Great experience

This hotel was beautiful, the Lobby was very open and made it great to sit and relax while taking a break from the rest of the things to do there. The shows were awesome. The hotel staff were all very friendly and accommodating. The food was excellent. We ate at the Japanese, Mediterranean and the Gourmet and they all were delicious. The buffet had really good food as well with many choices. The beach and boardwalk are beautiful, the ocean never gets old as the Colors of the water are so bea [... read more]utiful. Overall the resort was fantastic! We are planning to go back next winter.

Playa Pillar!___ Very Good Resort!_

Fairly new resort with 16 three storey appartments all very clean and up to date.The beach is small but nice. The facilities in and around the resort are pleasant. The whole staff is very charming and very helpful. The food is very good. The lobbys is lively and clean. Good organisation of the whole day, including activities at the pool, excillent if you have young children, various variety concerts at night: danceurs, custumes, music, choregraphies all very professionnal. Good choice!

Kids loved it, We loved it. Great time!

- Nice and clean resort. Well run & managed. - Super friendly staff. Everyone of the staff manage to greet you as you walk by, include ground keeper, house keeper. Reception staff could be more friendlier - Foods as expected. - Value for the money What else to expect..beside to the weather.

Perfect getaway

This is a new and very clean resort. All of the fixtures in the rooms are new and in good condition. The service was amazing (as always, in Cuba). Only suggestion would be to have the scooter rental guy around more often as we didn't get to rent because he was gone for 3 days in a row.

BEST RESORT EVER

This was the best resort I have ever stayed at. The grounds were well kept the food was in an abundance and my children were very well treated by all staff. The beach / deck was a great compromise from what would be your typical conventional beach. There was nothing that was not available. We opted to skip the a- la cart to go to the buffet because of the different selection daily. The pool always had chairs available and was well serviced my waiters. I hope that we are able to return an [... read more]other year.

A nice resort.

The layout of the resort was well done. On the most part the staff was very friendly. We had a few problems at the start of our vacation, (wrong size of bed, air conditioning not working, and a few other things),but the problems were taken care of immediately. The buffet was OK, the Japanese a la carte was fantastic, but the Mediterranean was horrible. We enjoyed our daily walk to Pilar beach, and the snorkeling around the bay was lots of fun. The evening entertainment was good, some a little be [... read more]tter then others. When we got there we didn't realize that the resort had no bank, so bring cash. The thing I hated most was the fact that people would get up early and putting Items on the pool and beach chairs, then not showing up until later in the day, the was frustrating, just show up and use a chair.

Nice rooms, clean resort

Very good resort, nice pool area, Boardwalk at the beach, very small beach area. Beautiful Pilar Beach 10 min. Walk or 3 min. Bus ride. This resort is only a couple of years old. Rooms are well appointed and clean. Breakfast in the buffet was good. Three of the four A la carte restaurants were very good. All staff do an outstanding job of making you feel welcome. Excellent water pressure in rooms and lots of hot water. Had a very enjoyable week.

GREAT BRAND NEW RESORT

this place is awesome, people always complain about Cuba and Cuban food but this resort will definitely put those worries to rest. The food is amazing, the A La Carte's are unreal, and the overall vibe the staff and resort has is uncomparable. I have been to many all- inclusive resorts and I can honestly say this is a top contender. highy recommend staying here

Torn......

Just got back from this resort and it was very nice. However, if you want a nice sandy beach this might not be the place for you. There is pillar beach close by which is an amazing sandy beach, but it is not onsite. While there is not a great beach, there is great snorkelling right off the shore and great for exploring. This is where I was torn, I missed the beach, but the snorkelling was great to have so close by. Food: only the Japanese a la carte was good. And the buffet was not bad, but  [... read more]the other a la cartels were not good. What ever you do, don't get the beef anywhere. Pool: great pool and they put a lot of effort into pool side entertainment Rooms: great rooms and if you are on floors 2-3 you pretty much are guaranteed oceanview. Excursions: went deep sea fishing and found it pretty reasonable, and we caught fish, so it was great. If you do catch fish, have them fillet it and bring it back to the resort and they can cook it on the beach front fish shack (great fried fish for afternoon snacks). Went of the catamaran, but got stuck on the smaller boat. Try to be on the bigger boat and go on a calm day.

