I have been returning to this hotel every year since it opened in 2004,it is almost my home away from home, the staff are lovely people, respectful and pleasant, always willing to satisfy. Especially beautiful is the swimming beach with almost no wave action, almost a lagoon with transparent water 100 ft off the surf line 10 to 15 ft deep. (There is also a small sheltered bay near the river, but sand flies can sometimes be a problem there.Don't lie on bare sand!!!!).
Arrival
There is usually a cocktail reception on arrival, but as the bar is also in the very large and beautiful reception area, there are many varieties of cocktail that the barmen will be happy to make for you!!!!
Rooms
The rooms are large and spacious with a well equipped bathroom, (bidet and hair dryer and 110v plug-in). Repeat clients also receive an upgrade from a standard to a superior room. There is a TV, a dial-in security box and a small refrigerator in the room, plus coffee machine and ironing board with iron. The bar is refreshed every day with bottled water, beer and soft drinks at no charge.
Restaurants and Bars
Very good variety in the restaurants, for the ladies who like to dress-up at least once for a special night the Romantica restaurant is a favourite. The buffet resto is very good too, as is also the pool resto for lunch which is very clean.Five "a la carte" restos are on the grounds with wine service.
Beach/Pools/Grounds
beatiful large pool with swim-up bar, comfortable lounge chairs and sun shelters. An exercise gym also contains a jacouzi pool.Lots of pool activities.
The vegetation is beautiful once again,(3 yrs after the hurricane Ike passed through),many palms have been replanted.
Other Comments
The hotel is especially popular for marriage ceremonys, and welcoming parents with small children with open arms.There are organised baby-sitting/playing to give the parents a rest!!!!, and private baby sitting can be obtaines too I believe.
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I traveled with my wife and 2 year old son from March 21st to March 28th 2010. This was my first trip to Cuba but my 3rd all-inclusive vacation in the Caribbean’s. The weather was just great, mostly sunny and 30ish every day, and the resort was excellent. Here are some thoughts on my personal experience and impressions of the PP.
Your Arrival
The flight was with Sunwing and it was great. Nice friendly service, free earphones, hot breakfast, gift bag for my son and a glass of champagne. Plane was on time for departure and arrived on time at the Holguin airport. Bus transfer was with a comfortable air-conditioned bus, but without a working toilet. It took around 1h to get to the resort, with one stop along the way. We arrived at the Pesquero around 11h45 am, and they had welcoming drinks waiting for us. Since we had book a superior room, we even had a choice of having a glass of champagne instead of the usual drink. The room was ready, and it took 20 minutes to get all our stuff and be carried over to our room.
Rooms
We had a second floor Superior room, in building 46, which is not the best location, but not the worse either. The room was quite large which was great with our son. At our arrival, the maid was waiting for us and as soon as she saw the kid, asked us if we wanted a crib in the room (it wasn’t in the room even if we had requested it in our reservation and by email prior to our arrival), but within 5 minutes they brought one in. The small fridge was already filled up with 2 colas – 2 beers (Bucanero) and a big bottle of water. A few minutes later a guy came in and brought us another bottle of water and two more beers (Mayabe). He also had a 700ml bottle of white rum (Ron Cubay) for us, which I believe we received because it was a superior room. I saw the rum selling for 4.50CUC’s at the airport. It’s not an expensive one, but still pretty good with cola. Inside the room there is a small TV, with around 20 channels. I really didn’t pay much attention to the TV stations; most of them were Spanish, with a few English ones and one or two French. There is also a small portable cd / radio / tape deck player in the room, it’s very basic, so there’s no Ipod connexion on it (I had an Ipod FMtuner that worked great). The bathroom was big, with a full bathtub with shower, a toilet and a bidet. We had more than enough closet space and there is a good size balcony with two chairs and a small round table. We also had a small hair dryer, iron and ironing board in the room. The in-room safe was big enough to fit my portable DVD players and all the stuff we wanted to put in it. The air-conditioning in the room was not great, but it was good enough to keep the room at a decent temperature. You do have to have a key in a slot for the air-conditioning to work. One of the first things I did was to get another key for the room (as they only give you one at check-in), so the air-conditioning could be running all day. The kind size bed mattress is somewhat hard, but it didn’t bother either of us, as we found it quite comfortable. The maid did a great job of keeping it clean and overall it was a great room. We did see some small ants in the room, they are everywhere outside the room, in the stairs and outside the building, so obviously some were in the room also. We really didn’t notice them until we left some food on a table; not a good idea. Make sure any food you have in the room is sealed.
