Barcelo Solymar: Resort Needs Much Improvement

It seems that most of the renovations/improvements done at this resort are superficial and insignificant next to the basic necessities most have grown accustomed to. In short, my friend and I both grew very ill due to the filth in our room and a faulty air conditioner that did not work properly. When our room was cleaned, it was after 2pm. Most times, we did not receive water until the above mentioned time and were forced to purchase from the in-hotel store. This will be my last time staying at  [... read more]Barcelo Solymar.

Barcelo Solymar: Room for improvement but great experience overall

Just came back from a weeklong stay with friends at Barceló Solymar. This was my second time in Cuba (Holguin in 2012) and while we all enjoyed ourselves for the most part, there are some things that could improve future guests' stays. My friend and I arrived the night before our other friends, and I admit that my first impression was so-so. The resort is a bit difficult to get around at night (i.e. poorly lit in some places), and it took us a while to find our bungalow (we were told that so [... read more]meone would help us find it, but they never showed up). Luckily, the maps around the resort are straightforward, so we learned our way around quickly. As for our bungalow, we never had any issues with roaches or bedbugs. What I would suggest, though, is that the mattresses be upgraded (they were not very comfortable) and remodelling the bathrooms (especially the showers - a shower curtain would be much better than a glass screen that doesn't run along the whole bathtub). Besides that, our minibar was always stocked and our room kept impeccably clean. On that note, special thanks to our maid Dunia, who left us a handwritten note and cute towel art thanking us for the gifts/tips! That was so sweet of her and a nice way to end our stay. I'd also like to thank Onay and Gabriella for booking the à la cartes and our amazing day trip to Havana. They're very friendly and always happy to see guests, and I appreciate their help. The buffet was good, especially their pasta, potato, and rice dishes (they often have sushi for supper!). For breakfast, I especially recommend the pancakes, croissants, and the eggs cooked in front of you. I went to three à la cartes during my stay, and my favourite was Spanish (still savouring that watermelon gazpacho!). Most of my friends and I didn't feel well after the seafood restaurant, but I'm thinking this was a rare bad reaction. Hands down the best part of the resort was the beach - beautiful, clear water and plenty of activities to keep you entertained! Just keep tabs on your beach towels, though - if you lose yours, you'll have to pay 25 CUC to get a new one. When you check out, make sure to either leave the towels in your room or return them to the front desk, not the towel service. Hanging around the bars near the pool is fun; the drinks are good and groups mesh very well. But because Barceló Solymar is known as a party hotel, I wouldn't recommend it for families with small kids - the festivities can get pretty loud late into the night. Arenas Blancas, on the other side of the resort, would be a better choice for young families. Overall I would likely return to Barceló Solymar once it's remodelled. Still, while the infrastructure and some of the food can be improved, the beach, bar, and staff were great. Thanks!

Barcelo Bavaro Palace: Beautiful Resort

Beautiful resort, amazing food, service was wonderful expensive shopping, fair service from sunquest rep, alcohol wasn't the best.. very cheap, casino wasn't fair.. switched dealers and burned 5 cards everytime we were winning a few hands, Overall it would be a 3.5 star resort!!!!

Barcelo Bavaro Beach: Beautiful Resort!

Everything was great about this resort! Friendly staff and great food! The pools were massive especially on the palace side. Beaches were beautiful and water was perfect. 40 degrees every day, couldnt have asked for better weather. Disco open every night as well as a casino next door which is 24hrs. Went in with $20 walked out with $200 and peaced out within 10 minutes. Im good. Definately go back again!

Occidental Caribe: Love love love!

This was my boyfriend and I first vacation...staying on a budget and trying to find somewhere nice all at the same time was difficult however we came across Barcelo PC. Amazing food, wonderful staff, clean room/resort and the beach was breathtaking...We had an amazing experience with the staff and the al carte restaurants. Definitely would return. Thank you Trip Central for finding us such an amazing package!

Barcelo Solymar: Great town bad resort

This resort just was not what we were looking for in an all inclusive. The workers and staff were all helpful and pleasant but the room conditions resembled my university dorm more than a comfortable room. There was cockroaches in our room and a leaking roof. We were hoping of more a chilled out environment but this was the resort you would want to go to if you were looking for a 24/7 spring break style party. People were yelling and screaming at all hours and blasting music when the sun was [... read more] coming up. The food was terrible but I can't say anything bad about the beachfront, it was beautiful.

