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Grand Playa Turquesa by Occidental 03/05/2004
Reviewers Rating:  Great
Grand Playa Turquesa by Occidental
Holguin, Cuba
Date: Feb. 17 to 24, 2004
Signature vacations package booked on line at www.selloffvacations.com ten days before departure. Tickets and hotel voucher were airport pick-up.
Skyservice airlines direct flight from vancouver to Holguin Cuba going, and Holguin via Varadero to Vancouver, coming back.
About us:
We are a casual, laid-back, multi-lingual, professional couple- early to mid 50s- with extensive travel experience for both business and pleasure. I do all of my own research before choosing the resort and I book our vacations with on-line discount travel agencies. The primary purpose of this vacation was to get a last minute deal to Cuba to celebrate my birthday. Over the years, we have been very regular travelers to Cuba. Recently, we spend christmas at the akumal beach resort in the mayan riviera and in january, we had been to costa rica at the allegro papagayo. We prefer to mingle with the locals and learn about their customs and culture, rather than spend our time chatting with other guests. We are beach people and avid snorkelers who enjoy small resorts, preferably less than 300 rooms, which are open-air and give a tropical feeling. We prefer resorts where the evening entertainment takes place outside rather than in an enclosed theatre or auditorium. For this vacation, price was the biggest consideration and I was able to snap up a well-priced deal, 10 days before departure. Generally we stay away from large resorts with fitness centers, multiple swimming pools, swim-up bars, and discos but the Grand Playa Turquesa offered all of these amenities and much more. Cleanliness is always paramount.
Flight & customs:
This was the third time within a two-month period that we flew skyservice airlines. We are very pleased with skyservice and would not hesitate to use them in the future. From western canada, skyservice uses a boeing 757 aircraft with a seat configuration of 3 seats, aisle, 3 seats. Again we found skyservice to be on time, with a very attentive and excellent in-flight crew. We arrived at the airport in vancouver more than three hours in advance of departure and were able to get seats at the emergency exit rows. Excellent legroom and this makes the six-hour journey to Holguin Cuba just a bit more bearable. Unfortunately, these seats cannot be pre-booked and paid for, so the early bird gets the worm. As seems to be the case with most charter airlines, the passengers are packed in tightly- think sardine can. Before you start cursing the airlines for the lack of space and legroom available on these charter flights, you should be aware that it's the vacation wholesalers who actually charter only the aircraft from the airline, and tell the airline how many seats they want crammed into the airplane. In this regard, both skyservice and air transat are comparable. Be aware also that the airlines are getting very strict about the weight of your checked-in luggage. It's a safety issue!! Getting an overloaded plane off the ground can't be easy! The allowable weight limit is 20 kilo or about 44 pounds per person, which may be spread between two suitcases per person. When two or more people check in together they usually take a combined weight, but they don't have to. Unless you have as many hands as an octopus, I always recommend taking only one suitcase and a small carry-on bag. If I can't manage my own luggage, i've overpacked! Excess weight baggage is penalized at a cost of $7.00cdn or $5.00us per kilo. Another tip is to spread some of your travel partner's clothing into your suitcase and some of yours into theirs. Should a suitcase get lost, and yes this does sometimes happen, you'll still have some clothes to wear until the suitcase reappears. Also, pack a swimsuit and sunscreen into your carry-on. If your room isn't ready when you arrive at the resort, you're still ready for the beach or pool. No point in wasting precious vacation time!
It has become the norm that many airlines have cut back on their in-flight service. Skyservice offers a boxed cold meal- usually a sandwich, drink, cheese/crackers and a dessert. Coffee and tea round out the meal service. Those wishing soft drinks, bottled water or alcohol on board will find these items are now subject to charge- between $1.00 to $5.00- depending on your request. Snacks such as peanuts, pretzels, granola bars cost as well. I highly recommend you pack your own goodies! Two current movies were shown en route. We prefer to bring along our own headsets and the special two prong adaptors most airlines require. Headsets are available for purchase at a cost of $5.00.
Arrival at frank pais airport in Holguin was right on schedule and we were the only flight arriving at that time. The airport is clean and modern, but small so multiple flights arriving at the same time would make for some chaos. Make sure you have your tourist card filled out properly- that means printed block letters with absolutely no errors, cross-outs or white-outs- and ready with your passport. Immigration was quick and painless, or better put, the usual wait we have come to expect when traveling to Cuba. Passports are not stamped as a matter of course, so if you want your passport stamped, you will have to ask the immigration clerk to do so. Along with your passport, you will be handed back the departure segment of your tourist card. Do not lose this piece of paper! You need it to get out of the country! Thereafter, you are required to go through customs inspection so make sure that you have no uneaten fruit or unsealed foods from the flight still in your carry-on, as these will be confiscated. Luggage arrived quickly on the carousel and we headed to the “nothing to declare” line and met the signature rep. Just beyond the doorway. We were guided to our waiting air-conditioned and comfortable bus, a busscar made by volvo in brazil (i think), and soon we were on our way to the resort. Registration cards for the Playa Turquesa were handed out on the bus for us to complete and this made check-in at the resort more efficient. We enjoyed a scenic one-hour ride to our resort. Our bus was not full and several guests were driven on to the breezes costa verde resort nearby for the start of their vacation.
