Valentin El Patriarca Varadero

If you set your expectations extremely low this is the right hotel for you. There were a few great Pros but we had quite a few cons.

We would never go back to the resort or recommend it. We would likely stay in Varadero and get a room only so we could eat local food at the restaurants.

Con - no bathroom towels for the first 4 days of our 6 night stay. We were given a couple bath mats after we asked but it took until two days before we left to get full size towels.
Our beach towels weren't allowed to be exchanged for cleans ones the entire stay.

Con - food was not good and they were out of many items for most days if not all the time we were there (eggs, tomato sauce) the quality of food was 5/10 but from what we heard that is about par.
They don't have ketchup or condiments aside from mustard we got with our hot dogs one day. We brought seasoning for our meals which was super helpful. Going back to Cuba I would bring; mayo, ketchup, peanut butter and jam.
Food at the snack bars took a long time especially down by the beach well over an hour to get some cabbage salad and a hamburger.

Con - wifi didn't work properly (this isn't just the resort though) you'll get a small piece of paper that you can barely read the writing on and it may or may not work. Mine worked 75% of the time in the room for the first couple days then would only work in one area of the lobby.

Con - front desk needs more stuff especially at busy times. We waited over an hour to check in at just after 6pm.

Con - bugs are BAD at night. Like really bad, being bug spray and expect to still get eaten alive.

Con - bed are coil spring, we were lucky and got a king size but other couples we spoke to had two singles ended up pushing them together.

Con - the sports (tennis, pingpong, volleyball) you can't play whenever you want. If you can find a staff member that has access to the equipment you're winning! Usually only available between noon and 530pm

Con - music by the pool is only for a few hours in the afternoon

Con - restaurant booking. Their al la carte is hard to get into. We were only able to book two nights because everything else was taken. The Italian isn't very Italian and they were out of most items and the second one we booked was gourmet but was the same as the buffet and snack bar items.

Con - light didn't work in our bathroom [Details]

We were upgraded to the Alegance and cannot expect any better staff, service and food. No complaints with Alegance at all. [Details]

I was there as part of a group celebration for my friend's 50th Birthday. We had a great time. The hotel arranged a beautiful Spa day for us, a special dinner and the chef created a beautiful cake out of a gluten-free boxed cake mix that I brought with us. [Details]

The property itself is lovely, clean and great, fantastic staff work here. The Alegance staff - managers and restaurant staff could not do enough.

The internet was sporadic and we had to reboot every 2 hours, get a new code every day almost. The food was sadly not up to par. There were only three choices of food chicken, beef and fish, prepared the same recipe every day for 7 days. We were told that they did not have any wines except beer and pop! On the 6th day there was red and white wines and champagne, which was very disappointing. We paid for premium service, it was anything but premium. [Details]

This is the third time I have gone to Cuba, and it has been the worst experience that I have ever had. Was told this place was a 5-star hotel and it may be a 2-star hotel. The room was not cleaned and very dark, very little light. Pool was dirty. Got to the hotel at about 1:00 PM and was told the rooms wouldn't be ready until 4:00PM, which took a hour to try to check in. They had one girl working the front desk with 2 other ladies just walking around behind the girl. Everyone knows the food isn't great there, but the food was beyond horrible, I lived on bread. They also kept running out of different drinks at different locations. In the lobby, there was no cola, but there was in the piano bar right beside the lobby. [Details]

Check In: Given room on ground floor that had moldy smell, air conditioner was extremely loud. Power went out and woke up to a puddle of water on the floor.
Next Day: I was changed to an upper room that had just been painted and smelled fine. Beds very hard and uncomfortable.

Food: Every meal was rationed. Given 1 piece of bacon and artificial eggs until the very last day when real eggs finally appeared on the resort. No variety and could not get a requested hamburger the entire stay there, even after speaking with the PR staff, who was useless and gave me the creeps.

Beach: Very small and rocky area of beach compared with the rest of the shoreline we walked on where other resorts were. One day after high winds, smelly seaweed full of garbage blew in and no staff raked it up. It stayed there all day.

Entertainment: Very unprofessional. We went 1 night and they used people from the audience to make up the show. I didn't bother with it after that.

Pools: The pools are not deep enough to swim in, so I found that useless. I wanted to swim and get exercise while there.

Staff: Except for the PR guy (tall, slim, dark haired), all the dining staff were pleasant and worked very hard. They tried their best to please us given what they had to work with. The gardeners were lovely and worked very hard.

Air Transat staff should be on site more often and be of help. We were left to the wolves.

