It wasnt bad. Rooms were very clean and well done.
The resort was beautiful.
The mini bar was not restocked except once in 7 days.
Some staff were exceptional. Others were absolutely not.
The food was average. No coffee in the rooms.
The biggest issue that I have is that I reached out to a manager by email about some bigger issues and I have never heard back.
The stay has been great. Royal animation is superb, enliven the stay and super entertaining. Special mention Nayvi and Felix, the liveliest of the hotel and best teach you to dance salsa
We highly recommend thos hotel, it was the best!!! wow!thank you paradisus for all the excellent services provided during my solo holidays, to relief stress and nerves is your specialty!! be back very soon!! yaya!!!loved Buffet breakfast and we enjoyed a lot Sakura dinners! you only need to book them in advance to avoid you lines!
A luxury holiday, thanks to the entire team of the Royal Service, return
In spite of having impressions of one of the top resorts in Varadero, our experience was anything but top notch. Average is what we would rate it. Average Staff service and entertainment (except under water show and rock band), monotonous a la carte experiences (except Sakura restaurant which kept us fully enthusiastic) , food quality was overall sub par, frustration of having to deal with every alternate day closing of evening buffet dissapointed us. Pool service lacking flavor and jest with very limited drinks options (Mint was a scarcity every day). Wifi availability only in front reception area and forcing to pay 1 CUC per hour for internet to connect with family/friends on bare basics.
as always lovely, the service very good, the staff always aware to help, the rooms very clean. Thank you all! I will definitely return
The claimed Royal service is clearly not available. I booked it through the Melia mobile application. The reception was held for three hours. The jacuzzi claim, and they are all broken. She dined in a restaurant, brought, instead of a ribeye steak, a piece of burnt meat with veins. If I knew what awaited me here, I would choose the new Melia International Hotel. I do not recommend it.
Very nice place. We are having a great time. All the people working here have been very helpful and kind. Thank you all very much.
It's funny everyone who I talked to before we came told us the food is no good in Cuba. We have not found this. The food is great. The buffet is well stocked with delicious flavors there is americano coffee at most of the stations. The bars are all well stocked with good liquor not just the cheap stuff but the good stuff.
Tonight we will dine at a Latin restaurant. We are looking forward to this very much.
The friendliness of the staff and their efforts to ensure that the guests are happy and satisfied should be emphasized. Therefor a big compliment to the hotel. The hotel is unfortunately in a desolate condition and does not match the pictures on the Internet. It's dirty and broken everywhere. The quality of the food does not correspond to a 5 star hotel. A no go in this price range! It doesn't help to say "for Cuban standards ..." because the price is the same as in international competition. The hotel deserves two stars at most. NOT RECOMMENDABLE.
(Guest from the Royal Service area pays over 400EUR per night)
The best thing about the hotel is the place the animation team is the best I mention nayvi yordan Alexis dj luisi isela osmel they all do an excellent job volvere
We have booked a suit and it looks like a roadside motel, the room smells unbearable humidity, bathtub with curtain, cockroaches, buffet food with Bari as long as you had to be cold hot and on the contrary, I am not to put complaints anywhere but notice in 15 days that we have and several hotels with the same stars has nothing to do
Once again in Paradisus Princesa del Mar and everything perfect. Reception girls and the rest of the staff insurmountable. I will surely return.
My time at princesa was perfect from day 1 to the last day. Weather was fantastic, barely any rain, the food was quite good which was surprising for me! The entertainers especially Alexis, Nayvi and Rigo were spot on. Alexis and Nayvi always made sure a volleyball game was going on and he even took me and a few individuals to play basketball. Rigo was a great dancer entertainer and taught me and my girlfriend Salsa (well me mostly because my girlfriend already knows how to dance). The beach bar staff (Richard, Marya, dairon and Marlon) were fantastic as well, always made sure I had a drink in my hand and made sure my family was having a great time! Altogether fantastic and would highly recommend people to come here for their time in varadero!
