Travel from Halifax via Westjet/Transat Holidays. Westjet left and arrived early both ways. Transat rep was a Canadian from Quebec who has been working in Cuba for several years and provides a great briefing and is readily available at hotel.

Holguin Airport
Airport is small but easy arrival, congested departure due to late arrival via bus to airport which put us there with another departure but still not too bad. We have tried the VIP departures at other locations. No need to do this here. Also great place to buy liquor on departure(cheaper). Nice louge to have a beer and sandwich while waiting.

Rooms
We stayed at 2 other Cuba sites(Cayo Coco and Varadero) both 4 & 41/2 stars. I note this is rated 3/12 on this site but 4 with our brochure info. In my opinion it is 4 stars in comparison. Drive to hotel was 1 hour but enjoyable as you get to see the rural living and beauty of countryside. We stayed at the Mares side 3rd and 4th floor oceanview rooms. Upon check-in during the line-up they hand out check-in cards to fill out and an employee puts on your all-inclusive bracelets. When you get to the counter (approx 10-15 mins) you hand them your hotel voucher and you are assigned your room. The couple we were with were not assigned their paid oceanview room but this was quickly rectified. The rooms are exactly as depicted in our brochure. (Both of the other two resorts we stayed at had slight bug issues in rooms and or bathrooms. Not all rooms but just enough to be annoying.) This place was spotless and no insects at all in the rooms. Part of the reason could be the overall cleanliness of the hotel but also could be because the other two resorts we had a villa and room apart from the main hotels. We had read another review about having to use your room magnetic cards to work the air and or electricity in your room. As suggested we left one of our cards in the slot all the time we were there. Ours was located just inside the right of the door entry. This is needed to work the air and some electricity. Bathrooms were large and modern with hairdryer etc. Lots of amenities and towels. Room has the best safe so far. You make up your own 4 digit code which was great. (No keys and very easy to use). Coffee machine. Rooms advertise mini-fridge. Not to be confused with mini-bar. Ours just had 2 litre bottle of water each day. Transat provided free bottle of rum(26oz) and small package of coffee. Balconies in room were nice and large with adequate chairs. Great to have coffee in the morning. We didn't turn the TV on this trip so I can't tell you about the programming but the other couple said it was OK. Maids were very friendly and efficient and although they don't get into as fancy stuff with towels(swans etc) they do appreciate any gifts etc.

Luna Side
The Luna is a separate hotel with separate check-in etc. If you like flowers, plants and nature walks the grounds have been developed with you in mind. Absolutely gorgeous. There are several walkways with lookouts over local rivers and places to sit and watch the pelicans and egrets. This is on the Luna side of the property so we didn't find it right away.

Food:
They advertised 2 buffet restaurants. Although both were open when we were there the Luna side was just open for breakfast but is slightly different from the Mares buffet and nice for a change. Our first night there they had a Beach Party Buffet for guests. (They set up tables on the beach and roast pig, beef and chicken.). They had entertainment and a great night out. Transat also sponsored a separate similar party while we were there and as well Transat books you 2 a la carte dinners to save you having to get in line to do so. For us we had Mexican and Italian. If you come with other couples as we did you just have to go back to the regular line and advise them and they put you together. No problems. There are snack bars at both beach ends(Luna and Mares). These serve as beach bars and snacks. At night they convert them to the a la carte themed restaurants. There is also snack food and bars around the pool which also is changed at night to a la carte. Both our restaurant experiences were good. The buffet restaurant is much the same as others. Good choice and personally I like to watch my food cooked in front on me which is a choice you have.

Beach:
Overall this was the best yet. Esmeralda Beach is very much like Varadero. You walk from sandy beach into sandy water. Long enough for nice walk and borders on Rio D'Oro Resort. We used the Luna side of beach not for any special reason but we found two palm trees right on the beach but there are more than enough cabanas here. No worry anytime of the day. Just a gorgeous beach. You can use catamarans free and also paddle boats canoes etc when the wind is down. Transat also leaves you two beach towels in your room. You can exchange them for fresh ones whenever you want on the beach(hut) and all you have to do is make sure there are two in your room when you leave.

Day Trips
We took the horse and buggy ride to Guardalavaca (1/2 hour each way). The driver drops you off at the flea market for 1 hour then picks you back up. This is where I would recommend you buy souvenirs. The market is set up for tourists and you will see people from other resorts there. The buggy drive is very enjoyable as well. They do have people set up in the hotel lobby to sell similar souvenirs but you will pay slightly more for them and not the choice. This trip cost $15 pesos total for both couples as the buggys hold 4 people.

We were at the Luna for two week in Oct. 2006 and again for two week April 2007 on the Luna side. It is smaller than the Mares and quieter. We enjoy the smaller, quieter side. If you want more action go to the Mares side with the swim-up bar.

Both sides have a nice pool and short walk to the beautiful beach.

For Cuba the food is good and there is always something for everyone to eat. Drinks are as strong as you want.

People are very helpful and friendly. If you are beach people you will love it. If you want more you need to drive into Holguin or take one of the tours. Roads are not that good in Cuba, so we always take a taxi if we want to go else where.

Just returned from 1 week at the SRLM---March 22-29. Travelled with Transat Vacations once again as we find them to be very good. We arrived in Holguin at aprox. 10:30 in the evening. Clearing Customs was fast and easy as there were no mistakes on our Tourist card. Make sure that you fill it out properly. After clearing Customs, we went to the Bank located on the left side of the Arrivals area to exchange our Cdn dollars for Cuc (convertible pesos). The rate of exchange was 75cuc for $100.00 and only slightly different at the hotel later on in the week. Having tasken care of this formality we gathered our luggage and exited the hall. Our travel Rep. was very easy to locate and he directed us to our bus. Vendors had beer for sale---1 beer/1.5 pesos. Needless to say pretty well everybody stocked up for the ride to the hotel--aprox 1 hour. We made detours to drop off people at the Grand Playa Turquesa and Blau Costa Verde before arriving at the SRLM.

Check-in was quick enough, although the last person in line might of found it a bit long. The bar was open nevertheless. Our room was located directly over the Lobby, dead centre of the building--room #2051. All the usual amenities were present and the room was very clean. Nice view of the pool area and the ocean in the basckground.

The SRLM is in effect 2 resorts combined into 1 complex now. Two buffets for breakfast, 1 buffet and 4 snack restaurants for lunch and 1 buffet and 4 A La Cartes for dinner(supper). Food was pretty good at the buffets and very good at the A La Cartes. We didn't loose any weight and brought some extra pounds home, duty free.

