Ocean El Faro: Disappointing experience

The hotel and ground designs are magnificent but as we started to look around the grounds, it is far from being finished. I knew this was a new resort and they had a soft launch in November 2018 but I was hoping that by march break it would be completed but I was wrong. We had a great experience in H10 Ocean resort in Mexico so we thought this would be almost as good. I was disappointed, not only was construction still going on but the beach was full of garbage (construction & litter) and it  [... read more]does not look like the picture posted. When you look around the room you can tell it was quickly slapped together as tiles were falling off, door stopper for the shower was missing as were some of the cupboard hinges and bedside lightbulbs They were understaffed and their training was minimal. Many of them did not speak or understand English and all expected a tip. I do not mind tipping as I know wages are low but I do expect a certain amount of service. It did no matter if we tipped, service only had one speed, their speed. Internet was not working gin our room for 7 of the 10 days we were there and the resort had many power outages which lasted a few minutes. We also experienced loss of water pressure and hot water but was resolved within a few hours. Another annoying thing were the salesmen selling you timeshare, they were relentless and do try to trick you to come to a "VIP breakfast" etc... We did enjoy our holiday though as the weather was great and did make the best of it. Maybe in a year or so when they're full up and running they will figure it out.

Ocean Blue and Sand: Beatiful Resort But Priviledge Level was a disappointment

Beautiful resort. Great entertainment and a beautiful pool. Food was average. Paid extra for Privilege level. This was not worth the money. Butler service was non-existent. Could never find him. Special restaurant for breakfast was in a convenient location but the service was poor. Better service and food selection at the buffet. Privilege staff at the front lobby were great, but that didn't make up for short comings in other areas. Stay at this resort, but pass on Privilege and save some money.

Playa Vista Azul: Por and cons

This is an awsome hotel for Cuba. It is well diversify as you have 2 beaches and 2 pools far from each other. They were a lot of choice at the buffet and the servers make it even more better then the restaurant à la carte. They were really attentive to all our needs and make sure we were happy. And the staff all around the resort is amazing. The room was always clean and the lady was always checking on us if we needed anything. For the Restaurant à la carte, this is a different story. What  [... read more]we were eating seems to come from the buffet but with a touch of artistery. We have no choice than laugh at it. And the bed are really hard to sleep on. But, overall, this was an awsome trip. Easy to get around and the staff attention make it even more charming.

Ocean Riviera Paradise: The Perfect Resort!

Where to begin! From the day we arrived it was paradise. The employees were always kind and helpful and would go out of their way to make your stay as excellent as possible. One fellow in particular, Marcello, who is a drink server on the beach was about the hardest working person I've ever met! He was so amazing! Luis in the Amarento Buffet was also always accommodating and even organized special beer pairings with dinners made especially for us by the phenomenal chef Roberto. The food in the b [... read more]uffet is excellent, with a wide variety for everyone. I have Celiac's Disease and they were very considerate of this. We brought our two children, and there are so many activities for them to do, including a kids club if the parents want some alone time. The pools are great, and so is the beach. I would recommend this resort to anyone!

Ocean El Faro: Polishing Needed

This Resort needs lots of polishing. Staff needs proper training. Bell Boys we found out don't get tips, with good reason as they do little to help guests. We had to unload our bags, ask for someone to help to get them to our room and waited quite a while for someone to finally take us to our room. Doors to patio wouldn't lock, we were on the ground floor. Lock was installed upside down once someone finally came to fix it after numerous requests. Mini bar wasn't stocked daily unless we went to [... read more] find the person who does it. When we asked the person usually forgot. Wasn't able to get into a restaurant that didn't require a reservation, tables inside were empty and we were told they were full. Not impressed. Food in Italian restaurant didn't have any pasta, they told us it wasn't available, we had to settle for fish and steak. Steak restaurant delivered our dinners not as we ordered, and plastic wrap was in my husbands neal. We complained to guest services. Thankfully Ivin took care of the situation. Food wasn't all that great. Lobby bar had the best staff and was a pleasure to go there in the evening. When checking out we had to bring our own luggage without any Bell Boys help. The pools were beautiful, lazy river lots of fun. Beach was very small, rocky and sand very hard. Next time we will go to a resort that has been around for a while, this resort only opened in December, needs lots of polishing. H10 staff was soliciting daily until you told them that you had the sermon they wanted you to attend for 20 minutes. It was annoying. Not impressed. Rooms were beautiful.

