Arrival was easy,flight was miserable, Air Canada is terrible, service was brutal and staff were not helpful at all. Never flying with them again. In and out of customs really quick, Cuban guards at the airport were really nice, decent English. Bus ride was long but we bought a few beers before getting on for $2 Canadian the guy selling them said he "takes anything". Once at the hotel we got a welcome cocktail and were greeted with smiles all around. We got a little hotel buggy to our room, the driver was very courteous and helpful. Front desk staff were excellent. All in all rooms are nice, clean and water pressure in the shower is really good.
Rooms::
Beautiful rooms, ocean view was spectacular. The only issue’s were there was a gap under our door and the water from the rain kept seeping into our room at night. The shower curtain was very thin and leaked everyday, we called front desk and they said it was regular. The toilet paper is terrible, word of the wise bring a role of your own with you, you will thank yourself you did. Other than that the rooms were fantastic. The bed was pretty comfortable. We had an issue with our safe and called front desk and within 2 minutes literally there was a handyman at our door and our safe was fixed. We tipped him and every time we saw him for the week he always made it a point to smile and wave at us. If you want to make someone’s day tip a handyman or gardener they seem to go rather unnoticed.
Restaurants and Bars::
A la carte’s were spectacular. We did the vegetarian, Cuban and Japanese. We skipped the Italian because we have both had bad luck with them in the past. The vegetarian was surprisingly really good. The spring rolls are spectacular, the turkey and orange sauce was good as well. The Cuban was really nice, they had it set up in the Italian restaurant or our night as the Cuban restaurant is beach front and it was raining. The lobster dinner was really good and the dessert was the best we have had on vacation. The Japanese restaurant was 5 star. We went 2 times and it was different both times. The chefs at the Japanese have their own specialty we had one chef that was all about the performance and our second chef was all about flavour. No complaints at all about the a la carte’s. One thing we did have a little difficulty with was trying to find somewhere to eat once we arrived as we got there after the buffet had closed and Air Canada charges 9 dollars for a sandwich on their flight and you get NO FOOD with them. We had to ask around to find out where the 24 hour snack bar was and it is in the buffet on the non smoking side, it opens at 10PM I believe. They had hot dogs, hamburgers and little pizzas, good little snack food. The snack bar by the pool was good they had fried chicken, pizzas, hamburgers and hot dogs. The fried chicken was really good. You can ask for custom creations if you are craving something too. The buffet was really good, always mixing it up, different themes every night. There is a pasta bar with a really nice lady at nights who makes an awesome homemade pizza. We got her to make us pizzas and then brought them back to our room for a bedtime snack. She was very nice but I forget her name anyways she is awesome. The bars were good, best place to get Mojito’s was the lobby bar that seemed to be their specialty. The cigar bar was amazing if you meet Aldo in there he is the best bartender in Holguin. Very nice and taught us a lot about the country and how it works. All in all food was really good and staff were awesome.
Beach/Pools/Grounds::
Beach was really nice, we heard it wasn’t but were pleasantly surprised upon arrival. The pool was nice and the staff were always getting people up and in for some activities such as volleyball, it was a riot. The grounds were well maintained and the cups left by some European tourists were always picked up by groundskeepers.
Activities on and off the Resort/Hotel::
We did the full day katamaran and snorkeling tour. It was worth every convertible peso.We did a swim with the dolphins and lobster lunch which was awesome, the lunch was amazing a full lobster cut in half with your choice of side and free drinks. Amazing, if you can try and go swimming with the dolphins without the Europeans as they don’t listen to the tour guide and we almost got screwed out a picture because they don’t pay attention and they were hogging the dolphin. The trip was only 99 CUC and worth every penny. The on resort snorkeling was nice and was good to get us ready for our big day. The paddle boats were neat too, clean and fun to take out. Any of the off resort tours would be well worth it and ours was the most expensive at 99 peso’s. The prices are really affordable when you compare to how much things would cost in Canada.
Other Comments::
Really nice resort, loved the staff and the food. The staff were nothing but helpful and were always willing to help out. Julio the towel guy was always greeting us with a smile. If your going for a walk on the beach at night make sure you talk to Rafa. He was extremely nice and polite and fun to talk with. He showed us the giant blue crabs that he catches on the beach so it’s safe for us tourists to walk around on. He said his English was not very good but he spoke fluently. Nothing but good things to say about this resort we will definitely be heading back here.