Great resort

Grounds are beautiful,rooms clean comfortable and spacious.staff at front desk dining room and room maids all very friendly and helpful.only negative was souvenir shop staff not hospitable and rude. FOOD IN BUFFET COULD BE WARMER.

Great Resort

Very friendly and service focused staff. Clean facility. Food not good, often cold and lacked taste. Liked beach area. Would like option to Book more than 2 speciality dining rooms for dinner. Liked having resource person at hotel.

A fantastic experience!

The grounds were beautiful, the common areas clean and airy, the food did not try to the North American "fast-food" palate. The staff were friendly and very professional. The beach was beautiful and clean!

OK resort

the grounds was well maintained and clean. the bathroom was not clean did not expect to have to wear flip flops to stand in the tub to have a shower! the food was not what you would expect from a 4star when food is left in what was ice cubes turned to warm water and a lack of serving utensils spoons being used from hot to cold foods causing bacteria from cross contamination and butter left in warm water that turned greenmold is the way to make people sick! myself included and I was very careful  [... read more]what i ate!. as for the hotel staff i must say they were extremely pleasant and very helpful. all in all and having said the above the location of the hotel and the friendly staff made up for the down side of the hotel and i would use it again with extra caution in the dinning room!

Sun, Sand, Water!

The resort is older but still covered all my needs. The layout was good and location great. Just walk out of the hotel for day and night life. Pool was clean and grounds were well maintained. Staff I met were friendly and many spoke fluent English. Ocean and beach are beautiful!

Love this place ; like a second home

I've been to th resort many times. I always look forward to seeing the staff and especially think the reception is incredible. I want to thank all of the staff for making every visit an enjoyable experience

Great beach

Rooms are ok. Had to change rooms on the first night but had no problem doing it. The first room was flooded with water. Beaches are perfect! The nightly shows were average I guess but you always have two choices since the Arena Blancas and the Solymar are connected. Biggest issue there was the staff. They were not helpful at all they didn't even offer suggestions when asked them for something. Just a straight no. Some of the staff (maybe two). Were pretty decent. It just felt like we were treat [... read more]ed worse because we were not Cuban

No air conditionning for the week

I so regret making this choice of resort. I will so not go back to this place. There was not air conditionning for the week and were told all kinds of bad excuses for not having it. We were stalked by a cuban for things. He told us it would take 20 min. for me to go to my room. I asked a security guard and were told it was normal. I was afraid so i gave him what he wanted !!. We couldn't get what was on the menu, couldn't get rhum drinks until 3:00, was refused entry to our reservation because w [... read more]e were 3 minutes before our reservation. There was ants on the Japanese restaurants table !! My God!.. Don't go there!

Great service

Everything was amazig food sucks pools are great beach is beautiful locals are verry nice , havana club is close by and its a great place to party 10$ cover but drinks are only 2$ and cant forget on resort beer is amazing

Absolutely love!

the staff in the hotel is just amazing and so nice, rooms are always kept clean and fresh the grounds are well kept this resort is just great! so much to do in and around the resort! and the food here is not bad at all ! always found food to eat!! if your looking to explore veradero this is the perfect resort i have been back here 4 times just because of the quality of the staff and it being right in the middle of just everything!

Feelgood Resort

Arenas Blancas is a cute resort to wind down and relax. Their restaurants have an exquisite variety of cultural Cuban cuisine. Its hotel services and hospitality was on point. Clean pools and beaches were a bliss. (No real fruit drinks, or bottled water made drinks, no free wifi, wifi only works on first floor)

Best two week stay!!

We spent 15 days at Barcelo Arenas Blancas for our Honeymoon!! Had a great time from the moment we got to the hotel until the moment we left. Our superior room was over looking the pool and very loud at night. We did not mind and sat on our balcony one night and watched the performance at the theater. We prefer the noisy side. The music in the morning was about 10 or 11am. Again very loud but that was our fun wake up call. People who don't like the noise I would recommend asking to be on the ot [... read more]her side of the building facing the street. Buffets were pretty good. Would recommend seating in the same area for breakfast and get to know your wait staff. They have a good memory of what you like to drink in the morning and will have it waiting for you when you return with your plate. Very good staff. The staff in the gift shop were very helpful. I couldn't find my dental floss and they didn't sell any. The lady behind the till grabbed her purse and got me dental sticks. I was digging for pesos and she would take them. She then directed me to the pharmacy where I could purchase my own floss. Also my husband forgot his cell phone charger and the lady at the front desk let us use her own charger. We left for lunch and we came back with his phone fully charged. Very helpful! Our favorite place to hang out all day is by the pool at the swim bar. Orrestas was the best bartender very charismatic and happy all the time. The food served at the pool bar was awesome bacon cheeseburgers with POUTINE! might need to stand in a line up for that but worth the wait!!! Solymar is next door and that's where we ventured too for the Italian À la carte very good and all drinks included. The Mariachi Mexican À la carte was beyond amazing. From the nachos to the quesadillas and enchiladas perfecto! Unfortunately drinks were not all inclusive. No worries the rest of the resort still is. We were at the Mariachi 4 times it was sooo good. Then off to lobby bar for drinks and performances. Lots of top 40 music! They play Latin versions of our songs, lots of dance music, and R&B. We brought our portable speaker and didn't have to use it. Lots of daytime games and dancing by the pool. The beach was awesome we always found chairs to sit on and the ocean water was warm. Walking to the beach wear your sandals there are little prickly balls that fall from the trees Ouch! For those going take lots of sunscreen, aloe and bug spray. We got so many mosquito bites the first couple of days. I will definitely go back again and again! Stay in the same room do the same routines over and over again!

