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!!!

Barcelo Solymar: Close to Town

There are 2 resorts on the the same grounds, so it's quite spacious.The beach was awesome! We stayed in one of the bungalows which was nice and quiet and closer to the ocean. The grounds are well kept. The hotel is showing its age to some degree but everything was clean. The food choices were decent. The 2 a la carte restaurants we dined at were ok but not amazing. Everyone who worked there (front desk, restaurant, groundskeepers, bartenders) was friendly, helpful and polite. It's rated as a 5 s [... read more]tar but I would say it's more like a 3 star (apparently Cuba is well known for this). The location was our main reason for choosing Barcelo Solymar. It's a 2 minute walk to the town of Varadero and it's safe. We had no hassles walking from one end of town to the other. I'm not a big drinker, so I prefer quality over quantity (some resorts offer upgrades). The alcohol choices were pretty grim (lots of cheap rum and vodka) and the resort ran out of 1 of their 2 brands of beer. If you plan to spend most of your time outside and like to wander off the resort, then I would recommend it.

Barcelo Maya Beach Resort: Absolutely amazing vacation!

Couldn't have asked for better for our first all-inclusive vacation. Everything was so well organized for the travel. The resort was wonderful and clean. The staff was so friendly. There was so much to do if you wanted to. We'll definitely be back!

Barcelo Maya Beach Resort: Every thing was perfect.

I loved everything about this resort. It was the perfect vacation. The beach was fantastic, the grounds were spotless, and the food superb. The employees were incredibly friendly. The gym was well equipped and spotlessly clean.

Barcelo Bavaro Beach: Great Choice!

Very clean resort inside and out. Many restaurants to choose from and buffets were always good. Pool area was great and beach nice and clean. Felt very safe there and staff and entertainment was also great. Only one thing would make this resort a little better would be to offer free wifi in certain areas. However, nice taking a break from the phone, it is also nice to stay in touch with pictures as well.

Barcelo Maya Colonial: Beautiful Family Vacation

Stayed at the Maya Colonial, beautiful resort. Exceeded our expectations. Gorgeous beach, crystal clean water. There were some rocky spots, but the water is so clear you can avoid them. Pools were huge and never felt overcrowded. Plenty of activities to keep 3 active teenagers interested all week. Food was great, lots of choices. We purchased the Wi-Fi for the week for 45.00, I was skeptical because all the negative reviews I had read on the horrible Wi-Fi connection, however for some reason we  [... read more]never had an issue. The kids had to share the login code and it could only be used on one device at a time. We were told by guests services that we could only get connection in our room, lobby and restaurants, but they got connection on the whole resort even at the pools and the beach. While I realize we spend a lot of money to be away from the technology it was nice to still have that connection and the kids were respectful of our time together. Stayed April 2016

Barcelo Maya Colonial: Beautiful and amazing resort

This resort was stunning, lush palm trees, great food, excellent service, very clean and maintained. Out of all the Barcelona resorts, the Colonial was the best, fewer rock and better beach. All the immenities were at your finger tips and localized.

Barcelo Bavaro Palace: Excellent Service!

This resort is beautiful! It is a very large resort and we didn't have a chance to see all of it but what we saw, we enjoyed. First, I must commend this resort for the service. It was quick and efficient. There were a couple of things that needed to be fixed when we arrived, not a big deal though. When we called the front desk, someone was at our door within five minutes. That was fantastic! The resort has a large variety of restaurants, which is good if you are staying longer than one week and  [... read more]are tired of the buffet. Our favorite restaurants were hands down the French and Mexican restaurants. We heard from some that it is sometimes hard to get reservations for the a la cartes. However, if you upgrade to Club Premium, you are pretty much guaranteed a spot. I suggest you reserve your A la cartes as soon as you arrive. The pools are nice but crowded. It was sometimes hard to find a chair around the pools. Guests wake up early to reserve a chair and then leave to do other things. How selfish and inconsiderate! I did not like that because the rest of us who wanted to stay by the pool could not find a seat. Not the resort's fault. On the beach, there are no parasols but lots of palm trees, which give some shade. The pool area, however, has a lot of shade! The beach does not have bar service, which we actually liked because we could relax without being bothered. The activities were clearly posted every day and they were fun. We highly recommend an upgrade to the Club Premium because it gives you access to all activities for free, such as the water park, which costs money without the upgrade. Also, if you are adults and you want to relax in a quieter area once in a while, the club premium gives you access to the adults only section (Barceló Bavaro Beach). If we go back, we will get the upgrade again. It was worth the extra cost. It is a great family resort. There are a lot of kids and lots for them to do. Again, if you upgrade, they have access to everything for free and unlimited. If I could make one suggestion, it would be to have the shows a little earlier. They start at 10pm and by that time, we were exhausted from the sun and travel. We were not able to make a single show in the 10 days we were there even though we honestly tried. To the guests, please tip the staff! They work hard to give us an enjoyable vacation and they deserve it. Just because it is all inclusive and your meals and drinks don't cost anything while you are there, it doesn't mean you don't tip. I was disappointed to see so little people were tipping. Thank you for an awesome vacation!

