Worst hotel I've ever stayed at. Think of the worst holiday you could imagine and double it.

We experienced ants in the room (even in the bed), frogs coming through the broken tiles in ceiling in the bathroom, fridge flooded and smelt mouldy, when we called out the maintenance man he mopped it up with our bathroom towels and they weren't replaced!

Food was disgusting. Cold food warm and hot food also just about warm. No labels, no idea what we were eating. All tasted the same anyway. Most of the food was left uncovered and they had birds and flies in the restaurants! We ended up living on bread and plain rice and pringles (that cost a fortune from the gift shop).

It was no surprise that both of us ended up with food poisoning ( I was referred to infectious disease department of hospital when we got home and had to take 6 weeks off work).

The entertainment was shockingly distasteful. Same 4 people doing a variation of the same show every night for a fortnight with audience particaption. Horrid.

Drinks were not the "branded" drinks as advertised by sandals but cuban brand. Disgusting.

The only good thing was the excellent beach, but we only seen that a few times as we were too ill to go that far from the toilet!

We complained and as a good will gesture they offered us 4 free nights in the very same hotel.... no thank you!!!

I went to Beaches Varadero over University Reading Week (mid February) with my mom for a girls week. We were on an a Air Canada flight, and the service was what you would expect, lousy. But the flight attendants were nice and we landed safely so I was happy!

We had experienced several delays throughout our first day of travelling, and arrived at the resort around 2pm (about 3 hours later then we should of). We paid extra for the Concierge Service (all the rooms on the top floor) and were told part of this package was getting checked in promptly when we arrived. The room was not ready. They told us to go to lunch (at which point there was only one restaurant open and it was slowly closing down). We returned an hour later and the room was still not ready. At this point we have been up since 3am, and even though we have brought shorts to change into, we were absolutely boiling and extremely cranky. Words were exchanged after about 2 hours, they gave us the room eventually to store our stuff in even though it wasn't clean. The room was not cleaned till much later that night, and it was a rushed job. A bit of a nightmare.

The restaurants were great! As part of the concierge service we could just walk up the concierge during the day (even a couple hours before) and just say what restaurant we wanted and when. This service made the upgrade worth while. The seafood restaurant was the best (we ate there 3 times) and the Italian was easily the worst. The main buffet has a FANTASTIC seafood buffet one night of the week, lobster everyway yuo can imagine! And the staff in most of the restaurants were great.

I have never scuba dived before, so I decided to give it a try. It was great! The staff was very helpful. They started me in the pool and then took me out on a real dive! The man who runs the scuba shack it just amazing. Very nice, professional and helpful. * He even carried me scuba tank for me to the boat because it was to heavy!*

Tipping will make your stay much more enjoyable. Bring a bunch of small bills (american one dollar bills are fine) and leave them on the pillow for your maid - it is amazing the difference it will make. Meet a bartender at the beginning of yuor stay, give him $20, and as soon as yuo walk up to the bar you'll be the first one served. Unfair, yes, but everyone does it. Tipping your waiters at dinner is also much appreciated.

Our oceanview room itself was great. We just sat on the balcony a lot and looked at the ocean. I recommend locking up EVERYTHING in your suitcase when yuo're not there. Money can make your room clean, but it still wont stop the maids from stealing. My favorite shorts went missing, and when yuo've paid $70 for a pair of shorts it is quite upsetting.

Be careful how much time you spend in the sun and avoid foods you wouldn't normally eat. Both my mother and I got very sick on separate days and were unable to leave the room for 36 hours. The concierge service was once again great here, they were jsut a few rooms down the hall and were constantly sending people to come clean the washroom for us, sent us teas, bread and crackers, and offered to call us a doctor several times (they realing made up for that bad beginning here!).

I don't recommend shopping here. The malls are all American imported stores and are usually overpriced. The locals have some cute things, but nothing practical. Liqour is dirt cheap, even if yuo don't drink it yourself it's worth buying for friends. If you are going to buy cigars, the cheapest prices we found were at the airport. Buying them at the airport also garantees that they are authentic and you will get the proper documentation to take them out of the country!

Overall it was a decent trip. It's a great resort if you hate the sound of kids crying on your vacation (which neither my mother or I can tolerate). Great people, mostly from Canada, the rest from Britain. Overall, a great opportunity to just hang out.

