Royalton Hicacos Varadero Resort & Spa

All staff were really friendly, lovely, very welcoming and so helpful, they all deserve 5 stars each. The beach was lovely and relaxing with its own bar and no shortage of loungers or chairs. All of the bars are well stocked and provide bottled water on request. Lots of options to eat for guests without dietary restrictions and a 24hr cafe. Even had a few shops but no ATM. Lots of entertainment going on in the bar pool during the day, at night outside and in the Jazz bar if you fancy a bit of karaoke. I’ve rated 4 stars due to the following: Didn’t really cater for vegetarians/gluten intolerant guests but all other options they had a really good choice albeit the same every day. We had booked a diamond club room which was very outdated but clean. For some reason everything felt damp, bedding our clothing etc. on speaking with other guests from different parts of the resort they were experiencing the same and blamed it on the outdated air conditioning. There Is an area for Diamond guests in the main restaurant which looked really comfy but apart from one breakfast morning couldn’t get access due to it being full of non diamond guests utilising it (normal guests had white ribbon bands, diamond had blue). There was also a lot of exterior decorating going on in our particular block which was noisy and lots of loud grinding/building noises from apartments being renovated which started to get a bit annoying as we couldn’t sit on the balcony. Was it worth paying the extra for a better room and service, probably not for our experience anyway! We also noted the blue tile edges of the pools were noticeably a greenish colour so didn’t venture in. The atmosphere could have been really relaxing had it not been for the work related noises. The hotel is adult only which was a nice change for us and a lot of guests were saying they go 3 or 4 times a year for short breaks, their flights were only a few hours to get there (a bit different from the 14 it took us in total with 2 flights). I don’t think we would visit again unless the rooms had major upgrades and we could get a direct flight.

Thank You Royalton Hicacos ! ♥️ Many of You had the Chance to Meet My Son Jordan, who is a Social Butterfly ! 😀 He had a Blast with his Uncle Mike ! Everything was absolutely Wonderful ! 😊 Our Butlers Dayana & George made sure of that … If we were missing something, You got it for us & always with a Smile ! 😊 All the staff was friendly & helpful. They bent over backwards to accommodate us & honestly, couldn’t do enough for us ... Every-one was so amazing with Jordan (who has special needs) & We met people from all around the World ! Incredibly Heartwarming ♥️

This Resort is Amazing!!!! First I’d like to thank the Diamond Club team for their service and dedication to perfection. Rene, Aylin, Disdado, Joanna, Y Lisdiel were all absolutely amazing!!!! Always checking on us, seeing how our day was. My wife’s ankle was broken on the trip and they went above and beyond to make our stay special!!!!!! I have to mention Disdado especially!!! This guy is golden! A True great human. When he found out about my wife’s ankle he made it is mission to make our stay incredible. From ice for her ankle to making sure she didn’t have to jump stairs to get breakfast. He would always check on us and he’s definitely my main man. To our HouseKeeper Leydis!!!! Our room was spotless and always cleaned!!!! She was super friendly and her smile with lifting!!!! Thank you To Adrain, he wasn’t our butler but he is one on the resort who we bacame great friends with and even he went out of his way to check on us daily with a smile!!! Couldn’t say enough about him. To Ricardo the GM!!!! This guy is a Gem! He walks around checking on guest, asks about your experience, and very professional!!!! He is willing to listen and again made our stay that much more special!!!! To Leo and Rene the Bellboys! These guys are professional but yet pure laughs. We can Leo Lernardo Decaprio and the Rene the Cuban Robert Denrio. Always willing to help and always smiling!!!! To Marcedes our Server at the Buffet!!!! We had dinner every night, same table and same amazing service and she is the reason we always went to the same seat. She was incredible!!! To the Man at the Snack Bar Yuniel!!! This guy is quick and always servers with a smile!!! Make sure you give him a Huge High Five!!!!!! This resort is incredible. Super Clean, always Tidy, they are quietly painting to keep things look fresh, every morning they are cleaning the pools. I seen the same landscaper around our building everyday keeping the area super fresh!!! The buffet is the best I’ve had in my 8 trips to Cuba and 1 st time to this resort!!! The food was plentiful the was always eggs for breakfast and the Xmas Buffet was something out of a magazine!!!! The shows Every night are fun and entertaining and the entertainment staff are great! They enjoy getting a good game going and we even got Karaoke one night!!!!! Also to all the Staff you all work so hard from the Lobby Bar to the pool bar to the beach guys everyone puts out their best to make sure you all enjoy!!!!! I would 1000% return and actually am returning for Christmas plans already in the Books!!!!