Great New Resort

The whole 5 day stay was great, starting with the check in that was amazingly fast with Hector being very helpful compared to any other resorts that we have been to. There were lots of loungers around the pool to be had even tho we didn't get there until 1pm. The staff were very helpful with getting us and our luggage to the room after we checked in. Neil at the pool was very good at getting everyone involved in activities around the pool like darts, volleyball, archery etc. All of the staff wer [... read more]e friendly and helpful and spoke and understood English very well. The glass between the shower and the bedroom had frosted glass in a lot of it so it wasn't a big deal. The food was ok, but if you are looking for fine dining, it is not. The boardwalk has lots of chairs to enjoy the scenery of the ocean and there is a short beach to enjoy walking out into the ocean or swimming. The mattress was very hard, so a pillow top would make for a better sleep as well as two pillows instead of one long one. But all in all we had a wonderful stay and enjoyed beautiful weather and would definitely recommend this resort, food aside to couples or families looking for a resort holiday with lots of great entertainment every night.

Fantastic Resort!

Beautiful, clean, modern resort. Friendly helpful staff. Excellent service. The food was ok. Typical Cuban resort food. Beds were firm with only one pillow and no more available but the rooms were clean and well maintained. We would go back again someday. Doesn't have miles of beach to walk but Pilar Beach is closeby and it wasn't an issue for us.

Absolutely Stunning Resort!!

This 14 month old hotel was everything everyone had said it would be and more. Very lovely rooms, restaurants and a la carte restaurants. The staff were so friendly and could not do enough for you. Lots of food choices and fresh made omelets and eggs in the morning and pasta and grilled fish and meat at lunch and supper. Very clean. Pool was gorgeous as was the beach area. Would highly recommend this resort and hopefully we will be able to go back in a year or so.

Truly a 5 Star

This is an absolute gem of a resort. Everything from the staff, the rooms, the grounds is top notch. Food quality is excellent and there is quite the variety. Will definitely be returning in the near future hopefully.

Beautiful resort and staff

I spent 7 days here and wish it never ended. Firstly, the service and staff are second to none. The entire resort is beautiful. It's a quiet, relaxing, cosy resort that caters to a mature group of tourists but still accomodates families. The beach is perfect for snorkelling as there are fishes and turtles to look at. Some say the beach is small because of the boardwalk but actually the boardwalk is perfect for those who want to avoid sand after a swim. Sand is still available. The world famous p [... read more]laya pilar beach is only a 15-20 min walk away as well but the resort beach is better for snorkelling. The beach is perfect even after the hurricane last year (no signs of damage whatsoever).

Disappointed

We went into this trip expecting the best. New resort, ”5 star”, close to pilar, great reviews... But it didn't measure up. The best way I can describe it is over hyped. We had issues with the service because they seemed under staffed. The staff in most locations rotated on shifts and they were very hit and miss, we made some great friends but during some shifts it was just better to go to the beach and wait for the other shift to start. Furthermore the entertainment staff was seriously bad. [... read more].. And the shows disappointing. Choreography was off, the show managers didn't choose great themes, and we're selectively friendly with only more attractive female visitors. The beach here, as most have discussed, is more of a dock area imported sand poured behind. There is a small section of white sand beach at the boat launch, and if you swim out a little you'll find a lovely area to bask in or swim around. Playa Pilar is 800m away, you have to walk in the water or across the rocky cliff side, is beautiful there. We took paddle boats out and this was the best way to get to a nice area for swimming, then you could jump out and swim for an hour before returning. Food at this resort was great. They offered a great selection of fresh fish and seafood daily cooked on the grill, along with their signature fresh milk and fruits which were always good. A la carte restaurants served fancied up versions of the good buffet food, and the lobster was the best I've had in Cuba yet. The stand out food for us was the beef ribs, sushi, lobster, and the fresh dairy. Unfortunately my wife and I both got seriously ill. We sustained incomparable stomach pain and we don't know what it was from, our best guess is water/ice... But it could have been food related. They tell you it's OK to use the tap water at this resort for drinking... And I think they make their ice with it. Lastly the accommodations were marvelous! We had a great view of the beach and the blocks are built in such a way that almost every apartment has a nice view.

