Rooms were dated and need to be updated but other then that this resort is fantastic...will go back again next year for sure!

Overall this hotel met or exceeded our expectations. The Beach is brilliant, our room was clean, and the food was exceptional.

A well maintained hotel. Alot of amenities, appreciated the shops in the hotel lobby. Food selection was great! Staff was very friendly. Will definitely go back.

It is a very lovely resort. The beach and the water was amazing. The food was good but doesn't have a lot of variety. The rooms were nice and clean. The staff and front desk were very friendly and welcoming. We did have a nice time at the resort however there were a lot of older couples there and not a lot of activities and music throughout the day. It was very quiet on the beach. And the nightly entertainment was lacking. It was also a disappointment that there was no wifi available in the lobby.

Would definitely recommend this resort to family and friends. Overall we were satisfied.

Our experience was great! The concierge staff were very helpful in everyway, anything that we asked was delivered with smiles and appreciation of our business. It really made us feel important and welcome. I was very impressed with the food and quality, Everything was washed in bottled water and bottled water was readily available. The grounds were very clean. The beach had the widest beach compared to any other resort on the strip and of course the water was clear and beautiful. Although the roooms are all the same regardless of room type, they were well kept. Some stuff could use a few upgrades but the staff made up the difference. The afternoon activities were lively and staff were really enthusiastic, but unfortunately I was too busy being lazy in my lounge chair. lol. I must say they had the best mojito's i have ever laid my taste buds on. The only issue we had was the internet access as the wifi for some reason, was down during that week and the lady's at the internet bar did not seem to be very freindly. We met a lot of return guest, some that have returned 11 times so that tells you that this is a pretty decent spot. This was a great first trip/honeymoon southward. Thank you Sandals!

We found that the hotel staff were extremely friendly (for the most part), willing to help and we had a great time during our vacation.
My only complaints would be:
1. Hard beds and pillows
2. The hairdryer didn't dry so well, so bring your own if you care
3. The buffet closed at 11:00 and the Bistro was set to open at 11:00 but we were told the chef wasn't ready (not there at all) and they weren't sure when he was showing up; so sometimes couldn't consistently get food all day
4. THE BUFFET CLOSES AT 11:00. We showed up at 10:40, grabbed full plates of food to sit down at 10:45 but the staff told us they wouldn't give us forks as the buffet closes at 11:00. We said 15 minutes was enough time and we'd hurry to be out of there at 11:00 on the dot, but we were told "no" and to leave. Quite upsetting, so we had to abandon our full plates of food even though 15 minutes would have been more than enough time. :0(

Overall though, we had a great experience and made some long term friends with the staff.

This was our second visit to Sandals Cuba. In 2004 the resort was relatively new, food was excellent, rooms/resort clean, service top notch, and beach clean and groomed. Eight years later everything is significantly less than it was before. This resort is now NOT up to Sandals standard. While we enjoyed our time away, the resort is definitely 'tired' and requires updating including the food and service levels. When the A/C was on the room smelled bad, the power and water was off frequently. People are still very friendly and lots of Canadians which is always great - safe and respectful. Avoid the italian and caribe restaurants - food was really bad. Buffet was usually good, but service levels are down.

Our sixth time going here. Again this was a great vacation. Main points, staff were all very helpful and pleasent as usual, everybody always had a smile and greating as you pasted them. The food was good!!!!!!! This trip the hotel was booked solid. The only difficultly we had was finding chairs at the beach or pool. This is not the hotels fault, I blame it on guests who get up early and put towels on beach chairs then go to the pool for half the day or vise versa. Anyways, food was good, beach was soft, people was nice, staff were great, room was beautiful, room bar was always stocked properly per our request, pizza joint was good (even had shepard's pie lol) the entertainment was great every night as well as the main bar shows (bands and even a micheal jackson show) piano bar shows were nice to relax to with an evening drink. My only complaint....we were not there long enough, wish we had stayed 10 or 14 days rather than 8 days. Jerry from Mississauga

The hotel provided everything we could have asked for...and more!!

ALL I HAVE TO SAY IT WAS BEYOND EXPECTATION !!!!!!

to keep it short,our vacation at sandals was very pleasant from check in to check out.we were 4 couples and the staff at restaurants always did their best to accomodate us.the food was really good the rooms were nice and clean and the beach was beautiful!

Excellent service que ce soit aupres du lobby ou du personnel de l'hotel. Tout est axé vers les couples.
Je conseille plus le buffet que les restos a la carte.Le meilleur hotel parmi les dix que j'ai fréquenté a Cuba.

belle semaine, personnel attentionné,nous avions la suite concierge donc beaucoup d'extra. beau site mais pas un 5*.

