Have Baby Will Travel’s trip reports for Cayo Coco & Cayo Guillermo, Cuba are organized alphabetically by the hotel name. Simply scroll down to read them all or use the fast finder to select a specific hotel. Each trip report has been provided to Have Baby Will Travel in the hope of giving other parents a clearer picture of what to expect when traveling to Cuba with a baby or toddler.

We also have a detailed Cuba destination page, and please check out all our blog posts that reference Cuba. Many find our Fast Facts For Families page on Cuba most helpful.

(9 reports)

Select a report Cayo Coco: Blau Colonial Hotel Cayo Coco: Blau Colonial Hotel Cayo Coco: Nh Krystal Laguna Villas & Resort Cayo Coco: Nh Krystal Laguna Villas & Resort Cayo Coco: Oasis Playa Coco Cayo Guillermo: Iberostar Daquiri Cayo Guillermo: Iberostar Daquiri Cayo Guillermo: Melia Cayo Guillermo Cayo Guillermo: Melia Cayo Guillermo

CAYO COCO: BLAU COLONIAL HOTEL
April 2007
Robin & family

Traveled with Sunwing from April 7 - 14th with my husband and two young boys (ages 5 and 3). We booked 3 weeks before departure and paid $3352 for the 4 of us during the Easter holiday.

We've been to several resorts on many islands ranging from 3 star to 5 star (Mayan Riviera 2x, Dominican Republic, Cuba, Antigua, St. Martin, Aruba, Bahamas, Anguilla) so we can provide an informed opinion.

Beach: It was crystal clear and calm during the mornings while we were there. There was a light wind but by early afternoon the wind was strong and the waves were bigger. We basically spent from 8am-11am at the beach and then the pool for the rest of the day. The sand is deep and fine. The beach is VERY long with lots of shade - but I had to be out there by 6:45am to get a shade with 4 sun loungers - if you tip the beach attendant the first day he'll take care of you the entire week and you can pick where you'd like to sit each day - good idea if you want to sleep in.

Note: There are several lifeguards on the beach and one at the pool.

Food We thought the food was good, we weren't expecting much and Cuba has really improved since we last traveled in 1992. The bread is amazing. For breakfast we enjoyed hardboiled eggs, scrambled eggs, roasted potatoes, pancakes, omelets, chopped up hotdogs were a favorite each morning with the kids, bacon, French toast - their strawberry sauce was delicious; fresh fruit (pineapple, papaya, banana, watermelon), smoothies (add the fruit you want, very good), yogurt, cereal, toast. Lunch was either at the pool area (Yarey) and was off the menu or at the buffet. You will want to get to Yarey a few minutes before they open (12 noon) as it may be difficult to get a seat. The menu consisted of hamburgers, cheese burgers, tex mex burgers (comes with bacon), salad bar, pizza, fish etc., ice cream for the dessert. The buffet was also good, with more selection, and opened at 1pm. Dinner was a choice of 3 a la cartes (Italian, Cuban and seafood) or buffet. We were given vouchers to eat once at each of the a la cartes restaurants (3 vouchers). The menus are posted in customer service and book when you arrive - you can also have them restock your mini-bar daily by just telling them. We liked the Cuban restaurant the best.....Creole and pumpkin soup, hot and cold appetizers, beef, pork, chicken, lamb, red snapper, ice cream for dessert - delicious. Italian was ok, we’re not big seafood eaters, so we ate at the Cuban 2x. Their choices for ice cream during our week were vanilla, chocolate, butterscotch, orange-pineapple, chocolate chip - all very good. They also have baked bananas in rum sauce beside the ice cream area.....worth a try with ice cream, it's very good.

Stores on site: There was a snack store (cookies, chips, pop, juice, beer), moped rental, car rental, cigar shop, several gift stores and money exchange. There are vendors on site located outside behind the lobby. They seem to rotate so, different ones would show up each day. You could get better prices at the vendors for some of the same items in the stores. The vendors do not solicit their business, they remain in their section and will not disturb you.

