Iberostar Origin Laguna Azul: Not a family friendly resort

Just got back from this resort. It’s really nice! The resort was lovely, pools and beaches were so nice, cleaning staff were sweet and bartenders were quick and friendly. But this wasn’t a family friendly resort. We went with a 19mth old and there were so many issues we ran into. The food options were limited and there were no labels to show you what you are eating. Lack of high chairs. No straws. Wading pool seemed unattended and we found cigarette butts in it. No water slides. Kids Care se [... read more]emed empty everyday for such a big real estate it took up. Wifi is only in the lobby so couldn’t use iPads in the room. Drain plug in our tub was broken.... it may have been okay if it were just my husband and I. But when you string along a toddler and run into these issues, it gets frustrating and makes our experience a bad one at this resort. This resort needs to make some updates.

Resonance Blu Varadero: Weather and Beaches were nice

Positive: weather, beaches, staff, quite pool Negative: rooms, shower, buffet, party pool/cave This resort is in the process of a Reno. It requires a ton. The food at the beach bbq is good. Only place I can stomach. The resort has potential to be great.

Iberostar Origin Playa Alameda: Amazing resort

There is nothing bad to say about this place. It was all great. Food could be little better. Same every day. Ala carte s good. Rooms were very clean. Washrooms were very very clean. We were impressed. Very nice resort

Paradisus Varadero: Had a good time!

Resort was beautiful. Beach was gorgeous! There was a variety of food to choose from and servers were courteous. Mosquitos in the room were not appreciated. My overall experience was great! I would recommend this resort to family and friends.

Iberostar Origin Laguna Azul: Fantastic resort!

First time to Cuba and it was fabulous! Clean rooms, excellent amenities, great food, friendly staff! Could not ask for more! Big resort but small feel. Lots of things to do. Beach is gorgeous! Played tennis, sailed, pool activities! Beach bar was so close and also the lunch/snack bar to the beach. Helpful staff. A la cartes were so yummy!

Roc Barlovento: Adults only resort

We stay in this resort from March 30- April 6/ 2019. Resort is small but very cosy. We brought our bikes with us, cost us $30 per bike. My husband did bike to Havana with Cuban cyclist. Food: I am vegan so I had limited choices at breakfast. I don’t eat dairy, meat or eggs. My breakfast was dry oat meal with hot water and fruits, lunch and dinner had lots of varieties for me. It was lots too choose from . In my opinion food in this hotel was very good and lots of varsities to choose from. At  [... read more]lunch time you can have chicken, fish, pork and some veggies on a gril, they also carry hamburgers with fries. Location: This hotel is located at calle 12, bank is at calle 32, best exchange rate can $1=0.72 CUC. Beach: We are beach people so we stay there , lots of chairs , beach and water gorgeous. The only think I didn’t like is that lots of Smokers. Room: simple clean, in our hot water pressure was low, I would recommend to stay on main floor. Our flight was at midnight and we have to leave our room at noon. We put our language in language room and spend all day at the beach, reception will give you a room on main floor to shower and change so you do not have to pay extra 25 CUC to keep your room. Location of this hotel is perfect if you like to walk and explore Varadero. In this hotel average age group is 50 years old. Lots of Canadians and Europeans - no Russians and no disco. Over all nice cosy 3.5 star hotel

Resonance Blu Varadero: Might not come back

Resort was gorgeous for not a luxury hotel in Cuba. Exactly what you expect, great weather, beaches but the food was bad, as you expect with Cuba. However the toilets not flushing and the golf cart drivers who awkwardly wanted tips from you AND last but not least, the poor customer service!! Absolutely slow service at the lobby and sure you can tip them but when a resort is as big as this one you can’t tip every single bartender. The poor customer service is the main reason why I won’t be co [... read more]ming back here

Iberostar Origin Playa Alameda: Excellent Resort

We have stayed in 35 resorts in the Caribbean and consider this resort one the best we have enjoyed. The resort is small,the buildings are picturesque, the grounds well cared for and the staff are the best we have encountered on our vacations. The resort is older but in better condition then most of the resorts of similar age. The food is good;however, we have been to other resorts which put a little more effort into extras such as carving roasts or fowl in the buffet. We have stayed in this re [... read more]sort twice and intend to return.

Hotel Villa Cuba: amazing

The beach is beautiful food in restaurants amazing, you can find food from every country Rooms are good only maids do not maintain properly live Cuban music during lunch every day yoga on the beach service at the bar and restaurants are beautiful with plenty of chaise beautiful umbrellas I think I'll go again :)

Iberostar Origin Laguna Azul: Fantastic holiday

Just got back Sunday afternoon and missing this wonderful resort already!The beach was everything we hoped for white sand and beautiful clear water. The rooms were lovely and spacious the air conditioning was nice and cool and ceiling fan was quiet made for a great sleep! My grown children traveled with us and they loved the pools and fun activities and of course the swim up bar!!Definitely will come back again location great for a trip into Havana and a night out clubbing in Varadero!The staff [... read more] are friendly and the food was delicious! We went with a large group of 18 and I promise everyone was impressed!!

