Brisas Del Caribe Hotel

We spent a week in Brisas del Caribe from 27th November, after travelling around Cuba for a week. We loved the country and will definitely come back as the people, the landscapes and the history make for a marvellous holiday! We found the Brisas del Caribe hotel fine and after reading the reviews on this site, the buffet was a pleasant surprise. OK, it's not the most amazing culinary display you've ever seen, but the food is tasty enough, there was a different buffet every day and plenty of fresh fruit and veg. We found the rooms, staff and services all pretty good and really every drink and snack is included, no hassle at all. We did find however that the all inclusive approach is restrictive as hotel security was so tight that our friends who stayed next door in the Arenas Doradas hotel could not enter our hotel area, which became annoying. Also, if you like to interact with the locals it is better to stay in a hotel closer to Varadero itself, as it takes at least 15 minutes by taxi (and about $10) to get into the town.

Ten of us (5 couples in our 50s) spent 2 weeks at the Brisas del Caribe in early-mid March/2002. We agree with the other reviewers that the beach is gorgeous and the staff are very friendly, but we disagree with most about the food. Certainly some of it was not the best food we had ever eaten, but it certainly was not "inedible". There was a huge selection for every meal. There were some weird items, but there were some really good ones too-like their breads which were delicious. The meats were often somewhat dried out, but the fish dishes were good. Their hamburger patties were delicious. They had a different salad bar-with more cabbage than lettuce, but once we got used to that we really enjoyed it. The omelettes in the morning were good and some days there were delicious cruellers(little donut things). The ice cream was good. No one in our party got sick. We had a wonderful holiday there.

Stayed at Brisas Nov 2-9 2002 and had a fabulous time. Have travelled to lots of other Caribbean destinations and this one is at the top of my list. Great rooms (new section) Great Staff! Good Food especially at the a la cartes. The beach is so pretty great for walking or running a couple of K at least. perfect for sunsets, moonlight swims and star gazing (very save). Lots to do during the day if you a so inclined. the trip to Havana is a must , so is the sunset cruise. The grounds are fabulous especially of you love flowers. We were there for a week and I wish it had been 2. I would go back in a second.

Well, to begin, you get on the bus for the airport to the hotel, and there's nice cold cuban beer on the bus! A great start to the holiday! We where 3 couples that stayed at the Brises and also met up with 3 other couples from Ottawa there. The Beach amazing!!! nothing more to say about iot, amazing. The staff, excellent. We met the bartendar at the grill beach restaurant and I showed them how to make the best banana daiquiri, and he would come and bring a tray full of them to us on the beach every 15-20 min while we played volleyball. We also met his wife and son, later that week. Also, we met up with other staff member, Bango King and Ray, well, what a blast we had with them,.they even brought us out to varadero to a club that night!wow 10US all you can drink. I enjoyed the food, it's was bit different, but what do you expect, your in Cuba. We had a nice room,but I do recommend the new part of the hotel. I loved the way they served there coffee, with the warm goat milk( i know it sound gross, but try it) All and all, we did not want to leave, we had a great time and I definetly would go back again. Met alot of people and the staff were extermely friend.

My Husband and I and 50 of our close friends and family have just returned from Cuba on October 30th, 2002 We renewed our Wedding Vows at the hotel and this was the reason for the trip no one in our group had every been to Cuba before but everyone is planning to return again very soon!!! What an amazing place we had such a diverse group of guest with so many needs and we hope everyone would enjoy themselves and they did we could not have asked for a more dedicate group of staff that worked hard for us 24 hours a day I do not know how they did it!!! I will agree with the rest of the people who have said commets about the hotel buffet food it is not the greatest but we were told that they will be bringing in International Chefs once the construction is done and come on everyone it is a communist country who only have few countries to trade with, give them a few years and I am sure it will be as good as everything else they do!!! I have travelled all around the world from backpapcking to 5* Hotel so I do know what is out there good and bad, and I know I will be back to Cuba very soon because the people and the country are amazing!!! If anyone has any questions just send us an email and I will try and help as much as I can!!! All The Best Chantal Clarke

