Iberostar Selection Varadero: Excelent Vacation

The beach was beautiful, the hotel and food was good. Except there is a lots of mosquitos. Must bring mosquito repellent. The services in the meal room need to be more dedicated to their working designation. The food is good, but need a little more variety not too much repetition. overall is good we would recommend this place.

Melia Marina Varadero: Amazing Resort and Nice people

Our stay at the Melia Marina Varadero was awesome ! I truly loved it ! We have gone to Varadero many times however it was our first time at this hotel and I have to say this place is great ! New hotel! Very good clean rooms. The food was not bad.

Barcelo Solymar: Good resort, not for families or relaxing

This resort is close to town so it is a great location. The beach and grounds are wonderful. Recently, however, it seems to have gained the reputation of a party hotel, and this is noted every night with screaming and loud music at all hours of the night. The staff are wonderful everywhere, however with the party kids and too many locals now visiting this resort, the staff cannot keep up, and you end up waiting in line or walking through trash.

Palma Real: Good Value

Grounds - well kept & clean / pools - nice/clean Food - great variety at each meal (except in the snack bar) Venue - old/needs some repair but all in all clean Staff - friendly and helpful Security - felt save / security at front door Front Desk - check-in very slow - never received a smile To reach the beach you have to cross the road and walk for about 7-10 minutes- not handy for anyone with walking challenges, but well worth it when you arrive on the nice white, soft sand and beautiful clear  [... read more]water. The beach bar is in a unique older Spanish-style building (very nice/clean) Location - easy access from airport - 25 minute drive / located within walking distance to downtown restaurants/shops/craft vendors/parks I work in the hospitality business and would say improvement is required but found value for the price we paid.

Iberostar Origin Laguna Azul: Amazing Vacation/Amazing Resort

My daughter and I stayed at this resort April 12, 2015 for 8 days and we had an incredible vacation. I am a paraplegic, depend on a wheelchair for mobility, and had no accessible issues whatsoever at this resort. Kudos to this resort for that!! Food was great and so many choices from the snack bar to the huge buffet to the fine dining restaurants. Main lobby has piano entertainment in evening and a huge balcony ... drinks on the balcony! ...overlooking resort to beach-amazing!! Pools and beach  [... read more]were incredibly Caribbean and beautiful. Nightly shows and dancing were fun and entertaining! Vendors had some interesting items. Spa amazing! Main pool with swim up bar has some fun entertainment going on but there are also quiet places to read or "just be". The staff was always happy, friendly, helpful and went the extra steps! Travel Rep are always in lobby morning and into afternoon for your orientation and to answer any questions. Hola - I will go back!!!!

Hotel Los Cactus: Wow, spectacular

We loved everything about this place. The place itself; rooms were awesome, restaurants are great, bars (what a blast!) and the beaches. Who could not forget what they saw on the beach... Really, really awesome place!

Palma Real: Dirty and Unsafe!

I will never go back to this resort. This was my fifth time in Cuba and first time at this resort. We went for my friend's Bachelorette party! The check-in process was a nightmare. It took us a full 2 hours AFTER 4pm (which is said to be the check in time) to get our room keys as our "rooms weren't ready". When we finally got into our rooms we discovered that our shower head was broken, we didn't have any clean towels and didn't have any water. Lastly my roommates bed sheets had spots of blood o [... read more]n the bottom of them. We asked several times quite politely to tend to our needs we were constantly ignored. Aside from all of the above - this resort is UNSAFE. On our first night a large wooden window fixture fell on my friends (The Bride's) head. It had to have weighed a good 30 pounds. After reporting the incident to management - they seemed more concerned with fixing the wooden framing instead of my roommates booming headache. After simply placing the fixture back above the window (no tools necessary) - they refused to call an ambulance, saying it "wasn't an emergency". Believing the bride to have a concussion we luckily ended up getting her to a clinic and it didn't completely ruin her bachelorette party! I would NEVER recommend this resort.

Hotel Los Cactus: great beach and staff

Enjoyed the beach. Rooms a little dated. Restaurants nice buffet so so. Friendly staff. Pool show best. Piano bar a highlight. Havana a must see and also the jeep ride was fun. Overall what we were expecting.