Lots of bars---- 2 lobby bars, 1 pool bar and 4 bars located in the snack/A la Cartes restaurants. Something is open 24 hrs a day.

Lots of activities to participate in if you are so inclined. We found that the Mares side of the resort (where we stayed) was much more active than the Luna side. This was great because when we had had enough of the noise ,we would just go to the Luna side. The animation team offers little excursions and no charge or very minimal, daily. These are well worth the effort and time to do.

The beach, Playa Esmeralda is absolutely stunning. Lots of palapas, palms and other trees. Tons of chairs so no need to be a dork and reserve a chair at 6 in the morning. Incidentally, we never had a problem at the pool either. Great for swimming and snorkling. Walk to the right towards the cliffs and you can snorkel and feed tons of fish.

Just returned from Sol Luna y Mares and a great week at this resort. Travel was with Transat Vacations. Before going we had read some of the negative reviews and since being there wouldn't agree with any of them. This hotel is Value for the money. If you want gourmet dining and total pampering......bottom line spend more money. Check out how much you have to spend to have even four star dining and accomodation here in Ontario for more than a long weekend let alone plane fare.

Some tips and observations that we discovered a long the way. At this time a $50.Canadian dollar equals 45 CUC. Your best bet is to take enough Canadian dollars to convert to CUC's at the hotel or airport. The outlets at the hotel seemed to be open from about 9.30 in the morning until 10.30 at night and at the airport I changed some at 10.30 p.m. I used a Royal Bank Visa card at the hotel bank to see if it would work since they don't accept any that appear to be american (Citi, AmEx,) it took time for their phone line computer but it did work. I don't think you get as good a rate as for cash because there is a service charge and believe it or not they convert the Cdn. dollar to a U.S. dollar in the process for whatever reason. This method gave 50CUC for almost 65 Cdn.

The airports, more organized in Holguin than Toronto. Of course this can be blamed on the amount of or lack of numbers of planes landing and taking off at these airports. At Holguin there were only two departures the night we were going out. When you get to the airport the bus from the hotel lets you off very near the lineup to get your boarding pass so you don't need a porter or luggage carrier. After you get the boarding pass from your airline you go to counter to the left of this to pay your 25 CUC and they put a sticker on your boarding pass that you have to go through the booths marked immigration etc. Once through there you go through security which is similar to Toronto except you can have your rum etc., in your carry-on since there is no restriction there on keeping liquids less than 100ml. Inside the waiting lounge there are snack bars & duty free. In spite of what our tour rep. Lorraine told us the liquor is cheaper here than at the hotel and there is more variety. When back to Toronto what is there left to stay expect about one and half hours to get through if you're lucky.

Hotel Rooms - Very clean and well maintained. Not new but fine because you don't spend much time in your room. Your room card must be placed in holder on the wall because this controls the air conditioner (similar to other hotels in Carribean). Leave one of them in there all the time or you could bring an old card from home if it has a magnetic strip. Make sure you bring some small items from home (Dollar store lipstick, nail polish, hair clips, etc.) and tip the maid daily with 1 or 2 CUC's and you will have towel art and all the towels and bottles of water that you could ever use. These kind of items are not readily available in Cuba and she can have money but can't buy them. No kleenex in the room so bring your own in you want them. Do not take any glasses, towels or cups out of your room, get coffee in the morning in the lobby otherwise you may have to pay for anything missing even if you leave it somewhere in the hotel. The maids are responsible for everything in its place in the room.

Beach- One of the best in Cuba. Protected by a reef it never gets too rough for swimming. Not a long beach and you walk the length in about 20 minutes. There are no rocks or seaweed etc. along the shore in front of this resort, it becomes more rocky closer to the 5 star resort to the east and so their guests tend to visit on this resorts area. Two beach bars that have a small menu at lunch time. The bathrooms at the beach are not well maintained although the one on the Lunes side is usually cleaner. I would suggest you bring a small roll of t.p. in your beach bag when you are at the beach. When arriving at the beach go see the guys at the pile of loungers (on both Mares & Luna sides) if there are no loungers where you want in sun or shade they will drag them over where you want them. They do not have there hand out for a tip, but we tipped them about every second day. The blue loungers are the most comfortable but they run out by about 10 o'clock or so. There was never a shortage of the white ones. They do not work for the hotel, this it there business.

Water Sports - We really enjoyed the Hobie Cat rides. You sign up for them at the Activities shack which is were you change your beach towels etc.Go there between 9 and 9.30 and you can usually sign up for anything you want that day, we always could get what we wanted from snorkeling gear to pedal boat. If you want to sail and there are no openings talk to the guys down at the boats they will usually try to fit you in. A sailing session lasts about 35 minutes and this provides a chance to talk to the guys who work there and hear the real stories about life in Cuba. You can tip them after the ride but a no time did we feel any pressure to do this. Most of the time you have to call them back to give them a tip after they have pulled the boat up on the beach. We tended to go out with the same guy as most people did since you get to know him better and his style of sailing. It is usually windier in the afternoons. Great snorkeling off the other hotel at the east end lots of fish and coral. Take banana or bread to feed them, but be prepared to be surrounded.

Food- There are two buffets and four restaurants. The al la carte restarants are very small and reservations are very limited. With Air Transat vacations you get a beach barbeque on night and two guaranteed reservations. We were at the Romantic and Mexican and both were very good. You have your choice at the Mexican so I guess most people could find something to eat. The Romantic has a set five course meal so I could see were some people would prefer more choice. The meal included proscuitto ham, a skewer of shrimp and fish with rice and beef with vegetables etc., there was champagne and ice cream and cake etc. for desert. It is Cuba so you can expect to have different foods and methods of preparation than we have in Canada. But, you can do the following: both of the buffets have grills and pasta bars so in the morning go to grill and have them cook your eggs, bacon etc. the way you want it cooked if they offer you an egg and you want it cooked more tell them the cooks all understand english, don't take the half raw ones off the steam table. at lunch or dinner they have plenty of raw meat next to the grill beef, pork, chicken, turkey, pick out a piece that looks like good not too much fat etc. and have the cook do it the way you want it, if it's not cooked enough to suit your taste make sure it stays on the grill. For desert they have a flambe area no one should complain about. Again have the chef do the fruit the way you want it with or without booze and add some very good Cuban ice cream.