Valentin El Patriarca Varadero: Very Disappointed

Our latest stay at Ocean El Patriarca resort was very disappointing. My wife and I had been there five years ago and loved it. It was still fairly new and, more importantly, the staff were all extremely friendly and accommodating. So, we decided to stay there again, this time taking our son, two daughters, son-in-law and two grandchildren in three rooms. Our first bad experience was upon arrival at 12:00 pm. We were greeted at the front desk by a very sour employee. She told our married daughter [... read more] that her room was ready; however, our room and our other daughter’s room were not...and wouldn’t be ready until 4pm. That would have been fine; however, when we got to our building, the maid told us our room would be ready in 10 minutes. We went back to the front desk where the same sour clerk re-iterated that the rooms would not be ready until 4. Back to our room where the maid told us our room was now ready. Back to front desk. Again not until 4 pm. This went on until, finally, our maid called someone and we were given our keys. Terrible initial impression. It gets worse. We found the hot food in the buffet dining room just warm at best and, even cold at times. I opted to eat at the omelet station most mornings just to be assured of a hot breakfast. I was quite worried about the chance of food poisoning had I eaten anything from the buffet selection. In the evening, we ate at the three a-la-carte restaurants for the same reason. However, the worst experience was with the a/c in our room. After about two days stay, we started noticing a sewer smell in our room and seemed to be coming from our a/c. At first it was only upon entering the room; but soon it was all the time to an extent we had to shut off the a/c and open the patio door. Even with the screen, we had a mosquito or two buzzing around our heads at night and waking to bites in the morning. We did notify customer service who dispatched a technician to fix the problem. It was not fixed. We reported it again. This time the technician installed moth balls in the a/c to mask the smell! It was so chokingly bad I had to remove the mothballs from the a/c vent myself. In fairlness, Customer Service DID offer to change our rooms , however, my wife and I wanted to stay in the same building close to our children and grand-children. We suffered through it. Thankfully, it wasn’t too hot at night and we could sleep fairly well without the a/c and with the patio door open. (even with the mosquitoes) Service overall from all departments was mediocre at best. Very few staff smiled or greeted us pleasantly. Strangely enough, the friendliest people at the resort were…..the groundskeepers! Without fail, they greeted us with smiles and a friendly hello every morning. We will not be returning to El Patriarca resort.

Hotel Roc Casa del Mar: Great resort and time, not variety in food

All in all it was great. It was almost a 2 hour bus ride from the airport to the resort (with all the stops at the other resorts). Our bus did not have any bathrooms on board and did not stop. We had to ask them to pull over on the side of the road for my wife to relieve herself. The bus provide beers on the trip. The country side was really nice and they gave a lot of information about the different towns you go through. Upon arriving at the resort, it is very nice and you can tell it is big [... read more]. The lobby is at the center of the resort with 2 pools on either side (1 is the main one and party pool, where the other is more quiet and has a swim up bar and is close to the snack bar). The resort itself is very beautiful and well maintained. The pools were clean and not over chlorinated. The room that we had was on the main floor and faced the ocean, however there was no view of the ocean due to the sand dunes. The room was a good sized room, with a very comfortable bed, and the shower was great (good pressure, rainfall showerhead). We went to 2 of the A la carte resturants (1 was a privilege restaurant we got let into after making friends with a bartender). The food at these restaurants were the best hands down. Their seafood dishes were the best. As for the buffet, it was alright. Very bland, and did not change very much. During our stay there was only 1 day (our last day) where there were french fries, and no bacon. The bar service was generally very quick even during the busy times. The only time we had slow service (when there was almost no one in there) was in the snack bar. They literally stood at the bar and watched us sitting there waiting for water. We did 1 day trip, the catermeran, and I highly recommend doing this as it was a full day out in the water, snorkeling, lobster lunch, swimming with dolphins and unlimited booze. Fantastic time and would go back here again.

