Viva la Cuba Viva la Cuba

We rested in Cuatro Palms from 02.12. 11 to 14.12. 11. I really liked the rest, but first things first. About the flight. Transaero Airlines non-stop flight Domodedovo-Varadero in 11 hours. But we were unspeakably “lucky”, as our Russian tourists, having bought a bunch of alcohol in Duty Free as it should be, began to celebrate the beginning of the holiday on board. And somewhere by the 7th hour of the flight, the floor of the plane was in the "trash". We were sitting in the first salon, but in the third a big fight broke out. The flight attendants could not separate them, and prudently dumped them into business class. During the fight, someone there became ill and the crew decided to make an emergency landing in… Canada! There, the local police took away three brawlers and the ambulance of the one who became ill. We sat in Canada without leaving the plane for 4 hours. Therefore, we got to Varadero only late at night! Now about the hotel: A hotel for unpretentious and very unpretentious tourists For unpretentious - the main building, which has a status of 4 * and stands right on the ocean and for very unpretentious tourists, 2-storey knowledge, called bungalows, which are called "Las Palmas" is 3 *. Bungalows are across the street. And they are different too! The building "2" closest to the road is the most calm and quiet. The third one was under renovation at the time. But building "4", "5", "6" is located in close proximity to the nightclub "Havana Club". Therefore, those who want to sleep peacefully at night, I advise you to abandon these buildings, the music will rumble until 3-4 in the morning. The bungalow rooms are all ugly, but I didn't care. For those who are interested I will describe. The furniture is old and broken in some places, there is a small refrigerator, a TV (there was some kind of Russian channel... TV3, I think). There is a safe (the key to it is the same as from the door). The room was cleaned every day, even flowers were sometimes brought. If, well, you don’t like it at all, you can pay extra. fee to move to 4* (but this is only if they have available rooms, and they will appear immediately if you offer a fee in excess of the established rates) Surcharge for the best ocean view room is 25 cuc per day. The rest are cheaper (garden view, pool view and so on). Rooms in 4 * are a little bigger and the renovation is fresher there, but the balconies are much smaller. The hotel area is small. One pool, where, by the way, you can’t swim too much, since in one part the water is waist-deep, and in the other the water is cold Main restaurant next to the pool. The food is ok, I liked everything. The only thing - no seafood and little fruit. And everything is possible there. The hotel has 2 bars - one in the lobby, and the second at the entrance to the beach, where a wonderful bartender puts on a show and makes cocktails tastier than in the bar in the lobby. There are also 3 a la carte restaurants. Italian and 2 Cuban. We were only in the restaurant "Cuba" - not really liked it, to be honest. They also wanted to go to Italian, but the day before, one of the guys there was badly poisoned... And the third restaurant on the beach. Everyone praised him by the way, but we were also satisfied with the food in the main restaurant. The beach is nice wide, cleaned it every day. The ocean is amazing!! ! Even words are not enough to describe its beauty. Loungers on the beach and by the pool were enough for everyone. What else? The hotel was about half Russian and half Canadian. Girls from the reception do not speak Russian. English or Spanish. I was often asked by our tourists to help with the translation. So don't worry if you don't know languages, someone will definitely help. In general, Russian-speaking Cubans met there often. A few words about animation. Well, how…. of course she is. But not like in Turkey or Egypt. In the afternoon, there were some classes on the beach, then volleyball, then salsa lessons and in the evening - a show. So-so in general. The hotel was declared to be suitable for families with children. No no and one more time no. No playgrounds, no baby food, no children's animation. The only thing that happened was babysitting for money and that's it! The only thing I liked was live music from 8 to 9 and only Cuban songs were played…. very good. Well, after the show at 11 pm, the floor of the hotel of youth smoothly crawled into the Havana Club. There they dance until the morning! It was very cool and fun and there was almost no local population. Entry 5 cuc. And further…. I highly recommend not to abuse cocktails there, even if they mix it there! In the morning, many complained that they had 1-2 cocktails and danced until they dropped, but in the morning they don’t remember anything. About souvenirs: Well, there is not much to say. Only the "golden triangle of Cuba": rum - cigars, coffee. I'll tell you about each. The only rum that can be bought outside of Cuba is Havana Club, the rest are not exported. "Havana Club" - good rum, but not interesting ))) Another rum is Santiago-de-Cuba. This rum is sold only in Cuba! This rum was recommended to us by the Cubans themselves. Also a good rum, but still I liked Legendario more (you can also buy it only in Cuba) - I advise you to buy it. From cigars - I’ll say right away that I don’t understand anything about them. The locals recommended Cohiba (Fidel's favorite, but very strong) MonteCristo of medium strength. Pomeo & Julet are about the same. And Guantanomero are the lightest. Coffee - the hotel brewed Cubita, try if you like you can buy in any store. I also really liked Serrano, a red pack, recognized as good coffee. They have a new variety "MonteCristo" recently on the market - excellent coffee!! ! And I also liked the coffee…. I don’t remember the name... a green pack, super coffee for making cappuccino. And now the main thing. You will be told that prices in Cuba are fixed and the price is the same everywhere! Nonsense! Maybe according to the law it is so, but tourist areas have their own laws! Normal prices for rum - "Havana Club" seven-year 0.75 costs 7.60 cuc- "Santiago-de-Cuba" five-leaf 0.75 costs 5.60 cuc- "Legendario" 0.75 also somewhere around 7 cuc They came at about 11 pm to the shop to the right of the hotel "Santiago-de-Cuba" five years 0.75 cost 11.80 cuc!!!!!!! ! Although in the afternoon this aunt praised us this rum and it cost 5.60 cuc. So, in the shops near the hotel, they raise prices in the evening or at the peak of the season! Do not be lazy, walk to "Panamericano" something like a shopping center (from the hotel to the right and it will be on the right side) for 10-15 minutes on foot. You won’t miss it, there is a hotel with alcohol and the prices there are normal. So this is a government store. The same goes for cigars and coffee. Buy them in Havana, where the state. prices. And bartenders-cleaners-employees will offer rum cigars - cheaper, I do not advise you to buy. Basically, it's a fake. A box of expensive Cohiba can't cost 35 cuc. Cubans also learned to make money on tourists, so only the state. the shops. Another feature for those who go driving in a car in Cuba. The local currency is the peso. Cookies or convertible pesos - currency valid only in tourist areas! Leaving it outside, no one will sell you anything for cookies! Of course, they will be able to “for the kindness of their souls” change you for pesos, but keep in mind that the rate will be extremely disadvantageous for you! And by the way, it's against the law for them. Therefore, the exchange of money will be "secret". And one more thing - I liked their souvenirs cards made of leather, of course they sell a lot in souvenir shops, but I came across really beautiful ones from only one uncle. The very first souvenir market on the right side of the hotel. We also bought cowhide flip-flops there…. excellent flip flops, I liked them very much and cost 3 kopecks I bought for gifts, well, for myself for one thing! About the exchange of money: In the reviews they often write that it is more profitable to take euros than dollars. This is true. It's even more profitable to take Canadian dollars, but that's if there are any The exchangers are located to the right of the hotel (an inconspicuous hut with the inscription "Cadeca") and the second in the hotel which is to the left of Cuatro Palms. Hospital for tourists across the street from the hotel. The sockets are not European, the adapter can be borrowed from the guy who gives out towels to the beach. About excursions: We took Natalie Tours. 2 excursions "Colonial Havana" and "Cayo Largo Island" Havana - I do not advise Natalie. The only thing I liked was the guide. They didn’t really see Havana... For half a day they were collecting everyone from hotels, and then on the third space rushed through Havana. Everything I could see in Havana I liked. I advise you to rent a car and go to Cayo Largo yourself HIGHLY advise. This is an air tour. On a small plane flight to the island. See and feed the iguanas there. See the extraordinary beauty of the beaches, coral reefs....And of course, the Caribbean Sea itself. This is a fairytale. This is what we drove. I also heard good reviews from the Three Cities tour, but this is for 2 days. But the rest of the categorically did not like. Everyone in the hotel had a lot of fun. And for those who came one at a time and together and in a large crowd....we all united in one large and friendly company of Russian-Canadian-Ukrainian-Italian tourists. And had a great time!! ! I also highly recommend renting a car and driving around Cuba. This is an amazing country!! ! Well, I guess I'll end with this! To everyone who is going to Cuba and to this hotel - a great holiday and I envy you a little