being over your head. The two pools are very nice with one being slightly elevated above the other. Plenty of lounge chairs to go around. Organized volley ball in the late after noon. There was also fun dance fit in the pool. The staff do a good job of t [... read more]rying to engage you to participate. Special thank to Julio whom is the sports representative. Julio was very informative about what was going on at the resort and got us set up on the pickleball court. He even filled in when we were a player short. Julio is remarkable, a great sports player and a very good representative and advocate for the Melia Varadero. I was in one of newly renovated rooms. It was extremely clean, the air conditioning worked and the mattress very comfortable. Your wrist ban has a small metal tag with a chip that opens your room door. It also opens and closes your room safe. The breakfast always had plenty of fruit, omelettes, and a variety of pastries, There are some good deli meats and cheeses if you want to make a breakfast sandwich. The serving staff line up and greet you and clap when they open up for the days breakfast. For lunch, I chose to go to the beach bar for a burger or the snack bar for a burger and fries. Dinner also had a very good selection. For Cuba, the food at this resort was better than other Cuban resorts I have been to. There were no shortages, the week I went. You may want to consider the Level which is a higher cost package, having more options. I have been told this and will try it on my next trip to see if it is worth the extra cost. The overall service by all staff was very good, and above all, they were friendly. What sets them apart from other resorts is their response time to deal with issues that can happen. I had a issue with my safe not opening and the repair person was at my room within 15 minutes. When I had a clogged drain the repair person was also within 15 minutes. At other resorts you don't know when they are going to show up ! The only negative thing I can say is from a Health and Safety issue. The entertainment was good but they played the music too loud . This entertainment is located just outside the lounge bar where you can have a drink and watch sports. Some people always think louder is better and get offended if you politely ask them to turn it down. The music was distorted, as it was so loud. Staff would not turn it down when I politely asked. I left as I did not want hearing damage. I was not the only one. Dance and entertainment is important part of Cuban culture and I understand that, but it was also important to many Canadians whom wanted to watch the world series. Perhaps Management at the resort reading this review could consider relocation or at the least turning the volume of music down, so it is not distorted and the music can be appreciated !!!! Management, please take the time to go on line and read about decibel levels to protect the hearing of your employees and customers. Once hearing damage happens it cannot be reversed! You can invest in a decibel meter or use common sense and turn it down! I booked through Monique Kwirant of Trip Central, whom provided exceptional service. Monique even called me to see how my trip was. Monique is very personable and articulate. She was very efficient and a great asset to the Trip Central Team. I have never been to a Melia resort before and they seem to have a higher standard. Management appears to be doing a good job as their employees appeared happy, they provided good service and there was a team concept. It is well maintained! I would suggest you go to this resort as it offers great service and value for your money.

Sanctuary White Sands: Amazing resort! Get the premium service

Newer resort. Excellent experience. Beautiful beach! Very nice, big rooms, very nice restaurants. The food was very good in sufficient quantity. Friendly staff Daylin, Yanelis, Deimis gave an excellent service, their smiles are contagious. They are hardworking and love what they do. My husband and I stayed from Oct.11 to Oct.25, we have celebrated our 40th anniversary. Special mention to Daylin for her excellent service. Both Daylin and Yanelis truly make this place and our stay very special,  [... read more]always attentive and kind. Highly recommend this resort. Thank you all

Memories Flamenco Beach Resort: Beautiful Grounds

Beautiful Grounds and beach. Facilities could use updating. Food was average for Cuba. Workers are resort were fantastic. We were there late October, the resort was half empty - no line up's anywhere. Misqkitoes were heavy in the evenings.

Hotel Mojito: Amazing beach and staff

I had an amazing week at Hotel Mojito in Cayo Coco, Cuba. The beach is absolutely beautiful, and they have the best coffee I’ve ever had — especially at the lobby bar! ☕ Every single staff member I met was so kind, welcoming, and hardworking — from the bartenders and maids to the lobby, guest services, and animation team. They truly made the resort feel like a warm, happy place. The rooms are clean, the grounds are beautiful. It's an older resort but overall a great value. Thank you to [... read more] everyone at Hotel Mojito for making this week so special. I’ll definitely be back.

