Sierra mar was fine, a lot of return guests rave about this place, I have travelled extensively through Cuba so I knew what I was getting into but for people that are expecting it be like other resorts in varadero will be definitely disappointed, the theft from Locals on the property on the weekends is ridiculous, the elevator was broke most of the time, and I was once stuck on it for 40 minutes before it was fixed. They ran out of water for around 16 hours from mid afternoon through to the next morning which made things very difficult as you could not even flush your toilet, when I approached the front desk the manager on hand who had already been very rude and short with me already about simple requests told me that she had other more important things to worry about than the fact that there was no water, there was a snack bar that would start cooking in the afternoon around 330 but they would let the food sit cold until they opened at 430, I twice went there and was declined food, the pro’s the entertainment they had was some of the best I’ve experienced the pool bartender and house magician Alberto was amazing and Jose upstairs at the sports bar made one of the best mojitos in Cuba, they have a 24 hour lobby bar that also has amazing entertainment Daily. If the price is too good to be true it usually is.

Returned from two week trip and there are not many changes to report since a year ago. With Transat and Hola Sun having their own packages it causes a lot of problems getting on the separate buses upon arrival and leaving the Hotel to go home, Air Transat is the carrier/plane but people don't seem to understand that when they book. So many people had to remove their suitcases from the wrong bus which causes a big delay. Reception at the Hotel had a problem handling the client because the Transat representative didn't provide the package or proper documentation. Hotel reception arguing with you and refusing to check you in because the rep didn't give you "a package" even though your name is right there on the sheet in front of her.

There were many shortages while we were there and this is what we experienced : no Coke, Sprite or Tonic, limited watered down juices, more like fruit drinks, no Tomato juice. Ketchup and Mustard were hit and miss, the first week there was none, the second week the condiments showed up. Many days we had no tomatoes or cucumbers, no fresh fruit except some canned fruit cocktail and canned Strawberries, only saw fresh pineapple two days, couple of days grapefruit showed up and three days there were bananas. No milk for coffee one day, currently this seems to still be an ongoing issue. There was a shortage of Soup spoons and coffee cups in our second week. There is no canned beer to be bought but plenty on tap, VIP package are provided with Crystal beer. they have lots of beer on tap. The store was bare with limited supplies, no rum to be bought till the last few days of our trip. Some days the buffet was very good, other days the options seemed to be sparse.

People on the beach were selling Mangoes, Passion fruit, Guava and Bananas, further down the beach a women was selling Watermelon, some oranges could also be bought near the river. We were lucky to be supplied lots of fruits and vegetables by our friends which made the stay not so bad. There were a few cases of food poisoning which could be from cross contamination at the grill station where they grill fresh meats like pork and chicken. There was plenty of pork including tasty pork ribs being served during our stay. Many locals come in on the weekends, good time to go out of the Hotel on a tour, many tourist had things disappear or towels stolen around the pool area during this time.

Staff were helpful as usual, maids did an excellent job of taking care of us. Rooms have not been updated, some painted only, newer mattresses on the first floor. Our room had many issues but the maid took care of them by the third day. Internet cards and change for tips were sometimes hard to obtain, you may be able to purchase internet cards at reception, not all the time but there is a girl that comes from town and sells them at the reception area.

The Cadeca had limited change for tips but we had changed our money at the Airport. Overall for what we paid $1200 for two weeks the stay was ok.

On the Beach there were less loungers then last year and of the ones they had many were in bad condition, by 10 am most mornings there were none available. Weather was great, hot and humid, ocean warm with a few red flag days, only good for snorkeling a few days.