The Resort & Flights

Getting There

We purchased an all-inclusive resort stay from Sunwing for under $1200 each, and spent another $250 each on excursions, restaurants, tips and rum.  Everything was well coordinated.  We flew non-stop out of Windsor, ON, and while flying the crew gave us the necessary paperwork to fill out for customs and immigration.  You mustn't make any mistakes or cross anything out on it, or a new form will cost $20.

The only question we were asked at customs was "Have you been to Africa recently?"  In about 20 minutes we had our luggage and were met at the exit by a Sunwing rep who directed us to our shuttle.  A modern Yutong (Chinese) bus took us to our hotel.

The Resort

We stayed at Barcelo Solymar Arenas Blancas (four star hotel), so all the comments below apply to that resort.  Your mileage may vary.

The beach is amazing - soft pale gold sand with little bits of white shells and a turquoise ocean under an intensely blue sky. My photos are washed out in comparison to the real colours, and I couldn't find a camera setting that got it right.

Beach at sunrise

There are numerous bars at the resort, and the alcohol is free. Despite that, we didn't really see anyone drunk, certainly not stupid-drunk.  We speculate that the bartenders mix your drinks weaker if you start to get too tipsy.

The good things at the resort

• Free food and drink available all the time
• Sparkling clean pools
• Beautiful, groomed beach
• Hotel and grounds were always very clean
• Water, pop and beer provided in fridge in room, replenished every day.
• Spacious, airy, air-conditioned room
• Nice sized balcony
• Our toilet stopped working, and we reported it, and it was fixed later in the day.
• Friendly, helpful staff

Bad things at the resort

• Bed bugs (it took us a while to figure this out because I was the only one getting bitten at first.  The Bear's brother and sister-in-law in another room had no bugs.)
• Bar sometimes runs out of ice (so you move to a different one, there are lots)
• Drinks are made with mixers, not juice, that are kept in slushy machines with no ice.
• Ask for lemonade and you get a glow-in-the-dark yellow mixer that is, well, awful.
• Our sheets were never changed.
• A/C smelled musty for about the first 4 days.

The resort was beautiful. Here are some shots:

Tree-sized cactus

Baobab tree

Wildlife

We were not bothered by mosquitoes, rodents, spiders or anything creepy-crawly (Bear saw - and killed - one centipede).

The local wildlife includes these curly-tailed lizards that scurry around.

I approached a tree to take a pic and a bunch of little lizards scurried in to the hole.  When I looked in the hole they ran deeper, out of sight.

Sparrows are the clean-up crew of Cuban open-air dining.  Sometimes they don't wait for you to finish.

There were also these very pretty black birds. They would vertically fan out their tails, puff up their feathers and look like they were going to crow like a rooster, and then go "Peep peep peep."

For Kids

The pools (plural) are shallow and broad - great for kids.  They weren't very busy, but we weren't there over a school holiday.  Most of the entertainment is kid-suited, includes audience participation, and ends early enough that your kids can sleep. Buffet eating means toddlers don't have to wait for their meals and teenagers won't impoverish you.