Would never go again

This hotel did not appear to be able to handle the number of guests that it had, Ran out of dinner plates, towels. cutlery etc. Beds were only changed twice in our 8 day stay staff were only friendly and helpful if you were passing the peso.none of our requests made well ahead of time were honoured. Beach was beautiful although there were no toilets anywhere near the beach.

Hotel was closed 2 days prior to leaving!!!!!

Had a change to the Barceló Solymar, but I think they knew we did not book there originally, treated very badly, first four nites had a room DIRECTLY over the disco, and the following week and 1/2 were directly over the loading dock area, great diesel fumes

Cheated On

I did not like this hotel. There was really no service at all at this hotel. Rooms were never cleaned, sheets never changed, and towels never replaced with clean ones. Kitchen staff and waiters that would hit on you while you waited for your food. The prepared food was also tasteless and extremely repetitive. There was one occasion where my food had quite a long hair in it! The staff didn't seem to care that the food wasn't being cooked properly as my meat would be cold raw in places. The barte [... read more]nders were always trying to make a deal with us in hopes they could rip us off on rum bottles. Despite indicating they had a 24 hour bar, they refused to serve us alcohol after 4am. The bar itself was poorly stocked as we only had mojitos for a limited time (i.e., until their bag of mint leaves ran out). The lightening at this hotel was atrocious. Every room was incredibly dim; you had to eat essentially in the dark, our rooms were dim even with the few lamps on and the hallways were dark. There were no activities planned during the day. While there was a volleyball net set up, it was old and the net was in need of a replacement, badly. While there were suppose to be quite a few non motorized water vehicles available, they were non existent. The late night activities were poorly put together. While I sympathize with the entertainers being there to do a job, the few props they had to use were something from an elementary school play. The overall attitude from the staff was that they couldn't care less about their guests or their comfort. It got to a point that the food became unbearable so a few of the guests frequented another hotel for their food for dinner. During the day, if we were invited to another hotel, we took advantage and ate there. Every hotel to the left and right of hotel International was far better - filled with life and staff that seemed far more content with interacting with guests. It was only after a few days into my one week trip that I was informed that the hotel was actually going to be destroyed and another hotel was to be constructed in its place. For the amount of money I paid for this one week trip, I deserved to know that fact ahead of time because it seemed to be a direct cause for why the staff didn't seem to care about cleanliness of the hotel or treating their guests as if they were special.

Not bad

Example: What did you think about  Hotel is too old. It needs renovation or demolish and rebuild. Location is fantastic, close to the Beach and Varadero city. Food could be improved eg choices of free salt foods for older people that do not eat food with salt.

Great Beach!!

My husband went to this hotel 20 years ago. The beach is beautiful and it is walk to Varadero is short. The rooms are run down (some people were complaining of mould). The food was ok but repetitive compared to 4or5 star hotels that we have stayed at in Cuba. Overall if you are there for the beach-this is the best but if you want good variety of food- go to a higher rated hotel.

Pretty good resort!!!

I'm really surprised with this resort. It was clean, very good treatment, amazing and variety of food. I advice everyone to be there. In addition, it has a beautiful part of the beach and with great swimming pool. Awesome!

It really is falling apart. ..

Having travelled to this resort quite often, I have no choice but to report that it really is time for it to go. The food, the bugs, the prostitution...it left a negative impact. Estimated time for new resort to open...probably 2 years.

1 Star

From the outside it looks like the hotel has not seen a paint job since it was built. The best part was the beach and lets be honest that is shared by all the resorts. The food was barely edible and meat was served without being fully cooked. Its a wonder I didn't get food poisoning. The bar was not open 24hr as indicated and water sports were nonexistent. The hours for other amenities (first aid/massage/etc) did not follow the schedule either as staff seemed to come and go as they pleased. In f [... read more]act the massage room was padlocked EVERY time I checked. The pool was deserted, did not provide any view and there was NO pool bar which would have been a welcomed addition. For the rooms: the bed sheets were not changed and water was only provided on the first day. This was annoying considering I did not tip that day but did on other days only to get worst service. Other guests complained of bedbugs and cockroachs. When ordering hot dogs from the cafeteria, one came out with a 5 inch curled hair over top. I hate to think of what I may have eaten without seeing. Hairnets and proper sanitary service would go a long way. When asking for a particular type of rum/drink the service was hit and miss. At times what was ordered was served. Other times they insisted on using the cheaper liquour instead. If it wasn't for the fellow travellers I met and friends I went with, then I would have left after the second day. Honestly, we might as well have stayed in a hostel or just slept on the beach.