Paradisus Varadero: Amazing time

Went there a week ago with big group of friends and childrens for eight days. The resort and Beach are absolutely gorgeous. The People are super nice . hotel room is clean and roomy fit well for family of 4. Definitely recommend it!

Paradisus Princesa Del Mar: What a great time!

The hotel was great and the staff was very accommodating. We loved the area that was offered through the Royal Service and appreciated the ability to shuttle around the property. The beach and the pool were awesome!

Melia Marina Varadero: Un hôtel surclassé et exécrable !

CET HÔTEL N'A ABSOLUMENT PAS LE STANDING D'UN 4.5 ETOILES COMME IL AIME À LE FAIRE CROIRE. Il n’en vaut pas plus que 2 étoiles J’ai fait plusieurs voyages depuis que je suis jeune (Floride, Bonaire, Curaçao, Aruba, etc.) et c’est le pire voyage que je n’ai jamais fait. Lors de notre arrivée à l’hôtel notre studio n’était pas prêt. Il a fallu attendre tout près de 2 h avant d’obtenir notre studio, qui soi-disant, était en train de se faire nettoyer. Lorsque nous sommes  [... read more]arrivés au lobby du bâtiment abritant le studio, on s’est aperçu que l’ascenseur ne fonctionnait pas. Le porteur de bagage a dit qu’il était défectueux depuis la veille (on s’est rendu compte au courant de la semaine qu’il disait la même chose à tous les clients). On est donc arrivé au studio et on y est entré… et c’était une vraie scène d’horreur ! La salle de bain était extrêmement sale, le fond du bain était noir de crasse (qui partait soit dit en passant en frottant simplement avec du papier de toilette). La toilette portait un sceau disant qu’elle était propre alors que le dernier qui avait été chié avait encore sa trace dans le fond de la toilette et sur les côtés de la céramique, le miroir avait des d’égoutières de savon et j’en passe… rendu dans la chambre, quelqu’un avait échappé une pizza sur le couvre-pied et celui-ci n’avait été que retourné à l’envers, les draps portaient les traces de la dernière cliente qui s’était fait baiser dans le lit et le mur avait ses traces de pieds sales et le sol avait les gouttes de sperme par terre entre les traces de pied de la fille. (ce n’est pas des farces).... Bref une scène d’horreur ! On a dû rappeler le service de nettoyage pour qu’il refasse la chambre immédiatement… mais comme ils ne semblent pas savoir comment laver ! Les filles nettoyaient le bain avec du shampoing et une guenille plus sale que ce qu’un garagiste a pour s’essuyer les mains suite à un changement d’huile ! Ah oui j’oubliais, le moustiquaire de la porte-patio ne fermait pas et quand ma conjointe a réussi à le faire glisser, il s’est coincé et on devait le contourner pour avoir accès à la galerie. Le reste de la semaine, le ménage de la chambre fut malgré tout médiocre. On a même laissé volontairement des grains de sable sur un meuble et jamais en 7 jours ils ne furent retirés, ah oui, payé pas pour le studio, car on a eu la chance de visiter une chambre et il n’y a pas de différence notable. Aussi, notre présentoir à serviette dans la chambre a brisé et personne ne l’a réparé tout comme la porte patio... Côté nourriture, nous ne sommes pas difficiles, mais à cet hôtel, la nourriture était exécrable ! Le buffet est toujours trop froid malgré que l’aliment devrait être conservé au chaud, la nourriture est trop cuite ou pas assez. Tous les légumes étaient du congelé. Ne cassez-vous pas la tête pour un restaurant à la carte y sont toute pareille ! Portion trop petite vous laissant croire que ce sera succulent, mais dans les faits ce sont des mets congelés qu’il vous sert. Il y avait une soi-disant salade grecque et ce n’en était pas une, la soupe aux crevettes était en fait un bouillon de bÅ“uf aromatisé aux crevettes, au souper, les crevettes soi-disant géantes étaient en fait des crevettes a cocktail. Bref chaque soir où nous avons mangé à la carte on a été finir le souper au buffet en se trouvant de quoi de mangeable. Le vin rouge du tout inclus n’est pas buvable et le vin blanc goutait l’eau. Le 4 IIème jours, ils ont manqué de café. Le seul endroit où il y en avait était au bar pour mettre dans le café espagnol. Si vous cherché un des restaurants à la carte, ne vous fier pas au garde de sécurité sur place pour vous aider, ils ne savent pas où ils sont situés malgré qu’ils étaient justes devant. À chaque soir près de la marina, on aurait dit que l’hôtel évacuait ses eaux usées dans la mer, car ça sentait les égouts. Les spectacles étaient corrects, mais la chanteuse passait son temps à crier dans le micro pour chanter plutôt que de faire porter sa voix naturellement. À la plage, il y avait au minimum 50 % des chaises longues qui étaient brisés ou hors d’usage. La place n’était pas nettoyée malgré la présence de l’équipement motorisé pour pouvoir le faire. Nous ne sommes pas des clients hyper exigeants, mais quand il en vient au service ça nous teints à cÅ“ur et ça se doit d’être honnête. À part du service du bar de la plage et du bar de l’hôtel, il était vraiment ordinaire et en plus le gars qui était venu nous mener à notre chambre à l’arrivée nous a dit que nous devions payer pour la ride jusqu’à la plage (1 peso cubain chacun, car c’était une longue ride. C’était un gros et grand noir (en plus il conduit mal et trop vite sa voiturette électrique)mais je ne me souviens pas de son nom. On a découvert le lendemain que ce n’était pas vrai, wow un gros 5 min de marche ! Et aussi que c’était gratuit en prenant un autre chauffeur. Aussi le staff n’avait aucune prévoyance des besoins de la clientèle. Il fallait toujours leur demander plusieurs fois pour obtenir ce que nous voulions. C’était pareil autour de nous. Et la cerise sur le Sunday ! La veille de notre départ, nous avons reçu un message texte de WestJet nous avisant que nos vols étaient retardés à 20 h, mais l’hôtel était incapable de nous en informer. Au check-out le lendemain à midi, nous avons laissé nos bagages au concierge et il les a rangés dans un endroit prévu à cet effet. Il nous a alors informés que nous avions droit à une chambre de courtoisie pour que nous puissions prendre une douche avant notre départ à 18 h. on est retourné au check-out pour voir ce qui était vrai et la fille nous a dit que oui, mais que nous devions réserver ! On a réservé gratuitement, car au début elle disait qu’on devait payer 8 $/personne/heure et après discussion et un peu de pression on l’a eu gratuitement, et avant de nous y rendre, nous avons demandé s’il y avait des serviettes et la responsable du service a dit que oui… arrivé sur place… pas de serviette ! J’ai dû aller dans le corridor et exiger de la femme de ménage 2 serviettes propres… De plus, le représentant de WestJet (Israël) qui nous a fait le speach d’arrivé et qui était censé nous donner l’intérêt à faire des activités démontrait un désintérêt total de son job et de la clientèle. Il a dit son discours comme un robot et répondait difficilement aux questions de la clientèle. Bref, c’est un hôtel qui survit sur sa réputation du passé, mais qui est plus que dû pour des rénovations importantes partout, et qui devrait former son personnel a donné un meilleur service à la clientèle. Ne vous fier pas aux photos des sites web, elles datent de plus de 10 ans si j’en constate l’état des lieux. Je ne recommande pas cet hôtel à personne. Je crois sincèrement qu’un crédit de 50 % serait la moindre des choses à offrir pour compenser la piètre qualité de cet hôtel. Cet hôtel ne vaut pas plus que 600 $ max frais et taxes incluses. Point positif : Pas d’achalant ou de vendeur de cossins sur la plage. Plage très clame au niveau de sa fréquentation et très belle si on ne tient pas compte des algues échouées en bordure de celles-ci. Nous nous sommes beaucoup reposés malgré les désagréments

