Hello Gussiebaby,
My partner and i have just returned back from Cuba on the 15th July 2009.We spent 2 weeks in the Sol Rio De Luna Y Mares Hotel all inclusive. Our opinion of the hotel is a mixture of positive and negative, On arriving in Holguin after a 9 hour flight you will walk on the tarmac of cuba along to the arrivals in the airport, On the plane you are to fill out a form to see if you have swine flu??? Once you have your luggage you will have to give in this form to the white coat doctors standing by the exit door. ( you may even get stopped and questioned over the form). Once outside your tour rep will be standing there directing you to a coach that will be waiting to pick you and the rest of the holiday makers up that are going to the same resort. Once everyone is on the coach which is airconditioned (lovely) you will make your way to Sol Rio De Luna Y Mares. The journet takes around an hour,weather permitting(there was a huge strom on the way to the hotel when we arrived)and the journey will open your eyes to how poor some of the Cubans really are. However it is a nice drive and on the way to the hotel the tour guide(ours was Uri) will introduce themselves and tell you some interesting facts about Cuba. On arriving to the hotel there is a bell boy who collects all of the luggage and takes it to reception.
Once at reception and your have checked in you will be obiosly given your room number,you will either be staying on the Luna Side or the Mares side. (we stayed on the Mares side). The Mares side is very busy and noisy through the afternoon and night time due to entertainment. If you truely want a quiet relaxing time i would ask to go on the Luna Side, which is walking distance away from the Mares.
Once in our room 3028 on the Mares side, we realised that our air conditioning had broken which was all we needed . We phoned reception and within an hour there was a technition in out room pulling down the ceiling, after about 40 minutes he decided it was broken. I phoned reception who could not move us rooms until the morning. True to there word we were moved rooms in the afternoon to room 3048. The rooms are very basic and i feel could do with some tlc. But the view from the balcony made it all immaterial.On the first day your tour rep will meet you in the theatre and will go through any questions you may have and tell you about the resort and available tours.( i highly recommend the dine with the dolphines) It costs 100 CUC which is about £80pp but it is worth every penny. After all of this you will be left to your own devices for the remainder of your holiday. I will post some quick tips as i am begining to go on and the screen is going funny LOL.
Kirsty

Your entitled to two a la cartes a week you have a choice of;
The French- Highly recommended and rose for the ladies and a glass of Champagne on arrival.
The Romantic- On the beach, set menu and was ruined by the millions of mosquitos that feed on you while you are eating.
The Italian-Nice food about 3 choices for starter, main, and dessert. Again make sure you wear mosquito spray.
The Cuban-Set on the beach at the other end to the romantic, was a bit dissapointed with the food at this resturant.But that is my opinion.
The International- I didn't visit this resturant.
These resturants are booked between 0900-1200 monday mornings.
There is a buffet resturant called the 'COLON' Other than the name the food is good and varied, i would recommend trying the fried bananas in rum and honey for dessert.
There were a few negative things for me. Bed sheets were not changed and it was only when we tipped they were changed.
Tipping becomes a bit of a gripe after a while and begins to anger you especially on excurcions. The tour guide tell you that Cubans are grateful for one pesos tip and you dont have to tip( but everyone does) however in my opinion you do not recieve a good serice unless you tip and Cubans expect tips. Numerous times i stood at the bar and was ignored for 10 minutes whilst the staff served all the tipping customers first even if they come to the bar after me.
Make sure you have 25 CUC each Airport tax other wise you wont be leaving Cuba.
The hotel itself is nice however i will not be returning to this hotel again (this is only due to my experiences) Which is a shame because it is a beautiful place

If anyone can update our reviews please do so HERE

Got back on the 14th July.

A really good value for money place.
The best tip I can give you is if you have a problem, go and see customer relations immediately. Speak to them courteously and explain your situation. They will do anything they can to help you. Problems and issues occur everywhere. The difference in hotels is how they respond. SRLM management are very conscientious. They will do their best for you but if you adopt a confrontational approach then they may not be as "on your side" as otherwise.

Glad you had a good time Wibbledog, we are so looking forward to our holiday to Cuba, although it's not until next April !
While you were there ,were you troubled much by the dreaded mozzies? Not a lover of them, but I'm determined they won't spoil our holiday.
Another thing, is the beach very windy or just windy? and is it all the time or spasmodic (that's good word!!)

