“The cult of tipping is cruel”

He condemned the “savage cult” of tipping at the island’s tourist facilities. A Russian traveler, who has a travel blog named “Traveling with a Camera”, shared her negative experience at a luxury hotel of the Iberostar chain in Varadero, Cuba, where she stayed for 16 days.

In her blog, the woman gave several tips to Russian tourists to be able to “survive” in hotels, where she said the tips were in high demand. According to him, the best thing was to give “dollars or gifts, but preferably dollars”.

The tourist was fatalistic: “Without a tip you’re nothing,” even if you paid thousands of dollars for a 5-star “all-inclusive” hotel. Whether treatment will improve depends on how much money you leave for workers.

,Would you like the maid to change the towels? Leave dollars or gifts. But dollars are better. If you want better rum in your cocktail (although it’s the same for me), pay the dollar. Do you want the waitress at the restaurant to ignore your request for a glass of water (and have nowhere to pour it yourself)? Okay, you got it,” he wrote.

The tourist assured that not all hotel employees were like that, because in that hotel there were “very receptive waitresses and friendly waiters who did an excellent job”, but not all of them were like that.

Russian tourists criticize hotel stays in Varadero

The tourist assures that she doesn’t mind tipping, but it is almost a requirement for anyone on the island to get their work stuff done.

,I always leave tips for cafes, restaurants, even gas stations and taxi drivers. But in Cuba, The cult of tipping has risen to a kind of barbaric level, Thus, tourists bring chocolates, cosmetics, socks, and other things to the staff in the hope of receiving something resembling normal service. But even with a mountain of “gratitude” it doesn’t always work,” he added on his blog.

Finally, the woman talked about the shortage that hotels have, even in recognized chains like the Spanish chain Iberostar.

,There wasn’t even shampoo in our room at our Iberostar Laguna Azul 5*, let alone shower gel and toothpaste. But thankfully at least there was hot water. Not all neighboring hotels are so lucky,” he said.