Paradisus Varadero: Beautiful!!

Beautiful Beach! Beautiful Room! Beautiful Pool! Beautiful People! Absolutely loved our trip to ParadisusvVaradaro. The people were friendly, the accommodations were clean and very pretty. The food was average but everything else was A+

Hotel Vigia: Perfect beach!

Beach - Perfect! There was no seaweed, water is clear and you can walk out quite far. For those of you who like to walk, you can go in either direction. Food - We did not try the a la cartes. With four different food preferences, we found the buffet to be easier. We found a good variety of food and lots of fresh fruit. Staff - From the front desk, to the gardeners, the cleaning staff, the servers, everyone was polite and professional. Not one staff member hinted for tips. (We do tip, but at ot [... read more]her resorts we got annoyed when hands were are out all the time) NOTE: The only reason I can't give the staff a five star rating is because one of the male buffet staff crossed the line with our 17 year old when he saw her walking near the pool on her own. His "suggestions" were not appreciated. Rooms - Rooms are spacious with plenty of storage. The safe is 2 pesos a day. It is opened with your room card. Checkout - Check out is 12 pm. Since our pick up was much later (6 pm) we opted to pay the 5 pesos an hour, but this cannot always be accommodated. Our cleaning lady would arrive late in the day around 4 (kind of annoying, its siesta time lol) , so sometimes we would just exchange towels, get water/tp. Water was always delivered to the room. Beach towels - On at least three days, we were told that they were unavailable to exchange - the delivery had not arrived. Pools - Safe for families, they were clean. We travelled with Hola Sun - no issues, the weight allowance with Air Cubana is quite generous Mosquitoes - Bug spray with deet is a must .. the mosquitoes swarm after it rains

Melia Varadero: Great resort in Varadero

We just returned from Melia Varadero, after staying a week from August 12th to the 19th. Firstly, the hotel as you enter is very pretty, marble tiled floors and pillars. The hotel is very clean so no worries. We booked two rooms, one for my husband and I, and one for our two sons. We asked for adjoining rooms but we couldn't get that upon arrival. It was ok though, we were only a couple of rooms apart on the same floor. My husband and I were in room 4109 and our sons in 4111. They had the bette [... read more]r view. Both rooms overlooked the tennis courts and ocean in the distance but the boys' room was on a corner and had an unobstructed view. Our room was a bit over the front of the property so the only drawback was buses and cars ran underneath our room and at times woke us up. We were going to change but in the end we decided to just stay as the view was pretty and the room very clean. Only negative was the king size bed was extremely hard. Water pressure was great and lots of hot water. Mini fridge stocked with sodas and beer. Always fresh bottled water. The grounds of the hotel were very pretty. The pool closes at 6:00 p.m. which was disappointing, but there was always the ocean, which is gorgeous! We were blown away at the turquoise crystal clear water. The beach has been affected by the storm last winter and it is quite rocky, however, once you are in the water the sand on the bottom is fantastic, nice and firm. No seaweed at all. The first day we went to the beach on the left which was disappointing. Full of locals and lots of garbage thrown in the ocean, such as beer cans and bottles. We quickly discovered a path in front of the property by the sea that lead to the other side where the beach is rocky but the ocean is not crowded at all, in fact we were often the only ones there, and the water is so clean. No garbage at all! We went there everyday. There is a lot to do at the hotel. They have music always playing at the pool as well as Zumba in the pool and volleyball and salsa lessons. The entertainment at night was amazing. We couldn't get over the musicians and their talent. After the evening show it is always followed with a "disco" where many younger people attend. Our sons were in their late teens/early 20's and they met tons of kids their own ages. They had a blast. The only negative I can really say is that the pool wasn't deep and not very clean. It appeared as though they had a problem with their filtering system. It was beautiful though with a bar in the centre (not swim up though). The food was fine, no one in our family was sick, and there are two of us with delicate stomachs. We ate what we wanted and were fine. Many drinks had ice and we were just fine. The breakfast buffet has a lot of choice, different than what we are used to, but always something to eat. Our lunch was always at the restaurant by the ocean and it was great, loved the fish. Lots of fish and rice...beef not so good though. The a la carte restaurant, Fuerventura (sp?) was great. The lobster was delicious. All in all a fabulous trip. Make sure you go to Havana on a day tour, well worth it. On the down side, the plane was delayed 3 hours and it didn't take off until 12:45 a.m. so that was a drag to end our trip with. Weather was fantastic! Had a great time. A special thank you to Tanya from Trip Central, she was great! Make sure you budget money for tips...this was something that got a bit overwhelming at times. Where ever you go people want tips so be prepared.

