Melia Peninsula Varadero: Nice resort

The grounds were very nice. Food was ok but not excellent. Went 3 days without bath towels, they took their time in providing the towels. Excursions were very good. The room was clean, the shower was really nice with a huge shower head and lots of hot water.

Sirenis Tropical Varadero: Beautiful and Friendly

The resort was clean and staff was very friendly. Amazing ocean view rooms. A very short walk to the beach. It was our first time in Cuba The two bartenders Manuela and Davy from the beach bar were fantastic. The food wasn’t the best but we made due.

Melia Las Americas: Great time at Melia Las Americas

The beach area and grounds are stunning. Lots of fun things to do, like percussion and dance lessons. The food is fresh and healthy. Great service and entertainment. Only complaint: dated furniture in the lobby.

Royalton Hicacos Resort and Spa: Very nice resort

Overall a very nice resort. Very clean and well kept. Grounds were beautiful. The beach is absolutely amazing, with shallow clear, warm water. Staff was very professional and friendly. Food was excellent, best so far for our five trips to Cuba.

Palma Real: Great location and personnel

Being close to everything (local merchants, shops, night life, restaurants, casa del ron etc) this is one of the best locations in Varadero. Yes the hotel needs renovations, there was some rude and inconsiderate Russian guests, and the food is not that great but the personnel (e.g. Dailenys was so attentive and always happy to serve us) and location makes up for it. Very safe to walk the streets day or night.

Sirenis Tropical Varadero: Great resort for the price

We enjoyed our stay at this hotel from Jan 27-feb 3 2020. We found it to be better than the one we stayed at the year previously which had a 4+ rating. The food was not the greatest, but that is Cuba. They do need to help support the staff at the bars as they were overrun with rude Russians. One person at a bar at 7pm to serve 50+ people is not practical. We enjoyed the beach bar with David and Manuela serving us. The occasional server on the beach was a nice touch as well.

Starfish Jibacoa: Super pour le prix

C’est un petit resort tranquille et bien entretenu les chambres sont propres Mais vieillot un peu. Le personnel très gentils et serviables. Le buffet manque un peu de choix mais il y a toujours quelques choses de bon.C’est un bon rapport qualité prix ! Très satisfaite

Villa Tortuga: Recent visit

The wait time to ge the food was ridiculous. The view from the superior room was awesome. The beach was incredible . The entertainment could be improve. The food was good . The location was far away from where i wanted to go

Grand Memories Varadero: So much fun

Grounds/exterior facilities: Overall this is where the resort shines, in my opinion. The grounds staff are always working to keep up a great looking resort. Though not without some deficiencies, some that leave a person wondering. If you are bringing gifts of essentials for staff, do not overlook this crew! Beach: AMAZING. Get there early to claim a good space. Rooms: There were several deficiencies found, but none of them deal-breakers and overall, the room was better than expecte [... read more]d, given some of the reviews we had seen prior to going. You are not getting four-star rooms. Don't expect it and you will be fine. Minor issues encountered: Balcony door incredibly difficult to open and close. Cabinet doors coming off the hinges, no hot water at bathroom sink (valve faulty and needs replacement), a few lights burnt out, drawer missing a pull, TV remote did not work, one of two telephones did not function. Some of the reviews you will see where people are entirely disappointed with the examples noted are due to ignorance and what I would call "self-entitled middle class/upper-middle class" nonsense! Sad. That said, some of the deficiencies could be remedied with a pack of assorted screws, a screwdriver, some wood filler, creative thought and a bit of gumption. None of these things mattered to us so much; I have stayed in dozens of modern Canadian hotels over the years and rarely do I not find a few silly deficiencies. Dining/food: Not the greatest for quality and taste, but in our stay, there was a bounty of choices. Restaurants were good. The exception (in our one experience with it) was the Italian one. You should not be hungry with all of the choices. In the end, my favourite spot was the 24 hr snack bar. Bars/drink: The coffee bar is fantastic. Sure wish they had two of these bars as the line ups can be long at times. Many other bars though out the resort-- you can't go thirsty! Sometimes the limited supply of items will reduce the options for drinks, but there is always something else to have. Staff/service: Very good. Room for improvement with some processes, but staff were kind and did their best to provide. Only in one case did we feel a few staff were unmotivated or indifferent. Minor. Overall, the staff make this place run well. Management needs to step up for improvements to processes and methodology to make the work of staff easier, which in turn will improve the customer experience; this would make a substantial impact in time. Communications can be difficult. Some staff are very fluent in a few languages, but very few, most are Spanish first and only know key words of English, French, etc. Give them a break and don't try to speak in long sentences. They are all smart people. There are near no good multi-lingual signs for essential things so best to be as informed as you can before you go and talk to your tour representative (Sunwing) while you are there. I would go back again, for sure. Further comments about negative reviews: I don't doubt that people have had legitimate poor experiences, but can't help but think that in the vast majority of those we read before going and overheard while we were there were born out of a modern North American mindset of entitlement and a pile of ignorance. Many people do not understand the culture, the lack of supply-chain and the have-nots of Cuba. They seem to go to the country and this resort and think that for $140-180/a day (Canadian) they are to not experience any "inconveniences" as far as their catered to perspective allows. Before we left I suspected this, but I also spent many hours researching Cuba and know full well the tendency of the entitlement age that we live in, from all walks of life and demographics (usually middle-class and up). I overheard whining a few times when we were there. Some people have a crappy perspective that prevents them from seeing the big picture and having a good time. That can be seen in some of the negative reviews.

