Valentin Perla Blanca: Terrible resort

Right from the start it was terrible. We arrived late and the rooms were not ready. After 2 hours we finally demanded a room. The room was sufficient but no privacy as the bathroom had a glass wall that you could see everything that went on in it. We go to the snack bar hoping for a bite and was told they had no bread or buns so I had a hamburg patty. The buffet was very bad as the lines were long and very slow moving. We were told that we could change our beach towels every day. That did [... read more]n't happen as every time I went to change them no one was there. We also only got 1 change of bath towels the whole week. By the time we left they had a problem with their waste system and there was raw sewage draining from the sewer.

Starfish Varadero: Average resort with amazing staff!

I went into the Starfish with a bit of hesitation.. based on the reviews I had read and the fact that it is Cuba...I mean you have to lower your expectations in Cuba. The only area that lived up to the poor reviews was the housekeeping. The maids on my block only cleaned my room maybe 3 times the whole week. And when they did, it was just a lick and a promise and out the door. Bedding never changed once the entire trip! If you stay in room 8204, check the middle bed for a small red stain on the [... read more] yellow spread. My son and I are covered in tiny bites that we are still suffering with after our return. Can I prove its from the beds...no. But I believe in my soul it is as we did not find an issue with mosquitos or anything like that. The rooms themselves are pretty basic, as all resorts in Cuba. Our tv actually worked though and carried a couple of canadian stations. This was great on the 2 rainy days of the week. We had hot water issues 3 times. Cold was fine, but hot would just not work. I admit it was getting annoying by the end of the week having to go down and complain each time, but the lobby staff were excellent and the lady in charge had it fixed within hours each time. Also, check in and out were a breeze! Done in minutes!! The food here is not amazing, but it is Cuba. The good thing is there are MANY options. We started eating at Sizzlers...the outdoor buffet...as the quality was far superior to the main buffet with about the same variety. Otherwise, we just grabbed a sandwich or burger at Legends...the sports bar on the 3rd floor. Limited menu, but the food is amazing and Dayami and Pabel are the best staff I have ever dealt with!! Open 24 hours too. The drinks are also better prepared here than the other 24 hour bar 1 floor down. The beach here is ok. I have seen better in Cuba, but it is still beautiful. A big bonus for me is they have security there...and at the pool...all night long. I didn't spend alot of time there because they have limited lounge chairs. Instead they use some sort of outdoor canopy beds. I had reservations about laying on the mattresses, but I'm not a huge beach person anyway...so not a big deal to me. I spent most of my time by the pool. The main pool is beautiful, but is apparently silent. So, if you are traveling with kids, don't go to that one as someone tried to have my teenagers kicked out for talking too loud 🙄 Instead, go to the kids area by the main buffet. This is where most of the entertainment is anyway. The bars here are good. There are 7 of them, with 2 being 24 hours. Good variety of drinks, but you can't get everything at every one. They all share the same drink menu, but don't make every drink at each one. They do well with drinkware. Some of them had to resort to plastic cups, but most used glasses. They run out of mint ALOT though, so you may have to switch up if you like mojitos. The evening entertainment is ok. They seem to have something going on every night, but it's hard to know where it is located. A good rule of thumb, is go to the Spirits Bar on the second floor. There was something there 3 of the 7 nights, but I missed the beginning as I didn't know what time it started. I can't comment on daytime entertainment as it was at the kids pool. I don't have small children, so I never spent anytime there. The location is ok. It's right on Resort Row in Varadero, but at the opposite end as the main town.The good thing is the hop on/off bus goes right there, so you can get into town for 5 pesos. It is about a 1/2 an hour bus ride though, so be prepared for that. Also, the bus stops running about 7:30 even though they say 8 o'clock. So, be on it or expect a 25 peso cab ride back. So, if you want to go to the Beatles Bar, I would suggest going in early, so you only have to take a cab once!! The staff here are amazing!! All friendly, all helpful and all with some degree of ability to speak English. And even if their English isn't the best, they at least TRY!! That is what made this trip for me All in all, this was a great vacation...other than the bug bites. I would definitely stay here again. Beautiful grounds, lots of food options, great security presence and wonderful staff!

Hotel Playa Paraiso: Absolutely Wonderful Resort

This is our fourth time at this resort. We love it there. The staff have always been friendly and very accommodating. It's just the right size where you don't have lineups everything is a short walk away.. The rooms are a good size as are the beds (starting to get worn, a little hard and flat pillows). The buffet has a good selection of food choices. We love the omelet station at breakfast and the bread is always fresh to make toast or just to eat like that with butter. A wide assortment o [... read more]f desserts and 4 different kinds of ice cream. They have changed the coffee and we didn't like it. It's way to strong now but the lobby bar can make you a nice cappuccino. As a matter of fact I think the best drinks are the lobby bar and beach bar. The pool is a good size and very nice. A few spots with tiles missing here and there. The snack shack has good Poutine and the pizza station just before the boardwalk to the beach is fantastic. There's entertainment during the day in the lobby and they have shows every evening at 9:30 in the theater. The bathrooms are okay but the one in the lobby area can become quite smelly as they are used the most. The beach is just beautiful it's our favorite spot. Plenty of space, not over crowded at all. Plenty of little huts and chairs as well. They had deep fried fish plates with rice and mussels every day and sometimes fresh made Churros. The gardens and trees are very well kept. We got to have a late 4:00 checkout for being repeat vacationers and we will be going back there again next year.

