From "Mr. (and Mrs.) Cactus"

Review from “Mr (and Mrs.) Cactus” Hotel Los Cactus – Hotel is a little dated but staff are excellent We stayed at the Hotel Los Cactus in Varadero Cuba between December 23rd and January 6th. While the hotel is a little out-dated, we had a great vacation and would return to this hotel mainly because of the wonderful staff and the great location and beach. Also, the hotel is just the right size and is not overcrowded. Bus ride from/to Airport We were very disappointed in the Tra [... read more]nsat rep on the bus from the airport to the hotel. She assumed that all the Canadians on the bus were French speaking and gave her entire speal in French and did not utter a word of English. On the plus side, the rep on the bus ride to the airport at the end of our vacation was excellent. She spoke in both French and English, gave a great commentary on sites that we passed and added in a lot of funny jokes. Accommodations We stayed in the tower (600 block of junior suites). Our first room had a safe that didn’t lock and a balcony door that didn’t open. The front desk was very quick to provide us with a new room (note that the front desk were excellent – always very helpful and spoke excellent English). The air conditioner in the new room leaked condensation in the bathroom for a little bit when it was first turned on but then was fine. The rooms are dated and in need of updating. Also, there is not much space for storing clothes. The room was a bit noisy a night as well because the disco is in the same building and the resort next door sometimes has an outdoor disco night which is even louder. We had friends who stayed in the “C” block and the room was nicer and even had a separate sitting room. Also, this section was nice and quiet. Fyi, if you are susceptible to mosquito bites then bring lots of insect repellent as the hotel did not spray for bugs while we were there. The bugs were not too bad but the bugs always seem to find my wife and she gets lots of bites. Pool Loved it. This is the first resort that we have been at where the pool was a decent size and you could actually swim laps if you wish. However, there was a loose rung on one of the pool ladders (north side), and my wife slipped and sprained her ankle when she was trying to get out of the pool. Beach Fantastic. Nice and big and no problem getting chairs. While the palapas were blown away by the hurricane, there was a gentleman on the beach who would put up an umbrella for you if you wanted. Unfortunately, while we were there, there was a cold spell and lots of jelly fish were in the shallow water and washed ashore. A couple of people got stung. Food The food was very good for Cuba. The beach grill had excellent burgers, hot dogs and pork sandwiches and Carlos the cook is very nice and entertaining. The buffet always had something worthwhile and always had bacon at breakfast which is rare for a lot of resorts in Cuba. The pasta station is excellent. The staff in the buffet are excellent. Very polite, fast and speak very good English. A la Carte Restaurants The Italian restaurant is good but the lasagna is very disappointing. The Cuban restaurant is excellent – the fish appetizer and the honey chicken are to die for. A neat little touch is that they hand you a marker after dinner and you can sign your name on the wall – very entertaining reading all the names and locations. The staff at both restaurants were excellent. Coffee Bar A great place to go for a coffee or specialty coffee. Mabel at the coffee bar is so sweet and is an artist when it comes to making specialty coffees. I agree with the other reviews that I have read that it is a shame that the coffee bar isn’t open in the morning. Bars All the bar staff are very friendly and speak good English. The pool bar and beach bar staff were especially friendly and entertaining and very fast. Evening Shows The evening shows were very good with the magic show being the best (absolutely amazing). The Christmas Eve and New Years Eve shows were really entertaining and well done. Entertainment Team The Animacion team were excellent and made our vacation great. Special thanks to Antonio (the leader), Ivan who led the volleyball, tried to teach me to dance and danced Salsa with my wife at the disco, Vivian and the other gentleman (sorry I can’t remember his name) who ran the karaoke at night (poor guy having to listen to a bunch of drunken tourists trying to sing). Excursions We took a trip to Havana in a cab and it was amazing. Highly recommend hiring a cab for the day rather than booking an excursion (the tour won’t take you to all the places that you want to see and you will be rushed). We also took a couple of trips into Varadero. Highly recommend going to see Casa de Al (Al Capone’s house) and the Beatles bar – the band is fantastic! Also, recommend going to Varadero Sixties for a meal (the service and food are excellent and very reasonably priced). We did have one bad experience. When we were walking in Varadero, we decided to take a horse drawn carriage ride. We got into a horse drawn covered wagon and asked the driver to take us to an inexpensive restaurant for a hamburger and one that was in the direction of our hotel which we pointed out. Silly us, we did not ask what the charge would be. The driver took us way into the back streets in the opposite direction from our hotel which scared us and then he dropped us off at a very expensive restaurant where he was promptly given cash by the waiter. He tried to charge us 10 CUCs per person but we had to argue with him to only pay 5 per person. Beware of this driver, he wears a New York Yankees hat and has a birth mark on his right cheek. Also, he has another guy riding with him who is very large (probably in case he gets challenged by any of his riders) All in all, it was a great trip and the Cuban people are the reason we return time after time!

