Have Baby Will Travel’s trip reports for Varadero, Cuba are organized alphabetically by the hotel name. Simply scroll down to read them all or use the fast finder to select a specific hotel. Each trip report has been provided to Have Baby Will Travel in the hope of giving other parents a clearer picture of what to expect when traveling to Cuba with a baby or toddler. We've also included Jibacoa, Cuba with the Varadero reviews, as it's part of the Matanzas province and usually included as part of Varadero when booking packages.

We also have a detailed Cuba destination page, and please check out all our blog posts that reference Cuba. Many find our Fast Facts For Families page on Cuba most helpful.

(11 reports)

Select a report Jibacoa: Cameleon Villas Jibacoa Jibacoa: Cameleon Villas Jibacoa Jibacoa: Cameleon Villas Jibacoa Jibacoa: Cameleon Villas Jibacoa Varadero: Barcelo Solymar Varadero: Barcelo Solymar Varadero: Blau Varadero Varadero: Laguna Azul Varadero: Paradisus Varadero Varadero: Paradisus Varadero Varadero: Sirenis La Salina

JIBACOA: CAMELEON VILLAS JIBACOA
February 2008
Sprock & Family (babies 6 & 18mos)

My husband and I and two children (6 and 18 months) stayed at Cameleon Villas Jibacoa in January of 2008. We were very pleased with the resort overall. The staff were exceptionally friendly and helpful and the resort was well cleaned and maintained.

This review will be somewhat brief, relying on the other accurate reviews here I have read.

We loved everything about this place for kids. There is no kids club, and that was fine with us. If you are looking for a resort for some relaxing family time, this is it.

The pool was terrific. Our 6 year old swam for hours every day in the shallower pool with no worries (two large twin pools, impeccably kept - one a metre deep and the other went from shallow to deep). There were always plenty of pool chairs, tables and shade. Our toddler kept busy in the wading area and playing with other children. The ocean was lovely, warmer than the pool actually. Lots of shells. It was very calm a few days which was great for the little ones. However, on the rougher days, the jellyfish were plentiful so we avoided the beach those days. The snorkelling was great. Lots to see even in shallow water.

The meals were good. Great fruit, ice cream, soups, great rolls, always good meat and the fish was excellent. Bring a bottle of ketchup if your kids love it. The ketchup they had wasn't plentiful, and wasn't the same as we are used to. They had one high chair for the whole dining room, so if your kids require one, I suggest bringing a booster with you. We had an ongoing joke with the other young families as to who would get to the dining room first. The dining hours were my only complaint. Breakfast was fine, from 7:30 to 9 am. Lunch started at 1pm and dinner at 7pm. This would be perfectly fine for anyone with older kids or adults. Everyone there with little ones had the same complaint. There is no food available anywhere else but the dining room between those hours (except a hot dog or sandwich at the pool bar in the afternoon). Lunch and dinner were both about 2 hours too late for little ones. Most kids were fit to be tied or falling asleep in their soup. Many just had to "picnic" in their room because it was just too late for those used to earlier lunches and dinners. Luckily, the fridge in the room was handy and I brought a bottle warmer to warm up things I brought from home for our youngest.

The milk is powdered there. The water is fine everywhere, even right from the tap in your room. Even my toddler drank it everywhere and none of us had any problems. The drinks were great. My girl loved the virgin "chocolate monkeys", Pina coladas etc. The Spanish coffees were great, as were all tropical type drinks. The bartenders were very good, often working for 16-18 hour shifts at a time.

The room was very good (after we moved). Our original room was in a block behind the disco. Not good for light sleepers of any age. Unfortunately, this is where the "family" type rooms are. We were all beat from travelling our first day there and just falling asleep when the disco began at 9 and ended about 1 am and IT WAS LOUD!!!! I spoke to the Nolitours rep the next day and insisted that we be moved that day. At first, I was met with resistance. Had the Nolitours rep not been involved, I don't think we would have been moved. As a bit of advice, when you check in, see where the room is on their map. If you think that loud music will be a problem, try to move right away and save yourself the restless night. The room they moved us to was #29 facing the dining room, which was quiet and central and great. No complaints after that. The a/c worked well, lots of hot water and very quiet. They also delivered us a full size crib, which was great, complete with pillows etc. One thing I would suggest to everyone, is to bring a can of Raid for ants. We Canadians have mosquitoes, Cuba has ants it seems and they just travel in under the door. I am sure a good spray of Raid along the baseboards and threshold would keep them out, or at least at bay. Most adults were not bothered by mosquitoes or ant bites, but I did see some bites on the babies and kids. I guess they are more delicious.

The massage therapist on site is dynamite. He is extremely well qualified and gives a fantastic massage. A 30 plus minute back massage was 10 pesos.

