For some reason I decided to visit Varadero Cuba instead of my beloved Punta Cana, D.R. All in all, I was not impressed. A lot of the issues I had can be broken down into distinct categories:

• Air Canada Vacations
• Weather
• Iberostar Varadero
• Myself being a whiney b&%ch

First off, a pretty photo:

Notice anything about that photo, beyond the beauty of the beach? Great segue to...

Weather

For three of the days we were in Varadero, it was rainy and/or cold. The photo above was taken on the day where things started improving. We were actually wearing pants and sweaters on one of the days!

Of course, when you have bad weather...why not go somewhere neat, like Havana? Well...here is another segue...

Air Canada Vacations

We booked a trip to Havana through Air Canada Vacations, but no one came to get us. We waited for 90 minutes. The rep had passed on erroneous information to our tour guide, and we did not connect. The rep tried to blame it on us. I got my money back, but for the inconvenience we should have been given something like a discount off rebooking. Instead we just got the rep trying to pass the buck... "these things happen... blah blah". The weather got better, so we didn't rebook, which means we hung out at the resort, which in turn leads to...

Iberostar Varadero

We booked this place solely on feedback found on Trip Advisor. The IB Varadero is the top rated resort in Cuba. Wow! Well, I suspect that Trip Advisor's moderators have been making it the #1 resort in Cuba...and in Punta Cana (yes, I stayed at that one too...). I no longer trust trip advisor. Here is the gist about the IBV:

• Very limited and repetitive entertainment.
• Very limited and repetitive food choices. Only 3 A La Carte restaurants, which you may only visit once per stay, and the buffet restaurant only has very basic, bland food. Want something Cuban? Fawgetabowtit!
• Very limited booze selection.
• Unhelpful/accommodating front desk staff. I am sure I couldn't get the late checkout because they were unwilling to do any coordination of arrivals and departures, as most other places do regularly.
• There is only one small bar for people to visit in the evening. At 60% capacity, there are no seats available at 8PM!
• The pool was FRIGID! I mean, Halifax Harbour cold people. It never warmed up. Perhaps a heater is needed.
• Mini-bar is only restocked once every two days.
• Beds are hard.
• Buffer area between building 17 and the beach looks unkempt, see this photo.
• Compared to neighboring resorts, the beach is not great. It is narrow and has trees that create a shadow.

Of course, there are good things. The maids are sweet hearts. The animation staff tries really hard and actively tries to make friends with hotel guests. Everything is clean. You won't get sick on the food, its stored at proper temperatures and the water is all safe....but of course, these things don't add up to make the IBV a truly great place to go, and I find myself stymied by its Trip Advisor rating. If you are planning to go to this place, contact me...I can provide more color.

Happy Holidays :-)