Explore Cuba

December 4 2009

Arrival: November 3 - 17, 2009
we were booked in promptly and did not have to wait long at all to be shown to our room.

Rooms:
Our room was huge and very clean.

Restaurants and Bars:
The a la carte restaurants were fun.  Our favourites were the French (small portions but really quite tasty) and if you were still hungry after that you could always go to the buffet..... and the Italian.  We tried the Japanese and the only good thing I can say about that restaurant was that the entertainment was great but the food was definitely not Japanese.  Also had a meal at the Mediteranean which was fine. 

Beach/Pools/Grounds:
The beach was great and it was cleaned every morning early.  The water was so clear and fairly warm.  Much warmer than the pool which is not heated.  We were only at the activity pool once and that was to use the water slide which apparently was fun as per my husband.  We did sit by the quiet pool which was not quiet because of new arrivals getting their free drinks.

Activities on and off the Resort/Hotel:
We did a day tour to Havana which wasn't long enough.  Would suggest staying in Havana for a couple of days in order to see all the history there is.  We rented motor bikes and had fun riding around on them - drove as far as Varadero as we were told we could not go over the bridge.  We did the caves on the way to Varadero which was interesting.  The tour guide was very good and her English was excellent.

Other Comments:
I just want to say do not believe all the "nay sayers" that have written their reviews of this resort.  The resort was lovely and large.  Glad for the long walks we had as we ate and drank way more than we should have.  The rooms were very nicely appointed and I don't know how the shower leaked all over the floor as per the other reviews (maybe they should have put the shower curtain inside the bathtub and they wouldn't have had any problems).  The staff was always very friendly regardless if you tipped them or not.  The staff at the buffet really worked hard - just couldn't complain about them.  The food was not the best but really there was always something to find to eat that you liked.  I am sure that everybody who goes there does not loose any weight!!!!  I can not say enough about how well we liked this resort.  My husband and I do a lot of travelling so this is not the first resort we have every been to.  I hope more Canadians stop and think about the county of Cuba !
and realize that it is not a North American county.  We would definitely return to Cuba and to this resort.

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December 3 2009

Arrival: November 9-16, 2009
Arrival was good.  They had registration in a banquet room instead of at the front desk.  It was fast and efficient and took up to our room by golfcart.  Got a free bottle of rum, and there was rum punch available for those who wanted it.

Rooms:
The room was much like every other 4 star plus in varadero.  Nice and clean, no bugs, no smells.  Bathroom was large and spacious, shower head was too low for anyone of regular height, as it is in every cuban hotel.  Room had 2 single/twin beds, air conditioning, small color tv to watch cnn, fridge.  Fridge was restocked daily with 2 beer, 2 cokes, sprite, and water BECAUSE we tipped the maid daily.  No tipping=restocking every 2nd day.  Treat the staff well and they will take care of you well.

Restaurants and Bars:
All restaurants and bars had exceptional service, on every instance.  Good liquor variety always available, I was amazed at some of the weird drinks guests were ordering, things I dont even see people drink here at home. (cosmos, black russian, manhatten, sexonthebeach, martinis, tom&jerry, etc).  The food quality was excellent, selection was great, and I ate everything except seafood.  When there is no food sitting on the grill, that is because they cook it to order.  You simply tell the chef what you want and they cook it in front of you (chicken, turkey, beef, veal, pork, etc).  I ate all of those on a daily basis all week long.  There were some ignorant people who mistakenly believed because there was not meat sitting on the grill precooked, that there was no meat available.  I would assume that anyone who has written a negative review regarding the food at this resort, was either ignorant or inexperienced.  There were no issues at all and I would rate this resort as th!
e 2nd best food service I have had in all of Varadero.

Beach/Pools/Grounds:
Resort is new, so vegetaion is young, not a ton of shade so summer travel will be hot hot hot.  The place is clean, the pools were fairly quiet.  There was no litter in the pools or around them, but there was sand in the bottom of them making them appear a bit due for a cleaning.  The water was clean though and no problems.  They have a waterslide, swim up bars, and a bar in a cave behind a waterfall.  The beach area has tons of chairs, but a limited number of palapas, so there are times of the day it appears full, but always room for another chair.

Activities on and off the Resort/Hotel:
We travel to Havana and to Cardenas to visit friends.  If your going to Havana, google up "Casa 1932" and book a night there.  For the cheap price it will give you time to explore, check out the history, architecture, china town, malecon, prada, etc.  Tell the host Luis that Rob&Kim sent you and he will have the chef serve you a meal that will beat any meal you have had anywhere in the world!  True Cuban Feast!

Other Comments:
I posted a review at other trip advising websites and put up pics and videos.  If you google the resort for pics and videos, or search for us you will find them.  Lots of great info and tips.

We had read some bad reviews for this hotel but were pleasantly surprised.  Here is the text from another review I wrote with more detail than the boxes here allow:

Here is a brief review of the Sirenas La Salinas, which we just returned from. We had read a few bad reviews and so were a little apprehensive, but were pleasantly surprised with the place. We have been to Cuba many times in the past and have submitted more detailed reviews to this and other hotels which you can find online, with pics and vids of everything.

Hotel - nice, newer build, but large. 2500 person capacity, but was about half full when we were there. Very spread out, so some rooms are far from the restaurant, others are far from the beach, but there is golf carts running around for those too lazy to walk. Still, the most spread out hotel I have been to in Varadero, but above average condition and design.

Room - same as every other 4* and up room in varadero. Nicely done up, big clean bathroom, clean sheets, shower head too low for anyone 6 feet tall, but no bugs or smells or anything nasty like that. No complaints at all.

Staff - maid service was great, she restocked fridge daily=we tipped daily, bartenders were decent at all bars, wait staff was beyond excellent everywhere on the resort, cooks were fantastic, cleaning staff worked 24hrs. Only staff that was not exceptional was front desk staff who was a bit lazy and uninterested.

Pool - Quiet pool was empty 95% of the time, totally clean, no problems. The main pool was busier, the water was not full of litter as some have said, but there was sand in the bottom of the pool and it was a bit nosier there with music and people. There was a swim up bar, and also a bar in a cave behind a waterfall, and a waterslide. If you find my pics online you will see it.

Beach - empty on the day it was cool, full on the da it was hot. Tons of chairs, limited shade palapas though. Large beach area though can accomodate tons of people. Beach was graded at 7am, but still had cigarette butts( from lazy idiot tourists) and seaweed wash on it, because its a beach.

Food - no problems at all. I would say the food here was the 2nd best of the 6 hotels I have stayed at in Varadero. There was tons of selection every day and a bit of variety too. In the week I ate: beef, chicken, turkey, veal, pork, lamb, beef hamburgers, ham hambrugers, bacon, yams, fries, pizza, 10 kinds of rice, lots of buns and breads, ice cream. I would say that getting to the restaurants when they open ensures the best experience, as it is a buffet. If you get there at 9:30 and it closes at 10pm, dont expect that they are bringing out fresh trays of food. There was no shortage of anything, but you have to understand how the buffet works, If you approach the fry chef, you ask for what you want and they make it for you. There were a few birds waiting for a meal in the mornings, less by noon, and none by supper. Never a problem and always made worse by the tourist across from you who thinks its cool to throw them a snack.

Internet - 5 machines in an airconditioned room. Not as slow as some say, but as fast as dial up can be. Took 15 minutes for 2 of us to log onto gmails, check mail, and log out. Internet costs $10/hour.

Disco - wasnt too busy, but the music was alright. The sound system was pushed to its limit and didnt sound wonderful, but the people had a good time there.

Animacion - the animation/entertainment at this hotel was actual top notch. They drew a crowd of about 800 people each night and always thunderous applause and cheers. The dancing was exceptional, find my videos in google. The only nights that suck are karaoke night and 'perfect couple' night, which are the audience particiaption nights and so you are basically being entertained by other tourists, who suck.

Crowd - the hotel was 95% Canadians, but 60% of those were from Quebec. With that comes seemingly lots of smoking, bad manners, and complaining for some strange reason? Must be a cultural difference I guess, but certainly very obvious.

The best things about this hotel had to be the price, the service, the food, and the entertainment. All of those stood out as being above average for Varadero. The worst thing about the hotel was that it is a lot of walking due to its large size. On hot days this can be a bit of a pain.

Overall, I would say this is the 2nd nicest hotel in Varadero, right behind the Tryp Peninsula, and newer and fancier than the Barlovento or the Villa Cuba, which are my budget choices. I will upload some pics and vids to the internet if anyone cares to find them.

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November 2009

Arrival: November 1-8 2009

Rooms:
We were with Nolitours and the Cameleon Club Gold package which has a a section of rooms closest to the beach.  Our rooms were blocked in the 31 and 32 building.  The room was clean and well attended by our room attendant.  We had a block of 6 rooms all singles as we took the option of no single supplement which was like having a vacation within a vacation.  We had some issues with towel replacements on occasion but nothing that impacted us. We decided to tip our maid very generously the first day and the service was very over the moon after that.  She came to the room twice a day to see if we needed anything and our water, pop and beer was replaced more than regularly. We had two big pool towels in our room and they can be replaced beside the activy pool anytime.

Restaurants and Bars:
There are several options for ala carte and the buffets are available as well.  The ala cartes we picked were the Steak House and Japanise as they were recommended by former visitors to this property.  There is a breakfast,lunch and dinner buffet daily in the main lobby area of the resort and breakfast can be taken at the Beach Grill restaurant also.  The Beach Grill changes to a lunch buffet and at dinner time it hosts special functions.  We were invited two ot the nights one for a Paella dinner and the following night for a BBQ.  The buffet (main lobby)was changed regularly and except for one very unhappy buffet cook (she was tossing food around and literally threw hot dogs at two people of our party)  The staff were very attentive and once you tipped them they called you over ever time you walked in.  They remembered your drink requests and made things alot easier.  The same goes for the bartenders as they remembered you if you tipped and I don't mean tip alot they were !
satisfied with one or two cucs.  Please dont tip with loonies or toonies!!!! They have to barter them with Canadians for cucs. 

Beach/Pools/Grounds:
This is Varadero!  The beach is wonderful however that being said this property is so much further than the strip where we first stayed 5 years ago (Hotel Internacional) the sand and clarity of the water is much different. The last time in Varadero we could witness our wonderful pedicures and this year we could not see our feet all that well.  A small thing for some but after Cayo Coco and Punta Cana we chose to go back to Varadero and one reason was the clarity and brilliant colors of the water. There are two large pools and there is a struggle for chairs at both.  Many people save chairs and leave for hours but they do save them and hold up use.  The activly pool has a swim up bar under a waterfall whick is kind neat.  There are things happining but not all too often.  They don't pressure you to participte which was refreshing.  The quiet pool closest to the lobby has a swim up bar also.

Activities on and off the Resort/Hotel:
Some of our group had never been to Cuba and we encouraged them to go to Havana for the day and they loved it. We did pick up the double decker bus several times as we are further away from town and the horse and buggy and the little Cuba cabs are not an option.  The double decker refreshingly was 5 CUCs and good for the whole day.  The Los Americas mall was pricy and we would probably not do that again.  The shopping at the Flea Market was fun and very rewarding.  We did most of our shopping there and at the airport.  Cigars were the cheapest at the airport and so was some of the rums!

Other Comments:
We really enjoyed this resort. There is alot of walking and please don't take that lightly.  The walk from out units to the main lobby is about 10 minutes on cobblestone walkways.  Not a big deal until you find the back way the staff use to get around and find out how much more comfortable it is to walk on concrete.
Our checkin was flawless as part of the Cameleon package is private check in.  Our check out was a bit frustrating as we were lined up for 20 minutes before someone came around and told us we were in the wrong line.  Apparently there was a sign on the front desk saying that but obviously the 18 people in front of us did not know either.  They had four desk clerks waiting for a new arrival bus and one stressed clerk checking out all of us.  Not fun.  There is a 2 cuc charge for the safe at checkout some did not know that.  After some peoples bus arrived to take them to the airport they asked another clerk to help.  I really do not know why the other three that were chatting (hopefully about work) did not jump in to help out.  The one thing I was unhappy about was the check out time is noon and to keep a room is 10 cucs per hour past checkout. We wanted to do one room and definitely got the impression they were not wanted to do it as they were so busy blah blah so we sat in the lobby, did lunch but still had 3 hours to wait, nothing to bad.  We were there through some high winds and rain as Hurricane Ike was brewing.  The one thing to be careful about is when the walkways get wet there are some very slippery spots. You really should never run in thr rain. 

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October 2009

Arrival: april 2009
resort is one of the newer ones and it shows, staff are great, mojitos are worth the trip alone.

Rooms:
large, clean and everything you need

Restaurants and Bars:
lots of selections to choose from.

Beach/Pools/Grounds:
beach is awsome, pools even better.

Activities on and off the Resort/Hotel:
get of the resort and enjoy the people and the country, its worth it.

Other Comments:
yes the resort is large, so if your older or just lazy you will not enjoy it. the food is the same everywhere in the carribean, so if your some kind of food credict you'll be disapointed. the staff is great, if you treat them the same way you want to be treated. ive been to most of the carribean islands and they all have their pros and cons. 5th trip to cuba, 2nd to this resort and already have booked for 2010. its what you make it so dont pay any mind to the bad reviews, they are lazy, ungreatful, and probley misserable in every day life.  YOU WILL LOVE THIS PLACE,, see you march 2010

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October 2009

Arrival:
Sirenis La Salina is overall a great resort.Sometimes I do not know what people want? Remember this is Cuba but yet the staff and resort still shine wonderfully.If you think this resort is terrible,and wonder what you consider ideal considering price and amenities.

Rooms:
Our room was spotless,clean and very attractive.Everything worked fine thank you!Water was hot,bathroom spotless and our maid very pleasant and helpful.
If you are pleasant with them and respectful they will treat you like gold.

Restaurants and Bars:
A La carte restuarants are clean,attractive and each has some delicious food items.Chateaubriand in French/Gourmet,steaks in steakhouse and of course japanese.Cuban restuarant quite good too. Now the buffet.Yes you have to be picky and some items are much better than others.However there is good variety, healthy vegetable dishes with exotic flavours,good fish,roast beef and turkey.
Again if your looking for six star variety go to europe or mayan riveria and pay 3 to 4 times as much.Relax you will NOT starve and might even find healthy alternatives.

Beach/Pools/Grounds:
Beautiful beach,fabulous main pool with grotto waterfalls/bar,super kid's slide and plenty of room for everyone.generally quite clean too.

Activities on and off the Resort/Hotel:
Lot's for the kids,playgrounds,waterslide,kids activities,kids club and more.
A great outdoor theatre showroom with excellent entertainment and talent.
In varadero lots of bazaar markets,a respectable modern type shopping mall with some big brand euro names and suprising some great clothes.(Plaza Las Americas)Also see Varadero Tropicana and visit the Dupont estate for sunset drinks.

Other Comments:
Overall for the price I think this a great resort.Yes there are some 'quirks'
and 'off' food choices.However remember you pay half the prices of the resorts in the Mayan Riveria and they too can have some mixed results.So if you think the resort is terrible I wonder what kind of price/quality ratio you adhere to?? Overall rating very good and worth four stars.

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September 2009

Arrival: 23/8/2009. to 6 9/2009
It was a terrible vacation, the hotel is bad, nobody nows anything, in the from desk, you go to talk, and they tunr the other way, my husband is sick, and can't walk, we waited for the "carrito' for more than 2 hours, then have to walk to our roon from the lobby to room 30101, the next day my husband was in bed the all day, we speak spanish and went by better than other Canadien who where there everybody was compleinning, on the second they they close the bar a the beach, they had to reopen a few our later because mor than 30 people went to copliant, when we have complaint 'they said wat do you want is low season', we want to thanks the manager, Mr. Barcelo, and Mr. Juan, Maitre. D. for taking care of us, the most important thing is the door to the terrase, they don't, lock, so they have put a chian, that can be easily cut, never will go to that resort agin, the travel agent who send us there, said is not her fault is, Air Canada who is in charge of everything, Thanks, for !
ruined a well deserved vacation whith my husband so sick, 

Rooms:
Very nice, door that not close properly, bathroom, al things in the showwer are loose,

Restaurants and Bars:
There is only the Buffet in the morning, in the other one they don't get the order to vey late in the morning, it was the close to us so we have to take what they had,

Beach/Pools/Grounds:
The beach is great, but is a small bar and is always full,

Activities on and off the Resort/Hotel:
Pour in activities,

Other Comments:
Not other comments, We are very angry to write more, Been to Cuba more than 20 times and this is the first vacation we did't enjoy.

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July 2009

Arrival: July 2nd 2009

Great Resort & Value for Money. Traveled with wife and 2 young children.

-Fairly new resort, and big.

-The water slide was a big hit with the children, also the pool was not deep, thus an added safety factor for the kids.

-The beach was tame and shallow in nature, nothing much to see under water other than sand.

-The room was excellent , no mildew, modern, clean and good A/C, also 12O volt power adapter. Great TV via satellite which helped manage the kids and temper the wife.

-We moved to ocean view thus a great improvement and view from the balcony.

-The food was excellent from a selection and healthy eating perspective, we did not get sick and we sampled most everything, however our food choices were based on quality food and common sense, and we avoided the junk food that is generally available to appease the non experienced travelers. Example, If you eat 2 lbs. of bacon and 6 eggs for breakfast it could manifest complications, However as with any trip we consulted with our Doctor and took prescribed precautions.

-The service was as expected very good, no body was chasing us for tips, however we did tip servers about 2 pesos per meal, they were grateful. We provided our maid with gifts such as new running shoes and other useful things not generally available to Cubans. The service was on par with my homeland, treat people well, if you want good service.

-Keep in mind that you are going to a poor country, temper your expectations with your budget and enjoy your trip. The travel companies and airlines are making the bulk of the money with the Cubans delivering the service at a bare bones cost.

-Note the mosquitoes are just like in Canada, thus common sense must be used at early morning and dawn. Long light pants and shirt can be helpful. My son liked the fumigator truck and the smoke clouds.

-Keep your drinking, smoking and eating habits in check and it is unlikely that you will have a problem.

-Well equipped and air conditioned gym

-Other travelers can be a pain at times, however we have not won the lottery as of yet. If your over 200lbs please give the rest of us a break and stay off the water slide.

-The main buffet is open not air conditioned, this is an area of improvement, however the resturants have ac

-Factual & fair, overall an excellent relaxing vacation in Cuba.

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July 2009

Arrival: July 10th - 17th, 2009
Flight arrived on schedule, everyone friendly. I managed to be first in line at check in and got a great room in block 33 on the third floor with a partial view of the ocean.

Rooms:
This is our second time at this resort and knew what to expect. Great room, soft beds, really clean! Our only minor complaint is that our cleaner, Aixa would never give us enough towels..but we always managed to find her in the hallways and she was always happy to hand us more when we asked.

Restaurants and Bars:
Not a fan of the buffet. I hate that it is open air and birds and mosquitos dominate your meal time. The food was ok, the bread is made fresh everyday. I was really disappointed the Japanese was booked for the week, (it was great the last time) but was very happy with the Mexican. My husband really enjoyed the steak at the French. The piano bar is air conditioned and great after dinner. Go say Hi to Nole and Neri, 2 of the best bartenders you will find.

Beach/Pools/Grounds:
Huge resort, Be prepared to walk! In the daytime the sun attacks you and in the night its the mosquitos. Sunscreen and bug repellent are must haves..double up if you can! The beach is ridiculously gorgeous but get there early if you want a chair and umbrella. The water had some seaweed, but what do you expect, its the OCEAN. The highlight of the activity pool is the main lifeguard. What a character! He will go out of his way to make sure your group is enjoying themselves. The pool closes at 6, basically this means the waterfall bar and no lifeguards on duty. lifeguard's shift is done. But he did us a huge favor and 'forgot' to turn off the water on the waterslide so our kids could enjoy the rest of the evening. We didnt leave the pool till midnight!

Activities on and off the Resort/Hotel:
Our only interest was going to Havana, but the prices of the excursions thru the hotel were insane especially since there were 7 of us. We had pretty much given up when we met our lifeguard at the beach. He hooked us up with his buddy in a brand new minivan, air conditioned, guided tour for $200! The guide picked us up at 9am. We saw all of Havana and its rustic beauty. He was taking us to see the touristy type stuff and I had to tell him we had no interest, we wanted to see the real Havana. He understood. We saw a cock fight, Cigar Factory, and mingled with the locals, went to the markets. Perfection. Then he made us a reservation at a restaurant that unfortunately I cannot remember the name. Up 4 flights of stairs, dimly lit with candles everywhere, gorgeous Cuban music, and the largest lobster dinner you can imagine for just 15 CUC. We were back at the resort by 8pm. A perfect day.

Other Comments:
This resort is highly recommended!

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July 2009

Arrival: June 26-July 3
Flew with Sunwing...a bumpy flight, but we arrived fine! We were served fruit punch (very good!) when we got the the lobby. Downside: We had to wait 7 hours to get a prebooked room! NO JOKE! There were about 3 other families that had to do the same thing (they flew with us too). We arrived at 10.30am and got a room at 5.30pm! Normally it wouldn't matter, but when you're up since 1.00am you're very tired and just want to rest!

Rooms:
We stayed in unit 30 on the 2nd level. We ordered adjoining rooms with an ocean view and got neither. Two kids were in a separate room than us, but luckily they are older so no worries. Room was always very clean...no complaints here. Our maid was named Acela and made towel art everyday. Just tip well at the beginning for great service throughout. Bar stocked every other day.

Restaurants and Bars:
They serve women faster than men at bars. Buffet recycles food so eat hotdogs and hamburgers for lunch (at snackbars) to enjoy a better dinner and to not be grossed out! Steakhouse restaurant was air conditionioned and very recommended. Japanese on the other hand was very hot (no airconditioning and open grill right in front of you) VERY VERY HOT, but great food nevertheless :)

Beach/Pools/Grounds:
Go down early to the beach to get a seat. Pools and beach always clean and beautiful. Kids went down slide many times and swimup bar was refreshing. Beach is very hot, but relaxing. For goodness sake, plaster that sunscreen!!!

Activities on and off the Resort/Hotel:
La Habana - get a true taste of Cuba. We visited a Cathedral and kids had hair braided. Very hot and beautiful. It was really an eye opener how people live. Ate at elegant air conditioned restaurant and it was great--not sure where it was though.

Other Comments:
A lot of mosquitoes...they sprayed deet all over the resort and it smelled really bad...run away when you see a truck with smoke. They sprayed at eating time so you inhale it. BEWARE!! Overall this was a very enjoyable trip and is recommended. I would come back, but not this time of year.

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May 2009

Arrival: May 1-8

7th trip to Varadero.....1st time at this resort: Resort is large, busy, however lovely.....always chairs available on the beach, and 1 of the 3 pools....., lots of walking if you like that.... always a cart available for transportation.if that is your preference.... nice large clean rooms, food is good... Japanese and Cuban Very Good.......Friendly Staff, very accomodating.......Great Coffee at the Lobby Bar..... would definately recommend and return to this resort...

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May 2009

Arrival: May 10-17
We flew Air Canada Vacations into Varadero. Two checked bags permitted at 50lbs each! Had to pay for food on board. Due to the fact that one person in our party has a walking disability and needed a wheelchair, an airport staffmember met us right off the airplane and escorted us through immigration, luggage and to our bus. They were most kind. Funny though how EVERYONE was wearing surgical masks (memories of SARS) at the airport !

Rooms:
This is my second visit to this property. Check-in is held in a separate room. You get off the bus, ensure your luggage is off loaded, you leave it curbside and then in you go for check in. A few people were afraid to leave their bags so far from where they were going to be, so they hauled them into the check-in room too. You don't need to worry about your luggage. It WILL be there when you get back ! They assigned us our two side by side rooms and off we went with a bell boy to building 28.. first building off the lobby. Unfortunately, one room was really ready, the other one was being used for storage. Back to the check-in room for another room assignment.

One of the rooms I had requested was a handicap room soley for the shower because I knew the tubs there are quite high and might be a problem for someone with a walking disability. But word of caution, the handicap shower is level with the bathroom floor, and although it does have a drain, there is no "lip" so when one showers, the ENTIRE bathroom floor gets wet. When we got into our room, we found a dirty plate in the closet, a dirty glass in the fridge and not enough towels for two people. (there are usually 2 bath towels, 2 hand towels). Also the remote did not work, and the fridge door had been left open so nothing was cold. And then there were flies... mosiquitos and the black ones. The maids leave the door wide open when they clean the room so you spend the night killing flies or getting bitten. Not fun. TV is good in that you get a Canadian channel (CTV Edmonton), you get some movie channels, you get CNN, ESPN, RAI. Would be nice to have a hotel station too, something that might also give you weather forecasts. On the first day, our bathtub's water would not drain and we called for a plumber and he came right away, which really surpised me. We didn't have any water leaking problem like some of the other reviews have mentioned.Our sheets were changed maybe 3 times during the week.

Restaurants and Bars:
There is the main Buffet in the main building. Breakfast is very good. The lunch and dinner buffet is adequate. You won't starve.. there is enough food there that you will find something to eat. There are different stations also, such as a pasta station, a carving station (chicken, turkey, roast.. it varies each night), two grilling stations (one night the gal was pulling chicken breast strips out of a drawer with an ungloved hand, throwing them onto the grill, tossing them a few times with her spatula, then giving the hamburger on the side grill a toss with the same spatula, then back to the raw chicken.. well you get the point..) You do see the same food sometimes at all three sittings so you have to wonder if they really do recycle. (By midweek, the hamburgers were cut in half and covered in a mock tomato sauce). Make sure you don't leave your food unattended on your table as there are black birds YES BIRDS in the buffet that will come and nibble on your plate if you're not there.

We had lunch at the beach restaurant twice. That one serves BBQ chicken, burgers, and fish as well as some of the same buffet items. We ate at the Italian twice.. Excellent food the first time.. same choice from the menu the second time we went and it was terrible! I even asked if the chef had changed from Monday and was told no! We also ate at the Steakhouse. Order your meat medium rare or you'll need a chainsaw to cut through it. Flies abound in both restaurants, even though they are enclosed. The snack bars at both pools serve sandwiches, hot dogs and burgers and fries.. the fries are very good !! There is a 24hour Coffee bar in the lobby for cappucino's and espresso's. Staff here is awesome. There is also the main bar in the lobby as well. It becomes quite the gathering spot in the evening. People and mosquitos !! The ice cream is simply divine......

Beach/Pools/Grounds:
We got to the beach around 9am and had no problem getting a Palapa and chairs. The problem with the beach this time was the drop from the sand to the water. I don't know what happened but it was quite a step up to get out of the water and back onto the beach. Didn't matter if it was low tide or high tide.. They really should rake that beach flat in the morning. I know many families could not use the beach that week because it was too dangerous for small children to play close to the water.

The pools: The Activity Pool is aptly named. They have a fun waterslide, they have staff motivating the guests to play volleyball, play games etc etc. The Quiet Pool is for everyone else.. to enjoy a quiet day by the pool. Due to Conquest, the Mexico situation and end of college/university, the hotel was extremely busy this week. So were both pools. I was disappointed that there were no umbrellas at the Activity Pool and only TWO umbrellas by this rather large Quiet Pool, and they were spoken for by 730am. By Friday there were no more umbrellas, apparently they were ALL now broken. When it's 35C every day and SUNNY, if you can't get under some shade, you fry. The hotel should really look into investing in umbrellas for their guests.

Also, people drinking around the pool.. they would leave their plastic glasses and bendy straws by the water's edge, and of course, they ended up in the pool. There was also a couple of cases of real glasses being broken on the pool deck. Would these people be so sloppy around their own pools at home? Probably not. The staff has to continuously pick up the trash and empty cups and glasses left on the grounds around the resort. I don't know why some guests think it's ok to do this. Bring bug repellant and spray yourself daily.

Other Comments:
This hotel is very large and apparently is also expanding. They do have little shuttles that drive around the resort, but they won't pick you up if they are doing a check-in or check-out shuttle. So be patient if you're waiting for one. For the most part, the staff is friendly. I do wish they would give more priority to a guest when standing in front of them waiting to ask a question, rather than said guest having to wait for the staff to finish their personal conversation first. And don't forget where you are. Sometimes they do run out of items such as ketchup, or hamburger buns or straws. I was told by other guests that the mosquito problem was exclusive to this hotel because it was near a nature bog so I think I'll try another smaller resort on my next visit to Cuba.

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May 2009

Arrival: May 10th - May 17th
Check in was quick and it was in a conference room and not the front lobby. We arrived in the late morning and our room was ready. I had read that we should bring towels if arriving early in the day because the only place to get your first ones were from your room, however, because our room was ready, we didn't have this problem. We had asked for beach view and king bed and didn't get either.

Rooms:
Our room was in building 22 which was approximately half way between the buffet and front lobby and the beach. Room was clean with nice deep bath with shower. Toilet seat was not attached properly and you had to watch out you didn't fly off of it each time. You had to keep your finger on the hair dryer button to dry your hair or it wouldn't work.....not sure if this was a problem with just this one or if that's the way it works Cuban style or not..good thing I have short hair or else my finger would be numb by the time I would be finished. Bed sheets were clean but we found that the towels were not always clean when replaced....not sure if it was the lack of washing or were they reusing our dirty ones and placing them back. We are not the type that need to have fresh each day...you're suppose to be clean after you take a shower, but I did want them replaced every other day..but found they looked soiled...so after the first couple of times this happened, I asked to look at them and kept the new ones for the duration of our stay. Bring a wash cloth if you use one.

Restaurants and Bars:
Both buffets were very good but after the 5th day it was the same old, same old and we were turned off completely. We had Japanese on the 6th day and that was all right but not the greatest. We have been to Cuba 3 other times and it seems that the food is getting worse and worse each time. It started with just the problem of the food being bland without any spices but now it's the lack of quality and variety. If you like hamburgers and hot dogs with flies then you'll have no problem. We could not wait to get home to a nice steak and chicken that was not cooked to death. Mind you the fish was very good but how many days can you eat fish.

Beach/Pools/Grounds:
Excellent beach...only thing that I didn't like was that you weren't able to walk in the water if you went for a walk because there was a small mound of sand you had to go down to the water's edge. Some tourists also spoiled it for everyone else with they plastic glasses. They left them all over the beach when there were garbage bins every couple of hundred feet.

Activities on and off the Resort/Hotel:
Did all the tours the previous times and so this time it was pure R & R.

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May 2009

Arrival: April 06- 20
We left Halifax on time Via Air Transat and because we knew our luggage was overweight we decided to go Club Class (other members advised us that this was the way to travel and they were so right) it was an unbelievable experience, the staff totally spoiled us. We arrived in Cuba on time, quick exit through Customs on to the bus. I think that this was the first time in 9 trips to Cuba that this bus went direct to the hotel without any stops. We arrived at the Hotel at 12:30, check in went smoothly, but room would not be ready until 4pm. No big shakes. As we were travelling with Nolitours we rec'd a bottle of rum, Went back about 3pm found out room was ready shuttle bus took us to Bldg. 34 2nd. floor, put suitcases in room for us and hoped we enjoyed our stay there.

Rooms:
As this was our 2nd trip to Salina, the rooms were no surprise. Our maid Janette looked after us quite well, fridge re-stocked everyday, bed changed every 2nd day, and when towels were late coming back from the laundry she made sure that we recieved our ones that we were shorted. We would go for dinner around 6:30 - 7:00pm and when we got back the towels would be there. No problem with shower flooding and roomed cleaned every day.

Restaurants and Bars:
We had no problem with the restaurants/bars. Being there last year we knew what to expect.We could not get into the Japanese Ala carte last year but this year we were lucky to get 2 visits to it, it was great, we also had 2 vists to the French and it was also very good. 1 visit each to the Cuban and Steak house which were good. The buffet compared to last year had improved immensley. The meals at the 2 pools snack bars were adequate but that was what they were SNACK BARS. The breakfast and lunch buffet at the beach was excellant. As I have a practice of not tipping for the first day or two to see who gives service first then those will be the ones I seek out if I go to the buffet , snack bar or pool.

Beach/Pools/Grounds:
Out side of being eaten by mosquitos and sand fleas the beach is quite nice, not as big as others we have been to, but I am not a big beach person anyway. The activity pool is just too too noisy for us, but it is great for those who like it. We spent every 2nd day there because our Cuban friends were there on those days. On the off days we stayed at the quiet pool. The activity pool area was always full of cups, garbage etc. even though this year the Hotel has placed more garbage cans around the resort and even installed white wooden baskets to put your glasses and plates in. But I guess some people think that does'nt apply to them. The ones who take plastic cups into the pool and then leave them on the grassy island in the pool are the biggest offenders and they will be the ones who go home and write a review and complain about how dirty the resort is. ( Sorry, I have now finished my RANT)PS: this year the pool staff cannot go home until they have cleaned up all the garbage in and out of the pools left behind by us. Some had missed the staff bus to thier home and had to get home on there own. The ground this year is more lush and full than last year and the gardeners were constantly weeding planting everyday, the place looks great.

Activities on and off the Resort/Hotel:
As we did most of the tours last year, we decided to stay around the resort this year and the exchange on the dollar was also a factor. We took the DD bus into Varadero 3 times to visit the city and see more of it than last year. We also like a restaurant there so we would eat there when we went in to town.

Other Comments:
When we decided to go back to Salina we wondered if the staff would remember us from last year. We were quite surprised and pleased by the number of staff that did recognise us. This made our trip more enjoyable. Although we did no tours this year we took taxi's to 2 Cuban staff's homes for lunch and spent a pleasant 5-6 hours with them and thier families ( children, in-laws etc.) It was a marvelous insight into the Cubans life at home. We have no complaints about resort,the staff or the food. Just about the rude people who treat the staff as if they were thier personal slaves, cursing and yelling at them, they don't do it at home because they wouldn't get served. Go to Salina enjoy your vacation and smile and show respect to the staff.

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May 2009

Arrival: May 4-11
We arrived at the airport, that went very smooth. We ended up back at the resort and had a nice drink waiting and a bottle of rum.

Rooms:
On first review the room looked OK. But that toilet broke and we called the front desk and no one came. We also put in for a wake up call and it never happened. When we asked for a wake up call for our morning of leaving they called us 1/2 an hour later. Very poor service to get the toilet fixed.

Restaurants and Bars:
Breakfast was just OK. The flies outnumbered the amount of rolls in the basket. Food should have been covered and wasn't. Dishes were very dirty and I had to pick 5 plates before I found a clean one. Utensils dirty also. Food was all the same except the Japanese was a little better. Staff at the money changing place never smiled and one talked non stop on the phone and just pushed my $ to me. I also asked her a question and she never answered. Also the girl at the front desk couldn't even converse in English. Told her about the bathroom and she wrote our room down but nothing happened. Very very frustrating.

Beach/Pools/Grounds:
Pool was very hard to find a spot in the AM. If you missed a shady spot you were stuck in the sun for a good part of the day. The lobby was just awful with flies. You couldnt even sit without them sticking to you. God Awful, I was so disgusted. The bartenders were not all that friendly.

Activities on and off the Resort/Hotel:
I went on the Catamaran tour and it was OK.

Other Comments:
Would never never go back to this resort. Very disappointed in the food and dark flies. I am also bit to pieces on my legs and now have to live for a while with these awful bites.

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May 2009

Arrival: March 20 - 27
We travelled from Halifax to SLS March 20-27, 2009 (family of 3 including a 6 year old boy) with Signature Vacations on Skyservice. No problems with the flight or airport (note however if leaving Halifax on an early flight there is nothing open upstairs after you go though security until 5:00am so get your coffee downstairs!) Arrived at SLS around 10:30am and were swiftly diverted from the back of the check in line into another line because we had a baby they call all children babies no matter the age. We were checked in and driven to our room in less than 15 minutes!! Wow!!

Rooms:
We were in on the second floor of building 40 which is roughly halfway between the buffet and the beach perfect location. The room was great. We had requested a King size bed and a cot. Nice big bathroom (no leaky shower) and nice balcony with chairs. There is a mini-fridge (with a small freezer section) stocked with a large bottle of water, 2 beer and 3 soft drinks. It is supposed to be refilled every second day, but I left a note for the maid along with her gifts requested more each day. Even after I stopped requesting the extras, she kept bringing them! I left her 3 or 4 smalls gifts each day (pantyhose, makeup, etc) and 2 or 3 pesos.

Restaurants and Bars:
We had no real complaints about the food, other than maybe the temperature. It took a day or two to figure out what was available and what we liked, but after that it was fine. There was always lots of food no matter what time we went (usually 9:30 for breakfast). It was sometimes hard to find a table with glasses on it though, and the wait staff were not always very attentive (they were very busy). As long as you have glasses on your table you can get your own drinks. We had wine a couple of times and it was very good, but the wine we had at the Cuban a la carte was undrinkable. My biggest tip is look around to see what's available and try different things to see what you like. Be flexible and patient! If you go to a buffet in Canada that serves 3000 people, everything there is not going to be perfect either! The Cuban restaurant was very good with the exeption of the desserts. Not that they were bad, just not to our taste. Desserts in general were nothing to get excited about. The ice cream was excellent and the little chocolate cake squares were very good. Otherwise, blah.

Beach/Pools/Grounds:
Both pools were beautiful and no problems getting a chair at either pool at any time of day (we never arrived before 11:00am), although getting a shady spot was next to impossible. The waterslide was a big hit for my son. Some days there were more kids than others so there was a bit of a line up, but never any more than 10 people. I brought a little flutter board from the dollar store than my son used to sit on coming down the slide sometimes, and other kids had blow up rings or even air mattresses. These are all good ideas!

