Rating:
"In 10 days over there, I never eat there! The food is not good, that,s for sur! He have a smell of gaz each morning...u just want to walk away! The beach is not bad but more east side of varadeo is better! The quality of the service over there is not good and the animation either! Most horrible holiday I ever had!"
Reviewer: reviewer983
Date: Feb. 07, 2012

Rating:
"I was extremely disappointed in my vacation! To begin with I found the hotel staff extremely unhelpful and very unfriendly. In addition we spent three days without any water to shower, brush my teeth, etc. No apologie/explanations were given why. Overall I would rank this experience as poor and I am not sure I would ever book a vacation with escapes.ca again based on my experience."
Reviewer: reviewer1724
Date: Jan. 20, 2012

Rating:
"It was my first time visiting Club Kawama, and I have to say I really loved it and had an amazing time over there. The staff were so friendly, always said "Hola" to you, and were also very helpful. The food was great, had lots of variety. You have a choice between buffet, and some a la cartes. BBQs. Cuba is not known for its food and if you are looking for gourmet food, perhaps you should go to Paris, France. The buffet and the a la cartes were more than satisfying and we did not find a need to go to local restaurants. Drinks were ok, a bit watered down, but the beer was great. I didn't find that they ran out of beer. Hotel also has great security and always willing to help if you need anything. The hotel had also a local bank branch 2 mins from the hotel, which was very convenient and had a good rate. The rate at the hotel tends to be a bit quite different than the bank and I would not suggest exchanging at the hotel. Club Kawama is a part of 50 somewhat small buildings, where each one is 3 floors high. My room was great, always clean and the cleaners always put new towels/toiletries. Lastly, night entertainment was super fun!!!! Cubans are known to be amazing entertainers and they will give it their best in order for you to get the best show. They do also try to involve the audience which can be lots of fun as well :) Music was good. They also had a disco which was ok, but nothing special. If you choose Club Kawama, you won't go wrong! For the price you pay, you get an amazing deal and will have a great time :)"
Reviewer: reviewer3359
Date: May. 17, 2011

Rating:
"arrived at 9 am or so ,, room wasn't ready till 2 but staff made sure we well taken care of till then ,, looked after luggage ,,, told us where we could go ,,,, even made a map on the room envelope to show us around the resort ,,, front desk staff very friendly and polite
room was very clean ,, room cleaned daily ,,, wonderful staffing ,,, i cant stress that enough ,, the staff are very polite ,, although there can be one bad apple in every crowd (lol) ,,,
when going to Cuba don't expect great food at the resorts so best to budget for a few meals at local restaurants
we have been to Cuba a number of times and the food will not get any better ,,, we went to a few local restaurants ,, the food was amazing and so reasonable .. that there was no need to be hungry at all ,,
we will be going back again and again
"
Reviewer: reviewer3986
Date: Feb. 16, 2010

Rating:
"This resort is only slightly better than camping. I have been to Cuba before and we changed hotels to another "3 star" that was just fine.
Unless you are 20 years old and want to drink the cheapest rum on earth until all hours don't stay here at any price.
The bars run out of everything including beer.
There is not 24 hour food. The snack bar is hot dogs and hamburgers but they are always out of both and instead there is sometimes ham sandwiches.
They let the youth drink until 3-4 am in the out door bar which is right in the middle of the hotel so there is no way to not hear it.
They were out of pool towels the whole time.
Although water and pop are supposed to be in your room fridge every day. They were never provided not even on the first day.
The food is disgusting.

"
Reviewer: colerhe8919
Date: Jul. 27, 2009

Rating:
"we stayed at club kawama for i week in january overall we enjoyed our trip. do not pay and upgrade to a superior room as they are not much different than a regular room in fact some of the couples that paid for regular rooms got superior rooms anyway. the beach was fantastic very clear and clean water. the food was ok but nothing fancy. the rooms are getting old and in bad need of upgrading. if your looking for a sun vacation thats nothing fancy and you can get a decent price club kawama is great. if you are looking for 5 star keep looking. rick&irene ont. canada."
Reviewer: honeybear42
Date: Jun. 09, 2009

Rating:
"I will start by saying I'm not fussy. I've stayed in very rustic 3 stars in Mexico with no complaints. I prefer a rustic cottagy setting to the sterility of a fancy, snooty hotel with no local character. This place was dirty, dangerous and dilapitaded. My room was not clean, it smelled bad all the time and was a haven for mosquitos, despite the fact that I never opened the windows, which were completely covered with vegatation anyway, so there was no natural light. Both beds were still full of sand on top and between the sheets when I crawled into bed the first night. When I awoke the next morning, I was covered in bug-bites. I was afraid to ask for another room lest I get moved to a worse one, at least my plumbing, mini-fridge and air conditioner worked fine.

Despite the fact that I know enough Spanish to get along, have a big John Candy smile, and handed out generous tips, I was treated with discourtesy and sullenness from the staff and little or no service when I needed it.

The food was incredibly bad. I'm not a picky eater at all (as my plumpness will attest), but I was hard pressed to find a tasty and nourishing meals at the resort buffet or the ala cartes. The resort is overrun by stray dogs and cats who beg for food. They would not even eat the bits of meat and fish I filched from the buffet. I only saw salad twice, the rest of the time it was cabbage, cabbage and more cabbage. I ate it because it was healthy but it gave me a lot gas, much to the amusement of the children in the pool! Muchos gracias to the man who made the fresh omellettes in the morning, now that was very good, and I always left him a dollar - and actually got a smile or two out of him. Thanks to all the Trip Advisor writers who recommended Kiki's Club Restaurant, a 3 minute walk from my room, the food was absolutely delicious, fresh, nicely presented, generous portions (so I could have the other half for lunch the next day and avoid the buffet). I had quite a few meals at Kiki's, and yet, I still managed to lose weight on the trip - my travelling suit pants had to be pinned to wear home, else they would have fallen to my ankles!

Great Cuban rum, when you could get someone to serve you. I often stood at the bar for 5 minutes while the bartender wiped the counter and polished bottles and gave me sidelong looks. I ended up buying my own rum at the corner store so I didn't have to feel lousy I every time I asked for a drink.

The beach was fantastic! Varadero is on the Atlantic Ocean side of Cuba, and the water was warm, ultra clean, and lots of soft sand under your feet, no rocks or weeds. The swimming was great and the beach had lots of palapa umbrellas to sit under as well as plenty of beach lounge chairs.

I took a day tour to Havana, to learn about the history of the country and see the museums and architecture. We didn't get to visit any museums inside, just walked all over the old part of town and went for lunch at the included restaurant - where we were served a starter of - you guessed it! Cabbage - and black beans - powerful combination.
The tour comprised tourists from hotels all along the Varadero resort zone, so I got to swap stories with other travellers. Some were staying at 3 and 4 star resorts that were worse than mine! Most of them said they'd never return to Cuba even if it was a free trip.

In closing, travellers, do your homework and research. Maybe Cuba isn't for everyone. Many of my fellow travellers had been to Mexico and DR and enjoyed the people, food and accommodations and the welcoming atmosphere.
"
Reviewer: katerick2735
Date: May. 27, 2009

Rating:
"we just returned from kawama, and had a fabulous time. we paid around 650 for our trip, so we were not expecting the ritz. our room was clean, and the food was edible...what more can you ask for???
the hotel staff that we met were very friendly, and always helpful. all in all i would say kawama is a great place to visit. we spoke to many people that enjoyed the resort for it's laid back atmosphere"
Reviewer: cherylcurran12410
Date: Mar. 13, 2009