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Varadero

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Arenas Doradas: Traveler Reviews


Autopista Varadero km 17 | Playa de los Tainos, Varadero, Cuba

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62% Recommend
3.0 of 5 stars 507 reviews
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Regrets......

Arenas Doradas

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1 of 5 stars
CARMY   2 contributions
MONTREAL CANADA
Mar 30, 2007 | Trip type: Family
4
people found this review helpful

Let me start by telling you that I've traveled quite a bit and don't expect much. But I do expect cleanliness and courtesy this resort gave me neither of these.

The rule to the resort - if it's broken chances are high that that's the way it will stay. Burnt lights all over the resort-
Large water fountain in the lobby not functioning-
Broken lights-
Lifted sewer lids everywhere very dangerous for children to fall in.

Courtesy: There were maybe a handful of employees of this ressort that were kind, most could not have cared less for it's tourist.

Food: Can't complain the variety was not bad, and remember that you are in Cuba. But they in the a la carte restaurants they always had one of the 3 selections which wasn't available.

Cleanliness: Room towels weren't changed very often, the maid actually left us a note after our 3rd day not to leave the towels on the floor because she felt bad to put them back on the counter for us to use. She told us she would change them when she had some to give us, and because I had a 5yr child i had special privlages imagine that.....i got 1-2 clean towels one day when nobody else was getting clean towels.

Service: We went to the buffet for lunch & supper we had problems finding clean dishes, and glasses. One day I had it, i went to the buffet with my family and for starters no one came to set our table so i took it upon myself to set our table, place setting for our group of 5. We made our plates and sat down, still no one has approached us to serve our drinks. So again I got up and went to the soft drink machine to get drinks but there I only found a few filty glases, so I asked the waitress for 5 clean glasses, that became a really big ordeal, she told me there was problems and would get me clean glasses so I waited and waited by this time we're really starting to get upset because we've now almost finished eating and still no glasses, I was considering walking to the hotel lobby bar to get some clean glasses, but i refused to go in principal. I walked over to the waitress and asked her for clean glasses or plastic glasses, she told me she had no plastic glasses and would get me some glasses, so at this point fed up i followed the waitress that's when i really got pissed because she walked into the kitchen passed with her cart filled with dirty dishes and i waited outside of the kitchen for her and she walked out with the same freakin cart with the same freakin' dirty glasses - I had it. I told her what was the problem - why can't i have some clean glasses. She had the nerve to get upset with me and tell me how they were understaffed with only 3 people working the buffet, (there were maybe 20 clients in the whole restaurant), and got angry with me for not being patient. My husband asked to speak to the manager because it was unacceptable we've all finished eating and needed to drink at least some water and she had the nerve to get upset with us. So I set up my own table, had no service and had to threaten to get glasses. That's the way things went around there i'm furious just thinking about it.

Beach/Pool Chairs: Lots but 75% were broken (hard plastic) careful if the kids sit on a broken chair.

TMR (Tour Mont Royal) Rep that was there was useless - we had to handle all our complaints directly with the hotel director.

Broken glass found almost daily around resort and close to the showers by the beach.

I could go on and on but i'll stop and summarize it by saying
We loved the Beach, resort needs renovations,
Staff needs to be trained to be kinder to the guests,
Resort needs to be cleaned up, play cuban music not american music...what's up with that?? I don't recommend this resort to anyone. Feel free to email me any questions you may have at carmy1@hotmail.com

  • Liked — beach
  • Disliked — everything else
  • My ratings for this hotel
    • 1 of 5 stars Value
    • 3 of 5 stars Rooms
    • 3 of 5 stars Location
    • 1 of 5 stars Cleanliness
    • 1 of 5 stars Check in / front desk
    • 1 of 5 stars Service
    • 3 of 5 stars Business service (e.g., internet access)
  • Date of stay March 2007
  • Visit was for Quality time with family
  • Traveled with Family with young children
  • Age group 35-49
  • Member since December 03, 2004
  • Would you recommend this hotel to a friend? No
  • I recommend this hotel for Great pool scene
  • I do not recommend this hotel for Young singles, An amazing honeymoon, A romantic getaway, Girlfriend getaway, People with disabilities, Older travelers, Pet owners, Families with young children, Families with teenagers, Tourists
  • I selected this hotel as a top choice for Beach / Sun
This review is the subjective opinion of a TripAdvisor member and not of TripAdvisor LLC.
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Service needs work, but it is a nice hotel

