Our trip was from June 27 to July 4, 2004

Let's cover the good points first. This resort has a FANTASTIC beach! Simply awesome. Also, most of the bartenders are top notch.

Now let's get to the rest of it...

First of all...just because it is "low" season does not absolve a hotel from providing exemplary service. Half of the resort was closed and this is understandable, however, there were very few activities running as well.

The "animation" team may "work" long hours but they certainly do not do much outside of entertaining one another on the beach. One beach volleyball game per day, none of the promised Canada vs. Cuba hockey... it was pathetic! Excuses ranging from "It's too hot" or "We don't have a soccer ball" are simply ridiculous.

We had heard that Cuba is not known for good food, however, we also heard the El Senador is better than most other places. If this is true, I would hate to eat at those other places.

Once again, due to it being "low" season the selection was extremely poor. Minimal choices at the buffet, poor service at most restaurants, and of all the things to close...the beach grill was not open, so no Montreal Smoked meat sandwiches (which I was soooo looking forward to).

I did not believe an earlier post about birds walking and pooping all over one of the buffets until I saw it with my own eyes. STAY AWAY FROM the anti-pasto buffet at the La Sirena grill which is also the Italian a la carte restaurant.

Most of the food areas are somewhat unsanitary. There were the aforementioned birds, food left out (not on ice) for hours at a time, "chefs" using the same utensils to touch raw meat and fish and then serve "cooked" food to guests.

The a la carte restaurants were a complete joke. Laughable really.

Don't get me wrong here...we got a great deal at this time of year, but once again, this does not mean we deserve lousy service, no activities and sub-standard meals.

I really feel the travel companies should be forced to re-evaluate their hotel ratings. People say "A 4+ star in Cuba is not the same as a 4+ star in Mexico." My question is, well then what is it?

We were at the Barcelo Maya resort in Mexico last summer during "low season" as well. It is rated as a 5 star or 4+ depending on the book. It did cost more than the El Senador but the two don't even compare. If the El Senador were in Mexico I would give it a 2+ (maybe a 3) star rating. It simply can't touch the resorts on the Mayan Coast for food, service, activities, etc. Perhaps only the beach is at par.

I really feel that given the political climate in Cuba and a people who know very little about incentive due to an oppressive government, these resorts will not be comparable to the REAL 4 and 5 star resorts until Castro is gone and his regime is ousted.

If you know nothing other than Cuba and the Dominican for AI resorts then perhaps you will love the place. It is cheap and you get what you pay for. However, if you have been to a 4 or 5 star on the Mayan Coast you will be sorrily disappointed with what Cuba has to offer (other than the wonderful beaches, of course).

Oh well... I suppose the old saying "Ignorance is Bliss" is true when it applies to the El Senador.

This is a great hotel for first time all-inclusive tourists. We experienced a few minor hiccups but nothing not easily overcome. My husband and I and 2 girls 8 & 9 got there June 19th for a week. I'd been to several other resorts in Cuba and Mexico.
Being low season, the resort was half closed. When we arrived, the room was musty but fine the next morning. The restaurants with the exception of the buffet for breakfast and lunch opened on a rotating basis. The staff can tell you first thing what is open for the day. The staff were friendly and accomodating - with or without tipping. They pool their tips so everyone is taken care of.
The pool and the beach were excellent. The beach is particularly good for kids because the water stays shallow for so long. The excellent weather was a definate plus on this trip.
Maybe it was the heat and the time of year, but I got sick Thursday night and needed to stay in bed all day Friday. I wasn't the only one there were at least 2 others who were also taken ill. Then my husband got sick on the way home and that lasted a few days. Most people had no problems whatsoever including my kids.
There are many nicer places out there, but I got a great deal and definately got my money's
worth. This was my husbands first AI. He says he would definately go back to El Senador at the same prices.

We stayed at the El Senador resort in Cayo Coco, Cuba during the week of June 13, 2004. We decided to book this resort because we assumed that a 4.5 star rating would be comparable to the Melia Cayo Guillermo we stayed at in June 2003 (a hotel we enjoyed very much). In addition, we payed $620 taxes included per person, so we decided it was a "bargain".