The beach was a little harder to find a chair, but if you hover around a little you will notice someone packing up to leave. It was very windy the whole week we were there so we had a yellow flag everyday, or at least part of every day, and there were a couple of days that I'm sure would have been red flags but we went into town on those days so I'm not sure. As you walk out into the water, there is a bit of a dip, it feels like it gets deep quickly, but then you come up out of the dip on the other side and it shallow again. If you are on the far left side of the beach (left facing the ocean) there are a lot of big rocks in this dip and it's very hard on your feet, but if you move further right there are no rocks. WARNING - My son and I walked up the beach towards the new construction with a bucket gathering shells and low and behold, found a lovely conch shell in the sand. I thought it was odd that no one had picked up the shell and I was lucky enough to find it, however once I picked it up a local called out to me from the beach and tried to tell me I owed him 10 pesos for the shell. I'm not sure where he thought I had money since I ws wearing a bathing suit!! I said no hay dinero and he said no problem. He pointed to my son and said you bring me clothes for my baby. Long story short the conch shell is a scam!!

Other Comments:
Other tips: 1. coffee bar is great; 2. use the cadeca (money exchange) by the spa no line ups; 3. arrive at a the theatre early if you want a good seat the children's show is at 8:00 so the front rows are usually taken note also that after the shows they try to get people up on stage to dance so be ready to make your escape if that's not your thing! Also, there are mosquitos at the theatre; 4. If you go into Varadero on the bus children 6 and under are free I wasn't told this the first time and paid for my son; 5. the pina coladas at Josone Park in Varadero are excellent! 6. if you are checking out before 7:00 in the morning there is no food so grab some bread and fruit the night before.

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May 2009

Arrival: May 1 - May 8
Our arrival was great. We traveled with Sunwing. Our flight was great food was good and had champagne on the plane. When we arrived at the airport, we found our luggage quickly and went to our bus, we got great seats in the back and enjoyed the narrated trip to our resort. Great scenery if you get there during the day. We got to our hotel and were greeted with a bottle of rum and smiling faces. We were shuttled to our room and our driver carried our things to our room, of course we tipped him and he was appreciative.

Rooms:
Our room was block 25 room 216. It was very clean our mini fridge was well stocked with beer , pop and water (hang onto your water bottle and get it refilled at the bar or lobby) the maid may not restock every day but it's no big deal to ask one of the bartenders they will gladly fill it for you. The washrooms were big, our shower leaked around the side of the tub but we figured out if we used our hand towel and put it where the water was running down it wouldn't make any mess. (tip for you) however our friends had no issue with this. we made use of our patio as well. at night we would relax out there and have drinks with friends. overall the rooms were great. our maid cleaned it daily and even left notes and little designs with the towels. very cute. we always left her some presents. (dollar store items) which she appreciated.

Restaurants and Bars:
The main buffet by the lobby is great. I enjoyed every meal we had there. lots to choose from. I recommend the Omelet station. We were lucky to book our a la carte restaurants on our first day. The Japanese is the BEST I mean it. The best food we ate there. Mario was our chef and we tipped him good because he was so down to earth and funny. The French was very nice as well. We ate there as part of a wedding we attended. The Steakhouse was okay but not as good as the Japanese. If I am able to next time I come back, I will see if I can book 2 japanese a la cartes. :) the quiet pool has yummy pizza and burgers and fries. the buffet by the beach is also very very good. bbq grilled chicken and fish. and lots to choose from . I did not feel deprived during this trip. I ate better than I do at home. :)

Beach/Pools/Grounds:
Beach is the best there is. !! we spent every day there all day until we had to eat. the loud pool is great for partying and the cave bar is cool (under waterfall). the quiet pool has great bartenders. (Boris and Xavier). we spend our last moments before we left having drinks at this pool. very relaxing. The grounds are beautiful , for being so new it is gorgeous ! very lush. I was lucky and didn't have any bites (maybe one or two) but Friends of mine did get a bunch of red dot bites on their legs. I used OFF spray every night. But you don't feel the bites (they could be sand fleas) as they don't itch...although there are mosquitoes around at night. they do a good job spraying with smoke to deter them though. I wouldn't let this stop you from coming. The friends I came with that did get bitten are definitely coming back.

Activities on and off the Resort/Hotel:
We went on the Jeep Safari. It was incredible, YOU MUST DRIVE A STANDARD !! we saw so much of the outskirts of Varadero. The people are very desperate for anything. They stand on the side of the road begging for you to give them things. Make sure you bring stuff if you plan to go on this safari. They will be so happy if you do. On this tour, we went snorkeling, visited a ranch for lunch, Swam in a Cave and tasted the most amazing fruit from one of the locals residence. It was an overall amazing trip and a good way to see the real Cuba.

Other Comments:
I highly recommend this resort. It is great for couples and groups of friends. There is a night life at the square, everyone has drinks,dances and just has a lot of fun. If you are looking for a quiet resort you may want to ask to be closer to the lobby than the theater (it can be loud at night). I can't wait to go back. I got back yesterday and already miss it. We have great memories . 6 of us (3 couples) went together and are planning another trip back next year.

terri.cormier@gmail.com

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May 2009

Arrival: 13-20 March
Flew with A/C from Montreal and everything went smoothly. The bus ride was comfortable. Check in at the hotel was fine and luckily our room was ready early. Some people had to wait until 4 pm.

Rooms:
We were in block 35, second floor and the room was really very nice. Bigger than expected with a view of the ocean, and a separate sitting room. There was a powder room, as well as a full bathroom with separate shower. There were some minor plumbing issues, but nothing to spoil the holiday. The bedding was not changed daily - but quickly upon request. Towels were changed when left in the bath tub. We did tip the cleaning lady daily. The fridge was stocked as necessary. One of the chairs on our balcony was broken and not fixed for our stay.

Restaurants and Bars:
Just what you would expect from such a huge resort....at full capacity. We certainly did not starve, and the drinks were acceptable. We did not get sick, nor anyone in our party of 8. The icecream was really delicious. Some one had commented on wanting more/varied fruit. Just remember this is the winter season in cuba (Dec-May) and not the growing season for Mangoes etc. What does Canada grow in the winter?

The hotel should come up with a different system for booking the alacartes. I waited for 2 1/2 hours to get my bookings and in the end was not able to book the Japanese, of which we had heard good things.

Beach/Pools/Grounds:
Lovely. My son had such a great time on the slide. The sand on the beach was clean and the ocean amazing. There was a lot of garbage around (cups,straws and plates etc), but blame your fellow tourist for not using the garbages located everywhere.

Activities on and off the Resort/Hotel:
We did the Havana tour and the Catamaran, both of which were entertaining and interestig. The cuban people really do try to help you have a good vacation. We did not participate in any of the onsite programs - dancing etc, as we were there just to chill out.

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May 2009

Arrival: April 24th - May 1st
Our tour operator was Nolitours. Our arrival was uneventful, everything went very smoothly. We arrived at the resort around 4 in the morning and were greeted in a separate room for registration. We were supposed to receive a bottle of rum however there were only about 6 bottles for a bus full of people, needless to say we didn't get any, which was not a big deal. We did get the shuttle to our room but the lack of a bell boy to help carry our luggage up the stairs was bit of pain, especially at that time in the morning.

Rooms:
The rooms were nice, nothing special, but nice. There were some plumbing issues, when the water was turned on in the sink, the fawcett didn't reach the bowl so there was always water over the vanity counter. The bathtub was a little unnerving, there were some major soft spots that had you wondering whether or not you were going to end up in the bathtub below. The room was quite clean. There was no alarm clock or coffee maker (it's the first time I had stayed at a resort that had neither of these items). The clock wasn't a problem but I did miss having a coffee early morning. We were in bldg. 36 which was quite a distance from the buffet to get a coffee.

Restaurants and Bars:
The buffet was really good. You could always find chicken, beef and pork along with a lot of vegetables. Pasta was always available. Breakfast was awesome, fresh omelettes, bacon, hash browns etc. were always available. The Japanese rest. was really good however we didn't enjoy the steak house. We opted not to go to any other rest. when the buffet was so good. We spent our days at the pool bar and our evenings at the lobby bar. Both were well stocked however service was a little slow at the lobby bar.

Beach/Pools/Grounds:
The beach was clean, well maintained however it was windy while we were there so we didn't spend as much time as we usually spend on the beach. Chairs were never an issue. The quiet pool was nice, bar service good.

Activities on and off the Resort/Hotel:
The entertainment wasn't bad. I did enjoy the circus night but for the most part, the costumes out shone the entertainment. The catamaran was enjoyed by our whole party although the crew was a little quiet and didn't mingle with the passengers.

Other Comments:
This resort is not a bad deal for the money but due to the size of it, (it is quite large), I will not be returning. There are shuttles but not often are they around when you want them. I think the whole week we only got two rides. The staff are friendly but I think they expect to be tipped with or without providing a good service.

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May 2009

Arrival: Last week April 2009
Sunwing was our tour operator. Arrival was at Juan Gomez Intnl, was good, with SW reps to answer questions and boarding the resort buses smoothly. We were a party of 13, and all looked after quite well. Especially when we let it slip we were a wedding party/group.One of my daughter's suitcase was mistakingly scooped up by a overzealous Canadian, off the baggage carousel. Leaving her/his in place! The reps and the officials WERE AWESOME to help us get the proper suitcase back...They HELD ALL the resort buses until the right one was returned! Case in point...please check that you have your own, I mark my cases with tape or flags etc., to aid in spotting mine on the carousel. Sunwing bus trip to the resort was fun, and informative. Tip the driver :) A scheduled meeting for us was also set at the resort to make us familiar with our tours, the next day. Good to attend. Check in was smooth, most rooms were available, lobby and the facilities were great to enjoy until our room was ready.

Rooms:
Comfortable, maid service was good, ask if you want more water, tissue, etc. They will make up towel caricatures, we left gifts on the bed pillow to reciprocate good service, also a few CUC.

Restaurants and Bars:
Lobby bar was the best IMO. More selection there. Service was excellent at bars and restaurants. Japanese restaurant was my favorite.

Beach/Pools/Grounds:
Nice beach, plenty of lounge chairs, many grass huts to escape the afternoon sun. The restaurant near the beach is quite good. Bars on the beach as well. Pools are nice, more activities at the active pool at the courtyard with water slide. Grounds are very well kept, gardeners may may make you grass items. The gardeners are very nice to chat with. Say hi to Jeorge if you are near chalet 24, near the walkway to the quiet pool area. He usually sports a Canadian pin and or hat, and loves Canadians !!

Activities on and off the Resort/Hotel:
Many activities on site, check out the nightly stuff at the theater at the courtyard. Good selection of tours off site. Few of us did the Jeep Safari...an all day event I highly recommend, manual transmissions on the vehicles,know how to drive one is a requirement, and you need your driver's license. Prepare for some off road bumpies, dust and the chance to see rural Cuba. If I knew ahead of time...I would have brought a backpack of sensible stuff to hand out to the children mostly, who wave enthusiastically to the jeep convoy.!! I gave what I had on hand and wish I had more.

Other Comments:
Overall, my first trip to Cuba was enjoyable and relaxing. My daughter's wedding was awesome. Food was ok, start out with small portions at the buffet to get the feel of your preferences. Bugs, well you are in the tropics.... I should have put repellent on from the knees down, my misfortune not have done that, got the bites on lower legs to prove that I should have, those mosquitos hit you and you don't feel them bite. There are a few that sneak in at the closed air conditioned restaurants too :( Biggest peeve is the houseflys near/around you as you dine. But not for lack of cleanliness....the staff are most vigilant in all aspects to keep the resort clean, and you the guest happy.

t_daigle@ns.sympatico.ca

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May 2009

Arrival: February 2008
Our arrival was quick and easy. We found our bus outside the airport and the drive was fine. We were one of the last stops on the route but we didn't mind, gave us a chance to see other resorts. Check in was super easy. We had our key within 20 minutes of getting to the resort and were on our way!

Rooms:
The rooms were very nice. We were in the building near the buffet and quiet pool. We slept well and didn't have any issues with the room. I think one day it didn't get cleaned but we didn't care. I don't clean my room at home everyday so whatever!

Restaurants and Bars:
We quickly learned that the best time for breakfast was around 8 am. After that not much left to pick through. We often had lunch at the little restaurant near the quiet pool. They had fries and hamburgers and stuff. At the buffet the pasta was great. We didn't go hungry but the food didn't make me want to go back for more. We often had to find our own utensils, ketchup, salt, pepper, etc. The staff didnt' clean up quickly after people left the buffet so would often wipe down a table before I started to eat.

Beach/Pools/Grounds:
We LOVED the quiet pool (and the pool bar) and spent most afternoons there. We never had a problem finding a seat. The activity pool was fun too but I find the workers screaming over the microphone annoying and takes away from the relaxing vacation. The workers are definetely more annoying than any of the children at the activity pool. We didn't spend too much time at the beach. It was a far walk from the quiet pool/buffet/our room so we just hung out at the quiet pool.

Activities on and off the Resort/Hotel:
We didn't do any tours. We did take a cab into town one day but felt like it was a waste of time. I'm not into cheap tourist souveniers so nothing for me to buy at the market.

Other Comments:
I read all the reviews and knew that it was a big resort. I really don't mind walking but we found because of the distance to the beach from the pool we often didnt' bother walking down there. Also, the bathroom and bar are very far from the beach and we found that annoying.

We ate and drank well. We went in early February and would never go back during that time because it was actually a bit cold. I always needed long pants and a sweater in the evening.

Also not a party resort! Everyone kept to themselves. Good for families and people not interested in partying.

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May 2009

Arrival: April 2009
We flew Toronto to Varadero direct via Sunwing economy class. Trip was very good with in-flight drinks and a meal. Flight crew very helpful with Cuban paperwork etc. All went well on arrival, and we were efficiently directed to our bus, and very surprised at its superior quality and comfort level and the cold beers($)available. Sunwing rep/tour guide made 40 minute ride to Hotel very informative. We arrived at the Hotel around 8:30p.m. where we by-passed Main Lobby check-in; signed a couple of papers; received a 26oz. bottle of complimentary Rum; and were quickly taken by golf cart shuttle to our rooms. On the shuttle to our rooms, we recieved a quick tour of several key resort features: Store, exchange,lobby,main buffet,quiet pool,activity pool,theatre,etc. Also, informed that the in-room-safe is pay-for-use (2convertibles/day),but in retrospect, we now wonder if you even need to use it - our kids (18yrs. & 20yrs)had their own room and didn't use their safe at all and all was fine and they weren't charged for it.

Rooms:
At first, my wife was disappointed about our room assignments: she had requested 2nd floor, adjoining with kids, oceanview, one with king, one with twin beds; but we got: main floor, 3 rooms apart, jungle view, one with king and one with twin beds (2 out of 5). We decided not to complain about the room assignments that night; it was late and we were exhausted from our long day, and the kids were happy with the arrangements. My wife and I came to realize over the next couple of days that the room assignments were excellent. We discovered that being on the main floor wasn't a security problem because: the sliding doors were secured with a chain lock; a security gaurd was posted 24/7 outside at the end of the entrance hallway; and at no time did we ever feel unsafe or threatened. The oceanview might have been nice: but who needs it when you are at the beach most of the day. It was great to come back to our rooms and sit on our porch and not see anything but the jungle, and an occassional gecko (small green lizard). Also, we discovered that being close to the main Hotel buidling was a much greater advantage than being close to the beach - I'd rather walk 10 minutes to the beach, than walk 10 minutes for a gourmet coffee, or dinner - but more on that later. The separated rooms turned out to be an advantage when our 20 year son often returned from the resort night life at 3:00a.m. Our room was so peaceful and quiet at night that you had no sense that you were even at a hotel resort.

The rooms were very spacious, with two large sitting chairs, bedside tables, a large closet with a reasonable number of hangers,iron and ironing board, 3 dresser drawers, security safe($), a large desk with chair, small T.V with Canadian and U.S. channels, and a built-in stocked mini-bar (all inclusive). Our king size bed was oversized and very comfortable, and the kids were happy with their doubles. Overall, the rooms were in fairly good condition with only minor repairs needed - the kid's liquid soap dispenser came off the wall; and our tub was missing a safty bar (I have seen worse at Deerhurst Resort in Huntsville a 5- star in Canada). Otherwise, all the critical stuff, air conditioner, hair dryer,plugs, etc. all in working order. On the negative side, (this is Cuba)here are a couple of TIPS! Take your own facecloths, they don't have them. Take your own box of Kleenex, they don't have them. Take a luffa, for some reason the provided liquid soap in the shower doesn't lather with a facecloth (hard water?)Take your own hand soap and hand sanitizer. Shampoo is provided, but you desparately need a good conditioner. Some amenities are provided like toothbrush,paste,hand cream; but take your own you will be much happier. 2 hand towels, 2 bath towels, and 2 oversized beach towels are provided in each room. If you loose your beach towels it will cost you 15 convertible pesos each to replace them(about 22$Can.)Also, you can exchange your beach towels daily at the towel hut on your way back from the beach - a huge bonus because things don't dry very well in this climate. Room towels can be an issue because they won't dry either unless you put them out in the sun. They are normally refolded and left wet in your bathroom, however, small gifts given to your chamber maid, often result in upgraded service - such as fresh towels folded into the shape of swans and adorned with flowers. By small gifts I mean token items like colouring books for kids or t-shirts for anybody and other items like perfumes or body sprays.

Restaurants and Bars:
Let's start at the Buffet. This is an impressive, huge, comfortable, dining area located in the central building at the front of the resort. The design is open concept, with large pillared floor to ceiling window openings without glass or screens, only sun blinds. Of course, we saw the occassional bird and a few flies, but we never felt that either were a big issue. We ate several meals at the buffet, and never once found the selection was insufficient. The staff were very attentive, bringing water and any other drinks you might desire. We did not experience any overcrowding, and staffing levels were always more than adequate to the demand. Next on the list, is the a-la-carte by the quiet pool where you can go for a sit down breakfast without issue. The menu includes a limited selection of the basics ranging from continental to bacon and eggs, to offerings for those on a diet. The service was excellent. After breakfast this area transforms into a pool side snack bar that makes great pizza, among other things. In the evening it becomes a Cuban a-la-carte with live music,and some people we talked to enjoyed it so much that they stayed after dinner until 1:00a.m. We enjoyed a meal at the French a-la-carte, where a genuine effort was made to create an formal atmosphere which was very relaxing. White and Red wine was served with dinner,and was surprisingly good. The meal was very French in theme, but remember this is Cuba, not Quebec city or Paris. If you expect fancy sauces, etc. you will be disappointed. Instead, try to enjoy the ambience, and appreciate the sincere effort that is made to please you. Next, we ate at the Mediterranean a-la-carte by the beach. The service was very good. Wine was served, and the menu was mostly seafood, althogh we went to have Lobster as our main course. The appertizers were buffet style, and include a good selection of salads, and various seafood dishes like mussels. We were served whole Lobster as our main course, with included vegetables and dessert. There were no complaints. Our best a-la-carte was the Japanese. Except for the fact that the staff and cooks are Cuban, the meal was prepared in the traditional Japenese style, with everyone selecting their own entre, and the chef preparing it at a common grill. Overall, word on the street at this resort is that this is the best dining experience, and we tend to agree. There were at least two other a-la-carte facilities: a steak house and Mexican. We heard that the steak house was very good, but didn't hear much about the Mexican. Overall, I rate the a-la-cartes as fun and enjoyable experiences, well worth the effort of waiting in line to book them. Travel tip is to book them as soon as possible when you arrive. Bookings are made at the theatre on a first come first served basis. The booking agents are very professional and fluent in several languages.

Beach/Pools/Grounds:
Grounds and groundskeepers are excellent. Groundskeepers are friendly and courteous, and will often give you small woven gifts in the shape of flowers or grasshoppers.
Pools are very clean and well designed. The quiet pool is at the front of the resort and has a safe play area for kids at one end, and a pool bar for adults at the other. It is kidney shaped with a snack bar/drink bar in the middle with washrooms. It is a great place to relax in the afternoon or early morning. For adults the pool bar is a great place to mingle and make friends, and the service is outstanding. The activities pool is a second major pool complex located at the center of the resort. It includes a large slide, volleyball net, whirpool,in-pool cave bar with waterfall, and organized music and entertainment activities. Also, there is a kiddy pool and a childrens mini-bar(babysitting)facility located beside the pool. This is a great place to relax or have fun.

Best beach at this end of Varadero. We walked both East and West passing several other resorts, and did not see any that compared to the facilities at La Salina. Numerous grass cabanas, tons of lounge chairs, at least 2 on-the-beach bars, plus a beach side bar/snack bar minutes away. Showers and a towel exchange hut on the way to and from. Beach volleyball, yoga,dance lessons etc. offered as entertainment. Very safe water, even when it's rough. Overall, an incredable beach experience.

Activities on and off the Resort/Hotel:
Lots of activities at the pool and beach in the day, and then the real excitement and fun begins. Every night there is a different live show at the theatre, and some very talented performances to see. As well, there is a Piano Bar to enjoy until 11:00 p.m. and then after 11:00 it becomes a disco for the younger crowd. Most people mingle and talk in the large courtyard outside the disco, and my son(20yrs.) told me it was a fun place to hang out. We took a taxi to Valadero to shop, but we found the shopping experiece somewhat disappointing, however we did enjoy a walk through the Central Park area, and a stroll on the beach, which is extremely beutiful.

Other Comments:
We found the fitness center a little on the small side, but who wants to workout when there are so many other things to do to occupy your time. Overall, I would rate this vacation as one of best I have every experienced. Overall, I would highly recommend the La Salina resort.

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April 2009

Arrival: April 3 - 10
This was our first trip to Veradero (SLS)and certainly won't be out last!As we arrived to the reception area, we were quite impressed with the overall appearance and just how friendly the staff was. The welcoming group was wonderful. There were tropical drinks waiting for us as well as we received a bottle of rum. The bellboys were fabulous.....they loaded up our luggage and off we went to our rooms. Everyone smiling and just happy to be able to assist us. We exchanged our Canadian currency at the bank at the resort..the exchange is the same as if it would be at the airport(which was so crowded...didn't want to miss our bus to the resort).

Rooms
I had requested two rooms next to one another as my daughter and mom were joining us on this holiday. I did let our Sunwing rep know as well as I called the Resort just to confirm. The "bungalows" as they are called are simply gorgeous. Our room (husband and I)was ready even though we checked in a couple of hours early. It was great for all of us to get out of our clothes and into our swimsuits and head to the beach! The rooms were very clean and so were the washrooms ( very important to me). The design of the tub wasn't great. You'll find the water manages to leak out around the sides. We used our towels to step on. No problem getting clean towels. Just be mindful of how you use the hand held shower. We stayed in Bungalow 36. The fridge was stocked with beer, water and juice. Lots of room to spread out. There was a cd player and a tv. King size bed as requested. As we walked to our balcony, we were just blown away by the view. The ocean, the palm trees, landscaping and the view overall was just stunning....needless to say the weather was just perfect the day we arrived. We had lots of room for luggage. Our SLS blue towels were already in our room. We pretty much hung outside and didn't use our room much... so not too much tv was watched. Altough one evening we were able to watch the news - Canadian.... Our housekeeper was a little shy....but we're such a friendly group that I think she felt very comfortable. She always did a nice job and we did tip her a peso here and there as well as giving her gifts to show our appreciation. The second housekeeper and the end of our stay did create some fun towel art and left us little notes. We also did tip and leave presents for her. Just lovely ladies!

Restaurants and Bars
We read quite a bit of negative comments regarding the food...are they taking about the same resort?? We loved the food. Yes, they may not have the same herbs, spices etc. as we do in Canada, but the food was great. Lots and lots to choose from. Lots of fish, chicken, pork, sausagesand cheese. Our daughter is vegetarian and we were a little concerned ....not a problem at all. Lots of veggies,beans,side dishes and bread etc. The buffet was huge.Definitely lots of food to choose from. The staff were on hand to refill all our drinks. We were fortunate to try 3 a la carte- Mediteranean, Cuban and Steakhouse. The ketchup is imported from Spain...I enjoyed it..very european. The Lobster was great and the staff so friendly. The cuban was a different....we really wanted to try some authentic cuban food and we enjoyed it. The steak was "awesome"...tender and just the way we ordered it! Overall....."Awesome". Loved the beach grill restaurant..fish, chicken and pork. The Bars....capuchinos with baileys to end the evening....so good. Nothing but beautiful smiles accompanied with great service. We did bring Bubba mugs and we like the idea of being environmentally friendly as well as not having to go to the bar as frequently.

Beach/Pools/Grounds
The ground are simply stunning. The resort is still very new and the gardeners were working all the time. They all greeted us and boy did they work hard in the heat. We gave them hats/gifts and offered them some drinks to cool off.The sculptures throughout the grounds were beautiful. Lots of walking to and from our bungalow. It was nice to go for a walk after eating, so we loved the fact that we would do quite a bit of walking during our stay. The beach.....SPECTACULAR!!! We stayed at the beach ..nothing like ocean water to swim in. The Pool area was gorgeous..we used the pool one day. More going on there. Loved the bar under the cave designed area. Still nothing like the ocean. The beach was closed (red flag) for the most of the day....great day to go site seeing! FYI- no one stole towels...we did bring some from home...great to spot your loungers from the water. Get the to the beach early (7:00 am) to reserve your spot. Gaston ( watches ove the beach loungers)was there and hubby always had a great spot under a hut. A peso or two a day can go a long way to ensure that you have a great spot at the beach.

Activities on and off the Resort/Hotel
There was lots going on at the Pool and Beach - exercises, contests, water polo etc. Vendors on the beach..no one bothered you. The shows were good. The artisans and vendors (3) around the Theatre were so friendly. If you don't venture outside the resort, it's a great opportunit to purchase souvenirs, jewelery, art etc. We decided to go to downtown Veradero the day the beach was closed. We hopped on the bus (2 pesos there and back)which picks people up every 1/2 hour.We had so much fun. The culture, flea market and the people were great. We brought pencils,stickers, candy and handed them out to the little kids. We did a bit of reading on Cuba and understood was happen historically and bought some "Che" t shirts. A caricaturist captured our images and boy did we laugh..great souvenirs. It was a wonderful day. We rode the banana boat and it was fun. Lots of AI activities. Had we stayed an extra week, would have loved to do the Havanna day tour.That will happen next time for sure. We had access to internet..contact family etc.

Other Comments
Overall, our experience was excellent. Anyone heading down to SLS will not be dissapointed. It's a beautiful resort staffed by friendly people who are there to ensure that your needs are met and that your experience is a wonderful one. We met lots of people from all over Canada and Wales. We are proud to be a Canadian visiting Cuba, they hav such respect for us and we witnessed other Canadians being very appreciative of all the people working at the resort...giving gifts, providing drinks, saying "ola". Sunwing was excellent..departure from Toronto/Cuba..champagne, breakfast and movie...all great. No delays...we were impressed..superfriendly attendants. We loved it and will definitely head back next year...for two weeks!!. Remember to smile and enjoy culture. Definitely lots of wonderful memories made.

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April 2009

Arrival: April 3 to April 10
Check in went very smoothly. We had two rooms booked and one was available, so we were able to bring all bags to the room prior to heading to the beach. The lady checking us in was incredibly gracious and made check in a breeze.

Rooms
The rooms were very spacious and comfortable. I was surprised at how comfortable the beds and pillows were. We stayed in block 40 which placed us right at the center of the resort, a comfortable walking distance to all areas of the resort. We did not at any time feel that the resort was too big. Our maid, Laura, was very good to us and helped us with any requests we had, including an extra bathroom and beach towel towel for my daughter, since there were 3 in our room. We did have some trouble with water on the floor after showering, but switched to baths to remedy that problem.

Restaurants and Bars
We ate at the Mexican and Cuban a la cartes and were quite pleased with both. Had a preference for the Cuban, however, since we had live music with our meal. The buffet restaurant was always abundantly laid out with many choices, so there really was something for everyone. I certainly saw enough heaping plates to come to the conclusion that whatever people are growling about with regard to the food, it couldn't have been that bad. Even my daughter, who is the fussiest person I know, was digging in with gusto by the second day. I am posting this on Easter Sunday, so I will try not to sound too judgemental with regard to other's comments on the food. But, have we really become that spoiled in Canada that we have to resort to complaints and insults? It is never easy to cook for large numbers of people in a buffet setting...but, do you know what? Get up and try something else next time. My daughter, who turns her nose up at 5 star restaurants in Canada because their pasta doesn't taste like Mom's managed to find something good to eat at each meal, so get over yourselves and remember to be gracious, as if you were eating in someone else's home. I cringe to think of some of the behaviour that the buffet staff have to witness and I hope they know it is not reflective of all Canadians.

Beach/Pools/Grounds
The grounds were very impressive. We made friends with many of the gardeners, as they were all so friendly and eager to talk with us. They made roses and grasshoppers from the palm leaves which they gave to the tourists with the warmest of smiles. The beach was incredible. Nowhere in the world do the beaches compare to Varadero, Cuba. There were plenty of chairs and shelters, no matter what time of day we decided to go down, but you do have to expect to search a little harder the later you go, right? We spent quite a few days at the activity pool and on the water slide. Did some water aerobics and stretching excercises at this pool, as well. The animacion staff were incredibly friendly, as were the rest of the staff and a lot of fun was had at poolside.

Activities on and off the Resort/Hotel
We did the Cayo Blanco tour and the Dolphin swim and highly recommend both. If you go to Cayo Blanco and happen to get on the catamaran captained by Calexto (I know I spelled his name wrong!!) and Jose as the camera man, please send my regards to all (unfortunately I can't remember all their names). It was an incredible ride and the snorkeling was supreme. We bought the video and are still laughing as we view it at home. I was a little nervous about the Dolphin swim. The water looked pretty murky, but they have a shower you can use afterward, so bring a change of clothes. The dolphins were incredibly friendly and were poking us in the back, looking for attention, even when they weren't getting treats for it. I was nervous about being thrown up in the air, but swallowed my fear and had the time of my life. We also went into Varadero for the day on Sunday, checked out the market on the edge of town, ate at one of the local restaurants, swam at the public beach and attended a Catholic service at Saint Elvira's on Palm Sunday. It was an amazing day and I highly recommend to anyone to get off the resort and spend some time with the heart and soul of Cuba, its' people.

Other Comments
I have quite a few people I would like to thank, but unfortunately, I can't remember all of the names. First off, thank you to Carlos, who kindly drove us to our room the first day and made us feel so welcome. Thank you to Laura, our maid, for her kind notes and for taking such good care of us. Thank you to Tony and Areal (not sure I spelled right) at the activity pool for providing us with many laughs and entertainment on our last day. Thank you Mary, at the lobby bar, my daughter says you make the best, and fanciest, lemonade ever and she was always extremely friendly and smiling when she saw us coming. Thank you Yoel and Jorge in the gardens. It was such a pleasure talking with you each day and I feel we've made friends for life. To Nicolas, the Nolitours representative, I did not get back to say hello, but if you read this, it was a pleasure to meet you. And last, but not least, to Jose, my Signature representative, thank you so much for going out of your way to get my dolphin swim video back to me in Canada. Your efforts were very much appreciated and I send warm hugs back to you from Canada. I would most definitely go back to Varadero and to the Sirenis La Salina. I highly recommend it to anyone considering a vacation down south. Just remember to pack your smile and a desire to have some fun and relaxation.

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April 2009

Arrival: March 9 - March 23
We traveled with my husband, his friend and two boys (3.5 and 1.5 years old). The flight was very good. Sungwing airlines provided food, snacks, the flights were on time. Upon arrival to the hotel we were given room right away. Except our room had 2 single beds (not one king size as we requested). From 11 a.m. we were told the cribs for kids are coming for their day nap, we didn't receive cribs until 11 p.m, when my husband said he is not going to leave the front desk until cribs are given to us. Other then this incident, no problems. The resort sent a letter of apology, bottle of rum, flowers and extra 2 ala cart reservations next day. We also switched to a different room 2 days later.

Rooms
Rooms are decent size, bright. Cleaned every other day. The bathroom doesn't have a fan or drainage, so the cloth was not drying in a bathroom at all. We dried our cloth outside. If you don't need stroller, I would request room on a second or third floor. I would not recommend this resort for people who have extremely fast toddlers, since the tile floor in rooms are constant danger for them, especially when it is wet. Other then that the rooms are fine, we had plenty of towels, extra pillows, blankets, sheets. Fringe restocked daily with pop, bear, bottled water. Milk (warm, cold, hot) can be obtained at the 24 hour bar. Keep in mind the resort is huge, so it might take 10-20 min. just to get to the bar. Landry is extremely expensive ($4 per skirt). There is no Laundromat at the resort.

Restaurants and Bars
Bars were amazing. Drinks, people, service awesome! Just relax and enjoy. Two huge pool bars - quite and activity one. Restaurants were so-so. We tried all of them. Stake at "French" Restaurant was the best meal we had in 2 weaks. "Japanese" had good fish and shrimps. Mediterranean on the beach had "surf and turf", that was excellent. Non of us liked "Italian" that much. "Steakhouse" was ok! Snack bars had the best hamburgers I've ever tried. Buffer was as I expected, huge variety, good choices for kids (not too spicy), lack of fresh fruits. Milk was always there. Coffee and tea only in a morning. Non of us got sick to our stomach over 2 weeks period.

Beach/Pools/Grounds
Beach is wavy, not for little babies. Good for water sports. Very clean. Sand is deep and clean. Beach is not stroller accessible.If traveling with kids I would bring beach umbrella and backpack carriers for kids. We did it, and it was very useful. There are 2 kids pools at the resort that my kids really enjoyed. There is also shallow area for babies and kids at the adult pools.

Activities on and off the Resort/Hotel
We didn't take any tours, since we didn't feel comfortable to leave our 1.5 year old at the Baby club. There was a night show for kids (2 and up). Cool shows for adults too and a disco dance for youth. We went during March break, so it was "wild" at night.

Other Comments
The is no activities at the baby clubs. It is more like a babysitting service.Other things to keep in mind : Debit cards do not work anywhere, even in Varadero. If you go to the town to exchange money bring you passport, otherwise they will not service you at the bank.

The night shows are all on a stage with minimum vacationer's participation. Not too much shade on this resort. Beach front bungalows reserved for Camelion club clients. Since we came through Sunwing, we could only get rooms close to the lobby. Tips are expected, but people are nice without it too. We had a blast, specially kids. Cubans love kids, they are very friendly and generous. I left some used baby cloth for one of the waitresses, next day she brought coral bracelet for me and 2 little cars for my boys. They are so nice. It you tip them, they never forget it. We always had 2 baby chairs ready for us every time we ate at the buffer. We will definitely come back when kids grow up a little bit. It is too big for travel with little ones. The shuttle buses are not always available.

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April 2009

Arrival: March 27 - April 2
We arrived to the resort around 1130/noon and we were dropped off by the bus and directed away from the lobby to another area to check in that was more like a banquet room with tables set up and welcome drinks and trays of olives, and cheese, etc. that appeared to be sitting out for a while. We declined the welcome drink and were looked at like we had ten heads because we turned down the rum drink. Our room was not ready, which we kind of expected, but we had to leave our luggage in the adjoining room until our rooms were ready. I dealt with a lady by the name of Leicy (Lacey) and she was wonderful. I was expecting travel companions the following day and wanted to ensure that their room was close to mine. Could not get beach towels to go to the beach because they are apparently provided in your room vs. at the towel exchange hut so you could not obtain towels until you were checked in so I would suggest that you bring one with you if you will arrive early. The resort was so full that everyone had to wait for rooms to be cleaned when they arrived despite what time they arrived at the resort. For a resort this size, it takes forever to clean rooms~

Rooms
The resort is huge. I had reviewed some reviews on here before going and I had seen pics of some bathrooms with some mould under the sink so I had asked to be moved up to the second or third floor vs. the ground floor and the resort was so there would be less musty smell and mould and it seemed to do the trick. I had no mould in my room. Room was very clean and overlooked back garden. I stayed in Building 20 in Room 20317 (3rd floor). When you check in if your room numnber is 20107 you are on ground level, 20217 would be second floor, etc. Linens had a few rust stains. Towels were clean and beach towels were in the room. First thing I do when I travel to resorts is dust the bed and bed linens with baby powder to kill/suffocate bugs! Fridge had a bottle of water and two cans of beer, a few bottles of cola and lemon lime sodas. Bathroom had one bathtub whereas other resorts I have been to had Tub with and Shower in the room (Tryp and Sandals). Hair dryer in room sucked. It burned out after being on for a min or two. Thank goodness I took my own. Tub did not drain. I felt like I was bathing my feet in my filth everyday. It was reported to the front desk a few times but no one ever came to fix it. Calling the numbers provided to contact the front desk were very unsuccessful. It rang and rang and rang forever. I had tried to call a few times to get fresh towels. Apparently they had a problem with the laundry and towels were at a premium. We were all given small towels one day vs bath towels. We called them tea towels. Again, I asked the maids for towels on several occasions and they always said no problem and yet no fresh towels and we had asked the front desk and it seemed that we did not have success until I complained to Alexis the Air Canada Vacation rep and asked that he inquire. We went 3 or 4 days with the same beach towels due to the laundry issues.

Restaurants and Bars
The large buffet restaurant is huge and can be noisy but what else do you expect when you have a thousand people in it. The food was Cuban. I have traveled to Cuba several times and to Varadero 5 times alone. I knew what to expect or not to expect. The day of arrival the lunch was actually pretty good. Supper was not bad either. They cook everything in pork or pork is in a lot of things including rice. It would be very difficult for a true vegan to travel to Cuba. I am not fussy so I always found something to eat, but you do tend to eat a lot of the same things. I am fussy about meats, but there is always grilled meats and fish and yes, they are often overcooked, but if they were undercooked, people would be sick! Breakfast - It is best to get there before 9 to avoid line ups and delays. If you want an omelette, chances are the long line up is worth the wait because the lady that was making them did not care about making your omelette the way you wanted as much as she was concerned with her tip container and adjusting it and moving it to remind people it was there. I like the bacon in Cuba. I don't eat it at home because it gives me heartburn, but the bacon in Cuba if it is cooked and not dripping with grease, it is good.

