We returned last Friday from two fabulous weeks at the Solymar and, having re-read one or two of the other recent reviews, can't help but wonder whether certain of the reviewers actually stayed at the same hotel! If they did, the only explaination for their thoughts and comments must be that they set higher standards than are reasonable!!

Overall, the hotel is arguably the best we've stayed in (having travelled to Turkey, Malta, Zante, Bulgaria, Cyprus and Bahamas in recent years) given it's situation, the staff, the pools, the food and the entertainment.

Sure, the food in the main buffet restaurant did get repetitive but, frankly, what do you expect on a typical package holiday? If you want absolute variety over a fortnight, pay the extra few thousand pounds and book something else! There was ample choice every meal - those who've moved on from Majorca/the Canaries could still have their chips every night if they wanted! - the food was always hot and edible and there was no sign of any other than the very occasional fly travelling solo. Sure, if you opted to eat outside for lunch, you might find the occasional fly couple looking for lunch but, hey, YOU'RE OUTSIDE!

The a la carte restaurants provided some variety in terms of venue but you could only book each of these once a week. The Italian was good - although strange that they had paper napkins here with cloth napkins in the buffet restaurant! - and the Cuban superb. In fairness, the Sea Food restaurant was not so good and we opted not to eat there twice.

Lunchtime snacks were fine at the poolside bars but more extensive in the main buffet restaurant. When all's said & done, it's hot so one rarely wants a slap up meal midday!

Entertainment was better and more varied than you'd expect although, as you would expect, is repeated in week two. The shows in the very air conditioned theatre were admittedly a bit tacky but colourful and good fun and the entertainers did, well, entertain. Ware ballet show in the second pool was especially good and different from the norm. Again, don't go there expecting top acts such as you'd see at the London Paladium but instead accept that it's all good fun and you're on holiday!

The pools were great, cleaned every day, well maintained and very safe given that they were no deeper than 80cm or so at any point! Don't understand any of the comments regarding cleanliness (sand, cups, etc). IF this were so, it'd only be because the guests didn't bother showering after leaving the beach before dipping in the pool or couldn't be bothered to put their plastic cups in the bin when they'd finished their drink. Both pools had showers right next to them and very many bins close by. We did find in fairness that a lot of people would finish their drink and then just leave the empty cup to blow around rather than walking the few feet to the nearest receptical!

The beach at Varadero is fantastic. Clean, safe, beautifully clear water, usual pedaloes, banana boat, small catamarans, kayaks, etc. Can't fault it.

Varadero itself is OK if a little 'plastic' given that it has developed for the tourist industry. However, the Solymar is within walking distance of downtown Varadero so much better positioned than many other hotels further down the peninsula.

Golf course is really good and worth a round!

Staff we found to be very friendly and helpful, especially in the main buffet restaurant - in particular Eber, Anna, an older chap with grey hair and a girl who reminded us of Sandra Bullock - but also at the reception and the Horizontes Bar. Not so happy with the staff at the La Dunas bar beside the second pool who were clearly giving better service to those who tipped! We didn't tip anyone until we left when we 'rewarded' those who had served us most often and with a ready smile.

Finally, the room. We had a Bungalow Suite which boasted two floors and was situated within a few yards of the second pool. We loved it. Yes, we too had one or two air-con issues - which were quickly resolved by the hotel staff - and a couple of minor leaks but nothing to spoil the holiday. Whatever issues we had were responded to quickly and effectively by a combination of the excellent First Choice rep and the hotel staff.

Overall, we will return one day since the Solymar is a much better than average venue. Go with an open mind, don't expect 7 Star luxury and silver service but a clean, picturesque, 4/5 star resort & hotel.

Some people who write reports on here have to realise that Cuba is a developing country in the Caribbean. Of course, the food is not going to be great and there is no way of stopping flies coming into the restaurent. It is all part of the experience.

I had a great time! The hotel was a large and clean complex and the beach was fantastic! The entertainment in the evening and daytime was also good. Staff always friendly and want to help!

A great holiday! Would recommend it to anyone!

We stayed here for 2 weeks at the beginning of July and found the resort lovely. This is our second visit to Cuba and what we experienced here was much better than before.

The hotel itself was kept very clean at all times. You would always see cleaners and garden staff throughout the day and all were extremely friendly and did not expect any tips.

The waiters at the lobby bar especially would go out of their way to see you had enough drinks and replaced empty glasses without you having to ask. It would be a good idea if you would take your own plastic drink cups as the ones you receive during the day are quite small, in the evening however, you have glasses.


The food in the hotel was very good for Cuba. There was plenty to choose from especially in the mornings. on a couple of occasions the meat from the hot plates were not cooked but this did not happen all the time. The ala carte restaurants were lovely. We would recommend the Italian out of all of them. the Cuban one was also good however, we did not try the sea food one as we had heard it was not that good.

The location of the hotel is brilliant, you are so close to a strip of bars that it is only a short walk or a small bike ride away.

We would recommend that you hire out the bikes as they are a lot of fun. If you wanted a change from the hotel food there is a lovely restaurant just round the corner from the hotel. You can get lobster for 10 peso! it is lovely!! Another place outside of the hotel that we would recommend would be bar 62! they play live salsa music and all the locals dance in the street. You should definitely go and see it. You do not feel intimidated at all when you are out the Cuban people are so friendly.

