Love this place

I have been going to Don lino for years. I love it because it's small and intimate. They are doing a great job on trying to make themselves better, whether it be improving the older rooms or adding a little play area to make it kid friendly.

Always nice place and people to see there

Relaxing place to visit and will go again. Always new adventures and local areas to visit. Quaint friendly people both on and off the resort. Villages in the area are easy to get to and explore how the real Cubans live.

You get what you pay for

It's a simple hotel nothing fancy, make sure you bring water shoes as the beach is full of coral and you'll not want to go in the water with out the shoes, food was so so, a la carte menu not much better, nonetheless pleasant but not much to do there or around there.

Nice place, won't hurry back.

This was my 8th stay at Don Lino and the buffet is worse every time I go. Cuba was running low on beer everywhere and it was impossible to get gas for the scooter I rented. This might all be due to the US embargo, but either way I will not be returning to Cuba for a while. My tourist dollars are too valuable to waste.

Perfect place to relax

Hotel was clean,friendly staff. Food was not good been to cuba 10 times this was the worst food. But if your looking to just relax this is the place. No taxis to go anywhere no wifi and no excursions. So if laying on the beach escaping the world is what your looking for this is your place.

Worst experience so far.

Beach very bad. Moving sand and sharp stones. To go to a nice beach they ask 5 pesos. To go to the Guardalavaca Market we pay 40 pesos. You pay less for a stay but you spend a lot for a taxi. The food was boring. Short of milk. Short of clean plates, cups. No evening entertainment, only the band and not every day. Pina colada I had a chance to get two times! The ping pong table has broken.

Amazing resort for relaxing

Good service , very nice and amazing stuff , food is great, room clean , beach very nice but rocky ,there's some spot sandy to go in and out easily. Canadian families and local people coming just for relaxing there and for several time . every day music band . wifi 5 hours in 7 Canadian dollar . all the rooms and bars , restaurants steps on the beach . don't forgot to visit where Christopher Columbus landed ,just 1 KM walk besid the resort .

Had to move

We have been travelling to Cuba for 33 years. We stayed only 3 nights of a planned 9 at Don Lino then paid to upgrade to Playa Costa Verde. The staff were great at this resort but they had so little to work with. No CUCs were available Saturday,Sunday.Monday or Tuesday the day we left. Shortages on the Island really hit the lower star places like this one hard.No potatoes,very little bread or fruit varieties,.No condiments at meals.Middle of nowhere so no alternatives nearby for meals.

My favorite small resort

Smaller relaxing friendly resort. You can travel alone and always be talking to guests or staff if you want. Very friendly atmosphere. Towns and sites are near by. Feel the real cuba I stay in the bungalows, it feels like you are in a log cabin but with nice tiles on the floors and bathroom but the rooms are clean and nice as well. Always a good variety of food.

Small good resor don lino holgin

everything is close buy food Is very good accommodation look good with small bungalow but we didn't have we got small wood building ground floor not good it was smell from sure we have not been lacky to get beter one weather was warm and 2 days raining we enjoyed weather we saw some small dogs and we feed them every day poor little dogy no owners and made picture with them beach was o kay but couldn't go in water of rocky stones.

Enjoyed our Stay.

Very rural location. A true Cuban experience, nice beach but rocky, rough seas our week, very remote, older lower 1-2 level hotel with some recent upgrades. A variety of building structures. A 24 hour Beach bar/coffee bar with large covered seating area and snack bar right on the beach, always a breeze, the best place to sit. Ok food at the snack bar (forCuba). The staff held a Halloween dinner for all the guests and made a expansive "over the top" effort with a variety of food and desserts  [... read more]next to the beach bar. Halloween decorations, staff wore costumes, live Cuban music and later a local Cuban rock bank that played classic rock (decent effort and we enjoyed them). Buffet was ok by me, large air conditioned wooden building, great serving staff. Beer, wine with lunch and dinner. Limited selection of fruits and vegetables. decent deserts, ice cream a couple of nights. Good breakfast with bacon most days. Lunch and dinner could be up to 3 meat choices chicken, beef (roasted, beef liver, beef tongue all good for Cuba), pork, fish. Pasta allways. Best squash/pumpkin, good typical beans and rice. Lots of choice in my opinion. A la carte was a bit disappointing but once again the staff made an extra effort to please with a outside BBQ and seating and attentive service. Front desk staff always there and willing to help. Very honest, left my wallet on the front desk and when I went back to ask if it was there it was returned to me untouched. Great alcohol/coffee bar (no beer) in the lobby. Another great place to sit. Money exchange at the front desk was a problem for the first couple of days with only 10's and 20 CUCs when it came making it tough to tip. Also there was no bottled water available but you could fill your container with filtered water at either the beach bar, lobby bar or the buffet so take a refillable bottle Grounds were a bit overgrown when we arrived but an effort was being make cutting grass, trimming bushes and borders. The grounds were in pretty good shape when we left. Pool was not the best some days but a constant effort as made to clean, vacuum and chorinate. Decent Pina Coladas at the small bar next to the pool. Cold draft beer there as well. Bicycles (5) with basket a bit tired and in need of replacement or repair. But of the three that we made use of on different days got us to where we wanted to go. Cleaning staff always out doing their best. Maids friendly and always a artistic towel sculpture left on the bed. Good ac and lots of hot water in our room, some rooms apparently did not. Took a horse and buggy ride in to Santa Lucia/Rafael Freyre 8km away, 15 cuc return with a city tour (Mechi, young guy, spoke english), train station, abandoned sugar factory, central square etc. etc. Viewed but did not eat at a couple of restaurants. Yeni's and El Tulipan looked nice inside. Yeni's was recommended. The local beach (Playa Blanca) and small fishing harbour for small local boats approx 2km away (20-30 minute walk) was worth a look. Had a excellent whole grilled fish (snapper?) dinner with rice and beans (best I have ever had), french fries, cucumbers and a side plate of a potato like vegetable (cassava maybe), more sliced cucumber and more french fries for 2 cuc, with a beer (canned ice cold Crystal) add1.25 cuc. This as very small shack with a covered sitting area very, very, very basic. Located right turn at the end of the main road towards the beach approx 200 yards to the right. Very local. In all a good vacation, good value and definitely not fancy in any way. If you want deluxe, luxury or fancy this place is not for you. If you want the real Cuba give it a try.

