• traveled 7 years ago
The same hotel (Sercotel Lido) used to be called ISLAZUL Lido (as it says on the street sign), or simply Lido. We rested in this hotel from April 20 to April 23.2018, after a holiday in Varadero. This review is long as it describes many points that were not clear to us before going to Cuba. I note that the local travel agency believes that the high season in Cuba is from December 16 to April 30 (at this time, prices for excursions are higher).
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The same hotel (Sercotel Lido) used to be called ISLAZUL Lido (as it says on the street sign), or simply Lido. We rested in this hotel from April 20 to April 23.2018, after a holiday in Varadero.
This review is long as it describes many points that were not clear to us before going to Cuba. I note that the local travel agency believes that the high season in Cuba is from December 16 to April 30 (at this time, prices for excursions are higher).
air travel
There is no direct flight from Kyiv, so Air France flew: Kyiv - Paris (a-p Charles de Gaulle) - Havana. The flight there went well, but it is necessary that the connection time is at least 2.5 ...3 hours, because the Charles de Gaulle airport is very large (the same applies to the airports of Madrid and Munich).
The return flight from Havana should also be on April 23 to Paris, but on April 21. On 18 we received an e-mail that due to the strike, the departure of flight AF825 (departure time 19-40.23. 04 and 24.04 is canceled, and Air France will send us to Kyiv before 30.04. 18.
After 2 days of correspondence with Air France (the main contribution was made by the travel company i-tour, N. Ostapchuk) 23.
On the morning of 04, we were informed that we would still be sent on April 23, but with 2 transfers: Havana - Madrid (a-to Air Europe), Madrid - Munich (a-to Luftganza), Munich - Kyiv (a-to Luftganza). Although on 23.04 Air France had another flight Havana - Paris (at 22-40), we were sent on a less convenient route.
It seemed that flight AF82.23, departing on Monday. 04 sold few tickets and was canceled under the guise of a strike. Moreover, in the following days 24.04 and 25.04. On the 18th this flight arrived at airport Charles de Gaulle as scheduled.
Worse, in Munich, in the transit zone a-p at passport control, we were detained by the police for entering Germany without visas (we have ordinary non-biometric passports). For some reason, this did not bother anyone either in Paris or in Madrid. And in Munich, we spent more than half an hour writing an explanatory note that we were not going to visit Germany, but ended up in Munich because of Air France. As a result, we barely had time to check in for a flight to Kyiv.
Fly with Air France?
At Havana airport, prices are in CUC everywhere, they take any currency, but at a low rate. The price of 0.5 water is 1.5 CUC.
Join up guide
The Terramar Caribe host's guide to Havana, Mario, at first avoided meeting us, did nothing to help with the cancellation of the flight, and then completely stopped answering our calls. By the way, they called the guide from the hotel for free.
The memo of the tour operator Join up in Cuba states that after registering for a flight to Havana airport, you must pay an airfield tax in the amount of 25 CUC / person. But that's not the case - you don't have to pay anything.
Transfer
Every day, several flights arrive in Havana from Paris and Amsterdam, which you can transfer to when departing from Kyiv. Our flight was the very first, so we did not order a group transfer with the risk of waiting at the airport for 3-5 hours. The taxi driver (or rather, their breeder) to Varadero requested 70 CUC - we bargained for 60 euros + 5 dollars.
We ordered a group transfer from Varadero to Havana from Join up for $25 per person.
They delivered us very well - we were at the hotel at 17-30 (driving about 2.5 hours).
Transfer Hotel - a / p Havana, we did not order from Join up for the above reason. Taxi to a/p Havana request 25 CUC. Not traded.
Hotel and room
5 storey building, where on the 1st floor there is a reception, and on the fifth floor there are rooms and a restaurant. There is no Wi-Fi in the hotel. Some rooms face the street and have balconies. We had room 402 on the 4th floor. Rooms x01-x06 on all floors with balconies and views of the Capitol. The room has a refrigerator, air conditioning (built into the outer wall) and a flat-screen TV. Two beds of normal softness. The voltage in the room is 110 V, you need a plug with flat pins. We accidentally bought an adapter for charging from such a smartphone socket in a computer store on the street. Obispo. In the shower, the water does not completely drain, but stands in its recess. In order for warm water to flow, it must be drained for a long time.
