Cuba - Lonely Planet [191]
Mansión Xanadu (Map; 66-84-82; Av Las Américas; s/d low season CUC$120/150, high season CUC$160/210; ) Rated by many as Varadero’s most intriguing and intimate lodging are the six deluxe rooms in the Dupont Mansion. This was once a museum and it still effectively is with the five-star rooms retaining the 1930s furniture and plush decor first commissioned by Dupont. Rates here include unlimited tee time. It’s built on a small bluff, and beach access is just alongside.
Blau Varadero (Map; 66-75-45; Av Las Morlas Km 15; s/d CUC$125/155; ) Built in the shape of a pre-Columbian Mexican pyramid, the Blau seems to have taken the Cancún comparisons too far. Though the room quality and service here are unquestionable, the Blau falls down in its minimalist furnishings and surgical cleanliness, which engender an impassive, airport-like feel.
Villa Cuba (Gran Caribe; Map; 66-82-80; cnr Av 1 & Calle C; s/d CUC$132/189; ) This 1970s Legoland structure is never going to win any architectural prizes and, up against Varadero’s other all-inclusive giants, it seems a bit like a dated dinosaur. Nonetheless, there’s a variety of accommodation options and loads of activities here making it a popular family choice. Try the one- to two-bedroom villas (singles/doubles in low season CUC$199/249) which all feature communal living areas, fridge, TV and a patio. There are four rooms designed for disabled guests.
Hotel Sirenis La Salina (Gaviota; Map; 66-70-09; Autopista del Sur Km 8; standard s/d/ste CUC$172/236/278; ) Welcome to Cuba’s biggest hotel. The 1025-room Sirenis opened in 2007 and it’s a true monster of a resort (you’d need a book to list even half of the facilities). While the temple-like lobby is beautiful and the grounds rather pleasantly manicured, you have to question the ambience of a place this large. There’s a 900-seat theater, almost a dozen restaurants and it’s a 1km walk just to get from one end of the resort to the other! Big, yes – the best, no.
Tryp Península Varadero (Gaviota; Map; 66-88-00; Varahicacos Ecological Reserve; r from CUC$180; ) Paradise or The Prisoner? While some people will revel in Tryp’s four-star luxuries, others will feel more like they’ve turned up in an episode of the 1960s allegorical serial The Prisoner, where actor Patrick McGoohan wanders around a fanciful Welsh village trying to find a way out. The facilities here are admittedly plush, but there’s not much cross-fertilizing with the real Cuba.
Hotel Meliá Varadero (Cubanacán; Map; 66-70-13; Autopista del Sur Km 7; s/d CUC$195/305; ) This stunning resort wins the prize for Varadero’s most impressive lobby (and there’s some pretty ostentatious competition), with its seven-story, vine-dripping atrium creating a natural curtain from the open dome down to the reception area. Rooms overlook the golf course or the beach and it’s a popular honeymoon spot. The Meliá Varadero sits on a rocky headland, so you have to walk a bit to reach the beach, but what the hell! Kids aged 12 and under stay here for 50%.
Barceló Marina Palace Resort (Gaviota; Map; 61-44-99; s/d CUC$198/220; ) You get to a point in Varadero where all the all-inclusives begin to merge into one giant garden suburb of painted bungalows and smiling holiday reps. The Barceló is certainly beautiful, with thoughtful architectural features such as the mock lighthouse and stilted bar perched above the ocean, but at this end of the peninsula it’s a long way from central Varadero and a million cultural miles from Cuba.
Meliá Las Américas (Cubanacán; Map; 66-76-00; Autopista del Sur Km 7; s/d CUC$225/340; ) You’ve arrived at the luxury end of the peninsula.