Brisas Guardalavaca: Great resort & Great people

Food is good for Cuba. Not a lot of selection but good. Great location, beach, pool, service, activities, disco, entertainment. Fun for families and couples. We are a couple and had a great time. All the families had fun as well. We met some great people that we will remain friends with back home. The resort is great value. I would suggest upper floors as they are in better condition both in villas and main building. The oceanview is wonderful. Had lots of problems with arrangements and many p [... read more]eople paid less than us for the same rooms and time. That was disappointing. Our room was not ready when we got there. We paid for oceanview and ended in the basement. No-one was there to pick us up at the airport. Overall was a struggle and not happy with tripcentral or sunquest.

Brisas Santa Lucia: nice resort

This resort is in need of an upgrade but is still a nice hotel. The food was good and always could find something to eat. Nice that it has 24 hour bar and snack bar. Staff was nice and helpful. happy to have seen this hotel but not much to do

Brisas Santa Lucia: great place for a week of relaxation!

The room was great and very clean. The bed was very comfortable and the temperature was perfect. Through grounds are very well maintained. The pool was amazing with lots of chairs. We loved the coffee bar and the coffee was so good. The beach was clean and such blue water. The food was better than we had anticipated and the choice of food was great. We would definitely go back to this resort. The Cubans were friendly and honest and we felt very safe when we went bicycling outside the resort.

Brisas Guardalavaca: 2nd stay at Brisas...wonderful 7 day vacation!

This was our second stay at Brisas Guardalavaca. We travelled from March 28-April 4, 2015. I must say that I believe the food was better than last year. There was much more selection at the buffet. We stayed in the Villa section room #1104 gardenview. The air conditioning worked great. It was a one minute walk to the pool, variety store, pool bar and reception desk and was a 2 minute walk to the beach. Also a 2 minute walk to the big buffet, donut kiosk, pizzeria, big pool, swim up bar and the b [... read more]ank. There is a $20 peso charge for the safe for the week. We received a 40 ouncer of rum for being a repeat visitor. Check out is at noon. Our flight left at 10:30 pm and the bus picked us up at 5:30pm. We paid 5 pesos an hour to keep our room until we left. There are no face clothes in your room. I packed a bath sponge. The drink glasses/cups are small and very flimsy so pack an insulated mug (aka bubba). It will come in very handy! The ocean was very clean, warm and sandy. No need for water shoes. If you are taking children pack some beach toys (buckets &shovels). There are none to be had on the resort. The Brisas resort is next door to the Club Amigo resort which has a huge flea market. It is a 10 minute walk from Brisas. I would definitely recommend this resort and go back again someday soon.

Brisas Guardalavaca: Great hotel with a great price

stayed at Brisas from March 29 until April 5 first time to Cuba and was blown away by the service and resort. For Cuba the food was really decent , hotel was very clean staff was friendly would definitely go back beach was extremely nice , you will need to reserve a chair pretty early but like others say if you cannot beat them, join them would definitely return

Brisas Sierra Mar: Very enjoyable 3.5* resort - well worth a visit

A well needed two week break 'March 19 - to April 2' that my wife and I enjoyed. This is correctly rated 3.5*. The trip in from the airport was excellent due to the LONG AWAITED new road (Chinese built) and comfortable buses. The weather was very nice ad hot, albeit the surrounding farms are suffering from a lack of rain (big time). The pros: - nice pool and beach area and related bars (i don't drink but they make great coffee) - the entertainment in the lobby is very good (bands / singers in th [... read more]e evening 6-9 and the usual 9 pm shows ....) - love the Cuban a la cart restaurant - also the International. The buffet is adequate. - the Hola Sun rep Elbert is very helpful and organized - Most of the Cubans are very friendly ( and as with any culture the tips help big time) - we had a room on the 4th floor which was 3* comfortable (bring an extra pillow - you won't be sorry) - The maids and cleaning staff work so hard - treat them good please, as are most of the staff The cons: - They are insane about tipping - they want tips but rarely have change at the desk. So obviously they are sneaking their tips out of the resort (just a guess). They need to GET ORGANIZED. - Cuban nationals stay at the resort which is nice BUT the way they hog the food is a disgrace. They will actually raid the buffet of certain essentials etc. (watch as they take mounds of bacon etc. - and i have yet to see a Cuban guest tip (even in their local currency). - I witnessed a lot of what looks like out-right theft. The resort workers passing bags of food and wine in bags to their Cuban guests etc (how do i get some lol :) - really this resort has such great potential - BUT THESE PEOPLE CAN BE SOOO FRUSTRATING - the resort workers are a privileged class and in SOME cases that goes to the head :( they need to rotate the workers (OTHERWISE THEY BECOME TOO ENTITLED ). Would i go there again? - IN A FLASH :)

