Cuba
Cuba March 28 - April 11.2011.
Hotels - in Varadero "Barcelo Solymar", in Cayo Largo "Sol Pelicano", in Havana "Florida", were replaced by "Saratoga".
Agency - Russian Express.
Receiving agency - Cubanacan.
Air carrier - Aeroflot.
We flew with an Airbus 330. A good new aircraft. They flew there very calmly, back shook over the Atlantic Ocean and in front of Great Britain. The feeder on the plane is completely standard, the TVs built into the backs of the seats worked. The choice of films and programs was very large, everything is available and free of charge.
Varadero. Barcelo Solymar Hotel. 4+*
The hotel is clean and tidy, if you do not go out to the ocean, then in general the impression that you are in Egypt! ! ! )))) Neat standard rooms, there is a hair dryer, iron, ironing board, coffee machine (only coffee was never given, despite persistent requests and appeals to the reception). The voltage in the sockets is 220v. Everything valuable should definitely be put away in a safe, nothing was stolen from us, but they say there are cases.
Cleaned up well and clean. The maids and waitresses were immediately given all sorts of lip glosses, varnishes, eyeliners, mascara, etc. ...But they also left 1 cookie each. In the room every day, in the restaurant every other day. The waiters occupied the tables, brought quickly enough. Although there were those who constantly slowed down. Without 1 cookie, Cubans don’t move much !!! ! ! ((((((The food was delicious and varied. Grilled, Parma ham, and much more. There were also seafood, and there were almost always shrimp. In the morning there was always champagne, 3-4 types of freshly squeezed juices. Good coffee only in the lobby bar!!!
The beach is the largest, widest and most comfortable in Varadero. White and fine, like semolina, sand. A good entrance to the ocean, shallow, so when the waves are very fun, you can jump on them. It is impossible to think of a better place for children during the calm! ! ! On the beach at any time you can ALWAYS find free sunbeds and umbrellas!! ! ! !
This was not observed in other hotels.
Animation in the hotel. Afternoon game on the beach. All sorts of volleyball in the pool and a Latin dance school. In the evening, dance and song performance in Latin American style. Not bad, but the most fun, incendiary and interesting takes place in the neighboring Barcelo Arenas Blancas hotel. The hotels are one whole and therefore you can use all the services in each of them! ! ! ! And a bar and restaurants and animation programs. Moreover, Barcelo Arenas Blancas, as it turned out later, is cheaper than Solimar ! ! ! ! So in it, both daytime and evening programs are tracing paper from Turkish animation. So fervently, noisily, even shows and competitions are lapped up! ! ! There are a lot of Canadians in hotels who drink very noisily in the evenings ! ! !
In Varadero itself, a bar on 62nd Street can be noted. Always live Latino bands, then disco, noisy and fun, but if you don't like salsa you don't have to go there.
))) The club in the usual sense, with House, R'n'B, and latino music, is located between 42nd and 43rd streets, called "Casa De La Musica". There are 2-3 more places, but everywhere with an admixture of Latin music.
We took one sightseeing tour of Cuba from a private guide, a former Russian. We watched cane and banana plantations, Cuban villages and cities. Very informative and loved it. The cost is 100 kuk for 5 hours in a car in which we were together, plus the driver-guide himself. In the bar by the bridge, across the deepest gorge, they drank the most delicious pinocolade for 2.75 cu. Guides from agencies do not give such excursions.
The Cybanacan guide at the hotel was present every day. It was present! ! ! Enthusiasm in the work was not particularly observed. On questions of tanspheres, we ran and caught the guide, and not vice versa. Our main request to make a flight to the island for us on a later flight was never fulfilled. For a flight from Havana, we were taken out of the hotel at 2.30 am in a regular taxi! ! !
Accordingly, no one accompanied us and did not even worry about whether we left for the airport. The taxi just brought us to the airport in Havana 2.5 hours before the flight and that's it! ! ! ! And the guide apparently slept peacefully at home! ! ! There was also no Cubanacan representative at the airport. All by yourself! ! ! ! The flight was at 7 am. As it turned out, the guides could re-register us for a later flight, but they were just too lazy! ! ! They said stupidly that this is not their job! ! ! What then is their job? ? ? Nevertheless, we took off at 7.20 and flew for 35 minutes in a good 40 seater plane to Cayo Largo.
Cayo Largo island. Sol Pelicano Hotel. 4*
Let's say right away that there are no pelicans either in the hotel or in the vicinity! ! ! )))
There are only 5 hotels on the island, an airport and a seaport with a camp for staff.
The hotel has 2-3 storey bungalows. We do not recommend taking the first floor. Not convenient and all sorts of living creatures can crawl into the room. The room was on the 2nd floor, nice and tidy. The maids and waiters were also given small gifts and left a cookie.
