Varadero

THINGS TO BRING (bug repellent, refillable container for the beach since the cups are very small, night light for the bathroom and your own face cloth) RECOMMENDATIONS Put a towel on the chair next to the beach at 7:00 Get a pad from the beach clubhouse to put on our beach lounger Go to the mall to buy wine in order to bring it in the à la carte restaurant Ask for another blanket and will receive it immediately Tip the servers if you want anything done they get a whole lot friendlier Ask for extra foam on the bed since they are hard Put all valuable items in your carry on Make reservation for the à la carte restaurant from the day you arrive otherwise they will tell you its all booked Change small amount of your money at the reception ROOM Check-in time: 15:00. Check-out time: 12:00 Yesumaris is the person to see front desk if the room is not to our satisfaction The first floor rooms had a bit of a smell, second floor rooms not so great, third floor rooms are very nice as well as the hallway and the view on the third floor is great. We had room 3103 king size bed, view of the golf course and water, it was very clean and would highly recommend it BEACH Are very close to the door of the resort Saturday and Sunday more locals on the beach this would be a good day to go out of the hotel No sea weeds No harassment by vendors on the beach DRINKS Cristal Cuban beer is good and cold Cocktail are strong Lobby bar has more variety of alcohol A sweet wine called Legendario is terrible Pina colada is made from powder PLAZA plaza next door (again, in walking distance) for casual shopping and some live entertainment. GOLF RESTAURANT The 2 minute walk from the hotel lobby to the Xanadu (DuPont) Mansion at the golf course, for a drink in the lounge or dinner is definitely a todo. (veal came with a purée of mashed potatoes, vegetable and well presented) RESTAURANTS -The lady who makes reservations Angela was so kind and helped to coordinate our à la carte which was no easy task with so many of us and she did so with a smile. IL LIMONCELLO (Mediterranean food Italian) Mediterranean | À la carte La Arcada (international restaurant with spring quartet music). The croquettes, lobster bisque, chicken pasta and salty fish are very good. The Robleza Barbecue,Cuban | À la carte. Location: Pool area It is open air dining with Cuban cuisine (bbq) lunch is good, Paella is good served for two people or four (seasoned rice, shrimps and mussels) Sakura JJapanese | À la carte Location: Pool area Japanese restaurant was nice the portions are big enough for the women we also tend to love this restaurant super show cooking – an entertainment in itself La Terraza (buffet restaurant)International | Buffet Notes: Air conditioning, Dress code, Fresh fish selection grilled on request Bread is made daily and no preservatives. There is this delicious garlic oil that they would flavor the meat at the meat station or put it your pasta. Bacon undercooked Eggs are fresh eggs Pasta bar is good especially the meet sauce

Hotel is ok, lots of walking to get places to eat and shows which is ok I guess, towels got smaller and fewer each day, food well it's Cuba first off so just ok, lines for pasta every night over 20 minutes at least, bathrooms in lobby smelled horrible never had paper towels as ex and that's all week,

Overall, the hotel is new and clean. Staff is friendly and generally things are great. The only issue is the cross-contamination with food. My daughter has fish allergies and she had a reaction to plain pasta sauce and chickpeas because cooks use the same spoon for the fish sauce as they do for regular sauce. There doesn't seem to be any consideration for people with food allergies as everything is mixed and it's not clear. For instance some pizza would have tuna but it's not marked and it's right beside the plain cheese pizza. She was very limited in terms of what she could eat because the hotel does not do a good job separating allergens from the rest of the food. If you don't have food allergies then I say this place is great to visit. The beach is breathtaking.

The staffs are spectacular and the service is excellent, I would definitely choose this hotel a thousand times for my vacation

Unfortunately my experience with this hotel wasn't positive. Buffet was terrible, no butter or condiments, no variety, felt like stewed something every day. Ran out of wine, beer, limited wifi, Cuban people are usually alot happier than there were. the hotel is definitely not a 4.5 star.

We didn't get to our hotel, Iberostar Laguna Azul, until after 4 am. We were on the third floor of a building with no elevator. This was a problem for our friends - booked this hotel because it indicated there were elevators. They had two cots, not the king bed requested, My friend & I had the king bed. - Next day, we went to ask for our rooms to be corrected. We're told the hotel couldn't accommodate us & we would have to wait a day or two to be moved. Our friends were moved on the 2nd day of the trip to a building with an elevator. Unfortunately in a building with at least 6 elevators throughout, there was only one that worked. It broke down occasionally too. My friend & I decided to stay in the first room. - Rooms - staff did the best they could for the most part, but they were in poor condition. The shower head holders were broken & could not be used unless you held them. We did not use them that way one day & it flooded our bathroom. We called for assistance to clean up the water. No one ever came Food was pretty good with good variety. Very long lineups at breakfast. Coffee was undrinkable We were given beach towels & told we could change them. EVERYTIME we went to do that we were told there were none & to come back. There were never any available Lobby bar was good but not enough tables.

I loved the layout of the hotel and the fact that I had to walk around. At least I got some exercise! Our bungalow was close to the lobby so we had to walk a bit to get to the beach. The gardens are beautiful and gardeners so sweet and friendly. I recommend this hotel if you want to relax and take it easy.

We really enjoyed our time here! The people were friendly, the rooms were clean and spacious. The beach was AMAZING!!!!!

This resort was brand new and quite small compared to others beside it, but it was absolutely great! The employees were always so nice and helpful, the beach wasn't super packed with people and there weren't lineups everywhere for the buffet and the bar. The only drawback is that there were A LOT of Russians compared to Canadians, and they made the experience a little less enjoyable. They yelled and partied until about 5am and you could hear them clearly from your room. They left 2 days after we arrived and the ambiance was a lot more enjoyable and friendly. Would definitely recommend, and will most likely revisit.

We really enjoyed our stay at this resort... The updated rooms deserve a 5 star and also the housekeeping service. The International Restaurant was amazing and the service was 5 star. The grounds were kept very nice and they seem to be doing lots of upgrades. The beach, the pool and the snack bar was very nice. all in all a very nice place to stay....