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Superclubs Breezes Varadero 01/23/2003
Reviewers Rating:  Excellent
Getting there: It was a smooth flight on Skyservice out of Calgary and we arrived in Cuba with no delays.
After clearing Cuba Customs, we made our way to the Signature bus and arrived at Breezes Varadero Resort within about 30 minutes. Word of warning about this bus ride - they offer drinks, but once you have recieved them, they tell you it is not complementary, but costs $2.00 each.
The Resort: It is beyond belief! I had done a lot of research about this resort and was very pleased that it exceeded all expectations. The beach is powerdery white sand and the water is quite warm. We experienced 3 days of really nice weather and 4 days of overcast and 1 very cold day. The seas were very rough on some of the days so the water sports were not operating, but we had fun body surfing! We also noted that even though the resort was full, there was never a crowd anywhere! You always felt like you were walking in a private garden! The foliage was emaculate and the lizards were cute. Several people we talked to cancelled at other resorts to get into this one and the day we left, there was a line-up to get in from other resorts in the area.
Activities at the resort: We enjoyed a lot of the activities such as the Disco, the bars, and the games room. We found that on the cold days they offered other activities, but we did not join these and chose to spend time in the bars or on tours. We did have one minor complaint - on the one really cold day, all of the hot tubs were cold. We asked several times throughout the day if they could warm them up, after about 4 hours (we asked 3 times), they claimed that the maintenance workers could not be found, and then they said "go to another hot tub" - when we explained they were not warm either, they just said they would look into it - it never happened and it was still cold the next day.
Food: As per all other reviews, the food was "okay". I find it hard to complain as I realize that we were getting the best they had to offer for meat, and they did the best with what they had. I am also a bit of a picky eater (I don't like seafood), but I always found something to eat at the buffet. The staff were very attentive and the chefs were willing to cook what they could for you. They do tend to reuse a lot of the food from meal to meal.
The a la carte restaurants: Martinos was as wonderful as the reviews have all said. The food, again is the best they can do with what they have, and except for the porkloin, I was very pleased. Angel, our waiter for all meals we ate here IS FABULOUS!! Although you are only allowed one meal per a la carte restaurant, we had an additional meal the night of our "Wedding Renewel" Ceremony and we managed to get in one other night when we asked if anyone had not shown for their reservations. The pianist added that special touch.
El Mojitos was not that great. The food was better at the buffet, but the trio playing was neat.
The Grill was so-so. It was rather misleading - it was only a small hut which also served as their snacks. It had hamburgers, chicken, hotdogs and pizza. I questioned the meat sitting out for long periods (uncovered). It was handy to the beach and quenched a snack appetite.
All of the Bars: It was so neat to try different drinks and you could get a drink no matter where you were!
Renewal of Wedding Vows: We went with another couple and we had a double "renewal" ceremony that was out of this world!! Maria (the coordinator) met with us and we picked a spot in the upper deck of the beach bar and it was perfect! They made a large arch of fresh flowers and the view behind was the ocean! They did the ceremony, a small reception with cake and champagne and there was a wonderful trio playing for us. The resort provided beautiful wedding bouquets and coursages that were VERY nice!! The maids also did up our rooms with flowers and we had a bottle of champagne in our room. We were upgraded from a Gardenview suite to an "Oceanview" Suite. It was very handy to the pool, buffet and beach. The room was a bit dated, but very clean. We had satellite TV and a patio.
Entertainment was great. Every night there was a show in the buffet.
Tours: The tour operators came right to the resort (Signature was ours) and they did a presentation and we booked a tour of Havana and a Jungle Tour thru them. Havana tour (with the Tropicana show) was a long but very worthwhile day. We left at 8:00 am and returned at 2:00 am. We had a wonderful guide (Raphael) and we toured old and new Havana (very interesting history and our tour guide explained everything). We then went to a hotel and we paired up (8 people to a room) and we had a chance to shower and then go to dinner. We then were shuttled to the Tropicana show and then home again. The Tropicana show was okay, but I found the music to be too repetitive. Also we got 1 bottle of rum for each of four people, but only 5 cans of coke for 12 people at our table. We requested more, but they only brought a couple more cans (which didn't make their way to our end of the table). One thing I must comment on: One person was very ill during our tour and the tour operator called ahead to the hotel and there was a doctor waiting in one of the rooms for him when we arrived. We also did the Jungle tour (a sea-doo tour on the caribean sea and into mangroves to visit a small zoo). It was fun!
Our tour operator also took us to the Mambo Club by bus for an evening of dancing and entertainment - well worth the $20.00.
We also went into Varadero and took a horse and buggy ride (someone please bring them a carrot or two when you go into town). We felt very safe and found some great deals at the market.
I have to say one thing that really struck me about this trip. We met SOOOOOO MANY Nice people. The Canadians we met were really lots of fun and we hung around with other couples throughout the week (HI CHRIS & GORD AND SHARON AND MIKE!) We also met lots of other nice people from Europe and from Cuba. I didn't matter where you went in this resort, you always ended up laughing it up with everyone around you.
I have to say that we could all learn a lot about what is important in life from the Cubans!!
The trip as a whole was great, the resort exceeded expectations and We would love to return someday!
Rhonda
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