Hotetur Deauville Hotel

2 readers found this review helpful

The price says it all. Myself, my wife and our 11 year old daughter spent 14 nts over Christmas and New Year at the Deauville and had a ball.
We had read other peoples reviews and were apprehensive, and when we arrived found they were mostly correct although we feel were greatly exaggerated.
Having travelled a lot of the world, including many third world countries, (suffering many bouts of food poisoning on the way), we found this was a good value for money bed and breakfast choice.
The staff were offish for the first few days but warmed up soon after that, we put this down to the fact that most people use this hotel for a couple of days as a stopover not knowing what they are going to get, (do some research), and continuously pull their face, hence they do not get to know the staff.

We tried the restaurant on our first night and did not bother again, after all, we were in Havana for adventure which we got, and our hotel to wash, change, have a nightcap at the bar and sleep, which we did.
The buffet style breakfast was adequate albeit hit and miss as to what was served up, very busy and with very little waste at the end. We steered clear of the scrambled egg concoction after my wife and I contracted food poisoning, the only different food our daughter did not eat that day.
We met very few British people at the hotel, but the odd one that came from Varadero all inclusive for a few nights, rated the Deauville as good as theirs but without the beach.
If you want luxury in Havana, it is there, pay for it. If you have a sense of humour and don’t want to pay 4 or 5 times the amount of the Deauville this should be your choice.

4 readers found this review helpful

My main advice is to be realistic with your expectations!
The Deauville is by no means a luxury hotel- if you want that, then go to an all inclusive in Varadero! If you want a cheap 2 star base to explore Havana and Cuba, then this does the job more than adequately.
The rooms are clean, and maintained as much as can be expected (bear in mind that like most things, building materials are hard to come by in Cuba). The staff are OK (would you bend over backwards for tourists if you are employed by the Cuban government on a very basic wage?). The maid service was attentive, and I must say that I was very impressed when we left the room for half an hour and accidentally left everything on the bed (passport, cash, camera) and came back to find the room cleaned and nothing was missing.
The rooms are big enough- ours had a walk in closet. The bathroom is clean, and the shower had good water pressure. We were even pleasantly surprised to find a few English language TV channels (a bonus, as we didn't want to spend much time in the room anyway).
The air conditioning worked well in the room, the pool area is pleasant enough (nice and breezy due to the location- ideal for muggy Havana), and the views are fantastic! The location is great for exploring a lot of Havana by foot, and the sea front (the Malecon) is lovely at sunset (and is relatively safe, even at night).
Breakfast is admittedly terrible, but at the price paid, you can't really complain. You can either fill up on bread rolls, or there are enough places around so that you can eat locally. Bear in mind that Cuba doesn't import much food, so of course the menu will be basic. A lot food that is imported is generally destined for the 5* all inclusive resorts. However, the food served at the poolside bar is actually OK for sandwiches and pizzas.
Ultimately, this is a cheap hotel in a developing country and this is reflected in the service and the quality. Bear in mind that if you get a package, this can be cheaper than a flight only, so your accommodation is effectively free! It serves its purpose as a place to sleep, and to occasionally relax and cool down during the day.
If you want to spend all your time in a hotel being waited on, then this may not be for you, but then what would be the point of being in such a cool city like Havana?!

The only good thing about this hotel is its location - near to the old city of Havana. Apart from that, it's a basic B&B with dark dingy corridors, tatty bedrooms with saggy mattresses, showers falling apart, exposed light switches and mainly indifferent staff.
The surrounding streets are full of potholes, there are few shops and the whole area is surrounded by crumbling buildings which must have been truly magnificent 50 years ago.
The sea water swimming pool on the roof has seen better days but the views are pretty good.
Be prepared to take a torch with you at night because many of the street lights don't work and the pavements are a death trap and would keep lawyers in the UK busy for years suing the local council.
The hotel is cheap in more ways than one (backpackers stay there so that gives you an idea) but this is all made up by the interesting surroundings of poverty and people who hang around with nothing much to do and watch world go by.
We stayed in Havana at the Deauville for 4 nights and that was more than enough. Some people stayed for two weeks and deserve a medal. But they only paid £350 for the entire package (including flights) but as they say you only get what you pay for.