Hotel Roc Casa del Mar: Good resort

Our overall experience was good at this resort. The beaches are beautiful and I liked that it had two pools. Some of the bad things I experienced; shower was cold water, and I didn’t get water in my room the last two nights. We went to 4 a la cartes and they were all good except Italian with both bad service and food.

Ocean Riviera Paradise: Great family vacation

Just returned from an amazing week at Ocean Riveria Paradise. Clean, modern and well designed resort. Big resort with many pools and options, our 3 kids enjoyed the water slides, ocean pool and games room. Food was fairly good with many choices and no reservations (recommend going early to avoid lines) my only complaint would be that lunch options are more limited.

Ocean Blue and Sand: Nice Vacation

We had a wonderful tune at the resort. It was a very nice atmosphere. The entertainment staff worked hard to make it fun for all. It was a relatively small property compared to some but large enough to have all the ameneties. I did not like getting up in the morning to reserve chairs by the pool, but I think that is relatively common if it matters to you. All in all we were happy we came.

Playa Vista Azul: Big resort

This resort seemed to be new,about 3 yrs old, but lacks a lot! Since it is build on a huge rock, lacks a beachfront.... Shortages of beach chair and umbrella, not mentioning interesting sport activities/ facilities and entairtaiments😒

Ocean Blue and Sand: Great Vacation!

Ocean Blue and Sand is a beautiful resort with beautiful staff. This is our second time visiting this resort. I do have to say that they are under staffed. When we arrived at the resort we were over an hour waiting in the check-in line. Also, they are under staffed in the restaurants. The staff work so hard and are running around to accommodate us but they just do not have enough staff to keep up with the people staying here. The managers need to know that these are not minor things.  [... read more]These issues make a huge impact on whether or not people will come back. The food is absolutely amazing hats off to the chefs. There is a variety for everyone. Mike's cafe is another little treasure that is amazing, you can get a variety of teas, espresso, cappuccinos, lattes, fraps, etc.. The grounds are gorgeous and well groomed, the workers keep everything so nice and beautiful. The pool is awesome and very clean. The beach is also beautiful but they have put these big sand barriers to block the waves as it has eroded some of the beach. You can walk along the beach for hours both ways. The rooms are spacious but just another note to the owners of this hotel, it is time to start to renovate. That being said you spend so little time in your room. We had a great vacation and would return.

Ocean Riviera Paradise: Family Vacation

Very clean resort with friendly staff. The facility is lovely with lots of pools. Its laid out like a small town. We upgraded to an ocean view room in the Eden section. Nice size room with a generous balcony and charming deck furniture. The beds were very comfortable. Great shower and jetted tub. The food was mediocre for the most part. They did have room service with the exception of breakfast. That was disappointing for us! We would have enjoyed breakfast on the balcony. While the staff was f [... read more]riendly, the service was typically slow. It appears as there was not enough staff to provide efficient service. We've been to many resorts and this was the slowest. The Japanese and steak restaurants were the best. As well as the ice cream shop and the cafe. The beach pizza place was excellent! The buffets were poor. The kids enjoyed the teen club and the bowling alley was very cool. Some little kids came in the teens club and saw some the more grown up video games and my son was concerned about that.The beach was pretty good. The seaweed was minimal . There are some rocks in the swimming area. When the water is calm you can see them easily and avoid them. Otherwise just start swimming! The slides in the kids pool were very slow-kid comment.

