Cuba Resorts Getting married in the Caribbean Reviews – Getting married in the Caribbean – Cuba Reviews

The grounds are beautiful – well-kept.

They also had a good program for children`s activites.

The bartenders were all friendly, especially done at the beach bar.

Don’t count on anything being on time or according to schedule. We ended up canceling our horseback riding due to multiple delays which left us waiting for hours in the hotel lobby.

The wedding co-ordinator Yjami (spelt wrong I’m sorry) was absolutely amazing. She sat down with us for about 30min, that’s all we needed, she asked me the flowers I wanted, the song I wanted, type of cake and goodies, and all done. The day of the wedding i had my hair done in my room, we had champagne every day in our mini fridge, not high class but hey it’s free, and my wedding day. Put my dress on, and then took one of the taxi shuttles to my beach setting. As I started getting closer to the beach the driver was honking his horn for dear life. I thought it was to announce my arrival , but I found out later it was to tell the staff to hurry up and finish decorating. My husband and best man found it very funny. Goes to show you that there’s real time, and then Cuban time. The ceremony was perfect, the flowers amazing. We shared our goodies and champagne with people on the beach, took amazing pictures, stood in the ocean in my wedding gown. How could it be so wrong. It wasn’t. Not one bit.

My husband and the best man went into Holguin, and did a tour there, but they realized that the "children"/"beggars" were probably working with the tour company because they seemed to be everywhere the bus went, but they did enjoy themselves. They did tip a guy to keep everyone away from them, and that helped the situation.

They cancel katamaran and pedalos reservations as soon as it’s too windy, so better go make your reservations very early in the morning. Katamaran was quite boring anyway as they just go straight toward the ocean for 10 minutes then just come straight back. Pedalos were most pleasant for that.

When it came time to leave, I found out the cashier had no canadian coins meaning no less that $5 bills. When I went to exchange my pesos for canadian money, I was offered $35 for my 37 pesos, which didn’t make any sense. The cashier told me that if I could manage to find 1 more peso, he could give me $40 instead. This means the initial amount was somewhere in $39 but he had to round it down to $35. That’s so bad!

Restaurants à-la-carte are not on the map provided by the reception and it wasn’t obvious to find them on our own, so we had to call reception who did their best to explain it in this huge resort. By the way, the stuffed chicken at the Italian restaurant is just awesome!

The curtains are not thick enough and light brightens the room at 7am.

The PV has chosen their most experienced, charming and multi-lingual staff for the Royal Service. They bent over backward to make our stay great. Extensive room service is available 24 hours a day.

Air conditioned and therefore mosquito-free if that’s a concern for you. We didn’t encounter many mosquitos this trip but have on trips later in the summer. The 24-hour lobby bar is small and not many people used it – but we enjoyed getting an early morning tea or a drink after the show. If you’re looking for more action, head over to the main resort’s lobby or disco. You can always ask for a ride in one of the little guest transports.

The bathroom is as wide as the bedroom, with a large spa-bath. There are various aromatherapy products for the bath and your butler will actually come and draw your personally-selected bath for you. I didn’t avail myself of this, but if you’re into that kind of service, have a blast! There are “his” and “hers” counters, each with a sink, large mirror, lots of counter space. Between the 2 counters is the door to your private Roman courtyard with a latticed roof for semi-shade and privacy, little palm tree, gardens and a path down the middle to the outdoor shower in the tiled wall. WOW! Gorgeous! I couldn’t get enough of standing in the warm Cuban air while showering. It was a very clean vacation!

The entire reception, lobby, etc. is air conditioned and therefore mosquito-free if that’s a concern for you. We didn’t encounter many mosquitos this trip but have on trips in the summer. There’s a nice little lounge area with a decent pool table for a lazy end to a long, hot day!

LOTS and LOTS of walking if your room is in Building 7!!! Flip side is that you are very close to the beach boardwalk over the dunes. There are carts that you can wait for to get around, but be prepared to wait for them.

We did the catamaran excursion. HIGHLY RECOMMEND THIS ONE!! We went snorkling, interacted with dolphins, spent a couple of hours at a private beach, had a lovely lobster lunch (chicken for those who don’t like lobster) with an open bar. There are nets where you can lay down and get some sun. A lot of fun and the highlight of our trip.

Check in was a breeze – luggage arrived at our room in minutes. Room was exactly what we asked for, with a partial ocean view from the balcony. Be sure to keep track of your blue beach towels!! You will be charged if they are not returned and at check out, they can refuse to give you the check out card for your tour operator that allows you to get on the bus to the airport.

Grounds are well kept. Gardeners are out early morning, working hard to tend to the flowers and trees.

As we were leaving the resort at the end of our stay, we saw the pest control truck on the main road that leads to the hotel. It was like a flame thrower – flame was shooting out at least ten feet behind the truck. Not sure if it was a malfunction or if it was cleaning out the spray gun. It sure was scary to see, though.

They also have a games place where there is a pingpong table and a pool table. For pingpong, it’s best to bring your own ball and paddles as I’ve noticed the ball went missing at one point. The pool table has its own equipment always there.