There are a lot of restaurants including a la cartes. You cannot sign up for your a la cartes until checked in and my advice would be to make sure you get a chance to dine at the Japanese. It was by far the best meal I had the entire week and it happened to be the last night. I had the chicken Teppanaki and the Calamari and fish looked and smelled good too. We waited in line for a la carte reservations for over an hour because two people were booking for one family or group of people vs. just themselves and the staff member did not take control or take notice that they were holding us up. You can arrange your a la cartes at 9am the day after you check in.

Cuban Restaurant which is at the restaurant by the quiet pool - I had the spicy beef, someone had he fried chicken and enjoyed it. The beef was extremely spicy. I have had better black bean soup. The desserts were gross. One of us had French toast with Honey and it was cold, one had some pie that was apparently disgusting and I had some papaya dish and it looked like jellie candied fruit and tasted like a tin can. The entertainment was good.

French Restaurant beside the big buffet restaurant - I had the Filet Mignon (not the same as in CANADA folks) but it was not bad. The Bernaise was not Bernaise but was minimal so it was not so bad. It was air conditioned so it was nice. The service was good. We all had crepes suzette with ice cream for dessert and again they were cold.

Seafood Grill at the Beach Grill - Lobster is always over cooked in Cuba and it is not Atlantic Lobster so if you want a good lobster experience save it for lobster season at home. The best Lobster I ever had in CUBA was at someones home and it was only the tails and they were cooked in a spice rub. I had the lobster in garlic sauce and I wish I had of tried something different. The smoked salmon and proscuitto at the buffet before the meal were really good. The service was very good at the seafood grill. It was raining the night we went down to the grill and there were no shuttles to be found to take us down. There are umbrellas in the closets of your room, but that did not help my feet in my sexy shoes that were soaked! This resort is huge so give yourself lots of time to get to the restaurants in time for your reservation.

There was also a French and Italian and Steak restaurant that we did not have an opportunity to try. You really need 2 weeks at this resort to enjoy/try the different restaurants and see the entire resort. I did not find pizza or a traditional cuban sandwich anywhere until the last day and we found it at one of the pool side grills and the sandwich was not more than a ham and cheese with mayo and tomato (Not traditional) and the pizza was not cooked enough at all.

The buffet is a late night grill and the one night we went in there was only hamburgers, hotdogs and fries. At other resorts I had been to in the past you could have cuban sandwiches, fries, pizzas, and different pizzas. A menu to choose from vs Hams and Hots.

The Lobby Bar was the spot to be in the evening despite no entertainment. Lots of bugs on the terrace. I got eaten alive although I brought Off, I did not use it. I did not make it to the piano bar at all. The terrace outside the Theatre came alive with music and a small market in the evenings. We only went to a show one night (930pm) and we did not stay for all of it. The theatre is so big and was so full and it was so hot. The bar at the theatre was pretty good though.

The swim up bar at the quite pool was pretty good. We had some good drinks there one day. THe swim up bar in the cave at the activity pool was pretty good. The first day I went in it was pretty cool, but on my last day it was nice and the Pina Coladas were good.

Beach/Pools/Grounds
Beach was beautiful as any beach in VARADERO is in my opinion. It was a but crowded and if you went down after 9 or 930 you were going to have trouble getting beach chairs. For a resort this size they really should have lots of extra beach chairs. The walk from the resort to the beach is pretty sandy and yes, lazy guests littered the area with their cups and garbage and the resort has not spent a great deal of attention cleaning it up. The sandy walk is not bad, but it would be nice to have a walkway continued from the concrete walkway.

Pools - The pools were very nice. They pool decks could use a bit more cleaning. There always seemed to be chairs when we made our way to the pool. The pool surface (bottom of the pool) was pretty slippery at both the activity pool and the quiet pool. The waterslide at the activity pool was fun. We did not try it until my last day. If you leaned forward you went pretty fast. The Quiet pool had the swim up bar. The washroom at the quite pool (womans washroom) the floor was extremely slippery when wet.

I was amazed at how beautiful the grounds were for a resort that was only a year and a half old. The grounds were lush and the gardeners were constantly planting and weeding and working hard in the heat of the day on the grounds. I truly is a beautiful resort. The grounds around the pools and plants around the terrace at the lobby bar and around the resort were very beautiful.

Activities on and off the Resort/Hotel
We did the Jeep Safari Tour and it was not the same as the one I had done before. We went to a former Colonial Coffee Plantation vs. a Ranch and it was a great day but long. A lot of waiting around after each activity. I had taken a lot of items with me to give out to people in the villages and for when I went to Havana. I had soaps, pencils, candies, hair elastics, clips, erasers, you name it and I gave out a lot on the tour. The boat ride on the Canimar River was nice and the snorkeling was nice (We did not go out to the reef) we just swam close to shore and enjoyed the break from the heat. The freshwater cave was nice. I went for a swim in the cave. Last time I went the water was too cold to even attempt it.

Hired a taxi for $180 pesos to go to Havana for the day and he could speak English and had a good knowledge of where to take us and about the city. I had been before so I knew what I wanted to see and how long I wanted to spend walking around the city.

I have done the Catamaran Cruise before and my friends did it this time and it worth it if you want to be in the sun all day. They now swim with dolphins on this tour. That would have been worth it.

Other Comments
I have to admit that the food at this resort with the exception of the Japanese restaurant did not compare to my past visits to Cuba, but I also don't come to Cuba for a Gastronomical Delight! I come for the sun, the beach. music, the people and a break from the everyday hussle and bussle at home. Although I would like to be able to enjoy my meals and have clean towels each day I remind myself that at home I hang up my towel and reuse it so I can do it in Cuba too if I absolutely have to (not that it's preferable) I wouldn't necessarily use the same beach towels for 3 or 4 days or want to. Then again I reeally don't even need a beach towel in this heat either, but it is preferred so I am comfortable on the beach chair. I enjoy trying cuisine of the countries I visit like rice and beans and traditional Cuban dishes because that is what travel is all about. I do the tours as part of a reality check and to enlighten myself or rather remind myself of how fortunate I am back at home. I see these people that are so poor or poverty stricken in some areas and when I saw the smiles on the faces of the school kids I handed out pencils too or gave candies too or toothpaste and toothbrushes, or soaps and shampoos that I collected in my travels at each hotel I stayed at in my travel with work, and how thankful each of them were when they received my gifts, I realize that the room I stayed in or the food I ate or didn't eat while I visited their country really is not at all that bad. It could be much worse. Although I certainly am certainly spending my hard earned money to come here, I should expect better food and service, I can only hope that the next time my visit will be that much better.

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April 2009

Beautiful resort, beach and pools....but all negative things I had read about this place were true!

We stayed in Bld 24 which was great because it was in the centre of the resort. The sheets and towels and blankets were very badly stained. Old towels were daily hung up again including the one on the floor which we used for getting out of the shower. I would try to find the cleaning lady every morning to exchange our towels before we left for the day and then would have to fight for enough for the 5 of us. Many days they would say, that the clean ones haven't arrived yet, but we wouldn't get them later as well.
Lots of mosquitos in the room--we killed about 15 of them.

There were no clean beach towels available after 12 noon. One time, we went for 3 days before we found any clean ones left.

The food was beyond horrible. We have gone to a lot of resorts and was expecting bad food but not to this extent.
It was the same food for 7 days for lunch and dinner. Yes, they grilled meat every night , but it was sooo tough with no taste. I was shocked at how little fruit there was--not even bananas. It was always guava, very sour unriped pineapple, and watermelon (if you got it fast enough).
The beach mini buffet had good grilled fish every lunch hour.
I alway had the same food for the whole 7days.....
Breakfast: omelate and juice---(it was only fresh 4 out or our 7 days_
Lunch: grilled fish and salad
Dinner: pasta
The kids lived on eggs, hot dogs, hamburgers and pasta all week.
Japanese restaurant was really good.
I really had read the other reviews and had thought to take them with a grain of salt ---but sad to say, they negative reviews were all right. Yes, the beach , pools, and grounds are beautiful...but when you've paid $5000 for a family of five ---you do expect edible food and clean towels.

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April 2009

Arrival: March 16 - 23
Upon arriving at the Serenis la Salina, our vacation did not get off to a very good start, as we were required to take our luggage up and down stairs a couple of times, until we were finally directed where to go. In addition, we noticed right away that the main serving table in the check-in area was very dirty, and there were no drinks available, not to mention that we stuck to the floors.

Rooms
Upon arriving at our room, we discovered that the walls in the bathroom were covered in mould AND the remains of dead mosquitoes (blood included) all over the walls and ceilings in our bedroom and bathroom. Not to mention the fact that our bedspread was soiled with some unknown substance, which appeared to be blood. Our TV remote was not working either. In addition, we had no screen panel on our patio door, which contributed to the mosquito problem (We are covered from head to toe in bites). Our bedding and towels smelled very musty. We also had problems calling the front desk, and our daughter in Canada could not get in touch with us. WHAT IF THERE HAD BEEN AN EMERGENCY?

Restaurants and Bars
When we went to the Main Buffet, we were very disturbed to see the manner in which the food was being handled. A lot of the "clean" plates available at the Buffet were covered with dried food particles. Food handling practices on the part of the staff left a lot to be desired - hands were being used instead of utensils. Needless to say, we both became ill. We also saw garbage bags left near the food.
A heart wrenching sight was three stray dogs running around the resort. It was pathetic, they were all very thin, and one of the dogs hung around the Beach Buffet during meal times. This dog was so sick, she had infection in her eyes and could hardly open them, she was full of mange and constantly scratching. We brought this to the attention of a staff member at the Beach Buffet, and we felt that our concerns were dismissed. We felt so bad for the dog, and we also felt that this was major health issue for all of those on the resort.

Beach/Pools/Grounds
The area bordering the beach was littered with cups, plates etc. - it was a disgrace. The beach itself,although very crowded, was absolutely beautiful. While we enjoyed interacting with many of the local people on the beach, we did not appreciate the significant number of local men parading back and forth drinking directly from rum bottles - this made us very uncomfortable being there with our grandchildren.
One day while visiting the pools with our grandchildren, we were not able to stay long as there were only a couple of umbrellas for shade. I spoke to an elderly couple who had to get up really early to reserve a spot, as they found it difficult to stay in the sun with no shade. We also had to do the same on the beach before 7:30am.

Activities on and off the Resort/Hotel
We went on a snorkelling excursion, which was FANTASTIC! We weren't able to take any other excursions as we became ill.
The night entertainment was great, and we particularly enjoyed the music.

Other Comments
Many of the staff at the Serenis appeared to be decent, hard working individuals who tried their best. We loved our maid and many of the gardeners, security guards and waiters, who we met, but there is supervision and training issues for some that should be put into place i.e. food handling and customer service. We feel that we were dismissed by those working at the front desk while trying to obtain assistance with regard to the above issues. All of these issues are resolvable and if addressed would provide an improved experience for all.

This was our second visit to Cuba with our children and grandchildren. Our first being at the Grand Playa Turquesa in Holguin which was by and large a wonderful experience. Considering our recent visit, we would never recommend the Serenis La Salina to anyone, and there are other guests that we met who feel the same! We thought a long time about whether or not to submit a post regarding our trip this year, as we are not the type to sweat the "SMALL STUFF"; however, when there are health issues involved I think we have a duty to inform others. I hope that this information is helpul.

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March 2009

Arrival: March 20 - 27
Arived at 11am had to wait until 3pm for our room whitch we expected.

Rooms
The rooms were nice and clean a little smaller than some other resorts weve stayed at in the past.Only one bath room made it a little difficult for 2 adults and 2 kid some resorts have another sink and counter area.

Restaurants and Bars
The resorts too big for only 1 buffa way at the oposit end from the beech. My father inlaw found it diffacult to walk that far and the shuttles are unreliable.

Beach/Pools/Grounds
The beech ,pools and the grounds were great. Although it was always windy especially at the beech and because of this there was no snorkling outings at all,all week. This was very disapointing to me and the kids.

Activities on and off the Resort/Hotel
The kids loved the slide at the pool.

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March 2009

Arrival: March 11 to 18
Our arrival to Varadero was right on schedule. We booked through Nolitours, and had a separate check-in. Check-in was quick and staff was very friendly. Shuttle bus took us to our rooms and our vacation began.

Rooms
Our room was better than expected. Beautiful view of the resort. Room was extremely clean and there was even an extra cot provided. Our maid service was fantastic, she cleaned our room top to bottom daily, did the beds and even organized our shoes and hung bathing suits neatly on the balcony to dry. She left notes and fancy animal designs for kids every day. We left money for her daily which they really do appreciate.

Restaurants and Bars
The buffet was pretty good, always something to eat. You will not starve. If you take the time to get to know the staff in the restaurants they will take care of you everyday. We travelled with 12 in our group 6 adults and 6 kids and every morning and night they kept our same table. Lunch was great, we ate mostly at the beach snack bar,,,burgers, hot dogs fries....the kids loved it. For dinner we tried 2 of the a la carts. Steak house was great!!!!! We also tried the Japanese which was also very good...great show they put on. We were impressed, and again the service was good...lets all remember we are in CUBA on VACATION so we need to relax and enjoy.

Beach/Pools/Grounds
Beach was really nice, yes you do have to get up early to get chairs and possibly a hut, but I didn't go on vacation to sleep in all day. For those of you who arrived at 10 or 11, what do you expect....get up early get your seats and sleep on the beach. Lots of activities all day long. Starting with the beach activities at 10am, stretching, water aerobics, picture doing aerobics in he morning in the beatiful Ocean, it doesn't get better than that. Lots for the kids to do, the staff were amazing always encouring the kids to get up and take part. The pool was clean as well, okay so maybe the odd straw or cup was floating around, but if that's what you people think makes a lousy vacation then maybe you should stay home. The grounds were so clean, staff must be out there at 6a.m. and don't stop all day. We would bring them a cold drink every now and again. They really do work hard.

Activities on and off the Resort/Hotel
Call us beach bums, we sat in the sun all week. Activities on going all day, lots for the kids to do, and the shows were amazing.

Other Comments
I recommend this resort for people who can appreciate the hard work of the Cuban's, and thier lust for life. How can you not be happy when you are among the happiest people around. They greet you each and every day, and they are ALWAYS happy, singing and dancing. People who "think" they had a bad experience here have wasted too much time worrying about all the little things.

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March 2009

I do NOT recommend the Sirenis La Salina in Varadero. I did my research on this resort; I felt that the people who were complaining had never been to CUBA and maybe they were just complainers anyways. I now know different! If you didn¹t see the things I write about, then you must have been totally smashed all week!

FOOD ­ There are serious food handling issues at this resort; not replacing serving spoons with clean serving spoons when a new dish is being brought out, workers handling compost and serving food without washing hands. I had to search for a clean plate to put food on because most of the plates had dried food on them. Sometimes I'd go through 10 plates to find 1 clean one!
We all were sick from the food (and I've never been ill from a vacation). I saw a worker pick a serving spoon off the FLOOR and put it BACK in the dish.
The best description of the food is PIG SLOP! It was the worst I've ever experienced, even for CUBA standards. One of my children re-named the buffet, the BARF-FET!

SERVICE/WORKERS - I saw a worker urinate in the bushes!!! My youngest child got sick from the food and I needed a spoon; it was a huge ordeal to get a spoon to feed a sick baby. Workers were not willing to give us a spoon and pointed their finger in our faces to make sure we brought it back! In general, the workers do not care at all; SERVICE IS ABSOLUTELY TERRIBLE! The exception was our maid, Leyonet. She was very nice and cleaned our room everyday; we brought her very nice gifts. I think she worked very hard everyday. Other guests only had their rooms cleaned 3 times the entire week and others had serious spider problems in their rooms.

ROOMS - When we arrived they told us our rooms were not ready, when a bell hop heard me mention going to another resort, he had us to our rooms in minutes. It was ready, miraculously! I rarely had hot water when I needed it, toilets didn't flush properly, our toilet seat was broken and there was a fist-sized hole in my bathroom door. I faced the construction and the other people traveling with us faced the activity pool area. My side was relatively quiet, even though one morning I thought a bomb had dropped because of the bang of a dump truck.

We asked for new rooms and we were told the resort was full. They said there was nothing they could do for us. Bedding and towels were not always clean. The towels smelled sour and bedding had dried blood on it. The rooms have mold in them - creeping up the wall (bathrooms and bedrooms). I¹ve been in resorts that are 20 years old in CUBA that do not have this problem. There was a lot of dirt in the corners of the room as well.

GROUNDS ­ Gardens are beautiful, but there is garbage blowing around everywhere - cups, plates and straws. The garbage bags lay around on the beach and grounds most of the morning, from the day before.

BARS - I never found one good drink at the bars, except for a cup of coffee.
The drinks are all watered down, lots of alcohol and a little color added for looks!

OTHER HEALTH ISSUES - There are several dogs in need of medical attention (or should be put down) running around the resort. They have skin conditions, infected eyes and their uteruses hanging out of their bodies!!

BEACH ­ Despite what the Air Transat Rep said at the resort, you need to book your chairs by 7:30am on the beach or you¹re out of luck! It was a beautiful beach, but very crowded ­ the palapas are 3 deep and run the entire beach. The locals paraded up and down the beach drinking rum out of the bottles, some only clad in underwear. They didn¹t bother anyone directly, but it did make me uncomfortable with my children. There were hundreds of cigarette butts in the sand ­ my children could not dig in some places.

BUGS - We are covered in mosquito bites - kept us awake at night buzzing around the room. The walls and ceilings are covered in dead mosquitos and blood splatter. My youngest child looks like he had the chicken pox.

BEST PART OF OUR TRIP ­ Our flight was delayed, so we were sent back to the resorts. I asked the bus driver which resort we were going to because I refused to be taken back to the Sirenis La Salina. We were taken to the Melia Varadero. Now this was a real resort ­ real service and real food. The rooms were clean and the drinks tasted absolutely delicious! Food handling looked up to standards we would expect on vacation. We thought we were in heaven!

I could go on and on; and I spoke with many other families who expressed the same concerns as I expressed. I feel sorry for those ³first timers² to all-inclusive resorts who choose Sirenis La Salina.

DO NOT SEND ANYONE TO THIS PLACE; AND IF YOU HAVE ANYONE YOU KNOW LEAVING STOP THEM.

I WENT THROUGH AIR TRANSAT, AS I USUALLY DO; THEY SHOULD REMOVE THIS PLACE FROM THEIR BOOKS PERMANENTLY!

I WOULD NOT EVEN RATE THIS PLACE - IT'S DANGEROUS FOR YOUR HEALTH AND SAFETY. IT SHOULD BE SHUT DOWN - CLEANED UP, TRAIN THE STAFF AND FIND NEW MANAGEMENT.

IT IS THE WORST PLACE I'VE EVER BEEN!!! IT WILL TAKE US A LONG TIME TO RECOVER FROM THIS TRIP ­ OUR HEALTH WAS COMPROMISED!

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March 2009

Arrival: March 12 - 19
Our flight was with Canjet, we were delayed about an hour to Toronto, due to a luggage problem but other than that everything was pretty good. We traveled with our two teenaged daughters for our annual trip to somewhere warm.

Rooms
Our rooms were in one of the buildings closest to the beach and it was on the second floor. We really loved the location and for the most part were happy with our rooms. Our maid wasn't the best, never a smile, even though we left her really nice gifts every day as well as about 8 outfits. We never received any soap or shampoo the entire week, we rarely got clean towels and i don't think she changed the sheets once.

Restaurants and Bars
I didn't think the food was vry good at all. There was always something to eat, but never anything exciting or very tasty. We tried the Italian which was OK, and the Japanese which was our best meal of the week. We only could get 2 reservations so I can't comment on the other a la cartes. We also had the barbeque with Nolitours, which wasn't worth bothering with. We would have perferred the buffet. We ate most breakfasts at the pool a la carte, and we both thought that was pretty good, and ate most lunchs at the beach buffet which was ok as well. As for the bars, i thought the drinks were very disappointing. I love the fruity frozen drinks, and there were none, a pina colada was a foamy thing with no ice and i am not sure what anything else was, so i mainly had rum punch. The lobby bar was probaly the best of the worst.

Beach/Pools/Grounds
The beach was beautiful and i though the pools were really nice. My girls enjoyed the noisey pool and loved the slide and the cave swim up bar. I preferred the quiet pool, but mainly spent my time on the beach.

Activities on and off the Resort/Hotel
We did the Havana tour, and we all loved it. It was a really hot day and its a lot of walking so we were exhausted by the time we arrived back at the hotel. Our hotel was the first to be picked up in the morning and last to be dropped off, so it was a long day. But well worht it!

Other Comments
All in all we had a good time and enjoy the beautiful hot weather and thought for a 4 star the resort was nice, but i don't think I would return to Cuba based on food, drinks and service. We just perfer Punta Cana. I would also like to add that my daughter had her camera stolen, she put it on a table for 5 mins to go get a drink and it was gone. She was quite upset, mainly of the lost pictures she had. So be very careful with your belonging because they will be taken if you take your eyes off them. We were not the only ones this happened to and the staff are absolutely no help.

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March 2009

Arrival: February 4 - March 3
We took an early departure (6:30 am) as direct flights from Ottawa are a little scarce this year. As an aside, we wouldn't do that again. Arrival at Varadero airport by Westjet went very smoothly and we were soon on our way out to the resort. We arrived around noon. When we got there, we found that the checkin desk wasn't the front desk but a room way down the hall. If you arrive early, your room isn't ready until 4:00 pm so you're kind of like a person without a country until then (your beach towel is in your room when you get it, so you can't even go for a dip while you're waiting).

Rooms
We got our room late, having to wait until 5:00 pm. The room they brought us to was nice but not what we asked for (two single beds rather than one large one). We called immediately but were told we would have to switch the next day. The second room was much better - not only a single bed but on the ground floor and facing the quiet pool. When we checked in the room was very nice and clean, and there was a minibar with a large bottle of water, 3 small bottles of soft drinks, and 2 cans of beer that was restocked every day - nice touch.

Unfortunately, housekeeping didn't seem to be able to make up our room properly once during the rest of our stay. The drinking glasses (the ones that belong in the room) would be left dirty, the wastebaskets would not be emptied, we would be left with almost no TP, but the biggest problem was not having clean towels. Twice they left us none at all, and a couple of other times only one bath towel. When your beach towels aren't clean, it's very frustrating when you want to shower, wash hair, etc. We spent 4.5 hours trying to get towels on the first night that we got back to our room and found none - three calls to the main desk from 6 to 8 pm, and then two visits to the lobby from 9 to 10:30 pm. The people staffing the front desk didn't seem to have much knowledge or initiative. That was just extremely sloppy service. After that, I would go back to the room at around 3:00 pm every afternoon to check whether we had clean towels before the maid left for the day. Twice I found she had left none, and had to go and ask her for some (and there were always lots in her supply room, so they didn't run out).

Restaurants and Bars
The food overall was very disappointing compared to other four-star resorts at which we've stayed in Cuba. The main buffet was too small for the size of the resort (we've stayed at resorts that had the same size buffet with half the number of rooms) and there was almost always a lineup of people waiting to be seated. The breakfast food was mostly OK, but otherwise we generally found everything was overcooked, cold, and very salty. On this trip we ate a lot less than we did on past resort trips because it just wasn't appetizing. The promptness and friendliness of service was also not nearly as good as other resorts we've visited.

There are several a la carte restaurants, but you're only guaranteed two during a week's stay (we're used to getting three). However, you can grab any "leftover" bookings for each evening late in the afternoon so we did get three during our week.

The French a la carte was absolutely awful - not much else we can say about it.
The Cuban a la carte was decent for the most part.
The Japanese a la carte was excellent and easily the best meal we had the whole week.
The snack bar food was decent for lunch (except the pizza which wasn't very good), but breakfast would be served to you two minutes after you ordered it, stone cold.
The main bar did not have the selection of International drinks we had been led to believe would be there. The International drinks typically consisted of one bottle of scotch, while it lasted. Otherwise, the other drinks and the service were good. The pool bar service was also good.
There was little decent wine at any of the restaurants - there was only one choice or red or white at any of them and they were vinegary (except they switched whites at some point and we had some that wasn't as bad). If you like a decent glass of wine (and we drink wine-from-a-box at home) you might want to buy a couple of bottles (we bought a bottle at one point and were very glad of it).

Beach/Pools/Grounds
We only went to the beach one day - it's very crowded and noisy, and compared to the beaches in Holguin we didn't find it special in any way, so we didn't bother going back.
The Quiet Pool was nice, and this was where we spent our pool time. We didn't see the "Activity Pool" except to pass by it. The "clubhouse" where you exchange towels is located between the Activity Pool and the beach, which means you have a long walk to change towels if you hang out at the Quiet Pool.

Grounds the landscaping isn't finished because the resort is so new - compared to a more mature resort it looks slightly raggedy, but we didn't really care. There is some construction grime and dust, partly because another resort is being built across the road.

Overall, we found this resort far too large. We don't mind walking, but a lot of seniors who had been recommended to come there must have found it hard going as it's not only a big place but on a slope as well. There are shuttles if you want to wait for them.

Activities on and off the Resort/Hotel
We did the one-day Havana trip, which we enjoyed immensely. They give you a very full day out.
The sightseeing bus that goes up and down the peninsula can be a long wait, especially on a bad weather day as everyone decides to go into town. There isn't very much in Varadero except the typical hard-currency shops and two arts-and-crafts markets.

Other Comments
Based on the poor food and the spotty service, I really cannot recommend this resort when there are so many better alternatives in Varadero and other areas of Cuba at similar prices. We're very disappointed in our tour operator for recommending it.

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March 2009

Arrival: February 14 to 20
Arrival was fine and check in smooth and efficient. We got a beach view room without even asking!

Rooms
The rooms were clean and modern. The king size bed was comfortable, there were lots of hangers in the closet. We had a lovely room, close to the beach with a great view. We had a lovely maid who always made us "towel swans" and was very friendly and gracious. The room was always clean and well supplied.

Restaurants and Bars
The buffet food was not too bad for Cuba. There was an good selection and while this is not 5 Star dining, there was no need to go hungry - you could always find something half decent. Because the resort is very big, the noise level at the buffet during peak times could get a little loud, however, for the most part, there are plenty of tables. The a la cartes...We went to the Mediterranen and well,it was pretty terrible, the steak house was good, steaks were fine, salmon was really good. We also went to the Italian- the lasagne was really bad...but one of us had pasta of the day which was very tasty. I did find the staff in the a la cartes to be courteous but not very friendly. They did their job and left for the most part. I found that disappointing as we were used to much more outgoing staff at other Cuba resorts. There are quick lunch restaurants close to the beach and pools where you could get burgers and fries or a few different sandwiches with fries, which was a nice change from the buffet. Note, both restaurants have the exact same menu.:-) The bars were fine and efficient. There are two beach bars which is very convenient, you can sit on either end of the beach and still be clsoe to the bar! The coffee/cappiccino bar was wonderful !!! Mmmmmmm, definately worth trying. You could also get espresso, coffee and delicious Spanish Coffee at the main lobby bar as well. I loved the Spanish Coffee

Beach/Pools/Grounds
The beach was beautiful, as Varadero beaches are. I had no problem with the cleanliness of the beach. Yes, there is a little seawood from time to time, but , this IS a beach and one would expect that I think, The water was clear, turquoise and warm. The beach is quite busy, lots of people, but we did not have any problem getting a shaded hut any day and if you go in the morning there is a guy to get beach chairs out for you and place them where you want. For those who do not like crowds, it is not far to the end of the beach where it is quite deserted and peaceful. The pools were lovely and the quiet pool, is very large and IS quiet. We never had any problem to get chairs and in the mornings there is a guy who had chair pads that he will bring you. There are lots of spots in both sun and shade. The swim up bar is a nice feature. The activities pool looked lovely with waterfalls and a waterslide, a little busier there as you would expect. The grounds are well maintained and lovely. Please note that this is a BIG resort. That has it's strong points and weak points, depending on what you prefer. It is certianly not a terrible walk from one end to the other, but if you, for instance, forgot your camera and were at the far end of the resort, you may not be so apt to run back to your room for it. It is well laid out, with a nice "town centre" sort of thing in the middle where the theater and some restaurants are. The piano bar is there and is really lovely, quiet with a great pianist. There is live music by the pool in the evenings and places to sit outside. The resort has obviously been newly refurbished so things look new and fresh. There are trolleys you can get on to take you to different parts of the resort. They problaby do not run as frequently as you might like, but for those who do not want to/or cannot walk, they can get you around if you are a little bit patient. The main lobby area is large and spacious, lots of seating except when it gets really busy.

Activities on and off the Resort/Hotel
The evening entertianment was good, I thought. It is mostly dancing, but what GREAT dancers. The aquatic show was good and there was variety. I have been to some bad "entertainment" at many resorts, so this was not bad at all. As well, there is the piano bar for an alternative. We took the beach bus to Varadero which was fun- it does take a while as it stops at all the resorts along the way, but the price was right $5 pesos return. We did not take any tours so I cannot comment. The resort seemed to have enough activities, although my main activity was relaxing on the beach, so I cannot comment on them.

Other Comments
This resort was good value for the money in my opinion. Clean, modern, decent food, great pool and fabulous beach. The reason I might not return is that is IS VERY large, so maybe a bit impersonal that way. Although all staff was courteous,and professional, they seemed somewhat reserved to me. I have not been used to that in Cuba and always enjoy interacting with the resort (usually very friendly) staff. I think that maybe they are so busy that they simply do not have time to interact much with the guests. Our waitress most nights in the buffet, Daima, was the exeption as she is a very sweet young woman. I wonder if the resort could use more staff as they seemed to be very busy,or they have trained the staff to be so professional that they are afraid to be friendly. At any rate, no one was rude at all, it was just a bit impersonal, problaby due to the size.

All in all, we had a great time and I have no major areas of concern.If you are used to a medium size or small resort and like that, then you may find this one a bit large. If you like some space and want to walk around, jog etc, then there is room to do that here. Again I think it was good value for the money.

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March 2009

Arrival: Feb 23 - Mar 2
Nice ride from airport to resort. Took about 1 hour because we had to stop at a few other resorts to drop off others. Check in was fairly fast and then we were off to our room in block 26.

Rooms
Clean and big. Nice king size bed and we were on the 3rd floor with a nice balcony overlooking the quiet pool. The tv reception was good and there was hbo if you wanted movies.

Restaurants and Bars
The main buffet lacked in taste and variety. The tomatoes and cukes are great. The a la carts were good but you could only book 2. If you wanted more you could go to the booking desk at 16:30 and see if they were all booked. Our favourite pics would be the Japanese and the French with chateau briand and the salmon. The bars are great at the pools and the lobby bar has the best selection of drinks and the only place to get cappuciano and baileys.

Beach/Pools/Grounds
Beach was nice and the pools great. The grounds were very clean and well kept but the lazy guests that couldn't find the garbage can left a lot to be desired

Activities on and off the Resort/Hotel
The day Havana tour was great. The food in Havana was fantastic. Maybe they should have these chefs at this resort lol. The Varadero Extravaganza was a very nice show but was it worth 100 pesos- you be the judge.

Other Comments
Great time but our money is not worth much-1.31 cdn for 1 pesos. Overall the food not great but weather and beach make up for it. Lots of loud, obnoxious,ignorant french canadians. It's to bad they have to ruin it for the rest of us-and I am half french.

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March 2009

Arrival: Jan 26 - Feb 9
Our arrival was a breeze. We went into a room lined up for our bracelets, bottle of rum and were wisked away with the golf cart to our rooms. Our bags were brought up to room and we were good to go. Any changes were to be made the next day at the lobby.

Rooms
The rooms were roomy and bright. We were on the 3rd floor of house 36 with a great view. The bathroom was roomy with a tub/shower.

Restaurants and Bars
7 A-La-Cartes so lots to choose from. Only 2 bookings per week and the reservation staff were very tight on the rules. We went to the French/Italian/Asian/Steak during our two weeks. You have to be careful what you order cause that could determine your experience...the lasagna at the Italian was questionable for example. However, Cubans know how to cook fish so I was safe on ordering that at all the other restaurants and do not regret my choice. Now the others I travelled with ordered different things and had more complaints. Booking with Nolitours gave us 2 extra dinners so our variety was good. The buffet was fine. We went around 7:30 every night and there was lots to choose from but the line ups for the "specials" were always long. The breakfast and lunch were fine. The small buffet aka "Mediterranean" is the way to go. Small, quiet and close to beach. Not as much variety as the large buffet but worth it. The snack bar food near the activity pool was not so good. This is worth mentioning...okay for hotdog/hamburger/fries but that's about it.

Beach/Pools/Grounds
Grounds were well kept and large. Lots of walking!! Beach was beautiful and pools great. Tourists are very careless and so there are lots of straws and cups laying around...there are tons of garbage cans around so there really isn't any excuse. We never had a problem getting chairs at the beach however, the pool is a little more popular and so you have to get there a little early to mark your spot.

Activities on and off the Resort/Hotel
We did the jeep tour, Havana day tour and a day in Varadero. We shared a cab going into Varadero and we really enjoyed ourselves. Nice little town great buildings. I really recommend the jeep tour it was well worth it, lots of variety. Havana was also good but lots of people with their hands out. One thing we noticed on this WHOLE trip was everyone wants a tip whether they did anything for it or not and they are not afraid to ask for it either.

Other Comments
Would we stay at this resort again? I would but everyone else said no. Too large and overall the service was not that great. With that said our expectations were not high but some staff seemed to have to make the effort it didn't come naturally. Now this is overall...we did receive good service from certain individuals. I would like to mention that the lobby bar is the BEST bar on the resort and those bartenders work really hard. Also note, the bartenders do not like those large bubba kegs, your average travel mug they don't mind. I think it's because they take too long to fill especially if you want beer...this is the feeling I got. Perhaps at a smaller resort they'd be fine but keep in mind there are a lot of people at this resort. Well, have fun and enjoy the sun.

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February 2009

Arrival
We flew with Sunquest vacations and Skyservice. There was meal service on the plane, the flights were on time however the seats were extremely cramped, Westjet has roomier seating. We were met at the airport by the Sunquest rep and were bussed to the resort, all done very quickly. We had a quick oppportunity to change our Canadian dollars to CUC at the airport. The tourist peso (CUC)is worth about 1.4 of the Canadian dollar, so for $120 CDN we would get @ 81 pesos. The national peso used by the local Cubans is worth about 25 of the CUC. When we arrived at the resort we were herded into a large room, filled out a form and were assigned rooms. The explanation on how to get to our rooms was not very helpful and it took some time to figure out out to do that. Basically, go to the front of the hotel and catch a shuttle to your room. We were travelling as 2 adults and 2 college aged adults. One of our rooms was ready and one was not so we put all our luggage in one room and headed to the beach/pool/bar while the other one was being prepared. It was available in about an hour, around noon.

Rooms
We really liked our rooms, in the 37 block, third floor, 2 adjoining rooms overlooking the quiet pool, close to the lobby. Our room had a king size bed and the other room had 2 doubles. We liked the view on the third floor and there were no mosquitoes! We had asked our travel agent to request these types of rooms and we also phoned the hotel directly. We would recommend this. The shower somehow leaked all over the floor despite our best efforts. You have to pay 2 CUC per day for your safe. Beach towels can be exchanged daily but dont lose them or you will be charged 15 CUC each. The mini fridge was stocked with bottled water, pop and beer and is included in the price. Our maid was great and did special things with the towels and decorating the adjoining room for a birthday. We gave our maid several pesos daily and also left her childrens clothing and other items for her children. This is recommended.

Restaurants and Bars
We have travelled to Barbados, Antigua, St Lucia, Curacao and Turks and Caicos so our expectations were reasonably low. We were pleasantly surprised and the a la carte restaurants were generally good. We had dinner the first night at the buffet and really did not like it at all. Most of the food was bland and cold.Breakfast at the buffet is good and lunch at the beach grill and quiet pool was good as well.We made reservations the first day for the 2 "allowed" at the a la carte restaurants. Once we figured out the system we tried to make more reservations at the a la carte restaurants than the allowed 2. It took persistence, a nice smile and a small tip at the reservation desk and we were successful in making reservations at the a la carte restaurants for the entire week. We enjoyed the lobster and menu at the Mediterranean restaurant and found the Chateaubriand at the French restaurant excellent. We loved the Cuban restaurant and they had house bands playing Cuban music which was great (if they weren't sidetracked and requested to play Johnny Cash (yuk))We also enjoyed the Japanese restaurant and had a nice evening. We did not find the Italian restaurant all that good but still better than the buffet. Overall the food at the a la carte restaurants was good. There were 7 bars throughout the resort. Not unexpectedly the beach bar was the most basic, primarily for beer and rum. We preferred the swim up bar near the quiet pool and the lobby bar. The lobby bar was the best stocked and they made good mojitos, bloody marys, pina coladas and had a nice selection of scotch. It was worth the walk!

