This was my second trip to Tryp Cayo Coco in as many years. My wife and I flew on AirTransat from Toronto. The flight is short (3 hrs) and the airport is only 15 minutes away from the resort. Customs in Cuba went fairly quickly when they had to get 300+ people through. When we got through customs, our luggage was already ready for us to be picked up.
Rooms:
We stayed in Block 5 which has easy access to the main pool and it is about 50 feet from the beach. The room was a little musty when we first got in however that cleared up rather quickly when we began to settle in. Alot of people complain about the musty and damp rooms, but remember, this is in a carribean country, the weather is hot and sometimes very humid, so a little humidity in the rooms is to be expected. If you don’t like humidity, go to Alaska.
Restaurants:
I cannot say anything about the a la carte restaurants this time around because we did not go to any of them. The buffet was excellent. The pizza bar for lunch was closed the first 4 days due to the fact it is located on the beach and Tropical Storm Noel had just passed through. Once it was cleaned up and open, it was great with great service. The large open air restaurant on the beach was an excellent place to sit and have lunch. They had good variety and it was steps from the beach.
Bars:
The beach bar was closed the first 4 days due to Tropical Storm Noel that had passed through. The swim-up bar was closed due to renovations that I will touch on shortly. The snack bar was OK however it took time to get a drink because people were coming from every direction ordering sandwiches which caused the bartenders to go into the kitchen. The lobby bar for 6 out of the 7 days was excellent and the reason for this is because of 2 specific bartenders, Alcides and Eduardo (short and chubby one). These two guys were amazing, fast, and made sure you were always happy. They would bend over backwards to make sure you had an excellent vacation. If you decide to go to Tryp, look them up and be good to them, they deserve it. I say the lobby bar was excellent only 6 out of the 7 nights because the two above mentioned waiters were not there for 1 of them. On that purticular night, after 11 PM we could not get a drink, literally. There was only one bartender behind the bar and where ever his eyes looked, that is the person that got served, even if you were standing there for 20 minutes.
Beach and Pools: The beach is amazing. The sand is soft and the water is warm and clear. You have to remember that if you decide to go to Cayo Coco in the fall, the water level will be high, causing there to be less beach. The fall weather also causes the more than usual amounts of seaweed to wash up on shore. If you don’t like seaweed or if you do not want high water levels, then go in the spring. The water is pretty shallow for a distance making it great for kids. JELLYFISH, I saw only 1 during my 7 day stay. They are not bad at all.
Now for the pools. The main pool with the swim up bar was closed for my entire trip. I was upset, however not at the resort. I was upset at Nolitours due to the fact that nothing was mentioned when I booked 2 weeks before. Having said that, they have re-tiled the entire pool and should be amazing when it is done. Hey, give the resort a break, renovations have to be done. There is another large pool just next to the main pool. It is big and nice however I will touch up on some of the problems at the end, and it has nothing to do with the resort.
Grounds:
The grounds were beautioful. The first night and day, there was alot of debris on the ground from the storm that passed through, however they got it cleaned up very quickly. The gardners are always working very hard to keep the grounds looking great.
Activities:
There are a fair amount of activities to get involved in during the day. I cannot really comment on them as I did not participate because it is not my thing.
Tours: Tours are expensive. This is what we did. Met people, got a group of 10, hired a guide and rented a minibus for an entire day. The tour companies offer a 1 day tour, that includes a speed boat ride, feeding crocadile’s, lunch, and time in the town of Moron and a few other things for a hefty price of 75 pesos per person. You are also at the discretion of time, when the bus leaves, you leave.
Our trip with the minibus, took us on a speed boat ride (awesome), feeding crocadile’s, visit of a cuban farm, lunch and a trip into Moron for the afternoon. We paid 15 pesos each for the minibus and gave our guide 10 pesos each as a tip. We could go where we wanted and when we wanted and it was an amazing day. You are also with a much much smaller group allowing you to do more.
Conclusion: Now I want to touch on the one thing that got me angry on this trip, IGNORANT PEOPLE. The problem with the large pool was that you could not get a beach chair around the pool. People would actually get up in the wee hours of the night and place a towel on a chair and then go back to bad. Some people would actually spread 1 towel across 3 chairs in order to save them. One morning I was up at 7 am and went to have breakfast and then sat in the lobby bar. I saw only 1 person sitting by the pool, however there was not 1 chair to be had because they were all covered with towels. At around 9 am, there were 6 people around the pool. Where was everyone? Their towels are by the pool, where are they? IGNORANT!!!! Also when someone is at the bar and is trying to order a drink, don’t think that you could slide in beside them and order first. Wait your turn. Having said that, if you happen to be sitting at the lobby bar and you think you can just snap your fingers and get served before someone else that has been waiting, give your head a shake, it is RUDE and IGNORANT. All in all, Tryp Coyo Coco is an excellent resort and I would definitly recommend it. I will be going back next year again.
CHOW CHOW MICKEY MOUSE!