Muthu Colonial Hotel: So so

Food was good but would be better if there were some changes each day. Room was ok but mattress was really bad. Had a back ache. Receptionists were not much helpful. Wifi should be free. Phones were too expensive.

Punta Peninsula Varadero: Beautiful resort that needs some improvements

The resort is beautiful, we had a suite, it was large and spacious overlooking the beachfront. There is a very large beachfront that spans the length of the resort. Everything is readily accessible which is great with small child. But there were a couple issues: 1) There are no take out snack bars or grills at all and none on the beach. The 2 snack bars are eat-in style - people want take out or grills on the beach! 2) The public washrooms throughout the resort were disgusting - in most washroom [... read more]s half the stalls were broken so there were always line ups, which was very inconvenient because I got sick the entire trip! There were 6 of us travelling and I was the only one that got sick - but really sick, I don't necessarily blame the resort though, you can get traveller's diarrhea anywhere. I did visit the doctor on the resort and he was really good - very helpful and they sent to pick up medication for me. If the resort improved the 2 issues above it would be perfect, the beach is beautiful.

Punta Peninsula Varadero: Decent resort - poor service

This is my second trip to Cuba, and my first time to Varadero. Having never been there, I had assumed that the further you are on the peninsula, the better the beaches - this is wrong. The best beaches were actually closer to Varadero. The food is average, which is to be expected for Cuba. What really soured our experience is the level of service we received, and the way we were treated by the staff. We stayed for 10 days but only managed to get our beach towels changed once. The grounds are lar [... read more]ge, and depending on where you are, the walk can be long. There is a shuttle passing by, but it wasn't very reliable. The cleaning staff was also rude. Overall, it was an average experience, salvaged by the constant out-of-resort activities we were engaged in. I would recommend you look elsewhere.

Punta Peninsula Varadero: Great resort and great experience!

I stayed at this hotel for 7 nights from Jan 1-8, 2015. This hotel is beautiful - it is located towards the east end of the Varadero strip close to the Marina. This means the beach is beautiful but also means you are situated further away from the town of Varadero (although it is still reachable via hop-on hop-off bus or can). The grounds are wide spread with rooms in 3-story buildings. The staff here are friendly and personable - we had a great time getting to know people over the week. The en [... read more]tertainment staff do a great job of trying to engage people, but of course activities are more fun when everyone wants to participate. The food is so so, but it's one of the better hotels in Varadero compared to previous experiences. The nightlife is ok - great entertainment shows and the disco can be great if you bring some people with you! We specifically went to do some salsa dancing and the DJ played salsa for us once we asked about 5 nights during our week. The pool is great and the beach is beautiful - the fun is at the beach in the morning and at the main pool in the afternoon. Rooms are large and clean - our chamber maid did a great job of keeping our room clean and always provided is with an exciting new creature made of towels daily. My only recommendation for this hotel is that you should bring Muskol, with the highest percentage of Deet possible as well as after bite - Mosquitos at night are very apparent and very annoying. It might have been the time of year we travelled, but having these supplies and spraying your legs and arms before going out at night would be helpful! We visited Havana for a day and it was well worth the 2-hour bus ride. Havana is inescapably beautiful, historical and entertaining! Stay away from the tourist traps and try to explore the quieter streets. All-in-all this was a great hotel and while some things are simple, it makes for a great week away. Quick note - if you walk across the street to the marina, you can get free wi-fi!

Aston Costa Verde Beach Resort: Beautiful Beach!

This was our first visit to Cuba, and we were not sure what to expect. The resort more than met our expectations. The rooms while dated were comfortable, the lobby area is very welcoming and a great place to have a cappuccino after dinner. We were warned about the quality of the food and lack of spices, but we were pleasantly surprised! There was a great selection of food and it was very tasty. Loved the omelette and smoothie bars at breakfast. Loved the pool area and spent many hours there. The [... read more] beach is incredible, although a little rocky on the way in, the water is crystal clear and it's absolutely beautiful. We found all staff members to be super friendly and very courteous. We travelled as a family and on arriving found that our rooms were not adjoining but this was cleared up immediately with a call to the front desk. My only advice would be to update the bathrooms as they are looking very tired and not functioning very well.All in all we loved our vacation and will certainly be back!

Punta Peninsula Varadero: mosquito resort!

The place itself is tired but basically ok. The still pond in the middle of it is a very plentiful mosquito hatchery! I was eaten alive even though I wore repellent. The grounds are otherwise nice and great pools but the beach is only ok not excellent as I've seen elsewhere in Cuba. The food was more boring than other places I've been as well but you wouldn't starve. This is definitely not a 4 star hotel. The staff were good and friendly though. I won't go there again.

