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Farallon del Caribe/Marea del Portillo 01/15/2005
Reviewers Rating:  Great
I am rating this above average for a hotel rated at 3.5 stars. We got an amazing deal, very last minute, the week before Xmas . I am also indicating what extras we paid for- there is not much in the way of frills included at such a low price.
The review...
We have just returned from a week at the Farallon del Caribe and Marea del Portillo hotels. We stayed at the Farallon which is the newer of the 2 hotels. We are a family of 4 - kids 14 and 11. We've been to these same resorts before.
At the airport,we had a very long and hot wait at Cuban customs and immigration. They have put a roof on the upper patio at the airport, and they now have currency exchange. Don't bring portable dvd players-they are not permitted for personal use or as a gift item. Customs took one from a lady and she had to get it back when she left Cuba.
Getting to the hotel was great, a nice long scenic drive through the mountains and country side, we bought some cold drinks (beer and pop etc.)at the airport for the drive in.
Check in was pretty fast, we had a welcome cocktail while we waited.
The rooms are very clean and nice, and the beds were big and comfortable. We had 2 little pillows on each bed, they seemed to be filled with some little beanish things. We liked them. The shower is a little slippery and the water was warm to slightly hot. The rooms have a safe deposit box which you can rent ($) there is no mini fridge. There is 110 in the bathroom,220 in all other areas, no hair dryers, so bring your own. There is a wall radio in the room and a tv with some satelite stations.
The veiw of the mountains and lagoon from our rooms was spectacular.
They have done some upgrades to the Marea grounds since we last stayed there. They have a new stage, poolside restaurant and improvements to the pool itself. They have a (very basic) minigolf course now!
The Farallon hasn't changed alot except a few plants, some great new animacion staff, and a after hours bar($). You can exhange your currency at either hotel.
The evening shows seemed to be better at the Marea, so we cabbed it down ($) there each night-(1 peso). The new house band is really great.
There is a free shuttle cart during the day between the hotels.
The weather was really nice during our week- the week before xmas- it was hot each day, and warm enough in the evening to go without a sweater.
There was a breeze at night which helped to keep away some of the biting little insects that really came out when it was calm.
They did run out of mint and dark rum at some bars, but there was lots of other drinks available and lots of regular rum. There is now a lobby bar at the Farallon ($) they didn't run out of anything. They still have the disco where you can buy drinks at night on the beach ($).
We sat out on the beach on a couple of evenings and watched the stars, it was really lovely.
They still offer the trip to Pilon($)-DON'T GO! It was a mob scene-It was embarassing to see the locals asking for money and drinks. The towns girls were very pushy offering their things(!$) too, and many people on the tour were complaining. I think that going at another time, and not on the evening bus trip, might be OK.
On one morning there was a baseball game organized and the guests could go to Pilon and play against some locals-we didn't go so I don't know if this was included or for a fee or not.
On the road between the hotels there was the racing thing where the cowboys put a stick through a little ring while they are galloping wildly on their horses. this was alot of fun to watch, and we brought them a bottle of rum to have when they finished. They offered rides on the horses after they'd finished.
Some people went to Cayo Blanco Island ($) and said the food was really good and the water was nice and clear. We didn't go. It's a long day when you only have 7 to use!
We went on the daytrip to Santiago($), but we left the tour immidiately upon arrival to go and visit friends, we had a great day of music and laughter.
There are alot of new young staff members this year. We really like the enthusiasm of the new animacion. They kept our kids busy and they had a very positive energy to offer these notoriously slow paced resorts.
There was always a contest, game or lesson for the kids to try, and our daughter loved the disco.
We found the food at the hotels hadn't changed much over the years, but all of the grill style lunches were held at the Marea, poolside. The Zumex orange juice machine made our son's holiday. The food was pretty good overall, we could always find something. The alacarte lobster dinner was fantastic and very filling($). Our daughter had the shrimp dinner and really liked it too ($).
We have recently travelled to Guardalavaca and Santiago de Cuba and what really impressed us about the Marea and Farallon was how clean and pretty the grounds were kept. The beach is dark sand, but it was clear of litter and ocean debris which was a nice change. The gardeners work tirelessly to keep mother nature looking pretty and fresh. We really enjoyed sitting at the Marea's beach bar, looking out over the ocean and the beautiful Sierra Maestra mountains.
This was a very relaxing week for all of us and I would love to go again for 2 weeks at the same time next year. I'll take warm breezes and crashing surf, over snowy skys and slush anyday!
the Mesquita family
p.s . there is a SERIOUS CRACKDOWN on beach cigars(black market) at the Sierra Maestra Airport - don't buy them-even if you are provided with a hologram and fake reciepts by your seller, you'll lose them when you leave. We saw at least 5 people have theirs taken away by the customs officers at the Manzanillo airport. Buy real cigars at a government store, it's not worth the risk and embarassment.
the Mesquita family
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