Melia Marina Varadero: Resort for real optimists.

My wife and have stayed in Melia Marina for a week in July 2016. At very first day I hated this hotel so much so I started to negotiate for exchange. Then we decided to make a final decision on next day. Then another one. Now I put firm 4 stars for them and recommend for anyone. No, nothing was really changed. The broken shelf and shower, spotted towels and dirty room still were there. It wasn't a matter for us anymore. Look what we found there: 1. The ride from airport takes 45 minut [... read more]es. The resort locates at big marina filled by dozens of identical (government?) yachts. It has more "city" than "orchard" style. The concrete is everywhere, no place to sit outside under tree. Lot of people use this place for intermediate, 2-3 days stay during cross-Cuban travels.  It cause a momentary inflation of inhabitants followed by long lines. More than half of guests were from South and Latin Americas. We stayed in remote "apartments" building, room 3106. It had a small kitchen inside. 2. Beach. Absolutely the best place of resort, period. It locates within 10-minutes (under sun) walk  or 3 minutes  ride on electric shuttle. Awesome shallow turquoise water,  no rocks or/and weeds under feet. Very safe for kids. In July the water temperature reaches level of human body. I felt as to be a fetus again.  However it is really small. Beach workers doesn't enforce "no person – no spot" policy. As a result all chairs in the shadow after 8.30 am are marked as "occupied" by sandals, baseball caps or towels. Beach activity are volleyball and aerobic. Nice Latinos music sounds almost all of the day. Free kayaking and catamaran rides. Bar and restaurant with decent food right here. 3. The personnel. Some visitors call local stuff "friendly" but in my opinion they are just bothersome and tedious. They don't feel the distance between amiability and discourtesy (imho) / For example, our room cleaning lady were bombing us daily with written messages instead of simple performing her duties like removing dust from tables and hairs from previous guests. On the fourth day my wife did the complete room cleaning (and left a traditional dollar on the bed which was taken). On another night when we were sitting in buffet's terrace the waiter approached, calling us "amigos" then made a 20-minutes speech about her hard life in Cuba finishing it with demonstration of her family photos. Probably, I should response with story of my life with 48-60 hours work in metal stamping environment. We would cry together then; but no CNN reporters where there. Hotel has a lot of work force. Real worker are always busy and invisible. But we've seen lot of them who look very relaxed doing nothing and hiding from supervisors.   Meanwhile the lines were everywhere for 3 days. To check-in. To check-out. For lunch or dinner. To exchange a currency (there is a special person in separate office which has two breaks, 90 minutes each) 4. Wi-Fi is available only at lobby. Each night I saw at least 30 people trying to get a network connection which is really slow and costs 2 US for an hour. You have to buy a special card which is not always in stock. Also, the lack of outlets to charge the dying phone or tablet. 5 The pool. I didn't stay there even a second. In my opinion the idea to spend a Carribean vacation at the chlorine water pool is silly (at least). 6. The room. As soon as we step into we felt the smell of mold. 5 minutes later we found a falling towel's shelf and bleeding shower hose. Three times I called to customer service and got only promises. The shower hose is only 4 feet long, and attached to the bath. Any person higher than 5 ft need to knee to take a shower (while holding ruptured place with palm). One peace of soap. Two bath towels. No shower caps. No light above bath. Body wash was not refilled. 7. The food. Not bad. Not delicious. No complaints.  And very good cheeses, mango and spanish jamon on breakfasts. 8.  The bar. One of the best I visited in my 15 Caribbean vacations. I left 50 US as the tips there. Real cocktails. Real coffee. Real scotch. 9. Vicinity. You can take taxi or hop-on/hop-off bus ( 40 minutes and 5 CUC) to travel to Varadero. If you have forgotten the smell of exhaust gases  from 70s, or gonna see the classic cars from 1956 BC (Before Castro), or need to renew old Che Guevara portrait, that place for you. 10. Entertainment. There is no permanent place like theater there. Dancer have to use occasional spots to change and perform on concrete (very cruel!). However we see a lot of good artists, especially who perform in lobby during dinner hours. And the water show was amazing (I suspect   It was the Olympic team who kept away from Rio). Optimistic conclusion: in spite of all above-mentioned, the hotel is still a good choice for not-so-picky travelers. And as long they will keep price 20% lower then more comfortable resorts around (Royal Hicacos, for example) they will attract people.