Bars - What is there to say. Some people over do it and pay for it the next day. You can basically have whatever you want. For those people who have said the drinks are watered down ask bartender for mucho and you may not have room for mix. Mojitos are available usually at the Mares pool bar but not at all bars mostly because they don't have a dependable source of mint leaves, make friends with a bartender if you really need them. Bring an insulated mug from home, you save all the plastic glasses in the garbage and the washing of other glasses. Besides you can rinse it out in your room, if you are concerned about cleanlienes etc. We brought older ones that we could leave there at the end of trip, which I'm sure are now in a Cuban household somewhere.

Excursions - Didn't go on any. We were told that the swim with the dolphins was worth the money, I expect the show was similar to what you see at Marineland. The large catamaran trip for snorkelling ends up at the reef in front of the Luna & Mares beach in the morning and then in the afternoon takes you to another reef some where else so half of snorkelling you can do every day without paying anything. We did take the horse cart into Guardavaca village, worth doing again to talk to a local and see the countryside. It's only about 5 kilometers in but you see a few things along the way. If you want to do this, go out in front of the Lunes lobby late afternoon where the motorbikes are and talk to one of the men there with his horse and cart. He will pick you up in front of your hotel in the morning whatever time you say, drive you in to the village, with a short tour and pointing out things around the village, leave you time to check out the flea market and beach (we told him to be back in an hour) drive you back to the hotel. The cart holds up to 4 people and the charge is 15 CUC total, I think it was only 12 CUC if he just took you in and back.

Just got back from sol rio Luna/mares and had an absolutly excellent time.

We stayed on the Luna side which we loved it is nice and quiet where as the Mares side is a lot louder and seams better for families and younger crouwd.

You do have full use of everything on both sides so it doesn't really matter.

FOOD- the food was really good for cuba.The buffet was good with plenty of selection I loved the pasta bar. We liked the luna side for breakfast as the have a nice area outside to eat. For supper we usually ate at the mares side as they had a bit more selection and bigger so easier to get a spot. We always ate our lunch at the beach bar on the luna side as it is really nice with chairs and tables right on the sand. The a la cartes were all good. We never ate at the mexican but heard from a couple people that it was not that good. We ate at the cuban which was not our favorite but that could be because we don't like fish so our selection is limited. The romantic was very good the atmosphere is very nice and the food was very good. We also ate at the italian this was very good but you get a lot of good.

BEACH- the beach was the best part very nice.We spent all our time here.We liked the luna side which is guieter.

STAFF-all very friendly and helpful and we got to know a lot of them.

ROOMS-were nice they were a nice and clean but we spent very little time in them as who wants to be inside when you can enjoy the beach.

My first visit to the Holguin area, and my 12th trip to Cuba. I travelled with Transat Vacations. After a flight delay on my return date, I was happy to be able to upgrade to Club Class and enjoy my flight home!

Weather: I had a good week, but we did get rain from time to time. The last day was a complete washout! Heavy downpours interspersed with tempting moments of sunshine to lure you out before the next torrent of rain. It was also a windy week....great for sailing!

Room: I had a perfect location in building 8000 on the Luna side. Second floor, no view due to the dense foliage, but quiet and private. The maid kept the room perfectly clean. She wasn't into "towel art" but did some interesting things with the sheers and the bedspread. I had no problems with insects of any kind. I did notice a problem with low water pressure and less than hot water if I showered at "prime time" when everyone returns from the beach and gets ready for dinner. A slight change in my schedule fixed the problem. The bathroom contained a four piece bath, and there was also a bidet. A slight water leak left a tiny puddle near the floor drain. The air conditioning worked fine but wasn't needed most of the time. My patio door was slightly stiff to open. All in all, a comfortable room.....I had no complaints.

Beach: A beautiful beach, powdery white sand, but short! Not a beach walker's beach, as you can easily cover the distance end to end in ten minutes....even a slow saunter could be done in twenty. That said, there were many advantages here. The barrier reef keeps the surf on the beach reasonable, even on very windy days. This enabled me to go sailing on the Hobie Cat almost every day....and some great sails they were. Fast, sometimes scary fast, and wet. Flying the hull almost every trip. Great fun! This beach is also very good for snorkelling. Don't waste your time on the Mares side. The "good stuff" is in front of PRDO, the hotel next door. You can access the water in a sandy area just east of the PRDO nautical area, and snorkel along the rocks parallel to shore. You'll see lots of fish here, and when you get to the end of the beach, head out parallel to the rocky cliff, and you will find the reef. I didn't venture too far, as I was on my own, but with a group or perhaps preferably with a pedal boat, you could easily access the same reef area the snorkel catamaran tours use. I was able to snorkel almost every day....including yellow flag days. For swimming, the Mares side is best. Sandy entrance to the water, which does get deep fairly quickly.

Food: The usual Cuban fare. There were good pasta bars at both buffet restaurants, (except for a lack of Parmesan cheese) and excellent omelets to be had in the morning. I felt the service at the Mares buffet was somewhat better than the Luna side. I tried two a la carte restaurants. The Mexican was fine....spicy food in Cuba! I enjoyed the Italian meal very much.(funny enough, they had Parmesan cheese!) Both these restaurants are open air, which can get a little interesting when it is raining. The roof protects well enough, but if it's windy the side tables can get a bit wet. The Italian restaurant becomes the snack bar at lunchtime, and offers good Pizza. Both beach restaurants are open as snack bars at noon.

Activities: I didn't go on any of the tours, but did use the excellent free activities offered by the animation staff. The walk up the "hill" behind the resort is worth it for the view, and the "Mini Zoo" was interesting. I skipped the bike tour to Guardalavaca and went myself on a cloudy morning. It's not far, but would be tiring on a hot, sunny day. I went to the market and had a look around. A Cuban man offered to watch my bicycle, which I appreciated. He didn't ask me for money, but I tipped him 1 CUC when I was leaving. (he seemed to have made quite a business for himself watching bicycles for tourists....and it's great not to have to trundle the bike through the market). I was hoping to have a tour of the resort next door (Paradisus Rio de Oro), but it got washed out. Likewise, the snorkelling was cancelled due to too much surf. Other activities included archery (at the beach), dance lessons, Spanish lessons. I didn't bother with any of these, but observed them taking place.

