We stayed at this resort between June 2nd and June 9th, 2006 out of Montreal, Que flying with Air Transat.

Cuba:

Cuba was amazing and we will return. We recommend you bring gifts for maids and staff at the resort: soap, shampoos, deodorants, toothbrushes, toothpaste, coloring books and pencils etc... We gave ours to Tania and our maid and they were smiling from ear to ear.

Air Transat:

Very "economy" focused. If you purchase economy seats, you best be aware that the seats are not designed for people who are tall, or have large hips or shoulders. We flew economy on the way to Varadero and it was not a very pleasant flight. The attendants are great, but the comfort level is very sub par. You also get subway sandwiches which were made overnight (very bland). On our return flight, we opted for Club seats. WOW!!! What a difference. It cost us $100CAD each, and it was worth it. The seats are very big, leather, and have a different seating arrangement, which means more leg and elbow room. Also, you get all the complements of first class (unlimited booze, pop, dinner a la carte - 4 choices!, sparkling wine and free headsets). Our recommendation: Pay the extra $$$. When we flew to Varadero, we swore we'd never fly Air Transat again. Upon our return we decided we should lol

The Airport:

Very smooth arrival, no complaints. NOTE: When you travel with Signature Vacations, you will have the opportunity to purchase a "VIP Room" for leaving. We opted for this. It costs 23$CUC each and was well worth it. When we arrived for our departure from Varadero we saw a huge line for check in with only 1 counter for Air Transat. At least a 2.5hour wait, minimum. We then saw our VIP line... We were first in line, with one couple checking in. We asked for Club Transat seats and were lucky enough to get the last ones. Another great purchase! Took only 30 minutes for our entire check in, from the bus to the VIP room.

The Resort:

Check in - We arrived at the resort around 5pm and check in was very smooth. Tania was great as she helped us out many times during our vacation.

Rooms - We were told that we would get a room in the main building with a king size bed. The room faced the main road, which was very annoying with the buses coming in all night. We asked Tania to switch the room and had to wait until Sunday (we arrived on Friday). No biggie, we then received a room on the main floor of a bungalow, next to the pool.

Drinks - The drinks served on the resort are okay, but some places we avoided the entire vacation. Drinks from the bar in the lobby, at the pool and in the cuban restaurant tasted very syrupy. The other bars and restaurants were good. The beer is very good in cuba :) Water is not in heavy supply, the resort gives you 1 1.5L bottle per room per day. If you want more, you have to get it at the check in counter. You can also buy snacks and pop from the store.

Pool - To the point, it needs to be retiled. There were hundreds of tiles missing. Main sore point: The pool is only open from 7am to 7pm!!! Other times it is being "chemically treated". Who doesn't want to go for a late night swim at say 8-10pm after a good dinner?! The worst: The buffet opens at 6:30, restaurants at 7, no swimming after dinner! Other resorts had pools opened till 11pm, which was what we thought it would be at Tainos...

Entertainment - We didn't partake in many activities, this was a relaxation vacation for us, but we could tell the other tourists were really enjoying all the activities, including night shows.

Beach - Can't describe it, simply amazing. You have to see it with your own eyes, pictures won't do it justice (at least not ours).

Signature Rep: Andrej was amazing, very informed and sold us our Havana day tour.

Tour: We went on one tour, the Havana Day tour. It cost us each 71$CUC through our rep, but if you buy it from the operator its a bit over 80$CUC. Havana was a huge eye opener. The included lunch was delicious and we were able to buy souvenirs at a market. Note: those wishing to buy cigars should be wary. If you buy any cigars on the blackmarket they can be seized by customs in cuba. The only way to be sure they are legitimate is by the holographic sticker on the box. The best place to buy cigars as far as price is duty free upon leaving, but you can't bargain there... You'll be able to buy some in Havana, and they have a nice selection at this resort. We highly recommend checking out the kiosks on the resort, we found they were priced the same if not cheaper than in Havana.

We hope this will help you deciding which resort to visit. This was our first trip to Varadero. It was mainly chosen in Varadero because we wanted to see Havana. We highly recommend going to Varadero. At first we felt we overpaid for the resort, but we put it into perspective a few days into the trip. In our opinion, its a 3.5*, but we gave it a 4* as it is on par with other 4* in Varadero that we saw. We felt we might be a bit too harsh lol Enjoy Cuba, and see Havana if you can!!!

