Sol Palmeras: Beautiful Beach

Beautiful beach, lovely well-kept clean grounds, clean rooms. I did not like the food, but I didn't travel south for the food. I would have liked an outdoor space for meals and snacks. Especially for breakfast when it isn't too hot yet.

Melia Varadero: Melia Varadero

The resort was great with the exception of the food. I would suggest upgrading to the upper levels in order to eat at the a la cartes every night. The beach was beautiful and weather was great the entire time.

Paradisus Princesa Del Mar: Great beach and nice people

If you're looking for a place to relax, this is it. Beautiful beaches, nice pool and friendly staff. The resort was clean and well kept, as were the rooms. The drinks could have been better--no slushy type drinks available.

Gran Caribe Sun Beach: Good Job....But...

We had a great time. Our 10th trip to Cuba...first time at Sun Beach. So...our expectations are just that - we will have a great time. Lots of good to say about Sun Beach...the location is excellent (proximity to the beach, the on & off bus, walking distance to all downtown Veradero)....roomy restaurant and reception area.....lovely clean pool.....spacious room and tiled bath (Room 724)...clean and comfortable.....and access to 3 bars. The food was tasty with good variety. When hot food t [... read more]rays were empty one had to be patient for others to be brought out. Likewise for plates and cutlery. There were no teaspoons - glad I had brought some along! Some staff were excellent - others looked right through us. The bar in the reception area (coffee here too) had line ups 8-10 long because there was only one person working it. Even if I only wanted water, he/she could serve only one person at a time, ignoring everyone else while coffee dripped. I guess multitasking is not a Cuban word. The female working the pool bar (only place to get beer from 10am to 6) came across as rude. She should try to be subtle about her gum chewing - she was like a cow, chewing its cud. The restaurant could use a maitre'd to keep the waiters on their toes and to enforce the "no barefeet, no shirtless" rules. Tourists could use a lesson on being appropriately dressed. The signs are there but no one to enforce. Evening entertainment was performed by some hard-working talented young people. The male singer has an excellent voice (missed the magic show) but there was little variety. We saw the same performers three of the three nights we attended. If you have mobility issues then this is not the hotel for you. The elevator was "iffy". It worked for about 4 of our 8 days there. There are 8 floors and no rooms on the 1st floor. (102 steps to the 7th floor) We would go back - always looking for new cardio opportunities, ate more than we should have, the cervasa was cold and abundant and the 3 s's were present - sea, sand and sun - all warm and comfortable. The price was right too.

Hotel Bella Costa: Always great

This was our seventh year going to this resort and as always it was great. The front counter staff is very helpful , the rooms are cleaned every day. You can always find something to eat and the beach is just fabulous. Live entertainment every night there is always something to do on or off the resort. I can hardly wait to go back next year. Most of the dinning staff remember you from the previous year,it's like haveing a second family.

Hotel Bella Costa: Perfect resort

This is a non - smoking resort which I never read in any of the reviews. Wonderful surprise to us as we both are x smokers. You can smoke in the outside lobby, your balconies and anywhere outside. The grounds, rooms and the entire hotel are very clean. The staff and all the workers do a awesome job in every capacity. The reviews from tourists have good and bad opinions. Don't pay attention to the bad ones, not worth wasting your time reading and looking at photos of rusty pipes. Why these neg [... read more]ative travellers go to Cuba in the first place, because it's cheaper and then they trash the resort. The food at Bella Costa was the best I have eaten in my 10 times in Cuba. This resort is smaller than some so if you have issues with walking stay here!! We had a villa right beside the pool and yes the liner in the pool is not great. Looks like it was not laid properly and presented no issues swimming. It's not deep enough for adults but it's very refreshing. There is a real nice gift shop downstairs and is a good size. They take credit cards and you are charged in American currency. You will be shocked at the exchange rate as we were. $1.67 Ca for 1 Cuban peso. Our dollar is worth .33 cents. I stayed at Bella Costa 20 years ago and they have added many upgrades. We loved it and will go back sooner than later.

Hotel Bella Costa: Great family vacation!!

Everyone and everything was on point .... the only suggestions we have would to have the nightly shows a little earlier and more selection of food in the buffet. The villa room we stayed in was amazing and the perfect location to everything !

Playa Caleta: Great resort!

