| My home away from home |
| Hotel Cubanacan Club Amigo Marea del Portillo |
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lois >
1 contribution(s) Canada |
| Aug, 2010 | Leisure | With Spouse/Partner
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Just returned to Marea del Portillo after an absence of 20 years. There were still friends there who recognized me. THe arrival at the airport is well organized. The ride to hotel gives you an amazing insight into the way of life of Cuban people. THere is help at the hotel for your luggage. The rooms are adequate and have hairdryers and towels provided. Beach towels are provided as well. THe hotel is located in a rural setting which makes it a very relaxing quiet place for all ages to enjoy a safe and fun filled vacation. The hotel is clean, the food is plain but tasty. Lunch can be served at the beach bar. The staff are very friendly and helpful. There is a money exchange and internet access in the lobby. The beach is just delightful and uncrowed. Enjoy the excellent snorkeling in the lagoon. Take every opportunity to explore the surrounding country side, the locals are delighted to meet you. Take the planned excursions available, the horse riding is great. The evening entertainment is a colourful and musical introduction to the Cuban culture. Feel safe to explore the beach and surrounding area. Enjoy this very special place.
Chow |
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| One very hot week (sometimes too hot actually!) |
| Hotel Sirenis Playa Turquesa (formerly Occidental Grand Playa Turquesa) |
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Pierre >
1 contribution(s) Canada |
| Aug, 2010 | Leisure | Family
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| Activities on and off the Resort/Hotel |
We went to swim with the dolphins; well, actually, our 2 daughters went. My wife and I didn't have any interest in doing the swimming part so our daughters took our "20 minutes swim" coupons and went again for a total of 40 minutes. They had a blast. One of our daughter was selected to be thrown out of the water by 2 dolphins which made unbelievable memories. Glossy picture from the so-called "expert photograph" (a regular guy with a above average camera) is 10 pesos but not really worth it. We were right next to him while he was taking pictures and we barely see any difference when we compare our pictures with his. But even if we didn't swim with the dolphins, my wife and I were still allowed to go on the platform to have our picture taken with a dolphin between us.
There is a different show every evening at the theater. On our second evening, we sat behind two guys who had too much to drink and they really ruined it for everyone around them. Remember that seeing a live show is no different than seeing a movie: Shut up! It's even worse as the performers are there to see the lack of respect compared to a movie. One guy stood up and asked them to shut up to which the other reply "We have the right to speak". When the pissed spectator loudly yelled "You're a f-----g idiot", we thought "Ding! Round one", but no, he just left now that his show was completely ruined. The two drunk idiots kept taking. Please, people, if you're not there to see the show, just leave.
They cancel katamaran and pedalos reservations as soon as it's too windy, so better go make your reservations very early in the morning. Katamaran was quite boring anyway as they just go straight toward the ocean for 10 minutes then just come straight back. Pedalos were most pleasant for that.
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| Arrival |
| We were greeted at 20h30 with a cold towel and a drink they simply call the "Welcome Drink". My wife got hooked on these and didn't drink much else during out 7 days stay! |
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| Beach/Pools/Grounds |
| The pool with bar is the most popular but also has the most kids who play more with the plastic glasses than anything else (like others have said, where are the parents?!). The barman at pool is called Ivan and he's impossible to hate. Like I told him the last day I saw him, he's part of our best memories.
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| Other Comments |
General rules: You can tip everything, you can bargain any homemade stuff (my 16 years old single-handedly bargained a 30 pesos item for 22 pesos!) and there's rum in everything. Everybody expects a tip although they will not frown if you don't give any. The only "I really don't wanna work" face I've seen was from the cook on the beach.
Some people told us it was the raining period, some others said it wasn't so. Verdict: We had rain for a total of about 3 hours during our 7 days stay.
When it came time to leave, I found out the cashier had no canadian coins meaning no less that $5 bills. When I went to exchange my pesos for canadian money, I was offered $35 for my 37 pesos, which didn't make any sense. The cashier told me that if I could manage to find 1 more peso, he could give me $40 instead. This means the initial amount was somewhere in $39 but he had to round it down to $35. That's so bad!
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| Restaurants and Bars |
Buffet is the same everyday although slightly different between lunch and supper. It's not fine cuisine, but hey, you're in Cuba; you have to expect the food to be different.
Restaurants à-la-carte are not on the map provided by the reception and it wasn't obvious to find them on our own, so we had to call reception who did their best to explain it in this huge resort. By the way, the stuffed chicken at the Italian restaurant is just awesome!
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| Rooms |
Rooms are grouped in individual blocks of rooms making it harder to have connecting rooms. We were 3 groups of 2 people and our daughters had to stay in a separate block (at least close) which didn't make us a bit worried. We had room 504 which was better than the other 2 rooms (506 and 512) because it had an additional sofa, table, bar stand and 3 stools. The rooms wasn't physically bigger, but more places to sit which was useful for the 6 of us when we wanted to relax in an air conditioned room. The resort is huge, but it doesn't take long to learn its layout.
Beds are a bit too hard for me but still acceptable. The pillow is thin but wide (like 1'x3'), so you can easily fold it to make it the thickness you want. The fridge is filled daily with at least two 1500ml water bottles and 2 pops (flavor randomly vary). It seems we had a small problem with our shower as the water was only warm, but my brother-in-law said he had plenty. We didn't complain because it was enough to make it refreshing anyway.
I had to kill only 2 bugs in my room during my stay. You might want to bring tape to block the gap under the room door because it's quite big allowing most bugs to easily get it. My daughter (who's terrified of bugs) used a little flashlight we initially bought as a gift for room service. She couldn't leave without it in the evening because this is when crabs come out.
The curtains are not thick enough and light brightens the room at 7am.
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| A week of relaxation |
| Hotel Sandals Royal Hicacos |
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Tanya >
1 contribution(s) Canada |
| Aug, 2010 | Leisure | With Spouse/Partner
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| Activities on and off the Resort/Hotel |
It was great to have scuba diving included. Highly recommended for beginner divers. This is not a place for snorkelling off of the beach. Nothing to see as there is no reef.
Water sports - operated by Marlin not by Sandals. If you are an avid windsurfer, bring your own equipment. Sports centre will shut down if winds are greater than 25 km per hour. Winds pick up late afternoon once the centre is shut down. Lots of beach space for kiting.
Waterskiing, banana boat were included though runs were very short in length.
Tennis courts were in good condition. |
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| Arrival |
| Easy...picked up at Varadero airport by private taxi. Half hour ride to the resort. Though no welcoming drinks, check in was simple. Bags were delivered to the rooms by the bell boy. |
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| Beach/Pools/Grounds |
Beautiful beach at this resort. Other adjacent resorts were not so lucky with their span of beach. Restoration work was being done on the shoreline at other resorts. Beats the beach at Santa Maria and Holguin.
Main pool was nice.
Grounds were well maintained and pretty though not spectacular. Insects keep to a minimum due to overhead ariel spraying twice per day. Bring bug repellent anyways. |
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| Other Comments |
A very enjoyable vacation. Do not buy alcohol or cigars at the resort as souvenirs. Much cheaper at Varadero airport.
If you are a beach loving person, this is the resort for you. |
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| Restaurants and Bars |
The biggest surprise was the breads and pastries - they rivaled what we haven eaten in Paris...fresh & tasty. Crepes at the buffet were masterpiece. Osvany was extremely talented in making these tasty treats.
Buffet - okay...it's Cuba!
A la cartes - very good Chilean house wines. No need to buy other brands. Food was good. Big improvements on quality of beef over previous visits to Cuba. Vegetable selection was limited...canned or pickled vegetables for the most part.
Coffee quality was inconsistent depending on the bartender and the espresso machine. Beach and pool bars were good. No lack of drink variety. |
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| Rooms |
| Premium gardenview room. Very nice and comfortable to stay in. Bar fridge was topped up daily with pop, water, beer. Large bathroom. Air conditioning worked well. Bed comfort was okay. |
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| Your holiday is what you make of it!! |
| Hotel Be Live Playa Coco |
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Danny >
1 contribution(s) Canada |
| Jul, 2010 | Leisure | With Group
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| Cuba will always be a favourite. Whoever has visited more than once, will understand what I mean!! |
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| Activities on and off the Resort/Hotel |
| We didn't do much. We just rented a car one day ($80 CUC) - I prefer doing my own excursions in Cuba since I know the place and trust the people - We drove to Moron (the Cayo Coco highway over the ocean is a wonderful experience by itself - they charge 2 pesos each way to use the Autopista, and bring your passport) then we came back and drove to Playa Pilar in Cayo Guillermo then went to an old resort we had stayed at back in January to visit some friends |
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| Arrival |
| Sunwing, as usual, always a great flight with all the extra inclusions that other airlines have decided not to offer anymore. Once at the Cayo Coco airport, it was a breeze...we were the only landing flight, immigration and luggage within 25-30 minutes and then on the bus... One mishap though is that a family had a person without a Canadian passport so we unfortunatly got delayed for an hour and a hald almost..which was unfortunate, but hey we were 10 minutes away from the hotel and we all survived!! |
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| Beach/Pools/Grounds |
Beach - I mean it's Cuba...do you really need me to say anything...It's Cuba people, the pearl of the caribbean..I've been to many beaches, Cuba does have the best sand and water on this planet
Grounds - Kinda lush, but beautifully kept. The hotel layout is very nice
Pool - Very nice freestyle pool. Nice for the afternoons because of the activities (if you wanna have some fun) but not too busy while we were there, it was low-season |
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| Other Comments |
If I have anything negative to say about this resort it is the buffet food, then again we were there off-season and I do not know how it is during high-season. But still you will find something to eat, and you will not die of hinger.
Great vacation, great people....and remember, you and your crew make up your holiday. We've been to a 5 star Bahia Principe in the Dominican and had the worst time of our life (even though the food was great), because we had people that "suck" with us on holiday, so we're never taking them again...lol!!! |
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| Restaurants and Bars |
Bars are great, the beach one had lemon juice that tasted great. My favourite though was the 24 hour snack bar by the Teatro, Pedro and Angel (the chef) are the best staff boys I've ever met on holiday (and I go to Cuba twice a year)...Angel makes the best Tuna sandwich you can ever have and is the nicest man you can ever meet.
Buffet - mehhhhhhhh is all I have to say. the pasta bar and the grill had always something good. But the rest of the stuff that you choose from didn't have much choice, but, do not worry, you are still eating better than the rest of Cuba, so do not take this for granted.
Japanese - A MUSTTTT...simply amazing
Italian - Excellent
Seafood - DIdi not try it, our reservation was too early so we decided not to go. |
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| Rooms |
| All our group had Oceanview rooms in block 4 (the pink one on your left). They were spacious nice and very clean. Beach towels were there and none of us mentioned any kind of bad smell in the rooms. The women with us loved the rooms, and that tells that they were nice...us men just wanna shower and sleep!!! |
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| Pleasantly Surprised! |
| Hotel Blau Costa Verde |
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Amy >
1 contribution(s) Canada |
| Jul, 2010 | Leisure | Family
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| Activities on and off the Resort/Hotel |
We didn't do anything outside of the resort (we've already been there, done that) but on the resort we did participate in the beach volleyball every morning as well as bocciball shortly after. The entertainment staff had activities throughout the day but that's all we chose to participate in because it was located conveniently on the beach.
At night, there were different shows every night. We never really saw a show because it started late (9:30pm) and by then we were already asleep.
They also have a games place where there is a pingpong table and a pool table. For pingpong, it's best to bring your own ball and paddles as I've noticed the ball went missing at one point. The pool table has its own equipment always there. |
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| Arrival |
We travelled as a family which included my parents, myself(20) and my brother(14).
Arrival was very speedy. The front desk had everything ready for us. We asked for 2 rooms and they had put them next to each other.
We were also pleasantly surprised to find that our beach towels were also waiting for us in our rooms. We did arrive after midnight, so it wasn't really necessary to have them but it was nice not to have to find the club house the next morning while we still had no idea where everything was. |
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| Beach/Pools/Grounds |
The grounds were meticulously kept. The beach was always clean. The palm umbrellas (that's not their correct name, but it doesn't come to mind right now...) were maintained and plentiful.
The staff that dealt with the beach chairs were sometimes hard to take. This one guy in particular was incredibly lazy and would often attempt to ignore my request for chairs. I would've preferred a lack of staff for that on the beach. I'm quite capable of getting my own chair, but we had to put up with them for 2 weeks. They also collect the chairs at 5ish and if you want to stay longer they give you looks. Their shift ends officially at 5:30-6:00 I believe and they always want to be done earlier. I just ignored them when I wanted to stay longer which was just once or twice during my stay anyways. |
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| Other Comments |
The hotel's gym/spa also offers manicures, pedicures, haircuts, etc.
For the most part these are generally less expensive than at home. However, don't expect the kind of manicure you get here. It's very basic there: cut the nails, file, do the cuticles, put on the polish.
The manicure and pedicures were each 5 CUC. The haircut was also 5 or 10 CUC (I can't remember exactly at the moment).
They also offered massages. Ranging from just foot massages to full body, whole hour massages. We didn't try as we found these to be expensive in comparison to other resorts. The foot massage was 10 CUC and it went up from there to 25 CUC for a full body massage for half an hour I believe.
Overall, we really enjoyed our stay. We would definitely recommend this resort and would go again if we didn't want to try a new resort each year.
The manager of this resort (tall, young and bald) is always walking around. He's glad to talk to tourists and often comes up to people randomly and asks them how they're enjoying their stay and if there's anything that needs changing. Feel free to introduce yourself to him, he looks scary but he's very friendly. If you have any kind of problem that you can't resolve in other ways, he's always happy to help.
Also, keep in mind that this is a very small and very, very quiet resort. I would definitely not choose it for a spring break vacation with my friends. But it's perfect for R&R and families with small children (which by the way, they do have a daycare for). |
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| Restaurants and Bars |
The main buffet restaurant was where everyone ate generally. Since the resort was not even half-full, all the seating was outside though they also have inside tables which they set up if there are a lot of people.
The food was good. Every night they had a different theme such as Asian night, Italian night, etc. The food was very varied from day to day. Breakfast was generally always the same thing, but lunch and dinner were always different from the day before and from each other (this is something that at other hotels bugged me because they used to have the same food 2 or even 3 days in a row at times).
The waiters were all amazing. If you stayed long enough like we did (2 weeks) they had memorized our drink orders. They were always smiley and eager to get you whatever you needed.
We didn't try the pool bar, as we spent all our time at the beach but I'm sure the service there is exactly the same as on the beach. The beach bar was actually being extended while we were there. The service was good. The bartender was always at his post and made whatever drink you wanted. The only thing I personally disliked was the lack of martini just at the beach bar. It's pretty much the only alcohol I drink and I had to find something else to enjoy while on the beach. In the end it wasn't a huge deal but it would've been nice. I assume with the new, larger bar they'll have all the drinks they have everywhere else in the resort.
There are cats in this resort and they enjoy strolling by while people eat as some insisted on feeding them. And yes, they're fuzzy and adorable but they have fleas so I recommend you stay far away from them. |
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| Rooms |
The rooms were very nice. They appeared to have been renovated recently.
Contrary to some of the reviews I read before we went, the safe in the room was free.
There was plenty of room for clothes and the such. The closet was roomy (and the top shelf has blankets in case you need them) and there were drawers in and out of the closet.
Each room also has a minifridge which is stocked daily with beer, soft drinks and water.
The AC in all the rooms was centrally controlled which we have never encountered at another hotel (this was our 8th year in Cuba). This bothered me slightly because if you turn it off, you fry overnight but if you leave it on, it tends to get very chilly some nights, which is when I was very glad for the blankets. Also, contrary to many hotels, the card slot only controls the electricity and not the AC. The AC runs all day unless you turn it off.
The maid came by everyday. We found that there was a different maid almost every day. Which didn't concern us in the least. However, I noticed that some of them cleaned more thoroughly than others. Sometimes our floor was swept, other times it wasn't. Some would wash the bathtub and others would not. Just little things. The room was by no means ever dirty, just not always as clean.
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| I Love the workers at this resort, second time there and would defiently stay again. |
| Hotel NH Krystal Laguna Villas & Resort |
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Shannon >
1 contribution(s) Canada |
| Jun, 2010 | Leisure | Family
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| My sister and I have just gotten back from a week at the N.H. Krystal Lagoon, this is our second time here at this resort and can't wait to go back. From the Bartenders to the Gardeners to the entertaiment staff and the maids it was a wonderful stay, the only complaint that I would have is the bathrooms on the pool side had very limited of toilet paper and wern't very clean, but over the week it had gotten better, we had just gotten back so it is very slow this time of year so there was not much to choose from at the buffet, but always somthing to eat. Alexander the bartender at the main pool we meet our last stay there two years ago and soon as he saw us remenbered us right away he is a amazing guy, very friendly and prompt at trying to help with anything you need, there was always a drink in our hands. The garderners also great and friendly people, would do anything to assist you, weather it was to give you a coconut or make you something handmade they would do it tip or not they were just happy to give you something.the weather was amazing, very warm this time of year, alittle to warm, but the pool was there to cool of anytime you got hot, which was often. you had no problems to find a lawn bed due to low season, out of 690 room there might have been 200 guests, which was great for service if you wanted a drink or anything for that matter. Check in when we arrived was very slow due to low staff this time of year, it was a hour wait to check in, they served coctails while waiting in line which was very nice. The room were very clean and spacious, the maids kept it very clean and if you run out of something she will always go out of her way to try to assist you. There was 3 out of the 7 la carts open for service, the Steakhouse, seafood and Italian, you book them the next day apon arrival, from 9am to 5pm, they take ahour for luch.there is a bank on site and you can also get cash at the front desk but better to change at the bank, there is also a gift shop and hair salon open daily. During the day for luch you can visit the buffet resturant or snack bar which is located by the main pool, which serves from 10am in the morning sanwiches and fries and 12 noon pizza, chicken, pork, salads this is open until 5pm. the buffet resurant opens for supper at 630 and is open until 10. So if you are looking for a great place to visit for the price I would recommed this to you. If you are looking for a 5star resort this is not the place to go, but like I said this is cuba and for the price I would stay a month or longer if I had to, I hope my review was a help to you, CHEERS and have a great stay if you deside to make this your destination,I would call the people here my family and my home. |
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| Don't expect too much. |
| Hotel Tryp Cayo Coco |
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Sandra >
1 contribution(s) Canada |
| May, 2010 | Leisure | With friend
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4 stars to all staff. Always smiling doing their best to keep clients happy.
