Paradisus Varadero *****

Anónimo, GB, 2005-03-28
We really could not have asked for much else!. Bearing in mind that this is Cuba, and the trade embargo's that exist, they cater for everyones tastes remarkably well. Whilst the food served in the buffet was not always as hot as we would have liked, it was never a problem to have the same thing cooked again for you freshly. The lunch time restaurants were particularly good, with giant crab claws, king praws,red snapper,chicken, pork, cooked in front of you on the barbecue. The a la carte restaurants were lovely, especially the Romantica, where you had a string quartet serenading you whilst you ate!. It is advisable to book these as early as you can-the desk opened at 9am.
The rooms were very spacious, clean, and nicely decorated, with a small fridge, which was restocked daily with, a couple of beers, fizzie drinks and water. You also get an iron&board, and an umbrella!
The hotel's location is superb, and is definitley on the best part of a lovely beach(a trip to Cayo Blanco Island by Cat is a must for beach lovers), or as an alternative, you have a huge pool in lovely surroundings.
We would definitley recomend this hotel, and we would definitley return!. For us, it ranked up there with Mexico, Barbados, The Caymans. All similar, but very different in their own rights!, but equally enjoyable.

Anónimo, CA, 2005-03-20
We just returned on March 19. We loved Cuba and our tour of Havana (a must see). Swimming with the dolphins was great and the crew on the boat were fun. The hotel was beautiful as was the beach and gardens. We found the people at the kids club intelligent and kind to our children when we left them to go to Havana. The people working at the hotel were friendly, curteous and always appreciative of little dollar store gifts or a peso. Our room was relatively clean and the hotel too in general. I saw very little bugs, mosquitoes. The beach was clean and the huge pool was alittle cool but warmer as the week went on. The food was average and a bit boring (especially breakfast) but we were lucky to eat at other restaurants 4 times (just bully them a bit). Book your restaurants early in your stay and demand. We did not eat any meat because they undercook everything so we stuck to the seafood. The staff would do anything for us, even bring breakfast to our kids in their room on the last day. They have bottled water in all the rooms and they say the icecubes and washing of vegetables were done with purified water. We have not been at any other resort but enjoyed our stay. The only big problem is the hotel only allowing 3 to a room. A bit of a rip off. The march break was lacking in kids there but our children enjoyed themselves anyway.