Location, location, location

As per a lot of other reviews, you should be aware that you get what you pay for. Be prepared to walk 8 flights of stairs everyday, and be chased down if you take a coffee cup to your room. The staff seems overworked and struggle to be happy. All that said, we made the most of it and enjoyed pancakes and eggs every morning. Then left for the day and night to adventure through the town streets. Hopped in and out of restaurants and bars, and enjoyed a quick stroll to the beach daily. Keep go [... read more]od company and the state of the resort shouldn't bother you too much. I've travelled to Cuba 10 times. My hubby and I are both under 40. We would not return to this particular hotel but we did enjoy our vacation. The Vicaria is a restaurant a couple blocks down that was top notch and we ate the best authentic Cuban food there once a day (and once, twice a day) :). Again, this resort, you get what you pay for and in the end, the beer is always good.

Very happy with resort and price

Clean resort and very safe. A variety of dishes is offered to accommodate any diet (meat eaters, seafood lovers, vegetarians, and vegans) and the food is fresh and abundant. Excellent coffee and espressos. Polite staff. EXCELLENT location! Being closer to the end of the beach strip, you are the last to be picked up and the first to be dropped off when taking buses to any tours or to the airport. (This is a bonus and can save you a lot of time!) The resort isn't on the beach but it is a quick [... read more] walk away (30 seconds). The street that separates the resort from the resort's private beach is not busy at all and cars will always stop for you at the crosswalk. I was hesitant at first when I found out that the hotel was not on the beach but, when I saw the layout in person, I was really glad I didn't let it stop me from staying at this hotel because it was completely a non-issue. Plus, there is a bar and free restaurant on the beach itself so you don't have to walk back to the resort for food/drinks. The beach itself is very, very well kept. During the day there are three hotel staff working at the same time (security, lifeguard, and the groundskeeper) and they do an excellent job keeping the hotel's beach clean and safe. As for the beach itself - it is beautiful. Gorgeous crystal-clear blue water, sugar-white sand, fun waves (in the winter season), and lots of sun but lots of shade available, too. Overall, I don't see how you can ask for more from a 3-star hotel, especially for this price. In response to negative reviews for this resort - it depends what your aim of the trip is. Is it to spend time out on the beach/pool, explore Cuba, stroll the streets of Varadero, etc.? Or to be pampered in a hotel? If it's the former (like it was for me), this hotel and price is perfect. I would definitely come again.

Awesome experience

The hotel was very inviting from front desk, to housekeeping to the restaurant servers and the animation team. They made us feel at home especially my son. They went out of their way to see that we got coconut water, fresh pinna colada made. The drinks there were always in abundance. There was enough to eat around the clock even at midnight when we searched around for sandwiches and got some. The security guards took a minute or so to kick a ball around with my son. He thought they were FIFA pla [... read more]yers. The room was spacious, clean and always had an invigorating hot shower at the end of the day. My son spent a lot of time in the pool especially since there was a basketball net in there. The beach had rolling waves which proved to be a lot of fun for us both. We enjoyed the resort.

Horrible

So I personally would never go back to this particular resort , this is my 4th time at @31-/2 stars and this was for sure a 2, elevator was more not working than yes, room key 9 out of 10 wouldn't work so had to use stairs 6 floors , more importantly , lobby washrooms , pool side washrooms , No toilet paper !! Buffet seriously was no choices , very small and not much to choose from, thankfully they made fresh eggs every morning and always had pasta , that's what we ate most days , thankfully it [... read more]'s safe to walk the streets so we found places to eat outside the resort , Beach was outstanding , rooms were old but must say we're clean , Again would not recommend

Great location...fun people.

Realize this is not a 5 star!....so with that in mind it is great for location, staff is friendly, beach is stunning, and it is close to markets, resturants and entertainment! The rooms are clean, and the dining area and lobby are kept nice. For the price ot is well worth it.

