Iberostar Origin Laguna Azul: Over crowded and tired hotel

This is my second time traveling to the Iberostar Laguna Azul and it will be my last. The resort was completely booked when we stayed mid April, and it felt a zoo. The staff at the resort were tired and it showed In the service they provided. I felt bad asking them for a drink or a coffee so I often would go without. that's no way to spend a vacation...especially after spending good money to go. The food at the resort was awful.... Yes I understand it's Cuba and I didn't go there for the food bu [... read more]t it became sickening to eat after the 3rd day, as the food at the buffet never changed. At the end of the trip I just stopped eating because I had no appetite for anything. If you want my advice, just save your money and don't go to Cuba at all. After the first few days on the trip, We ended up having to go to a hospital outside of varadero and it was an absolute nightmare. I could never return to Cuba after experiencing the unsanitary conditions, irresponsible doctors and lack of medical equipment necessary for even basic healthcare. Do your research....it's not worth it.

Palma Real: fun stay at palma real

once again i had a great stay at palma real in varadeo. the staff is amazing and always helpful the beach is fabulous and always have great weather in april. took a while to get hot water in the room but hey this is a 3 star in cuba! i could always find something to eat at the buffet that suited me. the grounds are always kept up and the resort location is second to none. if you want a fun stay at a good price then this is the place for you!

Muthu Playa Varadero: good people

The hotel needs some maintenance, beds need to be upgraded, but overall its well kept for the age of the building! I like the way the grass and trees are well kept and the staff seam to be on top of that well,

Iberostar Origin Playa Alameda: Good Holiday with some hiccups

This hotel was very clean and well kept. Food was just good. Rooms were clean however our room had no bathroom door and the balcony door didn't lock- we didn't complain, just adjusted to these issues. Beach towels are in your room when you check in however it wasn't until day 7 of the trip that fresh beach towels were available at the pool towel hut. Beach was small but enough room to accommodate the beach chairs. With the exception of the entertainment staff, the rest of the staff was ver [... read more]y unfriendly (contrary to what I had read on most reviews). The pool bar staff were extremely unfriendly. It got to the point that it was uncomfortable to go to the bar. Buffet staff did their jobs and didn't go over board to be nice. Not sure if this was due to the fact that when we had our money changed over they gave us all big bills, did not have small bills to give us... therefore it wasn't until around day 3 of the trip that we were able to finally change big bills for small (for tipping). At that point I think maybe we were labelled as the non tippers - --so when you finally get money and tip and still you are still treated rudely, well why bother tipping ?? There is a large kids pool but most kids end up in the deeper part of the pool. There were no daytime pool entertainment activities until around 3pm. The shows they had at the pool were very entertaining. This hotel had a lot of young families and people over 70. Didn't know this before booking, somehow that missed the reviews. There didn't seem to be many middle aged people. So overall, we had a good holiday because we made the best of it, but this is the last visit.

Palma Real: Great price not really what we expected.

Rooms were not really what we were expected. There were marks all over the walls that should be painted over. Hot water was a on and off thing but I heard problems with this at other hotels. We were there for two weeks and after we knew were everything was we got used to it. I am more of a wine and beer drinker and some bars didn't sell beer and just hard stuff but when you get to know this you adapted. Beach was great but sometimes hard to get chairs or places with shade but you adapt to t [... read more]hat also. We prob won't be back but you never know great prices are sometimes hard to pass. Pool was great and always chairs so sometimes the good things outway the bad ones. Always seem to be lineups and you have to wait but hey you are on vacation. There is entertainment in the lounge every evening which was nice but always the same ones playing. Anyway wouldn't advise anyone not to go but don't pay big dollars.

Playa Vista Azul: Best Resort In Varadero

This hotel is amazing. It was my third time visiting, and it just continues to get better. The staff are amazing, the entertainment team are very friendly and make everyday amazing. I would highly recommend this hotel to anyone, you will not be disappointed.

Playa Caleta: You get what you pay for

This resort is perfect size but has being neglected for some time, swim up bar not open , elevators next to not working , food is a 3 out of 10. No blended drinks,Maid service great if all you want if your bed made . Overall for Cuba resort;3 star falling to 2 star if improvements aren't made soon .

