Great Beach!

The beach was amazing! The food was Ok and very typical of Cuban food. The sports entertainment team was really good, volleyball every day at the beach. Stuff for the kids around the pool. The beach had peddle boats (4 seaters) that were very good and easy to book for 1hr per day. The rooms were good and the buildings were nice. They need some repairs, broken stair tiles...walkways were dark in some areas at night. Most of this was damaged by Irma. The gardeners were working h [... read more]ard planting new flowers/plants around the resort. Internet worked fine...1hr for 1CUC. The hotel is smaller than the some others...500 rooms or so. 11 buildings, everything was close to the pool and beach!

Great resort

The hotel was very well laid out. The rooms are clean and spacious. The beach is spectacular and the staff extremely friendly and efficient. the Location is great as its only 10 minutes away from the airport. the food was fair but there was always something to satisfy everyone.

Great Time Had by Us all

We stayed at The Pestana resort March 9-17 in block 3 second floor. The two rooms we had were clean and very spacious with two double beds. The bathroom had a tub / shower with lots of water pressure and lots of hot water. Never ran out. No problems with plumbing at all. Maid was very kind and friendly. A bit shy but feel its cause she isnt totally fluent in English, she still tried to converse with us. Received a large bottle of water daily ( not done by maids) and were able to refill as ofte [... read more]n as needed from any of the bars and the buffet. Food was ok, but then we werent visiting for the food. Always something tasty to eat. The food at the fresh grills were very delicious and cooks very friendly. loved the omlette bar in am and pasta bar for lunches and supper. Perferred the Cuban and Portuguese a la cartes the best.Found the servers and food less wonderful at the Italian one, and I normally love Italian food. But was extremely full after eating at each of them. The beach was amazing. A bit of coral but not required water shoes to go on beach or in water. Yes people do stake out their chairs under the shde early in am, but we always found a chair and place to rest. The bars are all fun and the servers very friendly always Greeting you with smiles. The drinks were very tasty. Bring a large reuseable cup with you and you wont have to get refills at bar as often. There was always activities going on at the pool and on the beach. The evening entertainment was good. Had a rock band one night and a singer with dancers another and rest of nights that we attended watched different types of dancing to different types of music. The pedal boats , kyacts and sail boats were often used . There is a lot of km of sandy beache to walk along. We loved our visit to the Pestana. It is a quieter resort, and smaller.as it has only a little over 500 rooms ( if you want lively you can walk a short walk to the plaza where there is a disco nightly ( ladies night Fridays and free admission on mondays for all) as well as a bowling alley. Coffee is cheaper to buy at dutyfree at airport than in gift shoppe. Vip at airport is worth price. Priority checkin and boarding, free unlimited drinks ( alcoholic and nonalcoholic), sandwiches and chips. Area is cosy with couches and airconditioned. As well has a private restroom. As well they only allow a limited number of people t any given time into the vip area. Went on sugar,rum,tobacco tour. Was worth it. Fun and learned interesting things. Had a cuban lunch including a drink.

Wonderful!

This hotel is great for families and couples alike. There was always room in the lobby, on the beach and in the dining area. Service with a smile at the lobby always. Beautiful beach, peaceful atmosphere, well cared for rooms. I would go back with my family for sure!

Amazing Resort

The whole resort was great. Rooms were well maintained, beach, grounds, lobby, shows and food were excellent. Staff are very friendly and helpful, If we had a concern it was addressed promptly. No long line ups always someone there to assist you.

Needs tuning up

Great beach. Overworked staff. Food ....subpar at best. Sand fleas awful. Just rum and beer at beach. Pestana as an international resort operator...I expected more. Been to cuba 5 times and know what to expect. We tried a more "cost effective" resort and lost. To bad because the beach is outstanding and the staff really try their best to work with what they have.

Very Nice

Enjoyed the peace and tranquility of the resort, if you are going just for rest it is good , would have liked to see a little more activities and maybe a walking trail, if you were not up early enough to get a good spot at pool or beach you were SOL and pool closes at 6pm no night swimming ☹, food was not to bad but did not care for the coffee and powder milk, room smelled of mildew, weather was amazing

The Resort was nice.

The grounds were well maintained and the Beach was awesome. Our room was ok but the bedding was to say the least medicore. We had a king bed which was great but it was made with what looked like two double bed sheets which separated while sleeping the pillows were so thin that it did not support one's head. When I asked for another set I got a block of hard rectangular foam which was hard and cube like. In the end I folded a blanket and put it under my pillow. The bed was made with a short  [... read more]sheet and the bedspread was a thin polyster cover. All and all the bed was the worst thing in the room. Have to say that the people were always very nice as always. It was ok but I would not go back.

Un peu déçue...peut-être over booking et ouragan Irma?????

