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Cuba Hotel & Villa Reviews

Blau Arenal with Sunwing vacations 05/17/2007
Reviewers Rating: Fair
My trip to Cuba turning to nightmare with Sunwing vacations.
Everything started after booking a 1 week vacation to Varadero Cuba with an agency named Cool Voyages in Québec city. The travel agency was obviously not aware of the problems that would arise in Cuba with Sunwing Vacations and they are not responsible for what happened .
It was an all included vacation package to a hotel named the Blau Arenal Club which is located in the Playas del Este (Eastern Havana Beaches) area. This was my second time at this hotel and my 15th trip to Cuba. The problem is not with the hotel but with the Sunwing representative and the lame service that was provided. While this time around the food was not all that great at the hotel (cold food and very limited choice, tired staff) the main problem is not with the hotel. I have to say that at this point I had my 3 1/2 years old Cuban son with me at the hotel.
The ghost, named Barbarita: It was a night flight and we arrived at the hotel at 6 AM... before we boarded the bus from the airport to the hotel, we were provided with a card with our name on it, which was supposed to be given to the Sunwing representative in Cuba named Barbarita. She was supposed to meet us a few days later at 4 PM in the lobby of the hotel but she never showed up. We
did however get a phone message saying that we would have to meet with her a few days later on Sunday (mother's day) at 4 pm in the lobby because the hours of the return flight might change. So, I left my Cuban wife and mother-in-law in standby, waiting for me to celebrate Mother's day while I went to meet this "ghost" named Barbarita at 4pm. This did cost me $10 for a taxi to find out that Barbarita was not showing up again. We were left with a message saying that the hour of departure, which was written in the Sunwing's book at the hotel was right. The hours were wrong since the plane left one hour earlier without any prior notices. You could just imagine the mess if I would of took a Taxi to the airport instead of the provided Bus, to be able to see my son for one more hour. So, the airplane left at approximatively 4 am instead of 5 am as written in this book. Remember that we never saw this representative named Barbarita, she was based in another hotel at a mere 20 kilometers from my hotel, presumably sipping margaritas while we were waiting for her in the lobby.
The real nightmare begin: The last day at the hotel was a nightmare due to the fact that we had to leave the room at NOON, so we were without an hotel room until the bus left the hotel for the airport at 00.30 to be on the 5am flight ( which was at 4am). This left us without any means of having a siesta or a shower for more than 12 1/2 hours. Try this with a 3 1/2 years old kid. So, I had to cut short the last day with my kid and return him to his mother because his father was a homeless person unable to provide him with the basic nap and shower after a day at the beach. The hotel did not have what we call a "guest room" so that we could have a shower before leaving for the airport. Some guests at the hotel who saw what was happening offered me to have a shower in their room at 7pm. While I was clean, I could not have a siesta to prepare me for the long hours to come in regards to this night flight. At 53 years old, not sleeping for 24 hours and being under stress is quite a nightmare. The fact is that Sunwing was not paying for the room on this last day and left us homeless for 12 and a half hours.
The return flight: So, we arrived at the airport and were swiftly embarked on the plane one hour earlier, which was okay with me. Then another surprise was waiting for me when I realized that the crew was English and were dealing with a plane full of French passengers from Québec city. Only 1 crew
member was speaking some sort of French but since I was sitting close to the emergency door, I was briefed in English only about how to operate the emergency door, she spoke so fast that I did not understand 80% of what she was saying and was so tired that, anyway, I could of not understood it in French either because of the lack of sleep and food. ( I was expecting to eat at the airport while waiting for the flight to leave, but was unable to do so since we left 1 hour earlier without any prior notices.) When I told her that she should speak French, I was told that the crew was from Toronto and she was sorry that I was offended by the lack of French speaking crew but I would have to deal with it. Then for 2 hours into the flight, the temperature on board the airplane was so cold that everyone had to wear all the clothing they could find in their hand luggages, we had to complain about it 5 times before they finally adjusted the temperature to a comfortable zone. The crew never wonder why the peoples in the plane were wearing their winter gear? They were too busy hiding somewhere after serving us a hasty meal.
Final Thought: I have been traveling all over the world with sometimes sub-standard traveling companies. I am used to rough times when traveling and can prepare myself when I know in advance what will happen, but when you think that everything will be fine and you trust the vacation provider, then this happens to you, it is worst than being stuck in a hurricane in Cuba. Be aware that this can happen to you if you deal with Sunwing Vacations. If you ever get sick or have a big problem, you will be talking to a ghost--Sunwing's representative who will phone you back 2 days after she said that she would phone you back in 1 hour when we leave a message because she is too busy sipping margaritas to answer your phone call directly...
Good luck with your Sunwing vacations.

Rejean Marchand

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