Hi guys! We are staying as a honeymoon in a hotel full of activities, joy and great entertainers, but I want to highlight an animator named Nayvi, she is a love, she has made us feel the Cuban rhythm at all times, she solved all our doubts about her culture and makes us enjoy every day we spend here with a smile.
Wow wow and rewow
The beach with sunrise since the hotel is almost on the tip of the island of Varadero
the suite in the royal area
Incredible spacious separated in two sections with 2 toilets large balcony beautiful view
Food at every meal
Perfect with acceptable room service employees everything was perfect amazing alcohol choice included
This hotel did not meet our expectations of a 5 star hotel in Cuba. It looks run down and the staff at the desk was not as helpful as would be expected. Food was not enjoyable. By far worst experience in Cuba to date
The hotel area is spacious and is almost at the end of the Varadero peninsula. The rooms are clean and decorated in a fine style. There is a daily changing evening program offered. There are various shops on the area.
The entrance with the pool view is a dream at first sight.
But: The beach chairs are contested and close together. The food operation is similar to a fattening feed. Suddenly a thousand people stream into a giant hall. Food OK. But bad atmosphere! If you can, spend the night in the "Las Americas" and go "just" for humeresses and for the evening shows in "Princesa del Mar".
Just sitting in the lobby on the last day of our trip relaxing with a margarita. We have had such a great holiday at the Paradisus Del Mar! So much bang for your buck ;) The beaches are beautiful and the staff is super friendly! A few of my favourites are bartenders Barbie and Laura and Entertainment staff Nayvi and Isela! They offer great dance lessons by the pool and lots of activities to keep you having fun. I would definitely come back to this resort especially for the price and people! :)
Excellent attention of the Cubans, good food, excellent beaches undoubtedly the best!
I spent a week and I loved the entertainment and dance staff, also the reception and folder were very professional, efficiency, respect, there was a lot of kindness at check-in, a 10, professionals, friendly, educated, made the stay very pleasant , with its activities and shows, also friendly waiters and dining staff.
Highly recommended hotel, spacious and clean room with incredible
views.
The buffet food is generally excellent and of good quality and the same in the case of the theme restaurants.
The hotel's location is unbeatable next to one of the best beaches in Varadero.
But without a doubt the best thing about the stay was the good treatment and dedication received from all the hotel staff.
I recommend it 100%
One of the best hotels you can find everything you need!
Entertainment is very good! Alexis is in a good mood and has explained a lot and the other guys who work there are very, very nice!
I highly recommend it to you! Mfg Serd!
The Paradisus Princesa del Mar Resort is a beautiful resort where you will find very attentive staff. It was my second time to this resort and was absolutely not disappointed. I am looking forward to my next visit.
Excellent service, very good customer service, various recreational activities very entertaining and fun I make special mention to Nayvi Isela Felix the best of animation and recreation
The problem is that they have no control over their staff
A waitress in building number 2 is dedicated to trick and harass passengers with the issue of changing dollars for cuc.
That is no way to interact with passengers
Waitress of building 2, floor 3
A formal complaint is under way
Awesome we have a great room great service loving it !!
It is beautiful, friendly people, we are trying very hard to please tourists. For sure!!! And some guests should do something for themselves then the Cubans are welcoming!
The facility is a little bit inconvenient (there is a cord that can not be connected) but it is easy to use as a whole and above all, the service of the staff is very satisfactory.
A true paradise, since we arrived we were delighted, the super friendly receptionists, fast check in and very efficient. The rest of the services a wonder. We will definitely be back.
Incredible place in Varadero ... practically next to the catamarans for excursions although somewhat away from the town itself, if what you want to see is Cuba and not a resort
Good food and practically at any time you can eat, although restauramtes have very limited places and except with a reservation of several days it is impossible to access them
in short ... paradisus
The 24 hour snack bar was great and if you don't normally take the time to book your a la cartes you are definitely missing out. Its like going to a fine dining restaurant and adds variety to your meals.The staff was absolutely wonderful The resort itself was the perfect size and good layout. It is located near the end of the peninsula best way to get to town is on the double decker bus.
