Truly Awful

I understand the situation in Cuba, and that a 3.5 star hotel there would not be the same as a 3.5 star in Canada but I never could have imagined the condition of this hotel. The hotel is leaking, and the ceiling is falling down in many places. Railings are dangerously loose and puddles/ spills go hours without being mopped up. I slipped many times and found the hotel to be generally unsafe. We had to switch rooms because of a severe leak in our ceiling that was dripping through a light f [... read more]ixture. Our original room also looked as though the bathroom had not been cleaned before we got there. Our second room was full of mold from the curtains to the lamp shades. There was evidence of termites, and we saw cockroachs on the property as well. Food cleanliness was not a thing here. The buffet was inedible. It went beyond missing a few items as we normally would expect in Cuba. This food was disgusting. It was covered in bugs, uncooked meat was kept out in the open and chefs used the same utensils for the uncooked meat as the other food. Glasses came dirty and with lipstick on them. There was very little I felt comfortable eating. There were 5 al le carte restaurants on site, but only 3 were open. The food in these restaurants was the same that was served at the buffet. The buffet was also only open certain hours of the day, and there was no where to eat outside of these hours. Although this was all inclusive, they made it very hard to get a drink. The only options were Rum, one type of draft beer, two types of wine, and three other spirits. Drinks were served in small paper cups that held about three sips and quickly fell apart. No matter what you ordered you would usually get rum. Online it states that the mini fridge in our room would have water, snacks and beers. This was not true. You got one bottle of water in your mini fridge, replaced every two days. When ours was replaced it was half full, making it appear that it had been refilled from the tap. We were not comfortable drinking Cuban tap water. This practice was also evident in the al le carte restaurants, where our water was poured from one of these bottles that was noticeably yellowed and worn. You had to pay for additional bottled water to drink and the price changed every day. On top of all this the staff throughout the hotel were very rude. Unless you spoke to them in Spanish they brushed you off or did not help you. There were many locals at this hotel, and not many foreigners or other Canadians. We got the feeling we were not wanted there. When we turned away glasses with lipstick on them the waiters would give us dirty looks and shook their heads at us. The only thing nice was the beach. We ended up paying extra money to leave early with a different air line.

Too much change.

Beautiful beach and great view. 80% locals in resort hogging the food and leaving messes everywhere. I will Not return to Cuba. Was my 6th time. Food shortages and way too much change for me. Mexico next time.

Under Renovations

We booked the Barcelo Solymar hotel, when we got there they put us in the Arenas Blancas which is a cheaper hotel and we still got charged the full price for the Barcelo Solymar. The food was always the same every day they made everyone put their bags at the door where it could easily be stolen, so while eating always worried that it would go missing. Not very impressed, at the time of our booking i’m sure they knew it was closed due to renovations it took for ever to be able to book to sta [... read more]rt off and i had already stayed at the Arenas Blancas twice before so i wanted a change and the buffet is bigger at the Barcelo solymar and a bar pool and a bigger lobby bar. This review is for the Arenas Blancas not for Barcelo solymar it was closed for renovations and we were not advised about it and we paid more for this hotel, i paid for 2 weeks plus a land person for 2 weeks. Denise from Moncton NB

Good resort

I had booked the Barcelo Solymar and to my surprise, when I arrived, the hotel was closed so I stayed at the Arenas Blancas next door. The Arenas was clean, very spatious, excellent beach, great pool size but no swim up bar like the Barcelo had. The food was ok as the selection in Cuba was not a choice. the staff were really nice as well. The animation didn't have there usual games and stuff which I found boring but great evening shows as usual. because was 98% cuban families, the screa [... read more]ming children, especially on the beach was getting too much...

Great experience first time to Cuba

One thing is for sure.. book the bungalow do not stay in the building! Absolute mess and moldy musty smell. Couldnt breath. Finally I asked to change rooms after 3 days. At first it wasnt too bad but overtime it felt like it was getting worse so I upgraded. Work with the front desk for a deal to the bungalow. It is definitely worth it! The Cuban people are absolutely beautiful in every way, they really took care of me. Treat them as a true Canadian, with a smile and mos definitely tips. Th [... read more]e food... no. Food is meh A la cart seafood was my best meal all week. Book it. If you want a real nice meal go into Varedero or a hidden Gem in Santa Maria called La Fiesta Del Carbon jst a little outside Varedero. Worth it trust me. $10 cab to get there. This place I would reccomend for 20-40. Def a party spot as it is about a 5 min walk to the clubs in town. But I think it lacked women. Lol, too many dudes when I went but I think people jst reccomend this resort because of the young crowd so all guys go there and the ratio from men to woman is very dominant to the men side in my opinion during the time I went. Family's dont bother trust me, not so good for kids as it can be noisy during all times. Overall great experience, the beach of course is beauty and the whole stay at one play at 2 resorts was cool but I would prob not return to this resort only because I never go back to a resort I've already been to. If anything maybe I go back with friends only because of the staff. Your call dont overthink it but definitely get the bungalow!

