Melia Peninsula Varadero: Don't do it!!

This is not a resort one should consider. We were told when we booked it was the best there is. The resort is unkept. The rooms and beds are awful. Management doesn't care. The common areas are falling apart. The food is should not be eaten. Meat sits out all day, not chilled, and most of the other stuff shouldn't be touched. Staff was less than helpful. Pretty much have to get your own coffee and drinks. I was careful what I ate, mainly toast and have been home for two days and rarely [... read more] can leave the bathroom. Absolute waste of vacation time and money. Complained to tripcentral, didn't seem to matter. Complained to reps at hotel who would move us to a lateral hotel for $1000. Have registered a complaint with air transat. Just don't do it.

Sanctuary at Grand Memories Varadero: Beautiful s

Staff my room the pool the food lots to choose from the long walks on beaches everything was great. The room was large and I liked the two bathrooms and the supplies in the fridge and the garders they always had a smile.

Sirenis Tropical Varadero: Expansive resort

Hotel was very nice, lots of marble and lovely bars with lots of seating, big armchairs in the Cohiba Bar. Nice and comfortable. Staff was very professional and helpful with maintenance issues, poor a/c and electrical issues. No early evening entertainment, had grand piano in lobby but not used. No Cuban bands around. Food was not great. Snack bars only had hamburgers, hot dogs and chicken sandwich, no fries, no grilling, pizza ect. Walking from rooms at end of resort to main building where b [... read more]uffet is around 15-20 mins, stairs also. Accessing buffet from main building stairs as well. Not a resort for people with mobility issues. Only had two carts. Resort would be great if they would open eating facilities at Beach Club end. Very clean grounds and beach is wonderful.

Resonance Blu Varadero: Extremely run down resort!

This was obviously a beautiful resort at some point in time. The grounds are still well maintained. The rooms were in need of freshening, broken grab bars in the bathroom, rusty fixtures, many paint scuffs, etc. only one towel a day allocated to guests. no facecloths. No hot water in an entire building. some guests we spoke to had no shower curtains. Food was sub-par, barely warm. many times there were no plates at the buffet. Power interruptions every day we were there. Only every thi [... read more]rd or fourth light on at night along the pathways, making for pitch black walking. Many of the small golf cart/transport buses had no lights, therefore no warning of one approaching in the darkness (electric so almost noiseless). No wifi. A lot of extreme drunkenness that was not policed in any way. One dip in the pool left my brother with itchy skin all over. Beds were very uncomfortable, and set on wooden platforms with pipes holding them up. Pillows could hardly be classified as pillows, do not know what they were stuffed with! Huge line ups for customer complaints and many unsatisfied people. Staff were friendly and as accommodating as they could be under the circumstances. I would never return.

Hotel Acuazul: nice place to relax

Hotel was nice , courteous staff and shuttle waiting to transport to hotel.well kept room.all staff hospitable and very attentive to our needs.excellent meals provided, nightly entertainment.nice to have everything available in walking distance.we happy with trip and will use these services in the future

Resonance Blu Varadero: Disappointing

Went to Cuba with an open mind....knowing it wouldn't be the same as DR.(Dominican Republic). Memories Varadero Resort was basic, and should now be a 3 star rated Resort not a 4.5. The new owners have let things slide, there is a ton of maintenance work to be completed. Food was good but certainly not great. No salad bar, never saw a tossed salad the whole week and no smoothies at breakfast. This is a large resort, so be warned you will be doing lots of walking from place to place. At nig [... read more]ht, there is very little lighting so extremely dark when walking around. Funny to see some of the "regulars" using flashlights when walking in the evening !! Staff not nearly as friendly as those in Dominican however they were generous with the rum. Rooms were old and dated. Plumbing was inadequate. General maintenance was very poor. We had to change rooms the second day because there was literally no hot water in our room. The plumbing was awful, toilets don't flush well at all, most items in bathroom were rusty and dirty looking plus the sink tap was not installed properly and leaked all over our sink. They gave us a new room fairly quickly however , although an improvement to the first room, it certainly wasn't much better. Beach is beautiful , lots of white sand and hardly any vendors at all. The pool wasn't as clean as it should have been but with so many folks swimming with sun tan lotion on etc, no wonder the pool water seemed greasy. Just be prepared for some things such as power going out everyday around lunch (if this happens when you are eating lunch it means no hot food, no coffee etc). Many times they ran out of bottled water which is a big disappointment as well. The font desk also gave my husband the wrong passport when we checked in.....so do check your own passport when given back to you. This was a huge issue to resolve as most of the staff do not speak good English so the language barrier was a huge obstacle in this particular case. Please change the rating for this resort to advise travellers of what to expect.

