I travelled with Holasun from Toronto and the service from the check in and flight with Canjet was excellent. The staff that early in the morning were cheerful and made you forget you were in a line. At the Santiago airport, a package with room keys, resort bracelet and registration card made for a no fuss checkin. The safe keys were available at reception for 2 CUC per day (about $2,cad per day). The road was in good condition for about an hour of the one hour and forty minute journey. Some new culverts and crossings have been built and the rough spots are a combination of sand, gravel and asphalt. The hurricane helped dig some of those ruts a little deeper but the bus drivers do their best to keep the ride as smooth as possible. Reminds me of a couple of northern Ontario roads..The road equipment that had been working on the roads were moved to safety when Sandy came and has been needed elsewhere at the moment. The resort is built into the side of bluff. Done in levels with level five being the lobby, restaurants, pool, bank, shops, the stage show and 2 bars. We stayed on level three which put us two staircases of 20 steps each to get to most of the activities for the day. Elevators servicing the rooms has been replaced and they were just completing the facings with tiles. The service elevator behind the stage was working but you still needed to go down one level of stairs to use.
Our room, 329 was an oceanview which gave us a great shaded view in the morning to enjoy our coffee and a breathtaking view of the sunset every evening. Rooms were a little dated but were clean and comfortable. Beds were firm and ask right away for extra pillows because they were a little slim.There is a 110 outlet under the tv, but I did have a european converter that was helpful in the bathroom. Lots of towels for us and a courtesy basket with soap, body wash, shampoo, tissue.Even a couple of toothbrushes with paste for us forgetful travellers.Water was always the right temp for a shower and shower was perfect. The tv in our room was an older style but other guests had flatscreen. For being away from home, one of the stations was CTV Toronto, so we could keep up to date if we wanted to. There is no fridge or coffeemaker in the room, but the lobby bar is open 24 hours a day Air worked well and didn't make a lot of noise..A beach towel voucher is provided and it is up to you to keep track as it will cost you 25CUC if you misplace it. There are interconnecting rooms available for that family needing more space.
Restaurants had enough choices for even that fussy eater. We found the choices more varied at breakfast and lunch than supper for the buffet. There was a lunch counter at the bar that served hotdogs, hamburger, grilled cheese sandwiches, pizza and fries from 4pm until 1am. The eco restaurant at the beach was a secluded oasis with excellent burgers and salad. (bring your favorite salad dressing as there is very limited choice). The cuban restaurant was good and the mariposa was ok. There was always a good selection and everything was marked in english. If you were still in doubt, all the servers speak excellent english.
Pool was a good size with depths of one foot to about 3.5 feet. A volleyball net is set up most of the time.Lots of chairs were available but shade could be a challenge when the resort is full. The volleyball end of the pool also has pool bar seating. Watch the tile around the pool as it does get a little slippery. The hot tub is awesome as it could hold a good size group. The pool bar staff are amazing. PS all the staff resort wide are over the top in customer service.
The beach is a dark sand, which reminds me of a lake or two I have been to at home. Lots of beach chairs and they were rebuilding the beach bar while we were there. There are paddleboats, kayaks and more to keep us busy and the area in front of the hotel reminds me of a sheltered lagoon. Some of our friends did a little snorkelling down the way from the resort and said there was lots to see. We took a snorkelling tour about 10 minutes from the resort and it was awesome. It was part of our package. The beach is a sand bottom but I do suggest water shoes as there some hazards that will keep you hopping without.Beach needs to be groomed every morning as I have seen other resorts do to remove treasures brought in by the wind and the tide. Right now I understand they are dealing with prioritities from the storm.
We also did the moped tour and it is excellent (cost is 25CUC). Visited a school of which I had brought Canada tatoos and my friend had school supplies. Also a farm, bat cave, red sand beach and back. Frisbees and sunglasses were great things to have brought along and played a great game with some of the local children on the beach.
