Iberostar Selection Ensenachos — Hotel in Caibarién

4.5 stars! Just back from a wonderful two weeks. It was a package with Air Transat. I travelled with a friend I usually travel with to Mexico. It was our first trip to Cuba, first all inclusive, and first Air Transat experience. I did homework first, quizzing everyone we knew that had gone to Cuba about where they went and what their experiences were like. I perused the dozens of resorts and the different areas. We were used to a small tower with a two floor, large square footage apartment on a great beach and excellent food available in cafes and restaurants. I started looking at the number of rooms in each resort and tried to find something with under 100 rooms. After finding a few in the 4 plus star range I called the CAA travel agent. She had been to my first choice and loved it; I stopped looking. ||Living on the east coast and travelling to Mexico's west coast has gotten very expensive, awkward, and time consuming (three flights, two long layovers 32-36 hours). The price for one person for one week in Coral level all inclusive including flights from Halifax was equal to what I paid last year for one round trip to Mazatlan not including anything else. There's only a king bed in the 1300 square foot villa so I asked the price for two units. The price per person dropped. I asked about two weeks and it dropped again. I booked. ||We left at 8:30 AM, drove to Halifax stopping for a sit down brunch, shopping in Truro, bathroom breaks and finally parked the car in a Park and Fly, arrived when asked to at 3:00 pm. Airport processing was easy and the full, direct flight boarded and left perfectly on time. In Cuba we went through customs and immigration and outside to meet the newish and comfortable bus (with bathroom) to the resort. It was waiting for us and in a short time off we went. Being night we really could see nothing of the country but that was telling as there are blackouts most nights for the population. We arrived at Iberostar Ensenachos Santa Maria, checked in, then were shuttled to the Coral resort 2.5 km away which large busses cannot reach. It was the middle of the night. We were met by three smiling workers who moved our luggage and took us to the villas. I know this is a long story but for me the logistics to get from here to there are important. Every step was easy and there were no issues.||We each had a huge villa but they were not next to each other and it was ridiculous that we had so much room. The first day we tried to figure something out with the concierge Yandry. We ended up with a two floor house over 2000 sq ft with two bedrooms, 2.5 bathrooms, living room, dining area, private porch with jacuzzi, and a view of the bay. It was perfect! Air Transat does not offer the two bedroom houses, we were lucky one was available and as I had paid for two villas the shift was fine with the resort.||The beach is gorgeous: 2 plus km of soft white sand, walk-in warm crystal clear water, a row of shaded palapas with lounge chairs. Just what we wanted. There is a life guard and one day we watched him swim the two km and do his daily workout. ||I walked the resort road every day to the connected resort. At Coral level we could access everything on the huge property which is on its own cay (island) while the people staying at Ensenachos were limited to their end of the cay. Daily I saw birds, flowers, trees and shrubs of the Caribbean and not too many people.||I like to just vege. out and read for most of the day so the place was perfect for me. We never checked into excursions but heard from others what they were doing. There was quite an array offered from visiting farms, to swimming with dolphins, to learning how to roll a cigar. ||At Coral there is a great pool and deck area and several places to dine throughout the day. It is usually a la carte unless there's a special BBQ or gala. The food was the one thing that brought my review to 4.5 stars rather than 5. I expected food shortages but really I was surprised at the variety and the copious amounts offered and served. I have some food sensitivities, do not eat meat, and love fish. Three meats and a fish were offered daily. But the first week we found foods generally over cooked, either too salty or not seasoned enough. The second week it was obvious there was a shift change as the food was presented beautifully and was perfectly cooked. During the first week we talked about not returning because of the food. By the middle of the second week we were convinced we would return. Food does mean a lot to a lot of people and the resort needs to recognize this. Excellent food can be made from limited ingredients. I was happy to finally find black beans on the menu during the second week; a Cuban staple I thought I might see them at every meal. ||We drink but we are not big drinkers...there seemed to be a shortage of limes, fresh lime and lemon juice. The drought in the country is hitting fruit production. So I shifted from limey g and t's to Cuban smokey rum, straight. Yum! Brand names abounded in the bars and the quality was top notch. Missing was a single malt but the smokey rum made up for the gap.||Most evenings there was live music in our lobby. An unexpected but most welcome treat. Excellent musicians, singers, and dancers.||I have to call out to the staff - MOST WONDERFUL STAFF EVER! lots of them too. They work long hours and were so lovely to talk to, get to know a little, and look forward to seeing again. For many this is a life job and they are dedicated. Hector, who organized stretching classes, games on the beach and the pool deck, and emceed special events needs a special thanks as he is a delight to listen to and was able to pull people off their beach chairs to participate and truly have fun.||Tipping needs to be mentioned....we had asked other travellers what they did and that was a great help. USD ones and fives are most appreciated. CAD bills next. CAD coins cannot be used in Cuba and we traded bills for them to help people out. Also traded some worn bills and slightly torn ones which they cannot cash in. Tipping, of course is not mandatory but for 1 or 2 dollars you give someone quite a boost. We also brought an assortment of items to give away...a blood pressure machine, chocolate, nut bars, soaps, toothpaste, some clothes. What received the most positive reaction was two boxes of Covid test kits. Also, I left my traveling supply of band aids, vitamins, shampoo etc. Health related products are much needed. Tips are generally shared and someone told me as they acquire multiples of gifts (like toothpaste) they make sure they get spread around.||I would definitely fly Air Transat again and stay at Coral...

