Beautiful beach and resort

This resort was the perfect size, not too large nor too small, the staff were amazing, very friendly. The beach was incredible as was the pool area. Food is always hit and miss in Cuba as a rule so expected. Lobby bar was fantastic. My only one complaint is that they should have designated smoking areas, my room neighbours all smoked so I was surrounded by it even in the hallways, sadly I couldn’t even sit on my patio as the smoking was making me feel ill, obvious I’m a none smoker I would w [... read more]ake up with my room wreaking of it and I was there for two weeks. My suggestion would have certain room blocks just for smokers, it really was unbearable but other than that I loved this resort. Thank you

Amazing Beach

The Beach is great, and the buildings are very nice. Located almost across from the Marina, it gives another option for food, shopping and entertainment. The Varadero Bus stop is in front outside of the hotel.

Lovely resort

The location is beautiful with the grounds being very well maintained! The employees were very friendly and helpful and respectful for the most part. A few could use some more training in customer service. The beach was gorgeous!

Great beach

The beach was amazing as always. The resort has really deteriorated over the years, I don’t think it should be rated a five star. The staff are doing amazing with what limited resources they have. They are always smiling and very courteous and welcoming. The food was well prepared and nicely presented, The cooks are very innovative with the limited food options making amazing plate presentations!!

Great Trip South

The hotel was nice. Grounds, pool, facilities, restaurants and food were all good. The beach was great! Many of the people working the resort were also great! This is what keeps us coming back. The reason the beach was great was the soft white sand, wide beach that goes on for miles, safe, no vendors, very shallow water that gets deep very slowly, no undertow, nice breeze to keep us cool, lots of available shade and chairs, no need to save seats at 6am, beach bar, quiet and peaceful on the Royal [... read more] Service Beach, no kids. The negatives about the beach are no food available , no washrooms, resort staff allow people that have not paid for Royal Service to use the Royal Service beach facilities, occupying chairs and using the bar. There were even people not from the resort using the beach facilities. When this was brought to the attention of the resort nothing was done. The Royal Service pool was lovely but almost no shade. The main pool was also very nice but again very little shade. By 6am all the shade spots were saved with towels. The rooms we had were large, separate living area from bedroom, comfortable bed, racing and a large balcony with two chairs and table (other rooms had loungers as well). The negative about the room were, AC didn’t work, room was dirty, coffee machine didn’t work, room was in the furthest corner of the resort on a hill, but had a great view. Royal Service gave us daily a la carte Restaurant reservations, the buffet and a la carte were all good. The cigar bar was a big disappointment. Opened only at 7:00pm, cigars were crazy expensive, the cigar bar also serviced the large courtyard where people sat for evening entertainment, this made the cigar bar busy, hard to get service, very noisy, limited seating,

Supply Chain Issues

I would have liked to have visited this resort pre-covid, as I think it would have been a much different experience. We experienced significant shortages in food and alcohol, such as; vodka, whiskey, gin, butter, potatoes, pasta, red meat, bacon and seafood. There wasn't a lot of variety in food, due to shortages. We expected some of this going in, as we have been to Cuba before, but it was much more significant that we expected, where there were several days where butter was a rare find. It  [... read more]seemed the only thing that was readily available was rice, cabbage, eggs and a lot of vegetable dishes. Most of the drinks were rum drinks, as whiskey, vodka and gin were non-existent, and the rum drinks didn't seem as strong as previous visits to Cuba. The resort is beautiful and spacious (though seems care and routine maintenance has slipped recently), and the staff was wonderful, friendly and welcoming, as is often the case in Cuba. The only other negative experience was the sand fleas on the beach. Numerous people around the resort, my wife included, has a significant number of bites on their legs, and many were walking around with red, swollen, extremely itchy legs. Make sure you take bug spray if you intend to visit the beach.