I paid substantially more than other travellers and even at the rate they paid, I would not return to this resort.

Unless and until the sanctions causing rationing are over, I will not return to Cuba. Sad, I will have to remember my trips to Cuba years ago, without the restrictions in food and alcohol availability.

I had the upgraded ambience and this is NOT a 5 star resort. [Details]

I don't complain much and am a pretty easy going traveler. This resort was beautiful, clean, nice pool and beautiful beach. The food is less than good. No butter, no ketchup, no mayo, no soda of any kind except sprite and they would run out around 1pm. No juice except guava juice, hard to find spoons, no coffee in the rooms, and fridge was never filled after complaining for 4 days. Breakfast, lunch and diner was the same thing every day. Rice and fish mixtures. You can get fried fish or pork and there was a pasta bar that had no flavor whatsoever. No snacks or drinks for purchase in the store either. No animation during the day except learning to dance for 15 minutes. Barely any chairs by the pool because they cant afford to buy new ones. Would not recommend this one. [Details]

good hotel with nice lobby and well maintaned gardens. Food was somewhat repetative and often missing certain products, but overall quite good.
We would return if certain updates done. [Details]

- Room Attendant, Gardner in our area were amazing
- Bartenders in Snack Shop were Awesome
- Gardner at the Pool was a favorite visit
- Concierges were friendly, attentive, informative and always willing to assist
- Andy the resort rep that checked in with us was exceptional and continued to assist as our stay continued
- we needed emergent and continued medical care…. The care received was 1st class from the doctor and nurse

The beach is gorgeous , the people were friendly,
Our room was clean and everything was in working order. [Details]

The Patriarca was clearly in its day a quality hotel but money is very tight in Cuba and an expensive refurbishment is not realistic. The staff are very friendly, offering the best service they can with the economic conditions as they are and keep the hotel very clean.
The truth is that supplies are very limited and food is definitely in short supply. Although there's no shortage of rum. [Details]

The hotel was clean. Staff very friendly. Safe environment. Bathroom towels very limited. Showers not working and needed to be replaced. Not enough chairs, tables around pool area. Generally the entire resort is very old and needs upgrading. Chairs in lobby generally in poor condition. We will not revisit this resort. [Details]

No clean towels for the whole week. No clean sheets for the whole week. No bar mix ( pop or orange juice). Food bland and terrible. Ate outside of resort. Cockroach's in buffet. [Details]

Good experience, my first visir to Cuba.
Price was quite reasonable.
Transport from airport to hotel and back very efficient.
Coach tour guides, excellent in their explanation of places visited and life in Cuba [Details]

Made our trip fun on our own not much to do at this resort spend more money on day trips in other places [Details]

We returned yesterday from a week long stay. This was my 9th visit to Cuba and my 6th hotel. We stayed in a standard room and no regrets about not upgrading to the allegiance.

The room was in good condition and clean (I am a weirdo that cleans any hotel room at the start of my stay regardless of stars or initial impression of cleanliness and non of my clothes came back dirty). There is the usual to Cuba not so soft bed and pillows but it's a place to lay your head. The water was never hot ( its primarily solar heated) but it was warm and enjoyable. The ac worked well as did the mini fridge.

Buffet & A la Carte
We ate at the buffet primarily it had the most selection ( I am a pescatarian) so having the variety helped me eat within my diet. We did do one a la carte and it was a nice change of pace but limited on the choices of chicken, pork or fish.
The line up to sign up for the al a carte was maybe 20 minutes even though some had been lined up from very early, it wasnt necessary to get a reservation even at a good time. We attempted to dine at the beach restaurant once but since my diet is limited we decided to do the buffet instead.
There are some food shortages to note from past experiences there wasn't fish daily, nor a pasta station (there was only one night of a pasta station). The buffet can be repetitive and they reuse or reinvent dishes which is a great way to reduce food waste especially with food shortages. All that being said I ate plenty and enjoyed each meal and that's with pickier diet my partner ate well and enjoyed the meat. My suggestion be adventurous when trying dishes - some may not look appealing (it's not their strong suit) but they are tasty.
We saw several people bring in ketchup, peanut butter, maple syrup ( they only had jams and simple sugar water for pancakes and waffles) so if these are staples bring them with you.

The Resort
Is as well kept as it can be. Property on the ocean requires extra care and more maintenance and they try. In all of the resorts I have visited if you look for it you will always find things to point out that are in bad repair. Take a step back and view the whole and remember your in a poor country with import limitations due to embargos. Remember all hotels are owned half by international hotel chains and half by the government. So they pretty much all have limitations on getting supplies and furniture and fixtures regardless of how many stars.
The only difficulty I had which is common is toilet paper in the womens washrooms(lobby, beach bar, ect) they only use single rolls so they run out quick. ( in all my years and visits this has been a constant factor). My pro tip is bring individual Kleenex pouches and you always have some with you.