It's obvious the Melia chain is neglectful during the low season.
For instance the quiet bar is closed leaving adults no area to spend a quiet evening and no drinks nor coffee offered at the Italian and Oriental restaurants. No music. We sit, eat and leave. And we don't eat that well.
The water below the main lobby bar should be cleaned and covered. It's ugly and it stinks. I don't understand, as it cannot be a main attraction but repulsive.
The waiters, with embarassement, had a shortage of juice, straws, drinking glasses, coffee, milk, amaretto, etc..
What could they do? It's not their fault, but some folks don't understand that the Hotel management is to blame.
No fumigation, lots of mosquitoes. Cutting down some more..
The food, everywhere was awful and we know that no matter how much we complain it will never change.
Generally the bars and tables were always dirty.
Would not recommend this hotel. |
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| Beach/Pools/Grounds |
Okay.
Beach not clean. Water amazing. |
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| Restaurants and Bars |
Dirty.
Food, Cuban standard: Bad |
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| Rooms |
| Clean. |
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| Your Arrival |
| Quick check-in. |
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| beautiful swimming beach/well maintained restaurants/lovely staff |
| Hotel Gaviota Playa Pesquero |
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kenneth >
1 contribution(s) Canada |
| May, 2010 | Business | Solo
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| I have been returning to this hotel every year since it opened in 2004,it is almost my home away from home, the staff are lovely people, respectful and pleasant, always willing to satisfy. Especially beautiful is the swimming beach with almost no wave action, almost a lagoon with transparent water 100 ft off the surf line 10 to 15 ft deep. (There is also a small sheltered bay near the river, but sand flies can sometimes be a problem there.Don't lie on bare sand!!!!).
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| Arrival |
| There is usually a cocktail reception on arrival, but as the bar is also in the very large and beautiful reception area, there are many varieties of cocktail that the barmen will be happy to make for you!!!! |
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| Beach/Pools/Grounds |
beatiful large pool with swim-up bar, comfortable lounge chairs and sun shelters. An exercise gym also contains a jacouzi pool.Lots of pool activities.
The vegetation is beautiful once again,(3 yrs after the hurricane Ike passed through),many palms have been replanted. |
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| Other Comments |
| The hotel is especially popular for marriage ceremonys, and welcoming parents with small children with open arms.There are organised baby-sitting/playing to give the parents a rest!!!!, and private baby sitting can be obtaines too I believe. |
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| Restaurants and Bars |
| Very good variety in the restaurants, for the ladies who like to dress-up at least once for a special night the Romantica restaurant is a favourite. The buffet resto is very good too, as is also the pool resto for lunch which is very clean.Five "a la carte" restos are on the grounds with wine service. |
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| Rooms |
| The rooms are large and spacious with a well equipped bathroom, (bidet and hair dryer and 110v plug-in). Repeat clients also receive an upgrade from a standard to a superior room. There is a TV, a dial-in security box and a small refrigerator in the room, plus coffee machine and ironing board with iron. The bar is refreshed every day with bottled water, beer and soft drinks at no charge. |
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| Wanna Bang for the Peso ! ( Kinda Short but Sweet ) -- > SuperClubs-Breezes-Jibacoa CUBA |
| Hotel Breezes Jibacoa |
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The Derry's >
1 contribution(s) Canada |
| Apr, 2010 | Leisure | Family
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Travelled from Gander, NL., Canada on the 31st of March 2010 and flew out of Cuba on the 7th of April 2010.
I used a very good agent at a.buckle@tpi.ca who was patient and found us a very good deal & resort combination.
Sunwing was beyond our expectations. Flights ahead of schedule both south and northbound, great onboard staff, meals, ammenities and on the ground resort personel available 6 days a week to address any concerns. Takes a private airline to set the benchmark eh?
Super resort 4.5 / 5 and very good value for the $$ money. No kids under 14 years of age permitted. It only has 250 rooms thus no line ups or crush of people for a beach chair, meals, drink, etc.
This resort is not on the Varadaro peninsula. In fact, it is west of Varadaro in "Jibacoa Bay" (on north side of Cuba aprox 80 miles south of Miami. Also known for some of the best coral reef snokeling)about 1 hr by comfortable air conditioned full size charter bus from the airport. That suited us just fine, a resort ~ with privacy. The captial of Cuba - Havana - is only 1 hr away, again west, from this resort which we found convenient for excursions. One gets to see the country side enroute to exploring Cuba!
* If you want to party like stray dog or cat ~ this place is not for you *
Relax to the max or pedal to your own speed ~ and hit the bunk by 11PM or 2 AM (if you enjoy the disco)then you've found it ~
Good food, clean rooms, beverages of ones' choice, safe enviroment, and varied clientele. |
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| Activities on and off the Resort/Hotel |
We, as a family or four with two teenage boys 18&16, had a grand time at this resort. They boys bumped into some Albertan male buddies, were maintenance free and us secure in them being safe / well-behaved for our stay. They attended the nightly outdoors theatre shows with us that were put off by the resort @ 9:10 PM to 10:30 PM, and then slinked into the disco to socialize, sans parents,afterward.
As parent were never concerned about thier safety on the resort or swimming. Most here are Canucks and look out for each other I must say!
#1 two boys did resort scuba diving x2 $30 each for 1.5 hours , #2 my wife and I had a massage $20 each for 1/2 hour each, and #3 did a hike up a mountain (free by from resort), the base of which the resort is situated upon.
#4 We all did an excursion to Havana by taxi vs a bus and the driver walked us around old/new Havana/huge flea market, spoke good English and had an exceptional knowledge of his countries history. Regretably, I've got my doubts most Canadians could recite a similar history lesson. He could also press the flesh to get us bumped up in a lineup in this busy city. It cost 4 of us $70 peso's total or about $100 bucks CDN - we left at 8:30 AM and home at 5:30 PM ~ awesome. Just enquire around.
#5 I rented one 2-seater scooter on the resort for about $15 for three hours and booted around at my own speed. Went to St. Cruz nearby and took photo's of that small town about 20 km west of the resort. A photographers ~ mecca.
#6 We did the Costa Blanca catamaran excursion, the only excursion we went through the Sunwing representative to book. We did the $69 dollar tour to just "watch a dolphin show" (don't pay double to swim with dolphin's unless you choose) At 7:45 AM the bus departed from our resort to the Varadaro peninsula, a nice air conditioned drive to get there, only 1 hr, but scenic . At 9:00 AM we left Varadero peninsula on the catarman and steamed to set anchor at 10:45 AM and did some group snorkeling. All equipment provided but if you have your snorkeling gear bring it will save you "water time" ! Lots of room for gear/kit bags on board. How big ? we are talking a 64' boat here folks ~ no slouch of a craft. All drinks, free. At about 1:30 PM we arrived at Waterworld, an island, where we docked and swam in the whitest, warmest of beaches, shopped at a market set up for the day and had lunch; lobster, crab, chicken, favorite beverage, ~ again fill your boots.
A very good tour and good value.
Again, you could do all of the above, some of it or, none of it ~ tasters choice :) |
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| Beach/Pools/Grounds |
Clean, large pool and two jacuzzi tubs on the same deck.
Grounds are tended to daily by ground personnel so no coconuts fall on YOUR 'coconut'. No issues. |
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| Other Comments |
Bring stuff for the kids and adults........
Cubans love baseball hats, esp., the one with the ProFit head band. These folks (from walking to the gereatric ward) practice baseball with everything from a junk of palm tree and a rock, to a bat and ball, if fortunate enough.
Also medicine (and oddly disposable diapers) are very expensive or not attainable. I regret not bringing more "stuff", giving money is one thing but despite that Cubans often cannot attain what they "need"
My suggestion, when you have your next visit with your family physician, ask for few/bag full of the sample pharmacutical products that medical pracitioners get from drug representatives and take them to Cuba. Check the visitor site, one is only allowed 10, get this, "kilograms" per person.
Since our stay was over the Easter break, and Cubans are Catholic, my wife brought down Easter Bunnies and on the moped tour we went to the hardest spots (not crime ridden - very little crime/drugs in Cuba)stopped and gave out items to the kids. Not one melted !
The DERRY's - NFLD
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| Restaurants and Bars |
Buffet - great.
Most evening there is musical entertainment. These groups could easliy be cover bands in Canada and amass a small fortune. The breakfast egg omelettes are remarkable (with or without the yolk). Full variety of hot/cold food, soup, fruit, if you can't get it here ~ stay home and eat TV dinners.
Beach bar - wicked fries (I like them crispy, cheese burgers x2 or x3 patties, chicken & pizza - fill your boots - justifies the selection of no egg yolk at breakfast, see ? )
Both the Italian and Cuban restaurants are good and formal in the sense of a dining experience. With two teenage boys, or big eaters, don't expect to "dine and dash" You are entitled to visit each only once in your 7 day stay.
If I had to pay out of pocket what my two 'seagull' sons ate during the week at this resort ~ I would be a pauper. |
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| Rooms |
Cleaned daily.
Again are clean, modern, comforable (for the time spent in them) and a good night sleep after a day in the hot Cuban sun. Rooms have a key locking safe, small fridge 2'x2'x2', a hairdryer, and a converter from 220Volts to CDN voltage, all provided free. TV's are on satelitte 20+ channels.
NFLD'ers even get NTV news on channel #36 ~ daily. |
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| Your Arrival |
I made 2 boo boo's ... #1 I failed to heed the previous posts and did not bring a thermal mug for beverages. A MUST have, for both hot and esp., cold beverages. Saves repeated trips back and forth to the bar. Beer / hard drinks come in a 6 oz plastic cup on each endless serving. Oh, and for smokers (I am not) cigarettes are .60 cents a pack. No tax on anything, the sticker is what you pay.
#2 Take a hoodie/fleece or 3 season jacket and long pants/sweats for the nightly outdoor stage performances on the resort. You won't want to miss them ! Evenings, despite being a low of 18C, with the wind and your sun burn can feel cool. Ironically enough ~ have a fall outfit at the ready and in your suitcase if you want to be comfortable and enjoy a cold beverage at the same time.
Nice to know :
If you are a 'face cloth' person (we were not) you will need to bring your own, only towels of the standard size (ample) are provided. |
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| awakening |
| Hotel Brisas Guardalavaca |
| User Rating:
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joe >
1 contribution(s) Canada |
| Apr, 2010 | Leisure | Family
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| This place was truly heaven for my familt and me the people are amazing that was most important. As well i found that the people visiting this resort were amazing i look forward to seeing my friends there again soon VIVA Cuba lol |
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| First visit, but not the last. |
| Hotel Occidental Royal Hideaway Ensenachos |
| User Rating:
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D >
1 contribution(s) Canada |
| Apr, 2010 | Leisure | With Spouse/Partner
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| My wife and another couple visited this resort recently and it met all our expectations. The resort was beautiful and very friendly. We are going to book again for next year. |
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| Activities on and off the Resort/Hotel |
| The spa was great too. My wife has a massage and pedicure and said it was the best she had had. |
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| Beach/Pools/Grounds |
| There are two beach areas that were amazing and both were great for snokeling. One has a sunken barge to explore and the other has a reef to explore. we spent several hours at both seeing many species of beautiful fish. |
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| Other Comments |
| Believe it or not, we had no complaints at all about the resort. It was everything we were looking for. On a side note the only complaint was the French-Canadians that were there. Everyone there was so friendly and would say hi except them unless you spoke french to them. It wasn't just us, others made this observation too. |
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| Restaurants and Bars |
| There are 4 restaurants and we tried three of them. We very quickly made friends with several waiters/waitresses and had excellant service. They couldn't do enough for you. I been to Cuba in the past and I wasn't expecting much in the way of food, however the food was excellant. And the bars were fully stocked. |
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| Rooms |
| The rooms were very spacious and clean. Maids visited twice a day and even left poems and notes. |
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| Photos: http://picasaweb.google.com/prolab/CayoLargo?authkey=Gv1sRgCLTUkYaJm5rjdg# |
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| Much more than expected |
| Hotel Playa Blanca (Formerly Barceló Cayo Largo) |
| User Rating:
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Spunky >
3 contribution(s) |
| Apr, 2010 | Leisure | With Spouse/Partner
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We booked this resort back in October when Air Canada Vacations didn't have a rating, description or Star rating. Sounded like a Barcelo we had checked out before and the price was good so we checked it out and booked for 2 weeks 13-27 March.
Our flight from Fredericton to Montreal was good. A small Jazz turboprop plane. We checked our luggage, 100 pounds each was allowed, through to Cayo Largo and stayed in the security section once in Montreal. A short wait and then a full AirBus to Cuba. Traveling the night before Daylight Savings we arrived just after dusk. |
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| Activities on and off the Resort/Hotel |
We had planned to go to Havana for a couple of days but the weather was so nice we didn't. Took a tour of the village by Rosie and a fellow animation team member, saw the Turtle Hatchery and wandered around the Marina and shops. Did a private trip a few days later and had a whole 24 passenger bus and Carlos to ourselves for 10CUC; stopped and took photos for other resorts and checked out the lobbies. Took the Choo choo train twice to the big beaches and had a blast. The ride is pretty rough but if you imagine an amusement ride through all the other resorts that take 30 minutes and is free, what the heck.
There are small 4WD jeeps for rent, scooters and plenty of taxis and mini vans. Everything is so close, the taxis are only 2-3CUC's/person. |
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| Beach/Pools/Grounds |
What can we say about Cayo Largo beaches? Just believe the hype about white powdery sand spits that go on for miles and miles; it's all true. So is the fact that some of the beaches can disappear overnight, then reappear 2 days later.
We had great weather but the main beach had been eroded the week before so we picked a cloudy day and visited the "Big" beaches Sirena and Paraiso. Wow! But the hotel beach was back in a day or two and went in and out for two weeks. Playa Blanca had the better hotel beach and those "backup" beaches are gorgeous.
The almost 6' deep upper pool was nice and you could get a palapa all day there or at the crescent, 4', lower pool. Plenty of chairs, no wars. Both are seawater pools and very clean. Lots of activities all day but the loud speakers aren't cranked too high.
Grounds are mature with beautiful plantings and the most amazing "Shaving Brush Tree". All are patrolled by birds, cats and the odd iguana including a big guy who lives under bldg 28 and likes boiled eggs. There's a medical/gym/hairdresser building, tennis courts, B-Ball hoops and an archery range too. Walkways are even and mostly safe except some smooth tiles. Like all over the south, they are slippery when wet .. especially when wearing those cheap sneakers with hard plastic soles.
While we were there the waterfalls and the fountains were restored and are beautiful. Gardeners constantly worked their plots and handed fresh cut blooms to morning walkers. |
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| Other Comments |
Sirena beach is huge and there are lots of palapas and chairs. Bar service is a wandering waiter who will bring the best pina coladas on earth for 3CUC. Paraiso is my favorite of the two because it isn't as commercial and the beach-combing is better.
The resort Tienda has plenty of choices, rum, cigars and cold cans of beer and pop for excursions. The airport stores have about the same inventory but the hotel prices were better.
As said before, the staff is fantastic and the management work very hard at making this place shine. Besides the website that the staff manage http://www.playablanca.cu they also run a Facebook page and do their best to answer questions quickly.
I could go on for ever .. oops maybe I did.
We booked a 3.5* and got much more than we paid for.
We'll be back. |
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| Restaurants and Bars |
The buffet is enclosed and air conditioned; capable of seating 300 guests it's a huge room that has the food areas at one end and 3 room divisions for seating. Double cotton tablecloths, heavy cutlery and good china and glassware plus super service. Breakfast omelette stations and smoothie bar. Plenty of choices and the best grapefruit ever.
Dinner had carving stations, flambe desert bar lots of variety and themed nights where the staff dressed in special outfits and hats. As mentioned by all, the service was top notch. There aren't a lot of resources on Cayo largo but the staff do their best to make everything special.
The Ranchon restaurant sits at the top of the main beach,seats about 100, has blinds for wind screens and offers great service. By day it's the beach restaurant and at night it is an a la carte.
The Opalino restaurant seat about 200, is open air and has a late breakfast at 10:30, then a BBQ lunch from noon to 3:30 or so. At night it is an a la carte and has very good service. Rafael is a great waiter.
Bars at the Ranchon and Opalino have a good selection and the usual frozen mixes. The Opalino had the very best frozen lemonade. The 24 hr bar, Daiquairi, had the best coffee and espresso and the best frozen Pina Coladas; lots of drink choices and Cristal on tap and by the can. Alexis, Boris, Roberto and the gang are pro's in every way. Start your day with a double espresso and finish your evenings at the "Show", all served from this bar.
The other bar is a small beachside hut to the left of the main beach. Right at the end of the boardwalk starting between bldgs 28 and 29. This is where the lifeguards hang out and Maceau runs it with a big smile and a song. Basic Bucanaro and fruit punches here so bring your Bubba.
There's also a special hut that's used for repeat visitor a la cartes and special occasions. We were treated to a lovely romantic meal to celebrate our anniversary, complete with a floral arrangement and candles, our own waiter and visits by Eddour and Livan from management. Did we feel special? Sure did! |
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| Rooms |
We booked a bungalow room, typical Cuban decor, super clean and quite large. We were oceanside and the views were terrific. Corner decks having a 270 degree view is nicer than other resorts. All 2nd floor oceanfront bungalows had some ocean view.
The room had a small fridge, a good TV with 4 or so English stations including CTV from Alberta. A nice desk, king size bed and a couple of nice rocking chairs as well as deck furniture. A large dressing area, safe that opened with our room card, lots of closet and drawer/trunk space and a big bathroom with plenty of hot water at any hour of the day. Central air was quiet and not on all the time. |
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| Your Arrival |
It's a small airport so a little jammed when a couple of hundred people are there. Aduna and security were quick and nurses were on hand to check for ill passengers. A few mosquitoes but not bad. A very quick bus ride to the resort.
Check in was a little slow but as others have remarked, go and get a drink and have a look around while others stand in line. The luggage is secure and attended and is delivered quickly. |
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| Home Away from Home |
| Hotel Melia Cayo Santa Maria |
| User Rating:
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kelsey >
1 contribution(s) Canada |
| Apr, 2010 | Leisure | Family
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I'm 19 years old and i just returned from the Melia Cayo Santa Maria, in Santa Clara! My family and I went for a week and found it marevllous.
