Jonathan (36) and Tracia (31) - First visit to Cuba, for one week from Friday 18th March 2005.

(I've been Aeroplan Super Elite, Marriott Platinum, etc. so been around).
Let's face it, a 4-star resort is not a 4-star hotel. You go to Cuba because it is so much cheaper than everywhere else, so set your expectations accordingly, you did not pay Ritz-Carlton prices people so don't expect it :-).

Booked through ----, Sunwing, Kelowna Flightcraft.
Insurance through ----
Price for two including taxes (not insurance) just under $2700 Cdn, booked one week in advance.

We were very pleased with all agencies, Red Tag were efficient, Sunwing had a great rep who was onsite far more than most others (they also seemed to work really hard to accommodate their Jetsgo passengers), Kelowna although short on legroom had excellent service, sure sounded better than Skyservice. We did not get all the "Sunwing Club" so called extra features they list in their brochure, but to be fair we didn't ask either.

Money: Bring Canadian, easy exchange at the hotel. One Convertible Peso (CUC) = 1 US dollar. However they charge you 10% if you exchange US dollars. Don’t forget you need $25 CUC for the airport tax – cash.

Hotel: Beautiful grounds, very well maintained, self-contained. The hotel was full (note this in future comments), but other than at the buffet at peak times where there was a small wait, there was plenty of everything available (from food to chairs to service). Our "pool view" had a limited pool view mainly because of palm trees, we liked that it was set-back a bit, so again did not say anything.
All rooms have nice views; next time we would be happy with a garden view, they look into a central courtyard, there are no "parking-lot" views! Some (note some) of the upstairs Ocean-Views appear to be double size and have wooden patio furniture, we never went in one so cannot comment further but they seemed really nice.
The hotel is pretty much on its own in the area and age ranges mostly 25 - 60, so I wouldn't recommend it at all if you are looking for a hip social scene (which is what makes it very relaxing!).

Rooms: Our room was very nice but not too luxurious. Everything you needed was there, including converter to 120V and in-room safe (free). AC you could leave on all the time. There were some slight smells through the drain in the bathroom at times but there was a good extractor fan. Cable TV (HBO) if you have nothing better to do??????? Daily maid service and breakfast room service - yummy! - Great way to start the day.

Pool: There is a great pool; the temperature was fine at this time of year. It has pool volleyball, basketball and a polo net. Also some very nice Pagoda’s (shelters) for those who like the shade. There is a pool bar just to the side. They do aqua-aerobics every morning. Rooms by the pool may be a bit louder both during the day and for the evening shows.

Beach: Everyone says the beach is not as nice as Varadero as the sand is a bit coarser. Having never been to Varadero we found the beach wonderful! There is a huge coral reef which is amazing, but it is very close to the beach so if your goal is to just walk out it takes a little manoeuvring past some of the coral.

Lots of beach loungers, many seemed new. I would say you could almost always find one (apparently hotel policy), but to be sure get down there by 11am, if you want your own little pagoda (shade) by about 9am. Very easy to leave your towels if you want to go for lunch or whatever. All beaches in Cuba are public, there are Cuban cabin sites next door, from which some people come, but really only on the weekends as its WINTER and they stick to the waters edge.
Different Beach activities each day at 11am, salsa dancing, boules, darts, hockey, golf, etc. lots of fun.
They have a great bar with food right on the beach so you don't have to go far, but we do recommend you bring your own mug, we used Starbucks 16oz, to keep drinks cool and get a bigger drink; they are happy to fill them up at the bar.

Water sports: They have 1/2 hour guided catamaran trips, which with the hotel full needed to be booked 24 hours in advance. 7 kayaks always available. 5 windsurfers (only saw one in use), one starfish sailboat, usually free. They also have plenty of snorkel equipment for all. We brought our own new, but as they were faulty we used the hotels and they were fine. Again the snorkelling is amazing, you'll find young and old at it (the snorkelling that is). Because of the coral reef, I feel the windsurfing is quite dangerous and not recommended unless you are an expert (falling onto coral is not fun), the same with the sailboat, you have to go beyond the coral reef to enjoy, which can be quite tricky.

Gym: There is a small gym with basic equipment and a yoga class. There is one woman who does massage out of one small room at the gym; although not fancy it was very good and only $25 for 45 minutes. We would thoroughly recommend it.

Buffet: We found the buffet excellent; there was lots of choice and styles. Like with any buffet you have to look for things you like but it wasn't difficult (hey if something is luke warm - don't eat it and get something else). Once there were no poached eggs and I asked and a tray of 8 came out within 2 minutes. I missed out on the last piece of steak, I asked and they cooked me up a piece straight away just as I wanted it. It's a matter of choice but I thought their fries were some of the best I have tasted! Bread was always excellent. Tuesday is Cuban night but not much different (they did have a pork roast on the beach at lunch - pork is definitely their speciality), Thursday night is seafood night and there was quite a spread. There was always a special cook for omelettes or pasta or seafood, sometimes there was a small queue but dissipated quickly.
I don’t understand when there are 50 different buffet foods every night why people complain because there is not lettuce every night? Variety is the spice of life people – and you know raw cabbage is pretty good with the right dressing!
There is often live music in the buffet.
Try the buffet at lunch, quite a delight, un-crowded, choose your patio seat, pizza cooked with your choice of toppings (I didn’t like the ham with olives, so brought my own over from the sliced meat section and they happily cooked it). They also have ice-cream!