Roc Barlovento: Location is the reason to stay at Barlovento

This was my 3rd time staying at Barlovento. I like to stay in this area of Varadero. You are able to walk into the centre easily as well as cross the bridge and grab a taxi to other areas of Cuba. Our Cuban friends can easily visit us on the public beach beside the resort. There are good restaurants nearby and the canal to wander along. To me this makes staying at the Barlovento a good choice. The resort has been updating things. The buffet has made some welcome changes and I did notice [... read more] an improvement. New chairs and shade shelters around the pool are nice. The A la Carte reservations are waiting for you when you arrive. I changed our times and the number of guests easily by visiting the Customer Service desk in the lobby. The resort keeps the same staff year after year. I was really happy to see so many familiar faces. Many of the rooms have been renovated. Unfortunately, we did not get a renovated room. The bed was a back killer and the pillow on the nasty side. Our toilet kept running unless you jiggled the lever...just so, I often took off the tank lid and manipulated the flapper myself. The air conditioner dripped water for a few days. Room cleaning was hit or miss. Only one bottle of water per week. Only one small bar of soap per week and the body wash and shampoo reservoirs were not refilled when they were emptied. One day our full garbage can wasn't emptied. We did tip and leave gifts for the maid, so can only assume that some of the issues were hotel policy. The bar and wait staff were great once they got to know you, but the first day or so it was hard to get their attention. I would probably return to Barlovento because of its location. It is a nice compact resort on a lovely beach, walking distance to everything.

Sirenis Tropical Varadero: Take me back again!

Loved the lobby bar and Spanish coffers, one evenin their was a singer in the lounge and she was spectacular. Food was good and rooms were fair. Would definately vacation at the Naviti again. Front desk service needs to be improved and we had a few glitches (safe and toilet issues) but overall a grear experience. Twyla Harvey

Iberostar Origin Laguna Azul: Horrible Experience

Had a horrible experience at this resort. Staff were not nice at all. The only person we liked was the ice cream girl. Medical team sucked. Worst resort I have ever been to. Will never go back here, or to Cuba!

Resonance Blu Varadero: Second time and the last time.

I was here 3 years ago and nothing has changed. But the price. I didn't have an issue with the food. I ate mainly at the foood stations. The bed wasn't t an issue. The staff were great. No one was bothering me for trips. I left my housekeeper something everyday. There doesn't seem to have any money invested into the resort. Some lights in the staircases were out or missing all together. Som psthjways were porphyry light. I paid for the Diamond Club upgrade and was given everything I sa [... read more]id I would get. But the extra i paid this year, i don think it was worth it.

Iberostar Origin Laguna Azul: Not the vacation we were hoping for

The hotel grounds are ok but I have been to cuba 12 times and this is the first 5 star and I saw nothing that made this resort any better than a 4 star resort. The food was horrible. All 12 of us got sick at some point on the trip with diarrhea and it lasted several days. The hotel was completely booked while we were there so that made for extremely long line ups for drinks and food. There was always a fight for shady seats by the pool. We were definitely disappointed with our choice in reso [... read more]rt this year and no one from our group of 12 will be returning to this resort or even to cuba in the future.

Starfish Jibacoa: Pleasantly surprised!!

Great hotel!! Very surprised at how much better I found this place when compared to 5 star resorts in Mexico and Bahamas. The beach is huge and clean! Food is incredible, fresh fish all the time! Highly recommend.

Iberostar Origin Playa Alameda: Very average resort 3 star resort with relatively friendly staff