We were also pleasantly surprised to find that our beach towels were also waiting for us in our rooms. We did arrive after midnight, so it wasn’t really necessary to have them but it was nice not to have to find the club house the next morning while we still had no idea where everything was.

The staff that dealt with the beach chairs were sometimes hard to take. This one guy in particular was incredibly lazy and would often attempt to ignore my request for chairs. I would’ve preferred a lack of staff for that on the beach. I’m quite capable of getting my own chair, but we had to put up with them for 2 weeks. They also collect the chairs at 5ish and if you want to stay longer they give you looks. Their shift ends officially at 5:30-6:00 I believe and they always want to be done earlier. I just ignored them when I wanted to stay longer which was just once or twice during my stay anyways.

Also, keep in mind that this is a very small and very, very quiet resort. I would definitely not choose it for a spring break vacation with my friends. But it’s perfect for R&R and families with small children (which by the way, they do have a daycare for).

There are cats in this resort and they enjoy strolling by while people eat as some insisted on feeding them. And yes, they’re fuzzy and adorable but they have fleas so I recommend you stay far away from them.

did the day trip to Havana on the Friday, very nice and clean City, would recommend this one to all, I would do it again if i go back to cuba

We also went to the dolphin aquarium, and I did swim with the dolphins, and it was a great experience. It was 79CUC’s for swimming, 35CUC’s if you were not swimming and it was free for the kids under 4. It’s only a short bus ride from the resort, around 10-12 minutes and then a 5 minutes boat ride to the aquarium. We left the resort at 8h45 and we were back at 1h30. It was really hot over there and a bit too long with the kid, the sea lions and dolphins show were nice to watch, but they were pretty short and there was a lot of down time with nothing much to do.

Pool:This is one huge pool and it’s beautiful. It’s the warmest pool I’ve been in at an all-inclusive. The main bar is the pool bar, which was really busy, but there are smaller bars around the pool. It was great with the kid, since a lot of the sections are very shallow. It’s not the cleanest pool I’ve seen, but I did see some staff trying to clean it a few times during the week. There no problem to get a lounger, but if you want one under a palapas, then I guess you will have to wake up early, as the towel game (which I’ve never understood) is played intensively on the beach and at the pool. We would usually go to the beach in the morning and at the pool in the afternoon, after the kid nap, around 3h30 – 4h, it was not a problem to get a good spot at that time.

There are a few shops on-site, where you can buy cigars, alcohol and some souvenirs and stuff like solar cream, chips and pops. There are also some vendors around the pool everyday selling stuff. They rotate each day, so if you see something you like, you might not see it again if you are only staying for one week. As for the alcohol, the best rum were : Havana Club 15 years : 150CUC, Havana Club 7 years 11.90CUC, Havana Club bullet proof 29.50CUC and Ron Santiago 11 years 40 CUC. The prices were pretty much the same at the airport and the bullet proof was even more expensive as it was selling for 35CUC. So, unless you are worried about your luggage weight allowance, I don’t see any benefits of buying it at the airport.

take a converter for your curl iron and battery charger etc. and a wash cloth, they don’t supply this. Shampoo and bath gel and cream supplied. Hair dryer in bathroom along with magnifying mirror and iron and ironing board. Beds were very very comfortable.

Off resort, we only took the bus to Guardalavaca and didn’t take part in anything else organized.

The grounds were very well trimmed and manicured, and in very good shape, maybe excellent, considering this was the very end of dry season.

Only negatives I can speak of could have happened at any resort and were guest related; trash tossed around for gardeners to pick up, groups of inebriated guests being loud and abusive without regard for anyone (employee or otherwise) or the time of day (or night), and one of the worst was the adult couple walking up and down the buffet treating it like it was all "finger food", reaching in with their hands and sampling as they wanted.

The beach bar was quick and very friendly. The pool bar was the same, with obviously a larger selection of drinks. While the Espresso was somewhat over-extracted, overall the coffee at the pool bar was very good.

We stayed in Block 5, The only complaint I have was it overlooks the pool bar and I was kept awake every night, and woken in the wee hours, except for one.

Our flight from Fredericton to Montreal was good. A small Jazz turboprop plane. We checked our luggage, 100 pounds each was allowed, through to Cayo Largo and stayed in the security section once in Montreal. A short wait and then a full AirBus to Cuba. Traveling the night before Daylight Savings we arrived just after dusk.

While we were there the waterfalls and the fountains were restored and are beautiful. Gardeners constantly worked their plots and handed fresh cut blooms to morning walkers.

We’ll be back.

There’s also a special hut that’s used for repeat visitor a la cartes and special occasions. We were treated to a lovely romantic meal to celebrate our anniversary, complete with a floral arrangement and candles, our own waiter and visits by Eddour and Livan from management. Did we feel special? Sure did!

Check in was a little slow but as others have remarked, go and get a drink and have a look around while others stand in line. The luggage is secure and attended and is delivered quickly.

I dont know where someone was getting 10 km from the airport, cause our bus ride was a solid 9 minutes or so. Shockingly, i can’t complain about the bus ride. Im someone that gets car sick often but the ride to the airport was spectacular. You got a deep inside look at the town of Caibairien (sp?) which was a real eye opener into Cuban culture, as well as getting to learn the History of the infamous causeway as you ride on it.

