Memories Caribe Beach Resort, Cayo Coco, Cuba

 My wife and I were at Memories Caribe from March 5 to March 20th, 2013. We liked the resort, but did have some issues. Of course, this was our experience and it is our opinion. The resort is well run and organized. The grounds are clean, and it is evident that the management tries to make it a place where vacationers are happy. The employees are friendly and they all word hard.

The beach is fantastic and great for families. We found it a bit crowded, especially since about a fifth of the available beach is reserved for the Diamond Club members, and that part has all the palm trees and therefore all the shade. There are lots of palapas and beach chairs, but if you’re late coming to the beach you may not find a shady place or a chair, especially on sunny days.

The beach when the tide is low

The food was excellent. This was our fourth time in Cuba, and in our opinion the quality of the food at Memories Caribe was the best we’ve experienced so far. And it was as good as or even better than the food we’ve had at some of the resorts in the Dominican Republic. There were always plenty of vegetables, hot and cold. The selection of meat was also fine; chicken, pork, lamb, beef, and sausage. And cheese. Plenty of bread, always butter. Unfortunately, we had lettuce only during the first couple of days. No decent salad dressing, just oil and vinegar. Fish was Basa, Tilapia, Salmon, and some type of white fish which we found to be a bit on the soft side. They served plenty of Mussels and Shrimp every day, but, sadly, no Lobster. The crab they had a couple of times was not memorable. Certainly, the food gets a bit repetitive after a few days, but there was never a shortage of anything. The beer was of excellent quality as was the Chilean wine, which was served from bottles.

The room: We stayed in Room # 2219. It was quite large with a fantastic view of the lagoon. The balcony faced east, which treated us to a beautiful sunrise each morning. The king-size bed, unfortunately, was uncomfortable, hard and a bit lumpy. Not good for a person with back problems. The water pressure in the shower was low, but most of the time the water was hot. There is a hairdryer and a plug for 110 Volts in the bathroom, but the plug works only with an electric razor. It won’t take a curling iron. We never ran out of toilet paper, but they give you soap only once. So, bring a bar of soap.

The A/C worked okay. It was noisy, though, and ran continuously. The fan didn’t shut off automatically. The thermostat has a switch to shut off the A/C and fan.

View of the lagoon from our balcony

Entertainment: They were repairing the stage, which meant the evening show took place in a small room. There were a few tables and couches, but the room was not large enough to hold many people. We only went once. The dancers were talented, but we couldn’t really enjoy the show, because the music was so loud we left with our ears ringing. On Sundays, there was a water ballet by the pool and it was quite enjoyable.

There was a restaurant near the beach, but it only had a few tables outside. They didn’t allow anyone inside. Also, the food selection was limited. Too bad about that, because many times we would have liked to eat there. You could get hamburgers, fries, and hot dogs from a small stand right at the beach. Also, beer and drinks.

We didn’t go to any à la carte restaurants, so we can’t comment on them.

One really negative event was the fact that we had a plane full of students from Toronto there for a week. The young people were loud and rowdy; getting drunk and making a nuisance of themselves. They took over the beach bar and the bar by the pool. We didn’t experience any problems because of our room’s location, but people who were near the pool area complaint about the noise.

There were also many families with small children, but the children were all well behaved and didn’t create any problems for other vacationers.

Overall we did enjoy our vacation. The weather turned cool for a few days and we did have high winds, but that is not the fault of the resort. One major blunder we made was booking in November with RedTag.ca Vacations, mistakenly believing we’d get a better deal when we booked early. Had we waited we would have saved hundreds of dollars. When we brought this to the attention of the people at RedTag.ca Vacations, they told us there was nothing they could and would do about it. They made no effort to compensate us.

Because we paid so much more for this vacation, we don’t feel we received value for our money. We can’t blame the resort for that, because we don’t know how much influence they have over pricing, but it did taint our opinion of this resort.

Would we go back? Not for the money we paid.

Comments and opinions about Memories Caribe Resort, Cayo Coco, Cuba

March 2013

This is a more detailed version of the above report which I wrote for TripAdvisor.

The Beach:

The beach is fantastic. No rocks, no broken shells, no corral. You don’t need water shoes to get into the water. One can walk far because it is flat with no dips and has a gradual decline. The water is crystal clear. When the tide is low one can find small starfish and sand dollars (flat sea urchins) just below the surface of the sand on the exposed sandbars. Unfortunately, when the winds are high, they bring lots of seaweed, however they beach attendants remove it quickly and rake the sand every day.

Beautiful shells in the water

Sand dollars in the sand

The problem is what the resort did with the beach. They divided it into two parts. About a fifth of the beach is reserved exclusively for the Diamond Club. That part of the beach has all the tall palm trees and therefore all the shade. Also, it is not as crowded as the rest of the beach. The other half of the beach has no palm trees, only palapas. Some are round, but the roofs are too high and too small to provide adequate shade.