Mar Del Sur: Average Resort.

This was my first trip to Cuba, and was told not to expect much from a 2 star resort. I'll start with the cons: The lobby washrooms were disgusting! The men's room had no sink or urinals..just pipes sticking out of the wall. I don't even want to discuss the women's. For the first week housekeeping was fine, although we had to remind the gal for clean towels and toilet paper daily. Our last 2 days we didn't get any clean towels at all. Fortunately we had brought beach towels with us. We had no  [... read more]bottled water in the room, and had to buy a bottle and had to continuously get a refill at the bar. The kitchen had no lights (just wires sticking out from the wall), as did the over the bed lights. Air conditioner should have been replaced years ago. Now for the Pros: I thought the resort was well laid out. The swimming pool was lovely and big, and there were plenty of loungers for everyone. The staff was friendly, and for a 2 star the resort was pretty clean. We had a 1 bdrm. apt. which was spacious, with a good sized balcony with table & 4 chairs, with a partial view of the ocean. The beach was beautiful, great beach bar, with lots of loungers. Excellent location! Our stay - Feb. 15 to 25, 2017

Melia Varadero: Amazing Resort

The whole experience was breathtaking, the only complaint that I have is that our bed was very uncomfortable. They could offer more entertainment especially during the day. It would be nice to have music playing around the poor area throughout the entire day. Not much going on in the evening, they had a couple of shows in the Santiago room. If they did have more going on, not much advertising about it.

Palma Real: Downtown Resort

Overall a nice resort. Our room was clean but the safe didn't have a lock plus there is a 2 CUC per day charge. The service at the buffet was very good however the food was cold. The only time we could find a chair at the beach was after 3 PM and many are broken. A beach towel is only available with a 20 CUC deposit.

Resonance Blu Varadero: Very disappointing to say the least....

The hotel badly needs repair. The grab bar in the tub came off in my hand. The tub was very old and the taps and shower curtain bar were moldy and dark.The bed had springs in the mattress that stuck in my side. The one pillow had two lumps on either end with nothing in the middle. The TV worked occasionally but the sound would blast you out of the room but to try to turn it down and it would turn off. No face cloths at all. No plug for electric hair grooming. The food....just not up to any kin [... read more]d of standard, very hit and miss, with so much salt, hot dogs, some kind of sausage meats?? If we didn't have the Diamond Club Room I would have left. Overwhelming noise in the central lobby with voices echoing and magnified off the stone archways. So, so, many young drunks roaming unchecked. The people, maids, waitresses were very good, professional, kind and hard workers. The grounds were well maintained and the flowers, hedges, palm trees were lovely. The mobile buses that carry luggage, passengers, and supplies...most did not have headlights or horn or bell to notify you that you were about to be run over on the pathways. The bottom line....it was not at all what was advertized.

Hotel Bella Costa: Great Family Vacation Spot

We enjoyed our week at Hotel Bella Costa. The beach was fantastic, and the pools and pool bar were nearby. Buffet lunch in the restaurant beside the beach was always enjoyed. The food was quite good, with lots of variety. We also enjoyed the three a la carte meals. The live music in the lobby bar was great each evening. We were a larger family group and stayed in the hotel, which worked well for us. Golfers in our group enjoyed the nearby golf course. We had a wonderful relaxing holiday and v [... read more]isits with family members. While the rooms were dated and could use some maintenance, they were clean and comfortable. We have no serious complaints about this resort and would gladly return.

Hotel Bella Costa: Beautiful Beach

Loved the beach and the weather. Hotel is dated and in need of serious upgrades. Food at the buffets was below average but enjoyed our meals at the Japanese and Cuban a la carte restaurants. Beds were hard and not comfortable.

Villa Tortuga: Nice clean resort

The hotel was what it was stated to be, a 3 star. The grounds were lovely, grounds people trying to maintain it. The rooms within the hotel were clean and acceptable, not fancy. No bathtub, just a shower. One complaint is that the public washrooms always seemed to run out of toilet paper, so I would advise to bring your own. Staff was very friendly and helpful. The beaches are absolutely gorgeous and drinks were plentiful. The food was also acceptable, not gourmet, but not garbage either. [... read more] Lots of salad items, lots of pasta and bread, usually fish and one other meat. Hotel accomodations were good if you were looking to get away and not spend a boatload of money.