Just some side points

1. The churros are fantastic (fried pastry with either sugar, cinnamon or chocolate) - located outside the buffet restaurant.
2. Pool is nice with many levels, need to get there early for shady area, it's open from 9am - 6pm.
3. Kids club was ok, the staff are very nice, they have activities, soccer table, swings etc. Nobody used it the week we were there.
4. You can get sandwiches at the 24 hour bar - took me 3 days to figure that out - the grilled ham and cheese are yummy
5. Internet service is very slow, you pay by either 1/2 hour (3 peso's) or an hour (5 pesos)
6. There are NO vendors on this beach - BONUS!
7. Put your card key in the slot at the front door to turn on power to room
8. I brought a bottle of antibacterial febreeze with us and sprayed all mats, bed covers, chair covers and it just felt cleaner - not sure if actually does anything, but I did feel better.
9. TV has several channels but one is Toon for kids - they didn't care that it was spanish - they love Tom and Jerry and Woody Woodpecker.
10. Never used the room service, it was limited for breakfast and for lunch you could order burger with fries, ham/cheese or tuna sandwiches etc.
11. They have an activity area by the pool that featured ping pong, soccer table, and billiard table.
12. Beach Grill was actually just a bar, no food in site.

Watersports: We used the kayaks, which were in good condition. You need to leave a deposit of 2 pesos, which is returned following the use of the equipment. They offered kayaks, pedal boats (4 seater), hobie cat (small catamarans), wind surfers. They provided a selection of life jackets from small to large but, beware the large is not very large and they do not offer life jackets appropriately sized for small children. Several people brought their own life jackets for the kids - very good idea.

Room: We booked a VIP standard room and were given room# 2203. Right away I noticed the block number, I was hoping for a room in 16 or 17 blocks. I put in a request that could have been met the second day, but after seeing our room I knew it was great. Ground floor is great and we basically walked right out to the pool and were close to the bar. There was a patio at the back of the room which was nice and private, so when the kids were napping (ya, they did it once!!!) we would take turns going to the bar and just chill in the sunshine. The room could have used a coat of paint, but it was clean, came with a coffee maker, fridge, bench, two chairs and table. Two double beds were pushed together to make a very large bed. The bathroom was big, but we could have used a dresser for all of us. The wardrobe in the bathroom area contained the safety deposit box. The maid kept our room neat and tidy and I left 2 pesos per day and samples that I had brought from home. We always put out our "clean room please" sign and by 11am our room was always done.

Departure to Airport: There was a long line-up to get your boarding passes, next time I will take a taxi before the tour buses pick up tourists at the hotel and beat the line. You have to have your boarding passes BEFORE you pay your departure taxes, they actually put a stamp on the boarding pass and then you go through customs again. The Cubans are very friendly people and you always felt safe. They especially love children. There was a VIP lane, but I'm not sure if that was offered through Sunwing or Air Canada, as both ticketing windows were open at the same time. Our departure was 11am - note that both our flight times were 3 hours and 6 minutes going there and on the way home 3 hours, 11 minutes!

CAYO COCO: BLAU COLONIAL HOTEL
March 2006
Oshawa Family (baby 2yrs)

We just returned from a week's stay at the Blau Colonial Cayo Coco with our 2 yr old and had a great week. Thought we'd post our review since we found reading other reviews really helpful in letting us know what to expect.

Won't go into major detail here but overall the hotel and grounds are very nice, the architecture is beautiful and everything is well maintained.

Some useful info for those traveling with small kids. The staff are friendly and it is great for families but the mini club is not what you might expect, basically it is just a room poolside (you can sit around the pool and actually see in which is nice) that has one or two girls loosely watching the kids, there is a t.v. and very few toys. A good place to divert them for a bit of time while you catch a few moments of relaxation by the pool but I definitely wouldn't plan on leaving a child who was very young there alone - they just can't watch the kids closely enough if there are alot of them in there. That being said though, the staff are all friendly. Especially Yoima, we actually got her to babysit for a few hours one night so we could go to an a la carte. It's $5CUC an hour, but I recommend asking the girls at kids club directly, we booked it through the hotel and that means they have to give the money to them - much better to help them out by paying them directly we thought. As far as other facilities for kids, we read they had no cribs but were able to get one and same thing for high chairs but a new shipment came in while we were there. Pool is great for kids - one or two good sized sections of the pool that are shallow. Rooms in the 14, 15 or 16 block are great for being really close to everything (all though everything is still quite close) but our child still naps so we requested a walk out and were able to put our chairs in the sun and be close enough to take turns strolling to the beach bar or jumping in the ocean or pool for a dip.

