Playa Pesquero Resort

4 readers found this review helpful

We chose this resort because of it's beauty and overall good reviews. We were also impressed with the cost and included wedding package if we had 20 people attending. 10 days before we were to fly out we received an email fro the staff indicating that we would have to pay an additional $1000 because one of the guests was a child. Given today's economy and that $1000 isn't easy to come by in most families we were horrified that with such short notice we would be required to shell out even more money. They didn't even consider that not only the wedding couple was stating for 2 weeks but 2 other couples were as well. We felt this to be underhanded and if given more notice we could have either picked another resort or budgeted the extra expense. This review if for the staff only as the resort itself is great.

1 reader found this review helpful

The whole place felt a bit run down, there was plenty of food but the quality was variable. Its a big complex so you may have a long walk to dinner/lobby/beach. We were a party of four and we all had tummy upsets and watch out for bitting insects use plenty of repelant. The entertainment was well below standard for what is claimed to be a 5 star hotel (more like 3ish) It was November and the weather was a bit hit and miss with rain most days. The local drinks were an aquired taste but if you tipped well enough you got branded stuff (but not every time). We will not be going back there.

29 readers found this review helpful

We stayed at Playa Pesquero for 2 weeks at the beginning of December 2009. We have been holidaying around europe and lately, the carribean for 25 years and we have never gone to the same hotel twice, in fact we would hardly go to the same Greek island twice. BUT WE ARE COMING BACK TO PLAYA PESQUERO! Can't wait for October to arrive. we all 4 agreed that this was the best holiday, (nicest people, beautiful beach, lovely complex)we had been on.
A couple of the A La Cartes were not great, but hey book early and if you don't enjoy the meal go get a snack in the buffet. Remember where you are, the Cuban people do not get to eat this well.
the beach is stunning and the lovely man there will find you a spot with shade. whilst there use the facilities, the hobycat sail is fab, expect to get soaked - he'll go a fast as you are happy with.
I do not understand the negative attitude regarding tipping, we did not tip every day, we tipped here and there as warranted but never felt pressured. we also took pens and pencils with as we were told children needed them for school. We found they need a lot more!
So this is were i go off tangent. This year we are taking more. i.e. pens, pencils, erasers, sharpeners, calculators (try to get solar, but if not get spare batteries), notebooks, soap, toothpaste and toothbrushes. we won't pack our best holiday clothes but clothes and shoes we will be happy to leave behind. dig out your unused costume jewellery, watches, hats etc.
spare a thought for the people who you would not normally tip. i.e. give security a pack for the family they will appreciate it. also if you go out for the day take pens and pencils with you to give to children, they really do need it for school. you will be rewarded with the biggest smile.
We were a bit embarrassed a the thought of giving things away, don't be, just make up packs as appropriate.
just think how light your back will be to go home!
Go to Cuba, chill out, learn a few spanish words, and you will have a great holiday.

47 readers found this review helpful

Just got back from getting married at pesquero and what a fantastic experience. Staff were great, very attentive and hard working. food was very good, our fave restaurant being the Romantica where both the veal and lobster are recommended. Change a few english quid up on the day you arrive, as you'll need 25 CUC each for departure tax at the airport, but if you do that on day one and put it in your safety deposit box in your room then it's one less thing to concern yourself with, but also have a few pesos ready for tips as wages are low in cuba and tips are well received. The beach is very good, the entertainment on a night is also good and the family feel of the place makes everyone feel welcome. Take the opportunity to swim with dolphins on a day trip as this excursion was quality. There are buggies to ferry you around the resort. The Beer Garden is a minutes walk from the beach, serves nice snacks like shrimps on a stick or sausages with mustard or tuna tapanade, plus the beer (Bucanero) at 5.2% is surprisingly smooth and tasty. From the beer garden the pool is a mere thirty second stroll through the small boulevard of shops (selling bottles of good rum at just 6 pesos! (excellent to add to the cola you find restocked daily in your minibar). The only downsides for us mainly emanated from tourists and not the hotel or its staff. The condition of several of the poolside toilets were atrocious, my wife could not use them on several occasions and lets just say i was glad to have footwear on when i visited the gents. Also the families were great, but several families together made small gangs and the volume levels rise with such groups. Not a problem in itself, but several drunken east london youths could not complete a sentence without using a swear word. This in front of kids to me is a no no. And i'm talking 10am around the pool here not in a bar at night! The weather was scorching and several people who sun worshipped on the beach came back intensely tanned. The seafood restaurant on the beach is lovely and great service. The asian tried but fell short of its rivals. Gondola very tasty food. Yarayal (or Grill) had plenty to offer and was nice. La Trattoria nice breakfast and lunch (closes 5pm). Romantica superb food and service. Our wedding day was incredible, photographer did a great job, horse and carriage a nice touch and food fantastic, bed dressed down on a night was also a nice touch and the wedding breakfast cooked in your room was a brilliant touch. If you're thinking of getting married here, do it. If you're thinking of holidaying here, do it. The place is sensational. Tip: Vino lover? Pack a couple of bottles wrapped in your towels as the shop does sell wine but at 19 pesos/£14-15 its not cheap whereas the rum is astonishing value. The only reason i mention the wine is sometimes with a young un, its nice to go back to your room and chill on your balcony with a glass of the good stuff. Hope this helps. (oh and as has already been mentioned, moreso than tips, if you can leave razors/toiletries/cosmetics/medicines/t-shirts, these are greatly received by staff) Enjoy!

