Grand Aston Varadero

The resort only opened in December 2023. The rooms, grounds and beach are beautiful. Food was good for Cuba, never went hungry. The staff needs to step it up. The front desk staff are very rude and barely speak English. The entertainment staff needs better guidance on how to entertain the vacationers. It was a very quiet resort. I would definitely go back once the employees are better at their jobs.

Amazone resort!!

All is perfect! Hotel super clean, nice Staff, good service, entertainment sufficient not too much! Food is good if you compare to other Cuban hotels. Not too far away from dowtown Varadero, about 10 minutes by car.

Pretty good resort

The food was so so except the snack bar food. Activities on resort were ok Pool was nice The room was good The services were perfect We had a great time. Beautiful beach Good drinks and staff I'll give it a 4/5

Group of 6

After reading some of the reviews before flying out I was a little sceptical. I’m not sure why some of the reviews were posted. It was a spectacular resort. Lots of food to select at the buffet. The a la carts were delicious and each bar served different drinks. We never went out to save a chair. Each afternoon when we were ready to go to the beach, pool or both we were able to get chairs. The beds were comfy and someone was always running around to pick up or clean up after the guests and left  [... read more]their glasses or cigarette butts. They had a performance each evening. I enjoyed the vocalist and the violinist, amazing performances from each.

Think twice

What I looked forward to was the thought of going to a new modern resort, hotel style, nice furnishings etc. overall looking nice may have been the only big positive for us other than most of the staff were very friendly. I am going to simplify by only speaking about my major concern. We were given our room immediately which was great but when the door opened the stench was so bad we had to cover our nose. The bellboy indicated that is was from the ventilation system which really made me cauti [... read more]ous. He called front desk & to our dismay no other rooms were available so we had to stay there one night. It was horrible. We even kept patio door open & slept with blankets over our face. They gave us another room which was okay otherwise we couldn’t have stayed at this resort. We made the best of it with our friends but it still concerns me about the whole ventilation system. What were we breathing in & does it affect the whole resort. I did try to talk to customer service & after several attempts no one showed up. Briefly the beach was fine , food & shortages were as expected , perhaps a bit worse . Workmanship of resort not great. In my personal opinion I would not rate this a 5* not even close. Hopefully problems will be corrected but I would not go back .

Grand Aston Varadero

Overall, the sun and warm temps were amazing. The hotel itself was pretty but dirty. Tables barely wiped at night and never between guests in the buffet. ( I blame not enough staff) More often than not, used utensils left on table. The shortages in food were evident, but the rice is delicious and there is something for everyone -even picky eaters. Fish on a few days was good. I only had fresh eggs once upon leaving -but I didn’t pass that up! Some odd combos for breakfast-chicken nuggets and cab [... read more]bage- lol but surprisingly good!!! Snack bar had good food, great staff. A la Carte-Italian, Japanese and Cuban all good food! So many people smoking inside. I asked manager and he did make a few put them out. Ladies sitting at pool ashing their cigs in the grates of the pool water and putting their butts out in them. What????? What country is that customary to???? Smh. They definitely need a section for smokers outdoors, with an etiquette list. (It’s 2024 folks!!!) So many entitled guests who are just rude! Honestly we never saw that in Holguin -I guess more of them travel to Varadero. Just gross! Like couples taking a cabana AND 2 umbrellas when there isn’t enough umbrellas for 1/4 of the people ? Tisk Tisk. I hope you enjoyed being able to stay at the pool for 9 hours coming and going as you please. Room 2405 - Now, the rooms. Arrived before noon, and knew it would be a wait for a room given check in is 4, though possibly sooner if it was cleaned. Checked at 2, 3,4 and 4:30, 4:45…. Still not ready then girl at desk made some calls and all of a sudden given a room which was not the room originally on our card. I think there is likely a block of 8 rooms that are the worst there in terms of location. We booked this trip the first week they opened, so very disappointed. Our room was dirty, hair and stains of spills on floor. Hair on bed, grime finger prints up and down patio doors. I had lysol wipes with me, and cleaned all switches, tables, doorknobs and remote-very very dirty. The white door-I’m certain-has not been wiped in the 4 months the place has been open. Nonetheless-a room. The kicker was the balcony overlooking the garbage bins and staff entrance. Our first evening we had the patio open and our room filled with cat pee/spray and we were confused and grossed out-but staff was rinsing the walls and ground and bins and the smell filled our room until the next day. Our view would be staff coming in by bus/car having their bags looked through and then the same at end of shift every day. And garbage bins. Our days would begin with motors of trucks and all the Exhaust fumes coming even through the closed patio. It was clear they liked to keep the bins clean as they would rinse them each day, but the diesel ( or whatever the exhaust was, was nauseating) We wrote a note to our cleaning staff, and she took great care of us and it was not her who left our room in that state. We got whatever we requested, and left her great tips and gifts daily. She cleaned everything perfectly ! We did a bus tour- swimming in the cave, valley lunch and speed boat was fun. Well worth it. Beach- very very rough. Most days red flags ? which was disappointing-but you can’t control that. It was beautiful-but dirty with litter. The drop off in the water was significant. Not the best beach in Varadero or Cuba by far. Staff-mostly amazing. People-amazing Guests- be more courteous (not all) *****Please build a cover for the rooms over the garbage bins and staff entrance. Still had fun, it’s Cuba- but I definitely won’t be back to this resort. First Time booking through Tripcentral though and they are great!!!

