Starfish Jibacoa: Amazing Value!

Because of the price we did not have high expectations except we were hoping for a nice beach and closer proximity to Havana which we were planning on visiting. We were pleasantly surprised. The grounds are amazing. A nice large resort which is a pleasure to stroll through. Our room in the "villa" was large and clean with no musty smell which is common in hotel bathrooms. The buffet building is very nice with a large variety of food. We had fresh fish everyday, and chicken and other meat d [... read more]ishes with a variety of sides. The cafe bar had delicious cappucinos, expressos, etc. We were not disappointed and we hope to return some day.

Hotel Villa Cuba: Restful Vacation

We have stayed at this hotel many time. We enjoy the people and the close proximity to the town. Since it has been taken over by a different group renovations have started and many things have improved. It is not perfect but exactly what we are looking for

Muthu Playa Varadero: Average Cuban resort

Having travelled to Cuba 8 times before, I knew what to expect from the average 4 star resort. This place was at par as far as food and grounds. The beach was fantastic, lots of Sun huts available which was nice. I was disappointed with the towel service and availability of towels in general, for both the room and the beach towels. The staff were not as friendly as I have experienced previously, but I noticed a fair bit of younger college/university students on the resort (due to exams just fini [... read more]shing) so I wondered if they were not receiving many tips. All and all, this resort was decent. We never got sick, we had the normal average Cuban food, and the beach was amazing as always. I would recommend to anyone looking for a trip that was priced right for some good sun and fun! I recommend going to the Beatles Bar, super fun!

Iberostar Origin Laguna Azul: Poor attitude

The resort is in an amazing location. The beach and grounds are great. However, the staff and service are lacking. I had so many bad interactions with staff, It was the rule as opposed to the exception. For example: the phone in our room didn't work at all. I went to the front desk 3 days in a row to get it repaired, each time they put it on a clipboard and said someone would come by to fix it, but nobody ever came. I went back the last time and they sent me to talk to the customer service manag [... read more]er, who made a phone call and said someone would be right up, again, no one ever showed. I went back and was offered breakfast on the beach.. how was this going to fix the phone exactly?? (FYI, The phone never did get repaired) Every difficulty was met with shrugs, by front desk staff, wait staff, bar staff, customer service.. the only consistently good department we dealt with was housekeeping; they were great! My wife's father, who is over 80, was checked into a room that was not cleaned since the last checkout. He slept on top of a dirty bed the first night as the front desk shrugged when he went to get this remedied. We had to go to the Sunwing rep the next day to get the room made up, so they offered an extra night in the a la carte restaurants.. this is how the placate guests with problems.. it's and all inclusive resort; don't offer me more food! As it was, the restaurants were "booked" and we never got the extra night anyway. I was at the small pool and went in to order a drink at about 3:45, ( the pools close at 7 ) and the bartender said to me, Have a beer! I told him I wanted a long Island Iced tea, ( which he had made earlier.) His response? " You're crazy! I'm closed!.. That's service! I had been tipping very well as I worked in the service industry for 20 years, but this obviously made no difference. All in all; I will avoid Iberostar resorts in the future, as there is a serious problem with the staff & management attitude toward guests. Outside the resort, I found the people of Cuba to be friendly and the country is amazing, I'll be back but will avoid this company.

Resonance Blu Varadero: Lovely resort but very large and hard for older folks to get around easily.

The grounds were beautiful and well kept. Lots of dining areas to select different types of food. Not enough transporting vehicles to accommodate the demand. Bathtubs are too deep and the toilets need updating.

Paradisus Princesa Del Mar: Fantastic vacation!

The resort was absolutely gorgeous. Grounds were beautifully maintained by very hard working gardeners. Staff was courteous and helpful, especially Lily at the Royal beach bar and Annaraes at the Royal pool bar! Rooms in the royal section were modern and very clean. Bar fridge was stocked daily. Food at the a la carte restaurants was hit and miss but the buffet had lots of options. Japanese restaurant was a blast! New beach towels were available everyday (not my past experience in Cuba).  [... read more] Wi-Fi was not available in rooms as advertised and was spotty at best in the lobby. Unlimited food, unlimited alcohol, perfect weather, awesome excursions, unbelievable beach... simply can't complain. Will absolutely return here.

Muthu Playa Varadero: Amazing!!

The hotel rooms were not too bad and neither was the food the beach was absolutely incredible! The staff was a little rude especially the front lobby people but overall I had an amazing trip and will be returning!

