I came to Bella Costa with three of my friends and we stayed Feb 24 - March 3. It was the best time of my life, hands down. We got really lucky with the weather, and every day was 30+ degrees. The beach was breathtaking, with crystal clear water and powdery-white sand. The staff tended to the beach really well even though a lot of people were leaving cups and garbage laying around.
I know it says that the hotel has four bars, but there are really only two main ones. The lobby bar, and the pool bar. The lobby bar is really relaxing and you will always get a drink in a fun glass with a fruit garnish. (Best bartenders: Sergio and Barbara) The pool bar is delicious, but very busy and you will get served with dixie cups if you don't bring your own. (Best bartenders: Vladimir and a woman with black hair in a ponytail, I can't remember her name) There is also a bar in the beach buffet (the Cuban a la carte at night), and I'm still trying to figure out what the fourth one was... I think they are counting it as the small one inside the "disco", but they only served liquor there, no beer. Must-try drinks: Pina Coladas, Tigers with rum, Blue Hawaiis, Bahama Mamas, Rum-Punches (equivelant to a sex-on-the-beach), Ron Collins, and obviously the beer. The strawberry daquiris were just okay. The beer was like water so you could drink it all day long and never get hungover. Beware to guests that are booking through Sunwing... the booklet and website claims that the bar is 24 hours, but it closes at 1am! Even the resort next door (Tuxpan) was only rated silver with Sunwing but it had a bar open until 3:30am. This was the one thing that really got on my nerves throughout the trip. You were basically forced to spend more money to either bribe certain bartenders to keep the bar open, or to get into the discos off of the resort. However, the staff was really good about getting people to come party at the discos and would even come with you if you wanted to go.
The food was tolerable. What I don't understand is how people can complain about it. When you come to Cuba you have to expect that it is going to be sub-par. There is something for everyone there. I consider myself to be one of the pickiest eaters I know, and I always filled my plate. Some of the more generic foods that will be sure to be a staple are mini-pizza squares, all different kinds of pasta, rice, french fries, fresh bread, and burgers. I actually really enjoyed the burgers. I would suggest bringing a bottle of Heinz for all you ketchup lovers... the ketchup there tastes kind of like BBQ sauce. There are three a la carte restaurants: The Italian, International, and Cuban. We never made it to the Cuban, but heard it was the best one. The food at them was okay but I actually preferred the buffet because they had really small portions. One warning: if you order the fajitas in the International, it's just steak strips with peppers and stuff on a plate. No sour cream, salsa, or wraps. They will bring you out sour cream if you ask for it, but it tasted terrible. Our waiter didn't really know what salsa was, so we assumed they didn't have any. One thing I wish I had known that we didn't figure out until a few hours before we left the hotel is that the pool bar has a stash of ham and cheese sandwitches that you can get at any time of day. They are plain but a great filler if you are looking for a snack.
Personally, we didn't do any of the trips. We came for the sun and beach and spent most of our time there. There was one bigger man who worked at the pool bar who would come up to you and serve you drinks on the beach, he did a really good job. There were really neat beach vendors that would set up shop along the beach, they didn't take up much space and would never approach you unless you came up to them. However, most of the stuff that they sold could be bought in town for a few pesos cheaper. I would only reccomend buying something from them if you don't plan on going into town. One thing we did do is take the paddle boats out often. It's really fun and if you bring your own snorkelling mask (or rent one from them for 5 pesos) you can go out really far into the ocean and look down; it's really beautiful. We also paid the man at the catamarans and paddle boats 15 pesos to take us out into the ocean and go snorkelling with the fishes for an hour. The whole thing takes about two hours because it's a thirty minute saileach way. I would reccomend this to anyone who can swim! There are hundreds of thousands of fish that literally swim up to you and touch you and stuff! They are all different sizes and colours. I am personally really scared of fish so I stayed back a little bit, but it was really nice to watch them all. On the beach itself, it was really easy to find a beach lounger and a nice spot. It wasn't too crowded and the people were really friendly. We left our stuff unattended for a good 15 hours over the course of the trip with absolutley no problems.
We went into town one day and it was a lot of fun. We took a cab from the hotel (there were always some waiting out front, never needed to phone one) and it was 5 pesos to the edge of town. Then we walked all the way up the street until we didn't see anything further. We stopped at almost everywhere that served beer, and got the best pina coladas ever at this one BEAUTIFUL lake bar. it looked like a castle! I can't remember what it's called, but it has a beautiful gateway and a long path to the bar, and there's always a man standing out front saying "Best Pina Coladas in Varadero"! They really were. You could tell they used fresh coconut because if you chewed you could taste it! The markets were fair and pretty much universal in price. If you ask, most times the shop owners will burn your name or "Cuba 2007" into a souvineer if it is made out of wood, most of the time for no charge. When you go to come home from the hotel, DEFINATELY take one of those old-school cabs that look like they are from the 1930's, they have removable tops and it doesn't cost more than a regular cab to take back.
Long story short, Bella Costa was an amazing experience. There was a wide variety of ages, and something for everyone there. If you were looking to party, there were clubs steps away and staff that would participate. If you are wanting to relax, all you need is a pina colada and a beach chair, both readily available! If you are considering a vacation in Varadero, I would highly reccomend Bella Costa, or perhaps to check out one of these other hotels, which I thought looked beautiful as well:
- Barcelona Solymar
- Sol Serenas
- Tuxpan (right next door)
- Blau Varadero
- Breezes Super Clubs Varadero