6 readers found this review helpful

We visited in Sept last year and got engaged on our 10 year anniversary!
Good bits - the beaches are to die for, if you want to go sea fishing ask the guys at the beach, the lads seemed to be more successful there than the organised trips. The pools are great and can't beat a swim up bar. The staff at the pool bar were friendly and if you tip them regularly (we tipped every other day) they keep you watered! The fresh fish at meal times was gorgeous and plentiful. Also loved having a home made ommelette every breakfast (there was a huge choice). We took an excursion into the Holguin with a train trip (broke down 4x), I thought it was great cos you were exposed to the real Cuba which is an eye opener, but a lot f people did complain.
Weather was perfect, it did have a couple of storms that cleared the air but generally it was after sunbathing time! Get a massage by the guy, he's amazing probably a physio!
Bad bits - we got a room upgrade which was a waste of money, the rooms themselves were slightly disappointing, they looked tired and quite shabby. The maid practically wrote begging notes for tips, in fact all the staff really push on the tips and this did put me off. Some of the food is tinned but I think this is because of their embargo, just beaware the ketchup is not Heinz etc. I love 7 yr Havana Club and they kept running out or passing off their local one, to be honest I did get used to it but I'd rather it was my choice. This particular hotel was massive and full of British Northeners with a few Canadians. So it did feel like Benidorm at times so we just kept going to another bar or area. I'm Spanish and speaking spanish to the locals made a huge difference in service, so I recommend you learn a few choice phrases to get the best service from them.
All in all I had a great time, I did prefer Kenya to here but it's fantastic country to visit just wish we'd chosen a smaller hotel.
They spray the hotel area with mosquito killer, I only got bitten a couple of times but really reacted to it, so I had to get antihistamin to calm things down.

9 readers found this review helpful

We have just returned from two weeks at this resort and to be honest it has everything but it is so vast you really have to do a great deal of walking and if the weather is hot, that can be hard work. We had around a ten minute walk from our room to the buffet, from the room to the beach or to the pool. The pool and most of the resort is a hike from the beach, but its a nice beach and the sea crystal clear. There are golf buggies and a little train if you can catch them to give you a ride. Rooms are similar to any hotel, big and adequate. Grounds are very well kept and attractive. There is always plenty of food but being Cuba, is not the best quality. We recommend Romantica restaurant as being the best. Again, being Cuba, despite its 5* rating, this is really only a 3+, 4 at a push. Good resort but only if you're fit and like busy, noisy places - fully booked this hotel takes 2000 people - Cuban Butlins!

2 readers found this review helpful

all staff was nice and welcoming :)
and all food was amazing :D
and weather was brillent
and all rooms was beautiful and clean :)
they made a good wedding for my auntie and uncle :)
id defo go again !!

