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Reviewed September 3, 2008

My husband and I wanted to get away for a nice relaxing holiday. We had been to Cuba last year in July and enjoyed the experience. We discussed our needs with our travel agent. She suggested the Occidental Royal Hideaway. We were pleasantly impressed upon arrival.

The hotel was very nice. The rooms were lovely and clean. If you didn't know any better, at times, you wouldn't have known you were in Cuba. My husband and I felt that the hotel had a very European feel to it.

The food was fine. We found enough to eat. We had our reservations about this resort based on reviews we read. However, based on other reviews and comments by our travel agent we decided to try the RHE. With appropriate expectations set about food during low season we were not disappointed.

Our Concierge was Yipsy. She was excellent. She went out of her way to ensure we had a lovely stay. The staff was excellent and very friendly.

We had a great stay. We ate, drank, relaxed, read our books, listened to our ipods. It was exactly what we were looking for. Peace and quiet.

Date of stay: August 2008
  • Trip type: Traveled as a couple
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7  Thank 2travellingpals
This review is the subjective opinion of a TripAdvisor member and not of TripAdvisor LLC.
Reviewed September 1, 2008

My partner and I traveled with Air Canada from Montreal to Santa Clara on August 23rd returning on August 30th. We stayed at The Royal Hideaway Ensenachos (Spa section) booked with Air Canada Vacations.

The Resort: The facilities at the RH are true to five star standards as far as North American standards are stated. Beautifully appointed lobby with fresh flowers, shops, and bar. Very spacious making the resort feel very comfortable not crowded. A lower lobby level houses, the currency exchange office, shops, library, disco and two restaurants. As you walk into the lobby, you will get the feeling that Occidental did not spare any expense in the construction of this resort.
There are two beaches, Ensenacho and Megano. Both beaches are beautiful with bar service and snack bar. The nautical services are located on Megano at the center of the Key.
The rooms are located in three separate land sections on Ensenachos Key, from west to east: Suites, Hideaway and Spa. Each section has two story buildings that are numbered. Each sections has a pool and lunch restaurant. All well landscaped with lush tropical vegetation. The spa section contains a building housing the spa. What we found most interesting about the resort was the level of privacy made by the landscaping; buildings and pool are separated with vegetation making the resort feel appealing without the perception that the resort contains 500 rooms in numerous buildings. Sections and buildings are accessible by numerous walk paths.
Room: The rooms are well appointed and spacious. The bathrooms are big with separate European style shower stalls and the toilet is in its own little closet off the bathroom. There is a walk-in closet with safe and lots of room to store clothing. Mini-bar stocked daily satellite TV, DVD player with surround sound system. Not sure if the DVD player is compatible with North American DVD’s. All rooms have balconies.
Personnel & Services: The personnel at the resort are courteous and more than willing to help you with anything. A concierge is located at every building in the room sections making it easy to make reservations and get information. The bellhops are always ready and quick to transport you with a golf cart to anywhere on the property. Room service was quick; house cleaners did a fantastic job everyday in the rooms. The only failing with service was at breakfast and lunch, slow to be served, it took forever to get coffee and juice in the morning.
Food: Having vacationed in Cuba before expectations for fine cuisine was not very high. You do not go to Cuba for its fine dining or any other high culinary experience. Breakfast was lean and did not offer many choices, aside from an egg and crepe station I did not find anything to my liking. The breakfast meats were not very good and there were no potatoes. The fruit was either too ripe or not ripe and was not chilled but warm. Pastries were tasteless and the breads were bland. After three days of breakfast I skipped this meal for the rest of our stay, you cannot eat eggs only for 7 days or your cholesterol level will go through the roof. Lunch was à la carte, again tasteless, greasy and not much variety. Lots of fish and seafood but the preparation is always off with no spices and over cooked. Since we were there in low season, we had 5 à la carte dinners and 2 buffets dinners, I would have preferred 7 buffets where there are more options and choices, and you can see the food and know what to expect. À la carte dinners were bland, again no spices and everything is over cooked. The only undercooked items were the steaks, ask for medium and you get very rare blood dripping everywhere, ask for well done and it is the same texture as the sole of a shoe. The service at the dinners was outstanding and had a good choice of wines. In brief, cooking lacks refinement and precision it does not matter what themed restaurant (Italian, Asian...) you are in the food is bland, without spices, it cannot be distinct to a type of food.
Conclusion: I loved my vacation at this beautiful resort. Quiet relaxing beautiful beaches and pools is what I needed. Aside from the food, there is nothing wrong with this resort. If fine dining is not during your vacation then you will find it all here. I would return just for the properties facilities and secluded beach.

