Playa Punta Hicacos: Great hotel

Our hotel stay was great. The food at the buffet could have been a lot hotter than it was . However It was plentiful. With lots of fruits, vegetables, salads and desserts. I would definitely go back Carlos and your staff were all amazing !!

Blau Varadero: Worth it

We went from Toronto YYZ to Varadero on Sun Jan 11-18. We arrived super later due to delayed flight. We chose select. If you’re even thinking about choosing it, just do it. ARRIVAL: Front desk staff was excellent and spoke better English than a lot of current Canadians. They were fast, explained everything we needed to know and do, and got us to our room quickly. They continued to be helpful for the entire trip when needed. ROOM: Our room was clean, AC on and working great. Everything  [... read more]we needed. Water and beer and cola. 2 beds instead of a king so we pushed them together. They were a bit too firm for our liking but that is just personal preference. Doesn’t mean all the beds are this way. The room was updated. The bathroom was not, but it was clean and not disgusting. It was good. FOOD: This is Cuba. Although we had never been, I had done my research and listened to others who had travelled to this country. I set my expectations low. Firstly, there was always lots of food. Maybe not a wide variety, but you won’t starve. Every day seemed like the variety was becoming more and more. Breakfast- Large variety of food from cereal to omelets. They make the omelets and eggs right on the flat top grill in front of you. Toppings for the omelets include ham, onion, peppers, spinach, pineapple, peppers and sometimes other stuff. Fruit, bread(they had a toaster), eggs and even crepes or super thin pancakes. They had coffee and juice. There’s no traditional bacon or sausage like you would find at home. There’s diced hot dogs and possibly some kind of pork. Plenty of food but not an enormous variety. I had an omelet, a little bit of mashed potato and a couple pieces of hot dogs and was stuffed. Could have just had the omelet and been full. Just for reference I am 6’7” tall and not thin and love to eat. Lunch- Great buffet. Pretty good variety of food for Cuba. Pasta available every day with stuff to go in it as well(cheese, ham, onion, tomato, spinach, sometimes more). Fish, several kinds of pork, a few days beef and almost every day chicken. Veggies and fruit, bread, potatoes, salad. Quite a variety considering the country. There are also burgers. Now, these are not what you will be used to. They are more like sliders sized. But they are tasty. There was ketchup and mustard and mayo. All of them are not the same as you would buy in a grocery store. They had pastries for desert and even ice cream. Beach Bar Lunch- I just wanted to throw this in quickly before I forgot about it. There is a bar 100’ from the beach along the boardwalk where you can get lunch. Burgers and even fries. The only place on the resort I saw fries. Everything was great there. They have throwaway containers so you can take your lunch back to the beach. Super convenient. Grab lunch and a refill of booze and head back to the beach. After the scheduled lunch time, you can get ham and cheese sandwiches which they grill. After 4pm they have chicken available but I’m not sure for how long. They are not awesome. But, if you need a little filler in between meals or to soak up a little alcohol, they hit the spot. They are similar to a grilled cheese. Ketchup and mustard available. Dinner- The same kind of variety as expected. Pork, chicken, hotdogs and some nights fish. They had more and more beef as the week went by which was a nice surprise. Again they had the flat top grills going cooking chicken, fish or beef. One night they had lamb. Didn’t expect that. Pasta, bread, veggies, potatoes, pumpkin, some seafood, fruit and salad. Something that everyone needs to be aware of: The sooner you go to eat, the more variety there is. They run out of stuff because there is not lots of every single thing. Some things they have lots of. This applies specifically to the à la cartes. À la cartes- There are 2. International and Italian. The lunch buffet building by the pool is one of them and there is a separate building by the tennis courts for the other. Now, if you book a later dinner time, you might not have all the menu choices. We heard through people we met that this happened to them. Not a big menu. International was a beef plate, chicken plate or veggie plate. Came with an appetizer, piece of bread and a desert. We booked 7pm and had no issues. Others who booked later on had chicken available and one dessert option. The chicken was excellent at both restaurants. The Italian menu was similar with a pasta option I believe. If you book select, you get 2 à la cartes to start with the option of a third if it’s available. Not guaranteed. We didn’t even try to book a third one. We didn’t