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July 2009 Arrival: July 3 - 10 Rooms: Restaurants and Bars: Beach/Pools/Grounds: Activities on and off the Resort/Hotel: Other Comments: kemarr@sympatico.ca Top of Page
May 2009 Arrival: April 25-May 2 I'm going to try and write this review as honestly as possible. Before I start I want you to know that some of the below bothered me, some didn't, but I'm familiar with how picky travellers can be, so I want people to know the full story before they book. All that being said, because most of the negatives didn't bother me, we had a great week, met some wonderful Canadians and a handful of wonderful Cubans! And without that, I wouldn't have had such as positive experience! Resort Grounds: Like a lot of others have said, the resort is far from lush. I can understand why the palm trees are small (because of the age of the resort), but everything else is dead. The grass is dead; there is one row of flowers that we found among the resort. We did not see anyone working on the grounds themselves, no pruning, nothing! As far as anyone even cleaning or tidying the grounds, we really only saw one guy and a couple of cleaners up at the lobby. But the lack of staff around the resort itself definitely played a part in MANY peoples disappointment in the appearance of this resort. For instance, our friends were in the 9000 block and there was a pile of plates that was left in front of their building for the entire week. And I'm not exaggerating, it was there when we arrived and finally picked up the day that we were leaving, after someone complained about it. Rooms/Resort: Bottom line: the entire resort needs a good scrub and a fresh coat of paint. 4 of us were in the 4000 block (2nd floor) and had a WONDERFUL ocean view! Best part of the room and didn't want to change rooms because of it! Otherwise, our room was awfully mouldy. We didn't run the air conditioner and that seemed to help a bit. There were no screens on the patio door so we couldn't really air it out without having to worry about bugs! Like other reviews have said, most of the bedding/chairs were stained, so if that will bother you, you may want to reconsider. We were in our room 6hrs a night, so this isn't a huge issue with us! Also, there is an extra pillow in the closet so use it because they were skinny! If you have back/neck issues, you may want to consider bringing your pillow from home, as by mid week most of us had kinks in our necks! Our maid was awesome, scrubbed our floor daily, we also had ample toilet paper and lots of towel art! For those of you who have a need to have their bedding changed daily, you can. We didn't, and they had a card you could put on your pillow if you didn't need your bedding changed. Don't do it at home, wont do it while away waste of energy. Two of our friends had a suite in the 9000 block they didn't pay anything extra, just given to them! It was HUGE, 2 bathrooms, 2 mini fridges, sitting area, 2 TVs. It was awesome, had some little harmless spiders, but otherwise pretty clean and free of odd smells! Last thing about the rooms, they do have mini fridges, which have water and 2 pop, but they are not refilled. You do need to go to the bar to refill your water, and DO NOT WORRY, its filtered water, not tap water. Service: Lacking. So inconsistent. There could be a guy at the lobby bar one minute who was amazing, friendly, etc, and then the next bartender wont look at you, wont talk, wont smile not even with tips! The same thing at the buffet. Lunch you may have to wait 20mins for water, dinner it's there before you sit down. By the latter part of the week, we would find out where our favourite bartenders would be and follow them from bar to bar to ensure we had great service! If you get a glass, rather than a plastic cup, hold onto it with your life. At a certain point of the evening they go back to plastic because the glasses that are cleaned are for tomorrow and not tonight. I don't know, never ran into this anywhere before! Oh and BYOB (bring-your-own-bowl) if you want ice cream or anything because they are also lacking! IF you want ANYTHING, don't ask the front desk. Front desk=No desk. Anything we seemed to ask for, we could not have, or they could not help us with. Can I buy some internet minutes? No, not until tomorrow morning at 9am, Do you have a foosball ball for the game? No I'm not even joking, they didn't say yes to anything we asked them. None of them were particularly friendly either. One of the men that worked the front desk wouldn't even reply when I said Hola! but when my husband did he was super friendly, because my hubby tipped him the second day. I enjoy tipping and thoroughly believe that good service should be rewarded, but I don't think that you should tip in order to get any service at all. Yosvanni at the Lobby Bar and Yosvanni the buffet manager (who also bartends) are wonderful as far as service goes. And down at the beach grill, Don't worry be happy and Joel are wonderful! Look for them to get some great service! Entertainment: Again, lacking. The entertainment staff is inconsistent, had some creepy experiences with one of the staff, but on the other hand, met two entertainers who made our stay absolutely wonderful. Rai and Pedro are awesome, so friendly and will do anything to make your stay fun and enjoyable! The nightly shows were mediocre at best. Pretty tacky in comparison nightly entertainment that we've witnessed at other resorts in Cuba. Instead of sitting around and complaining about it all week, we made our own entertainment!! Food: Japanese a la carte was awesome. Such a great experience. Food was good and service and entertainment was wonderful! A very memorable experience! As for the other two a la cartes, I could do without. The buffet was great some days, not so great others. There is always something to eat. There was always lots of tomatoes, cucumbers bread or pasta. It is what it is, if you're picky, don't go to Cuba! The omelettes were wonderful, as were the fajitas. The 24hr bar bring condiments! Again fairly inconsistent, some days you got a full hot dog and others you would get half. Some days there was mustard, some days there was not! Veggie sandwich was good, if they had veggies to put in it! Drink: We cannot complain enjoyed plenty of them! We had an inkling that the pool bar watered down their rum because we drank LOTS one day and not one of us 6 felt even a tingle! Mojitos were tough to get and when you asked most bartenders they seemed less than thrilled to make them! The beach bar was wonderfully convenient, but they did run out of lots of things quite frequently (beer, ice, mojitos, etc) Beach: Wonderful no complaints at all! Some people complained that it was rocky but if you went 3 feet to the right you could find an area to enter the water with no rocks at all! There was snorkelling right off of the beach, which was awesome! Lots of loungers (but it was only 60% full when we were there). It's really long, so it makes for some nice walks! Misc: A VERY kid friendly resort, they have a playground, kids shows. Definitely the most children I've seen on my travels. The week we were there, there seemed to be a lot of younger adults (19-22yrs) who made for some entertainment, some quite obnoxious, and some Canadians quite uneducated. To all you parents out there PLEASE teach your children all the provinces and where they are, it's quite an embarrassment. We met 2 Canadians, mid 20's who had no idea where any of the Maritime Provinces were in Canada. One of them thought New Brunswick was in BC?! Unfortunately, it was extremely windy 5 of our 7 days so we couldn't do any of the water sports and then when the flag was green, we still couldn't do the water sports, because the other flag wasn't green?! I don't know, we didn't get it! So that was unfortunate, but cannot control the weather. Excursions: We did the speed boat/snorkelling and that was great, the tour guides were wonderful. The Jeep-on tour was done by our friends and if you're not prepared to drive extremely fast, then you probably don't want to do it. Fortunately, they were fully prepared and had a wonderful time! They also went to Playa Pillar (5 CUC) and said it was worth it, just bring some TP! The most important thing to us when travelling is meeting people, the rest is just a bonus, so fortunately for us, we had a great week at the Oasis Playa Coco. If you're picky and looking for a 4 star then this isn't the place for you. In comparison to other resorts we've been to in Cuba, we deducted it was a 3 star at best. We did hear that this resort had recently changed hands and was under new management, for the sake of the resort, I hope this is the case because it has a lot of potential, but lacking good management! Feel free to contact me with any questions! lindsaysalvis@hotmail.com Top of Page
Booking a Signature Vacation, we flew with Skyservice, and for the second year in a row, they did a pretty good job and we were relatively satisfied. One short delay, but nothing significant. Huge line-ups checking in both in Halifax and Jardines del Rey, but it passed the time. Movies and sitcoms on the flight as well as snack, sandwich and drink service. Seats are indeed very tight. Need a few more inches and don't mind being last in line to get through Customs? If it's the 757, sit in the back, there is much more leg room back there. Getting through customs in Cuba and getting to the bus was fairly smooth. There are security dogs sniffing all the bags as they come through. They are well trained and impressive creatures to watch. I did not witness, but was told, that there was one bag that was of particular interest to the pooches so the owner was given a two armed escort to a side room... not sure if he ever came out. ;) Be careful of what you pack or may have been around. Trip to the resort from the airport was quite short, thankfully. The Bus Tour rep spoke very poor english and was rather annoying. You can buy a cold Crystal as you exit the airport, 2 for $5 cdn. They also sold beer on the bus, not sure if they sold it on every bus though. Check in at the resort was a bit odd. We were told to leave the luggage at the bus and it would be taken to our room... we weren't told that we wouldn't be travelling with it. We had to walk. It was an action that was clearly all about the tips and left a sour taste from the get go... but we got over it. On arrival back in Halifax, a few bags seemed to be held back for some reason. One was mine. After an uncomfortable wait the few more bags came though the luggage trolley. I later discovered that I had some belongings stolen from my suitcase. I'm actually wondering if the other bags that were held back a bit suffered a similar fate. Signature Rep... The on site resort rep, Mario, was a nice guy and seemed to do a good job. He was there when said he would be, he provided the information we needed when we needed it. One of the better reps we have had over the years. The Rooms... We arrived at night, were given instructions as to where to walk to get to our rooms... to wait for our luggage. In the darkness the resort looked fine. The walkways were OK and the buildings looked pretty good. We had no trouble getting into our room, but there were several neighbors of ours whose electronic keys did not work. After a few days, it was discovered that it was their cellphones that were erasing the coding on their keys. We walked into our room and were met, for the first time in any Cuba visit, with a fresh clean smelling room. Where was the traditional dampness? Where was the traditional musty smell? The room was quite large, had a king bed and a sitting area with a loveseat and chair. Bathroom was roomy enough for two at a time to make themselves look purdy for the day. All amenities in the bathroom worked perfectly every day. We had no shortage of hot water. TV worked perfectly, as did remote. I quite liked the bed. The mattress was firm and while the pillows were thin, there were six of them. I slept well in it... well, except for the headboard/posts. They don't seem to be anchored to anything so all night long you will hear them bouncing off your wall every time you move... or you will hear your neighbors bouncing off their walls too. Sometimes the rattling noise was more rhythic than other times. ;) Do what I thought of and stuff a towel behind them so you and your neighbors can sleep better... and not know what you each are doing. We were curious to see what was in the fridge... 2 small bottles of Fiesta cola and one bottle of water. That was it for the week. Nothing else. The water had to be filled at a bar or restaurant somewhere on the resort. This practice has to be stopped. They shove the nozzle of the water dispenser down in your bottle, your neighbors bottle, small bottles, anything, and all having had someone's mouth on it. Combined with the vast majority of men and boys that I saw leaving the washroom and not washing their hands, filling water bottles that way is an issue waiting to happen. I had read issues about the patio door not locking. That is not true, it is a bit tricky to figure out, but once you have it, it's simple and will have you shaking your head at your own stupidity. Our maid was a little sweetheart who cleaned up our messes daily and took the time to make nice little towel and blanket critters for our enjoyment. We thanked her with gifts and money, but we didn't once feel we had to. The beach... My favorite spot, I think. Nice white soft sand. You can walk it forever as some reviews have said, and it is a comfortable walk at that. Tends to be windy there... in the windy season. Lot's of palapas and chairs, never a problem finding a place. Towel game is not an issue here. There is a guy who will find you a spot, get your chairs, etc. There is beach bar delivery service, I loved that. Those guys and girls work their butts off and are so upbeat. There is some rock and coral for the first 20 feet or less, but once beyond that it's sandy. There are no drop-offs and so I would think it quite safe for kids. I tried out some snorkelling right off the beach, was kind of dull for me but beginners might enjoy it. There are a few things to see of interest out there not too deep. Lots of garbage cans and astrays on the beach to help keep it clean... now if more people would use them... Pools... I did see the "quiet pool", but didn't spend any time there. The main pool is not all that noisy, except for Zamphir, master of the pan flute, that seems to blare at an uncomfortable level near the end of the morning eeeeeestretching session. Don't let the "crazy games" scare you, they are quite tame and kid friendly and fun to participate in. There is nothing embarrasing you have to do, just plain fun like shuffleboard, or shooting baskets, darts, that sort of stuff... and bingo. Main pool was cleaned daily while we were there, is cooler than the ocean, but not uncomfortable. There were a lot of kids jumping off the concrete peninsula in the pool, and a few injuries, so take a bandaid or two to help an injured kid out. It's tough to get a spot near the main pool in the afternoon, so if you are looking to get a spot for the day, there are lots of them before 9 or 10 in the morning, but they go quickly after that. Food, buffet... We were a bit uneasy when it came to the food here, due to reviews. Once we got to the buffet though, our fears were eased. We quickly found that if the main courses were not to our liking that day, there was lots of other stuff we could pick at. We were pretty sure we were not going to starve. Breakfasts had usual selection of stuff including the standard bacon and scrambled eggs... some days the scrambled eggs were runny and the bacon uncooked, some days they were fine. On the days they were not cooked to your acceptance, you could have one of the omelet cooks do them up for you, they were very quick and very good cooks. Lunchtimes for me were sketchy. I didn't often like the main courses being served, so some days I just made a sandwich of what was laying around. Worked for me. There is also a pasta chef but if you don't get there early, it can be a long wait. The main dinner of the day was never a disappointment. Beef, pork, ham, porkchops, fish and lots of chicken. The reviews that cried due to repetition perhaps did not realize that there was such a vast selection available each time that it was hard not to repeat... unless they were to add squab, rhinoceros, giraffe and gerbil just for the sake of avoiding repetition. ;) The service at the buffet restaurant depended on who was waiting on you, most were adequate some were outstanding and some were a bit slow. We tipped for good service only. 24 hour bar... Well, maybe 23 hours 'cause a couple of early morning walks I found the place in darkness. Aside from that, it's not a particularly busy spot, but it serves it's purpose well. The fries are good, the hotdogs are not bad, the service is unbeatable. Beach bar... Great bar service, not recommended for eating though... well based on our experience. We just didn't enjoy our one lunch there, so we elected to just use the main buffet from then on. Beach bar was good for fries though. Lobby bar... Very busy spot with great staff that seem to knock themselves out for you. The Miami vice was a popular and tasty drink... avoid the Margarita's though. Main Pool bar... Busy spot but pretty good service. We found it more convenient to use the lobby bar since you could also use the washroom on the same trip. Don't pee in the pool!!! Ala Cartes... There were 3, the Italian, Seafood and Japonese. We only used the Italian. Food was mediocre. Lasagna was bland and the steak while tasty is far from what you might consider a steak... think shoe leather, same thickness and nearly the same consistency. The smell coming from the Seafood restaurant grossed us out so