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 Playa Pesquero Resort - Holguin  Location: Beachfront - 10 minutes from Guardalavaca - 60 minutes from Holguin Airport All-inclusive - 912 rooms in two-storey villas Description : 9 restaurants - 5 bars - 3 pools - 3 buffet meals daily plus 24-hour snacks 4 à la carte dinners dress code in effect - Lobby bar open 24-hours - ice cream parlour - beer garden - CD player in every room  ~ Reviews posted on this page — 34  Don't forget to send Debbie your review ~ Map of Resort ~ Reader's Vacation Photos ~ 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10 ~ Readers Playa Pesquero Wedding Reviews ~ Cuba Resorts Review Index Start your vacation with Westjet.com for less
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Have you stayed at this resort? Share your vacation experiences with others.| Playa Pesquero Resort | Deborah |
We are just back from a week at this resort April 1 to 8 – having travelled extensively in the Caribbean, I know what to expect – understand the difficulties of keeping things up in the heat and humidity but this resort is a dump. Further, I understand the difficulties associated with Cuba and some of their import problems – that said, this hotel is not a 5 star by anyone’s standard – it is a 2 or 2.5 at best. The sad part is that all that is needed is some good management, staff training and a general refresh of the facility – the bones are there. A 5 star resort is of the standard of many of the Riu hotels or the Majestic Colonial…….
The staff is generally very lax except for a few stars like Rosa, the chambermaid; Vanier, a bartender, and some others. The front desk people are rude, and lie right to your face.
Please don’t get me wrong, I brought a ton of things to give to people – lots of things for children, adults, etc., etc. I also tipped everyone who provided a service – I found that to GET service you had to tip – one of our group tried to get a cash advance on his credit card – after 4 unsuccessful tries, he offered a tip and amazingly the next try worked just fine.
The main lobby is ok but the couches in the lobby are very old and saggy – velvety covering that is extremely uncomfortable in the heat. The ceiling fans are wobbly, covered in cobwebs and dusty and half of them don’t work so it gets very warm where the breeze is blocked.
The rooms are tired tired tired – and generally not clean – the bath mat was more than disgusting – it was probably a health hazard! – The towels were gray with age and had the softness of sandpaper. On our first 2 days we got bath towels the size of hand towels – went to the desk and were told that that is all that they had – after I tipped some people, magically, larger (and somewhat newer) towels showed up – we got soap in the bathroom on day one and had to ask for more on day 3 as the tiny bars were running out.
Beach towels were not available for the first day and half that we were there – strange but true…..
The pool was huge and beautiful but not maintained properly – lots of green slime on the grout lines – having a pool at home, I know how easy this is to take care of….. by our last day the water was getting cloudy and not nice.
The landscaping was beautiful and they took care of some of it but where there was grass, it hadn’t been mowed in weeks – the grass had grown and gone to seed.
In the restaurants like the Trattoria, the table tops were rarely if ever cleaned off between people coming and going – it got rather disgusting.
One of our group, a young woman, rented a scooter – while out the key broke in the scooter so she made her way back to the hotel – now – understand that she knew she would have to pay something for the key BUT – 50 pesos (about $57) – the keys are large and thick like a Medco key if you have high security locks at home – clearly this young woman could not have broken the key; however, she was willing to pay something but 50 pesos….. after much arguing, they settled on 20 pesos – she asked to speak to their parts department but they said they didn’t know how to reach it – it went on and on…..
Leaving the hotel was the worst – we were accused of stealing the wonderful towels from our room (remember the towels) – how they could have been able to tell given we got different numbers of towels every day we were there – we offered to let them search our luggage (on the proviso that they would repack and apologize) – they balked at that and after about 5 minutes of them generally accusing us, they told us we could go.
Some of our group had charges duplicated on their bills and were threatened with arrest if they didn’t pay up – the double charges were not removed – they insisted that they hadn’t made a mistake and if people didn’t pay up, they would be arrested! – this is the rudest treatment I have ever seen at any hotel in the world!
As our bus was about to leave, one kid was told he would be kept in Cuba in a Cuban jail because he hadn’t returned his beach towel – he had never taken one as he brought his own – they said they had his signature on his towel card which was impossible as he hadn’t turned his card in for a towel at all – he asked to see the card and his signature – they refused and just told him he had to pay 15 pesos – he refused and after much discussion where he was accused of lying, the bus was delayed and they finally told him to get out (I doubt if you could have kept him there). Once on the bus, others relayed similar scams by the front desk to get money from people.
The last straw on the trip was at the airport where there were 4 cleaners in the 2 stall women’s washroom asking for money if you had to go!!!!!!
By and large, the Cuban people seemed very nice but even there it got odd – we took a tour into Hoguin and saw a cigar factory – we wanted to buy some cigars – we were told not to buy them at the factory store but we would be taken into town where they would be cheaper – the guide took us to some other person and told us to go with him to get cigars – we went with him and ended up in someone’s home with various cigars in a laundry basket (black market anyone???). It was very intimidating – we knew the cost of the cigars at the hotel and were very very nervous about buying things like this – not at all fun. On another part of the trip, my husband walked up to see a holy site (450 steps up the side of a mountain) – I took the bus up – when we got to the top, my poor, out of shape, husband was sitting in the shade sweating and panting with about a dozen beggars around him – not at all fun – we didn’t even take pictures up there because of the beggars (before you think I am heartless, rest assured I DID give money to some children who were begging but the others ran after me after that so I got back on the bus to get away….. Not fun.
Quite generally, the trip was saved by the friends we were with – I will never recommend this hotel to anyone and will definitely warn people not to go there – it was terrible.
| Playa Pesquero Resort | Neil |
Just got back from a week at the Playa Pesquero resort about 1 hour from Holguin. The tour company (Sun Wing) listed it as a 5-star and the resort itself said it was a 5-star... beware, it is a 3-star at best. Most staff members were friendly and very helpful, and did appreciate receiving a gratuity. The resort was generally clean but not spotless which a 5-star should be. Our room had some mold and the bath mat was black on the bottom. What it needed was a fresh coat of paint and some sprucing up. The room was a little tired looking, and upon check-in, our king size bed had a queen size sheet on it. It only reached the edges and not over. Very difficult for two people to sleep with. We had two larger sheets in our room when we returned from dinner. The bath towels were about 2x3 feet only. When we asked if larger towels were available at the front desk, we were told there weren't any. After leaving a little something for our chambermaid, we got some large towels the next day.
The pool itself was huge, but the water was cloudy and the sides of the pool, especially the grout lines were turning green. It was obvious it had not been properly maintained. This didn't change during the course of our stay. The swim up pool bar staff were excellent, including Yanier and Pedro plus others. They always had a smile on their face, a friendly hand shake and were willing to play all sorts of music on their stereo. This was a bright spot for our stay.
We had heard prior to going from many many people that the food was a little bland, but were pleasantly surprised that this wasn't as bad as we had expected. Most items at breakfast, lunch and dinner were flavorful and didn't need much extra seasoning besides some salt and pepper. We wished that the staff would come around in a more timely manner and pick up dirty dishes. Most days we would see birds landing at the tables and grabbing what they could off the dirty plates. Upon arriving for several dinners, the staff ignored us for several minutes until they decided they were ready to serve us. They definitely knew we were there, but didn't even acknowledge or greet us (which you would have expected).
I would recommend taking down an insulated mug of some sort, so the bar staff can pour you a larger drink (which means less trips to the bar) and keep it colder longer. I took down a 'BubbaKeg' that I bought at Canadian Tire (in Canada). Check out bubbakeg.com. Not many people had them or something similar, but always a great idea to take something like this down. I left them with a local staff member.
There were a number of stores available to buy rum, nick-knacks, clothes, cigars, etc. We took a tour to Holguin that included a tour of a cigar factory there. It was very interesting to see how they make a cigar in about 2-3 minutes. The combination of several tobacco leaves determines whether you get a cohiba, romeo y julietta or monte christo. We also saw them put the finishing (outer wrapper) on and then sort them according to outer wrapper colour. A box of cigars must all have the same outer wrapper colour tone. The sorter must be able to distinguish about 60 different tones in order to perform that function.
The main trouble point we ran into with the front office staff was at check out. We were accused of stealing towels from our room. I was incredulous. I told the staff member they could check my luggage then I would expect an apology afterwards. The towels were no screaming hell, and why I would want to steal them was beyond my comprehension. After about 5 minutes on the phone and a lot of chatter back and forth in Spanish between various staff members, we were told that it was resolved and we could go. No apology, nothing.
Several other people checking out at the same time reported various problems with their bills. Double charging for phone calls, and fictitious calls appearing on their bills. One other couple on our flight was accused of stealing a pool towel just as our bus was loading luggage for our return trip to the airport.
There are some other stories I won't get into here, but it is clear to me that the front office staff at this resort are corrupt and engage in fraudulent practices. This is an awful way to treat guests to their country, and for a country that desperately needs tourist dollars I am at a loss to explain why this behavior is tolerated the resort general manager or higher up. The resort is owned by Gaviota which I believe is a Cuban state company.
I will NEVER return to this resort, and will definitely advise others to avoid it. It is a 3-star resort which doesn't seen to care much about guest experience or word of mouth. Unless you are looking for a basic resort, I would recommend going somewhere else.
One last point, after checking in back at the Holguin airport, paying our departure tax, and clearing security, we ran into an unusual situation. There were up-wards of 4 local cleaning women who had taken over both the women's and men's main floor departure area bathrooms and were soliciting tips. In the case of the mens washroom, one staff member remained in there for over half a hour. She wasn't cleaning or working...just soliciting tips and asking tourists to give her convertible peso's for Canadian money. This is a shameful activity on their part. I appreciate they are less fortunate and can see helping them covert tips they had earned back into local currency, but not by bullying tourists on their way out of the country.
| Playa Pesquero Resort | Pauline |
This is our second time at Playa Pesquero. From March 23 to March 30th/2008. We were there 4 years ago with our 3 children. We took them again this year for a week. Not enough time. 2 weeks would of been great. All the staff we met 4 years ago are still there and they remembered us all. I was shocked. Very nice people. Since we were repeated guests we were invited for dinner at the Grill. It was excellent. We were served 2 filets mignon's each along with vegetables and rice. The filets were very tender. We also had dinner at the Romantico and the lobster was so good. Most of the time we had lunch at the 24 hour restaurant on the boulevard where they served pizza, hamburgers, grilled cheese, fish etc... name it, it was there. The kids enjoyed it there. Our dinner was mostly at the Latino buffet. They have
2 large buffet restaurants side by side. Creole and Latino. You can go around and check them out and fill your plate. They cook steaks, fish, lobster in front of you and just tell them how you like it. Deserts, deserts, deserts, plenty of it. The beer garden which is located across from the ice cream bar is excellent also if you want appetizers along with your beer or wine anytime day or night, it is open for 24 hours also. I have no bad reviews about this hotel. Everything went well and the staff is so friendly. Be nice to them and they will be nice to you.
