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Bella Costa Beach Resort & Villas 11/04/2003
Reviewers Rating:  Excellent
Our Cuban Experience
The wonderfully short five hour flight to Varadero, Cuba was to be only one of many pleasurable experiences on our Cuban vacation. The dates we had chosen were April 22 ñ May 6. May is the start of the ìwetî season and is one of the two ìtransitionî months between the wet and dry seasons. However, we figured that with our trip extending only six days into May, our chances of heavy rains would be fairly slim and fortunately, we were right (or just very lucky!)
First off, if your main vacation criteria is the hot sun overlooking crystal clear turquoise water lapping up repeatedly on beige, powdery sand, you will be beside yourself in Varadero. Naturally, there are many such locations in the world that offer such natural luxuries along with swaying palms, tropical drinks and island music but as a vacation spot, there are a few things that make Varadero distinctive. One of these features is Varaderoís water. Cancun, with its beautiful stretch of beach can have rather rough surf a lot of the time. Varaderoís waters are very calm, so calm in fact, that until later in the day when the winds pick up, the water is dotted with pedal boats, kayaks, catamarans and windsurfers. While we were there, the pattern tended to be that the morning would be calm with only slight movement in the water and a gentle breeze. One could easily swim way out without fighting any current at all. By about three oíclock, the wind had begun to pick up, luring lovers of heavy swells and stronger currents. At no point though was it ever strong enough to get very tiring and at no point did it ever lose its seductive way of drawing you back into it again and again. The water temperature was sheer heaven.
Varaderoís beach is very clean and surprisingly, it never got very crowded. There was always loads of open beach space everywhere. Most hotel guests stayed around each hotelís grouping of palapas so if being out on the open sand is your preference, youíll definitely have the run of the beach. In my mind, palapas are so much than just a shelter from the sun. They are really quite fascinating and certainly not to be found on all tropical and sub-tropical beaches. It is wonderfully restful to lie underneath one and admire the artfully woven leaves above your head. Palapas are strong, well built and able to withstand extremely high winds and rain, not to mention the hot sun beating down upon them day after day. Each one is such a beautiful and natural fixture on the beach, completely blending in with its environment while at the same time, offering that luxurious and decadent tropical feeling that tourists pay thousands of dollars each year to feel. As we were there in April and the beginning of May, our daily temperatures were 32 (90 Farenheit) and 33 (91 Farenheit) degrees everyday. The sun was extremely hot between 1:00pm and 5:00pm so during these times, many preferred to be under or near their palapas enjoying the breeze or in the water bobbing about.
Cancun vs. Varadero:
For those of you who may have been to Cancun, Varadero is not a ìstripî in the way that Cancun is. Cancun has many, many hotels on medium sized properties that are one after the other after the other. Varaderoís hotels are all side-by-side on the beach as well but because the resorts are mostly very large, thereís more space between each one, lots more foliage and open grounds. Itís not a ìstripî in the ìcheesyî or super busy sense of the word. Itís much more quiet and very laid back. Not a great place for partiers but great for families and couples.
Hereís another thing to consider ìbeach-wiseî when choosing a hotel in Varadero:
You cannot walk from one end of Varadero beach to the other. I believe itís about 20kms in distance so even if there were no obstacles, you probably wouldnít want to. However, you CAN walk from the western end (where more of the Budget-type hotels are) right up to the Varadero Golf Course and the Bella Costa Hotel but no further. It was important to us to be able to walk the beach regularly and see other hotels, especially when we already spent so much time in our hotel, being an all-inclusive (as they all are in Varadero). You need the change of scene. Right before the Varadero Golf Course is the Bella Costa Hotel where we stayed. Our hotel was the ìend of the lineî for walking as the golf course has a cliff that juts way out over the sea and there is no beach area there to keep walking on. The golf course is surrounded by a fence as well so you canít enter it even though you are right next to it. You have to go out on the street and take a bus over. Iíll explain more about the bussing further down. On the other side of the golf course (and bordering it) is the Melia Complex. The complex is made up of a shopping centre in the middle and the two five star Melia hotels on either side. These hotels are very beautiful and as I recall from the brochures, much more expensive than the Bella Costa and most others. I wanted to know if they offered higher quality food for the money (in which case it would be worth it) but from what I could see (on the menus), it was a lot of the same type of stuff. The hotels, as I say, are beautiful with lovely pools and beach areas but what I didnít like was that the ìMeliaî beaches are cut off from the ìmainî part of Varadero beach (where we were) so walking long stretches of beach is NOT an option when/if you stay at the Melia hotels. I didnít like that aspect of it ñ too restrictive. I believe that if memory serves correctly, each of the two hotels had their own patches of beach so even THEY didnít appear to share beaches. Iím sure you could visit back and forth as it is all one complex but they arenít physically connected.