Punta Peninsula Varadero: Disappointed

This hotel is rated as a 5 star. I would give it a 3.5. Service was horrible. There were no towels. The hotel needs repairs and upgrades. A whole section of lobby tiles suddenly lifted away from the floor. Before check out we were locked our of our room and the wifi we had purchased no longer worked.

Punta Peninsula Varadero: Lovely spot

Hotel room was big and clean and the staff were amazing. The resort is in a good spot, right on the beach and a quick walk across the street to the Marina (good selection of restaurants and some shopping).

Aston Costa Verde Beach Resort: needs more staff.

The grounds are beautiful and very well kept, the garden staff work tirelessly. The hotel is understaffed, it was not at full capacity but what staff there are, are over worked and it shows they are stressed.

Punta Peninsula Varadero: Amazing resort

Beautiful, well accommodated and organize very friendly staff .. We travel with a group of 17 people and at dinner time alway find a place for us to sit together.The entertainment was beautiful my favorite was Michael Jackson night and Magic night..

Punta Peninsula Varadero: Great resort!!

This hotel is very clean!! The rooms are spacious, clean and vibrant! The staff are one of the best!! There was only one restaurant though. They could use a few more as the food gets repetitive! Other than that, I love this resort and I'd highly recommend it to anyone!! I would definitely go there again that's for sure!

Punta Peninsula Varadero: Good Value

The hotel was average and it was a good value for our money. We enjoyed the evening entertainment and the beautiful beaches. If you decide to visit this hotel make sure you brig bug spray, lots of mosquitoes in the evening.

Muthu Colonial Hotel: NEVER AGAIN

beach was okay, food was amazing!!! STAFF WAS HORRID!!!! I travel every year to Cuba and I have NEVER had such bad service!!! We were given keys to the wrong room and entered a room with people in it!!! They ran out of beach towels three days!! Ran out of beer on New Years Day, and fries at the snack bar!!! the Churros were made only once!! If you speak spanish you get far better service which delays the service of others!!

Muthu Colonial Hotel: Nice Family Vacation

Read some negative reviews about this place I went but ended up being pleasantly surprised. Traveled from Dec. 28 to Jan. 4 with 2 adults and 2 kids. Pools were great, beach was great, I found the staff to be friendly and the hotel grounds were nice. The buffet food itself was pretty bad, but the omelettes at breakfast, pasta bar at lunch and a la carte restaurants were all good. The biggest complaint I have would be the rude people who I encountered all over the resort.

Punta Peninsula Varadero: Great resort

Amazing beaches, clean rooms, fantastic entertainment staff that worked all day long with dance lessons on the beach, Aqua aerobics, yoga and volleyball. It's a big hotel, with nice grounds, but never felt over crowded.

Punta Peninsula Varadero: Would not go back

Resort was very disappointing from the minute we arrived. Huge line ups to check in. Rooms not ready till well after 4pm. First room we checked into smelled of mould, no water in the shower, sliding door broken. Moved to another room. Slightly better but still smelly and furniture had stains. No baths or beach towels available for the entire week. Food was pretty bad. Bread was mouldy. Very poor food handling (cook at the grill used same tongue to handle raw and cooked chicken). Everyone was com [... read more]plaining!! Beach was very nice though and weather was great so made up for it.

Punta Peninsula Varadero: average....