Overall, we will go back for sure. The atmosphere and charm of the place is really remarkable. The grounds are spread out over many acres with beautiful beach (even nicer than the Breezes I think). The staff are professional, very very helpful and friendly. The scenery of rural Cuba is amazing. Well worth the short drive from the Varadero airport.

JIBACOA: CAMELEON VILLAS JIBACOA
November 2007
Corinne & Family (Baby 23mos)

We’ve just returned from a wonderfully relaxing week at the Cameleon Villas Jibacoa (aka Club Tropico) in Jibacoa, Cuba. If you know what to expect, and aren’t anticipating luxury, you can’t beat this place for the money. Our week there was kind of like a week at the cottage, only in Cuba.

Flights & Transfers We did not book a package this time around – as the charter flights were at awkward times and my husband does not fit in the seats. We booked our Cubana flights to Varadero through my friend who is a travel agent and I booked our accommodation online through Vacacionar Travel. Our departure flight was delayed for 4hrs (looong day at the airport) but the flight home left and landed early. The flights were very civilized, with decent leg room, friendly attendants and even the option of a baby meal (which we hadn’t requested in advance). I wouldn’t hesitate to fly Cubana again.

Booking a hotel online was a little unnerving, but we had good communication, as well as phone and contact numbers to use if we had any problems in Cuba. Vacacionar Travel has an office in Havana, which alleviated my apprehension somewhat. All our requests to the hotel via Vacacionar were granted, and I would recommend them if you’d like to book your travel to Cuba independently.

After changing money at the airport, we hopped into a cab (large red one) to our hotel, which was about 45min away. The cabs are new and fitted with proper rear belts to install the car seat - no anchor for the tether strap, though. With hindsight being 20/20, we should have arranged with our driver to bring us back to the airport the next week, but we were shattered with the long travel day. The cab the hotel called for us for our return transfer was tiny, and it was a pretty impressive effort to fit us + car seat + luggage + baby gear all in. The fare from Jibacoa to Varadero airport is $50 CUC and we tipped $5 CUC.

The hotel & rooms: The hotel is not fancy but it is clean and functional. The rooms are all little bungalows scattered throughout lovely and well-maintained gardens. Our room was spacious enough for the three of us, with a Queen-size bed and hotel-supplied crib. The crib and mattress were brand new – never been used. It was very sturdy but the bars were kind of far apart. A younger baby could probably get their head stuck so you’d want to bring along a portable cot. We did but since our daughter was bigger we just used the crib. Apparently they do have a couple of larger rooms if you have 2 kids.

In hindsight, I’d arrange with the front desk to have our room made up early. A couple of times the chambermaids came during my daughter’s nap time so we just exchanged towels and supplies. Bring your own facecloths and toiletries.

The bathroom had a shower only but it was quite big. We showered with our daughter but it is large enough to fit an inflatable baby tub if that is what you prefer. Be careful – the tile floors are very slippery when wet – even on the little verandah outside. I took a pretty spectacular spill on the steps outside after our one afternoon of rain.

We had a few tiny ants in the bathroom that got kind of bad after washing bottles and dishes in the sink. Our neighbours, who were traveling with their adorable 10-month-old daughter, suggested making a paste with the hotel-supplied bar soap and rubbing it over the sink and counter once you’re done the dishes. Voila! No more ants. Be careful with spills and crumbs in the room since the ants magically appear very quickly. We kept all snacks in Tupperware and other food and drinks in the fridge and we had no problems.

The beach is beautiful but unfortunately we were on the tail-end of Hurricane Noel so the sea was quite rough. We were able to splash a bit and my husband snorkelled once. Apparently the reef is quite lovely but he said it was a real workout and visibility wasn’t great due to the conditions. A few jellyfish washed up here and there so you just had to be aware. A few guys got stung pretty badly while snorkelling.

The grounds and gardens are lovely and my daughter enjoyed running around looking at the flowers and birds. Bring insect repellent for the evenings as my husband and I got pretty chewed up by mosquitoes and no-see-ums. My daughter didn’t receive any bites so I think they are just out at night when we would sit on the patio as she slept. I did bring some repellent but we were pretty lax about applying it. The evenings were lovely and breezy and if the rooms had screened windows, we would have left them open with the air conditioning off.

There are two pools and one had a zero-entry area that my daughter loved to play in. It’s small, but it’s a small resort and there was plenty of room for all the little kiddies to play in (and parents to supervise).

One thing that was a bit of an issue was the lack of high chairs. They are expecting to get more, but during our stay there was only one to use between several families with babies and toddlers. Our timing was lucky enough that we were able to use it for most dinners, but the few meals where it was not available for us were the meals our daughter wouldn’t eat. Our daughter eats well at the table but only when she is properly restrained in a booster or high chair. Had we known this would be an issue we would have brought along a travel booster-seat.

