Two wonderful weeks in a very pleasant hotel!

It was our 14th trip to Cuba in 10 years and our first to Varadero (November 4-18, 2018). We picked the Roc Barlovento mainly because of numerous glowing reviews posted on TripAdvisor—and certainly we were not disappointed. The hotel is located very close to the bridge over the Kawama navigation channel, at the very beginning of the Hicacos Peninsula. This turned out to be an EXCELLENT location, enabling us to make a number of strolls directly from the hotel. We often walked on Varadero’s [... read more] main street (Avenida 1ra) for several kilometers and explored various restaurants, shops, parks, hotels, private homes and other landmarks—there was even a Canadian Consulate a stone’s throw from our hotel! We also walked along the channel in the evening, where plenty of Cubans were fishing, and saw Al Capone’s mansion, the Casa de Al. Yet the best walking excursions were to the town of Santa Marta, located just past the bridge. On the other hand, the hotels located more-less east of Calle 64, in the east part of Varadero, might be much more luxurious, bigger and offer a much higher standard, yet they are ‘in the middle of nowhere’ and unless you take a taxi or a bus, there is not much else to see or explore. GENERAL • The hotel is well designed in a Spanish style and quite cozy, no much walking is required to get around. Plenty of nice palm trees & gardens. And it is for adults only—no disruptive and screaming kids! • Approximately 60% of tourists were Canadians (English & French speaking), 30% Germans and some from Spain, Italy and other countries. • There were 3 pools; the very shallow one had no water. There was a Jacuzzi in the center of the pool closer to the beach, but it was not hot. • There is a tienda (shop), with various beverages, rums, vodkas, souvenirs, shampoos, shirts, hats, toiletries, etc. Another stand near the lobby sells books, postcards and stamps—the mail box is at the lobby. On a couple of occasions I saw an artist painting and selling his works. • The exchange rate at the hotel was very poor—just 68 CUC for $100 CAN, whereas the bank offered about 73.50 CUC. Not fair! • A number of very friendly (and chubby) cats roamed the property, especially the outdoor dining area during meal service—and they even had their own ‘cat café’. Unsurprisingly, they were picky eaters! • At 10 am there was half hour yoga/stretching on the stage of the entertainment area, conducted by Zahilys, a very friendly & outgoing woman, who worked at animation and conducted other activities as well. Bring our own towel! Yet there were not too many guests interested in doing the exercises, and quite often we were the only participants. • There was a gym, but we never used it, preferring our morning workouts and swimming in the ocean. • Towels can be obtained from ‘the clubhouse’ near the main square. The club house also has a small library of books in English, French and German. We donated 4 of our books. • Every evening there is entertainment, but the only one we attended was the aquatic show (Thursdays) and it was impressive! The Elvis Show sounded great from our room on Saturdays. • Scuba diving excursions/lessons are available, there is an information stand set up every day in the main square. • Various tours are offered in the lobby area. At the end of our stay there was information about a very cheap bus to Havana—I think it was 40 CUC both ways, or 25 CUC one way per person. OUR ROOM # 333 We had sent an email to the hotel two weeks before arrival, asking for a quiet room on the top floor and indeed, our request was granted—we got room number 333. From our window we could see part of the tennis court—otherwise there was plenty of foliage that made the view quite pleasant. We could hear the traffic from the main street and occasionally caught a whiff of oil/petrol—about 1 km from our hotel, in Santa Marta, we saw two oil derricks. The balcony was very small, but it was possible to sit there and enjoy the sun. There was a small bathtub—later the maid brought a plug. The room was quite contemporary, with 2 double beds, HD TV with about 25 channels. There was the CNN channel (devoting 95%+ of its air time to Trump—boring!) and CTV in English, albeit from Montreal. We had to pay for the safe (2 CUC per day, 28 CUC for 2 weeks). We always had hot and cold water, the air conditioner worked perfectly and it was easy to remotely change the air flow or temperature. The small fridge was really cold and the hair dryer worked. We had some minor problems on 3 occasions (with the safe and falling curtains rod)—within 10 minutes of reporting them a technician came and fixed them. On a few occasions our magnetic cards stopped working and we had to go to the lobby to have them re-programmed. The maid, Norian, was great, always keeping our room spotlessly clean and creative. THE BEACH Large, with white sand. Lots of palapas and chairs, so there was no need to ‘reserve’ them in the morning, some were always available. We could also observe nice sunsets. It was quite shallow for about 30 meters. At the end of our stay it became windy, the waves got quite big and there was a yellow-and then red flag (no swimming). Once an