Very relaxing beach, you get your sunbed and put wherever you want it. The food is good and has a 24 hour snack bar with very friendly staff. It is one of the best hotels I have visited, we will be going again in July this year to get married with 28 friends and family, it is going to be a fantastic day just hope it won't be to overcrowded. Paradisus is having swimming pool building work for 3 months June, July and August 2015 and they are sending their guests down to the Luna y Mares Resort to use the pools and All Inclusive amenities while the work is on going. We will have the best time we can but will be keeping an eye out on the kids in the pools if it gets too busy.

We stayed at the Paradisus Rio de Oro in May 2011 WOW! we booked here to get married we were just going on our own until friends got wind of it and started to book too ended up 13 of us which was great. However I worried on the run up to our holiday if hotel etc. would be okay as we had not been to Cuba before and other couples were paying a lot of money to go. As soon as I stepped of the coach my worries were no more the place the people are fantastic. We were married on the 12th of May everything done for us if you’re thinking of getting married aboard this is the place. I’m not going through everything because it was all just prefect. Would I go back again you bet I would in fact we are in 2013.

We stayed at the paradisius rio de oro from the 31-08-09 for 14 days. On the way to the resort from the airport the rep said you have made a wise choice in the PRDO as its one of the best hotels in cuba one day later we knew we had. What a destination the hotel is wonderful large spacious rooms great air con. Huge open plan hotel with four great restaurants plus a fantastic buffet a beach restaurant and poolside diner (Paradisius salad and quatro qesos pitsa a must)not to heavy if your diving or snorkling very large pool and surrounding area with swim up bar, jacussis set in the cliff overlooking the ocean where you can quaff champagne if you want. A fantastic beach with its own house reef which is where we spent most of our time the entertainment laid on at night is of very high standard if thats your bag we had drinks in the lobby bar then retired to the nightclub which had aircon. In a way i think i cheated because i booked this holiday by using holiday truths found this hotel with the best feedback and booked it so i already knew it had a great beach,great food,in great surroundings, but was not prepared for the friendlyness of the staff and cuban people the best i have experienced in over forty years of travelling. If this hotel had been rough i would have hammered it so its only fair after having such a lovely holiday that i praise it and holiday truths for getting me there

Holiday at Paradisus Rio de Oro

My husband and I stayed at the Paradisus Rio de Oro for 7 nights at the end of October 2007. This was our first trip to Cuba; we usually go to Mexico at this time of year. Having read promising reviews, we were hoping we had made a good choice with the PRDO. We could find little to complain about - our room was exactly as they appear in the brochures and had recently been refurbished. The bathroom, however, was very dated and tired with cracked tiles and mouldy shower curtain. If we had been staying longer, we would have asked to be moved but we decided we could live with it! The grounds were attractive and well kept, pool area was a little tired but ample beds, buffet restaurant was very good and we loved the Mediterranean, Japanese and International a la carte restaurants. As we were staying for our anniversary, we had emailed in advance and made our restaurant reservations - we chose the International (El Patio) for our anniversary and were greeted with a decorated table, champagne and a fabulous cake in lieu of dessert! The only restaurant we were disappointed with was the Cuban - the food here was poor and we wished we had gone to the buffet instead. The evening entertainment was in short supply and not very entertaining.

We had no problems with mosquitos but my husband had hundreds of bites on his lower legs which meant he had to be hospitalised on our return to the UK. We were told they were sand flea bites. Overall an enjoyable holiday - we probably wouldn't return as there are other places we would like to visit and hubby is somewhat cautious about the sand fleas!

Well we've never ever said that we would return to a hotel, however after our recent trip to the Paradisus we have decided to return in two years for our 10th wedding anniversary.

Great hotel, outstanding people and fantastic food.

To top it all off the scuba dives that I had been quoted for in November (

Staying in this hotel was like staying in paradise! We really felt pampered. Where all the people were was a mystery because we hardly ever saw anyone walking around the grounds.

The pool was fantastic and NEVER crowded. Our rooms were superb, extremely spacious and comfortable. The view from the room was scenic and peaceful, we loved to sit on our terrace, enjoying a quiet drink.

In reply to the comment on there not being AC in the main bar and buffet restaurant, there would have been no point as they were almost in the open.

We found the food to be of a high quality, especially in the El Patio restaurant,and there was a great selection for everyone. The service was excellent, a constant supply of drinks was on hand.(We did notice several people tipping every time and felt this was unnecessary. After all, the cost of the holiday was high and the service should reflect this without the necessity of tipping.)

The entertainment, although very professional, was repetitive and boring. There is definitely a need for more variety. For children there was absolutely nothing to do after 6pm. This was the one criticism we had.

I really don't know where we could go to match this hotel(never mind beat it). Highly recommended for a fabulous, relaxing holiday.

I fail to see how anyone can not have a good holiday at this hotel.

There are only two negatives -

1.We were a little disappointed with our room allocation. We had e mailed ahead requesting certain blocks, but were not allocated anywhere near this. The reason given was there were allot of rooms closed due to the air conditioning being broken ( which ours did for about 24 hours), we had also requested second floor which we also did not get.
Our room was in block 22 which overlooked the woods, probably one of the worst outlooks you can get. It also did smell a bit muggy, but my husband mentioned this to the rep and an air freshener appeared in the room which did help.
Some blocks are most definitely better than others, if you can get in one these then your laughing. For all the time we spent in the room it wasn't something we were that worried about.