We arrrived on Sunday evening just before dinner. We had requested a 2nd or 3rd floor room and were disappointed when we realized we had been placed in ground floor rooms. When we arrived at our rooms in building 19, upon opening the door we were almost suffocated by the musty, heavy air emanating from the room. Upon further inspecting the room, we realized that the lock on the sliding doors were not functional. After complaining to the reception rep (who was very rude, to say the least), he said we would have to wait until the next day to switch rooms. Only after midnight did they reluctantly get a repairman to "fix" the lock on the door (by nailing it shut). The night was sleepless, due to the unbearable and suffocating odour. After we complained again in the morning, they reluctantly agreed to switch our rooms (as the resort was fairly empty, "low season" as they kept reminding us) to building 21 on the 2nd floor - the difference was like night & day, these new rooms were MUCH better, satisfactory.

The highlight of the vacation is the resort's beach - the El Senador definitely covets one of Cuba's most beautiful stretches of beach (I say this having visited Varadero, Cayo Coco previously, Cayo Guillermo, Santa Lucia). The water was fabulous: warm and clean. Despite this being "rainy season", it did not rain even once during our week-long stay in Cuba.

Because I am a very picky eater, I don't know how much I should say about the food at this resort. Having vacationed in Cuba multiple times, I don't expect much in terms of food choice/quality. The only thing I will say is the food was satisfactory, you won't go hungry; however, being managed by Canadians, I had expected something "extra". Nonetheless, given that we visited during low season, there was still a lot of variety in terms of buffet vs. the a la carte restaurants (Italian, Seafood, Steakhouse). 2 of us got sick the day of our departure (severe diarrhea and stomach pains), which was probably the result of some cross-contamination between fruit and meat (our best guess here) - we remain sick even 3 days after our return. This is the first time I have had food-related GI problems in Cuba.

The bars were well-stocked and the bartenders very friendly & service-oriented - the alcohol-drinking crowd won't be disappointed with the aspect of the resort, I'm sure.

As far as tipping, we rarely found it to be a problem in terms of being ignored or poorely serviced if we did not tip at all times. As in all resorts I've visited, some people are more pleasant than others, some give preferential service to those they already "know", but overall we were on vacation and thus in no rush to be served "first". We tipped when we felt the waiters/bartenders were deserving of our recognition, which was almost at every meal. We left little gifts/money for the maid every day, who took care of our room very well during our stay - no complaints here.

The entertainment was also a stand-out at this hotel - relatively superior to any I've experienced in Cuba before. The entertainers put on a great show every night - the dance numbers were especially enjoyable.

The resort itself is quite unique - some people may find the walking aproblem and may be disappointed by the lack of an ocean-view - the resort buildings are separated from the beach itself by a lagoon/large pond which results in the walking distances being somewhat greater than at other properties.

I summary, aside from our room-related problems the first day, our stay at the El Senador was enjoyable and relaxing. The beach is the major highlight of the resort itself, as I mentioned, and is its main attribute. However, given the walking distances involved, the lack of quick beach access (a must for a "beach-bum" like myself), and the relatively poor food quality, I would likely not return to this hotel. Having visited the Melia Cayo Guillermo last year at a similar package price, I would instead return to that resort, even though its beach is somewhat poorer than the El Senador's.

My husband and I traveled to this resort the week of May 30th to celebrate our anniversary. We got a great deal on Sell Off Vacations and were fondly surprised upon our arrival at the resort that we had been upgraded to a Villa.

Yes there is ALOT of walking but we liked that. The resort is MASSIVE and we often felt like we were the only ones on the resort as there was alot of room to spread out.

We arrived on Sunday May 30th just in time for dinner and my husband and I had dinner at the buffet. I have been to Las Brisas in Holguin 2 years ago and must say that the buffet at the El Senador was poor in comparison. The selection was very limited. Anyway after having dinner my husband and I went for a long walk to familiarize ourselves with the resort.

That night, my husband became sick and his condition worsened over the next 2 days to the point where he passed out and had to be transported to the local clinic (hospital) by ambulance! He was so severely dehydrated due to the diarreah and although we visited the doctor twice, he was already so far gone.

