Club Amigo Atlantico Guardalavaca — Hotel in Banes

Here comes the main thing about our vacation to Cuba in this particular hotel!

Just look at this horrific stairs! Without anything to hold on! My mother fell down from the top of the stairs on her face on the concrete, the on the fourth night of staying in the hotel! She is 76 years old lady! She broke her wrist!!! It was raining and there was so much water on it that she slipped,,I was screaming on top of my lungs for help there was almost nobody around,,I thought she was dead! It is a miracle that she is not! If my mother was not so strong she would be really dead! My mother was not only one that fell down other younger people did too, the stairs are from hell!

This is the "only" one thing that we got traumatized from!

The way we were treated at the freaking hotel is beyond horrific! This particular hotel was like my home in earlier years of vising Cuba now I think that is the most disgusting and scary place on earth! It was never like this never! Now is much better for Cuban tourist(wonder where they got money from?)! IT got so much worse for international tourists! The mentality the culture of those people is beyond shocking and disgusting! Things changed in worst possible way in 3 years since I last visited Cuba if I only knew I would never go to this hotel, never ever!

We were abused for 14 days of staying there mostly from Cuban tourists,,giving us look with so much hate,,pushing us aside wherever we went,,they always get served first then us,, we were waiting for food,, and by the time we got to the buffet all food was gone,,we were hungry all the time,,,,, whenever I went for breakfast nobody ever asked me if I want coffee or anything to drink I was ignored all the time like I did not exist,,,,we were waiting for drinks,,,for everything,,endless waiting for any kind of service,,,everywhere! They were all so rude, arrogant, laughing, making fun of us,such a horrific "human beings"! Then the same torture from most of the workers at the reception, money exchange office,,restaurants, bars, locals at main beach,,so dirty,,,,yelling all day and night,,drunken alcoholics fouls,,.On the main beach there was so much garbage,,food,, bones from meat,,glasses,etc,,I felt disgusted all the time,,I even got abused from the worker the day we were leaving! I was close to collapse! If we had to stay one more night I swear someone would end up killed! For 14 days spending there I have slept about 30 hours,, because all the trauma during the day I could not sleep,, I also do not know how I survived all that trauma!

THIS VACATION WAS NIGHTMARE!! NOW I NEED VACATION FROM "VACATION" I AM SHAKING AND CRYING FROM ALL TRAUMA! I WILL END UP IN THE HOSPITAL I FEEL IT AND I KNOW IT! I COULD NOT RELAX AND ENJOY MY VACATION FOR 5 MIN.IN ALL 14 DAYS SPENDING THERE! IT WAS SUCH A IMPACT ON MY BODY AND MY IMMUNE SYSTEM! I HAVE NEVER EXPERIENCED SO MUCH NEGATIVITY ON VACATION! IT WAS WORSE THEN WHEN I WAS ON CHEMOTHERAPY, I AM CANCER SURVIVOR AND I WENT TO CUBA FOR RECOVERING IRONIC HA! ONLY FEW PEOPLE IN RESORT WERE NICE AND FRIENDLY REST OF THEM WERE HORRIFIC! SO MUCH BRUTAL CHANGES HAS HAPPENED IN 3 YEARS SINCE OUR I LAST VISIT TO CUBA, EVEN THE LOCALS BEHAVED LIKE ENEMIES! WE FEEL LIKE WE WERE IN WAR ZONE NOT IN VACATION IN CUBA! NEVER GO TO CUBA TO HOTELS LESS THEN 4 OR 5 STARS NEVER! THIS HOTEL IS 3 STARS BUT IN MY OPINION CONSIDERING EVERYTHING IN THE HOTEL IS NOT EVEN 1 STAR! THE FOOD THE DRINKS THE SERVICE EVERYTHING IS BEYOND ANY HUMAN CONDITIONS! I GAVE TIPS TO THE ALL WORKERS SO THEY WOULD BE NICER TO US,, BUT THEY WERE SO UNGRATEFUL, UNBELIEVABLE!

DO NOT EVER GO THERE IF YOU WANT TO LIVE! WE COULD BE BOTH DEAD!

MY DEAR MOTHER AND ME FEEL CONSEQUENCES FROM ALL TRAUMA THAT WE SUFFERED FOR ALL 14 DAYS STAYING IN THE HOTEL SINCE THE DAY WE ARRIVED ON CHECK IN TO TO THE DAY WE LEFT ON CHECK OUT! WE ARE SO DEPLY HURT HOW WE WERE TRETEAD ON OUR VACATION, SO SHAKEN UP! MY MOTHER HAS CHANGED SO MUCH SINCE WE COME BACK!

I DO NOT EXPECT LUXURY AT 3 STAR HOTEL BUT I EXPECT BE TREATED AS A HUMAN WHICH IN THIS HOTEL...

It was about nine years ago that I spent two weeks at this Club Amigo, along with a group of female friends. We really enjoyed ourselves, the hotel, food, staff members, the beach, etc. It's a really beautiful location and was my second vacation trip to Cuba. As an amateur photographer, I happily took over 900 photos, including of my friends, of course.

