We stayed at the Riu Varadero from July 19 to July 26. This was one of the newer-built hotels in Varadero, and it shows. All the buildings were very clean and well taken care of. The hotel staff was very friendly, and they would always greet you every time they pass you by. Check-in was very quick and one of the hotel staff took our luggage to the room. We stayed in Building 24, which was very close to the beach.
Room
The room was very clean and well-kept. The double-sized beds
we had were comfortable, but there was another small mattress in the room that
felt like you were sleeping on a rock. I slept on that mattress one night, and
it was honestly one of the worst nights of sleep I ever had. There was
something wrong with the TV, in which the colors was all messed up and couldn’t
be fixed, but that was only a minor inconvenience. The mini-fridge was pretty
cool, which came stoked with water, soft drinks, and beer. It was replenished
every other day. The balcony was also very nice. Other than that, the room was
pretty standard. The maids came by every day and did a great job in cleaning
the room.
Rating: 7/10
Bathroom
Once again, pretty standard. A major problem is that there
is a very high step to go in the bathtub, so young children, the elderly, or
others who need assistance may find it difficult to step into the bathtub. Be
sure to ask one of the hotel maids for some sort of step ladder if problems
arise.
Rating: 6/10
Towels
From reading previous reviews of this hotel, there were many
people who had issues with exchanging towels, so I brought my own. There were
already beach towels in the room, so I used those first before I used my own.
Indeed, exchanging those hotel-issued towels was a pain. The towel desk had
inconsistent hours, and they always ran out of clean towels. This is something
that needs to be fixed.
Food
Please note that I am
a vegetarian. My review of the food may not reflect on those who are not
vegetarians.
The main buffet restaurant has a wide selection of food for
everyone, including pizza, pasta, stir-fry, and more. For breakfast, there’s an
omelette bar for people to enjoy. Honestly, the food was not very good at all.
You tend to say that when the food you eat in the resort has you running for the
bathroom.
The snack bar by the main pool has your typical fast-food
grub, such as hamburgers, hotdogs, and French fries. They also have a
mini-buffet. The food here is slightly better than the buffet food, but not by
much.
The worst (for vegetarians) is the a la carte restaurants. I
went to the Creole and Oriental restaurants and they didn’t offer any
vegetarian options. The Creole restaurant offered me a spaghetti (which was
horrible), and I walked out of the Oriental restaurant. For a so-called Cuban
5-star resort, Riu really needs to offer vegetarian options for their a la
carte restaurants. Absolutely ridiculous.
Overall, the food was pretty bad, almost terrible and
inedible. Also, the food is left open, so that brings in bugs and insects
toward the food. In the snack bar, I’ve seen birds fly to the open buffet food
and pick at it. That is very unhygienic, if I do say so myself. My stomach was
killing me at the end of the vacation.
Rating: 1/10 (seriously, it is that bad)
If you have the opportunity to eat outside the resort,
please do so. I recommend the Salsa Suarez in Varadero town. Tell them Randy
sent you.
Gift Shop/Vendors
The gift shop and the various vendors outside it sell
various souvenirs and other products. They are a bit expensive though, so I
suggest taking a taxi to the town of Varadero, where there is a lot more choice
on what souvenirs to buy, and at a cheaper price.
Part 2 will come tomorrow, where I will talk about the beach, the pools, the entertainment, and give my final verdict.