Melia Peninsula Varadero: Definitely not a 5 star resort !!!!!!!

This is a very dated hotel . Actually I haven't seen a more dated hotel than this in Cuba, Get this , there is no closet for your clothes...., The food is really bad. No Ac in the buffet . There were flies and birds all over the food. I had to bring these issues to the attention of the general manager, but he definitely does not care . This is a resort Without Spirit... I would never come back to this place neither recommend it to my friends. No one speaks English ... very hard to communica [... read more]te ....

Paradisus Rio De Oro: Beautiful resort with amazing staff

I've been to this resort 2 years in a row. The Cuban people work so hard to make your experience wonderful. The grounds are beautiful and the food is good. It is a relaxed, generally quieter resort, so if you are looking to party hardy, I don't think this is the place for you. If you are looking to chill, and get some R&R in beautiful surroundings with a luxurious spa and royal service, then this is the resort for you. As a general comment, I think it's important to remember that Cuba is under [... read more] the control of their government. Things that we are used to are not always readily available to them. What I consider a 5 star hotel in Toronto, or Vegas, is not what a 5 star is like in Cuba, due to various restrictions that are not in their control.

Paradisus Varadero: Frustrating Vacation

This place is a disappointment in many levels. I will never book with a MELIA again. List of complaints: 1-Service. No such thing. Asked to speak with manager, never heard back. Called 3 times for golf cart ride..never came. Called 4 times for one missing bed sheet at 9...got it at midnight, after asserting myself. Tipping was not the issue, tipped well throughout the week. I think if I had I walked through the lobby throwing pesos in the air everyday I might have gotten more attention, bu [... read more]t be prepared to give 5 dollar tips every hour. At which point, you ask yourself is it worth what you're getting? 2-Food.... in Family Concierge...Raw hamburger meat, chicken, pork sausage. Cut into your food before you bite, especially check your child's food. Bland food. No labels most of the time. Pasta lady was like Seinfeld's Soup Nazi. Felt like prison food lineup. Serving utensils, a mess, forks instead of tongs. Shortage of food, etc... Ugh. 3-Rooms - Sour smelling pillows, probably from humidity. Lack of bath towels. Face cloths don't exist (not kidding). 4-Front desk, way understaffed, no queues. People just cut in. 5-Beach - At times when I was looking for peace and tranquility there instead was loud club thumping music on the beach. Yes, that's right, when you fly thousands of miles to get away from the urban noise to listen to the ocean waves, light Cuban background music, and ambience, instead they bury it with noise. Beach was frequently littered with plastic and cigarette butts. Which brings us back to lack of staff to keep the beach cleaner, even if tourists are slobs. 6-Kidzone. Anyone could come get your kid. They're clueless. No sign-in and sign-out sheet. They've never heard of one. All you do is fill out a permission waiver. I asked lady as I was picking up my kid what his name was...no idea. There were only 2 kids there. Clueless. This place is a potential gem. It's too bad. Prepare yourself for a rough time, especially as far as service goes. Been to 2 Iberostars. Never a Melia. Both Iberostars were better. Family Concierge is at best, a 3 star. I'm done. Good Luck.

Melia Jardines del Rey: Good resort

Overall outside was clean.the cleaning of rooms could be much better compared to other resorts that I visited. Depended on who cleaned your room as there were different attendants. Would expect better for thethe high price range I paid.

