This was one of the most fantastic vacations we have ever been on. This was the first time I have had my luggage x rayed on the way into the country but no big deal. Also have your luggage tags handy from your boarding pass to match to the tags on your baggage, they check them when you leave the airport. The Decameron Aquarium is an absolutely unique place to stay with the round buildings on the water. There is not a total ocean view from every room, but each room does have some kind of water view. This island is by far the most beautiful place I have ever seen. The water is known for it's seven shades of blue and it never disappoints. We were there for two weeks and had one afternoon of rain(we spent the morning walking and at the pool).

Food: Wonderful, the Thai restaurant was delicious, the Seafood fantastic (the shrimp to die for)and the buffet was very good, fairly typical. We also went to the other Decameron hotels on the island for their restaurants. The Japanese at the San Luis was incredible and the BBQ and A La Carte at the Marazul were delicious as well. The Maryland had a beautiful buffet on the night we were there. We also had lunch at the Isleno and San Luis and Rock Cay and they were very good as well. They provide a shuttle bus between resorts at scheduled times and we never had to book the shuttle a day ahead as some have indicated. If you stay to the back of the line the bus usually fills up and they will provide you with a taxi.

We ate breakfast in the morning and headed for a walk in through town up beach and in through town usually for 2-3 hours each morning and met many people. It's a hoot to rent a golf cart and tour the island, you can see so much its fantastic. The vendors are very polite, many try to sell you things but a simple no thank you and they apologize for bothering you. The people of the island are so friendly and polite its incredible. We received a great lesson on what to look for in a good emerald from Diseno's jewellry.

Money: Although we took US funds with us we used the bank machine just down from the Jet Set Cafe to get peso's. When we were there in February 07, 1 us dollar = 2000 pesos

You could not ask for better staff at the Aquarium, the bartender in the lobby (Baby), and at the pier bar are incredible.

I usually like to have a beach but I really did not miss it at this resort, although the rooms are right on the water there is no beach at this resort. They do have a beautiful beach at Rocky Cay that the hotel chain has purchased and the shuttle is available to take you there as well. There is a bar and restaurant there and loungers.

I could go on and on about this place but all I can say is we will back.

We had a wonderful week at San Andres. The Island is beautiful and you will not be disappointed if you select a vacation here. But, study your travel books carefully as every hotel has it's good and bad points.
We liked the Decameron Aquarium very much, but we would not stay there again if we return to San Andres.

First of all, if you're from the United States, you will probably be the only Americans on the entire island. Not only that, but other guests will express shock that you are from the states. We felt sort of like conversation pieces, although everyone was very pleasant and friendly. Most guests are from Canada or from Colombia. Of course, Colombia owns San Andres.

Now, the hotel..........it's so very unique because all of the buildings are in the water...........but not all rooms have an ocean view!! If we stood or sat at the very far end of balcony, we could face the sea. For a lot of the rooms, the view is the next building. But we found the room quite nice and very clean. Ours had 2 three-quarter size beds although we would have preferred one king. But, we were not given an option. The air conditioner, even on low, kept the room chilly. But, if you turn it off, it gets quite humid and had a strong humid, musty smell. It's so humid there that your bathing suit never really dries. If you hang your towel on the balcony to dry......forget it...it won't. But, that's no reflection on the hotel. That's just the way it is. I found the layout of the hotel grounds rather congested. Everything is very close together.
A most important thing you should know is there is no beach here. So, if you're looking for sand, stay somewhere else. What is here are wide wooden docks or piers with lots of lounge chairs for sun bathing. Really, it's quite nice and unique. Even though there's no beach, the swimming is great!! There is a pool which we felt was on the small side. There was also a kids' pool. But, the great swimming is in the "ocean pool", which is a piece of the sea roped off where you can swim and snorkel. The water is so very crystal clear and there are lots of beautiful fish. This is where we spent most of our time. It's a thousand times better than a pool!!

