Just returned from two fantastic weeks at Playa Pesquero. This was our first, but won

Having read some of the reviews on this site, prior to going on holiday, I felt compelled to add my own review now I'm back. When we first booked this hotel (June 2005) we thoroughly checked all the review sites & there seemed that no-one had a bad word to say about the resort. Once we had booked it, several really negative reviews suddenly appeared & I honestly thought I'd made a BIG mistake - how wrong that was! Having been to St Lucia, Sharm El Sheik & Dominican Republic for our previous 3 holidays, I can honestly say that this beats them all, hands down! This was the same cost as Sharm (which was only half-board & half the journey) & Dom Rep & half the cost of St Lucia!

Yes, I acknowledge that it is not a British "5 Star" - but in comparison to the other resorts we had been to (which were 4* plus) this is by far the best! We paid approx

On arrival at the Playa Pesquero we were blown away with the friendliness of the people and staff - we were met by a welcoming party and by some of the people we had met on various forums - so with mojito's in hand we checked in - I had emailed a few weeks before asking for a first floor room and was very surprised to find they had upgraded us to a suite.

Our room was large and very clean, though a few minutes walk from the restaurants and the pools - we found this to be quite nice. The fridges are stocked with two small beers, locally produced orangade and cola and a large bottle of water, if you would like more more just leave a note in your fridge, the odd peso helps!! Our maid kept the room spotless.

I had an incident the first full day there were I was bitten quite badly by a fish that I had stood on, the staff could not have done more for me, from the doctor on site to the public relations!! to the gardener who brought flowers he had picked to my room and the maid who brought me some rather doubious cream - that worked a treat, I had to have antihistamine and painkilling injections every 6 hours - the fish temporarily paralyses the area for abhout 12 hours - apart from the heat not allowing the swelling to go down I was fine the next day - in fact I was the talk of the hotel. Thanks to the German guy who helped Husband carry me from the beach - I was at the far end when it happened.

Whilst we are on about the beach there are three hotels that us Playa Pesquero Beach, the best snorkling is down the far end near the Blau - which is where I was when I got bitten.

The food was brilliant - I liked the fact that if in the evening you couldn't be bothered to go back out to eat you could grab a pizza in your beach things at the 24hrs trattoria, the beer garden is also 24hr and does tapas type food, the staff in the beer garden were wonderful and I learnt more spanish at 4am one morning than all the lessons I have taken.

My favourte al la carte was def the seafood where I had lobster for the first type. We also drank the local champagne - with orange juice it is called a mimosa. There was a moth problem in the main buffet restaurant, and as much as I hate smoking if you sat in the smoking side you were ok. The lobby coffee bar was great for a relaxing coffee after breakfast - mine always had a Millwoods in it (Canadian version of Baileys) topped with cinnamon.

I was over impressed with the Asian or the Gondola, alot of people don't bother with the vegetarian we were very surprised and even invited the waitress and chef to sit with us, we were the only people dining in there, and they were the loveliest people.

The entertainment was the usual cheesy stuff, though the staff did try very hard adn some of the shows were qute funny - you must watch "the Rock Show" who look the part until they start to sing unchained melody, though they are very good. The fashion show gets abit repetitive by the end of two weeks. the water ballet is a must to watch.

Once a fortnight they do a Cuban party in the street with pig roasts and dancing and lots of music, really good.

I do not have any negative things to say about this hotel. Go with an open mind and remember that 4+* Cuba is about 3* Eurpoean and to just go with the flow.

We loved Cuba so much we are going again in Oct, this time to Cayo Santa Maria, but we will return to the Playa Pesquero again.

Just returned from the most fabulous 2 weeks holiday in Cuba.

The hotel was 5 star. We do not think we could complain about anything, the food and drinks were excellent you could champagne and wine by the bottle in the bookable restaurants but could also get any drink you wanted in the buffet restaurant.

Food in the buffet was very good very good choice from meat fish and salads.

The hotel grounds are so large its like being in a village,their are buggies that take you anywhere you want to go if you don't want to walk.

The swimming pool is the biggest one I have seen in any of the hotels that I have been to and I have stayed in many hotels all over.

This was great value for money and we would recommend this hotel to anybody and was the best hotel that we have been to in Cuba, this was our 4th visit to Cuba.

Also the weather was fantastic and the sea warm.

We stayed in the Playa Pesquero Hotel in August 2005 and we were thoroughly impressed.

This hotel is fantastic. It was our honeymoon and it catered for everything we needed. We got champagne on arrival with flowers and chocolates.

The staff are so friendly and everything we asked for we were given.

Our room was lovely, decent size and very clean, the maids were in every day and decorated the bed with different shapes with the towels. We asked for a pool view and thats what we got. Our room was fully air conditioned and i was surprised that we didn't have to pay for it!!

During the day there is a restaurant open called La Trattoria - fantastic, pizzas, pasta, burgers, salads, toasties - this is also open 24 hours so if your feeling like a pizza at 3.30am this is the place to go. There is a Grill restaurant open 12.30pm-3.30pm, this buffet style and mainly only serves burgers and hot dogs but i enjoyed it. The only restaurant for dinner time is the Latino, serving from 6.30pm-9.30pm this is if you haven't booked into one of the al carte restaurants which i might add are very nice - our favourite being the Romantico!!

