Playa Vista Azul

Excellent staff and entertainment [Details]

I hoped for the best but prepared for the worst and was pleasantly surprised. We had an oceanview room with a gorgeous view. The food was good, except for the buffet. I recommend upgrading so that you have another pool and restaurant option. That restaurant was awesome for breakfast, lunch and dinner (get the lobster)! The service was great. It was difficult getting a lounge chair anywhere unless you were up at the crack of dawn and be one of those people that throw a towel, book or hat on it, then come back in the afternoon. I was not impressed with the lifeguards always asking you to bring them beer. The ones at the pool all hung out in one area and weren't even watching the swimmers. Too busy watching the women walk past them or asking men to bring them all beers. Imagine getting CPR by a beer breath, drunken 'lifeguard'. One said to my husband "Hey Gringo! Get me a beer!" It was disrespectful, inappropriate and disgusting. So parents, watch your kids and not rely on the 'lifeguards'. Other than this, I would go back although I do love exploring different resorts. I love Cuba! [Details]

The hotel is old thus looks not clean. However, the cleaning crew is very friendly and helpful. The food at the buffet restaurant is okay though has many varieties. The food at the Italian restaurant is not impressive as expected. The food at the Caribbean restaurant is delicious. It's highly recommended. [Details]

The resort itself is beautiful and the entertainment staff is excellent. Junior, honey and the rest of the entertainment staff are welcoming and make the experience. The food is not great. The buffet is exactly the same day in and out with very limited options. The store is smalll and limited. We had no tv for the first three days. A la carts are great if you can get in. Drinks are so so as they don't have vodka and run out of mix a lot. Great maids and bar staff. [Details]

This was my first visit to Cuba, but I really liked the Playa Vista Azul and would recommend it to anyone. [Details]

Overall had a good time [Details]

My friend and I recently stayed here for relaxing vacation. And overall I must say not worth it! But you pay for what you get right? For starters some actually most of the stuff isn't very friendly or helpful! And ask for tips way too often they don't wait for you to tip them! But I met a few amazing staff who helped make the trip memorable! The food in the buffet was mediocre and repetitive honestly feel like they need to work on switching it up! The lineups get so long and everything just takes so long! Some days waiters would forget to offer us beverages well one waiter in particular always remembered our drink orders and to check on us! The à la cart restaurant Always claim to be busy and full and when you look in nobody's in there! You have to bribe and pay high money to get onto one of the list which is sad because you already spent a good amount of money just to book the hotel! The room is it that big but I will say for the most part it's clean and well-maintained the mini bar had nothing in it though which made me confuse why is it called a mini bar it was just an empty fridge… and I paid for a room with a fully stocked mini bar but OK! I don't know what bit me but it caused me to have a reaction! The pool is beautiful the beaches are beautiful the bar stuff amazing! The night shows or hit or miss! The resort doesn't really offer much like no adult club or like adult event so if you're looking for like fun wised wouldn't recommend family friendly wise yet definitely! Overall just wasn't pleased but he you live in learn and everything is a learning experience! [Details]

Good location which is just 30 mins from airport. Beach is beautiful. Pool is clean. However, staffs are very unfriendly. Front desk & reception is very unhelpful. [Details]

Beautiful hotel, great service and the weather was fantastic. [Details]

Air conditioner regulator didn't work so we either froze or we couldn't turn it on at all. Cockroaches in the room and everywhere. Pools are filthy. Food is repetitive but understandable for Cuba. Water down wine! Some staff was very rude! Especially the lady at the swim up bar. Called reception many times for pillows and never got one and person was rude. Freddy the lifeguard was amazing! Fridge didn`t work. I have more complaints but wasted to much time on this hotel. [Details]

this was my second time staying at playa vista Azul and i was not disappointed. the 2 beaches were beautiful and clean. We (my mother and i) always found something we enjoyed at the buffet. The staff was super friendly with us our whole week. we had trouble in our room the first night with the A/C, and the staff accommodated us to a new room. many activities were organized by the entertainment group, they were great. [Details]

Just came back from one week vacation at this resort in mid December. The beautiful view of infinity pool caught my attention when booking for the hotel. Upon check-in, we upgraded to the oceanfront room above the lobby. The views from the room were breathtaking, which was the best part of our stay.

