Paradisus Varadero: beautiful resort

The staff were awesome and friendly... food was average.... entertainment lacking in adult dancing etc...The beach was very nice with lots of room for chairs... the beach has lots of palm trees and kayaks and catamarans.. Weather was great.

Melia Peninsula Varadero: Nice Family Resort

Melia Peninsula is a really nice resort to stay at, although our unit was in need of maintenance. There is a great pool / play area for kids. The beach is the highlight with the calm Caribbean waters. Paddle boats are free to use. Catamarans are available with a guide and will take you out to the reef on the horizon for a snorkel for 20 pesos per person. I would recommend this over the half day snorkel trip by bus. Scooters are also a available to rent at the resort, and we had a lot of  [... read more]fun with them. Air Transat reps at the hotel were highly knowledgeable and extremely helpful The food is not great, but that is more a function of availability of product.

Resonance Blu Varadero: Good Resort

For a 4 star is was okay. I was upset when I arrived at the hotel at 1am in the morning and only on receptionist was there to give us our rooms. She took the drunk young kids first who took so long. While my kids where dead tired and running around. Once we got to the hotel room we had no hot water for a shower, and when I went to call the front desk, the phone didn't work. Half the number keys were missing. The bed smelt awful and we froze due to the AC being on all night, but wasn't comfortabl [... read more]e sleeping with the sliding door open. The next day they told someone will fix the hot water. By 7pm no one did and they told me to shower else where throughout the week. I freaked and demanded a new room. I did get one and much nicer. The spa sucked. I used it before our flight. I got only one towel for the three of us, my daughter slipped on the ceramic tile due to all the water. no hot water in the spa. no hair dryer....nothing. Otherwise it was nice. Great entertainment team and beautiful beach. Some drink kid stole my beach towel and I did tell the front desk so I wouldn't be charged. Security box in the room didn't work.

Sol Varadero Beach: Good Resort

Service was awesome! The hotel is what it is and had everything we needed for an enjoyable stay. Tip: check out the bungalow upgrades! Ours was super close to the beach and central to everything on the resort.

Punta Peninsula Varadero: Average resort on beautiful Varadero Beach

We've been to Varadero many times usually staying at 4+ to 5 star so Blau Marina being only 4 star (and I would say it should be a 3 + star due to many required repairs and upgrades) was not as we expected before we arrived at the standard we're used to in Cuba. That being said, for us the strengths were of course beautiful Varadero Beach and the evening show from 9:39 - 10:30 pm. (My daughters aged 9 and 12 also enjoyed them) We thoroughly enjoyed watching all the Caribbean, Spanish, and Cub [... read more]an dancing and costumes. The room was fine for the four of us. Clean enough, Spacious enough with a King for my husband and I, a cot for one daughter and couch for the other. Extra pillows, blankets, sheets were not readily available but eventually we made due. We were given three beach towels to start and we were only able to to get a forth after a couple days. We were only able to exchange them for clean ones once during the week due to a problem with the towel cleaning service. Now the food. Typical for Cuba. No spice, bland, salt and pepper shakers that don't work due to the humidity, long waits at the omelette bar and pasta bar with only one person managing two frying pans. Three out of four a la carte restaurants were open. We only tried the Italian one. While it was nice to be served in a quiet setting, the food was no better than the buffet so we preferred eating at the loud buffet with more variety. There was one small beachside snack bar with pizza, pasta and sandwiches and sometimes hamburgers and hotdogs that was open 24 hours. But really, outside of buffet hours there was nothing to eat. We found ourselves feeling very hungry between meals with no where to grab a snack. Small beach bar with those extremely small flimsy plastic cups. I'd recommend bringing a larger insulated travel cup because there is no wait staff at the beach or pool and you'll find yourself making many runs to the bar all day long, even for water alone. The staff were polite enough but less engaging/friendly/outgoing than we're used to. In other resorts all staff including maintenance and cleaning speak to you (Ola!). And finally, the main pool was a disappointment. It was small and filled with loud, drinking, guests (swearing loudly, blasting loud music) all day until 6:00 pm when it closed. Not an ideal environment for some people who do not wish to expose there kids (or themselves!) to that sort of carrying on. There was another lovely, peaceful pool we enjoyed when we weren't on the beach. We had a great time because it is the weather, the ocean, the nightly shows, the room to a degree and being together that matter the mostly us and all those expectations were met. We weren't expecting great things from the Blau Marina in the first place so we weren't disappointed. It was just fine for last minute booking. We will try another resort next time.

