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COVID-19 update: See the added health and safety measures this property is taking.Read more
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Room & Suite (112)
Dining (68)
Travel safe during COVID-19
What you can expect during your stay
- All linens sanitized in high-temperature wash
- Face masks required for guests in public areas
- Face masks required for staff in public areas
- Floors marked for social distancing
- Hand sanitizer available to guests & staff
- Paid stay-at-home policy for staff with symptoms
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Updated 06/24/20 Safety precautions are provided by the property and are not checked by Tripadvisor for accuracy.
A note from Occidental Arenas Blancas
Updated 06/24/20 Safety precautions are provided by the property and are not checked by Tripadvisor for accuracy.
About
#52 of 90 hotels in Varadero
Location
Cleanliness
Service
Value
The hotel Occidental Arenas Blancas stands right on the sea front of the top spot of Varadero beach, Cuba’s best-known tourist destination. With a privileged setting, it’s the perfect place to combine rest and relaxation with a wide array of exciting activities. All clients staying in this hotel have the righ to equally enjoy all the facilities and services of both hotels at the Resort (except Solymar Buffet).
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Property amenities
Free parking
Public wifi
Pool
Fitness Center with Gym / Workout Room
Free breakfast
Beach
Tennis court
Children Activities (Kid / Family Friendly)
Paid internet
Outdoor pool
Bar / lounge
Restaurant
Breakfast buffet
Poolside bar
Entertainment staff
Evening entertainment
Airport transportation
Meeting rooms
Concierge
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Room features
Air conditioning
Private balcony
Safe
Minibar
Flatscreen TV
Room types
Ocean view
Non-smoking rooms
Suites
Good to know
HOTEL CLASS
HOTEL STYLE
Ocean View
Location
Full view
59Somewhat walkable
Grade: 59 out of 100
20Restaurantswithin 0.75 miles
11Attractionswithin 0.75 miles
834Reviews136Q+A87Room tips
Reviews
Traveler rating
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- 208
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Popular mentions
Arrived here on December 21st. Originally booked for Be Live Experience, but that hotel was actually closed and Transat sold us the packaged knowing so!!! They switched us to this hotel and it’s disgusting. 1) it’s very old and everything is falling apart 2) its dirty, and there is never any toilet paper in common washrooms after afternoon. When I asked the cleaned, she said ‘Sorry, we don’t have anymore’. You basically have to be close to your room, or run from beach and lobby to your room, or carry toilet paper with you, 3) the mattresses are 20 year old mast mattresses where even sitting on the edge is uncomfortable 4) today is my 2nd day, it’s actually chilly here and I still don’t have hot water to shower with 5) there are no vegetarian options at meals. The meats are all ‘mystery meats’ and nothing tastes like it does —— even for Cuba. It’s Covid right now, so the chefs serve you. There is 1 chef and 60 people in line ... good luck getting any food There aren’t even black beans! They always have ham and pork in everything.... 6) The entertainment is all in Spanish.... I don’t know HOW or WHY Transat puts tourists here. This is ridiculous. No one other than front desk understands our English. 7) I asked for sheets to be changed.. and the girl came back a 2nd time Saying she already did it., but even then she didn’t change pillow cases and still had dirty marks on it . Never book a stay here. And definetly don’t book with Transat. They will take your money, and sell you a package for a resort that is shut down for renovations! I write this as I wait for hot water to take a shower. Apparently the breaker for hot water was off... let’s see if it gets better in 30 minutes. …
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Date of stay: December 2020Trip type: Traveled with friends
1 Helpful vote
Helpful
Response from JUAN MARQUES, Director General at Occidental Arenas Blancas
Responded Jan 5, 2021
Dear guest, We appreciate you reaching out on Tripadvisor to notify us of your concerns related to your recent stay at our Occidental Arenas Blancas hotel and apologize if you experienced any inconsistency in our service, we have read your review with our utmost attention and will take note of your constructive remarks.