Restaurants and Bars
The food is not great, but it’s pretty good. I’m not a fuzzy eater, but they had plenty of selections at the buffets and you also had other options to eat during the day. It is a bit confusing at first, as there are a lot of different places to eat at different time of the day and some places have different names during the day and at night. They could certainly do a better job of giving you a good document (at the front desk checking-in) with all the different options you have for breakfast / lunch / dinner. The paper they give you, doesn’t have half of the options on them, it should definitely be updated. But, if you want to eat, there is always a place you can find food 24hours a day, same for drinks. And, unless you don’t like fish, pork, chicken and pasta, you should not have any problems finding something you like. The fruit selection wasn’t great, as it was pretty much bananas, pineapples and goyaves for most of the week. The last two days, we started to see some apples, cantaloupe and honey melon also. There is also a very good ice cream bar that is open until 10pm. The buffets and all the restaurant (except the Romantico) are open air style places. So, yeah, like any other open air buffets I’ve been before, you do see some birds flying and the odd fly, but it’s was not worse than other all-inclusives I’ve been too. Neither of us had any stomach issues whatsoever and I didn’t heard of anyone having issues either during my stay.
You won’t have any problems getting a drink at the resort; there are bars pretty much everywhere. They have Crystal, Buccaneros and Mayabe for beers and even some Beck’s at the beer garden. The higher-end alcohol is at the lobby bar, the best dark rum they have is the Havana Club 7 years. The Mojito’s at the Mojito bar were excellent! Most of the bars are closing at 5pm, except for the beer garden and the lobby bar that are open 24 hours I believe. At night, they have the usual entertainment shows at the theater, some nights were pretty good when they had Cuban musician playing. Some other night it was pretty lame, but that’s where the action is at night. It’s was always full of people, the same for the lobby bar. They had musician playing at the lobby bar the nights they were not playing on stage, which was kind of cool. There is a nightclub beside the theater, I just took a peak inside, it’s not really big and it was pretty dark, but it had a decent amount of people dancing. There are also always people hanging around at the beer garden. I’ve always had great service from the bar staff and I’ve never felt like they were expecting a tip, or that tipping was making a difference in the service. I believe, that a: Holà, por favor, gracias and a smile goes a long way on the kind of service you get. I did tip here and there, and they were always grateful for it, but they do put it in a pot and split it amongst all the staff.
Beach/Pools/Grounds
I thought that the beach was great. It is kind of split up into two portions by some rocks/corals. The portion to the right where is the longer beach area where you can walk to other resorts, and a smaller beach area on the left side of it. We tend to spend our time on the smaller part of the beach, since it was closer to our room and felt less crowed. The kid had a blast at the beach and the water was very calm all week, even thought some days were quite windy. Yes, some portions are a bit rocky, mostly on the smaller portion of the beach and it is not the smoothest sand I’ve seen, but it is still a great beach with the water having beautiful different shades of blue/turquoise. As I’ve read in a lot of reviews, it’s probably not like the Varadero beaches, I’ve even overheard that comment a few time on the beach from other guests. So, my suggestion on this is: If you want the beach to be like the ones in Varadero, then you probably should go there. There are a lot of free activities available and you can have some decent snorkeling not very far off the beach. There is no problem getting loungers, as some guys will even bring it out for you anywhere you want. As for a spot under the palapas, like I’ve mention before, unless you go later in the afternoon, you will have to wake up pretty early to get one.
