Playa Vista Azul: Amazing Resort & Great Service

We knew when we booked a vacation in Cuba there would be some challenges. We upgraded to the premium and it did not disappoint. From the time we arrived in Cuba until the time we left, we were treated like royalty. Upon arrival at the resort, we were taken to our own check in, the staff at this resort is incredible. They truly make you feel like family. We stayed in the new section...rooms in the 1232, 1234 area. Our rooms were incredibly clean and modern. We had great service at the bars [... read more] and the a la cartes. We did only do the buffet a couple of times and found this challenging. The Italian and the International restaurants were much better. As part of the premium package, we had a couple of different restaurants for breakfast and lunch. We never had an issue with drinks or water (always bottled). There is a great cafe by the main pool for those after supper cravings. The grounds are beautiful and kept impeccable by the staff. The beach is amazing and clean, both small and large ones. We never had to play the chair game at this resort. The views at the infinity pool are stunning. There was entertainment quite a bit in the main lobby at night, consisting of piano and violin. Entertainment staff goes a wonderful job. Always vintage cars by the lobby and you can hire the driver to go to Havana or Varadero...there is also a local bus that will pick you up and take you to Varadero. This resort changed my entire view of Cuba...and I will definitely be returning.

Sol Palmeras: Great week in Cuba

The Hotel is quite old, but has been maintained well. The room was dated but clean and everything worked. Entry lock, safe, bathroom all worked well. The resort is very beautiful, grounds manicured and clean. Lots of daytime and evening entertainment. Nice area near beach entrance with bbq open all the time, lots of seats and umbrellas, a little shopping area, lunch served at 1:00. Of course the beach was beautiful, always able to find a spot to sit. Service was excellent, lots of staff.  [... read more] Food was quite good ( for Cuba). Always some type of protein available. They never ran out of eggs. Wifi was the only problem. Difficult to sign in and stay connected. My understanding is that along with some of the rooms that they are visibly renovating, the WIFI is also to be updated. We will definitely return to this resort.

Hotel Bella Costa: Trip to remember

The first impression of the hotel was, this could not be the same place in the pictures. We were cat fished, the appearance very disappointing. We arrived after 12pm, room was not ready, we were told, we went and checked out the hotel to see what to expect, the hotel smelled moldy, which seemed like they must have leakage, very much so. The beach was beautiful, went back to front desk, room was still not ready. Went to try get something to eat, the lanuage barrier was a major issue, my friend di [... read more]dnt eat pork, but i did I asked for a hamburger got a bun with cheese what my friend settled for. I asked for the hamburger with meat, We noticed the cook and other workers stearing back at us every minute, when I was servered the meat was burnt and couldnt break apart, we saw so many other people getting their burgers and it did not look like what I was served. This was about after 2pm, we left from the hotel went into town, we found a great restaurant named El Bodegon Del Gardo, Calle 49 NO.106 e/1 ra y 2da Ave. Varadero, Cuba (53)45611369 food was pretty good that was a go to place to eat and the staff were great. Went back to the hotel after 7pm same crap room not ready. It was about after 9 we got a room and when we went upstairs, oh and the numbers in the elevator don't match the floors. There was a trail of water drips down the hall to the room, the smell of fresh paint slap us right in the face, the sheets on the bed were dirty, the washroom needed to be cleaned, there was no towel, toilet paper, soap. There was tape holding the glass of balcony door. Fridge was dirty no water. We went right back to front desk, of course we got the looks of here they come again. My head felt like it was going to burst from the smell of the paint. We asked to speak to the manager, she came to me to find out what was happening. I explained to her our ordeal and she was very understanding and apologized for the inconvenience. She offered a new room, which was locted on the other side of the hotel in the bungalow units. Well it was a well needed upgrade. Until we had a visitor who ran out of the washroom (lizard) ? we almost died from heart failure, my friend ran out the room screaming down the path to the security, while I was jumping from bed to chair, security ran over to help but then said he can't go into the room, he went to get someone else, thank God a lovely guest came back from the beach and came to our rescue, using a pillow to get it out of the room. The guy arrived to helped but the work was done already, I almost fell on the lizard trying to move it from the front of our door. It was a very long and stressful day, but we made the best of it and had some very memorable moments and lots of laughter. The one day we chose to go to the beach in the water, was the day after they had a storm, apparently there was a message sent out to not go in the water because of jellyfish, we did not get the message and we were out in the water having a blast trying to understand why no one was joining us out there. Atleast we entertained the guess who was watching us from way up on the sand. Smh, the manager was amazing and really made it her duty to check in with us and tried to make us as comfortable as possible. Was only a shame we only booked for the weekend. Makesure you bring your USD or CAD there is no ATMs and there was no way to get any Cash, and information that we got from the Workers was not very useful, seems like they were confused as much as we were. We will be returning to Cuba but not at this hotel.