Resonance Blu Varadero: Not what we expected

First impressions of the hotel weren’t the greatest. Staff at the front desk seemed irritated that we were Diamond Club guests (which really didn’t effect them at all - other than the welcome drink we were supposed to have upon arrival but never received. No big deal.) The room we had was basic and had some minor issues - toilet didn’t flush well, the shower leaked over the side resulting in a pool on the floor, door handle on the patio was broken and the track was bent so it was difficult [... read more] to open and close. But the bed was super comfy and very spacious. The food was really good and quite comparable to other places we’ve been in Mexico - I’d even say I enjoyed it better as nothing made my stomach queasy! Grounds were well kept, other than the cigarette butts all over the beach - but we blame disrespectful guests for this downfall. Beach was otherwise amazing, lots of shaded areas. We didn’t use the pools but there were always plenty of loungers to choose from and again, no shortage of shade. The service at this resort was terrible. By far the worst we’ve ever experienced. Took 45 minutes one day at the snack bar for anyone to even walk by our table and we even had to stop them so we could ask for water and place an order for food. Upon doing this the staff gave us attitude. Most other days we would wait about 10-15 minutes before anyone would come by. Most meals at the buffet we would almost be finished our food before anyone would come by and offer water or other beverage options (at this point we would have been sitting for over 30 minutes). Bar service was good and the drinks were very adequately made - only complaint here was the service on the beach. Diamond club guests have their own section of the beach with bar service provided to you but we only had service 2 out of 7 days. Overall, we were not impressed with this resort. Looks like a 3+ star from the outside, but inside it’s more like a 2 star. We will not be going back.

