Rating:
"Sept 25th to Oct 02nd


The Cayo Coco airport is small, clearing customs and getting our luggage was a breeze. To exchange your money into CUC's upon leaving the building, turn left and go next door to the departures section. Please remember to put away 25 CUC's per person, children included, for the departure tax. We were pleasantly surprised at how fast the other Guests on our bus, also cleared Customs, so there was not much of a wait at the airport. Our bus stopped off at four other hotels to drop off their Guests, the time it took to arrive at Sol Cayo Guillermo was exactly sixty-one minutes.

Upon our arrival to Sol Cayo Guillermo we were the only two Guests left on our bus. The lobby was very dark, with only the reception area lit up. We had been up since four am, travelled most of the day with a wait over and connecting flight in Toronto from Calgary. It would have been nice to be greeted by a friendly person and to have received a welcoming beverage. We were provided a map and two card keys; one of the card keys is also for the safety deposit box located within the closet, in the room. We had to insist on receiving assistance with our luggage to our room, after much discussion with the reception clerk, a bell boy was finally called. Our room in the 700 block was centrally located, however it was behind the stage where the shows are put on and close to the bar, this was just too loud for us; we came to rest and relax. Before even entering into the room, we went back to the reception to requested a quieter room. We were told that the hotel was booked, only one other room was available in the back area closer to the lagoon. We knew from experience and research to avoid all rooms close to the lagoon because it is mosquito breeding ground. We were also told that at eleven o clock that it would become quiet. When we entered into our room we were hit by the strong smell of cigarettes, so we put on the air conditioning right away and went off to get something to eat.

There was no water pressure in our shower and the toilet did not flush very well, nor did it help that we were kept awake till the wee hours of the morning listening to a crowd at the bar chanting "Drink, Drink, Drink, come on mate Drink".

This hotel advertises a Twenty-Four hour snack bar, this is absolutely not true. The bartender told us that the buffet closed at ten pm and we would have to wait until eleven pm for a sandwich. Forty-five minutes later we did receive a cheese and spam type meat on a bun, that they call a ham and cheese sandwich ***there is absolutely nothing else available*** and the Staff were not willing to help or, accommodate our dietary needs, despite telling them that we just arrived and had been travelling all day to get there.

While waiting to get something to eat we requested the following drinks: (Mojito, Margarita, Strawberry Daiquiri, Banana Daiquiri, Bloody Mary, Ron Collins, Gin Fizz, Long Island Ice tea, Zombie, Hemmingway Special). Getting frustrated from hearing after each request "Sorry we no have here", we asked for a Cocktail menu and were again told " Sorry we no have here". So we asked for Old Havana Whiskey (tastes like Jack Daniels), Millwood's, Champagne or, Cava and again after each request were told " Sorry we no have here". We asked a different server just in case the first one did not understand our requests, only to find out that they do not serve these drinks period; thus the reason for no cocktail menu. There are no slushie machines at this hotel and all the juices are made from powder. There is no piano bar or, enclosed area to have a quite drink, the main bar and other little huts with bars are set up outside. Needless to say we were disappointed and wondered if the Sol chain sold this hotel. We have been to other hotels located in even more remote areas of Cuba and the bars that they have set up on the beach are better stocked than the main bar at this hotel.
They cannot run out of something that is not available in the first place, you have to pay for Jack Daniels and Bourbons
We gave up and ordered a glass of red wine, this was served in a plastic cup. I asked for another bottle of water and was told "sorry we no have", at this Sol chain they do not have bottled water at the bar.
The main bar does serve freshly made cappuccinos and coffee.


Next morning at breakfast there was an incident that literally was the last straw for us, we had already lost an entire day of our precious holidays due to travelling and we were not willing to put up with the short comings of this hotel, even by Cuban standards.

We went to the reception area to get a transfer to another hotel.