I an currently at this resort, leaving tomorrow and have already decided that I will return or reccommend. It has a lot of potential IF they got proper management. There is no denying the gorgeous atmosphere, dense flowering vegetation and spectacular beaches. However, that is due to the fact that it is a tropical island, not the effort of people. Proper communication would have probably made my review two stars higher and my week more enjoyable. ||FOOD - it's Cuba, and like anywhere else on the island it is OK. Unfortunately, there are no air conditioned restaurants and the flies at the buffet are horrendous. Not to mention it is a long hot walk to the buffet. There are four “restaurants” that are supposed to be rotated nightly - Cuban, Italian, Japanese and Meditterrrean. They are held in the snack bar areas of the two main pools. We were only able to attend one - Sunday night as we left our room for dinner we found a note stuck under the door saying it was cancelled with no explanation or offer to rebook. There is an office “ supposedly’ open 9 to 5 daily, but numerous times we showed up to find it locked. We finally found the office open Monday, only to be told every thing was full which is difficult to understand when the resort is obviously less than 20% full.|I tried to book a dinner on Saturday for my birthday and the office staff said that nothing was available and didn't even glance at his computer or try to accommodate a table for 2.|My husband celebrated his birthday at SANCTUARY at GRAND MEMORIES Santa Maria and and our room was filled with balloons, flowers, a bottle of wine and they booked a nice dinner complete with a birthday cake in an air conditioned restaurant. At Iberostar they could care less, as I mentioned that this trip was a birthday celebration when I booked it. Why ask me if I am celebrating anything when I arrive?|If you aren't too picky on buffet choices there is always buns and pasta (sauce is hit or miss), chicken legs, fresh fruit and rice at most lunches and dinners. Desserts are better than most, with ice cream and an assortment of cookies and iced pastries.|There is supposed to be a 24/7 snack bar but it took 5 days to figure out what's available (and where) as there are no signs or menus. They advertise food in the lobby which is a sandwich of bread and a slice of processed cheese, but often, like today, there isn't even water. ||There is no food or drinks in the rooms, just water, and we were not allowed to bring anything food or drinkwise back to our room ( they obviously have a different definition of “All Inclusive*. It would be really nice to sit on our balcony and have a beer, or have a snack while watching tv at night but the only way to achieve that is to purchase it in the resort store which defeats the purpose of an all-inclusive. The only thing that is making the scarcity of food tolerable is that we brought a lot of snack foods from home.||STAFF - 95% of the staff are all wonderful. They are welcoming, hard-working and polite and it was disappointing to see the lack of tipping from other guests. I have nothing but praise especially for the many cooks, servers and housekeepers we encountered. However, many of the younger male staff, members (early 20s?) who work in the lobby, offices, main building, checking in/out etc my husband and I found to be extremely rude, disdainful, and downright condescending whenever we had questions for them. They have not been helpful or accomodating.Just now, one young female worker was filling up the front of her uniform with all of the toilet paper from a public washroom as I walked in (at least I always bring tissue with me but that doesn't help any of the other guests needing to use the facilities). I saw her walk away with a young male co-worker who was smoking in the main hallway, passing the “No Smoking” sign posted right in front of him.||ROOMS - we have a really nice, very clean room. It is worth the money to upgrade to a duplex. The beds are not comfortable (another fact of life in Cuba) but the big pillows were nice. The inclusion of a tub as well as a shower, and 2 bathrooms was great.|BANK - be wary when using the on-site bank services. The man at the till charged me a creative back pocket fee which I am sure was not a legit transaction once he knew I had no other choice onsite (I was trying to break some money into smaller bills for tipping). Twice he tried to sell me Cuban pesos in a trade for my US dollars which luckiy I had been warned as being worthless to me as a non- civilian. ||TRANSPORTATION - another promise made and not kept. At check-in was told that shuttles and carts run constantly 24/7 all over the resort. They do not run constantly. Our only option was to trek to the llobby and beg a worker to find us a ride which isnt worth the effort. Normally I love walking, but when it is very hot out and the beaches and buffet (pretty much your only meal option) are all situated at the two extreme ends of this very large resort, it would' be really nice to not end up at our destinations pouring buckets of sweat and exhaustion in order to try to sit and enjoy...

