FLIGHT
We flew Sunquest, which was problem free. Same goes for the shuttle to the resort.

ARRIVAL
once we got there, they took us over to the check-in. it was my wife and i, as well as another father-daughter couple checking in. the rep started explaining a few things, then things got a little dicey. the father and the resort rep got into a HUGE argument because the guy thought the rep had misplaced his passport. finally the rep stormed off. that was it. she didnt tell us where to go or anything.

finally we get shuffled over to the golf cart guys, who asked us what room we were in. well, no one had told us. after shuffling through the papers the rep gave us, we finally found our room number. a bell-boy drove us to our room and carried our bags to our room for us. he dropped our bags in the room, then just stood there. i thought "oh crap he's expecting a tip and we dont have any cuban money yet." i said politely "sorry sir, we don't have any money on us!" and he got VERY angry with us. after sticking out his hand and asking for money again, we apologized again. he threw up his arms and yelled "FINE!" and stormed out of the room. it was horrible. my wife was almost in tears. we' d been in cuba for 20 mins and already been confused and in the middle of two arguments. NOT a good first impression by the resort.

my wife took a nap, so i went to go book some dinner reservations. of course no one was in the office, so i was told to wait till they came back from dinner. i waited for about 20 mins before finally going up to the front desk and asking THEM if i could book reservations. nope. you can only book till 5 pm. no one told us this.

so needless to say our honeymoon did not start off well.


RESORT ITSELF
Absolutely gorgeous. The landscaping was beautiful and the place was always clean. The pools were fantastic. We spent every day from about 10-3 at the pool, then went to the beach later in the afternoon. I layed out in a hammock a few times to read in the afternoon. However, sometimes there would be a horrible sewage smell (depending on the wind direction) in some parts of the resort (mostly the end of the pool closest to the front desk). I read afterwards this was from the lagoon next to the resort.

BEACH
Awesome. Clean, white sand. Warm turquoise water.

FOOD
We finally got to book some restaurants. The only ones we could get were the Italian, French and Cuban ones, as the Chinese and Japanese ones were full by the time we booked, so we were stuck with the buffet for dinner a couple times. Both of us got sick on and off from the food from about Wednesday on.

Main Buffet: For breakfast it's alright. The coffee was terrible (usually room-temperature, and its slightly grey in colour). Don't think we ate there for lunch at all. For dinner it was hit or miss. Sometimes they'd have a great selection, sometimes it was pitifully bland. There was flies buzzing around it constantly, while the workers didnt really do anything about it. The milk they had for cereal was always room temperature. I'd give it about a 2/5.

Port Royal: This was our favourite place to eat for lunch. It's an open-air place right by the beach, usually with a very energetic band playing. Good sandwiches and burgers. 4/5

Snack bar: Open 24 hrs, which is good. They've got burgers and stuff too, and ice cream was good in the afternoons. 4/5

Swim-up Bar: Excellent, as expected. haha. 5/5

Cuban A-la-Carte: My wife had some kind of cuban fried-chicken, i had a spicy beef dish. Neither of us really enjoyed it. 2/5

Italian: My wife had spaghetti (which is her favourite food, so it was the best meal of the week for her). I had a steak-pasta combo, which was quite good. 3.5/5

French: Really bad. My wife had a roast beef dish, which was kinda cold. I ordered salmon, which is one of my favourite foods, but this was by far the worst i've ever had. It basically looked like cat-food and tasted horrible. 1/5

Breakfast in bed: On Thursday we had breakfast delivered to our room, which was awesome. There was fresh fruit, pastries etc. This time the coffee was really good. We ate it out on our balcony, which had a great view of both the garden and the ocean. 5/5

Hill Top: This was the special "honeymoon" dinner we got on the last night. This is a gorgeous restaurant with a great view of the ocean. I had delicious lobster (my fav. meal of the week), while my wife had a linguini dish that she didn't like at all. Again it wasn't warm enough. 3.5/5

WEATHER
Could NOT have been any better. Seriously. It was 30-33 degrees every single day, not a cloud in the sky and not a single drop of rain. Always a nice breeze coming off the ocean. Picture perfect.

ROOM
Very nice. Comfy bed, HUGE bathroom with the biggest tub I've ever seen. There was a mini-fridge which they re-stocked with water, pop and beer every day. Almost every night a few of the bell-boys would come by to our room with chocolates, fruit and cheese plates for us.

