Decent Resort

This was a quick get away for 2 friends who needed a break from husbands and kids ;). We got the week away for under $750 - so bear that in mind. If you're looking for a 5* resort with lots of amenities and gourmet food - look elsewhere. But! If you're looking for a small resort with an AMAZING beach, cold drinks, decent food (the best we've had in Cuba) and with easy access to pools, restaurants, etc. then this is the resort for you. It is very quiet and a good place to relax and unwind.  [... read more] The Cuban people are what make this resort from the ladies working in the lobby, to the bartenders (Julio), to the gardeners (Luis) to (Jorge) who looked after us at the buffet. We had an issue with our patio door (ground floor room) and maintenance came right away and fixed it. My only complaint would be that the swim up bar never had a bartender tending to it. Not a big deal but may have added a little to the atmosphere.

Amazing beach, rooms stink

Overall we were very happy with our stay. The beach is amazing here. We took walks for over an hour in each direction. If you go early in the morning or late at night you will be completely alone with just the sound of the waves and amazing creatures washed up on the beach. It is absolutely perfect for kids and even though it was very windy when we were there, the wind apparently is stronger everywhere else on the island as this beach is in a bit sheltered. For that same reason even with the str [... read more]ong winds the ocean was kid friendly every day - with some waves but nothing that a 3 year old could not safely play in. Plenty of beach chairs so never had to worry about that. Bring water shoes to explore the small rocky area on the low tide - lots of sea life to see. There is a kids club which turned out to be supervised time for kids to be left. It was open some times and closed others - completely unpredictable. There was also a games room that our kids really enjoyed. Pool, foosball, table tennis, checkers, dominos. Also a large chess set that was a huge hit. Staff are polite and pleasant. The food was amazing during the week we stayed there. We also stayed at this resort 6 years ago and fresh fruit/vegetables were hard to come by. In comparison and overall the food this time around was awesome and on the salty side. Lot's of different choices - salads and vegetables (bring your own favorite dressing to make the most of it as the buffet offers mostly various oils).My husband eats gluten-free and dairy free and he had no trouble finding things he loved and enjoyed. Me and my sons loved the Cuban bread and cheese. There was a pancake, omelette and smoothie stations in the morning supplemented with buffet with meats, potatoes, rice etc. Lunch and dinner offered pasta, meat and fish stations. Always plenty of fruit (papaya, guava, watermelon, pineapple and grapefruit most often), fresh juice and choices for hot foods. Maybe we just got lucky and there was some kind of inspection at the resort at that time but we loved the food. Our biggest disappointment came on our last day when the hotel insisted we pay for 4 beach towels which we had never received. The maid insisted that she had left them for us even though we never got any beach towels. We never inquired after them since we had brought our own towels and did not want to waste time on anything that was not absolutely necessary. So if you go, I suggest to count everything in the room and get your maid to sign it or make sure this is acknowledged in some way. As it was my husband spent over 2 hours trying to check out, was threatened by security, basically was told that we are lying and have stolen towels and will not be leaving until we pay for them (and acknowledge that we stole them)! Nothing seemed to help. Public relations rep had good grasp on english and broke into tears at one point. She kept going to see her manager and coming back with "I understand sir, but you have to pay" I got involved and there was by now another family with a similar issue. We had two other families who had been on the beach with us numerous times testify that we never ever had blue towels. But maid kept saying that we got them and she even went as far as to say that she saw them drying around our room! I do not know why she was lying. We did leave tips every day and a bigger tip for the last two days. Next time I might consider not giving any tips until the last day - just to make sure there is no such scam happening. Long story short - for whatever reason they have no system to account for things like beach towels and you do not want to be in our position on your last day. Air Canada Rep just said "You would be surprised how many tourists steal towels" Really?! The other things to consider - very slow check-in process (took over an hour for less than 10 families to check in) and excruciatingly long lineups at the Cayo Coco airport (took us almost 2 hours to drop off our bags and go through the security). The Toronto airport in comparison took 15-25 minutes both ways! Our room was in Bungalow 6 and it is a good location: reduced noise from entertainment as it is behind the main stage and very close to the beach, also play ground and the kids pool is visible from the room. Room was large with 2 double beds and 1 sofabed. Air conditioner and safe were in working order. So lot's of positives. However very strong overpowering smell of mold and/or mildew. From other families who did complain we understood that resort had no free rooms to switch to and only option was to switch resorts which we were not willing to consider and just made do. There was a water leak from the ceiling and no one came to fix it that we know of. The leak stopped after a day. The toilets apparently overflow occasionally on the main floor but we were fine on the second floor. The maid made our beds every day with the same linens and there was only one day when we came to a beautifully arranged blanket in our room. In comparison 6 years ago every day there was a pleasant surprise - a swan made out of fresh set of sheets etc. Often we had sand on our "freshly made" sheets. We only saw entertainment 3 of the nights and it was good. There were a few mosquitoes but nothing to complain about. Overall - if the beach time is more important to you than the room cleanliness, if your kids are happy to entertain themselves and you are looking for a safe resort I would still recommend Playa Coco as a good choice. Bring your own pillows so you do not have to sleep on the mildew and make sure you do not fall for the towel extortion experience.

