Sol Palmeras All Inclusive & Bungalows

Dominik Michalec, GB, 2010-10-29
All food, drinks, staff great. True meaning of '' all inclusive''. A la carte restaurants very good (can book it for free every night of Your stay), steak house is amazing! All enetartainment team take care of You since day one, and they doing it not for tip just to make Your holiday better. have no idea what to do? where to start? ask for Patricio he will help to fill Your time with fun and chat (very good english). And best mohito on Cuba, better than in La Bodeguita is served by Nivaldo, must to try. It was best holiday ever thanks to staff and food/drinks choice and quality.

SONIA PILAR RUBIANO ORTIZ, CO, 2010-07-31
Thank you for your excellent service and warm ... Congratulations for that during our honeymoon we had sensational. Thanks to our waitress Martha, the area of customer service and public relations with their details and activities of its comprehensiveness on the beach not only left us good memories, but many friends of other nationalities. We hope to return soon!

Heather Warner, CA, 2010-06-15
The greatest holiday ever. There was 16 of us that stayed here for 5 nights. The food was great in the buffet, excellent Chinese Food and Steak House. The hotel workers were great. Each one of them would do anything for you and very friendly. The buffet ladies always meet you with a hug, lots of laughter and kindness. Pool and beach wer kept very clean. Would go back anytime and plan to.

Ana Prado, AR, 2009-06-11
I love the attention of the people of the hotel, so I've been twice and I'm trying to get back this year

Anónimo, CA, 2007-06-20  
Well, what can I say,?

If you've enver been to Cuba and wondered what it's like, let me tell you. It's unbelievable. I'll spare you the stories of swimming with dolphins 10 minutes away from the hotel, and going to havana after being picked up from the front door, as you've read this because you want to know what the hotel you're thinking of staying at is going to be like, not what a fantastic time I had taking in this amazing country.

Sol Palmeras is without doubt the best hotel I've ever visited. I've run one in the past as well, so you might say I know what to look for.

The language barrier is firstly, not a problem. ALL the staff understand you and although some of them aren't fluent in english, they will be happy to talk to you, and get you what you want. From a drink to a game of volleyball (all inclusive of course.)

The room itself although not bursting with character (you'd be mad to spend more time in there than you need to anyway) was very comfortable, sky TV (with a number of english channels, CNN, HBO and ESPN) are available as well as complimentary Shower gel and shampoo and such on arrival. (These are not topped up during your stay so make sure you take some with you!) Your maid will also replace your towels every day and sometimes arrange them into pretty sculptures (see enclosed pic) I left tipping my maid until the day I left but one convertible peso is equivalent to about 60p, which is very well received so I leave that decision up to you.

The pools, (2) are amazingly well kept; every morning at about 8 the guys are out there fishing the leaves and such out of the pool, and there's ALWAYs something going on around them to keep you entertained. From, yoga, dance classes and tai-chi or pool volleyball and basketball if you're feeeling a bit more lively. If you just wanna chill by the pool, there's always "El Mojito" the pool bar set in the middle of the left pool, where you can indeed sip your mojito or beer while those around you chat about how hot the weather is. I went at the end of April and EVERY day was a scorcher. The rainy season is supposed to be in May, but from talking to the staff they say it hardly ever rains and when it does it's never for very long.

From there we have the beach, and not a dissapointment of one at that. Another bar (and there's one on the way to the beach too) to serve you drinks WHEN you get hot and lots and lots of loungers and shades for you to make use ofl (It's a good idea to nip down there before breakfast and pop your towel on a sun lounger there, in true german V. Brit style as they do go quite early.)
There's plenty more to do on the beach, and the hotel has 24 hour security patrols on the beach so you always feel safe to leave you stuff on the lounger while you go for a dip in the beautiful blue calm sea (it's warm too!)

There's shops, stalls, a massage and beauty p[arlour, internet access (at a very small charge( pay as you go)) and a free land train to the nearby shopping plaza every 20 minutes. In short if you're feeling lazy, and don't want to go out of the hotel. You never need to. But really, if you've booked with a travel agent let them sort out organising your excursions for you,and GO! You must experience this wonderful country. In saying that, even the days when you're not off to Havana, or on a Jeep Safari, the days you spend recouperating are also to look forward to: "Oh good! We've got nothing to do today! Let's hit the beach/bar/pool shops/restaurants"

As for the restaurants, Not really much to gripe about. Just one thing: Unless you like having raw (yes really, RAW!) meat brought to your table, avoid the fondu restaurnat, it's not very good anyway, just an outdoor bar turned into a questionable fondu place when the sun goes down. The Chinese, Steakhouse, carribean, and italian restaurants though are all of good quality with very good service. And in some cases, live music (in varying degrees of subtleties- visit the steakhouse- you'll see!!)

Breakfast although a bit busy is served in "La Panchita" the Buffet restaurant where if you haven't booked one of the a la carte places is where you can also get a heart meal at lunch and evenings. There's always something there that you'll like and there's always plenty of staff around to help you. The place is massive and on average there are opver 200 different items on offer at both breakfast and meal times to satisfy even the most demanding of pallettes. It's always attractively presented, and I'm told if you've eaten at a holiday buffet before, is nothing like what you've experienced in the past. It's a good solution if you're hungry, but if you want a special evening you'll have to book the restaurants. This has to be done 3 days in advance, so my advice: book your first one as soon as you get there. The booking office is generally open until 9pm although they do tend to disappear from time to time so if you see someone in the office, pounce!

I've gone on far too long as it is, but I've read some of the bad reviews for this place and just don't understand it. Everyone I spoke to who was staying there loved it. I can only assume that those who found the staff unhelpful or unpleasant, were themselves, unhelpful, and unpleasant,. If you go to this place, smiling, and pleasant, this place (including its 100's of staff) will love you as much as you'll grow to love it. Cuban's are traditionally fun loving, and hospitable. Be nice to them, and they will bend over backwards for you. Go there with a face like a slapped a*se, and I wouldn't be surprised if your perception of the place was differnt to mine. (Besides you're on holiday, why wouldn't you be happy to be there???)

Oh, and make sure you go to their free beach party on Friday night 9.30! It's great fun!

feel free to contact me if you' d like to know any more, Gareth