Brisas Guardalavaca: Absolutely wonderful!

The people in the hotel were very friendly and really helpful. The service was wonderful. The whole resort is kept very clean. We really enjoyed our stay. The food was average but we ate well. The tour into Holguin was well worth the price. We met many people who have come back to this resort many times.

Brisas Santa Lucia: great relaxing resort!

Grounds were well kept. Beach was walking distance. Staff were awesome and well attentive! Food....well its Cuba! Take your own bottle of ketchup if its a condiment you like! The rooms need a little bit of a face lift.

Brisas Guardalavaca: Great Family Resort

Another great week in March. The weather was hot and sunny the whole time and he ocean and pools warm and refreshing. We stayed in the villa section - I highly recommend this as it is quiet and relaxing. The resort is small an with everything I a 5 minute walk. The beach is everything you would expect in a Caribbean destination, turquoise water, white sand, and a shallow shoreline. The restaurants are passable, as is the buffet. The many free activities like snorkeling, archery, catamaran rides [... read more], and so on are easy to book. Rooms are well kept, if a bit dated. Returning guests are thanked with a complimentary bottle off U.K. and a tree planting ceremony followed by a special lunch. Wonderful resort. Definitely going back for a third time with our three young children.

Brisas Santa Lucia: Great time!

My boyfriend and I stayed at Brisas mid march for one week and had a wonderful time! The beach was beautiful, the staff was amazing and the food wasn't bad at all. We expected the worst-being our first time in cuba before we went everyone told us Cuban food was tasteless! We brought our own salt, pepper and ketchup and we were good to go!) the thing I wasn't to fond of was the nightly entertainment and the lack of "local" surroundings. We were hoping to be able to see more of the Cuban lifestyle [... read more] and explore more outside of the walls but there isn't much to see. We went on a lobster dinner excursion....it was worth every penny!!!! The environment, the people, the food....it was one of my fondest memories from our trip!

Brisas Guardalavaca: Would definitely return.

Property is wonderful: clean, attractive, spacious, good food, nice beaches, long safe walkway available. Most of all fun polite staff. The mix of ages and nationalities staying at the resort was unusual.

Brisas Guardalavaca: Nice resort. Dated but very clean.

On first sight pulling up to the hotel it appears very dated and in need of a facelift, however, our views quickly changed once inside and in the pool area. Grounds are very well kept and the staff is consistently cleaning. Very nice layout and the beach although not very long was lovely. The villa section is definitely the nicer area, quieter and more relaxing. It was nice to have the option for a short walk to the main hotel where there were plenty of activities and entertainment if you chose. [... read more] The food was not as bad as expected for Cuba. The buffets in both the villa section and the main hotel provided a lot of options. We were quite satisfied with all four a la carte dinners we had. Service was good and the staff was friendly. There were a few incidentals that were not expected such as the very dear exchange rate from Cuban Peso to Canadian currency. The rate we had to pay was $1.32 Canadian for $1 CUC. The cost for the airport departure tax was equivalent to $70 Canadian. Also, we were not aware until day three that you had to purchase a lock for the safe in the room. We assumed that by giving the front desk $20 Canadian for a lock that it would be returned when we brought back it back on check out, however we were wrong. Also, there is a very strict policy on your beach towels. You wouldn't want to misplace them as you would have to pay $15 CUC for each one not returned. We would recommend bringing lots of snacks and before settling in on your first night make sure to have plenty of bottled water as the one they give you will not last long. In all it was a nice place, beautiful weather with a nice consistent breeze. We would consider going back. The poorest experience we had would have to be the flight and the Holguin airport experience. The seating on the plane was extremely tight for my husband and I are both over 5' 8". The Holguin airport was extremely disorganized and left much to be desired for both the arrival and departure. We won't elaborate other then to suggest you pack your patience and remember you are not in Canada! If on a return trip we would consider upgrading the flight experience and feel the extra cost would be worth it! We will highly recommend purchasing a $25 VIP from your travel rep at the hotel for the return flight. This helps you avoid all the line ups on your departure.