We met Lupe and explained to her the reasons why we were leaving. Lupe was extremely understanding, admitted that some things should not have happened and asked us to give her a chance to make things right and to please not leave the hotel.

My Husband and I cannot say enough good things about Lupe, she is the glue and back bone of this hotel, she literally turns herself inside out to do the best she can with such limited resources. It is because of Lupe's efforts and out of total respect for her that we choose to stay at this hotel. The first thing Lupe did was bring us a nice plate of fresh fruit and she made arrangements for a decent room in the 1100 block. Lupe also surprised us by sending a bottle of Havana Club Rum, German beer and bottle of coke to our room. Lupe also arranged a late check out for us.
Lupe is the corner stone of this hotel, so many of the Guests that we spoke with just ranted and raved about how wonderful she is. Thank-you Lupe for being the best.

When we arrived in our new room we were greeted by our maid Mayso. Mayso had decorated our room with beautiful flowers, it was just lovely. Mayso ensured that we had two bottles of water, two rolls of toilet paper, and clean towels each day, we really appreciated all of her efforts. Even on our last day despite a late check out, Mayso knocked on our door and offered to change the linens on our bed and give us fresh towels. This is the first hotel in Cuba where we have been really happy with the maid service.

The bed and pillows were quite comfortable. The air conditioning unit is run by remote control so this was really nice as you did not have to get out of bed to turn it on or, off. We normally don't watch TV on holidays, but due to one full day of rain we really enjoyed ourselves snuggled up in bed watching two great movie channels; the TV also has a remote control.

When all of the maids clean the rooms they leave the doors open for security purposes, unfortunately this is how the rooms get filled with mosquitoes and flies. This happens in most tropical places except at this hotel they do not spray the rooms upon request, after cleaning because they do not have the supplies to do so. We had loads of incense which really helped with the mosquitoes in our room, but we had no fly spray with us. To be sure we did ask three different maids for fly spray and they told us they had none, even double checked with reception and we were told they would "send someone", this is a pacifying and over used statement at this hotel. So don't forget to pack a good overall bug spray for the room.

For all the times that we have been to Cuba, this is the worst that my Husband has ever been bitten by mosquitoes; he was literally covered in bites, despite all the mosquito cream and Avon skin so soft that he used. During our stay several Guests had to go to the Doctor to receive an injection and treatment. The hotel needs to fog the entire hotel and not just concentrate on the front and lobby area.


The beach towel slip was missing from our package, we found this out when we went to the towel hut. It did not help upon our return with the towel slip, that the staff member complained and questioned us as to why we had a yellow slip instead of a white one. How would we know or, care for that matter? There does not appear to be any connection, awareness or, team work between the Staff members outside of their own work area.

The Sol Cayo Guillermo is a small hotel, very easy to get around. The gardeners do a nice job of the grounds, and the cleaning Staff do a decent enough job with what they have to work with.
The focal point of the hotel appears to be around the pool area, which is very close to the bathroom, towel hut, lobby, main bar, vendor hut, buffet, money exchange booth and gift shop. The public bathroom always had toilet paper and was clean the odd time we used it.

This hotel is very popular with the British, the majority of the Guests during our stay were from the UK. Kudos to the Thomas Cook representative for being available for long hours and for ensuring that the animation team is made available to provide beverages and to entertain his Guests during their arrival and departure.

If you are a pool person, have young Children and are Elderly this set up may suit you well, we were surprised as to how many school age and young Children were there during this time of year.
The pools are surrounded by very nice fabric chairs, I would recommend taking your own towel or, some item to mark your chair for the day, because we were told by the staff at the towel hut, that some towels have been stolen and if they go missing you have to pay for them. We observed that most of the chairs around the pool were reserved by seven am.


We are total beach freaks, the main reason we come to Cuba again and again is for the beaches. We absolutely adore and have been spoilt with the beaches in Cayo Largo, Cayo Santa Maria and Cayo Ensenacho, so naturally we wanted to check out the beach at Cayo Guillermo.

