Paradisus Princesa Del Mar: Supply Chain Issues

I would have liked to have visited this resort pre-covid, as I think it would have been a much different experience. We experienced significant shortages in food and alcohol, such as; vodka, whiskey, gin, butter, potatoes, pasta, red meat, bacon and seafood. There wasn't a lot of variety in food, due to shortages. We expected some of this going in, as we have been to Cuba before, but it was much more significant that we expected, where there were several days where butter was a rare find. It  [... read more]seemed the only thing that was readily available was rice, cabbage, eggs and a lot of vegetable dishes. Most of the drinks were rum drinks, as whiskey, vodka and gin were non-existent, and the rum drinks didn't seem as strong as previous visits to Cuba. The resort is beautiful and spacious (though seems care and routine maintenance has slipped recently), and the staff was wonderful, friendly and welcoming, as is often the case in Cuba. The only other negative experience was the sand fleas on the beach. Numerous people around the resort, my wife included, has a significant number of bites on their legs, and many were walking around with red, swollen, extremely itchy legs. Make sure you take bug spray if you intend to visit the beach.

Grand Memories Varadero: Things have changed

I stayed at this resort about 10 years ago when it was a Rui Resort and loved it. I'm sure many of the issues are due to COVID, but it was a bit disappointing. The first room was a bit run down (building 14) (balcony door wouldn't open, no towels, etc.) and it is located a long way from the beach so I paid to upgrade to building 22 which is closer to the beach. The room was much better, but the safe didn't work. It took 4 days of going to the front desk twice a day to get this fixed - a bit frus [... read more]trating since I had to carry all of our important stuff with us (passports, cash). The front desk staff didn't seem very interested in getting this fixed. The service was lacking, but I'm sure that that the employees are under a lot of stress since so many people seemed so angry and unhappy. I've been to Cuba many times, so I was very prepared for the food, but supplies seem to be in short supply so the options at the buffet were less than the last time, but still able to find something to eat. I was there with my daughter and being a teenager, she is much pickier than I am so she struggled with the food issues more than I did. There seemed to be other shortages as well - pina colada mix, daiquiri mix, towels, napkins. I hope with time, the supply issues get better and with that, hopefully the service along with it. The beach and the pool were amazing and we couldn't have asked for better weather.

Valentin El Patriarca Varadero: Resort

Rooms dead bolt not working,no hot water for 2 days,a lot of bulbs needs to be replaced on entrances and side walks,lighting to dim in rooms..some patio doors broken cannot lock,I came on Thursday and as of Tuesday no clean towels.false advertising on website.had to book a la carts.website said a la carts all day.did not like the food.no face clothes I will come back to cuba but not to this resort. They need to update there website

Paradisus Princesa Del Mar: Very disappointed

Unfortunately this property is billed as a 5 start when it isn’t. Don’t be fooled by the pictures that are clearly from years ago. The resort is run down. Patio doors don’t lock properly. AC didn’t work in first room and not much better in the second. Hot water was not consistent and from one day to the next not sure what towels we should get. Not sure why we paid for Royal service. Butler wasn’t seen unless we went looking for him. Not once did he ask how things were going.  [... read more] Food was very disappointing. I know it’s Cuba but the buffet was heavily lopsided with Rice. No labels on anything. Plates were always in short supply. A la cart meals were better but very limited. Don’t even need menus because you really had only 2 choices at every meal. Pork or chicken. The Italian restaurant had one pasta dish. And almost raw pizza. Breakfast was the best meal. But can’t live on omelette for a week. Bar service was essentially beer and rum. Whatever drink you ordered it was substituted with Rum. Staff do their best with that they have. But for what everyone pays it’s time to be honest and downgrade this resort to a 3 star and let customers decide to go knowing what they’re going to get. From the rooms to the limited drinks and food to the resort being generally run down this resort needs to make some significant investments in the property and their staff. They are quick to help and many of them bent over backwards. But the constant requests for money, earphones and even cell phones is telling. They are paying poverty wages but taking 5 star revenues. My advice is go somewhere else.

Occidental Arenas Blancas: Great Resort!

Our experience was amazing! We had no complaints other than the building itself being a little run down. The staff was great and the food was decent for Cuba. If you like rum, meat and potatoes then I would highly recommend this resort.

Grand Memories Varadero: Poor resort

The rooms at this resort were very dirty and old. We had the same towels for 7 days and not even enough towels for the people in the room. Poor food, long line ups for food that wasn’t even very good. Pictures make the resort look way better.

