Hotel Villa Cuba: Do not book

We stayed in the villa at the be live Varadero, worst resort ever. First the room was dirty. There was no chair I the room I sat on the bed and it touched the floor. The box spring was broken and I had to sleeep in it all week. The shower doors in the bathroom were falling off and broken and thin was so dirty I was scared to step into it. The air confounding system I the room had mold all in and out of it. . The first day there he power went out and we had no air conditioner or running water [... read more] to flush toilets . There is no hot water to shower with . They fit. Leave you toilet paper or a bottle water of everyday so you have to go buy it . The food is the worst part. It has the smallest buffet ever with very few items and it never changes. It is awful you have live in bread. Myself and my parent we got sick from the food and drinks that we could Only eat bread and drink water in the end. The bathrooms throughout the resort are so dirty and smelly . I would never again go back or refer this resort to anyone it was the worst vacation ever

Valentin El Patriarca Varadero: Varadero Holiday!

The hotel was well maintained and clean. However, the men’s toilet by the pool was out of order for the entire holiday and I suspect some time before that. The ladies toilet by the pool was disrepair with the stall doors unable to close. The bungalows were more than adequate, spacious and the housekeeping service was reliable and did a great job. The cleaning staff were attentive to our needs and pleasant and friendly. The bar staff were efficient but not always the friendliest. However, Marlo [... read more]n at the beach bar was AWESOME! Check-in was quick and we were made to feel welcome. We checked in at 2 pm and both rooms were ready! (Yay) Yaima at the front desk was AMAZING! She went above and beyond for us everyday and we truly appreciated it. The food on a whole was pretty average. However, I didn’t have to cook it or clean up afterwards so no complaints. The breakfast was good- fresh eggs, omelets made to order. What’s not to like? Kudos to the egg guy and the pasta ladies! Bread and desserts were pretty yum too. Buffet wait staff were not so great except for a few, but unfortunately I can only remember Jorge - he was so attentive and obviously loved waiting on his guests- he was a legend! We did eat at a la cart restaurant (Italian) and the service was excellent and the food was good. Shout out to the gals at Mike’s coffee. All four of those gals were EXCELLENT. The beach was incredible. White sand and crystal waters. Lovely! We did not participate in activities or entertainment. We did enjoy some lobby entertainment in the evenings. The A/C at Mike’s coffee was a good escape from the heat and the coffee was so good. The pool was a bit shallow and far too warm (air temperature was brutally hot so I don’t blame the resort). Bottled water and soft drinks delivered to our room everyday. All in all, our experience was a good one. The resort itself was fine, but the buffet food did let it down, but we never went hungry and always found something to fill our bellies. It was a quiet resort with no obnoxious guests or drunken sailors. Success! (Oh, if you are an internet junkie- the wifi ($1 per hour) is pretty unreliable.

Barcelo Solymar: run down slum hotel

bad service bad food rooms leaking a/c not working bugs in the houses puke in the hallways not cleaned for more then 18 hours no water in the rooms locals get treated better even though they dont tip. do yourself a favor and pay the extra few bucks and go somewhere better

Barcelo Solymar: Terrible Resort

Booked an Oceanview, when I got there apparently no record of it so I had to prove it with my paperwork. Switched rooms twice into finally settling into an Oceanview with barely working AC and no water pressure in the shower, also cold water only apparently. Tried to exchange money at the front desk, they tried to say it was 40 instead of the 100 I was changing, I made a scene and after they checked the cameras they made it right with a half ass apology..

Royalton Hicacos Resort and Spa: Paradise beach

We loved our stay at the Royalton. The beach is an absolute 10! The pools and resort area are well maintained. The resort has lots of activities and games available, but some equipment is run down, broken, missing parts, etc. Our only disappointment was having some personal toiletries stolen from our room the day we arrived, but not surprising given the economic crisis in Cuba. We locked everything up after that. That aside, the resort was an absolute dream and when we go back to Cuba, we woul [... read more]d definitely consider staying there again.

Club Kawama: more than what we asked for!

The food was good and quite a selection,both hot and cold.No pina coladas until the last day.the fridge was cold and the security box worked.we did not get our pillows that we asked for.we got an upgrade from economy to valet parking for the same price.the beach was clean.

Melia Peninsula Varadero: Great resort!