Good stay but wouldn't return

Room: we had standard room and no ocean view. Our room had NO wifi connection which was really inconvenient. Had to use wifi in lobby. The oceanview rooms has sustainable wifi. Room had no wash rag but had shampoo, conditioner, and lotion. The elevators on our side that were close to 1117 were  out of service for our entire stay. We used the stairs since it was only 1 floor. The stairwell was never cleaned either. Our room had minimal storage for clothes. Only had ONE hanger. Some days h [... read more]otel could not provide clean towels. One day we left our dirty towels on the floor so that they could replace them. We came back to the same dirty towels folded neatly on our bed. The rooms are very damp at times. When I climbed into my bed at night, the sheets felt moist and was quite an uncomfortable feeling. Beach: beautiful but rocky. Bring water shoes or walk carefully. There is a much nicer beach 10 minutes away. Playa Blanca. No rocks. White sand. Water is calm and stunning. There's a bus $10 there and back that you can take it to get there. It goes into downtown Varadero where you can explore and shop. Could even get decent tasting food there too. Entertainment: mediocre. Some day activities and night shows. We would have appreciated a disco club. Tip for the hotel-The desk that is under the TV has empty space. Most resorts that I've been to use that space to include 6 to 8 drawers. That would have been helpful. Another tip for the hotel- educate your staff on the food menu. I asked 2 staff if the breakfast meat that was labeled 'hot dog' contained pork. They assured me it was not pork and told me it was chicken. They also kept repeating that it was hot dog, which indicated to me they didn't  have a clear understanding of hot dogs. Hot dogs can be pork, beef, chicken or all 3. I do not eat pork so it was important for me to know what was inside them. Sure enough when my friend tried it, she confirmed it was pork. Luckily I don't have a food allergy to pork, but this is concerning especially to someone whom has a food allergy or avoids eating pork for religious reasons. At the very least each food item should be clearly labeled. If it's a meat, it should indicate what type of meat. For late checkouts: resort offers late checkout for an extra $17US/ hour. We thought that was excellent. OR you can book a room for an hour for changing and showering before you leave. Rooms is based on availability. You will need to request early in the am. Overall the staff at the Grand Aston is friendly and helpful. The resort grounds is gorgeous. Rooms are clean but lacks basic necessities. The beach is not the best in Varadero. Drinks are just ok. The Pina colada by the beach bar is the best Pina colada on the resort. It's made differently at other bars and taste sweeter. Although I would not return to this resort, my party and I had a lot of fun.

Amazing Staff

The Grand Aston Varadero Beach Resort is beyond exceptional. The layout of the building and the locations of pools, restaurants, fitness center, spa, bars and beach make it easy to get anywhere. What makes this resort beyond exceptional is the amazing staff. Always with smiles, willing to help and do everything within their power to see you have absolutely nothing to worry about but relaxing. Another great point is the "hop on hop off" bus comes right up to the resort entrance doors. The [... read more]re is no need to walk 3 blocks in the heat to wait for the bus. Not to mention the resort is the very first stop from the airport which lets you start vacationing first of all the arrivals. Thank you tripcentral.ca for taking care of every detail of our trip. We look forward to booking through you again to vacation at the Grand Aston in the future.