Pool:This is one huge pool and it’s beautiful. It’s the warmest pool I’ve been in at an all-inclusive. The main bar is the pool bar, which was really busy, but there are smaller bars around the pool. It was great with the kid, since a lot of the sections are very shallow. It’s not the cleanest pool I’ve seen, but I did see some staff trying to clean it a few times during the week. There no problem to get a lounger, but if you want one under a palapas, then I guess you will have to wake up early, as the towel game (which I’ve never understood) is played intensively on the beach and at the pool. We would usually go to the beach in the morning and at the pool in the afternoon, after the kid nap, around 3h30 – 4h, it was not a problem to get a good spot at that time.
Activities on and off the Resort/Hotel
We took a cab to the Guardalavaca market one morning. It’s about a 15 to 20 minutes ride and it cost 12CUC each way (for the cab, not by person). The cab driver was great and he waited for us to bring us back to the resort. The market itself is not really big and was pretty crowed, we didn’t stay there long, there is a beautiful beach just a short walk from it and the kid played there for about an hour and we walked around a bit and then we got back to the resort. There are a few small bars around the area also. There are other options to get to the market, there is a train( which is not really a train, it’s the same sort of train that runs around the resort all day ) and it leaves around 9h30 to come back around 1h30, it is 5 CUC’s each way. There is also a double Decker bus, that you can hope one, I believe it’s the same price as the train and it goes by the resort around 9h10 and stays at the market for 2 hours. You can also take one of the horses-trolley to get there, if I remember well, it’s around 35 CUC’s if you go by horse.
We did take a horse ride, for an hour, it was 15CUC’s and we rode to the small village of Melia, where most of the resort workers live. It was an interesting ride, too bad the driver wasn’t very chatty, but we did see the living conditions of some of the locals’ which are pretty basic. There is also a small school in Melia, if we have known that before, we might have brought some school gears with us to give to the school.
We also went to the dolphin aquarium, and I did swim with the dolphins, and it was a great experience. It was 79CUC’s for swimming, 35CUC’s if you were not swimming and it was free for the kids under 4. It’s only a short bus ride from the resort, around 10-12 minutes and then a 5 minutes boat ride to the aquarium. We left the resort at 8h45 and we were back at 1h30. It was really hot over there and a bit too long with the kid, the sea lions and dolphins show were nice to watch, but they were pretty short and there was a lot of down time with nothing much to do.
Other Comments
Yes, it’s a big resort and you will have to walk quite a bit during your stay, it’s not a problem for us, but if it’s not your thing, then it might not be the best place for you. A stroller is definitely a must with a young kid.
A Bubba Keg, or something similar, is also a must if you want to have drinks. Because at the beach/pool bars, they will only give you small plastic cup, that holds maybe half a beer.
Before leaving, I had read a lot of reviews about the different bathroom on the resorts being disgusting. I’ve visited, at one point or another, pretty much every bathroom on the resorts and my only problem with them was that most of them don’t even have a window. So, it’s like a sauna in there and obviously it will not smell like roses, but they were all kept clean and it was a non-issue.
There are some Internet workstations in the Lobby, you have to buy card at the Lobby desk with an access code on it. It sells by the hour and it cost 8CUC/hour. The Internet connection is quite slow, but it’s good enough to check and send e-mails.
There are a few shops on-site, where you can buy cigars, alcohol and some souvenirs and stuff like solar cream, chips and pops. There are also some vendors around the pool everyday selling stuff. They rotate each day, so if you see something you like, you might not see it again if you are only staying for one week. As for the alcohol, the best rum were : Havana Club 15 years : 150CUC, Havana Club 7 years 11.90CUC, Havana Club bullet proof 29.50CUC and Ron Santiago 11 years 40 CUC. The prices were pretty much the same at the airport and the bullet proof was even more expensive as it was selling for 35CUC. So, unless you are worried about your luggage weight allowance, I don’t see any benefits of buying it at the airport.
