Villa La Mar

Please be aware this resort recently poisoned all its stray cats even though they were being fed and cared for by animal protectors. If you love animals choose a resort that has a cat cafe. This means the resort makes a commitment not to poison their strays and allows protectors to enter and provide care and food for the dogs and cats. If you have not been to Cuba be aware that there are no laws to protect animals. They are at the mercy of kind Cubans and tourists, do your part and don't condone murder. [Details]

would never stay here again. on a road, blocks from beach. [Details]

The hotel was not great [Details]

We wanted a cheap get a way from winter and it's exactly what we got. We wanted to experience Cuba as it really is and we got that at this in town location.Cubans are friendly people and we never felt threatened. If you are looking for luxury go elsewhere at twice the price. We spend all day outside and used the room only to snooze and re-energize. Everyone complains about the food but we found breakfast to be the most like home with eggs and toast. [Details]

The staff at villa la mar and at la sur le mar were extremely friendly and helpful - always willing to make our stay very pleasant. [Details]

Staff and crew were awesome at the hotel. There could be a few more cleaning procedures to make things a little more tolerable. But overall, the staff made all feel comfortable. [Details]

If you have traveled a lot and have a small budget, this 2star property would be perfect for you! The room was big and clean, and bug free. It is a very basic property, with basic food (took my own spices) and basic drinks. The beach is 3 short blocks away. Most of the staff were friendly and helpful. A la carte restaurant was closed. It is very safe in Cuba, so you are free to walk around at night where you will find lots of restaurants within walking distance. The Mar del Sur is right next door and you can use their facilities along with the Club Tropical on the beach. I would definitely stay there again and recommend it to my travel clients. [Details]

fine if you want to stay within a low budget, and don't expect more then you paid for...but don't go here with high expectations. [Details]

Do not go with great expectations. This is a 2* in Cuba. We have been many times to Cuba, and actually enjoyed this trip as much if not more than some. If you like being with the Cubans,then you would like this location, as it is easy to meet them. Also, many small restaurants in walking distance. Be careful, though, if a Cuban invites you to their home or a club. Be sure it is clear what you are expected to pay. We had an excellent meal at a Cuban home near our hotel,as a mutual acquaintance had made the contact. We were expected to pay 10cuc each. At the end of the meal, the Cuban mama asked 13cuc for each of us. Our contact told us to stick with the orginal agreement and not pay more.
The son had invited us to go to a local bar and said he would order the drinks as he pays less as a Cuban. Unfortunately, the last two friends who stayed with him, were told they owed for the son and themselves 35cuc(The son drank ALOT). They initially refused, saying that the had not given permission to the son to charge everything under their names. The son he would get "in trouble", so they paid. Best to just pay as you go-never run a bill!!! Luckily, we had not gone.
Like any tourist area in a poor country,some locals will try to take advantage. BUT generally, the Cubans are an honest, proud people.
Food is repetitive but plentiful. As expected, lack of vegetable selection. Great soups. New Year's Eve, we had a wonderful meal with an amazing selection. [Details]

Bedding was thin but mattresses weren't bad. I suggest bringing your own pillows as well. Rooms quite small but then who spends time in their rooms when there is a beach! The staff were great and helpful. Loved our bartender Luis in the 24 hr lounge. [Details]

If you looking for luxury that ain't the one!!
But for me as a traveler and culture digger, comfort was great, service was ther to help at any time, close to actual cuban culture, 2 min walk from the beach not even!!! Close to any amnities needed such as: small shops,souvenirs,cuban bars and great restaurant, rooms were clean and very useful and efficient for my needs when i got in, great service and very helpful!!!! Overall on a scale from 1-10, i would give a good 8!!! [Details]

The food isn't as bad as people make it out to be you can usually find one or two things worth eating the sweets and fruit is actually pretty good.I did however pickup a stomach bug on my last day.Room was clean but plain and the resort has seen better times mostly it seemed empty [Details]

location is great, sunwing rep did not show up daily and gave us misleading info/useless completely, ROOM HAD NOTHING BUT 2 BEDS, and TV, unacceptable [Details]

I never understand people who complain about Cuba, do your research first! The people are wonderful and always remember you, especially if you are canadian :) [Details]

I was given a good room quick. Within minutes I was swimming in the ocean. Entertainment was great every night. Food is simple but fresh and local. If you like burgers, fries and steak you will be dissapointed but I love fresh fruit, roots and grains that taste real. There are plenty of things to eat at the restaurant. Take hot sauce and spices with you because they dont have any. The staff are very friendly and the place is clean. i will go again. [Details]

