Valentin El Patriarca Varadero: Comodidad y servicio excepcionales en un paraíso caribeño. Experimenta la belleza de Varadero con comodidades de primera clase en nuestro complejo turístico. Piscina, habitaciones acogedoras y una ubicación ideal cerca de atracciones. ¡Tu escape perfecto en Varadero!
Star ratings are intended to indicate the general level of features, amenities, and services to expect. This property is classified according to Giata.
HOTEL STYLE
Modern
Family Resort
Languages Spoken
French, Spanish
Location
Autopista Sur km 18 Parque Natural Punta Hicacos, Varadero 42200 Cuba
We stayed from Feb 29 - March 7, returning after staying here the same time last year.
Transfer from the airport is painfully slow. We learned our lesson last year, and took a yellow cab to the resort. Under 25 minutes from the time we left the airport we were checked in and had our first mojito in hand at the bar. About 2 hours later we noticed others from the plane arriving on the bus. 36 CUC well spent on a taxi. Our room was not ready until 4 but we packed change of clothes in carry on which we switched into at the airport and stored our luggage at hotel while we had lunch and enjoyed the beach.
Many familiar faces we recognized around the resort, we even had the same housekeeper by coincidence. Staff were always friendly and smiling.
Since staying last year, the resort has made some small upgrades and improvements we noticed. For instance, I would guess there were twice as many palapas shades and chairs on the beach this year than last. I did still arrive early to get a spot, as by 7am most shades were claimed. They had also improved Wifi reception around the resort, in the restaurants and at the Privilege section. We were across the walkway from the Privilege section in Block 16 and we had good reception in our room. Our room we felt was in an excellent location, it was central to everything yet quiet.
Food was excellent, occasionally we would find something wasn't available but that was rare. We always ate lunch at the beach restaurant if we were on the resort during the day. We ate dinner at the a la cartes every night, food was always excellent.
Yes, the hotel ran out of beer at one point, I only had a beer in teh mini bar 1 day, people were panicked, but the rest of the resorts in Varadero also ran out of beer. Supply issues in Cuba are bigger than hotel specific problems. There was plenty of other liquid options to quench your thirst. The knight in shining armour was the pineapple pina colada man on the beach, who rushed in on his faithful steed (ATV) with coolers filled with cold Cristal to save the day.
There was nightly entertainment, although we only watched the water show as we went to sleep with two exhausted young kids before the shows started at 9:30.
Our rooms were always clean and well kept, but are starting to show some wear around the edges. The beach chairs had also started showing signs of their heavy use, many sagging or broken supports which helped to get there early to find decent ones.
Overall we had a wonderful trip and will definitely consider staying again next year.
Read more
Date of stay: March 2020
Value
Cleanliness
Service
Room Tip:Block 16 was central, across from the pool, next to the Privilege. Wifi in this room.
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Response from Valentin El Patriarca Varadero Hotels, Atención al cliente/recepción at Valentín Varadero El Patriarca
Responded Jan 28, 2022
Dear client, the Valentin El Patriarca Varadero team thanks you for your good comments. We are waiting for you to spend your next vacation with us.
Read more
Report response as inappropriate
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
My husband and myself stayed in the priv section of the resort but must admit didn't really use the full benefits except late checkout. The resort if very beautiful, the grounds are beautiful and clean. The beach incredible.As my husband is a vegetarian, we stuck to the buffet and we found the food good. There was a large selection of everything. We stayed in 4624 and it was a nice room, everything worked, we even had to turn down the air conditioning but nice room. Yes the room seemed to need some touch-ups (painting), the draws on the cabinet did not close properly but the room was very clean and after some reviews that I have read concerning water, towels, etc, we did not experience any of that. The staff were very friendly and yes to get a drink at times did take a little long but it's understandable as they are serving many many people. Check-in, check-out was so quick and staff so quick to want to help. I always get a little confused on some reviews as they seem harsh but if you go to Cuba with an open mind, you will find this resort really lovely. Do intend on returning.
