My GF and I stayed at Playa Caleta from Feb 4-11, 2012. After we bo9oked this reosrt we read a lot of bad reviews but that seems to be standard for a lot of places. We found the negative reviews to be over the top and this resort was not as bad a some make it out to be but I know for maybe an extra $100 you could find a better place to stay in Varadero.

Pros: Very friendly/helpful staff. I read a few reviews were travelers said that the staff sits there with their palms out looking for tip before they do anything - definitely not true. Never had this issue once, we tipped as we would at any other resort. The grounds a very nice, large beach, lots of chairs, lots of birds around. Beach wasen't too dirty and the water was about chest high for me (I'm 6') so not too deep and the water is aqua blue. We had a oceanfront room on the 1st floor of rooms (actually the 3rd floor) and the view was great. Elevators weren't too bad either as some said. There are pool tables there to use but u have to leave a $20 deposit to use the cues and balls. They also have pingpong by the pool which kept us busy during a rainy day. Drinks were mixed well. The 2 restaurants are beautiful and have great food and amazing staff. The buffet is a tad bland (as expected) but the fresh omletes and orange juice were great and the staff who made them were very friendly. The convience store in the lobby had everything needed (water, cola, etc) as well as booze, smokes and cigars. The government regulates the cost of this stuff so you won't find it cheaper anywhere else. Wait to but crafts in the market becasue they are slightly overpriced in the gift shop. You can control the climate in your room which was good. Good fishing infron of the resort in the canal as well as off the point to the left of the beach. We bright collapsable fishing rods and met a guy at the point who gave us some small hooks and fresh shrimp, sardines and octopus to use for bait. We gave him $5 for the trouble and he also gave us some nice sea shells he found. We caugh alot of small aquatic fish which was cool but apparently some people caught red snapper, makeral and small baracuda in the same area. Lots of fun. Lobby bar is open 24 Hours. Lots of chairs at pool and on the beach. There is a safe in the room and it's electric so you only need your room key to open it. you don't have to buy/rent a lock at reception like most other resorts.

Cons: Drink selection isin't great. We are not big drinkers so this didn't matter too much to us but we love mojitos and they only had mint one day while I was there. Do not have the Pina Colada's made with the mix in the pool bar. Not sure how oftern they change it but we got crusty bits in our drinks. They were good at the beach bar though. Rooms were nice the but the blankets were old and kind of ratty. No bugs or anything like that. The hotel needs a renovation. It looks like it was nice when built but that was a long time ago. When it rains there are a few leaks in the lobby. The windows in the lobby aren't cleaned either which would have made things alot nicer. Book into the restuarants the second you get there. Receptionj does this for you. We booked first day and got the restaurants on the last 2 days and some poeple couldn't get in at all. #1 complaint is that they do not have north american outlets in the rooms. Only one we saw was in the lobby and there were always teenagers there charging iPhones. We had to bring a power converter which cost $30 at Canadian tire. Almost all other resorts in Varadero have north american outlets. Also this is one of the first resorts in Varadero which is good that u are first ones on and off the bus from the resorts but you are about 10kms from downtown Varadero so its a bit of a bus ride or $10 cab fair each way. If you bring money to convert try to do it at the airport becasue the exchange is better, it wasen't bad at the resort but at the airport a guy in our group exchanged $200cdn and got $191 CUC while we did the same amount and got back $181.50 CUC at the resort. You also must have your passport to exchange any $$. The room doors are hard to shut and sometimes they require a bit of a slam to get shut which might bother light sleepers.

I usually stay at 3.5 star hotels and this would be at the bottom of my list of places I stayed. It wasen't terrible but wasen't great and for a bit more you can find somewhere better to stay.
*Heard a lot about the bad smells of petro fuel but we only noticed a whiff of this at 6a.m. on two mornings and was not over powering.

I was a solo traveller January 30-February 6, 2012. At least i started out that way.
Can't believe the negative reviews i am reading.....seriously did we stay at the same hotel?
Had no problem at check in, was told room would be ready around 1pm and it was.
The food in the buffet was better than i expected, omletes and FRESH orange juice in the morning. The rest of the meals were just fine. Can't comment on the a la cartes as i never bothered, but heard good things about the italian. Excellent cappuccino at the lobby bar and in the main floor cafe. Had the pool grill a couple of times, good burgers and fries. And yes the demand for fries was very high, so they did run out before the end of day.

