Beautiful beach

The resort is far from airport. Unfortunately food shortages and not much food at all no eggs no pop. Bring a lot of snacks with you. Rooms where nice. Ac worked great. Staff was friendly. Grounds are beautiful. Beach is nice.

We didn’t make it

Water was out for days and when we arrived at airport we were told there that we were being taken to another hotel. We did not get to experience the Iberostar nor did we get the ocean view room we had paid extra for. We were taken to Ville Gale Paredon - on ground floor. Beautiful hotel and room, however and beach. Long lineups and food was just ok.

Good Relaxing Time

If you're looking to relax and do absolutely nothing, then this is the resort for you. I always had a full meal. Breakfast, lunch and dinner. But you need to ensure that you get there on time because mid lunch/dinner there isn't much left. I brought my condiments with me (ketchup, salt, pepper, mayo and hot sauce) since they are lacking resources in Cuba. This is essential if you want a little flavour. I did do this trip solo which allowed me to do everything and nothing. Note: this resort is m [... read more]ainly Russians. I did not have toilet paper the first two days, so please make sure you pack the BASIC essentials, they came in handy. The beach was stunning. I spent everyday after lunch there, it was cold because of the wind, but it wasn't a bother. Overall, I had a great experience.

Worst hotel in my life!

We flew in from Calgary to Cayo Coco, but upon arrival at our room, we were dismayed to find no towels, water, toothbrush, and a broken locker. Despite multiple requests to reception, no assistance was provided. The following days, towels were delivered but remained unchanged for the entirety of our seven-day stay. Additionally, we only received two bottles of drinking water for the entire vacation, making access to water incredibly challenging. The lack of tap water for two days compou [... read more]nded the issue, leaving us without essential facilities. We kindly request that tripcentral administration refrain from cooperating with such a poor hotel. Our vacation was ruined, resulting in a significant waste of money.

Nice resort

Hotel was very nice considering food shortages in Cuba at present time not bad service was horrible no face cloths or towels all week along with no toilet paper last day was spent with no running water for whole resort very dissappointed

Not worth it

Big problems with the food supplies. The drinking water was missing, the alternative glass bottles was stinky as a hell, as well the water itself was very chlorine taste. The cola was missing as well. The food was nothing special, below the average. The beach was good, but a lot of plastic thrush at the sand.

Lovely resort

Overall we were pleased. Newer hotel , quite clean and neat. 3 beautiful pools and access to a beautiful beach with incredible turquoise water , friendly staff. Lots of places to walk. It would be good if there was a shorter route to the beach, maybe from the two closest buildings, kind of like the path to the serenity pool from the closest rooms there. There was entertainment in the evening, and occasionally in the afternoon. There are shortages in Cuba so some days there were no eggs and ot [... read more]hers no bread, but there was enough reasonably good food to eat, wine at lunch and dinner, beer and lots of rum. I would not take a picky eater kid anywhere in Cuba at this time. Toilet paper was mostly not available in the public restrooms, always carry some with you. We always felt safe. Scheduling of entertainment was confusing, and might have been changing day to day due to the current issues. I would suggest a Chalk board in the lobby area that can be changed as needed. I would like to see a bit more focus on afternoon and morning activities(water aerobics, bingo, learn to line dance...). Love that you can tip in CAD. We had a toilet malfunction in our room when we arrived which was fixed promptly. There were no beach towels, bathrobes or slippers in our suite as advertised.

Beautiful hotel, beach and ocean, but…

Stunning beach and ocean, new resort nicely designed, specious room with ocean view. Cuba is in trouble now so food and drinks were not impressive, no fresh fruits, no fresh juices, very limited food selection in general. It was Russian flag in front of resort but no Canadian flag. About 80% tourists were from Russia.

Review if Iberostar Selections Esmeralda Cayo coco

Resort listed as 5 star, trip was all inclusive; after being there for 9 days, I feel it certainly isn’t 5 Star. We did not receive basic items such as toilet paper, bottled water, bed coverings, clean towels or linen changes for the entire stay. Food was limited but not terrible, alcohol drinks were very limited in selection, no soda to mix with drinks. Customer Service office was very welcoming and would write notes of what we needed, telling us they would look after right away. They would n [... read more]ot do anything one you left their office. Sign up for a la cart meals was scheduled to begin 9 am each day for the evening meal but some how the list would be full by the time we signed up at 9. Then when I complained I was advised the rules changed and people could book all their a la carts upon arrival. However this was never made public to those already at the resort. Very poor signage of events, times, schedules to occur over the week.

