TripAdvisor Traveler Rating

Very disappointing stay. The food was consistently bad, badly prepared, very bland and often unappetizing. Our room was not properly cleaned daily—there were visible signs of dirt and neglect, which made the stay uncomfortable. The service was equally disappointing: staff were slow to respond, unhelpful, and showed little concern for guest satisfaction. For the price and reputation of this resort, this experience was unacceptable. I would not return.

Resort staff is amazing at Alameda. This was my 4th trip there and will definitely be returning. For Cuba the food was very goods with no shortages. Rooms and grounds were kept clean and tidy. All staff are very friendly and more than willing to help you out, I would definitely recommend this resort to anyone

I have a great holiday at Iberostar Playa Alameda. The hotel have a great beach and the staff is amazing. Beautiful gardens and special for relax

I have stayed at this hotel multiple times over the past 15 years, mostly because I foolishly kept hoping it would improve, but it did not and instead steadily became impressively worse. What were once questionable service and food have devolved into a hotel that appears to operate under a clear “we do not care” philosophy, with spectacularly bad food that seems to be recycled leftovers from the days before and truly terrible service marked by indifference and inaction. Housekeeping is more interested in tips than they are about actually cleaning (room was not cleaned), basic amenities such as the television did not work, loud banging began around 6:00 to 6:30 a.m., and complaints to the front desk were met with polite note-taking and absolutely no follow-up. The on-site shop short-changed me with inconsistent pricing, and staff openly withheld basic service unless tipped, creating a desperate and transactional atmosphere. While the beaches and location are still attractive, even they appear neglected, and the mosquito situation is alarming, with no visible prevention despite widespread mosquito-borne diseases in Cuba. In short, this is a hotel with great beaches, terrible service, collapsing standards, and a management that has clearly given up, and after years of hoping it would improve, it has gone from bad to worse to do not go! For your health's sake.

Before I begin, this review is my experience and may differ from others as everyone has different wants and nesds while on vacation. I always try to write the most honest review so there are no surprises for those who may depend on them to book. First, we booked through redtag.ca and it was a Westjet vacation package. I am so glad I did NOT book direct with Westjet as I doubt I would have made my trip as westjet did not arrive at my airport to pick people up, and there was no attempt to contact me either. Me and my spouse sat on the phone for a total of 11 hours trying to get through. Thank God redtag worked miracles to get us to Varadero because westjet could have cared less. We lost 1.5 days of our long awaited Family Christmas vacation. But lets get to the resort. We arrived 10:30pm, it was crazy windy. We were exhausted and hungry. No decent snacks. our choice was a bun with a slice of ham and cheese, thats it. no ice, no mix for drinks. Ok whatever we had granola bars in our suitcase. Our room was upgraded to third floor facing pool by the very nice desk lady. . Our room was very tired and worn, the curtains ragged and half of their hooks which is an easy fix, maybe do it? No plug in for hot irons in the bathroom, no plug in near a mirror so, on my own trying to style my hair, I just said screw it and kept it in a bun the whole trip. Beds are never comfy so no surprise there. The room was clean, thats the important part. The room attendant was great, she did a good job, no complaints. Nothing in the mini fridge, no sodas no juice and you get one bottle of water per day but you can have them refilled at the bars. The country is suffering due to sanctions and the aftermath of Covid, I understand, but, no reason not to spruce up the rooms with clean and hung curtains and repaint the furniture, maybe invest in new blankets. Things to bring for room: hand soap, mirror to do hair, 2 ply toilet tissue (but do not put that in the toilet) Snacks, good size water bottles, dollar store hangars. Food: same, mediocre, we survived on eggs and toast. Christmas buffet was really nice, they did a good job. Just dont expect a lot on regular days. Also watch the grill people who cook meat, make sure they do not touch the cooked meat with the raw before they give it to you. Most notably chicken. Say something if it happens or you might spend your vacation in the bathroom. We don't drink alcohol so our experience will be different than those who like to socially drink and have fun. I cannot comment on the booze for this reason. We were in bed early and up early. The grounds were in the process of grooming and looked amazing the day we left. The groundskeepers work hard, please acknowledge them. Most staff were friendly, some not, who knows what they are going through. Things are tough right now in Cuba, always remember its a communist country and the government owns everything. Beach is nice, stay to the left, its not rocky. The pools are nice. We liked both and enjoyed both. I was torn about ever returning, on the one hand, I want to support the people as I know these vacations help put food on the table but on the other, this is my and my family vacation that we worked hard to save for, I dont want to worry about some of these things. My mind was made up when I opened my suitcase after touching down at Pearson, EVERYTHING had been opened and nothing put back. Jewelry out of its zipped case all over the bottom, shampoo bottles, nail polish remover, everything out of its plastic protective cases and splayed in my suitcase. clothing bags torn open and everything scattered all over. My suitcase was a stew of everything I had and there not a tiny attempt to put anything back or close things that could spill and cause damage. I know this isnt how its done in Canada, your are notified when your suitcase has been searched via a sticker and they seal items as close to how they found them. This ransacking was done at the Varadero airport which made my up my mind to never return to Cuba. After spending thousands there over the years, bringing small needed gifts, school supplies and tipping just about everyone, this is how the country treats my property? I wont be returning. Good luck to all the staff and good people at this resort, I see you