The beach was so oh! beautiful. We walked it everyday and picked sea shells. There was a house on the east side that I was curious about and checked it out. Still don't know what that building was but there was a wooden dock and the view was just so spectacular. We did only 1 tour because we just wanted to relax. I took my children and niece to swim with the dolphins. It's very expensive (99.00$) each but it was worth it for them. If you wanted the dolphins to bring you around on their fins or to stand up and take you for a ride it was an extra 10 pesos each.
They just loved it. My husband and my son went to check out the village Guardelavaca while we were gone. My son bought Bongos which were only 23 pesos for the real thing and on the resort they were 50 pesos but not as good quality but the carvings on them were beautiful. They also went to visit the public beach in Guardalavaca and my husband told me it was so beautiful. Next time we go I will go there for the day. They have restaurants and bars there too but you have to pay. We went to visit a Cuban home by taxi (70.00 pesos) in Banes. That was the best experience in my life. They took us in like we were family. Their culture is so unique and peaceful. Plain and the necessities only. The same way I was brought up. It is a good learning experience for my children for them to see how we are spoiled and to appreciate what we have. All in all I have no complaints about the service at the resort. We were always greeted with a smile and they served people in order. If someone would butt in, they wouldn't serve them. They look around and noticed who was next. The wait was never long. The resort was very luscious and green. The trees have matured and there's more flowers. Mind you the last time, they were going threw a drought. Well maybe people say it wasn't a 5 star but it was for me. I didn't have to work, cook, clean, shovel snow, pay bills and I even forgot about everything back home. Now, isn't that a holiday!!!!
| Playa Pesquero Resort | Debbie & Rob |
My husband I went in November 2007 and were not impressed.
This was defiantly not a 4star plus hotel. The rooms although spacious were very tired. Curtains were hanging off the rails, the bath mat was mouldy, the toilet seat was loose, the hairdryer had been ripped of the wall. There is more but I will not go on.
There was plenty of choice food wise however it was very bland. The themed restaurants were ok but not very authentic and many guests were not challenged with regard to the dress code. The Romantica's air conditioning was set far to cold, we sat shivering throughout the meal. One night in the buffet restaurant there was nowhere for us to sit and it took nearly twenty minutes to be seated in a closed part of the restaurant. By this time our food had gone cold!!!
The entertainment was appalling. Getting adults onto the stage and playing silly games and badly run fashion shows are not forms of entertainment in our eyes. The one saving grace was the synchronised swimming one evening.
We had problems with our key card two days on the run. Staff lied to us and told us that the key cards can only be programmed for one week at a time. However after speaking to other guests we found out this was not the case.
Very often it took far to long to get served at the lobby bar.
The toilets at the lobby bar were disgusting and smelt very bad.
There are many other points that we feel did not live up to our expectations however I will not go on.
Finally our biggest disappointment was the flights. We flew with Thomas Cook and upgraded to premium. This was a joke! Never again need I say more!!!!!!!!!!
| Playa Pesquero Resort | Susan |
My husband, 11 year old son and I stayed at Playa Pesquero in Holguin, Cuba for two weeks, flying out from Toronto on March 8th. We were lucky to fly out at all as it was the day of the BIG snow storm.
We’ve stayed at resorts in the Caribbean many, many times and I can honestly say that this hotel is not a five star hotel. I know not to expect the same standards as I would expect at home, but I’d give it a 3.5 tops.
Although the hotel is not very old (about seven years old), it already seems run down. We checked in about 2:00 am on Sunday morning and it was a royal pain. Check-in took quite a while as they only had two people working at the desk for a whole tour bus. I had emailed the hotel prior to our arrival and requested a 2nd floor room, but it was not available when we arrived. Even though I received a response back, there wasn’t even a note of my request. I had read in some reviews that the main floor rooms had bug problems, but as it turned out, this was not the case – it was fine.
The fridge is supposed to be stocked every day (1 3litre bottle of water, 2 cokes and 2 beers) but that’s not always the case. A couple of times we were in our room when the stock guy came so I just asked for extra. Also, you can take your empty water bottle to the bar and they’ll fill it up for you if you run out before you get restocked. We did this almost every day. The fridge was not cold the first day, but we managed to have it fixed the following day.
The rooms are spacious but tired looking. The chamber maid did a good job cleaning and making sure we had everything we needed including an extra pillow and towel. We left her a tip every day to ensure good service. I had also read that tipping was not necessary and that you’d get good service regardless – Definitely not the case! We didn’t get half-decent service in the buffet restaurant until we began tipping (if we ever wanted to get coffee WITH our breakfast, not after) and tipped at the a la carte restaurants as a matter of course. The buffet food was very bland and sometimes the food was not cooked through. There was very little fruit. The lady who made the omelets in the morning was very friendly and did a good job.
They warned us to make our a la carte reservations as soon as possible – I actually waited a couple of days and managed to get all 8 reservations in the time slots that I wanted. (You’re allowed 4 per week – one at each restaurant.) I’d say that La Romantico was the best restaurant. My husband had the lobster there and it was delicious. The service was also very good. Also, at the a la carts when you ordered wine, they left you the entire bottle and even asked if you wanted another if you had finished it with your meal!
Although the western portion of the beach was not very large, the water was gorgeous, blue and crystal clear, and there were always plenty of beach chairs and shade – which was a surprise, because the hotel was booked to capacity. We tipped the guys who set up our beach chairs for us a couple of times and they seemed to really appreciate that. Also, because the grounds are so vast, it didn’t feel like there were so many people. For the first few days, it felt like all we did was walk – but after that we got used to it and found a bunch of shortcuts.
The pool was very large and had both deep and shallow portions. Although it was nice, I was a bit leery because of the pee party happening at the swim-up bar. Some days the chlorine was so strong our eyes were stinging. We tried to stick to the beach after that.
A few times after breakfast, the three of us went to play pool for a few hours. The pool cues are not well maintained, and there was no chalk, but it was fun none-the-less. We didn’t use the gym – got enough exercise walking everywhere. We managed to catch the “people mover” golf carts a few times after dinner back to our room or the lobby for a drink. The guys who drive them are pretty nice.
We took one tour to Holguin and a cigar factory. It was neat to see how they make cigars but there was absolutely nothing to buy in the city. We bought cigars from the factory – note, the price of cigars is the same everywhere, even at the hotel, unless, of course, you buy fakes or off the black market. We also bought some rum and found it to be the least expensive at the airport. Driving conditions on the roads was pretty bad, so I wouldn’t recommend renting mopeds.
The beer at the Beer Garden was nice and cold, the ice cream at the Ice Cream Shoppe was tasty and the pizza and service down at the pizza hut on the beach (open from noon to 2:45 pm) was good. Service at the beach restaurant itself stank! I asked for a beer three times, each time getting a tight smile, and a “si”, but it never arrived. And, of all places, men have to wear a shirt in the beach restaurant!
I had gone expecting 5 star hotel amenities and service. In that regard, it was a disappointment. Had I gone expecting 3 star, I’d be a happy camper. Regardless, we had a very relaxing vacation, vegged on the beach a lot, and it did not rain once during the entire two weeks. The mornings were wonderfully cool and the evenings were pleasant and we didn’t need the air conditioning when we slept. It was also nice to be woken up by the birds every morning.
It’s a fairly decent family hotel and I would recommend it if you aren’t too picky about aesthetics or food.
So, here I am back in the snow, wishing I didn’t have to leave Playa Pesquero.
| Playa Pesquero Resort | The Turner Family |
Our family of four had a fabulous time at Playa Pesquero. We were in the two-bedroom suite, and the spacious, attractive accommodation greatly enhanced our experience. We were located within easy walking distance of the ocean, pool, main lobby, buffets, and sports facilities. The housekeeping staff did a great job of keeping our rooms clean and decorated beautifully, especially the children’s room. The food in the main buffet was plentiful and varied, and although there was repetition of some of the dishes, all was well cooked and presented. The staff was friendly and attentive. The a la carte restaurants offered a pleasant change to the buffet. We visited the seafood restaurant (apparently assigned to each group of guests as one of the four restaurants), The Grill, La Gondola, and Romantico. The food and the service at the last two was quite good, Romantico in particular. Romantico had the added advantage of being indoors, as the mosquitoes at La Gondola were plentiful, as were the feral cats which seem to live at the resort. The cats are interesting, but the mosquitoes are a nuisance, and were present just about everywhere as the sun began to set. We would recommend insect repellent to anyone out at dusk, and caution guests that there is a golf cart with a fogger which circles part of the compound at dusk (it passed by our villa at app. 6:25 p.m. each night). The mosquitoes seemed to disappear after about 7:30 p.m.
We all enjoyed the water activities and sports; our children (9 & 11) stayed mostly with us, but there were staff members actively engaged in children’s programs. Everyone was kind and respectful. The beach chair attendants are very helpful; the marina staff are pleasant; we saw no sign of any life guards.
If you are interested in wine at the restaurants, ask for Hector. There is good wine available at the a la carte restaurants, but must be requested. The staff rotates among the restaurants, so it’s never clear who will be available without asking.
There are many daily excursions available, but we participated only in the trolley to Guadalavarca. The trip costs 5 pesos per person, round trip, and takes about 40 minutes each way. The countryside is beautiful, and the trolley enables the passengers to really see the landscape, the livestock, abodes and modes of transportation for the Cuban people. We took a cab ride back to the hotel (10 pesos), as the three hours allotted to visiting the craft market and beach in Guadalavarca was too long for us.
