Hotel Los Cactus: Wouldn't ever plan on going back

Grounds and public areas were well maintained. Lack of beach and room towels. Every time i asked for fresh towels i was informed they ran out. Food was nothing special. Dry chicken, pork and beef on the repeat. Pasta was way too hard and not cooked well at all. More like eating a raw soup. Lets just say i ate better at a 3.5 star resort. Oh on top of that my room maid Marlena was extremely rude and ungrateful.

Hotel Bella Costa: Desperate need of repair.....

We recently travelled as a group of 13 over the Christmas break to Bella Costa. This was not my first trip to Cuba so I had an idea of what to expect. Unfortunately for some of our group this was their first trip to Cuba, possibly their last. First of all, tripcentral should not rate this hotel a 4 star. It is very far from it. It is in DEPERATE need of repair. Our room on the 4th floor was definitely not up to standards. The bathroom was absolutely disgusting!!!! The amount of mould on the ceil [... read more]ing and tile was horrible. The ceiling looked like it was about to fall down. The vents were so full of dust that my son's allergies acted up so bad. The only way he could survive in the room was to have the window open or leave the room. The hallway ceiling was constantly dripping water. Toilet paper was hard to come by. The public washrooms were rarely, I mean almost never, stocked with soap or toilet paper. The staff were ok, not overly friendly. The food was ok..but after awhile the buffet is not appealing at all. The pool area was ok but the liner is loose and beach towels are never available. Keep the one your given if you get one. The beach is beautiful but was not expecting there to be so much coral. It also isn't kept as clean as our previous resort. Entertainment is almost the same type of show nightly. I know this will definitely be my last trip to Bella Costa and possibly my last to Cuba. If it wasn't for our large group we probably would have left. It's too bad that we planned this once in a lifetime trip with family and friends over 7 months ago and had this experience. We work hard for our money and paid (what I think) way too much for what we were given. I would not recoomend this resort to anyone. Please change the rating scale of this hotel. I will also be contacting Sunwing.

Paradisus Varadero: Older side not worth cost of trip, new area modern and lovely

New Family concierge area at resort is lovely and modern, beaches were amazing, most staff were friendly and helpful. First night we were checked in to the older section which is not updated but for the bathroom, however our shower flooded the room, seems water flow was a challenge with the the slope of the floor. Food was good, entertainment was quite impressive.

Villa Tortuga: You get what you pay for, great value, pleasantly surprised!

My boyfriend and I stayed here December 21-28. We booked the day before we left, so we took what we could get. We got a good deal, and we took it, leaving with open minds. The hotel is walks from downtown Varadero, so you are close to nightlife, restaurants and a market. I loved this! We were checked in quickly. Our bus ride was a short 25 mins from the airport (via bus). Our room was very musty and damp. We don't spend much time in the room anyways so we were fine for the first 3 nights, after  [... read more]which our bed began feeling damp and it was hard to sleep. Asked to change rooms and they said we couldn't because the hotel was full. We met many people during our vacation and everyone else said there rooms weren't bad. So do not stay in 6201!! Beware... The pool was clean and surprisingly warm, always lots of chairs! Decent entertainment/games during the day, including volleyball and daily salsa lessons. There's also life size chess, tennis, pool table, fitness centre, snorkelling, pedal boats, catamaran rides and more. Always something to do! The snack bar was decent. Open 10am-6pm, offered cheese and meat sandwiches, hot dogs and pizza. Everything was hot and tasty. The lobby bar is open 24hrs but does not offer beer. The bar near the pool offers basic drinks... Pina coladas, rum and coke, beer. They will not make fancy drinks or vodka/tequila drinks! I had to twist an arm to get 2 mojitos, they quickly "ran out of mint" though. The beach bar offers the best pina coladas! It is closed at 4pm daily. The beach is a public beach, so there is some littering on the sand. Regardless the beach is beautiful!! It is approx 30km long, you can walk forever! White sand, warm turquoise water! I couldn't believe the warmth. High waves which were fun for swimming!! Water is sand... No coral, no rocks! It's lovely to walk in! The buffet offered a large variety and the food was good, especially for being Cuba. They always had cucumbers, tomatos, lettuce and cold salads, cheese and cold cut selections, buffet of fresh fruit, rice, pasta and sauce, fish, chicken, pork, a specialty on the grill, beans, potatoes, cooked vegetables and more. Like most resorts, the food is repetitive and gets boring. Breakfast had the most selection and different stuff everyday. Service in the buffet was poor. There is only one a la carte on the resort, called neptuno. The food was very good, as was the service! The towel service woman were my favourite, always bright and happy to see us. Although, they almost never had clean, dry towels, they would say the truck didn't drop off more today. The beach towels are 1 per person, you get a voucher and have to keep the towel. Do not lose or they will charge $20 a towel! It's worth bringing your own! I wish I would have... Also the safe in the room is $2 a day. If you lose your room key it's a $15 fine as well. Just a few things to know. The entertainment was the best I have seen, dancing, singing, rock n roll, magic shows! It was excellent, also good music always playing. Overall we had a great vacation, I would not go back, but I would recommend for laid back, easy going people who are looking for a relaxing vacations and have realistic expectations for Cuba. They do need to improve and update the rooms. Other things I think they need are... A wet pool bar, another a la carte, more selection at the snack bar, and a disco. If they got those things I would come back, and I think they could be a 4 star hotel. This hotel is a good value.

