El Senador Resort, Cayo Coco, Cuba - Dec. 2005

The Resort was built in 2001 and has recently been sold as of January 2, 2006. The hotel chain of NH Resorts bought it. Their headquarters are in Spain and they own resorts all over the world. They have now changed the name of El Senador to NH Krystal Resort. This resort was rated at 5 stars – and it did use to be that. But now everyone says it is only 3 stars and I agree with them.

TELEPHONE SERVICE: If you need to reach anyone at the El Senador Hotel Complex from abroad, the caller has to dial the international code from their country 53 33 301470 for Laguna Azul or 301070 for the El Emperador. Faxes are received and delivered without charge. Fax numbers are 301490 for Laguna Azul and 301090 for El Emperador.

FLIGHT: our flight left Toronto and the whole flight went to the El Senador Resort (El Emperador side) except for 4 people who went to Trypp Resort. Upon landing – customs/luggage/bus ride to resort/reception/rooms – all of this was very speedy and took only about 1½ hours – then we went to the buffet and then onto the beach.

CUBA TIME: This winter in Cuba they did not turn their clocks back. So for Ontario, Canada it means that Cuba time is one hour head. Because of this the sun does not rise till 7am and no one goes to the buffet for breakfast till about 8am or later. This is the first resort where the visitors slept in late in the mornings.

RESORT: The El Senador is actually two hotels side by side. One named the “Laguna Azul” and the other “El Emperador”. We have always preferred the El Emperador – used to be less kids there but not so anymore.

ROOMS: - all of the rooms are in blocks – some 2 storey and some 3 storey. The Villas are on stilts in the lagoon. (In my opinion it is a waste of money to rent a Villas – the lagoon smells bad and in the hot weather it is too hot to sit outside on the balcony – there is no breeze coming into the lagoon.) When we visited the resort in 2002 it was 5 stars – now it is only 3 stars. All of the rooms have recently been painted (think it was done for resale value). A lot of the ground floor rooms, and some of the 1st floor rooms smell of mould and mildew. We were first given, at our request, a ground floor room. It smelt so bad I had to sleep my first night with a sheet over my nose! At 6:30am I went to reception and was given a fabulous room on the 1st floor in another building. Staff helped me move clothing, etc – all moved in within half hour while Ken was still wandering around looking for the new block!

FOOD: This is the area where there were major changes from our last visit. If you dislike seafood do not visit this resort.
- It used to be that they served Canadian beef – no so anymore. The beef is horrid and I don’t know what the cow looked like that the huge roast came from but the hip joint looked like it came from a dinosaur! The “hamburg’s” – yuck!
- There were no fresh salads. Their “lettuce” looked and tasted like shredded some form of ???. The tomatoes were red and green and unripe. Lots of olives though.
- All of the veggies in the meals were from frozen bags.
- Their “lasagne” was a runny indescribable mess.
- Nothing had flavour – everything except the freshly cooked fish tasted flat and bland.
- Their pepper was also tasteless.
- At the pasta table where the chef prepared fresh cooked pasta – the white sauce had no flavour. A few times at the pasta table when there was fresh garlic I would go and get some fresh garlic and sprinkle it all over my other food.
- The fresh fruits were pineapple/grapefruit/mango and oranges – same everyday.
- I never ate their bread – but it was mostly all white and very coarse texture. Lots of brioche – but make sure you dip them in coffee first else they were tough.
- If you love sausages like I do – well their “sausages” were the worst I have ever eaten in my life! Loved their salty bacon though.
- The juices were not fresh – sort of like from a powder package mix.
- No porridge or yoghurt available.
- The soup in the big pot which was served at lunch and dinner – I wouldn’t touch it – looked like last nights leftovers!
- The coffee was the best I’ve ever had – wish we could buy it here in Ontario.
- The cereal was put out in large bowls and I saw many kids shoving their hands in the bowl and messing the cereals about – Never ate any cereal!
- For me the best food of all was the seafood – I ate tons and tons of it. Thursday night is “seafood night” – a huge feeding frenzy. One Thursday the spiny lobster was cut in circles but the next Thursday the lobster was cut in half’s – that’s when the feeding frenzy went on. No melted butter or garlic though so the lobster ended up with no flavour!
- We ate in the buffet every night after our one experience in the Seafood Restaurant - we walked out in the middle of our sitting - the meal was a mess! But others at another time were served lobster. We just got a sloppy mess.

- Lots of mashed potatoes and dried wedges, but we were never served any baked potatoes.

The best thing in the buffet was the chef “Yavesky” – make sure you say hello to him.

