Stayed at the Club Amigo, Varadero for 10 days all inclusive. This was great value for money if you dont expect 5 star luxury. The villa was a good size and the rooms clean. Maid service every day. There was a faulty light in the bathroom which was fixed after two days.
The food was very much the same every day even though there was a lot of choice but I found the hot meals was only luke warm unless you had a stir fry cooked whilst you were waiting.
Snacks and drinks served all day, the chips and cheese sandwiches were good.
I would recommend this to anyone who has not got too high expectations.
The Italian or Cuban restaurant can be pre-booked for a five course evening meal at no extra cost which was avery nice touch

My wife and I (mid 40’s) went with our 3 kids (14-20), and my mother in law (mid 60’s)
went to club amigo April 26- May 1. We all really enjoyed it and had a great time . The rooms were good sized and kept very clean if a little tired. The grounds were beautiful and the beach was amazing. The resort is spread out so even until the last day we were finding new stuff, like the late night bar on the third floor.
The buffet was mediocre. I was surprised at the lack of spice or distinctive flavor. That being said, I did manage to eat lobster 3 times in the 5 days I was there, and I never got around to trying the off resort restaurants, so maybe the food was better there.
The excursions we went on were great. We all did the catamaran trip where they take you to a private island for lunch, with stops on the way for snorkeling and dolphin swim/ encounter. Despite my ethical reservations about swimming with captured dolphins, I went along and the kids were just thrilled. At the lunch we could upgrade by getting a plate of 3 huge lobster tails for
10 pesos!! Then a couple hours free time, followed by an hour long journey back to the marina with much music, dancing, and general merrymaking.
4 of us went to the Varadero version of the Tropicana show (you get a discount if you also book the Havana excursion). It was really great, and you get 2 bottles of rum/ table of 8. It was actually out of town closer to Mantzanas, so we were picked up at 0810 and got to the show at 0945 after doing the milk run and picking up from 5-6 hotels on the way, so the ride seemed long & tedious.
My wife and mother in law went on the Havana day excursion and really liked it, but apparently there wasn’t a lot to buy. The plaza del Americanas on the Varadero strip has better shopping.
The kids and I went on the jeep safari where you go off roading see the Cuba away from the resorts, go through villages, visit a plantation. There was supposed to be more snorkeling too, but the water was too low so that got cut. You stop at a cantina for a drink and then everyone piles into boats with out board engines and we head upstream in a convoy of sorts. It was about ½ hr ride and the kids all got a turn driving. The scenery was spectacular. I thought we were headed to Jurassic park. You arrive at a ranch for lunch, nice buffet, and again lobster available for upgrade.
Then a couple hours free time for horseback riding, swimming souvenir shopping, or hammock appreciation. Then more jeep trek to a huge cave with a cool freshwater pool for a great swim at the end of a hot dusty day. The jeeps are all standard, so we got split up, the girls with a guide and the boy & I with a nice couple from Nova Scotia.
The hotel staff were friendly and courteous. Tips were gratefully accepted, but not pushed for or hustled. I don’t now what happened with some of the negative reviews, but we had no problems.
The entertainment staff put on good shows by the pools in the afternoons and on the stage at nights. My wife made up some loot bags for the maids with mostly dollar store stuff and they were received with a note of thanks.
All in all really great and we’d gladly go back. Not 4 or 5 star luxury, but a perfect tropical all inclusive vacation

We returned on April 18, 2008 from this resort and were very disappointed with the hotel in general.
Upon arrival at 10:25 in the morning we were told we could not get a room until 4:00 p.m. and should just go look around the resort until then. The people at the front desk did not give us a map of the resort or mention where we could get lunch or even tell us where the bar was. Basically they gave us the "go away and get lost look until we feel like helping you."

Finally at 3:00 we went to wait by the front desk and noticed the people just getting off the bus were getting a room but we still had not received ours. We we're hot, frustrated and tired by the time we were given our key and without a doubt totally exasperated with the service within hours of our arrival.
Our room was full of mold on the ceiling, windows, curtains and walls. We asked to be moved but got told bluntly by front desk clerk Madeline "NO" and she proceeded to ignore us.

Our signature representative was of no help. For 3 days we went to meet him and tried to get moved to a different room or different hotel on the strip and he pretended to help but somehow could get no results for us, even though we offered to pay for any upgrades. When we returned home I contacted our travel agent and she informed me that there was definitely rooms open at other hotels if he had really wanted to help us.

I could go on for ever about this hotel, but will tell you that we have traveled south at least 30 times and have never received such bad service from a hotel or a representative.

There was some good with this trip. The beach is beautiful, the restaurant staff was excellent and Diana our server was exceptional. The food was good for Cuba.

To make a long story short. We would not recommend this hotel to anyone until major renovations have taken place and the staff at the front desk has been given some customer service training.

Ok, Where do I start?

