Author's product rating: 
| Advantages: |
Good food and drink |
| Disadvantages: |
Location is slightly remote - occasional poor buffet experience |
| Recommend to potential buyers: |
yes |
I only stayed at Playa Alameda in February 2006 for a couple of days to chill out after a bit of backpacking around Cuba, and am extremely glad I did choose this hotel.
It is remotely located in Varadero and as you will see this has its plus and minus points. It does make it difficult and possibly costly to reach. We paid quite a lot just for a taxi from the coach station to the resort.
The resort grounds were extremely well kept. The rooms were clean and had everything you would expect from a
hotel of this class. It was furnished with a desk and a couch and the balcony had a couple of chairs you could sit and relax on too. The fruit basket on arrival was a nice touch. Bathrooms had both a separate shower and bath,
It is worth trying to get a room with an ocean view. This will mean a slightly longer walk to the reception area, but the view from your balcony makes this walk worth it.
The pool is nice, but water was a little on the cool side. This will be fine I guess for the hotter
Varadero days. If youre looking for sunning spots, there are not that many by the pool unfortunately. The poolside bar/restaurant is equipped with tables and chairs should you feel hungry or thirsty whilst by the pool.
The beach was lovely. The sand was fine white powder. There were no annoying vendors to be seen. It is worht noting that we found getting a sun lounger a bit difficult, even at 1100. The beach bar is ready to serve you saving you having to walk back into the resort to get a drink. There is also a restaurant just at the entrance to the beach which is where the main lunchtime buffet takes place from. There is a small grill cafe and BBQ near this restuarant too making lots of food available as you enjoy the sun, sea and sand.
In terms of entertainment, it was a bit lacking in activities too. If it rains I don't think there was much to do. There was the facility to rent out board games, and I quite enjoyed playing chess whilst sitting by the pool.
They can arrange activites outside the resort for you, but I think you'll find it easier/cheaper to go to downtown Varadero and arrange these for yourself.
Also in terms of nightlife, the remote location whilst a bonus for a quiet beach, makes this place a bit isolated from the rest of what downtown Varadero has to offer. The shuttle bus back stops running quite early (about 2215) meaning you need to get a taxi back.
Some of the bars did get low on stock, but it was no big problem. Just meant a little walk to the next bar. Maybe they need to work out how to monitor and redistribute stock so that they can meet demand.
If you really wanted, the resort has the facilities to host weddings, so should you fancy getting married in the carribean you could do it here.
Most of the staff were fantastic. The majority had great linguistic skills and when my poor spanish let me down they were just as comfortable talking in english.
The evening buffet was good. However, the pool bar whilst 24hrs stops serving food for a short period in the morning. This poses a small problem if youre hungry and you've missed the breakfast buffet.
Another point to make on the evening buffet is that the experience also varies depending on your waiting staff. Some are brilliant at making sure your drinks are topped up whilst unfortunately others need you get up from your table and highlight this to them.
On top of the evening buffet, the resort has A-la-carte restaurants where you can book a table in advance if you do not fancy having buffet food every day.
The resort has a souvenir shop, cigar shop and a Cadeca (exchange bureau) on site too. For a fee, there are computers available so you can access the internet.
Overall, this is a very nice resort, especially if you just want some quiet time to relax in the sun.
I would definitely stay here again if i needed a few days to get-away from it all.
