Trip Central was great and the WestJet flight was smooth with no issues. Unfortunately, the hotel itself fell short of expectations. Amenities were limited and not as advertised. Our first room was not a family room as per our booking, and there was a mosquito infestation that made the first night very difficult — especially with our 1.5-year-old and 4-year-old, who ended up with many bites. We also requested a crib for the baby and were told repeatedly it would arrive “the next day,” but after five attempts, it was never delivered. To make matters worse, on the first night my wife’s foot was run over by a golf cart after the driver started moving before she was fully seated. Overall, transportation and booking were good, but the hotel experience was disappointing and not a recommendation by me.

The rooms are very nice and so is the beach. The food was ok. It's Cuba, so you know you are not going thete for that. The staff is super friendly. There was always plenty pf food. We plan on going again next year

The rooms are very nice and so is the beach. The food was ok. It's Cuba, so you know you are not going thete for that. The staff is super friendly. There was always plenty pf food. We plan on going again next year

The rooms are very nice and so is the beach. The food was ok. It's Cuba, so you know you are not going thete for that. The staff is super friendly. There was always plenty pf food. We plan on going again next year

Positive: beach is beautiful , clean rooms and housekeeping staff is extremely nice. Negative: Food and Drinks:Same bland food every day, no hamburgers, no pizzas, no fries, no hot dogs, no chicken nuggets for the children. Limited juices and the only soda was sprite on occasion. For the alcohol extreme limited choices throughout the stat I was able to have some vodka once or twice. Entertainment: Hardly no activities during the day and at night. Hotel: Could not use the hair dryer as it caused a power outage. Buffet staff were miserable and if you asked for cutlery or a glass of water it would take 15 to 20 minutes; as they were to busy talking amongst themselves.

Rooms were beautiful - spacious, clean, lots of hot water and great air conditioning. However, they do need to have blankets available in rooms. Pools were clean and had lots of lounge chairs. Food was not hot at the buffets and lacking vegetables. Not all food was labelled and we were often uncertain as to what we were eating. Grilled food was good and hot. Breakfast as good and hot. Sandwiches at snack bar were good. Beach was nice with lots of lounges and shade available

The beach is nice, the lovely pool and entertainment are good, and the food is very good. I liked their baked goods and cakes. Good selection of meet and fish. Very tasty. The negative side is that they could not provide blanket for us, and safe was broken and they could not fix it. Not a huge issue but for 5 star resort you should expect to get blanket if you cold during the night. I am not picky guest and I do appreciate and understand issues in Cuba, but Iberostar should pay attention for issues like this. Don't advertise as 5 star hotel if you are not able to provide 5 star amenities.

I was not at all satisfied with this hotel for the following reasons: 1- very poor customer service 2- lots of equipments are out of order 3- checking in took 5 hours 4- too far distance from the airport. 5- water bottles were unavailable for guests 6- lots of flies and mosquitoes 7- they sprayed DDT, which a very harmful insecticide 8- no one is willing to serve unless tipped.

Positives: Resort layout - not too big; lobby, beach, restaurants, rooms are easily accessible. Grounds - well-kept, paved, wide and well-lighted. Rooms - spacious, modern and clean. Negatives: Location - too far from airport remote) Entertainment - no beach volleyball; Daily Activities schedule not followed. Services - at the restaurants are slow.

This resort was wonderful. I would go again. The staff was very friendly. The entertainment staff were excellent. There was always something to watch and do. If you like home cooked meals then this is the place. I really liked their buffet. The drinks were great. The bar had a lot of variety of cocktails. The pools were clean and full of entertainment. The beach water was choppy and a lot of seaweed would come up shoreline. The staff would clean it twice daily. This was due to the weather. The only recommendation I would suggest is to bring mosquitoe spray. Again its the tropics and most tropical places have mosquitoes. I would go to this resort again.

Personally I will not recommend this resort for family with kids, people who doesn’t eat pork or vegetarian. Everything in this resort mixed with pork. Also this resort has nothing for kids to eat beside pasta there is nothing to eat. Extremely disappointing

The hotel was great. Lots of food to choose from. And a fabulous presentation man named jimmy was the best! The beaches were gorgeous! Whole trip is definitely wonderful get away for any age. :) Would definitely recommend and return in by a later year!

Our second time to this resort within a half a year. Needless to say, we enjoyed it just as much as on our first visit (see my June 2025 review). Hotel and beach are fantastic. Could not have asked for better surroundings and service. A special "Thank you" to Israel, who looked after us so well, and to O'Neil, our travel agent at Trip Central, for his excellent service in planning our trip. We liked it so much, that we plan to return next spring.

Nice, compact resort that was a little far from airport. With a beer in hand, looking out over the vast turquoise blue waters from the causeway to Cayo Cruz wasn’t a hardship! The new development on the island still leaves some of the island untouched and ready for exploration. It is this, plus great food and service, that made me return (and will return again!). See you soon

The resort was beautiful, the price was extremely reasonable. Good service, nice room, grounds were so nice. I would recommend this place. The food was decent a little more produce would have made it better.

The hotel was very nice, clean rooms and the surroundings very well maintained. The staff at the resort very friendly and always ready to help of you are in need of something. The food was decent but the drinks at bars need a lot off improvement. For 5 stars hotel it was very poor choice of drinks They have not a decent beer or a pop drink The room fridge empty I am a bit disappointed in that matter.

We had a wonderful week at this resort. It was sparking clean and the food was good and plentiful. The deserts were really tasty. The pools were clean and welcoming, the beach was beautiful (even with the seaweed) and the people who work there warm and helpful. We will for sure go back to this resort.

This resort had just what we needed for a short trip to celebrate a birthday- a good selection of food and beverage spots, and we enjoyed both pool areas. Weather was fantastic. We upgraded to an ocean view and are very happy with that decision- room was spacious and clean. Sadly, lots of seaweed during our visit cut or beach time a little short! Would recommend for a quick beach getaway out of Toronto.

Just came back Thursday from 1 week. Great little resort for the cost. Staff were excellent, hotel and rooms clean, food was what you would expect for Cuban fare. Nothing over the top but we didn’t go hungry or thirsty and got plenty of rest and relaxation. Tom of Bali beds and loungers everywhere.

This hotel and location was absolutely gorgeous! Perfect getaway in paradise. I’ve been to Cuba many times but it was my husband’s first time and he absolutely loved it. The staff were extremely accommodating and helpful. Husband was not loving the food which was expected but the hotel manager sat us down with the chef and let us know we can go ask him to cook whatever we want if we didn’t want anything in the buffet. He also gave us A la carte dinners for the entire week we were there. Greatly appreciated! The rooms were clean and comfortable. Pool, lobby, bars and beach were all clean and comfortable. It was big enough that it never got too busy or crowded in one area even with big families and their little ones around. We will be returning to the same location in the future.

The resort experience was overall good, the workers were very kind and hard working for the most part. However when we tried to book a date for a dinner we were lied to. We were given a false date to eat dinner at the Italian restaurant at the resort but in reality it was the buffet that was only open that day. Negative points for the workers that deal with the reservations, they were unkind and came off agressive after asking them to do their job which was to reserve us a spot at any day for any restaurant. The rooms were okay and the cleaners were very good always mopped the floors and made the beds. A big issue I had was I had 2 big and 2 medium sized bugs in my room. I woke up twice on two different occasions to two huge bugs. One time one was beside me head on the bed and the other time it was on the floor near my bed. Then there was a bug on my balcony covers and also one in my suitcase! I mean it’s crazy that I can’t even keep my suitcase open without a bug wandering its way inside of their. I wasn’t even able to kill it because it ran off from my suitcase into the bed covers once it popped off of one of my shirts. Room 5014 has some serious bug infestation.