Several Issues, but an excellent time

Some issues but overall an excellent time. There were some management issues towards the end of my trip which may be more impactful for the next wave of guests, but only made a small impact on my stay. The story I heard was that half the staff was fired ~2 days prior to the end of my stay, this resulted in the a la carte's being closed, the spa being closed (inspection issue?) and a noticeable decrease in house keeping Biggest concerns: Supply issues... mainly regarding water bottles in m [... read more]y 7 day stay I only received 2 water bottles... which, as someone who has abstained from alcohol for years was quite troubling.. but it was fine... I slummed it with beer and Rum and had a time of it The ongoing supply issues were exacerbated by the lip service of hotel staff, "oh no, we'll get that sorted right away sir." ... it never was.. and repeated complaints always yielded the same lip service. I understand the problem with supply issues, and was quite patient in that regard, but I really could have done without the lip service that never yielded results. Food: I don't recall having a bad meal, very good overall. At the start of my trip they had no eggs, they were using pre-prepared presumably powdered eggs, which was fine. I tried it once and had no real complaints.. but stuck with the cereal option for breakfast -A la carte's were a pain... booking was only done in the morning for the same day (unless you pulled some strings with the management), and even then it filled up VERY fast. This was also a major issue in regards to the management problem mentioned above, the last two days there were no a la carte due to staffing problems. The a la carte's themselves were quite unimpressive... very limited selection and VERY slow service. In the two I tried it took ~1 hour for the food to arrive, luckily I had a book with me. The food wasn't of much higher quality than the buffet, which was quite annoying considering the time taken to prepare. Would not recommend. Beach: Fantastic, easily the highlight of any Cuban vacation, especially in the Cayo regions ..... the only complaint would be the other guests... specifically the fact they do not clean up after themselves. I would often find bottles, glasses, cigarette butts, etc littering the beach. Room: Small but functional, which suited me just fine, I'd rather not spend my time in my room. I opted for an Oceanview room and was VERY pleased with the result. The walls seemed quite thick as I did not hear my neighbors... very nice. Housekeeping staff were extremely pleasant and a personal highlight, as my housekeeper was the one who went out of her way to provide me with my much sought after water. I didn't see her on my last day, I hope she is still employed there. I haven't travelled to Cuba since just before Covid struck, and was quite surprised by the extensive free Wi-Fi coverage. A very unexpected and welcome bonus. .... though personally it was a little soured at the end... the Wi-Fi control is apparently automated elsewhere, so when it was time to check out, I was kicked off the service. Normally this wouldn't have been a large issue, but I was in the middle of trying to resolve a problem and was quite urked by the sudden loss of internet.... to make matters worse, my check-out was the standard 1200.. while my departure from the hotel was at 1930 ( delayed to 2030) .. supposedly the hotel had an arrangement with Sunwing to circumvent this problem... but... no... hopefully they resolve that in the future.

Good value

This was definitely not a 5 star resort but we def had a 5 star experience! Beach is absolutely stunning, much work needed to clean up a lot of the rubbish washed up from storms just beyond the resort. There were toilet paper and bottled water shortages but we didn't let that get to us, many guests were very upset about this. We went with our 8 month old baby and the staff provided us with crib and high chair in our room (no cost). They also made sure to set aside water for our baby. My husba [... read more]nd and I drank the treated water on the resort with no issues. Food was really tasty, always fresh fish for the grill, steak or pork freshly grilled as well, rice, pancakes and eggs for breakfast, lovely breads, desserts, salad bar, cheeses, guava, papaya, bananas and more (a baby's feast)! The hospitality of this resort was impeccable! Guest services were amazing, wait staff, maids also incredible! Rooms are really nice with sexy showers and our room overlooked the stunning crystal blue ocean. 3 pools were very nice also, a couple nights the music did get to us very late (finishing around midnight, pack your earplugs), as a tired Mom and Dad that was a bit frustrating but again that is also expected on a resort vacation. We would have gladly been down there too enjoying the night if we were baby-free. Overall we loved Cayo Cruz and the remote experience of this resort, it was exactly what we needed for some much needed rest and relaxation, highly recommend for families, we met so many friendly Canadians and Cubans!

Beautiful resort but lacking a lot

I have stayed in Cuba numerous times and this was the first time I was staying at Cayo Coco/Cayo Cruz. The resort was beautiful as it was fairly new, the beach great but the lack of food and lack of customer service was definitely a disappointment. I know Cuba has its shortcomings due to their situation, but I had never been this disappointed. Tips were expected with not much service given. I will wait several years before going back to Cuba.

