Good time!

This resort has everything you need, for a great vacation. Food was surprisingly good, and plentiful. wifi was not consistent so be prepared to not be able to connect if you need to.Lobby and piano bar entertainment was awesome, however I was disappointed in the animation team, very little activities during the day at the pool/beach. beach was great! staff for the most part was awesome, extra awesome in the coffee bar (mike's). I really liked the design of the hotel, everything is close by a [... read more]nd easily excess-able. Was a little disappointed that we booked our honeymoon here and received no perks, I read a lot of reviews where resorts will make it a little extra special but that was not the case here.

Varadero Ocean Patriarcha

The hotel was clean and the personnel was polite and helpful. The beach was beautiful. Our room, on the ground floor, had a small wooded area next to the terrace which was very nice. The food was good, especially in the restaurants.

Great resort

The hotel was beautiful, service was great. Rooms were always tidy. There was a lot of selection with the food, which was great. All staff was very helpful when needed, and very friendly. My experience was great.

Nice spot

Check in when we arrived was fast and really nice staff at the front desk. We didn't arrive until late so there wasn't much open. They do have a snack bar that is open until 7am. The grounds are really well maintained and the ground keepers are always working hard and very friendly. The food was good. We only ate ate at the buffet once as we are never a fan of it. They have 3 lacarts that' we went to and you don't have to book. The rooms are clean and a good size. The rooms are like bungalows wh [... read more]ich was really nice. The Beach was really nice . We have been to Cuba 26 times now and love it . Over all great vacation already planning our trip for next year.

OK RESORT

HI, ROOMS WERE RUN DOWN, SERVICE WAS FANTASTIC, A FEW REPAIR PROBLEMS WERE QUICKLY FIXED, NEVER GOT THE ROOM I REQUESTED BUT THEY WERE WILLING TO CHANGE ME THE NEXT DAY. FOOD OK - DO NOT ORDER BEEF/STEAK, TOUGH!! STAFF VERY FRIENDLY & KNOWLEGIBLE - ATTENDED WEDDING THERE & THE WEDDING CO-ORDINATOR WAS FANTASTIC, GREAT FOOD, CAKE D.J. FLOWERS ETC. ENJOYED OUR STAY.

Good girl's trip.

Reasonably sized resort. Rooms were clean and functional. Food was what I would expect in Cuba, always able to find something to eat, but nothing exceptional. Mike's coffee bar was great. Beach and water were lovely. I had read previous reviews about having to get up early for palapas, and this was true. However while we were there, staff were building and adding palapas. Was a good value for what we payed.

Beautiful resort!!!

Well let’s say that this resort has 5 stars for a reason! Beautiful grounds, friendly staff, food was amazing and their beach is white sand and beautiful waters. The privilege upgrade is well worth the money spent.

Worst service ever

We had to beg for wait staff to acknowledge and serve us. The food was horrible. We have been to cuba before so I didnt expect it to be great but it was 3 star quality. Lots of biting bugs and cockroaches. Beach wasnt groomed. Ala carts impossible to get in...no reservations taken. Not impressed with customer serve. Had to use medical on site and doctor was rude. Went to clinic in town and doctor was top notch

Never going back

The hotel was nice and clean. The food wasn't good at all. Eg: My scrambled eggs were floating in water. I found the bartenders were mean to my daughter. Made her wait till they were good and ready. Gave faces like, omg I have to make her another. We tipped well but some of the service was 👎. I got eaten alive by some type of bug, in my room. Had to spray Off around the door every night. I woke up with new bits each day. The good part about this resort is, they took good care of my d [... read more]aughter on her birthday. 😊

Nice, Quiet Resort

Small resort, great for a quiet vacation. Rooms were clean and modern. Pool area was nice, extra umbrellas are brought out during the day. Beach is beautiful, but rocky close to the entrance to the hotel. Walk down towards the volleyball court to enter the water. All shaded chairs were reserved with towels very early in the morning, but they were adding more shade the week we visited. Never had to wait for drinks. Buffet had a good variety of food each night. Restaurants were good, and no  [... read more]reservations needed, but if you want to eat early show up before they open. Carey Restaurant is not a buffet, and was only open for lunch. Entertainment staff was almost non-existent, and evening shows were underwhelming. They had some good bands playing in the lobby bar in the evenings. Grounds were well kept, and maintenance was ongoing.