Grand Memories Varadero: Disaster

The grounds, pools are excellent. It's the rooms. We had a 3 ft wall around the tub to climb over to get in tub. No safety bars in tub. Totally unsafe. Two towels for the week. No face cloths. Did not change sheets for the 7 days we were there. At the buffet they'd run out of coffee, orange juice by 830 am. Also no glasses for water or juice. No butter. To go to theater you climb about 12 marble steps No railing on either side. Just a nightmare. Very disappointed as this was rated 4.5 stars. I [... read more]'d only give it a 1 star.

Valentin El Patriarca Varadero: Mediocre

Was here 3 years ago under Ocean El Patriarca Varadaro and was a bit disappointed this trip. Still advertised no booking for a le cartes which is false. (A main reason I took a group of 15 people 3 years ago) Some facility issues ie: no hot water for couple days, tv didn’t work, no butter, no potatoes or fries, no fish. Pool was pretty dirty. Most days would run out of red wine, gin, vodka, tequila. Next day a few more bottles would appear. Almost like they were rationing them. Rooms real [... read more]ly starting to look tired. Had 10 others join me this time and next years group which will most probably be larger, WILL NOT return. Listed as a 4+ but this trip I’d say 3* Weather was fantastic and the staff were great! Our group overlooked the issues and enjoyed meeting new friends and had a great time together!

Melia Internacional: Lived up to expectations

The staff were exceptional ; well run. Well appointed rooms. The only complaint was the internet.. Loved the ribs and the omelettes. The snorkelling and the catamarans trips were exceptional for us.

Iberostar Origin Laguna Azul: Amazing Resort, Better Staff

I can’t say enough good things about this trip; but, wanted to shout out some terrific individuals. Thank you so much to King Kong, Crazy Boy, Joey, Tony and the entire entertainment staff. They brought energy and excitement every single day and made my whole group feel welcome from the second we walked in.

Club Tropical: Great updates!

The updates, paint and improvements are great! The people are so wonderful! We had no power at all one day. Everyone not just our resort. The sun, the beach and the pool, FANTASTIC! ☀️🍹🏖️❤️😎 We will return soon! Thank you to everyone there!

Resonance Blu Varadero: Average Resort

They have limited alcohol so make sure to bring in a bottle for the week of what you like to drink. Don't pack any nice clothes or they get stolen . The hotel is average but the water is beautiful.I definitely wouldn’t rate this hotel over 3 stars .

Hotel Los Cactus: We would not return

I write this review having stayed in Cuba several times including Varadero. I am well aware of the quality of food but this hotel is sub par even by Cuban standards. The buffet is open air with no air conditioning. Birds fly in and out, bird poop on the chairs, birds walk on and peck at the food (not only on the tables but at the buffet too). By 7pm when the buffet opens for dinner, it is very warm to the point you can see the desserts melting. We like to do the al a carte restaurants but t [... read more]he first dinner we had in the Italian Restaurant, the air conditioning was not working and I felt ill because of the heat. Speaking of a la carte restaurants, there are only 2 (the Italian is very good, the Cuban is not) and you can only book an a la carte one day in advance and you can also only get one 7pm seating (earliest they open) per week. You can book again if there is availability but only for 8pm seatings or later. If you always want to eat in the restaurants, you have to be at the reservation place every day at 3pm to book for next day. That in itself is a hassle. We booked for 10 days and the first 5 days the buffet was horrible....hardly and choices ie only one fresh fruit to choose from, no butter most days (although their bread was exceptional). At breakfast they would put pancakes, french toast etc on platters that were not heated so they were always hard and cold. The hot food (meats, veg) they put out was also placed on non heated surfaces so that was always cold too (or as cold as it could get in no air conditioning) The choices at the buffet did get better by day 5 or so as the resort seemed to be busier. This resort also hosts conventions. They hosted Cuban doctors when we were there. These doctors waited at the buffet with their baggies in hand and the second it opened they cleared out almost all the desserts and the bread (before they got their meals). This happened for 2 days for breakfast, lunch and dinner. When they left (and after a lot of complaints) they placed staff to watch over the food. The doctors were also attended to very well by the staff in the buffet area while I was constantly looking for someone to get some water at my table. The bars were constantly running out of certain types of liquor ie Coconut Rum. Varadero beach is beautiful but I was disappointed with the cleanliness of the beach part that Los Cactus has. There was garbage (even a huge tire half buried in the sand which a couple of vacationers dug out) all over the area. There was only one garbage can so I guess everyone just left their trash (which was never once cleaned up during my 10 day stay). I could not walk anywhere (except close to the water) without stepping on garbage, plastic and cigarette butts Every picture of the beach I took has some sort of garbage in it (unless I was in front of some other hotel). Every other hotel I have stayed at in Cuba has cleaned their beaches but not here. One entrance to the beach must have had a fire at some point so when you walk on the sand to get to the beach, your feet are covered in black because of all the charcoal bits in the sand. They did have security on the beach which was nice and we felt comfortable leaving things on our loungers as we swam or went to eat. Only twice did someone come around to get the sand off the loungers (a usual morning practice at other hotels). We did enjoy the large shade structures on the beach. The pool was big but the liner was ripped in many places and coming away from the bottom of the pool. The original room we were given was horrible...super dated and dirty. Luckily it did not have the bed we were supposed to get so they moved us to another room. Again, super dirty (stains on walls, stains in tub, broken tiles everywhere, stained bedspread) but luckily the air conditioning did not work so they upgraded us. The upgrade was lovely with very nice views of the water and pool. Housekeeping staff is exceptional. The staff was wonderful (only exception was in the buffet when Cuban doctors were there and paying patrons became invisible). The entertainment was typical for Cuba and they did offer a lot of it including dancing/singing during lunch and by the pool which was very nice. The singers were quite good. The public washrooms at the hotel were exceptional. They were kept very clean as were the common areas in the hotel. The landscaping is lacking but they did weed all the empty planters (which are many) just before the Doctors came for the convention. We would not return to the hotel.

