The beach we were on had coarse-ish sand. Which is only important to you if you like natural beaches (we do) and not man-made ones with fine, white sand. The resort we stayed at is technically in Jibacoa, not Varadero (like all the brochures say). We liked it better because it was nestled all by itself in a little cove, and not on the main hotel drag in Varadero.