Read more
Date of stay: January 2020
Location
Service
Sleep Quality
Room Tip:4624 very nice room but in the priv. area
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Response from CustomerServiceOcean, Director General at Valentín Varadero El Patriarca
Responded Jan 31, 2020
Dear Customer: Thank you for writing about your experience in our hotel. Your comments are very important to us and to other readers. Please, our more sincerely apologize and be sure, that we will work in all the comments you indicated us. It is gratefull that our staff were helpfull during your stay in the hotel. We hope to welcome you for your next trip to Ocean Varadero El Patriarca.
Read more
Report response as inappropriate
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
My wife and I traveled over Christmas and celebrated her birthday. The resort is still opening the closed privilege area. The private pool is open and bar area. The ranchon restaurant was open. Unfortunately Mike's coffee shop was closed. The hotel is trying hard cleaning and wearing masks, face shields and have hand sanitizer dispensers around the resort at restaurants and bars. There were approximately 125 guests at the hotel. For the most part management was prepared with acceptable food and drink selections were adequate except the hotel had 1 bottle of bailey's per week. Yandy and Carlos from the entertainment staff definitely go above and beyond to make the guests as happy as possible. The bar staff, Enrique and Jar were friendly and quick to serve. We were happy with our stay and would love to come back soon. We felt safe and were glad we chose this location. A couple things to mention is the Cuban currency is in a crisis. Inflation is running high and everyone wants the foreign currency. The hotel could improve by providing the staff with name tags.
Read more
Date of stay: December 2020Trip type: Travelled as a couple
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Response from Valentin El Patriarca Varadero Hotels, Atención al cliente/recepción at Valentín Varadero El Patriarca
Responded Jan 26, 2022
Dear John, we are so greatfull for your good comment.
Read more
Report response as inappropriate
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
This was my fourth time to Cuba, so I know what to expect, what I did not expect was cold food, that was never cooked right for the whole week, cockroaches in the coffee and food. Management was informed and looked at us like we were crazy, towel service for rooms was spotty, rooms old and warn down. Some rooms missing screens and screen doors did not lock. Main door locks would fail regularly and staff had to come and get us in our room. Used pillows to block cracks under door to keep bugs out. You could feel the springs pushing through the bed, not comfortable at all. Asked to be moved to a second floor and was denied, we had health issues and became ill while staying on main floor and had to seek medical attention in Cuba. Told management and again fell on deaf ears, this resort is terrible, even tipping doesn't help. Management will say they look at these reviews and will take it into consideration to make it better. Save the lip service Amigo, work on fixing your resort. Had friends get injured on the bridge they show in this picture, the boards were loose and he fell, the never did fix it the week we were there. Food was never cooked ever, always cold and anything that should be cold was warm, like I said I have been to Cuba and this resort is a terrible place compared to the other places we stayed. This is a 2 1/2 star with me being generous. You may be like me and take reviews with a grain of salt, if I can save one person from wasting their money here it is worth it.
Read more
Date of stay: January 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Response from CustomerServiceOcean, Director General at Valentín Varadero El Patriarca
Responded Feb 20, 2020
Dear Customer: Thank you for writing your experience in our hotel. We are really sad about the experience you had but sincerely, your comments are very important to us and to other readers. Please, our more sincerely apologize and you can be sure, that we will work in all the points you indicated us, specially about the cold food and the rooms services. As you have comment "Told management and again fell on deaf ears". I´m the general Manager of the resort and we take very seriously all the opinions of our guest, the good ones and the bad ones, because we efforce everyday to brind the best experience. May be in your case we have failed so we will work harder to improve our services for the future guests. For us, Is really important the maintenance of the rooms, for this reason we are waiting a new project to renew them in the next months. Thank you very much.
