Paradisus Princesa Del Mar: 5/5 except for food..

Hotel itself is beautiful. Beach is amazing, grounds and buildings well kept, pool was always clean and so nice. Our hotel room was average (our shower head sucked, but otherwise no issues). Maids always kept clean and never had any issues with our room. Staff all around were very kind, best staff was at the snack bar and cigar bar. Very quick, kind, and friendly. Some of the staff at the lobby bar were quite rude, one instance I asked a female bartender for water because we didn't have any more [... read more] in our room and she said they were out of water. I asked where I could get some and she shrugged and rolled her eyes. Javier at the lobby bar was the best staff member there, he was hilarious. Lots of premium liquor brands available I(especially at Cigar bar). Absolute, Crown Royal, Olmeca, Canadian Goose. My boyfriend and I both got food poisoning, throwing up for 12 hours straight. Sometimes the buffet was empty and you had very little selection. Pasta was always liquid, you get noodles in a bowl of soup basically, the daily "specials" they always seemed to run out of when we got there. Very repetitive. We didn't go to any Al La Cartes, but we heard they were all horrible, except for Japanese. Met a couple who stayed on Royal side and came to the buffet because food was even worse on Royal side. Entertainment every night differered. Excursions were a lot of fun and glad we did the Havana and Jeep Tour. Lots of bug bites, but you can never see the bugs. You don't need a band or anything to use the Royal facilities. Only had very good encounters with security staff, very kind and friendly. Even though the food was horrible, I would still go back because of value and the beautiful resort. Just be prepared to suffer when it comes to eating. My boyfriend and I aren't picky eaters at all and we had a lot of issues. Overall, would go back for value and beautiful resort, but prepare yourself to dread having to eat!

Paradisus Princesa Del Mar: Great resort

Paradisus Princesa Del Mar is a great resort! The grounds are kept fantastic, there is always someone cleaning common areas and the bathrooms. Our room was in villa #6 (the newly refurbished villa # 6, yes there are two villa #6's). Our room was #6327, new bed and furnishings, mattress was quite hard but new, 2 double beds which we kept sliding together, so a king would have been prefferable. Bathroom had a walk in shower, and was ample size. We had an ocean view in the distance, which was  [... read more]a bonus! We ate at the buffet for breakfast, usually omelette station, lunches were either at 24 hour snack bar with burgers, ham and cheese sandwiches, tuna salad sandwiches etc, all were good. Or we would eat at the beach grill which was our favorite, but very busy. We ate dinner at the Cuban, Sakura, International and the Oriental, all were good with excellent service. We really enjoyed the night shows, piano bar and just relaxing at the Corona cigar bar, where a special shout out to Jean, Liuben, and Victor for their great service, smiles, and just a wonderful sense of humour! The lobby Bar was a nice spot to sit and meet new friends. The beach, well it's Cuba, some of the best we have been on, lots of Palapas, clear water, endless walks, simply amazing! I will say, Cayo Coco has slightly better sand though. I would like to mention that the manager Leo met all the guests at arrival, gave us an overview of where to find things, and showed us the property map on the wall. Throughout the week he would walk around the lobby and check to see that all the guests were enjoying their time or if he could do anything to assist me, that says a lot about how much he cares about the guests and the service his staff is providing!

Iberostar Origin Playa Alameda: Nice resort

We have been to Cuba many times and we can say that we had a good experience. The grounds were neat and tidy and beach was beautiful. Drinks really flowed with excellent waiter service, both during the shows and the lobby areas. The shows were really well done and the bands were good also. The food had lots of choice but usually not served warm. Our biggest complaint would be the beach BBQ as the burgers were not cooked enough, tho you could always get fries and pizza at the pool bar. All s [... read more]taff were friendly and appreciate tips as well as small gifts, especially clothing items. It's a great resort for walking as there is a new marina across the road with resturants and a bowling alley. For the price that we paid for an adult only resort I would recommend it as a place to go, but always with an open mind. They work with what they have and try staying in Canada for the same price, to put it in perspective.

Muthu Playa Varadero: Absolutely loved it!

I had an excellent time at this resort. Lovely staff, beautiful grounds, gorgeous beach, I would be happy to go back! Very relaxing and enjoyable time! As for the food the fish was incredible! I don't eat meat so I was very happy about this :) Lots of healthy choices if you are vegetarian too.

Melia Marina Varadero: Great Resort!