care. Buffet was great for us. Bars: There are 6 bars. Not all are open at the same time. Drinks are served differently sometimes from bar to bar. There is an actual bar on the beach which is super convenient and then the beach bar and bathrooms 100’ away. There is one bar only for select guests. The Quiet bar. It’s off to the side of the pool a bit. Has indoor and outdoor sitting areas. Better quality alcohol and more variety along with some chips, olives and nuts to snack on. There is a coffee bar. I’m not a variety coffee guy so I can’t really critique it. They gave me a cup with coffee in it and it woke me up as coffee should. Espresso, cappuccino, Irish, americano, cafe mocha. Maybe one or two that I just can’t remember. Open 7-5 which is great for that mid afternoon grogginess that creeps up sometimes. A few pastries available also while they last. Overall cleanliness: This resort is clean. There are workers going at it 24/7. We arrived at 1am and did a quick tour before bed and there were people working at 2am. Bathrooms are clean and taken care of. Did not see one clogged toilet. Don’t flush toilet paper. Many bathrooms in convenient spots. Staff: Super friendly, super polite. Down to earth people just trying to do their job and keep everyone happy. There is a bit of a language barrier sometimes. Not always. Learn a bit of Spanish, even just a few words here and there to make communication easier. You can always look up anything on your phone. Wifi: It’s ok. It’s not awesome and it’s not garbage. If you want to scroll Facebook all day, no problem. If you want to upload video reviews of resorts you may have issues. You may need a vpn to access some apps. I downloaded songs and watched videos with almost no issues. Wifi works great in the hotel and around the pool. Pool: One pool. It’s fairly big. It’s clean. Seating fills up fairly quickly like every other resort. I did notice however, the seats were filled all the time. No empty seats with a towel holding it for someone for hours and hours. The Beach: What you are really in Cuba for. It doesn’t disappoint. It’s huge. Long and wide. Lots of seating. A large area for select guests. Beds to rent for regular guests and beds for the select guests. The water is warm. The sand is powder. It is paradise. The colour of the water is the same as all the advertising pictures or videos you’ve ever seen. Clean and tidy and like I said before, it even has its own bar. Vendors do come to the beach but they stay down near the water and are not super pushy. There is a quad that bogeys down the beach that can make you a drink out of a pineapple along with the pieces of pineapple they carve out to make room for the drink. Blau beach area(in the water and land) is all sand. No rocks or coral reefs. We walk partway towards the end of the strip along the beach and Blau has a far far superior beach setup and section. Entertainment: There is always something going on. There is a schedule on the wall of the first floor by the one elevator that is probably 10’ long with hourly activities and nightly activities. Yoga by the beach or pool, dancing by the beach or pool, ring toss game, bocce ball, archery, pool tables, ping pong tables, badminton, pool volleyball, beach volleyball, tennis, basketball and I’m sure I’m missing some. Pool foam party on Fridays at 4pm. There is a sauna and hot tub. A gym, a doctor and a pharmacy. There are 2 stores. A few clothes and soaps/shampoo and meds in one and cigars in the other. Nightly entertainment starts at around 9:30. They have a stage. Dancing, quiz night and magic shows, white night, Canadian night and Cuban night. There is an area called the piano room. It has a bar that is not really open until the evening. A singer who was excellent. Very talented. And sometimes someone will play the piano with her who was also very skilled. Very adaptable with the genre of music. Can play/sing old and new songs. Convenient for all ages. Late night disco every night at 11:30pm on the beach. Some things I’ve seen in reviews that perhaps need some clarification. The main bar is indoors on the first floor and you can smoke at the tables all around it and at the bar. I’m a smoker but I understand this bugs people. It’s Cuba. It’s a smoking country. There are sections where there is no smoking. The piano bar and the central lobby area with all sorts of seating. The piano bar area has an outdoor smoking area. This place is wheel chair accessible for the most part. Two sets of 2 elevators and ramps where needed. You will not be able to navigate the beach in a wheelchair but you will be able to come to it on the boardwalk. I would highly recommend this resort. Even people on our bus to the airport including the bus guide spoke highly of this resort (and a couple others I Airport to hotel was 40 minutes(ish). You have to drop off others at resorts. Hotel is about halfway up the peninsula.