We took and distributed pens, pencils, crayons (we saw some school children waiting for the bus as we returned to the hotel, so we gave them the items directly), hand sanitizer (apparently not available in Cuba), shampoo, tooth paste, and some new items of children’s clothing. Everything was greatly appreciated. The staff seemed to pool the tips in every area of the resort.
One note: there seemed to be some general confusion the morning of our departure with luggage pickup. Several individuals called for a pickup well in advance of the 6:00 a.m. scheduled departure from the hotel, only to be left waiting for up to an hour. If possible, it is preferable to get your luggage to the front lobby independently.
Great place, and would return, if only there weren’t so many other places to visit.
| Playa Pesquero Resort | Claudette |
Hi travelers! I am just returning from a beautiful March brake vacation at Playa Pesquero. We were a group of 32. Everyone of us is happy. It was my first time on a resort but my fellows have been traveling during March brake for many years. Being a group certainly makes it more fun, the resort is so big and we meet all the time. The main asset of the place is according to me that it has an exotic look witch makes the vacation very relaxing. I walked to Costa Verde resort witch is few steps from Playa Pesquero and I think that there is no comparison possible between both. I definitively felt very happy to be at Playa Pesquero and not at Costa Verde. It is true that the shades of the lamps in my room and the bed cover were wormed out. My room was not the cleanest and my telephone had to be repaired. The beach is also quite small, no long walks.
Shows at night were very entertaining for me the new comer (Las Vegas style)
I mostly ate vegetables, fish once in a while, fried cheesy potatoes, chicken, shrimps.
Overall the place is totally charming.
I recommend it for a nice vacation full of surprises.
| Playa Pesquero Resort | Al and Judy |
Just returned for this wonderful resort. EVERYTHING is a 5 Star.
The best person among the staff at the resort was Lionel at the Swim-up bar.
Friendly, efficient, and a great guy too. Tell him Al and Judy, Brian, Mike, and Tracy say HOLA!
Folks, you can't loose if you book here.
| Playa Pesquero Resort | Gen ~ Laval, Quebec |
We just got back from a one-week stay at the Playa Pesquero (in Holguin Cuba) and thought I'd send along some of my thoughts:
THE ROOMS: Great! We booked a full 2-bedroom suite so that we'd have a bit more space, and boy did we ever!!! Turns out that we got 3 complete standard rooms, with adjoining doors. So we had 3 rooms (the middle one with
the beds replaced by a futon & chairs), 3 bathrooms, 3 closets, 3 balconies - WOW! It sure was worth the extra cash! We got a beachfront suite in Building # 10 which is just about the best located building on site. It's right beside the pool, the baby club, and less than a 3 minute walk to anything. Unless you really like to walk, you might want to steer clear of buildings 33 to 41 since they are quite far from everything.
THE POOL: Awesome! There's a huge shallow area (probably 75 feet long) within the main pool that serves as a wading pool for young kids. There's also a smaller wading pool in the baby club, but it was more fun to be in the main pool. The other side of the pool (near the Grill restaurant) is quieter and more suited to adults without kids. We never had a problem finding chairs, even if we arrived later in the day. Note that there are LOTS of kids at this resort, and yes, kids love to splash and play around in the pool, so if this bothers you,
then you'd better go somwehere else.
THE BEACH: Fantastic! There are mature trees along the entire coast line, so there's plenty of shade for the little ones. The sand is eally fine and soft and there are always plenty of chairs to go around - even if you show up in the middle of the day. I never saw any lifeguards though, so keep an eye on your friends and family. If you've got kids, be sure to bring along your own beach toys since there are none available.
THE FOOD: Average. There were two fantastic a-la-carte restaurants (Romantico and Gondola), and two other decent ones (Seafood on the beach, and The Grill). We had no problems getting reservations anywhere - the key is to go BEFORE the meeting with your tour representative, because after that it's a mad rush and there's nothing left. There's a great little tapas-type place (Beer Garden) that you can go to anytime for tasty little snack size
portions of fish and other things. The buffet however wasn't so great. The prepared food in the buffet was not the best, but there were stations where you could get freshly grilled fish and meat, and eggs for breakfast. There were almost no cooked veggies to speak of, and very little fruit. They ran out of bananas on our third day and never got any more after that. If you're really picky about food, this may not be the best resort for you. But for us, it was not a priority so it didn't really bother us.
SERVICE: Overall service was quite good. Except maybe at The Grill restaurant. Remember - if you treat the staff well, they will treat you well in return. Try to sit around the same area of the buffet so that the waiters
begin to recognize you. They'll start to anticipate your needs without even asking. While they don't seem to expect it, they are quite grateful for the tips they receive.
GAME AREA: My son LOVED the game area, with ping pong tables, foosball, billiards, chess, checkers... The equipment is getting a little old though, so hopefully they invest a little to replace some of it soon.
GROUNDS: The grounds were beautiful and very well kept. Workers were out every day mowing lawns, removing weeds, and keeping things clean. Beware of the little golf carts all over the place though - they drive pretty fast, but are generally careful. You can use them to get around if you don't feel like walking. It's a buit of a challenge to find one that's not occupied though!
OVERALL IMPRESSION: I'd definitely recommend this resort to families with kids. It's not a 5-star resort anymore though - it's starting to show its age a bit. I'd give it 4 stars. But nonetheless, we had a fantastic time and we would go back anytime. It's definitely a great value for the money.
| Playa Pesquero Resort | bnanel |
Sorry this review is a bit late but everything has been so hectic since we got back.
We ll, this was our second visit to Playa Pesquero and the resort is pretty much the same as the first time we went.
We booked through Air Canada Vacations and all went well with flight etc.
Getting through security was uneventful and we were pretty much on our way to within about 45 minutes after arrival.
Check in was quick as there were only six of us to check in and we did it in a room around the corner from the front desk.
We had to wait for our room as we arrived at 1ish and were told we would have to wait for about an hour which was no problem as we just put our luggage in the room they have set up for luggage and proceeded to grab a drink in the lobby and reminance about our previous visit.
We checked back at around 2:30 and got our room key and were unpacked and back in the lobby at shortly after 3:00.
The resort was exactly as we remembered.
I would have to say our only disappointment was the fact we were only able to secure one a la carte and it was for the Seafood (which we both enjoyed from our last trip) but it was on our last night there. Everything was booked and being repeat customers didn't do a thing for us. As repeat customers, there were no perks at all (not that it was necessary but anything would have been a nice gesture).
We had requested a second floor room prior to arriving and were unable to get that either.
The buffet was pretty good. Breakfast being our favourite meal as you could get omelettes, bacon, fresh OJ and bread. For anyone who likes their toast really toasted, the smaller buffet has a better toaster. The large buffet just produced warm bread unless you put it through a few times and I couldn't do that as there were usually others waiting as well. We certainly didn't go hungry but it would have been nice to break up the week with an a la carte in there somewhere. Oh well, what can you do. Our tour rep advised us when we were leaving that had we said something to him, he could have pulled some strings and got us in somewhere but hey, we still had a great time.
The beach was as beautiful as we remembered but this time we spent equal time between the beach and the pool.
We did one excursion - the Holquin City Tour and it was very informative and the tour rep was very knowledgable.
The weather was great, very much the same as when we went in April 2006 except maybe not as hot everyday but towards the end of the week it seemed very similar.
Anyway, we went for a relaxing vacation and that is exactly what we did, RELAXED.
Tipping, we never felt we had to tip but the service was always great so we tipped waiters who came up as soon as we sat down to take our order and in the buffet when we finished our meal if service was provided.
My husband had taken down Violin strings and guitar strings and we know how the band will play at your table during your meal and we would tip them a couple of pesos but on one occassion we were leaving and the violin player was outside the buffet trying to repair a string that had broken and was very appreciative when my husband gave him 2 new complete sets of violin strings.
All and all we had a wonderful week but would probably not return to this resort in the future - not for any other reason except we realize we enjoy exploring new resorts.
Great for all types of travelers from young to old alike. It is a large resort but very well laid out.
CHEERS!
| Playa Pesquero Resort | Pedestrian Cow |
Overall i did not like this resort. It was my first time going somewhere down south and i was expecting better of a 5 star hotel.
The arrival: we arrived late in the evening probably around 10 pm. it took about 1 hour to even get checked in which i find is a lot. We asked for a room with a view.... they said yes yes.....
The little golf car dropped us off at the little street that leads to our room probably around 11h30 (thats like 1h30 hours after our arrival). we go to the room...... so much for the key! thats right! the key wasnt working. there was no one around. so we had to carry back our luagage (with the heavy bags took us a good 15 minutes at least). We get there and tell the guy at the front desk about our key..... he makes us wait for another 20 minutes before giving us back the key. we had also asked him for a second floor room (he said he was full capacity). so whatever after all this hassle (the front desk guy was not even polite to us), we eventually get to our room.
The room: the room was nice, it had a king size bed and a little seating area. a nice make up area. but in the bathroom there was poor lighting, very poor. and also i wanted to use the iron in the room but as soon as i picked it up.... it fell apart into 3 different pieces. it was broken and therefore we could not use it.
It was late but we were hungry so we went for a bite.... the only place that had food at that time was "la troterria" (i think thats what its called). There the food was not very good ( i would not recommend the burger but the tuna sandwitch and fries were surprisingly good). what i did not like is that at that late hour there were only 2 other people dining in the restaurant. and me and my girl friend we got a shock at how innapropriate the waiters were. after saying hi one of the waiters actually put his hand on my back leaned in and wispered "me amor". honestly that was beyond innapropriate. and they kept goign at this. no matter what we said they just wouldnt drop the "charm". it was quite tiring.
so my first night i was quite dissapointed. the next day.................... ahhhhhh the beach. the beautiful beautiful beach. it was perfect and the previous night was forgotten.
Food: that was until it was time for lunch..... we decided to go eat at one of the buffets (oh yeah another thing.... there was only 1 buffet opened at lunch.... the one by the pool, and for breakfast and supper there was another one opened closer to the hall). the food was not delicious but ok. but overall i have to say that during my whole stay there i felt nauseaus 24/7. i even started thinking i was pregnant. but no it was their food. the only thing i can say was very good was the A la Carte restaurants. they had very very good food but sadly we were only aloud to go once per restaurant. otherwise breakfast was pretty good. everything else was nasty. every restaurant they had ..... same menu! la troteria, the beach one, room service, etc. same food. whats the point of having 3 buffets if there not all open and have different foods? also we wanteed to eat fresh fruits.... they brought us half a rotten banana and half an apple...... yay! how yummy and exotic! and that was for the whole holiday.