The beach in this hotel zone is very narrow, but it does go for miles in either direction. The seaweed is piled up instead of being buried, the smell on the beach that a few Guests were moaning about is from a combination of seaweed and fermented horse feces. If the handlers who run the horse riding tours cleaned up after their horses, then this would not be such a problem. We happen to like the smell of seaweed and live in a rural area, so the smell did not bother us too much.
It would be really nice if all Guests cleaned up their own garbage, however it would be helpful if garbage containers were placed in various areas of the beach. The beach in this hotel zone needs to be cleaned up, some of us are not pool people and come primarily to enjoy the Ocean and beach. One Guest from the Yukon was walking around picking up garbage, she had strong environmental values and was trying to do something about it.

Most of the chairs on the beach are old, worn out, dirty and black from sun screen. The fabric was so stretched and loose that you were literally laying on the hard plastic slats, this explains why some Guests were hauling the best of the lot to their patio area to keep during their entire stay.
If the hotel does not want to provide decent chairs like they do have at the pool area, perhaps they could provide cushions? In the meantime I recommend bringing an air mattress, this will save your back.

When facing the ocean if you walk to the right this will lead you to the Melia and Iberostar Daiquiri hotel zone. This beach area is better maintained, groomed and much nicer; also it is really nice to walk the pier and climb up onto the observation tower.

To the left side of the beach there is a security guard stationed to keep the locals out of the hotel zone, if you walk further down to the left, past the guard you will see a beach hut that appears to be a local hang out. There you can purchase cooked fish, shrimp, lobster and beer.
The Ocean was warm and shallow so you can walk out for miles before getting into waist deep water. We loved it when the Ocean was wavy as there was no pulling or, strong current, nor are the waves that strong; we really enjoyed being in the Ocean. It was allot of fun watching the Kite surfers flying up and down the Ocean and body surfing. They do have hobby cats available.

Be very careful of the shower area close to where the security guard is stationed, it is full of those plants which produce round balls of thorns, they are very painful and in some cases you will need tweezers to remove the thorns from your feet. It was not much fun trying to rinse the sand off of your feet while stepping on thorns. These balls of thorns are not only on that sandy pathway to and from the shower/beach area, they are loaded on the sandy pathway beside it. We did report this, but nothing changed.


We ate mostly at the buffet and found the food to be quite good, I do advise you to get there when the buffet first opens as the food really gets picked over and some food items are not replaced, when you do ask for them you will be told that they are gone. They do have a coffee making machine, we had our own green tea so it was nice that the machine produced really hot water.

Some items really need to be put in containers that have pumps, my Husband noticed one child taking the spoon out of one of the syrup containers, licking it and putting it back in to the syrup container; this all happened in front of her oblivious Father.
There are no napkins in the bread station so all Guests cutting the bread are holding the loaves with their bare hands.
Yes there were flies in the dining room area, but no more than any other place in Cuba, Mexico or, the Dominican. Most of the food in the buffet area was covered up with plastic wrap. The problem with the flies getting into the dining room is with some Guests who don't understand how to close a door. Several times we could see the Staff hustling to close the doors and some Guests actually got up during their meal to close the door.

Our service in the Buffet was very good to down right excellent, do bring tips for the fresh food station cooks, they have plates set up for tips and do appear to expect them.

If you want to book your a la carte dinner, you do so at the restaurant of your choice between three and six pm, we ate at the Don Guillermo and were happy to have a bottle of Cava, again thanks to the efforts of Lupe; it was nice to finally have a bottle of bubbly on our holiday.

