Hotel Los Cactus

2nd visit for a period of one month to this hotel. Once again, we saw how Cubans are kind, attentive, hard-working and eager to please us. The site is super beautiful, not super big with lots of vegetation and flowers. The rooms are large and clean. The food.... it's Cuba, you shouldn't expect too much. On the other hand, they manage to work miracles with what they have. Even after 4 weeks, we haven't really lost weight so..... [Details]

Very friendly, small and cozy resort. Well maintained beautiful grounds, cleanness over all territory. Excellent beach, roomy rooms with both types of power plugs(110/220). Big balconies. Food is typical for Cuban resorts but you never feel hungry :)) Music & Dance shows every night. No children, adults only. I'm returning to Los Cactus every year for already 12 years, sometime even twice a year. [Details]

Los Cactus has the friendliness staff in Varadero. The beach is amazing, rooms are clean and if you are looking for a relaxing vacation where they make you feel like home, stay at Los Cactus [Details]

Feb 5, 2023

I've just returned from an enjoyable week at Be Live Cactus Adults Only. I recommend this resort and may return. Like every resort, there are positives and negatives. Here is a brief over:

Very Good Food:
The food is very good, especially by Cuban standards. Of my 4 Cuban all inclusives experiences, this is the only hotel where the food was very good. In Jan 2020, I stayed at the RUI in Cabo San Lucas. The RUI had more variety, but the food at the Cactus tasted better.

Older Cliental: "More sedate and less spring break".
This hotel reminds me of a early retirement home for Canadians 50 . If you are thinking that "adults only" means Club Med, you are mistaken. You will meet a lot of folks Jay Leno's age, not many Justin Bieber's age. For somebody my age (59) this is a good thing, mostly. But, I did miss some of the youthful energy of familles and younger people.

Amazing Beach:
The beach at the hotel is spectacular. Powder soft sand, warm water, plenty of lounge chairs, plenty of shade. One of the most beautiful beaches in the world.

Large Comfortable Rooms:
The rooms are large 1 bedroom suites build in the 1980s. The king size bed is in the main room, then in a second room is a futon bed / couch. Theses rooms would be great for families, yet this is an adults only resort. The rooms are in good condition, spacious and comfortable.

Hot Water:
There were hot water issues. I understand parts are backordered. The hot water in my room worked from 2pm to 7pm. Once understood, it was not a major inconvenience. It is so hot outside, you have the ocean, the pools and a hot shower when planned. Hopefully, by the time you read this, the hot water issue will have been resolved.

Layout of the Resort:
The resort is compact. The lobby at one end, the main dining room and entertainment stage and pool at the other, with the ocean beyond. Townhouse style buildings of about 8 units clustered between the two. The building are 2 stories with lower and upper units. Older seniors, not wanting stairs prefer the lower units. I stayed in an upper unit, and had a partial ocean view. It takes about 5 min to walk from the lobby to the main dining and pool area.

Great Entertainment:
Cuba always has great entertainment. This resort was no exception. Every night at 9 o'clock there is a performance. During the day, at lunch or dinner or around the pool there are often singers, or dancers.

The Staff:
Good staff. Some have been there 30 years.

Wifi:
I'm from Canada and used the $15 a day data roaming option from my Canadian phone company. It worked everywhere in Cuba. I did not use the wifi, I understand it worked ok, but required constantly reconnection.

Tipping:
I tipped $1US per drink. $1US every time I had a meal. I left the maid $3 US, or $5 Cdn daily.

Currency:
I brought 150 $1 US bills for tipping. If you bring $10s and $20s, the bartenders can exchange them for you. I'm Canadian, but opted for US bills instead Canadian coins, as the Cuban's prefer bills. You are fine with Canadian bills.

In summery, this is a very good resort and while not the fanciest all-inclusive, I had a great experience. I hope to return. [Details]

We enjoyed our sun destination. Friendly staff, beautiful beach, ok food … dreadful Wifi [Details]

So nice to see my favorite resort after two years of no travel and the "familiar "faces of the staff who work there [Details]

We stayed at Los Cactus initially from January 3rd until the 10th but ended up leaving on the 15th because we tested positive for Covid.