Melia Buenavista: Fantastic Resort

This is our second time staying at the Melia Buenavista. This is an amazing all inclusive adults only resort. The staff are friendly and accommodating and the food has improved a lot. The atmosphere is serene, relaxing, and calm beyond repair.

Melia Las Americas: Wonderful Resort

I had a great time. It's a beautiful resort, with wonderful staff. Very helpful, very energetic and amazing for couples and families! I would definitely recommend trying out the specialty restaurants!

Paradisus Rio De Oro: Fantastic Vacation/Beautiful Resort

The Paradisus Rio De Oro Resort and Spa is an incredible resort. It is without a doubt the best resort we have ever experienced in Cuba. The room was clean, the beds were comfortable (extra pillows provided), the grounds were well maintained and the food was great. The staff at the resort were very attentive and genuinely concerned we were having a great stay. Additionally the facility amenities were above par. The pool was well designed, there are numerous options for sunbathing and l [... read more]ounging stretched throughout the resort. The mini infinity rooms were a nice surprise and greatly appreciated. The landscaping was very tastefully designed and there is a great balance between construction and flora/fauna (trees, grass, crabs, lizards etc.). The customized hearts leading to the ocean were romantic and creative. The snorkeling did not disappoint (just put on a mask and place your face in the water) and the access and availability to the water amenities - paddleboats, catamarans etc.were a pleasant surprise. We can't say enough and we hope to return in the near future.

Melia Jardines del Rey: Less than 4 Star

The resort was built in 2014 so the rooms were big, fairly clean - no bugs or roaches visible. It had good air conditioning and decent water pressure. The Beach was amazingly beautiful as expected. We had a 14yr, 17 yr and 21 yr old with us and this resort did not come close to any 4 star expectation. The pools were dirty, the bathrooms by the pool were closed for a couple weeks - guess where the urine went? !! My younger son cut his toe on loose, cracked pool tiles. The food was just okay, [... read more] the service was worse. I asked for two extra bottles of water for our rooms and the gentlemen asked for a tip first. There were NO DAILY ACTIVITY schedules that were provided and no visible advertisement, there was this " nightly entertainment" but it was so disappointingly lacking that I would say it was non existent. We were in our rooms by 10:00pm every night watching television. We would NOT go back, and NOT recommended. It's 3 star on a good day.

Melia Las Americas: Beautiful resort! Friendly staff.

We enjoyed our stay over all. The only complaint would be the restaurants could not honour reservation times sitting is over an hour after the reserved time. However the staff and performers were amazing and so friendly.

Paradisus Varadero: Great Family Resort!

