The narrow strip of the resort area of Varadero, where Cubans are allowed only by passes, is entirely occupied by hotels. But it was not always so. In the year nineteen thirty, for example, there was a village at the beginning of the cape. And on the sand spit there was a hacienda. It was surrounded by landlords and a wonderful garden. Hacienda and Varadero were separated by a short distance - a couple of minutes on foot. What happened then? Hacienda bought the Gran Carib hotel chain and built a new hotel based on the historic building. And he is now called Gran Caribe Club Kawama. Until two thousand and ten, three stars decorated his sign. Now one more has been added. The hotel is constantly being upgraded, updated. It stands on the first line and has its own sandy beach. What do tourists say about the hotel? We learn about this from this article. Traveler reviews helped us make a complete and detailed description of the hotel.
Where is the hotel located and how to get there
From Havana airport, where most foreign tourists land, you need to travel more than two hours to Varadero. But this city has its own air harbor, which, incidentally, has international status. Varadero Airport is only twenty-five kilometers from the Gran Caribe Club Kawama 4 * hotel. The former Hacienda is now within walking distance of the village where the local people live. Typically, tourists (independent, which does not include a transfer package) get from Havana by bus to Varadero. There, they transfer to two-story cars that run through the resort area. But guests of the Grand Carib Club Kawama do not need to spend cookies on this last mode of transport. In five minutes you will reach the hotel. Since this is the very beginning of the cape (or, if you want, a sand spit), there are a lot of entertainment venues, shops and night clubs around.
Territory and buildings
The historic building of the manor house, made in a kind of colonial style, has survived to our days. And there is a reception and several rooms of a higher category. In addition to the manor house, there are also extensions and later bungalows. In total, the Gran Caribe Club Kawama Hotel consists of forty-four two-story buildings. All bungalows are painted in different colors of saturated colors, which immediately creates an elevated holiday atmosphere in the tropics. The hotel has a very spacious area. It is stretched along the sea. And this fact makes it unimportant what bungalow you are accommodated in - from everywhere to the beach to go for about a minute. Of course, if you are not a fan of walking, it is better to ask in a bungalow closer to the reception and restaurant. But keep in mind that the animation bar is also there, and therefore in the evenings it can be noisy. There are a lot of people in the central part of the hotel beach. And the territory at the hotel is such that it’s a sin not to walk there. Juicy tropical greens, flowers, paths. True, reviews warn, mosquitoes are hiding under the leaves. Take mosquito repellent with you!
Where guests settle. Room Categories
Gran Caribe Club Kawama is a fairly large hotel. Forty-sixty-five rooms are located in forty-four bungalows and a hacienda building. Guest rooms are divided into only two categories. The most common and cheapest is the “standard”. Rooms of this category are designed for comfortable accommodation of two guests with the possibility of sharing a third. The area of the bedroom is small - seventeen square meters. The bathroom adjoins to it. All standards overlook the garden. These rooms have no balcony or terrace. A more expensive category is “superior room”. These rooms are also designed for two, maximum three guests. However, the size of the bedroom is much larger - twenty-five square meters. In addition, all rooms in this category have either balconies or terraces. Some of the superior rooms have pool views. But only forty-nine rooms face the ocean. The hotel has several facilities for guests with disabilities.
What's in the rooms?
The standards at the Gran Caribe Club Kawama include a mini fridge that only puts drinking water in. The air conditioner will reliably leave the heat outside the window. This room has a cable TV. There are no Russians, ”the reviews report, but you can find out the truth about what is happening in the world. The bedroom has a safe for storing valuables. For Cuba, this is unheard of luxury, but the rooms have round-the-clock hot and cold water. A standard room costs sixty-nine euros per night (for two and with all inclusive service). Now let's see if it's worth overpaying 15 Є per day for the superior room. Reviews mention that rooms in this category always have terraces or balconies. Some of the superior rooms have frontal sea views. The refrigerators in these rooms are filled with soft and non-alcoholic drinks, so these are already minibars. And in the superior rooms there are coffee machines, with which you can make yourself hot drinks. Cleaned in all rooms every day.
Nutrition
Gran Caribe Club Kawama has fully implemented the all-inclusive concept. The gastronomic capacity of the hotel consists of three a la carte restaurants (with Creole, Italian and international cuisine), two eateries, three bars and a cafe in which chefs specialize in preparing grilled dishes. And this is not counting the main place of feeding, where meals are served in buffet style. The Kawama Bar hosts discos every night. Tables in each of the a la carte restaurants need to be reserved in advance, but dinner in them is free for hotel guests. There are bars by the pools, and on the beach, and in the lobby. They pour alcohol both Cuban and imported, but not premium.
