I was telling myself: "I want to see a lot of Havana so who cares about the hotel!". What a mistake...
I think the reason why this hotel has a fairly good rating on this website is because they won't publish reviews of profanity...
Well, I'm biting my thong right now not to write pages of it.

I just don't know where to start...

-Small room (the cover of the bed still had sand on it when we arrived) with a bad bed and a noisy Air Cond right by your hear.

-Food was 90% terrible. You need to find that 10% edible.

-The mood of the hotel is bad. Clients are in a bad mood for being stuck there, staff don't like their job and don't care about the clients (there are some exceptions).

-No place to chill outside after dinner. You have only the little bar inside with no music and bad chairs.

-Pool is small and dirty

-No bar on the beach, you need to go back on the hotel's property to get a drink. Good thing a don't drink much...

-There was water in the hallway after that rainy day we had. That's right, the roof was leaking right in front of my door! We had to jump to get in the room.

-So complicated to get a beach towel...

-Waiting in line many times for the one staff at the front desk.

My expectation were very low since I paid less that $800. But it fell WAY BELOW my expectations.

We ended up spending LOTS of time in Havana because of that so I was glad but I came so close (twice) to pack up my things and book an hotel in Old Havana. My wife stopped me. There are some incredible hotels there. Not all incluse of course but who cares, the food is cheap and much better than at the Atlantico.

Atlantico has a nice beach it's true.

I wasted my life there. Even for free, I would not go back there. Really. Pay me and I'll think about it.

Three star hotel... Who are you kidding?! I've been in a three star and a half in Santa Lucia Cuba and it was at least 4 times better overall.

I just wish there was ONE review reflecting the reality of that hotel before I booked it...

Stayed one week at this place in Santa Maria Del Mar, east of Havana. We knew it was mainly booked by an Italian operator; we didn't know this would mean Euro-disco blaring by the pool and beach for most of the day, interspersed with the activities co-ordinators talking, talking, talking - shouting, really. So don't go here if you want quiet, that's for sure. But do go if you are a single woman looking for buff young Italian guys.

Food was decent, cafeteria level stuff. Fresh pasta and pizza every day, fish was good, I don't eat meat so can't comment, loved the black beans and rice, lots of citrus and pineapple but no bananas, for some reason. I avoid desserts so can't comment on them either except the one I did try, a cake of some sort, was very sweet and pretty good.

Modest tips to bartenders ensured lots of booze flowing. Espresso/cappucino all good.

Activities were rather limited; they did do salsa lessons on the beach, but instructions were all in Italian (not that it would have helped my two left feet much). Evening shows were kind of cheesy, but the performers were actually pretty talented; they had a small-scale cabaret show, a beautiful Cuban folk dancing show, a water show. Kayaks and catamaran were fun. Scooters across the road for rent, but all were broken with no sign of repair forthcoming, and the scooters in Guanamo were pathetic; I rented one and it died trying to climb a hill (several times), the tires were really on their last legs, signals and mirrors were broken. You'll have to do some searching for a decent scooter.

Room was modest and a bit run down, but had a nice view and was cleaned and linens changed regularly. They have a utility area accessible through the bathroom with a vented door on it, and awful sewer gas smells came in (unless you kept the bathroom door closed and the air conditioner/fan on full, so the net pressure of the room pushed air the other way). Take a bag and some duct tape and seal up that vent.

Three shuttles to and two from Havana every day, for free, mean good access to Havana if you like that. The last one takes you in during the evening but you have to get a taxi back, which is probably going to set you back about $20.00. I was not as enamoured of Havana as I'd expected; there is a fine line between "historic run down" and "decrepit slum", and a lot of old Havana crosses that line. Although traffic is lighter than European cities, pollution was no better because of the ancient American and aged Russian cars belching oil in their exhaust. Museum of the Revolution was amazing historically; clearly lots of propaganda, but no more skewed than you'd get in a Washington or Ottawa military museum.

Beach was lovely - lots of fine off-white sand, clear blue and turquoise water; it can get rough though and they closed it down when a decent swimmer would still want to go in and have fun. Jellyfish were nasty, but far enough between you could spot them fairly easily.

A bigt storm washed up a lot of jellyfish (and knocked the hotel's power out, and flooded the pool), but that was good because after there were no more jellyfish in the water, although you had to dodge them when walking on the beach until they were cleaned up or eaten or decayed. Kind of disturbing that it also washed up a dead goat down the beach, but hey, it's Cuba and goats run around freely. You can walk either direction for miles and it was lovely. A few people try to sell you stuff, but they were not pushy like they can be in some places. Staff were generally friendly, tip or no tip. I tipped generously (for there; peanuts for here) and they genuinely appreciated it. Lots of police around, and the hotel itself had lots of security.

The same can not be said of Varadero airport or Sunwing. I tripped the metal detector at the airport; they asked to see if I had a belt. I did not. They waved me on anyway - ??