Entertainment: I didn't bother with the nightly shows, but enjoyed the Pianist in the Luna lobby every night. The only difficulty was finding a place to sit, as she is popular! Second hand smoke is also an issue here.

Banks: There are Cadecas at both Luna and Mares, so it's pretty convenient to exchange money. They are open fairly long hours (including into the evening).

Internet: There is currently only one computer available for Internet access. It is located in the Mares lobby, and is quite popular. The upside is it seems to be "high speed", at least in comparison to others I have used in Cuba. Also, the cost is an affordable 3 CUC for 30 minutes, which is all I needed to send an email a day.

Staff: Most of the staff I encountered were friendly and helpful. I thought the buffet staff were a bit distant (with a few notable exceptions), just doing their jobs and that's all. Activities staff were helpful and fun, and my maid was very nice and friendly when I encountered her. The staff at the beach who place your lounger where you request it seem cheerful and eager to help (I tried getting my own chair the first day, and didn't get very far before someone was at my elbow taking it from me and asking me where I wanted to sit). On the other hand, the guy who hands out the bicycles seemed only interested in getting my room number, not in helping me choose an appropriate bike.

Notable: There are roof patios at the ends of buildings 8000 and 7000 which have loungers on them, and a very nice view. There are also wonderful views to be had upstairs on the Mares side. There are couches to sit on by the fourth floor elevators Look around. These places are apparently not well known and therefore are perfect spots to relax if you seek peace and quiet.

My husband and I decided upon this resort at the last minute (we booked Thursday, left Sunday), because I am a travel agent, we got an amazing deal, under $550+taxes and the luxury of upgrading to Club Class for a pittance of the price. All in all, for the price we paid, it was a great opportunity to visit this resort (an area we’d never been to previously) but most importantly to do a site inspection on the sister resort, Paradisus Rio de Oro, which we LOVED. As it is my job to sell Destination Weddings, I viewed both hotels through my “work eyes” and in my honest opinion, I would not recommend this resort for a wedding but would definitely recommend it for a cheap last minute getaway.

With that being said, both my husband and I are seasoned travelers, specifically to resorts throughout Cuba, from 2.5* up to 5* so hopefully you will view this as a previous poster mentioned, an honest and neutral review. It is a 3 star hotel, not a 4 as advertised. It is dated and needs a good scrub down, the outside of the buildings showed its age with mold and rust spots streaming down the sides and the floor tiles reminded us of a school hallway. The washrooms in the public areas (lobby/ beach bar etc.) were not very clean either.

There was a delay at Pearson due to the conveyor for luggage being broken and so our flight didn’t leave on time and we were delayed for an extra 2 hours which got us to the resort at 2am. There was only one individual on reception so it was a slow process, luckily the 24 hour lobby bar was open and we could have a few beverages to wait … but it was my first disappointment as they had no mint for mojitos (during the week I had about 4 in total due to lack of mint). Also, due to the delay, many on our flight did not receive their luggage for 2 days!

Room: 3.5*
I had written the resort prior to our arrival with a room request and we were very surprised when we walked into our room, it was a SUITE but with a single bed? We then realized that it was only the one room, connecting was another room with a king bed and a separate balcony. Beautiful. And the view? It had to be the best view in the whole resort, it was magnificent as we had two balconies, this in itself was the HIGHLIGHT of our week and this resort.

Because of the location, it was very noisy until after 2am because of the beach disco below. The air conditioning worked fine although we didn’t use it much, we just opened our two balcony doors and let the breeze try to kill the consistent smell of mildew/mold. The throw pillows were the worse, they smelled very bad so I always put them in the closet because I think the whole room was smelling because of them and there were always teeny ants everywhere, in the bathroom (sink, tub, floor), dressers (on top and in the drawers).

There was a Jacuzzi in one of the bathrooms which didn’t work, we called maintenance up the next day and in broken English he told us that it hadn’t worked in a long time J, the sink in the bar area as well wasn’t working, but the lovely maintenance man said the same thing.

The maid service was the least effective that I’ve seen in all our stays in Cuban resorts. They made the bed and swept the floor but not very efficiently. We noticed a dead cockroach in the main room on our first day and it was still there 6 days later. The towels were not changed everyday, the sinks were not cleaned everyday, in fact one day, we left the wrapper from the little soap on the counter and it didn’t get thrown out (not that we couldn’t have done it, we just wanted to “test” to see).

Food: 2.5*
The buffet food was standard, if not repetitive. There was an omelet station in the morning and the server was very happy, always longs lineups though and we couldn’t figure out why he didn’t use TWO pans as he had the capability of doing so? Typically the one toaster that takes forever, but they had a “griller” and we would toast our bread that way, it was great ! The only had freshly squeezed orange juice on the last 3 days of our stay and we always had to look around and ask for juice glasses. The fruit selection was minimal and when they ran out, it wasn’t replaced. The evening fare was simple, the pasta station was wonderful and this is what we had most nights, although the beef stew was very tasty, nothing else appealed to our taste. We usually sat outside on the terrace, but more often than not, we had to find our own utensils/water glasses (as tables did not get re-set), and then find a server so that we could get our coffee and wine at dinner, I found this kind of strange as well.

We went to the Italian alacarte one evening, and this was the BEST Italian we’ve ever had, it was AMAZING food, we couldn’t talk about it enough (just don’t have the egg drop soup, trust me). We also went to the Mexican alacarte but weren’t impressed, the chairs were VERY hard, wobbly and uncomfortable and the meal was cold. On Tuesday nights, Transat is supposed to have a beach party/dinner but they had switched to the theatre due to unstable weather. All I can say is, don’t bother, it is a standard buffet with a poor selection and when they ran out (rice, beans and butter in our case), it wasn’t replaced and I saw many leaving and then going to the buffet.

Beach: 5 *
The beach is very nice and the sand was beautiful, soft like flour but not white, more a soft light beige. It was only a green flag our first day and still the water was wavy. The following day was yellow and watersports were minimal, the rest of the week was red flag and we were disappointed in ourselves for not going on the catamaran on one of the first days and not having the opportunity to go snorkeling. There were a lot of people there, but you could always find a chair anytime, although the nice blue mesh ones were usually taken first. Beautiful wide stretch of beach with lots of palapas and trees for natural shade.. We had rain for half of our stay, so we didn’t get much sunbathing in anyways but had a blast jumping the waves when we could get in the water.