Departure from frank pais airport also went without a hitch. Check-in was reasonably quick as we were the only flight departing at this time. A departure tax of $25.00us per person, cash only is required. Remember to put this money into your passport with your tourist card and return airline ticket and store everything in your safe as soon as you've arrived at the resort. The departure tax is paid immediately after check-in and from there you go through customs inspection. In Cuba, all luggage is x-rayed, including checked in suitcases. The departure lounge was clean, bright and reasonably comfortable. There is a duty free shop as well as several kiosks selling souvenir items, rum and cigars. The upper level terrace also had seating and snack bars are available. There is a smoking and non-smoking section of the departure lounge. At your resort and during the briefing, the rep will offer limited availability for the airport vip lounge at a cost of $20.00us per person. This service includes express check-in, a separate more comfortable seating area and refreshments. Personally, we did not feel it necessary to book the vip departure and in hindsight, we're glad we didn't bother to spend the extra $40.00.
A word of warning to cigar buyers!! In october 2003, a new rule came into effect regarding the purchase and export of Cuban cigars. In order to crack down on the sale of fake or improperly obtained cigars, anyone planning to bring back more than 23 cigars is required to have official paperwork and receipts, which authorized dealers and shops provide. Remember to ask for this when buying a full box of cigars, as there are usually 25 cigars to a box! As several departing vacationers quickly found out, without the official receipts your cigars will be confiscated no matter how well you think you may have hidden them in your checked-in luggage. Customs officials will page you, and once you have been called and arrive at their desk, they inspect your suitcase in full view of everyone in the departure lounge. We observed this several times while sitting in the departure lounge and it appeared that not only were the boxes of cigars taken away, but a penalty was also levied. Consider this your stern warning not to buy cigars from the guy at the beach, or the waiter or someone else you meet while on vacation!!! Authentic Cuban cigars cost much more than $25.00 per box. Buy your cigars only at government authorized shops!
Our outbound flight did arrive late in Holguin, however, time was made up by efficient workers, who cleaned and serviced the aircraft quickly. We were soon off to varadero, a one-hour flight away, where there was a short stop to let off and take on more passengers before heading back directly and non-stop to vancouver. With no head winds but a great deal of turbulence, we arrived in vancouver pretty much on schedule.
Resort check-in and first impressions:
The bus from the airport arrived close to sunset. Having filled out the registration card on the bus, and considering that probably only 30 people were waiting to check-in, the process was smooth and painless. There were two efficient staff at the reception counter and we were not asked to leave our passports overnight, which by the way, some resorts in Cuba require you to do. Across the way, the lobby bar was open for a much needed refreshment. No drinks had been offered on the bus. To our great delight, the resort does not require you to wear those dreaded plastic id bracelets. With our room assignment, basic resort information and key in hand, our suitcases were loaded onto a golf cart and we, along with a few other guests, were whisked away to our rooms. As usual, we were the last stop. No idea why this always happens to me! My husband often kids me about this, but it does have its advantages. While we sat in the golf cart waiting, we were able to see other parts of the resort and get a feel for how large the resort actually is. Our patience was soon rewarded as the golf cart proceeded down the hill to the villa, which housed our lovely room. The bellboys brought our luggage up to a second floor room and took great care and time to explain the air conditioning controls and instruct us on the operation of the in-room safe, which was located in the clothes closet. More on that later! My first impression of the room was very favourable, but as always, I made the rounds and closely inspected all of the features to make sure everything was in good working order. My dear husband just waits patiently until i'm finished and the room gets my stamp of approval. I check to make sure the toilet flushes properly, the hairdryer actually works, there is decent water pressure, that the balcony door locks, that we have enough towels- well, you get the picture. At this point, some of you may be chuckling to yourselves, but I can assure you that from my experience, the inspection “ritual” pays big dividends in time saved. Nothing worse than wasting precious vacation time re-packing your suitcases and trying to change to a different room because there's something wrong with your room and you didn't discover it immediately. Being rather hungry by now, we freshened up and headed out to find something to eat. Having heard from others that this resort is large and somewhat spread out, and not having a clue where our room was located in relationship to the rest of the resort because it was dark, we decided to follow the noise and our noses. Good plan as we found the main buffet quickly and also discovered the many stairs people had complained about in previous reviews. We found the treads on the stairs to be a bit small, but we do have big feet, so be careful and look down when you navigate the steps on either side of the swimming pools.