Overall notes about the resort, the food was good with plenty of selection at the buffet. The a la cartes were fine too. Just keep in mind that it is Cuba and you're not going to get everything you get at home. Staff were all very friendly and appreciative of any gifts you bring (we brought toiletry items, t-shirts, hats etc which they seem to like). Beach was really nice, plenty of cabanas and chairs here and at the pool. The live music was really great, there were a couple of ensembles that played at the restaurants etc.

If you're looking for a quiet family friendly resort in a beautiful setting and you don't have huge expectations for lots to see and do then this is a really great place.

CAYO COCO: NH KRYSTAL LAGUNA VILLAS & RESORT
March 2008
Oshawa Family (baby 19mos)

Firstly, I'll start off by saying that we got what we considered a great deal for this resort - $2375 CAD for 2 adults and a child (4)and toddler (19 months), so from that perspective we thought we got really good value for the price.

After reading a lot of reviews on this resort, the rating on this site (3.5 stars) is probably correct. We had a good experience compared to some people. We arrived late morning and did have to wait for a room as check-in isn't until four. We ended up getting a room mid-afternoon and had no problems checking in. We had emailed ahead of time requesting a terrace (noting we had small children, so we were really hoping to get one as we have naps etc.). We got a terrace and a really great location (block 20). We requested a crib and had to ask again once we were in our room but got a nice new crib. The room itself was basic but spacious enough. Lots of people have noted that this resort is so large but we didn't find this to be the case, even with carting around two kids, a stroller and all the gear.

Probably our only complaint with this resort was that they were understaffed, which likely means that the overall management of the resort isn't that great. This of course led to lots of line-ups. We're pretty relaxed people and didn't get too uptight about it but it was a little annoying to line up for the buffet, towels, booking a la cartes etc. This isn't a reflection on the staff themselves who are just trying to do the best they can but are overwhelmed (i.e. one day the grill at the Laguna pool had about 80 people in it with two waiters and one bartender!).

As everyone says, you don't go to Cuba for the food and this is true. Sometimes the selection was a little on the slim side but there was always a few nice fresh things to choose from - you just need to be creative sometimes. A note for those with kids, a lot of the restaurants only have a few older highchairs that don't have straps - so if you have an escape artist then bring a belt!

Didn't use the kids club, checked it out and the facilities are fairly basic but they do have a nice little pool and covered area for the kids to play. The rest of the pools at the resort are nice also. There isn't any shade right by the pool (the cabanas are set farther back) so when you want to be right by your kids at the pool it is hard to get out of the sun. The beach is of course as beautiful as everyone says and perfect for little kids - seemed to be lots of chairs and cabanas there. Also, there are bathrooms along the bridge over the lagoon that aren't that far.

Overall, the amenities and facilities are all there and the resort itself is quite nice and it could easily be much better with a little more attention. Hey, it is what it is and if your there for sun, sand and fun with your family like us then you'll have a great time - just bring a cerveza for the lines:)

CAYO COCO: NH KRYSTAL LAGUNA VILLAS & RESORT
September 2006
Tova & Family (baby 9mos)

We just got back from a great family vacation with our 9-month-old baby. This review might help those of you who are looking for a place to go with your little ones.

Accommodations: Our room, on the Laguna side, was fine. We stayed in building 20, which was close to the pool, buffet, and close to the other side of the resort (where the games room and nightly entertainment are located). A few ants but no other beasties. There were actually quite a few babies at the resort. We didn't bring a crib/playpen, but wish we did. Despite ordering a crib ahead of time and calling ahead of time to confirm, we went without a crib for the first night. I didn't sleep a wink! Fortunately, we had a crib by the second night, which worked out well. Another Canadian couple brought their playpen from home, which I would recommend. We flew with Air Canada, which allowed a lot of luggage weight.

Food/drinks: We don't go to Cuba for the food! I am a really picky eater and am vegetarian, but I didn't starve. The drinks were OUTSTANDING! The bartenders at the lobby bar are really good (Freddy, Felix). Cool tricks with ice & bottles flying through the air. We brought our own baby food and bottled water. I'm sure you can use the bottled water from the room for the baby, but I didn't know that when I packed for our vacation. Once you pass through security at Toronto airport, you can buy a few bottles of water for the trip. At the end of your trip, give your extra diapers, baby food and toys away. Felix the bartender at the Laguna lobby bar has a 9-month-old baby girl and a 8-year-old boy and really appreciated what we gave him for his kids. The staff at the hotel was sooooo nice to our daughter. We spent a lot of time walking early in the morning (my daughter woke up at 6 am every day). I drank many cafe con leches at the lobby bar every morning!

