Cuba Holiday Guide

Tryp Cayo Coco Hotel Review

2008-07-10T10:09:00.000-07:00

The Tryp Cayo Coco Hotel is another of the well-known Melia chain. And just like the rest, its an All-Inclusive hotel in the Ciego de Avila provence of Cuba and on the island of Cayo Coco.

One of the great things about the Tryp Cayo Coco Hotel is that it is just 15 minutes from the airport, but you'll probably never see or hear the planes unless you're hanging around at the airport.

The Tryp Cayo Coco Hotel is a hotel made for families and has 502 double rooms plus 6 suites with whirlpools in the rooms. If you need them, there's rooms specifically created with disabled access in mind. As with most hotels in the area, they're air-conditioned,have satellite TV, a telephone, mini-bar and a safe.

In the hotel grounds you'll also find a shopping centre, access to motorbike and car hire, a beauty salon, a babysitter and a doctor.

There's a number of restaurants available including an International buffet-style restaurant, a sea-food a la carte restaurant which is open in the evenings, an international restaurant, a BBQ & Grill restaurant for evening meals, a Cuban restaurant and another one offering Italian and Chinese meals. That's not including an Aqua bar, a Beach bar, a snack bar and a lobby bar. You're not going to go hungry or thirsty during your stay!

You'll also find two swimming pools, access to windsurfing, snorkeling, water bikes, kayaking and a hobbicat, You can also visit the diving school and take part in dancing and Spanish classes. You can also pay for horseback riding and play tennis, beach volleyball, basketball and pool So you're not going to struggle to find things to do either!

Tryp Cayo Coco Hotel Reviews

(-) One of the first reviews I read was that the majority of their party got ill on the holiday, they didn't have good air conditioning. But they were moved when they complained.

(+) This person agreed with others that it wasn't a 4 star hotel. The beach was apparently to die for, the staff were fantastic, there was laods of entertainment, the food was ok and there was someting for everyone.

(-) Someone else called it a total dump and said it was struggling to be a 3 star as the room wasn't kept clean and the pool had slime in it.

(+) This couple said they wished they didn't read some of the reviews on the internet as they had a great time. The local people are great. The weather was great and so was the beach.

(+) This person said the range of food was superb, but the rooms were a bit dated and the staff expected to be tipped.

Most of the other reviews I've read rated the hotel at betwen an 8 to a 10 out of 10.

You can book the Tryp Cayo Coco Hotel, or at least just look at the prices, airports and details from:

Hotel Sol Club Cayo Coco Reviews

2008-07-05T02:16:00.000-07:00

The Sol Club Cayo Coco is part of the Melia hotel chain. In my mind, and we briefly visited the hotel, it is the ugly sister of the Melia Cayo Coco next door. Not only because its a "star" less in its grading, but because of the reviews I've seen from others.

Now if you look through the photos on their site it looks fantastic. In fact I'm almost tempted to go as it looks like they've got a fantastic mini-golf course. But you can't just go to the hotel because of that.

The Sol Club Cayo Coco lyes at the Western end of a great beach. The beach is fairly thin but isn't ram-packed with people. I'd say it's almost a perfect beach for people that want to relax in the sea. It's not a surfer's beach and slopes gently into the sea so would be almost ideal for children.

View Larger Map

A good thing about the Sol Club Cayo Coco is that it has another awesome beach, the Playa Las Coloradas, just a few seconds away. This beach goes on for miles and is a bit more sheltered from the wind which seems to come in at 45 degrees from the right. This beach has much smaller waves so you should make sure you pop along.

Sol Club Cayo Coco Hotel Facilities

The Sol Club Cayo Coco is an all-inclusive hotel with 270 rooms - 220 of them with views of the garden or pool area, 64 double rooms with a balcony with sea views and 4 "luxury" ones.

As is standard with many hotels in the Caribbean, the hotels have a hair-dryer, fridge, satellite TV, telephone, fridge and a safe. You can also get your convertible Cuban pesos there, hire a car, get your hair cut, visit craft shops, get your washing done, visit the doctors etc.

Is it just me or do they look like university dorms with MFI furniture? But if you've got young kids with you, you wouldn't want anything too posh.