Resonance Blu Varadero: Awesome Staff

We have just returned from our Third stay at this resort. We stayed for 10 days and this time booked a room close to the main lobby. Our maid , Barbara was fantastic and always had our room spotless and made sure we had clean towels, water everyday. We have seen improvements in some of the areas of the resort, fresh paint. More chairs. Unfortunately we noticed way less staff working in the restaurant buffets. We met some awesome staff that worked really hard in the buffets trying to keep up [... read more] with the large quantities of quests. Dylie which I am not sure if I spelled her name correct and a couple of other sweet ladies who I didn't get their names. Since our stay in 2014 we have also noticed a big change in the food selection. What we had was good but the buffet is split into 3 sections and these were just repeats where as before each one would be different. Only saw pancakes, one morning for breakfast and bacon maybe about half the week. I did love their fresh doughnuts and croissants. We loved to go sit in the lobby in the am after breakfast to just chill and have our cappuccinos. The staff in the lobby bar actually seemed to be more than before and were quick to replace our empty cups with fresh. Wish I had got more names as we had a couple of favorites who as soon as they noticed us would look and say "2 cappuccinos". We loved the quiet pool and the snack restaurant next to the quiet pool was great for lunch. I did make the long trek to the ocean a few different times to swim as I am allergic to the sand flea bites so didn't spend alot of time there but the water was beautiful. Our biggest regret this trip was a couple of large groups of very young loud partiers that took over the lobby every evening and would scream constantly so that if you wanted to sit there you couldn't talk to each other at all. Would love to see a separate quiet area where those who would like to have after dinner drinks quietly they could. I felt bad for the piano player as no one could hear her and also for the families with young children as the lobby was not a good place to be when these young partiers took over in the evening. Arlettys was just a dear from customer service and looked after us so well. We were able to go to the Japanese Restaurant twice and the Italian and both were absolutely delicious also we were given a later checkout being a returning guest. We did love the staff and up until this trip would highly recommend this resort but just don't time it the same time as college students getting out or high school students would be my suggestion.

Paradisus Varadero: Meh

If you are looking for a breathtakingly beautiful ocean and gorgeous beach, then..This is the place! If you are looking for anything else? Like quick service, good food, ..not the place. The room was nice. We stayed in family concierge. But, we were eaten alive by mosquitos. The food was pretty bad. Thank goodness we brought our own peanut butter, granola bars and other snacks! We basically lived off of it and bread. The people were very friendly, but, seemed to expect tips or gifts. We [... read more] brought many gifts like toothpaste, toothbrush, toys, books, nail polish etc.. But, it was received kind of entitled. We waited and waited for the golf cart to pick us up meant times to take us to another part of the resort. Don't bother! Just walk. Jamaica time? That's speedy compared to Cuba time. Not impressed. Will go back to DR next year.

Muthu Playa Varadero: Never go back!

The beach was amazing! But that is about it, the service is horrible! They advertise a swim up bar that they don't serve at, what a waste of space. They have this beautiful fountain in the pool with seats and jets that they don't turn on to save electricity. So the entertainment crew told us, if it wasn't for them my trip would have been a bust!! The food was nothing to write home about but that seems to be the norm for Cuba. Toilet paper was like gold, our flight got postponed so the last day w [... read more]e were expected to be in our rooms the maid did not leave us towels or toilet paper which I understand. So I called the front desk to have someone bring some and it never came! I get that the drinks are all included but you could be standing at the bar for 15 min before you even got acknowledged, poor service if you ask me...little bit of a rant haha Our bed sheets didn't get changed once and the water was so cold when taking a shower you almost didn't want to shower! Bar of soap in the ocean seemed more inviting.Will never go back!

Valentin El Patriarca Varadero: Very clean resort

We just came back from a week at this resort, April 24 to May 1 2017. Over all we were very happy. They need more shade by the pool and at the beach, it gets very hot and for us white Canadians we need to protect ourselves in the shade. The food was good, I was a little surprised there wasnt pool bar service and beach service. Not that it mattered since I needed the excersise to get our drinks. The piano bar musicians were excellent and had everyone dancing. Mikes coffee bar is a nice bonus as  [... read more]well.

Iberostar Origin Laguna Azul: Wouldn't go back

The resort was in need of a lot of repairs. The staff always treated us like an inconvenience, yet were pushy and asking for tips all the time. When we checked in our room had a broken safe, TV, and air-conditioner. When telling the front desk agent she responded "all the rooms are like that" Finally we got one that worked properly. The beach was beautiful. Food was okay.

Starfish Jibacoa: Friendly and relaxing

I hesitate to write this review because I don't want too many people to find out about this place. The physical setting is extremely nice, with clean, well-maintained units spread over a well-groomed campus. The food is ok, the staff are very friendly, the swimming isn't great but the snorkelling is very good. There are a variety of activities, but it's also a great spot to just relax. A lot of guests come back year after year for good reason.