Food: We found the food quite delicious – it actually tasted homemade. There is far less selection than larger more-star resorts but I find at those places that everything tastes the same. One night there was a delicious octopus stew and every night there was a tasty homemade soup and a couple of grilled or roasted meat options. There was always lots of rice, pasta and pizza. The deserts tasted like someone’s Cuban grandmother made them – they were sooo good!

The meal times are quite staggered, so that was sometimes awkward with a toddler. Lunch fell during her nap time so one of us would go to the buffet and load up the Tupperware for later. Before lunch you can get hot dogs or ham & cheese sandwiches at the pool, so that would tide us over (they were really good!). Bring lots of snacks from home – crackers and such. Dinner didn’t start until 7, and at home we usually eat around 6. We modified our daughter’s night time routine and bathed before dinner instead of after, so she was still in bed at the same time.

The coffee and drinks at all the bars are great. The mojitos are fantastic but be careful – they are delicious and deadly! In the evenings, the bartenders would make some pretty fancy specialty coffees. They were also delicious and deadly. Most drinks are served in the requisite tiny plastic cups. Large bottles of water are available at the front desk for $1 CUC, but after a few days we just refilled ours at the bars. None of us had even a twinge of travelers’ tummy. In fact, we felt great!

Surrounding area: The area around the hotel is very rural, and great for a walk. We brought along our jogging stroller, so the rougher terrain wasn’t an issue. Just 10min down the road and you can see cows, chickens, goats and people going by in horse-drawn carts. The odd bus comes by, but since the road isn’t busy, you have plenty of time to get out of the way. It can feel a little isolated, but renting scooters and heading out wasn’t an option for us with a toddler.

Jibacoa is less than an hour from Havana, and apparently a cab there and back (and with you for the day) costs $90 CUC. We were planning on doing a half-day there, but were just too lazy. Our daughter was kind of cranky in the morning, so we decided to give it a miss. Had we not already been to Havana the year before, we would have made more of an effort – as it is a must-see.

Overall impressions: Cameleon Villas Jibacoa offers great value for the money. It isn’t fancy, but the people are wonderfully friendly without being intrusive, and I loved the fact that it was a small, casual resort without too much going on. If you like lots of action, people, and things to do, this isn’t the place for you. We noticed a few very disappointed-looking single people, but mostly very relaxed-looking families and couples who were enjoying their vacation.

JIBACOA: CAMELEON VILLAS JIBACOA
March 2006
Yvonne & family (baby 22mos.)

Cameleon was awesome. We had a great time (including our little one). It was a great place to relax and enjoy the absolutely beautiful surroundings.

Food/Drink Food was good/okay (some days were really good/others just okay), there was always a lot of selection. I am vegetarian, and was always able to get a balanced meal. A lot of the traditional Cuban dishes were vegetarian and delicious. Remember it’s Cuba, and this is a low star property - your expectations should be considerate of this (though the food in my opinion exceeded what I have had at a 4.5 star in Cuba before). The drinks were good at the bars. The alcoholic coffee drinks (made at bar near reception) were awesome to take back to your patio after dinner to enjoy as after dinner drink....warning a lot of coffee and a lot more alcohol)

Accommodations Our room/bungalow was perfect for us. We could look out at the beach or the greenery around us. We had our own little patio to hang out on in the evening and have drinks. If you have little ones, you can put them to sleep and then hang out right outside on the patio.

Beach/Surrounding Area We loved the beach and the snorkeling. The walks around the surrounding area, a long the beach were beautiful. There was a lot do if you are an active person (bicycle tours, paddle boats etc..). Or you can just lie out on the beach....there was always a lot of room since the resort is only sharing with one other resort a distance away).

Trips Out Make sure you take the Choo Choo tour (totally misrepresented by name and description). The tour guide is totally knowledgeable about the area history and provides a lot of social commentary on the side. He does a great job...hint hint tip him well if you have brought anything from home, he seems to be forgotten. Everyone in the group loved the trip. The Havana trip was good too (a must do, if you haven’t been to Havana - what a beautiful city...wished we had more time there).

We would totally recommend the property, especially for families with little ones. I just hope that the price doesn’t get really high in time and put the property out of reasonable limits.

JIBACOA: CAMELEON VILLAS JIBACOA
March 2006
GH & family (baby 22mos.)

We just got back from Cameleon Villas Jibacoa. The resort is fabulous. While it's not terribly fancy, it is very clean, spacious with beautiful grounds and lots of trees, and it's not crowded at all. We never had trouble finding a shady spot on the beach. The staff are extremely friendly, the beach is beautiful, and, best of all, the snorkeling is awesome! I really am bummed to be home.

