Great stay at Royalton Hicacos

It was a great week, hotel is well maintained, staff are very helpful. The food and drinks are typical for Cuba, as experienced before during other stays before COVID. Because of COVID the hotel was only 30% full (my estimation), swim-up bar at the pool, gym and night club were not open, but on the plus side, you could always find good spots on the beach. The beach is beautiful and the water very warm. COVID protocol requires testing on arrival at the airport in Cuba, results were deliver [... read more]ed next day, everybody was negative, we were told. Three days before returning, we arranged a PCR COVID test at the hotel medical office, we got the results next day (this test is required to get back to Canada). When we landed in Canada, we got tested again, got the results in two days. Being fully vaccinated, no further quarantine is required, so almost back to normal. Looking forward to going back sometime in the winter.

Royalton Heaven

This resort was more than a 5*! The staff is AMAZING! The service they provide was above and beyond all expectations. The food was the best I’ve had in Cuba. The location is perfect, the beach is stunning! It was a perfect vacation!

Wonderful week away

Resort staff did everything they could to provide us with a perfect vacation. Resort was clean, comfortable and friendly. All food was good, restaurants were clean and organized. Entertainment was first class!

Beautiful resort....very impressive

we were impressed with the resort..grounds were beautiful...pools, nice but too cold at this time of year....beach well. i love cuban beaches..so no complaints the only disppointment was...with the al acarte restaurants when we arrived we were told that NO reservations were needed...twice we went 8ish..and were told no tables available...ok...they give you a buzzer? to let you know when a table is available...would not give us one..or could not give us one....as it was late??then one of the at [... read more]tendents actually told us that Diamond Club members could make reservations...therefore no tables for us...very disappointing. so buffet it was for us...great variety of food.. overall,,,great!!!

Heavenly!

My group of four girlfriends spent a wonderful 5 days here. Every single staff member is friendly, helpful and always greet you with a smile. The grounds can’t be beat and the resort isn’t too big or small. The beach is phenomenal and the water is sandy and clear. We enjoyed daily yoga class and some of the beach aerobics classes. Lots of beach lounge chairs to choose from each day. The rooms we had were clean and comfortable beds. We requested two doubles but only got one king but  [... read more]this was fine with us. Housekeeping always did a good job. Balconies are spacious and quiet. Wifi is decent but not strong signal in general, and had to walk to near gym to get a signal strong enough to do a video chat with family back home. We enjoyed all our meals both at buffet and tried all a la carte restaurants. High quality food at this resort and tons of variety to choose from. Bring bug spray for dusk if you plan to eat outside at that time. Ronald was very helpful to arrange a private tour of Havana and we had a great day. Recommend this above a bus tour as he was able to customize the day to what we wanted.

Not bad!

It was a nice place always have to consider that Cuba is poor, the staff was good, the food was good, No Kleenex, you have to ask for face cloths, no coffee pots in the rooms no elevators all stairs Overall it was ok was on my bucket list glad I went

Great Resort

The grounds were beautiful, as was the beach. Food was good. Buffet got a little old, but there were lots of other restaurants to try. Enjoyed all the a la cartes that we tried. Staff was mostly friendly. Rooms were clean and nice and cool. Would definitely go back.

Fantastic beach

One of the nicest beach we have been to. The grounds, room and beach were well maintained and clean. Very good food at the A la Carte restos. The buffet was a hit and miss a few times. The shows were average. We upgraded to Diamond Club and it was well worth it. Staff really warms up fast to you when you ask their names and start to talk to them. The diamond club staff were the best as they really went out of their way to make sure you were happy and quickly responded to all of our quest [... read more]ions or requests. The bar at Diamond club section is much better then small beach bar for the rest of the resort. We had no issue with Wifi (1 cuc/hour) and it was at an acceptable speed. Do not exchange too many CUCs near end of trip as Cuba does not allow travellers to bring them outside of the country but they can be exchanged at airport. Rhum prices are better in Varadero then at the airport. Our beach was the best maintained beach on that stretch.

Relaxing ambiance!