Beach: It was super windy the first couple of days we were there, resulting in a red flag. Those were the most fun days, as we were able to body surf and jump in the waves. By the end of the week, the ocean had calmed down and was good for snorkelling. The beach is so nice and is not crowded, like in Varadero. Our daughter enjoyed the beach more than the pool because it was warmer.

Day trips: We went horseback riding (only 10 pesos each) and snorkeling at Pilar Beach (49 pesos each). Both are worth it. The horse back riding was not that exciting- you go down an old road for 20 minutes, along the beach for 15 minutes (just beautiful) and back on the road for 20 minutes. However, the price was so cheap that it made it worth it. The snorkeling was amazing, according to my husband. He went with my 11-year-old brother, my 15-year-old sister, and my mom. They saw amazing fish, starfish, etc. and the beach was beautiful. Make sure you bring your own snorkeling equipment.

This resort was great for our family. It is so close to the airport and the flight from Toronto was quite short. Plus, the price was unbeatable! We had a great time and will be back.

CAYO COCO: OASIS PLAYA COCO
March 2007
Dana & family (baby 18mos.)

We have a 3 year old and an 18 month old. We traveled with another couple and their 3 year old. We had a wonderful vacation. Like most people, we were worried before going, but everything turned out great.

At the airport in Cuba we had three of our bags searched. The one bag was full of snack food for the kids, toddler formula, and munchies. The other bag had a baby monitor in it and they detected the transmission signal on it. Once the bags were examined we were still allowed to keep the items. The security people were very friendly.

The hotel was the last drop off for the bus. It took about 45 minutes to get there. It was kind of nice to have that time to relax and the kids loved looking out the window at the cows!

At the hotel we had to wait a couple hours for our room. We planned for this and had everything we needed in one carry on bag. Once we got our room, it wasn't right beside our friends so we requested a change. They said "come back tomorrow and we will see what we can do". We wanted to be beside them so we could socialize once the kids went to bed. We got our luggage fairly quickly and talked to the baggage guys for a while about life in Cuba. We received our crib right away. The next day we were switched to the room beside our friends. We were in building 6 on the 3rd floor, which we thought was perfect. We were close to everything.

During the week we spent the majority of the time by the main pool. It was great for the kids. It was shallow and had a raised area in the middle that they could hop onto and play on. We also spent a lot of time at the kids’ pool. The ice cream parlour was right beside it and the ice cream tasted great! We did spend some time at the beach, which was beautiful, but for some reason all the kids preferred the pool.

The only problem we had was the time of the meals. Breakfast was fine. Lunch at the buffet and the beach bar didn't open until 12:45pm. The kids were starving by then. We ended up feeding them the food from the 24 hour snack bar almost every day. It was hot dogs, tuna and ham sandwiches or hamburgers with fries. It all actually tasted good. The pizza at the beach bar was delicious. Supper was the same deal. It wasn't open until 6:45 so we fed the kids from the snack bar around 5:30pm and then they nibbled on bread or played with small toys while the adults ate or we babysat each others kids and the couples took shifts to eat. By the end of the week we had it down to a science! The food wasn't bad. I might be the only person who actually really enjoyed it. My hubby and I had pasta from the pasta bar almost every night. We brought the chef white wine and chicken from the grill to add to our pasta and had him make a blush sauce and it tasted terrific. The seafood was also very good.

You have to reserve your a la carte restaurant all on your first day. There is a long line to do this. My hubby and I tried the Japanese restaurant which we found to be very good and our friends tried the Italian, which they liked as well. We babysat for each other so we could have some alone time.

The guys loved the cappuccino in the lobby piano bar. They had it a couple of times a day.

We used the kids club every day. We always stayed with them, but it was nice to get out of the sun for awhile in the middle of the day. There is a great playground with baby swings as well. There were turtles and fish in the pond in the lobby that they liked looking at. The kids were exhausted by 7:00pm! It wasn't hard to get them to go to sleep.

We didn't get many bites. They sprayed morning and night for them. We also didn't see any cows, but we did go to bed fairly early because the children were early risers.