The staff: i tought that overall they were not professional. that is to say many of the waiters and bartenders were unprofessional and way too flirty. one of them..... he actually followed us to our room. then he found out our door number and he started calling. i mean not one or twice but a dozen times. he could just not take no for an answer. we also tiped well the staff but without compensation. the maid didnt clean the room properly. she didnt wash the tub, she didnt even pick upo anything. nothing at all. not everyday but she didnt clean well 2 days out of 7. she picked up pace after our tipping and gifting suddlenly stopped. also the staff at the buffet was so rude. i mean the resort was like 30% capacity full. so it was pretty empty. still they said they qwere full not to give us a better room. at the buffet there were about lets say 3 tables occupied in our section and about 6 waitresses for that section. i asked for a glass of water....... she gave it to me in 15 minutes after i got up from my table and went to her for the 3rd time. you see..... she was busy chatting and laughing with her girlfriend to take care of their clients. this attitude happened often. same thing at the bar..... waiting 15 min for a drink. but tip for you..... if you want to drink.... well then order a few at a time this way you wont need to go and wait as often. The only staff i can say i like were the bartenders inside the discoteque which worked more rapidly and were more polite.
entertainment: the worst entertainment ever. the dancers were not coordonated. not at all. i mean they had this "fashion show" and my highschool fashion show was loads better. loads!
1 thing that shoked me beyond anything else: when we were at the beach we saw there were life guards so a few times we sat close to them. and those idiots sat with their backs to the sea....... (way to go if you want to see someone drowning) chatting up people, and drinking booze all day. and thats another thing. how much beer can one person drink? they kept asking some of the guests to bring them back beer from the beach restaurant which was close ( i think they could not go themselves.... against hotel policy to drink on the job) . but i mean they had like 10 beers each in the 3 hours we were sitting close to them. honestly thats not professional and unsafe for the swimmers. i understand its hot but drink juice not beer.
The trip as a whole: pretty cool, the beach and having fun with friends makes up for most of the bad things at the hotel. also if you go there, try the ice cream parlour its delicious and the A la carte restaurants. we ate at the Romantico, the italian and the sea food one. sea food one had the best service but there all very very very yummy. my mouth waters just when i recall it.
Trips: we went to paradise Island. its pricey but we liked it. the virgin beach there is beautiful and the lunch they serve you there was actually delicious ( i tried buffalo and it was yummy). also you may find your trip there very very long..... but the Tour guy is super super hyper and tries very hard to entertain you. once on the island, we took the jeep tour.... not much wildlife to see but it was to my liking. the jeep kept on boucing liek crazy like a rollercoaster so that was fun and i loved some of the views.
Hope you have fun!
| Playa Pesquero Resort | Kimberlie & Fraser ~ Raymond, Alberta, Canada |
I hope you benefit from this review. I feel I am open and honest and have previous travel experiences to back up my findings. Other all inclusive travels include; Punta Cana, DR- Sirenis Cocotal Beach Resort 4 Star, Cancun, Mexico- Viva Wyndham Maya 4 Star.
We flew Air Canada from Calgary to Montreal. We only received a confirmation from our Travel Agent via e-mail. So once you are at the airport you need to use a kiosk to enter your information and scan your passport to receive your boarding pass. The plain was awesome! The monitors were right in the head rests. We could choose any video on demand. There was also a USB port to recharge your iPod. Wish I would have know that!
In Montreal we had a 6 ½ hour stop over from 11:30 PM to 6:30 AM. This was probably the worst part of our trip. The weather in Montreal was blowing snow and some rain. We were stuck in arrivals, had to claim our baggage, and no where to sit, let alone sleep. I did grab a wheelchair and tried to sleep but having all of our luggage with us and all the bright lights, it didn’t work. We would visit the “board” every once in a while to see how many more flights had been cancelled. Luckily ours was not. We were allowed to check in our baggage at 3:30 AM. Went through security and found a big chair for a well deserved nap. Once passed security the seats are way better. There are also poles with lights. These can be used to recharge your laptops etc.
The flight to Holguin was uneventful. We went through customs with no problem. I asked for them to stamp my passport which he did with a smile. If you don’t aske they will not stamp your passport, only your visa card. Husband was on baggage detail and I was on money exchange. I exchanged $500.00 Canadian for $436.20. (exchange rate of 1.14626) Every thing went very smoothly. Grabbed a few cervezas for the road and we were off. We had about a 1 hour drive to the resort. With only 1 drop off before us.
At the resort I had my hubby take care of the luggage and I took care of the check in. Didn’t work very well, they did the check in past the front desk in a conference type room. The hubby had to go there when I was finished. But still we got checked in and luggage loaded with in 20 minutes. A golf cart took us to our room. Where I was pleased with the location and the cleanliness of the room. We were in block 61 room 5. (6105)
Yes, the lamp shades were all rusty. No problem for us. To me the room was beautiful.
Meals- Let me tell you first I am a VERY FUSSY EATER. I had read in Holguin forum that some people would prefer to bring their own Heinz ketchup. And I did. There are 2 buffets open side by side for breakfast the Latino & the Criollo. We always went to Latino the larger one. There is also another buffet down by the pool. But not sure if they were open during breakfast. We never made it down there.
Breakfast- my favorite meal. I always had toast, eggs over easy, bacon and took some French fires and had the grill lady fry them up for me with my eggs. Other than the French fries I saw no hashbrowns. My husband, who loves to try anything, was very pleased with the assortment of fish, steak and pork. He liked the steak with his eggs at breakfast. The orange juice was freshly squeezed. Other items include; cereal, yogart, fresh fruit, pancakes, French Toast, sausages, quiche & potatoes with vegetables. And probably 100’s of other items.
Lunch- Hubby would venture down to the buffet at the pool for his battered fish and other choice pickings. Then we would head down to the 24 hour Beer garden for my lunch. French Fries & Chicken Nuggets. They were delicious. Home made white chicken meat with a batter. The Ketchup came in handy. We also tried the 24 hour restaurant on the Blvd. It was okay. I had a hamburger, the “H” had fish.
Supper-We ate at the Latino buffet & the Beer Garden. Never once did we go hungry. At the Beer Garden the “H” tried the octopus, didn’t mind it but the sauce was quite different. He also tried the pickled lobster. His favorite by far was the shrimp skewers wrapped in bacon.
A-La-Carte- We only booked the Romantica. It was fabulous. I had the veal. It was wrapped in bacon and served with mashed potatoes, gravy, and a few vegetables. Green beans and broccoli. Hubby had the full lobster tail in a red sauce. It was not the usual one everyone talks about. He wanted the full tail. We went away wishing we had booked this restaurant a few more times.
Entertainment- We went to the Monday night show. It was good. I enjoyed the dancers, and especially the music. The dancers performed to a live band. Then on Wednesday night they had some type of Halloween show. The music was so loud and irritating that we did not go to see.
Many nights we would relax in the lobby and listen to the piano player. I believe on the Tuesday night they had a Manager’s Party down on the Blvd. where the shops, 24 hr Beer Garden and Ice Cream Parlor are. It was fun. Roast pig, coconut drinks and live music on a really cool, very old pump organ.
Pools- PARENTS –if you can’t make your children behave, keep them at home. I do realize this is their vacation too but, this is a public place.
We really didn’t spend too much time at the pool. My one beef here is not with the resort but with parents who let there children do anything they want. We had 4 boys running around us, in the water, up onto the islands and then back into the water. Yelling and throwing things. No wonder there was leaves and rocks all over the bottom of the pool. I was under the impression there was a quieter part to the pool. I never found it.
Beach- Was wonderful. Not too much snorkeling action. But very relaxing. We were brought loungers, cleaned off and set in the direction you wanted. I always wanted sun, the “H” wanted shade. Our Cuban friend remembered!
Service- Excellent. Maybe not all the time, but when someone explained to me they each have a specific job, clear dishes, take orders, bring water or bring food. Not sure if this is exactly true but it made sense why some always stood there and didn’t help us. And some were busier than others. We had a broken remote, it was fixed that day. Requested more tea & coffe for the room, we got it. Some times I tipped and some I didn’t. It did not change the level of service I got.
Excursions- We never booked any with our tour rep. We did all the planning and reservations ourselves. The first trip was to Guardalavaca. We hired a taxi for $20.00 cuc there and back. He dropped us off at the market and wanted to pick us up in 45 minutes. He said that’s all we needed. Well maybe just for the market, but we wanted to look around and I had some info from the Holguin forum of places to go to. So we told him 2 ½ hours. That was plenty. We didn’t find anything to buy at the market. But I loved to look through all the neat stuff. We stopped for a drink at the bar at the end of the market. They had a really good band playing.
Our next outing was with Juan. We hired him for $120.00 cuc to take us on a day trip to Holguin and Gibara. He was excellent. I had mentioned how I love the Royal Palms and when ever he thought it was a good photo op he would stop and let me have time to take pictures. He took us to the Cigar Factory. We had to buy tickets at a little bar downtown. It cost us 5 cuc each. The factory was awesome. I wish they would have let us take pictures. No cameras were allowed in the building. We had our own personal tour guide that took us through the stages of making the cigars from the very beginning of sorting the tobacco leaves, to shipping the containers. Excellent experience and so glad we weren’t in the group of 30 with only 1 guide.
Then we were off to Gibara. On the way Juan stopped at a school were I was allowed to talk with the students and leave some gifts for them and the teacher. Gibara was beautiful. We ate at a Casa Particular. Sorry can’t remember the name. We paid for Juan too as our guest. It was excellent. I loved the deep fried bananas. Then back to the hotel by 4:00 PM.