Bugs
We didn’t see any mosquitoes are got bitten until the last night at the resort when we went to eat the Italian restaurant La Gondola. I don’t know if it’s because it’s at the far end of the resort or because it has ponds of water around it, but we did got a few bites that night. Me and the kid didn’t got much and they didn’t bother us, but my wife started to have a bunch of bites coming out, mostly on her legs as soon as we were back home. Seems new ones were coming up for at least 2 days. Fortunately, by Thursday it was getting a lot better. Make sure to bring Benadryl with you if you are a mosquito magnet and usually react to bites.
À la carte
Reservation was a breeze; I didn’t bother on the Sunday, but when to the reservation desk around 10h00 on Monday morning. There were three people taking the reservation and only two were busy. It took five minutes and I had four reservations for 6h30. We booked the Vegetarian, Seafood, Italian and Caribbean. They were all very good, if I had to choose a favorite, I would say the Seafood one. The service was good at all of them and they have some decent wines also. They give you the bottle of wine, which is nice; they had a selection of Chilean and Spanish wine. It’s a lot better then the “house wine” they are serving at the buffet for dinner, which taste like what my father makes in his basement(not very good). I did book a fifth reservation on a day we didn’t have any. I just went to the reservation desk and asked nicely if there was a spot available somewhere for 6h30. The lady was very nice, as I didn’t realized it was already 3h15(the reservation desk closes at three), so she couldn’t enter us in the system and she had to make a few phone calls. It took her five minutes, but she did get us another reservation at the Vegetarian for that night, which was great as we preferred the à-la-carte to the buffet. Beware of one thing, when they serves you a plate and they tell you it’s really hot, you better believe them: my wife and at least 2 other people got a burn after lightly touching the side of the plate that was just served to them at the veggie – it seems like they cook the dish in the plate itself! At the Italian, they have a separate kids menu and at the Seafood and Carri bean, they offered to cook something for my son that was not on the menu, like burgers and fries.
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This was our 3rd vacation at Playa Pesquero since it opened.The trips have been alternated with many other destinations in Cuba-always to 4Plus or 5 star resorts. I thinks we have normal expectations for our vacation and value for our money spent is always important to us.
Your Arrival
We always go to the hotel lobby bar and wait for the desk staff to allocate room registration to all the other guests-seems less stress full than dealing with another line up.
Rooms
As repeat guests we enjoyed a free upgrade to a superior room which was very nice-it never hurts to ask
Restaurants and Bars
We were on vacation for 2 weeks.The hotel occupancy was near full and the service at bars and a la cartes was varied. Some evenings the table service in the lobby bar was slow and 2 days later it was excellent. Dinner at one a la carte was high lighted by a hissy fit between two waitresses-just shows that we are all human.
We like adventures in food choices and we found the food was all great-even the Asian which is not "Chinese food" was delicious .
Beach/Pools/Grounds
Beaches were clean and well taken care of- lots of shade and more Palapas being built on site.
Activities on and off the Resort/Hotel
The bicycles were in poor condition-50% had flat tires and the fleet of mopeds were on their last legs-not worth the risk of being stranded miles from the hotel with no method of rescue.
Other Comments
A real problem with the woman in our group was the condition of most restrooms around the resort. The smell of sewage was so bad at the beach banyo and some restaurants that they walked back to the room rather than be grossed out by the smell. A complaint in the hotel suggestion box was responded to by having them cleaned more often but the smell was still bad.
Tips and turn offs
Tip: As a repeat guest you can be invited to a special dinner- ask
Turn offs: Man with out a shirt in the evening Lobby bar,fist fight outside the disco, shoving and pushing past others at the buffet, topless at the pool-Cubans and children need their modesty respected... come on people have some respect!
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The basics were right and we enjoyed being there
Gaviota Playa Pesquero
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Bob from Montreal >
1 contribution(s) Canada
Nov, 2009
25 people found this review helpful
Arrival:
PROS: The beach/pool was large and clean. The water quality is much better IMO than DR or Mexico. Good thing that this resort is large, because there were many families with young children and we had to move a few times. The room (more of a studio actually) was the best layout we ever had and very comfortable. The 15ft jacuzzi beside the pool was "violent" (I loved it!). The November climate in Holguin is almost ideal, night and day.
