Grand Caribe Club Puntarena Hotel

Well I just returned from a family Christmas vacation in Varadero Cuba. We had a great time. The staff was great, especially Alexander at the beach grillhouse, if you see him tell him Sara says hello! The nightly entertainment was awesome, very well put together, and even humorous at times. Very clean. The gardens could have used more flowers. A lot of activities to do i.e. boating, snorkling, pool games, dance lessons etc. The only problem we had with the hotel was the food. There is not much variety and everything is very bland. Although you will never go hungry during your stay. I'd say this resort is great for anyone looking for a relaxing week for a great price! One piece of advice, get out there and meet people. Everyone is very friendly. Make the msot of your vacation and have some fun!

we spent 10 days at this hotel.. the food was average and the italian restaurant had no pasta for over a week but you could get it in the buffet and the beach grill.. the drinks were too strong if anything and they would give you whatever you asked for and as much as you wanted.. so don't believe anything about weak drinks.. the elevators broke down regularily.. one apparently has not worked for 2 years, one breaks down every second day so that leaves the hotel with one.. the outside staircase is the only way up and down so i would advise you to take the lower floors, no higher than the 3rd.. i am not much of a water person but if you were the ocean is clean and apparently warm, although i never got past my waist.. varadero is not much of a town.. you'll miss it if you are looking for a real town to wonder around in,, not much to do except the odd excursions.. everything was expensive when you compare it to what the cubans make .. the government appears to be ripping off the tourists because i am sure the employees don't make the money.. to rent a motor scooter for 4 hours cost about 25 dollars cdn.. for the speed and comfort of the scooter you are not about to go very far.. considering you can rent a motorcycle in vietnam for 5 dollars a day i felt this was a rip off.. to rent a car will cost you about 130 dollars cdn a day, perhaps more.. the weather was nice but i think that was a been there done that sort of thing,, i would like to do more on my vacation than what was available.. give me S/E asia any day.. cuba is a big island and it would be interesting to travel around it and not have it cost you like you were in new york..

First, we spend only 3 nights a this resort (jan.3 to 6. We spent the first 4 nights in Jibacoa (Cameleon Villas), then we got a free offer to transfert and live two trip in one. I don't regret my decison to switch, but let me say that I wouldn't spent seven nights in Club Puntarena, three was just good !! THE HOTEL The resort is the first of Varadero, so it's quite far if you look to go out in Varadero (bus, taxi). It look like a big Miami beach complex... The room is ok, the ocean view is very nice. The bathroom is rusty and dark, believe me !! We were on the first floor near the elevator, alot of noice because the alley is very "eccho". The elevator make alot of noise too, so ask for the highest floor you can, away from the elevators. THE FOOD There's several place you can eat. First the Buffet : not that good, you just have to eat less, more place for the "cerbeza" !! Second, the beach grill where you can lunch between 12 and 3. Real good to eat near the ocean. There is another little grill where you can eat until 6PM. 24h burgers and sandwiches at the buffet grill was real nice real late. There is 2 "a la carte" retaurants. One italian where they rush you to eat the 4 services in less than a hour. This is sad because the food was real nice. One international (chinese) that was really nice. The 2 best dinner a had the whole trip. THE PEOPLE Not as friendly as in Jibacoa, even if you tip them. Osiris was real nice at the buffet, look for him. Animation was ok, some where friendly but there was this big cocky cuban dude, you'll regconize him, trust me. THE ACTIVITIES Not much to do. Animation was ok, pool tables and table games in the lobby was cool. The nightly entertainment did the job. The night party: you had to make your own fun, even at the disco where there wasn't alot of people, but we stick with the group we met in Jibacoa, we had alot of fun despite all that. THE WATER Pool was kind of nice. The ocean : well, 2 meters and you have water up to your neck. Very dangerous for kids. The sand a the beach was not nice at all... but is nicer and nicer away from the resort. BARS One 24h bar in the lobby. Beach bar, Disco bar, another lobby bar on second "lobby" floor (L2) and the pool bar. Finally, this resort is good for young adults and couples looking to take some sun, have a few beers & drinks. I don't recommand this place for famillies with young kids. The beach was really dangerous when I was there. Hope this review help you in some way, have fun !! Vince Montreal, qc, ca