30+ trips to Cuba within the last 10ish years. Lots of various resorts ranging from old 3 star, to new 5 star. I’m comparing Cuba to Cuba resorts. Check in: Arrived at 11am, did not get our room until about 6pm! Even though check in should be 4:00. If they were honest, I would have just stayed at the pool, instead of waiting 2 hours in a wet bathing suit in the lobby, hearing them tell me “any minute”. Rooms: What a disaster. Our room did not have a bathroom fan. Every shower would steam up the whole room, including the floors, which became very unsafe. So we had to blast the AC to get rid of the condensation, and were frozen, otherwise we’d have wet damp bedding. Since everything was damp, the smell was extremely musty/moldy, with lots of mold one the walls (see attached pics), how is this a new 5 star??! The toilet make major noise at 5am every day since they shut the water off around 1am, and turned back at 5am, waking you up every day. Pro was the bed was comfortable and AC worked. Service: Lobby bar service, I don’t think I’ve seen worse. 10 people lined up to get coffee with 1 server in the morning. The staff played the “If you tip more, you get to cut in line” game. Which is unethical. My fiancé had been waiting a while, one lady came in waiving a $20 and bartender went to her! My fiancé said something clearly upset and the bartender pretended that he didn’t see him standing RIGHT infront of him for the last 10 minutes, very disappointing. No table service like they do at Grand Sirenis in CSM. A huge difference like I’ve never seen before. Buffet staff were better, but a bit slow refilling drinks. Pool bar should have someone willing to interact with guests for the experience, not someone who looks miserable to be there. Snack bar staff was good. Food: 9/10 for Cuba. They had a nice grill by the pool, although the wait times were long. Buffet was typical Cuban food, but seasoned well. AC worked very good, even too cold. Con would be the area is designed way too small, the place was packed when even 60% full. Hard to get around. Be aware: When looking at social media images, some are from the CORAL section which is a different resort. Entertainment: Sat under the shade spots at the beach all day, other than 30 minutes at the pool, oh and before that under the stadium seating eating food that guests would bring from the snack bar, when they asked people who were walking by. The guy with the colored hair is sketchy, I’ll leave it at that. Was the worst entertainment team I’ve seen. A guy won a barrel pool riding competition, and they then said to win the bottle you had to do an embarrassing “sexy” dance, which he did, and then they said it was a joke, NO BOTTLE of rum at all! Yet the 3 star hotels give them out with every game! Pools: Lounge chairs from hell. You go to sit in one, and the back smacks you hard in the back of the head. They are all broken! You need ties to hold them in place. (Hard to see in the pic, but when sitting you can see the back doesn’t stay attached to the base, it goes up with you) Along with that, all spots were taking at 6am., and this was end of high season, end of April. So if you didn’t get up you didn’t get any shade. The actual shade was broken umbrellas, which you had to ask a lifeguard for the stick to be able to prop up. Half of them had fabric missing (see pics) People had to sit in the snack bar, with towels to be able to swim. The resort was built in the windiest place in Cuba, how could you not plan that there would be days where 90% of the guests would be at the pool?! The only good thing about the pool were the nice lifeguards, pretty much the only people that interacted with you. All other staff were cold, non talkative, I wonder if the managers told them they aren’t allowed interacting unless providing a service? I’ve never seen anything like this at any other resort, again, 30+ trips all over Cuba. Beach: Couldn’t really go due to wind. You can’t sit down, because you get pelted in the face/eyes with sand. And the one day that was calmer, no shade spots to be found, all taken. Management needs 50% more shade! It’s not a vacation having to fight for chairs at 5am. Overall: Would not recommend. I am actually writing this review after staying at an old 3 star hotel (review coming soon), and because the 3 star was SO much better, I decided to write the one about Esmeralda, to save people their hard earned money. There might be people that liked it, but have they seen 30+ resorts in Cuba? Or did they go to 2, and Esmeralda was their “favorite” that they now call “the best”? Food for thought. NOTICE: When trying to upload a review to SELECTION side, it’s defaulting to CORAL. So that might be an issue.

The resort was nice, when we got there, I had to asked about "What happened to the welcoming with cocktails?" Then we needed to use the rest rooms, as we just came on a bus that doesn't have a toilet and it was 1.5 hrs of a rough ride; and when we got to the rest rooms they didn't have toilet paper, I mean non of the bathrooms male or female had any toilet paper. When I asked the reception they said " no toilet paper" very sorry about that " then they explained is because it is "OFF Season" we couldn't used our room's toilet because it wasn't ready until 4pm. We got there at 12:30pm. We managed to book 3 a la cart restaurants, we missed one, because we got our beach towel stolen the very next day after we got it, and I had to deal with the person in charged of security and he took awhile to come and see me to take the info about the issue. The second a la cart was the third day of our vacation and it was supposed to be the seafood restaurant, my fiance order pescado frito con arroz, (fried fish and rice) she thought it would be a full fish with fried rice and she was disappointed as the portions of fish were two tiny pieces smaller then sardines and maybe a quarter of a cap of rice. I order a tariaky pasta with beef, but it turned out to be very salty, all I could taste was salt, couldn't finish it. We end up leaving to the buffet restaurant to eat there, this turned out better. After this experience we didn't bother even to go to the third option. One day the beans at the buffet were not cooked well, hard to chew, other day they were spoiled and sour. I know Cuba is well known for the luck of taste on food, but this was for me one of the worst I had, and I being to many parts of Cuba a total of five times. This is rated 5 stars on the website, but I don't believe it should be, more like 3.5 *** The cleaning ladies were Awsome, the servers at the buffet were great, the bartenders were also great, the manager of the resort Israel came around after my complaint about the toilet paper issues, the beach towel incident and he turned out to be a nice and decent guy. I guess he found out that we were celebrating 5 years of our anniversary and he sent us a cake to our room, the third night we got there. We made some connections with a lot of the stuff members at the hotel and by the end of our vacation we enjoyed our stay. We made the best for what we had of our experiences.

Visited from May 27 to June 3. My husband and I spent a wonderful week at this beautiful resort. Received a most friendly welcome by Israel. Check-in was quick, being only two of us. Beach: Perfect – wide, fine sand, no weeds, miles long. Plenty of palapas and chairs. Room: Ocean front, modern, roomy, meticulously clean, all in excellent working order. Love the screen door, enabling us to hear the ocean and get fresh air. Room numbers are lit and easy to find at night. Pools: Looked nice, but not used, since we prefer the ocean. Hotel Facilities: Well-appointed, easy to get around. No steps to trip over (great for elderly guests). Wide and well-lit walkways. Common areas are kept very clean. Food at Buffet: Simply delicious. Wide variety. Food could have been warmer, and coffee better. Bars: Quick, efficient, friendly service. Coffees were delicious here, especially the Spanish. Landscaping: Lovely - gardeners are doing a fine job. Special mention: A sincere “Thank You” for the special attention and perks given us on the occasion of my husband’s birthday. Thank you to the pastry chef who baked the most delicious birthday cake, for the bottle of wine, etc. One negative: Music (if you can call it that) at the beach is way too loud and irritable. Base is too heavy, and could be heard far away. Why not play your beautiful Cuban music and songs? We loved your show and songs on Cuban day! Once again, sincere thanks to ALL the wonderful people: waiters, waitresses, cooks, bartenders, cleaners, gardeners, etc., who made our stay at your resort a happy and memorable experience. Would we return and recommend this resort? Definitely!

Resort in need of LOTS of maintenance. Rodents in rooms, broken plumbing everywhere. Safe in my room didn't work (which I reported twice). Towels in rooms never laundered. Dont know if understaffed, but nothing really got fixed in the week I stayed. Food was meh, so was the booze. The simplest cocktails only. Not even a Mojito some days. The pool was nice when clean. Beach was pretty.

The amenities in the resort were 5 star. I had hot water. The room was excellent and we received toilet paper, towels and water daily. I got turned around on my first night and ended up at the resort next door and Dariel Gonzalez came to my rescue and helped me find my room. It was truly a wonderful resort and I would highly recommend it Cathy wheaton

I was very pleased with the resort, I had a great experience starting at the check in at the Lobby Jose Sarduy was very helpful changing our hotel to the ground floor with no complaints about the room just easier with my friends bad foot to do all the stairs. The security was great on the beach and all the staff were very friendly. Buffet servers were very accomodating and housekeeping was excellent.

The food was actually great tasting and had variety. The service workers were wonderful Jose at front desk, Karel in the sports bar, Elaina in the buffet. They were usually low on toilet paper but we had just enough.

The place was beautiful, all the staff was amazing, the room was always cleaned so nicely, food was good, the beach was stunning. All the staff had a smile on there face and was happy to serve you, extra thank you to josé Luis and daykel Headley for making my stay so much better, the drinks were made to perfection

We loved the location, loved the view, thought it was well laid out. we liked the pools and the staff were very friendly and helpful. The food quality seemed ok, not as good as some other Cuban vacations i have been on, but since i have heard from other who were staying at other locations our food was poor. Keeping food safe was not the focus on this location. Some foods that should have been kept warm were not, some that should have been cold were not. My son daughter in law and myself all got food poisoning. I did not spend one day enjoying the resort and even were at the point of needing intravenous. No one from hotel or Sunwing spoke to us on our issues.

Beautiful resort and kept very clean. The beach was absolutely stunning, and the pool area was very nice as well. However the pool deck was VERY slippery. I was very pleased with my room. The food…well we know people don’t go to Cuba for the cuisine lol The bars tend to run out of a lot of alcohol and mixes needed for drinks. This was my first trip to Cuba so I didn’t know exactly what to expect and I was quite pleased with everything.

