The Food was great

My booking agent knew a lot about Varadero and the hotel itself. The food was great. Inside the hotel lobby was beautiful, looks like you are inside a rain forest. Kept clean. What i did not like was that there is a very strong sewage smell that comes through the bathroom (no vents). It wakes me up. This same smell come along the corridors. I went on a bus tour of the city and the same smell in some area. Oh and it the amount of tip given out is more than the cost of the vacation. Next  [... read more]time I am going to change my money into their local peso and give out as tips. Change your money at the airport. The exchange rate in the hotels and banks is terrible. Do not go on the horse carriage tour it is a waste of money. I went on a private tour to havana it cost us same amount as the group tour (I connected with one of the tour guides and this was arranged). The group tour wastes a lot of time, it takes so long. Wifi only works in hotel lobby as usual. 1 peso of an hour.

Very nice resort

Dining rooms and pool areas very clean. Was initially put in a hotel room (not what we booked) then moved to a bungalow. Hotel room was clean but appeared 'tired'. The bungalow room was very nice. Bathroom could be updated like some of the other bungalows but otherwise was clean and functional. Bar fridge was restocked daily as required. Grounds keeping staff and cleaning staff extremely friendly.

Very nice resort

The resort grounds were kept up nicely. We enjoyed the food and dining opportunities. The coffee bar is a real treat. Some of the rooms are old and need updating of air conditioning and bathrooms. We were pleased to acquire an updated room in a bungalow. All of the staff were very pleasant and attentive!! Evening entertainment was good. The dancers are talented, energetic and dedicated. Location is excellent as you are able to enjoy the beautiful beach or take a stroll through town. Towels in r [... read more]oom were very small and unfortunately we were not able to change pool towels throughout the week as they were having difficulty with this service. This is a great resort for people of all ages both individual and family vacationers. We were somewhat disappointed with other guests who choose to blast their music on boom boxes while wandering throughout the resort or lounging by the pool. I’m sure they are aware of the purpose of headphones. I’m not sure what the resort could do to monitor this but it will be the one thing that may deter us from a return visit.

Beach! Beach! Beach! Location! Location! Location!

I always stay at the Solymar when vacationing in Varadero. The resort itself is just OK. It has many of the same issues common to to all resorts in Cuba. Lack of beach towels, food is not great but OK, rooms are OK, service..well everything works on Cuban time etc,etc. That being said the Solymar by far occupies the best part of the beach and is in the best location, walking distance to Varadero. BTW I don't walk but you can. It is not an overly large resort which I prefer so it's easy to  [... read more]get around and only a 5 min walk to the beach from main building. I've stay at Grand Memories once as a friend wanted swim up bar and although that resort did exceed the Solymar in size and grandeur I would not go back. It was terrible location and the beach was small not to mention minimum 20 min walk. I was so disappointed. Everything depends on what you want out of Cuba. For me it's beach and nightlife. And for those of you who constantly complain about the food, go off the resort, so many great places to eat. The Solymar also has a large number of repeat visitors, constantly running into familiar people.

Lacking something

Ok this hotel is getting run down. The cards for rooms werent working. No beach towels or bath towels. The food is not great. Really nice beaches but hotel service is not good. Ppl at front desk very disorganized. They need to shape up the place. They actually ran out of beer. Not very good and I go there twice a year.

Wrong rating

this resort had a wrong rating 4+ it is not. max is 3 ,employees are all set into a bribe system ,you pay they will look into your problem ,you don't they will ignore you .it is totally run down old resort , they tell you as you arrive do not drink the water and they serve ice with bad water , few days and the diarrhea starts ,also, they are admitting that what you paid for is what you get ,broken door locks ,missing light bulbs ,noisy AC that if it works ,terrible mattress you feel the spring [... read more]s in your bones ,not even bed covers available as per the photos,4 days no towels and when you ask they say the laundry machine is broken but the privilege one gets towels every day .due to lack of visitors they shut down the best part of the resort and sold the rundown one .we talk to the sunwing agent and his respond not much i can do just don't stay her next time not much he can do .

Less than impressed

Customer service was terrible, no full size shower towels in my room. Also called the front desk about toilet paper after an hour I walked to the front desk to complain then three hours later toilet paper was dropped off at my room. Was told it was off season, my question is why did I get a room in such poor condition?

Five time client

My friends and I have been coming here annually for the past 5 years. We know what to expect both shortcomings and strengths. Rooms are standard for Cuba and may have some small issues. The resort itself is clean and caters the the crowd that it attracts ( more on this later). Food could be better, but hey this is Cuba and if you are a gourmet then this is not the place you should coming to. Service is very good and staff, both frontline and back of house are always friendly. One feels valu [... read more]ed as a customer to the resort and as a visitor to Cuba. The resort is within walking distance of the Varadero Strip, which includes popular venues such as The Beatles Bar, Calle 62 and The Havana Club. Because of this the resort attracts a greater number of visitors (many of who have stayed there before) who enjoy letting loose and having good time. Despite some shortcomings this resort offers good value.

Good resort

we love the beach ; staff is friendly, buffet was good , pool was out of service and green stuff on the button overall we like Barcelo. we like the friendly people at the hotel , a very nice lobby and the good service .

So-so

What once seemed beautiful has gone downhill. The rooms are not very clean, often with bugs. The pool started to go murky green as my week ended and I was genuinely happy to leave. The staff are fairly nice and I did enjoy myself. However I think that the management of the facility was run poorly and I would not return unless there was a significant price drop.