No matter how hot Varadero beach gets, there is an absolutely delicious breeze twenty-four hours per day. It starts out with a gentle breeze in the morning and accelerates as the day progresses. By afternoon it can be quite strong but is always welcome as it provides wonderful relief from the heat. The breeze easily takes away that ìbakingî feeling when youíre out in the sun but can trick you into thinking that youíre not getting as much sun as you think you are. Donít let it trick you as youíll pay dearly later. By late afternoon, the breeze calms down somewhat but is ever-present throughout the evening which is just heaven.
The Bella Costa Beach Resort & Villas:
Again, we stayed at the Bella Costa Beach Resort & Villas (formerly an LTI hotel until March í02). I researched it thoroughly prior to making the decision as Iíd been able to find a fair amount of information on the internet mostly from travel forums and various pictures people had taken. I had read that the further east you go on Varadero beach, the better the beach. The Bella Costa on the map seemed to be just east of the ìmiddleî of the northern coast and close to the two five-star Melia hotels considered to be the best on the strip. This seemed a pretty good guarantee of being on a ìgoodî stretch of beach and it definitely turned out to be the case. My partner and I walked ìourî stretch of Varadero beach almost everyday so I became pretty familiar with it and even checked out some of the other hotels. At the western end of the beach, you will find more of the budget hotels. I believe that the ìHoteturî hotels are among these budget ones and are mostly (if not all) at the western end. There is no ìbadî part of Varadero beach. The entire beach is gorgeous and the water is no different from one end to the other. The only difference that I could see was that the beach is much narrower at the western end (such as in Cancun) so that it does seem more crowded. As you go further east, the beach itself is much broader and expansive and consequently less crowded. The ìbudgetî type hotels at the western end appeared to be perfectly nice as far as I could see. All the hotels have lovely pools and nice beachfront. It seemed to me that in Varadero when you pay more for a four or five star hotel, what you are paying for is a larger, more ìimpressiveî swimming pool, often free-form instead of your standard rectangle or kidney shape. You are also paying for much lusher grounds. The higher-end resorts tend to be extremely lush, with palms trees everywhere and exotic plants and flowers. The budget resorts are more concrete in that sense which of course would cost much less to maintain. With the higher end establishments, you are also paying for more facilities as youíd expect. There is usually more choice of on-site restaurants and bars, perhaps a gym, a hair salon, a little market etcÖ
Varaderoís food:
The biggest and by far the most important thing that paying more will give you in Varadero is better food. I think most people will tell you that Cuba is not famous for good food. You will certainly get your nutrients and you will not starve as there is plenty of it. However, that feeling of satisfaction that North Americans are so accustomed to having after just about every meal is completely absent in Cuba. This is highly unfortunate as good eating is for most of us a big part of an enjoyable vacation. I donít think we realized just how big until weíd been there awhile and were really having trouble with some of the food. For one week, it wouldnít be that big a deal but we were there for two and by about day ten, we were having strong cravings for anything else but what was available to us. Having said that, we were in a beautiful place with a fantastic beach and ocean and we certainly couldnít get that at home so we enjoyed all the wonderful things that Varadero DID offer.
