Upon our arrival (Sept 15, 2007), the lobby of the resort was breathtaking! Check -in was very quick and we were greeted with a chilled glass of champagne. A very nice touch.

Our baggage was delivered to our room via a golf cart (taxi). We were pleasantly surprised by how clean and modern the rooms were. We even had music upon entering our room. The rooms were equipped with a dvd/cd player. You can borrow dvd's at the library, but your on vacation, no need to.

We have been to Cuba several times and I would say that this is the best resort by far! The resort was empty and I would say there was only about 70 people total and close to 200 staff. The staff at the resort bend over backwards for you to make your stay a pleasant one. They can't do enough for you.

The disco was empty, but the Dj's in the disco were awesome in getting you up to dance and they are more than happy to teach you salsa and other dances. Our favourite bartender at the disco is also an accomplished artist and architect. He will show his work if you ask.

Food was great. We loved the Asian Restaurant at the Tapanaki table. The spring rolls were out of this world!!! We loved the fact that if you asked for wine they brought a bottle. Any special occasions, they will personally decorate your table and have champagne chilling for you.

There are two beaches at this resort, the Megano and the Ensenachos. Both are out of this world. Bring your snorkelling gear as you can snorkel right off the beach. I recommend taking the Catamaran Snorkel Tour if you can. The grounds to this resort are fantastic and extensive. You need to use a golf cart to get from end to end. The colours of the flowers and plants are breathtaking. Our villa (Bungalow 33) had a resident iguana, "Pablo," who would visit to get out of the sun between 2-4 p.m. We loved our concierge , Yanari (we often called her Celine Dion). She couldn't do enough for us.

All in all, I can't say enough about this resort and staff. Our stay was incredible. We will definitely be returning to this resort in the not too distant future and have already recommended it to other friends and colleagues.

We will definitely be back!

We THOROUGHLY enjoyed our vacation at Occidental Royal Hideaway Ensenachos!! Absolutely beautiful, great rooms, service second to none, food - very well prepared, with lots of variety, great wine, the room - also very spacious and gorgeous, the beach - gorgeous!! Did a little snorkling, but not many fish. Very quiet relaxing atmosphere - we were able to settle into vacation mode very easily - also there are no kids, and the pool was quiet -- activities at the pool were only the odd volleyball game - NOT like some places when this constant guy with a microphone is trying to get people involved in the next activity. Full spa, great gym --- what more can we say other than it is the first place we would consider going back to!!
BRING CANADIAN MONEY - One thing we were not aware of, In the past (2 years ago) we were told to bring US Funds to exchange to Cuban pesos -- which is what we did - well, they were not impressed, It cost an extra $10 levy every time we exchanged the money, as well as a poor rate of exchange. They gave a great exchange to anyone with Canadian funds which we did not bring - but would have if we had known.
c&d

We just returned from the Royal Hideaway. The week was great.The staff take care of your every need.The bellboys,they drive the golfcarts,do need small flashlights.So if going there small flashlights would be appreciated.Also make sure men take long pants for dinner at the buffet and al a cart restaurants.The only complaint,the week went too fast.

We are repeat customers to the Royal Hideaway and decided to return there for our wedding. We were married there recently and wanted to post a review about the resort and the fantastic job they did on our wedding day.

Rooms - The rooms are beautiful. Originally, we were in a room without a walk in closet, I had my wedding gown, and had nowhere to hang it. We went to the front desk the next morning to request a room change and the staff were more than accommodating. During the second week of our stay, for our Honeymoon, we were moved into a Duplex Suite. There is a small sitting room and dining area with a powder room on the ground floor. The top floor is identical to the standard rooms. It has a large Walk In Closet and Balcony. We were fortunate to have an Ocean view from both of our rooms.

Concierge – We had two different concierges. Our first, Ivon, was wonderful. She went completely out of her way for us and was present with us on our wedding day. She consulted with us about our dinner reservations everyday, and if we weren’t in our room, there was one occasion when she came to find us at the pool to check what we would like for dinner. Our Second was also very helpful. She ensured that we were happy in our new suite and that all dinner reservations were made at a time that was convenient for us.

