Carisol los Corales: Best January weather ever, a very enjoyable vacation

It was our 15th trip to Cuba since 2009 and third to the Hotel Carisol los Corales, so we knew what to expect. We paid $1,295 CAN per person for 2 weeks (from Toronto) for a junior suite in the Carisol Section. We departed Toronto on January 8, 2020 from Toronto’s Pearson Airport (Sunwing Airlines). The take-off was late due to deicing. The flight lasted 3 hours and 41 minutes and we landed in Santiago de Cuba. Because of TripAdvisor’s Cuban forums, I knew that unexpectedly the US doll [... read more]ar had become a hot commodity in Cuba—and we happened to have plenty of US dollars anyway. Within minutes of getting on the bus we exchanged $200 US and got 200 CUC—more than enough for our whole stay. I also ran to the nearby kiosk and got 2 cans of Cuban beer (Cristal). It turned out that I bought the last 2 cans—and that was the only Cuban beer (in cans or bottles) I had during my whole trip. Some tourists also discovered that their luggage was not on the plane and it was supposed to be delivered the next day(s). It took us over 1 hour to get to the hotel. Our very nice and personable rep on the bus, Sahidy, told us a lot of interesting things on Cuba. HOTEL We got the Junior Suite C-3 (upper level). We were not very thrilled with the room (or rather the location of the building), but decided to stay—we liked better the Junior Suite H-4, where we had stayed previously. We had the same maid as 2 years ago, Martha. The staff were overall nice and helpful, although I saw a lot of new, young people working at the reception and most of them barely spoke English—and I had a feeling they were not too eager to practice their meager linguistic skills with tourists. The two-level room was nice, but there was cold & hot water, although the pressure was bad in peak hours. Otherwise everything else worked (A/C, TV, fridge, hairdryer). There was no phone in the room. We had to ask for the safe a few times—eventually it was brought (!) to our room and bolted to the wall (2 CUC per day). Both the safe and the room use traditional keys, so bring a lanyard. IMPORTANT!!! Some electrical outlets in the room were 110 V, others 220 V and they were NOT clearly marked, so ASK the maid before using them or you might damage your electronics! We brought a small coffee maker (and coffee) along with a surge protector bar—2 year ago, due to a spike after a power outage, we had lost our coffee maker. There was no Canadian channel on TV, only the CNN, which I never liked watching. We tried to watch the 6 pm news, but sometimes such ‘momentous’ news like the story about the royal couples announcing their intention to step back as senior members of the royal family took up the first 20 minutes, relegating other ‘inconsequential’ news items as the Ukrainian plane disaster, Iranian Crisis or the coronavirus outbreak in the background! That was why we spent just minutes watching TV. From our balcony we could see the ocean and, mostly covered by vegetation, the ruins of old hotel buildings (disco), destroyed years ago by a hurricane. There were always various animals grazing the grass around, mostly horses and donkeys (with cattle egrets hanging around them), which gave this place a very rustic look. Cats and dogs were not as numerous as in the past. The beach was nice and the beach guys quickly brought us loungers. The coco bar served cold beer and other drinks—Frank the bartender did a great job and I especially loved the piña colada. There was a massage place on the beach and Catherine had a massage every day. I hoped to do snorkeling, but every day was quite windy and there were relatively high waves near the reef, making snorkeling there too risky. But closer to the shore I did see a lot of colorful fish and even a moray eel, luring from an opening in a rock. We had the best January weather ever in Cuba: every day was sunny, about +30 C and it rained a few times, but by the time we reached our room, the sky was blue again. Because of the wind there were no mosquitos or other bugs. The Carisol section (where we stayed) was much quieter than the los Corales section, where all the entertainment took place—and it was one of the main reasons we decided to stay in the Carisol part of the resort. On the bus to the resort we ran into a couple from Streetsville that we had met at the hotel two years ago and during our stay we frequently enjoyed dinners together. We also (finally!) met in person two well-known TripAdvisor members, Cubacarol and CoralQueen, whose posts I had read for many years and often relied on their valuable advice. In fact, it was CoralQueen who had recommended our casa particular in Santiago de Cuba in 2010! We met Karen from Quebec, with whom we had gone biking two years ago to the Jardin de Cactus and whose excellent Spanish greatly enhanced our outing! Besides, we often intermingled with other tourist from Canada and exchanged a lot