Great resort, Rigo was the best with lots of beach activities every day and hosting activities at night. Very friendly guy
I was lodged in the Royal Service, excellent option to have a luxury vacation. Nice place with excellent food. Thanks to all the staff.
This is not a five star hotel. It's still a great time but don't come expecting 5 star anything.
Enjoyed the Paradisus Del Mar. Service good and staff friendly for the most part. The resort was clean and well maintained including the pool. The beach was excellent. My only reservation is that the buffet food was repetitious
An incredible stay with an excellent animation, we had a great time, especially with the animation team, Nayvi, Alexis, Luis and Rico, they have treated us phenomenally and we have enjoyed all the activities with them.
Food very deficient, if you do not take the royal service, Premium room not Premium and very exhausted staff so very difficult smile
good service, nice staff, very clean resort, I was very satisfied
4 stars for food, good beach entertainment, swimming pool, clean room, nice and courteous staff
The best thing is the people .. The Cuban people who give everything and more for you to enjoy their island .. The charm that has it all.
Thanks to all of you .. It was great.
Lots of dancing, laughter, and gossip
Beautiful resort, but a bit big. Not the best food, but great for Cuba.
My husband and I stayed here for 7 days in February 2017. We stayed in the Royal Service section and had an absolutely fabulous room with jacuzzi bath and a terrace with loungers and our own canopy bed directly next to a walk out pool and the beach was minutes away. Our Butler, William, was excellent and made our stay perfect - he made all our restaurant reservations, ensured we have everything we wanted was in our mini bar and arranged our personal tour in a Classic Car to Havana - he regularly checked that we were happy with everything. I would recommend this hotel / resort to everyone. The choice of restaurants was great and the food was very good. All the staff work so hard and were amazing and so friendly. Thank you to everyone who made our stay so special.
Great hotel, people have treated us very well, especially Nayvi. Very good person and great professional. Always with a smile.
Things to improve, the food.
It should be said that Cuba has a lot to improve in the service sector, so you cannot buy a five-star with Europe. In this case, the following has failed us:
- Room cleaning: late and bad: towels were never changed. Many times they didn't even clean the room.
- food: all restaurants are based on the general buffet offer. There is no variety and basic things are lacking such as the mango that they replace it by dropper or they do not replace it.
- Price: it is curious that the price is comparable to Europe despite being a developing country.
On the other hand...
- every day there was a night show
Conclusion: the only hotel that is worth it and is not disappointing is iberostar. Both in Havana and in dry dock.
Very clean and welcoming staff but buffet is disastrous except a la carte not so bad.
This resort is truly a 5 star and a pleasure to stay in! The beach was cleaned every morning at 7am, the workers get your beach chair out and lay your towel down! A short (double decker) bus ride into Veradero for shopping at the market is a must, as is the 2 hour ride to Havana. Get the personal tour in a classic car! It is now a wonderful memory! The butler service at the resort is well worth the extra bucks as well! I'd go back in a heartbeat!
DO NOT MAKE RESTAURANT RESERVATIONS ONLINE. THEY NEVER GET TO THE RESORT AND YOU WILL BE SCOLDED FOR SHOWING UP AT YOUR RESERVATION AND SHOWING EMAIL OF IT. WE WERE ALSO ACCUSED OF COMING FROM ANOTHER RESORT.
If you want an all-inclusive hotel and beach this is not your best option. Try better in Riviera Maya or Punta Cana. Poor food and service.
Do not get bored at the hotel, from early in the morning until late at night, in the lobby you do not lack anything for the good work of the staff of the bar, coffees and great combinations The very good breakfasts on More
thank you so much paradisus princesa del mar for tghe perfect stay, the rooms are very clean! we loved the chanbermaid service, they were espectacular!!!
Amazing place. Extremely friendly stuff, helpful and are there for you at anytime. Food is absolutely gorgeous. Place is clean and well maintained. My husband and I went there for our honeymoon, we couldn t chose better place. This was far best vacation I have even been on. We would definitely go back.