we opted not to go there and we just decided not to try the Japonese. The shows... Dunno... we stopped by for a second and they seemed ok, but I have never liked shows that are outside where you sit side by side on plastic chairs in rows. The disco... Grrrrr... we went in one night and frankly it was awful. Just a dozen or so younger folks, maybe in their high teens. I think you could get arrested in some countries for doing what they were doing in there and calling dancing. Hey, you fathers out there whose daughters were there that night, you might want to check in on them from time to time next trip. The grounds... Yep, not much to speak of. No grass, small trees, some cow poop... needs work. It doesn't look run down at all, it just looks like it never got up and running. The buildings all look fine though. Public washrooms... Sometimes a toilet paper shortage... nuff said on that. Washrooms were cleaned regularly, I was quite impressed. Staff... Staff here are for the most part exceptional across the board, among the best we have experienced. They all had wonderful senses of humor and good work ethics. Can't say enough about them. Exercise room... Yup... they had one. Everything you need to make yourself good and sore on your vacation. I went to this room each and every day... it's also where you exchange your beach towels. Other guests... Seemed predominantly French speaking, with a few Brits thrown in. We did see a few rude folks and got a kick out how the staff handled them, but for the most part, people we ran into seemed really nice, no matter where they were from. Greet everyone with a smile first (whether you mean it or not) and it's hard for anyone to be rude or snobby to you. Tidbits... The cows wander the grounds in the wee hours of the morning, they are afraid of you and if you make a sudden move, they will stampede. I had some fun with that one night. There is late check-out option - $30 will keep your room until 4. The better option might be to use the free hospitality room provided. We used that and it was fine, but it can get busy so leave yourself plenty of time. Towels are provided... if you ask. You have to turn your towels in when checking out. If you have a late departure and want to spend more time at the beach, you can then sign out another towel for the day for a deposit of $15 - but only until 5pm. Wasn't worth the effort for us. Take your own insulated mug, for gawds sake!!! It's terrible watching those little plastic cups blowing around. Overall... The look of the place is not going to take your breath away, but it is a good, solid, clean resort where you can really relax. This resort was a pleasant surprise, after reading some of the reviews, and I wouldn't hesitate for a minute to return. Questions? tomaz61@yahoo.ca Top of Page
arrival was very smooth, the airport was well organized and not too busy. (maybe because of the time of day) it was really much too early to be leaving home!!! Rooms we had a suite, and it was GIANT!! fantastic view, the maid seemed to do a good job, but on the odd day it was just a "lick & polish" there were tiny ants all around the sinks and bathroom. with a warm climate, these things are what they are. i would rather have a few ants, than a room full of toxic chemicals! Restaurants and Bars the 24 hour snack bar had great hot dogs & hamburgers. the staff there was the most friendly of the whole place!! the buffet had a good choice at every meal, maybe not as fancy as some places that i have been, but i always found food. (and i am kind of picky) the japanese restaurant was my favourite, the food was fantastic!!! Beach/Pools/Grounds beach was beatiful but found the weather very windy. great snorkling and drink service right on the beach. the second you walk on the beach the staff is asking if you want a lounger, and they insist on dragging it to where ever you want it. Activities on and off the Resort/Hotel we went deep sea fishing, the trip was great. the boat and staff could not have been better. they served us a fantastic lunch! Other Comments over all it was a nice resort, i question if the wind is always a problem but hey, the weather is not their fault!! Top of Page
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Our trip to Oasis Playa Coco was from January 16 to 23, 2009. We are a family of 4, with kids aged 4 and 2.5. During our stay the resort was full of families. Lots of kids, probably around 50 or more between the ages of 3 and 10. For reference we have stayed at Brisas Santa Lucia, Brisas Guardalavaca and Melia Cayo Guillermo. We would rate it about the same as the first two but a bit lower then MCG. Arrival at Hotel no problem, however room was not ready until 5pm. We had paid $100 CDN to one of the guys in reception to upgrade to a Suite. We were in block 8000. This of course was not official, however it worked and was $300 cheaper then booking the upgrade originally. The standard rooms were not bad, but the suite was definitely worth the extra money, especially travelling with kids and wanting extra space. The suite was basically a larger then average hotel room, nice separate vanity with two sinks, Jacuzzi tub. Plus a totally separate living room with a dining room table, sofa and two chairs, plus 2nd 2piece bathroom, 2nd TV, kitchenette sink and 2nd fridge. A nice balcony with ocean view. We were on the 3rd floor. It would have been better on the 2nd floor, but that would mean a less of an oceanview room. Very happy with the suite. We got a cot for our older son and a crib for the younger child. The crib broke after the 2nd day, (the bottom slaps snapped), but instead of reporting this and trying to get a new one we simply put one of the suitcases under the bed, and this worked great. Maid service was very good, (we tipped with gifts rather than pesos) towel/blanket art and lots of fresh towels. Hot water was barely hot, but better then warm, and would only come through after about 3min of running the taps. Hotel grounds were kept very clean. There were a number of manure cow droppings, no odour or anything, just there. Only on the grass areas, so you would run into them when you took shortcuts. Not a problem for us as we got to know where they were so were able to avoid them. If you stayed on the paths, then this is a non issue. The vegetation was very young still, so not much shade from the trees. The resort is a bit spread out. Our room was probably the furthest you could get from the lobby and buffet, but not too far from the beach. There were definitely better locations, but may not have offered oceanview. The beach was good. A little too compact and not enough lawn chairs at the busiest time of day. Beach boys ready to move you chair for you and clean it off as well. They were not looking for a tip every time at all. In fact we had to call after them as they were so quick to place the chair and turn around to leave. Beach bar was handy, but very busy during the middle of the day. The resort was probably at or near full capacity during our stay so the line ups were long. Also, not enough seating for lunch time for all that wished to eat there. There were highchairs available. This bar was also not open until 10 am, which on a nice day was too late as lots of people were out and ready after 9 am, which meant you had to walk back to the lobby bar, a bit of a distance for those little cubs. Bubba mugs came in handy. SANDFLIES WERE AWHFUL. I have about 40 bites from my knees to my ankles from one day at the beach. Avoided it for the rest of the stay. The weather was not very nice so this was not hard to do, but would have been a problem if the weather was hot. Lobby bar was fantastic. Lots of variety, lots of blender, great quick bartenders. Happy to make virgin cocktails for kids. Lots of premium liquor at reasonable prices (1.5 to 3 pesos). I remember another resort that was 5 stars where the same premium brands were between $5 and $7 a drink). Nice looking piano that unfortunately was in bad shape the wonderful musician still made it play. An older gentlemen with excellent english played it great and sang as well. Really talented. For those that complaint the piano was too loud, they could have sat further away. Great cappuccino and spanish coffee here. Waiter service around the entire lobby area, not just at the bar. Fantastic if you did sit a bit further out. Buffet restaurant was loud, but if you sat outside it was great. The food at the buffer was great. I've been to Cuba 4 times and never complained about the food, but this was definitely the best buffet food we have had. Both kids had plenty to choose from and lots of variety to take for snacks for them throughout the day (bananas, mandarin slices, raisins, cookies, pastries, watermelon, cheese). There was a seafood grill every night offering at least 2 items if not 3, (fish, calamari, shrimp, mussels), sometimes at both lunch and dinner. The other grill had chicken, beef and or pork. A least 2 kinds of rice, potatoes at every lunch and dinner, at least two other meat dishes in the buffet area. The line ups at the grills were not bad, maybe up to 6 people ahead of you, under 5 minutes. A variety of bread, fruit, pasta salads, cold salads, ice cream, deserts, flambe fruit (pineapple, papaya, bananas, melon). At least two cooked vegetable dishes as well. Pasta bar line up was very long, took about 30 min, not worth it. Only tried this once. We did not eat at any of the ala carte. No need as the buffet was fantastic. Snack bar served fries, tuna sandwich, hot dogs, hamburgers, tire them all and they were all good, just as for the hamburgers to be well done. Lots of good drinks. Kids club was located in a convenient spot, just outside the buffer restaurant. If you sat outside the buffet in the patio seating area you could watch the kids play in the playground while you lingered over lunch after they were all done. Worked great with our older son, but the 2.5 year old was too young to be there unsupervised. Besides, she was usually napping by lunch time. This is the one fault with lunch being at 12:30. By that time our younger daughter was falling asleep, so she ate at the snack bar around 11:30 for lunch. Often our older son joined here and he would simply sit with us for a bit on the patio area and enjoy ice cream from the buffet and then run off to play while we finished lunch. The actual kids club was well supervised by a lovely lady named Alina. She took both kids in with no problems, although the official age is 3 to 12, our 2.5 year old is well adapted and independent, so she was fine to stay there for a couple of hours. There was not much in terms of organized activities for the kids, mostly because it was just the one lady so she just supervised the kids indoors while they played. There are no cribs in the kids club as some photos will show. Also the kids club is closed from 12 to 2, however, you can arrange Alina to take your kids to the buffet for lunch if they are older and you need the whole day away for some reason. There were toilets inside the kids club. Inside there was a ‘little tikes' play house and play structure with slides and all. Quite safe for 3 and up (guideline, as our daughter who is 2.5, very tall and independent was fine on them, but some 2 year olds would have trouble. There was a TV there, but I didn't see any of the kids watching it. I would say that the kids club was great from 3 to 8. There was a kids show every evening at 8:30, and while our kids were too shy to participate, they really enjoyed watching. This was organized by the wonderful Alina. The biggest fault at this hotel was the animation team. Other then for the hour of games in the afternoon and a very mediocre show at 10 pm, they were never around. If I was not there with kids to occupy my time I would have been very disappointed with this aspect. We booked our trip with Signature Vacations and flew Skyservice. If I can help it, never again. Both flights had time changes then more delays, plus a stop over added. Signature rep at hotel was none existent. There is a signature book in the lobby with his emergency number in case you need to reach him. Overall I would highly recommend this hotel mainly to families with kids under 12. Not so much for couples or teenagers. Top of Page
1. You are going to a Third World Country, and 2. You are going to a Third World COMMUNIST Country. If you keep this in mind, you can enjoy your visit. If you are under the impression that resorts in Cuba maintain the same standards as those in the U.S. or Europe, for example, you will be disappointed. Before you book, KNOW THIS: a four-star resort in Cuba is a CUBAN four-star, not an American four-star. The rating system is not identical. Deduct a star and a half, or even two, from the North American rating system, and you will be approximately correct for Cuba. If you are looking for a five-star comparable to New York, go to New York, because it’s not the same in Cuba. Don’t go if you expect sheets and towels changed daily, or unlimited scalding hot water under high pressure for your shower. It aint gonna happen. We travelled to Oasis with friends, despite the horrific write-ups, and had a great time because we didn’t expect the Ritz-Carleton off the coast of Florida. Only spent a week there, but would’ve done two easily. Unless you’re terribly spoiled, there’s lots of good food at the buffet, and good variety unless you try it all on day one. We found the staff very friendly (apart from one surly bartender), and a very good beach, as well as several pools, and three a la carte restaurants (reserve as soon as you arrive!), as well as snack bars and burger joints for those so disposed. Buffet seafood was great, lots of grilled prawns, fish and calamari, and tipping the chef a half peso or so, got you a well-loaded plate. If you hate line-ups for good food, use some common dog, and go early. The grills and pasta chefs are always busy, and line-ups can be quite lengthy, though worth the wait. Our rooms, in “Las Bijiritas” block (Rms 5204/05, adjoining) were less than 100 yards from the beach. This was only a problem one evening when a beach party was in swing, but it broke up at 0100am, so no big deal. It’s a resort, not a seniors’ residence so they try to cater to everyone. Rooms were clean, and looked after each day. The lobby and entertainment is usually VERY loud (a minor annoyance), and room water temp is controlled at 50 degrees F, with normally low pressure, but it worked, so again no big deal. (Remember?? Third World, Communist ??). The pressure seemed higher around 4:00 pm than later at night. CURRENCY: The currency (convertible pesos) were a bit of a pain; ordinary pesos are used by locals for their daily staples, but resorts work on these convertibles, which seems a bit of a money-grab; the CP is pegged ABOVE the U.S. dollar, but is worthless off the island. I don’t think North American banks will even carry any for exchange. The rate changes daily; we changed $200 CDN on day one, and got back CP 136, just as a guide. Our flight, Sunwing, had a great rep (Betty), and we had a complimentary bottle of rum and fruit basket in each room. TIPPING: We customarily used to take lots of US $1.00 bills for tips, but now it’s peso coins or one peso bills (“convertible”). The staff have to pool their tips; they get 50% of their “take”, the other 50% goes to assist the “other” staff (gardiners, cleaners, launderers, etc). Any “items” left as tips (dollar-store deodorant, toothpaste, perfume, pencils, books, etc) are allowed to be retained by the person to whom you gave them. We took a few items of good condition unused clothing (not garbage) and left them on the bed for the maid. They told us “all gifts are appreciated, and if I cannot use it, it will go to my family or friends”. We found the staff generally very polite and trying their best to do a good job. You can hop the “local bus” from your hotel for CP5.00 and ride all day to check out other resorts in your area. We enjoyed it, but didn’t do much else, as we were there primarily just to “decompress”. If you use the local bus, be at the hotel entrance at least 15 minutes early, he doesn’t wait around if he gets there earlier than scheduled. A trip to Havana involves a flight, and costs around CP180, if I remember correctly. I admit I have become fond of Cuban cigars. If you have similar tastes, and want the real deal, buy them from the tobacconist at the resort cigar store, a downtown licenced shop, at the factory, or wait for duty-free when you leave. The prices are controlled by the state, and if they are genuine, will cost much the same anywhere. Buying them on the beach or from staff who “have a friend whose brother works in the plant” is just stupid, unless you just want to say you bought a cheap “Cuban” cigar. They probably even are not too bad a smoke, but if you want to take some good Cubans back, don’t be fooled; they are not what Cuba is known for, and will be confiscated at outbound customs if you don’t have receipts. Empty Cuban cigar boxes are destroyed by licensed tobacconists once empty, in an attempt to stop the traffic in phony Cuban garbage cigars. I tore my cigar rings up to prevent their re-use later. That’s enough from me. Read the comments on your resort before you go, and have a large grain of salt handy. Some people expect pampering regardless of their destination. I forward these notes because some of the write-ups I read seem rather in conflict to my experience at Oasis. You can really enjoy your all-inclusive Cuban resort if your expectations aren’t too unrealistic. Want Club Med? Go to Club Med, not Cuba. Top of Page