of interesting stories on travelling in Cuba and in other countries. FOOD/DINING The food was average, but tasty and I had no complains. For breakfast I always had fried eggs, coffee and yogurts. Most of the time we skipped lunch, but a few times we went to the Ranchon Restaurant for excellent ribs and fish. Dinners offered a lot of various dishes. I loved grilled pork at the cooking station, it was delicious—unfortunately, twice I tried beef and it was tough & stringy—well, at least the local dogs enjoyed it… We brought several salad dressings which greatly enhanced the taste of salads. Yet after a week I did experience some mild stomach problems—there was nothing wrong with the food, but I guess the greens did not agree with my gut flora. Although we never noticed any beer or wine shortages in the resort, the wine was ‘rationed’—the servers poured only half a glass of wine and never left a bottle of wine on the table. Every evening a Cuban band would provide musical entertainment while we were dining. I had really mixed feelings about them: on one hand it was nice to listen to one or two songs and admire their artistic talents, but after a while they kind of overstayed their welcome, making it literally impossible for us to conduct any meaningful conversation at the table. The performers were standing very close to our tables and were very deafening! Even if Frank Sinatra were singing like that, I’d say, “Get lost, Frankie, and pop up somewhere else!” We were often relieved when they finally went elsewhere in search of other victims... I mean, tourists! HOTEL STORES (TIENDAS) For the first time in 11 years it was impossible to buy any Cuban beer in the hotel stores! What’s more, on the second day after our arrival I purchased one bottle of mineral water and 2 bottles of Cuban liquors—it turned out that from then on there were no liquors and no mineral water available at the store! I brought tabasco sauce, hoping to make a Bloody Mary—but there was no vodka and no tomato juice in the store either. Well, I’m glad that there was draft beer at the bars. RENTAL BIKES, WALKS AROUND THE HOTEL AND BUS TRIP TO SANTIAGO We had been looking forward to renting bikes at the hotel and exploring nearby attractions. This year there were only 4 bikes available for rent. We rode to the blow holes (past the aquarium) and then Catherine’s bike got a flat tire—it was literally peeling off the wheel, so it was impossible to even walk the bike. She rode my bike to the hotel and sent a horse carriage to pick up me and the broken bike. We got another one and the next day in the morning rode to the village of Baconao—just in time to see the start of the elementary school at 8:00 in the morning, where students were reciting some revolutionary stanzas and singing. Later we toured the small school and spoke to the teachers, giving them several bilingual periodicals. Since we were supposed to return the bikes at 10 am, I was already at the rental place at 9:45 am, but it was still closed. I waited for over one hour (in the meantime, two people wanted to rent scooters and another tourist was impatiently waiting to return one), but the rental place remained closed, its sole employee nowhere to be seen. Just before 11 am I dragged the bikes to the reception and in spite of the protestations of the reception clerk, I placed them in the storage room. I suspect that the hotel is going to be very pleased when the remaining bikes finally break down—one less issue to deal with! In the morning we walked around the hotel and twice explored the nearby caves along the coastal cliffs with indigenous cave art from Central and South America (Exposición Mesoamericana). On a couple of occasions we spoke to the gardener working there—he showed us bats (“murciélagos”) attached to the caves’ walls. We also noticed that the restaurants that we had seen two years ago were gone. The hotel offered a free trip to Santiago de Cuba, which was leaving at 10 am on Saturday and we took advantage of it twice. The first time the bus was full, the second time there were two buses and there were still some empty seats on the second bus. Each time Julio, a very entertaining man, was our guide on the bus and kept regaling us with a lot of interesting stories. Overall, we experienced less problems than 2 years ago, the weather considerably better and we had a very good time. Of course, we always travel to Cuba with a very open mind and do our best to overlook as many flaws as possible—after all, we come to enjoy our vacation, NOT to complain! Yet it’s obvious that this resort needs a lot of renovations and enhancements—thus, I’m not surprised that some tourists are disappointed. Unfortunately, given the current economic problems in Cuba (furthermore exacerbated by the unexpected coronavirus situation), I’m not very optimistic that any significant improvements will take place any time soon. So if you go, just focus on the positive and have a great time!

