Joined: Feb 2005 Gender: Male Posts: 740 Location: Ottawa Canada
Re: Camaquey or Holquin...which is better? « Result #1 Today at 8:12pm »
Never had a problem with bugs of any sort in Holguin or Varadero (Jan to Mar). Click on the little house under my avatar for some pics of the Blau, including the pool.
Click on the little house under avatar for pics of last 3 resorts. 2010 somewhere in Cuba; 2006 & 2008 Cuba Holguin Blau Costa Verde; 2005 Cuba Varadero Barcelo Marina Palace; 2004 Cuba Varadero Coralia Club Playa de Oro; 1995 St. Maarten; 1992 Dom. Republic; 1988 Cuba Holguin Hotel Guardalavaca; 1986 Cuba Varadero Punta Blanca; 1982 California; 1980 Cuba Varadero Cabanas del Sol
btw... anything over 200 cigars is considered a commerical shipment by Customs in Canada... no exceptions. In other words you will lose them all unless you can produce a tobacco reseller license.
Joined: Jan 2005 Gender: Female Posts: 11 Location: London, Ontario
Re: Camaquey or Holquin...which is better? « Result #4 Today at 7:03pm »
We have been to Brisas Santa Lucia twice ( last time this past January), made great friends and enjoyed our vacations both times. Brisas is definetely the liveliest and the largest of the four resorts in Santa Lucia, we walked through all 4 and were very happy with the choice that we made. We also vacationed at Grand Playa Turquesa in Holguin 2 years ago - loved the new rooms, choices of food but there was no snorkeling off the beach and the beach itself is much smaller, cove type. At Brisas you could walk to about chest deep water and there was a small reef, we saw different kinds of colourful fish, starfish, squid, etc. So, to sum it up, we preferred the beach in Santa Lucia, the facilities were better at Turquesa. We just passed by Blau resort on a mini-train, from outside it looked a bit "worn", but I cannot be the judge of that as we never went inside.
Re: Camaquey or Holquin...which is better? « Result #5 Today at 6:39pm »
hi, thanks so much for getting back. If u don't mind, I'd like to ask a couple question... 1- we don't like too relaxed [boring...lol] resorts... is one better than other for that? also we read about mossies/ mosquito's? is that a problem in one more than the other? pools... nice, big? thanks
Re: Camaquey or Holquin...which is better? « Result #6 Today at 6:18pm »
I've stayed at Blau and walked through Gran Club and Brisas while staying at Caracol next door. Blau is higher class, IMHO. Depends on what you like. Holguin (Guardalavaca) features cove type beaches......very pretty, but short. Santa Lucia (Camaguey) has miles of beach to walk. The water is cleaner at the Holguin resorts, and the off the beach snorkelling is very good. Santa Lucia has a lot more seagrass, and also good snorkelling but you have to swim a bit further to find it. Bottom line, for a first time trip to Cuba I would recommend the Blau. Any specific questions, feel free to ask.
Hola Guatanamera like belinda are machine made cigars...with the low price you are getting a low end cuba cigar....I quess ok...to me not much better than the peso cigar more miss than hit. Try a montercristo # 4 at 4.30 cuc's...a great little cigar. For a little milder some R&J cedros deluxe # 3. To answer your question I think the belinda is better than the guatanamera...great song...but not so much of a cigar LOL Hope this helps
Our Cuban Vacations: Playa Pesquero - Apr '05 Melia Cayo Santa Maria - Dec '07 Melia Cayo Santa Maria - Apr '08 Breezes Jibacoa - Dec '08 Melia Cayo Santa Maria - Jan '09 Melia Cayo Santa Maria - Mar '09 Breezes Jibacoa - Jun '09 Booked: Breezes Jibacoa - Dec '09
Joined: Jul 2006 Gender: Male Posts: 128 Location: lethbridge alberta
Re: Sirenis La Salina « Result #11 Today at 4:52pm »
Sent a review in to Debbies and also Trip Advisor on the Sirenis. Our experience with it was great. We have some pics and vids which we posted to youtube. No link to the reviews yet, but heres the meat of it:
Review by Rob & Kim of Sirenis La Salina
Here is a brief review of the Sirenas La Salinas, which we just returned from. We had read a few bad reviews and so were a little apprehensive, but were pleasantly surprised with the place. We have been to Cuba many times in the past and have submitted more detailed reviews to this and other hotels which you can find online, with pics and vids of everything.
