Amazing staff, nice hotel but poor management

Arena is a nice but dated hotel in a great location. The pools are huge, well maintained with deep and shallow areas suited for both adult swimmers and little kids. Beach area is really nice but beach chairs are mostly broken. Food is very poorly managed, lineup for one little tiny grill that is only hot enough to cook an egg with a very small surface...unfortunately we had to feed the food to stray dogs in multiple occasions since it was raw chicken or pork and was not safe to eat. The gril sta [... read more]rts only after the buffet opens so most people feel fed up lining up and just resort to other very limited options. My boyfriend got very sick. No food safety check is done by management since it was on multiple occasion we noticed uncooked meat was served. Staff are really nice but they could only do so much...our room was well ventilated but very dated, one small towel each and it was impossible to change to a fresh one. We tipped the maid well but she said she is not allowed to give fresh towels. No place to exchange beach towels! We used wet towels in 7 days and everytime we asked they said maid does it if you place them in the room but maids were saying they have no access to beach towels and refer us back to the reception...this is of course not staff fault and you could see the greedy management behind it trying to cut cost and corners. Ground was very well kept. Beach bar was closed...snack bar had no food but ham sandwich with one layer of mystery ham Overall we had a positive experience but we noticed a big negative change that was not staff fault.

We had a great time!

What a beautiful place to go on a trip with the Kids. It might not be a 5-star hotel but our room were kept clean, and the sheets were changed every day. The personnel is so pleasant, and all our needs were met. The Buffet was fine; everyone found something to eat at every meal and the hotel has a great location. The beach is beautiful and calm on most days. I would go again that's for sure.

Gorgeous beach, very close to downtown

The hotel itself is very worn down. 3.5 stars at best. There were more Cuban visitors than i have ever seen before, few Canadians. Food options were very limited if they weren’t sold out. Beer ran out fast, meats except ham were sold out at the 24hr snack place. At the pool bar, if you don’t speak their language, you won’t get served as fast.. need to be pushy & aggressive. It was also my birthday & i was hoping to be entertained but everything closed before midnight? Even the pool  [... read more]table closes by 5pm 🤷🏽‍♂️ We didn’t realize parties continued downtown at the locals bar until last couple days! A positive was the excursion to Havana, which has changed & reminded me a bit of Montreal. This resort also gives you access to the resort next door. The service is a bit better along with the food👍

Fair

This was my second stay here, the resort is fair. I would not call it a 4 star though. If you go with the mind set that you’re going to Cuba for the beach and to relax then you’re good. We the food was acceptable but they need to work on their costumer service skills.

Occidental arenas blancas

Good set up although personel at reception desk were rude most of the time except at the day of arrival. . Service and food average and again missing wine for 4 days. Shows were good with great dancers. Advertised as a 4.5 stars at booking but to me only a 3 stars.. Olkis at the supper diningroom was the most helpful waiter to guide us and answer all our questions of all the rest of the staff! Loved Varadero Cuba but will not go to this resort and will choose a 5 stars resort for sure.

Okay resort.

Occidental was a decent resort, somewhat welcoming but rooms lack comfort. Bed very uncomfortable and the room is still very humid despite air conditioned. Beaches are beautiful and drinks are okay. Food was hit and miss but we never went hungry. Check in was 4pm despite website stating it was 3pm. Some workers were very pleasant and others not so much, or very helpful. Snorkeling off the resort was okay, however those spending extra money for photos received extra attention. Therefore be prepar [... read more]ed to spend extra if you want decent experience, otherwise expect the bare minimum. Minimal activities on resort and entertainment. First time to Cuba and this resort in particular we won’t return to given our experience.

Amazing resort

We had a amazing trip. In Cuba one of the very beautiful beaches is Varadero location. Absolutely gorgeous, people are very friendly and it is safe in Varadero. The view of the beach is stunning very friendly for families in Varadero Cuba. They really look after the tourist over there the whole Area is designed especially for Tourist.

Excellent resort!

Simply excellent, from the resort to the staff everything was excellent! What to say about the beach simply flawless it was a very memorable experience. A special thanks to staff Jessica, William and Ivan thank you

Hotel o.k.

This hotel is not a luxurious hotel, but it's o.k. Near downtown Varadero, at few minutes by walk. Room, restaurant, pool and gardens were clean. Service at restaurant and bars was ok as well. The buffet, ok as well. Beach and sea. Wow ! It's Varadero. I had a problem of leaking water from the top of the bathroom in the middle of the night. And I had a really good service by changing of room on the spot. More, the day after, in the new room, I had ants problem in the bathr [... read more]oom. And again, they change for a much better room again without the need of arguing. I really appreciated. In conclusion, I recommend, but with keeping in mind to not have big expectations. It's a low cost hotel, and it's o.k..