Beach/Pools/Grounds
The beach was good but crowded. We enjoyed the hobie cat ride and snorkelling feeding the fish. The activity pool was also busy and loud but the caves were nice. We preferred the quiet pool close to our room and the swim up bar. We ordered a lounge pad from the attendant and also ordered lunch from the waitress who made rounds. This worked well and allowed us more time in the sun without waiting a long time in one of the restaurants. The pool water was cold! The grounds were fairly lush with palm trees, plants (they are planting more) and cactus. The grounds were fairly clean except for the debris left by the lazy guests. The grounds are large and they have a shuttle cart who have difficulty walking or just cant bother

Activities on and off the Resort/Hotel
The nightly shows at the resort were only ok.The magic show and the dance show were adequate.The bar in the theater during the shows is very busy and usually with a younger crowd. Waits were not that long but it was noisy. The piano bar was good and was either really busy or very quiet, nice to try out.
We chose the package of the day long Havana trip and the Varadero Tropicana show for 99 CUC. The Havana trip is not to be missed! Very interesting to see the sights, Revolution square, Hemingways bar, the cemetery, cigar factory and shopping. Its a long day getting back to the resort @ 7 pm so we chose that package to do the Tropicana show another night. The Tropicana Varadero show was specatcular and well worth going for the music and show. Its about a 30 minute bus ride from the resort, be forewarned the bus showed up 40 minutes late which is a lot, even for Cuban time! We took the double decker bus into the Varadero flea market and that is fun. The bus runs down the peninsula every 30 minutes and costs 5 CUC for a day pass.
We also tried the horse and buggy tour in Varadero for 10 CUC

Other Comments
This was our first trip to Cuba and we didnt understand about tipping. Cubans are paid very little in wages and are desparate for tips, most of the are gracious however you can wait a little longer at some bars if you dont tip fairly regularly. We believe you should estimate about 20 pesos a day ($30 CDN) so it does add to the price of your all inclusive vacation. Dont forget the 25 CUC per person departure tax!
Most of the staff were friendly, young and spoke some English however because the resort is so large it is difficult to get to know any that well.
Most of the guests were Canadian and most of them French Canadian. We found them rude( butted in line at the bar and restaurants, smoked and very loud and obnoxious when drunk. If we return to Cuba we would probably stay at a smaller place, and hopefully where more Europeans went.
My wife had bug bites all over her legs and they were very itchy. Others also had these bites all over their legs, not sure what they were perhaps mosquitoes or sand fleas but be forewarned if you are biten you may want to have some hydrocortisone with you.

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February 2009

Arrival: Feb. 10 - 17th
We were at Sirenas la Salinas from Feb 10-17th. We were very lucky to get good weather, no rain. We heard that it was very cold the week before. There was a meal on the plane down, and no real problem at the airport, except that I put down my jacket when getting our bags, and then it disappeared. So watch your stuff at the airport! When we arrived, the greeters herded our large group into a room, and gave a lengthy explanation in French. There were about 10 of us who did not speak French, and they did not repeat much for us in English. We were able to figure things out, as we had read reviews before we came!

Rooms
We loved our room - third floor - king sized bed, very nice. Our maid was great and we gave her big tips and gifts from Canada for her kids. Before we left, we gave her a lot of the stuff we didn't need to bring back, like leftover shampoo, medicine, gum, pens etc. You need to make sure you don't lose your blue towel or you will get charged for it at the end. You have to pay for your safe.

Restaurants and Bars
I had very low expectations from reading this site before we left, so I was not surprised to find that the food was mediocre. Then we went on a day trip and had lunch at a farm - WOW the food was great! They actually cooked with onions, garlic and spices. So I learned that there is great food in Cuba, but you have to go out of the resort to find it (or find a good resort that has a good chef?) I would definitely bring some ketchup and mustard next time, as they don't seem to have any real sauces or gravies, and they are trying to serve fries and hamburgers at every meal. Another couple we met said that the food in the restaurants in Varadero was really good. I think we would stay closer to the city next time so we can try it.

We went to 3 "ala carte" dinners plus 2 special tour dinners. (if you pay the booking girl, she will give you extras) Although the French Restaurant overall was pretty bad - the steak offered (Chateaubriand) is EXCELLENT. We asked for medium-rare, and it was perfect. This is the only meal I would repeat. The Mediterranean was ok - we had lobster...not the greatest... if you want lobster, get it in Canada! The Japanese - which had been so highly recommended on this sight was NOT that great. I guess it's because we actually make stir fries and eat sushi back home. It basically is a stir fry, which I could make. Big let down for us. We heard through others that the Italian was lousy. By the way, bring chocolate, it's hard to find. There is a store at the lobby, but it's pretty limited on what it sells by way of snacks.

Beach/Pools/Grounds
The beach was fantastic and I was in the water a lot. We used the swim up bars a lot too! The pools are beautiful, the grounds are clean, except where the guests are throwing their garbage and cigarette butts on the ground. We were not impressed by the other guests who did this.

Activities on and off the Resort/Hotel
We got to go to 3 of the nightly shows, all of which were great. A Cuban dance show, a Water Ballet (kind of an acrobatic synchronized swimming in the pool with men too) and a magic show. The music generally was great, and we loved the band by the quiet pool we actually bought their CD to show our support for them. If you are brave, they have dance lessons every night after the shows, and regularly at the beach and active pool. We were not brave! We went on the Havana trip (with Tropicana in the evening) and got back to the resort at 3:30 am. Unless you really want to see Havana, I would skip the Havana trip and maybe just go to the Tropicana show which was pretty interesting. Havana is a very old city which is falling apart. Very depressing with beggars and starving dogs on the streets. Another option is to get yourself to Havana and do what you want there. The cemetery is definitely worth visiting but we only got to stay for about 15 minutes. We were dumped at the old Havana for free time, which was dumb as there is not much shopping available and it's very hot. This is not the real Cuba.

We went on the non-jeep road trip and loved it. This trip includes: driving a small speedboat out on the ocean, snorkelling, visit to a coffee farm where we got to ride horses for a few minutes and had a great lunch, visit to amazing caves (3 km long so you need stamina). This trip was worth it as you get to see much more of the real Cuba by going through small towns and countryside.

Other Comments

Money
The tourist peso (CUC) is worth about 1.4 of the Canadian dollar. So for $100 CDN we would get about $72 pesos. The national peso (which Cubans use) is worth about 20-25 of the CUC. If you go to a store off resort they may have two prices depending on whether you are a resident of Cuba or not.

Tipping
This was our first trip to Cuba, so we just didn't understand. Now we do. Cubans are paid very little in wages they can't live on what they are paid, so they are desperate for tips. Most of them are very gracious about tips. But the word all inclusive is not accurate for the resort, or any day trips you book. Every person who speaks to you will expect a tip. For example, although the breakfast and lunches are set up as buffets, all dinners are set up so that you are seated and served at least your drinks. These waiters expect tips. At the various bars, if you don't tip, some servers will ignore you. We waited for over an hour to be served at one bar, and then gave up. It's the opposite of what you would do in Canada (good service = good tip at the end). If you give a good tip up front, you will get good service. This means that on the day trips, you are expected to give a tip to the bus driver, the tour guide, and each of the people who you talk to (like the boat guy). We think you should estimate about 20 pesos a day for tips (which is about $30 CDN remember to budget for this). Note: You must also pay a tip to use any bathroom outside of the resort, although sometimes we just walked in. If you are planning to leave the resort, bring small packets of Kleenex or rolls of toilet paper everywhere you go.

Overall Impression
Most of the staff were friendly, young and spoke some English. Most of the guests were French Canadian, rude, smoked and were very loud when drunk. The atmosphere of the place is kind of like a fantasy world, like being in Disneyworld (too perfect). We probably would return to Cuba, but not stay at this place. It would be nicer to stay in a smaller place, with hopefully European guests. I would also recommend going with at least one other couple or family. Most of the other tourists we saw were not very friendly or open to talking / having dinner as they were part of their own group.

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February 2009

Arrival: Feb. 6 - 13
Our group consisted of 6 adults & 2 children. Upon arriving at the resort we found that only two of our rooms were beside each other on the first floor in Building 40 and the other room was in Building 34 which was a long walk away even though we had requested our rooms be together. They would not make any changes to the rooms that evening but we were told to return the next day. They relucnantly changed the room the next day into Building 40 on the third floor. I do not understand why the rooms were not together in the first place especially when the buildings are so far apart at this resort.

Rooms
The rooms were okay by Cuban standards likely because the resort is only a year and a half old however our room had a leaking tap in the bathroom and there was water all over the vanity area. We called for a repair person and he arrived in a couple of hours and informed us he would be back the next morning with a new tap. We never saw him again. This resort charges extra for the safe (2 pesos per day). Being that this is an all-inclusive resort I do not feel that they should be charging extra for a safe. Also the TV reception was very poor at this resort.

Restaurants and Bars
This resort does not have enough a la carte restaurants. We were only able to book at one being the Asian which was very good. The food at the buffet was what I would consider below average. If you are someone who must have peanut butter, then I would suggest you take your own. Also their ketchup is very strong and tastes like BBQ sauce. We took our own ketchup and vinegar. I would have to say that if you are taking children then do not expect to have milk for them to drink at the lunch or supper buffet. There is none. Milk is only available during breakfast. They have pancakes (very dry) and french toast but no syrup to put on them. Only chocolate, red or orange sauces. Yuch! The bacon is undercooked and swimming in grease. There were no potatoes for the first 4 days only rice which was also very dry. There are limited vegetables and salad ingredients. One morning there was no bread to make toast. Because of the food in Cuba we were will not be going back there again. The drinks were served in small 6 oz. glasses so I would suggest taking your own insulated mugs. The mix for the drinks was watered down. Most of the drinks are made with Cuban rum. ASK FOR THE HAVANA CLUB RUM AGED 7 YRS. otherwise the drinks will not be good. The one good thing about this resort is that it has a Coffee Bar in the Mail Lobby. You can get espresso, capuccino or regular coffee with liquors to add in. Very good.

Beach/Pools/Grounds
The beach was very nice. Lots of chairs and sun huts. The pools were also very nice although there was a shortage of chairs around the pool. The grounds are beautiful and they are continuing to plant more flowers, etc.

Activities on and off the Resort/Hotel
We went into the market in Varadero on the Beach Tour bus. This was quite interesting to see the area however in the market there are always people approaching you to have your hair braided and then they ask for clothes or anything you would like to give them.

Other Comments
This is my first time writing a review about a hotel. I have been to DR, St. Lucia, St. Kitts, Mexico and Cuba before. I would have to say that I will most likely not return to Cuba again and mainly because of the food. This resort claims to have services for children however I would strongly disagree. In our group there were 3 children ages 11 months, 6 & 7. There were no diaper changing areas in any of the washroom areas. There was no microwave on the resort that baby food could be warmed up. The Baby Club was supposed to be open daily however it was not. There were no planned children's activity programs. As previously mentioned, there was no milk available at lunch or supper meals. The only food on the buffet that would appeal to children were french fries. If you don't mind not having the best food, then I would recommend going to this resort for the price. Hope these comments help.

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February 2009

Arrival: Feb 4 - 11
Our stay was from Feb 4-11, 2009. Vacation was booked through Nolitours. We travelled in a large group....8 adults and 6 children. After reading the review, if you have further questions, do not hesitate to contact me via email.

Rooms We stayed in Bldg 35, close to the beach. We had a ground floor room which overlooked the garden area. Our chamber maids name was Yaris. She was fabulous. Rooms were always clean, fresh towels, towel art everyday.

Restaurants and Bars
We booked 4 a la carte meals. Italian, Mediterrian, Japanese, and Cuban. The other nights we ate at the buffet. Food in Cuba is what we had expected...bland...but once you got used to it, it was fine. One suggestion is if you plan to eat at the buffets get there when they first open. Food will be warm then, not hot, but warm. We never went hungry, always found something to eat. Most mornings we had breakfast at the restaurant at the activity pool. Not as quick, but cooked to order and hot. Piano bar was the favorite for a before and after dinner drink. The young lady who plays is amazing.

Beach/Pools/Grounds
The weather at the beginning of our holiday was not very nice. Extremely windy and chilly, so they could not bring out the paddle boats, banana boats, snorkling or other water activities. The pool was freezing due to the cold front that had come in. We did still swim and lay around. Sergio at the pool was most helpful getting cushions. Neither the beach or the pool were ever crowded. Alway could find a deck chair. Ocean is very shallow which is great for the kids.

Activities on and off the Resort/Hotel
Although the entertainment staff tried to get people moving every day at the pool, the crowd was quite. We took a day trip into Havana that was certainly worthwhile. I would have liked to be able to spend a little more time in Old Havana as I found it to be more interesting than New Havana.

Other Comments
We had a wonderful vacation with alot of great memories. We would return in a heartbeat except that the kids program was horrible. There wasn't one. Travelling with 6 children ranging in age from infant to 10yrs, the kids club was to be an important part of our holiday. We wanted and the kids wanted to be able to have the option to go and have fun with other children. They did not have any daily activities planned and for the most part kept the kids inside the clubhouse. After last years vacation in Mexico where they had a fabulous program, we were very disappointed. My advise to parents if you are looking for a resort that offers these services do not book at Sirenis. As mentioned, we would return in a minute if it was not for that reason.
kingjsjl@hotmail.com

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January 2009

Arrival: January 10 - 17, 2009
First I feel it is important to summarise our experience in Cuba, my wife and I have stayed at 7 different resorts over 8 and 9 visits respectively. Our first visit was Farillon Del Caribe (Manzanillo)in 1996 and we have stayed at resorts in Cayo Santa Maria, Cayo Guillermo, Guardalavaca, and Varadero. We have stayed in 3, 4, & 5 star hotels.

We arrived at the La Salina after an uneventful flight and hotel transfer. The check-in was handled quickly (we were a small group)in the conference centre away from the main lobby and were shown to our room by a Bellhop via the Shuttle cart. Perhaps, the best check-in we have experienced. were

Rooms:
We were initially shown to Room 36106, but it was a ground floor room looking out on the construction site next door. We requested a different room which the Bellhop acquired over the phone. We were then shown to Room 30304, which we felt to be in much better location, with a view of the activity pool across from the Baby Club. (In fairness I had emailed the resort and requested a quiet room, so it was a bit of a case of be careful what you ask for.) The activity pool was a little noisy in the late afternoon, but after the swim up bar closed at 18:00 it was no problem at all. I cannot imagine that there would be too many rooms on the resort that would be considered noisy, and except for the few buildings that overlook the construction site, the views would all be acceptable. NB: there are very few rooms that would actually have a true "oceanview" and those I believe are suites. However, we could see enough of the ocean from our room.

Restaurants and Bars:
Of the 7 ala cartes at the resort, we had reservations for the Steakhouse and Japanese restaurants. The Japanese was a wonderful meal with meal cooked in front of you. Like most ala cartes at most resorts, at the Steakhouse they tried to make the meal a special experience, but as is usually the case fell just a little short. The service was good but the ambience was a little "corny" and very much what Cubans think we want in a Western restaurant. In addition, even though I should have known better, I ended up with TMJ soreness from chewing on the meat, steak mostly, as we had the meat platter for 2. Our AirTransat package also included 2 special nights both at the Mediterranean restaurant, a Paella and Tapas night and a BBQ night. We only attended the Paella night and felt that the seafood paella was not great as the seafood had been so overcooked or crushed that the shells did not separate from the flesh, but it had some nicer desserts than the Buffet. There was always lots of fresh fruit and vegetables, several choices of hot dishes, carveries, soup, pasta cooks, etc. In addition, they had lots of ice cream and a wide selection of desserts (although I always find Cuban desserts all taste the same, which hasn't stopped me from eating them!). The Buffet dining room is huge and there are 2 identical ends of the buffet.

We only tried the lunchtime ala cartes a couple of times, as they only had burgers, sandwiches, and pizzas. We had the pizza but it was only cheese and tomato sauce.

We enjoyed the Main Buffet the most and never, never found it difficult to eat well and as much as we wanted. Granted I tried to stick to the 9" plate diet, but does it count if you have 3 plates? We cannot understand how so many guests can review a resort and have nothing good to say about the food, my only thought is that they are traveling to a foreign country and expecting to eat exactly the same as they would at home!

There are plenty of bars. I was able to have a "Julien" day walking around the entire resort with a glass of rum in my hand! The types of drinks and quality varied from bar to bar. The Main Lobby bar of course was the best and never overly busy. The Theatre bar was often busy and seemed to have more regulars and a younger staff. The beach bar was logically the most basic and the Piano bar was the most quiet. My personal favourite is the 24 hour Coffee bar across from the Lobby bar. Despite the size of the resort, none of the bars were overly busy and I have had to wait a lot longer at smaller resorts. There were usually a few waiters at the Lobby bar, Piano bar, and even the quiet pool.

Beach/Pools/Grounds:
The beach was good with lots of thatched umbrellas, lots of shade, and lots of loungers. We were able to walk for an hour turning right (southeast) toward the Tryp and beyond, in fact we stopped long before we reached the end. You can walk to the left but it soon becomes a rocky, sand covered ledge, which goes for quite a way, too far for bare feet. There were also 2 regular venders with craft carts. The one detraction of the beach was seeing all the plastic cups and straws there are left by the "guests" once the loungers are stacked at the end of the day. It is very disgusting to see how inconsiderate and lazy they can be.

We spent most of our pool time at the quiet pool. We were able to find enough shade (a necessity for us) in both morning and afternoon. There were plenty of loungers and the pool staff provided thick lounge pads on request, and if you were lucky you might get a clean one! It being January, we only went in the pool a couple times, just to say we had been to the swim up bar. The activity pool was noisier and busier but not overly so. The water slide seemed to be well used by both kids and adults (or those brave enough to go in the water). The highlight of the activity pool was the swim up/cave bar and the best Pina Colada ever, too bad about the water temperature or I might have had more! My main complaint of the pools was the dirty pool deck, I never saw it cleaned once in the week and it shows, as it was filthy.

The grounds were fairly lush and relatively clean, again most debris was caused by the guests. There were a number of gardeners offering hats woven from palm fronds with hand made crickets on top, they were quite popular. We liked the layout and I would describe it as being very linear as the resort is very long and narrow compared to others we have been to. They have a shuttle cart for those who have difficulty walking or just can't bother.

Activities on and off the Resort/Hotel:
We did not partake in many of the resort activities. The evening shows on the main stage were very good with some excellent dancers, some of the best we have seen anywhere! There was often a pre-show band playing in the Main Plaza and it was good with a large audience. We were also lucky enough to see the Water Ballet, as it always seems to be on the next week on our visits to other resorts.

We had a day in Varadero, for 5 CUC each you can catch a double decker bus into Varadero and it stops at several points in the town. There are several markets and restaurants and the beach has powder, white sand. I changed some $ at one of the 2 main banks and received the best rate available. We also visited Santa Elvira Catholic Church to deliver a couple of bags of baby clothes to Father Basterache. He was originally from Bathurst, NB, but has been serving in Cuba for some 46 years.

For us, the highlight of the resort was Sexteto Primavera. They are a house band who play most nights for the Cuban ala carte and return later to play from 22:30 to 01:00. They were very good and played mostly Cuban music. Some nights there were very few people listening and other nights there were many, even resort staff came by to listen and often sing a song or play some percussion. One of the Entertainment managers was on hand to greet the guests and encourage/participate in the dancing. It made for a wonderful evening and lasting memories for my wife and I.

Other Comments:
Overall we liked La Salina very much. They claim to be the biggest resort in Cuba with 1035 rooms, however, we never felt the size overwhelming or a detraction. Of course there are always areas of improvement or things that were not to our personal liking. As I have mentioned, the pool deck and lounge pads were quite dirty. The main path was wide enough for several people to pass easily, however, it was also the same path that the Shuttle carts and delivery carts needed to use. This caused often caused slower traffic or guests needed to step off the path often to allow them by. In addition, the pathway is quite dirty from tire wear and bare feet became black very quickly. A possible solution would be to have the carts driving on the outskirts of the resort for deliveries and check in/out.

One other minor complaint was the lack of real juice at any of the bars and it was only available at the Buffet during breakfast. (However, with the amount of orange juice that was wasted at breakfast, I am not surprised. Why do people take so much food or drink and then leave most of it??)

Finally, the 2 things that adversely affected our vacation, and had nothing to do with the resort, were the weather and the insect bites. We had to go in January this year and of course it is the height of their winter too! So it was cool on some days and breezy, but this made the waves more fun to play in! Having gone in January, it was the first time we had any bug bites and they were extremely itchy. I am not clear as to what insects they were, but have been led to believe they were sand fleas which come out of the sand as it cools, and we had been walking on the beach after 16:00 near sundown.

Please consider Sirenis La Salina for your next Cuban resort it is well worth a visit and give Sexteto Primavera our love, as they were consistently telling everybody that, "I Love you"

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January 2009

The resort is gorgeous with lots to do. Yes the property is large but it is so nice to walk around and enjoy it. If you have little ones or are not that mobile there are shuttles always available to give you a quick lift. The rooms are clean and spacious. Our request for adjoining rooms and a cot was provided with no problem. We had an excellent housekeeper, Doris, who tidied up after us (not an easy chore since we had three teenagers along), stocked our rooms and started our days with a big smile and hola. Each day we left her a small gift and tip which she really appreciated. The food in the buffets was not so good to good. It is all you can eat though so if you don't like something don't eat it and go up and try something else. The desserts are really excellent so you can always fill up on them. Our two Ala Carte meals were at the Japanese and Cuban. Both were much better then the buffet. The best breakfast is at Snackbar two over looking the pool. You can order ala carte and get one of the best cafe con leches to start your day. During our last meal several management types were going fromn table to table to get peoples opinions on the food and resort. The resorts executive chef visited our table, (he went to University in Ontario) and told us on how they are working on improving the food quality. The problem he said is being able to consistently get basic foods into Cuba.

The bartenders are some of the best I've seen and I've worked in the business for years. Wilson at the swim up bar under the water falls makes the absolute best mojito.

The beach and pools were excellent. Lots of activities happening around the one pool everyday. Prepare yourself for sand fleas on the beach if the weather is a bit colder and damp as we got several bites on our last day.

At night they have several things happening to keep you entertained. There's a really good band in the centre court followed by a show in the theatre. At 10:30 the theatre becomes a disco. Most nights it seemed to be pretty busy and was a lot of fun for the teenagers with us. My wive and I preferred listening to the bands that played local music as well as more popular songs at Snack bar # 1.

We did a few excursions off the resort. We went to Veradero city for sightseeing and shopping and were fortunate enough to have an older couple invite us into there home to see how they live. We also did the Jeep Safari Tour to see what our guide called the real Cuba plus visit a range for lunch and activities as well as swim in a cave. My only complaints from the week would be...

-how some of the local people off the resort in Cuba expect a "tip" for doing a really insignificant thing such as selling you three squares of toilet paper for a peso (about $1.40cdn) -hou us Canadians litter when we travel. There are lots of garbage cans and ashtrays around. Use them.
-how inconsiderate the smokers become when travelling.
metzgerfam@rogers.com

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January 2009

Arrival: Jan.06-13/2009
We flew with Sunwing. It was okay, we were flying over top of a storm so we had a bumpy ride, with a few quick drops that makes your stomach jump. The landing was a little nervous, it felt as though the plane was sliding sideways on the tarmack. The air conditioned bus ride felt amazing!!! Our return flight was delayed, but we still made great time!

Rooms:
We were in building 28 which is right beside the lobby, but is 1 km from the lobby to the beach!!! We were on the 3rd floor, no elevators, by the end of the week it was getting tiring!!! Room was a good size, king bed, two chairs, balcony with a nice view.

Restaurants and Bars:
Buffet for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Breakfast if you use your imagination you can make a BLT, we stayed away from the eggs. Lots of fresh fruit, and orange juice everyday. Lunch was okay, lots of french fries. We ate at 1 of the snack bar most days for lunch. There was burgers, hotdogs, fries or their version of pizza. Dinner there was fish, burgers, chicken and beef. Something different every night, sometimes hit and miss. The buffet also offers midnight burgers and hotdogs. We had Italian one night the minestrone soup was great, the lasagna not so much. Japanese was great, they cook it on the grill right in front of you. Remember it is very different from what you are used to at home. One night I made a chicken burger, bun, chicken from the grill, lettuce and tomatoe. It was great! Just like home.

Beach/Pools/Grounds:
2 seperate pools, one quite with a swim up bar, less children at this pool. The other pool lots of music and activities, water slide, tons of kids (screaming)! Also a groto, you go through a waterfall to get to the bar. The bartenders are awesome always creating great drinks!!! Beach was beautiful!!! We collected sooo many shells!!! The beach bar is only at one end and it is a far walk from where the kayak and pedal boat rentals are, so be prepared to walk!! There was always workers in the gardens and cutting grass, the resort was so beautiful, and well maintained!!

Activities on and off the Resort/Hotel:
The nightly shows were fun, sometimes a little corny. Live music was great also. There was always things going on that you could join. I didn't like that you have to give pesos to rent a volleyball or basketball. I really felt that should have been included. We went into Varadero a couple of times to the markets, got great thing and gifts for family back home. You can barder with them, or trade. Sunglasses are a big hit for trading with!!!! We also went to Havana. It was probably one of the most amazing experiences ever! Even old crumbling buildings were beautiful. And keeping in mind that the hurricane hit hard there the building were 30 feet under water, there was alot of construction going on around the city. We got to see so many beautiful buildings, pieces of history, it was well worth the money. The trip we took was the Havana Colonial, and it was perfect for us.

Other Comments:
A few tips: in Havana you were charged for toilet paper, bring kleenex or napkins! We brought alot of gifts to give out, we may have went overboard! In Varadero we passed a school, and gave them crayons, candy and medical bandaids, the looks on the childrens faces were priceless!!! They were so excited to get whatever we were giving them, it made my eyes water! The maids that clean the grounds and lobby are so hard working. People can be very messy when they drink and the maids were always mopping the floor and cleaning the bathrooms! This resort is beautiful but there is alot of walking. You can catch shuttles and they are great but not always there when you want them. Bring bug spray!!!! We were smart and did and next time we will bring 2 bottles instead of 1! But friends of ours were not, and got sooo many bites there were bites on top of bites! It was a great trip over all, I got engaged while on vacation and it was perfect! I will definately go back to Cuba. I never felt nervous, or that I wasn't safe, the people are very friendly!! Go relax and enjoy the beautiful weather and surroundings, leave all the frustration out of your vacation. Just enjoy!!

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January 2009

Arrival: Jan 05/09 - Jan 12/09
Al went smoothly. 30 minute ride to resort. Signature rep was informative and funny. Sign in at resort was fairly quick.

Rooms:
We did have to change from our floor level room due to a musty smell, probably due to some water damage. There was no problem with the move and the second floor room we moved to was great.

Restaurants and Bars:
I felt that the food was adequate. I don't think you should be going to a resort looking for gourmet cuisine. If you can speak Spanish you may have an easier time getting the kind of drink you wanted at the bars.

Beach/Pools/Grounds:
Beach was great,clean and a lot of chairs available. The pool was also clean, but a little cool for my liking. The grounds were beautiful,well kept and clean.

Activities on and off the Resort/Hotel:
Plenty of activities on resort. Exercise,dance,pool and beach events. One thing however, the spa and gym only opened at 9am. If I were to go to the gym it would be before breakfast. The hot tub closed at 7pm. Again, if I were to go to the hot tube it would be at night. There was a stage show every night which were entertaining and were only about an hour long. We went to Havana on a day trip. I am sure it depends on your interest,the tour and the guide as to how much you enjoy yourself.

Other Comments:
This is a sizable resort. Therefore it is busy at many venues and you may not receive the one on one service you may be looking for. Overall, I enjoyed my stay and got out of it what I was looking for. Sun and relaxation.

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January 2009

Arrival: January 2009
check in completed in 30 minutes but then left us to get to our rooms with our baggage in the dark without assistance.

Rooms:
Reasonable size, new construction. Could not get fresh bed linens or towels without taking sheets off the bed and leaving them on the floor. "Fresh" towels were frequently not clean.

Restaurants and Bars:
Great coffee bar. Like many all inclusives, minimal alcohol in drinks - which we don't mind. Restaurants - good ingredients, terrible preparation. Really need a visit by Jamie Oliver. Hospital food is better than what they serve.

Beach/Pools/Grounds:
Grounds are beautifully landscaped. There were very few garbage bins around and the beach looked like a giant landfill/ashtray. Pool sides and chairs were usually dirty.

Activities on and off the Resort/Hotel:
There was nightly entertainment which we did not attend but could hear loudly from our room until the wee hours. Kids club is a joke. One babysitter, no registration, no planned activities. Didn't feel safe leaving our daughter there.

Other Comments:
I would give this resort a 3 star. In a few years, it will be a slum if they don't clean up their act.

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December 2008

Arrival: February 2008
We flew with Skyservice out of Edmonton on a very cold and stormy Sunday, it ended up to be the coldest week of the entire winter while we were away. Flight was on time and service okay, food was terrible. Airport/customs was quick and efficient and service to the hotel was standard.

Rooms:
We arrived around 11:00pm, our room was in a building right beside the beach and backing onto the construction of the new resort next door. Room was clean, but no facial tissue or clock radio. Water ran all over the sink counter because the taps were placed too far from the sink. Water ran out of the shower as well, you had to put a towel along the front top of the tub to stop the flooding. We talked to others who we flew with and they all remarked of having the same issues in their rooms. Maid service was fine, not great, even though we left money tips and personal toiletries, etc for her.

Restaurants and Bars:
My husband and I are in the food and beverage business for a combined 63 years, he is 53 and I am 43. To say the food was the worst we have ever experienced at an all inclusive would be very fair and not exagerating. The Cuban Hospitality Industry needs a wake up call over all, this resort murdered a lot of what probably started out as pretty fresh ingredients, fish was terribly overcooked and tougher cuts of beef could have been tender by slowcooking and using some seasoning, instead the beef was not even palatable. Breakfast was the exception, it was the best meal of the day especially when ordering custom made omelettes. The chefs who manned this station were excellent and really tried to do their best for you. The waiter service was very hit and miss at the main buffet, we had good service 3 times in the entire week. Coffee and all chocolate items on the buffets were excellent, but they should be as both commodities are grown in Cuba. The coffee and service at the Cappucino Bar were excellent, the main girl during the day remembered what I liked after the third time I ordered, even with the resort being very very busy. Bar service was lack lustre, regardless of tipping. Drinks tended to be "sloppier" than what I have experienced anywhere else. Bars were okay, not great but I agree with one of the reviews where they remarked at the amazing musicians that were at the smaller pool area/deli in the evenings. These people truly love music and were great entertainers, this became a highlight for all we spoke with. Now, despite being in the business, we are not picky or pretentious and always travel with an open mind. All of the people we visited with shared our opinion of the food and service.

Beach/Pools/Grounds:
Beach was beautiful, yes it was a little narrow, but it went for miles and I have never seen anything like it in Mexico or Hawaii. Small broken shells were abundant but you have to expect this as the ocean drags them up on shore. Bar service was quite a walk from the beach, be sure to bring an insulated mug, it will make a difference anywhere you stay! Pools were nice and the grounds will more mature in another few years. The overall cleanliness seemed to be good wherever went.

Activities on and off the Resort/Hotel:
We spent a day in Veradero and a day in Havana. La Habana, as it is known by the locals, should not be missed, what a site to see with all the old architecture. The Tropican Club Show was great and we agreed that the money spent on the full day trip was very worthwhile. Activities on the resort seemed to be okay, we tend to lounge and read during the day so did not take part in any "games". The staff tried very hard to make the activities fun by the looks of it. The nightly entertainment was not the best we have seen but the dancers/actors were talented and made great effort to entertain.

Other Comments:
In conclusion, this hotel group should be embarrassed for taking people's hard earned money if what we witnessed is typical. The resort is huge, do not go if you do not like exercise and prefer a more intimate environment. We like to dress somewhat nice for dinner and found the majority of people did not, this is not a classy resort in any way. If you like to sit in a smoke filled lobby with a bunch of guests in their jeans and t shirts, then this place should fit the bill. I guess to each their own. Of the many guests we met over the course of the week, none would ever stay at Sirenis again. My cousin and wife were there a few months before we were, though we did not discover this until we were back. They travel extensively and camp, as do we. Their comments were far more uncomplimentary than mine. I would not recommend this resort to anyone, but my brother and sister in law were at the Breezes resort in Veradero a month after our return, and they said it was awesome. I think I will stay there next time!

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November 2008

I must say when I booked the trip, I was told it was only 15 months old. This resort is in serious need of repair. The exterior of the buildings, gardens, entertainment, activities and yes even the food is exceptional and that is where it stops. Many of the rooms have especially serious mildew issues, In short, this resort, in its current state should not be recommended to anyone that has even the mildest reaction or allergies to mildew or has immune issues, hell nobody should stay in these conditions.

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October 2008

This was our 5th trip to Cuba - first time to Varadero. Previously we have stayed at Playa Pesquero (twice); Breezes Jibacoa and Grand Playa Turquesa. We were a group of 6, ages 24 - 72; 4 of us have travelled to Cuba at least 3 times. We decided on Sirenis la Salina mainly due to the incredible deal we found. It had been a resort we looked into last fall, but the price was too high, so we jumped on a deal we found over the summer. Prior to booking, we did pour over all the reviews - the good; the bad and the ugly, but have learned to take them all with a grain of salt. Having said that, we were prepared to go with mediocre expectations and see what happens. We are not by any means "seasoned" travellers just average people with simple requests and expectations and we travel with a good attitude and a smile on our face - you'd be surprised how far that can take you!!

We always travel in low season, and are well aware of the fact that perhaps all amenities may not be available - this was the case in a couple of areas here.

We booked through Nolitours - Cameleon Club which also offered a few extras such as a complimentary bottle of rum; turn down service; beach towels in the room; and a Nolitours Guests BBQ.

We were very, pleasantly surprised in this resort - we absolutely loved it - and to be honest, this may very well have been the best vacation we have taken! I began right from day one, mentally writing my review as I was just so thoroughly impressed at this resort.

So here is a quick rundown of our experience at Sirenis la Salina... FLIGHT: Flew with Skyservice out of Toronto, had a 1.5 hour delay, but it wasn't the end of the world. Left at about 7:20 pm arrived at the resort around 11:30pm. Check-in was done on the bus, so once you arrived, you grabbed a golf cart and off to the room you went - very efficient.

RESORT: Beautiful, beautiful, beautiful!!! I cannot say enough about this resort, it is truly lovely, we found it to be very lush especially for having only been opened just over a year.

The resort has 1 buffet; 4 a la cartes; 1 beach restaurant and 2 snack bars (one at each pool area). There are 2 pools, the main pool which is the smallest but houses the cave like swim up bar and waterslide for the kids...this pool was closed due to renos caused by Hurricane Ike we were told. They hope to have it open in November. The larger pool is quite nice, it too houses another swim up bar and is closest to the lobby area.

There is a theatre for the nightly shows; fitness centre & spa; hair salon; gift shop; internet cafe; piano bar and disco - these too, were not open during our stay.

ROOMS: Very large; clean and well appointed. We had a room in Building 30 close to the beach - the view was not the greatest, is was of a service road beside the resort, but for the amount of time we spent looking off the balcony, we didn't care. We were about a 5 minute walk to the main lobby and amenities located at this end of the resort.

FOOD: We found the food to be just fine! We had pre-arranged 4 a la carte dinners prior to our arrival, as we were there celebrating our anniversary, so we had the pleasure of dining at the French/Gourmet (twice); Japanese and the Steakhouse. Absolutely loved the French, food was great; Japanese was up there too, this is one not to be missed. The Steakhouse was the least of our favourites, but apparently from what we heard, it was a "hit or miss" - we definitely hit on the "miss" night!!! As for the buffet - to say it was inedible or perhaps horrendous I think is a completely ridiculous and an extreme exaggeration. We found the food to be fine - we have had worse and we have had better, you could always find something to eat, you will never starve at this resort. I found the complaints I have read about the food seem to be coming from guests who are already upset about something in regards to the resort, so it snowballs and they look for other excuses to bash the resort - that has been my explanation for most of the resorts we have visited.

Anyway, here is the breakdown...for breakfast, you can eat at the main buffet or beach restaurant; for lunch - main buffet; beach or at the snack bar; for dinner - main buffet or an a la carte.

BEACH: Beach was great!!! Water was clear; warm and shallow, ideal for small children. We had heard that the beach towards the downtown section was much nicer with softer sand etc., we found this one fine and too our liking!!!

NIGHTLIFE: Each night at about 9:30pm the entertainment staff did their nightly shows, they were okay nothing great, but entertaining nonetheless. We actually spent most of our time at the snack bar by the "quiet pool" as each night, there was a fantastic band that played...this place quickly became the place to be at night, and was always packed. The Piano Bar/Disco was closed during our stay - this did not affect us, as we really enjoyed the live entertainment. Not sure the reason for this, we did not enquire.

STAFF: Absolutely fantastic - I have no idea why anyone would find anyone at this resort rude - every single individual we encountered was very pleasant from bartenders to wait staff to gardeners to maids to janitors.

EXCURSIONS: We took the Double Decker bus into Varadero for the better part of one day. You pay 5 CUC and can ride the bus from 9am-9pm - bus comes by the resort approx. every 30 minutes - its fun and gives you a chance to see what is around. All of the girls on our trip decided to do a day tour of Havana, we chose the Havana Colonial tour for 67 CUC - well worth the money, great walking tour of old and new Havana with many stops along the way. Last time we took in the tour along with the Tropicana, so opted just for the day trip this time.

SUMMARY: We thoroughly enjoyed our stay at Sirenis La Salina and would return in a heartbeat - actually 2 of our friends who travelled with us, have chosen to get married at this resort next year! So we will be returning no too long from now!!!

In regards to the reviews on this resort, I have no idea where these people have stayed!!! A lot of descriptions do not even sound like the same resort. As I mentioned, we are pretty simple people, but there are standards which we expect to find in a 4.5 star resort and we definitely found them here. What some have to understand is that Cuba, its not for everyone - do your research, in today's day and age, there is no excuse for any traveller to say they did not know what to expect here or anywhere else. Another thing to take into consideration is when you travel - this time of year is still considered the off season, and as I mentioned, some amenities may not be available - we knew this prior to travelling - why?? Because we do our research!!!

For all of you thinking of travelling to this resort - go for it...you just might be very pleasantly surprised!!!

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October 2008

The Group of 7 We were a group of 7 staying at Sirenis La Salina (SLS) from September 28- October 5, 2008.
This trip was a year in the making with family and friends. 4 of the 7 were new to Cuba. We looked at many resorts in the area before deciding on SLS in August. Our reasons for selecting the resort were based on the proximity to the town of Varadero, the star rating of the hotel and it’s age, as well as the No Single Supplement bonus offered, which was used by 3 of the 7 guests. As with any vacation, there are glitches, but we know how to make the best of it and over all we had a fabulous time with wonderful friends and family.