Happy Vacationers

We were at Hotel Playa Coco 7 years ago. Our daughter actually met her husband there who was also vacationing with his family. So we decided to all go back including their 9 month old son. We had a very nice time. Tripcentral did a great job with their requests (crib). We had connecting rooms making it easy for us grandparents to babysit. The rooms were very large with balcony, clean, and we could see the ocean. The food was good, the pizza was the best, fish and fries...delicious! The b [... read more]uffet was well equipped...like we say always something to find that is good to eat. Yes and as always the staff were kind, accommodating, and very friendly. The young ones met some great people over the week and even ran into old friends. The drinks were delicious, coffees, Spanish coffee..yummy. The weather was ok...always had some sun, a bit windy but January is unpredictable. The beaches are spectacular, the smaller pool kept us happy the whole week, thanks to Tammy at the bar. No nit picking for us...great place, great deal! Special thanks to Jenn Black from Tripcentral and coworker for assisting us in a mistake on the passports....Tripcentral you went the extra mile, THANK YOU SO MUCH. And Thank you to Hotel Playa Coco...Happy Vacationers

Excellent Value Continues

This was my 8th visit to Hotel Playa Coco, the 7th consecutive year going for two or three weeks in December. This duration was 14 days, at a very reasonable cost of $1207. The excursion was arranged through Trip Central, with Hola Sun as the tour operator. Both were excellent, as was the airline, Air Transat: on time, and a pleasant, comfortable flight, both ways. The room was spacious and clean, with ample water pressure and warm water. A new bottle of water was provided daily, and the maid [... read more], Irma, did an excellent job. The AC worked well, when needed. A digital safe was provided, free of charge. The 110 volt outlet in the bathroom worked fine. There was an excellent quality mattress. The grounds were kept in good shape, and both pools seemed clean. Too much noise [overly loud music] around the large pool, but the small pool was quiet, with a well-equipped pool bar, operated mainly by the congenial Tammy. The beach, per usual, was lovely: beautiful white sand, and aqua water. Ample shades and chairs were available. It was too noisy around the beach bar, but quiet enough, if you moved further east along the beach front. An attendant was available to help with beach chairs. The buffet was quite good, generally speaking. The new food manager, Yailen Cancanon Arvelo, did a superb job overseeing breakfast and lunch. For breakfast, there was always plenty of yogurt [strawberry or natural], fresh fruit [papaya, melon, orange slices, watermelon, guava] and a lovely selection of cheeses [imported from Europe]. On 4 or 5 occasions, there was delicious whole wheat bread, and the white bread was quite good. The butter is excellent. Of course, one can order fried eggs or omelettes, at the cooking station. Freshly grilled meats and fish were available at lunch and supper. At breakfast and lunch, servers Kirenia and Mercedes provided excellent service. I'm sure that the other servers were equally as pleasant and helpful. There is a pizza restaurant by the beach, behind which is a 24 hour snack bar, featuring burgers, fries, hot dogs, etc. It's a new, nicely decorated, enclosed room, with outdoor seating as well. Bartenders Juvi and Jorge do a fine job. The Lobby Bar is open 24/7, and the newer Beer Lounge was open from 4:00 PM to 10:00 PM, and featured air conditioned comfort, and bottled or canned beer. The Ice Cream Parlour is open from 10:00 AM to 6:00 PM. WiFi service was quite good, at a cost of one CUC for an hour. The Lobby Staff was polite and helpful, as was the Public Relations staff. There was a variety of nightly entertainment, with a newly constructed amphitheater. The buildings are older, and could use some upgrades, but as indicated, my room was fine. One might complain about the currency exchange [13 to 14 CUC's for $20 Canadian], but I suspect this is a main way the Cuban government derives income, in valid currency, in order to purchase supplies for the resorts. Other than tipping, what are you going to buy?? And please do tip the workers: such helps them immensely. Gifts are also appreciated greatly. I'm happy to, once again, recommend Hotel Playa Coco. Harley Whitlock, Brantford, Ontario

