Need Improvement...

Resort is not well maintained. A lot of things needs to be replaced. Example: The electricity outlet in the bathroom was broken. The door lock was loose. There as no phone in the bedroom: safety issue....No paper towels or soaps in the bathrooms in the resorts. The Courtesy room is disgusting and has no lights...etc... We bought the Roc Plus option. Not worth it:You have your Beach towel in the room (instead of taking it at the pool...really!!), a bottle of water in the bedroom each day and a b [... read more]ottle of rhum when you leave...they put a mini fridge in the bedroom but there is nothing in it...there is a section at the beach but not enough chairs...we were not able to go in that section for the whole week... The inclusive and Roc Plus DOES NOT included the safety box and the internet. You have to pay for this. There are basically NO activities/entertaining during the day. Only the show at the theater at night. The positive : The beach is beautiful with a lot of shade. It is easy to have a tour of catamaran.

Resort has potential

We had no (very cold in fact!) hot water for 5 days!! Food was absolutely terrible- and cold and we did not have high expectations- having been to Cuba many times. The grounds could be nice with a little TLC- we came back sick wondering if some of that is not because of improper sanitation of dishes due to lAck of hot water. Talked to a few ppl who had been to that resort many times but said they would never return as it had gone badly down hill- soooo disappointed overall

Third time...we love it...

The staff is very friendly and helpful...the food selection is excellent...personally I love fresh vegetables and there are always plenty...the grounds are well tended and the beach is a dream....rooms are clean and comfy...the only drawback is,Overconsumption off alcohol ....since alcohol is free at any time off the day and night,people are abusing the generosity of the Cubans....personally I feel alcohol should not be included in the all inclusive....

Very good hotel

Grounds are very well kept & food was decent for a 3.5 star in Cuba lots of variety.pool & beach we;re excellent. Wait Staff was also very good with excellent service & always friendly greetings.Cons:Staff in general on the Front Desk we;re not very helpful on getting 2 smaller problems with room resolved . Went to front desk 3 times for these items but no luck.This is an area that could use some improvement. Overall very happy with the resort & definitely will return.Kudos to the management.

Nice Resort

Enjoyed our stay at Barlovento, great location, very good service at the bars and dining room. We did not like the Mexican & Fusion restaurants, service was poor and food was cold. Great beach makes up for the small flaws.

Very nice Clean Resort

We thought overall it was very good, the beach and ocean was excellent although the swimming pools were on the cold side. The beds were comfortable but the room itself had an oily smell sometimes, they said it was from the oil refinery and it all depended on which way the wind was blowing. The staff were very friendly and the entertainment was excellent. As for the food, my wife and I did have a problem, but the couple we travelled with did not.

Home away from home

Unlike other Varadero hotels we've stayed at, Roc Barlovento has remained comfortable and consistent over the past four years that we have stayed there. The rooms are always clean, and things usually work (ie toilet, shower, tv, ac). Food choices were a little lackluster this past trip, but there is always something worth eating. I appreciate the quietness, and beauty of the grounds and beach. The staff is usually in a good mood and eager to help. Great value for the money!

Great Beach and Location!

Hotel is small and older, rooms very dated but clean, 2 pools ( not enough shade at pools) but great beach, always enough shade and chairs, 5 min walk to everything....lots of room for improvement but good enough! Lots of older guests, not many young partying....Loved that it was small and intimate, old style Cuba!

Great Intimate Hotel

New ownership leading to good improvements.Rooms are slowly being upgraded, new pool chairs, more ashtrays at the beach, staff are as wonderful as ever. Still need more garbage receptacles around pool areas and lobby. Lobby seating could use new cushions or at least wash the ones already in place. Food could use more variety if products available - take your own condiments. Beach area clean and beautiful. Location is perfect, markets and restaurants within walking distance. Special thanks to Cla [... read more]risbel (housekeeping), Niury (dining room), Yaima (kitchen), Joseph (bar), Raphael (Fusions), Manuel (bar), Jose (bar). Third stay at the Barlovento and will definitely be back and will recommend to family and friends.