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+1
After 20 hrs journey from London to Varadero via Madrid I have arrived to the hotel around 1 am and found out that my booking for 3 nights was not in the system, the receptionist told me that due to the tropical storm the hotel was closed for check-in, however I have never been informed either my reservation was cancelled. After speaking to trip advisor UK and a long story around 5am they make me pay for a deposit and let me check in to the room, what a surprise no water in the room came down to reception and she told me one of the pipes was broken and the hotel has no water,my question is why I was not informed about the water situation??, I have requested to go to the pool becuase I wanted to sleep and I was refused becuase of H&safety. The rooms urgently needs refurbishment I am agreed with previous guest's comments I have attached pictures, the space is nice however you can smell humidity, there are ants everywhere, bathroom is in an awful conditions. I do not recommend this hotel for staying. Food is the almost same for luch and dinner with not many choices however the F&B team who serve is really kind and nice including the lobby bar team. The day of departure I requested 1hr late checkout and I was told that it was only possible if I pay extra fees for it, I was in chock becuase I thought the hotel was OK giving me this as compensation for the terrible experience but they have not done anything no apologies or whatsoever, I have then requested to speak to the customer service team to complain about what has happened I was even more disappointed and surprised when the Manager told me that she was not aware of nothing that has happened to me??, really??? That means communication between sale-reception-costumer service doest not exist on this Hotel, as we all know this team needs to work as solid rock to exceed guests expectations but it looks that they do not know how it's works at list I am saying that for my experience. As CEO of Cubaland UK travel agency who works partnership with all tour operators will ensure that none of my British clients will stay at this property.…
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Date of stay: November 2020Trip type: Traveled on business
2 Helpful votes
Helpful
Response from JUAN MARQUES, Director General at Occidental Arenas Blancas
Responded Dec 16, 2020
Dear Guest, Although we sincerely regret your disappointment with your stay in our Occidental Arenas Blancas, we would like to thank you for sharing your comments as it will help us to identify areas of concern and act immediately so as to enhance our future guests' experience among us.
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The Hotel is on top location, beach, garden complex, swimming pool - 5 stars - but the hotel is older and needs a full renovation. And, there is no service that we expect on vacation. Disgust comes when eating and in the rooms. Ants and cockroaches - a constant companion, certainly everywhere in the kitchen, public places and your room. The staff is overwhelmed, few are nice and service oriented, many employees are neither professional nor interested. You will be annoyed, even if you love Cuba and the "revolution" behind ... Such a hotel does not have to be. I complained about the uncleanliness in the room over several days, asking for the removal of many cockroaches, except tomorrow tomorrow - no solution comes. The "all inclusive solution" must also be fun or tasty ... The fight on the hot buffet was terrible, the quality of food was low and the cleanliness in the large dining area was also very low due to slow service. To top it all, on the day of departure I was accused of stealing a small towel that was never delivered there in the 6 days of my vacation. Staff accusation and suitcase inspection in the presence of all other travellers in the foyer! Never again, that's terror - but not a vacation. Good tip, don't do that to yourself.…
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Date of stay: November 2019
Value
Location
Service
Room Tip: "avoid it!"
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1 Helpful vote
Helpful
Response from ManagerGX, Customer Experience at Occidental Arenas Blancas
Responded May 25, 2020
Dear guest, Thank you for choosing our Occidental Arenas Blancas for your stay. We sincerely regret reading that you found insects in our facilities and we thank you for contacting our reception for us to intervene. We have in place a regular pest-control plan and of course work hard on a daily basis to avoid their presence within our grounds, however at certain times of the year, depending on the climatology, the presence of insects is unfortunately unavoidable. Furthermore, cockroaches need food, water, warmth and shelter for survival and this is why we have a very strict policy forbidding the taking of food from our restaurant and we also encourage our guests not to leave any food or crumbs in their rooms in order to avoid their settlement in our accommodations. Please accept our sincerest apologies for the inconveniences caused to you. We lament also to know about the incidence on the cleanliness since this is one of our top priorities. We perform thorough cleaning and disinfection procedures, and we proceed to correct any imperfection that guests report. We will take your comment into consideration and apologise if this exceptional situation did not reflect our standards. On the other hand, we regret to know that the gastronomic offer did not meet at all your expectations due to the quality of food. Our chefs strive to offer elaborated dishes and we pay the finest attention to select the food suppliers. Despite these issues, we're pleased to read you enjoyed our outdoor facilities and the fantastic location in beachfront and very closed to center of Varadero. We cannot allow guests to leave with a feeling of dissatisfaction. For this reasons, the items mentioned will be discussed with our teams to see how we can improve. We sincerely look forward to seeing you again so we may regain your trust with a better experience. Customer Experience | Barceló Hotel Group
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I was very pleasantly surprised with my stay at the Occidental. After reading reviews having already booked, I was quite concerned. The food was very good with lots of choices and variety and quantity. The staff was very pleasant and professional. It was nice to even have television with reception from my hometown of Ottawa! The beach was fantastic and you can just walk into town. I asked for a room change from ground to balcony and that was done the very next day. The house red and white wines were good. My disappointments were over the coffee machine often closed down during off hours but lobby always had coffee available. I loved my stay and would return and recommend to others.
