Blau Arenal Club Havana

We stayed at the Arenal from 9 - 16 June 2006 and was unlucky enough to catch the Tropical Storm Alberto. Didnīt really affect us too much but we did have non stop rain the first 3 days of our 7 night stay. This on one hand served as a downside and may have affected my view of the hotel as ones humor always is affected when you go for some sun but all you find is rain. To be honest and trying not to think about the weather the hotel was quite poor. The rooms were very large but the furniture was old and shabby. The beds however were very comfortable for me. We had no hot water for the whole duration of our stay. I found the food to be awfual. I read a previous review that stated that the food was great ( it just goes to show you cant please everybody ). All meat seamed to be like chewing rubber and the fish (frozen) without taste. The only great thing was the fresh mango in the mornings. I went to the snack bar at 5pm and asked for a hotdog and chips and was told that there was no more food ( this is supposed to be a all inclusive hotel ). I was also told at 2pm that they had run out of coke. I found half the cooks to be very rude and a certain few of the waiters seemed to need a good kick up the butt. The reception staff all were very professional, polite and very service minded. The entertainment and the staff was very good and always did their best to put on a good show. Mojitos in abundance which I found quite nice as they put me to bed quite nicely.

All in all a shame about the weather which could have made it a bit more pleasuralble, there were people there that had a whale of a time, I unfortunately did not. I suggest that you go yourself to find out but take into account the above comments.

I stayed at the resort with my wife and a friend for the last 6 nights of our holiday in Cuba. On arriving we insisted of not getting a room (we had room 359 - view of the garden) near the disco, so we had no problems getting a good nights rest - every night. The air conditioning worked well, the room and the bath were clean, the shower was warm and the roommaid was friendly. Every morning for breakfast there was a good variety of fresh fruit, you could tell the cook how you wanted your egg, the bread tasted good, the coffee was OK (go to the poolbar, there the coffee is excellent) and the waiters were friendly - don't forget the tip.

The pool was not as clean and attractive as I had hoped but as the sea and the beach are not far away we prefered going there. There were not enough sunshades, so if you really want and need one, don't forget to give the man who cleans the beach a tip. The water was clear and warm and we really enjoyed it. If you like snorkeling, take the hotels all-inclusive canoe and about 200 - 300 meters from the beach you will see a lot of colourful little fishes. Sailing was possible but mostly in groups of 3-5 on boats which are designed for 2 people. I did not see any winsurfing equipment.

There are a lot of Cubans who go to the Playas del Este and by the day the beaches are littered with tins, bottles etc. But every morning the "Beach Brigade" comes and clears most of the litter away so ... I really enjoyed long walks along the beaches and although I really do look like a European an always took my camera along I was never molested and I never had the feeling of having to be afraid.

The lunch and the dinner in the hotel were OK too. There was nearly always a Cuban Band making musik and enthusiastic guests dancing salsa. There was always enough fresh, mixed salad and everything including the desert tasted good.

Ideal is the shuttle bus which twice daily goes in about 1/2 an hour to the old town centre of Havanna and it was really punctual and comfortable.

I was a bit disappointed about the cocktails. Ok, you could drink as many as you wanted and they were all freshly mixed by the barmixer but although I think I am not a too picky tourist, I am not used to drinking a cocktail or a brandy from plastic!

On the whole I must say that we were satisfied with our stay!

My husband and I visited the Blau resort in March of 2005. We had paid a lot because we booked well in advance. Overall, we thoroughly enjoyed our stay there. I loved the food (some of the best food I've ever had), and my husband thought it was edible. Neither of us would go to Cuba for the food anyway, so I guess it depends on how picky you are. The service was great and all of the staff were very friendly. The other review said the same band played every night - that is correct, but it was an amazing Cuban band that played with real passion. It was beautiful music and we ended up purchasing their CD! It was nice to have private dining tables (unlike some other 3 star AI hotels we've stayed at), and the restaurant was never crowded. The pool was nice and quiet, and very clean. The beach is only a 2-minute walk and quiet and clean as well. There were lots of activities planned throughout the day (i.e. volleyball tournaments, water aerobics (aka aqua gym), or you could just lay by the pool all day. Their cappuccino bar served DELICIOUS coffee - even my husband was hooked and he doesn't drink coffee. The band would move into the lounge area in the evening and people would dance - salsa, and other Spanish dancing. The staff would ask people to dance - it was so much fun! Finally, this resort was MUCH closer to Havana than other resorts in Varadero, so if you're interested in visiting Havana, the Blau is the perfect home base. Free shuttle service to and from Havana is a bonus. Our only regret is not buying our tickets last minute and saving a few hundred dollars (we looked online the week before we left, and the tickets were about $300 cheaper each). If we go to Cuba again, we might stay at the same place (I never thought I'd go to the same all-inclusive more than once - but it really did have everything we needed for a great price).

I was at Blau Club Arenal from Dec 19th to 24th 2005.

The old saying "You get what you pay for." still applies in 2005.

First off, don't pay more than $850.00 cdn / week for this place outside the holiday season. In my opinion, it is a 3 star resort no more no less.

Negatives: You will not have hot water to take your shower (it is lukewarm water that you get), you will not have a variety of 12 desserts during meals (some meals only 2 choices were available) and you will have a foul smell coming from the public bathrooms in the main lobby. No matter where you stay, you will never have a view of the ocean although it is very close by.