On the beach we were approached by a man to try sky diving. The “H” did the tandom sky dive. Cost was $150.00 cuc. They take cash only. No credit cards. You also have to bring your passport. They pick you up at the resort, take you to their airport strip just passed Guardalavaca. About a 20 minute drive from PP. Lots of security and police there. I got to go just to watch and take pictures. The jumpers had instructions, got their suits on and off they went. I got back in the van and off to the drop sites. I ended up at the Esmeralda Beach. Hubby was the only one from PP to jump so they had to keep the drop zones close. Others were dropped off at Brisas Guardalavaca. He came in so fast, I missed most of his jump. I did get the ending on video. He was the first to jump. Four others jumped with the girl that was doing the video. They got more video of the flight and the landing. I would make sure that you have more than 1 person from your resort jumping so you get a better video. The DVD cost $50.00 cuc. But the “H” didn’t blink an eye at the price. He wanted it bad! They picked us up at 1:00 and we were back by about 3:30. He was chuckling for days after. Even considered doing it again.
As far as I am concerned, this was definitely a 5 Star Resort for where we were. I would like to thank everyone on the Holguin Forum for all their advice. I would definitely recommend investigating, learning, and researching any country before you go. I made so many new friends. A smile and a friendly greeting goes a long way! I would definitely recommend this resort.
| Playa Pesquero Resort | Julie and Patrick ~ Ottawa |
We were a group of 7 people (3 couples and 1 teen) and visited Playa Pesquero Resort over Christmas 2007, from December 23 to December 30. Overall, we had a wonderful trip and really enjoyed this resort. I would have no problem recommending it, but would suggest being careful regarding what you are paying for (see below my comments regarding tour operator – my review of the actual resort starts on paragraph 6).
My husband and I booked with Sunquest well in advance and paid premium price for a so-called Select room, which was supposed to be closer to the beach and of superior quality. Our friends booked with Tours Mont-Royal (TMR) and did not manage to secure ‘Select’ rooms, but paid a bit more for superior rooms (which we were supposed to have, only closer to the beach because of the Select rating).
When we got to the resort and checked in, the room assigned to us was far from the beach, so I asked if it was the Select room that we had paid for; the hotel staff did not seem to know what I was talking about, a manager came and they then discussed this at length between themselves in Spanish, and then offered us another room. It still wasn’t clear if this was a superior room or not, and there responses were rather vague : we decided to accept this new room, which was a bit closer to the beach. Unfortunately, when we got to the room, there was only one bed (King size, luckily!) for the three of us : my 14-year old daughter, my husband and myself. Given that it was already quite late (10pm), we were told that nothing could be done until the next day, when an additional bed would be brought to our room. Evidently this room had not been prepared for our arrival : mini-bar was empty, only one bed, two bath towels and none for my daughter, etc. We were off to a rocky start... It actually took 2 days to get the extra bed, and some ‘advantages’ related to the superior status of the room never materialized : our friends who had booked superior rooms with TMR all got rhum bottles in their room, full mini-bar, complimentary chocolate bars, etc. None of which we got. Our coffee maker did not work, and after repeatedly asking for a new one, we ended up borrowing one from our friends’ room.
I don’t want to dwell on the negative aspects, but the bottom line is : be sure to know what you are paying for, as we paid for a presumably Select/Superior room and really didn’t feel we got anything more (in fact, we got less) then people who had not paid for this ‘extra’. The Sunquest rep on site could only give vague answers when I asked him to explain what the Select room had over other rooms, and so it became clear to me that its not worth the bother and the extra money.
Another thing to watch out for is flight schedules : we had paid more to have a decent flight schedule, and reserved 6 weeks in advance. Of course, our flights were changed and we lost a whole day on site in the process. We wrote to Sunquest to complain, and got absolutely nothing out of it : they reserve the right to change flight schedules at all times etc. Etc. So don’t pay more for good flights, because these might - and probably will! - be changed at any time and no compensation will be provided. Caveat Emptor!
The flight we had was with Air Transat and was smooth sailing all the way, very pleasant both flying in and returning to Montreal. We got to Playa Pesquero at night, unfortunately, but were still able to find some food as the Trattoria restaurant and the Beer Garden are both open 24 hours, which is great. This resort is HUGE, but I thought this was a plus, unless you don’t like walking, because the layout really does involve quite a bit of walking to get to the pool, the beach, the restaurants etc. There are golf carts and a little train to shuttle people around, but we couldn’t figure out the schedules so we didn’t bother. So this is best suited for those who don’t have a problem getting around.
There are many different a la carte restaurants (I think its 6 or 7 in total), however it was really difficult to get reservations : out of the seven nights, we only managed to reserve 2 restaurants out of the lot! And we reserved first thing the next morning at 9, so I can’t imagine what the situation was like for other travellers coming in after us : the Romantico restaurant was booked for the week at 9.30 am the first day...!? Anyways, the buffets were decent and there was not much value added in my opinion in going to the a la carte; often they had a very restrictive menu and the quality was variable (the Seafood one was clearly the best of the two we tried).
The hotel lobby is fabulous : its big, very nice, and has lots of space to hang out and play cards, have a drink, etc. The decor is fantastic, and there is a coffee bar that serves wonderful cafe con leches and exotic coffees. This was a big plus for me, as I am a true coffee lover and don’t actually drink alcohol! There was also a bar in the lobby, a disco (well equipped and fun) and a big stage for shows. Again very well set up for entertainment. We saw only one or two shows the time we were there, and there was one truely exceptional one on the Wednesday : some kind of Cuban carnaval, was very impressive, with live band and professional dancers etc. The rest of the time the shows seemed less interesting to me. One thing I really enjoyed at this resort is the live entertainment : its all around, there is always a live band playing somewhere, most often cuban jazz (which I love) or traditional cuban music. That’s A+ as far as I am concerned. There was also live piano every night in the lobby, which was great.
The pool is another huge plus : its very big, has a more shallow area for kids, and seems to go on forever. We never had problems finding a chair somewhere, even though it was peak period during our stay. You can actually swim in this pool, and it was very clean. Another hangout we enjoyed is the hot tubs, a treat at the end of the day when the breeze gets a bit cooler. Very nice decor there as well, I was quite impressed.
The beach is small-ish for such a big resort, and quite different than what you would see in Varadero or Cayo Coco, although I personally liked it more : there are trees and palopas which provide nice shaded areas, and the ocean is emerald green... there are sections of the beach that are a bit more rocky, but this did not quell our enjoyment of it. My friends who snorkel and dive have said this spot is wonderful to see fish, so if you enjoy that kind of thing this is a prime area. It can be hard to secure chairs, especially if the resort is full: I suppose that happens a lot, but can be a bit of a nuisance.
All in all, food was ok, good by Cuba standards. There is quite a bit of variety compared to other resorts I have visited. None of our party got sick, so that's positive. The rooms were nice (not as nice as Sandals in Varadero however), quite large and comfortable. Decent cable on TV too. Quality of service is one area that I found to be disapointing : when things aren’t right, you’ll get no sympathy (nor help) from the hotel staff. Most were friendly enough, but this was not a key feature of this resort (as compared, again, to Sandals which was unbeatable in this regard). There was no air of hapiness around many of these guys, and that’s a bit sad : maybe they don’t get paid as well since this is a cuban-owned resort?
Lots of families with little kids, and seemed to be a good place to do that... my daughter is 14 and would have liked to see more organised activities for teens, but oh well : its a difficult age group to please ;-)
Regardless of those minor shortcomings I mentioned, we definitely enjoyed this vacation and would return here: we would probably not pay as much next time around, though, but that’s more to do with the tour operator (and the time of year : Xmas is really expensive) than the resort itself. Frankly, its worth a five-star rating in Cuba as much as other places I’ve seen.
| Playa Pesquero Resort | Krissy ~ UK |
Arrival -
Arrived at the hotel playa pesquero on the 22/09/07 with first choice, flights were very good. Check in at the resort was a breeze the conference room was opened and we were checked in and at our room in about half an hour.
Rooms -
Rooms were very spacious we were lucky to be near the beach Block 34, rooms nearer the pool and the lobby could get a bit loud.
Restaurants -
Only went to the buffet restaurant was ok, the al a cartes Romantico was a very special restaurant and the food was fantastic the service in here was very good as well. The asian the food was ok but the service was appalling had to ask for a drink when our starters had been served because we still had not been offered one. Vergiterian was ok, italian was very nice and the seafood was also very nice.
Bars -
we found the 24 hour beer garden the best, this was a lot quieter on a night not so many kids running around. The lobby bar could get quite full when the shows started but it was nice to be in there as the coffee coach was there were you could have a nightcap.
Beach and Pools -
Beach was very nice (not as nice as mexico (cancun) and Dominican Punta Cana) as it was quite coral the sea was so calm no waves you can just walk out waste deep as far as you can see. Also went out on the pedaloes with snorkals which are provided by the hotel.
| Playa Pesquero Resort | Tony ~ UK |
Sometimes when I read reviews I wonder if the people who write them actually went to the same places with such diverse reports.
My wife and I went to Hotel Play Pesquero from 8th July to 22nd July 2008. We paid for an upgraded room as the tour operator said it had old out of the normal rooms. This was rubbish as the hotel had only 50% occupancy, what the real truth is that the tour operator, Airtours, had not booked enough rooms for sale.
Right from the outset I should say that this is the third trip to Cuba and will not be the last. The reason we go back is the people, if you take some interest in their lives, history and culture you will find friends who are open and genuine. Anyone who treats them as just hotel workers will not get the best from their holiday.
Our room was superb as one of the outer ring roads near the French and Italian restaurants. Check in was a breeze, the hotel used one of the conference rooms to check us all in rather than a whole coach load of people queuing at the reception desk. We went straight from the check in to the bell boys who loaded our cases on an electric cart and straight to our room.
The weather was hot! 31 to 35 degrees every day with only two storms, one whilst we were on the beach one day that lasted a few hours and one huge storm whilst we were preparing to take off at the airport.
As regards the facilities, due to the low occupancy the creole restaurant was shut and towards the end of our holiday as more people left they also shut the grill restaurant for a few days. The food in all the restaurants was good and even the buffet was OK. For anyone who complains that they offered the same thing every day, wells that is what a buffet restaurant does.
As the hotel was only half full it was always easy to get a sunbed by the pool or on the beach in some shade. Some idiots did still get up early to put their towels out, I can never understand what goes through their minds but it’s the differences that make us all interesting.