Love this place

We have stayed at the Barcelo Solymer 3 times now and love it, hotel is a bit dated, but they continue to do upgrades. the staff is amazing. anytime we had any issues they were dealt with immediately. we will be going back again

3 star resort

It was a good resort. We encountered some problems. There was no water at all for the most part of one day throughout the entire hotel. We only had cold showers for the other 6 days. It did not get to 50 degrees at all, more like 40 degrees. There was no hot water. The people were great, the hospitality was top notch. Huge resort and they were keeping up with the up grades. So huge that there was a lot of walking being done to go throughout the entire resort. I had no problems with this. 3 â­ [... read more]ï¸â€™s

Resort is general is good; our room was bad!

Positives: location is right downtown, within walking distance of the local markets, rum store, clinic, local restaurants and live entertainment (Calle 62, Beatles Club), Dance Clubs (La Comprisita, Havana Club). Beach is awesome, food is average (always something to eat), A la Carte Restaurants are above average (Seafood, Spanish, and Mexican restaurant). Drinks are delicious! Hotel is clean, service is decent, staff are nice. We also had full access to the resort next door, Occidental Arena [... read more]s Blancas. We were there often as well. Negatives: our room: bathroom sink leaked for the first 5 days; hot water was luke warm at best (50 degr, not higher). No water for whole hotel for 3/4 of the 6th day due to repairs; Our safe was defective and needed repairs. I called the Service Desk multiple times for the sink leak to be fixed, but the mechanic never showed. They said to stay in the room and wait, but we were on vacation, and could only wait for so long..

Barcelona solymar

From the moment we drove up I was slightly optimistic with the bright exterior colors. My party vacationed from feb 17-24,2020 We arrived late due to flight delay. Once we checked in staff was not that friendly but tired... which we later found out the entire staff is older and exhausted. Entertainment was minimal and I’d rate it a 1 star for rooms in hotel 2 star for Bungalow rooms 5 Pool 2 fountain broke, lights not working, no music and pool bar below service level was the pits . Re [... read more]sort had no wine for sangria drinks. During the week the hotel Was repainted as it went under new management!!! If your looking for a 2 star hotel close to downtown then it’s your place. If you really want service and resort feel you will have to go up the strip towards the marina if you really want a good experience. Previous trips to varadero was to the hotels up the strip and were always happy happy times. This resort was a huge let down and recommended if you like young kids wanting to drink n party with no concern for looks and friendliness. Food was like being at a camp :( again so sad to see everything exhausted including staff.

Amazing resort-NOT ANY MORE!

Went to this hotel 5years ago, and was great. Decided to go again this year in February and I made BIG mistake. Hotel is worn out, rooms need to be upgraded,old beds, old mattresses, tiles failing from walls in washrooms, rusted buth tabs. Hallways in the hotel had bad odor stinks like washrooms. Food for breakfast no complain, but to get omelet or scrambled egs wait is 15 min. in line. Lunch and diner they served the same food or what ever is left over from lunch they put back for dinner.They w [... read more]ore doing surveys every week from the guest in the hotel and I thin they got very negative feedback. The only good thing for this is hotel is the beach and the location, center of Varadero close to all the bars, restaurants, clubs, stores and fleamrket, all waking distance.The hotel definitely is not 4 stars as advertised on some web sites.

Terrible bathrooms

I think the hotel has potential, but the bathroom is falling apart. It would be nice a little more entertainment at the beach was no wine, this was a huge turn-off. no towels in the bathroom. no too many choices in the restaurants

Nice resort

The resort was good all around Food was a lot better in the à la carte then buffet but the buffet offered lots of different options. Room was clean. Resort was cleaned every morning. Always staff to help.excursions where we’ll planed and the staff on excursions where very professional.

Good resort, great service, and excellent location!