Blau Varadero: Wonderful Resort, even better staff!

I never write reviews but Blau Varadero deserves one. From start to finish, our experience was fantastic. The hotel lobby is stunning. The rooms are not super fancy but they are updated and clean. The food was some of the best I’ve had in Cuba - For reference, I’ve been to Cuba over a dozen times. They had a variety of meat options including chicken, pork, beef and fish. They had lobster at the main buffet and the burgers at the pool grill were very tasty. With what resources they have, they [... read more] did an excellent job serving a variety of options. The staff is exceptional. They remember your name, they’re attentive and friendly and go above and beyond. Jennifer at the main buffet is wonderful and I hope to see her again! I have no doubt that I will stay at Blau Varadero again and hopefully sooner than later!

Grand Memories Varadero: Great resort .

I enjoyed my stay at Grand Memories resort. It was very clean and the staff are very friendly and eager to please. The pool is great as is the beach . The grounds are well maintained and look great. I'll return.

Paradisus Princesa Del Mar: unfair called as 5 star hotel

We have been in Cuba 17 times including Varadero, all the times 5 star hotels . This hotel Princess del mare was our worst experience! It is not definitely 5 star hotel !!! ! a)Rooms are not clean, sink and facet was so dirty !, it was not properly cleaned at least for 2-3 years, I could not even touch that b) the worst there were cockroaches everywhere. I have phobia about that , so I had to sleep with the light. c) They gave us only one towel for each of us for all week long , the same to [... read more]wel was for the face and feet ! No drinking water was in the fridge . Every day I had to call at least 5 times to ask Customs Service to bring that to our room. d) There was not a basic normal food in restaurants, even eggs, butter for breakfast , soup was cooked with adds of uneaten salad from yesterday, like pieces of ham, cabbage, pasta, carrots , corn and something else together ! e)A la cart restaurants are even worse! Cockroaches were running on the table near to my plates. Waitress could not speak International language English at all !!! f) Beach chairs were no flat and it was impossible to lay on that at all ! beach sand was not cleaned from grass and other garbage in the mornings like in other resorts. g) and as a rule they pushed us to give money to get something what we had already paid for ! Just after our arrival while checking in they provided us a room with one bed on the 3 floor ( despite our previous request for 2 beds and the fist floor . we are mature 70 years old people ) But just after one minute later with US $25, they gave what we needed. We came for 2 weeks vacation and our time was spoiled and we wasted $5000 and time to rest !