We took the early morning flight from Dorval. We booked Signature on Skyservice. Good flight. Super nice flight attendant. Arrived problem free around 10:30. Customs were a breeze. Quick bus ride to hotel. Nice welcome at hotel. No clue about our Signature rep ?? Rooms: Nice and clean. No smell. No bugs. Sweetheart maid with nicely designed bedsheets and covers. Super clean all the time. No cpomplaints here. The only suggestion would be to get new mattresses and pillows Restaurants and Bars: Bland food but good. No upset stomachs. Our kids are very picky eaters, but they all found stuff to eat. Beach bar/grill was great. Snack bar was fine. Swim up pool bar was fun, but cold water !!. Italian restaurant was the only one we went o because of our non-present signature rep. We found out way too late about reservations. Not impressed with Signature. TMR had a great rep who walked around all the time talking with their customers and finding out if they needed help with anything. Nolitours had many extras too including special meals at the beach bar. Nothing from Signature! Beach/Pools/Grounds: Very well kept place. always clean. Many staff people cleaning in Cuba-speed, but always doing something. Beach was great except for the amount of rocks and Algae directly in front. Just to the right was much better. Pools seemed clean, but never saw anyone ever clean them... kids loved it anyways, but being unheated I didn't dare... Our guys at the beach always had our umbrella tree ready for us every morning. not expecting a tip, but always gave one. Volleyball court just in front of beach desperately needs some more sand to cover some rocks. My scraped up knees will need some time to heal. Met a bunch of Torontonians who were super friendly. Other Comments: Really nice resort. I'm not sure about 4*, but at least 3 or maybe 3 1/2. Our second disappointment was the signature rep who gave us our very brief talk on the third day in the late afternoon, so we could only book a single a la carte meal. The next time I saw him was at the airport and he still had no idea who I was. Next time I'll book with TMR or Nolitours. Would I go back again? Only if there was a great great deal. I'd for sure book a trip to the newly renovated hotel right next door. I think it's the BlueBay Cayo Coco. Last thing I'll say is don't bring any big shells back home with you. I spent over an hour with customs. They were going to arrest me right there in the airport. I had to fill out all kinds of forms (in espagnol!) I had to plead guilty to the crime of exporting illegal shells, then I was "resoluted" of that crime, and they agreed to let me go. I was quite nervous having nightmares of Cuban prisons.... Not worth the worry ! Top of Page
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We had booked two rooms and were pleasantly surprised that they were adjoining and had doors to open between the rooms. At the Pelicano, this option was not available. The rooms do have a bit of a musty smell, which I have experienced at every Caribbean resort I have ever stayed. They were spacious and clean and towels were changed daily. As well, being Sunwing guests, the beach towels were in our rooms when we arrived. The down side: ANTS! The bathroom had tiny ants by the second day, which we could not get rid of, no matter how much OFF and hairspray I used. I ended up leaving my purse in CC when I left because it was so badly infested after being left in the room safe. If it was just my hubby and I, we would have asked to change rooms, but we did not want to lose the benefit of the adjoining, walk through rooms. RESTAURANTS: The Japanese restaurant is not to be missed. Good food, Great show! The Italian restaurant was good, although some of the dishes were like what you get at the pasta bar at the buffet. Try the Bolognese pasta, or the Lasagne, for your pasta course, very nice. The chicken main was very tasty as well, and the tiramisu was great for dessert. We didn’t try the seafood restaurant, since our kids are not fans of seafood. The buffet…..Well it’s a Cuban buffet – became very repetitive, but the pasta bar was good at dinner, as was the cooked-to-order chicken/beef/pork station. By the end of the week, you’re just eating to stave off hunger pangs, not because anything looks particularly appetizing. Beware the “syrup” they have beside the waffle/pancake station at breakfast. It’s honey, not maple or even corn syrup. Use the fruit compotes in the fruit section of the buffet instead. My daughter ate more fruit in the week than she has probably eaten in the past month at home – papaya, mango, guava, pineapple, oranges, grapefruit, melons. The ice cream never ran out for dessert, so the kids were happy. The beach snack bar had burgers, hot dogs, pizza and fries and great service – thanks, Jaclyn! The 24 hr bar also had burgers, dogs, sandwiches and fries, and also great service from “super” Mario! Tipping was never expected, but service at all the restaurants and bars was so good we tipped often during the week. My middle son loved to tip the gents working at the pasta bar and waffle station in the buffet. THE BEACH: It was just beautiful, white sand, crystal water, lots of palapas, and if you choose to go up the beach to avoid stepping on the coral in the water (sea urchins), you can put your loungers up under the trees for shade. Take bread or bananas into the water to feed the fish and hundreds appear out of nowhere, tickling you tummy and feet as they snap up the treats. The kids enjoyed rescuing the starfish as the tide went out, There were some jellies in the water, but I was the only one who felt the stings, which were like a small slap, really. THE POOLS: The big pool was great with warm water, a swim-up bar, a submerged platform in the middle great for sunbathing, and many different depth areas. The loungers at both pools were great, the sling-type variety that doesn’t make your back/bum ache like the hard plastic ones at the beach. The children’s pool also had warm water, and the ice cream parlour right beside it, which the kids loved. It did have the reputation of being the “quiet” pool, although there is a sign leading to the pool naming it as the children’s pool. It had the most available palapas for shade, so that is where we spent many afternoons, much to the dismay of some of the older clientele, who thought of it as their territory and left as soon as we arrived – no, our kids are not obnoxious hooligans, but do like to swim. We have taught them to respect the other people enjoying the pool. ACTIVITIES: The nightly shows were more artistic than family oriented, but still entertaining to watch. The animacion staff didn’t seem too interested in the guests though. I never saw any of the ladies on staff during the day, but the men seemed as though they would rather just chat amongst themselves than organize any activities. I have been to resorts where the staff hassle you to join in every activity or game, but here they seemed as if they wanted you NOT to join, so they could have time to themselves, or to go to the disco to play pool with each other. I’m not sure whether the kids club was even open during the time we were there, but I did see one worker in the kids club building once during the week. SIDE TRIPS: We took a cab to Playa Pilar, (although you can take a bus for 5 pesos each, return). We wanted a direct there and back trip without the stops at the other resorts which the bus makes. Playa Pilar is a MUST for anyone going to Cayo Coco/Guilllermo! The sand is finer than sugar, more like flour, and the water is incredible. Great beachcombing for shells, sand dollars, and big starfish. We were lucky enough that day to see dolphins visiting the beach and jumping offshore while we were there. If you choose to have lunch at the little restaurant at Playa Pilar, make sure you order before the catamaran tour comes in, or you will wait +1hr for your meal. The pork steak there is quite good. I shared a grilled lobster tail with my daughter which was overcooked really, but a 1 lb lobster tail for $8, can’t go wrong. My husband and oldest son hired a cab another day to go to Moron and had a fantastic trip. They arrived in the center of town to the Saturday morning boxing match in the town square, where boys my son’s age were competing. Later in the day, it was an eye-opener for my 11 yr-old to see what a Cuban school looks like, let alone the city in general. They were invited by a farmer to a tour of his home and subsistence farm. He was very kind and proud of his home and eager to share a taste all of his fruits, sending a bag of fruits home with them. The taxi driver later in the day arranged for my son to join the speedboat mangrove tour free of charge, but as there was only one spot open, and my son being shy, he declined to go without his father. While my hubby and son were in Moron, my younger son and daughter and I went for the horseback ride along the beach. Hubert was a very nice guide and did a great job allaying the kids’ unease, since they had never ridden before. The horses know exactly where they’re expected to go and what to do, and even stop at the end of the long sandbar at the end of the ride out, so that Hubert can take your picture with the ocean in the background. THE NEGATIVES: HORSES AND BULLS WANDERING THE RESORT AT NIGHT: Yes, this sounds like a nice idea to see “wild” horses on the resort grounds, but for someone who isn’t fond of big animals and who is returning to their hotel room at 3 am, it can be a bit of a surprise. Also, the groundskeepers didn’t clean up any of the evidence left by the horses, which can become somewhat fragrant after some time in the sun. If they want to use it as fertilizer, they might try mixing it into the soil? It’s a small thing, and something you can overlook, but should you have to at a “4star” resort? CERAMIC FLOORS EVERYWHERE: Indoors and out, and even around the pools, everything was floored with ceramic tile, which made it very slippery when wet. There were signs everywhere warning people about the slip/fall hazard. I’m sure my kids were sick of hearing me tell them to be careful everywhere they went because a few drops of water make the floors and grounds very hazardous. The tile looks nice, but I didn’t like having to always worry about the kids falling… NEGLECTED POOL MAINTENANCE: There were broken tiles in both pools, which were sharp, but yes they would be hard to replace without emptying the pool. How would one do this in an occupied hotel? The children’s pool had underwater light fixtures which had come free from the wall, leaving sharp edges, and exposed wiring (presumably not live). I did scrape my leg on the plastic clip for the light fixture but didn’t break the skin. Again, something you can overlook, but….. SAND FLEAS: We’re not sure whether they were just outdoors or in the room too. My husband thinks they were in our bedding, although I did not see any or get bitten until we were waiting in the lobby for our bus on departure day. I could feel the bites, and just kept moving around. My husband has hundreds of bites and had to go to the doctor two days after we got home. He is allergic to flea bites, and these bites were getting worse. He’s now using antibacterial and cortisone creams, as well as taking an oral antibiotic. THE POSTIVES: This resort is unusually accessible for people with limited mobility. We have travelled with a friend who requires a scooter to get around, so I was paying attention to that aspect for this resort. There are ramps everywhere, and really the beach is the only area I could see where a scooter/wheelchair could not easily go, but that is the case with all wide sandy beaches… THE STAFF!!! At all the bars and restaurants, the staff were so gracious and friendly, they ensured you had a good experience. Aside from the stunning beach, the restaurant/bar staff are this resort’s greatest asset. We did have a great time at Oasis Playa Coco, and the negatives listed above are more of a heads-up to resort management of things which could be changed for the resort to excel. Cayo Coco is proudly ecologically minded and has a Nature Park close to the resort, so yes, bugs are to be expected. However the after-effects of the sand fleas, and the ants in the room which I have read in reviews of other resorts on CC, left my skin crawling for a couple of days after we got home, and make this one island I would hesitate to revisit. Top of Page
Pool bar: This is were you could get the best banana mama’s (Rodolpho is the man to see!) Lobby Bar – always full stocked but can be a bit busier TRIPS: We only took the horse and carriage ride (for 5 peso’s each). It was nice. Relaxing drive down to a little ranch where you can buy souvenirs and watch some dancers and other live act shows. In conclusion a great trip to Cayo Coco, and would recommend this hotel to family and friends. Feel free to contact me with any questions olmsteadam@hotmail.com Top of Page
Let me first say that we had a great vacation. I have travelled in the Caribbean for the last couple of years but have only ever stayed at 5 Star properties in both Mexico (Bahia Principe Tulum) and Punta Cana (Grand Bahia Pricipe). After reading different reviews about the Oasis Cayo Coco, we were afraid of what we were in for. I have to say that there is both good and bad at this property and if you accept that then you will have a great vacation. The Beach The beach was very nice. The first day we were there, there were quite a few little jellyfish in the water which made enjoying the water very difficult. The rest of the week was great. Walking into the water is a little rocky but then is nice and sandy. There is great snorkelling right off the resort as there is a large rock formation that has literally hundreds of fish. I snorkelled every day. Getting beach chairs and palappas is challenging if you do not get to the beach prior to 9am. I hate to say that I was one of these people who got up early to go reserve a spot. I was travelling with a little one and didn't want her sitting out in the sun all day. The only complaint I have about the beach is that there were lots of cigarette buts in the sand. Why can't smokers be more considerate and put their puts in a plastic cup. There are plenty to go around The Food There is no way that a person should starve here. I am a picky eater and always found something good to eat. Great omelette's in the morning and plenty of grill stations where they do chicken, steak and seafood. For lunch you can get hamburgers, hotdogs and fries. There is also a restaurant right and the beach and also the 24hr snack bar by the pool where you can get food too. In terms of the a la cartes, the Japanese restaurant is a must and in my opinion the food is better at the buffet than the Seafood and Italian Restaurant. The Resort Here is where I have the issue. The property is neglected. Our room was very dirty. There was mold on the shower curtain and mold throughout the room particulary on seat cushions and sofa. The air conditioning did not seem to get rid of the musty smell. We did have a few creepy crawlers visit (spiders) and had a little army of ants that my wife got rid of with her hairspray. My wife and daughter did get a few bites on them in bed. Whether they were sand fleas or bed bugs, I don't know but I lucked out and didn't get any. I saw a man at reception one day whose legs were eaten alive and was demanding a new room. The pools wern't overly clean and I don't remember anyone ever cleaning them. The public washrooms were disgusting and seldom had toilet paper or soap for washing. In summary, if you are after a nice relaxing vacation at the beach and don't really care about what your room looks like or the grounds and can get this place for a great deal, then this is your spot. Otherwise, I would not recommend this resort simply based on the conditions. I may try Cuba again in the future and maybe even Cayo Coco but more than likely will return to the Mayan Riviera next year Top of Page
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We have been back for a couple of weeks now and I wanted to write to say what a good time we had here. I have just read the review from another person and they weren't staying at the same place I was! Good food, great beach, clean rooms and staff who would do whatever they could for you. We swam every day except the day we did a tour and alternated between the pool and the beach. Pool was warm mid seventies and the ocean was close to that as well - We got clean beach towels because we traded them in every day like we were told to. We also drank lots of water and beverages that are water based(tea coffee, juice) - but we also didn't drink the water in the room, like we told, as it is not treated like the water in the rest of hotel. Sounds like that person didn't listen to what their tour guide and hotel staff said. I would definitely refer this place to someone and would consider returning here again - have travelled lots in the Caribbean including Jamaica and Barbados, and this was a thoroughly enjoyable place for a vacation!! This is a 3+ star resort, so don't expect the Ritz but it was more than acceptable and We would rate our vacation as 8 out of 10! Top of Page
We got back from Cayo Cuba in Feb and I have been on many trips and this one
would have to be the worst one!!!!!!! First lets start by saying that I can
not stand to read all of these reviews from people about this resort
especially if they had a good time. How can you say you had a good time did
you not take a look at the rooms they were dirty!!!!!!!! We went with a
group and one pair had pee on the toilet and also lots of hair around on the
floor in the shower....... Second the food it was ok the lunch was good at
the 24 hour grill...... But let me say my husband just found out after being
there 2 months ago he has a parasite ! That's right a parasite and he was so
sick for almost 2 months....... So come on people get real have you not been
to other resorts in your life? Because if you have you would know this
resort should not have been rated more then a 2 and that's pushing it.