Some things I brought that were useful: our own Heinz Ketchup, a small bottle of maple syrup, activities to keep the kids busy at meal times, pails, beach ball, shovels and watering cans to play with at the beach and pool, wipes, stroller for my youngest to nap in by the pool.

We left a lot of stuff for the staff of the hotel. They were very appreciative. We even gave one bartender an umbrella stroller that we never used at home anyway. He was so happy. We also gave out some of the dollar store toys I brought to keep the kids entertained on the plane, extra diapers and little swimmers, lotions, medicine, shampoo, soap, etc

CAYO GUILLERMO: IBEROSTAR DAQUIRI
January 2008
Nancy & Family

Just got back from a fabulous week with our two kids (ages 2 & 4), and both sets of grandparents and had a wonderful time. My parents are still there - they opted to stay for 2wks (wish I could have too). This was my 4th time in Cuba, and my parents' 8th and we would all go back again.

The food was great, the beach was great, and the staff were out of this world. Everyone at the resort went out of their way to make us feel at home. Since most of the staff are young with families of their own, they totally understood what it was like to have young kids and made us feel relaxed even when our two year old was tearing through the restaurant or trying to climb on stage with the dancers. :)

As for beaches - to us it seemed like our IB beach was the nicer of the Melia and the Cojimar. The Melia seemed smaller and the Cojimar was nice, but the water was rockier with coral and marine life.

The kids loved the pool and we loved the beach. If you walk down towards the other hotel (Cojimar) on the beach, you'll find crabs, starfish and sand dollars (live ones). But the water at the Iberostar is much too sandy for much marine life.

Lucy who ran the kids club was great and there is a little playground made of all Little Tikes climbers and swings that little kids can play on.

If you are interested, get the guys that run the paddle boat/boat and kayak place to book you on a snorkelling tour of the reef. It was 16 pesos each for an hour and worth every cent.

Cuba has the 2nd largest coral reef in the world and it was much more vibrant and alive than many others I've seen. There is also a cool WW2 submarine propeller that you can snorkel around.

I read some not great reviews about this place, but I would definitely go back. As for the bug complaints - we barely noticed them. Each of us did get a few bites in the evening, but nothing like most Canadians are used to on summer nights. They were hardly noticeable. Didn't use our bug spray at all.

As for the food....there were several meat and fish dishes every night, pizza, a pasta bar, salad bar, fruit bar, cheese bar (fresh cheeses - how often have you had fresh blue cheese?) dessert bar for dinner (with fresh ice cream using their heavy mild - yumm) and lots of veggies and fresh bread. We even had crab a few nights and fresh calamari! Lunch was the same but we usually ate at the beach restaurant with the kids for burgers and fries.

Breakfast includes fresh juices, yogurts, cereals eggs (any way you want them), fruits, breads, pastries, sausages, pancakes....

Tip for parents: If your kids are into peanut butter and jam, bring your own - you won't find any PB and very little jam and most are flavours little ones don't like and if you're kids are addicted to Cheerios, bring your own because their version didn't pass the toddler test. PB is the only thing I wish I had taken because our two year old is a fussy lunch eater but then then after we taught the cook how to make grillled cheese for him - he was fine.

BTW, both my kids arrived with a cold that got worse and half way through the week my two-year-old had a bad cough so we took him to the doctor, who was wonderful and examined him better than I've seen in a while. We got some antibiotics for him and in a day or so he was right as rain. There is a doctor there 24hrs/a day. Tip: Bring your own kids’ meds - they don't have a lot of decongestants, tummy things for young kids like we have here - I'd bring at least some decongestant, Benadryl (for allergic reactions), Gravol and Pepto Bismol.

CAYO GUILLERMO: IBEROSTAR DAIQUIRI
January 2008
S.E. & Family

We went to the Iberostar Daiquiri (ID) Jan 11- 18/08 and had a great time.  We had read the positive and negative reviews online, and to the nay-sayers I say this: if you are looking for luxury accommodations and fine food, go elsewhere and please be sure to pay more. For the value, this place is right on track. The food is pretty good, not amazing, but who cares?? The beach, weather and grounds are nothing short of paradise and that is why you should go there. My goal is to make this review a little different, so here goes…

Beach - The tide seemed to go out for about 3 hours each day making the beach 10-15 times as wide. They groom the beach daily for seaweed. The water is super shallow, warm and crystal clear- just fabulous for children. If you take bananas from the buffet you can feed the little white fish in mid-calf water by hand- they seem to just come out of nowhere. Beyond the crystal clear water where most people swim, the ocean bottom turns into light sea grass which contains lots of starfish and live shells of all sizes. Fun snorkeling! You can borrow a non-motorized boat for an hour each day and I recommend snorkeling from it. The dive “shack” will also take you out on a catamaran for about 14 pesos per person to a WWII prop and bit of reef for an hour of snorkeling. We didn’t see a lot of reef, but maybe you would see more on an excursion, which we didn’t do. Lots of fish though especially when we handed out banana.