Paying extra for a four or five star will not get you great food but it will be among the best that is offered and there will be a better choice of it. Even the famous ìDupont Mansionî formerly owned by the Dupont family has a bad reputation for its food. The mansion is beautiful and is a must-see but as I understand it, the U.S. $18.00+ entrees are nothing to write home about. It doesnít seem to matter where you go. Great food just doesnít seem to exist in Cuba. There are a few little eateries in the town of Varadero but they all seem to offer the same bland fare.
The Bella Costa is rated by some tour operators as a 3+ and by some as a 4. In Cuba, it is rated as a 5, I believe. The Bella Costa had one buffet restaurant, 3 a la carte restaurants and one of the a la carte restaurants was also a buffet restaurant by day. The buffet food was not great but acceptable. Two of the a la carte restaurants were dreadful but one, the ìItalianî Don Alfredo restaurant was fairly good comparatively speaking. My strong recommendation is PAY THE EXTRA AND GO HIGHER END. Even if you donít care about all the other things that high-end will give you such as the facilities you may or may not use, do it so that you can at least enjoy decent food for even then, it wonít be anything to write home about. This seems to be everywhere in Cuba as our gastronomic experiences in Havana proved to be no different.
Tipping in Varadero:
Tipping was a funny one. We were told that tipping is optional but it turned out that yes, this is true, if you donít mind feeling like a cheapskate. We did tip and at every meal. How much we left really depended on the level of service as it was so changeable. One day it would be amazing and the next, you wondered if the staff even saw you. Quite inconsistent. Weíd leave U.S. $1.00 for poor service, U.S. $2.00 for ìsatisfactory serviceî and U.S. $3.00 or $4.00 for exceptional service. This may not seem like a fortune but keep in mind that weíd already paid $2369.00 each for our trip and for every U.S. dollar weíd leave, it was $1.60 Canadian.
We bought eight t-shirts to give away at the end of the trip as gifts to certain people (as was recommended) and for the maid, we brought several scented soaps in various colours. Weíd leave the maid U.S. $1.00 each day plus a soap. She seemed very pleased and thanked us a few times, left cute cards etcÖ At the end, we gave her a t-shirt as well and to certain other staff members who we got to know quite well. Our maid did almost nothing, actually. She made the bed and brought fresh towels in and that was about it. She was very charming though and we enjoyed talking to her. It was one of many opportunities for me to use my limited Spanish. As far as tipping went, you really should tip as these people are paid very little. My feeling is that more of my $2369.00 should be going to the service people at the hotel but obviously, I have no control over that.
Currency:
Currency is an interesting issue in Cuba because there are three currencies.
The U.S. $ used EVERYWHERE
The Cuban peso only usable by Cubans
The convertible Cuban peso
In Cuba, tourists use only the U.S. dollar. Most items that you buy are on the dollar. $1 or $2 or $3 etcÖ Because of this, you will end up with very little change when you leave. The change that you will have though are convertible pesos. They are equivalent in value to U.S. dollars but are of no use outside of Cuba. I believe you can exchange them back but youíll have so little, youíll probably just leave them for the maid (as we did) or for whomever. When you buy something in U.S. dollars, youíll get convertible pesos back if you have change coming back. As I said though, most things are priced right on the dollar. Bargaining is easy as youíre not converting in your mind as you do with Mexican pesos but as people have little there just as in Mexico, I donít have the heart to do much bargaining. My partner and I are far from rich but we are comparatively speaking.
Getting around Varadero:
Getting around the area of Varadero is a snap.
There are little moped open-car thingys all over the place (thereís one in my pictures. See link at the end). There are cabs everywhere but the cheapest are the buses.