Staff
As always the Cubans add so much value to your trip. If you demonstrate kindness they return it ten fold. My tip ask their names and wave an extra hola you will gain fast friends for life.

Pool- it looked nice... we aren't pool people so I can't say to much on it.

Beach- Awesome beach and we never had troubles finding shade or a chair and we came down after breakfast around 9-10 am (albeit we did use broken chairs a few times, they kept you off the sand and were comfortable) no sand flea bites and we spent a fair amount of time here and were in shade most of it.

Bars
There was plenty of rum,beer and wine the entire stay. Lobby bar has the selection of other liquors like vodka and gin.

Evening- bug spray there are mosquitoes and no-seeums so if your out in the evening put some on.

Tipping
They take USD or Canadian however USD bills are ideal as they dont need to trade coins for bills.

Its a quiet resort, other than the evening shows I didn't see much for those that look for night life.

We enjoyed are stay and the hotel and will come back to this resort. [Details]

We stayed at the Valentin Veradero Patriarca for 12 nights.
The weather was fantastic!
The food was not fancy but a good assortment of it. The chef even cooked 4 large turkeys for us Canadians. One evening they even made a PAIEA for dinner. The flavour was amazing from the variety of seafood in it.
One afternoon while on our deck they decided to drive around the resort with a vehicle shooting out of 4 exhausts some sort of pesticides to curb the what we call little no see ems. We were bitten as were others at the resort. I had welts and severe itching to the point of bleeding. I went to the resort doctor to see if there was a cream or medication that could alleviate the problem but were told we would need to pay $225 up front and then get the money back from our insurance. We ended up going to a pharmacy to buy some hydrocortisone cream to help with the itching. I am still swollen with cellulitis from the reaction to the bites.
The rooms had broken lamps, poorly lit rooms, restricted towels, cable and refreshments in the fridge instead of what was advertised.
We were at the same resort about 9 years ago when it was only 2 years old and things were far superior and worth the money we paid.
The staff were very hospital and tried to do their best with what they were given.
The entertainment in the evenings was quite good.
The snack shack ---the hostess hardly smiled and the fries were so over cooked that there was no potatoe left inside of the fry. The pools were fairly clean and the pool staff were very accomadating.
There is definitely room for improvement and updating of services. We wont be returning there. [Details]

We were very happy with the hotel. It was clean, bed was very comfortable and the daily service was excellent [Details]

It felt like home, staff and guests very friendly and welcomed me with open arms. Room were attended to daily, beds were made and new bottles of water left daily. A Variety of foods to choose from at the buffet, they also made to order omelets and waffles in the morning, pizza in the afternoon, grilled fish for supper. Pool deck was clean, grounds were well taken care of. I really enjoyed time there will be going back with some friends. [Details]

Had to switch rooms twice due to maintenance issues that were not repaired promptly. [Details]

This resort is always fun, they have amazing entertainment (singers, dancers, animation team) you will not be bored ever. The staff here are so sweet they really make the whole experience. Thank you so much for making us feel like family [Details]

This resort was originally an Oceans Resort when opened 10 years ago. Sold to Valentin 2 years ago. Unfortunately not kept up to Oceans standard so I would rate it at 3.5 stars. Jimmy's Coffee shop never reopened. Spa hot tub not operating. As of last week about 40% full. Units in block starting with 1 close to disco so noisy until early morning hours. We moved to unit 2624 on 2nd night and no noise at night. Pathways not well lit so you need a flashlight after dark. Food was good by Cuban standards and in to good supply. Bar drinks limited in variety (eg no mint for mojitos or luice for pina coladas) Beach fantastic. [Details]

Group of six went for a week and had a great time. Would recommend the resort and hope to return some day. Unbelievable value. [Details]

Had a wonderful time. Well kept place, beautiful pool and beach. Bars located all over the resort, lots of places to sit and relax. Gym is nothing fancy but it was almost empty every time I went. Only a couple critiques: little hot water in the shower, the internet has to be refreshed every 10 hours (it's free and they'll do it at the front desk), and although you're supposed to get a big bottle of water daily, I didn't half the time so I went to the front desk and complained so they gave me one. You can always buy more at the little store in the resort
But overall, and especially given the low price, it's a great deal and had lots of fun. [Details]

