So as you know, my trip to Cuba was planned very last minute. I like spontaneous trips because there's a chance that anything can happen, good or bad. When we booked this trip, I insisted that we stay at a particular resort because I had been there in the past and had a good time, and also, when I went there the very first time, the travel agency (Flight Centre) had told me it was the best resort in Cuba.
The flight there was comfortable, no crying babies, very smooth...customs was also super fast, they didn't ask a single question just passed me through. The drive to the resort was fast as well....so far so good. We arrive at the resort shortly after 9pm and check in to find that 90% of the resort is closed. ... ... ...
Let me paint a picture for you : There's 2 resorts. One "regular" one, and then the premium side which is it's own private island with pool, premium liquor, a la cart restaurant, cigar bar. They informed us that only the pool was open and that anything we needed (food), we would have to come to the other side (which is a 20 minute walk or 5 minute cart ride) or room service. I was NOT pleased. I was under the impression that I would have the same experience as my other visits. But this was just the beginning.
We get into our room, and were starving....order some room service, chicken, fish, whatever they had available. It came over an hour later, which to me, seems extreme considering the resort has less than 50 people between the 2. When the food finally arrived, it was almost inedible. I picked at my rice because the fish was... stale, for a lack of better words. *sigh* At this point I just wanted to go to bed because I was tired and cranky.
As the week continued so did the bad things....We later discovered that the hotel/resort was being purchased by a new company and they were in the middle of a transition so the reason its so dead is because they aren't promoting it until the new company takes over. Well, they also neglected to mention that because of this transition, they weren't buying any food for the people that were staying there. Now, when I say there was no food, I mean, not even BEANS. Every meal, I was served old fish or old chicken...a couple days the fish was literally inedible because it had gone bad. One day i tried ordering french fries just to have SOMETHING in me, and they had no potatoes. Most days I didn't consume more than 800-1000 Calories in food. I got most of my calories from booze, and not even the good stuff because they decided that it wasn't busy enough to serve the people who paid for premium, to be served premium booze.
Another incident that occurred was a security guard stalked me for a couple days. And I don't mean he was trying to get some foreign action...I mean, I couldn't make a move without him following and watching/staring. It was disturbing. He followed us from our room at 10am to the pool, and then stayed there the ENTIRE time. watched me extremely closely...At the end of the day, I went back to the room where he followed and started looking in the windows and hanging around my room. I went to the hotel manager and asked him about it and he had no idea why he would do that and assured me he would deal with it. We decided to go back to the pool and tell him that the manager was informed of his creepiness...at which point he started getting EXTREMELY aggressive with my friend. The next day, he didn't seem to be around until night time when he was caught lurking in the bushes watching me until my friend chased him away and he bolted between a couple buildings.
If it wasn't for the good company and good weather and of course the booze, I would have seriously lost my mind...I was thrilled to be coming home and literally counting the hours till I was getting on the plane. Last night I made my first home cooked meal and it felt like I hadn't cooked or eaten real food in a year...I lost about 5lbs while in Cuba from the sheer lack of food....
I've already contacted Flight Centre and they're talking with Air Canada to decide who is going to be responsible for my refund because I wasn't informed when booking that the resort was practically closed.
So thats my story...Today I'll be downloading the pics to my computer and you'll see what Cuba looks like :)
The flight there was comfortable, no crying babies, very smooth...customs was also super fast, they didn't ask a single question just passed me through. The drive to the resort was fast as well....so far so good. We arrive at the resort shortly after 9pm and check in to find that 90% of the resort is closed. ... ... ...
Let me paint a picture for you : There's 2 resorts. One "regular" one, and then the premium side which is it's own private island with pool, premium liquor, a la cart restaurant, cigar bar. They informed us that only the pool was open and that anything we needed (food), we would have to come to the other side (which is a 20 minute walk or 5 minute cart ride) or room service. I was NOT pleased. I was under the impression that I would have the same experience as my other visits. But this was just the beginning.
We get into our room, and were starving....order some room service, chicken, fish, whatever they had available. It came over an hour later, which to me, seems extreme considering the resort has less than 50 people between the 2. When the food finally arrived, it was almost inedible. I picked at my rice because the fish was... stale, for a lack of better words. *sigh* At this point I just wanted to go to bed because I was tired and cranky.
As the week continued so did the bad things....We later discovered that the hotel/resort was being purchased by a new company and they were in the middle of a transition so the reason its so dead is because they aren't promoting it until the new company takes over. Well, they also neglected to mention that because of this transition, they weren't buying any food for the people that were staying there. Now, when I say there was no food, I mean, not even BEANS. Every meal, I was served old fish or old chicken...a couple days the fish was literally inedible because it had gone bad. One day i tried ordering french fries just to have SOMETHING in me, and they had no potatoes. Most days I didn't consume more than 800-1000 Calories in food. I got most of my calories from booze, and not even the good stuff because they decided that it wasn't busy enough to serve the people who paid for premium, to be served premium booze.
Another incident that occurred was a security guard stalked me for a couple days. And I don't mean he was trying to get some foreign action...I mean, I couldn't make a move without him following and watching/staring. It was disturbing. He followed us from our room at 10am to the pool, and then stayed there the ENTIRE time. watched me extremely closely...At the end of the day, I went back to the room where he followed and started looking in the windows and hanging around my room. I went to the hotel manager and asked him about it and he had no idea why he would do that and assured me he would deal with it. We decided to go back to the pool and tell him that the manager was informed of his creepiness...at which point he started getting EXTREMELY aggressive with my friend. The next day, he didn't seem to be around until night time when he was caught lurking in the bushes watching me until my friend chased him away and he bolted between a couple buildings.
If it wasn't for the good company and good weather and of course the booze, I would have seriously lost my mind...I was thrilled to be coming home and literally counting the hours till I was getting on the plane. Last night I made my first home cooked meal and it felt like I hadn't cooked or eaten real food in a year...I lost about 5lbs while in Cuba from the sheer lack of food....
I've already contacted Flight Centre and they're talking with Air Canada to decide who is going to be responsible for my refund because I wasn't informed when booking that the resort was practically closed.
So thats my story...Today I'll be downloading the pics to my computer and you'll see what Cuba looks like :)
WOW, that really was a sucky trip! Sorry things went so wrong and I hope you are able to get a refund. Can't wait to see the pictures as you always take awesome pictures
ReplyDeleteSo sorry for that trip....no food and poor drinks...I can see it sucked, and that lurker...yikes....glad your back home. Its always worth the risk, but hope you get your money back...or at least something
ReplyDelete