I stayed at the coralia club playa de oro during the last week of march. This resort was very good, the pool, the ammenities, the beach and the staff where excellent. Don't be turned away by bad reviews. The whole tip or be ignored theory is false. These people work for 15 dollars a month so offcourse they will remember or even be indebted to the guest who tip them. However this does not mean that you will be ignored by the staff if you don't present your tip right of the bat. The beach was one of the most beautiful beaches i have ever visited. The food was OK i mean coming from a place like Montreal where we probably have the best food in the world, you can't go there with high expectations, afterall it is CUBA. We where 11 people and 0 complaints. Spend the money and enjoy your stay at The Coralia Club Playa de Oro.

My wife and I,along with my brother and his wife have just returned from the Coralia Club Hotel/Resort in Varadero Cuba.We were there from March 26th to April 2nd and had a fantastic time.This was our second time in Varadero and thankfully a friend had told us about the Coralia Club Playa De Oro.
Our first time in Varadero was at a five star resort, but when we compared the two resorts,this one was by far the best.
The property is very well maintained,easy to get around,close to the beach and Varadero,the staff are always courteous and friendly and what can you say about the food other than it was excellent.There were many different kinds of meals available.There was always something for every taste.There is also nightly entertainment for you to enjoy and the bars are open 24 hours.
If you want to enjoy a worry free/relaxing vacation in Cuba,we would definately recommend you try the Coralia Club Playa de Oro in Varadero - we are certain you will not be sorry.

We stayed at Coralia Playa de Ore march 5th to March 12th there was 16 of us all together.

We went with Go Travel Direct and flew Zoom Airlines. I recommend Go Travel I dealt with Natalie for about 3 months on & off has it was my sister’s 35th Wedding anniversary and wanted to make sure they had a nice room with a bottle of rum and food basket and also she helped reserve 16 seats at the A la Carte restaurant.

We left at 7:00am and got there at 11:00 am Cuba time, the flight was ok nothing special but friendly staff. The line up to go thru security took 2 hrs found it long but hey you’re starting your holidays so no big problem. If you need to go to the bathroom do it right before leaving the plane or have some change to give the people working the bathrooms.

Once your thru security everything went fine, we changed money at the airport but at the hotel it was the same rate. Once at the hotel it was fast to check in there was a huge line up has 3 buses arrived at the same time but the staff was fast and friendly. The room was nice and clean and one huge bed. Always had hot water except for one day around 6:00pm, guess everyone was showering before diner.

The food was ok but for supper get there has soon has it opens; we went later in the evening and found the food not that good. For lunch we always ate at the pool bar they made pizza, burgers and hotdogs oh also ham & cheese sandwiches.

The drinks were good but they didn’t make the drinks I loved in Dominican like banana mamas or real rum punch.

We went into Varadero a few times and took the horse & buggy ride 10 pesos per person but it was worth it. We also went to Havana and did the Catamaran both of the excursions I recommend.

The beach was just awesome, god I wish I was still there.

Overall I would recommend this place has the hotel and the staff make your holidays even that better.
If you have any questions please feel free to contact me at younggun_66@sympatico.ca and I would be happy to answer any questions.

Also a special thank you to the people in the Cuba forums for answering questions I had before going.

Jean

My boyfriend and I stayed at the Coralia from March 7th to 14th and had the best vacations of our lives!
CURRENCY: I recommend that you change your canadian dollars (or other currency) right at the airport because they don't take a commission. You can also change it at the front desk at the hotel, but they will take a 10 % commission. Don't forget to convert your cuc back to your currency before leaving cuba, as you won't be able to convert it anywhere else.
HOTEL: very nice, big enough and all the rooms are close to the beach. It is well maintained overall and has all the facilities you need (little shop, pharmacy, internet services, restaurants, bars, ping pong and pool tables, etc.)
BEACH: We spent all our days at the beach, which is absolutely stunning, you'd think you're in a postcard!!! For those who have only been to cuba in the summer, you should know that the water is colder around this time of year, but still very enjoyable. We had two windy days so a lot of waves, which was pretty cool. On the beach, you can borrow pedalboats, kayaks (and life jackets) everyday before 1 or 2 pm if the weather is nice (not too windy). Know that beach towels are available for a 10 cuc deposit.
RESTAURANTS: There is the buffet in the main building, which serves 3 meals a day. I recommand having breakfast and dinner there. The food is good, not great. A lot of variety so you can always find something you like. Fresh fish and seafood everyday! For lunch, I strongly recommand going to the rancheon, which is the outdoor restaurant near the beach. It is also a buffet, but the tables are outside and there is a band playing music. Very nice. You can also eat at the poolbar, which serves pizza (very good), hotdogs, sandwiches and snacks like that.
Note that there are no restaurants open 24h so bring up bread or cookies up to your room in case you get a midnight craving!
BARS: There is the lobby bar (24h), the poolbar, the beach bar, and a bar in each restaurant. Ask for brown rum in your drinks. At dinner, they will serve you wine. The red one is really bad, but the rosee one is ok. Their local bear is also pretty good. The plastic cups they give you are very small and not convenient for the beach, so you shold bring a travel mug with you. They will gladly fill it up for you.
ACTIVITIES: We were supposed to go the Havana with a group, but we cancelled at the last minute because we simply did not want to miss a day at the beach!!! But we did hear very positive things about their day. The trip is about 70 cuc per person. You can also go on a jeep safari, or a catamaran excursion (also around 70 cuc). The animation team is very active and friendly! They organize beachvolley every morning, dance lessons, waterpolo in the pool in the afternoon... Take advantage of all those activities! At night, there is a show outdoors. It is a dance and magic show. Make sure you go see it at least once, but it gets repetitive though. There is a discotheque in the hotel but it is always empty... which is a shame because it is pretty nice and there is good music.
TIPPING: We liked to leave 1 cuc to the maid everyday, as well as 1 cuc to our waiter at night and 1 to the beach bartender for all the nice drinks. One thing we did not enjoy was the fact that the guys at the lobby bar looked like they expected a tip each time we ordered something, and sometimes ignored us... DO NOT FEEL OBLIGED TO TIP. but do acknowdge the staff when they do a good job and be friendly with them. You will see that they are generally extremely friendly as well! Another note: if you have stuff that you don't want anymore (your travel mugs, sunglasses, make up or lotions, caps...) don't hesitate to give it to the staff... even if you think it is ridiculous, they will surely appreciate it! VERY IMPORTANT: Don't forget all the staff that sometimes gets ignored: the lady who cuts the fruit at the rancheon, the pool guy, the lifeguard... we always tend to give everything to the maid so she ends up with the tips and the gifts, while the others (who work as much) are left aside...
SOUVENIRS: there is a cute market downtown Varadero. you can buy typical souvernirs from there. if you want cigars and rum, get it at the airport, it is a lot less expensive. Whatever you do, don't buy it at the hotel boutique, its twice the price!! If you want, you can also ask a waiter of bartender if they have rum to sell, and they will glady give you a couple of bottles for about 4 cuc each (good deal, although you're not supposed to).

SO HAVE FUN! ENJOY EVERY MOMENT! YOU'LL HAVE AN AMAZING TIME!!!!!