I had to laugh when someone wrote they had clean towels everyday ok maybe
bath towels but not beach towels!!!!! We used the same one everyday! The
pools looked nice but were so cold I would have rather went swimming here in
Canada. The beach beautiful and clear to walk in bare foot! The service was
good everyone was polite and always made sure you had a drink in hand. I
liked the buffet for the pasta bar didn't like much of the other food there
maybe cause they had almost the same thing every night. Breakfast sucked
never had cooked bacon and the hard boiled eggs were full of slime. So
basically would I got here again no way!!!!!!! I would never tell anyone
about this place at all..... I am a simple girl so don't think I am some
rich lady who wanted something better I went wanted a good deal on a place
and this is what I got from it not a good trip. We all have our opions
forsure but really if you go on a trip and you want to have a good time but
come back and are sick for 2 months is it worth paying for a good deal on a
trip NO! Pay the money and you will have a better time..... It sucks that my
husband did get sick the doctor said it was from not clean water hmmmm I
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Returned a week ago from a very enjoyable stay at this resort..would definetely give it an A..we stayed in the 4000 block which was quite close to the beach and so managed to go out first thing in the morning and stake our spot which you have to do ...loved the beach as you could walk forever as it was very private (no other resorts nearby tho that will change as they are building a new one next door)...true what they say..it is very difficult to walk out in the water as it is full of coral and hard on the feet.however just walk east towards the hobie cats etc.and the water there is all sand bottom and o so nice...the guys who run the Catamaran,kayak and paddle boat service are a friendly lot indeed as are all the Cuban people who worked at that resort..we enjoyed the food ..always something to please the palate at the buffet and the Italian was good and Japanese is a must not only for the show they put on but also the food was quite good...the piano bar was always hopping and the bartenders very friendly amid the chaos...the one waiter impressed me very much...he walks around the lobby all the time looking to either get you or refresh your drink...we never contrary to some rumors found the drinks to be watered down..we went to the shows almost every night and watched the children perform first which was quite cute and then the cuban troupe put on an enjoyable and not too long show..it was a nice children friendly resort and i must say the children there were well behaved....a lot of french canadian and please i am french myself but must you always yell at each other when you are talking..very loud indeed....our room was very clean and sure we had a few tiniest bugs around the sink but did not bother us..first morning we had a frog who decided he wanted to share our room and the next day a small gecko...however my daughter quickly showed them the door as they had not been invited to share...after that we kept a towel under our door and no more visitors....we had clean towels everyday and always had swans etc to admire upon our return...room was always well cleaned...Zoe in the dining room is just such a beautiful person and so appreciative of anything you give her even if its just a smile...so please canadians show these people that you appreciate them ...smile..be polite and drop a few pesos around...and be happy that you have it so good to be living in Canada.... Top of Page
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Pool is big and clean. Grounds - The grounds were pretty well maintained. Activities - Lots to do at the beach... Tours - We went on a catamarin tour to "paradise island". It was nice, although it takes over an hour on bus to get there.. We also went to Santiago overnight. Remember this is a third world country. People are very friendly but also very poor. Makes us wonder sometimes if our priorities are well set!! We stress over so little it seems compared to what these people have to live with! Conclusion - We had a good vacation. Would I go there again? I like to try different places and things, but If I get a good deal, I would return without a blink. If you want to get away, sit back and relax, this is the place for you. Remember, this is a 4*, not a 5*..... Top of Page
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We booked with Conquest Vacations through Sell Off Vacations .com and the 4 of us were the only travelers who booked with them that day, which worked out well because we had our own driver in a private minivan taxi that had us at the hotel at least an hour before the rest of the guests that were on our same plane (by the way my first flight was amazing. I loved it and will do it again). We just seemed to sail through the entire arrival process. Suzel at the front desk was amazing. We asked for an ocean view room and she was very happy to comply. She offered us what she truly believed to be the best rooms that were available in the resort at that time. ROOMS: There is a horrible musty smell in the hotel rooms as soon as you enter. Other people have said in their reviews that this is to be expected with ocean view. If that is true, I guess I won’t be going ocean view in the future. But somehow, I think that there is a way to control the humidity if they really wanted to. Mold is around the air conditioning vents (dangerous, as we are probably breathing in spores being blown around the room via the A/C) and there appears to be painted over mold in other areas of the room. We also saw mold on the under side of the cushions. A couple incomplete plaster repair jobs in the hotel room. In my opinion, this is something you would expect in a 3 star or less, not a 4+ star. There was no hot water. A couple days into our stay, it started to get luke warm. When we voiced our concern about the water, we were told that the hot water is regulated and not to expect hot water at certain times – and that is just the way it is, like it or not (at this point, we started to feel like hostages). They sent a maintenance guy that walked in with a pipe wrench, said a few things in Spanish to my brother and gestured to the water he had running in the sink that it was OK now. It was the same – we just let it go (as we had to do in many other situations during our stay). My brother’s air conditioning was poor. There was a great deal of confusion trying to get them to send a technician. According to my brother, it never really worked right the entire time. Again, we just let it go. There were large yellow stains on the towels. What could that be? Gross. The sheets were not changed daily. We discovered this on the second night when I got into a sandy bed. They could have brushed sand off if they wanted to fool us, but they didn’t even attempt to do that. There was a “save the earth” card on the night table that stated if we were concerned about the environment and didn’t want our sheets changed daily, that we should place the card on the pillow and they would just make the bed that day without changing the sheets. We care about the environment, but we want our sheets cleaned daily (just because we don’t want to sleep in sandy sheets, doesn’t mean we have disregard for the environment as the card is suggesting). >From then on we had to completely remove our sheets from the bed ourselves and put them at the front door in order to force them to change them. They were always changed late in the day because the maid didn’t even carry the sheets on her cart – she had no intention of changing the sheets while on her rounds. I have sand flea or bed bug bites all over my legs. There are approximately 100 bites per leg and a few on my arms. I’m not sure if this is from the beach or the room. The fact that the maid wasn’t changing the sheets probably didn’t help. However, it didn’t get better when I started removing them so it’s still hard to tell where they came from. If there is no hot water (they admit it), then how do you suppose their linens and dishes become clean. They don’t! There is one water bottle per room for the entire vacation. It is up to you to bring your bottle to the bar when you want it filled. They have filtered water (I hope) at all the bars. Do not discard this bottle. I heard that the staff will give you a hard time to get a new one. They say it’s not necessary, but if anybody wants to admit it or not, you really don’t get good service unless you tip the staff regularly throughout you’re stay – with the exception of a few staff members that really take their customer service seriously. After you leave something for the maid, they will start making swans out of the towels and bed linens. The bathroom counter was always dirty. They did neatly rearrange our stuff on the counter though. The maid seemed to clean our room when we were there to see it, but we noticed that she was in and out of brother’s room very quickly (he wasn’t there). The iron in both of our rooms was black and encrusted with burned soot on the bottom of the heat plate. It didn’t bother me, I don’t iron, but my brother needed to use it for the a la carte restaurant that has a dress code which no one seemed to observe or enforce. RESTAURANTS: My primary complaint is with the food. I survived the entire week on beef jerky and sunflower seeds that we brought from home. I had about 3 meals in total during the week that I could barely stomach. The two best meals we had were the Quizno’s subs on the plane there and back. 95% of Cuban food is fried. The oil they use throughout the resort smells rancid – we know that it isn’t just because it is Cuban flavour as we went to a local restaurant for deep fried fish fingers that did NOT have that gross rancid smell and taste. Nearly everything on the resort smelled similar to the rancid oil, including towels and dishes. You can smell it as you approach every bar or restaurant/buffet. Even the milk they used had this same offish-smell. The buffet was horrible, they seem to reuse food from prior meals, if they even change it at all. Everyone that we talked to at the resort had some form of complaint about the food, especially the buffet. A lot of full plates of food were left on tables because the guests left the meals in disgust. Because of their poor practices, I wouldn’t doubt that they are salvaging food from plates – this is speculation, I didn’t see them do it, but I wouldn’t put it past them. The lines for the food are 20 minutes plus because the cook repeatedly goes back to the kitchen get more food and supplies. There’s only one cook per station. One night we had to wait 45 minutes in the pasta table line up. The pasta is either not cooked enough or over cooked to the point of mush They don’t replenish the food at the buffet often enough. I had to ask them to put out more salad – which was about the only thing I could eventually eat at the buffet. There was a lobster fiasco at the buffet on the Friday. We discovered that they were charging 20 peso’s for a lobster – my brother said they weren’t charging last year. The ones that didn’t sell were chopped up and used for the dinner buffet that night. I would have been upset if I paid for a lobster and then discovered they were giving it away later. After waiting 45 minutes in the line, guests were simply told that there was no lobster left once it ran out. I guess there were a few more upset people that night. The dishes throughout the resort were greasy and were encrusted with dried food bits. One time we asked a staff member for new cutlery at a table that we were sitting at that wasn’t cleared yet. The waitress told us to use cutlery that was there because it was not used yet and refused to change it. They even ran out of clean dishes in the buffet at one point. My wife had sand or some kind of rock in her rice one night. Most of the mussels I ate had sand in it. As for the a la cart Restaurants, the Japanese is the best, the Italian is not so good and the seafood is the worst (they don’t use real seafood, it’s the pre-formed stuff). EVERYONE complains about the seafood restaurant, don’t you think they would do something about it? This is typical of their sweep under the rug attitude. Even the tour guide was bragging about their “put off until tomorrow” attitudes which really shows in their degrading infrastructure and buildings. In the beach bar, birds perch on beams in the ceiling where they wait to swoop down and steal your fries – sometimes while you are eating them It’s cute the first time. The food is placed right under the beams. There’s bird poop on those beams right above the food bins. Hmmm, do you suppose some of that poop is ending up in your salad? BARS: There were two bars open after 5pm, the 24 hour piano bar in the main lobby, and the 24 hour snack bar near the buffet building. There was disco bar as well – not sure of the hours. The main pool bar, in my opinion had the best drinks. As far as the drinks go, they were OK, but not amazing. I was thinking they would be better from a tropical resort. The drinks also seemed to have that same rancid oil smell. Tamy and Rudolpho, the bartenders at the main pool bar, and Fernando, the server in the beach bar, were among the greatest staff members at the resort. If any management from the resort reads this review (I doubt they read/care about reviews judging by their standards), take note that these people should be used as a model for all other staff members. They genuinely make you feel like you are appreciated as a customer. Rudolpho does the fancy bartender trickery with bottles and Tamy plays along with him to make it a fun show at the bar. BEACH AND POOLS: The beach was beautiful, but small. Depending on the time of day or how the weather was cooperating, it could be difficult to find a spot. The pools are impressive looking and seem to be clean. They are all concrete construction with ceramic tile lining. They aren’t heated. However, it didn’t take long to get acclimatized to the temperature if it was sunny and hot. It’s a bit cold getting into the pool if it’s cloudy and breezy. WARNING: There are broken/missing ceramic tiles throughout the pool bottom. They are extremely sharp and present a hazard. Please avoid these as you will cut your feet. And good luck getting a band aid - see the comments below on their health care system. The