Excellent resort! It was about a 30 min drive from the airport. After asking the room was prepared before the expected time which was helpful due to travelling with an extremely tired toddler. The rooms were kept very clean with daily towels and the fridges restocked. Our room was near the kids pool as requested; large size pool with 2 slides and a shallow and deeper end depth which was great for my 5 and 2.5 year old. The beach was very clean and beautiful! Always someone to offer help to your  [... read more]chair. We went on a free catamaran ride included with the resort: the employees were friendly and accommodating to offer a solution to a time that worked better for us. The beach restaurant had great service with a BBQ lunch some days. There were lots of food options at the buffet restaurant; preparing omelettes and pasta to your liking. The ice cream was delicious and the baked goods from bread to donuts :) It was a large resort; lots of walking. We walked about 7 km each day; it would have been helpful if the "car" offered rides continuously throughout the day to and from places like the lobby to the beach etc. Some employees were friendlier than others but to be expected in any place of work. Some of the washrooms didn't have hand soap, toilet paper or paper towels. Overall it was an positive experience.

Resonance Blu Varadero: Hotel was ok!

Hotel is old, the main pool was green all week. the beach was amazing no seaweeds. beautiful weather Diamond club is a must. you have your own private beach section with bar. no need to reserve early morning. chairs were always available . the buffet no need to wait in line. plus sitting in A/C dinning room access to good type of drinks. access to 4 restaurants instead of 2. the best one being Japonese. atmosphere was good. lobby was fun. good music it a big resort not enough carts that go a [... read more]round. one day most of the hotel was missing plastic cups.

Club Tropical: Great staff

The hotel had great staff and everyone was very friendly. The buffet was not good but the beach made up for that. Hotel was right in the heart of downtown which was convenient. The rooms are ok - but small

Melia Peninsula Varadero: Good experience for first timers

Very clean grounds...staff are amazing (very friendly, always smiling, attends to your needs)...very nice and spacious rooms (cool a/c, clean towels, running hot/cold water)...rooms were made up well everyday...very nice assortment of restaurants (buffet/speciality)...pool and beach grounds were amazing and always clean...very safe resort...nice assortment of clubs and performers...wonderful beer and pinacolada...overall, a great first time experience

Melia Marina Varadero: Good resort

Good location, very nice vegetation and garden, very clean hotel, good staff, nice lobby and lobby bar, good food with no much choices. The beach of this hotel is amazing, the sea is amazing too. Like a negative review, sometimes, the beach bar had no glasses for cocktails, water, beer, juices, which it was very disappointing while it was very hot outside. Another negative point, very bad and poor internet connection. It took us hours to try to connect to internet.

Sanctuary at Grand Memories Varadero: Amazing Resort!

The resort has everything! Great staff, clean, amazing beaches, everyone was very accommodating! Great choices for restaurants and there was always available everywhere we went! Would definitely go Back!

Sanctuary at Grand Memories Varadero: Great Resort

This resort is very nice, clean, amazing staff, food was ok except at the Italian restaurant, we're Italian and maybe we're too fussy about Italian food. Overall the resort was fine a little too big for us, the shuttle was not always available but by staying at the sanctuary we had all the amenities close to us. We will not go back just for the reason that it is too vast but we will sure recommend it to our friends.

Punta Peninsula Varadero: Very nice resort

We had a great time in this resort! Room is bigger and comfortable! Beautiful view from my room! All the staffs are very kind! Amazing weather! Lobby good place to have a cigar and some drinks!! I true recommend this resort

Starfish Varadero: Excellent location

The resort is of a prime location. It is close to the beach, Marina, downtown Varadero. The staff are friendly.. Cafeteria and food was not hygienic. There should be more options for Vegetarian foods.

Hotel Los Cactus: 2nd time at Los Cactus and already thinking about coming back this fall

Seldom have I ever returned to the same resort however this place has been the exception. I am well-traveled so its not a result of not wanting to chance somewhere else. I have been to most Caribbean countries, all of Central America and Mexico on business and pleasure numerous times as well as having been on cruises. After my May 2016 visit to Los Cactus I felt that I would have to return and while personal matters kept me away for 3 years I made it back July 2019 and was not disappointed.  [... read more] Not only was the resort as nicely appointed as I first experienced they had made additional improvements and were upgrading even while I was there. Now this is somewhat rare for Cuba where resources are scarce compared to other countries. I recognized many familiar faces with the staff and every staff member including gardeners where friendly and welcoming and it was totally sincere. They made you feel at home. If you have been to Cuba you know what to expect with the food however I find the selection, quality and taste at this resort to exceed the 5 or 6 other Cuban resorts I have been to in Varadero and other parts of Cuba. Pay a little extra and upgrade to the garden suites in Building/Block "I" which have recently undergone renovations with new beds, air conditioning, ceiling fans and more. They are 30 seconds walk to the pool, 1 minute to the buffet and 2 minute walk to the beach. While lower suites are nice with a patio, if traveling during the rainy season, you could end up with a flood in a lower unit if there is a major rain storm so I would suggest a 2nd floor unit. I've been to resorts that are beyond 5 star where you get picked up at the airport by helicopter and have private VIP beaches and restaurants however my first choice would be returning here for my 3rd stay.

