Stay away

This is the first resort that I have had things stolen from my room. I brought 23 kG with me to give to the locals apparently that wasnt enough approximately 100.00 worth of my personal stuff was liberated from my room and gas was stolen from my scooter. The first scooter that I rented pulled hard to the right and stalled and wont restart after stalling. One of the locals helped me and I returned the scooter after i paid 6 CUC to fill the tank. I was then taken to another resort to exchange the  [... read more]scooter. After wasting half the day refueling the new scooter and doing the paperwork I was on my way. I retuned the scooter 3 hours late after a 5 day rental and was charged extra money. What a joke. This is my third trip this year to Cuba every time I booked with tripcentral, every trip i have requested a ground floor as I have problems with stairs all three trips I have been placed on the top floor. I guess its time to try a different travel agent.

Santa Policia

Caracol very good; management trying their best esp. public Relations Ladies Outside, which used to be the charm of Santa Lucia, now reduced to Policia being a corrupt and harassing force killing any sympathy any Canadian could have for the Cuban way of life . A disgrace to see "Adolf" pick up and arrest Cubans all over. The tourist beach party used to be called "White Party" now called Blue Party (more Police then tourist). Caracol Hotel still the better of the two Amigo resorts but the Food an [... read more]d Beverage policy should be reviewed

Not too shabby

Stayed at theClub Amigo Caracol this past November for a week.Hotel was well kept and clean, staff were nice (especially the towel lady). Never got to know or see our housekeeper. Food was Cuba usual, very good pasta bar. Very yummy pina coladas at the lobby bar! Beach was cleaned every day but big seaweed problem at the shore. Recommend water shoes for the ocean.

ANOTHER GREAT TRIP TO THE CLUB AMIGO!

