Tryp Península Varadero *****

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!

Anónimo, CA, 2005-04-12
I guess it depends when you arrive as to how fast the checkin is. We arrived at 11p.m. and were checked in very fast and wisked off to our room.It was lovely,just like the picture.Only thing not working was the safety deposit box .Service came very fast to fix,just a new battery.
We were so pleased with our suite location,step to the beach and all 3 restaurants,very quiet away from childrens location.This credit goes to the travel agent knowing what we wanted out of this vacation and booked just what we requested.
Thanks to these reviews I learned several tricks which we used..we were happy taking our own beach towels to mark our beach chairs early in the a.m.,use a towel under your head who cares about the lounge cushions;go to the business office 9a.m to book restaurants,we got 4/6 nights but it doesn't matter because you get mostly the same menue at lunch,we preferred La Gondola(serves breakfast 5a.m. to 11)0pen 24 hours,also El Tocororo for fine dining even lunch 1-4p.m.,Laguna wasn't our favorite,seldom ate at the main buffet,didn't like the grease smell;we knew Cuba wasn't known for it's good food so we found it better than we expected; went to the 10a.m info airtransat upon our arrival but found it a waste of time,just promotions for tour excursions,would have preferred more info on resort ;we placed items on the pillow for the maid each a.m. and she was very efficient and pleasing decorating our bed with towels in boat wave formation, hearts etc.;we tipped a peso as much as neccesary elsewhere.
The grounds are immaculate,gorgeous.We didn't see any bugs of any kind! Lots of birds but no messes??How great is that.Great for walks resort and beach.10p.m.outdoor show done by staff was very enjoyable.We found the staff very friendly and so affectionate with each other with kisses, hugs ,hand shakes all around with greeting each other or leaving work.
Nightlife is very quiet so wouldn't think good for late teens or 20's.We went to the disco a couple of times but pretty low key.
We knew what kind of a vacation we wanted and were prepared so the Tryp was all we expected good and the bad.Had a great time and again appreciate our home and country!
Tryp was all we expected if you want beach,relaxation,beauty.