It's Cuba!

Spring for the updated bungalows. The food is decent, the pools are kept as clean as chlorine availability allows, and you can use three resorts for the price of one. Beach is beautiful, of course, it is Varadero. The proximity to town is great and it's nice to walk around during the day and possibly go to the nearby bars and clubs at night. Cuba is having issues with everything, so please don't go if you are expecting it to be like Mexico, Dominican, Jamaica, or even like Cuba of 2-3 years ago, [... read more] it is not, nor will it be close as long as their trading partners are at war.

Not good at all

Pools were dirty, food was so bad my husband and I got sick with diarrhea, barely any food only ham and bread sandwiches rooms keys constantly break, no activities nothing to do. And was super expensive Maybe if this place was a lot cheaper it’d be worth the price But this was not the best experience Only good thing is this place was by the town where the food was much better and the beaches.

Awesome resort

Well kept . Maid sevice very good. Staff very nice and helpful. Everyone was very friendly. Alfredo was very attentive to our needs and made us feel at home. Will definitely stay there when i take my next trip to cuba

Awesome resort

Well kept . Maid sevice very good. Staff very nice and helpful. Everyone was very friendly. Alfredo was very attentive to our needs and made us feel at home. Will definitely stay there when i take my next trip to cuba

Not too bad, could be better

Stuff were lovely and very pleasant. We had no running conditioning for one day but it was fixed the next day. We had no water for one day but no issues for the rest of the stay. Toilet would not flush for almost a day and we had a reoccurring problem the next day. Towels were very difficult to obtain. We had four beach towels for the five of us for the entire seven day stay. Mattress was comfortable. Showers had some mild in it. There was a laundry facility emergency and so we also had to conti [... read more]nue to ask for clean bath towels. We were always short on those but the cleaning lady did her best to provide them as soon as they became available. Big swimming pool turned green one day and it took it two days to be able to use again. We had other swimming pools to our disposal. Food was ok but could be better. Repetitive. Had to ask for spoons for ice cream. I did see some roaches on the floor and on the deli meet in the restaurant (on one occasion). The buffet had very few options to drink available for the kids and would often run out of alcohol for grown ups. The bars had alcohol no problem. There was one snack bar available which only had sandwiches but they were very tasty. No body got sick. Again, the stuff were always pleasant. The beach was spectacular. Swimming pools were great. Entertainment was fun but a bit too late for small kids to stay and enjoy (it would start at 9:30).

Barcelo Solomar

To be honest I would never go back or to Cuba...I would spend extra money and go to the Dominican or Costa rica..How Cuba can operate the way they are now is mind boggling worst vacation ever Sorry for being Honest.

Good vacation

Resort was good, bonus was we were allowed to use the Resort nxt door. Food was adequate at the buffet and very good at all 4 A la Carte restaurants. Rooms were clean but basic, staff here were excellent everywhere.

Bad experience

Hotel is not what it used to be. Under staff food is worse no working ac or hot water in our room. They were uder stocked of juices alcohol and food. I would never go back there again unfortunately because i do love cuba.

Excellent Staff!

I enjoyed my time at this resort and felt nothing but welcomed by the staff who were extremely courteous, friendly and a joy to deal with. People have complained about the food but given the situation within Cuba, I had nothing to complain about in that regards. We had a BBQ lunch every day at the Beach Bar and it was great. Dinner at the restaurants we went to were equally as good - was the pizza like the pizza I normally eat at home - no, but I didn't expect it to either. I was in Cuba for the [... read more] beach and the sun which did not disappoint. Overall I liked this resort mainly because of the staff which made my first time in Cuba very memorable.

Disappointed

Varadero Cuba is my favourite place in the whole world. This resort was made up of 3 different hotels and I paid extra for a Suite Bungalow at Barcelo Solymar. We had no A/C for the first 4 nights when we were finally moved to a new unit. Supplies were hit and miss, and the staff did little to keep us informed. I will not stay there again.

Great resort

The hotel has a lot to offer and grounds are very well maintained. All the staff right from the front desk to the gardeners are always pleasant. Spent a week in a bungalow and was not disappointed at all. The location is a few minute walk to the boulevard and a ten minute walk to the best piñcolada bar!!!