Iberostar Origin Playa Alameda: Great Resort

We really enjoyed our stay at the Iberostar Playa Alameda. The resort was very well maintained! We found that all the staff at the resort were very friendly & very helpful. We would recommend Iberostar Resorts to our family & friends!

Melia Marina Varadero: Better than anticipated

I traveled with my husband, 9 month old daughter and group of friends to this resort and based on reviews we had read about the resort and visiting Cuba in general we went with the lowest of expectations. Need I say that I was pleasantly surprised. Upon arriving first thing I noticed were that the grounds were beautiful. Being next to the marina provided for a great view. The rooms were clean and very spacious but for a new hotel the finishings looked quite dated. The food was not nearly as bad [... read more] as we had heard, provided that there was very little variety and got quite redundant after a short while, we never went hungry. One thing we did notice meal after meal was that the food was never hot, luke warm at best and often cold, excluding the made to order pasta, fish, omlettes, and pancakes. The service, however, was top notch, provided they were left with a bit of a tip. The entertainment at the resort was virtually non existent...compared with the shows we have seen at other resorts their nightly shows weren't good enough to capture anyone's attention for longer than 10 minutes and of the 5 nights we were there they only actually had something for one night. Activities by beach/pool also did not follow a schedule so make sure to bring something to pass through time. They do advertise a baby/kids club but maybe considering the time of the year we travelled it would be wrong of me to expect much of anything from this department. There is a small park however that can be used at any time. The beach was beautuful and only a short walk (

Starfish Jibacoa: Great Little Resort

It was my first time going to Cuba and didn't know what to expect, Karol with Trip Central was great answered all of my questions and was honest in his comments on the resort. The resort is definitely older, but very well maintained the grounds we worked on every day we were there. We had a bungalow facing the beach, even with the resort full it was never noisy or too busy outside our door. The beach was great never to crowded one of the pools was being re-lined but even with just one p [... read more]ool it was never too busy. Staff was great very friendly and helpful The coral reef was amazing....bring your own gear they don't rent it here. If your looking for a nice ""chill"" relaxing vacation this is your spot if you want more action I would suggest the big resorts in Varadero.

Hotel Bella Costa: Not what it used to be

Veradero has beautiful beaches and the Bella Costa beach doesn't disappoint. The accommodations in the family suite were excellent two years prior but this time we had power issues on two separate nights when part of the suite was out of power and other guests had no power at all. The main floor bathroom was bolted shut and no longer in service. Food was what we expected for Cuba. Nothing special but you shouldn't go hungry. Some staff didn't seem to be as friendly as our previous visit and room [... read more] towels always seemed to be in short supply. The resort is showing its age. Not a bad place for the money if all you need is beach, ocean, great weather, a few drinks and R&R.

Resonance Blu Varadero: Lovely time!

Hotel is somewhat dated and in need of updating but it's clean and staff are friendly. Food was excellent, always something available to eat. They do need to replace outdoor lighting, very dark at night made it hard to find your way around safely. Overall a lovely stay.

Melia Marina Varadero: Amazing resort with excellent Staff!

I have been to Cuba before and I have to say this is one of the nicest resorts for a resort that has many amenities. Being on the marina makes for a beautiful view as well it feels like you are in another place other than a hotel. The grounds are in excellent condition with more than enough chairs around the pool and the beach area. The walk from the hotel to the beach area would be the same distance as staying at a larger resort and walking from you're room to the resort. It maybe took 5 minute [... read more]s at most and the beach area is very large with a bar and a excellent restaurant. The food at this resort was excellent with tons of variety all with excellent taste. The nightlife is great as there is a 24 hour lobby bar with live music every night and the shows outside are very well done. We stayed here over New years and even though it was very busy on New years eve at the resort, the staff did an excellent job on keeping up with service at all restaurants and bars. This is now one of my favorite resorts and I would highly recommend this resort to someone. Lastly the rooms are very clean and very modern which makes it feel more at home. I would recommend the Marina view as the view is beautiful but be aware that it is noisy till around 10:30 as the shows are on the Marina side and end at 10:30pm. I hope this helps anyone going to this resort as this resort is a 5/5 in my opinion

Playa Vista Azul: Great resort

We found the Ocean Vista Azul to be a very nice resort. The room was great, large, good view of the pool and very good bed. The staff were amazing. they were so accommodating and very nice people. There was a large assortment of food at the buffet everyday. The 3 restaurants were average. The food wasn't that good. I guess we are just used to such a variety of food in Canada and many great restaurants. We were treated so nicely by Nestor, Yoalkys and Yarilis. we had forgotten our charger so Nes [... read more]tor gave us his camera to use with our SD card. We so appreciated that. He's a great guy.

