Holguin

As usual, we were not disappointment at Playa Pesquero. It's ALWAYS a pleasure to stay at this resort.

We recently stayed at Playa Costa Verde with a group of 23 people ages 6 to 76. Some members of this group were returning guests to this resort. Everyone in the group had a fabulous time. The service was outstanding and the food was very good. Many felt this was the nicest beach they had ever been on. The only complaint was that they allow smoking in the buffet restuarant and lobby area. Smoking needs to be limited to designated areas and enforced. Would have liked to see slightly stronger covid protection measures; such as guests not sitting/standing at bars and a requirement to screen temperature and hand sanitize before entering eating areas.

We went to Fiesta Americana on Wed February 11th - Wed February 18th in 2019 and had an amazing time and decided to go back the exact same week in 2020. We were disappointed this year. Here were the pros from last year: -weather (only rained one evening for about an hour) -food was excellent (for Cuba's standards) with fresh fruit everyday, a person available to make fresh smoothies, even options such as brie cheese were available -not crowded, don't have to get up early to save a chair by the pool/beach Cons from last year: -broken chairs (almost all of them have broken bases which make very uncomfortable for lounging) -very slow service at the snack bar -ran out of all bread throughout the hotel most days -we were in the main block which was really loud This year's pros: -weather - above 30 everyday, didn't see one drop of rain -got invited to a 'special dinner' one night with 8 others (4 couples) where we were served surf and turf in exchange for a review... -great spot -we were in block 17 which was (in our opinion), second best block. If we could choose, we'd request 16. closest block that is not right in the centre of the action. We don't like being a mile away but don't want to be right in the centre of the action kept up late from disco music, etc. This year's cons: -they brought in over 1,000 local cubans for Valentine's day (Friday) and Saturday. It was awful because that resort cannot handle that many guests. Not enough restaurants, not enough food, not enough toilet paper, not enough currency. Just plain awful. Every food lineup was hours long. They ran out of most of the food at every restaurant (imagine going to an italian restaurant and being offered penne noodles with white sauce and no meat as the ONLY thing left on the menu). Many of the Cubans were rude and would quite literally push you out of the way and butt right in front of you in lines. Huge disaster. -currency was always out at the hotel. they wouldn't break large bills into smaller ones so we tipped a few times and then stopped tipping until they'd break our bills (tried 3 days in a row before they finally had smaller money) -the above mentioned problem trickled into everything else.... toilet paper was always out, food was always out, etc -almost every lounger is broken and uncomfortable. we got up super early to reserve 2 of the 5 good ones around the main pool Still a cheap trip with great weather if you can let go of the anger you face trying to line up for a simple drink or coffee. And if you're ok for a couple days standing in line for an hour before getting seated at a restaurant.

The hotel was beautiful but it was unprepared for guests. The whole trip from the time we arrived at the airport seemed like it they were not ready to receive visitors. I booked Royal service which was supposed to include Royal service transfers from the Airport, I was told at the airport that "this does not exist anymore". There was supposed to be Wi-Fi in our room, another inclusion in Royal service, but there was not, I tried to ask for it to be fixed, but they could not fix it. The WI-FI in the lobby was working sometimes, not always, I had to use my data plan to connect and even then the connection did not always work. The beach for the Royal service is very small and poorly kept, there was seaweed all over the beach that was not cleaned, big mounds. The Pool is also very small, it is beautiful but small. If the Royal service was full, the pool would have been over crowded. There is no swim up bar at the pool in the Royal service. The food was not good, the choices were very limited. The A la Carte restaurants offered the same choices no matter which one we ate at. The buffet was small and extremely limited. Our hot water did not work in our room for 3 days! We had to take cold showers! I have been to Cuba many times, stayed at Paradisus in Varadero, Melia and Iberostar, and this was by far my worst experience. We hired a taxi for the morning to go shopping, only to find out the market in town was closed, something the butler who arranged the taxi for us should have known. There were no activities, no shows, no WI-FI, poor food, poorly kept grounds, it was a very bad experience and something I did not expect when booking with Paradisus. One side note, if you do go to Cuba, bring small Canadian currency for tips, there is no way to change large bills, if you want to tip in Canadian dollars you need to bring small bills with you. I will go back to Cuba because I love it, but not to Paradisus Rio De Oro, I feel like I wasted my money, and I never feel that way after a holiday, I am very sorry to have to say this.

Fantastic, friendly staff. Small intimate resort. Decent accommodations, great 1 level cabins for mobility issues with 2 story 4 unit buildings for more agile travellers. 24 hr bar and snack available.

Nothing jas changed. Same place we started going to about 10 years ago. 5 star Hotel next door almost ready to open. Hotel is lacking things from time to time. If you just go to get drunk you will not miss much. If your like me and don't drink you will miss things. No coffee at the 24 he snack bar in the mornings. The buffet same you won't go hungry but it's not 5 star. Watch out for a mass influx of vodka drinkers,they take over the place.

This was the most accommodating hotel/ resort. We had issues with our first room and spoke with hotel staff who then upgraded our room for free and switched our room without any hassle. Hotel staff was friendly and helped guide us to figuring out excursions. I have nothing bad to say about this resort. The food was good as well, lots to choose from at their buffet. I was told you get what you pay for, so I didn't have high expectations. But this resort really exceeded our expectations and we would not hesitate to return again. Wifi was slow (it did work) but you are on vacation after all. Beaches were within walking distance and very clean. They had nightly entertainment for everyone of all ages. It was overall an amazing experience.