Breezes Varadero Hotel

1 reader found this review helpful

Flew out with First Choice - great operator, always use for longhaul, We went for 12 nights.
This was our first time to Cuba, and we loved the country, and it was very hot. Be careful of the breeze on the beach, it caught me out and I burnt my face!!!!
The hotel has 3 restuarants (Cuban, Italian and Grill). The Italian and Cuba are a must, very nice food. The buffet restaurant was ok, wasnt a brill choice of food but you could find something (there was always spaghetti for lunch and dinner). There wasnt a lot of choice of food at breakfast, there are only so many omletts you can eat!! But overall the food wasnt too bad. One thing you must try is the burgers they do, they are superb. Everyday 11am - 5.30 they do burgers/hotdogs by the beach bar at the Grill. We had 1 everyday for an afternoon snack!!!
The entertainment was good, starting at about 9pm at night in the buffet restaurant. There was also a disco on site which is situated in the Junior Suite building, the disco is 10.30 - 2am. Could sometimes be noisy when people were leaving the disco.
Should you need a chemist, there is only 1 in Varadero, which you will need a taxi to get to. But there is a First Aider on the hotel site.
Our room was cleaned daily, and the bed made with a lovely decoration with the towels everyday.
The staff dont expect any tips, but any given are gratefully received. When we left we left our shampoo, hair products, etc, and the maid was very happy with these.
A must is a trip to Havana, we did a one day trip. Its a very interesting place, a must with your camera.
There is nothing outside the hotel, you would need to get a taxi or the Tour Bus to take you to Downtown Varadero for any shops.
You can go on the tour bus for 5 pescos (about £4/£5) which will take you round Varadero. You can get on and off as many times as you want in 1 day. The markets are in downtown Varadero, not massive, but ok for gifts.
We would go back to Cuba again, but would try another hotel, as we dont like to go back to the same place.

I dont know what the last person is talking about! this is in a word, paradise. Beautiful, amazing food, place people, be. beautiful beaches and level of entertainment, not rowdy and private place. It was our honeymoon. Wow, loved it. Felt like a celeb.xxx.
Everything that you could wish for and wonderful staff. I lived in teh real Cuba and this was a treat for teh end of my time there. xxxx.

1 reader found this review helpful

I got married here on July 9 07. I looked into many countries to get married in but i went for Cuba as it seemed so relaxed and everyone who we met who had been to Varadero loved it! As we didnt want too much hype or formality we opted for this 4*rather than 5*star hotel and im so glad we did.
The room we had by the pool with an ocean view could have done with a lick of paint(and i beleive the hotel was closing for a refurb in 2008),but we couldnt fault the size or how well equiped it was.it was cleaned daily.The restaurants where nice, we found their Cuban restaurant a real laugh with cuban duos and trios serenading you -the powerful aircon in the cuban was a refreshing plus point.
The Italian restaurant was very serene,a few things where missing from the menu but
hey ho were in Cuba! Angel the flambouyant maitre de will look after you there.
The buffet restaurant had a good choice of foods, and hilarious shows.
we only caught a few shows as we where going through the cocktail lists namely the fab Mohito,s and San Francisco's in either the lobby bar or the pool bar.
the beach was breathtaking- i dont think its possible to have a better beach and Elizabeth the hotel wedding co-ordinator arranged everything from flowers to photographer and a Cuban Band to play at our beach wedding, nothing was too much trouble, we evan had a horse drawn carriage take us to the Xanadu Mansion for post wedding drinks.
Theres not much to do out and about the town of Varadero but the excursion swimming with Dolphins was good fun and so cheap compared to other countries.
We went on the overnight trip to Havana which is a must.The Tropicano show is great
The only downside is the humidity.it is soooo hot, but still soooo worth it.
A tip book the airport lounge well worth £15.00

After 3 nights at a 5* Havana hotel, Breezes Bella Costa was a huge disappointment - my first reaction was, I'm not staying here, I'm going home!! and I lay awake the first night planning my escape!!
The main problem is that the whole resort is worn-out, dreary and shabby - it needs to be totally renovated and refurbished. This is not what you expect from a hotel supposedly 4*. We are not professional whiners, this is the first time ever that I have felt compelled to complain in writing to the tour operator and indeed claim compensation.
Briefly, some of our complaints were: shabby furnishings in rooms, light bulbs missing/not working, blind hanging off its fitting, bath-to-shower fitting didn't work, a/c only worked on low, cracked windows in bathroom and balcony, no hot water (some of these were fixed by maintenance the next day).
The reception/bar area is in poor decorative state, grubby seating, worn-out in the bar with the stuffing poking through!! No a/c in reception or bar - very hot and unpleasant for a drink after dinner.
The pool was covered in slimy greenish film, no-one could use it until it was thoroughly cleaned. The hard landscaping in the garden/pool area is ugly and faded, badly repaired or not repaired at all - there are areas of broken tiling/paving (dangerous!), and the area between the garden and beach is crumbling and strewn with rubble in places.
The food overall was inconsistent in quality, sometimes poor. The restaurants are unattractive and soulless, and there are hygiene issues - in the open-air beach restaurant, small birds fly in and feed from the buffet, even perching in the dishes of food!! Surely a health hazard. Linen/towels were changed daily but were often stained - yuk!!
LUCKILY!! - we ended up having a good time despite, not because of, the hotel. We made friends with other guests, had a laugh - and of course, lots of lovely cocktails. The sea and beach were fantastic. It was low season and the hotel was only 20% occupied at most - so although there wasn't much "atmosphere", at least you could hand-pick your sunbed and shade, and make full use of pedalos, kayaks, etc.
At least the place was clean. The staff without exception were very nice, and did their best to make up for the many shortcomings of the hotel, and create "atmosphere" - some of the entertainment was very good.

1 reader found this review helpful

I spent 2 weeks away in this hotel and I enjoyed every minute of it. I could tell from the outside that the hotel was amazing; it really is an impressive sight.
The rooms are fantastic, they are very clean and spacious and the bathroom was given top marks.
There are many bars, the best being the piano bar, the pool bar is good and one thing that is certain is that they do know how to make the best cocktails. Beach bar is nice - so close that it great if you are staying at the beach all day.
The food was ok but nothing special that’s why the hotel only gets a 9 otherwise it would have been a 10 all round.
This was a fantastic holiday and I would return to this hotel if I have the chance.