Occidental Arenas Blancas

“If you want a good time meet new friends and enjoy”

The rooms and service was awesome the staff are the best at this resort The food was awesome Had no issues at all The beach and the pools are amazing No shortage of anything at this time. The entertainment was great bingo, dancing lessons funny games Nightly shows. Always a good time when I… more

The rooms and service was awesome the staff are the best at this resort The food was awesome Had no issues at all The beach and the pools are amazing No shortage of anything at this time. The entertainment was great bingo, dancing lessons funny games Nightly shows. Always a good time when I go The best is making friends from all over

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“Such a good place to go on vacation”

The hotel it's placed in the best zones of Varadero , and people that work there are very kind , we got such a warm welcome from the receptionist, and you can also have access to some services from Arenas Blancas hotel if you are staying at Solymar

“Barcelo Solymar - A Cuban Gem!”

We stayed at Barcelo Solymar Mar 9th to 16th, 2025. We are a family of 5 with 3 teenaged boys. We had 2 rooms (Oceanview) in the main building. This was our first trip to Cuba. We typically travel to Dominican Republic 2x a year, but travelling over March break with 3 kids, this resort was more… more

We stayed at Barcelo Solymar Mar 9th to 16th, 2025. We are a family of 5 with 3 teenaged boys. We had 2 rooms (Oceanview) in the main building. This was our first trip to Cuba. We typically travel to Dominican Republic 2x a year, but travelling over March break with 3 kids, this resort was more affordable. Check-in Staff were very welcoming and friendly. We arrived around 1am after some flight delays. Staff took the time to answer any of our questions and most importantly to point us in the direction of the snack bar to get some much needed grub and cervezas. Room Rooms were dated for sure, but very clean and comfortable. The beds were very comfortable. We had 2 queen beds in each room and one of the rooms they added a cot (without requesting) for the kids, which was perfect. Our view from our balcony was superb. The bathroom had a toilet, bidet and bathtub/shower. Plenty of hot water at any time of day. Toiletries were provided (including toilet paper). Housekeeping service was excellent. They do a great job of cleaning everyday and provide large bottles of drinking water. Food Food on the resort was OK. Nothing to jump up and down excited about, but we were always something we could find to eat. Breakfast was our favourite, with an egg station and fresh fruit. Lunch and dinner typically had a couple grill stations - always a pasta station, usually a fish station and a meat (chicken, pork, burger) station. Food is scarce in Cuba, so go in with an understanding of that and you’ll be OK knowing that you’re not going to starve to death. I enjoy red wine with dinner and it seemed to be scarce. There is a store on-site that sells wine and I took my own. There are many different a la carte restaurants, but we didn’t book any or them as we didn’t want to be committed to a timeline. Resort Amenities The pools and grounds are beautiful. There are plenty of lounge chairs available (no need to get up at 4am to reserve one like other resorts). Pools are kept very clean. This resort is shared with Occidental Arenas Blancas which allows the opportunity to explore and enjoy the amenities of both resorts. The Animation team is very dedicated to providing different games and activities around the pool. We went to a couple of the nightly shows and they were a lot of fun. The bars, in my opinion, is where the magic of this resort happens. We were very quickly welcomed by Lala, Aliochy and Jimmy. Visiting with them during the course of our trip really made it a special vacation. There were sometimes shortages of different alcohols, but they were very good at making delicious drinks with what they had. The beer was good. Off Resort We spent quite a bit of time exploring Varadero. We chose this resort because it’s easy to walk into town. We enjoyed taking taxi rides in the old cars and exploring the vendor markets. We enjoyed eating off resort and had poutine, Chinese food and twice to El Rancho for lobster dinner. We went to the Beatles Bar two different nights with the kids and it was a blast. Followed up by Havana Club after it closed. Town is 100% safe to navigate at any time of day or night. Beach The beach was absolutely stunning. It is a very short walk (3-5 min) from the rooms. The sand is white and the water is beautiful and clear. There were tons of umbrellas and chairs no matter what time we went. You won’t find a prettier beach anywhere. Power Outage We were there during a country wide black out. Power went out 8:15pm on Friday. Although the resort does have a generator, it apparently was not working and didn’t kick in until sometime in the night. The generator did provide us with everything we needed, including hot water, but did not allow for AC. The room was a bit warm, so we left the balcony door open and it was fine. Although it was somewhat of an inconvenience, when we heard that the Cuban locals have been dealing with rolling blackouts since October, only having power for one hour a day, we felt we had no room to complain at all. While Cuba is in an energy crisis, resources are dedicated to the resort towns to ensure tourists are made comfortable (this was a hard one for me to think of). If you have extra flashlights, batteries, solar lights, bring them for the locals - they desperately need them. Overall We went with an open mind, having heard of the current conditions in Cuba. We were pleasantly surprised. The staff, beach and being able to explore town made the trip for us! Thank you again, Lala, Aliochy and Jimmy!! I feel like with made friends there.

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