The bars were mostly good although we were not impressed with the Karaoke bar as the children ran riot in the early evening. We would have preferred this bar to have been over 21s at all times. The entertainment team really tried hard but to be honest it was not tour taste. If you like Salsa then you must take up the offer of dance lessons with Ronaldo, we had almost 1 on 1 teaching and worth every minute.
The gardens, grounds and layout are superb and well cared for, the only disappointment was due to the quality of the visitors. We were embarrassed to be in the same place as those who would throw beer and coke cans on to the gardens or drop rubbish and litter on the pathways. Again, we must question what goes through their minds, obviously not much. It worries me that due to the relative low cost of an all inclusive holiday in Cuba that the wrong people are being attracted. These are the people who only go to drink themselves stupid and be rude to the workers and never leave the complex. I seriously hope we are wrong as we love the place.
We are planning to return whenever we can afford it although I guess it would be busy in the peak time of December – February. So we will go again in July.
| Playa Pesquero Resort | Deb and Gord |
We loved this resort, and will certainly return next year if all goes well! We are a couple in our late 50’s traveling with my father who is in his late 80’s! This was our first year away from Cayo Coco, we have stayed at the Melia for the past 3 years, we have also stayed at the Sol and the Tryp. Yes, this is a big resort but at no time did we feel it was difficult to find our way around, the only time we made use of the little train was to take our luggage to and from the lobby, although there are certainly many carts traveling around, on which you could hitch a ride!!
ROOM:
was great even though we did not get our requested 2nd floor, we did get the block we requested which was very close to the beach, we could have moved, and the front desk staff were extremely courteous about our request, but after being told it might be a few days we opted to stay where we were and were most satisfied! We never had to ask for our mini fridge to be stocked, this was done everyday, excellent maid service as well. We thought the room was nicely decorated and the bed very comfortable
LOBBY:
This is beautiful, fountains, statues and fish ponds, The coffee bar here was super, we loved having a cappuccino in the morning and sitting beside the fish pond with the birds chirping!, they also serve the Irish and Spanish varieties as well.
In the afternoon an area was set out with “ help yourself” coffee, and various teas accompanied by little snacks, such as. small cakes or sandwiches, the actual lobby bar was open 24 hours, we enjoyed sitting here before dinner to hear the piano player, and/or singers. Before dinner there was also an area set up where you were served procuitto on little toasts along with sparkling wine, quite a nice touch!
ENTERTAINMENT:
The theater is on the other side of the lobby, multilevel with tables and chairs, partially enclosed, quite a nice set up, entertainment consisted of the usual singing/dancing, but one night they had water ballet in the sports pool, quite fantastic!
POOL:
Gorgeous, meandering with various depths, the very shallow part being close to the kiddie club, swim up bar could get quite busy! Especially our 2nd week, but the bartenders were incredible, always smiling and courteous, and so efficient and fast moving!! No problems getting served no matter how busy! Lots of loungers always available, as mentioned above there is a separate sports pool which is located at the same end as the swim up bar. There is another small bar located at the far end of the pool near the pool grill. There is a very shallow wadding area near the kiddie club, unless you have children I wouldn’t recommend getting a chair near here as our 2nd week it was very noisy!
BEACH:
Very wide, kept meticulously clean, lots of shade from the numerous sea grape trees and quite a few palapas as well. Chairs are stacked by the beach staff when not in use and the staff are there early in the morning to place them at your requested spot. We really did not find any need to reserve a place on the beach as is the case with other resorts, quite a change from our usual destination in Cayo Coco, and with much less wind!
The beach is sort of divided by a small point, and on both sides there is a gradual walk out to the deeper water, there are some pieces of coral on the left side, so you have to be careful in places where you step but this side is the best place to snorkel, lots of beautiful fish to see.
There is more action on the right side of the beach, loud music at times, here they have non-motorized water sports as well, no parasailing or banana boats, there were rumors there had been some sort of incident regarding these so hence no more! You have to reserve your kayaks, peddle boats in advance as well you can book to go out on the catamaran, no deposit required!!
FOOD
Very good, we had no problem booking the restaurants, only stood in line for about 15 min. and we were able to book for the whole 2 weeks, you can go to 4 a la cartes a week, we did the Seafood (beach grill by day), Gondola, and Romantico twice, and the Asian once (this was our only disappointment) also the Trattoria, (half of which is a 24 hour restaurant!) We really should have tried The Grill (pool buffet by day) as everyone that went had nothing but rave reviews!
We have absolutely no complaints about the service anywhere which was absolutely top notch and very attentive!!
We were also very satisfied with the two buffets which offered extensive choices, however for lunch we usually went to the beach grill, we couldn’t get enough of the grilled fish, shrimp and great french fries!!, the pool grill was also not bad, as well we were strongly advised not to miss the Cuban restaurant at lunch, it serves, either fried, or roasted chicken, which was very good, but people start lining up here early by 12:30 and it opens at 1:00! its small, but very popular, with good reason!!
Beer Parlor: great place to hang out after the beach!! this is also 24 hour, we loved the snacks, my favorite being the pickled lobster, spring rolls also excellent, along with the skewered chicken, 3 beers are available, Cristal, Buccanero and Mayabe
EXCURSIONS:
Many to choose from but we only did 2
Dolphins: We took the full day tour, left at 930 and returned by 430, it was only a 10 min bus ride to the marina, the catamaran is fantastic, they offered snacks and a full bar on the way to Playa Esmeralda where we snorkeled at the reef for about an hour, during which the guide gave us all dead sea urchins which had been dried, he then cracked them open and had us hold out our hands, all these beautiful fish then swarmed all over it to eat the contents!!!
Then it was a short trip to the dolpinarium which is located in a sheltered bay, a launch comes to the catamaran to take you over, you are then divided into groups in the various pens, for pictures we gave the guide our cameras, she must have had a least 10!! I don’t know how she remembered whose was whose but she did manage to get everyone’s picture!! The lunch was very good, either lobster or chicken, the lobster was quite dry, I preferred the chicken, but be prepared they gave you 3 huge legs!!
Guardalavaca We took the little resort train into town for 5 pesos each, this is well worth it just to see the countryside, once there however they don’t pick you up until 1 p.m. from 1100!! too hot to stay around that long so 4 of us split a cab back to the resort for a total of 10 pesos! Here you are at a town market which is right above the beach, and !!I will add if you need the bathroom it cost a peso The beach here is lovely although not too much shade, had a brief look at what I thought was the Club Amigo? which looked quite run down
Main Complaint: Parents who let their children run rampant at restaurants and in the pool!!
| Playa Pesquero Resort | Laura ~ Ottawa, Canada |
We are a family of four with two young children (ages 3 years and 21 months) from Ottawa, Canada. We traveled to Playa Pesquero from February 16-23, 2007 using Signature Vacations.
I booked the trip about five weeks ahead using canadatravels.com. I checked lots of other websites but theirs was user-friendly and seemed to match or beat the other prices and I’ve used them before with equal success (the other website I particularly liked was itravel2000.com). They phoned me the following day to confirm my internet reservation and answer my questions, and they forwarded our requests to the resort – we got a room with one king bed on the second floor, quite close to the lobby (although in building 27, not one of the specific buildings I’d requested). If you’re booking for a family, note that different tour operators – and sometimes even the same tour operator - charge different amounts for the kids’ fares. Of course I started off looking at the cheapest adult fares, but soon found that if I plugged our ages in on all the different options (even with more expensive adult fares) we could end up with a lower total price. We ended up getting a superior room for less than the cost of a standard room (also with Signature Vacations!) by using this tactic. Also, prices seem to change every day or two – if you see a price you like book it right away!
We chose this resort over any other because of the baby club. Most places only have a kids club for children aged 4 or 5 and older. Note also that the different tour operators may tell you different ages that the clubs are good for so you may need to do some separate research – the Signature Vacations brochure, available on their website, has a separate page at the back that lists resorts with a baby club. The club at Playa Pesquero is right by the main pool and is enclosed by a low fence. Inside are a little paddling pool, a couple of play houses, a couple of pedal cars, a shower in the shape of clown, a sand box, a decent sized climbing structure and two large roofed rooms with soft floors. The room for the older kids was closed for renovations when we were there but our two kids were in the baby room anyway, which had tables, chairs, a TV, a dark room for sleeping, a bathroom with child-sized toilet, bathtub and change table, a kitchenette, and various toys and activities. The little ones normally stay in the room most of the time because it has another fence to keep them out of harm’s way and of course it’s out of the sun. The group also left the club from time to time, especially to walk to the ice cream parlour which our kids loved! The caregivers were Yanet (who is pregnant!), Diana (has one daughter) and Reina (didn’t really get to know her at all). They were very friendly and patient, especially with our daughter who unfortunately was devastated to see us go and cried most of the time we were away (our son had a great time). That was very unfortunate because my husband and I ended up having much less “couple time” than we had hoped because we were too sad to leave our daughter at the baby club! We did however get out for a couple of a la carte dinners after the kids went to bed, while Yanet babysat for us.
We didn’t take any tours and the only adult activities we did were an hour of rather mediocre snorkeling using our own equipment, a couple of hours of moped rental, ten minutes in the hot tubs inside the gym and the Cuban show one evening (which we thoroughly enjoyed). We went jogging around the resort a couple of times too – it’s large enough that it’s easy to cover 5K! During the day we mostly hung out by the pool, which had a shallow area (ranging from about 2 cm to about 40 cm, then a line of little underwater seats that served as a barrier from the deeper part of the pool) where our children loved running back and forth and pouring water out of watering cans. The white tiles are very slippery – if you’re going to be running both adults and children should wear water shoes! We always managed to find lounge chairs by the pool, and almost always in the shade. The shallow part of the pool is also right by the washrooms and some smaller plastic climbing structures, and only a few steps from the 24-hour trattoria. We were a little paranoid about sand fleas so only spent a couple of mornings at the beach but the children loved playing in the sand and none of us got any bites, nor from mosquitoes. In the evenings, my husband and I brought back a couple of drinks to the room and sat out on the balcony sipping pina coladas and reading our novels. Not very exciting but a nice break from a Canadian winter!
