Hotel Palma Real

Personal muy amable, ubicación muy buena, con acceso directo a unas playas espectaculares. Las instalaciones están un poco descuidadas, pero es un muy buen hotel

La atención muy mal, la habitación nada que ver con la que reserve no tenía nada de superior, la comida buena, no tenía nada de comer después de las 10 de la noche

Me, my boyfriend, my mate and her boyfriend (24-25) have just returned from our holiday at Palma Real in Varadero and can honestly say we had a wonderful time. Carry on reading for more details: TRANSFER - We travelled from Manchester to Vardero airport through Direct Holidays and we were on a Thomas Cook Flight. It took approx 9.5hrs to get there. Once there it was a very slow proceeding through customs but after this there is was no problem. The coaches were already there, the reps easy to find and the it all went very smoothly. On top of this it is only a 20 minute coach drive to this hotel. LOCATION - Having travelled round Varadero on the open top double decker bus I would definatley say this is the best location of all the hotels available. There is a small craft market just outside the hotel and you are a walk away from Josane Park which has various bars, restaurants and is also lovely to just have a walk around. On top of this there are plenty of little bars on the stroll up there and past it as this hotel is located right next to the lively part of Vardero. There are also clubs near by at a walkable distance which the staff will happily direct you to. ROOMS / CLEANLINESS - The room is a decent size for an all inclusive hotel and is very well air conditioned (You do NOT have to leave your room key in it for it to work which is a bonus). There are plenty of draws and wardrobe space as well as a safety deposit box which is available for use for a small fee. There is a TV with various channels but NO english football is shown. There is a english speaking sports/news channel and a movie channel with a couple of films on a day.The rooms are cleaned and towels are changed on a daily basis (Tip - ensure towels are in the bath when u go out in the morning if you want them changed). Also you will find a lovely little creation on your bed on your return made out of the towels. The only small problem was that as there is only 1-2 maids in each block twhich meant the rooms were not sometimes done until 3.30-4 Pm however this was not a major issue. POOLS - There are 3 pools available. All of which are clean both in the pool and the surronding area. There is the pool with the pool bar which is nearest the Lobby. This is also the most lively and loud pool so not your best bet if your after some time to relax. There is then another large pool situated by building 3 and with this you also have a kiddies pool. There is suitable shaded areas provided by palm trees and sunbeds available at both pool areas. BEACH - The hotel does have its own private beach that also has a snack bar available serving drinks and light snacks. There is also an abudance of sunbeds and various water sports such as wind surfing and pedalos that are included within the all inclusive band. The only downside to the beach is that you have to walk over a road to get there, however it isnt that busy, not that far and is well worth the walk once you get there. FOOD - There are 4 pl

I read through a number of reviews for this resort. I wasn't expecting anything huge but thought it would be good for a first mother/daughter vacation. Overall, the resort is not bad but it is definitely not somewhere I would go again. I always make the best of wherever I go and this was no different. Let's start off with the check in process. Like many other reviewers have said in the past, it is just one long wait. We had a full bus of people and there was only one person working the desk at 11:00 at night. Making for a very long wait to get checked in and keys for our room. Let's move onto the rooms. Nothing special, clean and comfortable but very dated. I don't spend much time in the room so it did not play a huge part in my overall opinion of the resort. They do have a mini fridge in the room so you can keep drinks cool but they do not stock the fridge at all, not even with one bottle of water. My advice to anyone going here would be to bring an empty water bottle with you otherwise you will have to purchase water at the gift shop to have in your room. Then you can re-fill the bottle anytime at the bar. I know quite a few people complained about the food here. I also realize that this is cuba. I did not have a problem with the food at all. In fact, I found the food here to be nicely seasoned and they had a number of different bottles of seasoning (plum sauce, mustard, ketchup, hot sauce, salad dressings etc) for your use as well. I did take my own salt, pepper, ketchup and mustard as I have needed these items in the past when visiting Cuba but I did not require them on this trip as they had more than I needed at the buffet and a la cartes. Some of the food was very repetative but I always found something to eat and never went hungry. That being said, I do have to say that not all the food was hot. They would bring out fresh french fries from the kitchen only to find that they were stone cold, not even luke warm. We did try the snack bar and had no complaints there and the food was cooked to order so it was always hot!! We also tried the italian restaurant (which you do not need reseravations for) but service was so slow that we did not go back there. We took advantage of the a la carte restaurants and had no complaints about the food to start with. The Cuban a la carte was fabulous. The Chinese a la carte was the best meal we had the entire week (or so we thought when we were eating it) until my 21 year old daughter ended up with food poisoning at 11:30 that night. Needless to say, we ended up at the hospital at 4:30 in the morning because she was completely dehydrated by then. I went down to the front desk to ask about a doctor but there is only a doctor on duty from 9-6. So they told me to take her to the clinic 2 blocks away. Unfortunately, that was not an option for us as she could not move and I could not carry her out of the room on my own. So they suggested I go to the clinic on my own and bring the doct