Just came back from a one week stay at Puntarena with my daughter. We had an absolute blast!! The staff (Yordanka, Arturo, Noel, Boris, Thomas, Ariel) was SUPER friendly..drinks were non stop and perhaps a little too strong at times, contrary to what other reviewers wrote!! Must admit that the food was below average..so much so that we ate out in local restaurants several times..but then again, we weren't there for the food..but for the beautiful beach!! The weather was perfect EVERY day!! Lots of sunshine, not too hot. If you can only do one or two excursions, we recommend the Jeep Safari (Discovery Tour) and the Catamaran excursion..both were all day. Whilst on the resorts catamaran, we were blessed to be followed by two dophins who stayed next to us the entire time!! For nightlife, we suggest heading out to La Rumba Disco as the resort disco is usually empty. Entrance fee is $10 and is all inclusive..and again..drinks are NOT watered down!! The rooms at the hotel were acceptable, roomy and clean. The only drawback was that they did not stock the minibar as most resorts do..you will have to buy your own libations to keep in there. All in all we had a fabulous experience and would definitely go back!! Just one word of advice, be sure to bring a roll of toilet paper if you leave the resort, as most establishments in town do not provide this!!

Just returned from spending the christmas holiday in beautiful Cuba. Went with my husband and 19year old daughter and 17 year old son. Had a great time. We all met lots of people our own ages. Weather was better than we had anticipated. Sunny everyday, 75 to 80 with loads of sunshine. Staff was all wonderful and very friendly. They try to make your stay a good one. Rooms where very clean at all times with clean towels and towel shapes left by the maid daily. Do not leave out any food as there were a few ants if you did. The water was a gorgeous turquoise and clean and clear enough to want to drink . I think it is the best caribbean water I have ever seen. Only had one red flag day where you were not allowed in the ocean. Water was very warm.Pool was large and clean however it was in need of a bit of repair. A few tiles in and around the pool needed fixing, but there were plenty of loungers available with or without shade. Plenty of huts and loungers available on the beach as well. Never had to search for one. Beach side grill/bar had the best food for the day. Say hello to Alexander the waiter. Very nice guy! Make use of all amenities available at the beach. Snorkel gear(go into the canal side) catamaran, kayak, paddle boats. Pool hut has the towels and any kind of balls you want. Food was not the best. Everything is dry. Breakfast was good. Omelettes you best bet. Toaster never worked properly. Leftovers from each meal were incorporated into the next meal. Very limited variety. We did not ever go hungry, but they definetly need to work on the menu. Not everything was labelled so we stayed away from meats that we weren't sure of. We would return to Puntarena anytime. Good value for your money.

Just returned from a week at Puntarena so can give you an accurate low down. Firstly the food is 2nd world, fine for Cubans but not up to the standards of the free world, though the fruit is acceptable. I couldn't eat in the buffet after the first visit, I was told the Italian restaurant was terrible and ate all my dinners in the International restaurant (after I complained) which was OK but not good. I skipped breakfast and ate lunch at the outdoor beach restaurant which is fine if you like fried fish or fried chicken. But that gets old quick. Coffee is OK if you get it from the bar where it is expresso. The hotel, pool, beach, outdoor areas and the rooms are nice and kept clean. The elevators that are working 2 of 3 on occassion, are slow and there is no staircase aside from the fire escape. So you spend a lot of time waiting for the elevator. The employees overall are unfriendly and make you feel as if you are bothering them, I especially noted this if you ask for a drink at the bar or service at the front counter. By the way the booze is watered down, and it is cheaper to just by a bottle of rum at the store for 5 pesos and be done with it. As for events, forget it, their brutal, from the Spanish lessons to the outdoor activities and shows. And there is nothing to do in Varadero which in any way is related to the real Cuba. Overall, if you just need a room or a cheap flight to get you down there so you can go to Havana where you should really be spending your time in Cuba, then it can be a great deal. If you want an all exclusive you better go for a 4.5 star or you'll wish you had after 2 days.