Barcelo Solymar: Spacious, fun and good location

The resort is large and is associated with Arenas Blancas resort. It has a good number of people there and a good "party" atmosphere. Theres plenty of good restaurants and clubs within walking distance. The buffet food was bland; i saw people with their own hot sauce or something to add flavor. I also recommend bringing your own thermos, i saw many people with them and you are able to have the bartenders fill them with the drinks of your choice.

Barcelo Maya Beach Resort: Memorable Return to Riviera Maya

After many years a return trip to the Riviera Maya was a memorable vacation. Location of the Beach Maya is great, close enough to Playa, local Cenotes, snorkelling, and ruins such as Tulùm, but separate from the noise of Cancun. White sand beaches, swimming right along the Beach Maya's shore, or plenty of well maintained pools to stay cool. It was a handful of staff that really made the vacation though, waiters, activity leaders, guides, who all put there personal touch to a sometimes impersona [... read more]l resort. This location is great and offers something for everyone, but was too expansive to be a quiet retreat. With full occupancy exceeding the population of hometown ! Large groups made accommodations noisy. All in all an enjoyable vacation.

Sunscape Puerto Plata: Beautiful resort

The resort was impeccable, nice and clean, small buildings with spacious rooms with balcony. The food was great with a lot of variety, fresh fruits, beautiful meat and interesting dishes to try. The staff was always polite and friendly. We would definitely go back with our children. We enjoyed long walks on the beach everyday.

Barcelo Solymar: Love this resort !!

I've been to this 4 times , and everytime I go it's always an amazing time. From The entertainment by the pool , to the fantastic service. If your thinkin about taking a trip to this resort , I would say pack upppp , and I'll meet you there ! Cubas food has gotten a lot better over the past two years, but you should know, that you shouldn't be travelling there with the highest excpectations. The beach is wonderful where ever you go along the Varadero strip , however at Barcelo solymar , you expe [... read more]rience the white sand and the clear water ! It's so unreal , if you've never been I honesty recommend you go !

Barcelo Solymar: Needs security to control your customers

This is our 5th visit to Varadero, staying at a different resort each time so we knew all to well what to expect with the rooms and buffet. Long review but I try to cover alot of things. Stayed 10 days in May, 2016 Barcelo Solymar... Check in was good and never had any issues when we had to ask questions at front desk.Thank you again for the room upgrade to bungalow suite and the gift on arrival. We never used the bottom floor as we utilized the top floor as the main room with the patio. Maid wa [... read more]s in everyday so bed sheets were changed twice in our 10 day stay. The fridge was stocked everyday by the fridge man with water and some Crystal beer as requested. Varadero beach is fabulous, we spent our 10 days on the beach. The down side of my review is this. Yes the rooms are outdated and need a fresh coat of paint. The Pool and resort.. Catered to a younger loud group of people.Our room faced a beautiful pool but very noisy pool bar, day and night. The entertainment was way to loud, you couldn't hear yourself think. Especially after 12amwhen all the party goers start and that annoying siren cutting in between the music all night drove us over the edge. The pool water was very dirt with big clumps of hair rolling around the bottom and with the noise is was not at all welcoming nor inviting. After that first hour experience we went to the beach everyday. Hats off to the pool guy every morning who had his hands full to face the clean up after the night before, what a mess of plastic cups and straws and gawd knows what else. In the 10 days we did not see a water vacuum in the pool area, would help to clean the bottom of the pool. Smell of chlorine was very scarse. Book away from pool if you like piece and quiet after supper. The beach was our preferred location as I spent my 50th birthday in a decorated lounge chair. It got outta hand one day as one group carried around a big boom box all week and decided to crash on the beach. The more people complained the louder the distorted music got. We all paid money to stay at this resort so people think they can do want. Where is the respect of some people?? After many attempts from people telling them to turn it down they eventually left. We met people from England on our trip and they had the same experience as us. One morning they entered the lobby and there was broken glass everywhere from the night before, like clean it up as soon as possible and put these rowdy youngsters in their place.Barcelo Solymar needs more security. Your dealing with so many people and every resort needs security. If these things happen in Mexico or my home town they would be thrown out of the resort. Just saying. Also during the two BIG THUNDERSTORMS people were still in the pool, where is the security to get them out before they were all fried to death if the lightening struck.. I could not believe it. The buffet waitress to the right of entering the door was the best service offered. All the others were zombies. We tipped often but we saw 95% don't leave anything. Lots of food to choose from, still gets tiring after few days. I saw the small flies on the fruit pretty much every day..and the bacon not fried so we stayed away from that. Resort stores over priced on everything, way cheaper on the street. Wifi was $2 hour. I purchased 4 -5 cards and 2 cards gave me maybe 10 mins, seemed like the thunderstorms knocked out your mins after you logged in. Again strongly recommend more security to control your customers as Solymar is a compact resort and everything is walking distance in and off resort. 

