Grand Memories Holguin: Grand Memories - Holguin Cuba: April 2-9

Grand Memories \ Holguin. Date: Sunday April 2 – Sunday April 9 Departure Time: Sunwing original 6:15am. Later received confirmation flight departure to 7:55am. Actual Departure Time: another delay 8:45am (unknown reason) No problem with flight. Customs \ Immigration at Holguin – Cuba : No Problem. Boarded Bus: A very long bus ride to hotel, note to those who may be of interest 2hours. Since departure flight was delayed, the arrival was late at the hotel we missed the lunch and buffe [... read more]t was closed. Suggestion go to Snack Bar. There were 2 busses of tourist now going to the Snack Bar for food \ drinks. Imagine the nightmare with only 2 persons behind the bar. Everybody is thirsty and hungry screaming for service. This part could have been handled a little better, knowing the flight was delayed passengers would be hungry \ thirsty. I left my luggage at the front of hotel and returned after my Snack Bar Lunch. Check in was slow but moving along. The room excellent in size and décor, no problem on second floor facing Pool. Room had a small fridge, empty, no water, no drinks. Seems no longer stocked with water \ beer \ pop. Had to wait until next day to get Bottle of water, no problem. Was able to get water from bars. Dinner at Buffet no problem finding table space, very clean, excellent. Had salad, soup, chicken, desert, beer all good, excellent. Excellent service, plenty of staff to offer help at table and behind kitchen counter. Breakfast Interesting Note: one of the grills has a young lady who sings during her cooking….I waited in line just to hear the show and wake up to the busy morning, excellent. Buffet table has a lot of items to choose, no problem with salads plenty of items to select with green leaves. Desert Table: Plenty of fruit, sweets…excellent with ice cream. To families with small children: very disappointing to see had parents do not manage the kids and leave them alone to go to the desert table alone. Kids are kids fully blame the parents, kids touch the plates and items with there hands and this has to stop. Ice cream was wasted and dropped because the child could not reach the spoon and tub and hold the plate. Do you do this at home, waste a lot of food, shame on you, you may be on holiday but have respect for others who are there on vacation also and hotel expenses. My suggestion for families with children under 10 years charge double the rate. Next day I began my hotel grounds walk. Note: This is a very large hotel, for those of interest walking may be of interest. Counted 7 pools, 3 in the middle partitioned and 2 on each side. Plenty of chairs, huts no problem, has 2 life guards excellent service, pool bar located in middle pool able to get service no both sides in pool and out. Beach groomed everyday by a team of 20 workers every morning…excellent. Plenty of chairs on the beach. Sand is course with shells but clean. If this is a problem, put on foot gear. One section of the hotel is reserved for Sanctuary clients. The buildings are labelled A, B, C on the map etc. Note: there is no label on the outside of the building property to inform you where you are. This is very very confusing. The next problem that makes this worse is the buildings are joined together and some are 5, 4, 3 floors, you have no clear idea where you are. Took me 2 days to get the layout of the land, relation to middle pool, lobby, my building and surrounding services. The Hotel is excellent, brand new opened last year, the rooms are excellent. Room: AC worked no problem, water pressure no problem, toilet no problem, very large king size bed…excellent. The staff will do everything to help you, make your stay 110% satisfied…excellent. This is a hotel in its infant stage, 75% of the staff is young students and I don’t believe they have the experience to manage this hotel when it goes full production. Experience takes time and with young new staff it will be a learning curve. The management team has a lot of work in front to make this happen. Time wise this is off – season, come late fall winter December the hotel will need all the staff to be up and ready to run. Did not do any tours excursions but Sunwing has reps on -site to help. The Lobby bar was slow with 2 reps behind and 20 customers waiting for drinks, but plenty of floor walkers to take your order, excellent. Weather was excellent, sunny plus 30 everyday. After lunch the pool water was warm. On vacation do not stress, easy going, yes there are some areas that need to be improved. Return Flight: now this is a stressful with Sunwing. Departure Time: original 1:05pm, received delay message to 3:00pm, boarded at 4pm, plane took off at almost 5pm Arrived Toronto at 9pm. Overall: a an excellent hotel to consider for your vacation.

