TripAdvisor Traveler Rating

**"The *Not-So-Grand* Varadero: A Vacation Gone Wrong"** Ah, Varadero, Cuba—where the beaches are beautiful, the sun is warm, and the hotels… well, let’s just say, if you book the wrong one, it’s a recipe for disaster. We arrived at what we thought would be a lovely 14-day getaway, only to find ourselves trapped in a hotel experience that can only be described as a blend of disappointment and disbelief. Let’s start with the bed situation. In most hotels, you expect fresh sheets daily, right? Not here. Over our entire 14-day stay, they changed the sheets exactly *once.* I’m not saying we were counting down the days, but by day ten, we were seriously considering setting up our own laundry service. Who knew fresh linens were a once-in-a-fortnight luxury? And the pool towels? The stuff of legends. The towel hut was always closed. We’re talking *always.* I began to wonder if it was some kind of art installation rather than an actual service. We ended up rationing our bath towels, which, given that we weren’t getting fresh ones from housekeeping very often, added an extra layer of stress to our supposed “relaxation” time. Speaking of housekeeping, they had a peculiar schedule—or lack thereof. It turns out they skipped cleaning our room every two days. Three days of trash piling up, sand collecting in every corner, and that weird feeling you get when you realize no one is coming to save you from your own mess. When they did finally make an appearance, it was as if they were competing in a speed-cleaning contest. The bed was barely made, the floor was still sandy, and let’s not even talk about the soap situation—because there wasn’t any. Not a single bar. We had to make do with those tiny shampoo bottles for all our washing needs. Talk about roughing it. But the real kicker? They ran out of beer. That’s right, in Cuba, land of the classic cerveza, they actually ran out of beer. Imagine our dismay when we strolled up to the bar, only to be told that the beer taps had run dry. We’d have settled for a cold one at this point, but instead, we were left high and dry, sipping on whatever other beverages they had in stock—which, let’s be honest, weren’t much to write home about. And then there was the food. If you’re a pasta lover, you might have thought you were in heaven. If you’re anyone else, it was more like purgatory. Every day, the same bland options: pasta, pasta, and more pasta. Occasionally, they’d throw in some fish or chicken, but let’s just say the excitement wore off by the third meal. By the end of the trip, we were daydreaming about even the most basic of meals back home—anything but another plate of lukewarm spaghetti. As if that wasn’t enough, they didn’t even provide bottled water. Instead, they served tap water. Now, nothing says “tropical paradise” quite like a glass of tap water that you’re not entirely sure is safe to drink. We found ourselves longing for the simple luxury of a cold bottle of water, something we had taken for granted before this trip. In conclusion, our 14-day stay at this hotel in Varadero was less of a vacation and more of an endurance test. Between the once-fortnight sheet changes, the elusive pool towels, the every-other-day housekeeping (or lack thereof), the absence of soap, the beer drought, the never-ending pasta parade, and the tap water posing as drinking water, we were left wondering if this was some kind of elaborate prank. If you value your sanity, your stomach, and your ability to enjoy a cold beer on vacation, do yourself a favor: steer clear of this place. Your taste buds and your travel companions will thank you. ---

The resort is ok but not the food...& most of the staff were very rude...weather was beautiful no complaints there was lack of entertainment only 1 night but they had music in the lounge but mostly a disco environment lots of young ppl there I will not be returning to that resort but will return to Cuba...there are few entertainers were super nice & couple staff in the restaurant

Cockroaches everywhere in the rooms, flies and MAGGOTS in their food! My son got so sick with gastro intestinal issues that he lost 9 lbs in 7 days!! Awful staff at the reception, they are disorganized and rude! The restaurant staff will harass you to sell you fake jewelry ( unacceptable!!) or ask you for dollar bills instead of coins when you tip! Cleaning lady did no cleaning, just made our bed. Had to beg for water and toilet paper. Cockroaches everywhere in the room. This experience was the worst ever ! Do not book here! This was my 6th time to Cuba and by far, a nightmare. Will never return!