Read more
Report response as inappropriate
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
I've always said on vacation I really don't care about the room I'm not spending much time there but this is the worst bed I've ever slept on at any resort I've ever stayed if you're going there bring your own pillow has the pillows they have are about 1 inch high.I have travel to Cuba three times this was the worst the food was terrible I am completely covered in bug bites. The drinks were tasteless piña colada's tasted like a powder drink. Over 90 of us travel to this resort most of the comments are the same did not even have anybody to greet us when we arrived. When you arrive your beach towel is in the room it was the second week before we got our towels changed. The power outlets in the room were dangling by the wire underneath the desks the lighting on the resort at night was so bad bring your own flashlight. It seem to get better the second week has four or five managers showed up I think it was because some other travel agents had arrived and they were trying to impress them. Don't be late for breakfast because what's left will be limited. Entertainment in the piano bar was great too bad the furniture was so worn out you couldn't sit in it. Most of the time red wine was unavailable.
Read more
Date of stay: January 2020
Location
Cleanliness
Service
Room Tip:Find another resort
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Response from Emilio Soto, Atención al cliente/recepción at Valentín Varadero El Patriarca
Responded Dec 2, 2022
Dear guest, On behalf of all our staff at Valentin El Patriarca, we appreciate you taking the time to write us your comments. Rest assured that we will work immediately to improve the details that you indicate to us, any possibility of improvement is a policy that we faithfully put into practice to improve our service every day. We hope you will give us the opportunity to show you how much we have improved on your next visit. Best regards.
Read more
Report response as inappropriate
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
We had chosen this resort based on a good trip advisor rating and were shocked it had the reviews it did after just an hour into our stay. It was once we started talking to other people, we were told the hotel was offering free wifi and bottles of rum to complaining guests in exchange for favourable reviews on trip advisor. Now, where do I start... upon check in, we witnessed an argument between a group of guests and the staff about a passports which had been held at the front desk and lost. The hotel staff was adamant about the return of the passports and was very argumentative and condescending towards the guests. Hotel staff had not even bothered searching behind the desk, but once they had, the passports had mysteriously appeared. We got to our room which was clean, but not anywhere near a 5 start standard. Our fridge had not been stocked and for the remainder of the trip we had to argue with guest services several times daily just to get a single bottle of water in our room. This is no exaggeration as I was on the phone many times a day trying to get our fridge stocked. They were very argumentative to say the least. We had expected the food to be poor based on friends travels so we were not too surprised there. I will mention, however, this is not exclusive to Cuba in general, as we had eaten out many times with great experiences with the food and service. Service in the resort was awful. If you happened to get a waiter that was not blatantly ignoring you, it would take forever to get your food. At one point, we had waited oven an hour to get a plate of French fries. Once we received our fries, we were greeted with attitude, then told there was no ketchup. I literally had to walk into the back of the kitchen and take a bottle of ketchup which we were told they didn't have. In general, if the staff wasn't coughing into our food or drinks or ignoring us, we would get unpleasant service at best. If I have any advice it would be to stay far far away from this terrible resort. The staff could care less about you or your experience, so spend your hard earned dollars elsewhere. You've been warned...
Read more
Date of stay: January 2020
Value
Location
Service
Room Tip:Choose a room at a different resort. You will thank me.
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Response from CustomerServiceOcean, Director General at Valentín Varadero El Patriarca
Responded Jan 27, 2020
Dear Customer: Thank you for writing about your experience in our hotel. We are really sad about the points you have indicated us but sincerely, your comments are very important to us and to other readers. Please, our more sincerely apologize and you can be sure, that we will work in all the points you indicated us, specially about the service. We remember your experience about the ketchup and some of your incidents you had. We should tell you that some of the point you comment are your opinión, the most respectful thing, and we wil try not to have them with another guest. Thank you very much.