The hotel staff are lovely and go out of their way to see that you are enjoying your holiday. Raul and Victor in the lobby bar were brilliant. victors 'surprise me' cocktails were strong but very nice!

We did not see any hotel entertainment in our stay mainly because we stayed in the looby bar where a piano plays and we went out on to the strip, but what we heard from other people was that it was good and mainly round one of the pools.

Some advice would be to take plenty of repellent as a few people had to have medical treatment whilst we were out there for bites. apart from that go out there with an open mind as we did not find it half as bad as what some of the reviews had to say.

We would definitely go back to this hotel in the near future.

The Barcelo Solymar Hotel was an absolute let down from start to finish, we moved rooms 3 times during our stay due to our ceiling leaking, the balcony door falling off and 1 room was dirty and dingy.

The food was disgraceful either cold, under cooked or burnt they couldn't get it quite right for some reason. Not that it was appealing to eat there anyway as the restaurants were swarmed with flies and mosquito's, also birds would peck and poop on the food which was on display infront of you and staff would do nothing about it.

The pool never got cleaned it was always full of sand and cups etc.

80% of the staff were useless very ignorant, all they want is tips from you, they don't seen to understand your all inclusive people don't carry money all the time.

Very dissapointed. Food awful, biggest problem cold at any time of the sittings, very repetative.

Pool side bar /resturant excellent, italian excellent
Las Dunas (dont even go there)every person who ate there was ill ?

Lobby bar staff very ignorant at all times plus lack of tables not really big enough. Entertainment on to late I am not a miz but the time after eating and no where to get a drink etc made it a pain.

Piano bar so dull and drab plus again lack of seats
been to a few Caribbean hols and this has to be the worst.

Poor hotel really only 2/3 star.

Beach fantastic but be early for umbrellas. Book well in advance for Catamarans.

Pool ok not very deep but well safe.

Wouldn`t go back there again!

The hotel is advertised as a 4*, 5* in some brochures. I think the rating is about right, its a good 4* hotel.

We stayed in the Bungalow suites which are huge, it's well worth paying the extra for the bungalows which are located away from the main hotel block and closer to the beach and pool areas.

The pools are large and rarely busy. My only moan about the pools were they were quite shallow, only 80cm at the deepest point. Pool bars were excellent, serving a good variety of different snacks and drinks. Service could be a little slow at times, but who cares when you're on hols!

The beach bar and main buffet restaurant served a good selection of main meals although the soups were sometimes quite bland and cold. No major complaints food wise though, it was generally good with a decent selection. The Italian restaurant was very good, the fish restaurant good. We didn't try the Cuban one! The 24 hour main lobby bar was quite busy at night which meant tables were difficult to find at times.

Evening entertainment in the theatre was good, but repeated the second week.

Overall, I spent 2 good weeks at this hotel and would go back again.

The location is excellent and the beach lovely (just not very good for snorkeling, no habitat features, just sand, sand and more sand!).

This Hotel is wonderful , very close to town so no taxi rides , beach is out of this world.

Staff are great and the food was a pleasent surprise, pools were very good and hotel very clean , would go back tomorrow.

This accommodation was graded 5 star, but we very much felt this wasn't the case.

Unfortunately we found the food, accomodation and facilities on site were very low par.

The food was terrible in the buffet restaurant and the meals were very cold all the time. It also had birds flying in the restaurant pecking at the bread etc!

The sunbeds provided by the poolside were broken and unsafe and the pool was dirty and had broken tiles.

We obtained a bad leak in our hotel room due to heavy rain, the staff were very unhelpful in this matter!

We were very disappointed with our holiday especially as this was our honeymoon!

All I can say about the food on offer in the buffet restaurant was disgusting I ate chips and bread for 2 weeks as that is all that appealed to me. The sea food a la carte restaurant was swarming with mosquitoes,the Cuban restaurant was ok and the Italian was good. We had to sneak into Italian as always booked up. I wonder why??

The beach was out of this world and so was the weather.

The staff are generally miserable especially reception staff. They charged me twice for a phone call to england and under no circumstances were they going to refund me.

Entertainment did not exist apart from Cuban dancing for half an hour at 10pm. No disco just a room with multi-coloured lights

Hi all. Just returned after a 2 week stay, with my wife, at the BRILLIANT BARCELO SOLYMAR in sunny Varadero, Cuba.

Having read some of the other reviews we went with an open mind and can honestly say this was probably the best holiday we've had.

The hotel itself is very large and is kept in a high standard, except for the swimming pools which need a bit of maintainance work to get them up to scratch. But who needs a swimming pool when the hotel is situated right on one of the best beaches I have seen. The other major point for this hotel over others on the varadero beach is it's short walk to the town of Varadero.

We stayed in one of the Bungalows in the complex and we weren't disapointed. The room was lovely and big, air-conditioning that really did the job and comfortable beds.

We both found the majority of the staff to be very helpful and welcoming and got to know quite a few. Before anybody starts to wonder, yes tipping is gratefully received but I never found it to be EXPECTED. We gave the room maid 1 Convertible Peso every day as the room was always cleaned to a higher than expected standard and she created some beautiful BATH TOWEL displays.(Go, and you'll see what I mean!!)

The only semi-complaint would probably be the strange choice of food that was offered in the buffet restaurants. I'm not saying you won't be able to find something you like but it's the strange type of dishes they offer at certain times of the day. But you also have a selection of 3 A La Carte Restaurants, one offering sea food, one Cuban and one Itallian.

Would I go again? YOU BET