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Published: July 31st 2015
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We had never experience an all-inclusive resort before so we didn't really know what to expect when we arrived on Cayo Santa Maria. The journey there was spectacular as the deep blue sea spread out either side of the bridges and the long, thin cays which we had to cross along the way. Arriving at the
Memories Hotel,we were all a little dismayed to see a handful of coaches outside and enormous queues waiting to check in. Still, a welcome cocktail numbed the pain and we were not able to check in for a while anyway as we had arrived early.
Once in our rooms, which were nice by the way, we were able to get ready to lounge by the pool for a while. That was really nice, but one of the problems with all-inclusive is that not everybody knows when to stop drinking or what is socially acceptable. We saw some sights! It was so nice in fact, that we didn't move too much except to get another cocktail from the bar. Ideal though that may sound, the choice of drinks was rather restrictive and we couldn't even get a mojito. The buffet meals were pretty good there -
far better than the fish restaurant where we were not allowed to dine as a party of eight despite it being 90% empty. Most of the bars and entertainment venues were closed in the evening and the nice looking street market only operated during the scorching daytime heat. The market could have been quite attractive by night. Instead we retreated to the main bar near reception where we worked our way through a selection of cocktails.
The next day we decided to try out the beach. The gleaming white sands were extraordinary and set against the azure sea, even the darkest sunglasses were insufficient. Sadly, the wind whipped up the fine sand so much that we retreated to the pool. Everyone was struggling to cope with the sand. Luckily the pool areas didn't get too crowded and we were able to have a very relaxing time at the end of a busy holiday.
So, what wasn't there to like? Well, the drunken tourists by the pool at 10am filling up on cocktails were quite unpleasant, and the water being cut off for long hours during the day with no real explanation became a very irritating problem. Fortunately it
came back on before showers were needed at the end of the day - but other tourists staying at the hotel told us we were lucky: sometimes they had gone several days without water!!
Two nights was enough for us and we headed back to Havana to spend our last night celebrating an amazing holiday with our friends. Would we do all-inclusive again? Possibly, to provide a welcome wind-down at the end of a hectic trip. The advantages were clear to see, and we feel we were just unlucky despite what some other guests said.
Cuba is about to open up to a lot more tourism. Is it ready? That's a resounding no. Customer service needs beefing up if it is to result in customer satisfaction. Hopefully parts of the island will remain "off the beaten track" which will give us cause to go back one day.
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barrygahan
Barry
White Sands!
The sands here look stunning. We're trying to decide whether to include some all inclusive time in our Cuba trip, at a Cayo like this or perhaps Varadero. It's very tempting!