Occidental Arenas Blancas Reviews

Very friendly, super location...for this money..I would recomend. We enjoy the food..you have all inclusive with special a la carte restaurants.. I could not upload the photos 😞

A nice place, very Soviet. The food is ok, quite clean

For the traveling time in Cuba !! This resort is average fine

loved the beach, and the place was nice, food great for the place, and staff was nice

Excellent hotel for the conditions of the beautiful country of Cuba, good facilities, excellent service from the people who run the bars and buffet, but above all the entertainment team, which makes it a very entertaining stay. This time they surprised me with the beach party, which was an excellent time. I have been 6 times and always to the same Arenas Blancas hotel

The hotel itself is very average (even by Cuban standards), the food is normal (again by Cuban standards, don’t expect much, but you won’t go hungry), and the rum flows like a river. Several ala-card restaurants by appoin**ent. The animation is practically invisible. On the shore there are catamarans and yachts for free. There are not enough umbrellas on the beach, sun loungers are occupied in the evening. Beach towels that are provided at the hotel are stolen, it’s better not to take them (or pay $30 later). Across the road from the hotel is the party heart of Varadero, where nightlife starts after 12 and continues until the morning. The number of rooms is a different story. The reservation was for a superior room. What “improved” means is not very clear. There was no refrigerator or kettle in the room, and the hairdryer refused to work during the second use. There was a TV without a remote control. There was an iron (whether it works or not, I didn’t check) and an ironing board. There is no wardrobe, there is a hanger with hangers. Safe. General air conditioning system. The bathroom has a bathtub, bidet, toilet (without seat!!!!). All the plumbing is well-worn. There is not enough light in the room. Mosquitoes fly in, take a fumigator with you. The soundproofing is terrible, you can hear all the sounds from the corridor. Cleaning: during the 6 nights we stayed, the floor was washed once, the towels were not changed even once, and even less so the bed linen. They came in, made the bed, picked up the trash and left. All. The bottom line is this: I will not return to this hotel and do not recommend it to anyone.

Very old house, furniture that has not been replaced in at least 20 years, indoor safe is broken, TV is broken, toilet 🚽 has no seat cushion, just a magnetic toilet, making it impossible for women to use it, I negotiated with the front desk many times, and only spoke for 10 minutes I sent someone to repair it, then went to the front desk, and pretended to be serious about registering, but still no repairs were done. The food was the same for three meals, the outdoor swimming pool was beautiful, and the beach 🏝️ was beautiful! The bus from Varadero back to Havana only leaves at 8:50 am and 4:30 pm! The bus stopped and went, and it took about 4 hours to cover the 70 kilometers.

The structure shows that it is starting to have years of work, with minimal maintenance in all areas. The service is good and the courtesy is the norm, the organization of the work less so. The meals are average with nothing exceptional. The room is discreet and very large, the beds are good but the bathroom requires little but essential maintenance. The beach is beautiful, the daily entertainment and all the places to drink or eat, as it is all inclusive.

As I understand it, Occidental Arenas Blancas and Barchelo Solymar are the same hotel. We booked a hotel in the first one, but at the reception they sent us to the second hotel. The room in the Barchelo Solymar bungalow is luxurious, the buffet is quite passable, but lacks variety. Dishes run out quickly, queues for meat/shrimp. Drinks include only mango and guava juices. The bars only have beer and rum, the only cocktails are daiquiri, rum and juice and that’s it. The buffet at Arenas Blancas is terrible, all the food is not tasty, there is practically no choice of drinks.

Like the rest of Cuba, this hotel is supposedly 4* complete rubbish! The food sucks, all alcohol is paid, the rooms are as tired as possible. Not recommended, life threatening!

I read countless reviews and was prepared for difficulties, but it did little good to prepare for the worst. HORRIBLE and repetitive FOOD, every day exactly the same food, with few options. You've read this from a lot of people in other reviews, I know. But believe me: it's something that ends your trip. We had a strong intestinal infection, to make matters worse. The water used in everything is not filtered. We are not being radical with Cuban difficulties, they are understandable. But there are things that cannot be explained by rationing alone. Okay, but does the awful food alone justify a bad review? If you've never had this experience, go see for yourself and come back agreeing with me. The drinks: everything with lots of ice (of questionable origin) to render the alcohol. Terrible piña colada, made with the same artificial juice powder that is used in all the juices in the place. Soft drinks are also basically flavored carbonated water. Structure: good pools, comfortable chairs and shade on the beach. The rooms are spacious and, despite being old, are comfortable. Old, low shower with peeling tub. The water sometimes did not heat up and came out weak. Cleaning is ok. Service: friendly for the most part, and no one bothers you asking for tips. They are helpful and help to resolve anything quickly. Location: great, you leave the hotel and you are already in the city center, facing a boulevard with (bad) restaurants and lively bars. The international medical clinic is very close.

Our stay was excellent.

No additional comments.

This hotel is so old and ran down, the building's elevators half working, building windows glass cracked are everywhere, room are old, all guests doors are broken, each time closed you have to slam it to closed and made a lot of noises, and walls are looked very old we spent 7 days and ate the same foods were salty and same foods every day, they have ground pork, and food left over and served on the next day, we're sicked of eating the same foods. Reception are slow and rude. people serving foods all wanted tip and ignored you, no nightly entertainment shows. We would not recommend to our friends. We have switched room because the room were smelly mold and musty. First day we arrived and snack bar has few pieces of old left round bunch and rotten ham and cheese. No juice, no ice, no services, all the old workers guys don't care. on the last day we were so lucky they celebrated Cuban day and they have pork roasted. We can not go eat from the neighbors resorts but other resorts allowed to eat our resorts foods. even though three resorts owned by the same owner, the beach are beautiful. I would fired the chef if I owned this place.