We were in this hotel three years ago, we returned convinced that it was the same .... but unfortunately they sell it as 5 stars and what is the food is shameful very little and little variety missing many things and they sell it as 5 stars and it does not give for more than THREE STARS ... A PENALTY THE GOOD FACILITIES THE BEACH EXCELLENT BUT I DO NOT RETURN OR RECOMMEND IT
Great resort and the best staff. Clean rooms with great service. Beautiful beach, good pool, and great drinks. It's an all inclusive resort. The buffet isn't the best so try to book dinner at restaurants in advance. Sakura restaurant was very good with the best food. Also, there's no wifi service and jacuzzis don't work.
Spent a week in the royal service rooms. Heard nothing but complaining about hot tubs not working in rooms better then ours. The service was awful. One server on the beach made you wait hours for a cocktail. Swim up bars are for show in the pictures. If you've been to a good hotel you know there's alot of fun to be had at the swim up bars...no such thing here. Food was good but repetitive like normal buffets. I wouldn't go back here. Whole resort just lacked service
One of my favorite in Cuba. Great staff, beautiful hotel, nice beach, good food, good location.
The beaches and the friendliness of the staff make it an incredible place. The sand, the pools, the drinks, everything first, they made us feel at home !! One hundred percent recommended if you want to spend a few relaxing days with a magnificent treatment. Its facilities in an open environment, as if you were in a town of exquisite architecture very careful. Thematic gastronomy included. You can hire excursions at the hotel. I can't find any fault. Great, so we look very promto to enjoy a more unforgettable experience !!! I recommend the place. Excellent service. Very beautiful. Spectacular location and construction, with perfect gardening (and lovely gardeners). Room spacious but improvable (curtains in high bathtubs, somewhat retro furniture), but overlooking palm trees with coconuts and greenery, compensates.
Fantastic staff
Great service, very attentive service, and with a few superlative animators, especially Nayvi, the facilities are very clean and everything works perfectly
Hotel of good quality and entertaining thanks to its animation team, I make special mention to the sympathy of nayvi, isella, jordan, alexis, luis and all in general!
The entertainment throughout the week was amazing. The different party themes and activities at different hours of the day made it fun and entertaining. The staff was very engaging and friendly. Each and every day I looked forward to one or more of their events. I especially enjoyed two staff members who took great care and pride in their work.
Very good service, it shows the shortage they have there. Even so spectacular that hotel.
Not really wanting to go back to Cuba as my first trip there didn't turn out so well, I was pleasantly surprised.
This resort was, by far, much nicer than the Iberostar we had stayed at previously. The rooms were clean and the layout of the resort was beautiful with the beach just a stone's throw from our room. The food was resort food and the drinks the same but the staff were great. Nayvi Montalvo was the best entertainer at the resort and made our stay feel very special.
Thank you and I look forward to going back again.
We are staying in princesa del mar in Cuba, and we met Nayvi from the entertaining crew, she made sure we have great time. She is a very good singer and entertainer, and cool person. If you stay in princesa del mar hotel , look for Nayvi, and you'll have great too.