To be fair to the resort we had to cut our trip short due to a family emergency, so we didn’t experience all it had to offer. We knew going in there would be shortages etc, but seeing all the 4&5* reviews I chose this resort anyway. The grounds are lovely. We had a nice ocean view room with a king bed. Good water temperature and pressure for the most part. The bath towels were old and worn and they only gave hand towels every few days. One recommendation to the hotel is to provide a map of the report to its guests. Upon check-in we were provided no information on the resort at all. We even had to ask how to get to our room. We had no idea where the buffet was, where to get beach towels or any information on booking the a La carte restaurants. Another thing that needed attention was the lack of loungers around the pools. There were very few and the ones they had were broken. They did have plenty of loungers at the beach, but the beach was incredibly windy and not comfortable to sit at. They could have brought some of those loungers up to the pool area. Food was limited, but edible. No shortage of eggs or bread, but not a lot of fruit or salad options. Coffee was TERRIBLE. I have been to Cuba twice before and the coffee was very good. You couldn’t get a hot cup of coffee (even straight out if their fancy coffee machines) and it was like a cold sludge. In terms of alcohol, they had the regular vodka, gin, rum, but the mix was very limited. They didn’t have soda water or fresh limes. Mixed cocktails were out of the question. They continually ran out of red wine as well. They also turn the water off over night. We had an early flight and we were picked up at our resort at 6:30 a.m. We were unable to shower or flush the toilet. We could only brush our teeth with the bottled water and the dribble that came out of the tap. The staff were great and very helpful.

Best aspects of this place: - Grounds: Are gorgeous. Pools are beautiful. Beach is stunning and the most beautiful I've ever seen. - It is worth the bus ride from the airport. - Rooms: Are well appointed. Housekeeping staff were very good. - Sports bar: Is pretty neat. It made for enjoyable evenings. - Staff: Are fantastic. What needs improvement for this to be a true "5 STAR" resort? (1) The check-in process is abysmal. It is inefficient and frustrating especially after a long day of travel. Staff provided only one key card & a handwritten strip of paper with the room # on it. We had to request Wifi separately, AND a towel coupon. (Did not know this while at the desk.) All check-in information should be in a package, ready for visitors upon arrival. Should also be able to book a-la-cartes upon arrival, rather than wait in line for it for an hour every afternoon. (2) Food Handling Practices. Food safety training should be conducted with those who cook food. I observed, on more than one occasion, raw chicken being handled with the same utensil as cooked chicken. Several in our group fell ill during the trip, losing 2 or more days of their vacation. (3) Food quality: I knew there were shortages before I left and I knew what I was in for as I'd been to Cuba before. I won't complain about what is served when average Cubans are starving off-resort. There was always something to eat. However, two things in this area really sucked and the hotel management has control over these: FLIES > The only night there were NOT flies all over us in the dining room was a day when there were “very important looking people” circulating around the resort. So, 5/6 nights we were fighting flies while eating. FOOD TEMPERATURE > is always questionable. Hot things aren’t hot enough, food that should be kept cold isn’t being cold enough. This goes back to food safety, but it shouldn’t be hard to increase the temperature in the buffet stands. Also, the “a la cartes” served the same food as the buffet. Why bother? Get rid of these and set up some specialty spots, like a cigar bar, music room, or games room. (3) Management of the hotel: My room smelled like sewage one day after I returned from the beach, and I came to find out later that there was a sewage backup below me the day before. Why wasn't I notified or moved? Good management would have at least left nearby room occupants a note to tell them what happened and offer to move them. The cabanas outside the pool were popular – but VERY hard to land. Unfortunately, some guests were being greedy and claiming BOTH cabanas and beach chairs with their towels, making it difficult for some to find a place to land. Management should look for a method for guests to book spots, OR they should increase the # of chairs & cabanas. More English channels, especially news. The Russian propaganda got old pretty quickly. I won't be back, but only because there are so many other places to try. I really do hope that the hotel management takes feedback seriously, it is such a beautiful place but operating at 70% of its potential. A little effort will make it so much more!!

This was my 2nd time to this resort. I absolutely love it!! Beautiful grounds, very clean, rooms are large and beach is amazing. The staff is very welcoming and respectful from the front desk to the gardeners and everyone in between. The entertainment staff are fantastic and made some lifelong friends and memories. They are what keeps me wanting to go back. Great big shoutout to Angel, Billy, Alejandro, Leah, Jackson, Oscar on the entertainment team for the fun and their energy!! Also, to the great bartenders Osniel and Raoul for keeping us hydrated!!! Cannot wait to go back!! Definitely recommend this resort.

Great resort very friendly staff. Would vacation there again and recommend it too. Great beach. Water is amazing Food was great and plentiful. Very nice pool with swim up bar. Entertainment nightly and nice variety of bars on resort

Excellent beach, very good food, nice resort. We were not lucky, we got a very bad reception person when we arrived and the same person in the day of our departure. (no English at all, no knowledge). Also there was mechanical problem with water; it was shut off every night from one to five o'clock.

Beach: Stunning. Turquoise blue water, powder white sand, nice breeze. Pools: Nice, large, Chairs in need of work. You need to get one of the lifeguards to help you setup the chairs as they fold and they have to tie them in place. Food: Meh. Very repetitive. Even the a la carte menus were just ok. We always went to the buffet after as the a la carte serving sizes were quite small. Rooms: Descent. The louvre door to the water closet is kind of weird. I found the room spacious with decent sized balconies. Grounds: Very well kept by the gardeners. Bars: The one pool bar was closed all week. The others were pretty good. Drinks are made from a powder but still tasty. Lobby bar=Great coffee beverages The resort was only about 20% occupancy when we were there (very quite). At times our kid was the only one at the kids club but she really enjoyed the kids club leader (Maria).

During my stay at the Iberostar Selection Esmeralda in Cayo Coco in November 2024, I was impressed by the resort's dedication to maintaining a clean and well-kept environment. The facilities were impeccably managed, with the lobby bathrooms consistently spotless and the grounds meticulously maintained. It was clear that the staff took great pride in ensuring a welcoming and pristine atmosphere for guests. The culinary offerings at the resort were enjoyable, with a diverse range of dishes that catered to various tastes. However, from a culinary management perspective, I observed areas that could benefit from improvement, particularly concerning the organization and leadership within the dining services. While the dining room staff displayed exceptional dedication, courtesy, and hard work, there appeared to be a lack of clear guidance and direction from supervisory roles. This absence of effective leadership occasionally resulted in lapses in coordination and dining room etiquette, which, in turn, impacted the overall dining experience. Stronger and more visible leadership, along with proactive support from supervisors, would greatly enhance the cohesiveness and efficiency of the dining operations. Providing structured guidance to the team would not only improve the level of service but also empower the hardworking staff to showcase their full potential, further elevating the guest experience. The accommodations were excellent, featuring comfortable rooms equipped with all the necessary amenities to ensure a relaxing stay. Room service was attentive and efficient, adding to the overall sense of luxury. Entertainment options were varied and engaging, offering activities for guests of all preferences. The reception staff were exceptionally friendly and professional, always ensuring that guests' needs were met with efficiency and care. While the resort's remote location adds a unique charm, it also presented a challenge in the form of limited taxi services. Introducing readily available taxis either at or near the resort would not only enhance convenience for guests but also attract more tourists, making it a valuable addition to the resort’s offerings. A standout feature of the resort was its stunning beach, complete with pristine sand, clear waters, and convenient amenities, making it an ideal spot for relaxation. In summary, the Iberostar Selection Esmeralda offers a beautiful and enjoyable vacation experience with exceptional facilities and friendly staff. With enhanced leadership and coordination in the dining services, as well as improved transportation options, the resort has the potential to reach even greater heights of excellence.

My travel agent had been here the month before and her recommendation certainly proved to be right. The resort is amazing and extremely well laid out. I definitely enjoyed my stay and would definitely look forward to returning in the future.

The facilities were top notch, the staff were all very friendly and helpful. The food was better than expected and we always had more than enough to eat. The sports bar was a nice place to hang out in the evening. I would say I didn't enjoy some of the song choices that the dj's played in the afternoon... some songs had lyrics that were very inappropriate for a family resort but when I asked to change the song they obliged. We stayed for 5 nights and it was a wonderful time. There weren't any tennis rackets to play tennis.Our room for our family looked over the neighbouring adult only resort and they were very loud with their music, we probably should've asked for a quieter room but it didn't bother us enough to ask to change. Overall a wonderful relaxing time. I miss my morning coffee in the beautiful lobby bar and of course the most beautiful beach I have been too!