Amazing

I found the hotel rooms to be clean and well kept. Considering the hotel is under construction, the grounds are well kept and the staff were friendly. I would use these accommodations again. l was quite surprised the food was quite good as well as the entertainment.

Great value

Fresh food. Cold ac. Clean. Good drinks. Great location, close to the beach, shops, restaurants, bars, and discos. Some very friendly staff. And some extremely unfriendly staff. I have been 2 times great value.

Great location

The hotel was about what I'd expect from a 2-3 star resort so I don't regret having stayed there for the price. Our room, while in need of some repairs like the rest of this older hotel, was always clean and despite what other reviews we read before we left, we always had fresh towels and bathroom supplies daily. As usual, frequent small tips do go a long way in terms of better service. The pool and grounds were generally well maintained and the entertainment was better than expected. Food [... read more] was available throughout the day, but unfortunately the quality of most of the food was disappointing, particularly in the dining area where most meals are served. The snack bar, which is open at specific times had a kitchen that could make sandwiches, burgers and omelettes so we tried to eat there instead when possible. The Italian restaurant was an exception and the food there was very good, though you need to reserve a spot each time. The language barrier at the hotel was greater than I expected and while most of the staff tried their best, there were several times, particularly when trying to get information from reception, where we were simply told to come back later, presumably so somebody else could deal with us instead. One thing to be aware of is the fact that most places will only accept cash and while the hotel will exchange big bills for smaller ones and change, there is no place at the hotel to get money out with a bank or credit card. The nearest ATM was a few hotels down the strip and the nearest bank, which offers lower fees than ATM withdrawals, was about a twenty minute walk away and open only to 3pm, so that's something to keep in mind. While wi-fi access is not available in most places, the hotel apparently did have wi-fi but we could never connect to it. To use the internet you can purchase access cards from reception and if you can't connect with your own devices there are two computers available for guests to use, though they are extremely slow and used up a lot of our minutes just waiting for them to connect. The best part about the hotel, in my opinion, is its location. It is right across the road from the beach, which is well maintained and staffed and there are lots of merchant booths and restaurants in the area. The other hotels further up the peninsula might be nicer, but they are also more isolated, which may be good or bad depending on what you're looking for out of your vacation. The first few days after we arrived we had a lower opinion about the hotel, but the service improved throughout the week so it is very likely that they were under-staffed or impacted by hurricane Matthew which was hitting the east coast of the country when we arrived so this review is based on the days when the hotel was more functional and overall I don't regret having stayed here for the price.

Great value for the money

The hotel is overall good. It s a relatively old hotel that needs some maintenance. The food was OK with a good variety. The entertainment every night was great. close to residential areas and shops. staff overall are friendly.

Ok resort

The hotel is in a good location. However the service is slow, and the food leave alot to be desirlo. Basically the same menu items. The good food was in the pizzeria where you would have to make reservations. However, you could but food and it was very good and cheaper. The rooms were ok. The water was good, presente was decent, the bathroom had a water leak. The air conditioning was week. The best was ok, maybe to low to the grounds. The poor was very nice but the chemicals they use made it loo [... read more]k a weird geeen calor. This hotel is central so it is decent if you just wants to get away. But if you want a five star experience this place is not it. I would say else where. But the stuff are amazing but they are overworked.

For a better price I would go back again.

I do keep in mind that this is a 2 * resort. But there is no need for it to be dirty. I did not think of this when I booked it. But because it is a cheap resort, the people that are there are more trashy group. (Not being mean or rude. Its just a fact. I wish I would have thought of this befor we went.) Mind you our room was very clean. Just the public areas were dirty. (Washrooms ,pool) the lift is rotten and very dangerous they need to fix it before someone gets seriously hurt. The front desk  [... read more]wanted to hold my pass port for 24 hr. I had an argument to keep it my self. Service was very unfriendly. We had one worker ask us for our shoes at the buffet, we said no. She walked us over to the table. I had to ask for cutlery that same server came back and she thrown the cutlery at us. We were both in disbelief. great weather.

