Hotel where you need to relax

this is a hotel that is not boring, with good staff and buildings, with a good selection of food and alcoholic drinks, the beach & ocean - amazing. The territory of the hotel is very green with water canals throughout the territory. Every evening there is entertainment and music events.

Returning guest - for the last time

We've been to this resort 4 times previously. The returning guest program has really declined and not very organized. We requested ground floor due to medical conditions and were given 2nd floor upon arrival. Rooms not ready until after 4:00. No bacon, french fries, oranges -orange juice, bananas the whole week. Money is confusing and leaves you distrustful. Shops in resort will only take American or credit card - and charged us almost 50% on Canadian dollars. A lot of "side" business goin [... read more]g on - and after every performance - including the nightly entertainment, the hat was put out for "tips". Rooms are getting very very outdated and housekeeping does a bare minimum - have to "ask" butler for everything. We talked up this resort to our friends who were hesitant to retry Cuba. They came with us this trip and they had a dehumidifier in their room that THEY had to empty 4 times a day. We were quite embarassed at the "downfall" of the resort - not Royalton standards. Although I must say, you can see they are trying to get the resort back up to par - just not fast enough. Their wooden walkways are a hazard with missing, cracked boards. Blood stains dripping on back of stairs leading up to buffet. The beach and buffet waiters were great - the lobby bar and lobby staff and store employees can learn a lot from them - tourists seem to be a "bother" to them - and talk down to them. Not the Cuban people I remember - and definitely not the resort I remember.

Great resort

This is a great resort, the staff are very accommodating and really aim to please. The resort is clean and the beach is beautiful white sand the alacarte restaurants are good and the seafood is very good. Drinks are amazing lots of rum and local beer even some import beer and whiskeys. We will return.

Great time had at The Royalton Hicacos

Great destination for Montrealers who are looking for a quick flight to a tropical destination and an outstanding beach experience. Staff are professional, helpful and courteous. Food is very good. Grounds are immaculately kept. The only thing I missed was a good red wine. Turned to white which fared better. Came back feeling rested and relaxed. Mission accomplished. Thank you Sun Wing. Customer service was excellent.