The food at the Aquarium was not much more than "okay". Even the breakfasts weren't that great. The pancakes were always cool even though they were kept in steamer pans. There was no bacon. "Sausage" is hot dogs. (they do a lot with hot dogs here). The scrambled eggs are mixed with something (cheese maybe?) to keep them moist, but they're not good tasting. There's usually ham but it looks like really processed stuff, not like regular ham. But, of course there's fruit and rolls and pastries, so you won't go hungry.
You must make a dinner reservation every day, even if you're just going to eat in the general buffet, "la Barracuda". This is a huge hassle. You make your reservation at a designated spot (which they may change without letting anyone know), and they open at 7:30am for reservations. There are 4 a la carte restaurants besides la Barracuda; an Italian, a Thai, a steak house, and a seafood restaurant. If you get to the designated spot at 7:30, there will be approximately 30 people in line ahead of you, and it will take you about 30 minutes. (multiply that by your 7 days and it takes a good bite out of your vacation.) I found the system absolutely absurd. But, the a la carte restaurants are pretty good. Our least favorite was the steak house - we ordered t-bone and the meat was extremely tough. People later told us that we should have ordered the baby beef instead. But the Italian, Thai, and the seafood were quite good. The cornflake shrimp at the seafood was really excellent, and the Vietnamese rice at the Thai was great. Desserts at the specialty restaurants are a little itty bitty wedge of cheese cake or chocolate cake. So, if you're big on dessert, you will be a little disappointed. We went to the Decameron Marazul one day for lunch and found the food to be of much better quality. In fact, everything at the Marazul was nicer. That's where I'd stay if I went to San Adres again. It's beautiful except that the beach is small and it's a man made beach, and we didn't care for that. Like, you really can't dig your toes into the sand!

You have the option to visit any of the other Decameron Hotels on the island, but you must make a reservation for the shuttle the day before, and you will be given a pass for lunch or dinner. Without it, you will not eat. You must also bring your towels with you, which is a pain in the neck. The only tour we took was called "The Island Tour", and it was $20 a person and we were gone for about 4 hours. It was nice and informative, with some history of the Island. You could probably do the same tour with a taxi for about half the price.

We walked into town a few times.......it's only a matter of a few blocks away, and it's a nice walk - very safe and lots of pedestrian traffic. I wasn't thrilled with the shopping as it's all stuff you can buy right here. But, we did find a few vendors in town and at different stops we made on the tour. Downtown there is a fantastic public beach!!!

Internet cafes are everywhere and they are really cheap!! The one across from the hotel and down a few yards was 75 cents for 30 minutes. Can't beat that!!

We went to the Aquarium for two weeks. Loved it and will be back! We been to the D.R. 5 times and wanted to try something different. Boy, did we ever! This place is safer and friendlier than the D.R. The diving and snorkeling is awesome. I am sure there are a lot of beautiful places to dive...but SAI is very affordable. We paid $1180 plus tax for two weeks in Canadian at New years time. The people who come here are mostly Canadians and Columbians. I found the Canadians hung around Canadians and Columbians around Columbians. Still everyone was nice to each other. We meet wonderful people while we were and this made out trip feel more relax and at home.

AIRPORT This is the worst airport we have ever gone to. The lines are long and hot. They check everything.

POOL We went only twice to the pool and we did not like the layout of it so we stayed on the pier.

PIER We loved it on the pier. There is a bar, washroom and disco there. Enough chairs to go around. They fill up sometimes but, you can usually fine a place to lay or sit. On one end there is rental area and the other end there is the sports center. This is where you can use or rent water stuff. We only went kayaking once and enjoyed it. My husband used wind surfer too. We saw a young girl about 12 using the skidoo and banged into the pier. Later friends of ours saw the father dishing out cash for the marks on it. Be careful. THE SNORKELING HERE IS EXCELLENT! We saw angel fish barracuda, eel,crabs, squid, octopus and a lot fish we do not know the names of them. At night we would always go and sit at the pier. The wind is always blowing so forget about good hair. Just enjoy the breeze.

DISCO We went up to the Disco once and came back down. It reminded me of grade 8 dance where no one asked anyone to dance. Everyone was sitting in this dark room with loud music. I think if they played more music for people in there 40's people would dance.

SEAFOOD This restaurant is on the pier as well and is a nice change from the buffet. We did not like it and some of our friends did and didn't. You will have to try it yourself and see.

STEAKHOUSE/BBQ This one had the best OK food. Some days it is good and other days it sucks. You take your chances.

ITALIAN This one we went to a few times and we enjoyed it. They do seem to rush you out if you are at the early dinner.

BARRACUDA Hit and miss here. I did not like it but I am fussy. I found something to eat and I was not starving. We did fine second sitting did not get all the good food and late bloomers did not get the bacon in the morning.

OTHER RESTERAUNTS Booking is a pain in the ass. We tried walking in on some and it worked for lunch and it might work for the late dinner for some.We enjoyed the Maryland one day at lunch and the Marazul for dinner a few times. The a la carte Caravelle was our favorite. I liked the Chicken cordon bleu. The El Rodeo was good too. We had seconds and that is usual for a la carte. The only place we did not eat was the IsLeno we stopped in for drinks a few times only. The San Luis we stopped for lunch and did not like it. We were told from others this is a place for younger kids. So if your young maybe this is the place for you.

ENTERTAINMENT It is what you make of it. We did not really enjoy it much it seem to be geared to the Columbian guess which is fine since they are the one who go here all year round and keep the food on the table for them. We were in the dance contest and our friends had a good laugh on us. We are not dancers but we looked funny and this was a crowed pleaser. Compare to other places we have gone they were way below average.

