Valentin El Patriarca Varadero: Good resort!

The landscape on this resort was beautiful. People working hard on it every day. The resort is nice and the food was super tasty! The beach was incredible. Very clean and crystal clear. The rooms are small and out dated but they were clean. Remember, this is a third world country so do not expect the elegant room you would find in Canada or the U.S. We had a great time and seems to be one of the nicer resorts.

Ocean Coral Spring: Still in the works

Hotel was very nice. Rooms very spacious and new. People working there were very nice. Resort is not completly done. Two restaurants were still under Renovations. The lazy river was also not open. Construction going on in many areas of the resort. For what we paid almost 2000. A person was not worth the money. The beach is terrible and i am a beach person so very disappointed. We had a good week as we made the best of everything. This resort needs at least another year to complete everything. [... read more] I do have to say food was very good. So overall 50/50. Good and bad.. Love to go back to Jamaica but i would definitely try a different resort. Maria from Hamilton Was there last week of February.

Hotel Roc Casa del Mar: Great 2 weeks!

This is our second trip to oceans! We did 2 weeks this year... we can’t say enough about the beach! So clean! a very well laid out resort. Very large, lots of walking but easy to get around. No complaints about the food. Staff are wonderful always there to fulfill your needs. Rooms are clean and fresh smelling but the beds and pillows need an up grade. Great bang for your buck. We would return. The catamaran trip was also fantastic!

Ocean Riviera Paradise: Great Resort

Beautiful grounds. Excellent staff. Only drawback was the aggressiveness of the H10 Timeshare people, first minute we arrived, cost us 3 unnecessary hours...:( Nicholas the bartender at the main lobby bar-great. Irene-waitress at same bar-excellent.

Valentin El Patriarca Varadero: Great Experience

It was my fiancé’s first time visiting Cuba and this resort impressed us with their food, (especially the Italian a la carte), nightly entertainment and live music. Would recommend for families and retired couples.

Playa Vista Azul: Worst experience ever

Absolutely disappointed with our stay. Rooms were typical although we had dirty used soap and towels were sparse. Pool was ok but the large bed loungers were broken or filthy and smelled disgusting. Two very small beach areas with not enough lounge chairs crammed together with other resorts. Beaches were rocky and had lots of coral and shells making it very difficult to walk on and get in the water. Absolutely the worst food ever with the same items being served each day. Cockroaches seen crawl [... read more]ing on the soup bowls in the buffet. A la cartes were first come first serve and the food was very similar to the buffet. Long line ups due to poor staffing in the snack bars. Waited over an hour for a hotdog. We are by no means picky but finding something to eat that was enjoyable was a struggle even their fruits and fresh juices smelled rotten. Alcoholic drinks were hit or miss with not as much of a selection as other resorts. Staff didn’t go out of their way to help and weren’t all that friendly. Definitely should not be rated as a 5 star, a low 3 is being generous. Very over priced resort without the 5 star amenities!!!!

Hotel Roc Casa del Mar: Ocean holiday

I will start with the positive . Excellent beach, great hospitality, clean room, friendly staff & good entertainment. The negative, no spoons, no vino blanco, only cola for mix at some of the bars. CAUTION when swimming at the beach found broken plates near shore in the water found while snorkelling. In all typical Cuba vacation, can’t beat the weather.

Ocean El Faro: Lovely resort

We thought the resort was well laid out with all the restaurants on one street . Loved the coffee shop. We enjoyed the lazy man river. For our 40th anniversary guest services graciously sent us a bottle of champagne with 2 glasses and chocolates. We enjoyed our rooftop hot tub and jacuzzi with 2 bathrooms. The food was really good and the staff were very helpful and kind. The main lobby is gorgeous.

Hotel Roc Casa del Mar: Very good resort

The room was spacious, poolside amazing, place spots to have a drink or a meal . Beautiful beach . People all nice and very helpful. There was a lot of food, big choice off fish, many fruits and vegetables

Hotel Roc Casa del Mar: Lovely Resort!

My daughter and I really enjoyed our time at Ocean Casa del Mar. Staff were wonderful and tried hard to make our stay happy and comfortable. The beach crew is amazing! Kudos to the beach bar staff and beach grill cooks! The front desk and customer service staff were exceptional and took care of all our needs and special requests. The beach is simply gorgeous! We didn’t spend much time at the pool but there was daily entertainment as well as music and animation. Would definitely go back. Our ro [... read more]om could use a little updating but it was exceptionally clean! Worth upgrading to Ocean View.

Ocean Coral Riviera Cancun: Great Family Friendly Resort With Exceptional Service

This is a great resort, especially for families. A good mix of adult and kid friendly amenities and services. The food was great and the service was absolutely exceptional. The staff that we encountered was incredible, namely, Roberto, Edna, Antonio, Alfaro and Hostess Grecia Zalaya from the Restaurant Ritratto D'Italia went out of their way to make us comfortable. And our bar girl Rosica was great. They were outstanding and definitely made a big difference in the experience for our family.  [... read more]The one problem we encountered was the difference between the Privilege package and the regular package, we were not informed about this ahead of time and it affected our ability to book the a la carte restaurants. The hotel staff were understanding of this after some discussion and did allow us to book at a reasonable time due to the fact we were with four small children. Other than that there’s not much to say other than the fact that although the hotel and grounds are exceptional, it’s the staff that really shine and make for an amazing experience when staying there. Five stars for the service.