Iberostar Origin Laguna Azul: Excellent resort

Although slightly understaffed the resort is a wise choice. Food is always an issue in Cuba but was not the case this week. Buffet and restaurants were all good. It is a smaller resort with a good mix of younger and older crowds and still has plenty of options if you prefer a quiet area or party scene. Nightly entertainment was repetitive but ok. There are many shortages of booze throughout Cuba yet the bar tenders were always able to provide something good. Did not meet any bad staff and have i [... read more]n fact become friends with some.

Iberostar Origin Laguna Azul: Covid's impact on Cuba

Booking a trip to Cuba, we all know we don't go there for the food, this trip was no exception. Cuba has been greatly impacted by Covid, and to make matters worse, the government changing their currancy. We heard time and again how difficult it is for the citizens of Cuba to get the meer staples of life. Things like vegetables, fruit, meats, bread, juice, toothpaste, shampoo, feminine hygiene products - and the list goes on and on - are hard to come by for them, and also for the resorts in the a [... read more]rea. Our resort had real juice one morning out of the 13 days we were there (the rest of the time was a syrup based juice, and most of the time only peach juice) - alcohol available on the resort was limited to some rums, whiskey, wine and beer, and because there was no juice, your options were pop (no diet available either for those of us who are diabetics) or water. Meat was never consistant, though chicken, pork and fish were always available at meal time, cooked in some fashion or another. Once lobster was at the buffet, and twice turkey. This resort was one of the better for meals when we compared notes with other travellers at the airport on our way home. Many had only chicken, fish and rice dishes - and an even smaller selection of alcohol than we had. The Iberostar Laguna Azul's best meal of the day was always breakfast, provided you got there early, and weren't looking for a nice glass of juice or milk - powdered milk was usually available. Getting a glass of water with your meal seemed to be endlessly difficult, especially if you needed a refill throughout your meal. This improved slightly the last few days, because some of the guests complained to customer services, us included. The resort boasts that they are improving safety by reducing the numbers allowed at a la carts - however, the buffet at supper is packed tight. Not sure why another restaurant or two was not opened as a supper buffet to alleviate the congestion. Staff seemed to be quite busy, even though there didn't seem to be a shortage of staff. I especially noticed in this hotel, how many of the staff would cut you off and walk right in front of you - whereas at other resorts we've gone to over the years, they would stop, and allow the guest to go through first. On three separate occasions, we witnessed someone fall - looking around, there was staff there who seen the fall, but did not come to offer assistance or to see if the person who fell was injured. The staff watched from afar, but never approached. A word of caution - this resort has many areas where the floors change heights, one spot will be an 1/2 - 1 inch difference from the other floor - and most of them are not marked in any way - mostly where one building is connected to another - a recipe for someone not paying attention, to take a nasty fall. Changing money to their currency - change over only a minimal amount. Don't change it at the airport or any bank, ask a worker on the resort. Most of the Cuban people prefer the canadian dollar over their CUP (Cuban Peso). At the airport - when we were there, $1 canadian was equivalent to 78 Peso, the travel agency reps were offering it at $1 canadian to 90 Peso, and some of the workers were willing to trade it for $1 canadian to 100 Peso. The pools at this resort - the main pools in the middle of the resort were cleaned every morning - be careful using these pools, several tile are missing throughout the two main pools and some of those areas have sharp spots. There are two quieter pools, one in the Relax zone, and one on the complete opposite side of the hotel grounds - these pools are quieter, but not cleaned in I don't know how long - very dirty each time we went there. Minimal lounge chairs (and portable umbrellas) were set out all around the pools - but when tipped, staff would bring out additional ones. Many of the lounge chairs on the beach were broken, this resort really needs to purchase new loungers if/when they are available. There was a small fridge in the rooms, however, they are not stocked with anything- bottles of filtered water were left on the dresser, but no pop, or beer were in the fridge. When we inquired about getting the fridge stocked we were told Iberostar resorts no longer do this in their new "waves of change" campaign to lessen waste.Cuba has no recycling plan, though in some areas there are recycling bins - we were told everything goes into one garbage.However, the resort stores we're selling plastic bottles of water, and all the bars were using pop from plastic bottles - so not sure how much waste it is actually preventing . Kudos for them to try to lessen waste, but really?br /> Would I recommend this resort - until things improve, I would not recommend Cuba, period, but if you really want to go to Cuba - according to our fellow travellers, this is one of the better ones to stay at currently. The beachs are beautiful, this resort was clean, the gardeners do an excellent job of looking after things on the grounds, and some staff are awesome (we ran into about 4 staff we thought were exceptional). One plus -clean beach towels were always available, but you had to give a credit card for a hold of $15 per beach towel to get them at the beginning of your stay (on the last day you are given a ticket by the towel guy to hand into reception at checkout so you're not charged on your credit card) - the staff working in the towel hut were super friendly. The kitchen staff did well with what they had, but as it wasn't alot, the meals were extremely repetitive. For the amount of money we paid to go here, we were extremely disappointed in this resort - so many simple things could easily be made better. Security could always be seen on the beach and throughout the resort.