ROOMS Clean, these were the cleanest rooms with no bugs. We did not realize that there is a paper on the end table that you can put on your bed if it doe not need to be changed. I have never been somewhere that changed your sheets everyday unless you asked them not to. I usually take my sheets off and put them in the tub to be washed. Not here they are very good at cleaning your rooms.Hot water was good except one day we had none. Pressure was good also.Maid here only want money since they have access to many stores. Peso is best.

BANKING We used the ATM and had no problems. Our friends had to fine a bank that had a plus sign ( if you look at your card there is one) Once we found this his Scotia Bank card worked. We used CIBC and I already knew it work and it cost $3 from my bank and I think $2 from SAI. If you go inside there is paper work for you to fill out and who wants to do that. Also, on the streets people will exchange for you. The maids and other people prefer peso.

INTERNET ACESS There are a lot of cafe and it is only like 50 cent for hour or something like that. We had trouble getting on and finding AOL. Remember they are down a lot.

CALLING We meet people who had trouble getting thru to home. I think it is cheaper and easier to tell tour family you will email them and tell them it might take a few days.

ISLAND We took a taxis tour around the island and visit all the main places. If you are staying for two weeks do this if you not just ask to go to Hill for the view or the school to drop off stuff.go to the Blow Hole and West View for snorkeling and really that is all you need to see. If you staying for two weeks go for it all. We had a 5 hour tour and snorkeling trip and it only cost us 20 us for four people. His name is Orveldeo ( I think I spelled it right) he will watch you stuff and entertain you with stories if you talk to him.
There is a shopping area and a public beach all down town. It is very safe to walk at night. We would take a walk most days and a few nights and felt very safe. We did go to a bad area and people to us to turn around. So if you are walking around and there is not police than turn around. Use commonsense, something I was lacking that day...lol
There is drugs everywhere you go. This island nobody bothered with us. The venders are not bad here, a simple no thank you is fine. If you slow down and look you are telling them you are interest.
To go out is CHEAP. If you like to eat out or drink out it is very reasonable. We only had a banana split one night and it was good.

RENTALS I wanted to rent but we never got around to it. Friends of ours did. A scooter is $25.00 for 24 hours. There are a couple places higher price. It is safe but look over what you rent, if there is a mark write it down and show him or you will pay. Someone we know had to pay something like $5.00 for a mark. But I am sure if it was bad you will pay. The cars are like $100.00 which is too high, The golf carts vary in price. I think it was $60.00 for 4 hours or something like that. They break down all the time. Be careful when you drive.

SNORKELING AND DIVING Must do!!! go see Mario at the Marazul he is there everyday. Just ask someone. If you book it in person you save $5.00. We went at 3:00 -6:30 on a snorkeling tour. We did not go to the islands which I heard are good too. We just went out into the ocean. His family swim like fishes too. Any ways we saw the most here. Sting rays and fishes and fishes and more fishes. I had a great time and would do it again. Diving at the Aquarium sucked. I have dived a few times and this was my worst dive. I was very disappointed in it.Go to the west side of the island and dive there. My husband did two dives and the one with out me was good he said. He went 80 feet and enjoyed it very much. I only went 33 Feet.

San Andres Island, Decameron Marazul, February 16-23 2006

Patrick and Tammy, Ontario early 30's, love outdoors, getting off the resort

Flew Air Transat from Toronto to San Andres, we left about an hour behind schedule ( 0720 hrs )due to freezing rain. Good flight, the airport in San Andres is small and a little unorganized. Got through airport in about an hour and got a taxi ( provided by resort ) to the resort which is about a 10 minute ride. Had to wait till 1500 hrs to get in our room, but got our bracelets right away.

Pool: 1 pool with wading area and swimming area, nice pool, water volleyball, relatively small but you never felt crowded, you could get a spot at the pool at any time of day.

Beach: relatively small, rough sand, small swimming area, again not crowded.

Bars: the pier bar is open 24 hrs! , very nice view out on the water, usually only 1 bartender working so it could get busy at night, 1 other bar near pool open from about 1000-1700hrs and a bar in the lobby Hemmingways was open from about supper time to 2200 hrs, both nice. Luis at Hemmingways made awesome drinks and Marlee at the pier bar was great.

Restaurants: Buffet was smaller than a normal buffet but still good. The a la carte's were barbecue which we did not particularly enjoy and the International cuisine which we found to be actually quite good, not a lot of seafood at any of them though. We also went to the Italian a la carte at Aquarium and it was OK and the Japanese at the San Luis which was really good but more Chinese than Japanese.

