Hesperia Isla Margarita - not bad
Hotel Hesperia Isla Margarita 5* (Isla Margarita, Venezuela). We rested in this hotel from September 30 to October 13.2021.
Island airport (arrival, departure)
Arrive (after a 13-hour flight from Moscow) at comfortable temperatures (it's always warm on the island, it doesn't get 21 degrees there, for example, like in Venezuela itself on the continent).
Our flight was the only one for which the airport worked at all, there were no more tourists from other countries, they quickly went down and went to the airport building, where employees divide the “streams” of people in line at the tables of doctors taking a smear for covid (fee 60 $), then the border guards stamp your passport and you go to the baggage unloading area.
(The result of the PCR test comes to your email within a couple of days, you don’t need to wait at the airport (you indicated your mail when you filled out the QR code on the Venezuelan website, after purchasing the tour. If suddenly the result is positive, the doctors will come to you will be taken to the hotel and they will take a second smear, if it gives a positive result - the tourist is isolated, I heard about such cases, they were not taken to a medical institution, they isolated in special places in the hotel, they carried food, the tourist lives the whole vacation in the room).
All the formalities went through very quickly, but the luggage is unloaded manually, we had to wait a long time. Received - then on the way out (at the exit you will definitely be asked to present a printout (! ) PCR from Russia or a certificate of vaccination - a QR code).
Further, those who met us from Pegasus gave us directions on how to get to the buses and took us to the hotels.
The difference with Venezuela is 7 hours.
About departure: on the day of departure, you are picked up at the airport in 5 hours, and it takes 40 minutes to drive from the hotel. As an option, order a taxi to the airport and spend more time at the hotel, and not in the departure area (especially suitable for those who buy seats for themselves in advance), just warn the guide that you will go yourself so that they won’t look for you.
Customs formalities passed quickly enough. In the baggage claim area, the scales did not work correctly, no one took an extra charge for excess baggage.
In the departure area there are shops (souvenirs, some things like bags, T-shirts, alcohol, coffee, chocolate) and a small cafe.
Settlements are made in US dollars. The national currency is not used (there was a denomination, now it’s Googled - the rate is $ 1 = 452.290. 73 Venezuelan bolivars), except for souvenirs.
They have problems with change and small bills, bring cash in small dollars. It’s also a problem with ATMs there, and they will give you bolivars, and then they also have nowhere to go.
The hotel is located in the mountains, it stands as a monolithic single-hull giant with 3 wings. Built by Americans in the 80s, this can be seen from the interior design of the entire hotel (columns, high ceilings, decoration, bars. . . ), and from the rooms.
There are restaurants and bars in each wing, but since the occupancy is low, we had: 1 main restaurant inside the hotel, 1 small restaurant in the interior space near the pool (sometimes, when there are few guests, it is opened not only as a snack bar, but also as the only working restaurant), 1 restaurant by the beach (once during the whole holiday there was a dinner with a grill on an open fire). Bars: 1 inside the building at the exit towards the pool, pool bar, beach bar (alcohol in it from 11 am).
They check in quickly, 30 people arrived while drinking a welcome cocktail, they already issued the keys for us and we went to the rooms, well done!
The number of rooms is large, the rooms are spacious, with king-sized beds, you can sleep on each of the three of us (my friend and I had 2 separate beds in the room). But the repair was not visible for a long time, there is mold in some places on the fabric at the head of the beds, the furniture is not new.
The bathroom is bright, 2 separate sinks, a bathtub and a shower room, there is a hairdryer, shampoo, shower gel, body cream, and we were also given an antiseptic for hands, as well as a small bar of soap. There is always hot water in the shower, the pressure is excellent. The watering can is not removed, it is built high. Towels are clean and white. To replace - put them on the floor.
We were faced with the fact that the maids did not bring one or the other towel (and this is strange, there were not many tourists in the hotel with such a number of rooms). I had to ask through the reception.
There is nowhere to dry things. The island has high humidity, everything takes a long time to dry.
We left the swimsuits to drain in the shower (there is a bar), then dried them on the chairs, putting a towel and hoping for the power of the air conditioners.
The ventilation system in most rooms is not regulated by you in any way, and the reception can either simply turn it off for you or turn on the cold, so keep this in mind, we slept under warm blankets, because it was very windy.
