Disappointed

This resort really needs to be updated. Food was very sparce and not good. The cleaners of the rooms did their best to make sure the room was clean. Hopefully things will get better for the people of Cuba.

Hotel has gone downhill

Since a new manager has taken over, this hotel has gone downhill. It still has the amazing staff but the Manager has been spending money on all of the wrong things. He took all of the palapas down off the beach, he shut down the a la cartes for a whole week. There was no wine for a couple of days & then only limited amount of wine & never any white wine. Coffee bar ran out of coffee. He is making the staff upset. It used to be such a nice hotel until the Manager, Machine, came along. Have gone t [... read more]o this resort at least 20 times &, unfortunately, doubt I'll be back.

I would give it a one and half stee

The only two a la carte restaurants were closed; buffet only. No coffee in the buffet. No butter; no white wine; sometimes no ice; no hot water for 5 days. The pool was green for 3 days. At the same time as the ocean was red flagged.

Doing their best

Thank you again for booking the trips for our group, we are a very laid back crew and did enjoy ourselves given the circumstances but there are definitely some things you and future travellers should be made aware of before booking this property. I'll start by saying I have been to this resort previously and have clearly been fond of it, the location, beach, staff, affordability and even the food was quite good for Cuba. I do understand the supply chain issues that have decreased here whether [... read more] due to the pandemic or the war in Ukraine and these things were slightly foreseeable. However, the entire lobby at Kawama was under construction and completely closed off. The 'reception' was in a room and was quite disorganized for check in of over a dozen people. Our bus drove us to both opposite ends of the resort and some of our group walked to find out where we were to even check in. This could have been noted. We had a vague idea of the food and beverage concerns but there were literally two options for alcohol, beer and rum. There was no ice for 3 days, often out of coffee and not one of us ever received beer or soft drinks in our rooms. Lunch and dinner was pork, rice and cucumber cut 8 different ways but I don't want to make a huge deal out of the food because we didn't go to Cuba for that but it warrants mentioning. The resort was also 90% Cuban locals so any entertainment or activities were entirely in Spanish leaving us feeling excluded but again not necessarily what we go for. On the positive side the weather, beach, grounds and even rooms for the most part were good and the staff are always wonderful and did express their own dismay at what they were able to offer us. Overall I was disappointed with the lack of the basics but I understand that is out of your control but when one is paying for certain advertised expectations it's disheartening. This is the most I've ever paid to visit this resort and received the least. I'm writing mainly for awareness purposes as I was unable to gain this kind of information via social media or travel blogs but I have and will continue to share this information so new travellers can make an informed decision. In summary our group ended up being 9 as two additional friends arrived a day later to celebrate my birthday and we had many laughs and made the absolute most of our week away and we'll never forget it. Just a few notes for you and TripCentral to consider. Thank you for your time Vanessa

Resort club kawama

it was the worst trip my husband and i ever had . the food was crap and they ran out of everything but excuse,s no coffee, no milk, no wine red or white , toilet paper used for dinner napkins,no beer sometimes, no cups for the beer, no chlorine for the pool,the list is endless..........................kawama is a shit hole

Poor

We had been to this resort before and knew it was the oldest resort in Varadero and have enjoyed staying there in the past however this year we had many complaints. Had to move to 3 different rooms due to lack of water. Food was much poorer than usual. No milk, cheese or butter. Frequently ran out of coffee, beer and wine. Ongoing issues with sewage gas. Bad odours throughout the resort. The only positive was its fabulous beach and warm friendly people.

Hotel Club Kawama (Yucky) via Sunwing Vacations.

I went to this resort after being coaxed by a couple of hometown friends. My friends have been to Hotel Kawama multiple times. I have been to Cuba 5 times, 3 times to Varadero so I knew (in part) what to expect. Upon check, I received my room and my two buddies received theirs. To my buddies amaze they were each issued a private room. One room was Beachfront. Alas it wasn’t long before Hotel management came looking for one of my friends, the one with the beach front, directing him to vacat [... read more]e the room as there was an error at check-in. Cuban management confused his name with another customer. Alas he had to move into the room with my other buddy. Management only gave them one key to share amongst the two of them. This did cause some additional inconvenience, but the management was unsympathetic. As I settled into my room, I quickly realized that the air conditioning did not work. The issue - it was programmed to 26 degrees Celsius and from what I was able to determine the AC remote did not work and there was no way to program the AC at source. I made it known to management and the cleaning staff for four days until there was final resolve. Alas I too had to relocate to another room, one that was not as nice as the one I left. The new room had no hot water, no toilet lid, and the toilet would not flush, the bathtub was disgusting…but hey! The AC worked extremely well. During the four days and sleepless nights that I fought to get my faulty AC situation resolved, my friends were having issue with ants. They cam home to their room and found a massive ant infestation. They threw their ant ridden bedding out of their room. They promptly stormed to hotel reception and demanded another room. They were far less diplomatic than I had been in addressing their ant situation than I had been with my AC. Oddly, the Hotel Management seem to infer that the ants came from Canada...say what? As my friends changed rooms, they had to deal with additional frustrations such as no hot water and room key and keys to the safe. After multiple trips back and forth to reception (which was quite a walk) the key situation was resolved. Upon check out, room keys were promptly shut down at 10 am. This created an additional frustration because the safe was non-accessible. I failed to vacate the room by 10 am so my wallet and passport remained locked down in the safe. I cannot begin to tell you the frustrations I had to get Management to re-open the safe for me. Moreso, management wanted to voice their displeasure with me having checked out of my room late. It became obvious for me that they didn’t mind inconvenience me further. There were other frustrations but to wrap up, I need to say something about visiting a Communist Country, one should expect substandard commodities or sparsity of such things as food, alcohol, cups, ice and mix. Oh, I can’t forget toilet paper, if there was some! To sum up...Shame on me, I should have never gone, and I never will again!