Vila Gale Cayo Santa Maria: Nightmare hotel

Very bad experience, bad service, lack of food drinks. Dirty room, room service not done everyday, fridge empty, running for towels. 14 feb. hotel full of cubain no class, acting like animals. I do not recommend this hotel. This is the last time I go to cuba.It’s to bad because the ocean is beautiful and the beach also.

Starfish Jibacoa: Below par Resort

This was my worst experience in Cuba. the resort grounds were a 7, staff some were nice and others were not friendly at all, 6, food was absolutely awful , ZERO, liver and fish everyday for lunch and dinner.It was overrun with feral cats and dogs, which attacked 3 people and nothing done about it. Could not get beer at the Lobby bar until after 10:30 pm or you could "BUY", so much for all inclusive. So many rude Cubans staying at the resort with so many loud and rude children. The most unsafe p [... read more]ool that I have ever seen, 35 years in the swimming pool industry, anywhere else it would be shut down. ZERO. The beach was very nice and typical of Cuba , too bad everything else was well below other resorts. Another example you get what you pay for, the low price was definitely not worth it.

Sol Palmeras: Sol Palmeras Cuba

Our rating for this Hotel would be 3 star. I have mix feelings about this place as far as the staff is concern mostly all the women staff were lovely friendly and helpful. We were in a group of 6 and myself and a friend were celebrating our birthdays.The coordinator I think Nancy was very helpful and arranged for us both to have cakes for our celebration at one of their à la carts.The Italian was the best. The buffet was very repetitious always the same thing never Never wonderful. the grill o [... read more]n the beach Was never ready would ask them what time could we get some food oh 20 minutes then we come back in 20 minutes and it wouldn’t be ready or there be nothing left. They continuously ran out of wine and beer it was odd that if they did open a bottle of wine in front of you they would go in the back room and it seemed they were watering it down why wouldn’t He pour it in front of you very unusual.the hotel is in need of major Reno the bathroom especially very run down all vent dirty and very old. The entertainment was ok . The beach was beautiful white sand but needed to be raked up lots of dangerous bit and pieces have to be very careful. Towel and Palapas we’re ample. The pool was in the process of being painted And needed attention I never seen Anyone attempting to clean the water of Debris.

Hotel Vigia: Stunning beach and the best staff ever!

This resort was perfect and I loved how small and quaint it was! Rudy, Barbara, Yoni, Anita, Yosemi, Hector, Reinel, Alex, Maikel, Jamilla, Eduardo, whistling guy and pizza guy were all amazing staff!

Melia Cayo Coco: Very quiet resort

The hotel was kept very clean . The staff was very friendly. The rooms were dated and our maid was great, but we had no air conditioning in our room! Some of the bars open in the late afternoon and the piano bar wasn't open at all. The food was just good, but ok for cuban resorts. The beach was very nice. The resort was relaxing but just too quiet and filled with mainly older people.

Vila Gale Cayo Santa Maria: Great resort

We had read all the bad reviews before we left so we were really worried. It isn’t near as bad as people made it out to be. pros: beautiful updated rooms Gorgeous beach No shortage of booze or food Wonderful workers Friendly atmosphere Very quiet, but that’s what we liked Cons: no toilet paper or very little in all washrooms...we carried our own in our bag Washrooms are far from the beach Limited food or no f [... read more]ood available between 5 and 7....not that big of deal It was a very clean resort. The bus ride was a little long to and from the resort and the airport is horrible!! If it wasn’t for the bus ride and horrible airport we would go again

Palma Real: Good resort for the price

Arrived in late and had no problems with getting the room I had requested.The resort has had some updates since last year but could still have more.The room service was very good clean towels every day and two great maids Yuni and Margarita. Apron arrival Felix was there to take our luggage to our room.In the dining room Yandry always had a smile and a table reserved.The second knight of our stay the resort had a special dinner for repeat guests and a bottle of Cuban rum sent to the room.The st [... read more]ay for the week we were there was very relaxing.

