Royalton Hicacos Varadero Resort & Spa

Our butler, Yainen, was one of the best parts of the trip. She was really helpful and on hand to answer any questions we had.

This was our best Cuba experience ever, and we’ve been there several times a year. Once a year, sometimes twice a year. This hotel once upgraded to Diamond Club with a Superior room, it was worth every penny. You’ll have a great time. The older rooms were horrible we hated being in there the first night we got there as the booking website doesn’t show you what the superior rooms look like we booked only diamond club but I highly highly recommend upgrading to superior rooms you will not regret it. The bed was comfortable (for myself) some may say it’s hard some may say it’s to soft it depends on your preference but for me it was perfect. Pillows are body pillows you have more than enough space with one king bed. We had a blast at the Diamond Club beach bar and grill. They served lobster daily for lunch with fries, burgers, grilled chicken, shrimp on skewers or rice with seafood, corn and or whatever was available that day. There was a great variety to choose from. For dinner, we tried the Italian restaurant which was our favourite. Our server, Lazro, was amazing. He was super friendly and catered to all our needs. The hostess was super sweet she knew exactly where we wanted to sit and always remembered us. The superior rooms are updated, modern, and have many USB/USB-C plugs and regular plugs to plug your devices in. The fridge is filled daily, and the water is filled daily. The room is always clean. The service at this hotel was the best we’ve ever had. The butler’s and bell boys were always on time. If you say be there by 8:00, they’re there right on time. The room service was great as well. Honestly, we had no complaints. We stayed for six days, and the beach was absolutely beautiful. It was well-maintained, and the beach bar on the Diamond Club side was amazing. The tenders were fantastic and did a fabulous job. The beach on the diamond club side could have used a music speaker like they have on the non diamond side which would have been nice since you’re upgraded along with the walking path it was not done only sand on that side no boardwalk where the other side had more of a boardwalk and showers were visible not hidden on that side it was more lively on the non diamond side beach and more quiet relaxing on the diamond side. The staff is always down-to-earth and happy to help you with whatever you need. I would definitely be going back.

Because I am a solo female traveller, I had high expectations. I wanted to be sure I was taken care of so I upgraded and got Diamond Club. I recommend doing so. It will make your experience much more enjoyable. You have access to everything and you are made priority. Here is one thing that threw me off and I thought it set the tone for the whole trip but it was a minor hiccup. If you are to arrive at the resort in the evening do not expect to be greeted by your butler bc they likely have finished their shift. I felt it was disorganized and it really upset me. The following day I had everything figured out after I met my butler, Betty. She truly went above and beyond and made sure the rest of my stay was up to my expectation. I appreciate that because I was alone. Betty stole my heart. Food options were good. I never went hungry or was cranky because of lack of options. The meat was great! Their carb options were okay but it was fine for me. I also had lobster for lunch everyday as part of the Diamond Club. It was pretty tasty! I’m a fan of their burgers too. When I was researching people said to bring reusable cups. Yes! Do so. They won’t allow you to leave with glass to-go so you’ll get a coffee in a little plastic cup. Or a tiny beer. Bring your Stanley cup and fill it to the brim! You won’t be waiting in lines refilling. Entertainment was fine. Every night there was a different show and they had musicians playing some days in the afternoon too. It added to the Cuban vibe. This is not really a party resort, it’s like a chill party. I liked it and didn’t feel overwhelmed with loud and obnoxious drunk people. It’s good for a 40+ crowd. I was usually at the beach and not the pools. Not sure what that vibe was. Staff were great although I did also notice on occasion when ordering drinks from the bar they would tend to serve men before they would get to me. Once I piped up they didn’t ignore me. I’m demanding and made it clear. I think one thing these places need to know is more solo female travellers will likely be going there because so many of us are single yet still want a holiday. I’d say to be more attentive to us because we will share the experiences with our friends who might also want to go. Resort. It was clean. There were some renovations going on. Get your tetanus shot. Some public places had corroded locks on doors. This is not just the resort, it was the airport as well. Better to be safe. It’s a really nice and lush resort. Cute little lizards popping around. Lots of greenery. Lots of paths to walk. I liked it. The room. It was fine. Not totally modern, but who cares! You’re there for the beach! It was clean. It was cool. I loved the bed. Slept like an angel for real. If you upgrade to Diamond club you get reservations to the a la carte restaurants which have A/C and different food options. The buffet did not have working a/c, you just need to find the right spot to sit in. By a door with a breeze. I was completely fine, except one day I was in the corner and was sweating profusely. It was just the wrong spot. Great for the skin though lol The beach. Beautiful! Exactly what I needed. Again, Diamond club gives access to different parts of the beach. It’s quieter and I found it was a clearer shoreline. The water is clear. It’s warm. It’s shallow. It’s the place to be! If you are Canadian do not tip these people with loonies and toonies. Bring some Canadian dollars and exchange their change for them. Canadian coins don’t do anything for them. Tip them in US. It’s how their world works. If you exchange your money to CUP do not exchange a lot. You cannot exchange it back when you’re leaving. I haven’t been on a trip in years. This one did me well. It was affordable and gave me what I was looking for. I felt safe. I’ll be back!

This resort is very beautiful. The service was amazing. The staff made our trip. We booked with diamond club. Highly recommend to get guaranteed dinners a al carte. Bryan & Nelly, our butlers were so very attentive and helpful! My sister and I don’t eat red meat (or much chicken), so we were limited to fish every day. I struggled with the monotony of food (to be expected) but was pleasantly surprised with the re-imagination and effort that went into entrees. The wifi was pretty non-existent so I would suggest being prepared with a data plan. Our room had mosquitos coming thru the bathroom drain but the renovated room was super nice! The beach was stunning. Plenty of pools to choose from. No issues with loungers/palapas. Staff (beside our butlers) that made our week extra special: Maria & Jr (pool bar) Carlos (beach grill) Rolando (room service) Yulinie (housekeeping) Diamond club Grazie staff, esp Lesley Yulisa (reception) Raul (arrivals)

The resort was a complete disappointment, I should have read the bad reviews before wasting a lot of money here. Having a premium room you have diamond club options, like a butler. He did nothing at all for us, all he had to do, like restaurant reservations was never done, and we have to call several times to have the reservations done. His service was terrible. The rooms are big but very, very, very old, the money you pay for them is definitely not worthy. The rest of the resort also lacks refurbishment. We also paid for a diamond club room but there was not sign of any kind that this was diamond cloud, other rooms had it clearly at the entrance. There is not AC on the buffet restaurant and it is incredible hot so it is not possible to have lunch inside and it is completely unhygienic. The italian restaurant has the same problem, not possible to enjoy eating inside. The food in general is absolutely terrible, some days we were not eating at all due to the lack of quality, we even paid outside the resort for food as this was worse than a teen camp food. The drinks are also very poor, bad mixed and cheap ingredients, the best you can have is beer, cheap one but at least tastes like it. Regarding the people working there, some try their best, others only want your tips, but you can not tip every single thing you eat or drink as you have already paid for that. The atmosphere is also close to none, people getting drunk in the pool is all you can see. We didn't try the discotheque as we could imagine how bad it was going to be. On the good hand it is by the beach and the diamond club includes a free excursion to Cayo Blanco, that even it is not a very impressive cayo, it is worthy and the crew was incredibly nice. You can also have a fresh lobster, caught by the boat crew, and it is highly recommend as the food included in Cayo Blanco is also terrible. In my humble opinion I would recommend selecting another resort, the only good thing of this one was that is adults only.