Rating:
"I/We are experienced travellers & have vacationed in Cuba 5 times now. This hotel was generally dirty, the staff are not friendly & appear to have some general attitude or issue. Maybe its because they are now a part of the neighbour hotel & are being forced to worked longer shifts. MAYBE.. its due to the invasion of FRENCH "Quebec" Canadians or as one guy put it" when asked at a show where he was from? "Montreal" he replied. Wonder we we love you som much!. Last time I looked at the map of Canada---you were surrounded. I've visited Quebec City, Montreal & the Gaspe region, and would be only ot proud to call it Canada. Oh,,, back to the hotel. Beach is Awesome, Food is typical Cuba, but you won't go hungry. Bread was delicious. For the most part Staff won't go the extra mile. Of 5 Elevators, only one was operational. Did I say it always stunk of beer. Oh for the love of God---Go smoke outdoors. No variety in the drink selection & to ask someone to make you a Mohito---Forget it. Will never stay there again. Dear Barcello Hotels: You got issues here & the word will get around. Note: I don't think you can balme issues @ this hotel on the employees---I'd look to mamagement. "
Reviewer: reviewer3626
Date: Mar. 27, 2012

Rating:
"The resort could use some work, and the food is horrible. The worst that I have ever had, and this was my 8th trip to Cuba. The Arenas Blancas resort is a much nicer resort, and wasn't always the case. Barceló was nicer, but they are slacking when it comes to the upkeep of that resort. I was happy with my room but never had hot running water...the pressure was extremely low. The maids did an excellent job at cleaning though. I will go back to Cuba, because I love the beach in Varadero, but I would book to stay at the Arenas Blancas hotel the next time around. This time they were doing construction on both resorts, where I think they should have worked on one resort at a time. It was a bit of an inconvenience. Hopefully when I go back next year, there isn't any disruption. Overall, I had a fantastic trip. As long as you go to Cuba without high expectations, you will be fine."
Reviewer: reviewer7513
Date: Oct. 20, 2011

Rating:
"I have rated this hotel bad. The food was beyond disgusting and in addition to the food being terrible I had the runs from day one and continuing. The tuna sandwich was good however they use the same amount of tuna on the sandwich as I would use butter on my bread even with a 2 dollar tip. I was cautious and ensured not to ingest their water i.e. no ice cubes and used my bottle water to brush my teeth and still I got ill. At this time they are also doing construction, due to this the main pool is closed and there is continuous drilling. The beach and weather was amazing."
Reviewer: reviewer694
Date: Oct. 14, 2011

Rating:
"We stayed at the Barcelo Solymar from March 31-April 8 and had an amazing time. Our first time travelling out of the country and Escapes/Nolitours made it so easy and carefree. Barcelo Solymar & Arena Blancas are 2 different hotels but considered one resort now, you have access to everything at both. My booking agent was extremely helpful with my many questions and the Nolitours agents were very informative and always available, from the airport to the bus and everyday at the resort. Bus transfers were included so we didn't have to pay for a bus or taxi to & from the airport.
Room-We were assigned a room within the hotel as part of our package deal which was fine but we were offered a Bungalow for a little additional fee when we arrived,so we opted for that. It was located between the pool and the beach which was perfect!! and the KING bed was an incentive. It was always really clean and mini fridge was replenished with Water, Pop and 2 Servasa's(beer) everyday.
Food-Buffet is not what you're use to, but good, i'm a picky eater and there was always lots to choose from. If you get tired of the buffet there's a poolside grill where they serve burgers/hotdogs and fries(and yes there's salt,pepper & ketchup). You also have your 2 A-La-Cartes, we did an Italian night and Cuban Night..they were both great..nice to change it up after buffet every meal.
Beach-Absolutely amazing, very clean and always lots of lounge chairs available ..if you like the shade, there were always lots of Palapas to sit under. Bar right on the beach which was convenient.
Staff-everyone was very friendly and helpful. Waiter and waitresses were all amazing, would have a seat for you as soon as you enter the dining area which can get crowded at times. We brought dollar store gifts for the staff and left tips for amazing service, they really appreciate it.
Whether you're going to relax like we did or you like to have a good time, this is the perfect place. Lots of activities during the day and shows at the 2 hotels everynight, your choice which one you would like to attend. They do have internet access for just 10CUC you get an hour of internet time that you can use off and on until your hour is up. They have money exchange right in the Lobby as well as a Cigar shop, Convenience store, post office and hair salon. We took the bus into the Market which was very nice...lots of little hand-made souveniers available for cheap. For the price we paid, it more than exceeded our expectations, we would definately like to go again!!"
Reviewer: reviewer2422
Date: Apr. 18, 2011