Jacuzzi by the small (Tranquil) pool is not heated and the water was yellowish and my legs were slimy after I got out of it. Needless to say, I only used it the one time. GROUNDS: WARNING: The floors are extremely slippery when wet. They use ceramic tile everywhere – indoors and outdoors. They do not use non-slip style tiles anywhere. My wife had a very bad fall on the concrete steps in the building where our room was. She has a dangerous looking black bruise about the size of a football on her right bum cheek and near her right elbow. They subsequently placed caution signs after numerous people had fallen. Everyone was complaining about the slippery floors – not just us. The lounge chairs around the pool are a hazard. You will scratch you legs up on one of these if you don’t constantly look down as you are walking around the pool because the protective caps have fallen off the tubing of the frame. My wife and brother both got stung by these loungers. The staff does not clean spills. So even if it isn’t raining, you still risk slipping and falling. We watched staff (and managers) walk over large spills on the floor on two occasions. No one attempted to clean it nor was anyone told to clean it. We witnessed a glass being broken on the grounds outside the piano bar. In the typical styling of their haphazard work ethic, there was a poor clean up job and we noticed a great deal of broken glass right on the main pathway coming out of the lobby where people (including children) are walking barefoot – it is a resort after all. The resort is six or so years old, but it looks to be 25 plus years. Black mold is all over exterior of buildings, cracked floor and wall tiles throughout the resort and in the rooms. The maintenance of the resort is poor. There are a lot of band aid repairs on underground pipes that are left exposed after the repair which create a trip hazard. Many trip hazards exist throughout the resort – especially the tiles when wet, please be careful. They know you can’t sue, so they are not motivated to have a safe environment. ACTIVITIES: There was a dance/theatre show every evening. We went to one. It was OK but hard to follow the plot of the story. Cubans are phenomenal dancers, that is for sure. There were bingo and salsa lessons around that main pool daily. It looked like it would be much fun if that is what you are into. They like everything loud. It doesn’t bother me, but I heard some complaints about the volume. TOURS: There were full day and half day tours to choose from. We heard from another guest that the full day tour is too long. WARNING: If you book a tour, they might arbitrarily cancel it on you without any notice. When we were waiting to leave on our half day tour of Moron, we overheard one of the staff telling guests that the catamaran tour was cancelled. When another guest asked which tour was cancelled, the staff member seemed confused and non-caring. Their canned response to everything seems to be “call your rep”. By the way, if you want to call your tour rep, be prepared to pay 2 peso’s per minute for the call. The conversion at the airport was $1.15 CDN per 1 convertible peso. They won’t let you use their phones – even if it is their fault. I don’t understand why they won’t let you use their phones to call the people that sold you their package. This is a very poor policy in my opinion. Once you take a tour of their city, you will understand why it is very hard to get the staff to understand your concerns because the resort, as bad as it is, is like a palace compared to their own life style at home as we learned through the tour. GENERAL ISSUES: We purchased the package as a 4 plus star rating, but noticed on a Nolitours brochure located right in their own lobby that it is rated as a 3 star (however, the Nolitours web site has it listed as a 3.5 star – rather ambiguous). A lot of people we talked to at the resort that were seasoned travelers said it was a 2.5 star or 3 star at best. As far as the star ratings go, I know it’s been said before, but I don’t agree that a 4 star in Cuba should be any different that a 4 star somewhere else. Economic status should not change the criteria for a rating. We asked Ivan, our Conquest rep to move us to the Tryp hotel in the hopes that we could salvage the rest of our vacation, but we were asked for an extra $180.00 and we weren’t willing to risk it. Imagine paying extra and getting the same thing or worse. Besides, we didn’t think it was worth extra money because the Tryp and Oasis Playa packages were close in price when we purchased this one. I think they were trying to capitalize on our misfortune. As with the lack of hot water and the poor air conditioning in my brother’s room, we just let it go. One thing I want to mention about Ivan, our Conquest rep is that he did show genuine concern when we explained our situation on the bus when traveling from the hotel to the airport as we were leaving. He suggested that we send Conquest an email outlining our experience. He indicated that he would eventually receive a copy of it and would be able to use it as ammunition during one of the Tuesday meetings with the hotel management. Thank you Ivan. We dealt with a woman by the name of Amy, who acted as a go between for the absent Conquest rep when we needed to get a hold of him to voice our concerns. I believe she works for Cubatur as she was wearing one of their yellow shirts, I’m not sure what her affiliation is with Conquest but she seemed to be able to get a hold of the rep. She has a very passive/aggressive style of customer service. Be prepared to be frustrated if you don’t like this type of treatment. When we complained about the food, she told us that she had the lunch that day and it wasn’t bad. Was she calling us liars or over reactors? All the while, holding her hands together and empathetically trying to show us that she is concerned when we knew that she was just trying to pacify us so we would go away and she could get on with her day. I was told that I should get a receipt for anything I purchased in Cuba (plus it’s not a bad idea to get a receipt for anything you buy – even if you plan to discard it, no one should refuse to give you a receipt for goods or services that you are paying for). So with this in mind, I asked the Cubatur tour guide whose name is Fidel, if I could get a copy of the receipt that I handed him for my tour (it’s the receipt I received from Amy when I purchased the tour from her). He refused. As this was six days into a seven day vacation in hell, I was visibly upset. Believe it or not, the tour guide gave me attitude throughout the half day tour of Moron. This made it a very uncomfortable trip. At one point I asked him where a garbage can was and he put up his hand and told me to wait. He wasn’t talking to anyone at the time. He then proceeded to talk to the rest of the crowd and ignored me. Now imagine that happening to you, how would you feel? Maybe I was setting myself up for disappointment, but when I returned to the hotel I asked Amy if I could have a receipt for the tour. She refused as well. She said it wasn’t their policy to give receipts. Another poor policy. She could have just scribbled something down on a scrap of paper or photocopied it just to pacify me, but no, she was just unwilling to try. I asked her if she ever feels bad always saying no to people and disappointing them and then I walked away. Maybe I shouldn’t have reacted that way, but when my brother approached her afterwards, she gave him the cold shoulder. Why would she take out her frustration with me on my brother? There was a group of managers that were served at the table in the lobby bar during their morning meeting while customers had to go to the bar to get their order for themselves. Their table was cleared before the patron’s tables. Not a good practice. As far as I’m concerned, in a restaurant/bar environment, patrons should be served while managers/employees should serve themselves. The water from the tap wouldn’t clean my eye glasses. They left a greasy film on them. I wouldn’t trust it to drink it. The medical care in Cuba is scary. When my wife fell on the slippery tiled concrete stairs, we used our own gauze from first aid kits we brought from home until it ran out. My wife went to the doctor’s office on the resort and the staff member offered her one single pre-packaged gauze bandage square. Aside from the fact that my wife felt like she was interrupting a social conversation between the staff member and her friend that was there, my wife was asked if she was leaving today. My wife felt that she would have been refused the bandage if she answered “yes”. Plus, the nurse didn’t even ask to see the wounds. She showed no concern at all. We also heard a review of their hospital from another guest that broke her collar bone during her visit. On her way to the hospital, they had to stop to pick up a semi-English speaking nurse to translate for the hospital. They x-rayed her with what looked to be an x-ray machine from 1960. The nurse apparently ran out of the room when the machine started up (due to radiation leakage, I guess). Then, they wheeled an UNCOVERED dead body past her while she was getting a full body cast for a broken collar bone. Don’t get hurt while in Cuba. I have heard of some complaints about the wild cows, horses and bulls that roam through the property, but we love animals and we thought it was very cool to see. We only saw them a couple times, so it’s not a huge issue. They really don’t bother anybody and are often chased away by staff – which we kind of feel bad about, but we understand that not everybody wants that. I think this resort really appeals to french Canadians. My guess is that approximately 80% to 90% of the guests were french speaking. Personally, I didn’t have a problem with that because we went with another couple, but if you are hoping to meet a lot of people and make some friends, you may have some difficulty if English is your only language. If after you read all the bad reviews and you choose to go anyways, try to go with the Nolitours Cameleon package. They get better treatment, VIP services and extra dedicated beach parties with served meals. Conquest Vacations didn’t offer anything extra. We only got to watch the Nolitours guests get better treatment because our balcony faced the beach bar where their private parties were held at night after it was closed. I had no idea of the considerable difference when ordering the vacation package through Sell Off Vacations, plus it wasn’t available for the dates we needed. Otherwise, I would have gone with Nolitours as the prices were almost the same. I wouldn’t expect things to change as long as travelers choose to ignore the warnings posted in these reviews and go anyways because of the attractive pricing and their willingness to compromise and overlook the inadequacies to save a few dollars. There is no motivation for them to improve their service if they are getting business. Near the end of the vacation, my brother expressed our concerns to Alfredo, the Director General. Within an hour, a bottle of rum was sent to each one of our rooms. Although we appreciate the gesture (thank you Alfredo), it wouldn’t erase what we had gone through. I will send a copy of this review to Conquest Vacations, Sell Off Vacations and the Hotel in the hopes that I will get some form of recompense for what we had to endure. I will post their response when I receive it so any potential clients can get a preview of how they stand behind their product. I hope it is favourable. In conclusion, it was a horrendous experience for our first time traveling – with the exception of the flight there and back. I understand that we didn’t spend a lot of money in comparison to higher end Caribbean vacation spots. However, I do believe we should be afforded the basic necessities such as reasonably descent food as well as a safe and clean environment regardless of what you spend. Sell Off Vacations sent an Auto Reply to my email stating that complaint inquiries require approx 4-6 weeks for a follow-up response. I will post more responses as they come in. Top of Page
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The arrival was very smooth, compared to the Santa Maria airport we've been to in 2005, this airport is very big, modern and clean and organized. The security check was quick. Note there's a bank at the other side of the hall (the departure terminal), which offers a slightly better exchange rate than the bank in resort. Rooms We were in 5010 when we arrived, it's an ocean view room, but it's on the first floor, and it's very damp. We asked to change a room and after 10 min talk with reception, they finally agreed. Then we moved to a room on the second floor in building 2, which is much better. The room is clean, TV is working fine, we watched CNN's live coverage when Bhutto was assassinated, which was such a tragedy. Restaurants The buffet restaurant was very good, relatively a lot of choices. I feel the best meal is the breakfast, which comes with fresh juice and yogurt. The Italian and Japanese a la carte restaurants were great, the sea food one was so-so, the shrimp was not fresh at all, and it was frozen shrimp. We spent Christmas eve at this resort and experience a wonderful Christmas dinner, a lot of lobsters and other sea food, much better than the sea food resaurant. Bars The piano bar in the lobby was my favorite. In the morning, you can drop by and have a cup of cappuccino; it's the best in the resort. During the day, you can ask for Banana Mama, which is also the best in the resort. The beach bar was good too, a lot of choices. Beach and Pools We rented a scooter and visited other 3 resorts, Melia Cayo Coco(4.5 star, 25 min drive), Sol Club Cayo Coco(4 star, beside Melia) and Melia Cayo Guillermo(5 star, 40 min drive). Beach in Oasis Playa Coco is the second best among the 4(you have to walk a little bit far to the east end of the beach to see its real beauty, we found a lot of huge whelk there and star fish). The best one should be the one in Melia Cayo Guillermo. Activities Morning exercise in the morning, Salsa lesson in the afternoon beside the pool, wonderful show every night. Tours We tried the Media Luna Island tour, which was a wonderful experience! The pilar beach is very beautiful, it's stretched very long and view is gorgeous. The price was $49. Conclusion Service was good, people were nice, food was good, beach was awesome... the downside is although the resort is only 4 years old, the building looks old. But there's another resort being built immediately beside to it, that new one looks very beautiful, the waiter said people will be able to use the service interchangeably when the new one if finished. Top of Page
