Visiting hotels in exotic locations may sound like a dream job, but it can be really hard work – honestly! Natalie visited the Cuban beach resort of Varadero as part of a longer trip to the Caribbean’s largest island, and certainly didn’t get time to chill on the beach!
“We were spending two nights in Varadero as part of a week-long trip to Cuba, that had already taken in Havana, Pinar Del Rio and Trinidad – we’d already clocked up quite a few miles and had visited plenty of hotels. Varadero is Cuba’s largest resort so there were various hotels here I was keen to see – I was hoping two days would be enough, but it soon became clear that it wouldn’t!
The hotels we’d seen in the other parts of Cuba were generally small places, quite often historic buildings, which meant that they were quite easy to visit – some had only around 15 rooms, with a restaurant and bar, and the odd one also had a pool. Cuba’s historic hotels are generally beautiful and full of character, but they don’t tend to have dozens of room types and lots of facilities! Varadero’s hotels, on the other hand, are far larger resort-style properties, with plenty of restaurants, numerous bars and plenty of space – it was going to take far longer to see each one properly than it had elsewhere on the Island!
We started at the Paradisus Varadero, a beautiful hotel set in huge grounds – which instantly meant that it was going to take quite a while to see everything the hotel offers! The setting of this hotel is stunning, and the beach here is glorious, but when it’s 33 degrees and you’re dressed more for the office than for the beach, it’s a long, hot walk to make sure the beach is as glorious close up and it looks from a distance.
Next stop – Sandals Royal Hicacos. As with all Sandals hotels, this property has a good selection of room types, and it’s important for me to see them all, so I know what the differences are between each type. As the resort was fairly full during our visit, each of the different room categories that was available for us to see seemed to be at the opposite end of the hotel from one another! Sometimes it seems that hotel visits are also a great way of keeping fit!
Over the course of our two days in Varadero we did just about squeeze in all of the hotels we wanted to see, but only with some early starts and late finishes – and even when an unexpected tropical downpour happened, we didn’t have time to sit it out and carried on regardless – although I didn’t get to see the beach at the Paradisus Princessa Del Mar because of it!
When I got back home a friend asked me how my holiday to Cuba had been. ‘I wouldn’t know’ I replied – ‘I’ve definitely been to Cuba, but I really haven’t been on holiday’!”
Links:
For holidays to Varadero visit http://www.escapeworldwide.co.uk/cuba/destin/vra.shtml
View our Cuba beaches photo gallery: http://www.farawayescapes.co.uk/gallery/Escape%20Worldwide%20Cuba%20Beach%20Photo%20Gallery/
“We were spending two nights in Varadero as part of a week-long trip to Cuba, that had already taken in Havana, Pinar Del Rio and Trinidad – we’d already clocked up quite a few miles and had visited plenty of hotels. Varadero is Cuba’s largest resort so there were various hotels here I was keen to see – I was hoping two days would be enough, but it soon became clear that it wouldn’t!
The hotels we’d seen in the other parts of Cuba were generally small places, quite often historic buildings, which meant that they were quite easy to visit – some had only around 15 rooms, with a restaurant and bar, and the odd one also had a pool. Cuba’s historic hotels are generally beautiful and full of character, but they don’t tend to have dozens of room types and lots of facilities! Varadero’s hotels, on the other hand, are far larger resort-style properties, with plenty of restaurants, numerous bars and plenty of space – it was going to take far longer to see each one properly than it had elsewhere on the Island!
We started at the Paradisus Varadero, a beautiful hotel set in huge grounds – which instantly meant that it was going to take quite a while to see everything the hotel offers! The setting of this hotel is stunning, and the beach here is glorious, but when it’s 33 degrees and you’re dressed more for the office than for the beach, it’s a long, hot walk to make sure the beach is as glorious close up and it looks from a distance.
Next stop – Sandals Royal Hicacos. As with all Sandals hotels, this property has a good selection of room types, and it’s important for me to see them all, so I know what the differences are between each type. As the resort was fairly full during our visit, each of the different room categories that was available for us to see seemed to be at the opposite end of the hotel from one another! Sometimes it seems that hotel visits are also a great way of keeping fit!
Over the course of our two days in Varadero we did just about squeeze in all of the hotels we wanted to see, but only with some early starts and late finishes – and even when an unexpected tropical downpour happened, we didn’t have time to sit it out and carried on regardless – although I didn’t get to see the beach at the Paradisus Princessa Del Mar because of it!
When I got back home a friend asked me how my holiday to Cuba had been. ‘I wouldn’t know’ I replied – ‘I’ve definitely been to Cuba, but I really haven’t been on holiday’!”
Links:
For holidays to Varadero visit http://www.escapeworldwide.co.uk/cuba/destin/vra.shtml
View our Cuba beaches photo gallery: http://www.farawayescapes.co.uk/gallery/Escape%20Worldwide%20Cuba%20Beach%20Photo%20Gallery/
Escape Worldwide - Home of Long Haul Holidays
http://www.escapeworldwide.co.uk
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