The big Boos out of the way:
1) We booked with Sunwing Vacations. One of the bookings was a double room that we later attempted to divide to two single rooms. We were advised that we would have to pay $100.00 CDN per person extra which is outlandish when they’re offering NSS. Upon arriving to find the property 25% capacity at best, this was especially disappointing.

2) Smoking. There are smoke free regulations in Cuba but they are not enforced in any way. Being asthmatic and allergic to cigarette smoke, this was a serious problem for me in Varadero that I have not experienced to this degree in any other destination (including other parts of Cuba). We were in enclosed buildings where smoking was allowed with no ventilation. The Buffet restaurant at our hotel permitted smoking in spite of a sign on the door requesting that guests not smoke. The airport was so thick with smoke everyone’s eyes were burning. There is no such thing as designated smoking areas in enclosed buildings. It was appalling.

3) We received a call from Sunwing a couple days before departure, advising that the activity pool would be closed during our stay. On our first day, we realized that the property was a virtual ghost town. Nothing beyond the small, quiet pool at the front of the property was running. The kids club was closed up tight, the large, activity pool was empty and sectioned off, as was the snack bar and cave bar. This third issue really did not affect us in any adverse manner, but I would urge anyone considering this hotel (and the aforementioned amenities a priority) to check with their tour company before booking in the near future.
I would estimate this property to be running at 20-25% right now due to the low season. As such, my review of some amenities will reflect same.

Flight Down: via Sunwing – Excellent. Service, meals, flight, everything was top notch. Complimentary champagne, as well as wine with the meal was a bonus. Staff were very courteous. We arrived in Varadero about ½ an hour ahead of schedule which was great.

Airport/Customs/Baggage: Travelling with newbies to Cuba was uneventful. My father was taken aside to go through his prescription medications but we had a very fluent and pleasant woman who requested an explanation of the use of each drug and then we were on our way.

Transfer to Hotel: We were on our way to the hotel in record time, very organized and courteous reps met us and had us moving asap.

Check In: Quick and painless…separate for Sunwing guests, of which there were only a dozen of us. Keys, guest packages, orientation cards and RUM! were dispersed quickly, courteously and we were on our way in golf carts to our rooms.

Rooms: We did not receive the location we requested but we were in very close proximity to each other, one block away from the buffet and main lobby (Blocks 21 and 22). This made it convenient for our group who spent very little time at the beach. I don’t believe the rooms near the beach were even in use during our stay. Our walkway led directly to the quiet pool, which was the pool that remained open, so it was very convenient. 3 of our rooms overlooked the pool, the other two overlooked the mangroves, and if you looked far, far off in the distance, you could see a wee bit of ocean! The rooms were comfortable and colourful and we all had the appropriate size/number of beds based on our needs, which was nice. We were shocked to find no coffee maker or clock in the room, but yet a CD player and….of all things….. a mammoth (and expensive!) weigh scale (which definitely did not get used!) Mini fridge always restocked and with a tip and a note, we always got ample of whatever we requested. Only one of our rooms had mould on the ceiling but it was a contained area the size of a decorator pillow and seemed harmless. A/C worked excellent. Safe was small and ridiculously overpriced. It was 14 CUCs for the week but it’s a necessary amenity and they know it.

Maid Service: It wasn’t the best we’ve had, but I am a bit OCD when it comes to hygiene and cleanliness. The bathroom needed better cleaning, which I gladly attended to of my own accord with my personal stash of supplies. Floors were never very clean and we had other people’s hair and lint on the bottoms of our socks which really grossed me out. On a good note, the sheets and towels were fresh and clean.

Maintenance: Our shower head broke one evening and was unusable. It was repaired by the following evening after several requests.

Grounds and Property: It’s still maturing, but the landscape work is very nice. I think we saw more gardeners and grounds keepers than any other staff. Surprisingly, the property is not as well equipped for handicapped guests as I would expect with a brand new hotel. I was especially mindful of this while reflecting on the fact that one of our family members (who in fact did not come with us due to mobility issues) would have had a number of access issues. I would not recommend this property to older persons who have mobility issues. There are some minor architectural flaws such as premature deterioration and mould on some structures. The walkways are narrow and are used for pedestrians and vehicles alike. The golf carts and small trucks that drive around move very quickly and you must jump out of the way into bushes or onto grass to permit access. There were a number of flooding issues as well, after rain. Lack of proper drainage was backing up onto sidewalks and into the floors of the buildings. There was allot of beautiful marble used for flooring, but as can be imagined, is treacherous for walking.

Bugs: Some of us were okay, others were eaten alive. The mosquitos were really bad in the buffet and especially at night. Deet was the only thing that moderately deterred them but they have a tolerance for repellent. They’re relentless little critters! .

Beach: As beautiful as it was 5 years ago. It too was empty. There were tons of shady palapas and chairs, all in very good condition. Beach was crystal clear, clean and well groomed and goes on forever. My brother ran it every morning…my husband and I walked it a couple of times. The beach chairs are the hard plastic, but if you double up a towel, it’s not an issue.

Pool: As mentioned, there are two pools. The “main” pool is massive, has a water slide, swim up cave bar and snack bar, all of which were closed up tight. The small pool is referred to as the "quiet" pool where all the entertainment activities took place. It has a swim up bar which was the only pool bar open. The first few days were busier than later in the week, so we noticed a lack of shade on those days, but there were still plenty of chairs. There is a snack bar which was open at the small pool as well.

Buffet: I have to say, having been to Cuba six times, one becomes accustomed and expectant of a different type of fare. But the food at this resort was, in a word, horrendous. I was embarrassed by how terrible the food was. I had cautioned my family/friends that the food in Cuba is not great, but that the breads, pastas, and desserts are very good. This was not the case with this hotel. And please let me be clear, this was not a LACK of food or supplies, but rather a lack of quality and care in the preparation. Simple staples such as basmati rice were inedible. Meat was tough and tasteless. Bread was hard and also tasteless. Many dishes were salty. Unidentifiable fillers would be found in some foods. It’s laughable that something so simple can be done so wrong. None of us are picky eaters, and I’m certain that’s how we managed to get by. We also ran into constant obstacles for one of our group members who is vegetarian. She managed to find food to eat, but it was always a chore.
I do want to mention that the service in the restaurant was excellent, however. The staff were all very attentive, friendly and a real joy to converse with. Because we were a group that required a larger table, it seemed they had our usual table saved for us all the time. Efforts were made to keep us as far from the smoking section as possible (which is unintelligently situated in the middle of the restaurant) but of course as I stated previously, there is no such thing as designated smoking areas. We were asked to complete restaurant questionnaires on 2 occasions, so I hope our comments are taken into consideration.

Beach Restaurant: Actually decent food, but we only ate lunch there once on our first day since we’d spent the morning at the beach. It’s very isolated from the rest of the property since it’s running at such a low capacity. Nice salad bar and dessert table. Excellent service.

Pool Snack Bars: The one that was open was very small and had a small menu of snacks available.

Lobby Bar: Excellent drinks and service. We recommend the “Don Guillermo” which one of our newbies thought was called “Donkey Mojo”. I recommend using the proper term or heaven only knows what you’ll end up with!

Café Bar: Excellent coffees, hot chocolate, lattes and cappuccinos. Service was always great.

Internet: There is an internet café which costs 3 CUC’s for ½ hr but the internet is very slow and thus costs a fortune. No internet connections in rooms.

Calling home: We called to check on family at home several times. The price, whether you make the call from your room or the telephone office near the front lobby was 2.75 CUC’s per minute.

Ala Cartes: I was baffled that with the capacity of this resort, we were unable to get reservations at the Japanese restaurant. We ate at the Italian which is a nice environment but the food was the worst food I’ve ever eaten. They could not accommodate the vegetarian request at all, in fact it appeared as though they brought her a meat dish after explicit instructions that she wanted vegetables only.

We were afraid to eat at any other ala carte but were pleasantly surprised with the meal at the Steak house on our last night. The food was great, but the service was terrible. I guess you can’t ask for too much! It was as usual, a chore for our vegetarian guest, though.

Gym: Top quality. Probably the nicest gym I’ve seen on a property, including some 5* properties. Air conditioned, gorgeous hardwood floors, brand new equipment, with the machines on one side and the weight room on the other. Change/shower rooms for him and her. Too bad there was never anyone around. The hot tub/ spa was closed the whole time we were there.

Piano Bar: We did not go to the Piano bar or disco.

Entertainment Theatre: Typical entertainment theatre, with cheap plastic chairs and a makeshift ramp for wheelchair accessibility. There are washrooms and a Bar there as well. The theatre was empty most of the week. I felt sorry for the entertainers.

Staff: This is where I give my acclamation. The staff at this property are fabulous. Everyone is smiling, friendly and quite fluent in English which made it easier and enjoyable to communicate. I never expect the staff/locals to be fluent but it certainly was a pleasant surprise. Even housekeeping staff we encountered were fluent. The wonderful staff made up for the things that were lacking.

Excursions: We took the double-decker bus to Varadero several times. You cannot beat 5 CUC’s for all day transportation and especially in such a happening little town! We also took a horse & buggy ride in Varadero…one that fit all 7 of us AND the driver! We shopped at the Plaza Americas and all of the markets, ate at a couple of cafes, and wandered around town taking in the sights. It was the best and cheapest fun!

We went to Tropicana Varadero. It was 40 CUC’s per person and a very memorable adventure. We enjoyed the show immensely. Snacks and Rum and coke are included with the price and of course there are additional drinks available at extra cost, and video/photos to purchase. I wasn’t impressed with the Mojitos there but I’m a connoisseur of the mojito and may have exceptionally high standards. The Havana club and coke was a very satisfying second choice!

We did a day tour of Havana which was great fun even though we’d been encouraged by many people to do a private tour. The only negative part of the tour was that our guide was the most crass, ignorant person I’ve ever encountered as a tour guide. It was the first time we’ve not tipped a tour guide. Havana was as majestic as I’d remembered it and the newbies were awe-struck. We got some amazing photos we’ll cherish forever. There is a problem with beggars/panhandlers…they were out of control, grabbing at us and our bags, it really was terrible and in some cases people were startled by this. I can see this becoming a tourist deterrent if they don’t take some control. At one point a couple of us ventured away from the group and the nasty guide where we enjoyed walking streets without a single beggar in sight, free to take photos and take in the magic of old Havana. Our lunch in Old Havana was the best meal we had all week!! Havana is indescribable and I encourage everyone to take this trip if nothing else. We will do a private tour next time for sure.

We also took the Jeep safari tour which was a great day of off-roading, boating, snorkeling, cave diving, lunch at a ranch, horse back riding, etc. Again, a meal that was better than anything we’d had at the hotel. The guides were friendly, fun, informative, and at the end of the day, a bit wealthier for their efforts.

Depature/Checkout: Checkout at noon was uneventful. No surprises. We had a later flight in the evening, so we had to wait around the hotel all afternoon. There were no shower facilities as in some hotels, so we just had a long lunch and lounged in the lobby enjoying the great coffees/drinks in the lobby bar/café. The bus was an hour late picking us up, but I’m grateful that it was, otherwise it would have meant a longer wait in that smoky airport which would have been pure hell.
Check in for our departure at the airport was quite quick and we had no issues with the antics you often hear about with overweight charges, etc. It was as smooth as could be expected. They allowed alcohol in carry-ons so between the group we stocked up on the max allowable to take back at the duty free shops. 25 CUC’s per person with your visitors visa card is given at the departure tax booth before you go through security.

Conclusion: Nice, visually impressive property. Rooms are pleasant. Awesome beach. Staff are fabulous. Management needs to heed guest comments and recommendations. The cooks are culinary experts but are limited by the instructions of management. I think the hotel is fairly rated except for the food quality.

I would be concerned of the quality of service if this hotel is full, yet the same problem is present in low season when they are running at a limited capacity. I would not recommend this property to persons with mobility issues, nor anyone who is a picky eater.

We won’t return to this property nor would we send our friends there based on the food quality and the lack of smoking regulations. For the latter, I will not be returning to Varadero unless I’m convinced the situation has been addressed.

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August 2008

My husband and I were at the Sirenas Las Selina from July 28-Aug 4, 2008. After reading all the previous negative reviews on this resort I was very hestitant to book it but decided to go anyway. This was my 4th trip to Cuba but my 8th trip overal including Mexico & Dominican Republic. I have stayed in 3 1/2 star resorts to 5 star resorts. I read reviews on all the resorts and speak to people who have been there before booking a resort. I always do my homework before booking. I admit, I was nervous about going to the Sirenas Las Salina but because the price was great and it was new and it looked beautiful I decided to give it a chance. I am happy to say that I was very pleased with the Sirenas Las Salina. I will break it down into categories below but would like to mention that while I was at this resort, I spoke with public relations and asked what the capacity was when I was there. They told me they were at 60% full which seem absolutely perfect. My biggest concern is how do they handle it at 100% in the busy months of Feb, March and April. I am the the trip organizer for my large group of friends (usuallly 50 or more) who travel someplace south every April. We are getting ready to book our 5th annual group trip for April 2009 and also a wedding will take place within the group. It is up to me to decide which resort we go to, and because I thought this resort would be great for my group I really took notice of everything. Here is my review and I hope it will help you decide when you are ready to book a resort in Varadero.

Flight: Skyservice - excellent! We flew out of Toronto because of the time of year we could not get a direct out of Halifax. Skyservice employee's were excellent and the service was 100% better than I had expected. It was my first Skyservice flight and would definitely fly with them again. Also, I am a nervous flyer and a very nice stewardess who is a Cape Bretoner and found out that I was also offered me a complimentary bottle of wine to help settle my nerves. It worked! I was very impressed with the staff.

Check In: No problems. We were with Nolitours and they had a separate check in area which went smooth and they also gave us a complimentary bottle of Cuban rum.

Rooms: Great - we were close to the beach - building 35. The room was clean and nicely painted with neat colors. CD player which we didn't use. Mini frig restocked daily except beer is only restocked every 2nd day. The resort is big so being close to the beach was nice but meant you are far from the lobby - which we didn't mind.

Maid Service: The best I ever had. Our maid "Marlene" was a joy. She did all kinds of fun things to our room and every day I was surprised at what she did. She was pleasant and always spoke to us and was so happy to see us every day. The funniest thing - she noticed we had Coors Light beer in the frig that we took from home and she could not stop talking about the "blue mountains" on the commercial for Coors Light. Sometimes she said she puts the t.v. on in the rooms when she's cleaning them and saw the commercial with the "blue mountains" when the beer is cold . We laughed and gave her some to take home and share with her husband. The next day she came running down the hall when she saw us telling us how much her husband loved the blue mountain beer. We just loved her. She did an excellent job every day.

Beach: It is a beautiful beach (its Varadero - gauranteed beautiful beach) but one of my concerns was that we noticed all the lounge chairs were full daily and they were only at 60% capacity. Some days we had a hard time finding a chair which concerns me and I would have to question whether they had enough loungers for a resort so big. The water was amazing and they had lots of peddle boats, kayaks etc to choose from. Also, the lounge chairs were hard plastic and very hard on the behind when you are sitting all day reading a book on the beach. I truly don't know why a new resort would purchase these terrible hard plastic loungers when they could have gotten those great fabric ones. I know that sounds silly but when you are a regular traveller, these are the things that do matter. 8 or so hours a day on the beach laying on hard plastic is not so pleasant.

Pool: This resort has 2 pools. The main larger pool (closest to the beach) has a water slide and a swim up "cave" bar that is really great. The pool is beautiful, clean and lots of resort entertainment staff around doing activities. The 2nd pool (closest to the lobby) is what they call the "quiet" pool just meaning no entertainment staff and not too much nose. It also has a beautiful swim up bar and also a bridge going over it. Both pools are beautiful and well taken care off. Again, lounge chairs were full at both these pools daily and at 60% capacity.... I really worry about that. We also had a hard time finding chairs at the pool.

Buffet: Here's were it gets tough. We do not go to Cuba for the food but I think this resort is trying hard to provide good food. Some nights it was pretty good with lots of choices. Other nights or if you were late getting to the buffet, your choices were poor. I am not a fussy eater and my plate always seemed full. I do admit, some days were better than others but overall I think it was good. My husband does not agree with me on this at all. He was actually very annoyed with the food and by the end of the week he just couldn't take it anymore. My concern - at 60% capacity it was ok but I would be concerned about how good it would be when the resort is full because they did run out of the "good" stuff to only replace with the "not so good stuff" which is why we found, the earlier you were at the buffet the better selection you get. Also, this main buffet is open air so you get birds flying in and at night you could get a few bug bites. They should have closed this main buffet in. It would have been much more enjoyable. The last thing, it is very very noisy.

Beach Restaurant - basically the same as in the main buffet for lunch just not as many choices. Breakfast at this restaurant was nice and peaceful. Not many selections and they never seemed to have bacon at this location but you could order whatever type of eggs you wanted from the waitress. I preferred to eat here because it was more peaceful. We were also at a barbeque dinner at this locaton one evening that was included in our package from Nolitours and it was very good.

Pool Snack Bars - each pool had a snack bar/restaurant that you could order off a menu. I really liked the sandwiches they made fresh on the best bread. The breads were excellent. The menu was very basic but I liked that it was made fresh and came out on a plate with potato chips. Nice change from buffet style.

Lobby - Very nice with a lobby bar on one side and a coffee/cappacino bar on the other.

Internet - They had a separate room off the lobby with computers and you get a code from the front reception. It was only 6 pesos for 1 hour but the computers are really really slow so you need lots of time.

A la Cartes - we only ate at the French restaurant and I give them credit for trying but its not worth going. Although the atmosphere is better than the busy buffet, the food was dull. We had a hard time bookng the a la cartes - they were all filled up and the resort was only at 60% capacity.....hmmm

Fitness Centre - Excellent. Situated in the middle of the property and has an excellent hot tub outside in a gazebo. After working out, we relaxed in the hot tub.

Piano Bar - Very nice in an air conditioned building. Nice bar and nice chairs to relax in. I think this turns into a disco but we never managed to stay up late enough to check it out.

Entertainment Theatre area - Nice with a good view of the stage and an ok bar. Nothing fancy offered here in drinks.

Staff - Excellent. I was very impressed with how friendly everyone was. Entertainment staff were friendly and talented. Bar staff were all very nice. No complaints at all about the staff.

Conclusion - I loved this resort. It is big but they have golf carts that will pick you up if you don't feel like walking. I loved the layout of this resort. It is very beautiful, new and the staff are excellent. The food could improve and they hopefully will get more lounge chairs for the beach and pool. At 60% capacity it was perfect for me. Hopefully when its at 100% capacity it is also perfect. I will present this resort to my friends and tell them my concerns and let them decide whether we go or not. I would go back and I think it is the nicest resort in Varadero at this time.

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August 2008

lack of food service slow two weeks couldn't reserve the japanese restaurant always book maids go through your clothes after we had given the maid all kinds of clothes and shoes she had the gull to steal my daughters dvd player from the suitcase
the people at the swimming pool bar were great the weather was awesome

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August 2008

Flight and Arrival - After a 5 hour delay with Skyservice we were finally on our way to Varadero. We got there at 10pm and the check in was quick as NoliTours had a separate check in area and we were the only ones checking in at that time.
After a little wait we were taken to our room in Bungalow 29.

Room - Our room was clean and a fair size. We had email ahead for a king size bed but got two 3/4 beds instead. We just pushed them together and the maid left them like that and even made it with the king size sheets to help keep them together. She also was creative with the towels and sheets she left on the bed.
Big bathroom with the poorly designed shower/tub that everyone had complained about. So after reading the posts we put towels down before and after our shower. It was a little tough trying to get extra towels from the maid. It seems 4 was the limit and we needed an extra 2 for mopping up water. We got them twice.
Beach towels were in the room.
The safe was 2 pesos per day. We simply locked our passports in our suitcase.
Day 1 of our trip we had 2 bottles of water, 2 cans of beer and 3 colas in the fridge. She only restocked the bottles of water not the beer and colas.
We left tips and little gifts for our maid and even though she left us nice thank you notes in English it was hard communicating with her in regards to having extra towels or restocking the fridge. Nothing major so we let it go.

Restaurants - The buffet was OK. We are not fussy eaters so we always found something to eat and something that we liked.
They had theme nights and the dinners included roast turkey, lobster, salmon and duck.
The beef was just a bit on the chewy side. The pork and chicken were good.
The omelet and pasta stations were always busy with the wait time about 5-7 minutes. We didn't mind.
The wait staff in the restaurant was great and attentive whether you tipped or not. It was a pleasure to tip because the service was so good. Our favorite waitress Marisol gets honorary mention. She was so attentive to all the people she waited on and she was always smiling.
We went to the Japanese and Italian a la carte. The Japanese was great. Watching the meal being prepared in front of you is a nice visual. We didn't really enjoy the Italian as much.

Bars - We didn't have to wait too long to get a drink. The staff was professional and orderly so if you wait your turn you got service. If they weren't busy at the bar they would come to your table and ask if you wanted a refill.

Beach - Can't say enough about the beach. As a non- swimmer I could go out a good distance and still have the water only chest deep. It was beautiful.

Excursion - We booked the Havana day tour. NoliTour/Cubatur rep Carlos was a wealth of information and one of the nicest people to talk with. We loved Havana. The history and the sights were informative and breathtaking. Our tour included a lunch that was 'horrible'. They did something totally evil and unpalatable to the chicken. We also loved riding the Varadero Beach bus and took it from one end to the other getting on and off along the way.

Entertainment - There was entertainment nightly in various areas including the dining areas, the pool, the square or the theatre. We enjoyed it all. The theatre productions had some of the best dancers I've seen in comparison to the Dominican Republic, Mexico and Jamaica. We also went to the disco twice. It was fun.

Bugs - The only bad part of my vacation.
The mosquitos were huge, evil, vicious and downright nasty. I got bitten badly. Mostly on my arms and back during the daytime and on my face as I slept. We saw them spraying on 2 different days but I believed one of the bartenders who said the mosquitos wore masks so they were immune to the spray. Applying OFF with Deet only worked if you kept reapplying it every 20 minutes.
They showed me no mercy.

Depature/Checkout - Checkout was OK. They will automatically ask for payment for the safe and anything else they think you damaged, took or used. They tried to get us to pay for a missing umbrella that we knew nothing about. Once we explained that there was no umbrella he said OK.
Our bus was on time and off we went to the airport.

Conclusion - We loved La Salina and given the chance we will go back again. Having read the postings we knew what we were in for and in some instances we were pleasantly surprised. The resort is huge but we didn't mind the walk. We welcomed it after eating and drinking too much. There was also a trolley system that was always transporting people who didn't want to walk. Bungalow 29 had us about 7 minutes from the beach and 7 minutes from the main buffet. We met some very nice people who worked at the resort and also people who were vacationing. We came home with great memories and made some new friends. Any questions feel free to email me at grace25@295.ca

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July 2008

Arrival and Flight / check in: our flight left on july 10 2008. The flight down there was fine but the food was horrible. And one of my bags got torn in half. and sky service wouldn't help me so i had to jam all my clothes into my husbands bag. we stayed with the gold club so we were suppost to get an express check in but we didnt it toke us like an hour because there's so much stuff to fill in and lines it wasn't very good.

Rooms: the room where very clean. The first night we got there me and my sister had showers befor dinner and the water flooded our room and the water was coming through the bathroom wall! so we called the front desk and they said that they would send somone to come and fix it. ans someone came and left in about 5 minutes. And it still wasn't fixed so we called agian and no one came so we called agian and demanded to change rooms and by this time water was rushing into the room from the bathroom. so they sent a bell hop to help us change the rooms. and we got to the new room and the air conditioner was broken by this time it was about 12:30 am! so we called agian, and they sent a tec to fix it. and he said "oh i come back tommrow and fix it" and we said "no, we need this fixed now please" so he said " i will change your room for you" so he called the front desk and they sent somone out with the keys and moved us finally!

Restaurants: Omg! the a la cartes are to die for, the japeness is the best. We stayed in the gold club so we were suppost to get 4 a la cartes. but when we tryed the lady were you make the resevations said "oh no only two" so then my dad went back and said we need more al carts and she siad the same thing "oh no only two" so he gave her 5 cuc. and she said " what do you want" he came back with 5. any way they were all really good. the buffets omg! ewwwwwwwwww they where so bad. the part that we didn't get was if the sevice and the food is so good in the a la cartes then why can't they be like that in the buffets? The piano bar is the best place to go after dinner for a drink, there's no smoking aloud there theres somone playing the piano and it quiet. the loby is horrbile after dinenr there a tun of smoking there and it's so busy.

The snake bar by the pool has a buffet at lunch i do not recomend it. But if you order off the menu it way better. for breakfast don't go to the main buffet if you can help it. go to the beach grill it dosn't have that much on the buffet but the service is way better. The bar lines are not that long except at the loby bar. we spent like the hole time at the beach the lines at the beach bar/grill arn't that long but the beach bar isn't that close to the beach but your on vaction so who cares if you have to walk a bit what's the rush?

Activities and Entertainment: The shows where out standing! They performers where very interactive with the audience. The perfomer in the piano bar was so good. The activties that they do are fun but it's like one day they have it the next they don't it's not very consistent.

Tours: we went on the jeep safari it was so fun! you go off roading in a jeep that you drive, you go to this place for lunch( wasn't very good) and go boating down this river (you get to drive the boat)Then across the river you get in another jeep and drive to this fresh water spring ina cave and you get to swim and then they take you back to hotel. We also did this thing where you hire a cab driver for the day and he drives you to havana and see old buidings and war memorials it' so fun and very intenesting and you pick where you want to go.

Departure and Check Out: we desided to check out the night befor so we wouldn't have to wait in a line to check out wich was smart. our flight was at 11:20 am. and the bus picked us up like 7:30 wich was dumb, because when we got to the airport we just sat around for like 3 hours waiting. our flight was fine the food was better they played a movie it was a text book flight.

Conclusion: my conclusion is if your flexable with bad food then you'll survive. The tours are good the rooms are clean but a bit broken. But you do have to fill in alot of paper work to go to there contoury. all in all it great.

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May 2008

Hi Debbie:
We just got back from Sirenis La Salina and had a great time. We arrived on May 8th to the 15th. The beach was spectacular and we had no problem getting shelter on the beach because the resort was running at half full. However, we would not want to be there at full capacity. The beach is very narrow and you are very close to your neighbour. The staff for the most part were friendly, however, we have found at smaller resorts, the staff are friendlier. While we were there, we found that the shuttle service throughout the resort was not running at all times, so if you do not like to walk far this resort is not for you. We did not mind the walk. It is such a beautiful resort, it was nice to see everything. The food was just fine, people do not go to Cuba for the food, however, on a scale of 1 to 10 we found it to be about a 7. The a la carte restaurants that we tried we terrific and we would rate them at a 10. We tried the Italian and Japanese.

We took the trip into Havana, which was worthwhile. When in Cuba I think that trip is a must. To see the history.

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May 2008

Arrival and Flight : We flew Air Canada Vacations. Left on time good flight, one flight attendant with an attitude, rest ok. Arrived on time, right to hotel, quick check-in.

Rooms: Great room, King size bed, view of new hotel construction, didn't care not in room long enough to notice. Bldg.39 super housekeeping girl (Mylet).

Restaurants : Buffet was great,also French & Italian ala cartes were superb. Poll snack bars were adequate.

Bars: Lots of them, Lobby bar quite busy and noisy, preferred the piano bar at night. Pool bars and staff excellent considering our 1st week there were about 2300 guest.

Beach and Pools: Beach very small and crowded, stayed at quiet pool mostly, activity pool pretty busy with games dances etc.

Grounds: During the 2 weeks we were there the gardeners were out in full force mowing,watering replaces flowers and plants. The grounds looked better as we left.

Activities and Entertainment : Lots of activities available, entertainment every night in the square before the main show in the theatre. Very good in both places.

Tours: We went on 2 tours 1 to Havana and the other to the Bellemare caves, that was incredible to see. We got invited to one of the staffs home for lunch and they arranged a horse and buggy ride to see their city. They treated us like family.

Departure and Check Out : Check out was quick, left on time much better crew on ACV on the way home. Conclusion:After reading the bad reviews about this hotel and enjoying it as much as we did, I guess you can't please some people no matter what. One other note, these people are not your personal slaves, you would not treat hotel staff at home the way I seen some people do. nor would you throw your garbage, butts and glasses on the walkways and grass areas at a hotel wherever your from. REMEMBER:Respect & a Smile goes a long way in any country.

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April 2008

Arrival and Flight - April 14th till April 21st ( late night flight and extremely early departure home)

Rooms - Bright and roomy. King size bed with nice pillows. Room was really clean. Mold in room from leaky showers. But over all very nice.

Restaurants - lots of different things to choose from. Food not like home but can't complain. Always something there for everyone. A la Carts are great, book once you check in or else the may be all booked up. Keep checking back if the al la cartes are booked up as there do get some openings. Japanese and French and the Cuban al a cartes are good. Only allowed two. We got an extra a la cart as we attended a wedding an the wedding reception was at the French a la carte.

Bars - great , lot's of bars

Beach and Pools - awesome. There should be no complaints about them. The pools are lit up at night is so pretty.

Grounds - Huge takes about 10-15 minutes to walk from the beach to the main lobby. I enjoyed the walk as it is nicely manicured and well lit up at night. ( the walk is to long for small kids and elderly) (They should get room close to the lobby)

Activities and Entertainment - Show every night at the theatre. I was really impressed

Tours - You have to go on the catermeran tour awesome. They take you snorkeling and to a beautiful island. ( there is a gift shop on the island, good prices too, so bring money)

Departure and Check Out - 2:00 am check out as bus was picking us up at 3:00, flight was @ 7:00 arrived in Calgary @ 10:30 so very long night. But went fast.

Over all our trip was great. The wedding we attended was beautiful. Very pleased over all. I would come back.

Oh ya pack big cups and bug repellant. Mosquitoes were bad the last two nights we were there.

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April 2008

We travelled with another couple to the Sirenis La Salina in Varadero Cuba from April 3 to April 10th. We flew out of Quebec City with Airtransat. We're from the Maritimes and Quebec is the closest for us. Moncton did not have good flight hours and Halifax was way to far. The flight went pretty good but lots of turbulence. I did not find that we were cramped in our seats like previous times. This is our 4th time in Cuba and it will always remain our favourite spot no matter what. We went to the Sirenis La Salina with an open mind. We had read reviews and knew what to expect. For those of you that don't read reviews and are not paying attention, if a new resort just opened, please give them a chance. All previous reviews I read before leaving gave me warnings that this resort had a few problems and were trying to work it out.

Here are my positive and a few negative points:

Rooms: were very nice and everything was clean and brand new. This is nice when you go to a new resort. We had a king size bed in block 20 which is beside the main buffet. It was quiet and close to the quiet pool(no it isn't very quiet, fun place to hang out). We had asked for a few requests and did not get them. I had email the resort and they always replied back that they would do there best, did not happen. The resort was full to the max and it was hard for them to accommodate.

Pools: Two pools, one closer to the beach where all the activities take place, lots of people there. The other pool is very nice also and has the two best bartenders on the resort. We made friends with Boris which has a great personality and works very hard. We tipped al week and got the best service ever but don't get me wrong, we noticed that everyone was getting the best service ever, tip or no tip. He treated everyone equally and did his best. I saw a few people being nasty and he still kept a big smile......what is it with you people. Is there a reason why you have to be nasty on vacation, is it just part of your culture? The resort consisted of maybe 90% of Canadians, please be nice and stop messing up our reputation.

Resort: The resort itself is very big and I find that the set up could have been better. It is a long walk from the lobby to the beach. We ourselves were OK with it but I could see that some people with kids would find it hard depending where there block was situated. Carrying bags, toys, towels etc would be a little overwhelming with families. We ourselves were OK, it did us some good cause those drinks were very good and high in calories. They should look at putting another buffet restaurant. Too many people for only 1 buffet. It was always packed. They could not keep up with the food and re-stocking. You could go early and it was still the same way. Also they should fix the driving paths, someone will get run over soon. It isn't wide enough and when a small cart comes your way you have to jump on the grass or flower beds to get out of the way. When they met with two carts on opposite directions, wow! They were tearing everything apart, flowers, lawns etc.....then they carry the mud on the walking paths and you feel you are walking in, well you know!

Beach: The beach was nice but not like in front of the Sandals or Paridissus in Varadero. The sand was not as fine and it consisted of a lot of broken shells. A few rocks in the water so watch your toes. We still enjoyed the beach very much. You could walk for miles and it was safe and very nice. We had chairs but no shade. We when one early morning around 6:60 and everything was already taken........lol. I couldn't believe it. I think a guy on the beach reserved all of them himself(a Cuban), attached old pieces of clothes on them and then gave them out to people he met from the resort and promised them to keep on for them. They would tip him everyday to keep chairs and shade for them. This should be look at by the resort. I don't mind people getting up early and going out to reserve shade at the beach but the way he's doing it is wrong. I knew for sure it was him doing it because you should have seen what he was taking to reserve the chairs, you'll see.

Food: The food in general was good but it was the crowds that were hard. People would cut in lines and not respect other guests. It was hard because the resort had approx 2400 people the week we were there so you meet all kinds. And no it is not all French people that are nasty and not all people from Quebec either. I'm French and from the Maritimes and made great friends from Quebec. Yes, I know many of them are impolite, rude, and arrogant but we saw nasty people from other countries and other Canadian provinces that were rude so it does happen everywhere. Be nice , have patience or don't travel. We tried the Japanese restaurant and the Steak House. We enjoyed both but the Steak House was our favourite. We could only get two reservations, the resort could not handle more than two. People were complaining about the restaurants a la carte reservations, we booked what we could and went in Varadero in the evenings for great dinning. Try it! Be adventurous. Great local people, terrific music and the food is to die for.

Remember, go with an open mind and have fun. This resort will improve with time, just give it a chance.

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April 2008

We returned from our trip to Cuba on April 1. The hotel La Salinas was just fine with a few minor glitches. We were booked three in the room due to an addition to our group, but we had trouble getting the extra bed. We had one cramped night with three in the bed, but late the second night we got a cot. We had a senior along, and the carts were a blessing and a real necessity for getting to the beach, as it was about a kilometer away. The pool and the food places were handy for her to get to. WE had read all kinds of scaty review before we went. Wait lines were no worse than at the other resort we had stayed at. You have to expect waits when there are a lot of people, and they were not unreasonable. The Trypp had nicer grounds, but they are not as new. I think in a year or two, the Salinas vegetation will have matured.

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April 2008

Arrival and Flight
We were in Cuba from April 6-14. We are 25 and 27 and have been a away to a few other Caribbean resorts before- first time in Cuba

Flight: The usual- we checked in at midnight so there weren't many others it was fast.

Rooms
Nice and big- good beds and pillows. Small problem with the shower- it leaks all over the floor, but we figured out the problem and just used towels to block the spill
We were with Nolitours and our room was in Building 34- very close to the beach and somewhat close to the activity pool. We thought the location was perfect

Restaurants
The buffet was alright- I mean Cuban food is different than what we are used to in Canada- there's always something to eat though- We didn't love it, but we aren't complainers and didn't starve

The beach grill is nice- you can get hot dogs and hamburgers daily if you are picky, but they also had fish and other things there as well. They do a breakfast bar too- its small but its got all the basics

All of the "snack bars" have hot dogs, hamburgers, sandwiches and sometimes pizza that you can pretty much get all day- these places all have a breakfast as well similar to the beach grill We ate at the Cuban restaurant- which was alright and at the Japanese restaurant- it was really good and entertaining.

Bars
-the bars here are fine. We read so many negative reviews about the resort, waiting in line for drinks, not being served, serving minors, but we didn't find that you ever had to wait longer than a few minutes- what's the rush anyway??? The resort was fully booked and it wasn't that bad. Yes they use a lot of Rum and yes the drinks are sometimes inconsistant, but that is the Cuban way. If you don't like that much Rum, then ask for less, or none at all, the staff can't read your mind. If you notice your underage teenagers are drinking too much, then use those parenting skills and cut them off, I don't think that's the responsibility of the staff.

The beach bar is nice- its not right on the beach, but some days they had staff set up serving drinks on the beach.
The lobby bar was nice- but very busy
The piano bar was less busy and had nice music, it turned into a disco after the nightly show. We are young and typically hit up the disco most nights when we are away. If you are looking for this kind of thing, this resort might not be for you. After the show people would go for about half hour but then it would be pretty dead. The staff didn't go either on the nights we checked it out anyway.

Beach and Pools
- the pools are all nice. The activity pool is pretty popular with the slide and the swim up cave bar. There's also another pool that's quieter and a small kids pool.

-the beach is SO gorgeous! Wow! We spent everyday there. Probably the best part of the trip was seeing that beach everyday. If you want an umbrella you have to be there early to get one. If you don't care, you can get lounge chairs all day- they seem to have lots of these.
- if you walk down the beach on either side of the hotel there are locals that hang out on the beach. They aren't allowed on the beach in front of the hotel. They are friendly and want to try to sell or trade things for shells. You can't bring the shells back to Canada though- so we heard. We were approached a few times, not for money but for things like soap and shampoo. They really need shoes, hats and long sleeve shirts. I gave a kid some running shoes and it was like he won the lottery. My boyfriend was wearing a light weight long sleeve shirt one day and several of the beach workers wanted to know if they could trade him a bottle of rum for it- because they are really ahrd to get in Cuba, but good for the Cuban winters where its colder for them but they have to be on the beach all day. We brought lots of stuff to give away and tried to give it mainly to the people that don't receive tips- like the ground people/gardeners- a shirt, some shampoo, some candies or a few pesos can go a long way for someone who only makes 15 pesos a month. They are all so appreciative to get anything

Grounds
- really nice, big yes, but what's wrong with walking? Plus they have extended golf carts that you can hop on if you want

Activities and Entertainment
- we thought that this is where the resort was lacking in some areas. We're active and like to stay active while on vacation. The hotel info says they have volleyball and basketball. Well they don't have a volleyball net any more because it kept breaking. Finally at the end of the week some others at the resort made a volleyball net with umbrella branches and string. They have a basketball court that's nice, but the basketball is ruined- it has no leather outside anymore because it has been ripped off- so it doesnt' really work. We also tried to get bocce balls one day but the set had a bunch missing. Bottom line- for these kind of activities- bring your own stuff if you want to play -there are catamaran and paddle boats on the beach too- and snorkelling masks too

-the gym is nice and although we didn't look at the teniis courts, we saw people were heading there all the time The night entertainment was the best overall I've seen compared to other resorts.

