|
Superclub Breezes Varadero 12/18/2003
Reviewers Rating:  Excellent
I stayed at Superclubs Breezes Varadero Dec6-13 2003. I am a 28 year old woman, travelling alone. This was my third trip to Cuba, and my second to Varadero. Overall i had a good time, despite the fact that the weather wasn't great.
Check-in: Ckeck in was easy and quick. I arrived at 11pm and was in my room 15 minutes later.
Room: My room was in the building with the disco. Although i didn't pay for an ocean view, i had a beautiful view of the beach from my second floor room. I also looked out onto the Tuxpan and Bella Costa hotels. The room was clean and well equiped. There was a hairdryer in the bathroom, TV with about 30 channels, iron and ironing board, safe, CD player and coffee maker (with coffee replenished daily). I also had a large private balcony. Although my room was in the building with the disco, the disco was well insulated for sound and i never heard the music at night. However, the outdoor shows from the hotel next door in the evening were very loud.
Grounds - the grounds of the hotel were expansive, but well maintained. The gardens were beautiful and well manicured. The lighting at night was a little sparse, but i always felt safe.
Food: The buffet was typical of all cuban all inclusives. The selection was good, and there were different entrys each evening. Not to miss is the seafood night with and endless supply of lobster, cream fo lobster soup, mussels and other delicious seafood. Breakfast was always good with the most delicious fresh squeezed orange juice and great cappucinos. The omelette bar was terrific and lots of fresh fruit. For lunch, i usually ate at the beach grill which served delicious hambergers, hotdogs, salads, rice, and chicken. The grill was close to the beach and i would take my food to the beach to eat in the sun. The buffet at lunch was limited, however they always had delicious icecream at lunch for which i would make a special trip each afternoon.
There were 3 a la carte restaurants for which you had to make special reservations at the front desk. I quickly discovered that there were no reservations available for the entire week. Aparently it was filled by people staying 2 weeks or by people who had travel agents that made the reservations for them ahead of time. The second to last day i discovered that despite being told that there were no reservations available, there were always empty tables and if you just gave a few dollars to the hostess you could easily get a table. I ate one night at Martino's (italian restaurant), and it was fantastic. Definitely worth the few dollars; the food and service was excellent even by North American standards, and the best i've had in Cuba. I didn't try the other 2 a la cartes.
Bars: There were several bars at the hotel. The beach bar (not actually on the beach, a few minutes walk), pool bar (poolside and close to the buffet), lobby/piano bar (great late at night - see below), and bars outside each of the a la carte restaurants. The drinks were good quality and contained lots of rum (not watered down). They also had many premier liquors that you could have if requested. They made all the standard drinks (mojitos, rum punch, Ron Collins, cuba libra, etc). Also not to be missed was the spanish coffee - delicious after dinner. The pool bar was a popular place before and after dinner and after the show. Later in the evening the excitement went to the piano bar. At the piano bar they had a pianist 3 nights/week who would play songs from a list. They have books so you can sing along. It's a bit campy, but after a few drinks everyone was singing along to favorites like "copacabana" and "piano man"
Beach -- Varadero beach is beautiful and Breezes is on one of the nicest parts of the beach. Unfortunately the beach was closed for half the week because of rough water. One guy at the hotel broke his let when he fell in the water because of the waves. The days the beach was open the water was beautiful and calm. The beach is cleaned daily and well maintained. There was never a shortage of beach chairs. Always a lifeguard on duty. There are very few vendors and they do not harass you like they do in other countries. There was also a volleyball net on the beach and balls could be signed out from the towel hut by the beach bar.
Pool - there is only 1 pool, although it is very large. The water in the pool was freezing cold (even by canadian standards). I was only in the pool once the entire week. They gave us wet suits for the scuba lessons in the pool because it was so cold!
Other facilities - there was a gym that was large and well maintained with lots of free weights and some old weight machines. Juan Carlos was the guy in charge of the gym and was available 2 hours a day, alhtough i think the gym was open 24hrs. There was aerobics every day at 6pm. There was also a massage therapist ($25/hr), sauna, showers in the gym. There were 2 tennis courts, and aparently they offered free group lessons, although i never saw the instructors. There was a small basketball court, and 2 volleyball courts (one on the beach, and one behind the buffet), a games room (2 pool tables, ping pong, tv, video games)
Activities - There was an activities team, and althoguh they were very nice (i got to know a few of them very well), they did not work very hard organizing activities. There was volleyball daily at 10:30 which was fun, bingo at 3:30 and dance lessons at 4pm at the poolside. In between there wasn't a whole lot. There were a few cheesy games, but they didn't try very hard to get people involved and didn't put much effort into it.
Shows - The shows took place on a stage in the buffet. It wasn't a good venue, as only a few tables got a good view of the stage, and there was a lot of noise from people eating that distracted from the shows. The shows were similar to what i had seen at other hotels in Cuba. There was some annoying singers that kept reappearing at every show, some good dancing and a few funny skits that involved audience participation.
Disco - Big disappointment! The disco was always empty. The music was bad. Part of the reason for this may be that the entertainment staff from the hotel is not allowed to go to the disco, and so they encourage guests to go to other clubs in varadero (the cave, la rumba, mambo club, the continental ...) instead. Although these bars were a lot of fun, they cost $10-15/night (drinks included), plus transportation. It would have been nice to have enjoyed the disco on the hotel instead.
Other comments:
The fact that the hotel was adults only was very nice. I like children, but i've been at hotels before that are overrun with preadolescents that drive you crazy.
On travelling alone: this was my second trip to an all inclusive on my own. I found lots of other people travelling alone(maybe because there was no single supplement at this hotel), and i never felt alone.
Overall this hotel is very well maintained with great facilities and above average food (for cuba). It would be better if there were more activities, a bar closer to the beach, a better stage for the shows, a more happening disco, and more interested entertainment staff. I'd definitely go back to this hotel again!
Heather
|