The hotel doctor Roberto was AWESOME! He was very helpful and very supportive during this difficult time and ensured that we were taken care of. The transportation to the hospital was a joke (they used the spare tire to secure the gurney (sp?) in the ambulance!! I wasn't sure if I should laugh or cry and was moreso concerned with communicating with the hospital staff outside of the resort. Thankfully my knowledge of Italian, French and a little bit of Spanish helped. We were in the hospital for 6 hours. My husband had to have IV - 2 bottles but it was far from a full recovery.

The hotel was very helpful and filled our fridge with juices and water and the maid always asked how my husband was feeling. They truely are a friendly bunch in Cuba. We managed to enjoy a few days together when he was feeling better which wasn't until Thursday.

The resort was very clean and the lagoon did give off a bit of an unpleasant odour but it wasn't bothersome from our room. We had a nice view of the lagoon and a private deck (which we hardly used).

The beach was gorgeous. I've traveled to may places including Aruba, St. Martin, the Bahamas, St. Thomas, St. Lucia, Italy, and Hawaii and the beach at this resort was one of the nicest I've seen. We did walk the entire strip and crossed over to the other resorts (Melia Cayo Coco and Tryp) but the strip along the El Senador was the best. The water was very clean and very warm and the sand was as soft and as white as flour.

We had no problems with the locals or the beach chairs as noted in some other reviews posted. In addition, the tipping wasn't an issue at all. We didn't plan to bring much money and after our situation with my husband and having to pay cash at the hospital (it was only $60 US) we had little left as we had only brought $250 US. We did tip the waiters and the maid at the end of the week and we received great service the entire week we were there.

The a la carte restaurants were MUCH better than the buffet we found. The seafood restaurant was especially good and so too the steak restaurant although we steered clear of the beef and chicken and port dishes. In fact, after our incident, the hotel doctor gave us a "safe" diet for the remainder of the stay and it excluded all meats except chicken and also excluded all dairy products. We believe my husband got sick as a result of a beef dish they served at the buffet or the bacon. I at the same thing he did except for those 2 items and I did not get sick.

For the price we paid at $680 pp, the resort was worth it. However for the regular price quoted on the various websites, this resort is not worth the money. As I said, I've been to Las Brisas in Holguin in July 2003 and the beach activities, pool activities, and the buffet and food in general was so much better.

There were mostly Canadians at this resort which we expected since it is owned by Canadians although I've been told that it was sold to Belgian folks earlier this year. There were a few Europeans but not many.

I would go back to this resort because it was a wonderful place to just kick back and do nothing. However if you're hoping for a little more activity, you'll become bored very quickly as there is nothing to do and not much around to explore.

Oh and the beds weren't very comfortable - atleast not in our room. We talked to other people and some said theirs were fine while others said they weren't. We had 2 doubles turned into a king (pushed together) but the springs would poke you in the back everytime you moved *lol*

They did have great tv though (THANK GOD given the fact that my husband spent 3 days in our room. He would have gone mental without it. They had HBO, TBS, Discover etc. so there was always a movie that was starting or another episode of West Coast Choppers.

Lastly, they do have an internet cafe which is cheaper than using the phone at $2.35 per minute US to call. The internet cafe charged $3 per 30 min or $5 per hour HOWEVER, their connections are VERRRRRY slow. It took me 1 hour to check 2 email accounts Yahoo and Rogers! The best thing was to be able to communicate with family at set times on Yahoo Messenger which I did on a few occassions -- it was far less frustrating than checking emails.

Overall I give this resort a 3 because it is a beautiful resort but there is a HUGE miss here. If they improve their food selections and maybe even just be a little more careful with preparation (and yes a little more more mindful of the birds) this resort would be fantastic!

The people were fantastic and very helpful and supportive and most appreciative of anything we left or gave them but they most certainly did not expect anything.

Oh and ladies, if your husbands have wandering eyes on the topless beach, the Cuban men on the resort are quite an eyeful too *LMAO*

Enjoy your vacation!