In the restaurant, the waiters in general always took their places, as soon as they saw us, they themselves looked like and seated themselves in the sector. Of course, the food was more modest than in Varadero, but quite good. There were no freshly squeezed juices and no champagne either.
The beach at the hotel as well as the neighboring Sol Cayo Largo is small and very narrow. Width 5-10 meters no more! ! ! ! Immediately behind the sand towards the hotel - stones! ! ! Sunbeds and umbrellas are almost never free! ! ! Waves almost always. In general, on such a beach, the mood is somehow depressing. We did the following - we took a moped for 3 days and drove ourselves to different beaches of the island, since the distances are small. Of course, there are free trains that take you to all the beaches, but this is at a strictly defined time. The most beautiful and farthest beach is Sirenas. There are no waves. Umbrellas and sunbeds are available for free. After 17:00 there are almost no people there. In front of him is Paradisio Beach. Umbrellas and sunbeds are available for free.
There are also no waves. But the most beautiful place is the beach in front of Paradisio. It is clearly visible from the road. Quiet, calm, shallow bay with clear turquoise water. There can be 5-6 people at 300-500 meters! ! ! Very romantic! ! ! Take your umbrella, water, towels with you and drown each other there!! ! ! ))))) It is for the sake of these places that it is worth flying to Cayo Largo. Really amazing place! ! ! I liked it incredibly. Yes, it makes no sense to fly from Varadero for a day trip to the island. The cost is 160 euros. In a few hours, all the delights of the island can not be felt ! ! ! ! Take my word for it, you need 2-3 days at least! ! !
Animation in the hotel in dance-song Latin style. Show program every evening. On Fridays in the port, which is called Marina, there is a disco right on the square. Fun and quirky. Tourists from hotels are brought by bus, the staff from the hotels also gather here. Everyone hangs out and drinks together.
The guides at this hotel were still quite adequate and performed their duties in full, as it should have been. Their names are Guillermo and Rafael. Guillermo speaks good Russian and is a real help! ! ! Really well done!! ! !
Havana Hotel "Florida" 4 * (replaced by "Saratoga" 5 *).
We arrived in Havana at 8pm. Guides Cubanacan once again demonstrated their attitude to work. We were stupidly dropped off the bus on the embankment and showed towards the hotel and left!! ! ! ! Our things were loaded by some kind of porter and drove almost a kilometer to the hotel, then it turned out that he was not from the hotel, but on his own and demanded 5 cookies for services. We gave 2 euros and then pretended that we did not understand what the conversation was about. The hotel found out that our room was not paid for and they were not going to accommodate us. We were offered a room at the nearby Marques De Prado Ameno Hotel. The room stank of dampness and a dead cat, the ceiling was covered in streaks and mold!!! ! ! ! They started arguing and demanding a normal number.
There were no numbers. Absolutely not! ! ! ! The same story happened to the French waiting nearby. We are not stupidly lodged. In one hour!!! ! ! ! got through to the guide from Cubanacan. Her name is Olga Iraola. To all our demands to come to the hotel and deal with the situation, she replied that she was busy with tourists (and then we wonder who???!!!!!! ) morning!!!!! ). We continue to scandal in the hotel ourselves. Half an hour later we again hear on the phone Olga Iraola's refusal to come to the hotel and help us!! ! ! ! We have to run into her already, but she doesn’t care! ! ! It's not my job and that's it! ! ! ! In another half an hour (total for two hours of fighting) we find ourselves one step away from victory. The hotel offers us, with the desire to get rid of us, a room in another hotel "Saratoga" 5 * with a view of the Capitol in the very center of Havana without any additional payments ! ! ! ! The replacement is clearly better. Then we wait another half hour for a taxi that was supposedly called for us.
Without waiting for a taxi, having expressed everything that has already burned up (and it has burned a lot and with good matyuks), we leave by catching a taxi 10 meters from the hotel. The result of the whole situation - if you want to get something, take it yourself !! ! ! ! Do not retreat, and do not give up, as the Musketeers said! ! ! ))))) Turn on the first speed on your ice rink and forward to the break!! ! ! ! If you go through Cubanacan, the guides in Havana don't give a damn about you!! ! ! ! If there is a desire that the rest would be a success, make an effort yourself and everything will be great, you should not rely on the receiving party!! ! !
In general, I really liked Havana. The next day we again took a private guide and enjoyed a walk around the city. An unusual old, sometimes shabby colonial city has its own charm. The evening ended with a delicious dinner at the restaurant "Los Nardas", located in the house opposite the Capitol on the 2nd floor. Delicious cocktails and extraordinary baked fish are just huge.
Highly recommended for lovers of gastronomic pleasures. Lunch for two of us plus a guide cost 40 cookies.
To all the questions of friends - whether they liked Cuba, we answer without hesitation - yes, very much ! ! ! !