Must-see hotels in Varadero

  • Royalton Hicacos Resort

    Varadero

    Wood and thatch combined with vast public areas with babbling water features lend a mellifluous air to this undeniable slice of Varadero luxury run by the…

  • Beny's House

    Varadero

    Why would you want to blow hundreds of dollars on an all-inclusive when you can pay CUC$45 a night to stay at Beny's house? It's within spitting distance…

  • Fiesta Americana

    Varadero

    Always one of Varadero’s more salubrious offerings, this attractive low-rise resort at the end of the peninsula has recently changed brands from Spanish…

  • Meliá Varadero

    Varadero

    Twice as big as its sister hotel Meliá Las Américas, and happy to cater to families, the 490-room Meliá Varadero immediately impresses with its…

  • Blau Varadero

    Varadero

    Suspend your judgment on Varadero’s tallest and most architecturally unsubtle resort. Trying hard to imitate an Aztec pyramid from the outside (why?), the…

  • Paradisus Varadero

    Varadero

    The five-star Paradisus has recently carved a new campus out of what's left of Varadero's fallow land and renovated its original complex. They join a…

  • Paradisus Princesa del Mar

    Varadero

    With a big asking price, you're going to have high expectations of this adults-only Meliá resort. Despite its size (630 rooms), it's certainly heavy on…

  • Casa Mary y Ángel

    Varadero

    The array of shady terraces at this leading private homestay option will have hotels hereabouts looking enviously over their shoulders – as will the three…

  • Meliá Las Américas

    Varadero

    The smaller, more grown-up alternative to the Meliá Marina Varadero next door, Las Américas has a no-kids policy, a nice slice of palm-tree-embellished…

  • Meliá Marina Varadero

    Varadero

    No, that's not a beached cruise liner, but a five-star Meliá! Part of the plushly redeveloped Marina Gaviota, this has several key advantages over its…

  • Mansión Xanadú

    Varadero

    Varadero's most intimate lodging is in the grand former residence of US chemical-entrepreneur Irenée Du Pont, where eight fairly simple art deco–era rooms…

  • Meliá Península Varadero

    Varadero

    Giant chess set, thatched beach parasols, swim-up pool bar; it's all here at the 4½-star Península (one of 11 Meliás in Varadero). In case you get them…

  • Meliá Internacional

    Varadero

    Varadero’s erstwhile art deco hotel, the Continental was regrettably knocked down a couple of years ago to make way for this high-rise giant. Granted, it…

  • Sol Palmeras

    Varadero

    Part of the Meliá group's cheaper 'Sol' brand, this 3½-star dates from 1990. While the architecture doesn't exactly take your breath away, the hotel has…

  • Be Live Experience Tuxpán

    Varadero

    Concrete-block architecture and palm-fringed beaches make jarring bedfellows that are all too common in Varadero. But the Tuxpán is famous for other…

  • Memories Varadero

    Varadero

    By the time you reach the end of the peninsula, all of the strung-out resorts appear to merge into one – this one. The Memories (not to be confused with…

  • Dormiendo en las Olas

    Varadero

    'Sleeping in the waves' is how the name of this beach-fronting house translates and you almost are – at least, you're far closer to them than you would be…

  • La Ocean Varadero El Patriarca

    Varadero

    Named for a nearby giant cactus that the hotel developers mercifully didn't bulldoze, the Patriarca has some worthy quirks. The room units are wooden…

  • Papo's House

    Varadero

    A treat of a house, Papo's is modest on the outside but surprisingly elegant within with antique Louis XV furniture – and that includes in the bedrooms…

  • Casa Betty y Jorge

    Varadero

    Two rooms, one with its own neat little breakfast bar, front a peaceful private courtyard below, whilst up and round the corner, Betty will cook for you …

  • Iberostar Playa Alameda

    Varadero

    Red-roofed villas, a palm-fringed walkway leading down to the beach, numerous bars, restaurants, beauty salons and kids clubs, and a rather plush wood…

  • Hostal Sol RyA

    Varadero

    Handy little homestay right next to the Víazul bus station with one independent apartment (with bunk beds and ideal for families) and another normal…

  • Casa Menocal

    Varadero

    Traditional gray-stone Varadero house right on a dreamy slice of beach. Five rooms with roof beams and traditional 1940s feel. Book ahead.

  • Starfish Las Palmas

    Varadero

    This new-ish Starfish hotel is different from other 21st-century Varadero accommodations. It's not an all-inclusive, it's not a casa particular (private…

  • Hotel los Delfines

    Varadero

    The Delfines is unusual for Varadero in that it's a cheap all-inclusive that inhabits the town itself rather than the spread-out hotel zone to the east…

  • Hotel Pullman

    Varadero

    The turreted Pullman still stands defiantly in Varadero town, competing, not altogether successfully, with the surrounding casas particulares (rooms in…

  • Hotel Club Kawama

    Varadero

    A venerable old 1930s hacienda-style building, the sprawling Kawama was the first of the 60-plus hotels to inhabit this once-deserted peninsula more than…

  • Hotel Starfish Cuatro Palmas

    Varadero

    One wonders if this former personal residence of dictator Fulgencio Batista would still appeal to his opulent taste. The first of what could be termed the…

  • Be Live Experience Varadero

    Varadero

    Settling for a could-do-better 'C' grade, Be Live looks suspiciously like the airport you just left to come here (right down to the observation tower),…

  • Hotel Acuazul

    Varadero

    Not fussy? Then head for this all-inclusive at the west end of the peninsula, whose architecture is a little Russian and where the ambience is more Cuban…

  • Villa Sunset

    Varadero

    The sedate four-room Villa Sunset comes with a large well-appointed sitting room and front porch and the absence of on-site owners (not uncommon in…

  • Casa Marlén y Javier

    Varadero

    A narrow house with three rooms on a quiet back street, with hosts that are among Varadero's favorites with travelers. There is a ranchón (rustic, open…