Severe issues and not at all acceptable

I wrote a severe critique of this hotel/resort that can be found at Tripadvisor. The link is included. I have also provided the full text below for anyone not wanting to click the link. https://www.tripadvisor.com/Hotel_Review-g147275-d270082-Reviews-Royalton_Hicacos_Varadero_Resort_Spa-Varadero_Matanzas_Province_Cuba.html It's my opinion that Tripcentral did an inadequate assessment regarding the flights both too and from the resort. The rep, Louise Endean should have realized and communi [... read more]cated the fact that check-in and check-out times were way out of sync with the flight times and thus 2 of the 14 days were partially wasted and caused needless difficulties. Clients should not arrive exhausted and then be made to wait in tropical heat for most of the day before their room is ready for occupation. (see Issue #4 below) It's also apparent that she had limited knowledge of the actual resort and should have counselled me to stay somewhere more restful as per my needs for a quiet and relaxing vacation. Because of Ms. Endean's apparent inexperience with Royalton Hicacos, I can assure the readers of this review that I will not use Tripcentral 'experts' again to book future vacations. The full text of my review follows: EXHAUSTING ORDEAL NEVER TO BE REPEATED “I spent 2 very expensive weeks at this hotel. By the 11th day of 14, I couldn't wait to leave. Four major issues, any one of which is a deal-breaker. 1) Noisy beyond belief. From the rumble of huge laundry carts past your door at 6:30 AM, you'd think there's either an earthquake happening or a huge thunderstorm setting in. The tiled floors and pebbled concrete echo the noise all along the structure. The housekeeping staff, gardeners and repair staff yell to one another from one end of the bungalows to the other. There is no decorum or consideration for guests still sleeping. (It's like living in a barrio bajos (slums)) The doors on the bungalows do not close quietly. They must be SLAMMED to get them to close and lock. Planning a siesta for the afternoon? Forget it! The noise goes on all day to well after midnight when drunken, noisy guests return to their rooms or new guests are being brought to their rooms. At best, you might get 5 hours sleep. Walls are paper thin, you can hear your neighbors scrape their chairs across the floor or open and shut the dresser drawers, drapes. The sliding doors rumble like thunder. When I think of high-end hotels, I think of blissful quiet excapes. This hotel doesn't even come close. It's a cacophony non-stop. This is not a hotel to go to for a rest. The only way to get some rest is to bring sleeping pills, a set of earplugs and/or drink yourself into a stupor so you can pass out. 2) Unsanitary conditions. I brought a hand-held UV light with me, like the type housekeeping services uses in my country to check on cleanliness. I wish I hadn't. Bright glowing stains from bodily fluids were everywhere, Walls of the bathroom, on the toilets, waste buckets and worst of all, on the pillows and beds. Though the pillow cases are changed daily, the bed sheets and mattress protectors are not. Lift the mattress protector and shine your UV light on the bed and prepare to vomit. Human stains, old and new, are what you're going to sleep on. The down pillows themselves are covered with fresh pillow cases but the stench of the mold and mustiness seeps through easily. So do the bedrolls/bolsters. Again, you're sharing your pillow with hundreds of guests who were there before you. Serious advice, use a towel over your pillow to avoid waking up smelling rancid and foul. Wear pyjamas and socks. Check the fresh towels every day that get delivered to your room. On at least 2 occasions, I got manchas de mierde (check google translate for that one) on my towels, sometimes lipstick and often rust. Not sure you'd want to wipe your face on some of those stains. I had to call to reception to get mine replaced. Took them over an hour to get that done. I never once heard or saw a vacuum cleaner anywhere at this resort. Do not walk barefoot in your room or anywhere else at this resort other than the beach. Further unsanitary observations: birds fly freely inside the buffet area, crapping into the light fixtures, alighting onto the buffet areas and pecking at some of the food. Flies are settling onto food everywhere. The cushions in the reception area are never cleaned. Chairs around the bars are seldom wiped down. 3) An abominable lack of fresh fruit. During the two weeks I was there, I never saw: lemons, oranges, grapefruit, bananas (this is the only Caribbean island I've ever been to with no bananas), no coconut, no plantain, no limes, no nuts. What is available is raw, unripened pineapple, so tough you can barely cut it with the dull knives they give you, unripened tomatoes, unripened watermelon, unripened starfruit, fruit juices so watery that they're more akin to ther runoff from slicing them open. They have no flavor. Other foods fare no better. Baked beans are done in catsup, not tomato sauce. The tilapia fish taste like mud, the pork is so tough that when you chew it, it chews back. There is no bacon anywhere. Having complained to Jose Martin, the hotel manager, his reply was "I haven't seen an orange in 7 years. I'm from Spain". That was the extent of help I received from him. Excuses he has, solutions he has none. 4) One last caveat about travelling to this hotel. Check your flight times and compare it to the check-in/check-out times for the hotel. I got delivered here by SUNWING at 10:00AM but wasn't allowed to check-in until 4:00 PM. If you're not ready for it, that's 6 hours without air-con, suntan lotion or lighter clothing. You are walked around the sweltering complex and then left to your own devices until your room is ready, if you can find it. Front lobby staff are surly and command you to sit down and wait. After 6 hours of profuse sweating, I felt like I was born in my shirt. It's the same on exit. Check-out is at Noon and if your bus arrives at 7:00 PM, be prepared to sit around while front desk staff do nothing for you. For all the attention you got when arriving, you can expect to be disdainfully ignored when you leave. Whatever her name, whether Luzia, Luzora or Lucifer, the older woman at the front desk was particularly rude and dismissive. If Hicacos is the best that Varadero Cuba can offer, then you can be assured it was the last trip I will ever take, not only to Hicacos but to Cuba. I heartily recommend avoiding this island altogether. p.s. I never heard a single cricket ot tree-frog in the evening. Again, the only Caribbean island where I've never experienced this. Something really wrong with that.”

