Barcelo Solymar Beach Resort - Cuba

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Barecelo Solymar was brilliant. Visited: February 2005 Posted by cpt_teddy I stayed here in February and I thought it was brilliant. I received brilliant service - all the waiters were polite and friendly. The food was great, and the beach was wonderful. There were also a lot of activities - dancing, canoeing, vollyball, British football (soccer) - the list was endless. The music was good, though a little repetative. There was also diving for those who dive. My brother went and said the wrecks were exellent. My only negative experience was seeing how other people treated the staff. Other guests were unpolite and nasty, and treated the waiters badly. Overall, it was a brilliant holiday and I wouldn't hesitate to go back. 12 users found this review helpful. 2 found this review unhelpful. Did you find this helpful? This resort has beautiful beaches, wonderful people, and okay food. Visited: February 2005 Posted by mfletcher1954 We stayed here. It was an all-inclusive 3.5 star resort. We found the room simple, but clean. The resort was on beautiful property and the staff was very pleasant. We found the food satisfactory, but not the most exciting. The international a la carte restaurant was good, but the Italian restaurant was interesting. We had a very enjoyable time and did some sightseeing in Havana and the little town of Cardinas, which was where most of the hotel staff lived. I would certainly go back. But as I haven't traveled much, I would go elsewhere first. It was a lovely, relaxing holiday for me. 11 users found this review helpful. 2 found this review unhelpful. Did you find this helpful? This was one of the best hotels we've stayed at! Visited: October 2004 Posted by chanelle We just returned from the Solymar in Cuba yesterday, and we had a fantastic time! The weather was amazing - it was hot every day - very different to England! Also, the food was lovely. We visited all the a la carte restaurants, which were wonderful, and the buffet was excellent. The lobby bar was great as well with fantastic piano music in the evenings. The staff was all so friendly and went out of their way to please the guests. And they always seemed pleased to receive just one dollar tips as they hardly get paid a great deal in the first place. The night-time entertainment was amazing as well! The presenter spoke in many different languages so all the audience could understand. There was also a wide range of water sports which we enjoyed - banana boats, pedalos, kayaks, water skiing, snorkeling etc. And the beach was really beautiful with powdered white sand and amazing clear turquoise sea. The hotel rooms were of very high standard, too, with wonderful views from the balconies. Overall, we had a great holiday in Cuba and will definitely be returning, hopefully in the near future! 6 users found this review helpful. 2 found this review unhelpful. Did you find this helpful? It sucked, Visited: September 2004 Posted by blind_boy2002 This hotel sucks ass it dosent disurve to be one. Never go. One word. The service was terrible. 4 users found this review helpful. 17 found this review unhelpful. Did you find this helpful? This is a great hotel, with good food, friendly staff, and a beautiful beach Visited: February 2004 Posted by marilyn_m This was my second visit to Varadero and the first to the Solymar. The lobby was beautiful, the hotel was very clean, the staff was friendly and the food was generally good, although there is not much of a variety from one day to the next. The grounds were huge and well landscaped, and the beach was probably the nicest in all of Varadero (twice the width of the others). The pools were also very nice. I guess my only negative comment is that the reception staff was not always helpful. It would be a good idea if they had staff meetings to inform each department of the types of questions that can be asked. An example: we were sent in three different directions when asked where to make an international phone call within the hotel. I would definitely go back, though. 6 users found this review helpful. 2 found this review unhelpful. Did you find this helpful? We loved it (again)! Visited: September 2003 Posted by fepap In September, my family visited this resort for the second time this year (two adults and two children). We had a wonderful time, as usual. As repeat guests ,we were treated extra special (thank you Berklys!). We stayed in the two-story villas and really enjoyed the extra room. The staff was generally wonderful, especially Giovanni "chocolate" of the animacion staff. They really made our stay a fun one. The food was generally good. We never went hungry, even with with two small children. The a la cartes we thoroughly enjoyed, and wished we could have done more. The beach was absolutely gorgeous and the pools were quite nice, too! There was not too much for the kids to play with, so we brought our own inflatables and toys. A water slide would probably be a nice addition in the future. We saw many of the staff we met the previous year and we made even more friends this year. We plan to go back again this December and we're bringing some more of our family with us as they loved the look of the resort from pictures. We can't wait to go back. Cuba really is a beautiful and unspoiled part of this world. 5 users found this review helpful. 2 found this review unhelpful. Did you find this helpful? Nice place, but poor food. Visited: August 2003 Posted by steve1 My first impression of the hotel upon arrival was "what a fantastic place." Located right on the beach with two large pools and nicely refurbished hotel, I thought we had really landed on our feet! Unfortunately it was not to last. We found out within a few hours that the food wasn't up to scratch. All of my family suffered from sickness and diarrhea. (I had two bouts during the two-week stay.) We became so suspicious of how the food was being prepared and the general hygiene levels that we lived on bread and salad most of the time. This is the fifth all-inclusive Caribbean holiday I've been on, and the first time I have come back from holiday weighing 4 pounds less than when I left! I don't think this is an isolated problem associated with just this hotel. I found the people whom I spoke with on the plane from different hotels were also ill at some point during the holiday. To sum up, I think Cuba is a lovely place and the Solymar is a nice hotel, although some of the staff was not exactly welcoming. However, due to the food problems, I will not be returning. 6 users found this review helpful. 1 found this review unhelpful. Did you find this helpful? This was a great place to stay. Visited: April 2003 Posted by mollydollybaby We really enjoyed our stay at the Solymar! The food was okay. They had a great pasta bar where guests chose the sauce and toppings. I found an abundance of fresh fruit and lots of great desserts and ice cream. I didn't really try the meat dishes, except for bacon for breakfast. All in all, the food was reasonable for Cuba. We had a standard hotel room on the first floor with a great view of the ocean and pool area. The room was clean and spacious. We had a mini fridge that the maid stocked with beers, juices and water every day. We had no complaints at all! There were two huge pools, but there never seemed to be anyone swimming the entire week, except for us! The water was quite chilly compared to the warm ocean water, but it did the trick to cool us off after sunning. Of the four places in Varadero I have stayed, the Solymar definitely had the nicest beach. It was very wide, and the water was clear blue/green. There were lots of palapas, but we had to get there early to get shade. They played music on the beach all day, and there was always a volleyball game or dance lessons going on. We found the service to be great. We always tipped at supper, but would have received good service whether we tipped or not. We never had a problem with any staff being rude, and if anything, found them to be overly friendly. The entertainment was pretty low-budget, but was still quite enjoyable. There were lots of skits and audience participation. I did note that some of the entertainment was definitely not for children. I would highly recommend this resort to anyone headed to Cuba for the first time. It's nice and close (within walking distance) to Varadero and the markets. 8 users found this review helpful. 3 found this review unhelpful. Did you find this helpful? great property and entertainment - poor room service Visited: January 2002 Posted by festa_ty I went for New Years right after opening. Plenty of food, yet hard to find foods we liked - tasteless if don't use ketchup ;-) Enetrtainment and beach were great. Beautiful property. Modern designs. Room service always late to replace towels, problems with water, etc. Close to the local night club where other hotels go. 1 users found this review helpful. 6 found this review unhelpful. Did you find this helpful?