CONS: For some details, it is less luxurious in real that it pretends to be. Cubans cut occasionally corners (maintenance) in a way we don't see in more luxurious resorts, but not in an offending manner. Except the public toilets beside the reception were a shame, rather 2 stars level (the other ones we discovered a few days later on the theater side was ok). The food was generally good, but there were a few times that something was missing at the buffet (glasses, dishes, butter...). The table service was ordinary. The TV reception in the room was often mediocre. No village around, not much to visit.
All in all, it was a very good value, the basics were right and we enjoyed being there.
Activities on and off the Resort/Hotel:
The only excursion we took was to visit Santiago de Cuba. I preferred La Habana we saw years ago. I would pass on that excursion.
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This place is not recommended for people with a disability
Gaviota Playa Pesquero
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Denise from Montreal >
1 contribution(s) Canada
Oct, 2009
23 people found this review helpful
Arrival: OCT/18/2009 TO NOV 1, 2009
Rooms:
Clean
Restaurants and Bars:
The Asiatic & Sea food are great. Buffet is good.
Beach/Pools/Grounds:
Since it was low season the garden were not all done
Activities on and off the Resort/Hotel:
Did 3 the Holguin Tour, the Jeep & Catamaran good but not worth the money
Other Comments:
The only thing that made us not wanting to return is that it is a very big site we were told that there was caro that would take us where we wanted to go because my husban as an handicap well you would call for one & the would arrive half an hour later. We also went to get a whell chair 10 cuc a day & they are rusted * they squick. This place is not recommended for people with a disability
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Loved every moment
Gaviota Playa Pesquero
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Leigh from Luton >
1 contribution(s)
Sep, 2009
24 people found this review helpful
Arrival: 21st September 2009 for 2 weeks
Arrived very hot and tired after long flight but were quickly ushered into a cool air conditioned room and given a nice cocktail. All forms were completed on the bus so we quickly got our room key etc and the train took us and our cases to our room. Very well done and very quick considering how many people booked in at the same time.
Rooms:
We stayed in a standard room and it was more than big enough for the 2 of us. Loads of storage. King size bed, tea/coffee maker, mini bar with 2 beers, 2 cokes and 1.5l water every day. Clean towels and clean linen on beds every day too whether we asked for it or not. TV with separate seating area was nice too. TV has a number of English channels. Bathroom was big and bright with plugs in bath, basin. (this can be missing in some hotels in Cuba) Cleaned well every day with towel art most days.
Restaurants and Bars:
Cannot fault the food at all. Breakfast in the buffet had all you could want, fresh fruit, cereals, full cooked inc chips and peas randomly. Scrambled eggs are to die for as are the smoothies. Even have champagne to go with your OJ. All free. Evening meal in the buffet was again great. We used to go quite late but they were still putting out fresh food 10 mins before closing. Red Snapper fish is lovely. You could use any of the al a carte restaurants once a week each. Romantico was the best. Try the veal. Best I've ever had. Also did seafood (lobster included), grill and the venetian (italian). Also is an asian and vegetarian restaurant but we didn't go to these but heard nothing but good things by people who had. All superb food and service. Even roses for the ladies given at the end of your meal. Nice touch. Top tip, please book these up on your first day, you may have to wait a bit but it means you can get booked when at what time you want. Dont forget the ice cream parl!
our too.
Drinks
Great service at all the bars. Beer, coke, cocktails really whatever you want. The coffee coach is superb too. Latte's are lovely
Beach/Pools/Grounds:
This place is huge but easy to find your way around. Golf buggies and the train run all the time so no need to walk if you're feeling lazy. Very flat with no steps too. Good for pushchairs/wheelchairs. Grounds are all nicely landscaped and very clean. The toilets by the pool were cleaned on the hour every hour. Although it is a huge hotel, you always feel like you have loads of space. Lobby is gorgous with all the ponds and statues. Mind the frogs and crabs.
Pool.
