*A Nightmarish Experience at Muthu Playa Varadero Resort: Not for Foreigners*

Let me start by saying that I rarely write reviews, but my stay at the Muthu Playa Varadero Resort was so overwhelmingly disappointing that I feel compelled to warn others. If you're considering this resort, do yourself a favor and look elsewhere. This will be a long rant, but every word is deserved. **First Impressions:** When I arrived at the Muthu Playa, I had high hopes. The lobby, I admit, is quite pretty, and the weather in Varadero is lovely. But that’s where the positives end. The  [... read more]moment I checked into my room, the horror began. **Room and Facilities:** My room was a disaster. The ceiling was leaking water, the toilet was broken, and the phone didn’t work, leaving me stranded without any way to contact the front desk for assistance. The bed sheets and towels weren’t swapped out even once during my entire stay, leaving me to sleep in the same dirty linens for days. Cockroaches infested the room, and if that wasn’t bad enough, the pool—when I dared to go for a swim—was incredibly dirty. To top it all off, there were no beach towels available, and the outside bathrooms were perpetually out of toilet paper. **Dining Disasters:** Dining at this resort is an absolute nightmare. The coffee machine never had any coffee, and there was no coffee at the lobby bar either. Breakfast coffee? Served in a ladle like soup. I couldn’t make this up if I tried. The fridge in my room wasn’t stocked, and when I went to the snack bar, all they had to offer was a pathetic dinner roll with a single slice of ham. The dining hall was no better, with roaches crawling around, no milk for my daughter, and a shocking lack of basic food items like potatoes, bacon, and even cocktails. No mojitos, no piña coladas—nothing but disappointment. Oh, and I found rocks in the rice. Yes, rocks. **Activities and Entertainment:** What activities? Everything was closed. No restaurants, no disco, and certainly no pool bar, despite its physical presence. The shows at night were somewhat okay, but the music was so loud it was hard to enjoy anything. **Service and Atmosphere:** This resort is essentially a Cuban local hangout, not designed for foreign tourists. The staff's attitude towards us was dismissive at best and disrespectful at worst. Locals were always served first at the bar, regardless of how long we had been waiting. It was clear that our presence was not valued. **The Final Straw:** The mosquito situation was unbearable. I left with over a hundred mosquito bites, which was just the cherry on top of this miserable experience. **Positives (if you can call them that):** Yes, the beach is nice, the weather is good, and the water is comfortable. The eggs at breakfast (when available) were decent. The internet was surprisingly free with a decent signal. But these minor positives don’t come close to outweighing the countless negatives. **Conclusion:** In summary, Muthu Playa Varadero Resort is a disgrace. From the unsanitary conditions to the complete lack of basic amenities and the terrible service, this resort fails on every level. This is not a place for foreigners, and I would strongly advise anyone considering this resort to steer clear. My stay here was nothing short of a nightmare, and I would not wish this experience on anyone. Save your money, your sanity, and your vacation—stay somewhere else.

Amazing Resort,good staff and nice clear water at the beach!

Fast check in and check out. Elevators still doesnt work and our room was on the 5th floor but went to the lobby and asked the receptionist if we could move to 1st or 2nd floor and they said yes right away. Staffs always have a smile on their faces every time they see us. The rooms are always clean. They clean every day.Changes towels and put new toilet paper. We are not a picky eater,the buffet always serve eggs,hams,cheese,fresh fruits like papaya,guava,mango and watermelon. They can alwa [... read more]ys cook pork for you.Sometimes beef,chicken and fish.They have pasta,rice. And to my surprise they have ketchup and garlic hot sauce and butter once. You can reserve to eat at ala carte. My kids enjoyed the pool and we enjoyed the beach. We tried the sailing and they have lots of free water activities and they have shows every night. We tried their massage. We went to Delfinario and you can walk but we got a taxi and paid $5. We had so much in this hotel.

