Great Experience

The Grand Aston is a newer resort. It was very clean and modern. The staff were excellent, both friendly and hard working. The food was okay. Lots of repetition but we didn't have any problem finding something to eat. Desserts were great. Fantastic stretch of beach. We didn't spend any time at the pools but they looked very clean. The resort was very well laid out. It didn't take us very long to get to any one spot. We would go back again.

Awesome resort

We just returned from a week at this amazing resort. We were in building 11 so was right beside the pool and main walkway to beach which was the most beautiful beach. The resort is only a couple of years old and everything is new and clean. Fresh eggs and bread everyday for breakfast. A good choice of food at meals in the buffet. Johana and Deylania were great servers at lunch and breakfast in the buffet and Anabel was great at dinner time in the buffet. They were very friendly and helpful and  [... read more]always smiled and greeted us as soon as we walked in the door. Would like to send them a cheerful hello. The resort also has a beach bar that has amazing pizza. Your choice from plain to meat to veggies. I would suggest to get there at noon as the line starts to build up for serving at 12:30pm. And the family/kids pool area also has amazing poutine. There was always something to eat.. There is lots of places to get drinks and beer too with a great choice of drinks. I would recommend they put more staff on the lobby bar as the lobby itself is very large and actually 3 rooms and usually only 2 staff. So if you go to the bar I would say grab double of drinks because it can be quite a long wait at times. The main pool has actually 3 pools. Which it is a place where you must go by 6-6:30 and put your towels on chairs because there is not many and if you go later they will all be gone or already saved. So we had to do that even though we spend the morning at the beach. The beach is very long and beautiful. Lots of chairs there and always someone there to assist you. I would say it is probably 60-70%french speaking also. The shuttle to the resort was quick, only about 25 min. There was always some kind of entertainment in the lobby at night also but if you wanted something quieter there is the 24 hr. sport club. I would highly recommend this resort to couples and families. I will be returning, hopefully very soon.

Grand Aston Cayo Paredon-3 Star Hotel (In My Opinion)