Paradisus Princesa Del Mar: Paradise (Except the food)

The hotel is beautiful, clean, and very classy. Well organized, we had our room key and was ready to roll witching 15 minutes of arriving at the hotel. The highlight of this trip was the beech. Crystal clear water and white sand. I have a chronic pain condition and have never felt better in my life, I have to believe that saltwater has many therapeutic properties. The staff was very friendly and accommodating. The pool is very nice but I didn't use it because I can go to a pool anytime so  [... read more]I would only swim in the beech while there. This hotel is not for partying, it's pretty quite and older mature clientele which was fine for me but if you're looking to party hard this is not the place. They do advertise wifi but be advised that wifi is not available in the rooms only at the front lobby to which you will have to purchase a wifi card for 2CUC for one hour. And the wifi will not work with Samsung devises, iPhones work fine. The big downfall to the trip was the food. I found most of the food unedable, ate mostly fries and fruit the whole week. Eating the meat offered is like rolling the dice. Not sure what the meat was and food safety practices found here in Canada do not apply there. The person running the grill only has one pare of tongs and will pick up your cooked 'meat' to put on your plate seconds after using the same tongs to pick up raw meat to grill for another guest. I didn't eat the meat but my wife did and had stomach issues most of the week. I would recommend bringing some snacks as you will not be able to find any there. I don't blame this hotel particularly for the food as they are just working with what they can get and after going though the town and also speaking to other people at other resorts it's all the same, they just don't have access to good products. My goal was to get away and relax and I accomplished that so the bad food didn't ruin my vacation. Staff do appreciate tips although I found they appreciate items more. The country is very supressed as to what they have access to and even if you give them money they don't have many options on what they can buy, so they really appreciate everyday items that we take for granted. I gave a nice guy a pair of adidas saddles and I can't explain how appreciative he was. the Cuban people are very nice and I would say Cuba is one of the safest places in the world you can go. You can go anywhere anytime without worrying. All and all very nice vacation.

Valentin El Patriarca Varadero: Way above expectations

The food was way above average for Cuba. Varadero beach is one of the best beaches in the Caribbean and this hotel sits on one of the best spots on the beach. Our room was large, air conditioning worked well, large bathroom with soaker tub and separate shower.

Palma Real: Blindsided

This resort seemed nice from the outside. However, our experience at this resort was poor. Our A/C didn't work in our room; the bar staff at the lobby and pool area seemed pained to serve us, they were grumpy for the entire time we were there. We foolishly thought that tipping generously would change their attitude towards us; but our money seemed to add insult to injury when we tipped; seemed like we offended them with our tips. All the staff were unapproachable and extremely unprofessional, ex [... read more]cept for two lovely waiters, two waitresses and Jesus. We went for breakfast a morning only to find all the dishes that were put out for service filthy. We had to bring this to their attention and wondered how in the world they could have missed that. There were swarms of flies everywhere. Added to all the other stuff, our maid gave us one roll of toilet paper for our entire trip good thing I took my own; she even used our phone whilst we were in the room and spoke about us (thinking most likely that we didn't understand Spanish fortunately we do). I know you may be thinking that this was just my experience etc. but I'm from the Caribbean originally; it takes a lot to phase me. Take my advice and book another resort. This one needs new management and a heart.

Palma Real: Quite Basic

I found the hotel quite basic and the food was not so good. I am not a foodie but we ended up eating out in the evenings There are plenty of restaurants near and not expensive There are many markets near but they close quite early in the evenings The beach is about 7 minutes walk and is lovely

Paradisus Princesa Del Mar: Disappointing, not 5 stars

Gorgeous beach, (mostly) friendly staff, calm. However, the quality of the food was lacking (the food was pretty awful, there were insects in the buffet and I got sick, the restaurants are basically the same food). Also the room was not very clean (a lot of stains). We ended up coming back early bwcause I had food poisoning. Overall, I am very disappointed, I paid 2000 for 2 and I regret not going somewhere else like Jamaica (it would have been more expensive but definitely worth it!)

Iberostar Origin Laguna Azul: Very enjoyable resort.