GOING DOWNHILL QUICKLY

Been to Cuba over 30 times. Staff at front desk, bars, and restaurants are amazing. Housekeeping services are sub par. Don’t leave toilet paper, don’t leave water, don’t change towels, don’t show up at all some days. And we are generous tippers with gifts and money. Rooms are in need of updating. Ours flooded out and we were moved but had to follow up twice. We were walking around in 2” of water. Food and alcohol were scarce but we expected that as it isn’t unusual. Always had beer,  [... read more]but would run out of rum, vodka and whiskey regularly. We aren’t big drinkers so not a problem for us. Beach is beautiful but pool filtration and vacuum don’t work so pool is a bit scetchy but passes. A huge number of Cubans now use the resort. All very friendly but be prepared for 45 minute lineups for food at times. Also, you must book a la cartes on a daily basis and need to be prepared to get to booking area 1 1/2 hours before opening. So take a book. In summary, we did enjoy our holiday in spite of some frustrations that we had not experienced in our recent trips to Cuba this year. Would not return to this hotel in the future.

Disgusting health hazard

This place is a real health hazard. Shortages, cockroaches, dirty rooms, bad service. One piece of advice is stay away. Got sick 2 days into the trip, with severe diarrhea and vomiting. No fresh towels, used the same ones throughout the whole trip for showering and for the beach. STAY AWAY.

Good resort

I like the location and grounds which are kept in good condition. The rooms are good looking with adequate furniture. I had to switch the room because there was no hot water for shower and the toilet did not have adequate water flow to flush after use. My group of 8 people are from India and we found the food plain with only salt and oil. There was no way to spice up the food. The management could not arrange for some kind of chilli, pickle, chatney etc. As a result my room mate lived on omlate  [... read more]and milk for breakfast and ice cream ( up to 6-8 scoops) at lunch and dinner. We could not sleep till late because my room mate had to be there as soon as the doors open for breakfast. My room mate was very unhappy and wanted to return to Canada but stayed and endured at my request. The group felt sorry for him. We also experienced shortage of drinking water in the room. We resorted to reuse our empty plastic water bottles by filling them at the bar or had to drink more beer. At one point the bar was also closed because they ran out of plastic glasses at the bar. The activities, games, dancing and shows etc. were nice, organised and enjoyable. Please consider improving the items l have outlined above, particularly the food related issue which can easily be remedied by providing bottled chutney, pickle etc. Please note that the food is an important part of being on a vacation. Sorry that l can not recommend at this time as me and my room mate did not have the experience we expected. I do like the resort and it's settings. I also liked the staff as they tried to accomodate our needs. Also please note that the elevators, hallways and rooms could be cleaned better.

Great Staff - Beautiful Beach!

We stayed here from March 19-30, 2024. We had an amazing time. If you go to Cuba with an open mind, you will have an amazing trip. The food is mediocre, you won't starve. Some days are surprisingly delicious, others are repetitive. You won't starve. The 4 flights to my room toned my legs, I didn't die. My boyfriend helped every single person he came across carry their luggage up the stairs, yes there are valets/bell hops but they are busy too. The back side of Building 1 is hot because [... read more] it gets the sun from late morning straight through til it sets, we had AC and we rocked 24.5-27 every day and every night. Room was clean every day. We left toiletries and cash tip every for our housekeeper. 2L of water was left in our room every day. Sand was swept up, new towels. No issues with pool/beach towels, ever. We swapped out when needed. All of the guys in the towel shack are lovely. Entertainment guys are awesome. Beach security and life guards were all amazing. Beach was amazing, even with red flag the few mornings we had it, the sound was great and we read our books and dipped our toes in. The yellow flag is great fun to play in the water and never take your eyes off the waves coming lol. Big difference in temperature at the walkway, by the pool smoking hot, no wind. By the beach super windy and tolerable heat. BBQ joint for lunch every day! That is the place to be. Get to know the wait staff - they are great humans. Carlos at the main buffet is a treat, we sat in his section every day. Just a sweet man. WIFI was great but sometimes they weren't able to print new tickets with login and password in which case you don't get wifi at all, you will live I promise, put your phone in your safe and continue on. No vodka, no gin, no lots of stuff. They have slushie drinks and beer and rum. The shack down my the beach has cans of Moosehead! The Cafe is amazing, they ran out of coffee a few times for a few hours each time, it was fine. Cappucinos are great! Go into Varadero and eat at Varadero 60 - it will blow your mind. We went for our birthdays and were not diappointed