Sol Turquesa Beach: spent a great 2 weeks

Resort: very big, clean and grands kept well, lots of steps, needs maintain in many areas. Rooms: our 1st room 4.. balcony door did not lock,shower don't have warm water. Manager change our room after 3th days for another room 3.. in new room not working telephone and fridge, they want to change for another room but we decide stay. Housekeeping was great. Food: was the best we have had in Cuba, only no red wine after few days,they would try to sell you. Pools: kept well, clean and lots of si [... read more]ting Beach: waters very shallow, not good for swimming, for few days there were seaweed but try to clean every days, finally was okay. Staff:very friendly and MAKE THE RESORT GREAT !!! Bring with you insect repellent !!! BIG PROBLEM, Russian tourist which were noise, drunk, unpleasant, walk to women toilet, specially at night were noise and nuking to someone doors, no one take care for this from the resort.

Villa Marina: I loved it.

I loved it depends on what you want. It is extremely quiet compared to other resorts in Cuba.It has around 25 rooms which are more like a cottage.No beach. Extremely limited buffet but the food was great.No snack bar no entertainment.It is not like any other resort in Cuba. Being so small you get to know everyone by name. Staff there are outstanding. It you want a peaceful relaxing holiday this place is for you.It is right in the little town. Boat will take you an outstanding beach.Restaurant an [... read more]d nighttime bar are right there and very good food and very low prices. Also street party on Wednesday and Saturday night.I would go back in a heartbeat.

Barcelo Solymar: Great experience first time to Cuba

One thing is for sure.. book the bungalow do not stay in the building! Absolute mess and moldy musty smell. Couldnt breath. Finally I asked to change rooms after 3 days. At first it wasnt too bad but overtime it felt like it was getting worse so I upgraded. Work with the front desk for a deal to the bungalow. It is definitely worth it! The Cuban people are absolutely beautiful in every way, they really took care of me. Treat them as a true Canadian, with a smile and mos definitely tips. Th [... read more]e food... no. Food is meh A la cart seafood was my best meal all week. Book it. If you want a real nice meal go into Varedero or a hidden Gem in Santa Maria called La Fiesta Del Carbon jst a little outside Varedero. Worth it trust me. $10 cab to get there. This place I would reccomend for 20-40. Def a party spot as it is about a 5 min walk to the clubs in town. But I think it lacked women. Lol, too many dudes when I went but I think people jst reccomend this resort because of the young crowd so all guys go there and the ratio from men to woman is very dominant to the men side in my opinion during the time I went. Family's dont bother trust me, not so good for kids as it can be noisy during all times. Overall great experience, the beach of course is beauty and the whole stay at one play at 2 resorts was cool but I would prob not return to this resort only because I never go back to a resort I've already been to. If anything maybe I go back with friends only because of the staff. Your call dont overthink it but definitely get the bungalow!