Je crois que le fait d'avoir été touché par l'ouragan Irma, est peut-être un des facteur qui a fait de notre voyage quelques déceptions, je m'explique: le personnel d'accueil et de chambre n'étaient pas très serviable et flexible. Nous sommes arrivée de soirée dans une chambre délabré, rideau taché, de très vieux couvre-lits, les côtés du bain douche à une hauteur de 30 pouces( besoin d'aide pour y embarqué et y redescendre) les portes savons et autres accessoires de salle de ba [... read more]in rouillés, la porte de celle-ci brisée. Cependant, 2 jours après notre arrivée, ils ont fait l'effort d'installer de nouveaux rideaux et de nouveau couvre-lits, ce qui a amélioré le décor. J'ai demandé qu’on soit changé de chambre, même à la superviseure et s'était impossible. Notre chambre même si elle était au 1er plancher était nettoyé qu'en fin de journée, vers 17h, alors une journée ou j'ai été malade, j'ai dû demandé de laissé faire le ménage car j'avais besoin de me reposer dans mon lit, après avoir errer jusqu'à 14h dans l’espoir que ma chambre serait faite à mon retour. L'autre truc que je n'ai pas apprécié c'est que le jour de notre départ, nous revenions du déjeuner vers 10h15,pour prendre notre dernière douche et finaliser nos valises, devant faire le scheck out pour midi. Notre clé avait été déactivé et la femme ménage dans la chambre à côté ne pouvait pas nous ouvrir,ni personne. J'ai donc perdu 1/2 heure d'attente à la réception pour réactiver ma clé et me faire dire que je devais être de retour pour midi, sinon ils devraient me charger un surplus, il était 11h20. Je me suis sentie chassée de la place . Par contre, le reste du personnel étaient bien gentils, mais semblaient très fatigués. La plage est belle, les palapas reconstruits....beaucoup d’infrastructures et de végétation abîme.

Pretty good experience over-all

This was our first time to the Pestana- over- all, it was good. The resort and grounds are clean and very well kept- the staff was excellent- they did go out of their way to please you. The food.....well it was ok, nothing great- have to have a strong "system" to eat most of it or your....sitting down a lot. They always ran out of butter and they only put out 2 or 3 baby food size jars of peanut butter which is gone in no time---bring your own if you like it. the Italian restaurant is not good-  [... read more]the lasagne is un-eatable- grizzle in the meat. The Cuban was good and the Indian was the best.The 24 hour snack bar is ok-the pizza down by the beach is very good. The beach is awesome- go at 7am if you want chairs.It seems they never have enough replacement towels- always some excuse. The pool was very cold all week.. Over-all it was pretty good but I wouldn't return because of the food.

Very pleasant resort!

This is a very pleasant hotel, with well kept grounds, clean and pleasant rooms, a spacious, well furnished public areas. The staff were unfailingly friendly and helpful. The pool is well designed and accommodates both children and adults. The food in the buffet was varied and well cooked. The strip of mangrove swamp between the beach and the hotel grounds appears to have been wiped out by Hurricane Irma. I have no idea if nature or people are supposed to take care of its restoration,but I h [... read more]ope something can be done.

Relaxing resort on a beautiful, undeveloped beach.

I would recommend this resort to anyone wanting a quiet getaway. It's a relatively new construction so all structures - buildings, pools etc - are in good repair. Since the hurricane, some rooms have brand new balcony roofs while others, ours included, had none. No big deal. No room issues; bed, television with movie channels, coffee machine, fridge, clean and functional bathroom (we had no hot water 1 morning out of 12 days), fresh towels, good a/c. Food and drinks were plentiful; managed to ov [... read more]ercome no champagne for 2 days. Lots of bars and serving stations per person, an occasional lineup (fresh breakfast omelet and pizza) but mostly avoidable. Service was very good; from rooms, to food, bars and beach. Something not always seen in Cuba, they even tell line cutters where to go (politely). They return politeness ten fold. Lots of beach chairs, beach towels, fun evening shows. The beach is fantastic and not overdeveloped. Three resorts on a stretch that would have 12 or more in Varadero. Except for Lennie's Lobster Shack (exceptional, highly recommended), the cigar store (good variety and prices) at the small tourist market, there isn't much to offer other than horse rides, mopeds and boat rentals, so this relaxing resort is not for someone looking for a wild time.

Lovely little resort

Beautiful spot, very friendly staff, clean, great food - we won’t bother with the priority upgrade when we go back because we didn’t get our welcome cocktail, or priority check-in, or a bottle of Havana club in our room, or ocean view, all as promised. Also the priority pool seats were too much in the shade, and the priority beach seats were along a treacherous stretch of rocky water - couldn’t even walk into the water without walking 75 feet down the beach first. However, these were all l [... read more]ittle thing we paid extra for, and now we know we can enjoy this lovely spot without having to bother with that.