I am attaching a photo of the room to the review. The room has a refrigerator, TV, wardrobes, 2 armchairs, a high chair. There are no balconies. The windows are in very poor condition (the glass is cloudy and partially damaged, as are the systems for opening them). From the windows, the view is either towards the mountain or towards the sea, but since the building is located on a hill and far from the sea, no matter where the windows go, in the absence of a balcony and in this state of the glass, no one opens them and does not look at the views).
Reception staff speaks Spanish (use an interpreter, Wi-Fi is available at the reception), there are some who speak English, check with them.
There is also a wonderful Croatian Zoran, who speaks and understands Russian. He solved many issues and a huge special thanks to him!!!
(In our company, one lady needed to activate insurance, it was Zoran who helped to communicate with the doctor, the Pegasus guide Zarina merged and in general her slogan “I don’t know anything”, you can’t even count on her in any matters).
Zoran also helped to resolve the issue with the extension of the rooms, when we changed the flight to a late evening.
The maids in the rooms are cleaned every day, nice women, cleaned by four (not perfect, there is dust in some places), but in general the room is clean, things are not touched and nothing is shifted. Valuable things were left and just in the room (cameras, cameras... ). Nothing was missing.
There is a safe, it worked for us, but others from our company had problems, old safes, the panels go away, you have to contact the reception.
Sockets in an American-style hotel with 2 flat plugs (I posted it in the photo, look), we brought adapters with us, other tourists purchased in a store or asked at the reception.
An iron will be provided upon request from the reception. There is no kettle and tea/coffee facilities in the room, they put 2 large bottles of water per day for 2 tourists. All drinks can be drunk at the bar and poured water, if necessary.
Bring a thermal mug (! ). All the locals go with them. You can ask to pour water or other drinks into it, instead of plastic cups on the same beach, and keep the temperature better.
Otherwise, our beautiful tourists will drink and throw, without bringing it to the trash cans, the whole beach is covered in this plastic....
The hotel is located on a hill, you need to go down the path to the sea. The mountains offer beautiful views of the sea and sunset. There are only mountains around on both sides, there are no directly adjoining hotels (there are hotels on the left side if you look at the sea, including the wonderful Sunsol Ecoland is in the accessibility zone, you can walk through the mountains and the beach to it, which we gladly did during the time rest).
The territory of the Hesperia hotel itself (not including the abandoned golf courses) is relatively small, the courtyard with a pool and a bar, then a descent towards the sea, a walking area, as I already wrote, there is a restaurant down there (we also went there once a For 2 weeks they served dinner and grilled meat (the staff manually carried tables and everything necessary from the mountain, this is of course very laborious)
On the territory you can meet iguanas, weaver birds, I saw hummingbirds and other beautiful birds. On the territory there is a fresh water reservoir with mangroves along the shore, birds fly there and iguanas walk.
In the evening after dinner, you can watch animation, the animators guys, of course, well done, they work from morning to evening, but their humorous and entertaining shows didn’t really impress me, it was interesting when they danced various national dances (animator girls will be happy if You will bring them beautiful stockings). Karaoke is held once a week.
Seize the opportunity, learn salsa from them, it's in their blood! )
The contingent of tourists is our compatriots and vacationers Vezezuela.
We were there on the All inclusive system, the food is normal, they try.
For breakfast there is cereal, milk, they make delicious pies with various fillings, which one you show (cheese, chicken, etc. ), they make an omelet, there are just boiled eggs, cheese, ham. Delicious juices, tea/coffee. From fruits, watermelons, pineapples, bananas, papaya, melon (for mango was not the season). Fruits are not rare, unfortunately, not sweet met (pineapple, watermelon. . . ).
For lunch and dinner, they gave several types of meat to choose from (chicken, fish, beef / pork), many different side dishes, the pasta was delicious. They just don’t indulge in seafood (a couple of times there was a dish with octopuses / squids).
Sometimes they are in a hurry, something can be undercooked, see (! ).
Desserts are not always successful.
The bar in the lobby makes delicious coffee in a professional coffee machine
Alcohol that is included in the all-inclusive is not fire. Sometimes I came across not a bad red wine, rum is not tasty, apparently the cheapest. I advise you to take decent rum in the shops at the hotel and enjoy it, to whom it is relevant, it is not expensive there, you can find good rum in the range of 6-10-12 dollars.
The beach of this hotel has both pros and cons.
