Royalton Hicacos Varadero Resort & Spa

My friends and I just returned from our second stay at this amazing property - better even than the last time! We again upgraded to Diamond and stayed in the newly renovated rooms, which are fabulous. Of course the beach is stunning and is kept immaculate (only drawback being the Diamond beach washroom not being open?).. This hotel staff is beyond - from the lady keeping the lobby bar washroom clean to my room cleaner (Ceidy), bar staff and restaurant servers, we had amazing service. A little bit of kindness goes a long way, go in with a great attitude and you will have a great trip. See you next year Royalton.

My husband and I had a great time at the resort. We’ve been to many different resorts in Cuba, and this one is the top of the top. The staff was very nice and polite, always had smiles on their faces and very helpful. The beach at the resort was amazing with a great ocean. We stayed in a Garden View room; it was very clean, and wonderful view of the garden. We want to give a special shout out and thank you to Leo as well. He was a great host with a positive attitude. We would definitely recommend the resort in the future to other couples. 5/5 rating for the overall experience. -Bibi and Koce

I stayed for one week late October / early November and was disappointed, whilst the bar staff were great, and the beach was great, the rest of the experience was not. This is closer to a 3 star experience rather than a 5 star. Accommodation: Despite booking a Diamond Club room, the accommodation was outdated and the bathroom was in poor condition. Our ground-floor room lacked privacy due to missing netting, which took three days to replace. Additionally, the room periodically smelled of sewage. Food and Hygiene: The food was extremely disappointing bland, lacking variety, and by the third day, both myself and other British guests had grown tired of it. My partner, a vegetarian, found the options severely limited and the food hygiene standards unacceptable. There were insufficient utensils at the salad bar, and vegetarian dishes were placed next to meat, with sauces often mixing. Meat was sometimes added to bread or pasta without warning. One à la carte restaurant was closed throughout our stay, and the only vegetarian option at “The Pearl” was a rice cake on rice. Drinks: The main bar frequently ran out of alcohol, including rum, and often used small wine glasses for cocktails, resulting in poor drink quality. Many guests, including us, switched to wine or beer after a few days. Even sparkling wine ran out on several occasions. The rum served was of low quality, which was disappointing given Cuba’s reputation. Facilities and Maintenance: Several amenities were unavailable or poorly maintained. Water features were being drained, causing unpleasant odors and creating mosquito breeding grounds. The squash court was closed, and the tennis and badminton rackets were outdated. While the main pool was well maintained, the other two pools were dirty, missing tiles, and not properly cared for. Guest and Staff Conduct: There were older male guests accompanied by different much younger local women each night, and hotel staff did not ensure only registered guests were present. On one occasion, a senior staff member was seen behaving inappropriately with a much younger woman in the jazz bar. While the interaction appeared consensual, it was not appropriate for hotel staff.

Room was great all was fine. Good water and beer service to the room and Nelly our hostess was always there to ask if we needed anything and if everything was going well. She's awesome and deserves special recognition. Our daughter was celebrating her 30 th birthday and we got all set up perfectly and Nelly made sure we had a special cake for the room and a happy birthday song. Super job! It was a great night and our daughter will always remember her 30th.

We enjoyed a 7 day visit to Royalton Hicacos during the first week of November 2025. The resort definitely has a Caribbean feel with lots of trees, gardens and waterways. The resort is beautiful, with welcoming, friendly staff. We bought Diamond Club for this trip, so this review is mostly based on that experience. All beaches are amazing with soft white sand. No need for water shoes. The Diamond Club beach lunch stand had lots of BBQ selections (even lobster one day). There were plenty of sun loungers, and an attendant was happy to drag chairs where you wished to set up. Waiter service was good at the Diamond Club beach area. One day we went to non-diamond Grill bar and nobody seemed interested in serving us even after making eye contact. We waited 15 minutes and left without a beverage and never went back. There isn't a very good selection of drinks at the Diamond Club beach area- no premium drinks at all. A la Cartes had excellent food (5 out of 7 nights), although the Italian restaurant was extremely salty and no AC. The buffet was good quality with lots of variety and fresh cook stations. Our server was always attentive and friendly. The buffet is on the second floor, and the elevator was out of service so I suspect some guests found this challenging. Diamond Club has a private restaurant (Caribe) that offers an excellent breakfast (lunch and supper too). This was a big plus for joining Diamond Club for us. The main lounge area was good; servers were attentive, although there was a lack of servers during shift change, which put a high demand on the bartenders (this should be improved). The website says you have unlimited a la Cartes for Diamond Club and the butler will book them for you. In reality, they will only book 6:30 or 8:30 sittings and say “I will see if I can get you in" and you may or may not get a booking. If you just show up at the a la Carte they will get you a seat without a reservation. If you want a premium drink, you need to self-serve at the Diamond Club building. There are no premium drinks anywhere else- not even the lounge! This was disappointing since Diamond Club closes at 8:30- so no premium drink night caps. I disliked this self-serve for Premium Diamond Club quite a bit and has deterred me from Diamond Club in the future. The Diamond Club building (2 rooms) itself is always full of new guests getting booked in, so it really wasn't a lounge at all. Our room was excellent and cleaned daily. The AC worked well. There was hot water every day and the bar fridge was stocked with beer and water daily. There is quite an elaborate complex of buildings at the resort with stairs and walkways between them. Ask for a ground floor if you find stairs challenging. There isn't a coffee maker, coffee, tea or kettle (we brought our own portable kettle and coffee maker). They use 220v outlets (round socket, round 2 prong possibly type S-9). You will need an adapter for 120v devices (our adapter worked fine). Diamond Club can loan adapters if yours don't fit. If you like nature hiking, visit Varahicacos Ecological Reserve and Cueva de Ambrosio which are within walking distance along the main highway. The Hop On bus does hourly rounds for $5 per person for a full day. Diamond Club offered a free boat trip with snorkelling to Cayos Blancos which was lots of fun. We had a fresh lobster on the boat ($20) which was excellent. They do charge for alcoholic drinks on the boat ($2 each) which was unexpected. The entertainment shows were top-notch. All-in-all we had a good time and would return. I'd have to think about doing the diamond club though because of the lack of premium drinks at bars and the a la Carte booking times.