Ocean Blue and Sand: Good not great Ocean Blue and Sand

For the most part we had a pleasant week at the Ocean Blue and Sand. I would say its closer to a 3.5* than a 4 * resort - I thought the price was fair for the condition of the resort and the fact it was March break. PROS - very good food; I found the buffet very clean, food well prepared and tasty (breakfast was best, with a fresh juice bar, crepes, made to order omelets etc. We ate dinner at the Mexican and Italian (we preferred the buffet) In speaking with other guests, we heard the steak  [... read more]and Japanese restaurants were very good. - Mike's coffee house was fabulous; great espressos, cappuccino's, baked goods - I would prefer they opened at 6:30 am (vs 7:30 am) as a lot of the excursions leave early and it would be nice to get a coffee beforehand - outside of the resort, pool, gardens were very well maintained - beach was small but nice - staff , entertainment, dining and cleaning staff worked hard and were very nice. Check-in employees were quite rude and not very helpful, the resort definitely needs to address CONS - the rooms we stayed in the 7 block were quite dated and poorly maintained. We could see the bed linens were stained and requested the cleaning staff change. The air conditioning was not working properly and the cupboard doors on the dresser were falling off. Our daughters bathroom kept being flooded by the room above. After asking maintenance staff to fix it (3 days in a row) they finally moved us to block 9 rooms which were much better - Gym was terrible; one treadmill, one elliptical machine, looked very unkempt and not very clean - Towel game is played here - People were getting up at 5:30 - 6:00am to reserve chairs that sat empty for hours - this needs to be addressed by the resort staff - Resort allowed vendors into the main square 2 evenings during our stay to sell their trinkets, souvenirs. I found them quite aggressive and we would literally have to go out of our way to avoid them. - Hear there were issues from other guests on aggressive timeshare salespeople but we never encountered it Overall we had a pleasant stay - not sure I would stay here again as there are several other resorts that looked quite nice that we would like to try. I would recommend to friends and family with the warnings above to manage expectations.

Hotel Roc Casa del Mar: Fair Resort

this was a relaxing resort,,,not much,in the form of night life or entertainment,,,,the food was ok at the a la carts but the buffet it wasn,t the best the lobby bar was one of the finner places with great service from Yireni And Linet they were both great at their jobs and very friendly , all in all it was an ok place to go and have a queit time,the staff is all good the rooms were well kept the bedroom bar fridge well taken care of a small tip goes a long way!!

Hotel Roc Casa del Mar: Had a great time

Really liked Ocean Casa Del Mar, the destination for our girls family vacation (2 mom neightbours and our two teenage daughters who are good friends). The beach was lovely. The two pools with swim up bars were great The food was fantastic and there were even 7 different restaurants for dinner with different types of cuisine (reservations required). The rooms were nice, clean and well decorated and the housekeeping, restaurant and bar staff were extremely attentive. There was entertainment ever [... read more]y night and an enthusiastic 'activation' staff who tried to get people into beach yoga, aquafit classes and Cuban dance lessons. It was a challenge to muster enthusiasm but the staff were so energetic and encouraging! We got a great deal on an all-inclusive, which was important.

Hotel Roc Casa del Mar: Very nice

Rooms are clean and good service except they didn't change our beach towels in 2 weeks. Food in the buffet not the best and also cold, but waiters are very nice, only 1 toaster for "ALL" in the buffet for breakfast just don't cut it. There's an excellent waitress in the lobby bar "Yireni" very friendly professional and also offered the best service everyone was served and didn't have to wait an hour for a drink.

Hotel Roc Casa del Mar: Large resort

Very large resort. Food selection was very limited. You will be very hungry if your a vegetarian. Pool and beach were great. Resort property could use some sprucing up. Rooms were average. Great AC in rooms but stained sheets. Staff helpful and friendly.

Hotel Roc Casa del Mar: Amazing Resort

Ground was good Room what we expect, but food was good so bad always cold, Missing some change over 14 day visit . They need much better Coffee . We god always cold coffee with ground. Not good at all. Many day no Bacon or change at snake bar some fries , some times chicken, some time no fish. every day some missing. Bad organist. 5 Stars is to much for this bad service. Beach towel change should availability between 10 and 5 pm , but no service at this time or no delivery for towel. If they [... read more] change some like Beer in the room daily in the mini bar, well let the Guest know or bookings for the restaurant's at least 3 day in advance. This is stuff is never been told before we figger this on our own out . This was a really new experience for us.

Playa Vista Azul: Nice resort

The resort was nice , clean , friendly . The views were amazing the room was awesome . We couldn't get on one beach it was to small and to many people but the other beach was terrific . The bars were awesome the bartenders were awesome and terrific with the kids at the resort . The buffet was horribly busy all the time the servers were running off their feet and very hard to get drinks at your table. Not enough loungers or shade at the pools . Over all this resort is nice we just aren't used to  [... read more]big resorts .