Beautiful beach!

We liked Sol Palmeras for many reasons that I will try to list in no particular order, although the beach does need to go first. This property has a gorgeous, long, swimmable beach. The beach grill and bar hardly ever had a lineup even when super busy. The pool is older but was still enjoyed by many. 3* for pool, 10* for beach. Renovated rooms have ample space, drawers, hot water, bar fridge, good lighting. *hard beds but good pillows* The rooms are serviced by friendly and cheerful clean [... read more]ers. Relaxed mix of guests from all over, English is not the primary language...Spanish, French, German and English. No agressive vendors here...no sales pitches for timeshare...this is a great place to get away from these things... and no "butlers". Big busy buffet...noisy, fun, great servers, always refreshed platters of fruit and everything else. Various grill stations for fresh fish, pasta, meat choices and in the morning, the best eggs/omelettes...not greasy like other places we've been. Lots of choices, something for everyone. Nice desserts including a chocolate fountain (and an endless supply of meringue cookies:) This is a huge property but the hotel feels compact if you are in a room in the main building...the closer bungalows also look amazing for a family holiday. Some people like the further away bungalows for the quiet retreat. We plan to return to Sol Palmeras ASAP.

Fantastic resort!

I absolutely loved this resort! The food was way better than expected with plenty of restaurants and buffet to choose from. Resort was beautiful, more or less clean and had plenty of activities to do. The maids did a great job cleaning the rooms although the shower pressure was lacking and cold. Overall amazing resort for Cuba.

Excellent trip. Resort with good balance of activities for all ages.

It is a great place for a group of 10 friends to spend the week, whether it be taking advantage of the many activities offered, partying during the day or at night, or simply relaxing. The bungalows are very nice, and a great layout with both a bedroom and living space. Great resort! Highly recommend!

Amazing resort with the friendliest Cuban staff!

Clean and fun with a laid back Cuban attitude that I needed in a vacation! I would recommend this to every Canadian traveller at any age! We, university graduates had a blast and a half in Cuba because of this resort and the beautiful Cuban people! 👍🇨🇺

Great beach and hotel

Sol Palmeras is an older hotel that is very well maintained. The food selection was good and the a la carte restaurants were very good (and I am very fussy). The beach is huge and we never found it crowded even though the hotel was almost fully booked. I would return to this hotel and would recommend it to friends/family.

Great vacation! We will be back again!

We visited the Sol Palmeras from March 20-27, 2018, and could not have asked for a better experience. The layout of the resort makes everything easily accessible. The staff are friendly and welcoming 24-7. The newly renovated rooms are updated and modern. The Buffett has a variety of tasty choices for everyone, and was different everyday. And the beach grill at lunch made the Cuban experience even better. This resort is well managed, and everyone finds the time to make your experience unique and [... read more] special in a good way. We will be coming back again. A big big thank you and call out to some of the great staff members that went above and beyond. Gustavo, at the reception desk was always friendly and more than helpful when we needed anything. Geyki and Alain in the buffet restaurant, as well as Tania and Humberto, always made our dining experience wonderful, and were great to talk to during mealtime. They were professional, fun, and always friendly. Francie was one of our waitresses outside on the patio at the lobby bar quite frequently, and she always had great service, and was smiling all the time. Jorge, at the beach bar, was always inviting, helpful, and so friendly. The extra entertainment in the evening in the lobby, or at the pool bar was high quality, and very enjoyable as well. We loved listening to the music every evening, especially the trumpet player, and the female violin trio! Overall, the staff made this experience a great time. The hotel is well kept up, and we would highly recommend it to anyone who asked! Well done Sol Palmeras!

