Ocean Varadero El Patriarca

Been to Cuba 25 times, First time to this resort, Most definitely the worst resort I have ever been to. Seems if you don't upgrade these days the food and drink is bottom of the barrel. 5 star, I think not, Maybe 2 Star is a better rating. I also stayed in block 31. Internet worked great until I got to my room.

A special shout out to Andy from customer services. I was worried about my daughter's well being, called from Canada and he helped her guiding to doctor and getting the medication needed. Impressed with his excellent customer service! Muchas gracias!

Heres what bothered me the most about this resort. The lobby area is a great place to sit and enjoy a coffee. But if you dont smoke, you will not be able to sit in that area. I am shocked how many people were smoking even though the signs said no smoking. The whole area stinks of smoke. It gets worse in the evening. Rooms, the beds are the original, you can feel the hard springs on your back sheets do not get changed. There was blood on the sheets and they were not changed. Bring extra towel because they dont get changed either. The food is very high carbs so if your diabetic keep this in mind. The bathroom had a strong urine smell. I don't know if cleaners have disinfected cleaners. We did have hot water and air conditioning worked well Drinks consists of powders the cappuccinos are good but taste watered down As for this hotel being a 5 star, no way.

We arrived knowing that Cuba had recently had 2 hurricanes and an earthquake. With that , We were pleased with the resort , the majority of vacationers are friendly , and the staff went out of their way to make our vacation wonderful. I must commend the staff members that went above and beyond. Since we stayed in the Elegance section , I will start with them …… Our concierges Joli and Roxanne were there for us throughout our stay. At the Elegance a la carte , we were served by a wonderful staff of Mulan , Edianys , Lianet , Jorge , Gerardo ( our wonderful chef ) , and, Carmela . At the Elegance pool bar we were served by the knowledgeable bartenders Roberto , Henry and Alex . Also , in the piano bar , Anily was an insightful , knowledgeable bartender who taught me much about Rum and how it works with cigars ! She is an amazing person ! The staff at Mike’s coffee shop poured the best coffees , the cold version of the Il Patriarca is the absolute best coffee drink . The A La Carte restaurants were really good . Our Air Transat rep , Janel ( spelling may be off , sorry ) was so helpful when we booked our Havana trip , his help getting in the trip , and tidbits of information for the day were helpful . We thank him for a great experience ! We were alotted a 20 minute massage with our package. Now I do not know the name of the wonderful female masseuse , but the male masseuse was Adrian . They were both amazing and definitely knew their art of massage . The person that took care of our room , Dania , was there to be sure we had everything we needed . There was always bottled water , toilet paper , and our room was always clean . The water was hot whenever we showered . The rooms actually have a screen with the patio door , not something we usually enjoy and it was a bonus to have. I want to address the concerns people have had about travelling to Cuba . The only power loss we had , was a mere 3 hour afternoon shut down , when the main electrical plant had a shut down and they needed to shut down the resort power while repairs were done on the grid , but it was not an issue. The food was not an issue , we ate well , and as much as some things were not available at times , they were available at other times ( beef is an example ) . We had eggs all but one day . We do not expect top quality when we travel to Cuba , but , we were fed well and were not hungry , that is all you need when you are away . The alcohol was all top shelf ! To give a quick evaluation of our stay , we were not ready to leave after two weeks, we wanted to stay ! Also , we will return to this resort ! It was our first time there , it will no be the last , we loved it !

We just returned from a 2 week all-inclusive vacation from Canada to Cuba, staying in the Valentin el Patriarca resort. Although identified as a 5 star resort, it is far from that given the current conditions in this resort and Cuba overall. The resort itself is quite dated and requires significant improvements as we had issues with doors not locking adequately, shower nozzles not working properly, cold or barely warm showers, limited AC, wifi not working in the rooms, etc. Probably the most dissatisfying was the poor quality of food in both the buffet and restaurants. This may be resultant from the poor Cuban economy or the recent hurricanes, however when we did a side trip to Havana, the food in the restaurants was noticeably better. Above all the criticisms I have of this resort, the staff were exceptionally good, as they were always friendly, having a smile and willing to do anything to help or improve our stay. Given that this resort is part of a multi-national company, I would expect that the facilities could be upgraded to a better standard than they currently are. I would not return to this resort, even if I have to pay extra for more reliable conditions in another resort. This is in no way reflective of the great service that we received from the staff.