The rooms and hotel are absolutely beautiful. Beaches are excellent and you can take long walks. The staff were also great. The food in the a la carte was delicious at the buffet it was repeat of stuff and wasn't always that great but it's Cuba you always find something to eat. Our fridge wasn't filled once in the week but they did leave water bottles

The area was nice as well as the grounds. The buffet restaurant and the a-la-cart were everything you would expect. The two pools were excellent, however new chairs are needed around the pool. The chairs at the beach were much better. The beach itself was excellent . I just can't say enough about the staff. They were always there to help. Food was good for Cuba.

The area was nice as well as the grounds. The buffet restaurant and the a-la-cart were everything you would expect. The two pools were excellent, however new chairs are needed around the pool. The chairs at the beach were much better. The beach itself was excellent . I just can't say enough about the staff. They were always there to help. Food was good for Cuba.

This resort was absolutely amazing. I was so impressed by how well kept and clean it was! The room was absolutely beautiful and surprisingly modern. The food and drinks were great, the staff were all so kind and the beaches were amazing. There was a perfect balance of relaxation and entertainment. The “ Cuba day” was definitely a highlight for us! We will definitely be returning in the future.

This resort was 10/10. There was always lots of food. The room was comfortable. The branch was absolutely beautiful. All the staff was super friendly and helpful. Jorge and Wilfred were very kind and helpful. My family and I will be returning

This place was the right choice to spend time with my family, great for kids and the shows and food were amazing, we will definitely be back to this location as was more that we were expecting for the country based on past experiences

This resort exceeded our expectations. It was clean and had a modern vibe. Most of the staff were friendly and accommodating, with only a couple of exceptions. The food was surprisingly delicious, and we had no issues with power or shortages during our stay. I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend this resort and would gladly return. 5 stars

This hotel has wonderful staffs and the food served during our stay were good enough ! They even served lobsters on 1st Jan and was a big surprise! The new year eve animation was Excellent! However, the disappointments were the stained chairs, free access of flies on desserts and some foods and not too clean cutlery! Hope management take note!

Good experience!staff is very helpful. The salon staff is great. Beach is beautiful. Pool is beautiful. Location very picturesque. Beach is very clean. Pool is very relaxing. Drinks are great. Carry your own food.

The resort was nice but the food was terrible. The snack bar only had ham and sausage every day. The only other option in my 14 days stay was bacon on the last day. The food in buffet and a la carte was terrible. At the a la carte we found a fly in the cake and another table found a fly in the ice cream on another day. Stay away from this resort.

We stay in Iberostar Selection Esmeralda for a week in December and have a great time. The hotel is new, has modern rooms and well maintained ground. The beach is beautiful with white sand. The food is good and tasty for Cuba, pizza is excellent. The resort provides professional show everyday. The staff is friendly. Special thanks to Adriel who helped us with better accommodation. We will return to this resort again.

My husband and I traveled July 14th - July 21st.. A very clean hotel, the staff are friendly and very helpful. The food was above average. The beach is the most beautiful. Had an amazing time. Would suggest to everyone. We stayed in room 4222.Our room was very clean and comfortable. Air conditioning very efficient. Our cleaning ladies were exceptional. the resort, the pools and the beach area are so clean. Yes there are shortages but there is always a great selection of food and drinks.

Don't be fooled by the amazing reviews below. This is one of the worst resort to take family with kids and worst if you don't speak Spanish. I couldn't find a kettle or someone to warm up the water for my 10 month old baby. After complaining, they finally got me a coffee maker to get hot water (2 days later). Limited water bottle, one a day, so definitely bring water bottles on your trip and sometimes you don't even get them. Food was always repeated everyday and usually the same for breakfast/ lunch / dinner. Almost felt like they just reheated the food. There is no such thing as 24 hour snack bar. Our flight was at 10:55am, they made us check out around 6am to be picked up by the bus for 6:25am, well the bus didnt get there til 7ish. When we went to get breakfast from 24 hours snack bar, we were told that it was closed. Bed sheets and bath towels are so dirty, felt like they used the same one again. Just use your beach towels, which is much cleaner. Unless you know Spanish, workers don't care to treat you well. Majority don't speak or understand English. So hard to ask for anything. Any time you have a question, the answer is " I don't know". Definitely won't get a tour of the place or explanation on where to go for buffet, pool, restaurant or beach. You will have to find out all on your own. Do bring mosquito repellent, super important. Black flies in the morning and Mosquito at night. The only best part of this trip, is the amazing beach and also the exterior of the hotel is beautiful Overall, worst trip and will never recommend this place to anyone.

We had the best time at Iberostar Selection Esmeralda. Specifically, the staff couldn’t have been better. The entertainers (Jackson, Billy, Yaris, Alejandro and Angel). The staff in the buffet went above and beyond as well. Would highly recommend this hotel for a great time, great beach and great memories!!!

This has been our 4 th time to Cuba This resort is our favourite by far despite all the shortages I heard about we did not experience any The food in Cuba is always a hit and miss but there was always something to eat and it was decent they have 4 different restaurants as well to chose from which were good The staff is amazing especially the entertainment staff angel and aliandro The concierge Danny(skinny) was a huge help and can do anything for you helping on day trips or simple things you may have forgotten I will return to Cuba again and this will be my first choice

The accommodations were great and the service was fine. There is however a list of "not so good" 1. The specialty restaurants were not impressive. The service was fine but the food was basically the same as the buffet. 2. The food in the buffet was largely unidentifiable. Labels would have helped a great deal, and anyone with allergies was certainly at risk. 3. Breakfast was great, eggs, toast and coffee. 4. The rooms were large and well laid out but there was a lack of towels which were not changed very often if at all. 5.Name tags would have been nice and would have allowed a more personal interaction. 6. Most of the staff had little knowledge of English so it was difficult to get directions or information. 7. We never knew were meals were available and the entertainment was limited but what there was good. The dancers were very good.

The hotel is gorgeous, the staff are great! You will never find such beautiful beaches/ocean. Please feed the cats & abd 3 dogs that roam the resort more in the evening. Please be kind to the hard working staff that do the best they can with what they have.

I write this knowing that Cuba is under embargoes from the USA. However, we are use to certain standards as travelers to Cuba. I have been to Cuba 7 times and would go back....when things get better. The weather was great, the people and staff were very welcoming. The food was typical Cuban in nature. The lack of beef and eggs was something new for us. The lack of international drinks was very disappointing. I'm not a big drinker, but I use to get a better variety of drink options. This is a new resort(open two years), so everything is new and fresh. We are use to staying at European owned resorts that get the good stuff. That's why we didn't mind paying a few bucks more. Cuba is still a wonderful place and I will be back when it gives me more bang for my buck. Air Transat and Trip Central took care of us, as well as Ibarostar Esmeralda.

Pools are nice, beach is beautiful, rooms are great, grounds are clean, staff is Ok but the food is awful. Lack of variety is one thing, but whatever you do have, can you make it tasty? Bring condiments from home. You get what you pay for. Although I got a nice tan. ?

Great trip would go back to the Iberostar selection Esmeralda the staff was amazing to my mom n I I definitely would return the beach was clean n we also found beach chairs to enjoy the blue green water

The resort is far from airport. Unfortunately food shortages and not much food at all no eggs no pop. Bring a lot of snacks with you. Rooms where nice. Ac worked great. Staff was friendly. Grounds are beautiful. Beach is nice.

Water was out for days and when we arrived at airport we were told there that we were being taken to another hotel. We did not get to experience the Iberostar nor did we get the ocean view room we had paid extra for. We were taken to Ville Gale Paredon - on ground floor. Beautiful hotel and room, however and beach. Long lineups and food was just ok.

If you're looking to relax and do absolutely nothing, then this is the resort for you. I always had a full meal. Breakfast, lunch and dinner. But you need to ensure that you get there on time because mid lunch/dinner there isn't much left. I brought my condiments with me (ketchup, salt, pepper, mayo and hot sauce) since they are lacking resources in Cuba. This is essential if you want a little flavour. I did do this trip solo which allowed me to do everything and nothing. Note: this resort is mainly Russians. I did not have toilet paper the first two days, so please make sure you pack the BASIC essentials, they came in handy. The beach was stunning. I spent everyday after lunch there, it was cold because of the wind, but it wasn't a bother. Overall, I had a great experience.

We flew in from Calgary to Cayo Coco, but upon arrival at our room, we were dismayed to find no towels, water, toothbrush, and a broken locker. Despite multiple requests to reception, no assistance was provided. The following days, towels were delivered but remained unchanged for the entirety of our seven-day stay. Additionally, we only received two bottles of drinking water for the entire vacation, making access to water incredibly challenging. The lack of tap water for two days compounded the issue, leaving us without essential facilities. We kindly request that tripcentral administration refrain from cooperating with such a poor hotel. Our vacation was ruined, resulting in a significant waste of money.