Starfish Cuatro Palmas: Another great Cuba experience

2nd time staying at this resort and it was even better this time. Great location in town, very central to everything and easy to get a scooter rental a couple of blocks away. Pharmacy right across the road is handy too. The staff is awesome, the property is a good size and easy to get to everything. Highly recommend.

Sanctuary at Grand Memories Varadero: Awesome

I was in unit 30 and had no issues. Clean towels, garbage taken every day. Water, beer and sprite left daily. The butler was visible frequently throughout the day and was very eager to assist. Grounds were beautiful. The beach and pools were fantastic. Everything was clean. Staff were polite and helpful. I am allergic to peppers and still found plenty to eat.

Barcelo Solymar: wonderful beach

The resort was very clean and the staff were wonderful the food was amazing and the "beach beautiful" my only complaint was there was very little entertainment, I have been to Cuba 16 times and this was very disappointing all the other times I have been there was always something to do on the beach in the discos and at the resort the only constant was bingo everyday :( the other problem was if there was something going no one knew where and when something was happening no announcements

Melia Varadero: Amazing Resort

The Hotel was the perfect size for my wife and i as we arent into the Mega resorts anymore. The grounds were beautiful, the staff in general are amazing and kind.Room was newly renovated and posh. Lots of food and very few mosquitoes. My only rant about this resort would have to be about the pool. Needs a lil TLC and the fact that it wasnt a swim up bar made no sense, because its actually a swim up but not close enough to reach for a drink from the bartender

Playa Punta Hicacos: Okay Resort

Overall not bad, good value for price. Not much for food selection, amenities or activities. Room was clean. Service was okay. Right across from Marina and basic shops. Quiet beach, three access points and areas. Only considered a 5 star because there is a separate VIP section with infinity pool, restaurants, nicer rooms, but area is not open for all guests (only 6 guests when I walked through before being stopped by security). Kinda dumb process to line up for almost an hour each time to book a [... read more]-la-carte restaurants for that day only, and same food as buffet. Snack bar open 24hrs/day, access to 2 pools (1 with slide and bar kinda loud, 1 quiet pool which was beautiful near lighthouse). Ice cream shop. Theatre music waaaaay too loud to stay for performance. Ladys (sunwing/nexus rep) was totally awesome!!!! Lots of mosquitos inside lobby/bar area, none outside! Bring bugspray with DEET. Never lost power, internet only down 2 hrs for one day, only ran out of 'coke' one day. Definitely go on catamaran excursion!

Playa Vista Azul: awesome!!

We were so pleased with just about everything. The food quality and quanity was exceptional. Rooms were clean and well kept for our whole stay. Outside grounds beautiful. Staff treated us like family. We will book in here again for certain.

Grand Aston Varadero Beach Resort: Worth the price

The Hotel was nice, its fairly new. The staff were friendly. The bars are good, not much for a wait for a drink. The entertainment in the lobby was nice. The food was good, not hard to find stuff to eat…. The beach was nice…a bit rocky bring sand or water shoes and you are fine. The room was nice and kept clean. The wifi is okay… great in the lobby. The pool is nice. The weather was nice. Downtown varadero was nice. Altogether I would say this trip was…..Nice! Lol

Sanctuary at Grand Memories Varadero: Great adults only

Enjoyed Sanctuary Grand Memories. Owners have changed last time here was Riu. Glad to see many old staff still there. Roxana, Nancy Melys Yami all staff still at restaurant/pool bar and Jacob Manager of restaurant all did fantastic job Our Premium suite was awesome nice having 2 toilets comfortable bed. Only wish showers could have been hotter Thanks for another great stay

Melia Las Antillas: It’s a 2 star resort not 4 star

This hotel is not a 4 star. It’s a 2 star. Elevators never worked. Have to use stairs. 10 minutes walk to the beach..If you need the bathroom when you are at the beach you have to walk 6 minutes to pool bathroom which is never working. So you have to go to the lobby washroom which is always broken and never any toilet paper. The hotel has no one to supervise cleaning in the building . The bathtub in the bedroom is disgusting. Food in buffet are always cold. To get the bus 10 minutes walk. If you [... read more] have a mobility problem don’t go there. Not worth the money. Hotel needs total renovation.

Grand Aston Varadero Beach Resort: All Good

Was great for me. Clean and modern. Courteous staff. Food was good. Super value. Pool could be cleaner. Should be vacuumed well and cleaned nightly. Pedicure was great. Entertainment could be less Cuban. More gendres of music. Younger staff could learn more English as majority of us were Canadian. I would definitely go back to unwind. Day trips into town with local busses was easy and economical.

Grand Aston Varadero Beach Resort: Good value

The beach was ok on the left side of the hotel near the vip section, the right side has rocks when u walk in , most benches at the pool and beach were wrecked and uncomfortable, for the price it’s the best hotel you can get in Varadero Cuba

