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Iberostar Varadero 04/28/2005
Reviewers Rating:  Excellent
Iberostar Varadero
Four of us stayed at the Iberostar Varadero from March 31st to April 14th, 2005 and loved every minute of it. This was the first time we stayed with the Iberostar chain and it will not be the last.
Property: Very beautiful. It will be amazing in another year once the vegetation grows in. The property is lit up very nicely. You can see very clearly walking at night. You always see gardeners working during the day. I would think they will be building a boardwalk from the property to the beach, as it would be much easier to walk on rather than the sand. The resort is very easy to get around; the layout is well thought out. Everything is near by. The a la cartes and buffet are located away from the lobby, which is nice.
Pool: The pool is beautiful. It was big enough that you never felt crowded. They also have two other smaller pools if you want to be alone. Nice touch. All the details around the pool make it beautiful.
Room: We booked the junior suite which, in my opinion, is worth the little extra cost. The room has sleeping and sitting areas. The location of the junior suites is the best feature. You are situated along/overlooking the beach. We were lucky enough to have a nice ocean view. Even if you don’t get an ocean view, you can still hear the waves. The bathroom is the nicest we have seen. There is a separate glass shower and soaker style bath tub. The toilet and bidet are on the other side of the bathroom in a little room. There is also a hair dryer that works very well and a magnified mirror attached to the wall. Nice little touch.
Beach: Wow, beautiful! We are beach people and we enjoyed the beach every day. We never had trouble getting a hut for shade, but if you wait until after 8am, you may not find one. Keep in mind that the resort was fully booked when we were there. They were building more sun shelters, so there should not be a shortage in the near future. We did take a stroll through the Paradisis Varadero and the property looked beautiful. I did find the sand in front of the IV finer and than the Paradisis. IV has a beautiful beach. You can walk for miles and the sand is excellent for walking.
Tipping: We tipped with clothing and money and the staff happily accepted. Not sure what all the controversy was, but there was no problem at all with tipping.
Service: Absolutely amazing. One time we had four people waiting on our table. The waiters were always available if you needed anything. We were all very impressed with the service throughout the resort both weeks we were there.
Money exchange: Changing money from Canadian to Convertible Pecos was very easy and convenient. You can change your money right at the airport only paying the conversion rate from Canadian to CP (US). There was no service charge there. You can also change it at the hotel, but they do charge a minimal fee. The banks do not charge the service fee either. When you leave Cuba, you may change your money from CP to Canadian at the airport with no problems at all.
Courtesy room: They had two showers by the porter’s room with the luggage. The reception desk gave you towels to use. There were four of us and we had no problem getting the rooms. Nice offer for those late flights home.
Excursions: We did two excursions. One was the overnight trip to Havana. The second was the catamaran, snorkeling and swimming with the dolphins. They were both worth every penny. We were picked up at the hotel for the overnight in Havana at 8am, did the day tour with lunch included, dropped off at the five star Melia Havana, had supper there, picked up at 9pm and taken to the Tropicana show. Wow, we have never seen anything like it. You were then taken back to the hotel for the night, then breakfast in the morning, picked up at 10am, then had the day to yourself in Old Havana. They showed you where the bus would be at 3pm to go back to Varadero. The whole two days felt like a dream. If you are considering this excursion, don’t hesitate. Be sure to take the horse and carriage tour around the city. The second week we did the catamaran. The weather was beautiful and the catamaran was huge. We thoroughly enjoyed the day. We also took the double decker bus into Varadero for $5 CP return. The park is very nice in Varadero and the markets are fun. Worth the trip.
Overall: We highly recommend the Iberostar Varadero to anyone. There was a nice mixture of families, singles and couples. The highlights of the IV are the beach, staff and service. Having been in customer service, you always know if employees are treated well by the smiles on their face, and there wasn’t one face without a smile from ear to ear. Thank you Iberostar for such a great vacation.
Linda
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