Read more
Report response as inappropriate
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
This hotel is sliding quickly. The rooms need so much help. The furniture, trim, doors have been worn out. The privilege section is not much better. The cleaning lady did not have a high standard. She would clean the floor with the same dirty cloth for every room. She left hair all over my floor picked up from other rooms with her dirty cloth and did not do a very detailed job. The room was still filthy after her cleaning. We had roaches, termites, non functioning AC. The management tries hard, they attended to the ac and finally got it to work mid trip. Offered to change my room, but the room I went to see had no hot water. The termites were sprayed but appeared in a different section not sprayed. The grounds were very pretty, but no light at night. For some reason rows of street lights were always out. Lights that illuminate signs were out. Very dark at night. The buffet needs help and this is the best place to eat. Dirty and lacking in variety of food. Only one theme night . The other restaurants (pool and beach) forget it. I ordered a beef sandwich at the pool and there was no meat inside, only one sliver of beef with loads of mayonnaise . Animation team splits the day between the beach and pool. Very quiet hotel and beautiful grounds were the only positives. Loved Mike's cafe for the specialty coffees. Many people were upset or frustrated about the quality of their rooms. This was unpleasant. Please do not spend your hard earned money here! You will be disappointed.
Read more
Date of stay: January 2020
Rooms
Service
Sleep Quality
Room Tip:Privilege rooms seem to be taken care of much better, but not a world of difference.
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Response from CustomerServiceOcean, Director General at Valentín Varadero El Patriarca
Responded Jan 27, 2020
Dear Customer: Thank you for writing your experience in our hotel. We are really sad about your experience but sincerely, your comments are very important to us and to other readers. Please, our more sincerely apologize and be sure, that we will work in all the points you indicated us, specially about the cleaning. For us, Is really important the maintenance of the rooms, for this reason we are waiting a new project to renew them in the next months. Thank you very much.
Read more
Report response as inappropriate
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
Abrupt rude staff. Not interested In helping. No hot water in our room for our whole stay. Asked for this to be resolved, it never was. Mini fridge not topped up with water, had to ask every day for top up. Rooms not cleaned ,beds made only. Gourmet restaurants closed after 2 days.. Italian restaurant was never open at all. By 4 th night only oriental restaurant open. Privilege club is a complete waste of money. You get Wi-fi for 4 hours free between two people for 11 days. 1 hour internet access. A butler who offers to help you with anything you need. When you ask for anything, ie water for mini fridge, takes 3 days. Food is of extremely poor quality. With Minimum choice. Buffet not topped up! There is a lack of choice of drinks at bars. White/ red wine all gone day 2 of our stay
The luxury privilege Room: Broken patio door unable to lock Broken bathroom window, unable to lock Air con noisy. Had to wear ear plugs to sleep. Asked the butler to get it looked at, it never happened. Curtains don’t close and pull together. Minimal information on arrival from front counter or privilege staff.i.e restaurant times etc
Entertainment: Traditional band on first night who were excellent, then nothing, Bingo was laid on one night ( Yes Bingo!!!🙈). Dished out tickets, nobody had a Pen.😂
This place is a complete joke. AVOID DREADFULl hotel, DREADFULl experience.
Read more
Date of stay: March 2020Trip type: Travelled as a couple
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Response from Emilio Soto, Atención al cliente/recepción at Valentín Varadero El Patriarca
Responded Nov 26, 2022
We are truly sorry that your vacations were not as expected. Your opinion helps us to improve our services.
Read more
Report response as inappropriate
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
Upon arrival I realized that there are 2 classes of hotel at this place, one is regular and the other one is called Privilege. I didn't know anything about this and has booked as a regular. So my review reflects this. I must say immediately that I will never return to this place.
Rundown room with torn patio curtain even if I have paid to have a premium room. The super kingsize bed was so thin and made us feel every spring underneath.
Food in the main buffet was so so but we saw a cockaroach running on the floor. Morning coffee here had no taste and the juice glasses looked like they haven't been washed. Never saw a bread knife during my stay here and I had to break bread by hand....terrible. Seemed like the hotel equipment had disappeared after the long Covid closure because every morning the swimming pool bottom was cleaned by hand with a brush by the personnel...just wondered where is the automatic bottom cleaner !
The International restaurant reputed to be the best served us tomatoes soup made up with diluted ketchup sauce. The same sauce was also used in the pasta marinara. After that bad experience we went back to the main buffet.
We was lured to this place by their advertisement on Air Transat as a 4 stars and half and had paid a steep price. It should be quoted as 3 stars. (We stayed 5 days from 13 to 17 of May this year, room 2221).