Visited Royalton Hicacos the third week of December. Weather was generally excellent and we enjoyed our stay. We have been to The Royalton in Cayo Santa Maria many times and that place will always be our favourite, I suppose, and comparisons between the two resorts are unavoidable. A one day sale and easy local departure took us to the Varadero Royalton for the first time, though we have been many times to other Varadero resorts before discovering the incredible beaches of Cayo Santa Maria. Our experience was positive. We upgraded to diamond club here (though we do not in CSM) and it seemed to be worth it here. The butlers (David and Carlos) were helpful and attentive and the front desk was available to deal with any issues. Our room was at the very end of the very large complex and it was a bit of a hike to the beach/lobby etc, but you soon get the hang of the layout. The room itself was fine, everything worked and the room was clean and comfortable. The beach is good and that is the main attraction. Strangely, though, the non diamond club area was packed immediately to the right of the main access path but was empty if you walked to the left a little. The beach grill and the diamond club beach bar provided great service, great views and good food options. We enjoyed the food overall. The buffet was fine for breakfast with lots of options, including omelette stations and wonderful crepes. Lunch was at the diamond club bbq (love paella!) or at the main beach grill. Dinner options we would rank the Pearl as best, followed be Caribe (great setting), then Tex Mex then the beach grill (which really is a wonderful setting). The two dinners in the garden were different and enjoyable. There were plenty of options everywhere and service was uniformly excellent. The musical entertainment was plentiful and enjoyable. The main evening shows were a good watch and the music in the restaurants etc was a pleasant surprise. The Cuban people are so talented and we enjoyed the Cuban bands, the guitarists, the pianists, the sax player, etc. Wonderful. We enjoyed the lobby bar but did find it was very loud and a bit chaotic as it got very busy each evening. The lobby bar music was terrific but again, it all got very loud. A hidden gem was the jazz bar which was generally very quiet, despite the excellent musicians performing each evening. Cristal beer was on tap throughout the resort and cans of Moosehead were in the room fridges and cans of Portugese Superbock were at several bars. No complaints there. Decent Chilean wine was on offer at all the bars and restaurants. If there was a complaint, it was with the quality of the mixed drinks. We felt they were just too rushed (it was very busy) and the mixed drinks were generally poor quality. The exception was in the jazz bar: proper drinks, properly made. The canchancharas were a real highlight there. The resort itself was quite lovely with endless, beautiful gardens and there were many, many workers maintaining and improving the resort everywhere you looked. Overall, we were very happy with it. It had lots to offer and options for everyone. As always, the Cuban people were absolutely lovely: hard-working, respectful and genuine at all times. They were highly appreciative of tips and any gifts they were offered. We always return inspired by their friendliness and resourcefulness in the face of such hardship at home. We will return to the beaches of CSM but would have no hesitation in recommending Royalton Hicacos in Varadero.

Having read so many glowing reviews about this hotel prior to our stay, I’m shocked that people actually enjoy this resort. We arrived early and were greeted by our dedicated butler, and were advised she would meet us again at 4pm to check us into our room; we didnt see her again the entire trip and had to ask multiple times where our room was as no one was available to ‘take our bags’ after waiting 35 minutes to get to our room, even though there were multiple bell boys stood at the entrance. Reception staff Brayan reluctantly called the same bell boys over (again, who were initially unavailable to help despite them hanging around at the entrance doing nothing) to take our bags and were rude to us. We were moved rooms multiple times as the ones given to us were dirty and unsuitable for use, but the reception staff were initially reluctant to move us. This really started the holiday off on a sour note, as no one should have to complain so much about the cleanliness of their room for a ‘luxury’ resort. The fuse for the lights in our room also blew at the end of our stay and we had to ask twice for this to be fixed - the light that tripped the fuse was ‘fixed’ but maintenance left this hanging from the ceiling with live wires exposed. The food is bleak to say the least, the buffet food is edible but bland and the a la carte restaurants are also bad - the Mexican restaurant HAS to be avoided as the food is barely edible. The pool was always dirty and I never saw anyone cleaning it; this alongside all of the stagnant water likely contributed to the lingering smell of sewage all around the hotel. The staff in the various restaurants and bars are pleasant which is the only good thing about this hotel - i wish i could say the same for its reception staff as the majority of them are rude and uninterested. Its clear the hotel is extremely dated and is in dire need of a revamp, which some rooms are currently undergoing, but I would avoid the resort in general unless you enjoy wasting your money.