MISC
We payed $150 (Cuban) for a couples massage at the resort's spa, and it was worth every penny. Very friendly staff and an AMAZING one-hour massage.

We saw a "circus show" of 4 cuban acrobats one night in the plaza area. It was very entertaning!

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So, overall, there were pros and cons to the whole trip. We probably wouldn't recommend this resort, but overall we had a pretty good time. Mostly it was just the food that brought it down, and its definitely something we'll put more emphasis on next time we book an all-inclusive!

My husband and I stayed at the PPDM for a belated honeymoon and our stay was fantastic (from Toronto, Canada). We flew with Cubana Air. We were a little concerned before our trip, but the airline was great. The plane was spacious. They served drinks ($) and a decent meal. Once we had passed the passport checks, our luggage were waiting for us on the other side. We found our bus right away and waited for awhile for everyone else to get on the bus. We stopped at over 5 other resorts to drop off some of the passengers. I had done a lot of research before booking our trip and by seeing the other resorts, we were confident that we had made the right choice. We were also considering Iberostar, Melia Las America, and Sandals Hicacos. But they did not even compare to our resort. Only one other couple checked in with us at the PPDM. Once we got off the bus, the “bell boy” greeted us and walked us to the check-in table. We were seated and welcomed with cocktails and warm towels! Then a lady walked up to us, and handed us a small bouquet of roses and a CD of romantic songs for our honeymoon stay. We were told that we would receive a gift each day and she invited us for a candlelight dinner at the Hill Top Restaurant (Royal Service restaurant). So, every night at around 7 pm we received chocolates, wine, rum, cheese and crackers, etc. which was a great surprise before going out for dinner each night. Oh, and we were told we would receive breakfast in bed one morning. We got a call two days into our stay and were asked how and when we would like to receive our breakfast. It was amazing (the breakfast and the experience). We were actually lucky since we were surprised with a second breakfast in bed on our second last day.

The resort is truly beautiful, the grounds are spectacular. The beach is very quiet and clean compared to the other resorts that we had stayed at before. The sand is raked daily, and at any time of day you may see about 20 people at the beach. We spend most of our time at the beach, especially since it rained during most of our stay. But even during the rain, we always found something to do.
It finally stopped raining on our last day. We only went to the pool on our last day and it was amazing. There were less than 30 people by the pool. We found a floater very quickly. My husband played basketball and volleyball with some couples we had met from Europe. It was a lot of fun.
The food is just fine. You never go hungry. The buffet was good for breakfast and lunch, although we only had lunch at the buffet twice. I didn’t like the location of the buffet. It was hot (no AC) and filled with mosquitoes, flies and birds. There was a good variety of different meals, at breakfast I had a lot of fresh squeezed juice. We also had lunch at Port Royal and the Racquet House (lots of burgers, ham/cheese sandwiches, fish/chips and more). The dinners were great. We had dinner at all a la cartes. My husband loved the Japanese and I liked the Oriental. The Italian and Cuban were great. We did not enjoy the food at the French, but as I mentioned you never go hungry. Our candlelight dinner at the Hill Top Restaurant was the best. It was a set five course meal (delicious steak, soup, salad, desert, etc.). We were actually considering moving to the Royal Service for the last 4 days of our trip. However, after seeing the infamous lagoon we reconsidered and decided that our beautiful ocean-view room in the Granma building (#3) was the better choice. We never smelled the lagoon during our stay.
We went on the Havana day tour. Old Havana was beautiful. Our tour guide was not very helpful. He did not answer most of our questions about the economy of Cuba. He actually tried to distract us with irrelevant comments about the Cuban history. Our bus was very curious and we all felt that our questions were unanswered. The tour was a little too long especially since we dropped off and picked up people from 6 other resorts. We stopped at a place to have fresh Pina Coladas and to use the restroom (ladies: take some tissue paper in case you need to use the bathroom). We did take a bottle of water from the resort which was a good idea since we did not stop anywhere else for refreshments. We had lunch at the “Fashion House”. We were given two choices of turkey and fish. We both had the turkey, which was good. Again, the food is just fine in Cuba. You never go hungry, but you can never say that it was the most delicious meal you’d ever had. Like I had read in other reviews, the lunch includes a choice of pop or beer. You have to pay for water and other drinks. We were given 1 hour of free time to explore Havana. We visited the cigar shop and stopped at a few places for pictures. Be careful about people wanting to sell you cigars on the street. They ask you to walk with them to their house to show you their products. We have heard some scary stories about people getting robbed or hurt this way. If you want to buy from them, do it right in front of everyone. The cigars at the cigar shop cost as much as the ones in the hotel. It was an amazing experience to see the culture and their way of life. It is definitely worth the trip. We actually met a lot of couples from Europe who had stayed 3 nights in Havana before their 7 nights at the PPDM.
The service was amazing. We tipped a lot. They treated us so well and really appreciated the gifts and tips. We noticed the majority would have their meals and leave without even leaving a peso on the table for the hard-working wait staff. I regret not taking some gifts for the gardeners because they work so hard and usually go unnoticed.

