TripAdvisor Traveler Rating

I stayed at Arenas Blancas from Feb 7-14, 2026. This is not a hotel I would have chosen as I am used to higher end hotels. My partner went for two weeks and I joined him the second week so he chose the hotel. I will also note that the Canadian airlines shut down flights to Cuba on Feb 9th due to the oil and food shortages from the Trump embargo so the hotel was at, I am guessing, around 20% capacity. The beach was beautiful, location great if you want access to Varadero shops etc. The cleaning staff and bartenders were very nice. Entertainment staff were great. Check in was no problem as there were only 3 of us checking in at the time. The room was horrible. I can live with a dated room but this was beyond that. When I opened the sliding glass door to the balcony the handle fell off. The fridge is so old it’s rusty and too small to fit much in. They only fill it once at the beginning of your vacation. You do get a bottle of water daily though. Luckily my partner had been upgraded to a suite due to similar issues with his room so we stayed in it. No complaints about the suite. The shower water temperature is maximum 50 degrees celcius at this hotel which is cold so don’t expect a warm shower. I have been to many other hotels in cuba and the other hotels have warm water in the showers. The entire hotel was run down. I refused to get into the pool because there was algae on all the walls and in some spots on the bottom of the pool. This should never happen if the pool chemical levels are correct and it is cleaned properly! It was a beautiful pool but needs to be maintained properly. Tiles are broken as well and paint peeling in pool. The billiards table was fun but it needs replacing as the walls are broken and cloth is a mess. The food was terrible even for Cuban standards. Likely partly because of the low number of guests. Buffet had papaya and pineapple, no other fruit. No vegetables other than pumpkin and lettuce. One or two protein choices per meal. I am celiac so this place was a nightmare for me. I must say though that the staff at the arenas blancas buffet were much more helpful than those at the Barcelo Solymar buffet which we also ate at. For me it was a dangerous guessing game food wise. The restaurants were better especially the mexican one. But we were always eating basically the same food (just prepared differently) no matter where we went. As a person who must have a gluten free diet Cuba is always a challenge but this resort was the most challenging out of those I have travelled to. I have also been at Grand Aston Verde in Holguin and Melia Cayo Santa Maria. Both were better at accommodating my food restrictions. My partner who has a normal diet had nothing good to say about the food either. The resort is run down and needs major repairs everywhere. The water feature in the lobby is empty and doesn’t look like it has been working for years. There are only two elevators working and they are tiny. My partner liked the coffee shop in the lobby but the service there was terrible. Too much talking going on amongst the staff made for very slow service. I will tell you however that the Nexus representative (female) in the Barcelo Solymar lobby was our saviour. She was very helpful our entire stay and polite and efficient. Unfortunately I cannot remember her name. The pools at the Barcelo Solymar were in better condition, no algae and less lifted tiles etc. I was at the Barcelo Solymar years ago in 2004 and it was a much nicer hotel then. However comparing the two hotels the Solymar seems to be kept up much better. If they fixed the interior of the arenas blacas hotel and the pool condition, the layout is preferable when compared to Solymar in my opinion. This could be a beautiful place if they repaired and modernized it but that would take a lot of $$$$ as there are a lot of maintenance issues.

My husband and I stayed at the Occidental Arenas Blancas Hotel from January 10 to January 17, 2026 and we had a wonderful time. We also stayed at this hotel in February last year. We felt very welcome, like we were at home. All the staff from the hotel: the administrator, reception, the lady that operates the elevator, our cleaning lady from our room, all the waitresses and waiters, the bellhop and the doorman were very professional, helpful and friendly. The hotel has different restaurants: Buffet Arenas Blancas for breakfast and dinner offering a nice buffet with a lot of selection of food, bakery, nice juices and alcoholic drinks like sangria. Ranchon Caribe buffet for lunch that is close to the beach and also has a nice buffet while enjoying the live band. The hotel has four delicious A la Carte restaurants for dinner: Trattoria Venecia (Italian food), Bello Mar (Mexican food), Sol y Arena (Seafood) and El Quijote (Spanish food). The hotel has also has two bars: the Lobby Bar Arenas offering local, international and premium drinks while listening to a live band in the evenings, and Los Cactus Bar, by the pool. We enjoyed very much seeing the beautiful Cuban, Latin and international outdoor shows in the evenings, with great dancers and singers. The great thing is that you are allowed to go to the next hotel, Barcelo Solymar to use their facilities: pools, bars, entertainment, fitness centre, beach areas and restaurants except the Solymar buffet. One evening we went to the Lobby Bar of the Solymar hotel and had some drinks and enjoyed listening and dancing to the live band and later we saw a beautiful flamenco show in the Solymar Bar Night Club. Both hotels have nice swimming pools that we could use but we preferred to swim in the ocean and enjoy the beautiful beach with white sand and warm aqua water. At the beach they also have water activities like: sailing boats, kayaking, and pedal boats, and land activities: swings, dancing lessons and sports. When you stay one week at the hotel you can make reservations to go to 2 restaurants A la Carte for Dinner so we made 2 reservations to go one evening to the Trattoria Venecia restaurant (Italian food) and the other evening to the Bello Mar restaurant (Mexican food) and enjoyed their delicious food, and we were very fortunate because the week we stayed at the hotel, as an appreciation for coming back to the hotel, we were invited to go for 2 consecutive evenings to have special Dinners A la Carte at the Spanish restaurant El Quijote enjoying a very delicious food and a live band, and also to go1 evening for a very special buffet for Dinner at the Arenas Blancas Buffet restaurant. We would like to mention too that you just only have to cross the road and visit the lovely Varadero Boulevard that has lots of stores and restaurants. Thank you very much to all the staff of Occidental Blancas Hotel for having again a wonderful experience. We are already missing them and the beautiful beach and are looking forward to coming back again next year.

Denis is a great server. He’s always has smiles for me every day. He is well trained by his supervisor Leanne. He brings me the juice and coffee and has makes my morning in a very good way.

I have been staying at this hotel for over 10 years. The staff has become part of my family. If you go you need to sit in Yolaine’s section. She is the most amazing waitress in the arenas buffet section. Everyone is good, but she bring customer service to the next level. If you ask for anything she will never say there is none. She will search all over to get you what you need. She knew my friend was going through menopause and it became the daily joke. However she made sure we had a table in front of the air conditioning to make her more comfortable. That’s how much she pays attention to all little details for her guests. You must go say hi and experience the best service a person can give. Never will you see her without a smile on her face. It’s as if it’s part of her uniform that’s how much she is like the sunshine in that section. Thanks Yolaine for being who you are never change. ????

This is one of my favorite places. It's right next to a beautiful beach and on the edge of town! The staff there are amazing and hello you as much as they can ASAP! I did see a post that cats are not allowed on the resorts anymore because they spread disease. This is not true at all! It's mice and rats that spread disease and cats that help stop them. Cats should always be allowed in the resorts to help save people from getting diseases. The cats are always very nice to us! It also says we are no longer allowed to feed cats.. That's not right at all. I've been staying at these resorts for 11 years. I hope this changes before my next trip coming up!