Sol Río de Luna y Mares Resort

Anónimo, GB, 2005-11-22
My boyfriend and i have just come back from Sol rio de luna and mares resort in guadelvca in Cuba (10th nov 04 - 18th nov 04). We stayed in the Mares side of the hotel. The luna seemed to be aimed at canadians and americans. We had a brilliant time there, the weather was lovely apart from a few spots of rain on our last day. Our first day there - we were so tired!! we decided to go straight to bed, we had decided to take a beer each with us to our room. To our suprise we had woken up in the morning to find a cockroach in each of our glasses!!! We did not complain as we were in a carribean country after all - its to be expected!

*BEACH*
Before i left for cuba i read the reviews about the hotel, it kept saying how lovely the beach was, dont get me wrong, the sand is white the sea is blue - but i have seen better beaches in greece!! maybe it was just the time we went out there (sea was very very rough!!!) we did not go in the sea during our entire time there.

*FOOD*
the food is quite good - the italian food in the buffet restaurant (do not get this confused with the italian a la carte restaurant) was the best night (foodwise) there!! There are 4 a la carte restaurants at the hotel (2 in luna & 2 in mares) you are aloud to use two restaurants per week. so if yo are luck enough to go for 2 weeks you will be able to go to all of them. Book the first day you get there to save dissapointment! we went to the mexican which is by the mares pool, and the cuban restaurant which is on the mares side of the beach. Both were ok - cuban was better because it was different and had larger portions than the mexican (tiny portions). The luna buffet (we found) was better than the mares as it is smaller but you are gauranteed a seat (sounds strange - but true).

*LOCATION*
Do not expect nights out - there is none. The entertainment in the hotel is crap!! but i do feel guilty for saying this as they tried so hard!! they are good dancers but there was a lot of naked bums flying around!! There are loads of excursions you can partake if you wish although the "jungle tour" is not for the faint hearted!! The name has nothing to do with the trip! there is no jungle, there are two people to a speedboat and you have to follow the instructor in a line (quite an adventerous line!) definately worth a go!! and it works out £20 each or $39 (it is now cuban convertables). we took and horse and buggy into guardelvca - very good!! it is not a town!!! there are about 10 craft stools and that is it!! Although you can walk down to the beach. but is worth the trip.

*OVERALL*
Overall it was a good holiday and i thoroughly enjoyed it - its a real value for money hotel! but then again we only paid £440 each for one week!! it was a last minute deal and im glad i went. One thing i would say about whole tipping thing: before i left i read the reviews and people were going on about tipping and how you should do it. call me old fashioned but i believe in tipping when someone has done you a service e.g bell boy or your guide on a trip. I would say that tipping is expected!! they hand you presents when you are eating your dinner etc. I didnt appreiciate this at all! apart from those odd few the staff are really nice and are willing to help without a tip!!!

My boyfriend and i would definately go back to cuba it is a beautiful place! we would maybe go to vadero next time and we would love to go to havana!!
******** ENJOY YOUR STAY ***********

Anónimo, GB, 2005-11-09
We returned on the 7th November, having spent 2 weeks at the Mares. We booked the Luna with our Travel Agent but were glad to be in the Mares because of the huge amount of boulders/rocks on the beach at the Luna side.
We did not have a CD player/iron or ironing board in our room and had to ask for a hairdryer! The rooms were basic and clean, no complaints there. The food was not all that good, the exception being the gourmet's, they were OK. My main complaint was the fact that we got left behind by Thomson's on departure day and had to get a taxi from the Hotel to the Airport. What possessed the Thomson rep to let the coach drive off without 2 of his customers is beyond me. I will be taking this up with Thomson in the UK.
This aside, and the couple of accidents I had because of the poorly constructed surfaces (trip hazards....please be careful), the holiday was OK.
My Husband was not impressed with the watersports, as the sailing was cancelled on most days, despite the fact that sailing boats perform better when the wind is blowing. They even chased a windsurfer around the bay, to get him to come back in because it was windy...unbelieveable!
This was our 3rd visit to Cuba.