Great Trip...Awesome Resort

It was a 4 Day, Girls Trip to Barcelo Solymar, Cuba. However, half of this resort was under renovations. We made used of its Sister Hotel, Occidental Arenas Blancs. We had everything we needed between these two hotels. This trip was very exciting, since the hotels were situated across the street from Downtown, Cuba, where, the Famous Calle 62, still is....Live Cuban Music and Dancing. The Havana Club is, still just down the street from Calle 62. There was Disco Music for Dancing, from 11 p [... read more]m to 3 am. Also, the Famous Beatles Bar, was also in this Downtown Area. It has nightly a vast selection of Live Music from 8 pm, free of charge. The location of Barcelo Solymar was perfect in every way. We stayed at the beautiful bungalows....and the food was Cuban Style. Since we had a choice of two hotels, to be entertained, to eat and to explore, I feel this is the best choice for Downtown Varadero Hotels, which met our needs in everyway.

Very bad

The main Hotel it's closed the other room they were given to us are worse the footage worse the food is bad p a process the ticket because of the main Hotel renovated but that was close ,?????????????¿

Past its Peak

I've stayed at Barcelo Mexico in the past, which is why I chose this resort over the others. The beach is amazing - white sand, and the water is clear and pretty calm. Most of the shore didn't have rough rocks/boulders like I've experienced in the past, so it was pleasant entering and exiting the ocean. the boardwalk to the ocean is falling apart. The location is great. You are able to use the facilities of the resort next door. If you walk through the other resort's lobby, downtown Vara [... read more]dero is a 2-5 minute walk. Not too far from the airport, so the bus ride is pretty short. When we did the catamaran trip to Cayo Blanco the bus ride was only 5-10 minutes. The spa inside the resort was closed. I'm not sure if it is permanent or because they had a huge leak. The leak was in front of where the gym is located. The gym is dingy and humid. I did not see anyone use it during my stay. The resort looked a bit rundown in general. The decorative fountains are turned off. Make sure you bring any toiletries and clothes you may need. I have more appreciation for how accessible basic things are here in Canada. The resort has a couple tiny stores that probably won't have what you need. The only sunscreen they had was 50ml for $20 CAD. My boyfriend lost his sunglasses and couldn't find a single pair in Varadero (finally found some at the airport) The resort does host games like bingo, bowling, and mini put a couple times a day. There is a schedule on the wall in the resort. Always a bottle of Havana Club for the winner. The bar kept running out of mint, so they couldn't always make mojitos. They don't have the stuff available for Mimosas either. There was no bar in the pool - technically the rules on the wall state no drinks even allowed in the pool. The pools are very shallow and there is barely any shade. There are no longer any canopies for the lounge chairs. The structures are still there but there are no tops. For a pool with some depth you have to go over the other resort. After spending time there, the photos I see on tripadvisor must be from when they first opened because the buildings are no longer colourful as shown. Also, the pool by the lobby looks way larger in the photos but they've definitely reduced the size. The ceiling in the bathroom of the room leaked and when we first arrived there was no hot water which took a day to fix. The room itself it pretty basic but the mini fridge is only stocked with water. No sodas, tea, or coffee... despite there being a coffee machine available. Half the outlets didn't work. I had to use the outlet beside the bed for my flatiron, which was annoying because there was no mirror there. The pillows are basically two body polyester pillows so I found it awkward with two people trying to use the same pillows. The food is terrible. Often the same food for lunch and dinner. Either very bland or too much vinegar and often over cooked. Seen a roach crawling on the wall a couple times in the cooking area. I ate very little. There were only three a la carte options - Italian, Cuban, and ex-seafood. It's ex-seafood because the restaurant use to be a seafood place but it isn't anymore. Not sure what they served there because we didn't choose it. I found the servers either were awesome or a little rude. A couple times we sat down, ate, and left without the server ever coming over to even say hi. However, the good servers are great. Once we figured out who were the awesome ones we pretty much always sat in their areas so are experience with servers improved as our time there passed. Overall, I didn't enjoy the experience and I was ready to go home half way through the vacation - which I've never felt as such on a vacation before.

Terrible

everyone in the hotel knew about my allergy to shellfish and a week ago in this hotel at the italian restaurant (snack bar) I had an allergy and ended up in the hospital because they did cross contamination, the hotel food was horrible, you can't eat any food outside from the snack bar and you have to be dry and eat your food sitting in the restaurant you can't take the food out they only have chicken sandwich most of the time they often put chlorine in the pool at 10am when people are in the po [... read more]ol , at night the hotel is very dark it has very little light , the rooms have ants , the hot water takes time to arrive , my safe did not work , I do not recommend this hotel and less to people with allergies

Basic resort but may be worth a good deal.