Good value

The hotel was nice enought. I would say more like a 3+ star than 4. The grounds were clean and beautiful. The beach was the best feature, white sand and clean. Lots of seating available on the beach. The The resident dog was friendly, loveable and a delight, he followed me everywhere and I observed him following the other guess around the grounds and to the beach. I would vacation here again.

Needs Complete Overhaul!!

1st time in this resort but have travelled extensively to Carribean resorts - not a good impression. Food at buffet made me sick (fruit flies on food) cross contamination (not good for people with allergies) Had to go to outside restaurants to eat. Problem with doors in room (would not open) A/C not working..advised staff many times..also computers/cell phones not always working and staff did not take responsibility but said it was an IT problem and had to call company in Havana!! Staff seemed n [... read more]ot interested & bored with you. No facecloths in Cuba - bring your own! If travelling with family(kids) do not stay in front where pools are - loud music/people until at least 11 p.m.

Incredible Vacation

Overall this hotel was incredible. Like all hotels, there are ups and downs. The only thing that really disappointment me was the maid cleaning our room. She was very consistent and cleaned our room well throughout the whole trip however, one day she cleaned our room and did not make the bed which you would think is the one thing that would be done. Other than that, my trip was amazing. The pool was always kept clean, you could always exchange your beach towels for new ones, the beach was gorgeo [... read more]us, the staff was extremely friendly and welcoming, the rooms were very up to date, there was always food available when you were hungry and there were many activities and entertainment available to do. I would definitely go back and recommend Arenas Blancas to others. It was such an incredible experience!

Awesome

Overall the resort is very good. The beach was awesome. People are very friendly. Food wise, like any resort in Cuba, food is similar. However, it is still good. You have selection between meat, fish, chicken, cheese, and vegetables. The location is amazing. Two blocks away of the entertainments (pubs, clubs, market, rum store, and cigar store). There was a daily beach party with good music. Although there was a daily beach party and Cuban show, the resort was calm for whoever needs to relax. I  [... read more]would recommend and go to the same resort next time I visit Cuba.

Great Family Value!!

The overall resort was very nice, the beach is absolutely amazing! The room was okay, the waiting staff are very attentive and the food was fantastic for Cuba. Perfect Resort for a couple or family...located nicely from town, easy walk to shops, etc.

Good Resort

The hotel was pretty old, was clean, had to get bath towels a couple of times. not sure why they didn't replace them with clean ones. The toilet seat was sliding from side to side when you sat on it, I'm a plumber just a poor design. The grounds were well maintained . The staff were very friendly and kind. The beaches were the best I've been on, World class. Lot of things to do during the day.

“Overall, we had a very good time at this resort"

When my partner and I booked a very reasonably priced Sunwing package (through Tripcentral) to this resort (actually, two connected resorts), it was with very modest expectations given reviews we had read and the general impressions about Cuban resorts. In short, our expectations were exceeded. The beach was fantastic and the water very warm. The food was very acceptable and we felt safe to eat whatever was being served. Service was good. The entertainment was good. The resort needs some work  [... read more]but was clean, nicely landscaped and generally, comfortable and spacious. The pool is great. You can walk out of the resort and go immediately into the town of Varadero which is fantastic. There is a "hop on hop off" bus service that costs 5 CUC for a day pass per person. I'd recommended buying the pass as the town is too big to walk in its entirety. Further, it can be used as an inexpensive tour that takes about an hour or more to complete (return trip). From Varadaro, we did a day trip to Havana that was fantastic - in a 1952 Chrysler! The tour was provided by Cubaoutings. Overall, we had a very good time at this resort given the value price of the package, its location and the beach. As first time visitors to Cuba, we will visit the country again. Stayed April 2015

Average hotel, great beach

We were looking for somewhere in Varadero that was reasonably priced, but an ok hotel. This place was fine for what we paid, but don't expect a beautiful hotel. Large facility, and food was much better than expected.