Personal touch

Have stayed in larger resorts (Cuba, Mexico and Dominican) but loved the intimate feel of Starfish. Everything from reception, buffet, pool, entertainment, a la cartes, beach and town of Varadero at our fingertips. Older resort but has recovered unbelievably from storm devastation. Wonderful staff were constantly cleaning (Yadianas, our housekeeper was a sweetheart) and buddy Mario (& Michael)kept the pool area spotless. Beautiful Elimay always making sure everything was ok as did Carlos. Enjoye [... read more]d the buffet (thank you Noidae and Juliette)and the a la cartes were excellent. Love the idea of booking those just inside the buffet the morning of. No line-up, very easy. We've never had a better view than our room(#1339) with ocean off balcony and pool view on other side. Can't forget Abel either-our charming bartender found quite often at the Bucanero(sp?) beach bar. Randy, Amel, Lulu and others kept us as busy as we chose with great games & dance lessons poolside afternoons.We even had a fantastic 'Rock Show' at the poolside stage one day which was every bit as good as the Beatles Bar entertainment. Weather was sunny & 80's all 9 days-perfect for walking the endless powder sand beach which was cleaned every daybreak! Met wonderful fellow travellers from across Canada and from Germany but can't wait to return to our new Cuban "family" in 2018.

Now our favorite

great location. great beach. friendly and efficient staff. worth upgrading to the colonial section. it may not have 5 star food or 5 star rating but after 30 years of coming to Cuba and staying in different areas and resorts we have found our favorite. felt comfortable and relaxed as soon as we arrived. we will go back.

Cubish Delight!

Simply amazing. Rooms could use updating but we had no problems whatsoever. Easy access to incredible beach. Staff more than helpful. Location perfect, close to many restaurants, bars and parks. Stayed in economy section and to our surprise, breakfast buffet was just a few steps away.

Great resort amazing location

From the Beatles bar to the markets everything was a 5 minute walk from the hotel. The hotel was good nice rooms and a dynamite beach and pool( sorry no swim up bar)the staff were ok but it seemed like they would only pay attention to you if you tipped for every drink order

Great Resort

Stayed from Oct 1 - Oct 8. It was a great vacation. The hotel and staff are amazing. Fantastic location with an incredible beach. Would definitely visit this resort again in the future and would recommend it to all of my friends.

Amazing resort

Spotlessly clean public areas stunning beach , excellent staff.....delicious food so many options...definitely try the beach snack bar"........."".................................... already booked my next vacation there!!!

It was pretty good!

We liked the location. The food was good. The staff ere pleasant. The entertainment " shoooooowtime" was impressive. The sunwing rep on day one was late for the 2pm chat...and over the top full of his self.....overall the trip was Fun!! The shoreline is the reason to keep coming back to Cuba. We experienced local food and company with some really nice people. It was fun.

Great Getaway

We stayed in the Colonial section for 3 nights . Room was clean , a/c worked well , hot water in the shower . Front staff friendly , great gift shop with snacks smokes and beer available from 09-21 daily . Beach amazing with lots of chairs and shade , buffet was standard - food ok - didn't starve . Drinks at the bar needed some more variety and there was no blender or slush machine . Great short stay for us - location and beach won't disappoint !

Location and service

This is my 4th time to this resort and I will not go any other place in Vaeradaro . the service is great location you cant beat and it keeps getting better. you always see the manager around making sure that things run well

Wrong location

We have been assigned to a room located across the Avenue 1st. As we didn't expect this remote location, had to walk to the travel agency to be relocated to a new hotel. Then, be careful when doing your reservation that the room would be located in the main building near the ocean. The staff at main desk won't give the full information. We had lunch and it was okay. About the rooms located at Las Palmas, those are small, with small toilet, old TV and a simple shower, no elevator and the window [... read more] has a poor view to a park.

CUBA!! DO IT!!

Bathrooms a little sub-par compared to first world, but other than that everything was as you'd expect from a 5 star resort! Pool was closed at 6PM every night which was kind of a bummer but the resort has a fantastic private beach which is available 24/7.

Loved it!

The hotel is small which I liked because you are anywhere you want to be in steps. No swim up bar but there is a bar just outside of the pool. No disco but way better since a lot of nightlife is literally just outside the resort. The service was friendly and the food was actually good! Best beach I have probably ever been too.

Great time!

