Playa Costa Verde: Hidden Paradise

This was my ninth time to this resort. There are many reasons why I keep returning. From the time I get off the bus to getting into my room I am well into a good time. the people are very friendly and they have a good memory as they call me by name and I them. The buffet is my favorite place as I can select my food and the amount. I love the pasta bar with chef Simone who will make you a pasta of your choice on the spot. The Japanese restaurant with hostess Olivia makes you feel at home and rea [... read more]dy to watch the cooks prepare the meal in front of you. The pool bar is a great place to be entertained as you never know what tricks are up by bar tender Jesus. This place is always enjoyable and a lot of fun. All in all I am ready to return at the earliest possible time.

Club Amigo Atlantico Guardalavaca: Wonderful two weeks at Memories Caribe Beach Resort

We travelled to Club Amigo Atlantico Guardalavaca Monday February 4 from Toronto. I had done a lot of research with help from this Facebook page – specifically with respect to the ‘no-see-ums’ and rooms (very happy with our Ocean side Villa). Our first couple of days, we were extremely disappointed with the lunch and dinner at the main buffet. Russian prison food is the only way we could describe it. Flavorless, cold and visually pure yuck. We were not happy. We had found Benny More’s [... read more] for lunch on day two and went every day at 8 a.m. for the rest of our Stay. Janet, Marie-Helen, Griesy and the rest of the ladies provided wonderful service and delicious food. The pool-side bar, we enjoyed hamburgers and fries and lovely beverages. Emilio (waiter) and Milaro (Chef) and Vegetation hosted us 4 times and always delicious and wonderful service. Valentines day dinner @ Benny More’s (thank you Romney) was fabulous and we loved the violin. We enjoyed lobster with shrimp at La Spada and lovely service from Yadia and Onelvis. We discovered the 2nd buffet near Brisas and it was a wonderful revelation – cooks cared, food was hot, cooked to order – thank you to Mompie, Elizabeth and Emilio (cook) who made us feel welcome. We had a lovely night tour on a horse drawn carriage, courtesy of Rui and his lovely mare. Went to the aboriginal village and enjoyed their presentation – had a tour of a village school, and a farm (thank you Victor and guide Janet) Room was clean and comfortable – beaches accessible and water lovely. Wished more pools would be open. We avoid poolside bars – but there was enough water available. We had pizza at Rico’s – delicious and fabulous service from Alberto. We have been to Cuba 3 times, love the people and we will likely return. Drawbacks? Did get some bug bites, however not as many as before, the Avon Skin so Soft made a huge difference. Too many smokers (including in a couple of restaurants), however not enough to make us not want to return. Two lovely weeks later we sadly left our lovely room.

Sol Turquesa Beach: DON'T STAY HERE

I want to start off by saying that I have been to Cuba many times. I am not a high maintenance traveller and I don't expect things to be on par with Canadian standards. However, this was by far the worst resort I've been to. 1. The rooms: The first room we were checked into (an hour later than check in time) was disgusting. The bathroom was mouldy and the beds were so old they were sagging to the floor and the whole room smelled musty. When we called the desk to say we couldn't keep our 8 year  [... read more]old daughter in a mouldy room they said the hotel was full and we couldn't be moved. We went to the lobby and said we needed to be moved and were told again the hotel was full. Another hotel guest standing behind us told the reception to move us to the 500's where they were and at first they said no, but then magically a room was available. This room was better but by no means 4 star worthy. One night a pipe burst and we had no cold running water only scolding hot for 12 hours so that meant no showers that night. 2. Food/Drink The buffet did not have a good variety at all (and I'm not picky) and nothing was labelled. Twice at breakfast I poured plain yogurt smoothie in my daughters cereal thinking it was milk. The juice machine was "out of order" the entire time we were there so you had to sample the mystery juices to find one you liked seeing as they weren't labelled. As for alcoholic beverages, every resort I've ever been to has had a drink menu with fun tropical drinks. This resort did not. They basically had one specialty drink with pineapple juice and rum. They had no Coca Cola anywhere on the resort for two of the days as well. 3.Grounds: everything at the resort seemed to be in a state of disrepair. Half of the toilets in the public places like the lobby and pool bathroom didn't flush and there was never any toilet paper. We ended up bringing a roll with us wherever we went. A couple positives: the beach was nicely cleaned every morning and the a la cartes had pretty good food. Also, the omelettes were good every morning. Some of the staff were really sweet and helpful but some of the others seemed like it was an inconvenience to do their jobs even though we tipped pretty much every time. Overall I would say to stay somewhere else like playa pesquero (also in Holguin) because the half a star really makes a difference.

