Paradisus Princesa Del Mar: Not Quite What it Use to Be

We were at this resort 13 years ago & can honestly say we were very disappointed this time around. The Embargo & supply chain issues have negatively affected the resorts general maintenance . While the staff were great, the resort is showing it’s age. As travellers, we were not expecting the entire country to be suffering from a food shortage.

Melia Cayo Santa Maria: Comfortable and clean with amazing staff!!

My husband and I have been going to this same resort for 20 years. It is always clean and the staff go out of their way to make you comfortable. It wasn't as busy as normal this year but we still had a great time. The ala-carte restaurants served very good food although fewer of them were open. We will most definitely return!

Sol Cayo Santa Maria: The Newly Renovated Sol, Cayo Santa Maria

If you are looking for relaxation and utter beauty, than the newly renovated Sol, Cayo Santa Maria should be considered as your next holiday destination! We travelled at the end of February, beginning of March. I will share my impressions with you. The Beach: aquamarine ocean, cool, soft, white sand beach, blue/lilac sky...perfection! You can walk along the beach to find your own private spot, or settle down on a lounge chair under one of the palapas....no need to play the ''towel game'...the [... read more]re were plenty of chairs to go around, when we were there, at any time of day! The Resort: The gardens were lovely, colourful and well maintained. The pool was beautiful with a unique snack bar located in its centre! The Restaurants: The buffet was spacious, the Italian Ala-Carte had an intimate feel, and the beachfront Ranchon had the most amazing view of the ocean and beach! Service was professional, yet warm and personable. The lobby bar also needs a special mention for creating wonderful cappuccinos and mojitos, (they always had mint when I was there!) The Food: When I travel to another country, I always try to dine on the food of their culture. I absolutely enjoyed the Cuban choices. Favourites included the homemade soup, homemade bread with plenty of cheese and butter, (no butter shortage here), rice with beans, bbq chicken and pork, guava, watermelon, pineapple and other fruits, stirfried vegetables and plantain...not to mention the delicious, creamy icecream. I enjoyed the buffet, more than the Italian restaurant, but that is just my preference. On one evening they had a Cuban dinner by the pool, with entertainment! The Rooms: The rooms are completely renovated! There is a walk-in shower with a rain-head, a true kingsize bed, a balcony with comfy chairs. The room was always cleaned each day My only suggestion: I would appreciate if management could post daily, at a convenient spot, if there was going to be special entertainment, or food. Twice I missed something special, that I would have made an effort to be at. This small, boutique resort offers quality service and a stunning location. I would not hesitate to recommend it!

Paradisus Princesa Del Mar: Beautiful beach and resort

This resort was the perfect size, not too large nor too small, the staff were amazing, very friendly. The beach was incredible as was the pool area. Food is always hit and miss in Cuba as a rule so expected. Lobby bar was fantastic. My only one complaint is that they should have designated smoking areas, my room neighbours all smoked so I was surrounded by it even in the hallways, sadly I couldn’t even sit on my patio as the smoking was making me feel ill, obvious I’m a none smoker I would w [... read more]ake up with my room wreaking of it and I was there for two weeks. My suggestion would have certain room blocks just for smokers, it really was unbearable but other than that I loved this resort. Thank you

Tryp Cayo Coco: Great as always

Clean rooms with fresh towels and water daily and plenty of tp. Nice big pool and the best beach and swimming with a lot of seating available with shade. The staff are really great, friendly and the bartender remembered us from 2017. The buffet had salad, fresh bread, cheese, turkey and always a choice of meats from the grill. There was cockroaches around the buffet the first few days but the new manager took care of it quickly. The entertainment was phenomenal! We had a great vacation

Paradisus Princesa Del Mar: Amazing Beach

The Beach is great, and the buildings are very nice. Located almost across from the Marina, it gives another option for food, shopping and entertainment. The Varadero Bus stop is in front outside of the hotel.

Melia Las Americas: Great Beach and clean hotel

Very spacious beautiful beach. Adults only, wide range in ages. Hotel was very clean with clean washrooms. Hotel is right at the Golf Course with green fees included. Cart is extra, For $5 you can store your clubs at the pro shop for the week. Also adjacent to the hotel is a shopping mall and the Xanadu Mansion. Food was good. 4 dinner a la cartes(international,Asian,Italian, BBQ/Cuban), 1 buffet, 1 24 hour snack bar. Buffet had a fresh cooked spaghetti station(choose your ingredients and sauces [... read more]) and a fresh fry chef(pork,beef,chicken,fish, shellfish, shrimp), also was a carvery(with either 1 of pork,chicken or fish). There was plenty of variety, but bring your own spices/hot sauce if you need. We did the Level room upgrade which gets you a private beach section, private pool with swim up bar, a very large(600+sqft) modern styled room, a concierge office that eagerly will help you with whatever you need onsite or offsite, and a dedicated a la carte for breakfast and lunch. Room had patio access off both the bedroom and living room and a large glass 2 entrance shower. Our room had one bathroom but some people got two bathrooms in their room. Hotel itself has a very grand spacious lobby, loads of design features(someone gave the architect free rein), a large patio off of the lobby has a stunning elevated view of the ocean and is where there is evening entertainment. A few nights a week there are beach parties or live entertainment on the beach. Staff were very friendly. Hotel is a $10U.S. Cab to centre of Varadero(about 8minutes i think) or there is a shuttle bus that goes to all the hotels, $5 for the whole day. $15cdn got us to Varadero in a 1950’s Chevy convertible. Hotel is about 30 minutes from the airport. This is one of the pricier hotels in Varadero, if you are looking at it I’d suggest going all in and getting the Level upgrade it is worth it.

