Rating:
"The vacation started out rough, the first room was very damp, musty, ant infested, the sheets were heavily soiled, ripped and had cigarette burns ( they were for the garbage). The comforters had cocoons on them they were very old.

The next morning we went to reception and complained about the issues and asked the girl to change our room. She was very unprofessional, unpleasent, had no customer service skills or empathy. She gave us a dirty look like who cares, and said there are no rooms available. ( which was a lie). So we went to the welcome meeting and then spoke to our Sunwing Rep, he then came with us and spoke to the girl and she then said okay maybe there is one room?
But it was on her conditions, her time. We basically wasted a day and had to pay for the bell boy service, because she kept giving us the run around go to reception at 2:00p.m. go to the room, when we called for the bell boys she said oh I'm busy we have new people arriving. Anyway eventually we got a new room, what a headache!! We wasted a day!

The new room was better still had sheets with some stains and holes; and the comforters were old with cocoons; where as other people we spoke to had new comforters.

We were disappointed to find out that a family of 4 who were on the same fllght was upgraded to Diamond Club for free and got superior Customer Service and the Royal Treatment including Premium Services, specialty food, premium drinks, all the works!! They really used it to their advantage; rubbing it in. And here we were just trying to get a descent room.
A La Carte was almost impossible to book and the girl was unprofessional and no customer service skills. So after a long wait in line we finally booked it.

The food at the Buffet was not good; limited variety and they usually ran out. We were hungry most of the time.

The Sunwing Rep wasn't helpful in explaining or outlining the schedule/hours for activities and restaurant hours. He focused to much on Excursions.

We would rate the hotel as a 3 star as per the issues with sheets, comforters.

We were happy to book with Escapes and Sunwing is a great ariline; we will definetly book again!!!!
"
Reviewer: reviewer6565
Date: Apr. 02, 2012

Rating:
"Besides from the resort food not being all that great. I thought being at this resort was an experience of a lifetime. The beaches were so beautiful and relaxing. I loved how you were able to just sit back and relax in the snack bar and the bar beside the lobby. The maids and staff were very good company, delightful to be around. My brother and I went to Son Latino the club on the resort and had a blast! Met a lot of awesome people. Lastly, the entertainment staff, getting to meet them was a pleasure. Despite the strict restrictions on the resort, they would come up and talk to my family and I. They danced really well from what I saw on different nights, I know if they were in Canada, they would get more recognition. I want to specifically mention dancers; Alexys, Roberto, Alejandro and Mari. I still think about them everyday. Had a very good time, very good memories. The bus ride and tours of Moron and Ciego de Avila were amazing, everything from the history of the towns and its people changed how I view things today. :)"
Reviewer: reviewer3523
Date: Jan. 12, 2012