What a letdown

Our trip started on a sour note. We had booked in late October, flying out of North Bay to Varadero. Sunwing cancelled the flight, and we were contacted by Tripcentral, and told that we would have to rebook for an alternate departure location, and Sunwing would not honor the original trip cost, and wanted an additional $ 3000 to rebook at the current price in effect for the Royalton out of Toronto . We found out from acquaintances that had booked their trips through CAA and Mayne Travel of No [... read more]rth Bay that they were being allowed to just reschedule out of Toronto for travel on the same day at no cost difference than their original booking. After three days and many hours of disputing this with Tripcentral, they finally agreed to allow us to reschedule out of Toronto at the same price. It seemed as if Tripcentral was actually working for Sunwing's best interest rather than ours. Very disappointed with tripccentral, who we booked through yearly for over a decade. We have travelled to Cuba several times in the past, and since we were going for two weeks, selected the Royalton as an upscale place based on reviews that we read. The resort itself was fine, the beach was fantastic, but the food was not great. Always the same bland variety. The Covid and sanitary precautions were non existent. Glasses at the bar would receive a quick rinse before being reused. They washed the dishes and cutlery one morning for the beach restaurant in the foot wash area (cold water) down at the beach. It was evident, based on prior visits to Cuba, that the country has not recovered yet from the pandemic. We have visited the Dominican and Mexico as well in the past year, and they were fantastic in comparison.

Amazing beach and waterfront

Overall, We spent a fantastic week. There were some amazing areas that we enjoyed. The staff are friendly and amazing. However, there are many services to improve. The resort is a bit outdated and to get the superior rooms, they ridiculously charge you per person per night significant US dollars. The food was of limited quality and repeated every day with the same choices! The beach service for food and breakfast is very basic and limited and not a 5-star hotel. A discriminatory service calle [... read more]d DIAMOND is just very annoying for where they treat few people (Presumably paying more) differently and they got priority in restaurants, seating ...etc as if the rest of the resort are economy class!!

Exceptional.

The resort is striking upon entering and being so quickly greeted by the staff gives you a special feeling of knowing you are going to have a wonderful vacation. Special thanks to Matty and Ronald for their hospitality and availability. The resort is one we will return to without a doubt. Its offers everything one could hope, such as; magnificent beach, staff, drinks etc. As I write this I am longing to return. Hoping this review helps anyone who chooses this resort. You too will be impressed.

Brilliant

Beautiful grounds Spacious comfortable rooms Amazing staff Gorgeous beach The buffet food was very good Some fruits were not available due to supply issues beyond their control Entertainment team very engaging Loved dancing classes on the beach and yoga Music in the main lobby bar was pleasant and got us dancing

Lovely resort

We stayed at the Royalton and found it to be exceptional in all ways . People who know Cuba can take a good message from this description of an all around great place . It excels in every way right down to the mojitos and yes mint !!!

The Perfect Holiday

My husband and I just returned from this beautiful resort not only feeling relaxed but sad we had to leave. This was our second visit to the Royalton Hicacos. We could not have had a more wonderful time. Cuba has most definitely won our hearts. Anyone who visits Cuba falls in love with the clear turquoise water and white sandy beaches, and Royalton's beach is Exceptionally spacious and immaculate. This is one of the many reasons you will love it. We spent many days on the spectacular [... read more] beach and enjoyed the outdoor Barbeque grill of chicken, pork, fish and Paella available for lunch each day. Daniel and Leonis were always available and work so tirelessly to serve everyone's need. I was touched by both their attentiveness and kindness. Every afternoon we headed back to the pool for party games and the weekly foam party; which always was so much fun! We met great people from all over the world at the swim-up pool bar, Ari and Omar "at the pool bar" need a special shout out for always welcoming us with a smile. (As there were sometimes many many of us!) Royalton’s buffet always offered a variety of items and smiles; the only issue we had with the food was we often ate too much of it. I'm certain even the pickiest of eaters can find something, However, you may not see Michelin stars or every thing you're used to but remember where you are. It's the best of their best. Everything was Excellent and always plenty of it. We thoroughly enjoyed the variety of talented musicians that performed in the evenings at the Lobby Bar and A-La-Carte restaurants. They were also often accommodating to our group allowing us to join in the fun. Nightly the Lobby Bar was our favourite place to be. Iced coffee in the mornings and Spanish coffee at night. Try a mulata. Sangria is also a lovely change. We owe many thanks and praise to the lobby bar staff, including, but not limited to, Eduardo, Yenifer & Cheily but the entire team are outstanding and kind. This time, I actually made it out to Yoga in the garden. It's held in the shaded gardens daily and is a beautiful way to start your morning with some meditation and stretching afterwards on the beach. Stephanie Olive of NRG2GO was an especially competent and knowledgable yoga instructor; she made easy enjoyable and fun! Stephanie was always available to assist, adjust and answer any questions we had. NRG2GO and it's instructors definitely add an extra bonus to the Hicacos resort. Once again we enjoyed a Cuban Rum couples massage in the resort spa, and it was as always fantastic, such a relaxing, calming experience. Treat yourself to one it's definitely worth it. Of course, what really keeps us coming back is the staff, they are a loyal, hard working and family oriented people. We enjoyed getting to know many; there's truly too many exceptional individuals to mention. Everyone at the resort makes you feel welcome with smiles and treat you as their friend with many who have become family, not only our friends. My advice to travelers is to take the time to talk to the staff and Cubans you meet in your travels so you can learn about Cuban culture and their way of life. Thank you to Royalton Hicacos Varadero for the perfect holiday We will be back again some day ☃️