We were pleasantly surprised that the resort has improved since last year. The sister resort "Caleta" has now opened and you have access to both for dining etc. There are still some problems with public areas, eg public toilets do not have toilet paper (we always take our own) and at times no soap or paper towels. Very seldom is there a toilet seat. The food at the buffett was not as good this year, not much change from day to day and the pancake station was not open for the whole time at br [... read more]eakfast. The egg station was very good and open for the duration. They have a hard time keeping food hot at dinner. The staff are very good and friendly, the hotel is clean and well kept as well as the grounds. The beach is wonderful and right outside the door. More beach chairs are needed at Punterena. Varadero is 10 mins away by cab. Overall, it is a good place and as they make improvements will be a great place!

Starfish Jibacoa: Pretty Good

It is always wonderful to return to this hotel. Although not everything was as good as in the past, we enjoyed ourselves. The weather couldn't have been better. Only one red flag day which was the day before we left. The ocean was so warm and inviting and it felt great to get in to cool off.....was very hot this time of year. We were in a bungalow and the room was kept extremely clean and we didn't have any issues. Plenty of hot water and water pressure was just fine. The food, well the f [... read more]ood this year was a disappointment. For the first 7 days, it was simply put - awful. Liver, liver and more liver was served up daily and it was certainly unappealing to look at the plates of liver ready to cook up. No fresh fish. No tomatoes at the salad bar. They really shouldn't disguise liver and claim it's beef !!!! The dessert table was wonderful though. The fresh buns equally as wonderful and several different kinds. The white wine, oh my ! was so watered down it was barely passable as a wine. Suddenly the food quality changed. We had beef dishes, mashed potatoes, fresh vegetables and plenty of fresh fish ! The cook did an amazing job with what little he had. Wine was real wine. Couldn't figure out why, The manager really needs to step up and get better control of his dining room., Staff were as usual wonderful. Always love their greetings and smiles were plentiful. A disappointment if you like coffee early. No coffee at the lobby bar until 7:45 .... sharp! Many were saddened to see this happen. A very nice mixture of guests this year. Many from the east coast, a few Russians and a few Germans. Great people from all over. We did see some changes at the resort. They added some cabanas with cushions right on the beach. They looked inviting and a few families with children utilized them. Some rooms have finally been painted and didn't hear anyone mention mold in their room. Flat screen TV's ...which for some I guess is important? All in all it was ok. If it wasn't for the food issue, I would probably say it was fantastic but it was our great friends as well as the top notch staff who made it fantastic.

Melia Varadero: Beautiful resort to stay in! Nice staff

The areas around the resort were very clean and all employees were very respectful. Facilities were always usually stocked and easy to access. The surrounding area and being close to downtown varadero was a nice feature of the resort.

Melia Varadero: Awesome Wedding, Amazing Trip

The hotel was very clean, the views were absolutely amazing. The beach was fantastic, close to the hotel. It was so nice having the Plaza right beside us to do some shopping. It was really easy to get to downtown Varadero from there, and really close as well. The food was very good, their breakfast buffet was good, and most of the a la carte's were really excellent. Would definitely go back there in a heart beat. I also had my wedding there, I was so nervous beforehand, but Rosalind took care  [... read more]of everything, and it was just the most perfect day. I couldn't ask for anything more. Truly awesome.

Melia Varadero: Great resort, beautiful wedding!

The resort and accommodations were excellent and well maintained throughout the duration of our stay. Stayed in the ocean view suite and loved the view. The beach was amazing, and is where I spent most of my days.

Melia Varadero: Great resort!

Beautiful hotel and great service! My favourite part was the resort itself it was very beautiful and clean. The service was also really great. I would definitely stay here again and recommend it to a friend.

Grand Memories Varadero: Great Family Destination

I brought my mother and son(9) it was a perfect destination. Yes the rooms were a little dated but they were clean and the service was great. The beaches are breathtaking, the 2 different pools were perfect and I could not get my son away from the water slide. over all great place to take the family!

Valentin El Patriarca Varadero: Great Resort

Hotel was a good size for us and very clean / gardens were very well maintained / a good variety of food available / drinks were great! The cleaning staff, gardeners and maintenance staff were more than friendly and the bar staff were wonderful. Amazing stretch of beach at this hotel - lots of shade available and swimming was easily accessible. Entertainment staff worked tirelessly and their enthusiasm was infectious - especially the beach/pool crew and the house band, "Music Night"... and cant  [... read more]forget Mike's coffee shop - the ladies were very friendly and made the best hot and iced coffee. We loved our stay

Memories Jibacoa: Beautiful area - really liked the resort.