Memories Jibacoa: Breathtaking Views!

My husband and I needed a break from our hectic lives and some much-needed quiet time together, and this resort was exactly what we needed. The mountain views were absolutely breathtaking, whether we were sitting on our balcony, swimming in the beautiful ocean, or relaxing by the pool with music, the scenery never disappointed. The resort itself was peaceful, and there was entertainment every night. The staff were outstanding, friendly, upbeat, always ready to make you smile, and genuinely ap [... read more]preciative of every tip. As most people know, you don’t go to Cuba for the food, but it was perfectly fine. The only minor downsides were no fries (very disappointing, lol) and no 24-hour snack bar. But overall, you really can’t expect every resort to offer everything. Be sure to hike up the mountain, you won’t want to miss the view! We would definitely go back

Blau Varadero: Mixed feelings on Blau

The grounds, rooms and public areas are great, so is the beach. The pool area was OK, old and tired. Broken and missing under water lights, lack of cleaning, fixtures such as handrails and water volleyball net posts, were either loose or pulling out of the cement. We saw the same debris in the pool, day after day. Found many of the staff indifferent and the food quality was by far the worst we have ever had in Cuba. The ala carts were not worth going to. We had 4 reservations during th [... read more]e week, 2 at the Italian and 2 at the International. After trying both one we never went back again. From the reviews we read, this was not what we expected. We had staff and longtime returning quests tell us that Blau is no longer managing the hotel, and the Cuban hotel management company is taking it over. We also had returning guests tell us they were extremely disappointed with things and that since March the place had gone downhill fast.

Sanctuary White Sands: Was really disappointed

This rated as a 4.5* hotel. I’m fully aware that standards in Cuba are not the same but this was definitely more a 2*. I’ve been to Cuba many times and I know that we don’t go to Cuba for the food, BUT, peas shouldn’t be served for breakfast, lunch and dinner! Adding mushrooms or pickles to the bowl of peas doesn’t make it any better. It was literally the same food everyday at every meal with no fresh vegetables at all. There was no food available once buffet closed except for ham and cheese san [... read more]dwiches. There was no service except for the main lobby or the lunch buffet area, no service at the beach, pool area or room service. The only reason that it bothered me was because one evening I wasn’t feeling the greatest and just wanted to stay in my room, only one buffet area was available and it’s not allowed to take food out. Sheets in the room were dirty, housekeeping was slow and they have a coffee maker in the room but don’t provide the coffee! (You need to bring it from home) I’m honestly not one to complain but this was a tough one to make the most of it. My positive is definitely the lobby bar staff and the concierge’s did work hard to try and make everyone happy.

Grand Aston Cayo Paredon Beach Resort: SMOKEY

Hotel rooms nice, staff great, food good but stay away if you are a non smoker. They will ruin your trip. I could not even see a single show or relax anywhere including my own balcony and the beach. It was that bad. I don't think the staff enjoyed it either. Make some smoke free zones for the rest of us. I will definitely not be back for this reason.

Grand Aston Cayo Paredon Beach Resort: Very good resort

Lovely, clean resort, good beach , nice swimming pools, friendly staff, food ok sometimes even very good, many good cakes, good ice-cream. I missed the amazing cuban Mulata coffee and coconut liqueurs, they did not offer them this time. We spent a pleasant vacation here.

Sol Cayo Coco: Small .. amazing resort

Even though was off season .. with low capacity .. we love it! It’s very cozy-small and works for us .. rooms are large and beds are very comfortable and new ..had an amazing room with breath taking view .. in resort everything is close by .. rooms,pool,teatar ,beach .. clean and well kept .. but mostly.. people (staff) and the beach are exceptional .. welcoming and friendly !! Will be back for sure