Room: We were in room 305, large room, 1 king size and 1 twin bed, table and chairs, big dresser, balcony. Air conditioning was fine until second last day went on the fritz in our building for a few h! ours but we told the staff in the lobby and it was fixed within a few hours. Hot showers were hit and miss if you tried before breakfast or supper. Pay for room safe. There is a fridge but only stocked with water. Small resort but our building was still quiet.

Staff: All very friendly and spoke GREAT english, a real surprise for a Caribbean country.

Tours: Did the jet skis at the resort $20 for two to ride and follow an employee out around Haines Cay and back, they had a speed regulator on the jet ski, went real slow, still good siteseeing trip.
We did the boat trip to Haines Cay and Aquario with Mario, which was free if staying at Marazul, very crowded, neat to see, you can walk from one island to the other in waist deep water, order drinks etc.snokeling is very good, take some bread and the fish go wild. We also did a group night cruise with Mario, he told some history of the island and it was ver! y nice to see things from the water at night. We took a taxi to the diving board on the west side of the island where the snorkeling was incredible, you pay 25 cents to get in and they give you bread for the fish.
We took the local bus right outside the resort to town (note there is only 1 town on the island) several times for 1100 pesos( 50 cents ) for shopping. The perfume and liqour were very cheap, name brand clothes etc were normal prices like at home.
Jhonny Cay was very hot, good prices for food, drinks, cost $10 to get there with Mario from the resort.
Went diving with Werner at Karibik diving in town- great time-see review in scuba diving section.
Also went to a local Restaurant called West View, small and very charming local authentic cuisine, our group were the only tourists there, paid about $30 for a dinner with two lobster tails, rice potatoes.

Resort: al! so had a disco which we did not really check out, opened at 2300hrs and a small casino- about 15 slot machines and a roulette table.

we visited the island of san andres in January 2006 for our honeymoon. it was our first time leaving canada and we loved it so much that we made a packed to travel every year for our anniversary...we just hope all place are equivelant to san andres.

the marazul is by far the best Decameron resort on the island, we went to all the other ones either during the day or for the a la carte diner at night...we did enjoy the seafood restaraunt at the aquarium but my husband and i did venture off the resorts to eat at some seafood restaurants in town and it was fabulous. you could taste the freshness in the lobster compared to canada's! the marazul did have the best quantity and more to choose from then the others and i loved the fact that for breakfast they made me omelettes to my liking and fried eggs for my hubby! the scrambled eggs didn't look to appetizing cause they were premade in bulk and very wet looking but alot of the columbians seem to like them that way...the juice was to die for ...freshly squeezed or should i say blended..i realy enjoyed the watermelon juice the most. the one thing i did miss not having was bacon..but the rest of the food made up for it...fresh friut was in abundance..mango and papaya were my faves...the a la carte at the caravelle was very good as well, i had the shrimp and loved it and my husband had the fish( red snapper) i believe and loved it also.

the shopping was great...i have heard through other travelers that they were the cheapest prices they have seen compared to other caribbean islands. we stopped in to one jewelery store downtown called esmeralda's and my husband bought me the most beautiful emerald and diamond ring there for only $300 us and when i returned home i went and got it appraised and it is worth $1,200 in canada...what a bargain!!! but just a little hint to those looking to purchase an emerald...pick the darkest and clearest stone..they are the best quality!

i bought san andres t-shirts for $2.50 each for my family but you have to shop around to get a good price cause some places are $10 us and $5 us...we just happened to walk into the right little shop!

excursions....we went on the horse back ridding excursion and it was o.k. we had to follow the guide at all times and never went into the mountains, it costed $30 us each for this...not worth it! we took a taxi cab tour around the island and visited the famous blow hole with complimentory drinks...then the pirates cove..interesting....and the one place i insisted on going to was the school for special children due to the fact that i worked with them in canada and i was curious to see how it was there...we brought gifts for the children and they loved it..this one little girl just clung on to me and i fell in love with her, wanted to bring her home with me! :(

we also went snorkeling Mario was the guide and his wife showed us how to snorkel..it was my first time and i loved it, i got alot of nice pictures but did accidently swallow the water...very gross!

the rooms were not bad my bed was very comfy mind you we had the honeymoon suite so might be a bit better then other rooms....they give you a galon of spring water in your fridge everyday...the rooms are kept very clean but you do have to watch for aunts they only come out at night and they are gone by morning but we didn't get very many and we were also on the ground floor...if you are on the second floor you never seen any. in the morning when we woke up and sat outside on our terrace for coffee we had our little blue friend there everyday to great us...it was a blue lizard who climbed the tree outside our room and once in a while his friend crabby would come around to say hi too...land crabs walk around to see the scenery too!...they are all harmless and quite exciting to us canadians to see...