D☀ NOT UNDERESTIMATE A 2*!!!

If you want QUAINT,SERENE,TRANQUILITY surrounded by the white sand ocean Don Lino beach,and natural greenery of Cuba, then this villa living is for you!!! With a small pool but BIG OCEAN, it totally reminded me of cottage living, including a staff full of smiles!! A much much quaint smaller version of a fast pace bigger resort, with everything you need!! I would return in a heartbeat!!!

Would reccomend!

I was very happy with my stay at Don Lino. There was not a large selection of food but it was good quality because i have a sensitive stomach that often gets upset at food at other cuban resorts but at this one i did not have any stomach issues the whole week. It was a quiet resort with friendly staff. I would reccomend this place for people who would rather have a relaxing vacation rather than a party-type vacation as they didn't have a nightly show. I didn't mind that as that is the type of va [... read more]cation i like. Overall, this resort is a very relaxing and nice place that i plan to come back to again in the future.

Home away from home!

Love this place for its hospitality. It lives up to my expectations of a 2.5 star resort and more. I have stayed here by myself and brought my family a few times and everyone always enjoys their time spent here.

Great time!

Don Lino is a small, well cared for resort - the staff are very kind and helpful - the meals are very good and the restaurant and bar service is excellent! The beach is lovely but not good for swimming - there are free bicycles and horseback riding - we have been to Don Lino four times now and will return in the future

Decent

Accommodations were good. Good rooms. Hot water 24/7. It is a villa not a hotel. The food was ok. Drinks were ok too if you are not picky then you will be fine. Bikes and horseriding included. Beach was not swimmable but decent one 1km away by bike. Overall not bad. You get what you pay for.

Peaceful clean resort!

My room was setup good and convenient with all amenities around. Clean towels and bed covers with good room cleaning. TV and air conditioner are working okay. Big shower room with hot water 24 hours supply. Good cooked tasty food with great service! Only the ocean is windy, wavy and with coral stones which make difficult swimming.

Tres bien!

Positif petit resort mais extremement sympatique, petit buffet mais tres bon et nous avons mange chaud ! Musique pendant le souper et ca continue pour la soiree, mais ca fini tot, ce n est pas un endroit pour faire la fete. Un endroit pour se reposer! Apportez vos souliers d eau pour la plage, sinon prenez une caleche(Alex, le meilleur) pour 6 cuc, il vous amene a la playa blanca(magnifique) a 5-6 minutes et votre taxi vous attend pour vous ramener. Negatif pas de wifi(pour bientot), les  [... read more]chambres auraient besoin d un bon coup de peinture, le dejeuner fini tot

Excellent Budget Resort

The Don Lino is an excellent choice for a relaxing and budget friendly resort. The rooms are clean and comfortable, the grounds are clean, bar service is great and the beach is lovely. Remember to bring water shoes though. If you are looking for amenities that larger resorts have like swim up bars and multiple pools and restaurants you may be disappointed. The Don Lino offers peace, sunshine and lovely staff. I would return as it is hard to beat at the price point

Little gem

I was pleasantly surprised by the well-kept grounds. The pool is small, but a larger one will be built within 5 years, along with new townhouse rooms. The buffet restaurant is very nice and there is one a la carte. The food was fine. My main complaint is the unmotivated animation staff. Even after telling the animator of the day (only one on duty) that we wanted to do an activity, he said that because noone else was interested, that he wouldn't do it. We wanted to do the dance lesson, by the p [... read more]ool, and I am sure that others would have come had he started the lesson. This did not impress me. Only 2 activities were done of the 8 or so listed, and only on the afternoon. Also, the only entertainment at night was a house band on 5 nights, and a disco (flashing lights set up at the beach bar and recorded music), 2 nights. There is a nice small stage near the pool, but it was never used - no dancers, singers, comedians. This was disappointing. I would return, because you can cycle to another beach and around the area. A relaxing holiday, but could have been more fun if the activities advertised were held.