Hotel Los Cactus reviews
4164 TripAdvisor reviews
Honest Review
CathyE B on Jan 29, 2025
Honest review with + and - information. Was there for 3 weeks in January. I'm sorry if I hurt anyone's feelings but I have travelled extensively and don't wear rose colored glasses. I booked because of the overwhelming + reviews both on this page and tripadvisor. So I was not booking blind. I do have to say during the period I booked, apparently the hotel became a Cubacan (Cuban owned) instead of Be Live, so that could explain many issues. However, in all honesty, people leave + reviews mainly for staff, with which I wholeheartedly agree. I dropped about 400 US in tips so the staff was not a problem at all. The hotel itself is dated, not upkept, lacking basic items (not food), not well cleaned, dangerous broken pool, no working jacuzzi, sauna etc. Most issues could be fixed by more staff. The good....the staff, I don't think I've hugged more staff goodbye in my life and management does attempt to rectify issues brought to them. Massage service is fabulous and reasonable. Nice cat on site. The bad unfortunately outweighs the good by far. Food...it's Cuba, but there is absolutely no excuse for dinner items running out by 8 pm (when dinner opens at 7), 1 night I literally ate only rice. Many nights I skipped dinner entirely since lunch seemed to be better and I filled up there. Saw a German cockroach running over the desserts once...I threw it on the floor and killed it. Didn't see any others. Birds all over the buffet at breakfast...lets just say eating was not all they were doing. Also, why is there no soup, ever? Clientele...the time I was there our Russian friends outnumbered everyone by about 10/1. Almost every night there were fights at the bar. Pushy, rude, piling plates high with food that was not eaten, entitled, pretty much sums that up. I had a drunk Russian trying to sweet talk me and followed me around, slightly disconcerting. Probably has something to do with the government taking over the hotel. Beach staff were very pleasant, but the lifeguards spent most of the time on their phones and there was a black market where sales of contraband rum/cigars that occupied much of the time. The beach chairs were never offered to be placed by the staff (1st time I've encountered this-they lost much in tips), neither were the chairs lined up close to the entrance at night, just left all over the beach. Since the hotel states the beach is cleaned nightly, the sheer negligence would make this impossible and beach was often dirty, not what I would expect from Varadero beach. This is the hotel's issue as on my many walks, other hotels had their chairs lined up and staff waiting upon vacationers. Pool...this was the most dangerous issue as many filters in the bottom of the pool are missing and there are no steps into the pool, just 2 ladders leading to 1.25 meter depth. The steps that were there had been ripped out, leading to sharp hard plastic edges that could cut your feet open. 1 many time returnee swore up and down there were steps into the pool, until she got up to show me and was shocked. Rooms...very dated and not deeply cleaned although my attendant was extremely pleasant and accomodating. The bathroom windows were full of spider nests and you didn't want to look too closely under anything. King beds are lacking sheets so ingeniously they short sheet the bed using a combination of double sheets. I woke up many times on the bare mattress, which to my absolute horror was full of black mold. Upon discovery it was promptly changed, but I slept on black mold for several nights. Rooms are very large, A/C and mini fridge worked well, tv was hooked to an antenna so was really snowy. A couple of English channels and the rest, Spanish and Russian. Sunwing said there was a dedicated place to watch Canadian sports, another non-existant perk along with welcome cocktail, beach cleaned daily, breakfast room service. Restaurant Reservations...2 pm? 1 person taking reservations (who knew many people so chats extended the wait time)...no big loss though because for the first time the specialty restaurants were worse than the buffet. About 6 french fries were an appetizer...lol I only went 4 times in 3 weeks and I (squeaky wheel complainer) had a private reservation system offered by management. Alcohol/Mixers...Black Tears products...Havana Club very rarely...pretty much only rum, occasionally a bourbon. Imagine my surprise to find many other alcohols for sale in hotel store. Never anything else. Actually had club soda, so soda drinkers, load up with SodaStream mixers which will give you actual mixers for your drinks. Wine was on/off and decent when available. Coffee was just o.k., but I'm no coffee connoisseur. I think they had tea as well. Coffee was served several times in plastic cups because of a lack of coffee cups. Anyhow, I don't plan on returning although I would love to see the staff again, I like to get what I pay my hard earned dollars for. Obviously I'm not including negatives regarding Varadero, which is another thing entirely. Would not return to Varadero either.
It was relaxing
Sarah S on Jan 24, 2025
Just returned from los cactus spend amazing 2weeks The rooms excellent had amazing maid that looked after me a my son. Beach was amazing as always! Food was plentiful. Drinks plentiful. I love this resort because it's small and because I have a walking issue The staff r all amazing and they do there best to make u want to come back again and again. I'm making plans to return in late April or early May.
Fabulous stay
Kelly G on Jan 19, 2025
Amazing! We just returned from a fabulous one week stay at Los Cactus. First and foremost the amazing staff will bring us back again. Vladimir made sure we wanted for nothing. He makes himself available always. Pedro and Yanelys in the a la cartes are always waiting with a smile and a hug. The food in the a la cartes was very good. The new menu in the Mediterranean is great with a fantastic pizza included. Virgin in the buffet is right on top of getting the water and coffee and anything else you may need. Lazaro at the pasta station is a talented and friendly man we really appreciated our daily lunches from him. We also enjoyed deep fried cheese, sweet corn fritters and pulled pork sandwiches. Mabel at the coffee bar is a breath of sunshine and she makes a great spanish coffee. Damarys at the beach bar is always there to greet you with a smile. The beach was clean and soft white sand. The rooms are very spacious and cleaned well daily. We will return!
Old guys golf trip
508pedersen (Calgary, Canada) on Jan 18, 2025
Just got back from a weeks golf. Third time playing Varadero over the years. The course has a few conditioning problems but nothing a few preferred lies couldn’t take care off. The layout is spectacular and the Proshop, back shop and on course services are spot on. We played 6 rounds and all were played in four hours or less. For the price it is the best winter golf around. Special shoutout to Aberito in guest services. Very nice man. The resort is as clean as a whistle as were the rooms. The staff at the hotel is superb. The front desk ladies all spoke English and accommodated any of our requests promptly and with a smile. Our waiter was the best, always had a table ready for us along with a cold beer. In the evening we hung out mostly at the lobby cafe. The lady that tends the bar is a lot of fun and manages the drunks very nicely. Tough job to keep smiling when half of your customers are boorish humans. There is some criticism of the food, and to a degree truthful, however Cuba is facing many problems and food security in one of them. I think they did the very best they could with what they have to work with. None of us went hungry, and again, for what we paid I think we did ok. If there was one criticism it would be levied toward the guests from a certain Eastern European country. I actually felt sorry for the staff that were treated like servants with an empty tip jar. Don’t be afraid to go to Cuba. Appreciate where you are, enjoy the beach and the weather and leave a few dollars for the staff that really worked hard to make our trip as good as it was.
Relaxing and comfortable.
Norah M (Collingwood, Canada) on Jan 16, 2025
The room is quaint. Services is impeccable and the beach is really beautiful. I loved the dance lessons by the pool everyday too!! They pour the rum which makes it fun! The most important is the staff- so helpful, accommodating and so genuine! Friends have gone there for years!