Barcelo Solymar: Good 2 weeks/ 3.5 Star Hotel- Jan.2-16, 2024

It was our first time staying at the Solymar, I would stay again if the price was right. There are a few things I wanted to mention, hopefully this will help with you trip. Front desk staff- were just ok, they really need to communicate a little better. When we checked in, only 1 other person was at the desk, so they weren't busy. The front desk staff never gave us a safe key, never told us about were to get beach towels, or were to book the specialty dinners. Safe key did not work, it took a [... read more]n entire day to resolve. You will have to ask a lot of questions after you arrive, it takes a couple days to figure things out. Superior room- Our room was on the first floor, room 1116. It was fine and looked a little worn, that didn't bother us. The beds were very comfortable, sheets changes everother day, 2 bath towels, no hand or face clothes. AC worked, TV worked (no remote), 1 large bottle of water is place in your fridge each day. You can fill up water bottles in the buffet restaurant. Housekeep- Did a great job, they work very long days, and that's 6 days a week. Our room was clean and in good order everyday. The house keeper for your room is who you get your beach towels from, they also change them out for you. IF you don't see your housekeeper, go to the front desk and request they get put in your room. I think they have a limited supply and have to registered to your room. If you loose a beach towel, it's just over $30 USD to replace. TIP your house keeper everyday! Bars- Great staff, and work 6 days a week as well. The staff were very friendly. PLEASE tip your bartenders, they will take care of you! Limited pop at the bars, only Sprite and Orange Fanta. They have draft beef, rum, tequila and sometimes vodka. Our drink of choice is vodka, we bought 2 bottles at Duty free on the way down, that really saved us. Buffet Restaurants- 3 buffets at day breakfast from 7-10, lunch from 12:30-3 and dinner from 7-10. The food was pretty basic, a lot of it wasn't to my liking, but I always found something to eat. Omelets in the morning!! TIP your omelet person! The service staff were great, and after a couple days they recognized us and brought our drinks or coffee to the table. Of course we tipped every meal, it was so disgusting to see how many people didn't tip. Beach- Was amazing! I love this beach so much. I would suggest IF you want a palapa you will need to put your towels on the chairs by 10am, otherwise you will be out of luck that day. Specialty restaurants- There was Italian in the lobby of the hotel, it was not good. Seafood down by the beach, we had lobster, excellent. A couple Spanish restaurants, by the beach towards Areas Blanca, Excellent, and a Mexican in the lobby of the Areas Blanca, not bad. Booking Specialty restaurants- This is done in the lobby office to the left of the elevators basically from 9-11 daily. Be there early, the line forms very fast. Try to book as many as you can, the buffet gets tried after a while. TIP the lady, we did $5 CAD, it really helped. The resort has a "STARS" dinner once twice a week, It does cost $15 USD by Credit car only, it was totally worth it. The service was like fine dinning and the 4 course dinner was amazing! Most people tried to dress up for dinner, bring some nice shirts and a nice pair of pants. Tank tops, day/beachwear is not allowed in the restaurants. Lobby and cleaning staff- The lobby is beautiful and very well maintained. The cleaning staff were working constantly, and kept it is tip top shape. What to bring- A refillable bottle of drinks, creams, suntan lotion, Benadryl or allergy medication. I got some bits from sand fleas on my legs, Benadryl and creams really helped. REMEBER , the electrical is 220v there, bring an adaptor to pug stuff in. Excursions and tour buses- ALL are paid for on credit car now, cash will not be accepted. The double decker tour bus that stops in front of the hotel, cost $5 USD, you pay when you enter the bus. The tour is about 2 hours long and you can hop off or get on all day with that $5 pass. Varadero downtown- we went a couple times, the 2 hotels you have access to are literally starts across the street. It was fine, but general expensive. Everything is in USD, beer cost $5 US each. ALSO if you every need to go the bathroom, good luck. It costs $1 USD or 200 pesos. If you don't pay you can't go in, there sometimes locked. The cleaning lady stands out front with the toilet paper, you get 2 squares...LOL Sometimes no toilet see, we felt we were being extorted and we were eating in the place, it was a turn off. Money and CC- Bring Canadian for some tipping, not $1/$2 try can't do anything with it. The Cubans want USD, bring singles, $5's, 10's. 20,s. You will need CC if you want to do any excursions, notify your bank before you go! You can exchange money on the bus to the hotel to get you started, don't buy too much. The lobby bar in the hotel will convert your money to pesos. Generally speaking $10 USD gets you 2400 pesos. We changed about $100 USD over the course of our 2 weeks. Tipping is generally about 200-300 pesos for each meal at the buffet, 400-500 pesos for housekeeping, Bartenders 200 pesos per 2 drinks. General composition of guest- When we were there it was 40% Russian, 30% Quebecois, and 30% Spanish/English and everyone else. The number of Russians really suppressed me, I guess they can go too many places anymore, so there is CUBA. Well that's it, if you get good price, try it out. This a 3-3.5 star, the price has to make sense for me to go back.

Roc Barlovento: Roc Barlovento a great disappointment

I took a chance a this resort because I thought it was close to town. You do have to take a cab or the on off bus. I have been to Cuba over 10 times. I have now decided to not go back. I always went for the people & beach. The beach could be good if they cleaned it . I got tired of picking up garbage every time I took a walk. And so crowded everyone sitting on top of each other. The staff very few ever smiled . I was actually yelled at by one bartender. I dont know how many $1.us I put do [... read more]wn at the bar. Never had that happened before. It was a fiasco getting a room with a shower only& on the first floor. I have trouble walking. Had to settle with a room far from everything on the second floor and no balcony. I won't even talk about the food for the first time I ate out a restaurants. I also paid for an upgrade got nothing because all the specials that you got any one could get. I could go on . But needless to say I would not recommend this hotel. The only person I will give thanks to is Larry at customer service. If only the rest of the staff and front desk were as nice & helpful as he was. Great smile LARRY please teach the front desk to great there customers the same as you do.