Massive!! 2 sides to the pool. On the right of the bridge it is more lively with the pool bar and entertainment/music. On the left more quiet and relaxed. This has a bar by the side of the pool (not in). The pool is cleaned every day and we saw 2 guys cleaning it for 3 days all day long. Very shallow (5cm) which gently shelves down to approx 1 metre. Great to just lay in and read books and great for kids. Mind your step after the bollards as the tiles do get a bot slippy. Quite amusing to watch people slipping over though he he. One of the bar men pushes a minibar round the pool every hour or so so you dont even need to move out of your bed. Loads of spare beds even when we came down at lunchtime and with shade too. Beach is gorgeous but not so much shade so we stayed round the pool. Also hot dog/burger stand by the side of the pool between 11.00 and 4.30pm. Very nice.
Activities on and off the Resort/Hotel:
Loads going on each day if you want to be busy. I preferred to sleep, eat and swim so didn't join in. Shows each night too. Not Las Vegas quality but still worth a look.
We didn't do any trips but you could swim with dolphins, drive speedboats, catamarans and also trips to Havana and Santiago De Cuba amongst others
Other Comments:
Shopping
Cigar shop, rum shop, a couple of other shops and half a dozen market stalls for souvenirs/hats too.
Staff
One of the main reasons we will be going back. very hard working but always happy with big smiles and will go out of their way to accomodate you. Nelson always made our breakfast with a big hello and lovely coffee every morning. You really couldn't meet nicer people.
Overall
Absolutely loved our holiday in PP and will definately be returning. We honestly couldn't fault this place and loved every moment.
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Excellent. Spacious and Clean
Gaviota Playa Pesquero
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Jo-Ann from Kepmtville, Ontario >
1 contribution(s) Canada
May, 2009
22 people found this review helpful
Arrival: May 17, 2009 - May 24
Pretty standard.
Rooms:
Excellent. Spacious and Clean. Air conditioned. Beautiful colours - painted murals on the walls - no detail left untouched.
Restaurants and Bars:
Excellent. Buffet was always good - pasta, meat and egg stations for every meal. Plenty of fresh fruit and veggies. A la Cartes were plentiful and very good. Lots to choose from. We really enjoyed the Asiatic. The Gondola was booked solid so we couldn't get in but we were there last trip and it was excellent. The drinks were superb - no watered down booze here - and TRY THE STRAWBERRY DAQUIRI!!
Beach/Pools/Grounds:
Pool is sprawling, clean and warm. Very nice layout and tons of shaded areas and loungers. The beach was amazing. Very good snorkeling. Shell collecting at the delta to the west of the resort is excellent. Also good for shelling is the far east end of the beach. Powder white sand and turquoise water - that's what Cuba is known for and you'll love it here.
Activities on and off the Resort/Hotel:
Always something to do at the resort. We played tennis, ping-pong, bacci ball, air hockey at the games room. Didn't visit the gym but it was well equipped. Got our exercise jogging around the resort on all the walkways. Caught a couple of shows - very nice. Played cards and yatzee in the lobby lounge in the evenings. Very relaxing
Other Comments:
This is our second time to the Playa Pasquero. However we did not book the Pasquero for this trip. We booked the Brisas Guardalavaca. We stayed there for exactly one hour until a taxi could pick us up and take us to the Pesquero!! It only cost around $300.00 Canadian to upgrade 2 adults and a child. Money well spent I say - the Brisas Guardalava made me itchy!