Amazing stafff, food was excellent, espcially grill bar, service was great. No internet available at all which was disappointing. Got concierge service was worth it..26 oz bottles delivered to the room nightly if ordered! Entertainment very good as well. Only disappointment no internet at all, had issues getting toilet paper 1 day when we ran out.

Would definately return.

Loved the beach and pool area. The swim up bar was great. There were problems booking the a la carte restaurants and they would not accommodate groups. The towel exchange service was not always available (three days in a row there were no clean beach towels available). Definitely need to bring your own reusable glasses. Food was good, but not always available as in the menus and it was difficult to make reservations.

Sandals Hicacos was a great experience to us both. The food was adequate, the accommodations were roomy and clean. The staff was helpful and very friendly. The most incredible part of the resort is the beach. They groom the beach every night and when you go in the morning, it is like walking in flour. The surf is not strong, and the water is incredible. Remember you are staying in Cuba, so 5 stars is not the same as 5 stars in Paris.

We have stayed at Sandals Hicacos twice now. We travel extensively and have stayed on countless beaches. Varadero is an amazing shallow beach fantastic for long walks, sailing, and fun in the sun. We lucked in again with great weather in late March. The Sandals resort in Cuba has wonderful food and even better staff, with beautiful grounds, pools and great entertainment. A highly recommended location. Although snorkel equipment is available, there was a $20 charge to use it at the reef. We were disappointed that the dive boat to take the snorkelers out to the reef for free was not working this time. Since we love to snorkel daily and were charged $20 each per time for the catamaran to take us, this is a definite negative for a return visit. No effort was made to provide another boat to take us out even twice during the week. The Sunfish was always available for us for great sailing, but catamarans required a local captain. Beach service for drinks was appreciated.

We very much enjoyed our stay at the Sandals Hicacos with one major exception - food poisoing. Our sister who was travelling with us got severe food poisoning at the Buffet (pasta sauce). She required a doctor, prescriptions and a shot of graval. She was very sick for 3 days (couldn't leave her room) and wasn't able to join us on the beach until the 5th day. Needless to say it affected all 4 of us and our holiday. We have 2 close friends who have been going to this resort for many years who had the same experience last year and did warn us about staying at this resort. On our last day we met another person whose mother was also very sick from food poisoning. It is really unfortunate that they are not more careful with the food as overall the food was quite good and much better than we had expected. It's unfortunate but I don't think we will be going back to Sandals Hicasos.

For the price, it seemed really ordinary.

Cet hôtel à répondu à nos attentes, c'est vraiment un endroit pour se reposer et profiter de nos vacances. Le personnel est très gentil et aimable. La nourriture est plus qu'acceptable, le vin était correct et l'atmosphère en général est super !

Nous on voyage beaucoup et plusieurs fois à Cuba. On s'attendais à beaucoup plus (niveau 5*). On y va juste une fois. Encore beaucoup de rationnement....p.ex papier de toilette, savon, pas de papier mouchoirs (pas disponible), accès wifi en réparation toute la semaine, etc.

This resort had extremely clean grounds. Beach is beautiful and very clean. Food was amazing. Careful at the front desk, some decided to take a little off the top with money exchange. If you are going to the buffet and not there at the first when it opens be weary of the plates and glassware. It is not properly cleaned ... to avoid this be first in line when buffet opens for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Restaurants were amazing and most of the staff very helpful!!! Most of the Bartenders are first class, and the maid for daily cleaning was very very observant as to adding little extras when she found they were needed ( without asking) !!

This was a great location and resort. Those that find issues must not have let themselves enjoy the vacation. Yes this is not Canada for 5 stars but it is great place to enjoy yourselves with the service you want. It depends on you too. Highly recommend the Conceige package made that extra special and the staff were outstanding - yes tip them they work hard to make it special for you.

Nous avons bien aimé en majorité. Trop de vent. Le buffet en générale était assez bien. Différent fromage, canard à 2 reprises, un soir de langoustine. Il y en avait pour tout les gouts. Restaurant à la carte assez bon, surtout le carribean, mais pour celui du B"B"Q pas fameux nous avons pris poitrine de poulet pas assez tendre et ne goûtait pas grand chose. Nous avons trouvés qu'il n'y avait pas assez de musique de Cuba. Beaucoup musique américaine. Très dommage pour ceux qui veulent s'imprégner de l'endroit. Pas de problème à la plage assez de chaises et de parasols parfois des roches à l'entrée de la mer à cause des vagues. J'ai aimé mais je ne crois pas que j'y retournerais. Il y a d'autres endroit que varadéro que j'ai aimé, je retournerai à ces endroit avant varadéro.