Aston Costa Verde Beach Resort: Great place

We just returned from the Fiesta and had a wonderful time Unfortunately our room was over the lobby bar. Very noisy at night, as the theatre is right beside, and people congregate at the lobby bar after the disco closes. We usually left the tv on low for white noise. This also has the most quiet air conditioner in all resort we have travelled to in the Caribbean. You have to get up early if you want a good chair on the beach, as people start reserving early. Beach is large so you get a chair n [... read more]o problem, but be aware the beach area is quite crowded. Also, there is lots of coral in the water, water shoes would help. You have to walk through some bare spots to get to deeper water. Lots of fish to see close by if you enjoy snorkeling. The food is good, a la crates very good, but long lines form after the first seating at 6PM. NO reservations. So you may have a long wait. Hotel staff is friendly.. bars and coffee service is excellent This is a very nice resort, but I would not return because of the coral in the water, as we like a sandy beach & water for swimming.

Brisas Guardalavaca: 6th vacation at Brisas Guardalavaca

Our family of 7 (4 adults and 3 children 2, 9 & 9) stayed at this resort for one week. We were in the villa section of the resort. Rooms 2110 & 2111. (very close to the pool & ocean) The rooms haven't changed much over the years. Our room had NO hot water so we showered in our daughters room next door. The front desk was made aware of the problem but nothing was done about it. The resort is very clean. We all enjoyed the pool & beach. (the ocean was warmer than the pool) The food was good. We d [... read more]id not take advantage of the a la carte restaurants. We found that there was enough good food at the buffets to satisfy our appetite for the young and old. The children loved the ice cream parlour & donut shop outside the main buffet area. That was their everyday go-to treat. Roberto's pizzeria has always been a favorite place in the afternoon for a snack .It is nice to see the same staff with friendly smiles everyday. High fives to the bartenders at the villa section and beach bar. They were always "over the top" friendly! One of the children needed stitches on day one and the service at the medical centre was top-notch. (had to pay up front...no direct billing. $160.00 Canadian) All week the staff around the resort was asking her how she was feeling. That made her feel good that they remembered her and that they were concerned about her well being. Children's nightly entertainment was always a highlight at the end of the day (8:20pm) Rate of exchange was 1.29 (100 cdn converted to 71 pesos) It was nice to be able to keep our room for free until 4pm the day we were leaving. (our bus wasn't picking us up until 6pm) This is a perk for repeat customers. You have to get a chit from GUEST SERVICES at the main lobby. As well if you have a little one (baby) it is apparently free until 4pm on check-out day. All in all the weather was beautiful, the ocean was clear and warm and the food was good. We may be back in 2020.

Playa Costa Verde: Excellent choice for a resort

Although I have only been to Cuba 3 times, this is ultimately the best resort of all 3. Friendly staff, always hot water to shower, food is, well, it's Cuba. All the same between the 3. I have never had a problem finding anything that wasn't delicious to eat.

