A Cuban woman claimed to have experienced her "worst experience in Varadero" after staying at the Hotel Sol y Mar, an establishment that, she reported, offered poor food, inadequate cleanliness, and left its guests without electricity or water during the blackouts.
The complaint was published in the Facebook group "Hotels in Varadero Cuba" by user Jitana Melanie, who claimed that her stay was far from what was promised.
"I do not recommend Hotel Sol y Mar. It was, without a doubt, my worst experience in Varadero. I felt like I lost my money," he wrote.
According to his testimony, the quality of the services was poor from the beginning. "The food was very bad, the facilities were dirty, and the beer frequently ran out," he noted.
However, he explained that the situation worsened when the power outages affected Varadero. "The rooms were left without light and without water," he reported.
The Cuban concluded that she would not recommend the hotel: "In my experience, this hotel leaves much to be desired and I would not recommend it to anyone."
In the comments on the post, the user shared more about her experience: "They market it as a four-star hotel, but it doesn't even meet two. It wasn't cheap at all, and the rooms had no light and no water. Customers, including children, sleeping in the lobby and on the floor. There are no eggs at breakfast; it's just lunch meat and hash. There's not even any chicken," she stated.
Her post generated numerous reactions from other travelers, many of whom said they had experienced similar situations.
A user reported that they visited Sol y Mar with a group of 42 people and found bathrooms with leaks, store-bought bread, shredded chicken, and desserts without sugar due to a lack of the product.
Another person summed up their experience with a strong statement: "I went yesterday, and that hotel is terrible."
Criticism of the decline in tourism
Several participants in the debate argued that the problem is not limited to the Hotel Sol y Mar. "All hotels right now are the same: terrible food, drinks, sodas; the beer runs out, and even if the SEN goes down, you are left without water and electricity," commented one user.
Another person lamented the decline that, in their opinion, the country's main tourist hub has experienced. "The hotels in Varadero are not what they once were, just as Cuba is no longer what it used to be."
A former employee of the establishment defended the quality of the hotel, although other guests responded that that reality would have changed years ago and described the place as "literally a campsite."
Some commentators also claimed that employees of the hotel itself had told them that, due to the sharp decline in international tourism, Cuban clients residing on the island are currently receiving a lower quality of service. These claims have not been confirmed by the hotel's management.
A sector hit by the crisis
The critiques reflect the deep crisis that Cuban tourism is experiencing. On July 30, Prime Minister Manuel Marrero Cruz acknowledged that 73% of the country's hotel facilities remain closed and that approximately 25,000 workers are in a state of availability.
Between January and April 2026, Cuba received 328,608 international tourists, a decrease of 55.8% compared to the same period the previous year, while the national hotel occupancy fell to 21.5%.
The energy crisis has further worsened the situation. Since the beginning of the year, several hotels in Varadero and the keys have suspended operations due to the lack of fuel to power their generators.
In July, another Cuban tourist reported that was left without electricity or water following a collapse of the National Electroenergy System, as the hotel's generator was unable to meet the demand.
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