Staff are amazing, resort not so much!

Grounds are not maintained, needs major overhaul. Buffet restaurant needs to meet basic hygiene regulations, flies all over food, cats roaming around waiting to jump up to take leftover food. No butter, condiments, salt & pepper scarce and had to be requested. Food and alcohol shortages every day, different items not available on different days. Pool liner needs replacing, beach shower broke and was not repaired. Rooms were clean and resort staff worked hard to make sure you enjoyed your s [... read more]tay.

The best hotel

It was one of the best vacation my husband and I ever had we went to Be LIve Adults Only Los Cactus for my birthday the staff was amazing friendly and so warm they know you by name and that make me feel at home.Paul went and plan a surprise romantic dinner for my husband and I that was the best gift for my birthday. I highly recommended going to the hotel it is one of the best my rating I would give it a ten I will be going back with my friends next year. I miss the friendly staff beautiful be [... read more]ach ,the entertainment and the food. Well spent vacation thank you all.

Fantastic Beach!

We've been to Be Live Adults Only Los Cactus four times over the last 7 years. This was our first trip back since Covid and we thoroughly enjoyed our stay. Here are few thoughts: 1) The beach is amazing! If you enjoy walking the beach, this is the place for you. You can walk forever! If you enjoy floating in the water, this is the place for you too! The swimming area is sandy (you don't need any beach shoes) and unless there is a storm, easy to get in and out of the water. 2) Room - we [... read more] were in the Gardenview Suite that overlooked the pool. It was very nice, close to everything, and had a nice balcony. The bed was comfortable, we had an extra side room (that we did not use), the TV worked fine as did the AC and we always had hot water. There was a small fridge in the room, a safe with a key, extra pillows, and plenty of room. Because we overlooked the pool, we could hear the show from about 9 - 10 or so but after that it was very quiet. No problems at all. 3) We had heard that there were issues with supplies (i.e. for food and drink) and while there were some things missing from previous years (i.e. pasta bar and a few mixes for drinks - tonic, but I only heard that from someone else) we certainly did not go hungry. There was always fresh fish and at least one of pork, chicken or beef to choose from. Fresh salad was available every meal, the bread/buns are delicious!, tomato and rice (to replace the pasta bar) was better than I thought it would be, and each morning you had the option of omelette/egg bar and/or pancake/waffle type bar. Ice cream was available every lunch and dinner as were the usual variety of pastries etc. 4) The resort was about half full - this was during the March Break (11 - 18th) and as a result, there were no issues getting beach chairs etc. Plenty of room to get lounge chairs with shade. 5) Workers were pleasant and helpful. Always smiling and doing their best to make us happy. 6) We were a couple but this did not seem like the place to go if you are looking to meet up with other single people. Could be wrong, but it seemed like it was mostly couples and seniors.

Fantastic time!

The resort was wonderful and we had a great time. I was mostly impressed that they fogged for mosquitoes which I am allergic to the very tiny ones called noseeum. We only wished that the hot tubs were a little bit warmer for at night and that the little coffee café would open in the morning. Overall everything was fantastic.

A great stay!

The room was clean and quite spacious with great natural light, the staff were so helpful and very kind ! The food was decent and the amenities were good too, I particularly enjoyed the private beach.

A Lovely Resort

This is my fifth time being there, and I will continue to go. The staff are helpful. The landscape is lovely and so is the beach. Some of the rooms look old and we did not always have hot water but they tried to accomodate our requests.

Old but clean good resort

Small resort, I guess around 200 rooms, old but well-kept and clean. Amazing staff, food is good with variety. Light evening entertainment included. I guess due to the lesser number of rooms, they are able to look after the guests in a better way. No food shortages was felt, plenty of meats, seafood, veggies etc., unlike in the big resorts some didn't have butter and cheese.

Wonderful place to stay!

Clean, amazing staff, beautiful beach, great drinks, Air Supply, and 3 meals a day! I had an awesome time at Los Cactus! I traveled there alone and ended up meeting some incredible people. I highly recommend spending time here.

Our Cuban Home

Beautiful beaches, excellent staff, great weather, clean rooms. This resort is very meticulous for Covid-19 awareness. This was not our first trip to Cuba so luxuries are non-existent and some shortages were expected. The two year closure of all the resorts in Cuba has deprived the country of much-needed capital for restocking and recovery. We will return again, but I don't recommend Cuba for a first time traveler.

