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Brisas Sierra Mar 01/29/02
Reviewers Rating:  Excellent
17 Jan 2002 We recently vacationed at the all inclusive Brisas Seirra Mar in Cuba and had an awesome time. It was in our opinion an excellent resort for the price. I've devided my comments into the follwing sections: HOTEL The hotel is nestled into the Sierra mountains providing a spectacular view. Staff are friendly and always willing to ensure your comfort. It is somewhat isolated from the main city (1 hr drive) and there is little to do in the area outside the resort. There's mini golf and tennis - however since the equipment can only be borrowed during the day time, it is often to hot out to really enjoy them. ROOMS The rooms are a good size and ours had a nice view of the mountains and sea. Room service was always thorough. FOOD The resort had one main buffet restaurant and the food was usually similar and bland day to day. Overall after a week, I was ready for something new. WEATHER Just perfect! Always sunny, and not a drop of rain. The days are hot and humid and the nights comfortable. ENTERTAINMENT The nightly show were okay. Most days a different band played Cuban music during the day by the pool - which was very nice. A very gifted pianist perfomed during the evening in the piano bar. DAY TRIPS We really recommend getting out of the resort (unless all you want is endless drinks and lots of sun). We purchased several days trips, which range in price from $35 to $94 US. Most fall in the $40 US range. A trip to to top of a mountain is well worth it as our guide was very knowledgeable and the view spectacular. We also took the day tour of the City Santiago de Cuba, which was nice until there lets us free downtown for shopping. within a few minutes a young cuban man was following us around as our personal 'tour guide'. It gave us the creeps. Of course al he wanted in the end was a dollar. TIPPING Pack lots of $1 US bills as the residents will insist on a tip. When we gave a tip out in a public place, we soon found 3-4 others pop out of nowhere asking for the same. We certainly didn't mind tipping when a little effort was forthcomming - however this was not always the case. Shortly after arriving at the airport a fellow grabbed our bags off our backs and took them to the bus, 10 feet ways. That cost a $1. He handed them to another fellow who through them in the buses baggage section. That cost another $1. We actually wanted to take all of our bages on board since they were all carry on luggage - but it happened so quickly we didn't know what hit us. BEACH The beach was long and private, but not many swam. (I did on the last day and was painfully stung by a sea urchin!) The pool area and hot tub were sufficient for all our water needs.
Raj
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