Motorcycles???

front desk people rude. rude,rude!!! would not even look up when we went to speak to them! the food and service were barely passable. if you like bikers,this is the place for you. in full leathers and colors on their bikes around the pool deck and in the lobby as well. we also got to watch the biker mama pluck her eyebrows while sitting sipping her espresso in the front lobby!!!tacky tacky!never again!!

Great Resort for three price

Hotel is in need of some repairs but clean. Pool and beach were great food was a good variety every day Elevator broke down twice but was fixed quickly .there is a great flea market just around the corner of the resort and they also have some great local bars just a short walk from the resort

Amazing Cuba for 373$

Couldn't be happier! Moncton, Cuba flight direct 2.5 star hotel are the best! People that go there are well aware at what to expect and not very difficult to go to. So we went and dropped or suitcase into the room, rented a car and traveled down to Vinales and up to Cayo Jutias both paradise that you should go in the world. A big thank you to the staff at trip central and Air transat.

Great People

I was there from March 22th to 25th.This was my first time to travel by myself. It was safe and very welcoming.The lobby was great for all drinks.I meet so many people from Cuba.My new family. The beach was beautiful.

Cool Hotel

I read so many reviews about this hotel and a lot of bad ones. I am glad i did not take them into consideration. We went for the week of April 4th 2016 and the hotel was very decent,the room was clean, the bedsheets were clean and we had an ocean view room! The service was great. The food in the buffet was actually pretty good! Better than the Iberostar in Varadero. My only advice is bring your own facecloth and a beach towel cause sometimes they run out. And lastly this hotel is all about locat [... read more]ion location location! Best location in Varadero.

OK Place to Rest Your Head

This is more an old hotel trying to be a resort. It has some positive and some negative aspects but if you get a great deal and want to use this hotel as a base of travel to see a bit of Cuba (as we did) then you will be OK. Food is not bad for Cuba and the staff are hit and miss. The beds are not very good (ask for room 816, best on the resort). Buy your own booze and mix as they don't have any variety at all.

Sunbeach Funbeach

We had another great trip to the Grand Caribe Sunbeach. This is a no frills hotel located in downtown Varadero. It was our third stay in the hotel and this year I'm happy to report that our room was clean, our lovely housekeeper Judy gave us fresh towels and did a wonderful job of keeping our room spotless. The food had improved since last visit (the toaster is now fixed - yay) so that was a pleasant surprise. The location of this hotel is great because if you choose to dine out some evenings th [... read more]ere are lots of good, inexpensive restaurants nearby. The cons for our visit this time was the presence of lots of virile cats (that were in heat - not pleasant) roaming around in the lobby and in the gardens outside. The staff did try to take control of the situation but from a sanitary point of view this needs to be corrected. The other con was the constant influx of Cuban visitors staying at the resort. The staff cater to them and ignore the other tourists. It used to be that this happened on weekends only but this year it happened all week long and was quite frustrating when trying to get bar or food service. Overall a good trip and we found that Osmandy (Manager on the front desk) continued to be extremely helpful and customer service focused.