Our flight came in really early in the morning of our second day (i think it was around 3 am?). Air transat was picking up dropped flights from sky service....i hope thats not a normal flight time! Anyways, when we got to the airport in Santa Clara, it was time to go through customs and stuff. I mean it when i say, i would would rather go through the Customs in Cuba than the ones in Canada any day. Though it is a little bit on the slow side (a solid half an hour until we found our baggage) everyone was very pleasant and suprisingly good at communicating with us cranky Canadians.
I dont know where someone was getting 10 km from the airport, cause our bus ride was a solid 9 minutes or so. Shockingly, i can't complain about the bus ride. Im someone that gets car sick often but the ride to the airport was spectacular. You got a deep inside look at the town of Caibairien (sp?) which was a real eye opener into Cuban culture, as well as getting to learn the History of the infamous causeway as you ride on it. |
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| Activities on and off the Resort/Hotel |
Generally after luncht we'd go and have a little siesta in our room for a couple of hours (the sun wears you out, ye know?). However there were some days when i just wasnt sleepy and would look for things to do instad. I didnt have to look far! I met a guy named Yoelkis, who was basically the resident sports guy! He showed me where the volleyball net was, started a gane of water polo, ping pong tables, archery, beach soccer, tai chi in the mornings, dance lessons , and MORE. Honestly, you are NEVER bored.
But if you are the kind that likes to chill in your room for a couple hours, be not afraid, you do get american/canadian channels. I must have watched ESPN and the Disney Channel every night before bed.
Also, there's buses to and from the market every two hours! Frequent and flexible! |
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| Beach/Pools/Grounds |
The beach is also marvellous. It's wide, first of all, and DEEP. i had friends stay at the Barcelo and few weeks earlier and they said their beach was HALF as deep as the Melia's was. The Man who worked on the beach....never got his name (we called him Dawn of the Chairs) was extremely friendly. He would offer to find you a Pilapila (cabana) as well as brush the sand off your chairs and lay your twoels out for you. It was unnecessary, but lovely none the less. The water was absolutely stunning as well. Beautiful turquoise and clear as crystal. The waves get pretty rough at night but there will always be a red flag if the staff thinks its unsafe to swim.
The pools are great too. Big enough so that you rarely run into someone, and alot safer than most because there's a ramp into the water instead of stairs, and it gets deeper GRADUALLY. There's also a killer swim up bar:) |
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| Restaurants and Bars |
The breakfast buffet was also wonderful, there's a seperate fresh fruit buffet in the middle of the dining room that serves fruit, juice, smoothies and yogurt and stuff, where the buffet that serves the hot food was in the kitchen at the back of the room.
One of the cooks, his name is Daniel, soon became one of my favourite people ever. He was polite, had eloquent enlgish, and made the best french toast i have ever had.
For lunch we generally went to the Pool side restaurant. We could have gone to the buffet again, or the Beach retaurant, but the one on pool side served the BEST chicken sandwiches i have EVER had, along with all the cervexa you could ask for :) |
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| Rooms |
| Our room (all rooms, because they all look the same) was absolutely STUNNING. There were three beds: 2 doubles (Which felt more like queens) and a day bed. Luxurous curtains hung from the doorways, and the bathroom was huge. The toilet, badet, and tub were in a separate room off the side of the sink and linnen closet. The safe was digital and we had excellent water pressure. |
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| Your Arrival |
When we got to the hotel, we were greeted by VERY pleasant....bellboys i guess you'd call them. Since the flight me and my mother took was later than the one the rest of the family was on, we met them in the front lobby. The "Bellboys" (who i called the multitasking team) loaded our personal luggage onto the little car thing and took it to our room for us so that me and my mother could go have a dinrk with the family in the lobby bar.
The bar is 24 hrs thank god, and is a good center for entertainment. Every night, the activities coordinator (one of the most pleasant people i have ever met, and a downright cool guy) would organise a little show for who ever was in there for drinks. At one point there was a 4 piece saxophone band....thing. It was marevllous. There were also fashion shows, dancing, billiards, and more! Not to mention that bar tenders there were wonderful. |
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| Fantastic, relaxing holiday. Would definitely recommend this hotel. |
| Hotel Melia Cayo Coco |
| User Rating:
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Janet >
1 contribution(s) Canada |
| Apr, 2010 | Leisure | With Group
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| Activities on and off the Resort/Hotel |
| We didn't go to any shows or participate in any animation as we were there to relax and enjoy the quiet. We did go on the speedboat excursion which takes you to a lagoon for snorkelling. It was worth the $45 US/person. It takes a half day. We were picked up at noon and dropped off just after 4:00 p.m. |
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| Beach/Pools/Grounds |
| It was cloudy the following day and we had quite the downpour around 5:00 p.m. After that, it was nothing but sunshine for the remainder of the week. The beach is beautiful and the only other resort on it is the Sol next door. We walked through it and it looked like it could use a coat of fresh paint as well. We did not rise very early to play the towel game, but there never was an issue with getting chairs. Plenty of chairs and shade on the beach and the pool area. I don't think the resort was at full capacity. There are attendants on the beach who clean off your lounger which is a very nice touch. We spent time at both the pool and the beach. One of the best views of the resort is when you're in the pool just floating around. The grounds are superb! The gardeners do a wonderful job with the upkeep. That's the upside of staying in an older resort. |
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| Other Comments |
The resort is adults-only and we were very grateful for this, especially after all the loud whining on the plane trip down. Why don't they have a kids' section on the plane? I would say the clientele at the resort was about 75% English, 15% South American and 5% Canadian and the average age was over 50.
We came back 45 minutes earlier the following Friday evening and the flight. All in all, I would recommend the Melia Cayo Coco in a heartbeat and look forward to going back. |
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| Restaurants and Bars |
We ate at all three à-la-cart restaurants. The best ones were the Italian and the Lagoon. The steakhouse left a lot to be desired. The buffet was excellent for breakfast, lunch and dinner. The snack bar had pizzas, burgers, etc. and were open 24 hours a day. The beach restaurant was open for lunch and had great bbq chicken, calamari, etc. It becomes the steakhouse at night. The staff at all of the restaurants were excellent, warm and friendly.
There are 4 bars on site. The lobby bar and snackbar, which are open 24 hours, the beach restaurant/steakhouse which is open from lunch to about 5:00 p.m., and the sports bar which is open from late afternoon to midnight. There was no beach bar, but we did see a clearing where there used to be and apparently they will be rebuilding it soon. Again, the staff at all bars was incredible.
As far as food and drinks are concerned, we have no complaints as there is always something available at any time of the day or night. I can't fathom how much complaining goes on on these reviews. As far as I'm concerned, these people should stay home. |
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| Rooms |
| We dropped off our bags, turned on the a/c and went to the lobby bar. The first impression of the room was that it was very, very clean with no musty smell, however, it could use a fresh coat of paint as can most of the resort, but this is very minor. Other than that, the fridge was well stocked, the lights, a/c and safe all worked. The lobby was virtually empty and we got some drinks and were welcomed by the bar staff. Our a/c died on day 4 and we reported it to the front desk that evening. He immediately sent someone up to check it. We went back to see him after dinner and he told us there was nothing he could do for the a/c that night. However, he gave us a key to a vacant room and the a/c worked just fine. We requested he move us there for the rest of our stay and all our stuff was moved the next morning. Yay! Quite the efficient staff! An all around well-run hotel. |
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| Your Arrival |
| We travelled with another couple and flew Air Transat out of Montreal on April 16 and our flight was one hour late leaving. Typical for Air Transat. We hadn't flown with them in quite some time and couldn't believe how much advertising goes on during the flight. They must have interrupted the movie at least 1/2 dozen times to sell drinks, blankets at a $7 cost (they claim selling blankets is better for the environment-I call it another money-grab) duty-free, duty-free and duty-free. Enough with the duty-free! We arrived in Cuba around 9:30 p.m. and customs and luggage was quick. We arrived at the hotel around 10:00 and only six of us got off the bus so check-in was quick. We immediately noticed how quiet and laid back the atmosphere in the lobby bar was. A porter showed up and piled us and our luggage in a golf cart and drove us to our rooms. |
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| Great spot, to get away from commercial resorts, 3 star rating does not do it justice. |
| Hotel Cubanacan Club Amigo Marea del Portillo |
| User Rating:
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Ron >
1 contribution(s) Canada |
| Apr, 2010 | Leisure | With Spouse/Partner
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| Liked it a lot. Prior info & some repeat tourists, had negatives like prostitutes, expensive beach towel. Both BS, funny, 2 young cuban ladies with Canadian gents were married to them!!! Beach towel free/fresh one anytime, but pay $25 IF you lose it. Excellent tours. No food issues. Lots freebies. VIP really worth the slightly higher cost. |
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| Activities on and off the Resort/Hotel |
| Take the jeep tour, worth $55PP. Much cheaper tours also good. Lots other stuff, IF you want to be busy. |
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| Beach/Pools/Grounds |
| No complaints, scenery beautiful, loved ocean there |
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| Other Comments |
My only gripe, too much Latin Music at bar, so they fixed it, with a little mixing. Tourists could be rude occasionally, but Not the Cubans, even outside the resort.
Dont pity them, they are basically poor, but cared for. They are very proud & graciously accept our gifts. Bring lots of practical every day things--their economy is poor.
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| Restaurants and Bars |
| Very neat. No complaints anything |
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| Rooms |
| Excellent. Had everything. |
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| Your Arrival |
| I was the problem, brought an old Playboy book -cuban customs wrote me up & delayed bus. It's considered pornography. I learned something. While meeting locals, I further learned the word alone "drugs" could get you in jail FAST. We should be thankful, they dont have a drug problem, and lowest crime rate on the continent. |
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| Excellent |
| Hotel GC Villa Trópico (Cameleon Villa Jibacoa) |
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Susan >
1 contribution(s) Canada |
| Apr, 2010 | Leisure | With Spouse/Partner
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| Second time to this resort. Flew from Moncton, NB with Nolitours via Canjet. Uneventful flight - ham & cheese sandwich for lunch and small glass of champagne. Customs at Varadero airport uneventful. Changed money at Cadeca in Departure lounge. Renovations underway at airport. Six CUCs for 3 beer. Bus ride to hotel was good but as we arrived at midnight (thereabouts) not much to see. |
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| Activities on and off the Resort/Hotel |
| Did not partake in any activities. I was disappointed that there was live musical entertainment only one evening while we were there and this was a four piece band. They were very good but compared to the entertainment that was offered in 2008; no comparison! No singers in the restaraunt either and the shows with the dancers were done to recorded music whereas in the past it had been a live 10 piece band with percussion, guitars, trumpets, and excellent vocals. Not sure if this was due to the time of our visit (first week of May as opposed to first of March in 2008) or just the way it is now. Our main interest in this resort was and is the snorkeling. We were very fortunate in being able to snorkel all six days of our stay and any time of the day was good. The ocean was calm, no wind, and no PMOWs! It was absolutely beautiful. The only downside was seeing the brokne coral where people had walked on the reef. Please try to educate yourself a little before snorkelling and please do not walk on the reef. If you don't think you can handle mask adjustments whithout standing, wear a lifejacket and practice in shallow water before going out to the reef. We absolutley loved the snorkelling. |
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| Beach/Pools/Grounds |
| Beach was fantastic. Lots of chairs and shade available. Grounds were very well kept; people always raking, snipping, and generally cleaning up. Noticed many, many more dogs at the resort this time and as stated previously, as long as people keep feeding the animals they will continue to congregate and then be removed not at all pleasantly. I love animals but I am also a realist. Did not use the pool at all but it looked clean and there were activities around it. |
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| Other Comments |
| All in all an excellent vacation - a week is much too short but certainly better than nothing. Love this resort and it is getting quite popular! We will be back again. |
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| Restaurants and Bars |
| Buffet restaraunt was fine although very warm as the week went on (temperatures were in the low 30s all week). They had air conditioners on but all the windows and doors open. Breakfast was OK, but lunch and dinner were sweaty affairs unless you were sitting in front of the air conditioner with the fan turned on you. Food was plain and good as other reviewers have stated. No complaints here. Our travelling companions found the fish quite salty and we were surprised that there were no whole fish served as on the previous occasion we had been there. We ate at the a la carte and it was OK. Had a ham & cheese sandwich one day at lunch time from the snack bar (snack bar during day and a la carte at night) and it was excellent. Done on a panini press till golden brown and toasty; MMMmmmmmm. The bars at this resort are some of the best in Cuba I think (in my limited experience) and certainly the best of any resort I have been to. The bartenders go above and beyond to make the perfect drink. Just thinking of a perfectly refreshing purple rain...... and the coffee is excellent also. |
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| Rooms |
| Requested a queen bed and got two twins but just pushed them together. Room was clean and air conditioner and fridge worked fine. Lots of hot water and clean towels every day. The only strange thing was no towel art???? This was a first for me in Cuba. The room was kept very clean. We were in villa 58 wich was a little far from the lobby and restaraunt (far being relative as the resort is certainly not huge), but was very quiet. Got flowers from the gardener each morning. |
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| Your Arrival |
| Arrival and check-in at hotel was smooth. Only one bellboy for luggage so we found room on our own. Was raining on arrival. Sandwiches in room fridge and bottle of rum and water on desk. Deposited luggage and went to pool bar for drinks. It was lovely and warm despite the rain and the drinks were excellent as usual. |
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| Wonderful Resort |
| Hotel Paradisus Río de Oro |
| User Rating:
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Patricia >
1 contribution(s) Canada |
| Mar, 2010 | Leisure | Family
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We were a family party of three generations ( 78, 52, 18) that travelled to this resort in November 2009 for 1 week. We all loved it. The flights were good - we flew on Sunwing in their Elite Plus section - we thought it was worth the extra money to have the extra legroom seats prebooked both directions, as well as the seperate check-in. We waited in a line of about 8 people instead of the line with about 150 people. We could also board early if we liked.
Sunwing gives you a glass of champagne and a snack soon after take off, then free headsets, choice of hot meal and free wine with the meal. Our flights were on time. Overall a good experience. |
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| Beach/Pools/Grounds |
Pool- large, clean. Has a swim-up bar. You can see the ocean from the pool. Lots of lounges. People get up early to save the best spots.
Beach was nice, but very rough wtaer when we were there. There was a hurricane that was at the far west end of Cuba and Mexico while we were there. We got torrential rain one day, and the ocean was rough the whole week, so we were not in it very much.
Grounds are well looked after. Nice plantings.
Nice bonsaii around the Asian restaurant. |
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| Other Comments |
Staff in the resort were very good. Professional, eager to please, welcoming, friendly. They always had a smile and a "Hola" for you.
Over all we had a great holiday and would reccommend it to anyone. As a matter of fact I am returning there in less than 2 weeks, this time with my husband and another couple. |
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| Restaurants and Bars |
Food was amazing! The main buffet has endless choices, beautifully presented. We ate every breakfast here, some lunchs and a few dinners. Staff was attentive, professional,friendly, welcoming, eager to please. If you couldn't find many things to your liking at this buffet, there is something wrong with you!!!
The a la cartes were all good. (least favourite was the Cuban, but still fine)
The service was always good. They try very hard to make your meal pleasant.
The restaurant by the beach had wonderful food at lunch - fabulous seafood.
The pool area restaurant was great as well. Casual.
Bars- good.
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| Rooms |
Large, very clean and comfortable. A little bit dated decor-wise, but still nice. On 2 levels. Bathroom and bedroom on upper level, then 3 stairs down to sitting area. Sink area seperate from tub area. In area with tub/shower is toilet and bidet. Great water pressure in shower. Always lots of hot water. Lots of towels. Nice soap, shower gel, shampoo etc.
Air conditioning was adequate. Room was fresh smelling, not damp or musty, (2nd floor room), kept spotless by maid. Mini bar always replenished.
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| Your Arrival |
You are greeted at the resort with a glass of sparkling wine and a cool towel. They have you sit in the lobby, and come to you to check in. Wasn't the fastest check in I have had, but definitely not the worst.
We were driven to our room by a bellboy in a golf cart and he carried our bags up to the room. The room keys didn't work so he took them back to the front desk to re-program them, and returned with-in a few minutes.
We changed, then went to buffet for late dinner. |
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| Jibacoa snorkling at its best, laidedback spacious resort |
| Hotel GC Villa Trópico (Cameleon Villa Jibacoa) |
| User Rating:
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mark >
1 contribution(s) Canada |
| Mar, 2010 | Leisure | With Spouse/Partner
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march 4th - 12th
2nd trip to cuba(cayo coca 2007)
1st day was cold....it was all great after that!
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| Activities on and off the Resort/Hotel |
take the jeep safarie!!! its great,you get to see Mantanza (quite a large town) driving your own jeep,lunch at a coffee plantation,snorkling on the reef,a boat ride on a river (lobster 10 pesos great deal beer 2 pesos)snorkling in a cave,and a tour of the caves (cuban national monument)
cost you 5 pesos if you want to take pic in the caves or buy the cd 25 pesos
it includes your journey through the caves(yes you are in the video) and about 150 mp3s of cuban music and other interesting sights in cuba
every night they would have a show for about an hour or so...dancing girls,music,comedy fashion,traditional music...a differant show every night...a nice show to wind down the day |
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| Beach/Pools/Grounds |
beach is big,you feel like you have your own piece of paradise,never crowded and no lounge chair wars!!
security on the beach because you are next to a cuban camping area and beach
security is mainly there to keep the cubans from begging on the resort..we never experianced any begging,just friendly informative people
we had several red flag days on the beach...jellyfish (man of wars) you could stilll use paddle boats,kyacks,hobbi cat but no snorkling or swimming.
beach is clean and we did get to go snorkling about 4 times....AWESOME REEF & FISH!!
pools....clean and large...they did have scuba classes in the pool and some games
they do not try to force you to play the games or learn to dance....i very laidback resort |
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| Other Comments |
a very laided back and relaxing resort...a great place
all guest are canadian
lots of things to do if you so desire....one hour from havana
if you are on the beach at the cuban camp ground....find edmond (the artist)
great man to talk to and to learn from
they have a BBQ on thursday which is very nice...traditional dance,music
if they red flag the beach for jellies...obey it ...don't be an idiot
people we know got stung and it can be deadly if not treated.