Good bang for your buck!

Clean, well laid out resort. At times, staff seemed indifferent but some were great...especially at main lobby bar! Beach was awesome and they recently built 15 new palapas for the beach so lots of options for shade. Really neat sand bar not too far out so you can walk along the beach while staying cool in the water. Rooms are spacious and everything worked. We wanted to do water circuit at the end of the trip but they were charging 30CUC for basically a sauna and shower....don't do it! Mi [... read more]kes coffee shop AMAZING!! Food is what you would expect from Cuba...inconsistent but you can always find something good and you will not starve! I recommend the pasta and if u can get pesto take it, but not often available, grilled chicken and fish is good. Overall it was a bit better than expected. Went for beach, sun and relaxation, and this place delivered.

At least they read the reviews

My 3 friends and I just returned from a week at this resort. We are a group of well seasoned travellers and have been to Cuba many times. The resort itself is fine, in my opinion needs to do some work to earn and keep a 4 star rating. We have always enjoyed the people at the various resorts we visit, this year being the exception. Many other reviewers mentioned the indifference the staff treated guests with and I didn’t invest much in that position until I experienced the same. Others have  [... read more]shared that a tip doesn’t necessarily improve service and they are correct. We almost had to go out of our way to make the staff pleasant to us. Of course this isn’t true of all staff but enough so that it became a topic of discussion both for us and other travellers. The positive is that the beach is beautiful, the water is heaven and we know they read the reviews because on our last day they were building about 15 more palapas. The al a cart restaurant service needs work, the food at most needs work. We did go to the oriental more than once, not because the food was Asian in anyway but it was good! We thoroughly enjoyed the fresh fish every day. The buffet is tired but no one was going to starve. The rooms were pleasant, clean and our housekeeper Lysa was lovely. Mini bar never filled and we were advised if you want it filled you should leave money in the fridge. We didn’t test this. I went to the spa in order to be able to write a review for others as I felt most reviews missed this. I visit the spa at every resort I visit and this one was the least enjoyable. The “Therapeutic” massage I had was very relaxing and the therapist was delightful I’m sorry I missed her name. They advertise “free” use of the spa facilities with every service purchased and advertised a water circuit. This turned out to be a shower, a steam room and a sauna. Hardly hydrotherapy in my opinion. The most discerning part of my spa experience was being escorted to the front desk to pay my bill because they felt I was going to somehow cheat them out of paying. This is inexcusable. The last sour taste in our mouths was not the fault of the hotel but the airport was abysmal. I have been to this airport about 3 times and each time is worse than the last. We are not likely to return to varadero let alone this hotel.

Great resort

was a large place lots walking, food was good but bathrooms needed lots work and ran out of water one night.1/2 hour o so.beaches were a mess too much sea weed washed up and was there all week.stunk of sea weed.

Loved the small resort vibe !

Airport : Santa Clara : The airport seemed to be too small to accommodate the volume of people. There was a bit of confusion regarding the bus we were to board and the bank exchange at the airport would not exchange my husbands two 50 dollar bills into cuban CUC's ( tourist money ) Fortunately we were able to get money exchanged at the resort. ( Which we used for tipping ) Resort: The room was a little worn was showing its age but was very clean and the bed was comfortable. The walk in closet [... read more] was a nice feature as was the outdoor shower which we just "loved". Food: Breakfast and lunch was very good and there was variety... the best lunch served was the "Cuban" lunch it was one of the best meals I had at the resort. There was also a wood burning oven near the pool that served excellent pizza, along with burgers and hotdogs. Dinner was a bit of a challenge with only 2 a la carte restaurants ...but Leidi and Yanislei were very accommodating at the Los Canibes Restaurant. Cafe: We would gather in evening for the entertainment which was very good. Yamisela at the cafe was very friendly and eager to please. Beach: The resort has 3 beaches which were amazing... the Sunset beach the water was very calm ... the middle beach had waves was swimmable and you can also get snorkelling equipment for the ocean water life. The third beach was long and was great for our morning walks. Overall it was our first time at an all adults resort... we loved the small resort vibe...all the staff were very pleasant and eager to please. We would defiantly go back !