We brought a pack 'n play for our son to sleep in as I don't think they supply cribs. We also brought a sun/swimming suit, which came in really handy, otherwise, we'd have to put sunscreen all over him several times a day. One thing we didn’t bring but wish we had, was sand toys. We even brought the stroller but found we didn't really need it. It was handy, though, to haul all of our stuff and snorkeling gear to the beach every day! Our son is a big milk drinker so I brought a few extra bottles and filled them up at breakfast each day. There is a mini-fridge in the room so I could keep the milk cold.

The buffet had lots of food our son ate: fruit, veggies, fries (his favourite, unfortunately!), bread, fish, eggs (breakfast), pasta, fresh-squeezed o.j. (breakfast), and, my favourite of all, really, really good ice-cream. I loved the food and our son ate lots. The only thing you might want to bring is a couple of plastic containers for food in-between meals. Keep all containers, empty or not, in the fridge to avoid the tiny ants from coming into your room.

The bus ride was fine, it’s only 45-50 minutes. We didn’t bother with a car seat because we didn’t plan on taking a car anywhere. In fact, we didn’t even leave the resort. Our flight times were good. We arrived at the resort around 7ish and left about 3:30 to catch our 7:00 flight.

The Cubans were very appreciative of the little gifts we gave away. We just gave away all of our son’s toys that we brought with us plus a couple of baseball caps, kids clothes, etc. I can’t say enough about how wonderful the Cuban people are. I wish we had brought more gifts, we just didn’t pack for it. We did, however, tip generously. They are kind, considerate, and LOVE kids. Our son got a great deal of attention from the locals.

Our travel agent told us that everyone, regardless of age, would have to pay the $25 convertible pesos departure tax. This is not true. Kids under 2 do not have to pay.

VARADERO, CUBA: BARCELO SOLYMAR
November 2006
Corinne & family (baby 1yr)

We booked with Conquest Vacations through a travel agent, flew with Skyservice and stayed at the Barceló Solymar hotel in Varadero.

FLIGHTS: Both ways Skyservice was on time, friendly and helpful, the planes were new and clean, and the food was free and pretty decent. We checked the car seat with no problem and gate-checked the stroller. The drawbacks, however, were major. The baby’s luggage would have been free, but since I had mixed it all up, our luggage was overweight and we had to pay $200.00. Fortunately, on the way home, our bags were considerably lighter! Also, the seats are RIDICULOUSLY small and close together. My 6’7” husband really suffered. The flight is only 3 hours, but they were massively uncomfortable. Although I was impressed with the friendliness, cleanliness, and food, the luggage and seat issues mean that Skyservice is not an option for our future travels.

HOTEL & FOOD: The Barceló Solymar is a large resort about a 10-minute walk from the town of Varadero. It’s one main building with several small 2-level buildings spread throughout the grounds. There’s 2 pools, 6 restaurants/snack bars, 5 bars, and one long stretch of beautiful beach. that was ankle deep for quite a ways – perfect for a baby to crawl and splash in!!

We upgraded our room to a 2-level bungalow close to the smaller pool. The various shows and music by that pool were pretty loud but fortunately we were just far enough away for the noise not to be an issue. The downstairs had a ½ bath, living and dining area, and the upstairs was the main bath and sleeping area. The furnishings were dated and worn, but the room was clean and kept scrupulously so by our lovely maid. We tipped her daily with toiletries and supplies hard to come by in Cuba, and she kept our mini-fridge stocked with tons of bottled water, pop and beer – which we enjoyed on our balcony once baby was asleep! Our first crib was broken and so was our second, only less so. We managed to shore it up ourselves and slept with our bed pushed against it for extra security. The other families I talked to said their cribs were fine, so I guess we were just unlucky.

The food was actually pretty good for your typical buffet fare – we were always there early so I guess it was fresh. We didn’t try any of the à-la-carte restaurants since the earliest seating was 7pm and that’s too late for us (baby) to eat. There were high chairs available and our servers were fantastic. We tipped, so that may have helped our situation, but we sat at the same place for each meal and the servers would have everything ready for us. They made such a huge fuss over the baby and she loved it. Special thanks to Adyl and Marcel.

None of us had even a twinge of tourista. The baby always had bottled water but we often drank the restaurant/bar water and ice cubes in our drinks. The water in the room is fine for brushing your teeth and bathing. Unfortunately, our daughter likes to drink her bath water, and managed to sneak a few gulps through the week. Thankfully, she had no problems.

BEACH & POOLS: The beach is big and clean. The water is ankle deep for quite a ways – perfect for a baby to crawl and splash in!! There are lots of palapas for shade, and I brought along a beach blanket which she actually napped on a few times. The big pool has a large super-shallow bit that is great for babies, but the water was a little cool. In fact, both pools were on the chilly side. They were fun for splashing.