I also have to comment that I booked with Sunwing and would not do it again. After checking my luggage in Varadero some contents were stolen; they won't compensate without a police report, and likely won't anyway because the baggage was not locked. But baggage can't be locked since it has to be available for inspection. Top it off, the flight was 7 hours late; they knew it would be late before we left for Varadero airport, but they offered absolutely nothing - not even a later bus ride so we could stay at the beach and get a decent meal while waiting. Vouchers for food issued by Sunwing at the airport were not honoured by the food vendors at the airport. Book and fly with someone else, I'd say - they should at least warn you to lock your luggage (others at the resort had missing luggage on arrival which never turned up) and their casual attitude towards the delay (which may have been unavoidable, but which could have been seriously mitigated with proper notice and procedures) sucked.

For what we paid, it was great! The food was acceptable, but heavy on the salt! Can't say it was kosher food, as pork is plentiful in cuba. The shuttle bus to Havana is the real reason you will stay at this hotel. We would wake up, have breakfast, jump on the shuttle bus, then come back for 1pm on the return shuttle bus, have lunch and then go back on the 2.30 shuttle bus and then come back at 6.30 on the return shuttle bus and then eat dinner and then, if we wanted , go on the 9.30 pm shuttle bus and take a taxi (15$) back whenever we wanted. If you didn't take the 9.30 shuttle, the entire day with food was free!

The staff were really nice... but some of them want to sell you puro's (cuban cigars). When you are in havana, you will get plenty of opportunity to buy black market cigars...varying in quality and price. 25 for 25$ is probably a good deal. though not sure. But if you leave with more than 23 cuban cigars and you don't have a receipt, and they don't have an official seal, they can confiscate them at the airport.

As written in other reviews, this hotel is not really for people who just want to sit on the beach and pool and never leave the resort. Don't get me wrong, the beach is beautiful! This hotel is great for those who want to be close to Havana and dont want to stay in a casa particular, because the cost of food and a bed will be way more than this hotel....

Havana is very safe. People are friendly. The ones who come and talk to you want to invite you for a drink...and then they present you with the bill....since it is impossible for them to pay. If you want to invite some strangers and talk about their life, it's safe, just be prepared to pay the bill.

If you're visiting Cuba to spend all your time at the resort, then the Atlantico hotel is probably not a good choice- though the beach is beautiful, there isn't much else to do. No night-life to speak of. You'd be better off spending a bit more money on another hotel (in another province).

If, on the other hand, your goal is to see the city of Havana (which is what I wanted) then the Atlantico is a great choice. I had a fantastic time. The hotel is 25km outside the city (about 10-20 CUC per cab ride, depending on your negotiating skills and the type of cab you flag), which makes it easy to get in and out of the city. Sometimes I would spend all day exploring Old Havana, come back to the hotel for dinner and a shower, and then head back to the city for the night-life (La Casa de la Musica is a great Havana disco).

For the price, this hotel rocks. Beautiful public beach (better that it's public- it's livelier), good food, excellent service. By Cuban standards, the food was exceptional (just OK by Western standards, but hey, you have to expect that): crispy pizza every day, fresh fish, chicken or pork, rice dishes, potatoes, fried plantains, bread and rolls, tons of fresh fruit (mangos are unbelievable) and several dessert items (cakes and danishes). You can't ask for much better than that in Cuba. I was never hungry, and was very glad I got the all-inclusive option.

The staff were exceptional: very friendly, and went out of their way to help me with the language and with travel advice. They made my visit so much more comfortable. Havana can be intimidating; it was nice that I felt at ease at the hotel.

A couple complaints: it's really true that this hotel is popular among Italians. I don't know why, but it's true: of the hundred or so guests that were there during my vacation, I found only one that spoke English. So just be aware of this.

Also, I was under the impression that there was a shuttle running to Havana every day. Not so: the shuttle only ran Friday, Saturday and Wednesday. This makes a big difference, as there is nothing more expensive in Cuba than transport. This was the only really disappointing element of the trip, because I was sure I had been promised a daily shuttle.

Also, I thought that a room safe was included in the price, but I was charged 2 CUC/day. But nevermind, I'm pretty sure I got hustled:) Work those kinds of expenses into your budget before you visit Havana.

In sum: this hotel suited my purposes perfectly. It is very well-priced, the food was good, the staff were excellent, the beaches were pristine, and the proximity to Havana made it a breeze to absorb all the history, culture, and troubled politics of Cuba's capital city. I booked through Selloffvacations.com, and my package-provider was Hola Sun (the service was fine, they went out of their way to reconfirm my departure flight. But be aware that there is a shuttle running to the hotel from the airport when you arrive- I wasn't aware of this and took a 30 CUC cab-ride. There is also a shuttle that takes you from the hotel to the airport when you depart).

I had a great experience, and I encourage anyone aspiring to find the rhythm of Havana to use the Atlantico as your base of operations. I will definately go back.