What nutrition reviews say
The hotel Gran Caribe Club Kawama 4 * (Cuba, Varadero) is fed very well. Reviews noted that, unlike Thailand and Egypt, dishes in the main restaurant serve the usual European stomach. Products, despite the total poverty of the locals, the hotel gets good, fresh and high quality. At each meal there are several types of meat and fish. There are also many fruits and vegetables. Reviews say that the bar in the lobby of the hotel (stylish, with soft comfortable furniture) has a more extensive wine list than the rest. Parents say that on the tables you could always choose dishes suitable for baby food. From a la carte restaurants, vacationers recommend visiting Creole and Italian. Excellent kebab and fish on the grill cooked in a grill cafe. There are no thematic evenings in the main restaurant. But there are no queues. Waiters work quickly: bring new dishes, clean tables.
Beach and Pools
All reviews agree that the coast at the hotel is the best in all of Varadero. Gran Caribe Club Kawama has an elongated territory along the ocean. Therefore, almost all bungalows go to the beach for a minute or two. The sand on the beach is snow-white. He is combed every morning with a tractor with a furrow. The number of sunbeds abound. Umbrellas are covered with palm leaves, which emphasizes the atmosphere of Caribbean relaxation. The only negative is the bar. He is the only one on the whole beach, and if you want to sunbathe away from most people, you will have to walk along the hot sand for drinks. But the hotel has four swimming pools. For children there are dedicated areas. Fresh water in the pools is cleaned in a modern way, and does not carry bleach from it. The terraces around these tanks are also filled with sun loungers, by the way, of better quality, with a net rather than solid transverse structures. This property provides beach towels.
Services
Gran Caribe Club Kawama 4 * is taken for the organization of business meetings and meetings. For this, the hotel has two conference rooms. The hotel has a currency exchange office, post office, laundry, dry cleaning, beauty salon, sauna, massage room. Two rooms are fully adapted for the comfortable accommodation of persons with disabilities. For those who want to work out, there is a gym, tennis court, darts, volleyball and basketball courts. Bicycles can be rented, but this service is already paid. But by the sea at your service are all kinds of non-motorized water activities: masks, flippers, snorkeling tubes, catamarans, kayaks, surfboards. The hotel has a diving school. But scuba diving lessons are already paid. But absolutely for this you will learn to dance salsa and tango. Adult animation works both day and evening. Every day there are parties at the disco club. Wi-Fi at the hotel is paid, from a Cuban operator.
What are the conditions for children at the hotel
A child between the ages of four and twelve can be enrolled in a mini club. This is a separate wooden structure where there are playrooms and where qualified teachers are constantly engaged with children. High chairs for feeding babies - this is the norm for hotels with four stars. The Gran Caribe Hotel Club Kawama also has a soft-covered outdoor playground. There is no special animation for little guests. But tourists say that the program of evening shows for adults often includes performances of magicians, so that children like it. The contingent of vacationers at the hotel is mainly Canadians and tourists from Western Europe. Animation, respectively, is conducted in Spanish and English. But children easily overcome the language barrier, and parents say that their children enjoyed visiting the mini-club, where they played with peers from other countries.
Excursions: where you can go from the hotel
The hotel Gran Caribe Club Kawama 4 * (Varadero) has a tour desk. But in order to travel to Havana, it is not necessary to turn to his services. In Varadero (on street 36) there is a station from which at exactly eight in the morning the bus leaves for the capital of Cuba. And the fare in it costs only ten cookies, not a hundred. Tourists recommend visiting the Roma House and the cigar factory in Varadero. This can also be done without overpaying the guide. But you can visit the magnificent island of Cayo Largo or take a jeep through the jungle only as part of an excursion group. The reviews mention that since the Grand Carib Club Kawama Hotel is the first at the entrance to the spit, the tourist bus enters immediately, so that guests can take advantageous places in the cabin. From souvenirs, it is recommended to bring home rum, cigars and excellent coffee.
Hotel Gran Caribe Club Kawama: reviews
Many tourists appreciated that the hotel is located in a historic building. Living on a real Cuban hacienda is an additional exotic. For comparison, you can take a bus on the spit and see other hotels. There is no hint of Cuba. And in “Kavama” a completely different atmosphere reigns, light, reckless, heady. Lizards of different sizes and colors crawl around the garden. Nearby, it’s worth five minutes to go and you can plunge into the world of Cuba “as it is”. Varadero has his own charm. By the way, the prices there are lower than in duty-free, at least for alcohol, coffee and cigarettes. The staff at Gran Caribe Club Kawama Resort are friendly and very diligent. The rooms are cleaned well. Feed quality, varied. Of the pluses, reviews repeatedly mention the beach. Clear sea and white fine sand. Also, tourists liked the vast territory stretching along the ocean. Reviews note that if you did not like the room or its location, you can ask at the reception for a change of housing. Maybe not this day, but the next, you will be given another bungalow.