My 16-year-old daughter and I stayed at the Melia Marina Varadero for 5 days. It was a great experience. The resort is very clean, our room was lovely and the view overlooking the pool and ocean was amazing!! Special shout out to our maid Barbara who would leave us notes and left our room looking incredible every day. The buffet was ok, we always found something to eat. We ate at two a la carts – Mediterranean and Latin, both were very good. I spoke to folks who upgraded to The Level  [... read more]and they said it was worth the extra money as the food was better up there. We tried lunch at the beach restaurant one day and were really disappointed. It was a mini buffet with about 8 items. We ended up going to the main buffet and saw other families do the same thing. It’s such a nice spot, it’s a shame there wasn’t more variety/larger buffet there. Unfortunately, the beach grill was closed for the five days we were there. The pool and beach were both pretty amazing. There were always lots of chairs around the pool and at the beach. The beach is a short 5 minute walk, no need to take the shuttle unless you really want to. The service all over the resort was excellent. I was pleasantly pleased with how quick everything was. Everyone was so helpful and friendly. I was a little worried going to a resort where Wi-Fi was only in the lobby and you had to purchase the service. Turns out it was a great way to unplug. We allowed ourselves only 1 hour each day to go online (for only $1.00 per hour) check out email, etc. We got our daily fix, and then went back to enjoying our vacation. A highlight was snorkeling. For only $20 per person we took a sailboat (with resort staff) to a reef where we snorkeled for 1 hour. There were so many fish, it was a great way to spend the morning. Remember bug spray at night. The mosquitos had lots of fun with my ankles one night and I’m still itchy almost a week later. I would definitely return to this resort and recommend it to others.

Iberostar Origin Playa Alameda: Noce resprt

Hotel and facilities were nice and everyone was friendly.. Biggest complaint was inconsistant housekeeping and room replenishment.they place also had odd bar hours. With the exception of the lobby bar, each bar is open for a few hours at a time which is odd. the food was actually much better than i expected.all in all had a wonderfull time.

Starfish Jibacoa: Great Resort

Very serene peaceful lovely grounds friendly happy staff wanting to please the tourist food was good great choses room were nice & cheary 2nd time at the resort will be returning for sure my second home Air Transit Rep at the hotel not much help

Iberostar Origin Playa Alameda: Was good

The resort in all was great, entertainment was good, food was ok, sometimes better then others rooms were great and clean, didn’t like the idea that at the pool bar ran out of toilet paper for the last 3 days, so remember to take some

Melia Marina Varadero: Not 5 Stars

Our room was quite run down. I was surprised that the Melia Marina was advertised as 5 stars. They also said that they have tennis courts so being tennis players we brought our racquets and balls. We were told the tennis courts were “broken”. The customer service arranged for us to play at a nearby resort but when we got there the security person had not heard anything about us so wouldn’t let us in. We had a late night flight and since we had to check out of our room at noon we used o [... read more]ne of the courtesy rooms to shower later in the day. The courtesy room was disgusting from having been used by several others before us and there were no clean towels. They apparently book the courtesy rooms every 1/2 hr. With no cleaning in between bookings. Having said that, the food, drink, and entertainment were ok, but definitely not 5 Stars.

Melia Marina Varadero: Fun, interesting and the unexpected

We had booked a Studio marina view however on arrival we were given a pool view with an upgrade to the Level which was a fair trade and we were pleased with the extras the Level comes with. A la carte restaurants are not any better than the buffet which is adequate but not for a fussy foodie. Staff were amazingly friendly and accommodating. Pool and beach both very nice..

Sol Palmeras: Great vacation

Nicolle Kirk was very helpful and would recommend her to handle travel arrangements. The hotel was very nice. The food was very good especially the roast BBQ pork and fresh cheeses and breads. The staff services were very good and very helpful. The Hola Sun rep Jose was great and helpful. Suggestion: get VIP package for return flight. Down side was cleanliness. The room was very clean, maid Lidia was terrific. Food servers did not always wash hands and do not wear gloves. Saw a bug  [... read more]in food. The hotel manager , Tomeu Alcina was not very good as he did not speak English and did not respond to cleanliness issues after showing him a picture of bugs in food. Also, did not respond about safety issue when it was witnessed that staff "man-handled' a woman. The grounds , pool and beach were fabulous, as this is what we came for. Overall very pleased and would recommend. .

Palma Real: Amazing resort!!

It was my first time in Cuba and all I've gotta say is that it was legendary. Resort was really amazing, it had 24/7 snack bar (closes when lunch or dinner buffet is open) more than 5 bars (including 1 on beach). Palma Real also had different kind of shows arranged every night such as Cuban Show, romantic show, Aqua Ballet and more and Most importantly 'Havana Club', opens every night 2300-0300. I found it better than the local clubs as La Comprasita and La Mamba. I'd say rooms were about averag [... read more]e. Our TV did not worked but i wasn't there for TV lol so that didn't matter to me at all. Overall, if i'd ever get a chance to visit Varadero again, i'll be staying in this resort.

Hotel Bella Costa: Fun and friendly.

I thought the beaches were wonderful as were the people. The service was excellent and the authentic. Everyone aimed to make the experience a good one. They had challenges however. Food needs work. Service of bathrooms and upkeep of toilet paper is required, but easy to fix with better systems. Coffee needs to be better, but again an easy fix. Property is older, but charming in many ways. Food - lots of improvement is needed, but not difficult. More vegetarian and fresh simple options would be [... read more] appreciated.

