It was my first time going to Iberostar Daiquiri in Cayo Coco and I have to say I absolutely loved it! The resort was beautiful , the people were so nice and the beach was amazing! I highly recommend going here!

We have just returned from 2 weeks in the Daiquiri.

Didn't get off to a great start because Thomas Cook decided to change our plane at the last minute giving us a 3 hour delay. This caused utter chaos because people had prebooked their seats and people were upset because they had to be moved.

However, they supplied us with a new 767 which had loads of leg room and generally very spacious with excellent service - so well done Thomas Cook. The flight home on the Airbus 330 was also excellent with plenty of leg room.

When we got to the Daiquiri itself very efficient check in. We went straight to our room and the bags arrived in 5 minutes. The room itself was in the main block on the 3rd floor over the bar and reception with a balcony looking out over the lovely gardens and swimming pool.
Unfortunately, the room itself was looking very tired and in desparate need of refurbishment. Having spoken to every else staying there it seemed to be the norm. Everything functioned in the room so we didn't ask to be moved. Several others did get moved but were no happier where they ended up. Apparently the Daquiri was refurbished last year but we have also heard it is going to be done next year - whatever it needs doing now.

The main buffet restaurant serves really good food. With a pretty good selection to choose from. Several hot stations cooking beef, pork, chicken, fish and an excellent choice for vegetarians. There is something for everyone. The seating area was rather cramped because of the large amount of people they are trying to seat. We started going in later after 8.30pm and found it alot quieter. Meal time was from 6.30 until 10pm. The real revelation was the drinks, especially the wine. The house wines were spanish and chilean and were very good quality and if you wished to buy a bottle for a special occasion they were very good value.

In the main bar all cocktails were included and we have never seen so many different cocktails. All the bar staff were well trained in drink service. We got very friendly with a couple of the bar staff. We found all the Cuban staff generally very friendly and happy to do anything for you. Special mention for Roberton in the bar what a wonderful guy. If you see him give him a big hug.

The evening entertainment was apparently good but we didn't manage to ever get to the Havana Club because we couldnt stay awake!

The speciality restaurants were OK but nothing to get too excited about. They were included and they broke up the routine of going to the buffet every night.

The 2 pools are quite shallow and on windier days they are very busy and very difficult to get a sun lounger. On calmer days every one goes on the beach and the pool gets very quiet but steaming hot. We we're very lucky with the weather it was in high 20s all the time. We found the pools difficult to swim in because of their depth but they were very refreshing. Be wary playing volley ball or water polo in the pool as the bottom is slippery and my husband ended up the doctors with a damaged foot. The doctors service was excellent and a reasonable price considering all the medication and treatment he had to have.

The beaches - that's why we returned to Cuba. They are some of the best beaches in the world. We have been to the Maldives and thailand and various other places around the world that claim to have the best beaches but we think Cuba tops them all. You can walk out for 100 yards and it is only waist deep, crystal clear and beautifully warm. When the tide is out you've got about 50 yards of golden powdery sand and you can walk for miles along it.

We didn't do any trips because we have been before but one of the best trips is the speed boats which is only 5 minutes away.

We generally came away for a quiet holiday but we found the Daiquiri pretty noisy all the time. Whether is was round the pool blaring music or on the beach again blaring music in the bar blaring music from live entertainers and as we were right above them it was generally very difficult to get any sleep. A little tip if you are put in the main block - ask to be moved immediately unless you want to be up all night.

We met alot of French Canadians who all want to spend time and have a chat and we found everyone extremely happy and friendly and we had a good time.

Alot of people return to this hotel year on year but I don't think we will. Don't get us wrong this is a good hotel for Cuba but for us we wanted a bit of peace. If you are a family or a group it is a perfect hotel and I'm sure you would have a great time.

Bear this in mind - if you were to stay anywhere else in the Carabean and equivalent hotel will cost you twice the money. Maldives 3 or 4 times the money. The Daiquiri in Cuba offers what we think is unbeatable value for money. Well worth a visit.

We stayed as a family at the Iberostar from Jan 31 to Feb 7, 2012 (6 adults, 3 kids, 4 rooms). We had a great trip, and would return again. The value of quality vs price was excellent, and with that in mind we rate it a 4 star.