Club Amigo Atlantico Guardalavaca: Great Resort

I would like to say the overall experience with the hotel was great most staff are very friendly very informative. Our check in and check out however were NOT good experiences for 2 people we received 1 key card, we had an issue getting the 10 hours of internet with out getting a not so nice response, the ladies behind the desk seemed more interested in their private conversations or their personal phones. When travelling to Cuba it does need to be told that they only accept certain credit cards [... read more] as my sister in law and myself were left scrambling to add money to another (Canadian) based credit card. The food is okay same stuff almost daily. I did enjoy my time there and would return for sure, however again your first experience with staff is the door man and he was great but after that it is check in and again they were not very welcoming.

Brisas Guardalavaca: Good resort

The hotel itself was good and people were friendly, the bathtub was terrible and very dangerous! The bottom is not flat, very unsturdy to stand on and sides are very high to step into! Sadly not all restaurants were open to experience them and buffet was always the same food including desserts were always the same so not much variety as far as food goes! Ran out of diet cola, which wasn’t good for me being type 1 diabetic, so not much for me to drink on resort

Grand Memories Holguin: Grand Memories Holguin

This resort opened about 18 months ago. It is truly first class accommodation. There are 7 pools and the rooms are European modern, spacious, fully air conditioned, bright with balconies. The food is Cuban, but there is ample. The people, as usual are pleasant and helpful. This being a new resort with local staff, their English language is wanting with some, but they are working on it and are trying hard to improve. The resort is located on Ramon Peninsula an undeveloped area as yet, but a new  [... read more]resort is opening beside in September and 2 ships were witnessed delivering materiel for a third new resort. It is a two hour bus ride from the airport. A hidden gem for sure. Thanks Ash you were very helpful in this 3 year wait and delivery. No evidence or mention of Covid. Murray Peer.

Playa Costa Verde: Beautiful Resort!

All areas of the resort were beautiful and well maintained! The staff was very welcoming. We really liked that things were quiet by a reasonable hour in the evening. We had a very peaceful stay and look forward to coming again.

Iberostar Selection Holguin: Amazing Resort

This resort grounds, pool area and beach were kept clean. Staff were always working to make sure of this. Our room was beautiful, spacious and kept very clean. The staff were very friendly and very nice and very willing to help. There was always food to eat. We never went hungry. The buffet and specialty dining were very good. The drinks were good but the mix was limited. Some were only available for a couple of days. The water had a taste to it but was safe to drink. Bottle water wou [... read more]ld have been better.

Playa Pesquero: Great Resort 👍 👌 👍

The Resort is beautiful, the room are pretty good. The pool(s) and beaches are great and beautiful. The food is good to great. I just had misquitos in the room which almost ate me alive though 😅. Staff is very very nice and I honestly loved them all! Some of the best people I have met ❤️❤️❤️ I would definitely go back, if they could gaurantee mosquito free rooms 😆. Thank you for an amazing Vacation people of Cuba and of Playa Pasquero ❤️

Grand Memories Holguin: Amazing Resort

This hotel was very clean. The staff was amazing. I would definitely return this hotel on the future. The rooms were well stocked and up to date. There was lots to see on the bus ride to the resort. Give this resort 5 stars

Iberostar Selection Holguin: Iberostar Holguin

Had an awesome trip to the Iberostar in Holguin from March 29th to April 4th, 2023. The resort was very clean and our Oceanview room was excellent (you could hear the waves crashing on the rocks when you left the balcony doors open). We were in building 24 on the 3rd floor. The beach and pool area were amazing and the bartenders at the pool were so friendly. In fact, all the staff we experienced were very kind and courteous and always were helpful with any questions we had. We really enjoyed the [... read more] food at the resort and while there were shortages (no butter for the week, ketchup on some days...etc), we always had lots of options and we found the food excellent. Overall, we had an amazing time and would definitely recommend this resort. We will definitely be back again for another visit.

