Fantastic for the Value

Overall assessment amazing The welcome reception was slow/lousy Room wasn't ready until after 4pm Food preparation needs improvement Beach entertainment needs improvement Public/Dinning areas are good.

Best Vacation Ever !!!

My husband and I arrived Aug 9th and were booked in a superior room, however were immediately upgraded to a Junior Suite in the Deluxe Adults only section...OMG it was wonderful, our room was just lovely, and the private pool, restaurant, and bar were great !!! We did venture to the main buffet and found the food to be very good there as well as the service. The resort is very clean, pools were clean, and service was spectacular !!! Would go back again in a heart beat !!!

Another day in paradise!

This was my first trip to Cuba, and my friend with whom I was travelling had stayed at this Riu the year before and loved it. Our arrival was seamless: we were greeted outside the airport and bussed to the resort. After being trollied to our deluxe section lobby, where we were served complimentary drinks, we were brought to our massive suite, with a view of the pool. Staff were very kind, service was almost always fast, and at least quick during rush hours. I loved the food, the pool, lobby bar  [... read more]was obviously the best! I didn't really go to Cuba to travel, so the quiet disco was fine with me, I heard complaints that it wasn't feisty enough, but it is really easy to get to Varadero clubs from the resort. Pool games were hilarious, I didn't take part but enjoyed watching the crazy games from afar, daquiri-in-hand. The beach could get busy, but not unbearable, plus the view was terrific. All in all, an amazing place to stay!

A very bad resort

It is a 3 star but they sell it for 5 star , they dont clean the rooms evryday and when you ask for it they say we send some one and they do not com , they serve drinks in the msin loby in plastic cups and when you complain they tell you thst they don't have clean glases !!!! A totel disappointment and after 2 days we had to move to another hotel .

The resort, over all was really good.

The over view was excellent. The location good security, the land scape was very was amazing. Really enjoyed the second pool where it is designed like it is among rocky cliffs with a nice setting and very good service Bar.

Great time !

The staff were amazing. There was always something to find to eat. The pool bar was so much fun and the adult section is very relaxing. The beach was like no other!!!! We met life long friends from all over Canada as well :)

OFF Season WOULD NOT RECOMEND!!!

I was with family and friends, a group of nine, that booked a trip to Cuba June 19th, we arrived at the Hotel Riu about ten thirty at night. By the time we got settled it was 12:30 am,and too late to do anything. The next morning after breakfast, we went to the main The pool was so disgusting, and full of green algae you could not see to the bottom, it looked black, no one told us about the problem and the pool was not closed at that point.We found out latter that they ran out of chemicals to tr [... read more]eat the pool,but yet the Deluxe pool was fine!!?? We had a three year old child wanting to go in the water,and had to tell him he could not! he was not happy and cried. My daughter and a couple of friends went to the pool at the Deluxe which was fine,so they did have chemicals to treat the Deluxe pool!!,but not the main pool!??HOW COME??,and this is suppose to be a five star resort?, they were only there a little while when they were told by security to leave because they did not have the right tags on there wrists. Now i went to the management with Joan and complained, and we spent hours at lobby,more than once fighting with the management over this and various other issues that came up. Finally they closed the main pool and let everyone go to the Deluxe side pool without the wrist tags. In the evening we decided to get a drink in the only other air-conditioned place on the resort,the DELUXE CIGAR BAR,only to get watered down drinks!!WHAT GIVES WITH THAT??? Later on we went back to the lobby bar and got REAL DRINKS THAT WERE NOT WATERED DOWN,how I came to realize this was I drink brandy,and at the DELUXE it was weak and almost tasteless compared to the lobby,which was the real deal!!,just too bad that there was no fans or air to keep things cool!! The food was SUB-PAR the same old thing every day. Other people must have been complaining as we were told by many people from Toronto that all the supervisors were in the dining room watching on the Tuesday, they said that was the only time the food was good, we missed that because of the wedding and the reservations we had at one of the fine dinning spots, and by the way they were also sub-par!!,and badly overcooked! It was so boring after dinner not much music any where in the day time, other than a bit of it at the beach,and only at nite for an hour from about 8pm to 9pm, and if you came late to dinner you would miss out on the band.Music at the main pool was when it finally got up and running. My family and friends had to leave on the seventh day,so they did not get to enjoy much of the swim up bar which closed at 6pm??!!WHY!!,also the Disco was WAY TOO HOT!!,it had air conditioning,but was not put on!!??,as well the main lobby also did not have air-conditioning,or ceiling fans HOW COME??. The only two places that you could get cool was either in your room,or at the main restaurant! UN BELIEVABLE FOR A 5 STAR RESORT!!! This was my second trip to Cuba and the very worst!!, I think I deserve way better!!,due to the lack of quality of a *5* resort. In my humble opinion this resort would make a *3* resort look like a *5* resort! Under these circumstances I would not recommend this resort to MY WORST ENEMY!!!

Disappointment

We were so excited when we booked our trip, it was our first time with Riu and Cuba.Our room was clean and the beach...well the beach was incredible. Unfortunately, the hotel was run down. The water falls broken, garbage everywhere and I think there were cockroaches. The bathrooms were disgusting and broken. I WAS NOT IMPRESSED!! We still had a great time but I wouldn't do Riu ever again.

