November 2014 - Sue and Anne's Vacation & Meeting with Management

Anne and I met with management for a meeting over supper that the special menu was created and prepared by the new chef Juan Carlos. We were so honoured that the new DG arranged this special meeting so we could discuss to bring back information.

First we must say that Juan Carlos is a great asset to the resort. He is bringing new fresh ideas with the limited resources he has and is instructing his sous chefs well. He has worked in restaurants around the world and has a vast amount of ideas and a great talent. There is still work to be done but it is going in the good direction. Food was vamazing. More variety is availble. Juan Carlos spends hours on end going from restaurant to restaurant checking and training his staff. He also likes to have feedback, so if something is not good he can correct it and re-instruct his chefs. I got the privilege of touring the kitchen. All I can say is wow! It looks like a lab with all different prep stations in segregated rooms to avoid cross contamination. It was much cleaner and better designed than many places in Canada. Out in the buffet seafood is all contained in one area and cooked on a separate grill from the meats such as chicken and beef. Bread is baked daily and on occasion was still hot from the oven.

As for the upcoming changes. There are not that many at this time. Carlos the new DG has requested new furniture for the lobby. Hopefully Gaviota will allow all his request. We spoke about having someone checking the beach and lobby bathrooms for toilet paper supply as often there was none. After our meeting there was always maids replenishing the toilet paper in the bathroom in the lobby. On occasion still lacking in the beach bathroom. ...but I did notice that people (tourists) would take off with the roll (guess fearing there would be no more). The changes that he already implemented are fresh painting and repairs to the rooms which is on going as well as the fountains. We noticed a few new items in our room such as a new ceiling fan and an addition of a clock radio with an ipod station. The fountains were being prepped when we arrived and functioning now. It is a long process for the fountains as they have to empty them, dry them then put a sealant on and dry that before repainting then drying the coats of paint before refilling and getting them working. The long boardwalk railing was repaired in several places while we were there. However the reason why it had to be was because they were kicked down by a couple of drunk tourists that thought it would be fun to break things! There is a new Assistant DG as well, Francisco, he is young but on the ball and can be seen daily checking on things throughout the resort. Dario who was in charge of the bars and restaurants with Caesar has moved to another resort in another country. So they are waiting for his replacent. Caesar has been working overtime picking up the slack, but can be seen always checking on things. Lisbet the manager of Customer Service has left on preventive maternity leave and they are looking into getting someone in to replace her while she is on leave. She came in to see Anne and I when we arrived to say hi and looks radient as well as gorgeous as ever with the baby belly. Staff around the resort is the best as always! Miss them greatly already.

Nudes on the beach......this is not tolerated by management. Some practiced it and were told to cover up, which they did however a couple refused even after after security and then management informed them it was not allowed. This couple argued that resort cannot tell them what they can't do on the beach. Police arrived and they were escorted off the beach to be placed on the next plane out as this practice is actually illegal in Cuba.

It was great to meet my friend Anne for first time after communicating for the past several years on the Internet and telephone. Our love for this piece of paradise is how we met and we will surely remain friends for the years to come. We had an absolute blast and spoke about returning again together next year! We also met so great people there....too many to name, some first timers and some repeat guests, but they were absolutely enjoying themselves and had good comments. Several times I was told by people that they didn't understand how people told them the food in Cuba was not good and that they were shocked how great it was there.