Client Comments on the new Barcelo Cayo Santa Maria:
The Resort:
As it is still new, there are a lot of growing pains still and of course this was to be expected. The hotel itself is quite beautiful, and the rooms are quite spacious and don't have that musty room smell like you find on most island vacation get always. We did not get a king bed as requested, but we just ended up putting out beds together and it worked out fine. As I read prior to our trip in the reviews, they do have some serious problems with the showers...there is plenty of hot water and the pressure it quite nice, however the design of the tub is just bizarre and as soon as you turn on the tap, it leaks all around the sides and pours all over the floor and often went out into the hallway and into our closets! You could see in our bathroom where the tub above us must have had the same problem as the walls were all patched and looked pretty rough. Other then that, the room was pretty nice. The one thing that we found a bit difficult is that there was not a whole lot of direction upon arriving, and there are not a lot of signs indicating various restaurants and the entrance to the beach. It was quite confusing and wasn't until the fourth day that we finally figured out how to get to and from our room to the buffet without getting lost. I'm sure that more signs will be put over time, and so that did not affect our feelings on the hotel itself. It was a great place and will be BEAUTIFUL and HUGE when it has all been completed.
The Pool:
The pool looked beautiful, and was always very clean. They were out everymorning cleaning the pool, and there was not any garbage or anything around the pool area. The one thing that could be improved on is that there are no spots with shade to recover from the sun, therefore we did not spend much time at all at the pool for this reason...where as at the beach there were tons of the cabana umbrella's for you to sit and relax out of the sun. The pool could use a few of those, as there was about 5 chairs in the shade and they were always taken. The good thing was that you never had to fight for a chair as there were always more then enough to go around. I think most people spent their time at the beach, and why not with a beach that beautiful!
The Beach:
Stunning! It was really beautiful. Due to the location, it can be quite windy on days, and during those times it makes it difficult to enjoy, but for the most part, the breeze was always welcomed and we would have probably melted without it. The water was crystal clear and always beautiful for as far out as you could see. We didn't see any sea creatures until after one of the really windy days and a whole bunch of jellyfish washed up on shore...other then that, we didn't see too much. The one complaint I would have about the beach is that there is really only one main entrance to the beach from the hotel and if you didn't wake up at the crack of dawn to put a towel on a chair, you would end up sitting 15 - 20 minute walk down the beach. This made it difficult for several reasons: getting a drink or water, bathroom, and eating. We would end up spending all day everyday at the beach because it would take us so long to get all the way down there that we didn't want to do the walk all over again.
The Food:
A lot to be desired! I'm not really a meat eater, and tend to be on the picky side, so I found it extremely difficult for the whole week. I feel as though I hardly ate the whole time. Typically I'm a huge fruiter eater, however they didn't have any fruit that was ripe and most of their food was tasteless and cold. I went to Cuba expecting this however, so it didn't put me off too much to be honest.
The Entertainment:
The Entertainment staff was absolutely amazing! The dances and shows at night were incredible! They always put on some sort of crazy show and it was always very interesting to see. They also had some things going on during the day by the pool side, but that part was lacking a bit. Otherwise, the entertainment staff was fantastic!!!
The Servers/Maids:
The Maids were great...we didn't have any complaints at all there. Most of the wait staff were quite friendly as well....they were always on top of things and always serving...of course you can come across the more lazy one's, who will completely ignore you if you don't tip enough to their liking...but that is to be expected and you can find that pretty much anywhere. The one thing I would say is to bring tons of tip money because that is all that you do day and night!!!
All in all we had an amazing trip and we both really needed the rest and relaxation. I'm happy that we went and it was a great time.