Muthu Playa Varadero: Good resort

The grounds were well kept The pool was clean The beach was beautiful The rooms could use a bit of a face lift but the maid kept it clean The food of course was not the greatest but we did always manage to find something to eat. You don't go to Cuba for the food you go for the beach Always felt safe there They were good to keep us supplied in water they checked us in right away at 11 we did not have to wait until 3 to check in . Check in was seamless and had help to take us to our ro [... read more]om and show us around

Melia Marina Varadero: Well worth it!

A few cons but mostly pros to this resort! First off, the food was better than i expected, with many options at the buffets, and great service from the restaurant staff, always asking if you need a drink. The staff everywhere was friendly, except at the front desk at times. The 24 hour snack bar also had great food and service, with a lot of variety. The maids did a wonderful job in the rooms, and didn't miss a day during our 8 day stay. The beach is a nice 5 minute walk from the resort, which w [... read more]as a little narrow and busy, but the water is beautiful. We went to three a la carte restaurantes: Casa burgette (french) which wasnt great. The food seemed to be the same quality as the buffet food but presented a little better. Next was Don Peperoni (italian) which was excellent! We had chicken, pasta and seafood all of which were delicious. Finally, we went to Bana (Oriental) where they serve a 5 course meal if i remember correctly. All the dishes were very good except the soup, but we left a little hungry as the portions were very small. The pool is where we spent most of our time which was amazing. The bar staff was outstanding. The only other complaints I have are: the wifi has poor connection, I saw no bowling/pool as advertised in the photos, and man at the rent-a-car place made it impossible for us to rent mopeds which we really wanted to do. All in all though great hotel, and would go back!

Iberostar Origin Laguna Azul: Terrible Resort

Worst resort I have ever been to. Food was terrible, service was terrible. Hotel staff not friendly at all. Room maids terrible too. Only 1 out of 4 elevators working to service 4 buildings. Unlit pathways at night very unsafe for walking. Would not recommend this resort to anyone.

Sirenis Tropical Varadero: Great hotel

We really liked this resort but it's is for couples or older people or just people that need a relaxing vaca and great stuff for the kids to do .. Food isn't to bad at this resort compared to other Cuban resorts ..

Resonance Blu Varadero: Memories

The grounds were beautiful. The beach needed a little caring for. Of course, there is no reason why guests have to throw their cigarette butts in the sand. The ocean was wonderful even though there was no point in our using our snorkeling gear. The food was OK. People had told us that you have to bring your own ketchup and peanut butter. There were condiments at Memories so I guess they just were not lucky like us. Too bad that the birds also liked the fruit. Of course this is the dow [... read more]nfall in resorts that have open air restaurants. We went to an Asian restaurant and the food preparation was terrific. The Dinner was great. Our chef did not have too much showmanship but sometimes you win and sometimes you loose. He did some juggling with his utensils, but he kind of missed the egg breaking trick. Still, lots of fun. The dinner was fresh and tasty. House keeping did a good job at caring for our room. We had no problem with mosquitoes in our room, but our friend got bitten badly. The weather was perfect. There is a something special at the Cuban resorts and at no other. There is a courtyard where they have live music in the evenings. With the weather so great, we could sit out and enjoy it. It did rain once and so the electronic equipment had to be removed, but all in all it was a great time. We were told to bring mosquito repellant, but we did not use it once. The nightly entertainment in the theatre was amazing. There was only 1 evening that they used the audience participants for part of the show. I find that I like to see talent from the locals and not competition from the guests. Again, I say, the entertainment showed much talent and hard work. The bad thing about the resort, is the public bathrooms. Not clean at all and no toilette paper. In fact, I had to go to our room for this business, as the pools and restaurant bathrooms were quite disgusting. The lobby was busy, but easy to find servers. There were lots of tables for our group of 10. WE think the resort could use a paint job.

Melia Marina Varadero: Beautiful resort!

Everyone goes to Cuba to enjoy the beach and it was perfect. We spent lots of time at the large pool as well. The resort was very clean and well organized. Even though the resort is very big it was never crowded! Our room was very nice and clean and the staff were very helpful. The buffet was big and offered a large selection and our a la cartes were amazing! Will visit again.

Melia Las Americas: Not great

This hotel was ok. It wasn't bad but it certainly wasn't good. The view was of course stunning. The food was really really bad. We also had to wait hours to get cod mediocre food. We paid American prices to stay here. I am from NYC and am used to exhorbited prices but the service did NOT match. One hour for cold French fries and grilled cheese that was also cooked incorrectly. Front desk staff was the worst I have ever experienced. They were just really taking whoever they wanted first st check  [... read more]in. Reedming qualities were the view beach and the staff other then the front desk. I wouldn't go back here but I would go back to that beach!