Charming and authentic

The staff was very friendly, smiling and helpful. Our chambermaid, Alina made a different towel sculpture everyday and she was very happy to have a conversation, as were all the staff. All staff was bilingual, even trilingual and professional. The grounds were beautiful, well maintained and clean. There is a lot of foliage at this resort, which is one of the reasons we chose it. The beach was perfect and there was even an employee there to make sure we had a lounge chair and he brushed the sa [... read more]nd off before we lied down. The resort cats added that home away from away feeling. An extra charm we weren't expecting. Every night at 9:30 there was an enjoyable & professional dance/music show at the outdoor stage, which is covered by a roof. The room was clean and beds comfortable. The first night we were placed on the same side of the main road, 1 Ave., which was noisy in the night, even with the patio doors closed and the toilet didn't work well. We had no trouble moving to a different room the next day, on the 3rd floor, facing the back (towards the ocean). It was prefect! Some of the public washrooms could have been cleaner. They didn't always smell very good. The buffet was good at first. There was a good selection & we tried everything. But it was always the same thing. There were 2 suppers 'a la carte' included at the 2 different restaurants on the resort. Both offered an appetizer, a choice from 4 main courses and dessert. The Mexican restaurant also had a salad bar. The restaurant 'La Fusion', lacked atmosphere and my meal of shrimp & fish was far too salty. Desserts seemed to have been pre-packaged frozen cakes, puddings and ice cream. Nothing special or original. The location of the resort, within walking distance to the Artists market and downtown made it very practical. We took the little yellow taxi for just $10 pesos to the night hotspots and the Hop-on-Hop off bus finishes it's run just in front. After seeing how some of the other resorts are so far away from the action, I was very happy about this location. All in all it was the perfect resort for us. We were looking for charm and Cuban authenticity and we found it.

Perfect location

This hotel is not new but very well kept. The location is great ,right in the heart of varadero. The bus is right outside. The buffet is always fresh and hot. The staff are excellent and will help with any of your needs. Its adult's only. Nightly shows. The pools are well kept and the beach is wonderful. We enjoyed the Mexican restaurant. You won't be disappointed.

Loved everything

Small friendly clean resort...beautiful beach...staff very friendly...great location...rooms were ok but who goes to stay in there room..air condition worked well and shower great..overall..I love the roc and will be returning

Great low cost resort

The hotel was great, a bit dated but not bad overall. The staff was always polite and friendly. 2 great swimming pools, one a bit more noisy with the DJ speakers close by and the other one is quieter if you want to relax, read etc; just no swim up bars. The beach won my wife and I over with the white sand and turquoise water. You can see your feet as it is so clear. The food was good but some of the same things almost everyday. The town is close by as well as a flea market within walking dis [... read more]tance to pick up Cuban souvenirs. The one thing I did not like about the room was it had 2 single beds rather than a queen or king size bed for a couple. I believe only limited rooms are available with king size beds.

Treatment great

Hotel and pool could use a facelift, grounds are ok. On the positive sides, beach is amazing, staff is very curtious and helpful, can always find something to eat......................................

Disapointed

I’ve been at this hotel many times because the food was always consistently fantastic BUT it has changed drastically ! The buffet was awful . Every meal was overcooked and tasteless . The staff looked unhappy and inconvenienced by the guests .