MINI CLUB/BABY CLUB: We didn’t use the mini-club so I can’t really comment on it. We noticed a small air-conditioned building, and there were swing-sets and a small slide outside. The problem I could see was that the outdoor equipment wasn’t shaded, so you’d have to use it either early in the morning or later in the evening. It looked well-maintained, however.

DAY TRIPS: Since baby had a hard time napping, we often went for walks into town. It’s very safe and clean, and there’s a lovely little park that’s quite shady and nice to stroll through.

We went to Havana for the day and it was incredible. We booked a taxi & driver through Armando, the very helpful Conquest rep. at the hotel. It was a lot more expensive than the public bus, a bus tour or a private car (illegal), but with the baby we felt it was worth it. We had a newer car with air conditioning and were able to install the car seat. I highly recommend the extra expense for peace of mind in driving around with baby. Maroldi, our driver, was wonderful – very friendly. He walked around with us and was cool when we wanted to venture away from the major tourist attractions.

By the way, Havana is magical, and we hope to go back for the weekend one day, (sans baby!), perhaps for a future anniversary

OVERALL: A lot of people thought we were nuts for taking the baby on vacation. Granted, it was different than our previous beach holidays, but totally worth it. We hadn’t spent that much time together since baby first came home from the hospital, and it was really special to have this experience as I neared the end of my Mat. leave. I really fell in love with Cuba and the Cuban people, and I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend it for a family vacation.

VARADERO: BARCELO SOLYMAR
January 2008
Harriet & Family

We spent Christmas and New Year at Barcelo Solymar and really wanted to put the record straight after some of the reviews we read on the Internet prior to going had left us not sure what to expect. This was not our original choice - we were moved by the holiday company due to the other one closing for refurbishment but we could not have been happier. The hotel had a really happy, friendly atmosphere and the service, quality and overall experience were top class

The bungalows were great. There are two rooms upstairs and a downstairs living area. It obviously makes it a little strange when you don't know the people in the other room but if you are considerate then that shouldn't make any difference or cause problems. It was really nice to have the downstairs area for playing games etc. especially when we had a couple of rainy days. The only slight negative about the room was the lack of drawer space so we had to keep a lot of stuff in the suit cases which meant the room could get a bit messy.

Our maid was lovely - really friendly and we loved coming back each day to see how she had arranged the towels. On her day off we noticed that the cleaning seemed a bit cursory so we appreciated her efforts even more after that. I gave her a bag of clothes that my toddler had finished with for her baby son and she was really happy.

The food was amazing - I cannot understand how anyone could complain. There was loads of choice - hot, cold, salad, pasta. The Christmas Eve and New Year's Eve dinners were nothing short of awesome. The waiters and waitresses were lovely - and you got to know your favourites who would then look for you when you came into the dining room and have your table set up for you and drinks poured before you even got near them. Other reviews mentioned food being cold - the trick is to queue for the freshly-cooked stuff first and then pick up the rest from the hotplates. There was always plenty of choice and so what if they serve green beans for breakfast (as another reviewer complained about) - either you don't take them and have something else or give it a try. I had cabbage for breakfast one day! There was plenty of other 'normal stuff' to go along with it. And there were a few flies about - this is a tropical country after all. Flies get on food in England, too!

The entertainment staff were great - there was a fun range of activities for everyone. My son loved the mini-disco especially when Janet was running it. One of the girls from the miniclub babysat for us on New Years Eve and it only cost us 30 pesos.

The miniclub possibly needs to tighten up on some procedures like staff ratio as they only have one person in charge and there appears to be no limit on the number of children who can go. You just drop them off - no need to pre-book.

The Christmas Eve and New Year's Eve entertainment was really good and you could tell that a lot of effort had gone into it.

People in other reviews complained about slow service in the pool bars - you are on holiday for heaven's sake - what's the rush. If it's that bad you can just go up to the bar and ask for a drink/order food anyway.

It was just a really nice atmosphere and there was more than enough to keep everyone occupied. Very few negatives - apart from minor things and the main thing is to go with an open attitude. If you don't open up to the people you will get nothing back - nor should you. The Cubans are great people and when you think that they have very little but are working in this atmosphere of unlimited plenty, the fact that they are so friendly and do not have a huge chip on their shoulder is even more amazing.

I met some people from another hotel further up the peninsula - supposedly 5-star and very luxurious and when I told them about our food and entertainment they were really envious as theirs wasn't half as good.

I am so glad we stayed here - I would definitely consider staying here again if we came back another time. If you are going with children, consider taking old clothes that they may not need again so you can give them to the local people as children's clothes are very expensive for the average Cuban.

VARADERO, CUBA: BLAU VARADERO
October 2007
Chris & Family (baby 17 mos)

We stayed at Blau Varadero in late October. A group of us that consisted of 9 people including three children 5 1/2,4 and 17 months. We had a fabulous time. From start to finish.

