In my search for a family-friendly resort, I came across Memories Varadero. I liked that the resort offered a Kid’s Club, evening babysitting (for an hourly rate), two tiny Kid’s Pools and a small play area. What I didn’t realize the Bean would enjoy so much were the extensive, paved pedestrian pathways. She had so much fun running (and being chased) through the resort’s grounds. We also didn’t anticipate waitresses who would make funny faces at our daughter to make her laugh or, housekeepers who would play ball with her.
We’d opted for a suite; we wanted the Bean to have a little extra room to run around and figured the extra sink in the living area would come in handy. That was important to us, as it meant that we didn’t have to use the bathroom sinks to prepare the Bean’s tube feeds. Hubs even thought to pack dish soap so that we could wash out the container into which we poured the Nestle Complete packages (super convenient for travel). We’d pre-loaded some Sesame Street videos onto an ipad to distract the Bean during tube feeds and make meal times consistent with our routine at home. The pre-loaded videos paid off as we didn’t find any English kids programming on TV (the resort didn’t have any fancy English satellite TV packages). It was actually nice to have the TV off all week, we didn’t even miss it.
Our suite was exactly as advertised, though we’d somehow been upgraded to an Ocean view, which was amazing! The Bean loved spending time on the deck, overlooking the beach. We were on the third floor, which meant lots of practice going up and down the stairs ‘like a big girl’ instead of shimmying down on her butt! All of the resort’s buildings were low-rise. I believe ours was three or four floors. I didn’t see an elevator on the grounds at all, so if you have mobility issues, this may not be the resort for you. Note, if you have a wee one, as we do, you may want to inquire further about the cribs. I’d requested one, but was told it would be too small for the Bean, who is the size of an average two-year old. She still sleeps in a crib at home, so we were afraid that she’d roll out of the cot provided and onto the tile floor!
This resort has 1,035 rooms, so is very large. The resort grounds and amenities were large enough that it didn’t feel very crowded, but line-ups at the buffet did seem lengthy at times. This can be tricky if you have a runner, like I do! I caught on after day two and stopped allowing my sheer desperation for caffeine rush me along to breakfast. Instead, the Bean and I waited until Hubs was awake or one of the other kiddos in our group was willing to come along with us to the buffet and watch her while I crammed food onto my buffet plate. Even with an older kiddo or another adult watching her I worried she’d somehow tip her chair over, escape and make a break for it (she’s sneaky like that), toss a plate full of food off the table or knock over a coffee.
Having a room at the Beach-end of the resort worked out really well, as it was really close to the smaller buffet, which was super convenient for brekkie and lunch. Also, it was only a short walk to the Kids Club, two kiddie pools and the main pool with water slide. Unfortunately, Beans decided that neither the kiddie pools or the ocean met her minimum temperature requirement for participation in water activities. Fortunately the pool-side lounge chairs were a hit with the Bean as they featured a pattern in the netting that was an endless source of fascination for her. On pool day, she was happy to alternate between hanging out on the loungers with Hubs or I and running around on the resort pathways. Pool loungers are in high demand during the day, so go early to grab one.
On beach day, these same loungers were where Beans spent alot of time. That was fine by us, as we were happy to take turns hanging out admiring the white sand and clear water and swimming. At first our little beach bum didn’t quite understand the concept that the loungers weren’t communal property, which led to a few instances of her climbing onto someone else’s lounger and promptly liberating it of their bags, towels, etc. before I could stop her! Don’t worry, no one’s personal property was harmed in the process ; )
This, shall we say, misunderstanding of how the beach lounge chair system works also led to an unexpected encounter with some lovely women from Toronto, who insisted I let the Bean crash their card game, and one grouchy old man. The Bean also enjoyed the company of the other little girl in our group and they spent time together in the now greatly touted blue loungers:
I should mention that there were staff-led activities (dance lessons, limbo competitions, etc.) that were always accompanied by very loud music and often narrated by someone on a mic. If you or your child is sensitive to loud noises, you should wander away from the stretch of beach near the two main connecting paths in front of the resort. The Bean has a complicated relationship with music; listening to it and making it are a couple of her very favourite activities - if she likes it. If someone plays music that she doesn’t like, she will approach them and start yelling or run away from the sound, jump from a standing position to land on her knees (ouch) and cover her ears with her hands.
On previous trips to the beach, the Bean and sand haven’t had the best working relationship. As in, the child was hysterical when we set her on the sand in bare feet! Nor was she ever a fan of playing in the sand instead, daintily wiping off sandy digits onto her t-shirt. For years this went on. I think that it was these types of activities at school that prepared her this time:
I watched with tears in my eyes and a huge grin on my face, when she bent over, gathered sand in each of her tiny fists, stood up and slowly released the sand, giggling hysterically as it fell to the ground. All of the hours spent researching our destination, the military-precision packing, unpacking, re-packing and the money spent on this trip to Cuba were worth it for me and I hope, for her too, in that one moment.
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