Hotel was very nice considering food shortages in Cuba at present time not bad service was horrible no face cloths or towels all week along with no toilet paper last day was spent with no running water for whole resort very dissappointed

Big problems with the food supplies. The drinking water was missing, the alternative glass bottles was stinky as a hell, as well the water itself was very chlorine taste. The cola was missing as well. The food was nothing special, below the average. The beach was good, but a lot of plastic thrush at the sand.

Overall we were pleased. Newer hotel , quite clean and neat. 3 beautiful pools and access to a beautiful beach with incredible turquoise water , friendly staff. Lots of places to walk. It would be good if there was a shorter route to the beach, maybe from the two closest buildings, kind of like the path to the serenity pool from the closest rooms there. There was entertainment in the evening, and occasionally in the afternoon. There are shortages in Cuba so some days there were no eggs and others no bread, but there was enough reasonably good food to eat, wine at lunch and dinner, beer and lots of rum. I would not take a picky eater kid anywhere in Cuba at this time. Toilet paper was mostly not available in the public restrooms, always carry some with you. We always felt safe. Scheduling of entertainment was confusing, and might have been changing day to day due to the current issues. I would suggest a Chalk board in the lobby area that can be changed as needed. I would like to see a bit more focus on afternoon and morning activities(water aerobics, bingo, learn to line dance...). Love that you can tip in CAD. We had a toilet malfunction in our room when we arrived which was fixed promptly. There were no beach towels, bathrobes or slippers in our suite as advertised.

Stunning beach and ocean, new resort nicely designed, specious room with ocean view. Cuba is in trouble now so food and drinks were not impressive, no fresh fruits, no fresh juices, very limited food selection in general. It was Russian flag in front of resort but no Canadian flag. About 80% tourists were from Russia.

Resort listed as 5 star, trip was all inclusive; after being there for 9 days, I feel it certainly isn’t 5 Star. We did not receive basic items such as toilet paper, bottled water, bed coverings, clean towels or linen changes for the entire stay. Food was limited but not terrible, alcohol drinks were very limited in selection, no soda to mix with drinks. Customer Service office was very welcoming and would write notes of what we needed, telling us they would look after right away. They would not do anything one you left their office. Sign up for a la cart meals was scheduled to begin 9 am each day for the evening meal but some how the list would be full by the time we signed up at 9. Then when I complained I was advised the rules changed and people could book all their a la carts upon arrival. However this was never made public to those already at the resort. Very poor signage of events, times, schedules to occur over the week.

Some issues but overall an excellent time. There were some management issues towards the end of my trip which may be more impactful for the next wave of guests, but only made a small impact on my stay. The story I heard was that half the staff was fired ~2 days prior to the end of my stay, this resulted in the a la carte's being closed, the spa being closed (inspection issue?) and a noticeable decrease in house keeping Biggest concerns: Supply issues... mainly regarding water bottles in my 7 day stay I only received 2 water bottles... which, as someone who has abstained from alcohol for years was quite troubling.. but it was fine... I slummed it with beer and Rum and had a time of it The ongoing supply issues were exacerbated by the lip service of hotel staff, "oh no, we'll get that sorted right away sir." ... it never was.. and repeated complaints always yielded the same lip service. I understand the problem with supply issues, and was quite patient in that regard, but I really could have done without the lip service that never yielded results. Food: I don't recall having a bad meal, very good overall. At the start of my trip they had no eggs, they were using pre-prepared presumably powdered eggs, which was fine. I tried it once and had no real complaints.. but stuck with the cereal option for breakfast -A la carte's were a pain... booking was only done in the morning for the same day (unless you pulled some strings with the management), and even then it filled up VERY fast. This was also a major issue in regards to the management problem mentioned above, the last two days there were no a la carte due to staffing problems. The a la carte's themselves were quite unimpressive... very limited selection and VERY slow service. In the two I tried it took ~1 hour for the food to arrive, luckily I had a book with me. The food wasn't of much higher quality than the buffet, which was quite annoying considering the time taken to prepare. Would not recommend. Beach: Fantastic, easily the highlight of any Cuban vacation, especially in the Cayo regions ..... the only complaint would be the other guests... specifically the fact they do not clean up after themselves. I would often find bottles, glasses, cigarette butts, etc littering the beach. Room: Small but functional, which suited me just fine, I'd rather not spend my time in my room. I opted for an Oceanview room and was VERY pleased with the result. The walls seemed quite thick as I did not hear my neighbors... very nice. Housekeeping staff were extremely pleasant and a personal highlight, as my housekeeper was the one who went out of her way to provide me with my much sought after water. I didn't see her on my last day, I hope she is still employed there. I haven't travelled to Cuba since just before Covid struck, and was quite surprised by the extensive free Wi-Fi coverage. A very unexpected and welcome bonus. .... though personally it was a little soured at the end... the Wi-Fi control is apparently automated elsewhere, so when it was time to check out, I was kicked off the service. Normally this wouldn't have been a large issue, but I was in the middle of trying to resolve a problem and was quite urked by the sudden loss of internet.... to make matters worse, my check-out was the standard 1200.. while my departure from the hotel was at 1930 ( delayed to 2030) .. supposedly the hotel had an arrangement with Sunwing to circumvent this problem... but... no... hopefully they resolve that in the future.

This was definitely not a 5 star resort but we def had a 5 star experience! Beach is absolutely stunning, much work needed to clean up a lot of the rubbish washed up from storms just beyond the resort. There were toilet paper and bottled water shortages but we didn't let that get to us, many guests were very upset about this. We went with our 8 month old baby and the staff provided us with crib and high chair in our room (no cost). They also made sure to set aside water for our baby. My husband and I drank the treated water on the resort with no issues. Food was really tasty, always fresh fish for the grill, steak or pork freshly grilled as well, rice, pancakes and eggs for breakfast, lovely breads, desserts, salad bar, cheeses, guava, papaya, bananas and more (a baby's feast)! The hospitality of this resort was impeccable! Guest services were amazing, wait staff, maids also incredible! Rooms are really nice with sexy showers and our room overlooked the stunning crystal blue ocean. 3 pools were very nice also, a couple nights the music did get to us very late (finishing around midnight, pack your earplugs), as a tired Mom and Dad that was a bit frustrating but again that is also expected on a resort vacation. We would have gladly been down there too enjoying the night if we were baby-free. Overall we loved Cayo Cruz and the remote experience of this resort, it was exactly what we needed for some much needed rest and relaxation, highly recommend for families, we met so many friendly Canadians and Cubans!

I have stayed in Cuba numerous times and this was the first time I was staying at Cayo Coco/Cayo Cruz. The resort was beautiful as it was fairly new, the beach great but the lack of food and lack of customer service was definitely a disappointment. I know Cuba has its shortcomings due to their situation, but I had never been this disappointed. Tips were expected with not much service given. I will wait several years before going back to Cuba.

This hotel is absolutely stunning both inside and out. The grounds are beautifully maintained and the resort is super clean. The rooms are tastefully decorated and pools were lovely, always lots of loungers available. I can’t say enough great things about the staff. They went above and beyond daily for us. Always stopping and asking if we needed anything and how things were. They booked us in at the a la cartes without having to wait in the line. Entertainment staff were amazing and had us participating in all activities around the pool Daily and the beach party in the final night. Even the food was great. I am a picky eater and I could find something to eat at every meal, hot dogs , hamburgers , French fries, pasta, fresh fruit, eggs, bacon beads and pastries…

We arrived at 8 pm, about 90 min drive to resort area. We were dropped at the wrong section, even after informing the bus driver. Front desk staff were welcoming until they determined we were at the wrong side m, our welcome beverage were taken away and we were told we would have to walk along the road to the correct side. We refused so eventually a got a ride on the golf cart from a very friendly staff member. Newer resort, easy to navigate, some nights they had outdoor lights for the paths, some nights there were no lights. Room was a good size, toilet flushed half the time. Had hot water all week. Towels and sheets were mouldy, difficult to get fresh linen even though resort was mostly empty. We stripped all the linen off the beds and placed in a pile, bed sheets were replaced, Food was the same everyday for lunch and dinner, would be nice to know what you are eating for allergies. Staff didn’t seem overly happy to be working, there, staff asking us to get them lunch from the buffets daily. Why doesn’t the resort offer food for their staff. Definitely shortages on juices and pop. Staff would only provide beverages with alcohol at the bars, if you wanted only water or juice they told you to go to the restaurant (restaurant open 7-10 1-3 and 7-10) Entertainment was in the lobby , good effort but a little disappointed. 24 hour lobby bar often closed at midnight??. Beach is beautiful, you can tell that is the reason people come to Cuba. There was staff cleaning the seaweed off the sand daily. We booked a pool view room at the adults only pool that had children most days. Pool loungers and cabanas could use some maintenance, cabanas had dirty sheets on them all week. Check out is 12 sharp, we had someone at our door at 12:03 telling us to get out of our room now, I asked for 5 more mins to just finish up and they said I had to pay them $11 if I wanted 5 more mins , so had to finish packing in the hallway. Overall this resort was a little boring, nowhere to go once you get there, too far away from the airport for our liking.

