This was our 9th visit to Cuba, 1st time this side of the country. We booked this holiday in 2019 when it was being sold as a 5* luxury resort. Unfortunately it was anything but 5* Didn’t want to write this as we love cuba …. But this hotel was so very disappointing. Check in Given a welcome drink on arrival. Then everyone told to go & sit down until names were called. This was a very slow process, in hindsight booking a private transfer would have benefited, instead of arriving with a coach load of people. Eventually we were called with another 2 bookings & shown to our room. Room 20020 Looking into spa & gym. Clean, nice big bed. Sofa & coffee table. Wardrobe with safe inside. Large chest of draws. Dressing table & bedside cabinet. Bathroom, lovely big step in bath, shower in bath. Hairdryer. NO, tea/coffee machine on arrival 2 mugs though. Asked for coffee machine received at the end of the first week after asking for one again. Mini bar consists of one bottle of water & one bottle of fizzy pop. If there is anything left in the bottles even a small amount they will not be replenished. Our maid the first week was amazing, could notice the difference when they changed over. Beach was lovely, always loungers available, we turned left over the bridge as right was very busy & loungers we’re on top of each other. Drinks service the first week was excellent but then the beach guy was planned off & the second week there was only beach service a couple of times. Food. Beach shack, went here twice once for breakfast was ok nothing special. Tried it one lunchtime as it always seemed busy. Got there a little before lunch opening to get a seat as there was always a queue. Ordered our food, royalton burger & chips & a pizza & chips. Took one hour to come, they took everyone’s orders together then put them all in. Everyone else had their food & most people had eaten theirs & we were still waiting. Asked where ours was & was brought out a few minutes later, burger was raw, chips were burnt & pizza was cold. Very disappointed. Mexican Restaurant They have two sittings in all the specialist restaurants. 18-30 & 20-30 Food was ok, served Luke warm. Italian They have a nice starter/side station help yourself, this was my favourite bit out of all the restaurants. Again food was ok, again Luke warm. Main Buffet Pasta station Fresh meat cooking station. Big fish corner. We normally don’t have a problem finding something to eat in the buffets. There is only so many nights you can have pasta, it was either pasta or bread & cheese for me. Unfortunately hubby got chicken from the cooking stations several times & each time it was uncooked in the middle even after asking for it to be cooked longer. The same cooking utensils were used for raw pork & cooked meats. This is probably one of the most disappointing buffets that we have had. Normally there is always something we could find to eat. Not here, Nothing went with stuff, nothing was hot, never saw a potato, onion or tomato’s during our stay. First time both of us have lost weight on holiday. Drinks. We rarely drink alcohol the odd beer here & there. The soft drink situation here was awful. Several times throughout our stay they had no choice for soft drinks as they had run out, it was Fanta that was it. Several times we couldn’t have a shandy as they had either run out of beer or sprite or both. A couple of times we couldn’t even get water. The main lobby Unfortunately we were unable to use this area at night due to the unsafe flooring. I have a broken femur & use two crutches & felt it was too much of a risk to go up there at night with the nice dimmed lighting. The wood was rotten in places, step on it & the other end would flip up. There was bits of broken rotten wood. We could go during the day as we could clearly see where we were walking. Ice cream parlour We had eaten from here daily & really enjoyed it until the day before going home, I’d had an ice cream & within a few hours of eating it I was violently sick for 12 hours. I know it was the ice cream as I hadn’t eaten anything else that day. In hindsight I shouldn’t have eaten it as it wasn’t frozen solid, was melted & runny. The next day we were travelling home, that literally took everything out of me. I took a packet of Dioralyte to get through the long journey & flight home. We reported all our concerns to the on-site tui rep who initially didn’t really take us seriously until I said I wanted a case raised so I would have a case number for when we arrived back in the U.K. I then found out from the rep that several other people had raised complaints. Spoke with the manager. Since our return home I have lodged a formal complaint with tui which is something I’ve never had to do. We payed over 5 1/2 thousand pounds for a luxury 5* holiday which we did not receive. As I’ve said before this was our 9th visit to Cuba so we thought we knew what we were getting re food, but what was available during this visit was totally unacceptable. I’m really sad to have had to write this but feel it’s only fair that people get a true picture of this hotel as on the Facebook groups you cannot write anything negative. The people in cuba are as always the most hardworking friendly people you could meet, but unfortunately that wasn’t enough on this visit.…
El Hotel is 5 starts and plus, is perfect , everything works as I expected and more, the staff is so professional and kind , the sea , the food, the rooms , everything, yo soy cubana vivo Miami Y deseo saber cómo reservar desde aquí, o sea desde fuera, si alguien pudiera ayudar, quiero volver in September, this is definitely a magic place , I turn 60 years and I want to stay at the Hotel for a week to celebrate my birthday, thank you , can’t wait to be there again
I had the best time with my sister at the royalton,the experience was great,Dieny the butler is amazing and entertainment was terrific,thanks to yarima and Adrian they are the best entertainers I have ever met,I almost loose a tooth laughing with them,by the way thanks to the cookers of the Caribbean restaurant,they made the best food.
