Just having returned from the Solymar for a week (May 7-14 2005) I would have to say...its AMAZING!! Our tour group overbooked there..so we were husteld off to the Barcelo Marina Palace for 1 night(nice hotel but way too far from everything) and the next day(sunday) we were transferred back to the Solymar! We did NOT get our bungalow like we had paid for but we did have an ocean view(and pool view) room on the second floor! The rooms were HUGE...and the fridge was always stocked with more water each day! The maid(Ismaltzy) was great, always leaving little thank you notes for the gifts we left her and the room was always spotless with plenty of towels, and towel display left on the bed each morning!
THE FOOD! Buffet meals were always excellent, with many choices(although at times not all the food was warm) and you have to try the fresh fish that they fry up for you (VERY tasty) and the fresh made omelets in the morning WOW!! You have your choice of items that they will make it from, and the bacon and orange juice always great too!
Plenty of desserts to chose from(none of them sickly sweet) but really the best thing there is the ice cream! Wow...now THAT is good! And the fresh mango and pineapple! I could have lived on that all week! The seafood restaurant was great (filet mignon was awesome there!) and...Just having returned from the Solymar for a week (May 7-14 2005) I would have to say...its AMAZING!! Our tour group overbooked there..so we were husteld off to the Barcelo Marina Palace for 1 night(nice hotel but way too far from everything) and the next day(sunday) we were transferred back to the Solymar! We did NOT get our bungalow like we had paid for but we did have an ocean view(and pool view) room on the second floor! The rooms were HUGE...and the fridge was always stocked with more water each day! The maid(Ismaltzy) was great, always leaving little thank you notes for the gifts we left her and the room was always spotless with plenty of towels, and towel display left on the bed each morning!
THE FOOD! Buffet meals were always excellent, with many choices(although at times not all the food was warm) and you have to try the fresh fish that they fry up for you (VERY tasty) and the fresh made omelets in the morning WOW!! You have your choice of items that they will make it from, and the bacon and orange juice always great too!
Plenty of desserts to chose from(none of them sickly sweet) but really the best thing there is the ice cream! Wow...now THAT is good! And the fresh mango and pineapple! I could have lived on that all week! The seafood restaurant was great (filet mignon was awesome there!) and the prawns were huge and very fresh! The cuban restaurant was pretty good too,and the Italian restaurant has the BEST smoked salmon salad as a starter! You have to have this! You need to book those 3 a la carte restaurants when you first get there as they book up fast, and you can only book them until noon..so get there early in the morning !! Oh, and try the fried bananas in the buffet restaurant they are also great! If you get hungry after all restaurants are closed, no worries you can still get a fabulous hamburger and fries from the one bar!
THE BARS!! They are great there! We took travel mugs, and the bartenders always knew after the first day what we wanted in them! They are great at recognizing you there ! The pina coladas werent always slushy as the machines couldnt keep up but you have to try the MIAMI VICE drink(cant get it before noon though) That is an incredable drink! Mohitos are good as well, and i have to say when they make your drink there is no shortage of rum in them!!! Definately get your moneys worth with this all inclusive!
THE STAFF! All very friendly always saying hi and waving you to their table, and remembering what drinks you would like served with your meals! They are quick to clean up your plates at the tables etc and they do a great job of making you feel welcome! Just be prepared to stand in line at the money exchange there, BUT if you change money after 9pm its faster as its at the reception/lobby area!
THE BEACH!! Oh my God! Cant say enough great things about this beach.Its very clean, many shade huts, the sand doesnt get hot, and its soft soft sand! The water is amazing, and you can walk quite a ways out before it gets too deep! The shades of water...amazing as well! And its fun to to the body surfing when you get a few big waves!
I really could go on and on here..as its a great hotel and i would definately return, in fact, i didnt want to leave it at all! But to save some room for others (hahaha) i better stop!
Make sure you take a day trip into Havana, we went on a tour for $67 CUC and then they also took a video of us that we could purchase after for another $30 CUC but well worth it! Shows about an hour of our travel group and then an hour of Cuban history!
We also went on the catamaran for the day going out snorkeling and stopping in the middle of the ocean to swim with the dolphins where we could also get our picture taken for $10 CUC and those pics are great! You get to spend a fair amount of time with the dolphins and they swim right up to you! Then a lunch on a private island (cayo blanco)!This trip was definately worth the $89 CUC (unlimited drinking on that boat too)
Canvas paintings at the market in Varadero or Havana are a great buy, just make sure for the larger ones that they are stamped on the back to bring back to Canada ! The mahogany carvings and bull horn art is amazing too!
All in all i give this hotel and Varadero a huge thumbs up and i will be returning here in the future!!
Any questions at all...feel free to contact me and i will tell you anything more you might want to know!! This really was a GREAT holiday and one i will never forget!!!
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