Not bad

Hotel was beautiful. Pool was setup very nicely with pool beds which were very comfy. Staff was very pleasant. Always willing to help with anything you needed. Only thing I have to say that disappointed me was the beach. Beautiful lookout on the pier but the pier if the length of the beach. Only one small area of beach to access the water. Definitely disappointing since I'm a beach girl. Everyone was packed in that one access spot on beach n the rest of the long beach was vacant.

Gorgeous resort, fantastic staff but disappointing beach

About 45 minutes from the airport including stops at other resorts. Rooms, the large pool, and grounds were beautiful and modern. We had a fantastic ocean view (bungalow 9). Drinks were very good. All restaurants and food was really good albeit somewhat limited at the buffets (but that could have been because of the time of year we went - mid January). Asian restaurant was very entertaining. Shows were ok. All staff were terrific, adorable and very hard working including but not limited to b [... read more]artenders, gardeners, front desk, maids, wait staff, and bus boys. The one very big downfall is the beach. If you are a beach lover its not the place for you (very small and corally). It had a waterfront boardwalk with loungers and beds and stairs into the water, although there was one small area you could enter via the beach, where the water sports hut was. Good beach bar on the boardwalk but no beach grill while we were there. Not sure if the hut we saw on the beach was it and only open during peak season. The resort is within a 20 minute walk on the road to Pilar beach which is gorgeous and has a really good grill.

Great trip

Hotel and grounds were very nice. Although only a year old the rooms are a little worn. The food was as expected for Cuba but the staff could use some training in safe food handling. The entertainment staff made the trip and the evening shows were excellent.

It was OK

We stayed from January 1st to 8th. We were at the Iberostar Daquiri last year and did an excursion to Pilar beach. That it was prompted us to travel to Playa Pilar this year. We knew it was new, but it didn't feel very new and impressive. Things were still being done around the resort. It is a 50 minute ride to the airport. Beach --> as the description says there is not much of a beach area. There is an elevated dock that you can sit on and climb down into the water (no waves on the islet).  [... read more]The small beach area doesn't have great sand. However, you can walk the paved road (15-20 minutes) to get to Pilar beach or you can walk through the water (just make sure to keep your belongings above chest area). Pilar beach is unbelievable. Note - chairs are 2 pesos each for rental at Pilar beach, or you can just use your towel. Rooms --> Cuba really needs to improve on their beds, bedding, and pillows. The beds are hard and the pillows are very thin. The shower has a glass panel that allows you to see right through to the bed area (maybe a concern if you are traveling with a family). You can also see someone on the toilet from your bed. Food --> typical bland Cuban food. The Japanese A la carte Teppanyaki was very good (they also put on a great show). The Mediterranean was the second best A la carte, and it is the only place you can get lobster. The Italian A la carte was good. There is only one buffet. They need more chefs to work at the "cook food on demand" stations because there are often long lines. If you go to eat with someone who just grabs food from the buffet, they will be done their meal before you even get a chance to sit down. Snack Bar --> serves pizza, burgers and hotdogs. Open between 3 and 5 pm. Pool Area --> very nice. However, they have these new wicker chairs that are body shaped, but since they are not adjustable they are not always ideal to lay on. Service and Bar --> good. Wifi signals --> slow. Nightly Entertainment - When the professional dancers put on the show it was great. Also, the travelling aquatic dancers were excellent. The rock band was also good. However, the quiz show was not great (10 questions took 1 hour) and on January 6th they performed an odd Christmas show.

Great time with a few issues

We are a couple who stayed at the hotel during the week of December 5th to 11th. We had a good time and found the hotel beautiful however there were a few things which were not so good. First the room was very nice and modern however there is a seethrough window from bedroom to bathroom so you feel like you dont have privacy. If you are with a significant other its not so bad but we would have preferred the bathroom to be closed off completely. Also, you should note that between 3pm and 6h30pm w [... read more]e had a tough time finding a place to eat even though at reception we were told the snack bar was open when we went we were told it was closed. The pool area is very nice and clean. The beach area is also a downside since there is not much of a beach part its mostly a boardwalk due to corrals in that area. It was very different from other hotels we are used to in Cuba. We went a few times to Playa Pilar beach which was nice but gets costly after a while. Its 5 pesos per person to go and comr back and the chair is 2 pesos. Overall we had a nice experience at the hotel however we would prefer a bigger beach part. The food and service was very good at the hotel.