Great time at Los Cactus but rooms a little dated...

We stayed at the Hotel Los Cactus in Varadero Cuba between December 23rd and January 6th. While the hotel is a little out-dated, we had a great vacation and would return to this hotel mainly because of the wonderful staff and the great location and beach. Also, the hotel is just the right size and is not overcrowded. Bus ride from/to Airport We were very disappointed in the Transat rep on the bus from the airport to the hotel. She assumed that all the Canadians on the bus were French sp [... read more]eaking and gave her entire speal in French and did not utter a word of English. On the plus side, the rep on the bus ride to the airport at the end of our vacation was excellent. She spoke in both French and English, gave a great commentary on sites that we passed and added in a lot of funny jokes. Accommodations We stayed in the tower (600 block of junior suites). Our first room had a safe that didn’t lock and a balcony door that didn’t open. The front desk was very quick to provide us with a new room (note that the front desk were excellent – always very helpful and spoke excellent English). The air conditioner in the new room leaked condensation in the bathroom for a little bit when it was first turned on but then was fine. The rooms are dated and in need of updating. Also, there is not much space for unpacking clothes. The room was a bit noisy a night as well because the disco is in the same building and the resort next door sometimes has an outdoor disco night which is even louder. We had friends who stayed in the “C” block and the room was nicer and even had a separate sitting room. Also, this section was nice and quiet. Fyi, if you are susceptible to mosquito bites then bring lots of insect repellent as the hotel did not spray for bugs while we were there. The bugs were not too bad but the bugs always seem to find my wife and she gets lots of bites. Pool Loved it. This is the first resort that we have been at where the pool was a decent size and you could actually swim laps if you wish. However, there was a loose rung on one of the pool ladders and my wife slipped and sprained her ankle when she was trying to get out of the pool. Beach Fantastic. Nice and big and no problem getting chairs. While the palapas were blown away by the hurricane, there was a gentleman on the beach who would put up an umbrella for you if you wanted. Unfortunately, while we were there, there was a cold spell and lots of jelly fish were in the shallow water and washed ashore. A couple of people got stung. Food The food was very good for Cuba. The beach grill had excellent burgers, hot dogs and pork sandwiches and Carlos the cook is very nice and entertaining. The buffet always had something worthwhile and always had bacon at breakfast which is rare for a lot of resorts in Cuba. The pasta station is excellent. The staff in the buffet are excellent. Very polite, fast and speak very good English. A la Carte Restaurants The Italian restaurant is good but the lasagna is very disappointing. The Cuban restaurant is excellent – the fish appetizer and the honey chicken are to die for. A neat little touch is that they hand you a marker after dinner and you can sign your name on the wall – very entertaining reading all the names and locations. The staff at both restaurants were excellent. Coffee Bar A great place to go for a coffee or specialty coffee. Mabel at the coffee bar is so sweet and is an artist when it comes to making specialty coffees. I agree with the other reviews that I have read that it is a shame that the coffee bar isn’t open in the morning. Bars All the bar staff are very friendly and speak good English. The pool bar and beach bar staff were especially friendly and entertaining and very fast. Evening Shows The evening shows were very good with the magic show being the best (absolutely amazing). The Christmas Eve and New Years Eve shows were really entertaining and well done. Entertainment Team The Animacion team were excellent and made our vacation great. Special thanks to Antonio (the leader), Ivan who led the volleyball, tried to teach me to dance and danced Salsa with my wife at the disco, Vivian and the other gentleman (sorry I can’t remember his name) who ran the karaoke at night (poor guy having to listen to a bunch of drunken tourists trying to sing). Excursions We took a trip to Havana in a cab and it was amazing. Highly recommend hiring a cab for the day rather than booking an excursion (the tour won’t take you to all the places that you want to see and you will be rushed). We also took a couple of trips into Varadero. Highly recommend going to see Casa de Al (Al Capone’s house) and the Beatles bar – the band is fantastic! Also, recommend going to Varadero Sixties for a meal (the service and food are excellent and very reasonably priced). We did have one bad experience. When we were walking in Varadero, we decided to take a horse drawn carriage ride. We got into a horse drawn covered wagon and asked the driver to take us to an inexpensive restaurant for a hamburger and one that was in the direction of our hotel which we pointed out. Silly us, we did not ask what the charge would be. The driver took us way into the back streets in the opposite direction from our hotel which scared us and then he dropped us off at a very expensive restaurant where he was promptly given cash by the waiter. He tried to charge us 10 CUCs per person but we had to argue with him to only pay 5 per person. Beware of this driver, he wears a New York Yankees hat and has a birth mark on his right cheek. Also, he has another guy riding with him who is very large (probably in case he gets challenged by any of his riders).

