Gran Muthu Almirante Beach Resort: Overall Good - But a Few Serious Management Fails

Everything was generally good with my trip last week, but here's a few management fails that need immediate attention: 1) Smashed out buttons: in the elevators is just a weak presentation of the hotel, and most elevators had broken buttons. Some of the smashed buttons didn't work at all, so good luck getting around. If your fingers were wet you'd likely get a shock attempting them. 2) Closed pools - not acceptable: The swim-up bar pool was closed for 2 days when I arrived due to grunge wat [... read more]er quality - at times they were scooping it out with buckets. One day every one was kicked out of all pools in the late afternoon, and it was sunny out - which leaves you wondering about water quality. In all pools you will see things floating around that a functioning filtration system should be handling. The pool management needs significant improvement. 3) The snack bar: During the day when they have the outdoor grill going, you can get food in reasonable time, and with all the condiments you'd want. At night it reverts to an indoor "restaurant style" scenario where you have to go inside and sit down in a large round rotunda, wait for a waitress, wait for a cook to come back up to the front and cook something, and just wait - and then no condiments. For some reason I can't fathom, all condiments are removed in the evening. I had dry burgers and hot dogs every time...it just makes no sense. The condiments exist, I saw them there during the day, but at night it's a strict no-condiment policy. You should not have to go in and sit and wait when there is a beautiful patio outside. Snack-bars should be quick and relatively fast - the nighttime setup is all wrong. Keep the outdoor grill going and manned at least until midnight, and keep a full supply of condiments at all times. 4) Loud and boisterous Cuban guests. The Russians were laying low, and not many around at the current time, but half the hotel is Cuban guests who need a bit of work on their manners. This one young muscle bound blinged-out guy almost took a swing at me because I was complaining about his large cocktail *glass* in the pool with him, on a concrete shelf beside him, while he was playing pool volleyball. It was seconds away from smashing into the water, requiring the pool to be drained and cleaned. I tried asking the lifeguard to step in but he laughed at me, and then shared a laugh with the Cuban guy. Management needs to better educate and monitor the "lifeguards" (who are often huddled together talking and laughing amongst themselves rather than having any interest in doing their jobs). They may as well not be there really...it'll be guests in the pool who will be saving kids from drowning. 5) On Sundays thousands of local Cubans head to the beach. They bring all their gear, food, booze, and noise. It's absolutely packed and they leave all their garbage behind. I've been to Cuba many times and I've never seen the same scenario elsewhere - but you will see it at this hotels beach location. There's a "locals patio bar" next door to the hotel too - you won't be welcome, and they make a lot of noise on Sundays with the thousands of them around. The end result is you can forget about the beach on that day. Air Canada also lost all my luggage, and wouldn't get it to me (they only fly there once a week). They offered to reimburse me but you can't even get a tube of toothpaste at the resort, so forget about it. I got it back a couple of days after my return. (My week was severely impacted by that, but it's no fault of the resort). All that said, the rest of the experience was good, the buffet was the best I've seen in Cuba, and I left with a smile. I feel though that management needs to step up around the above serious issues, and if the reviews steadily improve I would go back.

Playa Costa Verde: Great Resort, Wonderful Staff

Due to Covid, my experience at Playa Costa Verde wasn't as perfect a vacation as I am accustomed to. But I was pleased that some of the regulars that I have not seen in 2 yrs greeted us with open arms and made us feel right at home. I did find that there was lack of some of my favorite foods ( bacon, fruit) but I can only blame COVID for that. The A La Carte dinners were exceptional. It was very hot (34C) for 9 days and found that our air conditioning was not fuctioning at full strength. I appre [... read more]ciated the fact that the locals were visiting the resort, but did not appreciate the fact they pretty much took over the resort. Some of them were pretty rude. All in all it was a great time and look forward to going back again

Brisas Guardalavaca: An excellent vacation after 3 year fasting.

The entire areal is very comfortable, short distance from the hotel to the beach. I don't like to complain about the facilities since it is not our priority, but the condition of the bathroom surprised us, that was a 1 star run down bathroom. Cleaning of the room is another subject I never talked about until now. The counter was obvious area and it was not touched once in the two weeks. The real shock was not that 80% of the guests were locals, but that the reason for the stay was not the be [... read more]ach, but the feeding area and all the could carry out. Every person was ordering 8 burgers and 8 pizzas at a time and that was repeated every 20 minutes. Buns were discarded and dutifully carried to the garbage by a waitress. Only the hamburger patties and pizzas were packed to plastic bags taken to a bicycle courier by the beach. Beer taken in gallon containers. After the weekend somebody must have stepped in, because these orgies were over. Next weekend 400 guests were booked, but nobody showed up they must had been warned, that the communism is over. The scenes from the dining room I am leaving out, to keep this short. It was an interesting experience. Now something positive. The staff was really pleasant, really good service. The a la carte restaurants are beautiful, with good food, specially if you like lobster. I would return to this resort without hesitation.