Very disappointed

Unfortunately this property is billed as a 5 start when it isn’t. Don’t be fooled by the pictures that are clearly from years ago. The resort is run down. Patio doors don’t lock properly. AC didn’t work in first room and not much better in the second. Hot water was not consistent and from one day to the next not sure what towels we should get. Not sure why we paid for Royal service. Butler wasn’t seen unless we went looking for him. Not once did he ask how things were going.  [... read more] Food was very disappointing. I know it’s Cuba but the buffet was heavily lopsided with Rice. No labels on anything. Plates were always in short supply. A la cart meals were better but very limited. Don’t even need menus because you really had only 2 choices at every meal. Pork or chicken. The Italian restaurant had one pasta dish. And almost raw pizza. Breakfast was the best meal. But can’t live on omelette for a week. Bar service was essentially beer and rum. Whatever drink you ordered it was substituted with Rum. Staff do their best with that they have. But for what everyone pays it’s time to be honest and downgrade this resort to a 3 star and let customers decide to go knowing what they’re going to get. From the rooms to the limited drinks and food to the resort being generally run down this resort needs to make some significant investments in the property and their staff. They are quick to help and many of them bent over backwards. But the constant requests for money, earphones and even cell phones is telling. They are paying poverty wages but taking 5 star revenues. My advice is go somewhere else.

Fabulous week!

The resort was lovely! The rooms were clean, the safe was available, the staff was friendly and helpful and the ocean and pool were exceptional. Our trip into Veradero was smooth and we felt very safe both in the city and at the resort. We were on the 3rd floor but our sliding door didn’t lock. That’s my only complaint. I truly found the food quite great! The 3 a la cartes were a nice treat from a week of only buffet food. The catamaran excursion was outstanding!

Adults only had a great time

Had a great time. Staff were incredible, entertainment was spectacular! Food was better than the last two times I’ve been. Wish there was more seafood options while dining. There was no vodka which seems strange.

Royal service stay

We checked into the Royal Service and we’re not given wristbands as they had run out. This meant that there were several people coming from the other side to eat at the restaurant, swim at the pool and use the beach. It was crowded with quite a few loud and boisterous partiers. Definitely not worth the “Royal Service” -our side of the resort had no warm water and every day we were told “We are working on it.” They said they weren’t able to move us to the non-Royal side (with hot w [... read more]ater!) due to 100% occupancy(there’s no way that resort was fully occupied!) Food was ok for Cuba, wait staff were excellent. No COVID precautions or restrictions were in play. Many restrooms on the resort did not have soap and I didn’t see any hand sanitizer anywhere (except my own supply!)

Wonderful resort

We had a wonderful stay at this beautiful resort variety of foods was plentiful and the staff were very friendly, overall cleanliness was excellent we used the spa facilities and enjoyed first class massage. Entertainment of an evening was excellent I wouldn’t hesitate to vacation here again

3 star at best

Beautiful beach, lots of sun, inconsistent food and beverage and everyone wants a tip or your shoes or the clothes off your back! No air conditioning in our room and no other room to go to. Room smelt strongly of mold. Trip Central did a great job setting up our vacation and did warn us of the possible lack of services and good food. We went ahead because we've never been to Cuba before. Now we have been and we don't have to go back. They are beautiful people and trying to do their best, we h [... read more]ope the government turns things around for them.

Cuba is hurting! And so are the resorts

Our total honest opinion. Cuba is hurting and so are the resorts. I think they are doing the best at what they can do with what they have! We booked Royal service as well. We just feel for what we paid. We could have had much more elsewhere and we do travel a lot Food was very repetitive with pork chick rice cabbage buns salami and cheese! No pasta that we seen when we were there even at the Italian el la carte! No French fries only seen the once! We found fruits and vegetables were n [... read more]ot ripe and I think it’s because it’s all they get and they have to use it or nothing! Drinks are very limited. When you find something you like it seemed with in a day they would be out. Not pina coladas on the last day we were there. Basically rum, scotch wine champagne and beer! No vodka gin or whiskey Coffee was not avail all the time and no coffee in the rooms. They will bring it to you every morning which is great but if that particular morning you wanna sleep in it’s not so convenient! Service was great they couldn’t do enough for you the people were incredible Wifi you get 10 hrs at a time I found we didn’t get what we spent and it’s because they are limited! I think at 1 time this was a high end resort but it’s getting tired looking. If they can’t afford food and drinks for theirs guests. Mail tan r isn’t going to be a high priority

Disappointed

When we 1st arrived our impression was good we soon found out they had no pasta no lettuce no real fruit juice no beef limited chicken and bacon. no Vodka no Whiskey no fruit drinks The pool walls had black mold scum I'm the grout. A lot of things broken and unrepaired through out the resort The staff did the best with what they had.

