We stayed here based on mostly positive reviews from trip advisor members. I can only assume that expectations were relative to other Varadero hotels and not the world in general as this is not a very good hotel by any reasonable standard.



First the good:



The rooms have flush toilettes with seats, good water pressure and hot water that worked the entire time. TV worked and so did power outlets (220v). Most of the staff were friendly and some helpful. The weather was great and there is a beach, pool and looking out over Varadero in the middle of the day you could imagine that this was a wonderful place to be.



Room cleaners did a good job and were consistent. Some beds were better than others ours was hard but in relatively good shape.



On our second day at the hotel they did a whole roast pig next to the beach and it was probably the best thing we ate at the resort.



The pools are very old but have been rejuvenated with a vinyl liner that gives them new life.



Walking around the grounds is very nice, there are plants and flowers all over. There are showers to rinse off when coming back from the beach and they aren't too cold even for little ones.



When the water is calm swimming and playing in the ocean is great. Our daughter rediscovered her love of the ocean after deciding she didn't like it while in Florida in February (too cold, she's 2). There are paddle boats, kayaks and other water activity items available at the beach. We went out snorkelling, you do have to go quite far out but we found quite a few fish and even a huge grouper. Not much coral so don't expect too many tropical fish though. You can pay 20 CUC to head out with the catamaran where they will bait fish so you can see more without swimming as far out.



Unfortunately Hotel Bella Costa is a sinking ship manned by a skeleton crew. There are many issues with the dilapidated property that need to be addressed:



When you first enter the hotel you should go to the lobby and look up. Yes that's black mould on those old ceiling tiles above you! If you walk down the hallway on the first floor you'll smell and see why so many people are sneezing!



If you would like to sleep at night don't plan it before 11pm. The hotel next door blasts their music so loud you'd think that they were having their evening shows right inside your room. We have two small children and didn't want them up every night past 11 so we had requested a quiet room. This seemed impossible as they did move up and even gave us an upgraded room but 3/4 of the rooms directly face either the pool ares where bella costa has their show or the neighbouring hotel that has an even louder show. The Villas did seam a much better option for pace and quiet but can only be booked through specific tour operators. We used Air Canada and they only offer rooms in the main hotel.



The elevators work but I wouldn't expect them to get a certificate outside of a communist country. The door close sensors don't all work, they shudder and clink, don't line up even with each floor and are in serious need of lubrication and other basic maintinance.



You are reminded of the lack of service every day when you visit the buffet. There are some that really try, but they don't have sufficient staff to take care of the dinners and some of the staff are so lazy it's laughable.



I'm not even sure where to start with food but the most important place would be food safety; there isn't any. I witnessed many things that would make a health inspector shudder the worst of which was a cook using tongs to put raw pork on a grill then using the same tongs to flip and serve cooked pork (trichinosis anyone?). At the beach bar birds would grab at food and take a bite, they were chased off but the food was just served to the next person in line. Other items were undercooked and flies were everywhere in the buffet. The À la carte restaurants were simply awful! Not only was the food horrendously bad it wasn't even close to what was described in the menus.



Everyone in our group got diarrhea except me.



The beach at a distance is beautiful but as you walk along this hotel you will find that the sand is full of garbage that is left by the lazy pigs who throw their cigarette butts and drink cups into the sand. The hotel could help things by having more garbage cans on the beach, keeping them emptied and by cleaning up after guests.



The warning flags on the beach are tiny and there is no description of what they mean. Lifeguards don't have the kind of assistance or equipment that those in the free world have. There was a guy who went out on a yellow flag day in the early afternoon, the waves were crashing in and the undertow was significant, by the time the lifeguards retrieved him he was dead. My sympathies go out of his friends and family, such a tragic loss. Please never swim alone and don't go out on anything other than a green flag if you aren't a strong swimmer.