Good Value.

Resort in need of upgrades but overall good value for $$$. Beach one of the best in the carribean. Changed room easily after complaint of chemical smell. Not sure if cleaner or bug spray. Food typical of Cuban resort. Bus to downtown $5 pp all day fare. Beatles Bar a must do. Live rock band at night no cover $2 beers.

Amazing resort!The buildings may be older but the beach and the people at this resort are a plus

The buildings may be older but the beach and the people at this resort are A+ Most of the guests the repeaters that I’ve been coming back for years and years because of the family atmosphere and wonderful people. Going back again as soon as possible… I love this place!

Beach great, Moldy room

The beach was incredible you can walk for a very long time and enjoy the ocean. The staff at the hotel we are very accommodating helpful and pleasant the grounds crew work very hard and the Landscaping is very nice. You always hear that the food in Cuba sucks but this place the food was good. Of the resort itself is showing some signs of age but still do some place to go. The downside is our room was so full of mold on the curtains on the ceiling on the lights door unfortunately our room is not  [... read more]the only one like this.

Pleasantly Surprised

We traveled to the former SuperClubs Breezes Varadero, now known as Hotel Los Cactus on November 24th for 1 week vaca. This adults only resort is aged, but very well kept and has incredible gardens through out. It's small size makes it accessible and easy to get from point A to B, and is situated on a spectacular section of Varadero's famous beach! Stayed in "B" Block with a Gardenview Suite, nice size but restricted view of gardens. Decor is dated but no issues with AC, bed or shower. Plenty of [... read more] room and the 2nd room was great for suitcases. Housekeeping was excellent and towels and bedding changed daily. Room was tidy everyday. We found the food quite good and always something tasty at the grill with fish, pork, prawns and beef. Not the biggest selections but we didn't come to resort to just eat. Nice snacks at the beach grille which was our choice more often for quick bite at lunch, pork roast, burgers and dogs. Nothing fancy but filling. Italian ala carte was quite good and well presented, mannered and pleasant wait staff and a nice live music quartet. Beach was beautiful and busy but staff were great in providing chairs and digging in a new umbrella for shade. Reception and lobby bar were very helpful and pleasant, which is usually a guests first impression. Only downside I can say, there no "name brand" rum available anywhere, unless you bought in store, which we did and the 1 choice of beer Cristal was really watered down. I was told liquor and beer selection in past years was better. Would I go back, yes, but I would prefer to go back the Sanctuary at Grand Memories for sure. A way better experience, but cost is more.

