Better than expected

Booked due to proximity to Havana. We spent minimal time on the resort. For the price it was better than expected. Clean. Beautiful pool and great beach. Cuban resort food is mediocre unless you go to a 5 star. Not much to do at the resort but good spot to stay if you want a nice beach with quick access to Havana. Staff was good

Good resort

The grounds very good the plants and flowers was amusing and the ground itself was very clean. The food and drinks was good but the swimming pool water wasn’t clean since I arrived in that hotel until I left the water wasn’t changed.Over all was good.

Amazing Resort

Wonderful resort great food clean rooms beautiful pool. Great service lot's of hot water air conditioning system is great. Ocean is beautiful white sand palm trees. My only complaint is the resort is located too far from Havana.

Pros and cons

There are more cons than pros Pros: - close to Havana -free shuttle into Havana -excellent bar staff and housekeeping staff -small resort Cons: - Beach very dirty, LOTS of broken glass throughout the sand. -boardwalk desperately needs work -unsafe, many broken and rotten boards, nails sticking out, handrail very unstable -around pool needs work, fell through plastic grate, scratching ankle badly. -entertainment staff cater to very small speci [... read more]fic groups of people and ignore everyone else -food always the same, all they need to do is vary it up a bit to make it better -no help when you check in late at night. They just tell you a vague description of how to get to your room. It took us 10 minutes wandering the around in pitch dark (3am) to find our room -reception staff speak very little English -

Bravo Club Hotel Arenal, great for the proximity to Havana but ...

I was only there for three nights. I found it was clean and in terms of service it was ok. It wasn't really all inclusive though. They would give us a free bottle of water the first night only. The rest of the stay, we had to buy them. Also, some of the alcools at the bar were not free either. We had to pay for them. There wasn't much of a choice for food. We would have breakfast only and it would be omelettes. The croissant's were very dry, the pancakes were stocked at the bottom of their re [... read more]cipient in the buffet. We enjoyed the pasta two times during our stay. Once for lunch and once for dinner. The shuttle to go to Havana is great but the times are not so great. You arrive at 11:30 and the pick-up is at 4:30. It would be nice if there was more than one shuttle a day to Havana. Hope this helps :)

Wouldn’t stay again

Nothing was good but the beach, have a little one and did find a lot of broken glass and garbage, no one cleans the beach. Staff wasn’t friendly, food was awful, hotel is outdated, nothing to say but don’t stay at this hotel. *not tripcentrals fault, my fault for picking it. Picked it because it was close to Havana. I would stay in Havana next time better food and atmosphere. Hotel is in the middle of nowhere. 30 min drive to Havana

Good resort

I thought it was fine--very clean and everything worked. Staff were pleasant. Beach was lovely. I loved being able to get to Havana from there. But, we thought we booked a junior suite (ie, a bedroom and living room with couch) but it was really just one big room. Also, on arrival we were given a room close to the disco which we had specifically asked not to have. We were able to move the next day. Pool was cold.

Great location and value

This resort is a gem. Located 20 minutes from Havana on a quiet beach... it's a great spot. My family (2 parents and 2 kids aged 9 and 13) have been twice in the last year. Pros: small resort, good food, really lovely staff, beautiful birds, gorgeous beach and good amenities. Cons: they heavily cater to Italian clients; Canadians are a small minority of resort guests...at times you can feel like a less welcome guest (e.g. even though they claim there's a kids program, it's only for Italian chi [... read more]ldren. My kids were never included. Most shows are only in Italian.) I would definitely return, although I hope they can do a better job of including all guests in the festivities.

One of the best resorts in Cuba

This is a very friendly not large resort close to Havana. We have stayed there 4 times, 3 times before the renovation and Dec. 24-Jan7, 2018 after the renovation. Everything is done in style. The pool is much bigger now. Service is extremely friendly and efficient. Food was very tasty. Portions are not very big but that allows you to have 3 meals and not feel that guilty. We loved it and will go there again.

Very nice resort

The grounds are beautiful and the staff are helpful. We loved taking long walks on the beach, watching the birds in the mangroves on the property, and the proximity to Havana. The rooms were clean, quiet, and air conditioned. We don't speak Spanish but the staff spoke enough English that we could get by. They also spoke Italian, French, and German! This is a resort that originally catered to Italian tourists so there is a lot of Italian being spoken. The food wasn't stellar but I understand tha [... read more]t this is a common problem in Cuba. there as always lots of variety and the fresh fruit was amazing.