Entertainment. There were shows everynight at 9pm. Dancing, bands,a watershow in the pool, and more. Thru the day we had Annie, Maybe and Tony try to keep us busy. Spanish lessons, dancing lessons, bingo, volleyball. All the entertainment was well done. Now a ps. The stage has many soft spots and there are boards even missing. They invite you, the audience, to come up for the house dance. Be aware that it is not in good condition and is a risk to the dancers, entertainment staff and guests. Please help be a force to get this looked after as soon as possible.
There is also a basketball court and two tennis courts that looked like they have been surfaced recently. Also a minigolf course. Above the pool bar, there are a couple of pool tables, ping pong table and tables for cards, etc. There is also a disco off the reception area that is open from 10:30pm on.
Internet is dialup and was hit and miss. I do suggest that the hotel look into WIFI as more and more of us are wanting to continue contact with work and home. However cell phone service seemed outstanding. There is a bank and shop on the property but the hours being open were all over the map. There is a medical centre and a kids club.
I want to thank the staff at the Brisas Sierra Mar because it is you that make this an amazing holiday. You are the resort, and great representatives of the hotel, your community and your country. Excellent service, professional in your outlook and we left good friends.
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Date of stay: November 2012Trip type: Travelled on business
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This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.
My girlfriend and I are younger 20 somethings and have spent the last 2 summers in the Canadian Rocky Mountains, so we are atuned to "ruffing it", as we are the hiking, biking, camping in the middle of no where kinda people (while in BC that is, Ontario sucks...)
We booked through Sunquest, an affiliate of Alba tours, Skyservice and Conquest.
Santiago de Cuba is a great place for anyone wanting a quiet escape without the crowds, the clamor and the line-ups at the larger Cuban resorts.
We flew out of toronto April 19th, but unfortunately had a connection at Cienfugos airport (don't like flying). The flight was okay… it was a Conquest Airbus 319 (was supposed to be a bigger Skyservice Airbus 320). Although this airline is hit and miss, so I’ve heard. We arrived at night, so we were a little disoriented when we got there.
We got this trip for very little money, $1200 with taxes and insurance for my girlfriend AND me, so we weren't expecting the Royal York...
Rooms:
Out first room (203) was on the crappy side, but we didn’t expect much for what we paid. Our first impression was tainted by the fact that when we opened the door, it crushed a snake (and my girly-friend is “scared” of snakes). The room also smelled of mildew because the air conditioner wasn’t working properly. We were very tired, so we just went to sleep…
The next morn our tour rep was eager to help us with our room troubles (Helena was amazing!!) We woke up to realize our room looked out onto the tennis courts – yuk! She worked all day to get us a new room. Our new room (319) was exactly what I pictured as a great Cuban getaway!!! Beautiful ocean view, king-size bed, air-conditioning and a nice balcony to look into the beautiful Caribbean sea! A huge upgrade from our last room!!
Our house cleaners were amazing! We left 1 convertible peso each day and fancy body washes and stuff that we brought down for this purpose… everyday our room was impeccably clean and she also left origami bed sheet designs on our bed, like 4 foot tall swans made out of the blanket and intricate butterflies and hearts…
Entertainment:
There was first rate entertainment every night at 9:30pm, and even some latin trovadores playing at the evening meal. Late night entertainment consisted of getting drunk at one of the bars, listening to the pianist in the lounge and the disco (we didn’t go to that).
Staff:
The staff were amazingly friendly and helpful. Everyone wanted to help us and get us drinks. Learn some simple Spanish – it helps!
Food:
The food was wonderfully prepared, yet very simple. It is really healthy food with lots of cooked vegetables and fresh fruit. The al carte restaurant was closed for the season, but the “jungle” restaurant was open for $5 extra dollars per person. It’s a wonderful experience in the forest dining with amazing food!!! Mosquitoes for only 20 min, but bring deet!!! Frogs, and toads singing as your entertainment and fireflies the size of golf balls!!!