Last year (November/December, 2013) we visited this hotel for the first time (I wrote a rather extensive review on TA on December 16, 2013) and we decided to come here once again, booking our vacation over two months in advance through Hola Sun. Two weeks before departure we emailed the hotel, asking for an ocean-view room on the upper floor, in the 500 section. Since Air Cubana allows almost 50 kg of luggage per person, packing was a breeze! The flight departed on time and after exactly 3 hour [... read more]s and 30 minutes in the air, we landed in Camagüey. The buses were already waiting for us and the ride to the hotel went smoothly. ROOM We were assigned room #514 (last year #510) which was almost as good as #510, we even had the same maid as last year, Marta. Since the water was heated by solar panels (located on the roof), sometimes we had plenty of very hot water, at other times it was just lukewarm, yet it was not a big deal for me, but Catherine missed a hot tub bath. The air conditioner worked great and sometimes we used it, although we preferred sleeping with the windows open (maybe because of that we had a couple of critters visit us-we found a small crab and lizard in the room, both totally harmless, and gently moved them outside). Most of the time it was very windy and we did not find mosquitoes to be a problem. The small fridge kept stuff cool, yet barely. Last year we could watch CTV from Toronto — this year the only English language news channel was CCTV (Chinese, in English), which I did not like. Although neither of us has/watches TV in Canada, we were a little disappointed that we were unable to watch Canadian news and only several days after the municipal elections found out who became the mayor of Toronto and Mississauga from newly arrived tourists. The maid did an excellent job cleaning our room. We approached one of the gardeners and he was very happy to supply us every morning with 2 freshly plucked coconuts; they were delicious! Unfortunately, when it was raining, water leaked in through the window seals, flooding part of our bedroom. BEACH During our stay (two weeks), we had at least 3 rainy, very windy and cloudy days, yet there were enough sunny and hot days allowing us to spend a lot of time on the beach. Due to the reef, located several km from the shore, it was possible to swim even when it was very windy. The tractor collected sea weed from the beach every day, thus keeping it clean. From our hotel room we could see a boat stocked on the reef; according to several Cubans, it had been there since the end of December, 2013, when a group of Haitians tried to flee to the USA and instead ended up off the coast of Cuba. The government of Haiti was supposed to come and get the boat, but I doubt it will ever bother. We left our towels on the beach chairs and they were always there after we returned. Plenty of security guards patrolled the beach and we felt very safe. From time to time we saw Cubans walking along the beach, selling hats, shells, jewelry and sculptures. I bought two very imaginative sculptures, carved in one piece of wood; the seller was happy to accept, as part of payment, a t-shirt and my backpack, although he intensely eyed my Coleman watch, wanting it very badly! We met the ‘famous’ George, who speaks English and French, he was always willing to arrange various services to tourists — in fact, he made several phone calls on his cell phone to a few casas particulares in Camagüey and later we gave him a lift to Camagüey in the taxi. We also gave him a bunch of Canadian, American and British magazines and newspapers. Last year (2013) there were about 50 kite surfers who overtook not only the beach, but the swimming areas along the whole beach, making swimming very risky and unpleasant. This year there were plenty of signs on the beach, indicating ‘kite surfing free zones’. There were just several kite surfers, yet on at least one occasion, they deliberately were kite-surfing in the swimming area, just meters from the shore, yelling out expletives as they were flying by. FOOD As always, the food was good and plentiful (although repetitive) and there was always something delicious to pick. Most of the time we skipped lunch, instead going to the beach bar (El Velero) for a hamburger, fish & chips and cold beer. It was possible to have dinner at the adjacent hotel, Gran Club Santa Lucia (get a voucher from the hotel) and we had two of them. Whereas the dining area at the Gran appeared to be more expansive, with much nicer décor, the food selection was, surprisingly, inferior and limited. The Club Amigo Mayanabo was closed during the first week of our stay; when it opened, we also succeeded in having one dinner there. There were very few guests, but the food was good and somehow different from ours. We also went to the a ’la carte restaurant twice; the first dinner was very good, the second one (return guest appreciation dinner) was very limited buffet-style and below average. One night the hotel was celebrating its anniversary; the tables & chairs had white tablecloths and there was a grill set up outside. Catherine was in awe at the amount and selection of food. By the way, in 2013 there were 13 cats in front of the restaurant; this year we did not see more than 3 — supposedly they (were) moved to other hotels, but somehow we did not believe that-we joked that they were in the cat heaven… Except for an occasional mojito and cold beer, we hardly ever had any drink at the bar. It is a good idea to bring a bigger cup, as theirs are small and flimsy. On weekends the resort was full of Cubans; some of them stayed there for a night or two, others only came for a day. I was told that most of them come from nearby communities. HOTEL STORE/MONEY EXCHANGE The hotel store (tienda) had rum, liqueurs, beer and many other items and souvenirs. I wanted to exchange money at the airport, right after we arrived, but after lining up for a while, I gave up. It was possible to exchange money in the hotel, but we went twice to the commercial center between the Club Amigo and the Gran (Cadeca at Centro Commercial Santa Lucia). I was told that a copy of the passport was OK to exchange money; for VISA card advances original passports were required. There was a small room with three computers & internet connection in the lobby, but we never had a need to use it. There were at least two pay phones: one at the lobby bar, another in the block ‘400’. For 10 Cuban pesos (Moneda National!) we purchased a phone card which worked great! The card could be purchased from a telecommunication company located very close to the gas station north of the hotel (near the tall communication tower). ENTERTAINMENT We never went to see any show nor participated in any other activity (i.e., bingo). But from our room we could hear loud, obnoxious music every night and often during the day — and most of the time it was NOT the traditional, Cuban music that I had come to associate Cuba with, which is such a pity! Very often the activities during the day were so ear-splitting that we did not find it pleasant to sit in the lobby bar. Once we were using the pay phone at the lobby were almost unable to conduct a meaningful conversation. BIKES & BIKING TRIPS FROM THE HOTEL There were about 10 bikes for rent and the first hour was free. Unfortunately, most of them were in bad shape and needed simple maintenance tasks such as putting more air into the tires or adjusting screws. Teresa, the lady in charge of bike rentals, told us that somebody from the nearby village was supposed to come every day and fix the bikes, but he never did… We rented them many times, riding to the village of Tararaco or in the direction of the gas station. In Tararaco we went to the “Organic Restaurant and Gardens” whose remarkable owner, Braulio, we had met last year. We spent a few hours chatting with him, drinking his delicious, organic juices, having dinner and wandering in his amazing garden. We also visited his booth in Tararaco, where fresh sugar cane juice was served (see a separate review). One day we hired a horse carriage and went to the picturesque village of La Boca, which we had visited in 2013. Many Cubans told us that Russians were planning to build two luxury hotels in La Boca and eventually relocate La Boca’s residents. I hope the hotels will be nicer than the notoriously ugly hotels built the by Soviets in the 1970s and 1980s (think the Mayanabo, Havana’s Tropicoco Hotel or the ‘barracks’ in the Club Amigo Guardalavaca) and that local residents will be properly compensated. While the carriage driver was waiting for us, for over two hours we were walking along the old coral beach, in front of the houses. I managed to find some of the people I had met last year and gave them their photos and they were thrilled to get them! We met an older gentleman who was making fishing hooks, using a piece of metal wire. There were a few casas in La Boca and we wanted to visit one of them, but it was closed (see a separate review). RANCHO KING AND CAMAGÃœEY Since we booked our vacation through Hola Sun, we enjoyed extra benefits: we were staying in the Hola Sun section, had a free safe in the room as well as enjoyed a free trip to Rancho King. Even though we had taken this trip last year, we decided to take it again. Once we arrived, we were welcomed by the same horse-riding team of 5 cowboys as last year and given very interesting, informative and humorous presentation on topics pertaining to the rancho & its history, herbs, plants, sugar cane, agriculture, hurricanes and local residents and their way of life. We visited a school, Cuban village, a house where Fidel Castro had once stayed and later had lunch whose main dish consisted of a roasted pig (see a separate review). We also hired a taxi and went to the city of Camagüey, where we stayed in a casa particular for 2 nights — we we