My husband disliked the repetitiveness of the food selections and the food in general. At the airport while waiting to depart a large group started talking about the food. The general consensus was that upon arriving home everyone wanted a thick steak, baked potato and fresh salad.

CULTURAL MIX: It used to be that the resort was mostly Canadians (It was built by the Canadian Hockey Pension Assoc. – or something like that). But now there are more Brits than anyone plus Quebecois. It is overrun by children. They screamed and ran all over the buffets and restaurants while running into people. Not my idea of a peaceful paradise!

BICYCLES: The brochure states that they are available. Forget it! My friend tried for nearly 2 weeks to get one. They are only available on the Laguna side. And then there were only 3 of them – two had flat tires. I saw many staff using bicycles so I think that is where most of them went to!

BEACH: As other reviews mention – it is the beach that makes this resort excel. The sand is the very best in the Caribbean. It is so soft and silky. Very few shells on the beach though. The beach is long and when the winds are down and the tide it out the beach becomes very wide. There are lots of beach lounge chairs and a person will bring one to you and wipe off for you – tip expected. Make sure you get taken out on the free Hobie Cats – say hi to Ronney there. The Nautico staff was all wonderful so have fun with the free boats.

CURRENCY: Exchange your money at the airport or at the resort “bank” or at the reception desk for Cuban Convertible Tourist Pecos. Each Cuban Convertible Pecos is equal to about $1 US. Spend it all before you return home though.

TIPPING: Take lots of money or gifts for tips! We gave our room service person something most days and tipped our “Super Chef” about every second day. Also don’t forget the bar people – there are lots of bars all over! And the restaurant wait people; and the singers; and the dancers; and the….. well the list goes on and on. The staff will accept any currency for tips. One groundsperson that we know ran up to Ken and showed him a “loonie” and a “twonooie” and asked him what they were.

DEPARTURE TAX: At the airport upon departure it cost 25 Cuban Convertible Pecos. You can exchange your CAD money at the airport for CCP as the departure tax can only be paid in CCP currency. In CAD it cost us a little over $68 for 50 CCP.

COMPUTER ROOM: There is one computer (you have to pay a change for it) for visitors use. Not many people used it. Some emails will get through and some won’t – it is a “hit and miss” process – same for sending post-cards via “snail mail” – ones we sent out arrived 2 months later.

POOLS: There are lots of pools including an “Adults Only” pool – the only pool and place where it is peaceful. We are not “pool” people and only sat on a pool lounge chair for one hour. The noise level of the entertainment was horrific. Quite a few asked the pool entertainer to turn the volume down but she said her "boss" told her she has to have it up very loud.

TOURS: On our previous trip to Cuba we went on a few daily tours so we didn't go on any this trip. A friend went on the ½ day bus trip into Morin and she told us it was horrid. The "tour guide" on the bus droned on and on over a loudspeaker for the whole 1¼ hour ride into Morin - and then the same on the return to the hotel. 2½ hours of boring loud indoctrination. The trip there was over a causeway with trees/scrubs on either side so there was nothing to see. Once at Morin the tour guide pointed out a restaurant for them to eat their lunch in. They took one look and skipped lunch.

STAFF: Along with the beach this is also the resorts best asset. We were familiar with many of the staff from our former visit so that was nice. University education in Cuba is free and most of all of the staff are university educated. That person who tends bar might be a scientist or an architect; that person behind the reception desk might be a lawyer. That person in change of the beach parachute – a Cuban or Russian mig fighter pilot (yes they are!). We love the staff and they are all very helpful and extremely friendly. Most speak English but do try to learn some Spanish phrases as they love to hear that. Talk to the staff as they are very interesting and learn something about Cuba and its future.

WRAP-UP: With all of the negatives and positives given above bare in mind that one only gets what one pays for. We got a super price and we are not complaining and yes we would go again as we love the resort with the exception of all of the kids running around. (There should be a separate area in the buffet for kids – just my opinion.) If you want the quality of a Sandals don’t expect it at El Senador so don’t complain!

Valerie and Ken Boal
Email: valerieb@ntl.sympatico.ca
My website for photos: http://www.nt.net/valerieb/files05Cuba/index.htm

Public holidays In Cuba

• January 1st : Liberation Day
• January 6th : Day of the Uprising
• January, February : Varadero Carnival
• May 6th : Labour Day
• July 26th : Commemoration of the Assault of the Moncada Garisson
• October 8th : Anniversary of the death of Che Guevara
• October 10th : Anniversary of the beginning of the War of Independence in 1868.