A Canadian tourist who spent two weeks at the Barceló Solymar - Occidental Arenas Blancas hotel complex in Varadero described his stay as "the worst experience of his life."
Joe Eastcott, a resident of the Canadian city of Surrey, shared his experience in the Facebook group "Barceló Solymar — Occidental Arenas Blancas," along with photos that displayed the significant deterioration of the facilities and the poor quality of the food.
“The food was barely edible, most of the time it wasn’t,” said Eastcott, who added that this situation forced him to eat outside the hotel complex most of the time.
The angry tourist pointed out that he did not understand why, in other hotels during his previous visits to Varadero, the food had been enjoyable, but this time it was different.
To make matters worse, according to Eastcott, "the staff seemed more concerned with helping than anything else."
He also found it incomprehensible that he was constantly being forced to change bars when it was time to have a drink, and the same went for where to eat.
The snacks consisted of "stale rolls from the previous day, a raw hot dog, or a single slice of meat," Eastcott noted. "Without ketchup or mustard," he added.
"I was served undercooked chicken and rice with stones in it," reported the Canadian tourist, who shared photos of one of the "finds" hidden in their meal.
He also noted that the hotel complex was in a deplorable state: “Broken or damaged items everywhere.”
"I never received the minibar that was supposed to be in my room," added the Canadian, noting that they only provided him with one bottle of water a day, something he found absurd and indicative of the crisis facing the Cuban hotel industry.
"I suggest a different resort for your vacation," the tourist finally said.
Complaints about Cuban hotels have become common, particularly regarding the food and recreational facilities.
"Scarce food and queues of up to two hours to get a piece of meat," described some tourists last May about the situation at the Meliá Las Dunas hotel in Cayo Santa María, located in the northern part of the Cuban province of Villa Clara.
A customer who visited the facility reported to CiberCuba that the situation there is "shameful."
In February, a relative of Russian tourists stranded at Cayo Coco Airport in Ciego de Ávila reported mistreatment experienced by their family members due to an 18-hour delay of a flight on its route from this location to Moscow.
"They were not given water for a long time, and they were not informed about what was happening," explains Dmitry, a subscriber to the Russian portal Belgorod No. 1, whose family was among those affected by the delay of this flight.
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