Barcelo Solymar: Go elsewhere- save your $ and time

The beach/pool were amazing. The food- more terrible than other resorts in Cuba. The beds were springy and very uncomfortable. The air conditioning hit or miss. The water hit or miss. The staff were inattentive and sometimes just rude.

Barcelo Maya Palace: Barcelo Mayan Palace Deluxe

this was my 3rd time to the Palace and always loved it. The Palace staff are amazing, friendly and honest. The only complaint I have is that they replaced the little trolley with a bus which gets pretty hot sitting inside going to the other Barceló resorts. We spent our time at the Adult pool or at the beach relaxing and feeling pampered. There is so much to do that you never really have to leave the resort. You can snorkel with the fish or turtles right off the beach, or you can take a Segway  [... read more]tour. There is always something to do for everyone.

Occidental Caribe: Great time

Resort was fantastic! One of the cleanest resorts I've been to. Beach was big and clean and there was something for everyone from sports to relaxing to a fantastic pool bar. The food was great as well with so many options! Only complaint was that the staff spoke very little English so there was sometimes a communication barrier. Other than that, no complaints!

Barcelo Maya Caribe: Could have been better

The nightly entertainment was very poor. The room service was very frustrating. Our room was never stocked with drinks, toilet paper etc. The front desk people did not understand English which was very frustrating.

Barcelo Solymar: So So Resort

Very run down. The common washrooms were dirty, the woman's toilets did not have toilet seats. We had beetles in our room which were isolated to the desk and you would only see them scurrying at night. We never seen them anywhere else in the room. The bed and pillows were very comfortable. I had heard after we had booked that this resort was party central, well that was true. My husband and I felt like chaperones, mostly university students, lots of partying. The door frame on our room was all b [... read more]roken like someone had a one time kicked the door in. Hallways very noisy at all hours. Food was OK, but that is Cuba, no big expectations in that area.

Barcelo Solymar: Thumb's Down

Both my husband and I are 45 years old. I'm a catering manager at 2 hotels and he's a police officer just to give you an idea of our demographic. The best thing about this hotel is that there are always many people wondering around and it always feels alive and upbeat. Food is mediocre. A tip that we found out on our last day was that if you want a decent lunch at the buffet then you must be there right at 12:30pm when it opens. The food will be plentiful and fresh. If you wait until after the i [... read more]nitial opening and rush, you will get scraps and leftovers because they do not replenish with fresh food. Try to make reservations to the a la carte restaurants. At least you will get food prepared fresh for you. Lobster is an additional $15 and is worth it in my opinion. Guestroom: sink would not drain, air conditioner did not work, toilet flushed all night and in the morning I opened a drawer to find a small cockroach scurrying about. My left arm had about 6 red bites and was a bit itchy. I kindly asked to change rooms which was no problem so we moved up to the 4th floor. Everything worked except that I couldn't open the patio door and at 8pm a rather large cockroach was wondering around on our king size bed. I went to front desk and the attendant told me she would send someone up. Not sure why? Maybe to change the sheets. Needless to say I couldn't sleep (for some reason I felt like there were bugs crawling all over me) but we carried on. The next morning I had no new bites but my husband had about 5 on his arm. In summary, if you are going just to party, then you will have a great time. Location is good too. Very close walk to the bars and restaurants in Varadero. Oh yes, book a bungalow, apparently there are no cockroaches. Also, I was shocked at how much money we lost when we exchanged Canadian dollars. At the airport (which I recommend) $200 CAD will get you $150 Cuban.

Barcelo Maya Palace: Absolutely amazing resort

Barcelo maya palace deluxe was perfect for our family of 5. The hotel was very clean, our room was a perfect size. The staff were very friendly and helpful. Food was amazing. We will definitely be going back.

Barcelo Bavaro Palace: Awesome resort!

Room was clean comfortable,quiet surroundings,spacious. Food was excellent in both buffets and restaurants. Enjoyed the Japanese restaurant so much with its great entertainment and good food that we went back a second time. Great service throughout the resort, very clean.

Barcelo Bavaro Beach: 10th Time at the Barcelo Bavaro Palace Resort!

Just returned last week...my wife and I have been going to this resort for the past 9 years, it has the best beach with calm clear shallow water. The resort is large new and very clean offering lots of restaurants, a casino, disco, great games area, shopping, waterpark for kids, large swimming pools and so much more. If you are looking for a relaxing and fun trip don't hesitate to book your vacation at this resort. It's great for singles, couples and families. Highly recommended!!!