Review and Personal Experience of the GRAND ASTON CAYO PAREDON-Travel Date Jan 30-Feb 6-2025 Overall, I rate this hotel a 3 max, nowhere near a 5-Star hotel even by Cuban standards!! If your only expectations are to go to the beach, be on a diet, drink alcohol and swim in the pool at a reasonable price then this is perfect for you. But if you are willing to invest a few hundred more for better food and a far better experience more like a 5-Star hotel should be than I strongly recommend  [... read more]NOT going to this hotel as you will be sadly disappointed. See Below for Details: Upon arrival at the airport, it took 3 hours to get to the hotel and be fully checked in. I arrived at the airport at approximately 830pm, and the resort is a 20 min from the airport. I was the first on the bus and finally around 1045pm we left the airport. Once at the resort, the check in took about 45 minutes and I was finally checked in after 11pm at approximately 1130pm. Once at the Resort, I was given a non-alcoholic beverage, this I thought was odd considering this is supposed to be a 5-star hotel. Any 5-star hotel I have been too in the past in Cuba, Jamaica, Dominican, Mexico etc. I was greeted with both options, alcohol, or non-alcohol. Once I went to the check in and got checked in there was absolutely NO INFORMATION given to me, this was another indication to me that this 5-star rating was under rated. I was given a room key and no instructions on anything. No map given, no intro about the Resort and/or information about the hotel. Just brought to room by the bell boy and that’s it. The Room: My room was clean and basic, but a few things that I thought were odd, was there no plush towels and no face clothes and NO BAR or Alcohol other than 2 beers in the fridge! I haver never been to a 5-Star rated hotel and not had alcohol hanging off the wall with at least 4-5 bottles. But it gets worse, the mini bar had 2 cokes, 2 waters and 2 beers which was fine with me, however after drinking the cokes I called downstairs on the 3rd day because I noticed that the cokes had not been restocked and was advised that I ONLY get coke/beer upon arrival and ONLY water after that, once again this is supposed to be a 5-Star hotel how is this even possible!? My hotel room door had to be SLAMMED using extreme and excessive force and this had to be done multiple times using a great amount of force just to close it properly and ensure it was locked. My chain lock on the room door was broken and fell off a few days after arriving so there was no added security while I was sleeping. If you want your sheets changed, make sure to throw them on the ground or they will just come and re-make your bed. Never once did they mop the floor in the room that I could tell. My so-called ocean view was more of a distant ocean view with construction of another hotel in the background. Resort Bathrooms: Most of Bathrooms on the resort when using a private stall could NOT lock so forget privacy while using the bathrooms outside of your hotel room, this was not a good look. The Bathroom by pool par, the urinal was flooded with urine, and it overflowed on the floor and was left that way for 3 days despite several complaints, this meant that you would be walking into a urine filled bathroom that was not even mopped up and forced me to use another bathroom to avoid stepping in a pool of urine. The Buffet: Breakfast was absolutely the same every single day and there is only one buffet. There were no pancakes, no bagels, no sausages, no scrambled eggs, none of the basics that you would expect at a buffet on a resort, much less one that is rated 5-Star. In fact, 99% of what was being offered for breakfast/dinner to me personally did not even look edible, so therefore I did not eat it. The best option was eggs and fruits plus mango juice, the eggs you can have a chef make it but expect to line up every morning for at least a min of 30 minutes. The serviettes were one ply tissue folded into 4, once you wipe your face one time the serviette is of no use and must be disposed of, any 5-star resort I have ever been too INCLUDING Cuba would normally provide for you a reusable, washable serviette. At Dinner, your best option is pasta, ice cream and fruits. Everything on the menu from breakfast to dinner was always the same and for me personally inedible. Line ups are expected for eggs, pasta, and bread. Ketchup at the buffet was literally watered down. The Beach: The beach water was cold and rough every day and it was windy while I was there, so if you have children, you must keep a close eye on them. The water was actually too cold to swim in as well, this has nothing to do with the Resort but just putting it out there if someone chooses to travel there maybe consider the time of year and possibly what the weather will be like during this time, especially if you love ocean water like me. On the beach there was only one visible lifeguard to service the entire beach. Other people were with him, but nothing indicate they were lifeguards (i.e. no shirt stating they were a lifeguard) as well And he never once did they walk the beach, swim at your own risk. At the Beach Bar the internet went down on the 3rd day and was not fixed for the remainder of my stay, the router stopped working, sop there was no internet at that Bar. Snack bar by the beach had better food. The pizza however was tasteless. The pizza gets served at 1230-1pm not sure why people are lining up for it, and the line up to get the pizza was on average 45 minutes. To me personally it had no flavour, not even a garlic spread. There was two days where they had a BBQ set up, the chicken took forever to cook because the grill was not hot enough, so they ended up just serving hot dogs, they were delicious considering my diet while there otherwise, but be sure to arrive on time or they will run out of hot dogs. There are No waiters or waitresses on the beach itself, only the beach bar you will get service, but not by a waiter or waitress it is self serve buffet or line up for the pizza. The Pool Bar: Pool bar is great, great service and drinks. All the Staff amongst the entire resort were very pleasant, they never asked for tips or made you feel like you would not be served properly if you did not provide a tip. There were No vendors or hagglers at the beach which was great. If you want a lawn chair by the pool you must arrive super early like 8am or earlier. Bring your own cups because their cups are so small and with ice, you’d finish your drink before you even sit down, they also use cardboard cups so if you do not intend on drinking your beverage right away the cup will become soggy. Music by the pool is all in Spanish maybe one English song of this matters to anyone. I do not mind some Spanish, but I believe considering you are catering to foreigners it should have more English music being played. Pool bar closes at 5pm, in my experience that is early usually a pool bar will shut down at 6-630pm. Towels: You can only get towels from about 10am-1pm, then again from 2-5pm. If you wait too long, they run out of clean towels, so get there early and hold on to your towel till the end of the day. Lobby Bar: Entertainment is all by the lobby bar, makes no sense to me. All the entertainment seemed amateur no real professional entertainment. No Michael Jackson shows. The lobby bar is generally very busy and loud. Snack Bar-By the Pool: Snack bar by the pool only has 3 items, ham and cheese, chicken sandwich (which is processed chicken like you would get at Costco), and fries. No hamburgers or hot dogs. In fact, I never once saw hamburgers anywhere. The Resort: There is only a very small store that sells alcohol and a few other items on the resort, plus a couple of stands. There is another store off the resort, you must pay a bell boy to bring you there but the alcohol in my opinion has skyrocketed. I have NEVER paid more than $10-12 USD for basic Cuban rum, now at the resort even at the airport they are charging min $25USD for basic 3-year-old rum, brown rum and anything that is less than 8 years old, if you want better or older rum you are looking at 50+$USD per bottle. This is the first time every traveling and I have not bought rum, even in Jamaica the rum was $11USD and this is 63% over proof, way overpriced! If you like cigars there’s a man that comes and makes them and sells for $10USD each, however in the 7 days I was there I only saw this guy once, better to ask the reception what day he is going to be there if you are interested. There is only one buffet 2 snack bars one by the pool the other by the beach, this is a small resort. The best rum I had while on the resort was Havana Club 3-year-old rum and the Santiago which is known to be one of the better Cuban rums. Don’t expect any fancy drinks, and the only soda they have is sprite, Fanta orange and Cola/diet cola Excursions: The one excursion I went on was good, but a bit pricey $90 USD, but it’s to be expected. It was the catamaran. The boat was very small if you choose to see the dolphins because it hosts less people. Staff was very friendly, open bar help yourself. We went snorkelling and we stopped to swim in the Atlantic Ocean which was awesome the water was only waist deep. Afterwards I went to see dolphins and after that lobster dinner. It was mediocre no real flavour. There is however another excursion that I was told by another traveler that was much better it has the buggy ride, catamaran, visit with the alligators it is better than the regular catamaran I am told. Second excursion was at what they call the lighthouse. Cost was $40USD for lobster dinner, $60USD if you want a 25 minute massage. The hotel staff will drive you on a cart 15 mins to the restaurant, nothing special just lobster dinner with rice no desert and only alcoholic drinks are wine and beer. It was mediocre but a chance to get away from the hotel. Cayo Paredon Airport: Be sure to eat big before you leave the Resort because the Cayo Paredon airport only has one restaurant and they only serve hot dogs, and cheese sandwiches (NO HAM). It costs $9USD and if traveling late like I did at 10pm, they will run out of food.