Fantastic Vacation

It was very clean and the staff were super helpful and friendly. The head chief took excellent care of our traveler with a no grain diet. The pool crew were read to give a hand with umbrella's and moving the chairs into the shade. the staff really remember faces. As someone with an onion allergy, the pasta stand got my meal ready as soon as it was my turn without asking. We had a young waiter Javier at dinner who was just so friendly and continually checked on us to make sure we had enough w [... read more]ater. the entertainment team were full of energy and made the stay fun.

Nice place to visit

The hotel was very clean there is a huge selection of food to eat even if you are a picky eater there will be something for you to eat the snack bar was awesome but the beach wasn’t cleaned all week mikes coffee bar was the best place for coffee

Great Resort

Been their 3 times & would go again. We've been to Cuba 7 times & this one is our favorite. The music is fantastic. Just don't fly with Sunwing. We did once but never again. The seats have about 6" less knee room than TransAt so we were pleased with TransAt. With Sunwing my knees are about 1" longer than the room in front. The resort rates more than a 5 star.

Great Resort

The hotel was very clean, staff are amazing and quality of service was great. The food at the buffet was very disappointing. The resort needs some updates but we really enjoyed our 10 day trip. Thanks for taking such good care of us.

Amazing Resort

This place is awesome. This was our first time to Cuba and this resort was great. The staff were polite and friendly and the food was awesome as they had a great buffet to eat from which included homemade French bread, pizza, pasta bar, seafood bar, dessert bar and many many more food options. The bungalows were clean and well kept and the grounds were very clean and the gardens were looked after very well. I would definitely recommend this place to people.

Very Disappointed

Our latest stay at Ocean El Patriarca resort was very disappointing. My wife and I had been there five years ago and loved it. It was still fairly new and, more importantly, the staff were all extremely friendly and accommodating. So, we decided to stay there again, this time taking our son, two daughters, son-in-law and two grandchildren in three rooms. Our first bad experience was upon arrival at 12:00 pm. We were greeted at the front desk by a very sour employee. She told our married daughter [... read more] that her room was ready; however, our room and our other daughter’s room were not...and wouldn’t be ready until 4pm. That would have been fine; however, when we got to our building, the maid told us our room would be ready in 10 minutes. We went back to the front desk where the same sour clerk re-iterated that the rooms would not be ready until 4. Back to our room where the maid told us our room was now ready. Back to front desk. Again not until 4 pm. This went on until, finally, our maid called someone and we were given our keys. Terrible initial impression. It gets worse. We found the hot food in the buffet dining room just warm at best and, even cold at times. I opted to eat at the omelet station most mornings just to be assured of a hot breakfast. I was quite worried about the chance of food poisoning had I eaten anything from the buffet selection. In the evening, we ate at the three a-la-carte restaurants for the same reason. However, the worst experience was with the a/c in our room. After about two days stay, we started noticing a sewer smell in our room and seemed to be coming from our a/c. At first it was only upon entering the room; but soon it was all the time to an extent we had to shut off the a/c and open the patio door. Even with the screen, we had a mosquito or two buzzing around our heads at night and waking to bites in the morning. We did notify customer service who dispatched a technician to fix the problem. It was not fixed. We reported it again. This time the technician installed moth balls in the a/c to mask the smell! It was so chokingly bad I had to remove the mothballs from the a/c vent myself. In fairlness, Customer Service DID offer to change our rooms , however, my wife and I wanted to stay in the same building close to our children and grand-children. We suffered through it. Thankfully, it wasn’t too hot at night and we could sleep fairly well without the a/c and with the patio door open. (even with the mosquitoes) Service overall from all departments was mediocre at best. Very few staff smiled or greeted us pleasantly. Strangely enough, the friendliest people at the resort were…..the groundskeepers! Without fail, they greeted us with smiles and a friendly hello every morning. We will not be returning to El Patriarca resort.