Iberostar Tainos Hotel

1 reader found this review helpful

the best holiday WE have ever had,returning this year in may,can anyone tell me if they have renovated this hotel.IF the same staff is still there it will be a most enjoyable again.On previous visit we did not tip my wife gave cosmetics to the gils and staff,and i gave the lads aftershave etc ect, but if tipping is the done thing,so be it,one CUC was left under the pillow every morning. holiday cant come quick enough.

1 reader found this review helpful

My partner and I would recommend Iberostar Tanios to anybody.
Food was great and the staff were helpful and so very friendly. The resort grounds was well maintained and clean.
Our room was spacious and very clean and was kept clean by the maids throughout our stay.
We also tried the Brazilian al a carte restaurant which was absolutely beautiful. Beach was very spacious and clean with clear turquoise water.
We also became close friends with the pool bar staff Jorge and Frank who kept us entertained.
Even with the hotel due to close on the day we departed ;nothing was compromised. And hope to return in near future.

This hotel is nice, but could do with a paint job. Rooms are standard and the staff are friendly and nice.
The food is not bad considering they don't have much, but 2 wks of all-in, and it gets a bit repetitive.
I would recommend getting 2 keys for your room, and leaving 1 in the socket so the air con is always on, it gets really hot. Also there is no air con in the dining room or the lobby bar and it is quite uncomfortable.
I wouldn't bother with the Cuban restaurant because you will get eaten alive by mossies, and the Brazilian is basically a mixed meat kebab.
The entertainment tried their best, but it was very amateur-ish and only lasted an hour, then the lobby bar closes at 1am,and there is nothing else to do!
I would recommend the overnight Havana trip, but be warned, the next day it takes about 5hrs to get back 2 the hotel.
Also recommend going on the flying boat (you'll know what I mean),pricey but great. The Cayo Blanco trip is o.k. for a day out (even though they put us on the wrong catamaran!) I would definitely get speed boats out 2,loads of fun!
Don't bother with the dolphin show, it’s also amauter-ish, and the water is muddy and disgusting, you won't wanna get in!
Varadero has a wonderful beach and the sea is so lovely and clear, like getting in a warm bath!
If you want a relaxing holiday, and to stay in your hotel most of the time, then this is the holiday for you. If you like to venture out, go for walks, try restaurants and go 2 shops/bars/clubs, then don't come here.
Also if anybody asks you to go horse riding, don't go! No helmets, under malnourished horses, trotting on main roads, and no one to guide you!
Overall a nice place to go, but was ready to come home and I wouldn't come back (only cos to many places in the world to visit!).

Just got back from a fantastic 2 weeks in Cuba. The Tainos is lovely. All of the staff were great - especially George and Frank at the pool bar (give them a big tip!).
Went on overnight trip to Havana and Club Tropicana show is a must! Not so impressed with our Thomson rep - we misread the time on another trip and missed it, rep hopeless when we explained that the time wasn't clearly written on the ticket, refused a refund and wasn't very pleasant.
That was our only complaint about the holiday though.

I’ve just read all the reviews on the hotel and all of them are spot on.
This hotel is excellent, from the room's to the staff, to the food even the entertainment was fab.
Me and my soon to be hubby went there in April and I must say, I wished I got married out there (we got married the following July and went to Cancun Mexico and Cuba is much much better) and yep every one is right, George at the lobby bar is great a really nice man.
Swim with the dolphins I did it on my 36th birthday and what a birthday I’d never forget.
If you go to Havana please only do a day trip because it is far too scary out there.
Beggar’s, even little children with mum's in tow every 2 minutes, and the amount of drug's that was offered to my other half (well).
Oh and take you own loo roll, even if you go into a posh hotel you have a lady giving you 2 pieces of loo roll and wanting money for it lol..
Apart from that I will be going back there when I have saved some pennies. Have great time peps.

