International Hotel
, Varadero
International Hotel reviews
1 reader found this review helpful
We have travelled for many years to Costa Rica, Mexico, Dominican Republic, 12 times to Cuba (10 times to Varadero...3 times this year). This is the worst hotel we have ever stayed in. Yes there is a nice view and you are close to the beach but there is so much wrong with the hotel itself! Peeling paint everywhere, mold, mold and more mold, complaints about the showers, toilets, water in the rooms, bad food! Our room was no exception! We arrived...the tub didn't drain, the toilet hardly flushed, towel bar fell off, air conditioning was so loud we left it off, rug in hallway filthy, mold in curtains, bedspread, tub and all the walls (some covered with paint but nothing fixed), terrible food (and lack of it), one bottle of water supplied (after that you are on your own), no toilet paper in the bathrooms, no toilet seats, no soap, few palapas on the beach, most beach chairs broken, no one tending the beach or the chairs, an elevator that had a mind of it's own (I think we figured it out), water leaking in the hotel lobby all week (from the ceiling) and did I say mold....everywhere and too much of it! This is not a four staff hotel...shouldn't even be a two star. We knew what to expect having been to Varadero many times, but we surprised at how run down and uncared for this hotel was! The reason their are few reviews is most people take one look and demand another hotel! We survived it but will never go back to the Hotel Internactional again, nor will we recommend it to ANYONE! EVER! Shame, shame!!
- Holiday Date:Nov 2011
- Advice: Don't stay here...if you do, bring your own food and don't expect much!
- Good For: Beach
- Board Basis:All Inclusive
- Tour Operator:Sunwing
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17 readers found this review helpful
Hotel International is straiaght away a jaw dropper.As you arrive up to the entrance,you can see straight through the hotel lobby to the crystal clear waters WOW!The hotel is the only one that is built on the beach in Varadero.
The staff are very welcoming.
The Entertaiment team who we made great friends with were brilliant,they will look after you very well and all without a cost.
The rooms are very spacious with air con and great sea views.
The hotels bar staff are just as up for a laugh as you are on holiday.
This hotel was just right for my Cuban experience,it's not a huge hotel,with only 163 rooms so staff do remember your name and make time for you.
The beach is one of the best in the world
- Board Basis:All Inclusive
- Tour Operator:the holiday place
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Write a review- Bar/lounge
- Beach
- Continental Breakfast
- Fitness Centre
- Free Parking
- Restaurant
- Swimming Pool
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Before travelling to cuba for our first time we read a lot of very negative comments about this hotel. We feel those people have been unlucky as none of the comments are fair, given we are holidaying in a communist country with severe economic problems. Yes the hotel is dated, but that is its charme, pure 50ies. Yes there is paint flaking, but I have seen hat in hotels in Paris or Brussels as well. The food was excellent and plentyful, if one again remembers we are in a communist state that suffers from serious embargoes. The selection of food was always plentiful and the reason for pickled food is to appeal to he pallate of the increasing number of Russian tourists. The overall cleintele is middle age with a healthy proportion of OAPs, most from Canada, staying for 4 weeks ans having returned to the International for 20 years. Staff friendliness is mixed and often focussed on tips, but given they all earn 20 Dollars per month, this is understandable. It is amazing to receive huge smiles and gratitude if one leaves a used tooth brush behind - this demonstrates the scale of problems. Whoever complains about staff at this Hotel, should stay in French Hotels where staff is much worse. The best feature of the Internacional is the location directly on the phenomenal, white sand beach. Sitting on the clean outdoor chairs and comfi lounges and looking out over the white sand and turqoise water with a free rum punch is out if this world. No other hotel in Varadero has this location - just check on Google Earth. The Cabaret was the best in Varadero and as a hotel resident we got free tickets with dinner and half a bottle of rum. The reason why there is no further investment in the hotel and why decorating is not top priority is the fact that the hotel has been sold to the Chinese who want to demolish it and replace it with four glass towers. What a huge shame, for us the best Character hotel in Varadero will be lost forever. If i want five star luxury, I would go to the thousands of other beach locations in the world, which all look the same. Hotel International is a little bit more Cuba....and it is worth remembering that we are holidaying in one of the few true marxist and communist countries left.