Short Vacation

Over all a good vacation, staff are the best asset to the resort. Pool, rooms, lobby and beaches in the area are very good. Not a lot to do outside of the resort, our 5 day stay was the perfect amount of time for our family.

Great resort

The resort was lovely and the people were even better. The food was not so great, typical of Cuba. The pool could have been vacuumed as there were crabs and cigarette butts on the bottom. I can’t say enough about the staff. My son made friends with one of the bartenders and when we left she gave him a gift. So sweet!

The resort was acceptable.

The resort was very beautiful considering they had a hurricane last year. The room was very specious and clean. Our maid did an excellent job with all of decorations on the bed etc. We had an end unit in bungalow 2 and it was away from everything and the noise. The pool was a bit of a disappointment. We could not use the pool for one day since it was being cleaned. It was pretty green on the day we arrived and needed to be cleaned. The other two pools were not that great either. One  [... read more]of our friends fell through the grate beside the pool and had to visit the doctor. She was ok but had a pretty big bruise. Another person in our group got an swimmer ear infection. We did not use the beach very much as the water too rough and you could not walk in. We had a toddler in our group and she could not play in the water. There is no beach for walking. Lots of chairs to sit in but no one was using them. There where always a lot chairs at the pool as well. The food for the first few days was good and then it went down hill. I am not sure what happened. The main buffet was closed from October 30th until we left. They were painting and repairing. The reason we keep going back to Cuba is people. We have been to Cuba about 30 times and this resort has the best people. They are so friendly and they seem to enjoy working there and they remember everyone's names. It is like one big happy family. I hope Iberostar gets their act together and gives these people appropriate tools or these wonderful people will leave. Which would be such a shame. There was 11 of us and we were not feeling well through the week one way of another.

Best Staff Ever

This is a beautiful resort with great amenities and incredible staff. They were so friendly and couldn't do enough for you. The pools are gorgeous except that the large, main pool was closed almost everyday......so no swim up bar! The beach is incredible and, just as the photos in the website depict, you take a long walk on a pier and use stairs to enter the ocean. Just a bit different but it doesn't change the beauty. The food was as expected as it's Cuba and they just don't have the resources [... read more] or quality that we do but they certainly do their best with what they have. The highlight of our trip was the exceptional staff and in particular the beach bar guy named Eudis. He made our stay so memorable and fun and he's such a great person and and amazing bartender. We would definitely return just to see him!!! Thanks to all staff and hopefully see you again soon.

Very good resort

We stayed from October 22-29 . Check in was smooth .. we had to wait for our room but not long. Very nice ocean view room . Great week at the resort and beach area was amazing! The food was the usual Cuba food some days good some not so good ! Think if they had more variety it would be a plus for the resort. Entertainment was also very good . Bar staff were very nice and fast with drink. In all we would return to the resort .

Great time

Had an amazing time at the resort. The people are very friendly and will make your stay enjoyable. Good food. Try the 4 resturants, they all had great food and service. Pool was warm and so was the ocean. Rooms were big and clean.

Great resort

I loved the pools all separate children’s pool and sport pool and bar pool Great trip my son and daughter took to Dolphin and boat trip Joyce was great from the hotel who sold trip to us She even checked on me when they went on trip to see if I needed anything The food was fine and the ladies cleaned our room were great and the waitresses were great very helpful Peter and Entertainment group were great The ocean was great All round great vacation

Not as good as 2017

We just came back Sept 1st stayed for 1 week. We were returned customers went last year around same time. This time we are disappointed with the stay. Hotel overall : we booked for Ocean view room we were given level 2 ocean view..half ocean and half building view. We were given bungalow 2 level 2. Last year we stayed at bungalow 14 level ocean view overlooking the ocean..it was perfect and beautiful . Cleanliness of the room was good..it was well kept clean. We travelled with our son and we wer [... read more]e given only 2 pillows instead of 3. Buffet food: very disappointed ..no lobster or shrimp this year compared to last year. Selections of food has decreased. Too many flies flying around due to they had the door open . Not too happy with the flies..and saw tiny crocroaches crawling around bread section. Ala cart - Mediterranean very very bad .. ordered shrimp pasta..shrimp was okay but pasta we're too soggy and tasteless. Don't bother going to Mediterranean ala cart. Ocean swim was great..saw alot of fishes, star fishes, sea urchin and sea cucumbers. Enjoy swimming with the fishes. Bring goggles a d snorkel set to enjoy . Also bring water shoe.. this will prevent stepping on tiny rocks and you will be able to walk to Pillar beach. Overall we don't think we will go back to this resort.. their standard has gone down compared to 2017.