Not so great, quite dissappointed

I have been to Cuba previously a few times, I have always loved it and the people, also with the understanding that the food and availability of products isn't great, so I always rolled with it. WOW have things changed, the pool liner at the resort was in a dreadful state, bleached white and falling off everywhere, staff were eating at the buffet at the same time with the guests (in any country that's a bit odd) Guests with no bracelets- I ended up beside a few drunken 16-year-olds at dinner  [... read more]and at the pool trying to relax. Lots of staff asking all of the tourists to get them food, it is sad- they are without, and I took tons of product to leave and tipped well but even then, some of the staff wouldn't help you until they finished their conversations- they turn their back to you, I was disappointed and truthfully it no doubt will be my last trip to Cuba

Great Relaxed, Pleasant Resort

This was my 3rd time to this resort -- I found it was very typical to have repeat guests here. Amazing people and beach. The other guests were all very happy, friendly and easy to talk to. The food was on par with other Cuban resorts -- healthy and fine by us but limited to what Cuba can offer. I look forward to returning next year.

We would not return

I write this review having stayed in Cuba several times including Varadero. I am well aware of the quality of food but this hotel is sub par even by Cuban standards. The buffet is open air with no air conditioning. Birds fly in and out, bird poop on the chairs, birds walk on and peck at the food (not only on the tables but at the buffet too). By 7pm when the buffet opens for dinner, it is very warm to the point you can see the desserts melting. We like to do the al a carte restaurants but t [... read more]he first dinner we had in the Italian Restaurant, the air conditioning was not working and I felt ill because of the heat. Speaking of a la carte restaurants, there are only 2 (the Italian is very good, the Cuban is not) and you can only book an a la carte one day in advance and you can also only get one 7pm seating (earliest they open) per week. You can book again if there is availability but only for 8pm seatings or later. If you always want to eat in the restaurants, you have to be at the reservation place every day at 3pm to book for next day. That in itself is a hassle. We booked for 10 days and the first 5 days the buffet was horrible....hardly and choices ie only one fresh fruit to choose from, no butter most days (although their bread was exceptional). At breakfast they would put pancakes, french toast etc on platters that were not heated so they were always hard and cold. The hot food (meats, veg) they put out was also placed on non heated surfaces so that was always cold too (or as cold as it could get in no air conditioning) The choices at the buffet did get better by day 5 or so as the resort seemed to be busier. This resort also hosts conventions. They hosted Cuban doctors when we were there. These doctors waited at the buffet with their baggies in hand and the second it opened they cleared out almost all the desserts and the bread (before they got their meals). This happened for 2 days for breakfast, lunch and dinner. When they left (and after a lot of complaints) they placed staff to watch over the food. The doctors were also attended to very well by the staff in the buffet area while I was constantly looking for someone to get some water at my table. The bars were constantly running out of certain types of liquor ie Coconut Rum. Varadero beach is beautiful but I was disappointed with the cleanliness of the beach part that Los Cactus has. There was garbage (even a huge tire half buried in the sand which a couple of vacationers dug out) all over the area. There was only one garbage can so I guess everyone just left their trash (which was never once cleaned up during my 10 day stay). I could not walk anywhere (except close to the water) without stepping on garbage, plastic and cigarette butts Every picture of the beach I took has some sort of garbage in it (unless I was in front of some other hotel). Every other hotel I have stayed at in Cuba has cleaned their beaches but not here. One entrance to the beach must have had a fire at some point so when you walk on the sand to get to the beach, your feet are covered in black because of all the charcoal bits in the sand. They did have security on the beach which was nice and we felt comfortable leaving things on our loungers as we swam or went to eat. Only twice did someone come around to get the sand off the loungers (a usual morning practice at other hotels). We did enjoy the large shade structures on the beach. The pool was big but the liner was ripped in many places and coming away from the bottom of the pool. The original room we were given was horrible...super dated and dirty. Luckily it did not have the bed we were supposed to get so they moved us to another room. Again, super dirty (stains on walls, stains in tub, broken tiles everywhere, stained bedspread) but luckily the air conditioning did not work so they upgraded us. The upgrade was lovely with very nice views of the water and pool. Housekeeping staff is exceptional. The staff was wonderful (only exception was in the buffet when Cuban doctors were there and paying patrons became invisible). The entertainment was typical for Cuba and they did offer a lot of it including dancing/singing during lunch and by the pool which was very nice. The singers were quite good. The public washrooms at the hotel were exceptional. They were kept very clean as were the common areas in the hotel. The landscaping is lacking but they did weed all the empty planters (which are many) just before the Doctors came for the convention. We would not return to the hotel.

The friendliest resort

Cannot say enough good things about it. The resort was in a great location, close to the golf course and close to Varadero downtown. The beach is stunning, our room was huge and clean. The staff was so friendly and accommodating -the most wonderful people we have met in a long time.The buffet had a large variety of tasty food, many nights they had themes. Great entertainment throughout the day and night. We will be back.

