Blau Arenal Habana Beach

The hotel is older, needs some upkeep. The food was good but had the same menu everyday, we did not ran out of anything (plenty of bread, coffee, liquor etc).

During the weekend, the hotel gets over run by local as they can purchase day passes. This means that the staff doesnt need to learn any foreign language and the hotel does not invest back into its hotel.

The beach is absolutely beautiful. Part of the beach was blocked off for the hotel guests which was really nice but so many people showed up to party on the beach from thursday to sunday, it gets loud and overcrowded, and dirty.

Staff were helpful when requesting things.

The pool is beautiful and you can usually find chairs (don't have to fight for them) but everyday the staff had to vaccuum it. [Details]

Overall good. My housekeeper, Gisele, was wonderful, kind and helpful. Nestor was a great guy. The food was adequate but very bland. The front desk was always polite and helpful. [Details]

Blau Arenal Havana Beach is a very nice and clean hotel .
Located in a perfect combination of forest and beach .
Beautiful beach .
Excellent staff. Every member of the staff was friendly and ready to help .
No complain about the food . We can say very good food .
Bars were good but special mention to Frank the bartender of the beach bar [Details]

Personnel attachant et attentionné
Un bel oasis pour se reposer même si nous y étions pour le boulot !
Ils sont dévoués
Merci pour tout [Details]

The personal of the hotel were making my stay one of the best stay I lived in Cuba.Miguel the Hotel manager and Pablo the sales manager were the best ally I could find. The rooms and food were very good although we were told the contrary in Canada.The hotel location close to Havana made my visit so much easier [Details]

super friendly and helpful staff. from front desk to cleaners, to Oro in animation. Large rooms with powerful A/C; large swimming pool, amazing beach front of crystal water and soft white sand; security everywhere to keep you and your stuff safe at the beach. Amazing activities all day long led by Oro. We do not drink alcohol so there was plenty of natural juices all day long. If anything beware of the powerful sun, they have umbrellas but bring high SPF. Great breakfast with omelettes made to order and lots of Cuban food mixed with a large salad bar and a few desserts. Tours to La Habana every day. [Details]

This is 1 star hotel.2 days we stayed there water disconnected. Food service very bad.ther serve same food every day.no sea food serving just pork and meat. Drink quality they served so poor.
I don't recommend this hotel.no activity and entertainment in hotel.room has low ceiling height. [Details]

I stayed here after having a tummy tuck in Havana with my 80 year old mother. So was looking for a relaxing spot to recover.
The grounds are very well kept with even walkways.
The food vas very tasteful and the desserts were made with butter and tasted great.
The rooms are beautiful. We stayed in a Jr suite located on the 2nd floor with no balcony. We moved to a first floor Superior room with a terrace with chairs to enjoy the outdoors. We moved only because my Mom found the stairs difficult.
The pool is big and on a slope with little stools to sit on, there is also a kids pool which is perfect to sit with your feet in.
Now of course the best part of this hotel is the Staff. Always there to assist us. Extremely friendly A1!
There was a lot of entertainment around the pool during the day and at night. Of course we loved the bingo.
Great family resort.
Nice beach.
Highly recommend this hotel. [Details]

Upon arrival at 5 am, I was chastised for “arriving late”. I arrived on time?? Then I was pointed in the direction of my room and was sent on my way to find it alone. In the dark. At 5am. The ‘free shuttle' to Havana didn't exist.
It's not kid friendly, that worked for me, but not for everyone. Never a shortage of lounge chairs by pool or beach. Lifeguard often not present. [Details]

The resort is lovely and just a short walk to the beach. A courtesy shuttle bus service is provided to downtown Havana.The dinner buffet changes everyday, but breakfast and lunch is the same. Overall, the resort location is great. . [Details]

really impressed with this place, our 5th trip to cuba. no ala-cartes but go into guanabo $10 cuc taxi away and have a nice $13cuc lobster dinner on the beach. other wise guanabo is not a tourist town and nothing to see there. you walk right on the beach and your 20 minutes away. watch the broken glass on the beach, bring some sandals. beach has nice soft sand and is long in both directions, we never got to the end either ways. the food is just fine and is varied. we did the havana tour $55 cuc each and includes lunch and a drink. 6.5 hours long and you visit all 4 squares. the pool is perfect and clean. the junior suite we had was perfect. everything worked as expected. the people working at this place worked hard and smiled a lot. no beach service, just get your own drinks from pool bar or lobby bar. capachino coffee excellent. they had huge crab claws, get there early or your out of luck. we brought down lots of extra toilet paper and nuetella which we gave away to everyone. they liked that. there are no balconys on any of the rooms. internet in the lobby worked well, $1 cuc for an hour. get an extra card for your room and you will always have the air conditioning on and waiting for you. there are no high pressure sales here, the beach venders were the most shy polite people i ever dealt with, prices to low to haggle with. lots of canadians and the rest were french italian and one american. everyone got on great. at first gave us two beds, but right away we got the king we wanted room 235. you really want to be away from the beach in the afternoon as it gets windier then, and the pool entertainer was way too loud for hours in the afternoon, no reason to scream like that into a microphone, so we always had to escape. there is a disco, some enjoyed going there. the evening show we saw was all italian and french, but we still enjoyed it. there is no hurricane damage and this place is in marvelous shape, very little maintenance required. oh, we needed medical, for both of us, there is a nurse on 24/7 and a doctor everyday but sunday, but is always within phone call away. with my diagnosis and the two medicines, and my wifes treatment and her two medications and with the delivery by cab from guanabo, the total cost for all this.....$70. thank you peter and anna and the other nurses. [Details]

