Description: Set on one of the finest locations on Varadero Beach in the province of Matanzas, Cuba, Sandals Royal Hicacos Resort & Spa brings its Ultra All-Inclusive concept to Cuba.
It'll be love at first sight the moment you enter your guest room. sland décor, sophisticated amenities, and comfortable beds create a seductively inviting ambiance. Sandals Royal Hicacos Resort & Spa has 404 suites including one Presidential Suite and two (2) Sandals Royal Suites.
Are you the owner of this property? The link to your website could stand here. Please, contact Debbie.
Easy...picked up at Varadero airport by private taxi. Half hour ride to the resort. Though no welcoming drinks, check in was simple. Bags were delivered to the rooms by the bell boy.
Rooms
Premium gardenview room. Very nice and comfortable to stay in. Bar fridge was topped up daily with pop, water, beer. Large bathroom. Air conditioning worked well. Bed comfort was okay.
Restaurants and Bars
The biggest surprise was the breads and pastries - they rivaled what we haven eaten in Paris...fresh & tasty. Crepes at the buffet were masterpiece. Osvany was extremely talented in making these tasty treats.
Buffet - okay...it's Cuba!
A la cartes - very good Chilean house wines. No need to buy other brands. Food was good. Big improvements on quality of beef over previous visits to Cuba. Vegetable selection was limited...canned or pickled vegetables for the most part.
Coffee quality was inconsistent depending on the bartender and the espresso machine. Beach and pool bars were good. No lack of drink variety.
Beach/Pools/Grounds
Beautiful beach at this resort. Other adjacent resorts were not so lucky with their span of beach. Restoration work was being done on the shoreline at other resorts. Beats the beach at Santa Maria and Holguin.
Main pool was nice.
Grounds were well maintained and pretty though not spectacular. Insects keep to a minimum due to overhead ariel spraying twice per day. Bring bug repellent anyways.
Activities on and off the Resort/Hotel
It was great to have scuba diving included. Highly recommended for beginner divers. This is not a place for snorkelling off of the beach. Nothing to see as there is no reef.
Water sports - operated by Marlin not by Sandals. If you are an avid windsurfer, bring your own equipment. Sports centre will shut down if winds are greater than 25 km per hour. Winds pick up late afternoon once the centre is shut down. Lots of beach space for kiting.
Waterskiing, banana boat were included though runs were very short in length.
Tennis courts were in good condition.
Other Comments
A very enjoyable vacation. Do not buy alcohol or cigars at the resort as souvenirs. Much cheaper at Varadero airport.
If you are a beach loving person, this is the resort for you.
The Sandals Royal Hicacos Resort is truly a beautiful complex.
It is located between the Blau and Iberostar Varadero Hotels.
The buildings have suites that are quite large,
comfortable with great air condition to cool you down.
.
The beach has soft powder sand
and swimming is one of the best you can find in Cuba.
Lots of palapas were also always available at any time.
Pool lovers will be pleased to find a huge pool with swim up bar
and 2 smaller ones if you prefer a more quiet area.
The food at Sandals was excellent with a large variety in the buffet.
There was no limit for reserving the a la carte restaurants.
We did enjoy the most the El Caribe,
where we found the menu to be extensive
and varied with lots of fresh meat,
fish and vegetables plus delicious desserts.
The Chilien red Cabernet Sauvignon wine "Vina Maipo"
was also quite acceptable.
.
We must mention that the best part of our trip was the staff.
They went out of their way to make sure that we were happy
and well taken care of.
Idalmis, Public Relations Manager is a great asset to the Sandals.
She was very helpful to our needs and made our stay comfortable in every way.
Ramel, the Manager of the Hotel is always seen around
and ready to listen to any suggestions you may have.
Staff members just to mention a few .....
Marlene, Juan Carlos, Tule, Diane, Tamara, Evian, Cachita
and many many others ..... were really our "Amigos".
All in all, we had a wonderful time and would recommend
the Sandals Royal Hicacos to anyone
who wishes to have a lovely quiet vacation in Varadero.
*
hot.......... hot .......... hot ! ! !
and the water ..........woooooooooow !
.
June in Varadero is a paradise !
... even at the begining of the hurricane season ...