Very impressed with the hotel covid safety protocols! Every single staff was wearing masks in and outdoors. Hand sanitizers everywhere throughout the resort. Bathrooms were kept super clean in all public areas with abundant tissue papers and soaps!

Customer service throughout the resort was professional and friendly, special thanks to the super kind and caring lady at the reception and customer service relations (sorry I forgot their names), Yadami at the buffet restaurant, and the most helpful, friendly and generous electrician Barbaro, for lending his electronic convertor to me so I could use my own hair curler and hair blow dryer! Thank you so much!!

The room was clean and well maintained. The cleaning service lady Donalis was not only very friendly kind helpful and hard working, but also a great artist in making creative towel artworks! Very impressive! Probably the best one I had seen so far!

The restaurants. Had tried 3 ala carte restaurants - the Cuban, Italian and international. My favorite was the Cuban restaurant. Everything was super delicious! For the buffet, thumbs up for keeping the customer safe! Instead of self-serve, there was a server at every food counter to offer what customer wanted. The foo variety and quality were reasonably fine considering it's Cuba. To me, breakfast and lunch were better. There was always a long line up for the omelets and grills. So I only had a chance to try it once. No hot tea serving at all restaurants, which I wish the management can improve.

The entertainment. One of the most important reason for me to choose Cuba as my vacation destination was the live entertainments with talented musician and dancers. Had been to many other Cuban resorts in the past before Covid, I'm sorry to say that this resort was at the bottom list that I had seen so far. This is the only reason that I took one star off the five star review, and probably will be the only reason that I will not come back to this resort. To me, there was lack of activities throughout the day. Occasionally some live music playing in the lobby, but no customer participation anywhere such as dancing! The nightly shows at the theater was fine. But everything was quiet and dead after the show. Not sure if it was the Covid, but I'm sure the management can do something to make customers smile by letting them participate in dance and other activities, and still keeping some social distance.

WiFi is now provided free and can be connected at almost everywhere in the resort including guest rooms. This is a great improvement in Cuba! We were given 7 hours when we checked in, but needed to call or go to the lobby reception to renew every 3 hours. Sometimes there were long lineups. After 11:00 p.m., we tried to call but no one answered to renew Wi-Fi, which was a bit disappointment.

Overall, it was a present experience at this resort! Appreciate all the friendly supports from the staff! Would definitely recommend! [Details]

Overall had a great time at this resort expect the food was not great. Been to Cuba before and never complained about the food!! [Details]

This is a widespread resort with its central building perched high on a rocky cliff overlooking the ocean. The landscape is very interesting.
It is a recent construction with a modern feel. We enjoyed our spacious room with its modern bathroom and very efficient air conditioning.
Two separate beaches are located on either side of the building. The smaller one is closer to the central area while the larger one was more out of the way. There were more than enough chairs and parasols whether we chose a quiet place to read or a livelier place to enjoy entertainment.
Our room was cleaned by lunchtime, which was nice if we wanted to take a break from the sun in the afternoon.
The buffet presented hygiene issues. There were not enough serving utensils so people used their hands. We saw people taking pics with their hair over the food and a little boy lick the salt and pepper shakers.
Being in Cuba, there was a definite sense of when staples were depleting. The best time was on Thursday and Friday. A tip: Wherever we decided to eat, we got there early. The food at the buffet was still hot and inviting and place in the à la carte restaurants was still available.
Again being in Cuba, technology was still in the 20th century with 1 peso cards to access WIFI by the hour.
Live entertainment in the evening in the lobby and at lunchtime in the beach snack bar was excellent. Interestingly, the choice of music was more pop than traditional Cuban. We also saw a very exciting aquatic show in the pool area. [Details]

very nice hotel very clean and very nice resort [Details]