Paradisus Princesa Del Mar: Amazing beach!

The Resort itself was lovely and mostly well-kept. The beach 20/10 - amazing. Plenty of lounge chairs and palapas - The downside: Every day, there was no hot water to shower in the late afternoon (Building 6B). They kept saying there is a mechanical issue and it was being fixed but it never was. Also, there was hot water in the morning and at night - so it was definitely an issue of incapacity - not being able to accommodate everyone who wanted a hot shower. I know 5 star in Cuba isn't eq [... read more]uivalent to a North American 5 star BUT - this was ridiculous, very disappointing and frustrating. To have access to a hot shower after the beach is not an unreasonable expectation. The quality of the food was mostly poor (except for the sea food) but that is not the fault of the hotel. I have food restrictions and MOST of the chefs tried really hard to help me make sure that I wasn't inadvertently eating anything I shouldn't/couldn't. The Miramar restaurant was a disaster - the staff were clueless re being careful about my food restrictions and it was very stressful..

Iberostar Origin Bella Vista Varadero: mediocre

Hotel itself was pretty clean. Nice big lobby and terrace. Same food menu for our entire trip. Shower was separated from bedroom with a window..no window covering.Hotel told us all rooms are like this.After multiple requests to atleast cover as i had my children with me Hotel staff placed a black garbage bag over window. Bedding was damp and never changed during our stay.

Royalton Hicacos Resort and Spa: Amazing time at the Royalton!

This is our second trip to the Royalton and it didn't disappoint. The service and staff are very helpful and friendly. The beach is spectacular and you can always find a lounger with no problem. I would recommend upgrading to The Diamond Club for the extra amenities -- especially if you're a golfer. We enjoyed all the a la carte restaurants -- except one night the steak was very tough in the Carribean (apparently, they ran out of beef filets). All the other nights the food was delicious. The buf [... read more]fet was fresh and plentiful and the drink quality is also very good. We chose to stay 10 days this time as we found that 7 just wasn't enough!

Paradisus Princesa Del Mar: Good Resort (experience was not as good as previous visit)

What was excellent I use a cpap machine which requires distilled water and Candice at trip central contacted Marialys at Paradisus and it was waiting for me at front desk when I checked in. Marialys also arranged to book the al la Carte we wanted for us and the two other couples travelling with us so all was supplied on checkin. What was good Front desk check in was friendly, all spoke English fluently. When I needed something they were quick responding. Room maid service was very good [... read more] Piano bar service was very good I stayed in building 5 and they kept it very neat and clean. The stair rails on stairs in that building are not stable. What was average or needs some improvement Food was average but you could always find something. (Expected in Cuba) What could use some improvement It was hit and miss on if you went to a bathroom outside your room if it had any toilet paper (that should never happen in a 5 star resort and was common) Washroom closes to beach had a hand dryer not working all week and no paper towels supplied A few bars had issues with beer and instead of having cans available told you to go to next bar (never seen that before in a 4 star so I did not expect it in a 5 star resort) Rock house had no pizza in afternoon one day. (That is the main meal during day) 24 hour snack bar does not have enough staff to handle peak periods. They try but when busy could take over a 1/2 hour before you get served. Only option if you are leaving early in morning but not wort missing your transportation to airport. This was my 3rd time in this resort and previous time they knew and had my room upgraded when I checked in. Now where it is run by Meliá they do not seem to want to care if you are a return visitor. Our previous review on this place had the title paradisus delivers. Now I have to add almost delivers. Would I stay again, maybe depending on price point but I would consider other options next time I go to Varadero where before this was my preferred choice. Not related to hotel or trip central but I had some issues with Hola Sun so will never go under one of their packages again. I let tripcentral know details

Paradisus Princesa Del Mar: Worst resort ever

Service is zero , food is negative 100 , no ketchup, no mustard, no pizza, 90% of menus not available. Food was terrible. Room looks very old. My wife got food poisoning froom tuna sandwich at snackbar.

