Barcelo Solymar Varadero
 

As I mentioned previously, this was my first Cuban all inclusive vacation in 8 years. We went to this resort with very low expectations and were generally satisfied with our stay. I loved how close to town it was. After exiting through the main entrance from our sister resort (Occidental Arenas Blancas) we were basically there. Most of the tourists on resort and off, seemed to be Cubans and from other Spanish speaking countries. I spoke to many locals and a few from Mexico and Colombia. Very few Canadians at our resort, but saw a few walking around the town and also spoke to a few at the Beatles Bar. Lots of Cubans partying day and night on the playa (the street in town closest to the beach). I walked here everyday to buy rum, beer and non alcoholic drinks. Overall, things were busier than I was expecting. Still a long ways off from the good ol' days.

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Bienvenido
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My mates from Liverpool.

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Airport prices. I bought all my rum in town for way less.
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Thank you for the report.

We have been to Varadero before but are not familiar with that hotel.

Did you go to Havana or any other nearby towns?

What were the summer temperatures like? Did you experience any power outages? We have never been to Cuba during the summer.

We only had one short power outage and that was because of a pretty wild thunderstorm. Weather wise, it was probably around 35 during the day and 25 at night. I have spent over 2 years in Havana, so I wasn't interested in a day trip. And other than Varadero, I didn't visit any nearby towns. Cardenas is where many of the resort workers live. I've never spent any meaningful time there. Also lived in nearby Matanzas for a few months. It's one of my favourite cities in Cuba.

The Beatles are popular in Cuba. Go figure. I have been to Beatle bars/seen Beatle statues in Vedado, Bayamo, Camagüey, Guardalavaca and Holguin. Am I forgetting any other places?
Hey what is with all the booze fotos Simon? You musta spent a fortune and never gone dry.
Would your next Cuba trip be to a resort or somewhere more exciting out in the hinterland?

((B))

The only other Beatle related place I can think of is the Casa de la Trova in Santiago. They have the chair McCartney sat in and the plate he had his omlette on, hanging up on the wall. Aa I mentioned earlier, those rum pictures are airport prices. I wouldn't pay that much. Bought my 8 year old Santiago rum at 3000 pesos in town. My most expensive purchase was a bottle of 12 year Santiago at 10,000 that I bought for my dad. I have no future Cuba plans at the moment. Can't see myself visiting a resort again. Probably just wait until the power situation improves.

Thanks for the report and bottle photos.
we have never been to Cuba in summer either.
We have been to Veradaro but our number one spot is in Guardalavaca but have only gone three times since 2020.
Are there any advantages to travelling to Cuba in the summer.

Some people can only travel during the summer. School teachers, families with children, etc. The weather is way too hot and humid for me during these months and when I do travel,I typically only travel to cooler destinations. However, one of my friends had 2 weeks off work and wanted to visit Cuba. I went to Cuba in July about 12 years ago and swore that I would never do it again.