Best time ever!

Idk what other ppl were on but the food is so good! My family is vegetarian and we always had options. Licet our Air Canada representative was great and booked us in for our excursions. The tour guides were amazing and their English was easy to understand! Evening entertainment at the hotel was superb as well

Amazing Experience

I had a wonderful stay and appreciated how clean and well-maintained everything was. The modern feel of the space added to the overall experience. I would recommend considering a few minor touches to enhance the experience even further, but overall, it’s a great place to stay!

Amazing resort

The whole resort was very nicely kept, the pools were beautiful too. The beaches in Cuba are fantastic, and the people are wonderful and very helpful. Food is traditionally biggest issue in Cuba even in the restaurants. Amazing bartenders and drinks

Beautiful resort

Hotel was new pretty clean, food ran out very fast. Nobody told us about the sand flies that eat you like crazy, but funny thing, you don’t start feeling the bites till we started heading home, the itching started, and stil persisting. The itching is much worse then mosquitoes, and last weeks. Worst trip not worth it.

Grand Aston

Our vacation was Jan 8 to 15th in lovely Cayo Paradon. The resort was beautiful, the lobby big and airy. The rooms were great, big and roomy. The beach was beautiful, lots of chairs and great bars and lunch areas to eat. The buffet was almost always crowded, no matter the time of arrival. There were not enough cooks behind the stations. The food was good, we understand the problems Cuba is and has had. If you like or are French Canadian a/o have children, then this is the resort for you.  [... read more] The specialty restaurants were great, the Italian and Asian were the two we were able to attend. Overall, we had a great time.

Fadi Ojeil

They said 5 star which is not , it’s less than 4 star, no towels at the pool after 11 am , they give you only 2 towels for 2 persons per day in the room and the towels are very old , 1 day they had no bottles of water ? n the rooms

Great Time at the Grand Aston!

The hotel is fairly new and everything is kept very clean. The rooms are modern and fresh and we always had a nice hot shower, clean towels and bottled water. The lobby bar has great staff, amazing coffee in the morning and fun shows in the evening. The buffet food is decent, you can always find something however we liked to take our food and eat outside. The snack bar by the beach offers pizza at 12:30 which is a good snack and there is also the snack bar. The beach is beautiful and the pools a [... read more]re nice. The week we went had a fair amount of wind and cloud but that could not be helped. We were able to try 3 of the a la carte restaurants, Mexican (least fave) Italian and Brazilian and they were both quite good. We stayed in Bungalow 9 which was close to the beach and the pools but not attached to the main lobby which we loved. As long as you have reasonable expectations for the food, you will enjoy this resort very much.

