Occidental Arenas Blancas: Excellent Resort

The cleaning and serving staff were great and very helpful. The resort was kept very clean. The washrooms were kept very clean and the common areas were kept in great condition. The cappuccino was was great and the service at the bar was prompt. The food was good and had a good variety. The location close to town was excellent and the beach is the best in the world. Had a great seven weeks.

Palma Real: Must see once

Good for the price. Easy access to town. Food good but cold. Building 1 has been renovated. Not enough chairs at the beech. Lobby bar could be cleaner. This was our third visit. They are in the process of changing the elevator in building 4. The Hotel will be under new management Dec 15/2017

Brisas Del Caribe: Relaxing in Paradise

We had a wonderful week at the Brisas, their service is above and beyond. We were treated like royalty, we had a beautiful ocean view. Our room was always very clean and fun towel art each day. Each day we had eggs over flip and French toast, fresh squeezed orange juice and Spanish coffee in the cafe. The staff at the Brisas works so hard to make you feel welcome and accommodated. They may not be the fanciest of places, it feels more like Home.

Memories Jibacoa: Immaculate resort

Amazing resort. Great food. Very profesional and friendly staff. Immaculatly kept and manicured grounds. Beach is great. Not quite as nice a varadero beaches but great for snokling. the Zen Spa was amazing. Perfect resort for couples. Entertainment was fantastic. We are planning to come back soon.

Barcelo Solymar: Excellent location

One week at the Barceló Solymar in early December 2017. Choose the Barceló hotels because of their location so close to the main street in Varadero. The Solymar was fine but we preferred the Arenas Blancas side where we stayed in April. The biggest difference in the two sister resorts is on the food side, the Solymar's buffet is very poor in comparison to the Arenas Blancas. No cook to order stations at the Solymar for either meal. The Arenas Blancas is also closer to the main road, which [... read more] for us is big as we spend more time in town than on the resort. Room in main building was fine, a bit dated but clean. Beds very uncomfortable. Hot water not always available. Would stay again but probably on the Arenas Blancas side.

Playa Caleta: To many Russians

I love this hotel. It’s always very clean and friendly. I have been a repeat customer there for quite a few years. This past week was out of the ordinary. The hotel has been invaded by Russians and they are very rude pushy and ignorant. My heart goes out to the workers. I’m not sure if I will be going back there due to all of them. The ratio is unbelievable. I have to do some soul searching to see if I will go back.

Hotel Los Cactus: Pleasantly Surprised

We traveled to the former SuperClubs Breezes Varadero, now known as Hotel Los Cactus on November 24th for 1 week vaca. This adults only resort is aged, but very well kept and has incredible gardens through out. It's small size makes it accessible and easy to get from point A to B, and is situated on a spectacular section of Varadero's famous beach! Stayed in "B" Block with a Gardenview Suite, nice size but restricted view of gardens. Decor is dated but no issues with AC, bed or shower. Plenty of [... read more] room and the 2nd room was great for suitcases. Housekeeping was excellent and towels and bedding changed daily. Room was tidy everyday. We found the food quite good and always something tasty at the grill with fish, pork, prawns and beef. Not the biggest selections but we didn't come to resort to just eat. Nice snacks at the beach grille which was our choice more often for quick bite at lunch, pork roast, burgers and dogs. Nothing fancy but filling. Italian ala carte was quite good and well presented, mannered and pleasant wait staff and a nice live music quartet. Beach was beautiful and busy but staff were great in providing chairs and digging in a new umbrella for shade. Reception and lobby bar were very helpful and pleasant, which is usually a guests first impression. Only downside I can say, there no "name brand" rum available anywhere, unless you bought in store, which we did and the 1 choice of beer Cristal was really watered down. I was told liquor and beer selection in past years was better. Would I go back, yes, but I would prefer to go back the Sanctuary at Grand Memories for sure. A way better experience, but cost is more.

Occidental Arenas Blancas: Great staff, Beautiful beaches

This has been the 13th time in almost 20 years that we have stayed at the Arenas Blancas in Varadero, Cuba. The staff have always been very accommodating and friendly. The grounds are brautiful and well maintained. Shopping in the area has grown as it has all across Cuba. The food could use some improvement and the a la carte restaurant that we ate at was not as good as in the years past. However, this trip was a little off season. Usually we go in February. Still, the trip was well worth the [... read more] money and was a very affordable trip. Going back again in the winter.

Hotel Los Cactus: Mixed Feelings

We loved the size of the hotel and the fact that there were plenty of loungers at both the beach and the pool area. Also the umbrellas they provided at the beach were a nice touch! Our room was not so great, but my cousin across the hall had a beautiful room. Food was was so-so.. we have been to Cuba before so we know what to expect. It wasn't always hot, and not much variety. Most of the staff was friendly.