THE SNORKLING IS AWESOME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
take a drink or a sandwich to the security guys on the beach,they work hard with little rewards
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| Restaurants and Bars |
one ala carte....great leasurily dinner...we had snapper,lobster,squid
the wines are surprisingly good
caferteria style for all other meals....pork,fish,chicken and some beef
always great pasta dishes...the lasagna was excellant
breakfast great omeletts start your toast early...you have to run it through a couple of times to get it right, NO PEANUTBUTTER,my new french friends from moncton were so kind to give me a couple of packets!!!!(they don't like man of wars.....ouch!!
ok the bars....what can i say..they even cut the fruit in the shape of a canadian flag...awesome bar staff |
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| Rooms |
very clean,large shower (hand held shower head or fixed)
very small pillow but the bed was very comfy...air conditioned worked well
extra blankets...nice towel art from Yowanda our maid
we tipped her 10 pesos at first and left her alot of things at the end,she took great care of us.
safe in the room for 2 pesos a day,very quiet rooms,tv even had golbal winnepeg and a vancouver station |
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| Your Arrival |
fast and smooth,although I was surprised to see all the Cubans wearing mask at the arrival....just useless dust masks
bus to resort was great with a very well informed guide and cold crystal beer 2 for $5...time to relax....you are on cuba time |
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| Friendly fun group at Caracol |
| Hotel Club Amigo Caracol |
| User Rating:
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kate >
1 contribution(s) Canada |
| Mar, 2010 | Leisure | With friend
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My girlfriend and I just came back from the Caracol in Santa Lucia. We found the hotel rooms clean. The staff very friendly. The service to be great. The meals were a little lacking. Not much to chose from. But other than that everything went just excellent. They have an excellent massage person there! The beach is nice. There is security so no need to feel afraid. You are not bothered on the beach by beggars or persons trying to sell too many trinkets. There are no time share pitches. So overall... I'd say Cuba is WAY more fun than Mexico!
If you do decide to travel to Cuba. Do the people of Cuba a favor and bring along extra old clothes that are in good shape that you may have outgrown or decided to discard. Take along a whole spare suitcase full if you can. They especially would love used shoes, baby clothes, shampoos, lotions, medicines like tylenol or advil, makeup, essentially anything you are willing to bring is fair game for a well appreciated tip. |
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| Can see why people return. |
| Hotel Breezes Jibacoa |
| User Rating:
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Nova Scotia >
1 contribution(s) Canada |
| Mar, 2010 | Leisure | With friend
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| Activities on and off the Resort/Hotel |
Shows
We thought they were quite entertaining, some really funny nights. Enjoyed the magician. The dancers looked quite young and I thought the clothes they wore sometimes were a bit risque for such young girls. I think that thinking comes from having young daughters myself. Shows were very well attended, an indication of the entertainment value, I think.
Tours
Take the free hike up the hill and farm tour, it's a nice walk and very interesting with a few chuckles thrown in. We took the Havana Tour including the rum museum and cigar factory. Enjoyed the cigar factory tour but really, we should have saved a few bucks and taken a private cab tour. It would have been less rushed. In any event, Havana is a must when you are that close.
Robberies
There was only one robbery at the resort while we were there... that we knew of. A couple had their room entered while they were sleeping and had some stuff stolen. Hard to believe... until you see how the second floor sliding doors do not lock. From what we heard, staff handled the situation very professionally as did the police.
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| Beach/Pools/Grounds |
Grounds
This is where this resort really shines. Immaculate, well groomed and simply beautiful. Nothing too far apart, easy walking.
Beach
Yep, snorkeling is good. Beach is a little rocky for waders and swimmers though. Two red flag days out of eight due to man-o-wars. Lots of shade if you need it, long stretch of beach to walk. There are some beggers around but they are not aggressive.
Pool
Good size, refreshingly cool but shallow. I don't get it, an adult only resort with a shallow pool. It's a 24 hour pool and I am guessing it uses a saltwater chlorine generator system. No awful chlorine smell, no burning eyes. There are two types of tile around the pool, the darker tile is very slippery when wet, or when your feet are wet. Shade can be tough to secure on red flag days. There are 2 hot tubs in the vicinity that folks seemed to like.
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| Other Comments |
Other tips
-We found the prices for things you might need were cheaper at the shop near the CVJ.
-Locate the Italian restaurant well before your reservation, it's sort of hidden behind the buffet and above the Cuban restaurant.
-Take an insulated travel mug!!
-Wouldn't hurt to take a can of bugspray, the little no-seeums pack a mean bite for some people. Spray it around the door and behind the curtains.
-Staff appreciated tips, but really didn't seem to demand them.
-There's a good resort map near the lobby desk, find your room before heading out with your luggage. We saw some folks wandering aimlessly dragging bags.
-If you have a late departure, you have to turn your towel in. You can make a deposit of $15cuc to keep it until 5pm.
-There is a hospitality room provided for you to clean up for a late flight, they use a 20 minute per person guideline for it's use. A queue seems to form around 5pm for its use and grows quickly.
-Try on all clothing before you buy it, it seems sized very small... or I gained a lot of weight while there.
-Don't let the atmosphere at the resort lull you into a false sense of security, remain as vigilant in protecting yourself and your belongings as anywhere else you may go.
Overall
I can see while so many people return to this place. Once you figure out a few little things, you can get into a routine of pure comfort, relaxation, good eating and as much fun as you care to have, all in a beautiful setting. I would return.
Questions? tomaz61@yahoo.ca |
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| Restaurants and Bars |
Bars
Favorite is definately the beach bar, All workers here are fantastic. Least favorite was the pool bar where a couple of the guys working there during the day needed a swift kick in the butt for complacency, so sorry to inconvenience them. Lobby bar could get slow with lineups, but thems the breaks. Piano bar was a nice atmosphere... sans piano player most times. All bars had most popular drinks and seemed well stocked. Disco was, well, what you made it. We had a few laughs there.
Restaurants
Buffet was ok, as most reviews state the food is often on the cool side. I didn't eat as much as I usually do. Omelets, pastas and desserts were nice. Lobster night was suprisingly good. It's tough to get a glass of water at the buffet, seems they don't stock it at the server's stations. I'd say maybe half of the time I asked for water, I didn't get it. No problem getting wine, juice or coffee though. Italian ala carte was the best of the two, the steak was done very nicely. The Cuban ala carte, well, not bad but not great. I had the chicken dish which was a bit bland. The beach restaurant was great for snacks. We all liked the burgers, chicken and fries they served there.
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| Rooms |
Rooms
We had an ocean view room on the ground floor. Problems here with locking patio and balcony doors. Bottom floor rooms had flimsy pins that were used to secure the sliding doors, second floor rooms were somewhat less secure. Rooms had all the expected amenities, plus a voltage converter which seemed to need an adapter of some sort. I think that's what it was, I didn't need it. Lots of hot water and good pressure. Soap, shampoo and conditioner is provided. We arrived to two twin beds, followed the next day by a 3rd twin bed... why? I dunno. Asked to have it removed, it was still there when we left. Want the towels changed, place them in the tub, want the sheets changed, place a provided card on the bed. Beds were firm but I like them that way, pillows were fine. Mini fridge with 2 small bottles of water provided and you have to refill them at a bar. I preferred to fill mine at the beach bar where you can fill them yourself. No clock provided, but there is a cd player. Small ants crawling around which is typical of a ground floor room, also no-seeums that seemed to hover down low and around behind the curtains. I think they left the confines of the curtains at night to attack my wife as she slept, fortunately I was not to their liking. Spoke to other guests who experienced similar bites. Mistook them for bedbugs, which is a common mistake I think.
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| Your Arrival |
Getting there.
Sunwing - slight delays on both ends, otherwise not a bad trip, food was typical airline fare. Beer at the airport was selling for a whopping $4 cuc each. Bus ride from Airport about an hour long and included a stop at a Pina Colada stand along the way, a nice treat.
Check in
Arrived around noon, not surprisingly rooms not ready until 2:30 (there is a 3 pm check in), left luggage in lobby, headed to beach. Front desk staff were outstanding in comparison to other resorts I have been to. Friendly and helpful. Pick up your towel cards, safe lock and key, make your 2 ala carte reservations and grab your room keys. There is thankfully no wrist bracelet in use at this resort.
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| Multi -Cultural |
| Hotel Blau Costa Verde |
| User Rating:
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Jane >
1 contribution(s) Canada |
| Mar, 2010 | Leisure | With friend
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The Blau Costa Verde in Holguin is a great place to snorkell. There is a coral reef right there along the shore with all kinds of fish species. This beats having to travel out to sea to snorkell!
The hotel rooms are spotlessly clean, large and comfortable. The air conditioning is centrally controlled and they often turn it down in the afternoon and through the night. This is a pain but a phone call to the front desk will quickly correct it.
The hotel staff are all very polite and accommodating. They all encourage tipping. The coffee with milk at the Snack Bar is delicious. The steaks at the Cuban Restaurant are cooked to your liking and grilled to perfection. The water activity crew at the beach are all excellent. Make sure you go for a Hobbie Cat ride with "Ray"! He is very handsome, charming and extremely good at what he does! This place is a great Family vacation resort! |
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| Great people |
| Hotel Be Live Brisas Santa Lucia |
| User Rating:
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Tony >
1 contribution(s) Canada |
| Mar, 2010 | Leisure | With Spouse/Partner
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| Room was OK, Food was plentiful, the entertainers and hotel employee's were great. We are intending to go back just because of the people there. |
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| Just like going to the cottage |
| Hotel GC Villa Trópico (Cameleon Villa Jibacoa) |
| User Rating:
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Rob >
1 contribution(s) Canada |
| Mar, 2010 | Business | Family
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| We are a couple in our 50s. When the kids were young, we used to rent a cottage every year in a place called Sandy Lane on Hall's Lake in Haliburton. We did it for a few years and as time went by, everyone got to know everyone and it was a wonderful, friendly experience that we all remember to this day. We found the same feeling at JVC. The place is not perfect, but the friendliness of the staff and guests make it a wonderful place to be. |
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| Activities on and off the Resort/Hotel |
| I was going to go scuba diving. I am certified, but the dive boat is actually a pedal boat. You get into your gear on shore and then the divemaster padels out to the reef where you go. I decided it did not appeal to me, and the snorkeling was so go I took a pass. They have a hobbi cat, and pedal boats, and kayaks, but they close up the use of them at 4 in the afternoon. There did not seem to be a problem ever getting to use them though, no line ups or anything. We took the hike up the mountain, it is a good hike and you come down the back side into a farm. We toured the farmer's house and were told you could have lunch or dinner with the family for 15 pesos each. We did not as time was short, but talked to people that did and they quite enjoyed it. They have shows every night but we never made any but people said they were good if ameture. |
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| Beach/Pools/Grounds |
| The grounds were good, well maintained and clean. They are always working on them, raking pruning etc.There is a lot of wild life. Great birdwatching, a family of little gecko's living under the sidewalk, and a little mother cat with her kittens. These had to be the most looked after cats in Cuba, everyone was passing by giving them food and petting them. The beach itself is quite nice although water shoes are a good idea. We arrived on Monday and went to Havana on Tuesday. The wind was very high and the beach was closed both Tuesday and Wednesday due to jelly fish. I got up early on Wednesday before they had raked the beach (which they do every day) and could not believe the amount of garbage washed up on shore. It had been extremely windy and we wondered where it all came from......washed down from Varadero perhaps? Maybe the do like the do in NYC and just take it out on barges and dump the garbage in the water. There had to be at least 1000 jellyfish mixed in with it, but they raked it and it was never seen again. Probably what this area offers most is the reef and snorkeling chances that are hard to beat. Just offshore there are reefs that are teaming with fish. The water is warm, but I used a 2mm shorty suit as the coral is sharp and I am a suck about cold water. The pools are clean and cool and refreshing. There is never, ever a problem getting a good lounge either on the beach or at the pool and there is lots of shade if you want it. My wife was bitten by some insects we could never see. They didn't touch me. Other guests had the same experence with one getting eaten alive and the other not touched. Take bug spray and maybe Benydril ointment if you react to misquitos in a big way. |
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| Other Comments |
| As I said at the opening of this review it was lot like going to that cottage compound. It is not perfect and at 40 years old, some of the buildings are showing their age a bit, but it under new management and they are upgrading as time and money permit. The thing that is probably the most amaizing is how quickly you become friends with just about everyone on the resort. We are not joiners and prefer to just chill when we are away, but still we met many wonderful people from all over Canada. We will return again sometime, maybe next year although we like to try different spots. We felt considering what we paid, the place was great. We paid a total of $1280 for both of us but someone who waited until the last minute paid under $1000, which makes it the deal of the century. If you go to this resort, I can assure you you will enjoy yourself. It is important, in my opinion, to realize that you are in the tropics, and on an island where there is a shortage of goods. Saying that, the food is fine, the ocean is great and the people that work there are friendly. |
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| Restaurants and Bars |
| The food, as most people know, is simple. Breakfast is good with cereal, yummy yogurt, nice fruit, lots and lots of fresh sqeezed orange juice, eggs cooked for you, some cheese all sorts of nice things. Lunch was usually a couple of types of pasta, fish, chicken and or port, pizza, really nice salads (no salad dressings, just oil and vinegar) always beans or rice, always something to eat, but plain. I used tabasco which they have to liven things up a bit. Ice Cream at lunch but only at lunch. Dinner was much like lunch in there was alway something good to eat, but never anything to really rave about. Good, honest, clean food simply prepared. The bars are never crowded, we felt the lobby bar was the best. They do not have wine at the bar, but we were able to buy a bottle at the store on property to have in the afternoon . The wine in the buffet at lunch and dinner was Spanish and quite good. The drinks we all nice made. You can get olives at the store for a martini, but you have to bring your own glasses if you don't want a little plastic one. The al la carte was fine, had mahi mahi with shrimps. |
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| Rooms |
| We had requested a single bed but ended up with two doubles. They offered to move us but we were ok with it so we just pushed the beds together. The rooms are big, nice walk in shower, no bath tub. The pillows are small, or at least not thick so I think if room permits we will bring out own next time. We had a little lizard living in the room, but they eat bugs so he was our friend and pet. The rooms themselves are comprised of quads and little rows of 6, and honestly there did not seem to be any bad ones, although as I say 70 is central to everything. |
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| Your Arrival |
| We had an early flight with Skyservice ( just dodged a bullet there) and we on the bus headed for the resort by 1130 in the morning. The host on the bus did not speak any English, only French, which we thought odd, but...est Cuba! Tried to check in but our room was not ready. Had lunch, walked around the grounds and we were starting to worry when by 3 the room still was not ready. It was all good though, as we wound up with room 70, which I can tell you is a good room, nice view and close to everything. The front desk staff seemed a little overwhelmed as the place was completely booked. |
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| Over all a Great Vacation |
| Hotel Occidental Allegro Varadero (Formerly Playa Varadero 1920) |
| User Rating:
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Leah >
1 contribution(s) Canada |
| Mar, 2010 | Leisure | With Spouse/Partner
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The weather was nothing less than amazing. We were blessed with sunshine every day of our stay with temps of 28 to 36 degrees C.
The only complaints would be the little plastic cups that they served the drinks in and the fact that certain drinks were not available as they ran out later in the day. MAKE SURE YOU TAKE A TRAVEL MUG.
To sum it up if you go to the Allegro Varadero and don't enjoy yourself, Then it would be your own fault..... Loosen up ..... You only live once ..... Enjoy Life!!!!
This is our honest opinion on the Allegro Varadero. |
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| Activities on and off the Resort/Hotel |
Our evenings consisted of taking in the nightly shows that for the most part were entertaining and well performed.
Then we would be off to the disco for more drinks, Dancing and watching the peformances of the less than sober partiers as they let loose after a day in the Sun.
We did one excursion which was the Jeep safari Amazingly Great Time!!!! Well worth the money. Our tour guide Victor lead us through the tourist free areas of Varadero. With stops for Speed boat drive up a beautiful river, Snorkeling over a Coral reef, A tour of a old coffee plantaion including lunch and horse back riding [Thank you Peter for the tour and history lesson] and then to the cave for a swim in the underground lake.
The double decker bus trip is a must. Great way to see Varadero resort area and go down town to enjoy a few hours of shopping, entertainment and dining. If you like old cars as we do this is a dream come true beautiful classic cars everywhere.
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| Beach/Pools/Grounds |
We had our own pool with bar and a Jacuzzi in our section.
Felix our best Bartender was always willing to do what he could to make our days filled with drink, music and chit chat.
There was another bartender who worked with him who was not friendly, But we simply avoided her when possible.
The BEACH "WOW!!" the beach Breathtaking to say the least. Very beautiful. Cleaned everyday with a tractor and manually raked. The sand is very white and very fine, a few shells but it is a beach after all.
Two evenigs during our stay the beach became the sight of BEACH PARTYS, live music, dancing and even a limbo contest. With a bar set up right on the beach.
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| Other Comments |
The staff for the most part were very friendly and willing to help, there were a few, as everywhere else in the world, that were not so nice but we didn't let that bother us. The staff worked very hard and there was not always enough staff to accommodate the volume of guests expecting service.
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| Restaurants and Bars |
Now for the FOOD, I don't have any idea what people were complaining about. The food was not bland, very good actually. We always found a good variety of food and enjoyed most of it. We found the food to be very much like we are used to in Canada.
We ate at only one A la carte which was the Palma Real. The food was ok, The service was great. We had most meals at the buffet restaurant the best advise here is be early this is a huge resort with many people and the Quality and variety gets less & less the later you arrive. We ate in the same section each meal and received super service from our waitress. Also for lunches the BBQ at the beach bar was always very good. We were not real impressed with the pizza but there was lots of other good food.
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| Rooms |
We were escorted to our absolutly gorgeous room on the corner, second floor of the second building from the beach room # 6220. We had a King size bed, coffee maker, fridge, Dresser, two large closets [safe in each one], large clean full bath with private toilet and then there was a balcony with a view of the ocean that wrapped around the side of the building streching nearly 40 feet from end to end.Our room was cleaned daily by Daylin who was without a doubt the best maid either of us could have ever hoped for. And for those who complained that they did not get proper supplies, I tell you all, We recieved everything we asked for and more. A friendly note and a good tip goes a long way.
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| Your Arrival |
We stayed at the Allegro Varadero from Mar 29/10 to April 6/10.
We Arrived mid afternoon. Staff at the front desk very friendly and helpful very short wait then we were on our way driven to our room in the Cayo Largo section of the resort by Louis [great guy]. |
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| Not what I expected |
| Hotel Blau Costa Verde |
| User Rating:
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Karen >
1 contribution(s) Canada |
| Mar, 2010 | Leisure | With Spouse/Partner
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My husband and I stayed at the Blau Costa Verde from March 24-31, 2010. I was dissapointed with the buffet selection. The resstaurants were great and always found something good to eat.