Rating:
"This is the most I ever paid and went 4.5 stars but really it was a 3 at best. How can a hotel of this rating have only one or at most 2 functioning elevators out of 6? To save money I assume. The best part was the beach and the water but the rest cannot make up for it. Credit card machines "broken", must use cash. The hotel lobby bar is a party place so a room far away is best. Overall the staff service is not good, except for Gonzales who works the back room of the buffet restaurant. All over, Cubans are lazy and there seems to be no incentive to provide customer service there or anywhere else in restaurants around the area. Rules on where to eat and when were plenty and the food was ok as long as you knew what to stick to, chicken, lobster, rice, fried eggs and toast. Stay away from the beef, breakfast meats and veggies. The outdoor grill for lunch doubles as the seafood a la carte restaurant at night...but having seven wild cats in there roaming around and begging for food was not appealing at all and no one does anything about it. Also, I did not know before I went that the voltage there is 220, not 110 as in Canada so I had no converter. No waiters to bring drinks and everything is done in Cuban time...except when it is for their benefit such as checkout. I was 2 minutes late and my safe deposit box was shut down at checkout time. And the biggest turn off was the hotel was about 80 - 90% occupied by rude rude rude Europeans!!! Cuba has a lot to learn from Mexico. I will not go back."
Reviewer: sbwoman
Date: Jan. 04, 2011

Rating:
"My first time going to an all inclusive and didn't know what to expect. Was very impressed with this hotel and the staff. Hotel is a little on the old side but they are trying to keep it looking good. You can always find someone painting or gardening to make it look nice. I'm a very fussy eater but was always able to find something to eat at the buffet. Staff is very friendly and if you tip well they'll come find you as soon as you enter and seat you. Our first night one of the staff from the buffet took us out dancing at one of the clubs and taught us how to salsa. An amazing first night and it didn't ever want it to end. There is always something to do even if the weather doesn't do what you want it to do. The beaches are amazing with fabulous sand and water. I always said going to Cuba would be a once in a life time trip but have changed my mind and am already planning my trip for next year!!!"
Reviewer: khenry13
Date: Mar. 17, 2010

Rating:
"Review of Barcelo Solymar Cuba


Staff

All of the staff were very friendly helpful and courteous.

Complex

The complex consists of an older large L shaped hotel and a number of newer Bungalows situated right next to the beach. The grounds are well treed and landscaping is very nicely kept. There are two pools and a spa (although it was not heated while we were there). The whole area is kept very neat and clean.

