Grand Aston Cayo Paredón Beach Resort — Hotel in Morón

As first timer in Cuba, I could say me & my wife together with our family friends (we are 8 adults & 2 kids travelled together of which 3 of our friends are returning satisfied clients) had a wonderful experience in this resort. Staffs are friendly and very accommodating since we arrived at the airport, (kudos to our professional bus driver and expert tour guide that made our travel from the airport to the resort an exciting 20-25 minutes trip) at the front desk as well as those who are working inside the whole resort. Foods of course are wonderful as per Cuban taste promoting their local produce at the Avila buffet (so please don't expect much and read reviews first before you decide to book). We love the breads, sweet potatoes, pumpkins, fresh avocados and coconut juice (outside the hotel), papayas, hot milk and chocolate among others and of course a good smell & taste of their local coffee served daily with Cuban smiles and kindness. Chef is also available at your disposal if you want freshly cooked eggs (sunny side, omelets, scrambled), beef & pork, fish fillet and different selection of pasta. Abundance of drinks such as wines, juices, teas & beers were also served. Buffet staff are super nice especially Norelys Gamboa and the whole buffet team (waiters & kitchen staff) and they treated us in a friendly and respectful manner . Also while eating, you will be entertained by the D'Trova singing you with classic Spanish, English and Latin music during supper. Cannot complain on the entertainment as there were shows the whole day and night whether inside the bar (until 11Pm at the bar) or around the pool (until 5Pm). Great people behind the shows everyday such as Manuel Alejandro Alarcon Zamora and Mia whose been very energetic hosting the shows, performing and teaching Zumba dance step. You guys are Superb!!! Spanish language lesson is also available everyday if you want to learn (thanks to Manuel Alejandro Alarcon Zamora). The bar is for 24 hours service with all lovely, untiring bar staff that are always available to serve drinks. One of the best part that we love is the 24 hours Snack bar that serves freshly prepared sandwiches such as chicken, tuna and ham & cheese with drinks of your choice that are always available if you feel hungry in the middle of the night. Room service staff also are very hard worker as they maintain cleanliness and order inside and outside the room. We've been provided with 3 500ml bottled water or 1 liter everyday to be hydrated always. Surroundings are super clean within the hotel grounds & toilets. And if you feel like craving with French fries, tasty hotdogs and fried crispy banana (our group's favorite) then please visit Casa Cubana Roca Mar, a kilometer or less away from the hotel and meet Cristian Pupo , the best Chef along the shore (and the whole resto team), place your order and while he is preparing your order, you will be amazed by the beauty of the ocean and take some photos by the shore with the light house in the background (the time we visited the light house is under renovation). Beach shore is the best place I love to stay as I love diving....Airtransat's excursion coordinator, Mr. Jorge, was very accommodating that we really enjoyed our Catamaran adventures such as snorkeling with friendly young harmless sharks and different species of fishes as well as our sandbank starfish experience is unforgettable. Just bring with you $1 US bills or $5 CAD bills. Please avoid as much as possible to carry with you CAD 1$ or 2$ coins or any US coins as a tip as the workers will have problem later on as to where they will ask to exchange them into a US bill since Cuban banks don't accept any US or CAD coins. With every tips we gave, I assure you, those people will highly appreciate you as this tips will help them a lot as well as their family who are always in need. Sharing is Caring! Surely no regret with staying in this resort...Highly recommended and planning to book again in the future. Thank you Airtransat & Grand Aston Cayo Paredon...

Okay so where do I start... My family and I have been to many hotels across Cuba and have stayed in a lot of the 4* + rated hotels.

Grand Aston Paredon.....

I start at a perfect score and start deducting .1 points per con... so lets start with the amazing Pros....

Pros: the hotel was super clean! the rooms were bug free and "mostly" functional, the staff mostly spoke English, the location was super accessible, with elevators that worked, and operational bathrooms. everything was within a 10 minute walking range, and the whole layout didnt even need a map to navigate! Internet access cut off here and there but for the most part stayed connected, and didnt need to refresh the access - whatever they gave worked throughout our whole trip!

Cons: Well.. this is where things get interesting...

The biggest Con from my whole family - the whole resort lacked people... people to clean people to serve, people people people... there just wasn't enough people to support the number of tourists.

Lobby staff was limited to 2 people max, so checking in took forever... over 30 mins at least. people even cut the line to check in, and was super annoying.

The Sunwing rep seemed super frustrated and upset... this was the first all inclusive resort we stayed at, where they didnt leave out a binder with departure info! not really sure why it was such a secret.. but you HAVE to see the rep the day before to get this info!

the souvenir shop wasnt open for the last 3 whole days of our trip! and the gift shop had limited options for gifts

The buffet was super limited to 8 stations, and 3 chef controlled areas. there were 4 seafood stations, and 4 chicken/pork stations. deserts were in a separate area and super crowded all the time. Good luck finding mangos, because they were gone as soon as they were put down. Buffet staff were friendly but were lacking... barely got a refill on drinks... and good luck finding a spoon! you had to ask for them from the 2 staff members that were working that particular zone.