Paradisus Varadero: Melia Paradisus... I expected more from your chain.

After having had a great experience at Paradisus Del Mar a few years back, I expected better from this Pardisus. So here it is from best to worst: BEST: The location of this hotel is its best asset. The views are incredible and the fully mature palm trees on the property are awesome. The resort is slowly but surely being maintained and improved. No big noisy renos going on. GOOD: The room cleaning service was TOP notch (we were in room 2226). The snack bar staff, service, ambiance an [... read more]d food were our BEST experience. Friendly and happy, they delighted us repeatedly! They kept running out of white wine though. NOT OKAY: The buffet - Understaffed(it seemed) and running out of basics like salt & coffee. Service... what service? The staff walked around like they had weights on their heels and the famous phrase 'one moment' meant: forget about getting whatever you asked for. And, we were asking for coffee at breakfast! Until, until, until... the supervising managers showed up :)! Then we got everything. The pace picked up and 'voila!' all was as it should be. Although the staff was unhappy and it showed. The food varied (egg shells in their scrambled eggs seemed to be part of the recipe). The worst was the custom omelets. The women there had a bad attitide and her omelets not good. Twice we got her replacement and she was really pleasant and nice and her omelets were very good. The best was the fish grill and the pasta station. Both delicious with friendly staff. HORRIBLE: The cuban & Sakura asian restaurants were the WORST. Food was horrible at both. No show at Sakura, the girl cooking was an amateur at best. Miso soup was a simili onion soup. The waitress... OMG... We arrived on time and she told us to wait. I was trying to ask for a glass of wine while we waited but she cut me off and told me, again, to wait (with an upset face). I finally finished my sentence to ask for the wine and she again told me to wait. She was definitely the boss and I was definitely bothering her :(. Unfortunately, I cannot recommend. Sorry to all the nice people there, but you are outnumbered by your unhappy colleagues.

Palma Real: Terrible resort

Overbooked , rooms lack everything from towels to toilet paper food is the worst I had in Cuba and I have been there a dozen times . I will NEVER go back to this Hotel . It is a very large complex with not enough staff to manage it getting a drink at any bar can take up to 20 mins

Paradisus Princesa Del Mar: Pretty good resort

Very nice staff and beautiful weather. The room was a little tired and they seemed to run out of things. Beach was spectacular and we had a very nice time. Sunwing plane was uncomfortable but to be expected. The holiday was good value.

Iberostar Origin Bella Vista Varadero: Very nice hotel

The hotel was nice, really clean and the staff was so friendly! They were genuinely grateful when we tipped to get drinks or left money on the table at the buffet. Unlike Mexico where they have a hand out and expect it. The food was not great, but typical for what you would find in all of Cuba, no fault of the resort. The kids club was awesome! The staff there were so kind and treated our kids and others as if they were their own. The theatre was being renovated while we were there but they stil [... read more]l had performances every night on the balcony. Actually great dancing and singing, and the magic show blew my kids minds. The beach was perfect, beautiful water and sand, and can walk for a long time. All in all I would definitely recommend!

Muthu Playa Varadero: Great resort

Staff courteous, helpful, accommodating and eager to please. Slower pace, not too noisy, lots of choice locations when outdoors. Well maintained. Currency exchange on site very convenient. Would recommend to friends.

Grand Memories Varadero: Nice Resort but...

Overall look of the resort was beautiful as well as the beach. Food was decent but nothing too bad or too good, fresh made pasta get the high points. Entertainment was good overall but music by the pool and pool bar was barely on which would aid in the enjoyment of the areas so you may want to bring your own. The waterfall pool only had water running through it ONCE! To me that feature was the selling mark and only experienced it once. Our room was nice but service was laughable, dirty floor alw [... read more]ays, sheets not replaced even when asked and one day no clean white towels given and the restock of toilet paper was limited that it had me gather some from the public bathroom just incase as we were 3 people to the room. Also seen a cockroach by the door and heard about one in the bathroom so not sure if that was 2 or same one. What made the trip awkward from the start was as we slept apparently the fridge was restocked. Also the receptionist was not easy to approach upon arrival or for any other inquiries. The true highlights of the visit were visiting outside the resort twice and interacting with other tourists throughout the resort. What somewhat made this tolerable was great service at the MAIN BUFFET and all bars and the temperature was great with the hot sun and not too excruciating, other places with hotter heat would of made this all the more difficult. I guess you get what you paid for but I’ve paid similar to this for Dominican trips and had not as much disgust. I like walking barefoot in my room after the day out and don’t expect to see my feet all dirty going to bed... it is a friendly and beautiful place and I appreciate what they can do but I think the attention to the rooms could be better.