Arenas Doradas

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3 of 5 stars
Getmeoutofcold   1 contribution
Calgary
Mar 14, 2007
5
people found this review helpful

Just returned from Varadero (Mar 5-12 2007). Cuba is beautiful! Arenas Doradas was nice... the service needs some attention especially in the buffet. The night club, although present, is very poorly attended. Hotel provided entertainment was good. The food was better than expected. The rooms were clean and well maintained. Tip the cleaning ladies and they keep your room in very nice order with fancy sheet decorations. For $80 cuc take the jeep tour, it is well worth it!

  • Date of stay March 2007
  • Member since March 14, 2007
This review is the subjective opinion of a TripAdvisor member and not of TripAdvisor LLC.
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Better than the rest of Cuba, but not Cuba!

Arenas Doradas

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4 of 5 stars
liltravlr   25 contributions
Vancouver
Mar 12, 2007
4
people found this review helpful

I just got back from traveling around Cuba, and I wish I'd had more time in Varadero. The beach at this hotel was incredible, better than anywhere else in the country. The grounds are big and well-kept - a bit of a walk between the rooms and food and beach, but everyone can use a bit of exercise! This hotel was not perfect but heads and shoulders above every other property I stayed at elsewhere in Cuba. I was told it was 4 star and it really was - I thought it was spotless, friendly waiters and animation staff, nice, big, modern rooms, actual water pressure in the shower! I thought the food was excellent by Cuban standards. Just to have a machine that gave hot chocolate was awesome - try getting that anywhere outside of Varadero! (ok, they did have one at the Sevilla in Havana). Yes, there is smoking everywhere but you find that in any country outside of North America. Front desk staff spoke good English but our room was not ready for several hours after arrival, without even anywhere to store our stuff so we could go to the beach. This was technically a breach of contract but there's absolutely nothing you can do about it! They had a little mini salsa lesson by the pool but it is not challenging if you know anything about salsa. If you want just a beach vacation, this is a great place, clean sand and water, chairs provided, no jineteros on the beach. But, don't think that Varadero is Cuba - it totally is not. You might get some Cuban music but locals are absolutely forbidden to enter the resort, so forget about mixing and meeting them. My friend is PR manager at the Barcelo and could only poke her head in the lobby. Varadero is an artificial paradise set up for tourists. The staff don't have time for political discussions and you won't see the real landscape, culture and problems that are unique to Cuba. If you go to Varadero, take at least an overnight to Havana and walk the city, the Malecon, and find a place where the locals dance - that's Cuba!

  • Date of stay March 2007
  • Member since March 12, 2007
This review is the subjective opinion of a TripAdvisor member and not of TripAdvisor LLC.
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The Beach is beautiful

Arenas Doradas

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4 of 5 stars
ddrich   2 contributions
cochrane, Alberta
Mar 5, 2007 | Trip type: Family
4
people found this review helpful