Was not happy with this vacation. I wanted to leave by the second day. Front desk staff are of no assistance, room service does not exist. Had to sleep on a damp bed because no one knows how to actually listen there. I would never go back or recommend this place. Their Royal Service is what standard service is at any hotel or resort anywhere else. The only good thing about this resort was Jessica and Felix in the entertainment team. These two are amazing, they made the trip better for us. They taught us basic Spanish, how to dance and origami. Jessica and Felix were the best
De Varadero one of the best hotels in the area. Great people
We had a terrible stay at this resort. I wish I could give it zero stars. I read the reviews on the website before I went and it sounded good, but I just tried to post my own review and it said it needed to "be reviewed" meaning it will probably never be published because it says only bad things about the resort. There are no negative reviews on this resort's website. We paid a large amount of money for the Royal Service section of the resort, and we could not have been more disappointed. On our first night we got bites all over our legs and back while we were sleeping. We didn't see any bugs in the room before we went to sleep leading us to believe they were in our mattresses. Concerned by this we told the resort staff, who insisted they were just "invisible mosquitoes", but still recommended we see a doctor. These bites caused us discomfort for our entire trip. That morning we met another couple who had even more bites than we did covering their entire bodies. We were all already ready to go home. At his point we went to order breakfast. Although we know Cuban food does not have the best reputation we still expected some decent food given the price we paid. We have been to Cuba on several occasions and this was our only terrible experience with food and otherwise. On my omelette they poured a can of corn and a can of mushrooms. They said they had nothing else. When we asked for just a simple plate of french fries later in the day they told us there were no french fries at this resort at all. On Christmas eve we lost water in our room, and the Royal Service Manager, Maria, basically told us it was too bad, that we could go shower in another room if we wanted, and that there was no one higher than herself to help us. We tried to get into the other room to use the washroom because we had no other choice, and the key wouldn't work, which Maria then blamed us for. I told Maria I would wait while she got the water fixed in our room and she told me that if I didn't start whispering she was going to call security on me because she didn't want anyone to know that we had no water. I asked if she really intended to have me arrested for requesting water in our room. She treated us terribly, yelling at me and my wife and offering no apology. We understand that things happen and if she had just said to us "I'm sorry, I'm going to try to get this fixed right away" we would have been content, but instead she basically told us too bad and that we had to shower in another room or not at all. She didn't care about helping us she just wanted us to leave her alone. We will never return to this resort. The food, the bites, even the loss of water was tolerable, but the absolutely horrible way we were treated by Maria made this trip unbearable. We had never been treated poorly before in Cuba and were not surprised to find out that Maria was not in fact Cuban.
Beautiful place with very poor quality and terrible food.
It is a very nice resort. Impressive beaches. The attention of the Hotel is magnificent, they are always attentive to how you are. But the food leaves much to be desired, in the 7 days that I was there I did not find anything that seemed to me of quality. The meat is hard as a stone, frozen hamburgers, in short, in this sense a very bad note, but the rest is very good, the rooms are in good condition, clean and cared for. In general, I give it a good grade, but if you want to go to a 5-star hotel you have to pay for the real service. Outside of the actual service, I think it's a good 4 star.
Excellent treatment, spectacular entertainment staff, especially with Nayvi. The only thing that should improve is the food, in that poor aspect. For everything else highly recommended.
I especially liked the dance classes on the beach especially with all its animation team with nayvi, what I did not like was that I never ate at the restaurants because it is always full and in 4 days I never managed to book that is pecimo.
This was the first time my husband and I have been to Cuba. The grounds for the resort are very nice. Make sure you bring bug spray and after bite! There are so many mosquitos, it gets really unpleasant. We easily had over 50 bites each (that we know of). The resort is a decent size, but there are no direct paths. There are carts that employees drive and are able to assist with transport around the resort. It is right at the ocean, with easy beach access. The water in Varadero is very blue and gorgeous. The resort is about a 10 minute walk from the marina, where there are some little stores and restaurants. The resort is at the top of the pennisula, and there are no other stores or shopping areas near it, you would need to go to downtown Varadero or Havana. There are a lot of little shops at the airport when departing, and cigars are cheaper at the airport than at the resort. The rooms are average. We went in June 2019. The a la carte restuarants are mostly closed on weekends, so you only have the option of eating at the buffet. Two of the a la cartes were closed the entire time we were there. The buffet is closed on Tuesdays and Thursdays. The food itself was subpar, very repetitive, and very few vegetarian options. There is a snack bar that is open 24/7, but it frequently was out of stock of burgers, french fries, and often would only have ham and cheese sandwiches, but no vegetarian options. All drinks are from bottles and containers, nothing on tap. The staff appear reluctant to give more than one glass at a time, even when tipping them. The bars frequently ran out of main ingrediants such as pineapple juice and grenadine. They were unable to make pina coladas and a couple other drinks. The Cigar bar makes frappacinos (which my husband loved!). All the drinks really vary depending on who makes them. He had a frappacino everyday we were there, but it was always different. There is supposed to be a show every evening, but it often cancelled without notice. There are very limited options of things to do during the day if you stay on the resort. We got Royal Service, which included resort credit vouchers for special dinners, room upgrades ($400), drinks off menu, and the spa ($50). The drinks off vouchers are valid for $20 CUC, cheapest bottle of wine on the menu is listed at $35 CUC. The Special dinner vouchers are valid for a dinner in the gazebo or a special lobster dinner, for $78CUC a person. The dinner vouchers cannot be used for any of the additional costs on the menu such as lobster dinner in the a la carte restaurants. The exchange rate for CAD dollars to CUC at the resort was $1.39. The swimup rooms are not fully swim up. You have your unit, then about 15 feet from the room, you have a cabana, and then another 10 feet from there is the pool. Not quite what we thought it would be.
