Gran Caribe - Club Kawama
Varadero, CubaAll travelers
Our take
Authentic Cuban hacienda‑style all‑inclusive with lush gardens and a prime beachfront location.
- 336 rooms
- ~20 min from VRA
Resort facts & overview
- Location
- Varadero, Cuba
- Audience
- All travelers
- Brand
- Independent
- Rooms
- 336
- Dining listed
- -
- Airport
- VRA
- Transfer
- ~20 min
Why travelers love it
“Authentic Cuban hacienda‑style all‑inclusive with lush gardens and a prime beachfront location.”
Guests consistently praise the resort’s unbeatable beachfront location, warm and friendly staff, and relaxed tropical garden setting.
Food & drink
MixedBuffet is basic Cuban all-inclusive fare: well-prepared but limited in variety, with occasional shortages of dessert, soft drinks, or beer. The nearby Italian and La Sangria stand out; a few guests reported getting sick.
high confidence
What you'll enjoy
- Italian restaurant is a highlight
- La Sangria a short walk away
- Lobby bar coffees and daiquiris praised
- Breakfast holds up all week
Heads up
- Limited buffet variety
- Shortages of soft drinks and beer
- Isolated reports of food-related illness
Dining overview
Buffet restaurant and a la carte venue serving Cuban, international and Italian cuisine, plus snack bar and lobby/bar café.
Beach
StandoutThe headline reason to book: many call it the best stretch of Varadero, with soft sand and easy swimming right off the property.
high confidence
What you'll enjoy
- Widely praised as top Varadero beach
- Steps from the rooms
- Great for families and swimmers
White sandy beach directly accessible from the resort, calm and clean water, plenty of loungers and shade, no road between resort and sand.
Pools
StrongPool is clean, well-maintained, and backed by a genuinely good pool-bar team; a solid secondary hangout after the beach.
high confidence
What you'll enjoy
- Clean and well-kept
- Attentive pool bar service
- Good daiquiris poured all day
Heads up
- No separate adult pool area
Main outdoor pool with separate children’s section, garden setting, no swim‑up bar.
Rooms & suites
336 roomsLow‑rise hacienda‑style bungalows and buildings offer Standard and Superior rooms with air conditioning, satellite TV, safe, hairdryer, phone, private bathroom.
Room details here are AI-assisted, compiled from the resort's own website and public sources. Categories and names change often — confirm the exact room when you book.
What’s included
MixedPriced and delivered as a 3-star Cuban all-inclusive: you're paying for the beach, the staff warmth, and the location, not for polish or abundance. Reasonable value if expectations match.
medium confidence
What you'll enjoy
- Beachfront location punches above price
- Staff service exceeds the hardware
- Repeat guests return year after year
Heads up
- Facility is visibly aging
- Supply shortages affect the experience
- Photos oversell the property
Package inclusions and upgrade access have not been collected yet. Confirm them for your room and dates when booking.
Amenities & activities
Couples
StretchA warm, low-key pick for couples looking for authentic Cuban hospitality over polished luxury, with several honeymooners (including a same-sex couple) singling out the staff for making them feel at home.
medium confidence
What you'll enjoy
- Welcoming, family-like staff
- Honeymooners return happy
- Relaxed, unpretentious vibe
- Beach and lobby bar set the mood
Heads up
- Rooms are dated
- Not a romance-focused resort
Families
Good fitThe clear sweet spot: multigenerational Cuban families come for quinceañeras, birthdays, and holidays, drawn by the beach, animation team, and easygoing atmosphere. Kid-specific programming is thin and the room policy caps at one child per room.
high confidence
What you'll enjoy
- Lively animation team keeps kids engaged
- Safe, gentle beach for children
- Popular for birthdays and milestones
- Coffee and milk always stocked for kids
Heads up
- Few dedicated kids' activities
- Only one child allowed per room
- Limited children's food options
Peace & Quiet
StrongGenerally a calm, cozy hacienda-style stay, though the animation team is loud and energetic by design, especially around holidays.
medium confidence
What you'll enjoy
- Relaxed daytime atmosphere
- Lush garden setting
- Not a party resort
Heads up
- Animation shows can be boisterous
- Holiday events run all day
What guests say
Low confidence3 reviews · through Oct 2026
Read all reviews on TripAdvisor ↗Google ↗
Based on limited recent reviews
Recurring complaints
No recurring complaint theme found in the reviews analyzed.
