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Superclubs Breezes Costa Verde 12/23/02
Reviewers Rating:  Excellent
December 6 to Dec 13, 2002 Transportation Etc. Our airport limousine picked us up in Hamilton at 11:30 so we could be at the airport 3 hours prior to our 3:45 flight via Air Transat. Since we booked our vacation quite close to our departure date we had to pick up our tickets directly at the Hola Sun counter in Terminal 3. Our vacation was a wedding/honeymoon combination. My fiancÈ and I invited our two closest friends to join us and stand up for us at our wedding. Upon receiving our tickets we were pleasantly surprised to learn that we had all been upgraded to Air Transats ìClub Class/”ÖGetting married in Cuba really does have a lot of benefits. Since we had the upgrade, we got to board the plane first and relax with some champagne or orange juice. The flight left on time and was very comfortable and enjoyable. We arrived in Holguin /“ on time and everyone quickly formed lines to clear customs. I had made a small error on my tourist card and I was worried that I would have to purchase a new one, however, they didnít notice or didnít care and off we went to claim our baggage. NOTE: Make sure you have a few US One dollar bills for in the airport. There is a maid that hands you toilet paper turns on the taps and the hand dryer and I felt absolutely awful that I had no money with me. Same goes for the departure flight. By the time we cleared the metal detectors etc. all of the bags were pulled off of the carousel and neatly set out on the floor waiting to be claimed. From there off we went to meet our tour rep and board our bus. It was an hour bus ride through dark countryside. I would have preferred to be able to see more of the beautiful countryside. Check In We arrived at the resort at around 10:30 pm. They had set up a small table to serve as check in and everyone was handed a clipboard to fill out. Within minutes you were handed a room package containing room keys and towel cards etc. and sent towards a golf cart to be transported to your room. Since we were getting married on the resort we were supposed to be upgraded to a Tropical Suite. When we asked about itÖthey hesitated and said there were none available (there are only 16 on the resort) we told them no problem and proceeded to the golf cart. I had asked our travel agent before our trip if I should email the hotel and request 2 rooms - side by side so that we didnít have to walk all the way across the resort to meet up with our friends every morning. She said it was not necessary and since we were on the same booking we would be located close together. This was my mistake Öfor I should have emailed and requested this. Our rooms were on the opposite sides of the resort. Our friends were close to the lobby, buffet, pool in room 2218 and we were in 3418 /“ on the opposite side of the resort and are away from everything. (In twin beds, might I add /“ for our HONEYMOON!!). We called the front desk and they arranged a room swap for the following afternoon. Now we were side by side in rooms 2218 and 2219. I highly recommend to future visitors of this resort that you email the resort and request specific details about your room (bed type) and location. Rooms The rooms are quite large and clean. We did see 2 cockroaches of substantial size whiz across the floorÖone in our first room and one in our room after we moved closer to our friends. They are to be expected. There were also tiny little ants and a few small flying bugs. If bugs really bother youÖyou should get a second floor room rather than a Terrace room. The maids did a wonderful job and left us some notes and ìswans/” made out of towels. We brought a few things down with us to leave for the maids. (Some make up kits and nail polish, candy etc. Our friends had brought baby clothes with them to give away and since our maid was six months pregnant she got a few outfits for her little one every day. She really appreciated everything we left for her. The water pressure in our first room was enough to rip the skin right off of your back but in the second room it was averageÖno better or worse than my shower at home. The water temperature seemed to fluctuate at different times of the day. We mostly showered at night to avoid early morning ìcold/” showersÖbesides, by the end of the day you feel sticky from all the sunscreen you have slathered on. The Resort The resort was absolutely beautiful. Tropical plants everywhere, and more flowers than I was expecting (based on what I had read on previous reviews and forums). They have the names of all the plants marked which is kind of nice if you are into gardening. The pool is very large and it was fully open and operational. It was a little on the cool sideÖbut that may have seemed that way only because the ocean was very warm. There were plenty of pool chairs to go aroundÖbut then again Öthe resort was not near full capacity. The resort is very cleanÖyou could walk everywhere in bare feet and your feet would still be clean at the end of the day. If you have a problem with anything just go talk to the front desk and they will fix it for you. Bars The lobby bar tends to be the hot spotÖespecially in the evenings. We had some nights where the service was terribly slow, but once you have tipped a few different people on a few different shifts, service does get faster. You do tend to get overlooked for the people that are handing out money. We also found that it was hard to get a good drink at the lobby bar. Everyone made the drinks differently. Just when you think you have found that perfect tropical drink, you order it again and it is totally differentÖnever to be made the same way again. I tried the ìmojito/” but honestly I did not enjoy it. More mint for everyone else I guess. The pool bar and the bar at Lucyís had ìslushie/” machine and a good drink was always available at these 2 bars. Avoid the pool bar around 4:30. This is when they play ìBingo/”. Donít even try to go there for a drinkÖit is crowded with people and it will take a loooonnng time before they make their way over to you to take your order. (There is usually only one bar tender /“ Maylin /“ a wonderful woman). Restaurants Jimmyís Buffet /“ The buffet was good for breakfast. There were a variety of choices for all tastesÖbut not nearly as much food as I was expecting. There was an egg station where you could get made to order omeletís etc. as well as a station to order fresh banana or papaya milk shakes. The fruit selection for all meals was pathetic. Grapefruit, papaya, bananas and if you were lucky you could snag the last of the pineapple. We only ate ate Jimmyís for lunch onceÖsimply because we did not enjoy their lunch selection. Dinner was ok but nothing to write home about. The service was always excellent (Especially Amauris /“ he