You get what you paid for I guess

The resort overall is a beautiful place but I've never had such dirty rooms. The shelves were not dusted, my sister's room had mold all over a wall, my pillow case was not cleaned and smelled like someone's oily scalp. The beach is great but the food was the same every day. A week stay here is okay but I would not go longer. We played beach volleyball every day which was fun. There was a nightly show and discoteka. Some nights were amazing, and other nights not so great when they changed the DJ  [... read more]that did not play our requests. If you're looking for good snorkelling off the beach, all you're going to find here is sand. We did an excursion with tripcentral and they promised amazing snorkelling for 45 to 60 mins. The bus was late for pickup so we only got 30 mins and the snorkeling was mediocre. I would dive down to the bottom but for people who stayed up top, there was not much to see.

Good weekend getaway

My husband and I went for a quick weekend trip. The resort is small and you can see it’s age. They do seem to be slowly renovating. The lobby and coffee bar area are fresh and clean. The rooms are in need of updating however we found our room clean and bright with good working AC. The beach is stunning as we expected with Varadero. We were disappointed there was no real bar on the beach and it was quite a hike to get to the nearest bar. The food was repetitive which was understandable with the c [... read more]urrent shortages but we were always able to find something.

Just OK

Small hotel with moldy outdated rooms. I had to tye rip the head shower in order to take a shower. Some of my clothes was stolen, small buffet with same food every day. The restaurant was the same food from the buffet. One staff was unprofessional and flirty with my daughter. Good coffee, not too busy and nice beach

My first time experience

Food was horrible. No test at all. Outdoor was clean but not inside the buildings. Rooms was not renovated and broken safety box and washrooms. Cleaning rooms not properly and shortage of water bottles, not changing beds on your stay. Very poor service. I will never go back or recommend anyone

Very run-down

If you choose to go there, be prepared for anything! (No shower, no hairdryer, flood in the room, ceiling about to collapse, no toilet paper, broken door, very old mattresses, no elevator, etc..) You name it, we had it but laughed through it all because we were ready for anything! Will never go back and do not recommend unless you’re ok with a 1 star at best.

Nice to get away!!

Hey! I spent a week here Jan 7-14th, an enjoyable time. Not all would say the same but I didn't have any major issues. I was on the 5th floor, the elevator doesn't work but if you don't mind the stairs the view was great. Their 2nd A La Carte restaurant was due to open the day after I left, so it was a chore to get registered for the only restaurant open at that time, the booking gal got to the desk at 9:30 but the lineup started before 9AM, and I found this to be a pain to do every day. Hopefu [... read more]lly it's easier with 2 restaurants open. The Snack Bar closed early, like 5PM while we'd still be by the pool, and it reopened around 9PM.... The beach is fantastic, the water was glorious. I'd take some black pepper with you if you like a little spice in your food, they only had Salt and Cinnamon that I saw. Overall, it was well worth the money & I was glad that I went. Great place to relax in the sun. ?? ??

Lovely resort

We were three people (3 beds) in one room 1419 on the fifth floor. The view of the pool and the ocean was amazing! The room is very pleasant, quite A/C, and a nice bathroom. Free internet worked in the room and on the beach. We were prepared for limited choice of food, but everything that we needed was there: eggs, fruit, veggies, rice. The entertainment was fun. The staff was helpful. The elevator didn't work for many days, but we took it as a wonderful opportunity to exercise. Nice pool, sna [... read more]ck bar at the pool, amazing beach. We even enjoyed rainy days. Feeling grateful for this vacation!♥️