Buffet service: The service between different wait staff was quite variable, some were excellent. They were slow to clean tables when busy, but we just found a table we liked (often on the beautiful patio) then we would make sure they saw us to clear and would then go and get food. It's handy to request things before you need them, think ahead (tea, wine, dessert spoon, etc.). All water served came originally from bottles which was nice. As I said there was a short queue for about 20 minutes some nights around 8pm, not helped by other Canadians sneaking in the back! (Take something to mark your table as yours, for when you go to the buffet (cap, sweater, glasses, etc.).

Restaurants: There are two restaurants one Cuban and one Italian. The Cuban is similar to the buffet, a little nicer and you get waited on. Staff very nice. The Italian is white linen service, it was a nice break from the buffet and is a nice atmosphere with more of a real restaurant feel. Book both restaurants as soon as you arrive to make sure you get in.

Snacks: There is a fridge in the lobby bar with fruit plates and dessert plates (so-so). Between 4-6pm and 10pm onwards they have snacks in the foyer (burgers, pizza, hotdogs, toasted sandwiches, chicken - varies), these were okay but the unit they are kept in does not keep them very warm, so they are not the best.

Entertainment: There is a show each night at 9:30pm near the pool. It can be quite cool so bring an extra layer for up top (no mosquitoes at this time). The shows were fun, but some days were a little repetitive. The show lasted just over an hour and then at 11:15pm the disco started in a building just behind. This usually meant their was a gap between them, which meant people went elsewhere and never came back, so the disco was hard to get going (someone should convince them to have a small event in the disco each evening to start it off - another breezes I went to years ago, did sumo wrestling, etc. - they had all the equipment here as they used it at the pool one day).
If you want a quiet night, go to the piano bar (above the reception). Very quite and nice with two solitary balconies, try the Jamaican coffee. They do have a piano player but never really played while we were there. They also have internet at a good price up there.

Excursions: We choose not to do any official tours but there are two trips that run for free from the hotel at 9am every morning for about one hour. A hike to the top of the hill, absolutely beautiful view (quite the climb for 10 minutes - easier route at 4pm) with great commentary from Eric, you also get to see a Cuban home. Second a bicycle ride to a separate beach, also quite hard work on a no gear bike in the sun (choose the old blue bikes - trust me). That being said both of these tours are amazing - Free - and not to be missed!
There are also moped rides $9 and up, most people really enjoyed these but the roads are very uneven and if you crash and hurt yourself you are at risk, so drive very slowly and carefully.

Funny Money: Any games, hikes, etc. you do with the entertainment staff get you funny money which let you play in an auction Thursday afternoon, lots of fun and a great way to make new friends or not ;-)

Other: The hotel has a small Jacuzzi (I’ve heard it’s not too hot), some nice tennis courts and a great basketball court (far too energetic for us!). We heard the tennis pro was good. They also have a games room with pool, Foosball, table-tennis, etc.

Tipping: This is a tough one, it is supposed to be a tip-free resort, I have been at another Superclubs elsewhere and never felt the need to tip. Cubans are paid extremely little however. We never felt at anytime that we had to tip, one or two servers in the buffet were lets say "hoping" for them, but it wasn't bad. We decided at our discretion, that 15% was included and that we would tip when we got exemplary service, also that we would generally tip when we had been serviced by the same person more than once. We found certain staff just amazing repeatedly, even though we had never tipped them. These people got large tips towards the end of the week and some gifts that we had brought. Of course you have to make your own decision. We thought our maid could have done a bit better, but we didn't tip her until the second to last day for the week. We hope the next person gets even better service for it :-)
[We did see some people trying to tip before hand to get a table on the patio at dinner. I found this a little vulgar and blame the tourists not the staff. Of course the more you do this the more it is expected. We found a smile and any attempt to mutter a few words in Spanish was just as successful – or perhaps it was my beautiful girlfriend ;-].
Best service goes to Roger in the beach bar, he was so kind to us.

Gifts: If you want to bring gifts, we would recommend toiletries (shampoos) especially medical (Tylenol, vitamins, etc.). If you go on the tours, some children's items (toys, candy, colouring pencils, etc.)

There is a reason so many people go back to this hotel every year, it is very relaxing in a beautiful atmosphere with good food. We would highly recommend it. We have tried to highlight things that might bother people so you are aware in advance but at the same time remember that we had an amazing time and if you relax and have fun, you will not notice them. If you want more (surely not), contact us at jmwh-at-yahoo.ca