Mixed Feelings

We loved the size of the hotel and the fact that there were plenty of loungers at both the beach and the pool area. Also the umbrellas they provided at the beach were a nice touch! Our room was not so great, but my cousin across the hall had a beautiful room. Food was was so-so.. we have been to Cuba before so we know what to expect. It wasn't always hot, and not much variety. Most of the staff was friendly.

Good time had by all

The resort is dated, but clean and has a lot to offer. Staff was great and a plus is you don't have to tip to get smiles. Beach is fabulous, lots of chairs and umbrellas. Food was somewhat plentiful, but did lack flavour. Bring a thermal mug as the glasses are small and collapse easily. Money, airport was .7, hotel was .71 and the bank was .76. Rate at time of exchange was .78. Recommend going to a bank and try not to use a credit card. They convert the Peso to American dollars, then bac [... read more]k to Peso. When you get your statement they will take the peso amount and convert it again to American then to Canadian, Whey, that is a lot of converting and cash loss. I recommend a trip to old Havana but not the Tropicana show. Expensive and very poor seating. You cannot get up for at least two hours and cannot move, very tight.

DO NOT GO !!!

Horrible OLD dirty Motel,14 rooms viewed ALL had Mold and Mildew or A/C not working.Staff not friendly or helpful! Paid penalty to leave to another Motel.Ocean Vista Azul worth every penny!!! DON'T GO

Very good Hotel

It's very good hotel! It's for sure 4 star hotel, not like many others with same rating 4 stars in Varadero. We were in many places in Cuba, this one really corresponds to its stars. Thank you tripcentral.ca !

Just OK but not ready to receive a person with accessibility needs

the grounds were pretty well looked after a lots of green space, the rooms need a lot of work including bathroom renovations, the facilities were OK the exercise venue was closed, the pool needs upgrading , overall the resort needs to be upgraded, its one of the oldest resorts in Varadero and over the years not much has been done, this was my 2nd time in the resort and I found that it was operated a lot better under the Breezes outfit than it is now, also one evening at dinner the resort ran  [... read more]out of red wine. The good thing was the beach no one can complain about it.

Resort needs a lot of work

The grounds were properly looked after, the bathrooms need to be up dated, refurbished to 2017 standards the pillows need to be replaced, over all this resort needs an overhaul. The staff tried to make everyone feel like home and they were good at it but the resort needs lots of work.

Okay Resort

Stayed at Los Cactus October 21 to the 29th.Found this resort to be just okay. The main buildings are spread all over the place, and maybe because of the hurricanes or the season, there didn't seem to be enough staff around. The ones that were there , were absolutely amazing. These people work so hard to keep everyone happy. Our bathroom plumbing had some serious issues, and after trying to fix the problem , we were moved to a new room , in a much better building. The disco is in the large buil [... read more]ding , and found this to be very loud into the wee hours. So happy to be moved from there. The grounds were beautifully kept, lots of flowering shrubs , neat and tidy pathways. The beach is huge , lots of space. I assume the hurricane took all the sun shelters away, but umbrellas were provided. The beach is my happy place, so I can't comment on the pool, although it looked nice. Food is typical for Cuba.....some days better than others, but surely didn't starve. Not a place I would go back to , I really prefer the areas around Cayo Coco....

Different than what I have experienced in Cuba

This was my first experience of Varadero as I usually stay in Cayo Coco. Was not really an experience I would care to repeat. I understand it was off season and there was still evidence of Irma. I was given a Tropical Suite which was beautiful and modern. My housekeeping woman, Marlene, looked after me very well. She was friendly, helpful and ensured a pleasant stay. As the week progressed, there was a wider variety of choices at the buffet. The wait staff were friendly and prompt. The enterta [... read more]inment was interesting, some I enjoyed immensely; some not so much but all was well done. There was only one bellhop so wait times were long for luggage moving. There was no wait staff at any of the bars or the lobby itself. All things considered, it was an adventure but would not return.

