I have recently come back from a week in Cuba staying at the Sol Cayo Guillermo. The hotel was chosen not because of any reviews but, simply because it was one of the hotels on the Cayo’s and we knew we wanted this area rather than say, Varadero and then it was the cheapest hotel on the Cayo’s for the date we needed to travel.
The hotel:
The hotel is a 4* hotel and is a fairly big resort hotel based in Cayo Guillermo. Most of the hotels in the Cayo’s are, simply because there is nothing within walking distance outside of them so they have to have a fair amount of amenities on site and all are all inclusive too. The hotel is part of the Sol and Melia group of hotels. The Cayo’s are part of a chain of small islands just off of the mainland of Cuba and so are quite a way out from where people actually live.Arriving and check in:
When we arrived at the hotel after a 40 minute transfer from Cayo Coco (Jardines Del Rey airport), we were greeted by the staff who were playing music and offering out a ice cold cocktail. Even though it was raining it was very hot at well over 30 degrees so the cold drink was very welcoming! We had been advised on the coach by the rep that our luggage would be taken off for us and if we wanted it taken to our room by the bell boy we just had to stick the label on it once we had checked in.
As we walked into reception we were handed a form to fill in at the same time as our drinks. Once we had filled this in with the usual details of names, passport details etc we were checked in and given our key card to our room (just the one) and advised where our room was located by the reception staff. We declined our luggage being taken to our room as we didn’t have any money to tip the man anyway and wanted to just get to our room and freshen up. Overall check in took only about 5 minutes which was not bad considering a fair few of us had turned up at the same time.Rooms:
The rooms are in blocks. Each block has between 4 -8 rooms in it depending on whether it is a single or double storey block. Our block was a two storey one so had 4 rooms on the ground and 4 on the upper floor. Due to the size of the grounds our room was a fair walk from reception and this is probably what I would say was the major downside as when going to and from the room it was so hot it just seemed to take forever to get there and back!
Upon entering the room the first thing we noticed was how cool the air conditioning was - it was divine! The bathroom was located to the left hand side if us and a wardrobe to the right hand side which also contained the safe. The safe was operated by our key card. The bathroom was a fairly good size with a toilet and bidet to one side of the room and the sink directly facing the door. A shower cubicle was located to the opposite side of the room which was tucked behind a wall and glass partition. There was wooden towel rail on the wall in the corner of the shower area.
The bedroom area was a pretty decent size with two double beds, a dresser with chair, a chest of drawers with a TV on top and a small fridge inside the cupboard, a small table with a huge comfy chair next to it and a bedside table next to each bed.
Located on the terrace were two more chairs. The whole room was tiled and overall I felt the room was much better than expected. Also as part of the all inclusive a big bottle of water was left in the room every day in the fridge so this was nice to be able to get a drink after our long walk from reception!
The hotel do have rooms that are classed as sea view and are all located along the front of the resort. Although looking at these rooms on the way to the beach it would be best to request the top floor to see the full benefit of this sea view if you decide to book this room type!
Food and drink:
As our board basis was all inclusive this of course meant we had everything pre included food and drink wise. The all inclusive entitled us to unlimited amount of food in the buffet restaurants and if we chose to it enabled us to one meal at each of the al a carte restaurants per week too. Drinks were all locally produced alcoholic, along with tea, coffee and soft drinks. Some international brands were available at a charge too.
We actually decided not to eat in any of the al a carte restaurants whilst we were here for a variety of reasons including the fact hat one was Italian and this is a food type my mother is not keen on and also because the resort was very quiet at this time and as these had a much more intimate feel to them it seemed a wasted meal between myself and my mother! Had I been staying here with my husband I would have probably taken advantage of them though as the rooms these were in looked lovely.
So whilst we were here all our meals were eaten in the main buffet one which is named ‘El Eden’. This is located just off from the pool area and serves breakfast between 7.30 - 10am, Lunch between 1-3pm and then the evening meal between 7- 10pm. What I really liked was that there was so much selection available at every meal that you could not fail to find something to eat. There was a selection of cold items dotted around the displays that you could help yourself to and around the edges of the room were stands were the chefs could cook you a hot food item such as bacon or eggs in the morning or of an evening steak or chicken etc. There was so much choice that sometimes it was hard to choose what to have!
During the day whenever there was no main meals on in the restaurants, the hotel had a chef making hot and cold sandwiches near to the bar area. These were a welcome snack if you had missed breakfast or lunch and just wanted to something small to tide you over to meal times.
The main bar is located on the opposite side of the pool to the main restaurant. This was also attached to the main stage where the evening entertainment took place and next to this was a small area with a TV and a few shelves with books. During the day when the sun was at it’s hottest this was a good place to come and get in the shade whilst enjoying a cold drink! Another, smaller bar, is located just off from the beach which was ideal if you didn’t want to walk all the way back up to the main bar when you were on the beach instead of around the pool.
