Myself my husband and 17yr old son stayed at Brisas Guardalavaca last month and have spent every day since wishing we were back. The hotel is superb regardless of what the other reviews may say. I have never met such warm and friendly people and we have been all over the Caribbean these are definitely the best.
The hotel is spotlessly clean. We stayed in the villas which are larger than the hotel rooms and a little newer.

Now for the food, 24hr food ranging from hog roast to pasta and pizza. In the buffet there were several food stations cooking fresh foods while you waited. The hog roast they do is truly scrumptious it melts in your mouth. The staff at the pizza bar are absolutely fantastic very very friendly and will cook you anything you like. We were addicted to the tuna and cheese toasted sandwiches they were great.
The bar service is also great there is a waiter on skates that will get you any drink you like and deliver it to your sunbed awesome.

There was a variety of entertainment ranging from water ballet to live musicians. The guitarist called Fofi is an absolute pleasure to listen to. He mesmerises you with his raw talent and you never want him to stop playing. My son never missed a show of his as he is in the hotel twice a week.

The beach is magnificent pure white sands and turquoise waters. There is always a gentle breeze so it never feels too hot. I am returning next July with a larger group of my family as we loved it so so much.
Go and see for yourself have a great time as the place is superb.

when we arrived to this hotel from the outside it was beautiful.we got our rooms and settled in it. was late so we couldnt go around outside to see anything. so we unpacked our stuff and went for dinner.to cut a long story short we didnt like the the way the hotel had aloud older men bringing in ther call girls, the food was so bad my party stayed on crackers and cheese althrough our holiday and to top it off it was surpossed to be a family hotel where there are kids,but we still had naked woman going around the complex with nothing on and on the beach they were topless, i was so surprised to see this as it was not said to us when we got there and for myself with chrildren and other familys there couldnt understand why the hotel let this happen. I would never go to this hotel again as it was infested with ants and the overall view of this complex was not welcoming at all. The staff was very unfriendly and very rude,the staff that served the food at the pizza bar were so rude it was a shame and they were serving other people first before us as we was in the line before they was,i felt that this holiday was not a good holiday for myself and my party as for other familys that we meet over there said the same as we did.

Overall the Brisas was a decent hotel ,friendly staff, clean rooms,and right on the beach.The food was ok but nothing to shout about. Bar snacks again were ok, with a good selection throughout the day.The A La Carte restaurants were definetely worth trying. All in all a nice hotel,and a good holiday.

We stayed all-inclusive, the hotel was immaculate.

Food was ok, always managed to find something & the location wow!

The staff are soooo friendly & welcoming.

Entertainment was a laugh but not for the reasons it should be...although the ballet company that came 1 night were superb!

We actually stayed here for our honeymoon and have to say the location is fabulous. We had a hotel room overlooking the sea which was lovely. The evening entertainment left a lot to be desired but it depends what you like really. Very relaxing holiday. In my opinion the food was awful - make sure you take the immodiom with you! All in all had a fab honeymoon and made some good friends. If I was to go again I would not stay at this hotel.

We stayed on the villa side of the resort, even though we had originally booked the hotel we were moved due to the hotel side being closed for renovations.

The Brisas is in a wonderful location right on the beach.

The rooms were cleaned every day, with the maid making different creations with the towels i.e swans & butterflies etc.

The food was very good as they cater for as many nationalities as possible.

The staff were very friendly nothing was to much trouble I had a slight tummy upset one day and the waitress got me a couple of bottles of tonic water which had me feeling fine in no time.

Entertainment was a bit hit and miss some nights you had games and other nights just Cuban music which some of the tunes tended to sound the same. Having said that I would definitely visit this resort again.

We stayed in the Brisas Guardalavaca, Holguin, Cuba, primarily for a family wedding which was beautiful, top marks to the hotel for the preparation. It was a very memorable day. We were due to stay in the hotel but got a free upgrade to a villa because the main hotel was being renovated.

The resort was very clean, the staff were meticulous.