Overall, after extensive research, we believe that this is the best resort in Varadero if not in Cuba. They treated us very well especially because we were on our honeymoon.
We definitely recommend this hotel to everyone, especially couples and those who enjoy a very quiet and relaxing vacation. Keep in mind that the resort may be a little too quiet for your taste. Compared to other resorts in Cuba and DR, we found that it was a little less lively at times. But again we may have had bad luck with the rainy nights. All the shows and entertainment were moved to the nightclub downstairs except for the last night when they had a live band in the main square. But even then, we only saw 4 people sitting and enjoying the band.

The only negatives:
1. The location of the buffet: lots of mosquitoes and birds even during breakfast
2. The lack of entertainment: it may have been due to the rain
3. The nights are extremely quite.
4. The pathways are not well lit at night
5. Our bathroom was not cleaned properly: although we tipped ($ and gifts) our maid very well
6. Mosquitoes at night: bug repellent does not seem to work

As with all of our recent trips we used TripAdvisor as an invaluable source of information when helping us find somewhere to stay that suited our personal needs. From the reviews on here Paradisus Princessa del Mar seemed to tick all the boxes.

We holidayed in Cuba 02/05/08 to 16/05/08, stopping three nights in Havana and the rest in Varadero. We flew from Manchester with Thomas Cook. The new standards on the TC planes mean there is more legroom in economy now, the service was good, and even the food was decent!. I thought the entertainment on board wasn’t as good as I’d hoped. Depending upon the price I would use Thomas Cook again.

After the long first day travelling to Cuba, and the subsequent sightseeing in Havana, we were ready for some relaxing at PPDM in Varadero.

We arrived at PPDM in the afternoon, we already had mosquito repellent on so had no problems with these while waiting in the lobby. Check in was quick, although we were the only couple checking in! The welcome drink and towel to freshen up was a nice touch. We had no problem booking the al a carte restaurants upon arrival either. At no time did we see a big queue for these while we were there. As others have mentioned they kept the passport for a while, but I didn’t find this a problem as we got them back the next day.
A golf buggy took us and our suitcases to our room; we were in the Guantanamo block. This Block was at the end of the complex near the much talked about lagoon. Depending upon which way the breeze was blowing you could sometimes smell it, but only while walking to the room, we couldn’t smell it inside and only smelt it a couple of times around the pool or beach.

The room was large, with a King size bed, small sofa and chair. The room was clean and tidy, functional rather than luxurious. There was a TV and CD/Radio but we didn’t use them. The mini-bar was restocked everyday except one day where they replenished everything except water, but there was always somewhere to get a drink if you wanted one which is good as the mini-bar wasn’t very big, enough room for a couple of bottles of water on top of what was already in there. In the bathroom, there was a bath/shower, there was always plenty of hot water and the towels were always clean. The room was cleaned every day, and the maid did a good job except for one day when they changed the bedding and there were some stains on the sheets, we reported it to reception the next morning and they were changed that day.

The lobby bar seemed one of the most popular, they had a good range of drinks, though they did run out of mint for Mojitos on occasion. Sometimes they would get some from another bar, sometimes they didn’t. The racket club was good for sandwiches and burgers, drinks there much the same as the lobby.
The Piano bar on an evening was almost always very quiet, with few people in, the cigar bar was generally more busy though many people would sit out in the courtyard area near the restaurants. Service here ranged from good to poor at times! But it was a pleasant place to sit and have a drink.