Date of stay: August 2008
  • Trip type: Traveled as a couple
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12  Thank mitchyul
This review is the subjective opinion of a TripAdvisor member and not of TripAdvisor LLC.
Reviewed August 27, 2008

Having just returned home from the RHE after our 3rd visit my husband I still find it hard to believe that some people complain about this resort. Our first visit was May 2007, second Feb 2008 and 3rd Aug 2008. We found very little difference between service in high and low season, both times were excellent.

We have been to Cuba about 20 times now and feel this is the best resort for the money. As stated in previous reviews if you like quiet and relaxation with two of the best beaches we have ever seen this is the place for you. If you need activities, loud music , and a burger king within a 10 mile radius you should look elsewhere.

I must also note that we feel very safe at this resort and the Cuban people are genuine, sincere and very polite inspite of the always present rude tourist who finds it below himself to say "thankyou."

To all the wonderful people we met this trip "hello" and thank you for making our vacation a great experience.

We are already planning our 4th visit...

Mark and Jayne Mandic
,

Date of stay: August 2008
  • Trip type: Traveled as a couple
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6  Thank Jaymars1
This review is the subjective opinion of a TripAdvisor member and not of TripAdvisor LLC.
Reviewed August 27, 2008

After getting married at the resort last August, my husband and I decided to head back to the RHE for our first anniversary. Some friends and family cautioned us against it, saying we wouldn’t have as great an experience the second time around, and we should find another all-inclusive to stay at.

They were dead wrong. We had a fantastic time – and considering that the pressures of getting married weren’t with us, we actually had a better vacation - which we didn’t expect considering how much fun we had last year.

We stayed at the RHE from August 2-9, and requested Marelys as our concierge – who is superb. We got to know her last year as she was the translator at our wedding and was our in-laws’ concierge. She’s absolutely wonderful, and is a pleasure to talk to. We stayed in bungalow 41 – which we love, since it’s in a perfect spot between the pool and beach walkway.

Food was even better than last year – although I can’t fully understand the ongoing complaints about this. The menus at the pool snack bars were expanded to include pizzas, grilled fish, and offered much more choice than last year. Typically lunch was eaten here. Tropical fruit was plentiful at the buffet, along with freshly baked breads in the morning – not to mention the fantastic Cuban-themed buffet night (try the Ropa de Viejo and fried plantains). Granted, the not all the restaurants were open every night, typically 2 were available and the buffet was open for dinner twice during the week. This didn’t faze us, as it was low season. Ultimately we ate at every restaurant we wanted during our stay – including the Gourmet for our anniversary dinner.

There was however, one small thing that bothered my husband and me, and it had nothing to do with the resort. There was a couple who whined the entire time, to anyone who crossed their path. They cornered us while standing in line at the buffet’s carving station and announced: “The buffet sucks, there’s no Canadian cheddar.” Are you kidding me? Who travels to Cuba for Canadian cheddar? There we were, at the Cuban-themed buffet night, surrounded by mountains of food, not to mention a whole roast pig, turkey, and side of beef at the carving station, and their trip was ruined because of cheddar? They then whined about the staff, the alcohol, the humidity, the temperature of the room and bar fridge, and on and on. Sure, everyone’s different in their expectations, but to find fault with everything – and then try to make everyone else miserable? At least we won’t be seeing them here again.

Now that family and friends know that our vacation was phenomenal the second time around, we’ll be joined by friends when we head back this February.

Thank you to Agnes (as always!), Marelys, Alia, Yurixa, Maikel and everyone else. Can’t wait to come back!

Date of stay: August 2008
  • Trip type: Traveled as a couple
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9  Thank DCToronto
This review is the subjective opinion of a TripAdvisor member and not of TripAdvisor LLC.
Reviewed August 20, 2008

We travelled to this resort in late February 2008.
It was fantastic, beautiful, quiet, stunning.
I wish we could live here. The water was crystal clear. Pristine like it was the only place on earth. While service was mixed, good vs. slow, i must say this resort has a bright future ahead.
Food was good, lobster buffet was delicious. Really outstanding for Cuba. Golf carts were abundant should for some unknown reason you are in a hurry and prefer not to walk. Having been home for a couple of months, i often wonder if it was all a dream.
I have been to the Carribean 10 times in the last 4 years. This resort is at the top of my list.

Date of stay: February 2008
  • Trip type: Traveled as a couple
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4  Thank caribbeankings
This review is the subjective opinion of a TripAdvisor member and not of TripAdvisor LLC.
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