A large cockroach was squashed in the bathroom. Near the hotel on the street they saw a crushed rat. One day the elevator didn't work.
The roosters woke us up in the morning.
In Cuba, check in is 16:00 and check out is 12:00. Extension of the room costs 3 CUC per hour, or for one day with breakfast (double) - 72 CUC.
Breakfasts
Very good for a 2* hotel. Eggs cooked in 4 different ways, sausage, cheese, 2 types of juice, butter, jam, cereal, steamed vegetables. Tea, coffee, milk, bread, buns, cookies, pineapple + watermelon or papaya. Once there were pancakes. On Monday (a hard day) at breakfast from 8-00 there was live music - a Cuban music orchestra played loudly.
The surroundings of the hotel.
The street on which the hotel is located is parallel to Marti alley (160 m from the hotel) with a wide boulevard and a lot of beautiful buildings. In the same place, if you cross the Marti alley, there is the Sevilla Hotel (260 m from the hotel) where you can buy 1 hour of Wi-Fi for 2 CUC. If you need a full-fledged computer + printer, then you need to go to the neighboring Iberostar hotel in its second building behind the car park on the -1st floor. There 1 hour costs 3 CUC.
Another supermarket is located on Belgica Avenue on the opposite side of the Avenue from the Plaza Hotel, behind the SUPERVIELLE bust on the right. About 70-90 meters to the left of the bust down the street there is a bread shop. A large long roll costs about 7 pesos (with 1 CUC they give change 18 pesos). 1 CUC is equal to approximately 25 pesos (translation tables hang in stores).
Tours
According to tourists, you can travel around Havana on your own without a guide. This requires a map.
Alley Marti, as it were, divides old Havana into 2 parts: the eastern tourist part and the western part with quarters filled with old dilapidated dilapidated houses and rare shops.
The central park is located next to the Iberostar and opposite the Inglaterra.
If you leave it, moving east, then, passing between the Kempinski Hotel and the Museum of Art of Cuba, you find yourself on a very picturesque Obispo street (here you can buy a map with the sights of Havana) where there are a lot of shops, sculptures, cafes, a souvenir market and many small shops with souvenirs, etc. There is also a bank with a normal exchange rate at number 257 near the Florida Hotel. You need to bring euros to Cuba, because the exchange rate for US dollars is very unfavorable. It is also close to the Cathedral and a number of other attractions.
Along the Obispo street you can walk to the port of Havana and along the way (you just need to walk along the neighboring streets) you will find a lot of interesting objects. We had a guide for 3 days in Havana (from the Internet) which made it much easier to see its sights.
Opposite the Inglaterra hotel in the central park there is a terminus of the 2-decker Habana Bus tour buses. They run from 9-00 to 18-00 ...19-00, the ticket price is 10 CUC.
You can go and get back on this bus as much as you like during the day. The trip around the ring on this bus takes about 1.45 minutes. At the same time, we drive along the Malecon embankment, we see the US Embassy, a lot of hotels, a quarter of villas, a central cemetery (it is very far from the center), Revolution Square, the University of Havana and much more. The trip is accompanied by comments in English.
In the port of Havana (near the cruise ship stop) there is St. Francis Square. It is very colorful and has a pointer with nearby attractions.
Tour of the fortresses. The first one, Salvador de La Punta, is at the end of the Marti alley. The entrance is free. The other two: La Cabañ a and El Morro across the strait, and you can get there by car through a tunnel. A long wait for the bus at a bus stop near the tunnel did not lead to anything - we took a taxi and reached La Cabañ a for 4 CUC. Entry 6 CUC. The fortress is unusual and quite large.
From it to El Morro 7 minutes. on foot. Entrance is also 6 CUC. But the upper part of the fortress (entrance is free) is also very interesting and you can take beautiful photos with the fortress, the bay and Havana. From El Morro in 7-8 minutes. you can walk to the bus stop. The landmark will be the construction, as it seemed to us, of a toll station typical for Europe (although our taxi driver did not pay money there). We sit down on the 40th bus and get off at the first stop behind the tunnel. The fare is 1 peso per person. Unfortunately, due to problems with air travel, we saw less in Havana than we wanted. Apparently, you need to come to it for at least 4-5 nights.