Also, there’s buses to and from the market every two hours! Frequent and flexible!

The pools are great too. Big enough so that you rarely run into someone, and alot safer than most because there’s a ramp into the water instead of stairs, and it gets deeper GRADUALLY. There’s also a killer swim up bar:)

For lunch we generally went to the Pool side restaurant. We could have gone to the buffet again, or the Beach retaurant, but the one on pool side served the BEST chicken sandwiches i have EVER had, along with all the cervexa you could ask for 🙂

We came back 45 minutes earlier the following Friday evening and the flight. All in all, I would recommend the Melia Cayo Coco in a heartbeat and look forward to going back.

As far as food and drinks are concerned, we have no complaints as there is always something available at any time of the day or night. I can’t fathom how much complaining goes on on these reviews. As far as I’m concerned, these people should stay home.

great price for what we got and will be going again more than likely to the same hotel.

Nice bonsaii around the Asian restaurant.

Over all we had a great holiday and would reccommend it to anyone. As a matter of fact I am returning there in less than 2 weeks, this time with my husband and another couple.

We changed, then went to buffet for late dinner.

If you do decide to travel to Cuba. Do the people of Cuba a favor and bring along extra old clothes that are in good shape that you may have outgrown or decided to discard. Take along a whole spare suitcase full if you can. They especially would love used shoes, baby clothes, shampoos, lotions, medicines like tylenol or advil, makeup, essentially anything you are willing to bring is fair game for a well appreciated tip.

Questions? tomaz61@yahoo.ca

All in all worth staying up for.

This resort is huge if you get to walk the whole thing you will see this for sure. Gardeners are everywhere keeping it clean and attending to the grounds and greenery. All the trees and plants are marked with a small sign saying the speciaes, we found this a nice touch. They have a long system of fish ponds linked up in fron tof the main building with a version of coy in them, most are orange in color and some are quite big, maybe 12 inches or so. There is also a white heron type bird who has taken up residence and if your patient youl see him dive in for his own version of a cuban buffet.

So off we go on the golf cart again and up to the 4th floor and walk in to toom 4318, slightly smaller, with no ironing board or iron, but that’s OK, the A/C works! All is good and although we would have rathered be in the Cayo Largo Section, we are fine with this as we didn’t book the Cayo Largo section and had just lucked out on that.

The bellboy grabbed our bags and wisked us off on the golf kart to the Cayo Largo section of the resort, although far from the main area of the resort this was definatley an upgrade to the main building.

We will go back again.

Was very happy with the service I might add. Great luggage allowance.1 hundred pounds each plus 2 carry ons each at 10kg.Had it packed to the max

If I had the opportunity, I would be back in a second.

There is bingo a few times a day. I won a 26er my first night there. It set the mood for the trip. It was amazing from then on.

Our blow dryer was tempermental, but it worked when we needed it.

That’s it-going back in 2010-by request of the kids no less-who have made this their home away from home!

Rooms:

As mentioned by previous reviewers rooms on two levels small fridge,hairdryer,converter, some english TV and daily water replenish, beach towels in room. Very clean and comfortable

Restaurants and Bars:

My wife and I only went to the buffet..others in our group went to the a la cartes..nothing special. Food in the buffet was ample..always great soup and lots of choice. The lobby bar was terrific..fantastic service and quality drinks..a great meeting place. The beach bar was well used by our group and featured service right at out beach chairs. The Piano bar was a favorite of mine as the piano playing was really good.

Beach/Pools/Grounds:

The beach was the main attraction and did not disapoint. Plenty of loungers and good walking in either direction. The grounds were quite nice and the resort was spread out..so lots of walking involved. Never went to the pools but they appeared to be clean..pool swim up bar was always busy!

Activities on and off the Resort/Hotel:

The only day it rained we went into Varadero on the double decker bus. Had been there before so we knew what we wanted to see..several markets mainly.

Other Comments:

We have been to Cuba numerous times..Varadero 3 times We have stayed at the Solomar and the Barlevento. We would rate the food better at the solomar. and the barlevento as being better located but we must give the Sandals high marks for having the best staff probably overall a 4 star resort. In addition we found the quality of the drinks at Sandals to be the best we have seen in over 20 visits to the caribbean. And yes the wedding went off without a hitch..our son was married on the beach and the small reception was held in a gazebo near the lobby bar complete with a great 3 piece Cuban band. We highly recommend this resort!

Food at the hotel was wonderful especially lobster night on Wed nights.

We also heard that there is a jeap tour and that you ride through a river, have lunch out, ride in a boat and reurn in a bus. Sounds good we will check this out.

We travelled at night last time but you wait all day to leave at both ends, this year we will travel in the morning.

Rooms:

Our room was very comfortable, clean, and spacious. Our main maid, turndown maid, and beverage stocker were all excellent. May I suggest bringing 2 or more bars of your own soap (somedays we would shower 3 times/day), the water is hard and the soap provided will not lather. Bring facecloths too! We found that the maids and fridge stocker were very appreciative of tips – small gifts and pesos. By the 2nd week, we always had a bottle of Chardonnay and at least 8 beer in our fridge, every day. May I suggest kids toys as gifts for the maids. We went to a mall, and discovered that toys are super expensive. (a $15 CAD toy costs about 95 CUC – about $110 CAD).