During the day we lazed around the pool and sunbathed, it was far too hot for me to lie for too long so we would go to the beach and do some snorkeling which is also free - not my cup of tea but my husband really enjoyed having a barracuda swim past his mask!!!

The hotel is in the middle of nowhere but who needs to venture out when everything you need is on the complex. The only time we went out was to swim with the dolphins - which is fantastic and well worth 99 pesos.

This hotel is everything we dreamt it would be and we really enjoyed our stay here and we hope to return one day.

We spent two weeks here in the middle of August and it was absolutely fantastic!

Although there were kids clubs from morning till night, our two children never needed to go (they're 8&6) there was so much else to do! The pool was gorgeous and you could always get a lounger no matter what time you went down. The beach was lovely as well and snorkelling is a must (remember to take some bread with you, it was amazing!)

The food was fantastic - our youngest is the fussiest child on the planet and even he ate well. There are six restaurants on site, a few of which you have to pre-book but there was always plenty on offer in the buffet.

I've never met such friendly staff - they all want to do their best for you and once you get to know the lobby bar staff, there's always a drink waiting!

We only left the hotel twice - once for a trip to the market where we got the most amazing wood carvings and another to swim with the dolphins - another must!

Due to a bad holiday last year we had built this place up to be a paradise and to want for nothing - we were not disappointed!!! I can't wait to go back!

Hotel was clean and the rooms were also kept clean.

The food was good with plenty of choice both at breakfast and dinner, there were "5 Al La Carte" restuarants open and the food was also good.

The loctation of this hotel is excellent and the pool is the best one I have been to, and the gardens are very pretty.

The hotel staff are brilliant and cannot do enough for you.

The entertainment is not that good but they try their hardest, the Disco is good for a dance and a chill out.

The drinks are out of this world and strong.

Having had many all inclusive holidays, this was by ar the best hotel of the lot. Rooms were excellent. Very spacious, loads of storage space and working air conditioning. We were quite near the beach and when you first arrive it seems like a mile to get to the buffet restaurant and lobby bar. Trust me it's not and you soon get used to the walking. There are trams about for a lift, but you don't really need them.

The bars are excellent and you never have to wait long for service. There's also a waiter service, but they do like a tip and I found them a bit mercenary on the basis that you might not see the one who served you again, once he was tipped!

Swimming pool was superb and very clean considering the size of it & guess what? You don't have to get up at 6am to get a sunbed! There were always plenty spare. Recommend the Romantico restaurant as air conditioned and excellent food. La Gondola also very good. You normally expect the food to be typically all inclusive with buffet and a la carte, however, the standard was excellent, as was the service.

Having stayed on the Cayos previously, the beach is not as good. Howver, the Cayos are a really hard act to follow and had we not been there, we would have said this beach was excellent. Again, no problem with loungers.

Take your pens, pencils and paper to give to the kids, if you do any visits. It's a small gift, but one that is really appreciated.

We arrived at Playa Pesquero on 29th June 2005 at around 11:00pm and in total darkness. Our first vision was the exceptionally grand entrance to the hotel and extremely polite, efficient and friendly staff at the reception desk.

We were collected by a 'stretched' golf caddy and from that moment on did not need to lift a finger. Our friendly caddy driver Fidel ensured we arrived to our room safely and talked us through everything we may need to know.

We ventured out of our rooms almost immediately to find something to eat. We were quite astounded by the size of the complex when we checked our maps but soon got to know our way around We found the 24hr restaurant and had the nicest burgers ever.

On the whole we were very pleased with the food on offer. The only negative comment we would make is that some food in the buffet restaurant was often cold when it should have been hot. However, there was plenty of choice and always 8 other places to eat if it didn't satisfy you. We wouldn't recommend the Cuban restaurant as there was not much choice available and everything was cooked in a microwave almost in front of you.

The Romantica, La Gondala, Jade and Caletonnes were all fantastic and well worth the 2 visits permitted. We would recommend you order champagne to truly make the most of your all inclusive option!!!

The resort location was excellent. Right on the beach front. We ventured out for a trip with the dolphins but did not feel the need to leave again. There is an option to visit the local town using a little train that comes into the resort, however we were informed that everything you can buy in the town market you can buy for the same price in the resort shops or the daily market which comes to the resort. However, if you like inflatables (Iilo's etc) take them with you as they don't exist in any of the shops or market stalls.

The dolphin trip was amazing. 8 of us to 2 dolphins in the ocean and only costs about

WE got married at this glorious hotel in May. We loved it.

At first it took us a while to get used to doing nothing. There are loads of excursions but we didn't do any apart from one (run by the mini club) as the kids were too small for such long days out.

The mini and baby clubs are great. Yanet runs it and she is lovely.

Food is fabulous and we only ate in 1 a la carte. Loads of restaurants to choose from at lunch time that don't need reservation.

The pool is great. There are massive sections for todddlers about 10cm deep all the way round. There is a little tikes play area. There isn't a lot of shade though for the little ones. We would take our umbrella from the room and put that over our toddler when she went to sleep by the pool.

Only gripe was the evening entertainment was bad. It finished about 10.30 (thankfully!) and there is also a disco. Very loud.

The beach is ok. It didn't wow me though. Could go on for days but I won't. If you can chill and not do a lot then you'll love it.