After reading lots of negative reviews, I was not sure what to expect. I found this resort very clean, food very good, service great, and the staff couldn't have been nicer.The beach was beautiful. Although we did find the loungers hard on the back. I can see where some people had an issue with the room towels, bud I didn't let it spoil my vacation. The rooms were good size, a little bit tired, but had everything we needed. The maid did a great job with keeping it clean. I'm not a first t [... read more]imer to Cuba, I've been many times to different star rated resorts, I find "most times" you get what you pay for. I found this resort good value for money.

Hotel Villa Cuba: Mixed Feelings....

Just back from staying at this hotel, and have mixed feelings. The rooms were standard for Cuba and the food not bad (didn't lose any weight while there). The beer flowed nicely, and the beach and weather were beautiful. Now here is the thing, I've been to Cuba three times now and this is the first time that I came across being ignored and having crappy service. This hotel is popular for the Cuban's, we found that the staff would ignore us while standing in line for drinks, food etc and sp [... read more]eak directly with them. It went of for a couple of days but I did speak with our rep who then spoke to the hotel. The service did get much better but it left a bitter taste in our mouth. Also I want to note that we found the Cuban's to be rather rude and messy, leaving their garbage at the pool and putting their cigarettes out anywhere. The hotel did have garbage cans and ash trays everywhere but few seemed to use them. This may sound like a dumb thing to complain about but when you are getting out of the pool to stand on soggy cigarettes it become gross after awhile. One last thing, when we first arrived the staff were not that helpful in advising what and where things were. My son got sick and when we had to take him to a clinic to see a doctor. That went extremely well but the hotel did not advise us when we arrived that they had a doctor on site for a few hours a day, that would have been nice..... Anyways very glad we went but wouldn't be running back to this resort.

Hotel Villa Cuba: Be Live Varadero

The building was built in 1996. I had no complaints with the rooms. The meals in the buffet were the same every day. I found the service to be the worst. If you sat at the beach bar and a Cuban family sat after you, they would be served first. If you were in line at the bar, a Cuban would come up behind you , speak spanish to the bar tender and they would get served before you. The servers were friendly to you, I just thought it was ignorant that they ignored you , I just found the people very [... read more] pushy and messy, they never threw anything in the garbage cans that were all around the pool area, just got up and left. It's been 25 years since I was in Cuba last, I been back, feel the same as I did years ago, many other nicer places to visit so I won't be back again.

Grand Memories Varadero: Subpar customer service

We went to the Grand Memories hotel after researching for weeks and wanted a place that was well rated for couples or singles. We ended up booking with Trip Central as they had the best deal. A list of pros and cons of our trip are below: Positives: - The resort was very well landscaped and maintained. - The resort was located at the perfect place to get to downtown Varadero and visit off the resort. - The Diamond club option was wonderful. Paying a little more, we had all our reserva [... read more]tions at the a la carte restaurants booked for us so we didn’t have to wait in line for an hour to book them each morning. - The food in the buffet and a la carte restaurants were delicious with many great options and variety. Everything looked fresh and there was rarely anything that was considered tasteless. - There were many activities available to partake in, however the schedule was only available in front of the buffet. The entertainment was extremely professional and had a great variety of themes for all ages. - We had an amazing experience with one of the employees who was more than happy to give us private Cuban salsa lessons for 1.5hrs. He was looking for nothing in return but we obviously gave him a generous tip. - We were grateful that TripCentral took in our request for where we wanted our hotel room and it was in the perfect spot on the resort and close to everything. Negatives: - For a 5 star hotel, the service was sub par with lots of room for improvement. We didn’t have beach towels for 3 out of 4 days. Only after calling 3 separate times and going to the service desk did we finally receive them – but on the same day we were departing from Cuba. - The booth where you exchange the towels was closed the entire duration of our trip. - The bed sheets had old bloodstains and even a dirty shoe print. I could not sleep realizing how dirty they were and waited until 1am (1.5hrs later) until someone eventually showed up to change them. - The various times we asked for help the staff attitude was short and brash as though we were inconveniencing them for asking. - At beach side restaurant, the server went to everyone but our table when passing out water and beers, this happened 3 times! The server made us feel very uncomfortable and I felt we were racially targeted. I eventually went up to pour myself water beside the servers where I wasn’t offered any help and they continued to talk amongst themselves. - The schedule for lunch was fairly small window compared to breakfast and dinner. It opened at 1pm and closed at 3pm. - The bathroom facilities outside of your hotel room were extremely limited and poorly maintained. After checking out we still had a whole day on the resort and discovered that most bathrooms either had no toilet paper if they were functioning or they were soiled in stool. All in all we enjoyed our trip, however would not consider this resort as 5 star because of the poor customer service of the staff that work there. Based on appearance this could pass as a 5-star resort. We hesitate in returning to this resort in the future.

