This review is, of course, only my opinion and is based on
the experience my wife and I had.
We stayed at the Iberostar Daquiri from March 5 until March
19 of this year. It cost a little more than we usually budget for, but we
thought a 4-star resort would offer more. Now we don’t believe it was worth the
extra cost. In our opinion it is only a 3 to 3 1/2-star.
The resort itself is clean and well taken care of. We stayed
in the last building to the north, Pinar del Rio, in room 5150. It was considered Ocean view,
but our view was obstructed by a building. It didn’t bother us too much,
because we don’t spend much time in our room and we were close to the beach. One problem with ocean view: When the wind blew from the East, which was often, we couldn't sit on our patio.
The room was
basic with a King-size bed, which was comfortable. The toilet worked and so did
the shower. We never had an issue with the bathroom and we didn’t run out of
hot water. The fridge leaked water when we moved into the room, but that was
fixed within a short time. The Air Conditioner had only 2 settings: On of Off.
One beef we have: They wanted $28.00 for the safe. Since we
never take much money or valuables on vacations, we didn’t take the safe.
Our maid, Ary, did a great job with cleaning and she changed
our towels when needed. The fridge was always stocked with a new water bottle.
Beach towels: We
didn’t get any until the next day and we had to go to Guest Services to get
them. Exchanging beach towels was a bit of a problem. We exchanged ours only
once.
The Beach:
Iberostar Daquiri has a long stretch of beach. It was also quite wide, but the
beach was not as nice as the beach at other resorts in Cuba. Lots of seaweed
along the shore, especially after a storm. There are plenty of palapas, not the
round ones but the rectangular ones. They don’t give much shade, because they are
not covered with palm leaves. The roof is constructed from poles and the rays
of the sun come through between the cracks.
I’m not sure if it is the location of Guillermo, but it
seemed to us it was windier there than in Cayo Coco. Already the presence of a
place that rents out wind surfing equipment makes us suspect that we are
correct. We had stormy weather the first five days and we couldn’t stay at the
beach. Because of the high winds, everyone went to the pool. It was nearly
impossible to get a spot by the pool. The wind surfers though had a great time.
Food: The food
was okay, but there were issues. Long lineups at the food stations where they
prepare the food. The chicken was always overcooked which made it dry. I had
pork chops three times. The first couple of times they were not bad, but the
third time I could not eat them, because they were so tough. The beef was also
tough. There was lettuce every day, but for the last week there was no descent
salad dressing, only vinegar. Probably not a big deal to some people, but too
me it was, because I like to eat lettuce every day—with salad dressing. They
had shrimp every day, but they were always overcooked and next to impossible to
peel. No lobster.
The fish was excellent; many varieties to choose from, but
you had to stand in line. French Fries were great. Other potatoes were hard.
Great soups which is important to a soup lover like me.
Breakfast was always good with eggs cooked different ways,
pancakes etc. Always yogurt and the buns and bread were good. Cold cuts were
fine; many different kinds of cheeses, but no jam.
The Cuban a la cart:
Big disappointment. They offered the same stuff you get in the buffet only
less. We had the lamb stew or maybe I should say the ‘lamb bones’. The little
bit of meat that clung to the bones was so tough to make it impossible to eat.
Little choice of salads and no choice of desert. Also beware of the fact that
they try to sell you the wine. It comes in bottles and is prohibitively
expensive. Take the house wine or drink beer.
The Mexican a la
cart: Better, but again, basically they serve whatever the buffet serves.
We had pasta with small shrimp infused in whiskey. Okay but nothing special. My
wife got an upset stomach after eating there.
We never tried the Italian one because of the negative
reviews.
One thing that disturbed us were the filthy cushions in the
dining rooms.
Service was fine, except the big tippers got the hugs and
the closer attention. We noticed that tipping was rampant. People tipped the
servers, they tipped every time they got a drink from the bar, and they even
tipped the cooks. I only tip after I receive good service not before.
Entertainment:
The entertainment was first class. Those dancers were so talented. They had a
different show every night.
The only problems were the noisy people at the bar which is behind the
last row of seats. Why they bother going to the show is beyond me. Talking loud
during the show displays disrespect for the performers and disturbs the guests
who are there to enjoy the show.Other observations: The CUC, the Cuban Convertible, is in my opinion a scam from the Cuban government. It isn't worth anything on the world market, but in Cuba it was pretty much on par with the Euro. How they arrive at that I have no idea. It cost $1.40 Canadian Dollars for one CUC, which makes no sense, since the Canadian economy is so much better that the Cuban economy. In a way, they cheat the vendors, because prices are way out of line. A T-shirt, for example, costs between 11 CUC and 20 CUC, which makes it approximately 28.00 Canadian Dollars, and the quality isn't there. We don't buy much in Cuba because of that, but it doesn't keep us from visiting Cuba. It is still a wonderful vacation destination.
We probably won't go back again to this resort because of the winds and the condition of the beach.