First off let me tell you I'm a 30 year old man and I took this holiday alone. It's one of the furthest hotels from Varadero airport, but seeing as I flew in from Havana, it was a real long transfer, gettting there is gonna be a long day, but at the end it'll be worth it. This was my second time in Cuba in as many years, and nothing happily has changed since Fidel left Power.

Anyway the hotel:

Check in was not particualrly pleasant, in fact if this hotel has one thing apart from the food, (but that's Cuba all over I'm afriad, wherever you go the food is ok, but never really impressive be warned,you're not going to Cuba for the food anyway are you???) that really lets it down it's these guys, they're not particualrarly helpful, and be prepared to wait, you will however get what you want. Eventually.

On arrival my travel agent had booked me into a pool side bungalow, but the hotel was overbooked and I was asked to stay in an ocean view room for the night. (In this room my travel adaptors would not fit the sockets in the room, I can't say that for all the rooms in the main block, but be warned.) The room itself was comfortable clean and remembering this is a developing country and as such things are very different, the room was well appointed and everything worked. Like I said this is a Communist State, and the country is relatively poor, don't expect too much from Cuba, and you won't be disappointed.

That said , when I finally got my pool side bungalow on day 2 the apartment was great, bath, shower, bidet, seperate lounge and 2 TV sets in the room as well as a nice balcony complete with terrace furniture awaited me, as well as the right wall sockets for my adaptors. If you have the same problem in the main block with your travel plug, advise reception (or better yet your holiday rep) and get moved into a bungalow. They're closer to the beach anyway.

Which moves me nicely on to the beach, and WOW! The beach at Sol Palmeras last year for me was nice, and this one is just as good, beautiful white sand, lots and lots of shades, and all drinks at the beach bar and water sports free of course, as well as volley ball, stretching calsses, aquarobics in the sea, boules and salsa classes all organized throughout the day by the entertainment staff. Again as this is an all inclusive resort all these are free too. The wind was up a bit while I was out there so the water sports only ran for the first 3 days of my holiday but my advice is take advantage of the wind and go body surfing! It's great fun! Oh, and don't panic, even the wind couldn't make this place feel cool, it was baking out there!

The food as I said isn't great, but nowhere really in Cuba is, I didn'y eat at any of the bookable restaurants, so can't say anything about them, but the other guests I spoke to in research of this review said both the Cuban and Italian restaurants on site were nice.

The main Bar in the hotel is tiny, not really big enough for the needs of the guests, and the selection of drinks isn't huge, but the staff know their stuff, and EVERYONE there speaks english, so don't be afraid to ask for what you want, they'll even do you a shandy (you may get an odd look though... Appparently!)

The main Plaza of the hotel, through the main building and on the way to the beach is where the evenings entertainment id done, and once you get there, you'll knwo it when you see it. It's huge, here you'll also find another bar thatopens when the shows start at about 9.30pm, and a couple of souveneir shops.

This is where the hotel really shines. The entertainment staff are outstanding here, and put on a differnt show every night of the week, from a Circus on Saturday, to believe it or not, a synchronised swimming show on Fridays at the main pool. These shows are not to be missed and a lot of them use external performers so you see a new set of faces every night, and cater for all the family, they generally run until about 10.45, so not too late for the kids, ther's an outside disco every ngiht for the guests, and the entertainment team do join in and make sure everyone has a good time. Like I said, the entertainment team make this hotel, just make sure you get plenty of rest during the day, as these guys will have you dancing on stage, in your seats, in fact just about anywhere!

For all you Brits, about 80%of the guys at this hotel are gonna be Canadians, and they're a gret bunch. latch on to a gang of them and they'll be your friends for life, these guys really do know how to party.

Early evening, you can relax in Bar Cuba in the main hotel upper lobby, where you'll also find a couple of shops, a Pianist playing nice mellow and recognisable tunes every ngiht, andmost importantly , a Tobacconist where you can get your cigarrettes, and of course rum, coffee and cigars to take home with you. As per my review of last year though, if your trip to Cuba involves going to Havana at some point, save your money until you get there, and buy everythign there, you'll find cigars, rum, in fact everything cheaper in Havana.

Club Amigo is also situated only a 15 minute walk from the Vardero Marina, which is where the deep sea fishing, Catmaran cruise, Dolphin Swim, and snorkelling excursions take place, meaning you've only got a short coach ride to the place if you're doing any of these, the good news is you're also the last to be picked up and first to be dropped off after as well, cool huh?

There are 2 excellent swimming pools on the grounds, 1 of which is right next to a well equipped fitness centre, and they're both well looked after andhave bars on them as well to serve you drinks. Bottom line, this hotel is perfect for those who want to do nothing during the day, and party at night.

I could go on all day, but I won't please feel totally free to contcat me with any questions you may have and I'll be ahppy to answer them. In the meantime, here are a few photos I took while I was there to set your mind at rest. Is really is as pretty as this.

Yours, with sundburn, Gareth Twynham

Oh one more thing, change your money at the bank kiosk on site, NOT at reception. You get a much better exchange rate at the bank kiosk, it's on the way to the fitness centre from reception. real close by.