Worse ever

Very little food to pick from. Eggs in the morning and pork for both dinner and supper. no milk in the coffee house. If you wanted a beer or drink you must supply your own cup. Pool was disgusting zero chorine when tested. No ice most of time. Many of the return people that were there said they will not return there again. The place was that bad it makes Palma Real look like a 10.

Going down

we have been to kawama 4 times and it is getting worse,no hot water,rain through our walls,no light in bathroom,less towels and not changed everyday,no milk,not a big selection of food,no pina coladas,etc.no hair dryer, no cable most of time.when we got home our onesuitcase had been broken into and 2 bottles of rum and 3 packs of cigarettes gone.not impressed,we have been to cuba 26 times and this is the first.I have talked to hola sun and waiting to get back to me.and the human resourses rep at [... read more] hotel kawama knows.

Club Kawama Hotel

The hotel was very good...as always it is...the staff are amazing very friendly and happy to help any one out...the rooms are clean everyday...the food is good... the beach is awesome...luv going to the same hotel they know me there and I get treated with open arms and friendly hello and welcome back to the hotel until next time...I do excursions too from the hotel and shopping for gifts too.

Club Kawama

The resort staff are so nice! The beach was perfectly kept and beautiful. The rooms were a bit dated, but did the trick. The food could use some work in my opinion. The buffet food was not very flavourful, but the A La Carte restaurant meal was good.

Had a great time

Overall the experience was great. Great food, great staff. The only thing that was frustrating was the 2inches of water in our room the first night. Reception was not interested in helping us change rooms. I took it upon myself to make sure the hallway was dry very couple of hours. I also asked for extra towels to pack against the door to keep water from leaking into the room. I would still go back to the hotel again

The best staff in Cuba

Kawana has the best beach I have ever been to. The hotel is older and dated but has some amazing architecture. We had a room on the ocean. Very comfortable. Due to COVID there were some issues getting some supplies but we made the best of it. The staff go above and beyond to try to make your vacation the best. I will be returning next year for sure. Met some amazing new friends.

Kawama Hotel review

I ll grade by points! Grounds 7 Beach 9 Beach bartender 8 Staff 8 Rooms 5 Food 5.5 Pool 7 Baseball 8 Out of 10 Would recommend if rooms are renovated ! Old and run down! Delayed flight by SunWing!!

GOOD VALUE FOR MONEY

Wendy got us a deal for 14 days at Club Kawama at the amazing price of $1345.00 (all inclusive.) Don't think you can do better at this price, for 2 weeks in the sun, including air from Ottawa. However, there were certainly some things we were not happy with, but not unexpected, at a star resort. I have tabled the pros and cons below: PROS: - (1) The fantastic VARADERO BEACH and ocean; the same at a 3star as a 5star. (2) SWIMMING POOL - just great; it was large, had a walk-in hot tub, shallow [... read more] and deep ends, so I could even do some laps if I felt energetic, also, my partner and I are not agile and really appreciated the large steps plus hand rail used to enter. (3) THE LOBBY BAR FOR CAPPUCCINO - following the dreadful coffee at breakfast (see below), it was such a treat to relax at the lobby bar for our morning cappuccinos. They were just great at any time of the day. (4) SERVICE - generally, the service was good. In particular, Ray and Orlando were always available to lend a helping hand; the waitresses at the lobby bar were professional and always served with a smile. CONS:- (1) FOOD - always a contentious subject. We did not go hungry, but the daily menu at the buffet could not exist without rice and chicken. We should probably forgive them for the lack of variety though as the resort had only recently reopened after Covid. Only one a la carte restaurant was open and served a pleasant change of pasta and pizza. (2) DRINKS - again, there were many items not available due to the pandemic. On our first day, we ordered a rum punch and received rum mixed with seven up. Stick to a cold beer and you would be fine. The wine was drinkable, just. (3) COFFEE - I have given this its separate heading as most of us love our morning fix of caffeine. Why is it that every resort in Cuba seems to be unable to serve decent coffee at the buffet? Trust me, the coffee here at the buffet was like dishwater and virtually undrinkable. (4) ROOMS - they were spacious, but that's about all. Our maid appeared to finish cleaning the bedroom and bathroom in about 5 minutes. We found some small items on the floor under the bed which had been there for weeks. We both suffered from many large insect bites and we wonder if there were bed bugs. Water in the shower was usually luke warm. We did not go to watch TV, but unless you knew Spanish or like watching CNN all the time, you were out of luck. (5) CUBAN GUESTS - because this is a cheap hotel, it seems that local residents are able to visit for 2 or 3 days at a cost of about $10.00 per day. I am happy for them. However, at the time of our stay, there were times when there were many large Cuban families who 'took over' the restaurant and pool area. I recommend that you check the Cuban holiday schedule before booking. (6) COVID 19 SAFETY - every hotel is recovering from the pandemic and it was evident that this was a priority at Kawama. For example, bushes and trees were being planted, outside balconies were being painted and there was much work to do. However, I think that safety procedures have taken second place. A mask mandate was not enforced and there was little evidence of cleaning and disinfecting. IMPORTANT - my partner and I have had the 2 vaccinations plus the booster shot, but we have both tested positive for Covid since our return. My partner started to feel unwell during the second week and I think I caught the virus from her on the last day of our vacation. We visited the on site doctor on our second last day to have our 'negative tests' done. The process took about 5 minutes and cost us US $50.00. We had to return some 6 hours later to receive the signed test confirmations, which must have taken not more than 2 minutes to complete. I must be careful how I phrase this, but let's say that I was surprised that we both received 'negative' confirmations. I will leave it at that. CONCLUSION - if you need to escape for a week or two in the sun and the beach and pool are your only priorities, Club Kawama represents very good value