From the Bella Costa hotel to the little town of Varadero, (4kms away), itís U.S. $4.00 by cab (some people we met took a cab). We grabbed a bus and the buses are only U.S. $1.00 each no matter how far up or down the strip youíre going. You get to know which ones are the public buses as theyíre pretty tired and old-looking. There are tons of buses everywhere of all different shapes, sizes, and in different kinds of condition. Generally, the older ones are the ones you hail down anywhere on the side of the road. If itís not the right ìtypeî of bus, youíll know as theyíll just keep on going. Sometimes though, a Cubanacan (tour) bus will stop if heís not carrying anybody. Just give him a buck and heíll drop you wherever. Transportation is a huge problem in Cuba and gas is very expensive so drivers of all kinds are encouraged to give people rides. Hitch-hiking by locals is very much encouraged and tour buses will often pick up a couple of people here or there and drop them further down the line. On our trip to Havana, our driver stopped and picked up a couple of older ladies in Matanzas on the way to Havana. As a tourist though, Iíd imagine youíd be expected to give a dollar no matter what and they should expect that of us as weíre not the ones suffering from THEIR transportation and gas problems. We took a bus a few times, once was to the little town of Varadero. There isnít a lot there. Some of the budget resorts are right in the town, most on the beach. There is a little craft market on the main street and generally, itís enjoyable to just walk around and explore, see the local homes, buy beer from a local bar and walk around on the street with it.
For partiers, I think Varadero (the whole area in general), would be somewhat of a dissapointment. Iím 34 and although I used to love clubs and going out dancing constantly, it doesnít interest me anymore and I look more for a quieter place now. I had a blast in Cancun in my twenties when I WAS into all that as Cancun is totally geared to it. Varadero is not. There are two main discos in Varadero. One is called La Bamba and the other is La Rhumba (go figure). They are on either side of the Bella Costa hotel where we stayed. One is right next to the golf course (by the hotel) and the other is in the LTI Tuxpan Hotel right next to the Bella Costa. I would NOT recommend the LTI Tuxpan Hotel at all. Iíll talk about that more later when I discuss some of the other hotels. I canít remember which club is at which location but they are apparently the two main spots in Varadero to party. At one of them you pay U.S. $10 and then drink all you want. Iím not sure if they both work this way. You can walk from one to another (about a ten minute walk) on the little ìinter-hotelî road. At the Bella Costa, the ìEl Miradorî restaurant right on the beach became a disco every night as well. It must have done okay because the music went on until about 2am. I got used to it and if it got to be too much, weíd close the sliding glass doors and crank up the air-conditioning and then you could barely hear it.
There were also shows put on every night in the resort outside by the pool bar and many guests would come and congregate. The show would start with the same medley of dance tunes every night and the ìM.C.î would come running out all hyped up. The shows are amateurish but the performers obviously love what they do and they really give it their all so you have to give them credit. Most of the shows were rather cheesy, going from ballerinas in nightgown dancing to a very strange melody to a cheesy newlywed style game with they would get the audience participating and joining them up on stage. One night, however, they staged an African show with unbelievable costumes, drums and incredible rhythms. It was amazing and had I known, I wouldíve brought my camera out to watch that night. We usually sat on our balcony and watched a bit of each show as we were fortunate enough to be able to see the stage from there. (Room #290 ñ Bella Costa).
Tours:
There are a tons of tours you can take on the island. You could easily spend a fortune. We took the overnight tour to Havana and we went to see the dolphin show in Varadero and swam with the dolphins. To give you an idea of how much money to bring, we converted $900.00 Canadian which came out to $558.00 U.S. and we spent it all plus about another $100.00 U.S. that we put on Visa. Remember to make sure that you have U.S. $20.00 on you (each person) to leave the country. You go nowhere if you donít pay this. First you check in, then you go to a different window to pay the U.S. $20.00.
The 2 day trip to Havana includes the following: (cost at the end)
(We did the Friday and Saturday after arriving. We figured this way, weíd have a week to enjoy the resort and by then, weíd probably want the change of Havana ñ worked out great). You HAVE to go to Havana.
You will be taken to and from Havana in a beautifully air-conditioned ìgreyhoundî style coach bus. The trip is about 2 hours with a stopoff at a roadside bar for a few minutes. There, you can stretch your legs, have a beer and listen to the Mariachi band play (not sure if they are referred to as Mariachi in Cuba but you know what I mean). On the drive, youíll learn much about the island. Our tour guide was Eduardo and he was great. Very informative, good sense of humour, overall nice guy.