Hotel - nice, newer build, but large. 2500 person capacity, but was about half full when we were there. Very spread out, so some rooms are far from the restaurant, others are far from the beach, but there is golf carts running around for those too lazy to walk. Still, the most spread out hotel I have been to in Varadero, but above average condition and design.
Room - same as every other 4* and up room in varadero. Nicely done up, big clean bathroom, clean sheets, shower head too low for anyone 6 feet tall, but no bugs or smells or anything nasty like that. No complaints at all.
Staff - maid service was great, she restocked fridge daily=we tipped daily, bartenders were decent at all bars, wait staff was beyond excellent everywhere on the resort, cooks were fantastic, cleaning staff worked 24hrs. Only staff that was not exceptional was front desk staff who was a bit lazy and uninterested.
Pool - Quiet pool was empty 95% of the time, totally clean, no problems. The main pool was busier, the water was not full of litter as some have said, but there was sand in the bottom of the pool and it was a bit nosier there with music and people. There was a swim up bar, and also a bar in a cave behind a waterfall, and a waterslide. If you find my pics online you will see it.
Beach - empty on the day it was cool, full on the da it was hot. Tons of chairs, limited shade palapas though. Large beach area though can accomodate tons of people. Beach was graded at 7am, but still had cigarette butts( from lazy idiot tourists) and seaweed wash on it, because its a beach.
Food - no problems at all. I would say the food here was the 2nd best of the 6 hotels I have stayed at in Varadero. There was tons of selection every day and a bit of variety too. In the week I ate: beef, chicken, turkey, veal, pork, lamb, beef hamburgers, ham hambrugers, bacon, yams, fries, pizza, 10 kinds of rice, lots of buns and breads, ice cream. I would say that getting to the restaurants when they open ensures the best experience, as it is a buffet. If you get there at 9:30 and it closes at 10pm, dont expect that they are bringing out fresh trays of food. There was no shortage of anything, but you have to understand how the buffet works, If you approach the fry chef, you ask for what you want and they make it for you. There were a few birds waiting for a meal in the mornings, less by noon, and none by supper. Never a problem and always made worse by the tourist across from you who thinks its cool to throw them a snack.
Internet - 5 machines in an airconditioned room. Not as slow as some say, but as fast as dial up can be. Took 15 minutes for 2 of us to log onto gmails, check mail, and log out. Internet costs $10/hour.
Fitness Center - remarkable. Top end equipment, brand new condition, completely unused most of the time. Nice clean and spacious, better than most gyms back home.
Disco - wasnt too busy, but the music was alright. The sound system was pushed to its limit and didnt sound wonderful, but the people had a good time there.
Animacion - the animation/entertainment at this hotel was actual top notch. They drew a crowd of about 800 people each night and always thunderous applause and cheers. The dancing was exceptional, find my videos in google. The only nights that suck are karaoke night and 'perfect couple' night, which are the audience particiaption nights and so you are basically being entertained by other tourists, who suck.
Crowd - the hotel was 95% Canadians, but 60% of those were from Quebec. With that comes seemingly lots of smoking, bad manners, and complaining for some strange reason? That group seemed to have higher expectations and demanded to be waited on hand and foot. Must be a cultural difference I guess, but certainly very obvious and not representative of most Canadian tourists.
The best things about this hotel had to be the price, the service, the food, and the entertainment. All of those stood out as being above average for Varadero. The worst thing about the hotel was that it is a lot of walking due to its large size. On hot days this can be a bit of a pain.
Overall, I would say this is the 2nd nicest hotel in Varadero, right behind the Tryp Peninsula, and newer and fancier than the Barlovento or the Villa Cuba, which are my budget choices. I will upload some pics and vids to the internet if anyone cares to find them.
Joined: Feb 2005 Gender: Male Posts: 740 Location: Ottawa Canada
Re: Camaquey or Holquin...which is better? « Result #12 Today at 4:35pm »
Welcome to Debbie's. I haven't been to Camequey but have been to the Blau a couple of times and would highly recommend it. If you enjoy snorkling, it's very good right off the beach. It's a fairly small, compact resort with excellent food, drinks and a friendly, efficient staff. Is there anything in particular that you'd like to know?