Great resort for low cost

This was NOT a party resort - it was quiet, clean, nice. Staff was good. I slipped on the pool deck - very slippery when your feet are wet - might want to wear some type of footwear. Minimal activities, but enough if you are willing to participate.

More than I expected

This was my 5th visit to Santa Lucia but 1st stay at Amigo Caracol. I have a Cuban friend who worked at this hotel and recommend to give it a try. I was pleasantly surprised, the check in went smooth and well organized. First impression was that the resort appeared more inimate than next door at Gran Club. Most staff I met were friendly and helpful as I was on my own and not framiliar with where everything was. The lobby bar was well stocked, but I am more of a straight rum and beer guy and did  [... read more]not look for anything fancy. My room was close to the to the gym facilities and was well appointed with a nice balcony view from 2nd floor. Housekeeping was excellent and I appreciated the attention to detail, as I am not the most tidy guy while on holiday. Dining room facility was well prepared and food selection was as expected. I am not the most adventrous when it comes to resort food but found my choices well prepared and plentiful. Coffee cup was always kept full and much appreciated in the morning because I always needed a wake up. Entertainment I cannot comment on to much as I was rarely in resort in the evenings but, the nights I stuck around it was lively and energetic even though the crowd was thin. Next visit will be at Brisas with some friends but would not hesitate to recommend and return.

Warmth and Welcoming

A magical little spot with the best most welcoming people. Weather is warm, beach has lots to see. Pool bar is amazing with great fun staff. Always feel very safe. Hotel is clean and comfortable. Food is just fine, if people stop saying the food is awful they will realize it is actually good with lots of healthy choices. Bread is amazing, fish is wonderful. Haven't had a bad meal yet.

Great Resort!

I have been going to this resort for the last four years, and I enjoy my stay there every time:) It is the best resort in the area. The staff are so friendly, and kind to everyone. keep up the great work!

Great time, greater people!

Throughout our week vacation at Caracol we were continuously entertained and had the time of our lives. Caracol is a great place to to do just about anything! Already planning to go back! Cannot wait!

Awesome Second Stay

This was my second time to Club Amigo Caracol! The weather was beautiful and the staff were fantastic! They have made some really great changes such as relocating the snack bar to make it closer to the beach entrance. Our room was perfect and very clean everything functioned well and we always had hot water. Overall a great resort with lots of bang for your buck! I hope to return again soon.

Great Value for money

This is not a 5 star resort, but then we didn't pay for a 5 star resort. We stayed at Club Amigo Caracol the end of November 2013 and were pleasantly surprised by our room, the food, the pool and the staff. Our room was bright and clean with excellent A/C, and updated bathroom, the food was excellent, truly delicious and reasonable variety,(make sure you try the grill on the beach) and the staff were friendly and anxious to make sure we had a good week. The beach is not my favourite beach in Cub [... read more]a but if you are a wind surfer, you will love it, but the pool was clean and spacious with lots of lounges and shaded areas, so we didn't mind. The evening shows were fun and for those that like the night life, there are two local clubs right at the end of the driveway so you can just walk to it. We travelled with Hola Sun tours and flew on Cubana Air. Our tour company agents were very helpful and the complimentary excursion was well worth taking the day from the resort giving a chance to see the nearby countryside and understand how the average Cuban lives. The only problem with the flight was the stop in Varadero ended up being twice as long as it should've been making it very late getting to the resort. Fortunately the resort kept the buffet open late for us and were very quick to get us registered and to our rooms in a timely fashion. If you are looking for an inexpensive vacation where you can have a lot of fun and make some great new friends, then give Club Caracol a try. It is very important to remember, that any trip is what you make of it.

Get what you pay for!

this place is not where you want to bring a better half, food is lower end Cuba, its clean, frig is a keeper? not cold at all.they try but it just doesn't happen. Been all over Cuba, this place "trys"