Food – The food had improved immensely in a year. We were able to dine at the Royal Club 4 times during our stay, and the food was fantastic every time. The buffet was only open once during our entire 2 week stay, which was a little disappointing for us, as nice as dining a la carte is, it’s also nice to have a bit more selection.

Buffet – Was open everyday for breakfast and once for dinner. Breakfast was great everyday. We were able to have Omlettes, Eggs or Crepes every morning, and the croissants were freshly baked. Much of the fresh fruit is local, some comes from on site, and it is all organically grown. The one night that the buffet was open for dinner there was a good selection, you can have steak, chicken or pork cooked the way you like it. There is also a seafood station and a pasta station.

Italian – We ate here many times during our stay. There were different theme nights held at this restaurant; Grill Menu, Cuban Menu & Italian Menu. We did not have a bad meal at this restaurant.

Seafood – We dined here once and it was our only disappointing meal.

Asian – Both of our meals here were good. We prefer not to sit at the show table, however, if you haven’t done it before, I can see how it would be fun. The sushi was surprisingly good. I especially enjoyed the Monkfish Satay.

Royal Club – This restaurant is located in the Royal Suites section of the resort. Last year it wasn’t open to guests who were not staying in the Royal Suites section, so we were really looking forward to going there. The food is quite good at this restaurant, and the staff are fantastic – many have been there since the resort opened and are now working at the Suites.
Pool Restaurant – Lunch here was good for the first week. During the second week, occupancy rates doubled and the staff and kitchen weren’t able to keep up with the amount of people at the restaurant. If you weren’t there by 12:30, then the chances you would get a table before 2pm were pretty slim. In short, there should be more than two restaurants open for lunch, even if the buffet were only opened with cold cuts to make your own sandwich, fruit & veggies & an ice cream bar.

Beach Grill – No problems with the food here. The Burgers, Hot Dogs and Ham & Cheese Sandwiches were all good.

Pools – Only the bar on the Royal Side of the resort was open, so of course, this pool was busier. I prefer the quiet though, and if I were to go to the pool, I would spend my time at the Spa pool. There was an abundance of chairs and we had no problem getting a pad for the chair, even though the pool is not technically open.

Beach – This is one of the reasons that we returned to this resort for our wedding. Unfortunately, we were hit by Tropical Storm Noel during the first week and the beach was Red Flagged for 3 days. Following the storm, the beach was a mess. Staff tried their hardest to get everything cleaned up quickly – One person at the resort complained that they ‘Wished the Beach Were Cleaner’ – This travelled up to the General Manager and the next day all of the gardeners were on the beach for the clean up. This is still one of the most beautiful beaches we have ever been to and it’s unfortunate that some people can’t recognize that the only reason it had some seaweed on it is because of the Tropical Storm, normally the beach is extremely clean, and it is still relatively virgin compared to the rest of Cuba.

Wedding – We were originally supposed to be married on the Beach, but the day we were to be married, was the day that the tropical storm arrived. The waves were up to the walkway down to the beach, so essentially, there was no beach to have the ceremony on. The ceremony was moved to a small part of the Lobby, facing a beautiful statue and the Spa Section of the resort. Our Wedding Coordinator did a great job with what was available to him and he paid attention to all of the details that we requested. The ceremony itself is about 10 minutes long. There was a Champagne toast and canapés following the ceremony. We then had our wedding cake. The Cake was a 3- tier Coconut Cake that was out of this world. There was a Quartet that played during the Seating of Guests, and after the ceremony. They did a fantastic job, even in the high winds when their stands were blown over. We had about an hour before our dinner, so we went to the Lobby Bar, where the Pianist was playing and had cocktails. Our dinner was a 7-course meal at the Royal Suites. We were truly spoiled. The only thing that we would have wanted was a little more direction after the ceremony – We were told it’s our party, fair enough! We went with the resort photographer, and were a little disappointed with the results. There were 2 people taking photos, and when we received the disc that we paid for, it only had 24 photos on it. The photos were all posed, and there were very few candid shots.

All in all, our stay at the resort was a positive one. On our last day, however, we were told that the buffet would open early for breakfast, as we had an early transfer to the airport. This didn’t happen, there were not enough boxed lunches for all the departing guests. We would return to this resort in low season. We really found that when occupancy rates increase, it decreases the quality of service.