The resort: an overview
I have submitted a map showing the resort layout, which you will find in the Cuba section at http://community.webshots.com/user/maplady. This is actually debbie's website of many resort maps and for convenience you can also click on the direct link featured above the most recent review for this resort.
The Grand Playa Turquesa was originally built and intended to be a club med resort. Due to political problems, club med pulled out of Cuba several months ago and occidental of spain took over the resort. We have stayed at an occidental resort in both costa rica and the dominican republic but in the slightly lower allegro category/class. I believe the grand category is the highest class of occidental resorts. The turquesa is the only resort located on playa yuraguanal, a private stretch of man-made beach approximately 800 meters long. The resort was opened in 2003 and features just over 500 rooms housed in 64 separate one or two story villa type buildings spread throughout the property. We were impressed by the care and planning taken in the construction of the resort. As much of the natural vegetation and habitat as possible was left standing, and the villas were built in between so there is already much mature vegetation giving a lush tropical feel to a very new resort. I strongly disagree with previous reviewers who have complained about and suggested that the greenery should be pruned away to give better views from the rooms. The trees provide homes for many beautiful song birds and also serve to keep protect the villas from the blazing hot sun, thereby reducing the need for having air conditioners running at full power all day long. It was obvious to us that great care was taken to protect the natural environment when this resort was planned and built. Several environmentally friendly measures for water conservation are encouraged at the Playa Turquesa. Wide, stamped-concrete pathways, some better lit than others, meander throughout the property connecting the buildings. These walkways seemed to be favoured by joggers as well and walking barefoot along the pathways was not a problem. The buildings are painted a bright yellow and green with a riot of colour provided by the shrubs and flowers in bloom. A delightful feast for the eyes! The resort is built on an incline, but I'd hardly consider it to be a steep hillside resort. For that you'd have to go to the very steep hillside resort we just visited in costa rica (see my review of the allegro papagayo). When compared to the papagayo, this place seemed tame! Besides, if you absolutely don't want to walk anywhere, or use stairs, the resort offers a fleet of golf carts which circle about the property regularly to offer rides. Having said that, and in all honesty, I don't feel this resort is suited to people with mobility problems. The brochures claim that the turquesa is wheelchair friendly, and there are wheelchair ramps in some sections of the resort, but generally I think some of the nearby, totally level resorts would be a better vacation option for those with mobility concerns. For those traveling with babies and strollers, I can only imagine that after a few days it became a real pain to be carrying the stroller up the stairs to get to other levels of the resort.
The outstanding feature of the Playa Turquesa has to be the swimming pools located in the middle of the resort. I would have loved to talk to the engineer and architect as they accomplished an amazing feat and did an outstanding job. Perhaps it does help that water naturally flows downward! Seven, yes count them- there are seven pools all interconnected with waterfalls, and most are swimmer friendly and functional, rather than just being decorative. This place is a swimming pool lover's paradise!! Some of the pools are square while others are more free-form in design. There is a pool for children only, with kiddie size showers, tables, chairs and sun loungers. An adult only pool with a decent water depth for swimming is one level up. On another level is a multi depth pool with swim-up bar and cascading waterfall to the next pool and still another multi-purpose swimming pool below that. Wow!!! Showers for rinsing off were also available. Plenty of sun loungers around all of the pools, but umbrellas for shade were at a premium. Expect the usual towels and books sun tanning themselves in the prime areas. These are snapped up early in the morning, but generally speaking getting a spot by the pool was not too difficult and it was not necessary to get up at the crack of dawn. Getting a quiet spot by a pool was not a huge challenge either, provided a large group of boisterous tourists didn't decide to make themselves at home right next to you. There were many large groups at the resort during our stay! A few bridges across some of the pools allowed access to either side of the area without having to walk all the way around. Some wooden tables and chairs were also set up on the pool decks. Without a doubt, the Playa Turquesa is a pool lovers delight! I found it interesting to read in the resort welcome notice that management “would really appreciate if you did not reserve the sun beds by the poolside for more than 30 minutes; otherwise an extra charge will be added to your bill”. We certainly noticed sun beds unoccupied for longer than 30 minutes, with towels left unattended ($15.00us charge for lost towels), but didn't see any enforcement. I just smiled and realized that management must read travel forums regularly as the issue of reserving chairs and leaving them unattended is often a hot topic of discussion, and this little notice was added at the end of the pamphlet. They're listening to us but are still trying to figure out how to tackle the problem!
