This was a great hotel, food was excellent, staff were friendly, couldn't of asked for a better place.

The atmosphere, facilities were better than average, but the staff were awesome! The place is need of some maintenance as it is beginning to show its age, but overall, very nice indeed. If you're bringing young children, this is the place for you, but if you're seeking quiet time as an adult, you'll be disappointed- lots of kids!!!

The resort is large but easy to access all that you want. Rooms are large and mini bars filled daily.. Great eating areas for lunch as well as for dinner. Beef is hit and miss but great when it is good. No one will go to bed hungry that is for sure. Beach is lovely and the water is very clear. Pool is large but more shallow than deep. The cuban people above all are the most kindest and genuine people that we have ever met.

We booked with Luxury on the Beach back in the fall. For the most part, this promotion was a bit of a farce. Certainly it was promoted it as a reasonable chance to be placed at the Paradisus Rio Doro and if not then you would get Playa Pesquero at a "fraction" of its normal price. So far I have not met anyone who was upgraded to the Paradisus and PP was advertised for several weeks at the price we paid. Despite what I would consider questionable advertising, it was very, very good value for the money.

I was skeptical about the size of this hotel. I believe it is the biggest in Cuba but the hotel itself has evolved into two different sections. There is a large, active, family oriented end of the hotel and a very quiet, tranquil, couples end of the hotel. The two come together very nicely at the small Pueblo in the middle and hence the whole layout works well for families and couples.

We arrived in the morning and the registration piece was a bit disorganized. In the past, we have received registration packages on the bus, this was a bit of a free for all at reception but despite all of that, everyone got registered quickly, they were very accommodating with my room request and the best part was that the room was ready for us at noon, so we did not have to wait around to drop our luggage.

BEACH
The beach, as I have mentioned is divided by the wedding chapel. (There was a wedding while we were there and from a distance it looked very well done). The north end of the beach is sandy entrance, great for kids and this is where the water sports are kept. I could not believe the number of people crammed together on this beach but they seemed to enjoy it. We used the south end of the beach which was very private. The problem with this end of the beach is its rocky entrance to the water, but most adults can handle it (water shoes are a good idea) and then you have access to great snorkeling. Even further down is a river that has great rock formation. Unfortunately, we waited too long, the weather turned and then we were unable to take kayaks up the river, but I am sure it would be a great trip. Bring your own snorkel gear.

POOL
Much like the beach, the pool has a busy side, noisy with Crazy Cuban Pool Games and a quiet side. You can still hear the music but I had headphones in and found it quiet relaxing. The pool is amazing and goes on forever.

OUR ROOM
We were in block 54 and the room was newly renovated. It was cleaned every day, fridge restocked, absolutely no complaints. I thought the size was more than adequate and this was the standard room. The walk was not too bad but if you need a ride, they will gladly come and get you.

THE FOOD
I just can't say enough about the food at this resort. If you can't find something to enjoy at this resort then I think you seriously have to reconsider all inclusives. The buffet was standard fare, but certainly more than adequate. There are so many restaurant choices that you barely eat at the buffet. I could go on and on about the food we discovered but suffice to say, you will be happy with your choices. I had a tbone steak, done as I requested. I had some of the very best pasta I have ever had. They make a beer battered chicken strip that is amazing. And the new fish and chip stand is a big hit with everyone. The ice cream parlour is a perfect afternoon snack. The one issue we had was the line up to make the reservations. It took a good hour of standing in line and it really didn't matter when you went, the line up was long, so bite the bullet, get in line and when that is done, you don't have to think about it again.

DRINKS
The bartender at the Mojito bar is an artisan. OMG, I have never tasted better. The coffee bar in the main lobby is also amazing. If you like wine, I am sure you will be happy. We had champagne with all of our a la carte dinners.

TIPS, PROSTITUTES, BUGS and other CONCERNS YOU MAY HAVE
The staff were very friendly, accommodating, well trained and never, ever did I feel pressured to tip. I got the sense they wanted to do a good job out of pride, not for a tip.

Prostitutes? I cannot condone the exploitation of young Cuban women. There are definitely escorts at this resort, but unlike some reports they are not trolling for business and you aren't going to get beaten up by their pimps. It seems to be a pre-arranged agreement that these young women will entertain some of the male customers for the duration of their stay. It is not in your face, I probably wouldn't have noticed if I hadn't read about it first but nevertheless, what you permit, you promote.

It's a jungle, there are going to be some bugs. Trust me when I tell you I do not like creepy crawly things and I was fine. There are some flies and the birds do hang out at the buffet, as do the cats but it didn't bother us.

From an outsider's perspective I could not believe how wheelchair/stroller friendly this resort is. There are ramps everywhere, wheelchair accessible washrooms and rooms. I would say the buffet is still too high to accommodate a wheelchair but for the most part, if you required this kind of assistance this would be a good resort for you.

Lineups - except for the reservations, we never had to line up for anything...until the last day. All of a sudden, on the very last day, the resort hit 100% capacity and there were line ups for everything. I was just as glad to be leaving the next day because this would have changed the whole tone of the trip. I don't know how you can avoid capacity crowds except travel in less peak times. It is a trade off between all of the amenities a large resort offers and the then larger crowds.

Overall I would highly recommend this resort. It has something for everyone.

We had a great time and the only thing that would have been better if we had got to spend some of our time at Paradisius. We didn't hear of anyone that booked that package that got to go there. Our first room that they gave us should not be on that resort. It had an odour and was not kept up like the rest of the resort. After meeting a gentleman he told us to go back and get the gold bracelets because we had been there before. They moved us to a nice room and the rest of our holiday was all that we remember of Playa Pesquero. Great food lots of chairs and of course all the wonderful friendly staff. We had a great time and it is unfortunate that we got started on the wrong foot. We now know we will check our room before we take our luggage. The girl at the desk said we had a superior room.

We enjoyed most everything about this resort. It is large but easy to navigate once you find your room. There was no expectation of tips from staff and we found all of the them pleasant.