Royalton Cayo Santa Maria: Terrible experience

Overall, this was not a good experience. The hotel would maybe be a 2.5 rating if that. The people were lovely and kind and they made our time enjoyable. The service was exceptional and that stands out amongst several other countries we’ve visited. That said, we went in expecting not great food, but a lot of it was really bad. I don’t eat a lot of meat, but the veg/starch options were really limited. Both of us got sick on the trip and took Dukoral before we left! The hotel grou [... read more]nds were very nice, beach was stunning. Out of 5 days there we had 2 nice weather days, the others were raining and cold. The pool - several people cut their feet/legs on the side of the pool as they feel through plastic pieces that lined the pool. Someone was bleeding in the pool and nothing was done about it...super concerning swimming with someone’s bloody foot hanging there. This happened at least 4 times while were there. The worst part were the delays...Sunwing, would never travel with this company again. We were delayed arriving and several hours delayed upon return (flight was supposed to leave Cayo Santa Maria at 5:30pm and didn’t leave until 1:30am. Cockroaches in the Cuban airport crawling up the walls. When I reached out to TripCentral about the delay they were very unhelpful. Overall, not great and would never go back to this resort. It should not be rated a 5 star!

Melia Jardines del Rey: Definitely suffice

I just returned from a solo trip at Meliá Jardines del Rey, I enjoyed my stay. I always found something to eat. A la carts were okay. The staff was friendly and helpful at every level from reception to the beach. My room was clean but slightly dated. Many activities to choose from, plus a 2 minute walk from the disco and shopping. Beach was very beautiful clean and not rocky. Non motorized activities were nice. The bartenders were good and a good selection of drinks were available. Wifi was spo [... read more]tty some days but worked in specific areas. Close proximity to the airport. Many excursions. I feel the value for what I paid was good.

Club Tropical: Great resort

We enjoyed our selfs these lots to eat food was way better than expected we ate very well and drink we’re great the staff was awesome and took the best of care of us rooms were out of date but clean and the house keepers did a great job... everyone was very friendly.. we will definitely be going back

Resonance Blu Santa Maria: Excellent Resort

The hotel itself is beautiful, spectacular, it's a home away from home. Staff are friendly, helpful, accomodating. Great entertainment, esp. The "Audinos", enjoyed that very much...also the Group called "Amanecer". Great songs they rendered, unforgetable... Food was always a variety, tasty and yummy😋😋😋 Would recommend this Resort with no hesitation to our friends and family! We found our Resort in Cuba...👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻👌🏻👌🏻👌🏻 Would definitely go back to [... read more] this Resort!!!

Gran Muthu Imperial: Amazing Resort

This is a clean and well run hotel. Beautiful rooms and grounds. Staff is very accommodating and friendly. It’s an adult resort but not loud at all. I would highly recommend this resort to family and friends.

Melia Las Dunas: Lovely resort

The resort was always clean, busy gardeners and room staff. It's quite a large resort so lots of walking. Hotel staff were always polite and friendly. Food and bar selections were somewhat limited but ok considering its Cuba. The beach was awesome.

Hotel Roc Casa del Mar: Vert nice ressort

Very clean ressort nice staff and super animationThe buffet was excellente as thé à la carte restaurants Very peaceful and nicely dividende The beach is awsome Would go back any time.. Notre to expensif good value

Melia Las Americas: Our vacation

our room was clean / spacious/ daily maid service / the grounds and hotel was clean / many staff there to help with our personal needs / great entertainment nighty / my fiancé and I are musical and the piano was readily available to us to entertain as a couple and with their extremely talented entertainers / ur travel agent Tammy did a great job ensuring all went well / it’s our first time to this hotel but have been to Cuba many times / we are planning to return again to this hotel in a few [... read more] weeks !!!

Valentin Perla Blanca: Very Disappointing

Hotel rooms good.....Food or lack there of was ridiculous! Privlege package was good that gave priority check in and the seperate lounge area was a plus but their concierge response left a lot to be desired with the issues we did have. Would not recommend this resort to anyone.

Playa Vista Azul: My absolute favourite resort!!

This was my second time at this resort and I will definitely be back again and again! The grounds are absolutely beautiful and so well kept! The beaches are beautiful and so clean! The food is always delicious and I will honestly miss the pizza so much! Haha! The rooms are comfortable and kept very clean! But the best part of this resort are the people! The staff here are amazing! They are always so helpful and friendly! Being someone who likes to have fun, the entertainment staff and bartenders [... read more] definitely made my vacation so much fun! Specifically Ariel, Yos, Livia, and Lelani at the swim up bar! They always had me and my friends laughing and having a good time! Felix, Carlos, Guss, Giselle and the entire entertainment staff kept us dancing and having the time of our lives! They are amazing at what they do and I cannot wait to come back to continue with all the fun! I love it here and I honestly can’t say enough good things about it! I will definitely be back before the year is over!