* * * How come no Photos from Sandals * * *
*
Well, well ... sorry we lost our camera on the way home,
see more on :
http://leonardito.com/sandalsvar1005n/sandalsvar1005.php
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Perfect Wedding
Sandals Royal Hicacos
User Rating:
Janis >
1 contribution(s) Canada
May, 2010 | Leisure | With Group
4 people found this review helpful
I absolutely loved it.
Your Arrival
We arrived late and it was a quick, and I mean quick drive to the rooms. I would have liked it if the guy that drove us to the room was friendly. However we did get there late.
Rooms
Our room was beautiful and spacious! The maides kept them extremely clean and always had cool towel art on the bed with nice notes. Our beach towels were always exchanged in the night as well.
Restaurants and Bars
The restaurants were great, because it's a couples resorts there weren't any exciting clubs. There was the disco lounge with the best bartendar, Rodney!
Beach/Pools/Grounds
Very clean, the beach was like heaven!!
Activities on and off the Resort/Hotel
We went on 3 trips off the resort. The catamaran, the speed boats, and Varadero. The boats were fun and definately recommended.
Other Comments
We went with a group of 14 to get married. It was a stress free, perfect wedding. We were given a letter at check with a time to meet with the wedding specialist. We met the next day at 10:30 for about 20 min, long enough to pick flowers, location, cake, restaurant, book spa and hair etc. Then I didnt hear anything else until the day of the wedding. A phone call to say she'd be there with the flowers, and then after she arrived with the flowers she said "wait for my call". Once I got her call I, along with all of the girls, walked to the gazibo and everything was set up perfect!!! We didnt have to do a thing, I would definately recomment getting married or renewing vows there.
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April 11 to April 18/10 - beautiful resort, excellent service, great and friendly staff, all restaurants and buffet were excellent, cannot complain. Bars were quick and excellent. Travelled by Taxi to Havana one day - shared with another couple, worth every penny $220.00 Pesos. Arranged by Sunwing rep Manuella who was excellent. Also had a hour drive around Varadero in 1949 Convertible Cadillac - awesome! $32.00 Pesos also arranged by Manuella - Went to see the Bueno Vista Social Club (arranged by Manuella)
play at a concert hall 5 km. down the road, they play once a year and we struck it lucky, awesome and very very enjoyable and saw 2 of the original band members.
Loved Cuba, absolutely loved it, well worth the money. Beautiful beach and you can walk for miles, rooms were spacious, clean and kept orderly. Balcony on mostly every room, we over looked the green area towards the ocean. Ocean view was blocked by vegetation, but you can hear the waves. We stayed in a Premium suite, stocked fridge and bar daily :)
take a converter for your curl iron and battery charger etc. and a wash cloth, they don't supply this. Shampoo and bath gel and cream supplied. Hair dryer in bathroom along with magnifying mirror and iron and ironing board. Beds were very very comfortable.
Your Arrival
quick and greeted with champagne.
Rooms
spacious and clean and everything working
Restaurants and Bars
fabulous - you won't be disappointed at any of them. We were not.
Beach/Pools/Grounds
Pool a busy place, but 3 on site, we tended to stay down at our quieter end. Ocean was rough, red flag everyday, but lovely, sand was clean.
Other Comments
Use your rep to book your trips off site, they are there to guide you and get you the right guide, it is well worth to ask questions if you want to go places.
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Another fabulous vacation
Sandals Royal Hicacos
User Rating:
Sue >
1 contribution(s) Canada
Mar, 2010 | Leisure | With Spouse/Partner
4 people found this review helpful
We just returned from our third stay at this resort. The service is excellent and the beach is the best we have seen in our travels. The rooms are clean and spacious. The staff cannot do enough to make you feel special. There are several restaurants to chose from and a great buffet. We will continue to return to this resort because of the service that we receive.
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We just returned from a week at this resort, our 4th time to Cuba.
I selected Sandals based on numerous reviews I've read both here and other travel forums and I wasn't disappointed in the least.
