More Cons Than Pros

Riu Turquesa - Varadero

Joe ~ Canada

September 2006

Went to rui turquesa from Toronto august 20 to sept 03 2006

This is not 4 star would not return

Pros
nice beach and grounds
Friendly staff
Nice pool – water clean –alot of shallow areas for small children
Good drinks-mohitos - pina coladas ok but from mix- pina colada and lime slushes for kids
Rooms ok and come with free safe
Breakfast ok since all Cuban hotels will give you plenty of fried eggs and fresh omelettes that you choose ingredients

Cons-
Sunquest had us flying late- return to Toronto at 2 am- problem is if any delays you can’t land at pearson airport after 3:30 am so you wait till 6:30 am That’s what happened to us- over 4 hour delay-very tired up all night – hard if you have kids We were not notified till last minute of delay and were delayed 4.5 hours
If you buy illegal cigars don’t declare them in cuba you will loose them- serial numbers are checked- saw someone loose 60 pesos worthof cigars
Food- everyone one had the runs and painful stomach cramps
I drank a lot of water with whole squeezed limes to kill bacteria but runs lasted entire vacation
Saw a rat scurry from bottom of one hot table to another twice-I’m not kidding
beds and pillows uncomfortable- air conditioning very noisy
terrible food but the same at all Cuban hotels- I visited a few nearby hotels-the same
Pork and fish and meat always overcooked tough and dry
Food must have been cooked in advance and then reheated days later
Had paella twice but disgusting tasted like baby mush
Even roast chicken served only twice- dry and tough no flavor could not eat
Bread poor only 1 type of whole grain which I toasted every morning
Coffee lousy- some mornings one grade short of asphalt
Expresso and capucino from proper Italian express machines good but not available till 10 am- unbelievable
Coffee available from push button machines from 7 am
No lettuce or tomato I lived off cabbage and cucumber salads with dressing
Soups ok most days- I had a very good bean soup twice
Ice cream available during afternoon and at dinner very poor and artificial-most kids avoided it except for chocolate
No ala cart restaurants
One Snack bar- open 10am to 6 only-which rally meant 10:30 to 5 - usual grilled cheese and very bad French fries- deep fried oil seemed that it was never changed – also hamburger and hot dogs-hot dogs ok- hamburger is really weird meat-tastes like spam
The only food that was acceptable at dinner was steak which was thin beef strips that I buy at home and make steak sandwiches with but without fried onions tomato or lettuce can also be boring after a while- that’s all I ate
Lots of tilapia and fish which I like but always overcooked cooked dry and tasteless
Pasta was ok- tomato sauce gross- usually had my sauce prepared with oil, olives, onions hot pepper, white wine and a bit of cream but the tomato puree out of a box always spoiled it-looks like tomato juice
Saw garlic only twice- did see proscuto twice- was very good- had that for dinner with soup
Vegetables boring and always the same for 14 days
Dinner 7 to 10:30- 2 different sittings and then no food till breakfast
Bars open till 1am
Pool- saw volley ball net fist day only – was told net broken- never seen again-boring at pool-a lot of sleep-great if you like drinking and bathing-
At beach not enough shaded umbrellas had to get there very early
Had one beach bar with beer and slushes for kids and pina colida mix for rum
Entertainment was ok several nights but most nights depended on audience participation
for entertainment-that means couple were chosen to come on stage and see if they could make fools of themselves
no Cuban dancing –a lot of singing(feelings and beatle tunes)
as well as 3 piece band that sounded like they belonged at some small bar in Canada
do not arrange some excursions from the hotel – for example if you go deep sea fishing 290 pesos for 4 people-250 pesos if you go to the marina yourself-it is right in front of the hotel just cross the street- same with dolphins – in front of hotel
don’t take that stupid trip to Havana unless you go to the Tropicana
Tropicana was ok – is outdated but I’m still glad I went to see- trade that complimentary bottle of rum for sparkling wine or beer
God help you if you take pictures without paying the 5 pesos
They will treat you like a criminal and rudely demand you leave your table during the entertainment and come to the front to pay-no class – didn’t happen to me but to a lady next to us
The day in Havana is terrible- the tour guide takes you to a central square where you stand around listen to some communist propaganda and fight of beggars
Then you go to a store where you can buy rum, cigars and coffee-big deal
Then its off to the flea market-what a joke- 10 or 15 stalls –no bartering since they are strictly controlled-only the same old stupid cheap trinkets- nothing to buy all junk
You can find little wooden cars anywhere and don’t forget cars made out of pop cans-big deal don’t want those trinkets for free
Then you go out-more beggars-and believe me they are pros and do it for a living –they follow you around -don’t fall for the little old lady with the trained boy or the shoeless beggar sitting on the ground who occasionally takes out a pack of smokes and lights up-the little boys are all trained and beg for a living- they may be poor but so all are all Cubans – some just don’t want to work- we also have panhandlers at home
Then off to a 2 hour lunch with poor service and mediocre food.also more communist propaganda- they blame the cia and the mafia for everything including the bad weather
Ask them why some Cubans have cars and some do not
When the day is over at 6 you realize you saw nothing-very disappointing- no museum no fort no factories no entertainment ect.
Pay for the bus fare only to Havana and plan your own visits and wander around yourself -pack a lunch from the hotel
Only highlite of the trip is that I brought my own fishing rods and went fishing on the catamaran- bring large rappala lures for trolling caught barracuda everytime as well as yellow tail and red snapper
complaint was you could only get fishing after 10 am
Ask them to prepare bait fish-works better
Lost more fish than we caught – they try to grab and pull aboard those large dangerous biting barracuda by hand and remove hooks by hand
Next time I’ll bring large pliers and a net-
I Always filleted the fish myself and had them cooked by the kitchen-delicious
I always tipped and got treated very well
Staff will do anything for you if you are polite reasonable and tip-
treat the Cubans with respect- they work hard are nice people and depend on your tips
I brought gifts such as tennis balls and old summer kids clothes- they were extremely grateful and almost emotional
Varadero town boring nothing to do or see
Nothing to buy
Had lunch twice in town-big mistake
Went out late to see pirates cave as well as mediterrano and the compisita-boring no one there- starts too late for me-I was told better after midnight-baloney-
also expensive-cab- admission and drinks
Stay at hotel go to bed early and enjoy the ocean
Go on excursions such as cayo blanco ect and make friends