If you want to mingle and party, this resort is for you. Mostly all travelers were between the ages of 19-28.

The beach is absolutely beautiful and really made our trip one to remember.

As for the food, bring your own snacks. Nutella, ketchup, peanut butter, etc. You will be thankful you did!

Enjoy! x

Belle expérience, sauf que les ontariens avaient terminé l'Université, très présents à l'hôtel, gang de sauvages, ne laissent pas les autres dormir, ne savent pas boire et fument partout dans l'hôtel. Sans eux, ce voyage aurait été fantastique. Donc, ne pas voyagé fin avril début mai.

Il y a un manque flagrant de gardes de sécurité sur le site. L'hôtel était bourré de jeunes Ontariens sur le "party" et personne pour les faire taire. beaucoup de difficulté à dormir à cause des jeunes qui criaient jusqu'à 6h du matin partout sur le site ainsi que dans les couloirs.
Également, étant donné que je voyageais seule et que j'avais choisi cet hôtel en partie à cause de leur supposé service aux chambres, j'ai été très déçue de réaliser qu'il y en avait pas. La dame de la réception à qui je l'ai demandée m'en a informée bêtement. Ca serait donc une bonne idée que le service aux chambres soit supprimé dans la description de l'hôtel.
Somme toute, pour le prix, l'hôtel est correct.

My friends and I had an awesome time at this resort. The reason though was because we were all mid-twenties and love to party. If partying is what you want to do than this is the hotel to visit. If you are more interested in relaxing and eating good food than stay clear of this hotel. Overall, the beach was stellar, the food was bad and the room was borderline scuzzy. But, if you're in your twenties, don't care about these things and just want to have a good time, then and only then would I recommend this hotel.

Overall this hotel needs improvement, as a senior only 2 of the 5 elevators are working (no repairs being done to the others) and the buffet needs to be improved. The location and beach is wonderful.

We chose that resort because we had been there 10 yrs ago. what a change, we paid $145.00 cdn to upgrade to a quiet ocean view room. The reception clerk told us to deal directly with her and that she would make sure we are satisfied. First clue should have been that she wanted cash, not just any cash it had to be nice clean bills of $20.00cdn, no receipt because she said that she was making a special deal and giving us the room ahead of the others (dah!!! we should have known!!) surprise, when we enquired during the week for a late check out, they wanted to charge us an additional $50.00(cash)..and they had NO RECORDS of our transaction in the computer. we had the noisiest room in the hotel tower. At first we thought, we are on vacation and the bar closes at midnight, but no the party moved from the bar right across the swimming pool (ideal for smokers) until 3:30ish am...and last day to top it all, it lasted until 5:32am. The other person at the front desk that we dealt with gave us the late check out for free but would not give us the $145.00 back, I imagine they are all in on it and they share the $. We killed 5 bugs in our room, one of which was in the bed. The bank teller kept arguing that the rate had changed and always kept a cut for ?? our friend got damaged 20 pesos bills and right before she left, she asked to exchange for pesos to (coins) she was told by the FRONT DESK that the 20 dlr pesos were not acceptable, but the bank teller at the resort had told her that since the serial # was not damaged, it would be OK. So she went back to the SAME teller and she did not want to exchange them. She caused a scene at the front desk, had to talk to a so called manager and they called the bank teller and she was THEN ok on exchanging them. Another couple that we met, got jewelry stolen from his security box. He had left it open by mistake before going for breakfast, when he realized it, just the time of getting on the VERY SLOW elevators, the ring had disappeared.. he went to the front desk and asked if the maid/water/towel staff had made their round, they said no.... the room was locked and the security box was still open, but no ring. Most of the week the staff at the buffet area were very helpful, but the last 2 days, we could not even get a cup of tea, I had to ask 4 times at 2 different waitress...after 8 attempts, we left. They were overwhelmed with new comers and trying to make a good impression on them I guess!!! All and all I would not recommend this place simply because of the lack of honesty in that resort. How come the food is so bad, when just outside the resort the restaurant are excellent, it seems that they want to discourage people to eat at the resort (they must have a cut in the profit of the restaurants) because at the restaurants they ask which resort you are staying at or make if very obvious when they stare at your bracelet. Sorry but we have been to Cuba 8 times before this one and if this is any indication what Cuban are going for, they may not like the Americans, but they are getting just as bad. Bottom line we are boy cutting Cuba for a while anyway. Oh yeah another thing, 4 days with the same towels.

