August 2019: I contacted the school for 2pax x 1week kite equipment rental, total 980$
They pushed me to buy online (via a Canadian site) in advance despite of any weather forecast, with such messages:
“but you will need to reserve the equipment online in our web site before your arrival to Cuba.”
“you have to book the rental 2 weeks in advance to be sure it will be ready at the school.”
“During the week if you can't ride because the weather is not good we will return the full amount to your credit card.”
When my son and I arrived, we found very few, very old, all taped kites of various brand (not Core and Fone as advertised on the web). Bars mismatched and peeled. Boards with torned straps and broken fins.
In total, 1x17mq Core (2017), 1x14mq Fone (2017), 1x13mq Slingshot (2018, left during lunch at the sun by the instructor the first day and broke out), 1x12mq beginner level, 1x12 under repairing, a couple of 9mq. These were all kites available for 2 persons even if I paid in advance “to be sure it will be ready at the school”.
The first 3 days there was light wind as normal in August (3 days with an average of 13 knots) but with some good equipment, we could have some fun. I was obliged to use the 17 all three days (with lighter and stronger wind), my son used 12 one day, 14 the other day, and one day no other kite was available because the 14 was used for a lesson. The remaing 4 days the school was closed (for no wind), but the instructor left key available to use a SUP (we used 1 hour). We had no chance to discuss any refund locally, because the instructor (apologizing for the very poor quality of the equipment) suggested to write to the boss (never seen locally) via mail and the school was closed when we left.
And when I wrote (and wrote again) to the online contact to have at least 50% of refund… surprise! For mr. Leandro Jonte (the boss, I guess) all was perfect! Material was regularly maintained and fixed and it work perfectly. He said I received a VIP service, even free SUP. I broke the kites. And if I really used poor equipment (I provided photos), the photos I sent were not part of the School equipment but I choosed the personal instructor equipment. Ahahah! Very creative!
Story short, I did not get any refund, or any additional reply. So please avoid to make the same mistake I did trusting them. I threw away 980$. What a pity!