Iberostar Selection Varadero: Amazing resort!!

Visited the last week of November. While the resort may not be new it is very well maintained and impeccable. The staff are warm, friendly and take wonderful care of their guests! The beach is beautiful, the food is delicious!! Cafe star is wonderful! Wish every hotel had one. Excellent coffee! I have been to Cuba many times. This resort is definitely one we will visit again.

Muthu Playa Varadero: A great stay at Playa de Oro!

Our poolview room was spacious and clean, though it had 2 three quarter beds instead of a double. They were willing to switch us to one with a king size bed, but it wasn't a poolview, so we stayed in our original room. And it was great. Our room maid Liansy was very nice. She left us a little note everyday and towel art on our bed...loved that! The front staff were very welcoming and helpful. The food at both the Cuban and The International a la carte restaurants were excellent! The foo [... read more]d at the buffets were great too, but could have been a bit warmer. The omelets in the morning were really good! The buffet staff are very friendly and nice. The pool games were fun and the night entertainment was great, especially the magic show and the aquatic show in the pool. The coffee bar was amazing!..Spanish Coffees especially! Renier and Joel and Yienis were great bartenders! The Sunwing representative Ernesto was great! He was in the lobby everyday and helped us with anything we needed and booked our excursions. The only REAL complaint we would have is the gym. The equipment doesn't work and it needs a major overhaul! It is grungy. It is not a big, bright, cheerful room. Which is too bad because we enjoy working out every morning.. I would definitely recommend this resort. We had an amazing vacation there!

Paradisus Princesa Del Mar: Nice Resort

This resort once was Sandals. We have been there 5 times nad generally enjoy: the beaches, accommodation and service. Cuban people are very nice, but lacking training and experience. Since Melia (50/50 Cuba and Spanish) corporation took over(2-3 years ago) the whole resort is going down. Walkways are dirty and not cleaned. Beaches the same, the dirt is accumulated in one spot and left there with wild dogs running on beach and inside resort. Food is very poor. Restaurants (except Japanese), are  [... read more]3-rd class serving very little food and menus are very limited- poor meat and fish. Arriving we have got vouchers for 500 cup (Cuban peso) exchange is 1.25 Can for 1 peso. Nevertheless voucher's are big scam. You have 4x50 vouchers for special diner, but if you wish to have Lobster you must pay on top $30 Can. cash. Other restaurants practise the same, any better dinner, not accepting vouchers only cash. Vouchers for massage you have to pay on top $40 Can cash, but booking is available in 2 weeks.(WE were 9 days). There are vouchers for "Special drinks" except they do not serve special drinks since they are not available. As it comes to entertainment it is 3-rd class, wasting time to se it. In summary we are disappointed because we remember this resort as first class "Sandals" now should be rated max. 3* never 5 or 4. Even "Sunwing" flight was not on time, dep. and return delayed 1 hr. Resort "Princesa Del Mar) is very nice, and weather was sunny but WE hope that entertainment and food will improve, then WE may go again.

Hotel Bella Costa: Top Of The Line

Even thought they had the worst hurricane in history only 2 months ago this resort was up and running great. There was some construction going on to repair the damage but did not interfere with our vacation. We were told not to expect good food in Cuba but this resort had amazing food, I even gained 10 lbs in a week. The staff was super friendly and helpful. My wife is diabetic and can't drink regular pop so the staff went out of their way to make sure she had diet pop to drink. They upgraded us [... read more] at no cost to a villa and it was beautiful.

Playa Vista Azul: A wonderful holiday at the Ocean Vista Azul

This was our first visit to Cuba. We had a lovely room with a king bed at the Ocean Vista Azul - Varadero. The whole complex was clean. The staff was excellent. Our room attendant Axia was really sweet & did an excellent job. The entertainment by the pool & on the stage was very good to excellent. All the Entertainment directors were well suited to their jobs - especially one lady - Mirther - we really loved her - she is a very good people person!! The Buffet had lots to offer including 3  [... read more]grilling stations - a great variety. Roasted whole turkeys were served several times during our 10 days stay. There are 3 restaurants - however, we found we could not make a reservation, just had to show up at 6pm - we tried Italian restaurant. Their system failed us. They let all the people into the place, about 30, then they took your order, brought a drink, then we had to wait one & one half hours.....we enquired how much longer, but the waitress could not give us an honest answer so we left and we noticed another couple did also. So we continued to enjoy the Buffet for the duration of our holiday. The beaches were great! Weather was hot and sunny.