Reading the recent reviews on here we were a little apprehensive about the food due to the mixed reviews. We went with an open mind and thought we’d try each of the A la Carte restaurants to make our own judgement. Generally, we tried to still with fairly safe choices from the menu, here’s our thoughts.
The buffet was pretty consistent. The variety of food was good, and all tasty too, the buffet was probably our favourite, mainly due to the choice available, though the flies and birds could be irritating!
The Japanese was our favourite a la carte. The food was food, and the chef cooking at your table makes good entertainment, food and service here both good. We found the Cuban restaurant good, the beef stew type dish was tasty, both our meals here were nice and again good service. Next was the Italian. Our meals were both good, large portions and very tasty, though we did see a lot of people complaining while we were in there. The ‘oriental’ restaurant was also not too bad, though some of the chicken didn’t seem to be cooked, so was left, but the main course was nice, not necessarily authentic but reasonably tasty. Lastly was the French, we had a dreadful experience here. Very poor service and the food not properly cooked, and what was edible, not very nice. I think the variation in quality/standards probably very much depends upon which chefs etc are working when you go.
The Racket club was good for burgers and sandwiches, the Port Royal also quite good for lunch for a change from the buffet.

The pool was more suitable for relaxing rather than swimming, though there was plenty of room in the sea to swim! The sea was sometimes warmer then the pool also! The beach probably wasn’t soft as some around the corner, but was reasonably quiet, far less people around than on the stretch around the corner. The beach was raked daily, we had no complaints with either the beach or the standard of it’s upkeep. The sea was warm and you could walk a good way out. If there was no wind it was like a big swimming pool, though when there was some wind it was a little choppier, but not so as you couldn’t go in. The ‘floaters’ were a great way to relax in the pool; though on some days you would be lucky to get one! The pool bar was good, decent selection of drinks and decent service.

The grounds were kept to a very high standard by the hard working gardeners and cleaners, who probably don’t get the recognition that the bar staff, waitresses and maids get. We certainly didn’t mind giving the gardener who looked after the area around our block a tip when he gave us a flower, he was always cheery and would give us a wave if he was too far away to say hello.
In the grounds there is a shop, which sells the usual souvenirs, cigars, rum etc, also a bank to change your money should you need anymore.

We only did one trip while we were there, which was a catamaran trip. We really enjoyed this apart from the dolphin show at the end of the day as we thought it a bit cruel. The dolphins are basically kept in large pens then do ticks and perform for the crowd. The rest of the day was good though, an open bar and lunch was included with the price as was transfer from/to your hotel.


I would recommend the PPDM to my family and friends, decent food, friendly staff and well kept hotel made this a good place to stop. I would also recommend stopping in Havana too as that part really ‘made’ our holiday.

After going through all the reviews prior to our trip with a fine comb, I had to write a comment on our stay.

Basically, I think the best advise is to read the positive reviews, the negative reviews and decide what's important for you.

My husband and I had the most wonderful time at the Princesa del Mar. When we pulled up to the resort, it looks gorgeous - it's low key, but it just has an airy pleasant way about it. We were a bit nervous about the lagoon smell which we read about prior to leaving, and when we arrived (at an undecent hour of the morning) it was pitch black out, bugs were out, it was humid and we could smell the lagoon.

As we soon discovered the lagoon smell is, yes, present but only when the wind is blowing a certain way. Our room was located by the beach in the Granma building away from the lagoon, so we did not smell it except on occasion - although maybe some are more susceptible to it...

The grounds were immaculate, when you step out of the lobby onto the grounds, it's like an oasis - it's breathtaking.

The beach was great, clean, you can walk out quite far in the water - the water is clear and that turqouise color. That alone is worth the money spent.

The food, the buffet had plentiful selection - stir fry freshly made in front of you, grilled meats, grilled fish, fresh sauce and pasta - you can find something to appease everyone. The fruits and desserts are delicious and should not be missed.

The a la cartes, the Japanese restuarant was delicious and freshly cooked in front of you along with a show - by far, our favorite. The French was our second favorite, the main course was good - the french onion soup, left something to be desired. The Italian, what I chose, I liked - what my husband chose - he did not like but all in all was okay. We did not have a chance to try the Oriental and Cuban restaurant.

We enjoyed having lunch at the Port Royal due to having more selection over the Raquet Club - although both were equally good.

Drinks were plentiful, always generous with alcohol.

Service was amazing, everyone was equally friendly and went out of their way to help. The resort was clean inside and out.

I loved Cuba for the people, they have such a flair for life, it's amazing!

If you want to find something wrong with a resort, you can and will. We had an amazing and unforgettable time, but that's our opinion.

Aside: We flew Sunwing, we have to say, we highly recommend it. The service was prompt, a hot meal was served during the flight without charge, transfer was included, the rep was at the hotel everyday and they did not over book the flight like we heard other tour groups had.