Upon arrival in Havana, you are driven around in the bus for a bit of learning about the city and youíll spend a bit of time walking around the old town.
Lunch is included at a local restaurant (Pizza Nova ñ some of the best food available)
Dinner at the hotel is included and one drink ticket (buffet dinner). You will stay at the Habana Libre hotel right downtown (used to be Hilton), this is a lovely hotel with a fantastic location or three is another (less fancy) one that you might stay at. Which one you stay at determines whether or not your lunch is included the next day. Breakfast is included the second day regardless but lunch, as I mentioned, depends on the hotel you were at. We were at the Habana Libre and paid our own lunch the next day. We were glad it worked out this way as we really like a cushy hotel plus it had a fantastic pool (also in the pictures).
Your cost also includes the big ìTropicana Showî in Havana. We didnít go as I was feeling a little bit off that day. Weíd arranged to not go beforehand which drops the price U.S. $40 each as well. My partner didnít really care one way or the other so we walked around Havana that night exploring. Itís very dark ñ no streetlights but itís very safe. From everything I heard, I would say GO TO THE SHOW! I wouldíve had I been feeling better. Itís a Cuban National Treasure of sorts and I was told by other tourists that itís like a BIG Vegas show. I believe there are 200 dancers and itís a huge spectacle. The guys like it as thereís a lot of booty shakiní goiní on! You also get a big bottle of rum put on each table (included, I think).
The second day in Havana included buffet breakfast in the hotel (again, not great food but certainly edible ñ some stuff is not too bad. Wonderful freshly-squeezed orange juice there though and itís bottomless. I had about 4 glasses). After breakfast, youíre pretty much free to walk around and explore the old town (amazing place) and visit the craft market. Buy everything here that you want as itíll likely be your last chance to see this much stuff. I wasnít wild about a lot of it but they had great little wood boxes for about U.S. $3 or $4. I wish Iíd bought more. I think we bought three. We had lunch at an Italian place ñ not expensive ñ so-so food. ëCanít remember the name.
Cost: U.S. $159.00 each
Cost without the show: U.S. $119.00 each
If you donít want to do the overnight tour or the Tropicana Show, you can pay U.S. $63.00 each and take the Havana Historia one-day tour where youíll see the city and learn lots. Keep in mind, itís 2 hours each way so itíll be a long day but cheaper if youíre on a tighter budget.
Swimming with dolphins is U.S. $59.00 each which includes the ‡ hour dolphin show. This was so worth it as weíd never swum with dolphins. If you havenít, itís a ìgotta do onceî kind of experience. It really is. They appear to be very well treated ñ fed lots of fish and theyíre such beautiful, gentle creatures. I didnít want to leave them. You pay $5.00 if you want to bring your own camera in but itís use at your own risk if it isnít waterproof as youíre on a floating dock. Donít drop it! All the tourists are in the water together so if you want pics with your own camera, one has to be out taking pics regularly. We paid the $5.00 but then said ìthe hell with ití and didnít bother using it. Instead, we paid the U.S. $10.00 each for a shot of each of us with the dolphins ñ one dolphin on either side of you kissing your cheeks! Great shot and itís an 8.5î X 11î. Well worth it. The video of the whole thing is U.S. $35.00. ëDidnít bother ñ too expensive. Nobody else bothered either. Up to you.
For U.S. $12.00 more ($70.00), you can swim with the dolphins AND go on an all-day catamaran cruise which includes lunch (lobster, chicken, pork, and fish) and all you can drink (beer and soft drinks, I think). The cruise is from 8am ñ 5pm and youíll visit Cayo Largo which is apparently the most incredible beach. You can be way, way out and the water is only up to your knees. We considered going as it wasnít much more expensive but by then, Iíd had a LOT of sun and the idea of 8am ñ 5pm in the sun on a catamaran had lost much of its appeal. Apparently, itís a blast though.