The resort itself was nice although somewhat dated; pools are in need of some repair but very pretty and grounds are attractive. Do not waste any money buying premium or concierge level service there was nothing offered extra for the additional cost that you pay. We paid several hundred dollars per person extra for premium room and got absolutely nothing for it. Other than 4 rooms in private beach cottages we saw no evidence of any differences in the rooms or services available to anyone. The room was clean and had potential but very dated and bed linens (which were supposed to be premium as offered within the premium package we bought) were a joke. The sheets did not fit the bed (Queen size on king bed), and the bed spread was old and torn in one corner. The first room they sent us to was ridiculous with a bed spread that still had spots from the prior guest(s) and overlooked some shabby property next door. Fortunately we were able to get another room overlooking a garden and quiet pool area. The room description on internet also suggested room would have bidet but there was none and according to check in staff all rooms are identical. The blow dryer was a joke (circa 1965) and my wife was not happy about it so bring your own for back up. They did have internet availabe in the main bar but don't waste your time, I gave up after about 30 minutes on line during which time I had only been able to download 1 of many emails in my inbox.

Fortunately after you get out of the room everything else was very good to excellent. The food at the hotel was excellent (some of the best we have had in the Carribean and Mexico), the service and staff were excellent and despite the room that was somewhat deficient we had a great time. The beach was very nice, gorgeous white powdery sand but unfortunately the high winds the week we were there made the fine sand blowing in your face a bit annoying so we hung out by the pool.

As long as you can get over the issues mentioned with the room (do not expect high end linens or decoration) then you will have a great time because the people, bars and restaurants are fabulous.

Arrivé a 10.30pm le temps de récupérer nos valises et nous sommes accueillis par notre représentant qui nous procure un taxi et c'est parti pour l'hôtel. Arrivé autour de minuit nous sommes reçus avec le sourire et le champagne. Comme prévue notre suite et dans un coin tranquille section 200. Notre suite est belle,grande et propre. Notre vue sur le balcon est ordinaire,tombant sur un terrain vacant mais pour la tranquillité c'était parfait. Petit détail, cette hôtel n'est pas des plus récent donc les articles chromés dans la salle de bain ont perdue de leur éclat par la corrosion de l'air salin de la mer. Autre détail l'ajustement de la température de l'eau pour la douche varie chaud , froid c'est un peu agaçant. Le sommier du grand lit King est très dure selon nos gouts.
Au jour levant on peut enfin voir toute l'environnement de notre hôtel. Construit depuis quelques années le complexe est bien entretenu avec les unités et les trottoirs sur pilotis ou ils ont créé des ruisseaux et incorporer des plantes, des fleurs, des chutes d'eau. Le complexe est grand, il y a 440 suites junior et des suites de plus haute gamme. Le complexe affichait complet mais de par sa conception on ne ressentait pas la population. Que ce soit au lobby bar ,au buffet, au grille sur la plage, partout on n'avait pas de problèmes de congestion. Le personnel était détendue, souriant et efficace dans leurs fonctions. La nourriture était très bonne, variée, en quantité et au buffet disponible jusqu'à la fermeture. Les restaurants a la carte sont beaux et bon, notre préféré : l'italien. Pour la boisson, tout les choix et bien entendu la quantité que vous désirez, il y en n'a pour tout les gouts. A la plage pas de problème pour les pal-lapasses, par contre sur la plage il y a des coquillages et des coraux, mais une fois dans la mer le fond est doux et sablonneux. Nous avons aimé notre voyage et on le recommande sans hésitation. Pour Cuba c'est un 5 étoiles.

It was our first trip to Cuba and our first all adult experience. Also our first Sandals experience. We were there for 2 weeks at the beginning of March 2012. We found the staff very welcoming and friendly once you took the time to get to know them. Most speak english very well. The beach was beautiful but some days we found it too windy to enjoy. We enjoyed our stay in Varadero, Cuba

We went to Cuba, after doing 5 star in Jamaica, knowning full well it would not be the same, however, going with that knowledge ensured we would not get caught up in the differences.

The resort was gorgeous and it did not feel as concrete jungle as many of the resorts there seem.

Our room was spacious and very clean and bright. We also found the resort was well designed in that if you wanted away from the noise from the shows the rooms were positions such that the noise really was not an issue. However, this is not a noisy resort at all as it is all couples and not too wild.

The beach was fantastic and the water was clean and warm. We really enjoyed the beach experience at this resort. The nice thing too is that the beaches are public property so you can walk up and down km of beaches no matter what resort it "belongs" to.

The staff were fantastic. We really enjoyed everyone we met there.

The food was very good, but not excellent. We went with the expectation that we would find the food lacking. We did not in the least. Sandals in Jamaica was better but the food here really was very good, just a little more limited.

The bars were very nice and they really had most everything and rarely ran out of top shelf stuff (something that's common at other resorts from what I've read).

All in all we had a really great time and would recommend this resort to anyone. I'm sure we will return.

We were very pleased with our overall experience at this resort. We would definitely stay here again.