Absolutely amazing resort

This hotel is absolutely stunning both inside and out. The grounds are beautifully maintained and the resort is super clean. The rooms are tastefully decorated and pools were lovely, always lots of loungers available. I can’t say enough great things about the staff. They went above and beyond daily for us. Always stopping and asking if we needed anything and how things were. They booked us in at the a la cartes without having to wait in the line. Entertainment staff were amazing and had us part [... read more]icipating in all activities around the pool Daily and the beach party in the final night. Even the food was great. I am a picky eater and I could find something to eat at every meal, hot dogs , hamburgers , French fries, pasta, fresh fruit, eggs, bacon beads and pastries…

Cuba just ok

We arrived at 8 pm, about 90 min drive to resort area. We were dropped at the wrong section, even after informing the bus driver. Front desk staff were welcoming until they determined we were at the wrong side m, our welcome beverage were taken away and we were told we would have to walk along the road to the correct side. We refused so eventually a got a ride on the golf cart from a very friendly staff member. Newer resort, easy to navigate, some nights they had outdoor lights for the paths, so [... read more]me nights there were no lights. Room was a good size, toilet flushed half the time. Had hot water all week. Towels and sheets were mouldy, difficult to get fresh linen even though resort was mostly empty. We stripped all the linen off the beds and placed in a pile, bed sheets were replaced, Food was the same everyday for lunch and dinner, would be nice to know what you are eating for allergies. Staff didn’t seem overly happy to be working, there, staff asking us to get them lunch from the buffets daily. Why doesn’t the resort offer food for their staff. Definitely shortages on juices and pop. Staff would only provide beverages with alcohol at the bars, if you wanted only water or juice they told you to go to the restaurant (restaurant open 7-10 1-3 and 7-10) Entertainment was in the lobby , good effort but a little disappointed. 24 hour lobby bar often closed at midnight??. Beach is beautiful, you can tell that is the reason people come to Cuba. There was staff cleaning the seaweed off the sand daily. We booked a pool view room at the adults only pool that had children most days. Pool loungers and cabanas could use some maintenance, cabanas had dirty sheets on them all week. Check out is 12 sharp, we had someone at our door at 12:03 telling us to get out of our room now, I asked for 5 more mins to just finish up and they said I had to pay them $11 if I wanted 5 more mins , so had to finish packing in the hallway. Overall this resort was a little boring, nowhere to go once you get there, too far away from the airport for our liking.

Attention to Traveller

Overall I had a good time but that’s because of the people I met. Beach was nice very clear water. The biggest problem was the food. Lack of options and the same stuff almost everyday. I had no eggs for the entire week. There’s no soda at all. Only drinks were water,mango juice, guava juice, and beer and whatever cocktails. Service is very slow, when I needed something it would take few phone calls to get someone to come or no one would come. Unfortunate because it’s a nice looking resort. I don [... read more]’t blame them for not having huge option because of the economy but I would not return for that and because of the service.

Not a 5 star resort…

We chose this resort for the location as we wanted to do some fishing. Resort itself is fairly new and clean. Not much in the area to do outside of the resort if you are looking for an excursion. They had almost no alcohol (beer and sometimes wine), so we bought our own at a local store. This wasn’t a big deal as we weren’t really there for the drinks anyways. Food was as we expected, pretty much the same items on the buffet each day. Eggs one day but other than that, mostly meat, bread and [... read more] cheese. For what they did have, it was decently cooked. We had no hot water the first four days that we were there. Each day that we complained we were given a different excuse (runs on solar, it’s the breaker, etc.). It didn’t seem like anyone cared to fix the issue. Then one night we had an accident and got the sheets dirty (lady problems). We returned to our room to find that we were locked out. Upon going to the front desk we were told that we had to pay $20 for “special laundry services.” We spoke with guest services and told them we would pay on check out. The next day we were out and once again returned to our room to find that we were locked out. Went to the lobby and was again told to pay the bill. We found this extremely frustrating as no one cared to fix our hot water but yet they demanded payment for a sheet immediately. We didn’t care about the money but was the principal of the fact that they went so far as to lock us out for payment when we didn’t have basic amenities. It took us about 3 hours to have this issue resolved and it was only resolved once other guests also chimed in that that also didn’t have hot water. We also saw another couple get charged for a dirty bath mat which seemed a bit ridiculous. The managers at the resort are useless and seem to have zero authority to make any decisions at all. Overall the guest services staff and Jorge in the lobby were excellent and extremely friendly and helpful. The resort was also about 99% full of Russian tourists who the majority of were quite rude and cut in line at the buffet and would steal booze from the bar staff. The Cuban staff seemed to be very frustrated with them as well. I would say that this resort it’s definitely not a 5 star, probably more like a 2. If you come here it’s not for the amenities, it’s for the beach and location.