The sea is calm, there are no huge knocking waves, as happens on many other beaches of Margarita. Not calm, there is a wave, but it is not critical and even children play calmly in it. There were no algae during our visit, the water is clean.
The entrance to the sea is sandy, sometimes stones come across, but not many. On this beach you don't need special shoes, you can go barefoot.
The sand is pleasant, not a large grayish color, not snow-white.
The beach is surrounded by rocks/mountains, it is very beautiful, facing west, you can enjoy the sunsets. Pelicans often sit on a rock sticking out of the water, and in general they fly here fishing, it's colorful.
There is a path uphill (if you look at the sea, it starts after the cafe on the beach on the left), you can go along it and get to other beaches behind the mountain, shoot the sunset from the mountain and even walk towards the lighthouse to Sunsol Ecoland and look at him to the stores (who cares).
Things left their beach clothes when they went for a walk or swim, there was no theft (but here you need to understand that it depends on the people present, they are always different . . ).
Hotel animators arrange beach activities - games, physical education workouts.
There is a cafe on the beach where you can order langoustines, shrimps, lobsters, there is a fruit stand.
Also, the local guys will offer you freshly caught oysters (they collect them on the rocks nearby), we tried it, we liked it. They don't chip large shells, there isn't much meat in the shell, but they sell them by the dozen. Moreover, their prices are growing by leaps and bounds, who were the first to fly in Russian, bought a dozen on this beach for $ 1, we were already offered more, we threw off the price, because. took a lot of servings for several people. They are not greedy, by the way, if you show them that there is very little mollusk in some shell, they will open additional shells.
Pearl merchants also come to the beach, natural pearls (they carry a lighter with them, you can check each pearl with fire). It is not expensive, I was most attracted by pearls as such, products in the form of earrings and so on. made on a simple wire, it will peel off instantly.
Be sure to bargain there with everyone!
Also on the beach, who needs to have girls who offer massages. They do it, of course, not professionally, they will only stroke you)
By the way, the local masseuses will be very happy if you leave them your sunscreen when your holiday is over. Even if they themselves hesitate to ask, go give it, they will be very happy!
The beach is small, we, accustomed to taking long walks along the shore, felt like birds in a cage, we wanted more beach line, but the mountain protrudes into the sea there so that it is impossible to pass (only riding up the mountain).
There are currents in the water, be careful!
Locals come to the beach (leave their vehicles on the mountain and relax here). Tourists have a zone of sunbeds and umbrellas, but it is not large, a square in several rows.
They are positive, by the way, there are no questions for people! And behave much calmer than many of our tourists. But do not expect privacy on this beach.
Sometimes a cafe on the beach smokes so much that it feels like you are sunbathing in the market.
Pearl dealers sometimes go under some kind of drugs.
Souvenirs can be bought in the shops in the hotel, there are magnets, figurines, mugs, plates, etc. They also sell hats and caps with the inscription Margarita and Venezuela, there are also flip flops, beach dresses, sunscreen, etc.
There is a shop with alcohol, coffee, cocoa, etc. The prices are adequate.
Many who went to shopping centers for souvenirs regretted that they spent time and money on this. Someone, of course, went to the Sambil shopping center and La Vella shopping center by taxi, but in my opinion it is not worth it. (and Pegasus even managed to make it a separate tour).
The cost of rum will differ by a dollar / two, and you will spend 30 on a taxi . . What's the point? Only ardent shoppers who need a lot of things can find it for themselves.
By the way, during the departure from the airport, we were surprised to find adequate prices for coffee, cocoa, rum - who didn’t buy anything, you can buy it at the airport!
Excursions at Pegasus are expensive (who would doubt it).
For example, the cost of a trip to Angel Falls (1-day) was about $1.000 with a helicopter to see the falls.
For shopping, I repeat, prices are regulated by the state, so the margin in shops at hotels and even at the airport is minimal. It makes no sense to take an excursion to the shopping center, in the end just chip in a taxi, who really needs it and there will be a lot of purchases.
There are no local tour desks and offers on the beach near the hotel, so if you do not want to go with Pegasus, make arrangements in advance with locals or Russians living on Margarita. Do not pay advances when making agreements with private traders on the Internet, a lot of fraud.
Who drives a car - you can rent a car. Well, or just take local taxis and watch the island, travel to different beaches.
There is Margarita's chat in the telegram, they give a lot of useful contacts.
If you have any questions - ask, I will answer)