We got off the bus and walked in, we were greeted at the door, the front desk staff were very friendly. The day we arrived was my husband's birthday. Everyone at the front desk said happy birthday to him. Our luggage was taken to our rooms. The rooms were really nice. It was bright and clean. We had a nice large bathroom. Each of us had different rooms. We had a king size bed. The others had 2 rooms with 2 beds and 1 rollaway in each. There's a fridge that contains water,cola, and beer and is refilled daily. We didn't have a playpen like most resorts give you when you stay with a infant,but we had an actual crib. And it was safe to use too.

The next morning we could see the beautiful view that we had which was the pool,the lush greenery,palm trees and the amazing ocean. The food- wow we can honestly say it was really good. My husband and our kids have been to Varadero before,so we know what the food can be like. No complaints from us. There was a lot of choices such as, pancakes, french toast, eggs how you like it, the omelets were sooooooooo good,I smoothies, little sweet breads, and others at breakfast. Lunchtime,the choices are hamburgers,salads, a whole fish ( where a few people in our group said it was very good) pizza, different rice dishes, fruit and ice cream that you scoop into a cone. Dinner, the choices are chicken each night in a different style which all of them were very tasty, different rice dishes, make your own pizzas, make your own pasta. The desserts were really good not too sweet. A large assortment and different flavours of Ice Cream and many other dishes to enjoy.

We didn't do any excursions since we did that last time we were here in Varadero. We stayed around the resort. The kids went a couple of times to the Blaudi Club. Which is the kids club. They painted pictures, they got their faces painted, played bingo and played in the playground. We took the red double decker bus into town to the market. The ride cost 5 pesos return. That was fun! One thing, if you sit on the top watch your head and face especially when you are driving by low hanging palm trees and trees.

In the market you can find really good deals on souvenirs. We also went to Plaza Americas which you can get really good deals on souvenirs,rum and other alcoholic drinks. There's a grocery store and a few souvenirs shops and a bank in this mall.

Please make sure to exchange your money at the airport or at the bank . When you exchange money at the resort you don't get a good exchange for your money and you are charge a surcharge. Make sure to bring your passport with you or you won't be able to do any transactions with the bank.

All the bars make great drinks. I would highly recommend bringing an insulated mug we all had one, the staff at the bars had no problem filling them up for you. Having insulated travel mugs It really comes in handy you don't have to rely on the little plastic cups.

We had a fabulous time. We are planning on coming back next year. We would highly recommend this resort. Go! You will have a great time.

VARADERO, CUBA: LAGUNA AZUL
May 2010
Heather & family

We stayed at the Laguna Azul and it was a beautiful resort, certainly one of the nicest we have stayed at in Varadero.  
 
Pros
Best variety of food we have ever had in Cuba, even lots of fresh fruit. Bananas, watermelon, oranges, pineapple. They also had condiments, like HP sauce, tabasco, worstershire, ketchup, mustard, we have learned in the past to bring our own.
Buffet dining room had about 20 large size high chairs - no boosters but our almost 3 year old son could sit in it comfortably.
A la carte restaurants had 2 each.
Kids area had a very nice well maintained playground but the plastic got extremely hot during the day. They had child size toilets in the mini club as well. Great when away from your room
2 nice clean kids pools. (We didn't actually use them)
Aside from the beach, very stroller friendly
Staff were super friendly to our son as always. He loved the mini disco and he participated every night.
 
Cons
There were a ton of families so we were not able to get a crib the first night even after requesting it in advance. We ended up with a playpen which was fine for us but had I known I would have brought my own. They expected a 2 year old to sleep on a cot which was just not an option for my son.
We often could not get a high chair in the buffet due to the number of families already there. The chairs were very low so it was difficult for my son to eat in a regular chair and we often left him in his stroller to eat.
 
For any families needing supplies in Varadero there is a supermarket in a mall called Plaza America. About 10 minute $5 cab ride from the resort. There you can buy diapers, wipes, Milupa formula and cereal, and homo milk in tetra packs(1ltr was $1.25). Prices were comparable to what you would pay back home. Also a great place to buy snacks as that is the one thing always lacking at all-inclusives.

VARADERO, CUBA: PARADISUS VARADERO
January 2007
Kristine & family (baby 16 mos.)

We spent 5-days at the Paradisus in early January. This was my first time staying at an all-inclusive and this resort has spoiled me... I don't think I could go back to Varadero and stay anywhere else!

Unfortunately there was stormy weather that circled the island and only allowed us to swim in the ocean on the first & last days of our stay. All other days were "red flag" days, which meant gusty winds and lots of waves and no swimming allowed (although you could probably wade up to your knees and not get called back.) But on one day, the lifeguards would call in people who went in deeper than their shins (heavy undertow?) The wind was so constant that no one was swimming in the pools either. Since they don't heat the pools the water was quite cold, even colder once you got out and the winds evaporated the water from your skin, you'd end up shivering.

