Starfish Varadero: Great place but a little dated

Had a great time except for the rain but that's not fault of the hotel we were there Nov 19th -25th 2014 Food was great staff wonderful little older hotel. My 2nd time at this hotel. Water pressure in bathrooms was not good at all but other than that nice relaxing place.

Hotel Caracol: Not too shabby

Stayed at theClub Amigo Caracol this past November for a week.Hotel was well kept and clean, staff were nice (especially the towel lady). Never got to know or see our housekeeper. Food was Cuba usual, very good pasta bar. Very yummy pina coladas at the lobby bar! Beach was cleaned every day but big seaweed problem at the shore. Recommend water shoes for the ocean.

Club Amigo Atlantico Guardalavaca: all I expected and more

everything was good people friendly grounds neat sun wing great husband went deep sea fishing had a good time entertainment was good-- liked the dark and white shoe but would like to hear more english songs

Starfish Varadero: Cozy Resort

The hotel was nicely built though it needs some tlc. Helpful, friendly staff and there was a good variety of food at the buffet. Excellent service at the beach bar especially. The beach was excellent and the pool area and green space was well maintained. I made good use of the hammock.

Club Amigo Atlantico Guardalavaca: not a 3 star anymore

This resort is not as good as it has been,if there is less people the food is not good but when more people come to the resort the food gets better.I like this resort because I have made many friends here some are like family.I have been coming here for five years.

Club Amigo Atlantico Guardalavaca: Average good. I had enjoyable vacation.

Beautiful beach; long about 1km, with nice foft sand. Plenty of chairs and shades. Food is average; chicken should be prepared in some varaiety ways. Speciality restavrants don't serve any specials. For steak was served some slices of very tough. The lobster was without any spices at all; the butter without any garlic. The servicce was outstanding; my chamber made was one of the best I ever met. The grounds are impecable; very clean. They shouldent charge for the fridhe though. My room was not r [... read more]ady till 3:30 PM- (I arrived at 12:30. Over all I had very good vacation.

Starfish Varadero: The staff was friendly

The staff were friendly which is the only good thing I can say. It's unfortunate since there are so many great places in Cuba, dont' let this resort make you not want to come back! The food here was bad but who cares, that's not why we went. We stayed in a bungalow and it became a routine to do bug checks after a millipede was almost done the journey up my girlfriends arm. We went off season, another thing that may be great for other people, but there was seriously more cats than guests at this  [... read more]place.

Carisol los Corales: Always a pleasure

This hotel is wonderful they go out of their way to help everyone. Santiago and Los Corales are magical places. Lots of fun. Weather is always great, pool is great. Beach is fun, lots to see and do. Beach staff are wonderful. Serg is awesome. Management at the hotel is wonderful always helpful and friendly.

Hotel Caracol: ANOTHER GREAT TRIP TO THE CLUB AMIGO!