We had a great 2-week stay in Room 202 - a junior suite on the ground floor. The room was perfect - large, quiet and comfortable, with a nice private patio sitting area behind. We found the food far better than expected, the staff friendly and helpful and the location wonderful. We loved the ability to go into Havana, while at the same time having a nice beach and pool. The natural area with lots of birds was a bonus.
Our room came with a nice bed, plenty of clean towels and good-quality soap, shampoo, etc.
The resort was extremely clean and tidy. Staff were always cleaning. Very nice! [Details]

We were a party of 8, and all very much enjoyed ourselves. Of our group, 6 of the 8, are very experienced Cuba travelers, so we know very much what to expect. This hotel by Cuban standards, very much met our expectations and in many ways surpassed it, based on its price and star rating.

Here is my summary:

My review/thoughts on the Bravo Club Hotel Arenal:
-small All inclusive resort 4* (149 rooms) located about 24km from Havana,
-We flew into Varadero, so there was a 1 1/2 hr bus ride to the resort
- there are 3 buildings with the guest rooms, some have no walk out patio or balcony, some have patio, some have French balconies. To upgrade from basic room to walk out patio when at the resort was 20 CUC per night. All rooms have safe, TV, shower, AC etc. --You get 1 large bottle of water in your room, after that you have to buy water at the shop but it is cheap, 1 CUC for 1.5 litres
-we all were able to do a late check out and keep our rooms until 6pm for 20 CUC per room
-there is one main buffet restaurant and the 24 hr snack bar at the pool. There are no a la cartes, but you are an easy cab ride or 15-20 min walk to many restaurants in nearby town of Guanabo
-there is the 24 hr pool bar, lobby bar and small beach bar located just up from the beach
-the resort is located on the beach. It is a natural beach, attended by hotel staff, with ample beach chairs and umbrellas. There is one large pool located centre resort
-there is WIFI in the lobby (must buy time, 2 CUC per hour), small store
-evening entertainment with musicians, dancers, etc
- there is the entertainment/animation club for the daytime, as well as a kids club
-probably 60-70% of guests are Italian, the rest Canadian or other nationality
-staff speak reasonable English, are very friendly and helpful
-the food was some of the best we have experienced on resorts in Cuba
-the rooms are in good repair, just let the water run in the shower for about 10 min to get hot water
-towels (both in room and for the pool/beach) were not a problem, always available and of good quality, not thread bare like on many Cuban resorts
-the entire resort is very compact, in very good repair, would be fairly easy for someone with mobility issues to navigate
-the majority of guests staying here choose it for the easy access to Havana, as there is a free shuttle Thurs to Sun (must be booked with front desk) or it is 15-20 CUC for a taxi for 4 people (one way)
- even though we were quite familiar with Havana, as we stayed there a full week in 2011, we took the Havana city tour and it was excellent. As well we went to the Tropicana Cabaret (buy the second best seat option, 85 CUC per person, as it actually the best seats), and the Vinales Valley day trip. All were very worth it.
- you can exchange your money at the front desk and book tours and taxis right from the resort
-Overall.....if you want a solid resort (by Cuban standards) that gives you the beach and AI option and also easy access to Havana, I can HIGHLY recommend this resort. If you are looking for something that is big, flashy, loud and full of parties, this resort will be too quiet for you. [Details]

Initially, I was surprised at how low-key and not busy it was. And then it grew on me. No line-ups, no waking up early to get a chair by the pool or a good spot on the beach. Food was pretty good. Smaller selection than other resorts I had been to, but food had some really good flavors and selection was varied day to day.Rooms were clean, mine was pretty spacious. If you are looking for a real relaxing get-away this is a good spot. Not loud at night; most go to Havana to party.
Downfalls were paying for water, but overall, that wasn't that big of an issue. The drive from Varadero is about 1.5 hours, but I do believe you can also fly into Havana. It seems a popular place for Italians, but not exclusively.
You can take nice long walks on the beach in either direction. It's a narrow beach, but plenty of space for the guests. [Details]

Great location to visit La Habana and get an all inclusive beach resort to combine sightseeing and relax at a great price. [Details]

The hotel is new and clean. Staff spoke very little English. There is very little to do if the weather isn't good. Pool table (cost to play) and a gym. [Details]