Things to do:
If snorkeling is your thing Sierra Mar has many coral reefs just of shore, accessible by swimming or by free paddle boats. Just snorkeling by the shore was amazing too (never done it before). The mud bath tour was worth the $15 per person, as it was very rustic and invigourating!! A good place to meet other guests too! Volley ball and baseball can be played with the locals in the country side and in the nearest town Chivirico. We didn't go on any of the other tours, but we managed to meet up with a tour-rep that lived in Santiago. For very little money he drove us there and back and gave us a very interesting tour of the city and its surrounding areas. Word-to-the-wise, befriend some attractive Asian-Canadian girls and you can tag along on there special treatment ;) Cubans seem to love them!!
Money:
As another reviewer noted, don't run out of cash. These resorts are a long way from Santiago de Cuba which is the only place where you can get cash on your credit card and ONLY if you present your Passport. In a pinch you can use credit cards for tours or scuba but only if you push the issue. They really prefer cash. Take Canadian dollars and get it changed into convertible pesos. Getting money changed is not a problem; it's just hard to get more if you run out.
Bottom-line:
It only rained once, but it was a torrential downpour!!! Sunny. Sunny, sunny the rest of the time!
Brisas Sierra Mar really is the kind of place that you want to return to year after year. A lot of the customers had been there before, but we were there during the last week for the season, as they shut down for the summer. I would recommend this resort to anyone! Maybe next time we will go to Los Galones, but I will never subject my self to the more trendy resorts to the north – I would not have fun with swanky tourists! Santiago de Cuba is a very interesting city and I love going to a country that seems like a time-warp… everyone really seems like equals with no corruption from corporations like walmart and mcdonalds… and it is refreshing that it is a very odd occurrence to meet an annoying american tourist…
I can only see this resort getting better over the years, as Canadians and Europeans are just pouring money into the Cuban economy. I can’t wait to return again!!!
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Date of stay: April 2005
Value
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This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.
Hotel was built as a high-grade one, but now it has 3.5 stars. It sits directly on the shore line on a hill slope, as good as only could be. Mountains, subtropical forest around, good sandy beach with wave breaker and long wild sandy beach if you like to walk. Coral reef is 200 meters from the shore, it is good for advance snorkeling. Diving, horsing and are available too. Slow current allows long swimming. If you are not interested, enjoy the pool, kids’ pool, many bars, and a small but real botanic garden next to the beach. Hotel has shops, restaurants, tennis courts and all. Rooms have AC, shower and spectacular views on ocean and mountains. TV is quite good for Cuba, includes CNN. No WI-FI, internet is in the lobby for $5, cell phone works. Local music is not annoying unlike other places.
Personal disappointment 1 The hotel is falling apart, nobody invest in it seriously. Water drops from the corridor’s ceiling permanently from some unknown pipe. Doors, furniture, roofs and pavements - everything needs to be replaced. Upper building already is closed forever. New elevators to the sea level work OK but are as cheap as possible, will not last long. Personal disappointment 2 Stuff feels very relaxed. They drink in the bars, take the best seats, yelling to each other above your head and so on. Hotel is for them, you are just some unwanted guest. 60-80% of guests are locals. They yell, drink, eat and litter a lot. Personal disappointment 3 Food in the buffet is average, Cuban, 3 star one, not to be abusive. But there are flees there, amount is outstanding. Personal disappointment 4 The plane to Santiago de Cuba arrived from Canada on time. It was stuffed with us on time. After that it was waiting one HOUR until some crooks – local bosses arrived on board. Ten people entertained us checking passengers’ belts all the time. At last we had departed. Two hours there was no service of any kind. All ten people including two actual stewardesses were relaxing after long departing procedure. Finally we had got lunch – plastic boxes in plastic boxes with several pieces of bad bread. Choice of drinks was: water and ersatz-coffee (50 gr). That day, August 2 a huge storm had happened in Toronto. The plane was sent to Ottawa, spent hours being sealed on the airfield. Then it flew back to Toronto. Flight took 12 hours instead of 4.5 as advertised. During all that time we had got only a cup of water. For that passengers had to start a scandal. It was my worst experience since 1976, (when one propeller (of two) stopped rotating right in the air) NO MORE CUBA AIRLINE
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Date of stay: August 2015Trip type: Travelled solo
Value
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This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.