Positives: You will have an acceptable room, you will not have cockroaches nor lizards in your room, you will have satellite television in your room, you will have a very comfortable shuttle ride from Blau Club Arenal to Havana twice per day, you will have activities for kids, you will have a vaudeville kind of show every night around 10pm, you will have acceptable meals three times per day and you will find a very polite and helpful staff. You are at a 30 minute walk from a small town called Guanabo where many services can be found.

During meals, if you happen to sit in Osmany's or Odalys' section (the same section), you are in for a royal treatment. I have rarely seen such dedicated waiters always ready to help you out. Although it is an all inclusive resort, every evening we all gave Osmany or his sister Odalys (they never work on the same day) 1 peso after our final meal of the day just as a token of our appreciation.

Would I go back??? YES but at a very low last minute deal kind of price!!! That being said, I don't think Blau Club Arenal should be ranked 44th or 42nd out of 58. I think it should be ranked higher!!!

I visited this hotel approximately a year ago and it was terrible. We had booked a last minute deal and it was supposed to be 4 star but it was 2 at the very most and after a couple of days we asked to be moved. I think that at one time it must have been a decent hotel but it is now delapitated with peeling paint, missing tiles from the swimming pool (which is also on the dirty side), a serious lack of international drinks such as coca cola that are in theory included in all inc deals, a grubby restaurant where the same band played the same songs night after night, a foul smell ( so we could never open our windows)and staff that although helpful looked unhappy. When we went it was like a ghost hotel. The only hotel I have ever written a letter of complaint about. Would not recommend it under any circumstances - it is also neither in the popular beach areas further south nor in the center of Havana. We thought this would be a bonus allowing us to visit both but we felt stuck in the middle of nowhere in a place nobody wanted to be!!

- ps. Also the rep who was in charge of moving unhappy people to other hotels seemed to be charging what he felt like.

Having gone to hotel arenal 5 years ago I had promised myself to go back to this hotel at some point later in life. 5 years ago, I had recently found out, the hotel was called 'sea club arenal' and fairly newly built. My friend and i had a blast. From the entertainment to the food and everything else. So for the chrismas/new years holidays I decided to take my wife to this hotel. I did see a few bad reviews but i couldn't understand, my friend and I had such a good time.

Well, this time around my wife and I asked to leave early (but ended up staying - for the beach and havana). The service was awful. So was the food. I mean my wife and I are not so picky but common eating the SAME pasta noon and night was discouraging. Unless u like 2-3 day old pig and 1 week old potato salad there isn't much. Even the fruits were rotten. As for the alcool, there was dark and white rum - that's it. Oh and don't ask for a mixed drink like a pina colada because no one knows how to make it. They would open a bottle of pre-mixed pina colada and serve it. The staff didn't look so happy and subsequently you won't either. I could go on and on.

This hotel is a 2 star and that's pushing it. The new owners - Horizontes - don't seem to care about service. Stay away!!!!

It's a great place, with nice service and good food. Beach is perfect.

We were just concerned with the music at the pool and on the beach.

There is only two places to find shade, the pool and the beach but they bring huge speakers that blast constant south american music. Music is nice but it is impossible to relax which was the reason for this trim.

I've asked many times to reduce the volume and I was told that I should use the nights to relax. I might never go back just for this.

This hotel is fine but is definitely not 4 stars as the hotel itself advertises. The rooms are fine although upon arrival there were small bugs crawling around the wash basin. The air conditioner worked fine but was quite noisy. Satellite TV was fine. There is no minibar as advertised, but there is a mini fridge that is constantly refilled with mineral water. The food as expected was horrible, but since this was no surprise it wasn't that much of a shock. One thing that was quite disappointing was that the hotel did not provide any frozen drinks - Pina Colada juice, and on the day that we arrived, there were no Mojitos available. The pool area, however, is quite nice and it is only a short walk away from the beach. Caroline from Tours Mont Royal was very helpful and I would strongly recommend the Havana City tour but avoid the Pinar Del Rio/Vinales tour offered. All in all, the hotel was not bad as long as you expect bad food and a limited choice of drinks.

We just returned from Horizontes Sea Club Arenal. The flight on Cubana Air was much more comfortable than charter flights. The hotel areas was nice and clean and we were pleasantly surprised by the room. It was huge and included a safe and a fridge. The service was friendly and good.

If you want to see Havana, this location is close enough for this purpose. That was our reason for selecting this resort. Sea Club Arenal looks much better than other resorts in the same area, Atlantico, or Tropicoco, which are also owned by Horizontes. If you are not interested in Havana, maybe you'll do better somewhere else.

The hotel is not on the beach, as advertised, it is at least 200 meter walk to the beach. A can live with that. The water is very shallow and you have to wade very far from the shore if you want to swim.

The food is, well, it is edible. Nothing that inspires second helping.

If you like American beer, you will like the Cristal beer in this resort. I am a Canadian and my taste buds are used to "real" beer :-)

More serious I consider the fact, that after 2 days they ran out of pina colada. Mojito was also rare, as they were out of mint. From the third day on, for the rest of our stay, there was no ice most of the time. I wish somebody could explain this to me. If you don't like American beer and if you don't drink wine, what is left in this all inclusive resort? Cuba Libre without ice?

Entertainment is high school humour and sometime worse, supplied by local staff. I am mentioning this only because somebody might be interested, I myself don't consider this as unusual.

VT

My friend and I vacationed at Sea Club Arenal in December, 2000 and had a terrific time. The service, the room, the food, the beach, the entertainment was great. My favorite part of it all was that Havana was 20 minutes away and that the resort had a shuttle 2 times a day (free).

I was looking at different reviews from another site that downed this resort and didn't understand what the reviewer was talking about.