Arrival August 17-24th 2009: Was very nice. I got there by Sunwing, I must say that Sunwing was a very nice airline. The ride from the airport to the hotel was a long bumpy ride. I dont get car sick, but if you do, it might give you a problem. The ride was about 49-60 minutes. The bus was comfortable and relaxing, the chairs were so nice. I slept the whole way, and the bus was air conditioned with a bathroom in the back. It wasn’t a problem, and it was really comfortable. When we got there which was close to 3:00 AM, checking in was not a problem. It went by very fast. We had our bags delivered to our room, and it wasn’t any problem. He took the bags straight to the room, and happily helped us settle in. Since we had two rooms, one with our parents, and the other one with me and my older brother, my mom didn’t like having us not in the same block. We were right across from eachother, and in the end it worked out fantastic. At first, the resort was huge, and it didn’t look like I’d ever find my way arou! nd the resort. Although in the morning it definitely was easier. We went to get a drink (and they were still open) and then went to bed. The arrival was really nice and easy. (Also to add;; all the staff speak english, so if you cannot speak spanish, dont worry. Although most of the staff do speak spanish more often…)
Rooms:
Wow. For Cuba, I didn’t expect it this nice. There were two beds, each with a small night table. About 5 lamps in the whole room. Two big windows, with thick curtains. A small table with two chairs. A closet, with a safe inside (we were juniors, with the yellow bracelet) and extra blankets. There was a TV on a table. And a long coffee table in front of a couch. Under the couch was a small pull-out bed. And then there was a vanity, with a small chair. We did have air conditioning, and it worked very nicely. Kept us cool while outside was very hot and humid. The bathroom had a sink, hair dryer, (again, we were juniors) toilet, and shower. We had plenty of towels. The rooms were so comfortable. I was surprised with how comfortable the beds where. They were quite low to the ground, but the pillows were very nice. The mattress was nice too. I loved the room, it was nice after a long day. Although, do remember that in order for your air conditioning and energy to work, you must i! nsert your keycard into a activator which turns on the air conditioning and energy. Once you leave the room, you must take your keycard and this turns off all the energy including the air conditioning. So when you enter your room, it might be very hot, but as soon as you insert your keycard again, the energy will come back. It wasn’t a problem, and the air conditioning really cooled the place off quickly. Overall, the rooms were outstanding.
Restaurants and Bars::
Again, they were very nice. There was a selection of restaurants, and bars. They had the main buffet, which wasn’t always too busy. They served breakfast, lunch, and dinner. They had eggs, pancakes, sausages, etc, for breakfast. Lunch wasn’t too different, but they had some changes. And dinner was always nice. Although there wasn’t too much variety. There were drinks and dessert too. But after staying there for a week, it got very repetitive and wasn’t too good. Although you could go to 3 different restaurants. A-la carte. (sp?) We didn’t go, but we heard from people we met at Gran Club Santa Lucia, it was VERY nice. So much better then the buffet, 100 times better. We didn’t go because we were very busy. But it was nice to get away from the buffet and go there. There was also a snack bar at the beach where they served vegetables, fruit, fish, hotdogs and hamburgers. They were open for a long time during the day. So if you didn’t want to go for lunch at the buffet, you coul! d get a hamburger or hotdog, and fries perhaps. They did have a bar right beside it, so you could get your drinks there. All the drinks and food at the snack bar were delicious. I loved the hamburgers and hotdogs. Very nice. There were about 3 bars. All three of them served the same things, but they had a nice selection. Most were alcoholic. But there were fruit punch, pop, and stuff for the kids. (I recommend the fruit punch!) One of the bars, yes, was a swim up bar. It was half on land, and half in the water. You would walk up some stairs in water, and there was benches. You could order your drink and take them around the pool, or whatever. Although, I must say that it did take a while to get your drinks at the swim up bar, it was often very full. But when it wasn’t, you would have to nearly yell at the bartender to get their attention. Other then that, all the restaurants and bars were very nice.
Beach/Pools/Grounds::
The Beach was very nice. White sand, and the water was often very clear. Lots of shade on the beach, and lots of chairs. It was often busy, but quiet. There was alot of people on the beach that would come around and offer hair braiding (for a couple pesos of course) but they wouldn’t disturb you if you were relaxing. The beach was very clean, although when you first went in there were alot of rocks and seashells near the beginning. But it was nice once you got in. You could rent face masks, snorkel, flippers, etc, for free (I think only if you were a junior…not quite sure.) as well as there were catamarans, etc, you could use during the day. It was very nice. There was a boundary marking off where you could swim until, which was nice so you didn’t have to worry about the younger children or anything. There were fish that swam around and would swim near your feet. Alot were silver, but if you swam out very far (you would pay for the scuba-diving for the day to do this) you! would see tons of tropical, colorful fish. The beach was very nice, and well kept. The pool was very large really. Some of it was very shallow, and was divided with a small wall, you couldn’t miss. The deep area was pretty deep, but I’m 13, and I could reach the bottom without my head going under. It went to my nose. (Im about 5 feet.) Im sorry, I don’t remember the actual height. BUT. There was alot of cups floating around. Alot. People would throw them into the pool, and it wouldn’t be cleaned often, only at night but it was really annoying. The were stairs going into the pool and into the shallow end, which was nice. Other then the floating cups, the pool was very clean and comfortable. The whole resort was amazing, quite big, but you wouldn’t get lost. Everything was clean, there was alot of cats and crabs roaming the whole resort. But they didn’t bother you unless you were eating. The cats would sit below you and beg for food. But they were fed. I really recommend thi! s resort, it was all amazing.
Activities on and off the Resort/Hotel::
We did rent some mopeds (sp?) and went to Coco beach. It was about 4 hours. 20 minutes there. And 20 minutes back. But we did do a little roaming around. It was very nice, there was alot of stuff nearby. A gas station, a couple of restaurants. It was VERY hot. Be sure to wear tons of sun block because you could easily get burnt.
Other Comments:: I must talk about the staff. They were…AMAZING. They really made the resort come alive. They were many entertainers that would go around the resort. Froggy, one of the entertainers would keep the children happy. He would play games with them all, and he would dress up at a clown at the 9:00 shows every night. The shows at night were very nice, and complete with costumes, props, music, and more. There was a small band that played, and the entertainers would take some of the people from the crowd to dance. It was nice. They all were very nice about it. Froggy would spend 30 minutes at the beginning of the show playing a game with the children. He was so nice. After leaving Gran Club Santa Lucia, and Cuba. I really miss the staff. You became so attached with them all. And it was really sad. I must recommend this resort, you wont have any problems at all. It was like a dream, it was so comfortable. I really miss the staff. Big thanks for Froggy though for making the trip so amazing. (: Love you Froggy & Staff.
(: Tee.Kee@hotmail.com