Paradisus Princesa Del Mar: Lovely resort

The location is beautiful with the grounds being very well maintained! The employees were very friendly and helpful and respectful for the most part. A few could use some more training in customer service. The beach was gorgeous!

Paradisus Princesa Del Mar: Great beach

The beach was amazing as always. The resort has really deteriorated over the years, I don’t think it should be rated a five star. The staff are doing amazing with what limited resources they have. They are always smiling and very courteous and welcoming. The food was well prepared and nicely presented, The cooks are very innovative with the limited food options making amazing plate presentations!!

Melia Buenavista: Beautiful resort!

We stayed in a Junior Suite on a second floor, which we asked for. The room was perfect, and loved the outdoor shower! We were pleasantly surprised with the quality of food, however, it was clear that there are lots of shortages still. We are beach people, and it was a challenging trek through the sand to the palapas on the clothing optional beach. Plenty of palapas and our "beach boy" was very attentive when he saw us every morning. The beach bar was manned by Andres, who would make that t [... read more]rek to us (when he wasn't busy at the bar). Saved us from walking :)!! We had lunch at the grill bar by the main pool...get there when it opens, or you'll miss out on the specials! It's very popular. Our butlers, Yani and Daymi, were gems. We especially want to thank Yani for her special send off on the Sunset Beach on our last night there...very unexpected. It's a very quiet resort, but there is entertainment at the Lobby Bar every night. Some excellent musicians!

Sol Palmeras: Sol Palmaris Resort in Cuba

The resort is very clean and the staff very friendly. The food was excellent at all restaurant's as well at the buffets. Water activities were very good. I did have trouble locating the instructor that teach you to wear and use the deep sea diving equipment in the swimming pool. I never did locate this person. The swimming pools were excellent. We were book in a bungalow which is very far from the main lobby and all the restaurants. I did request something close during my booking but did not [... read more] get it so I moved my family the next day to a much closer room. My wife fell after our evening dinner and needed some medical attention. The medical room was locked and no one had access to it. They did have a first aid kit at the customer service office but all they had was a bottle of peroxide. I am a certified first aider and I could have used better cream, gauzes and bandages to help my wife. There was plenty of entertainment at the resort with signing, dancing and instrumental music. The beaches were clean with plenty of chairs and shade trees to sit under to listen to the ocean.

Melia Las Americas: Great Resort

Hotel had beautiful grounds , friendly helpful staff, and lovely rooms . We stayed at the level area. Food was good. The beach and ocean were amazing . Pools were very well kept . We definitely will come back again.

Melia Internacional: Hotel and property was nice

The hotel was nice and the staff was great. The food was so so but came as no surprise. Selection is tough to get in Cuba. Not the hotels fault. The only issue we had was when we tried to eat outside the hotel. You run out of cash quickly and there is no restaurants in town that will take any credit cards.

Melia Peninsula Varadero: Not great!

The best part of the holiday was the warm weather:) we arrived very late @12:30AM . the guy dropped us to the place where the building was, there was no light to see where we were going (We are seniors! )Plus they put us on the 3rd floor! We had problems with the safe , the shower as the doors couldn’t close so water accumulated on the floor outside, the balcony door was impossible to open , etc…. This cost us half a day , breakfast and lunch ,as we had to wait for maintenance!. The front [... read more] desk is not too efficient as they say ok and nothing happened! we had to check back twice later and on the third try they told my husband to got to a room at the side and speak to public relations. He(Pub.Rel.) said no one told him and our name was not on the list of problems!! On the brighter side the guy who fixed the shower door etc was very good as he fixed it all. However not a good way to start a vacation is it? .They never replaced our bath towel mat or the face towel ( which they took away because it was soaked with water ) all the time we were there. We found it was no use to complain! we had to use our bath towels the whole week as they said they had no clean towels!! All else was ok with small issues but after the start we had we expected to have issues.

Melia Buenavista: Beautiful beaches and friendly courteous staff.