Playa Luxury Cayo Las Brujas: R&R at this adults-only resort

This is not a resort for the party crowd, but if you are looking for a relaxing adults-only resort in Cuba this is a great place. We would definitely return. Sorry for the length of this review, but we are currently in self-isolation due to COVID-19 after getting back from our trip! The resort faces onto a beautiful view of the ocean, with the water only a few steps away. There are rocks and coral here and apparently is a great place for snorkeling. There are two very nice sand beaches that a [... read more]re just a couple of minutes walk from the lobby area, one at either side of the hotel. The larger beach is perhaps 400-600 meters long and is shared with the Dhawa resort. There is another, smaller beach on the other side for Angsana guests only. This one has a bar and cabanas but no washrooms, but again it is only a couple of minutes walk to the nearest washroom. There are frequently pelicans fishing on the water in front of the resort and at the beach. There are two unheated pools in front of the resort. They are not huge, but are larger than they appear in photos. Some people have written that they found the water somewhat cool, but I found it to be just nice and refreshing after laying in the sun. Unfortunately the weather was disappointing for the first half of our week - cool, windy and overcast - so when the sun finally came out we spent most of our days lounging by the pool. I had read that there is never a problem getting a lounge chair at the pool or the beach and we also found that to be the case during our visit. Maybe this was in part because the resort was far from full occupancy, which I understand has always been the case since it opened (I think about 18 months ago). In any event, I loved this about the resort...even though there are still a few selfish people who insist on "reserving" their favorite spots for the entire day. Most of the guests at the resort were over 50 (like us) although there were also a fair number in their 40s, 30s and 20s. Happily, there were very few drunk and obnoxious people at the resort during our stay, perhaps because of the older average age and the low-key nature of the resort. Of course, there will always be one or two. The evening entertainment mostly consisted of a single musician in the lobby bar, either singing or playing an instrument. Except for the pianist, who played classical, they mostly played pop/rock music that the guests would be familiar with. They were all very talented and we enjoyed them all, but they chose to be accompanied by canned music (except the pianist). I would have preferred just the instrument personally. One night there was a small band that played (I assume) Cuban music. We enjoyed very much and would have liked more of this. The live music always finished by 10 PM. There is no disco on the resort, but I understand people can go over to the Dhawa for that kind of thing if they want. They were also promoting some kind of off-resort dance party one night during our stay. Not for us, thanks. The lobby bar is open-air, so people can sit inside or outside. There is also a "jazz bar" next to the lobby bar, in a separate enclosed room. Unfortunately, we never saw any live music of any kind in this bar--just music videos playing on a live screen. As a result we never did more than stick our noses in. It would be nice if they could utilize this space for more live music. It would certainly have much better acoustics than the lobby bar and they could also play a bit later since it is an enclosed room. The soprano sax player, Onix, was great but would have been much more enjoyable in the jazz bar. There is not a big animation team at the resort trying to cajole guests into taking part in all of their activities. Not a problem for me! Similarly, there wasn't loud music blaring all day long at the pools. Sometimes just for a couple of hours late afternoon, which was perfectly fine. There was a "water ballet" in the pool one afternoon which was interesting enough. The resort does need to do a better job of letting guests know what is going on. There is a bulletin board near the lobby that they should be using more: weather forecasts, what the evenings entertainment will be, and so on would be helpful. Similarly, each room should really have a small binder or booklet to let guests know things like how to work the air conditioning system, what the buffet hours are, etc. We eventually figured that all out, but it still would be nice. The resort is fantastic visually, with attractive and clean buildings and common areas, natural beauty, and amazing landscaping and plants. Our room was very nice with a large walk-in shower with a rainfall shower head, a king-size bed, mini-fridge that was restocked daily, patio, safe, and a TV with signals from all over the world (including CTV from Canada). Our room was a second-floor garden-view room at the end of the main building at the back (overlooking landscaped grounds and the mangrove forest behind). It was totally quiet, although we had friends at the other end of the building who were kept awake one night by a loud group in the next room. At most resorts we would avoid a room overlooking the pool/main area because of night-time noise concerns, but I don't think that would be much of an issue here after. We generally had enough hot water in our room, although a couple of times it was only warm. One day their hot water system was broken, but it was fixed by that evening. Everything in our room worked as expected. One day a sliding closet door came off its roller and it was fixed promptly after we notified guest services. There is a Cadeca currency exchange right in the lobby open every day which was very convenient. Last time we were at a Cuban resort (a number of years ago) exchanging money on the resort was a problem, especially to get 1-CUC coins for tipping. Not here. There is also a convenience store that sells cigars, rum, souvenirs, snacks, etc. We found the staff to be very nice, but we have always had that experience at the resorts (although we are not regular resort goers). The staff are certainly very busy at peak times so sometimes it takes a bit of time to get a drink. I don't envy them having to deal with unreasonable requests and expectations of entitled guests. My sense at resorts is that the staff is extremely unwilling to call out bad or unreasonable behaviour of guests (not that we saw a lot of bad behaviour at this resort), for fear of insulting them or getting a poor review. They should get over that. If the staff is bothered by bad behaviour, most likely many of the other guests are too. The resort is a fairly long way from the airport (about 1:30 on the bus). We arrived at night, so we couldn't see anything and the trip seemed a bit long because of being tired from the flight. The trip back to the airport was good though, driving over the long causeway, but also through towns and countryside. Our tour-guide on the return trip spoke quite a bit about Cuba and Cuban culture, which was really very interesting. I have read a few reviews complaining about the food at the resort. We actually found the food to be very good with more than enough variety. Okay, it may not be 4+ star by Canadian standards, but we enjoyed it very much. We actually never booked one of the a-la-carte restaurants, as we were happy with the buffet, but our friends who went to the Asian said it was excellent. As others have noted, they did run out of potatoes a couple of times (seems like an odd thing to run out of to me). So eat rice or fried banana chips (these were very tasty, by the way). If you can't find things here to eat that you like, you should honestly stay home. One thing is that I found most of the fruit juices at the breakfast buffet to be watery tasting. I have celiac disease so there were a number of things that were not safe for me to eat, but I was always able to find something and I never had any kind of a gluten reaction. For the same reason I can't eat baked goods. The desserts all looked nice, but my wife didn't really find them to be that good. Fortunately, there was always fruit and good ice cream. One thing we found odd was that they never make dessert spoons available until you ask a server for one. Not quite sure why they don't set the tables with a spoon, or at least have them in a caddy by the ice cream. Overall, we found that the Angsana, Cayo Santa Maria, was perfect for the kind of vacation that we were looking for--quiet and relaxing. I read a number of reviews before booking, with most of them being positive, but some others completely negative. I guess everyone has a different experience and different expectations. I think sometimes people pay $1,200 pp for a Cuban resort and expect the same kind of food and service that they would get at a $2,500 pp resort. Temper your expectations a bit and you will be very happy here.