Was beautiful for many reasons

My only criticism involves the quality of the food, especially pertaining to the lack of fresh fruit and absence of late-morning pastry...sadly, the ala cartes (sic) were no better than the buffet. Sadly, I will not be returning to Cuba i the near future because I can find better value for my money elsewhere.

Meh

No water, terrible service, food was no good, service was bad, didn’t clean rooms much, hard to get beach chairs, overbooked, The hotel is new and nice/ beach very nice that’s it I wouldn’t go back

Beautiful resort

This resort is beautiful. Spotlessy clean. Friendly staff and accommodating. Drinks are generous with alcohol. They are struggling with access to fresh fruit and vegetables. Food is plentiful but not really very nice. All meals are the same as the last breakfast , lunch dinner. Unfortunately I experienced only cold water for showering until the last day

Great Resort

I really liked this resort. It's quite new and modern. I liked the layout as nothing was too far away. Buffet, snack bar and pools were all within a couple of minutes walk. The beach was maybe five minutes, no longer. Lots of beach chairs and palapas. There are a lot of staff at this resort and everything was clean and well looked after. Public bathrooms were fully stocked with toilet paper, soap and handtowels or hand dryers. My bedroom was very spacious and clean. Bed was super comfortable and [... read more] the best bed I have slept on in 10 visits to Cuba. Buffet was the usual Cuban fare but we did have eggs all week and good choices of pork, chicken, beef and fish. Maybe lacking a bit in fresh vegetables but that's a supply issue. Friendly, attentive servers , in fact all the staff I encountered were really nice. Would return.!!

Come here. You won't regret it.

This was the best vacation of all the times I visited Cuba. A wonderful hotel, spacious, clean rooms, including everything you need. Wonderful beach and pool. The food is complete, if without any special nitpicks, then everyone can find something to their taste and desire. I plan to go back there again.

Amazing Beach Resort

Everything is rate 5 star the only down of the resort is the food same every day since we stayed for 7days doesn't change the menu.I would suggest I'd they change the atleasy 4 different menu in a week they get more tourist to visit the resort

Great time

Great time spent there. You go to Cuba to have a great time but also to help our fellow Cubans. Based on Cuban standards, food was good, beach was excellent, service was average, rooms were clean! Will we go back, gladly!

Beach is breathless!!

My sister and I stayed at Grand Aston, Cuba for one week in July 2024. This is the perfect resort for beach lovers and anyone who loves to spend time at the pool. The beach is amazing to say the least and there are plenty of pools to accommodate everyone's needs and wants. As for the foodies you will be disappointed because of the lack of fresh food, insufficient variety of alcoholic drinks, daily shortage of essentials and no waiters at the beach or the pools. In regards to the entertainme [... read more]nt we truly enjoyed the adult shows held during the evening at the lobby bar and the dinner event hosted by Air Canada. The resort itself is new, modern and clean. The rooms as spacious and cleaned daily. The staff works really hard and for long hours every day so please leave them a tip as often as you can with paper bills since coins will not be exchanged in any banks in Cuba.

Overall a Great Resort!

The beach was fantastic and the hotel was legitimately nice! Our AC worked fine, nothing in the hotel was broken, even the Wifi was good. The lunch and snack options were convenient and sufficient, there's also a mini buffet by the beach - so you don't have to change/dry off for the main lunch buffet. The snack bar had burgers and ham + cheese sandwiches. The buffet food was a bit better than at other hotel's I've been too, still not amazing but there was always good options. The a la carte rest [... read more]aurants were quite good, and a nice change from the buffet. It would've been nice to have chicken, pork and beef as options everyday at the cooking stations instead of cycling through them on different days. It was also disappointing how slow some of the cooks were, or leaving a station closed despite longer lines. Churros were great and I am glad it was an option, but it was random when it was offered and the line was crazy. They should at least have a schedule when its available. The pizzas are lacking, but we grabbed cheese, ham and pineapple from the buffet and it was great. They should put those items at the mini beach buffet so you can use them as pizza toppings (pizzas are at the same location). Overall a great experience, maybe partly because we've been to Cuba before and knew what to expect. We brought ketchup, salt + pepper, and garlic mayo but they actually had salt + pepper and ketchup. The beach really was fantastic and is the main reason we chose Cuba, this hotel was right by a perfect spot too.

It's Grand indeed!

The hotel is super clean and the staff is very kind. We loved the beautiful beach and enjoyed lazy days at the pool. It is a smaller resort and meant for relaxation and family time. The food is OK and I recommend drinking bottled water.