Nice Resort & Clean

I new the grounds would be well kept and up to Iberostar standards. The location was beautiful and the water was like stepping into a lagoon. It is not your typical beach front property so I missed being able to walk along the beach shore. I was disappointed in the availability of standard items (towels in the room, no tissues, asking numerous times for an extra pillow, or just getting the room cleaned on a daily basis). I believe having more staff in the buffet dining area serving at the gr [... read more]ills would cut down on extremely long wait times of 20 minutes or more to get an omellete or grilled chicken/steak/pork etc. at meal time. The resort could do with another bar area and more servers at the bar. The small bar space in the lobby was always very congested with few people behind the bar serving. Also, most of the staff were very young and inexperienced with hospitality. They spoke very little English which was frustrating especially when a good portion of their clientele are English speaking visitors. While I am not a picky person and enjoyed our stay, I felt frustrated with the mentioned deficiencies. I have been to other Iberostars in Cuba and Jamaica in the past so I expected better from this holiday experience. I would not go back to that Iberostar location but would try another Iberostar.

Nice place

Very nice organized , very clean and comfortable . Most of the people were very polite. Food wasn’t too great, but its because the overall limitations the country has. Other hotels like iberostar daikiri was better in terms of food quality and beach service

Amazing beach

Beach was beautiful; white sand, clear water and lots of tropical fish to view when snorkeling. The staff was very friendly and fun. The rooms were good; comfortable bed and thick walls (quiet). The food sucked though. The only decent food was at the Japanese restaurant.

Fantastic Trip

Awesome trip with the family. Had a beautiful seaview room with a fantastic view! Food was good and pool was clean & comfortable beds. Couldn’t ask for more. What really sets this resort aside was the people who work there! They are such hard working sweet people who will help you with whatever you need. We will definitely be there again!!❤️❤️

Tu ne manqueras pas ton coup !

De retour de Iberostar playa pillar encore sous le choc. A une heure de route de l aéroport.Tres bel hotel avec une architecture design. nous avons été tres bien recu et ils ont respecté toutes nos demandes pour la chambre .Buffet tres bien ,restaurant pour ma part c était divertissant sans plus.Théatre surprenant tout les soirs.Déception ..... pour la plage ,ce n est pas la plage que j ai connue en 2009.Bruit ,trop pres de la route et futur hotels en construtions.... .Le personnels est [... read more] tres serviable et chaleureux .Propretée dans la chambre négliger,le mur coté lit était couvert de poussiere,la douche style pluie tres inconfortable si tu ne veut pas mouillé tes cheveux, nous avons manqué d eau chaude ils nous ont offert une autre chambre mais elle était juste a cotée de la route et avait plus de poussiere sur les murs ,service tres rapide au bar du lobbey ,tres grande piscine et les touristes de la Grande Bretagne ,Canada,Espage .....participent pour le plus grand bonnheur des annimateurs qui travaille tres fort mais il faudra qu ils amménage mieux la plage avant que nous y retournions.

Excellent family or group vacation destination

Hotel is located in an amazing large shallow lagoon that can be considered a private large swimming pool with ocean water but no waves and no rocks.options are to swim or walk or just hang atound with a drink or play with the ball. Gym classes in this marvelious secluded lagoon are amazing experience for seniors, middle aged people or youth program is made for all generations. Staff is pretty extraordinary when compared to other exclusive resorts. Nobody is asking for tips or “ too much into [... read more] your face”. Entertainers are there and in hood number but if you feel you should be left alone, it is well respected. The amazing staff in the restorants is however exceeding all expectations. The three guys grilling fish on o n order and all the staff in the restaurants are not only the best I have seen in Carenbeans but even in all Iberostar resorts. There is something in the water of that town they all come from. They all feel like family and pretty quickly one feels like their own family. Rooms are clean and well lit unlike usual not very good lifting insides even dining room and redemption are nicely lit with new leaf lights so one has a feeling of a modern new facility.there is no luxioury, it is a small “ everything is close” type of a resort, you would not want anything else as the size matches wild rare beauty of the bay, it’s natural sand dunes and rocky parts. It is that such resort also attracts nice middle class audiance that does not need to be reminded not to litter. Everything stays clean all the time including the public bathrooms. If weather gets stormy it is a pretty dramatic skies we all watch from the lobby. Staff gets us into some sort of entertainment immediately. One takes loving memories from this amazing location and the team that hosted us. I have not used the pool but the largest group was always there and I have not heard one complaint. We had everybody in the resort from babies and toddlers to seniors and invalids. Total healthy happy mix. I would go again and happily recommend to friends.