We ate most of our meals at the buffet Latino. It was slightly further from our room than the buffet Criolo but had a better selection. We always found things that the children liked, and if we got a table right by the buffet we could leave them at the table while we went to get food. There are high chairs available. At breakfast we generally filled up two sippy cups with juice and picked up a couple of bananas, rolls or tubs of yogurt as snacks for the kids later in the day. My favourite meal was breakfast with chocolate croissants, made-to-order omelets, fresh orange juice and sometimes prosciutto (I must have eaten $30 of prosciutto in a week!). We had sparkling wine or beer with almost every lunch or dinner – we didn’t like the regular red and white wine at all. We all got a little bit of “traveller’s tummy” but I think it was just the change of food and nothing to do with hygiene. Our a la carte dinners at the Grill and Romantico were a nice change but small servings and nothing special.
Our flights were great. We didn’t pre-book our seats but the airline staff and other passengers traded seats until we all managed to sit together both ways. Our room was also very clean, comfortable and well-equipped and, in my opinion, qualified as “superior”. We brought inflatable Ready-Beds for our children (we bought them a year ago at Toys R Us and they are truly fabulous, allowing children to sleep in their “own” beds wherever you go), the only disadvantage being that they creak a bit when the children roll over and so my and my husband’s sleep was interrupted.
I don’t have much to compare with, only having taken one sun holiday in the past (at Sol Club Rio de Luna, also in the Holguin area, in 2002). We didn’t like the location as much as last time (Rio de Luna is on Playa Esmeralda where the snorkeling was better and there was also ample opportunity for birdwatching at the mangroves between Rio de Luna and Paradisus Rio de Oro). Otherwise Playa Pesquero was fantastic and we plan to go back in two years when hopefully my daughter will be happier about being at the baby club.
| Playa Pesquero Resort | J & H ~ Canada |
Having just returned from a week at this property, March 8-15, I found previous reviews generous to say the least. While this resort is in a nice location on a fairly good beach, it does not rate with other hotels in Cuba - Melia or Iberostar. The grounds are very nice and well maintained, however the rooms are tired and in need of renovation/redecorating. The foodservice in this hotel ranged from mediocre to awful and service in the a la carte restaurants was terrible. After two experiences with the a la cartes, we didnt bother with the others -
The highlights of our week were the great staff at the lobby bar and the cafe, where most evenings were spent. Our opinions were echoed by many of the other guests we spoke with, mostly Brits, and some German. This is the only resort in Cuba I have visited where the staff were visibly afraid of the management.
We would not consider visting this resort or any other Gaviota resort in Cuba in future.
| Playa Pesquero Resort | Linda |
I vacationed at the Playa Pesquero from Jan. 26- Feb. 2 and I was part of a group of 70 people attending a wedding.
Check In:
This was a bit chaotic because there were so many people checking in at the same time, it took 3 buses to get everyone there from the airport and we were on the last bus. The staff came over with trays full of cold drinks and they tasted so good.
The Room:
Our room was very nice and clean when we arrived. We had coke, beer and water in our fridge and these were replaced daily. We always had hot water and air conditioning. The towels were there every day when we returned from the beach. On the day of the wedding we explained to the maid that we needed to get ready early and she gave us the towels we needed.
The Food:
The food at this resort was very good. We didn't get the chance to eat at all the restaurants because we really only had 6 nights and the wedding took up one. The grill was our least favourite of the 3 we dined in. The Romantico was the best and we also enjoyed the Gondola. One of the restaurants near the beach has the best chicken I have ever eaten so after discovering it we ate there for lunch the rest of the trip. The beer garden had good seafood snacks and the Trattoria had good pizza. The beach restaurant had a nice selection but the burgers were your typical frozen burger patties. Food in the buffet was pretty good. The made to order pasta stations were a nice option. I really liked being able to pick my meat or seafood and have it grilled while I waited. This was also available at the omelet station where they grilled your bacon or sausages, they even had
Canadian bacon. The seafood at this resort was quite good, coming from the
east coast I tend to be a bit snobby when it comes to seafood but it was good.
The Service:
The service at this resort was outstanding, they bent over backwards to help in any way they could. We had a couple of young children in our group and the staff was so good to them. Everywhere you went you were greeted with a smile and an offer of help. We tipped a lot because everyone was so good to us. The only real problem encountered was at the beach bar where the line up was so long there were times you waited about 20 minutes. There was a side bar on the beach itself but they didn't’t serve beer.
Entertainment:
I did not get to any of the shows except the one my niece and nephew were in. We took the kids to the karaoke each night before it got crowded and always had a blast. I apologize on behalf of my family to anyone whose hearing will never be the same after being in the disco while we were there.
Chairs/Towels:
There was no shortage of chairs either by the pool or on the beach. They had towel exchange places at both the pool and the beach. I have gone south every year for the past 8 years and this is the first resort I have been to where you could get clean towels at 5 in the afternoon.
The Wedding:
The wedding was out of this world. They set up a table and gazebo on the beach along with 70 chairs for the guests. A train picked us all up in the lobby and drove us to the beach for the ceremony. The groomsmen, bridesmaids and the bride all arrived in horse drawn carriages and it was so beautiful. There was a trio playing music and then after the ceremony they had champagne and trays of food served on the beach. The train arrived about 20 minutes later to take us back to the front lobby where they had a section reserved for us. They served champagne and we chatted until the train arrived to take us to the Gondola restaurant for the reception. The dinner was wonderful and the service great. They had the first dance here and then about 11:00 the train arrived to take everyone back to the front lobby. We then danced the night away in the disco. It was such a wonderful day and thank God the rain stopped just before the ceremony and held off all night.
Overall Impression:
This is a beautiful resort with so much to offer starting with an exceptional staff. They have a lovely little coffee bar where you can quietly start your day if you choose. I personally don’t think I will return to this resort because it is way too big for my liking. I kept getting lost every time I tried to get to my room and it was always such a distance to get anywhere. I didn’t mind the walking, it was the getting lost part I got tired of very quickly. The rest of my family were on the other side of the resort so it made visiting impossible unless you hopped on one of those carts. I would definitely recommend this resort as we enjoyed ourselves. I was really impressed with how good the staff treated the children whenever they were in the restaurants. They have a lot of cats on this resort which were a source of entertainment for the kids on a daily basis. My niece started naming them all but gave up because there were so many. All in all this was a good vacation experience.
| Playa Pesquero Resort | Gloria ~ Canada |
I just returned from two weeks at Playa Pesquero in Holguin Cuba.
There were 25 of us who went for our wedding. Everyone else stayed for one week and my husband and I stayed for two.
Wedding - I honestly couldn't have imagined a more perfect wedding, it was so amazing! Yaly, the wedding coordinator will bend over backwayrds to satisfy everyone as best she can, she is an incredibly hard worker and always seems to be there. We had the ceremony on the beach on Tuesday January 9th at 4pm. The hairdresser came to my room at 1:30 and did my harid and nails and then did my sister's and mom's hair. The only complaint there is that we were rushed for my mom's hair, if you have more than just you getting your hair done I would advise asking for her to come a bit earlier. Also, be sure to bring bobby pins, they don't have a lot in Cuba (I left my three packagfes with her). Her curling iron quit also, so I would advise bringing one. luckily I had one, I was going to leave it with her, but it is butane and I figured she wouldn't be able to get refills for it. The carriage picked us up after four and brought us to the beach where there was a beautiful aisle and seats laid out. There was a cuban band playing (we bought their cd for ten pesos) and a table with cake and hors d'eouvres and rose petals on the aisle. Definitely get the dvd, for 30 pesos it's so worth it, make sure you bring the money to the ceremony though, because they will ask for it afterwards. We danced on the beach as the sun set and then the train came along, took us to the lobby bar for champagne (lobby is wonderful, especially with the piano player) then we took the train to the Gondola restaurant where we had a fabulous, huge, meal. The violin player was a nice touch, we even had a dance to the violin. Be prepared for the meal to last a long time, we were there form 6:30 to 10pm, it was nice though.
Resort in general - What a beautiful, huge place. I loved it. Lots of wandering around to be done, great gardens, the gardeners work hard in that heat, and a beautiful pool.
Food - Good food. We had everything from extremely picky eaters, to vegans, to ceiliacs, to peanut and seafood allergies. If you can't find anything to eat here you have a major problem. We did the a la cartes the first week, I loved the vegetarian for dinner (only serve chicken at lunch, apparently its fabulous chicken though), the asian was ok (I would go there just for their dessert they have the best ice cream), grill was excellent for non-vegetarians, the Romantico had really good food (we ate from it's menu at the wedding), gondola was good. Our favourites were the buffet's especially for breakfast and the Trattoria!!! The Pipa was good for lunch too. The Trattoria staff are amazing... say hi the Arsenio and Bertin if you go. We loved the beer! and OHHHH the cuban coffee! The coffee bar was my favourite.
Pool & Beach - both were great, never had a problem finding seats, always got served at the bars. We met lots of nice people there. The man who hands out the snorkelling gear was the only person who wasn't super friendly. Great snorkelling though. The pool is so beautiful and big, I found it quite clean. You should also check out the jacuzzis at the gym.
Sports - Lots to do, tennis was fun but hot. There's aerobics, archery, ping pong, wind surfing, bikes to borrow, horse back riding at the resort next door for $5 an hour. My father in law loved the catamaran.
Excursions - we did the jeep tour and the catamaran, and I would do both again! Especially the catamaran, it was so fun, especially laying on the net on the way back.
All the workers here are great a friendly!
Complaints - I got sick for two days, food poisoning from either tomato salsa or artichoke hearts, try not to do the raw vegetables at the "salad bar"
-Make sure you don't loose your pool towels they'll charge you.
-Skyservice has literally no leg room.
-I would suggest bringing your own snorkelling gear, the stuff they have there isn't very good.
Overall, I want to go back next year!
| Playa Pesquero Resort | Kate and James ~ Toronto, Canada |
We travelled with Sunquest Dec 29-Jan 5th, 2007.
Weather:
Awesome, 28 degrees every day, nice breeze, some sun showers lasting 5-10 min. Evenings were around 24-25 degrees C.