The resort is listed in most brochures as a 4+star establishment. While star ratings vary slightly, depending on the vacation wholesaler, they are usually based on the amenities rather than on food and service. It goes without saying that a 4+ star resort should be offering a wider selection of eateries and other amenities than a 3 star resort. This resort is still new and more a la carte restaurants as well as a beach bar are planned but otherwise, the resort is pretty much complete from what we could tell. I'll address the topic of food and drinks separately. Other amenities of this resort included a very well equipped fitness center and gym (open 9:00-17:00). Adjoining the fitness center was a massage room (8:30 to 16:00) and aerobics room. You'll find these facilities near the lowest level pool, close to the towel hut on the main walkway towards the beach. There are eight tennis courts, a basketball court, soccer playing field and what looked like a shooting range at the upper level of the resort and to the left of the lobby/reception area. I understand that these features are common and expected at club med resorts. There is presently a club house with a ping-pong and pool table, but this area is slated to become an a la carte venue in the future. Many activities are scheduled throughout the day, including the usual beach volleyball, dance lessons, etc. The animation/activities staff was often observed wandering around the resort or just chatting with one another. Since we spent pretty much all of our time at the beach and did not participate in scheduled activities, I can't comment further except to say that the dance lessons by the pool looked like great fun. Boards showing the various activities for the day are displayed outside of the theatre and main buffet. Bicycles for guest use are included, but unfortunately they were of very poor quality to begin with, and most are already broken.
for those of you traveling with children, a kid's club for ages 4 to 12 operates from 9:30 to 17:20 in a separate lower area of the resort. I have never seen a kid's club facility like this one. It was amazing!!! My best description would be to say the kid's club was like a resort within a resort. It was very well equipped with it's own separate swimming pool (not to be confused with the children's pool in the main pools area), activity rooms, kid size bathrooms, a mini-disco (8:00-9:00pm) with a great sound system, kid size furniture and showers around the pool and many other features. The actual building was two stories but we didn't investigate the upper floor. The entire area is secured and well supervised so I can't imagine kids being able to leave the area on their own. Of course, looks can be deceiving and since we did not travel with young children, I unfortunately can not comment on the quality of the programmes offered nor did I have the opportunity to speak with parents who used the facility. We did observe many happy children however, and we spoke with a staff member who had an excellent command of english. Hopefully another reviewer will be able to fill in some more details in the near future. Outside of and adjacent to the kid's club compound is an adventure playground with benches for parents to sit and watch their children play. Trees have been planted to provide shade in the future, but for now, this area is quite open. Don't forget hats, sunglasses, sunscreen and a bottle of water for your little ones, -and yourselves!
The resort offers an on-site disco, which seemed to be well used. The bar within the disco opens at 7:00 pm and the disco itself closes at 2:00am. We were never disturbed by noise from this venue, which is situated on the bottom level of the building, which houses the main buffet. Next to the disco is the resort gift shop. The shop is large but poorly stocked for some items, and no feminine hygiene products to be found anywhere. Ladies, bring some along even if the calendar says you won't need them. One shelf did display what seemed to be a five-year supply of nursing pads! The shop ran out of white rum and we were told no more would be coming for a while. the t-shirt and cigar selection was very poor but they did have some nice pottery available. There was a good selection of beach toys and other sundry and snack food items. Don't count on doing your souvenir shopping at the resort store! There is a small market in guardalavaca and taxi fare will be $10.00us each way. A train ride at a cost of $5.00us per person is also an option, just expect it to take much longer than a taxi. What puzzled and surprised us was that the resort did not bring it local craftspeople to sell their wares on site. Other resorts we have visited offer this opportunity. There is a huge, seemingly unused courtyard area just beyond the lobby, which would be perfectly suited for craft tables.
The usual all-inclusive evening entertainment is held in an amphi style theatre built on several levels with director style chairs for seating. Be careful where you chose to sit as some of the director chairs are already falling apart. There are also some nice benches near the back or you can just watch while standing at the railings, which surround the venue. No tables or bar service though! Comfy chairs and good views from pretty much everywhere! We also liked the large thatched roof and open feeling of this venue, and of the entire resort for that matter. Much to our surprise and delight, they offered some excellent shows. Although the main events began around 9:45pm, various bands brought in from Holguin played for an hour or so beforehand. The shows we saw were very professional and of a high caliber. Cuba certainly has no lack of well- trained singers, dancers and musicians! One night, magicians entertained and delighted both young and old while another night featured a show called water ballet. This amazing show was held in the adults-only swimming pool and can best be described as a combo ballet and synchronized swimming extravaganza. Fabulous! We also enjoyed the circus, circus show. There were very few of those usual audience participation type shows, which some people love to hate. For a change of pace, and a more refined atmosphere, you can also go to the lobby bar where a talented pianist plays at the grand piano from about 7-9:00pm. The only other live music at the resort was the trio who played in the main buffet area some evenings. Sadly, and more often than not, these musicians were drowned out by the piped in music of american soft rock tunes sung in spanish over crackling speakers mounted in the rafters, playing at the same time. Go figure! The guitarist in the a la carte had a very limited repertoire of old beatles songs. I only wish they had played a lot more of that toe tapping, body swaying Cuban salsa music. Sure missed that at this resort! Hope management is reading this and will take note!