while you are there you have to get a hot rock message!..it was so relaxing that my hubby fell asleep on the table!...it costs $25us but well worth it.

then there is the pier bar..that was the hang out for most everynight before the show started at 10pm and some people may say it takes awhile to be served but what they don't tell you is that there are so many people there that everyone just has to be patient and take their turn! the service was great as far as im concerned and the bartenders did a fantastic job...my fav bartender was Marlee, she was funny and very efficient! so if you decide to take a trip to san andres marazul and you meet Marlee, please tell her that Jackie and Kevin the honeymooners from canada say "HI!". she will also give you the low down on the island and tell you were to go for the best buys and were to have the most fun.

the pool area apparently was small compared to others but i found it just fine for my needs..and there was daily activities like water volleyball and water competitions...as for the nightly shows they were awsome! they included the people and it was halarious!

This resort was advertised as a four star property, but I think even a three start rating would be generous. There were many things that I would not expect in a four star resort, some of which are listed below:

HOTEL COMMON AREAS
The outside areas including the beach were well maintained and groomed. The inside was clean, but the furniture, which must have looked grand at some point a couple of decades ago, was dirty and stained. It looked like it belonged in a basement of a frat house, not a four start resort.

ROOM
About the only thing in the room that wasn't broken or malfunctioning was the floor.

Ceiling: The dropped-ceiling tiles were dirty and deformed, some were shifted. There were holes in the ceiling. It made the room look like a cheap motel rather than a FOUR STAR hotel room.

Bed: The bed was hard and not very comfortable. I like hard mattresses, but this was just too much. The pillows smelled and there were occasionally unexplainable stains on the bed linen. yuck. We can just hope that the sheets were actually washed.

Electronics: The TV worked and there were about 20 channels in Spanish and all of 3 channels in English. The remote was broken. The fridge was simply disgusting. It was leaking a yellowish fluid. I would not put anything non-sealed in the it.

AC: There were two settings - OFF and F^^^^ freezing. Kept it off for the most part.

Other: The furniture was old and drawers didn't open.

Neither did the window.

Overall: the room was decrepit and smelled of mildew and mould. Barely usable. We were truly disappointed with how it looked. If there is one thing that I would single out as the biggest disappointment, and trust me it's not an easy choice, it would be the room.

FOOD
There was the expected recycling that occurs in all-inclusive resorts, but truth be told, there was very little to recycle. The food selection was poor.

Breakfast: Pre-made scrambled eggs tasted like detergent. Juices were watered down and made from vegetables that were not ripe enough. The fruits were mostly green and tasteless (thanks, I can have that in Canada). There weren't any cold cuts, and there was only one type of cheese - processed. The bread/buns were often stale. The only thing worth eating was made-to-order omelette and we ate different variations each of the seven days we were there. Needless to say I won't have omelette for a while.

Lunches and dinners were much the same. I honestly don't think that they had a trained chef on staff.

The a la carte restaurants were not much better. In one (Caravelle) they prepared the food ahead of time and served it re-heated, which ensured quick service, but a really crappy dinner. In the other, the food was good for the most part except that I got sick from the grilled chicken...

ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGES
Didn't really expect much since it was advertised as 'free domestic drinks and wine with dinner'. The wine was really bad...it would've been better used as vinegar on the salad...Everything else was OK I guess. Not a lot to chose from.

SERVICE
This was another big minus. I have seldom seen a place where staff are so openly concerned with their own comfort over that of the guests. Three people would manage to either stand around talking to each other or look busy while I was looking for someone to bring me coffee or wine or whatever. At the pier bar it would sometimes take over 15 minutes to get a drink.

BEACH
Terrible. Dirty Water. Algae. Crabs. Completely unappealing. The only good part was that there was free transportation to the keys across from the hotel.

ACTIVITIES & ENTERTAINMENT
Not much of either worth mentioning.

OVERALL
We loved the island, the nature, and the greenery but the resort was simply horrible. We visited Isleno and Aquarium and they were not much better. I would love to go back to the island, but would not stay in any of Decameron 'resorts'. I really feel ripped off. I don't expect to be treated like royalty, but I at least like to know that my business is appreciated.

This is my fifth review on this site and covers a January 12-26, 2006 trip to San Andres staying at the Decameron Marazul. My wife and I are in our 50's and have had recent vacations to Mexico, Dominican Republic, and Costa Rica. We tend to prefer smaller hotels away from large cities with easy access by foot or local bus to the surrounding area. I do speak some Spanish which is always helpful. First I'll give you a bit of background on the island, followed by a description of the hotel and finally some suggestions on what to do during your stay. While San Andres is familiar to people in the Toronto/Montreal parts of Canada it is much less known in other areas where it is not promoted. It is a very small island (8mi x2mi) located in the southwestern Caribbean 120 mi off the east coast of Nicaragua. In its early history it was settled by The Engish who brought Jamaican slaves there, but now it is owned by Colombia. Languages spoken include English, Spanish and a delightful creole blend of the two. Most people speak both of the major languages making it a culturally interesting place to visit.