Royalton Hicacos Resort and Spa: Great resort for couples

We loved the room, garden view was phenomenal and the room was clean.Butler service was responsive to all our needs. Food was good, but it was lacking fresh vegetables.In terms of the entertainment I loved all artists performing. We had opera, classical music, jazz.. It was amazing.

Occidental Arenas Blancas: Great Time

The beach at occidental was amazing, the night life outside of the resort is one of the best. 5 minute walk from all the bars and restaurants. We had a few issues with our room but when we talked to guest services the manager took care of everything by getting us a new room, making sure this room was up to our expectations. Anything we needed we were taken care of like we were family. Our plane was delayed and when we talked to guest services they gave us a late check out at no cost. Would recom [... read more]mend this resort 10/10. Thanks too all who made this trip enjoyable! If you need a taxi call Pedro with the convertible amazing taxi and also does tours around Varadero!

Resonance Blu Varadero: Comfortable but serious issues for families

No complaints about the hotel itself. Comfortable, nice and clean except for the pools. Our family (and a few others we spoke with) could have done without floating condoms and plastic cups in the pool and menstrual pads in the waterslide steps and on the beach. Room (Superior Garden view) was clean and comfortable, air conditioning only failed once and was promptly fixed. Water bottles and toilet paper were replenished most days without having to ask for it. The food varied from very [... read more] good to great. However, with 99% of the clientele July 13-22 2019 being Cuban during the week we visited, even having paid extra to be upgraded to the Diamond Club we had to deal with very long queues to access the food itself. Sometimes as long as an hour in the queue for grilled fish. same for pasta, pizza, etc. For these same reason, cereal for the kids in the morning and ice cream for dessert was most often empty and unavailable for our own kids, with Cuban patrons filling entire bags and/or several plates with all that was available for all customers. Obvious luxuries in Cuba, but we pay for that... You might be standing in line, only to see a person get served the entire available fish from the grill and enough shrimp for 6 or 7 people, in 3 overflowing plates. Then have to wait for the cook to start a new batch. Then rinse/repeat several times before it eventually was your turn to get the 4 pieces of fish you were waiting for to feed your family. Be there before the buffet opens and have a plan for each family member. Eating 3 times a day this was a considerable inconvenient. Enough for us not to return to Memories Varadero. My other main issue with Memories Varadero is that during the week we visited, smiles were not "by default" but had to be purchased with considerable tipping. Initially all but a couple of employees would serve us without any greeting or smiles. If you tipped for the poor service, you might get a smile on subsequent orders. If you tipped a lot, then you got a greeting and fair to good service going forward. Again, not a major issue, but paying $4K for a vacation, I expect at least polite greetings and smiles without added fees. Diamond Club had no incidence on the quality of customer service, contrary to what we experienced at other hotels such as Grand Memories Cayo Santa Maria where we truly felt like VIPs. A few employees of the hotel stood out and provided great service, such as Karelia at the pool bar, and Maynelvis at the Diamond club dining room. Same for the camareras, all were very pleasant and agreeable whenever we met them. Entertainment was very good. The beach is great but not clean, cigarette butts are not picked up by staff nor smokers, so our kids played in the sand below the tide line. We picked several plastic cups out of the ocean, which didn't seem to bother the locals who left them in the water and in the sand. The double-decker bus which runs outside the hotel every 30 minutes compound will take you to Varadero in half an hour and is a nice trip for the kids. $5 pesos per head for all above 6 years of age. A bit pricey seeing how you can get a ride in an old classic convertible taxi (even nicer for the kids) for the same price and the driver will gladly wait for you at a few stops such as craft markets or rhum/cigar stores. The gym is very well equipped with weights & benches and the air conditioning is perfect. Be extra careful and look under the few small mats before stepping on them, as some of them cover holes that go right through the hard wood floor. Unfortunately they did not use any plywood under the hardwood strips. Simply move the mats so you can see the holes while you work out. Be advised, the bungalows nearer to the beach are a brisk 8-minute walk to the lobby/main buffet. Be prepared to walk. A lot. Through beautiful grounds though, especially when the flowers are blooming in the trees. We asked for a transport (maletero w/luggage carts) on our last day so we didn't have to walk all the way to the lobby on cobblestone with our luggage at 6 in the morning. The transport did not show, which came as no surprise. All in all, a good looking hotel with great food if you can beat the Cubans to it, and good entertainment but major issues regarding customer service as well as in some specific areas with regards to cleanliness.

Melia Las Antillas: Adequate resort

The resort was a little out dated, but the staff was very friendly. The resort did have everything you need and at the end of the day it was adequate for a great trip. I would recommend this resort as the beach and staff were outstanding.