My experience in this hotel was positive in overall. I wasn't sure about it at first with the treatment my husband and I had during the flight check-in, the agent that served us was so rude. We came back on Thursday, April 4th. Food was ok, every day they had different protein options, though the accompaniments were pretty much the same. We could manage to book a la carte for one day, and the food was pretty good. Some other days, when we were really bored at the food or simply because we couldn't stand the smell of the buffet restaurant (mostly when they cooked lamb) we ate in other very nice restaurants surrounding and the food was great. The room was clean, with new towels every day with such a cute work on them by our maid, I took pics of all the stuff she did with them!
My husband got bitten by mosquitoes too, but it wasn't a big deal this time thankfully, since he's usually allergic to the “tropical ones”, it looks like. I also saw some ants in the room, I didn't know where they were coming from, but anyway, they didn't really bother me since I'm also originally from a tropical country and I'm used to insects.
The infrastructure of the hotel is good, and thankfully it looks like they're gonna change the old mattresses the rooms have now soon. The pool is pretty and clean, the staff is generally friendly with some exceptions from the Front Desk – they were just like the hot water in the rooms, sometimes it worked fine, sometimes not. Some of them were very helpful, and some of them just try their best to get rid of you asap. If you need to wake up early, just bring a clock with you because their wake up call service looks like never really works well, and as it was said before in other reviews, there's no radio watches in the rooms.
Once in the beach bar they were serving pop with no ice, and it wasn't cold. The same happened in the lobby bar one night, I guess the staff responsible did it on purpose so I wouldn't ask for more as it was my second cup. The containers for tips are everywhere, they're such a bunch of beggars – and it's not only there, it's like that everywhere in Cuba, so far I heard and could see. They really think we have money trees in our home land – in our tour to Havana they were so annoying, approaching us all the time.
If you ask any national to take a pic of you, they might ask you probably to pay for it, it's incredible. And what really impresses me is that the tour crew doesn't really do anything to make them stop annoying the tourists, not the same in Brazil, for instance. The tour to Havana was ok, but it looked to me that the Tour Crew was more committed to financial interests than to give us the opportunity to see and take pics of interesting things – I guess we probably stopped more for shopping purposes than to touristic spots really. For lunch, which was included in the tour, we stopped in a very nice restaurant and they recommended us to get chicken or pork as options, alleging that the fish wasn't good – but I'm pretty sure they just didn't want to pay the price of the fish meal, which I could notice it's usually slightly more expensive in most of restaurants we visited.
So if you want to explore Havana, I recommend you to prepare a list of “must see” and take a bus in the Varadero station which is 10 pesos. Then for food, you could visit one of the “Paladar” restaurants which can be found in a lot of locations in Havana and also in Varadero too. While we were there, we distributed paper and pencils for kids, and in our hotel we distributed some clothing items, paper and pencils too to those ones we thought that made the difference for our trip.
We stayed at 9310, and it was pretty quiet and also had a balcony with a nice view. The beach is simply stunning, clean and the water is clear and great for swimming. The location is also very good, and the old cars that serve the city as taxis are in pretty good shape. For cigars and drinks shopping I would highly recommend you to buy at the airport in your return. Prices are the same everywhere and they have more variety. [Details]

Bring mosquito repellent, they are small and leave nasty bites behind, bring things from the dollar store as gifts to give out easily, as many products are not available. Do not expect great food, as very little food of good quality is available. The staff is great and care about working there. [Details]

I stayed at this resort to experience a 2star resort.I booked too early and paid a little too much.Try not to stay on the 3rd floor as the water pressure is very poor,plenty of hot water.Other people on the same floor had the same problem,but people on the 1st floor said all is well.The rooms do not come with a fridge which is very bad considering how hard it is to get ice in Cuba.Another thing I didn't like was you couldn't get beer at the main bar,only at the pool bar,but only til 10pm then you are out of luck unless you walk across the street and buy your own like we did.If you drink hard stuff then you can do so at the main bar all night long.The beach was a fair hike but as we had rented scooters it wasn't a problem.The food was okay,just not much selection and it was luke warm at best.We ate out a lot.The staff weren't overly friendly but not rude either.It was a great place to meet people cause we were all on a budget and we seemed to all get along so well.It was my 5th time to Cuba and stayed at a 5,4 and twice at a 3star and never met such great people as I did here.But if you are a 5 or 4star type of person this is not the place for you.My room was clean and the maid service was good,although my air conditioner didn't work,I didn't complain cause I was hardly ever in my room and the breeze was nice when I opened the patio door.The side I faced was next to the hiway but the noise wasn't too bad,but not good if your a light sleeper.The location is good,local bars nearby and shops were in walking distance.The entertainment was pretty good,they get the audiance involved and it is a good time.I didn't see much for young people there,I would say mid-forties and up,not much to do for the younger crowd...I guess thats about it,any questions feel free to ask... [Details]