Olla I have just returned from a two week holiday in Brisas, Cuba what a fantastic time we had . My daughter was married at the hotel and the whole wedding day was very special. The organizer was first class and took all the head aches away from everyone which was delightful The Cuban people are wonderful, very caring loving and thoughtful. Our Entertainment staff under the direction of Frank was first class also a lot of audience participation which was fun to make fools of yourselves. The entertainers mixed with us and we had good chats. The bar staff, maids, gardeners etc are very socialable. I was impressed with the number of different laguages they spoke. We as Canadians are very lacking in education compared with these people. The hotel food is not great but you can eat it. It is quiet bland and no spices so infact very good for people with digestive problems. The ocean and beach is beautiful and very clean as we found Cuba to be in general. The pools are very clean too. As the staff are very laid back and easy going it made for a truly relaxing holiday. We were in group of friends and family ranging in age from 6 to 72 and everyone really enjoyed themselves. We took part in aerobics, water polo, tennis lessons, spanish lessons, dancing lessons, vollyball. We visited outside the hotel disco's which were good fun. While we were there the disco was closed which was a shame as we are a family that like Cuban's love to dance, they are all such natural dancers with lots fo rythme. We did mange to make our own disco area. We visited Havana not on a tour but with two of the staff who gave us a great tour, rum distillery, cigar factory, museum etc. This is agreat way to go and a lot cheaper if you can get a group together. Also rented scooters and toured around the island which is very large. Saw some very poor areas but still very happy people. We did not feel we were being watched at all Would we go back in an instant to the same hotel yes. Nothing to compalin about we go on holiday to have fun and relax and meet new people which we did and our lives have been enriched by the Cuban people and especially the Staff at Brisas Del Caribe. Thank You All very much and I hope if any one reads this and goes to Brisas they are blessed with such a great time. Thanks for reading this article Happy Cannuck

We have just returned from Brisas Del Caribe and were quite worried about going after reading some of the reviews! However, the hotel and setting were really good. The main buffet for breakfast, lunch and evening diner were fine - limited if you got there late. Some dishes were unusual, but there was always plain food if you are not too adventurous (rice, potatoes, eggs, beef, fish). All meals had chefs preparing food while you wait - omlettes, pancakes, carvery, chicken breasts etc.. Regarding the 3 al la carte restuarants, the ticket system was fine, in fact, for our 10 day stay we were only entitled to one night in each, but they offered us 2. La Caleta is outside near the beach, it is a snack bar during the day and made up for the evenings. In the day we only used it for drinks. For both our evening dates it really was too hot and humid although the food/service was OK (not special) - probably better out of the summer period. The Italian El Patio in indoors, very pleasant with piano backgroud music, but the food was only similar to the buffet. The best was the Fantasia, smaller, different food - altogether more exclusive. Definitely to be recommended. Overall the hotel was clean and efficient although changing rooms did seem quite common and happened to us due to a burst water pipe, but it was quite painless. Facilities and free trips, diving etc in our all inclusive deal with Cosmos were excellent. We had 4 nights in Havana before travelling to Varadero at the Nacional. That was really worthwhile to see the Cuban way of life/culture, you would not necessarilly get that at Varadero as it definitely a tourist resort but NOT over commercialised. As a general tip regarding electricity, the Nacional is 110V with US plugs (flat 2 pin), the Brisas was 220V (round 2 pin European) At the Brisas you could pay $15 deposit for giant beach towels that you could change every day. We took all US dollars cash, using the room safes in both hotels. Several visitors had problems getting cash with credit cards, although non-US travellers cheques were accepted at least in the holtels. Overall a great holiday.