This was my first all-inclusive resort vacation in many years and it didn't disappoint - great value for money. It's a smaller resort - one pool and just a couple of restaurants, but that was perfect for us. I was there as part of a larger group so the small size made finding others really easy. The waitstaff and maids were all incredibly friendly. The food was what we jokingly referred to as 'Cuba-good' - it will not be what you are used to at home and nor should it be. If you're open minded  [... read more]about the fact that Cubans import a lot of the food we're used to and try some of the local dishes you won't go hungry as there's lots of choice. They do bread especially well, and the grilled shrimp were delicious! When we arrived our room faced the street, and as some of the other reviews have said the bars are incredibly loud. Earplugs helped significantly, but we were lucky enough to be moved when we asked politely (they had some extra rooms that week). Our second room faced the garden and was much quieter. Despite the noise of the bar across the street, the location of the resort so close to town was great - the Beatles Bar down the street was great fun, and the Havana club was a hoot. There are lots of classic car taxis roaming around so we took one down to the market one afternoon - great fun. If I have one complaint about the trip it has nothing to do with the resort, but rather the Sunwing rep. he was only there one hour a day (if that) and was really um, intense (not in a good way). We did the bus tour of Havana (booked through the Sunwing Rep) and I wouldn't recommend it. The tour guide wasn't great and while we did see some of the 'major' spots I don't think it was worth the money at all. Some others in our group organized a private tour of Havana (not trough Sunwing) and raved about it, so I'd do that next time instead.

Had a great time!

The hotel was great value for your money. It is a little older and run down in places, but the staff were excellent, the food pretty decent, and the beach was amazing! Even the pool was great on non-beach days. The hotel is well situated in downtown Varadero in case you want to eat out, do some shopping, or rock out at the Beatles Bar (a MUST do). Internet access was a bit iffy sometimes, but hey- I was there for sun, not facebook! We originally had room 1215, which faced the street, and it  [... read more]was SO loud at night, even with earplugs in. We ended up switching to room 1228, which was much quieter!

Varadaro Resort

This was my first trip to Cuba and we stayed on the main strip of Varadaro. The resort was small and we were a large group so it worked well for us. The beach was absolutely beautiful, the pool was a little small and there is no swim up bar. The food was pretty good (I had been warned not to expect much), the bread was fresh made and the ice cream was amazing, I basically ate that at every meal. It looked as though they were doing renovations as it is an older resort that is showing it's age, bu [... read more]t for the price and location and the beach, it was definitely worth it.

Gorgeous Beach - Tired Rooms

The outside of the hotel is beautiful. The beach is stunning and lots of available lawn chairs. The service staff (except for one older crabby bartender near the pool) were awesome. The hotel is in an awesome location for nightlife and walking. The hotel rooms are extremely run down. My shower and SINK fell down during the stay. When we told the management about the problem we received no apology and one female staff member told us that 'when you break something you should have to pay for it. [... read more]' The sink literally broke while I was washing my hands. Haha. Terrible customer service from the upper management. Very poor internet connection as well.

Great place , highly recommend !

This Cuban trip was our first time with my Fiancé and we're very satisfied. The staffs, the service, the food, the management, the bar so everything was perfect. The beach and pool was amazing and who never been at Carabbian island before pls do not force the tanning on sun the first day if you're not used to it, stay on the shade even if you use the best oil or sun cream.We spent 7days at this hotel and I never complained. Several individuals are do not like the dishes, may because the spices  [... read more]are different but we loved that as well. Every day was fresh and variable food and salad at the Buffet. We also tried the A la carte ones have two option Cuban or Italian. They soup is hole different as ours but eatable. If Someone want more high quality service or fancy place this place is not yours.The Rooms have always clean and our room has air conditioners. Only thing we had disappointed the Travel agent who did not ask about the booking of seat on Sunwing Airline.We had to sat far each other twice ,not together.I thought it's obvious ... In conclusion, we had an Amazing Trip at This lovely place and I highly recommend everyone. And one more thing do not forget give tips to the Staffs!

A resort you can call home

My husband and I recently stayed at the resort and enjoyed every day of it. The service and the the people are amazing! We highly recommend this resort for anyone, old and young. We will definitely be coming back here again!

Paradise for us!

Where to start? Beautiful hotel, friendly staff throughout.. the beach was perfect with lots of lounge chairs and soft sand! Pool was enjoyable as well. Made use of the various bars and the food was great, something for everyone. The location is perfect to walk Varedero, and two awesome bars steps away from the hotel. We loved the Beatles Bar!! Great band and dancing!! We will definitely be returning to this resort!!!!!!!

Great Bang For Your Buck!

Loved the food! Wine was just ok! Cocktail Bar was GREAT! Great location! Rooms were fine. Pool small. Beach great. Sand fleas were an issue for some. Terrible Wifi! Would I go back again - YES!