What to bring to Cuba:
I brought a whole arsenal of toiletries and medications. Tylenol, Advil, sunscreensÖALL of these things are exorbitantly expensive in Cuba. A regular size bottle of sunscreen can easily cost U.S. $14.00 or more. The higher the SPF as well, the higher the cost. These are all luxury items in Cuba. You donít want to find yourself without them. I had a full Safeway bag of toiletries (double-bagged) packed in my suitcase. Bring lots of Solarcaine, Aloe Vera gel and Calomine lotion as well. No matter how smart you are, youíll over-do it in the sun at least once and youíll be glad for the relief. Calomine lotion is also great for mosquito bites and there are some mosquitos at night. I also brought ìOffî spray for that. I had EVERYTHING. Getting sick far from home sucks but itís even worse if you donít have a ìcollectionî of things to take. I even brought Tylenol 3ís with codeine that I had left over from some work done at the dentist. Bring it all! Murphyís Law and all that! Last but certainly not least, bring lots of small gifts to give out. By the end of your stay, you will have met some really nice people and theyíll have served you often by then. The gesture will be much appreciated. Gifts for the maid are also greatly appreciated.
Safe in the hotel: (and more currency info)
The Bella Costa Hotel charges U.S. $2.00 a day to rent the safe in the room. Iím sure they all charge about the same price. Our maid was a real sweetheart and we left her lots of stuff each day so I didnít worry about anything like that. We tucked our cash away in a pair of pants deep in a drawer just in case and never had a problem. We did not bother getting Travellerís Cheques as Iíd read that the hotels charge a percentage to cash them. We brought cash and our Visa and that was fine. To all the Americans out there, just remember that Cuba will only accept non-American issued Travellerís Cheques credit cards NOT issued by American banks. Thereís a great website for American Travellers to Cuba. I canít remember the name now but Iíll try and find it and post it at the bottom of all this stuff.
We met an older American lady who lived in Oregon. Since you canít fly direct to Cuba from the ëstates, she flew to Bellingham and then on to Vancouver, hooked up with her friend in Vancouver (from Surrey) and they flew to Varadero from Vancouver. Unfortunately, her bags didnít! The airport code in Bellingham in BLI but her luggage got marked BIL which is Billings, Montana so that was where her luggage went. She contacted the airline and they were going to pay the U.S. $600.00 to courier her luggage to her but because of the U.S. ñ Cuba relationship, it wasnít permitted so she had to go through the whole vacation with none of her stuff. She had to buy everything which was a real drag. Pack necessities in your carry-on.
Tourists:
Most of the tourists in Varadero are German. There were a handful of Canadians, some French, Spanish and some Italians. We met only the one American. But by far, Germans seem to be the most commonly found visitors to Cuba and the LTI hotels are German-owned/operated in conjunction with the Cubanacan Hotel Group who also run all the big tours all over the island.
Safety:
Cuba is SO safe because no kind of ìfunnyî business is tolerated. Because of this, you have nothing to worry about. Each hotel has a security guard out front and back (by the beach) and we left our camera, towels, books etcÖ at the beach under the palapa all day. Weíd go for lunch and leave our stuff or hang out at the pool for a couple of hours. There was never any problem. Walking around Havana was very safe.
ìWanna buy cigars?î:
You will hear this a lot outside of the resort area. During our 2 days in Havana, I think we got approached to buy cigars about fifty times (Iím not kidding!). Each time, I just said ìno fumoîmeaning ìI donít smokeî or ìno fumamosî meaning ìwe donít smokeî. I said to my partnre that it would be worth getting yourself t-shirt made up that says ìno fumoî. Then while in Havana, all you have to do is point at itÖrepeatedly! These guys are harmless though and theyíll leave you alone once you tell them you donít smoke. Youíll be told by lots of people to only buy cigars in the stores. The stuff sold on the streets is garbage. Sure, they are Cuban cigars but rolled with crappy stuff. Thereís a cigar factory tour you can take in Havana and while there, you can buy them if you like. I believe Canada allows you to bring in 200 cigars each. Weíre not aficionados so we didnít bother.
Water: (Can I drink it?)