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I have just returned from my ninth visit to the Oasis Playa Coco. I normally travel alone but this time, I was fortunate enough to experience a week's vacation with my best friend. From the start, it was to be a girl's vacation enjoying all the things we do not have time for when we are home. Relaxing, reading, suntanning. Before I go on with the review, I must point something out. The star rating system is different from one country to another. Having had the opportunity to travel a lot in my life, I can tell you that a five star hotel in the United States is different from a five star in Israel. Consequently, I am always surprised to hear people complaining and comparing one country to another. And a point that irritates me is the people complaining about customs. We are requesting entry to a country that is not ours. Please learn to respect that. Complaints about dogs and guns in the airport. I don't know where they live but we have that in Montréal. Another thing is the difference in the culture. I am a business woman, hence I deal with several cultures on a daily basis. I cannot start the review of the hotel without expressing the respect I have for the Cuban people. They are strong willed, educated, courteous and respectful. They are welcoming, smilling and gracious. Now, for those of you lucky enough to visit this hotel. You will land at Jardines del Rey airport, a nice, clean structure where you will exit the airplane right on the tarmac. A short walking distance from the airplane to the customs. At this time, you will notice guards with guns and dogs. Once you clear the customs, you might be surprised to have to go through the same security used at your point of entry. Another short walking distance to get your luggage and on the bus you go. Fifteen minutes later, you will get your first glance at the hotel. The hotel is on its own (a new one is being built next door and I assure you you can barely hear the construction going on. The lobby is beautiful, the reception warm and they even take the trouble to serve you drinks when you arrive. Some people complain that there is no alcohol is those drinks. It is the precise time where I started having the time of my life about the tourists reactions. Normally, I spend my week with my nose in my books as I travel to relax. This time, as I was with a friend, I viewed things from a different perspective, seing the hotel throught her eyes as if it was my first visit. The reason they do not put alcohol in the drinks is they have no idea who is an adult and who is not. They start serving alcohol only when they can view the color on your bracelet. There are nine buildings, 306 rooms, eighteen suites and a Master suite. We had the occasion to spend a night in the master suite (two bedrooms with ensuite bathrooms, living room, dining room) but were moved to different location because hurricane Dean was threating Cuba. We were moved for safety reasons to rooms 9301 (a suite) and room 9302. Both rooms were lovely and the maid kept both rooms in prestine condition all week. One day, my friend put 5 pesos on the bed but she did not take it. The next day, she put 10 as felt bad that she had not taken it the day before. We litterally had to chase the maid to give her the money has she did not think it was for her. Building 6 is closed at the moment as they are completely renovating it. Building 7 has already been completed and there is only the painting to be done. They will be ready for the peak season. The beach is simply wonderful, being protected by a coral reaf, the waves are small and children can play in the sand in total safety. The resort is family oriented with a kid's club and animation for kids. You see couples with children, couples but rarely single people. Those of us who decide to come to this resort a singles obtain peace and quiet with no fear of being hit on by tourists looking for entertainment. The hotel offers well equiped gym, soccer field, and tennis courts. They offer wedding services. A beauty parlor and massage facilities. I have had the occasion to see wedding there and it is simply beautiful. There is a doctor on site and all is put in place to respond rapidly in case of an emergency. This week, I unfortunately had the occasion to experience it myself. At the Italian restaurant, I picked food of my friend's plate and the food contained onions, as I have a lethal allergy to it, my throat started to swell and I got up discreetly to administer epinephrine in the bathroom next door. Leaving the bathroom maybe a minute later, I had two hotel management staff by my side. Speaking about restaurants, they offer three à la carte (Italian, Japanese and Seafood) a beach restaurant, a 24 hours restaurant and the buffet. The service is excellent in all the restaurants. But again, if you treat people with respect, you general obtain respect in return. As for the food, it is simply wonderful. Do keep in mind that the animals are different and are fed differently. Just take for example the New Zealand lamb and Québec's lamb, both are fed with grass but the grass is different from one country to another and as a result, they do not taste alike. Another example, I am unable to eat an egg in Cuba. Does it mean the food is bad ? No, it simply means that I do not like the taste of a Cuban eggs. This week I have seen rabbit, turkey, steaks, shrimps, sausages... bottom line, there is tons of food to select from. The bread is great and the ice cream, to die for. Flambé bananas were a big hit with my friend. But truthfully, I can understand that we are being drawn by food closer to our culture and some may be dissapointed. They cater to many cultures in this hotel and they try to accomodate everyone. From memory, last week, I counted nine different cultures represented (only from the people I spoke to), imagine how many cultures were actually represented. Yes, one night, I was taken aback when I saw blood sausage in the buffet, but the French and English enjoy it. Out of respect to them, the cooks offered this delicacy. Bottom line, if you want a hotel where the rooms are large and confortable, where the grounds are well kept, the staff courteous and respectful, if you are looking to escape the hustle and bustle of everyday life with a great beach to boast, welcome to Oasis Playa Coco. Look for me I may be reading a book at the bar.Top of Page
I just came back from Playa Coco July 2 as a sole traveller, and ironically I stayed in 5106, the same room the lady from UK stayed.. I seen no mold on the cushions, my linenes were changed when I asked for them to be changed (I don’t expect them to be changed everyday) and the room was cleaned everyday. My maid was very considerate and very nice. I did have a tiny little sand crab that came in through the door when it was open while the maid cleaned, but I got it out myself, no bid deal, you kind of expect stuff like that to happen while the doors are open… as for mosqitoes… I had none in my room, they were bad outside at nightfall, but they do recommend you bring bug repellent, and I am from Canada so I am use to mosiqitoes, people you are in a humid climate, why would you think there would be no mosqitoes? The staff are excellent there, if you are going there make sure you find Cesar at the buffet or 24 hour snack bar, Malena in the lobby bar, Malaty serving you drinks during the show in the evening and Ray one of the animators there… they all made my stay there welcome, relaxing and very enjoyable. Food was ok, Japanese resturant was the best!!! Recommend you rent a moped and take a drive to all the playa’s on the island… Playa Prohibita is very beautiful and it is on the way to the “Cave” which is a must if you love to dance. I love Cayo Coco so much I am going back in November and taking some friends with me, and staying at the same resort and hopefully staying in the same room too! Your vacation is what you make of it…. Definitely not a 2 star resort!Top of Page
I have recently returned from the Hotel Playa Coco which at the time of booking wasnt made aware that the hotels were built on and surrounded by swamps, and the mosquitos visited in their millions on a daily basis. On arrival at the hotel myself and my husband were given the key card to room 5106 when entering the room we were disgusted to find mould on the cushions of the chairs/settee (photo included), dirty bed linen (which we hadn’t even slept in), and mould all over the walls of the room. My husband went to complain at reception and someone came and changed 2 of the 5 cushions but couldn’t change the others. We complained again to which nothing was done regarding the walls, the bed linen was changed the following day, no offer of a room change was offered by the hotel. During the first week of our “so called” holiday during dinner we were given a questionnaire to complete regarding our thoughts on the hotel to which I wrote all about our disgusting 2* standard room, and finally on the following Thursday (31st May, our wedding anniversary) the housekeeper came in and wiped one of the walls down with a cloth. Myself and my husband were absolutely disgusted in how we felt the hotel had been rated as a 4* plus. Needless to say I spent most of the holiday in tears and totally distraught not only for myself but for my parents whom this was their first ever Caribbean holiday. I wanted to go home after 3 days and was told it would cost another £300.00 p.p to get a flight back to the UK, to which after paying for the holiday I couldn’t afford another £1,200 for us to travel home. I simply cannot understand how this hotel was rated as a 4* plus when it is only of a 2* standard???. During the holiday I took pictures of all the mould and of the playroom with a hole in the ceiling and rubble all over the floors where children we being allowed to play. Combined with all of the above the housekeeper had to spray our room daily with mosquito repellent due to having a 3” gap at the bottom of the door whereby a crab, lizards and hundreds of mosquitoes entered, causing me to visit the onsite doctor on 3 occasions for treatment. We also found the hotel not to be equipped for rain, as all floors were tiled causing people to continually slip when wet. The reception area let in water and there was nothing to do and nowhere to go during wet conditions. Whilst at the hotel almost everyone we spoke to wanted desperately to leave the hotel and no-one considered the hotel to be of a 4* plus standard. During the flight home I completed the Thomas Cook questionnaire, where I aired my concerns regarding the holiday and hotel once again. Bearing in mind that this holiday cost me £3,480 for 4 adults, and I have sent the holiday company all the photos of the room etc accompanying my letter of disappointment. I was mortified and will never ever ever be setting foot in the Cayo Islands again. Top of Page
The Oasis Playa Coco is a great resort, it is not overly large, and not very small either. The accommodations are 8 bungalows of 45 rooms or so each as well as a large master suite. We were lucky enough to stay in a suite, room 4201, which was in a remote area and nothing could be heard.
The suite had two rooms; one had a kitchenette, a dinette table, as well as a living room area with a tv and a small powder room. The bedroom had a giant king size bed, with a television and a cd player. We had a large mirrored closet with a safe and ironing boards, as well as a double sink. The master bathroom had a toilet, a bidet as well as a Jacuzzi bath (it did not work). We had a walk-out balcony from both the bedroom as well as the living area. We had a good view of the ocean. We were lucky enough to have this room. I had sent an email earlier to the resort asking for a room that was remote. I did not expect to get anything as such in return.
The weather was atrocious as were the mosquitoes. However, the entertainment staff and bar staff tried to ensure everyone had an amazing time none the less. It rained every day we were there at one time or another. We were rarely bored as there was always something to do. The beach was lovely, however the ocean had a bit of rocks going in, so we only went in briefly. As this is a remote resort, it is closure to Cayo Guillermo and removed from the main strip of Cayo Coco there is miles and miles of beach. We did try walking down further one day hoping to find a quiet location for the two of us but we were swarmed by mosquitoes, and had to run back trying to avoid bites.
The pool is on the smaller side and there are two that are connected by a foot bridge. The bigger pool is about 1.5 m deep which is a good depth. The smaller one is about .45 around, and this is where the swim-up bar is, in my mind, it is in the wrong location as it ends up being filled with children. Very rarely did we see adults getting a drink there. However, on the other side, there is a bar where people would go and load up on drinks. The pool was quiet at most times; we were always able to find a seat with some shade. We ate at all three a la cartes as well as the beach bar and the buffet. Wednesday was sea food night at the buffet, it is worth a try. The Japanese restaurant was our favourite a la carte. We were quite entertained by the chef. The food did not end either. The Italian, was quite romantic and drawn out. The Seafood was good and you did not have to pay for lobster tail. The a la cartes book up fast. We were given a choice of all three restaurants once a week. Reservations can be made at the PR desk from 10 am to 12 pm daily. The waiter at the beach bar did an amazing job serving everyone. There you could enjoy pizzas, hamburgers and hot dogs with fries.
The lobby/piano bar was by far our favourite. The Service impeccable and pleasant and the Bahamas Mama's were amazing. We spent quite a bit of time here as it rained considerably. The shows were also held indoors in the lobby when it rained. The Disco Coco was closed the entire time we were there. We did enjoy the game room one night; it had bowling, a table soccer, table tennis and pool table area. As well as a few tables for chess. The internet café had two computers and a little library.