Spectacular Resort!

We upgraded to the Diamond Service and felt pampered. They provided a free excursion with the Diamond Service and we chose the snorkle/diving tour. I am not that into snorkeling so I just stayed on board with the awesome Captain George for the short snorkle stop and then off to a beautiful island barbeque. We found the food at this tour and at the resort to be very tasty and of good variety as we booked a different night at the various restaurants at the Resort. We especially loved the Cuban Res [... read more]taurant which provided a unique menu of Cuban dishes. There were lots of other places to grab snacks including icecream and other snack stations. If you love seafood the lobster apparently was absolutely amazing... I couldn't eat it due to allergies but others were really impressed. A very special part of the Diamond Service is your assigned Butler. Ours was Marty - a lady who would go above and beyond to ensure all of her assigned Diamond vacationers had all of their concerns addressed. Ronald was our other Butler for Marty's day off. Equally friendly. All of the staff really went out of their way to be friendly and helpful. The bellhop Raul at the front desk was particularly helpful to us arranging transportation, assisting with luggage. Servicing staff went out of their way and we had three special employees that would see us coming and quickly find us a table and bring us the drinks they remembered we liked: Thank you to waiter Raul and waitresses Jenny and Anna. The bar staff, pool bar staff, entertainment and so on, were very welcoming. The main reason I booked this resort was the beautiful pools, with many bridges, tiny waterfall, swim up pool bar and the many thatched roof buildings. I think if they removed the beauty of the thatched roofs I may have overlooked it. But the photos definitely resemble the beauty you will find at this resort. We loved our room, it overlooked a beautiful garden area. The nightly entertainment was a surprise. Shows were provided in a large outdoor theatre with awesome performances, good sound quality. Beach had warm silky soft sand with private beach bar for Diamond Members. If we are lucky enough to go to Cuba again I would definitely book this resort. Only 15 min into Veradero in those cool old convertibles - awesome location. The only thing we found lacking was the Diamond Service said there would be beer in our room fridge daily - but this service was only provided on the first night. We checked every day with Diamond Club and they were always waiting for a shipment. Wouldn't deter me from going back.

Exceptional

Great time at Royalton Hicacos. Friendly staff, lots to do, fantastic beach facilities. Loved the jazz bar and variety of shows they brought every night - especially opera night. Had so much fun. Will go again ASAP.

Amazing Resort

I love Royalton Hicacos and spa for it's impeccable service,maids for my room were just the best you leave a Service my room they do it promptly, and when I ruffled my bed before supper, I came back to my room and they re did my bed wow, food for me was great 👍, staff and managers at front desk were very helpful and friendly always made shure I was satisfied, bravo team Royalton, bravo,5 star plus for me!!

Nice Resort

The hotel was really big but nice. All Entertainment Team was fun, energetic and had a variety of activities. The service at the buffet was good. Staff were very friendly friendly. The pool and the beach were clean and well maintained. The housekeeping service left a little to be desired. We ran out of tissues (small package) and body wash and it was not replaced. We were initially given face clothes, but after the first day, none were to be seen. There were also ants in our room.