We had stayed at the Arenas Blancas last year and decided to try the Solymar this time around. When we checked, in the room we were assigned had no air conditioning. The hotel was full so they moved us to the Blancas where we were given a King bed rather than the two doubles we requested, the airconditioning however did work. This was a late night move and when we asked for room towels we were told that house keeping had gone home and none were available. I went back to the Solymar and got the ones from our other room. the laugh of the night was the hair dryer. It had no hose to connect the handle to the base. The room was very clean and the bed was comfy.
The next day we went back to the Solymar and were told the air conditioning was fixed however we still had not air movement in the room. We were then transferred to another room that was very satisfactory. As a result the first 24 hours of our trip was spent between hotels trying to solve problems. As a result we were to be given two complimentary a la carte meals. Our Sunwing rep helped us out with this however the hotel neglected to share the information with the required staff.
The hotel has a number of pools and you should be able to find a place that meets your needs. The larger pool has a lot of activities and the smaller pool was very quiet and peacefull.
Would I go back again? I would have to think about it. I may try a newer resort and hope that I don't waste a good chunk of my vacation next time. Small problems aside I did enjoy my vacation. The beaches are amazing. It was nice to have computer access.

Comme l'hôtel est supposémment un 4 étoiles et demi, on s'attendait à mieux. La chambre était décevante. Les meubles de basse qualité, le petit frigo dans la chambre rouillé, la climatisation ne fonctionnait pas. Il a d'ailleurs fallu 24 heures avant qu'elle soit réparée. Le personnel de l'hôtel avait l'air de s'en foutre. Les serviettes de plage n'étaient plus disponibles. Notre femme de chambre nous en a fournies le 3 jour. La nourriture était abondante mais peu inspirante. Le site de l'hôtel parcontre est très bien. La plage bien amménagée et très belle. Il y a toujours des places disponibles à l'ombre.

overall not a bad hotel but it could use some maintenance. 4 of 5 elevators were out of order, air conditioning was not very cold. rooms were clean but dusty. lack of towel service for pool i.e. no clean towels for 3 days

overall not bad, beautilful beach, clean pools. there were more bad points for me.
1) 1 of 5 elevators worked. I am 77 and my room was on 4th floor. long wait times for elevator, doors didn't shut all the way
2) pool entertainment staff didn't know how to get people involved. they spent more time talking among themselves and asking guests to get them beer
3) evening shows were pitiful
4) no clean pool towels for 4 days
5) although good variety of food it was always cold and lacked flavor
6) air conditioning didn't work
7) bathroom way out dated i.e. toilet seat kept coming off, had to step into a high tub to get shower, shower plumbing was outdated
8) some guests slept in lobby etc and got very loud in early morning hours from drinking (yelling in lobby at 3 am)

Good points:

1) majority of staff were friendly and helpful
2) beautiful beach and staff there were excellent
3) clean pools
4) grounds well kept and clean

tout était bien, sauf la bouffe,après 3 jours de mon retour j`ai encore des crampes au ventre.mes amies qui ont mangées des fruits de mers eux , ont bien aimées.

Excellent location, helpful staff, and food was better than reported. Would return in a hearbeat.

The hotel is very beautiful, it can use some updates but overall it was pretty nice.

The service staff: Oh gosh where do I start, lets put it this way, I felt that I was at a Boot Camp, the bartenders were very rude,half the time they ignored the people standing at the bar waiting to be served because they were too busy talking among themselves, they NEVER smiled, always had a stern look on their faces, it didn't matter which bar you were at on the resort they were all the same, the cooks/chefs and the front desk staff I felt the same way, I was so sick of giving tips to them because of the way they treated people, the serving staff in the dining room were very nice and welcoming with the exception of a few, the nice ones always welcomed you with a smile, they are the people I gave my bigger tips to.

