Hotel Atlantico-Guardalavaca, it's hard to recommend with its terrible service, desultory food

By: cubaism Expert, Cuba Posted: 2010-04-10

Perched atop a limestone headland between two lovely beaches at Guardalavaca, this is the original hotel that kicked off tourism here some three decades ago. Given the classy competition that has since arisen, this all-inclusive property struggles deperately to keep up. Apart from the setting, it's hard to recommend the Club Amigo Atlántico, with its terrible service, desultory food, and tired physical infrastructure that extends to broken windows and fixtures. Perhaps the overriding negative here is the sullen staff, with only a handful of employees seeming to care about guest welfare.

On the positive side, the entertainment here is upbeat and includes pianists as well as nightly cabarets. And there's plenty of watersport action, including scuba diving.

This plain-looking and weary Soviet-designed entity is laid out in four large parallel blocks behind a huge pool complex fronting the shore. Hence, very few rooms have ocean view. The mattresses are tired and sag, and at last visit the bathrooms were need of upgrading. We highly recommend you ugrade to the villa section about 100 meters inland. These spacious units are nicely furnished (with more up-to-date and comfy beds) and offer access to a series of swimming pools, and some have ocean views. Be sure to get an upper-story unit, as lower units get the noise from above. Despite the nice villa complex, overall, Cubanacán – the state-run entity that operates this hotel – clearly needs to pull its socks up sharply here!