There are two swimming pools which I'm sure you'll spend a fair amount of time around - even though they're surrounded by 1970's prison-block style hotel rooms. The pool is large, and that can't be a bad thing.

Sol Club Cayo Coco Hotel Restaurants & Bars

There's three restaurants and I've heard some great things about the food. There's the buffet restaurant Arcada, an international restaurant with a formal dress code and a beach restaurant which offers Cuban cuisine for dinner. There's also a snack bar at the pool (10am - 11pm).

For drinking there's the cocktail bar La Bodeguita, the lobby bar La Veranda - which is open 24 hours and the Bar Anfitearo which is open for an hour whilst you watch a show in the evening.

Sol Club Cayo Coco Hotel For Kids

The Sol also appears to be set up well for kids, unlike the Melia Cayo Coco which is for adults only, the Sol is squarely aimed at family holidays. There seems to be a lot to do for kids, including sailing, tennis, table tennis, beach volleyball, aerobics, water polo, archery, snorkelling and much more. That's not including the baby club and mini club.

Sol Club Cayo Coco Hotel Reviews

It seems most people that have reviewed this hotel go with Thomas Cook - and many like it, whilst there are a few that didn't. I think it all comes down to expections. That's why, I hope, sites like this will help you choose the right hotel in Cuba for you.

Here's a summary of few reviews:

(+) One person has stayed there five times now and they're going back later in 2008, they see the hotel staff as being very friendly (I think this is Cubans all over!).

(-) Another person was annoyed with how the staff expect tips, she said "no tips, no service". She said the rooms were very basic and her air conditioning only just worked. She made me chuckle when she said you're only allowed roll of toilet paper a day - and you'll need more when you sample the food! She said the lunch was poor and the dinner was worse. She commented that you'd get the same food throughout the day and then the next day with a sauce over it. She didn't even like the drinks that were on offer and ended up buying her own.

(+) This person said the rooms and some of the other parts of the hotel could be considered to be of 3 star standard, whilst the food, drink and staff should be a 4 star plus rating.

(-) This other person also doesn't rate it as a four star hotel, she said the rooms were also basic but clean. Apparently there was a leaky roof in the lobby and restaurant - I'm sure they would have fixed that by now! There were allegedly a number of accidents too. She also mentioned the tipping situation. She said if you don't tip then you won't get a satisfactory service. However, she was happy with the food, but a bit monotonous. She also liked the evening entertainment, the pool and the reasonably priced doctor. She recommended taking stuff to occupy the kids like inflatables etc.

(-/+) This person commented that he thought the hotel needed to be updated and was downgraded from a 4* to a 3* by another operator. Their room was clean but a bit dated (they only started building hotels here in about 1994). They weren't happy with the minibar not being refreshed - apparently that happened in the Melia Cayo Coco when we were there, but it was fine for us.

They liked the food a lot in the buffet but thought the Italian restuarant had a limited menu. But he hated the swarms of mosquitoes.

Overall the rating for this hotel would be "good". Don't expect luxury and you won't be disappointed.

You can book the Hotel Sol Club Cayo Coco, or at least just look at the prices, airports and details from:

Cuba Travel FAQ: How Much Money Should I Take & Credit Cards

2008-07-02T01:15:00.000-07:00

So you're going to Cuba and you're wondering how much money you should take!

Well, it depends (what else would I say?). If you're going on an all-inclusive holiday you can realistically get away with taking about £50 for a week. This will probably go towards some tips, the odd bit of stuff (such as after-sun) and maybe some souvenirs if you venture out.

The excursions you can pay on your credit card - just make sure it doesn't have any relationships to America, such as MBNA or the Asda credit card (owned by Walmart). I paid on my Barclay card. Capital One wouldn't be any good either. Its best to phone up your credit card company first.

Also there were some issues with various types of debit card. I think Maestro didn't work so make sure you've got a visa one if you can. Or just take some UK Sterling and change it at the hotel.

You can't get the Cuban Convertible Peso outside of the island so you're probably best just taking cash and changing it there.

Summary: Take £50-£100 per week in Sterling, pay for your trips on a non-US credit card and have a great time.