Hotel had some construction going on (replacing roof near the pool and resurfacing the man-made moat system). This however, we understand, does need to be done some time! Buildings are old and in need of a facelift for the most part. Our Room (1402 and 1403) was comfortable and kept clean. It does require a Dehumidifier however, in order to keep the room dry (sheets would even feel damp otherwise) and to hold the mosquitoes at bay. (We emptied this tank 2 or 3 times a day, otherwise it was in t [... read more]he 'off' mode and not doing what it is intended to do). The 'Diamond Club Office' is small and very old. It just doesn't support the 'upscale experience' that the Royalton sells this option on. The staff at this resort are amazing though, as are the Butlers (at the Diamond Club). The Resort ran out of Orange Juice in the Buffet on Day 2 of our 10-day stay and it never did appear again. (Other food and drink items were 'out of stock' too however, replenished within a day or 2). The 'premium liqueur' the Diamond Club offers is also limited to their stock. (No Crown Royal, No Cointreau, No Gran Marnier, etc. The "Baileys" is their own brand, as is much of the other liqueurs). The food was acceptable although, the meat at the buffet was always overcooked and dry. I visited the Grill for fish often where the fillets were fried on site, and I could ask them to 'flip it over' when I felt it was ready. The Italian restaurant was a major disappointment. We also didn't particularly enjoy the entertainment. The day time staff tries but it's the same, day after day. This was our 2nd visit here (last was 12 years ago, prior to Royalton)... however, based on some of these comments, I'm not sure we would recommend this resort. Having said that, most of the Resorts in Cuba are affected by challenges and embargoes out of their control and not faced by other Caribbean Islands... and as the saying goes, "it's Cuba".

Great Resort in Cuba

We had a great stay in February of 2020. The hotel is well put together, the staff are lovely, and the food is great for Cuba. The beach is also perfect. There is a lot of room in shady spots, and on the one day it was a bit busier, the staff put out more umbrellas for guests. The beach restaurant had a good selection of food for lunch, and the staff were always great. The rooms were clean and well furnished, though water pressure lacked a bit in our shower. Overall the food was great, and the u [... read more]nlimited à la carte was a nice change of pace. We didn't even do a dinner buffet our whole trip! We particularly enjoyed the Caribbean restaurant and had great service there both times we went.

1st time to Cuba and this resort was hands down AMAZING!!!!!!

We travel yearly all over and decided to give Cuba a chance. This resort was simply amazing! From the beautiful beach and pool areas, to the spacious rooms, delicious food and the friendliest people around! We did not do Diamond Club and we're unlikely to pay that much extra for it as it didn't seem worth it. Regardless of room category, everyone gets assigned 2 butlers during their stay. If you are fortunate enough to have Anita as your butler then you have been blessed! She is truly one of the [... read more] kindest people I have ever met. Always going above and beyond to find us to make sure everything was ok. The food at this resort was fantastic and the service even better. The buffet had lots of options, you also have the option of grabbing a bite at the 24hr Bistro or lunch at the snack bar by the pool which serves delicious Cuban sandwiches, ham and cheese sandwiches, hamburgers, hotdogs and pulled chicken sandwiches....all accompanied with a huge assortment of fixings! The 4 a la carte restaurants were great, I had the best steak at the seafood restaurant then I've ever had back home! There are no reservations for a la carte's so we found going for dinner by 7 was your best chance at getting a table without having to wait. If you do have to wait, you are given a beeper which works throughout the resort so really not a problem as you can go grab a drink and socialize until your table is ready :) Roberto in the Jazz bar was amazing! So attentive, never ever were we waiting and our drinks were always topped up! Oh and the Sangria's he makes are delicious! He will be our friend for life! Service in the lobby bar (which is 24hrs) was hit and miss at any time of day. It's a great place to get a special coffee but when the sevice is poor it makes it frustrating, especially when it was rarely that busy. This really is the only area that needs improvement with service! Pool service was fantastic! Jani and Ari were always coming by to make sure our drinks were full, and always with a nice greeting and big smiles :) We didn't spend a lot of time lounging at the beach but when we did service was good as well. The people that made our stay fun, enjoyable and wanting to return were Anita (butler), Roberto (Jazz bar), Dayana, Yani, Yare (day and night maids), Alberto, Reglita, Jeni (Buffet restaurant), Jani, Ari (pool bar service) They truly work so hard to make sure you are happy and we definitely rewarded them with tips and gifts! Cubans are very grateful and appreciate anything given to them! The only difference Cuba is to other countries is that when you tip at the bars or restaurants, they don't keep them to themselves, they have to share. So service seems to be equal regardless if you tip or not. But don't be cheap! These people work extremely hard and deserve to be rewarded! This resort was much quieter then I was expecting which was nice as I wasn't really looking forward to a lot of loud partying guests. We are in our mid 40's, most guests were 50+. The benefit of this was that there was always a pool or beach lounger to be found at any time of day and there was very rarely anyone in the pool. Bonus for us! All in all, this resort was fantastic and we will definitely return! We don't have much to compare to in regards to other resorts in Cuba, but we did hear some horror stories from guest's staying at other resorts in regards to running out of wine, vodka, butter etc. This was never ever an issue at The Royalton! If you are looking for a loud partying resort, this is not the resort for you. It is much more laid back (entertainment staff do try to get guests involved but didn't seem to work probably based on the age of guests) However, maybe this was just a one off and could possibly be a younger crowd the next time we go. In my opinion, if you want a great resort, only choose one that is 5* in Cuba as their standards are much different then Mexico or DR. Thanks Royalton for your great hospitality, kindness and never ending hard work! See you next time!