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Date of stay: February 2020Trip type: Traveled solo
Helpful
Response from BarceloSmAb, Public Relations Manager at Occidental Arenas Blancas
Responded Apr 20, 2020
Hola SandraFeb20!! First and foremost we would like to thank you for the praising review you shared following your visit to our Occidental Arenas Blancas hotel and are delighted to read that we were able to match your expectations. Our staff apreciates it a lot. We will be waiting for you in a near future! Guest Service
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Check in was slow but okay - no real excitement from the staff to start our vacation. They sent us to a run down room and it was pretty gross. There were ants everywhere around what probably was not cleaned. We went down to ask to switch rooms and waited a ridiculous amount of time to even be acknowledged. They gave us a much better room, however lights by bedside not working, there were only two hand towels. The barista was great at the coffee bar. Bartenders in the Saoco Bar were miserable - just not engaging with guests, pouring drinks with little care, they were often engaged in conversations or viewing their phones rather than tending to guests - and really didn't seem to care when you caught their eye. The best part of this resort is their pool and the beach. You have access to Solymar hotel beside as well - food was way better over there but the pool better on the Occidental side. Food in general was good, but we ate the food prepared right in front of us at the cook stations. There was NOTHING for kids to do so make sure you bring things to entertain. The entertainment staff ran a BINGO every day and then some adult games but nothing to engage the kids, aside from a pre-night show, but it was horrible too. The main hotel block needs some TLC. You can't send guests to Solymar and then not compare to where they are staying. Despite the beauty of the beach/pool and its close distance to Veradaro town and airport, I would never stay here again.…
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Date of stay: March 2020
1 Helpful vote
Helpful
Response from BarceloSmAb, Gerente at Occidental Arenas Blancas
Responded Mar 30, 2020
Hola!! The vision of our clients is the key to complete guest-satisfaction, therefore we are very grateful for the time you spent writing this review guest services
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PRICE RANGE
$92 - $155 (Based on Average Rates for a Standard Room)
FORMERLY KNOWN AS
Barcelo Arenas Blancas
LOCATION
CaribbeanCubaMatanzas ProvinceVaradero
NUMBER OF ROOMS
358
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Claim Your Listing Frequently Asked Questions about Occidental Arenas Blancas
Which popular attractions are close to Occidental Arenas Blancas?
Nearby attractions include Mi Casa Beatles (0.3 miles), Calle 62 (0.2 miles), and Taller de Cerámica Artística (0.3 miles).
What are some of the property amenities at Occidental Arenas Blancas?
Some of the more popular amenities offered include free breakfast, a pool, and an on-site restaurant.
Which room amenities are available at Occidental Arenas Blancas?
Top room amenities include a minibar, air conditioning, and a flat screen TV.
What food & drink options are available at Occidental Arenas Blancas?
Guests can enjoy free breakfast, an on-site restaurant, and a lounge during their stay.
Is parking available at Occidental Arenas Blancas?
Yes, free parking is available to guests.
What are some restaurants close to Occidental Arenas Blancas?
Conveniently located restaurants include La Gruta El Vino, Waco's Club, and Varadero 60.
Are there opportunities to exercise at Occidental Arenas Blancas?
Yes, guests have access to a pool and a fitness center during their stay.
Does Occidental Arenas Blancas have an airport shuttle?
Yes, Occidental Arenas Blancas offers an airport shuttle for guests. We recommend calling ahead to confirm details.
Are there any historical sites close to Occidental Arenas Blancas?
Many travelers enjoy visiting Cueva de Ambrosio (5.9 miles).
Does Occidental Arenas Blancas have any great views?
Yes, guests often enjoy the ocean view available here.
Is Occidental Arenas Blancas accessible?
Yes, it offers wheelchair access and reduced mobility rooms. For specific inquiries, we recommend calling ahead to confirm.