All About Cuba - History, Culture and People

2008-07-02T00:49:00.000-07:00

Cuba is one of the most well-known Caribbean islands, but most won't place it there. They think it's just off the coast of America and see it as a small island with a big history. They'll be half right.

Cuba is 42,803 sq miles - which is huge and has a population of around 11,394,000 people - again this is a substantial amount.

Cuba is located in an important position in the Great Antilles. It stands at the confluence between the Caribbean Sea, the Gulf of Mexico and the Atlantic Ocean just off the coast of Florida and near the Bahamas.

Cuba has a fantastic history. It was first noted in 1492 by Christopher Columbus, however, it was populated some 6 - 8,000 years before by various tribes from North and Central America.

For 400 years or so it was colonised by the Spanish (1511 - 1898) where its economy primarily focused on agriculture, mining and the export of sugar, coffee and tobacco to Europe and North America.

In 1762 Havana was temporarily seized by the English but was regained a year later.

In 1902 Cuba gained formal independence in 1902 and Tomás Estrada Palma became the first president. The issue was, however, that the USA retained its right to intervene in Cuban affairs, supervise its finances and involve itself in foreign relations.

Also under the Platt Amendment, Cuba also agreed to lease to the US the naval base at Guantánamo Bay - which we hear so much about to this day.

In 1906 there was an armed revolt following disputed elections and the country was placed in US occupation under governor Charles Edward Magoon until 1908 when self-government returned.

Cuba was in turmoil for much of the inter-war years due to racial-tensions, economic issues and international events. During the Second World War Cuba sided with the US and declared war on Japan and Germany in 1941 - although they paid no significant role in the war other than raw materials.

After the war there was the Cuban Revolution - which has too much history to be noted here.

During the Cold War, Cuba played a significant part and really came to the forefront of many people's minds and is probably why many of us want to visit the island to this day.

Today Fidel Castor is no longer president of Cuba, he has passed it onto his brother Raúl Castro who has started some very important reforms.

The history of Cuba is vary varied. It is a fantastic place to visit and I'd recommend anyone to book a holiday in Cuba to see its wonderful delights and witness an Island that isn't overly commercial and is a truly naturally fantastic country.

Cuba Holiday Excursion: Catamaran Day Trip

2008-07-02T00:23:00.000-07:00

I just love these trips as you get to see the island from a different perspective, have nice food, meet people from other hotels and have a bit of a swim.
I think we left the hotel about 8:30 and picked others up at various hotels on our way up to the harbour at Cayo Guillermo. There wasn't a lot to see on the way except for many mangroves and a abandoned airport where the runway was turned into a road. But still there was loads of wildlife to see on the way. All you do is stare at the window and enjoy the view.

You'll arrive at the harbour and make your way straight on to the Catamaran. If you're a sun-lover you'll probably make a bee-line for the uncovered area at the front, back or the sides. If you're not wanting to get burned then I recommend that you sit under cover - you can always venture out if you want to.

Early in the morning the sea is relatively flat so you won't have to worry about being sea-sick. It's just in the afternoon when it gets a bit choppy. So sitting in the middle has other advantages too.

As the catamaran leaves the harbour you'll see some wonderful views on your left. There's some great beaches up there so if your hotel isn't located up there then try and hire a car or get a bus up to Cayo Guillermo.

You'll travel up for about 45 minutes or so to your first island where it looks like a temporary harbour has sunk. Here you'll get your first chance for a bit of snorkeling. The snorkels themselves are cheap ones and you can keep them after if you wanted. We'd recommend taking your own gear if you wanted to take full advantage of the trip.

You'll have a good 45 minutes or so to sit on the catamaran or venture out into the sea. When we went it wasn't too cold, just a little bit of a chill, but it was well worth it. Because I put my snorkel on the wrong way round (I know!!) I took in a lot of water and didn't enjoy it as much as when I went on a catamaran trip in Barbados. But the other people on the boat thoroughly enjoyed it.

You'll then head off to another snorkeling spot. This is just off the second biggest reef in the world. Apparently the sights were amazing. I didn't venture too far out as I looked after my Fiance as the water was a bit choppy by that stage of the day. Again you'll spend a good 45 minutes to enjoy yourself. When you get back on the catamaran you'll probably smell the food being cooked below.

