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Santiago de Cuba /Gran Club Bucanero 01/04/2004
Reviewers Rating:  Great
After a wonderful Christmas at the 3 star Club Bucanero I could not wait to get home and post my review.
Club Bucanero is a short 25 minutes by taxi as opposed to almost an hour from the Sierra Mar or Los Corales and the other local hotels from Santiago de Cuba ...So with that in mind we picked Club Bucanero.
The hotel is simple, clean and very very very quiet. It is set into a gorgeous coral cliffed area, and the design of the hotel is based on a sailing ship/pirate theme. The hotel staff had us checked in and to our rooms in minutes..oh yes, the rooms...
The rooms are a hoot! They were like Fred Flinstones house. The walls have boulders and rocks cemented into them and the bedcovers and curtains were bright orange and blue! Wow! Our rooms had 2 or 3 single beds,a 60's style rattan chair padded in orange and blue, a little sony colored tv with satelite, dresser and side tables, a free safe, a balcony with chairs, and sink and dressing area with a shower. They had a weird sliding door on the bathroom made of waffled plastic which made me a little potty shy in the early mornings, I have to say. Even though I was sharing the room with Skeets and Drew, I felt the need for CNN nice and LOUD every morning at 7.30 a.m. (probably more info than you wanted eh!)
The hotel has a pool with swim up bar and a beach bar. The swim up bar has a wet and dry side and this is where most of the people spend their time for drinks.There is only recorded music here during the day and it's mostly CLASSICAL!!!??? what the what???
Anyway...
The bar staff and professional and polite, and they make a great mojito. They also do blender drinks and serve Bucanero beer. The pool bar looks out on the ocean, across what used to be some sort of patio which has been left unused and unattended. They play bocci ball and horseshoes down there. The ocean sprays seem to have erroded alot of the former walkways and patio areas in the ocean front.
There is a games room with ping pong, pool and board bames. There is a gym with shiney machines in it- OK -I didn't look too closely - I'm on holiday! They also had a volleyball match,dance class and aquasize daily.
There are few activities and no kids club, so I would not bring a young family.
The beach bar is a 2 minute walk down the road in front of the hotel rooms. It is on 2 levels. The top is the bar and later "the Disco". The lower level is the grill and the dive shop. You can have a great lunch here(fish, chicken, hotdogs) and hang out on the beach, they have plenty of tables.
The beach is very small and full of coral. You absolutely need water socks!! There is very good snorkelling right from the beach. You can borrow snorkelling gear if you don't have your own. This is not a wading around in the tide kind of beach. You will get a face full of surf and a bathing suit full of rocks and coral if you play in the tide, and maybe a small fish if you're lucky.
I got a million great photos of fish which I will post soon. This is not a beach for small children.
The main restaurant is large very clean and pretty. It has seating outside and inside. They have live music here in the dinner hours. The food was simple and always fresh. They baked bread daily and the fruit and salads were prepared fresh for each sitting. They always had a variety of mystery salads, vegetables and meats. They had icecream and a desert table, as well as a cheese and coldcuts station. In the mornings they had omellettes as well as fruit, fresh buns and cheese, and the usual breakfast meats. They have a very good staff in here too,very friendly and professional. They serve Cristal beer here as well as wine and other drinks, some from machines-the kids love those machines!
Xmas eve day offered a few new activities including bongo lessons and a mini Olimpics. teh kids really enjoyed this.
On Xmas eve night we had a beautiful Gala dinner with turkey, beef, shrimp and crab.They had a choir in from Santiago which sang so beautifully that it brought tears to our eyes. They all looked very lovely all in white, holding candles.
Later they had a Gala show which our kids enjoyed very much.There was singing ,comedy, dancing and fireworks for the finale.
Each night they also put on a show which largely consists of dancing. there is a disco/dance at the beach bar from 11p.m. to about 2a.m.
We missed it all.. We left them with Martha and took off for Santiago to see Eliades Ochoa!(see my photo link at the end of the page)
The hotel hads 2 universo stores where you can buy your rum and Che shirts, they also have an ongoing little craft market where you can but wooden gifts, leather items, rude monkeys made of coconuts, and morracas etc...they also have the internet for a fee - it takes about 30 minutes to sign on. eeek. Forget the net.
As for anything else- GO TO SANTIAGO!!!
Santiago is a short 25 minute cab ride away. We had a driver named Orlando Meneses who never spoke and drove like the wind. He was THE BEST, we always felt safe on the dark and bumpy roads.
Apparently you could rent a car, but no scooters.
Orlando charged 30 dollars round trip, and we tipped him another 5. Prices vary from driver to driver so be sure to ask before you go. You can ask Orlando to pick you up at any time at all and he will be there without fail. Orlando took us on a tour so our friend Jennifer could see the Moro castle, Ignaxia graveyard and Moncado barracks in Santiago.(sorry about the spelling) We paid him extra for gas and an extra 10 dollars for time. It was well worth it.
On our trips into Santiago we visited the Cafe Matamoris , the Casa Granda and the Casa de la Trova, as well as a few other interesting hotspots. One was a brothel! oooops!
We were very lucky and made friends with the manager of the Casa De la Trova and he introduced us to Santiagos legendary musicians.(see photos)This is the place to go and enjoy Cristal and hear the best music in the world. It was like a dream.
On the days that we brought the children to Santiago we did more walking around. There are alot of places to buy crafts and art, and plenty of little streets to explore. Lots of funny little curly tailed dogs sniffing around too!
We visited the Cubans Peso market and had a look at what there was to buy. We also went into some of the Cuban shops in upper Santiago and looked at books,childrens frilly dresses and other items being sold for Xmas.
My note-
We made a point of not looking to flashy, as the people are very poor and I think it hurts their feelings to see flashy tourists, as well as it will attract unwanted attention. You will be asked for soap and money by adults and children, but a simple- No-I'm sorry - seems to do the trick. I would not reccomend giving out money to children, as you will soon be mobbed, and it developes unhealthy relationships with tourists for the future.-Thank you.
Back to the review...
Over all I would reccomend the Bucanero to anyone who had an interest in seeing crazy exciting Santiago, and having a quiet place to retreat to.
The hotel is great and the staff are nice and friendly- but not overly friendly.(I've been to Brisas, hehehe)
The rooms are comfortable and clean and the food was fresh and tastey.
The setting of the hotel is beautiful, rustic and relaxing.
We will definately go back.
Photos at :
http://community.webshots.com/user/themesquitas2004
Myla Mesquita
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