Iberostar Origin Playa Pilar: A great place to relax

My wife and I just came back home from a 5 days stay at this resort. This is a beach front property with a boardwalk that will take you right into the warm, beautiful turquoise waters of the Caribbean Sea. Our room was kept nicely clean and tidy by the housekeepers of Bungalow 5, (thank you very much Lia, Lauren and Carlos). The food was delicious, varied and abundant, and we got to enjoy many different Cuban Cuisine dishes. There was plenty of fresh veggies and fruits, that made our meals very  [... read more]delicious and healthy. The grounds are well kept and clean. I really have to commend the hard work and friendliness of the staff at this resort as they made us feel welcome and appreciative of our stay. This is definitely a place I want to go back soon again.

Iberostar Coral Esmeralda: POOR - for a 5 Star "this is going to be a long read"

I spent 11 days (Jan 9-20) in the Coral section and I was ready to leave by the 2nd day. I do not recommend the Coral section unless you're specifically looking to be left alone and like quietness. You do not get additional services, the buffet and a-la cart restaurants serve same food across both sides. Grounds - well maintained, the gardeners work hard and are very friendly. The layout is pretty easy to maneuver around once you know your way around. They were happy and surprised that we [... read more] acknowledged and chatted with them. We speak a little Spanish but shouldn't matter a simple "Hola" goes along way for them. Room - I asked for an ocean view room, well, I can't say I didn't get see to a glimpse of the ocean (that's all it was). They are having alot of issues with house keeping. My shower was not cleaned the whole 11 days. Depending on who you get, you will get floor mats as hand towels (I got it twice as the regular person was on a day off). Come on, that's not acceptable. empty fridge, 2 (500 ml) bottes of water. Exchanging of towels we had to call Public Relations and they would deliver to the room. Dining Rooms - Coral side is 2 years old and the dinning chairs look like they have been around for longer, they are dirty and a lot of stains, very disgusting. The first 9 days, we were given a very thin ply paper towel for napkins, unacceptable for a 5 star. Depending who is servicing, you get what you get for service (some great friendly staff and others, they look and treat you like we are disturbing them). A-la cart restaurants, not worth it, they pretty much serve what is on the buffet. I understand that the Country might be struggling with resources, but customer service, cleanliness and service need a lot of work, this is not a lack of resources it comes down from the Top "Management issues". They need to lower their rating because they are not working at a 5 star level. I have stayed at other 5 star in Cuba so I can compare. I have also stayed at 3 star in Cuba and had better service and amenities. Common area bathrooms, were a hit and miss (more of a miss) with having toilet paper, so I was always carrying it with me and lacked cleanliness with not working toilets. Again, definitely not a 5 star rating. All, my issues I'm expressing here were discussed with their Public Relations representative (Ariel) and his response was, here is a bottle of water, your towels (pretty much shutting us up) and the hand towel situation was addressed immediately. We were locked out of our room on two occasions (7th day - opps mistake, come to the front desk for assistance, again on the 10th day - oops - again come the front desk. We spoke to Ariel regarding a late check out and he said it's 11/hr. I'm like anyway you can compensate us for all the inconveniences we have been experiencing, he had the nerve to say "what inconveniences" and went on to say this is a Socialist Country and we do not negotiate, that is the price. We did not lower our head and walk away this time, we exchanged some words with him and walked away, but nothing rude. Staff / Guests - we met some wonderful people both staff and guests. They were the ones that made our stay better. I want to say thank you and a few shout outs to Yari and Mi (Taca Taca - they know what I mean) for their friendly smile and tried very had to keep guests engaged. Joseph (singer/pianist) what a great guy, it shows he loves what he does and that is entertaining and engaging with the guests. Some bartenders were awesome (hard to give shout outs by name, as they don't have name tags). Beach - absolutely amazing, calm, warm and crystal clear to the exception of a few days. Once my feet touched the sand, I forgot about all the issues that were behind me. The beach boys, were very nice shout out to Humberto, very friendly and engaging. But take this as you may, this was our experience in the 11 days there, maybe things just happened to us, but I would have a hard time believing it was just us.

Iberostar Coral Esmeralda: Best Vacation EVER !!!