When you stay at Barcelo Solymar you actually get access to 3 connected resorts. The grounds for all 3 are absolutely beautiful. The beach the resort borders is perfect and was one of the least busy that we've seen on the Veradero strip. You can take your time after eating breakfast and still manage to get a spot under a cabana. There are several nice pools on the resort and all the poolside bars are comfortably out of the water. For hygienic reasons this was actually pretty nice. The loca [... read more]tion of the resort is one of its biggest positives. The resort is just within walking distance of downtown Veradero but far enough away that there aren't any of the negative aspects. The food wasn't the best but I've been told you don't go to Cuba for the food. The rooms are clean and adequate enough as I imagine most guests won't spend much time in their rooms. One thing to note is that there weren't many other Canadian tourists at this particular resort in our experience. Lots of guests from Spain, Italy, France, and Russia. We've definitely met our share of rude guests and a lot of littering. Some tourists would throw their plastic cups on the ground when garbage cans were easily in reach. Lots of tourists would smoke cigarettes on the beach and litter it with their butts.

First Trip out of Canada

My experience at Barcelo Solymar was beyond words. The night colors and friendly staff were so welcoming and made my stay feel safe and happy. I will definently be back again! There was always so much to do, especially with downtown just a fee feet away from the hotel. A must stay place for your vacation!! Highly recommended :)

Loved the resort

I loved having a bungalow and the view we had from there was awesome. kept very clean. The ground area well taken care of. The services was wonderful. Great food. Loved the beach. Loved the breeze off the ocean and all the trips you could take. First time to Cuba loved ever minute of it.

February 2020

We were a group of 14 people visiting for 1 week at Barcelo Solymar. For my 50th birthday. Ages 9 to 65 years old. We all loved the resort. There was something for everyone. There maybe could have been more for the 9 year old. The grounds were beautiful. There was alot of painting going on, all the buildings seem to be getting a fresh coat. All of the staff were fantastic. Our room was lovely. We were pleased with the service. The first time I showered the water was cold. We discover [... read more]ed if you ran the water for a bit the hot water came on. After that the water was always hot. The main building is for party people. We were in bungalow 27. Far away from the party yet close enough that we could join the party when we wanted. The walk to Varedero was 10 minutes and that was fantastic for night life and daytime shopping. The beach was stunning and well kept. The food was excellent. I was happy to see salt and pepper on the tables. There was no peanutbutter or jam. We liked the Mexican al a carte and the seafood. The Italian left a little to be desired as the pasta was overcooked. We liked being able to enjoy both resorts for food and entertainment. We will definitely return but wonder if the prices will be higher in the future due to the renovations, it is going to be beautiful and look very 5 starfish. We did the premier jeep excursion. It was not jeeps but all wheel SUV style vehicles. A great day, a fantastic way to see Cuba and partake in snorkeling, swimming in the caverns, boating, Omar's farm and what seemed like a provincial park for lunch. We hired Eyewitness Cuba for a trip to Havanna, they where very knowledgeable and gave us a great day. They can be found on Facebook and TripAdvisor. We are planning to try to return for all the big birthday's in our group!

Barcelona solymar

This was the most god awful resort I’ve ever been to. Every single bar does not have something, whether it’s pop or a type of liquor, so be prepared to walk to another one. There’s a disco that no one uses and is shit down at 12am. We had ice cold water for a week straight, front desk told us a mechanic was coming to our room and had us wait there for three hours, only to find out it is a hotel wide issue and no one was coming. We switched room four times due to cockroach infestation in tw [... read more]o different rooms. When we tried to contact the sunwing rep late at night, he did not answer. The manager at the front desk would not call for us, and told us we would be charged for calling from our room. The entertainment team does the least possible. We asked for music at the pool other than Russian jazz and were told we need to wait until 2:30pm every day. I highly recommend not going to this resort.

Wont be coming back

food no good couldn't digest nothing (im well aware of the food in cuba been there had better) , elevator wasn't working half the time, ac was barely working like almost asking me for help, patio door impossible to open unless you bench 200lbs daily, room was humid?, got a superior room and no king size bed only 2 double...great deal?, barely any chair at the beach... exchange rate at the hotel was a total rip off (usual but not by tthat much).. all and all I would go somewhere else. I was with  [... read more]friends so I had fun at least!!

Good value for price

Public areas of the hotel were very clean. Staff were always cleaning floors and sweeping outside areas. Maids did a good job of making up the room daily. Maintenance responded quickly when we reported an issue with our balcony door.

Great Resort

We enjoyed everything about our vacation. We stayed in a bungalow superior. The room was clean and comfortable. Housekeeping staff were efficient and pleasant. Pool towels were provided in room which we had no problem exchanging when required. We could always find something enjoyable at the buffet. Our only complaint would be that other than food served off the grill it was not very hot. The staff in the restaurants and throughout the resort were friendly and courteous to everyone. We attended [... read more] some of the evening shows which were very entertaining. The beach is gorgeous and of course is the main attraction. We enjoyed the location of the hotel which allows for easy walking throughout the town. We are repeat guests and will definitely be planning a return visit.