On January 29 I returned from a stay at Puntarena with my wife and 15 other family members ranging from a 10 month old baby up to my 74 year old father-in-law. All things considered it was a pretty good hotel with decent staff. Although I'm thinking it might be a great idea if someone was hired to go around and pick up the plastic cups and straws and all sorts of other pieces of discarded plastic. But I guess that's not really a complaint about the hotel as it doesn't seem anyone in Cuba has ever heard the words 'Reduce, Re-use, Recycle'. The meals were pretty much standard and nothing too exciting but decent enough and safely prepared as none of the 17 family members got deathly ill. (One afternoon a group of 8 of us had lunch at a different restaurant in town and it wasn't any better or worse so it could be that all meals in Cuba are much the same.) So, here is a recommendation. Bring your own drinking cup! Something re-useable like a travel mug or such. You will find that every time you go to the bar to get a drink they will give you a dinky throw away plastic cup. And if you take advantage of the many drinks you will go through in a week that adds up to a huge pile of junk plastic. And not only that but the cups are small so that by the time you get to your table the drink is gone and you have to go back and fight through the Russians to get another one. And here's another suggestion especially if you are with a large group. Don't let the porter take your bags to your room when you arrive no matter how persistant he is. Our group were put into rooms on several different floors and the porter had a heck of a time finding us all. One brother-in-law waited about a half an hour before his bags were delivered and then was expected to hand over a tip. No serious complaints and the hotel was good value for the money and I wouldn't hesitate to go there again. Although I would have preferred a room on the ocean side so try and get one of those.

First, let me preface this by saying that this was my 4th time in Cuba, but 1st time in Varadero (I've previously been to Santiago de Cuba, Cayo Guillermo, and Santa Lucia). My boyfriend & I booked a very last minute trip (booked Friday, left Sunday) to this resort based on the price. We picked this resort solely based on price. It was a short trip (only 3 nights), not long enough to get sick of the buffet food (a common-looking complaint, based on other reviews).

The Good
- the 'Snack Bar' was quite convenient. We didn't get to the resort until after 10pm & so had missed dinner. The Snack Bar does not have an extensive selection (hamburgers, ham & cheese sandwiches, orange or pineapple juice...) but is open until the wee hours of the morning. The ham & cheese sandwiches were quite nice.
- the Lobby bar is 24 hours.
- the pool area is great, even without a swim-up bar (there is a bar right next to the pool area though).
- we found the staff quite friendly and accommodating. Yes, you get better and quicker service if you tip - however that's how it works here at home too. I found it to be comparable to the other resorts I've been to in that respect.
- The buffet food was plentiful & quite typical of Cuban all-inclusive fare. No complaints on that front & neither of us were sick at all.


The OK
- As the other reviewers have said, the beach was lovely but not very well maintained. There was an abundance of shells and it was a bit painful to walk around barefoot (not overly so though - I still did & didn't get cuts on my feet).
- The hotel is quite far from the main Varadero strip, and so if you want to go into town you need to either hop on the bus or take a cab.


The Bad/Not-so-Good
- Upon arrival at the hotel, the front desk staff tried to hold onto our passports overnight so that they could complete the registration forms. Not being comfortable with that, we chose to stay at the desk & wait for the forms to be filled out. The staff did not seem to impressed with us, however we were not about to leave our passports with anyone.
- It is a multi-storey building with very slow elevators which close quickly & unexpectedly. The elevators appear safer than the stairs though - which are outside, rusty & don't seem quite safe.
- The room was really not what I had expected from a 3.5 star resort. As I've said, I've been to Cuba in the past (also at resorts in the 3 to 3.5 star range) and so do not believe I went in with expectations that were too high. The room was loud (we were on the 5th floor overlooking the canal & the noise from the pool & shows put on by the entertainment staff were so loud it sounded like they were in the room with us) and quite tired (the bathroom especially really was in need of an update - the bathtub was so worn that it looked like the bottom had rusted out, the mirrors looked like they were mouldy...)

With the exception of the room it was a pleasant stay, however I don't believe we will return to this resort... I'm confident that we got what we paid for, however next time would drop a few extra bucks to be closer to the city and at a nicer place.

I stayed with my almost 7 year old daughter from Jan 1 to 8.
ALL THE BAD:
Upon arriving at 5:30 am nobodys rooms were ready
You CAN smell the sulphur from the oil mills
Ants in my room
Shower didn't drain and no hot water.
ALL THE GOOD:
I saw a beautiful sunrise the day I arrived while waiting for my room,
I also met some very nice people also while waiting.
I got a beautiful ocean side room for only $35 more
Our maid Mary was FANTASTIC. With the minor
problem with our room she made up for it
I found almost all the staff to be very friendly and all were so kind to
my daughter.

All in all for the price I paid I found this place to be fine.
You have to realize no hotel in Cuba is going to be what
alot of us are use to but if you just realize you are there
to have an experience and not to be pampered you will
fine. The beach is not as nice as further down the strip
but its still gorgeous and the water is great!

Now for the HORRIBLE:
The kids Club, It was one of the reasons I picked the hotel so I could have some time
for myself but it was a joke and I left my daughter there once for about an
hour and then it was their 2 hour lunch break. When i took her back
I was at the pool about half an hour and they came out and just pointed me
out to my daughter so she thought they wanted her to stay with me.
The next morning I left her and had 2 hours to myself but she said it was boring
and I noticed they didn't do anything either day that was on their board of activities.
I did try it one more time and as I went to go to my room I noticed her sitting in the
kids room ALONE! The woman came in right after me I think she was out chatting with another employee but that was it for me.
I just kept my daughter with me from then on and we had a fantastic time together.

Bottom line is if the price is as good as I got it (under 600 for the week) and you aren't taking your kids this place is perfectly fine!

This was our second trip to the Puntarena in less than a year. Some people just never learn.

I will start with the cons:

-There is no on-off control for the sun, it is almost always on and really hot. I went there white and returned half black. People are still complimenting my tan...what a hassle.
-As others have noted, there are some seashells on the beach!!! Where the #$%#$% do these things come from??
-The water in the ocean is not fresh like the water in the pool. It has a bluish color and for some reason tastes a bit like salt.
-There is too much choice of food for diner, so you have to go early if you have trouble making up your mind between fish, beef, pork or pasta. What a complete waste of time !!
-The staff is always smiling like as if they are in a great mood and having fun. They should be depressed like I am when at work.
-The staff is constantly pushing free beer, Daquiris, and other tasty beverages on you. For example I asked for a glass of red wine and received a bottle!!
-The hotel is located just a bit too far from the town so had to take a beautiful long stroll along the beach to get to town. I got water on my sandals and sand on my feet. The horror! The horror !
-My room was on the 7th floor and faced the ocean so I was awakened by the sound of the surf and this really bright sunrise cracking over the horizon....every morning. I am on vacation to rest, not to experience this romantic spectacle with my super hot girlfriend.

The pros:
-The price $527 for 7 days
-Pizza vendor somewhere around calle 41
-Safe to walk around
-Giant chess board
-$5 cab rides in a '51 convertible

I hope this helps people who were thinking of getting mugged in Mexico for four times the price.