Tours
- we went to Havana for a day. Not on a tour, but with a local. It was half the price and nice because it was 4 to 1- so we could ask so many questions and we didn't have to wait for people to get on and off the bus...He still took us to all the tourist areas and he seemed surprised when we asked him if we could just walk around the streets with the locals- but that was the best part. The resort, the markets in both Varadero and Havana are all built for tourist, there isn't as much culture there. Havana is worth the visit for sure. We also did a small stop in Matanza- also nice to see.

We rented scooters a few times and went to Varadero- it was lots of fun- great beach there.

We also went to La Rumba, (a local disco) one night. It was 10 CUC to get in and cheap drinks. It was good, a lot like bars here- not too much different. A mix of locals and tourists

Departure and Check Out
-smooth

Conclusion
-overall the trip was great. We had awesome weather and with a beach like that you can't go wrong. We are patient people and open minded and thought this resort was good. The size of the resort didn't bother us in terms of walking, but one thing we did miss was that it wasn't as personable as other resorts we've been too. The staff are so busy that you can't get to know them as well. The resort was mostly middle age adults, not many of kids or younger people. We hung out with a fun middle age crowd a few nights, but if you are looking for other twenty years olds or other kids for your ids to hang out with the week we were there there weren't many- maybe that was because of the time of year?. Overall I'd give th resort a 7/10- for the price it was SO worth it.

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April 2008

My teenage daughters and I just returned from Cuba on April 7, 2008. We stayed at Hotel Salina and loved it. The resort was clean and we felt totally safe. The first day we did all the house keeping things such as booking tours, booking al la carte meals and exchanging money. The line ups were only a few people long! When we booked to stay at Hotel Salina we booked the “Chameleon package – it’s a Nolitour package” and with that, we got separate designated check in. We did not wait at all for check in. We had our room key and we were on the golf cart being taken to our room within 5 minutes. From the lobby to the beach is a 10 minute walk. The food is different then us Canadians are use to but there was enough variety you could always find something you liked. The cheese pizza at the quiet pool snack bar was very good as was the Italian a la carte restaurant. There were no issues at all with mosquitoes as we heard there were at other hotels.

We did the Catamaran tour to Cayo Blanco. It was beautiful and relaxing. The day tour to Havana was educational and the tour through the cigar factory is a must! We also did the Jeep Safari trip which we totally enjoyed. There were 4 people to each Suzuki Jeep. I drove ours and we went 4X4 around the woods of Varadero (what a blast). Later we were taken to snorkel. This snorkeling was way better then what we seen on the Catamaran tour. After snorkeling we went to a cave which has a fresh water pool and swam there. Lunch was at a typical Cuban ranch. Of our excursions, the Jeep Safari would be the one we would definitely recommend!!!

Some tips for the trip: take a travel mug to keep your beverages cool. There is a “Beach Tour Bus” that goes every ½ hour from the hotel into Varedero. It cost 5 pesos per day to ride and you can ride from 9:00 am to 9:00 pm. Hotel Salina is the newest resort in Varadero and is the last on the resort strip. It takes about 45 minutes from the hotel to Varadero on the beach tour bus as the bus stops at all the resorts on the way into Varadero.

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April 2008

First trip to Cuba for both myself and my fiancé. We were in Cuba from March 31st to April 2 , 2008 The flight was good, though a bit long due to head wind… 5 1\2 hours instead of 4 but fairly smooth and this coming from a person that is petrified of flying. We left Moncton 9:15 am got to the resort around 2:45 Cuba time. We booked with Sunquest, so we were told to go to this room to check in. Go tour room # and bottle of rum then went to lobby to get keys for room… Well apparently room was not ready. Were told it would be ready in 20 minutes. So we changed, got out stuffed locked up and went exploring the resort. After a few frustration and 4 trips to lobby to see if room was ready, we finally got are room about 2 ½ to 3 hours later. Which seemed longer due that we were tired from having to be at airport at 6:30 and the long flight.. When we got in the room the first thing we noticed there was mold on the wall next to bathroom, so we opened the patio door to air out the room, we both have mold allergies. We changed to go for supper then when closing the door realize that the patio door didn’t lock and the fact that we were on the ground floor meant that anybody could walk in at anytime. So we went to lobby and told them about the problem, and within 20 minutes we were in another room on second floor, no mold and well patio door still didn’t lock, but we felt safer.

That being said, the rest of our experience at the Salina was great. There was plenty of food, the walk didn’t bother us any, we both like to walk. Even with food allergies which limits what I can eat….There was always plenty to chose from. The chicken and porkchops were always good. They had rice and fresh fruits and fresh breads and tons of other stuff to chose from.

We did the Catamaran tour to Cayo Blanco and it was great. We also took in the Havanah day tour… Our guide was great, lots of info… the trip is long 4 hours of driving all together, but worth it, it’s not something I would do again. But don’t regret doing it. But would definitely do the catamaran tour

Would we return to Cuba, definitely, would we return to this resort. Maybe a few years down the line, but we would like to try another resort first to have something to compare too. Would we recommend it to our friends. Depending what they are looking for. All in all it was a good trip. The weather was great every day we were there. Warm and sunny. The second day we were there the locals were saying it was a cold day, 28 degrees and sunny… I’ll take that compare to Moncton weather same day -15 windchill.

Beside the wait for the room and having to change room, perfect holiday.

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April 2008

Our group of 6 adults (mid thirties to late fifties) and one child (6) just returned from a week at Sirenis. We enjoyed the trip but all ended up with mixed feelings about this resort. For a little background, this was our third trip to Varadero, and we have stayed in a different resort each time not because we didn't enjoy them but because we like to try different resorts each trip. We have stayed at Iberostar Varadero (loved everything about it), Blau Varadero (loved everything except the elevators) and now Sirenis la Salina. I'm not going to go into the flights, the airport or anything else outside of the resort except to say they were uneventful. We flew out of Calgary with Nolitours flying on Transat. The short version of my review is this:

Pros - beautiful resort, lots of trees, lovely landscaping, great staff, new buildings, good size rooms, great pools, good food.

Cons - huge delay getting room on arrival, too big, seriously flawed bathrooms in rooms and around resort, not enough bars open in evening. Overall this is a beautiful resort with a fantastic staff that, with some minor changes, could be amazing. Would I go back? No. Would I recommend it to others? Yes, with warnings. If you are interested in more detail, read the following:

Cons:

Check-in
We arrived after our night flight at about 6 am Cuba time. Check-in was the first, and most major, issue of the trip. It took about 45 minutes to get through to the check in table only to find out that there were no rooms available for any of the people on our flight. That wasn't really a huge issue as we had packed bathing suits, change of clothes, sunscreen, etc in our carry on. We were then told that our room should be ready around 2:00 that afternoon. We thought there might be a delay but 8 hours? We weren't expecting that. We were told to leave our luggage and anything we felt we didn't need in the check-in room. We didn't want to leave the cameras, other electronics, passports, money and valuables in the room so we took our carry on luggage with us and left our checked bags in the room. We asked where we could go to change out of our travelling clothes and were told to go find a bathroom. We were not given any information about the resort, no towels, no map, no idea of where to eat, etc. We were basically left to fend for ourselves for 8 hours. We headed to the lobby at 2:00 only to be told it wasn't ready yet and to check back at 4:00. By this point my husband and I had been up for about 40 hours, my daughter was not feeling well from lack of sleep and too much heat/sun, and I was nursing a pretty substantial sunburn inspite of my 45 spf sunscreen. I pleaded with the front desk to please find us a room that was ready as we badly needed sleep and to get out of the heat. They were reluctant but did find us a room across the hall from our original room that was ready. Unfortunately, this meant giving up the cot we had requested on booking for our daughter as they were not willing to have it moved to the new room but we were happy just to get a room and with the two doubles pushed together, there was enough room for the three of us. The others in our party did not get their rooms until after 7 pm that night leaving them to fend for themselves for over 13 hours. Having a few hours delay between arrival and room assignment would have been inconvenient but acceptable. Having an 8 to 13 hour delay was not. I'm not sure if the resort or the tour operator caused the delay but regardless it didn't start the trip off on a very good note. We slept most of the remainder of the day and when we woke up the next morning decided to just forget about the first day and start fresh.

Too Big
The resort is absolutely huge. In my opinion it’s too big. The walk from the lobby to the beach (and our room) was a 10 minute walk at a reasonable pace. We enjoy walking so this didn't really bother us but is something you really need to be prepared for if you are considering this resort. What bothered us about the size is that they didn't seem to consider that when setting up the timing for things like bars closing to become a la carte restaurants. From 6 pm to 9 pm or so, you could only get a drink from the lobby bars or the buffet which are both on one end of the resort. For the people who have rooms on that end of the resort, that was great but for those of us who were on the beach side, that meant a 10 minute walk to the bar for a drink. After 8 pm the theatre bar would be open for drinks but would absolutely packed with people waiting to see the shows. There really should be a bar on the beach side open the same hours that the lobby bar is open on the lobby side. We couldn't figure out why the beach bar closed after 6 pm. It turns into the Mediterranean al la carte at night but only a very small portion of the building is used for the restaurant and the actual bar area is not used at all.

Bathrooms
They really need to reconsider the bathrooms on the resort. The showers flood if you aren't very careful and the taps on the sinks in the rooms are too small for the gap between the tap and the bowl so unless you turn the tap on full blast, you will flood the counter top. Many of the bathrooms in the rooms and around the resort also don’t flush well regardless of which one of the dual flushes you use. These things didn't really bother us once we figured out how to compensate for them but are something this resort is really going to need to look at for the future.

Pros:

Grounds
The resort is very beautiful. There are sculptures everywhere and there are amazing areas filled with all different kinds of trees including mature cactus. The gardeners do a wonderful job. There is a plant on the resort in certain places that my daughter found very amusing. It’s a “sensitive” plant called Mimosa that is a member of the same family as the flytrap plants. When you touch it, it closes its leaves and will stay that way for about 10 minutes and open back up. There are patches of it all over the grounds, especially around the theatre.

Staff
We found all of the staff to be very friendly. The waiters and waitresses in the buffet and the two a la cartes we visited were great. The staff at the reception desk was very friendly. Our maid, Wendy, was outstanding. The bartenders were top notch. The cart drivers were fantastic. The staff really makes this resort as far as I'm concerned.

Pools
The pools are really well laid out and fun. The waterslide was a HUGE hit with the kids and a few of the adults. Having two completely separate pools was nice. When you wanted a party, you could go to the waterslide pool and when you wanted to just relax, the quiet pool was a nice alternative.

Food
We found the food quite good. Even our extremely picky daughter found things to eat at every meal. The omelettes at the snack bar and the buffet were a great breakfast item, the burgers and hotdogs at the snack bar were a real hit at lunch. The dinners in the buffet were quite good. The Mediterranean a la carte was okay but we were disappointed to find out it's just another buffet with similar food to the main buffet so not really a treat. The French a la carte was outstanding and even included a kids menu which was a blessing for us with our picky eater. We did one excursion that I didn't see mentioned in any of the other reviews I've read so I thought I would mention it. If you have a group of up to nine people and are interested in seeing Havana, check into the Havana A la Carte trip. This is basically the Havana trip that the buses take but in a minivan with your own personal driver and guide. It doesn't include any of the museum tours or lunch in the price but, if you're willing to pay for those when you go, you can enjoy a private tour on your schedule and with only your group. We've taken the Havana bus tours before and found this to be a far more enjoyable experience for not much more money.

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March 2008

This trip was my second to this resort, the first time was in November 2007, and now in March. Last trip was with my husband, this time I took my 6 year old daughter and my mother.

Check In
Went smoothly. We had requested a room upgrade for being a return customer, we never received one, we were placed in building 24 which is fairly close to the Lobby, buffet and the kids pool. We arrived at approx. 6pm and our room was ready.

Room
The room was impeccably clean and there was a stocked fridge. We also received two beach towels which was different, on our first trip we had to place a $15 CUC towel deposit at the front desk and get them from the towel hut by the rowdy pool. Our maid Sara was awesome, we tipped her $5 CUCs the first, third and fifth day of our stay, in between we left her small things, and in return we always had plenty of towels, a spotless room and a stocked fridge. One thing about bldg 24, it is close to the resort they are building next door(part 2 of the Sirenis Mega Resort) and the construction starts at 6 am, so if you like to sleep do not get a room in this building as you can hear the equipment going, trucks backing up etc.

Buffet and A La Cartes
A lot of previous reviews have trashed the food and the buffet and unfairly I think. Since our last stay the staff have worked really hard to get things running smoothly in the buffet. I found the food was always hot, the variety was good, we stuck to the cuban dishes and seafood and never had complaints. The food at the fresh station in the middle of the buffet area was always grilling up something awesome, and their omelettes in the morning are excellent. I had pork chops one night and they had chicken on the buffet three times. If you cannot find something you like then you are the world's hardest person to please. You were only allowed to book two a la cartes so this time I picked the Mediterranean and the Cuban. The Cuban was amazing, it is by the quiet pool and the service, ambience and food were a ten. The Mediterranean is where the beach grill is during the day, we were not impressed with this one. The food was good, but it was buffet style, you had to get up and get your own food. They should not advertise this as an a la carte. Also, the service was not as good here, the waitress got us water and then never returned again to see if we needed anything else. I would not recommend this one for service. A few mornings we ate breakfast by the rowdy pool, they served croissants, fresh fruit etc and the lunches at the beach grill were good too.

Pools
There are two, we hung out at what I call the rowdy pool. This is where the animation team does their games etc, and an improvement over our last trip is that this time they were actively going around the pool trying to get people involved. My 6 year old lived in the pool and went on the water slide so many times I swear she lost weight. The bartenders were great with her too and never ignored her when she went up to the bar for a pop. The other pool is close to the lobby and has a quieter atmosphere, so if you don't like a lot of kids or rowdy teens spend your time at this pool.

Beach
Beautiful, shallow, and long. Loved it, the beach and the people are why I keep on returning to Cuba!

Evening Entertainment
Great nightly shows, and a live cuban band plays every night by the theatre. Nightclub is not great.

Negatives
We had a great vacation but this resort is not without its issues. Below are the negatives: - it is too big for itself. This is more a personal thing, I don't like mega resorts and this one at capacity has approx. 2500 people. This means waiting in line, for money exchange, to book the a la cartes, at the buffet, at the bar... - money exchange. They rip us Canadians off huge in Cuba on money. There is an exchange office in the hotel that gave us $1.06, at the front desk it was $1.15! The exchange changes daily with often times some huge swings, that do not reflect the reality of our dollar. - line ups. I referred to this already, be prepared to stand in line a lot. This is a function of the resort being too big. - they charge $2 CUCs per day for the safe. I have stayed at four other resorts in Cuba and none of them charged for this. It is a small amount, but they seem to nickel and dime you everywhere. - They have seven a la cartes but will only allow you to book two of them for a one week stay, and half the time the good ones are booked. - Power and water shortages. One day the resort was without water from 10am until sometime after 9pm. The last time we were there they had a power outage for a whole day. Again, the resort cannot handle its capacity. - Cleanliness. The buffet and lobby get quite dirty, even though the staff works around the clock to try and keep it clean. Again, a function of the size of the resort. - A lot of Seaweed washed up on the beach one morning and no effort was made to clean it up(this is minor unless you are grossed out by seaweed) but they raked the beach one morning and then not again(maybe their tractor ran out of gas lol). - Not nearly enough palapas on the beach, which caused people to fight over the shade that there was. There are not enough umbrellas by the pool either, and people go out and leave their towels at 6 am to hold an umbrella!

Final Recommendation
This resort is a solid 4 star, but no more. Will I go there again? No, because I like a smaller resort with less people and a more relaxed atmosphere, this place was just too big and busy, and service suffered as a result. The staff there are amazing however, they made our holiday and we rewarded them for their efforts as they really tried hard!

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March 2008

We thoroughly enjoyed our stay at this resort (Feb 7-14/08) Everything was so new and clean. There were a few maintenance concerns, the showers do definitely leak, it’s the design of the tub and shower, adjust the shower pressure and lay down the towels. Activate the safe as soon as you unpack, the resort does know when you use it because you activate it with your own code. (2 pesos a day). Was nice to have a balcony, second floor was great. Food was great, wasn’t Canadian standards some people expect, lots of food and variety. Beach Grill/Bar good for breakfast. Make reservations for A la cart restaurants as soon as you can after arriving, they book up. Japanese was exceptional and Cuban was that much better than the main buffet. The resort wasn’t crowded, no delays in registration, no line-up for meals etc. Would not recommend this resort for the elderly or physically impaired as it is large and spread-out. We loved the extra walking. Minibus transportation quickly took us and our luggage to our room after check-in, called the night before check-out and they arrived to pick us up. Will stop anytime during the day and pick up walkers if not full with the check- ins or check-outs. Also can call from your room for a pick-up if available. Bring Kleenex, face cloths if you like- none available. The beach was fantastic, loads of lounges and sunshades. Lots of activities on the beach and at the pools. The tourists should pick up there own litter. Our second trip to Cuba and we would certainly recommend this resort to your friends.

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March 2008

We arrived March 6th-13th inclusive. The hotel came as a recommendation from our travel agent. Yes the hotel is huge & lovely, and the rooms spacious however it does have its bugs that need to be worked out. We arrived by Air Canada the 6:30 am flight so we arrived at the hotel by about 11:00 am after being the last drop off point. My agent had requested for adjoining rooms for me & my three children, however I wasn't suprised upon check in to find out we weren't even in the same building. After asking for anything closer together at least in the same building or the same floor, she finally located 2 adjoining rooms but they wouldn't be ready until 4:00 pm! I did expect this so I made sure that the children had their swim suits & towels in their carry on bag. At this point I was given a map (which was hard to understand) and we were on our own to explore. I did review many reports on here & trip advisor so I was already aware of the shortfalls. The beach is approx 1.5 km away from the lobby. The beach is nice however more so the far right the beach is more beautiful. It is also too narrow for the size of the resort, and I find it hard to understand why they are expanding this to a phase 3 & 4. This resort does have the makings of a 5star, but Vegas "it ain't". The "noisy" pool has a waterslide as mentioned in the other reviews, however it should be monitored by a guard to ensure that the children leave adequate time between people going down to avoid accidents at the bottom of the pool. There is a beach bar & grill which is nice that serves breakfast & lunch, as well here at the "noisy" pool too. There is another pool called the "quiet Pool" which is less structured and noisy and also serves a nice breakfast & lunch. The water here is warmer than the noisy pool. WE had 2 bad days of weather so there was a lot of sea weed ashore by the ocean. As it was not groomed my children & I stayed at the activities at the noisy pool. The Buffet was less than desirable. You are allowed 2 of the 6 a la carte restaurant reservations, and the food there was great. Now if they can make food like that there, why not at the buffet. Also, I did notice (as I am a professional chef), that there weren't enough serving utensils for each food choice, plus the cooks who cooked up the pork chops, minute steakes and fish, used the same utensils for the raw food as for the cooked food....that is a huge mistake & hence the reason why my daughter got an upset tummy as did one of my friends who happened to be at this resort at the same time as us. Good thing we had our immodium & gravol! Also please note that I witnessed the spraying for bugs twice during the week both taking place between 6:15-6:30 pm. This seems quite dangerous to me as they spray regardless of who's arround. You might be enroute somewhere around the paths, or by the pools and/or beach or going back to your room. They spray for bugs not caring about the people around. This is something that could be done perhaps on a daily or every other day thing after midnight when no one is around the property! I didn't appreciate seeing people breathing in this "Raid" type product. Be sure to book your a la carte reservations when you arrive but don't waste your time in line! Go back around 1:00 or so. Same with money exchange. Don't be in line 1 hr to change money 1st thing in the morning go later in the day & take note that there is one located near the spa that no one seems to know about! Cabs are hard to get and you do have to bargain with them! Try to make use of the double decker bus for $5 pesos all day or $2.00 pesos for one way. The catamaran ride was worth it as something different to do, and it takes you to Cayo Blanco (White Island), however, there is nothing Blanco about the Cayo! Yes there is white sands, but only after you walk past about 4 feet of sea weed to clearer waters. The lunch there that they serve you is nice! I'm just surprised the grounds aren't groomed especially knowing that there are about 5-6 catamarins each day that travel there. Surely there are exquisite beaches somewhere on Varadero! Do bring, peanut butter, syrup (there is any at all), granola bars or snacks if travelling with children. Yes there is something edible to find at the buffet, however even my children who are not picky eaters, were tired of the buffet by the 3rd day. Your beach towels will be found in your room, however changing them for fresh ones can be a challenge. There was a line up for them at the one towel hut each day! Try to go in the afternoon. Lobby bar & cafe are a great place to hang out, esspressos and cappacino are great. Getting a good drink is hit & miss. For some reason they seem they give you far too much alcohol in the small glass provided and not enough of a mix. Also a good idea is to bring your own plastic bottles with straws (I purchased from the dollar store) as they give you small glasses. This will eliminate how often you have to go to the busy bar to get a drink & eliminate waste too. Overall this was a 7 / 10 trip. Would I go back ... not unless they hire more staff to attend to the 2,300 + in attendance at this resort.

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March 2008

My husband and I had a wonderful time at Sirenis La Salina Veradero. We were there from Feb.16 to Feb.23. The beach is magnificent. The resort is beautiful and huge. We do not mind walking since it is a good exercise. Our room is clean, and the service people at the resort, including our chambermaid, are very friendly. We took the Havana Historian excursion, and loved every minute of it. We wanted to go back as soon as we left. Before we went for the trip we read quite a few reviews complaining the bad food in the resort and generally in Cuba. Wondering how bad it could be we found out it is not the case. It all depends on how you think. Some people think the food in Cuba is bad. From a country of plenty, like Canada, to a country of not much, like Cuba where common Cubans usually can not afford to have pork on their dinner tables, those people who complain simply do not realise how fortunate they are. Emigrating from a communism country where we grew up having less, we understand and deeply appreciate what the Cubans have done for the tourists. Cuba is not famous for its cuisine. With what they know and have, they have done their best. For common Cubans the life at those resorts is probably like haven. We should not take things for granted. There is plenty of food to choose from at the resort main buffet, and even better food at the a la carte restaurants. You can always find something you like. It is all about attitude. Think and act positively, find beauty in every situation, try to enjoy every moment, and you will find yourself having a good time.

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March 2008

Arrival - I travelled with my husband and daughter to this resort Feb.27-Mar.5. We are in our 30's and my daughter is 4. Sunwing was the tour operator and airline. No issues with the flight out or coming home - both smooth and slightly delayed on the way home. The airport was quick and painless. There is a guy who sells beer by the buses out front, which was great for the bus ride - which was about 40 minutes. We arrived to the resort at around noon and the bellman directed us to the room for check-in, which took about 20 minutes as we were last in line. The room was ready to go (early!), but the rain was really coming down, so we waited for our turn to be driven by cart. The room was lovely, but we had to move as we requested a king bed with a cot, not 2 beds (they are unfortunately true 3/4 beds and small). We ate at the buffet (not bad, really!), and then went to the front desk to be moved. They were very friendly and were able to move us, but we would have to wait a couple of days for the cot as they were all booked. We opted to do this and 3 days later (with much effort) the cot arrived at 7:00 pm. The sunwing rep was very helpful with this and made sure that we finally received the bed (it had been requested when we originally booked 3 months prior). Over all though, we found the staff to be very accommodating and pleasant.

Rooms - The rooms are very spacious and nice. Good beds - big pillows and lots of hangers/shelves/drawers for clothing. There is a string in the shower for hanging wet items - although some were smart and brought string and a few cloths pins to hang on the balcony, which really worked well! The beach towels were in the room waiting. The bathrooms are not perfect - the shower does have it's issues with water leaking and there is mold on the walls. Too bad as it will be costly to repair! But overall, very nice, everything was in working order and the water was always hot no matter what time of day. The maid was very nice and thanked us for the gifts we left. The staff really did seem to appreciate gifts rather than money as a tip, just something my husband and I noticed. A lot of the staff would take the doller coins and buy cigarettes for the most part. ***Extras that you may want to bring; kleenex, hand/face towels, clock, cd's for the player in the room

Restaurants - There are many to choose from, which is great. We booked our a la cartes the afternoon when we arrived and there was no line. There seemed to be a line when they open in the morning, but usually not in the pm. We booked the Japanese and Cuban. Both were good. We were offered a third reservation for the Italian, which was enjoyable as well, but didn't make it through the entire meal as it was too late for my daugher (10:00 pm before dessert). I heard that the other restaurants were good as well. The main buffet was large and a bit of hit and miss for food. Breakfast by 7:30 was ok - after than it gets busy. The omelettes were a favorite. Lunch was no issue as long as it wasn't raining - then it was full and crazy. Arrive to dinner before 7:00 pm and there was no line - after that - busy again. The food was edible and occasionally there was something that we wanted go back and get more of. Lots of starch. The fresh bread was delish. The quiet pool was our favorite place for lunch. We liked the service and the food there - a la carte. Pizza, Cuban Clubhouses with fries, hamburgers, hot dogs, fish, and a cold salad table as well. Be patient and they will serve you. We did go to the beach grill for breakfast a couple of times - it is buffet only though, but not busy. It is also open for lunch, but we did not try it. The restaurant above the cave bar is a la carte for breakfast and lunch as well. Overall, it was typical Cuban fare and they all were usually busy, but when the resort is a full capacity, it is to be expected. I was frustrated the first day with the lines and chaos of the buffet, but decided to relax and enjoy - and then it was fine - a glass of beer or wine helped as well! My daughter (good eater - not too picky)did find things to eat during the week, but I would recommend taking peanut butter, syrup, and snacks from home to suppliment. *** the bank - the one in the lobby is usually busiest in the am and then not too bad in the afternoon, BUT, there is another one beside the gym in the central square that is open every day and seems to be undiscovered!! ***

Bars - The bars were all pretty good. Yes - there is a wait at the lobby bar in the evening, but not too bad and there are lots of people to converse with. The central square in the evening is nice with the live band. The piano bar is air conditioned and a good place for a pre or post dinner drink. The pool bars were usually busy, but the staff were really great. Almost all guests had the "bubba" kegs to get bigger drinks and keep them cool. The bar at the beach was a bit far from the actual beach and was always lined up, so we did not use it very often.

Beach and Pools - The beach was rough the first 2 days of our trip and it was very windy, so no swimming was aloud. It cleared up and by the 4th day was beautiful. The sand is soft and while not white, still great!The palapas would be gone by 7:00 am the week we were there, but they are so close together that you can catch shade if you are near by anyway. It is very crowded, but if you can stand the sun with no shade, then there is tons of room to the right and left. The activity pool is where all the action is. The kids (and adults) love the slide and it is lined up all day. My little one did enjoy it too, but there is no one at the top to make sure that it is ok to go down, so there were a few incidents with safety. My husband was always near by, just in case. This area was very busy and loud. The quiet pool was not totally quiet, as it was a great spot for families with younger children, but no loud music or staff to try to get you out of your chair. There is a swim up bar and loungers available pretty much throughout the day. The pool boys will bring you a comfortable chair cushion to you from about 9:00 - 11:00 am, but if you are not in your chair, even if your towel is there, they will not leave the cushion. I loved that service and my daugher took a few afternoon naps pool side when she was tuckered out from all the swimming and sun.

Grounds - The grounds are constantly being worked on and are tropical. The walk is like everyone has mentioned - kinda long - and the carts are not too frequent, but they are around. The layout is pretty good, although they really could have put the beach bar a little closer to the beach. Print off the map that Debbie has a link to on here as the one they give at the resort is pretty bad. Also - make sure to get your information package with all of the restaurants, bars, activities, etc. and all the times that they are open etc. on arrival. We did not receive ours until we asked on the 3rd day. It makes navigating everything a little easier.

Activities - There was never a lack of things to do at this resort. The busy pool went from 10:00 am and 5:00 pm with games and contests etc. Same at the beach. There was nightly entertainment in the centre square usually starting at 7:00 pm. There was mini-club disco at 7:30 and the the real show at 9:30 every night. These shows were really good - professional and impressive. Best I have seen in my 13 years of travel to the Caribbean at the resort. We visited the mini-club for a short time one afternoon. They are very friendly and great with the kids. I would have been comfortable leaving my child there, had she wanted to stay to play longer.
There are several catamarans, peddle boats, and kayaks on the east side of the beach.

Tours - We did not do any of the offered tours this time, but we did hear that the catamaran tour to the island with snorkling was great as was the day trip to Havana. Some people who we spoke with had done the overnight trip and were not thrilled with the accommodations and wished they had only gone for the day.
The buses to take you into Varadero come but the hotel often, but are a little harder to catch on the way back. Taxis are about $1/km for 2 passengers. Their are good restaurants and deals to be had in town.

Conclusion - We would definitely return to Varadeo as the beach is gorgeous, the people are friendly, and there is much more that we want to see and do. We would likely try a different resort however, as this one was a little too large and busy for our liking. It is a good, reasonably priced resort though and I would give it a 7 out of 10 overall.

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March 2008

I was going to give a long review on this resort, but Frank & Wendy's review described this resort exactly. This is a huge resort and at our time here, my guess is that there was 2500 plus patrons. Line ups for just about everything you want to do.If you want peace and quite and relaxation, this is not the place to go. I must emphasize that management has to improve and provide much more staff and better training in dealing with the large number of patrons.

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March 2008

My family and I recently returned from Sirenis La Salina in Varadero Cuba (Feb 24-Mar 2). This new resort is beautiful. It is an ideal location, and we were very impressed with the grounds and layout. The facilities are very well kept. Our room was clean, spacious and well maintained. We feel it has the potential to be one of the best resorts in Cuba, but there are many issues to be addressed before this can become a reality. Customer service is below par, partially due to the fact that the resort seems to be understaffed and poorly managed. Keep in mind that while we were there, the resort was overbooked, with 2500 (or more) guests. This probably had a bearing on many of the issues we encountered. Check in staff has very limited English skills. We were not informed of the trolley to take us to our rooms at check in, and spent much time wandering the resort with an illegible map looking for our building. The signs indicating the building numbers are not lit at night, making our midnight arrival extremely difficult. Cots that had been requested for two of our 5 rooms were not supplied. My son actually slept on the floor the first night. It took 4 repeat visits to the front desk to finally have the cots delivered. Although it did not affect us directly, there were several parties with people in wheelchairs who had been assigned rooms on the 2nd or 3rd floor. The beds advertised as “doubles” are in fact the dreaded ¾ bed. A family of 4 is being told that this is standard accommodation. We traveled with a group of 11 people. We are all frequent travelers and have had many visits to Cuba, Mexico and the Dominican Republic, and are well aware of the limitations to Cuba as far as its food supply. The problems we encountered at La Salina were not so much food related, but that there seemed to be no organization. No logic was being used for placement of items. Instead of bowls near the cereal, they would be near the salad (at breakfast!). Butter for the bread was placed near the eggs. There were no salad dressings, only oil (not even vinegar). A major cause for concern was the lack of serving utensils. Every item on the buffet needs to have a dedicated utensil. If there were 5 items on a table, often there would only be 3 serving utensils. Frequently there were seafood items sharing utensils with non-seafood items. For those with seafood allergies, this could be a potentially fatal problem. The pre-made scrambled eggs on the breakfast buffet were not cooked thoroughly. This is a salmonella risk. Plates, when you could find them, were not clean. Dried food particles covered the plates and utensils. There seems to be a real problem with the dishwasher. Line-ups often took over 30 minutes for the omelet bar or meat grilling station. When the cook ran out of eggs or pork chops, there was no one to replenish for him. He had to leave his station, go to the back kitchen and return with more food, making line ups even longer. Empty bins on the buffet were very slow to be replenished. On every occasion when peas were served, they were hard as a rock. Dried peas need to be re-hydrated before cooking. They were simply heated and served. The coffee machines were often out of order, or empty. When they were working, there would be long line ups to get a cup of coffee. One morning we were given instant coffee at breakfast. The staff seemed to lack training as to proper food handling. At one pool snack bar I watched as a server picked at acne on her face, then deliver plates of food without washing her hands. Tables were not cleaned properly between clients, if they were cleaned at all. At the Beach grill, our sons were rudely yelled at by a bartender for sharing a plate of french fries at a table near the bar. The boys were not misbehaving, as they were sitting at a table with us and their grandmother. Adults eating hamburgers in the same area were not reprimanded. At the pool grill, a request for menus came with a roll of the eyes and a single menu for eight people. Most of the servers seemed like they would rather be doing any thing else but their jobs. That being said, we were always able to find something to eat, although the food was very carb heavy. There was lots of rice, pasta, breads, and potatoes, as well as sausages floating in oil at every meal. The burgers were good, although I didn’t travel to Cuba to live on burgers. I think they are trying to cater to what they feel the tourists want, instead of focusing on what they do well. Avoid at all costs the rubber pancakes at breakfast. I’m not sure what they are doing to them, but they are indigestible. Our two ala carte meals (Cuban & Steakhouse) were very tasty and well served. One thing we found truly disappointing is the policy of no large tables. When a family travels together and books a specialty restaurant, they expect to be seated together, not at 3 separate tables. The host at the buffet on our first night flatly refused to seat us together, telling us if we wanted to have one table, we had to eat at either 6.00 or 8.00, as it’s too busy at 7.00. The trolley carts to take you around the resort should not be sharing the same paths as pedestrians. There were more than a few near misses with the carts, and a few accidents as well. The path ways need to be widened, or perhaps the trolleys could use the ring road on the outside of the complex, and leave the inner pathways for pedestrians. There never appeared to be more than 3-4 trolleys in service at any one time, and when people were checking in or out, the trolleys were pulled off of regular shuttles to transport luggage. There were trolleys parked outside the resort, but no one to drive them. The lobby bar is always busy, especially in the evenings. Most people like to enjoy a before dinner cocktail, or an after dinner drink. Two bartenders are not enough for 2500 people. One thing that was a concern was the serving of minors. A 15 year old boy in our party was served so much alcohol that he actually blacked out at the bar, and needed to be carried back to his room. Although we feel he shouldn’t have been served at all, we truly feel that a bartender needs to recognize signs of inebriation, and have the authority to stop serving alcohol, especially to a minor. We were only able to exchange our beach towels for fresh ones on one occasion. Every time we approached the towel hut, they were out of clean towels. The time of day seemed to make no difference. We tried morning, noon, and late afternoon. We were always told they were waiting for laundry service. There was no information about the resort in any of the 5 rooms we had. We wanted to order a bellhop and trolley for checkout, and could not find any phone listings. We could not contact front desk. Dialing “0” was never answered. We finally dragged our bags down three flights of stairs and waited for a trolley cart for over 25 minutes before we decided we had better walk the 1 kilometer to the lobby, for fear of missing our airport transfer. A trolley finally came past when we were ¾ of the way to our destination. This was not too much of a hardship for us, but it was extremely difficult for my elderly mother-in-law. Although the beach is beautiful, and the loungers plentiful, there are nowhere near enough palapas to accommodate everyone. This causes people to play the towel game. I felt the palapas were too close together, like I was in a sardine can, but when you have a short beach and 1000 rooms, some things have to give. There is about 300 feet of sand between the resort and the berm where the beach starts. Perhaps a few palapas could be scattered in this area. Although taken separately, many of these problems are not a big deal, but to have so many issues on one vacation is not a good sign. Although our vacation was not a complete disaster, it was a disappointing and frustrating experience to say the least. We had traveled as a group to celebrate my mother-in-law’s 75th birthday, and that is something that we will never be able to replace. Would we go back? No. Would we recommend Sirenis? Not at this time.

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March 2008

We had the most delightful stay at La Salinas. Staff was very friendly. Food was abundant and tasty. I would bring a closed salt shaker as theirs is damp and hard to use. I put on 3 lbs while there. Our chambermaid was quite friendly and would do up our towels and curtains in different designs daily. Quite the imagination. I emailed the resort 2 days previous to arrival to ask if we could be close to our friends and in a quiet section as this was our 25th anniversary and first trip away since honeymoon. They did not reply but upgraded us to a suite right on the water and our friends received a congratulatory note with a bottle of champagne and a cake. Much appreciated. I was very leery about staying at this resort because of the bad reviews but was pleasantly surprised by how enjoyable our stay was. Any complaints we might have had were put aside easily as we were on holidays (with no agendas or schedules) and on ‘Cuba’ time. The beach was absolutely fabulous. It was raked by tractor every morning before 6:30 am. The water was clear and blue/green. The sand was clean, ie: you didn’t have to fight with seaweed, fish or shells. You didn’t have to worry about stepping on sharp shells. My husband and I enjoy walking so the size of the resort wasn’t a problem. You will most definitely do a lot of walking every day. We did not encounter and ‘bug spraying’ or bugs for that matter. My only complaint would be that they didn’t have a variety of specialty non-alcoholic drinks readily available (not including pop and water). There were many special alcoholic drinks but nothing fancy for us non-drinkers unless we came up with a recipe ourselves. (Pineapple juice and Pina Colada mix go very well together.) We took air mattresses with us to the beach and were the envy of many as the beach chairs get awfully hard to sit or lay down on all day. We went into Varadero for a day and were delighted with the market, although beware, several vendors have the same items and varying prices. The vendor who visits the beach every day has the same items as the market at a much higher price. We went into Havana for the day trip and were delighted again. It is definitely a trip worth taking, once. Once is enough but it is definitely a must see. Take a roll of toilet paper with you on these trips as the bathrooms tend to charge for each sheet of tissue they give you. They are also minus a toilet seat, although bathrooms are clean. All in all, I would definitely visit Cuba again. There are 3 new resorts going up next door to this one that should be open within the next year and a half. I would suggest those ones also as their beach is lovely (we walked it) and the buildings look very nice.

