I just returned from Manayabo a couple of days ago. The trip was just great! The hotel was relaxing and modest. The facilities were clean and safe. I traveled as part of a group of 10 and we were all in our mid 20's to mid 30's. We fit in perfectly! The resort itself is quiet and relaxing, yet a few minute walk down the road there is lots of dancing and party fun to be found. The service on the resort was great. All of the workers were very helpful, fun, and friendly. They are like a family and ensure that everyone is having fun. The tours offered were of good value. The food was good, and as far as Cuba is concerned, I hear it was great! I would go back for sure and recommend this resort to anyone. The only thing to watch out for is the pool deck is very slippery when wet.

I stayed at the Club Amigo Mayanabo from March 12-19, 2006. The resort itself was beautiful. The rooms are smaller than usual but who's really there for the accomodations?!? There was not ALOT to do, but enough to keep you busy, unless you're a Coppertone baby like me, then all you need is the sun (which you will get a lot of). Many tours were available, ranging in price from 25 CUC (convertible pesos) to 54 CUC. To give you a better idea of price, $100 CDN gave me 76 CUC. The hotel (and most shops) accept VISA but at a penalty of 11.24% tax. Money can be exchanged at the hotel (the hotel offers a better rate than the airport). A train came by the hotel twice a day and for only 2 CUC would take you on a half hour tour around Santa Lucia. It stops a few times for the local kids, so bring gum, candy, toy cars, etc. Be prepared though, there are lots of kids the train doesn't stop for so, even though it's heartbreaking, the only way to get goodies to those kids is to throw it at them. Maybe little goodie bags? Another great idea is to prepare goodie bags for the sweet ladies that keep your room clean. Candies, gum, razors, eye makeup, tampons and hair accessories are all great options for these ladies. Perhaps even the magazines you purchased on the way to Cuba? There are dancers at Club Amigo Mayanabo from Sunday to Thursday. Other nights the guests at the resorts become the stars of the show! There wasn't much shopping to be done. A few little shops at the hotel. If you have the wristband to Club Amigo you are welcomed at the other hotels along the road so you could pop in there and do some shopping, it all appeared to be more of the same. The beach was a disappointment. The sand is cluttered with fallen leaves of palm trees which become dry and rough, so the white sands were covered with not so nice leaves. However, the pool at Club Amigo Mayanabo made up for it! I'd give this resort a 4 1/2 out of 5. The only reason for the loss of the 1/2 was the food. Although I know it's not a real vacation without bad buffet, because there was no food warming all the food in the buffet was cold quickly. However, there is a grill at every meal offering a variety of things from pasta to fish, etc.

P.S. You need 25 CUC to leave Cuba! Very important! You have to pay it at the airport or else you can't go home!

My wife and I went to Club Amigo Mayanabo March 2nd to the 9th, 2006. This was our first time heading south (I'm originally from England so that's where we spend most of our holidays!).

We were looking for a cheap, last minute all inclusive and we couldn't have been happier with our choice. The decision was made after reading a lot of the positive reviews right here on Trip Advisor.

We recieved a warm welcome when we arrived from the airport (a 1.5 hour ride which was eventful as we hit a goat on the narrow roads!) when we checked in. A little bellboy caled Ronaldo carried our case, which was almost as big as him, to our room which was in building 1 on the ground floor.

The room itself was relatively small but was very clean. We had 2 separate beds (I think that's standard as we asked some other couples too) and I have to admit that I wanted to take the bed home with me as I had the best weeks sleep in ages! My wifes matress was a little creaky when she turned over though. The room was air conidtioned by newer remote controlled units which was great.

The bathroom (which is clean too) just has a shower, but it's large and we had no problems with the temparature or pressure. We always showered around 5pm as the water is heated by solar panels and by that time the water was nice and hot.

Every morning we left a little gift for our cleaning lady and we got the usual decorative towel / bedsheet design, which was nice.

The hotel grounds were very well kept. Some nice flowering shrubs, etc, which gave the place a natural feel. The pool was also spotlessly clean and it was in great shape maintenance-wise too.

Other facilities like the gym and games room (where you can play ping pong and pool) had seen better days. We never actually used these facilities.

