AWFUL EXPERIENCE

Food was the worst experience ever, we have been to Cuba 5 times we know what to expect but this place was more like a 2.5/3 star if that. Beach was the only good thing, service was very unfriendly and rude and pools were dirty cups floating and lemon wedges usually by 2 pm daily. Buffets good luck in line ups and options, ala cartes from day 1 we cudnt get any booking booked for entire week. Rooms were clean however never any hot water. AC never worked well. 24 hr snack bar, was limited to [... read more] 2 or 3 options and if u order a sandwhich was all bread u need to search for the meat or tuna..no fries as per menu was like corn chips and you could count 4-5 chips on your plate. I think im done with CUBA.

Disappointed

We were very disappointed, hotel came highly recommended, the rooms were clean, sometimes you had hot water but most times you did not. Food.. as well know food not the greatest however out of all my 5 trips to holguin Cuba never did we experience this .. buffet stations were insane so busy food luck getting any food, they were almost secluded in seperate rooms and the line ups were so long.. portions were scarce. 24 hr snack bar was very limited 2 to 3 options and if you got a sandwich it was a [... read more]ll bread only. People were not very friendly found most to be very rude. The ala cartel restaraunt s .. we tried from day one to book and didn’t get any. We had upgraded to elite which they said ensured priority .. was not true. The pools small and also by 12 noon they would run out of beach towels so hard to get fresh towels. This is not a 5 stat or 4.5 this is more of a 3. Will not return to Varedero possibly not even Cuba again. Beach was beautiful. Extremely disappointed.. wish I could get a refund. Didn’t have high expectations however paid probably the most I have ever paid to come here and was by far one of the worst experiences. Do not book! Try playa Pesquero holguin cuba.. in comparison that was a 6 start!!

Nice new hotel

We stayed at the Bella Vista for a week and we don't have any complaints. The beach was amazing, the pools were perfect. There was lots of activities during the day both at the pool and the beach. Kids club was awesome and had activities everyday for the kids. The rooms were large and clean. Beds were comfy. In the evening there is a large deck at the back of the hotel off the main lobby. Bar service was excellent. We had great service so we tipped to show our appreciation. Food was good with a  [... read more]large selection. We will definitely go back to the Bella Vista.

Good for first timers

The resort is pretty new. However it’s starting to deteriorate already. I’d say in a year the place will be run down. It’s quiet and not much activities to engage the quests. The shows are not worth seeing. There is no dance in the evening despite the big empty theatre. They have music in the pool and beach area only during the day time but that could be brought to the lobby during the evenings considering there is no night entertainment. The entertainment team try their best but we’ve s [... read more]een better. The food is better than other resorts we’ve been to however it appears as though they recycle through certain food items and there is hygiene issue both contributing to gastroenteritis either vomiting or diarrhea or both. Avoid the buffet and salads and resort to the grilled food and fries. Even at the bar they use the same cloth to wipe the glasses then counter top and use their unwashed hands to handle fruits that go into the drinks. Bartenders are overworked and you have to wait a long time to get served. The excursions are expensive given their high convertible currency. You’ll have to sacrifice all of the above for the beautiful beach and the ocean.

Great service

It really was a great expérience.I was worry being our first trip to Cuba but it turns up to be more that I was expected to be. The pictures that I find on internet reflects the reality. The personal was always with a happy face and always ready to serve you. The main lobby- a big open space with bufet and a great view. The room-very nice and always clean.The cleaning woman it always leaves us a small animal on the bad( made from towels)and 2 candies.For our boy was wonderful; he always was [... read more] eager to ses what gift ne will receive that day.The air conditionner was a blessing.One night it was not working for 4h but it was our fault because we did not close very well the door from the balcony(It seems to be a connection betwen those two). The food in our opinion was great( we heard a lot of bad reviews about this subject).I thing that if you live in a castle or " on big foot" maybe is true. If not, I don't think you can not find something to like(scrambled eggs in the morning, "pollo y pescado a la plancha"and salad if there is nothing else that you would like). The pools are great, clean and a nice bar in one of the pools. The beach- speechless Every night they have a show.Great wednesday show. The only think that I do not recommend is the excursions.We paid 245$ ( the kid was free to our luck) to swim with the delphins.Very very bad experience- shourtly : doesn' t worth it.And for seeing the corals- same thing. If I had not chosen that excursion and would have chosen instead to give a tip to people who work in the hôtel, at least half of what we paid on the excursion, I would definitely have been happier. We would definitely go there next time.