unexpectedly big wave swept the first row of palapas, catching many relaxing vacationers (and their belongings) by surprise. I saw some people snorkel, but there was nothing to see—just some small fish. Kayaks, pedal watercraft and sail boats were available for hotel guests. Beach assistants was great, he quickly brought us loungers. FOOD Another reason that we picked the hotel was the outdoor dining, which surprisingly was hardly used. Not even once did we dine inside! The food was slightly repetitive, but varied and good—often even delicious. For breakfast I always had eggs & bacon—the egg station cooks were very efficient and quick—as well as plenty of fruits, juice and yogurt. Usually we skipped lunch, but when we had it (twice), it was excellent—in addition to the regular fare inside the restaurant, there was a big grill outside, serving delicious steaks, hamburgers, hot dogs and other grilled food. At dinner I always went to the cooking station offering sumptuous grilled pork and beef as well as several kinds of fish, shrimps, calamari, squids and mussels. Another cooking station served spaghetti and pizza. There were also scrumptious stews, chicken, prosciutto, cheese and salads. I did not see any tomatoes, however, which I like very much. I never had to line up for more than a few minutes at the cooking stations and the food was plentiful. Our servers were Leonardo & Janet (breakfast) and Raul (dinner). They always brought us plenty of coffee, juice, wine or beer to our outdoors dining table. There was a snack bar near the beach, serving basic food—hamburgers (very good), hot dogs, ham & cheese sandwiches, fruits and lettuce. Next to it was a bar serving cold beer and drinks and most of the time it was manned by the always smiling Pedro. There were also bathrooms in the back of the bar. The small Bar El Traguis near the wooden ramp to the beach was nice, but the seating area was limited and the beer cost 1 CUC. Mixed drinks were free. The lobby bar was OK, but there were frequently buses or taxis pulling up, so it was noisy and smelled of exhaust fumes. It was almost always crowded. In the evening there was often live music—I loved the violin & guitar players, they were fantastic (they played only on Mondays and Tuesdays, from 7 to 9 pm). The bar in the square (adjacent to the Mexican Restaurant) was great, lots of tables & chairs and never any lineups—we often spent some time there on our way from the beach. We never had an a ’la carte dinner. Once we wanted to go to the sushi bar, yet we were told that it did not server any sushi anyway and it opened at 11:00 pm. The gardeners often bring coconuts to a stand between the beach and lunch area and can cut them for you. THE WEATHER/BUGS Out of the 15 days, 12 or 13 were quite sunny and it was hot (over +30 C). It rained a few times, but it was still very warm & humid and it was not a big deal. Since we often kept the room’s balcony door open, we did see several mosquitos in our room, but otherwise I did not encounter any insects anywhere else. OTHER INFORMATION • On 3 occasions we walked to Santa Marta from our hotel—it is a very nice town, with plenty of restaurants, cafes and casas particulares. Most restaurant offer very varied menu at reasonable prices. Some parts of this town have impressive homes. Following a very valuable recommendation of TripAdvisor’s poster, SWNova, on Sunday morning we went to the Farmers’ Market—what a fascinating experience! • We went to a bank in Varadero (on Avenida 1ra) to exchange money, there were over 10 tourists inside and we had to wait for almost one hour. Passport is required. • We took a taxi to Matanzas (30 CUC one way) and spent one day there, exploring it by foot. Very scenic city, highly recommended! It is also possible to purchase a trip to Matanzas at the hotel, 29 CUC per person, including a stop at the Crystal Caves. • The hop-on-hop-off bus has its last stop just a minute away from the hotel (near the La Sangria Restaurant), it runs every 20 minutes (less frequently in the evening), costs 5 CUC per person and takes you to the very end of the Hicacos Peninsula. If you are planning to return late, last bus finishes at 8:00 pm. Confirm the schedule with the driver to make sure you can still catch it—apparently some tourist had to take a cab back to their hotel. • There are plenty of taxis, coco taxis and horse-drawn carriages in Varadero, offering rides. Beware: once a horse-drawn carriage driver quoted us the price of 5 CUC—but later said it was… per person! CONCLUSION For many years I had been very reluctant to go to Varadero, thinking that I would be surrounded by only other resorts and hotels. I was wrong—the location of the Roc Barlovento allowed us to explore many nearby areas and we never felt we were in a tourist enclave. We absolutely loved the hotel & its pleasant staff and had a wonderful time there. On the last day of our vacation, while on the bus to the airport, we spoke to many tourists about their vacation. Remarkably, we got an impression that we had a much better time at the Roc Barlovento than most of them in their often more superior hotels. The hotel deserves very strong 4 stars and we would certainly consider returning!