Very clean

This hotel does their best. The facility is clean but seems like there isn’t enough staff for the large and busy resort. The grounds are beautiful. Food is typical for Cuba, nothing special. Location is very close to the airport. Decent value for the money spent.

Beautiful hotel

Breakfast was so poor, lunch and dinner was okay, but for five stars could be better. Drinks not much to choose, no salt and pepper on the table, I was eating unsalted food. Waiting always to long for waiters to come ask us for drinks. One young guy at the bar was a nice and really good worker. So, it’s a beautiful place, but needs more improvement.

Amazing resort

Staff were very friendly, food and service was excellent! Hotel and cleanliness are just thumbs up!! Will definitely go back! Bad and room? Pools are warm and clean ? Drinks! Best pinacolada? Best coffee! ?? beach ???

Lots of Room for Improvement

While this is a new hotel, managment needs to make several improvements. Staff were very friendly, however, not well trained or given minimal options. Towels were never changed, toilet paper in both the rooms and the public washrooms were in short supply. Food was I guess what most people what to expect in Cuba, however, the variety this time was extremely limited. The beach is not your typical Veradero beach. The sand was more like crushed small stones, very difficult to walk on and getting [... read more] in the ocean on the large incline with the rocks was challenging. Now not all bad....the pool was great as was the local entertainment, however, it they want to be a 5 star hotel there is work to be done.

Beautiful Resort

Building is new and very clean but still some wrinkles to work out in staffing and supplies. Happy staff who say they enjoy working there. Special thanks to Abel, Cheylin, Cepero, Davie, Rey and Richard who all go above and beyond their duties Food is typical for the area. Extensive menu in the 24hr Snack Bar but only a few of the choices consistently available and long waits as multiple waitresses take orders for a single chef Plan to return again in hopes things will improve with exp [... read more]erience

Beautiful resort

I have nothing but great memories now of my weeks long stay at Grand Aston Varadero. Room was absolutely fantastic with a beautiful ocean view, beach was excellent, pools were fun. We were always able to find loungers to relax on at poolside and on beach. Of course we were prepared for the meals part of our trip so this was ne surprise to us. We definitely did not starve. All in all, I thoroughly enjoyed my stay. thanks

Grand Aston - One & Done

It was my first time, & quite possibly last time, in Cuba. Grand Aston was only 4 months old when we got there. First impression was that it was very nice. Lobby is lovely - lots of seating, a bar, a coffee bar & views of the people. Our room was spacious. However, double beds are not great for a week away. And there were only body pillows in our room - these are not great for sleeping. Are room was clean but like it had been done by my teenagers. The garbage can was not wiped down [... read more] so gross looking (humidity daily on a stainless steal can needs to be wiped down). There were marks on the wall & the clean sheets mid week were stained. The pool & beach were clean enough. This garbage was from guests. One morning I fished 3 cups from the pool. They had been missed or blown in. The bathrooms were always being cleaned. Only twice in the 8 days was there not tiolet paper. However, there was often no hand soap. The stairwells were gross. The hand rail was disgusting & was not being wiped down at all. They smelled of urine - disgusting that guests do this, but resort needs to clean them better to get rid of smell. Buffet restaurants always had lots of food. Only 1 morning were there no eggs. The rest of the week we had omelets, smoked salmon, lots of meats, fish & seafood. Pastry were disappointing but ice cream was amazing. Staff in buffet was mediocre at best. Was hard to get a glass of water & rarely could we get tea/coffee/etc. with our meals. Water being refilled was unlikely too. A la cartes - only tried two. Left the Cuban one because the service was so bad. Japanese one we did twice. Service was amazing. Food was decent. From talking to others, Grand Aston is better than most resorts in the area. But given the price I wouldn't go back.