Amazing beach, but the hotel needs TLC

The hotel is planned to be demolished so there is no effort to maintain the building and its content. Broken chairs, rusty bathtub, hanging down curtains and so on. But, we forget all this when we are on the beach. Clear turquoise water, white sands and wonderful weather.

It was a good resort

It was a pretty good resort, it was nice having the beach so close. I didn't like that when I stepped out of the washroom in my room, it startled me that the maid was there already into her cleaning. She could have knocked, or if she did and I did not hear her, she should have said HELLO, I am here Ok? There were no do not disturb tags offered. Also the food could have been improved. The laneway to the hotel was full of holes and often filled with water so you had to carefully step around and ov [... read more]er fencing that was laying loosely on ground.Other than these 3 things I have no complaints.

Fantastic beach

Staff were friendly, food was acceptable, room clean and comfortable. Would certainly return to enjoy the sun and drinks. The 2 min walk from my room to the water was a welcome treat, and waist deep water clear water was an added bounus

Nice place

It was a nice hotel. It is in need of some renovation but staff works hard to keep it clean. Because many complain about the food I have to say the food is great. Some things did not look appetizing to me but I tried some and they were good anyway. The only thing I did not like is some sort of sweet potato but this is really personal preference. There were plenty of things I did like. In addition to the buffet there was a grill for those who want absolute predictability when it comes to food. If [... read more] you are thinking that maybe this hotel is special - I don't think so. There were people complaining about not having anything to eat on a day when there was a choice between pork, chicken, beef, rabbit and vegetarian dishes. On two of the days there wasn't a big meat selection but the grill offered chicken, pork and fish. Now the soup I tried only once and it was awful but I am only mentioning it because of all the negative comments about the food that I am trying to comprehend. For every meal there were plenty of choices. By the way the staff eats at the same buffet and I find that really nice I would have felt really embarrassed if they did hear some of the complaints about the food though. The only thing that bothered me was the lifeguard situation. Since it was bit cooler than usual they were no where to be found (maybe saw one of them once a day) for 4 days. Then when they finally appeared they were sitting in groups far from the ocean without any equipment whatsoever. No times for the lifeguards were posted either. The only equipment they had was a whistle?! Otherwise they were pleasant. The rest of the staff was also pleasant but they were also very effective at their jobs. There is a computer to use internet and it works more or less fine. I found that if log in, then log out properly and then log in again it works without problem. The only thing is that the first time I tried to use it the front desk staff had no idea how to type @ she gave me the wrong key combination ... anyway you might want to know it is Ctrl+Alt+2 There was a huge number of security guards. They were the ones watching the ocean too. The water in the pool was clean but there ware constantly drowning bugs in it because of the high wind and no one bothered to clean them out.

Good resort but some problems

The staff were very nice and the beach is beautiful but there were a few things that you should consider before booking here. When you book a room, ask for one that doesnt have a connecting door because you can hear people talking in the next room like they were in your own. You should also not stay on the third floor if you want any water pressure at all, also the shower was usually cold. Now this was my first time in Cuba so I dont know how to compare food with other resorts but this food was  [... read more]VERY bland and my stomach just barely tolerated it. You should also consider bringing a mug of your own because the cups they use for everything are about 5oz. Saying that, I would go back with those few conciderations kept in mind. It was nice that there was a place to rent scooters and horse drawn carriages at the hotel that was next door.

LOCATION! location ---location

This hotel is on the beach! One of the oldest in Varadero, it still offers a look at fifties opulence. Marble floors in the lobby etc. Service is great The buffets are adequate but limited choices. Offers an old Vegas style cabaret and has an excellent dining room where you can eat each night Visit if you are looking for visit to the 50s