Staff: 2.5*
This is another area where I had issues with this resort. They never seemed happy? There were a few that stood out to us though, the omelet man, the bartenders at the Luna pool and lobby bar, and one lady from the lobby bar on the Mares side, but that’s it? The lobby bar at the Mares was consistently busy and most times only one server, I saw so many people waiting long periods of time just to be acknowledged, then someone filled me in, GO to the pool bar (Mares) it was NEVER busy !!

Entertainments: 2.5*
The animation staff were fairly non-existent during the day. We never noticed any special activities happening, no archery/shooting/dance lessons etc. The evening shows were disappointments, very colourful but not in sync. And when we walked by the Kids Club a few times and there were none in attendance.

We stayed at this resort from Dec. 22- 29, 2006 and were on the Mares side. I understand that all Air Transat customers stay on the Mares side. There were 3 of us in one room....husband, wife and teenage son. I read the reviews before we booked and was not disappointed with the resort. I'll try to give you some tips that are not covered in some of the previous reviews.

I relied on Debbie's Carribean reviews and other sites to choose my first ever trip to the caribbean, and chose Sol Rio Luna Y Mares, Holguin, Cuba for Travel November 26 to December 3 2006

Best decision of my life!. This was our honeymoon trip; My bride wanted wanted warm sun and a beautiful beach, and I wanted to snorkel / dive on a coral reef. We both got our wish.

This resort is beautiful! Warm pastel colors, rooms are spotlessly clean. We both had innoculations and took Dukoral (TM) against TD (la tourista) since we had never been south before and were somewhat apprehensive about "tropical" diseases. We had no problems whatsoever, and at this resort I doubt they were necessary.

I had read some complaints about "bland Cuban food" but every meal we had tasted like we had cooked it ourselves, and we are both good cooks. Simple, tasty home cooking; beef, pork, turkey, roast lamb, Pasta. Fried banannas with rum flambe for desert. Plenty of pastries and cakes as well. We discovered the Mares pool bar/restarant which had a delicious perca (fresh red snapper) or calamari plate-we couldn't get enough of that wonderful food!

As we flew Air Transat we were special guests at an evening beach party: buffet dinner on the sand--steps from the rolling ocean surf, with a strolling Cuban band and an Afro-Cuban show featuring fire-eaters and a'cappella singers. This is the type of vacation dreams are made of! The beach is an advertisement for the Caribbean; off-white sand the texture of icing sugar, incredible turquoise/ blue water, bottom gently sloping with ocean waves tempered by the reef about 3Km's offshore. Plenty of lounge chairs and large enough to have a whole section to yourselves. The most accessible reef area is to the east, next to Paradisus resort; coral heads appear about 100 feet from the beach and you can follow the reef all the way around to the Paradisus beach, if you want to swim that far. Lots of colorful fish and a school of blue tangs that followed me about a thousand feet; I figured out later that other divers feed them bananas or bread and they were just waiting for dinner. As I had read in other reviews the staff were wonderful! Fine, educated, friendly people; we feel we made many friends in only a week; Nicholas and Arlie at the Mares pool bar, Amelia our room attendant, and others, all with their beautiful Cuban smiles. We noticed many guests who had just arrived greeting some of the staff with apparently genuine affection; they had been before and were delighted to meet each other again. We now know how they feel!

Our Transat / Nolitours representative, Lorena was omnipresent, from the first day orientation (Don't miss it, there is important info to be learned) and available all week to answer questions and offer interesting tips and just be a connection to "Home"

Please visit the Mini-Zoo and say hello to Carlos for us! It is a small (mini) zoo, a ten minute walk out the main road from the resort, featuring a fascinating assortment of native Cuban Birds, animals and reptiles. It is only 2 CUC's entrance and worth much more. Carlos is genuinely dedicated to "his" menagerie and took us on a guided tour of most of the exhibits. This was the natural Cuba we came to see.

Travel Date: November 2006
Wholesaler: Transat Vacations.

I'm a travel agent, so I've been around to many resorts on many islands and various resort areas through out Cuba and this was the BEST Cuban resort vacation by far.

Stayed on the Luna Side and sooooooooooooo glad i did. Had a top floor room, with vaulted ceilings, king bed, full bath with bidet (ahhhhh, gotta love a bidet come your 5th or 6th day of Cuban Food, lol).

Arrival with Transat Holidays was great. Check in was somewhat prompt for a Sunday and only one person working the front desk. Front desk staff had good understanding of the English Language and did all they could to accomodate various guests of different nationalities. Great news all rooms at the resort have now been installed with an electronic keypad safe, hence no more deposit for a safe key.

There are some rooms in each block with a fab ocean view, but it varies due to overgrowth of palms and such, but truly for the amount of time one spends in their room, you need the room for the AC (bring an old rewards-points card or something with a magnetic strip to place in the AC slot upon opening the door, keeps it on 24hrs per day that way), shower and a bed only. In regards to the Luna side, if an ocean view is something you have paid for and you want to get specific please pre-email them or notify your travel agent / wholesaler that you are looking for 3rd floor (don’t matter which block) a room in the teens', they are all closest to the beach and would have an ocean view beyond the tall palms and trees and such. So to wrap it up, room was spacious, clean every day, one bottle only of water in fridge per day. The AC worked awesome and plenty of fresh towels and such. Thanks to Transat for having the Beach towels already in room, nice touch.

The food was great. I get "LaTourista" rather easy, so I must say I did really well this time in Cuba. There were no theme nights in the buffets (love that), there was always salad bar, hor's derves bar, entree bar and pasta bar every night. The grill lady was there to fry up Fish, Pork, Squid or Turkey every singe lunch and dinner. Pasta station is always there for lunch and dinner. And every day and night there is a carving station set up with either Roast Beef, Roast Pork or Turkey and let me tell ya, they taste just like Canadian Cooking, real good. Potatoes and veggies tasted like Canadian Cooking as well. I stuck to what i knew in regards to culinary matters. "La Tourista" didn’t kick in till day 5 or 6, so that was good......some blame it on the booze, some blame it on the sun, some blame it on the change in diet or a combo of it all, but I say whatever, its all part of the trip to Cuba really.