Resonance Blu Varadero: Not Disappointed

I had read multiple reviews about this resort on TripAdvisor,with some praising the place and others who would never go back. My Bride and I visited here between Christmas and stayed over New Years and we found the resort was actually quite good. The grounds were kept clean, the bars had plenty of alcoholic beverages and the bartenders knew how to make specialty drinks. The pools were clean although a tad cool but the lower night temperatures had a play in that.Our maid kept our room clean and s [... read more]tocked with necessities like water in bottles and hygiene products with fresh towels daily. This was our first visit to Cuba and I'm quite sure not our last.

Hotel Bella Costa: Disappointing

This hotel was quite disappointing in its presentation, cleanliness and amenities. It was rated as a four star however I would rate it as a two. the resort does appear aged however with care and attention it could present better. The room we were given appeared to have mold and grime in the bathroom. Not all the light switches worked. There were still toys left behind from previous visitors. When entering our bed on the first night there was sand between the sheets. The curtains were hung with o [... read more]nly a few hangers. The lamp shades were ripped. The temperature could not be moderated in the room and the windows would not close properly. The food at the buffet and the restaurants were quite unpleasant and cold. My son and myself were ill by day three. The beaches in Cuba are beautiful however this resort does not clean the garbage off their beach. I would not recommend this hotel.

Hotel Bella Costa: Needs ALOT of work

I think Tripcentral rates this as a 3.5 to 4 star? I think that's being a little too generous. The room was ok, the bathroom disgusting. The ceiling looked like it was about to fall on top of us. If you shut the AC off the bathroom ceiling would leak. The rest of the hotel needs major updating. Staff was friendly and helpful. Our maid Mabel was awesome! The beach is beautiful and was kept clean. Overall we enjoyed our Veradero vacation but will definately not return to this resort.

Melia Marina Varadero: At best a 3 1/2 star hotel

I was expecting a much better experience with what we were told. A guest we spoke to while we were there said that 2 years ago when it opened it was amazing, great service, great food etc...however it's not like that at all. The resort looks really nice but it's starting to wear as things are not being maintained. Staff is not always happy but that I can deal with. What I can't deal with is the worry of no towels for my room or for the beach. It taking days to get extra pillows. These are things [... read more] you don't want to deal with on a vacation. I also found that the hotel commen areas were not cleaned or maintained. Our entry area to the pool had a garbage that leaked and it was gross and smelly and it took 3 days before it got cleaned up.