POOL: That being said, the pool is fantastic, has to be the best one of the island! There are two shallow areas perfect for little ones to crawl around and splash. And it’s even more breathtaking at night.

STAFF: Traveling with the little guy made it easy to meet people, especially the staff who loved to play with our baby & make him laugh. We didn’t change money until half-way through our stay and we found that the staff was nice to us, whether we tipped them or not. All of the staff are very polite and will meet your eyes while giving you a sincere “Hola” whenever you see them on the paths or the grounds. I had brought half a suitcase with some extra clothes & toys to give out, but we had a hard time finding anyone to give it to. Those working at this resort are more well off than some of the lesser resorts, so you won’t find them asking you for things. I left the things I brought, on the coffee table in our room with a note to the maid to please share between herself and her coworkers.

FOOD: No one comes to Cuba expecting a gourmet culinary experience and if you do, then you’ve been led astray by your travel agent! With the exception of a few lunches or mid-afternoon snacks by the pool, we ate all 3 meals at the buffet restaurant. The selection is varied (sushi one night!) but don’t expect to see any typical Cuban food at the buffet We found this restaurant was the easiest venue with our baby and we could eat & serve ourselves at our own pace, based on the temperament of our son. Having eaten in the same place for a dozen or so meals, I saw that some of the hot items from lunch are the same ones at dinner. There is a grill that cooks to order (beef, pork, lamb, 2-3 kinds of white fish & squid) so for those worried about food prep or with sensitive stomachs, eat from this section frequently. The best meal at this restaurant is breakfast and my favourite dishes include fresh-squeezed guava juice, eggs & omelets made to order, churros and a mind-boggling array of sweet cakes & pastries. My favourite drink was ‘café con leche’ for those who like a hot, strong, dark full-bodied coffee then you will agree that it is fantastic! Here’s a tip, when you order ‘café con leche’ at breakfast, you’ll get lukewarm Nescafe (or equivalent) poured from a carafe, so if you want a real coffee at breakfast, order a cappuccino and when ordering, give your server a few coins to ensure that you’ll get your drinks back within a reasonable amount of time. Some recommend bringing travel coffee mugs for your drinks at the beach/poolside bar and I wholeheartedly agree! Their disposable cups only hold 200mL and you'll be up and down for refills on your drinks. If you bring your own cups/mugs, you control the size of your drinks and the bartenders remember you more easily.

ROOMS: Our room was exactly as one of the ones pictured in the brochure, without the fabric canopy. In our spacious room, there was a sunken sitting area that opened to the (ground-floor balcony) with ceramic tile throughout the room. The buildings only hold 4 apartments per unit and we didn’t hear any of our neighbours unless they were coming down the tile stairs in high heels. TV reception is great! In addition to all of the channels in Spanish, the English channels included HBO, CNN, MTV2 and 2-3 channels in Chinese. The rooms were thoroughly cleaned every day and the only bug in the room was the fly that flew in when we had the balcony door open. We didn’t make any special requests beforehand, but maybe because we were traveling with the baby, our room was in one of the building units very close to the resort and we only had a 1-2 minute walk from our front door until we were poolside.

DOCTOR: My second to last day at the resort, I was feeling a bit ill (flu-like symptoms, without a fever) and made the decision to see the doctor onsite. The doctor’s office is at the gym/fitness centre and in addition to the doctor, there is also guy there who’s got some medical knowledge but I think his main purpose was to make sure that he translated my English and the doctor’s Spanish so that we all understood each other. I was prescribed an antibiotic, ibuprofen and a lozenge. The doctor’s fee was $25 (Cuban convertible peso) and the medications were $30 (including the cost of the pharmacy delivery.) The guy in the doctor’s office said he would deliver everything to my room in 30 minutes, but I had to pay in cash and couldn’t bill the room. Once he arrived, he had written down all the instructions in English and made sure that I was clear about everything before leaving. Afterwards, he had even walked around the resort for 30 minutes looking for us to make sure that I knew the lozenge was to be sucked and not swallowed whole like the other pills. The antibiotics worked fine and in 24 hrs I was feeling much better and in 48 hrs I was feeling normal again.

All in all, I loved this resort and only wished that the weather could’ve been better so that we could swim more.

VARADERO: PARADISUS VARADERO
September 2007
Oonagh & family (baby 19mos)

The trek to the hotel from Varadero isn't that bad - maybe 30mins or something. The bell boys are all over the luggage as soon as you get there. Check in was a breeze. There was only myself, my husband, our nanny and my son so no queues. They sat us down on a couch, welcomed us and gave us the low down on everything along with a glass of champers. Excellent touch. Then the bell boy took us and our luggage into his golf cart and whisked us to our apartment. We had an excellent room facing the beach (on the second floor). We tipped the guy a couple of pesos.