Beach was spectacular. Luna is the quiet side with some rocky areas close to shoreline but again is lovely and super quiet but you could swim no problem with a nice sandy ocean bottom. There is a bit of stench that blows off the nearby green water lagoon and smells like rotten eggs, but it depends on the wind direction. On the Luna side, guests from the Paradissus use this beach as well and are accommodated with loungers on the Luna section of beach (remember Paradissus and Sol are all owned by Melia) In regards to the Mares side of the beach, it has pure sand and is great for swimming and then there is that breathtaking rocky point for great photos. Both ends of beach have beach grills, which convert into specialty restaurants at night for dinner. Food at both locals was great and day or night you ordered off an ala-carte menu. Every restaurant has table-service ordered from menu (ala carte), which is nice for 4 star property. In regards to Palapas and beach lounge chairs, there are 5 stations set up along the entire stretch of beach covering both sides and each station is attended by a worker who watches you select a Palapa (there are about 95 plus of these on the beach) and then brings you the appropriate number of loungers and cleans them off for you. Again. very nice touch for a 4 star property. On the far Luna side there are brand new Blue vinyl loungers, but this is because they cater also to the Paradissus guests, but they will deliver one to your palapa as well. All other 4 lounger stations are equipped with those decrepit while hard resin lounges, OUCH!, but whatever its all good.

Nightly entertainment, i didn't attend, was awake by 6am and asleep by 8pm, ahhhhh, vacation, gotta love it. Very few English speaking guests this week at the resort. Mostly populated by Quebec, Brits and Italiano's. My favorite bar was the Azucar bar maned by Orlando and Franco. Here they serve the best beer on earth (Bucanero) and are served by the can or bottle (no draft here at this particular bar), loved that. As well there is table service for drinks here, so no waiting at the bar. Nice touch.

Note…. in slow season buffet for lunch and dinner is open only on the Mares side. For breakfast, the buffet opens on the Luna side. The 24hr snack bar/Italian restaurant on the Luna side was great, again it’s an ala carte menu and they come to your table and serve you 24rs a day. Plenty of bars throughout the resort, so no worry of going thirsty here.

Service I thought was excellent and this place for all intents and purposes is a true 4 star with five start amenities (table service, lounger delivery). Go there and enjoy it, all rooms on the Luna side have been renovated and they are doing the last half of rooms on the Mares side. If you can get this place cheap now, do so, because after reno's I’d bet good money that the star rating is going to go up another half star and so too will the prices.

Return to the airport (grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr, copious amounts of rain fell the last 24hrs while I was there, it flowed down from the mountains and washed out the bridge close to the city of Holguin, hence we had to take 3hour detour to get to the airport, through the mountains and poor outback regions Cuba in the dark. It was a trip to say the least, but Air Transat was great to fly home with and the plane was half full, so tons of room on the plane, ahhhhhhhhh, gotta love that.

Flight 9 hours. Get the upgrade to premier travel on the flight. Its well worth it. On arrival at Holguin airport you might have thought you have arrived in Spain 20 years ago. In this respect the place is very unspoilt.

The transfer to the hotel is quick and in nice new air conditioned coaches.
We stayed at the Mares side of the hotel. We thought this side was nicer and had certain advantages over the sol side.
The pool has a swim up to bar and the booking facilities are done on this side.
The hotel rooms are clean and pleasant. The staff who work at the hotel and all over Cuba for that fact are grateful just to be working in the tourist industry and will do anything (within reason) for you.
You will not get any "Attitude" because of this.
The average Cuban does not earn much money at all and so before you go there make sure you go through all your old clothes that you do not want with the view of giving them away as gifts or tips.
The most expensive things they can buy are shoes and clothes (of any size) and if you give them a pair of old trainers or sandals i can promise you the smile you receive will be both large warm and very grateful.

We did the Champion tour which includes a horse back ride, jet ski , and cigar factory visit. Also included lunch and a long trip through some impoverished areas. This is the time to give your clothes away. After this trip you will realise how much you take things for granted.

We also did the Havana trip. Even though it cost £275 each it does include quite a lot and I think overall it was worth it. Flights, hotel accommodation, meals, trip to the Tropicana show and all coach journeys you get to see "Old Havana" which is very atmospheric and you yearn to stop at a bar and have a cold drink whilst watching some salsa dancing!

The beaches to this hotel have the whitest cleanest sand i have ever seen and snorkelling is fab. (take your own if you can) I did scuba diving and is the cheapest i have ever done it. There is actually quite a fair bit of coral and a lot of fish. In you have been to Sharm you will be pleasantly surprised!
The sea water is very warm and all the facilities there are free.You can take out a windsurfer or a small boat and hire snorkel gear and there is no charge which is nice.

There are quite a lot of English people there and also a lot of Canadians. There is a single computer with internet access (really slow modem connection so don't get excited) and costs £4 and hour. Because the connection is so slow you get through the hour without having done much!

The food can get a bit samey but there is sufficient choice to appeal to most palates. The kids will come home asking you to make Bahama Mamas and Mickey mouse cocktails! (lemonade and a dash of grenadine!)

Just returned from the Sol Rio De Luna y Mares a couple of weeks ago and here is a review:

Trip down and check-in: Flew on Skyservice (why are all charters the same cramped, terrible food, etc.). We did however, arrive and leave on time so no complaints there. Arrival at Holgiun airport was on time and we moved through customs at a good pace, got our luggage and boarded the bus for a very scenic ride to the hotel

Hotel property: Amazing! Check-in was fast and friendly. Rooms were exactly as requested in the Mares side of the hotel. We actually had the best room in the hotel. Air conditioning was quiet, the bathrooms were large, cuban marble and very clean. The ceilings were cathedral, the balcony overlooked the pool AND ocean. Lots of room to store your clothes and stuff. Restaurants were Mexican, Cuban, Italian, and a special VIP dinner on the beach was a 5 course lobster and steak dinner. All of the restaurants were excellent and the VIP dinner (by invitation only) was the highlight of the trip. There were about 7 bars with the swim up on the Mares side being very popular as well as the lobby bar. The drinks were great and ALL of the staff were amazing. We took in a couple of shows which were good, however our favorite was anytime they had a cuban band. There are massages available as well as a full service salon. The massages are 50 pesos (convertible) for one hour and are very good. You can also have a massage on the beach. The concierge (Zulema) was amazing as was all of the staff. It was my husband's 50th birthday and the staff went out of their way to make it memorable.

Excursions: First of all the most amazing thing to see is the zoo which is a 10 minute walk on the property. The zoo is actually an endagered species zoo which is in danger of closing down due to lack of funding (they will move it to another sanctuary) so please visit (costs about 2 pesos). You will see the most amazing animals and birds there. It was the highlight of the visit for my 2 kids (age 20 and 14). Also available are trips to Holgiun City, a plane trip to Havana (very long day) and a helicopter ride (40 minutes and you leave right from the property) to Santiago. Everyone who took the helicopter ride loved it.