No Frills but A Great Time was Had

We are a family of 4 with 2 children - boy 7, girl 16. They don't allow more than 3 people per room so we had to get 2 rooms. We all stayed in the same room and used the second for extra showering, bathroom, napping, sleeping etc. Don't expect a 4 star because you will be disappointed. We went with low expectations and although we were surprised by how run down the place was, our rooms were clean and that is the most important thing to me. Yes the rooms are dated and the furniture old and ricke [... read more]ty, the bathrooms we had were renovated and very nice. Ask for an even number room if you want a balcony, there is always so much to watch outside. We were facing the street at the end of the entrance and got to watch guys playing stick ball every night. We went for long walks and felt totally safe, do make sure and do the orientation because Kenia has very good information and can answer any questions. People who say the food is no good, that is just their opinion. I found the food to be fine, some of it very good (chicken skewers, fried rice, plantain chips etc.). The good thing about the buffet is that each meal they offer something new. Be warned that because there are 2 grills in the buffet, you will be sweating. If you don't like to try new things there is something for everyone even bland plain white rice, salad, fish etc. Be prepared to wait in lines most of the time and you are waiting "Cuban Time". There are 4 bars, lobby, pool, snack bar and beach all of which you can wait in a line or get there at the right time and not have to wait, there are ebbs and flows to it all. The beach is a short short way across the street and there are lots of lizards in the grass off the path and on the rock walls. They were a treat for all of us. I hate public washrooms and never used these because my husband said the mens was disgusting. Don't be surprised if there is no toilet seat (at all) in your room we had one in the room we stayed in and non in the other. I was most impressed with the nightly shows. The dancers were great, the costumes colorful, the music upbeat etc. On 2 different nights we played a game where the announcer asks "Name the song, name the singer?". It was so much fun! If you got it wrong you had to give up your sandal. I won't give away anything else but the whole family played and we had a ball. There are snacks at the snack bar, ham & cheese grilled sandwiches, pizza, hots & hams. They often run out and you will wait a long time to get your food. They have one person cooking in front of you and they only make 1 thing at a time on demand. I found that most of the employees don't speak English very well, so they may get your orders wrong or misunderstand you. We met so many nice people who work there, Raul (buffet), Ariel, Lazaron, Luis, Leandro (bartenders etc.) Everyone was so nice. The beach was beautiful! The water clear and we didn't even need our water shoes because there was no coral there just soft sand. We were able to take out the paddle boats and kayak with no wait any time we wanted. There were always enough lounge chairs on the beach. Another story at the hotel, there were so few and people would go down early in the morning and put their towel on them, then you wouldn't see them all day. Good thing I brought an umbrella or I would have roasted because there is very little shade at the pool. The pool is ok and not too deep for children, there is a basketball net and you have to ask at the entertainment hut for the volleyball in order to play, you have to sign it out. There are tv screens in the lobby, pool bar and snack bar. People were really into the soccer games. There are a bunch of little things that most people complain about, table in the room was old and falling apart, tv didn't work, door got stuck etc. We also had issues but we made the best of it. Our A/C leaked onto the balcony so we ended up with a pool as soon as you stepped out the second day, we simply took one of the garbage cans and put it on the balcony, wiped up all the water with a few towels and voila! We had to empty the garbage can everyday but the low price we paid for a family of 4 it was worth the money. I couldn't go to the Best Western here for 5 nights for the price we paid per person for 7 days. Yes, it was run down and old looking in areas but it's right in the heart of the city and the flea market is literally next door, you can buy any souvenir you could possibly think of for great prices. We walked all over and again I thank my umbrella, or I wouldn't have survived the scorching sun. There are cats/kittens in the hotel, stray dogs walking everywhere even on the beach but they are friendly and not scrawny looking. There are chickens and roosters walking freely about and horse drawn carriages everywhere. Do take one of the coco taxi/3 wheeled scooter, they are fast and fun, plus it was so cool with the breeze blowing on you. The banks offer a better exchange rate than the hotel but they are a 20 minute walk in either direction which is worth it because you also get to see where the restaurants are. You can eat for very cheap if you don't want to go to the buffet. Keep in mind that the bank experience is not like here, enough said. There are pelicans on the beach, people catching crabs in the canal, people fishing etc. This place is perfectly fine and it IS WHAT YOU MAKE OF IT! We had a blast and would definitely go there again for that price. We ate, swam, danced, laughed, rested, ate some more and slept little. All in all, we had a great time!

Good Hotel

the hotel has a good food and location. It's an simple hotel, but a clean one. It's almost in front of the beach, really close..........................................................................