2.I do agree with the previous review, the public toilets could have been a little cleaner.


Other than that everything else was most definitely positive.

Restaurants
We emailed in advance our diner reservations, this i would definitely
recommend. We went to see the lady just before 9 on our first day, there was already a Que, we were fifth and it took us over an hour to be seen. All reservations had been made and tickets completed so this did save some time, but she still went over every reservation while we were there. If you go to see her later in the day there is usually no Que.

The a la carte restaurants are fab. The patio (international) was our favourite. You step into the International and the Mediterranean restaurants and feel you are in a country house hotel restaurant somewhere in the UK. The settings were fab and totally unexpected. The food was also great. We managed to get us a third visit to the patio as we liked i so much (tip the wine waiter and he will sort it for you)

The Japanese is great fun. The Cuban was OK. The buffet had a great choice, but like any buffet anywhere in the world could have been a bit warmer.
There is a choice of meats/fish cooked to order, and pasta with various sauces.

The food at the pool is great, pizza's, burgers, pasta etc the beach bar is also good more fish on the menu there. One word or warning - prepare to out on weight.


The swim up bar is great fun. It can get a little busy late afternoon, especially over the weekend. Lots of Canadians tend to come for a long weekend. Try the Bahama Mama's. The Mojitos are not all they are cracked up to be - very sour.

Staff
The staff are fab and work very hard, some do 16 hour shifts and they have an hours bus journey each way to and from the hotel. It is true if you tip they are falling over you to help. You don't need to tip much and it doesn't have to be every time, but it does help get you priority service.

Entertainment
There is a show every night at 2145. Usually singing and dancing with some spectacular costumes. Everything is over by 2300 then its on to the Karaoke bar/disco for those that want to or a quite drink in the lobby bar.
The animation team are great fun. Your can do nothing at all or take part in rifle shooting, archery, horse riding as well as the usual pool aerobics or volleyball.
Be sure to go out on a catamaran, its great fun and all included.


Although It is classed as a 5*, you have to remember this is a package holiday 5*, which in my experience are no where near the 5* properties in the UK. Bear that in mind and you cant go wrong. i would definitely recommend it for fantastic food,people and value for money.

Having read all the reports regarding this hotel and having been recommended it, we were really looking forward to our holiday. When we arrived for check in at Reception soft drinks were passed around as we queued. Unfortunately they had not prepared enough so we missed out.

The hotel is in need of refurbishment especially the bathrooms - nothing has been redecorated since it was built in 1999 and it is beginning to appear shabby.

Please note that the Spa, as at June 2006, is not finished so no sauna or steam room, just pool, jacuzi and treatments.

There is very little mobile phone reception around the hotel and beach area so be warned.

There are loads of mosquitoes so take plenty of protection.

A few days after arriving my husband got locked into the gents down by the pool restaurant and had to climb over to the next cubicle. This was never repaired so presumably cleaning of these toilets is not on a regular basis, most toilets around the hotel could have been cleaner.

After about a week my husband turned over in bed and a leg caught his bedside table and three legs fell off it. It was obvious that the table had been repaired many times. Unfortunately the lamp on the table fell off and broke. We were told that "it was not our fault that the table broke" but we would have to pay for the lamp. Obviously the table was once again repairable but the lamp was not. We pointed out that the lamp broke because the table was faulty but were told everything in Cuba had to be accounted for as it is owned by the Government and if we did not pay up for the lamp the maid would have to pay for it. She only earned 25 US dollars a month and it was obviously not her fault the lamp broke so BEWARE dont break anything. We paid up for the lamp but the maid stole some money from a drawer on the last day which was a pity because we had tipped her and the man stocking the fridge every day - so we did not leave her a tip on the last day. We tipped everyone all the time but most people did not bother at all and did not get any worse service than us.

Trips - we went on the Dolphin trip - take more money with you than the basic cost - once you are there the trainers want 10 peso's for the dolphin to drag you round holding their fins and another 10 peso's for the dolphins to lift you up out of the water (1 peso is about 67p).

Speedboat trip was fantastic - well worth the money.

Day trip to Santiago - three hours each way in coach as roads were so bad that the coach practically crawled through the potholes. We visited a castle (beware of the castle staff begging for money) we had an awful included lunch and then visited a cemetery and then had about an hour in Santiago. If you go in the shops be prepared to be searched on your way out. This trip was not good value but if you dont leave the Hotel you do not get a true view of the proverty that these people endure all the time.

The food at the hotel was excellent in all Restaurants - although lobster and Italian wine was sometimes "off". I cannot praise the food enough. The pool area was amazing and there were plenty of sunbeds etc. etc. The beach is quite something too.

Evening entertainment was the same dancers performing different routines each night. We were recommended to try the Majito Cocktail but it was never available as they could not grow any mint!

Would we go back - no - too many other places in the world for us as we are reaching retirement and want to visit other countries.

Wonderful hotel set in fabulous landscaped grounds and right by a fantastic bay.

We found all the staff very friendly particulary in the outdoor restaurant near the huge pool.

If you are into big-band music you won't be disappointed as a 12 piece band played most nights and a team of dancers hit the stage every night with great "gusto".

The rooms were spacious and modern, and even had a CD player.

Really this hotel is a "5 Star" resort of exceptional quality - we intend another visit very soon!