Caya coco and beautiful beaches

Playa coco has a nice beach and friendly staff, food is good too for a 3 star hotel. I was thinking I am going to a 4 star hotel. Our room was dated and some of appliances were not working I was in building 19 bunglow. I request to move to other buildings but, I end up going to another hotel. There grounds keeping was not so good. Garbage was around. Out side lights on walk way were all off, so you need to have a flash light. Our clothes hangers were all rusty could not hang our clothes. Safe wa [... read more]s not working. I found it noisy common area, since a person had her boom box on the table and blasting her music. May be young people will enjoy this atmosphere but is not for me and my husband who are on our early 60.

Hotel Playa Coco

This was our 9th time to this resort. we love it there!! The beach is beautiful, you can walk for miles if you want to or sit on you butt. The food is good, we have never lost weight when we go. The rooms are good. If you want to find things wrong you will. Go with an open mind and you will have a great time. Treat people the way you want to be treated!!

Do Not Book Here!!!!!!

My husband and I had stayed at Hotel Playa Coco 2 times in the past and we have a fabulous experience. However, on this trip it was absolutely terrible!!!! I would not recommend this resort to anyone at this point in time. This resort should not be advertising itself as a 4 star anymore, maybe 1 star. Upon arriving the dj was set-up in the lobby making it so difficult to hear what the front desk staff were saying and the music echoed throughout the lobby - instant headaches! We were taken to  [... read more]our room and once inside the musty smell was very overpowering, however we thought that once the sliding door was open this would air out, but there was not screen on the sliding door to keep the bugs out. Upon further inspection of our room, there was no dresser to unpack our clothes, the safe was broken and the toilet didn't work!!!! That is a very important component!!! We went back to the front desk to advise them of the problems and of course there was nothing that they were able to do that night, so we stayed in our room. First thing in the morning we went back to the front desk to advise the new day staff of the problem and were told that they were calling a service technician and should arrive around 9-ish Cuba time. While we waited, we went to the buffet and ate breakfast, the selection was not very wide and not overly impressive. The only thing that still looked nice was the pool and the beach! What saved the vacation was speaking with our Air Transat representative, who patiently listened to our concerns and when we requested to move resorts to one that was liveable, he was able to do this and we were moved to Hotel Playa Paraiso - which was wonderful!!!!!!

Good Resort

The resort was in need of some repairs and was disappointed the pool didn’t open on time. The staff were really amazing with my kids, but programming was lacking. Wish there had been more planned activities for them to participate in.

My second time this year! Awesome Resort

Love this place! Plan on a return visit. Best beach around! Great food! Comfortable beds! Clean Room! Resort is just my size! Love the pizza parlour & BBQ on the beach. Love the food and drinks delivered to my beach chair! I go to this resort to unwind! Best coffee around! Great Staff!

Another Magnificent vacation.

I can honestly say I have nothing to complain about. Everything was wonderful, food, room, service and most importantly the beach. I do not require much entertainment as I'm strictly a beach bum. I don't hang out at the pool ever. All was exactly what I wanted for my vacation. Only thing I hadn't planned for were the tiny biting bugs. Next time bug spray!

Nice resort

The grounds were kept clean. The lobby was kept clean. Rooms were clean. They do need some work done on them. Lack of water was an issue. Lack of toilet paper in lobby, the day care area. The staff was very helpful an friendly.

Too many mosquitos

Food its really bad ; ive got sick while my stay and so my granddaughter and 20 more tourists; to many mosquitos plus everything is way too far from my room but mosquitos wyyyyy too bad!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Wonderful place for a romantic or family getaway!

The hotel was beautiful and staff were very eager to help us with everything we needed from arrival to departure. Entertained nightly with dance shows and music by the pool during the day. Beach was spectacular!!! 10/10 sand was smooth white and so clean. Water was so warm and wonderful we loved our visit and would definitely recommend it ❤️ Thank you!

Great beach

The hotel was ok, a lot of ants tho. Food was not consistent, they closed the buffet and just left the snack bar open for few days we stayed there. Some staff were rude too. But the beach was amazing.