Overall I had a good time but that’s because of the people I met. Beach was nice very clear water. The biggest problem was the food. Lack of options and the same stuff almost everyday. I had no eggs for the entire week. There’s no soda at all. Only drinks were water,mango juice, guava juice, and beer and whatever cocktails. Service is very slow, when I needed something it would take few phone calls to get someone to come or no one would come. Unfortunate because it’s a nice looking resort. I don’t blame them for not having huge option because of the economy but I would not return for that and because of the service.

We chose this resort for the location as we wanted to do some fishing. Resort itself is fairly new and clean. Not much in the area to do outside of the resort if you are looking for an excursion. They had almost no alcohol (beer and sometimes wine), so we bought our own at a local store. This wasn’t a big deal as we weren’t really there for the drinks anyways. Food was as we expected, pretty much the same items on the buffet each day. Eggs one day but other than that, mostly meat, bread and cheese. For what they did have, it was decently cooked. We had no hot water the first four days that we were there. Each day that we complained we were given a different excuse (runs on solar, it’s the breaker, etc.). It didn’t seem like anyone cared to fix the issue. Then one night we had an accident and got the sheets dirty (lady problems). We returned to our room to find that we were locked out. Upon going to the front desk we were told that we had to pay $20 for “special laundry services.” We spoke with guest services and told them we would pay on check out. The next day we were out and once again returned to our room to find that we were locked out. Went to the lobby and was again told to pay the bill. We found this extremely frustrating as no one cared to fix our hot water but yet they demanded payment for a sheet immediately. We didn’t care about the money but was the principal of the fact that they went so far as to lock us out for payment when we didn’t have basic amenities. It took us about 3 hours to have this issue resolved and it was only resolved once other guests also chimed in that that also didn’t have hot water. We also saw another couple get charged for a dirty bath mat which seemed a bit ridiculous. The managers at the resort are useless and seem to have zero authority to make any decisions at all. Overall the guest services staff and Jorge in the lobby were excellent and extremely friendly and helpful. The resort was also about 99% full of Russian tourists who the majority of were quite rude and cut in line at the buffet and would steal booze from the bar staff. The Cuban staff seemed to be very frustrated with them as well. I would say that this resort it’s definitely not a 5 star, probably more like a 2. If you come here it’s not for the amenities, it’s for the beach and location.

I am not the only one complaining from pain caused by the lounge chairs scattered throughout this resort along side of the pool & the chairs by the ocean even worse. Had a great time other than having to come back and straight off to the doctor. Sciatica pain in BOTH legs, very unfortunate, started day 2. URGENT****** THIS RESORT NEEDS TO INVEST IN NEW LOUNGE CHAIRS.

Our 2 week stay was from Oct. 28th to Nov. 11th, 2023. First of all, Iberostar Selection Esmeralda in Santa Cruz is a beautiful resort and the staff do their best to please all visitors. My wife and I stayed in a suite in building #5 which was fantastic. A bedroom with a spa, shower, bathroom, and a television. In the livingroom was a sofa, chairs coffee table, a second television, and another bathroom. There were patio doors leading from the bedroom and the livingroom which gave us private access to two balconies where we could sit and relax outdoors. The only problems that we encountered in our suite was we had to get them to change the batteries for the safe 3 times, unblock one of the toilets, and change a battery for one of the TV remotes. There were only two a la carte restaurants open, Cuban and Mediterranean. Both located at the same restaurant. We went once to each during our two weeks. The buffet is where we ate regularly. The first week there was a reasonably good choice of food, including fish at several meals. The second week the choice of food was not as good as week one. For the two weeks we were there, no eggs were served at breakfast. Also, a couple of times they had no bread or butter. In the buffet and at the lobby bar, they seldom had white wine. In the buffet, on one or two occasions, they had no white nor red wine. We would like to express our thanks to Reinier Baez a waiter who tried his best to take care of our needs. He does his best to serve his customers and to make everyone feel welcome. On a regular basis they were missing small bottles of cola (for rum and coke) and pineapple juice for pina colada. In the lobby, on one occasion Genny was able to get me two cans of Pepsi. At the small pool, Junior (the bartender) took care of our needs during our first several days and we would like to express our thanks to him. We stayed at the small pool for a part of our first week only. The chairs around the pool were not comfortable and I ended-up with a sore back from sitting in one. The chairs are of poor quality at the small pool. The chairs at the large pool were of better quality and seemed to be newer, so we spent a lot of time there. To the best of my knowledge, there were no excursions available there. Two of our friends. reservation no: 66132995 in the name Edith Bouchard and Ghislain Hainault, also went with us to Cuba. In addition to our problems, they had a few other problems. After one night in their room in building #4 near the large pool, they asked to change rooms due to the noise (music) late in the evening. The next day they were moved to the room across the hall from our suite. However, the air conditioner didn’t work and maintenance was unable to repair it . A lot of time was wasted waiting for air conditioner repairs. The next day they were moved a few rooms down the hall. The only problem that they had in that room was the necessity to have the batteries changed for the room safe. Our friends spent a lot of time relaxing at the beach. It took several days before a cleanup was done at the beach. We paid for a 5 Star resort, however we don’t feel that we got what we were entitled to, so we are asking you for a refund of $500.00 for each person or credits from Iberostar for future stays at their resorts in Mexico or Dominican Republic. You may contact us at the following email addresses: Fred Bean: fred.bean@sympatico.ca Monique Tremblay: mot.tremblay@gmail.com Edithe Bouchard: edithebou1949@gmail.com Ghislain Hainault: hainault1950@hotmail.com

Easy to get to all amenities. Things all vey close together. I do wish there were more choices than just the sports bar to eat for when you are arriving late in the evening. Wish they had more beach huts along with more beach chairs, found that it was always full in the morning. Not much to do in the area as still developing. Only other tip is that if you are coming in on a late flight, prepare to be eaten by mosquitoes at the airport. If you can before getting off plane spray yourself with mosquitoes spray or cream. We had a great and relaxing time. Enjoy

Good people, Beautiful hotel, beautiful beach everything is brand-new but the food is not good at all, and there is no theater or hall for entertainment. They always run out of something. One thing for sure if you want to loose weight come to this hotel. Bring your own kitchen

Overall fair resort, lack of staff, activities, room service , beach is nice , no money exchange available, gift shop the size of my bathroom, and hardly ever open , nowhere to buy cigars , wifi always crashing

This hhotel was beautiful the grounds were impecably kept and the rooms were very large. It was very clean. All the staff were very friendly, helpful and willing to do whatever they could to make your stay a special one. Sadly the food was a big disappointment.. What you saw for lunch is what you got for dinner. Many times there was no milk. The servers did their best to accommodate us as best as they could. The mosquitoes were unbearable and you couldn't sit outside for being swarmed. Not sure if the hotel sprayed but it was very uncomfortable. If the food and mosquitoes could be itaken care of it would be a wonderful place for a holiday.