We had a great experience at the resort. Absolutely all of the staff was friendly and the service was amazing.

The beach staff was really friendly and helpful. Yasmany at the beach had coconuts available anytime we wanted them and it was awesome.

The lady who cleaned our bedroom was really friendly and even had flowers waiting for us at one point.

When we got covid, the staff was really good at checking in on us and making sure we had what we wanted for our meals.

The room was clean and renovated and we really enjoyed it.

The food was ok and we had a great Cuban meal at the Mojito restaurant in the resort.

They had activities every night after dinner and they were very entertaining.

The pool was clean and I saw staff cleaning it every day.

The reception staff was really good and it was easy getting wifi topped up. [Details]

We really enjoyed our time here! The people were friendly, the rooms were clean and spacious. The beach was AMAZING!!!!! [Details]

We weren't advised that the resort was run down. Some units were remodeled and lovely but our suite had toilets that leaked and didn't flush properly. We complied at the front desk and asked about moving to another suite. They said they would see about the plumbing. Two days later, still nothing done, returned to front desk and they said the would send someone over. A fellow came flushed the toilet and said that the towel around the toilet was nearly dry and that he would be back the next morning at 9:00 am.we waited until lunchtime and no one ever came. My husband found that the toilet tank was leaking and tightened the bolts. That seemed to stop the strem of water. He the found that the handle wouldn't work and looked and saw that the washer and not had fallen off into the tank. So he fixed that. There was also a sink tap that wobbled all over the place when you turned it on. Black mould around the caulking on the bathtub. Chair in sitting area had broken slats under the cushion. The maid took it and they did repair that.I can see that it could be a lovely resort when updates are done but we were unprepared for the condition of the section we stayed in. Beach was beautiful. Locals were wonderful. They need to advise what has been updated and what has not so you can book accordingly. [Details]

Small, older resort. Needs updating. [Details]

We had another enjoyable time at Los Cactus. This is our third visit to Los Cactus so we know what to expect. We had wonderful weather so that certainly helps. If you have traveled to Cuba you probably know the positives and the negatives. The beach is absolutely beautiful and you can walk for miles if you are so inclined. We always have lots to eat. The Italian restaurant is always good. The hotel is good value in our opinion for an adults only resort. A few negative points this year was a $20 charge for our security box in our room which apparently began in November...the resort ran out of wine for a couple of days which was apparently a problem for all of Cuba. They also ran out of vodka which apparently upset some visitors who only drank vodka. The hot tubs were not working properly. There are always lots of beach chairs at the beach and the pool. The evening shows are always entertaining. There is always room for improvements but we will likely return for all the positive aspects the resort offers. [Details]

The beaches were lovely!! Plenty of chairs and umbrellas. The beach bar was a nice environment although, there could have been more variety of food. We stayed in room 631 in the three story building which was just fine. However, we had been in building C room 121, which had no air conditioning, hot water or pressure. Beautiful patios but 1 chair?
I understand from other guests that it is under new ownership and they are very dissatisfied with things as they are. Such as a shortage of wine at mealtimes, and in the bars they often ran out of liquor and other drinks. My worst experience came in the buffet; where birds flew all over and were constantly picking at the food, buns and rice. Also, we never seated at supper time and there was never a clean table!! No service whatsoever! Service was better in the day, there one very good gentleman who tried his best to accommodate everyone.
If these issues are addressed I would love to come back but I fear some of the damage is done and word has got out. [Details]

I have been to Hotel for the past five years and it is going downhill. Casino night was gone. Food was a disaster, the same thing every day.
I would not recommend this hotel at all. Spend a little more and go elsewhere [Details]

Very nice people, nice beach, horrible hotel conditions. [Details]

The hotel is older and definitely in need of some upkeep if, however, it was clean and the staff were amazing!!! [Details]