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February 2008

recent stay atsiranis las salina was very disapionting as this resort has many proplems 1-poor service at main restaurant 2 –cold and uninviting gives the imprsson of a messhal 3- food was mostly cold and tasteless 3- salads tasteless 4-desserts bland no taste 5-resort is tolarge for our liking would not recoment to any body staff atfront counter not very helpfool

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February 2008

There were a total of 8 in our group, with ages ranging form 44 to 88!
Check in went smooth with no real issues.
Suquest had a room set aside for their guests, with room keys ready to go.
The "buses" were ready, and handled the influx rather well.
That said, my wife and I opted to walk to our room... on the other side of the resort!
Yes, this place is huge... but even with baggage in tow, we had no problems walking the distance. Rooms are large and beautiful. Very large and comfortable king beds. Tastefully decorated.
Iron and ironing board in closet, hair dryer in bathroom (with 110v outlet). The food was typically Cuban, but always a good selection and we thought quite tasty.
(For the record, this was our fifth trip to Cuba, so the food was never going to be an issue. That said, it rated as good if not better than other resorts) As far as the ala cartes, we tried the Cuban and the Steak house.
The food at the Cuban was exceptional! My brother and I got some kind of a potato ball that was to die for!
Most of us went for the chicken with a lime sauce. Wow! I'd go back just for this dish!
At the steak house, a few of us ordered the chef's salad. It was a very nice salad served in an edible "bowl".
Again... wow! The steak is not what you'd expect from a Canadian steak house, but this is Cuba!
It was perfectly cooked, and served with a bit of a gravy. I would have no problems ordering this again. The beach is typical Varadero, which means the best around. There is some decent snorkeling right there.
The pools are very large and the warmest we've swam in in Cuba.
The activity pool has a large water (tube) slide and is the favourite hangout of the kids.
The quiet pool is large and where most of the adults and older crowd hang out.
The bar service here, with Boris and Xavier is fantastic. The grounds are large, well landscaped and beautifully maintained. There were activities going on throughout the day, some at the activity pool, some at the beach... we did not partake. We toured Havana on our own with the assistance of a hired van and guide (450 CUC for the day).
We also did the Rio Cojimar tour. This included about a half hour of snorkeling at a reef near Matanzas; a visit to a huge cave and swimming in it's incredibly clear fresh water; a free cigar at a small bar (the mojitos you have to buy). Then a nice river boat tour down the Cojimar river, lunch at an isolated location (very good Cuban fare) and some fun activities (ever hold a crocodile, snake and tree rat at the same time?!?). All in all we had a great time. Not sure what all the fuss is about.
If you have any idea what Cuban resort cuisine is like, you won't be surprised (nor disappointed).
Yes, the place is huge, but my 88 year old father handled quite well. He hardly used the bus service at all. If you go to the lobby bar after dinner, it will be crowded. Don't like crowds? Go to the piano bar. Always quiet there, and very nice.
(These places are tame compared to the bars I've frequented here in Canada)
There is another money exchange booth to the left of the medical/fitness building (as you're facing it). We would go back if the opportunity arouse, and would recommend it to anyone.

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February 2008

We purchased this vacation from Sunwing Tours through the Bel Air Travel web site, but used our agent Sylvia (1-888-776-6885) to finalize the details. As the price was already deeply discounted there was no further discount. Usually the discount is 12 % off book price. The E tickets arrived with no delays and all was in order. Copies of this review are provided by Resort Reviews International and are forwarded to the resort management, tour companies, airlines, travel agents and agencies, newspapers and travel magazines in both Canada and the U.S.A. Please feel free to send or give copies of this review to clients or associates. This is our sixth trip to Cuba but our first using Sunwing and traveling from London, Ontario.

At the outset
This is a huge resort and would not be recommended for the elderly, those with very young children or those with a mobility handicap. This is a new resort which opened in July of 2007 yet it has the look and feel of a resort which is several years old. The resort does not command the respect of the guests and as a result the resort is not treated with respect by the guests. The resort is severely understaffed with both workers and visible management.

Departure
We chose to fly Sunwing out of the London, Ontario airport and it was a pleasure. The airport is not congested, parking is $62.00 for the trip duration and the service is polite and speedy. We were delayed leaving due to weather and deicing, but much time was made up on the flight down. In flight service was excellent and the breakfast meal was actually edible. The flight had a few bumpy stretches but it is winter and upper turbulence is to be expected.

Arrival in Cuba
We were a bit late arriving, but customs was quick and luggage came along quickly as well. Once again bus loading and departure is painful and should be sped up. The advertised time from airport to hotel is 30 minutes but in fact it takes 90 minutes with the stops at four previous hotels. How about being honest in the brochure about travel times?

Arrival at hotel
We arrived at the hotel at 12:30 p.m. Sunwing advertises private check in and this did occur in a building remote from the lobby. Rooms were not assigned, bracelets were obtained and then we were told to periodically check back and see if the room would be ready at 3 p.m. The welcome cocktail was available but the bottle of rum was not given. At a subsequent visit to the front desk we found out our room request had not been honoured. We had communicated via email with the hotel reservation department beginning in October right through January 27 and we received no response. We had requested specific buildings, floors and beds. None of the requests were accommodated. Sunwing had certain buildings and when we booked our agent did not inform us of this fact. None of the emails were answered so the hotel did not tell us this either. Many of the travelers on our flight had requested specific buildings because of age or mobility problems and had sent emails to the hotel. The hotel made NO effort to be accommodating. Sunwing, agents and the hotel must keep travelers better informed and be more amenable and accommodating. We created enough of a demand for our accommodation request that we finally got an upper floor with two double beds and were taken to our room about 3 p.m. Some guests did not get a room until 5 p.m. Needless to say don’t bother emailing the hotel, but rather deal with your agent and ask them to deal with the tour company and the hotel to have your room requests met.

Room
Upon arrival at the room with the bellboy and our luggage the room keys would not work but fortunately the maid was close at hand and opened the room. We had to then go back to the front desk to have the keys activated and then go back to the room. What a waste of time. The floors in the room were dirty and had not been swept let alone washed. There were ants in several areas and the maid sprayed and then left us a spray can of insect killer. There were no bath towels and the beach towels were not in the room as advertised. There are simply no hand towels or face cloths. The shaving mirror was hanging off the wall and only attached by one screw. The iron decorations on either side of the vanity were loose. The toilet seat was loose. The bed spreads were badly stained. The advertised hot line for guest help was not answered. The hair dryer had a cord of about 24 inches in length. There was shampoo and body wash but no Kleenex, lotions, shower cap, etc. There is a TV with very limited English channels. There is a CD player/radio combo, but no clock. There is an iron and board and also a weigh scale (check your luggage weight to avoid surcharge). There is a mini bar with large water, two beers and two pop replenished daily. There is a good amount of out of suitcase storage. Towels were very often late in arriving at the room, often as late as 6 p.m. The floor in the room was only washed once during the week and that was on Tuesday. The bath tub/shower combination is truly dangerous. The tub is very deep and narrow and although a stool is provided great care must be taken when entering and leaving the tub. Water from the shower is not contained and runs out onto the floor leaving great puddles. Again take care. Apparently some kind of a fix is in the works but how long before completion is anybody’s guess. The safe costs 2 Cuban Convertible Pesos daily, but the front desk has no way at this time of knowing if you use the safe. It is electronic but for your own safety use it anyway. Now think of this – 2 pesos per day times 1035 rooms times 365 days is 755,550 pesos annually. The safe should be free as this is an all inclusive resort. The main floors in the halls of our building, number 38, were only washed once in the week and that was Tuesday. The stairs were never observed being washed. The windows in the stairways were filthy and never washed in our one week stay. Daily maid service begins at 9 a.m. but why not at 7 a.m. to start on the rooms that have been given up by early departing guests. This would speed up guests getting to their rooms when they check in. Make sure to leave your beach towels in the room when you check out although I haven’t figured out how they know they are in the room before you ever leave the hotel at check out time. Advertised turn down service did not occur at all.

Grounds
The hotel is laid out like a pair of eyeglasses that run from the beach at the north to the lobby at the south. One set of rooms closest to the beach surround the activity pool. The other set of rooms surround the quiet pool and contains the lobby area. The town square with restaurants and theatre is in the middle. From beach to lobby is a very long walk. All of the pathways are very dirty and no evidence of cleaning was seen. There are insufficient garbage cans and there are no ashtrays or garbage cans at the entrances to the room buildings. As a result there are garbage and cigar/cigarette butts just thrown on the ground. There was very little evidence of these items being picked up. More garbage cans and ashtrays are immediately needed. Many light standards are broken off and simply not repaired. Gardens are overgrown in many places with weeds and grasses. There are many dead trees throughout the property. Many trees have dead limbs just hanging and need to be pruned. Many palm fronds overhang the paths low enough to hit in your face. More pruning needed. There are four or five dead trees right in the lobby behind the main desk. Fountains are not working in the pools or they are working so poorly that they shoot water all over the paths or the town square. Because you cannot take glassware on the shuttles so people simply leave their glassware beside the pathways and there was little evidence of these being picked up. One of the foot washers near the beach simply had no water. There is a lot of natural jungle growth or patches of trees that have been preserved but there was no effort put into clearing out dead undergrowth at the edges or clearing out dead trees. These would be lovely specimen areas with very little work. These areas are littered with trash as well. To the east of the resort there is a new resort being built so be aware that noise, light and fuel smells do migrate to this resort. And now the shuttles. There are at least eight multi passenger golf cart shuttles at the resort. There is no schedule of operation. The pathways are almost too narrow and somewhat dangerous for walkers and shuttles to share. These shuttles should be running constantly all day every day to offer transit to the guests. As said previously it is a big resort with a lot of walking. With the shuttles running all the time guests would feel that there is a leisurely way to get around the resort. If you need more shuttles buy them, but get this operational very soon.

Beach
The beach area is very wide and you can walk for a long way in either direction. The sand is somewhat course and is your typical sand colour. The water is clean but not really clear. Due to the way the Varadero strip extends into the water the waves seldom crash against the shore. There is no really good snorkeling right off the shore. There are lots of lounges available and a fair number of palapas offering shade for those arriving early at the beach. As the day goes on the beach becomes very crowded. There is a beach bar/restaurant very close by. Several local vendors arrive daily with their trinkets to sell. There are paddle boats, kayaks and sailboats available. Scuba introductory lessons are available in the activity pool. There was no evidence of the beach being raked of debris before the morning crowd arrives. There was a fair chunk of water weed/grass evident first thing in the morning. There are insufficient numbers of garbage cans and ashtrays at the beach so it very quickly becomes junky and littered with trash and not a very nice place to be. There was no evidence of any pick up during the day. Garbage cans were not emptied during the day but just left to overflow onto the sand. In spite of it all the beach is popular with the guests.

Activity Pool (closest to the beach)
This pool area contains a huge water slide which was a hit with all ages. There is a restaurant and bar as well as a swim up cave bar. There are pergolas and lots of canvas umbrellas many of which are already broken and in a state of disrepair. There is still a terrible lack of shade so get to the pool early for an umbrella. There are many lounges but you will be crammed in like sardines by noon so you better really like the people next to you. Lounge cushions are distributed starting at around 10 a.m. but only when the pool guy arrives. Why is he not at the pool at 7 a.m. to be ahead of the guests and get things ready and cleaned up? Why not provide a flat bed trolley so many cushions can be loaded up for distribution? There is a Jacuzzi/ bubble pool located in the main pool but it hasn’t worked now for about 3 months as they await a repair person to arrive from Europe. The Kids Club and Kids pool is also located here. Starting at 10 a.m. the music and talking begin and it doesn’t stop until 6 p.m. The decking of the pool was not cleaned once in the week and it was so filthy you would not want to walk on it in your bare feet. One day two fellows were sweeping the plastic coping around the deck but there was more talk than work. One day a fellow was filling a garbage can from the pool and throwing the water on the deck. Cigarette/cigar butts were not cleaned up on a daily basis and were left in some cases for three days before removal. The garbage cans were very small, few in number and filled to overflowing each day. No attempt was made during the day to empty the cans. The interior of the cans were not cleaned out. The slide leaked water onto the deck and was not cleaned each day and as a result algae began to grow making the area very slippery. The stairs up to the top of the slide were not cleaned once in the week and black dirt ran down the outside of the stairs. In the pool itself, there was much evidence of algae growing at the joining of the walls and floor of the pool. The water polo nets were all ripped and wouldn’t stop the ball. The snack bar tables were filthy all day long and had a glass inset piece which had black mold growing on the under side. Used glassware and dishes were slow to be removed. Hot dogs, hamburgers and sandwiches were available. Not once did I see the actual bar surface wiped dry or cleaned. Washrooms by the snack bar were dirty and very little effort was made to keep them clean and replenished during the day. There seems to be too much talk and kissy kissy amongst the staff and not enough time working, but there is no evidence of supervision to keep the employees on track and at work. Beach towel exchange is at this pool but not once did we have a towel that was not ripped nor stained.

Quiet pool (closest to the lobby)
This pool area was quiet and peaceful and had lots of umbrellas, pergolas and lounges. Shade is available to the early arrivals. This pool is close to the lobby and buffet. There is a snack bar which serves breakfast and lunch and the typical food is available. There is a bar/swim up bar. The swim up bar surface has black mold growing in the grout between the ceramic tiles. The washrooms were clean and well stocked. The pool deck surface was filthy and no evidence to clean it was made during the week. Again the garbage cans were small and not cleaned out inside. Garbage cans and ashtrays were too scarce. Lounge cushions were distributed much earlier in the day. Again provide a flat bed trolley to speed up the cushion distribution. Staff should still be at this pool each day by 7 a.m. to start the day’s preparation and clean up.

Gym
Two gyms with various exercise equipment were provided in the town square area. There was a whirlpool tub which was not working but contained about 6 inches of stagnant skuzzy water.

Lobby
The lobby of this resort is simply too small to accommodate the numbers of guests. When groups are arriving or leaving and waiting for busses or rooms to be ready they sit in the lobby and literally hog the bar area and this leaves little if any space for other guests to come in and get a seat, a drink or a coffee. This issue needs to be looked at and corrected immediately. The tables in the lobby/bar area are metal with a glass insert and all have black mold growing on the bottom of the glass. Table cleanup service is slow to non existent and there is no staff to go around and take drink orders. The actual bar surface is always dirty and no evidence was seen of cleaning the surface of the bar. Starting at 6 p.m. and on the bar area is so busy, getting a drink is painful and long and there is no staff circulating to take drink orders. The lobby contains the bank but no hours are posted. The hours are 9 to 12, 1 to 5 and 7 to 9. Maybe. Exchange rate was favourable and pretty much matched the internet price received before our trip. Take any currency except US dollars which loose an additional 10 percent and credit card charges also incur an extra 1.5 percent surcharge. There is a hairdresser in the lobby area. Hours are posted. There is a store in the lobby area open 9:30 to 8:30. They have a decent selection of cigars which are fresh and priced the same as everywhere in Cuba. The rum selection is good. If you are not in a rush wait for the airport and the duty free – better selection but the price is not very much less on cigars. The rest of the store is a disappointment. Bring the things you need from home. They would do real well with some English magazines and pocket books but with a lot of those things being U.S.A. produced that causes a problem. You cannot even get an English newspaper. There is a coffee bar which serves consistently good coffee which is a whole lot better than that available in the dining room. Long distance telephone service is in the lobby. Tour desk, tour reps and internet are located between the lobby and the buffet. Specialty restaurant booking desk is here also. You may go to two in a one week stay. Book early. The front desk is constantly busy and requires that you bring your patience with you. Language understanding can be a problem. The lobby is always full of smoke from the cigarettes and cigars and there is no way to get away from it. There really should be a smoking section established so non smokers can enjoy the lobby activities too. Food Services

Main Buffet
This buffet is located in the lobby complex. Breakfast starts at 7 a.m., Lunch at 12:30 p.m. and Dinner at 6:00 p.m. This is a typical buffet featuring grill stations (2), pasta bar(2), salad bars, bread stations, fruit, cereals, egg stations(3), drink dispensers for juice, pop and beer, deserts and ice cream. Most of the food items are labeled at lunch and dinner. To be honest you could always find something tasty and wholesome to eat but be prepared as the food is not of the North American style and tends to be bland. Most meals featured steak, chops and fish on the grill, fresh pasta, omelets, burgers, sliced meats and cheeses. The salad bar lacked lettuce most days but featured plenty of other fixings for salads. There was also roast pork, roast beef, roast chicken and fish. There was a good variety of vegetables although too much effort was placed on trying to enhance and add other things to the veggies rather than just cooking them nicely. There were many mixed dishes which resulted from the previous meals leftovers. Buns and bread were often too hard to eat and butter was often not put out and there was no jam. There was no sharp knife available to cut the bread. On a regular basis, in other words at every meal there were many plates which were dirty yet in the stacks with clean plates. There seemed to be a subtle change in the quality and presentation of the food on Tuesday and we heard it was due to a new executive chef. Under no circumstances should hotel employees or tour company representatives be allowed to eat in the dining room with the guests of the hotel. The food is a very weak point at this hotel, but this is true at many resorts in Cuba. Cuba is in the same climate zone as Florida, Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula and the Dominican Republic and for the life of me I cannot understand why they cannot establish a productive fruit and vegetable growing operation which would provide fresh produce to not only the hotels but to locals as well. The Ministries of Tourism and Agriculture should collaborate to make this happen. Until the quality of the food improves tourism in Cuba will not flourish as it should. Steak House
The steak was tough and dry. The potatoes were instant mashed potatoes from a box. The vegetables were frozen. The meal was terrible. Japanese
The meal was cooked in front of you. The appetizers were tasty and wonderful. The main course of vegetables, fried rice and beef was truly great. Even the dessert was tasty. Make sure to visit is restaurant.

Bars There are plenty available serving many kinds of beverages. There is a good smattering of International brands. Mixed drinks taste different at each bar and there is simply no consistency in the recipes.

Additional facilities
Tennis courts are on the east side of the resort and are elevated somewhat. There is a supper piano bar in the town square area. What a nice break from the noise and hustle of the resort. The drinks are great and the music superb. Visit here often. Theatre and nightly entertainment is in town square and live music begins at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday evening at 9:30 p.m. is the Aquatic Ballet in the Activity pool. Excellent show and not to be missed.

Tour Reps
Miguel and Manuel served us well and were able to solve some major issues. Please do not fail to use the resources of your reps if you feel you are not being treated in an appropriate fashion.

Bug Fogging
Fogging was done Monday and Wednesday at 6:15 p.m. just at dinner time as many people are walking about the resort and are sitting in the dining room. The fog goes into the dining area and settles on guests and food. This is not appropriate and fogging should be done during the night time hours. Fogging was also done at 6:30 a.m. on Friday morning as two groups are awaiting departure from the hotel lobby. Again the fog enters the lobby and settles on the guests. Fogging must be done over night so as to not affect the guests.

Check out
Our requested wake up call was ten minutes late. The bell boy and golf cart arrived at the requested time. Beach towels were left in the room. Two keys were presented. We did not pay for the safe. There was no evaluation survey. The bus was 45 minutes late in arriving and of course there is the stopping at hotels on the way to the airport. Trip is about an hour and a half. Varadero Airport is well equipped with shops and eateries. Don’t forget 25 convertible pesos each for airport tax and if you want your passport stamped you must ask. Plane was slightly delayed. Flight to London was smooth with a very nice lunch served. All in all a great experience with Sunwing.

Only with Sunwing (in the brochure)
Private check in was very disorganized.
No private check out.
No turn down service all week.
No bottle of rum. Final got it upon request on third day.
Beach towels were not in the room upon arrival. Had to search out maid next morning to get towels.
Be prepared for room occupancy between 3 p.m. to 5 p.m.
Check which buildings Sunwing has at its disposal before firming up your reservation.
It is 90 minutes to the hotel not 30 minutes as advertised. Sunwing needs to work with this hotel to improve guest services and accommodation. I often wonder if the ratings for these hotels are pulled out of a hat and no one ever visits to really see what the hotels are really like.

Hotel in General
There is a lack of preventative maintenance. There is a lack of maintenance. There is a lack of gardening. There is a lack of repairing of breaks and damage. There is a serious lack of staff. There is a serious lack of management evident on the property. Each room needs a thorough inspection and necessary repairs immediately carried out. The staff are too interested in socializing, doing kissy kissy and standing around. Management should quickly begin to implement some of the suggestions offered throughout this review.

Summary
Sirenis La Salina is a new hotel that looks old already. It is a dirty poorly kept property. This is NOT a hotel that is recommended. This is currently, at least according to Sunwing and other tour companies, a four star hotel that is racing very quickly downhill toward two star status. At the current time only Three Stars can be awarded as there are just too many problems with this resort.

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February 2008

This resort does have some serious misgivings. Let me begin by saying that our family of 4 have been to Cuba twice before and really enjoyed it (Holguin, SantaClara) This is the Wally world of resorts; the staff is way too small for the 2300 people The rooms were very nice (new) The weather was excellent (sunny, hot, very little wind) Nice beach (fixed the beach chair problem, Lot of chairs but very busy) The problem with this resort are Line ups. Check in was wild to say the least we went with nolitours (cameleon club) At 700 am. 200 people had a mad scramble for the Nolitours wristbands, rooms were to be ready by 400 pm. They told us to come back in two hours but that meeting was in French, so we went to the orientation. A lot of people there and the English was very hard to understand so we went back three times to the front no Nolitour rep, finally other people in the room said they found an envelope with their name on it with keys and an (unreadable) map in it. So we did the same found our rooms clean and ready by noon. (no lie, we did not see the rep all week but 3 days later our bottle of rum show up in our room) We were closest to the beach well with in a 1000 people or so but still very nice. As bad as it sounds we did not really mind, our friend came on the same flight but he came with sunquest and finally go his room at 4:00 pm. Coffee was very good but the line ups made it very unpleasant. At least it made me cut back on my coffee. Food was the same as other places in Cuba but with the staff shortage we found the food was under cooked and cold. They really need another large buffet.(check under your plates at the buffet)

Bars Bring as big a go cup as you can find. They had 2 bar tenders where 6 would be busy. We tipped a lot but it made no difference because they had no time (we were one 2500 other people).

Walking paths They have to put a ring road around the outside of the rooms away from the walking public. The buildings are set up like a figure 8 and it would be easy to do this. The vehicles are on the walking paths all the time, day & night & there are a lot of them. This is a discount resort, if you get it at 40% off other 4 Star resorts it would be worth it. We got it at a very good price and did enjoy our selves but found it very tiresome. All other resorts that I been were more relaxing. Bottom line they need 4 times the staff, buffets, bars & coffee spots to make it a very good resort. Please don't make this resort your first trip to Cuba. Please read a lot of reviews on this resort, I have and most are kind.

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February 2008

We were at the SLS from Jan 4 – 18th. I will give more of a family point of view of the resort. We traveled with our 5 & 10 year old boys. As you can tell from reading all the reviews some things can change quickly. What some people complain about others love about the resort. We have been to 16 other resorts from Mexico, Hawaii, Jamaica, Venezuela & Cuba and usually stay at 3 star resorts.

BEACH: was great for the kids. The water doesn’t get deep fast and usually the waves were small. There was only one day that the 5 year old didn’t go into the water because the waves were too big but the 10 year old & dad loved that day the most. The beach is very long but not very wide. We found it to be very crowded. I need the shade and we always found one even though we only went at 9:00 to get a palapa. To follow the shade we had to move our loungers and some days you had to sit with strangers to follow your own shade from the palapas. They also have 3 rows deep of them which I have never seen before. The beach is very long so I’m not sure why they have them so crowded together. There are plenty of loungers, always lots of them still piled during the busiest part of the day. I’m also not sure why they don’t have a beach bar set up. Even if all it served was water & pop & beer it would be handy. For the size of the hotel and number of guests they should have a washroom closer to the beach also. We found there were a lot of bees around trying to get into our drinks. We had our travel mugs and they still managed to get in a few times. The cups are really small so they are a must even for the kids. We talked to people that stayed at other resorts and they never even saw a bee never mind swarms of them. My kids loved the slushy lemonade but so did the bees. There are vendors on the beach which is very nice. One sells crochet tops and the other 2 sell various wooden ornaments & jewelry. Someone walks around and sells t-shirts once in awhile. They will never bother you and yell like they do in Mexico. Their prices are more than in the market but than you also don’t have to pay to go to town. It comes in handy to bring a little cooler bag or even an insulated lunch bag to put the drinks in from your fridge. Every day they will refill the fridge with 2 beers, 4 pop and 1.5 L water. We would bring the drinks to the beach everyday and what we didn’t drink we gave to the security guards or gardeners or the guys that set up the beach chairs. You might as well give them away because you’ll get more and they really appreciate them. One day there was a lot of fish right on the beach. You can get the catamaran guys to take you out snorkeling for 2 hours for $20 for adults and $10 for kids. They had a great time and it was just long enough, they didn’t have to spend the whole day to go out.

RESORT SIZE: yes it’s really big 900 meters from beach to lobby. We found it way too big for our family. We were in block 34 which is beach front and it was a 15 minute walk. For adults we didn’t have a problem but with younger kids that can be a long walk to do up to 6 times a day. They have carts but most of the time they are at the front of the resort not being used. We counted 10 carts at the front one time and you only see maybe 1 to 3 running at a time. We could do the 15 minute walk most days and not see a cart or they’d be full. Yes it was nice to walk but sometimes it would be great to not have to. It’s also a big pain when you just get back from the lobby and have to go right back because your room key wouldn’t work. We heard that it happen to a lot of people that after 1 week they had to go back to get it recoded. Not fun when its 26c and you’ve just done the trek to have to go back. The carts also drive very fast and the paths are very narrow. You just about have to get right off the path for them to go by.

RESTAURANTS: they now have 7 a la carte restaurants. The Japanese, Italian, Steakhouse (are all in the middle main courtyard), Mediterranean (beach restaurant by day), Romantico (waterfall pool restaurant by day), Gourmet (some call it the French by the main buffet), Cuban (newest one is quiet pool restaurant by day). You are allowed 2 per week but if you go after 2:30 to the guest relations you might get some extra for that day. We booked the Japanese twice from the start because we had heard here it was the best. The meal was excellent but both times we went we had to wait 1 to 1 and half hours to get seated. The restaurant opens at 6:00 and our reservations were for 6:30 but didn’t get seated till 8:00. That’s a long time to ask a 5 year old to wait to get food. The kids really enjoyed the show cooking. The Italian was not very good. My 10 year old had the lasagna and was still hungry when he was done eating. We had asked if we could have the calzone (it’s an entrée) as an appetizer for the kids and they said no only 1 entrée per person. I’ve never been told at an all inclusive that we couldn’t have 2 if we wanted. We really had a wonderful steak at the French. It was the tenderest beef we’ve ever had in Cuba. We all enjoyed the Romantico, it was one of the kids favorites. It was nice to listen to the cello & violin & bass. The steakhouse wasn’t our favorite meal. Some of the menus are very hard to understand. I can read French also and I was still confused with some of them. I ordered the shrimp omelet and received a hard taco shell with shrimp and a little lettuce. The kids thought it was really funny. We ordered the steak and it was very tough. The food was pretty good in the buffets for Cuba. The only real complaint we had was that the food wasn’t served warm enough. They were handing out surveys both weeks that we were there and we did notice some of the complaints had changed things. The food was a lot warmer the last few days so hopefully that will not be a problem any more. We also noticed that some of the things weren’t done very sanitarily. They often didn’t have tongs to grab the buns or taco chips. People just used their hands. I suggest bringing some hand sanitizer to use. We brought a little container with garlic salt which helped out a lot of meals. We had also brought along some hot sauce & peanut butter. Breakfast was only served till 10:00 in the main buffet. We tried the beach for breakfast one day but it wasn’t very good, no pancakes or French toast. The kids would rather walk the 15 minutes than eat there. It would be nice if the buffet at the beach had more of a selection for lunch. It’s a long way to walk to the main buffet for lunch when you’re on the beach. The hamburgers & hotdogs are good but if you want something else for lunch you have to walk the 15 minutes to get it. We found this was the worse restaurant for service. It’s not because they don’t try it’s just under staffed. You often had to wait 15 minutes for someone to offer you water or a drink. The problem could be easily fixed by having fountain drinks that people could help themselves to. Our son often went to the bar to get his own drink and was often ignored until a nice adult would tell the bartender that he was also waiting for a drink. Make sure that you get special bracelets for your teens if you don’t want them to drink. They will serve alcohol to anyone that asks if they have the same bracelets as adults. The waterfall pool restaurant was handy for lunch once in awhile. The service was rather slow there, sometimes waiting 30 minutes for a hamburger. You could get hamburgers & fries & hotdogs & pizza & Cuban sandwich. The pizza was crust with tomato soup and cheese. The Cuban sandwich was only ordered once and it was dry & awful. The buffet sometimes does a theme night; while we were there it was Mexican night on Friday. It was by far the best night to eat at the buffet. Just look for a manager in the buffet and ask. It’s really not worth getting an a la carte on that night. They had shrimp & beef & chicken on the grill. The only problem was the line up was very long. The kids never had a problem finding something to eat. They have a version of diet coke in most restaurants & bars. Our kids really enjoyed the orange pop. They also have red & white wine which we both found to be good.

ROOMS: are really nice. We had two really small doubles & a cot set up for us the 1st night for the 4 of us. The 2nd day we got an extra cot which was much better. The beds are way too small to sleep 2. On the 3rd night we had no water which didn’t really bother us but the next morning we had too much. Over night the water pipe had burst upstairs and flooded our room. We woke up at 7:30 to find 1 inch of water on the floor. There was so much water that it flowed into the hallway and flooded it. We phoned the front desk at 7:30, 8:00, 8:30 and no one came. Finally went to the front desk to talk to the Sunwing representative Manuel. He went with us to the front desk at 9:00 and helped us out. We ended up changing rooms because 2 of us have asthma and I didn’t want to stay in a room that could get musty. With the help of Manuel we were put in an ocean view suite in the same building that we were in. I’m sure without his help it wouldn’t have been the same. The girls at the front desk told us to make sure you tell on the internet how much we helped. (I guess they do read the reviews!) It sure makes a difference to have someone there that is on your side. If you ever have a problem with something I suggest you find your rep first because they sure can help. The ocean view suite was in building 34 on the main floor. It has a separate living area with TV and couch & table and bathroom .There is a door separating the rooms than it’s the bedroom with another TV, with separate closet and another bathroom. These bathrooms have a separate bathtub & shower stall. It came in very handy to have 2 bathrooms and 2 people could shower at the same time. The toilet is in a separate little room. I’m not sure how much the suites are extra but they sure were great for a family. We had 2 cots brought into to living room area which made it a little crowded but great to have our own room. The upgrade was the only thing that really helped us get over the flooding. It took us most of the day to move our things and get settled in. The hotel was nice enough to clean our clothes that had gotten wet. We never checked the price of the adjoining rooms for the kids because it really wasn’t offered through Sunwing. These rooms would be great if not much more for the week. The location is right on the beach but not really ocean view. The beach is up on a rise so you couldn’t see the water from the main floor. It was only a couple minutes to the beach which was great (and is good if you have a little one that needs the bathroom often) but furthest away from lobby. We traveled with Sunwing but our room was in the Cameleon club building. We had requested when booking to have something close to kids club and beach. We had also emailed the resort and they were nice enough to accommodate us. The resort is so big I suggest you request when booking what area you’d like. Some people have no desire to be by the beach and loved being beside the quiet pool and lobby. The rooms have hairdryers, iron & boards, CD players that also play mp3 cds. A couple things you might bring if you want them are facecloths & an alarm clock. Make sure to print out map from family.webshots.com/photo/2960978810035014968WkoiVh. The map they give at the resort really is bad and hard to figure out. I printed the other one before I left home and it sure came in handy when you getting use to the huge resort and while checking in.

KIDS CLUB: We phoned Selloff Vacations & Sunwing to check the hours of the kids club and were told it was 10 to 5. We also emailed the resort and were also told the hours were 10-5. When we got to the resort we were told they were from 10-12 and 2-6. We were very disappointed to not have the hours we were told available. We were told we could get the kids club from 12-2 but at the cost of $5 per child per hour. We would have had to spend another $20 a day to get what was supposed to be offered. Only after we talked to the Sunwing rep. did the hours change 11 days later. When our kids did use the club they were usually the only ones over the age of 3. Sometimes there was only 1 lady to take care of them and the little ones that were there. Of course the lady had to take care of the babies so our sons were left to entertain themselves. There are 2 sides to the kids club; one has cribs and a little kid’s playroom which is very nice. The other side has older kid’s games. Unfortunately since there was only 1 caregiver they often had to stay on the baby side. Not to much fun for a 5 & 10 year old. They were usually the only ones there over 4. Other kids would check it out and see that they weren’t doing anything then would leave. They’ve been to 5 other resorts with kids club and said this was the worse one. They never had a schedule of activities and often they sat and watched tv. The club was fine for kids 3 & under. The activities around the pool & beach were also geared to get the adults involved and not the kids.

LOBBY: The internet is 3 pesos per half hour. I found it to be pretty good for dial up. I did notice that the one computer (middle one) out of the 3 wouldn’t work properly for me to check my yahoo emails. I heard some people say that they tried for an hour but couldn’t sign in to facebook at all. I suggest you set up a different account if facebook is the only way to email. I was able to check my mail and send out emails on a couple of days for the half hour. The lobby is always busy and very noisy. There was always a line up for coffee every time we went by.

ENTERTAINMENT: We went to the evening show every night. They start around 9:45pm in the theatre. Some nights the house band plays in the courtyard outside which is very nice. We enjoyed all the shows, very well done. They have a magic show, black light show, a few different dancing shows which are all different, and also acrobats & water ballet which is in the waterfall pool. You just have to ask someone on the animation team what the entertainment is for the evening. They hand out a list when you check in but we found a lot of nights it was wrong. There is a lot of place to sit in the theatre but the bar gets pretty crowded to get drinks. We would just go across to the piano bar as there was hardly and line ups there. Bring bug repellent since it’s an open theatre. The only bad thing about is that the entertainment is done around 11:00 which is late for the little ones.

SUMMARY: My kids usually always ask if they can go back to a resort the next year but this year they said they don’t want to go back. They found it too big to walk around and they really didn’t like the kids club. This resort is great for some but it’s not for everyone. We got a good deal for it so we were fairly content but we’d never go back. It all depends on what you want from a resort. >From our point of view this is not a good resort for kids. It’s a perfect place for people who don’t mind doing a lot of walking and don’t mind a quiet nightlife. With the resort going to double with all the construction it will be even worse for line ups and the size to get around. I strongly recommend checking out the map for the resort and requesting when you book for which area you want. If you don’t care about the beach and like quiet the lobby area would be great. Bring bug spray! We live in Manitoba and are use to mosquitoes but I’ve never had so many itchy bites before. We used Muskol every night but still had bites. I think they came from sitting on the deck at night after the kids were in bed. People that stayed at other resorts said they never had a bite or saw a mosquito. The resort is far away from town. We took the 5 pesos bus to town and it took 35 minutes.

Make sure to read the reviews and figure out what you want for a resort and if this has what you want. That is why the ratings are so different, make sure it’s the resort for you and you’ll have a great time.

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February 2008

Well, my wife and I recently returned from this resort (Jan. 16th-30th) and over all, our trip was awesome! I'll try and be brief but I highly doubt it, so hear go's:

Check-in: very fast, arrived early (noon) and was fully prepared to wait until 4pm, as research had told me, but was pleasantly surprised when our room was immediately ready!

Room: Awesome, new, clean, fridge stocked, you get the picture!

Grounds: Large, beautiful and in some cases, not quite finished, but only minor touches were being worked on.

Pools: enjoyed both the quiet and slide pools and both were enjoyable. Cave bar was pretty cool too!!

Beach: Being a Canadian, I thought it was great, sure there was seaweed here and there but they were very diligent in trying to keep it clean. Water was refreshing and we had some great cat naps/book reading sessions there. You could do as much or as little as you wanted.

Anamacion: Thought they did a great job, always busy and they worked their butts off to keep people occupied.

Food: Aaaaah, everybody's favorite topic...well this was our 6th trip to Cuba and once again, we thought it was decent...my wife and I worked out and had a few long runs and STILL gained weight!!! Again, to each their own right.....

Buffet: Huge and beautiful...yes, there were lines for specific items but if you went with some sort of a plan (ie: certain arrival time, etc) it was ok...patience is ALWAYS a good thing to bring when travelling (what's the hurry anyway...we rush enough at home!!) Particularly enjoyed Mexican night (Friday's) mmmmmm!!!

Al le carte's: We were there for 2 weeks and were lucky enough to get 4 reservations,

Gourmet: Delicious, great service!

Steakhouse: Again, very good, great service!

Japanese: Fantastic, great food, great service and great people at our grill!

Cuban: Probably our favorite...it was awesome...food was excellent, service outstanding and live music and company just made it all that much better!!

Gym: Not bad, lot's of free weights and other equipment to choose from...only complaint...move the cardio equipment around so people can actually see the tv...gets depressing staring at the wall!!:)

Drinks: Again, what's to whine about...it's paid for and you can have as much or little as you want!! Never felt obligated to tip, but like at home, if we received great service, we tipped, if not, it didn't really matter...either way the staff really appreciated it!