Prior to leaving, I had read (on the internet) that you should not drink the water in Cuba. It said to drink only bottled water and that there is some sort of microbe that Cubans are immune to that affects foreigners. Then we got to the Varadero airport and the guide on the bus says ìThe water in Varadero is clean and is completely safe to drinkî. Then she says ìThe water here is probably cleaner than the water in Canada and I can say that because Iím from Montrealî. (She was Cuban/Canadian). In Mexico, bottled water is cheap but in Cuba, itís U.S. $2.00 a bottle. We thought this was just the hotel price. Wrong. Everywhere in Varadero charged the same price. We drink a LOT of water, especially when in the sun so between the cost and what the lady had said, we drank the tap water with no problems whatsoever. We bought a bottle of water, finished it, then filled it up continually with tap water and chilled it in the roomís fridge. I had felt ìoffî a bit before we left for Havana but I think that was just all the sun and the dietary change. In Havana, we drank only bottled water though as I didnít know if her advice extended to the rest of the island or not.
Iíve already mentioned a few hotels but hereís what else I found and found out:
Most of the resort complexes in Varadero are really large (except for the budget hotels). Although they have lovely grounds, the actual hotel and pool(s) are way far off from the beach. You have, in many of these cases, a long walk from the hotel & pool(s) to the beach and I didnít like that. Also, you may have an ocean view, sure, but youíre way too far from the water. We chose the Bella Costa because it appeared to be one of the few ìnicer hotelsî that was RIGHT SMACK on the beach which we like. The grounds were big enough that you could take a nice stroll when you wanted to but small enough that from your room to the beach or pool or pool to beach or whatever is only a couple of minutes ñ no great walks required. This is handy as well when you need to pop up to your room once in awhile to cool off in the air-conditioning for a few minutes or use the ìfacilitiesî or whatever. It was very handy. The Bella Costa has two sections: thereís the main hotel and then thereís the villas section. We had paid the $100.00 extra each to be in the villas section as they have beachview rooms. When we got there, they put us in the main hotel. The main hotel doesnít have beachview rooms but it does have ocean views. I was going to say something but the front desk clerk said ìthis is one of our finest roomsî. They put us in room #290 and man, he wasnít kidding! It was a suite with a living room, bedroom, a powder room, a full bathroom (ensuite), a fridge, a tv in each room and sliding-glass doors from the living room AND bedroom opening out onto a thirty foot long red-tiled balcony, not only with a beach view but right over the beach. WE had a full ocean view from end-to-end AND a full beach view. We figured that the villas section (although nice) couldnít possibly be any nicer. Also, the villas section was quite removed from the rest of the resort. The hotel has three wings. One points towards the golf course and away from the beach, the other points towards the LTI Tuxpan Hotel (formerly a sister hotel) next door AND away from the beach and our wing reached out TOWARDS the beach. Furthermore, we were right at the end of it as close to the beach as you can get. It turns out that room #290 & #390 are the best rooms in the hotel. They are identical. #390 is just one floor above. The proximity to the beach made it so handy PLUS you could watch the shows from your balcony at night and the sunsets and enjoy the breeze. Definitely the best two rooms in the place. (lots of pics on the link below).
I also looked at the Sol Club Sirenas. Nice but way too big. Hotel & pool were way too far from the beach.
Sol Club Coral ñ same problem.
Beaches Varadero ñ same problem
Villa Cuba ñ Gorgeous hotel inside, nice pool but a long walk down a gravel road to get to the beach.
The Melia hotels. Beautiful. Expensive. Right on the beach ñ no walking but beaches are not connected with main part of Varadero beach. Youíd have to take a bus to Bella Costa and then start walking the beach.