Our first all inclusive experience at Iberostar Playa Alameda was as follows: THE GOOD PART: 1. The weather was not hot and breezy, good for surfing not for swimming though 2. The beach and the ocean were nice although a bit wavy but kids enjoyed it 3. Reasonable sector manager and the most of the staff to negotiate some unpleasant experience. 4. There are some nice little shows to watch (We liked singers and acrobats). THE BAD PART: 1. After check-in at 3 a.m. we were pl [... read more]aced in a ground-floor room at Building No.12. Room wasn't clean, smelled of musk and mold and beds smelled terrible. My wife has allergy to mold so It took us 12 hours to be moved to Building No.16. The room was more or less clean although towels smelled like shit. After tipping our cleaning lady we have got them replaced. 2. Building No.14 is being renovated right now and you will enjoy a lot of noise, worker's talks, etc. along with ocean breeze. 2. Double beds are very small and uncomfortable. Consider it as a king bed cut into two parts. My god's feeling that double bed at Super8 is way bigger. We were finally extremely lucky to get extra cot for free and use coach for our youngest. 3. Beer, water and pop supplies (2 beer,2 pop and bottle of water) for the room are delivered every other day, well, if you tip you get more frequent schedule. But, that is what we have paid for, right? 4. Not sure who does the laundry for this resort. We were extremely lucky to get our bedding and towels (after tipping, of course) not smelling terrible. 5. If you want to enjoy a La Carte restaurant(s), make sure you prepare yourself for the small portion of food from the same breakfast buffet on a big plate and, I forgot to mention, that if you don't want to pick something from the wine card(not included in your package) you will get a complementary glass of wine from the same buffet(Damn, I thought Naked Grape was the worst I have ever tried) 6. The variety of food was as a variety available food offered but sometimes it was a difficult to choice to make because we wasn't sure about freshness. But at the end of the day, we kept our first aid pills in place (sorry, safe) being ready to any unexpected situation. All the fruits were green, except papaya, may be? We have tried fruits outside hotel and it tasted amazing(really?) There was one day when the food was good(Saturday, I guess?) but that was the day when the staff was collecting the surveys about quality of food and service. 7. The last point would be the location of the hotel. It is far from Varadero. You can take a double bus, of course, but next time we will stay in, say, Barceló Solimar just because its in walking distance or, may be, just for comparison sake? Overall, it is ok for the first time and I would rate it close to 3 star

Melia Marina Varadero: Clean, modern, resort

View of the marina was really awesome and an added bonus. The hotel is very clean and modern by Cuban standards. Food was average. The French a la carte was fantastic. Other a la cartes very average. The buffet was quite good with lots of variety. Hotel grounds were immaculate. Pool area was very clean and spacious. No issues getting pool chaises or beach chaises. Beach area is very narrow but nice sandy beach. Beautiful beach like all Cuban beaches. Service was slow at resort. Half  [... read more]way through our stay we heard another hotel overbooked and they were sent to our hotel. From that point on there were lineups for buffet restaurant at all times and to get drinks. Lobby was spacious. Maid service was the best we've ever had in Cuba and we've been 5 other times to different areas and resorts in Cuba. Overall a nice resort but not a 5 star.

Grand Memories Varadero: Big time== mixed feelings

I visited Grand Memories from the 08 Apr to the 15th Apr'17. After we got through all the congestion in the main Lobby we checked in at the Diamond club desk. Rooms were not ready as our flight was early. We did a tour around then went for lunch in the main dining area. This area was also very crowded and noisy with people trying to get their meal. This is a large as well as and old resort. The facility is in bad need of a face lift, repairs and a good cleaning. When we got our rooms later in t [... read more]he pm part of our party had to request a different room as theirs smelt like sewer. My room did not smell bad but the dresser doors were damaged, the toilet was not secure to the floor and the door was just plain dirty. The swimming pools were not maintained very well and the standing water in the decorative water ways around the grounds were very dirty. I feel that I payed the Diamond Club price but I did not see what the advantage was for this. I payed ($1565.00) for my week which was far too much. On a positive note we had a great little maid that looked after us and we fresh linens to use each day, the la a carte meals were good, the entertainment was fair and the weather was beautiful.

Paradisus Varadero: Royal service - a little disappointing.

