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Barcelo Solymar Beach Resort 10/09/02
Reviewers Rating:  Good
We have just returned from Barcelo Solymar Beach Resort. Stayed September 28th - October 5th. Travelled with my husband and four children (18,15,13,11) This was our first visit to Cuba. We travelled with Skyservice and left Toronto very early at 6:30 am. While on flight we discovered we were being diverted to Cancun, Mexico (they led us to believe it was because of the pending hurricane - but later found out it was because of "Market Conditions" - not enough people to support the flights. This was the only damper to our trip. It added two hours of travel time to and from Cuba (the same thing happened on our way back!!) We arrived in Cuba and got to the resort around 3:00 pm. Customs was no problem, as ours was the only flight landing at that time. You had to go through individually which was a bit scary, because you never know what the kids will say!! The hotel was located approximately 25 minutes from the airport. It was amazing to see how the "Cubans" live. It was a real eye opener for the kids. They have never been outside of North America. I think they realize how lucky we are to live in Canada. We left feeling bad for the locals. We were very impressed with the main lobby of the hotel. We stayed in the Bungalows and were lucky to be very close to the beach. We would have preferred to have stayed in the main hotel. The bungalows were a bit shabby, and very very basic. There was no place to put your clothes other than hanging up in the closet, so needless to say all six of us pretty much lived out of the suitcase (you can't hang up all the shorts, t-s and underwear, etc). The bungalows are fixed up on the outside but require painting on the inside. The rooms were kept very clean by the maids and our mini bar fridge was stocked and replenished every day (two beer, two water and two cola) We even got juice drinking boxes and chocolates one day. We tipped the maid a dollar every day and gave her various gifts throughout the week (hand cream, perfume, nailpolish). She always left us a surprise with the towels, which the kids loved. We found our way around the resort no problem. We opted to take our own beach towels and did not use the resorts. We were very worried about the kids losing their towels and having to fork out all that US cash if they did. It worked out well, and we were able to recognize our seats very easily at the beach and pool. We walked the beach early everyday, before most people were out. We saw schools of dolphins swim past and even saw a live octopus which had washed up on shore after Hurricane Lili passed by. The size of the pool was amazing (the only complaint i have is that no one made an attempt to clean up their drink glasses and lots of empty cups were left by the pool - staff did not clean up either, so it got kind of gross by the end of the day) We always picked up glasses as we went along, but felt it should have been looked after better by the staff. The pool requires maintenance as well. The tiles are coming up off the bottom and it needs painting. There were activities and music by the pool in the late afternoon. The animation staff spent the majority of time at the beach and then late afternoon by the pool. We enjoyed both. Did the beach thing until 1:30 or 2:00 and then spent the rest of the day at the pool. Beach is gorgeous, lots of huts and chairs, no problem getting anything. Hotel was very quiet, only about 300 or so guests. I don't think i'd like to be there when it was jam packed full because I think service would be a problem. You can walk the beach for miles. We were never bothered or harassed by people selling anything. We were not disappointed with the food. We didn't expect much based on the previous reviews, and was actually surprised at how good it was. The a la carte restaurants were closed and they had one restaurant opened by the beach which rotated all the a la carte fare throughout the week. We opted to eat there once for Seafood - it was good. We ate at the buffet restaurant for breakfast and dinner. Breakfast was the same everyday. There was a variety of food and fruits. Omelets were delish. We had one everyday. I tried not to eat to much at each meal. The kids ate continuously breakfast, lunch, lunch again and dinner. It was their first experience with "All Inclusive", and its the only way to go. The food was good at the buffet. There was a variety of food every day, and we always found something to enjoy. It did get a little bit repetitive. Our 18 year old daughter is vegetarian, and found a lot of foods to eat that she liked. The snack bar by the main pool had great little meals and we ate lunch there every day after coming in from the beach. Sometimes the kids ate lunch there twice!! We tipped the waiters we liked, and developed a great rapport with some of them. It was fun talking to the staff, finding out about their families and where they lived. Service was not the same at each bar, and the consistency of the drinks was different from place to place. Found the service really slow at the lobby bar. Even with the hotel not being full, it was slow. I'd hate to see what it was like if the hotel is at full capacity. Some of the waiters in the lobby bar seemed unhappy even with tipping. I do think they have long long working hours, and must be tired off their feet. We did not venture too far from the hotel. I never left once, opting to stay back and read my book. My husband and children went into Varadero twice, to the local flea market to buy souvenirs and gifts. It was a fun adventure for them. They met some interesting locals and had a horsedrawn carriage ride back to the hotel one afternoon when it was too hot to walk. The kids went snorkeling to a coral reef. They paid $10.00 US each. The boat ride was 20 minutes and they snorkelled for 1/2 hour. They saw really neat fish and coral. They said it was well worth going. Our 18 year old daughter went out at night with the animation staff to the local discos. She had a blast and they always made sure to get her home safely. The cost to the discos was $10.00 US with a $3.00 charge on top for transportation when they couldn't walk. The door charge included drinks, and from what I understand the music was good at the Habana Club and The Cave. The entertainment at night was so so. Heard that the owner of the hotel or the entertainment director was having a dispute with the entertainment organizer from the area, so the entertainment at night was not up to par. They did participation stuff with the audience - some of it was good and some of it wasn't. Weather was good. We had only one bad day with the hurricane passing by (we had high winds and rain for 24 hours), and it kept us indoors at the lobby bar for an afternoon, which wasn't too bad because we could use the break from the sun. We met some really interesting people from all around the world. The kids had a blast and were lucky to meet others with children their own age. Everyone came home happy. We enjoyed our trip to Cuba, would go back in a flash, but would broaden our horizons and would like try another resort.
Carolyn
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