The people were doing their best to work with what they had. The food was not good for the most part - Typically there were 3 choices on the menu and choices # 1 and 2 were not available. Breakfast was usually pretty good. We got into the habit of late breakfast and earlier dinner (6:30) as there was never much appealing about lunch. Dessert was always good - always the same (ice cream or cake) or both! The pool bar offered pizza which was pretty good and french fries - hit and miss for availabi [... read more]lity of the fries. Coffee was not good and never hot. Alcoholic beverages were fairly limited - unless you like rum. It is evident that the resort was hit hard by COVID and it will take a while to recover. If you are a foodie this place is not for you but if you like amazing beaches and spectacular sunsets don't hesitate. And do bring clothing, hygiene products, jewelry, hair products for the housekeeping staff and if you have any leftover sealed COVID test kits the medical staff will be extremely grateful! Tip generously - the wait staff work hard - the quality of the food is not their fault.

Paradisus Varadero: Could be better!

Staff was friendly and some amazing people. The food wasn’t great. We were supposed to be in adjoining rooms with my Mom never happened we were in different buildings. We waited until the night before leaving to finally get extra pillows. There were no hand towels or face cloths only bath towels. They constantly running out of coffee pods for the room. We always had to ask for more water for our room. We tipped every day too.

Melia Peninsula Varadero: Ok resort

The hotel was not what was advertised in the vacation package. The place was quite run down and needs a facelift. The food was good and plentiful. The staff were amazing and helpful. The Beach was lovely but definitely could have used more beach loungers as all loungers were being used or saved with a towel.

Paradisus Princesa Del Mar: Great Trip South

The hotel was nice. Grounds, pool, facilities, restaurants and food were all good. The beach was great! Many of the people working the resort were also great! This is what keeps us coming back. The reason the beach was great was the soft white sand, wide beach that goes on for miles, safe, no vendors, very shallow water that gets deep very slowly, no undertow, nice breeze to keep us cool, lots of available shade and chairs, no need to save seats at 6am, beach bar, quiet and peaceful on the Royal [... read more] Service Beach, no kids. The negatives about the beach are no food available , no washrooms, resort staff allow people that have not paid for Royal Service to use the Royal Service beach facilities, occupying chairs and using the bar. There were even people not from the resort using the beach facilities. When this was brought to the attention of the resort nothing was done. The Royal Service pool was lovely but almost no shade. The main pool was also very nice but again very little shade. By 6am all the shade spots were saved with towels. The rooms we had were large, separate living area from bedroom, comfortable bed, racing and a large balcony with two chairs and table (other rooms had loungers as well). The negative about the room were, AC didn’t work, room was dirty, coffee machine didn’t work, room was in the furthest corner of the resort on a hill, but had a great view. Royal Service gave us daily a la carte Restaurant reservations, the buffet and a la carte were all good. The cigar bar was a big disappointment. Opened only at 7:00pm, cigars were crazy expensive, the cigar bar also serviced the large courtyard where people sat for evening entertainment, this made the cigar bar busy, hard to get service, very noisy, limited seating,

Melia Internacional: Perfection!

The Melia Internacional Varadero is a newish property. Rooms are modern bright and spotlessly clean.Our room bar fridge was stocked daily with beer, cola, bottled water and even cava at our request. The staff are impeccably trained and all are friendly and lovely.Please tip these hardworking people generously. We felt extremely safe everywhere. The pools are meticulously kept. There are several pools to choose from with the main pool hosting a daily activity program- it's fun but loud. A quieter [... read more] pool was separated for 18+ level guests.. The beach is simply stunning with lots of loungers. There are 3 levels of service at this hotel and we booked the highest- "The level 18+ adults". It had its own section of beach with Bali beds and drink service on the beach. There was concierge available 24hrs for The Level guests- they took care of every reservation. They say you don't go to Cuba for the food and there are indeed supply chain issues however there is a noticeable difference between the buffet restaurants and food available to Level 18+ guests. We are one breakfast at the buffet just "to see". It was just ok. We were able to book all nights in the a la carte restaurants based on our booking level however it was limited to 3 nights for regular guests. Quality of the a la carte higher than the buffet but the menu choices are limited. The restaurant in the adults only building was outstanding. Sit down service in a quiet space beside the pool with a delicious menu. Alcohol availability also varies by what bar you were in. Rum readily available everywhere but tequila could only be found at the adult only roof top bar. The roof top spa is outstanding. We had facials and massages. This gives you access to the thermal plunge pools, sauna and steam room- not to be missed. The property is within walking distance to "downtown" Varadero if you're inclined to walk in to putter about.

Melia Jardines del Rey: Good resort

The beach and the pool were beautiful and well maintained at this resort! Most staff were friendly however some were not attentive at all and would forget to brung your drink order unfortunately. Food was not great but this is expected in Cuba. Alcohol was mostly stocked, would run out of specific at some bars. Lobby bar was often overcrowded in the evenings and would take 30+ minutes to get served. The entertainment and night life was good for the first couple of days however we found it got ve [... read more]ry repetitive with the same playlists and dancing from the staff. Rooms were clean and no issues with anything, jist had to ask for extra towels and water bottles. We enjoyed our stay and would recommend!