Playa Caleta: Cant rate

I cant rate this resort as I was upgraded to solymar barcelo because the hotel was overbooked. Not sure how that happens without them knowing . But where I did stay was ok, service had better, food not so good ,staff not very personal.

Melia Marina Varadero: Nice resort, beautiful beach & pool, terrible food

We went to Cuba with a very open mind. Hotel, staff, beach, pool, bars, and drinks were ALL amazing. The food was terrible, though, and I hate writing this because everything else was so awesome but it's the truth. I know we were in Cuba and they are not known for their food but I've been to Cuba before and the food was no where near this terrible. A lot of things were undercooked (omelettes in the level 3 mornings, chicken at the grill on the beach, hamburgers) and they ran out of certain food  [... read more](items) all the time which was frustrating. By mid-way through our trip, we started eating rolls with lunch meat and cheese to fill us up. The rolls were pretty good though! Did it ruin our trip - not at all, but we likely won't be back because of it. Aside from the food, we did have a great trip.

Iberostar Origin Playa Alameda: Honestly-We have been to a lot of resorts in cuba and we have been to better with lower stars.

Grounds-emaculate. Food-poor variety,poor quality,not hot,same items spread out-same desserts every night of the week.lots of staff but not the Iberostar quality we expected.Dining room staff fantastic but just not the food quality. Beach-lacked care-should have been raked or something probably the worst I have seen varadero beach.But talked to several other persons and the beach closer to town was better. room-mattress springs coming through(room 1611)mattress.room very outdated including  [... read more]bedspreads,furniture etc Entertainment-went from ok to very good.We thought the lobby area had better entertainment then the actual shows at night. not over crowded,always find chairs.Lower denominations of cuba peso's hard to get for tip money. Sunwing rep.very good,good English and Honest.

Punta Peninsula Varadero: An amazing holiday!

The hotel was everything we wanted and needed for a perfect vacation! We spent alot of time at the pool area and lobby area! Our favorite dinner spot was The Rosato! The The grounds were well maintained, Staff were 5 star, they were always helpful, so pleasant, caring and smiling!! Such nice people, and hard workers!! Enjoyed all the walking throughout the resort we could do, the entertainment, and we even were there for the Cuban parade etc. We would especially like to thank these staff perso [... read more]ns for going over the top for us! They are, Ileana who kept our room immaculate and fresh, such a gracious person, and helped me one day when I was sick with fever, getting me water, Alfredo, Carlos, Milasea, Alex, Nadia, Cheylin, Alesandro, all being servers in food and beverage, who were extraordinary at their skills!! Real "people, people", personalities perfect for their jobs. We do not want to forget Fredy in customer service, when he said he would follow thru, he did!! A special thank you to all of them!! Suggestion: Perhaps 7pm show for Seniors!?

Hotel Los Cactus: Special gem in Varadero

Hello fellow travelers. I found this resort to be better than expected. This resort has lush matured gardens and very hard working staff that have been at same location for 30+ years. My room was very big and clean. General manager and food and beverage manager are on hand at all times and are easy to locate if you want to pay them a friendly compliment. This was my 5 th time in Cuba over a span of 16 years. All staff work very hard so please be nice. It is noticeable that the hotel is making g [... read more]reat efforts to update rooms and grounds. Multitude of wild and domesticated animals on property which was a joy for myself .Hummingbirds, falcons,Cuban woodpeckers, small and big lizards,kittens, cats, butterflies ,snakes:)etc).Duna bar has best cocktails, lobby great cortados❤️All departments work hard. Entertainment was by far the best talent I have seen at any resort. Don’t believe anything negative you might read on trip advisor. I booked a run of house room and received a huge top floor garden view suite( it was an ocean view to be honest). Treat people like people and it goes a long way. Instead of contributing or complaining about butts ,cups ,or straws on the beach. Do your part and pick some up. Would love to return to this resort for the people❤️

Paradisus Princesa Del Mar: Still Favourite...needs improvement

The grounds the hotel and the beach are wonderful. The staff is over the top excellent in most cases. A special shout out to Aida in customer service as well as Rueben. Dayleen at the Carribean lunch bar and her whole team excellent. The main buffet was extremely disorganized and inconsistent service. Some of the restaurant are not what they used to be either. Yes in part due to some embargo issues from the US as one key staff person told us. However they can still improve what they can contro [... read more]l... Too many things to mention and I believe that the new management will fix and bring quality experience all across the resort again. We will return.