Last year (November/December, 2013) we visited this hotel for the first time (I wrote a rather extensive review on TA on December 16, 2013) and we decided to come here once again, booking our vacation over two months in advance through Hola Sun. Two weeks before departure we emailed the hotel, asking for an ocean-view room on the upper floor, in the 500 section. Since Air Cubana allows almost 50 kg of luggage per person, packing was a breeze! The flight departed on time and after exactly 3 hour [... read more]s and 30 minutes in the air, we landed in Camagüey. The buses were already waiting for us and the ride to the hotel went smoothly. ROOM We were assigned room #514 (last year #510) which was almost as good as #510, we even had the same maid as last year, Marta. Since the water was heated by solar panels (located on the roof), sometimes we had plenty of very hot water, at other times it was just lukewarm, yet it was not a big deal for me, but Catherine missed a hot tub bath. The air conditioner worked great and sometimes we used it, although we preferred sleeping with the windows open (maybe because of that we had a couple of critters visit us-we found a small crab and lizard in the room, both totally harmless, and gently moved them outside). Most of the time it was very windy and we did not find mosquitoes to be a problem. The small fridge kept stuff cool, yet barely. Last year we could watch CTV from Toronto — this year the only English language news channel was CCTV (Chinese, in English), which I did not like. Although neither of us has/watches TV in Canada, we were a little disappointed that we were unable to watch Canadian news and only several days after the municipal elections found out who became the mayor of Toronto and Mississauga from newly arrived tourists. The maid did an excellent job cleaning our room. We approached one of the gardeners and he was very happy to supply us every morning with 2 freshly plucked coconuts; they were delicious! Unfortunately, when it was raining, water leaked in through the window seals, flooding part of our bedroom. BEACH During our stay (two weeks), we had at least 3 rainy, very windy and cloudy days, yet there were enough sunny and hot days allowing us to spend a lot of time on the beach. Due to the reef, located several km from the shore, it was possible to swim even when it was very windy. The tractor collected sea weed from the beach every day, thus keeping it clean. From our hotel room we could see a boat stocked on the reef; according to several Cubans, it had been there since the end of December, 2013, when a group of Haitians tried to flee to the USA and instead ended up off the coast of Cuba. The government of Haiti was supposed to come and get the boat, but I doubt it will ever bother. We left our towels on the beach chairs and they were always there after we returned. Plenty of security guards patrolled the beach and we felt very safe. From time to time we saw Cubans walking along the beach, selling hats, shells, jewelry and sculptures. I bought two very imaginative sculptures, carved in one piece of wood; the seller was happy to accept, as part of payment, a t-shirt and my backpack, although he intensely eyed my Coleman watch, wanting it very badly! We met the ‘famous’ George, who speaks English and French, he was always willing to arrange various services to tourists — in fact, he made several phone calls on his cell phone to a few casas particulares in Camagüey and later we gave him a lift to Camagüey in the taxi. We also gave him a bunch of Canadian, American and British magazines and newspapers. Last year (2013) there were about 50 kite surfers who overtook not only the beach, but the swimming areas along the whole beach, making swimming very risky and unpleasant. This year there were plenty of signs on the beach, indicating ‘kite surfing free zones’. There were just several kite surfers, yet on at least one occasion, they deliberately were kite-surfing in the swimming area, just meters from the shore, yelling out expletives as they were flying by. FOOD As always, the food was good and plentiful (although repetitive) and there was always something delicious to pick. Most of the time we skipped lunch, instead going to the beach bar (El Velero) for a hamburger, fish & chips and cold beer. It was possible to have dinner at the adjacent hotel, Gran Club Santa Lucia (get a voucher from the hotel) and we had two of them. Whereas the dining area at the Gran appeared to be more expansive, with much nicer décor, the food selection was, surprisingly, inferior and limited. The Club Amigo Mayanabo was closed during the first week of our stay; when it opened, we also succeeded in having one dinner there. There were very few guests, but the food was good and somehow different from ours. We also went to the a ’la carte restaurant twice; the first dinner was very good, the second one (return guest appreciation dinner) was very limited buffet-style and below average. One night the hotel was celebrating its anniversary; the tables & chairs had white tablecloths and there was a grill set up outside. Catherine was in awe at the amount and selection of food. By the way, in 2013 there were 13 cats in front of the restaurant; this year we did not see more than 3 — supposedly they (were) moved to other hotels, but somehow we did not believe that-we joked that they were in the cat heaven… Except for an occasional mojito and cold beer, we hardly ever had any drink at the bar. It is a good idea to bring a bigger cup, as theirs are small and flimsy. On weekends the resort was full of Cubans; some of them stayed there for a night or two, others only came for a day. I was told that most of them come from nearby communities. HOTEL STORE/MONEY EXCHANGE The hotel store (tienda) had rum, liqueurs, beer and many other items and souvenirs. I wanted to exchange money at the airport, right after we arrived, but after lining up for a while, I gave up. It was possible to exchange money in the hotel, but we went twice to the commercial center between the Club Amigo and the Gran (Cadeca at Centro Commercial Santa Lucia). I was told that a copy of the passport was OK to exchange money; for VISA card advances original passports were required. There was a small room with three computers & internet connection in the lobby, but we never had a need to use it. There were at least two pay phones: one at the lobby bar, another in the block ‘400’. For 10 Cuban pesos (Moneda National!) we purchased a phone card which worked great! The card could be purchased from a telecommunication company located very close to the gas station north of the hotel (near the tall communication tower). ENTERTAINMENT We never went to see any show nor participated in any other activity (i.e., bingo). But from our room we could hear loud, obnoxious music every night and often during the day — and most of the time it was NOT the traditional, Cuban music that I had come to associate Cuba with, which is such a pity! Very often the activities during the day were so ear-splitting that we did not find it pleasant to sit in the lobby bar. Once we were using the pay phone at the lobby were almost unable to conduct a meaningful conversation. BIKES & BIKING TRIPS FROM THE HOTEL There were about 10 bikes for rent and the first hour was free. Unfortunately, most of them were in bad shape and needed simple maintenance tasks such as putting more air into the tires or adjusting screws. Teresa, the lady in charge of bike rentals, told us that somebody from the nearby village was supposed to come every day and fix the bikes, but he never did… We rented them many times, riding to the village of Tararaco or in the direction of the gas station. In Tararaco we went to the “Organic Restaurant and Gardens” whose remarkable owner, Braulio, we had met last year. We spent a few hours chatting with him, drinking his delicious, organic juices, having dinner and wandering in his amazing garden. We also visited his booth in Tararaco, where fresh sugar cane juice was served (see a separate review). One day we hired a horse carriage and went to the picturesque village of La Boca, which we had visited in 2013. Many Cubans told us that Russians were planning to build two luxury hotels in La Boca and eventually relocate La Boca’s residents. I hope the hotels will be nicer than the notoriously ugly hotels built the by Soviets in the 1970s and 1980s (think the Mayanabo, Havana’s Tropicoco Hotel or the ‘barracks’ in the Club Amigo Guardalavaca) and that local residents will be properly compensated. While the carriage driver was waiting for us, for over two hours we were walking along the old coral beach, in front of the houses. I managed to find some of the people I had met last year and gave them their photos and they were thrilled to get them! We met an older gentleman who was making fishing hooks, using a piece of metal wire. There were a few casas in La Boca and we wanted to visit one of them, but it was closed (see a separate review). RANCHO KING AND CAMAGÃœEY Since we booked our vacation through Hola Sun, we enjoyed extra benefits: we were staying in the Hola Sun section, had a free safe in the room as well as enjoyed a free trip to Rancho King. Even though we had taken this trip last year, we decided to take it again. Once we arrived, we were welcomed by the same horse-riding team of 5 cowboys as last year and given very interesting, informative and humorous presentation on topics pertaining to the rancho & its history, herbs, plants, sugar cane, agriculture, hurricanes and local residents and their way of life. We visited a school, Cuban village, a house where Fidel Castro had once stayed and later had lunch whose main dish consisted of a roasted pig (see a separate review). We also hired a taxi and went to the city of Camagüey, where we stayed in a casa particular for 2 nights — we we