I could ask a million questions ( but I won't) It's just that I can't stop thinking about it at the moment I'm sooooo excited

thanks anyway

gussiebaby

Hi Gussiebaby.

There are Mozzies. They are everywhere in the tropics but SRLM is no worse than anywhere else. Wear repellant and you should be ok. I would say particularly in the evening is the time for them. If you get a nasty bite. There is an excellent doctor on site.
The wind is spasmodic (you are right, great word!) on the beach. A couple of days it was very windy but to be honest it was quite refreshing.
Who are you going with? The Thomson/First Choice rep was the best rep I have ever dealt with. The Thomas Cook one that our friends had was not as good.
Feel free to ask any questions you like.

Thanks for your reply Wibbledog. Here are a few questions, I'm sure there will be more but here's a few to start !

Is there are Barber or a hairdresser on site that does men, as hubby likes to keep it short, (his hair ) and usually goes half way through the hol's, and what is the dress code for men, in both the buffet diner and a la carte?

By the way we are going with Thomas Cook, but don't usually bother the Reps much, we seldon go to the welcome meeting, but I think we might go to this one, as we know absolutely nothing about Cuba, it's just that sometimes they go on and on and on trying to sell trips and things that we are not really interested in.

Just another thing, how did you cope with the money (currency) can we get any here to go, it sounds strange dosh to me, and tipping seems to be a bit hit and miss, sooo confused
Thanks
gussiebaby

we went to the luna mares 25/5 and had a great time.1st time to cuba tho my sister has been 8 times and she thought it was one of the best hotels - she has been to cayo cocos and varadero,and stayed at playa pesquero in guardavalarca. we asked to stay on the luna side as it was quieter and we were near the smaller pool,which was lovely,and the gallileo bar which turned into the italian a la carte at night, and then into a 24 hour snack and drinks bar.we often stopped here for a last drink (or 2!) before bed. we tried the italian,international,romantica and french a la cartes and they were all excellant.you can drink champagne all night in the french one,my husband did, if you want. we also had 2 gala dinners which were lovely.my husband preferred the a la cartes to the buffet,the one on the luna side was closed while we were there. our room was a bit tired,especially the bathroom,but it was spotless,and if you wanted your sheets changed every day then you just put a card on the bed. incidently does anyone change their bedsheets everyday at home? my husband was most impressed with the range of drinks that were available,24 hours if you wanted.the beach was beautiful and i think without exception the staff were lovely.we did tip often but we did get good service.i think that sometimes people think that being a/i means they dont need to tip.honestly if i were working the long shifts these people are,on very low wages,i would like to be tipped too! we went on the dining with dolphins and there were only the 4 of us,so we had the guide,zulema to our selves.she had our cameras and took loads of brilliant photos for us while we were with the dolphins.we tipped her 5 pesos per couple and she was so pleased.(thats about £3.50) we are widely travelled and would prefer to go most places bb but thats not possilble in cuba. my husband is not a fan of a/i but would return here. hope this helps.

Hey, there is a hairdressers in the luna side, i know a man that had his hair cut there and was pleased with it. I dont know how much he paid but i think it would be roughly the same as here possibly cheaper.
Money-You are unable to get pesos here in the uk or at the airport. However when you get there, there is a little cash exchange in the Mares side which is open everyday from 9am-5pm other than closed for lunch, there are two types of currencies in Cuba the tourist Pesos and the Cuban Pesos, you will be given the Tourist pesos which when i as was there worked out to about 1.44 pesos- the pound. I found that i spent my money on the stalls that they have in the Mares side which sell anything from Cuban masks,keyrings,fridge magnets hand crafted sculptures and pots and vases. Anything really.
The dress code in the Al a Carte's vary other than the french men can wear long shorts and but no vests are meant to be worn in the evening. The french resturant trousers are required. You can wear trainers but i think shoes are nicer in this resturant.
The rep is at the hotel selected times and most days other than sundays but it will be on the information board, he will make sure you are ok through your holiday and doesn't bother you and is always happy to help. It's definatley worth going to the welcome meeting it was very useful.
Kirsty