Good resort, horrible food

Beaches are amazing, best I’ve ever experienced. The staff is very friendly & knowledgeable. The rooms AC was not good, so we were pretty hot most nights. Big con is the food, below average, especially the buffet. Often had to eat outside the resort. Overall good experience.

You get what you pay for

Our beds were like sleeping on wooden pallets, the lobby bar and bathroom smelled like vomit. Speaking of vomit, I spent day 3 in bed and over a toilet vomiting all the horrendous food they served at late hours snack bar. Otherwise the staff tried hard and the beach was phenomenal. Again you get what you pay for!

Not the best but not the worst

The resort itself was in a good location and the beach is always so beautiful in Cuba. The rooms were okay, the bathroom in particular could of used a little ‘facelift’ but we didn’t spend much time in our room anyways. We were a little disappointed with the food. I’ve been to Cuba a few times before so I know what the food is typically like. we also had access to the resort next door and it was just odd that the food over there was x10 better than at the occidental. I just didn’t unde [... read more]rstand why they couldn’t have just as good of a spread? So my family ended up walking over to the Barcelo Solymar for all our meals. The pool also could of used some work as more than a few tiles were missing off the bottom. I also didn’t like the fact that there was no bar right on the beach, walking back and forth for drinks got kind of annoying. Overall the resort was decent.

Arenas blancas

Everything on the resort was rundown there was no water slide as stated on website or pool bar the food was bad ate out all the time there was no fruit there should be a refund for I’ve been to Cuba many times and never seen so many unhappy guests

Terrible

Our stay with occidental arenas Blancas was terrible our rooms didn’t look anything like pictured, nor did the resort. Our room was filled with ants, they were in our baby food and they were all over our beds and crawled all over and bit our babies and us while we slept. We will never stay there again and we’re so disappointed we spent all that money and had a horrible stay. Very poor selection of food as well

Arenas blancas

Hôtel commentaire positif ,emplacement bien située personnel agréable bien disponible lors de demande pour avoir des choses pour le frigo,les employés sont avenants et essaie de rendre le séjour le plus agréable, essaie de te comprendre dans ta langue

Terrible

Beautiful beach beautiful pools but no activities no animation Terrible food in all the restaurants Rooms dirty and mattresses gery unconfortable Terrible smell all over the hotel Bad service people are rude Terrible drinks Only good thing is being joint with the Barcelo able to eat something at the snack bar and sometimes get a good drink at the lobby bar

HORRIBLE RESORT!

The Occidental Arenas Blanca is the absolute worst resort I've ever stayed at in Cuba and I've been to Cuba 12 times! There were tiny red ants in everything in the rooms. My entire body was covered in bites when I woke up the first night. The sheets were stained and disgusting. There were cockroaches in the room and the buffet! We had no bath towels or pool towels for 4 days! There were rats in the lobby! The pool is nothing but a hazard, broken/missing tiles, no grates or broken grates around [... read more] the entire pool. Our cups in room were not washed, floor not swept or mopped. Tub not cleaned! WORST EXPERIENCE OF MY LIFE! THE PLACE NEEDS TO BE CONDEMNED!

Great Time

The beach at occidental was amazing, the night life outside of the resort is one of the best. 5 minute walk from all the bars and restaurants. We had a few issues with our room but when we talked to guest services the manager took care of everything by getting us a new room, making sure this room was up to our expectations. Anything we needed we were taken care of like we were family. Our plane was delayed and when we talked to guest services they gave us a late check out at no cost. Would recom [... read more]mend this resort 10/10. Thanks too all who made this trip enjoyable! If you need a taxi call Pedro with the convertible amazing taxi and also does tours around Varadero!

Not a good experience with the hotel and the staff

We were charged for a broken TV that we have nothing to do with, it was already broken when we arrived. The hotel charged us $515 US for an old TV and we were not given a chance to defend ourselves. We do not understand the language and they were just taking one side of the puzzle. We do not recommend the hotel to anyone who wish to go to Cuba. We are not going back Cuba at all.

Amazing resort

the service is great, it’s been my fifth time going and I would definitely go back again. It sits on a big land with lots of greenery(palm trees, cactuses, tropical plant). Almost like a botanical garden.