The food was the only downfall, not to our liking, not what we were expecting being in the Caribbean To be honest, a bit bland. We were all looking for some hot spicy food, but I now know that Cubans do not eat the same kind of food as the rest of the Caribbean. We were looking forward to it being hot and spicy. There were no signs of ingredients we were expecting, Cassava, Yams, Allspice, Scotch Bonnets etc.

The daily cleaning staff were very good, my partner and I would try to guess which animal we would find on our bed made from the towels some looked a bit suspect! Some of the cleaners had very good singing voices too.

Location, Perfect, Idyllic, dreamy what more can I say? On the whole the staff were great and very friendly. There were a couple of incidences from a few of them not being professional but we sorted that out.

During the evening meals we would be entertained by the musicians and then they would have nightly themed entertainment which I was told was very good.

Would we come back? Yes

I spent New Year 2006 at Brisas Guardalavaca with my wife and teenage daughters. A wonderful time was had by all. If you are not spoiled, the food is excellent. If you are spoiled, don't leave home. We loved the unlimited fresh tropical fruit and the Cuban national dishes. The attempts to cater to European or North American cuisine are heroic, but pathetic, and are better avoided.
The villas area is fantastic, and the closer you are to the beach, the better.
The pools are excellent, and even if one pool is closed for renovations, no problem. Most people prefer the beach, which is perfect for sun-bathing, and beach sports, and has pristine clean water, excellent for swimming, canoeing, sailing, pedal-boating, etc.
The "animacion" team is excellent, and the sooner you plug into their daily activities, the more fun you will have. The evening entertainment runs from corny to barrels of fun to world-class. But the "animacion" team are knowledgeable, friendly, energetic, and available all day every day, and clearly demonstrate that your enjoyment is their greatest source of satisfaction. I salute them all. My daughters are still referring to them by name, and our entire family would return to Brisas Guardalavaca and will return there as soon as possible, for a hassle-free fun family mid-winter vacation.
When we were there, we saw many couples, newlyweds, and older couples, and families with kids, and everyone seemed happy, and we made some new acquaintances.
I would recommend that you speak with the tour organizer in advance to get commitments from them about their efforts to avoid a nightmare at the Holgun airport. Their usual excuses about "government bureaucracy" and "the Communist system" just aren't acceptable. The tour organizers have enough clout to demand and ensure a reasonable airport experience for their customers, and they should use that clout. For some people, the airport hassles will be a deal-breaker, despite the excellent experience at Brisas Guardalavaca.

My boyfriend & myself went to Brisas for my sister Michelle's wedding. There was 27 of us in total. We had a fantastic time. This was my first holiday abroad & first time on a plane! We flew with Monarch Airlines & the flight was good & the food was ok despite what people say about it.

When we arrived at Holguin it was absolutely boiling around 30degrees. And the drive to the hotel is quite a sad one as these people have nothing & they live completely basic so you thank your lucky stars for what you have.

We had a wee band playing when we arrived at the hotel & everyone spoke good english but it's always good to know a few words in spanish.

Checking in went fine & the room was lovely & clean. The shower was a pain in the neck as it go's hot then cold but never just nice!

The room maids were amazing! The towel sculptures were gorgeous & the maids were so helpful & couldn't do enough for you. I left her some clothes & tolietries I no longer needed.

Now for the food. I'm not going to moan like other people have because Cubans starve to feed the hotels so we should be grateful! The food was fine & I found something I liked everytime. My stomach didn't agree to much with the food but I just cut out the things I thought it might be & it didn't ruin my holiday. The grill bar is the best place to eat. The buffet at the hotel is good but the restaurants are brilliant! Seafood was amazing (El Patio) & the italian was great.

We had the wedding meal in the italian & they let us do our speeches & cake cutting even tho there was other guests there. There's more variation at the hotel buffet than the villa buffet. I liked breakfast the best. I had toasted fresh bread every morning which was yummy!