Club Amigo Mayanabo: Our 8th time and it just keeps getting better!

From the warmest welcome, through the gorgeous beaches, the captivating excursions, lush greenery; this is our twice yearly touch of paradise! The Staff treat you like family, and there is always something to do for every taste.

Carisol los Corales: Only famous people work here.

They give it their all and what they can. Everything is available sometimes. They also understand at this resort that we give all we can too. Being a smaller resort spread over controlled paddocks could make this a more family location.The backdrop of mountains and the coral filtered sweet water is outstanding. From the understand and hardworking front line to the back line to the chef's and chamber staff made my solo week memorable.

Club Amigo Atlantico Guardalavaca: Excellent Value

This is my 5th stay Club Amigo in as many years. The property is dependable... food isn't the greatest, but it's not awful either. Staff are courteous and helpful. Villa beach view rooms are very nice - well worth a few extra dollars. All said, it feels like a tropical version of home :)

Club Amigo Atlantico Guardalavaca: Awesome every time!!!!

My friend and I went to CA Oct 26 to Nov 1/14. We usually go every January but decided to go in Nov too. Fantastic! Lots of great people and the staff are wonderful. If you are looking for a 5 star hotel this is not it but if you are looking for clean rooms, good food and making new and lasting friends, this is the place to go! The beach is fantastic and the local people are great too. We will be back on Jan 9/14.

Club Amigo Atlantico Guardalavaca: Average rezort

Very strictly a nice hotel in a good quiet area, good locations, including a good services associated with them. Sometimes some (of services) VAM "give" - suggests a small "contribution" - donation to them.

Hotel Caracol: Great resort for low cost

This was NOT a party resort - it was quiet, clean, nice. Staff was good. I slipped on the pool deck - very slippery when your feet are wet - might want to wear some type of footwear. Minimal activities, but enough if you are willing to participate.

Club Amigo Atlantico Guardalavaca: Home awaw from home every time

Just back from Club Amigo Guardalavaca. It was my third trip down in 2014. I was there in January, April and October. This should speak volumes about the resort. I have been eight times now. I always stay in the villas. The villas are worth the small upgrade price. I won't go in October again. The amenities are slightly reduced. It is also too hot. I travelled with two children aged eleven and seven and they are saving their pennies so we can go again! The resort is spotless, the staff is second [... read more] to none and it is a very safe place families and seniors. I hear travellers complain about the food all the time in Cuba. I have no complaints. It is plain (not spicy) and plenty of it. I have never once came home from Club Amigo Guardalavaca having lost weight. Please try this resort. My cousin and I go every year in January and her and I maintain "this is a 3.5 resort with a 5 star mentality.

Club Amigo Atlantico Guardalavaca: Good time once again

Club amigo guardalavaca is a typical 3 star resort with one BIG difference.. Staff are amazing. Even front desk people. We checked in late (midnight) we were a group of 6 with 4 rooms. Our son and his friend were given a room with 1 king size bed. Upon returning to front desk they were changed to a room with 2 beds. No problem. Maids are great.

Club Amigo Atlantico Guardalavaca: Big place, very clean, older building.

The grounds and public area are very nice and well kept. Wonderful people and very clean. Access to the beach very close by, beaches one of the best we have been on. Pure white sand, clean, lovely emerald green water to swim in. Great variety of food.

Club Amigo Atlantico Guardalavaca: Amazing beach

There is a local "Miguel" provided us amazing services at the beach did a whole snorkelling adventure with pictures under water it was an amazing experience. Also the cafe on the second floor " ashley cafe " has amazing coffee and you can donate to the Ashely fund.

Club Amigo Atlantico Guardalavaca: amazing staff

Everyone knows you don't go to Cuba for the food. But the food in the Ala carte amazing. Staff was great well worth the money for a 3 star. Great family resort. Locals are amazing and the entertainment is great.