Brisas Sierra Mar: 5 star staff!

The hotel is in need of repair and updating, however it's very clean and the setting is beautiful. The food choice was very limited compared to 5 previous visits. I say it's a 3 star hotel with a 5 star staff .

Brisas Guardalavaca: Really enjoyed time at Brisas Guardelavaca!

Staff very friendly and efficient, always some kind of great entertainment going on, beach was just gorgeous! Food was not always tasty (overcooked meat, vegetables,...). Loved the lobby entertainment every evening around 7 p.m. The only thing I didn't like was having to get up around 6 in the morning to reserve a spot on the beach by putting my beachtowel on a loungechair. Getting a loungechair was otherwise impossible.

Brisas Santa Lucia: I would go back!

I loved this resort. Not too big, friendly staff, decent food, nice pool, nice beach, nice rooms. My only issue was that the bartender at the pool bar (Mike) was so slow and didn't pay attention to customers at all. He took FOREVER to serve us and then when he finally took our order he took forever to bring us our drinks cause he was busy checking his phone and talking to his wife. The only way to get a drink at the pool bar was to get out of the pool and stand on the dry deck because otherwise  [... read more]the bartenders would never serve you.

Brisas Sierra Mar: Fantastic.. As Usual

Very relaxing and great fun. Staff were awesome. Food was the best in Cuba. Rooms very nice with oceanview. Evening shows were outstanding. The lobby bar with piano was great. Able to relax before dinner. New friens were met. Worth evey penny and more. Fantasic. This was my second visit, I can't wait to go back

Brisas Guardalavaca: Amazing trip to Brisas guardalavaca

Fifth time to Cuba. First time to this resort! Loved it! It was a friendly, clean and super nice place. Grounds were kept very nice at all times. It was a quieter resort which I really liked. Not a lot to due but we went for to totally relax and just wnjoy the beach and sunshine. We hung out in the beach everyday and swam in the ocean everyday. Had fun in the disco and walked to the flea market just past the next resort, had a nice selection of trinkets. The hotel rooms are a little date because [... read more] of the wood in the rooms but they were newly painted and saw them doing some painting while we were there, so they are keeping up with stuff. Staff was friendly and lots of food. I would go back to this resort no questions asked. Loved it. My only Complaints were one being at the very end. Had some people come into the resort and they were yelling in the hallways and being very ignorant and in regards to other people staying in the resort. The other was you had to get up at 530 to put towels on chairs at the beach, which is fine if people actually went and sat in them, I find people are very ignorant about putting towels on chairs and NOT bothering to even go to the beach, others would come down wanting to sit and no chairs ( that is so rude)Other than those 2 complaints we had a wonderful stay.

Brisas Guardalavaca: Pleasant and relaxing getaway

Grounds are well maintained, smoothy bar for breakfast and lunch daily. Nice beach, enjoyed snorkelling on site. Good selection of food offered recommend the stirfry station quality and service. Bathrooms well maintained, "only used them inside the hotel" Room was clean a little too cold and the thermostat did not adjust the temperature, bring a spare blanket and open the blinds to warm the room. Get your beach chair early to enjoy sune and shade throughout the day. The shows where fantastic spe [... read more]cifically the water dance performance. I will be returning.

Brisas Sierra Mar: great view clean room nice landscaped,

been in cuba six times like this location,good service, clean room food is like most Cuban resort or you go to a five star like I did melia at varadero but I do not go to cuba for there food is the weather I love it herb from canada

Brisas Sierra Mar: Needs a little face lift

I found the service,and staff to be very good, unfortunatly the food was not that great with the exception of the fish served on a daily basis, my wife took it as a good thing, as she lost 10lbs in 1 week.the rooms also need an upgrade, this is the 4th time at the resort and it continues to go down hill, the elevators were working this time.