Great value

Roc Barlovento is located at the start of the Varadero strip within walking distance to the charming town of Santa Marta.It is Spanish style 3 level with contemporary decorated rooms. Some Balconies can be rather narrow or non existent Beach is excellent with many plapas Staff are very helpful Buffet is well varied and I only ate in outside area I did not try specialty restaurants Two pools seemed nice but I did not use Entertainment seemed good and I did daily yoga .Bars were well located an [... read more]d efficient Guests were German and French and EnglishCanadian and quiet

Wonderful Hotel wonderful staff

Old but very clean Staff exceptional , I've stayed at this very hotel before and was very pleased with the service would recommend this hotel to my friends andfamily. The beach was close and the weather perfect

A NICE RESORT

It is well maintained and nicely laid out . All of the various staff members are very pleasant and courteous . The property is close to a bus service and an easy walk to a big flea market . The Buffet was nicely organized and well kept . The foods were plentiful but almost the same things day after day . The hot foods were not always hot and the cold not always cold . On 5 of the 7 days we were there the ice cream was not as hard as it should be . We found the bath tubs to be high and hard to ge [... read more]t in and out of . The beds were nice and comfortable but not the pillows .

Great friendly resort

Located in walking distance from public market, restaurants, cafés. Grounds and pools always clean, no children, great staff, beautiful beach with lots of sun chairs. Food is average for Cuba but good and fresh. Pool activities in afternoon and daily night show. Been at this resort 3 times and will go back next winter.

Excellent resort

Although this is an older hotel, the grounds are very large, well kept and well laid out. There are 2 pools, one is for quiet relaxation, the other has loud Caribbean music. The beach is well catered to with lots of available water sports and a bar just steps away. there is nightly entertainment at 9:30 and a 24 hour lobby bar, for those, must have, 4 AM drinks. The food is well laid out although somewhat bland, but that is typical of the island. The servers are very attentive. There are 2, [... read more] reservation only, restaurants on the premises that serve very tasty food. All in all, it was a worthwhile stay and very good value for the money.

We'd Go Back

We liked it very much. It was better than expected. Room was nice, clean, had hot water and pressure every time. The grounds were beautiful and clean, staff working constantly to maintain the cleanliness. Staff were polite and friendly. Food at the buffet restaurant was ok (It's Cuba!), found plenty of things to eat. Two restaurants were nicely decorated and food was good. The beach is glorious but there was some garbage here and there i.e. beer bottles, cans, syringes, plastic, on the bea [... read more]ch and in the water. We were there for 2 weeks and the nautical center was open only Sunday until maybe noon so we couldn't partake of the free water activities. The Lobby customer service rep, Henry was terrific - friendly, smiling and very helpful. Although the following is nothing to do with Roc Barlovento, we'd like to point out that the Air Transat (CaribeSol) rep was never there when she was scheduled to be which was annoying because we'd waste precious holiday time waiting for her (Leidys) to show up. She had colleagues but they never showed up either. We could have called but who wants to waste time trying to get through and spend money to contact her/him. We really enjoyed Roc and would go back.

Friendly

This is the best kept secret in Varadero The buffet is delicious ....... really good food , I’ve been there 4 times and never disappointed The beach is absolutely stunning and well maintained I wouldn’t stay anywhere else

Amazing hotel

food was very good rooms very good would recomend the beach was great they played lots of games staff was warm and welcomen entertainment was great swimming pool was very clean specalty resterants were great

Fabulous vacation

We had a wonderful stay at ROC Barlovento. The entire resort is clean and well maintained, the staff are extremely kind and hard working, the beach is gorgeous. The location is great, walking distance to markets and short taxi ride to downtown clubs. The food is decent, standard for Cuba, but the bbq was extremely good. A small and quiet resort with mostly older guests. Not really suitable for party people, but perfect for a relaxing vacation.

Average for Cuba

We had to live out of our suitcases as there were only two small drawers , 6 hangers in a smallish closet and two open shelves . The beds were comfortable but not the pillows . The food was average and not much change from day to day . All the staff were very friendly and helpful !

ROC Barlavento

great beach and pools...new pool beautiful wonderful staff...upgraded rooms not so upgraded....pillow cases were dirty and stained..bathtub had no plug...shower broken...outside room too much construction...maids very loud from 9am throughout the day...towel carts sounded like trains all day...so no chance of napping...bars were all good..but pool bar should be open much earlier than 4pm....Lobby has too many smokers...non smoking area which is separate is not smoke free as smoke travels within [... read more] an enclosed structure...smoking needs to be contained to outside areas only... Food was ok.... we paid for ROC plus and it seems to be in name only...2 bottles of water for two weeks..maybe we missed the perks?? although repetitive, the entertainment was excellent...especially enjoyed the water show..Lobby entertainment verygood...commnication by staff is not so good trying to figure out when snackbars are open...if you miss breakfast you cant eat til 12:30....since the beach and pools were so nice it makes up for the other short comings at this resort...however not sure we would return as the smoking situation is a deal breaker

Great Time.