Brisas Covarrubias: A Nice Resort

The hotel was fine. The room was large and lovely and so was the washroom. Unfortunately, having warm water for a shower was rare. The surroundings were very nice and were kept clean. The beach area needed raking. The pool area was amazing! The food was quite good as far as taste and variety. There was no entertainment at night maybe it was because of there was a lack of tourists. This could be because of the large amount of mosquitos and/ or of the large groups of Cubans vacationing at the hote [... read more]l I noticed that there were many large areas of still waters around the buildings. The 2-storey buildings were built on stilts and after a rainfall the water remains underneath ( a perfect place for mosquitos to breed ! ) The people working at the resort were very pleasant and friendly. The hotel did not provide a bottle of water for our room every day. We had to fill our bottle everyday at the bar. We also had to pay 2 pesos/day for 2 weeks for the use of the safety box in our room. We have decided that we will not be vacationing there again .

Club Amigo Atlantico Guardalavaca: Had a great time!

We had a great time at Club Amigo. The staff from servers to housekeeping and ground keepers were amazing. They made you feel so at home. Always a smile and a laugh. The beach was beautiful. And weather was great!

Aston Costa Verde Beach Resort: Beautiful week and a very relaxing girls trip!

Just got back from a girls trip on Saturday. The weather last week (February 10th-16th) was absolutely beautiful! 30+ all week. Overall our stay was great and it was a relaxing trip. Some main things I noticed: • Beach: The beach is super close which is nice! Lots of lounge chairs. The negative is that we got eaten alive the first few days by sand fleas and they were super itchy at night. The beach bar is great and super friendly. There is quite a bit of rock on the beach so be careful with  [... read more]kids etc. But once you get out far enough it is fine. •Pool: We mainly hungout by the “adult” pool all week and it was great. Not to busy and lots of chairs. The bartenders at the swim up pool are also great. • Food: The food is actually better then we anticipated. The buffet is quite simple and standard but you don’t starve and we always found something to eat. I would say pasta and rice is going to be your staple at this resort. No bread or milk this week due to shortage. Also they had no ketchup at the snack bar. The snack bar was horribly slow for service but I know they were busy. 1 hour + wait to get a hotdog and fries. The service was also very spotty and most times we didn’t even get our drinks we ordered and had to up and get them- again not the end of the world. The al la cartes are first come and do get quite busy but the food is good and different. We quite enjoyed the Mexican one. We were told to go early around 5:45pm to miss the line. We never waited in line more then a few minutes and were in eating. • Rooms: We were in block 28 and it was only a few minute walk from the lobby, pool, buffet etc. We had some bad neighbours unfortunately and they were quite loud so our sleeps weren’t the best. Our room was cleaned mediocre but it could of been worse. •The main concern this week I would say is the public washrooms- there was no ladies washroom around the pool. The washroom near the seafood restaurant was also broken and my two of my friends got locked in there and finally got helped out after screaming for help. (this was reported to the lobby and the customer service and nothing was done about it) •They also brought in a large amount of locals to the resort for Valentine’s Day which made the resort extremely overcrowded and busy. No one was aware of this. •The wifi was horrible and spotty and only worked for maybe 1 minute before cutting out. But this isn’t the reason you are here in Cuba and it’s not the end of the world. It is just nice to check in at home. Overall I would say it was a great relaxing trip and the weather was beautiful. The people and Cuba in general are so wonderful and that is what I would return for!