More good than not

My friend and I travelled to Grand Aston Varadero in March 2024. We have been to Varadero in the past, and to Cuba before too. Our expectations for the food weren’t high. We did notice that the overall crowd at Grand Aston was an older crew, 55+ myself and friend being in our late 30’s we did fit in well and met some very friendly people. The beach was fairly wavy, a bit rocky but clean and still beautiful! We had no problems finding chairs both at the beach or pool each day. The pools were  [... read more]reallly clean and lovely to spend time in. The pool swim up bar was very convenient and fun! The food was alright. We always found some too big to eat. White fish, rice, squash, ice cream were staples. They did run out of buns for the hamburgers and hot dogs at the snack bar, but the party was still tasty! The hotel room we were in was beautiful! Clean and well renovated. We had tv channels, water pressure and towels. They didn’t change out our towels daily- however by the pool this was able to happen each day around 3pm. The staff were kind, I’ve seen friendlier people in our past trips, but we didn’t mind as we knew they were busy. The coffee/ cappuccino’s were fantastic! We experiences the Japanese and Cuban restaurants. Both were alright. One very nice thing about the location of this hotel is that after a 3/4hr flight, your bus drive to your hotel is 20-25 minutes away.

GREAT RESORT/EXECPT FOR SLOW SERVICE & FOOD

GREAT RESORT....FOOD NEEDS TO BE IMPROVED DRASTICALLY...GROUNDS ARE NICE & KEPT CLEAN. ROOMS ARE BEAUTIFUL & CLEAN. EXTREMELY SLOW SERVICE, ESPECIALLY IN THE MORNING AT THE BREAKFAST COUNTERS. NO EGGS (3) DAYS, NO BACON (NEVER), NO PANCAKE (3 DAYS) WAFFLES (NEVER) NO COKE (3) DAYS, NO VODKA (NEVER) NO TOMATO JUICE+CLAMATO JUICE (3) DAYS, NEED MORE STAFF TO IMPROVE SLOW SERVICE & FOOD SITUATION HAS TO BE IMPROVED IMMENSELY. IT IS WORTH IT FOR THE PRICE WE PAID......IF IT WERE MORE EXPENSIVE, WE [... read more] WOULD DEFINATELY GO ELSEWHERE, BUT SINCE THE PRICE IS GREAT, IT IS THE REASON WHY WE PICKED THIS RESORT. GREAT PRICE!!!!

Nice resort

Good service and staff very helpful and fun they kept me entertained Beautiful rocky beach and lots of sun I drank water and slushy drinks no sickness Food was ok Near a gas/oil pipeline so you will smell Sulphur

A hotel that lives up to its name.

My review and impressions are based on my many trips to Cuba and all the hotels I have stayed at in Varadero and Cayo Coco previously. I stayed at the Grand Aston for 10 days (from early March,2024) and the primary reason I booked my Cuba vacation here was that the hotel was only 4 months old, meaning all the building services were new and operating. I was pleasantly surprised by the size of my room and the beautiful king-size bed (I love a firm mattress). The bathroom and shower facilities w [... read more]ere great. The bed linen was another matter which I will mention as a negative. I loved the beach but as many have already mentioned, be prepared to be up extra early if you want a chair. For this reason, I spent most of my time around the pool as there was always a chair (with an umbrella) you could find even around 9-10 am. Unfortunately, if you are looking to get one of the few gazebos by the pool, it is more difficult. The choice and quality of food were alright considering the current economic woes in the country. The restaurant staff (I presume many are still being trained) was attentive and helpful. I did find all the hotel bars (including the pool bar/deck) to have an understaffing situation where you would have to wait a considerable time to get your order. I have read of people having wifi issues within the hotel premises and even their rooms. While, there may be a sporadic signal dropout, acquiring a wifi connection takes but a few seconds and I do not consider this an issue at all. I used my phone very much watching sporting events and YT videos and did not have a data bandwidth limitation or speed degradation. There are many WiFi access points (AP's) throughout the hotel's indoor/outdoor areas. The location of this hotel is extremely close to the city and thus, it is easy to take a trip into Varadero. Be warned the cost of fuel in Cuba has taken a huge jump and cabs can get pricey, but there is always a $5-all-day bus ticket. Overall, my stay at the Grand Aston Varadero Beach Resort was very pleasant and I will return to this place soon. I love Cuba and the Cuban people and its rich culture. Overall: 4.5/5

Beautiful clean resort

Hotel was nice big rooms beautiful beach is beautiful grounds and beautiful pool. Just a little complaint with the Internet very spotty and intermittent. No real issue with shortage of any type of alcohol. Food was as can be expected for Cuba never an issue with not having enough food available.