Starfish Holguin Resort — Hotel in Banes

If you want to be on a diet and are not bothered by Foreigners with their young chickies or cougars with their young males flaunting what none of us really wants to see. That's the place for you. Remember 16 is considered adults therefore, close your eyes if you still want to go because it's basically the old regulars that you will meet and may not want to remember the images you have left in your mind of your last views. :-) Sadly they are still around and quite frankly those speedos should be outlawed :-) ||Some of the old staff from Club Amigo are working at the 24 hours bar therefore, if they remember you and you tip; you will get service however, they will serve you whatever they have left because it is worst than before. They basically steal anything that is not nailed or glued therefore, the foreigners get the same recycled food and the good old: "So sorry we don't have this or that" but you can always buy it on the black market behind the bar :-) ||On your first day, your room will have a small bottle of water however you will not receive any other bottle of water unless you make a fuss, put the empty bottle on the bed with a big tip every day (than maybe you will get another one) otherwise, you need to go across the street and buy your own. ||First view is the reception. If you are lucky you will deal with Keya who is lovely and will assist you as best she can because it is Cuba so there is more bosses than employees there. If you are unlucky you will get Irene. I still wonder why she is still an employee because as she said to many: " I am just a receptionnist and I don't have to do anything for nobody". ||Than with luck you get the good old Amaury to bring your luggage to your room. (We did) and I swear the man remembers everyone from 40 years ago. He is one of the old Club Amigo staff. You have to repeat what you want but he will go out of his way to help you out the best he can. ||Our room was changed on 3 occasions. Yup you know foreigner drunk leaving the water running on top so everyone has to change building. Now some of the rooms/villas are renovated but not all. It's like putting lipstick on a pig and at the end it's still a pig. ||The old buildings (barracks are left to die of a slow death so pretty scary).||Not all the pools are opened and if you don't watch where you are going. You are guaranteed to meet your maker or a hospital stay. No WSIB safety there for sure. Watch your step and where you are going.||The private so called Pirate beach is NOT adults only when the Cubans wants a party with their family so unless you want to go to what is known as the Pirate beach: what you will get is trash, broken glass and who knows what else can be found.||There is another private area where it is strictly adults and while small it is nice so your best bet is using that one. Mind you we all wish the smoking foreigners would mind their cigarette butts, broken glass and whatever you will find so bring water shoes or expect a doctor visit for cuts and who knows what :-)||Quite frankly as an individual who used to be a regular of Club Amigo which decided to go and see the "new" refreshed version. It's not worth the money even if you think it's cheap. ||You will spend your time asking for things that we, foreigners would expect from a basic motel in Canada. ||Spend the few hundred dollars more and go elsewhere. Their ignorance of what is supposed to be for tourists and not to be stolen than sold to tourist for something that we pay for as part of the package has yet not sunk in therefore, go to a higher star hotel unless of course you want to lose a few pounds and look at the action :-) :||PS: Don't forget to bring your toilet paper :-) Even the airline companies hide their toilet papers when they land in Cuba :-) Too funny.||Also, I post the picture of this bar tender because I swear he makes the worst coffee I ever tasted in my life and let's face it. We all love...

