Iberostar Playa Alameda

first time at this resort ,,,and we will be returning...amazing hardworking staff...amazing food...short walk to the beach and activities...nice clean rooms ..we took my sister and brother in law and they want to return again also...even going out of resort is so safe and everyone so friendly ...I don't get it when people complain...treat staff with utmost respect and graciousness and you get it back....loved showering staff with Canadian gifts...wishing all are safe during these tough times

This was our first time in Cuba, so we didn’t have very high expectations, but we were pleasantly surprised! We would definitely recommend this resort. Pros: - The staff was always available, very friendly and helpful; - Plenty of choice/variety of food & drinks (I’m a bit of a picky eater and I never struggled to find something I enjoyed); - Round-the-clock (or almost) bars/restaurants; - VERY clean, well-maintained beach (we walked along the beach and other resorts honestly could not compete with how clean our beachfront was!); - Inexpensive Wifi available; - Staff will speak Spanish if you engage with them in Spanish, but otherwise will default to English. Another point on language is that they are multilingual - we heard staff speak Spanish, English, Russian, Polish, German, French, etc. - We were there for Christmas, and the celebration was honestly amazing! Santa parachuted onto the beach, they had a beachside bbq going with a band, etc. (Christmas eve was also quite the party!); - You have access to absolutely everything right up until you leave, even after checking out. Cons (keep in mind that we don’t consider these to be major inconveniences, they’re just little things that we think are good to make note of): - A/C in the room was a little iffy - it was either freezing cold or off, it was very difficult to find the "sweet spot"; - While inexpensive, Wifi is only available in the lobby area; - While very friendly & helpful, staff will try selling you all sorts of things, ranging from local currency (which is illegal to leave the country with) to exclusive "uncertified" tours & transportation and cigars. Some staff will also encourage you to leave things behind (one person asked us for our flip flops). While a bit awkward at times, this wasn’t exactly surprising to us considering that they probably don’t get paid very much; - The spa section was small and uninviting. For an adults-only resort, we were expecting a little more than a single massage table in a small (and somewhat sketchy) room next to an empty whirlpool... We wanted to get a couple’s massage, but there was only one man working there, and he seemed a little uneasy at the idea of massaging other men (he wasted no time to tell us that we could wait until the next day since it would be a woman instead).

This was my first time in Veradero, but I have been to Cuba 3 other times in the last 5 years. I never had issues anywhere else in Cuba. The food was bad. I'm not a picky eater, but I struggled with the food. Be prepared to eat rice and beans. There were no potatoes. The A la carte's serve the buffet food presented in different ways, so you never get a break. We were talked into purchasing an expensive lobster dinner one night that no one could eat because of how bad it was. We went to the buffet after and they were serving lobster. We had a group of 4 couples. The rooms were muggy and smelled bad. It was difficult to sleep due to the smell of the sheets. They smell like a chemical. One member of our group left his phone in the safe for the entire week and he found it had water damage when he took it out, (that's how muggy the rooms were). I had to change rooms the first day because the door lock wouldn't work. We told the front desk and they said they would send a technician. We waited hours for the technician to come fix it, (they never showed up) and when we went back to the front desk they gave us a different room. The new room had a working lock but had no bathroom door. One couples shower flooded the bathroom after every use. We found throughout the week every one of the door locks malfunctioned. They would only have one bar open at a time and the only one that you could get a special drink at was the piano bar. Those special drinks were also very inconsistent. It was really difficult to exchange towels due to the weird hours of the exchange place/ being out of towels when they were open. Some of the staff were amazing but overall not impressed. The housekeeping staff did a good job and left us cute little notes. One day we were told you can't get coffee at the buffet, the next you could. One hour you can get a mojito at the snack bar, the next hour the staff tells you no. Seemed like it was just whatever the staff felt like making is what you could get. The resort was in a good location and it was easy to get out and explore. The ocean was nice. The pool was ok. It was always packed and there is no swim up bar but it was clean and big enough. Our trip was still fun, as we went with good friends, met some great people, and went on some fun excursions, but that had nothing to do with the resort. Also, now that I have been there it bothers me a lot of these reviews seem sugar coated. This is my honest review. If it had been rated 3 stars I would not have been so disappointed, but this is far from a 5 star establishment.

Wendy at the dinner res. & reception desk is superb Best Ala cart restaurant "Romantica", best barman Frank, best maid Jessica, Mr Adworda Chou also made our visit very enjoyable. A great place to holiday. Thanks to everyone.

Understand ppl if you want exceptional service tipping goes a long way no matter where you vacay, and vacation is what you make of it piss and moan or enjoy the sun and sand, in our experience every one went above and beyond to make our multiple stays memorable