The service overall sucked, not in the dining room but everywhere else, most times I found myself standing either at the front desk or the bar wasting precious minutes of my vacation just waiting to be served by the staff who were too busy talking among themselves, would I go back to that hotel? probably not, didn't like the staff at all, right down to the people who prepared the entertainment activities by the pool, all very rude but once again with the exception of a few.

One last thing, I was NOT impressed that the bar staff served my underage daughter alcohol, not impressed at all, not sure what the age limit is for drinking down there is, I'm assuming there is none but there should be, teens will take full advantage of this and just get downright drunk JUST because they can, thank God my daughter is smarter then that!!!!!

I'd probably go back to Cuba but I would pick another Hotel and hope and pray that the staff are a little more nicer, it's really too bad because the BARCELO SOLYMAR can be a great Hotel if only the staff were alittle more nicer and helpful....

The beaches are absolutely beautiful, the BARCELO SOLYMAR is right on the beach,the pools are really nice also, very very clean.

The food was pretty good, they had a big varity.

This was our 3rd time at the Barcelo Solymar and we saw many improvements since our last visit. Everything here is so clean, no issues with the cleanliness of this resort. The food has improved greatly with much more variety and great desserts. Everyone here are so friendly and it amazes me that they can remember us from one year to the next. Really feels like coming home for a week. Will we return? of course, already looking forward to next year.

First the good news:
1) The beach is awesome and so are the beach staff.
2) The pools are really great for kids. They are large, shallow and well kept.
3) The beer and rum drinks are good.

The not so good news is:
1) Only two out of the five elevators are operational.
2) The electricity went out on our wing one afternoon. The safes are electronic. I do not know what would have happened if we needed our passports then.
3) The same food is served every day. It has the taste and texture of cardboard.
4) When you approach the front desk people, they treat you like you have just disturbed their siesta.
5) We got to the hotel at noon and were told we would only get the room keys at 4.00 pm. I was then told that there were no beach towels. I stood in line for some at 9.00 am the next morning. A few arrived at 9.45. It is no fun trying to keep a seven year old out of the water for that long a period.
6) This may have been a 4 or 4.5 star hotel once upon a time. It would only qualify as a 3 or 3.5 star now. While the workers try hard, management is doing a real bad job running this place. No more Barcelo's for me.

Un peu décevant cette fois.
Trois lits simple dans un bungalow qui devait contenir un lit double.
Les oreillers sont pénibles. Très bonne pour un mal de cou.
Mais la plage est formidable.
La nourriture est pas mal.

Excellent service, excellent staff.

Staff were attentive, polite and hard working. Made a good impression of the local people and for the hotel.

En général un hotel de qualité, propre
avec tous les services attendu, la plage , la mer au delà de nos attentes.
Point faible, très faible, la nourriture, malgré des attentes très basses, nous avons été très déçus.

The people that work there were all so friendly and nice. They were always willing to make our experience more pleasant. The food was okay. There wasn't much taste to it but then again you're not going there for the food. They have a large variety of alcoholic beverages to choose from. The rooms were really nice but the mattresses weren't the best. Overall it was a fantastic trip I would/am going back there again

The Location, staff & beach are amazing.

Très bien comme hotel mais renseignez-vous avant car nous étions en même temps que le congé scolaire ontarien de vrai sauvage..il ne pense qu'a faire la fête sans penser aux autres clients...Après avoir changé de chambre et pris un bungalow nous avons passé une très belle semaine à recommander.

Hotel was clean, plenty of buffets and a la carte's to choose from. People were very friendly and helpful and beach and entertainment were great.

Great location and Beach in Varadero. Second trip to Cuba within a year, so we knew what to expect. Food was average, but could always find selection. Very clean resort and seen staff constantly working to maintain. Stayed in main building and lobby noise a pain a few nights, but only till 11 pm. Shows were geared towards adults, but well presented. Need lobby display board to show which restaurants, bars and disco are open which time of day since you have the use of two resorts.
Service is geared to tips as expected.