was our buddy) We were happy that we had reservations for the rest of the week at the A la Carte restaurants. Lucyís /“ Excellent for lunch or a snack. Different types of pizza, burger, hot dogs, fries, chicken, salad, and calzone. This was where you could find us around 1:30 each day. Munahanaís (Japanese A la Carte) /“ FABULOUS. We had reservations for the grill and the presentation as well as the food was just excellent. Our chef was chatting with us the whole time and keeping it very lively. Other tables didnít seem as exciting but everyone had a good time. Try EverythingÖyou wonít be disappointed. We had 2 reservations for this restaurant. We made one and Public Relations made one for us /“ on account of our wedding. Just as good both times with 2 different chefs. Martinoís (Italian A La Carte) /“ I canít really give an honest review about this restaurant because we didnít get a typical menu to order from. For our weddingÖour dinner was in this restaurant and they made up a special menu with limited selections. (My guess is that these were their best selections.) The menu was a nice touchÖprinted especially for us with our names and the date of our wedding across the top. I only wish we had been told about this because a lot of the selection was seafood and neither me nor my husband like seafood. We were limited to the Beef Tenderloin, which was very good. After dinner, they brought out our wedding cake. They dimmed the lights and a string quartet serenaded us while we cut the cake and we exchanged our first bite. Absolutely romantic. El Conuco ?? (Cuban A La Carte) /“ My husband and I didnít really enjoy the food at this restaurant. Our friends did (they enjoy seafood). My husband and I both had the pork. It came with a side of rice and beans. It wasnít terribleÖjust very bland /“ but from what I hear that is how Cubans eat. We wouldnít have gone back to eat here. In all the A la Carte restaurants Öif you have children you can only be seated in the first sitting (6:30) /“ and reservations were apparently very difficult to get (from what we heard from other people) however, we had a variety of times booked for each of our reservations and every time the restaurants were only half fullÖif that. Entertainment Shows - Awful /“ they try very hard, honestly they do, but we just did not enjoy any of the shows. The comedy show was especially bad. They should have shows with more audience participation instead of singing and dancing night after night. Daytime activities /“ We didnít participate in any of the activities. We filled our days swimming and snorkeling and relaxing. The people who did participate seemed to have a great time. The Beach The water was a wonderful temperatureÖalmost 10 degrees warmer than the pool and absolutely breathtaking. (I had never seen the ocean). The sand is white. The water is very rocky for the first 25 feet or soÖI recommend water shoes (especially for the kids) but there is a sandy pathway into the water that has been cleared of rocks and dead coral heads. When you cross the bridge stay slightly to the right and you will see the pathway. Snorkelling is greatÖthe left side of the watersports buoys is the best spot that we found without going too far from shore. (My husband is not a confidant swimmer) We say an array of marine sunfish, blue and black tangs that were in very large schools, swordfish about 30 centimetres long with beautiful blue swords and stripes (they had no interest in harming usÖthey swam along with us), damsels, I even caught a glimpse of a moray eel as it popped out from under a rock and then slithered back under againÖabsolutely fascinating. The resort also offer free scuba diving. We were going to go but ended up being satisfied with the snorkeling. Maybe next year. Take bananas with you when you go snorkelingÖremove the peel (the fish donít seem to like the peel) and the fish will come right up to you and take bites off of the banana. Be carefulÖonce in a while they mistake your hand for food and try to take a little bite..(it pinches). You can get quite the large swarm of fish if you are in the right area. Both my friend got stung by some type of coral after bumping it in the more shallow areas. Nothing poisonous, but her hand did swell for a few hours. We didnít see any jelly fish and from what we were told the only sharks, if any at all are little 2 foot long ones. The Wedding Upon our arrival at the resort we were invited to meet with Niurka, the wedding coordinator and public relations. There we chose our site (beach or gazebo) we chose beach, flowers, champagne glasses etc. The resort charges nothing for wedding service. There is a $ 350.00 US charge that covers the cost of the Notary Public and legalization of documents. We also requested the services of the photographer and videographer for an extra charge of $99 US. The wedding was at 3:00 on Wednesday and we had our hair appointments booked for 12:30. (I recommend going to the hair salon as soon as you arrive at the resortÖ there is only one girl working and she is very busy. We had to contact another guest to see if she could move her appointment and we went in there on our first day at 9:00 a.m.) The girl in the Salon did a fabulous job on both mine and my friends hair and she only charged 15.00 US (each). At 2:50 they were supposed to come and pick up Wade and Norm in one room and take them out to the beach in a decorated golf cart. 3:20 still no sign of them. Niurka called and said the flowers were delayed and I asked if they could substitute some artificial flowers instead of waiting for them to arrive. 10 minutes later they picked up Wade and 10 minutes after that they picked up my friend and I. Upon arriving at bridgeÖthe golf cart let us off and us two girls walked down the ìaisle/” As we neared, wedding music kicked in and a crowd gathered to watch. A very ìsexy/” (lol) man in a speedo walked right through the video shot and has added something that will make us laugh every time we watch. They only mark off a small section of beach, so the beach bunnies kind of become your wedding guests. We loved every minute of it. The ceremony lasted about 10 minutes, we signed the registry and finalized with a kiss. We then had a champagne toast and we called over a few of the spectators to join us. There is a Cuban trio that comes with the wedding package and the sing and play music live. After our toast, we had our first danceÖright there on the beach. If I could get married again and again /“ I would. I highly recommend getting married this way. VERY ROMANTIC. Summary A fabulous vacation that none of us will ever forget. If we go back next year during the month of our first anniversary we get 50% off. (Part of the wedding package) We will see you next December. I can ët wait. Wade & Melissa
Wade & Melissa
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