The hotel is well kept and a nice size...just a little dated. Grounds are well kept. Food options currently are 3.5 star at best but there is plenty to select from. Bring a few things from home (snacks, condiments) if you want those comforts. The upgrade to Privilege (now Alegance) option upon arrival is nice... particularly because you can pay $27.50 US / day / person to stay in your regular assigned room (they are exactly the same, just not right beside the Privilege pool). Save a little $ and pay for your upgrade morning of day 2 when you can take full advantage of the Privilege amenities. Pools are very nice, some bathrooms need a little attention. Staff is incredibly friendly. Some service was slow but keep in mind the hotel has cut 1/2 their staff since they have 1/2 the guests right now. Things are slowly building back up. Lack of resources and food is evident but go with an open mind, be grateful, relax, and enjoy. [Details]

The resort is not bad. Clean. Good for older Age couples. Far away from Varadero city and taxi is expensive to drive from the resort. [Details]

This property exceeded my expectations. The staff in all areas of the hotel were friendly and always smiling.
The room although slightly outdated was always clean.
The mini bar in the privilege room was slightly disappointing as it never had more than 2 beers and 1 big bottle of water. Easy solution though - was to ask the very friendly mini bar stock person for a few extra (tipping a bit extra).
The beach was clean. The privelege area was peaceful but no bar near by on the beach in that area and limited lounge chairs.
The food exceeded my expectations for sure.the buffet had a good variety of food and the service at tables excellent.
The walking paths at night are not well lit up but fix to that is use a flashlight. [Details]

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 [Details]

Je vais garder ça court. Plage 10/10 (selon moi les meilleures plages sont à Cuba) pas de misère à te trouver une chaise longue à l'ombre avec beaucoup d'espace à la plage. Service 10/10 les cubains toujours courtois souriants et serviables. Chambre 8/10, très propre et bien entretenu même si elles commencent à être un peu vieillots. Piscine 4/10 l'eau était un peu opaque et je voyais des algues autour de la piscine pourtant je voyais l'équipe la nettoyer tous les jours. Nourriture 3/10 (je tiens à préciser que je ne suis vraiment pas difficile et j'adore cuba et je m'attends pas à tout avoir). Cette fois-ci c'était pire que pire , j'ai pas vu une frite de la semaine, pas de toaster pour faire une rôtie. Tous les jours la même chose. Pas de pâtes said pour une journée. Bars 5/10, il n'y avait que du vodka et rhum et les boissons goûtaient l'eau. Le vin blanc était très bon par contre. [Details]

I purchased the upgrade and enjoyed some of the benefits that were included. The privilege pool. pool bar and restaurant/lounge. The breakfast at the privilege lounge was nice because you are waited on and they also have a small buffet. The staff there are very professional and tried to please all requests. The pool bar staff were also very professional and friendly. I did not use the privilege beach area but spent some time at the other beach which was beautiful. The ocean is warm and clean. There are vendors walking around (they don't come up onto the beach area) selling hats, clothing, hair braiding etc. I felt safe leaving my things at my palapa to go into the water. I took a ride on one of the sail boats with Ray who was skilled at sailing. I was traveling on my own but felt welcome and safe. Whenever I needed something all I had to do was ask and if it was possible they accommodated me. The main buffet offered lots of options pasta, pizza, fish, fruit and desserts (the icecream is the best). I tried the Gourmet restaurant and it was very nice I found the beef a little on the tougher side. The front desk, bell boys, lobby bar staff, gardeners all were professional, friendly and helpful. [Details]

When we arrived, it was an overcast day. And on our ride to the resort our tour guide would talk about how wonderful Havana was. Not mentioning too much for Varadero. So that kind of put a little bit of a damper on things. First impression of the resort, it was well worn.But I wouldn't give it a four and a half to a five-star but a strong three-star. Check in was easy, the receptionist was okay she wasn't overly nice or anything but she did her job. Got to my room, it was nice and large. Bathroom was nice. I always check for bed bugs and there was none. Housekeeping was great, clean my room everyday. Had fresh towels everyday. There are no face cloth. Always had hot water.The grounds are well-kept. The gym is basic. A wide variety of food. Not a far walk to the beach. Most of the time the bartenders would ignore you. The service was definitely subpar. Could spruce up the place by having a Fresh coat of paint on the buildings and the insides of the rooms could use paint also. But that was nothing, just something you notice. I went there to relax and do nothing and that is exactly what I did. I had a great time. For the price I paid I can't complain about anything. But if I would have paid more I would have been upset. Would I to go back, probably not. [Details]