Playa Pesquero: good week

was down for another week this time with sibblings and wifes, were in the premium section , all was good still some shortages but did have problem with dinner 1 night in prem with very p-ooor and un ecceptable sevice, waited over 2 hours for dinner and never did get it, we were beyond hungery. rest was good and nice to see are cuban friends once again, remember there are shortages there beyond there control, and if your good with that you will love it"" trip cental were great as always and spe [... read more]cial thanks to Tammey Bemish for her outstanding service

Club Amigo Atlantico Guardalavaca: Amazing Resort

Amazing beaches Service was top notch Employees were the best of the best Always something to drink or eat Lots of entertainment Sunset with wine by the beach the best Swim up pool amazing Over all everyone there so friendly and helpful definitely going back… .🏝️☀️🎉🍻

Club Amigo Atlantico Guardalavaca: Nice resort on a beautiful beach

We returned to Club Amigo Atlantico for the second time after spending an amazing week in January. This time we travelled between March 26-April 2, 2023. We enjoyed the nice weather and went to the beach every day. Smooth white sand and crystal clear emerald water. The resort is very well kept and welcoming. Friendly personnel starting with the reception workers to the servers at the buffet and restaurants and bars. We enjoyed our room in the villa that had a balcony overlooking the ground [... read more]s and had a glimpse of the ocean and was shadowed by two palm trees. The room was comfortably furnished with the necessities including a mini fridge. The lady who did our housekeeping was friendly, kept our room clean and surprised us everyday with a different towel creation . We had WIFI in the room but the signal was week . It was much better on the balcony. We ate at the buffet 3 meals a day. Not too much variety but we found every time something to eat. At the end of our seven day stay there was not much bread nor fruit. We enjoyed the cold beer after dinner served at the table by the very friendly and attentive servers. Considering the poverty in Cuba it is amazingly well supplied with all the necessities. We definitely enjoyed our stay at this resort.

Paradisus Rio De Oro: We had a very good time in Paradisus Rio De Oro!

My husband and I came for one week. It is our 2nd time on this resort. Ocean-view bungalow look cozy but needs upgrade. Room was always clean! The view of the ocean was spectacular (this is why we staying here the 2nd time). Nice landscape: workers put a lot of efforts for it to look good. Entertaining team create a great atmosphere and customers have a lot of fun throughout a day. Food in buffet is okay: couple of time something was not very fresh and or tasty, but we always find something go [... read more]od to eat. The fish and meat grill and crapes stations were very good; the eggs/omelet and pasta stations were also good. Due to drought there were no bananas and mangoes. Desserts were not as good as last time (4 years ago).. Food in Mediterranean Restaurant was not tasty or special. It was my birthday and I suppose to get a cake but after 20 minutes of waiting we decided to leave without the cake. That was a little bit disappointing. In Cuban Restaurant the waiters purposely do not mentioned that they have the lobster (it was not on the menu), thus we ordered chicken. When we saw that other customers got the lobsters we inquired about it, so they brought us one lobster. Later we spoke with the other customers and they had the same experience. Either the restaurant did not have enough lobsters for everybody or maybe something fishy was going on there. Japanese restaurant was great: food is tasty and it's preparation was very entertaining. Staff are so friendly, helpful and professional! Thanks, guys!!! On Playa Esmeralda Beach we have been 6 times so far. In last couple of the visits we have noticed that the coral reef became bleached and started to die in some places. But during covid (without tourists I assume) the coral reef improved a lot and looks very healthy and beautiful again. Thus, snorkeling is great again! Overall, we had a very good time as usual in Cuba and in Paradisus Rio De Oro specifically. We will be back for sure soon.