Melia Marina Varadero: Really, really good resort!

Our overall impression of the resort is that the management really cares about it. The staff seem to be happy and satisfied which in turn makes a better customer service. Food variety and quality are good! Service is good as well. Clean and maintained territory. The building is decent shape, well kept.

Memories Jibacoa: Still love it, but resort needs update

Cons: Our ocean-view room needs upgrade. Bathroom: vanity is missing marble plate, mirror is rusty, floor has unmatching tiles. Bed is covered with plastic sheet, thus it feels uncomfortable and very hot. Food is 'hit and miss'. Pros: Our ocean-view room had a great view. Decor of the room is nice. Staff are friendly and helpful. Our rep, Mirena, is amazing!

Muthu Playa Varadero: Perfect resort !

Clean, perfect services, even if it is getting refurbished the staff will accomodate as much as possible. Coffee bars are excellent! If you love beach you will not regret choosing this hotel! if you want personal valet do not go there... yet if you are not fussy and enjoy great music and wonderful different shows every evening - this is the place..

Melia Peninsula Varadero: Nice family orientated resort

The room was good, however, the cord on the bedside lamp was frayed to the wires so we had to wiggle it to work. The beds were excellent! The lighting in the staircase hallway didn't work and wasn't repaired even though we asked for it to be fixed. The paper towel dispensers in the public washrooms were usually empty and/or broken. The washroom in the Kids Club area had no lock on the door. The buffet was good but got to be a little monotonous with basically the same options every meal every [... read more] day. However, there was a lot to choose from and it was good food. (The meats were like leather so I avoided them after a few tries.) The Mexican and Italian Restaurants were difficult to find since there was no name on the building they were in.

Iberostar Origin Playa Alameda: Great time

The hotel was great for the price . Clean with great staff . Rooms need to have new beds and furniture and thats what they started to do as we stayed there end of January. Also the beach was beautiful and clean. Not a big resort so its easy to get around . Ala carts had great food and atmosphere. 12 min walk to the big marina . Which has bowling lanes and great restaurants

Gran Caribe Sun Beach: So so resort

I was transferred from Gran Caribe downtown to Puntarena because the elevators weren't working. At Puntarena, only 1 elevator was working. The food was good but you get tired eating the same food everyday. I couldn't swim because there was a tornado. It got better only 2 days before I left. The $5 bus hop in hop off to downtown doesn't pass here. You had to pay $5 for a taxi to take you where the hopin hop off double decker. So to go downtown Varadero you had to pay $15. Or negotiate with a taxi [... read more] driver to take you downtown.

Palma Real: Solid place to stay!

We went on our trip Jan. 2019, we had low expectations, just from reading other reviews, but we got a good deal so took the chance! I loved the location, we could easily walk downtown etc. The beach access was awesome, with the bathroom/ bar/ snack shack right there. I’ve never seen beaches that beautiful before, they were well taken care of too. There was always someone picking up trash/ cleaning and there was always a life guard or security guard at night. The bars: always friendly ser [... read more]vice, I don’t drink a lot so had to request some “lighter” drinks. Only downside was they never had all the stuff to make the drinks they had on the drink list. Restaurants/ food: I am a super picky eater and I never went hungry. They had amazing fresh buns at every meal. We went with very low expectations of the food. We did take our own salt and pepper and I seen another couple with hot sauce they brought! Easy things that made it more enjoyable! Only downside was if you ordered a snack at night or the beach you would often get “ sorry we are out of that”... we also ate off resort a bit and really enjoyed everything we had! Hotel/ rooms: it is definitely dated, the elevator didn’t work ( I knew this before booking and we were on the third floor so it was fine). The room was fine, nothing amazing but we only slept there so we didn’t really care. The door locked and we didn’t have anything go missing or any problems. Only downside was sometime they would take the dirty towels and now leave clean ones, so we just used our “pool” towels, really no biggie! Staff: I took a huge suitcase of gifts, and handed them out to everyone from the front desk ladies, servers, room keepers and bar tenders. They have a hard time buying “stuff” so this is often more appreciated then money. We got amazing service our hole stay. I believe in tipping with some cash too and I have found this ensures awesome service. Pools: the water was super cold and we spend more time in the ocean. Entertainment: we enjoyed shows most nights, something to do! We also took cards and dice and spent time in the lobby in the evening drinking and playing games. Safety: I love Cuba, this was our first time and I felt so safe the entire time. We are bringing our kids back next year! ( we have been to Mexico a few times and Jamaica, and I wouldn’t feel comfortable taking my small children to those places if we planned on leaving the resort) we like to go explore and I felt so safe doing that in Cuba, we would wondering around the beach and downtown, all the locals were friendly and I felt 100% safe. At the hotel there was security at the beach at night, always someone at the front doors and again I felt 100% safe our entire stay. We plan to come back at stay at this resort next winter and bring our kids! We are already counting down the days!