1 reader found this review helpful

Be prepared for Havana! One of the dirtiest Cities on earth. Dirtier than Bombay or even LaPaz (Bolivia) an absolute Midden! Wear closed shoes and be prepared for repeated food poisoning especially at the Hotel Deauville. Airtours suggested I stay in the city for 2 weeks (moved after the first at my own expense) which was too long as 3 days would be enough.
There are great things to do in Havana but after a while the squalor becomes too much, we spent much of our time camping out in the Lobby of the Hotel Seville.
Lots of little niggles about the Hotel Deaville, service is appalling, lifts take ages, door keys never work (not good when your on the 13th floor The internet was "totally broken" the whole time we were there. The web site picture is digitally retouched or was taken 20 year ago, and the pool bar staff get drunk and smoke all day whilst cooking and let all their Cuban friends in to sunbathe. Lots of hustlers by the pool!!
Food in Havana is consistently bad and tastes universally of dirty cooking fat. Between the 4 in our party some 7 days were spent ill in bed by one or other of us, and the hotel nurse who was like a Carry on Camping Character in Mini-skirt and big hair with a little white hat on came and gave us a hug and recommended Peach Juice!!
Crazy country. See a few old Cadillac’s and get out of there as fast as you can!!
On a more serious note, this is an expensive country to visit (Meals, Taxis, Services) and you are working with a tourist currency that is separate from the local currency, so money that does come into the country is not for the locals, unless it is "laundered" which causes crime. The people are poor and have nothing but ration books and there is nothing you would like to buy anyway.
The Cuban people are actively discouraged from using their own beaches, which raised ethical questions as to whether we should actually be visiting. I felt deeply saddened by the amount of people who seemed to have given up hope and sit on their door stoops drinking Rum all day. (This is described by our guidebooks cheerily as the Cuban way of life but looks like alcoholism to me)
Their biggest growth industry is tourism, yet I was treated with contempt in most places I visited.
Don’t bother trying to speak Spanish its not like Spanish or South American Spanish
The one thing I can recommend is the Tropicana Club, which though expensive is an amazing old school Cabaret with circus and showgirls for a truly colourful and dazzling experience,
Apart from that the best bit of my holiday was sinking into the relative comfort of a Boeing 767 seat, which whisked me back to Gatwick

I've just returned from a 2 week trip to Cuba with Airtours with 3 friends.
We were pleased to get what we thought was a good deal with Airtours staying at the Deauville for 14 nights.
I've travelled all over the world staying in 5 star hotels right down to crummy backpacker hostels but for a supposedly 2star plus hotel this truly was the pits.
The hotel looks as if it hasn't had a lick of paint or repair done since the revolution.
I was lying in bed one night when a lump of plaster fell down from our already crumbling ceiling.
Take your own towels as the ones they give you are like postage stamps.
If you have any mobility problems don't take a room on the 14th floor as the lift stops there but the doors don't open.
Allow 10 minutes at least to get from reception to your room as the lift will lurch and creak its way to every floor, and the staff floor (no 5) gets priority.
Once at your room it is highly unlikely your key will work meaning another trail down to reception and the surliest most insolent and unhelpful staff we'd ever encountered.
Internet access is advertised but every time I asked to use it I was told it was 'totally broken' despite my seeing members of staff on hotmail the night before on one occasion.
This is a big deal as outside of big hotels I don't think I saw anywhere else to get onto the internet.
The breakfasts are utterly foul- we were reduced to eating boiled eggs as we figured that the staff couldn’t tamper with those. Also on offer- scrambled eggs with peas and carrots, pink rubbery sausage type thing and cold overcooked pasta. Don't even try the coffee although the bar has a proper machine (you have to pay for this).
There is a 'cafe' by the pool but this is staffed by 2 utterly charmless brothers who as each day progresses get drunk on rum. They also prepare food- a fellow guest had to admonish them about smoking whilst cooking only to be met with an insolent shrug. 3 of our party contracted food poisoning as a direct result of eating hot dogs there- I was in bed for 4 days in that squalid hotel room watching cable (one of the only blessings of this hotel).
Yes it is a communist country and yes as the rep said, it is a 2 star (plus) hotel but good service and good hygiene cost absolutely nothing. We were made to feel unwelcome by the reception and restaurant staff and we were perpetually hungry.
The Hotetur Deauville is also situated in a depressing crumbling building surrounded by filthy streets with no remarkable features whatsoever. However it is a 10-15 minute walk (along said filthy streets) to the Old Town which is worth a look.
In desperation we upgraded (at a cost) for 4 nights at the Palma Real (also part of the Hotetur chain) in Varadero. This was supposed to be a 4 star resort. It isnt the English standard of 4 stars though. The room was clean, big, bright and with a balcony- absolutely fine.
At first we thought we had died and gone to heaven after the hell hole of the Deauville but the food here was also done on the cheap. In the Pizza restaurant for example there was hardly any cheese or toppings on the pizzas.
The breakfasts were pretty good because they had fresh orange (Deauville had sugary powdered stuff), fresh bread and cheese and fruit amongst other things.
Unfortunately an all inclusive attracts a certain type of traveller- in this case a lot of boozed up Canadians and Brits who were an utter disgrace to their countries drinking from sun up to, well sun up again. They then disturbed other guests with drunken antics right through the early hours of the morning.
The beach near the Palm Real is utterly beautiful, and this is the one redeeming feature. If you want sunshine and unlimited booze you don't need to take a 10 hour flight to Cuba to get it- many people, foolishly had.

Havana itself is fantastic and scores a 9/10 (but the Deauville Hotel is not ... I’ll come to that later).
Havana is a must if you like any of the following ... sun and heat (I don’t!), 1950s vintage American cars with fins and chrome (I do!!!), Spanish colonial architecture and picturesque streets and squares, communist architecture circa 1960s/70s, 1950s Miami-style street scenes.
Havana has this weird mix, alongside Caribbean influences, great wealth with great poverty, lack of decent food, water that makes you ill, a sea that is amazingly inviting, a huge mix of wonderful and grotty. It’s a real life kind of place, not a museum. It’s gritty, it’s pretty, and it’s got the lot. But if you go there, and I recommend that you do, give the Hotel Deauville a body swerve.
It’s not nice, unless you like cockroaches, cold showers, being accused of stealing the hotel’s towels, and pickled cabbage with carrots in scrambled eggs for breakfast!