Restaurants and Bars:

We liked the service – alot! The food was good, considering that this is Cuba. So much selection, but after 2 weeks, I just really wanted to come home and BBQ a steak! I actually lost 5 lbs. on this vacation because I was forced to eat fairly healthy – lots of veggies and white fish! I loved how after the 3rd day, every staff member that had served us, totally remembered us! I found the service the best at the Italian restaurant, the beach bar, and at the buffet. We hung out alot at the lobby bar, it’s so central, and a good place to kill time while waiting for a reservation. Loved the beach bar, the bartenders will always remember your drink order, and will sometimes start prepping it as soon as you walk in. Tip these people, they need it, and the service gets a little more outstanding.

Beach/Pools/Grounds:

Loved all of the above. Apparantly, it was Cuba’s dry season, but there were so many beautiful and interesting trees, vines, flowers, etc. Lots of geckos, salamanders, and birds. The pools were very clean and a good temperature. The pool bar was a lot of fun (lookout – hot sun + many drinks = interesting times). My husband won a drinking contest at 10:30 in the morning at the pool bar – hilarious day. The beach was outrageously awesome. Every single day, when we walked the boardwalk to the beach, I was amazed at how blue & beautiful the ocean was. The beach is sooooo relaxing!

Other Comments:

My best friend and brother-in-law got married at Sandals – it was perfect. Also I celebrated my 30th b-day and the staff were so gracious. It’s only been 2 weeks since we left, but I am already itchin to book my next trip. I miss it so much, it was one of the best times I have ever had.

Executive Summary

In short, this is a fantastic resort. This was our first trip to Varadero. It didn’t disappoint us at all. To get a drink at any bar was only a matter of a minute, or two. The food at the restaurants was great, and we never had a problem with getting our choice of seating time. The service was white glove, and if you wanted your food spicy, all you had to do was ask. The beach is fantastic, and you can walk out about 60 meters from shore. The road from the airport to the hotel has no potholes at all, just a pleasant trip.

Travel Agent (Canadian residents)

Our hats are off to Penny at Breakaway Travel, on Taunton Road, in Oshawa. It was our first venture to Cuba, after being at many other resorts in the Caribbean. Penny knew how to pick the perfect resort for us. Penny also told us that the amount shown online (for all Canadian travel websites) must comply with all other websites. Therefore, if you book online the price is the same, no matter where you go. However, if you phone, you will get a cheaper price. This is great news for all travelers. Tickets have changed, and now it’s a piece of paper, and not the old traditional tickets we are used to.

Skyparx

For parking at Toronto Airport, it’s Skyparx for us. Skyparx has the cheaper price for valet parking for 1 week, but it’s a couple of extra minutes away from the airport. The total cost for the week was under $80 CDN for the valet service. All you have to do, when you return, is call them and they pick you up. It was nice, since the car was right there for us. Skyparx is also changing it’s name to theparkingspot

Sunwing

We have traveled on Air Transat, Air Canada, and Skyservice before. This was our first vacation and travel with Sunwing. We had prebooked our seats, so we were in row 5 near the front of the plane. The food was better than most of the food we have had on other flights. It’s also nice to get a small glass of champagne, and wine with dinner (for free). We did find the seats a bit cramped for us. Paul is over six feet tall and at 220 pounds was squished. Jo is 5 feet 9 inches and only 125 pounds and found no leg room. The seats are great for those of you who are about 5 feet 5 inches and a maximum weight of 150 pounds.

* Reception (check-in)

The bus only had fourteen of us going from the airport to the hotel (40 minute drive). We thought we would have a long wait to check-in, but you don’t worry about your luggage at all, since it’s marked with your room number at the airport. It was only a matter of minutes to check-in. You get your room number, keycard, and map of the resort. They give you a green plastic bag with your bathroom amenities with your safe key in there as well. Don’t lose the safe key, as it is expensive to replace. Your luggage will be taken to your room for you.

* Rooms

We were in room 1113. This meant Building 11. It was on the third floor, facing west for great sunsets. Our room had a king-sized bed, a 6 drawer dresser, television, cabinet with fridge that included soft drinks and water. There was also a sofa and coffee table. We had a clock/radio beside the bed. There is a large closet that contains many hangers, the ironing board and iron, an umbrella, and the safe. The bathroom has a sink and a huge double bathtub. The water pressure was great and there was plenty of hot water too. The balcony had a view of the reception, lobby bar and ocean (you just had to turn your head to the right for the ocean view). The balcony had two chairs and a table, where we sat at night with our cigars, champagne, and cognac. The room itself is about the size of a one bedroom apartment, in Toronto.

* Grounds

The grounds are beautifully well kept. People are working on them constantly. There are fountains everywhere, as well as “canals” winding their way around the premises.