But, I am writing this Google Review to give some warnings to anyone who wishes to vacation at this resort. No doubt there have been a number of substantial improvements made over the years, including the opening of the Ashley coffee shop that wasn't open when we were there. But, some points should still apply for your consideration, namely: (1) Listen carefully and follow what you're told during the Orientation session at the start of your stay. Write notes, ask questions. (2) Some of the guests on the free Catamaran ride got seasick. (3) Please do NOT go swimming way out in the ocean at night. It's dangerous. From what I recall, the pools are super chlorinated at night so it's best to just forget about swimming at night. (4) Bring rain ponchos from Dollarama or umbrellas just in case of tropical rains. (5) The safe in my room was broken and it took many hours one day of my waiting in my room for the Maintenance man to try to fix it. It wasn't fixable; waste of my time and his time. Instead, I put my documents in the safe in a friend's room. (6) Because of the open concept on the main floor of the hotel, when it rains, the floors and stairs get very slippery and hazardous. Walk carefully. A woman from Quebec fell down on the stairs the last night I was there and I had to help her out. Staff wasn't readily available but did intercede later. (7) Do NOT take a taxi at night into Holguin to enjoy the nightlife because tourists are not supposed to be out on the roads in a licenced taxi that late at night according to a police officer who stopped us. Long story. Terrifying. None of the staff at the hotel had warned us about this regulation relating to tourists. (8) The bathroom floor was elevated in my room about five inches so I had to be careful not to trip when going into/out of the bathroom. One of my friends went flying one day in her room as she was leaving the bathroom. (9) Don't leave valuables on your rented chaise lounge because it's a public beach. One woman I know went to the DR years back, left her bifocals on her chair and they were stolen so everything was blurry for her for the balance of the trip. She hadn't brought a spare pair of eye glasses. Bringing a spare of sun glasses would be a good idea, too. (10) Also make sure you bring an alarm clock or alarm on your cell phone because I did not get a promised wake up call from the Reception desk the night before we were to leave early in the morning. If a friend hadn't called me, I might have missed the bus to take me to the airport. (11) Giving Tips: even the Maintenance staff and groundskeepers, etc. deserve tips but probably don't get them very often. Forgotten about. We weren't supposed to take extra food from the Buffet but I brought heavy plastic food bags from home and put them in my handbag. Then, when the staff wasn't looking, I snuck food into a bag and brought it to various Cubans, including one horse and buggy driver who gave the food to his skinny horse. One of the staff members was delighted when I gave him a nice pen as a tip. (12) Because we left so early in the morning by bus for the airport, we couldn't get breakfast first. Thinking ahead, I had snuck some pastries into my handbag the night before so that helped. (13) Before leaving, on checkout, one of my friends had an awful time regarding returning the receipt for the borrowed beach towel. Long story but she didn't have to pay the big penalty charge, mercifully. (14) Don't brush your teeth there with the tap water. Take Ducorol before going on your trip; that's what I did and I never got sick as before at other hotels. Despite my warnings, have a great time! We certainly did; it was...

NO SUGAR COATING HERE FELLAS

It's a massive ghost resort that's crumbling, upkeep is to a bare minimum. Golf car rides are not offered so be pre prepared to do a lot of jogging.

Villa rooms where i stayed are spacious & clean. Working AC or hot water is hit & miss. I wouldn't recommend staying in the actual hotel. Mattresses are old with massive indentations, i can confirm bed bugs as i personally discovered new bites every morning.

Beach is great, but full of local hustlers. On weekends families come down and it's awfully crowded. If you want to avoid all that go to Brisas beach. Both beach bars don't belong to the hotel so you'll have to do a lot of running up&down in order avoid paying extra.

Food is far below average..even for Cuban standards that is. Limited choices, overcooked, recycled food. If you miss buffet hours, 24hr bar offers burgers that are made from organs and intestine, you constantly have to spit out odd chunky pieces. Drinks are poorly made with low quality alcohol (Havana Club isn't served there), chlorinated water everywhere. No AC in restaurants makes it very difficult to dine. On weekends Cuban families storm & swarm the buffet, manners and common courtesy don't exist. You'll have a hard time navigating around the buffet while they stare you up & down. Get use to the fact that Cubans were always served and looked after first, even when they get in line after you. I've heard numerous complains of people getting sick. Of course you do your best with what you got. Extra 10CUC for half lobster at A la Carte isn't worth it.

Staff is not very helpful & slow, any simple task is a big deal and takes a long time to accomplish. You can absolutely tell they are not happy to be there and that translates into your vacation experience. I've had some positive interactions which later into translated to hustle.

Entertainment is atrocious. Most bands try hard but it just feels very low budget and border line street entertainment. Try to make it out to Brisas for a night and you'll find a major difference.

Disco is quite cheesy and empty most days. Music is always on auto, as the dj is missing for most of the night. All the colourful & bright dancefloor lights are definitely unnecessary, making not very intimate and it less inviting. Music of course is a personal matter but to my taste was it outdated to say the least. Overall it feels like a cheap cafe with a small dancefloor.

Upon arrival you get only 1 bottle of clean water, after that its 2CUC per bottle. Room Safe box cost 2CUC/night. Sea view upgrade cost 5CUC/night. Look after your beach towel, room glasses and ashtrays. If anything breaks be prepare to pay a ridiculous replacement costs. I've had some stuff disappear so i can confirm previous reports of cleaning ladies stealing.

In case you want to venture out, be careful with taxis. Do not use yellow gov service taxis as they will total up an absurd amount while claiming they are legit & regulated, but when you ask for a receipt they say no.. cuz well, it's Cuba. Always negotiate prior and negotiate hard. You should not be paying more then 20CUC to got to Holguin, no matter what they tell you. No deal? Move on to next car.

Regardless of the negatives i had a good time, in reality its what you make it. If you're the type of person who doesn't case about any of the things listed above, then Dump Amigo is for you. However, anything over $500 a week there just isn't worth it. Spend a bit more money on Brisas instead and thank me later.

Wifi is a struggle, you won't even connected. Current hotel exchange rate for CAN was 1.36, so best to exchange at the airport. Hotel allows local registration, rate is 59CUC/day. Many casas available in the area for 20-30CUC/day. Bicycles are free.

TIP: If travelling with a large group get each person to book A la Carte for all restaurants allowed. You can set as many guest as you want per reservation so always add extra that way you can avoid dining at the...