I have been to varadero many times in my life. I have experienced many resorts from memories caribe to Melia continental. This resort is fairly basic compared to the other 2 mentioned. The bad, the pool at barcello has very limited shade with no swim up bar. My room flooded with the rain, but it was not a huge issue as I didn’t have anything on the ground. There was supposed to be 3 resorts included with your stay, but one of them is closed. The map is very confusing and hard to follow. I  [... read more]did not find things until later in my stay. The food was severely lacking which was expected for Cuba. Be warned, It was a lot worse than normal. Cucumbers were rare and cabbage, carrots, and potatoes were the only non meat items. Bananas did not exist and only local fruit. The 24 hour restaurant only serves ham sandwiches and maybe an unappetizing hamburger. They did not have many activities besides beach volleyball. Not even a net in the pool. The good. The stay does get inclusion to the occidental. The pool there is better and it is livelier. The grounds were immaculate with hedges and gardens everywhere. The dining room was very pretty and the bars were plenty. The beach is a very short walk over protected forest and is stunning. This is an amazing resort for a basic resort. It is dated and requires some renovations. Recommendations For those that just want the beach and some sun, this is a great place. For those that want a spa, activities, shopping, or just a bit of fluff, I would search elsewhere. I enjoyed my stay as I just wanted to sleep on the beach.

Wouldn't go back!

The rooms had bugs! Water leaked from the ceiling. You only get 1 bottle of water a day. Limited booze and food sucked. Beach is beautiful and people and staff are friendly but definitely not going back. Entertainment consists of bingo...

Great resort

The property is well maintained, staffs are really really friendly and helpful. Food was not that great but given the countries overall situation it was more than acceptable. The resort is only walking distance from the entertainment area/downtown.

Will NOT book again AVOIDE AVOIDE AVOIDE!!!!!

Having been to Cuba over 9 times I must say this was by far the worst experience. Starting with the check-in, upon walking to the room the safe was completely broken and we had to go back and forth to the lobby and waited over 2 hours for it to get fixed causing us to miss dinner ( what a start). Woke up for breakfast super hungry since we had not eaten all night but the food was absolutely not fit to be eaten. That trend continued the whole week, the buffet is the same every single day weather  [... read more]you are having breakfast, lunch or dinner. The a la carte restaurant ( only 3 ) were serving the same food as the buffet but even worst. Italian a la carte did not even serve pasta and served the same pizza you found in the buffet again not at all fit to be eaten. Folks there is 1 and I repeat 1 salt shaker in the whole resort! They would pass it around the tables if you asked for salt like whaaat!!! Imagine going to an all inclusive to be forced to eat out every day what is even the point??? Now to the service, you would find the staff all bundled up at a bar chit chatting and on their phones while they serve you and not even make eye contact! Half the time they did not even have simple drinks. They constantly ask you for money and I am not talking about tipping just out of nowhere they come to you asking for money and clothes like where am I?? I understand its a third world country but the staff asking me for money while I am walking to go to my room? Harassing me for clothes while I am lying at the pool??? Room service, the lady came to our room twice in 7 days, we had to keep the same towels because there was not enough in the resort?? At least they didn't pass the towels around like the salt shaker ( at least I hope). Wifi is a disaster it will disconnect and reconnect at will and front reception will just tell you ''ahh not today sorry'' . Made us check out at 12 when flight was leaving at 8 knowing that resort had a 20% occupancy so why make us leave the room so early have a little decency com-on. I was sick for 3 days from the food and lack of hygiene. Everything in the resort is overpriced and you constantly feel like they are trying to rip you off. We had staff in the resort offering us drugs knowing it is completely illegal in Cuba and a criminal offence to do so ( felt like a plot to trick us). You would see locals during the day with no bracelet having food and drinks but would suddenly disappear at night. All in all DO NOT I repeat DO NOT book this place I will be making a formal complaint against the resort and keep in mind this is my 9th time in Cuba and it is the first time I am even taking the time to write a review because I feel it is so important to save my fellow travellers from having to go through this misery again.

Barcelo Solymar

The people at the hotel are lovely and helpful. The A la carte restaurants were great. I would recommend for all meals as the buffet was lacking variety. Mixed drinks were not great. Beer was good. The coffee bars had good coffee selection of hot drinks. The hotel is becoming dated and worn. There are a number of things that need fixing such as sidewalks, electrical, benches. The beach is stunning! The area is close to downtown which is why I chose this hotel. The main strip has been built [... read more] up with a variety of new restaurants and night clubs. The Beatles bar was disappointing as they did not serve beer or wine only cocktails that I did not enjoy.