Океан побеждает недостатки сервиса The ocean overcomes the shortcomings of the service

We rested in this hotel from July 17 to August 7.2011 as a family: children 5 and 9 years old and 2 adults. Tour operator - "Russian Express", air flight - direct flight of Aeroflot. As for the tour operator - no complaints: met, transfer, guide - everything is as it should be. Aeroflot sincerely pleased, we were very pleased that we flew on this particular flight, although we had to get to Moscow from St. Petersburg. It was worth it: the whole flight - the full attention of the staff, decent food, drinks, watching movies, gifts for children - and time passed unnoticed. In general, well done. From Havana to the hotel, about 2 hours by bus. We were placed in the main building, it is closer to the sea, on the 2nd floor. Dampness is the first thing that met us in the room. The atmosphere is simple, everything worked - plumbing, air conditioning, TV, refrigerators, hair dryer. Due to the dampness in the rooms, there is a fungus, which is not noticed by those who come for a short time. We had to take everything out to the balcony, otherwise everything would be moldy in 21 days. In terms of placement, this was the only and significant minus. Cleaning daily, linen and towels changed regularly. In the hotel in our building there is a main restaurant, a grill bar by the ocean (often we didn’t go for lunch, but dined there), a pool bar. We did not go to a la carte restaurants, there is no point in this, the food is the same, the service is slower. The breakfasts were very pleasing - there were local yoghurts, muesli, children's breakfast cereals, eggs, omelettes (the chef prepares them deliciously with fillings of your choice: cheese, bacon, vegetables, mushrooms), delicious pancakes with fillings, natural juices, coffee, croissants. There was no hot drink for lunch and dinner, we had to take tea bags from breakfast. Local waitresses are terribly lazy, dirty and uncleaned tables could remain all the time for dinner. We defiantly shifted a mountain of dirty dishes to neighboring tables, laid out napkins ourselves. Tipping is gratitude for the service, and they have an ultimatum: "Until you give, I will not clean. " A few of them resemble waiters. In general, we have not seen such extortion of tips anywhere: in front of each of the servants there is a plate or a glass for tips, in which a dollar or a tugrik defiantly lies. If you pay everyone - for fruit, pancake, coffee, drinks every day of rest, then for us it would come out on the money for a couple of bottles of rum. As for drinks: high-quality alcohol, not diluted, all cocktails are prepared deliciously, we liked it better in the grill bar. The assortment is very diverse, they can do what you ask to mix yourself. The local beer is also good. Wine in the restaurant for lunch and dinner, the waiters pour bottles in front of you. The water itself is good, you can even drink from the tap (but, of course, we did not do this). There were no problems with digestion during the rest of the holiday. Of the fruits were pineapples, mangoes (just stunningly sweet and juicy), local watermelons, bananas, papaya, guava. From seafood: squid, shrimp, crabs, even octopuses were somehow given (but everything is cooked according to local standards of taste, eat once - and you don’t feel like it anymore). I was glad that the confectioner had no idea what tempting desserts are, after eating their products, I realized that such a sweet can be easily abandoned. As always, the food gets boring quickly, in the end we ate almost only fruit. The most important thing for which you overcome half the world is the ocean. He conquers all troubles. We were worried that July was "not the season" for Cuba, but the weather was excellent, it rained 3 times in 21 days, at night, it did not interfere with our rest at all. There is no savagery to “clog” sun loungers with towels for the whole day, so there were always enough of them, both by the sea and by the pool. The water is warm, clean, the bottom is even, the children swam for hours. And with calm water, and on the waves, swimming is a great pleasure. Free on the beach - kayaks, catamarans, sailboats. The sun is very active, but we constantly used SPF 30, we didn’t get burned and the tan turned out to be even. The pools and hot tubs at the hotel were cleaned every morning. Excursions are expensive: on Cayo Largo about 180 CUC per person. , to Havana-70 Cook In Varadero there is an excursion 2-floor. bus, 5 cookies per day, it is more pleasant to ride it than in a taxi. It is better to change the currency in euros than dollars, the exchange rate is the same everywhere (1.34), there is an exchanger in the hotel, there is a long queue at the airport. Rum costs the same everywhere (7-year-old 0.7 l - 12 kuk), you can take out 2 liters per person, 50 cigars per person. , coffee unlimited. In dutik it is cheaper by 1 cookie. Evening show at the hotel. Very nice "Aquatic show", often Latin dances. Girls, they seem to have a shortage of tights, that's what would be a present for dancers: they dance with every cell of their body, but the holes in everyone's tights spoil the whole impression. It is clear that it is like in the Union before, where to get them, banal tights - in a hot country. So, if you want to be remembered by them, present them. Free people in the evenings went to local discos, we were not there. There are a lot of young people who are determined to actively communicate with the opposite sex: if you know the language, you won't be bored. Amused by 2 Russian guys trying to make an appointment with Spanish women: “Come to the beach after dinner! ” and gesticulating to show what dinner and the beach are. There are a lot of Russians, and unfortunately, quite a few - with a low level of culture (because the price attracts - you need to be prepared for this). Although, next year with the cancellation of the flight payment, ours will be 90% less, that's for sure. In general, we were pleased with the rest: ideal ecology, clean air, water, lush vegetation, the ocean, the beach - that's what we were going for, and this did not disappoint us. If your service requests exceed the desire for outdoor recreation, then it’s better not to choose among the Cuban fours - they are all about the same, take 5 stars already. Have a nice holiday everyone!