At this time, the internet terminals for guest use are not yet available. An arrangement has been made for turquesa guests to use the computers/internet at the maritim/lti costa verde resort. Taxi fare is $4.00 each way. Late check out is possible, subject to availability and will cost an extra $30.00us up to 4:00pm, $40.00 up to 6pm. The usual check out time for this resort is 1:00pm. Check-in time is 3 pm. Voltage at the Playa Turquesa is 220v but there is a 115v plug in the bathrooms for electric shavers. We always travel with a foreign voltage converter/adapter for re-charging our electronic equipment. Medical services are available 24 hours. The common areas and public washrooms of the resort were very clean. No lack of toilet paper. Many large and small displays of dried flowers graced the resort and there has been extensive use of ceramic tile. I suspect that there will be huge problems during rainy periods when the tiles will become very, very slippery. There are no oceanview rooms available at this resort. A wide stand of trees has been left between the resort and the beach. The leavestrip serves as an environmental buffer zone and we applaud this effort, which is common to newer resorts in Cuba.
Our room:
Our room was located on the second floor of villa 56, which houses rooms numbered 526 to 533. We had room #531. Access to our room was with a proper key rather than a keycard. The resort charges $25.00us for lost room keys. When I booked our vacation on-line, I had indicated in the remarks box that I wished a room close to the beach with a queen size bed. We didn't get the queen size bed, but we were reasonably close to the beach area in the lower section of the resort. The bonus was that we were also close to the lowest level swimming pool and the stairs, which go to the upper levels of the resort. We were very pleased with our lovely, spacious and comfortable room, which was kept spotless by our very efficient maid. Noteworthy is the fact that second floor rooms feature a high vaulted ceiling.
The room was furnished with two ¾ size beds, which we pushed together. Along the wall was a desk with a tv and remote control sitting on the one corner and a mini-fridge under the desk. The mini-fridge was stocked with two cans of bucanero beer, 2 cans 7-up, 2 cans of pepsi, 2 500ml size bottles of carbonated mineral water and one 1.5 liter bottle of water. Our mini-fridge was not re-stocked during our one-week stay. Next to the desk stood a table with lamp and next to that a sofa/daybed. Three guests can easily be accommodated in one room and even with four guests, there would still be plenty of space. There was also a separate chair in the other corner and several wall mounted lamps with two-way switches so you didn't need to get out of bed to turn off the lights. No clock is provided so bring your own. There are no coffeemakers in the rooms. Access to the balcony was via a heavy sliding door, which did not have a screen. On the balcony is a small tiled table and two rocking chairs with canvas slings as the sitting part- sort of like rocking deck chairs and amazingly comfy. We really missed the screen though, as we prefer to leave our door open at night rather than have the a/c running. Mosquitoes prevented us from so, but the resort has implemented a regular de-fogging program. No idea what chemical they use. There was also no ceiling fan. When you open the balcony door, the air conditioner will shut off automatically. You must push the button on the digital a/c controller to re-start the unit, after you shut the balcony door of course. We were surprised at how whisper quiet the a/c was and found out from a technician that this digital, state of the art hitachi system is the first one of its kind in Cuba. There is even a computerized, central control panel for the entire resort, so when a problem arises it can often be fixed without anyone even having to come to your room. The technician was so proud of the a/c system and the special training he had received to service it, that he gave us a special behind-the-scenes tour. For the record, the technician was at our door before I even got back from the front desk. Now that's service!
The clothes closet was very large, and more than adequate. It had separate his and hers sides with built-in shelving and louvered doors. An almost full-length oval mirror is on the wall opposite the closet. The in-room safe, which is included free with the all-inclusive package, is located inside the closet on an upper shelf. Not only is the safe a generous size, certainly large enough to hold all of our documents, wallets, money and both cameras with room to spare, but it's also digital and you get to pick your own four digit access code. No keys, no keycards and great security because you're the only one who knows the code! Okay, so I admit we were impressed with the safe! Whatever you do, don't let your kids play with the safe keypad or use the safe if you've had one too many as it is easy to accidentally change the code when you lock it and then- well I have no idea how you would get it open again.
The bathroom was spacious with an interesting layout. When you walk into the bathroom, the toilet is in a separate area with a locking door next to the shower area, which also had a locking door. The doors were of rather poor construction and inferior quality plastic, so I doubt they'll stand up well to lots of wear and tear. I loved the european style shower, which featured a removable, water saver showerhead and was height adjustable. Great water pressure and we never had a lack of hot water. Just outside the actual shower stall was a small built-in shelf and towel bar with robe hooks on the other side. The bathroom was all tiled- floor to ceiling- making it easy to keep clean. Occasionally, there was an off odor coming from the toilet and drains. This was especially noticeable at high tide and we presumed it might relate to septic problems. This area had, after all, been part of a mangrove swamp before the resort was built! The opposite side of the bathroom had a generous size vanity counter, single size basin, a large mirror, a powerful two speed built-in hairdryer, and wall mounted magnifying mirror, which I turned to face towards the wall. Hey, I was there for a birthday, i'm no spring chicken, and last thing I wanted to see was if I had more wrinkles!
