Alarming images reveal critical hygiene conditions at a hotel in Varadero.

The hotel "Valentín El Patriarca," located in the Varadero Peninsula and rated five stars, has been denounced on social media for the poor conditions it presents regarding hygiene and infrastructure, especially in the kitchen area.

Images shared by the Facebook page "La Nueva Cuba" and later reproduced by several profiles show the chaos in the facilities at "Valentín El Patriarca," located on the narrow Hicacos Peninsula in Varadero.

The hotel is managed by the Spanish businessman Javier Aguilar, and according to their claims, the working mechanism "is that if someone complains as a customer, they offer them free dinners to cover the shortcomings and almost force the employees to post favorable comments on websites like Trip Advisor."

On the popular travel website, the hotel is described as "an all-inclusive resort for families that brings you closer to the best of Varadero," with a rating of four points based on reviews about the facility.

However, the shared images are samples of a hotel that do not match what the reviews on travel websites express.

The kitchen in critical condition, insects like cockroaches freely moving across the floor and in food preparation and storage areas, the floor in poor condition, as well as stoves, cooking utensils, and broken dishes, are representative of a hotel that resembles the decaying reality of Cuba more than the regime's efforts to project confidence to attract tourism.

Official data on investment in Cuba during the first half of 2024 have rekindled the debate on the distribution of resources on the island, particularly the Cuban regime's insistence on investing in the tourism sector to the detriment of fundamental sectors such as health and social assistance.

A report on the subject presented by the National Office of Statistics and Information (ONEI) indicates that from January to June 2024, the regime allocated nearly 40% of its investments to tourism-related activities, while the investment in Health and Social Assistance is 14 times lower.

However, just as investments are growing, so are the negative experiences that are turning into criticisms of the conditions of hotels in Cuba.

Experiences of tourists in hotels in Varadero

In 2023, a Canadian tourist identified as Deanna Lang filed a lawsuit against the travel company Sunwing, based in Toronto, to recover the $8,000 she paid for a trip to the Cuban resort of Varadero.

The woman, who stayed with her mother and five children at the Memories Varadero Beach Resort, said that the trip turned into a nightmare due to multiple issues at the hotel, including a lack of food and cockroaches everywhere.

Another tourist from that northern nation, who spent two weeks at the Barceló Solymar - Occidental Arenas Blancas hotel complex in Varadero, described her stay as "the worst experience of her life."

Joe Eastcott, a resident of the Canadian city of Surrey, shared his experience in the Facebook group "Barceló Solymar — Occidental Arenas Blancas" and posted photos that showed the high level of deterioration of the facilities and the poor quality of the food.

This year, the opening of the importing company Mesol, under the management of Meliá Hotels International in Cuba, highlighted the profound crisis the island is experiencing in terms of supplying basic products.

Mesol, established at the beginning of this year, aims to supply Meliá hotels with a wide range of products, from food and beverages to cleaning supplies and kitchenware.

Presented by the official press as an efficient solution to maintain quality in the hotels of the Spanish chain, it reflects the ineffectiveness of the Cuban government in ensuring the provision of essential goods to its population and, now, to its business partners.

So much so that another negative experience was lived by Argentine influencer Georgi, who recounted her disappointing stay at an all-inclusive hotel in Varadero.

The woman showed images of the food that was offered to her during her stay at the Hotel Sol Palmeras and described the situation, emphasizing the lack of variety and quality of the food, such as a pizza without cheese and bread as hard as a rock.