Gran Caribe Sun Beach

We did not stay at Gran Caribe Sun Beach and were moved to Hotel Kawama...

Beautiful lobby...Rooms were maybe a 1 if I would have to give it a rating...cleaning staff never changed the sheets ...pillow cases that were covered in makeup...mosquitos in the room....Balcony doors were stuck couldn't open them ...The staff did come on the third day after going to the front desk to ask for someone to Please send someone.....complained open the noise from the room attached to ours and the staff were not understanding.....We will not visit Cuba again [Details]

Do not stay here! So many bad things to mention, apart from the beautiful beach and central location, everything about this hotel was horrible and a very bad experience. My partner and I met many other canadians here who were counting down the days and hours to go home. It was a really bad experience in aspects of the hotel, food, and staff. [Details]

Unfortunately this is not the best hotel I have seen even thou my room was kind of nice but had no balcony. The food was below Cuba expectations! The sun and ocean was great but the beach was unclean. Lots of seaweed and shells. Plastic cups ,cigarette buds and other garbage left on the sand by tourists makes me sad. Still will be returning to Varadero 'cause I love Varadero but I will try another hotel. [Details]

I will never stay at that resort again...
Agent never gave us the proper documents hotel wanted a voucher. [Details]

Upon arriving at the hotel, I immediately let the front desk staff know that I was a travel agent. We were given a room on the 8th floor which appeared to be represent a 2 star resort. The elevator did not work most of the time there.
The room required cleaning with lysol wipes which showed that the side tables had not been cleaned in a very long time. The bathroom was better but not by much. The beds were so hard that I took both blankets in the closet to try and make them better for the night. I asked the front desk the next day if they had anything to make them at least a bit softer. My request was totally ignored.
The food was horrible, bland ,cold and appeared to have been left out for hours. Even the New year's gala looked good but had no flavour or was old (the cheese was hard and dried out for example) We all were afflicted with Ecoli or samonella poisoning starting that night and continued the following 6 days or until we were back in Canada to get antibiotics. And we all took Dukoral prior to the trip.
After our catamaran trip we came back to our room exhausted but excited about the A La Cart dinner, We were permanently locked out of our room and even the security guard could not get in with the proper key unlock mechanism. We found out how unsecure our room really was, when another guy came up and shimmed the locked balcony door open . 4 1/2 hours when they finally gave us another room on the 2nd floor facing the garbage bins It had one very small bed, we requested another bed 3 times before one arrived, again very small and hard. The bathroom window that faced the main street had the plastic privacy covering almost scrapped off and the words" F... off where engraved in that plastic we used one of the small towels to cover the window for privacy.
The staff were helpful only when they noticed you were willing to tip them but most staff totally ignored the clients as they had paperwork to complete or were handing bags from the back room to their friends/other staff members. The saving grace for this hotel was the front door concierge who went up and beyond his duties to get us assistance with whatever we wanted outside the hotel.
I will personally never recommend this hotel to any client as I have been in Cuba prior and was already aware of the lower standards to expect but did not expect such low standards. [Details]

We arrived on December 25, at around 8pm found the room to be ok, clean but the beds were small and hard, the toilet didn't flush the elevator wasn't working, the grounds looked ok but the inside of the hotel was somewhat clean.
We were in the hotel til Jan 1st, 2019, food was horrible with no taste.
The beach was very nice and the water was warm we had to walk to the beach but over all the beach was nice and the staff on the beach were friendly.

We befriended some of the locals to find better prices for some of the excursions and got better prices from the locals as oppose to the travel coordinators on site. over all it was a good vacation but I wouldn't say that the hotel was the best. We watched the security guards drink several alcoholic drinks while on duty. We also found that the staff couldn't speak English to the hotel patrons which made it difficult to communicate with them and get answers.

Over all we will not stay at Sun Beach again but will visit Cuba again. [Details]

The hotel was dirty. The dining room was dirty, usually out of dishes and utensils. We witnessed a staff person taking dirty silverware and wiping it on the tablecloth then putting it back out on the tables. There were staff asking us for our clothing, sunglasses etc. Service was non existent. The beach was beautiful. The bar area was allright and the pool was nice. [Details]

Well I went with a few friends and 1was in a wheel chair the elevators both were out it took his mom 5 hours to get a room they had to carry their belongs themselves as some Cuban was coming in with their family instead and the bell boy helped him instead , wifi is a joke the Cubans stand outside the hotel and FaceTime . ,spoons what are those ?? Bring your own ! weekends are designed more for locals that vacation they are rude will push u out the way to take heapfulls of shrimp or pork and leave others waiting for more food quite rude !! pools are littered a lot bec of the locals don't be surprised if u see some lil Cuban squatting a poop by the pool seriously .chinese food down the st is way better than the Italian food they call special . Wouldn't return to this place if u paid me [Details]