Alexander and Larisa
Liked: friendly attitude of the staff, proximity to tourist sites, good breakfasts.
Disliked: sound insulation, problems with the adapter, high humidity, noisy unregulated air conditioning.
This review is long as it describes many points that were not clear to us before going to Cuba. I note that the local travel agency believes that the high season in Cuba is from December 16 to April 30 (at this time, prices for excursions are higher).
air travel
There is no direct flight from Kyiv, so Air France flew: Kyiv - Paris (a-p Charles de Gaulle) - Havana. The flight there went well, but it is necessary that the connection time is at least 2.5 ...3 hours, because the Charles de Gaulle airport is very large (the same applies to the airports of Madrid and Munich).
The return flight from Havana should also be on April 23 to Paris, but on April 21. On 18 we received an e-mail that due to the strike, the departure of flight AF825 (departure time 19-40.23. 04 and 24.04 is canceled, and Air France will send us to Kyiv before 30.04. 18.
After 2 days of correspondence with Air France (the main contribution was made by the travel company i-tour, N. Ostapchuk) 23.
On the morning of 04, we were informed that we would still be sent on April 23, but with 2 transfers: Havana - Madrid (a-to Air Europe), Madrid - Munich (a-to Luftganza), Munich - Kyiv (a-to Luftganza). Although on 23.04 Air France had another flight Havana - Paris (at 22-40), we were sent on a less convenient route.
It seemed that flight AF82.23, departing on Monday. 04 sold few tickets and was canceled under the guise of a strike. Moreover, in the following days 24.04 and 25.04. On the 18th this flight arrived at airport Charles de Gaulle as scheduled.
Worse, in Munich, in the transit zone a-p at passport control, we were detained by the police for entering Germany without visas (we have ordinary non-biometric passports). For some reason, this did not bother anyone either in Paris or in Madrid. And in Munich, we spent more than half an hour writing an explanatory note that we were not going to visit Germany, but ended up in Munich because of Air France. As a result, we barely had time to check in for a flight to Kyiv.
Fly with Air France?
At Havana airport, prices are in CUC everywhere, they take any currency, but at a low rate. The price of 0.5 water is 1.5 CUC.
Join up guide
The Terramar Caribe host's guide to Havana, Mario, at first avoided meeting us, did nothing to help with the cancellation of the flight, and then completely stopped answering our calls. By the way, they called the guide from the hotel for free.
The memo of the tour operator Join up in Cuba states that after registering for a flight to Havana airport, you must pay an airfield tax in the amount of 25 CUC / person. But that's not the case - you don't have to pay anything.
Transfer
Every day, several flights arrive in Havana from Paris and Amsterdam, which you can transfer to when departing from Kyiv. Our flight was the very first, so we did not order a group transfer with the risk of waiting at the airport for 3-5 hours. The taxi driver (or rather, their breeder) to Varadero requested 70 CUC - we bargained for 60 euros + 5 dollars.
We ordered a group transfer from Varadero to Havana from Join up for $25 per person.
They delivered us very well - we were at the hotel at 17-30 (driving about 2.5 hours).
Transfer Hotel - a / p Havana, we did not order from Join up for the above reason. Taxi to a/p Havana request 25 CUC. Not traded.
Hotel and room
5 storey building, where on the 1st floor there is a reception, and on the fifth floor there are rooms and a restaurant. There is no Wi-Fi in the hotel. Some rooms face the street and have balconies. We had room 402 on the 4th floor. Rooms x01-x06 on all floors with balconies and views of the Capitol. The room has a refrigerator, air conditioning (built into the outer wall) and a flat-screen TV. Two beds of normal softness. The voltage in the room is 110 V, you need a plug with flat pins. We accidentally bought an adapter for charging from such a smartphone socket in a computer store on the street. Obispo. In the shower, the water does not completely drain, but stands in its recess. In order for warm water to flow, it must be drained for a long time.
A large cockroach was squashed in the bathroom. Near the hotel on the street they saw a crushed rat. One day the elevator didn't work.
The roosters woke us up in the morning.