Hotel Villa Cuba: Resort of "Tomorrow"

This hotel needs to be renovated. I've heard that some suites already are, but the one we had was not. The ceiling was coming down in parts, the bathroom was quite dirty, and there was some type of ant infestation. When my wife and I asked for a different room, they responded with the word "manana" which means "tomorrow". The staff would continue this indefinitely unless you decide to get upset. They also gave us a room with two single beds even though they could clearly see that we were a coupl [... read more]e. When we requested a double, they responded with the usual "manana", or "joo come bak tomorrow, unkay?" The staff at many times can get very rude- for instance, in the cafeteria, there is a worker that cooks a few different types of meat for the customers. I witnessed the chef literally cook a piece of chicken for about 10 seconds on either side. The fellow who wanted it asked if the chef could please cook it longer, and the chef completely wigged out. He was yelling, swearing, pointing and was basically frothing at the mouth. Unprofessional behaviour, and everyone was shocked. I also had a few Cuban National Pesos that I tried to give to a barista at the coffee bar, and he basically threw it back in my face as it said that it was "nothing". I didn't see anybody else tip him, so I thought he would have appreciated it. I was wrong. Do not leave any items unattended, they will disappear really fast...And I mean fast, like "gone in 60 seconds". I brought my own hot sauce and it disappeared. The chef in the buffet tried convincing me that they threw it away, but I find that hard to believe. My wife's water bottle also mysteriously disappeared when she left for 2 minutes to go to the bathroom. The buffet food was absolutely atrocious! You will not see anybody in the dining room with a smiling face while eating this food. It gave me explosive diarrhea for about 3 days. There was so much water coming out of my behind that my wife thought that I was repeatedly flushing the toilet, but I wasn't! I was constantly bloated and very gassy. So gassy in fact, that it was impossible to hold in. My sphincter didn't have the strength to hold in so much compressed gas. After about 5 PSI, she gave way, and I found myself elevated off my chair by a few inches. A few days later, my wife got food poisoning and had diarrhea and vomiting concurrently, where she had to sit on the toilet and vomit into the garbage can. I met a about 5 other people at the resort, and they had a similar experience. The only good thing about the poor quality of the food is that you can meet tons of people at the buffet line because everyone was commenting about it. For instance, there was a dish there that was corn and beans that was impregnated into strawberry jello and sliced up. I met some Quebecois fellow that was brave enough to try it. He nicely reported back by stating that it was "very weird". The hours of the buffet are rather strange. Supper starts at 6:30 pm and ends around 9:30 or 10 pm. We were used to buffets being open all the time as people have schedules. Despite this, the beach bar was open, and served some basic snacks and rudimentary desserts. Be very careful about booking private tours to Havana. I asked our tour guide to take us to an authentic restaurant were Cubans eat. Instead, she took us to a westernized place that was extremely overpriced- around $30 USD or CUC per entree. There may be a cut for the people that bring you there, as my tour guide got very upset that we didn't eat there, even though we told her we didn't want to. You may want to stick to the bus that Sunwing provides. Also there is a fellow on the beach that will try to get you to go to the restaurant across the road- it's called Don Quixote. Very expensive and the person that recommends you will get a cut of this (he'll make you take a card with his number on it). It would be nice to be left alone on the beach so you can enjoy your day. All in all, we weren't impressed by the least. I stayed in Varadero 17 years ago, and since, then it appears to have gone downhill. It seems that they don't appreciate tourists and the money they bring into the country. We will be trying some place different next time. If you decide to book this hotel despite this review, then here are a few tips for you: 1. Take your own beach towel. If you lose theirs, they will charge you 15 CUC or $15 USD even though it may be at the resort. 2. Even though you have to declare it, take two way radios so you can communicate with people you travel with. We found this incredibly useful. 3. Rent a scooter from the resort next door, so you can drive around with some freedom. It's nice to get food from real Cuban restaurants in Santa Marta and Cardenas (not Varadero) so driving there is pretty neat. Costs $35 per 24 hours. 4. Book a Casa if you need 110 Volt electricity. All of the rooms in the resort are 220 Volt, so if you need to charge your ipad, phone, etc, it will be painful if you don't have 120 V. I needed my CPAP and it was a pain to get a transformer from the staff, and they always responded by saying "manana". 5. Exchange money at the Cadeca or Bank, not at the hotel. There are both in Varadero. You can get there by bus or rent a scooter. The hotel will only give you $13 CUC for $20 CAD. And if you want to change back, they will only give you the $13 CAD back (1 for 1 exchange rate). 6. The A La Carte restaurant booking people show up at about 1:30 pm. So they ruin your day. And sometimes they are late or don't show up at all. I waiting for the first day, and then they told me it was a holiday. Then on Tuesday, I went again, and then the hotel staff said the same thing. I finally ended up getting the booking for Wednesday, but had to wait in a huge line that went down the stairs all the way to the balcony. Great way to spend the afternoon! 7. Sunwing says that it is an 8 day trip, but I guess they count the time that you take off. So for instance, we left Canada on Saturday night, and left the following Saturday, but the flight left at 3 in the morning. So technically 8 days, but not really. And I had to check out on Saturday and spent 12 hours without a hotel room! Everyone was in the same boat and was hanging around the lobby with all their luggage. 8. The internet is a pain. There are only a few spots in the lobby that have Wi-Fi and you have to buy internet cards. If you need internet that is constant and dependable, then this isn't the place for you. 9. Bring insect repellent. The mosquitoes are very small and you won't even notice that you're getting bitten until your ankles start burning. 10. If you rent out a scooter, check out Santa Marta and Cardenas. We purchased excellent food in Cardenas at a restaurant called La Perla del Norte. Also Santa Marta has a sugar cane juice and churro stand that are basically free. For the juice, which is fresh, it is 2 Cuban Pesos and the Churros are 5 Cuban Pesos (not the CUCs). We went there every day. 11. Be careful of buying cigars on the beach. Many of them can be fake, so do your research before you go (the internet is a hard to get on at this resort). You can probably still get some real ones from the store in the hotel.

