Muthu Playa Varadero

You come here for the beach! Not for the hotel, service nor food. Varadero is the best beach in the world.

This was our fourth time to this resort and we planned our trip with meeting people that we met last year at this hotel which made the trip that much more fun! We have been going to Cuba off and on since 2006 and every year there have been different shortages and so we do research before we go each time to see what we need to bring with us. We knew that the elevators were not working which was not a problem for us as a little extra exercise couldn’t hurt. Elevator was fixed half way through the holiday. Always hot water for showers, plenty of towels, beds were comfortable. We brought our own beach towels so can’t comment on availability. Check in was easy as always and we felt bad for the baggage handler having to carry up all our luggage three flights of stairs. We are not picky eaters and actually really like Cuban food. We noticed a difference from last year in that they didn’t use any spices and just cooked all the meat plain. There was always fresh pork and sometimes, chicken, beef and fish. Lots of fresh fruit and veggies. What we wished would change was that they would limit certain guests from taking all the cooked meat from the grill. If possible we would like to see that they limit how much each person could take at a time, that way the lines would move faster and if you wanted more, you could go through the line as many times as you wanted. We waited sometimes for more than an hour for food at the Ranchon. By the middle of the trip, we ate at the snack bar for lunch to avoid the line ups. This was really our only issue. The entertainment staff really are the best. They sang and danced for our friend on her birthday, they got us involved in the games, talked to us anytime we passed to make sure we were having a good time. They even tried to teach us Spanish one day. There was no coffee for two days in two weeks and we had brought our own coffee but forgot filters. There was a machine in the room so we made our own coffee filters from paper towel. I do not drink beer, my husband does and there was no beer for only a few hours one day. Mix for hard liquor was in short supply but was usually after midnight so we had bought some at the store for when it was missing. Our maid was amazing, she changed towels daily, we left her a note in the morning if we needed more water or towels. We will be requesting her again when we return. All of the staff from each area of the resort went above and beyond for us to make sure we had a great time even with the shortages. Thanks to Liannet for the great room and to Ivan, Dennis and Dano for the laughs. Thanks to all the bar and restaurant staff who did their best everyday. Go with an open mind, bring snacks and you will have a great time. If you focus on what is available instead of what is missing, you will have a much better holiday. We will be returning in the future.

The beach is great and clean.The employees are great.The food and the liquor was horrible.The manager and the supervisors should open their eyes and treat their employees better especially the night supervisor for the dinning room at the buffet.He does not know how to treat people.I witnessed him berate many of employees in view of all the guests several times.We have been going to the resort since 2006 and have come to the decision we will not return. Really disappointed.

Would I return to the resort? Not a chance! And I'm not picky. The facility wasn't bad but the food situation was absolutely brutal. If you want any meat with your pitiful meal, you had to wait in a line for LITERALLY an hour for a few scraps and the meat itself was mostly fat. The quality of the meat was a 3 out of 10 and again, I'm not picky. Things we ran out of: eggs, bread, milk, coffee, drink mix (choice was fanta or bitter brown "water"?, all alcohol except whisky, no beans at all, no sides except rice. Some aspects were nice but not worth mentioning because without food, there is no point.

When you go places you need to keep an open mind. I watched the corruption mgm should be advised on what is really happening here! Liquor bring shipped does not reach the shelves. Half the time there was no rum and the rest of the time there was limited cerveza, cola and snacks People had to beg for bread. This really put into perspective what is happening to the cuban people. The front desk bar staff and entertainers still smile and do their best to make people happy and comfortable. What is not comfortable is water or whatever is leaking all over the first floor hallways. Walls falling when you close doors the sheets don't get washed in 10 days and you have to ask for clean towels. We used shampoo to wash the shower and mold before using it. There was no rum but if you wanted to purchase it there was plenty. Bugs all over the coffee bar that resembled maggots I mentioned it to the bar staff and they just wiped them onto the floor. We spoke with many people that were at other resorts and the cost was comparable. So this is not because of budget. The beach is beautiful. I did not go with high expectations. But the building should be shut down and mgm needs to get some secret guests in there to see for themselves the that the liquor coming in is stored in a back room the guests dont see it. But the gift shop had plenty of liquor? None at the bar though. I feel bad for the staff trying to navigate such a brutal environment. I wasn't to bothered because I brought my own liquor and purchased my own mix in my travel mug. I will return to cuba but not muthu. I picked muthu because it's run by mgm they should be embarrassed. Not to mention the living conditions of the staff. They are in a building with electrical wiring hanging from the room. No ceiling as the walls and ceiling fallen down. These people don't even get a sheet to sleep on. I have been many places and never seen anything like this. Couldn't ever air out the mold smell In the room because of mosquitos which is out of their control. At least we had raid. Very disappointed in the condition of a resort that has so much potential. To the staff keep smiling that's the only thing that made the 10 days bearable.mgm you can do better ! The pictures are real what you see when you get into the accommodations is another story. Some canadian friends were lucky the wall that fell missed them.