Here are my observations:
Rooms
We were in bldg 6, in room 607, a second floor room and at the end of the building, so it was nice and quiet. The room was spacious and clean, with a comfortable bed and pillows. I have issues sleeping in hotel rooms mainly because the pillows suck, but I found one I could live with and rested nicely all week. The only small issue I had with the room was that the lighting could have been a bit better for the size of the place. It was dim and dark in places where you could have used extra lighting, like near the closet and in-closet safe.
Restaurants and Bars
I have to say, this hotel had the best food I've had in any of my 3 previous trips to Cuba, HANDS DOWN!. The title of my review reflects the amount of weight I gained by eating the fabulous Cuban bread, desserts, and some main dishes and fruits/veggies too! We did 2 ala cartes while there--the Caribbean and the Seafood restaurants. Both meals were good, the Caribbean one gave us more food for each course and was more satisfying. After the seafood restaurant, our friend went and ordered a burger and fries because his meal was a bit on the small side.
Beach/Pools/Grounds
Pools: They were cold, there's no getting around that when the outside temps were only in the low-mid 20's all week, but we used them a couple of days anyways. The smaller pool near our room needed a good cleaning the first day we walked by it, but on other walkbys, we noticed it had been cleaned. We also noticed that all the hot tubs were emptied and scrubbed out daily before being refilled. On various occasions we noticed workers cleaning and scrubbing out the numerous waterways that ran throughout the resort.
Beach: What can you say about Varadero beach except it's FABULOUS!. I think Sandals could do a bit better job of cleaning up the seaweed and taking it AWAY on a daily basis. They tended to machine rake the beach and hand rake between palapas, but then left the piles of refuse between the palapas. None of the other neighbouring resorts did this, so the beach wasn't as clean as those near us. We also found a lot of stray garbage, cups, sunscreen bottles that seemed to be on the beach that should have been swept or picked up, but weren't on some days.There were lots of Jellyfish on the beach due to the rough waters the weeks we were there, so walking became a bit of a challenge.
"The Smell": We noticed it on and off during the week, slightly in our block of hotel rooms, and mainly right beside the main pool, near the Presidential Suites. One morning we heard the water being turned on, and suddenly it reallllllly stunk...we thought it would disperse after awhile, but it just kept wafting over to us. After we finally asked someone to turn off the water pipe, it immediately stopped, so I believe it is a sulphur issue and not a sanitary one.
Other Comments
Staff:. We found most of the staff to be helpful and friendly. We never waited long for a drink at any bar or table service in any of the restaurants. I'd have to say that the most aloof staff seemed to be located at the front desk. Most said hello, but there were times when I waited while staff answered numerous phone calls rather than help me. This is bad customer service in any course I've ever taken--you always deal with someone who's in your face before answering a phone. Animation staff was engaging and fun and always said hello as they walked by you.
Would I go back to Sandals? Yes!...the resort is laid back, friendly, fairly quiet, with good staff and a nice atmosphere.
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ripped off
Sandals Royal Hicacos
User Rating:
J.C. >
1 contribution(s) Canada
Feb, 2010 | Leisure | With Spouse/Partner
4 people found this review helpful
We stayed at sandal royal hicacos for a week. The resort itself was fine, the food was good and the service was very good as well. The weather was less than favorable as we had a lot of rain and or very cloudy days. We had a late flight back home and as most are aware, we must still vacate our rooms by 12:00 noon. The hotel assured us that our luggage would be secured and provided us with change/shower rooms should we need them. However, upon opening our suitcases at home, we noticed that my shaver, camera with battery charger missing as well as my wife's gold necklace. As I see it. this could only have happened at the hotel or at the varadero airport. Very disappointing. One excellent reason to stay away from this country as we are dealing a large criminal element.
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Varadero has a great beach but it isn't good for snorkeling
Sandals Royal Hicacos
User Rating:
James >
6 contribution(s) Canada
Nov, 2009
3 people found this review helpful
Arrival: Nov 2009
Executive Summary
Good hotel, great food, good value, great sandy beach, comfortable room on lower level. Bit of a walk to the beach 2 smaller pools in each wing c/w hot tub and a large one in the centre of the resort. 4 bars; beach, piano, main and swim up. Didn't make use of the spa or the a la carte dining. Slow wifi.