Met expectations

This resort like most of Cuba had some shortages but nothing that influenced my stay. Some of the areas are dated but my room was large, clean and fully functional. The maid service and all staff are exceptionally friendly. The beach is also exceptional. Nightly entertainment was mostly dance and singing but were also impressive. The disco was closed and some renovations in progress but no disruption of service. Access to town is easy either by taxi or bus that passes the front entrance. Went wi [... read more]th male friends and all were generally very happy. If you haven't been to Cuba expectations need to be managed. We received everything we expected and more!

Decent resort

Overall: The resort is decent enough to have a relaxing vacation. The crowd is mostly older people and not so many young people and as a result the vibes of the resort are more calm and slow. In terms of luxury, the resort is nothing insane. Amenities: The gym and games room is usually empty but they have lots of equipment if you decide to use them. The pool is a great place to relax and there's always music playing so it's nice. The jacuzzi's were never warm enough to enjoy so I barely used [... read more] them. Activities: There are shows everyday. I enjoyed the dances. They are very entertaining to watch. There's also daily bingo which is fun if you're into it. If you go to the beach, there is a water activities stand. There you can go for kayaking, snorkelling and a bunch of other stuff. We did the snorkelling and it was very worth it. They take you out on a catamaran and you snorkel for as long as you want. It was only $40 CAD/person which beats the price of doing it through the excursion which is $100 CAD/person. Also we didn't know how to swim and it was still lots of fun! Food: The buffet food is subpar. It's good enough so that you don't starve. Definitely go at the beginning of the meal time so you get fresh, hot food because by the end everything is cold and most of the good stuff is run out. Luckily, there's lots of options for food since it's a buffet. The Cuban restaurant ran out of all the good dishes in the first hour so we had to settle for some other dishes but these were still better than the buffet dishes. The International/Italian restaurant served the best food on the resort. Highly recommend reserving this restaurant if you go. Drinks: There are plenty of spots to go for drinks at this resort. The drinks here are good enough. They aren't watered down. Near the end of the night they will start running out of stuff but it wasn't too big of an issue for us. Beach: The beach is amazing. It's kept clean and there's lots of space to relax. Staff: The staff at the resort are amazing. All the chefs, waiters, receptionists, maids and bartenders we encountered were so friendly to us. Make sure to give money for tips because they deserve it.

Overall good resort

Overall nice room, food, and entertainment, good value for the relatively low price. Fun shows every night, cool daytime excursions to Havana, near the beautiful Varadero beach. However, we didn't have hot water in our shower, and were not given the free bottle of rum originally advertised. The room also does not have any coffee despite it being advertised on the booking site. The food in the main food hall is bland, but if you make reservations at the resort restaurant (reservations are limi [... read more]ted to only 2 a week), the food is good. Our air conditioner worked but it was extremely loud, it was dripping a questionable brown liquid and had pieces falling out of it, and it made a loud chainsaw sound in the middle of the night.

A Gem!

This is my third trip here. The beach is lovely. The resort is spotless. The food is good. The Chef will make you a special meal, like 'Cordon Blue'. And the people are truly wonderful. I have been to Cuba at least 20 times and I will keep going back.

Wonderful resort !!

This was my third time at Los Cactus. I came back because I love everything about this resort! It’s a little older than other resorts I’ve been to, but the staff is so helpful and friendly, the resort and rooms are kept so well, and the rooms so clean, I feel so safe staying there. I also love the size of the property, and look forward to seeing the planned renovations on my next visit. You could tell by the selection at the buffet and a la carte restaurants that food availability is a chall [... read more]enge since Covid, but the chefs are creative and I enjoyed every meal I had. I’m a golfer so I was disappointed about the golf cart availability after the accident at the golf course, with a call from the hotel guest services explaining our needs the golf course was able to help us get a cart for all of our rounds of golf. The beach the pool and cocktails all great! I had a wonderful vacation.

Amazing trip, definitely returning! Most friendly staff

Absolutely beautiful resort property, gorgeous plants, trees etc. Gardeners work hard to keep it nice! Hotel getting upgrades currently which hopefully update more. Rooms are comfortable, staff is the BEST! Of 3 resorts I've been to, this one I keep going back. Food was better than average Cuban. Definitely repeat foods but so much variety there's always more than enough. If you're traveling for the food, you may want to pass, but the beauty, the beach and staff are just the best!!

Our Cuban Home

This is our 18th stay at this resort. Our expectations are in balance with the standards of resorts in Cuba. The staff at Los Cactus are very diligent with cleaning in response to Covid. We experienced no concerns with the sanitary conditions. The economy in Cuba and the small number of guests caused some reduction in serving staff, entertainment and selection at the buffet. The staff are courteous and helpful beyond any other resort we have visited. This is what keeps us coming back to th [... read more]is place.