IBEROSTAR Playa Pilar - Cuba

The resort is large, clean and easy to navigate.  The landscaping is beautiful and well maintained. Shuttles/golf carts are offered to transport you around if you get tired of walking.

The resort beach has white sand and shallow clear waters for almost 100 feet out.  There are lots of star fish and crabs so watch where you step but luckily the water is so clear you can spot them easily. 

The food is what everyone wants to know about.  This was my first time in Cuba and I can say the resort food was decent for the most part.  The best meals were in the a la carte restaurants which were amazing.  I’ve heard many horror stories from people who have visited Cuba and could not stomach any of the food or got sick and luckily I did not have that experience.  My opinion is that you have to go higher end to get decent food in Cuba unlike other destinations such as Jamaica where you can go low end but the food is always good.

There is a buffet that is open 3 times a day for breakfast, lunch and dinner.  There is a lunch grill that offers hamburgers, hot dogs, French fries and other snack foods.  There is a beach shack that opens a few times a week for late lunch and offers fried fish or chicken wings.  There are also 5 a la carte restaurants scattered across the resort that offer Italian, Mediterranean, Japanese, Gourmet and Cuban cuisine.  I was able to try the Japanese and Mediterranean and they were both excellent.  There is no room service which was a major con imo.

The drinks were all very good and top shelf alcohol was readily available. 

The staff was friendly, most spoke English although not very well.  Maid service was regular and very efficient.

There is one large pool and two smaller ones attached.  One of the smaller ones is used as a kids pool and the other for water volleyball.  The large/center pool has a swim up bar and lots of seating.  

There is a nightly show on each evening prior to the disco opening and the Lobby bar stays open 24 hours which was great because we arrived at 5am and started drinking immediately, lol.

Overall I really enjoyed my time at this resort.  The beach and view were by far the best features of the resort.  The downside was lack of room service and lack of daytime entertainment.  If you’re considering it I’d suggest trying to catch it on sale.