The palapas in the center row are of the square type. They do provide shade, but one has to move the beach lounges around as the day progresses, so if there are more than two people under the palapa there is no room to move. Some will be in the shade and some will be in the sun. Even if there are only two people under the palapa and they move with the shade, which sometimes will be partially outside of the palapa, there is the danger that other people will move into the vacated spot under the palapa. We saw that happening.

Early in the morning. The palapas in the center row are already claimed.

The problem is that the side of the beach designated for the majority of vacationers is crowded with little space between the lounges. Most of the lounges are hard plastic. The blue ones are even more uncomfortable than the white ones. If you get to the beach too late, all the lounges may be taken. Soft, canvas-covered ones are available, but only by getting chummy with one of the beach attendants and by giving them a tip every day. They will reserve the lounges and the spot by putting their own t-shirts on the chair, or you can leave one of your shirts or towels with them. I made friends with one of the attendants by bringing him sandwiches in the morning and giving him a can of beer in the afternoon. I even gave him the bottle of rum I received as a welcome gift from the resort. The attendants do work very hard and I didn’t consider this a bribe, but it helped me in getting my soft chairs every day, plus my spot under one of the square palapas. That’s how the world works anyway. You have to play the game, like it or not. A little grease goes a long way.

That brings me to the next subject: Tipping.

Tipping:

When you book an all-inclusive resort gratuities are included.

That, of course, is a myth. They are not. You are expected to tip even if you’re told you don’t have to.

We only took one trip on this vacation. We went to Morón. I’ll write about that in another article. In Morón we rode a horse-drawn carriage for about ten minutes. Even though we were told we didn’t have to tip, how can you not to when the driver has a sign behind his seat that reads: Your tip is my salary?

When we went to a crocodile breeding farm our guide told us we could pictures for free. After my wife took a picture of me holding a baby crocodile, the attendant said, “One Peso.” (That’s more than one Canadian Dollar). There were a few guys standing around holding baby crocodiles inviting you to take pictures, but there weren’t any signs anywhere about paying anything.

Even though all the tips were supposed to be included on this trip, we had to tip constantly. There was always somebody standing there with an open hand. If it wasn’t an open hand it was a cup or a plate. Very subtle!

We tipped more on this vacation to Cuba than we ever did before. Did it help? Maybe. It surely helped us at the beach. It obviously didn’t do much good with the room service. One time we got only one fresh towel. A couple of times there was no small towel. The shower jell was never replaced once the initial bottle was used up.

One evening at supper after giving the server $1.00 (Cuban Peso) when she brought me my beer, she ignored me for the rest of the meal. I would have liked another beer, but she never came back to our table and asked if I would like one. Perhaps she expected a higher tip. That was the last time I tipped her.

I have no problem with tipping, and I try to be as generous as I can afford. At home or when traveling with the car, I usually tip between 15 and 20 %, which in my opinion is too much, but it seems to be what is expected these days. It is part of the price of the meal. In fact, some restaurants will add 15 % automatically for larger groups of people at a table. I find that a bit pushy and, actually, downright insulting.

Tipping should not be expected. It is supposed to be a reward for providing good service, but it seems to have changed into a form a bribe.

When I go out for supper I like to get my beer with my meal; not half an hour before, because by that time it will be warm and stale. I also don’t want it when I’m finished eating, unless I say so. It is a simple request, but some servers seem to have a problem with that. I remember one time at The Keg in Winnipeg I got my beer at the same time as I swallowed the last piece of my steak. Every time I reminded the waitress about my beer she told me it was on the way. I don’t know where it was supposed to come from. It was just a local beer made in Canada.

 My wife thinks I’m unreasonable with my request. Nobody asks for that kind of thing. Well...I do. I’m not asking for some unknown exotic beer or wine from a place nobody ever heard of. A regular beer with my meal is all I want. The task is simple; there is no difficult math involved here.

This is my reasoning: If I order a beer would she bring me wine instead? If I want my steak medium done I don’t want it rare. If I order a baked potato I don’t want rice. If I order my beer with my meal I don’t want it before or after. The whole thing seems simple and reasonable to me.

My tip depends on how my simple request is handled. I left her a small tip, but I should have left her a penny as a sign of my dissatisfaction with her service.

I think this whole tipping business has gone way out of proportion, and it is partially the fault of the consumer. Perhaps, some people want to brag about how much money they have by giving huge tips, even if they don’t have that kind of money. Let’s face it, the people who go to the lower priced resorts are people who look for bargains. If they were so rich they would go to higher rated and more expensive resorts. Perhaps, some people are just getting sucked in by this. They feel sorry for the poor people who live in these third world countries and have to work so hard. Yes, they work hard, but when I was still working I worked hard and put in many hours a day. Nobody ever felt sorry for me or gave me any tips. I realize, there are certain jobs where the employees depend on tips to make some extra money, even in our country, but there are also people who save their hard-earned money to be able to go on a trip. They simply can’t afford to be big tippers. It’s not in their budget. Should they not get the same type of service as the ones who go crazy with their tips by tipping everyone who holds out a plate or cup to them? I don’t think so.