The only thing good is the nice landscaping and the smiling Cuban workers.
We've been to Cuba many times but never seen a place like this. Of course we don't recommend this place to anyone.
Read more
Date of stay: May 2022Trip type: Travelled with friends
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Response from Valentin El Patriarca Varadero Hotels, Atención al cliente/recepción at Valentín Varadero El Patriarca
Responded May 23, 2022
Dear client, we are very sorry that your vacation has not been as you expected, but you can be sure that your comment will help us to improve.
Read more
Report response as inappropriate
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
This hotel is great. - Tips: privilege option gives you access to "butlers" this means you can make dinner reservations through them ahead of time even a couple of nights ahead (otherwise people were lining up at 8:15am in the morning to make reservations that night) also if you need new beach/pool towels, or extra bottles of water, basically anything, you tell them and they make it happen. There is a privilege only restaurant and bar right by the beach, you meet your butler there too (that's where their office is, turn left and follow the path before you get to the wooden bridge to the beach, just before the "8 visits or more" sign post). Dinner and breakfast are great there. The Privilege pool has better alcohol than other bars (there is top shelf liquor at every bar too, about 5 bottles, you have to ask for it though), it has shaded umbrella and pergola areas aswell. The upgrade to privilege Suite is huge, 2 bathrooms, bathtub seperate shower, seperate living room, king sized bed, and balcony. Privilege Suite is worth it!!!!!!! Included in the privilege upgrade is a 20 minute massage per person at the spa. A big plus for us was late check out, normally at noon, it's $11 an hour to extend it, but for privilege it's free (the morning of our departure visit the lobby desk, they will extend your room key, otherwise it stops working at noon) our flight didn't leave until 6:45 pm The beach is more rocky than the non privilege section but is much less crowded and the beach chairs are newer and nicer.
Power: there is North American plugins (the look different but if it doesn't say 220 in red on it just plug in your charger it will work) and European 220 plugins in the suite.
WiFi: the lobby desk will give you a code for 10 hours of use (if you turn wifi off after you are not using your phone that ten hours will last for days, go to the lobby desk or call if you need another code to top up)
Information: There was no hotel information in our room, but at the entrance to the hotel just to the to right of the main door there is a sign of the hotel map, it has a QR code that links to a PDF with phone numbers, tv channels and information you might need about the hotel.
Food: the Al a carte restaurants have great service, they are air-conditioned, and serve a limited menu in each one, (choice of 3 or 4 appetizers, 3 or 4 mains, and 2 desserts.) Similar to choices at the main buffet, but slightly better)
I was impressed with the service everywhere in the hotel.
If you go on excursions outside of the hotel, bring toilet paper, some bathrooms in Havana don't have it or expect "tips" to get it.
Read more
Date of stay: August 2022Trip type: Travelled as a couple
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Response from Emilio Soto, Atención al huésped/Recepción at Valentín Varadero El Patriarca
Responded Aug 27, 2022
We appreciate your comments, we look forward to seeing you in a future stay, the invitation is made. Best regards,
Read more
Report response as inappropriate
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
Hi! We didn't have the Alegance rooms but we had pretty good wifi in the regular rooms, even poolside and beach. I was able to FaceTime with my family back in PEI from the room and pool. But we needed to log back in frequently thru the day. It wasn't like at home, but the best wifi I've had in Cuba
The private Allegance palapas are at the worst area of the beach. Giant rock impeding access to the water. If you walk past the palapas towards the neighbouring hotel to the west there is nicer beach, between the two properties, that is very private and better water access.
There are more places to choose from in the Varadero area.
FORMERLY KNOWN AS
Varadero El Patriarca
LOCATION
CaribbeanCubaMatanzas ProvinceVaradero
NUMBER OF ROOMS
420
Prices are the average nightly price provided by our partners and may not include all taxes and fees. Taxes and fees that are shown are estimates only. Please see our partners for more details.
Is This Your Tripadvisor Listing?
Own or manage this property? Claim your listing for free to respond to reviews, update your profile and much more.