If you can't have a great holiday at this place there is no help for you anywhere. We just returned yesterday, March 16th.
A previous reviewer described it as the hidden jewel of Cuba and they were bang on. The guests at the Sierra Mar were about 70% repeat guests. I talked to lots of people at this resort and not one person stopped short of calling this hotel the best value they can remember.
This is not a 5 star or the Royal York but it is a good hotel and a great vacation.
Beaches - outstanding - the best place for swimming is just past the wooden remains of the pier. If you like snorkeling you can snorkel 50m off shore, and there is a Dive Shop on the resort. Sure the sand isn't white but if that bothers you - you have watched too many episodes of Baywatch.
Staff - you would think every one of them was an owner of the hotel the way they treated you. (I guess they technically are owners in a socialist country.) Service is second to none in my experience and I have been to Mexico, Jamaica, DR, St, Lucia and Guatemala. I can't put enough emphasis on how good the staff were.
Countryside - Just look at the pictures!! (My photos are too large to post) You can walk about 2 miles down the beach!! You can rent a bike for nothing, a scooter for $12 for 2 hours and go touring or go on horseback for $7 an hour. You can hike or walk on trails without any concern about security or peddlers. We went into the barrio (village) beside the resort and played baseball with the locals on Monday and had a blast. We recognized most of them as hotel staff - good people all the way around. Take some extra shoes and baseball caps if you can. There are a lot of day trips too.
Music – 7 stars way, way above average. Classical guitar, piano and string ensembles in the restaurants and the reception area every night. Entertainment was decent too. One night there was a magician.
Facilities - above average. They had Tennis Courts, Bikes, Scooters, Pool Table, Volleyball, Dive Shop plus all they other water sports and lots of beach chairs & cabanas.
Rooms - They were just rooms. You can be critical of the size or dated decor but they have full bathrooms, a TV with English channels and balconies. This resort has so much to do all we did was sleep in our rooms.
Food - Guests that had been there for the last eight years told me that they have never heard of anyone getting sick at this hotel. In fact, a number of guests told me that they have drank the tap water for years. I thought the food selection was limited compared to bigger resorts but I still ate better than I do back home. A few guests that had been all over Cuba told me the Sierra Mar food was above average. They have fresh squeezed OJ and custom omelets every day. The food was my biggest concern about going to a 3.5 star in Cuba but it exceeded my expectations. The beer is honest and the bar is the reception area is open 24 hrs.
By the way - The road to the hotel is bumpy because it hasn't been fixed since the Hurricane but the trip is tolerable.
At the end of your stay you will wish you had more time at this resort and that is the real measure of a holiday. Ignore the hysterical, negative reviews because they are from inexperienced travelers that think that $800 should buy you a week at a Grand Lido.
We will be back.
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Date of stay: March 2007Trip type: Travelled with family
Value
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Business service (e.g., internet access)
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.
Subject: Brisas Sierra Mar Location: Guama, Santiago de Cuba Province, Cuba, Caribbean, North America Title: We are 4 times Repeaters..and we love it...!!! ID#: 145094312
We love the layout of the place; multilevels with very private balconies; beautiful botanical gardens; 2 tennis courts (quite decent for Cuba); Cuban day every week; special fancy meal on the pool level every Saturday night; 3 km of beach to walk on...etc..etc
Most of all the friendly employees and locals..and opportunity to meet a very capable Translator and Tour Guide, YOANA from Chivirico.
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Date of stay: November 2012Trip type: Travelled as a couple
Room Tip:Top Floor, Ocean View Rooms, for more privacy
Value
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This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.