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I can not understand the negative comments
Gaviota Playa Pesquero
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Pauline from Ontario >
3 contribution(s) Canada
Apr, 2009
22 people found this review helpful
I have been twice to this resort and believe me I can not understand the negative comments about the place. We were treated so nicely. They remembered us from 4 yrs prior. I went there with my family of five. 3 Teens. They loved it and would love to go back soon. I guess it all has to do with appreciation of what we have and what we do with it. You are in a poor country in some ways(socialist with free education, medical and dental) but the cubans are happy people, polite and respectful. Yes, they would love more because they see it with their own eyes the material things we have. We are a spoiled generation and we are lucky to experience travel. So just make the best of it and remember they have to work 12 hour shifts and go home which takes another hour for some. I read a recent review about huricane Ike in Holguin. I also have a friend that was affect by it 45 minutes away in land. Her roof was damaged and now has to live with her parents in limited space. I have been to their home and it breaks my heart that 7 of them has to share a small home. Is anyone going there from northern Ontario? Please feel free to e-mail me @ pas_lynn@msn.com
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We found the resort a very secure place
Gaviota Playa Pesquero
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Lynda from St. Catharines, ON >
1 contribution(s) Canada
Mar, 2009
104 people found this review helpful
Arrival: March 13 - 20
The airport is very small so finding your way around is easy. After we were processed through customs we were directed to our awaiting coach for transport to Playa Pesquero. We arrived at night so we did not see much of the scenery. The roads were not that great but the bus was comfortable and the tour guide was very nice. She spoke well and was easy to understand. She did point out many interesting spots which we did see on our way back to the airport.
Rooms
The lobby of the hotel is huge. Check-in was a breeze. The only confusion we had was directions to our rooms. Once we realised that the "buggies" (golf carts) would take you anywhere, getting to our room was easy. They just see the "caught in the headlights" look on your faces and they just stop and are glad to help out. The rooms are very clean and very spacious. The cleaning staff was great. A few CUC's (Cuban convertible pesos) and you are guaranteed clean each day. Water, beer and pop are replenished daily. Although we had some confusion the first day. Just asked at the front desk how to get them replenished and they were right on it. Somehow we got missed in the shuffle. No problem though.
Restaurants and Bars
The coffee is addicting!!!! The Cappucino bar in the main lobby will be a favourite stop for all. Remember to bring a thermos (ie: timmies mug) for the drink of the day. They will fill it up otherwise you are getting a small plastic cup. Food is great. We heard that the food in Cuba was less than desirable. Not the case here. You just have to realize that our version of the way to prepare something might differ from theirs. If you like black pepper bring your own, I don't recommend the white pepper. Also, if you like hot sauce on your eggs pack some. The Romantico restaurant was our last stop on Thursday, and I do believe we saved the best for last. Here you get Caribbean Lobster. To die for. Their lobster is of a stringy variety but still good. The meat is a bit different tasting, but still good. The buffets are great. Try the chicken restaurant in the pool area where there are a few shops. It is the best. Took us 3 days to get in, we were always missing the time. It closes at 3:00 and we spent too much time at the beach. The seafood restaurant on the beach is a great place to eat for lunch. You need reservations for dinner. If you arrive at night and the buffet is just about closing, do not fear, the all night Beer Gardens serves great appetizers. Was a nightly ritual. The buffet by the pool is not so crowded and you get great food there, both cold and hot.
Beach/Pools/Grounds
Beach was clean and is private. Lounge chairs plentiful. Not supposed to save lounge chairs but a few CUC's goes a long way. Plenty of cover and trees for all. Snorkeling was fun. Brought my own snorkel and goggles, used their fins. You won't see much of the coral etc. but there are some different kind of fish. You can snorkel right off the beach. Bring some bread or bananas to attract the fish. Loved the pool and swim up bar. The pool is large and if you want to swim or wade without kids you can. They were usually in the shallow end. Actually, never saw many kids except at meals.
Activities on and off the Resort/Hotel
We took the catamaran ride. The guide was knowledgeable and spoke English very well, as did most on the resort. The nightly entertainment was good. Some nights were better than others but they did have a variety. Some even at the pool!!! Everyone was very talented. We took the 5 CUC "train ride" to Guadalavaca. It is an experience in itself. About 1 hr ride in a kiddie train. I kid you not. But it is a good way to see the living conditions and the country side. Guadalavca is small, just resorts. You can go to the market. The few hours there is more than ample time. Not much to do.
Other Comments
Although the resort is only about 6 years old there are patrons who have been there 8 or 9 times!!!!! That speaks volumes. I would go back.