My daughter and I spent a week at Grand Memories Varadero . We had a great time. The staff were helpful, the food was good. We met Liliana and Eliecer one evening in the lobby area. They are a great pair. They greeted us, informed us about the Beach party. We were very happy to meet them . They made our stay even more special. Keep up the good work both of you. ????

Not sure where to start, upon arrival we checked in and were given a room . Upon arriving to our room and opening the door we realized the room was already occupied . Keep in mind we are traveling with a toddler who at this point ( 1 am ) is exhausted . We were then given another room so we moved all of our stuff on our own to another room and again upon entering we found people sleeping in it . We were told we could stay in another room until 9 the next morning so again we move all of our stuff . The room given was a second floor room which didn’t work with a stroller and a baby it was not easily accessible however we stayed in it . At 9 am we went to get a change in room and were told we couldn’t get one until 4 , come 4 o’clock it changed to five . Finally five o’clock comes around and the room we were given was horrendous . It faced the back of the resort which was filthy , there was black mold, no tap to turn the sink on it was dirty. I finally found a ground floor room that worked after walking around to look for myself. That room also had black mold though . It also had a very sharp screw sticking out the floor that I had to cover to avoid my baby cutting themselves on it. I asked for a crib three times , never received one. The maids made the bed and that was it , no floor sweeping , no bathroom cleaning no clean towels and I left gifts and tips everyday . We had two towels the whole time we were there (there was three of us) they were never replaced and we were never offered more . My husband broke his foot in the unkept pool area (large hole in the cement area around the pool). While we were at dinner someone entered our room opened our locked safe stole everything we had in there, cell phone and $800 usd . The resort wanted to take zero accountability for this even though there was no way someone not employed by them would be able to access our room but also open our safe. The day prior to this happening there was a maintenance man lurking around outside of our room to the point it made us uncomfortable, I asked the guest services attendant who that man would’ve been with the silver briefcase when I complained about our stuff being stolen and he informed me that he was someone with the ability to “fix” safes and enter rooms, which I thought was convenient. They refill water bottles with tap water in the buffet and a la cartes, I witnessed this happening . Staff in the Buffet are often rude you ask for something and they all point at each other as if to pass of the responsibility to someone else instead of helping you . My whole family returned sick I can only imagine is from tap water , including my baby and we are still having issues . Many days we weren’t given bottled water in our room which I needed for bottles . I asked two nights in a row was told to wait in my room and they never arrived . The food was horrendous , people were so hungry that they were grabbing food off trays as they came out . Line ups for anything on the grill was at least 45 minutes . The resort had many locals staying on it which I don’t have an issue with but when they get better service than everyone else that’s an issue especially with food. They had a pig roast two days in a row , one day my husband stood in line for over an hour and it didn’t move once the next day a friend was almost two hours . That was because locals were taking stacks of plates and filling them with what they wanted even to the point they were eating it right where they were cooking it and throwing the bones on the ground . Needless to say we weren’t able to get any of that nor were several other people . People were extremely upset by this not only because there was a food shortage and everyone was hungry but because it was unsanitary and there was no care or regard for anyone else . The entertainment staff were pretty scarce you’d rarely see them. Over all this stay was a nightmare , management and staff at the resort do not care about the people staying there . The amount of unhappy people there during our stay spoke volumes . The rooms are extremely outdated , the beds are rock hard , black mold , broken pieces of trim , floor , lamps etc. multiple other people also had things stolen from them . The pool is littered with dirty cups half full of drinks all over the poop including the kiddy pool in the centre of the main pool. So kids were grabbing cups with alcohol and trying to drink them including my toddler thankfully I was right there to grab them . That same kiddy pool one day was so gross it had green stuff floating in it , deteriorated cups, fake nails it was just gross. From what I hear this is one of the nicer hotels in the area I just didn’t see that, it was also very frustrating to feel trapped in a place like that and not be given basic necessities and than having your ability to buy those necessities taken from you by someone that broke into what’s supposed to be your safe space. Felt horrible for my husband he gets one week off a year and just wanted to go somewhere he could enjoy his time and relax and this was none of that . We couldn’t get home fast enough. Also the phones do not work , you can’t call anyone for anything . Wifi also shotty Do not travel here with children …. Or at all if you can avoid it !