OK, so hotel first, then trip.

HOTEL: Rooms were nice - we were in a one-bed with a living room area and tv, and a beautiful, curved balcony that faced another unit so we didn't get the noise from the pool. Air conditioning was super-efficient, if very loud, and I'm the type who passes out in any kind of heat (like from my oven, even, I'm such a wuss) and I had zero complaints. Also, you get American TV so we got to watch the Cartoon Network for the first time, and that was fun when it was too hot.

FOOD: BLAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRFFFFFFFF
If you're a vegetarian like me, get ready to eat buns and cheese 3 meals a day for a week. Nothing else without meat or meat sauce. The fruit looked good but was warm and wilted, as were the raw veg (salad stuff). I went to the local grocery store and bought food to keep in the room because I was freakin' starving. I will say though that the cheese is FANTASTIC. You are doing yourself a disservice if you don't have some. I can still taste it now...

DRINKS: Strong! Bring a portable cup. TRUST ME. There were so many half-full cups around it's easy to lose your drink or grab someone else's. Also it's better for the planet and all, but mostly I found the bartenders appreciated it a lot because it's less crap for them to clean up at 4 am. I got lovely, well-made drinks and smiles when I brought the cup myself.

POOL: AWESOME
BEACH: AWESOME. Little fishies in the water. Don't worry, they aren't baby sharks. I thought they might be, but apparently that's impossible, so don't fret.

ROOM: See picture. We left tips on the bed and we'd come back to see she had made swans and used available items of clothing to decorate them. The Rasta Swan was the highlight of my time at the resort and I still giggle about it when I think of it. Can't say a single bad thing about the staff - except one -

BEGGING: LOTS. We brought a ton of stuff to give away (thanks to everyone here actually, wouldn't have thought of any of that stuff) and I guess we got marked as easy targets because our waitress literally hit us up with depressing stories and frantic requests for money and clothing at least twice a day - we actually stopped eating in the dining room after the third day to avoid her because we were sick of it. I didn't want to say anything to the staff because apparently her mother had cancer and her daughter couldn't get married because she didn't have a dress and she herself had ten kinds of cancer (it changed every time) and was only working here to feed her 4/5/6 children (that changed every time too). I didn't want to get her in trouble in case they took her to jail or something but BE PREPARED to get hit up for clothes and money and school supplies at least 3 times a day - if not in the resort then in Havana.

TRIPS: The local town has a flea market and we saw some cute stuff but it wasn't anything too exciting. Was fun to walk to the town and see chickens running amok.

HAVANA: GO. GO. GO. GO. Best part of the trip by far, worth every dollar, and out tour guide was incredible - sexy too! It's a long day, over 12 hours, but ends at the Copacabana with a great show and a bottle of your own rum to drink. Cuba also lets you smoke where you like so if you're a smoker, pick up some smokes there for LESS THAN A FREAKIN DOLLAR A PACK and go to town.

You will regret it if you don't take the Havana trip, trust me.

SUMMARY: September was perfect - no kids, no teens on their first drinking trip out of Canada, and the staff was mellow (ie not many activities, but to be honest I didn't go for the activities, ya know?) Also the weather was hot as heck but it's not a wet, moist heat - crisp and dry.

Bring your own food and don't let the staff make you feel guilty and you will have an awesome time. Bring any clothes you don't need anymore and pass them out to the staff- they don't want the Cuban money, they want items they can't get. You will make people very happy.

have fun!!