Good times in cuba

Rooms were clean, resort grounds clean, beach was awesome! Draft beer was strong, lots of food at buffet, snack bar had hamburgers, omelettes, hotdogs, fries. Location is walking distance to the hart of varadaro with markets and restaurants to eat drink from if you get sick of resort food

They're trying...

Let me start by saying I truly believe the staff at the Kawama are trying their very best. Covid seems to have kicked the heck out of them. Truly brutal food...just nothing available, but I don't go on vacation for the food so I got by. My room was nice and maid was great. Weather was great. And that's about it. The Cuban people are suffering and it was glaringly apparent this time around. There is an underlying feeling of resentment from the locals which taints the experience. Let's revie [... read more]w the highlights of this trip: 1) Original booking was put back due to Covid...everyone was very helpful in re-booking 2) I was bumped from my original seat in 5F at the last moment. Ended up in 15F so I survived. 3) Flight good and check in at hotel no problem. 4) I had relatives go the week before me so they asked me to bring Becel, cheese and some snacks. Also salad dressings and some spices. Anything to make the food palatable. 5) The resort was absolutely packed with local tourists who clearly despised us. Not fun. 6) Worse than that where my fellow Canadian regulars. The resort caters so much to these self entitled repeaters that it gets frustrating for everyone else. There is only one a-la-carte restaurant left and they are in it every single night! One of these delightful brethren of mine got vocally offended because we were given HIS table by the window. 7) Some of the local taxi drivers are now openly hostile to us. One of our party speaks spanish and she was greeted by lectures at every turn. She does not want to go back. Now I realize this is out of your control. 8) We had an absolutely terrifying two hour stop on the bus at the airport. No one would give us an explanation as to why we were being detained. Of course your mind starts playing out the worst possible scenarios. Never did get a satisfying explanation other than they had to wait for the guy who takes temperatures. Again, out of your control. 9) Airport boarding....I can't begin to describe. But I got home and the flight was good. 10) I have only touched on the highlights. This was only my second trip to Cuba, both to the Kawama. It felt completely different. And not for the better. I will not be going back. But I can't say it was from a lack of trying on the part of the staff. Sunwing and Tripcentral tried their best as well.

Chill vibes

This is one of the cheapest resorts you can book in Varadero. You get what you pay for and then some here! Chill vibes, beds are comfortable, pool is clean, there’s always entertainment on the go every night. The staff is friendly and helpful.

Resort in need of maintenance

The greatest need for improvement is in the maintenance of the guest rooms. Some of the problems can easily be corrected simply by replacing light bulbs, replacing batteries in T.V. remotes, replacing broken shower heads, replacing used up pillows. Management should deal with mold and rust in the bathrooms as well. Hopefully the beds and furnishings will be replaced as the resort sees more business post COVID. The reception requires more training and organization. The pathways to access the  [... read more]guest rooms are in need of lighting in many areas and many walkways are quite hazardous in the dark. The rooms we experienced wouldn't likely rank over a 1.5 star rating in Mexico, USA or Canada. However the pool area is very good as is the beach area. The restaurants are reasonably good with slightly less than average food. Many of the staff are delightful, but not all. You will have an enjoyable time at the resort while not in your room.

The kitchen Cuban invasion

This review is based on my recent experience at the Club Kawama February 24 - March 6 2022. First of all, I would like to clarify that I am a big fan of Cubans ( the people, the language, the culture, the music and that l come to visit Cuba since 2000 every couple of years, to enjoy the beach and the culture; however during this vacation I had experienced lots of Cubans at Club Kawama that overtook the hotel , specifically the dining facilities. Lines of people waiting for food , taking too  [... read more]much on their plates, waisting food, rudeness in lineups etc The food was scarse, no butter, no cheese, no oil or condiments. The beach and the water made up for the other misery…..