Now you'll head off towards Pilar Beach which is a cracking beach with white sand and a gently sloping shore. As you make your way over there you'll have your lunch brought out. You'll get some fantastic chicken, prawns, rice and a sauce which was supposed to be a fish sauce but it was a great spicy one.

When you get to Pilar Beach you'll have to swim ashore. It's only 30 meters or so. There is a bit of a swell so people that aren't good swimmers should perhaps stay onboard. I think we were for about 30 minutes or so. We relaxed on the beach and played in the warm waters. It was definitely a beach I'd go back to.

We then made our way back to the harbour. It sounds like we weren't out there for long, but the trip lasted about 6 hours or so. Which is great value for the £25 or so that it cost.

We'd certainly go back again - but with our own snorkeling gear.

Cuba Holiday Excursion: Colourful Cuba Tour

2008-06-21T02:18:00.000-07:00

If you're staying on the islands of Cayo Coco or Cayo Guillermo you won't see the real Cuba as Cubans aren't allowed on to those islands unless they're working. I'd say its absolutely crucial to get off and and on to the mainland - one of the best ways to do that is to go on the Colourful Cuba Tour.

I was a bit ill before we went but actually thoroughly enjoyed it, although some of it was a bit surreal.

We left at around 9:30 and made our way down to the causeway which goes one for miles and miles. It hooks Cayo Coco up with the mainland. The journey isn't long so don't worry about getting comfortable. Don't fall asleep as the view from the coach as you go over is pretty stunning.

At the end of the causeway there's a checkpoint - to make sure the locals don't go on. This may be your first opportunity to see one of those old cars that you see on TV. They're pretty cute and its amazing they're still running.

Just a few short minutes you'll find yourself at Lake Redondo where you'll go on a half-hour trip through the mangroves - this was an awesome journey as you learn about the flora and fauna of the island mixed in with a bit of an adrenaline rush.

Here's a video of it (p.s. I didn't think about having it the right way up!!)

You're not rushed, but then you get back on the coach and head to one of the most surreal parts of the holiday. You'll find yourself at a disused sugar cane factory where you can have a look around - yeh I know. But for many I'm sure it was interested. They are novices to the tourist industry - but they do a good job.

You'll see a re-creation of the slaves getting wiped into grinding the cane - many of us were aghast. We all thought you'd never see this in the UK. After that they did a dance for us and then we boarded the steam train out into the countryside.

On the train you'll see the real Cuba, how real Cubans live and it was heart-impacting. Let's hope the tourist industry can help them along a bit.

It was an interesting journey through the sugar plantations and onto lunch. There was roast pork, veg etc. And you'd share your time with a collection of animals, including chickens and rabbits.

But it was the crocodiles at the next stop that you should watch out for. You could get your pic taken holding a baby crocodile and then walk over and see the big ones get fed! This was interesting, but slightly shocking. As they were like my ex-girlfriend on a Sunday morning!!

You could then walk around and see flamingos, pelicans and turtles - that was all very nice.

And then you're back on the coach to be taken to one another surreal adventure. The whole group was dropped off at the outskirts of the city of Morón. You're put on a horse and cart and ridden into town. This was another interesting part of the tour and not to be missed (in fact, I'm not sure if you have a choice). Ah you must do as you meet at the coach and you get off and have a chance to walk around the city for half an hour.

Morón is a very strange city. You can see its gone down hill since the embargoes were set up. It looks very poor and relies on a bit of tourist trade that passes through. I definitely recommend walking around and seeing what you find, although, some did go to a bar and sample some of the local drinks.

Then you get back on the coach (not the one in the pic) and head off to a local bar to sample some of the delights and some local music. Then you're back off home, just in time for a quick dip to cool down.

All in all it was a fantastic trip as you get to see the real Cuba, you see the sights, smell the aromas and touch what makes Cuba - Cuba. Sat by the pool or walking along the beach on the Cayos you won't see this.

And the price? Well I think it was around £25 - bargain!

Book A Holiday In Cuba With A Price Comparison Website

2008-06-20T07:06:00.000-07:00

We just love Henoo!! It allows you to search the majority of the major tour operators from one website. You can change options such travel date, accomodation, price etc and it'll bring you back a list of possible holidays.