This hotel was so clean and beautiful - the pool area is the nicest one I have ever been to with plenty of chairs - cabanas for shade and built in lounge chairs in the pool. The rooms are very big - with a walk in closet - so impressed

the resort was the best the beach was beautiful the food was lol cuban style but we knew this i did see alot of shortages on certain things like no butter the whole week milk was hit and miss no jam or anything for toast but you didnt go hungy lol and the first four days were fly free then it was unbareable those bugs chewwed me alive and that was with spray i felt bad for the workers they were beating themselves like crazy lol and the distance from the airport to resort was a long drive not much to do but walk the beach and soak up the sun which was good for me lol wouldnt go back to that resort just becauce of the long drive to the resort and the bugs but it was a good trip

Just got back from a week at this resort !! It was fantastic. The beach was amazing ,our room was beautiful!! The food was a bit hit and miss , nobody went hungry, The lobby was great with some entertainment, the whole week was sunny , can’t ask for anything better than that ! Thanks for the lovely week in the sun !!

this resort was very new and extremely clean throughout. The rooms were clean, roomy and also well stocked with water, toilet paper and towels. it had an ironing board, iron , umbrella and a weigh scale.The only thing missing was a coffee maker which could have been useful.The mini fridge was restocked daily with water. The bed was comfortable with clean sheets and the cleaning maid was efficient and thorough. The grounds were clean with the ground crew , gardeners and pool staff doing an excellent job in keeping this resort clean. The public washrooms were always stocked with toilet paper and again amazingly clean. The buffet was average cuban food, better than expected as per previous reviews with most commodities on hand. No shortages of coffee, milk,bread, eggs, bacon etc. and the waiting staff was friendly and efficient replenishing your drinks and/or removing plates etc. The 24 hour snack bar had ample drinks, burgers, hot dogs, spagetti and chips when ordered. The staff did not bother us to change canadian coins and only did so when approached by us . We used only US dollar bills and exchanged them for larger denominations at end of or trip. The shortages people are talking about such as milk, bread ,mix were only temporarily and restocked later in the day or next day. In fact you could be missing a mix at one bar yet the next bar will have it. The weather was great, sunrise was beautiful, beach was spectacular with lots of loungers and shade. The best beach i have seen elsewhere. In closing, this resort is new, spacious but not large and extremely clean. i i

The reason I chose Cuba was for the beach. I have been to cayo coco and loved the beach so much. Not this beach sadly. The shore is short, It's not a wide long beach and not suitable for long walks. Just a bit away from the hotel, the shore was full of garbage. Beach chairs were not enough. People were fighting over chairs. Beach chairs were not comfortable one-piece chairs but rather old types with 2 separations. No fish, no sea shells. Just not the great beach I expected. Foods were bad as expected. I was aware of that. I didn't gobcuba to enjoy meals. Every meal was more or less the same at the buffet. No butter, no cheese, no yogurt, no beef, no chicken, only cured pork like winners and ham they call it beef patties but it was clearly not. Not the one you expect to see in burgers we know of. Being your own foods! Don’t choose this hotel if the beach is your priority. Also 1.5H drive from the airport. Not worth it.

This place was everything I except. With Cuba and supplies being short we did NOT go hungry or without booze. Plenty of toilet paper. There was nothing to complain about really. Go with an opened mind to Cuba and you won't be disappointed. Beach was amazing and the staff were pleasant.

The beach, pools were amazing! The entertainment staff was absolutely incredible. The food terrible… ran out of the basics, bread, eggs. Food not cooked. The service staff were ok but ignored people. Drinks were ok but not consistent at all. At all bars except the swim up. Bar tenders at pool swim up bar were excellent. Overall rating is a 3 but only because of the food

The buildings are brand new. Everything works. The food in April week though is hit and miss. Snack bar does not have much food. Buffet has good and weird food. Excellent fish but scarce on some food. Seems food delivery is not constant. Friendly staff. Beaches are amazing with lots of sun shelters. 1.5 hours from airport. So consider that if doing excursions. Staying at resort to chill great. Doesn’t seem to be good for snorkeling. Best hotel. Food as usual for Cuba

My expectations are not high when travelling to Cuba. I love Cuba the people and their beaches and have travelled there every year (sometimes twice a year) for ten years prior to Covid. First time back. I expected shortages and it is what it is. However I was disappointed in the 1 restaurant we had. Never opened at 7. Always a line up to go in, made it hectic when the doors were open. The food was a little below standard. Not enough tongues for food. They were used for every dish. Cross contamination..no milk, powdered milk which is fine they just need to stir lumps out. End of vacation no milk what so ever. I found lots of veggies to eat, meat was hit and miss and fruit was limited. I love apples so ate them everyday. No bananas. The flies were disgusting. On tables, in food, in glasses on table. Maybe try fly traps. We sat outside for most meals and no flies? Go figure…. As for the rooms, cleanliness for Covid, unfortunately our towels were never changed, I’m ok with 1 change while we are there but they just folded the wet towels and put in rack. One day half way through our holiday we walked in room and commented the cleaning supplies must have arrived because it smelled clean. The rest of days not much done. No soap to wash hands, which they have containers for hand soap, shampoo, body wash etc. all empty. Used our own soap which I expected. Was disappointed there was no hand soap in any washrooms on the resort. There was to be 3 specialty restaurants but only 2. No big deal they were good. Pasta was in short supply. The drive from airport to resort varies from 45 - 11/2 hours depending who is being dropped off at other resorts or picked up on way home. This resort will not be an option for my next trip. I will be looking to Cayo Santa Maria or Cayo coco my favourite spots. Tried something new but will stick with places I’m sure will be a 4.5 resort.

This resort was new but not managed properly at all. Like running out of sugar at one bar while there is more elsewhere..running out of wine and beer at different bars while there’s some at other bars. This is just managed improperly. Absolutely no condiments. None. Spoke to several people i met at the airport and those 3 resorts had all condiments. Why not iberostar Esmeralda? The a la Cartes are the same food as buffets..buffets usually had pork and chicken some pasta and rice . Some things i cannot describe as nothing had descriptions on them and looked foreign to us and not appetizing. Fruit….pineapple every day. Saw grapes one day and guava here and there..breakfast were the hardest to eat. Not a lot of variety. The yogurts don’t look right. The milk looked like the yogurts. Bread but no butter or any condiments as mentioned . They make great rice pudding! The furniture in the lobby is terribly uncomfortable as are the loungers but 2 of the pools. Like cannot lay in them uncomfortabe. Not sure what happened there. The loungers by the kids pool are comfy enough but the pool is 2 feet deep so we didn’t stay there. The mosquitoes are out in full force in the lobby. The sea weed was cleaned up daily but piles elsewhere..should have just taken away. Biggest issue was the actual booking with trip central. Be very careful while looking are resorts.. its deceiving. We booked what i thought was the iberostar Esmeralda Cayo Coco and that’s what it says in the actual heading when looking at resorts. But after booking realizing it was actually cayo cruz was not impressed. Talking to a few people there they made the same mistake;. Cayo Cruz in 1 hour and 45 minutes from the time you leave the airport to arriving at Esmeralda. Our bus stopped and one other resort which I’m sure adds 20 min to the drive.. the actual tour guide first said its 1 hour and 45 minutes long. That Esmeralda is way out there..and it was . The trip central girl said it as 1 hour…wrong. Worse i thought it was cayo coco which is only half hour away which is what we thought we booked again because of the headline under the iberostar Esmeralda .. wrong its cayo Cruz. So overall not impressed and will not return or book through trip central . One last thing big shout out to Christian at the buffet who has the nicest smile, very helpful and attentive.. many waiters and waitresses wouldn’t even make eye contact with people. The tables are not cleaned quickly enough and certainly not cleaned properly. They need to actually remove the placemats and clean under them after every customer ..the plates are not cleaned properly either and have grease residue..

It was a beautiful resort. The rooms were great. The beach was beautiful but if you want for a walk there was some garbage. We found that the entertainment staff was lacking. Not alot of things to do as we are so far away. The service was lacking as well. We already new about food shortage but we were able to find food to eat

For the most part the hotel and the grounds were well taken care of. Staff and grounds keepers were very polite and always greeted you. Sometimes you had to ask the cleaning staff to make sure the floors were cleaned, but for the most part they did a good job. Make sure to tip them the service will be better. Room safe locked on me once and A/C gave out a couple of times, the technician was not always available. The beach was absolutely AMAZING, one of the best beaches I've seen to date. Entertainment staff had music and activities on the beach which was nice. The beach grounds men did a very good job at cleaning up any washed up seaweed and tried to keep the sand clean. Food was pretty good, alot of meat options but not alot of vegetables. Also not a lot of fruit. But you definitely won't starve. Dining area could use a good clean up after each meal as sometimes the floors and table mats were dirty. The entertainment staff were great, very friendly and always interacting with the guests and making sure everyone was having a good time. Shows at night were pretty good as well, mostly when the guests were involved. Overall it was a good experience for a fairly new hotel.

Not sure why Sunwing and Iberostar are rating this a a 5 Star. Although the hotel is new, the beach amazing and the staff incredible, it lacks on other things that are very important. The food and also only having beverages for some. I personally don’t drink during the day but I do enjoy a glass of wine in the evening, and throughout my whole stay there was nothing but rum and vodka! I honestly thought that people paid a premium for March Break and expected some pretty basic things such as butter, jam or milk for the morning cereal. I understand that Cuban people are going through a really hard time, this is a Spanish owned resort and they cannot be rating this a 5 Star when they are not. charging their guests Premium Rates and expecting us to accept it because it’s Cuba! Not impressed with the Iberostar or Sunwing!!

