Iberostar Origin Taínos

We have only been here 2 days so far but we love it! Service is great, staff members are very helpful with anything you need and the beach is beautiful. Rooms are clean and ac and hot water work great. The buffet has a lot of options and has been very flavourful and yummy! Some places only take American or credit card (no American banks) some places take CAD and pesos are used basically just for tips (make sure you tip the hotel workers! I usually tip 200 pesos per drink and 400 pesos to the servers which is around $2 and $4 Canadian). You don’t need any more than $50 CAD in pesos for ur week long trip. Make sure u bring American money as ur main currency THERE ARE NO ATMS!! If you don’t bring cash you can not buy most things. We exchanged Canadian money for pesos at the airport but exchanging money with your shuttle bus driver will give you better value. We took the double decker bus to downtown Varadero for $7 Canadian each for a ride there and back and we’ve booked a ride to Havana for $56 US for both of us one way which picks up from the hotel!

Great resort for someone looking for a smaller more family-feel. Food was okay - but you don't go to Cuba for the food. The beach was great, with lots of chairs available there and at the pool. Pool bar open early for fantastic coffee; coffee also available at the bar in front. The check-in area was under construction, as was one of the walkways to the beach, so they are continually making improvements. They were also painting and upgrading the bungalows. The entertainment team was fantastic! Always smiling, they remembered my name, and tried to get everyone involved to have a fun vacation!

Our stay was terrible due to several issues. Aside from the fact that there are cockroaches everywhere. Our first room had bedbugs, and the second room had a leaking roof, an unflushed toilet, and broken phone lines. The constant water leakage ruined our belongings, made the room wet and smelly. I’m concerned about the health risks of sleeping in such conditions. The only one pool was green for days. While the buffet staff and entertainment team were friendly and energetic, the poor room conditions made it impossible to relax or sleep properly. This really impacted our travel experience.