We spent April 17th till May 1st, 2018. This is a cosy little hotel, 297 rooms. Adults only, Great staff, fast check in, Good food. Good entertainment , Great location in the heart of varadero. Very clean. Beautiful beach.Great pools. Special thanks to Mario entertainment. Noilia our maid. Yailia and Pedero waiters. This is a great hotel. Thank you to Manuela Romeiro at Tripcentral .ca for making the booking so easy.

Great location

The location and the beach were excellent. The hotel room not so good. This is the most I have paid to stay in Cuba and the hotel room needed work. There was hardly any water pressure for the shower. Even though it had a bath tub, it would have taken all day to fill it. The Toilet seeped as well. The other thing that bothered me was this was the first hotel I've stayed where we had to refill our own water instead of getting replacement bottles from the hotel. No free gifts was weird too.  [... read more] The Mexican a la carte was good. The Fusion restaurant not so good. The drinks were not so good either unless you were drinking the drink of the day. That's a lot of complaining but we would actually go back since we spent most of the time at the gorgeous beach. And of course the people and staff were great. Pedro made the best drinks at the second pool nearest the beach. Jose was a great guy too.

Great Time!

Stayed at this Hotel from April 7th-14th. Had a fantastic time. Food was better than expected with the negative reviews I read. The beach, location and plenty of things to do nearby are all great. Rooms was adequate enough considering it was only used for sleep and showers anyway. Clean and well kept up by our maid. Everyone I met here were friendly and accommodating. I would definitely stay at this location again anytime.

Great Trip Great Location

The ROC Barlevento is a small adult resort. The resort itself is in need of some updating but the staff is extremely friendly and helpful. The pools are smaller but we never had a problem finding a lounge chair around either pool and the beach was the same. There were multiple Palm tree umbrellas on the beach to keep you out of the sun and lifeguards on duty all day and again no issues finding a beach lounge chair. Our resort was in the beginning of the peninsula so we were extremely close to th [... read more]e city and the restaurants. One place in particular that really impressed us was KIKI'S pizza. A small restaurant just off the resort that offers fresh pizza( as well as other great food) and great atmosphere. We had a lot of people tell us about how bland the food is on the resorts in Cuba but we had no issues with the food. We actually talked to many couples who now frequent this resort because the food at ROC Barlevento is so much better than other resorts on the island. We also tipped our waiter 5 CUC on our second day at the buffet and everyday after that we entered the buffet to find our table set for six with our drinks of choice waiting. Cuba in itself was amazing! It was like getting dropped back into the 50's to see all the old cars. Definately one of the highlights of our trip was 6 of us riding a horse and buggy jamming to Eminem on the stereo in the buggy heading to the BEATLES bar to listen to the live bands on the outside stage. Definately will be making another trip to this resort.

Whatever

old dirty room mo hot water bugs food drinks no shade at pool and beach lobby staff young man not nice the only thing good was the beach and people service excellent.......................................

Great Resort.

This was my second year at the ROC Barlovento, and it is still the well run, well maintained Resort it was last year. It has added a third pool, closer to the Beach, which is a much quieter area for those who prefer that to the large and small pools in the center Courtyard area, which have music and activities. The staff are very friendly and helpful. I liked the food, even tho I am a vegetarian, which greatly limited my options. Meat eaters had choices between various casseroles, stews and the [... read more] grills where they could get their meat or fish cooked fresh to order. This is not a Party Resort (in case that is what you are looking for) but it is in town and not that far from restaurants, bars, and dancing at Casa de la Musica, Beatles Bar, or Calle 62. Don't forget to visit the Beach bar too, and meet Yusett, bartender extraordinaire :)

Lovely Resort

Roc Barlovento is a lovely resort, extremely well situated at the entrance of Varadero which makes it easy to discover the village whether it be to shop, browse or simply get acquainted with the Cuban people. The resort itself is simple and quaint but well organized, clean and well maintained. The beach is well kept with sufficient chairs, the towel service is efficient The food is good to excellent with numerous choices, good variety and quality. With its two restaurants, you can have someth [... read more]ing different every day of the week. The highlight however is the staff. They are great! Attentive and polite, they always welcome you with a smile and will go out of their way to get you what you need or want. The only downside are the rooms. They really need to be refreshed. Worn out and stained towels and sheets, leaking toilets, broken doors and poor deco. The cleaning staff is good, they do their best, but it is impossible to give luster to run down material. Luckily, our mattress and air conditioning were good so we slept well. Overall, we enjoyed our stay. We give it a 4, except for the rooms which are a 2.

Great place to stay

Really happy with our experience at the hotel Roc Barlovento. Everyone there was great to deal with, so friendly and eager to please. The location was perfect for us as we love walking and being in the busier end of Varadero there was always something to do and see. The nightly entertainment was enjoyable, very talented young people! We enjoyed all our meals at the buffet and tried the Mexican a la carte restaurant which we REALLY enjoyed.