We were overall happy with this resort, everyone was friendly, and service was good, however upkeep of the place is a week point. Elevators not working properly and lots of things lacking maintnance.Nice staff and beautiful beach.

Nice and clean but there is few things that they should solve a little bit quicker.
1. One of the elevators was out of order for all 2 weeks we were there.
2. There was no water in some of the bangalows for 24 hours. This is something that can happened anywhere but there was absolutly luck of comunication - no one were able to let us know for how long.

The Barcelo Solymar has changed drastically over the last 2 years. My husband and I stayed there 2 years ago and our week was wonderful even with the crapy weather. The event planners were attentive and so were the staff--I miss the little towel sculptures that were created and left on the bed on a daily bais.
The weather this time was great, however there was a loud banging noise in the washroom that kept us up for the first 2 nights and then were had our room switched. The staff were accommodating but the hotel seems to be on a decline.
It will be very difficult to say that we will be returing to Cuba--at least to the Varadero Barcelo Solymar.

We chose this 4.5 star with expectations for better than average quality and service compared to the 2 other 3 star resorts in Cuba that we visited previously (which by the way were quite good). Barcelo Solymar/Arenas Blancas were a disappointment in comparison. We were 3 couples and all shared our surprise at the lack of quality on many levels, considering the higher star rating.

The bed linens were thin with holes/burns in them and were not changed until our 2nd last day. Bath linens were rough and shabby. Kleenex in rooms was non-existent, toilet paper was cheap and rough.

Coffee in rooms was either non-existent or limited in supply (packaged in Mississauga ... not even Cuban!). Coffee in buffets was horrible; tasted like instant. Coffee in lobby bar at Solymar brewed by the cup (espresso machine) was marginally better. The mixed drinks served at all bars were horrible quality made with the cheapest white rum, unless you specifically asked for dark rum, which they would provide, reluctantly. There wasn't a blended drink made with fresh fruit to be found anywhere. Pina Coladas were from a slushie machine, Mohitos didn't have any fresh lime and the mint sprigs where questionable. Just plain gross tasting drinks. Wine served at dinner was the only alcohol of decent brand and quality.

Buffet restaurant at Solymar was incredibly inconsistent. On only 1 of the 3 nights we ate there were we more than pleased with the food offering and quality. The other 2 nights, our choices were poor quality, terribly cooked meat dishes and lack of variety. The pasta station was horrid ... always very starchy! We tried the Mexican and Seafood at Arenas Blancas; Mexican was a joke, Seafood was hit and miss depending on dish. Surf and turf (steak and shrimp) were tough, but the lobster was excellent. Finally the Italian at Solymar was also a disappointment (They don't know how to cook pasta).

Staff encounters were not the greatest at this resort. During our previous 2 visits to Cuba at the 3 star resorts, we were so impressed with the Cuban people, wonderful smiles, happy people despite the ridiculous long days they work. At Barcelo, we did not get the same vibe from the staff. Not as friendly and outgoing as we had witnessed before.

Beach is beautiful soft sand and was groomed every night. No need to fight for loungers, but many of them are falling apart.

All in all a disappointment. I would not recommend this resort unless the star rating were reduced to no more than a 3.

C'était notre 2e année de suite à cet hôtel et nous avons encore plus adoré notre voyage! Le personnel exceptionnel et heureux de nous revoir, la propreté des lieux, le site magnifique, nourrirture meilleure que l'an dernier, la proximité de Varadero, la chaude température, une autre belle semaine en amoureux remplie de magnifiques et merveilleux souvenirs! À l'an prochain, nous revenons c'est certain!

hotel was great people were amazing, food was good. beaches were awsome

our experience was a very good 1

Really enjoyed the beach, the staff, room, amenities, and even the food. Lobster Varadero was really nice. The security and front desk staff need to get control over the all night partying going on in the rooms and around (and in) the pool and beach. Once bars and disco were closed, all the drunks wandered around the complex till 4 AM making noise everywhere. Was there for two weeks and there was no peace and quiet to be found at this resort.