Facing the ocean, the Melia is to the left and looked fine too, nice beach and pier in front (still not repaired from last hurricane). Incidentally, you can arrange with ID front desk to have your hair beaded at the Melia hairdresser for about 35 CUC- no one was braiding on the beach. Way to the right were the Cojimar , etc chains which did not look nearly as nice as ID or Melia. The water had more rock (and brick and concrete pieces?), but maybe had more marine life.

Rooms- The rooms are standard and the air conditioning will leave your bedding feeling a little damp. We had lots of hot water and water pressure. Ladies, be advised that the outlet is 220 volt which means you need a special adapter if from Canada – even with the adapter I would recommend checking with an electrician friend to make sure your appliance will be compatible. I could use my curling iron, but not flat iron. The maid kept the room spotless and we had lots of towel creations daily. If you have a late flight you can arrange at the font desk to rent your room for an extra 5 pesos per hour past check out.

Gardens - The gardeners stole our hearts (especially one named “One” pronounced “O-Na”). They are the hardest workers there in my opinion. We took them leather gloves and gum, but wished we’d brought more. If you have softball hats kicking around, bring them, they will love you for it. (Staff also appreciate western t-shirts, etc.) Besides the fact that the gardeners keep the grounds impeccably manicured and lush, each morning they make the kids little palm animals on your way to and from breakfast. Every afternoon the gardeners go around with wheelbarrows and a machete offering fresh coconut. They don’t expect anything in return….which reminds me about tipping....
NONE of the staff we encountered expected a tip, but it is appreciated. We were told that all tips received from staff are pooled and shared between all staff members. 1 CUC is a really nice tip to them as we were told they make the equivalent of 10 CUC per week.

Money - The exchange rate to a CUC was about 1.17 to 1.00 Canadian $ at the airport, 1.18 at the hotel- there is also a bank on site that we were told would be same as airport- didn’t bother to visit. Do not take American$- you will pay a big penalty to convert. Vendor prices were very fair and they are not aggressive at all compared to other parts of the Caribbean. There are 5 little stores on site plus a cigar store (which had slightly better prices than airport). There are also a number of vendor carts which change everyday.

Mosquitoes - If you are Canadian you will laugh in the face of the reports calling them “bad”. They were comparable to those found on a warm late Aug evening. Take some repellant anyway as we saw people with bites, but my hubby and 4 year-old had none- I had maybe 5 bites at week’s end. The resort had been “fogging “ for them in the early morning hours, so maybe that helped.

Pilar - The only excursion we took besides the local snorkel trip out front was to Pilar Beach. 5 CUC for cab round trip per person -catch a cab easily at the front desk. Pay the driver on the way back - it is the norm. We had read that Pilar was so phenomenal, but really it’s not much nicer than ID’s beach. Quieter though. There is a small bar there, no food, oh and a man who will rent you a lounge chair for 1 CUC. A boat had come the day we were there offering to take us for 11 CUC each to Half Moon Island (within eyesight) where I am told you can snorkel the reef/ fish right from shore in a metre of water . Some people said the snorkeling was great, others were upset they had been cut by the coral as it was a little rough that day.

Food- You’ve no doubt heard all about the food and restaurants, so I won’t reiterate other than to say to take peanut butter and maple syrup…and our toddler had to have apple juice- none of which are served there. They have ketchup, mayo and a type of Dijon mustard (sometimes), but no relish. Honestly, the food is quite edible and our picky toddler was happy all week. You will be serenaded each night by fabulous singers. We bought their CD for 15 CUC and it works fine at home.

