Varadero on the horizon for the upcoming season

By Daily Pérez Guillén

More than 20 kilometers of warm beaches and crystal-clear sea might be enough to make you want to visit, or return to, Varadero. But beyond the strip of fine white sand, it is also home to the largest hotel complex in the Cuban archipelago, marinas, a dolphinarium, restaurants, a convention center and other recreational facilities, natural landscapes, a picturesque town and its people, who are the life and soul of the most important beach resort in the country.

This is the impression that thousands of visitors take away with them, who choose the Hicacos Peninsula every year to enjoy their vacations in the Caribbean.

Margarita Askolskaya and her parents arrived there from Moscow for the second time this October. “My mother always searches the internet for the best hotels in the places we travel to. Last year she chose this one, the Meliá Varadero, which we liked very much; the people are very friendly, the food is good, the entertainment is great.”

Margarita Askolskaya and her parents visit the Meliá Varadero hotel for the second time. Photo: DPG/TTC.

According to statistics, the Russian market is the second largest source of visitors to Cuba. In the last two years, the presence of tourists from that country at this beach destination has been remarkable. Young people, families with children and also senior citizens can be found everywhere.

“My parents are celebrating 50 years of marriage and they wanted to come back to this hotel in Varadero, our facility in Cuba. They don’t speak Spanish and it’s very important to them that people here understand Russian. It’s fantastic! My friend is also arriving today,” the young woman from Moscow tells us excitedly as she leads us to the breakfast buffet to introduce her parents and take a photo.

Executives of the Meliá Varadero hotel. Marco Mazzuccelli, its director, third from left to right. Photo: DPG/TTC

Meliá runs 11 hotels in Varadero. This one, managed by Marco Mazzuccelli, is positioned in the top ten of the resort and of the chain itself, even in the midst of a constructive renovation project. “In the last two years of this process we have grown, both economically and in occupancy and quality. By 2026, we will have completed the total remodeling of the facilities,” the Italian-born manager explains, who offers statistics to demonstrate the significant growth. By 2025, the chain predicts a further increase, “especially in January and March, between 3.5 and 5% compared to the beginning of 2024.”

“The success of a hotel lies in diversifying the product so that it is guaranteed to receive guests from anywhere in the world. Fortunately, we are one of the most diversified in terms of markets. There are months when the Canadian market is the biggest, but we do not depend on it alone. Today it is the fourth largest. Russia, Germany and Cuba occupy the top positions,” the manager notes. There is no doubt regarding this diversity, as Chinese tourists arrive every week to Cuba on a direct flight from Beijing, and can be seen in the lobby waiting with their suitcases before being placed in one of the hotel’s 490 rooms.

“The health of a hotel is to diversify the product.” DAPG/TTC photo.

Meanwhile, Nicholas agrees to talk to the press. He is Canadian and met his partner here, he says. “Here I have found a very familiar atmosphere. I really like the food, the elegance of the hotel. I have had spinal surgery and the staff have helped me a lot with very special treatment. My partner is Russian; we have also traveled to Cancun and in the Dominican Republic. Varadero is very safe for Canadians, even the hotels that are closer to the downtown, which is not the case in Mexico and the Dominican Republic.”

Carlos E. Chávez, assistant manager of the facility, attributes the level of customer satisfaction to what he considers a strength: “Twenty percent of the workers are founding staff; those who join us have learned from them and from Meliá’s know-how as a management chain.”

Foam party at the pool of the Royalton Hicacos hotel of the Blue Diamond chain. Photo: DPG/TTC

Like this, 51 other hotels will receive the thousands of visitors that arrive to this peninsula during the high season. Among them, the Royalton Hicacos, of the Blue Diamond chain, another all-inclusive which has been operating for 22 years. Jaime Capó Palacios, its general director, notes with satisfaction that the hotel maintains a high occupancy rate, “even in low season, this October closes with 75%. For November, December and January we expect 85%, which is the norm.”

“Blue Diamond is seeking markets everywhere, which is what the country needs to bring in hard currency,” he adds, which explains the steady growth of the chain in Cuba and the Caribbean. Experts assure that it is ranked number one in the region.

Jaime Capó Palacios, general director of the Royalton Hicacos hotel. Photo: DPG/TTC.

“We have incorporated many small hotels in Santiago de Cuba, Camagüey, Viñales, Holguín and Havana,” Capó Palacios explains. “We want clients to receive everything Cuba has to offer: the best beaches in the Caribbean, with no gulfweed, always clean; but also the culture, the safety, the people, the fact that it is a country worth visiting and enjoying, especially for those who come from Europe, who are not only looking for sun and beaches.”