My husband and I spent a week at this resort, with a swim up room...We were in Building 6 and it was perfect. The service at this resort is by far the best I've seen in Cuba, and have been numerous times over the past 20 years. The food was delicious and plentiful. The grounds are lush and maintained just lovely. The bar service best around... Pools and Beach spectacular !

Iberostar Origin Laguna Azul: Very Bad Hotel - Total Disappointment

I wish we did not select this hotel. I believe that Tripcentral or Sunwing should send an independent inspector there to check it out. Until this many, many issues are resolved - please exclude this hotel from the options and please do not send people over there. This is a total shame to Ibersotar network reputation and to Cuba overall. 1. Elevators do not work in any of the buildings. We paid extra for the ocean view room and were placed on the 5th floor. We were with a 10-month old baby and [... read more] a stroller. We needed to walk the stairs multiple times per day with the baby and the stroller. We also witnessed how hard it was for people with disabilities to move between the levels. Lobby is on the 3rd floor and the buffet is on the 1st floor. Even if you do not go to your room, you are still required to move the levels. We were carrying the stroller on the stairs multiple times per day. We did not receive any warning in advance. We did not get any apologies from the hotel. We were not offered a different room. 2. Drinks quality and availability. Coffee was not available at all bar locations for days, except the lobby bar. I believe that the milk used in the coffee was powdered as multiple times we were tasting powder lumps in the milk. There was no pop, except tonic. No soda or bottled water. Coca-cola was available for 3 days out of 11 and it wasn't an original Coke/Pepsi. All the alcoholic cocktails were limited to the options alcohol + tonic. Wine selection was only red, white or rose - with no name (e.g. merlot, it was just red wine), the wine quality was poor. Many alcoholic drinks were not available - e.g. vermouth. All the juices were powdered and of a very poor quality. There were very limited options for non-alcoholic drinks - just tonic or powdered juice. Having at least lemonade would have been nice. 3. Food quality and variety. There was mostly processed meat - sausages, ham etc. and very rarely pork, beef or chicken. Not every day and only for one meal per day there was grilled fish or meat, however, guests were required to stand in the line for 15-20 minutes. Eggs were not available for half of our stay for breakfast. Vegetables were very limited - salad bar (cabbage, tomatoes, cucumbers, green peppers) or steamed pumpkin, eggplants, green peppers, tomatoes tasting all very plain. Rice and beans were always there. Pasta was always available, however, it was always overcooked. Cheese variety was good. The food presentation was not appealing. There were no potatoes, except French fries in a snack bar 3 days out of 11. A-la carte restaurants were a bit better, except Cuban restaurant which served the same buffet food on nicer plates. 4. The big pool didn't work, the hot tubs didn't work. We received an email about the main pool being repaired 2 days before our trip but no word about the hot tubs. The working pools had damaged tiles and were unpleasant to walk in, especially for the baby. 5. Room cleaning did not happen every day, despite the fact we put a sign on our door. One day we had to go out to throw away the garbage ourselves (there were diapers). The cleaning lady works 9 to 5 and on some days she was not able to find 15 minutes to clean the room, unless you begged her. We always went to the beach 8am to 12pm and put the sign on the door but most of the days when we were comin back the room wasn't cleaned. Our baby was going for a nap 12pm to 2pm and we put the "do not disturb" sign on the door. On some days the cleaning lady would barge in during that time, despite the sign. We were refusing the cleaning during our baby naptime and she would assume we wouldn't need it that day, due to the language barrier. I feel like I paid twice more than I supposed to. I feel robbed, tired and disappointed. When I was leaving this hotel I was thinking maybe all Cuba is like this and that I would never come back to this country. But after talking to other tourists, I realized this was the hotel problem. Tripcentral - please don't send people there. If you are considering going this hotel - please don't go, it doesn't worth your money, time and mental health.

Iberostar Selection Ensenachos: Getting Older but Never Disappoints

This is our favourite resort in Cuba and have been back 7 times. Some aspects are getting tired and could use some work but these are overshadowed by the beauty of the grounds, buildings and most importantly the staff. We will definitely be back as the value is excellent.

