Starfish Cuatro Palmas Varadero — Hotel in Cárdenas

Disappointing Experience at Quatro Palmas Hotel in Cuba varadero

I recently had the unfortunate experience of staying at Quatro Palmas Hotel in Cuba, and I must say it was a highly disappointing and unpleasant stay. This review aims to highlight several issues that greatly affected my overall experience at the hotel.

Poor Quality Food: One of the major letdowns of my stay at Quatro Palmas was the consistently subpar quality of the food. The meals provided were bland, unappetizing and full of flies. It felt like the hotel had no regard for culinary standards or the satisfaction of their guests. As a result, dining became a daily struggle, and it severely impacted the enjoyment of my vacation.

Unprofessional Attitude Towards Tipping: It was disheartening to observe that the hotel staff at Quatro Palmas treated guests differently based on their willingness to tip. Employees would look at you differently or provide a lower level of service if you didn't tip them. This created an uncomfortable atmosphere.

Inappropriate Behavior of Staff: Another disturbing aspect of my stay was the behavior of certain staff members who would stop guests at the bathroom or in public areas, asking for gifts or if we brought gifts. This behavior was intrusive, unprofessional, and downright unacceptable. It made me feel uncomfortable and violated my privacy. Guests should never be subjected to such harassment during their stay at a supposedly reputable hotel.

Assistant Manager's Harassment for Positive Reviews: One of the most alarming experiences I encountered at Quatro Palmas was the assistant manager's (Angel) persistent harassment to obtain a 5-star review on Trip Advisor. It became evident that the sole motivation behind this behavior was to manipulate the hotel's online reputation, rather than genuinely caring about guest satisfaction. Such coercion is not only unethical but also tarnishes the integrity of the hotel and its management. Certainly! Here's an additional note regarding the issue of being given rooms in a different building without prior notification:

Unmentioned Room Allocation in a Different Building: One more frustrating aspect of my stay at Quatro Palmas Hotel was the fact that upon arrival, my travel companions and I were given rooms in a different building without any prior notice or explanation. This allocation created confusion and inconvenience, as we had specifically booked our rooms with the agency based on the location and amenities mentioned in the original booking. Not being informed about this significant change was a clear lack of transparency on the hotel's part or the agency and it left us feeling deceived and dissatisfied.

It is important for hotels and agencies to communicate any changes or deviations from the original booking to guests in a timely and transparent manner, ensuring that expectations are properly managed. Unfortunately, Quatro Palmas Hotel and LoveHolidays failed in this aspect, further contributing to the overall disappointment of our stay.

Limited Internet Access and Favoritism towards Tipping: Another major issue that significantly impacted my experience at Quatro Palmas Hotel was the restricted internet access and the preferential treatment given to guests who left tips. The hotel's policy of providing internet access for only 3 hours, and extending it to 6 to 9 hours for those who tipped, was not only unfair but also discriminatory.

In conclusion, my stay at Quatro Palmas Hotel in Cuba was far from satisfactory (except for 2 amazing people we met there MARTIN and ABEL that worked at hotel.) The consistently poor quality of food, unprofessional attitude towards tipping, inappropriate behavior of staff, and the assistant manager's persistent harassment for positive reviews all contributed to a highly disappointing experience. I strongly urge potential guests to consider these factors before making a decision, as there are surely better options available in Cuba that prioritize guest satisfaction and uphold...

We arrived at this starfish hotel at the 20th of February 2020 and checked in to room 4114. The wall from the bathroom was full of mold. It was horrible and very unhealthy staying in such a room. In the Night we could not sleep because of the very loud night clubs on both sides of the street next to the room.The aircondition was in a bad condition and made annoying sounds the whole time. We wanted to call the reception but the telephone was not working.

The next morning, after a night without any sleep, we directly went to the reception to talk about the situation. They told us to come back at 12:30 PM. At 12:30 PM we waited another 30minutes to see another room. The next room was very small and also not the category we booked. So they showed us another room. The next room was not clean so they told us to come back in the evening to move in. That was a day full of stress, Organisation and not a day of holiday! We were so tired because of the lack of sleep and we did not have a room to stay in. We had to be outside the whole day without our clothes and things we need which we had used if we had a room. In the evening we arrived at the room and when we tried to get some sleep it was also loud from the clubs outside as the night before. We had a room full of smoking air, it was disgusting. We asked a cleaning lady for some roomspray to get rid of the cigar smell, but it did not work. It was very smelly, especially for us, who do not smoke!

On the 22th of February we went to the reception again because we were told the day before we also have to speak with another lady from the public relations. We should be there at 9:30 but the lady was not there. At 10:30 she arrived. We talked with her and we were told we can get a refund as soon as we send another email to the reservation department with all the information. The Lady even gave us a signed document as a proof of the refund.

As we left the hotel the same day we already wrote an email with all the information, but nobody answered. On 29th of February we wrote a second reminder email and on 4th of march we wrote a third email, but we still didn't received any answer from Starfish Hotel. We tried to call several times but after our call was forwarded many times they even hang up. We are still waiting for any response or compensation and are very disappointed about the behavior of this hotel.

We can strongly advise against booking this or any starfish hotel!!! They are lying to their guests and deceive them. DO NOT...

Let me start by saying the beach and Ocean are both as nice as you'll find anywhere, the location of the resort was great for getting out and walking around Verradero, unfortunately that's about where it ends. Rooms were ok not bad, there was a very foul smell most days that we thought originally was sewage but after Learning a bit we think it comes from nearby refineries. Food was not great, from selection to being cold it was the same everyday, there are 2 a la cartes but good luck, you have to book each morning but by 730 they tell you they are all booked, however when we did get to one we noticed it was almost empty so the next night we just showed up and they seated us. Liquor selection was terrible, nothing but rum and beer, the mixes changed everyday depending on availability, but what they did have was basically Hawaiian Punch as it was made from drink crystals. No vodka, no tequila, no mixed cocktails at all except rum punch, no diet coke most days, while booze isn't the main thing, it certainly helps make the vacation nicer when you have selection to choose from. Our day trip to Havana was booked with a girl from the front desk using her cell phone, not the hotel phone and we found out why, it was either her brother or boyfriend and we basically got setup, for $200 Canadian 4 of us were driven in a cab for 2hours each way with not alot said from our "guide", we actually had to ask to have the music turned down, he then asked if we wanted lunch in Havana and that we should reserve or we won't get a table, he was all too ready to help us out, and we found out why, we went to a nice restaurant that after we ate, informed us the prices were American and did their own exchange rate, which turned out to be 50%, we noticed that EVERYONE in the place had a "guide" take them there and wait for them, after exiting the restaurant every driver would say they had to go to the bathroom before we left, what we found out was, the drivers all get paid off for bringing their guests, hence the massive exchange rate. On our way home our driver was hitting speeds of 170 km/hr to a point where the 2 females in the vehicle were quite nervous.

All in all it was not a great experience and all 4 of us agreed Cuba was not somewhere we would...