Starfish Varadero: Beautiful

Truely the rooms and hotel are beautiful the staff very friendly and helpful. My only complaint is that you are so far out and everything closes at 5 or 6 including the pool when traveling with kids it would be nice for something open other then the bars

Iberostar Origin Bella Vista Varadero: Amazing

Great rooms the wiev fantastic the resort great lots to do it from massages tennis gim walking the food was ok but the employees very friendly and funny the teatre good shows everynight lot to do at the beach from voliball walking on sand meet new people s I was there for a week and I had great time and I will go back again I was at Cuba fees time but this is my favorite resort

Barcelo Solymar: Love this place

We have stayed at the Barcelo Solymer 3 times now and love it, hotel is a bit dated, but they continue to do upgrades. the staff is amazing. anytime we had any issues they were dealt with immediately. we will be going back again

Aston Costa Verde Beach Resort: Great resort

I was impressed by the service. All staff were friendly , helpful and hard working. The grounds were well kept. My room was well maintained and clean. The beach was beautiful and clean. The restaurants and food was wonderful. My only disappointment was the lack of tomato juice for the bloody Mary's. I would certainly return.

Melia Las Dunas: Great beach and pool, wonderful people

Beautiful beach and pool area. Good live bands and dancing before 9:30 pm. Nice room with good air conditioning. Great staff. Nicely landscaped grounds. It was good value for money except for the food. However: Nothing worked very well. No hot water the whole time (until second last day let water run a long time). Bathroom door wouldn't stay closed, toilet only partly flushed--had to pour extra water into it every time, phone never worked at all, lock on door to room failed three times [... read more] and had to call for repair, low light in lamp for reading, poor to no wifi reception in my room. Food was really, really disappointing. I understand there is a difficulty getting food supplies, but seafood was so salty and overcooked it was inedible, a lot of meat and salty veg/bean mixtures, long line-ups for omelets or stir fries. Steam tables were not always hot enough. Noise in the cafeteria was deafening. Had to admire the creativity of the cooks with eggplant. Could not buy kleenex or any other small items except water. The White NIght group were very good entertainment. Lovely to sit in the lobby in the mornings and sip great cappuccinos. Pinas were fine. Good weather, well mostly. :-) Staff were all outstanding! Would go back if they could perk up the preparation of the food.