Blau Privilege Cayo Libertad: Blau Privilege Cayo Libertad

Great food, nicely maintained grounds and buildings. There is some grass on beach that should be removed each morning with a rake. Need to put new umbrellas on main beach although there are plenty for all. Great location. Very nice staff. This only applies to the Libertad. The main Blau Marina area is in need of an update and it should be cleaned up. Internet service should be improved. Lots of problems with those phone cards.

Palma Real: Thankfully it was only 4 nights

I booked this resort for a cheap and quick 4 night (3 days) last minute getaway. I knew it was only a 3.5 star, so I went with low expectations as this is Cuba. Except for the food, everything was as expected for a 3.5* (simple lobby, basic older room, basic entertainment, small pool, tiny bugs crawling on the sink and furnitures etc… As for the food, I think 1 star is too high! You have to leave a $20cuc per towel deposit...which is $120 cdn for 4 towels...of course when you sell back [... read more] your cuc, you don't get back the same $120 cdn. Bring your own AA and AAA batteries as both my room and my daughters room remotes had no batteries. When I asked at the front desk, they said we needed wait for the next day cleaning staff... we left and still no batteries for the remotes. I asked for a wake up call at 4 am not to miss the transfer to the airport... and of course non reliable, they did not make the call... thank god for our reliable phones. Now for the generous 1 star for the food!!! It was by far the worst food we had in about 12 trips to Cuba… mostly had stayed at 4 or 4.5 stars, what a difference a half or full star makes! The Buffet had absolutely no variety and what they had was mostly awful. It was really hot in the Buffer as I don't think they turn on the AC. The Beach Bar serves hot dogs, hamburgers and ham & cheese. So we decided can't go wrong with hamburgers. Oh yeah you can!!! All 4 of us had ants on our burgers so after taking a few bites we each found a few ants! As for the drink, it was the hottest rum lemonade or rum strawberry we ever had. The slush was water and we got 1 ice cube! (stay away from the beach bar) We tried to reserve for a la cart resto and was told they were full but to try and show up and hope for a cancellation. When we showed up and asked, they responded that unfortunately there were no cancellations so they refused to accept us. at 7pm there were a total of 6 people eating in a resto that seems it can hold at least 100 people??? We actually went to have pizza at the Plaza America mall... so image how bad the food was to actually go out to pay for a meal! The best part about the trip was we only had to stay there 4 night... thank goodness!

Melia Marina Varadero: Fantastic vacation, surpassed expectations!

We really enjoyed our vacation to Melia Marina in July 2016. The rooms were very nice, cleaned spotless, and prompt housekeeping support when needed. The food was above our expectations and we enjoyed 3 restaurants "a la carte". The French restaurant was our preferred choice. Staff was very friendly and professional in all areas of the resort. The beach was AMAZING, crystal clear water and white sand! The beach bar is close by as well as a lunch restaurant. The quick 5 minutes walk or shuttle to [... read more] the beach is not a big deal, well worth the short distance to get there. On the other side is the marina, seeing fishing boats and catamarans in and out each day. The pool was very clean, daily entertainment for everyone. Evenings were nice with a variety of bands, dance shows, DJ music or just a quiet time in the main lobby lounge. We definitely recommend this hotel to family and friends.

Playa Vista Azul: Beautiful modern resort

Facilities were wonderful, modern and very well kept. Staff was amazing and the food was decent. The beaches were Incredible Entertainment was amazing, and they had a very good array of excursions. We all had a blast.

Punta Peninsula Varadero: All you need for vacation

Great vacation,friendly staff,food was good for Cuba no complaints,room was cleaned everyday,we went to Blau Marina for second time and we had great time,recommending to families with children,night shows were good

Melia Marina Varadero: Melia Marina, beyond expectations!