Occidental Arenas Blancas: Excellent trip

I was a little bit nervous as to what the resort would be like after reading some reviews, however the negative reviews I read were totally off in my mind. Rooms were large and clean AC worked no problem, shower pressure was good and water was warm. Could have used clean towels more then once, and ran out of toilet paper one day we asked for more and got more no problem. Front desk people we nice, money exchange at the resort was a rip off better rates at the bank. Lobby and beach bar were great [... read more]. Pools looked fine but I never went in spent my time at the beach instead. Beach was amazing plenty of chairs and shaded areas if needed. Chairs were a mix of older and newer ones we never had a hard time finding new chairs. There was one man who served drinks on the beach to your chair it was amazing. Food was good at the buffet I think food quality in Cuba has improved over the years. Ate at the oriental and Italian a la cartes and they were also great. I didn't see any beach activities which was a bit of a let down but they could have been on the solymar side of the beach I always stayed on the blancas side. The location of this resort is key we never had to take a taxi we could walk to shops restaurants and bars no problem. All in all great time great place it is what you make it.

Grand Memories Varadero: Worst Holiday Ever

Stayed at Grand Memories Varadero from evening of Tuesday December 20, 2016 till late afternoon of Tuesday December 27, 2016. This was my first time travelling over the Christmas Holidays, but my 20th all inclusive trip. Sunwing conned us into purchasing the elite service with a perk of paying only $25 pp instead of $50 pp in the "spirit of Christmas" Come to find out that others in the elite seats didn't even pay. AMy husband is over 6 ft tall so we requested this seating to aid in his comfo [... read more]rt. The 3 rd seat in our row was empty until 20 minutes into the flight the stewardess decided to move another passenger into the empty seat, a much larger man than my husband which then made my husband cramped in the middle seat and pused up against me in the window seat. Again, we PAID for these seats for comfort, others did not and WE were the ones who suffered, never again. Arrival at hotel took about 40 minutes. Easy comfortable drive. Reception was quick at front desk and we were given the $100 upgraded room I paid for daimond club. Apart from being a litle closer to the beach, the rooms all looked the same and were not furnished any differently. What was the $100 for ? Bathtub requires a stepstool to climb into and dare you use the handrail to pul yourself in or it would have come off the wall pulling the tiles down with it it was so loose. The handheld shower wand was also hanging from the wall, with a screw that should hold it attached to the wall right out of the wall. The shower head would not stay in an upright position to shower under becasue of this but dont despair the water was so cold, no hot water, you couldnt stay more than 1 minute in the shower anyway. This lasted throughout the week. Food was repetitive, tatsteless and COLD. Servers in hot stations were not friendly, did not smile, did not say Hola, Gracias or anything. Beach was cold and windy everyday, no fault of resort, but made for unenjoyable beach days, Day trip into Havana on December 24th was a bust with our car getting a flat tire, and tour quite boring actually. That and by 1 pm, I was so nauseaus I had to ask driver to cut our trip short and take us back to the hotel where I spent the rest of my vacation mostly in our room because I was sick with vomitting and diahrehha. I had hardly eaten anything since our arrival 3 days earlier apart from pineapple and some fresh grilled chicken. No alcohol, lots of tea. Bread was not fresh and any food in warming trays was cold. I continued to survive on tea, jello which was awful and some white rice. 2 weeks later, I am still suffering. Never went on a vacation and LOST 10 lbs ! You never know how many washrooms a resort does not have until you need one at every corner. This hotel could stand to put a few more in. Washroom by pool was always locked when I went to use it. Our flight home with sunwing was as bad if not worse. We asked if emergency row seats available, told yes, but that hostes "secretly would put us in a row with 3 seat ailse and window and block off middle seat so my husband could have extra leg room. why we beleived him I don't know, becasue alas we did not take the emergency row seat and instead were put in aisle and window seats in row 21, and then along comes a gentleman who was placed in the middle seat. No amount of complaining would rectify this. WE WILL NEVER FLY SUNWING AGAIN. WE WILL NEVER TRAVEL AT CHRISTMAS AGAIN. WE WILL NEVER GO TO VARADERO AGAIN and WE WOUL NEVER RECOMMEND GRAND MEMORIES VARADERO TO ANYONE.