Our rooms were neat and comfy. I took a foam mattress pad with me because the beds are pretty hard. If you are not a VIP guest, ask to be put in building 5 block, it is very quiet and away from the stage. Building 4 gets all the noise from the pool and lobby bars.
As far as the cleanliness around the pools, I never saw anyone, through the day, cleaning up cups etc but this is not saying that the 1 person who is responsible for cleaning around the pool does not work hard. My theory is, they need more staff during the day to work on the cup clean up. We never stayed at the beach. It states the beach is great for scuba diving etc, and I do agree. If you are looking for a beautiful rockless, shell-less beach, do not go to this resort. The bugs get pretty bad at night as well.
As far as the staff, there are some of the waitresses that are awesome and always give a smile.
The Italian and restaurant down by the beach were excellent and the staff were great.
We did meet a great bunch of Canadians from our hometown Province, NS and the weather is awesome.
The bathrooms off the lobby had a very bad smell even though they seemed to be pretty clean.
I will say that the entertainment at night was excellent and highly recommend it.
My advise, if you are looking for sun and warmth on a cheap budget, this is a place for you. I will try another resort on my next trip to Cuba.
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| Activities on and off the Resort/Hotel |
| Not a lot of entertainment for children it seems |
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| Beach/Pools/Grounds |
| Pool was a good size but the pool area seemed to be pretty dirty at times. |
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| Restaurants and Bars |
| Restaurants had great food and staff |
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| Rooms |
| Clean |
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| Your Arrival |
| Arrival was fast and easy!!! |
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| Heaven <3 |
| Hotel Be Live Playa Coco |
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Irene >
1 contribution(s) Canada |
| Mar, 2010 | Leisure | Family
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| This hotel is the best place ever, it's like a heaven away from reality. You must visit it sometime in your life! I wish I could've never left. The drinks, the tanning, the people, the food, just the experience, AMAZING!<3 |
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| Activities on and off the Resort/Hotel |
| Didn't do many activities, but snorkeling is a MUST! and the nightly shows & disco & kareoke night, are not to be misssed. the partys really get going around 11pm till about 2am or 3am, and its just a great time ! you meet so many memorable people |
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| Beach/Pools/Grounds |
| Beautiful, beautiful, beautiful! Everything is so breathtaking and stunning, its amazing. And the weather there is so great! Felt like +30 degrees everyday, got such a nice tan ! :) The pool is a little cold sometimes, but very refreshing! And the ocean is the nicest. Makes you feel so much better! |
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| Restaurants and Bars |
| All restaurants were pretty good, but the Japenese restuarant was the BEST! Had the most delicious food ever there, and it's made right in front of you! And the bars there were amazing. All day everyday, from 10am till 2am, me and my friend drank. They make the best drinks! Pretty strong, but amazing! But if you get tired of the rum drinks, like the "Rum Punch", ask for something like a vodka & sprite, or else theyll put rum in everything! Favourite bars were the Yolanda (lobby bar) and the 24-hour bar! |
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| Rooms |
| Very big, nice and clean, bright, loved them ! |
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| Your Arrival |
| Nice plane ride, arrived there at 10am. Checked in, walked around the grounds for awhile, people are so friendly and nice! And sooooo much to drink! |
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| Perfect |
| Hotel Arenas Blancas |
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Anne >
1 contribution(s) DENMARK |
| Mar, 2010 | Leisure | Family
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| I Love it! |
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| Activities on and off the Resort/Hotel |
| Good |
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| Arrival |
| Very good |
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| Beach/Pools/Grounds |
| Very good |
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| Other Comments |
| A very nice place! |
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| Restaurants and Bars |
| Good |
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| Rooms |
| Good |
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| Wonderful vaction,with great people at Brisas Guardalava |
| Hotel Brisas Guardalavaca |
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Betty from Winnipeg >
2 contribution(s) Canada |
| Feb, 2010 | Leisure | With Spouse/Partner
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This was to be our 5th time here at Brisas Guardalavaca
We were booked in Sept this trip because it was for one month. As most canadians know most of the west had to travel via Toronto. We are from Winnipeg.Most charters only hold so many seats for 3 and 4 week travels.Also Westjet was the only carrier to Holguin Cuba.
Was very happy with the service I might add. Great luggage allowance.1 hundred pounds each plus 2 carry ons each at 10kg.Had it packed to the max
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| Activities on and off the Resort/Hotel |
Always something to do/ The animation team really try to get you involved with volleyball, dancing games in the games room. They have archery with pelet gun ,Bachi ball and more.
The evening entertainment good. Modeling show my favorite :)Aquadic show, Christopher Columbus show Really funny :) and more. |
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| Beach/Pools/Grounds |
Love the beach. Just pristine. My hubby loves to snorkel and has gone fishing way out front of resort and caught alot of fish on occasion.
Pool at hotel is more lively as they have a grill bar there. Great pizzas and hotdogs and the like.Villa is nice for small kids. Little bar close by. |
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| Other Comments |
We rented a car for 5 days and toured around. Town of Banes to see friends. Holguin to visit and stay with friends.
Seaside town called Gibara. 2 hours from Guardalavaca. Really nice drive. Stopped at a home that served lobster there.Couldn;t have had a grander day. Stopped and played ball with some kids that were playing.My friend and I gave away alot of shoes and clothes on this journey.Fantastic
My husband and I wish to go back and do it all over again
Get out and meet Cuba
Bettyboop
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| Restaurants and Bars |
Two buffets to eat at. You can have your choice in the morning for fresh made eggs however you like them.Lots of fruits and veggies and more. There are 2 alacarts Italian in the hotel and Seafood down by the villas.Have yourself a drink at the cappachino bar next to Italian before dinner . Nice place for a coffee afterwards. Great service.Seafood, they sometimes have the servers entertaining you with sing or guitar. Very good.
You can also get breakfast served to you at 1o till ii.30 at the seafood if you miss buffet which closes at 10. |
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| Your Arrival |
On time and good ckeck in.We stayed in the villas as much more room and in most places quite.Our room building 6000 you walk right out to thebeach. Awsome
coffee maker and small fridge with water everyday. Maid service has always been good. |
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| OK for the price but don't expect much |
| Hotel Playa Girón |
| User Rating:
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L >
1 contribution(s) Canada |
| Feb, 2010 | Leisure | With Spouse/Partner
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I was there from February 19 - 26 2010
I don't want to be negative about Playa Giron but
Remember this is a 2 star and it's not worth more , but that being said , It is really Ok if you know what to expect.
Don't pay more than $650 / week or $1150 for 2 weeks. I recommend 1 week. I'm guessing 75% of most people would not like this hotel but for the other 25% it can me a nice opportunity.
For a week of sun , this all inclusive hotel at $590 is worth the money as long as you expect "basic" in everything.
I went there to scuba dive and do snorkeling ; for that it is good and I would go back eventually. To scuba dive you are transported in a blue scuba bus to different beaches (the closest is 10 mins , the farthest beach about 50 mins) You swim out about 100 feet in the ocean to a beautiful coral wall which goes many km long and down very deep. Its enough to keep you occupied a long time.
I'd recommend this place mainly for scuba divers and snorkelers or to couples or older folks who wish to relax on the beach in a basic all inclusive but don't expect much service or any luxury at all. Its as basic as you can get. Warning to the younger crowd : This is not a party place ; I promise, you will be bored here.
It takes 1h40 from Cienfuegos airport to Playa Giron its about 100km on not so great roads at times. Some buses have bathrooms ; ours did not and people stopped on the side of the road to go …
I've been told the hotel is at least 30 yrs old and used to be military barracks later converted into a tourist hotel. I spoke with people who had been there a few times before and this hotel has been going downhill ever year …
-Caleta Buena is about 12km left . No longer free , It costs 3CUC to go and come back by bus (9am/16h30). 6 CUC one way by taxis. Negotiate fare before leaving and have the exact change because they try to rip you off. The Resto buffet there is free if you go get a voucher at the hotel lobby. It is pretty here. It's a jagged volcanic rock shore with a small natural pool and a small bay in the ocean where you can swim and snorkel. There are colourful fishes here but because there is fresh water and salt water mixing , it creates a haze in the water which makes it difficult to see. The white sand beach beside our hotel is better in my opinion to see fish.
I wrote this lengthy review to do my share and inform people. I hope I have painted an accurate portrait of Hotel Playa Giron. I tried to be as objective as possible. I encourage you to post your own views of this place regularly because things can change a lot in a few months. |
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| Activities on and off the Resort/Hotel |
| virtually non existent ! except snorkeling and Scuba diving ... |
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| Beach/Pools/Grounds |
-The pool is nice but there was too much sediment at the bottom and the water wasn't too clear but it was ok ; Not many people used it.
-There are two beaches. There is the beach in back of the hotel in a small ½ km bay. The bay is fenced in with a grey cement wall sticking out 8 feet out of the ocean. I was told it was to prevent waves. Its not a pretty view and the water is a bit greenish and stagnate in some places. It has beige medium sand probably trucked in because most of this area is jagged volcanic rock shore. The second beach is 10 minutes to your left (facing the ocean) It is part of the hotel. There are many abandoned rooms there. The sand is whitish medium fine sand .Its a pretty enough beach with palm trees.
The problem is you must have sandals or thick water shoes because it is full of 4-6 inches rocks and there are urchins but once in the water about 100 feet out to the left there is a beautiful coral garden with many fish here enough to please the most avid snorkeler.
*** The beach at Elmoro (you have to go with the divers or by taxis) is the nicest for snorkelling and scuba diving.
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| Other Comments |
| There are 2 tour operators TMR (Tour Mont Royal) and Caribesol. Be warned I've been twice already with Caribesol and have not had a good experience their service is not good. This time it was non existent ! There was simply no Caribesol Rep ! My spouse lost her luggage with Canjet. The Hotel did nothing. "Lydia" the nice Cuban Rep for TMR took care of us even though we were not her customers. She said the Caribesol Rep stays at another Hotel because it pays more ! We never got the suitcase , so always remember to mix clothes in both suitcases. Anything you can't afford to loose bring on your carry on and ALWAYS tag your baggage's with name , phone # , address and add an extra tag with the hotel name and the dates you'll be staying there. |
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| Restaurants and Bars |
-There is only one buffet and no more resto even though they advertise one.
There is a schedule for the buffet and not much to eat besides that so take note. The food is simple and edible and has very little variety. Its Ok occasionally good , sometimes not so good. There is only milk in the morning so good luck trying to get some for your tea at supper. No other alcohol than white wine at supper.
1 week of this food is enough for me and I'm not very difficult.
-There is a grill place that serve frozen fries and fried plantain (good) and hot dogs in wonder bread type. The problem with this place is it's either not open half the time or out of fries so not very practical.
There are 2 bars very close to each other (none on or close to the beach).
I didn't come here to drink but it is the worst bars I've ever seen.
Only one serves beer. Both only have the cheapest white rum and 3 or 4 liquors like banana, mint, coffee liquor… all alcohol is served in tiny plastic throw away glasses (so bring a thermos). The few drinks they do make aren't very good. |
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| Rooms |
-The rooms are fine. We had Air conditioning and a small fridge. unfortunately only single beds and no mosquito screens on the windows and there are a few mosquitoes. |
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| wonderful wonderful place |
| Hotel GC Villa Trópico (Cameleon Villa Jibacoa) |
| User Rating:
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Barb >
1 contribution(s) Canada |
| Jan, 2010 | Leisure | With Spouse/Partner
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| Wonderful place, will go back again next year. The staff are all lovely, would recommend this place to anyone. |
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| Activities on and off the Resort/Hotel |
| Took a trip by bus toHavanna, next year we will go by taxi, so we can pick and choose where we want to go. |
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| Beach/Pools/Grounds |
| The beach, pools and grounds were immaculate. |
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| Other Comments |
| The shows at night were very entertaining, and we didn't miss one. Just want to say again, the people there are wonderful and make you feel very welcome and will do anything to make your stay the best it can be |
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| Restaurants and Bars |
| The poolside bar was lots of fun and always willing to let you try different drinks. The dining room was large and open, food nothing special but lots of it, breakfast was the best, but for the other two meals you certainly wouldn't go away hungry. Next year when I go there I will certainly bring some soya sauce, cause one of their staples is rice. |
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| Rooms |
| The rooms were large and very very clean, nothing special, but who needs that when you are at the beach or by the pool all day |
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| Your Arrival |
| Arrival was very late to Cuba, could not change our money, it was closed, and our luggage was misplaced, but all in all we got to the resort unscathed |
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| Resort is small so any room will be close to the amenities. |
| Hotel Breezes Jibacoa |
| User Rating:
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David from Toronto >
1 contribution(s) Canada |
| Dec, 2009 | Leisure | With Spouse/Partner
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| Flew to Breezes Jibacao which is about 1 hour from Varaderro airport and about 1 hour from Havana.
We flew with Sunwing which was on time and a good flight, one of the better chartered carriers.
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| Activities on and off the Resort/Hotel: |
There is a hiking tour a few times a week where you climb one of the hills that surround the resort, this is a decent hike where you will need running shoes as the climb is quite steep and will take you about 15 minutes. The view you get from the top of the hill is excellent as you can see all the resort and where the reef is located, be carefull as there are no safety barriers where you stand to take pictures and there is quite a drop. The hike back to the resort is on a more gradual path and is via a farm house where you get to interact with the locals.
We also rented a cab for the day to take us to Havana ($90) to see the sites there. We first stopped at the old fort which was very interesting and a great place to take pictures of Havana. The cab driver dropped us off in old Havana where we took some pictures and wandered around the stores. There is lots to see in Havana and I would recommend buying a map and highlighting the sites you would like to see as we did not see as much as we would have liked too.
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| Beach/Pools/Grounds: |
Beach is very nice with some stones at the shore but there are places to enter the water where there are no stones.
Snorkelling here is excellent is you are willing to swim out about 100 metres where the coral is about 10 feet below the surface and then drops off to about 40-50 feet. I have snorkelled in other places like Cozumel and this was just as good and very convenient.
Pool is very nice and not usually very busy.
Grounds are well maintained with gardeners constantly attending to the gardens.
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| Other Comments: |
Resort is small so any room will be close to the amenities.
Service was excellent.
I would highly recommend this resort and will definetly go back to it as I loved the snorkelling there and its close proximity to Havana.
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| Restaurants and Bars: |
The buffet is smaller compared to othere resorts we have stayed at but the food is more than adequate with the usual omelette bar in the morning.
The pizza we had at the beach bar was good but that was all we had there one day as we had a late dinner.
The Cuban restaurant was good and the Italian was very good with the service at both being very proffessional.
You should never go hungry at this resort unless you are a very very fussy eater.
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| Rooms: |
We stayed in block 13 which was right beside the pool.
The rooms are clean and well maintained.
There is a card you hand on the door for any items you may need fixed and these were deals with in a very timely manner.
This is an older hotel so you still require keys for the door and the safe, you also need to lock the door from the inside.
These rooms are not fancy but are more than sufficient.
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| All of our experiences were good |
| Hotel Melia Las Dunas |
| User Rating:
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Brain from Toronto >
1 contribution(s) Canada |
| Nov, 2009
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Arrival: 13 to 27 November 2009
These are the comments I just sent to the resort ...
My wife and I just left your wonderful resort and I am writing to tell you about our stay there.
For the past 8 years we have stayed at Sol Melia resorts in Cuba.
We stayed at Melia Las Dunas from 13 to 27 November, 2009, and were assigned to a wonderful room which met our needs in every way. Everything was in a good state in the room and any repairs that were needed during our stay were made quickly and in a very friendly manner.
The state of the entire resort is being kept to a very high standard and we congratulate you on how well the buildings and groundskeeping are being maintained and presented each day - always very clean and tidy. The quality of the plants and flowers you have planted made our visit very pleasant indeed.
We much enjoyed the quality and huge variety of food and beverages you have available - including the wine lists your have prepared for the specialty restaurants. |
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And as we have come to love about Cuba, your staff are simply excellent: friendly, efficient, courteous and always wanting to make our stay better. As usual there are a few people who stood out, and whose name we remember, and many many whose name we do not.
Before we arrived we had many questions about your resort and the e-mail responses were outstanding in the attention given to our questions and comments.
At the 4 (of 5)specialty restaurants we dined at (especially the Italian one), the senior staff made us feel welcome whenever we ate there and went out of their way to ensure we were satisfied and having an wonderful experience. Also at the Italian restaurant, the waiters/waitresses were always very cheerful, efficient and being sure we had everything we could want.
The waitresses/waiters at the pool-bars were very attentive and spoke good English too.
From the groundskeepers we said 'Hola' to each day, the pool maintenance staff, the towel shack staff, the bar staff, the snack bar staff, the reservations clerk, customer service and the front desk staff - all of our experiences were good, and most were much better than good.
Also, we should tell you that the scuba diving centre (separate company) also worked very very hard to be sure we had a wonderful time while we were diving with them - they are a great compliment to your operations.
-- in summary we very much enjoyed and appreciated this resort and will return, likely next November.
* My ratings for this hotel
o 5 of 5 stars Value
o 5 of 5 stars Rooms
o 4 of 5 stars Location
o 5 of 5 stars Cleanliness
o 4 of 5 stars Service
* Date of stay November 2009
* Visit was for Leisure
* Traveled with With Spouse/Partner
* Member since January 28, 2003
* Would you recommend this hotel to a friend? Yes |
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| Varadero has a great beach but it isn't good for snorkeling |
| Hotel Sandals Royal Hicacos |
| User Rating:
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James >
6 contribution(s) Canada |
| Nov, 2009
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Arrival: Nov 2009
Executive Summary
Good hotel, great food, good value, great sandy beach, comfortable room on lower level. Bit of a walk to the beach 2 smaller pools in each wing c/w hot tub and a large one in the centre of the resort. 4 bars; beach, piano, main and swim up. Didn't make use of the spa or the a la carte dining. Slow wifi.
Review:
General impressions:
Arrived late at the hotel and was met by one of the staff he wasn't the most pleasant people that I've ever meet but I didn't know what sort of day he had but every time I wanted something from the front desk he just seemed out of sorts. We arrived on the heals of tropical storm Ida and a lot of the resort was in storm mode but not so that it would disturb the tourists. The guy at the front desk said that we could leave our bags there and get some dinner before the buffet closes. All in all I found the staff very friendly except for that one guy.