Great stay at Pestana

Stayed Jan 19-26,short and sweet we had a great time,small resort, very easy to get around,beach is fabulous,great ocean view room,food OK,all the staff very friendly.Dinner buffet wait staff(jenny and yenny, probably spelled wrong ) are awesome.I will return....

Not good!

We were a family of 2 adults and 2 teenagers at the Pestana Cayo Coco visiting from December 29th 2017 to January 5th 2018.This was our third time in Cuba; once at a 3 star resort in Varadero and once at a 5 star resort in Holguin. This was also definitely our last time at this resort as well as our last time in Cuba. Unfortunately we were very disappointed with this resort. We usually let a lot of things go as we like to travel and always try to have a good holiday, but we have our limits. I  [... read more]will review this resort in detail: Check in: no problem Rooms: we had 2 rooms on third floor with no elevator, it did not bother us as we like walking and the staff carried our suitcases up, which we appreciated. Rooms were very dated with a musty smell, but looked fairly clean. Could not lock balcony door. No mattress cover, just a thin sheet on the mattress which I found very gross. Bathrooms definitely need upgrading. Very hard to take a shower with the way the shower head was positioned. Water pressure was low, but at least we had hot water. We had a problem with flushing the toilet, and this was fixed the next day. My daughter tried to take a shower and a frog crawled out of the drain and jumped on her. I picked up the frog and carried it outside to freedom. Our building was very dated with chipped tiles and was not cleaned often enough. Lobby: for some reason some pillow chairs were missing. Not always clean. Very busy and crowded at times. Lines: hard to get towels, had to wait in line the first day until around 9:40 am. Long line for new year’s eve dinner reservations, then another long line to book speciality restaurants. Very long line to get pizza at lunchtime, I think the wait was at least an hour or so. Grounds and public spaces: not clean at all. The toilets were especially filthy. Buffet: was okay, but not great. My daughter is vegetarian and there was not a lot for her to eat. She wanted pancakes at breakfast, but there was no syrup just honey. If you have picky kids bring your own syrup and peanut butter. I noticed some people brought their own Nutella. My biggest complaint at the buffet was that the plates were very dirty and that was gross. Some days I tried to wipe my plate with some hot water and a napkin before using it. Speciality restaurants: okay, but not great. They tried to accommodate my daughter with vegetarian food, but had no vegetarian selections on the menu. The last night when we went to a speciality restaurant there was a mix up as our reservation in writing specified 7:30, but when we got there they told us it was wrong as it was for 7 pm, but that they would accommodate us. They tried to be friendly but looked stressed and overworked. After we sat down the waitress tried to serve a few tables at once but accidentally dropped a plate which shattered and cut my daughter’s leg. So while we were eating our dinner my daughter was trying to stop the bleeding by using a napkin to apply pressure to the wound. Bar: drinks were a hit and miss; sometimes they were okay and sometimes they were bad. Staff: some of the staff were very friendly and helpful which we appreciated, but some were very unfriendly and treated us like we were a nuisance. Entertainment: not amazing, but I did enjoy the dancers and they tried very hard. Gift bags on new years eve were nice. Noise of entertainment sometimes went on way too late at night. Only one tennis court and net was held up with a stick. We tried to play once and people came with there racquets and sat inside the court and wait for us to finish, so we just left. They had a baseball court, but no balls, so that did not work out. The water sports centre will take you for a free catamaran trip, unfortunately the last two days the ocean was too rough and they had to cancel all water sports. Bugs: there were lots of mosquitos and we had itchy bites all over our bodies which I presume were the mosquitos. We did apply bug repellent, but we still got badly bitten. Pool: way too small with not nearly enough sunbeds. As the weather cooled down we tried in vain for the last three days to get sunbeds by the pool. I think the other guest must get up 5 am to claim the sun beds. This was very disappointing. Beach: was lovely, but also hard to get a good spot. We made the mistake to leave our towels for too long on our sunbeds at the beach and all four towels were stolen. The customer service rep pointed out quite rudely that guests are not supposed to reserve sunbeds,which was the last straw and I had enough. I brought it to her attention that there were not enough sunbeds and that we had been trying to get sunbeds at the pool for the past three days. In the end the Hotel made us pay 50% of the price of the towels. The Transat rep was a nice lady and spoke to the hotel about the towel situation. Excursions: took bus to Playa Pillar which is a beautiful beach and we enjoyed our time there. The catamaran snorkel trip was also very good. Transportation: bus pickup for excursions and airport were chaotic. My daughter had to jump out of the way of a bus that suddenly started moving and scratched her leg badly on a stick. At the airport drop off the man behind us also had to jump out of the way of a bus that suddenly started moving. All in all we feel like we wasted our money and will not return.

