Great resort

Very modern and clean resort, great staff, good selection of food, nice pool area, beach area so so I have seen better in Varadero. Since it is still a new resort some work is still required (playground, beach )Overall I would recommend this place to everyone.

Amazing ocean property with the clearest water

This hotel is a new spot in Cuba that was clean, spacious, and beautiful. The rooms were nice and the lobby infinite pool was amazing! However the food wasn't great, the grounds were still be worked on (being a new property) and they seemed to have some plumbing issues with the ladies rooms. However, the staff was friendly and all in all it was a nice place to visit. Also- wifi- not so great in Cuba....

Great experience!

My wife and I and another couple with a grown daughter stayed for 1 week during March break. First off I have to say using Hamilton airport during the March break is a god send. This was our first time going to Cuba and we had heard mixed reviews about what to expect. Needless to say we were pleasantly surprised. The resort itself was opened just this past fall and there was ongoing work on parts as well as gardening and some maintenance that was never a bother. The buildings and grounds are wel [... read more]l kept, clean and manicured as well as the pool area, deck and beach. The calming waterfall and the swim up bar in the pool were both thoroughly enjoyed. The lobby bar with nightly entertainment was a nice place to have a conversation and a nightcap before bed. The rooms were very nice, we had a standard room with a king bed and a balcony near the pool, fairly central and easily accessible. The room was clean, modern and well stocked on a daily basis. The beach areas were divided by a rocky outcropping. Facing the ocean the one to the left is very close, it has a bar and a restaurant that turns into the disco in the evening. The beach on the right is a little walk, it is larger with more shade and a bar. The water was warmer in the ocean than in the pool, however visa versa for the air temperatures. The food was great. We ate at all 3 a la cartes, though they had limited seating we never had a problem getting in. The portions were not enough for me but fine for my wife. I either asked for a second entree or went to the buffet later on in the evening. Eating at the buffet was more my style, ample choices of all types of fare. Breakfast was served at the buffet as well as lunch, never a problem with seating, however sometimes the staff was slow to clear or fill glasses depending on the numbers of diners present. Probably the best part of the entire stay was the staff. Giovanni at the pool bar, Jaime, Ziame and William at the lounge and countless others who made out stay comfortable and litehearted. We went into Veradaro to the shops and ate a great dinner at Waco. We strolled down to the DuPont Mansion and had a drink at the top with an outstanding view. As well, we booked a private cab and guide to go into Havana and had fabulous day seeing the sites and eating at La Canonas by the fortress. Ask for Jesus, our guide, very knowledgeable, organized and a gentleman. All in all we had a great time full of laughs and hearty living. The only complaint I have is that the Air Transat jet 737-800 is very cramped, lucky it is a short flight.

Beautiful resort. New with great potential

Ocean Vista Azul has a beautiful lobby with an ocean view and a magnificent infinity pool. The rooms are clean and modern. 120v in bathroom and 220v in main area . No problems except no sugar or whitener for coffee in room. Both beaches were nice. The one on the right was more difficult to get out of the water. Sand was very soft and had small shells. Also had small drop offs. The beach to the left was nicer and was close to beach grill and washrooms. The food was quite good for Cuba. We preferr [... read more]ed the grilling stations as it was fresh and hotter than the pre-prepared foods. Need to improve on the service here. Tables were usually not ready,and it was often timely to get a drink. There was only one toaster and it was always a long wait for toast. I have heard they have corrected this now. The Specialty Restaurants were very busy and it was very frustrating to try to go there. First come first serve with Privilege guests bumping to the front of line which I can understand as they pay more. This is not very efficient and management should consider a new reservation system. The pool was nice and there are lots of loungers. Bar staff are very pleasant . We found the best drinks were made at the Theater Bar. We enjoyed our stay and would return to this resort. We took a private day tour to Havana which was nice. The double decker hop on and off bus to Varadero is worth taking .

Amazing Vacation!

I highly recommend Ocean Vista Azul Varadero. Excellent hotel, excellent staff, good food, cold drinks, 2 great beaches, and the warmth of the sun. Who could ask for more? The hotel was so modern, clean and fresh at times, I forgot I was in Cuba!

Beautiful Resort

I just arrived from Cuba (March 5-12) at Ocean Vista Azul, beautiful resort! Staff is friendly and to my surprise most of them spoke at least 3 languages, English, French, Spanish...Rooms are very clean and well decorated. Pools were beautiful and clean, infinity pool is just breathtaking! You have access to two beaches, one is busier as it's closer to the amenities. There is a bar and food available 24h. I didn't try the "a la carte restaurants" I only went to the buffet and I'm a fussy eater,  [... read more]but could always find something to eat. Best meals for me was breakfast, omelettes are good! My routine consisted of a coffee after breakfast at Mikes Coffee shop just close to the buffet, very tasty coffee :) There is a show every night which I attended and I have to say there are a lot of talented people in Cuba, I enjoyed all of them. One day, we rented scooters for a couple of hours, it was a fun experience (not expensive) and got to see Varadero a little bit. Overall I recommend this resort to anyone.