Iberostar Origin Playa Alameda: Amazing First Trip/Stay in Cuba at the Playa Alameda

The Iberostar Playa Alameda was a wonderful stay with extremely friendly and helpful staff. We enjoyed the various activity options throughout the day and the nightly entertainment. We travelled in early January for a 10-day birthday trip and were surprised by a lovely complimentary bottle of champagne on the day of my birthday despite not informing the staff. We loved the theatre shows and the beach party in addition to the live music. The drinks were wonderful and the bar staff was great at cr [... read more]eating exciting variations on classic drinks. The food was plentiful and we even enjoyed 3 different dinners at the various restaurants on site. The beach was beautiful and the private entrance right at the back of the resort made going back and forth quick and easy. We also enjoyed lounging by the pool and eating at the snack bar. Our room was spacious and the bathroom was lovely with good lighting and a magnifying mirror for those who love to do makeup. Having a WestJet rep on site to book excursions was very convenient as we were able to book our day trip to Havana and a Catamaran to Cayo Blanco with ease. The onsite bank was great for exchanging for Cuban pesos as needed and the frequent busses into Varadero made it easy to pop into town throughout the day. We deeply enjoyed our stay and would recommended the resort to anyone looking for an 18+ stay in Cuba!

Iberostar Coral Esmeralda: Disappointing

The people were so unfriendly. The resort itself was nice but just couldn’t get over how the staff was. Just to ask a simple question it felt like you were putting them out. Not the Cuba I have experienced in the past. I would not go back if someone paid me. Such an unwelcoming miserable staff.

Iberostar Origin Bella Vista Varadero: Amazing Beach

Beach was beautiful, staff was fantastic. Rooms were average but clean and tidy Food was typical Cuba, a bit bland but plentiful. Lobby Bar staff was great and entertainment in the theatre was good

Iberostar Waves Costa Dorada: Great stay

Everything with the resort was awesome. Great food and lots of it. Staff were very helpful. Beach area had a lot of weeds, but staff did their best to clean it up daily. Would definitely return again.

Iberostar Selection Ensenachos: True paradise

This is my 4th time going to this hotel and I love it. Ive been everywhere in Cuba and this hotel is by far my favourite. I’m a beach person and you can’t get any better than ensanachos beach it’s simply stunning!! Staff is amazing, staring from the lobby , entertainment, beach bar ensanachos , life guard, cleaning ladies , etc…. honestly they all made our stay even better! Now , I hear people complain about food and all, as I always say if you go to vacation for food don’t choose cuba sim [... read more]ple as that. You will never be hungry and if you are simple person you will not have any problems with food. For cuban standards food is very good! I would recommend this hotel to families with little kids and everyone who wants to relax their mind , body and soul . :) Hotel may need some reno from the outside but rooms are amazing and spacious. I can’t wait to go back there again we are latest looking for good deals to go back in April !!