Rooms:
We had a Superior room (building 26). Room was very clean, no bugs. Please check your patio door - ours was unlocked upon check in and we did not discover that until money was stolen from our room! We did not have a very good experience with the security - reporting the incidence. Because the room was not accessed with the electronic key, the Security tried to tell us it was "impossible" due to the security guard posted outside our room - Too bad the security guard was never there! They however did not believe this. We felt like they did not believe us and the hotel made no effort to appease us (ex: sorry this happened, etc.). Anyway, we tried not to let this spoil our holiday.
Food:
Wasn't bad - the buffet restaurants are the best bet, especially if travelling with kids. We dined at the Asian a la carte and thought it was awful. The Italian restaurant had no pasta on the menu for entrees (so we ended up leaving and going to the buffet). The Grill was the best meal we had all week - steak was pretty good. One annoying thing was lining up to book the a la carte restaurants - waited 2 hours to make 4 reservations - that was ridiculous!
Pool:
Water very cold - but nice once you got used to it. We found the pool was quite dirty and never saw anyone cleaning it. But we hung out there most of the week because our daughter preferred it to the beach.
Activities:
We participated in nothing - just vegged most of the week. We did the Jeep Adventure tour and thoroughly enjoyed that - well worth the money. Included horseback riding, lunch, driving our own speed boat and seeing some awesome Cuban countryside.
Other Observations:
Overall, the resort is very nice - I think if you have a non-eventful week, you will thoroughly enjoy it. But if something happens out of the ordinary (like money is stolen, or your maid thinks you have lost a towel), you will have a very different experience. Everyone is afraid of losing their job (maid, security guard) and therefore, not willing to admit possible errors. It is too bad, because it is a nice resort but I would not go back here. I really liked Holguin - next time I would try the Turquesa.
| Playa Pesquero Resort | Rebecca |
We travelled with First Choice as a group of 21 for my Wedding 18th November – 2nd December 2006
Flight – Found some of the stewards to be very unhelpful and rude on the flight to Cuba. A few TV’s were not working and were not looked at and fixed until nearly the end of the flight. Calls were ignored and there was not enough food to cater for the whole plane and as we were at the back, some of our party did not get full meals. A friend bought us a bottle of Champaign but we did not find out who it was from until we got home as they lost the message. The flight back was good except not much duty free goods left to buy.
Arrival at Airport – this was an awful experience! Long queues in a hot airport with sniffer dogs running around us. We found the questioning to be very intimidating and 5 of us had our cases emptied and thoroughly checked which took ages. Not a pleasant start to the holiday!
Check in at hotel – Nice welcome drinks but a few problems with rooms that were not allocated but that was quickly sorted out. A lot of hanging around for the train to take us to the rooms and a long wait for luggage to arrive. Got eaten alive by mossies as we hadn’t prepared ourselves!
Rooms – as we were getting married we had a superior room which didn’t look much different from the normal rooms. The rooms were nice and spacious but a bit tatty. Some rooms smelt damp or like sewage but ours was fine. We had to get maids to get rid of a giants ant nest on our bedside cabinet though! Bath mat lethal, we both nearly broke our necks taking a shower! Rooms cleaned daily but not very thoroughly. The maids made pretty towel arrangements every day which was a nice touch. We left valuables and cash out on numerous occasions but nothing went missing.
Beach – Lovely beach with white sand and very clean and tidy with plenty of sun beds. Yellow crabs and lizards running about which was good to see! The Sea was colder than expected, not sure if that’s because the time of year? We were eaten alive by sand fleas! Very sore and itchy bites that last for days. Hobbie cats, pedaloes and kayaks only available 1 and half days during 2 weeks which was very disappointing. Even when sea was calm they still stopped them going out with excuses like sea too rough or no rescue boat available.
Pool – Massive pool but water quite cold, probably because we had cloudy and rainy days for the first week. My brother got a very bad ear infection and had to buy antibiotics, ear drops and pain killers costing £50. Two others also complained about ear ache. Pool bar closed most days on first week, even if it was just overcast and not raining!
Food – Buffet Ok, nothing special! The Romantica and Italian restaurant were very good. Most the time the food was served luke warm which was off putting. Beer garden snacks great after nights out, especially the spring rolls, chicken nuggets and fries! Pool restaurant buffet was very nice for lunch but beach bar service very slow. Quite a few people on the party got the runs, including my older brother who had to spend a whole day in his bathroom toilet! I was fine though.
Drinks – Very good cocktails (sex on the beach my favourite) and nice sparkling wine! Wine quite nice in speciality restaurants but not as nice as wine back home! Fantastic coffee bar, lovely Latte’s!
Lobby – very nice, comfortable chairs with pretty ponds full of fish and water fountains. Not very well equipped for torrential rain, nowhere dry to sit and very slippery floor!
Disco – good music but they play the same every night! Very cold in there and music far too loud. I complained but they didn’t turn it down. A friend left their digital camera behind on the first night and it was handed in reception and he got it back the next day which surprised us all because in England, he would have never seen it again!
Bugs – loads of mossies and sand fleas! I never usually get bitten but I did here! We all had massive itchy lumps and bumps which were very uncomfortable. Not sure if it was the time of year?
Weather – Not good. The first day was fine but then it clouded over and we had rain for 5 days! I had to postpone the Wedding to the second week. The first few days were warm but then the temperature dropped considerably which was a nightmare as we had no warm clothes except the ones we travelled in so we had to wear them for days, it was so depressing! The staff say they hadn’t seen rain like it for a long time and rivers that were dry for 10 years were flowing! The second week was fine, a bit cloudy but nice and warm, not too hot to sunbathe and the nights were just right, not too humid.
Trips – couldn’t do many because weather so bad. Speed boat trip good except boat kept breaking down from seaweed on the engine as the water was stirred up from bad weather. Trip to Paradise Island quite good but boat trip a bit bumpy and cold on deck due to weather conditions. The food was nice and I enjoyed the jeep safari which was free as we could not snorkel as water too murky due to weather. The only reason we went on trip was to snorkel but they didn’t tell us we could not do it until we were on the coach on the way there so we couldn’t change our minds!
Holguin/Guaralavaca – got taxis to Guaralavaca and found a really good small market. Got taxi to Holguin to see cigar factory but it was closed so we went for an interesting walk around the town which was an eye opener, met a few locals who told us a lot about Cuba which was interesting.
The Wedding – Lovely, had a great day! I was so stressed out about the weather so Yaly the wedding coordinator very kindly changed the day from the first week to the second week which was a good move because the weather was perfect on the wedding day. The flowers were a bit late but very beautiful. A horse and cart took me to wedding gazebo by the beach, where a Cuban band played the wedding march. After the ceremony the band played (they were brilliant, we bought their CD) and we danced and had sparkling wine and canopies. We then were taken to beach for photos, then the lobby for more photos and sparkling wine. We all had our meal at the Italian restaurant on a long, nicely decorated table and we were serenaded by a violinist. We cut the cake after the meal which tasted great but very sweet. We ended the evening at the disco where we had our first dance. It was a great day, nice and relaxed, just as I imagined, loved every minute of it! The photos were ok but a little dark and disorganised and the DVD wasn’t bad either for 30 peso!
To sum it up – I would recommend this hotel as it was such value for money and may go back one day but not the same time of year!
| Playa Pesquero Resort | Steve ~ Canada |
My family of five just returned from PP on Dec. 31 booked through Sunwing. The flight, even though it was delayed in Toronto was smooth and just as a flight should be, uneventful.
The weather was pretty darn good considering they had heavy rains on and off for about the past month. (second hand info) We had three straight days of solid sun with low to no winds, and the remaining days were partly cloudy with the odd shower mixed in a few times a day and higher winds. Temp. was a pretty steady 85 degrees f.
This was only our third all inclusive we had been to, (Dominican Rep.- Punta Cana and Porta Plata being the first two), and from reading the reviews on this site and others, we thought there would be no way we would be disappointed. Here are a few points to consider if you are trying to decide weather or not the PP is the right resort for you.
A la carte restaurants are a nice treat at these resorts as we've found the buffet selections can get very repetitive, as they became at PP. The food is pretty much the same fried selection nightly with one exception, turkey on boxing day, which was very nice. The big problem is that out of the entire week we were only able to book the a la carte restaurants two nights, and we were not picky at all as to the times. We also met some good folks from T.O. who also had the same success booking as us. Collectively what we saw was these restaurants are only a third full at best throughout the entire night. If fact our new friends could not book their large party to sit together, but when they saw how many open seats there were, asked again if they could sit together and were told that the restaurant was very busy and their request could not be accommodated. This experience was something that we were not accustomed to at the other resorts we'd been to!!
The same result happened when we tried to book the Hobie Cats (sail boats) during the day. There would always be three our four boat sitting on the beach at once but we were told they were all booked up. To reserve, I later found out during the week, your have to wait in the line-up before the attendant arrives at around 8:30 am. At lunch (noon to 1pm) they all sit on the beach. One would think that maybe they should start their instructors (who have to escort you on the boat), in two shifts one hour apart so they don't all take lunch at one time to make better use of the boats they have??? We were also told the two times we tried, that there was no masks or fins to snorkel left at that time.
Myself and our girls did dive 3x at Blue World Diving, the outfit that services the three resorts on that beach, and although the diving is average, George and his staff are great!!
PP"s pool is by far the largest I have ever seen!! It could accommodate I'm sure, hundreds of people at once. What's up with only one bar?? Fifteen to twenty min. wait was not uncommon. And again, only one bar at the beach. These line-ups not as long but you had to wait by the smelly washrooms. A real treat!
I have also read that the grounds are well kept. It wasn't until the Wed. ( we arrived very early on Sun. morning ), that the grass was cut, it was approx 12" when they did cut it. This made a nice hiding spot for all the small but very hungry mosquitoes at night. Make very sure you take repellent!! We tried to play tennis but after 20 mins. wait and third in line with no movement, we no longer wanted to play tennis that bad. With no exaggeration we experienced line-ups at almost all activities, restaurants for lunch, ice-cream bar, beer garden ( which we really enjoyed ), coffee bar, bank etc. The nightly entertainment is really a joke, unless you like people "lip singing".
In summary, my family met some great people and did have an enjoyable vacation, it just doesn't rate compared to our other all inclusive experiences and surprisingly was the most expensive of them all to date.
I hope this isn't too offensive for my fellow Canadians, who for some reason, keep going back time and time again?? There's just to