We are lucky to live in a free country where we have the opportunity to be rewarded for hard work. We can feel sorry for people who live under oppressed conditions, people who can never get ahead even if they work hard, but there isn’t much we can to about that. That’s just the way the world is. People have to bring about changes in their own country by changing their political system. It is not our job to interfere. It is enough if we go to their resorts and support them that way, but at the same time we can expect service and value for our hard-earned money, even without leaving big tips. Tips are just a bonus some people can afford to give. It should not be expected and should not be exploited. That’s just my opinion; even if it makes me sound cheap. Some people will read it as such, but that’s okay. I will tip when it is warranted.

The Pool:

We are not pool people. We like to spend our time at the beach. When it was too windy and cold by the beach one day, we tried to find a beach chair at the pool, but everyone had the same idea that day, so we never used the pool. However, when I put my foot into the water I found it too cold for my taste. Besides, there was hardly any shade at the pool and not enough lounges. The same thing that’s happening at the beach with lounges seems to happen at the pool with reserving chairs. We also found it too noisy there. They always played loud music and had something going that involved noise, like playing bingo and stuff like that. The pool was not a place to relax.

The Room:

Our room was quite nice. It was large with a King size bed, a loveseat, a chair, a desk and a chair. And a TV which worked. The Fridge was stocked every day with water, soft drinks and beer. We had a small safe, which was free. The balcony had a couple of chairs and a table and the view was fantastic. We overlooked the lagoon and it faced east, which meant we awoke every day to the rising sun.

Of course, there are always issues and we had ours. The Air conditioner ran continuously and didn’t shut down by itself, but we could use the thermostat to switch it off. We did so some nights because the A/C was noisy. It kept the humidity down but the temperature never went down to the level we set the thermostat.

The bathroom was okay, basic with a tub, a sink, and a toilet. The toilet didn’t flush a couple of times, but I fixed it by jiggling the valve inside the holding tank. The shower worked fine, but there wasn’t always hot water. The water pressure was low but good enough. The plug in the bathroom, even though it provides 110 V, can be used only for an electric razor. It won’t take a curling iron or another hair dryer.

Because of the windy conditions outside we could hear rattling and howling in the air ducts.

The patio door also rattled, but I stopped that by putting a wedge of paper at the bottom and top of the door.

The king size bed was uncomfortable. It seemed firm at first, but it had tiny bumps digging into your body. We used the blanket they supplied and put it under the sheet to make it softer. My wife still used our towels to sleep on. It helped a little but not much. I awoke every day with a backache.

There was no way to completely lock the entrance door to the room from the inside. Somebody had removed the bolt from the manual lock. Anyone with a passkey could walk right into the room. The guy who stocked the fridge did so every day, even if we were inside the room. There was no sign to hang onto the doorknob the let the cleaning crew know that you didn’t want to be disturbed.

The Food:

Overall the food was good, but it became repetitive after a week. There was the usual fare, like pork, beef, chicken, and the odd time lamb. They had meatloaf, carved pork or ham; sometimes they carved from a large chicken, sausage, and meatballs.

Potatoes came in different forms: boiled, baked, mashed, fried, with and without peels. They also had sweet potatoes and rice in different forms. Vegetables consisted of corn, beans, lentils, cabbage, peas, broccoli, and cauliflower. It was all good. Never too soft and mushy. We had lettuce the first few days and then we couldn’t find it anymore.

Jambalaya was available every day, as were shrimp, cold or fried. They still had the shell on and it was a bit messy eating them. One could also get mussels and the odd time sushi. They served crab twice, but there wasn’t much meat in the small claws. The fish was Tilapia, Basa, and some kind of Whitefish. We didn’t care for most of it.

If one didn’t mind waiting, they stir-fried all the meats and fish. There was a pasta station where they made great pasta.

The soup was good, except for the fish soup, which I found too salty.

Desserts were also good, with many varieties of cake, cookies and small tortes. Rice pudding and Jell-O, plus ice-cream and fresh fruit, like mangos, pineapple, bananas, pieces of oranges and grapefruit. Also some canned fruit.

They served the usual at breakfast: fried eggs, boiled eggs, omelettes, sausage, cheese, pancakes, plenty of bread, always butter. The yogurt was served in liquid form from jugs and it was descent. The orange juice was excellent.

I loved the bread. There was always plenty and it was fresh.

The beer was good and the wine came from bottles (made in Chile). It was good enough for any palate.