Review:
General impressions:
Arrived late at the hotel and was met by one of the staff he wasn't the most pleasant people that I've ever meet but I didn't know what sort of day he had but every time I wanted something from the front desk he just seemed out of sorts. We arrived on the heals of tropical storm Ida and a lot of the resort was in storm mode but not so that it would disturb the tourists. The guy at the front desk said that we could leave our bags there and get some dinner before the buffet closes. All in all I found the staff very friendly except for that one guy.
I would recommend that a friend stay there
Rooms:
We had a lower room in the 800 block. It was nicely appointed with a VERY large king size bed. The room was divided into a sitting area and a sunken bedroom area. In the sitting area there was a bar that was stocked with wine and hard liqueur and a mini fridge with beer and soft drinks. The bathroom was large with a double tub & shower only down side was that the toilet was in another smaller room off the bathroom and this is where the exhaust fan for the bath room was. Therefore the bathroom steamed up quite easily. The TV was a bit of a problem we didn't have a remote for the TV and had to use the buttons on the front that became a large hassle at the end of the trip because they were becoming flakie. Also there were only a couple of English channels it would have been nice if they had of grouped the languages together; German, English, Chinese and Russian. But you don't go there to watch TV so I guess it can be a moot point but I didn't want to kill my liver wai!
ting for the nightly entertainment to start.
Our room had a little musty smell when we opened the door but that soon cleared out. The air conditioning had a lot to be desired and once the room cooled down it was OK. There is a place next to the door for a key card or other card (fold the do not disturb in half length wise or use a timmies card) for the power to the room. Keep that card in there all the time to keep the power on (THIS IS IMPORTANT NO POWER NO AIR CON).
Restaurants and Bars:
The main restaurant's serving areas were divided into; Pasta/Italian, Sea food, and Meat, there was also a desert station and two salad stations. I used the pasta & meat stations the most during my stay and the food was excellent. I would recommend for breakfast having the omelet and for desert at lunch and dinner having the crepes. We didn't try the a la carte restaurants because on holidays we like to eat when we want to and not at a set time because reservations were required for these. We also tried the beach bar for lunch and snacks its OK and does have a lunch and supper menu also you can get snacks there (burgers, dogs, fries) Our fav was the piano bar because it was usually the quietest but we also sat around the outside of the main bar near a small waterfall.
Beach/Pools/Grounds:
Clean wet and warm we mostly splashed in the ocean
Activities on and off the Resort/Hotel:
We recommend the Seafari tour to Cayo Blanko, we also took the tour to Trinidad, that one is a LONG day not for someone traveling with kids. When there DO buy some linen there because you won't get it anywhere else. There is also an eco park and bat caves near the resort worth giving it a go when you have a red flag day.
Other Comments:
The resort does have wifi but it is slow and you have to register your device with the tech on site. He wants the MAC address of your device to authorise it on the network. With my PSP I was only getting a marginal signal (best 60%), I suggest sitting at the tables near the little waterfall fountain in the main bar. Get a drink and wait for your page to load, it beats sitting in the lobby. Varadero has a great beach but it isn't good for snorkeling. Pick up a beach towel at Walmart before you go and leave it there that way you know your lounger from everyone elses. Bring little gifts for the staff things YOU can get at the dollar store that they can't.
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Concierge rooms have the best views in the resort
Sandals Royal Hicacos
User Rating:
Mark >
7 contribution(s) United Kingdom
Nov, 2009
3 people found this review helpful
Arrival: Nov 4-11 2009
My wife wanted to go to Sandals for her 50th birthday, and frankly the one in Cuba was the only one we could afford. I warned her it wouldn't be the same, but where the Sandals mangagement has made a difference is in the staff. The people here were all great.
Rooms:
Except for two bungalow suites near the entrance all the rooms in this hotel are the same. So one thing at Sandals, you'll never have the suspicion someone got a better room. Maybe a slightly better view, but not better room.
Restaurants and Bars:
We talked to some of the regulars, of which Sandals have many, and we were told that the best food was usually at the buffet. We found the food uneven. One night a dish would be great, the next night the same thing would be so-so. But we never had a bad meal. The restaurants were nice, the service good and the food presentation excellent. Meal tip: the portions are small, so you can order an app, starter and main and still have room for desert. I for one didn't miss ridiculously large north american size portions.