This is a newer resort the rooms clean ,bed comfortable and everything works. The resort is well lite up at night. It's is very clean. Majority of the staff are younger and provide resonable service.The lobby bar staff quickly get you your first drink but are a little slow on the second even if you are tipper. Thr bar assistant manager was very good.But some of the staff work 8 and 10 hrs the bar staff work 12. The staff travel 2 to 4 hrs a day each way. Very long days. The beach is beautiful and raked by hand lots of loungers and shade.The beach boys are quick to find you a place. Beach bar staff very good. The pools are very clean. The bar staff provide good service. The biggest issue is there's not a lot of shade. The snack bar staff are very good. On Cuba day very good food.I did ask for pizza one day at lunch and was told the wait was two hours. The buffet lots of food waiters and staff hard working. The down side was there was a lot of pork almost to much. There was ground beef and beef strips. No chicken until the last two days. Lots of eggs limited bread and no butter. Thete was s lack of fish also.There was no pasta until the last two days and it was only spaghetti dishes. The la cartes were terrible only the Cuban snd Asian open no Italian or Metterian due to lack of supplies. But service was good. There is a shortage of liquors such as tequilas , red and white wine. The entertainment was lacking in the lobby. We did have a piano player for three out of the seven nights. His name was Joseph and he is very talented. The Hobbie craft operators were excellent always approaching people offering there services. I never seen this at any other resorts before in the Carribbean. We did one excursion to the City of Camerey don't waste your money it's about $100 Canadian each. It is a long day over 4 hours of travel. The only thing I learned was the same bus beer in Camerey is one dollar not five dollars like the bus. Remember the two beer for five dollars they were still making money. This resort is a long way from anywhere it's not Varadero, Cayo Santa Marie, Holguin or Cayo Coco areas. That have taxis,buses,and some shops setup. But the area of Cayo Cruz is still under development.Ten more resorts in the works for this beach area. Thr WiFi worked very good everwhere on the resort. Lots of internet boosters around the resort. The resort quest was a mixture of Canadians from Ontario, Quebec and a few martimers. The majority of the other quest were Russian. The Russians kept to there selves. Only issues some are rude and try to jump a head of you in line. Only happen one day some drunkan ones made comments about Canadians. But I did notice extra security was around when the last plane of Russiand arrived. This is to Canadians try not to tip with our coins. The Cubans can't use them only paper. They want Canadian or US paper. They either use it to buy items on the black market or they take it to the bank and deposit it to there bank card. One Cuban had a bag of tips well over $500 in coin. We came back with over hundred dollars each in coin.We were approach numerous times by workers once they got to know us and we cashed some of their coins. I wish the staff had name tags very few had tags. It would be great to give credit to ones who stood out above the rest. Just to let people know this was likley our twelfth trip to Cuba and I like to give my honest opinion on these reviews. I use trip central reviews for our travel.I think over time things will improve. Rum and cigars aren't cheap anymore in Cuba in the tourist areas. Once again thank you Carol Webber for your service.

We stayed at the iberostar selection Esmeralda from Feb. 24- Mar. 3 After a long wait checkin was seamless . Our room was beautiful , clean , nice layout and a beautiful balcony . It’s a lovely resort , small and easy to get around . Staff were very friendly , everyone you past said “Ola” with a smile . The difficulties lies within communication . Huge language barrier with all staff, we learned this throughout the week . . The buffet was okay , nothing fancy , basically the same thing each day done a different way . When in Cuba no expectations work the best . Things for the resort to consider : Post when events or games will happen so one knows when and where to participate. A bigger exposure of the entertainment team through the day would benefit more participation . The buffet restaurant is beautiful however the system in place doesn’t allow great flow amongst the buffet . Lineups for egg station in the morning and lineups for lunch and dinner grilling is poor . Consistency in the drink preparation would be beneficial , what you ordered at the lobby bar differentiated from any other bar 🤷‍♀️ Overall this resort has huge potential , It has a beautiful beach and the ocean was fantastic . The people are kind and willing to help if only they could understand you . Every public washroom through the resort was spotless , one of the best I’ve seen . In advertising this resort please say it’s a one hour drive from the airport not 40 min. Overall with a few hiccups here and there ( no batteries in safe upon arrival ) . We had a lovely week and if it wasn’t so far from airport we would return

We thoroughly enjoyed our stay at the Iberostar Esmeralda Cayo Coco. The layout of the resort makes it easy to get around without too much walking, and still enjoy all the amenities. The pools, bars, restaurants and entertainment areas are all fairly close, and easy to get to.

this resort is new built and has all the amenities we needed. We enjoyed the gym with good selection of cardio and weight equipment and onsite free personal trainer ready to help out. three or four pools and all beautiful and clean. the beach is breath taking and the best part of the journey. it looked like a cover of a magazine and it was really hard to leave....make sure u bring sun screen and bug spray. the staff are really kind and friendly and we had the best time. the food is what you get for Cuba and not what we went for so we expected average food. everything else is extra ordinary and wonderful. one of the best resorts we ever visited. highly recommend.

We are a family of 3 and we’ve been to Iberostar Esmeralda Selection from Feb 19-26. The flight was operated by Off We Go, the first time I hear of them, and the experience was excellent, they left on time and arrived early on both flights, they served a full meal and they had decent departure and arrival hours. The hotel is on a newly open for construction island – Cayo Cruz. From what I’ve seen, there are only 3-4 hotels and they are building more. The ride from Cayo Coco airport to the hotel is 1h (80-100km), and you travel on a causeway with beautiful seascapes. The resort is new (opened in 2020) and consists of seven 2-storey buildings plus restaurant, lobby, gym arranged in a circle, buildings 3, 4, 5 being closer to the beach and with partial or full view to the sea. The check in was slow: although there were 4 posts, only one clerk was working, and I noticed during the week that somehow there were always guests at the front desk waiting to be attended. The rooms are very good, ours had 2 full beds, very nice shower cabin with ceiling shower as well as hand-held shower head, very good ventilation in the toilet room, sparse but effective furniture; AC worked fine. However, one of our 2 rooms had an unpleasant and stubborn musty smell, one had to keep the window open, but that was not a problem with the mild temperatures outside. No complaint about cleanliness of the rooms. One complaint about the noise, though. We were in building 4 which also has 2 small a la carte restaurants and a bar and is right next to the pool theatre were all the entertainment blasted their music and their games. Luckily the shows went from 3-4 pm and then again 8:30-10:30 pm. This was not such a big deal, but on several nights, there were loud groups of people at the nearby bar (right under our room) laughing until the wee hours. I believe that, due to proximity to hotel rooms, the bar should have been closed for the night. The food was good, I had read horror reviews and was worried, but it wasn’t the case. The roasts (pork, veal, fish) were excellent, and so was the grill. Also, the stews were delicious, including veal. Good selection of salad ingredients: cabbage (I had it with every meal) tomatoes, cucumber, peppers, occasionally lettuce. Excellent cheeses, I think they were all Spanish. The desserts were varied and very good: meringues, cheesecake, flan, choux a la crème, ice creams, all yummy and very tempting. The food was not abundant, they frequently ran out bacon and one had to stalk until it was replenished, only once were there fries and the lineups were huge, there was no butter nor milk at breakfast and no cold cuts, except for the last day, and one morning there were no eggs. One or two days the fruit were scarce. Anyways, we did not go hungry. What I didn’t like at the buffet was that it was crowded. They didn’t open it at the time announced but rather they kept people waiting 10-15 min at the door, and when they eventually opened, all servers were lined at the door and clapping as guests entered. I disliked that. I confirm what another reviewer said about the plates not being squeaky clean, but on the contrary, with traces of grease. The tables were not cleaned fast enough for the flux of guests coming, and also, if you went late, the service was slower. I do not imply that the servers were slack but rather that more personnel was needed. We booked 2 a la carte restaurants, Asiatico and Cuban, but we went only to Asiatico which was bad: uninteresting food (better at the buffet) and very poor service The lobby bar was very good, but I mainly got cappuccinos and an occasional pina colada and Spanish coffee and the bar tenders were nice and efficient. The beach is amazing, with fine white sand, huge swaths of beach to walk. It faces NE so one can see the sun rise from the sea. It also has sizable tides, towards 11 am it engulfed most of the beach. It was pleasantly breezy the whole week and there were waves. Towards the right, beyond the Valentin resort, the beach turns rocky and it was fun to escalate that area. Towards the left there are kilometres of wild beach, another resort is being built. Unfortunately, there is a lot of litter that accumulates in that area. What I deeply disliked was that people reserved their seats on the beach. On the first days we arrived at the beach between 8-8:30 and we literally caught the last seats. Next to us 4 seats stayed reserved with towels but empty until 11:40. Maybe increasing the number of seats and shades on the beach would sort this problem. Overall, this was a good vacation, very good hotel, very nice beach, good food, great relax.