Really enjoyed our stay, food is good and offers a good variety of foods. Love the location too. Beach is to die for!! I'd stay here again. For the most part, service was really good. We always sat in same areas therefore always had the same servers. Our housekeeper (Yaritza) was the sweetest thing! [Details]

First impression getting to the hotel at 4:00 a.m., assigned to a room on the 5th floor and the elevator was not working, was not a good start, but things got better after that. [Details]

High gene is very poor [Details]

Buffet food ridiculous with lot of flees around. [Details]

The hotel is in a great area! Walking distance to lots of shops and restaurants. Beach is beautiful! The hotel is not in very good shape. My sliding door to the balcony would not lock. Twice I asked to have it fixed or to move me. They said it was full and couldn't move me. And nobody ever showed up to look at the door. I took drawers out of the end tables and used them to jam the sliding door so it couldn't be opened. It was clean, so really, that is all that is needed! It was what I expected of a 2.5 star resort and I would definitely stay again. If you are expecting a posh resort, this is not the place to stay. [Details]

it was alright, the washrooms other then the one in your room never had toilet paper or paper towel or even doors or toilet seats [Details]

This is a 2.5 star resort, you get what you pay for. The location is perfect, right across from the beach and right next to the main street. Easy to walk to the main tourist/shopping area. Quick cab ride to the bars and easy to rent scooters to ride around the area.
The bad: The food was awful. The buffet wasn't good at all, everything tasted kind of fishy and off. But again, that's to be expected. The whole hotel is very dated and falling apart, but kind of has a charm to it. The room was fine and had a/c so it was easy to sleep at night.
Not running to go back, but wouldn't count it out if I got another good deal. [Details]

I stayed there for 3 days..met nice people, half the staff is nice depending. In the dining room you have to try different sections until you find the place and the service you like. Table are dirty and food is bad, and i am not a difficult person. Been to Cuba many times and most of the time i eat good. Cappucino is horrible. Snack bar is go though, cant go wrong with cheese sandwich and pizza. My room was clean and spacious nothing to say about it. [Details]

This is our 10th stay in Varadero and our first at this hotel. We have stayed at 5* ratings down to 2* ratings. Doesn't matter where as long as it's clean and the food is ok.

We like the location of it because we both love to walk downtown and be where the action is. The hotel was clean and our room was clean, however we know what the food is like in Cuba having been there many times but this time was the worst we have ever experienced. Only great thing was fried eggs in the morning. We ate at restaurants every day, lunch and dinner. (Which is not expensive at all - total cost on average approx. $40 a day, sometimes only $20) Some of the staff were pleasant however not as happy and friendly as the staff we have encountered at other resorts in Varadero. We have stayed at Villa La Mar and I believe they should have a higher star rating than this hotel. Staff is great there and the food is better.

We will chalk this up to an experience and never allowed this to interrupt our great vacation. We can have fun anywhere. We met some great people and had a blast, which is a complete bonus!

We will not be staying here again however will be returning to Varadero soon! WONDERFUL beach... [Details]

This location was nice as there was a great open air nightclub across the street that had fantastic music and dancing.Easy to walk to everything. [Details]

We liked the central location, close to the beach, shops, main street, little bars/places to snack, everything was perfect that way. If you're not fussy the food is ok and the drinks are good. After a day you get used to the idiosyncrasies‎ of the place. Bring earplugs, turn on the room A/C, and close your bathroom door if it gets loud outside with the nightly show. This worked like a charm for us after a noisy first night. [Details]

The hotel was okay, buffet food wasn't too great most of the food although looking steaming and fresh was mostly cold. the pizzeria was pretty good. The food was fresh hot and good tasting. The all you can drink was pretty much what you would expect, cheap pina coladas and such but still tasted alright and made very strong. The pool was nice, and the beach was pretty nice too. All and all a decent hotel especially for the cost and location, dont expect the best food. [Details]

this hotel worth the money. we had a very good vocation in varadero. the location is perfect, which is near the beach and the town as well as the craft market. [Details]