For the $1200 CAN that we each spent to go to the Gran Caribe Club Puntarena in Varadero Cuba, we didn't expect a five star hotel treatment but we expected a bit of hospitality from the hotel staff, which was scarce. Every restaurant we went to (in the hotel) we were left standing for a while before anyone even acknowledged that we were waiting for a table. Other times local Cubans, who were staying at our hotel, would speak in Spanish to the hotel staff and get seated before us, even though we were the first in line to be seated. Us tourists were simply ignored. We didn't let it bother us that much until on our last night I finally got fed up and complained to one of the managers of the restaurant(Le Dragona on L2) and hell I wish I had kept my mouth shut. Me and my wife have been violently ill since that night's dinner, with vomiting & diarrhea. And due to our illness we had a very uncomfortable 8 hour flight back to Vancouver. As much as I would like to think that there aren't people EVIL enough to purposely poison someone else, I do think that were puposely poisoned & are paying the price for our legit complaint. As for the beach itself and the weather, absolutely beautiful beach & the weather was immaculate. But on a final note, a vacation should not end with you stepping of an Airplane and straight into a clinic getting ready to be tested for salmonela. Horrible, horrible hotel. I wish I had lost $1200 in the casino or something. It would have felt much better than the way I feel right now. Don't waste your money.

I just got back from Gran Caribe Club Puntarena and i must say it certainly deserves its 3.5 star rating, nothing more, nothing less. First and foremost, you'll find the rooms a lil run down, tho i perosnally feel as if rooms dont matter. The food was suprisingly pretty damn good, i honestly enjoyed it very much. Service wasnt that good, however i think its because its off season. The pool was very nice and its also a salt water pool. The beach is ok, i say this because the water is incredible, so blue and clear, however the sand has many shells in it. Overall, its a pretty decent hotel definitly worth its 3.5 star rating, but remember its not the hotel that makes a vacation, its the people you go with. hope this review helped, if more info is needed email me at asarecchia@hotmail.com

When we arrived there it was 12:00 noon. We were starving, of course having to be in the Airport to go to Cuba at 3:00 am. When we arrived at the buffet, there wasn't much of a choice for foods. the 3 salads -bean-cabbage-fish salads were being kept in wooden bowls on top of a table cloth, when you hit those very high temperatures and the buffet stays open til 2:30pm these need to be kept on Ice. So we continued on the buns were rock hard the butter was floating in water, then we went to the soup, it was some kind of bean soup with a nasty smell, the hot dishes were chopped hotdogs and some pork slices and something green in a nasty sauce, the next dishes got worse. So I relied on the Pasta Bar, I made myself a nice White sauce with Penne, It tasted like bile.The fruit was very limited to Pineapple and Watermelen. Very frustrated I began to drink the Pina Coladas. We found the Beach restaurant, Awesome I was thinking. I asked for French Fries, How can you mess these up? Well when she finished cooking them she used her hand to whipe her nose and then reached in and grabbed my french fries with her bare hand and put it on my plate. I am not sure why she didn't use her tongs that were sitting in the dish. At the bars they used there hands to get the straws for you drinks. They are standing there for the whole day shift. there hands couldn't have been clean. Every day was the same or worse. The two a la carts we ok but you didn't get a big portion of anything. The pool , we couldn't swim in because for 4 days it had an aweful brown scum over the top This is the first family vacation my boy is 12 and my girl is 15. I have been to Cuba 3 other times and have enjoyed every place. I understand that the food will be more bland then at home it is expected, this was just plain horrible. There was vomit on the elavators that never got cleaned up. The place was really run down. The staff wasn't very happy at this place. So everything I told my children about Cuba was not true at this place. This was there first impression. My boy was bothering me because he was so hungry and he isn't a picky eater. He will try anything once and he did just once and then he didn't know what to eat because everything tasted horrible. So we ended up by the middle of the week going downtown Varadero and payed for a half decent meal...and this ticked me off even more when you are paying for a ALL INCLUSIVE resort. I really felt cheated. This was also my Birthday Celebration Vacation because I turned this year. As far as I was concerned I was ripped off. The rates went up for last minute travellers I paid close to $5000.00 for this resort and I could have gone somewhere else with that money and really enjoyed ourselves/ There were people that had been there before and said it used to be really nice and they don't know what happened to it. It took me a long time to save up for our family trip and cutting alot of corners to have that kind of money. So I spent alot of my vacation crying.

Stayed at the Puntarena it was quiet, the food not so good, not much varity. We met some great people, had a good time, but wouldn,t go back. Had a great time on excurions, did them all and had a ball.