So if you're want to book a holiday in Cuba try Henoo. They've got all the major resorts including Cayo Coco, Varedero, Havana, Holguin and Jibacoa!

Melia Cayo Coco Hotel Review - The Food

2008-06-20T00:52:00.000-07:00

Now I didn't take any photos of the food - it's not the done thing is it? There's four restaurants in the Melia Cayo Coco Hotel. A buffet restaurant, an "International" Restaurant, a grill and an Italian.

Now you'll be having breakfast at the buffet restaurant which is behind the bar. It's a huge dining room with hot plates in the middle. You can choose from the usual fried stuff (why don't international restaurants have Danish bacon :-( ); fantastically fresh fruit; bread, cheese, ham and pancakes. To be honest I loved breakfast. We'd sit outside by the pool and enjoy the weather.

We'd often have lunch there too, so you'd get the usual stuff, you could usually choose from chicken or pork as well as fresh fruit, oh and bread cheese and ham. There was also an area where you could get some meat cooked to order.

And you'd spend at least 4/7 nights at the buffet again, where you'll have much the same food that was available at lunch time. But you can get nice food made to order again. The thing is, if you love puddings, you won't be upset - they had loads of nice cakes and the icecream was to die for (not litterly!).

Again the waiter service was fantastic! Really friendly and helpful. Try and sit outside if you can at night.

Another restaurant we tried was the International one. This was a lovely restaurant set in the lagoon and decorated nicely - but you could tell it was coming to the end of the season as it was starting to get a bid frayed at the edges.

The music was great, they had soft guitar music playing in the background. It was fairly hot that night, but it was very enjoyable as the food was nice. The menu may have been fairly limited, but it more than made up for by the ambiance.

I've added one of the Melia Cayo Coco Hotel's photos of the restaurant so you can get a better idea of what it was like. As its on the lagoon make sure that you take mozzie spray if you're going later on in the season. If you're going peak season you should be ok.

The Italian restaurant was next to the pool and also had a limited budget, but it was nice and intimate. The starter was basically a buffet affair. But again I liked it. For the main meal you can basically choose from Pizza or Pasta (no surprise there). But again there wasn't a great deal of choice, but the food I liked. There was also some very nice puddings.

Over all the Italian Restaurant was a nice change from the buffet. The views over the pool on the one side and the sea on the other made it a relaxing meal.

There was also a grill restaurant a bit closer to the beach. We only went there for lunch once but heard the food was nice. Our friends had onion rings and steak I think. Its an open-air restaurant so if you wanted to get out of the heat then I'd try the Italian. But if you wanted to hear the sea lapping on to the beach then the grill is for you.

I forgot, there was a 24 hour bar where you could get tuna and cheese & ham toasted sandwiches, burgers, chips etc. You could find this right next to the pool and below the Italian restaurant. This was handy if you felt peckish between meals or just wanted to sit at the bar and watch people swim by in the pool.

Melia Cayo Coco Review - The Bar & Free Cocktails

2008-06-19T14:40:00.000-07:00

When I go on holiday and stay in an all-inclusive hotel I try and take advantage and try as many drinks as possible. It's just in my nature. Life's to short to stick to beer! Especially when the cocktails were as strong as they were!!!

The waiters and waitresses would come over and take your orders and bring you whatever you wanted. They were also willing to give advice as to which cocktails were the best. You weren't asked for tips. We just gave a few Pesos at the end of the week to say thanks as we had a really good laugh with them! They really added something extra to the holiday.

And to be honest there was a great deal of choice. In other all-inclusive hotels its not always been easy to know what drinks you can ask for and which will incur an extra cost. Yes that's right - some of them you have to pay for. But its understandable as all-inclusive in Cuba is totally different to all-inclusive in Spain. Some drinks are just much more difficult to get hold of given the economic climate over there. But, you won't need to ever dip your hand in your pockets for drinks - just the occasional tip if you think they're worth it - and they are!

The bar is large, you could say very large, but they are expanding it as it was fairly full when we were there and that was when the hotel was only a third full. There are tables set for couples but there are also sofas for larger groups. These tend to get full up during the end of the week as people start to get to know each other.