We took a vacation to the Royalton Hicacos and it was one of the best vacations we ever took in our lives. The property was clean and well designed. The food was better than anything else we have had in Cuba, the rooms where spacious and had all the amenities one could need. The beach was beautiful and pristine. But what really made this vacation one of the best was the people, some of the friendliest staff you will ever have the chance of meeting are at the Royalton Hicacos. Our flight was delayed by almost 8 hours, and we ended up showing up at the hotel at 5AM, but despite the delay, Alberto at reception made us feel welcome and well taken care of. Very smooth check-in, and Alberto's upbeat attitude and calm demeanor helped us relax and unwind after a stressful and delayed flight. Our favorite place at the Hicacos was the Martini Mix Bar. In the mornings, you can get yourself the best cafe con leche in all of cuba, and there was no better way to wake up than to the friendliness of the morning staff at the Martini Mix. At night, Yordanis and Eduardo always made sure we had a good time and brought out amazing drinks all night long. Yuniel at the snack bar made sure we can get ourselves a snack whenever we needed and always welcomed us with a smile. Lastly, Carlos who worked at the buffet made sure we always had the best omelette possible every morning to start our day off well. All these amazing people and everyone else at the Royalton made sure we had the time of our lives, and the staff really make this place 6/5 stars. Could not recommend this place more!!…
We booked a diamond club junior suite, this room is exactly the same as all other rooms in the resort, be aware the food selection is very limited due to embargoes put on Cuba. DO NOT book diamond club through TUI, you get virtually nothing for your £850, a mini bar with two bottles of soft drink, you get to sit in a special little area in the buffet restaurant. There are no drinks services around the pool area and the drinks today were served in paper coffee cups. The concierge guys are very helpful but nothing that you complain about gets resolved unless you get to see the higher manager. The lift to the buffet restaurant rarely works and my wife struggles with the stairs, she was taken through the buffet restaurant kitchens and was certainly not complimentary about the cleanliness and working areas behind the staff only doors, the smell was not nice. The staff are great and always smile and try their best but I think the failings are higher up the food chain…
Returned to the Royalton after 6 years as loved it before… I feel bad writing this but was taken ill the second week chest and terribly bad stomach Couldn’t come out of the room for days, had to pay and not go on the boat trip…. Husband thought I was being boring, then he got it. Came home and both tested positive for Covid. I love Cuba 🇨🇺I love the staff so really didn’t want to write this but it obviously totally ruined our honeymoon, so want others to be aware.
We just came back from 10 days at the Royalton on our honeymoon. We had a fantastic time - the beach is breathtaking and almost all of the staff were very friendly. The hotel itself is comfortable and the grounds are stunning and very well kept (hats off to the gardeners!) I was unwell from the food (sick out of the window of a vintage car in Havana...) and my husband is suffering now. Lots of people from this hotel and others have suffered. The buffet food was fine, the pasta and pizzas were brilliant but I avoided everything else after I was ill. The Italian and Caribbean restaurants were lovely. The smoothie bar advertised wasn't really a smoothie bar - it served one type of fruit juice a day but nice enough. I think people forget Cuba has food rationing in force and is struggling with supplies. If you're after 5* luxury cuisine perhaps Cuba isn't the place for you right now. Lots of activities on offer. Unfortunately not the archery that was advertised as they're awaiting new arrows but we played table tennis, pool, shot rifles and took out kayaks, all included. We're qualified scuba divers but didn't get a dive in as the dive centre were tricky to get hold of but very helpful once we did (unfortunately too late in the holiday to squeeze in a dive!) Overall, the staff were very helpful and the hotel was gorgeous. Perhaps take some sickness tablets in case your stomach suffers!…
This was our first visit to Cuba,stayed 16th to the 27th of June, staff were exceptional,the resort is lovely,not much to do though, unfortunately for us we took ill on the Thursday with the worst stomach that we have ever had, struggled to come out of our room ...the food was really bad not great drinks either.. my husband & I are still really suffering. Would I go back to Cuba unfortunately not ..