What an amazing place! We had a wonderful time at this resort! It was clean and well maintained (to Cuba standards) the workers are fantastic!! The food was good. Our only complaint was how hard the bed was. But that isn't enough to keep us away! We'll be back at this resort! It's a quiet and peaceful place to call home while on vacation! Double decker bus stops right outside the resort to tour you around down town! [Details]

My girlfriends and I went for vacation April 26th,2019. I had never been down south but did plenty of research. I choose Cuba because I've been told many times about beautiful beaches and amazing people. This could not be more true!! The staff were absolutely amazing!! Special shoutout to a few of our favourite entertainment staff Mirtha, Danny, and Gus! Thank you Livia for keeping us well "hydrated" at the pool bar! The resort is stunning and our rooms were kept clean. Everyone warned me about "Cuba food" ... there was always something to eat, and I am a picky eater..so don't let this hold you back! The Italian a lacarte was our favourite restaurant on resort. Jimmy at the lobby bar was so good to us ladies!!! THE BEACHES are stunning!!!! Having access to either a small beach or the larger beach was a nice option. The smaller beach seemed to be our preference for access to a bathroom and drinks easier. There isn't much night life on the resort after the theatre shows, but being in Varadero you can head on out to the Beatles bar for some great live music, and then over to Caillet 62 for dancing! The locals were very kind and it was easy to get a cab back to the resort. Thank you Ocean Vista for making my first trip so enjoyable! My friend and I have already booked our return for May 2020! Cannot wait to be back! Xo [Details]

We would not recommend this resort to anyone. The resort is lacking in a lot of the amenities offered, starting from the front desk to the rooms. Ala carte restaurants, pools, beach area and other facilities which we are happy to elaborate down below.
1) The rooms were not very clean, saw two cockroaches,towels, sheets and pillowcases were very smelly.
2) Staff were not friendly, courteous and lacked English communication.
3) There were only 4 Ala carte restaurants with limited seating, two of which closed daily on a rotating basis and no prior notice been given. Menu was limited and unchanged. Steaks were chewy and quite often the dish you required was not available,portions were small and wait times were long between meals.
4) The Buffet restaurant served Luke warm food and toasters were not working, the coffee was not hot , served with milk and no cream, the fruits were not sweet and likewise the juices.
5) No reservations were allowed in the Ala carte restaurants unless you were a privileged member and to become one you had to pay a high fee
6) Very few umbrellas in the pool area which closed early. [Details]

This was our 2nd stay with my family at Ocean Vista Azul. The staff as well as the cleanness of the hotel made us come back!! It is well located and we absolutely love the "villa style" of the buildings. I would definitely recommend this hotel, especially during the low season. The only problem is that the buffet and activity beach area are small, which becomes quite chaotic when there are a lot of people. But overall, Ocean Vista Azul is a great hotel to stay at in Varadero. [Details]

Hotel is new, however the beach is not very good. It goes deep very fast, so not kids friendly. There were waves almost every day. And, depending where you sleep, you need to walk between 8 to 15 minutes to get there. And the pool and the beach closes at 6pm! The sun is still up and burning, but they close them. You can't get chairs in the beach after 6pm and you can't go in the pool after 6pm! If you want umbrellas at the pool, there is never enough and you need to go in very early in order to get one. The food is bad, not too many choices, even the grilled meat is only beef and pork and is hard to chew. They have this area for the privileged people (that pay $70 more per person per day) and in a lot of areas they will tell you that is for "privileged only" - although for example the drink is in the bar, if you ask for it, they tell you that you can't have it - makes you feel bad. Customer service does not care if you complain. They say they will call someone to fix whatever needs fixing, but it takes a lot of follow up calls in order to get it done. The à la carte restaurants cannot be booked (unless you are "privileged"), but even if you can get to them by chance, they are not worth it. We went to Italian restaurant that served bruschetta as just bread with tomato sauce on top (not even close to the Italian food) and the waitress there was very rude, just because we said we need 2 more minutes to decide on the menu. We are never going to this resort again. [Details]