Iberostar Selection Holguin: Extremely concerned for any future travellers

Hello Trip Central team, We are writing to you on behalf of our entire family about our recent trip to Iberostar Selection Holguin, Cuba, on January 3rd – 10th, 2024, which was booked with Sunwing through Trip Central. For context, instead of buying Christmas gifts this year, we decided to take a trip with the whole family, which included 10 of us total. We heard great reviews about booking through an agent with Trip Central, so we thought that now would be a great opportunity to try. The boo [... read more]king process was smooth; Steve Langstaff was kind and professional. He provided us with all the information and resources we’d need to have a successful trip. We can’t say enough about how great the process was with Trip Central. However, to say we are tremendously disappointed with the trip overall is an understatement. Below, we will walk you through how it went. Starting with Sunwing: The Sunwing customer service staff and flight crew on flight WG6342 were by far the rudest employees our entire family has ever experienced. Many other travellers/passengers agreed. From the time we arrived at the airport, it was completely disorganized, and it felt like absolute chaos. When we arrived at the airport, we checked in and requested 10 seats together. However, we were told this was not possible. We understood that it was a big ask having not pre-selected seats in advance, so we were disappointed that we could not all sit together, but we completely understood. We then checked our baggage and received our boarding passes. It was not mentioned to us that we had to take a shuttle to a different terminal, so we were unaware until a final boarding call announcement was made (2 hours prior to the scheduled boarding time), to which we quickly received more information on where to go and then hopped on the shuttle. Upon boarding, we were told to bring the stroller for our 1-year-old on the plane and the women at customer service provided us with a sticker for it. When we boarded the plane, the flight attendants were quite rude to us about it, informing us that we should not have brought the stroller on the plane and that someone should have taken it from us before we boarded. We were just following instructions, so we gave them the stroller to secure it where they pleased. We then proceeded to our seats. This was just the start. As mentioned earlier, as a family of 10, we wanted to book our seats in successive rows. Six of us sat together across from one another in the middle of the aircraft while the other 4 were at the front of the plane. Much to our dismay, when we boarded the flight, it was only about ¾ full of many empty seats. We remained in our seats for takeoff (we have 2 young kids with us, 1 and 4) and about halfway through the flight, a family member let us know there was a full empty row of seats right in front of them. We brought the kids back to see and get some support from the family and sat down in those empty seats for a few minutes. These seats were the emergency exit seats that my family, who was in the row behind on both sides of the aisle, agreed to look after in case of an emergency and received the training for, because 10 of the 12 seats were unoccupied. One male flight attendant came over and said very nicely that unfortunately, the children could not sit in the emergency seats, which is completely understandable for safety reasons, so we apologized and switched up the seats with our family. Approximately 30 minutes passed and who we assume to be the lead flight attendant, who refused to tell us her name but can be described as a French-Canadian blonde woman, came over to us and very smugly said "Who told you that you could sit here?". We explained we had been sitting here for 30 minutes because the children were fussing and all of our family was back here. We also explained that another flight attendant had spoken to us to ensure the children were not sitting in the emergency row seats, but nothing beyond that. She was very aggressive in her approach, explaining that "these seats cost extra money per person, you can't just sit here". We apologized and offered to pay the upcharge for the seats and explained that we had tried to book seats all together upon check-in but were told that it was not possible. We would have been more than happy to pay to be closer to our family. She began raising her voice and told us “it was too late”. She then excused herself and said that “she will be back in a moment”. She then made an announcement over the intercom system regarding sitting in your own seats, to which we followed and went back to our original seats so not to have any confrontation. Not only this, but our ENTIRE family was skipped over for drink service and for Sunwing excursions, which was very unprofessional. We ended up spending a couple thousand dollars on excursions for the family when we arrived at the resort, but we booked with a different company when we got there. Cherry on top of the flight, when we were disembarking the plane in Holguin, everyone got a "have a great trip" except for our family. The behaviour of this flight crew was disgusting. All in all, customer service and communication overall were extremely poor and the employees were very rude and unprofessional. Iberostar Selection Holguin: We arrive at the resort, check-in was a breeze, the staff was great and we got shuttled to our buildings as the resort is huge. The rooms are nicely decorated, air conditioning was on, and it was great. As we are looking around the room, we notice that the mini bar is empty (unusual for an all-inclusive resort) and there are 2 canteen bottles of water on the desk with a sticker that reads "purified water" with numbers written on the sticker with a pen. Strange, as we have all been on dozens of all-inclusive vacations and have never seen this before. The water smelled like mud and tasted like what I would describe as the smell of walking into a busy nail salon (and did not get better throughout the trip). It was awful and what I would consider to be not drinkable, although we had no other option. We had requested bottles of water through the housekeeping staff, store clerk, bartenders, customer service, etc. with no success – all mentioned that there is no bottled water on the resort. After a few days, we noticed that there was mold on the inside lid of the canteen water bottles. Not just one, but most of them. This was extremely concerning and was of course brought to the attention of customer service. Within a couple of days of being on the resort, we had 2 of 10 of our family members violently ill. They were so sick they couldn't even leave the room for 24-48 hours, predominantly with cold sweats, vomiting, and diarrhea, followed by a lingering upset stomach. By day 4, it was 6 of us that had experienced this and by day 5, all 10 of us had been unbearably sick for at least 24-48 hours, not even able to leave our bed unless it was to run to the toilet. By this time, we had enough and asked some of the resort staff to bring us bottled water from their town for the next day, which we paid out pocket for. This only lasted for so long, so we ended up having to go to other resorts in the area and bribe them with tips for one or two bottles of water. All in all, each bottle we received ended up costing us between $2-$5 USD per bottle. In total we spent a few hundred dollars on bottled water. Safe, clean drinking water really should be available—it is essential. It was not until day 5 violent illness and expressing our discernment to the Management Team at the hotel that we got a big jug of water for each one of our 4 rooms. By this time, it was too late, everyone had already been so sick. The only reason we were able to save the trip was because there were 10 of us, and we all looked out for one another while the others were ill. If we had been alone, it would have been the worst trip of our lives. One of the housekeepers said in confidence how sorry she felt for us, as “many others on the resort are very sick as well”. Aside from the water issue, the food supply was extremely limited. For the first 2 days of the trip, there was only canned fruit (pears and peaches). On day 2 there was unripe pineapple and unripe watermelon. On day 4 the resort received lettuce and papaya. The only protein options were fish, pork, or beef. They ran out of eggs for breakfast. Most options were bread, pizza, and pasta. Fortunately, we came knowing that food options may be limited, but we didn’t expect it to be this bad. In all, the staff at Iberostar were amazing! A huge shout out to Axel who made our late-night meals so much fun! All staff were kind, and caring, and truly went above and beyond for all guests to ensure we were well taken care of and having a great time! The resort was clean and well cared for, decorated beautifully, and had entertainment and events every day and evening. They didn’t have much music playing in a lot of places which would have been great to brighten up the mood, but that’s just personal preference. Ending with Sunwing: Our flight was delayed approximately 5 hours on the way home due to technical reasons (which we found out via the pilots announcement after we had boarded the plane). The Sunwing flight WG6343 home was fantastic, the cabin crew were wonderful. Our children and one family member were still not feeling well, and the crew took great care us. On a closing note, Trip Central & Sunwing – it is NOT safe to send people to a resort that does not have clean drinking water (or bottled water) for their guests. Clean and safe drinking water is essential and arguably the most important thing a resort should have. This is supposed to be a 5-star resort however the lack of safety for its patrons is beyond concerning. We would like an explanation as to why this resort does not have any clean or bottled water, while the resorts just steps away did. Please do an investigation and follow up with us. We will be posting public reviews once we hear back from you. We believe compensation would be appropriate to address the significant dissatisfaction and inconvenience we experienced. This trip was far from a vacation; we collectively spent more time in bed and/or being caregivers to one another than we did anything else. This was written by a family member and sent by myself, who booked the trip with Trip Central. This concern is sent on behalf of all 10 family members. Thank you for your time and we look forward to your response.