I would recommend that a friend stay there
Rooms:
We had a lower room in the 800 block. It was nicely appointed with a VERY large king size bed. The room was divided into a sitting area and a sunken bedroom area. In the sitting area there was a bar that was stocked with wine and hard liqueur and a mini fridge with beer and soft drinks. The bathroom was large with a double tub & shower only down side was that the toilet was in another smaller room off the bathroom and this is where the exhaust fan for the bath room was. Therefore the bathroom steamed up quite easily. The TV was a bit of a problem we didn't have a remote for the TV and had to use the buttons on the front that became a large hassle at the end of the trip because they were becoming flakie. Also there were only a couple of English channels it would have been nice if they had of grouped the languages together; German, English, Chinese and Russian. But you don't go there to watch TV so I guess it can be a moot point but I didn't want to kill my liver wai!
ting for the nightly entertainment to start.
Our room had a little musty smell when we opened the door but that soon cleared out. The air conditioning had a lot to be desired and once the room cooled down it was OK. There is a place next to the door for a key card or other card (fold the do not disturb in half length wise or use a timmies card) for the power to the room. Keep that card in there all the time to keep the power on (THIS IS IMPORTANT NO POWER NO AIR CON).
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Restaurants and Bars:
The main restaurant's serving areas were divided into; Pasta/Italian, Sea food, and Meat, there was also a desert station and two salad stations. I used the pasta & meat stations the most during my stay and the food was excellent. I would recommend for breakfast having the omelet and for desert at lunch and dinner having the crepes. We didn't try the a la carte restaurants because on holidays we like to eat when we want to and not at a set time because reservations were required for these. We also tried the beach bar for lunch and snacks its OK and does have a lunch and supper menu also you can get snacks there (burgers, dogs, fries) Our fav was the piano bar because it was usually the quietest but we also sat around the outside of the main bar near a small waterfall.
Beach/Pools/Grounds:
Clean wet and warm we mostly splashed in the ocean
Activities on and off the Resort/Hotel:
We recommend the Seafari tour to Cayo Blanko, we also took the tour to Trinidad, that one is a LONG day not for someone traveling with kids. When there DO buy some linen there because you won't get it anywhere else. There is also an eco park and bat caves near the resort worth giving it a go when you have a red flag day.
Other Comments:
The resort does have wifi but it is slow and you have to register your device with the tech on site. He wants the MAC address of your device to authorise it on the network. With my PSP I was only getting a marginal signal (best 60%), I suggest sitting at the tables near the little waterfall fountain in the main bar. Get a drink and wait for your page to load, it beats sitting in the lobby. Varadero has a great beach but it isn't good for snorkeling. Pick up a beach towel at Walmart before you go and leave it there that way you know your lounger from everyone elses. Bring little gifts for the staff things YOU can get at the dollar store that they can't. |
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| Greeted with a smile!!!! |
| Hotel Sandals Royal Hicacos |
| User Rating:
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Fran from Toronto >
1 contribution(s) Canada |
| Sep, 2009
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Arrival: Sept 26 - Oct 3, 2009
Arrival was awesome! Baggage taken to the room! Greeted with a smile!!!!
Rooms:
nice and clean, loved the towel art ... every morning we had something different! cant tell because that would ruin the surprise! we had a balcony room! was nice bc it was not to hot and of course it was NOT as noisy as the ground rooms were!
Restaurants and Bars:
this one is hard because the staff went beyond what u could imagine! there was a mix of food ... not to my liking ... we lived off the pizza and bread and butter .... there was something different most times. but i would have to say i was not to into the food. although to them it was good food - they did the best they could with what they had to work with. very bland ... a lot of the deserts were different shaped but the same taste. the restaurants i found were just as good as the buffet. i would def. eat at the grill for lunch ... FRIES!!!! and sandwiches! lol ... and the breakfast at the grill go early! actually if u were to go for breakfast lunch and dinner at the buffet go as soon as the doors open ... it is fresh and warm ... the food sits out for 4 hours! and there were lots of flies! but there were flies in all the restaurants ... did not matter where u ate! most people it never bothered! i always took the bread at the bottom!! they had one bar it was nice!
and air conditioned! loved the music!
Beach/Pools/Grounds:
breath taking ... very very very clean! it was beautiful! lots of scenery!!!! speechless!!!!
Activities on and off the Resort/Hotel:
we did the catamaran excursion with the dolphins and snorkeling ... and the private beach for lunch ... i would do it over again! it was amazing! and the crew were a blast! lots of drinks and music! u must do it! u will love it!
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Other Comments:
overall - i would go again! because of the people and the staff! they were amazing! anything u needed u got! the staff were the best part about the trip! it was expensive in the stores! very expensive!
u can ask for water and pop they will give it to u for ur room! dont pay extra for the conceirge!
we got wine, and other drinks for free and were allowed to take to our rooms!
YES - bring bug spray!
bring medicine for your stomach.
bring sun screen
bring shampoo
bring presents for the maid! they love everything! and it helps them out!
tip as much as u can - even one dollar! it all counts!
remember they free poor!
bring tylenol!
the entertainment was awesome! they really show u their dancing etc.
make sure u see the beach games and participate in all activities! u win a prize!
dont listen to any negativity about this place - although the food was not the greatest i would still go back! it was a great time and vacation!
if u have to call canada no worries it is NOT expensive ... we made 4 or 5 call and it was $8.00 we did go to the american mall - very expensive! it was impossible to talk anyone down in price --- the lower i went the higher they went! lol ... all in all it was fun! had great weather and met some lovely people that i will stay in touch with! |
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| Our room was a beachfront room. We loved it! |
| Hotel Breezes Jibacoa |
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Rose >
3 contribution(s) Canada |
| Sep, 2009
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Arrival:
When we arrived we were given forms to fill out to be brought back to the desk. A bunch of us showed up at the same time so it took a little while to get fully checked in.
Rooms:
Our room was a beachfront room. We loved it! We enjoyed our balcony a lot as the ocean breeze was so nice. The room was larger than expected and as we were on the second floor...very tall ceiling! We did notice right away that out balcony door did not lock..but the luggage stand fit quite nicely on it side to lock the door, until it was fixed the next day.
The fridge is hiding in the tv stand and only had 2 bottles of water in it(no food)...very important...Those are the only 2 bottles you get, the fridge does not get refilled at all. We read the reviews before so we expected this. We brought 3 stainless steel water bottles as well as our insulated coffee mugs(which were quite useful to keep our icy drinks cool when on the beach!).
Restaurants and Bars:
We enjoyed all the restaurants. The food was great and we never went hungry! We were surprised at how some people did not follow dress code. Not cool people! The bar staff were amazing as long as you tipped them. Which we did as we had brought bigger mugs for them to mix our drinks in.
Beach/Pools/Grounds:
Beach was great! Snorkeling is a must! But you do need to go far to see the best of it! If you just want to swim or wade in the water this beach may not be for you.
The pool didn't interest us(we came for the beach) It is shallow...but great for the person who wishes just to float around and relax.
The grounds were beautiful...we took many evening walks. They have many friendly stray kitties and dogs. We didn't mind them at all. They are all tame. They just want food and water.
Activities on and off the Resort/Hotel:
We visited Mantanzas...we shared a cab it was a total of 60cuc. We were away for about 3hrs and the cab driver stays with you and waits as you sight see. Also stopped at The Bridge of Bacunayagua so we could take pictures from the look out.
We took the Havana day tour. But would not do again as we have found we are not tour people. We would take a cab next time....cheaper as well you can go to the places you want to see and stay as long as you like.
Other Comments:
To Pack
-water bottles...you can get drinking water from any of the bars.
-large insulated coffee mugs for drinks...if not you get tiny plastic cups.
-small gifts and extra money for tips
-very light clothes, fancy clothes for Matinos -walking shoes -sunscreen, hat, umbrella
-Toilet paper (we never ran out in the room but you will need if you go off the resort)
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| Awesome !!! |
| Hotel NH Krystal Laguna Villas & Resort |
| User Rating:
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Gordon >
1 contribution(s) United Kingdom |
| Sep, 2009 | Leisure | With Spouse/Partner
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| For a third world country we were very impressed , Hotel was clean , the food was good ( not as much choice as some other all inclusive hotels , but very good )the staff were friendly and polite . |
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| Other Comments |
| people need to give this place a break , it is good value for money |
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| Choose this resort if you love snorkeling and a quiet social life |
| Hotel Breezes Jibacoa |
| User Rating:
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Alex from Toronto >
2 contribution(s) Canada |
| Aug, 2009
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Arrival: August 2009
- everything happened on time;
- we took off from the Toronto Airport at 7:05 AM, landed at the Varadero Airport at 10:30 AM and arrived at the resort in time to have lunch;
Rooms:
- air conditioning, toilet, sink, shower -- everything worked well;
- the king-size bed was comfortable and firm;
- the television had 5-6 English language channels, including CNN and HBO.
Restaurants and Bars:
- water was drinkable (the resort has its own water treatment plant);
- food was tasty and plentiful;
- the selection of fruit at the buffet restaurant was surprisingly limited;
- the best part of breakfast was omelets at the buffet restaurant;
- the best part of lunch was hamburgers and pizza at the Beach Bar;
- the best part of dinner was Martino's Italian "a la carte" restaurant;
- the best part of after-hours was socializing and drinking at the Piano Bar;
Beach/Pools/Grounds:
- all facilities were clean and well maintained;
- the beach had some stones in the sand and there were no sea shells at all;
- the bottom of the ocean off the beach is covered in stones and weeds;
- the resort felt safe (there were two armed guards at the front and three on the beach);
Activities on and off the Resort/Hotel:
- Spanish and English are the main languages used at the resort;
- the disco at the resort was always empty at night;
- the overnight trip to Havana for 155 CUC per person was the best deal;
- during the trip we stayed at 5-star Melia Habana hotel;
- the Tropicana show was included in the trip and it was entertaining; |
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Other Comments:
- "low season" meant nothing was crowded;
- "low season" meant there were only about 100 out of the potential 500 guests;
- "low season" meant only 6 out of 18 two-floor blocks of hotel rooms were being used;
- "super-inclusive" meant all drinks and food, without exceptions, were included;
- "adults only" meant no noisy kids running around;
- the breakdown of tourists was about 30% English-speaking Canadian, 30% French-speaking Canadian (mostly bilingual), 30% English-speaking British, 10% from other countries (USA, Germany, Denmark);
- I wish there were more people to socialize with, especially people from countries other than Canada;
- 1.00 Cuban convertible peso (CUC) = about $1.23 Canadian dollars (CAD);
- the front desk staff doing the currency exchange "kept the change" unless I specifically asked for my CUC coins;
- calling home was very expensive (1.90 CUC per minute to Canada, 2.30 CUC to USA) from the hotel room;
- Internet access was very expensive (4.00 CUC for 30 minutes) from 3 desktop computers in the Internet Cafe at the resort;
- Skype calls were impossible to make.
Recommendations:
- choose this resort if you love snorkeling and a quiet social life;
- choose a different resort in Varadero if you love the beach and swimming in the ocean, if you want to meet tourists from other hotels and locals on the beach, if you prefer to be close to various off-the-resort trips and activities;
- bring Canadian dollars (CAD) with you, not US dollars (USD), because the exchange rate to Cuban convertible peso (CUC) for CAD at the hotel is much better than for USD;
- bring a small battery-powered alarm clock for your room and a wrist watch, because there's no way to tell time at the resort;
- you can buy all the same souvenirs, cigars and rum everywhere, including at the airport duty-free shops just before departure;
- the goods at the duty-free shops at the airport are about 10% cheaper than at all the other shops;
- the cheapest bottle of alcohol is 1.80 CUC for 350 mL mickey of white rum (and twice that for dark rum);
- don't worry about your passport - Cuba does not stamp your passport, only the travel card upon arrival and the boarding pass upon departure;
- the currency exchange kiosk at the airport does not take CUC coins back upon departure, only CUC bills, so spend your CUC coins before you get to the airport or at the airport.
Email: alex_levitsky@hotmail.com |
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| The entertainment here was of a consistantly high quality |
| Hotel Blau Costa Verde |
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Jenn from NS >
1 contribution(s) Canada |
| May, 2009
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Travel:
We Travelled with Air Canada. All I can say is that I will take ANY and I do mean ANY means to avoid using Air Canada in the future. Travelling with this airline was a nightmare, from having 2 severly drunk person in the emergency exit row ( the aircrews only concern was that one of them was blocking the drink cart with their foot while they were passed out in their seat), to no meals, to no service reps in Holguin, to sending half the luggage on our return flight to Toronto. To say the experience sucked out loud would be a 'mild' understatment.
Arrival: April 25 - May 9, 2009
We arrived in the early evening. They served us wine and orange juice while we waited in line to check in which was a nice touch. The check in process was efficient and seamless.
Rooms
Our room was in the #1 block as requested but we were unable to get a room with 1 bed. While this was disappointing it was not so huge a deal that we were willing to pay the 26CUC a day for the VIP upgrade. The room was dated but clean. The beds are very hard as others have noted but we used the wall hangings over the beds as a mattress pad which solved the problem. There was never any shortage of hot water or water pressure. The air conditioner worked but was only able to just barely keep the room cool. Again not a deal breaker and acceptable by Cuban standards. The maid kept the room adequately clean and supplied the usual towel / blanket art.
Restaurants and Bars
The food at this resort was very very good, especially by Cuban standards. We were very impressed by the quality and selection, which was notable given the hotel was less than half full during our stay. We ate mostly at the buffet with occasion lunch forays to the snack bar or beach restaurant. Both A La Carte's were good with the Italian being our favourite. They even did a pool side dinner theatre event one night which was amazing. All in all the food at this resort far exceeded our expectations.
Beach/Pools/Grounds
The beach is nice with fine sand and good snorkeling. The snorkeling is not as good as Jibacoa but perhaps that is an unfair comparision. The pool while small is nice. The grounds are quite nice and well kept.
Activities on and off the Resort/Hotel
We did the 'discovery' excursion which took us to a fishing village, mini zoo and the Gurardlavaca market. It was a nice half day tour and a bargain at 15CUC. Other than that we cycled a few times along the road to Holguin which was nice and gave us a chance to distribute gifts to some locals.
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Other Comments
If one is looking for a quiet room be sure to request the #1 or #6 block as the other blocks overlook the pll / snack bar/ stage area which can be quite noisy. The staff at this resort are very friendly which really add to our vacation. The entertainment here was of a consistantly high quality and included a varied selection of local talent from water ballet to opera, local cuban bands, rock band, etc. If I were to return to the Holguin area I would most definately stay at this resort again.
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| The swimming and snorkeling is excellent |
| Hotel Blau Costa Verde |
| User Rating:
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Raine from Nova Scotia >
1 contribution(s) Canada |
| Apr, 2009
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Arrival: April 18-26
We had the VIP package so our check in was quick and easy. There was a minor wait with the regular line, but nothing worth talking about.
Rooms:
Rooms were spotless, the hotel is a little tired but the rooms are very clean. The beds are hard and the pillows are tiny, but we slept anyway because we were busy all day.
Restaurants and Bars:
The beach restaurant and pool bar had great hamburgers and fries. The buffet has lots to eat, with a turkey or ham or pork roast freshly carved every evening and a pasta bar. On Cuba night, try the Cuba soup...very yummy! Their breads are to die for...very fresh and tastey. Breakfast is the usual, bacon, eggs, cereal, breads, pancakes, salad, fruit, yogurt, cheeze. Always found something to eat.
Beach/Pools/Grounds:
Sat at the pool for about an hour in the evening but didn't swim in it. Looked very clean. The ocean beach is the nicest we have been to. Minimal waves and a spot to snorkel. Lots of fish to watch. There is a little coral and rocks on the beach so wear beach shoes in the water. No seaweed whatsoever. The hotel grounds are also kept very clean and plants are manicured. There is a problem with shade on the beach. The hotel is trying to make some palapas for shade but are having trouble getting palms for the roof (or thats what I was told). The little shades at the pool, are too small. They don't provide much shade but there are trees to sit under for shade.
Activities on and off the Resort/Hotel:
There is a team of entertainers on the resort, they have beach volleyball, archery, shooting, pool volleyball, aquafit classes which we watched but didn't participate in. There are kayaks on the beach as well as paddle boats, but you must reserve them early and they are booked for an hour so they aren't available all the time. The catamaran rides are included but are hit and miss. The person with the jug of beer and pocket full of money gets a ride first, even if you booked. I should add that we didn't use the catamarans because we have a boat at home and we were there to relax, so it didn't matter if we got on the hobie cats or not, so this is an unbiased report.
Other Comments:
This was our second time at the BCV, and we found the first trip much better. Service was slow, and we tipped. The lack of shade on the beach is a problem for us. We don't like to bake, and if you didn't get to the beach before 7am, you didn't get shade. The swimming and snorkeling is excellent. There is security everywhere, and we left our bags with cameras etc on the beach and they weren't touched. Food is average. Rooms are clean. We had a good time but probably won't go back to the Blau.
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| We also went ‘snorkeling! That was great fun! |
| Hotel Sol Río de Luna y Mares Resort |
| User Rating:
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Lorie >
1 contribution(s) |
| Apr, 2009
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You had me at ‘Hola’…
Arrived back to a really damp and rainy Nova Scotia after a week at Sol Rio de Luna y Mares at noon today, so before I completely slide into a two day crash, I’ll relay my experience and hopefully it will be useful.
We were trying to decide where to spend a week. That was all we had. I’ve only been to Cuba once, spending much more time in Mexico and South America. I knew Guadalavaca was a beautiful area and not quite as ‘slick’ as Veradero and after some resort research, I decided on Luna y Mares. For one thing, it seemed like the resort had huge personality and I really liked what travellers from my area were saying about the staff and management. As an aside, somebody in another review mentioned a ‘cookie cutter’ vacation, and in my opinion that’s a good representation of the experience you’ll have in Orlando or Las Vegas, or even Cancun, which is sort of like Miami. You’ll rarely see a bug, and essentially enjoy completely sterile and pristine accommodations. Staff will be efficient and professional and friendly, and you’ll be blown away by Hollywood and Broadway style stage shows… and what’s not to like about that? If that’s what you want.
For us, it’s about the experience.
Because, on a ‘cookie cutter holiday’ you’ll rarely find a housekeeping staffer who throws her arms around you after the second day of cleaning your room, telling you tales about life in her country and displaying genuine interest in life in yours, nor will you often find a bartender making impassioned salient points about why Che Guevera is a hero and ‘descamisado’ and will never die in the eyes of many Cuban people.
So, ahem… after that fairly lengthy prelude, I’ll give you the goods, as I saw them!