Anónimo, GB, 2005-04-13
We travelled with thomas cook from gatwick to Holquin. The flight was delayed by 9 hours (the one flight goes back and forth so a delay takes weeks to correct) so we were put on a coach to Brighton for the day (in the snow!) Where we stayed in the Metropole and were treated to breakfast and lunch before being bussed back to the airport for our flight. The flight was long and uncomfortable. It took 10 hrs 20 to get to Valdarero where we were disembarked, while the plane refueled, for 2 hrs. The onward journey was 1hr flight to Holquin then a 1.5 hr transfer to the Mares were we arrived at 5.30 am. There were 11 of us in our party but our rooms were allocated quickly and the oldies retired while the youngsters went to the bar which stayed open as long as they wanted to drink! Our room was on the ground floor of the Mares, room 1020. All was fine to start with, it wasn't until the next night we heard the loud disco music from 11.30 to about 3 am. We thought this was a one off until it happened again the next night. Apparently we were directly above the disco bar on the beach (lovely view!). We complained to the desk staff and they gave me the key of another room to look at (1007) this was further around the corridor and therefore much quieter. The staff were fantastic and could do enough to help.
Our stay was very nice and relaxing. The rooms were very clean and the staff left us bottled water each day. There was a huge selection on the buffet the secret was to walk up and down a couple of times and have a good look- its amazing the number of times someone said "oh! I didnt see that". Book all the restaurants as soon as you arrive or you will not get in. The lunchtime snackbars turn into a la carte restaurants in the evening and the mediterranean was best at both times.
The beach is just fantastic, but can get a little noisey when there is a volleyball match on, the beach bars are well stocked with the local beer (crystal) which is very nice and always served ice cold. The wines are a bit of a lottery until you get to know which ones to ask for. If you get on well with the waiters and TIP well then they can get you champagne (Cava)

Anónimo, CA, 2004-11-24
Just came back from Sol Lunas y Mares. It was not the Cubans fault but the weather was not so nice (from nov 14th-21th.)
WHEATHER
A lot of wind, specially the first two days. The sea was agitated and it was impossible to do any water sports those days. The catamaran had not gone out for 18 days. For the snorkeling, you have to go a little further than in front of the hotel !
BEACH
Otherwise, the beach is great, not very long but anough for a stretch walk everyday. At one end, you cannot pass because it's another hotel and they won't let you pass over that point.
ROOM
Our room was nice, a king size bed, good water pressure. We were on the first level and could not sleep with the door open.
But the cleaning lady was not doing a great job. She cleaned our bathroom floor for the first time one day before we left. She sometimes left water, sometimes not, even with regular tips, and gifts.
My friend who was renting a room next to us found a 1 inch coackroach in her bathroom the first night!
You just hope not to bring one back. We left our suitcase outside for one night when we arrived in Montreal. Just in case...

FOOD
The 3 of us had diarrhea. There is enough food at the buffet but you find almost always the same things. And at Lunas, the meat they use for the BBQ is standing on a plate all night, not on ice or cold surface. No surprise my belly still hurts.
And forget the snacks in between the meals. At some moments of the day, it was impossible to find anything to eat. So don't miss the breakfast, as we did the first day, not knowing that they close at 10:00 on the Luna side...We didn't try any of the a la carte restaurant.
The drinks, no comments. You can get a lot of different drinks. They even have a false champagne that's quite good.

STAFF
The staff is very friendly. I speak spanish and really enjoyed everyone I spoke with. As in many other places, when we booked in, we formed a long line-up and there was one person taking care of all of us! After a flight that was delayed for 3 1/2 hours, you don't feel like waiting in line when you get there. (Thanks to Air Transat!)

To resume, it's the fourth time I go to Cuba. The other times I went to Varadero and La Havana, and in the country side with Cubans friends I made a few years back. Everytime I say it's the last time I go! This time, I think it will be. The reason we ended up there, is the no supplement for a simple occupancy in the room.
It's not an expensive place to go, but 4 stars ?? And in november, it's not south enough to be sure of nice wheather.
Maybe it's because i've been spoiled with cruises!

Anónimo, GB, 2004-11-09
My fiance and I have just returned from a week at this hotel, I have nothing bad to say about it, if you can go for two weeks definately do! My fiance and I are both vegetarian and there was no suitable food in the buffet for us at night so we saw the reservations lady and she arranged for a special a la carte meal for us every night of our stay! The service was excellent. YOU MUST GO HERE!
The beach is to die for, go on the ocean paradise cruise, it was the most amazing day!

Enjoy!