Varadero, Coralia Club Playa de Oro

My family who consists of myself,spouse and 9 year old child stayed at this resort from Sept 6-13/12. We stayed in one of the renovated rooms and we were very impressed. Prior to staying at this resort, I read a lot of mixed reviews so was not sure what to expect. The rooms are very clean, we did not see any bugs or mold. We had an air conditioned room and there were about 20-25 channels on TV (granted most were spanish). The hotel staff are great and worked hard to ensure that your stay is an enjoyable one.

Due to the time of year that we chose to vacation, there was not much for kids to do in terms of a kids club but my 9 year old still had a blast! He went to the pool and beach which was great because the weather is so hot. We found the resort to be quiet in Early September as well it is on the outskirts of Veradero and not downtown so if you are looking to relax and just "veg out", that is the best time to go.

We found the food to be good. I know many people are not satisfied with the food but we went prepared knowing that we are in a 3rd world country where their resources are limited. This resort had 1 buffet and 2 a la carte restaurant. We ate at all 3 and were able to find food that we liked as well as try new things. Our son is a picky eater and he was full everyday because there is something for everyone. The food ranged from international to cuban. They also had stations where the food was prepared in front of you. Yohandri was one of our waiters at the a la carte restaurant and he was fantastic and really took pride in his work.

A trip to Cuba is what you make it. This is my 2nd time travelling to Cuba and the 1st resort I stayed at made this one look like The Marriott. This was the 1st trip for my son and spouse and they loved it. For all 3 of us the trip worked out to be $492 each (kids stay and eat free so we just paid the airfare for our son) so we really can't complain. If you have high standards in terms of comfort and food then I would recommend a more lavish trip; Cuba is not the place for you.

I would not rate the Coralia Club Playa de Oro hotel as 4 star.

Everything about Coralia Club Playa de Oro was great, the beach, the rooms, the pool, the drinks, the food and most importantly THE STAFF!! They are very very nice, entertaining (animation team) and they really want you to have a good time...

These people are so hard working and dedicated, it's impressive. Our maid was great...Her name is Marlene and she was just so sweet, we talked with her and she always left us something special in the room.

We have just returned from a tour plus hotel stay holiday for the first time ever to Cuba and spent four nights in Coralia Club Playa de Oro which is a superb and friendly hotel. If we say we cannot wait to go back there, it should say it all. We enjoyed our stay thoroughly and we would certainly recommend to all our friends.

Just got back from Coralia Club Playa de Oro yesterday 4 of us (gals) flew to Cuba on March 2nd for one week. We had a great time in the sun! This was my first trip to the Caribbean and I will definitely be going back.

We booked with LeGrows Travel and flew with Air Transat We decided to upgrade to 1st class and it was definitely worth the extra $$$. We were treated to sparkling wine the minute the plane leveled off and from then until we landed in Cuba the food and drink just kept coming We were first off the plane and went through customs very quickly ahead of the rest of the 200+ that were flying with us. That is definitely a bonus.

The Signature rep was waiting for us at the airport and the bus took us to the resort. By the time we arrived it was 1:30 A. M. and since only the 4 of us were staying at the Coralia, check in time was very quick. The bellboys took us to our rooms on the 4th floor We had problems with the safes in both our rooms but when we went to the front desk they sent someone to help us immediately and things were worked out.

One problem we had was the lack of bottled water in our rooms. We thought that would be provided but found out it was not and we could not purchase any until the next morning at the gift shop so if you are arriving after 8 P. M. be certain to bring at least one bottle with you. We were told that we could safely use the tap water for brushing our teeth and even to drink if you could tolerate the chlorine but we were not comfortable doing it so we purchased bottled water the next day. Eventually, some of us did use it to brush our teeth but not to drink. Many people did and they did not get sick from it.

The rooms were clean and comfortable and the maid did a great job of keeping it that way lots of clean towels every day. We left her gifts and pesos everyday. I have not visited resorts of this type before but a couple of the other girls with us has been to several in Cuba and the Dominican and they said they would class it as a 3.5 rather than a 4 star but I heard some of the other visitors at the airport talk about the 3.5 they stayed at and ours was much better.

The resort is beautiful with an awesome swimming pool that we did not use a lot because we spent most of our time on the amazing beach! We had sunshine for 7 days it rained a couple of times in the night but as long as the sun was shining in the day that was not a problem. We had strong winds and tides (Only two days with the green flags out) that did not make for good ocean swimming but playing in the huge waves was totally fun!

The beach is beyond description you have to experience it to truly understand how awesome it is. The sun shining off the sugary white sand and reflecting back in the water which was an amazing aquamarine color was mind boggling! You could walk barefoot for miles on the hard packed sand near the water's edge and barely see your footprints in the sand! There were lots of lounge chairs to use and we would get up early in the morning and go to the beach and place our towels on 4 chairs and put them under the huts so we would have some shade for later in the day. As long as the towel is on the chair no one will take them even if you are not there. We would leave all our gear under the hut with our chairs and go to lunch there was never a problem with things being left on the beach.

The best part of our trip was meeting a great group of people from Ottawa (Actually, they are from the Atlantic Canada but are all living and working in Ottawa) I want to say ola and a great big Newfoundland THANK YOU to Sam (Newfoundland), Trevor (Nova Scotia), Ricky, Ralph, Stephen, Cory, and Dave (P. E. I.). Who loves you Ricky??? for making our vacation so much fun. Sam kept us entertained with his guitar and great songs on the beach and everyone kept us in stitches laughing at their antics and jokes, especially Ricky!