* Pools

There are two major pools at Sandals Royal Hicacos. It appears as one pool, but they are walled off under some of the bridges. There is a swim up bar, which is filled with Canadians, as they seem to be about 90% of the guests at the resort. Some women do go topless at the pools, as well as the beach. There are other pools for the upgrade and hot tubs for your use too.

* Beach

The beach is very wide (from the hotel to the ocean itself). In fact, there are plenty of lounge chairs (yellow). We never had a problem getting a chair at the beach any time of the day. There was always a person at the beach that was ready to get you a lounge chair for you.

* Ocean

We can’t say enough about the ocean. The colour of it is perfect. The ocean is great. You can walk out at least 60 metres from shore, and not go over your head. The paddle boats were great, and the hobie cats were available. We found if you tipped an extra 5 CUC you could get a longer ride on the hobie cats. You will also see pelicans flying from time to time. They will amaze you at night with their fishing episodes.

* Beach Vendors

They are on the beach at various location from day to day. Jo purchased a shell ring for 3 CUC and Paul purchased a cigar box for 15 CUC.

* Mini Market (on-site)

You can find everything in here that you want – T-shirts, postcards, souvenirs, dresses, bathing suits, etc.

* Cigar Shop (on-site)

We did purchase cigars. Paul had a field day in here. He ended up with 3 boxes of cigars by the end, and smoked most of one box during our week stay.

The Blau does a great job of a wedding so if you are trying to make a decision I would recommend the Blau to you. If anyone has any questions please don’t hesitate to contact me. I would be happy to answer any questions.

If you have any questions at all, please feel free to send me a personal message in the Forums section of Debbies Reviews. My username is jennb.

All in all, it was a great day. Exactly how I pictured it.

"Wedding!

Nov 01, 2005 – Oct 31, 2006 FREE Wedding package includes: upgrade to an Seaview Room (if available at check-in), bride’s boutique, groom’s boutonniere, mini-reception, wedding cake, sparkling wine, dinner in à la carte restaurant, translator and witnesses (if required), choice of decorated ceremony area, live music, 12 photographs (5×7), wedding certificate, Continental breakfast in room morning after ceremony, turn down service, Honeymoon Package inclusions. Notarised services CUC$100. Inclusions subject to change. Arrangements to be made directly with hotel. More services available for additional charge." We chose the "birdcage" area for the ceremony. It is, in essence, a representation of Trinidad’s plaza mayor. It is surrounded with beautiful flowers and white fences and in the centre is this gazebo-like structure which in fact houses paraqueets and the like. So Enis told us that the flowers were not included in the price but not to worry that they aren’t expensive like they are in Canada. So the bouquet was $15.00CUC, I gave him $20 and asked for an extra one for my hair. When it arrived, well, it was OK. My friend and I rearranged it a tad and made due. They said that because of hurricane Denis (summer 2005) that flowers were sparse. No boutonniere. We did receive an ocean view room on check in and were upgraded to a suite the day of the wedding which was absolutely gorgeous. No breakfast the morning after ever showed up. We paid the photographer $50.00CUC for 30 some 5 X 7 pictures and 2 8X10s. The poses were OK but the quality of the developing was a little off. I made sure that I received the negatives and we have since reprinted some of them and the color is way better on the reprints. We had family members take shots as well and we ended up with a great selection between all of them. No turndown service. The quartet that played for us was awesome and I dare say MADE the mini-reception. They were really good. The cake and champagne were fabulous and the accessories (champagne glasses, cake tray, etc) were beautiful. The "mini-reception" was held at the a la carte restaurant right after the ceremony. They had a mini-buffet with cold meats, bread, olives, cheeses, etc…I hadn’t expected that and it was great. There was also a bar. We paid the quartet extra to come up and keep playing rather than listening to a cd. In case you are thinking that a marriage ceremony in Cuba is a tear-jerking romantic sermon, be warned (and I had been) that the notary (lawyer) "performs" the ceremony by reading sections of a legal document. We thought it was funny and now when we have a tiff I’ll yell out "DOESN’T SUBSECTION 3 PARAGRAPH 4 MEAN ANYTHING TO YOU???" You really have to just go with the flow getting married here…I was not disappointed, but I didn’t expect much either. We were focused on each other and had agreed to refuse to get caught up in trivial details that would only stress us out. That said… If there was any nasty part it was this: 18 hours before the wedding was to take place (and on our Signature Tours Representative’s day off) Enis approached us with the final details and in passing mentioned that we should now pay the $400.00CUC for the cost of the ceremony!!! To this day I’m not sure if it was a shakedown or an honest mistake but we wouldn’t fold and told him that if that was the case then we would be forced to postpone the ceremony until we had more time to call home, the Signature rep, our travel agency, the manager, and if need be the ministry of tourism to investigate why the price had QUADRUPLED in one month’s time. A little more than an hour later we were told that we, in fact, were right and it was indeed $100CUC. He apologized several times and we smiled and said mistakes happen but no explanation of where the $400 figure came from was ever offered.

That said, the ceremony was quick (just as we had requested), the people were great (minus that episode) and we were made feel really special on that day. I lost count of how many gardeners approached us over the next few days (they had been watching the ceremony) and offered my husband a firm handshake and me a bouquet of hand-picked flowers and many years of joy and happiness.

