Holguin

Beautiful and quality resort with wonderful staff and great facilities. The restaurant was a great surprise. The food was excellent. I had worse in Canada. Rooms were nice and large with a great bathroom. The beach is rather small, but nice. The other large beach is a public beach, so one can encounter some local people who often ask for help. I brought a few small bills to give them. There are also options outside of the resort. We visited Holguin and had a late lunch at a restaurant in the country. We didn't go to the market knowing that they would have the same Cuban souvenirs. I heard that the safari was a great experience and worth the cost. I was disappointed with the VIP lounge at the airport. There was no food, but if you want to drink, there is plenty. The lounge is air conditioned and rather clean and comfortable. The price was about $25 for two. I would recommend this resort to anyone who wants a comfortable and nice place with great dining options. If you are interested in partying, it is on the quiet side, but all depends on other guests staying at the resort. All in all it was was my best experience in Cuba and I have been to this country a dozen times.

3 years old hotel, the room / bathroom is nice and clean. However wi-fi is very poor and no TV connection or not working. The front desk need more staff available when checking in / out.

PROS -Amazing beach with soft sand and tons of space to hang out. -The water is transparent and turquoise, with white sand and no algae. -Walking from one end of the beach to the other takes 20 to 30 minutes. -Superb pool which is massive and it gets cleaned every night. -There is beautiful live music every day. Some evening shows are good. -I especially liked the karaoke and the show at night. -The flowers, trees, shrubs, and all the beautiful vegetation is just fabulous. -The rooms are comfortable and spacious but a bit outdated. -The Gondola and Romantico restaurants were the best à la carte restaurants. -The pool snackbar on the Premium side was also excellent in food and service. -There are plenty of Rums. They usually has tonic. -As a returning guests we got a bottle of rum and invitation for gala dinner which was great. -People working for the hotel are always smiling and happy, which makes you feel the same. -Rooms are cleaned and linens changed daily. CONS -Very large resort, if you don't like walking a lot, might bit not for you. -Mosquitos like mosquito repellent. -We liked our room, but the AC air flow had a not-so-great smell. That's why we bring Travel Air Filters with us to make the air better. They really work wonders! -Strange to not see a carrot, pea, green bean, apple or orange anywhere whole week. -Mattresses are super soft, I had some back pain after. Overall, it's a nice place. Good facilities, pool, beach, games room, gym, medical staff. Given the kindness of the staff and the beautiful beach, I would recommend coming here for the right price.

Amazing first trip to Sol Rio, no regrets, Hotel meets all expectations. Attentive employees, excellent beach. Best regards to Cecilia, the queen of dancing and her team. Despite doubts, food also was good in all kitchens. Public bathrooms are cleaned 24 hrs a day, Hotel is taken care of. Special gratitude to David, you are doing a job, the only request, just to continue working on buffet improvements, and I will be definitely one of your devoted visitors. Best regards from Joseph in Montreal.

Hotel is nothing like pictures online. Very, very old and patchwork repairs done. Buffet open birds and flies were picking at the food. Cockroach in my room, disappeared into the cabinet which had the small refrigerator. Worst of all, my daughter got food poisoning and was violently sick one night all night long.

RESORT: A new and nice resort. Extremely maintained and clean! Palms, grass, paths, swimming pools, restaurants, gym, health office, spa…All is functioning and services are good! People are nice and friendly. Prone to help and with the huge smile! ROOM: Room was beautiful and clean, but not ready for guests! It smelled on mold. The A/C was blocked and blew out look warm air. There was no TV signal. Wi-Fi was either weak, or none! We did not have water for one day. There were no shampoo and conditioner. There was no bottled water, juices and beer in the unglued fridge. We must praise work of our room maid Clara! She was diligent and extremely professional and friendly. The lady who took over after Clara was not that good. In the end, she accused us of stealing towels, which we did not! FOOD: Food was surprisingly good! We had variety of entries such as prosciutto, grilled pork, fish, shells, different kind of cheese, beef stew, chicken, eggs, ham, calamari, steak, different kind of cakes and pastries…There was no fresh milk, yogurt, green salads…During the lunch time and dinner there was live band playing Cuban and World famous songs! BEVERAGES: The alcoholic beverages were in plenty! Rum, whiskey, vodka, brandy, gin, vines, domestic and foreign beers…Mango juice, lemonade, orange juice, tonic water….Sparling water, bottled water…Cocktails... BEACH: Beach is sandy! Clean! But, the see is full of rocks and see grass! One could not neither enter, nor exit normally! I cut my toe finger on sharp rock! The beach is not suggested for small children. There are well organized beach entertainment and beach bars! ENTERTAINMENT: The entertainment was pretty good. The entertainers were diligent and funny. The only remark is,that almost 90% guests were, either English or French speaking people but, the communication and announcements were in Spanish. FRONT DESK AND CUSTOMER RELATIONSHIP: Front desk check-in was fast and professional. Later, all complains were written down in the book, but little was done. We had to complain five, six times for the same problem but, all complains were solved after long delays. The public relationship representative Ms. Anne Laura was absolutely perfect and she did act in the good faith.

Being VIP, i stayed in one of the Villas, beautiful bright, large room with ample closet space, nice big bathroom TV, fridge and balcony. I mainly ate all my lunch/dinner meals at El Benny's, and breakfast at the 24hr Bar. The waitresses, waiters and Bar staff provide excellent service. The food always delicious and wholesome. The GYM is well-equipped, clean, open and larger than most resort Gyms. Washrooms and showers are also located in the Gym is a sauna. Villa Section has a pool, a mini pool for little children, a mini-club, and a games room. The grounds around the Villa are meticulously kept, the gardeners working tirelessly to keep everything beautiful.

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.

Though it is a 2 hour drive from the airport. It is well worth it. Unfortunately the local women that were visiting the resort on the weekend of my trip were very unfriendly, tried to obstuct my paths, pretended to spit at my feet and called me "Puta". This brought me to tears. And I spent the remainder of my vacation at the bar near the beach, where I was treated like a member of the family. Other than that the staff is wonderful, so friendly and so very accommodating. The beaches are amazing and the staff certainly makes you feel like family. I am definitely going back! I will just avoid the local women that take over the main stage on the weekends! I suggest the same or it will ruin your experience!