Memories Jibacoa: Memories Jibacoa

Overall good. We have been to Memories Jibacoa about 12 times. However, some problems: Missing pool tiles an ongoing problem for years, sharp edges hazardous to feet in pool. They are working on it. Needs to be repaired once & for all. Of 2 hot tubs only one working for years, cold water only, not heated. Hot tubs when used are often dominated by Cubans, who set up for the day, loudly play their own music, even eating in the hot tub. More & more Cubans present, that's not a problem, but a pr [... read more]oblem when, they play their own loud music at the pool or beach, they pile up food on their plates & tables, then don't eat it, they but into lines at bars & food stations, not waiting their turn. The resort MUST maintain its ambiance as a quieter, relaxing, adult place to stay, or it will lose its customer base. Workers & staff are generally warm & wonderful, with the exception of a man & a woman who work at the pool bar & tend to be quite surly, as though you're bothering them to get service. The drinks served vary widely in contents & quality depending who makes them. When classes, events were cancelled, there was no announcement to guests or a replacement staff made available. Get Nelson the omelet man new & more fry pans!! In the mornings the wait staff had to go too far for single cups of coffee. But, the coffee had improved in quality. The quality of wines offered could be improved. Especially in the buffet. Need to get the sail boats fixed, get more sail boats & peddle boats that are operating, extend their operating hours, they quit at 2 pm !! No scuba diving on Sundays, this shouldn't happen when there are days during the week there's no diving due to weather. Some of the best weather days, Sundays, there was NO diving available. Villa Tropical/Jibacoa next door dive 7 days a week. Sometimes there are not enough dive guides available. The dive regulators need better servicing, especially o-rings & mouthpieces. Leaks even from high pressure hoses. I know it's Cuba & parts are hard to get, but safety is paramount. More newer loungers needed around the beach. There was less variety of entertainment, no opera, no aqua ballet, no acrobats, etc. What they had was very good though & well done. Dancers work very hard & are very good. Flamenco dancers were a high light. Musicians very good. Missed the piano player in restaurants & piano bar. Grounds & rooms are well cleaned & maintained. Maids & gardeners work very hard & are very pleasant. We still love the resort & most of the workers. Just, don't let it slip! These are areas that need addressing & soon. Despite all, we will be back as we still enjoy it overall.

Playa Punta Hicacos: Really Enjoyed the Resort

I loved the Staff in the Hotel and on the Beach. A la Carte was great. The piano in the lounge was amazing and we had a great time at night listening to a Guest Play the Piano. The 2 stage shows I went to wee good.

Grand Aston Varadero Beach Resort: Nice Resort

Resort was nice and it was clean. The food because of food shortages in Cuba was very basic. The specialty restaurants all had pretty much the same menus. All in all though it was a nice resort with a great beach area.

Melia Las Antillas: Nice resort

I have to start with saying that Cuba is going thru some hard times and unfortunately it shows. I have been to this resort many times in the past and I have to be honest, I have seen a decline in the place. It is in desperate need of an up date. The grounds are beautiful but the rooms need a lot of work. in the many times that we have been to this resort, this was a bit of a disappointment. Again, I have to reiterate that Cuba is falling on hard times so this is not in any way the fault of  [... read more]theirs. The people that work there are the most nicest safest people you will ever want to meet. For all that they are going thru you would never tell. They are still so very friendly, loving and safest to be around. Love the Cuban people

Melia Varadero: Nice resort

The hotel was very nice beautiful inside, our room we stayed in was really great also the maid we had for the week was phenomenal she was so kind and sweet always made something with the towels on our bed with fresh flowers (we stayed on level 4 beach view) the food is Cuban but there's always something for everybody pretty disappointed and not having the variety of fruit that we normally have or some of the fruit being less than ripe but still fine, we didn't find the pool to be kept very clea [... read more]n at all and not enough chlorine in the pool, the beach was very nice a bit rocky for our liking and not what we are used to for varadero beaches but still good! The staff are lovely.

Iberostar Origin Bella Vista Varadero: Amazing beach

Really positive things: rooms are perfect, location, ocean and beach. Fresh bread daily. Room for improvement: service as in the speed, urgency and being proactive with drinks for the buffet. Most days we were done eating before anyone brought us water or other drinks. Always a battle and very disappointing. Things you cannot change but expect: repeat food options, limited but always will find something to eat. Same with drink options. Lots of alcohol but when you’re looking to mix, good [... read more] luck, you’ll be guaranteed a rum punch but no Pepsi,Coke or equivalent. Not many « normal » vacations drinks. Mojitos the odd time if they had supplies. No toilet paper in the main area bathrooms. Minimal or no soap in the main area bathrooms. Low battery in the safes, if they work. Low battery on the door. General slow service when requesting things. Example: we had a kids bed in our room and needed a sheet, pillow and blanket and had to ask 3 separate times for a blanket before we got it over the course of 2 days. We waited for pool towels for 24 hours. If you don’t change the pool towels first thing in the morning you won’t get a fresh one. Peak times no hot water in the shower. Overall it’s a nice resort with the expectancies of Cuba. The beaches and weather are great and if you’re going for food or drinks, choose a different hot destination.

Melia Internacional: Value/$ 10:10

It was our 2nd time in Varadero, Melia is so much better and surely 5* for Cuba. Despite 90% capacity booked, plenty space around and at the beach. Loud music till 23:00 but this was so at any resort I remember. Warm, nice staff