Click on the little house under avatar for pics of last 3 resorts. 2010 somewhere in Cuba; 2006 & 2008 Cuba Holguin Blau Costa Verde; 2005 Cuba Varadero Barcelo Marina Palace; 2004 Cuba Varadero Coralia Club Playa de Oro; 1995 St. Maarten; 1992 Dom. Republic; 1988 Cuba Holguin Hotel Guardalavaca; 1986 Cuba Varadero Punta Blanca; 1982 California; 1980 Cuba Varadero Cabanas del Sol
I agree it's slow. I normally use the Dominican portion of Debbie's and there is a wealth of info and people posting replies.
I don't know if it's just that people who go to Jamaica don't care, or could it be that for every 100 people that go to the Dominican, there is only 1 that goes to Jamaica.
No idea.......
MG: I think you hit the nail right on the head when you stated "every 100 people that go to the Dominican, there is only 1 that goes to Jamaica." You could fill in that last word with any other place (other than Cuba). I have found the same thing, even on other forums - if you don't go where 'they' go - you are pretty well on your own. Sad, but true.
Camaquey or Holquin...which is better? « Result #14 Today at 3:04pm »
Has anyone been to different resorts in CUBA We are planning our first time vacation to CUBA. After much research on the net, we are now down to our last 2 choices. 1 st choice being: Gran Club Santa Lucia or Oasis Brisas in Camaquey. 2 nd choice being: Blau Costa Verde in Holquin. We are having a extremely difficult time choising between the 2. They both have good reviews. If anyone can help us, we would appreciate it very much.
Havana/Varadero - 1972 Santiago de Cuba, March 05, November 05, April 06, Dec 06, November 07, April 08, November 08 Paradisus Rio de Oro - September 08 - CANCELLED DUE TO IKE Valentin Maya, Riviera Maya - Sept. 2008 Marea del Portillo, Manzanillo, May 09 Sol Luna Y Mares, Holguin, June 09
Re: Cuba imposes measures against H1N1 flu « Result #16 Today at 2:55pm »
At Stgo airport, all workers had masks on - we passed by the high-temperature sensor - I did not have my expected hot flash of excitement (helps if you don't drink alcohol on the flight!) and although we filled out a questionnaire about our health, there really was no problem. My one travel partner was taken aside, but they used him in a video showing how they were screening passengers. I think they chose him because he is a good-looking man!
Now that I am home, I am taking Cold Fx 3 x daily and reducing the dosage as prescribed, and plan to get my shot. I really didn't think about H1N1 in Cuba. I think the rum works as a disinfectant and the sun gets your Vitamin D up as well as your immunity ... plus being happy and relaxed helps!
Havana/Varadero - 1972 Santiago de Cuba, March 05, November 05, April 06, Dec 06, November 07, April 08, November 08 Paradisus Rio de Oro - September 08 - CANCELLED DUE TO IKE Valentin Maya, Riviera Maya - Sept. 2008 Marea del Portillo, Manzanillo, May 09 Sol Luna Y Mares, Holguin, June 09
Joined: Feb 2008 Gender: Female Posts: 17 Location: cape breton , nova scoita
Re: IT'S OPEN FINALLY.... ck out the site "YES" « Result #17 Today at 2:55pm »
Hiya Edinnnb, We leave for the resort April 10th/10....can't wait..love cuba this is out 3rd trip down an i'm sure we will be making alot more......hope you have lots of fun..:)
Re: NJT Deliveries update « Result #18 Today at 2:47pm »
I brought down 10 kgs of medications- I had printed the spanish Aduana page (Preguntas Mas Frequentas) and actually had no problems at all - these are just Costco giant vats of acetaminophen, ibuprofen, maternity vitamins, cod liver oil, as well my purchases of smaller OTC meds (polysporin, bandaids, arthritis tylenol) from Shoppers Drug Mart - thank you, Optimum Points! So far, no problems, and I really do give them to doctors and clinics. I think some of the troubles might be due to visitors bringing expired meds, or engaging in a little black market business themselves. What you bring to Cuba should be like what you would give to a beloved family member : brand new, sealed, fresh, and useful.
Havana/Varadero - 1972 Santiago de Cuba, March 05, November 05, April 06, Dec 06, November 07, April 08, November 08 Paradisus Rio de Oro - September 08 - CANCELLED DUE TO IKE Valentin Maya, Riviera Maya - Sept. 2008 Marea del Portillo, Manzanillo, May 09 Sol Luna Y Mares, Holguin, June 09
I usually get a package or two of peso cigars and then buy the name brand cigars at the Cuban Duty Free. I get a package of three Romeo y Julieta for the very good male coworker who saves my life regularly, and then get some loose singles in Tubos, like Partagas (4.50 CUC). At the Stgo airport, I wanted to buy my box of 3 R & J and the lady said, 14.50 each cigar. I said that last year I had bought them for that price for the box of three. She asked the manager what the price was and he agreed it was for the whole box. I bought a box of 10 Guantanamera Cristales for 16.00 CUC, and although lots of aficionados sniff at them, some pals like them, as they are a gentler smoke for their palate. Lately I have been seeing Belinda and Troya cigars - what is the opinion on these? I do not smoke cigars but hand them to the men at work and in my building, as well as my mechanic - it makes them very happy, and they get a nice taste of Cuba!