I would strongly suggest that they do indeed set up an actual snack bar at the main bar. A small, mini buffet with basic items such as tomatoes, cucumbers, veggies, bread, cold cuts, fruit, cookies, and general finger food would solve allot of problems. There is a person who makes toasted sandwiches during certain assigned hours. The problem is that he cannot keep up with the demand and not all Guests want their sandwiches toasted. It does not help that he leaves his station to deliver sandwiches to the Guests that tip him. It would be so much easier, faster and enjoyable to have the opportunity to get something to eat when you needed to, instead of been held to ransom waiting for a sandwich or, having to ensure that you get to the buffet when it first opens. When you are on holidays you don't want to be on a schedule.

The Staff that really stand out in this hotel are Lupe, Mayso, Yaime, Yamila and Carlos, they work so hard and do the best that they can with what they have to work with.

There are different vendors that set up their wares in a small hut beside the main bar. Different vendors rotate every two days, they have some very nice gift items.

In Cuba they do run out of food items, it is to be expected however, the Sol chain has a very good reputation of ensuring it's hotels are well stocked. For some reason this particular Sol hotel is not getting the supplies that are made available to other Sol hotels. We spoke to Guests who stayed at the Sister hotel in Cayo Coco and according to the Guests they did not have the same shortages. We have been to other hotels in Cuba that are located in even more remote areas and they don't have the same issues with their supplies. There is obviously a missing link between this Sol hotel and the Sol Chain.

I do understand that many repeat Guests were upset and will not be returning. One Guest was there six times, and another Guest four times, both parties said the hotel is going down hill and they will not be returning.

I don't think it is fair to blame the new Manager at this hotel, he is a lovely man and has only been there for three months. It takes time to figure out where your strengths and weaknesses are and to make the changes needed. It has to be difficult trying to hold down a new job, while rattling the chains of the higher powers to get the supplies you need.

I cannot stress enough that the majority of the Staff at this hotel are very friendly, they go out of their way to provide excellent service. The Manager and Staff can only do the best they can with what they are given to work with, again the majority of the Staff are not the problem.

Our departure time from the resort was at seven pm, the same time the buffet opens for Supper. During our late check out we told the reception clerk about our predicament to get something to eat. We were told that it was difficult to get food at that time, but that he would make arrangements to put some food together for us. Another miscommunication between departments because we never received any food, we know if Lupe was working during that time she would have ensured that we had something to eat. If this hotel did indeed have the Twenty- Four hour snack bar that they claim to have, we would not have experienced this problem.

When the bus arrived the tour operator flew out of the bus and informed us, as he walked towards the lobby bar that they were early. My Husband loaded our luggage onto the bus and we waited. Had to chuckle at how a five dollar Canadian bill was clipped to a basket, that was placed at the front of the bus as bait, so much for tipping in Cuban currency.
As we approached the airport, the tour operator informed us all that it is customary in Cuba to tip the bus driver. This is the first and only time in Cuba that we have heard of that, if you are happy with the help and service that you receive, then you can choose to tip the driver, only if you want to.
In the departures section of the airport, after you check in, pay your departure tax and clear customs, you then go upstairs. There are several stores to purchase gifts, coffee and duty free liquor, they do have Millwood's, also you can get something to eat and drink.

Our flight was delayed over three hours, so we talked to allot of people about their hotels and experience. From this feedback we do have two hotels that we can recommend in that area of Cuba. At this present time we would not return to the Sol Cayo Guillermo, there are other hotels in Cuba who are not so limited in their supplies, who have much nicer beaches and that cost less.

If you have any questions please feel free to contact me.
Safe and Happy Travels.

Loraine"
Reviewer: Neil and Loraine
Date: Oct. 11, 2010

Rating:
"The staff were very helpful and friendly. The restaurants were good and there was always plenty of food and a reasonable variety. The rooms were quite spacious with plenty of drawers and closet space. The beds were comfy. We did have leaks in our room when the rains got heavy but it was primarily confined to our bathroom. The entertainment staff worked very hard and put on some excellent shows. I would definitely return and there were a lot of people who said they had been here a number of times."
Reviewer: Anonymous [via Escapes.ca]
Date: May. 28, 2007