WONDERFUL VACATION GREAT STAFF

Hola Reviewers My wife and I traveled to Iberostar Bella Vista with WestJet Vacations from July 7th to July 12th from Moncton via Toronto with out a hitch. Thanks WestJet. We booked our Elite Oceanview Room through Trip Central using Air Miles. We sent our certificates to Trip Central on June 9th, they were received June 12th. As of today July 15th we have still have not received our refund check. The air miles site says we should receive our refund within 1 week from Trip Central. They say i [... read more]t takes time, Air Miles should review this so customers don't feel something is wrong. Trip Central did tell me yesterday the check is in the mail. When we arrived at the resort we were greeted by the smiling Lazard who took us for our private check In, then waited for us and took us directly to our room. Great job-best check in ever. Thanks to Yoanna Garcia and Lianet Abrew for our bookings. Our room 20920 on the 9th floor was very nice. Roomy, nice bathroom and a great view of the resort and ocean. During our stay Annenys kept our room spotless and always left us apiece of Towel art on the bed each day. She would always greet us if we saw her in the hall with a "good morning" and a smile. Very nice hard working gal. The resort is only 1year plus a few months old. Very nice, modern and has the best views ever. It is 11 stories tall, towering over the rest of the resorts. You can see forever from the roof top bar patio. Resturants---We used the Miramar rooftop resturant every morning. Great spot--best breakfast in all our travels, they only cook as ordered and to order. We ate here 2 nights for dinner also, if you go have the fish and chips for a starter, it is the best I have had, note if you don't like tatar sauce ask them to leave it off. Thanks to Yusnery, Hany, Juan M., Darten, Yailzn, Lisandra, Dairis, Laura, Adrian and Andyaw from the Panoramico resturant and bar for the wonderful talks and laughs. We did also eat at the Japanese, Cuban and Italian resturants. They were also good. We didn't eat at the buffet or the snack bar. Entertainment was great, it was in the lobby during our stay, the July 11 circus show was the best. Possibly the best show in all our travels. Good job by this group. There was a beach party one night which was worth attending, had some laughs. Bars---Lobby bar was very busy, thanks to Anelys, Jimaqua, Pedio and Andres they worked very hard and kept the guests in drinks and always were happy to serve. The beach bar was great also- extra thenks to Alex and Juan for service on the beach. Great job. Special mention to Alex, he litterly ran to serve his customers. Nice guy, always happy. THE BEACH-- The real reason for traveling was great. You could walk and see for miles. The sand was usual for Varadero. Shade was plentyful, you do need to reseve early though. The Sun Staff were great also. They greated everyone with smiles and high fives and were always trying to get some of us lazy people up for the events. Pools--- we didn't use the pools but there seemed to be lots going on and lots to do. They also had a great kids area. We noticed the children having fun and seemed to be very busy. They had 1 gal who worked with the kids all day and into the evening. They seemed to Love her, sorry no name. We met some wonderful guests from all around the world. If you talk to them they will talk too and the conversations can be very interesting. We are sorry we couldn't name everyone that we met and served us, all the Staff deserve to be noticed, hard working happy people. This is why we Love Cuba In a nut shell Iberostar Belle Vista was a great choice for us, the upgrade to Elite was well wortht the extra. Would we return--YES Would we recommend it-YES Did we enjoy our stay-YES Thanks so much to all the Staff for making our quick Cuba Trip 2018 a wonderful vacation.

PARADISE

The entire resort was breath taking from the views, to the rooms, the pools and the beach! The nightly entertainment was incredible and food was good! We are already discussing going back! The service was excellent and for the most part, everyone spoke good English!

Disappointing resort,

The resort was very disappointing. The 24 hour snack bar had a menu but you could only order one or two items on the menu. Most of the other items were not being prepared on that day. The buffet restaurant was very disappointing with regards to hours of operation and the menu never changed from day to day. You could not get the ala carte dinners you wanted as they only had 2 of their 4 restaurant's open on any given day. If you missed your seating time by 5 min. you were denied access. The over  [... read more]all management of the establishment was very bad. The place has been open less than a year yet it looks like it is 20 years old. The so called stocked bar fridge only had 2 beer , 2 sodas and one bottle of water and if you left half a bottle in the fridge they did not leave you another. The amount you pay for elite status is a total waste of money. it seems the more you pay the less you get. Over all I would not recommend this resort to anyone. In fact based on this experience I will not return to Cuba at any time in the future. It is too expensive and way over rated as a resort destination.