3rd visit in Paradisus Princesa del Mar. Enjoed our stay very much. We really appreciate meeting every year the same great staff again. It's like visiting the family. Special thanks to all our friends from animation, reception and restaurants. We'll see you again soon.
one of the best shots you can find in this place, from the check in, that although a delayed but very efficient poquin up to the delicious cafes of the lobby bar and the spectacular beach and wuay serve the workers !!! my familai and I return next year without hesitation and recommend this paradisiacal hotel !!!
Wonderful place and credible very good everyone's attention and quality
The resort is wonderful, the facilities are beautiful and comfortable. The large room, with a huge and very comfortable bed, air conditioning and a splendid bathroom.
The beach is beautiful and they have it very well cared for, one day we had the opportunity to go for a ride with a pedal boat. The pool is great, warm water and the bar inside, which allows you to continue enjoying the delicious cocktails they prepare without leaving the water.
I have to highlight the kindness of the staff, how delicious the cocktails are prepared in the Cigar Bar and how well the entertainers dance.
The least positive part is found in the food, of a lower quality than what we expected for a 5-star hotel. The very battle buffet and the restaurants aside, nothing special.
Evening entertainment at the pool very good but at night, quite poor, I expected a little more atmosphere.
Overall a stay of 10, highly recommended.
A stay of 5 points without a doubt, my wife and I enjoyed the luxury of paradisus princess of the sea, very commodas and spacious rooms, restuarante sde luxury cons ervicio quite fast, improve a little the quality and presentation of the dishes as well as the cleaning of the exterior areas, otherwise, all exceptional without doubts we return next year for a well deserved vacation !!!
A classification in luxury hotel one wonders how it is possible i would say this hotel is just a three-star hotel. First the aging room no hot water for four days, very noisy fridge, broken light bulbs, cleaning nothing wrong The correct setting, maintenance leaves something to be desired for a hotel of this so-called class. The food by no means worthy of a five star luxury: repetitive buffets very little imagination much canned product (yes we are in CUBA), the kitchen staff are friendly but not very organized: very slow. The restaurants with the correct theme especially Latino and Japanese, the staff smiling and friendly, small pettiness wi-fi is paid everywhere in the hotel .The beach is the most beautiful in Cuba is still full of seaweed and full of small pebbles, the canvas sunbeds completely broken (we are in a luxury hotel!). It is nice to say we are in Cuba there is much effort to be done in summary there is only the price which is luxury over 2000 for nine days from Frankfurt stays in the month of February.
Hello, my partner and I stayed at the Princesa del Mar in the Royal Service from May 19 to June 2, 2014. Our stay counted 13 days of intense Sunshine out of 14, the 14th being cloudy but very hot. (for those, like us, who are worried about the rain in May ;-)) We arrived at Varadero airport where a taxi was waiting for us as planned in the inclusion of the royal service. Arrived at the hotel, a cart transported us with our suitcases to the lobby (hyper modern) or a glass of champagne and cold towel awaited us. Always in a cart, we were taken to our room where a surprise was waiting for us, we were upgraded to a swimup junior suite with Balinese bed and Balinese shower (outdoor shower). All simply magnificent.
As for the concierge and the butler, it took us 6 days to find out who were taking care of us since they changed almost every day.