Playa Luxury Cayo Las Brujas: Angsana beautiful!

We’ve returned from Angsana Cayo Santa Maria on the 13 March 2020 after a wonderful week at this resort. Staff very courteous and helpful especially our representative Yailit at customer service. Minor issues with food item shortages and ( possibly due to shipment delays ) and we did have communication issues from room to reception with phone not being answered and getting room service was a miss in the evenings, not really serious for us but in an emergency that could be an issue. T [... read more]he beaches are beautiful and quiet and picturesque with lots of great snorkeling just a few yards out from the beach. Beach shoes a must! There are bumpy rocks hard to see at times under the sand and impossible to see when the waves stir up the water. Our room ( in Cabana #3 ) was beautiful and spacious and clean with a beautiful balcony and view of the ocean and an air conditioner that was awesome! The buffet restaurant was 4 star in what it serves but limited in choices but service excellent with Iliana and her teammates who were very friendly and attentive The “ A La Carte” restaurants were disappointing in food preparation, quality, and really missed the mark in trying to emulate intercontinental cuisine but the waiters were all excellent and courteous. Do visit the beach barbecue and Daniesky who probably is the hamburger king of the Cuba if not the Caribbean Our stay was overall excellent but for some minor inconviences that would definitely not deter us from returning! Thank you Angsana y a la proxima vez!

Palma Real: great resort

the food was amazing alot better then sun beach the grounds were ok needed a bit work on the pool grounds but was ok other then are room door not locking due to the door was kicked in before and the safety bar in tub was not safe and electricity was bad and oh wait no light bulbs lol had a great time to come home to isolation id go back again

Iberostar Selection Ensenachos: Thoroughly enjoyed myself, but do not like the Cuban Universal Currency price gouging on tours etc

Of note, i am ex military and have travelled the world and stayed in many places of various repute in my 32 years, retiring as a senior officer. This review is in mind of those experiences. Be prepared for up to a 90 minutes bus ride to and from your hotel! Bring European conversion plugs for 220 to 110 volt. None to be had in Cuba! The hotel was a 5 star by Cuban Standards which I found very nice. It would be about a 3 to 4 anywhere else and I got the overall sense that it was on th [... read more]e cusp of a downward spiral in quality. My main complaint that lowers the rating is the poor maintenance of the facilities overall....major holes in boardwalks to beaches and on stairs that were never fixed and were in fact dangerous, potholes at the main entrance, broken furniture, etc and no sign of any repair men during my stay. Noted previous repairs were done haphazardly and noticeably half baked efforts. I enjoyed the food immensely and it was 5 star by Cuban Standards. A lot of broken coffee and other machines were noted. The staff were excellent. Definitely 5 star by any standard. The beaches were fantastic as were the pools, bars and service. Activities at the hotel were not well advertised, consequently we missed opprtunities for scuba lessons for example. The room was a Spa suite which was excellently laid out, very clean and well appointed. The only drawback was towels not changed daily and a broken drawer. The beds were okay, but not excellent or up to 5 star standards. We did the Catamaran/Dolphin tour and the Santa Clara tours....I enjoyed and recommend both. Though I'm told that the snorkeling was a bit of a yawn by those with more experience. The Dolphins were great. As I like seeing how the real people live and a bit of their history, the Santa Clara city and history/factory tour is a must for those of the same ilk. The Cuban Universal Peso is a major drawback. The current rate in Canadian puts it at the scam level. Consequently, tours that would cost you approximately 120 USD a couple in Mexico will cost you closer to 220 USD in Cuba. For instance we went on two tours costing about 220 in CUC, which equalled nearly 480 CAD on our credit card......I'm at a loss as to how that figures given the rate was supposed to be around 1.46 CAD, which is also ridiculous. I guess they are trying to be higher than the Euro. Regardless of the drawbacks, I enjoyed the trip. I will go back again, but maybe to a newer hotel and definitely no less than a 5 Star. Esenachos definitely needs better maintenance, however it is good, its clean and in relatively good order for the bang for the buck at present. In a couple years I expect it's quality will erode. Look for a newer 5 star if a few minor issues will bother you