Of interest to potential vistors from the north are the facts that:
1)It is warmer than Cuba and the Dominican Republic in January

2)It is an extremely tourist-friendly spot where you can strike out on your own, mingle with the locals and South American tourists, shop till you drop, and do it all at prices considerably cheaper than Mexico, Jamaica or the rest of the English speaking Caribbean.

The Decameron Marazul is located on the east shore about a 10 min drive from downtown San Andres and about 15 min from the airport (a remarkably busy place I might add) . It is the best of five Decameron hotels on the island (3 downtown and 1 farther away from downtown than the Marazul. Free transportation and use of all facilities including restaurants with reservations are provided to guests of all 5 hotels. We chose the Marazul because others on this site had reported the food selection was bigger (I would agree) and because of the free boat trips to the offshore islands.

The hotel has about 120 rooms (the hotel size we most prefer) in 3 buildings and ours was in Building 3 on the top floor. It did have an ocean view and was spacious (25.5ft x 12 ft+9 ft ceilings). The balcony faced east with a view of the cays. The furniture wasn't fancy, but the bed and pillows were comfortable (not excessively hard). There were no bad smells (inside or out), no bugs, no noise except between 9-11 pm when the entertainment was on and even then it wasn't disturbing. The water was hot most of the time and the pressure was fine. The central air con- ditioning was not too cold and all in all, the room was similar to others I've stayed at in Mexico and Costa Rica with a 3 star rating . If you have the services of a tour representative on site and are not happy with the room you are given use the Tour Rep as an intermediary to get something better. It works (the Tour Reps. have clout!)

Some other hotel observations include:
1) Excellent service from our English speaking maid 2) Beautiful grounds constantly being renovated and maintained
3) Friendly staff from the reception desk, bellboys, bartenders, hostesses and food servers. Because the dining room is small the wait staff there are very attentive . Within a few days you will know all their names and they yours if you take the time to introduce youself .
4) A typical buffet selection of meats, fish, fruits, breads, and desserts with a somewhat scant selection of vegetables (raw and cooked) and dairy products (no ice cream, or butter--little cheese, sour cream). Food was tasty, well prepared with good sauces and I overheard few complaints. All food prep people and servers wore masks.
5) A la carte restaurants were good as well, although the BBQ restaurant needs a new menu as it is pretty limited. We ate at 4 different restaurants for dinner and 3 different buffets for lunch (you have unlimited a la carte visits). Compared with other all inclusives in the same price range I have visited I would rate the food 4 stars.
6) Two culinary items stood out for me: the seafood soup at the Caravelle was delicious, definitely good enough for seconds, and the juice selection at breakfast was the best I've ever encountered (minimum 9 choices). Guava juice to die for!
7) The pool was refreshing, relatively quiet, had chairs available most of the time and water temperature was 29 degrees C.
8) The beach is made of "trucked-in" sand that compacts quickly and is not that soft to walk on though it is cleaned and fluffed daily. There were lots of chairs (no pads so bring an air mattress) and shade wasn't a problem with palapas and palms. The ocean part of the beach was not good however. Because the water depth is so shallow around the adjacent mangroves sea grass is constantly being washed up on shore and removed by staff. Beach erosion is a serious problem and the bottom has a "mucky" feel to it as a result. Add the numerous jellyfish inhabiting the bottom and I suggest you look elsewhere for your swimming, wading and snorkeling activities. Water temperature was 32 degrees C. matching the air temperature. You won't find that in Cuba in January.
9) Beach activities and watersports were, however, as good as any I've seen on other vacations due to the shallow, safe water. Jet skiis $10/hr, kite boarding $35/hr with lessons, kayaks, paddle boats, wind surfing, sailboats, floating loungers, snorkeling equipment etc--all free. Banana boats rides were an unbelievable $5.00 available from Aquario Cay opposite the hotel.
10) As for the weather it was windy. This is apparently a Dec/Jan/Feb thing. It wasn't a big deal nor were the brief showers.

