Trip to Cuba-Barcelo Arenas Blancas

We had a good trip to Cuba. It was very clean, pool was great and it definitely is situated on a very nice part of the Varadero beach. I found that the resort front desk staff had a bit of an attitude and the Nexus representative was not on-site when we arrived. We had arrived at 10:30am in the morning and had to wait until 4:00pm to check in which was difficult for my parents who are seniors. We did not find out until the next day that we could have used a courtesy room to get showered et [... read more]c. Overall I would recommend this resort to others. The food was generally good as well.

Would go back

I went there April 2-8 and I had the best time! The food was alright, the entertainment was good & people and service was great. The only down fall (which I was expecting) the internet didn't work at all the whole week I was there.. I paid for a card for an hour and the whole internet was shut down. For me it really didn't bother me as much as I would have thought. I had the best week of my life & im planning to go back soon! It's been a month and I already miss it!

Great combo resort

Resort was well managed. Rooms were a little older inside but kept clean. Resort was undergoing construction when we were there. Its nice to see them improving things, but it was annoying if your room was by the construction due to noise and worker traffic. Real asset that the resort is larger as they offer more activities. It is also great that there is a 4 star and 5 star resort on the same property and that you are allowed to use the facilities and food buffets at both places. Best resort fo [... read more]r walks to town as it is very close.

Great Location

Resort Aging but clean and well kept Room clean, big and everything worked Beach amazing Pool big but cold Buffet better than expected, fresh stations for every meal Italian and Mexican restaurants were good Snack bar open late with hots and hams for when getting back from the street Staff were good and helpful, much better than many of the ignorant other guests Location This is what made the trip great for us, great location near the main street in Varadero. Street has great bars  [... read more]and restaurants, close to the city park. Go anywhere on the hop on hop off 5 pesos a day double decker buses. Take a ride in one of the old 20's to 50's vintage cars, we booked one for an hour for 30 pesos. Live music every night at Beatles Club or Calle 62 till at least 1 am. Cheap and cold beer and good food at many locations on street. Included best warm water lobster I have ever had (still no comparison to coldwater) at the Groto in the park. Very cool location with a few tables in a cave. Full dinner of lobster and shrimp for three and steak for one with appetizer and bottle of wine for just over 110 pesos. Great pizza and pasta at Kikis. Overall had an excellent time. Will definitely be back to Varadero. Felt very safe out in town, no pushy vendors (other than the horse drawn carriage drivers always asking if you wanted a ride). Only decision for next time is whether to use a resort or rent an apartment in town.

Hotel was good

The overall resortt was good but we were in a newly renovated room and was not finished. We lost half a day waiting for it to be made so we could unpack. The room was in the Barcelo Solymar not the Barcelo Arenas Blancas we were booked into. They had no room for us so sent us to this resort at 11:30 at night due to over booking. Not very pleased.

Terrible Terrible Place

This hotel and Solymer are sister hotels. They are.both terrible. We were booked in Blancas but they overbooked and put us in a handicapped musty room at solymer. The next room we asked for had a leaky ceiling cracked shower panels no bath towels most days terrible food terrible service we tipped everywhere and the staff didn't even acknowledge us bad attitude the only good thing was the beautiful beach and close to town. Also a lot of party people up till 4 am lioud.

Good resort for the money!