I do not typically write reviews, but after this trip figured it was worth it to share our experience. We did not have high expectations, especially after reading reviews and knowing it was cuba. However, after spending what we did (we stayed from dec 27-jan 3 = expensive because of new years), we did expect to at least have a functioning room.....(see below) Immediately upon checking into our room, the toilette was broken, and phone didnt work so we could not call to get it fixed, we waited u [... read more]ntil the morning. The room was dirty. I do not care for modern beautiful hotel rooms, because I do like the culture in the cuban decorations, but this room was dirty. Literally every day we had to go to customer service for things breaking... hot water didn't work, towels NEVER available (they had some shortage of towels so we did not get to have towels for a few days which is difficult when trying to shower after a day at the beach! and forget about getting a clean beach towel...). Our safe broke, our door broke twice, literally every part of the room that was electronic/mechanical kept breaking. That being said, whenever we did have an issue it was promptly addressed (except the towels, which was out of their control). Staff was good, a couple of staff really stood out and made the experiences that much better so we thank them for that. One waitress knew we liked to drink only water during the day, so she would sneak us water bottles everyday after lunch which was great because you only get 1 bottle in your room to share, which includes brushing your teeth with!! The beach is amazing. Lots of seashells, but the softest sand I have ever seen in an ocean out of all of the places I have traveled. Lots of loungers available. The one great thing is no matter where you went (beach or pool), there was always loungers! I have been to resorts in the past where you need to get up early to put your towel down or forget about getting a spot anywhere for the day. so that was really great. We did not partake in any of the day time activities, we stayed on the quiet beach by blocks 18/19 where there was no music and was fantastic there. We also stayed at the smaller pool in the middle by the lighthouse which was also quiet, although no bar there if that is what you are looking for. Apparently the day time entertainment was good if you are looking for that. Alcohol was alcohol, same as any other all inclusive. Didn't have to wait too long to be served, however the group we were with tipped well so I am sure that helped the situation. Food was okay, we're not super picky though. We always found something to eat. The only time we got sick from food was when we ate off the resort. We found the one thing that was terrible was the pizza from the lighthouse, the cheese was horrible. A lot of people did not like the light house, that was the only time we ate there for any meal. We heard their other snacks/meals they offer were horrible so we stuck with the main buffet and our alla cartes. We ate at the fish restaurant one night which was good (is in the lighthouse evening gets changed over), and were supposed to eat at the italian but ended up going out off resort instead. Across the street there is a marina with some shops and a grocery store and cafes it is a great walk, beautiful location! We also rented a scooter to go into varadero - broke down on us and had to pay a taxi to get back. luckily the worker gave us our money back, but we lost out on the 20 peso taxi ride back to get to the hotel. if going into varadero, they offer a hop on hop off bus for 5 pesos which is amazing (if you have ever traveled europe you know that is CHEAP in comparison). We did not take it, because after the scooter breaking down our time was limited so we just taxi'ed because we were meeting up with people. The taxi to downtown is about 20 pesos. Overall, we had a good trip because of good company. We would not go back to this hotel again. We would also not fly can-jet again, as they were an unorganized disaster. They picked us up an hour late to go to the airport, and we did not get through security and everything at the airport until 30 minutes AFTER our flight was supposed to leave. luckily the flight did not leave without us. (and just so you know, the airport is a disaster also - most unorganized mess ever)

Punta Peninsula Varadero: Amazing Vacation!

A group of 18 of us stayed at the Blau Marina for 7 days - including new years eve. My fiancé and I have absolutely no complaints. We enjoyed it 200%! The food was good - it's Cuba. People tend to forget that it's not Canada and they are limited to everything. The resort itself overall was fantastic. Great beaches, the pools were amazing and the staff there have hearts of gold. They are always ready to help you out. We made some great friends during our trip with the staff there and they defini [... read more]tely made our trip a great one. The resort is huge, make sure you check the entire thing out. We missed out on lots of it and only discovered it on our 2nd last day - still worth it though!

Punta Peninsula Varadero: New Years in Varadero

Great resort. Lots of walking (which is required as the food is great). Beautiful rooms and nice amenities. The main pool has a swim-up bar and waterslide. Take the double-decker bus into Varadero for some shopping. Will return!!

Aston Costa Verde Beach Resort: A 3 star at best

I’ll start with the positives…the food in the buffet and a la carte restaurants was acceptable and in a few cases, really quite good. If you upgrade to the PLUS side (recommended !!!) then I think this resort can be rated 3 stars. However, if you get stuck with a room in the standard (older) section you’ll have a 2 star or worse experience. We were in one of those rooms for one night and it was pretty bad. We upgraded to PLUS the next morning and were happier. The room is still very basic [... read more], nothing luxurious - just newer. The upgrade cost is 10 CUC per person, per night. The PLUS section is only a couple of years old. It has a much nicer pool and gives you access to 2 more a la carte restaurants, and a VIP bar which serves better selections of liquor. It’s a bit quieter as well. But if you can’t upgrade, beware- rooms in the older section are badly dated and worn down, have a musty smell, old mattresses and a run down look and feel. Many of the rooms in the older section overlook the entertainment stage with its huge speakers operating at full blast- not just the music at night but also the loud entertainment around the pool area in the day. (Even on the beach it was hard to get away from the loud music) One of the worst things about this place is maintenance and general cleanliness. Things here break and they don’t bother to fix things. Even on the PLUS side, the jacuzzzi at the pool was broken (and no efforts to get it working ) and in our room, certain things were broken as well. In the health club, the shower had only cold water and no shower head, nor soap. There just seems to be no effort or interest in maintaining and keeping the place clean. The beach - the resort is on Playa Pesquero. The beach is clean, but it’s not a long beach – you can walk end to end in 15 minutes or less. There are about 3 resorts on this beach, the Blau being at the far easterly end. There are a lot of rocks in her water in front of most of the resorts, and very few places where you can walk in and avoid them. Overall, The beach is poor compared to Varadero or Cayo Santa Maria standards. So if the beach is important, go there instead. So, if you don’t set your expectations too high and if you get a really good price, and you upgrade to PLUS, this can be an OK experience.