Photos

The beach, even though it was smaller than it was a year ago was still very amazing and very relaxing. If you a planning a wedding in the Carribean, please give this place a thought, I promise you won’t be dissapointed.

History

This was our second time to playa coste verde we chose this resort for our wedding because of the kind staff who specialize in weddings, the snorkeling which is to die for and the food is some of the best in Cuba.

Reasons I loved my Cuban Wedding

-The staff took care of everything -Flowers were really beautiful -My hair was as good as the picture I had from my in style wedding magazine -One of the gardeners decorated the beach area for the wedding and it was so thoughtful and beautiful -The restaurant was wonderful, the light shone through the arched windows while champagne was served and the string quartet played (Italian restaurant) -The Cuban trio on the beach were so talented and really set the mood for the wedding -The golf cart ride around the resort was loads of fun -My friends and family all had a great vacation -The staff were the best people in the world and made us feel really special, they were genuinely kind and thoughtful. -The wedding planners are the best around as they have one to six weddings a week, they definitely have a flare and know what they are doing.

Things I would recommend to a bride having her wedding at this resort -Don’t stress your on vacation

-If you have something specific in mind for flowers or hair bring pictures they’ll do their best to accommodate you and I’m sure if it’s not exact it will be better -Book you hair appointment for yourself and bridesmaids early -Get the largest photo package as it is well worth it -The Italian restaurant is the best for a romantic setting especially if your in a large group (we had 37) -Dance every night -Go to the beach at night, especially on your wedding night -Cohibas are great for bachelor and bachelorette parties -Sing, dance, smile and take the time to let your senses enjoy everything on your wedding day, the feeling of the Cuban breeze the aroma in the restaurant, enjoy it all!!! -Stay for two weeks you’ll need to so you can relax -Go on the Holguin tour it’s the best for your money, you’ll love it! -Be sure to get the Cuban trio to play, it’s well worth it their excellent -Be sure to say thank you to everyone who made your day wedding planners, gardeners, entertainment staff, servers, drivers, the florist, cooks etc….

The Most Important thing

Don’t forget it’s an island wedding so have fun don’t stress and enjoy! The staff are the best ever and they will take care of you.

The resort it self was wonderful and the beach was fantastic…..don’t expect to get a sunbed and shade unless you are prepared to get up extreemly early and put your towels out! Not supposed to be done but it seems as if everyone else does it and the staff do not discourage this practice. Service in the main bar was very slow unless you were young, pretty and female or flashed a tip! Food was good and enough variety to see our party for 2 weeks….best tip the bananas cooked fresh every night were fantastic as was the young lady who cooked them.. Staff were generally very friendly through out our stay. Would return to this resort but only for a holiday and would not 100% recommend the wedding package through Thomas Cook. Any questions please contact us. email: fiona7355@yahoo.com

On another note, the wedding package is supposed to cost 700 CUC. The exchange rate is $120.00 canadian for 100 CUC. So if you were to exchange all your cash to pay for this it would cost about $1140.00. We decided to save our cash for excursions and charged the wedding on my visa. It ended up costing us $804.44, which was originally 716 CUC ( we had asked for an extra bouquet which was 10CUC and 2 extra boutonnieres which were 3 CUC each). I paid for my maid of honour’s hair and mine, which was 55 CUC and we charged that to my visa and it cost $61.94.

Wedding Day:

I was swimming in the ocean until 11:50. Ran back to our room and had a shower and then off to the hair salon for my appointment. I was ten minutes late but considering we were on Cuba time, I was probaly on time! LOL. I brought a picture of the hair style I wanted and some pins to put in my hair but the lady had all the pins there but used mine anyhow. The hairstlist was the best ever. She put the picture I brought to shame. It was windy on our wedding day and not one hair on my head moved. I was two and a half hours getting my hair done and then ran back to the room and got there at 2:40, wedding was at 3 but I was calm and got dressed and my MOH managed to get my nails on and we had some wine that was delivered and still waited for golf cart that was about 10 mins late. The cart arrived and took us to the beach and once we were there the band (sax and piano) started playing immediately. The ceramony was short and sweet which is exactly what we wanted. We said our own vows and exchanged our rings and this made our wedding very special to us. We then had our first dance which was I swear the longest song in history but good for pics. Then everyone came to hug and congradulate us and we were done. Drank some more champagne and then the pictures begun. The resort photographer was amazing and I would recommend him to anyone. He was the absolute best as was the Videotographer. So glad we did both. After pics were done we headed to the pool bar for some drinks. Then off to the Cuban restaurant for dinner. Dinner was good. We had everyone chose their own meal as this was the best choice for our group. Everyone seemed pleased with their meals. We didn’t want any speeches so Scott thanked everyone for coming and that was about it. Then came time for us to cut the cake. The cake turned out to be such a surprise……..best cake I ever ate. Every single person had seconds it was so good. After dinner we went to the night show and around 11 we headed back to our room and some of our guests headed to the disco. Our wedding day was magical and I wouldn’t change one thing about it. If anything, I would relive it over a thousand times if I could. I have watched the video quite often since returning home and I am so glad we purchased the dvd. For those brides getting married at the IV, if I could give you one word of advice, book the resort photographer and videotographer, it will be the best money you ever spent. The photograpger is Ebrium and the videotographer is Angelo. The resort has more then one of each so ask for them by name.