We stayed at Palma Real the first week in April and had done much research on this site prior to booking. Having stayed there the recent reviews pretty well describe the hotel accurately. Great value and friendly people made the overall experience extremely positive. The clientele at this hotel is all ages and there seems to be a place for everyone whether you're young and single, family, senior , romantic couple or whatever - you will find others to mix with! Location - Best spot to be in Varadero we thought. Close to downtown, nightlife, shopping, amazing restaurants, and one of the best sections of Varadero Beach. It is a real gem even through it's not right on the beach. It was rated 3.5 stars but we felt it would be at least a 4 star if it had been directly on the beach. We have stayed at a wide range of hotels in the past from 3 star up to 5 star and overall this property is more like a 4 for Cuba. Our trip cost $1500 for 2 people including taxes and we felt we got more out of it than what we paid (considering other vacations we have taken cost over double). Flight - We flew down on West Jet which was a dream compared to other charter flights we've taken in the past. The Varadero airport experience went quickly and no problems at all. The transfer to the resort was also quick and the tour rep on the bus made us feel right at home. Front desk/Service - Check in at the Palma Real ran smoothly and we found the front desk staff to be very professional and helpful all week. Our first impression of the lobby area (when we arrived around 8pm) was that the was an abundance of energy from the people enjoying themselves at the hotel. Everyone was talking to each other and having a great time. This place immediately demonstrated that people were happy and content on their vacation. The same positive attitude amongst hotel guests could be seen all week long in every area of the property including the service from staff. All areas of the staff extend their services to make your vacation as best as they can make it. We tipped staff with Cuban convertible pesos plus gifts from home. Grounds/buildings - Everything was clean and well kept considering it was rated a 3.5 star. There is constant work done done on the gardens, cleaning around pools, common areas. The property is spacious and there is enough landscaping to make it attractive. The common areas are decorated nicely and relatively new. There were many areas to sit so there was never any overcrowding of guests in any area. Our Airtransat rep was extremely helpful and gave a very informative talk the morning after we arrived in the entertainment area. He had maps and info about tours. We did book a half day snorkel trip to Coral beach and then went to the Saturno cave for a fresh water swim but we booked it through the Baracuda dive shop only because we wanted to be with dive instructors. Think it was the same trip anyways but it was about $30 per person for 9:45am until 1:30

We stayed here again from February 1st to the 7th. As usual, we had a great time. Not too many negatives. We were on the 5th floor in Building 1. There was about two days where we had no hot water. No big deal for us. Two times the water to the building was shut off for maybe two hours at most. Again, not a big deal for us. The food at the buffet was very good this trip. I'm not picky and entitled so there was plenty to be happy about. The stir fry they had was really the best food we've ever had at this hotel. Of course the people all grabbed at it like they were Chinese at a buffet. The bread is the best I've ever had. The fruits are so amazing compared to the ones we get in Canada. The staff at the buffet were always awesome, every trip. Nothing to complain about here. Our room was very good. We must have had one of the newer beds because the mattress was a full king size instead of the two twins they used to put together. We have to say the mattress and pillows were amazing and we hope to get the same bed next time we visit in November. The cleaning staff were great. One day we were only able to get one clean towel. No big deal and we were happy to have received even one. The view from the balcony was amazing as well. The lobby bar was awesome. It closes now at 11pm so be advised you need to go to the Havana Club if you want to continue with the drinks. I don't think you can smoke inside the club since we saw all the smokers outside. That's a good thing. The staff at the lobby bar were so good at their jobs and worked their butts off getting everyone their drinks. I always tipped them. Gracie was a standout as far as I'm concerned. Always good service and she's always happy to see us when we return. The swim up bar is great and Tatica is one of the best workers they have at the resort. Wonderful person and she speaks english well and even helped me with my trying to learn Spanish. Will be so nice to return and see her again. The pool was clean as far as I could tell. The location is pretty much the best part of this hotel. Close to everything you want to see and it's so easy to get to the beach. I've seen people complain about having to walk a block across the street to get to the beach. Like, seriously? The ones complaining were the ones most in need of a good walk for exercise. Callie 62 next door, and the Beatles bar another block away. You can't beat the location of the Palma Real in my opinion. But for me, the best part of this hotel is the people who work there. Since it's my 5th time there, a lot of the workers recognize me and always have a nice smile with a friendly hug when I return. It's hard to explain but that kind of welcome goes a long way with me and it's the best part of returning, when you walk up to the door and the security recognizes you and asks how you and your loved ones are doing. We went to the a la carte restaurant La Piazza. This was the first time we tried the a la carte and I have to say it was very very