Weather: I love this one....it's January...where I live, it's cold, in some cases snowing/freezing rain, etc...here it was high 20's low 30's most days...we had 2 days of rain...BIG DEAL!!! It's still winter in Cuba too...listening to people bitch and sniffle about it being a little windy or a few clouds rolling by was hilarious!!! Only in a perfect world folks!!

Entertainment: Very good...we had seen alot of the shows from our previous visits to Cuba but did get a chance to enjoy a few...namely the acrobatic, Cuban and Aquatic show...all enjoyable. Do make sure you see the acrobatic show....awesome!

Bars: All good...the piano bar turns into a disco after the nightly show ends. We did it up a few nights in there but on other nights it was pretty quiet.

Excursions: Didn't do any, accept visit one of our "amigos" in Cardenas City...absolutely awesome!! His mother was nice enough to cook us a "real Cuban" lunch for which we were truly gratefull...if you get a chance to leave the "resort" life...do it...there so much to see outside and it's completely safe. Just like at home, take the same common sense attitude and all will be well! We also went to varadero a few times for some shopping...GREAT section to try instead of the same old Calle 15 section (which is the market the bus usually drops everyone off at) try Calle 62...awesome...we had lunch at a place called La Fondue...outstanding grub and really reasonably priced!!!

Final thoughts: My wife and I are very patient people, especially when travelling. We know that everyone comes from vastly different backgrounds and understand that what might appear offensive to some folks, is completely acceptable to others, but there ARE certain issues which continue to leave me scratching my head and wondering WHAT the hell are people thinking!!!

Cleanliness: I was really appalled by how ignorant some people continue to be when visiting another country (ie: leaving cups, ciggy butts, etc) anywhere they pleased...there were garbage cans/ashtrays ALL over the resort...give your head a shake!

Respect: SLS mainly consisted of vacationers who spoke English, Spanish and French...on the whole it was civil but there were certain occasions where the linguistic cultures seemed to clash...if you were there you know what I mean!!

Smiling: There are those that had a permanent one during their stay and others who probably don't do much of it back home ...either way...please DO NOT underestimate the power of one...it is one of the most non-verbal forms of communication we have and it costs you nothing!!! Please keep an open mind and pack some patience...if done, there are no bad vacations!!!

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February 2008

We arrived Jan 14 to the 28th. There were 15th of us down for our buddies wedding. It was my first time at a all inclusive there were some problems like one room had water leaking down from the room above and had mould growing on the wall. They gave her a new room right away. You really had to watch your shower curtain or you wound have water all over the floor. I loved the phone in the washroom. I left 2 pesos a day for the maid and she was so nice. We found that if you put you key in the wrong door your had to go to the lobby to reprogram your key. lots of rum made all the doors look the same. Yes there is a lot of walking but that was hafe the fun. I found a back walkway that took me right to my room down by the beach in 7 mins. The biggest help I can give would be at the money exchange. Our first day there they gave us 82 cents on the dollar the next week it was 86 cents. The problem was some people wanted to take money out on visa but they cant at the resort. They told us to go over two resorts and they gave us money on our visa at a better rate it was 6 cents higher. Over all it was great we heard people complaining about the food. If you just watched the lines for the pasta or eggs in the morning they would make it right in front of you. The la carts were great I liked the Japanese the best. One thing we learned the hard way don't give out gifts down town Havana it turn into a mob of people grabbing and pushing it was nuts. We never enjoyed the market in Havana they are so aggressive no time to look around. The three markets in Varadero were the best you could drink beer and shop with no hassles. The beach was incredible I cant swim but the water was waist deep for a while and just a lot of fun.

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February 2008

Arrival - We arrived at 0700h and check-in went fairly smoothly considering the number of people to process. It took about 1 hour to head to our rooms in the pouring rain. 2 of our 3 rooms were ready. Bring a waterproof jacket for inclement weather!

Rooms - We asked for adjoining rooms, but our 2 daughters ages 12 and 14 were put on the bottom floor. My inlaws were on the second floor, and my husband and I were on the 3rd. At least we were in the same building. We ended up putting the girls on the second floor with the inlaws on the bottom floor. Maid service was sketchy. Each of our rooms did not get cleaned one of the 7 days. We had to ask for clean towels, floor mats, beach towels, water for our fridge, etc. Beware of the flooding bathtubs when you shower. Our water ran out of the bathroom, down the hall of our room, and under the door of our room into the main hallway. During our orientation, we were told to hang onto our beach towel because if we lost it, the chambermaid would have to pay for it. On our last day, we were given a note to say that we were to leave the beach towel in the room when we left or WE would pay $15 Cuban pesos for it. It also said that we were allowed to exchange it for a fresh towel every day at the club house by the pool. That would have been nice to know on the first day, since the towels were getting pretty dirty by then. I exchanged 2 of them one day with the chambermaid, but she was very hesitant and did not look happy. Our room smelled like mold and urine, but the other rooms were OK. Facecloths and hand towels are not provided. You will need to clean your feet off before you get into bed at night because sand gets tracked everywhere on the tile floors. The safe was easy to use and cost $12 CUC per stay. We used bottled water to drink and brush our teeth with. We had no problems with sickness. We were given a phone number to phone if you had any problems with your room, but no one ever answered the phone. The king sized beds were comfortable and the decor was nice.

Restaurants - The food was adequate. We learned to look for food that we could live with. There is no such thing as peanut butter, honey, or jam that we would recognize. The eggs and omelette lines, though long, provided good quality food. Milk comes out of a beverage dispenser. Hot chocolate without milk was good. Coffee is strong. The pasta bar and the icecream are also good. Beware of food that has been sitting out for 6 hours in the buffet area. The 2 a la carte restaurants that we chose were the Mediterranean (seafood) and the Japanese. They were both very good. We wish we could have chosen more. Nolitours hosted a BBQ for us on Wednesday evening. Don't miss it if you are invited: BBQ pork, beef, and chicken along with baked potatoes and salads. There is a non-smoking part in the main restaurant, but it took us a few days to notice it. Smoking is everywhere. We found that eating supper in the buffet restaurant was not too busy around 6:30pm. After 7, we even saw lineups of people waiting to get into the restaurant. Our girls often ate in the pool snack bar where the hotdogs, pizza, hamburgers, and french fries were consistently good. They are served almost all day. Service is sometimes slow.

Bars - They are open at 1000 and are often busy and noisy. The pina coladas were great.

Beach and Pools - Beaches were beautiful. Watch out for uneven areas of sand as you enter the ocean. If you take a long walk to the left, you will find an old reef with many shells to see and pick. Crabs can be found scurrying around as well as lizards. You need shoes for this area. If you walk to the right, you can walk without shoes for a long way. The local people may stop you and ask you for clothing, shoes, soap, and shampoo. It seems as if these are items that are hard to come by. They may ask you for these items in the flea market areas as well, so if you do want to help out, take these items with you when you go. The children's pool area was loud and crowded, and water was colder than the ocean, so we mainly hung out at the beach. The pool activities start at 1000h with Latin music playing loudly all day.

Grounds - The plants were very new, but they should be spectacular in a few years. There were even some plumeria trees (fragrant flowers used in Hawaiian leis). We walked 0.5 km to the main buffet one way. Lots of walking. None of the rooms are on the beach. There are a few units that face in that direction, but it is still a bit of a walk. If you want to see mature foliage, take a long walk down the beach to the right and visit the TRYP hotel Beautiful! A much smaller and quieter place. The Paradisis Varadero to the left is also beautiful to see.
There are mosqitoes as well. I could never feel them biting, but the welts would show up the next day.

Activities - If you do not like loud Latin music, this may not be the place for you. There are activites such as bingo, exercise, dance lessons, trivia, etc. all day. The music starts at 1000h and goes all day until midnight. There are various shows and ballets each night in the main square (courtyard) and theater. My inlaw's room was on the courtyard side, so if they wanted to sleep before midnight, they had to use earplugs. Our room faced the mangrove forest, and it was much quieter.

Tours - We chose to take our girls to the dolphinarium 5 minutes from the resort. We took the transit bus for 2 pesos per person. For $80 CUC on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday or $93 the other days, you can swim with the dolphins. The girls spent 30 minutes in the ocean lagoon with 10 other people and 3 dolphins. Pictures were taken of 2 dolphins kissing their cheeks. The staff will not let you take closeup pictures with your own camera. They block the view so you will pay to buy their pictures. The girls also got to hold on to their dorsal fins while the dolphins gave them a ride. At the end, two dolphins pressed their noses on the feet of each person, pushed them forward, and then catapulted them into the air, much like you would see at Seaworld, but not as high. Our girls thought that the experience was fantastic. We also took the Havana Colonial Day trip...wonderful. Even our girls enjoyed it. About 11 hours long. Had a wonderful lunch which included one drink only. I personally wouldn't pay the extra 2 bucks for the lemon daiquiri again. The glass is martini sized. We saw old Havana and the political area where Castro works. The Christopher Columbus Cemetary was fantastic. Not a lot of time at each place, but great to see. Also took the bus on our own to Varadero. There are 2 flea markets there..a smaller one downtown, and a larger one about a 30 minute walk away from there. Much less crowded than the Havana flea market. Our girls each got their hair braided for $25 CUC each (plus tip). We followed the hairdressers down the back alley to their house behind the flea market. It took between 60-75 minutes, unlike their "10 minute" prediction. Tipping is pretty much expected off of the resort, but on the resort it was less pressured

Conclusion - I personally would like to try a 5 star next time, but for $1108 Canadian per person for the week, it was adequate. We didn't realize how little English the staff would actually know, so perhaps a Spanish/English dictionary would be good. If you want peace and quiet,great food, and great service, don't come here. If you like to drink, smoke,speak French(lots of French Canadians), and party, this is a great place.

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January 2008

My husband and I just returned from Sirenis La Salina on Jan 28th, and we will not be returning to this resort again. This is only our second trip to Cuba and had it been the first we would never go back. Every thing we went to do involved a huge line up. Check in, reservations for the restaurants, money exchange, coffee, food, drinks. If you don't mind walking then this is the place to go. From building 36 to the lobby was just a tad under 1/2 mile. Do the math, 3 miles a day for food at the main buffet!! Thankfully there are carts that will take you around the resort.

Check In: This was a painfully slow process especially at 11:00 PM. There was two different flights that landed at the same time and two resort reps to check us in, here is where the fun starts. Both reps checked in the people on the NoliTours flight while the rest of us on Sky Service waited in another room, by ourselves and a bunch of fruit drinks with bugs in them. The whole process took until 2:00 am. That is 3 hours of wasted time and we were starving. We went to this huge buffet room and had burgers and finally got some sleep at 4:00am and were expected to be at orientation for 10:30am if we wanted to know and where things were.

Food/ Buffet: If you have ever been to an East Side Mario's and found them loud, that is nothing to this buffet. We were calling it the "mess hall" because of the size of it. We finally gave up talking because we had to yell at the top of our voices and we still couldn't make out what was being said. Most of the wait staff was okay, but during breakfast don't take the ketchup off of other tables because they will hunt you down and make you tell them exactly where and who you passed the bottle on to next. The wait staff has been nick named "Ketchup Kops" The egg line up was painfully long but in all the food was good. The coffee bars had painfully long long line ups as well. Lunch and diner had good varieties of salads but again the line ups were dreadful.

In general: The entire resort is sadly understaffed for the amount of tourist that they are trying to accommodate, there was well over 1000 people there. If you are going there with the hopes of meeting new people try somewhere with fewer people. The pools are wonderful and the water slide is a must to try. The rooms are very nice with lots of pillows, blankets and towels, stocked fridge etc. Cleaning staff are very friendly and do a good job on the rooms. The beach water was warmer than the pools, very crowded, little shade, but there was a lot of lounge chairs. It wasn't as much fun

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January 2008

Hi debbie.... I just came back from this resort yesterday and wanted to give you my opinion about it... The resort is excellent, very clean and very beautifully done. The vegetation in and around it although new, gives you the impression of having been there for ever.... The staff, from Otto the general manager to the last maid are amazing people, friendly and itching to serve you in anyway possible. The food at the buffet was good, but a little repetitive, however a new cheff is taking over and that will change I was told. The a la carte restaurantes are amaizing. One small thing I wasnt too hapy with was the buggy system, it could be organized differently so they roam around more often. Other than that, I would not only recommend it but I would and probably will go back there again as soon as I have another vacation. To who ever goes there check at night the grrop that sings at the "criollo" restaurant, it's great.

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January 2008

hi debbie. my husband, myself and my 12 year old son went to la salina the week of jan 11-18.2008. apparently the week before there was over 2000 at the resort but the week we were there it was about half as many. we found absolutely no problems at all. the resort was new and beautiful. the pools were gorgeous and the beach was magnificant. the rooms were very nice and the staff was also very good. the food isnt gourmet but we didnt expect it to be special. there are a lot of options though besides the buffet and the ala cartes there are snack bars where you order from a small menu. lots of fruit and vegetables. overall we really enjoyed ourselves and had a wonderful week of 30 degree temperatures and breezy evenings. still there but only in my head. haha

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January 2008

I travelled to Sirenis la Salina with my parents, brother and my husband from December 30th to January 6th. Ages 24, 26, 41, 47 and 15! I am the 24 year old! I will never return to this hotel again. This is my 4th trip to Varadero and this is the worst hotel I have ever been to! I read reviews before I went and assumed some people are just difficult but they were right this hotel was horrible!!! I have never written a review but i think everyone deserves to know what this hotel is really like!!!

CHECK IN/FRONT DESK - We arrived at the hotel at approximately 12:00pm and had to wait until 4pm to get our room. Once they told us our room was ready we had to wait another 1/2 for the bellboy to go and get our bags and then once we arrived at the rooms me and my husband had to wait in my parents room as the maid was still cleaning my room which took her 1HOUR!

FOOD/BUFFETT/BARS -The service is horrible. The buffet staff was 99% incompetent and 1% was friendly and competent. The food in the hotel was horrendus! There was nothing to eat. I spent the whole week eating fries and bread with cheese because everything else sucked. Most of the time you had to wait in line to get fries! In the morning you spent at least 1/2 hr in line to get some eggs - by the way breakfast was the only good meal. The worst lineup by far was at the coffee bar the minimum wait was 1/2hr. The service was so bad that on the Wednesday morning when we were having breakfast in the buffett one of the guests got on top of a chair and screamed "WHO IS NOT HAPPY" then he started speaking in french so i didnt catch the rest but alot of people started getting up and following him to the back of the buffett and I went to find out what was going on...what was happening was that the majority of the hotel was unhappy especially for some that paid good money to go there...my family paid $7500 to go!! He was having people write down their information and he was going to try and get people there money back. While this was going on all the security from the hotel and management was running around i guess getting there superiors because all of a sudden a cuban showed up..I have no idea who he was but he worked in the hotel..maybe the head of security but in spanish he told the guy who had started the commotion in the buffett that he is never to repeat what he had done and that if he stirrs up any more trouble they will call immigration on him....HILARIOUS!! What came out of what happened was for the rest of the day there was management in the buffett and everything was running smoothly..but that only lasted for that day...by the next day the service was shit again!!! A little more explanation into the service here - once you got your food you had to wait forever for them to come and get your order for drinks...but the second day we got our own drinks and my dad would go up to their stations and get his own wine or bring the bottle back with him!! If you asked for cutlery it took them a good 10mins to go to their station and return with it. If the table wasnt set up when you walked in they would just ignore it and hope you would deal with it yourself, when you would ask that they clean up the table they told you it would take about 15mins - 15 MINS to clean up some plates and cups FOR FU** SAKES! It was really horrible
- please do beleieve this as I am not exaggerating!!

THE ROOMS - In the rooms, one day me and my husband discovered that the maid had instead of putting the towels we left on the floor to wash she had refolded them and put them back in our bathroom....DISGUSTING! In my parents room they had three people in there and the maid keep leaving them only two towels. When I went into my room the day we checked in I only saw only two big towels I asked if I could have some face towels and the response I got was that there are no face towels, the hotel doesnt have any!!!!

THE GOOD - The beach is amazing, the pools are wonderful and the hotel is very nice...except that the common areas are very small for the capacity of the hotel. We were told the Friday before we left that at that moment there were 2300 people there and their max capacity is 2500. They definately needed to make the common areas bigger, especially the lobby!!! We got three days of really crappy weather so everyone was in the lobby and there wasnt enough table or chairs for everyone! I hope my review has helped someone in making the decison to not go to this hotel. I had read reviews before and just assumed that some people were really picky..but believe me Im not a picky person and I WILL NEVER RETURN!!! I think the people who wrote good reviews about this hotel were the ones I saw all week that were constantly HAMMERED!!!!

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January 2008

"This was my first resort vacation, so I have no frame of reference for this report. That said, I think the bar has been set pretty high and any of my future travels will have much to live up to. I travelled with my girlfriend from December 17-24. All we wanted was a place to unwind and relax, a clean room, decent food and a beach to lie on. We got what we wanted. I apologize, in advance, for the length of this review, so I'll get to it.

Travel to Varadero:
Via Air Transat. Other than the departure time, the flight was decent enough. I wasn't expecting anything fancy and it wasn't. They offered a surprisingly appealing breakfast package and the flight crew were all pleasant. We departed Edmonton and landed in Varadero on time. Nice start. *Bring a Pen!* - They are not easy to come by at any point on this journey, whether it's borrowing one from the flight attendant to fill out your Cuban Tourist Card and customs declaration before you land, or having the front desk man at the hotel lend you one, only to have him stand guard and give you the hairy eyeball as you fill out postcards for the schlubs back home. You never know what you have until you don't have it no mo'.

Varadero Airport:
Getting out of the airport was pretty smooth. A bit of a line at customs, but our agent was polite, smiling and got us through quickly. Luggage arrived promptly. Tour agents are waiting immediately outside the airport to direct you to the correct bus to get you to your hotel. We had no trouble finding ours, getting our luggage stowed and finding a pair of seats onboard the A/Ced tour bus. It was a comfortable ride and the 45ish minute ride to La Salina passed quickly, thanks to the guide who quickly got us acquainted with our surroundings and kept us entertained. The driver was no slouch either. We were makin' time.

Hotel Check In:
The process went very smoothly for us. We asked at the front desk where to check in and were pointed in the right direction, to a salon room off of the main lobby to the left. A hotel rep was ready and waiting with virgin mojitos and a (very) light snack. We got our room (card)keys, rum and coffee. We also received a map of the resort and an entertainment schedule (see photos), although I can't recall if this was at check in or at the orientation meeting the following morning. We were then off to find transport to our room, which can be found straight through the main lobby or off the right of it. We easily found a minibus up to the task and after a short wait as the driver loaded as many of us aboard as comfortable and safe, we were whisked off to Building 38, which we soon discovered to be a very short distance to the beach. This was the only request I made of our tour operator (NoliTours) and I was very pleased that we were accomodated. The porter/driver gave us a quick run down of the grounds as we cruised past and offered to assist us w/ our bags when we got to our building. We declined, since we travelled comparatively lightly. We gave him a tip for the ride and the info (he seemed kind of shocked) and made our way into the building. We should have taken him up on his offer to carry our luggage up to our suite, but we're young and strong and soon found ourselves in our 3rd floor suite overlooking the activity pool, and to a lesser extent, the ocean. We were home (at least for the next week). **This is an important note:** These are 3 story buildings and there are no elevators. If you can't do stairs, make sure you specify a ground floor suite. Other than the vast amount of ground it covers and the walking required, the rest of the resort (grounds/buildings) appeared quite accesible for those with limited mobility or using wheelchairs. There is a lot of walking involved here. Walking or waiting for a minibus. Take this into consideration when booking here.

The Room:
Very nice. Clean. New, vibrant paint and tile work. Fairly spacious w/ 2 double beds (we didn't specify), satellite TV (mostly spanish with some english and chinese), reading chair, A/C, safe, mini-fridge (ours had to be turned on using the dial inside under the ice box), balcony w/ 2 plastic chairs and a table and a sweeeeet view. Nice bathrooms w/ huge counter/mirror, hairdryer, scale and some soap/body lotion/shampoo. As mentioned many times by previous reviewers, the tub is badly designed. Put towels down before you start your shower (one a the end of the tub, opposite the tap, and another on the floor where the tub meets the sink counter). No slips! Just wring them out and reuse them the next time you shower. No need to have them cleaned every day. We got settled in and then went in search of food.

*Some helpful room hints (I hope)*
$2CUC/day is a flat rate and you will be charged this amount for each day of your stay, whether you request the safe be opened on your first day or your 5th. Get your money's worth and get it done right away. The techs came by to open it within a couple of hours and we entered a code number of our choice to lock it. Worked like a charm.
This appears to be a very energy/environmentally conscious resort and there are some interesting little quirks that you may or may not be familiar with... Lights/power/AC are activated by placing your cardkey into the lit slot just inside the door when you enter. Removal of the key will cause the power to go off in the room after approx. 1 minute, A/C and all. Don't get caught in the bathroom or call maintenance because you have no power. Esta muy embarazoso. Speaking of the A/C, it will not work if the patio door is open. Great idea to save energy! Flourescent bulbs all around too. Add to that the fact that it is built around/within a forest (natural preserve is right next door), so much of the flora is well developed and mature. I was very impressed with this resort's attention to these sorts of details. I imagine the Cuban gov't had the last say on how things would be developed, so these efficiency measures can surely be attributed to them as well.

Food:
It was an interesting experience. It ran the gamut from awful to delicious. I did enough research before we left that I knew not to have outrageous expectations. All I wanted was edible. We decided to forgo the a'la cartes, mostly because we wanted to spend as little time standing in lineups as possible, so I cannot comment on how long the waits were for reservations (I don't even know where they took them) and obviously cannot comment on the food served. We were all buffet, all the time (with some snack bar visits thrown in for color). Our first meal, we headed for what we knew, in particular the peas and corn. We simultaneously took our first bites and looked at each other, horrified. If all the food tasted as bad as these two simple little vegetables did, we knew we'd never make it off that island alive. It then became apparent that the buffet would become a experiment in trial and error. Simple really. If something didn't taste good, try something else. Eventually, the list of tasty items grows and you have a pretty decent meal sitting in front of you. There were a number of beef, pork, fish, shellfish and chicken dishes rotated throughout the week, some better than others, but there certainly is variety. I would recommend the grill area in the middle of the buffet. Chicken carved, on the spot, right off the bone (the best tasting single item I had all week), fresh grilled fish and beef (although the latter I found to be a little to tough and stringy for my liking), seafood paellas... Dee-lish. Also a lovely salad/cheese bar, which my girlfriend had to appreciate, no matter what, since she's vegetarian, and a picky one at that. Green peppers were better than any I've tasted here in Canada. Lots of veggies, cooked or raw to choose from. Again, ye be warned though... look out for the corn and peas! There was also a pre-made pasta bar and a chef at the back who would cook plain pasta in the sauce of your choice. All in all, I didn't mind the food and neither myself nor my girlfriend suffered from any sort of illness during our stay (other than the self-inflicted rumshot wounds I incurred on the Catamaran Tour!) They really are doing their best to please everyone all of the time, even if the results would sometimes indicate otherwise. The service was excellent, with someone there quickly to offer beverages and to clean your table when you are done. Tips are not necessary here, but surely appreciated. One family gave what appeared to be baby clothing and other essentials to an obviously pregnant server. She was very appreciative of the gesture. There is also a fine Cuban band that plays in the hall during dinner, called 'Espacio....6'. They have a CD for sale, so if you like what you hear, make sure to pick one up. Besides, everything tastes better with good tunes behind it all...
In addition to serving breakfast, lunch and dinner, the buffet hall becomes a snack bar from 11:00pm - 6:00am.

The Beach:
I loved every grain of sand on it, if only for one week. It could get a little weedy in a couple of spots and the sand was surprisingly uneven out in the surf, making wading around a bit of a guessing game, but these are insignificant issues, and completely out of the control of the resort. Lovely sand and some very interesting shoreline features as you head towards Varadero. I did see lifeguards regularly. The beach is raked every morning, to remove anything the surf may have brought in the night before. There were only a couple of occasions when finding a beach lounger would have required actually looking for one, and on those occasions, we just dropped our beach towels down on the sand (we brought our own) and relaxed. Nothing to get worked up over. New palapas are being built almost daily to try to keep up with the arrival of more loungers, of which a sizeable shipment arrived during our stay. There were a couple of vendors out each day with a variety of souvenirs for sale. They were not intrusive at all, nor were any of the vendors we encountered. A better shopping experience than FutureShop for this very reason! At your disposal as part of the all-inclusive, but with reservations, are hobie cats, windsurfers, kayaks, and paddleboats, for an hour at a time I believe. Just look for the hobie cats on the beach and head inland from there to find the Surf Shack and make your reservations. The earlier in the day, the better. Oh, and contrary to popular belief, the jaunt from the beach to get a beverage is a short one. Maybe 50M from shoreline to bar. Visit the Beach Grill/Bar and get a daiquiri from Hector. It'll knock your socks off. Make sure you bring an insulated mug from home (the on-site store had some, but just in case they run out of stock). Not only will your daiquiris stay icy and cold, but you'll cut down on the litter (plastic cups) that is, sadly, beginning to accumulate in spots. More on that later. Fresh made omelettes are available here each morning until around 9:00ish, as well as a breakfast buffet with fruit, bread, eggs, bacon and the like. Go early and enjoy a delicious, hot breakfast near the beach. This is also the site of the 'Thank You' Beach BBQ from the hotel. Unfortunately, we did not attend, and therefore cannot comment on it.
If I had to nitpick, I'd say the beach in Varadero itself has nicer sand, clearer/cleaner water, and was just somehow more the tropical beach I had envisioned. That, however, is like saying you prefer Ferraris to Lambourghinis. Both are fine, fine machines. Any differences really just come down to personal taste.

Amenities:
Main Building - Front Desk (safes, beach towels, internet passcode, among other things). They are pleasant enough to deal with, but the less time spent here, the better. Try to get all your stuff looked after all at once. After the lineup at the desk, you can soothe your jagged nerves with a drink in the lobby bar or crank them up higher at the coffee bar. In either case, the lobby is a nice place to sit down and enjoy a drink. Open and airy with bright decor and Cuban rythyms wafting through the air. Also in the main building are the Bank, to exchange CADs for CUCs, the gourmet a'la carte restaurant, phones, hair salon and buffet restaurant. Take special note of the Tour office, Internet Salon, store & scooter/car rentals. Pablo was our NoliTour rep and he was excellent. He did an orientation meeting the morning after our arrival to introduce us to the resort, the tours offered, and to the local culture. The time and venue was listed on the pamphlet we received at the airport the previous day. We booked our catamaran tour through him and it went off without a hitch. I would recommend sailing with the "Crucero del Sol" outfit, as they took us to an offshore dolphinarium to swim and have very high quality photos taken w/ the dolphins (they'll tow you around the tank for the right price too), snorkelling on the world's second largest coral reef and finally, to Cayo Blanco, for an hour or two in an idyllic locale with stunning white sand and turquoise blue waters. Top it off with a lobster or chicken meal cooked fresh on the island and the $170CUC for the two of us was a very easy bill to swallow. Amazing Day! Pablo was also able to direct us to a number of schools in Varadero so that we could drop of some donations of paper, crayons, clothes and the like. We had originally found an address for an orphanage in Matanzas City, but he was quick to point out that we didn't have to travel that far to find suitable recipients. We followed his directions and found a small school for disabled kids in Varadero that was more than happy to take the supplies off our hands. That was a profound experience, I'll tell you. Thanks again to Pablo. We decided to rent a scooter on three different occasions to zip into Vardero at our leisure. Scooter and car rentals are outside the rotunda that contains the tour office and internet salon. You can't miss them. $15CUC for the first 3 hours, and $3CUC for every hour after that. If I recall correctly, we were told $21CUC for a 9am - 5pm rental, as a sort of an all-day deal, plus fuel (at most, $3CUC). Roberto was running the rental kiosk more often than not, and even went so far as to lend me his own personal helmet when the hotel, due to a lack of supply, was unable to provide one for me. Service Above and Beyond, for which I offered a five peso tip, and he humbly accepted. Just make sure to have your license w/ you. There isn't much traffic along the way, and when there is, just stay to the right and you'll be fine. There are a few potholes to speak of and fluctuating speed limits, so be aware of that too! If you wreck the scooter, you pay. No insurance will save you! The double-decker buses that run the strip were apparently a good option as well. It is a pay once/use the transfer all day scenario costing $5CUC. Just don't miss the last one out of town, or you'll have to find a cab or walk, and La Salina is almost as far out on the penninsula as it can get, with only 3 or 4 resorts located further away from town. The internet was scary. Remember dialup? On a bad day? Welcome to Cuba, where everything happens just a little bit slower ;-) $10CUC, payable at the front desk, gets you an internet passcode good for 1/2hour of internet access time, and a chance to maybe get an email or two sent off before your time dwindles away. We tried, originally, to contact the outside world in the afternoon, and after using up 19 of our 30 minutes simply trying to login to Hotmail, we decided to come back during the evening sometime, hoping that bandwidth would be freer then. We returned and were able to send one cryptic email off in the 29th minute! It was exhilarating and downright frustrating at the same time. That said, we were there to be out of touch with reality, not wired in. So, like water, it rolled off our backs. Off to the store for a cigar. The store was handy (just off the lobby), well priced and fairly well stocked, all things considered (No Pens here either!). Souvneirs, clothing, books, shades, toiletries, pop, snacks, liquor, drums/maracas, and of course, tobacco are available here. The girls behind the counter were pleasant and easy to deal with. They seemed a little aloof at times and may take their time, but again, that's Cuba. Relax and enjoy.

Quiet Pool - Large, pretty pool that arcs around the 1st snack bar. 2 bridges cross it with a graded shallow end one way, and the swim up bar the other. Snack bar serves burgers/fries/pizza/sandwiches, all pretty decent tasting. There is also a small salad buffet with the occasional hot dish available. Also a full bar, although not as well equipped as the others. If you want something super fancy, head to the swim-up bar. The term quiet is a relative term, as there are still plenty of kids splashing and yelling (adults too), but there are no activities held or music pumped here. Nice place to find a lounger/umbrella (availability flucuated thru the week) and relax w/ a cocktail.

Activity Pool - Another large pool with waterslide (my girlfriend loved it!), cave bar, main bar/2nd snack bar, volleyball, water polo, music trivia, dance/Spanish lessons and, one evening, a very glitzy and well recieved synchro swimming show, among other things. For an overall view of what was scheduled during our week there, events calendar is included w/ the photos I will/have posted. Easiest to find a lounger here in the morning or mid to late afternoon. I was surprised how quickly the area quieted down after sundown. Not a peep until the band struck up by the theatre building. The water was quite chilly in both pools.

Theatre & A'la Cartes - Located between the two pools along with the spa/gym and doctor's office. The theatre had live bands out front, almost nightly, and inside they held dance and other musical performances. Our orientation w/ Pablo was also held here. The a'la cartes are directly across the square from the theatre. I believe the nightclub is also housed here. We didn't visit them, so I cannot comment.

Staff/Locals:
The vast majority of the staff at La Salina are genuinely friendly and very helpful. We tipped our maid $10CUC the first morning, along with some earrings/necklaces. She left us a nice thank you note and we were not left wanting for towels, bottled water, pop/beer at any point in the trip. We left her $5CUC more on the morning of check out, for her efforts all week long. I honestly believe that we'd have gotten the same service w/o tipping. I'm not saying you shouldn't tip, just that it won't necessarily get you any better or quicker treatment (communism is beautiful). It just seems that, tip or no, things will get done at the same pace either way. Pull up a chair and relax. Good service should be rewarded with a peso or two, or five or ten, and more importantly, with your respect. On a resort stocked almost exclusively w/ Canadians (of which I would estimate a 50/50 French/English split), we watched far too many people dumping empty cups, platefuls of food and smoke butts on the ground, in the bush and on the beach, or where ever they pleased, with utter disregard for the hard work and effort put in by the resort workers/grounds keepers, who are out everyday trying to make the place beautiful for us. I am a smoker, and it was very easy for me to find ashtrays and trashcans to deposit my butts into, rather than to use Cuba as my personal wastebin. We found ourselves picking up trash on the way to our room, out of some sick sense of guilt. We also witnessed two middle-aged women nearly come to blows, in front of their children, over a poolside lounger. Toys were thrown, insults (in French) were hurled and a couple of staff members were even brought in to mediate. The sight was both hilarious and sad, all at the same time. Unfortunately, I was emabarrassed for Canada on more than one occasion. OK, sermon over... The locals, what little interaction we had with them off the resort, were all very friendly, gracious and seemingly happy. This was the vibe we got from the school children we visited and their teachers. Despite the rundown classrooms, bright, colorful artwork, done by the kids, hung on the walls and almost all their faces had smiles on them. We did have the good fortune of meeting a man who doesn't have the luxury of working on a resort, and as a result, has a little tougher time than some of his countrymen. He graciously accepted some money from us, as he'd shown us around Varadero's old water tower (disguised as a fortress-type building on a hill) and been candid in his conversation with us. We bought/brought him some toiletries from the resort store once it became apparent in our brief initial meeting that things like soap and shampoo are tough to come by for the average Cuban, even if he was holding enough pesos in his hand to purchase such things. Again, like pens, it's the little things that we take for granted that mean a lot there.

Check Out:
The beginning of a very long and brutal travel day back to Alberta. Check out is at noon and our flight was due to leave at midnight. Twelve hours without a room kind of sucked, but we were able to have our luggage stowed (in a somewhat, but not completely, secured environment) for the day, so that we could enjoy our final day w/o worrying about our stuff. Shower facilities were apparently available, although we didn't inquire about that service. Spent the day at the pool, beach and had one final buffet meal before our bus arrived to take us to the airport. Ours (NoliTours) was running around 10-15 minutes late, while the Sunquest shuttle got there an hour late. We arrived at the airport with plenty of time to spare. Perhaps the same hasty driver we got on the way in?

Varadero Airport:
Tolerable at best on this evening. Already faced with having to go home, our flight being delayed an hour didn't sit well with us, although we were informed that a 1 hour delay in Cuba could be considered as good as on-time and worthy of a great celebration. The time passed and we boarded what we now know, in hindsight, was the flight from hell. No sleep, constant turbulence, not one, but two lousy movies and a pizza snack made at the Smurfit cardboard box factory. I was a cranky boy by the time we touched down and my Jeep is fortunate that it had the good sense to start after a week in the airport parking lot. I fear I may have dismantled it on the spot had it not... All in all, we came home very happy with the price we paid, the resort (with food quality being the only real issue we could raise), the NoliTours reps (Pablo in particular), and most of all, the people and country of Cuba. We'll be visiting again, as soon as possible, and we would certainly consider staying at the Sirenis La Salina again, especially for the measily $900/ea that we paid this time around. The resort is bound to improve on it's shortcomings and become more and more expensive as time wears on. Now would be a good time to experience it."

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January 2008

Arrival - Dec. 21 2007 late evening arrival with usual confusion finding correct bus etc. but all in all not really a problemRooms - rooms was great, clean and comfortable. only complaint was a poorly designed bathtub / shower. very hard to keep from flooding floor. minor problem tho.

Restaurants - buffet staff were very friendly and helpful. ala carte staff really seemed to lack training. we did not expect much and were not disappointed, food sucked. everything we tried was either overcooked or lacked any flavour. hotel should get some advice from cruise line staff who never have a problem feeding large volumes of guests with top quality and presentation.

Bars - great. always pleasant and smiling staff, but sometimes overwhelmed when busy. coffee bar in main lobby had great coffee and capacchino

Beach and Pools - beach was very good and always staffed. lots of beach chairs. pool areas were also great but sometimes a little crowded and hard to find chairs and space.

Grounds - grounds were very nice and well kept but still a bit imature but this is understandable for a hotel only open since july.Activities - always something going on although we did not do much, we were there for the beach and sunshine

Tours - we took catamaran trip to cayo blanco, trip = great food = yech. also took day trip to havana, worth every penny!!. do not miss. interesting to listen to tour guides official stories and her unoffical comments. bit of insight to life in cuba. best mohito at la bodegito de medio (not sure of spelling)

Conclusion - in all a great trip made better by the excellent weather. if we return to cuba, i would prefer to find somewhere with better dining. it may sound petty but for us good dining is part of the vacation experiance and la salinas has a long way to go in this area. but if dining is not important then this is good spot, especially for families.

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January 2008

Hello everyone. We, a family of four including 2 kids stayed at La Salina Dec 21-28 of 2007. We flew Air Transat from Toronto to Varadero. Usually charter airlines jam you in your seat but the flight was short for us, so it did not matter much. We were given a small hot meal in the plane. In Cuba, the Cuban immigration although slow, it never is a problem. We were transferred to the hotel by a special bus. Checking in was quite simple as everything was ready for us. We were given a cocktail, a bottle of Rum and some coffee upon arrival, which was a nice treat. The Hotel is beautiful. It is quite new and that's a plus. It has 2 huge pools, one slightly quieter for the people that want little disturbance.
The other pool, the main pool, is also huge. It is beautifully set, with a waterfall cave swim up bar, and a tube slide almost 3 stories high. Lots of activities by the pool. You don't go to Cuba for food as everything is bland. This place has several al carte restaurants for which you have to make a reservation. We tried the Japanese, the French, and the Romantico. There are a couple of other as well such Cuba and Mediterranean. The Japanese place is the highlight of the place. It is really nice where the food is cooked in front of you. The Buffet is OK, nothing especial, but OK. You can pick and choose what you like. There is a lobby bar, a piano bar, and several other places by the pools to get drinks, and snacks. The coffee is the best in Cuba. The rooms were nice and clean, lots of towels, shampoo, soap, toothpaste/brush, water, beer and softdrinks in the mini fridge, TV, etc. No complaints there. The hotel is huge. It will take a good 5 minutes to walk from the beach to the main lobby but so what. Doing some walking is good after all that rum / food. There are lots of golf carts and you can always catch a ride. The beach is fantastic. Overall, this place is great. I recommend it, and I would go back there again.

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