Photos
We're a couple in our mid-fifties who were looking for some relaxation and we certainly got it at Sol Luna y Mares. We had read reviews before booking and knew what to expect - a small resort with a great beach and when we heard about a last minute deal we jumped on it and didn't regret anything.

The ride to the hotel from the airport is one hour. Don't close your eyes in the bus - there's such beautiful scenery along the way especially the Kristal Sierra (mountain range) which can be seen in the distance. Check-in was a bit long but the staff were courteous and helpful. The resort is divided into two parts - the Luna side being a bit older. The resort is 12 years old and the rooms, especially the bathrooms, could do with some updating - but they were fairly large and very clean. Lots of closet space, a private balcony, TV with many satellite channels, mini-fridge stocked with bottled water only, an iron /iron board, and a great little coffeemaker supplied daily with great Cuban coffee. The in-room safe was key operated and only required a $25 CUC deposit which was returned to us on check-out. We also had beach towels in our room. We had 2 double beds pushed together. The mattresses are on a cement base which made for a difficult first night but we had no problems after - very comfortable. I think they changed the bed linen every day and the maid left us lovely towel art and fresh flowers daily. We were in building 5 and booked an ocean view room so we were on the 3rd floor and we had a great view of the ocean and a great breeze in the evening. Our building also had a small elevator so we kept our energy for walking the beach and the grounds!

The grounds are beautifully landscaped due to the age of the resort and the talent of the gardeners. I've never seen so many flowers at one resort - there was always something to stop and admire - including the little lizards, crabs and tree frogs we saw from time to time. No bugs in the room or on the balcony. The walk to the beach from the Mares side involves going down quite a flight of stairs - it's easier from the Luna side.

Food was normal for Cuba - a bit bland and predictable but there were some nice surprises during the week, including a barbecue on the beach with the Trans At beach party. There are 2 air conditioned buffets, one on each side, the Mares one being bigger and a more decorated but we preferred the Luna side. Each buffet has outdoor seating but be forewarned, there are a lot of cats at the outdoor Mares buffet. They trot out from everywhere around 6 PM and wait for unsuspecting customers to sit down. They sit and stare at you and if you feed them fights break out over who gets the loot. We counted 9 cats around one table. The parents didn't want to feed them but the kids were pleading with them. We ate indoors to avoid them and also to be in the a/c. Coffee in the buffets is mediocre but they make great espresso/cappuccinos all the bars. Bottles of wine are laid out in the evening in the lobbies for serve-yourself cocktails. The wines in the restaurants are better than average - at least 1000% better than DR! :) Two bottles of water are supplied in the room and you can refill at any bar during the day. There are 4 a la cartes, 2 on the beach which also serve as snack bars during the day and one on each side of the resort - the Mares one (Mexican) by the Mares pool facing towards the ocean and the Italian one on the Luna side next to the pool. The Italian also serves as a 24 hour snack bar. We never ate lunch at the buffets because we just loved the snack bar on the beach on the Luna side. I still daydream about this place! All the snack bars have a menu - no buffet - which was a nice change for us. No food hanging out all day and everything done fresh for you. Menu included Cuban club sandwiches, veggie and regular burgers, hot dogs,fish & chips, fried chicken (but hardly any breast - haha) tuna salad and GREAT Calamari. I had it every day - so fresh and tender - another thing I daydream about since our return. :) It was a great joy to sit in this snackbar with the wonderful beach before us and a great sea breeze and wonderful staff. We were booked here for an evening supper and when I told the desk it was our wedding anniversary they went out of their way to change our reservations for Thursday - a special night for honeymooners. We were served great lobster and filet mignon, plus flower arrangements on the table and a rose for the ladies. Before the meal we were treated to a cocktail to watch the glorious sunset. A memorable evening and much appreciated. The staff here will really go out of their way to make your stay enjoyable. Also, communication is no problem as most of the staff speak many languages fluently. There are 2 pools - the bigger one with swim-up bar on the Mares side.The pools were clean and each had a snack bar right next to them.

The beach! Oh, that beautiful beach! Playa Esmeralda - turquoise, beautiful white sand, warm and gentle waves. We never wanted to get out of the water. It does slope down quickly though so watch your children. We snorkelled straight from the beach to see some fish but if you walk about 8 minutes to your right you'll see many more kinds around the coral reef. The catamaran/snorkel tours stop close by. To the left you can explore the coral cliffs and there's a secluded beach just around the cliff. I don't know if it was because we were there late in the season, but we never had to reserve a palapa on the beach. You could go down at 11 and have front row shade. There are also lots of trees on the beach for shade. A chair person is there all day to bring you a lounger and wipe it off. Tips are not necessary but greatly appreciated. We brought both money and gifts for tips. Please don't leave home without them!

If you feel like it, the resort's animation team take you out on a little excursion every day - by bike, by foot or by bus. All free except the bus tour ($6CUC per person!) to the nearby Sama de Boca fishing village. I highly recommend this tour. It only lasts from 9 till noon and is a real eye-opener. There is a lot of history to this village and you can read about it in the mini-museum. A visit to a school, a fisherman's house and a doctors office is a wonderful opportunity to bring much needed supplies which are greatly appreciated. The tour finishes with a 30 minute stop at Guardalavaca's mercado - great place to buy inexpensive souvenirs. We bought rum at a cheaper price than the resort but more expensive than at the Holguin airport. There are many other tours you can get from your rep or from the resort. The beach is quiet - only one boat that goes out twice a day for diving tours. They also have new 16' Hobies, kayaks and pedalos. You are escorted on the Hobies so hubby was disappointed about that. Evening entertainment was mostly made up of audience participation except for 3 quality shows put on by very talented theater/dance schools in Holguin. Kids seemed happy with their animation staff and put on a show every night. Each lobby bar had nightly entertainment up to 9 PM - a classical pianist on the Luna side and a great Salsa trio on the Mares side

This was our fourth time to Cuba, each time we stay at a different area of Cuba. Sadly our time at this resort was disappointing. Firstly we had booked the Honeymoon package, this consisted of a private check-in, welcome drink, flowers, king size bed, fruit plate in room and a bottle of wine and late check-out on the day you leave. I even made the effort of calling Public Relations at the resort two days before arriving. They assured me all would be ready and look forward to our arrival.