Iberostar verradaro

Very good great service the buffet was not good though room maids were excellent friendly ocean was phenomenal the flight was on time both ways changing money was fast and efficient check in was quick entertainment was really good

Nice stay

Beautiful hotel , one of the most modern resorts we’ve stayed at, very clean, staff friendly. Downside was there appeared to be a beach buffet that wasn’t operational except for a wedding that was happening. There was a snack bar but you sat down and ordered - one lunch time we waited an hour for burger and fries. Really would have liked for a beach buffet style (nachos , pizza, burgers, hot dogs , ect) . We got sick of the buffet but the a la carts were Awesome . Beach and pool side acti [... read more]vities were okay nothing great. But was had a nice bit of rain while we were there seemed to take awhile to get inside activities on the go , which wasn’t too bad. Entertainment was good in the evenings different musical acts , theatre entertainment seemed mostly dancing and singing in Spanish . We’re a young couple so we missed not having a disco on the property but on Saturdays a bus came to the resort and took you to the marina bars for free. Overall great stay

Nice Resort

Our group just returned, May 2nd. The grounds where nice and new but could have used more ground maintenance. The resort was clean, and the rooms were nice. We booked Elite swim-out rooms …. just be careful when entering your room with wet feet, tiled floors are very slippery. Room 10022 now has a broken hurricane proof glass sliding door. We tried the general buffet one night just to compare Elite restaurant, we were disappointed and went for the 11th floor Elite experience with stunning  [... read more]view and great food. Book your el-a-cartes early and make sure you eat at the Japanese restaurant. Beach was nice, and bar was nearby. No more strews allowed at resorts … good idea. No bar blinders were disappointing, except for the 11th. floor Elite bar. The same thing goes for alcoholic drinks …. The 11th. floor bar had the upper sleeve selection and not the Cuban bands. The Beatles bar in Varedaro was still rocking and a few great nights out. All and all, we enjoyed our stay at this resort.

Elite is the way to go!

My partner and I had an amazing week at the Iberostar Bella Vista. We stayed from April 4th-11th 2018. We booked through Tripcentral and the booking process was great! Getting from the airport was an easy process. The bus ride was about an hour long, we made stops at 6 resorts before the final stop at Bella Vista. Check in at the elite desk was great, we got drinks on arrival and 3 Al a carte's were booked for us already. We booked an elite swimout room. Being elite and having the swimout  [... read more]was what made our trip. The elite only buffet on the 11th floor for breakfast and lunch was heaven compared to the mail buffet. The food was fresh and not picked over, not as big of a selection but definitely better than main buffet. Also no kids may be a plus to some people. The staff were amazing and often remembered our drink orders from previous days. The swimout room was so nice! Our maid Yenis was the sweetest always leaving us notes, candy and fun towel creations. We did request a king bed and didn't get one but we were able to easily push the beds together. A concern of ours from other reviews was the lack of hot water at peak times. This wasn't so much of an issue for us though, we did find it difficult to work the shower at times. We spent the mornings at the beach, but in order to get a palapa you have to be out there by 6am to save chairs. There were a lot of chairs saved on the beach but some were unoccupied for the whole morning. The beach chairs are also just a hard plastic so we saw some people bring pool floaties to put on top of the chairs for more comfort. In the afternoons we spent the time at our swimout pool. The water was super refreshing and hardly any people using the pool. All elite guests are able to use the swimout pool even if you don't have a swimout room. The main pool with the swimup bar was often so warm is was gross to get into so we spent all of our time in the elite pool. The Al a carts were ok. The Japanese restaurant was good, and the 11 floor Al a carte was good also. The other Al a carts however were not very enjoyable with very small portions. We snuck off to the buffet or ordered room service because we were often hungry after our dinner. Room service was great but a little slow getting to your room. The pizza and the sandwiches were a great little snack. Wifi worked well, the process of getting the access card was somewhat annoying but we were given a card with a time amount for five days instead of just a 1 day card and that was nice so we didn't have to go back everyday to get a new one. We never went to the nightly shows and when we walked by them there was never a huge turn out. There isn't a diso on site. Most days we had no problem getting new towels for the pool or our room. We would suggest bringing a couple ant traps if you have a ground floor room or a swim out because there were ants. The traps were a huge help. Would definitely recommend this resort and would consider going back again.