Rating:
"Complains about the hotel
- Restock Room: It was never restocked, if we left a sip of water in the water bottle, it would not get refilled. If we called the reception to get more water or pop they would never come. Then the following day we went to the reception and they would say they had no record of us calling. This went on for days. I tried to ask for the water man to have a bottle of water, and he pushed me away and refused to give me water regardless of me providing him with my room information.
- Rooms: They never changed the sheets. I was so upset with such non hygienic conditions that I purposely touched my pillow with red lipstick to find it in the same place the next day. And to make matters worse a couple that was our friends ended up with red lipstick on their sheets in the same place, in other words, our sheets in their bed the next day. Which only lead me to think whose sheets was I getting. The rooms were infested by aunts and if anything was left in the room, even shampoo would be covered by aunts the next am. Shampoo, or soap were not replaced once since arrival, even after requested several times.
- Some of the rooms had mold and mildew in them. Our friends had a room that we could barely breathe in. We asked for a change of rooms and they raised their hands as a sign of “I don’t know or care” and nothing was done until we tried to reach managers for the fifth time.
- Food: The food was AWFUL. No better word to describe, other than unsanitary and uncooked. We werenÂ’t even expecting flavor by day number two. But they would use the same utensils to grab raw chicken, give the cooked chicken to another client, grab a raw piece of meat, then touch my chicken semi cooked and attempt to put it in my plate. They did not refill the buffet unless asked to do so and even then with a twenty to half hour delay. They were lines for absolutely everything, they were under staffed and the staff that was there was lazy, unhelpful and would only do something you asked if you had pesos or dollars to offer. Making reservations was a fight every time. We purchased the Diamond club, for an extra $200 a couple, which was supposed to give us more reservations than the normal package, and we didnÂ’t manage to get that. We were only able to get any reservations after a lot of fight and threats. Once getting to the a la carte, on the seafood, Arenas Blancas restaurant, and the crab was black in the inside, the portions were really small, and mostly made of lunch left overs.
- The pool was supposed to have a swim to bar, which physically seemed to exist but was never working during the full week we spend there.
- The pool has a tiny amount of lounge chairs, which doesnÂ’t get refilled once there is a high traffic of guests, and if the guest wants to take a beach chair to rest at the pool, they cant. But neither will staff do anything to solve your problem.
- As I mentioned we paid for the Diamond Club access, which was supposed to give us a private beach area. There was NOTHING private about the area, expect a tiny wooden sign, which no one respected. As well, as we were supposed to be serve drinks, NEVER happened. We had to wait in long lines every time we wanted to drink anything and service once again was slow and unfriendly.
- The lobby bar was constantly claiming to run out of alcohol and closing at around 9pm, when was supposed to be open until at least 2am. The bar at the night club was never once working all the time we were there. The only actually functioning bar had a constant line of over 5-10 people for hamburger or drinks, which were the only two eatable things in the entire resort.
- Coconut water was turned into a cartel, and we had to pay the gardeners to drink coconut water 3 pesos, which is four times the price of a beer can.
- I need a band aid because I cut my foot, the reception desk told me they didnÂ’t have anything for emergencies, and if I really wanted a band aid I had to wait until the next day and buy one from the in house doctor, if he had any at the time.
- With the Diamond Club package, we were also supposed to get access to a “vip lounge” which was nothing but a tiny moldy room, with several uncomfortable chairs and five books on a table. The tv didn’t work and there was never to eaten or drink there as advertised. And all the orientation meetings were held in this room, leaving no exclusivity for the premium price paid by the packages.
- The staff was extremely rude and unfriendly, I speak Spanish but my boyfriend doesn’t. We asked for assistance in an attempt to check the VIP lounge, which was supposed to be stocked with drinks and premium liquor. A server asked the bar attender for the key, and as soon as the bar attender realized it was for clients, he said he wouldn’t and told us our key should open the door, in a very rude way. After a few attempts to open the door, we came back asked the reception, them told the bar attender, who proceed to insult and called us and especially my boyfriend a “stupid dumb tourist”, and furious I told him not to talk about my boyfriend like that in Spanish and he proceed to answer by telling me I wouldn’t if I knew you understood.
- Toilet paper and soap were not existent throughout the entire resort. It was rare to find one out of the four stalls with paper, and soap I didnÂ’t see once.
- The toilets reeked and werenÂ’t clean often.
- The staff would only speak to you if they had something they wanted to sell, and if after the encounter you seemed uninterested in their merchandise they would refuse to assist you in their required task
- On the bus ride to the airport, after the guide asked how the trip was, I have never experience such dead silence and moments after so much negativity. I have never seen so many people happy to leave vacation in my life.
- One could not pay me enough to go back to this BAD memories resort.
"
Reviewer: reviewer5719
Date: Jan. 04, 2012

Rating:
"Good value for the price we paid. The staff was a mix of pleasant and unpleasant. We had a couple of bartenders and waitresses that were genuinely nice- we tipped them generously. The rest smiled only when you hand them a peso.

"Public relations" lady was a grouch - did not let us book our a la carte dinners. The Sunwing Rep was not approachable. She seemed peeved when we were inquiring about a couple of things. Hence we did not tip her. Check in was slow, they seemed very disorganized when our bus arrived. They gave us poor directions on how to get to our room. We walked around aimlessly in the pitch dark resort looking for our villa.

The beach was dirty - we did not enjoy it at all. We spent most of our time in the pool area. The water in the pool was ice cold, but we braved it.

On a brighter note, the food was good. We have been to Cuba before and expected the worst, but was pleasantly surprised. I loved the omelette bar at breakfast and the grilled shrimps at dinner. The pasta bar was also good, although I found it weird that cucumbers was one of the toppings. We went to the buffet and snack bar all week, because we were refused our a la carte dinner. I heard that the International Restaurant was delish, but we never had the chance to enjoy it... thanks to the grouchy & arrogant "public relations" clerk.

The entertainment was good too. Danny Boy (the emcee) was always amusing. The dancers were quite impressive.

There were a LOT of bugs - ensure that you bring OFF with DEET and Afterbite. We brought a whole can and we still got bit by gnats. There were a couple of guests that we talked to that were devoured. We got home almost a week ago and we are still itching.

Overall, it was a good trip. I would return to this resort again, but only if I get a good deal. "
Reviewer: reviewer635
Date: Dec. 02, 2011