VERY POOR CHAIRS BY THE OCEAN AND THE POOL

I am not the only one complaining from pain caused by the lounge chairs scattered throughout this resort along side of the pool & the chairs by the ocean even worse. Had a great time other than having to come back and straight off to the doctor. Sciatica pain in BOTH legs, very unfortunate, started day 2. URGENT****** THIS RESORT NEEDS TO INVEST IN NEW LOUNGE CHAIRS.

IBEROSTAR SELECTION ESMERALDA

Our 2 week stay was from Oct. 28th to Nov. 11th, 2023. First of all, Iberostar Selection Esmeralda in Santa Cruz is a beautiful resort and the staff do their best to please all visitors. My wife and I stayed in a suite in building #5 which was fantastic. A bedroom with a spa, shower, bathroom, and a television. In the livingroom was a sofa, chairs coffee table, a second television, and another bathroom. There were patio doors leading from the bedroom and the livingroom which gave us private ac [... read more]cess to two balconies where we could sit and relax outdoors. The only problems that we encountered in our suite was we had to get them to change the batteries for the safe 3 times, unblock one of the toilets, and change a battery for one of the TV remotes. There were only two a la carte restaurants open, Cuban and Mediterranean. Both located at the same restaurant. We went once to each during our two weeks. The buffet is where we ate regularly. The first week there was a reasonably good choice of food, including fish at several meals. The second week the choice of food was not as good as week one. For the two weeks we were there, no eggs were served at breakfast. Also, a couple of times they had no bread or butter. In the buffet and at the lobby bar, they seldom had white wine. In the buffet, on one or two occasions, they had no white nor red wine. We would like to express our thanks to Reinier Baez a waiter who tried his best to take care of our needs. He does his best to serve his customers and to make everyone feel welcome. On a regular basis they were missing small bottles of cola (for rum and coke) and pineapple juice for pina colada. In the lobby, on one occasion Genny was able to get me two cans of Pepsi. At the small pool, Junior (the bartender) took care of our needs during our first several days and we would like to express our thanks to him. We stayed at the small pool for a part of our first week only. The chairs around the pool were not comfortable and I ended-up with a sore back from sitting in one. The chairs are of poor quality at the small pool. The chairs at the large pool were of better quality and seemed to be newer, so we spent a lot of time there. To the best of my knowledge, there were no excursions available there. Two of our friends. reservation no: 66132995 in the name Edith Bouchard and Ghislain Hainault, also went with us to Cuba. In addition to our problems, they had a few other problems. After one night in their room in building #4 near the large pool, they asked to change rooms due to the noise (music) late in the evening. The next day they were moved to the room across the hall from our suite. However, the air conditioner didn’t work and maintenance was unable to repair it . A lot of time was wasted waiting for air conditioner repairs. The next day they were moved a few rooms down the hall. The only problem that they had in that room was the necessity to have the batteries changed for the room safe. Our friends spent a lot of time relaxing at the beach. It took several days before a cleanup was done at the beach. We paid for a 5 Star resort, however we don’t feel that we got what we were entitled to, so we are asking you for a refund of $500.00 for each person or credits from Iberostar for future stays at their resorts in Mexico or Dominican Republic. You may contact us at the following email addresses: Fred Bean: fred.bean@sympatico.ca Monique Tremblay: mot.tremblay@gmail.com Edithe Bouchard: edithebou1949@gmail.com Ghislain Hainault: hainault1950@hotmail.com

Beautiful Resort

Easy to get to all amenities. Things all vey close together. I do wish there were more choices than just the sports bar to eat for when you are arriving late in the evening. Wish they had more beach huts along with more beach chairs, found that it was always full in the morning. Not much to do in the area as still developing. Only other tip is that if you are coming in on a late flight, prepare to be eaten by mosquitoes at the airport. If you can before getting off plane spray yourself with  [... read more]mosquitoes spray or cream. We had a great and relaxing time. Enjoy

Beautiful Hotel, sucks for entertainment!

Good people, Beautiful hotel, beautiful beach everything is brand-new but the food is not good at all, and there is no theater or hall for entertainment. They always run out of something. One thing for sure if you want to loose weight come to this hotel. Bring your own kitchen