The beach was well maintained too. There was some seaweed in the water, but it was patchy so we snorkeled in the clear areas. The pier and pier bar was a nice place to relax and get out of the sun for a while.

The food in the buffet was average to good. As most people know, the food in Cuba isn't that great due to the unique circumstances, and as long as you don't expect too much, you won't be disappointed.

The restaurant also had a grill which was used for "custom" omlettes at breakfast, and various grilled meats at lunch and dinner. There's also a "custom" pasta grill which is always excellent. We had that 3 nights on the run! It was always the same people that ran these grills, and they work hard, so it's nice to give them a peso at least once in the week.

Desert consisted of a lot of cake items with UYC (ubiquitous yellow custard) and ice cream, which wasn't too bad.

We also got lucky one night when it was International Ladies Day. It seems that it's a big deal in Cuba and it's treated like Valentines Day is here (women get flowers and gifts). On this day we were treated to a special dinner where we had a glass of champagne and on the grill there was lobster! I guess we went at the right time.

The drinks from the bars were the usual cocktails (my new favourite drink is the mojito, nice and refreshing). They were always strong in alcohol, but they gave you small plastic cups. We took our own larger cups and used those in the evenings. We got a lot of comments on those!

The entertainment was average. During the day the staff would try to get the people to do some stretching and exercises, but not many joined in. I'll give them an A+ for effort though! The evening entertainment was also a little hit and miss. The 1st half was always live music from the house band (they were great) and when they were playing the staff would ask people to dance with them up front. They danced the traditional salsa / samba and they were really good at getting you in the mood. I did get asked to dance one night by the staff, but I politely said "no thanks" and they just went onto the next victim, so don't worry about being harassed!

The 2nd half of the show was different each night, and these were the parts that were hit and miss. The good nights had a fashion show, and a couple of nights had the audience participation which were always funny. Other nights they tried to do comedy skits but they didn't pull it off too well. People started to leave part way through these nights. I was tempted to mention to the staff that they should do more nights that involve the audience as those were the best nights. Overall though, the entertainment staff do put in a lot of effort.

We didn't explore too much around Santa Lucia itself. There is a bar outside the resort called the Roombas which is open 24 hours and frequented by a lot of prostitutes. My wife and I went there one night with a German couple. They had friends from Germany that were at the bar that night with their "girlfriends", who they actually pay for a room in the town to stay at while they are in Cuba. I learnt a lot about how the girls work the tourists there. It was an eye opener, for sure. Also, we felt very safe when we were outside the resort. The other reviewers here I think were a little naieve.

One day we took a couple of bikes (included at the hotel) and rode to Coco Beach (a beautiful beach, better than the hotels, with very soft white sand, little or no seaweed), which was about 40-45 mins away (take sunscreen and water as there's little shade). When we rode into the small village at Coco Beach we were met by a friendly guy called Fernando who asked us if we wanted a private lobster dinner. He also found out that I was from England and he was telling me that he's a muscian and that he loves the Beatles.

Anyway, we agreed to have the lobster after we had some time at the beach. We went back to Fernandos place, were taken to a small concrete "hut" which had a couple of patio table in there. There was another couple that had just started. We sat down and had rice, veggies and banana "chips" (delicious!) and then they brought in the lobster tail which was huge (and also delicious!). After lunch, Fernando took us outside and brought out his guitar and played some Beatles and Spanish songs to us. He was hilarious. In all, we paid 10 pesos each for the lunch which is a great deal compared to the restaurant which charged about 25 each. Plus, we knew that our money was going to the Cuban people, and not the government which run the restaurants.

All in all, we had a great time at the Mayanabo and wouldn't hesitate to recommend the place to anyone else.

we just got back from our week long vacation to club amigo mayanabo and we had an excellent time. They just renovated their swimming pool and it was awesome. Very clean. The pool guy Osmany really knows what he's doing. The ocean was just a few minutes from the hotel. They had a buffet 3 times a day and you could always find something that you like. The rooms were always very clean and the staff were excellent. They even iron the sheets, if you can believe that! We made many friends there and we were sad to leave. We are hoping to go back next year.