The room was a little dated but very big with a nice sitting area along with a balcony, tv, stocked fridge and decent bathroom.

Food was fantastic. Have to admit that I'm not a picky eater so I thought it was all good. The 4 restaurants are just great. Be sure to make those reservations as soon as you get there because they do turn folks away if they don't have a reservation. I did ask why they did this since some of the restaurants were half empty when we were there, and they said that they only staff accordingly based on the reservations.

The general buffet restaurant (where you don't need reservations) is good too. You'll use that for breakfast, lunch and some dinners. The staff really look after you there.

Beach is beautiful and apparently by far the nicest in the area. Lots of free watersports and plenty of sunbeds. I thought the water was almost too warm!!!!

Pool is very big and has a decent shallow end for kids which was good for us. Again, tons of sunbeds all around the pool and plenty of shaded areas if you want it. Swim up bar is a must and we met lots of folks there.

There is a gym there but we didn't use it. We did check it out and it appears basic but adequate. I think that you can also get massages there.

Lots of nice areas to walk around. Their gardens are really nice and well cared for.

For kids, there is a kids club and a babies club. We used the babies club and it was indoor and air conditioned which was good.

Alcohol is free and plentiful. There are bottles of champagne everywhere. There are bottles outside all of the restaurants when you are going for breakfast, lunch and dinner. The waitresses will just keep topping you up! Its wonderful.

Re the water, we always had bottled water in our fridge so we used that for brushing our teeth and drinking. I did have ice cubes in some of my drinks and I was fine for the week.

Downsides: The first one being the mosquitoes. We went to the Spanish restaurant (which is considered outdoor) on the second night and got eaten alive! A couple of tables just left, it was that bad. We had the spray on the table but it was brutal. My husband took our toddler back to the room and had the food delivered there. It’s such a shame as the food was amazing.

The only other downside which is minimal was the ants. Make sure you don't have any crumbs or food on the floor in your room as they'll find it and tell their friends. We just sprayed them and that was the end of it.

Regarding tipping, we did tip and I did bring little gifts for the maids.

One other thing that I did and this made a huge difference for us, was that I wrote to the hotel before we got there. I asked them if they could reserve a 'nice' room for us and I asked them to make our reservations for us for the 4 restaurants. Like I said, we got a great room and all of our reservations were made for us.

We did golf on one of the days. The golf course is pretty good and the green fees were free (if you stay at the Paradisus). We also went to Varadero. There isn't much there so unless you want the usual tourist market stuff, I wouldn't bother.

VARADERO: SIRENIS LA SALINA
January 2008
Joanne & Family (baby 2yrs)

My husband, 2-year-old and pregnant me stayed at Sirenas from December 28 - January 4th, 2008.. This was our first time to Cuba, but not our first time at an all-inclusive. Overall, we had a great time.

There are things that the hotel needs to work on, but knowing ahead of time that this was a new property, we expected that.

Our check in was painless and our room was ready and waiting for us. We did not have a crib in our room as requested for our daughter, and my husband had to take it upon himself to find one on our second day there, but we did it, we got one and we were happy.

The food is not fantastic, but we did not starve by any means. We didn't go to Cuba for the food, we went for the sun and the beach. Their fresh baked bread at every meal was DELICIOUS! The pasta bar, carving station and omelet bars were great. There were big line ups at all of them, but again, being peak season, we expected this.

The room was big, bright and clean. The shower is fantastic!

The quiet pool (where we spent most of our time) was a perfect spot for us to relax and play in the shallow end with our daughter.

We found the staff to be very friendly, not one of them passed us without a smile or an "hola". We tipped for good service as we would anywhere, but never felt as though it was expected. We also found that being nice went a long way. I was sickened to see how rude some people were to the staff, treating them like servants or as if they were invisible. Kindness sure pays off.

There was some walking, but again, from reading the reviews, we expected it. Nothing crazy though. We were in block 40 (right in the middle of the resort) and we had a 5 minute walk to the buffet and a 5 minute walk to the beach (keep in mind, that's 5 minutes with a toddler, who likes to collect rocks, so maybe only 3 minutes in grown up time).

We found that there were not enough staff in the right places. The front desk definitely needs more staff, and of those staff, they need more who can speak English fluently. The Public Relations desk needs more staff, although the few that they had were knowledgeable.

We had bad weather the last two days and got a lot of use out of the kids club. The staff there were excellent and our daughter loved it. If you've got little ones, I'd recommend paying them a visit.

Overall, the hotel still has some kinks to work through. They need to get used to the volume of guests they are now bringing in, but the facility is great. Enjoy your time there.