Our guests are all ready asking us where we are going for our one year anniversary…………..

We arrived late Monday November 14, 2005 and the following morning we met with the wedding coordinator to choose flowers, menu for reception, location for our ceremony, type of cake and some colours for decorations. This was very easy and took about 30 minutes! The wedding package (through the hotel) which includes legal fees, JP, flowers, reception, etc, costs 700 CUC (Cuban Convertible Peso). We hired a photographer and videographer for our wedding day. The photographer charges per picture and they cost 3 CUC per 5×7 or 10 CUC per 8×10, but we purchased 40 or so 5×7’s plus all of the negatives to take home and blow up pics as needed. The videographer costs 150 CUC for 2 professionally done DVD’s on the NTSC format so people from Europe remember that it will not work in your home country who use the PAL system for electronics. We highly recommend both as both the photos and video turned out absolutely beautiful! Very professionally done!! The wedding package is paid when you check and is added to any other expenses you charge to the hotel. The video and photos are through the individuals and you can only pay with CUC (cash). PLEASE PLEASE if you are going to use your non-american credit card the government slaps a 11.5% surcharge on every purchase. We did not know this as this is new as of April, 2005. We planned on using credit card for everything as a safeguard and brought minimum cash. We probably paid 400-500 USD extra just in surcharges!!!!!!!! If you can get your hands on CUC before entering Cuba please do, becuase there is no ATM’s and the Cuban banks/hotels give a rather poor exchange rate. The CUC is pegged at the USD.

The only somewhat disappointing aspect of the wedding was that our wedding coordinator/translator had a very thick accent which made communication as times difficult and translation of our nuptials very difficult to understand. Furthermore, our guests could not follow the ceremony for this reason. But again a very minor detail and we figure it was all part of the experience. If you expect to go to a foreign country who’s first language is not English and not have some minor glitches, DO NOT GO.

At the end of the day, the hotel and the staff were spot on and made our special day very near perfect! Our guests could not stop complimenting us on how great the wedding and hotel turned out to be. CHEERS to Iberostar Varadero and all the staff!!!!!

I wish I could remember all the names of the staff but They ran a 1st class act for our wedding. The supper was excellent. and Fransico and the other waiters treated us like Royalty. Near the end some of the girls were trying to teach them some of our dancing as well. Everyone had a blast. As part of our package (free over 17 quests) we got upgraded to a suite which was as far as I could tell the best in the place. Top floor. We also had the option of a group dinner one other nite so some quests only stayed one week. We opted for the last nite before they left to have that one. Once again it was 1st class service. It was B B Q Sea food dinner. We had the small photo package as there was probably 15 cameras there, but we did hire the video people and the DVD they made was worth every penny. It will be with us forever. There was no scrimping at all for the whole wedding package, and I could not thank everyone there enough for showing us a good time. If you are thinking of a wedding in Cuba this was a great place.

Available at extra cost:

· Photographer. (My brother who dabbles in photography did our pictures so we did not purchase a photo package and do not know the cost.) · Cuban band for ceremony and toast for a total of 1 to 1.5 hours at a cost of 100 USD cash. This was so worth it and made the ceremony extra special. An absolute must! If you have never been married before all you need is your Canadian passport and a tourist card, which is provided by your travel agent. A birth certificate is not required. You must have the originals and a couple of days before the wedding ceremony you will be required to go to a notary in Varadero to apply for a marriage license. The resort event coordinator, Angelo, accompanied us and acted as translator. The notary fee was 150 USD plus 2 USD for a stamp (cash only). We made a quick stop at a flower shop and selected the flowers for the ceremony. The cost of the taxi was 40 USD cash. You must be in Cuba for three business days before you can get married. We arrived on Saturday early afternoon and were married on Wednesday at 4 pm. The marriage certificate is sent off to the Canadian Embassy in Havana to be certified and will be sent to your home address 8-12 weeks.

Our wedding reception was held in El Tocororo (the fancy restaurant) and it was spectacular. The food was excellent and the service was impeccable. We tend to be a bit snobby when it comes to food and wine and trust us the food was very good. I had duck breast for my main course and it was properly prepared (rare) and my husband had a yummy seafood skewer for an appetizer and the presentation was very impressive! We have travelled extensively throughout the Caribbean (usually twice a year) to destinations such as Cuba, Mexico, Jamaica, DR, and the Bahamas, staying at 3 to 5 star resorts and we must say that the food at El Tocororo was tops! Wine (this is Cuba after all) was not that great, but we brought some special bottles from home and had no problem having them served with the meal.