The store was not the greatest place for souvenirs; rather the markets were a lot better. They were there on Monday, Wednesday and Friday. We did make a trip to Tryp Cayo Coco for more souvenirs, they had several shops where we could purchase the goods we were looking for. Excursions: Kudos to Oasis Playa Coco for making our vacation quite memorable. Top of Page
Upon arrival to the Oasis Playa Coco Resort, there were 7 of us, we were slightly disappointed. We had never been to Cuba, but we had been to Punta Cana and the differences were quite apparent. Although check in was quick and without problem, we did have to pass by a very large cockroach, live cockroach, which a guest was playing with on the floor in the main lobby. We did a little nervous giggle, and carried on to our rooms. We were given 4 rooms on the 2nd floor of the 5th building which gave us beautiful oceanviews. Apparently we were upgraded to the ocenview rooms at no cost because they did not have any other rooms to put us in. That was great news. The safe in the rooms worked great, the AC was good in 3 out of 4 rooms and there was an iron and ironing board, which I appreciated more than my husband. The rooms were large and so was the bathroom and tub. The tub did have some mold and we did have ants, tiny little ants, in the bathroom. When we called the desk about the ants they sent in a man with a large monkey wrench! We simply laughed and I sprayed the little critters with hairspray and that was the end of them for that night. We never saw anymore roaches but on the second day we were there they were fumigating at least twice a day due to the mosquitos. I can't imagine how badly we would have been bitten if not for the fumigations. Hopefully it was not toxic to humans because it was huge foggy clouds of "stuff" that smelled really alot like desel. In any event, the roaches were out of sight, at least to us. The mini fridge had 2 cans of "cola" and 1 bottle of water and that was it for the entire week. We had to buy our water at the store or have it refilled at the bar daily at no charge. At first we were extremely upset by this, but then we decided to go along to get along. I do think we should have been given water everyday! That still bothers me, but apparently it is normal in Cuban resorts?! The bedding was clean, the tv worked well, the shower could have been hotter with stronger pressure, but the staff made up for any of these little annoyances. We simply had to remember where we were, that we were there for a good time, not a long time, and everything was worth the trip. Our first morning at breakfast we sat together and our waiter, Ernesto, was great. We had more fresh orange juice than we could drink, smiles and cappachino or coffee/tea which he was very careful to make sure was just to our liking or he would bring another. When we returned for lunch, Ernesto saw me seeking a table and said "excuse me, this is your table, I reserve for all of you". For the entire week, we sat at that table and we actually felt bad when we had reservations to dine at the Japanese Restaurant. ( The food there was good as well). Our waitress, Usemelba, was adorable, intelligent & funny; and then there was Cesar, another waiter that would love to take pictures of us and himself with our cameras. How wonderful they were. Everyday we went into the restaurant our "reserved" table would be waiting for us with fresh flowers and fancy carved fruit. On our third day we were met at the resort by 2 family members from Barrie, Ont., and they were welcomed to our table with open arms by the service staff. On our last day Ernesto gave all 5 girls 1 dozen roses which were carefully wrapped and we all brought them home to dry and press for our memoirs. We will miss them most. The cleaning ladies did not dust anything, but our bedding was clean, the bathrooms were cleaned and they always left us fancy folded towels and fresh flowers as well. We would say good morning, or how are you today, and they would really appreciate the fact that we would acknowledge them. We would leave little gifts on our pillows for them, nothing big, crayons and sticker books for their children, soap, toothpaste, nailpolish, lipstick, that sort of thing, and they would always smile and say thanks in their own way. It does not take alot of time or effort to be kind to someone that works so hard for such tiny little gifts. How I wish I could have given more. The beach was rocky in front of the resort, but as a previous writer said, go a little to the right and it was clear and sandy. You could walk for miles on the beach and never run into another resort. You could walk the sand bar for an hour or longer and it was just beautiful. Great for the vacationers that want to spend some time alone There were beautiful fish which we would feed bread and bananas to, and it made for good snorkeling. The water was warm with the exception of 1 day out of 7. The pools could have been cleaner, the hot tub was nice, but also, could have had the sand removed. The resort is rated a 4 plus, a stretch for sure, but some of the staff definetly made it a 5 star in our books. If we did return to Cuba, I would probably go back to this resort because to me the people make the place, not necessarily the "fancy" digs. Top of Page
My family just got back February 13 from a wonderful week at this resort. Before leaving I was reading the reviews and became very scared and had many second thoughts about going. My oldest daughter convinced me to stop reading the reviews as they were more then likely from people who had nothing better to do or were just constant complainers and expected everything for nothing. Wow what a smart girl, she was very right. We arrived at this resort in the evening of Feb. 6 with a large crowd as we were all going for a wedding. We were greeted with juice and check in was very smooth. We had no problem finding our room and our luggage arrived approx. 1/2 hour later. Although it is the custom there to tip and tips are very much appreciated we never felt any pressure to tip. All the staff was very friendly and always eager to please. Our rooms were very spacious and very clean. Down on the beach Felix and Elvis were always there to lend a helping hand with a lounger or set you up with paddle boats or kayaks. If you wanted to go to the Cave disco, these were the two men to talk to. The food in the beach bar was fabulous and always served with a smile. Our favorite waiter there was Armando. The piano bar always has some excitement going on and Embarto and Young keep things lively. The food was great and there was always something there to suite anyone no matter how picky an eater you are. There was construction of the new resort going on next door but was never overpowering of distractive. In the late hours of the night, cows and horses could be seen roaming the resort but were never invasive or a threat. It was actually pretty neat to see. I've come to the conclusion that the reviews written by the complainers are more then likely people who think of themselves as royalty and have expectations beyond realization. This was a wonderful week and sad to see come to an end. Top of Page
We just returned yesterday from this resort in Cayo Coco Cuba. Had a great time!! Flew via Sunwing out of Toronto and everything was on time with no hassle or wait time. The flight was great with food and beverage provided and we arrived in Cuba on time and transported on time to the hotel. Check in was smooth and the room (building 5) was clean and neat and provided an ocean view with a king bed as requested in our on line booking. The beach is fabulous with white sand that stretches for miles in each direction. Going right of the resort was the best. In front of the hotel the beach is a bit rocky but the sand is a short walk out and there is a small shoal where you can feed the fish. The food in the buffet and the al a carte restaurants was good as well as the beach bar and 24 hour bar/restaurant. In all the service was EXCELLENT and we enjoyed a quiet and relaxing time with good weather 6 of the 7 days there. The piano bar in the main lobby is also open 24 hours a day and provides good entertainment. We got to know one of the trainee bar tenders who treated us as special friends. Tipping is very much appreciated by the staff at this resort. There is a new hotel under construction next door which we understand is scheduled to open in Dec 2007. There was little activity while we where there and no disruption to our holiday. While rated 4+ stars, it might be slightly less but still very enjoyable. Don't go if all you want to do is shop but if you want to have a quiet relaxing holiday this is the place. The flight home was also on time, no delays and clearing immigration both in Cuba and in Toronto was smooth, easy and fast (even getting our luggage!) We would recommend this resort and the tour company (Sunwing) to anyone. Top of Page
My wife and I just returned from Oasis Playa Coco on January 27, 2007. We would like to warn people that this place is a "3 star" only resort, NOT a "4 plus" like they advertise. There were 6 of us together and we had visitted different resorts in Cuba in the past, altogether 10 times, so we can compare. We were very disappointed. We paid for a "4 plus" rate. The room overlooked the construction site next door. It was loud and unattractive. The room had furniture that was falling apart. It took us 3 days to get our shower head fixed. It took 4 days to get an iron and ironing board. There were no clocks in the rooms. The bar fridge in our room was never stocked like they advertised. What's the use of having a bar fridge if they will not stock it. We asked for bottled water but were told we had to pay for it at the resort store. We were given 1 bottle at the start and that would be it. The beds were hard as rock including the pillows. I watched roaches running around at night near my bed and in the bathroom. We were itching all night from the bugs living in our mattress or bed sheets. They advertised 2 Hot tubs. One was empty and the other was the same temperature as the pool the entire week. They advertised free non-motorized water equipment. They charged us $10 per person for a catamaran and they never had snorkeling equipment available. The Seafood Specialty restaurant served the same food as the Buffet. We asked for Lobster and were told we had to pay extra. They advertised 3 computers for internet use and only 1 was operational the entire week. So there was a line-up. We spoke with our Sunwing Rep. He stated that he spoke with the managers who would meet with us. They made us wait 1 hour for them then sent the Sunwing Rep back to tell us they could not meet with us. Well we made the best of the week and enjoyed the beautiful sea and sand. Just a reminder, make sure you get a "4 plus" when you pay the "4 plus" rate. I hope all you travellers think twice about this place until they improve it to a true "4 plus" rating. Top of Page
Just returned from the Playa Coco resort on Cayo Coco. This is our ninth trip to Cuba, all on the North coast and all in the 4-5 star range. Considering how new this resort is (3 years in February) it was not built to last. A number of deficiencies surfaced very quickly. Lack of hot showers for most of the week, air conditioning was weak until I complained, shower handle fell off every time you tried to take a shower, mold on tiles and grout, ants in the room, had to fix the screen door myself to make it work, had to ask for shampoo and no facecloths ever. The staff was friendly and usually very helpful in all locations on the resort. Good pool and swim up bar area. The lounge chairs were beat up as were the umbrellas poolside. The buffet was acceptable and the restaurants served up a good meal as well. Due to bad weather a lot of the entertainment moved to the main reception area indoors. This created an impossible situation for a conversation because of the noise levels. Will not be returning to this resort. Top of Page
Was pleasantly surprised and totally impressed with this resort after reading all the bad reviews!! Was incredibly worried about all the negative reviews but oh my god – you people should definitely not travel – you should stay home. We had a credit that had to be used up with Sunwing and basically had no choice on where we really wanted to go but am very glad we had the experience of Playa Coco – we met lots of special staff members who we will hopefully visit again. I love the location of this hotel as it is the only hotel around – if you don’t like being remote from other hotels, do not go here. It is located between Cayo Coco and Cayo Guillermo. The food was some of the best I’ve ever had at a resort. The buffet was great as were all of the a la carte restaurants. We went to the Japanese, Seafood (which also serves meat dishes not only seafood) and the Italian. The service we had from everyone was incredible at all restaurants including the buffet. You can go to the a la carte restaurants one time each per week. The staff were all very friendly whether they were a gardener, maid, bartender or waiter or front desk or whatever. It is a complete disgrace how some “clients” treat the staff – no manners, bark their orders to them like they should be their slave. It is totally embarrassing to see the behaviour of some people and I would assume, these are the types of people that have given this hotel a bad rap. I made sure I had caps or teeshirts to give away to the gardeners as they never get anything and they were absolutely thrilled. All the people make about 12-15 pesos per month so even one peso tip once in a while is a great help. We did tip and were appauled at the amont of people who don’t even leave one peso at an a la carte restaurant after getting a top notch meal and great service – it really is an embarrassment. All it takes people, is a smile and a hello or good morning from you to the staff – there is no need to be rude and demanding. If the bars are busy, and you have to wait a few minutes for a drink, so what – where are you going? Do you have to be back at the office in 10 minutes – NO, so relax and enjoy. Yes, there are sometimes little tiny ants in the bathroom sink but I have never been to any resort in the caribean that hasn’t had these. I must say, however, I have been to properties that have been more lush but this property did still have some very pretty areas also. Some of the trees definitely have not grown as well as they should have. The land does seem to stay wet and doesn’t drain well which would probably account for this. Once I get my pictures on the web, you can email me and I will send them to you and you will see it is definitely not like what people describe. What are you there for? Sun, beach, food, booze or very large palm trees? The beach is absolutely gorgeous. You can walk for miles and miles either side and not see a person. It is beautiful not having any other resort that you can see anywhere. The water is so clear. Our weather was great – a few sprinkles but nothing that lasted more than a minute than the sun was back out. It rained a couple of times in the middle of the night but that was no problem. The pools were very nice. The pool with all the action had a swim up bar and then there was the quiet “children’s” pool that never had anyone at it. People complained about having toads around or seeing lizards or even horses. Seeing these things make the experience of being away real. One night waking back to our room at 3:00 am we saw 3 bulls on the property – at first we thought we had had too much too drink but no they were really there – it was wonderful!! All the animals from nature are protected so they may wonder onto the property – no problem. I thought it was a fantastic perk to see wild animals so close. Some people were very angry that they saw toads and crabs all over the property – I could have strangled these people. I wish these types of people would stay home and not put a damper on the staff’s work day or us “normal” people’s holiday. Our room was huge with a sitting area and king bed, beautiful washroom, overlooking the ocean. We had block 5 on the second floor. Each building is 3 story’s high and I would request either 2nd or 3rd floor. We traveled with Sunwing and the flight was good – brand new planes with leather seats. We had to stop in Veradero to pick people up on the way to Cayo Coco but wasn’t much of a problem as we got off the plane and got a beer and changed money. The rate was better at the Veradero airport than it was at our hotel bank. We rented a jeep for 3 days which was fantastic. It is unfortunate that most people just stay at the resort and never know or get a feel for what the real cuba is like. We went to see friends we met at the Sol Cayo Guillermo 2 years ago – they were all still working there. We went to Pillar beach which again was incredible to see. We went to a National Park called Baga which is a 5 minute drive to the hotel. We also drove to the island of Santa Maria where we have been 3 times in the last year to visit friends that work there. It was an incredible drive through the towns, countryside and mountains – it took 3 hrs 45 minutes one way to get there but it was worth it. The drive through all the different towns is almost unexplainable – no traffic except for horse buggies, bikes, pigs in middle of road, etc. – what an experience. We also drove to Lake Redondo and got a speed boat ride thru the mangroves and then we went on to Moron. If you get a jeep for one day it is $55.00 with 100 klms. If you get a jeep for 3 days it is $166.00 with unlimited mileage. We ended up driving over 750 klms in 3 days so it was a fantastic deal for us. This property through hola sun was on sale for $379.00 for a week and some people that got that deal had the nerve to complain. Well, how much would it cost to get a hotel room in “Toronto” for the week and drink unlimited drinks 24 hrs a day if you wish and eat 3 meals plus per day. The sunwing deal was $599.00 at the same time as the Hola Sun deal. The lobby bar (piano bar) is open 24 hours. There is beach restaurant for lunch which is open til 4. The quiet pool bar is open til 5 as is the pool/swim up bar. There is another burger/sandwich place where you can get food and drinks until 11:00 pm each nite. There are very many trips you can take if you wish. I definitely would recommend getting a jeep and doing some touring. There is also a hop on hop off bus you can get everyday from the front of the hotel (they have schedules available) and it is 5 pesos return – you can go to any of the properties in cayo coco or cayo Guillermo and check them out. If you have any questions, please email me at wnorman@utm.utoronto.ca Top of Page