As this was our second trip to Paradisus, royal service, our expectations were that it would be similar to our previous trip 6 years ago. We were transported by bus and dropped at the family concierge building where there was no one to help or advise us where to go. Eventually someone took us to the royal service area, they took our passports and left us just sit there for almost an hour. When I enquired about a room they said come back a couple of hours later but it still was not ready and t [... read more]hey didn't seem helpful at all. When paying for royal service I would expect a room to be ready. There were no premium drinks in the room, just 2 cans of beer and very limited premium beer or wine in the bars. Beautifully built place but no maintenance, tiles missing from the bottom of the pool, jacuzzis not working, overall a little run down. As always, the staff were the saviour of this hotel. Amazing dining and bar staff in the royal service area. Could not have been happier with their service. Beautiful beach, amazing water, perfect temperature. Enjoyed the vacation, but feel we didn't get what we paid for.

Starfish Cuatro Palmas: Great place , highly recommend !

This Cuban trip was our first time with my Fiancé and we're very satisfied. The staffs, the service, the food, the management, the bar so everything was perfect. The beach and pool was amazing and who never been at Carabbian island before pls do not force the tanning on sun the first day if you're not used to it, stay on the shade even if you use the best oil or sun cream.We spent 7days at this hotel and I never complained. Several individuals are do not like the dishes, may because the spices  [... read more]are different but we loved that as well. Every day was fresh and variable food and salad at the Buffet. We also tried the A la carte ones have two option Cuban or Italian. They soup is hole different as ours but eatable. If Someone want more high quality service or fancy place this place is not yours.The Rooms have always clean and our room has air conditioners. Only thing we had disappointed the Travel agent who did not ask about the booking of seat on Sunwing Airline.We had to sat far each other twice ,not together.I thought it's obvious ... In conclusion, we had an Amazing Trip at This lovely place and I highly recommend everyone. And one more thing do not forget give tips to the Staffs!

Roc Arenas Doradas: Issues this year sadly.

We are return customers, but I should say I was a little disappointed this year. We had a few complaints where we did call the front desk to have the issues dealt with, smoke alarm going off, not enough towels for the number of people in the room and additionally a large infestation of some type of wing shedding mosquito that took over our bathroom on the last two days of our stay, and sadly no one even came to check out this more serious problems. We killed a dozen or more bugs our second last [... read more] day and on our last day, when we awakened, the bathroom was covered, counter, toilet paper, towels, our travel toiletry bags, everything in that room. We had to immediately remove all items from that room and take them outside to try to clean them. We closed the door and tried to get our things packed and away from that area. The infestation still had not been addressed when we checked out.. I have recommended the resort in the past, but I wouldn't recommended it based on out most recent visit. I do love the staff!

Melia Peninsula Varadero: Hotel with Great Potential

This hotel is not a 4.5* hotel as rated in the travel magazines. It is closer to 3/3.5*. However it has great potential to be a 5* with some simple improvements. The location is great, on the beach, and away from high density traffic. The buildings are in good shape with minor repairs/painting needed. The grounds are maintained and clean but there is room for improvement. They could do a better job with the entrance and lobby areas. Filling in the empty pool areas with flowering plants would gr [... read more]eatly improve the image. Signage around the compound is poor and in several areas the outdoor lights did no work. Our room was large but lacked some basic amenities, e.g., no coffee maker, need an indoor fan rather than running the AC all the time, mini bar poorly stocked, a luggage stool would be helpful, mattresses are old and uncomfortable, the room is dark once the curtains are pulled. Food in general was good but could do with more vegetarian/healthy choices, e.g., no whole wheat/multi grain breads, no hot cereals, vegetables over cooked and mostly in oil. Labeling of the cooked dishes would go a long way to help improve the selection process and thereby reduce the wait times. Service at times were sub-par even after tipping. Unfortunately workers seem to expect a tip for doing the normal jobs. It took 4 days and multiple complaints to get the television fixed in our room. We had to make multiple requests for upgraded services we paid for, e.g., water was not delivered daily, took 3 days to get our robes, etc. Definitely need more servers/waiters in the buffet restaurant. Table are not cleared timely resulting in high wait times, long delays getting coffee refills. Entertainment was excellent for both adults and children. Lots of variety and fun things to do. The 3 tours we took were very good. The guides were excellent, spoke good English and were very knowledgeable. The one negative comment - the buses were always late for the start of the tour. Overall we had a very good time and met some very nice people. The staff were courteous and generally helpful. We felt very safe at this facility.