Royalton Hicacos

Myself, family, and friends have been to Cuba countless of times before at various hotels, but this by far was the best one I've experienced in Cuba to date. My family and I booked two rooms because this property has rooms with one (king-sized) bed only. Our rooms were fabulous - large, clean, and spacey with a mini-fridge and balcony overlooking the property. There is air-conditioning in each room that you can control; however, I had some issues with this toward the end of my stay. I was no longer able to regulate it properly and it was quite loud when it turned on and off (every 10 minutes it seemed like). I had to wear ear plugs to fall asleep. The service at the hotel was fabulous as well and exceeded my expectations. We had a butler assigned to us who promptly addressed all of our questions and was even able to get us an adapter so we could charge our phones and e-books. He was also frequently around to greet us in the morning and ask how things are going. He speaks Russian, German and French and his name is Danny (or David - we didn't catch his name properly). Shout out to him! The restaurant service was also great - Igort was our go-to waiter and was very pleasant and attentive to our table at all times. Other tables were a hit-and-miss but with him, we never had any issues. Around the resort all of the staff were pleasant and timely with our questions, including following up and ensuring we had everything we needed. Our maid - Rosy - was wonderful and friendly. Again, this is not something I've experienced before in Cuba. The beach is beautiful and clean - we got unlucky with the weather (very windy) but the last three days we caught a lot of sun and were able to swim in the clear water. Lots of shade available on the beach, lots of chairs, a bar and activities (including aqua gym, salsa, and catamarans). Staff always on site including those that walked around taking drink orders and assisting with wiping down tanning chairs. Everyone was always smiling and happy. You could walk for at least an hour up and down the beach (one way) - that's how long it is! The food I did not personally enjoy. I felt that the variety and quality was low, but there were many options to choose from. I do wish there were more fruit options, especially in the morning. The drinks were great and the main lobby had all kinds of drinks in addition to the standard ones. The entertainment was great and unique (there were opera singers one night!) but off-schedule. We were really looking forward to the water show but it randomly got cancelled for a beach party. There are also lots of activities around the resort including ping-pong table and billiards around the pool area, pelican-watching on the beach, yoga in the mornings, a cigar bar, jazz lounge, and a shooting range. It would have been great to have an outdoor grill available for lunch but this was only available once during our stay. All the rest of the times we had to go to the buffet. Nothing beats an outdoor grill so this could definitely be improved! Overall, we had a great stay. Please be mindful that Cuba does not have a luxury resort - a four- or five-star yes, but do not expect luxury. The hotel does need some improvement (the lazy river was not operational and had a funky smell) and we got bit by random bugs while sleeping and everyone seemed to be walking around with bites in the morning. However, this was definitely a top-notch resort for Cuba and we would return.

A lot of the structure is run down. The food is terrible and 25% of the service is good. We came with low expectations knowing that this is Cuba and they are behind the times. Before going we researched the type of power outlet. It was not the same when we arrived to our room. We did not have the right plug. Fortunately we had brought an adapter and made it work. The first night we were exhausted from travel and had not eaten all day. If you do not eat meat, you are in for a challenge. At the buffet we only had one option and it was to build a taco. In Spanish we asked for only vegetables (green peppers and onions), he seemed to understand and then proceeded to make a carrot cabbage taco. So we survived on bread. At 6a.m. we jumped out of bed due to our toilet screaming. We flushed it an it stopped for a few seconds and then screamed some more. The next morning, the same thing happened. The next morning it happened again. Then our safe would not stop beeping. All we wanted was a morning to sleep in. The laundry cart also started making very loud noises at 7a.m. I went to the desk and reported the problem. They did not believe me until I showed them some videos of the problems. They were kind and moved us to a new room. The new room was cleaner, plumbing was better, water pressure was strong, we had bathrobes, there was a power adapter and a dehumidifier! Why did we not get any of that in the beginning. We paid thousands of dollars to be there. The second day in our new room they decided to rip apart the ceiling to “change the lights”. We had no power. No lights, no air, no fan, no hairdryer... we were scheduled to leave the next morning. They should have waited until no one was in that room. The Tex Mex restaurant was the worst food I have been served in my whole life. The also tried to make us feel bad for not buying a bottle of wine. After ordering it took over an hour to get a plate of food that looked like it had been chewed up and spit out. The shrimp was not deveined, disgusting. The vegetables seemed have been frozen and not really cooked. We did not eat that night. As we were leaving the lady at the door chased us out and made us feel as bad as she could about not liking the food. The other restaurants had wonderful servers and the food was better than the worst. No one is nice until you tip them. Which we are good tippers. So by the end most servers liked us. The drinks are not too weak. The beach is beautiful. The water was perfect. The foam party was a good time. We tried to play tennis and they would not let us. The lady that worked in the hut with all the sports was not there. They only had two rackets for three courts. They told us they would not let us use the rackets and we could go back at five and play with the trainer. We just wanted to simply play tennis with ourselves. We did not need training. The lazy river does not exist. There is water missing from a lot of areas that should be running with water. It causes a lot of mosquitos to breed. No matter how hard you try, you will be covered in bites. The hot tub is a freezing tub and the jets do not work. The nightly entertainment is pretty bad. The tour to Havana that we went on had a good guide but you were not given any time in the city to shop or buy anything. It seemed as though they had contracts with the couple bars and cigar place. That’s where you can buy things. The education of the city and country was pretty good. The hour old car rental was a good time. This is an only time in your life kind of trip. I would not waste my time and money. I could go on but also do not want to waste any more of my time on this place. Good luck

My dad and I stayed from January 5th-12th as club diamond guests and it was sooooo worth it! We had our private butlers, that took care of our every need. Pedro, was our amazing Butler who took care of our every need, anything we needed. Our restaurant reservations. Our taxis. Anything at all. And then we had Ronald our Butler who came to see us and brought us whatever we needed! They are attentive, respectful, fast, honest and soooo sweet!!!!! We were lucky to have them and the hotel management should definitely hold on to them, they are amazing people. The bar staff at the Jazz bar were fantastic!!! Professional!! And made the best drinks!! Rodney and his colleagues are the best!!! If you want relaxation, luxury, lots of choice for food, beautiful pool and amazing entertainment shows at night, then come stay here!! Thank you for a lovely week :) we highly recommend!!!! Go for diamond!