Not terrible, but not great

Staff at the Lobby Bar are wonderful! - Jamal and Hilda in the morning, Micheal and Joshep (sometimes Jose M) in the afternoon/evening, and Sergio on the overnight - are what make this hotel worth going to. Very friendly, excellent service, remember your order, I don't have enough nice things to say about these specific staff. Front desk staff are fairly friendly, a few not so pleasant but a smile can go a long way. Two of the ladies on the buffet staff were wonderful, we stuck to the same secti [... read more]on so we always had the same two ladies and they both remember what each of us drank but would still ask in case we changed our minds. Food was good, okay selection, just seems slightly repetitive but was not as bad as everyone says it is in Cuba. Maid service needs much improvement. We had a 10 day stay and our bed sheets did not get changed once. Floors were rarely swept so you are always walking on sand if you go to the beach often. If your 'Do Not Disturb' sign doesnt get stolen, they ignore it and come in anyways. Our room was okay, bed was a little springy. Would wake up at least once a night with a spring poking me in the side. Air Conditioner had a drip for most of the stay, although it was tolerable. Balcony door was not level therefore leaving a 1 inch wide by 3 inch tall gap at the bottom of the door causing my boyfriend to get severely attacked by mosquitos on our last 2 nights. Bathroom needs improvement. Door was half glass with no curtain on it, toilet seat was 2-3 inches too small, toilet did not have a handle it was a bottle cap attached to high test fishing line, and our faucet and shower head in the tub had a spot that would spray in the opposite direction when it was on. They do not provide you with regular sized towels, they are slightly oversized hand towels. They do not replenish your bottled water. You can take your empty bottle to the bar and they will refill it for you, or if you go for a walk into town it is cheap to purchase a couple bottles. - If you spend the extra for Roc Plus a couple of the perks are supposed to be water in your room daily, beach towels awaiting upon arrival and larger shower towels, but we heard complaints from a few people that they did not follow through with these things and that it was not worth the extra money. The maintenance throughout the grounds could use some improvement as well. The hotel is in a great location, with a short walk you can go into town and visit the Varadero Street Markets, and with a little bit of a farther walk you can be even farther into town with more shops, restraunts and tourist attractions such as the house of chocolate, house of rum, and house of cigars. If you are not up for the walk, there is a bus stop right outside the hotel where for 5 pesos each you can board and depart the bus as many times in one day as you would like, just keep your ticket. The bus goes from one end of varadero to the other. The beach was gorgeous, sometimes hard to find chairs under the shaded palm leaf huts but we seemed to luck out and find one each time. Maintenance could improve at the beach area. More cigerette butts and plastic cups than I would like to see but not enough to say it was disgusting. Overall, it was not a terrible stay and for our first time in Cuba we enjoyed ourselves very much, but I do not think we would return to this hotel in the future.

Needs work

The resort overall was ok. The bartenders and buffet staff were great. Maids never changed bed sheets, swept floor and disregarded do not disturb sign. Sliding door for balcony wouldnt close so bugs in the room at night were horrible. Rain leaked inside the room as well as the ac. Food was good but very repetitive. Reception staff were quite rude.

Great Hotel

5th trip to Cuba, 2nd stay at the Barlovento. Food was good and plenty for all. Room clean, mattress comfy. Pool area clean except late Friday to Monday as well as when people came in with day passes. Staff amazing - Osmany, Madelin, Deisy, Joel, Joseph, Migel, Reinier, Livan and everyone else. Need to improve monitoring people smoking and drinking in the pool. Put ashtrays of some kind at beach - people putting their cigarette butts in sand for others to step on. More ashtrays and garbage co [... read more]ntainers in and around lobby and pool areas. Staff could be educated to tell guests nicely to pick up their garbage. I don't mind telling people to clean up their mess as this affects everyone. Lovely hotel, will return. Thank you to everyone for a relaxing week (June 10-18). Would rate 3.5 - 4.0 stars.

Awesome resort

I loved everything about my stay the food was good, the staff was helpful and the beer was cold Can’t wait for next time Cuban people are so nice and know how to party I have no complaints at all See you next time

Smallest Resort and Comfy

Everything was Great. Rooms could use an extra dresser Entertainment could be updated a few notches Dancers were very good Games were fun Staff very friendly Food ok passable I had no complaints Maid service great Bar Staff Great No complaints