We went to the Brisas del Caribe in 2000, it was our 4th time to the caribbean and the worst we have ever experienced. The Hotel is clean and we had a room in the new block which was also fine, but the food!!! Do not plan on eating at this hotel, nearly everyone got food poisoning and my wife was so ill the day we came home that I thought she wouldn't make it (chicken from one of the al a cartes). If we could have got a flight home we would have been on it and that was only after 3 days. I cannot express enough just how bad the food is but, example, I lost 2 stones in weight. I have never seen beef(?) in bright green(?) sauce before or since. The staff were generally also miserable as sin, particularly the bar staff who enjoyed informing you of their terrible life (I am sympathetic but don't need it on holiday). Havana is something else - go - it is fantastic

Firstly I would start off by saying that before I took my trip to cuba I visited this website 3 or 4 times and read the reviews and at least there was a mixture of views. I don't know how anyone could not have liked Cuba, its the best holiday we have ever been on. The day we arrived it chucked it down with rain and driving to varadero we thought oh my god this looks like a complete shanty town and the sea we could see on our right was just horrid, this actually led into the swamp/river. We actually thought we were going to have a holiday from hell. But as we turned up to our hotel we felt a little relief. Great hotel, amazingly clean and the staff were always most helpful throughout our 2 week stay. Our room was in the main building and it was a good size with a clean bathroom, and good view from the balcony. The actual state of the hotel was 5 stars. We made some great friends during our 2 week stay and it was good to hear their opinions too. I will agree that the food in the buffet is limited and not very appetising but on our last few days we heard it had improved and they had installed air conditioning within the area. You could always find something to eat and their joint of beef was very tasty. If you are a vegetarian then I would say you would have a very tough time here. The 3 a la carte restaurants, La Caleta, El Patio and Fantastia were of a good standard although we heard bad reports on the La Caleta for an evening meal, so we never visited there. But the other two shared near enough the same menu and were good and there was a seperate wine list that you had to pay for, good wine though if you drink it. Cuba is a poor country and they are still connecting to tourism and the good thing is if there are problems they try their hardest to deal with them. A few people told our rep about the food in the buffet and she did speak to the head chef and he is always keen to here what people fancy to eat etc. Breakfast we couldn't fault at all although in their baked beans they added cloves which is certainly different. Lunch we mainly visited La Caleta and they had burgers, chicken, hotdogs, pasta dish and fresh fruit. During our 2 week stay we did 5 trips, starting off with a day in havana which was a great experience so many cultures there. We wish we'd done 2 days there now as theres so much to see. We did scuba diving for the first time too, and went 25m under great experience. Jungle Tour which is literally 5 minutes from the hotel is another good trip, you take out these wet bikes slightly less powerful than jet skies and you go along the swamp its not too bad little bit smelly in places but ok, they take you too a zoo and we held a crocodile there. Jolly Roger tour is great fun best day out definiately but make sure you do it after you have burnt or been there a few days, they took us to Caya Blanco which was an deserted beach like paradise. We finished off our last trip with swimming with dolphins something again we had never done. Theres so much to do in cuba, you can never get bored. Varadero town is very safe, and I can recomment DuPont Mansion for a meal if you fancy eating out it overlooks the golf course great views, take some great pictures there. We also ate in the Plaza Americas Shopping centre, Pizza Nova great cheese garlic bread and fab pizzas if you fancy that! All again very cheap. Just gives you the chance to see places outside the resort. I certainly agree that the entertainment team are brilliant goodness knows how many hours they worked a day it seemed they never stopped! great with kids and made sure everyone was enjoying themselves. Its exactly a one minutes walk to the beach beautiful and we often stayed on there till 7ish very relaxing. If anyone would like to know anymore about this holiday please do not hesitate to contact me Charlotte_Price@ipcmedia.com We have never been to the caribbean before and would certainly go there again and go to cuba again.

I think that Brisas Del Caribe was one of the nicest places i ve been to.The food was great and those British people who got sick its probably because you drank to much beer.I find that for everything in cuba you have to tip people which is just to much.