We had a great holiday at the Sun Beach.
The location is in town which makes for noise at all hours: beeping horns, loud vehicles, a noisy cockerel and loud music from inside and outside the resort. The resort noise quietened down well at 11.00pm.
The food was decidedly Cuban which suited us. There was always a good variety. I would like to see all food cooked thoroughly, especially eggs and burgers, and separate cooking utensils for raw and cooked food on the grill. Dining room staff are generally not very attentive but almost everything can be self serve so it is not a big issue. Table cloths need to be replaced more often. Putting clean cutlery on a heavily soiled cloth is not good.
The toilet seat in our room was badly cracked when we got there but it was replaced the next day.
Our room was always clean and the maid was very pleasant.
It was very hard to find out about activities. It would be nice to have the activities posted somewhere either by the day or week. The evening shows were good - more chairs are needed as people had to lug pool loungers up to sit on.
It is NOT good for the hotel to run out of pesos to exchange.
Why is the pool closed so early?
It is great that the internet is available. Perhaps the computer could be updated or the connection improved. It was painfully slow.
I have always thought that the Mojito is a quintessentially Cuban drink and was shocked that they did not make them at the bar.
The beach staff were great - the chair guy, the boat crew and the massage therapist were all good at what they do, attentive and responsive to questions or concerns.
You can't go wrong! [Details]

Quality vs Price-Amazing value for what I received.

Front desk / Reception-They do not understand privacy. These are basics that we expect as Canadians but this is where the hotel lacked. A guest was trying to locate me and the front desk gave them my room number. They denied it but I in turn did the exact same thing as a test and you guessed it, they very innocently and without malice gave me the room number. I guess that is common practice as I also experienced this in Havana. They were friendly and helpful but oblivious.

Beaches-The best in the world, hands down. There are plenty of chairs for you to use at any hour of the day. There is also a beach bar so you can enjoy my favourite beer, Bucanero while basking in the sun.

Room-Clean and renovated. It was more than adequate.

Bathroom-Clean, lots of counter space and great shower with plenty of hot water and excellent pressure. The cleaning lady was tops.

Staff / Crew-In general the staff was friendly and attentive. Giovanni the animation guy did an ok job at night. Super average but he was limited in his resources so I applaude his efforts. Osmany and Gladys in the lobby bar are of course the best of the best! Friendly and service oriented all the way. Beach and pool bartenders were very friendly. Restaurant staff was gracious and service oriented. I really have nothing to complain about.

Cleanliness-The place is sparkling. Thoroughly cleaned.

Business Services-N/A for me but I heard internet was down

Food / Restaurants-If your expectations are fine dining, you won't get it here. What you will get however, is plenty of delicious, flavourful and varied food that unless you are completely picky (i.e. only like burgers, pizza and North American food etc) you will absolutely not starve. In fact, there is even a place onsite where you can get burgers and pizza. It's Cuba people, not Canada where we have endless amounts of whatever we like at our disposal. Recognize the realities of the country you are visiting and their limited resources and perhaps then, you can make a fair assessment.

Location-Perfect. If you like to explore, you are basically on the main drag. There is cute little Artisan market right next to the hotel so if you never want to leave the area, you don't have to. There is also a liquor/cigar/variety store connected to the hotel. The pharmacy is within walking distance. FM 17 which is an open air venue that has a live band every day and night is a 10 second walk. Cheap beer and great music! If you want to mix it up, there are bigger clubs/venues $5 cab ride away. [Details]

Perfect value for this cost [Details]

Nothing special. Then again all the 3 stars and less weren't any better. [Details]

As expected, nothing extraordinaryyou will get your money.
Central location, food could be improved. [Details]

I honestly love sunbeach - exactly what we were looking for. Can't beat the price. Love the beach and walking through the street of Varadero!! Great local restaurants if you tire of the buffet!! [Details]

For the most part, the hotel met or exceeded my expectations, which I must admit were quite low. My major disappointment was with the fruit served at all the meals. I would have thought it would be hard to ruin watermelon, but they did. Service was good for the most part, and most of the staff were quite helpful. I was told not to expect too much in the way of services, so did not. One travel agencies told me "do not go to a 3 star in Cuba" One worry was that the staff seemed fairly slow at cleaning up broken glass, and some people were walking around in bare feet. Staff attitude seemed to be "it is not my problem" Often ran out of juice etc., and took a long time to replace. Often did not replace food on buffet, especialy fresh fruit and dessert [Details]

Good price, nice people.Great maid. [Details]

Jour après jour, nous avons essayé de trouver quelque chose de mangeable dans cet hôtel...sans succès.L'eau de la mer était chaude et super propre.La piscine est bien. [Details]