In one of the hotel’s exterior corridors, James Coyle and his wife Sheila shared their special preference for Cuba and especially for Varadero. Since 2007, they have flown over North America from Canada to reach the island on 30 occasions; 26 of which they have stayed here. “We love Cuba for its weather and, above all, its safety. We have many Cuban friends,” he says.

There are more than twenty kilometers of beach to enjoy in Varadero. Photo: DPG/TTC.

Many guests return to this hotel. “Every week, we have a dinner for repeat guests attended by between 30 and 40 people, that is to say, we have between 6-7% repeat guests every week,” Capó Palacios stresses, while announcing a further 12 rooms will be added to the 84 rooms that have already been completely remodeled in the upcoming high season.

“We take care of the Russian market because it is helping to keep the hotels full,” he adds and then refers to the 600 meters of beach available for guests and the advantage of administering a joint venture to ensure supplies: “It is bringing in goods, be it meat, dry groceries, beverages. Here, too, local suppliers provide us with fruits, vegetables, pork, beef.”

Iberostar Selection Varadero Hotel. Photo: DPG/TTC.

Not far from there, the Iberostar Selection and the Blau, both managed by chains that originate in Mallorca, are also committed to offering quality service in Varadero.

“We understand that it is a different hotel because of the amount of products we have, you have seen how it is cared for, the number of varied services; guests see it that way,” says Fernando Ortega, Iberostar’s top executive in this property, while guiding a tour that begins in the lobby and ends at the edge of the beach.

Boys, girls, young people, families from Canada, Russia, Portugal and other nations arrive at the Iberostar Selection Varadero hotel. Photo: DPG/TTC.

Dozens of tourists enjoy Cuban music, drink rum and tropical-colored cocktails, smoke cigars, splash in the swimming pool and sunbathe under the Caribbean sun, which is less harsh during the tenth month of the year. Others, in spite of the waves that the wind stirs up, swim in the sea. There are children and teenagers everywhere, their words are heard in English, Russian or Portuguese. “The forecast is to maintain last year’s occupancy rate. From December to March it ranges from around 90-95%,” Ortega adds.

Fernando Ortega, director of the Iberostar Selection Varadero hotel. Photo: DPG/TTC.

The Blau also shares good news on keeping its doors open after 19 years of operations. Its 395 rooms are available and many of its leisure areas have been remodeled or “rejuvenated,” as Laura Tandrón, its deputy general manager, notes on referring to the tennis court, the shooting range, the changing room bathrooms, the gardens and also the energy logistics in 30 rooms.

Hotel Blau Varadero. Photo: DPG/TTC.

“More than 47% of our customers come from Canada, 35% from Russia and Germany. We are in working to diversify toward the southern market,” she explains, while pointing out that the hotel has maintained a linear occupancy rate of 70% from January to October, with an average length of stay of seven days, combined with the chain’s other property in Cuba, the Blau Arenal in Havana.

Just when the daylight is about to fade, a catamaran arrives through the channel of Varadero’s Marina Marlin. Among the 80 people who begin to disembark are Olga and Rodrigo, two Argentines with very different views of their experience in Cuba. This is Rodrigo’s second time in the country; he also visited in 2019, but he does not feel as relaxed this time given the current situation. “I like the island, the sea and the sand, the people, but there is more scarcity compared to what I saw before the pandemic.”

Tourists arrive on board boats to Cayo Blanco. Photo: DPG/TTC.

Olga, who arrived on a Copa flight from Buenos Aires, was certain that her intention on coming to Cuba, “was not to get to know a certain place, but a history. I am happy to have been able to come. I was aware of the situation, but I am fascinated, happy to be here. I find it very welcoming, with very friendly people. I do see scarcities, but I understand why. I recognize and I see all the effort made by the Cuban people to carry on and to bear the situation, which is inhumane from every point of view. I think what they have achieved is very commendable.”

Ana Ruiz also agrees to speak to us. She chose the destination through a travel agency in the city of San Julián, where she lives, in the Mexican state of Jalisco. “They have treated us very well since we arrived. We have toured the town of Varadero. I was very attracted to Cuba because of its culture, its islands, its people. And yes, I have fulfilled my expectations. I am going to recommend my friends choose Cuba because it is a very beautiful place, it is accessible for us, very economical and with a very easy air connection; there are many flights from Mexico.”

Olga, from Argentina and Ana, from Mexico, enjoy their stay in Varadero. Photo: DPG/TTC.

For those who opt to enjoy Varadero this winter, the international chains Roc, Muthu, Valentin, ATG and Archipelago are another option. Through the Juan Gualberto Gómez International Airport, just 25 minutes from the beach, flights arrive from Canada, Germany, the United States, Russia and Portugal, and soon also from Poland. Havana, the capital of the country and the largest international air terminal in the archipelago, is only 130 kilometers away and the trip to Cuba’s largest beach resort also merits a photograph for the travel album.