A really lovely trip

Probably like you, my husband and I read all of the possible reviews on the Sol Palmeras. We read about it being dated and read about the food being mediocre at best. We worried that with it not being a five star in Cuba we would end up in some dive but man are we SO GLAD we took a chance on the Sol Palmeras. We spent one week at this resort over the March Break with our children five and eight. Upon arriving we found the lobby to be modern, clean and quite pleasant. Our check in was quite fas [... read more]t and we got a bungalow in the 500s which was ready for us, even though it was only 11:30 am. While we didnt get a bungalow closer to the lobby as requested, we were offered the option to switch the next day if we wanted. We decided that it wasn’t worth it and that the five ish minute walk to the beach or pool etc really wasn’t a huge deal. On occasion it was annoying but mostly it was fine and even with our kids, it wasn’t a big issue at all. The bungalow was exactly what we were expecting because of all of the great reviews on here. Yes it is dated in that the tiles arent huge marble slabs like some other resorts and the walls are stucco and tile in the living area and the bathroom. The tub is old and we got water all over the floor every time we showered. The toilet, towel fixtures and furniture are also super dated and look old. However, a bungalow with two children was way better than a super modern hotel room. Our kids had a whole living area to themselves with two cots to sleep on. There was a mini fridge that was stocked with beer, water and pop on the first day and daily with water for the rest of the week, despite some of the other reviews saying they only received water on day one. They were able to wake up and go play outside on the porch area or run around and try to catch lizards instead of being cooped up in one room. It was awesome having a little house to ourselves for the week basically. Most importantly, everything was CLEAN. Our maid for the week was Katy and every time we returned from the beach, she had made adorable birds etc on the kids’ beds which they LOVED and all rooms were spotless. We care more about cleanliness than modern amenities. The beds I will say though are super hard and need to be replaced. The buffet has definitely been renovated and is very modern and was always very clean. The food was totally fine in our opinion. No it wasn’t gourmet, mind blowing food but we ate more than enough every day and had better breakfasts than we would at home with eggs made the way you like, bacon, and freshly baked croissants. Our kids loved the eggs and the yogurt every morning. The beach bar has whole chicken legs, pork skewers and fish barbecued right there on the beach every day. It was delicious!! The Chinese a la Cart was our favorite. We would have eaten there three times but it was full for the third time we tried. We also really enjoyed the Italian. You can potentially eat at an a la Carte every night if there’s space. The beach was breath taking, was clean every morning and we always found chairs with a cabana for shade. The pool was busier on the windy days and chairs filled quite quickly. We just put towels out every morning by 8:30 at either the beach or pool and had great spots every morning with shade for our children. Our kids had a blast. They loved ordering their own ice cream and drinks. All of the staff was so friendly and really sweet to the kids. Our five year old loved the kids show and we took her every night. If you’re looking to enjoy the beach and the beautiful weather while not breaking the bank, the Sol Palmeras is a more than reasonable option. We felt like there were zero surprises when we arrived and that the reviews on here had done an excellent job of preparing us and guiding realistic expectations. We feel we got exactly what we were told we would and were very happy with that. My husband and I asked each other several times as the week went on, if we would return to the Sol Palmeras and every time we both said we TOTALLY would!!!

Great Resort!

Just returned from a week at the Sol Palmeras. We travelled as a couple and had a fantastic time! We upgraded to a bungalow just steps from the beach, well worth it!!! The staff were very friendly and helpful. Special shout out to Olga and Nivia at the buffet for making us feel so welcome! The beach was amazing! There was never an issue finding a lounge chair at the beach or pool. if there were no chairs at the pool, a staff member would bring them from the beach for you. The buffet was very go [... read more]od,always plenty of options. We had dinner at the Asian and Latino ala cartes and found them both to be excellent! I don't usually like to repeat vacations, but we both agree we would like to return to Sol Palmeras!!!

Wonderful Surprise!

The grounds are beautiful and well maintained. Very friendly and helpful staff in all areas of the hotel (restaurants, bars, reception, etc.) We stayed in a bungalow which was clean and comfortable with fresh sheets and towels daily. The restaurants and buffet were all good and the nightly entertainment in the lobby area was excellent.

Nice resort

The staff is very friendly, grounds are beautifully, beach is the best, there was always enough chairs on the beach. The service was generally good, the espresso coffee not so good I was surprised because Cubans have good coffee. The food was o.k you have quite a few choices of restaurants, but you don’t go to Cuba for food. All in all it,s a clean hotel people are friendly. We are looking forward to next year to go again Cuba is a second home for us this has been out 10th trip to Varadero.

Relaxing and educational

Sol Palmeros was a great fit for us to celebrate ourr 25th anniversary. The weather at the end of February was between 27-30 Celsius.The resort is older but clean and lovely. We enjoyed a pool acrobatics showed as well as a band with dancers who depicted the history of Cuba. We did several out trips including Matanzas, the town of Veradero and Havana. We always found lots to do and lots of great places to relax. We would recommend that you stay in one of the bungalows although some are quite far [... read more] from the main resort. We flew with Cubana Air and landed at the Veradero airport and the crew was all Cuban and the plane was older but very Good. A great cultural experience!

Great Place!

The grounds were beautiful with a nice view from the lobby. We also liked the pond and greenery in the lower lobby. Our room was clean and neat, the beds comfortable. The balcony and the furniture could stand a coat of paint

Sol Palmeras

Best part of this resort was the food. They have their own bakery so the bread, buns. croissants ect. were amazing and made daily. Omelets made to order in the morning, pasta chef in the evenings along with whatever else you can think of to eat. Beaches were great, hotel staff very good. First room we had was awful, broken shelves, broken door, small. We upgrades to a bungalow, which was much better. Centrally located. Would I stay there again... yes I would.