Iberostar Origin Playa Alameda: Good Resort

Arrived at the Varadero Airport, located our shuttle bus. After waiting on the bus for over 1hr and only 5 passengers on the bus at this time. I confirmed the number of passenger that we were waiting for, which was 49. I then asked " are we waiting for other planes to land to fill this bus ? The representative confirmed that this was correct. I told her that " I will take a cab and remove my luggage at this time. The other passengers standing outside also wanted to hitch a ride, however t [... read more]hey were not staying at the same location. Arriving at the resort was less than welcoming as they were not expecting us until 4pm, The guard did not want to allow the cab driver through the gate to the resort, they exchanged some words in Spanish and we were allowed entry. We arrived shortly after 12pm. The woman at the front test proceeded to explain that us ladies were trouble makers and we were extremely early and they were not expecting us at that time. She did however allow us use of the resort, we did not receive instruction where anything was located in the resort. This was not an issue as the resort is small and you can find everything you need on your own. The entertainment was great and the staff work really hard to show you a good time. We always found something to eat on the resort and we had no complaints, The woman that made our omelette every morning was fantastic, and the servers are very friendly. The beach was amazing. The Cleaning service was overall good, take face clothes because they do not provide. They always provided fresh towels and water everyday. Overall! We had a blast and would recommend this hotel, and would come back again.

Barcelo Solymar: Disappointed

Varadero Cuba is my favourite place in the whole world. This resort was made up of 3 different hotels and I paid extra for a Suite Bungalow at Barcelo Solymar. We had no A/C for the first 4 nights when we were finally moved to a new unit. Supplies were hit and miss, and the staff did little to keep us informed. I will not stay there again.

Iberostar Origin Tainos: Many problems resort

Never in my 83 years of life have I stayed at a hotel that purposely did not have hot water to shower or bathe . Management answer was we know we have a on going problem with low water pressure and a 50' f maximum hot water. But were to busy fixing other things like outdoor fountains to bother with guest problems. Another problem is loundges at the pool or beach ,guest go early to claim their chair by leaving a towel or book on it then leave for hours before they use it. Meanwhile other guest  [... read more]have no where to sit. A new rule like if you are not present at the site you cannot claim a chair would solve the problem. So you see the hotel really does not care about there guest comfort.

Melia Peninsula Varadero: Amazing time

We had a great time myself Tracy and jeremy have been there 3 times we enjoy it get staff there am have met many friends. My friend Donna her first time she enjoyed it. It is a very clean resort and well kept likes how the tractor went down and cleaned the sand. Room staff amazing very friendly and willing to help you out. Food was great as well would so go again .

Hotel Tuxpan: Great resort

Hotel was great & staff wonderful. Will be going back again to same hotel. There were great people to enjoy the trip.Grounds very clean & beach is wonderful. Would recommend this place to everyone, glad to have stayed there.