Nice holiday

Bad start with terrible check in, so badly disorganized and did not get one request granted for any of us. We were a family of 10. Despite being a repeat guest of an Iberostar, didn’t seem to matter. 2nd day we finally got settled in appropriate rooms and could start to enjoy our holiday. Despite being only 1yr old, this resort is badly in need of repair. Broken tiles, washroom backups, dirty hallways etc. Part maintenance part vacationer fault. All staff and entertainment staff work really ha [... read more]rd to please, rooms were clean and comfortable. Only one buffet open all week, food ok but you have got to expect that in Cuba. The staff made it possible for us to feel welcome and the entertainment staff were truly amazing, we had a lovely time.

Beautiful Resort

This hotel is very pretty. I stayed at this resort April 18-25, 2018. There is still room for improvement with this resort. The food needs a lot of improvement. It seems to be repeating the same food every day. Not really catering for international guest. No variety of bread , food seems to be over grilled too much salt. The rooms beautiful but they need to put signs hot and cold on the taps. A problem that most of the guest were having was that the water was either boiling hot or extrem [... read more]ely cold. We had to keep calling maintenance to fix it. Apart from that the staff were friendly. Also I should mention when you go to Cuba you want to experience Cuba Coffee not Americana coffee. The entertainment needs improvement.

Nice Resort - Still Work to be Done

My boyfriend and I stsyed at the Iberostar Bella Vista from April 20-23rd. The resort is well-maintained and clean since it is new. Rooms are nice, amenities are satisfactory, service was good, bartenders were great, beach is beautiful, pool area is clean and nice. Everything on the resort is super close to the beach, no more than 3 minute walk. Things to be improved: Clean beach towels ran out every single day by 3pm (maybe even earlier), the breakfast/ lunch/ dinner buffet are very poorly laid [... read more] out and the food options are mostly terrible. I’ve been to 3 resorts in Cuba and while this is one is new and esthetically pleasing, the food was a common frustration for many patrons I spoke with. Long line-ups for anything served at the grills, many of the favourite food choices, ie fries, ran out and were not refilled. For the a la carts, the Japanese Restaurant was a great experience and the meal was pretty good. The Steakhouse was disappointing. Overall we had a nice stay and enjoyed our time, but we dont think we could have spent a week here.

Fantastic resort

the place was immaculate.The staff were very friendly.The .the food was great.bartenders were great .The grounds were clean.The beach was great.& water activities were amazing.The shows were amazing,especially the magicians...

Nice beaches

Our trip was not as expected Very poor customer service not friendly and helpful staff Paid for a 41/2 star hotel not even had a quee zise bed Disoppinted and desrve compensations Test less Food was and the same every day Policies was not clear extra charges for booking the restaurant for dinner flights not on time