Best suited for
What past guests say
“This is an economically oriented accommodation, which is reflected in the standard of equipment. The rooms show signs of wear and tear, but they were sufficient for a short stay for relaxation. The high level of service and the overall level of bar services should be highlighted.”
★★★★★
“03/13/2025 - 03/27/2025 The best location in Varadero. The staff was always positive. Wi-Fi worked perfectly throughout our entire stay. We were immediately checked into a decent new room next to reception and the pool. During my stay, there was an accident at the power station and we were temporarily moved to another hotel with a generator. After a couple of days, we were given the option to stay at the new hotel or return to the old one. Many chose the new hotels (free of charge), but a...”
★★★★★
“I’ll give it 5 for the beautiful beach You get what you pay for but o was lucky enough to be able to go and experience Cuba”
★★★★★
“Went here and my room was covered in mold , all the water was ice cold in washroom, food got me very sick and there was nearly no alcohol in site the entire stay . Was sick for 3/4 of my trip due to food and was refused any water bottles from staff”
★☆☆☆☆
“Went here and my room was covered in mold , all the water was ice cold in washroom, food got me very sick and there was nearly no alcohol in site the entire stay . Was sick for 3/4 of my trip due to food and was refused any water bottles from staff”
★☆☆☆☆
Latest reviews from Tripadvisor
Loaded live from Tripadvisor when you ask — the newest reviews and the current rating.
Read all reviews on Google (800) ↗
Ask Rosie
Have a specific question about Gran Caribe - Club Kawama?
Rosie answers from this resort’s guest reviews and our research — with quotes.
Know before you book
- Aging rooms and infrastructure in need of renovation
- Limited food variety and inconsistent quality
- Maintenance issues (bugs, plumbing, water or AC outages)
- Limited buffet variety
What you should know
What to Know
This is an authentic, older Cuban property, not a polished international resort: come for the beach and the people, and pack for the quirks. Room issues (no hot water, mosquitoes, spotty electricity) are common enough to plan around.
high confidence
What you'll enjoy
- Wifi actually works, unusually for Cuba
- La Sangria walkable; Asian restaurant a short taxi
- Staff go out of their way to fix issues
- Commercial manager can arrange room upgrades in advance
Heads up
- Frequent hot water and electricity outages
- Mosquitoes reported inside rooms
- One-child-per-room policy catches families off guard
- Early check-in costs extra
WATCH OUT: Seasonal heads-up
- None identified
All photos
Photo: emdpochta_ via Tripadvisor
Photo: 304iana via Tripadvisor
Ready?
No ResortFinder markup. We just do the work.
What we know
Everything below comes from data we collected: here's the inventory for this resort.Updated June 2026- Photos
- 5
- Review excerpts
- 20
- Dining venues
- Not yet collected
- Menus
- Not yet collected
- Room categories
- Not yet collected
- Videos
- 2
- Editorial lenses
- 8
We aggregate. We don't trap. Verify on any of these:
Where this data comes from
We tell you what we know, and what we don't.
- Last updated
- June 23, 2026
- Sources
- Google PlacesDirect resort media
- Completeness
- 50%
Source collection snapshot
These collection totals can differ from the items available on this page. Video totals include screened results; the inventory above counts published tours.
- 5 photos
- 34 videos
Still verifying dining, menus, rooms. If something looks thin, ask Rosie or ask our booking team and they can usually fill in the gaps.