I came to this hotel for the beach and water activities and it did not disappoint. Pros: 1) Joel at the hotel's beach activities center provides an excellent fishing & snorkeling experience. He uses sail power to troll behind the Hobie cat. Environmentally friendly and noiseless. It worked great as I caught 3 large Baracuda. The snorkeling just offshore is much better than I thought it would be. The corals are intact and not damaged from over-tourism. Large schools of fish gave me great Go Pro footage. 2) Very friendly staff throughout the resort. 3) The hotel is very well maintained. The grounds are immaculate. 4) The wifi was faster than the 5-star Riu Resort in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico. 5) The staff speaks excellent English. 6) Good security and safety. Cons: Food quality is less than the 5-star standard in the Caribbean. This is the 2nd time I have been to Cuba and am aware of the effects of US sanctions and Covid-19 on this country. However, the truth is the truth. I am sure if there was an easy fix for this problem someone would have already done it,…
So this was my 4th time back to Cuba. 1st time too the Royalton in Cuba. I stayed in the royalton in Jamaica in November so I no the chain. First upgrade to diamond club!!! We made friends with lots of couples who were not in diamond club and the drinks were terrible they were unable to book in to the À la cart restaurants also the breakfast is much much better from Diamond club restaurant. Our butlers name was Pedro and he was handsdown amazing he couldn’t do enough for us checked on us every day and always went above and beyond. A real asset to the hotel. Sadly the hotel chain once again does not stock any diet mixers, my partner and I do not drink full fat sugary drinks. Ever but it was always offered like it was a suitable alternative! Pedro managed to find one bottle of Diet Coke which we had for the entire two weeks! But this is the second time that this Spanish Owed hotel chain did not have diet drinks to offer. Now we know it’s Cuba so we always give it a little bit of wiggle space but the food in the buffet was below mediocre level this is my fourth time in Cuba and honestly with worst food I’ve experienced. That said all of the staff that work in the buffet were amazing so friendly so smiley and welcoming and once again it’s always there to help and assist you a big shout out to the chap who works on the balcony area every morning until 3 o’clock The best à la cart restaurant by far the Caribbean or Cuban one the rest were all and take on the food. The Mexican was definitely interesting.😬 Seafood restaurant down on the beach in the evening was also delicious however you have to bath yourself and mosquito repellent otherwise you’ll be eaten alive. The beach was stunning absolutely breathtaking to see it’s crystal clear Waters and white sand. faultless Heads up the plugs in the hotel Are not American plugs like your led to Believe and which we brought. They are eu plugs. luckily Once again Pedro came to the rescue🙌 The hotel is very calm. The entertainment staff are no way near as lively and hyper as those in Jamaica. The bar staff don’t join in like Jamaica either. I know it’s adults only but there where younger couples there myself included and we found ourselves board on quite a few occasions. Playing cards or dominos in the evenings 😳 During our stay the big management from other branches came to stay at the hotel and the service was completely different for the duration of this stay the shops that state they’re open till 9 o’clock Which prior to the management arriving has alway been shot by 7pm funnily enough was now open until 9pm Same goes for the tobacco shop Which was disappointing. The gym My partner and I train everyday. The gym was actually okay. Only up to 14kg dumbbells so you have to be inventive. But other equipment you could use. It’s a little too small for the hotel complex and most days in the morning it was packed with nothing free to use. and isn’t managed well No towels ! Ever ! Some days no water in the cooler at all. And stayed empty for two days on one occasion. The staff also likes to hang out in the gym watching the TV quite often the chefs where wondering training / watching telling and the coach would be sat about on the equipment. Holiday goers would turn up to train in Bikinia and flip flops which is clearly against the rules on the door as you enter. But no one was ever in the gym to manage this and look out for people’s safety. Again unlike Jamaica which had a fantastic gym crew. WiFi Didn’t work in our room at all We had to be at the martini bar or gym. And it dropped out all the time. Coffee shop / ice cream. This was no way near as good as the one in Jamaica which we where gutted about. One of the guys who worked in the coffee shop was always grumpy and defo didn’t want to be there. Cigars Get them at the airport. There is a proper Tabacco and cigar shop! I got them at the hotel and paid a lot More for them and they didn’t have a great selection and couldn’t tell us when they would be getting more. At the airport Pay the 25.00 each to go to the airport lounge. It’s the only place that has aircon and you get free drinks and a sandwich. Worth every penny All in all the holiday was NICE. Not fantastic The beech saved it for us. Now I know Cuba is struggling and is a very poor country But the hotel chain is Spanish. And isn’t struggling. It needs to invest some money to make this place be amazing which it could easily be. The staff work so hard and do what they can with what they have. Sadly this holiday was enough to put me off retuning to Cuba again which I say with a heavy heart. 💔 Once again a huge thank you to the wonderful Pedro who’s smile was a warm welcome Everyday.…
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