Beautiful resort if you can deal with some imperfections

We went to this resort for our honeymoon between September 25- October 2, 2022, and we made great memories. We stayed in the Diamond club garden view room 1311. Some parts of the hotel looked a bit run-down, like the boardwalk, patches of removed paint from the walkway, slightly eroded tiles in the swimming pool area. However, we overlooked it considering the fact it can be easily renovated if the situation favors them. The overall experience was good considering how Cuba is suffering economi [... read more]cally, and you can feel that when certain food items are limited, or at times not available. We experienced heavy winds from the hurricane Ian; however, the entire resort was with power- we didn't even feel a thing with electricity despite the whole of Cuba was out of electricity for days due to the aftermath of the hurricane. They made sure we were fine, and despite the staff facing power outages for days in their homes, they put on a smiling face and focused on entertaining us. This shows their level of commitment to running the resort. The Diamond club was worth it only because we got a good deal like we paid around 200 CAD extra in total. However, please do not overspend on it. Our diamond club butler made sure that things were taken care of and made reservations at the Ala Carte restaurants in advance. Therefore, we didn't have to worry about getting a seat in those restaurants. This is not available for non-Diamond guests. Non-diamond guests can use the buffet without reservations. The catamaran trip included with Diamond club was worth it. The secluded beach for Diamond club, we didn't like it so much because it looked less appealing, however, you can use the Balinese bed, have drinks and grilled food by the beach. Non-diamond guests can use the buffet without reservations. Our room was clean, wonderfully comfortable although it looked quite dated. There are some rooms that are recently renovated but we didn't upgrade to them. They are called Superior rooms, if you can, get those as they look modern with newer furniture. We chose the garden view, which is beach facing but you can't see the beach as the view is blocked all through by large trees. Wi-Fi access was a hit or miss, it is free for Diamond club guests and exorbitantly pricey for non-Diamond guests. You get 35 hours of access, which you can top up for free from the reception (Diamond guests). Do not rely on their Wi-Fi if you are thinking of working online from the resort. Wifi signal is good from the main lobby and bar. Rooms that are closer to amenities or the lobby area have better wifi signals, otherwise you won't get Wi-Fi in your room like they originally advertise. Flood is bland. Please bring hot sauce/spices to make it tastier. This applies to all the restaurants including the buffet. Also, bring your own snacks like chips, cookies etc. as they don't have them. If you are a vegetarian, you might struggle with finding tasty food, however, if you request the restaurant in advance, they can plan for you. The night shows were very engaging. We loved it so much. The staff was amazing. They went over and beyond to help make our stay enjoyable, especially receptionist Alberto and butler Carlos. I recommend this hotel only for those who can deal with some imperfections while visiting Varadero.

Great beach escape

Tammy selected this hotel for me as I said I wanted somewhere with a great beach. I was not disappointed. The beach was beautiful, well maintained. The room was spacious. The gym was not busy, and had a good selection of equipment present. The staff at the resort were fantastic, always greeting you with a smile, and very keen to help. I travelled solo, and felt safe the whole time I was there. I would come back to this resort.

Good on the surface, issues with the details

The hotel is beautiful, but dated. The AC in the rooms barely works and there is no ventilation- there was mold in the bathroom. The hotel also doesn’t give guests water bottles beyond two in the room each day and the water otherwise served is in bottles some of which seem to have been refilled with other water (labels no longer attached to the bottles etc). But the beach is the best I’ve seen and the staff are great. Restaurants don’t require reservations technically but there is an unoff [... read more]icial reservation system with the hosts of the restaurants which is extremely frustrating.

Highly Recommend!!!

I can honestly say that I highly recommend the Royalton. I was a little bit iffy about Cuba, as most are. But this place was amazing. From the front staff to the entertainment staff, everyone was so very nice and accommodated. Room are nice and clean with a great view. Can't wait to go back ! Thank you so much Yainen and Marion. You both are so very welcoming!

Live Roach in breakfast bar

Not sure if more needs to be said, we saw a live roach in the breakfast station. I was scared to eat after that. Maybe I should add that there was hair in both of our soup and most of the food had no taste. Beach 5* Drinks 1* Room cleanliness 4* Hotel cleanliness 4* Food 3*