Varadero

Our stay at Sol Varadero Beach in Cuba was a memorable one. Had a wonderful time. The staff was very friendly. The service was very good, especially our waitress, Sahily. Always greeted with a smile and meeting all our needs. Definitely a hotel that I would go back to.

It was our second time a 2 couples.. great experience. All great the variety of the drinks .. the service.. my favorite restaurant was the Beach Grill .. the food very testy .. in general is great place to relax .. as a tip try to get room near to the lobby..

TL;DR: would recommend, plan to return CONTEXT We recently returned from a one week vacation at Melia Internacional Varadero. As a family, we've been to Cuba more than half a dozen times, but have not been since before the start of the pandemic. THE HOTEL: This was our 1st visit to Melia Internacional. This is an older hotel that was purchased by Melia and renovated in the last couple of years. As a result there is a mix of new & old/established. The hotel is huge with over 900 rooms. 3 main pools as well as a kids pool with pirate theme and slide, great for young kids. There's also a small wading pool for infants as part of the playground near the Cubamigos kids' club. In addition there's another pool for the adults only (cannot speak to as we were not in level or adult). The rooms are great with awesome view regardless of which way you're facing. Unfortunately there is a mold problem in the bathrooms, especially those equipped with bathtubs. This is in part due to the fact that the hotels were closed for so long during the pandemic. A proper treatment of the mold should be undertaken and it is truly the only thing that needs improvement in my opinion. Did not get too check out spa this time. THE FOOD: The main buffet Merkado always had a decent variety of options and had the main stations: fish, meat/chicken, and pasta. We had exceptional service from two wait staff: Aidi and Alicia! And Yaime on the fish station was very attentive! We had three a la carte réservations but only went to two of them. HACIENDA (Mexican): the mini burrito appetizers and the nachos were AMAZING! I was content with the main and the service by the staff was great! CASA NOSTRA (Italian): in my opinion, this a la carte is a must go! The food and the service was amazing! The hostess who seated us was also very attentive and considerate (unfortunately don't remember her name, visited on May 31). The pizza, the pasta and the seafood were all incredible. Even the picky eaters enjoyed it. The tiramisu was delicious, even better than some I've had in Canada. We also went to a restaurant in town which was only a short walk but due to the rain we took a taxi. Overall, we did not go hungry and we did not get sick from any of the food. No complaints at all. THE ENTERTAINMENT: DAYTIME: The entertainment staff are always a pleasure and make the trip truly worthwhile. We participated in Aqua gym, trivia, dancing lesson, and have contests. All were lots of fun! Exceptional staff is definitely Yosbel! He has so much energy and really gets you excited about participating. Bebe also got my kid dancing which was great. David, Daniel, and Rosalba also were good entertainers! EVENINGS: We did not attend much of the evening entertainment but what we did attend we enjoyed. Whether it's a trio band at the Blue Sky Bar or an entire dance party in the Red Bar, or a solo singer. There was also amazing musicians serenading the entire resort from the Gaia bar by the pools (one time it was a clarinet player, another it was a flute player). Overall entertainment was great, caught a glimpse of the kids evening and daytime entertainment and it was also excellent and fun. CLUB HOUSE: towel exchange with Yoel; always a smile and pleasant service. POOL BAR: Amazing attentive staff with two absolute favourites are Claudia and Sergio. We also had good service from Heidi. Drinks were great and delicious. FRONT DESK: All the staff are always willing to help but Alicia often went above and beyond. Truly grateful to her! BELLHOP: Osdany went above and beyond and we also received great service on departure but I don't remember the name of the fellow (lanky/tall/glasses). ROOM CLEANING STAFF: We had amazing experience with Yalennys; making fun designs with the towels and leaving a thoughtful note. RESTAURANT BOOKING: Rosemarie helped us so much with booking our restaurant reservations absolutely fantastic customer service skills! PUBLIC RELATIONS: Kandy was pleasant via email and resourceful when we needed some assistance.

My friend and I recently stayed here for relaxing vacation. And overall I must say not worth it! But you pay for what you get right? For starters some actually most of the stuff isn't very friendly or helpful! And ask for tips way too often they don't wait for you to tip them! But I met a few amazing staff who helped make the trip memorable! The food in the buffet was mediocre and repetitive honestly feel like they need to work on switching it up! The lineups get so long and everything just takes so long! Some days waiters would forget to offer us beverages well one waiter in particular always remembered our drink orders and to check on us! The à la cart restaurant Always claim to be busy and full and when you look in nobody's in there! You have to bribe and pay high money to get onto one of the list which is sad because you already spent a good amount of money just to book the hotel! The room is it that big but I will say for the most part it's clean and well-maintained the mini bar had nothing in it though which made me confuse why is it called a mini bar it was just an empty fridge… and I paid for a room with a fully stocked mini bar but OK! I don't know what bit me but it caused me to have a reaction! The pool is beautiful the beaches are beautiful the bar stuff amazing! The night shows or hit or miss! The resort doesn't really offer much like no adult club or like adult event so if you're looking for like fun wised wouldn't recommend family friendly wise yet definitely! Overall just wasn't pleased but he you live in learn and everything is a learning experience!

We loved everything about our stay here...we wish so much that people would understand what this country has been thru due to their economy and covid enjoy everything they have and appreciate it...gorgeous beach and beautiful people❤️

Très apprécié notre séjour. Le personnel était très sympathique et serviable, la nourriture était vraiment bonne, très belle plage avec plein de chaises sur la plage. La chambre était grande, propre et aérée. Dans l'ensemble, nous avons vraiment aimé le resort

Consider a 5 star in Cuba is a 4 star in other parts of the world. Saying that, it is about the rooms needing a coat of paint and a bit of maintenance. As for the staff, the gardens, the pool, the beach and the restaurants, they were excellent. The theatre show was daily at 9:30pm and lasted an hour. Each night a different show and the performers were amazing. A good sized sandy beach with plenty of parasols, and sun beds. Free large pedalos and paddle boats We took a pedalo way out to sea a couple of times as the sea was calm and clear. You are issued with mandatory life vests. There is also a bar and snack bar by the beach, which was good. The restaurants, The Gourmet and The Mediterranean we managed to book a table twice at each in our 7 day stay. the restaurants really are 5 star compared to the 3/4 star buffet. All staff were welcoming, friendly and attentive. Bring paper money US or Can $ for tips. Everything else like excursions, Covid test, rum and cigar purchases are with a credit card. I used my Mastercard that was issued by a Canadian bank no problem

Great experience, the beach was beautiful and the pool was clean. There was always fun activities animated by the staff that kept us entertained. A special thank you to el choco who always had a great energy and was very welcoming. Every night he was at the club and made everyone dance with his awesome choreographies. We had a lot of fun and we will definitely visit this hotel again.

no sheets on the bed first nigh out, ants/termites in bathroom and sink, could not leave anything on bathroom counter,

The Hotel was just perfect, at first we were in an older villa, but than changed after the first night, I feel they should not continue to book people in that villa. Food was awesome, Beach bar bartender Hernando was the best.