Amazing Resort

Grounds were well kept, the staff was working continuously everyday. Beach is amazing and there is lots to see snorkeling just off the boardwalk. The staff were amazing constantly interacting with the guests. I've been to a bunch of resorts but the shows I seen here are by far the best I've ever seen. Done the Dolphin excursion and would highly recommend it. Food was a little repetitive but the Hurricane hasn't helped with that, but if you enjoy Chicken, rice, fresh fish and pork it was good. I  [... read more]would definitely return to this resort.

Good family resort

Great hotel, grounds are beautiful and well kept. The pools and beaches were great, the staff was excellent especially the entertainment staff. Unfortunately the food was poor definitely not the resort to go to if you want good food.

Great resort with awesome staff

We traveled as a group of six (ages between 61 and 71) after doing a lot of fact finding and research. This is our 14th visit to Cuba. We knew going to this resort, that there was no beach to speak of. In fact our Tripcentral Representative repeated this comment three times to me before I booked and I did the same with the other couples I was booking for...so no surprises. There is NO BEACH but there is a fabulous boardwalk and entry into the most beautiful, crystal clear Caribbean ocean water,  [... read more]filled with lots of things to see when snorkeling. Not the easiest way in, however they are working on an access to the water for those who find it difficult to navigate the stairs into the water (elderly and small children). I heard on the bus on our way back to the airport that people were disappointed with the food. There is absolutely nothing wrong with the food. Its a buffet, with food that appeals to so many different nationalities, so if you see something you don't like, don't choose it. There was plenty of "regular food" for Canadians who are used to bacon, eggs, cereal, fruit, pancakes, chicken, pork, pasta etc. without having to try the more adventurous items on the buffet. We are way too hard on our Cuban friends. They are catering to many, many different palettes. The service was impeccable, the staff super attentive, and every single person we met went out of their way to get us what we needed or wanted, even without having to ask. Cappuccinos and black coffees delivered to our waiting table of six each morning. Be nice and you will get fantastic service. Be rude and you will still get service, but perhaps not as quickly. Make sure that you visit the Cigar Bar in the evening...Onei the bartender is awesome! The rooms were clean, bright and well stocked every day. The beach bar waiters delivered your drinks to your chair, with a smile, all day long. The snack bar at the beach, a few yards away from the chairs and palapas was an awesome place to take a break from the very hot sun and enjoy a quick bite and an ice cold beverage. A huge hats off to Yadir, who took us on an emergency "dentist" excursion off the resort and waited for us and acted as our interpreter, problem solved, and delivered us back to the hotel all withing 45 minutes. If you expect to have the same foods and experience as you would in a hotel in the city where you are from, then I would suggest you stay home. Cuba is a beautiful gem in the Carribean filled with beautiful people. Miss it already! And yes I would return to this resort in a heartbeat.

Totally amazing

It’s still young, but the grounds are great, people even better. Love it We plan our next trip to the same resort, I highly recommend it. Pilar beach is cool, bit of a walk, but having the actual beach on a board walk is kinda neat

Fantastic place

Grounds are beautiful, lots of new plants/trees etc. since hurricane, once they mature it will be gorgeous! Resort is perfect size, never had to reserve a chair although that didn’t stop some crazy people from reserving a cabana with their towel and proceeding to lay a lounge chair on top of it in the cabana! Food was decent. You know going in it’s not going to be like home but the seafood was really good. You can certainly find something to eat for a week, and for those who complain cons [... read more]tantly about the food I would say you are focused on a food holiday and maybe a cruise is the way to go, I was here for the beaches and beautiful water. The Japanese and French a la cartes were the best. Ketchup was hit and miss, no Diet Coke, and watermelon was the only fruit we ate, however the coffee/cappuccinos are amazing! It’s true they do not have facecloths so prepare for that. We would walk to Playa Pillar beach, it’s a bit of climbing rocks and substantially easier at low tide but we went whenever. Unless you are unfit or have mobility problems, anyone can walk there along the beach, runners would be best but we managed with flip flops too. We loved this place and definitely will be back.

Great resort

This hotel is the perfect size, not too big, not too small. The grounds and common areas of the resort are well maintained for Cuba standards. The staff are friendly, attentive, helpful and accommodating. We had some early isssues with our rooms upon check in but the front staff worked to find us an acceptable solution. The beach and ocean are absolutely stunning. It took my breath away each and every time I saw it. The way to playa pillar is short and by far the most spectacular environment Iâ [... read more]€™ve ever seen in my life. Our family made the walk there and back a daily event.