Horrible customer service.
Felt like people only worked on tips.
Not a 5 star hotel [Details]

this is the second time i stay in this hotel, i enjoy the service from all friendly staffs that works there, free drink and nice food, entertainment every night, especially the nice music preform at 8 pm in the lobby, while you enjoy the cocktail serve, room are clean, except they put me in a 3 bed room, when i travel single. [Details]

4th time at Ocean Vista Azul, great staff, beautiful rooms, good price. Smaller resort so you can walk everywhere.From our room to the beach was 1 minute walk and the beach is one of the best in the world. [Details]

My overall experience was good and I do recommend this resort.

The resort was well thought out. Whether you are in Bungalow 3-7 you have easy and quick access to the pool, small beach, buffets, à la carte restaurants and the lobby. I was in Bungalow 6 room 6310. From my balcony I could hear and somewhat see the evening shows from the Iberostar resort next door. When my patio door was closed I could not hear anything at all inside the room. I can't speak for the rooms that were closer to the Iberostar or even the rooms that were on the ground or second floor. Bungalow 7 was directly in front of the theatre so they absolutely will hear the show at least from their balconies.

Beach:There are 2 beaches, a small beach that has many newly installed Palapas and larger beach with very few Palapas. I heard that there was going to be Palapas added to the big beach and I did see Palapas being put together. Considering where my room was I was very close to the small beach, I spent my time there. The smaller beach had a rocky area on the far right but nothing that ruined by beach experience. The beachfront of the resort has a cliff which caused the beach to be divided to a small (right side of resort) and big beach (left side of the resort).

Food: There is a main buffet that is open for breakfast, lunch and dinner. A smaller beach buffet that is by the small beach and a snack bar that is located near the pool. I found the food to be good not just «good for Cuba ». There was not a great variety but enough for me to be tempted by more than one item and overfill my plate during the lunch and supper buffets. Breakfast was the usual egg stations where you can get eggs made just the way you want them. There was always a few choices of fresh fruit. Lunch and supper always included grilling stations where you chose your type of fish (about 3 choices) or meat (chicken, beef or pork). The snack bar served hot-dogs, hamburgers and fries. While I was there we had a big BBQ (an entire veal was slow cooked all day and served for supper) this was a hit and I confirm that it was delicious. There was at least one little BBQ for lunch. There may have been more but I spent most of my time at the beach and may have missed other BBQs. During this BBQ you chose your meat and it was cooked over charcoal.
There are 3 à la carte restaurants: Italian (Limoncello), Caribbean (Boca Marina) and Gourmet (BlueMoon). During my stay I had most of my suppers at the à la carte restaurants. I returned to all the restaurants and found one or two things I really liked in each. My favourite was the Caribbean restaurant, a huge shout out to Mayelin, Sandra, Doxana and Yaima. They were courteous and did everything they could to meet our wishes. At the Caribbean restaurant I recommend the roasted pork and the Torrejas for dessert. They request that men wear long pants and shirts with sleeves and closed shoes but they don't enforce this at all.
There is the traditional Ocean coffee shop « Mikes ». I had been an Ocean resort before and really enjoyed having a specialty coffee shop available. The coffee was OK but the service was not… The ladies always seemed pissed off. The coffee at the lobby was just as good if not better, so I started going there.

Shade: There is no shade around the pool and only a little possibility of shade at the big beach (at least until new Palapas are installed).

The reception staff, most if not all the Main buffet staff, the lobby bartenders, the à la carte wait staff and the maids were friendly and client focused. The beach buffet bar and wait staff were stone faced and often gave me the impression that I was bothering them with by drink orders. There was a small makeshift bar at the edge of the small beach where Fidel made a few drinks including the best Rum Punch I have ever had.