Playa Vista Azul: Awesome Resort!

We had a terrific family vacation. A beautiful resort and I’m looking forward to going back. We upgraded to Privilege and were not disappointed. Amazing service, very nice restaurants and great people. Our family enjoyed the wonderful Cuban culture. Pools and beaches are all within a short walk. Thanks Yadil, Maykel, Yanelkis, Katia and Yuriel. Looking forward to seeing you soon.

Ocean Riviera Paradise: Nice Resort, Terrible Food!

Hotel facilities, grounds, pools are nice, but the food is the worst I’ve ever had at an all inclusive resort. Both my young children, myself and a few others in our group all got food poisoning. It was extremely difficult to find something even appetizing enough to eat. The Mexican restaurant was so bad. I don’t get why the Mexican food is the worst. It should be the one thing that tastes good. Even the scrambled eggs were gross. How do you screw up scrambled eggs???

Hotel Roc Casa del Mar: Nice resort

Everything was really good we loved our stay but, one thing that i didn’t like was our room phone didn’t work and i told them they didn’t fix it n told me to complain about it to my travel agent and the wifi was limited

Playa Vista Azul: Ocean Vista Azul

The resort was awesome, small and not busy. Recommend the privilege. The alacarte restaurants were awesome. The buffet was decent but still a great place to eat. The view was amazing and the beaches were very nice

Playa Vista Azul: Worst vacation ever

From the moment I stepped foot in the room I knew The resort is not up to par. The room was filthy. The sheet wore stained the floor dirty the room smell musty. I took me 1 hour of fighting with front desk for them to clean the room. The food was cuba food I wasn’t expecting a lot. But the dishes were always dirty. There was cockroaches crawling on the walls. The pool was nice but 1/2 of the loungers are broken. The a la carte restaurants are confusing you can’t get a seat. So I never tri [... read more]ed them because you put your name on a list and wait so if you lucky you get a seat. So I didn’t eat at a la carte. The beach was nice and people are friendly. Beach towels that is another story. They never had any clean towels. Every time I go to get clean towels it is the same excuse we don’t have clean towels. So we used the same towels for the whole week. The room was cleaned daily but they never put more than 2 towels and we are 3 people in the room. I always have to call for towels. The don’t give you hand towels. So over all that resort is not 5 stars as advertised. It is maximum 3 star. I have travelled south over 26 times For vacation by far this the worst vacation I ever had. Never would I even come near this resort.

Valentin El Patriarca Varadero: Beautiful resort.

The first time I went to this resort, it was a year old. It was a fresh beautiful resort but after 3 visits the resort rooms need to be updated. The grounds are still as beautiful as it was or more... Public bathrooms are impressively clean. The staff, are the most kind. The cleaning of the rooms should step up a bit...they never mopped up the floor for 7 days. The towel system is bad, you have to wait for the cleaning person to change your towels and that usually happens late morning. T [... read more]he walkway tiles around the lobby, restaurants and ect.. need to be changed to a rough type of titles because I've experienced and seen people slip after it rained. In several occasions, I went to the front desk to ask them to put a sign at the entrance. The beach is beautiful! But I think it should be swept daily, not every 2or3 days. The entertainment is really poor compared to the early years. Overall this resort is beautiful and I'd go back in a heartbeat. 4+

Ocean Coral Spring: Not worth the price 2/5

All the bad reviews are accurate!! Did not receive swim up room. Trouble with door lock and air conditioning. Sewage smells. Very dirty resort and not due to construction but because not being cleaned. Worst beach, small shallow Can go beyond security at end of property at own risk only Restaurants that were working very slow Food was just ok nothing special Anyone can do omelets Privilege was a joke no real benefit Many ppl upset the week we were there and issues not being addressed  [... read more] Never would we go back To sum it up Cuba was better!