Following is a list of some of the things we did during our two week stay:
1) 3 1/2 hour tour of the island with English speaking native guide--$20 including open bar
2) 2 hour snorkeling trips to Aquario and Haynes Cays from the Marazul Pier--free (went twice)
3) 1 1/2 hour submarine tour of the inner reef--$15 with drinks Spanish speaking guide
4) Walking trips with swim to Rocky Cay/Cocoplum Bay . Although the walk is about 15 minutes south of the Marazul a 2 hour round trip is reasonable. We went twice as it is a very nice beach, once on Sunday as the locals were going to church. We met some of the hotel staff at the beach. Drinks are available for purchase, otherwise it's free.
5) Public beach in town. Lots of activities, boat trips to Johnny Cay ($4 each way). Nice beach for swimming as it's a little deeper. Free use of the facilities at the Decameron Isleno across the street from the beach.
6) Although we didn't know till our second last day, the public beach is the place to hire a boat to take you out snorkeling on the inner reef, I'm sure for $5 you could get an hours worth and the presence of the boat would protect you from other boat traffic in the area. We saw some snorkerlers way out but it seemed dangerous without a boat to signal their presence.
7) And last but not least there is SHOPPING on San Andres. I am going to go out on a limb here and state that (based on having been to 14 other countries in the Caribbean and Latin America) San Andres is unique as a vacation shopping destination. They are way more stores than in Playa del Carmen with prices 50% less. Ladies do I have your attention? Tommy Hilfiger, Benetton, Nautica... stores and stores selling everything from jewellry (emeralds and 18k gold), linens, appliances (coffee maker $6), incredible shoes, clothing for everyone, perfume, liquor, watches, home furnishings, sporting goods etc., etc., etc. What to do with all the money I saved on excursions? Cruise ships come here for one reason only.. The good rum (aged 8 years) is $9 a bottle, the value stuff is $4.

The city of San Andres is a friendly place to shop--everyone is very polite, you can bargain if you're so inclined, but won't feel bad if you don't and end up paying $20 for a three strand pink pearl necklace. Most shopkeepers speak some English and in the larger stores at least someone speaks very good English. The town is clean, it's fun and no one hassles you. You're best to use a credit card or exchange money at a cambio. Traveler's cheques are cashed there and it's faster than at a bank. The rate is better than at the hotel (2180 pesos/ USD).

In summary then, if you want to go to San Andres you can go from Toronto/Montreal in the winter (4 1/2 hr flight). It's a low key type of place frequented by Canadians (1/3) and South and Central Americans (2/3); the latter definitely came to shop, and they provide the competition that keeps the prices low. Although duty free status helps too!

I visited the Royal Decameron Marazul with three other women (mid forties). The Marazul is one of five Decameron resorts and the good thing is you can visit them all and eat for free (with reservations) at any of them, returning to your own room at night. The Marazul is a little more 'up-scale' than the other resorts, very clean, staff very friendly and helpful. We stayed in rooms near the pool. Two of us didn't like the room (due to mold/mildew) so were moved to another room. The other two stayed by the pool and were quite satisfied with the room. No probs with changing the room. The food was plentiful and varied. Many different places to eat. The Japanese at the San Luis was a good experience. The International Restaurant at the Marazul was also good, but all of the restaurants were fine with a good selection. We visited the San Luis, the Maryland and the Aquarium and were very glad we had chosen the Marazul. Did not take the organized island tour but chose to take a taxi. We visited the 'blow hole' and Captain Morgan's Cave with the Coconut museum and the Pirates cave. Also a swimming hole with tons of fish, people were snorkeling there too. It cost us $10 each and we had an excellent tour guide who even took us into town shopping and told us the best places to shop. There is a rumour that the perfume is not all legit ?? Don't know if it is true but we did have our suspicions when sampling. We're pretty sure we got the genuine thing with the help of our guide. Without the help of our guide I bought a bottle of Baccardi at a little store in town and it has definitely been watered down (or something).

The shopping in town is great .. shoes galore (my favourite). Great little boutiques with nice items and great prices.

We took Mario's boat over to the Aquario island. It was a zoo when we arrived. Wall to wall (or maybe beach to beach) people waiting to leave. You have to pay to rent a chair to sit on. And, if you don't have beach shoes, you pay $3 to rent those. We were advised to go later in the day when there would be fewer people and sure enough 1/2 hour later most of the people had departed and the island was a nicer and calmer place to be. The water there is crystal clear and aqua blue it is quite rough and I scraped my shin on the rocks out there so watch out. (I wouldn't bother to do that activity again). Instead I'd take the catamaran from the Marazul beach - it's about $20.

Flight: AirTransat – no problems either way - however they do charge if your luggage is over 44 pounds. WE paid $10 each to reserve our seats ahead of time and that was worth the money. Since we had our seats already we didn’t have to worry about being the first to arrive at the airport.

Resort: It is the nicest of the 5 Decamerons. I would give our room 3* - it was clean and the kingsize bed was comfortable. It could use updating but how long are you really in your room. The a/c is noisy but we didn’t find that a problem. Friends of ours did have problems with their air not working. They continually complained and maintenance would come to look at it but they never really did anything. The 1 couple was eventually moved to another room where it was a bit cooler.

