Arrival was no problem, plane / bus transfer was easy as pie. Smooooooth – flew on Sunwing from YYZ to Varadero.
Rooms::
Room was great – very very clean. Huge bathroom with big oval-shaped tub + shower, sink was big, everything was brand new and super clean.
Restaurants and Bars:: Steakhouse was poor – I had the rib eye (mistake) and tenderloin. In my experience cook it one level higher than what you want i.e. if you want medium, say medium well. Cesar salad was three leaves of lettuce + some mayo and a crumbling of cheese. I wanted to ask for a bowl and make it as proper as can be, no dice. Italian was better, ravioli was HUGE – i.e. the actual pasta piece was huge. The italian – how can you screw up italian? You can’t, and they did a good job. Fish was good here. Romantico/Gourmet-this was the best. Dreilyn, or Dreilis was great, funny and very patient. We had a baby with us so he took his time. Tenderloin and duck here are very good, don’t try the lamb unless you’re adventurous. Ladies also loved the fish here, can’t remember the types but it was good. Buffet – blah. Typical. Seems like whatever wasn’t used the night before, they would add chops of ham or meat (example to the salads) to make it new. Well little options for vegetarians. Deep-fried scrambled eggs, more oil used than in an exxon valdez.
I really can’t explain it. One step in the next direction and the food COULD be much better. Fruit platter was always bad EXCEPT grapefruits. These were great. All other fruit was poor quality. The hotel needs to just add some vegetarian + healthier options than what’s available, and it would be a GREAT buffet. Example, instead of eggs, why not just egg whites? Why so much meat? Fries etc etc., all that crap. Why no plantains?
Beach/Pools/Grounds:: 1. the good: pools were both excellent, clean, and crisp. 2. bars; bars @ pools were great. – service was great. 3. pads only available by the pool but readily available – for the loungers. Get one in 5 minutes each day, no problem. Tip him a couple bucks and he’ll look out for you as well, loved that. Beach great beach. good swimming, great entry into ocean.
Basically the grounds were GREAT. Clean / fresh, and everything worked great.
Activities on and off the Resort/Hotel:: OK so this is why this trip was pretty bad:
On the 2nd day we were there the hangglider/raft thingamajig that was making rounds on our beach crashed. It is rumoured 2 people died. My good friend ran over and what he saw pretty much confirmed this. Why would a resort with 5* rating, or any resort for that matter, allow for this sort of activity on the beach? It really ruined our trip, thinking of that. We could not go the rest of the trip without wondering about the people + their families, both occupant and pilot.
Other Comments:: Tennis courts were good – windy. Construction next door is quiet, so not bothersome. Ping Pong / shuffle board and bocci were all great. Drinks were ok, beer was the best option.
3/5 on the whole trip based on the one incident, and for the generally poor food options.