Iberostar Origin Laguna Azul: Very Bad Hotel - Total Disappointment

I wish we did not select this hotel. I believe that Tripcentral or Sunwing should send an independent inspector there to check it out. Until this many, many issues are resolved - please exclude this hotel from the options and please do not send people over there. This is a total shame to Ibersotar network reputation and to Cuba overall. 1. Elevators do not work in any of the buildings. We paid extra for the ocean view room and were placed on the 5th floor. We were with a 10-month old baby and [... read more] a stroller. We needed to walk the stairs multiple times per day with the baby and the stroller. We also witnessed how hard it was for people with disabilities to move between the levels. Lobby is on the 3rd floor and the buffet is on the 1st floor. Even if you do not go to your room, you are still required to move the levels. We were carrying the stroller on the stairs multiple times per day. We did not receive any warning in advance. We did not get any apologies from the hotel. We were not offered a different room. 2. Drinks quality and availability. Coffee was not available at all bar locations for days, except the lobby bar. I believe that the milk used in the coffee was powdered as multiple times we were tasting powder lumps in the milk. There was no pop, except tonic. No soda or bottled water. Coca-cola was available for 3 days out of 11 and it wasn't an original Coke/Pepsi. All the alcoholic cocktails were limited to the options alcohol + tonic. Wine selection was only red, white or rose - with no name (e.g. merlot, it was just red wine), the wine quality was poor. Many alcoholic drinks were not available - e.g. vermouth. All the juices were powdered and of a very poor quality. There were very limited options for non-alcoholic drinks - just tonic or powdered juice. Having at least lemonade would have been nice. 3. Food quality and variety. There was mostly processed meat - sausages, ham etc. and very rarely pork, beef or chicken. Not every day and only for one meal per day there was grilled fish or meat, however, guests were required to stand in the line for 15-20 minutes. Eggs were not available for half of our stay for breakfast. Vegetables were very limited - salad bar (cabbage, tomatoes, cucumbers, green peppers) or steamed pumpkin, eggplants, green peppers, tomatoes tasting all very plain. Rice and beans were always there. Pasta was always available, however, it was always overcooked. Cheese variety was good. The food presentation was not appealing. There were no potatoes, except French fries in a snack bar 3 days out of 11. A-la carte restaurants were a bit better, except Cuban restaurant which served the same buffet food on nicer plates. 4. The big pool didn't work, the hot tubs didn't work. We received an email about the main pool being repaired 2 days before our trip but no word about the hot tubs. The working pools had damaged tiles and were unpleasant to walk in, especially for the baby. 5. Room cleaning did not happen every day, despite the fact we put a sign on our door. One day we had to go out to throw away the garbage ourselves (there were diapers). The cleaning lady works 9 to 5 and on some days she was not able to find 15 minutes to clean the room, unless you begged her. We always went to the beach 8am to 12pm and put the sign on the door but most of the days when we were comin back the room wasn't cleaned. Our baby was going for a nap 12pm to 2pm and we put the "do not disturb" sign on the door. On some days the cleaning lady would barge in during that time, despite the sign. We were refusing the cleaning during our baby naptime and she would assume we wouldn't need it that day, due to the language barrier. I feel like I paid twice more than I supposed to. I feel robbed, tired and disappointed. When I was leaving this hotel I was thinking maybe all Cuba is like this and that I would never come back to this country. But after talking to other tourists, I realized this was the hotel problem. Tripcentral - please don't send people there. If you are considering going this hotel - please don't go, it doesn't worth your money, time and mental health.

Club Kawama: Horrible

Inedible food, very rundown and crumbling. Full of trip hazards. DO NOT GO HERE. This is by far the worst place I have ever stayed. 100% dump. Stay away from this roach motel. Disgusting experience on every level.

Grand Aston Varadero Beach Resort: You get what you paid for

This was brand new hotel with low price. The hotel design is nice. The rooms are spacious but and nice but: - They did not have flat sheets under comforter which is the basic of the hygiene (I do not believe that they wash comforters every time the guests are changed). - In 10 days they replaced bottom sheets (on the mattress) once. - In bathroom we had only bath towels for 4 days, smaller – hand towels we got after 4 days. Food was not so bad as in other hotels last year. It was good enou [... read more]gh, but you had to wait in long line if you wanted barbecued meet. We had eggs only 4 out of 10 days and the line was to long. There was no white wine (only one day we got it). Selection of other drinks was good but mojito was hard to get. To book a la carte restaurant you had to wait in line for more that 1 hour every day and food was terrible. Not worth of time lost to book. There were only I think 28 umbrellas at the beach and around 80 beds. That was not enough for the hotel with 500+ rooms. We had to get to the beach before 7:00 am to reserve our place under the shade. The beach is around 2 km long but it is impossible to walk on it. Sand at the beach is quite far from Varadero beach. The sand is soft and you can not walk on it. To enter and get out of the water was hard because of rocks in the water and sand dunes. To summarize, we would not go there again.

