Gran Caribe Club Kawama Hotel

club kawama was enjoyed very much by my wifeand my self and six others in our party from winnipeg. the staff was very friendly and courteous.the grounds are kept very clean.the rooms werekept clean by a good staff. we always felt safewalking around day or night a happy canadian traveller to club kawama cuba

Nice setting. We had a modern/rustic room near the ocean. It was comfortable and quiet. The staff was fairly responsive to the guests with special mention to the hosts in the lobby. The only complaint was the food. Nothing really bad but nothing very extrordinary either. We did have some nice meals at the reservation restraunts but also managed to cheer at our first meal outside the resort as well. The beach and pool area were among the best/relaxing setting we have ever visited. If your looking for lots of action, Kawama is probably not your best choice. It provides more of a quiet, laid back choice. That being said, they do mange to wake you up every 2 hours with some stupid "Happy" disco song. I do have to mention the drinks were absolutely "rumtastic". Cheers, enjoy Kawama.

Don't be fooled by all the good reviews-Kawama has a huge problem with their septic system & believe me you will get wind of this problem just as soon as you walk through the grounds. Kawama also has an oil refinery across the canal to the south & you will no doubt start feeling sick from the constant oil smell as soon as the wind comes from the south. Your room will not be any better odor wise even with the air conditioning on. Staff are not friendly or helpfull. Ask where the 24 hour snacks are??? Nobody seems to know: but when you show up at the pizza restaurant where they are supposed to be, the sign on the door says CLOSED!! My quess is they don't want to be bothered. This is not the kind of treatment I have been used to at other resorts in Mexico, Dominican & Costa Rica, nor do these place seem to have sewage problems at their resorts. The food?? is doubtful at best but we did have a couple of nice meals at one of the a la carte restaurants. Variety is poor, corn for breakfast & no vegetables for dinner at the buffet. Don't expect to see a lot of fresh vegies & not a lot of fish dishes for an island - not like in other Carribean locations. If you pay under $1000 inc. taxes all inclusive, not too bad but don't pay more- you can get much much better for your money. They cater to the Euros in Cuba because they pay more for their rooms so don't even bother to tip because the service will be the same - POOR!!

So sad to be home. We just got back and our trip was amazing. Anyone who says different should have paid the 2000 for a five star. The resort was gorgeous...and clean which is important. Our room was awsome. Anyone who didnt like there room we talked to was switched and all were happy. The food was great...and coming from a vegetarian that is a big rating. We ate buffet every night (you make reservations at the lobby for a la carte not the restraunt oops, but everyone loved the a la carte's we talked to) ...and yes the food is different but they do there best to make it different everynight. The omlette bar is the morningwas my fave..hint the will make friend eggs for ya too. The beach is amazing,i swear the white sand is made of silk; and the pool is fantastic and clean. The staff (which is always willing to help) keeps the resort in tip top shape. And the maids take great care of your room. We went walking in varadero all the time to the local flea markets and bought lots of stuff to take home. The shopping is great. Alot of people ate off the resort too and loves the local food. I never talked to anyone who got sick..unless is was from too much rum of course. The drinks are great...and there is more than rum although thats usually what ya drink. There were lots of kids there too that looked like they were having a blast. Its like your own little village...i will never go to a resort that is a highrise now....cause your own little villa is fantastic! The resort isnt huge which is great cause your 2 min. from the pool or beach at any point in time. I cant say enough good stuff about this place. Watch bad ratings on here cause anything negative is about resorts that people were sent to for a night when it was over booked. Over booking is an issue that is everywere and in every country from what i have heard...plus its usually your travel agent so ya cant really blame the resort. Anyone who is heading to cuba i would say the kawama is more than worth the money you pay...i was soooo sad to leave my home for a week...and would tell anyone of my friends not to be afraid to book it!!!

What a wonderful place to be! Nice and clean room, fantastic beach, white sand what more can you ask for? Food was okay and lots of drinks.

Travellers beware when booking this resort. We booked there for a week in February and were notified when we landed in Cuba that the resort was overbooked and they were bumping us. Usually if and when you would get bumped they're supposed to put you in a better hotel. They didn't. They put us in the worst resort on the strip. Club Karey was a far cry from being a nice resort. It was horrible. The rooms were small and the furniture crammed in, there was no hot water for showers, the pool was smaller than the one I had in my backyard at home when I was growing up and there were probably only 4-5 lounge chairs around it. The buffet was scarey, we couldn't eat anything but the rice and bread. We had to fight for two and a half days with our rep. and the resorts to get put back where we had originally booked. It ruined our trip, we were miserable and hungry. When we finally did get into Kawama it was a little better. There was a little more variety of food and the grounds and rooms were much better. The smells were pretty bad at night though, I guess from the refinery or sewage, it made you sick to your stomach. I can honestly say that this was my first and last trip to Cuba. I will never return. It was actually the worst trip I have ever taken and we travel every year. If you are thinking of booking this resort be prepared.