THE RESORT:

It didn’t look to bad. I found the rooms to be clean. My "bridal" suite did not have hot water or pressure for that matter, but I looked at where I was and why I was there and decided great pressure wasn’t that important to me( I had other issue on my mind remember NO suitcase) The view from our room was amazing!!!. A lot of our guests moved/changed rooms as they were not happy with the hotel rooms so they moved to the Haciendas side and the resort did take care of them and did their best to make them happy!. There was still construction going on. The main grill/bar outside of the hotel was not open so you heard drilling all day and had to use the washroom in side the hotel which was an incontinence. The pool was nice and the pool bar was a lot of fun!!!! Jose is an awesome bartender who I will never forget!!!!!!! (he made us jell-o shooters daily so take that jell-o and cups everyone at the bar has a blast! The food was better then I anticipated!! I always found something to eat. The Italian a la carte was amazing that is where I had my wedding dinner. The staff did an amazing job feeding 63+ people we were all very happy with that!

THE BEACH:

The beach was ok and I found there to be a lot of weeds in the water. There was beautiful coral not to far out that you could snorkel to and see the different fish (remember to take a hard boiled egg with you)

THE WEDDING:

This day was awesome!!!!!!!!!!!!! I made appointments with the hair dresser to get our hair done. For 3 of us it cost $60.00 CUC and the hair dresser did an awesome job. The wedding was at 3pm and the wedding coordinator was truly AMAZING!!!!!!!!!!!! Lubia went above and beyond!! I choose red roses which were beautiful, I did pay $150.00 for the photographer which was well worth it (make sure you know what type of pictures you want as the photographer does not position you so be creative and have fun with it!) I also hired a horse and buggy for $10.00 which was also a nice touch and great in the pic’s. Lubia came to my room about 2:30 to give me my flowers and I went to the lobby for 3pm to be picked up by the buggy (there was my 2 brides maids, my mom, dad and the ring barer). The buggy took us the wedding site on the beach of course Lubia referred to the site as the coconuts it was awesome!!!!!!!!! the arch way was decorated with flowers there were 30 seats on either side of the aisle and at the end of the aisle there was a table and on the ground 2 hearts made of flower petals entwined which is where we stood!! The notary and Lubia were there and to the side was a table with staff ready to hand out sparkling wine to all the guests for the toast. We also brought jell-o and had the staff make jell-o shooters for this occasion which was fun and the staff loved them.!!!! After the wedding my husband and I took a buggy ride and then met up with our group in the piano bar for some drinks. Dinner was at 6pm ands then we had the disco privately from 9 to 11. We took our wedding song which they gladly played! All in all it was truly amazing!!! You have to relax when doing something like this and roll with the punches… we took 63 + people with us which made our trip that much more amazing and that much more of a party!! .I did get my luggage but not until 3 days later which is why it is VERY important to carry your dress on board!

I would go back to this resort as the staff are amazing and now that all the renovations are completed it is a great spot! Remember that when you go south to get married that the bride and groom take 2 weeks as the first week for some reason goes by way to quickly and you need the second week to relax after everything is done!!!!

Jackie iam_2sxy4u@hotmail.com

Have a great time – people are great, food is great, the experience PRICELESS!

Pointers:

-bring lots of sunscreen -bring a travel mug to fill up with your favourite drink (there cups are small) -the Cubans love to receive baseball caps as tips (especially in they have a Canadian flag) -the Cuban dollar is 11% more than American money (American rate + 11%) -if you have small children, bring a stroller (the resort is huge!)   Overall, this was an awesome vacation. I would highly recommend visiting this beautiful resort. If you have any questions, or would like to see pictures, please e-mail me at

rahel_rutherford@yahoo.ca

Now moving onto the ceremony its self it is very short and takes about 10 mins from start to finish the notaire will speak in Spanish and you have a translator there as well they are lovely and put you at ease in fact all you have to say is I DO! After the ceremony we took the horse and cart around the resort then had some photos taken by their photographer who I would recommend he is very good at this job and we had the photos back with in two days.

Photos: http://community.webshots.com/album/308790226Neqmkt

P.S. The week we were there, there were three weddings, ours on Monday, one on Tuesday and one on Wednesday. Even though there were many, the quality of service was NEVER affected. The wedding co-ordinator told me the week of April 16-23, they have a wedding everyday.

We will be going back there on our 5th year anniversary!

If anyone has any questions, please feel free to drop me an e-mail at Mand2512@aol.com.

We had a little time between pictures and dinner so our group went to the pool bar for drinks. By this time, everyone knew us and our group at the resort as ‘the wedding party’. The bartenders at the pool bar played a love song on the sound system and we got on the stage and danced again. It was very nice. Dinner was at 6 at Martino’s. The meal that evening and the service was unbelievable. The piano player insisted on playing a song for us and we danced again. The waiters brought our cake to the table after our meal. It was a 2-tier cake – too much for our group of 14 so we shared the cake with all those dining in the restaurant that night. It was very, very nice and the cake was delicious! Following dinner, we went to the piano bar where the pianist there played for us and our group all sat around the piano and listened while we waited for the nightly entertainment to start. At 9:30 we all went to the stage area where we watched the show, did the sun-dance and again was introduced to everyone. It was all I’ve ever dreamed of and much more.

on our last night we returned to our room and there was a cd a good luck letter and a plate of cakes saying byon vaage with heats in red icing. a real =treat.

Email me if you have any questions tokelly@rogers.com

Thank you to Andrya and Lizbet for being part of that wonderfull day in our lives!