In general, everything was excellent! Service was very good and so was the food. I loved how at night there were guards when walking around the pool and at the marina. We felt safe which made our vacation great. One little complain is the smell of mould in the rooms.

Palma Real: needs some work

For the positives first. The place is clean, they are starting to put some money on the look of the place mainly decorating, the grounds are well groomed considering the temperatures in July, the majority of the staff are both warm and accommodating. The hotel beach area across the road is good with lots of sun beds, and an area where you can get limited food and beverages. The negatives. The food was very dire, lots of flies in the restaurant, even in the Italian restaurant on site so called [... read more] "a la carte". Best place to go is the "La Fondu" just around the corner on the main drag where you are able to get reasonable sea food at reasonable prices and friendly staff.

Starfish Jibacoa: Nice Place Jibacoa.

I have been in Villa Jibacoa (3 stars) at the beginning of July 2016 and it was my 5th visit in this hotel. Snorkeling and diving is amazing at Jibacoa and beach itself very good. Quiet and relaxing atmosphere, Mean time, for those who want to come here: food looks like home style - you will find meat, poultry, fish, fruits and vegetables is poor. For those who likes good restaurants, I would recommend Memories Jibacoa -4+ stars . Villa Jibacoa is attractive for local people, at the  [... read more]weekend a lot of them is coming at this hotel. For me, this place is good relation between price and quality, If you are looking for good place for relax, swimming, snorkeling and not a picky eater - Welcome to Villas Jibacoa.

Valentin El Patriarca Varadero: Perfect vacation!

This hotel was just perfect! The rooms are fresh and beautiful, the beach is, well it's Cuban beach, so it's perfect sand with perfect water, the employees are always trying to help you and the food is not bad, considering it's Cuban food! The free trip to Matanzas was amazing! The only thing that they can improve is the animation at the beach and pool... Besides that, it was perfect!

Barcelo Solymar: Room for improvement but great experience overall

Just came back from a weeklong stay with friends at Barceló Solymar. This was my second time in Cuba (Holguin in 2012) and while we all enjoyed ourselves for the most part, there are some things that could improve future guests' stays. My friend and I arrived the night before our other friends, and I admit that my first impression was so-so. The resort is a bit difficult to get around at night (i.e. poorly lit in some places), and it took us a while to find our bungalow (we were told that so [... read more]meone would help us find it, but they never showed up). Luckily, the maps around the resort are straightforward, so we learned our way around quickly. As for our bungalow, we never had any issues with roaches or bedbugs. What I would suggest, though, is that the mattresses be upgraded (they were not very comfortable) and remodelling the bathrooms (especially the showers - a shower curtain would be much better than a glass screen that doesn't run along the whole bathtub). Besides that, our minibar was always stocked and our room kept impeccably clean. On that note, special thanks to our maid Dunia, who left us a handwritten note and cute towel art thanking us for the gifts/tips! That was so sweet of her and a nice way to end our stay. I'd also like to thank Onay and Gabriella for booking the à la cartes and our amazing day trip to Havana. They're very friendly and always happy to see guests, and I appreciate their help. The buffet was good, especially their pasta, potato, and rice dishes (they often have sushi for supper!). For breakfast, I especially recommend the pancakes, croissants, and the eggs cooked in front of you. I went to three à la cartes during my stay, and my favourite was Spanish (still savouring that watermelon gazpacho!). Most of my friends and I didn't feel well after the seafood restaurant, but I'm thinking this was a rare bad reaction. Hands down the best part of the resort was the beach - beautiful, clear water and plenty of activities to keep you entertained! Just keep tabs on your beach towels, though - if you lose yours, you'll have to pay 25 CUC to get a new one. When you check out, make sure to either leave the towels in your room or return them to the front desk, not the towel service. Hanging around the bars near the pool is fun; the drinks are good and groups mesh very well. But because Barceló Solymar is known as a party hotel, I wouldn't recommend it for families with small kids - the festivities can get pretty loud late into the night. Arenas Blancas, on the other side of the resort, would be a better choice for young families. Overall I would likely return to Barceló Solymar once it's remodelled. Still, while the infrastructure and some of the food can be improved, the beach, bar, and staff were great. Thanks!