I am writing this letter with deep disappointment regarding my recent stay at your resort. As someone who has been a loyal guest for the past 11 years, I’ve always returned because I trusted the quality and service your hotel once proudly provided. However, this last visit was an absolute disaster and left me questioning if I’ll ever return. To begin with, the lobby bathroom was either not working or had no running water, an unacceptable situation for any hotel, let alone one with the reputation your resort used to hold. The buffet food was shockingly bland, lacked variety, and was downright inadequate. For the first three days, there was no bread or butter. There was also a shortage of basic items like pop and ice, and to top it off, the cheese slices became thinner and smaller each day. It was also clear that leftover food was being reheated and re-served—a highly concerning and unacceptable practice. Another disturbing policy was the requirement for some guests to leave their purses at the front table when entering the buffet, while others were allowed to keep their backpacks. This inconsistency showed a lack of fairness and raised serious questions about customer treatment and bias. Sadly, staff attitude overall was extremely poor. In particular, the bartender Raciel (apologies if the spelling is incorrect) was consistently rude and disrespectful. On the other hand, I want to commend Nela and Hilberto, the night bartenders, who were the only bright spots in our experience. Their professionalism and warmth should be a model for the rest of your team. Unfortunately, many other servers during the day seemed disinterested in their work and were simply going through the motions, despite us tipping everyone. It was also shocking to witness the behavior of one of the security bosses, who had no issue speaking negatively about guests openly and loudly, within earshot. Additionally, security presence was disproportionately focused around the buffet and bar, leaving areas between our villa and the next hotel practically unguarded. There were even locals walking openly past our villa, raising serious concerns about guest safety. The main pool was dirty and freezing cold, making it unusable. The entertainment was repetitive and mind-numbing—how many times can one listen to “Sexy Bitch” in a single day before it becomes an actual punishment? Moreover, the women’s bathroom near the buffet had broken stall doors that wouldn’t lock, an issue that should never be overlooked in a resort setting. To add to the disappointment, there were no water sports available, removing one of the key attractions that many of us have enjoyed in past years. Since September 2024, this hotel has dramatically declined in quality, service, and basic hospitality standards. In summary: If you have any expectations regarding food, service, or safety—do not go to this hotel.||It is disheartening to see a place I once recommended to friends and family fall to such a poor state. Unless there are drastic changes made, I can no longer consider Starfish Guardalavaca a destination worth...

We stayed at Starfish Guardalavaca from Feb 25-March 4, 2025. With the split of Club Amigo into two separate resorts and having been to CA over 40 times between us, we weren’t sure what to expect.||We were in Villa 5 – the room was great. Our “maid” was friendly and always greeted us with a huge smile and a hello. My birthday was while we were there and she added some special touches 2 days in a row with flowers tucked into the shower curtain, balloons on the bed etc. ||The food was the best I have had in 30+ trips to CA. ||Breakfast – freshly made waffles and eggs at the grill station. The buffet varied – eggs, premade egg muffins, bacon, veggies (squash mostly) potatoes, lots of fruit (the bananas were so good!), pastries, donuts, jams, chocolate/caramel sauces.||Lunch and dinner buffets included fish, two different kinds of rice, pork, hot veggies, fresh buns and butter, patries and fruits etc. Most nights there were up to 4 types of pudding, chocolate (delicious!), strawberry, lemon and rice).||We ate at the a la carte 3 times – we had fish, beef, shrimp, and a pasta dish with beef that was equal to anything we have had at home in a restaurant – So Good!. |Lots of flan for dessert and a chocolate cake that was fantastic.||Lots of wine, beer – mix for drinks was limited at the 24 hour bar, but at the Guardalavaca lobby bar they seemed to be better stocked with juices. ||The bartenders at the Guardalavaca lobby bar were less busy with guests (not enough people were taking advantage of that section, opting to stay closer to the pool and 24 hour bar, I guess) so we had time to interact a bit more with them. I don’t remember all of their names, but Reuben stood out – friendly, funny and service with a smile. ||The villa pool was not great while we were there. Only half open at a time, and the color of it varied from day to day. I have recently seen pictures of one side being painted. Hopefully it will be up and running again soon. The large pool in the Guardalavaca area is still not open, which is a shame, there is lots of room there to relax in the sun with a bar close by.||The entertainment was loud. There was not a lot of participation in the day time activities. Several times the phrase ‘know your audience’ was brought up. They were not gearing the music to the clientele that was there that week – too young and too loud.||My biggest complaint for the week is the lobby washroom. A resort should have a functional washroom in the lobby for people to use, coming off the bus or while visiting the bar there. There was no running water in it and was in very poor shape. I was warned not to go in, so I didn’t, but apparently the smell was overwhelming, and it was far from clean. ||In the end after our experience and in speaking to friends over at CA I believe we made the right choice in booking at Starfish. We missed parts of CA, and the staff we’d met over the years of going there, but in the end, we had a great trip and can’t...