We stayed at the Family Concierge section (relatively new area) of the resort at Paradisus Varadero at the recommendation of our Trip Central travel agent Susan Snider, who is very knowledgeable, responsive and helpful. The rooms are large and very nicely finished (there were a few minor issues with the room but nothing major), the buildings are very nice, especially the F.C. section, the resort is wonderfully landscaped and it has many, many trees which we really appreciated. The exclusive, air [... read more]-conditioned and enclosed F.C. buffet has great staff (all of them really but Eugenio and Yeni (pronounced Jenny) were simply wonderful, as were others whose names I forget. The food was good at the buffet but the a la carte restaurants, while nice, were not remarkable (Bana was very nice with great service and good food, the Mexican restaurant food was good, the service was excellent but there were a lot of flies inside, we should have sat outside I guess. The Italian restaurant beef was tough and overcooked, we probably should have ordered something else as the waiter mentioned the beef was a bit tough. We thought asking for it to be done medium rare would help but it was overcooked. We sat outside at the Italian restaurant and there were a few mosquitoes there but we rarely had to worry about insects for our stay from August 5th to the 12th, 2017. It was very nice eating outside. The snack bar is always open but it is basically fast food and it is a bit greasy but the fries are OK. Overall, we were pleasantly surprised to find that the food was fine and this makes the PV an outlier in Cuba from what we have been told by others over the years. I was told by my wife that the mojitos were excellent as I drink very rarely. The main beach is incredible as it is in Varadero and unlike what I have heard at many resorts we never had a hard time getting loungers in the shade at the beach area. The ocean was never crowded and sometimes it was almost empty (common meal times and mid-afternoon?)! Finding a lounger in the main resort pool area was often difficult but this was not a big deal for us. We prefer the beach but the kids like the pools as well. The F.C. has a splash pad area, exclusive pools in front of each building, a small section at the beach with loungers just for F.C. visitors and staff at the main beach that will get drinks and assist you if you are staying in the F.C section. We didn't sit in that area as we preferred to be right on the beach and there was always loungers available but some people did use the area. Our Family Concierge was a very nice man but unlike the other Family Concierges he was not on top of things and we often had to find things out for ourselves. Be sure to ask for a tour and to have everything explained to you ahead of time if you are not familiar with how things work at the resort. It was our first time taking our kids on a vacation and we hadn't been to an all-inclusive for eight years so we were very rusty. It probably won't shock anyone that has been to Cuba but some staff didn't or couldn't always relate information accurately or had a hard time doing so. We met a lot of nice guests from Canada and also a great couple and their daughter visiting from Germany. Almost all of the other guests were very friendly and there were guests from Spain, Canada, Great Britain, Germany, the Netherlands and probably elsewhere! At our request our Family Concierge booked a classic car taxi tour to Havana for us. I am not sure if we lucked out or if he asked for them by name but he asked for a female tour guide as we have two young girls (5 and 7). Yailen, pronounced Jailen was the lady that gave us the guided tour and Roberto was the driver who speaks much less English but who is also a fantastic person and a very good driver. They are a great pair and the '55 Chevy Bel Air we traveled in was quite nice! Ask for them if you want to be sure to get a great pair and they definitely deserved the tip we gave them as they were with us from 8 in the morning until after 6 at night! The restaurant they took us to was nice and the food was very good with much more spice and taste than the resort food but it was 19 CUCs per person (we had the kids split a meal as they are small) which was a lot more than we thought we thought the food in Havana would cost. It was air conditioned which was good because Havana is incredibly hot and it was packed with tourists so we suspect tourists are funneled here for quality reasons and perhaps others. We visited the Romeo y Julieta cigar factory (and many other places) and purchased some cigars as gifts and some rum to take home (rum prices are the same EVERYWHERE by government decree though so you can buy it anywhere apparently, wow?!). There is a little grocery store not far from the resort (right hand side of the road going to the resort) that has an excellent price for very nice Cuban honey and I think a bit lower price for the blue bag Tourquino coffee which is nice (the resort coffee is very, very strong but I guess Cuban coffee is strong in general?). The WiFi was pretty awful (welcome to Cuba and as the transfer bus tour guide noted, if you are going to Cuba for the Internet access you are going to the wrong place and for the wrong reasons. You go to Cuba for the safety, the people, the value and the incredible beaches and we would go back in a heartbeat for those reasons. The poor WiFi wasn't the end of the world for us as we rarely used our phones (I wanted to check news and some other stuff but could only connect late at night it seemed like). I stopped caring about the WiFi after a couple of days as the outside world mattered less and less to us. Visitors should bring gifts for the staff and Cubans off the resort as well and they should tip the staff that go out of their way to make their stay wonderful. I am not sure many people realize how little they are paid or how poor the average Cuban person is . . .a CUC (USD pegged local currency for tourists) is worth 25 local pesos and an employee may earn more than the official government figures but from what I have read the average Cuban is not exactly well off . . .resort workers getting tips can earn much more than the average Cuban and we wish we had brought gifts (pens, Dollar Store items, etc. etc. etc.) for people off of the resort. This has gotten much longer already than I thought it would and there is so much more to say but the TL:DR review would be: If you have kids you should strongly consider staying at the Family Concierge section at Paradisus Varadero but remember you are going to Cuba and why you are going to Cuba. If you do, I think you will be pleasantly surprised and very happy staying there!! I would rate the F.C. at Paradisus Varadero 4.5/5 for all the reasons noted. We would go back and we would recommend it to our friends and family. I am not sure why Trip Central doesn't allow reviewers to more accurately rate resorts and service etc. with more stars or half stars etc.

Melia Las Dunas: Disappointing

Very Disappointing, room's weren't clean. 2 days with no bath towels or hot water, and 3 days with no beach towels. I know its Cuba but for a Melia the food was not good. The beach was the best part of this trip, but not good enough to go back. Would not recommend this hotel.

Paradisus Princesa Del Mar: trip to Varadero

I must say that in general our trip was a pleasant one.the resort was nice,friendly people,considering the economical situations of the country the buffet and restaurants were good,not much choice of fruits.there were flies almost in all tables in buffet.the water tempertures in bathroom is 50 degrees and many people complaining.the beach and ocean is excellent. we took a tour to Havana and many times the tour guide mentioned to pay tip to him and drivers,I think it would be better to add some  [... read more]more to price of the tour and not mention about the tip,it made some people uncomfortable at the end. The thing that bother me the most was the last day,our flight was at 10 oclock pm and check out time is 12 noon.we had to pay more for every hour extra to keep our room,eventhough there was not any reservation for it. So basically our last day was wasted because couldn't enjoy the beach since we didn't have a room to shower after and for hours sitting in lobby waiting for bus. If an arragement can be made to check out later would be much better.

Sol Rio de Luna y Mares: Sub par resort

Food was o.k. Beach was difficult to get to with tons of stairs The only main bathroom was far from everything and was a sauna Staff were friendly Rooms were clean. Ask for room in main hotel only Beach and water were beautiful Needs better night entertainment and a la carte restaurants

Melia Peninsula Varadero: Fair resort, can do better!

The online pictures are what sold me on this resort, please don't always believe what is seen in pictures, instead of person! When we arrived the room had no AC, which made it very uncomfortable to sleep at night, after days of promises of someone to fix our A.C., we demanded to switch rooms, the buffets was also very hot, and uncomfortable to eat in, the outdoor eating area had outdoor seating with a drain pool around it, just concrete , for the whole trip, it's very dangerous for young childre [... read more]n who could fall in and Crack there skull, only a cable to protect the fall, the main pool was closed for three days too, which was a good thing since it was being cleaned due to green filthy water, and also the place was under construction, not sure for how much longer, that left us hearing a saw all night, since it's hot to work in the day! You are only allow two visit to the a la carte per week, the only good place to eat in an nice restaurant with good food, Plus side was the amazing, very friendly staff , a cute and clean kids pool with a waterslide and the beautiful blue water beach, not a 5 star hotel, more like a 3 star, pick another resort in varadero, until renovation are finished!

Sol Palmeras: Overall very satisfied with this resort!

We were very happy to see that the lobby area was smoke-free and was air conditioned. The grounds were kept very well. I'm not sure if the room was cleaned daily and we must stress that the mattress was very old and uncomfortable. We asked customer service to see if there was another room with a newer mattress, but it was worse. They accommodated us by adding extra blankets for comfort which helped somewhat; however, to get a comfortable room, we would have to upgraded with a cost of 25 peso [... read more]s each! The food was very good at the specialty restaurants, esp. the Italian and Mexican restaurants. We loved the ambiance at the beach with the animators playing games, zumba and aerobics and great music. The beach and ocean were divine and there were always enough chairs. We were also very happy there were no bugs and insects in the hotel and on the grounds. We had a lot of fun and would definitely return.

Melia Marina Varadero: Excellent resort

The pool area is fantastic, the lobby is excellent an place to chill out after a full day of pool/beach entertainment. The night shows were also great, a different presentation for everyone. The service was excellent , the staff seem to care about the guests' needs.

Melia Las Dunas: Amazing beach!

I expected more from a Melia chain company. Simply got a dated hotel with little cleanliness present, whether it was in the lobby, restaurants or pool. They need to step it up. The pool was dirty and murky. After the 3rd day I refused to go in the pool. The food was barely there or tasteful. WiFi connection sucked royally and 1hr card was gone in minutes cause every time the system was trying to connect it would spend your minutes regardless. The beach was the saving grace. I wouldn't recommend [... read more] this resort to anyone that is expecting more for the name.