Palma Real: Worst resort

Many of us got sick because of the disgusting food and mold on the food. My friend got severely injured on her head because the hotel failed to secure a heavy wooden rail type of thing on the wall properly and they refused to pay for a doctor. They scanned our passports and kept them for hours I don't know why. It took us two hours to check in and there was no one helping out with our luggage. We requested to have things in our rooms that were missing when we first came in like water bottle and  [... read more]they said they would give it the day after but they never did. Basically anything you complained about or requested they ignored. Awful resort

Hotel Los Cactus: Loved it

Rooms were good furniture was ok the dresser was very old but it's ok I wish I had coffee in my room every day but the ladies that took care of my room they made it up at the end. The only thing about the restaurant was too hot couldn't stay too long even to watch the shows it was too hot Amazing shows.

Memories Jibacoa: Great Resort and Beach!

This was a great resort! The rooms are very nice and the grounds were kept immaculate. They had very nice entertainment and poolside activities like salsa dancing lessons, etc. It tends to be mostly couples although there was a small percentage of singles.The staff are friendly and pleasant. I found it to be a great value and had a wonderful time.

Palma Real: Think twice...

Coming from someone that travels on a bi-monthly bases, this was by far the worst resort/hotel. Staff: Right off the bat we were receiving attitude. Giving them the benefit of the doubt that it may have been a stressful afternoon our group let it slide. However, it became progressively worse throughout the week. Check-in: took 3 hours, they made us wait in the lobby without offering us anything in the heat. Might I add our group consisted of a 11 individuals. Rooms: in total we had 6 rooms. 2 [... read more] groups of 2 had to change rooms twice due to the ridculous amounts of mold all over the walls and bathroom walls. It was unbearable; very sickening to say the least. To top it all off only 1 room had functional air conditioning. We'd call the front desk for assistance, yet no one would show up. It came down to the point where reception would hang up on us mid conversation. Resort/hotel: decent resort, definitely not a 4 star. More like a 2 star. Be cautious of the roach's running around.

Hotel Los Cactus: Amazing beach, great holiday, great resort

The beach is like no other beach in Varadero. The resort is great too but the only negative side is that the lobby and the buffet room are not air conditioned. It is very easy to see black birds picking on food or standing on food. Or flies on food. We would go again to this awesome resort but maybe not in June, because June is their rain season and rain brought the mosquitos out and was their breeding time. Sooo the next day after breeding the airplanes sprayed twice a day and people got some r [... read more]elief. We loved our stay, our room was gorgeous with great ocean view, two bathrooms and living room. The ladies at the reception were great, also Miguel was very helpful by the reception. Thanks Trip Central for providing us with a great site to be able to narrow down our choices and find the resort and price and information we needed. Food also was great, we had fresh caught fish every day. I think the food was awesome for healthy eating, lots of veggie choices and their mangos are to die for.. We will go to Breezes Varadero again for sure.

Be Live Turquesa: Be LIve Turquesa - can do better!

This resort has sooo much potential to be 5 star but they seem happy to stay 4 star. The front desk reps need to be retrained in customer service - a simple smile and pleasant demeanor goes a long way. My major disappontment is with the food - having a good meal was 'hit-and-miss' but mostly 'miss'. I did my research and knew that Cuban food was pretty bland but it was the food prep, handling & hygiene that was appalling: no fly traps to get rid of flies when there is open food for extended peri [... read more]ods of time in buffet hall, soppy and soogy food items that are brought out at every meal just to get rid of it, scales left on fish fillets...

Resonance Blu Varadero: Excellent service and food

The hotel staffs were extremely helpful. All the staffs were extremely friendly, including the bartenders and buffet chefs even though they do not get tips very often (you should definitely tip the staff at least occasionally, as it makes up the bulk of their income). All the buffets and snack bars (also restaurants that you have to reserve) were free, and the only time I had to spend money on the resort was at the gift stores and occasional tipping. Also, the food was above average and very cle [... read more]an. I would recommend booking the cuban restaurant for a taste of local food (without worrying about food poisoning). However, I wouldn't recommend the Mexican restaurant - it was the only place on the resort where I didn't enjoy the food. Enjoy the sun, beach, and fruits!