Playa Pesquero: Our 6th Visit to this resort

We have been coming to Playa Pesquero over the last 19 years. I believe the resort is now 20 years old, and it is getting a bit tired. There are some repairs that should be done, that would require them to close sections of the resort. The place is massive, so it would be possible to do renovations and repairs in sections, I think. We had perfect weather every day - hot and sunny (last week of March). Even though the resort was nearly capacity, we had no trouble finding a spot on the beach or b [... read more]y the pool. Food - we are accustomed to the fact that sometimes there are shortages, and they do the best they can with what is available. When we were there in 2022, there were no potatoes, so they did a lot of rice and yucca. This time, they didn't have butter for a couple of days. So, if you are willing to roll with it and not be bothered by shortages, the food is fine. Service - I did notice longer waits than we have experienced in past trips. I don't know if it's because of staff shortages, or training of more staff. It wasn't a deal-breaker, but I noticed a difference. The staff is courteous and helpful as always, and it's so worthwhile to just strike up conversations with them. They are amazing people and very interested in hearing about Canada. I would definitely return again, but I will not recommend it to anyone that hasn't been to Cuba, as some people's expectations are not aligned with mine.

Paradisus Rio De Oro: Beautiful hotel

Hotel was very nice and clean, people very friendly grounds were lovely, was nice being on second floor with nice balcony, recommend bringing your own condiments, and was a little disappointed no white wine until night before we left, had we known would have brought our own, other than that would definitely go back

Playa Pesquero: All good except for

We had a really good time at the resort, although at times certain items may be missing on the menus the staff more than compensated for this and all was good. However, there was one evening on the Premium side where we were seated for dinner and waited over 30 minutes for our order to be taken. Then another hour before our appetizers were served then again another hour and still had not received our entre. Numerous guests came, ate and left while we waited, so after 2 1/2 hours we left witho [... read more]ut dinner. Extremely disappointing. No staff approached us to advise us of any delay. We were ignored.

Paradisus Rio De Oro: Beautiful resory

Very nice but could do with a few more garbage recepticals around pool and beach area. We had to leave before breakfast was open would be nice if we could of had access to a pastry before we left as we were able to get a coffee but nothing to eat only a snack at the airport and on the plane but apart from those two things that was my only complaint.the staff could not of treated us any better

Playa Costa Verde: A few things to know…

Things are different right now in Cuba. While there is absolutely nothing wrong with this resort, there are some things people should know. When we were here last week, each room was provided a third per person of bottled water that you would usually get in Cuba. At best we received two 500 ml bottles of water a day, at worst one bottle -first night no water. Regardless of any other shortage you can make do but you can’t make do without water. You were able to take your refillable cup  [... read more]to the bars to get “filtered water” and it was a risk we had to take. However, I am far more comfortable, drinking bottled water in a 3rd world country then depending on whoever happens to be filtering it that day. We have been to Cuba multiple times and this is the first time one of us was sick (after 5 days there), no idea if it was related to the water or not but….. other than that no serious complaint

Club Amigo Atlantico Guardalavaca: Beautiful resort

The beaches were exquisite; the staff was always helpful, friendly and efficient. The food was only OK - not great! However, there appeared to be no covid precautions. I wasn't too worried because almost everything was outdoors. The only exception was the dining room that was often crowded and no one was wearing a mask. Three of our group of 5 came back with covid, even though we had multiple vaccinations and wore masks on the plane. I would recommend this resort except for the lack of covid [... read more] protocols, especially when dining. Much more use needs to be made of open well ventilated spaces for dining.

Playa Pesquero: Amazing resort.

I have always stayed at much smaller resorts in my 30+ trips to Cuba, but took a chance on the Playa Pesquero. It was beyond my expectations, the room was large, (2 adults and 1 child), spotlessly clean, the grounds meticulous, and the dining was amazing. During our 1 week stay we did not experience any shortages, plenty of fresh fruit, even apples. As always the Cuban people at the resort were friendly, and pleasant and very helpful. I would not hesitate to return to this resort.