Quite enjoyable

We stayed at the hotel at the end of April. We arrived well past midnight and were put in a room on the ground floor with a strong musty smell. We tried to leave the windows open to get rid of the smell, but it didn't work. The next day we complained at the reception and were given another room upstairs which was okay. The room was cleaned every day and the cleaning lady did a wonderful job. The food was plentiful, we loved fresh fruit and juices in the morning. The food, however, tasted quite [... read more] bland. There was a lot of it, though. The staff was generally nice and helpful. The only thing we didn't enjoy was a loud music at the pool and at the beach. And perhaps we would have preferred to hear a lovely "hola" as a greeting from the local staff instead of "ciao" or "buongiorno". However, the resort caters mostly to an Italian clientele and it was evident everywhere.

Amazing resort

I love the italian culture and speak the language a bit so I really enjoyed our stay at the hotel. People is adorable and so friendly. Great gardens, food is great with lots of fresh local fruits, a grill that my husband and I enjoyed every meal, Cuban rice is delicious, Bar is great, fantastic mojitos, pina colada, a great espresso, cappuccino with local liquors was fantastic. And the beach is beautiful, always security and helpful people to setup your chairs and umbrella to enjoy the views,  [... read more]sunsets, breeze,

Bravo Club Hotel Arenal

I was very impressed with the resort. Having travelled to Cuba in the past, I was a bit hesitant to return. This was a quiet, accommodating, and comfortable resort. I was impressed with the food at this resort. There was good variety, quality and taste (very different from my previous visit to Cuba). The staff was friendly and willing to go out of their way to accommodate our needs. The beach is a short walk from the resort but is beautiful. There are staff ready to take you out on the catama [... read more]ran if you are interested. We snorkelled off the catamaran one day and it was a lot of fun. The beach is staffed with qualified and attentive lifeguards. I would definitely recommend the Arenal.

Simple Resort

Ground , pool and access to the beach was very nice, The food is very simple and not a lot of salads and fruit..fish and pasta was ok..not much after that..breakfast was good....(nothing great ) Rooms are a good size, AC worked ok, no heat... Little to no activities or nightly shows, music around pool very loud all day and up to about midnight... Shuttle to Havana is free, but it was booked even before we arrived.. Bus stop is about a 20 minute walk up the highway.. A lot cabs in Cuba, Hav [... read more]ana, $25 each way.. Lot of good history in Havana and was well worth the visit..next time We would stay in Havana and bus it to a beach... Alinclusive resort but you have to pay $25 to fill your bar fridge ??? They wash the room floors daily, sheets never, towels never.... This could be a good little resort, I would rate it 2 star....

Fair resort

We were there from Oct. 31 - Nov. 6/16 and wanted to stay in an all inclusive close to Havana. As this resort is more remote and off the beaten path than most, it catered more so to the Italian and Brazilian guests, meaning, their English was limited, but they did try their best to keep us informed of daily activities and so on. The room was one of the bonus's, it was the first time that we didn't have the usual damp, musty smell when you entered, it was very clean and fresh smelling (my husband [... read more] gets a reaction anytime there is mold present and he was totally fine). The food was what you would expect in Cuba, but it was acceptable and I think that since we were there off season, the selections were limited.The beach was not very nice, it had broken glass in the sand, a pair of shoes is a MUST. We really didn't partake in the nightly entertainment except on Sunday when they had opera singers and they were amazing! Bug repellent and after bite a MUST! We got chewed up by the no-see-ems (or whatever they're called).

Very happy with stay at Bravo!

We were extremely pleased with this hotel. The resort was a good size, rooms and pool were very clean, the beach was lovely and the food was good by Cuban standards. the hotel is very much feared towards Italian guests, but that wasn't an issue, unless you are really interested in the shows (they are largely all Italian skits, that looked awful anyways, although 2 nights they had other performances, which were quite good).

Great Place for Quiet, Relaxing Vacation

Great place for quiet, relaxing vacation with fun European touches. We enjoyed opera singers one night at dinner. The cappuccino's were delicious and pasta and cuban food were tops! This is a great resort close to Havana where you can do a half beach, half city vacation.

Meh

The rooms, pool & beach were great. FYI- this is an Italian resort. The staff and 95% of the guests speak only Italian. Signage around the resort, pool games, nighttime shows- you guessed it, all in Italian. Don't expect to meet any new pals unless you're fluent in Italian. I heard the food in Cuba was bad, but I couldn't believe a whole nation can't cook. I was wrong. Every meal I had was the worst I've ever eaten, over and over, every day. Rotten / moldy veggies at the buffet. Food safety is [... read more] clearly not a priority, with platters of meat being left at room temperature for hours. Morning food was only available from 730-10am, so no sleeping in if you want breakfast. Several days they were "out of eggs" by 9am, leaving you with mystery meat "sausages", over-salted bacon and various stale baked goods. Last call for any food is around 930pm. Supposedly the bar served sandwiches all night- but we were told they were out every time we tried. Closeness to Havana is good! It's possible to get a decent meal in the city once you feel scurvy kicking in.