We are a couple that stayed at the Barcelo Arenas Blancas for two weeks the end of March 2017. This was the first time visiting the resort. Hotel: rooms were very clean and everything was updated in the room except the bathroom. The room was great, bathroom was ok, but was clean and had great water pressure and lots of hot water. Staff was very polite and friendly all through the hotel. The main Buffett servers were hit and miss, but if go there look for Yamila and sit in her area.. you wi [... read more]ll not get better service anywhere!!! The wifi was purchased by the hour and you would just log in and out until you used up the 60 minutes.. ours lasted us the 2 weeks as we just sent quick checkins home. Hotel and bathrooms were kept very clean which was a great change from some other resorts we have been to. The place needs some updates, but they were renovating and updating all over the place when we were there and you can tell it will look good when they are done. Beach: Amazing! You can walk for miles in either direction.. there is shade but you need to get down before 8am most mornings if you want a hut. Paddle boats, kayaks etc.. available to use for free.. beach bar had the best Piña Coladas as they made them with real coconut milk there as opposed to the lobby bar that used mix. Food: This is one of the better resorts we have been to for food, and that includes 4 and 4.5 stars in DR and Mexico.. lots of options, plenty of fresh fruits and veggies, ice cream in regular flavours like vanilla, choc, and strawberry but also mango, coconut etc.. usual omlette and pasta stations, meat grills and there was a pizza station and crepes station as well. We were very pleasantly surprised at the food quality for a Cuba resort. There was also a coffee bar located in the main lobby area as well. Entertainment: We never attended the evening entertainment but we heard it from our room each evening.. everyone seemed to enjoy it but it was an outdoor area as opposed to an indoor theatre which is something different than we are used to seeing. Town: It was great to be able to just around the town in the evenings and feel safe while you are doing it.. it is a nice little place with very friendly people. Cons: there was not much for cons and what we considered cons may not bother others but we found the nightly entertainment loud even from inside our room and it went to 11pm each night.. this was not a real big deal, but for those with younger kids, it might make a difference.. the other was that to get security to deal with loud partiers at 3am, you had to call and complain.. this only happened a few nights the whole time we were there and we know it goes with the territory so we just ignore it, but one night it was really bad with vulgar and racist slurs being yelled by a large group and it went on for over an hour with nothing being done.. other guests actually ended it by telling them they were calling the police. We have been other places where security jumps in right away to "help" the noise makers back to their rooms and that would have made a big difference. The bulk of the partiers were located at the Solymar side of the resort. Overall it was a great two weeks and we would recommend this resort

Be Careful with This Hotel

Our expectations were high for this resort and we were greatly disappointed. The main problem was the food which was not very good. The Mexican restaurant was a pleasant surprise. The rest of the a la Cart restaurants were poor to fair. All of us were sick from one day to the next which made it impossible to actually have a fun vacation or travel together on excursions. We had been to Cuba before and had no such problems. The grounds and swimming pools are great. The beach is excellent. The peo [... read more]ple were extremely friendly and courteous but all this goes for not when your children are not feeling well. The rooms were old and dated. The beds were uncomfortable but the AC worked fine. Be careful with the excursions offered by the affiliated Tour company they are expensive. In our case they brought us to a cigar making demonstration and rum sampling that was right across the street from the hotel. That was an expensive fare. P.S. Most of us were still sick after we got home.

Barceil Arenas Blancas, Varedero, Cuba

The resort was clean and comfortable but a bit dated. The food and drinks were great. Pools were nice and the beach was beautiful ( and a 2 minute walk from the hotel) Staff were very friendly. Good value for money.

Not worth it

The beach was nice. Not enough lounge chairs. Pools had no shade in the day. Pool bar not open. Lobby bar always had a line. Beds were hard. Towels not changed just folded and put back. Beds just made and not changed with sand left in the sheets. When checking the room before we left under beds had lots of dust bunnies. Ran out of hot water. Door lock broke took 4 hours to temp fix. Remote for TV was changed on the third day for one that did not work, not sure why. Called the desk sent u [... read more]p a man who said he would replace it tomorrow, didn't see him again. Late check out requested for 8pm only available til 4. Had to sit in the lobby for 3 hours. Food was good lots of selection. Our tour guide was sick for the drive from the airport to the hotel.

Great Resort

Overall, this resort was a lot of fun. I would definitely recommend to a younger crowd. Good drinks, nice rooms (the bungalows), beautiful beach. Came with a few friends, and we had a great time. Very close walk to the city centre near havana club etc

Good

The hotel was basically great. Our room was close to everything. The down side was that we had no AC for the week. I complained to the desk and Sunwing staff. Nothing was done. We had to sleep with the windows open and the bug bites were terrible I am, still treating them. The hotel was clean, pools clean and huge, beach great, lots of lounge chairs, drinks perfect, food was pretty good. We were asked on the plane to complete our Sunwing questionnaire the flight attendants never handed them o [... read more]ut to us. I had to ask for one. I would go back to this resort!!

A nice resort that needs updating

The Barceló Arenas Blancas Resort in Varadero Cuba is a resort that is in need of a great deal of updating .The rooms are in need of re painting ,repair and in despert need of cleaning.The housekeeping is poor the floors are dirty the bathrooms the tubs in particular are filthy and need replacing. In some areas of the resort you smell sewage. The water situations is not good the hot water is cool and the water pressure is low. The villas are also an issue as they are also having water [... read more] issues. The Hotel grounds are well kept as are the pools and beach. The food is the same for almost every meal but acceptable. The staff try hard and are friendly but on the housekeeping & maintenance side they need better direction

Solymar had to stay there because they did't have a room for us at arenas blancas

grounds very neat and tidy rooms need upgrading especially the bathrooms, there should be hand sanitizers outside buffet and restaurants. Location is perfect, close to town.we had to stay at the Solymar even though we booked at the Arenas Blancas

Great

everything was wonderful the hotel is 2 minute walk to downtown which was great. Also being attached to the solymar is great because the buffet was better there and you have access to the pools,its a 2 in 1. would for sure go back.