Iberostar Coral Holguin: Beautiful Resort

Staying at the Coral Level was a great experience, the staff were the highest caliber I have seen at a Cubian resort. Very helpful, happy and their English was amazing no issues communicating with any of the staff. The rooms were clean comfortable with all amenities except one a coffee maker. The butler would bring coffee each day but 1 cup is not enough.that would honestly be my only complaint and that might ha e been because of covid.

Playa Pesquero: Amezing

Amazing beach, friendly staff, clean rooms, spacious pools and parks, great for families and kids with a lots of facilities ,I would recomend this resort, because it's safe and excellent for relaxation

Iberostar Coral Holguin: Everything we could want in a resort

We stopped doing one week all inclusive's years ago but not having been able to get away for two years we needed even just one week in the sea and sand. After reading the food reviews here on TA we decided to give the Coral a try. We requested an upper floor suite King bed and our request was granted. The adult only pool runs the length of the Coral level and even though you don't have an ocean view the balcony atmosphere is fantastic. The adult only Coral restaurant was by far the best of all [... read more] options. We found out that some of the nearby resorts had no fish at all on the menu where as we had various white fish & lobster and various lobster dishes daily. The breakfasts at the Buffet restaurant was terrific. Even though my wife and I enjoyed the food immensely we found all the staff to be even more exceptional and always went the extra mile to please. I noticed many reviews named certain staff as being great but we found there were too many great staff to name them all individually. The staff wore their masks all the time which made for a great comfort level. Tourists were expected to wear their covid masks indoors until seating. We loved walking the pedestrian bridge to the beach and to the end of all the nearby resorts. It made for great people and activity watching. The included Hobie Cat half hour ride was a great addition. We did the Paradise Island Excursion on day. It was an eleven hour day but was one of the best excursions we've ever taken in the Caribbean. We definitely will go back again but this time for longer than seven days.

Brisas Guardalavaca: Good as always

Hotel and staff are great .Entertainment not as good as it used to be . I'm sure it's because of covid. Hope it comes back.Lots of cubans at the resort enjoy themselves which I'm sure is the only way they could stay open.Canadians just starting to travel.

Brisas Guardalavaca: Great vacation

We stayed in the villa and just loved it. Beautiful beach, pool and room. The food was way better than expected. French fries and ketchup was our go-to snack! Cons: No wine even at the a la carts. There were a lot of Cubans on vacation or day pass which was fine but they left garbage everywhere...we found ourselves picking up cups and straws daily

Gran Muthu Almirante Beach Resort: Excellent resort

This is the first time I am in Cuba.Gran Muthu Almirante Beach Resort is an excellent place to stay. The hotel building is new, room is clean, and the beach is good for swimming. Especially the people who are working at the Small Club are helpful and friendly. The only problem is the poor Internet connection.

Gran Muthu Almirante Beach Resort: Beautiful resort

Gran Muthu Almirante is a beautiful resort with impeccable grounds, comfortable rooms and pristine beach. Above all, the staff is SUPER. Always willing to help: Guest Service staff housekeeping ( keeping everything so clean) and security staff. Many thanks to the waiters: Ariana, Ronaldo, Andre and all the others at the buffet or at the restaurants. Thanks to Ana the artist. She transforms fruits into beautiful flowers at the buffet. Amazing shows, especially top-rate Synchro. Karaoke man,  [... read more]with beautiful voice, thank you. Very good sanitary measures re COVID. Staff wearing masks even at the beach. I would certainly be happy to go back and would recommend this hotel to my friends. Now the weak points: - VERY SLOW check-in - access to WIFI, a real challenge, especially that you have to recharge after 2hours - no tea is available at the resort! (Will bring my own next time) - only RED WINE is served at the buffet. At the restaurants, you have to pay for White WINE. Yet at the beach, you can have WHITE WINE Free of charge!

Paradisus Rio De Oro: Beautiful but needs work

I plan to be very honest and fair. The grounds are beauitful. The rooms are a bit more dated than you would expect for a resort of this magnitude. Mattresses need an update. I had to sleep on the chaise. Beautiful people and fantastic food. Stunning sites. It is the most beautiful resort in Holguin.

Playa Pesquero: The resort was beautiful and staff friendly

The food not as good. There were restrictions on supplies. I realize the Covid caused this. I was looking so forward to some salmon and white fish. Also I wanted mojitos .🥴😞 The pools and beach awesome, clean and beautiful. The staff friendly courteous attentive! If the food was better I’d return this year!