I dont recommend this resort

I don't recommend this resort for now as it's very outdated (feels 1990's in most places with minor exceptions) and for now they are in full slow reconstruction/repairs.. so you would have no sleep at night at all (balconies doesn't close well and no noise isolation at all).. rooms are closing almost all very loudly and because of long corridors the echo sounds like explosions, bangs, etc... if you are less lucky you'll have disrespectful people screaming (even if they speak quite the interior p [... read more]art of the resort is like an arena, so echo is amplifying the sound) for the whole nights and you need to be "drunk" or on pills not to hear that as isolation is so bad... luckily my experience wasn't a mess but not because of the resort ... - (resort experience 2/5 stars, rooms 1/5 stars, buffet 4/5, this resort shouldn't be marketed as 4 stars even 3 stars overall would be very generous)

Terrible Resort

This hotel was definitely not as advertised. The food was very poor and stale and we saw that almost daily the leftovers were redecorated, recycled and represented to be eaten. We have food restrictions in our diet, but there were no vegetarian or other food options. We were hoping to have seafood in Cuba but all we got was shrimp and that too was stale, not properly cooked and caused us digestion issues. As per your site/resort website - there were supposed to be 3 restaurants but this was a li [... read more]e. There was only 1 restaurant that can only seat 14 people max! My son had to be hospitalized because he got food poisoning from the restaurant (not even the buffet). We were told there would be snacks bar but it was under construction and all they offered was soda or drinks. Even the soda was watered down and towards the end, they ran out of that as well. Not only that, the rooms were dirty, bathroom flush leaked all night and we had to request room change as it was so smelly. The lobby and bldgs. were dirty resulting in overflooding of bugs and mosquitoes. These led to us being bitten so badly that my daughter had allergic reaction and her face was swollen for 3 days! We had power outages, water puddles in the lobby, coffee that ran out and cockroaches running all over the premises. The elevators did not work and we had to drag our luggage up and down stairs with only one bus-boy to help the whole resort. No hot water in the showers, bedsheets/towels not changed/updated for 4 days with room service not being done everyday! Lastly they had huge speakers directly facing our rooms and blasted disco music all day and night long causing us severe migraines and nights without sleep.

Will not return everagain

My whole experience was great but not because of the hotel...the only good part is it wasn't expensive...poor people that pay full price for that hotel...having very noisy construction work done starting 20.00h(8pm) and continuing till 03-04.00h AM that's not cool..unfortunately I'm not joking... would not recommend only if you really don't have any other choices

Muthu Playa Varadero

Beach: It's Varadero so of course it is amazing. Food: plentiful but repetitive. How many ways can you serve rice? There was a roast beef night. Pork a lot of it. Ground beef was served but the globules of cartilage was huge turn off. There were a lot of Russian tourists, more than we have ever encountered. They shoulder you out of the way and take ALL of the best food for themselves. Cheese was rare to be seen and when it was it would all disappear quickly onto their plates. Room: two larger  [... read more]than single beds, tv, bathroom, everything you'd expect. The water was actually warm, most times. We revisited the "bat cave" to see the pre historic ancient drawings on the cave walls. The tour several years ago was much more informative than it is now. This year a different tour guide didn't do much in the way of being informative, as he did not even point out the ancient drawings on the walls nor did he tell the tour of how ancient peoples used to live in these cave dwellings. Took the tourist bus into Varadero twice. $5 cost each for a day pass. Cuba has a new peso - again. (New government) The Cubans do not want to take their own peso! Not even in the poorly stocked grocery store so don't bother getting money exchanged. Goods are priced in the peso. Exchanged to Canadian and then again to American which is the currency they want to deal with. We found it insulting. This was our 12th trip to Cuba along with many Canadians supporting the tourist economy and our dollar is not wanted! This was probably our last trip to Cuba, it has changed too much for the worse. The people are still lovely and kind but their circumstances make it difficult to see. We get food, they have little. How long can this be sustainable? We always pack clothing and buy socks etc. to give away at our own considerable expense. You can only do so much but it is never enough. The resort has a very large pool and plenty of chairs and loungers to accommodate a large clientele. Access to coffee was difficult. There is a wonderful coffee bar BUT you had to wait until 7:00 a.m. to maybe get some. There is no coffee available in the restaurant, as they have to go to the coffee bar to get it. We found it very inconvenient. Is it rationed I wonder? The servers never smiled; tipping did not help! We have always bought our limit of vodka and rum while in Cuba but vodka was not available and the price has more than doubled. The money exchange taking the lion's share of savings to our Canadian equivalent. So even this perk on a trip to Cuba is no longer as "perky". There is still a savings but not nearly what we've become accustomed to. To requote my husband. "the bloom has fallen off the rose when it comes to vacationing in Cuba." ...unfortunately.