Great time !

The resort is in the midst of great renovations and will be amazing once finished However that did not effect our holiday at all The resort has a great layout , everything I reach Butlers were amazing especially Illiana Felix a waiter in the buffet went out of his way to ensure mealtimes we enjoyable Great holiday ! Would return to this resort

The best trip of my life

Resort was amazing. Very clean and a dream come true. Food at the buffet was always excellent and staff was so accommodating and friendly. Beach was amazing!! I can’t even describe how amazing it was.

Beautiful beach

Just got back from Royalton Hicacos Varadero Cuba The Diamond Club has changed their perks so we were very disappointed!Beach area for Diamond Club had no bathroom .This was totally unacceptable as we had some with mobility issues within our group of 10 We had to move up the beach to the non Diamond area! No more pre reservations for Diamond members (new rule) In my opinion the DC was not worth the extra money All the staff at this resort are amazing and go out of your way to help in a [... read more]ny way .Our Butler was very attentive and always available! Ask for top shelf liquor (by name )when ordering drinks We however witnessed bartenders putting cheaper brands of Liquor in top shelf bottles.We asked for Crown Royal rye and kept getting a scotch type drink ,was disgusting.We finally asked to see a unopened CR bottle sealed bottle and we actually opened the bottle.I think they finally got the hint we knew our rye .lol We did drink the different drinks but CR is our drink in the evening !Their beer is good but light tasting . All the ala carte restaurants we good but if you like to eat early you have to get to them before 6:30 or you might have to wait till 8:00 or later ,They do give you a buzzer which is a very good idea Best beef steak we have south in a long time (in the ala carte) We did not eat in the The Caribbean restaurant (Tuesday were reserved for honeymooners and returning quests) One buffet and was good ,Fruit was poor but we know Cuba is not known for its fresh fruit .Every night the buffet has a different theme of food Beach was the best we have been at !Very long and great walking beach Pools were pristine clean,cool but refreshing. Lots of construction going on but did not bother out stay They are upgrading the whole resort Beds were comfy and pillows very good Bring your own adapters for you appliances (shavers,curling irons etc.They will bring you one if needed .We had no plug in our bathroom Overall we enjoyed our vacation but we were disappointed in the Diamond Club as we paid extra for this and we were not informed of these changes before we arrived .The changes happened 2 weeks before we arrived .

Amazing Resort

Everything is amazing...staff, rooms, pools, food, beautiful ocean for walking, private tour to Havana, double decker bus ride to Varadero, no need to reserve chairs at beach or ocean. I definetely would recommend this hotel and hopefully I can return. Travelled with family and they enjoyed it LOTS too

Very nice resort

Overall a very nice resort. Very clean and well kept. Grounds were beautiful. The beach is absolutely amazing, with shallow clear, warm water. Staff was very professional and friendly. Food was excellent, best so far for our five trips to Cuba.

Amazing time at the Royalton!

This is our second trip to the Royalton and it didn't disappoint. The service and staff are very helpful and friendly. The beach is spectacular and you can always find a lounger with no problem. I would recommend upgrading to The Diamond Club for the extra amenities -- especially if you're a golfer. We enjoyed all the a la carte restaurants -- except one night the steak was very tough in the Carribean (apparently, they ran out of beef filets). All the other nights the food was delicious. The buf [... read more]fet was fresh and plentiful and the drink quality is also very good. We chose to stay 10 days this time as we found that 7 just wasn't enough!

Awesome Resort!

We stayed at the Royalton from Jan 25-Feb 1. Beach is beautiful and so clean ... no motorized vehicles polluting the air. Staff are so friendly and provided some of the best service we’ve experienced. Food was really good...only complaint about the food is that nothing is ever hot. Either lukewarm or cold. Overall a great resort and we would definitely return.

Wonderful Resort

We thought that this is a wonderful resort, everything was very well maintained including the rooms,the staff was friendly but professional. We loved the nightly entertainment in all of the restaurants and the lounge. The beach was also very well maintained, the beach chairs were cleaned all the time and there was no trash found on the sand due to the large number to trash bins around which makes it pleasant. One thing that we especially liked was the use of the hospitality room on our last day, [... read more] since we had to check out at 12:00 and we were not being picked up for the airport until after 6:00 we were able to enjoy the pools and have a place to shower and change into our travel clothing. The only negative that I can think of is the occasional smell of sewer which we figure was coming from some stagnant water around the resort.

Amazing hotel and staff!!!

This is by far the best hotel in varadero. We took Diamond Club and it was totally worth it. Our butlers PEDRO and RONALD were amazing, they took care of everything for us. We had a great time, the food was delicious, so much choice. It's clean, it's big, pool is amazing. I highly recommend for a relaxing week. LOVE LOVE LOVED IT!