Food: I would give this 3*. We could always find something to eat. What was very important to our group was bacon and it was only served every other morning and then it was doled out –you couldn’t help yourself. They consider sausages to be hotdogs and there was plenty every morning – just sliced differently. The snack bar was open at certain times of the day 12-5 in the afternoon and then again at midnight. You need to make reservations for dinner even if you are having the buffet – we had good meals at both a-la carte restaurants. You can also eat at the other resorts you just need to make reservations the night before. The Italian restaurant at San Juan was very good. One night we went out for dinner to the Rincon Seafood Restaurant – we had filet mignon and lobster tails – cost $53 US and it was an excellent meal.

$$$ - we brought American $ which was accepted everywhere. We exchanged a little into pesos but you can’t change back to US when you leave. We found that the best exchange rate would have been US travellers chqs at the bank or use an ATM machine when you go into town. The ATM gave you approx 2000 pesos / CDN $ which was the same rate as the US $

We called home from downtown at a Telecom building. It was very reasonable.

Mostly Canadians visit this resort and Colombians vacation here from the mainland. Overall people were friendly. We found that a lot of the staff didn’t speak English –we managed to communicate no problem. There is no pool bar but they have a pier bar instead and that was excellent. The Maryland has a pool bar so we took the free shuttle 1 afternoon and spent it there. Shuttles between the resorts are available at certain times of the day. Taxis are very reasonable approx $4 US so we did that a lot too.

Shopping is great. It is a duty free island. We got cologne reasonable and Crown Royal – you still need to look for the best buy though because it does vary from store to store. A lot of designer labels available and shoe stores.

The Marazul supplies a free trip over to a little island to snorkel – it leaves 3 times a day for 2 hours and Mario runs it. He hooked us up with a cab driver also and we toured the island for 3 hours for $40 US. It was worth every penny.

We felt very safe on this island. Scooters/golf carts/jeeps are available for rent but we never did it because it would have been too dangerous. There are no lights or stop signs and no speed limits – we saw up to 4 people on a scooter with no helmets. Medical insurance comes with a rental but not coverage if you wreck the scooter.

My wife and I just got back from San Andres Island .We flue out of Toronto with Air Transat Club Class ,verry nice ,the only way to go!

We stayed at the Decameron Marazul and this was our first time to a warm place for vacation. Check in was great and the staff was very friendly. Our room faced the pool and was not far from the beach. As far as the food goes the buffet was great for breakfast, but we had a hard time with the rest of the meals. We managed and went to other side of the island to eat at a seafood restaurant. The food was just different and the texture was not what we wre use to. Hey we didn't starve. The pier bar was exellent and Marlyn was always on the ball as far as keeping you in drinks all night. The regae band was nice to listen to also. didn't care to swim in the water at the beach. Too much seaweed for us,but you can go by boat with Mario to aquario cay and snorkle and walk across to hays cay. The water out there is something I have never seen before. Just beautifull. The day where nice and hot all the time. Did not go to the disco and only to the casino once, did not win any thing. The animation group were wonderful. They sure have lot of energy. Never a dull moment with them around. We went down town a couple of times and it was sure different to see how these people live and to go into the shops. There is a great store to buy duty free booze at good prices. We went to the Aquarium resort to eat and look around and it look real nice there. We thought this was a very nice and relaxing vacation and at a good price.

We have spent the last 20 years going to LasVegas once a year and no were else, so this was an eye opener as to what the sunny south has to offer. We sure will return again. The same day we got to SanAndres and called home to our daughter to say things were fine, her and her husband booked the four of us a trip in april 05 to Riu Palace , Cabo San Lucas Mexico This is a 5 star plus and just opened in December 04. Looking forward to that trip. Once again San Andres was just great and we will return. Any one wanting to ask any questions please email at janssdale@sympatico.ca

First off, we had an amazing time in San Andres! We were there for the first week of February and the weather was above 30 almost everyday. Flight was on time and arrival was problem free. The travel rep put us in a taxi to the hotel but because we stayed at the Decameron Maryland (the smallest of the 5), we had to wait a bit longer because they like to fill the taxi with 4 people. It's a 5 minute ride to the hotel from the airport but it's really not a big deal at all. It's rather charming to get a view that close from below and well, everything at the hotel well makes up for it.

The staff are incredibly friendly, rooms are clean, neat and by far surpassed our expectations especially with the cheap price we got with Nolitour/World of Vacations via Sell Off Vacations ($1000 each all taxes included). Book your seats in advance. It is worth the $10 each way to make sure you get a bulkhead because the Air Transat Boeing 757 is tiny! We stayed for one week. The variety and quality of the food was grea