Melia Las Dunas: Just Ok

Everything about this place was run down. We didn't have hot water in our room for 5 out of 7 days. It was a 2 hour drive from the airport. Hard to find a vegetable to eat! If you like mystery meat and fries then you will be fine. Don't expect fancy drinks, the bartenders don't know how to make anything. The Santa Clara airport won't take an E boarding pass so we had to wait an hour to get the stupid paper boarding pass.

Playa Vista Azul: AMAZING ATMOSPHERE

5 STAR RESORT THAT IS REALLY 5 STARS. FOOD FIVE STARS SERVICE FIVE STARS ROOMS FIVE STARS DRINKS FIVE STARS POOL / BEACH FIVE STARS. Came here for my 21st birthday with my husband and we had the most phenomenal time. Thanks to Yolande and (can’t remember name) the short chef at the 24 hr snack bar for making our vacation AMAZING. Whenever they seen us sitting outside our room (first floor) they brought us lots of drinks and had them remembered by the first night. Jose checked us i [... read more]n and he was so nice and kind, he offered us an amazing deal to upgrade but we decided there was not much difference from privilege to deluxe. Yadiana, Yennifer and Adianet at the lobby bar go beyond expectations and put lots of love and passion into the drinks they made. I recommend ALL my family and friends to come to THE BEST RESORT IN CUBA THANK YOU

Paradisus Princesa Del Mar: Made me decide never to go to Cuba or use Sunwing again!!!!!!!!!!

Sunwing billed the hotel as a 5 star while trip Advisor gave it a 3.5 star and it was clear to me why. Firstly, our group arrived at the hotel a 1:00 p.m. (9 hours after we all arrived at the Ottawa airport) - only to be advised our rooms would not be available until 4 p.m.. No hospitality room was offered or locked storage of our suitcases from 1 to 4 p.m.. The food was pretty bad, at times there was so much smoke from cooking in the very large and noisy buffet dinning room th [... read more]at I had difficultly staying long enough to eat and the service was slow, carbonated bottled water was not available on any regular basis. The wheel chair lifts didn't work for people or suitcases (one man had to be carried up and down the stairs going from the lobby bar and hotel reception area). While I paid cash for my spa treatments, in addition to refusing to give me a receipt the spa had me sign and date a paper confirming the spa treatments I received and the price of same and my name and room number. While the staff assured me verbally the charges would not appear on my room bill, there was no reason for them not to give me for my cash payment - who needs this stress on vacation? My room safe did not work, the patio door on my ground floor unit did not lock without the jury rigging piece of hardware that had been added to the lock. Maps of the resort were no automatically given out .I think I was the only one in our group that actually got a copy - this was better than having to go to the reception area every time you wanted to find a place on the resort. The bottom sheet of the bed was not fitted so I had to keep straightening the sheets - they were barely big enough to tuck under the mattress! When you exchanged money on the resort - you got no receipt of your transaction unless you were getting local money using your Mastercard. Since I changed Canadian cash for Cuban currency - I just got the Cuban money and no receipt confirming the commission or the exchanged rate used. By 10 am all of the lounge chairs around the pool had towels on them for the entire day and early evening - why were people allowed to save these chairs even if they were not using them for periods of time during the day? Clearly there were not enough lounge chairs for all of the hotel guests.

Playa Cayo Santa Maria: Good Resort

Belle Hotel et plage exceptionnelle! Le service et les gens sont gentils! On se sent en sécurité. Bravo! Merci pour à votre equipe , votre service est super je recommande tripcentral à tout le monde.

Sanctuary at Grand Memories Varadero: Poor resort

I have been to a lot of Caribbean islands and also to Cuba ( a few years ago ). I was very disappointed in Sanctuary at Grand Memories. The selection of food was terrible no matter which restaurants you ate at. No matter what you ordered it never tasted like what it was suppose to be. If you wanted coffee or tea after dinner you had to go to the bar. Sometimes there was no hot water to shower . Our accommodations were ok and the staff was friendly.

Playa Cayo Santa Maria: Amazing Resort!

We have been going to this Resort for the last 5 years (17 weeks total). The beach and the ocean are remarkable! Extremely clean rooms, plenty of delicious foods and great A La Carte restaurants. Pools are extremely clean, drinks are not watered down and the a staff are the most kindest people we have ever met. Terrific management team that are always there to help you! The resort is perfect in every way except one minor setback for us.... There used to be tropical music at the pools and in the  [... read more]lobby, now it is American music that we hear every day at home. That was our only inconvenience LOL!

Dhawa Cayo Santa Maria: Good resort

The main thing I didn't like was no one was stopping people from smoking in the theatre. They should have someone stopping people from walking across when the show is going, and only walking across in-between the songs. Pool and beach was good. Food was good most of the time.