Rooms

We had room(s) in the hotel. It is an older complex and the rooms are kept very clean (remember to tip the maid). The reason I mentioned rooms is that we started out in a room 1114. We were told that we were very lucky as this was a room people paid extra for as it had an ocean view. When we got there we found that the room was very clean but the hotel has not been maintained very well. My wife could not open the sliding door to the balcony as the rollers had not been maintained and they were now down to metal on metal. The blackout curtains were too short for the width of the window so no blackout. We next found that the towel hangers were almost falling off the wall. The hose for the shower was damaged and the soap dish was falling off of the wall. As I mentioned this is an older complex so we figured we could just call in the morning and get the maintenance person to tighten some screws and that would be fine. Unfortunately that night we found out that the room is situated right above the show lounge and dancing area. You got it, we didn't get much sleep. The next morning we contacted the Signature representative and he assisted us in getting another room. We were given a key to another room, and looked at it to find out that there were similar problems there and asked for another. This room was 1246 in the elbow of the (L) just above the desk area. This time the Representative came with me and we found similar problems
to the other rooms. Since this seemed far enough away from the entertainment room the Representative contacted maintenance and cleaning so that all problems were fixed before we moved into the room. That night we found out that this room is situated just above the one bar that stays open until midnight so we didn't get much rest there either but we put up with it. If I were going there again I would go into a Bungalow or into the right section of the (L) after I had inspected the room. This probably was a four or five star complex at one time but it is now older and Barcelo has not kept up the maintenance so I would classify it as a three star maximum because of the maintenance. Talking with others that booked different locations seemed to agree that the star system was a bit off a bit high for most Varadero all inclusive Hotels.

Food

Depending on what you booked for your vacation you eat at a buffet style dining room for all of your meals or for the evening meals you may reserve at one of the a la carte dining areas. The food was plentiful and you had many choices. We found out that you have to be careful as some of the food was not consistently cooked well enough. We found at different times the beef was very rare (Not wanted that way in Cuba) as were turkey legs and some fish. If you watch for these you will do ok as they do have some nice dishes. In the buffet style there was always a good variety so you will not go hungry.
If you have the opportunity to reserve at the a la carte areas prepare to do so almost immediately upon arrival between 900 and 1200 or you may not get what you want. We chose the Seafood one because the wife likes lobster and thought that nothing could go wrong. I chose Filet Mignon and was very pleased as it was cooked just right, although they forgot the Broccoli. My wife had the lobster. Unfortunately it was grilled and it was partly uncooked and partly overcooked. A real disappointment! Since we could not reserve another we talked to other guests about the other venues. We found out that the best of the three was the Italian one. We also found out that most of the lobster in the complex was not cooked well.


Other

We were told that the currency exchange CADECA charges the same as the bank in town so we waited and got our money exchanged there. I had looked the rate up on the internet before leaving and it fluctuated in the vicinity of 92 cents for a Canadian dollar. When we arrived in the hotel we were charged and received 82 cents on the dollar at the CADECA. Big difference from what we were told. If you can I would exchange my money at a Canadian bank before going to Cuba. Visa is accepted at a rate of 11 percent extra, Mastercard is not accepted. You can not use your debit card. I would advise taking $200 for tips and getting out of the country per couple. If you are doing any touring outside of Varadero I would take extra cash.

Which comes to another point. It cost you 25 Cuba Convertible Pesos per person to leave Cuba at the airport. This is not covered in the price that you paid for your ticket.

If you plan to take things down for the orphanages try to get a contact so you can provide the outside of your complex. This will ensure that the people that really need it get it. I went to The Thrift shop and bought an inexpensive bag that I left there with the gifts. It was used as a school bag as I heard later. The people in and around the Varadero area that work for the hotels get quite a bit so I made sure that I gave them personal gifts outside of went to the orphanages . The people outside of those areas are very poor and get little in the way of niceties like toothbrushes, toothpaste, soap, shoes for kids, clothes for children. Things like chalk, extra pencils and notebooks are a treat that very few see.

Reps

The Signature representatives were both very helpful and friendly. Thank you both
"
Reviewer: Mot1945
Date: Feb. 19, 2010

Rating:
"Great 'bungalow' room; we actually had two floors to ourselves, with a small kitchenette and a living room! It was spacious and clean. Lots of Europeans at the time, and you can always expect tons of smokers with Europeans. Some rocks on beach, food was poor but it was the times. This was in 2001 so it's hard to know what it is like today.
"
Reviewer: reviewer3210
Date: Oct. 01, 2009