Arriving to Varadero airport was no problem with anything , the tour guide and a beautiful bus was waiting for us, to be taken to our hotels, with a guide speaking very good English and giving us all the info we needed to know being in Varadero/Cuba...very well organized service (thumbs up..!!)
Now...the Hotel had some issuses from the start...as we arrived we found out the Reception /Lobby is in one open space what inc. the 24/7 bar, what is always very noisie...does not make you fell very welcoming as u enter!

Our hotel room was already assigned to us in a # 4000 block, but as we checkeng in the receptionist crossed out what was already our room, (maybe she needed some tips??)... and give us a room in the #1000 block, which is well known by many others as the noisier building!! !Stay away from it !!

We where a little tired, so we did not want to make a big issue that time and willing to take a chance , with the building #1000 . But as time and days go, we found out those people who were complaining about it, they where actully right!
.
People come and go in the midle of the night, a lot of noise, bangings and loud talking with door slams between midnight and 5 am. in the morning.
After 3 sleepless nights, with the shower and the air conditioner also not working, and only 2 little towers, missing toilett papers, we went to asked for a better room.
It was not easy, but again tips will do magic, and finally we got a better room on the 4th day.
It was in the # 4000 building. This was a lot quietier,and finally we get some sleep!
Also I have to tell you, there where NO bugs in any rooms, they were very clean.especially if you live a few $$ or some stuff for the cleaning lady, then you will have more of what you need in a room!
About the food..
If you are a rice, potatoes or chicken lover this is your Hotel..Food is very average and very blend. The menu is repeated every day from the morning to the night. You will be eating the very same food every day with a little change if any ?
Tips are so exspected ...but do not fell bad if you do not give every day !

The entrertaiment at night are great , dalily activites are OK, and if you like a good cup of coffee go to the open bars all over the resorts they have capuccino, or nice latte's....not in a buffet restaurant...same issue with real organge juce !

If you not happy you can go out and eat what you like in a town, they have great restaurants to chose from.
The day trip to" Historic Havana" ( $67, each) was great well organized and very memorable.
The doubble decker bus is a great way to see Varadero for $5 cub., you can use it all day long on and off from the bus, to see all the other resorts on the island, and the town what is very pretty and has a lot to offer for the turist.

The Beach is 5 star , the ocean is clean and warm , the sand is very white:))

Only problem ...from this Hotel you have to walk to the Beach, it is NOT on the beach like all the others.. what we did not mind .. but now we know better and next time we will take the Hotel / Resorts across the street what is on the beach it is 4 star and does look and fell like 4 star also!!
Have so much more class, and it make you fell like you are in paradise!! You can not compare it to Palma Real ..... please walk over and see it with your your own eyes you be very suprized!

I will recomend Palma Real ,for a much yonger people who like to party more.
Otherwise, go with open minds, do your best , and enjoy the great weater.

My husband and I just returned from a great week at the Bellevue Palma Real. This is our 5th trip to Cuba, so we knew what to expect of the food and were pleasantly pleased with the food at this Resort. There was a great variety - lots of fresh vegetables and fruit. There was fresh grilled meat at every meal. By Cuban standards, the food was great and we enjoyed it. The Staff were very friendly and 'gifts' are greatly appreciated and you will get great service. We went to the Cuban and the Italian and it was good. We did not go to the Chinese but heard that it was hit and miss.

The walk to the beach was ok and we enjoyed it.

Our room was 1219 - 1st building - second floor overlooking the pool w/pool bar. We did not go to our room throughout the day except to change clothes so the afternoon entertainment at the pool did not bother us. Our friends that travelled with us were in building 4 - 4th floor and had a great view of the ocean - however the elevator was not working for the last 3 days there - so a bit of an inconvenience. The resort is laid out nicely. Buildings 1 and 4 (I don't know about the other buildings) had a lobby bar and we enjoyed socializing there in the evenings - it was a bit quieter than the main bar in the reception area. There was lots of cuban music throughout - from trios in the evening in the buffet restaurant - to small bands in late afternoon in the main reception area.

The only problem I would mention is that we found there were emission smells - I would say from the local refinery that seemed to come throughout the night. We slept with our patio door open and we had to shut it. We also noticed these same smells on the beach briefly on our last day.

The beach is a beautiful beach. The water temperature was wonderful and on our last 3 days, we had great waves to 'play' in. There are not a lot of lounges so we went before breakfast to reserve our chairs then returned to the beach following breakfast.

We did not do the tours on this trip as we have done them on other trips - but we did take the Varedaro Beach Tour on the double decker bus - 5 pesos for unlimited rides throughout the day. You can get off where ever and when ever you want and catch a later ride back - but check the times if you are doing it late in the afternoon. It took us 2 hours from leaving our pick-up and getting back to the same spot without disembarking at any of the markets - we just took the bus tour. It would be a good idea to do this tour early in your vacation if you want to visit the markets as you will see where they are - and if you enjoy walking - it looked like there was quite a few within walking distance. Once you are on the bus, you will see the other restaurants on 1st avenue if you want a change from the hotel restaurants and also see the shopping available.

All in all, we enjoyed our vacation at this resort and would return. As noted in other emails - remember the people in these areas are very poor and appreciate your used clothing. It means so little to us - and so much to them. We did notice a difference in the area (as being better off) than when we last visited 5 years ago - but there is still impoverished people. As well as the folks working at the resorts - if you see a gardener, a street cleaner or any other general labourer, they too can use your 'extras'. It feels good to 'give'.

A vacation is what you make of it. Having no expectations leads to having no disappointments. Visit - enjoy the people - enjoy the culture - enjoy Cuba. It is a great safe place.

i went there from the 7h january to the 14th ,and i was surprised,the staff is friendly,the food it not so bad,when you eat only hamand cheese sandwich at the snack bar, u are pretty close of all the club and varadero downtown ,

I cannot believe all the positive reviews, this place is worse than sub par.
Food is terrible, go to use pool table response is it doesn't work. There is an internet room with 3 computers and the door is locked. All kinds of daily activities advertised and most do not happen. Stairs are crumbling, the rooms are terrible. I keep my sliding door open at night as i do not like air conditioning. The early hours of Feb 06 this terrible smell came through the room, they burn there garbage and sewage. Others may not have smelled it because they had there windows shut, but this cancerous toxic dust settles on everything and I bet most people ate some of it in the slop served for breakfast that morning.