Overall we enjoyed our trip, arriving home this morning. I was not impressed by our room, we were in block 8. Food was very bland and monotonous. But we always found something to eat. Service was good. Hubby wasn't impressed there was no beer at the lobby bar. Entertainment team was virtually non-existent, one show every night, but no activities through the day. Relaxing trip. Do not stay here if you are looking to party.

Enjoyed our stay, but won't return to this resort. Stayed at Puntarena 5 years ago and it was much better.

Traveled to Varadero February 2011 with 2 other girls. We're all university students from Canada and we're looking for an inexpensive trip for our break. We got a deal through signaturevacations for 7 nights here under $700, not a bad price but also not the best hotel you've ever been to.

Check in went fairly well, we only had one room and the roll-out bed wasn't too bad and the room fit us well. We visited some other rooms during the course of our stay and they were all pretty different. Villa Tortuga is made up of many smaller buildings, probably max 3 stories with 4 rooms on each probably, a pretty wide spread set-up.

You definitely want to pay the fee for the safe, you get a key for it, so make sure to keep that safe and on your person at all times. They were good about giving out key cards if you forgot them/ locked yourself out. You also make a down payment for towels. Well worth it, you can exchange them during the day time, though it was sometimes tricky to find the towel guy.... the little shack sometimes closed up early.

Staff was entertaining and welcoming. Bartenders were great as long as you were nice to them . We were loving the mojitos until the mint ran out :( it happened twice. They were generous with the booze though, you could tell. There are 3 main bars: Lobby, Poolside & Beach.

Lobby bar - open 24hrs, coffee, hard liquor, no beer. Bring your own cups if you don't want to carry around teeny tiny plastic ones all day. People would be around all sorts of hours. Always someone to talk to. People smoked a bit there, but it wasnt too overwhelming. Late at night they'd make us grilled cheese, sometimes with ham. Partying usually continued a bit after we got home from the bars.

Poolside- Pretty good place, there is a covered area incase you want to hang out in the shade, some umbrellas at the tables and a bunch of lounge-chairs. entertainment took place here at night, we watched one of the shows and were corralled into trying the dancing. Funny once or twice, but then it got boring. I loved the 530 bingo though, you won a bottle of rum if you were the first to get the bingo, we were sooo close.

Beach - unbelievable water, endless beaches and crystal blue water. I couldn't get enough. There werent that many chairs, you would have to do a bit of searching but every day worked out alright for us. Water was warm enough to swim in but still refreshing. There was a beach bar, had beer and rum. You could also get a guy to slice up coconut for you with a machete, they were good.

Food - Nothing special, its Cuba. We didnt go in expecting wonderful things, sooo it wasnt the worst. In the morning you can have eggs cooked to your preference, it became our go-to. Lots of the other food was runny. They had a lot of bread selection and some good juices. Coffee and things weren't hard to come by either. There was usually fresh cut up fruit, mangos and stuff... Salads and the main meals were alright, there was a pasta dish and a beef stew we liked. All the food was labelled so you generally had an idea of what was going on. We never went hungry. Also the poolside bar did burgers and hot dogs most days. Also mini pizzas, there was usually a line up, so it would take awhile but it was worth it. One or two days the guys mysteriously dissapeared for hours and left a ton of us waiting at the bar in line... No pizza that day. But it gave you a break from some of the mundane food choices. We never got too hungry- some people we met were a bit pickier but had thought to bring snacks and things from home.
On another note we were told that a place called Kikis, just around the corner was good so we went one night. wowww huge portions. Share with a friend. But it was delicious and affordable.

People: When we got there we were shocked there weren't more university aged students, we met a group from Montreal and a couple from Ottawa that we hung out with for most of the week. There were some people who'd been there for a month already, and a variety of ages. A huge group of people from Finland came in and made our week, tons of beach volleyball, billiards and great people.

Clubs & such: Varadero is a long skinny peninsula so you've got to travel a bit because Tortuga is right at the base, we went to Havana Club (maybe twice?), International and the bar in the Cave. International was maybe the most authentic, but if you're not planning on dancing like the cubans then it wont be your favourite spot, also cover was ridiculously high. Havana Club and the Cave were hot and sweaty and full of Canadians with top 40 music mostly.

Its not fancy, but it did the trick, all we really wanted was sunshine, booze and warmth!

This spring I'm headed back, but to another place just down the beach. Wanted to try another place out.

This place really met my expectations in terms of service, room quality & cleanliness, food & drinks: you definitely get what you pay for. So don't pay $500-$600 & expect North American style services, amenities & luxuries. Personally speaking, I find it rather ridiculous behaviour from travellers, when they go to other countries & expect to get all the little luxuries that they are used to at home & forget that they are visiting a different country & culture, so travellers may have to adjust their expectations!

-The rooms were airy, well maintained & clean- there were some ants & mosquitoes but turning on the A/C and leaving the room cold takes care of that.

-The shower was low pressure & we didn't have hot water for a few days, but as soon as we let the reception know, they promptly took care of it.

-Yes the room does smell like an oil spill at night-time (didn't happen everyday), but we found out that Varadero (and Matanzas province where Varadero is located in) is a major energy & oil producing center of Cuba & there is an oil refinery 10km away. So at night-time they turn on the gas valve: hence the smell. Even Varadero town has a hint of gasoline in the air. I'm sure Cuba's gasoline needs are high, considering the gas hogging 1950's style American cars that most Cubans drive

- There were a couple of bars: a small pool bar, where one could get delicious pina coladas with coconut shavings & cinnamon sprinkled on top; a pool-side drinks & snack bar (had delicious hot dogs there); a Lobby bar; and the Beach-side tiki hut/bar where you could get coconuts to drink, as well.