The LTI Tuxpan: Awful! This is next door to the Bella Costa and was rated as a 4 star. In our travel brochure, it was actually more expensive than the Bella Costa but I canít see why. Weíd read a review from a Tuxpan guest who said that the Bella Costa next door was much nicer. Very true. The Tuxpan is tired and looks it. We swam in the pool (as the hotels share facilities though not anymore I guess since Bella Costa is no longer an LTI hotel ). The tiles are falling off the pool walls and coming off the floor. You can feel them sliding under your toes! It was not a very nice hotel and in need of some t.l..c. p.d.q. The Bella Costa is a bit tired as well but not too bad. There are some signs of faded glory here and there. The pool seems very new though ñ nice vinyl bottom and sides ñ probably just recently renovated. The flower boxes around our balcony had dead weeds in them and the pipes (barely noticeable) above your head on the balcony were showing. These are all things that they are slowly renovating. The hotel offers everything you need though for a comfortable, relaxing vacation.
Further east up the strip is the Brisas del Caribe. I had been interested in that one too. The hotel looks very new and very nice but I think it was a wayís from the beach as well which bothered me. The Gran hotel is one of the cheapest and is at the eastern end of the strip. I never saw it but knowing what I know now about the food in these places, doní t go low-end. Go at least 3.5 stars, preferably 4 or 5. Even 4 is fine. As I mentioned before, the Bella Costa was rated as a 3.5 or a 4 depending on the tour operator. Four Canadian tour operators offer the Bella Costa package. Go to www.tripcentral.ca, select, ìCubaî, ìVaraderoî, ìBella Costaî and the four tour operators will pop up, each with their own website of the hotel. Ourís was through World of Vacations.
Service:
Service at the hotel was hit & miss, not consistent. As North Americans, we are very spoiled by a high level of customer service. Customer service as we know it is non-existent in Cuba. This is not to say that you wonít meet some very nice people. We certainly did. Itís just a different way of doing things. We had very little to complain about. One has to accept what is different and enjoy the fact that it makes you appreciate what you have at home more. Cuba offers tons to see and do and incredibly beautiful beaches. Focus on what it does have. Furthermore, it has to be really tough for the staff to wait on some of these tourists. I saw more than my share of people who were demanding and obnoxious and some who thought that if they werenít drunk for a good chunk of each day, they werenít getting their ìall-inclusiveî moneyís worth. There are people who just leave their good behaviour at home. They figure that nobody will see them again so they act as they please and this has got to be hard for staff to have to deal with. If youíre respectful and polite, theyíll soon see that youíre NOT one of ìthoseî tourists.
We have lots of pics online of the Bella Costa Resort and of Havana (mostly the old town).
Our pics can be seen at:
http://community.webshots.com/user/vancouverboy
Derek
Hi all,
I wanted to make a correction to my 6/6/02 posting. In my comments about the beach, I mentioned that at the Melia hotels, you cannot access any other beach area other than the Melia's private 2 strips of beach. It is true that the golf course separates the Melia from the rest of the beach west of the Melia complex but I've just been told by a friend who was there that apparently you can access the rest of Varadero beach to the east of the Melia complex. That same friend told me that the food at the Melia was amazing so although I'd looked at the menus and they didn't look that great, apparently the food is really good. The Melias are both five stars and quite expensive but after the food experience we had in Varadero, I would only go back to pay the extra and stay at the Melia with this being the case. Again, the food at the Bella Costa wasn't awful and the selection was good. The problem is that they don't have or don't use (or both) any seasonings or spices in their food so their just isn't much flavour. With some seasonings & spices and a good chef, good food would be easy to make and apparently, this is what the Melia hotels must have. So, trust me please! Spend the extra and then you'll have it all. The fantastic location of Varadero, charming people, phenomenal weather and good food! As I said before, feel free to e-mail me with any questions: derekgagnier@telus.net
Bon Voyage and bon appetit!
Derek
P.S. Lastly, we had the most wonderful travel agent book our trip. For you Vancouverites, book your trip through Cheng-Khim at the Flight Centre on Davie Street and you will be glad you did. We had originally planned on the Dominican Republic and after research what seemed like a thousand hotels and bugging Cheng-Khim by phone, it turned out that we couldn't get the flight for the time that we wanted so we had to scrap the Domincan Republic and start all over with Varadero. She was SO patient and pleasant and went through it all again with us.
Derek Gagnier
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