When we did arrive they said they knew nothing about our Honeymoon package. We sat and waited for everyone else to be checked in so we could talk to them about the package. Finally after about an hour of standing around we were able to talk to the desk and they asked us for our marriage docs, which we had and they photocopied them. There was no welcome drink, no private check-in, no flowers, nothing. She gave us a room and told us to come back in the morning and all would be arranged the next day.

The next day we go down to the desk and ask about our room and the package we booked and the desk clerk said she knows nothing about it. We show her our booking papers and once again she photocopies our marriage docs and then proceeds to do nothing. We ask her if we can get the room we booked and the package we booked for our Honeymoon and she shrugs her shoulders and says she knows nothing about it and just stares at us with this blank look???

I decide to go to Public Relations and ask why they seem to have no clue about our package and have no interest in helping us, even though I have the papers and even called ahead. She says "we will take care of it later tonight". So finally later that night they switch rooms for us and a bottle of wine arrives. We also get a letter telling us that if we need any drinks for our room they will bring them up. Well we called and asked for water and colas for our room and the desk said "of course, they are on their way". They never came, ever. We finally gave up asking three days later. I also confirmed with Public Relations and the front desk that on or last day we have a late check-out. So our last day comes and we come back in from the beach, go up to our room and find our key no longer works. So I go back down to the front desk and ask why my key doesn't work and they say "check out is at 12:00 noon". I explain we have late check out for the third time and again we get this blank look from the desk clerk. They finally decide to re-open our room for us.

We were 2 couples that stayed at the Sol Luna Y Mares on the Luna side from April 9-16, 2006.

Airport:
The airport went very smoothly for us both ways. On arrival we were on our way within 45 minutes of landing with beer in hand on the bus. On the way home we were the first bus to arrive at the airport in the morning so again no line ups. Hopefully we’ll be able to keep these direct flights from Moncton that get in at such great times.

The drive to the hotel from the airport is really great, lots of interesting things to look at. You’ll drive by quite a few villages, and some wonderful sugar cane fields and wild areas. The 1 hour to the hotel passes very quickly with lots to see.

Rooms:
I had emailed the resort in advance requesting 3rd floor rooms in the 5000 or 6000 block with king size beds with rooms close to each other on the 3rd floor.
On arrival we were told they hadn’t received our email. I had brought a print out of the email and they put us in the 2nd floor of the 8000 block, 5 rooms apart both with king beds. It was absolutely perfect for us. The 8000’s block is the furthest block of rooms on the Luna side towards the Paradisus hotel and closest to the snorkeling, worked out great for us. 3rd floor would have some nice views of the water, we could see the water but there were many trees in the way, we spent so little time in the room that it didn’t matter. This is not a very spread out hotel unless you’re going between the Luna and the Mares, so no matter where your room is you won’t be to far from anything. Only 220v electricity in the room, so you’ll need adapters/converters if you’re coming from Canada.

Rooms were well equipped, coffee makers, hair dryer, kit with shampoo soap etc, iron, CD Player. Our TV didn’t work, but we didn’t bother calling for repairs because we hardly watch TV at home, rarely on vacation. We also discovered that our phone wasn’t working on our last morning there when we didn’t get our wake up call, but the bellman arrived at our door to check that we were up.

Rooms safes are available, you need to leave a $25 CUC deposit which is returned when you check out.

Food:
We were all very happy with the food. We were with Air Transat so we were guaranteed 2 a-la-carte restaurants. This was kind of strange because they slip a piece of paper under your door telling you which a-la-carte you’ve been booked in, and the times you’ve been booked. We weren’t booked with our friends and we were able to change the reservations, the a-la-carte reservation desk is on the Mares side, and only open from 9-12. Our a-la-carte restaurants were the Italian and Cuban restaurants. We had excellent food at both, but spoke to some people who didn’t have good experiences. The Cuban restaurant was a little different than we’re used to, there is no menu provided, they just serve you food. Not sure if it is the same food every night, but we had a great meal.

The buffet food was typical AI, you should be able to find something to eat unless you’re quite picky. A nice touch was the liquor cart that came around with flaming coffees etc, we didn’t see this every night though. There is also a wine menu which we ordered from one night, various prices available. We had a good Merlot for $10 CUC. We couldn’t order from a wine list at the a-la-carte, but a nice change when you get tired of their house wines that were a little rough. There is a wine bar set up every night on the Luna side by the piano, and a wonderful piano player entertained during the early evenings before the theatre. Don’t be afraid to make requests, she is fantastic.

We were supposed to have a beach BBQ for our tour operator guests, but it was cancelled due to rain. We had a lot of rain in the evenings, but kind of added to some of the fun. I felt sorry for the poor workers that had to do all the moping up though.

Another different thing about this hotel is at all the lunch restaurants you are served, not buffet. We never did find a lunch buffet, but there may have been one on the Mares side. We had excellent lunches at the pool restaurant on the Luna side, as well as both beach restaurants. If you’re not a cat lover I’d avoid the Mares restaurants, many more cats on this side at both the beach and buffet restaurants. The squid and fish were both excellent at the Luna beach restaurant, so much so that it was hard to go anywhere else.

Cappuccinos are made every morning at the pool bar on the Luna side.

Bars:
We had a hard time finding Mojitos consistently. Most days they were available at the Lobby bar in the morning, so it became a routine to stop there on the way back from our little morning excursions. The fist morning they finally had them we all let out a cheer, I think we scared the poor bartender, but she knew us from then on and made the best mojitos for us for the rest of the week.

The slushy drinks were never too icy, so make sure you bring your insulated mugs, the ice disappears fast.

I was told the beer was great, I’m not a beer drinker so I can’t comment further on that.

We never had long line ups at the bars. A heads up that the beach bars close at 5PM, we were caught running more than once at 4:55 to get there before closing since we rarely left the beach before 6PM.

Theatre;
We all enjoyed the live band before the theatre main acts. We stayed for a couple of the theatre shows, but were just too tired and not really interested to stay for the whole night. It looks like this is a new theatre as there are 2 small stages set up by each of the pools.

SPA;
Looks like this is also a new SPA. It looks very nice. Our friends both had massages and were very happy with them. The cost for messages was very reasonable. I think it was $25 CUC for an hour message.

Beach:
We chose this hotel specifically because of what we’d read about the beach and snorkeling, we were not disappointed. The sn