My husband and myself stayed @ the los cactus from the 2nd to the 10Th November 2019 . We had originally booked a room at the Junior suite section which by the looks of it is newly renovated but where provided the option to upgrade to the suites in Block I which was much closer to the beach and pool area for an extra 100$ CAD which we didn't mind paying for the convenience factor ( 2 minutes to the pool and 5 minutes to the beach ). The suite was spacious with an extra room ,comfortable bed , big balcony , with surprisingly good water pressure from the shower and warm water . We had 2 AC in the suite which helped on those crazy humid days . The hotel is on the older side , built with a colonial Cuban design in mind , especially the lobby area , it does have a large variety of flora and fauna especially the cactus variety . The hotel has an Intimate feeling with just a few bars and 2 a la carte restaurants :- Cuban and Italian . We tried the Cuban restaurant, the food was mediocre , nothing special but again Cuba is not know for its cuisine , I did carry my own hot sauces which helped add some flavour to the food . The a la carte is not available on all days and we where not informed of the schedule in advance , so many a time we went to make a reservation only to be told it's a buffet only day which was an inconvenience as well as booking widow was limited . The food was not the best and did upset mine and my husbands stomach, glad we carried tuna tins & snack from Canada which helped a lot . The drinks where watered down and my husband is not much of a drinker but enjoys couple select cocktails like mojitos but to our surprise the resort ran out of mint for couple of days as well as not much of a premium liquor selection available . We liked the idea of an adults only resort with no kids and hoped to meet other younger couples ( We are in our early 30's) however majority of the guest where Older retired folks but it didn't bother us , we meet a lot of other people from Canada . The pool was old & smaller then the ones we have been to at other resorts , with the lining almost coming off , it had jacuzzis which where not functioning, mediocre at the best , however the water was clean and it helped that there were not many guest at resort so we always got our pick of the pool chairs no matter what time of the day . The jewel of the resort is the beach , it was amazing the water and sand , clear & pristine with plenty of beach chairs and shade . My only complain that the bar at the beach was a bit of a walk and they don't have Servers on the beach like other resorts but again it's not a 5 star resort . Wifi is only available at the pool & lobby area and is limited with a cost of 1 CUC per hour . Also we are late risers in the morning and always missed breakfast, what did not help is that the resort doesn't have a 24 hour snack station therefore whenever we woke up late in the morning we had no food from 10 am to 11.30 pm unless we got some snacks from the snack bar the previous night . The resort all in all is good and close to downtown Varedaro . We had a good time . Some staff where very helpful like Ariel for helping us contact our travel agent and assisting with any requests , Maikel who was very helpful in suggesting good restaurants and night life and arranging our late checkout since our flight was at 10 pm (we paid An extra 35 CUC for it) Hugo for helping with arranging the money collection for our Havana trip , @ the buffet Roberto & German for great service , Theresa and ladies at the Lobby bar where always welcoming , friendly and helpful . Overall we had a good trip . [Details]

The resort was small and easily accessible to the beach, pool, buffet, and only a 5mins bus or cab drive to mall of America or downtown Varadero to shop or eat. I highly recommend eating at the rooftop restaurant, The La Vaca Rosada, the "Pink Cow", on "casa 21" street. It had delicious food, quick and friendly service. We ate the filet minon and chicken cordon bleu.
The resort pool is huge, but needs to be overhauled as the lining is literally falling apart. The food at the buffet, and a la carte was awful, the quality and variation. Most of the guest got sick off the food. After we got sick, we stuck with the bread, cheese and deli meat and the panini press all week. The beach was amazing! Lots of beach chairs and beds, and if there wasn't one, the staff would put up an umbrella wherever needed. The grounds and rooms are clean, but are in need of a serious update (which I heard was coming in the near future), with these updates and change of chef/caterer, this resort would be off the hook! Because the resort was so small, we got to meet most of the guests and made friends while were there, which was a highlight to our trip! [Details]

great place to relax great location
buffet lacking in variety [Details]

The hotel was musty and mouldy, thankfully they were able to give us another room. However that was only the beginning of our no so great vacation. Minimal lighting throughout the resort many many trip hazards. [Details]