A 115v razor plug is also available. We had plenty of towels, but no face clothes so bring your own. We liked the water saving program this resort suggested and opted to re-hang some of our towels to use again. Towels, left on the floor of the shower, will be replaced daily. We also prefer to bring our own soap and large bottle of shampoo/conditioner although this was provided in small bottles on the counter along with a plastic comb, shower cap and shave kit. Facial tissues are provided but they are not as soft as what we can buy at home, so I bring my own. On departure, I leave our leftover supplies for the maid. Lovely towel art graced our bed every day and we received a personal message from our maid before leaving wishing us a safe trip home. I rewarded her diligent efforts on a daily basis with gifts of new clothing items, over the counter medications, or cash.
The beach and watersports:
The beach area of this resort appears to have been created artificially by trucking in sand- lots of sand! at one time, the area was probably a mangrove swamp, which was drained. Natural vegetation has been left standing to provide shade, so palapas are not necessary. In some places, the stumps and roots poke out of the sand, so do be careful where you are walking. The sand is comfortable for walking barefoot in most places. There are plenty of lounge chairs, which are stacked at the end of each day, and a crew of beach employees set up and clean off the chairs for you when you arrive in the morning. These fellows start work at 4 am and also clean the waterline area of sea grass and rake the sand regularly. Garbage containers are well placed at regular intervals so please use them! There are several pathways, which lead guests from the resort area to the beach. We also discovered some walking paths at either end of the beach. The water is very shallow for a long way out. This is perfect for families with toddlers and young children, but not so great for those who enjoy swimming in the ocean. The sand is firmer in some areas than in others. You should also be aware of the tidal influence in this area. During our visit, the tidal fluctuation was about half a meter with a very low tide mid to late afternoon. Not far out into the ocean, and depending on which section of the 800 meter long beach you are looking at, there are expansive beds of sea grasses which harbor sea urchins. In areas where the bottom is sandy, the water is a gorgeous turquoise blue. Two sections have been roped off and marked as safe swimming areas. We heard that sometime in the near future, they plan to dredge and remove the sea grass beds, which many guests complain about. This will severely impact the balance of the ecosystem and personally, we hope they just leave things as they are. During our stay, it was often windy down at the beach. The water never became overly rough as a large reef formation, about one kilometer out from the shore, serves to protect the bay and acts as a breakwater. At high tide, the water was sometimes choppy. At low tide, it was so shallow in some areas that the kayak or pedal boat got stuck, so you had to get out and push yourself free. Watch where you step!
The water sports center on the beach offers a variety of equipment, which guests may use at no extra charge. The equipment appeared to be in good condition as most of it is still new. Lifejackets were available in adult and child sizes. No time limit was placed on the use of kayaks or windsurfers and if something was available, you could take it and go. There are also four pedal boats and four or five hobie cats as well as a smaller sailboat available. To use these for one hour per day, you must sign up in the morning beginning at 9 am. The catamarans are skippered by staff, who take guests out for a ride. This appeared to be the most popular activity. The sign up lines formed shortly after 8:30 and spots filled very quickly. The pedal boats were often not brought back in a timely manner and a staff member on a sea-doo scooted out to ask people to bring them back. Snorkel equipment was also available for guest use, but we always bring our own gear so I can't comment on the quality of what the resort offered. There are no motorized water sports offered at the Playa Turquesa resort. SCuba is offered at a dive center at guardalavaca beach.
We are avid snorkelers and travel with underwater camera equipment, so the first order of business and our priority was to check out the reef. Easiest way to get a good overview is to take out a kayak and paddle around, which we did. The best sections of the reef are quite a ways off shore, where you can see the waves breaking! We did swim out a couple of times but found this extremely challenging when the water was choppy and so we found a better, more convenient way to get to where we wanted to be. Our efforts were rewarded. There were many beautiful tropical fish, coral and sponge formations. The snorkeling was definitely not as good as we were hoping for and far inferior to our experiences at christmas when we stayed at the akumal beach resort in the mayan riviera. Of the resorts we have visited in Cuba so far, and in our hunble opinion, the breezes jibacoa is still the best place for snorkelers.
Food & drink:
I've left this topic for close to the end of my own review simply because it seems to be the source of most complaints I have read about the Playa Turquesa resort up until now. Let me make a couple of things clear. You don't go to Cuba for the food! Cuba is a country under us embargo for the past 40 years. There are many things that they just can't get! If you're addicted to north american style fast foods, don't vacation in Cuba! If the food in Cuba is so bad, why do we always gain weight while vacationing in Cuba! We've never been sick when vacationing in Cuba!
