Cuba Guide
Varadero and Matanzas
Accommodation
1 Club Karey Ave. Kawama, Reparto Kawama 
45/66-7296 
66-7334 
reserva@karey.gca.tur.cu This three-star all-inclusive establishment is the poorest but cheapest of the hotels in Reparto Kawama. Stretching for over 1500m along the narrowest part of the peninsula, you are never more than about 10 metres from the beach. Its showpiece is the restaurant La Casa de Al, a refined stone mansion and the former bootlegging headquarters of the Varadero branch of Al Capone's empire; the quality of food is below average, however, and the service could be better. All accommodations are in beachside villas, divided into smaller apartments with slightly dated interiors and communal living rooms. Price: $80-120CUC
2 Kawama Reparto Kawama 45/61-4416–19 reserva@kawama.gca.tur.cu Large, landscaped, all-inclusive complex, bordered by 300m of beach, which loses some character away from the main building, a stylish neocolonial terraced structure built in 1930 as a gentlemen's club. Choose from private or shared houses or homely modern apartments. There's a fantastically chic restaurant and cosy basement cabaret. Price: $180CUC and above
3 Superclubs Puntarena Ave. Kawama y Final, Reparto Kawama 45/66-712566-7667 & 66-7129 reservas@puntarena.gca.tur.cu At the western tip of the peninsula, a long walk from the action, this all-inclusive features two identical high-rise accommodation blocks, an exclusive diving club and two swimming pools. It's located on one of the largest and most private sections of the beach. Price: $120-180CUC
4 Villa Tortuga Calle 7 y Ave. Kawama, Reparto Kawama 45/61-4747 reservas@villatortuga.tur.cu One of the cheaper all-inclusives outside of the town area, Villa Tortuga is an attractive complex, more enclosed than the others in Reparto Kawama, with pastel-coloured modern villas and two-storey apartment blocks, all set on a good patch of beach. Amenities include two restaurants, a pool, a gym, tennis courts and volleyball. Price: $120-180CUC
5 Acuazul Ave. 1ra y 13, Vardadero town 45/66-7132–34 66-7229 
www.hotelacuazul.com Inexpensive in low season but overpriced in high, when the cost of a double goes up by over $20CUC, this characterless apartment block has a poky pool area but spacious and inoffensive rooms, all with small balconies and many with great views. Price: $60-80CUC
6 Arenas Blancas Calle 64 e/ Ave. 1ra y Autopista del Sur, Vardadero town 45/61-4450 & 61-4492–99 rva@arblcas.gca.tur.cu This all-inclusive is one of the newest, largest and most upmarket hotels in the town area, with a large, sinuous pool and grassy grounds bordering the beach. If you want to be in the centre of things without sacrificing any luxury, this is a good choice. Price: $180CUC and above
7 Barlovento Ave. 1ra e/ 10 y 12, Vardadero town 45/66-7140 reserva@ibero.gca.tur.cu A stylish and sophisticated complex with over 200 double rooms. Despite its size, the Barlovento retains a harmonious atmosphere, featuring a superb lobby with a fountain and a captivating pool area enveloped by palm trees. Tennis and basketball courts on-site. Price: $120-180CUC
8 Club Tropical Ave. 1ra e/ 21 y 22, Vardadero town 45/61-3915 61-4676 reservas@tropical.hor.tur.cu This all-inclusive is more expensive but better value and easier on the eye than the nearby high-rise hotels. It's on the beach and has a pool and a shady, cosily penned-in terrace area. Rooms are on the small side. Price: $80-120CUC
9 Cuatro Palmas Ave. 1ra e/ 60 y 62, Vardadero town 45/66-7040 & 66-8101–09 reserva@gcpalho.gca.tur.cu An artistically and thoughtfully designed complex in the heart of Varadero's shopping and eating centre, featuring a variety of accommodation buildings and slightly cheaper rooms overlooking the Parque Josone. There's a good choice of restaurants, a nice pool and watersports facilities. Price: $80-120CUC
10 Los Delfines Ave. 1ra e/ 38 y 39, Vardadero town 45/66-7720–21 h.delfines@horizontes.hor.tur.cu This is the most tasteful and attractive of the smaller landscaped-garden hotels in the town area, incorporating several accommodation blocks, linked together by outdoor corridors cutting across grassy lawns leading right down to the beach from the main street. Price: $80-120CUC
11 Dos Mares Calle 53 esq. Ave. 1ra, Vardadero town 45/66-7510 recepcion@dmares.hor.tur.cu Atypically for Varadero, this agreeable little hotel feels more like those found in provincial colonial towns. What it lacks in facilities it makes up for with plenty of character and a pleasant intimacy. Price: $50-60CUC