Iberostar Selection Parque Central: Good Hotel

Great hotel in an excellent location. Food in both of the restaurants and the breakfast buffet was very good. Pool was beautiful with towel and bar and food service. One thing I would say is do not exchange your money at the hotel. Bring USD in small bills.

Iberostar Waves Paraiso del Mar: Perfect resort for relaxation

The grounds are amazing, with so much greenery and wild life. They have pink flamingo's, white and black swans, couti, peacocks, and of course iguanas just hanging around like the tourists. The walks to the restaurants and pool/beach are the best. You feel like you are walking through a little jungle. The pool is the best you can find a quiet spot or be down by the party. You can find a shady spot if you need a break from the sun or just keep on baking. The restaurants are great but the  [... read more]buffet is just as good. So much variety every night something new to try. They chef they have on staff is really great at his job. Best buffet I have ever had. The staff are by the friendliest people and they really enjoy their jobs....after talking with one of the waiters at the lunch buffet we discovered that a lot of the staff have been working at the resort for more than 20 years. The rooms are a bit dated but very clean...I felt like it had a rustic feel to it so it works for me. If you are looking for a place to relax by a pool and enjoy eating good food and drinks than the Del Mar is perfect for you

Iberostar Waves Paraiso Beach: My first time to Mexico was a success!