Royalton Hicacos Resort and Spa: Really nice relaxing resort - just what we wanted

First of all, I will mention that this is now my 72nd all-inclusive resort vacation including 10 trips to Cuba, so I have a pretty good idea of what to expect. I have stayed in 3 - 5 star hotels. FIRST IMPRESSION: I went on the trip with my girlfriend June 13-20th. As usual, I researched reviews extensively before booking. The resort has great reviews which for the most part are quite accurate. This resort gives a fabulous first impression – the lobby and the main entrance are gorgeous. As ot [... read more]hers have mentioned, these areas have been recently refurbished and it definitely shows well. The check-in was done in a very relaxing way – with a glass of sparkling wine and a cool refreshing towel, which is a nice touch. THE STAFF were extremely friendly from check in, to the restaurants and bars, to the maid, right up to the check out. Cuban people are wonderful charming people who genuinely go out of their way to make things great for the guests. THE BEACH is one of the best Caribbean beaches that we have seen, especially in front of the Royalton Hicacos. We walked quite far in both directions and this part of the beach is definitely superior to anywhere we walked to. Varadero is an easy beach to walk on with fine firm sand. The water was incredible, ranging from wavy to quite calm, depending on the day, but was usually clear. THE POOLS/GROUNDS: The gardens and common areas are very well maintained. The resort had a high occupancy rate, but never really felt crowded because everyone is spread out. As some other reviewers have mentioned, the main pool needs some serious work to bring it up to what it once was – there are many tiles that are missing off the pool, unfortunately ruining the overall impression. There is not nearly enough available shade around the pool area, making it a challenge to get out of the sun. There was a waiter who would regularly walk around and ask the guests if they wanted a drink which was very nice. THE ROOM: We had a room that appeared to be partially renovated. It was “OK”, but was missing a few curious details – most shortcomings were rectified by talking to the butler. The puzzling thing that stood out immediately was that there was literally nowhere (except the night tables) to put away any clothes - no dresser, no shelves! The king size bed was a little too firm for our liking, but everyone has their own preferences. The room had a nice flat screen TV, along with a nice bathroom area. The water pressure and temperature were the best that I have had in the Caribbean. THE FOOD: The food was generally very good with extensive choices. We managed to sample all four of the a la cartes and they ranged from good to excellent. Our favourite was the Caribbean restaurant – we loved the ambiance and the food was tasty. We also loved the lobster in the seafood restaurant. The choices in the main buffet at breakfast, lunch and dinner were quite varied – the only issue was the temperature in the restaurant – even though it was supposedly air conditioned (we think that it was), it was far too warm to enjoy a meal properly. ENTERTAINMENT: The entertainment/shows were the usual type that most all-inclusive resorts have. There was some live music and singing which was excellent. We especially enjoyed the Cuban show on Friday night. IMPROVEMENTS/SUGGESTIONS: In our opinion, this is a great resort that is in the process of transition. The exterior of the buildings seem to be complete and they look great. It is however tired in some areas, but they appear to be taking care of that. It has so much potential and hopefully with the updates and improvements being made, it will be spectacular as it probably once was. We would go back to this resort again, once the renovations are completed. Please feel free to send me a message if you need any more information.

Hotel Los Cactus: Hotel with a Beautiful Beach

The hotel is clean, with a nice pool and a beautiful beach. Staff are generally curtious with good manner. Landscaping is great with lots of shades under the bright sunlight. Lots of fresh fruits available at the buffet restaurant and free drinks can be obtined around the pool, near the beach and in many locations along the paths around the hotel. I love the coffee at the coffee bar.

Playa Caleta: fantastic time

great food, great people, great weather, great accommodation, great drinks. I miss it already. Lot's to do but quite if you want. Great entertainment at night and during the day. Beach superb and large.

Paradisus Princesa Del Mar: Amazing property

Grounds were 5 star. Service in some cases could have been better but overall we would return to this resort. I thought the food was quite good the room was clean and maid service was very good as well. Entertainment was better than other Cuban resorts. I would rate this hotel a 4 1/2.

Valentin El Patriarca Varadero: Horrible

Grounds ok, some staff ok. Front desk staff are not friendly at all and need to learn more English. Rooms were ok but there were ants, roaches and lizards. When I made my reservations I specifically asked for connecting rooms but when I checked in I was given too separate rooms on the first floor which was very noisy. I only found out they were separate rooms when we were taken to the rooms by then we were so tired we stayed. When I called the front desk to complained I had to wait 2 days to get [... read more] new rooms on the second floor but they were still not connecting because the hotel only has 6 connecting rooms which were already taken. I think I should have been told this from the get go. The food was the same thing every day. My 11 year old daughter ended getting food poisoning and ended getting dehydrated and passing out at the hotel I had to call the front desk who called the doctor who came and informed me I had to take my daughter to the international clinic she had to be hooked up to iv. The fridge in the room I had to call to get it stocked up. I had to call 3 times to get the ac fixed in one of the rooms. This was my first time in Cuba and may be my last