Tryp Península Varadero *****

Anónimo, CA, 2005-04-20
My husband and I along with 9 other friends just returned from this resort. I agree with the comments from Chester dated April 17, 2005. The resort runs out of all the necessities to make a vacation complete. (Beer at noon, straws, ice, juice, warm bottled water at meals, no facecloths, no irons available). It is obvious the management do everything to discourage you from wanting drinks or food. It's the first vacation I did not gain weight. One friend actually lost weight. Every other patron was complaining for all the same reasons. Note: as soon as you get of your bus run and make dinner reservations, many people were unable to get even one reservation. The International Restaurant was very good--if you go highly recommend this one. The late night snack restaurant forget it, sat for 15 minutes, finally my husband went back into the kitchen and asked if they were open, they said yes, but still didnt come take our order. Another way of discouraging you to want to go there.

We travel lots but had never been to Cuba. Never had the desire. Our thoughts are now validated. The weather was cloudy, extremely windy, not the warmth and blue skies of Dominican or Jamaica. Towels used to reserve our beach chairs were taken leaving us to scramble for chairs several days.

The trip to Havanna was a highlight and was thrilled to find a blender that made pina coladas on the side of the road. Imagine that; a bar hut on the side of the road with a blender and proper ingredients. A 600 room resort with one blender at the lobby bar. Not exactly the trek you want to make from the beach for a blended drink. If you are going take repellent. Several members of our group were peppered with fly bites.

The resort is in need of some TLC. It has great potential to be a nice place to visit.

I wld also like to mention that the cuban exchange took everyone for a surprise. 1.40 on our dollar. Be aware.

After two days of complaining we decided to enjoy the company of our group, and with that said; had lots of laughs, many of them at the expense of the resort.

I will say the staff overall were helpful and friendly- especially Rodney at the Buffet.

Anónimo, CA, 2005-04-17
My wife and I just returned from a week in Veradaro Cuba at the Tryp Peninsula Resort. This resort is beautiful the staff is friendly and the rooms are large clean and comfortable.
There does seem to be a management problem though. The service sucks! The buffet is poorly laid out and the three restaurants are insufficient to handle the volume of guests that are fed up with the buffet.
The Bars run out of beer, mint ( for the mojitoes ) and ice every day, can you imagine an all inclusive beach resort the doesn't have ice at the beach bar and runs out of beer? and no blender at any bar other than the lobby bar. Whats with that? The closest bar to the beach is about a block away and the pool is too small for a resort of this size.
The small bands that play at different times around the resort are great but I didn't like being hustled to buy their CD after they played a couple of songs.
We took the day trip into Havana for lunch and cigar factory tour $85.00 each. Havana is a must see, fantastic and wish we had more time (next trip I rent a car and do it without the escort ).
We went on the snorkeling /catamaran trip to Playa Blanco again we had a great time. I wish we had taken more cash with us as we didn't have enough money for the lobster that they caught fresh and cooked up on board. $10.00 each we had only $10.00 with us and had to share. I must say that we new one another on the return trip much better than on the way as the free flow of rum made everyone, well lets just say friendly (lol).
We also rented scooters for a few hours $9.00 for the first hour and $3.00 every extra hour or $25.00 for the day. This is the best way to get around Veradero if you are able to ride scooters.
All in all we had a great trip. I think though if we were to return we would try another resort. I would give this resort 4 stars for the beauty and 2 stars for service

Marriottscove Nova Scotia

Anónimo, CA, 2005-04-17
Wow!!! I can't describe to you the wonderful time we had at Tryp Peninsula. We just got back today (April 15) The staff were excellent, the facilitities were top notch and the food was outstanding. To those that experienced bad food and rude staff, all I can say is, that you must have been asking for the moon. We had no problems getting reservations at the a la carte's. La Tocororo was suberb! We ate beef tenderloin, lobster, sole stuffed with seafood, ribs, pork, chicken, you name it. Laguna was my absolute favorite resturant. That is were we ate everyday for lunch, the music was great, the food was good and the wine was decent. I even took my own wine, expecting the wine they served there to be bad, but quite frankly, I was pleasantly surprised. (I only wish I could get this quality of wine at some of the restaurants here in burbs).

Staff: They were terrific. I only have complaints of the staff in the hotel shop. They were definately rude, but as for the rest of the workers, they were outstanding. It's amazing how much a smile can get you!! They did not bother us for tips, but let me tell you, for 2 convertible peso's left on your pillow and small items, you could get the moon from these ladies. The wait staff, never once expected tips, and were genuinely pleased when they did.

Food: Visit Laguna restaurant for both lunch and dinner, La Gondola is open 24hrs, we ate breakfast there about half the week and the other half at the buffet. I liked the buffet, so did my husband and he tends to be quite picky. There is something for everyone. Please try La Tocorora, long pants only for me, - here they keep your wine glass full and the meals are delicious. (Make sure you get Yussey for your server, she was wonderful). I never once ate a hotdog or hamburger, I didn't need to there was too much variety!

Beach: What can I say about the beach - it's gorgeous- get there before 9:30 a.m. to reserve your spot, but you can come and go as you please. The water was warm, there were a few days windy days, but it made it much pleasanter to sit around. The average temperature was 90 degrees!!

The Lobby bar was great. They make great drinks, so if you're looking for something fancy this is the place. They serve appetizers late in the day (5:30 - 6:00). There is a beautiful baby grand piano in the lobby bar, and at 6:30 every night there is a lady that plays it. She is great. Also, all of the a la carte's have entertainment at them.

We loved it so much, we are planning a return trip in June, this time we'll take our two teenagers with us.

PS. If you are going to visit Cuba, take along toothpaste, toothbrushes, soap, shampoo, paper, old Tshirts, shorts, shoes etc. Everything is appreciated.

I'd be happy to answer any questions. Let me know.

Anónimo, CA, 2005-04-14
This is a nice hotel in a nice location, but ....
The two a la carte restaurants were fully booked on the day we arrived until the day after we left, so we never got to try them for an evening meal.
The 24-hr restaurant (Italian) isn't. We arrived hungry and tired at 10.30 am with no room to go to, only to find they were closed from 10.30 till 11.30.
The 'wonderful Lagoon' is now a building site, where the pelicans and spoonbills have a 5 metre wide strip of muddy water, while the excavators and dump trucks frolic in the background.
Unlike some Mexican resorts I have been to, there were not enough loungers by the pool or on the beach if everyone chose to go to the same place!
However, the rooms were very nice, the maid service good (although it was made VERY clear to us that she expected to be tipped every day!) and the it was very quiet at night (no noisy revellers clomping past the rooms at 3 am - mainly because of the layout of the hotel - very good, although quite a walk to breakfast/reception from our room).
Would we go again? ...I'm not too sure!

Anónimo, CA, 2005-04-13
This resort was well worth every penny. Some of the reviews in here are not acurate at all and I can't imagine how people thought it was a bad resort. There is no demand for tips what so ever. If you tip people you get a lot better service, but it's not like they stare at you until you give them one. Rooms were amazing. Very clean and well kept up. The maids were always extremely friendly and what you asked for, you got. The food was not a disappointment either. Don't go in expecting spicy. I am an extremely picky eater and had absolutely no problems finding something I could eat. The beach is everything you could imagine. Despite the large amount of people on the beach, there is no feeling of being crowded at all! The water is crystal clear and a great way to cool off, even though on hot days it feels like you are in a warm bath! :o) I would recommend this resort to anybody and will be back shortly to visit there again!