Iberostar Vella Vista

Overall, I would rate our vacation at the Cuban Iberostar Bella Vista as an enjoyable experience. Our vacation did not start out well as our room was situated in a very noisy area (above the Bar) and we experienced kids screaming and running up and down the corridors late into the night. On top of that, the shower did not work. The hotel staff were very nice and accommodated our request for a different room. Once moved, we were very happy with the room and we occupied. Other minor gripes [... read more], for a hotel that is barely two years old - the hotel has more wear and tear than we expected as many tiles in corridors and stairs cases were broken and in some cases missing. From an exterior perspective, the grass areas appeared a little worn and brown and we saw trash visible in the wooded areas. Food wise, we purchased an 'all inclusive' vacation and questioned why there was just one cook making breakfast which caused delays in line up's for meals. On to the good stuff. The room we had was great. It was bright, modern, spacious and offered plenty of space. If you can, get a room with a balcony that overlooks the beach - it is well worth it. Try to get as high as possible as it reduces sound from air conditioners on the roof of restaurants and there is less noise from the corridors. We found the hotel staff incredibly friendly and accommodating to answer any questions that we had, whether it be restaurant staff or general staff at different hotel locations. Beach wise, outstanding is the verdict we give. The sand was clean and fine grained and the water edge shallow which was ideal for families with young ones. Our vacation was a week of pure sunshine and found it tough to secure a shady location under the breach front palm tree shelters, however, the resort had plenty of other areas we could seek shade from the sun when it was too hot. The photos of the Iberostar Bella Vista shows lots of sandy beach - this is a little misleading as the tide was out when the photo was taken. We liked to stroll / run on the beach and with the tide fully in, it was tight access to other beaches. That said, we made do and found we could easily travel 2-3 Km in one direction across all the beaches before making the turn for our hotel. From a drinking perspective - we had the all inclusive and found that there were bars in each restaurant, in the lobby and by the beach. Staff were very friendly. great with mixing drinks and a highlight for me was noting that the bar staff refused to serve alcohol to teenagers whom they judged to be underage. All bars had both alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks at hand and our wait to be served was never too long. Sports wise - again another positive. The tennis court was great, the staff very friendly and helpful. We did not take advantage of the gym as we ran on the beach, however when looking at the equipment, it was a very well laid out exercise area with lots of equipment. We never saw it fully occupied. Beside the tennis court there is a small outdoor play area and we saw families with young kids having fun with a soccer ball and other games. From a beach perspective, there was a small company which offered snorkeling trips via a 20 minute catamaran ride to a local coral reef. The cost was very reasonable ($20 per person) and it is well worth the trip. The reef was 20-30 feet deep and with bread thrown in the water, the abundance of tropical fish was great. We did do the underwater photo tourist thing and found that the CDROM/photos we bought were well worth it. Other beach attractions - Kayaks and Paddle boats were a blast and to considered well worth trying out. The folks manning the beach sports activities were excellent. Restaurant wise - everything was good - other than the minor issue with line ups. We elected to sign up for the smaller restaurants for supper each night (this was a free option) and it was well worth the effort as we got to try different meals away from the large all inclusive dining area. There is another restaurant on the 12th floor of the Hotel - we tried it and it was excellent and it is well worth the extra expense as it falls outside the all inclusive option. We watched the sunset from the 12th floor balcony (available to anyone) - definitely recommended! Our Travel agency was Sunwing - there was a representative on site everyday and they were terrific at giving advice and helping with discussions for excursions away from the hotel. We cannot say enough about the help that was offered. We did several excursions and they were well organized and the buses stopped right outside the hotel lobby so you didn't have to wonder where to go. Hotel staff were great with providing support for excursions. Tips and tricks: There is a bank in the Hotel - but not what you think. It is a cash bank run by a single member of staff. There is no ATM at the hotel - you have to go into town ($5 ride) and find a bank. You cannot get Cuban currency outside of Cuba - so bring cash with you and you can change it at the hotel. Be aware that lots of people want to change money, and with one person handling cash transactions, there is a line up. Try to change money in the afternoon - there is far less delay. Tips for staff. Although we bought the all inclusive, it pays to give a small tip to the staff. They were very appreciative and we noticed they became more attentive. We left a small tip for the cleaning staff each day - they appreciated it. There are no condiments (real North American Ketchup/hot sauce/salad dressings) available at the hotel - if you need them, bring them with you. If you want to secure a spot on the beach with shade under the umbrellas - get to the beach by 7:00AM or earlier and place a towel on the chairs you wish to occupy to secure your spot. By 7:15AM all shade spots are taken. We found that all sun lounges were taken early morning every day - people claimed them and then returned to their rooms and/or went to breakfast prior to taking their spot on the beach. Sun lotion - bring lots of it with you. No need to say more. Drinking water - the water in Cuba is perfectly safe - it's contains more minerals than North Americans are used to and contains a higher level of chlorination. Your body may take a few days to adjust with typical consequences. If you are not sure, stick to bottled water. Overall - we had a great time - a few bumps at the start but after we got into the rhythm of the vacation we thoroughly enjoyed ourselves at this hotel.

Worth it

Would definitely go back. May not be appropriate for a family with an older child as the washroom shower has a see-through window to the bedroom. A la carte restaurant portions were small and reservations line was long.

Fabulous resort!

Resort was great. Can't wait to go back! Staff were excellent especially Adrian, Lisandra, Tusnery, Darien, and Darys at the 11th floor bar and restaurant. They made our stay very enjoyable. Food was good; paid for elite package so had choice of steak, fish, pork, lobster tail daily for lunch that was cooked to order. Specialty restaurants were good except for the steakhouse (avoid it). My favorite was the Japanese more for the show than the food. Unfortunately, we only seen one of the nightly s [... read more]hows (the rock show) which was good. Our room was always made up fresh with a towel animal waiting for us upon our return.We didn't do any excursions because Havana is a 2.5 hr drive each way; will see it next time. We did pay 5 CUC to ride the double decker bus all day, so went into the town of Varadero and did some souvenir shopping. All in all a great trip and already planning to return for a longer stay next time!