We met friendly and interesting people from other parts of the world as well some fun loving gals from Ottawa 3 Scottish lasses who were in the room next to us we "hung out" with them on the balcony a few times and saw them at the beach. Hi to Neil and Sue from Essex, England and Neil there really are Iceberg Cowboys in Newfoundland! Visit http://www.thediscoverytrail.org/hikediscovery/icebergs.html to see an article that tells you a little about it I am still looking for the article that was published in Downhomer magazine about Iceberg Cowboys and how it is used in making Iceberg vodka.

The food what can I say there were lots of it but definitely not what we are used to. A lot of fried foods (even the bacon is deep fried) but you can find something to eat and with the heat our appetites were not that big. The ice cream is delicious and there is lots of fresh fruits but be careful with fruit I ate a little too much of it the first few days I was there and it caused me to lose one day of my vacation I spent all one day in bed not feeling too well but the other 3 girls were fine and the only thing we did different was the fruit. The breads/rolls are superb! Try the rolls toasted in the morning with a boiled egg or two that was the best breakfast that we found there plus the fresh omelets that are made while you wait. We had reservations for the a la carte (International 1887) restaurant on Saturday night and the food/service there was good. If you order from the entr e don't order the salmon unless you like it raw the shrimp entr e is good if you like shrimp the chicken from the main menu was very tasty. We did not go to the other a la carte restaurant available it had Cuban food on the menu and was not to our taste. There are hotdogs, fries, sandwiches available all day at the pool bar and most days that is where we ate lunch you can also get lunch at the beach restaurant they serve barbecued pork, chicken, and fish as well as salads, pastas, deserts and other dishes that we did not recognize.

The main drinks served at the bars are rum based but you can also get vodka, beer, red/white wine, sprite and cola. They have a lobby bar that is open 24 hours a day, a pool bar that is open until 11, and a beach bar that is open until 7 (I think). The lobby bar (say hi to Carlos if you are there ) is the place to hang out at night if you are not planning to go to any of the local clubs in Varadeo the International Club in Varadeo is a great place to dance but I did not go outside the resort at night some of our new friends did and enjoyed it We went to the disco on the resort one night but there were not a lot of people there but we returned with a large group another night and had a lot of fun dancing to the music I suggest that if you want to take in the disco to be sure you have a large group with you and make your own fun!

Dress code: Anything goes mainly bathing suits, wraps and shorts. If you reserve the a la carte restaurants you are expected to dress a little more formal we usually dressed up a little (skorts, skirts, sun dresses) after we got back from the beach but lots of people wore shorts and t-shirts the nights were a little cooler than normal and you may need to take a sweater and long pants if you find it chilly we all over packed and when I go again I will not take as much clothes just more bikinis so I get a great tan.

We found out at the last minute before we left for Cuba that US $$$ are no longer accepted take Canadian money and exchange it for Cuban Pesos either at the airport in Cuba or at the resort you can exchange it back to Canadian again before you leave if you did not spend all of it. The exchange rate is better at the airport than at the resort.

Our Signature Rep (Ossie) was very helpful and made suggestions in regard to trips (we booked for the catarman trip but had to cancel because that was the day I spent in bed). We did not have any problems getting our money back even though we cancelled at the last minute. He also had tips on visiting Varadeo and the outdoor flea market that we did. We took a taxi to Varadeo (for 10 pesos) and spent a couple of hours exploring the many booths at the market we bought some great items and spent a little while walking around the main part of town don't go off the main street and you should not have any problems.

Our flight back to St. John's, Newfoundland got cancelled due to fog in Newfoundland the last night we were there. Instead of leaving the hotel at 7:30 P. M. we left at 6

A. M. but we enjoyed an additional few hours having dinner at the buffet restaurant and sitting around the lobby bar with our new friends. We had not experienced the torrential rainfall that can happen in Cuba but due to our extended stay we witnessed a thunder and lightening storm that lit up the sky. Everything happens for a reason, right Tracy??? (e-nuckles)

Overall it was a fantastic 7 days in the sun and we came home with lots of great memories, a super suntan and plans to return again!

Coralia Club Playa de Oro is an exceptionally clean and well maintained hotel. Staff go out of their way to help and will always find someone to answer you if they can't. Language isn't much of a barrier as most staff speak AT LEAST two languages although you can both have a laugh if you choose to try Spanish! The food is of a very high standard in the buffet restaurant, as is the service from the staff who ensure your glass is always full! Food in the a la carte restaurants was sometimes a bit limited but the hotel was without a head chef for the duration of our stay and I would say they coped admirably. The pools are cleaned each morning and the beach is approx 50m walk and very worth the journey as sun loungers are always available and life guards are on duty for most of the daylight hours. Beaches are clean and sandy so are suitable for kids. A flag system operates to ensure safe bathing. Take PLENTY of high factor sun screen as temperatures in Sept/Oct ranged between 36 and 43deg and sunburn creeps up on you! Sand flies can be a problem on the beach in the late afternoon but repellent keeps them at bay. Mosquitoes are common at dusk but do not carry Malaria - again repellent will suffice. Cuban people are friendly & informative although you should take a plentiful supply of $1 notes for tips for which they are exceptionally grateful. Medical care, if required, is available in Varadero town centre which is only a short taxi ride away and is amongst some of the best I've seen - even in this country!