12 Herradura Ave. Playa e/ 35 y 36, Vardadero town 45/61-3703 director@herrad.hor.tur.cu This likeable, medium-sized hotel with a sea-view terrace and waves practically lapping on its walls is the cheapest beachfront option. Rooms are grouped in pairs, and each twosome enjoys a shared lounge and sea-facing balcony. Appealingly simple and straightforward, but the food is below par. Price: $60-80CUC
13 Ledo Ave. Playa e/ 43 y 44, Vardadero town 45/61-3206 A tiny, slightly cramped but likeable hotel over the road from the beach. It has only the bare minimum of facilities, but it's one of the cheapest spots in Varadero and a good choice if you want to avoid the larger, uglier, dated hotels in the same price category. Price: $50-60CUC
14 Mar del Sur Ave. 3ra y 30, Vardadero town 45/61-2246 66-7881 comercial@mardelsur.hor.tur.cu Large, slightly run-down family complex with basic rooms, spread along both sides of the road; it's made up of uninspired box-shaped buildings, but pleasant gardens soften the edges. Has a children's playground, a basketball court and a pool. Price: $60-80CUC
15 Palma Real Ave. 2da esq. 64, Vardadero town 45/61-4555 & 66-7500 jrecep.palmareal@hotetur.com A bright, modernized hotel inside an imposing, ugly Art Deco shell. With colour splashed all over the main building, pristine lawns clasping the sides and an entirely new extension featuring a bright columned restaurant, this is one of the best places in the town for families, complete with a decent-sized pool and an active programme of kid-friendly entertainment. Price: $120-180CUC
16 Pullman Ave. 1ra e/ 49 y 50, Vardadero town 45/66-7510 recepcion@dmares.hor.tur.cu One of the smallest and most pleasant hotels in Varadero, whose main building is based around a castle-like turret. Has a very relaxing atmosphere and is ideal if you want to avoid the hullabaloo laid on as entertainment at most of the other hotels on the peninsula. Price: $50-60CUC
17 Sunbeach Calle 17 e/ Ave. 1ra y Ave. 3ra, Vardadero town 45/66-7490 61-4994 reservas@sunbeach.hor.tur.cu Though it comprises two huge, unsightly high-rise blocks, Sunbeach is one of the better-equipped hotels in this part of town, with a buffet restaurant, a pizzeria, several bars, a games room, a rooftop disco, a terraced pool and decent size rooms. Price: $80-120CUC
18 Varazul Ave. 1ra e/ 14 y 15, Vardadero town 45/66-7132–34 www.hotelacuazul.com One of the only self-catering options in Varadero (there's a grocery shop on the ground floor), with tired-looking but roomy apartments featuring kitchen, living room, bathroom and bedrooms with clunky, outdated furniture. The exterior is in the same uninspired vein as its neighbour and partner Acuazul, whose pool, restaurants and reception it shares. Price: $60-80CUC
19 Villa La Mar Ave. 3ra e/ 29 y 30, Vardadero town 45/61-4515–24 & 61-2508 This dated concrete complex, popular with Cubans, is sociable but unsophisticated – though it's also the cheapest hotel in Varadero. It's on the wrong side of the peninsula and backs onto the main road, but has a pool and large gardens. Price: $40-50CUC
20 Villa Sotavento Ave. 1ra y 13, Vardadero town 45/66-7132–34 www.hotelacuazul.com These charming, mock-colonial, story-book-style houses are divided into apartments with dining rooms but no kitchens. The reception desk is in Acuazul, just over the other side of Avenida 1ra, whose facilities are also available to guests. Price: $60-80CUC
21 Las Morlas Ave. de las Américas Km 2 e/ A y B 45/66-7230–34 comercia@morlas.gca.tur.cu Deceivingly characterless from the roadside, this is the most compact and intimate of the all-inclusive options hereabouts. Considerably more subdued than some of its counterparts, the rooms are quite dark but well equipped and most look down onto the leafy and private pool area. There's an on-site tennis court and gym as well. Price: $180CUC and above
22 Sol Sirenas-Coral Ave. de las Américas e/ H y K 45/66-8070 & 66-7240 www.solmeliacuba.com A vast complex that combines two previously separate hotels, its interiors are tasteful and well polished in some buildings and plain and uninspired in others. It features the largest landscaped swimming pool in Varadero and consists of two main four-storey buildings, linked together by verdant, spacious, shady grounds which are a little scrappy in places but fun to explore. Facilities include six restaurants, tennis courts, a pool room, a beauty parlour and watersports. Price: $180CUC and above
