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.

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.

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.

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:
We took the speed boat adventure which took us into Cayo Guillermo, I think the ride is definitely worth it, but we chose not to go snorkeling, merely fed the fish from the dock site.

Deep Sea Fishing, this was a must for us, and we could not bear the cost alone, the representatives found another couple in a different resort who wanted to go as well. We paid 109CUC to fish as well as 15CUCs for me to sit and watch. It had an open bar. We did this excursion from Cayo Coco Marina, and seven fish were caught that day including three barracudas.

Colorful Cuba was quite colorful. We went into Moron. Visited a freshwater lake, an old sugar mill, took a steam whistle lunch had a beautiful Cuban lunch. After which we were taken into the city of Moron for a carriage ride and some shopping. We also went to the crocodile farm. Quite exciting. The city of Moron was a poor city, where people were coming up asking for gifts or money. No real souvenir shopping here. It was quite an experience I don't think I would do this again though.

All in all despite the rain and the mosquitoes I had an excellent time. We were completely relaxed and well taken care of. The staff often goes above and beyond and we were always satisfied with our service. Any vacation can be made better, so please don't complain about little things, you know what you are capable of, so bear in mind while you are on vacation it is not a free for all even if it is all- inclusive. You are a guest at someone else's country. Make friends with a bartender or two, and they will remember your drink of choice.

This is not a fully matured resort as the trees are still growing in, one day it will be extremely beautiful. A sister resort is being built right next door, one day you will be able to enjoy the amenities interchangeably.

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.

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 ab