Well I am so shocked and disappointed by some of the reviews written on here. I have just come back from spending 2 weeks at this resort with 2 of my friends. Ages ranging from 23 - 26 all of us female. We usually go for the clubbing type of holiday but thought we would treat ourselves to a bit of luxury. After seeing the hotel in the brochure we couldn't wait for our holiday. Firstly our flight was delayed. The delay totalled 14 hours and half a day of our holiday was lost. We didn't complain there's nothing that can be done if there are technical faults with the plane. We arrived at Cayo Coco in the early hours of Monday morning yes immigration check your passport and look at you, but at the end of the day they have got a job to do I'd rather they look at me and complete the relevant checks than just let anyone into the country. It didn't take that long either and also the luggage came off fairly quickly. ( Much quicker than on our return to Gatwick!) We arrived at the hotel and told to check in that the bus driver and bell boys would take our cases off the bus. We were given a fruit juice as we checked in which was refreshing after being on a plane for 9 hours. We got our room keys and went to get our suitcases. We had been told on the bus by Avril that we could either take our own luggage or the bell boys would deliver it for us. We decided as we didn't have any pesos we would take our own suitcases as we weren't able to tip them. We explained this to Avril and she spoke to the men who said that they wouldn't require a tip. Still we took our own cases. Later we learnt that it had taken some people an hour to get their cases so if you do ask the bell boys bear this in mind. But what's the rush your on holidays. It had been raining before we arrived and the paths were a little bit flooded along with the grass. There are lights along the path but they didn't all seem to be working (They were all being fixed before we left though) The room numbers are on the walls at the entrance of each block. You could ask at reception what colour your block is before leaving as this may make it easier for you to find. We were in block 6 which is behind the 24 hour bar but we got a little bit lost finding it! We had a quick tour of the grounds while trying to find the block! All good fun though! Each morning we would go for breakfast by 9am there was always plenty of food but don't expect to eat what you would normally eat here. There's always the option of fresh fruit. The man cooking omelettes always had a big queue and so did the pancake man (and they were delicious, he'd make then in heart shapes for us!) If you want an umbrella down at the beach you have to be down fairly early. We would go down before breakfast and put our towels down first. They have people on the beach who get you a sunbed and dust it down for you. Felix used to get ours everyday and knew where we wanted to sit. They do accept a tip but hey what's a peso for a sunbed when we earn an awful lot more than they do. For lunch we used to go to the beach bar as they have a menu. Ok its the same food on the menu every day but the service is great. The bar staff are so happy and friendly and end up dancing infornt of the bar for you. Nothing is too much trouble for them. We used to eat around 8.30pm every evening there was always plenty of food (except ham off the bone which went really quickly) You had the typical cuban food then a man cooking meat and fish. There was also another one cooking pasta. There were separate pans for the 2 different sauces. The waiting staff were quite quick, very friendly and watched when our glasses were running empty then would ask if we wanted a refill. The Japanese restaurant was superb and definitely worth a visit too. The Italian was nice aswell. We didn't try the seafood as the other girls didn't like fish but we were later told they don't only do fish. The piano bar is always busy if you can't find a seat there you can usually get one in the reception area. The first night there was one member of staff on but after that there were about 3 or 4. None of us had any problems being served by the bar staff and they were friendly enough. There is no air conditioning in either the bar or the lobby just fans so it can be quite humid. We tended to sit by the windows and there was a lovely breeze. The games room has got air conditioning though. Check out the water feature in the lobby it was great. Our rooms were lovely and spacious and always cleaned well by the maids. We always had a something made from our towels we used to enjoy going back to see what they had made us. The brochure does say your fridge is stocked with water and soft drinks and can be stocked with other things on request. They leave you a bottle of water every day when they clean your room. The air conditioning worked brilliantly and we often had to turn it down to med/low in the nights as it got too cold with it on. They were doing alot of work to the grounds while we were there. Re planting new palm trees and shrubs and generally keeping it looking nice. Yes there are frogs and hermit crabs but your in the Caribbean not far from a nature reserve and mangroves and the sea what do you expect. They do no harm to you. Invest in some strong insect repellents as they do like to nibble. The hotel do stock one and that seemed quite good. The grounds were clean there was always someone going around emptying bins and even collecting the seaweed fro the beach. The only thing I will say is the brits that just flick their fag butts in the sand should be ashamed of themselves. The beach was gorgeous and if you go to the left or right of the main part of the beach its like you are on a deserted island as not many people go to the sides. The sea is gorgeous take some bread in with you and you can feed the fish! It was great fun! Throughout the holiday we found everyone to be very friendly and pleasant and not once did we feel intimidated. While we were there we decided to try the catamaran trip which was great (again take bread to feed the fish as you go snorkelling) Sunset cruise, speed boats (they were fantastic we were Charlies angels for the afternoon). We tried salsa dancing (don't believe Felix when he says he can't dance!) The reps were both great Felix is from Cuba and he was very friendly and more than willing to help you. During the welcome meeting we were told about the cave club which is lit with fairy lights Its in Moron which is where alot of the hotel staff live and its a local club. Its not an official Thomas Cook trip but if you fancy a night out in a cave you need to speak to Felix or Elvis on the beach who arrange the trips on a Wednesday. It costs 10 pesos for a return bus and 10 pesos entry but you do get either free beer or rum. Its well worth a look and the guys are great hosts. All in all we thoroughly enjoyed our 2 week holiday in playa coco. We had a brilliant time and the weather was great. To all the people who complained about the wildlife I suggest you try holidaying in this country or perhaps the moon! Top of Page
Aug 24th 2006 - -2nd September 2006 Anymore questions e-mail me Kysey15@aol.com Top of Page
Having just read the latest entry by Tina from the UK , I feel like I must write in .. where was this person ? Obviously not in the same hotel I was. I also just returned from Playa Coco ( Aug 25-sept 1st) and either I am blind , deaf and dumb..because I can not disagree more with the last review. The hotel is fine, rooms clean, and staff very friendly. The beach is nice, white sand , water clear blue and warm. Food is fine and drinks are plentiful. Have you ever considered that if the staff if unfriendly to you, maybe it is because you are unfriendly to them ? I never once felt pressured to tip, and was always served quickly, whether it be at the bars, snack bar or restaurants. If the lawn sometimes had straws or cups on it, it is uncivilized tourists who can not move their butts 2 feet to throw away their trash in a bin ( and there are plenty around ). The cleaning staff worked around the clock to pick up trash, mop floors, clean tables ect. I witnessed one lady cleaning the lobby floor every night at 3h00am. And I beg to differ that there were no flowers, there were tons.. and yes, the palm trees are young, but so what ??? The rooms are big, cleaned daily and nicely decorated. So what if your mini fridge is not restocked every day or there is no ice.. hello…. There are bars everywhere , including two 24 hour ones, where one can get whatever you please. Yes.. the rooms are a bit humid.. YOU ARE IN CUBA.. NOT THE NORTH POLE… Come on people… The food was fine.. so maybe not everything appeals to everyone all the time.. but YOU ARE IN CUBA.. if you want fancy food, go to Paris. Not once did anyone go hungry ( hello.. 24 hour snack bar serving hamburgers and fries.. ) and might I add that the 3 restaurants ( especially the Japanese ) were excellent. The shows were fine, and so what if they are a little predictable.. if you want to see the Cirque du Soleil GO TO LAS VEGAS. I am so fed up with ridiculous tourists who should simply stay home if all they want to do on vacation is complain. I for one, have travelled around the world, and yes, things are not like at home.. but that is the whole point is it not ? I expect to have a clean bed and room to sleep in, decent food to eat, sun , beach and a pool. Which is what I got. I personally do not go on vacation to nit pick every single detail. RELAX PEOPLE. I am saddened by the fact that others will read the bad reviews and choose another hotel.. yes of course , others will be better, and others will be worse. Go with an open mind, you are on vacation, it will be what you make of it. Top of Page
Hello we have just returned from what we can only describe as a holiday from hell. We were so looking forward to our first visit to Cuba and even more excited that we were going to the Cayo’s. We had seen several reviews on here and other review sites about the Gaviota Playa Coco, but we decided to be open minded. We truly wish we had gone with our gut feeling.
Upon arrival in Cuba from the UK, we were greeted at Jardines del Rey airport by some very intimidating soldiers who seem to get great pleasure out of making us stand in the cubicle for what seemed like an eternity while they just stared back at forth at us and our passports for some 20 minutes. We then journeyed on our way the short distance to the GPC. On arrival we were greeted by dancers and musicians and handed a plastic cup which was supposed to contain fruit slush, but either it hadn’t had time to freeze or it had melted but either way it was watery and luke warm. Check-in was rather swift and we were given a map that we could make head nor tail of. We then ventured off to find our block, heading in every direction but the right one. As we walked around the resort we noticed how littered it was with bins overflowing and plastic cups and straws every where. We also noticed how worn and tired the resort looked considering it was only 2 years old. After some 15 minutes we found out block. The blocks are not numbered but painted in bright colours. There are 9 blocks each has 3 floors. We were in block 9 on the 3rd floor. On our way to the block we noticed lots of frogs on the footpaths and in the grass, as we entered our block we saw a young Canadian boy run into the block carrying a 2ft snake. This startled us somewhat to say the least. But we were tired and made our way to our room. As we entered the room it was as it was depicted in the brochure except the curtains were hanging on by 5 hooks at the most. There was an awful smell in the room which I can only describe as rotting cabbage. But the room was spacious and the view of the sea was amazing. The fridge was contained two cans of soft drink and a bottle of water. There was also a coffee maker in the room but the coffee was disgusting and there was no milk. The only thing that was restocked daily was the water. Also note there is no ice in the rooms. We then waited some 2 hours for the bell boy to bring our baggage. When they eventually arrived they were insistent that they carry the luggage up, so as to get their tip we presume. After getting our cases we decided to have a proper look around the resort. We headed for the beach as this was the main reason we go to the Caribbean. We love the crystal clear waters and white sands. On our way to the beach we noticed an awful lot of water around the grounds, the grass and plant beds were bogged out with water. Leading us to assume they had, had a heavy downpour of rain. We later learned it was nothing to do with rain but more to do with the poor drainage and the leaking blocks. We passed through the beach bar and restaurant on our way to the beach and were shocked to find a stray cat sitting in there. During our stay in became apparent that this cat was not so much a stray but more adopted by the hotel. I don’t know what we were expecting but when we saw the beach we were a little disappointed. The sand was very narrow, and the beach was very dirty with over flowing bins and rubbish strewed around. We then made our way to the main buffet and decided to sample the food. Again noticing the frogs along the way. We found the buffet and when went in there was no one there to greet you, it was more like a canteen than a buffet restaurant. It has two sections smoking and non smoking, but the only thing separating the two was the food island in the centre. There were no restroom facilities in the restaurant. We also noticed there were no fans or air conditioning. We sampled the food which wasn’t very appetizing and then heading back to our room to unpack. It had been a long day and we had been up some 20 hours. We traveled with our 11 year old daughter and took her 12 year old best friend with us. We had booked two rooms but the rooms were not interconnecting so they ended up sleeping in our room. The following morning we work early and headed off to breakfast. It was a gorgeous hot day and we were all anxious to work on our tans. The buffet was not busy as it was only 7:30am. There was bread of all descriptions in abundance as you entered but no butter. For the duration of our stay they frequently ran out of black tea and butter. There was a Panini press at the other corner which later broke and was replaced by a toaster which in turn broke after catching fire. There was a man making pancakes and waffles but only one of his pancake grills was worked. There was a omelets man, its best to watch this as often the egg is not cooked before they put it on your plate. Then on the food island you had the usual foods, cereal, yoghurt (which was very very sour) meats and cheese, salad and bacon, sausages, fruit and juices. Frequently they ran out of orange juice but continued to label up mango juice as orange juice. We usually opted for toast or pancakes as they were probably the most appetizing food for us. Its also fair to note that flies are in abundance in the restaurant and its not unusual to see the odd frog or two. We then left the buffet and headed to our welcome meeting, all the while taking everything in. We had been at the resort less than 24 hours and already I wanted to leave. It wasn’t the 4* AI resort that we had booked or paid for. It was more like a 2-3* and we were even more shocked to see that Gaviota have it advertised as a 4* plus above the reception. Our meeting was interesting and our rep from Thomas Cook told us that we might suffer from travellers tummy and that to consider very carefully before we went to the doctors as it would hurt both our bottoms by way of injection and our pockets by way of cost. We left the meeting and heading to the beach. We couldn’t wait to step into the turquoise waters which were breathtaking to view. The beach was fairly quiet and there were lots of beds available. We found a nice spot close to the beach and headed straight for the sea. One step into the water had us reeling. It was full of coral. When you waded your way past the coral it was lovely and came to waist level. There were plenty of fish to be seen and several jelly fish too. We went for a walk along the beach but headed back as there was a lot of swamps along the way and they didn’t smell too pleasant. Later in the afternoon we ate at the beach restaurant/bbq its wise to note that the food for the bbq is pre-cooked and re-heated when you order. The food in the restaurant is the same food everyday. After 5 hours at the beach we headed back to the room and for a shower. The we went for dinner in the main buffet. Again this is very similar by way of the same foods everyday. On entering you have the bread section, there is a dessert bar, where they man cooks flambé bananas, also a selection of cakes and ice creams. Then there is the fish stand where the chef cooks, shrimp, calamari, baby octopus and muscles. There is a man cooking chicken. Beef and pork, with peppers and onions if you chose to have them. Take note by 8pm they have usually run out of chicken and beef. The centre island usually has fruit, salad, cold meats, cheese and potatoes and ready cooked stews etc. there is a pizza, burger and fries area and there is also ready cooked fish, rice and chicken. To the far left of the restaurant there is a pasta man. Please note they think nothing of cooking all the sauces in the same pans, be in the carbonara or the tomato sauce. The restaurant is very dimly lit too. They are also a little slow at clearing the tables and bringing you drinks. After our meal we chose to go to the lobby bar before going to the show. I waited some 15 minutes or more at the bar. My husband came over to see why I was so long and I was surprised to find him being served immediately. It seems the Cubans see woman as a lower class to men. There were no fans or AC in the lobby area as it was open planned. It got very stuffy in there of an evening. We then went to watch the show. This was in an open air auditorium. Maybe this wasn’t such a good idea with all the mosquito’s that were around. We first watched the children’s bit and it seemed to be made up as it went along. The adults show was very predictable. Once you have seen one you have seen them all. The one thing about it was , that it was well choreographed. There was no audience participation at all throughout our stay. By the following morning I had already my mind up that I wanted to change hotels. We were told the resort was on a nature reserve but we weren’t told there was a mangrove swamp next door or two huge lakes either side. Nor were we told that a new hotel development was being built next door. Not that it gave us any bother other than being an eyesore. I went to see our rep who told us it would cost us £1200 to move to another 4* resort in Cayo Guillermo but she insisted the GPC was the best hotel by way of food , she also told us to bear in mind that Cuba was a communist country and didn’t have trade embargos so it was inevitable that things would run out. With all this in mind and a hefty transfer fee we decided to give it a fair go. By day 3 my husband had come down with diarrhea and severe stomach cramps, by day 4 both the children had too and then on day 5 I came down with it. Enough was enough he said and we then paid £650 to transfer hotels. This whole experience has put us off ever returning to Cuba. I saw a doctor at the other hotel and she gave me a full examination and then put me on a 5 day course of antibiotics and Imodium. After arriving at the new hotel we were approached by other guests who informed us they too had been transferred from the GPC but at Thomas Cooks expense. They had also been moved for the same reasons that we had initially complained out. Needless to say we are now liaising with the travel company for compensation. In total that week we learned that over 20 people had moved. We also met many people at the GPC who couldn’t afford to move and who too had become unwell. In brief http://www.imagestation.com/album/pictures.html?id=2102612158 please feel free to sign the guest book.
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