Rather plain

I think first off, it's important to let you know I am not a fan of "all inclusive" vacations, therefore am probably not the best qualified to write a review. That being said, here goes. Flight with Transat was perfect, on time an uneventful. Upon arrival there were maybe 50 busses waiting outside of the airport to shuffle us off to our hotels.arriving at 10pm ish ment finding that bus number in the dark - no easy feat. Once found, off we were for a half hour trip to the hotel. On arrival, the l [... read more]ine at checkin went all the way through the large hotel lobby and out into the driveway. Here we stood for 2.5 hours just to check in. Once we got our room the next challenge was to find some sort of dinner. At 1am it is understandable that this could be a challenge but with one 24hr beach restaurant open, we headed off. Here we had what can only be discribed as one of the nastiest things I have ever eaten and was thankful to have survived it's consumption. The end to a long day and night - off to bed. Hotel room is very clean, comfortable,a good size and nicely decorated. Wake up at 9:30 (remember this is a holiday) shower, dress and head out for breakfast. Well..... breakfast ends at 10am. Really? After just a few nibbles the night before, now we had missed another meal. Coffee and beach it had to be. The hotel has 2 beaches, one on the left and one on the right. The right beach is a small strip of beach with a few umbrellas. It is grubby and not very appealing. There is a bar or a small restaurant there - not sure because it was never open. The beach on the left is a far prettier beach, has a bar/restaurant, washrooms but NO umbrellas (what's that all about). This beach is small and very crowded but... GOOD SECRET, go just past the rocks away from the hotel and you can have a whole beach to yourself because you aren't allowed beach chairs there (we brought some anyway and just returned them at the end of the day) and it seems that everyone except us were rule followers. We had a lovely 3 days in a little grotto that provided shade and had no one around us. I am still confused by this, but anyway. Meals: Okay, it's Cuba and we all know that you don't go for the food so, enough said. The little Mike's coffe shop makes GREAT coffee and, well, let's just say I spent a lot if time back and forthing. The none reservable restaurants were just okay- a word of advice, don't try to go at opening time. There is a huge line up at all of them and you just won't eat. Go at about 7:30, give them your name and go for a relaxing drink. You'll find this method less stressful. In all honesty, after a few attempts at the smaller restaurants we decided that it was better to eat in the cafeteria because at least you could choose things you know you could eat. And, speaking of the cafeteria, it is noisy, sort of smelly, if you don't get there earlyish you can't find a clean place to eat and if you need water,juice or wine - go get it yourself because you will never be served. Later I will go into the bad manners of the guests during meals and lineup experiences etc. Recreation: they claim to have sailboats, kayaks, paddle boats etc. We never found them. The entertainment: there is a show every evening. We went once - enough said. They have a great band that plays before the show but it is in a sit down theatre and you can't dance - to the great beats. And.... the band members hit on us the whole time we were there so we had to leave. The construction: we were surrounded by it. New hotel going in next door and our great room had a birds eye view of it all. I think maybe that's why the beach next door was empty - it was probably owned by the under construction hotel. But, not my idea of a relaxing environment . And now, my reasons for not enjoying all inclusive: - you have to line up for EVERYTHING - the term "all you can drink" is taken literally by far too many. They are not a pretty sight especially the 50 yr old men hitting on anything that has breasts. - these "all you can drink"ers have no concept of the term "lineup" and feel that their need for maintaining their blood alcohol level gives them the right to step in front of you in line. - female staff are tolerant of the guests running their hands up and down their backs and then landing on their b-hinds. Usually the "all you can drink"ers. - people pick apart the food in the cafeteria leaving a mess for those behind them. - the herding mentality. Line up, line up , line up. And so the four days on the resort went. If not for the beach and the wonderful swimming I may have gone nuts. But, here's what we did do that was great. - took a bus (pick it up on the road outside of the hotel) and go to veradaro. A fun walk, good little restaurants (finally a good meal) and a good way to chat with the local people. - we went to Havana for four days. Stayed at a Casa (35.00per night). We walked that city the whole time and really enjoyed the music, the people and the culture. The Casa was so interesting and here we had many chats with local people and travelers who were there to see the true Cuba. DON'T MISS Havana. So there you have it. Maybe when I'm old I'll feel an all inclusive is the right thing, but for now - not my cup of tea.