Much Lower than my Expectation

I picked this hotel because I prefer the resort style, I read a lot and have already decreased my expectations but the truth is much worse, the hotel is very old, the door is not functioning well, and sometimes I need to swipe over the card 20 times to open it, they never change the towels until you have to require every time, but some other things will be recommended, such as the beautiful beach, I really suggest the future visitors never go out but just spend time on the beach that will keep y [... read more]our good memories in Cuba, and the Royal Service Room. The most important thing for me is never WESTJET VACATION, and I will be away from SWOOP AIRLINE.

Not a 5 Star

There was no vodka, gin, tequila, pop. No pasta, no potatoes. Butler service was not what I expected. We had to chase them and they didn’t listen to what we were asking. They say it was a shortage in Cuba however we found out that other resorts had all that we did not.

Amazing resort

Definitely a 5 star resort. My wife Beth and I have been there twice now in the last three years. Couldn't be happier with this resort. The people that work there are all so friendly and happy, eager to help the visitors. Especially the young lady at the Japanese restaurant, I believe her name is Yirenia, also the chef ( Rafael ). We had friends with us. We only came for 1 week, but next time will be 2 weeks. The only issue I had was the food, mostly pork and rice. I love pork and rice, just n [... read more]ot every day. I found out the problem was the resort trying to get food, which I understand is a result of Covid. I do not hold that against the resort. Anyone interested in taking a trip to Paradisus Princessa Del Mar, go for it, it will be well worth it. Also we book all our trips through Jenn Black at Trip Central, she is very helpful. Can't believe we will deal with anyone else.

Amazing stay at Paradisus Princesa Del Mar

This was our second stay at the resort and we will never go somewhere else when going to Cuba. Our butter Leo made sure we felt like we were in paradise. The staff is amazing like our little family, food, beach, room, entertainment- all was great. We can’t wait to be back again!!! Thank you Paradisus Princesa Del Mar.

Great spot

The hotel is very nice and you can tell it was a top spot before covid. The grounds were kept beautifully and people were always working to keep it clean. The food is cuba... we didn't starve but was repetitive and it didn't ruin the trip. The beach is beautiful and private as well so you could go anytime of day and not be in a heard of people. The evenings in the lobby were great and they had some of the most talented people I've seen perform. There was also a currency exchange on site and s [... read more]mall store (but not a lot due to supply issues) Things that could be improved: the drinks were terrible. There really wasn't anything to mix the drinks. Limited cola, no mint for mojitos, no slushy type drinks and I think the pina coladas were made from powdered milk. We finally found coke in Havana and paid $25 cdn for 6 cans but worth it .... it saved the trip. At night the wine and champange was good. Housekeeping was interesting... I'm not sure but they must have been told to not change the towels. The rooms overall were good and had no problems.... I didn't see any of these broken doors I saw on other reviews the building seemed to be taken care of. Overall they are struggling from Covid and sanctions etc but I do not regret going. If this is your first post pandemic trip you might want to reconsider because you may have different expectations and be disappointed.

Cuba , needs time to recover

i don't normally write reviews but i thought this may help other travelers. Lets start by saying the Cuba sun and beaches are the best , while this was our 3rd trip to Cuba ( first to this resort and first since covid ) i think we will give Cuba a couple years to see how they recover from the covid crisis and the war from Russia the food in Cuba has never been known to be good but i think it has reached a new low ,the buffet had very little variety , lots of rice and buns no potatoes very li [... read more]ttle fresh fruit ( a bit of pineapple a couple days )meat was very limited , most nights there was pork to put on the grill, 1 night there was beef , ham a couple nights , 1 night only a bit of ham and what looked like ham / spam canned for the grill, a few chicken wings in a pan 1 night but only a few there then they were gone lived off the grilled pork put on a bun most of the week , the 24 hour snack bar had fries but only the first 2 days , there were times the menu board at the snack bar was clear. The bar was very limited as well , no pini colatas , asked for a margarita 1 night was told they could only make them with rum ?????? . I understand they can only work with what they have but they didn't make the best of what was in their control , the 2 bath towels and 1 shower mat that we got ( no face cloths ) appeared to only be refolded each day for 7 days , i put a pen mark on a corner to confirm my suspicion , the room make up consisted of folding our towels and making the bed , empty tp wasn't replaced , the 24 our lobby bar closed every night from 2 till 7:00 , couldn't even get a coffee Ealy before an excursion or on am of check-out some bars / restraunts closed the entire trip , and none of the nice water fountains / water features in the resort had water in them