Lastly there is a disco bar which opens from 11pm once the entertainment has finished. This is located across a small bridge and behind the tennis courts. I think this location is so that the noise does not disturb guests. This stays open until 2am and has music playing along with a couple of game tables.
The pool and beach:
The pool is a fairly large one which you would expect with the size of the complex. The pool is right in the centre of everything with the buffet restaurant on one side, reception behind it and the main bar on the other side.
The pool is split into three sections with two big areas for swimming and then a smaller shallow section for children. The pool has two bridges crossing it with make it look attractive as well as meaning if you are on the complete opposite side from the bar you wouldn’t need to walk all the way around to go and get a drink! The pool is cleaned every day by the pool man and I thought overall was a very nice pool indeed. There is enough space that even when the pool area is busy you can still swim around or float around on a lilo!
Now the beach I am totally in love with! I have been to a few different islands in the Caribbean but, the beach here in front of this hotel is the best I have been to by far. The sand is so soft and white and the sea is crystal clear and so warm. Also the sea does not get very deep at all until you are very far out so it is an ideal beach if you have little ones with you. Of course the temperature of the water will depend on what time of year you are visiting the island but, June when I travelled is the beginning of the hurricane season and even then it was so warm - in fact later on in the day it reaches a point where it is staggeringly hot! However generally through out the whole year the sea is always between an average of 25-28 degrees. What I must mention that I feel makes this beach particularly nice is that there is not a lot of seaweed at all. Further down in front of a couple of the other hotels the sea weed was fairly close to the shore line where as at this hotel there was none at all apart from when you eventually got out into deep water. There was literally a few strands that washed up every day but, other than that is was absolutely gorgeous and the exact kind of beach you imagine when you think of the Caribbean. In fact it was almost too good to be true and if I hadn’t had seen it for myself I would have assumed any pictures had been photo shopped! So when you look at the pictures I have added believe me these are exactly how beautiful it is!
I must mention though the hammocks just behind the beach too which are just under some of the palm trees. I spent one morning just swinging in one of these with my book and it was so peaceful and I could hear the sea but, there was nobody around and it was pure bliss!
Entertainment:
Every evening the staff put on a kind of show or there is an act who come in to perform. These were the usual kind of thing for an all inclusive property such as a magic show or a dance show and one evening they performed a Disney medley which was brilliant for the children at the hotel of course but, it was so well done it was very enjoyable with different costumes, backdrops and lots of thought going into it!
Another evening they had a barbeque for the evening meal instead of the usual buffet and all the tables were put around the pool where they then had singers and dancers on and later on after everybody had eaten they invited people to go into the pool! It was a great night and lots of fun!
During the day they also do activities such as archery, pool aerobics, darts etc. There is such a wide range that there is always something to do and if you are quite an active person these sorts of things are great fun to join in with or to just make the most of the all inclusive as these are all included as are the water sports on the beach such as the kayaks, sailing and pedalos.
Staff:
The staff were very helpful and always very willing to stop and chat. We got to know many of them and it seemed they also had many guests here who came back year after year and the staff really got to know them and would be very happy to see them. Tipping is not compulsory as after all it is all inclusive but, we noticed many people did tip staff on a regular basis such as they chefs doing the cooked food or a waiter or waitress in the morning who brought them endless cups of coffee so we tipped quite generously towards the end of the holiday as even just a peso or two is not much to us but, quite a fair bit to them!
The maids were excellent we found and we would come back to a clean room most days just after breakfast so no complaints there. The one thing we did complain about was that a socket was loose on the wall and the rep made a note of this and before we even got back to our room it had been fixed so overall a very good service indeed.
Price:
I am not sure of exact rates if you booked this hotel separately from your flights but, I feel myself and my mother got an excellent deal as we paid just £600 each for a week including our flights, hotel, transfers and meals on board the flight. Considering it would have cost us pretty much the same for a short haul holiday this was excellent value in my opinion. If we had been able to a two week trip would only have been about £150-180 more per person so not bad at all for the Caribbean! Of course during non hurricane season you can expect to pay slightly more but, as we only had one day where we got any rain and this was the day we arrived then I would definitely pay the lower prices and go at this time again!
Overall opinion:
I think this hotel exceeded my expectations - I say this because with Cuba many of the hotels are sometimes restricted on what they can import and yet we never felt like we lost out because of this. The facilities are very good and I had not expected them to have as much going on as they did. Of course it does come in handy then having so much to do because the location of the hotel means it is very cut off from the mainland of Cuba unless you either hire a car or go out on trips and so during the day you will spend the majority of your time either around the pool or on the beach.
I thought the staff were excellent and the rep was also very good. He has apparently worked there for many years and it shows as he can easily answer anything you throw at him and will do his utmost to help any guest. I would highly recommend this hotel for a Caribbean holiday as prices are good and the beach is amazing!
A hidden Gem! 
