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Located in Cayo Largo del Sur, in the Caribbean Sea. All Inclusive Four-Star Resort with 307 rooms. Its comfortable accommodations offer guests the chance to enjoy a peaceful and calm vacation. The property faces 600 meters of beach, famous for its perennially cool white-sand. Fun-packed recreation programs for both children and adults. Recommended for families.Guest Rooms307 rooms: 259 Standard, 36 Standard Ocean View, 12 Junior SuiteDining3 Restaurants (A la Carta, Buffet, A la carte and mini-buffet), 2 Cafeterias, 2 Bars
Places to stay are graded on a 0-100 scale. The higher the grade, the easier it is for travelers to find restaurants and things to do within walking distance.
We are back from a 3 week stay at Starfish. It was a great pleasure to see our Cuban friends again who made a memorable trip for our family (children & grandchildren) during our first week. A big thank you to Mario-Alberto, Ernesto & Yanni du Ranchon who are always smiling and concerned about the well-being of customers. Angel & Roberto from Snack Bar, who are always ready to serve people with cheerful service. Thank you to our housekeepers who worked tirelessly. To the women of public area maintenance who keep places clean. A big thank you to the cooks, including Dayan, for their imagination to make the meals delicious.
Unfortunately, since the new administration took charge, the atmosphere is very heavy between the staff and the bosses which is felt by the customers. In addition, for unclear reasons (mosquitoes, lack of staff), the Ranchon is closed in the evening. Being able to enjoy the sunset, the sound of the waves, a good meal in the fresh air, do not seem important to the administrators. The responsibility of the bosses is to provide the tools and a pleasant atmosphere to employees so that they can give the best of themselves. It’s sad to see that the magic of the hotel is being lost, we miss the beautiful stays at the Pélicano.
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Date of stay: October 2023Trip type: Traveled with family
Room Tip:Amener du chasse-moustique, Cayo Largo est une île, c’est certain qu’il va y avoir des bibittes.
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Traveled with my cousins (5 of us), Jan 12-19, 2020. Firstly; check in was a joke, not that it didn't go smoothly but that our flight (Air Transat) arrived before 11 am and check in is not until 3 pm! We left our bags in the luggage room in the lobby, proceeded to drag around our carry on's to find food and drinks. When we went back a few hours later, hot and weary, we asked if 1 of the rooms was ready so we could at least change in to Cuba clothes (not our Toronto winter clothes). The front desk said sure pick one! They were all ready but they wanted $25 CUCs early check in fee. Now they know that the Air Transat flight comes in every Sunday at 10am but will not allow you to get your room earlier than 3 with out an early check in fee! After that, everything else was just fine. The staff is (as most of Cuba is) wonderful! Food was, well, Cuba food (a wee bit bland). I'm pretty picky and never went hungry. Due to weather they didn't get their supplies so not a lot of fresh fruit and some other things. They don't have ketchup, mustard, peanut butter, or jam (marmalade yes) so if you fancy these things, you should bring your own! Big shout out to Gonzalo (Rambo), Gustavo, Yoan (waiters), Jamie (lobby bar bartender), all were so attentive to us and nice! The band is fantastic. They travel the grounds and play all day and night! Tell them that 'Tequila' says hi!!!! Anisley (Ani) is the most fantastic person!! she became our prima! (cousin). Ani is with the entertainment staff. she remembers everyone's name and goes out of her way to say hello to everyone!! she works all day and night and attends the Marinatown parties till late on Wednesday (white party) and Fridays. if you see her please say that her PRIMOS miss her!! Rooms were a bit dated but clean, beds a bit hard but comfy. (4400 block) Beach was really nice. Due to a change in wind coming in from the south, it was red flagged with high breaking waves! Beautiful to walk on though. Take a taxi $2CUCs to Paraiso and Sirenas beaches, they are beautiful! The turtle hatchery is well worth the $1-2 CUCs to get in. 3 cousins rented quads out front and had a blast! Overall we all enjoyed our time at Hotel Pelicano!
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Date of stay: January 2020
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This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
We have gone to the Pelicano hotel several times, now called the Starfish resort at Cayo Largo, Cuba. Since they have MajerDomo available for the guests, we have found that one of the butlers, Yanelis, is very professional, friendly, and goes out of her way to ensure you have an excellent holiday. If more hotels had people like Yanelis to look after the guests, your holidays would exceptional.
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Date of stay: January 2024
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Trip type: Traveled with family
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
I would have given a five star rating if it wasn't for some food faux pas's. No cheese for their pizzas, no mustard or ketchup at the Zun Zun bar the first three days, no eggs for breakfast the last 2 days and no orange juice. That said though and realizing that this is Cuba, a little planning before hand would make this a non issue. We met one couple that was there for their 13th time and they reiterated that fact. Except for some supply issues the buffet and 2 al la carte restaurants and the bars were good. We did spend evenings in the bar drinking a lot of spanish coffee.
The beach was as awesome as other people have described it. We were there the last week of January and there were always plenty of palapas available. Going to a nude beach was on my bucket list, not so much for my wife though. In the end she thoroughly enjoyed it and now she wants to go for 2 weeks the next time we go. And yes we are planning on returning.
We had an ocean view junior suite (3rd floor) room that was very nice. However, with my wife's knees as they are we'll ask for a ground floor room next time.
The resort grounds and pool are also very clean and well kept. At lunch we'd eat at Zun Zun and spend a little time at the pool.
We rented an 4 wheeler one day to check out Paraiso and Serina beach. Then we went to the little town aka marina. That was a nice outing.