Having gotten that off my chest, let me stress that we are not picky eaters. We found the variety and quality of food offered in the buffets to be good but not quite up to the standards of a 4+star resort. during our one week stay, we ate lobster, crab, mussels, jumbo prawns (with the head on!), the most tender beef we have ever had in Cuba, chicken, pork chops, imported from europe cheeses, jams imported from italy, butter from france (with an 84% fat content!), pancakes (crepes style not aunt jemima), french toast, lots of shredded cabbage, imported salad dressings, absolutely delicious and fresh baked goods, french fries, pizza, pasta, lots of veggies, fruit, european style cold cuts, bruschetta, etc., etc. In other words, something for everyone! No shortage of condiments either! You won't need to bring your own bottle of hot sauce or tabasco.
Now, here's the big problem! Some of the food, especially the rice and veggies, were not always piping hot. The meats were available in small quantities because they were being cooked fresh and hot off the grills by one person who was totally run off their feet and the line-ups of waiting and hungry guests were very, very long. Some guests selfishly grabbed 4 or 5 pieces of the only 8 pieces of chicken, pork, beef or fish available on the tray. The night they served lobster in the main buffet was chaos! The flow at the various food stations in the buffet was poor due to the line-ups, and there were many frayed nerves and frustrated guests. The resort is badly understaffed and the grills are too small. What were they thinking! The resort has over 500 rooms available and a buffet foods area, which is adequate for perhaps a 300 room resort. We have stayed at occidental resorts in costa rica and the dominican republic where the problems were similar, so i'll pass judgment and say this is an occidental problem since we have visited other resorts in Cuba where no such problems existed. Not being persons who are easily defeated, it took no time at all to adjust ourselves and our diet to make the dinner experience more pleasant. We never did quite figure out the correlation between the posted dinner buffet nightly theme and the food they actually served. After a week, the food became rather redundant and a bit boring. We tried to get to the main buffet at 6:30 when it opened and didn't eat a lot of meat simply because we couldn't be bothered to wait. Our strategy paid off in another way also.
One thing we absolutely did not like about the Playa Turquesa was the seating arrangement in the main buffet. Don't get me wrong. We are not anti-social but we did not like the tables for eight persons and there were only four tables for two available in the entire buffet area. I understand this communal arrangement is typical of club med resorts. Once i've fought my way through the line-ups and have a plate of hot food, I want to eat, not chat. Making small talk with strangers just isn't our cup of tea at the best of times. I don't want to talk about work when i'm on vacation! Even more difficult was when the other six people at the table decided to ignore us because we didn't speak their language according to their standards and they decided they'd refuse to speak english even though they could. Arghhhh!!! By getting to the buffet early, we found it less busy. We also discovered that when you are forced to share a table, it pays to sit and sip your wine, chat for a while and then head for the buffet line-ups. Speaking of wine, we discovered that the Cuban wines, either the baron (from santa clara region) or the soroa (from pinar del rio region), were far better than the spanish wine offered and that the servers beamed from ear to ear when you made this preference known to them. Cubans are very proud people! Our wine glasses were rarely empty during a meal and they always found a bottle of Cuban wine- just for us! Some days, it did take a while for the staff to reset the place settings for the next guest, but it was because they were understaffed. The apprentices were very diligent but often a bit unsure of themselves. We spoke to the buffet manager who informed us that new furnishings have already been ordered as many others voiced complaints about the eight person seating arrangement, but as is the case in Cuba, nothing happens quickly. On the other hand, this communal arrangement was great for the many solo vacationers who always had some company at meal times.
To avoid the main buffet, which we didn't really enjoy, we ate our breakfasts and lunches at the much smaller restaurante playa, located close to the beach and our room. It's open for breakfast from 7:30-10:00 and lunch from 12:30 to 2:30. The selection here was not as extensive, but the atmosphere was more to our liking. This venue becomes the mediterranean a la carte in the evening. We did not eat at the 24 hour snack bar, which is part of the 24 hour bar area, and heard the service there was very slow. The snack bar served primarily hamburgers, hotdogs, fries, and fast food items, which we do not eat anyways. We also didn't participate in the tea time from 4-6:30pm or the tapas bar from 9-11pm at the don bartolo snack bar. I should point out that one thing we really liked about the Playa Turquesa resort was the open-air eating venues.
One of the bigger and pleasant surprises was the a la carte restaurants. We often don't bother with a booking because the foods are pretty much a rehash of what you can get in the buffet. Not so at the Playa Turquesa! It will be well worth your while to book reservations at both the italian and mediterranean for either a 6:30 or 8:30 pm sitting. We really enjoyed the italian! Do it shortly after you arrive, at the desk near the lobby reception area by the rental car desks. We were surprised that children were welcomed for both sittings. You will be entitled to eat at each restaurant only once per one week stay. Two more specialty restaurants are planned, but not yet opened.