The rooms are spacious and very clean, Central air conditioning, whirlpool bath, dressing gown, minibar stocked daily, beach towel replaced in the room each day.
The food was very good, the Italian restaurant was good, the HillTop excellent, the miramar was my favorite very very good, the Japanese is undoubtedly a must by the chef's show, the Marseille very very good too. The gran teraza buffet was good but lacking in variety. The Port Royal restaurant, open for lunch, was perfect, a charcoal oven where fish, pizza and grilled meats were made, we had dinner there every lunchtime! There is also the rock cover for cravings during the night or the day ... very small but effective menu. Drinks: very difficult to get a good Pina Colada, everything else was ok.
The White wine. and the red wine were good, I expected worse ... The site is beautiful and very clean, the royal service pool very large and shallow but splendid. The hilltop pool is spectacular ... only catch, there should be a bar with music! The hotel nightclub was closed due to water damage so I cannot comment. The shows are very average, we found them rather ordinary. There is a private beach for the royal service without music unlike the regular section. The beach is beautiful but it is nicer in the hotels a little further down towards the village of Varadero. The staff are very friendly especially Alex the beach waiter, Lidivet our housekeeper, Abraham our butler, Mireylla waitress at the Cuban restaurant and at Sakura, Belkis and Yarris the waitress at the pool bar of the royal service and Sheyla waitress at the Gran Terraza buffet lunch. Don't hesitate to tip, Cubans work so hard in hot weather for very few pesos. I recommend this hotel (Royal section) for people who, like us, seek civility and calm !!! Have a nice trip!
Our overall experience was great, however, there were some inconsistencies that made things a bit unpredictable and therefore frustrating. There was no coffee for the coffee maker in our room for most of our stay and there was no sugar, cream, or milk left in the room ever. Granted, you could ask room service to bring those things to you but of course that necessitated tipping. Tipping is very much expected, as a matter of fact, things seemed to have been set up in a way that you would need assistance and would be obliged to tip. I found this a bit tiresome having to lug a bunch of change to the beach, to the restaurant for breakfast, lunch, and dinner time. The grounds and the rooms look decent, the beach fabulous. Maintenance is lacking, not to the point of disfunctionality but the furniture looks a bit tired and the floor tiles are blemished. Not a big deal for me. The food is OK. We tried two of the A La Carte restaurants. The Japanese was great, the food grilled right in front of you on the tappan table. The air conditioning blasted to compensate for the heat thrown off by the grill. I was freezing, my fault, should have brought a sweater. The Asian restaurant was a bit disappointing. The filet mignon was beef for sure but definitely not a filet mignon. Wine was available for $10 a bottle. No free drinks, unlike at the Japanese restaurant where you could order unlimited beer or wine. Did I mention inconsistencies... this was one of them. Our trip to Havana was enjoyable, however, a map of the city would have been helpful so we could find our way around on the leg of trip when we were free to explore. Cuba doesn't have a roaming agreement with Canada or the States so we kept our phone in flight mode to avoid exorbitant charges. Later I downloaded an offline map at the resort, hindsight is 20/20, it was a bit too late. Same thing in Varadero, no streetmap. The worst part of the trip for me that of the many semi-feral cats roaming the grounds some were obviously sick and most female cats visibly pregnant. This was most upsetting to me as an animal lover.
Facilities - 3.5 stars (a bit dated, but well maintained [Cuban style])
Service staff - 5 stars (all v helpful & fun, natural & not 'in-your-face')
Front desk staff - 2 stars (unfriendly, unwilling to help)
Food - 3 stars (Good, but little variation; difficult for GF or vegan)
Specialty restaurants - 3 stars (well intentioned, but really not on par)
Entertainment - 4 stars (good evening shows, animation at beach)
Overall, had a good time in this all-inclusive resort, good mix of nationalities, good vibe.
it was my first resort. to find better would only make me happy
I really enjoyed my experience at the hotel, all the staff always cooperated and showed a lot of professionalism and sympathy to their customers and wanted to give a special thanks to Luis, I loved the zumba classes.
I will be back as soon as possible.
Thanks
