Royalton Hicacos Resort & Spa

I’m sad to write this review as we were incredibly excited about the holiday. However, this hotel is not 5 star and it is not worthy of such high reviews. We spent Christmas 2020 here, during the pandemic. Due to the significant foul smell that came from the butler area and the dried out river, we spent every day at the beach. Which is stunning! This is why the resort gets its 1. The food was awful. I understand totally the situation in Cuba, which is why we didn’t complain but it is awful. We’d upgraded to the highest option so never ate in the buffet... which was a good thing! Our room was dated; not particularly clean... as was the resort. The butler service that we paid extra for was useless. We frequently ran out of drink in the fridge and struggled to get it restocked. Some of the staff were rude too. We were totally fleeced on a trip to Havana... that the hotel sold to us. Our driver wanted everything from us, even asking for my bra! Unfortunately I’m not making that up! We were approached several times on the hotel’s private beach by Cuban men trying to buy our towels from us... it felt a little intimidating because they desperately wanted them. We literally had to guard our sun-beds. In terms of covid, everyone was supposed to wear masks but it was never enforced so it didn’t feel particularly safe. On our last night, we ate something that gave us food poisoning. The journey home was hell as a result but I’m glad we got home to the cleanliness of our own place! I absolutely can’t recommend this resort, certainly not for how much we paid. The beach was stunning but I’ve been in lovely beaches elsewhere in the world and managed to get home without food poisoning. With that in mind, my advice: Honestly, look elsewhere! Read less

Words cannot describe how wonderful our stay was . I will start with saying we were a big group of 11 guests celebrating a birthday, anniversary and a proposal ( surprise ) . I being the organizer emailed the resort prior to our stay with information pertaining to our requests and our persons with dietary and allergies information . Denys and Ileyana were our butlers that ensured everything went smoothly . From the moment we entered with Covid testing, rooms And communication about the resort. We were already taken back by the amazing service. From clean rooms, hallways and all public areas, to food , Restaurants , bars and more this place was definitely the best I have been to in Varadero. We did the sea tour excursion with Sunwing. The beaches were cleaned and always looked flawless. I can’t begin to say how picky in general I am, but this placed exceeded my expectations and I’m super impressed . All restaurants were very good and always something to eat. Bistro, ice cream bar and jazz bar were all good locations to hang out. Cuban Day on Friday is so much fun. Never think twice about visiting Royalton Hicacos. This resort is top notch. Thank you to all the employees that served us . We stayed in building 2000. Our maid zoey was wonderful. Denys and Ilyena amazing. Everyone was great. Saxophone and guitar players in hotel lobby were awesome. They need their own show! Thank you thank you thank you. We will be back!!!!! Signed Tina xo Read less

We were fortunate enough to stay at this resort over Christmas and into the new year: we had the best time and cannot praise the excellent staff enough. Everything was handled brilliantly, professionally and with genuine care and warmth - we felt very safe and looked after and extremely fortunate to be there, relatively care-free & in paradise, considering the precarious world of COVID-19 in which we now live. I’ve heard people complain about the food but if you can’t find something you want to eat from a buffet, a snack bar & 5 a la carte restaurants then I would suggest the problem lies with you. We had excellent meals in the Seafood, Mexican, The Pearl etc and also liked the Caribbean and others, while the gala dinners on Christmas/New Years Eve were outstanding and they went all out to ensure these evenings were truly spectacular and memorable occasions, which we thoroughly enjoyed! The Cuba days were also fabulous and they put a lot of effort into everything - I can taste the Caldosa soup right now :) We loved most things about this resort: the beach, pools etc (rooms were quite dated but large, kept spotlessly clean and perfectly fine) but the absolute best thing about this place is the wonderful staff, who we cannot praise enough. We had countless interactions during our extended time there and don’t have anything negative to say, they were all brilliant, but there are some we feel compelled to mention personally. Firstly our main man Dieny, who showed us to our room on the first night and quickly became our first point of call for anything (and we mean, anything) & everything and our good friend; nothing was too much trouble and he always went above & beyond - a lovely man and a credit to the hotel. Veronica, Leonardo and the other butlers (the younger trainee with Dieny etc) were also brilliant and efficient. Leonis and the team at the Jazz bar were fantastic: they ran a tight ship, made delicious cocktails and always looked after us wonderfully. All the workers in the buffet restaurant, but particularly: Gladys who would always welcome you warmly with a smile/chat & hand sanitiser; Ramon & his team outside; Barbara & her team near the entrance, Lissette, Fernando & all the guys at the back, as well as the servers and others, who were always welcoming, friendly & professional no matter how busy. The staff at the lobby bar (where we spent MANY happy hours and had such good times, both during the day and night) who were all stars in our eyes: Elena, Yenifer, Daniel, Julio, Eduardo, Juan Carlos, Elieser etc. All the musicians and performers were brilliant and very talented but our absolute favourites were Gabriel and Ofrey, on the saxophone & guitar, who were outstanding musicians and lovely guys. All the cleaners around the resort who were always there working away in the background - & always lovely & smiling; and a special mention goes to Ania, the charming dancing cleaner who was pure quality! Not forgetting our own maid Marilyn (who always did a brilliant job & helped us out) and all the other maids based outside our room, who we would chat to & occasionally dance with :) Reymel and his great team of receptionists were really helpful to us and always professional & friendly (I’d read some reviews of the receptionists being unhelpful & unfriendly before we came but this couldn’t be further from our experience.) The lovely guys that worked around the pool, Hector, Jorge & Alex who we really liked and were always on hand to assist with anything. Our friends on the beach, Andy & Alex (and the other lifeguards) who were so helpful and we’d always chat to for ages - top guys. Also all the people in the beach bar, whose names I can’t recall, but who were all wonderful - waiting staff, bar staff, cooks - as well as in the a la carte restaurants, the bistro & the lovely ladies at the Nibbles food hut...many, many thanks to you all. The 2 entertainment girls were both fab - the shorter lady, I think her name was Yari, did my hair for me on my birthday and was so sweet and helped me out so willingly. Finally the doctors / nurses on site (Dr Jose & his nurse, as well as the female doctor & her nurse) were first class & provided excellent care around the clock. I know I’ve gone on a bit but these people truly deserve a mention and recognition for the brilliant jobs they do and service they provide. I haven’t been able to submit this review earlier, due to personal reasons, but I hope these staff are all still here and not too badly affected by world events. Hope to see you all again one day soon. Debbie and James Read less