Hotel Blau Las Morlas Varadero Beach: Wonderful week as usual!

This was my fourth stay at Las Morlas and it was even better this time than the last. Clean, great service and friendly staff. Very good food served in a casual atmosphere. Entertainment was good but could have more music and less Italian silly skits.

Club Kawama: Never again

Kawama Hotel in Cuba needs a huge face lift. The experience is like going to camp. The Cuban people are amazing and all of the staff were very friendly and kind. The food at the resort was very poor. We both came home with very upset stomachs which are still struggling to get back on side. The rooms are very old and dated. We often questioned the cleanliness of the rooms. Last year at the same resort we had no hot water, this year we were lucky as we had tons of hot water. Toilet paper is sparse [... read more] and we luckily brought our own. We tipped the staff but it was hard to get small bills anywhere to tip them with. We will not go back to this resort.

Sanctuary at Grand Memories Varadero: Great vacation!

Stayed here from Nov 28-Dec 3, 2017, we were in building 33 on the 3rd floor. This was a great location very close to the beach and the lobby bar/pool/restaurant. We had a nice king bed which we both found was super comfortable, we slept great all week. The air conditioning worked perfect, we didn’t experience any issues with the toilet (which I was worried about after reading some reviews), and I didn’t see a single bug the entire time I was there. Lisette kept the room super clean ev [... read more]ery day and made sure that we had new water and soft drinks in the mini fridge daily. If you are being picky yes, the walls could have used some new paint and the room looked tired but that doesn’t bother me a bit. Other reviews talk about there not being hot water and I would say that it isn’t like being at home where you can have a super-hot shower but it was warm enough to have a nice shower and the water pressure was great!!! The beach was beautiful and the water warm, it was quite wavy which was fun! Lots of beach chairs available, you don’t have to go early to reserve if you are in the sanctuary, the grand memories side always looked super packed so we were thankful to have our section of the beach! There is someone who sets up your chairs for you and will go and get you drinks throughout the day. I would say that drink service was inconsistent but to walk to the bar and get your own drink is very close so we weren’t worried about that, if he came around we got a drink, if we wanted a drink before he came back again we got up and got one! We were pleasantly surprised with the food! We had breakfast at the restaurant which was made to order eggs, omelets, bacon etc. with a cold buffet of meats, cheese, breads, pastries. Lunches we either ate at Paradiso or at the beach buffet, both had great choices. Sometimes we would have a late afternoon snack at the pool bar (they had fries and burgers, calamari etc. here). Dinners we ate twice at Paradiso, the oriental, the gourmet and once at the main buffet, all were great service and good meals. The best meal of the week was the Cuban lunch, the pork was dynamite so don’t miss that! Your butler is supposed to make all of your dinner reservations, we saw ours the day we checked in and then never again. We called several times but nobody ever answered. So, we just went to the lobby and found a different butler there to make our reservations for us, he was very accommodating and helpful. We loved all of the live music around the resort. There was some kind of live entertainment every night in the bar, one night at dinner there was some violinists, there was live music pretty much everywhere you went! Very enjoyable. The only negative I have would be the check in process. When you arrive, you get off of the bus and are told to wait for someone to bring you to the sanctuary check in. We waited a long time, and people kept getting on carts ahead of us (even though we were first in line with our luggage), in retrospect we should have just walked to the check in area. By the time we got there at least 6-8 couples were ahead of us and there is only one person checking people in. Yes, they give you a nice cool towel and a glass of champagne which was lovely but waiting over an hour in the heat did not seem like a perk at all. It would be much better to check in at the main lobby and then get carted over to the Sanctuary. Overall, we had an excellent trip. It is a relaxing and beautiful place; the staff were first-rate and always trying to ensure you are having a wonderful time. We would return.

Playa Vista Azul: New and clean

Hotel was on a fairly small footprint compared to some, so nothing was too far away. Asked to have room cleaned without chemicals because of allergies and this was done everyday without issue. Our maid Aixa was wonderful. Staff was friendly. No one on the resort seemed to have any upset stomach from the food. Loved the evening entertainment in the lobby. Very clean. My only complaints - could not reserve the a la carte's and the walkways were extremely slippery when wet which was very [... read more] dangerous.

Roc Arenas Doradas: Amazing

Food good.returner week was great.free catamaran ride.could get a chair and umbrella anytime of the day. The beach was perfect....................................................................................... .

Melia Las Americas: Disappointed

Was at the same property two years ago and the food quality has dropped. Other than a few bad meals it’s still pretty good for Cuba but it use to be great! They are doing some renovations and we had an updated bungalow which was nice. The staff are friendly and try very hard. Would go back but they would have to drop the price to reflect the drop in food quality.