It's a perfect place for an intimate night as well as they have these little sheltered areas where you can sit almost uninterrupted. You can see one of them in the pic here, but it's not the most secluded. There's one next to an artificial waterfall to the right.

The bar is fairly well stocked. They have beer on tap (sheesh - I can't remember what its called but it was local and very nice!!). I also worked my way through the cocktails. The Mojitos where great, I loved the Ron Colins, I'm not a big fan of Daiquiris (but Laura loved them). The Cuba Libre was nice (I think). But it was the Whiskey Sour that I really loved. In fact I used to take a couple (of drinks) back with me at the end of the night!

Also there was some entertainment in the bar - which I'll talk about later. But I must mention the piano player who was great. He played some old favourites, some show tunes and some newer songs too. He really made the bar a great place to be.

Melia Cayo Coco Hotel Review - The Beach

2008-06-17T11:36:00.001-07:00

Now I just loved the beach! It was all you need from a beach!

It was immensely relaxing. We often had breakfast and would pop down here about 8:30ish for a bit of a sit down before we'd go for a dip.

The morning is the best time to enjoy the Melia Cayo Coco beach as its very quiet (as apposed to just quiet). The wind at that time is very light and the waves just gently wash up ashore. Later on in the day the wind slowly pick up and at night it'll be quite blustery.

The beach at the Melia Cayo Coco is a very narrow beach, but as there isn't much of a tide, there's plenty for everyone. There's the palm umbrellas to give you a bit of shade and that building you can see in the picture is the water sports hut mentioned earlier.

Although I didn't get a picture of it, there's also a beach bar where you can top up with water, rum and coke, and most drinks. Behind that you can find the grill where you can get some lunch and an evening meal (I'll mention this later).

The thing is that you shouldn't just sit in the sun, the beach is fantastic and goes on for miles in one direction and, if you walk over a bit of tarmac another beach stretches on for miles the other way. The photo you see here is if you walk to the right facing the beach. You'll find yourself walking out of the beach looked-after by the hotel and you'll reach the bit that the locals go on. I didn't see anyone there, however, apart from a bar with two people in it. It looked amazing and was very peaceful just sat there.

If you walked left you'll see the hotel Sol, and if you go past there and past the tours building you'll see some little huts in the water. Now, you'll have to walk through the water which is a small fresh water river and on to the other beach. This goes on for miles too. Walk around some rocks and you'll see even more beach. I couldn't get my head around how empty it was, so you'll have some fun if you just like roaming around on the sand.

If you're one of those people that love a bit of action (don't we all) then half way through our holiday they did some exhilaration stuff. There was this water plane thing which was great fun watching take off and land. We didn't go on it, but some of our friends did and they said it was fantastic - so try it (if you like heights!!)

We also watched people go scuba-diving. I wish I did, but was only told it was free a day before we went home so was too late. But we did go snorkeling (which I'll talk about later) which is a good alternative.

So, all in all, the Melia Cayo Coco beach was fantastic. Next I'll recount my experiences with the food at the Melia Cayo Coco, it's entertainment and the all important bar!

Melia Cayo Coco Hotel Review - The Grounds & Swimming Pool

2008-06-17T11:08:00.000-07:00

So I've talked about the cold flight, the warm welcome and the beautiful room, so what about the rest of it?

The Melia Cayo Coco Hotel Grounds

Well what can I say? The grounds and gardens of the Melia Cayo Coco Hotel are absolutely stunning. We didn't get a lot of time to have a look around before the sun went down. But we did have a walk up to the beach (will I'll talk about in a bit). The walk way up to it was amazing at dusk. You'll find yourself carefully walking up to the beach as some of the decking is a bit wobberly - but nothing major. At the end of the walkway is the watersports hut where you can get free scuba trips.

All the walk ways are beautifully lit up at night so you can't fall into the lagoon. And when you've had a night on the all-inclusive cocktails you'll need as much help as you can get! Trust me! As you walk back after swimming in the sea or the pool you'll find yourself stopping off to have a look at the fantastic flowers and the occassional lizard - they're quite cute really.