Hotel Roc Casa del Mar: Just OK

First off, we are not all-inclusive people. We went to one in Punta Canta about 12 years ago, Dreams in Cabo for a wedding in 2016 and before that visited a kid-friendly resort in Jamaica called FDR for 6+ years back in 1999. We went away in February because both of our kids were in uni and had Reading Week. After I had decided on this trip I then realized it was a very expensive time to travel south. I picked Cuba because it was economical, and I chose Ocean Casa del Mar for its beaches. We ha [... read more]d always been told the food was not great at Cuba resorts, but we figured everyone has different expectations and we were there for family time and relaxing on the beach. Although we had read up on Cuba, we were not prepared for needing to bring cash. All other trips we have taken, we have been able to order the country’s currency ahead of time and bring it with us. We thought once we got there, our credit card, plus an ATM would suffice. I don’t need to get into detail, but between the 4 of us, we had absolutely no cash until we were able to exchange at the hotel “bank” after 1pm the following day, and the exchange included a hefty service charge. SO BRING CASH! We arrived at night and in typical resort hotel style, one of our 2 rooms could not be found. Luckily they had no problem finding us a room, but they were in separate buildings. We were told to come back in the morning and they would try to get our rooms closer together. We were pleasantly relocated to the same building and floor. Many people said to choose at minimum a 5-star hotel in Cuba. This was a very tired hotel. Horrible pillows (and they had a musty smell), the drawers did not work well and the patio door almost took my back out every time I had to open it. We were in multiple rooms, since we had 2 and moved from buildings 2 & 8 to building 1. Eight was considered a “privilege” building because it was the closest to the beach, but since the beach was not really visible from the resort, that didn’t mean much. We expected a little more — especially when our towels would not be exchanged for fresh ones — even when left on the bathroom floor. That really grossed me out because we would use our towels after showering to wring out our bathing suits and stuff. Even when we dialled “5” for housekeeping (like we were told to do if we needed anything), nothing showed up. Even though they didn’t change our sheets daily (I don’t mind that), please change the towels! Once my daughter asked for clean ones as we were leaving our rooms. The room had been cleaned, but the towels were wet. He basically took their wet towels went around the corner, refolded them and gave them back. If you aren’t going to change towels daily, just let us know, and we will hang them up to dry. We were each given a beach towel in our rooms to be exchanged for clean ones. I like that idea in terms of conservation, and people being less likely to claim beach chairs with towels and never come back, but the cabana where they were stored was either closed or didn’t have clean ones, so we didn’t really get to exchange those much either. I’m sure most resorts have that problem with beach towels. As stately earlier, the beaches are beautiful. You had to get out to the beach or pool area early to secure your spot, and quite a few of the beach chairs were cracked or broken. Why not remove them? There was a good selection of free, non-motorized water equipment like paddle boats, kayaks and hover cats and the marina staff were awesome. Food & drinks. Let’s start with the drinks. We found one really lovely waitress who remembered our drinks from the night before. She came over as soon as we sat down and asked us if we wanted them again! In general, we found going up to the bar to ask for a drink other than beer was a crap shoot. There were cocktail menus everywhere, yet other than the one night of true mojitos, (I was told no to a mojito the first night we got there) anytime I asked for a specific drink, they basically made what they wanted and gave it to you. I understand that some ingredients might not be available, I’m no diva, but one time we went up to the bar, asked for 3 different drinks, and all received the same type of drink! They ran out of white wine and cola while we were there. After a few days of drinking stuff I didn’t ask for, and didn’t enjoy, I stopped drinking during the day and just had red wine at dinner. The food — we were warned, multiple times, but we thought people exaggerated. I realize they are limited in variety, but I found the buffets extremely wasteful, repetitive & slightly bland. We went into Remedios one day and had a wonderful meal. So we know there is the possibility of good food, it just isn’t at the resorts? Mike’s Cafe had great coffee and my son loved their iced Cuban coffee. We hired a wonderful taxi driver named Eduardo to take us into Remedios for the day. He was our own private tour guide, giving us little history lessons along the way. He seemed to know everyone and took us to the Church of San Juan Bautista where we were given a tour by a very proud & funny church administrator. We went to the open air market, our son decided to get a haircut at the local barber and we had a lovely shrimp lunch at an old hotel. The staff were a range of really helpful & kind, to indifferent. The staff in the buffet area were wonderful, always making sure we had enough to eat & drink. The second day of being seated by the same waitress, I was greeted with a kiss! One waiter always shook our hands. The kindness & hospitality of the majority of the staff definitely balanced the scales, but I really did not like feeling obliged to tip for everything. You could tell some staff just expected it. Again the all-inclusives we had been to in the past we would tip our room staff and tipped for things done beyond the ordinary. There were shows every night and although we did not hang out by the pool during the day or by the main beach bar, the entertainment staff seemed really into making sure people were having a good time. I am back home and reading through reviews of people who were there at the same time as we were, and of people who have been to Cuba multiple times —and we have very different sometimes polar views. In the end it boils down to what you consider important and what you don’t. So I have tried to give a fair review of our experience, so those reading can decide for themselves. Hope this helps.

Playa Vista Azul: Beautiful resort

Clean and newer resort. Welcoming lobby with view of infinity pool and ocean. I enjoyed the variety of food available from the fresh grilled fish, roasted chicken, stewed beef, pork to the sauteed vegetables and salad bar with fresh lime wedges. There was definitely something for everyone. I completely disagree with comments about food in Cuba being subpar...it is different. Just as Cuban people visiting Canada could say about some of our food. I thoroughly enjoyed trying new dishes and app [... read more]reciated the cultural diversity. We made the decision to upgrade to privilege. We thoroughly enjoyed the privilege restaurant for breakfast and lunch and the butler who made reservations for us in all the a la carte restaurants. The privilege pool was a quiet Escape.