Never Again

This resort has many good things going for it, beautiful grounds, pools and new lobby but the food was terrible. I have been to Cuba two other times in the past year so I have a comparison point. Lack of flavour, overcooked, lack of variety, lack of basic condiments, tomatoes, fruits and vegetables. The room was charming and spacious but the bed was rock hard, I did not sleep properly all week.

Enjoyable!

This resort is very nice - although my room could have used some simple repair and maintenance. It has a great beach which was always windy, lots of palapa and enough loungers. The pool area was difficult to find a seat as most of the chairs were covered with towels with no one there nor their belongings- just the hotel beach towel for hours on end. My meals were good as I was able to have fresh fish cooked for me while I wait which I then found rice dishes and cooked veggies to complete the m [... read more]eal. The buffet food tended to be room temperature as the hot food did not stay hot very long. The evening entertainment was very good and was not simply Cuban music and dance. They included modern dance with popular music, circus juggling etc, and cirque de soleil style gymnastics- very talented. The main thing that could use improvement is the state of the toilets in the public washrooms. Although there was always a bathroom attendant monitoring, much of the time the toilets would not flush, be overflowing, some washrooms closed altogether. I would probably not recommend Cayo Coco to my friends- while on the bus going back to the airport people who had been at other resorts had similar and worse problems with water/toilets. Also the airport on Cayo Coco had no toilet seats on any toilets in either ladies washroom and overflowing toilets there as well.

Great

Nice resort All the buildings clean and well maintained. The staff are helpful and friendly. Lots of entertainment. The nightly show is mediocre at best. But the little ones enjoyed it. Food adequate.

Great Place

Had a wonderful vacation here the staff were awesome. Food was fantastic and beautiful beach. I would definitely stay at this location again. Really enjoyed my vacation. The rooms were very clean and up to date.

At best a two star resort, and not the 4/5 star it's perported to be.

My wife and I stayed at the Pestana Cayo Coco resort from January 10 - 17/18, and had an ocean view suite consisting of a large livingroom, bedroom, and extensive bathroom facilites. Furniture was somewhat tired and quite uncomfortable. Bathroom being a standard loo, spacious glassed in rain shower, large jacuzzi tub, and a large two sink vanity with full mirror.. Our balcony was about 25-30 feet long and dimmly lit at night. You could catch the occasional glimpse of the ocean, which was abo [... read more]ut 100 meters away, through small trees and scrub brush which still showed the ravages of last Fall's hurricane. We understand this resort was quite damaged then and the owners are to commended in the extensive repairs to date. Our suite was to have an included mini bar, resplenished daily, however when we first arrived we opened the small fridge and it was totally empty. When we went back to the front desk, we told them that, and they said we had to pay extra for the minibar. I explained we had, and they said they could give us a bottle of water for now, but to take it up with Customer Service. Also when I told them there was no lounge chairs on the balcony as advertised, we were told they only came with a suite. I tried to explain that we did have a suite, but the young man insisted we did not and were not entitled to lounge chairs, and to also take that up with Customer Service. We spoke to their Customer Service Rep, who said that yes, we were entitled to the daily minibar, and to the lounge chairs, and he would look after it. The next day someone came and brought us 1 bottle of water, 2 cans cola and 2 cans beer. That was it, and they would replenish whatever we used the following day. Two days later, a couple of men came with lounge chairs from the pool area to put on our balcony. They told us that the hurricane had destroyed the original chairs for our suite. Now then, the weather was poor with the entire week being cool overcast rainy and extremely windy every day, but that's the chance you take this time of year and doesn't reflect in this review at all. But it did give us time to take a long hard look at just where we were. We were on an island, no villages. All employees are bused from the mainland across a causeway - so there's no shopping. There's a small tuck shop which is the poorest we've ever seen on a resort - anywhere, bar none. There were a few large chocolate bars, booze, and some cigarettes, a collection of a dozen pieces of clothing - and that's about it. Oh yes, there's a soda pop cooler. Pricing examples, they take apart a package of 8 kleenex pocket packs to sell individually for 3.9 peso's, about $5.00. So if you have a cold, better bring your own supply. A large resort on a rather undullating topography the main walkways are extremely poorly lit at night, and the secondary walkways between building, not at all. So bring your own flashlights. If you have mobility issues at all you'll have problems here as there are no benches or seats along any of the walkways anywhere on this entire resort. Better bring a walker. Now the food was entirely something else. Mystery meat to no end. Sure, names were there, but.... A fairly long buffet but not when you realized it repeated itself. Quite disappointing really. But the wait staff are attentive and helpful, and try hard to please, especially when given a peso or two. The resort was really busy, lots of children, and there were lineups for everything, from the buffet, and the bars. I understand that under normal conditions, with nice weather, it is impossible to secure a lounge chair at the pool or at the beach, however, for an extra $14 per day you can get a "premium" room which includes a reserved lounger at those locations. Overall, we were VERY disappointed with this resort, and we do not recommend this place, nor will we ever return to it.