The hotel's location was good as it was right next to the beach & there was a small market a short walk away.

The staff at the Brisas are fantastic! Lovely people who always stop for a chat & work there bottoms off! We had some good nights with the entertainment as well but it was cancelled a lot due to rain. It mostly rained at night though.

We went on trips to the dolphins which was wonderful. Such timid creatures! We also went on speedboats which Stephen enjoyed imensely while I was getting chucked about next to him as the ocean was quite choppy! Salsa nights were my favourite! Monday nights they hold salsa nights on a nearby beach with an open bar & we had the best time ever!

The boys also went deep sea fishing which was not good apparently (proberly because they were all throwing up over the side of the boat lol).

The beach was stunning & there was plenty of sun loungers for everyone! The pedalows were great apart from when I decided to take a wee dip off the side of it & couldn't get back on & Stephen couldn't help me for laughing.

We didn't go to Havana as it was cancelled due to Hurricane Wendy(?) but the plane home was not affected.

The airport on the way home was a nightmare as we had to sit for 2hrs with no air conditioning & people smoking so as you can imagine it was disgusting. All in all it was a good holiday & I'll go back one day but first I'm going go somewhere simple like Lanzarote!

If your going to Brisas soon enjoy yourself!

Well what can I say - an absolutely amazing holiday all round. - apart fromt the flight. I work for airlines and I can honestly say, Excel is the worst I have every come across, the plane was awful, cramped, smelly, old, - the crew were awful, rude, unknowledgable, uninformative and seemed to be undertrained, the food was awful, small, cold, un edable!! - anyway that was just the flight!

The hotel, was brilliant. - please remember Cuba is a very poor country, firstly expect you are getting the same standard or accomodation as Greece or somewhere like that. The hotel is rated 3 - 4 * and this is fine, the rooms are spacious, with all you need, you can fill bottles of water up daily for your fridge and you are given a flask to be filled with coffee , juice, vodka or beer!! - the rooms are airconidtioned which stays on all day, the bathrooms are spcious and kept very clean.

The chambermaids work very hard and keep the rooms nice for you. The hotel rooms are all the same standard - with the difference being sea or garden view, we had garden view with terrace on to the garden which was nice, friends of ours had sea views which were better. The Villa sections - the rooms are bigger but as you are not in them much you don't really need that extra space if its just 2 of you.

The staff in the hotel will bend over backwards to make sure you are happier I have never met friendlier more helpful people. Some of the waiting staff seemed to be little pissed off with there jobs - but who woulnd't be working in that heat in stuffy restuarants. - speaking of resturants, the food at the hotel isn't the best but there is always somethng on offer as it is buffet style, so you will alwasy find something you like, it is nice to see the chefs coming out and testing the food with thermometres and things regularly too.

The 24 hour snack bar serves burgers, chip pizza and sandwiches all day! sometimes they get a little confused with the food - ie putting mash potatoe on pizza??? and calling stewing beef - fillet steak - but its all ok! The Al la Carte resturants are lovely, espcially the sea food one, they have other things on offer if you not a fan of fish too!

The 24 hour all inlcusive is really good, includes all activities, all drinks, local and imported, non moterised water sports and some excusions organised by the animation team

- The Animation team are the best I have come accorss - they are far from proffessional dancers / singers (the have singers and dancers to do this!) - they are entertainers and if they will make your holiday, they are around all day organising beach games and pool games, salsa lessons, cocktail lessons, Spanish lessons and anything else you want, they are there to make the guests happier and they certainly do this! - they put on shows all night for everyone to enjoy and they will even party with you till the early hours in the hotels discoteca!

The hotel has everything you want and need, on site doctors, with English speaking doctors and nursers, massage, beauty, hairdressers, gym, suana, tennis courts, 2 pools, disco, inside and outside bars everything you need!

One tip - take spare clothes with you - not for you but to leave for the people that have made your holiday, Cuba is such a poor county, especially in places like Guadalavaca. the hotel staff earn about