TripAdvisor Traveler Rating

We arrived knowing that Cuba had recently had 2 hurricanes and an earthquake. With that , We were pleased with the resort , the majority of vacationers are friendly , and the staff went out of their way to make our vacation wonderful. I must commend the staff members that went above and beyond. Since we stayed in the Elegance section , I will start with them …… Our concierges Joli and Roxanne were there for us throughout our stay. At the Elegance a la carte , we were served by a wonderful staff of Mulan , Edianys , Lianet , Jorge , Gerardo ( our wonderful chef ) , and, Carmela . At the Elegance pool bar we were served by the knowledgeable bartenders Roberto , Henry and Alex . Also , in the piano bar , Anily was an insightful , knowledgeable bartender who taught me much about Rum and how it works with cigars ! She is an amazing person ! The staff at Mike’s coffee shop poured the best coffees , the cold version of the Il Patriarca is the absolute best coffee drink . The A La Carte restaurants were really good . Our Air Transat rep , Janel ( spelling may be off , sorry ) was so helpful when we booked our Havana trip , his help getting in the trip , and tidbits of information for the day were helpful . We thank him for a great experience ! We were alotted a 20 minute massage with our package. Now I do not know the name of the wonderful female masseuse , but the male masseuse was Adrian . They were both amazing and definitely knew their art of massage . The person that took care of our room , Dania , was there to be sure we had everything we needed . There was always bottled water , toilet paper , and our room was always clean . The water was hot whenever we showered . The rooms actually have a screen with the patio door , not something we usually enjoy and it was a bonus to have. I want to address the concerns people have had about travelling to Cuba . The only power loss we had , was a mere 3 hour afternoon shut down , when the main electrical plant had a shut down and they needed to shut down the resort power while repairs were done on the grid , but it was not an issue. The food was not an issue , we ate well , and as much as some things were not available at times , they were available at other times ( beef is an example ) . We had eggs all but one day . We do not expect top quality when we travel to Cuba , but , we were fed well and were not hungry , that is all you need when you are away . The alcohol was all top shelf ! To give a quick evaluation of our stay , we were not ready to leave after two weeks, we wanted to stay ! Also , we will return to this resort ! It was our first time there , it will no be the last , we loved it !

We just returned from a 2 week all-inclusive vacation from Canada to Cuba, staying in the Valentin el Patriarca resort. Although identified as a 5 star resort, it is far from that given the current conditions in this resort and Cuba overall. The resort itself is quite dated and requires significant improvements as we had issues with doors not locking adequately, shower nozzles not working properly, cold or barely warm showers, limited AC, wifi not working in the rooms, etc. Probably the most dissatisfying was the poor quality of food in both the buffet and restaurants. This may be resultant from the poor Cuban economy or the recent hurricanes, however when we did a side trip to Havana, the food in the restaurants was noticeably better. Above all the criticisms I have of this resort, the staff were exceptionally good, as they were always friendly, having a smile and willing to do anything to help or improve our stay. Given that this resort is part of a multi-national company, I would expect that the facilities could be upgraded to a better standard than they currently are. I would not return to this resort, even if I have to pay extra for more reliable conditions in another resort. This is in no way reflective of the great service that we received from the staff.

We just returned from this very nice resort having not visited Varadero in many years and we are so pleased we decided to visit the area again! Despite some negative reviews and challenges Cuba is facing we went ahead and booked this resort and are pleased we did, we took the upgraded Alegance section and found it well worth it with it's own pool area surrounded by spacious rooms, pool bar and restaurant as well as premium drinks selection! The staff at this resort work hard to make sure your vacation experience is great, the food was a bit limited but well prepared, you won't run out of choices! We ate mostly at the a la carte restaurants and the Alegance area, the buffet was quite good when we dined there! There were lots of chairs and shade at this gorgeous beach, it was quite windy a few of the days so we hung out at our pool area which has a small bar with very nice drinks! There are several options for food and drink including a specialty coffee shop which was amazing, the nightly entertainment was in the main Lobby Bar as the nice looking amphitheatre was not used probably because the resort was well under capacity! Our first night we were invited to the Marina Party and if you have a chance to do that I would highly recommend it, the night was fantastic with dancing and food, thanks to our Customer Service lady for that! We went into town one day and walked around, visited the Beatles Bar and had a tasty Lobster Dinner across the road at El Rancho! As mentioned the resort was under capacity so there were some things not available which we were expecting, our early check in was supposed to be at noon, we arrived at 11:30 but didn't get our room until 6 while they waited for a linen delivery, they upgraded us to a suite at that point which was nice compensation! Overall I really liked the resort and would definitely consider returning depending on pricing, Sunwing downgraded the star rating after we had booked and I feel we should have been compensated but that is on Sunwing and not the resort! If you are looking for a clean spacious adults only hotel this place may be for you! Carl & Patricia

Life is wonderful ? The sun is shining, warm, sleeping well and we're not starving lol. Our room is clean. Our chambermaid is so sweet. The rooms may need upkeep but paint may be hard to acquire. Bring your own face cloth and kleenex if you want to it. Bring movies as TV is limited. There is no roomservice but snack bar is opened 24H. The beach is gorgeous ?? Over 25 umbrellas on beach. Beautiful white sand and clear water. The ocean is warmer than the pool by a bit. The food is limited but we expected that. It's not their fault. We are not starving. The Cuban people are so friendly. Tipping helps them so we do. Took a fantastic tour to Havana with Andre. Worth every penny. ? @ Villa Andre Diane Friends going on a catamaran trip with Air Transat today.

We had a great 2weeks .Yadira, thank you so much for everything you did for us . You made sure we were comfortable and that we had everything we needed.The rooms are clean ,the food was good…I sure didn’t lose weight?? Can’t wait to go back for another trip at El Patriarca??