Meliá Varadero

Varadero

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Twice as big as its sister hotel Meliá Las Américas, and happy to cater to families, the 490-room Meliá Varadero immediately impresses with its cylindrical vine-draped lobby and vivid pillars painted by Cuban artists. Perched on a small rocky promontory, the beach is set to one side and offers plenty of shade. Unlike many of its Varadero brethren it offers guests free bike use.

And psst: the restaurants here are superior to its supposedly more illustrious sister; the Japanese restaurant Sakura is first-class.

Lonely Planet's must-see attractions

  • Finca Coincidencia

    Finca Coincidencia

    21.7 MILES

    Enhance your taste for bucolic provincial life away from the razzmatazz of Matanzas Province's north coast at this ecological farm 14km northeast of San…

  • Iglesia de Monserrate

    Iglesia de Monserrate

    25.56 MILES

    For a mappable view of mildewed Matanzas on one side and the broccoli-green Valle de Yumurí on the other, climb 1.5km northeast of the center up Calle 306…

  • Taller-Galería Lolo

    Taller-Galería Lolo

    25.2 MILES

    Imagine. You're tramping through Matanzas' tatty streets wondering whether the 'Athens of Cuba' moniker is just a local joke when you stumble upon this…

  • Gran Hotel & Balneario

    Gran Hotel & Balneario

    23.52 MILES

    A gorgeous ruin lying truly abandoned in the middle of small-town Cuba that's heavy with atmosphere and still shines (despite the mildew) with a…

  • Museo Oscar María de Rojas

    Museo Oscar María de Rojas

    9.56 MILES

    Cuba's second-oldest museum (after the Museo Bacardí in Santiago) offers a selection of weird artifacts, including a strangulation chair from 1830, a face…

  • Cuba, Varadero, View over Varadero beach towards Xanadu mansion

    Mansión Xanadú

    0.5 MILES

    Everything east of Varadero's small stone water tower (it looks like an old Spanish fort, but was built in the 1930s) once belonged to the Du Pont family…

  • Parque Turístico Río Canímar

    Parque Turístico Río Canímar

    20.6 MILES

    Boat trips on the Río Canímar, 8km east of Matanzas, are a truly magical experience. Gnarly mangroves dip their jungle-like branches into the ebbing water…

  • Coral beach

    Playa Coral

    16.56 MILES

    Your closest bet for shore snorkeling in the Varadero area is Playa Coral, on the old coastal road, about 3km off the Vía Blanca, halfway between Matanzas…

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Nearby Varadero attractions

1. Mansión Xanadú

0.5 MILES

Everything east of Varadero's small stone water tower (it looks like an old Spanish fort, but was built in the 1930s) once belonged to the Du Pont family…

2. Cueva de Ambrosio

3.16 MILES

For something completely different in Varadero's tourist circus, decamp to this large cave 500m beyond the Club Amigo Varadero on the Autopista Sur. It's…

3. Parque Josone

3.2 MILES

If you're set on sightseeing in Varadero, ensconce yourself in this pretty green oasis. These landscaped gardens date back to 1940 and take their name…

4. Iglesia de Santa Elvira

3.69 MILES

Just east of Parque Central is this tiny colonial-style building resembling a displaced alpine chapel.

5. Reserva Ecológica Varahicacos

3.7 MILES

The Varahicacos is about all that's left of the 'wild' Hicacos Peninsula: hotel developers have been chomping away at its edges for years. There are three…

6. Marina Gaviota

5.31 MILES

At the peninsula's eastern tip, state-run Gaviota's impressive marina, built in the early 2010s, encompasses a wide malecón (main street), luxury…

7. Arechabala Rum Factory

8.75 MILES

To the northwest of the center of Cárdenas, in the industrial zone, is this famous rum factory founded in 1878 by Spanish immigrant José Arechabala…

8. Flagpole Monument

8.94 MILES

No, not just any old flagpole. Follow Av Céspedes past Catedral de la Inmaculada Concepción to its northern end and you will see this flagpole is attached…