Sol Turquesa Beach Hotel, Holguin, Cuba

In November, Franca, Anne and I had booked a Sunwing vacation for an all-inclusive week in Punta Cana. We were supposed to leave last Wednesday. When we arrived at the airport, we discovered that our flight and our vacation were cancelled and would not be rebooked ... we'd get an automatic refund within 21 days (happily but surprisingly the refund arrived on my VISA this morning). 

Needless to say, we were shocked, disappointed and unhappy. We stayed at the airport and right away started trying to book a vacation elsewhere ASAP but everything was either sold out or so expensive. After three hours of going online and calling other providers, we ended up calling a last minute vacation company. The best she said we could do was the 4 star Sol Turquesa Beach in Holguin (via Air Transat) leaving on Sunday. Right on! So we headed home and met up again at the airport on Sunday.

We arrived at the Sol Turquesa late Sunday night. The lobby bar is open 24/7 and it was empty. Huh?! Usually lobby bars are busy. We headed to the 24/7 snack bar to get a bite to eat and we were the only ones there (when I asked the server about the disco she said this was the disco!). Where was everyone?! There are over 500 rooms here but apparently only 80 guests. Because of that, many things are closed down and not happening ... no entertainment, no activities, nothing. 

Franca and Anne work hard and were looking for a relaxing vacation but not like this. So yesterday we spoke with Pablo, our Air Transat rep, and asked him to move us to another resort. We're definitely not getting our money's worth at this one. This resort has the potential to be awesome but they should either close completely (apparently they were closed for three years and reopened in December 2023) or open to full capacity and provide what they promise. 

We each paid about $2,500 for this vacation (so it wasn't cheap!) and this is more like a $1,700 property given the deficiencies. Melia, the owner of the property, should be ashamed and embarrassed for charging so much and Air Transat should be sending booking reps here to check out the property to ensure it their clients aren't getting ripped off like we were.

PROS

The resort - The property itself is lovely. There are lots of pools. The beach is nearby.

The room - We each had our own room and they were huge. But it's obvious there was furniture missing from mine, though, as I had a big corner that is empty. I had two larger twin beds that were pushed together and the bed was comfortable.

Our building ... my room was on the ground floor

The shower room ... no hot water!

The toilet room

My balcony

WIFI - WIFI was free throughout the resort (except the beach), including the rooms. I found it strong the majority of the time and was happy with it.

The staff - The staff were very friendly and helpful.

CONS

Stairs - As a head's up, there are a LOT of stairs. The property is built a hill, which is nice, until you have to walk from the bottom to the top (which is where the lobby, restaurant, etc. are). If you have no mobility issues, you'll be okay. If you do have mobility issues, you can call the front desk and they'll send a cart for you.

Dead energy - If you are looking for a place to just lay on a lounger all day either at the beach or the pools and not be bothered by anyone or anything, this was the place. But most of us want access to some kind of activities and entertainment, whether we choose to partake or not. But there was nothing. I was at the pool yesterday that had the pool bar (usually a happening spot) and I was the only one there! There is a theatre but they don't seem to be using it as there were only about 40 chairs set up.  

Beach - There was a lot of seaweed on the beach and in the water. That wasn't a big deal to me. But when I walked into the water, it was rocky and fully of seaweed. Plus it dips up and down so you have to be careful when you are walking in. It takes a while to get into deep water. There were only a handful of people besides on the beach so no vibe.

Towels - When you check in, you are given a piece a paper which you trade it for a beach towel at a hut. I stopped in yesterday around 10:30am and the guy said he had no towels and to come back in an hour. A fella passing by said the same thing happened yesterday (Sunday) and the hut is usually closed anyway. I went back an hour later (11:30am) and the hut was closed up. The sign on the hut said it's supposed to be closed from 12:30pm to 1:30pm. We checked throughout the day and it never did open. I'd had the foresight to bring a bath towel from my room but Anne and Franca hadn't so were towelless.

No hot water - Yesterday was a disillusioning day and I was looking forward to taking a shower. No hot water! I let it run for about 10 minutes and it was barely above cold. I REALLY needed a shower so took a quick one. Franca's room was down the hall and she had no hot water either.

Meals - I've been to Cuba before so know what to expect re food but this was worse than ever. There were very few options (and I mean very few!) and food shortages. I didn't bother even going to supper last night because I suspected it would be bad. At the snack bar on Sunday night, they only had fries, spring rolls and some kind of deep-fried ham/cheese thing (only the fries were edible). The beach bar only offers fries and some version of a hot dog. The buffet at the main building is a long walk (and a lotta stairs) if you want something else.

Our snacks at the snack bar Sunday night

Our snacks at the snack bar Sunday nigh

My breakfast yesterday

Nice view

Not a huge selection
... apparently they had no eggs this morning

Kitties in the buffet!

This guy was friendly

No Coke - I like dark rum and Diet Coke. I asked for one at the pool bar yesterday (I was the only one at that pool, BTW) and they only had Coke. I'm okay with that. At the lobby bar yesterday afternoon, I asked for a dark rum and Coke and they had no Coke. What?! How can a lobby bar have no Coke?