29th May 2006
We have just spent 2 weeks at the Iberostar Tainos, we were in a party of 15, 12 adults 2 young tenagers and one child aged 8.
The hotel complex was mostly excellent, the staff were great and the maids really looked after our rooms well, one big dissapointment was the Gym which has an impressive setting but most of the equipment did not work.
The beach was fantastic with pleant of beds and shades and a very good bar.
the rooms we had were in the bungalows, some ground floor some first floor all were great any small problems were fixed quickly.
The food was ok but as we were there for two weeks it got a bit repetative, we tried both of the other restaurant's on the site wich were ok.
The only big problems we as a group had were with the trips which we booked through our rep.
The Havana overnight trip which included the Tropicana show (this was fantastic) we were draged round old Havana for much to long and in the end insisted that we were taken to our Hotel which turned out to be a nightmare with all our rooms having problems, mainly lack of air conditioning but the worst part was the termites which one room in particular was infested with.
On the second day we were to be dropped again in Old Havana for 4 hours, but after disccusions on the coach we all (37 in total) asked to be picked up an hour and a half early.
The other trip we did was the Catermaran trip with snorkelling and lunch on an island, the Catermaran was brilliant and the staff were great, but the island (Cayo Blanco) was not very good, we saw dead rats and in the bar where we were to be served lunch there appeared to be rat dropings on the seats.
Overall though a very enjoyable holiday.

I have just returned from a two week stay at the Iberostar Tainos. I went with my dad and we had the best time. All I can tell you is that this hotel is one of the best in Varadero. We visited a number of other hotels for a look around and the Tainos outshone many of them. The gardens are really well kept and the hotel is located on what I believe to be one of the best parts of the beach.
The rooms are a little dated but the hotel is closing for two months next year for refurbishment. They were always clean though and our maid was great.
The food at the Tainos is amazing. We were dining on susi, smoked salmon, king prawns, steak and lots of lovely stews and traditional Cuban dishes. The salad bar is great as are the desserts etc. We tried both the Cuban restaurant and the Brazilian and enjoyed them both. Your wine and water glasses are never empty which is always a plus and the cocktails at night go down a treat.
The entertainment team or the 'star freinds' as they are known have endless energy and work so so hard. I am 23 years old and there is no way I could keep up with these guys! They work all day and then star in the evening shows, which again, are brilliant.
I would definitely go to Cuba again and would not hesitate to stay at the Tainos. For those of you who have booked your hol here already and are waiting to go, ENJOY!!!!!
P.s - Jorge at the lobby bar is a gem, as is Hector at the pool bar. In fact, all of the staff are gems and they really add to your holiday experience.

We've just arrived back from cuba and what a beautiful holiday it was. The iberostar tainos is a lovely hotel that is set in beautiful grounds. We stayed in one of the bungalows which from talking to others was the best option. It was a good sized room with a huge bed and good airconditioning, which we definately needed! Although we were comfortable in our room it could've done with some renovation.
The pool area was nice with plenty of sunbeds and shaded areas. The pool had some tiles missing but it wasnt a problem and the hotel is due for renovation next year.
The restaurants were better than expected considering some of the reports we'd heard. The buffet was probably the best because it had a good selection for everyone. We went to the cuban and the brazilian restaurants and to be honest we didnt rate them-obviously its each to their own.
The entertainment staff worked very hard and were all lovely and friendly. The evening shows were ok but very corny at times. It can get abit tedious at night especially if you are there for 2 weeks.
The best part of the complex is the beach-it is just paradise! The sea is gorgeous-turquoise and warm.T here is also plenty of things to do on the beach.
We did a few trips which all in all were worth it. We did the dolphin trip which was amazing but a long day-but very worth it!There is a dolphiarium outside the hotel but this isnt where you go on the trip. We had a tip off from some people in the hotel that if you go over to it at about 5.30-6pm and pretend to be looking round the cleaners will come out and ask if you want to go in. So we gave it a go and it worked! You couldnt swim with them but you can stroke them and they will do some tricks. You have to give the guys something for it-something like 10pesos. We also did the seafari which was such a good laugh! You go snorkelling(take some banana) and then go onto another island which was nice but i dont think we saw it at its best because we had a bad tropical storm. We did the day trip to havana which is just something else. Be prepared for abit of an eye opener!We went on the cuban carnival night which was ok because it was something different but nothing special.
To sum our holiday up i would say it was excellent, an education, an eyeopener but most of all a privalege. To see such a country with so much history whilst its still untouched was just awe inspiring-you shouldnt be disappointed. VIVA CUBA!