We had originally booked a different hotel which turned out to be a complete disaster in every imaginable way. Our rep was excellent though and helped us to find another hotel the next day (quite a task during the christmas period!). We arrived at Brisas and were immediately enchanted. The grounds looked cared for, the staff friendly and helpful, our room spacious and clean, and the buffet was varied and fresh. Although the pool areas had a relaxing atmosphere we always went to the beach as we preferred swimming in the sea. Of course, there were a few little details which were less perfect but in the light that we were in a country where resources are truly scarce for obvious reasons, we had no complaints worth mentioning here. Christmas eve was brilliant. The staff team had gone out of their way to present the guests with an amazing buffet display, lobster and all. The entertainment did not quite cater for our needs as we wanted to meet and dance with local people and therefore went most nights to Varadero. Having talked to people staying at other hotels, I feel that Brisas was one of the better ones and would recommend it to my friends.

We arrived on the 18th of June and were staying for 2 weeks, the hotel does not have any air con only in your room if you are lucky that it works!! - there is air con in the hotel shops and also the telephone room.

The hotel it self needs a good refurb. The toilets in the reception area next to the piano bar always smelt of sewage, the night time entertainment was a load of rubbish most nights it was taking the mick out of the audience.

Then the food was always cold and there was the same old things each day, they never seemed to have the oven heaters on once the food came out.

The only thing I really enjoyed from the main buffet was the roast pork and then you had to wait ages for it as the chef cut it in front of you, but you had other guests jumping the Que and leaving him tips so, it seemed as thou you needed to tip to get good service which is wrong because I tip when they have given me good service, I never received this at this hotel.

The reception staff are not very helpful when we needed to get hold of our rep. the maids who cleaned the rooms seemed to work very hard and always did a good job on the room.

I would not go back to this hotel and would not recommend it to anyone, the only thing this hotel has got going for it is the pool area and the beach this hotel I would class as a 2 star no way near a 3 star.

i thought this hotel was a waste of money and it did spoil our holiday and did stress us out.

We stayed for one week following a first week tour. We were in the South Block. Rooms were a little worn eg: Bidet Nozzle was loose, curtains a little drab and air con either on or off. However the room was spotlessly maintained by Yari our maid who couldn't be faulted. The beds were comfortable and (most) of the time water was very hot and reliable. It did cloud over for the last few days so water temperature did drop in the rooms as the bulk is heated by solar power.

Staff and service in the South Block 24hr Cafe/Bar were excellent but a bit hit and miss in the North Block. The North Block is much busier and a little more impersonal than the South. The walk between the two blocks is about 100 yards through stunning grounds which are well maintained.

As commented food in the self service canteen was a bit repetitive, but so it is all over Cuba. Most meals had a very good salad selection and some seafood or fish avaiable. I would suggest you eat early for the best choice, sit in the same section each time to get to know the section waiters as they can tip you off as to the best choices. If you are there for two weeks then a few meals in the Al La Carte eateries would be essential. However booking these is a complicated lesson in Cuban organisation so we didn't bother.

Overall for the money good value. Not sure I would want 2 weeks there though!

Hotel was well worn. Maintenance consisted of a lick of paint here and there.

Staff couldn

This hotel is a good value for money hotel. We had been warned before we went that food would be an issue and all I can say is, its not brilliant but you won't starve. There is more than enough choice to please fussy eaters. Lots of fresh fruit at all meal times.

The grounds to the hotel are beautiful. The gardeners work extremely hard to keep them in tip top condition and it shows. There were two weddings whilst we were there and the flowers were outstanding.

Maids were in attendance every day with clean towels and sheets were changed every couple of days. There was always cleaners wandering around the complex and so it was spotless.

The hotel is at the better end of Varadero penninusla - or so we thought. There is a bus stop immediately at the front where you can get the Varadaro Tour bus for 5 CUCs. Good value for money.

All the staff at the hotel are very helpful and nothing is too much trouble for them. They really do want to please you and if you give them a tip (the norm being 1 peso) they are so grateful that it makes you feel very humble.

Would we visit the hotel/resort again - yes. For what you pay, its very good value for money.

Was not sure what to expect having read previous reviews. Pleasantly surprised - room (once we had made the point that we had paid for a sea facing room and not to be at the back of the complex looking at a pool) was spacious and clean. Could just about see the ocean, especially when hurricane Rita blew the trees about a bit!

I struggled some evenings to find food that was appetising (even my husband struggled and he has never been a fussy eater. Snack bars were good for during the day and there is a 24 hour snack bar in the South complex.

Not easy to get booked into a la carte restaurants whilst we were there as they are only open 3 or 4 evenings a week. Fantasia restaurant was very good.

Trip to Havana was well worth the money and we also did an evening catamaran trip where you are taken to a lovely deserted beach to watch the sunset and then given a typical Cuban meal.

The beach setting was lovely and watching the sunset as a couple of dolphins swam by was something not to be missed. The crew really looked after us and the meal that was laid on was very good - again well worth the money.

Hotel staff are very friendly and helpful.

All in all (apart from hurricane Rita stealing a day and a bit of our holiday) a very enjoyable time.

Departed July 20th on one of the new fleet of First Choice aircraft which turned out to be a fleet of one!

We were delayed by about an hour and eventually with a technical phrase of "Fingers Crossed" we departed. The flight was good and theres plenty to do with individual consoles for movies, music and games.

Heres a few pointers for anyone thinking of going:

The locals are very friendly but are poor and are unable to leave the island due to the communist regime.

Things that we take for granted such as pens, paper, toiletries, English/Spanish Phrase books, clothes, caps, old mobile phones if offered to them for services they are so pleased.

The Entertainment team are very good but lock up your eligable daughters as they will be attracted to their outgoing and friendly personalities!