Barcelo Solymar: Beautiful beach!

We stayed at the Barceló Solymar from March 30 - April 6, 2016. This was my second time at the Solymar and my boyfriend's first time in Varadero. The hotel was very clean, the staff very friendly and helpful and the best part was the warm weather (37 degrees Celsius), powder soft white sand and incredible turquoise waters. The hotel is in a great location - so close to town. The food was good - ate at the buffets for breakfast, lunch and some dinners (the grill stations in the morning make fres [... read more]h eggs - scrambled, omelets, etc. and for lunch and dinners they grill up fresh shrimp, fish, chicken, beef & pork), wide variety - no reason for anyone to go hungry. They have lots of breads, salads, fruits, crepe station, etc. Because it was my second time at the Barcelo, we were able to pick 3 a la carte restaurants (chose the Mexican, seafood and Japanese - all delicious) and were able to eat at the seafood restaurant for lunch - again great food. We ate off the resort twice - once in Havana at El Canonazo (not far from the fortress) - it's a tucked away restaurant which is very quaint with amazing food - chose the platter for two - wide variety of lobster, shrimp, fish, etc. and then at The Cave (also known as La Gruta del Vino) - amazing small restaurant inside a cave which seats around 20 people. Had the lobster and shrimp - which were huge and so delicious. The staff and owners were super friendly - they gave my boyfriend a Cohiba cigar and we signed our wine bottle to go up on the cave wall. This place is a must if you are in Varadero. While in Havana we took in the show at the Tropicana - a must see. What an amazing show. Loved our trip to Cuba - beautiful country with lots of history (going into Havana is a must) with incredibly friendly people. Will return!

Barcelo Solymar: Relatively inexpensive vacation

There have been some upgrades to the outside areas since our last visit, however, the rooms have deteriorated. The pool is good but the area under the palm trees on the far side was not swept and the garbage bins not emptied for several days until I complained. The lounge chairs, although relatively new, were dirty and could use a power wash. The staff were mostly wonderful. Morgan and Lala who work at the pool bar were fantastic. The food is as one can expect in Cuba. There is variety but it is [... read more] all quite bland. The fresh caught fish is always good but most of the meat is inedible. I would suggest staying away from the lettuce as I believe it is washed in local water and it had a rather bad effect on my companion. All the other salads were fine. The staff told us that they worried because the number of Canadians visiting had decreased considerably - I am not surprised. The sister resort next door (The Arena Blanca) is more desirable. The one good thing about these two resorts is the fact that one can walk into town or catch a local yellow taxi almost anywhere for five pesos.

Barcelo Bavaro Palace: Very good resort

The hotel and grounds are immaculate, the beach is glorious. Hotel and grounds are very large and fortunately have excellent transport around the hotel. Lots to do for kids. Only complaint the bathroom looked a little tired.

Barcelo Puerto Vallarta: Great resort

Beautiful hotel. Staff were accommodating and fun. Food and drinks were amazing. Stunning view of mountains and ocean. Spa was so nice and well priced. Only negatives were there was no on site disco to go dancing,but there was a cantina bar with live music. The beach wasn't very nice, lots of sand fleas, small and rough water but all the gorgeous pools made up for it

Occidental Caribe: Great resort

I loved the resort... Lots for everyone to do...casino, beach that goes for miles, parasailing, trapeze, rock climbing, pool.. Great food... People were very friendly...maids did a great job in the room and always added extra coffee and tools for us to use

Occidental Caribe: great value for the dollar

The beach is fantastic, soft sand clear water very little seaweed. The resort is kept clean, food was hit and miss until you find the good locations to eat. The premium alcohol is sometimes kept out of sight but just ask and you will receive. This is an excellent resort I would definitely return.