More cons than pros. Here is my list.
--Reception is slow. No welcome of any kind
-- room was huge. Mold on curtains, bathroom door and ceiling. Air conditioning was not working. Had to switch to another rm on the 3rd day.
-- no service with a smile at any bar.
-- buffet service was lacking. Got my water and spoon 4 out of the 7 days.
-- beach was amazing!
-- very dark pathways. 2 out of 8 ppl that I travelled with got seriously hurt. Broken leg, other friend concussion with brain bleed. Back and neck injury.
* nobody spoke English.
-- ambulance service came hour after accident. No neck brace and did not strap her in when on stretcher, almost fell when lifting her. Very scary. Not to mention the lack of cleanliness in the clinic or hospital
-- not sure why ppl keep returning....
-- it says international brands are included.... that is a huge lie.... no international brands whatsoever! [Details]

I am extremely impressed with this resort.
I travelled solo from March 2-9, 2019. Enjoyed every moment of my vacation.
I've been to Cuba once before (last year) at a different resort... doesn't compare.
I was a bit disappointed on the first night once I realized that there is a slightly older crowd (30-60's)ish... However I am 26 and ended up making a TON of new friends. Literally everyone I met was extremely friendly. The staff constantly impressed me. Room was always clean.
I stayed in Block B.
Block A is near the lobby... Block F & J is closest to the pool area.
Would NOT recommend staying in the Junior Suites building.
Hallways are dark, entire building echoes (can hear every door shut on your floor).
Location of the hotel was nice as it was only a 2 minute bus ride into Varadero 1st Ave... However, the bus stop is a bit of a walk.
Note** When you go to the roundabout where the bus stop is, the stop to the RIGHT goes to all the resorts and then to town. The bus stop to the LEFT goes directly to Varadero. This is the difference of about 30-45 mins additional to your bus ride.
The resort feels like a bit of a maze for the first couple days but it doesn't take long to get a feel for the grounds.
This resort is well kept and is more than worth the price!
I have made plans with a group of new friends for us all to meet next March... yes, at THIS resort.
4 stars
-pool/grounds (bit of a maze and pools were cooler in the evening)
-room (because of the Jr Suites building - eck)
-food/restaurants (food was much better than last year, but it's Cuba... not amazing but not bad at ALL!!)
-location (because of the distance to walk to the bus stop)
1 Star
- Internet access / Wi-Fi... It's Cuba! Get off your damn phones lol

(Excuse my spelling on the local bars...)

Notes:
La Bamba is located at the resort next door, it is a 5 CUC cover for men, women don't have to pay (some ask for the $$ but you don't actually have to pay). Drinks are about 3 CUC each. It's small but PACKED. Only open Saturday nights.

Compass Bar is a small hole in the wall, night to hang out there with locals, chat over a few drinks sitting outside.

Beatles Bar - try to get there around 8 or so to get a table.

La Compasita & Casa De La Musica - didn't go to either but both came highly recommended by locals.

Tattoos - I got 2 tattoos while in town. Would HIGHLY recommend going to A Lo Cubano Tattoos Studio (on 50 St / 1st Ave) Open 9am to 8pm Mon-Fri. CLEAN and extremely TALENTED. [Details]

Our check-in was fairly quick, even though we arrived with a large group. We got a bit lost on our way to our room but the staff were very kind and kept pointing us in the right direction. We paid for an ocean view junior suite, but when we got to our room you couldn't see the ocean at all, and the ceiling in the bathroom was caving in. I called reception and they said they had another room on the floor above, and new keys were brought to us very quickly. The new room was great, and the view was amazing. The bed wasn't very comfortable, and the tension rod holding the shower curtain came down a few times. Our housekeeper was fantastic, our room was kept super clean. The beach was beautiful, plenty of chairs. It's pretty breezy down by the beach, but it makes sitting in the sun for hours pleasant. The food was really good, I was expecting so much worse from other reviews, but the food was great! It does get a bit repetitive after a while, but we broke it up by having a la carte dinners in the restaurants 4 times during our stay, and we also spent one day in Havana (independently, not through the excursions offered). Overall, it was a great trip. The staff were so friendly and attentive, always had a table waiting for us in the restaurants, always smiling, refilling our water, bringing us coffee and cappuccinos. Our waiter on the last day even made us roses out of napkins! We had an amazing time. [Details]