We found the resort a very secure place. There are security guards everywhere. Remember to tip them on the last day. I had read some reviews before I went and was a little concerned. Not sure what some were expecting but saw none of the negative things I read about. After being there, I was wondering if they were at the same resort. I would recommend this place to anyone. The internet is 8CUC for 1 hour but more than enough time to get in, keep in touch. Don't change too much money, $250 Canadian at the hotel gave us $138 or so and that was more than enough. Remember exchange rates change all the time.
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The staff is awsome!
Gaviota Playa Pesquero
User Rating:
User name ald1 from Ottawa >
1 contribution(s) Canada
Feb, 2009
18 people found this review helpful
Arrival: Feb 8 - 15
Sunwing airline, we were to have a direct flight Ottawa - Holguin, however 1 week before departure we were advised that we would be making a quick stop to Montreal to pick some passengers. No big deal, for us. some passengers were pretty upset!
On arrival at Holguin airport, customs was very quick and we were through with our lugguage in less than 1/2 hour. We boarded our bus with beer in hand. They have some vendors who sell Cristal (very cold) cans for 1.15 CUC. We arrived to our hotel in less than 1 hour. Reception was quick and efficient, we had reserved the Superior room. Not sure if that made a difference at check in time!
Rooms
As mentioned earlier we booked the superior room. The price was 60.00 each for the week. It included a bottle of dark rum (26oz), robes(house coats), incense sticks, and ocean front. We were on the main floor in block Naranjo Agrio bldg room 3404. Rooms were very clean air conditioned and very large. We had a King size bed. the bathroom had all the little extras;Body wash, shampoo, toothbrush and paste with floss, bubble bath, nail files. it included a hair dryer. there was also a bidet located next to the tub and toilet. The sink is separate from the bath area.
the closet had a safe were you create your own PIN. (no charge!) It had a fridge that was stocked daily with 2 beer coke and water. we had a coffee maker but did not use it!
Restaurants and Bars
our superior room included a pre reserved spot to one of the restaurants. they had reserved the seafood for us. we tried the Italian, and the Asian. in our opinion they were good to average. the rest of the week we ate at the buffet or at the beer garden for dinner.
for lunch we ate at the chicken restaurant( I forget the name) the breaded chicken is awsome!
there is also a great coffee bar in the lobby!
Beach/Pools/Grounds
the grounds definietely need a a little Tender love and care as the resort is showing it's age. A little paint job and cleaning would definatly make it some good!
POOL: it's HUGE! we elected to stay near the pool bar as we like to watch people go crazy about 4 pm from sitting there from noon to closing. Some pretty good "action" one late afternoon after the dj put on some ACDC. we had a great laugh!
BEACH: Spectacular. by far the PP end of the beach is the best from all the 3 resorts located on the beach. Because of Huricane IKE they had a temporary bar set up away from the main blg. the building and facilities , I was told is schedualed to reopen in a couple of weeks.
Activities on and off the Resort/Hotel
My only outings were 3 dives with Blue World Diving Centre. the Boat picked us up at 9am every morning for a 2 minute boat ride to the dive Centre. I walked it the first morning and the walk takes about 15 minutes.
1st dive was the Taza Azul; this is great wall and cave dive. we were lucky to see 2 lion fish. the dive master is Michael. Nice guy with Gold capped teeth!
2nd dive was Pasquero Sponge; dive master Michael brought some baitfish (maqueral??) and broke it up as we swam. it attracted a school of Rusty parrotfish and one huge grouper as well as other smaller tropical fish. 3rd dive was the Grand Canyon; this was a great dive were there are multiple walls that run from more 100 feet to the surface at about 20 feet. we also went through some tunnels.
note that the coral is slowly coming back to life.
I did see one octopus while snorkling in front of the dive shop.
Other Comments
HUGE resort that needs some work. the staff is awsome! would I return. Probably not, as there are way too many other places to visit in the caribbean. We However had a great time and would still recomend it thanks for giving us the opportunity to write up a review Oh! we had the pleasure of being at the resort with our very own Lyndon Slewidge the official anthem singer for the Ottawa Senators.
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