The Playa Turquesa offers several bars, in various locations around the resort, with varying times of operation. The main bar, don bartolo, is open 24 hours. The pool bar, which also features a swim-up bar, is open from 10am to 5 pm. The permanent beach bar is not yet built, so for now drinks are available at a small portable bar set up by the playa restaurante. Expect very long line-ups here on days when the beach is busy. They only had one bartender on duty! Poor guy was run off his feet! The lobby bar, which features the grand piano, opens at 4:30 pm and closes at 10:30pm. We didn't try the disco bar but it's open from 7pm to 2:00am. Premium international alcohol is available with no surcharge. Beer on tap is cristal and bucanero is available in cans. Champagne, or rather spanish sparkling wine is also available, even for breakfast with fresh squeezed orange juice. White, red or rose wines are available at most bars. Great espresso and cappuccino coffee available at the 24 hour bar!
Again, we found the bars to be terribly understaffed at certain times of the day or evening, so we moved around to a less crowded bar. No problem! Longest we ever waited for a drink was 5 minutes and that was at the 24 hour bar right after the evening show had just finished. The bartenders were all great! Mint for mojitos was often not available. Unlike our experience at other resorts where blenders or slushie machines are used, the bartenders at the turquesa used cocktail shakers and made each drink to order. Not only is this very time consuming, but it requires bartenders to be experienced and fast. Glassware was used in the evenings, rather than plastic cups. Other reviewers have complained about the service at the bars. Here's what I found! On my birthday, I really wanted to have a mojito at the piano bar but was told, so sorry, no mint. I explained the occasion and expressed my disappointment in a nice way and ordered another cocktail instead. Seconds later the bartender asked me to wait a minute, disappeared with a key and returned with several sprigs of mint. In no time at all, he whipped up the best mojito i've ever had anywhere in Cuba. When he closed the bar for the night, he handed me the extra mint and told me to head over to the 24 hour bar for refills. So off we went for more drinks and the bartenders at don bartolo just howled with laughter when I presented my little “ private stock” birthday bouquet of mint. Now that's what I call service and I didn't ever have to flash money. Without a doubt, it's the people of Cuba who make our vacations so special and keep us coming back. By the way, I did make a point of giving the bartenders a larger than usual tip the next day because I felt they really deserved it.
A few travel tips:
-bring a thermal mug for your drinks. Not only will you be helping the environment by not using zillions of those small plastic disposable glasses most resorts tend to use, but you'll keep your drinks cold much longer and save a few extra trips to the bar line-ups. We take a reasonable 12 oz. Size thermal mug. Personally, I find those 60oz size mugs just a bit excessive.
-pack a folding umbrella. When you have one, you usually never have to use it! When you forget it, it always seems to rain!
-bring a light cardigan to wear in the evenings just in case the ocean breezes pick up.
-always bring a flashlight and spare batteries as power failures are common in Cuba.
-bring after-bite and a high deet based insect repellent (deep woods off or muskol) in a pump spray bottle. Aerosol cans are confiscated by many airlines because they are considered explosive and dangerous.
-always attend the briefing offered by your vacation representative!
-always use your in-room safe!
Conclusions:
This resort is a “diamond in the rough” and it most definitely has a great deal of potential. Based on our conversations with several managers at Playa Turquesa, we are optimistic that present problems and start-up glitches can and will be resolved soon. We have no regrets and consider ourselves fortunate to have snapped up a well-priced deal, not only so that we could finally visit the Holguin area of Cuba directly from vancouver, but also this resort. At no time did we feel that we had to wave money or tip to get good service. Service may have been a bit slow at times, but it was for the most part good to excellent. Yes, the resort is all-inclusive and gratuities are included in the price of a vacation package, but we did tip generously because we really felt like doing so. To tip, or not to tip at an all-inclusive resort? It's a personal decision! Although we were well prepared, we did not experience severe problems with biting insects, which other reviewers have mentioned. The resort was totally full during our visit and in fact overbooked. In terms of numbers, it meant about 1100+ people! This problem was common to the entire area and guests were bumped to other resorts, asked to postpone their travel plans, or offered replacement vacations elsewhere.
We would probably not return simply because we expect the price for the Grand Playa Turquesa to skyrocket and the resort is larger than what we prefer with snorkeling opportunities which we found to be mediocre at best. If you go to this resort with an open mind, patience and a good sense of humour, you can't help but have a positive experience and a good time.
We very much appreciate your perseverance in reading this review. If by some chance you still have questions after reading this epic, feel free to contact us directly at yvrCuba@hotmail.com. I have compiled about 46 photos of the resort and they are available for viewing in our webshots.com photo albums. Due to previous experiences with unauthorized downloading of our images, the photo albums are locked. If you wish to view our photos, please contact us directly.
Vancouver couple
Vancouver Couple
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