Modest resort - good service - lots of different common areas

older resort, amenities are spread out over resort vs having all amenities at center of resort - this was good if you want to enjoy different spaces. hammocks around resort, loved the fresh baked buns, food always available, tasty cuban sandwiches at the beach grill, always could find an umbrella & loungers at the beach & a hot tub by a private bar was fun too. oceanview in the villas by the pool are updated, clean & have good AC units - would recommend requesting these units.

Cant wait to come back!

I cannot say enough good things about this resort. PLEASE if you're here, book a night at the cuban restaurant that they have on site, ignore the Italian one - it's not that great. I found the food at the buffet AMAZING. I don't eat meat though and that's where I heard a lot of the complaints - but my god do they fry some great potatoes. They have entertainment every night where the buffet is held around 9pm. I believe on friday's they have a trivia night and that was the best time I had there.  [... read more]It was so fun participating and competing for a prize (bottles of rum). The beach is right outside your hotel room so that's also great. The pool is really nice and they also have entertainment there every late afternoon. I only showed up on the last day which I regret because IT WAS SO MUCH FUN. They had a soap dispenser into the pool creating mass amounts of bubbles; it was great. Not to mention how lovely the people were. I miss it already and I can't wait to go back. Only down side is that there was a lady at receptionist that didn't seem to know what she was doing. We had our sunwing booking agent leave tickets for a tour at the front desk, and the lady who was working had no idea what we were talking about. She "looked" for the tickets but literally just opened one drawer and said she couldn't find anything, we almost missed our tour that we paid a couple hundred dollars for. The other guys at the receptionist were fabulous. Can't go wrong by staying here.

Staff were ok

Rooms were to far from pool. Food was terrible. Not enough bars open when it gets dark . Staff entertainment were not that friendly, impossible to get a ball to play games in the pool. Food was terrible.

Tired, but clean

Positive The staff at Los Cactus were friendly and helpful. Whenever there was a question or concern they addressed it. The grounds were clean. Renovations were underway to repair Irma's rath. The coffee was great. There were lots of organized activities, but basically the same each day. Negative The rooms were tired, with old decor and non-functioning or half-functioning appliances (fridge, a/c). By Canadian standards, beds were not very comfortable. There was never hot water in the [... read more] morning. Our room had mould on one wall and the curtain rod kept coming off the wall. Generally the food had little or no taste, both in the buffet and in the restaurants. Many times the beef was too tough to cut. Sometime the bars were out of mix for drinks by 16:00hrs. We had no electricity a couple of times. Suggestions Get the room cleaners to make a list of things to be repaired and get it done. Train the chefs! Start upgrading the rooms...new bed mattresses, paint, new linens (sheets and towels), new furniture.

Good resort!

This hotel is pretty standard, my expectations were met. Everyone was very pleasant and the food was good- if you're not picky and are high maintenance. The a la carte was better than I thought, had bigger portions than I expected. The rooms and resort in general are dated and could use a face lift but I kind of like the retro look. Lots of repairs and repainting need to be made in the rooms. But everything was clean and there were no issues at all. The beach was beautiful as can be despit [... read more]e the loss of tiki huts, no thanks to Irma. Animacion in Cuba is always on point, giving it their all and barely anyone cares.

Good beach

Hotel Los Cactus Beautiful beach but no shade as Hurricane Irma destroyed all the umbrellas. Access to the beach is kinda hidden with trees but find the beach bar and you'll see the path to the beach. Buffet area is huge but no AC. Food is ok. Burger station by the beach bar is good. Two a la cartes Italian and Cuban, not too bad. Guys gotta wear long pants. I've been to Cuba at least 10 times and I'd have to say that this was probably the worst service I've ever received considering this pl [... read more]ace used to be a Breezes resort. The bartenders are alright but seem overworked. A lot of maintenance happening at the resort not sure if it was due to the hurricane but a few areas are not accessible or not being used. There is a gym but it's very old and there are no free weights. Massage area in the gym but kinda scary. Most of the spa services were offered at reception but unavailable. Room 173 block I is a junior suite garden view and it's huge for two people. Cleaning in rooms happen daily whether you want it or not.