In Cuba, check in is 16:00 and check out is 12:00. Extension of the room costs 3 CUC per hour, or for one day with breakfast (double) - 72 CUC.
Breakfasts
Very good for a 2* hotel. Eggs cooked in 4 different ways, sausage, cheese, 2 types of juice, butter, jam, cereal, steamed vegetables. Tea, coffee, milk, bread, buns, cookies, pineapple + watermelon or papaya. Once there were pancakes. On Monday (a hard day) at breakfast from 8-00 there was live music - a Cuban music orchestra played loudly.
The surroundings of the hotel.
The street on which the hotel is located is parallel to Marti alley (160 m from the hotel) with a wide boulevard and a lot of beautiful buildings. In the same place, if you cross the Marti alley, there is the Sevilla Hotel (260 m from the hotel) where you can buy 1 hour of Wi-Fi for 2 CUC. If you need a full-fledged computer + printer, then you need to go to the neighboring Iberostar hotel in its second building behind the car park on the -1st floor. There 1 hour costs 3 CUC.
Another supermarket is located on Belgica Avenue on the opposite side of the Avenue from the Plaza Hotel, behind the SUPERVIELLE bust on the right. About 70-90 meters to the left of the bust down the street there is a bread shop. A large long roll costs about 7 pesos (with 1 CUC they give change 18 pesos). 1 CUC is equal to approximately 25 pesos (translation tables hang in stores).
Tours
According to tourists, you can travel around Havana on your own without a guide. This requires a map.
Alley Marti, as it were, divides old Havana into 2 parts: the eastern tourist part and the western part with quarters filled with old dilapidated dilapidated houses and rare shops.
The central park is located next to the Iberostar and opposite the Inglaterra.
If you leave it, moving east, then, passing between the Kempinski Hotel and the Museum of Art of Cuba, you find yourself on a very picturesque Obispo street (here you can buy a map with the sights of Havana) where there are a lot of shops, sculptures, cafes, a souvenir market and many small shops with souvenirs, etc. There is also a bank with a normal exchange rate at number 257 near the Florida Hotel. You need to bring euros to Cuba, because the exchange rate for US dollars is very unfavorable. It is also close to the Cathedral and a number of other attractions.
Along the Obispo street you can walk to the port of Havana and along the way (you just need to walk along the neighboring streets) you will find a lot of interesting objects. We had a guide for 3 days in Havana (from the Internet) which made it much easier to see its sights.
Opposite the Inglaterra hotel in the central park there is a terminus of the 2-decker Habana Bus tour buses. They run from 9-00 to 18-00 ...19-00, the ticket price is 10 CUC.
You can go and get back on this bus as much as you like during the day. The trip around the ring on this bus takes about 1.45 minutes. At the same time, we drive along the Malecon embankment, we see the US Embassy, a lot of hotels, a quarter of villas, a central cemetery (it is very far from the center), Revolution Square, the University of Havana and much more. The trip is accompanied by comments in English.
In the port of Havana (near the cruise ship stop) there is St. Francis Square. It is very colorful and has a pointer with nearby attractions.
Tour of the fortresses. The first one, Salvador de La Punta, is at the end of the Marti alley. The entrance is free. The other two: La Cabañ a and El Morro across the strait, and you can get there by car through a tunnel. A long wait for the bus at a bus stop near the tunnel did not lead to anything - we took a taxi and reached La Cabañ a for 4 CUC. Entry 6 CUC. The fortress is unusual and quite large.
From it to El Morro 7 minutes. on foot. Entrance is also 6 CUC. But the upper part of the fortress (entrance is free) is also very interesting and you can take beautiful photos with the fortress, the bay and Havana. From El Morro in 7-8 minutes. you can walk to the bus stop. The landmark will be the construction, as it seemed to us, of a toll station typical for Europe (although our taxi driver did not pay money there). We sit down on the 40th bus and get off at the first stop behind the tunnel. The fare is 1 peso per person. Unfortunately, due to problems with air travel, we saw less in Havana than we wanted. Apparently, you need to come to it for at least 4-5 nights.
Alexander and Larisa
Liked: friendly attitude of the staff, proximity to tourist sites, good breakfasts.
Disliked: sound insulation, problems with the adapter, high humidity, noisy unregulated air conditioning.
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