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Sol Club Cayo Largo 01/15/2004
Reviewers Rating:  Excellent
We stayed at the Sol Club Cayo Largo the week of Dec. 28 - Jan. 4, through Air Canada Vacations, flying out of Toronto. I am a married 30 something and went with my aunt who is a senior, but active. We chose this resort mainly to relax and for the beach, I usually stay at secluded 3-4 star resorts in places such as Cayo Coco/Guillermo. I found Sol Club Cayo Largo to be solidly in the 4 star category.
I was very impressed with the service and friendliness of the staff at this resort, especially since it was peak season. The resort was clean, at the buffet restaurant plates were whisked away promptly and I never had to get my own drink. Staff remember the guests and on our last day some of them stayed in the lobby chatting and saying goodbye, this was a small but very nice touch.
The resort itself is built into the rocky dunes, there is not much typical tropical landscaping, I found it kind of unique. Some of the routes to the rooms can be quite circuitous, on our last day I discovered a much more direct route, so I recommend having a good walk around when you get there. Our room was the upgraded oceanview, it was large, colourful and came with a hammock, coffeemaker and CD player. There was a minibar that was stocked with a few juices, pops, and a bottle of water. New bottles of water were added most days, we never ran out. As the beach was windy all week, the oceanview upgrade was worth it for us, we sat on the balcony and admired the view when the wind was too much. We only used the coffeemaker on New Yearís Day, as we discovered the lobby has excellent cappuccinos, espressos and caf頡u lait. Many guests started the day with cappuccino at the lobby bar, as the buffet didnít open for breakfast until 7:30 and the coffee at the buffet was nothing special. We did not sit much at the pool as it was always busy due to the wind on the beach. There is a swim-up bar but I never saw anyone at it. There is a very nice spa/gym and the Jacuzzi is located there, even if you donít plan to work out the Jacuzzi is very pleasant.
There is a main buffet for breakfast and dinner and two a la carte restaurants for dinner, by reservation only. It is best to get to the clubhouse when it opens on your first or second day to reserve the a la cartes. The international a la carte was excellent. The beach a la carte a little more casual, but very pleasant to sit at, however watch for mosquitoes, each table had a mosquito coil burning under it. The buffet had a pretty good selection, there was always a pasta bar with made to order pasta, and a grill with fresh meats, at breakfast there are omelettes and pancakes. For lunch there is the beach grill and restaurant by the pool, we usually went to the pool restaurant as they had pizzas. There was always a band playing at each of the restaurants.
I had researched Cayo Largo and knew that it is a ìquietî destination with little shopping and nightlife, yet I found there was a fair amount to do. The hotel has an activity each morning at the Clubhouse, such as ecotour, deep sea fishing, bike tour, snorkel tour, all of these looked interesting but we just took the ecotour, which is actually a 2 hour walk over the dunes so bring a good shoes and a hat, our guide did bring water. The dunes have unstable rocks and my aunt did have a bit of trouble climbing up and down them, but the guide was helpful. Animation staff have the usual activities, aerobics, yoga, dance and Spanish lessons. It is worthwhile to take the dance lessons as after the show the dancers get people up on the stage, they call out the steps and you can follow them but itís easier if you at least know the basics. There was a beach party night which had dancing on the beach and a big bonfire, this was fun but you may need a jacket. There is also a ìfun pubî open later with karaoke, but we never made it there.
The beach is amazing, long and wide with very soft sand. You can walk all the way to Playa Paraiso or you can take the shuttle to Paraiso, three trips in the morning and three returns in the afternoon. From Paraiso you can walk 15 minutes to Playa Sirenas, which has a restaurant and shops. There are no large buses on the island, everything is a van which holds more people than it looks as some seats fold down. People also rent mopeds and jeeps and find their own spots on the beach. The hotel did actually have a lot of bikes (unlike some resorts) although often in the late afternoon all the bikes would be gone. The brakes on them do not work so well, but there is not a lot of traffic either, I rode over and saw the Pelicano, Gran Caribe complex and the half finished Barcelo.
Overall I loved this resort and really have no complaints. I hope to return there some day.
Susan
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