Havana/Varadero - 1972 Santiago de Cuba, March 05, November 05, April 06, Dec 06, November 07, April 08, November 08 Paradisus Rio de Oro - September 08 - CANCELLED DUE TO IKE Valentin Maya, Riviera Maya - Sept. 2008 Marea del Portillo, Manzanillo, May 09 Sol Luna Y Mares, Holguin, June 09
Our Beach Vacations: Varadero, Cuba 2003 Cancun, MX 2004 Holguin, Cuba 2005 Akumal,MX, 2005 Cayo Coco, Cuba 2006 La Romana, DR 2006 Manzanillo, MX, 2007 La Romana, DR, 2007 Daytona Beach, 2007 Cayo Largo,Cuba 2008 Varadero, Cuba 2008 Jibacoa, Cuba 2009 Roatan, Honduras 2009 Cayo Santa Maria, Cuba 2009
Oasis Brisas Caribe Feb 2010 « Result #21 Today at 12:19pm »
will be there Feb 2 - 16 2010. Anyone else
We enjoy the beach, the drinks , shopping and touring the streets of Varadero , the drinks, the catamaran (sunset was awesome) the drinks, want to go on the Jeep tour this year, oh and did I mention the drinks??? LOL
Any others wanting to hang with Canadians and going this time? Always laughing and having fun...up for meeting new friends?
Re: you snooze you looze...Oasis Brisas anyone? « Result #22 Today at 12:08pm »
so I am not the only one who is on both TA and Debbies lol ! Thanks again dargamel! found out that our agent will also be at Oasis...she is leaving the day we arrive...I am totally OK with however it is...I am going to make it as good as possible... there are only so many things I can control and one of them is myself...unless the Rum takes over lol !
Varadero 1977 Melia Rio de Oro 2000/2001 Paradisus Rio de Oro 2004 Sol Club Cayo Largo May/June 2005 Sol Club Cayo Guillermo April 2006 Royal Hideaway Ensenachos Oct. 2006 Paradisus Rio de Oro June 2007 Sol Cayo Guillermo Oct/07 PRDO May/08 Breezes Jibacoa Oct/08 Sol Pelicano, Cayo Largo Feb/09 BlueBay, CayoCoco Nov/09
Re: Starfish Trelawny "must bring items" « Result #24 Today at 9:27am »
I agree it's slow. I normally use the Dominican portion of Debbie's and there is a wealth of info and people posting replies.
I don't know if it's just that people who go to Jamaica don't care, or could it be that for every 100 people that go to the Dominican, there is only 1 that goes to Jamaica.
Joined: Feb 2008 Gender: Female Posts: 135 Location: New Brunswick
Re: you snooze you looze...Oasis Brisas anyone? « Result #25 Today at 6:05am »
The Oasis Brisas del Caribe has a very good beach, the staff is friendly, they have rum, and it will not be minus celcius anything, lol. So you are good to go! This is actually the first resort I have stayed at that there was actually someone really at the beach entrance helping you get a lounger, and also someone on the beach taking drink orders, for the silly people that didn't have an insulated mug . Make sure to tip, dragging loungers around on a hot beach cannot be fun! The staff at the south bar/restaurant are especially nice.
Barcelo Marina Palace April 2006 Breezes Varadero March 2007 Cameleon V. Jibacoa March2008 Oasis Brisis del Caribe March 2009 Cameleon V. Jibacoa April 2010 Superclub Breezes Varadero April 2010
Re: Cuba imposes measures against H1N1 flu « Result #29 Yesterday at 10:33pm »
Times they are a changing. More people more whatever. Lets be responsible, I for one will be just that. Having said that I will not treat everyone with the plague. Wash and wipe like I always have. My time comes Oh well My dos centovos
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will be there Feb 2 - 16 2010.
beach, the drinks 
, shopping and touring the streets of Varadero ![[msn]](http://s1.images.proboards.com/msn.gif)
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