The hotel was exactly what I was looking for. It was very large but spread out so it was low density and not crowded. It had lots of greenery and wild animals and lantern lit pathways, so beautiful ambience. We went at the beginning of January so it was still quite humid but the air conditioning in our room worked great for when we needed to escape the heat. The food was great but I didn't notice a huge difference from the la carte and the buffet. Our room was very close to the theatre and buffe [... read more]t so it was pretty loud, I'd like to choose our room if we go again. The descriptions of what is offered is very minimal so we had lots of questions when we got there but they were all answered adequately. The entertainment was great and they always had something fun for guests to do. Beach was also clean but you had to get up super early to get a chair otherwise people would reserve them with towels. We just rented the sun beds a couple times. The store on site was ridiculously expensive so don't forget ANYTHING and get souvenirs s off site. There was only one type of beer which was disappointing because I got sick of Dos X's real quick LOL and I'm a beer drinker which was the only major downfall... I couldn't even get something at additional cost... Also, it says no smoking but there were people smoking all over the resort, didn't bother me but it might for some others.. Overall great place and I'd definitely go back.

Iberostar Coral Holguin: Beautiful resort

Very nice resort, gorgeous beaches and wonderful service,rooms nice and clean, mattresses very comfy,the coral side is very quiet and relaxing,batler service is outstanding,only one problem, probably hole Cuba problem it's the water ,it's filtered but smell of it not good ,but you can drink other stuff .

Iberostar Waves Costa Dorada: Feels Like Home!

I have been to this resort 4 times now. 3 times with my husband and once on a girls trip for my birthday. I do need to note that I upgrade to prestige every time I go to this resort so I can't elaborate on the base amenities. I love this resort mostly for the wonderful staff who make you feel so welcome and are extremely friendly. The beach is beautiful but it does get seaweed washing up, which the staff clean up daily if not numerous times a day. The upgraded bar selections are great and the ba [... read more]rtenders will gladly mix you any drinks you desire. Stella and Corona are only offered in the prestige level so you need the upgrade. I like the restaurants but the buffet is my favorite because of the selection. I am vegetarian and my husband is not but we both walk away full and satisfied. They offer late night food and the disco is fun! The rooms in the prestige level are not super fancy but they are clean and nice. The entertainment team is great and they do a beach party on Thursday nights. I will definitely be returning.

Iberostar Waves Costa Dorada: Great Resort!

Just got back from a week at Iberostar Costa Dorada and it was awesome! First off, the resort itself is beautiful. Very well kept grounds and very clean resort. The rooms are very spacious and the bathroom is great also, with a barrier free walk in shower and rainfall shower head. The food at the resort was really good, especially breakfast with all the fresh fruit and fruit juices. Everything was delicious and very fresh. The only issue I had was with the bars/bartenders. They were really spari [... read more]ng with the alcohol, and for me who isn’t a big drinker to notice that it is a pretty big deal. For me to have to ask for more rum in my piña colada is really annoying.

Iberostar Origin Bella Vista Varadero: Mediocre resort

This hotel was nice and big but wasn’t very clean and there was mold everywhere. The rooms were damp and the bed and everything else was always damp. And the towels always smelt bad. The food was pretty decent considering it was Cuba. And the coffee was amazing. The staff was super friendly and very good at their job, always went above and beyond to help out. The lobby bar closes very early at 10pm. Wish it was open a little later. There is a 24hr snack bar though. Other than the show there is n [... read more]o night entertainment.

Iberostar Origin Daiquiri: Friendly Clean Resort

Beach is amazing. Staff is friendly and attentive and if you had a problem it was addressed immediately to the best of what could be done given the shortages and limitations that are Cuba. There are no pushy people selling you anything on the beach so that was nice and particular to Cuba. The rooms are basic. Fresh towels and bottles of water everyday. The areas are sprayed for mosquitos daily so that was not a real issue other than for an hour or so at dusk. Food is plentyfull but basic.  [... read more] Always had fish, chicken, beef and pork dishes. Fruits are tropical only with the occasional imported apple. No almond or soy milk ...just milk. No cereal for breakfast although plain oats was an option. I will be back again....

Iberostar Waves Rose Hall Beach: Terrific resort with exceptional food and service

Very friendly and accommodating staff. Well-kept grounds and rooms with exceptional food. There is something for everyone. Things to do or just relax in the sun and the staff will take good care of you. Would go back in a heartbeat.