Hotel Bella Costa: Disappointed

Went to this hotel over Xmas holidays. Took 6 rooms to get it okay. Either mouldy smelling, air conditioner didn't work, patio door wouldn't open, tub was disgusting looking. The Jimmys buffet restaurant has big beautiful windows to look out at if you could only see through them. Looks like they haven't been cleaned in ages. As everyone knows, Cuba doesn't always have the best food and it was always the same food everyday. The pizza was amazing at Alicia's. The staff was great, very fri [... read more]endly and tried their best to fix things for you. The beach was fantastic. Wish they would play more music than Cuban music around the pool. I stayed at the Sol Sirenas 2 years ago and I found that they looked after the grounds way better there. Hotel Bella Costa was okay but it really does need a lot of work to be done on it. It would probably be faster to tear it down and start over.

Hotel Bella Costa: Awesome Beach

I have to say the beach was lovely but some of the service at Hotel Bella Costa should be improved. I couldn't get a clean beach towel until the last day of my trip which is the 5th day & even the towel in our room are short of supply. You get the clean towel around 5:00pm for a couple of the days. The food is fine but is very difficult to book the specialty restaurants. I was able to go to only one Italian Restaurant. Lastly, I would say they really need to have better network provider as the [... read more] Wi Fi cards that we bought were very difficult to connect & it can only be used at some places at the lobby.

Hotel Bella Costa: above average!

well, this hotel is relatively well equipped and you have quite enough options to spend your time as you desire, very nice sandy beach, beautiful garden and pool area, a couple of restaurants, the thing is that don't expect a modern hotel with awesome food from hotel bella costa! sure you can enjoy your time there but the food is average and hotel building is pretty old and needs a lot of repairs. everything looks and feels very olds and sometimes working poorly. room view was awesome, though, w [... read more]aking up to a view of the garden and beatiful ocean was amazing. If you are not picky or meticulous you will enjoy residing in this hotel.

Memories Jibacoa: Tremendous holiday destination

Wonderful experience in a lush and safe setting. Hotel staff was amazing, great food, beach and entertainment. Being close to Havana, we were able to spend an entire day in the city. Our guide and transportation were fantastic and very knowledgable.

Playa Vista Azul: loved this resort

i absolutely loved this resort. workers were very friendly and made the stay enjoyable. any issues arised the employees were more then happy to accommodate you with any needs.rooms were clean day and night. the beach was only a 5 minute walk from the resort. the beaches were absolutely clean and the water was crystal clear. i would definitely go back!

Hotel Bella Costa: Still a Great Resort

This is my fourth time at Bella Costa and although it is getting older and in need of renovations and updates, you can not beat the hospitality and outgoing nature of the staff. My only complaint deals with housekeeping. I found that they were not as efficient or mindful of the daily clean up and I had to continually ask for coffee (took 3 days) and the bottle of rum that comes with my room (this took 5 days and was delivered personally by an outstanding Public Relations Manager Haydelis). [... read more] What ever concerns I had, the front desk dealt with as soon as humanly possible and with no hesitation or hassle. This resort will be taken over by new owners April 2017 and until then most likely too many changes will not be made. Many rooms require the air conditioning to be fixed, and of course some updating. Food was still good and the beach was fabulous - cleaned daily with plenty of beach chairs and the addition of more umbrellas. Entertainment staff are still going strong. Pool liner really needs to be changed but extremely clean. Overall I would still recommend this resort to anyone who wants a great location, beautiful beach, good food and fantastic staff. The key is to be willing to accept any faults and just relax and enjoy.

Iberostar Origin Tainos: Absolutely amazing

Everything was great, the resort was clean and beautiful the staff were very helpful and organised. They had activities going on everyday. Great place to bring a family, there was always something to do. The beach was absolutly amazing literally a one minute walk from our room. food was good also

Roc Barlovento: Highly recommended

This was our second visit to Barlevento. Many changes in the 5 years between trips, all improvements. The small prearranged al la carte reservations and beach towels at check-in were a welcome surprise. We wouldn't hesitate to return.

Muthu Playa Varadero: Awesome!

We just returned from a four night stay at Playa D'Oro. We had a wonderful time! Good food, service and friendly staff. The beach is amazing! Rooms are dated and could use a fresh coat of paint, but we only used our room for sleeping.

Melia Varadero: Great Vacation

We would totally recommend the resort. Although the food was only ok, everthing else was fabulous. The Level was well worth the extra cost as we were treated like royalty. The beaches and the scenery were second to none.