TripAdvisor Traveler Rating

Before I begin, this review is my experience and may differ from others as everyone has different wants and nesds while on vacation. I always try to write the most honest review so there are no surprises for those who may depend on them to book. First, we booked through redtag.ca and it was a Westjet vacation package. I am so glad I did NOT book direct with Westjet as I doubt I would have made my trip as westjet did not arrive at my airport to pick people up, and there was no attempt to contact me either. Me and my spouse sat on the phone for a total of 11 hours trying to get through. Thank God redtag worked miracles to get us to Varadero because westjet could have cared less. We lost 1.5 days of our long awaited Family Christmas vacation. But lets get to the resort. We arrived 10:30pm, it was crazy windy. We were exhausted and hungry. No decent snacks. our choice was a bun with a slice of ham and cheese, thats it. no ice, no mix for drinks. Ok whatever we had granola bars in our suitcase. Our room was upgraded to third floor facing pool by the very nice desk lady. . Our room was very tired and worn, the curtains ragged and half of their hooks which is an easy fix, maybe do it? No plug in for hot irons in the bathroom, no plug in near a mirror so, on my own trying to style my hair, I just said screw it and kept it in a bun the whole trip. Beds are never comfy so no surprise there. The room was clean, thats the important part. The room attendant was great, she did a good job, no complaints. Nothing in the mini fridge, no sodas no juice and you get one bottle of water per day but you can have them refilled at the bars. The country is suffering due to sanctions and the aftermath of Covid, I understand, but, no reason not to spruce up the rooms with clean and hung curtains and repaint the furniture, maybe invest in new blankets. Things to bring for room: hand soap, mirror to do hair, 2 ply toilet tissue (but do not put that in the toilet) Snacks, good size water bottles, dollar store hangars. Food: same, mediocre, we survived on eggs and toast. Christmas buffet was really nice, they did a good job. Just dont expect a lot on regular days. Also watch the grill people who cook meat, make sure they do not touch the cooked meat with the raw before they give it to you. Most notably chicken. Say something if it happens or you might spend your vacation in the bathroom. We don't drink alcohol so our experience will be different than those who like to socially drink and have fun. I cannot comment on the booze for this reason. We were in bed early and up early. The grounds were in the process of grooming and looked amazing the day we left. The groundskeepers work hard, please acknowledge them. Most staff were friendly, some not, who knows what they are going through. Things are tough right now in Cuba, always remember its a communist country and the government owns everything. Beach is nice, stay to the left, its not rocky. The pools are nice. We liked both and enjoyed both. I was torn about ever returning, on the one hand, I want to support the people as I know these vacations help put food on the table but on the other, this is my and my family vacation that we worked hard to save for, I dont want to worry about some of these things. My mind was made up when I opened my suitcase after touching down at Pearson, EVERYTHING had been opened and nothing put back. Jewelry out of its zipped case all over the bottom, shampoo bottles, nail polish remover, everything out of its plastic protective cases and splayed in my suitcase. clothing bags torn open and everything scattered all over. My suitcase was a stew of everything I had and there not a tiny attempt to put anything back or close things that could spill and cause damage. I know this isnt how its done in Canada, your are notified when your suitcase has been searched via a sticker and they seal items as close to how they found them. This ransacking was done at the Varadero airport which made my up my mind to never return to Cuba. After spending thousands there over the years, bringing small needed gifts, school supplies and tipping just about everyone, this is how the country treats my property? I wont be returning. Good luck to all the staff and good people at this resort, I see you

I wanna return this 2026 'cause I enjoyed so much its activities,I was alone however I was celebrating all the time. The staff so nice

I lived a beautiful week when I was in Cuba. I wish to turn next year with my lovely family. The staff was helpful and lovely.

I passed the Best days in Cuba Last month when my family and I arrived from Havana to this hotel. We enoyed this New experiencia. Thanks Hotel staff for everything: marvelous service

We stayed at the Iberostar Origin Playa Alameda from December 7 to 14 and here are some of my thoughts on the resort. Lets start with the postives. This is a fairly compact resort so you are never far from anything. The beach is beautiful and the pool was kept clean. Low occupancy meant there were a lot of available loungers and palapas at the beach and pool. It really was wonderful to sleep in, go to the beach mid-morning, and have your choice of places to relax. It has been a while since I didn’t need to play the towel game. Our original assigned room had a couple of issues, so went to the front desk and were given a better room. Clean, great air conditioning, lots of hot water and a relatively comfortable bed. The staff at the resort are all friendly and helpful. The grounds are well kept. I quite enjoyed the entertainment. They had some very talented singers and bands. Here are some areas where they could make some improvements. The food in the buffet is very repetitive with most of the exact same choices every day. Lunch and dinner most days were identical. The majority of days they would be frying some type of fish that I was not crazy about. I think I only saw chicken at the buffet once. The snack bar had a very limited menu with only ham and cheese sandwiches most days, and occasionally chicken salad sandwiches. I never saw french fries, pizza or hot dogs, and only once saw a burger. All things that seem to be standard at most Cuban resorts. And a first for me in over 20 trips to Cuba, none of the bars had any Cola for the entire week. The resort could also benefit from an added bar, maybe a sports bar. Unless the entertainment was in progress or the disco was open, the lobby bar was the only place to have a drink in the late afternoon and evening, and it was quite boring. The cigar bar is not part of the all-inclusive. I was told you can not enter unless you are purchasing cigars or wine. This is something not made apparent on the Sunwing website. When evaluating this resort, I need to consider the low price we paid for this holiday and the value for dollar spent, and this resort delivers in this regard. Overall despite some of the shortcomings, we really did had a wonderful relaxing week.