Do not sunbathe or walk under coconut palms: My wife was nearly hit by one that fell out of a tree and landed a foot from her head. More people are killed by falling coconuts than by sharks!

The food is quite bland so if you are a fussy eater you may lose weight.

The drinks are served in very small plastic cups..a bit like being at a kids party....if you are lucky you may get a glass.

Take your own plastic beaker in a size that suits you......not a bucket though!

If you try the free, water skiing..be warned! Unless you are a reasonably good skier you will crash and burn. You get two strikes and then you are out!

They are only there one hour each Tuesday and Thursday and I think the boat driver used to fly an F-14 Tomcat in Top Gun because he really rocked my world. I had water dripping out of my nose for hours after!!

Our room was large, spacious but quite basic but was kept very clean.

There are no dangerous animals on Cuba but you will see loads of Lizards.

We did have a surreal liason with a frog which decided to enter our room through the toilet.

We came back from a night out and I went to the loo and found myself looking at this green face in the bottom of the pan.

After flushing it away we thought all was fine until the following night. I came and checked in the pan, then in the bathroom. I pulled the shower curtain back and I am ashamed to say, screamed like a girl when it jumped on to my head and onto the floor.

The girls thought it was hilarious until I released it outside their room and they were in a state of panic as they tried to get their key in the door!

Make sure your air conditioning works because the temperature doesnt vary much around 30 degrees.

Well I think that is all for now.......we had a relaxing time and the girls really enjoyed themselves.

The best of it was the First Choice fleet of one Boeing 767 had a technical problem.....I think the pilot had uncrossed his fingers... and became stranded in Mexico..so we had an extra day and night which wasn't so bad.

Steve and Michelle Collins

Departed July 20th on one of the new fleet of First Choice aircraft which turned out to be a fleet of one!

We were delayed by about an hour and eventually with a technical phrase of "Fingers Crossed" we departed. The flight was good and theres plenty to do with individual consoles for movies, music and games.

Heres a few pointers for anyone thinking of going:

The locals are very friendly but are poor and are unable to leave the island due to the communist regime.

Things that we take for granted such as pens, paper, toiletries, English/Spanish Phrase books, clothes, caps, old mobile phones if offered to them for services they are so pleased.

The Entertainment team are very good and your teenagers will love them. Be warned we had lots of tears at the end.

Do not sunbathe or walk under coconut palms: My wife was nearly hit by one that fell out of a tree and landed a foot from her head. More people are killed by falling coconuts than by sharks!

The food is quite bland so if you are a fussy eater you may lose weight.

The drinks are served in very small plastic cups..a bit like being at a kids party....if you are lucky you may get a glass.

Take your own plastic beaker in a size that suits you......not a bucket though!

If you try the free, water skiing..be warned! Unless you are a reasonably good skier you will crash and burn. You get two strikes and then you are out!

They are only there one hour each Tuesday and Thursday and I think the boat driver used to fly an F-14 Tomcat in Top Gun because he really rocked my world. I had water dripping out of my nose for hours after!!

Our room was large, spacious but quite basic but was kept very clean.

There are no dangerous animals on Cuba but you will see loads of Lizards.

We did have a surreal liason with a frog which decided to enter our room through the toilet.
We came back from a night out and I went to the loo and found myself looking at this green face in the bottom of the pan.
After flushing it away we thought all was fine until the following night. I came and checked in the pan, then in the bathroom. I pulled the shower curtain back and I am ashamed to say, screamed like a girl when it jumped on to my head and onto the floor.

The girls thought it was hilarious until I released it outside their room and they were in a state of panic as they tried to get their key in the door!

Make sure your air conditioning works because the temperature doesnt vary much around 30 degrees.
we had no problems with ours.

The staff in general were very helpful and polite we did tip after our evening meal but only 2 cuc which they were very grateful with.

We stayed at the Brisas Del Caribe in Varedaro, Cuba. The resort overall was beautiful. We enjoyed a nice walk around the gardens in the evenings with a cold drink. The building is a little on the simple side but clean. We had a room on the first floor, ocean view although we couldn't see anything but palm trees when we looked out. We only used the room to change and sleep so this didn't bother us at all. The al a carte restaurants were good. The buffet was different. My husband ates lots, tried a number of different foods of which some he liked more than others. Although I found enough to eat and never felt hungry, I was a little more picky about what I ate. The ice cream I must say is to die for. Eat lots of ice cream. The buffet offered indoor or outdoor sitting. They also had a 24 hour snack bar, little restaurant were you could order pizza, burgers, fries etc. If you have to leave before a meal is served, I recommend you stop by the snack bar and have a good meal before heading to the airport. The beach was lovely. There are a few pools of which one pool had afternoon entertainment each day. The entertainment staff was amazing. Some of the night time shows were very funny. All the staff were just wonderful. We met with our Air Transmit Rep for one hour when we first arrived and she gave us wonderful tips. All of which we used to really get the most out of our trip. We took a taxi into Varedaro for some shopping and site seeing and took an Air Transmit tour into Havanna one day. The tour guide they provided gave us alot of history about Cuda in a very fun and entertaining way. We plan on returning to the same resort next year.

we got married in this hotel. The brochure gives a very animated picture of the hotel. On arrival, we were allocated "the best rooms" as we were getting married. They were stinking dirty and if you could lean over the balcony on tip-toes you could just see the sea! We eventually got moved to a different room, which was clean and airy. The wedding itself was amazing, and the coordinator couldn't do enough to help.
The main let down was the food - cold and bizarre. The a la carte was poor and the buffet was a repetition of the night before. The drink was free flowing though and the beaches were amazing. For a no frills all-inclusive holiday, this is ok, but if you want 4 star luxury - don't bother.