1 reader found this review helpful

Reading holiday reviews are always suspect to me, as you never actually know who posted them but all the above comments are absolutely true!
If you've seen the Thomas Cook video then that's exactly what you get. There's not much to say that hasn't already been said, what a beautiful place to spend a few weeks!
The only downside for me was the arrival at Varadero airport, gees after a 9 hour flight (from the U/K) you don't need a somewhat protracted entry procedure in a steaming hot small airport. Ok Ok! That’s my one and only whine.
To say anything about the hotel that hasn't already been said is difficult but one thing that springs to mind, was that although the hotel was fairly full there was always a sun bed by the pool available at any time.
The places to eat were never crowded and a seat was always available, for such a large place privacy and space were always available. The Cuban restaurant was fantastic (just put your name with reception and a time to dine) I ate there 3 times as the steak was fantastic, the restaurant is semi open air so use your insect spray.
We hit the ground running and saw all the sights, you can't go to Cuba in Castro's lifetime without seeing Havana we did but were glad it was only the day trip as I wasn't overly impressed, one run down big city is much the same as another to me.
From the hotel lobby you can book a cruise to a perfect island where you sail in the morning eat fresh lobster on-board then go snorkelling off the boat for an hour or so, the boat then moors at a perfect tropical uninhabited island where you bathe in the crystal clear 33.2 deg water (the captain had a temp probe in the water and I assure you that was the sea temp) you then eat on the island and sail back to within 2 miles of the hotel I can't remember the exact price but I think it was about £60 each. Do IT !
We met many people on our travels with horror stories about their hotels, so be warned, there are only about 2 hotels in Varadero that constantly won praise from the many people we met and the Iberostar Tainos was one of them.

1 reader found this review helpful

Hello I'm doing a holiday review! Great holiday looking forward to coming back in 2008 .
This year we stayed at the hotel Tainos it was excellent! The hotel was superb, all of the staff including the night entertainment and beach people were very friendly and always on hand to help if needed.
We loved the food the fish was really nice! The snorkelling was amazing and the little cleaner fish were weird but we loved them anyway. The dolphins, when you first swim with them words cant describe the feeling being with them.
George was lovely and Louis was an excellent bell boy as well as Pedro. Arlien was our favourite- all of these members of your hotel are a credit to you, which is why we will be coming back to the hotel for our 25th wedding anniversary with all of our family! Gracias!

Me and my boyfriend went here hoping for our perfect holiday. It was absolutely brilliant we didn't want to come home, the hotel was really good, very clean, food was excellent I was worried about the food because I’m a very fussy eater but there was always something tasty for me, lots of desserts! My favourite!
We did some trips when we were there which we would recommend doing. We went to Havana for the 2 day trip 1 day just wouldn't be long enough Havana is a beautiful city definitely worth a visit we went to Club Tropicana at night which I was really looking forward to, my boyfriend wasn't really looking forward to Club Tropicana but admitted that he loved every minute of the show.
We also went swimming with the dolphins this was a long day as the dolphins are a 3 hours away from Varadero so it was an early start, the swimming with dolphins was the best thing we have ever done I was a bit scared at first (I’m soft) there was 2 dolphins and 4 of us so there was lots of dolphin time for us we got lots of kisses from them which was really nice our dolphins were Luna and Bobby! On the last day my boyfriend booked us on the skydiving trip! The most scariest thing I have ever done in my life, we got a DVD and photos of us doing it as proof to our families!
We will definitely be coming back for a mohito to Iberostar Tainos, we loved every minute of our holiday we can’t fault anything about it.

Good overall hotel - Staff very pleasant (Especially Big George the head barman in the Lobby bar!- helped with large amounts of Cuban rum and fatherly advice when I was just about to get married!)
We went through Thomson & got married at the resort – all went extremely well and the Wedding coordinator was magic!
They had recently gone through 13 consecutive hurricanes in the last wet session – so there were tiles missing at the bottom of the pool and it could have needed some more repairs in the complex.
It has a great spot on the main beach – lovely sand and an ocean to die for.
Some tips though… Take the strongest ‘Jungle mosquito repellent’ & something for the stomach. – Especially put on the repellent if dinning at the Cuban restaurant.
The food was great (however I think that they could do better on variety)
They were especially extra nice to us all when the main management visited and we had to fill in questionnaires.
Be nice to your room maid (bribery usually does the trick!) and they will make an extra special effort to keep your room tidy!)
Entertainment was good and they look after the children – lots of activities to do for people of all ages.
Good shops on-site. We stayed in the resort for most of the holiday – in Cuba you must see the ‘real’ streets outside the normal holiday makers areas in Havana & you MUST go to Club Tropicana !!!!
Cuba is a magical country and Iberostar Tainos go out of there way to make your stay a happy one!

We booked our Cuba holiday twelve months in advance, originally booking into the Bella Costa but due to refurbishment work Iberostar swapped us into the Tainos. Thank You Iberostar, what a great place!
Spotlessly clean throughout, all the staff are very friendly and helpful. The food on offer was fresh, varied and imaginative with something for everyone and the drinks were excellent with well known brands available too! The entertainment team work very hard day and night, if there is a down side the hotel is secluded and if you don't enjoy Butlins type entertainment you could get bored. There is a great tavern by the sea, which is perfect for a Cuban style evening, just missing some Cubans with their guitars, bongos & maracas. That said we had a great holiday here and would thoroughly recommend this hotel!!