Valentin El Patriarca Varadero: Pleasurable Stay

First of all great variety of foods each day. That's a good thing for Cuba. I read many reviews complaining about disgusting rooms and facilities on Trip Advisor. Glad they were wrong. Maybe some people are expecting The Ritz. Was it perfect? No. Was it worth every penny we payed for? YES. We asked for 1 room with King bed and the other with 2 Doubles for or daughters. We got 2 Double rooms. Our agent did everything she could to get us in to this resort even though every site I visited said it w [... read more]as booked up. Thank you Tripcentral.ca. Property was not the best we have stayed at but grounds staff was always busy and friendly. Rooms were well layed out and comfortable. Showers leaked out into bathroom floors in both rooms due to poor ledge design but if you pulled door in further it kept it to a minimum. Maid service was good but tipping her really helps. Pool is shallow so great for just hanging around in. Foam Party once a week, great fun for all ages. Pool bar staff were busy but good. Entertainment staff by far the best we have encountered. Carlos is now an Email friend. The day before we left was not the best weather so bring out sound system was a No. Carlos joined us under the cover of the pool bar and entertained our 10 year old nephew. They are now dancing friends. Beach restaurant has the best lunch meals we have had. Beach is excellent. I think my wife brought home 5lbs of shells. Beautiful turquoise water.

Grand Memories Varadero: worst resort we ever been to!!!

1. check in over one hour. There were over 100 people long line up however only 2 front desk staff who really weren't efficient at all, so I could see all those guest's frustrations and anger....we were so lucky that we were at front of line. 2.room extremely dirty. there were couple pieces of bread and bunch of hairs on the floor and all dark color furniture surface was all white that I could write with my finger. there weren't beach towels nor bottle of water. next morning, I found there is  [... read more]no hot water, so we had to take cold shower. I went to talk with front desk, customer service desk, manager, sunwing staff and sunwing desk. finally they changed our room however again there was no hot water so we had to have cold shower whole time while we were there. 3. Long lineups for everything including check in, bars, money exchanging, restaurant booking, buffet restaurants, toilets, towel exchange station, etc... 4 Food awfull, we ate three things in a week that we liked 5 we all got sick and had the runs and bad stomach aches which we brought home and suffered for a few days. 6 If this is communism let democracy reign. Staff showed no drive for the better part. 7 Room service non existent, never changed our sheets nor pillow cases, towels even I left all towels on the floor so I expected that they will change but they picked up from floor and put them on the shelf so when I found that next day I left note with towels saying " Please change towels" then yes, they changed our towels to new ones but same time they took all change that we left in our room!!! 8 poor quality drinks, constantly out of ice. 9 most staff are very bad (rude) attitude and I understand and have compassion for them since there are not enough staff to serve all those long frustrated line ups but also I could see the communist attitude that they really don't care because they get same pay anyways doesn't matter of their performance. 10 we had so much fun talking about all those so many complains with other guests at bar, beach, and pool, for example, one night, a couple of ladies told us at bar that all toilet has no toilet seats so they have to lift their bums and most of the time no toilet paper. I told them that after my husband tried 5 different toilets looking for one has toilet paper and still could not find it so he had to go back to room,since then I always carried roll of toilet paper with me. This place is terrible, I hope other resorts will bring guests back but not this one. This hotel is in desperate need of proper hotel management, food and beverage management and housekeeping management. We are extremely disappointed since we paid $6,000 can dollar which is $1500 per person!!! It was total rip off in our opinion. therefor we'll never go back to Cuba!!!