Only downside is that most of the bars close after a certain time & only the Lobby Bar stays open till late into the night, hence the Lobby bar would be packed at night & getting our drinks would take some time. Also, the hotel seemed to run out of Mojitos most nights. But we still got our supply of unlimited drinks whenever we wanted & the staff were most obliging. Especially go visit 'Arnaldo' at the coffee/espresso bar, he makes some delicious coffee & cappucino & is very friendly!

- The Beach is very very nice, the waters warm & clean, volleyball courts & a massage center. The lifeguards are always roaming the beach & they put up signs to let you know when the waters are too rough for boating/wind-surfing. Some people complain that the sand on the beach has too many shells & pebbles, which makes it uncomfortable to walk on & how other resorts clean out the sand on the beach. Well if that's the case, then please stay at a 5 star resort or better yet, don't leave home.

- There is only one pool & the waters are not heated, so couldn't do swimming. That's ok, since this is the difference between a 3 star & a 4.5 star resort.

- The food was pretty good, considering that I didn't have high expectations of Cuban food. Some lunches & dinners were particularly good. I really liked the meat cooked on the grill, their fried chicken, their brown rice with beans, pumpkin, mince meat, turkey, sweet potatoes & corn.

The food was mostly repetitive with only one or two items changed up each meal, but still I found the food tasty. The desserts & fruits were always the same. The A La Carte restaurant food (Neptuno Restaurant) food was ok, although the soup was really delicious! Overall, I was well fed & satisfied, but we did go out to Varadero town for some lobster, just to add some variety.

- Calling internationally from Cuba is very very expensive, so I mostly used the internet right on the resort. You can get a 30 minute card for 5 CUC & use it for your entire stay. However, I found the computer rather slow & one day there was absolutely no internet.

- The staff were very friendly, helpful, up for talking to you & obliging. We left them very good tips. One of the staff people even gave a baby who was in our group a toy as a gift!

A special mention to "Alain" who is part of the night entertainment team, but you'll see him at the beach during daytime. He speaks very good English & is one of the more popular staff members. He also organizes private tours to Havana & Matanzas City for only 50 CUC in classic vintage cars. He gives a lot of history, takes you to parts of Havana which the tourists never see & takes you to a rum/cigar factory.

- They have a desk in the front lobby that sells excursions, however, they aren't pushy & aggressive about selling you excursions. As can be expected, the excursions are pretty pricey for the budget traveller & you are better off going on your own or with Alain to see Havana.

- Since the hotel has a more airy open concept design with a lot of verandahs, you are likely get bitten by mosquitoes, so make sure to have insect repellant & Cortisol cream on hand.

- A clinic was very close by which is most convenient! You can also walk over to Varadero town & eat at the restaurants there if you want some variety. "Kiki" serves really good Italian food & was literally 2 mins away by walking

- If you left a note on the door for the chambermaid to clean your room, they do clean it up really well & immediately; leave freshly laundered towels & toilet paper roll & make your bed. If you give a good tip, she will do designs with the towel & leave it on your bed. Ours did a sail-boat with water design with the towels.

- Its a safe, secure, resort, felt comfortable walking about by myself, nothing went missing from my room. They do charge for the safety deposit box, so if you don't want to pay that but still want to secure your money & travel documents, then bring some locks with you & lock it up in your luggage. I did that & nothing went missing.

- I loved the design of the resort. Rather than a behemoth of a hotel building with marble floors & carpets which I would expect in North America, it looked more like a Cuban villa, with brightly coloured paint (yellow & orange), verandahs & hallways so lots of air & sunlight coming in & each room had their own balcony.

- If you do come in the afternoon, they don't give you your rooms until 4pm,so you can leave your luggage in a courtesy room, change & head to the beach/lunch/drink to kill time, until you get your rooms. Which is exactly what we did.

- Maybe it was the time of the year, but we mostly came across couples & families, so the resort was more quieter & didn't have much of a party scene. The beach also doesn't have a night-time bonfire & party. But there are many great clubs in Varadero & if you find "Alain", he can tell you which clubs to go to & what days are good days to go. We went to 'The International' on a Thursday night & had a crazy good time!

I'll say that I had a very good & comfortable stay which made my vacation. If I were to come to Cuba again on a budget, then I would most definitely stay here again.

I went to this hotel in February of last year with 4 other girls. We aren't ones to complain but....

When we first arrived, it was about 10pm it was dark and quite no one was around... there were 5 of us all together so we had 2 rooms. When we got our rooms, our rooms were not together they were on completely different sides of the resort.

When we got into our room, it smelled really bad and the sheets were damp. When we asked to change rooms the manager at the front desk told us no because the hotel was "full" ( it wasn't there was no one there!)

The food is gross, all there is, is pasta, which the sauce is tomato soup, bread, salads (which I found a bug in) We ordered a ham and cheese sandwich and gagged on it because it was so bad, the hot dogs were always raw and cold and you could only eat if the buffet was open!

The drinks weren't so good either they were average but nothing fancy.

The only positive thing was the beach and the staff.

Our room got worst as the week went on...One day it smelled like there was an oil spill through the whole side of the hotel that we were in we couldnt sleep at all. every night our sheets were wet and there were bugs crawling on the wall and every time we took a shower the water would flood the bathroom floor.

When we booked with the resort we were told it was a 3.5 star, we were students and couldnt afford a 4 or 5 star, but this was NO 3.5!

ALSO IT WAS FREEZING COLD!!

If you want a nice resort with comfortable rooms, great food and great weather...do not go to Gran Caribe Villa Tortuga.