Rooms: The rooms are nice. The only "interesting" thing I would like to point out is there there is a window between the bedroom and the shower. This is not an issue for couples but can be a bit more delicate for families.

I recommend bringing your own drink cups/thermoses. They serve all take-out drinks (including coffee) in small plastic cups. [Details]

Resort has everything you need but is not huge so it has a nice relaxing feeling and not crowded or overly busy [Details]

This was my first trip to Cuba and the first one in 25 years. I went with moderately low expectations. I was extremely happy with the cleanliness of the hotel and all the pleasant staff. The food was really terrific and there was always something for every taste. The staff really seemed to be enjoying their job which made it nicer for the guests and always ready to help or just talk with you. Well done. We just found the after hours snack bar and the end of our stay and no one was really there. I thought there would have been somewhere to dance and meet new people later at night. It was very quiet after the show so we just went to bed. Maybe it's not advertised or misunderstood by the guests that the snack bar is open late, as we did not know. I would highly recommend this hotel. [Details]

Very Modern and has many updates.
Good food in Buffet, not so in Ala carts.
Beautiful views from lounge.
Although the pool water is very cold, the pool itself is laid out nicely.
Didn't enjoy any of the shows.
All of my favorite drinks they made, never ran out of anything.
Didn't find most staff friendly(in Lobby) or helpful. [Details]

The staff was very nice. A good variety to eat at the buffet. We had a chance to eat Mexican and Caribbean food and it was also good.
We could see they were building more palapa which is needed. [Details]

The hotel is beautiful, very clean and the grounds are gorgeous. The infinity pool made you feel like you were swimming out into the ocean and the view was breath taking. Sunsets were spectacular, so sit on the patio with your favorite drink and have your camera ready. The hotel is built on a cliff so be prepared to walk to the beach. On the right side you have a bit more of a walk to the larger beach, but the stairs are bit precarious so be careful, you will have to go up and down them to refill your drinks and get some munchies. On the left side of the hotel is the smaller beach but a much easier walk with no stairs and an outdoor buffet restaurant/bar and the view of the beach and ocean is gorgeous.There are two lifeguards on the beach and a very nice man to help you get your lounge chairs for you. I found the food a bit salty for my liking, it was ok, The Grand Buffet was the best place to each much more selection and easier to get a table as the A La Carte's were very difficult to get into, unless you had the "Privileged" packaged then you moved to the head of the line (look this up for more info) there was a distinct difference in alcohol non Privileged to Privileged with service, food and alcohol. American money is accepted, Canadian Money is accepted but preferred changed into CUC's ...if the bank at the hotel is closed when you want to change your money you can change it at the front desk. Airline rep's are a great source of info!! The internet card you purchase for 1 CUC can be used for an hour. Once you activate it you can go back on by turning your wifi off, turn your phone off and when you want to go back on turn phone on and wifi on and input the numbers on the card again...the person selling the cards will lead you to believe that you have to use that 1hr as soon as it's activated but that's not the case at all. All in all the Hotel is clean and beautiful, we had a fabulous time and met some wonderful people. Felt very safe no matter where we traveled. Staff were very helpful but on "Cuban time" and that was ok, I needed to slow down. P.S. be careful of the Jelly-Fish as they would appear on the beach in the morning, the tide bringing them in, the beach was cleaned in the early morning but some would get missed and so as much as you want to look up and all around look down and be careful! [Details]

Above average for Varadero, a bit lacking in food quality, drinks and furnishings, but that is expected in Cuba. Pools are very cold, wish they would heat them. Both beaches were beautiful. Lovely grounds to walk around and we did not find the walk to the beach far. I could see it being not a good resort choice for you if you have any mobility problems. Lobby had gorgeous view with the infinity pool and ocean. They are building more rooms with their own pool area and was told they are moving the Privilege section there. Not too much going on at night after the entertainment show. They had a disco by the beach 2 nights during the week. [Details]