Very nice pool

This place looks like it was a 4.( star resort 10-15 years ago. One of the biggest and nicest pools I’ve seen in a resort in Cuba with a nice deep end which I enjoyed. Otherwise everything is pretty dated and they’re doing contruction. The food was fine for Cuba. Really quiet. Wouldn’t recommend if you enjoy night life, after 5pm it’s a ghost town. For the price it was fine.

Petit complexe avec un personnel en or

Petit complexe. 1 restaurant à la carte. Belle piscine, belle plage Hôtel vieillot. Chambre propre. Lit confortable. Coffret de sureté dans la chambre, frigo, séchoir, fer, serviettes propres et bouteille d'eau à chaque jour. Eau chaude rare... Longue file pour la viande grillée. Aucun fruits de mer, 2 repas où le poisson était offert. Buffet peu garni: concombre, gombo et courges pour les légumes. Mieux pour les fruits. Pas de fromage, ni sauce tel que mayo ou ketchup. Pas de lait  [... read more]ou menthe pour les drinks. Mais! le personnel de cet hotel est exceptionnel. Mylena aux chambres, Roberto à la salle à manger, Julio à la plage et tous les autres que j'ai oublié le nom, merci. Merci d'offrir un service 5 étoiles.

A Great Cuban Vacation

We spent a week at Muthu Playa July 3 to 10th. This was our first visit in Cuba, we are an older couple from Eastern Europe. We don't speak English or Spanish, but we did not have any problem with communication as everyone was patient and very helpful. Keep in mind, that you are visiting Cuba, so we aligned our expectations accordingly. Hotel: It is on a prefect location in Varadero. Close to the beach, close to the city, dolphinariums, etc. It looks better than the pictures on Tripadvisor [... read more]. However, outdated, some reno could do the magic, but everything perfectly in working conditions, a/c worked perfectly. Lobby, and rooms were very clean. Elevators, (outside glass panorama and inside ones the buildings) are working so no issue being on the top level. Actually, we preferred it as the view was beautiful from the room, was not blocked by buildings or trees. Beds were very comfortable, very clean and aways neatly done. Pillows were also comfortable. We had no issue to sleep. Bathroom also was very clean, toilet paper and clean, fresh towels were provided daily. Room had hairdryer, iron, mini fridge where bottled water was provided daily. Internet: we had access, but it was slow and we had to keep reconnecting. Ground: hotel ground was beautiful, well maintained, clean. Beach: most amazing beach. Beautiful white sands, crystal clear water. Water was shallow about 20 or so meters before starts to get deep. Hence it would be perfect for families with small children. The ocean, was amazing no matter what time of the day. During our visit there were no crowd. We always had beach bed available. Food: no shortage (we were surprised, as based on our research we expected minimal food), lots of variety of food, even if some of it was not for our taste, we never were hungry. Sure everyone can find something to eat. Excursion: we paid for a day trip to visit Havana. We would like to say a big thank you for Ivonne (Westjet), who helped us to book the trip and made sure we looked after (due to language barriers). Hotel Staff: Everyone, starting from reception, life guard, cleaning lady, barista is very polite, helpful and friendly. Especially we would like to mention, Jenyu, who kept our room neat and clean all the time and made sure we have everything what we need. Also, Osmedi who was the barista at the playa, made sure we taste all the Cuban specialties, cocktails. And a BIG thank you for Geovanis (life guard) who made our stay very memorable.