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Mr. Barcelona (we learned his name was Ferran, an hour before we left!) cropped up everywhere too. I’d see him conferring in the early morning hours with his manager, while walking the property, and later clearing glasses from a table if the wait staff were swamped and once high fiving a bartender on the way through the bar. It really made me happy to see “Mr. B” high fiving his staff, because after a day or two in dealing with the front line staff, it’s evident that life for them in Cuba is not the same as life for us. For example, we have no problem buying aspirin, buying a pound of hamburger, and many things we take for granted are just beyond their reach, economically. That’s one reason, I think it assuaged my conscience to see that their managers treated them with respect. I went so far as to ask Rosa, the ‘housecleaning diplomat’ if the General Manager was a good boss. If she had been disparaging, I naturally wouldn’t have given her up- but she wasn’t. She said he had very high standards and wanted the hotel to be excellent. A worthy answer I thought.
Last evening, we had grilled lobster at a table by ourselves outside the international restaurant. It overlooked Playa Esmerelda; there was no wind, and the moon was almost full. The lobster was grilled, and served with a pepper mayonnaise, ceasar salad and a French onion soup that was as delicious as any I’ve had anywhere. For dessert, I had flan with coconut ice cream, and then we watched the water ballet show. I can’t see how our last evening could have been better. I am grateful I don’t have ready access to that coconut ice cream here in NS. I don’t want to be mistaken for the rare Albino Northern Porpoise on my next trip!!
Three last things
1. Second morning out, I got sunstroke. We were on the beach for two hours and I had a hat on. No booze. Really, violently ill and dizzy.l Had to go back to our room, and lay down for almost 24 hours. Be really careful of the sun.
2. We bought some beautiful end tables from a vendor at the hotel. Very nice man. They had fish swimming through sea grass and customs confiscated them because he used seeds for the fish eyes that are poisonous. Apparently it permeates the wood. There’s no way he would know we’d have an issue, but make sure you check because we could easily have taken them out and replaced them with something here.
3. If anyone wants more details or has questions, we’d be delighted to try and answer them.
princessfubar@hotmail.com
As for a return visit, bring it!
Hasta luego… |
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We flew Transat Holidays and arrived at the ungodly hour of 4 am last Sunday, April 5. I was far too excited to sleep and after getting our room ( more later) prowled around the resort for an hour to check out the lay of the land. My excuse for this pre dawn explorative quest, was that I was hungry and wanted a burger- a blatant lie—I was waaay to excited to eat it, but we did get one on the Luna all night snack bar. We were served by an amiable if somewhat sleepy bartender. I didn’t have any tip money so I gave him some sun glasses, which I felt was good and proper. Anyone I ask to cook for me at 5 am deserves something, don’t you think? The hamburger was good. It tasted a lot like my mother’s to tell the truth, and the fries were delicious! After the burger, I had no more excuse not to retire for the remainder of the night, so off we went to room 4009 on the Mares side, overlooking the pool and the ocean. It was big and it was spotless, and it was COLOURFUL! To me, it embodied the Caribbean in a blend of turquoise, pale orange, burgundy and white—a combination that I wouldn’t have thought stunning, but was. The beds were two singles pushed together. Very comfortable. There were extra blankets in the closet, and water in the small fridge. The bathroom was large with a tub and shower, toilet and bidet; sort of a cool European touch, I thought. Everything worked perfectly. The room fixtures were not brand new. It was not the Hilton or the Hampton Inn. I thought it was better.
Sunday am, we staggered off to the Transat Orientation before 10. The Transat Rep was informative knowledgeable, and remained extremely accessible all week. During orientation, the hotel’s food and beverage manager introduced himself, welcomed us, but we didn’t catch his name; only that he was from Spain, so we nicknamed him Mr. Barcelona!
Tromping back to our room on the way to the beach, we met our housekeeper. Her name was Rosa Carmina- and we completely fell in love. She told me with complete sincerity, that the most important thing for her was that my holiday be happy and stress free. I gaped. I couldn’t help it, but she meant it, and though I’m not sure I deserve it, such was the level of her professionalism. She was incredibly funny and, intelligent- and a way of connecting with people instantly. I don’t mean that housekeeping staff shouldn’t be / aren’t intelligent, but it occurred to me after several conversations with her that the country would be better served with Rosa in a diplomatic capacity. She hopes to finish up her degree in the fall, and I can’t help but think her talents are a bit wasted making ducks out of towels, sporting sunglasses and scarves (although the one she did for me looked uncannily like a great aunt I had that died last year!) |
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We had opportunity to speak with Carlos Freeman, the Maitre’De, and he told us, he had spent the last several months preparing for the opening of the restaurant, ensuring that the ambiance be perfect, his staff highly trained in both food and wine pairings as well. While the other a la cartes were excellent within the resort, Carlos and his staff’s culinary efforts, I believe will make his restaurant many guests first choice. Plus, Carlos is a great conversationalist and host. We felt really privileged to attend the opening.
The Colon Buffet is large and varied. The name still cracks me up, even if it is Columbus in Spanish—no doubt that show’s my level of maturity. Seriously, if you can’t find something to eat there, you’re not hungry. It has a huge selection and the food is very good. It’s been covered in many reviews. My biggest regret is that I saw a pig roasted on a spit and it looked delicious! We went to the French Restaurant that night, so I missed Porky Pig- much to my dismay!
This is getting lengthy, so I’ll try and summarize a bit. We took a horse and buggy to the mini zoo. Our driver’s name began with a G, I believe, but his horse was named Hurricane. He was a lot of fun! He talked in broken English; I in broken Spanish and once in a while we understood each other. Once we got to the Mini Zoo- Rob, the handler took us around to all of the animals, and ‘G’ was so interested, he decided to come with us. We got up close and personal with an African Turtle named Paca, and went in an iguana’s cage named Marisa and scratched her under the chin. ‘I mention G and Hurricane in particular, because we took a horse and buggy into Guadalavaca the day before and our driver was dour and incommunicative and wouldn’t even try to converse with me in my horrible Spanish. I know it must be frustrating but it’s a bit deflating. I’d much rather take another trip with G and Hurricane. The mini zoo doesn’t seem to publicized well, and it’s really worth the trip. You could walk it or take a bike. It’s not far at all.
We also went ‘snorkeling! That was great fun! Close to the Rio D’Oro, we even saw what we think was a tuna. If you have your own gear, that might be good as it’s very popular and might not be available when you want it.
The hotel entertainment was also great fun! Very talented entertainment staff were able to engage a large range of ages and cultural tastes effectively. I also loved the music. I’m really glad not to hear hip hop blaring through the speakers by the pool. It’s not that I mind hip hop (although I’d prefer Nickelback- I’d just really rather hear local music) and that was phenomenal.
The bar staff at 1492 was excellent! Dania (daytime) is very charismatic, and is able to make each patron feel like they were the most important in the world. That’s a gift when you’re not always respected by vacationers.
It’s likely evident, that we, like many people grew very attached to people in a very short time. My partner gave away his ipod. No coercion, or manipulation by anyone. I was proud that he did it.
I had read that Mohamed Fawzi, the General Manager of the hotel was extremely competent, as well as customer oriented, and that was evident quickly. I had the pleasure of speaking to him briefly. I’ve never seen management as visible or conscientious about performance and quality control in a resort. It appeared that at least several managers put in at least a 16 hour day in the trenches interacting with their guests, and there seemed little Mohamed wasn’t on top of. |
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We were extremely fortunate to receive an invitation to the new French Restaurant (Bistrau ) on it’s opening night, and it was one of the most delicious meals we’ve ever had anywhere in the world. No joke. There were a group of Health Care Workers from NS at the next table, and we overheard them trying to estimate how much the meal would have cost in Halifax. Possibly $300 a couple with wine; at least that was our guess. I was able to snag a copy of the menu, so here it is, although it will no doubt vary.
Appetizers
Nicoise Salad with Tuna Duet of Asparagus with Citrus Cream
Smoked Salmon Plate
Champagne Pate with Cognac
Soups
French Onion Soup
Lobster Bisque with Armagnac
Entrees
Salmon Steak, with Creamed Dill and Fried Vegetables
Sauteed Caribbean Prawns with Garlic and Butter Rice Crown
Pork Medalions with Matignon Sauce and Potatoes
Beef Entrecote with Pepper Sauce and Stuffed Potatoes
Chateau Brilliant and their Classic Garnish
Deserts
Lemon Pie
Pears Cooked with Red Wine and Vanilla Ice Cream
Carmelized Banana Pie
Chocolate Mousse
There you have it! We had Smoked Salmon Plate and the Lobster Bisque to start. The smoked salmon tasted exactly like home to us (NS) but it was from Chile. Good on the Chileans, I say! The bisque was also delicious!
We then had the pork medallions and the beef- both of which were fork tender. For dessert, we had the banana pie and the pears. It was a toss up- but I think I’d choose the pears next time—amazing.
The restaurant is very small, and there were a group of very celebratory French Canadians there as well. They were having a lot of fun, and slightly boisterous, and on the way out, a gentleman with their party congratulated the Maitre’De on the opening and whispered humbly that he hoped he “wasn’t too loud.” I snickered to myself, wondering if he’d ever seen a bunch of Nova Scotians on a rant- Here on the South Shore, we drink Cuba Libras; just without the lime—we call them ‘Dark and Dirtys’! Between the two provinces, no doubt we’d be a force to be reckoned with! |
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| Don’t pay too much for this one! |
| Hotel Sandals Royal Hicacos |
| User Rating:
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Betty Ann >
1 contribution(s) Canada |
| Apr, 2009
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April 17-24 2005
Wife (35) and I (36) Canadian
Previously have stayed at Sandals Negril Jamaica, Barcelo Maya Mayan Rivera Mexico, Occidental Grand Flamenco Puerto Plata Dominican Republic, Sheraton Buganvillas Puerto Vallarta Mexico
My rating: 3 ½ stars
Paid: $1520 CAD tax included from Toronto Signiture/Skyservice booked 20 days in advance
Would I go back? Probably not, better resorts out there with better price points. This resort is not typical of a Sandals resort. The Barceló Maya is a better deal than this one which I paid $1285 CAD tax included. Don’t pay too much for this one!
Regular room #314 far right hand side of resort, overlooking adjacent resort and bare dirt field, nicely appointed room with large king, good ac, fridge, large tub made for two, lots of hot water and water pressure, no sign of small ants in sink or other bugs. The sewer smell is overpowering at times especially in the morning and just noticeable during the day. The large doomed sewer-holding tank is nicely disguised with flowers and bushes and located adjacent to the walkway on the way to the 300 block of rooms.
Beach is really picturesque. Water is Caribbean blue, warm and wavy. This is a great beach! I snorkeled 700 meters off shore and saw nothing but sand. No fish, weeds, or rocks. Super soft sand which was great for walking. We walked lots! There are lots of huts and chairs facing the ocean. It was really wavy for most of our stay, which cancels all use of cats, boats, sunfish, snorkeling, or dives. We did enjoy the waves and it did calm down for a couple of days. An external company owns all of the equipment not the resort. The beach staff that runs the equipment is nice enough but not the typical Sandals experience you might be used too.
Food: Average. Selection was limited and very repetitive. Just did not compare to any of our previous vacations. Restaurant service is really inconsistent and really slow. Tips might help but only if you locate the same waiter each day. I observed dirty plates and tables all over the place at breakfast buffet. The food was acceptable as I didn’t go hungry and tried almost everything. There is no lettuce on this resort. No sickness or craps throughout vacation.
Resort Layout: poor. I am not sure whom to blame. The resort builder or the resort architect. The winding “mirror” river is such a waste. It could be the largest lazy river run ever, if modified just a bit. The huge fake SMELLY rock just before you start on the wooden bridge to the beach is ridiculous. Why any builder would place a powered forced air sewer vent in a fake rock at this location is beyond my understanding. Wait for it, Wait for it…UGH it hits you everytime you go the beach grill and bar. Our bathroom flooded the night we used the Jacuzzi when we tried to drain the tub. Oh well it happens. The room safe is excellent. |
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Tips:
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Bring your large insulated mug…bar service can be slow and drinks melt fast
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Bring pants as men must wear them in the buffet restaurant for dinner
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Put towel under door when sleeping small geckos everywhere
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Change money at hotel, easier, quicker, just 3% difference than Varadero bank
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Flea market at Varadero is ½ price of beach vendors
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Cigars best price Varadero, look for log home on 31st street and ocean side
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Ask for bottled water at front desk if going on trips or tours
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Bring change for the toilet, women need to buy toilet paper (airport, tours)
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Bring Canadian money, they do not want American, not even for tips
10.
Even if it looks cloudy put lotion on your feet, mine burned, so stupid!
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Get cappuccino at Pizzeria before breakfast or anytime much better than coffee
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Don’t wear yellow shirts they really attract the bugs “death flower”
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Don’t walk through bush to get to beach, saw 4 foot snake, scarred wife to death
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East side of resort very quiet at night but birds are noisy in the morning
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Open your tub blind from outside patio door, lets a lot of light in
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Walked to Beaches (20 min) and Princess del mar (1 hr, 20min). Wear your water shoes as there are lots of broken sea shells, coral, and other sharp edges on the way. Go in and have a look at the other Sandals, have a drink as they cannot tell which resort you’re from. No wristbands! Don’t tell them or out you will go.
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Friday Buffet is rib night..good
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Tuesday Buffet is seafood night
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Crystal beer and Buccaneer beer is excellent, $1/beer in Varadero outdoor bar.
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Eat dinner early at beach grill as mosquitoes due come out once sun sets
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Take the Havana day tour thru Cubacan $67 cuc, good tour guide, and pack a lunch from breakfast buffet
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Get on the Varadero tour bus early as it gets packed by early afternoon and ride it the full circle to see all the resorts
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Don’t get on the Varadero tour bus after 7pm, as you will be stranded in downtown Varadero. Learned that the hard way. $15 cab ride home (set price)
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Get your ice early out the machines. It goes fast.
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11.5% fee on all Visa, M/C transactions, bring cash!
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Snorkel for free at resort and bring a few small bananas, lots of fish!
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Bring key ring or tether for safe key.
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Bring hats, pens for kids, shampoo, old earrings, sample perfumes and give away
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Watch your luggage weight as they will charge you upon departure
These are my perceptions of the resort. Whether a review is negative or positive its just information, don't get hung up if its different. Take from it what you want. |
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| This is probably the best snorkelling beach in Cuba |
| Hotel GC Villa Trópico (Cameleon Villa Jibacoa) |
| User Rating:
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eeeefarm from Ontario >
9 contribution(s) Canada |
| Apr, 2009
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Arrival: April 11 - 18
My third time at this resort. I arrived in the evening. Check in was quick, my bags were brought immediately to my room, and there were sandwiches and a fruit plate in the mini fridge to greet me.
Rooms:
Very clean, lots of storage, comfortable if aging furniture. There is a 2 CUC/day charge for the safe. The air conditioning worked well and is controlled by remote so is convenient to use. There is a mini fridge and T.V. and the electrical outlets are 110 volts. The washroom has a large stall shower, no bath. There is a hair dryer supplied. Outside the sliding patio doors there is a nice patio with 2 chairs and a table . I found the accommodations comfortable, although esthetically there are some details that need attention: e.g. peeling paint. The resort is scheduled to close for renovations, so I'm sure this will be attended to. As far as I am concerned, such superficial flaws have no impact on my enjoyment of my vacation.
Restaurants and Bars:
One buffet restaurant and one a la carte restaurant, plus a snack bar, a pool bar, and a lobby bar. Food at the buffet is quite adequate. I never had a problem finding enough to eat. Breakfast features the usual omelets made to order, pancakes, french toast and many other items. Some mornings there was fresh orange juice, but other times there was a disappointing substitute that tasted like Tang. Pizza is available at lunch and often at dinner. Ice cream seems to only make an appearance at lunch, but is very good. Desserts are a bit lacking in variety, and fresh fruit was good but not an extensive selection. The grapefruit was particularly tasty when available. Lots of salads and fresh breads at every meal. I don't eat meat, so can't comment on that, although those who did seemed happy with their meals. I found the selection of cooked vegetables was a bit limited. A couple of nights the house band entertained at dinner, which was enjoyable. The a la carte restaurant includes choices of beef, chicken and fish. The soup was very nice. I found the snack bar willing to make me a grilled cheese & tomato sandwich, instead of the usual burgers and dogs. The Lobby bar still makes excellent Spanish coffee!
Beach/Pools/Grounds:
This is probably the best snorkelling beach in Cuba, and the reason I came. I was lucky with the weather and able to snorkel every day. The beach has lots of shade and there was never a problem finding a lounger and a spot to sit. I didn't spend any time at the pools, but they appeared to be very clean. The grounds are like a park.....well kept, with a very spacious feel to them. Wonderful bird life everywhere. The staff work very hard to keep this place looking fabulous!
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| Activities on and off the Resort/Hotel: |
| Didn't bother with tours or many activities.....too busy snorkelling and sailing on the Hobie Cat. There were many options available for those who wanted them.
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| Other Comments: |
| This was my fourth time at Jibacoa, third time to Cameleon with one visit to Breezes. I find quite a different atmosphere between the two hotels. Cameleon has less amenities and is smaller, quieter, and more laid back. Walking the beach between snorkelling sessions, I noted that it was much busier in front of Breezes, and since that resort is adults only, I was surprised to see so many children in the water there. A closer look made me aware these were local kids, probably from the Cuban campgrounds. I was also approached by locals wanting to sell shells and other items, or just for a handout. This didn't happen in front of Cameleon while I was there.... |
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| I did a shore dive to a wreck |
| Hotel Brisas Sierra Mar & Los Galeones |
| User Rating:
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Kathy from Toronto >
2 contribution(s) Canada |
| Mar, 2009
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Arrival: March 19 to 26
It was a small group, check in was effortless.
Rooms
OK nothing fancy. Ask for an ocean view. They might upgrade you for free.
Beach/Pools/Grounds
Beach is ok...a little steep and rocky. Dependent on the weather that has gone through. There is one pool, nice, not very deep. It has a swim up pool bar.
Activities on and off the Resort/Hotel
Went horse back riding. Enjoyed it. Went to dive, wasn't disappointed.
Other Comments
Brisas Sierra Mar, Santiago de Cuba area. March 19 to the 26. I was looking for a cheap/cheerful dive vacation. I paid $745, all in. Booked approx. 4 weeks in advance through the Flight Centre. The attraction for me was that this hotel has a fully operational dive shop. The hotel was operating at approx. 25% occupancy, approx. 100 people were there during my stay, the hotel accommodates 400+. The smaller number suited me. I heard stories of people having to line up to get into the dining room in times past. Crowd tended to be a little older but generally interesting and friendly people. Note to man who worked at nuclear power plant...you really shouldn't get drunk and talk in a loud voice about the security measures in place at a nuclear power plant...sort of defeats the purpose.