Amazing trip

the trip was very successful,good things are: too much sun ,no rain no huracan too much people, too much food, too much drinks, too much music, hot sun, hot beautiful water (the ocean) and color.cuban people are very kind always, i forgot (laval and my job and all canada) just eating,drinking,swimming,sleeping smoking good cigar.no telephon no internet. bad thinks1-: strong peso,1 peso you need almost 1,2 cad $ 2- too much mosquitoes. thank you for  [... read more]everything le voyage a été très réussi, les bonnes choses sont: trop de soleil, pas de pluie pas de huracan trop de gens, trop de nourriture, trop de boissons, trop de musique, soleil chaud, belle eau chaude (océan) et couleur. très gentil toujours, j'ai oublié (laval et mon travail et tout le canada) juste manger, boire, nager, dormir fumer bien cigare.pas téléphone pas internet. mauvais pense1-: peso fort, 1 peso dont vous avez besoin presque 1,2 cad 2- trop de moustiques. Merci pour tout

Good experiemce

myself and my girlfriend stay in barcelo solymar for a week in mid july. overall experience was great!! here are few concerns i had -almost all front desk staffs were very unfriendly in lack of terms, almost came across as rude. this is from about 10 times i had experience with them. so i avoided all i could do to avoid them. -bed is rock soild, we both could feel each springs in the mattress -pool water is somewhat dirty other than that everything else was great!!! -cleaning staffs, k [... read more]itchen staffs, bartenders are all very very friendly and approachable -food was very delicious!!! lots of flavor and spice -location is great, very close to downtown, its about 10 min walk -close to the beach and its beautiful/clean water and sand -room was clean and tidy

Barcelo Solymar

it was better 2 yrs ago...................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................

Needs improvement

The beach was beautiful but the resort just need a little more care. Not too clean, service is slow but ok. Food was edible but could be better. I’ve been to this resort 4 years ago and it had more to offer. Complete snack bar and menu was full. Here they had a full Menu with only hamburgers to choose.

Amazing time in Veradero!

The hotel service was great. Once I arrived check in was seamless. The people were super courtious and very genuine. I booked a bungalow which had great space and a huge king size bed and a sweet balcony. The room was super clean and always prepared. I felt super safe on and off the resort. The food was not superb but not horrible. For what it's worth everything on the resort was great! I will say that the beaches do not provide towels, but travelers are provided 2 beach towels within your room. [... read more] Aside from that there was some visible construction going on outside of the resort. But, this was not in my bungalow view. Grear hosts and water sports as well. Both flights arrival and departure were on time and attendants were great. Cuba is amazing! Awsome deal and great price for the value of this trip. I will be going to Cuba again. Thanks to Sunwing and Tripcentral.

An okay resort

Stayed at barcelo from June 8-15 2018 with 1 friend. I stayed at this resort previously in 2012 and it has gone a bit downhill since. The good: rooms are clean, staff is amazing and super friendly, beach is beautiful as Varadero beaches are and always super clean with no weeds, proximity to the town is unbeatable. Great nightlife within a 5-10 min walk or 10 min cab ride. The bad: worst bed I have ever slept on, I literally have bruises on my thighs from the springs digging into my leg every  [... read more]night. Booked a room with 2 beds but were given a single king bed which was fine for us in the end but a little annoying nonetheless. Food is bad to the say the least other than breakfast which had good omelettes and bread selection. The arenas blancas buffet was slightly better than barcelo however neither was great. No 24 hour liquor service, only beer is available after 11:30 pm which is annoying since all inclusive should mean 24 hours. However that did mean that the lobby was fairly empty and quiet at night which is nicer for people looking for a quiet evening. Overall I would probably stay again as I'm not too picky with food and enjoyed the beach and nightlife available and staff is great.

Great Overall!

The ocean view was amazing, bungalows are awesome, the buffet was awful...food was plain, tasteless, and no variety at all...but if you want to be right in the centre of social life and party...Barcelo Solymar is the place to be! Daily trips to Havana and Cayo Blanco were fantastic!

Resort

We didn't had good experience at the resort. So much to improve. Was an issue with my room. No food for us when we arrived The room was dirty They need to improve customer service Check out is a 12 pm but my flight was 11 pm we were waiting so long to back home.

Not what I was use to

Stayed at Solymar May 2017 and November 2017 both stays were great... so we decided to go back May 17 2018. Reno’s to the buffet area are almost completed, the main pool was closed for two days cause it needed to be cleaned since it was green when we got there... the pool bar at the main pool was closed for three days. We had no hot water for two days even after complaining on the 4 day we had no running water. The 24 hr snack bar is now at the Mariachi restaurant at the Arenas blancas and th [... read more]e service was bad. The worst part is the workers are always asking for tips when you have to serve yourself. I don’t think they understand that a tip is given based on the service. The al le cartes were all good especially the seafood one. I had already booked a trip back in June and I’m now dreading it after my this trip.one night my friend was followed to her room by a man as there was no security walking the grounds, we caught up to her and ask him what he was doing and he took off, we later reported the incident to reception. When spending over 1k on a Cuba trip, would be nice to be looked at by the staff... I found that the Cuban’s that we’re staying at the resort were treating better which is fine I’d only like to be served in the same manner.

Was basically a party resort

Beach was fantastic. Used the pool at the sister resort.food at both resorts was good. would like better info about the amenities on the resort. Our room didn't have all the lights working and we reported it but by the time we left it still hadn't been fixed.