Punta Peninsula Varadero: Fun in the sun

Pros: - We loved the beach and pool, we were there the first week in Jan, seemed to be plenty of chairs to go around. - Reasonable cost - Clear and very nice ocean to swim in - Very nice beach sand - Most staff were nice - The bar service seems to have improved - Exchange rate at hotel was only 3% less than the airport Cons: - Mosquitoes! Bring bug spray! (only in the evenings) - Musty smell from the A/C in the room. Fixed by turning off the A/C and airing out the room. Luckily it w [... read more]asn't hot enough to need A/C. - Coffee in the cafeteria is terrible (pretty good from the bars) - The red wine is terrible, I'm not sure why they don't change their supplier - They changed the towel policy from a card system to one where you get them in your room. So of course no towels for the first couple of days. - I think the nightly entertainment has gone down hill, most of the shows seemed identical with different costumes and music. Could not understand anything the announcer said. Wifi: They now have internet access via wifi available only near the front desk. The cost is supposed to be $1.5 CUC per hour but they will occasionally charge you $2 CUC. There is a semi-permanent sign up saying the wifi is very slow and unreliable, which it was and even turned off for a day (I don't think they plan on fixing the problems). The system also requires you to go to a page to turn off your access when you are done or 10 minutes of use can eat up the entire hour (if the system goes unreliable then you just loose your hour). Despite the cons we would probably go again.

Starfish Cuatro Palmas: Had an amazing vacation!

The things we liked best, in this order, were: the actual resort location and smallish size (we didn't have to go far for anything and the amenities off the resort were steps away), the beach, the animation team and nightly shows (better than we've ever seen), the food, the friendly staff and all the daytime activities. All these things were great. The resort grounds were also clean and well maintained. The salsa bar across the street was a hit as was the Beatles Bar down the road. The rooms, [... read more] however, varied and some were in need of repair and updating. We had an upgraded room and it was fine, but basic. We were prepared for the worst because of reviews from others travelling to Cuba, particularly about the food, and were presently surprised - we will definitely return!

Club Karey: Perfect for me

I had a great time, loved the staff and the food was better than just okay. If you are looking for perfect it's not at Club Karey but if your looking for unpretentious comfort with all its beautiful imperfections it is. People who do their best appreciate your smile and a kind word as much as a tip Club Karey will suit you. It's not perfect but neither am I.

Muthu Playa Varadero: Great resort

It's a clean resort, but the hotel need a major renovation. Main doors , balckony and closet sliding doors need to be replaced or fixed. Shower area to be redesign. The resort need more washrooms, (at least one to be built for the restaurant by the beach).

Iberostar Origin Playa Alameda: So-so resort, but great staff

Got room #1032. There was no hot water when we checked in. I had to take a cold shower since I hopped in the shower and got myself wet already. After taking the cold shower, I told the reception about the problem. They said they'll send someone. We waited but no one came, so we went to eat since we were hungry. After dinner, they said they'll send someone in 20 minutes. They still didn't come. So the first night, we did not have hot water. They finally came to fix it next morning. Even then, the [... read more] water was not HOT. It was lukewarm. Also, the washroom and closet doors don't close completely. They are wooden doors, so they probably expanded due to the heat. The remote controller didn't work on the TV, and no power to the safe. The overall room looked old-fashion. But the staff was amazing! The awesome staff made up to our crappy room. We went in December, so the cost to stay at this resort was quite high. I know 4.5 star in Cuba is not 4.5 star, but I'd at least expect to have hot water. I didn't feel like I got what I paid for. However, we made the best of the trip and it was still fun.