Aston Costa Verde Beach Resort: Good choice

We were pleasantly pleased to arrive at this resort. Check in was done quickly. We were not impressed that we had to wait over two hours to get into our room (5:30) but once we did, we were happy campers. We had a room in Block 17 and the room was gorgeous. Everything we needed was in there and the mini fridge was stocked daily. Milady our housekeeper was fantastic and kept our room extremely clean. Word of caution - watch out for the shower. We had plenty of hot water but it goes from [... read more] cool to scalding very quickly. Our terrace overlooked the pool and by 4:00 it was mostly empty and it was lovely to sit and enjoy a quiet drink enjoying the view. I will add no bugs - either outside or in the room! We had no mosquito or noseeum bites considering it was extremely hot & humid. Maybe those buggers don't like our blood. The beach was stunning ! As stated there were areas with some rocks but it was great nonetheless. Beach bar service was exceptional and the bartenders sure made our vacation even better. At times the line-ups were long but never had to wait more than a few minutes. Having the water jugs at the bar was a very nice touch. Really encourages people to drink water. There were more than enough beach loungers but sometimes shade spots were hard to find. We always found a prime spot and stayed there all day. Didn't really use the pool much. Seemed to be quite a busy spot but the pools were huge and again, plenty of loungers. Food at the buffet was pretty good. There was always a large selection of dishes and there is always something to find. Typical mystery meats and although we stayed away from them, they looked good. The grillers grilled chicken, fish & beef to perfection. Huge selection of cheeses and as well as desserts. Everything was tasty and no complaints there. Unfortunately there was still a bread shortage going on and it was hit and miss. Milk also was scarce. No biggie for us. The only complaint was when the locals arrived they wiped out the buffet pretty quickly. Several times they just went up to the griller and took everything she had on the grill leaving us to stand even longer while she prepared more meat(s). It was wrong and she should have remained firm in telling them back of the line ! Ah well, we're on vacation. A la cartes were very good and a nice change from the buffet. Yes there were line-ups to get in but we were there just prior to opening and didn't wait too long. I just don't understand the noise level in those restaurants. Why oh why do people have to yell at each other - so much for nice, quiet dining. Unfortunately we didn't have the famous fish tacos but made up for it by having other types of tacos - very good. Pizza was available only one day and we were lucky to have it - again, very good. Service at all the restaurants was top notch and we never waited long for our drinks or refills. They all served us with a smile and every wait staff we encountered were wonderful. Was everything perfect? Absolutely not. We had several petty incidents not even worth mentioning but the service we received was amazing. Front desk were on a few issues and within minutes things were resolved - top notch staff. It's the staff that make or break a vacation and the Fiesta staff definitely made our vacation a memorable one. We are low maintenance people and were treated like 5 star guests - from the animation staff to the waitresses to the front desk - they were all wonderful and fun ! We met so many wonderful guests and made some great friends here. Even with sickness we managed to enjoy ourselves and all that the resort had to offer. Pat & Diane, North Bay Ont.

Aston Costa Verde Beach Resort: Little Disappointed

I have been to this resort 6 times, however my last visit I was a little disppointed for these reasons; - dinner reservations no longer required, (the a-la- carte restaurants are not large enough to accomdate the number of guests), line ups were over 1 hour some nights - there was no bread or cerial for entire visit - there was a shortage of juice, pancakes, and fruit - no milk for 2 days - no pizza at Italian Restaurant for 3 days (no flour) As usual the staff was great especially at t [... read more]he Mexican A-la-carte I will probably go back, however a little reluctant to refer to family or friends, at this time

Playa Pesquero: Playa Pesquero a great getaway

Grounds: the grounds are well manicured by the staff with beautiful flowers and trees. Guests must be more vigilant in putting plastic glasses in garbage instead of just throwing away. Pool is huge and clean with lots of chairs and loungers. Remember the guests do put towels out early to take prime areas near swim up bar but there is still lots of chairs for everyone. The beach area is nice and the employees will bring loungers to you. The buffet restaurants were okay. We found food to be [... read more] cold at times and over cooked. The el a carte places were excellent. At times there could have been more staff on hand at the buffet to clear dishes off tables. The liquor and beer was great and bartenders were always there to help you. Trip was enjoyed by all.

Club Amigo Atlantico Guardalavaca: Amazing week

The staff are extremely friendly and helpful. The pool and beach areas are very clean. The cleaning staff cleaned the rooms daily and supplied whatever was needed. Met a lot of very nice people and had a great time.

Club Amigo Atlantico Guardalavaca: Awesome

When I go back again. I wish to stay there. The people in the motel were absolutely beautiful, and helped as much as they could. The location of the pool to the location of the ocean was perfect. Can't ask for a better location.