Awsome vacation

great resort we stayed in the adult section the food was great service is very good pools and beach are clean room are spacious and clean just a shortage of loungers on the beach drinks are very good including capachino bar lots of good entertainment shopping in Veradero is awesome Havana toor is a must to see taxi and bus available at entrance we were there for two weeks febuary 19 to march 5 weather was outstanding we enjoyed it so much we are aready booked for another two weeks around the sam [... read more]e time if your interested in going read the positive reviews I would not want to go anywhere if I would go by the negative reviews don't worry about food or drinks you will find something to eat or drink .we have stayed at latoc sandals in st lucia .riu in orcha rio .majestic colonial in Dominican they were all different but great resorts .but if your looking for a very affordable vacation Riu Veradero is an excellent value for your money.we met a lots of Canadians from all over the country just a great two weeks

Great Resort.....but too big for Cuba!

The grounds were very well kept, people were fabulous, rooms were very nice, beach was very nice, the guy who sold fresh piña colodas on the beach was amazing....and the pool was one of the nicest I have been to!! The problem was that they kept running out of things....like Vodka..?...and Ice for drinks...?.....and food...?..... I don't think Cuba is capable of running a resort of this size.....especially in Veradero.....this is the second time this has happened to us in Veradero.....so, we pro [... read more]bably won't return to Veradero again.

Great resort for families and singles.

Riu Varadero was a great resort. The grounds are maintained beautifully, the resort is clean, the entertainment is exceptional, the beach is great with areas of sun and shade and the pools are perfect for everyone young and old. I did experience some issues with the air conditioner and plumbing in my room but the staff's response was prompt and courteous. After a quick look by a mechanic, they determined they could not fix the problem and quickly changed our room. I was travelling with my 1 year [... read more] old and they provided porters to help us move into the new room (which included having to move the crib that they provided for my son). The food was your typical Cuban food. With the exception of the gourmet a la carte, I would recommend staying at the buffet. Overall I was happy with the resort and I think it provided good value for money. It's also a huge resort which means they have options for families, singles, young and old.

Awesome Staff

Unfortunately half of the resort was closed when we were there at the end of May. What was open, was kept clean and the staff was always very atentive. One thing that did bother us was the wheel chair access bathroom by the pool area. We complained that the door was locked and we required access, however it was never fixed for the entire week we were there. Access to the International restaurant was not wheel chair accessable either. These things would have made it much easier for us.

Fantastic Resort

The hotel was fantastic. The rooms were very comfortable and the staff were very pleasant and there were no complaints there. There were plenty of activities to keep everyone busy. We did do day tours to Havana and Matanzas. I preferred the tour to Matanzas. The tour guide, Sergio, was fantastic - Good sense of humour and very knowledgeable. Spoke Russian, Spanish and English. The food was good, although at times there were no plates in the dining area - probably because of the volume of people [... read more]. Overall, our stay was great and we thoroughly enjoyed ourselves. Would recommend this hotel to anyone wanting to go to Varadero.

Excellent resort

A very clean well maintained resort We found the food to be very good and the rooms to be well stocked night time entertainment was great people were very friendly bar tenders were very helpful and the resort was five star in my books we plan to go back this winter

Great Service Great Value!

We had a fabulous week at this resort. There were a variety of food choices and the service was friendly and efficient. The grounds were well kept and the pools pristine. We upgraded to the Adults only section which was well worth it. The private restaurant was amazing and it was great to have the private section of beach which was not busy. Recommend the upgrade for the beach access alone!! Amazing vacation and would definitely stay with RIU again.

It was not Nice

Unfortunately we weren't happy with the resort. I don't want to be negative but we had issues with our room not being cleaned and our towels not being changed. In the Second day I fell by the pool was badly bruised and when I went to report to somebody to get that piece fixed they patched it up before I witnessed 2 other people getting hurt. Sorry will not be returning. We flew with Sunwing and we were delayed 24 hrs on our way home. We were rail road out of the resort to wait at another hotel a [... read more]nd it was covered with bugs ! Seriously is this how you treat customers!

Great resort

The rooms were top notch, as were the grounds. Being in the "Adults" section was a plus! The "main" pool was far too noisy. The music carried to both other pools. I was totally unimpressed with the beach. Far too many broken shells. Did not care to walk in bare feet! The food is typical for Cuba. Lukewarm and not to flavorful. But plenty of it. Getting used to "red" meat in the burgers was a task. I was told they put red color in them, and even if it is cooked to death, they are still red. Never [... read more] met a unfriendly staff member! Always willing to help, and try to understand English.

Nice resort

We stayed at this resort in March 2014, upon arriving we were enjoying the quiet, great beaches, good food, and after 2 days, all he'll broke lose. Over 400 students from Notre Dame University arrived. We continued to stay for another couple days hoping the crowd would settle in. Well it got worse, they took over the swim up pool area, were urinating everywhere, getting sick in the bushes, and showing rude behaviour. Thankfully we got moved to another hotel on the Wednesday. I really like the ho [... read more]tel, however was disappointed management had let that many students register and they weren't enforcing any kind of control over the crowd.

Beautiful resort

The hotel was clean and beautiful. The swimming pools were a little cold but we enjoyed the rock and cave structures. The staff at the hotel was very helpful and pleasant we would certainly book this resort again.