I loved the music at this hotel. Various artists performed nightly in the lobby bar and the show was generally well done. A syncro swimming group performed one night too, what a treat. Tip the artists, they deserve it. Go horseback riding to the falls. It is a good way to spend 2 hours. Take used tack if you have it, one guest did and made a friend for life. I got an ocean view room upgrade, nice. Ask, all they can do is say no. Book a dinner at the Ecological al la carte restaurant. Nice setting. We took the Catamaran tour over to an island and did a dive followed by a nice lobster/seafood lunch. Another nice way to spend a day. My friend got a massage and enjoyed it. I would have but massages get booked up quickly and only seem to happen Mon. Wed. and Fri. |
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The dive master to diver ratio could have been better. I didn't like that one dive master took down a family of 4 for their first open water dive. I think a 2/1 ratio was called for. The seasoned divers could largely do their own thing.
I did a shore dive to a wreck, the Cristobal Colan from the Spanish American civil war with a another diver staying at the hotel. We paid 40 Cuban pesos for the taxi and extra for the dive. It's about 80 min. by taxi up the coast. Take fruit, juice etc. from the restaurant, you'll appreciate having it after the dive. The view was spectacular, the road was horrific. The wreck is an easy swim from shore though the surf can be a challenge. Thank you to Edgar the dive master for good advice, strong arms and for knowing exactly where the wreck was. It was almost freaky!!!
I saw several black lion fish, a large caribbean blue lobster, a large green moray eel, a large grouper and assorted schools of fish. I could identify them with some effort but I'm lazy. Generally I'd say it's easy, relaxed diving. The reefs have been beat up by recent hurricanes, Mitch hit this area very hard and the people fish close to shore. I'd return happily but not necessarily as a first choice. There are so many other places to visit in this world. Got questions try me at waterwoman2002@hotmail.com I'll try my best to answer them.
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| The snorkeling is very accessible |
| Hotel GC Villa Trópico (Cameleon Villa Jibacoa) |
| User Rating:
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Ginette from Winnipeg, Manitoba >
1 contribution(s) Canada |
| Mar, 2009
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Arrival: March 29th to April 5th
We were well received at the resort. The reception was friendly and efficient.
Rooms:
Villas were comfortable and well kept.
Beach/Pools/Grounds:
The pool is a necessary addition as the ocean is more suitable to snorkeling than swimming. The snorkeling is very accessible and the reefs and fish are quite beautiful.
Activities on and off the Resort/Hotel:
We rented a mini-van for our family of five and spent a day at Varadero. We went to see the dolpin show and the kids swam with the dolphins, then we spent some time at a beautiful beach, and shopped in the most popular market. It was a great day!
Other Comments:
During our stay, we fell in love and "adopted" George, a little, black and tan "stray" dog. He lives on the resort, but doesn't really belong to anybody. The tourists take care of him. We were wondering if any recent visitors "met" George and if they could tell us how he is doing. Also, have any readers ever taken a dog back home from Cuba and, if so, would you have information about how to go about that and how long the process takes.... If anybody would like to provide such info, please contact me at my provided e-mail address. Thanks!
gpaille@mts.net |
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| The staff is awsome! |
| Hotel Gaviota Playa Pesquero |
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User name ald1 from Ottawa >
1 contribution(s) Canada |
| Feb, 2009
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Arrival: Feb 8 - 15
Sunwing airline, we were to have a direct flight Ottawa - Holguin, however 1 week before departure we were advised that we would be making a quick stop to Montreal to pick some passengers. No big deal, for us. some passengers were pretty upset!
On arrival at Holguin airport, customs was very quick and we were through with our lugguage in less than 1/2 hour. We boarded our bus with beer in hand. They have some vendors who sell Cristal (very cold) cans for 1.15 CUC. We arrived to our hotel in less than 1 hour. Reception was quick and efficient, we had reserved the Superior room. Not sure if that made a difference at check in time!
Rooms
As mentioned earlier we booked the superior room. The price was 60.00 each for the week. It included a bottle of dark rum (26oz), robes(house coats), incense sticks, and ocean front. We were on the main floor in block Naranjo Agrio bldg room 3404. Rooms were very clean air conditioned and very large. We had a King size bed. the bathroom had all the little extras;Body wash, shampoo, toothbrush and paste with floss, bubble bath, nail files. it included a hair dryer. there was also a bidet located next to the tub and toilet. The sink is separate from the bath area.
the closet had a safe were you create your own PIN. (no charge!) It had a fridge that was stocked daily with 2 beer coke and water. we had a coffee maker but did not use it!
Restaurants and Bars
our superior room included a pre reserved spot to one of the restaurants. they had reserved the seafood for us. we tried the Italian, and the Asian. in our opinion they were good to average. the rest of the week we ate at the buffet or at the beer garden for dinner.
for lunch we ate at the chicken restaurant( I forget the name) the breaded chicken is awsome!
there is also a great coffee bar in the lobby!
Beach/Pools/Grounds
the grounds definietely need a a little Tender love and care as the resort is showing it's age. A little paint job and cleaning would definatly make it some good!
POOL: it's HUGE! we elected to stay near the pool bar as we like to watch people go crazy about 4 pm from sitting there from noon to closing. Some pretty good "action" one late afternoon after the dj put on some ACDC. we had a great laugh!
BEACH: Spectacular. by far the PP end of the beach is the best from all the 3 resorts located on the beach. Because of Huricane IKE they had a temporary bar set up away from the main blg. the building and facilities , I was told is schedualed to reopen in a couple of weeks.
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Activities on and off the Resort/Hotel
My only outings were 3 dives with Blue World Diving Centre. the Boat picked us up at 9am every morning for a 2 minute boat ride to the dive Centre. I walked it the first morning and the walk takes about 15 minutes.
1st dive was the Taza Azul; this is great wall and cave dive. we were lucky to see 2 lion fish. the dive master is Michael. Nice guy with Gold capped teeth!
2nd dive was Pasquero Sponge; dive master Michael brought some baitfish (maqueral??) and broke it up as we swam. it attracted a school of Rusty parrotfish and one huge grouper as well as other smaller tropical fish. 3rd dive was the Grand Canyon; this was a great dive were there are multiple walls that run from more 100 feet to the surface at about 20 feet. we also went through some tunnels.
note that the coral is slowly coming back to life.
I did see one octopus while snorkling in front of the dive shop.
Other Comments
HUGE resort that needs some work. the staff is awsome! would I return. Probably not, as there are way too many other places to visit in the caribbean. We However had a great time and would still recomend it thanks for giving us the opportunity to write up a review Oh! we had the pleasure of being at the resort with our very own Lyndon Slewidge the official anthem singer for the Ottawa Senators. |
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| Food was great |
| Hotel Blau Costa Verde |
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Wes from Calgary >
1 contribution(s) Canada |
| Jan, 2009
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Rooms:
Rooms were very clean, a bit out dated and the beds were a little hard but I guess thats normal for Cuba, Very pleased with the cleanleness of the rooms. House keeping made the room up in diff. ways all week.
Restaurants and Bars:v
Food was great always a meal or snack at all times of day or night. Iam a very pickey eater and I had no prob. finding something I liked buffet was diff. every time/day
Beach/Pools/Grounds:
Beach was perfect,great snorkeling right of the beach, brought buns and bread from buffet to feed the fish they loved it they come right up to your hands to eat. spectacular sand and crystal clean waters....
Activities on and off the Resort/Hotel:
We went on the Holguin tour including tour of cigar factory mountain lunch and hour of free time in downtown Holguin. Very interesting and worth every penny, We also did the swimming with the dolphins now that is a must do... it also included a great peace of coral for an awesome snoreling adventure, very much worth the money.. |
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| The music can be a bit loud near the pool area |
| Hotel GC Villa Trópico (Cameleon Villa Jibacoa) |
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John and Pat from Victoria, B.C. >
1 contribution(s) Canada |
| Jan, 2009
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We spent 7 nights at the Cameleon Villas Jibacoa from January 19th to January 26th, 2009. We had a wonderful time and thoroughly enjoyed the beautiful beach, great snorkling, fabulously friendly staff and fellow travellers! First of all the beach is very large (much bigger than the resort next door) with lots of room to spread out. The grounds at the resort were very well kept up with daily pick-up of the palm and coconut tree leaves, trimming of the bushes and picking up of any litter. The grounds were spacious with plenty of room between the units. The units themselves were kept very clean with daily maid service. We had read some questionable reviews regarding the food but were very pleased overall with the food. The breakfasts included made to order omelettes, bacon, fresh orange juice, excellent yogurt, excellent bread and very well made coffee. My wife is especially particular about her coffee and she loved the coffee!. Lunch and dinner consistently had about 3 meats such as (turkey, beef, pork, fish, liver, chicken and hamburger). The usual combination of meat consisted of pork, fish and chicken. There was usually two rice dishes to go with the meat, croquettes, salad bar, pasta and other food items. The ice cream and some of the little cakes were also excellent. There was a lot of variety and I am sure something for everyone.
The snorkling was excellent with a reef just a short distance off shore. We saw a great variety of fish, one school of thousands and an octopus. The fish could be seen in waist deep water but certainly there was a great variety once we got out to the reef. Just around the corner away from our resort was another sheltered beach, with less wind and wave action and very quiet for just relaxing or going in for a swim.
The music can be a bit loud near the pool area, but things would quiet down by around midnight. The nightly show would run from 9:30 p.m. to 10:30 p.m. and we would mingle with others for awhile, so most nights we weren't ready for bed until midnight anyway. The nightly shows featured dance, singing, comedy, fashion and skits. They were very entertaining and put on by a very enthusiastic friendly group of performers.
My wife and I thought this resort was excellent value. It doesn't have all the bells and whistles of a five star resort, but then again it has a five star beach and reef outside of it. The grounds are beautiful, the staff friendly and the overall ambience is wonderful. |
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| It felt cosy and personal |
| Hotel Blau Colonial Cayo Coco |
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CatherineHuguesQuébec >
1 contribution(s) Canada |
| Dec, 2006 | Leisure | With Spouse/Partner
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| We were at the Blau Colonial Cayo Coco from dec. 10 to the 17 2006. Booked via our travel agent for a super saver room: one week for 815$ each, all taxes included. I used to think that the tour operator or the air carrier did not matter much… that they were just accessory to get you there. After flying with Sunwing, we got spoiled and I now realise that when it’s done well, it does matter. From now on, if the price difference is not that big, I would pay a bit more to fly Sunwing… their service was just outstanding! We were offered a warm face cloth to refresh ourselves, drinks were easily offered, food was a warm plate (2 choices, cannot remember what were the options, but both turned out good)… we were even given a complementary glass of champagne to start off our holyday (not on the way back to ease the pain of leaving however ;) ). There was also a bit more leg room, free headphones and a movie with choice of language … worth mentioning as that option was not available on a more recent fly with Cubana (there were no headphones available on the way back and on the way there, the movie was available only in Spanish or English… not much fun for the French speaking kids). Landing in Cayo Coco is a blessing, small airport, one plane at the time, not much waiting around and a very short bus ride to the hotel.
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| Excursions |
| There are many excursions offered by the tour operators (jeep safari, 69 CUC; Moron spectacular, 75 CUC; Moron colourful, 65 CUC; Havana by plane, 195 CUC; Trinidad, 70 CUC; swim with the dolphins in Cienfuegos, 169 CUC; catamaran full day, 72 CUC; deep sea fishing, 250 CUC; jungle boat tour, 39 CUC) and others offered by Cubanacan (Ciego spectacular, 75 CUC; ½ day in Moron, 30 CUC; other catamaran + Pilar beach, 49 CUC; Baga nature Park, 25 CUC). We choosed to hire a cab to visit Moron on our own terms and did not regret it for one centavo (cost for the cab was 75 CUC split 3 ways + we offered him his lunch). We had the chance to go by a Dutch style village, 2 lakes, one crocodile farm, one sugar mill turned museum and the Moron train station that is spectacular… a trip back in time. We also ate in a restaurant in town that was really nice. The visit of the Baga nature park was also very interesting… and cheap! We ended up with a guide just for the two of us, saw a reconstruction of a farmer’s house, some traditional dancing, natives rituals, crocodiles, lizards, some kind of Cuban beaver, sea turtles (we got to feed them), and more! This tour not being advertised, the visit was very private. We also rented scooters for an afternoon and explored a bit of the surroundings. We went by a cave and ended up on the Flamenco beach which was a nice spot to just relax and enjoy a beer before we returned (20 CUC for 3 hours). We were too tired to make it to the shows but were told we did not miss much. We also have no idea what the disco is like… besides being roomy! We would return to this resort.
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| Food |
| The food at this resort was more than adequate. Beef, pork, chicken, fish, pasta… always something to choose from. For those of you that are not big fish eater, be aware that the fish at the grill might be served with its head and tail still there. Doesn’t change the taste really but does come as a surprise. There were bananas flambées every night as well as fresh doughnuts made on the spot right outside in a stand by the buffet. Let’s just say this is not the hotel where we lost weight! We really enjoyed both the Cuban and the Italian à la carte… we skipped on the Sea food one as it is by the water and I was itching enough as it was!
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| Scuba diving & snorkeling |
Scuba diving is provided by the Tryp resort next door…so they have you walk there by the beach… nice once you gear is already there… a bit tedious the first and last time. Due to the windy conditions the visibility was not the best. As for the equipment and dives instructor, it was decent. You always have to trust yourself first (I did see them offer beer during one surface interval, and one of the dive master bragged about going far beyond sporting limits…) but if you are responsible enough for yourself, they will provide you with a nice diving experience although not out of the ordinary.
There is not much snorkelling… Yes, if you go out, you will find living creatures but there are no reef to speak of in a swimming distance. |
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| The resort |
The Blau Colonial was the first to be built on Cayo Coco in 1993, 13 years is quite old in the tropics… so there are sign of used. On the other hand, the vegetation is at full maturity. This complex is advertised as offering 458 rooms. Now I don’t know if that’s including all of the rooms or if it is just the ones available at this time. If you go exploring a bit, you will notice that basically half of the resort is fenced off for renovations. That does not affect at all the other side of the resort… the biggest inconvenient (if you want to call it that) is that there is no swim-up bar (it would be in the closed section) and the Cuban à la carte is relocated in the grill… If you look in the Caribesol / Holasun brochure, you will see a picture of the pool made to look like a stream by some of the rooms… don’t expect that … it’s now a work in progress! Our room was in the furthest building (#18) which suited us just fine. Very spacious, in the bathroom there is a divider so that one could be taking a bath / shower or using the toilet while the other was using the sink. Another nice touch was the mirrored door of the closet in the bathroom that could be turned to give you a back view of yourself when getting ready. Our room had to ¾ beds (a bit bigger than a twin but a bit smaller than a double). Having a Supersaver deal, we could not be switched to a room with a double bed. That room had not been renovated (some were in this section) so our bathtub was a bit chipped and the air conditioning was a bit noisy. Other than that, we could not have told. We had completed privacy, never heard the neighbours. The balcony was large enough and wrapped around the corner. We also had a nice ocean view.
The layout of the resort is its biggest assets in our eyes, it felt cosy and personal. It has the feeling of a small village with curvy streets, buildings with wooden staircases and balconies, different decorative touches on each building… very Spanish style. |
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| Weather |
| The weather was very surprising. Upon our arrival there was a lot of wind… strong enough to slam doors! That translated in tremendous waves! We had a blast with that for the first tree days. There were no jelly fish to speak of this year (last year you could not count them as soon as you stepped in the water because they were too numerous). So we made the best of it and took that opportunity to open up all the windows in our room, go visit a national park right on Cayo Coco and took a cab to visit Moron… Opening up all the windows was a big mistake! Doing so, we allowed very small bugs to join us and I was eaten alive! Apparently, it is a small spider that we did not even see… but I can tell you they sure bit and are not repulsed by DEET (I was wearing the Watkins cream). These spiders are also at home in the parks as well as by the beach.
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| The best trip I've ever had!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! |
| Hotel Blau Costa Verde |
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Laura >
1 contribution(s) Canada |
| Feb, 2002 | Leisure | With friend
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| I just returned from the best resort Blau Costa Verde. Flew Air Transat. Arrived April 28/10 and left at midnight on May 5/10. Flew first class definitely worth the extra 55.00. I am 24 years old and traveled with my mother this year. We had an amazing time. The hotel is beautiful with lots to do for any ages. The food was amazing. Some of it even tasted like home. They don't have ketchup very often so I would suggest bringing your own. The staff was so helpful and very friendly. Some things that they really need are sunscreen, deodorant, soap, shampoo and conditioner. The things we take for granted. So if you can take some of these essentials to give to the staff. Trust me they really appreciate it. The beach is awesome but make sure you take your water shoes because there is some corral. You can feed the fish right out of your hand. Barbara does hair and nails. She is awesome so make sure to book an appointment with her. And if you do go by the fitness center please tell Barbara, Deni and the nurse Joa that Laura from Nova Scotia sends big hugs and lots of love. I had a blast with them. I wish they had of played more Cuban music at the restaurants but that is my only complaint. The Cuban restaurant was my absolute favorite. The Italian was amazing too. If you go to the Cuban restaurant get a banana split for dessert. I swear it was better than dairy queen. We stayed in room 3307 had an amazing view of the mountains and water. Maid was great. Hot water everyday. Needless to say I hope to be returning to this resort very soon. I would recommend it to anyone. Please remember to keep an open mind when traveling anywhere in Cuba they do not have the same things that we have. They are the sweetest people. And please remember to tip. They depend so much on this. If anyone is traveling to this resort and you live in or around Halifax if you could contact me at lauraj212010@hotmail.com if you would be willing to take a letter down for me that would be so appreciated. If anyone has any questions feel free to contact me by email. |
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| Beach/Pools/Grounds |
| Beautiful. Well kept at all times. |
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| Other Comments |
| Worth every penny to go this beautiful resort. Hope to be going back next month for my birthday!!!! |
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| Restaurants and Bars |
| Food was very good at this resort. Cuban restaurant was the best. |
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| Rooms |
| Great for the amount of time you spend in them. The beds are a little bit in the hard side but take the cushion art off the wall and use that. Always clean. Great shower. No complaints at all. |
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| Your Arrival |
| Excellent very fast service |
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