53 readers found this review helpful

Just got back from this resort, the workers are amazing. They make the difference when it comes to this trip, treat them with respect- say please say thank you, you will see the distance they will go for you. The resort was spectacular, there was something for all the family to eat even the pickier of the family. Respect is the universal code of proper behaviour, you will see guests who just except to be treated as Royalty, and their staff do treat the guests as that, but remember saying thank you is not something which is to hard to do.
The beach is beautiful, the swim up bar is great. The pool scenery looks like something you would only see in a catalogue. There are not many vendors but tourists must keep in mind the nature of Cuba, they are a country in poverty and this resort is private therefore you will not see locals on the beach and those who sell things on the resorts need permits because they do not want their guests to be pestered. The rooms are a great size, large beds, very clean and the air conditioning works very well.
Overall, GREAT time! Cannot wait to go back in April. I would recommend this place to anyone, even those with children!

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25 readers found this review helpful

I got back from a 2 week holiday at playa pesquero earlier this week.
The hotel itself is absolutely beautiful, and has everything you could ask for. The staff are all so friendly (apart from maybe the odd one, but out of all the hundreds of staff there you rarely get that) the reception staff were very helpfulThe only downside to this hotel is the food! it was pretty poor, it was all cold and wasn't very exciting, they did do freshly cooked items too like ommelettes and eggs for brekkie, and pasta for dinner, but you cant have that every day, we went on a few day trips and even the food on those weren't that great either so i think it must just be Cuba (and not just the hotel).
They have 2 buffet resturaunts and 8 al acarte, 6 of which you need to book up in advance. we booked up 4 (Romantico, Italiano, Asiatic & Grill) and they were all rubbish. the grill was the only one we went to twice but it wasn't exactly great, the romantico was the worst for us i didnt finish a single course, and my boyfriend who eats anything even if he doesnt like it left his dessert, it actually made us feel sick!
For lunch the best place to go is one of the other 2 al acartes, one is located on the beach and the other is on the way to the beach. both of these have a few options on there and the food will come out hot! We dont like seafood so unable to comment on it, but we heard alot of people say how good it was.
we didnt watch many of the evening entertainment shows because they all started 9.30 and we found our selfs getting bored between dinner and the show so we ended up back at our room, the ones we did watch were ok, we joined in one of them which was a boys vs girls competion which was really fun, but i think this is about the only one which involves the audience. The day time entertainment included water sports, football, cocktail making, bingo and several other things, the main person we saw was called Alex, he was very funny and friendly.
We stayed in a premium room, which on first impression didnt look that nice, but it was very spacious. we also viewed a standard room, which looked nicer but was smaller, i would have been happy in either room, but we stuck with the premium as the aircon in the standard was very noisey and the balcony door was broken.
tv reception wasn't that great but we only watched that while getting ready to go out, but it did included 2 American channels which were full of our favourite shows. The mini bar had a large bottle of water, 2 cans of beer and 2 cans of Kola, which was supposed to be stocked up daily but when we got back sometimes we were still missing items.
Our maid left us lovely swans on our bed most days, and we found our selfs getting excited on our way back to see what she had come up with, some of the things were just amazing!
Top Tip: You may or may not be aware of this, but cubans struggle to buy certain things like soap, toothpaste, notepads & pens etc, so they really appriciate if you leave them items like these. we made up a few gift packs for the hotel staff which included, toothbrush, toothpaste, mouthwash, soap, razor, notepad and colouring pencils. we gave 1 each week to the maid and also left her all of our unwanted items at the end of the holiday i.e. half a bottle of shampoo/conditioner, shower gel, tshirts, razors, flipflops, insect repelant etc They really love hats as well so if you have any old hats they would REALLY appreciate them too.
If i can upload pics i will, but for some reason i have tried before and it hasnt let me.

9 readers found this review helpful

I went to playa 2yrs ago and it was Amazing so I was very Unhappy with my stay back in March.The staff were not friendly nor helpful unless you Tipped them.I worked out that i should have taken an extra £200 just to tip to recieve the service.The food was cold in the buffet and My daughter in the grill had a piece of pork that had only been cooked on 1 side.My friend had metal in her tuna salad and I had a salad that was prepared for me which had a maggot in it.we had 4 burgers which were raw in the Italian.Be perpared to wait a long time to get served at any of the Bars unless you tip big or bring them meals.First choice have been informed of all our problems and they replied that its just My opinion so maggots ,raw food and metal are the norm .thanks first choice .