Weather:
Although weather is obviously unpredictable, we discovered that December and January are the windy months there. We stayed during the tail end of it. We didn't know this before going, and none of my research said anything about this. It seems to be quite well known to those there though. It makes a hot day a bit more bearable, but it was still too windy for my taste. This is not a breeze, this is a strong wind. Had I known this previously, we would have booked for later in February to avoid the winds. On the plus side, since there was wind there were NO bugs. The wind was less by the pool as it's more protected by the buildings and trees.

Beach:
Gorgeous. Clear water. Safe. Soft sand. The beach goes for miles, if you're into taking long walks on the beach, you will love it. My family and I enjoyed playing in the sand and swimming in the ocean. The waves are small and the water is shallow far out, so it's safe for small kids. The sand strip is quite narrow during high tide, but when it's low tide, boy, is it amazing. Free to use paddle boats for an hour, which was fun (other water gear available too, but that's all we used).

Food:
I was expecting the food to be bad, but was pleasantly surprised! The fresh grills were the best, by far (for breakfast: omelettes, pancakes and french toast; for lunch/dinner: fresh fish, fresh chicken, fresh beef). The pre-mixed buffet dishes were OK, not spectacular, but the fresh grills really made up for it. The biggest disappointment was the lack of fresh fruit variety. You would think as a tropical island that fruit is the one thing they would have in abundance, but no. It was usually limited to bananas, dragon fruit, papaya, and grapefruit. The Cuban restaurant was a disappointment, the Mexican was excellent. Cuba Libre restaurant on the beach was great value (when facing the ocean at the resort, walk to the left). 15 CUC for a huge lobster tail, shrimp and squash. You can bring your drink from the resort, or they have some for sale there too.

Drinks:
The lobby bar makes the best drinks. Much better than the pool bar. The plastic cups are flimsy and small, bring a non-glass tumbler of your own if you don't want to go back and forth too much. You get a new large water bottle provided in your room every other day. You can fill up with filtered water in the main buffet restaurant in between, if needed.

Rooms:
Dated, yes. But it was clean and well cared for. We had a wonderful view of the ocean. The maid did a great job cleaning every day, and our son loved the animals she made for us with the towels and blankets. Wish there were screen doors on the balcony patio doors to be able to keep it open for extended periods of time. Our biggest disappointment: we had requested adjoining rooms when we booked (in fact a large reason for choosing this resort was that they had adjoining rooms). We even emailed a few days in advance to request the adjoining rooms again. We did not get adjoining rooms. This was a pain since we had a small child in our room and wanted to have adjoining rooms to be able to put him to bed early and stay up in the other room without waking the child. We worked around it, but were disappointed. So no guarantees on adjoining rooms!

Service:
Everyone was so friendly and professional. Always a smile and willing to help. We tipped nicely, and left gifts for the maid and a few other helpful employees.

Kids Club:
My son had no interest in staying there (he's a bit shy), but we went in and hung out with Lucy (the animator) and some other kids. I would have felt completely safe leaving my son there. The club is in plain view of the whole resort, and has windows all around. There is a gate so the kids can't wander off. They have an outside play area within the gates with sand and some mini play structures. Lucy was very friendly and had lots of energy.

Pilar beach:
Beautiful long and wide stretch of beach, that is shallow far out and stays aqua far out as well. Truly gorgeous beach. Worth the 5 CUC bus trip (roundtrip). The bus schedule is posted outside the resort. It's about a 15 minute bus ride. There are beach chairs available at the beach for 2 CUC each, and there is a very average restaurant there as well.

Sunwing:
This doesn't really have anything to do with the resort, but we booked our travel and flew with Sunwing Vacations. What a treat. The crew was friendly and helpful at all times. We were served champagne and a meal with wine (no extra charge). They had a little bag with toys for the kids. They were on time both ways, and the plane was comfortable. We would fly with them again in a heartbeat. Big difference over Thomas Cook, whom we flew with last year to Costa Rica. Rude flight attendants, incredibly old and uncomfortable plane, and they took 50 pieces of luggage off the plane before take-off as they had too much weight on the plane (they gave priority to cargo they were carrying!!), one of the pieces being ours (it showed up 3 days later).

I always read reviews and never bothered writing one, but this is an honest opinion. You make the vacation special. No vacation is perfect if your a picky person. I enjoyed this vacation for some much needed relaxation and was astounded by the hospitality, the beauty of the atmosphere and the wonderful nature of what paradise is all about 5* all the way :))))