You get what you pay for!I got a good last minute booking so I was happy with value for price. Good clean 2.5 star. Run down not spotless but clean.
Water always hot, about half the pressure you get at home.
Friendly Staff.
A little too tolerant of belligerent drunks!
Food- average I guess but no complaints.8-102 hot main dishes, salads,veggies, fruit, pastries and 2 kinds of ice cream. Breakfast An Omelette station and fresh fruit, Dinner I always found a couple of main dishes that I liked and lots of dessert. Not a high end steak house, and they had local dishes. If you go expecting Home cooking and menu you probably be disappointed. Never had lunch there , was out and about. Did not see snack bar; at pool, serving much or open.
Beach - 2.5 short block walk, 3 - 5 minute walk. Great long "Public Beach'for roaming and enjoying. No private enclosures or block offs.
Bar - weak: liquor& Beer - no problem. No "mixed drinks", Small plastic cups 1/2 rum or and little room for mix. Bring an insulated Travel Mug to save repeated trips and keep your drink cold. NO BAR AT BEACH.
No safes, No Internet.
Bring a 3 into 2 electrical plug adapter for Canadian electrical cord plugs and power converter if you need to run electrical stuff.
was on 4th floor- Stairs No elevator
Close to downtown, banking etc.
Weak Night Life, if that's what you are looking for. Dead after dinner except for weak show or drinking [Details]

I don't know why people put so bad reviews for this hotel; it's a 2 star hotel, don't expect a castle!
Sure, the food wasn't very good (although I'm a vegetarian so I only had spaghetti and rice all week, but we went to a couple restaurants that was only $10 for drinks, food and a good tip included!
The breakfast was pretty good, the bartender at the beach is the sweetest guy (tip him $5 a day if u have a lot of drinks! We tipped him $10 a day). The beach is amazing and the hotel has the best location in Varadero; in the middle of the city. It's honestly just a three min walk to the beach, but maybe the people that wrote ten mins walk like snails? One thing: if you're a party animal and want to hear music, bring a speaker! I thought the bar would play music but luckily we made friends that partied all day and played Spanish music!

The hotel was clean, we had no bugs and the cleaning lady changed our towels every day. The only annoying thing was the showers because not much water came, but it was always warm.
We didn't spend much time at the hotel but mostly on the beach hanging out and drinking, but the bars at the hotel was also nice, although not as nice bartenders.
There is a Internet cafe about five mins walk, but there was always a lot of people in line. I just wanted to send my mom an email to say we're alive but you don't really need it anyways when you're on vacation. However for the people who wants, it's 6 peso for an hour.

The tourists there were all awesome; a lot of Canadians, Russians and Finnish people. Also the few Cubans we met were all real fun!
We made great friends and had an awesome time there.

There's also a nightclub 30 streets away on Calle 62 which is called Havana Club, and it had a nice bar next to it for pre drinks.

Don't expect too much of the food or a 5 star hotel and you'll be pleased as a peach! [Details]

cleanliness is poooor [Details]

horrible, ruin the vacation [Details]

Where to start? Ran out of beer on the third day, food was like slop, the m smelled, and I could go on and on but it's not worth my time or effort. If you want to know more, joevg3@hotmail.com [Details]

As everyone else has said, it's a fairly rundown resort but the weather is gorgeous, the pool is nice and the staff is pretty good. Bar's close at 12 and they are pretty strict after that. You can get rum bottles for 5.20 though so it's not bad. Beach is unbelievably nice. There are tonnes of locals and Russians. There are lots of great restaurants within walking distance of the resort. I had a great time overall, just don't spend much time in your room! [Details]

Very nice, authentic, secure Hotel [Details]

Over all an enjoyable experience, booking the lowest priced vacation package we expected low quality but Villa La Mar was actually better than expected, rooms pretty bare/basic but were clean, AC worked great, Food was pretty good with enough variety that you could find something enjoyable, BUT, dining room table cloths were very dirty which made dining rather unappetizing but if you can fear factor your way through you could enjoy it. A few tipping of staff and they made sure to treat you better and cater to you than the other non-tipping guests and staff were very appreciative of even the smallest peso. Location though not beach side was still only short walk to beach and great location for touring town. I would go back but also If I had a little more budget I might consider a higher star rated spot beach side. [Details]

The whole hotel was very dirty and not well kept at all. I was given a very bad room with no view. I also had been bitten by bed bugs, so I had to leave within 2 hours of sleeping there and switched to a different room. Both rooms have very noisy window unit air condition. I had to switch to a different hotel the next day and paid extra. I have taken a picture of the bed bugs I killed in that hotel and attached below. [Details]

The staff was wonderful and very friendly. The location was great for walking, shopping and people watching. Very safe area for a woman traveling alone. The only area that I thought that could use some work was the food. Most days it was cold and was mostly the same choices. I could always find something to eat, but the selection was always the same. There is a bathroom and bar at the beach, but no food. [Details]

We upgraded to a better room and were very happy with that. The food was not great but there were plenty of resturants within walking distance. It was fun to walk over to the beach. I did get some sand flee bites that were very itchy and I put afterbite on them. The main street was fun to walk as well. I left all my shoes there and treated myself to a new pair when I got home. Friendly happy people in Cuba, I would like CanadaCuba to be one country! [Details]

Well...the hotel is not quite good because the water keep leaking from the hall ceiling and floor wet...very cautious to slip out. While sleep, the smell was awful like sewer..couldn't stand. The staff are friendly and helpful. [Details]