Club Amigo Atlantico Guardalavaca: Repeat guests

We had a great time at club amigo atlantico Guardalavaca We have been there numerous times and will continue to visit. Hands down the most beautiful beach we have ever seen. The rooms are clean ( and modern by Cuban standards ) the service is unbeatable. Not one complaint

Club Amigo Atlantico Guardalavaca: Awful, so disappointing

Went for our 10 year wedding anniversary and had nothing but problems, the room door wouldn’t even shut, the bathroom faucet came off in our hands! Moved 3 times and then finally ended up next to the entertainment stage and it played TIL midnight! The staff was non existent , the buffet was repetitive even to the point of recycling lunch to dinner, Benny’s restaurant was a great place to eat there and the beach was awesome but it’s such a large resort with completely tired rooms that the w [... read more]alk to everything was rediculius. Some wait staff were above and beyond at the ala cartes, but they book up fast and some people didn’t even get theirs! And our wedding renewal was a complete loss! Such a disappointment and not at all what was pictured, and when we left our luggage in the luggage room the day we left our luggage was robbed and we lost items so please beware!

Sol Turquesa Beach: Good resort for price

Pools and grounds were beautiful and well kept! Service across the entire resort was amazing. Kids club had lots going on that my children enjoyed, especially the mini disco at night. The beach was good with water that had seaweed areas which was good for snorkeling but some people may not like. However there were lots of areas in the water you could go to avoid the seaweed. Lounge chairs were always available. There was always fresh towels as well. Food was fine, typical resort food. Drinks wer [... read more]e good. Rooms are dated and worn. We had hot water every day but there are times in the day were toilets do not work, for an hour or so. Overall we enjoyed this resort. We found it good value for the money we spent. There are lots of stairs which were not a problem for our family (kids 5 and 9 years old).

Club Amigo Atlantico Guardalavaca: Fantastic Stay!

The staff at Club Amigo make you feel welcome and like long time friends from the moment you walk into the lobby. The resort is clean, the beaches amazing, bars and restaurants are good. Great choice

Playa Costa Verde: Still a great resort.

This was our seventh visit to PCV and we made use of our free week and stayed for two from Feb. 1 to 15. Sunwing had crew problems so we were 2 hrs 40 min late leaving TO. The flight home was on time but Pearson was packed so over an hour from aircraft to taxi. The resort continues to make upgrades and is keeping up with repairs. All the loungers at the pool have been replaced and there are more of them as well as side tables. The loungers are the plastic type used on the beach so an inflata [... read more]ble pad is a good thing to slide into your suitcase. We don't go for the food but there was little variety on the buffet this time with the same selections on the hot tables most nights. We like the fresh fish grill most anyway. The three a la carte restaurants and the returning guest dinners were all the expected good quality and variety. The new beach bar and water sport facility are open and much nicer than the ones that they replaced. Provided shelter during a short rain storm one afternoon. The old building has been leveled so there is more usable shade in that area and the palm trees are not blocked by boats. The beach is the same beautiful strip of sand that extends into the water in most areas but water shoes are a good idea as storms will cause the sand to shift exposing rocks in places.

Don Lino Hotel: Little gem

I was pleasantly surprised by the well-kept grounds. The pool is small, but a larger one will be built within 5 years, along with new townhouse rooms. The buffet restaurant is very nice and there is one a la carte. The food was fine. My main complaint is the unmotivated animation staff. Even after telling the animator of the day (only one on duty) that we wanted to do an activity, he said that because noone else was interested, that he wouldn't do it. We wanted to do the dance lesson, by the p [... read more]ool, and I am sure that others would have come had he started the lesson. This did not impress me. Only 2 activities were done of the 8 or so listed, and only on the afternoon. Also, the only entertainment at night was a house band on 5 nights, and a disco (flashing lights set up at the beach bar and recorded music), 2 nights. There is a nice small stage near the pool, but it was never used - no dancers, singers, comedians. This was disappointing. I would return, because you can cycle to another beach and around the area. A relaxing holiday, but could have been more fun if the activities advertised were held.