Very dissatisfied

NEVER ENOUGH TOILET PAPER ,,TOILET DOESNT WORK WELL ,,ALL GROUNDS TOILETS WERE DIRTY AND NO PAPER ,,,,THE FOOD WAS HORRIBLE ,,,EVERY DAY SAME FOODS ,,,LEFTOVER FROM THE DAY BEFORE EXCEPT THE FRUITS,,,,WE ALL LOST WEIGHT I LOST 10 LBS ,,DIDNT EAT FOR THE LAST 2 DAYS ,,,,MY DAUGHTER ALSO LOST WEIGHT ,,LOBBY AND BARS WERE CLEAN ,,,FOOD ON BEACH WASNT GOOD EITHER ,,SAME STUFF A LOT OF PASTA ,,NO SALAD DRESSINGS ,,BREAD WAS HARD AS A ROCK MOST DAYS ,,JAPAN RESTAURANT WAS GOOD ,,,,ITALIAN PLACE WAS NO [... read more]T TOO BAD ,,,COFFEEPOTS IN ROOM DIDNT WORK ,,OVERALL STAFF EXCELLENT ,,,BEACH EXCELLENT ,,POOL EXCELLENT EXCEPT 6 PEOPLE GOT EAR INFECTIONS ,,HAD TO RUSH GRANDAUGHTER TO THE 2 HOUR AWAY HOSPITAL FOR HER EARS ,,COST US A LOT OF SPENDING CASH AND TIP MONEY ,,,VERY DISAPPOINTED,,WE WERE THERE 2 YEARS AGO AND IT WAS GOOD ,,HAS FALLEN IN DIS REPAIR A LOT ,,SORRY 5 OF US ALL FELT THE SAME FOR THE MONEY IT COST US ALL

Playa Coo

The service for our rooms were not the greatest we had to ask for stuff which we never revive until the next day and repeatedly had to ask for the same thing over and over again. my niece got sick from whatever they put in the pool which cost a lot of dr bills and we cold not afford it other then that the people that service us were great

Beautiful Resort

Hotel and lobby was nicely kept and welcoming to everyone. Staff was super friendly and helpful. Resort was amazing, nice views, pretty flowers and decor, many available food options. Beach was stunning and clean with water activities to do. Had an amazing time!

Wonderful vacation

My family and I had a wonderful 10 day vacation at hotel playa coco. Everyone that worked there was amazing. Friendly and helpful. The entertainment crew and dancers went above and beyond to put on a great show every night. The food was great. We always found something good to eat. The beach was stunning. We saw many fish swimming right close to the shore. Room was comfortable. Ac worked amazing. Water pressure and temperature was great. Always clean towels as well as always got clean beach towe [... read more]ls. We did an excursion to playa pilar, that is a must! It was a glorious beach. We miss plays coco and hope to return in the very near future! Thank you to our rep for helping us book!

Dream Engagement Trip

Hotel Playa Coco was beautiful and the employees were so friendly, kind and personable - they really made us feel at home while we were there. The beach was so gorgeous and is definitely the crown jewel of the resort with soft sandbars and very few rocks/coral in a concentrated area off to the left side of the beach. While rocks/coral might not sound great, they were actually really awesome when the tide went out and revealed all the hermit crabs, clams and prawns living beneath the water (also [... read more] made for great shell hunting)! There is also a small coral patch deeper into the water that is perfect for snorkeling - you won’t be disappointed if you can’t afford an excursion when you have a beach that has so much to offer! Besides the beach, the drinks were plentiful and delicious with a lot of variety - there are many bars around the resort with different atmospheres. A common complaint when visiting Cuba is in regards to the food but Hotel Playa Coco had great food with good selection (only complaint was no french fries but definitely wasn’t a deal breaker). The sunsets were gorgeous and my boyfriend proposed to me at this resort!! We had a lot of fun drinking and adventuring but keep in mind that this is a family resort so there are children around and no disco for dancing; however, they do have a bus service every night to bring people to the local disco at Flamingo Square and they have fantastic live entertainment (dancers) every night. I love Cuba, it feels like the Canada of the Caribbean. I could write so much more about how fun, relaxing and awesome our experience at Hotel Playa Coco was but I think you should go and check it out yourself on your next vacation!

Great spot but needs work

Our Our first room had a leaky toilet faucet requiring us to place bath towels on the floor to make it safe to walk on. Took two days to get moved to another building, which was dry, but A/C not as good. All buildings need cosmetic work, and many need significant improvements. Bars ran out of some spirits, and no draft beer after day two. Staff as always were excellent.