Animation Team -The animation team has some great shows from what we’ve seen before which start a little late if you’ve got little kids- 9:30 most nights- but it is preceded by salsa lessons or free dancing most nights at 8:00-8:30. It takes place in an air-conditioned theatre. The Mohito bar (main lobby) had this awesome local band in a few times and they are wonderfully animated performers- don’t miss them.

Mini-Club - One disappointing factor was the mini-club which is virtually non-existent. One day I came back each hour to trying to find someone to supervise, but kept being told “she” was practicing for the show tonight. One afternoon there was a planned activity for the kids for about ½ hour, but hey we have a great beach and 3 pools!

Other small tidbits: take insulated cups- they hold more, keep the sand out and drinks stay cold. We like the “bubbas” from Canadian Tire. Take lots of sunscreen, Immodium (my hubby had some stomach upset near the end of the week), bug spray/Afterbite, and washcloths. ID provides good beach towels. In summary, go to the ID if you want a great family vacation, just remember they do the best with what they have and you are not paying for anything above and beyond that anyway.

CAYO GUILLERMO: MELIA CAYO GUILLERMO
October 2008
Fali & Family (Baby 2yrs.)

I'll keep this short and simple. A wonderful resort, friendly people, toddler friendly resort, really good food. Good to get away and relax.

My husband myself and my 2-year-old traveled to this resort on October 10th. Weather was beautiful. It rained at night, but not for long. Bring bug spray - the mosquitoes love our Canadian blood! Especially outside the lobby area by the bank!

1. Food was beyond our expectations. Everyone said that Cuban food is blah. But the food here is really good. They have ketchup, mustard, hot sauce and HP so no need to bring your own condiments, that's just silly. We loved the buffet. The beach restaurant was also very good. And the pool bar / snack bar was very good too. We didn't try the a la carte as there wasn't enough variety for my little toddler.

2. Beach is just beautiful. Miles to walk. Water nice and shallow on low tide, which was after 11am.

3. The Pier that you see in the brochure is gone. The hurricane took it out, but you can still walk on a part of it.

4. Shops / Souvenirs. We went to the Iberostar next door. They have a little market outside the lobby and found it a bit cheaper then the souvenir store inside the main hotel. The T-Shirt shop by the gym is reasonably priced too. It's good to keep in mind that some souvenirs are a bit cheaper at the airport too. We bought our cigars from the hotel cigar shop.

5. Excursions, we didn't do any because of our little one. But people who did said they had a great time!

6. Room is clean, TV has American channels which helps if you need the occasional Dora or Diego! Bathroom clean. Maids did an awesome job cleaning everyday. There's also a mini fridge which is filled every day with water, pop and beer at no charge. You may want to tip the guy.

7. The people are so friendly. It's so sad that they don’t have much. If you're thinking of bringing things, bring T-Shirts / Hats / Hair Accessories / Pencils / Stationary for kids / Toys. They appreciate that a lot. It's so nice to see the smile on their face when the get something like that.

8. Security. We had no issues with theft. Although we did lock up our passports and laptop in our luggage. (There are no issues bringing a laptop into Cuba. We brought it along with us to keep our 2-year-old busy on the plane)

All in all we had a wonderful time. The water is perfectly safe to drink we didn't get sick. The bar gave us cartons of milk to keep in our room fridge for my little one as he still needs milk just before bedtime.

If you go say hi to Edel in the buffet at dinner time! He became such a good friend of ours!

Enjoy!

CAYO GUILLERMO: MELIA CAYO GUILLERMO
October 2008
T.B. & Family (Baby 18mos.)

The Melia was great!!!! I will try to keep this short.

Traveled as a family: 2 seniors, 3 adults and 1 infant (18 months)

Food was excellent at the buffet everything was cooked fresh it was wonderful. The ala cartes were good with the international being better then the Italian. When I go back though I would skip the ala cartes and enjoy the buffet there was so much choice especially if you like fish. All meats are grilled fresh - even the bacon in the morning. The water in the resturants and bars is safe to drink. I did not hear of anyone getting sick at all here.

Beach was incredible especially if you are traveling with small children. Low tide gives you a chance to pull your beach chairs into the water and soak up the rays.

Rooms were great, clean and well kept.

Entertainment staff and shows were super!!! Well rehearsed and vibrant and entertaining.

If you are looking for a relaxing vacation this is the place to go. There are so many spots placed through out the resort that one could relax and enjoy a drink or the scenery.

I will be going back for sure!!!!