Grand Memories Varadero: Very nice resort

Very clean cleaning people everywhere,room was very nice and clean,beach was beautiful and water was warm. If your looking for a brand new resort this is not it. Its a bit dated but like I say kept very clean.Well as for the food it was as good as could be expected considering the circumstances.Overall its a very nice resort.

Paradisus Princesa Del Mar: Complete dissapointment

Filthy conditions, run down amenities all over the resort, awful and tasteless food and drink, constant inconsistency, serious lacking for the royal service, boring excursions and horrible aircraft for the flights made this "vacation" more of an expensive headache than an enjoyable experience. Now I have the fun of being locked into a post complaint process in which trip central does nothing. Thanks!

Hotel Villa Cuba: Potiential is there

Whats the right thing go do here. People/service are nice and beach is nice. It ends there. Building is rough, food just edible. I made the best of a bad situation. Ya get what u pay for. I dont like to talk badly, but its not good for a week vacay.

Iberostar Origin Playa Alameda: Amazing First Trip/Stay in Cuba at the Playa Alameda

The Iberostar Playa Alameda was a wonderful stay with extremely friendly and helpful staff. We enjoyed the various activity options throughout the day and the nightly entertainment. We travelled in early January for a 10-day birthday trip and were surprised by a lovely complimentary bottle of champagne on the day of my birthday despite not informing the staff. We loved the theatre shows and the beach party in addition to the live music. The drinks were wonderful and the bar staff was great at cr [... read more]eating exciting variations on classic drinks. The food was plentiful and we even enjoyed 3 different dinners at the various restaurants on site. The beach was beautiful and the private entrance right at the back of the resort made going back and forth quick and easy. We also enjoyed lounging by the pool and eating at the snack bar. Our room was spacious and the bathroom was lovely with good lighting and a magnifying mirror for those who love to do makeup. Having a WestJet rep on site to book excursions was very convenient as we were able to book our day trip to Havana and a Catamaran to Cayo Blanco with ease. The onsite bank was great for exchanging for Cuban pesos as needed and the frequent busses into Varadero made it easy to pop into town throughout the day. We deeply enjoyed our stay and would recommended the resort to anyone looking for an 18+ stay in Cuba!

Paradisus Princesa Del Mar: Wonderful Resort

We arrived Friday noon, and we're immediately impressed. Everyone was very friendly, the rooms were clean, and the grounds were stunning. We were warned that there may be some food shortages but we did not notice this at all. The beach and swimming areas were excellent! The pools were lovely and the swim up bar fantastic. You should go to the cigar bar to hear the two incredible guitar players! Really really impressive! Overall we were very happy with our experience and are planning to go again  [... read more]next year.

Paradisus Princesa Del Mar: Fantastic spot

Grounds were wonderful, clean, easy to navigate and the people were wonderful! Yes a bit of food shortages but we knew that going in ---- had the most fabulous time, weather was amazing and the ocean was perfect! A last minute getaway for us and it was just what we needed!

Royalton Hicacos Resort and Spa: great resort

The Royalton is an exceptional and quality resort that stands out in Cuba. For those of you who know Cuba well, this resort has all the boxes ticked. Great service. Great beach. OK food. No complaints here. This place is a keeper. We will return !!! Diamond Club is fabulous.

Club Kawama: Very nice resort

For a very old hotel it was clean and the staff were very friendly. The grounds were well looked after and the beach is amazing. We liked that the resort was close to other restaurants and the main market in Varadero

Royalton Hicacos Resort and Spa: Amazing Cuba and Royalton Hicacos

We had a very nice and memorable week with direct flights between London, Ontario and Varadero, Cuba. Hotel facilities were excellent, beautiful smooth sand and clean beach and ocean water.. Excellent friendly staff. Food and drinks quality and availability was a bit disappointing, but we did not starve and we did not expect the best cosine, so in all we would go back