Our family (2 adults, 2 kids 12+13) were at the Arenas Doradas Feb 19-16/07. Started off slowly, we had brought walkie talkies-didn't read quite all the info about Cuba...they were confiscated at the airport. Long procedure...in triplicate, and Spanish.
Airport transfer was painless,with a humorous tour guide letting us know where we were, and some tips about Cuba, Varadero, and our resorts. Check in was fast.
Rooms very large. Always clean, our maid was very nice and left us a note thanking us for gifts(clothing, tampons, shampoo, nail polish, etc) she also made beautiful arrangements with the bedding, much to the amusement of the kids.
Food..I didn't think I was a picky eater till I came to Cuba. I got (mostly) over it, and by mid-week I was fairly comfortable. The bread, and ice cream are delicious. The Galeon (one of the a la cartes) left a lot to be desired though. Book your a la cartes early. The kids didn't seem to mind the food, and were very brave, trying things that they had never seen before. Maybe it's just us Canadians that have issue with the food. The European guests didn't seem to have a problem with it.
Took a few free bus trips into Varadero, walked around, and shopped. People were friendly, and we felt very safe.
Also took the catamaran tour to Cayo Blanco for the day. Fabulous. The kids swam with dolphins, and we snorkled (for a very short period of time, as the seas were a little rough, and the current strong). Had lunch and drinks (included in the price of the tour), and then some free time on the beach. Beautiful white powdery sand.
The beach at the resort was beautiful, no complaints. Some jellyfish would wash up in the afternoons, but the lifeguards were pretty quick to bury them , or tell you about them if they were still floating the water. Security and the lifeguards were very visible. Drinks, and slushies for the kids all the time. Our daughter loved to go up the pool in the afternoons and watch the activities. The animation team works very hard to entertain, and involve guests in the action. A few topless women and girls on the beach, if that bothers anyone.
Only went to two evening shows. The Water Ballet (synchronized swimming) was fabulous. The other show was a dancing contest , involving the audience, reminiscent of college.
The coffee con leche in the lobby bar was wonderful. If you love coffee, don't bother with the stuff in the machine in the buffet, go straight to the lobby.
The lobby bar is the place to be in the evening. Lots of activity, people to watch, and chat with. The bar can be very busy, but look around for the traveling bar cart that Ivan looks after, and he will make you one of his "Cuban Specials" with flair, and sing you a little song.
Negatives
The conquest tour website advised that gratuities were included. I guess they didn't advise the hotel. There were tip baskets everywhere. I really don't mind tipping for good service, but it isn't what the ads said.
The kids club always seemed empty. I saw a few games a couple times in the morning on the beach, but that was about it. Not really a ton of kids there I guess.
Smoking everywhere. The buses were smoke free, but everywhere else is fair game, from the moment we got off the plane, till we got back on the next week. Not the place to be if you have asthma or allergies to smoke. Glad to live in Canada.

I found Cuba to be very interesting, culturally, and would like to return, and take that bus tour to Havana. Next time.

  • Liked — The beach
  • Disliked — The unpredictible food
  • My ratings for this hotel
    • 3 of 5 stars Value
    • 3 of 5 stars Rooms
    • 4 of 5 stars Location
    • 3 of 5 stars Cleanliness
    • 3 of 5 stars Check in / front desk
    • 3 of 5 stars Service
    • 2 of 5 stars Business service (e.g., internet access)
  • Date of stay February 2007
  • Visit was for Quality time with family
  • Traveled with Family with young children
  • Age group 35-49
  • Member since March 05, 2007
  • Would you recommend this hotel to a friend? No
  • I recommend this hotel for Young singles, A romantic getaway, Girlfriend getaway, Older travelers, Families with young children, Families with teenagers, Tourists
  • I do not recommend this hotel for People with disabilities, Pet owners
  • I selected this hotel as a top choice for Beach / Sun
This review is the subjective opinion of a TripAdvisor member and not of TripAdvisor LLC.
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Beautiful Beach!! Great Trip

Arenas Doradas

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2 of 5 stars
sr1212   1 contribution
toronto
Feb 27, 2007
5
people found this review helpful

Just got back last week from Varadero! The weather was ok, we did have 3 cold days but the hot days made up for that (saved me from having a sunstroke). The hotel was great, in Cuba's standards it was ok! The food was great at dinner and breakfast, a bit disappointing at lunch, as the main buffet is closed and u have to eat at the beach restaurant which is not enclosed. This resort does not provide an iron and the hairdryers are from the ancient times......having said that, there were far more positives at this hotel than negatives. The staff was great! the shows were very entertaining, the beach was perfect!!! I really enjoyed my stay, we made friends with a lot of staff and they treated us very well. We always had a clean room to return to at night!! The hot waiters were very attentive!! Your vacation will be what u make of it, remember you are in Cuba and on a beautiful beach and just go with the flow and you will only have good things to say!!! The Cubans do not control the weather!!! Have fun and enjoy your stay.....do not forget to salsa!!!!! Will definitely return to Cuba.....Enjoy!! I will post photos later!!!

  • Date of stay February 2007
  • Member since January 22, 2007
This review is the subjective opinion of a TripAdvisor member and not of TripAdvisor LLC.
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Arenas Doradas Also Known As

  • Arenas Doradas Varadero
  • Arenas Doradas Cuba
Address: Autopista Varadero km 17 | Playa de los Tainos, Varadero, Cuba