Paradisus Princesa Del Mar: Royal Service is the way to go!

Our vacation at the Paradisus Princesa Del Mar was absolutely our favorite vacation by far! We selected to upgrade to the Royal Service and were not disappointed. Infact, we are now spoiled to the greater things in life! Having our own "butler" to manage all of our bookings from dinner (Hill Top, Miamar and French restaurant were 5 Stars!) to excursions made our trip hassle free and more time to enjoy the beach, pool and resort. The only hiccup we experienced was not knowing the full feature [... read more]s of the Royal Service (i.e. Having your own personal butler) as we arrived at 4:00am and obviously would not have been giving a full tour as staff was limited and we were just pretty much given our room key. But we could have been told to come back in the morning for an orientation. With that said, it did not hinder our trip. In fact we are already looking to book again for next year!

Iberostar Origin Tainos: Fantastic Wonderful

We just love this place---- we love the service and the rooms are clean and the beach is wonderful. The ocean is just so beautiful we couldn't ask for anything better. The food was good and the people are so friendly we didn't want to leave. This is our 2nd time at this resort and we will go back as much as possible . We just can't say enough about it ,we always hate to come home. The best place to go for your holiday can't say enough wonderful things about Cuba love love it.

Paradisus Princesa Del Mar: Ok Resort

The good points: 1) Maria in the Italia restaurant for breakfast & lunch was absolutely wonderful. Can't say enough great things about her. 2) A-la-cart restaurants were very good. 3) Customer service was considerate, prompt, and courteous. 4) Room size was bigger than expected The "needs improvement" points: 1) main resort areas & bedrooms need updating. Lots of cracks in walls or doors, chips in floors, and peeling paint. 2) swim up pool & bar needs more attention. There was on [... read more]e day when the swim up bar was closed due flooding in the bar area. No signs were posted to tell people not to try and order from pool. And the whole pool stunk because of backed-up sewage. 3) bed-bugs were a problem. Came back with lots of bites 4) alcohol was terrible. We were expecting some name brands to be available but only one was. That was Kaluha which they kept running out of. Tripcentral has this resort rated a 5 star and states its a top seller. Because of these 2 factors, we thought we had made a good pick for our "very valuable" winter get-away vacation. We were disappointed and felt we over paid for it. This resort is a 4 star - max. In addition: Varedero airport was absolutely terrible on arrival and departure. Both experiences were horrible. We've see the last of Cuba. Will not go back.

Starfish Cuatro Palmas: Great Bang For Your Buck!

Loved the food! Wine was just ok! Cocktail Bar was GREAT! Great location! Rooms were fine. Pool small. Beach great. Sand fleas were an issue for some. Terrible Wifi! Would I go back again - YES!

Club Kawama: Great value for your money!

Kawama is the oldest hotel in Varadero, Fidel Castro and Jean Paul Sartre have visited there. The first time I went was 39 years ago. I have been 8 times. The grounds are lovely, so many huge old trees, and some of the buildings are 85 years old. None of the buildings are taller than two stories, and there are so many places to go for a walk while staying on the resort, we also walk in to the town of Varadero to visit the markets. The beach is lovely, the pools are good, the staff are friend [... read more]ly and helpful. Cuban food is not the greatest, but it is fine with my family. The rooms are not luxurious, but are clean. Each time we go to Kawama we meet folks who have returned many times.

Iberostar Origin Laguna Azul: Great Value for the Money!

When we arrived on Sunday, they gave us rooms on the ground level which were not to our satisfaction at all. They assured us that they would change our rooms next day (seeing as how we arrived late evening). They did and we thoroughly enjoyed the rest of our stay. The property is fairly large with much to offer. The food quality was decent - really no need to book in the a la carts restaurants since the variety in the International Buffet was vast. Service was on par for a resort....the bi [... read more]gger the tip...the better the service. The beach was the best..then again, it's Cuba - best beaches in the world. Pool area needs attention. Water was clear but by mid day garbage would be floating in and around the pool area. Entertainment was great - dancers were amazing.

Palma Real: Great resort!

Friendly staff, resort and rooms were always clean, food was good. Perfect location to area restaurants, flea markets and Beatles Bar. Only complaint was there was never enough chairs at the beach and were taken first thing in the morning.