Beach/Pools/Grounds:
As far as I can determine, you can't get a ocean view room at this resort. There is a jungle break between the grounds and the beach, I assume to protect against hurricanes, and the trees are high enough that you can't see over them, even from a third floor room. So if you are a fan of ocean views, forget this place. Try the Blau just down the beach (assuming you get an ocean side view high enough). Much has been written here about the water moats. When we arrived they were mostly dry. After a couple of nights of rain they were mostly full. But as they don't move much they seem to be big mosquito breeding grounds. Bring bug protection. My wife as badly bitten (she wouldn't use the stuff I brought). We noticed wiffs of sulphur written about in these reviews. I was told that's from off the resort, not the water features. It wasn't a big deal.
Other Comments:
Some people have written that the Concierge Suite is not worth it. Again, the upgrade is something my wife wanted. I didn't think it would be worth it either. But how do you ever put a value on luxury? When we arrived at the airport we were wisked away in a cab. By the time our fellow travellers arrived by bus we were on our way to our room. When we got to our room there was a nicely stocked bar waiting. Sure, I could have somehow got my favourite bottles into the room. But I didn't have to worry about it. Every day we passed a line up of people waiting to book one of the a la carte restaurants. We just told the concierge people where we wanted to eat that night and it was taken care of. When we left early on a day trip to Trinidad we told them we'd like a morning breakfast and it was waiting at the front desk. When we told them our flight didn't leave until late in the evening they let us stay in our room no charge until 7 pm. Would all that add up to what we paid extra for the Concierge Suite? Probably not, but it sure made for a nicer, easy vacation. Plus the Concierge rooms have the best views in the resort and they invite you to a pretty nice cocktail party.
Finally, checkout at Sandals is dead easy. Give them your safe key, say goodbye and you're away.
I'm still struggling about whether Sandals Veradero is worth the money compared to what else is available in Cuba. My wife thought so, and it was her birthday. And if you have one or two weeks to go before you get your free Sandals vacation(after 72 nights)it's an easy choice. Pay a little than average for a Cuban vacation, then get a $10,000 vacation somewhere like Sandals St Lucia for free. Think of Sandals Veradero as a loss leader for the brand and it starts to make a lot a sense.
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Our son was married on the beach
Sandals Royal Hicacos
User Rating:
Robert from New Brunswick >
1 contribution(s) Canada
Nov, 2009
3 people found this review helpful
Arrival: nov 1st-8th 2009
A group of ten went to Sandals for a weddding. Flew from Moncton via Toronto with West Jet..there first ever flight to Varadero..great price and flight. We were met at airport and taken to resort with no stops..changed some money at airport and bought some beer for everyone. At the resort met with champagne and taken to our rooms with no plastic bracelets!
Rooms:
As mentioned by previous reviewers rooms on two levels small fridge,hairdryer,converter, some english TV and daily water replenish, beach towels in room. Very clean and comfortable
Restaurants and Bars:
My wife and I only went to the buffet..others in our group went to the a la cartes..nothing special. Food in the buffet was ample..always great soup and lots of choice. The lobby bar was terrific..fantastic service and quality drinks..a great meeting place. The beach bar was well used by our group and featured service right at out beach chairs. The Piano bar was a favorite of mine as the piano playing was really good.
Beach/Pools/Grounds:
The beach was the main attraction and did not disapoint. Plenty of loungers and good walking in either direction. The grounds were quite nice and the resort was spread out..so lots of walking involved. Never went to the pools but they appeared to be clean..pool swim up bar was always busy!
Activities on and off the Resort/Hotel:
The only day it rained we went into Varadero on the double decker bus. Had been there before so we knew what we wanted to see..several markets mainly.
Other Comments:
We have been to Cuba numerous times..Varadero 3 times We have stayed at the Solomar and the Barlevento. We would rate the food better at the solomar. and the barlevento as being better located but we must give the Sandals high marks for having the best staff probably overall a 4 star resort. In addition we found the quality of the drinks at Sandals to be the best we have seen in over 20 visits to the caribbean. And yes the wedding went off without a hitch..our son was married on the beach and the small reception was held in a gazebo near the lobby bar complete with a great 3 piece Cuban band. We highly recommend this resort!
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