Fantastic stay

I was impressed with this hotel. The staff at this Resort made our stay very enjoyable. I traveled alone with my daughter who is in a wheelchair, the front desk staff made our trip. The staff made sure that we were on the ground floor in a newly renovated room which had a walk in shower. Everyone was very friendly and very attentive to my daughter and myself. The food at the buffet was so so we dined mostly at the El carts. The grounds were absolutely beautiful and very easy t [... read more]o maneuver around with they will chair there was a ramp leading right to a beautiful beach. We would definitely recommend this hotel and we will definitely be staying at this hotel again.

GREAT TIME AT SOL PALMERAS

We had a great time at the Sol Palmeras in Varadero Cuba. We've been to Cuba about 10 times and this was one of the best times. The beach is beautiful, clean and always had chairs and shaded areas. The staff were attentive, our room was always cleaned and the buffet and restaurants provide a lot of choice. One of us is vegan and we were happy that a lot of different tasty food was available. The lounge areas and daily shows were always entertaining. This hotel is good for couples and famil [... read more]ies with young children. There were many tourists from Europe and Canada staying.

Good family resort

We stayed at this resort with our two children. A fair rating of this place would be about 3.5 stars, almost 4 stars. The main lobby with all the bars and seating is very nice and had a wonderful service. The food was pretty good - the main buffer restaurant had enough food choices/options. We also tried the Chinese and Mexican restaurants and both were great. The pool area was nice and relaxing. You can sit near the pool and be able to see your kids swim, run around, get ice cream, drinks,  [... read more]snacks and rent rackets or balls on their own. Everything is close by and laid out conveniently. The beach was pretty nice but no comparison to the beautiful white sand beaches at the Cayo Santa Maria area resorts. We stayed at a bungalow about 5 minutes away from the main lobby and pool area. We enjoyed our walks everyday to and from the bungalow. The bungalow was adequate in size for a family of 4. A bit dated, but clean and came with a great room service. The sofa sleeper is no good if you’re over 90 lbs as the springs in the thin mattress are horrible. Best to put one kid on the sofa sleeper and order in an extra bed for the second kid - that worked well for us. The separate bedroom was comfortable. The grounds were nice and clean but you could tell that many of the trees lost branches and foliage around the beach and throughout the resort due to the hurricane. The tops of the palm trees were damaged. The evening shows were spectacular! Our kids loved them and managed to stay up to watch them almost every night. Overall, a great family resort and a pretty good value for your money. I don’t think anyone coming to this resort with a family would be disappointed. Just don’t ever come to Cuba when it’s -20 in Canada. That means it’s only 15 to 18 degrees in Cuba.

Well established very clean hotel in great location providing very good services.

This is the 4th time I have stayed at the Sol Palmeras because it is a very good hotel. I travel alone and the cost of the package is more expensive that for a couple. It cost me $3600. I do, however have, a complaint. The room they gave me when I checked in was a disaster. It smelled very musty when I first opened the door. Neither the fridge nor the safe worked. The next morning I asked for another room. They told me to come back at 2:30 p.m.. I did and they assigned me a very nice room  [... read more]with a king bed and a view of the pool. All the appliances worked.

Not a 4 star unless you upgrade.

I have only been to cuba twice and will probably go to a better island next time. Beautiful beaches of course but felt a little sorry for the people of Cuba living in such poverty. Havana was a dump. The hotel food was what I would expect in cuba, not great but can find something to eat. Usually cold. The first room we were given was kind of gross, very old and run down, second one was not much better. We ended up paying $400 to upgrade to a reno'd one. Kind of annoying but made the stay muc [... read more]h better. Factor this plus the expense of paying to sit beside each other on the plane it no longer seems so cheap. Sunwing planes a little cramped and both flights delayed. Make sure you get a renovated room if you book this hotel, or find a 5 star. Staff were nice particularly in the dining room.

Good Resort

Generally a good hotel. Bungalows are way better than the standard hotel rooms. Drinks are horrible and do not expect much when it comes to the food. Other than that, my experience was good. Also, for those booking destination weddings please be aware that you will only get a good deal if you have your wedding reception at the venue on the beach but you have to pay extra. They will only let you book a 2.5hrs reception at the hotel venues as they need those rooms for dinners and regular activitie [... read more]s. We were shocked when we heard this. 2.5hrs is not suffice for a wedding reception. I will say that the wedding coordinator did do her best to accommodate but I believe it is quite ridiculous to think wedding receptions are only 2.5hrs.

Nice Resort

Aging building but kept clean and nice location. Too bad Wifi is not included. Providing Wifi shall become the norm. Adjust the price and standardize it in all hotels. Avoid silly line ups for the basic services.