I went to Kawama Feb 17-24 and I had a great time! As a 28 yr old woman who went alone I must say that I always felt incredibly safe and there were lots of other young singles there so it was easy to meet other people. The resort also had its share of older couples and a few with small children. The disco was fun, sometimes full sometimes empty but the music was good and the drinks flowing. The shows ranged from nice to quite bad, so bad it was funny. The rooms were nice, no complaints there, if you wanted to watch t.v there were a few good channels in english but I didn't spend much time in my room. The food was alright, better than I expected actually, everyone says if you go to Cuba be prepared for bad food but it was fine. Sometimes really great and others not so much. The ice cream and cappuccino was always great. But what more do you want from a 3 + hotel anywhere? Since this is one of the first hotels built in Varadero they have the best part of the beach. Sand is soft, almost no rocks or shells, the water is incredibaly calm and beautiful. Most of the staff were very friendly and if you chum up to the bartenders they might give a bottle of wine or rum.Tipping is not a must all of the time but if you get good service you should, these people are poor and are very grateful for anything you can give. I came with some hair accesories, crayons etc to tip the maid and the waitress I really liked. If you go to Cuba you must go to Havana, its a beauful city with gorgeous architecture and the local artists there sell amazing canvas paintings, they won't haggle much generally speaking. All in all I was very impressed with the hotel and with Cuba. If you go with an attitude that everything should be perfect then you will be dissapointed, perfection is at a 5 star. I would definitly recommend this hotel to anyone who is just going to have fun and enjoy themselves. You can relax, eat, drink to your hearts content and party if that's what you want.I would go back.

Club Kawama appears to be a great place to visit, as long as you don't mind be dropped off at a 1 star hotel and being told that it is the same as where you should be " Its not about the money ". The large group of people who all had the same experince the "Overbooking" which of course was not the hotels fault and supriseingly Not the Travel companies fault either. We learned that it must have been all our fault for booking in with Cub Kawama/ Kariey. I have traveled many placees and run into a few problems but this the worst ever, and everyday you had to wonder what could happen next! Kawama has sewage problems if the canal across the street is high (sewage is backing up into your room) The rancid smell of burning oil which is not only out side but is taken in to your roon by the air conditioners! As you walk around the resort you get to enjoy the fresh smell of the many septics around the resort ( just a little ------ ) There is a lot of bugs make sure to bring your fly spray! The big beautiful beach has many Jelly fish so you get to enjoy the pools. I witnessd a bell boy& guard help them selfs to an extra $ 5:00 us from a drunk guest ( money was for a cab they slipped an extra $5 out I guess for there service. Funny they can't speak English all that good when need be.) The guy at the water sports told me that it was to ruf to sail untill I told him he was full of crap because I have sailed a number of times then he took me out. Another Canadian room was broken into, some chains were taken, when reported to the two ladies on the desk at night Reply " You must have just dropped them, the only ones who have keys to the room are the cleaning ladies and they don't steal go look for them you must have just dropped them" If this is not a brush off what is!!!All in all not place I would send any one I liked or even disliked, your choice, I sure others will tell you different but go spend good money and Enjoy if you can!! But this how our wonderful trip turned out! Good money down the drain! I will never return to Varidaro!

I wish I could say "Wow. What a great trip" but I can't. To start, many of the people who booked at Kawama were told at the Airport, that the hotel was over booked and we were being bumped. Ordinarily, I would expect an equivalent hotel or better, but that was not the case, we were being put into a lesser hotel. After seeing the lobby of Kawama, we were quite disappointed by the lobby of Club Carey. Luckily, they had made a second mistake, and we were actually booked at Kawama, so we stood around waiting for a ride back. Once back, we were greated by polite service, taken to our room by golf cart (the club is made up of villas scattered over a fairly large piece of land). Our room was pretty good, we shared it with a small lizard, whom we assumed was in charge of pest control. The food, not the best, I wasn't impressed. I was served a burger at the Cuban restaurant, which was undercooked. I blame it for getting me sick for three days. A singe word of advice IMODIUM. If you go to Kawama, make sure ALL of your food is cooked properly. I feel the club has the right foods, just not prepared properly, consider taking some sort of spice with you, because everything seemed dry or bland. We were offered a two day trip to Havana, where we stayed at the Nacional Hotel de Cuba, which was beautiful, great food, nice to see how the Cubans actually live. A definite highpoint of the trip. Kawama has a petro-chemical factory located fairly close, as a result, if the winds are in the right direction, it smells like freshly laid asphalt. Most of the time, it was not a problem, but on one night, it was unbearable. The Cuban restaurant wasn't great, the Italian is quite good, depending on what you order, its lick your plate good. The International restaurant is quite good as well, a nice setting, nicely seasoned food. For $15 US we ordered Lobster tails, but the Flan for dessert is amazing. For three single guys, looking for a little adventure, Varadero should not have been our first choice. I found it quite boring, the people are nice, Cubans aree all very friendly, Veradaro is like a country separate from the rest of Cuba. Its very safe, I never felt that I should worry about my room, my possessions, or my personal safetly. If you simply want to sit on the beach, watch your kids play, and have a tan, Varadero is for you. Club Kawama is fine, I did visit the Iberostar, Barlovento, and it would be where I would probably go next time, assuming there is a next time.

Bait & Switch- showed Kawama on web & paid for that but dumped at Club Karey ( Scarey Karey) 20 minutes down the road. When we did get to Kawama 3 days later ( 1/2 of our week lost) the staff were not that friendly or co-perative( 2 exceptions). Food was very bland with no imagination & very repetative. Everyone in a group of 15 were sick. The coffee & cappachino machine are connected to the local water- not purified. Beach is very nice- entertainment is mediocre at best. Animation team doesn't even go to their own Disco. Linen on beds smelled of mildew. Kawama is across a canal from a refinery so when the wind is from the south, all you can smell is oil in the air & in your room. This made a lot of sick.