Extremely disappointing

Hotel is significantly substandard and is not a 4 star. We have been to Cuba several times and this was the worst resort. On the first day we had to ask for another room as water was entering the unit from above. Food was mediocre and the coffee awful. They didn't know how to prepare an omelette. Best things were beach and proximity to downtown Varadero.

Good resort

I loved the food! The staff are very friendly and the rooms are good as well. My only complaint is the lack of bars! The last time I stayed at this resort there was also a bar out near the pool, which would be open later in the evening. This bar was closed, ( for renovations perhaps?) which left only one bar in the lobby, which closed too early. There were usually lineups there, and not enough waiters for the sitting areas, which were quite often full of guests, sipping their drinks.

Nice centrally located resort

We stayed at this resort for one week from February 10th to February 17th. The hotel is located walking distance to local bars, restaurants and shopping. It's also on one of the best strip of beach in Varadero. The resort grounds and pools were beautiful. The beach is wide with white sand, turquoise water and lots of palapas and palm trees for shade. Room: We stayed in the Arenas Blancas section but also had access to all the amenities at the Solymar hotel. Initially we were given a room wit [... read more]h two twin beds facing the street and noisy rooftop air-conditioners. The following day the front desk arranged to move us to a new room with a king bed and gorgeous pool view. The rooms were clean and appeared to be recently renovated. At one point we noticed that water was leaking from the ceiling next to the air-conditioner. We notified the front desk and no more than 5 minutes later a repair man showed up to fix it. Food: This resort offers 2 buffets and several a la carte restaurants. We tried the Mexican, oriental and Italian restaurants and all of them were good. The buffets however were very disappointing. We mostly ate at the Arenas Blancas buffet but when we tried the Solymar buffet we found it was equally bad. This was our 4th trip to Varadero so we didn't have high expectations but the food here was definitely the worst we've had in Cuba. Everything in the buffet was very bland and most dishes that should have been warm were cold. They really need to find a way to increase the food temperatures in the buffet. Towards the end of our vacation we craved a hot meal so we decided to go off resort. There are great local restaurants in Varadero many which are walking distance from the resort. Overall we enjoyed this resort and would likely stay here again. The resort was beautiful and staff was friendly and eager to please.

Great Place to Recharge

The resort and beaches are beautiful. The food was good. The staff are amazing and extremely friendly and courteous. The rooms are good, all that you need and the balconies are nice ... would go back any day:)

Unique Location

Resort in much need of cosmetics but we went for sun, beach and relaxation and weren't disappointed. 2 minute walk to town was a new experience and was absolutely safe night and day. Also, vendors didn't once appear pushy. Hop on/hop off double decker bus for 5 pesos pp great way to see entire peninsula. Unlimited times for the whole day.Round trip takes about 2 1/2 hours(depends how long they stop at the river which they always do for some reason). Room comfortable and clean but has [... read more] been used and abused and it shows.AC and hot water - no problem. If anything needs fixing go to guest services not housekeeper or reception. Also, take facecloths(there weren't any). Problem during our stay with huge shortage of single pesos.(?)We started asking bartenders to break large bills so we were able to tip. Speaking of bartenders (and servers)excellent service even as busy as they usually were. Thanks Karen at Las Dunas pool bar and Juan the gardener at Arenas who supplied fresh mint daily. We were pretty happy with the food -small buffet at Arenas handy with attentive staff and large one at Solymar naturally more selection. Sorry to say the Spanish, Italian and Oriental A La Cartes we tried were not that great and we had to pay 1 Peso for a beer at Spanish El Quijote. All inclusive a la carte?? Should also mention food labelling was often mixed up or non existent at all of them. Overall, quite good with excellent and hard working staff -sweet Daimtis (sp?)constantly working to clean Arenas lobby or coffee bar area and always smiling. Hope the powers that be for Barcelo keep their front line staff happy as they have much to do with the happy guests.