Great place

Very clean , service was great As long as you were aggressive to get their attention workers were very nice. The food was ok ,well it's Cuba you don't go there for the food. I stayed in a Bungalow they were very very nice.great view of the ocean YES I would visit this place again

Disappointed

Four of us stayed at Oceans Vista Azul recently and we were al very disappointed. The rooms were beautiful but thee resort layout was not thought through a lot of walking was required. We didn't have hot water for two days there was no beer for one day at the beach bar. There was not shade at the beach since I'm not a pool person and prefer the beach. There were families with young children and elderly people who couldn't find any relief from the sun. Some of the staff were friendly but most wer [... read more]e not. The resort was disorganized and not ready to open. We had to use the same beach towel all week. The entertainment crew were amazing happy and very friendly, the shows they put on were great.

Beautiful resort

We really enjoyed our stay at Ocean's despite the cold weather. John in the front lobby welcomed us to the resort and even walked us around so we could enjoy something to eat while waiting for our room. Yadamin who works in the buffet welcomed us everyday with a big smile and second to none service. Nestor at the theater bar was amazing and very entertaining. We will need to go back in the warmer weather.

A Sneak Peak of Heaven...

My husband and I sorely needed a break to recharge. We flew to Veradero, Cuba, and stayed at the Ocean Visa Azul thinking the resort looked stunning in the photos, and planned to stay a week. We've travelled to Veradero before, but this time, when we arrived, we were in awe of how beautiful the hotel was, the amenities, the food, the people, and the ocean! The room was lovely, the entertainment was awesome, flight and service all around couldn't be better. Everyone involved in arranging our trip [... read more] and stay went out of their way to ensure we felt special and were comfortable. On this particular trip, we definitely got a sneak peak of heaven, where everything was, and is, perfect!

Brand new and amazing

Loved this resort. Being brand new, everything was in great condition, nothing run down like you sometimes find in Cuba. The room looked *exactly* like in the picture. Good bed, decent furnishings, very large bathroom. Some small problems that were solved quickly by the staff. The food in the buffet and the a la carte restaurants was very good by all-inclusive standards, with the occasional great surprises in the buffet. The bars are well stocked, the staff if friendly, and the beaches are wonde [... read more]rful. The Three-part pool that's the focus of the resort is wonderful, with the swim up bar, hot tub and waterfall. I would and hopefully will go back again.

Lovely place on the beach

The resort is very new. The rooms are pleasant, welcoming and with all modern amenities. The service was excellent. The beachfronts are beautiful. One quieter, the other having more activity(music, beachhouse for drinks and lunch. The larger beach could use some sun parasols. The food, particularly the meats, were not good, but there was a wide variety of food.

Beautiful Resort

Brand new and not completely finished. The only thing negative was the beach area. There were no umbrellas so we had to bring our rain umbrellas from the room as the sun was too hot. Food was excellent. Would have liked to have a hotel shuttle provided for up town Varadaro.

Good Resort

The trip overall was a great time. The rooms were really nice, but could have been a little better. It was hard to get service for drinks lounging around the pool unless you went right to the bar itself. The food was good but not great.

Cuba experience at Ocean Vista Azul

The resort's decor was modern and it was very clean. The people and staff were amazing. The beach was very nice and the water was clear. The only thing is that they didn't have hot sauces available readily so if you are a spicy food lover, recommend you to take your own hot sauce bottle! Overall, it was a good experience.

Great Resort

Very Nice Stay, Great People. Food was pretty good considering. Only one complaint is housekeeping could be a little more diligent. This hotel is still fairly new, so please do not expect a 5 star. I would especially like to enlighten future customers that the privilege section is overrated, less the use of the privilege bar and dining, we really did not witness a true difference, between our package and the average less expensive package.

Good Resort For Varadero.

For a brand new Resort it was good in general. The place is clean. Restaurants are well decorated. Food needs a lot of improvement. Staff are very friendly, the buildings are well situated close to everything, the beech is not ready, there is tunnel of wind in the Lobby can't sit there. I probably recommend the Resort dependence on the persons.

Average

All restaurant's not open, and only 2 of 3 open at any given time . Food quality the worst we have had in Cuba.Staff still in training. 2 Beaches -1 near pool, small and busy. Other is nicer but is 10-15 min walk with temp bar cart and no bathrooms. Lobby is right next to infinity pool - lots of wet seats and tones of mosquitos and flies. Guest rooms new, clean and comfortable.

Up and Coming Resort

Being new the hotel was very clean, room was modern, bathroom had a huge soaker tub and separate large glass shower (I was in an Ocean Front room). It's definitely worth taking the privilege package for the simple fact that you can eat in the restaurants every night (no limititation and no waiting), you have a private lounge and restaurant and some other perks. Buffet was so-n-so and lunch menu could use more variety. Restaurants were good for Cuba. Nice beaches and crystal clear water. Lacked a [... read more] bit of activity at the beach but that maybe because the resort is still not fully organized. Pools and entertainment were also very good