We had a pool view room - second floor - and it was great. Could people-watch, see the stage, and still not far from the beach, etc. We liked the hotel's close proximity to Havana - we went twice! The surrounding area - mountains, etc. were beautiful - it was like being in a word of your own. The resort is not too big and we liked the 18 years+ part. We enjoyed all 3 specialty restaurants. We have stayed at other hotels in Cuba and other islands and I would say the buffet at Memories surpa [... read more]ssed those we stayed at in the past. One small item - when we checked in on arrival, staff directed us to our room using the stairs. When pulling luggage, etc., this is a nuisance, particularly when there are 2 or 3 small stairways going from the lobby to the rooms. Later throughout the week, we found a ramp that made it easier, however, the employee did not advise us of this upon check-in.

Starfish Jibacoa: Will be returning next year

This was our first visit to the villas jibacoa and we will be returning again next year. We booked a bungalow and would definitely do that again. The pools were great and we could see the beach and ocean from the pool. The resort is very quaint and we enjoyed that. The only issue is the buffet is very small and one day they ran out at lunch. Thankfully there was still food at the snack bar. There are three restaurants within very close proximity. We went to Marios which was good and other g [... read more]uests confirmed that the two other restaurants were also very good. All restaurants are 15 pesos and I believe each include lobster diners. Next year we will take more money so we could try all the restaurants which will break up the repetitiveness of the dinner buffet.

Resonance Blu Varadero: Memories Varadero

We just went to Memories Varadero and had a blast, what a nice resort, very clean, very nice people, the food was very good, lots to choose from. We would go back in a heart beat!! They love Canada, the Cubans treated us like gold!

Playa Vista Azul: Beautiful Hotel

This was our first trip to Cuba. We initially had a few things that we were unhappy with however after speaking to other people about their resorts on our excursions we instantly grew to love this resort more each day. The rooms and grounds were beautiful. The food was very good (I have heard food is an issue in Cuba). We did have a few complaints and seeing as how this is a new resort it is still working out kinks. First off we chose Cuba as our vacation destination as we were told you wil [... read more]l never find kinder people than the Cubans. Well we did find a handful but the vast majority of employees at this resort we found to be rude. I heard this complaint made by several other people as well. The nighty entertainment each day was a different form of a dance routine and there was nothing else to do in the evenings besides sit in a bar and drink. There was no dance club or any other form of entertainment besides the dance show in the theatre. Lastly their 24 hr snack bar (also the only bar open after 11pm) was not 24 hr. it was closed more than open and if there was a wedding this is the building they used for the reception (there was a wedding 4 out of our 7 nights there). The Beach was awesome and the pool was nice to, after all this is what the vacation is all about :-) All in all we loved our vacation and yes I would definitely stay there again no questions asked. Like I said it is new and they just have a few kinks to work out.

Sanctuary at Grand Memories Varadero: Sanctuary: Both good and not so good

We stayed at Sanctuary at Grand Memories from March 31 to April 7. I have to start by saying that the staff here are terrific, especially the pool bar staff and the animation team. Sanctuary is the adults-only section of the Grand Memories resort. The pool area is smallish but lovely, and there were lots of lounges – though you have to get up early, as in most resorts, to get one that is shaded. That said, you might want to think twice if you have mobility issues, as my husband does: it  [... read more]is a long way from this section to the main resort complex. Yes, a shuttle is available upon request, but who wants to be reliant on that? The restaurant in Sanctuary is Ave del Paraiso. There is a small but adequate breakfast buffet, with some à la carte offerings. Dinner is strictly à la carte. We had dinner there twice, and, except for the desserts, it was mediocre at best both times. On the Sunday, we had lobster in a “hollandaise” sauce that had gritty, raw flour in it. My lobster tasted as though it had been kicking around the tank for a while, both in texture and taste. I ate only a couple of mouthfuls because I was afraid of getting food poisoning from it. We did enjoy the food at Sanctuary's pool bar - wondrous calamari, excellent hot dogs - and, oh, the ice cream! If it had been open later than 6 p.m., we would have eaten there. As it was, instead, most nights, we ate at the main buffet at Grand Memories, and it was generally awful. The cold offerings were limited and totally inadequate for the number of guests. There were long lineups for the cooked-to-order items. I ventured there one night when I saw beef on skewers. After confirming three times that I wanted the beef, I was given chicken, which was dry and inedible. On our last night, we ate at the Creole restaurant. We both ordered grilled chicken with lemon. The chicken had been roasted, not grilled, and there wasn’t a hint of lemon in it. Fortunately, there was a puppy in the dining area, and he was very happy to have my chicken. We had a good time at Sanctuary, but I would not return to this resort. There are a lot of alternatives in Varadero and elsewhere and, honestly, I do not understand why Sanctuary is now top-rated. Our previous experiences were superior.