Extremely disappointing, save your money and go to another resort.||I’ve been here at the time it just opened, and multiple times right after the pandemic. This resort should not even be open right now, and should not be associated with Iberostar. How come it is worse now than right after the pandemic?||||First of all, the food is not good. I am not complaining about the choice, but about the absolute incompetence, greed, and laziness of the managers. How come it is mango+avocado season in Cuba; they’re sold everywhere in the streets, but half the time there are no mangoes, and barely any avocados? They have blocks of blue cheese sitting, but no avocados?||||Bugs crawl in the rice and other food in the buffet. Flies all over in the punta pirata, and birds fly inside of the building; defecating everywhere. Some of the chairs have bird poop on it, and it's never cleaned. We caught a virus from there (handling? bird contamination?).||Avoid their meat and fish, you will get food poisoning. One of us got EXTREMELY sick from the fish they serve, and management did not take appropriate action for this. Avoid all their whipped cream and desserts, it sits in the heat for hours, it gave me food poisoning. Half the time, the deserts/baked goods taste like gasoline.||Bio-hazard alert ⚠️⚠️⚠️||🤮Their food is not kept at a safe temperature. Additionally, they have 0 refrigeration systems (all broken, which is why this resort should be closed at least until December. But they opened it because they are greedy and don’t care about their customers safety). This means that they bring ALL their food back and forth from other hotels. ||I doubt the food is brought in insulated trucks, and FYI the kitchens also have no fridges or anything. The buffet also does not have proper cooling for the food. ⚠️This means that the food you are eating is perfect breeding grounds for bacteria and bugs. ||The buffet is a genuine biohazard. ||Don’t get your hopes up for the pool snack bars either. Food is left outside in the heat, and birds eat and walk on the food. Employees do nothing about this. So you will get sick from the food they serve anywhere. ||||The water they give you is also very weird. Particles float in it, and it is either poorly filtered sea water, or straight up tap water. ||I wont even speak about how disgusting the water bottles are (they are not properly sanitized, and the juice bottles in the buffet have mold inside the caps). You will also get sick from it, so stick to buying water bottles from the store.||||Additionally, the service is not even on par with the 5 star rating they claim to have. Most of the time, you will have to ask for water and drinks whenever you are eating. Unless you tip first, most of the staff either won’t bother to do what you asked, or will give you mediocre service.||||This hotel’s website advertises they have PAID laundry service. We offered to pay, yet ended up being told by the room service and administration that “They don’t offer it”. Why advertise it then? How is it possible that you can’t wash clothes, yet you wash the towels and bedsheets?||||The main restaurant is under maintenance; so you have to walk to the punta pirata buffet. The hotel will tell you to not worry, that there are golf carts and buses often. The truth is that it will be faster to walk to your room, even if it's on the other side of the resort, than to wait for the bus to come. You will see more employees driving in trucks/carts in a few hours than you see those buses/carts for customers in an entire day.||||The AC system is extremely dusty and dirty, it will give you congestion every time you wake up. The water heating doesn't work, and the shower + bathroom doors of the room we were given don’t even close. ||||Not to mention that the water pressure of the showers are barely existent, and the sink faucet either has barely any water, or will spray anything within 5 meters.||||The only good things about this resort are the beach and the gardens. Everything else sucks. You can’t even blame this on the current situation in Cuba, this is all due to the management being lazy and GREEDY. Why do you keep a resort htat has no way to SAFELY serve food open? Can’t you actually close for a few months and fix what has to be repaired?||We went on a safari trip to Yaguajay (you don’t have to be in Ensenachos for this) and we were met with more hospitality in every single place we went to, than in this “5 star” resort. The food we were given (rice+beans, avocado, and beef) also was cooked and seasoned better than whatever they cook up in the buffets. Those places don’t make anywhere near the same amount of money the resort makes. So do better, Ensenachos, Instead of writing insincere replies, do every customer a favor and close until you can serve food that won’t poison...