Paradisus Rio De Oro: 95 out of a hundred Could be a 100

Staff and locals very friendly and always happy and polite. The only suggestion to improve this hotels overall rating is to address the reception staff performance.There is room to improve the reception service with a possible program on learning basic English.Remember reception is the first point of contact.It was a ok reception but not up to a Five Star service.Everything else,the grounds the pool the beach the restaurants were excellent.This service staff what can I say beautiful peop [... read more]le.

Gran Muthu Almirante Beach Resort: Beautiful Resort

The resort is absolutely beautiful. The beach is super nice but a bit short. Not for long walks. The water is very clear. Excellent for swimming. The Resort itself and grounds are well kept. The staff is super nice and accommodating. Excellent shows in the evening. The rooms are spacious, best bed I had in Cuba so far. However, we had constant problems with WiFi. For a 5* Hotel, the food could have had a bit more of a verity. Also, you had to pay for the white wine. There was no butter no [... read more]r tea. All in all, we did enjoy our stay and I would not hesitate to go back.

Paradisus Rio De Oro: Beautiful Resort❤️

Our first trip to Cuba in 2 years ,what a beautiful way to kick Covid out! We can’t say enough about this resort. We arrived to tropical surroundings with well manicured grounds and flowers ,clean resort, efficient check in and friendly staff. Our room was fantastic! Clean , spacious and updated washroom. We met our housekeeper soon after we arrived. She introduced herself and was very welcoming and friendly. She was great at her job. Paradisus is gorgeous! Beautiful pools, and beach. Ple [... read more]nty of chairs on the beach and around the pools. The resort was about 50% occupancy when we arrived but by the end of the week things had ramped up to considerably. The food in all restaurants was great. We had no issues with anything. Service was efficient, well served, and friendly. The set up for Covid safety is well organized and sanitary. A change I would like to see continue . Most guests were more respectful to one another in the buffet than I have seen in the past. Overall this was the nicest resort I have been to in Cuba! For my 15th trip there I was very pleased. Everyone at the resort was great. If your looking for a vacation to relax in a beautiful tropical setting this is it!

Brisas Guardalavaca: Brisas for the breezes of a Caribbean beach

I liked the hot showers in the morning that I wasn't used to in similar Cuban hotels. I wasn't fond of COVID adaptations at the buffets, lineups for usual Cuban food that really isn't worth standing in line to have scooped on your plate. I liked the reservation system for specialty restaurants that actually worked. I didn't like the tv and the magnetic keycard that didn't work. I really liked the beach and the palm trees, and the tennis courts were newly surfaced. I didn't like tourists compla [... read more]ining of Cuban families having fun at the resort. I really liked the capuccinos but they were not very milky, they had lots of Cristall, but no Bucanero, no mint, no mojitos. Staff were friendly, the front desk was not overworked and effective ( except they couldn't get the TV to work, nor their magnetic keycards). Add it all up and it equals a good Cuban beach resort in March.

Paradisus Rio De Oro: Amazing resort!

We spent 7 days in Paradisus Rio de Oro and we did like it so much! The weather was nice, many activities and entertainment. Great snorkeling! Everything - food service, beach ! We wish to visit it again.

Gran Muthu Almirante Beach Resort: Truly amazing resort!

We loved staying in this hotel.!. The resort is new and modern. the A la cart restaurants were very good and we could go there more than once. The food was very well prepared in the buffet and snack bar. The hotel was very clean and had all necessary things. the Beach is spectacular. Masks had to be worn in the public places like buffet, lobby, theatre. We are definitely coming back!

Playa Costa Verde: Amazing vacation!

Our family went to this resort in March 2022 and we had an amazing time! Great weather, good food and an amazing beach that you can snorkel right in front of the resort or walk the white sand beach. The market is just across the road for shopping and many excursions available. The staff was friendly and attentive and our pool bartender Jesus, was the best! We will definitely visit this resort again!

Paradisus Rio De Oro: Beautiful resort

Lovely resort, grounds and rooms. Very well maintained inside and out and their covid policies were very impressive and well regulated. The food was average at best, but we could always find something we enjoyed. Entertainment was low key and slightly repetitive for the week we were there but there was some great live music artists. The beach area was our FAVORITE. We snorkeled every day, although the shoreline was rough and rocky there was always somewhere to walk in and enjoy some active f [... read more]ish. Staff was great, definitely bring tip money and keep in mind that alcohol stock is weak right now during Covid. Our only serious complaint was the very blatent escorting happening between very old arrogant men and very young local girls. Gross and sad.