My boyfriend and I stayed at Beaches to celebrate the end of a long and stressful school year and were not disappointed. Check-in was very fast and convenient. Upon getting to our room we discovered that we had been upgraded to an ocean view. As a result of the gorgeous view we spent most of our nights out on the deck overlooking the resort grounds. It was absolutely amazing.

The room itself was decent. It's important to keep in mind that you are in Cuba where the standards and quality are not going to be the same as you would expect in other countries, for obvious reasons. The resort grounds were beautiful when we were there, everything was lush and well maintained.

The first full day we had there included a very helpful overview of the resort with our representative. He was friendly and covered a variety of information that really helped us during our week long stay in the hotel and while in Havana. Service varied, as it would anywhere else in the world. You are always going to get people who are are cranky or impolite and those who are a joy to be around. Generally the staff was friendly. Tipping was greatly appreciated and as always, can tend to get you better service.

The resort bars were well staffed and we didn't have any problems getting service, although it did tend to get busy at the pool bar. Rum flows like water and the drinks can be much stronger than you are accustomed to. The food was mostly bland but there are some good choices in the buffet. On our second last day we both became very ill from our breakfast which confined us to the room the entire day. The restaurants were decent but nothing spectacular. We were able to eat at all 3 and had a really good time.

While at the resort we booked a scooter and went into Varadero which was a blast and very close. We were also able to drive down the peninsula and see all the resorts. We did the day trip to Havana with the visit to the cigar factory. Havana is unbelievable! If you want to purchase cigars though, make sure you do it after the rum factory tour as you can't purchase any at the cigar factory. The catamaran trip was very relaxing. They take you snorkelling and then to a private island where they feed you seafood. They also offer you a plate of lobster tails for only a few pesos which was really good. Swimming with the dolphins was so much fun. If you can't swim well I don't recommend it, everyone jumps into a pen in the ocean and you have to tread water while the dolphins swim amongst everybody. There are no lifejackets provided.

One of the best parts was the beach. It was spectacular!!! We spent all our time there when not doing a tour. There are watersports but if it's windy they stop all those activities. Both of us actually had more fun swimming in the waves when it was windy then when the water was calm. A lot of people put there towels on a chair in the early morning to reserve them. It's a ridiculous thing as many people don't show up until much later in the day, if at all. I recommend just moving them (as many people do).

Entertainment varied. There were some fantastic musical groups who walk among the guests at dinner. The nightly shows were horrible and we ended up avoiding almost all of them.

Things to Take:
-Snacks
-Lot's of Sunscreen
-Bug spray
-Mugs for taking your drinks to the beach or pool
-Gatorade powder (to quickly rehydrate you if you get ill from the food)
-Tylenol or Advil (and any other medical supplies you might need)
-Soap and Shampoos for the people in Havana

Tip: When you visit Beaches you have to remember that you are in Cuba, and as a result, everything is going to be slightly run down and perhaps not completely up the standards you normally have. Remember this and you'll have a blast!

We had a short stay in Havana (which I would recommend) and then spent 10 days in Beaches Varadero. First impressions, the hotel is in dire need of an overhaul. The food is ok (you have to bear in mind where you are) but I found the buffet restaurant much better than the bookable restuarants. Staff - they are quite attentive, as long as you tip but pool bar service is poor. Also we found it quite embaressing the staff keep asking to buy your CD player, camera etc as they cannot get them in Cuba (which I do sympathise with but it does get a bit annoying when you have to keep explaining they were a gift and you can't give them away!). The staff on reception can be quite surly and I wouldnt advise using any of the payable facilities (one holiday maker paid $20 for a shirt to be washed, it hadnt even been ironed and they refused to give him his money back!)

We did tip all the time giving larger amounts to the younger members of staff but we didnt realise all the tips go into a big pot to be shared out between all staff. Beach is very nice and theres always a bed - waters very clear and the beach bar is handy but it is in the middle of some bushes. Another thing we found quite bizarre, is people from other hotels just stroll in every day for mealtimes as the food is not as good in the hotels nearby. The english are the minority at the resort with around 95% canadian.

Basically, you'll have a good time but its not one of the better hotels we've stayed in.