Room was a canal view, and again no problem. I don't remember my maid's name...but she kept the room very clean, changed the towels and made swans and hearts with them. Never ran out of toilet paper, but i always travel with an extra roll. Left her many gifts...childrens tylenol, baby products and other female personal needs.
Only noticed the refinery smell one night. Not as bad as other reviews would have you believe. i brought a can of air fresher and that was that.

I picked this resort based on lack of nightly entertainment, i don't need drunk kids keeping me up at night. But the evening shows were fun.
The beach was amazing...lots of chairs and shade huts. Big waves first few days. Lots of small shells along the sand, but if you walked further along bigger ones could be found. Took a lot of the smaller ones home to my grand daughters.

As i mentioned i started out alone, but this is Cuba! I met many people from ontario there, so i was never alone. Took the bus trip to havana, it was a nice trip, but unfortunately some of our destinations were closed. Really wanted to see inside the cathedral. Had dinner at Capone's one night. Lobster tail was huge! And very good.
I have no complaints about the service, or the staff. It was busy and they did what they could for us. Tips go a long way in Cuba.
Please...if you are not into how laid back Cuba is, don't come. Leave it to those of us who can have a good time on a budget. Its not for everyone...
A shoutout to all those people i met and who made my trip memorable!!

I was very worried about staying at this resort considering the negative reviews it has been getting lately. In my opinion, some are justified, others would depend on your personal opinion.

I will give a run down of the various aspects of the hotel:

Rooms: Generally pretty good. A bit rustic, but OK. My air conditioner was not working and advised the front desk 4 days in a row to get fixed, but it never was. I slept with a sheet only and was OK.

Food: I was never hungry. The selection was not that good compared to the larger resorts, but there always seemed to be something to eat. The hamburgers seemed raw on day one, but just ask for them to be well done. If this fails, go eat at Kiki's down the road as I had two excellent meals there. Ate at the Italian a la carte and was OK.

Hotel Grounds: Kept very nicely.

Beach: There were plenty of beach loungers. When the hotel fills up you might find an issue getting shade. The ocean was interesting to get in, and big waves this week. Had an awesome time riding them. Not the best beach by any means, but still decent.

Bars, Nightly Entertainment: Really the only place people drank was the upstairs bar, and a bit at the pool bar. Very little choice, and served cheap rum and draft beer. The first couple of nights this seemed OK, but by the 3rd/4th day it started to seem like Groundhog Day... Nightly entertainment was OK, got the crowd going for a bit, then blasted dance music to 1130pm or so.

Staff: There have been some very up and down reviews about the staff. Myself and two friends did not have any issues with staff. Tip when you receive good service and you will be looked after. Even the front desk staff were pleasant.

Varadero itself is a beautiful place to visit. I would have to add 'safe' as well after walking home from Calle 62 bar to Playa Caleta. Very fun pub crawl.

Took the bus to Havana for $40 and got dropped off. Toured around on our own and had a blast and saved some $$$.

This hotel is a 2.5 star hotel. I gave it the benefit of the doubt and rounded up to 3. If you can get here cheap, great. Check out the Varadero map as it is at the far end of Kawama making walking distances quite far.

Drop me a line if anyone has any questions about this resort.

It was okay, food was good, and I loved the fact that in the morning you could have your NATURAL juice made right in front of you.
Coffee was great as well!
SERVICE: Service at the bar was good,although it pas packed at all times. Service at the restaurant was good, not excellent, but good. Waiters polite.
BEACH: Excellent, white sand, deep. It burns if you have no sandals / flip-flops on.
VIEW: - if you get a room facing the ocean, the view is SPLENDID, especially if you are on a higher floor. You can hear the waves break. The color if the water, WOW!
- if you get a room facing the other side, the view is just regular, you get the view of the canal and possible some smell from an oil refinery in Varadero.
Hotel was rated 3 star when we went, I don't understand why it is rated a 3 and 1/2 or even 4 now.
Expect a 3-star hotel. It is for regular people like you and me.
Not for (very) picky people.
Perfect for the regular traveler, like you and me.
We only paid 740 tax in, it was great value for the money we paid.