The gardeners and teams that the Melia Cayo Coco employ are terrific. They're all friendly and make the place look fantastic. Behind the extremely large swimming pool there's a walkway over a large water-feature which must be a 100 yards long. In there you'll find a few fish and (when we were there) a crab that came along from the sea!

Behind that water-feature is a hill (with a gym in). On this hill you'll find the wedding gazebos where you can, of course, get married. But you can also have romantic meals up there in peace and quiet. It's really nice up there as they have a fantastic garden full of very colourful flowers and a great view accross the swimming pool.

The Melia Cayo Coco Swimming Pool

This has got to be one of the best features of the hotel - a fantastic swimmingpool that is nice and shallow so stays warm. From one end it slopes in from a few inches and reaches a maximum depth of about 5ft.

In that pool you can simply relax and float around. As there's no kids at this pool you can enjoy it without getting dive-bombed or splashed to heck. You can save the later for the game of volleyball that is played every afternoon at 4pm.

Now it gets hot in Cuba, very hot. The people at the Melia Cayo Coco Hotel know that not everyone wants to lay in the sun all day. So they've made at least 8 shelters where you can still laze in the hot weather but keep youself out of the sun. These are great as you can simply drop yourself in from your sunbed and into the pool without hardly moving - fantastic.

But if you fancy leaving the pool, try the Melia Cayo Coco beach.

Melia Cayo Coco Hotel Review

2008-06-16T13:03:00.000-07:00

This was my first time to Cuba so didn't really know what to expect. I've travelled around the world (over 30 countries) so was hoping for something different. And in summary - the Melia Cayo Coco Hotel is one of the best I've stayed in and probably the best I've stayed in the Caribbean.

Who We Booked With

First off we booked our stay at the Melia Cayo Coco via Thomas Cook, a week at the 5ish star hotel cost us £1426 for the two of us flying from Manchester and staying for a week.

The Flight - Grumble

I did have a few grievences about the flight. First off if you wanted to take more than 15kg then you had to pay more. Also we were absolutely freezing on the flight. There was a big bold guy sat in the row in front of us and he was freezing too! Eventually I got myself and the fiance a blanket and found some others later and handed them around - the stewardess didn't seem to keen to help. So if you do book with Thomas Cook make sure you take some warm clothes for the flight!

Also, if you forget your iPod or headphones (like I did!) then you have to fork out £2.75 for some diabolical ones - I refused and suffered the consequences - absolute boredom.

The Airport

The local airport (Jardines del Rey Airport) is very close, in fact it was only 15 minutes away from the resort which is the closest I've ever been.

As it is very small you'll walk the two minutes from the plane to the terminal in two minutes. There you'll be met with about 8 quees to go through immigration. Make sure you've filled your visa in correctly (I didn't) and proceed to the mystery figure in the booth. If when you get through ok you'll be met with a long quee to go through security where they'll make sure you don't have anything with you that you shouldn't.

When you exit the airport you'll be met by a friendly guide who'll show you to the bus for your short journey - expect to see some cows on the way!!

During the ride you'll be talked through everything by your guide (ours was Rachel - great lass). The one bit I liked was that when we checked in you'll be given a glass of champagne and the porter will take your bags to the room for you.

Checking In To The Melia Cayo Coco

When you pull up at the hotel you'll see an absolutely massive open reception - its huge and very welcoming!! The people are as as friendly as you could possibly want. They give you your keys (plastic credit card ones) and show you the direction.

This is the funny bit - we didn't have a clue where we were going. Luckily there were some maps around and we followed them up to our room (7322). Stupidly I didn't get a photo of the outside of it!! Doh, but I did get some photos of the others!

We booked the holiday in a hurry and just managed to get the standard rooms. But there were rooms on the lagoon. We went in a friend's and there wasn't much difference to ours - except the price.

The rooms you can see at the front of the picture are the honeymoon suites. Whilst the ones in the background are the upgraded lagoon rooms - there's four in a block.

The room itself was nice - big beds, and well decorated. But the bathroom was a bit basic, the bath had some knicks out of it, but appart from that I couldn't argue - how long do you spend in the shower???

Read on to find out about the Melia Cayo Coco grounds and swimming pool.