The buffet custom stations - breakfast - eggs was okay, but found the eggs were a bit under-cooked at times. the chicken/pork stations at lunch/dinner - under-cooked meat and inedible... super fatty and chewy, pink in the middle.

Snack Bar foods were better than the buffet, but lineups were massive! sometimes took over an hour! 1 person working each snack bar location. The family pool had the pancakes/poutine station... definitely recommend the poutine! it was super tasty! but an hour to get it.. pass! we did it twice in our 1 week stay but got frustrated at the lack of staff to speed it up! The pizza station - even though highly rated, wasnt that great. no option for toppings, just cheese pizza on a super doughy pizza. both stations, each parent was limited to 2 plates max, and each child was limited to 1 plate. If pizza and poutine were offered in the buffet... would be a HUGE win! but unfortunately, it wasn't, and the only place you can get pizza and fries are at those respective snack bars.

Room service was good - very friendly but came at random times during the day, mostly mid afternoon. Barely got any water bottles, even though the current 1 was almost empty. Never restocked the mini fridge. coffee machine never worked, and didnt get any coffee or tea for it. they never replaced toilet paper - maybe once or twice during our 1 week stay, and there was 4 of us in the room! 2 adults and 2 kids!! the sink drain barely drained, same as the shower drain. Room service staff was also lacking - only 1 person per floor. the room had 2 beds, but only got pillows and blankets for 1 bed, had to request and wait for the 2nd bed pillows and blankets.

the Ala-carte meals were good (we did mexican and italian), and locations were good! and even though they say you need to dress up, people were in t-shirts shorts and sandles and were still allowed in. took away from the whole ambience.

There is more but im limited to what i can write... 3.5/5 and im...

Checkin was a breeze. The lady Adiana was nice and helpful. The bellboy Sergio and Ever was also nice and provided us detailed information about the different areas of the resort while driving to our rooms. When we got to the rooms, room service Yuriyan gave us a welcome chocolate plate and it was delectable. Miguel helped us a lot with our rooms especially in extending for the day and was very professional and friendly. Ceilin helped us with taxi reservation.

The buffet was very nice and clean. There's a good variety of food, fruits and grill. The food types and quality here is very high. The papayas were extremely sweet, pineapples need to ripen more. The flan and other sweets were on point and tasted really good. They have our fave food for breakfast like bacon, made to order omelette, cheese croquettes, fresh cooked eggs, sausage, boiled eggs and many more.

Service from the staff was great. They made our vacation all the more enjoyable, relaxing and worth coming back.

+Yoelbi+ is the best bartender at the resort. He was very fun, accommodating and professional. Everyone always had a great time when Yoelbi is at the bar. Amazing guy!

All the bar tenders at the lobby bar were nice and always make good drinks especially the capuccino. They are welcoming to everyone and makes the drinks in a very presentable way. Clay, Raudel, Yadier from the beach bar were very attentive, they always go on rounds to ask everyone if they need any drinks to be delivered. Jaykier, Yudelkis and Antonio from buffet are very nice and always willing to assist to make our morning more relaxed during breakfast and lunch. Enrique from the grill makes omelettes was also nice. Jessica from the buffet was really helpful and nice. Eliane from customer service and Madelin from Sales were helpful and nice. They made our stay more stress free. The staff at the lobby bar Jose Manuel, etc. were quick in asking for orders and they make sure everyone is taken care of. Thanks to Raidier, Nelson, Roxana.

We went to Fogo Do Faro Brazilian restaurant. Eider and Denis were really nice. Glendy not nice did not want to give addrl chicken when the other staff gave me. Apassionato, Italian ala carte was also good. The staff Celia, Jennifer and Yuri were all professional, nice and welcoming. The potato soup was good and the chicken pasta main dish was also good. They could improve the meatball pasta. The crispy beef risotto was good but the pasta was a little undercooked. The last night at the Selena Restaurant, Bairon and Yoemi were really nice and always looking after us. The drinks come right away after we finish the glass. The fish empanada was tasty. The day we arrived, we went to the Feng Shui ala carte restaurant. The concept is nice where you get a shareable rice and pad thai noodles and each get their own chicken teriyaki and pork bbq. They gave us fried ice cream for dessert and it's so delectable. The place was decorated well and the quality is very visible even with the utensils which are very shiny and clean. The service was quick and they are also strict with their time allowance for no shows. We really liked this restaurant.

Wifi at this resort is excellent. There is wifi even right on the beach. The speed is also fast for most usage. They also give you lots of hours (30 hrs) unlike most other resort that give you only 5 to 12 hours per renewal.

The nautica where you need to go to reserve kayak, etc. is a little far because it is shared with the next door resort. You can reserve usage only on the day of and the pedal boats get sold out fast. Kayaks were available most of the day we were here.

One improvement this resort needs is in entertainment. The nightly show is virtually non existent. There is no theater here unlike other resorts where nightly shows are performed. There is basically a small stage by the lobby for music.

Many thanks to all the staff who made our vacation...