I went with my 3 daughters for a few days of sun and relaxation. The facilities were decent; the grounds were lovely and well kept; the staff mostly very friendly; rooms adequate; food okay; beach beautiful. The activity leaders were fun and enthusiastic and we enjoyed beach and water volleyball daily. The rooms had damp smell to them and the beds were hard. The resort ran out of tequila on the second day of our stay and on the Sunday of our stay, the buffet was sparse with only fish as a main course. We loved the beach and the kayaking, paddle boats and Hobies and all in all had a great time.They ran out of internet cards on our third day. [Details]

cant say anything negative for this resort! the beach here is amazing and the rooms are very nice and the staff are very friendly. there is a band that plays their music around the resort and they are the best! would be nice if the snack bar was open more often or had more options, but i did travel in the off season so i cant blame them! [Details]

Service is good but be prepared to tip. For Cuba food is great! Some rooms are newer than others. Some of the older ones are a bit dated but clean and nice. Pool is HUGE and cleaned every morning. Beach is goergeous. You can pay 20 cuc a person to go out on a boat with just a few people for an hour in the water with so many fishes you can swim through them. [Details]

This is our 14th time at this resort. Once again we had a fantastic time! The food was good, actually hot, our room was excellent (with an ocean view) and the people were amazing. We love it here, and this year we went into Varadero to the Beatlemania bar, and that was amazing. The band was amazing but they didn't play too many Beatle's songs! The selection they did play was fantastic!! We went to a new restaurant in Varadero, called the Pink Cow (not sure of the actual name) on 21 Street...absolutely fantastic. Even the steak was good. My only complaint this year (and previous years)is that they have the aquafit at 12 noon?? Why?? I would like it if they did it at 11am. Other than that I really can't say I had much to complain about. Thanks again to staff at Hotel Los Cactus!! See you next year :-)
Norm & Judy Gratton [Details]

FIRST ROOM HAD A DAMP SMELL TO IT AND THE MOLD WAS EVERYWHERE, SECOND ROOM NOT AS BAD. THIRD MOVE WAS TO A SUITE WHICH WAS VERY NICE [Details]

Hotel Los Cactus is a really nice clean resort with a beautiful beach and close to town. Upon our arrival we received a room in junior suites building. Our room was a bit musty smelling, the air conditioner wasn't working and we had water leaking from the ceiling in the bathroom. The next morning we asked at the desk to move and lady there was more than accommodating. We moved one floor up and had a wonderful room for the remainder of our stay.
This is my 5th trip to Cuba and I know what most say about the food in Cuba, but on prior trips I always enjoyed the food and could always find something to eat. Sadly enough, I cannot say this about the buffet at Hotel Los Cactus. I found that not a whole lot looked appetizing, most everything was cool/cold and buffet staff was not quick to replenish empty dishes on the buffet.
We did however have a wonderful meal at Martino's Italian a la carte on our last evening there, hot and very tasty, we wished we would have discovered Martino's earlier in the week.
The evening shows were great, but there was not much for evening socializing once the show was over. All bars closed except the lobby bar. [Details]

We had a nice room with 2 bathrooms #702. At the end with nice view and large balcony. Visit Duna bar for higher end drinks and great view also quiet area to read. You can always find something to eat at the buffet. But keep a eye on the hours. Make sure you visit Carlos at the beach bar serving up bbq burgers and hot dogs. Pina colada best at lobby bar. Evening entertainment worth watching. Don't miss the aqua show in the pool!

Please tip these people. They work very hard and if you have any issues it's the fault of the owner of the resort. These people are working with what they have available. Some times they don't have mint or maybe you have a cool shower. Get over it. Bring from home clothing you'd be donating. I also took razors, shaving cream, Band-Aids, gum, toothpaste and toothbrushes. They truly appreciate anything. [Details]

Ocean and beach - breathtaking
Food - OK
Sports opportunities - plenty
Bars, Reception - professional, efficient and friendly
Room - terrible disrepair and bad service, not clean enough
Internet - surprisingly good internet, although in the lobby only
Nightly entertainment - fantastic music, great voice talents and good dancers
Weather - priceless [Details]