The staff is very friendly and aren't too bad with their english. Internet was available at the main building for 1 cuc/hour.
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Date of stay: January 2020Trip type: Traveled as a couple
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
The hotel is nice, the staff are all really friendly. The room was clean and comfortable with a new bottle of water everyday. The sand on the beach is white and is never hot, your feet almost feel cold. There was lots of shade for both the textile and nude beach. If you are offended by nude people then this resort is not for you, I would say there were more nude sun bathers then clothed sun bathers.The weather was awesome all week, no rain a lite breeze and mid 20's, perfect! The food was good and there was a decent selection of different things everyday. The crapes are worth the wait. The change the main feature each night, we had turkey 1 night and it was very good. The one issue was that they stopped serving wine with dinner about 2 days into our stay, it was not because they ran out as you could get it at the bars. I personally like a glass of wine with my dinner and this is why I will not give the hotel a 5 star rating.
There was places to sit and relax all over the resort which we took full advantage of with our Spanish coffees. There is a place right at the front of the resort where you can rent a 4 wheeler for the day, but be there before it opens as they only have 6 quads and they rent fast. Bring your licence with you as they need it to rent to you.
I loved this place and I will go back another time to enjoy myself, I talked to people that have been coming to this resort for 20 years and they were planning their next trip to the resort while they were still there.
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Date of stay: January 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
We went to Hotel Pelicano in January 2020. The Cubans went out of there way to make our trip special; especially Ani, the Entertainment Director and members of the band. They are warm and genuine. The hotel could use updating but it was clean everywhere (rooms, lobby, restaurants & bars). They had a problem obtaining fruits and vegetables by boat due to high seas but there was plenty to eat and it is Cuba, so we know what the food is like compared to home or Mexico. The beach was beautiful and we took a short taxi ride to Playa Sirenas where the beach was wide and long and the white sand was extraordinaryl. I would go back to this hotel again and recommend it to friends who would enjoy a basic holiday at a good rate.
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Date of stay: January 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Wonderful beaches until massive waves came for 10 days and only the Pelicano still had a beach after the daily pounding. The supply ships couldn't dock so we ran out of wine and fresh produce but the hotel did a good job anyway ,as best as was possible.THe loud speaker by the pool kept people away from the pool. The rooms are generally upgraded except ours wasn't and people above had to move when their shower water came through the ceiling. I did check other units and they looked great. Think Sunwing gets poorer rooms. The mosquitos arrive at dusk like clockwork.
The shows were generally OK but way ,way too loud. Loved the sidewalk that went east for a long way, for walking. The begging bowls were everywhere. If you didnt tip, you were looked after but very obvious who was not tipping. Lots of families here and lots of happy repeaters. The beach chair guys were very efficient. Also, loved the nude beach. Most of the Canadian guests were from Quebec. There were about 4 China TV channels,CNN,sports and English movies dubbed in Spanish. The best movies had incomprehensible English subtitles. They need to fix the beach showers. The a la carte dinners were reasonably ok but be sure you have repellant for the outdoor dinner. Our Sunwing rep, a girl, didnt tell us upon arrival that they kept the dining room open late for us. She was not good. At checkin ,they try to get you to upgrade your room and also pay for the safe. The currency conversion is a real "setup". What a joke. If you to visit the Marina area, there is a cute museum there. , and a turtle sanctuary , and a bank and you can take a boat over to a massive beach,,,but you pay for a chair. This is not a party place...you do your own thing and dont expect a lot of toys. IT is beach, swim,sand,read,walk ,,,very few "toys". Since no one lives there, there are no dogs, no dog poop and no garbage. Flies on the food-no problem as it is a very clean place.
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Date of stay: January 2020
Value
Service
Sleep Quality
Room Tip:family rooms and upgraded rooms seem to be worth it
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Very disappointing: we arrived at 08.00AM and ask for the early check in, they ask ed us 25€ eventhough we had a baby with us so we were forced to pay as the check in time is 3.00PM.
I thought they would be honest with us but they were not! They gave us one of the worst rooms in the building! I actually believe that it was the staff building ad every day, as I opened the door they were smoking in the courtyard or talking on the phone...
The room was very old and smelled of mould. Full of dust everywhere! No hot water for the shower and my 1 y.o. Baby got a bad cold.
Restaurant was very low quality: flyes everywhere, dirty and long queues to get something to eat.
The beach was very nice and we enjoyed the sun much indeed.
Surely they need to improve customer service and empathy!
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Date of stay: January 2020Trip type: Traveled with family
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Elisa, our male major, was very kind and gave us an unforgettable stay. Serena beach is the most beautiful in the world. The service and cleanliness of the place is impeccable despite the age of the building and the damage from the 2017 hurricane.
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Date of stay: August 2023
Value
Location
Service
Trip type: Traveled as a couple
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Magnificent trip! We lacked nothing! Our butler Yunet is perfect, always available and meets our needs, she even prepared a surprise for my husband's birthday!! a big 5 stars to the staff!! Gustave and Vladimir at the beach wow! Congratulations to everyone for our beautiful week!!
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Date of stay: November 2023
Value
Location
Service
Trip type: Traveled as a couple
Room Tip:La piscine, la plage,la chambre tout est propre et très bien !!
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Hi. You can exchange your money at the airport as the Taxi will only take CUC (Cuban pesos) as payment. The exchange rate was a little better than at the hotel.
There are more places to choose from in the Cayo Largo area.
ALSO KNOWN AS
sol pelicano cayo largo
LOCATION
CaribbeanCubaCayo Largo
NUMBER OF ROOMS
307
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