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Melia Cayo Guilliermo 09/17/2003
Reviewers Rating:  Excellent
This was our 3rd trip to Cuba and thanks to all the help of previous reviews (particular Marcia and Patricia)idyllic setting of Cayo Guillermo. We were at the Cayo Guillermo 26/08/03- 09/09/03. We flew with Monarch and it is well worth paying the extra money for the flight upgrade. Once in Cuba we did'nt have to check into the hotel it was already done for us and we were issued with key and information on the bus on the way to the resort. We had room 1311. 3rd floor with a fantastic view of the gardens and the ocean, the rooms are quite big and nicely laid out and decorated. The fridge is initially stocked and as we previously knew you had to request it to be restocked each day- which did not work !. Each day I would request early in the morning and it was never stocked many phone calls later and "Yodel" from the front desk would bring it himself - he was a star !. I really think they should just stock your fridge regardless.
The staff here are fantastic and very hard working., we took plenty of spare clothes to give away and the gardener was delighted with his T-shirt - these guys often get overlooked but do a fantastic job.
We ate in all the restaurants and really enjoyed the food in all, the Italian was my favourite we really enjoyed it, lovely fresh food. The international has lovely views of the lagoon but the atmosphere is abit "stuffy" in here for me- although very romantic. We had no complaints of the buffet, there was always plenty of choice and we really enjoyed the food.
The beach is great and the amount of fish you get under the pier is unbelievable, we did tons of snorkelling and even saw the legend "4ft" barracuda there- plenty of people use to go snorkelling to see him and I think he is use to it by now. Plenty of people were fishing on the pier and it did'nt bother us snorkelling. This is by far the best place for us to go for snokelling in Cuba, the amount of different fish you get to see !.
I did'nt think much to the shows and have seen better, we tended to sit in the lobby bar most nights talking to Willmer and Arnet most nights, it was never overcrowded in there and service was excellent. I did'nt think the animation staff in the day were very good at all, I tried several times to organise things and they were'nt helpful.
We did the catamarma trip, which was well worth the money- brilliant food on this trip- huge lobster portions and plenty of rice and chicken. The snorkel sites they take you to are excellent and they are concerned about protecting the coral and therefore tell you not to go on it. We did get followed by 2-3 ft barracuda which was abit scary - chatting in the bar a few nights later a guy who had been on the same trip and snorkel site had the same thing happen to him! . The amount of fish you see is fantastic. We also did the Jungle tour another trip well worth the money !, All the blokes think they are James Bond on this trip and once again you get the chance to snorkel we got lucky and were able to see a nurse Shark .
We hired a scooter and went to Pilar beach and got a catamarma over to the island where you pay $3 each and the guide will take you out to the ship wreck. If you hire a scooter out it is well worth going up some of the little side tracks before Pilar beach there is some lovely little deserted beaches (one was littered with shells) you can't really get lost.It was only $16 for 3 hours on the bike.
I went horse riding one day 1 ‡ hours for $15 and he took me galloping along the deserted beach which was littered with shells - unless you are going horseriding at sunset go early morning it is very hot for the horses.As well as tipping my guide, a can of beer was appreciated. We found the shops at the Iberostar a lot better and more choice- you can just go straight in and make your purchases. There was a 5- 6 piece band who we bought a CD off they were excellent and were'nt there often. There was also the House band who I did'nt think were very good (there was a girl singing with them), and they would sing during your evening meal. This was our 3rd trip to Cuba and it was an idyllic setting but if you want to see real Cuba I would suggest going to the mainland. I would certainly recommend this hotel to people who want a relaxing beach front holiday.
Stefhanie
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