23 Solymar Ave. de las Américas Km 1 45/61-4499 www.barcelosolymar.com The most boldly decorated all-inclusive in Varadero: the main apartment block is aflame with glaring yellow, blue and red, while the poolside villas are painted pink and green. The whole resort looks like a giant toy town, but it has a good selection of restaurants and is located on one of the peninsula's widest sections of beach. Price: $180CUC and above
24 Villa Cuba Ave. de las Américas Km 3 e/ C y D 45/66-8280 reservas@vcuba.gca.tur.cu The main building features an exciting multi-level layout with staircases and gangways zigzagging through a network of different floors and platforms. Spread out around the open-plan complex, which stretches down to the beach, there are various smaller residences, some with their own swimming pool. This impressive all-inclusive includes a sauna, gym, beauty parlour, disco, diving initiation courses and a large swimming pool. Price: $180CUC and above
25 
Mansión Xanadú Autopista del Sur Km 7, Eastern Varadero 45/66-738866-8482 & 66-7750 66-8481 Housed in the splendidly opulent Dupont Mansión, Mansión Xanadú this unique hotel is one of the truly special places to stay in Varadero. The half-dozen refined rooms, which all face the sea, have been individually furnished – two with colonial American originals – and the hotel has a delightful wine cellar and one of the peninsula's best restaurants. There are special golfing packages for the Varadero Golf Course, whose clubhouse is next door. Price: $180CUC and above
26 Meliá Las Américas Autopista del Sur Km 7, Eastern Varadero 45/66-7600 www.solmeliacuba.com Next door to the Mansión Xanadú, this has one of the most imaginatively designed set of grounds on the peninsula, with paths weaving their way down through the intricately landscaped gardens to a secluded part of the beach. Even the pool drops down a level while it twists itself around the pathways and pond. Rooms are tastefully furnished, and there are several restaurants, a piano and lobby bar and a hair salon. Price: $180CUC and above
27 Meliá Varadero Autopista del Sur Km 7, Eastern Varadero 45/66-7013 www.solmeliacuba.com Sophisticated, star-shaped all-inclusive whose seven tentacles meet spectacularly around an indoor rainforest where ivy cascades down the circular walls from high above. There's a swimming pool with a bar in the centre, and the small collection of varied restaurants and bars includes a large thatched-roof hall looking over the sea from a low cliff. Well equipped for business travellers, with a series of convention halls and meeting rooms. Price: $180CUC and above
28 Paradisus Varadero Punta Rincón Francés, Eastern Varadero 45/66-8700 www.solmeliacuba.com The design of this mind-blowing five-star "ultra all-inclusive", hidden away behind the nature reserve and right on the shore, is both striking and sophisticated. The symmetry of the enormous yet graceful lobby and its grid of garden pools blends seamlessly with the artistically landscaped plant-covered giant-pool area. All of the large, well-equipped and colourful rooms have a balcony or terrace, while the wide range of facilities includes four restaurants, two pools, a gym and tennis courts. Price: $180CUC and above
29 Península Varadero Varahicacos Ecological Reserve, Eastern Varadero 45/66-8800 or 66-8783 www.solmeliacuba.com Highlights at this remote all-inclusive hotel, located on the far side of the Laguna de Mangón, include a restaurant on the lagoon's edge – positioned so that it faces the setting sun – an amphitheatre for night-time entertainment, views of offshore cays (which you can sail to on the hotel's catamarans) and fantastic kids' facilities, including an adventure playground in a separate area specifically for guests with children. Price: $180CUC and above
30 Royal Hicacos Carretera de las Morlas Km 15, Eastern Varadero 45/66-8844 www.sandalshicacos.com The rooms here, all of them suites, are a cut above what you'll find at most of the other luxury hotels, with split-level designs, living-room areas, king-size beds and all the amenities you could want. Highlights include a two-man cave built into the side of the stunning pool, a fully equipped spa, a squash court and some great dining areas with waterways weaved around them. Over-18s only. Price: $180CUC and above
31 Sol Palmeras Autopista del Sur, Eastern Varadero 45/66-7009 www.solmeliacuba.com Enormous luxury all-inclusive resort aimed at families, spread out over tree-swept grounds. Facilities include a basketball court, a playground, two floodlit tennis courts, a volleyball court, mini-golf, six bars and five restaurants. Price: $180CUC and above