Negative points: We had to wait in line a few evenings to get into the dining room because it was full, which meant we couldn’t choose our table.

Positive points: The tables were covered with table cloths. There were always two forks and two knives. If the spoons were missing the servers brought one immediately. 

The service was excellent and everyone was treated equally, no matter what language they spoke, unlike in Samana (Dominican Republic) where they catered to the people from Quebec and ignored English speaking vacationers completely. By the way, the majority of visitors to Memories were from Quebec, but they didn’t get preferred treatment.

In my opinion the food at Memories Caribe was the best we’ve had in Cuba so far and as good if not better than on resorts in the Dominican Republic or Mexico. There was never a shortage of food. When the dishes were empty they were replaced almost immediately with new, full ones.

The Entertainment:

One word: Disappointing. They were working on the stage, which meant the shows took place in the disco. The room was too small and not set up properly. There were only a few couches, tables and chairs, and a bar. There was no stage. The performers danced in one corner of the room.

We went only once and that was enough.

The dancers were talented and put on a nice show. However, the music was unbearably loud. The speakers were blaring, and instead of enjoying the show we suffered from vibrating chests and finally left with our ears ringing.

One of our enjoyments on holidays is going to the evening shows. This was the first time we didn’t go, and we feel let down.

There is a lounge with a bar in the main building where one can spend the evening. Entertainment is provided by a musician playing the piano. We spent one evening in the lounge listening to Ismael. He played beautiful and relaxing music, all the old songs like La Paloma, Memories etc. It was pleasant to sit and listen to him. We even bought one of his CDs.

Unfortunately, the lounge is small with not many tables and chairs, and it is not always possible to get a table, but there are tables and chairs outside where one can sit and still hear the music.

The water ballet on Sundays is great and is well worth watching. The music is also pleasant and not too loud.

The trip to Moron:

The resort offers a variety of trips. We took the one to Moron. You get picked up at 8:00 AM and brought back at around 3:30 PM. It costs 55 Cuban pesos per person. Everything included, which means lunch. They don’t mention the tips you need to spend.

The bus was comfortable and air-conditioned. The guide (a woman) was informative.

Unless this is your first time in Cuba, it is not really worth going on this trip, and the cost is not justified. You drive across the land bridge, which is one of the highlights of the trip. The landscape is bleak, not much to see but cattle and sugarcanes along the road. It doesn’t look any different than anything that can’t be seen in the Dominican Republic or Mexico.

The crocodile breeding farm is small and uninteresting. They charge you 1:00 peso for having someone take a picture of you holding a baby crocodile.

This picture cost me one Cuban Peso.

Not much to see in Moron, except for old, rundown buildings that need to be repaired and painted. The vendors at the market offer the same trinkets you can buy anywhere in Cuba and other vacation places in the south. Even the people are the same, living in the same poor conditions as anywhere else in these countries. I’m not saying this in a negative way, that’s just the way things are there. Seeing it once is enough.

We stopped at one place where they offered a piña colada as part of the trip. We paid 1:00 peso for a bottle of water. There was no paper in the washroom. The next stop was a restaurant where we listened to a band playing. The free welcome drink was a cocktail. We paid 1:00 for a can of cola. We only found out it wasn’t included in the trip after we ordered it.

The short trip on a horse-drawn carriage cost us another peso. The driver had a sign behind his seat: Your tip is my salary. How can you leave the carriage without leaving a tip?

Then we went for a speedboat ride across a small lake. On the other side was a jungle and we drove down a water trail where we saw termite hills in the trees and the odd orchid. The highlight of this part was watching a fisherman standing in the water up to his hips fishing for Tilapia.

Then back to the restaurant where we had lunch but only after leaving another tip with the driver of the boat.

The washroom had water and soap but no means to dry your hands.

We were dropped off at our resort around 3:30. We left a tip of 5:00 pesos for the bus driver and the guide. How can anyone walk past the small basket on the dashboard?

We may have enjoyed this trip a little more had it not been one of the nicest days on this holiday weather-wise. The sun was shining, it was hot and there was barely any wind. A perfect day to spend at the beach, especially since the weather changed the day after and stayed unpleasant for the next few days.

Miscellaneous comments:

A plane full of students from Toronto came on Saturday, March 9. They stayed for one week. Unfortunately, the young people behaved badly. They were rowdy and loud. The first day they took over the beach. They stood around the beach bar, drinking and yelling. Quite a few of them became drunk. It was pretty much impossible to get a lounge chair by the pool or even a table by the pool bar for the rest of the week. Apparently, they also did a bit of damage around the property.

Fortunately, our room was far enough away form the pool and we weren’t bothered by the noise. 

Memories Caribe is a beautiful place and aside from a few issues a resort that we recommend. As long one doesn't expect a five stare resort and is happy with everything else. The weather didn't quite co-operate, but nobody can control that.

Here are a couple more pictures: